Subject:Touch
Entries
Entry 831
Once ah had a very bad headache. Mah head hurt so bad until ah couldn't hardly see - had to put mah feet into warm water to bathe 'em and at de same time bathe mah head down, too. So ah went to a hoodoo doctor and ask him what's de trouble, and he look at mah head and said a piece of hair had been cut out of mah head and buried around de house, and if a storm come early an' wash it away it would help me, but if it didn't ah would go crazy.
(What happened - how did the story turn out?)
Ah tell yo' how de story turned out. Ah was a missionary - ah was going to a missionary meeting, and whilst ah was waiting fo' de people to get ready - ah was at a preacher's house an' whilst setting there ah could feel that headache coming on. I said - I grabbed both hands, I say, "Ooh, mah haid hurts so bad ah believe ah'm going have one dem terrible headaches. So de preacher asked me, said, "Do yo' believe in prayer." I say, "Yes sir." So he came an' he put his hand on de top of mah haid and he said, "Now, yo' pray whilst ah prays." An' he prayed secretly, and ah could feel that misery jest easily goin' away - jest easily goin' away. And after it had gone, seemed like ah had been off in a dream, an' ah never did have that headache again.
(Where did this experience happen - right here in Mobile?)
Yes sir.
(Just a few years ago?)
Yes.
Entry 832
Sometimes all they have to do is to touch you. I wanted to remember a boy and after he [a cunjure man] touched me I couldn't remember him. I didn't know what he [boy] looked like. This [spell] lasted over a year. I couldn't see [remember] this boy. I was in a family way. His mother got this cunjure man to make me forget him. He came to my house, I was in this condition, and he put his hand on my stomach and thinking of the boy when he did it, and after he removed his hand I couldn't think about him [boy]. I would see his pitchure but I couldn't think of anything of him. When this [spell] work off [after a year] it turned back on this boy - he got so he was loving me. After this spell was broken this man [cunjure man] came to me and told me he did it. He told me to put it back on the boy, the boy was in New York and would come back. He came back. I didn't marry this boy. He also gave my mother a little bag to wear on her stocking. My mother's thinking of putting me in trouble [worrying about daughter's condition]. After he gave her this bag she seemed to forget all about me being in trouble. She didn't think of it until the year was up. He told her to wear this bag. He put it there himself, on her left stocking. It had a string on it. He tied it around [her] himself. It was a little black bag. It contained something that smelled like spice, like cinnamon. Whenever he come in contact with you he kinda hypnotized you. I don't know where the hoodoo man came from. This happened in Newport News [Virginia]. His [boy's] grandmother did most of it. She died about two years afterwards. The last time I seen her she had great big knots on her face like some animal. She died a horrible death. It must of went back on her, too. I thought it'd come out on the baby but it didn't take any effect. Only he has funny little spells. Ev'ry night when he goes to bed he'll holler in his sleep. He always did do that from a little baby on up, even now. He's eleven years old.
Entry 3285
She gotta go where he's at.
(Yes?)
[My (Yes?) means informant hesitated.]
Well, she's gotta have connection wit dis man. She gits dis [his] what-cha- call-it an' hers, an' be sure hit's gotta be a bran'-new han'chief or bran'-new cloth. An' she takes dat an' she puts sugah in an' cinnamon an' powdah [3 ingredients], an' put dat in a box an' she keep it all de time, weah it aroun' in 'er pocketbook or in 'er pocket. Don't let nobody put dere han's on it. An' he's comin' back.
(What kind of powder did you say she put in there?)
Sugah. [Informant probably misunderstood me. It would have been some kind of love powder.]
(What did she put the powder in?)
In a box. (End of 884 and end of my work in New Orleans, La. So-so. I'll try to get out tonight on the train [for New York City].) [Within the parenthesis I am speaking to the Telediphone. That So-so had to mean I had had a tremendous ex- perience: first my wife and I alone about the city, and after her departure, the hoodoo field work. I would return to New Orleans later.]
Entry 3673
Lockin' de bowels, well ah tell yo' ah don' really know much about dat, but it's one thing ah do know. Yo' kin stop a woman or a man from havin' intah- co'se wit anothah fellah, if yo' want to. Well yo' go an' git chew a house snail, dese ole snails crawl aroun' de house. Yo' take yore dishrag dat chew been usin' in de kitchen an' yo' washes it out. When dis snail starts tuh crawlin', yo' take de rag an' put it ovah 'im dataway [demonstrates]. Well, yo' know he's bound tuh melt.
