Subject:Trick
Entries
Entry 784
This was in 1863 - mah huncle [uncle] was a slave an' his mastah name Was Miller, an' he made out he was a fortune-tellah only to keep from goin' tuh de field tuh work. (Where did this happen?) Dis happened in No'th Ca'lina. An' he made out he was a fortune-tellah in order to make good wit his boss, that he wouldn't have to work so hard. He says, "Mastah, I kin tell fortunes." He's bluffin' - couldn't tell nuthin. So one day his mistress was out washin' her hands an' she had a di'mond ring prob'bly not as expensive that day as it is now, in '63. She pulled it off an she laid [it] on de side of de washbo'd while she was washin' her hands. An' Bias [Tobias] come along - dat was mah mothah's brothah. He picks up de ring an' goes in de kitchen an' mix up some wheat dough right quick an' he bobbled it up in dere somepin de size of a marble of a middleman - dey used to have middle- men fo' marbles. An' she said dey had about fifteen or twenty turkeys an' he takes it out to a certain gobbler. Dey had several gobblers but he knew the gobbler - he had a beard hangin' down his breast an' de gobbler swallowed it, gobbled it up. Dat evening - afternoon, mah mother said, dey called Bias, says, "Now, Bias, you sich a" - he spoke a oath. Shall I speak that?
(Yes.)
She say he spoke a oath, he says, "You sich a damn good maker of wisdom, tell me whare mah wife's ring went dis mawnin'." Bias says, "Mastah, yo' have tuh give me a little time tuh study." He says, "She had it heah in de house an' she's lost it somewhare. Now, you make out you kin tell me that." Says, "The war's prob'bly fixed to go on. If sich a thing gon'a be done, you prob 'bly be de loser an' you may not, but if you tell me this definitely, ah'll make it very easy on you - ah'll put chew overseah ovah de othahs." "Mastah," he says, "ah'll tell you." He says, "When you gon'a feed dese turkeys?" He say, "Ah ain't got nuthin do wit turkeys; tell me whare mah wife's ring is." See, he was hot, de mistress was cryin'. She [informant's mother] said he went on den an' he tole 'em tuh call 'em up den. He call 'em up tuh feed 'em an' he fed 'em, an' he says, "Mastah he says, "you kill dat gobblah thare." Dey didn't know nuthin dat he done dat himself. Says, "Look heah, kill him fo' what?" He says, "You kill dat gobblah," says, "ah wanta bring dat ring back." Says, "Whut de gobblah got'a do wit dat?" 'If ah kill dis gobblah ah'm gon'a buckle you across dat barrel an' give you a gen'ral whupping. So, dey caught de gobblah. Soon as dey killed 'im - when dey cleaned 'im an' cut his craw dey found de ring. An' his mastah went all about ovah de country, tole ev'ry man, says, "Ah've got a niggah on mah place dat knows something." An' he jes' jumped up and down an' gave 'im a very easy job, but he was awful to pick. up things hisself - he was a great thief hisself, you know, tuh steal, an' so he didn't be hard on him.
(Your uncle was supposed to have done it in Cleveland County, North Carolina.)
[I occasionally found this practice among white informants in Adams County, Illinois - a person telling a folktale would identify the chief actor as a member of the family. Sometimes this was a story; other times the informant as a child had heard the tale so often he actually believed it belonged to the family.l [At the time of collecting I must have known what the marble of a middleman was or he explained while machine was off.]
Entry 788
Once dere wus a man an' he wanted tuh marry a girl - no, he married dis girl, see. He wanted dis girl tuh stay home, an' every time he would go out he would rake his yard, see. [Raking of loose soil or sand is an ancient device.] So sometimes whenevah he went out he would see dat somebody had been walkin' cross de yard. Well, he'd ast her had she been off an' she said no. So dis heah woman re'lly wus scared of dis man, so she stayed home when he tell her. Dere wus a rooster an' he tole her he had dis rooster trained, an' he told de rooster, he said, "Now, whenevah she leaves, yo' crow." An' so dis woman, she hadn't been goin' no place, say, "Well, ah believe ah'll walk off." So she walked out that day. An' so when she walked out de rooster crowed. Well, de man come back an' he begin tuh raise Sam. [Sam = devil.] He says, "Yo' been out dere." She said, "No, ah haven't - ah haven't been no place." Say, "Yes, yo' have." Well, de man wus jes' workin' right cross de canal like from de house an' he could tell whenevah she would leave de house by dis rooster crowin'. So de next day she went off - she then begin now wantin' tuh go out, an' so whenevah she left that day, the rooster crowed agin. He heah de rooster crowin'. So when he came in de afternoon, said, "Yo' been out?" Says, "No, ah haven't." Say, "Yes, yo' have." An' he jump on her an' he beat her. De next day, she wondered why did he know. So she started out. She looked all around an' she walked out de do' an' she looked back an' she hear de rooster crow. Well, she thought about dat rooster had crowed already fo' three days. So she went out dere, yo' see, an' she looked down dere where de rooster wus, an' dere wus a kind of - a lil' [little] pint box settin' dere; yo' know, a lil' box dat hold jes' about a pint of corn. So this man had been givin' this rooster a pint of corn tuh crow. So then while she wus standin' dere she looked at de box dat wus settin' dere an' she wondered, she thought within herself, "That's why dat rooster wus crowin', because he had dat box settin' dere fulla corn." She goes an' she gits a larger box then [than] dat an' she sets it down dere an' she fills it up fulla corn. She tole de rooster, "Now, if yo' don't crow whenevah ah start out, ah'll give yo' this corn." So they says dat the rooster had said, "Well, he give me a pint of corn to crow,"' says, "yo' give me a quart, den ah won't crow." So dis woman she sets de quart of corn down dere so she went on out. So dat night whenevah her husban' come he say, "Yo' haven't been nowhere today?" She say, "No suh, ah know ah haven't. Why yo' say ah haven't been nowhere?" "Jes' because ah have a sign - dat rooster hasn't crowed." Dis woman then, she knowed fo' shure dat de rooster had been crowin', dat why dis man know dat she had been goin' off, so de nex' day she killed de rooster, an' dey didn't have de rooster to tell de tale. Ah heard that long yeahs ago - dat's a ole story.
