Subject:Upstream
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Entry 4868
Well, if she wanta git 'im back, yuh see. Anyway, she gits some of 'is - gits 'is shoe sole or some of 'is undahweah, pants he weah nex' tuh 'is skin. An' git dat. Why den, she take an' jis' make a little, little ball, put a little piece enough tuh stick in a bottle. Jis' a little ball about dat much [demonstrates], jis' a little piece yuh undahstan'. Now, take yuh some thread, black silk thread, fine, an' turn de thread pieces all de time tuh yuh [demonstrates]. Yuh see, wrap aroun' de thread, dat thread tuh yuh - all de time so it is coming yore way. Go tuh a stream of watah an' let de watah be comin' yore way. See, yuh meet dis - see, yuh meet dere. Lak yuh comin' disaway [demonstrates] an' de stream come from disaway tuh meet [you], an' yuh throw de bottle an' it will come back tuh yuh. [If you throw the bottle upstream, it wil] come floating downstream to meet you.]
Entry 8512
Take nine needles an' nine nails, an' also nine pins, an' a coconut wit a eggshell.
(An eggshell?)
A eggshell, an' dis quicksilvah papah.
Quicksilvah.
(You mean the paper they put around tobacco?)
[I am referring to tin foil.]
Yes, sir. Yo' take a indelible pencil an' write someone name on it nine times across.
(Over that silver paper?)
Yes. An' yo' write it nine times across dis way [demonstrates].
(You mean cross them like that, like an "x"?)
Yeah, an' den yo' cross dat again. See, jis' keep it all covahed up. Yo' are writing dere name backwards doh [though]. Yo' don't write it, yo' know, lak it should be, but yo' write it backwards. See, lak if yure name is WELLS, well yo' start wit dat SLLEW an' go right on lak dat. Write it fo' nine times, jis' lak dat, each way, backwards an' forwards, same way. Den, yo' take an' jis' put it inside of de coconut - take dis inside of de coconut an' take it tuh a midstream, an' throw it upstream, but it must be flowin' down, lak a drift [cur- rent], see. Yo' take dis coconut an' throw it out [into the stream] an' when dis coconut go down, dis person whatevah yo' wish tuh drift, dey'll come tuh dey can't be satisfied nowhere neah. If dey have no place, dey'll set out. Dey know dat yo' live in dere, an' dey'll come in an' dey won't see no peace at home. Dey are always on de go. Dat's if dey stay dere. Finally, dey'll git so dat dey can't stay in de house. Dey'll pack up whut dey got an' if de things dat dey have is too much trouble fo' 'em, dey'll take an' pro'bly sell it an' jis' go on adriftin'. Yo' pro'bly may nevah see 'em no mo'.
(What do you do with that eggshell and that stuff?)
De eggshell, dat goes intuh de coconut.
(Oh, that goes into the coconut.)
Egg, [coconut] milk, de quicksilvah, evahthing inside of dis coconut. An' yo' put it in dere an' yo' throw it ovahbo'd.
(I see.)
Entry 10755
Den, too, yo' kin take a woman's sick clothes. Yo' kin take dem an' yo' kin take, if dey already dry, yo' kin take an' wet 'em. Kinda mash 'em, yo' know, wit a little bit of dat on, an' cork dat up. An' she can't go wit no othah man. Or eithah, yo' kin take 'em, dey tell me, an' chunk it down de stream [to send away]. Chunk it upstream, says, an' she'll go( crazy.
Entry 11567
"They take this dirt out of 9 of your tracks, and take it and tie it up in a little piece of cloth, and keep it fer 9 days. And they kin carry it and throw it in a river: if it swims upstream, why you go crazy; and if it float down de stream, why, you know, it won't harm you much." [Wilmington 91:1+85.]
Entry 10086
Yo' go tuh work an' take a black cat wit no spots on 'im atall. An' yo' takes 'im an' yo' puts 'im in a washpot an' fill it up [with water]. Yo' don' fill it clean up, jis' let it [fill] so's [so his] haid kin be stickin' up [out of water] so he won't drown befo' he git chance tuh burn or anythin'. An' yo' jis' make a fiah an' put de lid on it [pot] so he can't git out. Make a fiah an' boil 'im right dere uatil all de meat come off 'is bones. Den yo' take dem bones den an' put 'em in a sack. An' carry 'em an' go tuh where de watah is runnin', an' jis' po' evah one dem bones in dere. An' dere'll be one bone out dere dat'll float up de stream. All de rest of 'em goin' down de stream, de way de watah runnin'. An' de one dat come up de stream, yo' gits dat one. Take dat one an' yo' kin dry it out fo' yo' ownself. Yo' walk up befo' de glass dere an' yo' put it in yuh mouth an' yo' cain't see yo' ownself. An' yo' kin go anywhere dat yo' wanta go an' put dat bone in yore mouth, why dey cain't see yuh.