(You just drop that rag over him and pick him up that way?)
Dat's right. Den put 'im back down. Do dat fo' about fo' times. Yo' take dat rag an' fold it up nice in yore pocket, or yore towel - whatevah it is. But it's best tuh be wit a dishrag. Yo' take dat dishrag an fold it up an' yo' go somewhere an' have intahco'se wit 'er. Well, she say, "Ah got sompin." Yo' say, "No, yo' take dis'un [this one], ah got sompin heah, mah ole han'ke'chef" - sompin lak dat. Well, when she take dat - but don' chew use it yoreself, let 'er use it. An' cain't nobody in de worl' have nuthin tuh do wit 'er but chew. Cain't even give her a million dollahs. Ah kin give her a million dollahs, an' de min- ute ah starts it will be jes' lak dis cloth heah [on table holding recording machine between us]. (Well, is there any way that you can get rid of that, after you are fixed up that way? How can you get rid of that?) No Suh, YO' CAIN'T GIT RID OF DAT. YO' GOTTA DIE [TO] PASS AWAY DAT OFFA YO'.
Entry 5586
Well, if a man a long way from home an' he wanta come back - she have tuh do dis befo' he git off do [though]. Git 'is track from 'is right foot, from de toe back tuh de heel, an' sew hit up in a bran'-new piece of cloth, an' tote it in 'er pocket evahwhere she go. But she mustn't let nobody put dey han's on it. An' he come home back tuh 'er.
Entry 7056
Yo' have tuh git a young chile's urine. See, an' git some, lak if he loves tuh drink wine. Well, yo' know he loves tuh drink dat wine. When he comes home tuh dinnah - but it has tuh be a woman chile. See, a kid nine, six or seven yeahs ole. An' yo' make her urine in a bottle an' yo' take... [author interrupts].
(Must it be a girl?)
It must be a girl, an' yo' make her urine [urinate], yo' know, in a cup or somepin; but chew mustn't let yer fingahs touch nowhere. Yo' know whut ah mean, jis' [no] mo' den tuh po' it out in de bottle, yo' see. An' yo' give him some. Po' dat urine in dere an' den yo' git some likkah, wine, an' mix dat tuhgethah. See, an' when he drink dat, dat jis' make his stomic upset. An' evah time he go tuh drink dat, give him dat. Well finely it weahs off an' he cain't stan' it. See, it makes 'im sick. [Algiers, La., (1590), 2989:3.] [Informants call these rites tricks (Nos.7081, 7086, 7091). They are one of many methods for capturing a person's spirit, the very essence of hoodoo, always dangerous for the believer. Nowhere has a time limit been set to the spell, ex- cept the return of the spellcaster (almost all rites). Thus the sleeping victim could burn up, if the house caught fire (No.7086). Similar keeping-asleep rites scattered through the interviews of Hoodoo will add greater variety to the mate- rial presented here.]
Entry 9148
Well, if yo' go down befo' de jedge, it's a root chew git called de "Be 'shamed brier root," de "be 'shamed Brier Root."
(Be Ashamed? Well, why do they call it that?)
Well, becuz it's de conkah of all roots of de woods. It's conkah of all de roots in de woods. See, lak if yo' go in de woods tuh git dat an' jes' whatevah yo' wanta learn an' know, yo' see dat bush, de little leaves on it closes up. It says, "Be 'shamed of yo'self, be 'shamed of yo'- self, be 'shamed of yo'- self [he hits it]. Well, all dem leaves on dat closes up [because he touched, hit the plant].
(As soon as you touch it that way, then it closes up?)