(You heard it from some older person?)
Yes.
Entry 789
There wus a man by the name of E., lived about three miles from here. My mother and father in their younger days dey used to believe in cunjuration. My mother got sick an' always complaintin' with her feet, an' so she sends fer this man, whu' choo call dese high men, an' he come over an' tole her whu' choo call her fortune. He says, "A woman has measured yore foot, foot track." An' he says, "She's got it buried under yore step." He says, "You'll not git well until this here measure is taken from under yore steps." So he says, "I'll have it taken up fer so-an'-so much money." An' she tole 'im she'd give it to 'im - or her father tole 'im he'd give it to 'im - to go ahead an' have it taken up. An' anyhow, he says, "You wait until the third day [magic delay] - on the third day," he says, "I'll come over here at seven O'clock," he says, "an' I'll have this measure takened up. So anyhow, when he went under the steps that night [three days later] - I'll tell you my belief after I end my story - and he come out wid a little stick about that long wid nine notches cut into this stick. [Notches are unusual, knots are common.] It was so many on one side of the stick, the notches, and so many on the other side - jis' the same you scallop anything. [Scallop - this is an old-time waterman and oysterman talking.] He come out an' he showed 'em this stick that was buried under the steps. Next, the thing he hauled out an' shows 'em wus a little red bag [a hand], that long - a red flannel bag about that long. So the next thing he shows 'em wus a little bottle [another hand] wid a whole lot of little somepin or others in it. I don't know whut wus in it - it looked like snake sheds or some kinda sheds. He comes out with that an' he shows 'em an' says, "That's whut wus buried under yore steps." I figured on that after awhile - I figure on it - an' then I had my opinion. I jis' thought that he'd put it under there hisself. That's sixty years ago [1876] on the Island here. [I was talking to this old man in the Negro home where I worked and in which I was about to spend the night described in the Introduction. His name was F. Milburn - this was Tuesday, December 8, 1936.]
Entry 790
He [doctor] jis' come dere an' he put his hand down, he spread down newspapah - he up heah tuh Middlewood nahow [now] - spread down newspapah an' he giben [given] her a glass - he give me duh glass an' tole me to git a glass of watah from de pump. An' ah pumped it from de pump an' brung it tuh him an' he took dat glass, an' dat watah jes' boiled jes lak he'd put it in a pot an' he tole her to drink it. She drunk it an' put her laig on dat newspapah an' he said somepin other an' dat snaked crawled out dere through de skin [sleight of hand].
(You saw that?)
Yes sir, looking at it, me an' Dave - brother Dave, Clara an' Miz [Somebody], all of us looking at it. [This happened out in the country.]
Entry 791
I heard lots of people, you know, would go to this guy. They would say that they would hit de numbers, an' I wanted to hit - ah wus playin' the numbers, too, at this same time. So I went to 'im an' he ast me whut I came for an' ah told 'im. After that, why, he put a [drinking] glass up theah [on table] - de glass wus thin ~ an' he put this glass up theah an' he had me to hol' mah han' over it like yat [partly cover the mouth of the glass so that she could blow into it. After she did this, a piece of paper he had placed in the glass kept circling round and round in the water]. So after that it would come some writin' in thare [on the paper]. I could see this writin'. I know it wusn't no writin' on this [before she blew]. He give me that piece of paper [which was the gambling hand]. Carry it with me. ["This story of how the informant got a hand in Philadelphia, Pa., for luck to choose numbers when playing policy, a gambling game widely spread among city Negroes, was first told without being recorded and then repeated for Telediphone. The second version, as usual in such cases, omitted some previous details, hence my promptings and annotations on the present cylinder. Further, the cylinder was transcribed immediately after the recording while the details were still fresh in my mind. Give my experience in Little Rock, Ark., with invisible ink or powder." This note was made soon after my Little Rock work.]
