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.
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
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.