Close up. Well, yo' dig down dere an' git dat root. Dig down dere an' git dat root out dere. Well, den yo' take dat root, see, an' carry it home. An' if yo' got a case in co't, yo' take dat an' hold it in yore mouth lak dat, an' yo' spit one time 'fore de jedge. Spit dat at his face. Well, when yo' do dat, lak ah'm lookin' at chew, yo' see, yo' lookin' at me an' he think yo' chewin' 'bacco or somepin. He won't know whut chew got in yore mouth. Yo' jes' spit one time 'fore his face. Well, an' den yo' go dere an' set down. Well, when yo' sets down an' he'll jes' - he'll call up evahbody in co't. He'll call up evahbody in co't an' yo'll be settin' ovah dere, an' he look ovah dere an' he say, "Well, whut chew want in heah? Git up an' go on outa heah." See, dat root done got his mind, he done got 'shamed of whut he got yo' 'cused [accused] of, say, "Yo' git up an' walk on out." [They fascinate me, those words near the beginning: git dat (shame brier) an' jes' whatevah yo' wanta learn an' know, yo' see dat bush. de little leaves on it closes up. This suggests to me that some persons at least, and in some way, used the shame brier as a divining device. This plant and the hole of the doodle-bug (ant-lion larva) must have puzzled believers in hoodoo at one time - for beliefs about the doodle-bug, see Folklore from Adams County Illinois, Nos.1398-1404, p.55, 2nd ed.]
Entry 9820
Latsa people dey take nine needles, bran'-new needles an' dey git a piece of lodestone an' put 'em in dis way an' dat-a-way [demonstrates].... (Now wait. [I try to repeat informant's demonstration.] Put in this way and that way?) [I am making a cross.] Yes sir, cross [demonstrates].
(Cross them all.)
An' den yo' go tuh a blacksmith shop an' git chew some anvil dust, de steel from de anvil where dey make de iron, an' put it in dere. An' git chew a piece of lodestone an' put ten cents [a silver dime] in it. It's lucky tuh yuh if yo' keep it an' let nobody touch it. Feed it wit whiskey. Yo'll always have silvah money. [Even during my collecting days back in 1938 the preceding anvil dust never saw an anvil; it came from ma- chine-shop filings. Anvil dust and steel dust were the same thing, depending upon age, size, color, etc.] [In the following comment I am not talking for informant's benefit, I am an- notating for the future.] (Now in putting these needles, you put one needle like that, and then you put another needle on there like that - like a cross, sort of like little squares, like tick-tack-toe.) Yes. [Everything is arranged or sprinkled into the form of a cross before the combined materials are put in the bag.]
Entry 9872
Now yo' kin cure disease wit a frog an' yo' kin make love wit a frog.
(How do you make love with a frog?)
Well, now yo' kin take dat frog an' cut dat frog open an' it's a li'l stone, a li'l rock, a li'l stone-lak dat's in dat frog. An' yo' kin take dat li'l stone an' any woman dat chew wanta git up tuh 'er dat yo' cain't git tuh, yo' wanta git up tuh 'er, yo' jis' take an' yo' have dat stone in yore hand - anywhere dat yo' could touch 'er. Yo' could shake hands wit 'er, er anywhere yo' kin touch 'er wit dat stone in yore han'. Yo' got 'er yore way. [Informant does not know that this stone-lak is supposed to come from a toad, not a frog: The foul Toad hath a fair stone in his head, from John Lyly, Euphues, p.53, (1579); an old belief made immortal by Shakespeare in As You Like It: Sweet are the uses of adversity, Which, like the toad, ugly and venomous, Wears yet a precious jewel in his head. Act ii, sc.1, L.12. (1599).]
Entry 9908
Yo' kin ketch a toadfrog an' yo' bur' 'im [bury him]. Dere's two or three ways about a frog. Yo' ketch a toadfrog an' yo' bur' 'im, an' put 'im in a ants baid an' de ants done pick 'im bad. An' den aftah dat, why yo' takes 'is bones. Don' want no flesh on 'is bones. An' weah it in yore pocket. An' den if it's a woman dat chew wanted tuh be wit, why yo' jes' tetch 'er wit dat frog [bones].
Entry 9969
Yo' take a frog and dry him. You take a frog and wrap him up and let hin die himself. Don't you kill him. Well, when he gets dry, you tote that in your pocket. You can take that and you can do anything you want with that frog. Just like if you a dice shooter, or anything I like that, you rub that [dried frog]. Jis' put it in your pocket and take and put your hand on that [frog] and go to work and shoot dice. Be lucky. Jes' like if you had one game, and if you don't have success with that, turn your back on that game. And select you a card place, if you play cards, and you'll lose one or two games and you know that you ought to win, turn your back on that game.
(How do you mean turn your back on it?)
What I mean, walk away from that game and go to the next game.