Entry 794
[The preceding margin-titles, Live Things in You and Roots (see No.720)
left opportunities for a doctor's ingenuity, but the following trick at the end of informant's account is one sold by the hoodoo trade:] Ah tell yo' 'bout dis hoodoo. Ah spent money an' spent money an' ah lak tuh lost mah home an' wife on account dat. Ah spent money fo' dat to git love wit other women an' buy whole lotta ole junk - dirt, graveyard dirt an' stuff an' put in a rag an' tie up, an' git mah home, git mah mind all tore up by thinkin' 'bout whut he says. An' quit mah home, mah min' all tore up an' there won't be a thing in de worl' tuh ut. It's jes' git chure min' all tore up an' yore family goin' crazy an' yo' be worried 'bout dat. Den yore home jest be tore up fo' nuthin. Ah tell yo' one thing ah've had done. Ah've had a person heah - ah paid a person five dollars year befo' last to give me luck. He had me tuh go to a - he had me tuh go git a bull bat - bull bat dat fly, a leather-wing. He had me git him a leather-wing bat - dat's fer hoodoo. An' ah put out a 'ward [reward] for him to a little boy - give him fifty cents 'ward an' he find him one night. An' ah tuk him an' cut his heart out wit a - he's livin'. Ah put mah foot on his head an' cut his heart out, an' den ah carried it back home, den went to a grave- yard, dis graveyard right ovah heah, one dark night, dark night, an' reached in dat grave wit mah han' like he said, in it an' got some of dat dirt an' carried it back home an' put it in dis bull bat, wit dis bull bat an' tied it up in a piece of red flannen an' dat's [a hand] fo' mah luck. An' ah like tuh went crazy, an' to de chain gang an' ever'where there. Dat's one of badest lucks ah've never seen. Ah've spent thousands an' thousands of dollars. [This is like I've had every doctor in town.]
(Did you go to the chain gang because of that?)
No, sir, like to went. Yes, sir, ah nearly did gwine jes' on account dat dirt Dat hard luck.
(He had you do that to give you luck?)
To give me luck. Yo' wants tuh know about somepin 'bout gittin' yore wife back. Well, yo' go buy yo' ten cents bottle of hearts cologne. He buy a ten cents box of talcum powder an' he put dat wit dat perfume an' den he puts it on yo' - dat's gittin' yo' wife back. Dere no sech thing as that. It's all 'magination. Well, it's some kind of root, it's a kind of a root that goes off in sprouts. Yo've seen dis heah stuff called lodestone - kinda dirt, de rock dey dig up wit fur on it. Dey'll git dat, den dey goes out an' gits some kind of a root with little ends on it - call High John de Conker. Dey git dat an' dey tie it up - it be's all lak together an' den dey'll give it to yo' fo' to tote in yo' pocket, an' ah paid $25 for it. Ah tote it in mah pocket an' tote in mah pocket an' lost everthing. [Lodestone or loadstone is magnetite, an iron oxide and important iron ore. What the hoodoo trade uses I do not know, though I have seen numerous pieces of it - all looking different. A stone having fur, being fed, and growing - this is beyond my visual and tactile experience.] Now, dere one'll come dere. He'll have somepin he kin burn; he jest 'maginat' [working on the imaginations of the] people, see. He may call dis woman outa de crowd an' she'll come dere an' he'll make her think she's got her head hurtin'. She ain't got a head hurt. Den he'll splain to her den, her head hurt an' some- body done somepin to her. She'll say, "Yeah." Say, "A long time ago in yore hat." She say, "Yeah." It won't be a thing but he jes' git dere 'magination. Den he have some kind of a root den, an' he'll burn dat root an' dat root curl up jes' lak a snake. Den he'll make lak dat'll come out of her haid - make lak dat come outa her haid an' den he won't let nobody pick it up but her. Den dey carry it back heah an' throw it out. It ain't nuthin but a root burn an' curl up lak a snake. [A chemical, not a root, is burned - an old trick.]
Entry 6600
Yo' be's de firs' one - an' when yo' git 'im yo' put yo' a wire through 'is haid, don' chew know, where yo' kin hang 'im up cleah [clear - not touching anythingl like dat. An' let 'im hang dere.
[The wire as well as hanging clear or free is a magic isolation.]
(Why do you hang him up that way with the wire did you say?)
Why he become 'live after yo' do yore tricks. Yo' hang 'im up an' let 'im die dere. [Here as in so many rites is the tor- ture before death theme.] Well, aftah he die dere yo' take his hide an' yo' groun' dat, yo' know, dry it out thoroughly an' den yo' powdah it. An' yo' take dat - take dat hide - it be's tuh blind yo' see. [Informant begins to tell me this powder will blind a person, but changes his mind.] Well, yo' take dat haid an' cut dat haid off an' powdah dat haid up an' git it intuh a person. Dat makes live snakes [in him]. [After informant left interviewing room, I say to my re- cording machine: This woman spoke so low I don't know whether I shall be able to hear her or not [[at transcription time]]. That or not shows me unconsciously imitating informant's repetition - redundancy! All through Hoodoo informants and I frequently requote one another.]
Entry 6642
Dey say, jis¹ lak dey use a rattlesnake, dey use a scorpion, jis' git Dey say, jis¹ 1 de hide an' put it up [to dry]. An' yo' know, jis' lak a han'ke'chuff, sompin lak dat, lay on it an' de dust. Yo' see when dey dry it, it has dust. An' say jis' lak ah walk up tuh yo' an' hit chew in de face wit dis, cross yore nose, an' dat dust would go inside of yo'. An' dey say dat would cuz scorpions or eithah rattlesnakes tuh come on de inside of yo'. [There are a number of the handkerchief tricks in Hoodoo - with snake dust, perfume, etc.]
Entry 6648
A rattlesnake, well yo' know he has dose rattles on. Well dey carries a dust. Dere's dust in 'em. An' den yo' know a granddaddy. Well dere's dust in 'im. An' dey mixes it tuhgethah. An' dey tell me dat dey kin rub dat on yo' an' dat makes yo' paralyzed. An' dey take dat grand- daddy laigs or any part of 'is body an' dat creates live granddaddies. Dat's all ah've heard of dat. (You say they mix this dust from the rattlesnake [rattle] an' de granddaddy together?) Yes, it would simply put chure eyes out.