Entry 5933
Den if yo' wan'a woman tuh leave yo' or if yo' wan'a git rid of 'er - lf yo' goin' wit a woman an' yo' ti'ed [tired] of 'er - take a stran' of 'er hair eff de lef' side of 'er hair, two stran's ah say, an' go to some runnin' watahan throw it in dis watah, an' it'll go upstream. [Informant probably means hair will float upstream rather than throw it into incoming tide.] An' if she don' leave, she'll eithah die. Yo'll git rid of 'er some way. She goin' do one 'tothah [one or the other].
Entry 287
Well, de way ah've heard yo' have to do dat, yo' have tuh git a black cat an' put him in - git some real hot watah an' git chure watah tuh boilin' an' don't kill de cat. From whut ah heard about it, yo' don't kill de cat. Yo' takes de cat alive wit'out any white spots atall on him - no place atall, an' throw him in dat hot boilin' watah an' let him boil until all de meat boil off his bones. Aftah de meat boil offa his bones, den yo' take de bones - takes all his bones, all de laig bones - take all his bones an' carry him to a stream of runnin' watah. Yo' take dem bones an' throw 'em in runnin' watah an' den dere's one of de bones goin' go upstream. Well, yo' take dis bone dat goes upstream - one of 'em will run up de stream. Yo' take de bone dat runs up de stream an' yo' take it an' put it in yore left-han' pocket an' yo' goes back. When yo' go back, yo' start goin' to de fo'ks of de road every mawnin' - every Sunday mawnin' an' be dere at nine 'clock. An' yo' go dere fo' nine mawnin's, an' wear dat bone in yore pocket every mawnin' an' de last mawnin' yo' go dere, dey tells me, say, practi'ly ev'rything - all kinda animals an' ev'rything dat yo' kin think of will mostly come to yo', jes' come natchral right up befo' yo' face, an' if yo' don't git scared, if yo' kin stay dere an' make it out until de las' thing come, dey tell me dat de last thing come is de devil. But if he come an' yo' kin 'ford tuh see all dat, den yo' take dis bone an' dere prob'ly some marrow in dat bone an' yo' have tuh suck it out - yo' don' have tuh swallow it, spit it out. An' then yo' kin prob'ly do anything yo' wanta do - disappeah an' all dat stuff.
The informant reports a black-cat bone selected by upstream movement, carried in the left pocket to road forks for nine Sunday mornings at nine o'clock, and a succession of beings ending with the devil. Staying without fear and sucking then spitting marrow are described conditionally; powers and invisibility remain hearsay.
Entry 311
Well, mah aunt had a little black cat. Ah don't know if yo's heard of 'im - dere wus a man used tuh be heah in dis town, dey called Sweep, de Monkey. Dey claim he had one. Dey say he cookeded de cat - a black cat without 'ary [nary] a white spot on him, anything [white] - he couldn't have one white hair in his mustache, no white furs on him at all. Me an' mah brothah, we tooken de [aunt's] cat - take him down tuh de swamp an' he'd put on a can of watah - a large can an' we started de watah tuh boilin' - down side a stream of runnin' watah. We put de cat in - tie his feets togethah an' put him in dere alive an' shet de lid down on him. An' whensomevah we put: de lid on de can an' shet de cat up in dere an' it start - yo' know, jes' when it start tuh cookin' him, yo' understand, like he wus meat [beginning to cook], dere come up a big ole thundercloud [lightning and thunder]. Ah wanted tuh go an' mah brother he wanted tuh stay. He keep coaxin' me until ah stayed with him until all de meat boiled offa de bone. An' he takes de can an' turn it into de stream of runnin' watah - a place dey call Jeffer's Creek, a creek dey got right down dere to de Coastline [Railroad] pumphouse. An' he always hear dat de bone dat dey po'd in de runnin' watah - all de rest of de bones an' de meat would go down de stream, but de lucky bone would come back up de stream. An' dat's de one dat he got. Ah didn't git it, but he git de bone. An' he taked it to a lady dey called Doctor Campbell in dis town an' she dressed it fo' him. She wrapped it up in some red flannel an' he used de bone until he leave heah in 1921. He got into a murder scrape heah an' he leaved heah an' dey nevah did look fo' him nowhere tuh put him in jail. Dey couldn't keep him in dere, dey nevah would. Then Columbia would git him. [If they could have caught him, he Would have been sent to Columbja.] He's be gone ever since 1921. Dat's all fo' dat black cat bone. Ah suppose dat's whut dis man Sweepin' Monkey [did to get his bone] - he used his'n fo' gamblin' - an' dey nevah could shoot him an' hit him or nuthin'. Course mah brothah didn't git in dat roundup [raid] an' shootin' cause he run away - he slip through, nobody seen him. Fo' me usin' it pusson'lly mahself - ah didn't, but ah have done de cookin' proposition.
Entry 2204
Ah've heard of 'em writin' on a black hen aig. Well, dey say yo' would specify - git a black hen aig an' yo' would take an' draw dis person's pitchure on dis black hen aig jes' in - yo' know de best dat chew could draw his pitchure or kind remind him of it. If he wear a cap, draw a cap on his haid; if he wear a hat, draw a hat on his haid. Well, yo' would write his name on there - that is him or her, don't yo' see. [The name is the person.] An' yo' would take dis black hen aig an' yo' would carry it to a stream of watah an' yo' would chunk it upstream, yo' see, an' dey say dat would git rid of him.