(I see, if you have this frog in your pocket.)
drying/state of the wrapped frog after the stated let-die instruction. Keep Don’t you kill him and let him die himself as the source’s wording; do not describe the text as harmless, or replace it with active killing. rubbing the carried dry frog before dice play. Resolve the pronoun from actual complete narrator context, not only the bracketed gloss. conditional lack of success at gambling and changing games. Preserve don’t have success, the card-game losses and the practical walk-away explanation. expected winning contrasted with one or two losses and leaving the game. Preserve if you play cards, one or two losses, ought to win and the instruction to move to the next game. These are attributed source occurrences; outcomes remain unverified.
Entry 11108
Now, if a man likes a woman and she don't like him. All he have to do is go down to the drug store and get him some Oil of Clover. They got a per- fume they call Oil of clo- ver. And get some powder they call Love Powder, and mix that together, you un- derstand. And put it on him, and go out in the woods and get him - pass anywheres they grows up on the [something? bayous?] some weeds they call bloodweeds. [Bloodweed can be a number of plants.] You understand? Take these bloodweeds and cut him four pieces off of it. See? And put 'em in his pocket, and pour all this stuff on there. You umderstand? This powder, put it on there. And every time he pass her, he have some on his hands. You understand? And he'd hit - you know, just touch her and put it [on her]. Well, she go anywhere he want her to go. Tame her right down to him.
Entry 12714
Ah say yo' kin take a rabbit if a person - jes' like if it's a man or a woman, yo' kin take de lef' hin' feet [foot] of a rabbit after yo' done killed him. Yo' take dat lef' hin' feet of dat rabbit an' if yo' wear it in yore pocket or yore purse or sompin [MAY BE ONLY MENTION OF PULLING TENDON - TO IMPRESS?] like that, whoever yo' Want tuh [be] round or sompin, well yo' jes' take that if yo' keep that rabbit foot bathed in dis heah Hearts Perfume - if yo' keep it bathed in Hearts Perfume and git chew some dragons blood and sprin- kle on it, and wherevah yo' go, yo' know it's a little cord in dat rabbit's feet, yo' kin pull it an' it seem like it's alive. [Pulling tendon of rabbit foot is rare in rites.] And if yo' go round wherevah yo' go, if yo' take dat piece of root out of yo' pocket or either yore pocketbook, and if yo' jes' touch de person whoevah yo' want or sompin like dat, yo' kin get 'em. With the lef' feet of de rabbit. (Do you touch them with your hand or must you touch them with the rabbit foot?) With de rabbit foot. (And what do you do with that cord [tendon]? Yo' pull it.
(When do you pull it?)
Whenever yo' git aroun' 'em. See dat [tendon] work duh foot.
(Oh, you must pull it when you touch them, you mean?)
Yeah, see, when yo' go in yo' jes' pull it, see. That means yore workin', yo' know, de rabbit's foot - dat little piece of cord dat's in it, yo' know - little stringlike yo' could put it and: it will work. It come out of de feet chew know, piece of de flesh - whatevah it is - when yo' cut it off. Dat's de lef' hin' foot of de rabbit.
Entry 13455
An' if ah have a enemy that's botherin' me, ah supposed tuh git - yo' know somebody coml' tuh me an' jis' botherin' me all de time an' ah wanted tuh run 'em away. Ah kin run 'em at twelve a'clock in de night. Ah'd buy me a jug of wine an' put a dime jar of mustard in a jug of vine, an' po' that jug of wine right at de hour of twelve a'clock right at de do'step, but be sho' [sure] not tuh let de wine, tetch me. [There are numberous varnings in HOODOO by professional workers not to let any of the in- gredients used touch you.]
Entry 108
Jes' lak dere was someone in de crowd dat yo' was trying to find out who did it, killed him, yo' could turn him on his face an' let ev'ry man tetch him, an' de man dat killed him, when he tetch him de wound will start to bleedin' agin.
Entry 7354
Jes' lak a man kill a man or woman - if he kill a woman. All right, say fo' instant dey bring about five people jes' where dis man is got killed at - dead, yo' see. All right, make dis man tech 'im. An' when de right man tech 'im - yo' know, each one of 'em tech 'im - when de right man tech 'im, he'll purge. [The word purge is common for a corpse bleeding when touched by murderer.]
Entry 7355
Take dey han's - don' care how many's roun' - take hol' of 'em an' lay dere han's on de dead person when yo' go tuh bur' 'im. Dat will tell yo' who kolled 'im. De blood will gush out [when murderer touches corpse].