(How would it get into your eyes?)
Well, jis' have it on yore han'ke'chuf [for handkerchief trick, see 6642].
Entry 6677
See, de othah night ah had a young lady. Her an' 'er husban' went out tuh a dance, a party, all well an' hearty, but dere wus anothah girl dere got de [these] two in company wit dis - both in love wit de same boy. One slips a dose intuh de othah one. Now, how she did dat - she had wasps an' ants in 'er. Yo' take de wasps an' yo' set 'em in a tin cup an' yo' set 'em on de fire, stove or somewhere in de oven alive. Yo' fasten 'em up in dere an' let 'em stay in dere until dey are cooked, burn up, so dat yo' kin take 'em jis' like cigah ashes an' jis' crumble 'em up-like - jis' like dose ashes dere [in my cigar tray on interviewing table]. Well yo' kin take dose ashes den. Take de ants likewise if yo' want tuh. Or yo' kin jis' use one [wasp or ant]. An' jis' make a powdah outa dem. An' den yo' jis' [put] a li'le in a piece of papah, han'ke'chuf or anything an' take it on wit yo'. Well, yo' might ask fer a glass of watah, an' dey will be sellin' ice cream, cake, beer an' one thing anothah. Dey all settin' aroun' dere an' yo' slip aroun' an' yo' have yore glass settin', settin' dere talkin'. Yo' may done drink some outa it. Somebody stand- in' up behind yo', an' yo' don' pay no attention, or may walk by - may be standin' roun' dis side of de table. Somebody walk up behin' joo an' begin talkin' tuhyo' an' yo'll turn yore head an' dey reach across an' jis' drop jis' a pinch in it. Well, no soonah it hits, in de co'se of a second or five seconds, it's all vapor- ated an' yo' can't tell it from - it's all de same color yo' know, dere is no way of seein' it. Well, now yo' drink dat. DIS GIRL SHE HAD DOSE THINGS IN 'ER, AN' SHE COME TUH ME. DEY BROUGHT 'ER TUH ME FIVE 'CLOCK DAT MAWNIN'. HAD GONE INTUH FITS, HER HANDS TIED BEHIND 'ER, AN' A STICK ACROSS 'ER MOUTH. An' dat's hOW she got it. She got hers in ice cream.
Entry 6702
Dey tell me if yo' kin git some red antses, take an' carry 'em an' boil 'em. Boil 'em down therly [thoroughly]. Well yo' kin take dat watah an' give it tuh a person an' let 'em drink it. Dat's good fo' any kinda tricks. [For tricks, see TRICKS, p.280f., and elsewhere.]
(That cures them?)
Cures 'em, yassuh.
Entry 9678
Yo' take de 'simmon bark. Ah heard dat one too, if anyone wants tuh trick yo' in any way. All right, yo' take de 'simmon bark an' yo' goes on an' yo' take nine tablespoon- fuls of table salt an' put it in dere wit dis bark. Yo' boils it. Den yo' take dis stuff an' go tuh dey house at night, chew know. An' when yo' backs out from dey house, yo' let it follah yo' from de do' tuh where yo' goin' - long as it leaks out. Well, if dey try tuh do anythin' dere's nuthin tuh dat.
(You put nine spoonfuls of salt in this persimmon bark?)
Yes.
Entry 9903
There was one trick they had. They used to ketch a frog and take this old frog, kill an ole land frog, an ole toad. And put him in a little box and make holes in it supin like yo'd a pepperbox. Little ants would crawl in there and them ants would go in there and destroy the body of this ole frog. And after he was dead, eat him up. You put that box into run- ulag water, whare there's a place of water running right steady down, until it washed all that ole filth, that ole eat-up flesh, away from that frog, yo' know, and leave nuthin but de bone there. And there was a certain bone there, I don't know what it was, but I've heared them tell it. There was a certain bone in that frog that they'd take that out and go around de girl's house. And if she was walkin' around, cookin' an' doin' anything, she had no knowledge of what was goin' on, why you could hang that in her dress.
(Hang it on the clothesline?)
No, her dress on her. She'd have a dress on. But, if you's to take that ole bone and stick it in her clothes somewhares, she passin' around de house an' you's settin' there talkin' with her, and she couldn't git clear of you.
Entry 9998
Ah've hear'd of 'em. He keeps de frog tricks from workin' roun' shows an' so forth.
(How do they do that?) Yo' take him an' split 'im down 'is back, ah think it is, an' put 'is back, ah think it is, an' put salt on 'im an' put 'im in yore pocket.
Entry 10005
Ah heard dis about a frog. Jes' lak if yo' wanta go tuh a show, yo' take a frog - a toadyfrog. Dat whut we talkin' about. An' all dem lodestones where dey makin' all dese monkey motions in dem shows, yo' take de frog an' when yo' go dere yo' kin kill evah bit of lodestone dat dem folks is got in dere. Yo' see, yo' tote it [live frog] in yuh pocket an' dat'll kill all de lodestone dey got in dere - jes' lak dey workin' tricks or have shootin' gallery.
Entry 10054
Go to a three-forked road at night, on the 9th night kill [boil] a black cat there. While sucking the bones the devil will appear and "give you all the tricks you want."
[Norfolk, Va., resume, 448:8.]