Entry 4956
Take a man's sock, a dirty sock, an' tie three knots in it an' throw it in de runnin' watah. An' if de sock go down de stream, de man will go behin' it; if it go up de stream, he'll go behin' it. [Up de streom here means a tidewater river.] In- formant's statement misses the point of this rite. In at least two other examples, we also have a divination added; if the sock goes downstream, man will leave by boat; if upstream, by land or train (inland instead of seaward as at Brunswick); or, if man has not yet left: downstream indicates he will go, upstream he will remain.]
(What are you doing this for?)
Run 'im off.
Entry 5934
Uh-huh, fer love. A person takes two stran's of yore hair, see; dey pulls it if dey kin by de roots, see. But if dey can't, at night when yuh are asleep, especially if yore wife or husband dat's sleepin' wit yuh, dey jerks dat out as quick as dey kin. Dey take two stran's, see.
(From where do they pull it now?)
Uh-hah - right heah, see.
(The left side of the temple.)
Uh-hah, takes it from de left side of de temple, an' dey jerks it out. An' dey gits dis clovah oil an' dey puts dat into a bottle. Dey gits Hearts Cologne an' dey puts dat - an' mix it up intuh a bottle. Dey carries it to runnin'watah an'( dey throws it in. An' dat's tuh make yuh love, see. But dey want it tuh go down de stream, instead of up. If it go up dat's fo' bad. See, if it goes down de stream dat's fo' good. Dey want chew to love 'em. Dey got chew all at dere command, see; an' dere's nuthin yuh kin do. [Normally the throwing of hair into running water is not a love rite, as we have seen; but our informant, marked excellent, turns it into a rite of love by adding Hearts Cologne and clover oil to the bottled hair, and by using A BELIEF OCCASIONALLY FOUND ALONG THE TIDEWATER REGION: ANYTHING GOING DOWNSTREAM OR OUT WITH THE TIDE IS A RELEASE OR GOOD WORK, AND ANYTHING GOING UPSTREAM OR COMING IN WITH THE TIDE IS A CONFUSION OR BAD WORK.]
Entry 7220
An' a girl, she wuz wantin' tuh leave. She wuz goin' tuh leave me lak on a Friday evenin' an' ah wuz lovin' 'er real hard an' ah didn't wan' 'er tuh go. She wuz goin' tuh leave me an' ah didn't Wan' 'er tuh go. So ah goes tuh a man [doctor] an' he tells me tuh go ahead an' go tuh a grave- yard befo' dat dat mawnin' an' git some dirt from undah - from off a man's breast, right off 'is heart, an' put it in a piece of flannel cloth; an' go tuh a grave where a woman hadn't been long died an' git some dirt offa her heart. An' den take it [both dirts] an' sew it up in a piece of red flannel cloth an' tote it on me. Tie it on mah lef' side, an' he guarantee dat she wouldn't leave. An ah did dat an' she didn't go nowhere. Yo' kin take graveyard dirt an' go tuh a stream of runnin' watah an' turn yore back an' throw it upstream, crost yore lef' shouldah, an' if dey wanted tuh go some place dey couldn't go. (Well, wouldn't you do something else, use someone's hair or something of that sort?)
[Informant ignores my leading question.]
Dat if ah wuz in love wit somebody an' she wuz fixin' tuh leave, an' prob'ly ah would heah dat, an' couldn't git 'er not tuh leave, an' ah could git some graveyard dirt an' go tuh any stream of runnin' watah, an' turn mah back an' throw it behin' me upstream. An' she wouldn't wanta leave, she can't go.
(You don't say anything while you are doing it?)
[Again my leading question is ignored.]
No suh, not anything at all. Jis' go by yo'self an' throw it crost yore left shouldah, an' she'll stay dere. [The intention of the rite is sufficient here.]
Entry 10013
I've heard of that but I've never committed that sin. My grandmother has spoke of it several times in front of me, how you sells yourself to the devil, that you go in the woods and get you a black cat and kill it. And you get a boiling pot of hot water and you throu this cat in that water. And if yon can stand there and watch that cat cook to death, that you will be lucky and success- ful. Take the bones and throw them in a creek and the bone that float8 upstream, that's the bone that you take. And long as you wear that bone you slll be lucky.
(I see.) [Boiling cat in the woods is rare.]
Entry 10014
De way dey git de black cats lucky bone, kill de cat alive an' put 'im in a pot befo' he dies thoroughly dead - in a pota boilin' hot watah. All right. Let 'im boil till all de meat come off 'is bones, an' po' all de meat an' bones all in de [stream of] watah. An' de bone dat go upstream, take dat. Dat's de lucky bone, de black cats lucky bone. [Presumably cat is knocked senseless be- fore being dropped into hot water.]