Entry 7358
Ah've heard dat if a person has got killed an' de person who killed 'im, if he happen tuh be dere - be roun' dere. Dere's some people dat do dese things yo' know an' den stan' aroun' yo' know an' may perten' [pretend] dey don' know nuthin 'bout it. An' if dey touch dat person, den he'll start purgin'. [The word to purge is commonly used to describe the bleeding of a corpse when touched by the murderer. Since the word to purge frequently means to cause evac- uation of the bowels or to clean or empty the bowels, was there a confusion be- tween bleeding and purging by the corpse? We must remember that formerly, espec- ially in hot weather, a body Was buried within 24 hours. Even then purging must have been frequent. Surely one example of this is the very first belief or story in Hoodoo, the burial of the witch Millie, No.1, page 1.]
Entry 1978
Now, if ah go to a two-headed person an' tell 'em tuh tell me somepin, an' he tells me whut ah'm comin' fo' an' who an' everything - he tells me whut's [what it is] ah'm comin' fo' - jes' lak if ah come in dere, why he'll tell me, "Why, yo' comin' tuh do so-an'-so, '' an' everything lak dat. Say, "Yassuh." He say, "Well, yo' ain't had no luck'" - lak dat. Well, see, if ah go tuh him an' he tell me ah'm goin' have luck - jes' lak ah go tuh him an' he give me a han' fo' gamblin'. Why he'll tell me whut tuh do. He'll give me somepin an' won't tell me whut it is, an' tell me tuh go home an' bury it undah mah back do steps, an' aftah ah bury it he'll tell me, 'Come back in two or three days," an' he'll tell me whut it is. [Magic delay.] An' he'll put a toadfrog in a sack an' sew it up an have it sprinkled wit red peppah an' bury it undah my back do'steps. An' ah'll be lucky an' ah won't lose a cent, but ah got tuh keep on renewing it up see, an' he say ah won't lose a bet.
(Well, do you leave that toadfrog under the steps then?)
Yessuh, dat's right. An' when it goes stale yo' know ah gotta go back tuh him, see. When it git old ah gotta go back to him an' keep it renewed up. An' yo' gotta have confidence in him, yo'know. An' den ah kin go tuh him an' tell him whut ah wants did, anything. He mo' den apt tuh send me back home. He ain't wanta do it de first day. He'll tell yo' come back. [Magic delay.] If ah don't believe in him when ah go dere, he'll tell yo' tuh go back an' make up in yore mind dat chew goin' believe in him. An' if ah wants tuh work - if a man is got somepin, see, ah go dere meanwhile an' ah'll tell him. An' he'll tell me how tuh go in a place, a place ah ain't nevah been - yo' know, make out where he is. Ah kin go wheresomevah he is, if he round anywhere. If he drink, ah drink - try tuh git near to him as ah kin, see, an' ah has this Jockey Club an' lodestone, an' den ah'll jes' rub it on him yo' know, put mah han's on him jes' lak if ah wanta tech him.
Entry 1983
For luck in gambling you would use a hand - use a hand such as a oil. (Well, now, explain the details of that hand. What kind of a hand? Do you know how it's made?) Yes, sir. It's a hand. They makes a hand with a piece of red flannel first, and after the red flannel they ask vou for a silver dime. They puts - place the silver dime in it, place a piece of lodestone in it. They takes a piece of John the Conquer root - that's for protection. All right, they takes that hand - that cloth, you see, and they wrap it - sews it up all around. They takes this oil of clover and they gives you a bottle full of it - a little, about three-ounce bottle. You puts that oil on that hand - what we call a hand and soaks it. [This soaking is called feeding.] Then when you go in a gambling house, you supposed not to let no one take that hand - see, no one touch it. If you do, it's supposed to be no good. You walk in to gamble - well, gambling room - playing cards or anything like dice. And that hand is supposed to work. It jumps in your pocket, you see.
(It jumps?)
Just like it moves - slightly more - that's when you must bet. ` And when you are not to bet [it does not jump]. See. Yeah, I had one.
(I see. Did it work?)
It worked purtty good, I was purtty lucky.
Entry 2085
On de order what chew call a little lucky glass - it's about dat long.
(Long as your finger.)
Yeah, wit a whole lotta little diff'rent shinin'-lookin' things in it - some of it look like gold, some look like silver, all diff'rent colors. De directions tells yo' how tuh use that - jest tote it in yore pocket. Well, when yo' go down dere to de job, jest put chure hands on it an' begin tuh talk to de bossman an' he'll hire yo'.