Entry 10120
Ah heard dat yo' kin kill a black cat an' git de right han' back laig, an' suck de marrah out 'is back laig, an' go tuh five fo'k of de road nine mawn- in's, an' yo' kin do anything yo' wanta do wit anybody. Yo' kin turn any kinda nachure [nature] yo' kin turn tricks, yo' kin do things.
(You go to five what?)
Five fo'k of a road - jis' a road runnin' dis way an' a road dat way, jis' five fo'k.
(Five roads coming together?)
Yes sir, jis' lak five points out chere; yo' know, de Timl bleville highway, dat's a five fo'k road, see. Well, yo' go down dere nine mavn- in's at nine a'clock. (You can do anything then?) Yes sir.
Entry 10136
They say you must shoot a cat going right, a black cat crossing your road going right. Shoot him dead and then get that main bone what's called the thigh bone or femor bone of a cat, the right leg, front. And then get the bone right back of the head, and one of the right-foot bones also. Three bones. And put them to- gether and wear them in a sack around the waist, and a person can do anything he Wants to do that's devilish and tricky.
Entry 10528
De way de' do's to sell dereself to de devil an' learn all dese tricks, well dey goes to de graveyard. Dey goes dere dey tell me - mah ole pappy say, tell me, fo' about nine mornings an' dey lay upon dat grave, on a sinner's grave. An' say if he lay up dere dat nine mornings, said dey could do most anything dey wanta do.
(They go there on what morning?)
Any morning, only it's - yo' know, 'fore day in de morning. Yassuh, fo' nine pornings, an' lay upon a sinner grave.
reported repeated graveyard observance for acquiring tricks/powers. Preserve mah ole pappy say and dey tell me; no eyewitness claim. These are attributed source occurrences; outcomes remain unverified.
Entry 10538
You kin go to the forks of the road fer nine straight mornings and the last morning you'll meet the devil there. And that devil will learn you all the tricks they is going.
Entry 10550
Go down to a cross- road, where a road crosses, nine Sunday mawnin's. It's a very ha'd [hard] thing tuh do. When yo' thought of doin' one thing fo' nine Sunday mawnin's it's a good long while. An' meanwhile ah come an' maybe somebody try tuh hol' him off, but yo' gotta meet at dis same place at de same time of day. Jes' lak ah say ah'll be dere at nine a'clock, yo' gotta meet dere at nine a'clock fo' nine Sunday mawnin's at de crossroads. An' yo' gotta read a verse out de Bible.
(Do you know what the verse is?)
It's de 36 Psalms, an' ev'ryone ends wit de same words - de 136th Psalms, an' ev'ry verse ends dis chapter heah wit de same thing, de same words. Well, yo' start wit dat an' yo' read it fo' nine Sunday mawnin's, an' de ninth [Sunday] mawnin' yo'll meet what yo' didn't expect. Yo'll meet trouble dere, storms, high winds or somepin of dat sort. Yo' cain't tell exactly whut's it goin' be, maybe it will be rain, maybe wind, maybe snow or somepin lak dat. It be somepin diff'rent, de ninth mawnin'. But anyhow yo' continue wit it an' when yo' git through wit it, yo'll do whut chew wanta do so fur as tricks is concerned an wit'out bein' religious atall. But chew kin do anything yo' wants tuh do.
[Wilson, N. Car., (1476), 2655:3.]
12. BAT [Originally this section about the bat - not a bird as folklore believes - was a part of CHANNEL DE WORLD, a catchall later in the present volume. I did not realize until too late, that BAT should have followed FROG AND TOADFROG, a pre- ceding section of the present volume. Yet, to follow section SELL SELF TO THE DEVIL may not be inappropriate. These following rites show less knowledge and interest in bats than in frogs and toads, because bat was a night animal and frog and toad better known and easier to catch and handle.l
The informant describes nine Sunday mornings at crossing roads at a fixed chosen hour, reading a Psalm, with unexpected weather or trouble on the ninth and claimed abilities afterward. The spoken Psalm number changes from 36 to 136 and remains literal. The following BAT heading and Hyatt's section-placement introduction are retained only as surrounding context.
Entry 11129
Dey scrape it off a black cow horn, dey say, if anybody is bothahin' yo', to mix some John de Conker wit it an' some kinda dust. Mix dat togethah. Ah fo'got whut kinda dust dey call it. Ah cain't rem- embah de name of dat dust, but anyhow yo' put dose three things togethah an' dey say put it 'roun' yore do'step an' in de cornah of yore house. Say nobody can't hurt chew. [Four corners of house and door the fifth point, rite which occurs frequently, is a type of quincunx.]
Entry 13430
If you been tricked and have dese fainting spells - any kind of spells been put on you. See, dere's a way fer you to do - is fer you to go to de person dat you think put 'em on you. Speak to him about it. Well, you see him den and you tell him how you been tricked and all like dat. Say, dey can't look at you straight to save his life because he put it on yo'. Den after yo' git dat, den you go to swift water, ah've been told. And git dat swift water and bring it back and boil it and put cayen- ne pepper in it. See, cayenne pepper and ginger. See, dat's power - dat's strong. See, dat have a great odor to it. Take dat and boil it and salt, an' carry it to his doorsteps an' yo' kin take yore time. Let it be 'way in de night, way about twelve or one clock an' pour it at his doorstep. An' it will turn de trick right back on it. Yo'll git well and it will go right back on him.
Entry 7086
Now, yo' take quite natchel if right tuhnight mah wife wanta make a date, yeah, out yondah. Ah wus sleepin' heah. If ah know how tuh tie her down, from - tuh keep 'er from gwine yo' know. Money an' likkah an' - dat ruin' 'em yo' know. If yo' find a woman drink likkah an' loves money, dey'll go - put chew tuh sleep an' go. Well, all right, she kin commence. She kin ketch me layin' in de sleep. She kin go tuh work an' take her undahclothes, jis' 'er bloomahs an' spread it ovah mah haid, an' ah'll sleep heah 'itll she come back. De house could burn down an' ah nevah Wake up. NOW, DAT'S JIS' A LITTLE SIMPLE "TRICK: Ah have see women try dat. De husban' didn't know anythin' atall about it, yo' see.
Entry 4976
Nevah heard of women's stockin' but ah've heard about men's socks. LAK AH WANTA TRICK YUH. YUH ARE MAH BOY FRIEN'. Well, ah take dat sock an' jis' put it undah de bed mattress, yuh know, aftah he [she does not say YoU] pull it off. Jis' lak stealin' it from 'im, yuh see. An' carry it up undah de bed mattress. (What will that do?) Dat will keep 'im at home. Ah think's de right one [sock].
hypothetical keeping him home through sock-under-mattress placement. The opening distinguishes not having heard about women's stockings from having heard about men's socks; the ensuing case is hypothetical, not an observed enactment. These are attributed source occurrences; outcomes remain unverified.
Entry 1897
Yo' kin take a frog an' go to a show or somepin lak dat where they has these magic things, yo' understand. Well now, dat cause all dat magic - dat settle in yore eyes an' yo' kin see whut tricks dey doin' an' all lak dat.
Entry 2393
(What do they call this kind of work where you were brought up? What do they call this type of work, doing you harm and everything?) Well, if a man is got de skill upon 'im tuh make a man do jes' whut he want 'im to do without hurtin' 'im, dat's trickin' a man. [For tricks, see pp.,260- 269.]
(You told me about witchcraft. Do the people here today call it witchcraft?)
Yes - whut dey all calls it, witchcraft.
(What state did you come from - this state?)
No, ah come on from [something] County, South Carolina.
(Where is that?)
Way down heah near [something]. (Down in South Carolina. And they called this when you were a boy - they called it witchcraft, if you were trying to harm somebody?) Yes.
(Did vou ever hear them call it hoodoo when you were a boy?)
No, didn't nevah hear none of dat talk - dey call it witchcraft.
Entry 5164
Lak de shoes yuh weah fo' evah day, yuh know, if a man or woman wants tuh trick yo' in any way, why he'd take dat an' put dat inside of dere, dat linin'[insole]. An' den cut off a piece lak de lady been weahin' or sompin othah nex' tuh 'er, an' cut out a piece de same width dat shoe an' put it in dere. Put it in dere an' put dat [inner] sole back on dere. She put dat shoe on den an' she couldn't weah dat shoe nine mawnin's 'thout [without] suffahin'. Well, if yuh were used tuh goin' some place, why yuh couldn't go no mo', stay or nuthin. (You take this inside lining and turn it back, and then you get a piece from a woman, you say of a woman's clothing. What piece do you get?) Nex' tuh 'er - yuh know, bloomahs or anythin'.
(That is to keep her away from that place.)
Entry 10545
The same way at the fork of this road. He go there for nine nights and offer hisself up to the devil to learn him anything he wants to know. And his [man's] soul will be his [dev- il's]. Well, at the end of the nine nights, he stays until three from twelve until three, and.why then his soul is sold to the devil. He kin do anything, any kind of tricks he wants to do.
Entry 11588
Wear a dime [silver] or a copy [copper?] either around yore waist or around de laig to prevent anybody from tricking 'em: taking up dere tracks or putting down somepin or burying somepin under dere.
Entry 13237
Wimmin use dat to trick men with.
(With sugar? How do they do that?)
Jes' place a piece of papah on de floor and dey go to de store an' buy a pound of sugar. They'll take that and they'll pull off de bloomer, you lmog, an' jes' rub that sugar in de middle of it, an' put it right back in de [sugar] dish on de table, an' anybody eat dat will love 'em an' become dey friend. But perhaps dere be around a crowd of people and de one man yo' wanta ketch, dey might be fulla superstitions [be suspicious]. Well, you fix dat, anywhere yo' got dat, fer dat same man an' yo' choose de one yo' want. He sweeten with dat sugar, yo' know.
Entry 633
[Doctor J. D. Buzzard of Norfolk (see Index), whom I interviewed, has patient hold a magic crystal in the palm of his hand; if the hand sweats, he has been tricked. The Crystal Ball rite previously given in this subsection is some- thing quite different. Norfolk, Va., (464), 453: l; original text misplaced or lost.]
Entry 4679
Dey take a piece of red flannen an' a piece - an' dey take his intahco'se [semen] an' dat Jockey Club Perfume an' puts it in dat red flannen, an' a piece of lodestone in it, an' dey wrap it. Dey make it [package] flat, tight enough tuh go inside of dat bow. See, it go inside of dat bow, an' when it git in dat bow, dat will trick dem right dere. He cain't git rid of 'er.
(She will put that in the bow of the hat and tie it back in the hat?)
Yessuh, take an' sew it back on dere.
Entry 13028
For trick or cunjure, drink 3 times daily a tea made with rainwater and following ingredients: filed dime or quarter, black pepper, salt and vine- gar, followed by a dose of Epsom salts. [Vicksburg 1013:6.]