Entry 2218
Git de dust of dat - dat's tuh make love. (The file?) [Steel tool.] Yessuh. Yo' take an' file dat off, git de steel of it an' git de dust, an' yo' puts hit in quicksilver an' yo' - it'll run yo' cross country, jes' run yo' clean to devilment. Yo' take an' put dat powders an' dat silver dust together an' yo' take an' make a salves of dat - make a salve of dat silver an' lard, don't put no peppah in dat. Grease yore han's wit it an' when yo' shake han's wit anybody, dat's conjurin' anyone. (And that quicksilver, is that the silver that comes around tobacco?) [I ask because quicksilver and silver are sometimes tin foil.] No, it comes on de back of a lookin'-glass, on de back of de lookin'-glass.
[Steel dust is usually bought prepared.]
Entry 3153
Take a black hen feathah. An' yo' know when yo' pull it out 'is wing, yo' git a little bit of juice in dere. An' sprinkle dat 'cross a woman, see. Or yo' kin sprinkle it in yore han' an' rub it in yore han' [and rub across a woman]. Dat's if yo' got a woman dat yo' don't wanta have nobody else. Jes' sprinkle dat in yore han' an' rub it in yore han' an' [rub it across her]. If a man tetch her, she fastened jes' lak a dog.
Entry 3181
Den aftah she git back to yo', yo' takes an' goes anywhere an' git a fish. Yo' takes de gill of dat fish - de gill of dat fish an' yo' take 'is gall an' de livah [3 parts] of de fish. Yo' take it an' yo' parch it - de FISH gill, livah an' gall - tuhgethah as a dust. When she gits back, yo' got it all fixed up but have it kinda in lak a sponge - do lak dat [demon- strates], in a sponge. Well, whilst yo' playin' wit 'er lak dat, regardless of what kinda clothes she be in - if she be in 'er night clothes, OR GOT ON OR'NARY CLOTHES LAK YO' GOT ON YO' NOW - yo' jis' take it lak yo' playin' wit 'er an' touch 'er lak dat wit it an' sprinkle some of dat dust on 'er. [For heart, liver and gall of fish, see cure for blindness, 1256, p.439 from Book of Tobit in Apocrypha (6:1-4; 11:10-14).]
(Any place on her?)
Anywhere on 'er. Yo' jis' 'noint it. She wouldn't have no kinda mind of leavin' yo' or bein' worried wit nobody else but yo'.
(That's to keep her after she comes back?)
Aftah she comes back.
Entry 3679
So he wouldn't want no othah woman but chew, ah know how tuh fix 'im so "HE CAIN'T RAISE NO STAKES." Git a snail. It's mighty dirty. Git a snail an' put 'im on a ole [tin-can] top an' put 'im in yore stove an' let 'im brown. Take it out an let 'im cool, an' yo' take dat [browned] snail an' jes' rub it to a plumb powdah. Jes' parch it up, parch it up, an' when yo' an' 'im are layin' in de baid, yo'd have a little on yore han' an' tetch 'is thing, an' he cain't raise stakes fo no othah woman. Lak yo' been wit 'im a long time an' ti'ed [tired] of 'im an' got 'im fixed, yo' take dat stuff out de trunk an' take dat stuff from between de mattress, whut ah tole yo' tuh fix, an' carry it to de rivah an' turn yore back an' say, "Go, ah nevah want chew no mo', '' an' throw it in de rivah, an' he'll go on an' won't bothah yo' no mo'. Throw it ovah yore lef' shouldah an' don't look back, an nevah want chew no mo'."
Entry 7357
Befo' dey bury 'im, yeah. Dey said [say for instance] dat ah'd kill yo' an' so anybody didn't know who done it, dey go an' lay dere han' on 'im an' de blood would come from 'im.
(They could tell that you'd killed him?)
Yes.
Entry 7359
Well, if yo' have a crowd when he jes' git kilt - a crowd be roun' - well den yo' kin all go by 'im an' tetch 'im, an' when de right man tetch 'im he start fresh tuh bleedin'.