Entry 13035
As a cure for cunjure or trick, drink 3 times a day a tea made from filed dime, Epsom salts, coal oil [kerosene] and turpentine. [Vicksburg 1010:3.]
Entry 610
Put it round yore leg - that's a good way to tell when yo' poisoned or tricked or witchcrafted any way. Either yo' swallow it or wear it round yore ankle, or either yo' kin hold it in yore mouth. If yo' hold it in yore mouth ten minutes an' yo' take it out, it be black like [that] little thing here [switchbox for my Telediphone.]
(Did you say you swallow it?)
Yo' swallow it.
(How do you swallow it?)
Well, yo' jest swallow it jes' like yo' do bread or anything - it'll remain in yo' body.
(You don't swallow the whole dime though?)
Yo' swallow the whole dime.
(You mean the whole piece or do you scrape ft off?)
Yo' swallows the dime - the whole dime, an' it will remain in yore body some- times 'leven days [see No. 568], but yo' have to watch yo'self an' see when it appears, an' if it black, why yo' know then there is something wrong.
Entry 649
She was goin' with a woman's husband. She asked her to give him up, but she wouldn't do it. She talked to her three times and told her. She wouldn't, you know. And she says, "I'll make you leave." This woman told us after she [woman going with husband] was dead. She [wife] said she taken a penny and taken the skin off of a red onion. She rubbed it all together. You know a penny is poison. And she put that penny up and she let it dry right dry and make a powder of it. She dressed her husband with it - dusted his clothes. And when he went back [to the other woman] - see, it got on her. And it turnt her jis' as wrong side out. No doctor couldn't git it back. It turnt her wrong side outwards. She died. Jis' turnt her whole womb and everything. It came out. That's what I call trickin' 'em. [Cf. No. 10, p.7.]
Entry 783
[Two accounts of the gourd-and-frog trick have been given - Nos.576-577, Pp.186-187; see also Trick in Index.] Take lodestone - ah've heard dat if yo' wanta play some kinda trick or 'nother an' dey - now, ah know a man, he use lodestone. Ah've heard of a man usin' lode- stone - dere wus two of 'em. Dey wus in love with a girl an' so dey were good frien's an' dey didn't wanta fall out. So de girl, she wus in love wit de two boys, an' she say, "Well, ah'll marry de one dat will come in ridin'" - says, "ah'll marry him." Dis heah youngest one he study how he couldn't marry dis girl because he re'lly wanted to. An' she say, "Ah don't want chew tuh ride on no cars, ah don't want chew tuh ride in no horse an' wagon" - she name all de diff'rent things that he couldn't come on, dat she didn't want him tuh ride on. He studied then how could he ride. So he goes an' git him some lodestone an' he showed dis man. An' so he got sick an' he say, "Well, boy, ah tell yuh, let's us both walk." "Okay," he says. So they started off walkin'. He say, "Well, ah tell yo' whut" - dis heah man whut re'lly wanted tuh marry - de youngster, he says, "Well, ah don't feel lak walkin'." He says, "Ah'll tell yo' - ah'll tote yo' a piece if yo'll tote me." So de man tole him all right. So de man taken him an' tote him so he wouldn't be ti'ed [tired] - yo' know, he got dis lodestone in his hand. So he carried dis man. So whenevah he tote him a piece, say, "Yo' ti'ed?" Tole him no he wusn't ti'ed. Long as he had dis lodestone - he had de lodestone in his han', said, "No he wusn't ti'ed." So whenevah they got right to de do', dis heah man said, "Well, now we goin' Walk in." Says, "All right." So when dey go to de do', dis heah man wus holdin' de lodestone an' he got on dis heah othah man's back, an' so whenevah he got near de do' an' he spurred dis man - stuck spurs in him an' made him jump in de house with dis man - so he married her, de youngest man. So he, by him having dis lodestone helpin' to do his trick, dis girl she married dis man dat rolled in on dis othah man's back.
(Where did you hear that story?)
Mah mothah tole me that story long yeahs ago.
Entry 4808
Some man had did me some - some man had did somepin tuh me, do a trick tuh me once. Dis mahself [this is about me]. He done bo'ded [boarded] wit me sich a time [for a certain length of time] an' he didn't pay me. An' she [root- worker to whom infor- mant went] had tell me tuh bring some things dere [to her]. An' ah car' [care = carry] [them to her] but ah nevah did keep it up. Prob'ly if ah hada keep it up, he mighta come back. She tell me tuh git de man'a [man's] undahpieces. An' she [root worker] wash it an' put it [washwater] in a bottle. [Washwater because a piece of clean clothing would have been useless.] An' [she] put red flannel in dere, an' nine needle, an' some dig Hearts Cologne, an' tell me tuh keep [this bottle] in de room an' [at eertain times not given] turn it upside down an' shake it, an' tuh shake it in each [four] cornah of de house [symbolizing the four angels standing On the four corners of the earth (Rev. 7:1)] fo' nine mawnin's. But ah nevah keep it up, yuh see.
(What did she say that would do?)
Say dat would make him back; make him come back.an' pay off. But ah nevah keep it up. (Well, when did you go to this root doctor? When he left, you mean? When he left the house, you went to her and asked her advice?) Suh? [Who could have understood my involved question! But I was fishing for more details. Board money was not the whole problem. She does not go to the police. I try again.]
(When he left the house, you went to her and asked her advice.)
Ah had went dere an' ast 'er, but ah nevah did.