Entry 7360
Ah always heard dat if a individ'al would git killed yo' see, dey tell me if yo' wanta find out who killed 'im, take a bunch of mens yo' see. An' dey tell me dat if yo' lay yore han's on 'im, de one dat kilt 'im, de blood, yo' know - dat's right - would gush from 'is nose or face or show up on him somewhere or othah an' dey'd find out dat was de man dat done de murdah.
Entry 7362
See, jes' lak a person would git kilt, well yo' don't know who kilt 'im. Dey might go to work an' bury him. Well, aftah dey bury him, dey go tuh work den an' wanta find out thurly [thoroughly] about dis man. Dey ain't satis- fied. If dey ain't satisfied, dey'll dig 'im up. Dey'll have evah'body dat knew 'im tuh come. Now de one dat done de killin', when yo' walk up tuh 'im yo' tetch 'im, why he goin' purge - he'll bleed.
Entry 7363
Now, yo' kin take a man, jes' lak ah jes' go out dere an' kill a man. Well, ah'd make mah escape an' dere didn't nobody know who did it. Den yo' know somebody has fresh hen aigs fresh. Yo' goes an' gits two aigs an' put one in each one of mah han's - in de daid man's han's, an' den keep 'im out de ground 24 hours. An' at de end of 24 hours ah'll be standin' right dere.
[For use of eggs to discover or bring back murderer, see later.]
[Another method:]
Dey'd have me put mah han' on 'im, an' de minute ah put mah han' on 'im, de blood goin' go free from him lak ah jes' done it.
Entry 7364
On a short ahdah [order] - ah'll jes' tell yo on a short ahdah [= quickly]. Yo' kin have a dozen men right in heah now an' ah kin walk in heah maybe an' kill one of 'em, yo' un'ahstan' me, an' ah'll git away. Well now, if yo' know dem mens, othah eight mens in dere dat was in dere when ah done dis killin' [his 12-l=8]. An' dey kin go off an' ketch me or get me. Dey will take an' walk right up an' jes' walk up to him, if he's daid - ah don't care how long he's been dead - if ah killed 'im, ah put mah hand on 'im dataway, he bleed jes' lak ah jes' stobbed 'im.
(They'll know that you killed him then.)
Yes sir.
Entry 7365
I have heard my grandmother say, that if a person has been murdered, that one way to find out the murderer is to allow a number of people to pass one by one and let each one put his hand on the murdered person. When touched by the guilty one the corpse will begin to bleed at that place. It is said that many murderers have been detected in that way. [By my contact man, Jerry Williams, by Ediphone at Ocean City, Md., in summer of 1936.]
Entry 8764
Ah've heard of 'em usin' dem tin plates tuh make a person come home. Yo' take a new tin plate - take two of 'em an' write dere names in 'em. Yo' write 'em an' jes' lak yo' cut lak dat, yo' write in fo' corners, fo' places. An' say dat plate den - dem two plates an' put 'em 'tween yore mattress on yore bed.
(Put them separately right there or together?)
Uh-huh, separate. An' yo' let 'em stay right dere an' don't nobody tetch dem, an' don't make dat bed. Don't bothah till dose folks come back. (You write those names on these two pans just as if you were quartering a pie?) Yes, dat's right, fo' parts.
(Cutting it into four pieces?)
Uh-huh, yo' write it up dere. Yo' write it on dose lines.
(You write it four times on each plate then?)
Yeah, but don't nevah let it - always jam it up in dat corner in de middle of dat plate.
Entry 10805
Take fo' instance if I am sweeping de house an' yo' should happen tuh pass by an' ah tetch chew wit de broom, or hit chew wit de broom, why dat's reason dat chew'll git in jail.
Entry 12143
Oh yes, indeed, sure she could.
(What do they say about that?)
Well, she could do the same as I was telling you, if any way that she could get Hearts - you know Hearts Cologne? Perhaps you have smelled it a lot of times. Well, she will git Hearts Cologne and she will dress herself with it from her right hand. She oill invite you to her home and she will dress herself with her right hand all over her face and her body. Understand? And if you make your appearance in her bome and - she will have this here - if she kin get a chance, she will put some in her hand and she rubs it over you like that, or just pat you on your face or stroke your hair back. You couldn't stay away from her. You'd be compelled to ooe, but why you wouldn't know. And she will keep that and if she don't do more than just dress you with that hearts....
(I see, that will keep him there.)
Entry 13275
Sulphur worn in clothes or shoes or rubbed on hands that might touch conjured articles is a protection against them. [Wilmington 189:6.]