(But you never did what she told you to do?)
Ah nevah did keep It up. Ah nevah do whut she tole me tuh do.
Entry 5074
Yuh take dat sock - like if yuh wear a sock, yuh pull dat sock off, eithah one, yuh soak dem socks. Yo' squeeze de watah out of dem an' yuh take dat watah come out dem socks an' yuh put dat watah in a bottle. Den yuh take some of yore watah [urine] an' put in dere. DAT'S A TRICK IT AIN'T NO HURTIN' NOR NUTHIN, JIS' A TRICK. [For tricks, see TRICKS, Pp.260-269 and elsewhere.]
(What will that do?)
It will jis' trick 'um tuhgethah an' dey cain't git loose from one anothah. Dat's all it is. Ah know dat. Yuh give a little bit of de watah tuh drink.
Entry 5498
Well, yo' take a stran' or two of yore hair out chure haid an' dey'll take an' git de bow out de back of yore hat. Yo' take dat hair an' de bow out chure hat an' yo' git a few grains of sand outa yore shoe track - out de streets an' den take an' put it tuhgethah. Sew it up in a little bag an' put it undah yore steps an' yo' cross ovah it. Why dat jes' upsets yore mind altuh- gethah. Dat's de way dey trick yo' dataway.
(Now whose steps would they put this under, mine or...?)
Dey put it undah de steps where yo' come ovah. (Well, now suppose they got all that stuff from me. Would they put it under Ty step or under your step?) Undah de step dat chew goes ovah.
(That is to upset my mind?)
Yassuh.
Entry 6023
Yo' take dat hair.
(Do you take this hair from a man's head?)
Yeah, eithah a man or anyone dat yo' wants to do anything to. An' yo' take his hair out of his [mold of his head], yo' take nine pins an' nine needlesain't nevah [been] stuck [= new]. An' yo' take dat hair. Yo' git chew - yo' ball dat hair up wit dem needle in it. Stick 'em in de hair so dey stay togethah. Stick dem needles all in dat hair. An' de pillah dat he sleeps on, yo'll put a hole in dat pillah an' yo' seu it back up again, an' let dat stuff [be] in dere, an' let 'im sleep on dat stuff. Well dat's trickin' 'em, dat jes' trickin' 'em. Keep 'em wit yo'.
Entry 6972
Ah've hear'd dat if yo's [you is] tricked [in] any way, yo' could take yuh chamber lye an' put it in yuh - take some table salt an' some alum an' [urine and] mix it up tuh- gethah, an' sprinkle it all at each fo' cornahs of de house, an' dat'll kill it.
(If somebody has planted something for you?)
Yes sir.
conditional target of an alleged planted trick and reported countermeasure. Ah've hear'd and if retain both hearsay and conditionality; being tricked is not established as an actual diagnosis. These are attributed source occurrences; outcomes remain unverified.
Entry 6955
If yo' think dat yo' goin' be tricked or wuz tricked, well ah tell yo 'bout de luckiest thing dat ah know tuh he'p yo'self. Jes' use sulphur. Jes' put sulphur in each cornah of yore house an' burn de sulphur at night. No roots. It's umpossible tuh work ovah sulphur.
Entry 7729
You go into a graveyard and take two pennies and dig in a grave and take the dirt out of the grave, and take these two pennies and put them down in the hole and close it. And they can walk behind you and take this dirt and throw it up and down your back, and they work the trick right on you, and you'll go off in bad health and you are going to come on back to the graveyard [as a corpse].
The informant describes taking dirt from a dug grave, leaving two pennies and using the dirt behind someone, with reported ill health and return to the graveyard. The corpse interpretation is Hyatt's bracketed gloss; the Ediphone citation supplies recording context.
Entry 9847
[This rite I preserved only in my own original notations made soon after the interview.1 Her sister, they found her hair and nine needles and nine pins in a cologne bottle - salt in the hair - buried under the house beneath the head of the bed. She broke out in sores and pains. A root doctor called in and told them the woman had been tricked. To prove his diagnosis he crawled under the house and came out with the bottle. He showed the bottle but would not let anyone touch it, especially the patient, who would have died!]
Entry 11073
Well, if you wants to stop 'em, if yo' goes out, from the law getting in connection with you. That's very easy to do that, too. Here's whut chew do. Yo' [go] an' git chure own garment, git a piece of your clothes that you had on this day, that has perspiration on it, an' git a piece of theirs. Take those two pieces together an' tie 'em with a piece that you don't want. Tie 'em together and put 'em in a running stream of water. And they never will do nuthin to yo'. That nmning stream takes away the evil thought between you an' him. Run that away. Run that spirit away. [I had asked about keeping the law away from the house, but informant turns my question into anyone seeking to harm you. You begin your protection with a piece of clothing you wore that day, because the perspiration in it is a part of your spirit, hence the whole of your spirit (see PART OF SPIRIT EQUALS WHOLE OF SPIRIT, p.21-23, v.1). Next, you obtain something recently worn or handled by the enemy. Then, using a spiritless piece of clothing you have discarded, you tie your spirit and enemy spirit together, making a tight knot. And immed- iately and finally you rush off and throw this package into running Water. Run- ning Water kills or purifies evil work. You understand, of course, that the evil spirit permitted itself to be tied only because it was being tied to you, now even an easier prey. This rite is called a trick. I did not understand this rite when I heard it back in 1939; the reason why my note about informant on the original transcription reads, use with care! This rite is logically illogical!]