Subject:Vinegar
Entries
Entry 3313
Now, yo' kin take dis heah man havin'a intahco'se wit a woman. Well, she wanta make him be so dat he won't have no one else but 'er. She kin take his socks an' take it an' git some of 'is watah an' mix it. An' she take his sock an' put it in dere, wad it in dere. An' when he gits 'sleep at night she take an' rub - rub 'is thing wit dat sock an' he can't have no intahco'se wit no one but 'er.
(Use either sock?)
Eithah sock - take ary [either] one of 'is socks.
(Does she rub it any particular way?)
[Informant does not understand my question and evidently does not know.]
Put it in dat chambah watah an' let it stay in dere three days. She take it out an' she put some Hearts Cologne on it an' vinegar. An' she take it when he sleep at night an' she rub it on 'im, rub it on 'is private. Dat'll gain 'im. When he put de sock back on, he can't have no one but 'er.
Entry 3790
Ah've heard dat she kin gain mah thoughts. She kin take some sulphur - take some sulphur an' vinegar an' a red onion an' cook it up. Put a white of a aig wit it an' give it to him an' let him eat it. (What will that do then?) Dat will take his nature away from him. He kin git it back if he go tuh someone. Dat dere [is] where he tell 'im. He git a red onion, he git six aigs - a dozen aigs. Mix de onions an' de aigs. Eat de onions raw an' six raw aigs a day - two in de mornin' an' two at twelve a'clock an' two at night - five days, red onions an' de aigs.
(That'll bring his nature back.)
Entry 3791
(You eat these red onions raw?)
Eat red onions raw. Jes' cut 'em up yo' understan' an' eat 'em. Yo' undah- stan', wit vinegar an' black peppah. Yo' seen 'em lak dat. Dey mostly be able tuh give a man courage.
Entry 3864
Well, ah heard dat dey kin take - lak a man wants tuh do sompin wit a woman - he kin take a woman sanitaries an' put it into a black bottle an' bury it an' kill de woman. (He would take the sanitary piece from her and put it in this black bottle and stop it up and bury it and it would kill her.) Put devil vinegah wit it an' some cinnamon an' some steel dust [3 ingredients].
[For black bottle see BLACK BoTTLE, p.523.]
Entry 3965
An' git chew some vinegah an' nine drops of turpentine an' dat'll stop a woman's periods on 'er. (How would they give that to her?) Give it to her by de tablespoonful - yo' know, jes' lak [demonstrates]. (That is what you call root-working. She knows he is doing that.)
Entry 4777
Well, if ah'm a enemy tuh yuh an' wants tuh confuse yuh in yore home, ah mah- self, ah cain't do it. Got'a git someone tuh help me tuh do it, an' dat's by goin' an' gittin' a piece of yore clothes, sompin othah dat chew wears, don't chew know - sompin dat chew wears. An' ah takes dat an' tear it up, makes a very small string out of it. Take it an' twist it.
(Tear the whole piece of cloth up?)
Not de whole cloth, jis' git yuh a strip off about lak dat [demonstrates], whatevah it is, an' jis' tear it up in small strips. Take an' twist it dis away [demonstrates]. One [strip] dis way an' one dis way, jis' lak dat, yuh know. Jis' keep atwisting it till yuh git right intuh a fine - down-lak yuh know, tuh a string. Yuh take it den an' yuh put it - draw a knot intuh it. Yuh know how yuh tie a knot intuh anything. Well, yuh take dat an' git it intuh whatevah yuh kin git it intuh [a jar, see later]. Den yuh take some salt an' take some vine- gah an' anything dat dey'd use lak a garlic. Yuh git yuh some garlic tuh put in dere an' nine drops of turpentine. An' tighten dat up real - tighten it down howevah yuh wanta tighten it down.
(Tighten that jar down?)
Tighten de jar down, yassuh, an' den yuh prob'ly cain't git tuh de house; but git somebody tuh bury it tuh de back of de steps.
(What will that do then?)
Dat will - dey cain't git along in dere.
Entry 5061
(What was that?) She kin take a needle [2 of them] an' a bottle of vinegah, jis' a pure bottle of vinegah, & an' she turn aroun' an' cut de toe off 'is sock. An' [she] pin dem two needles in 'is sock an' put it intuh dat vinegah. An' [she] put it down, turn it down, bottom up, underneat' 'er mattress on de floor. An' he'll come back.
(I see. You put two needles?)
Two needles.
(You drop two needles in the bottle?)
No, in de toe of 'is sock. Yuh pin 'em in de toe of 'is sock, an' put dat vinegah intuh dat bottle, an' drop dat [sock] down. Twist it so it kin go down in dat bottom, till it git tuh de bottom, an' den turn it up on its haid undah 'er baid. Well, he comin' back home.
Entry 5118
Yeah, dey kin burn shoe soles. Den [dey] kin take, aftah dey git through burnin' de shoe soles, dey kin take an' put it in some devil vinegah an' shake it up, an' in a length of time yuh goin' pass away or commit suicide or go crazy. [For devil vinegar, see p.547 and elsewhere.]
Entry 5542
Dey would take de cord an' dey'll measure it, an' yo'd draw [stretch that cord over the length of] dat foot track. An' yo'd take dat cord aftah it wus drawed [stretched], an' yo' put it in a bottle wit some devil vinegah. An' write his name in dere nine times backwards [like Smith John instead of John Smith] an' nine times frontwards, dat's 18 times, an' keep it in dere fo' nine days. An' at de end of de nine days he goin' die.
(But you have to find this foot track some place first?)
Yes.
(Where do you get this devil's vinegar? Do you buy it some place?)
In de drug sto'.
(The Crackerjack [Drug Store]?)
Any one of 'em [any New Orleans' drug store].
Entry 5631
Well, dey gits up de foot track an' dey prepare dat up an' tote it. We use red peppah an' black peppah - sech as dat. We sprinkle dat down an' we salt it. Salt is sup- posed tuh save things. We use salt wit de idea in view of de savin' powdah by dat. We put de salt in dere tuh save it. As long as de salt holds it strength, we got holt of de undahtakin' at de time. SALT IS A GREAT IHING BUT LOTTA PEOPLE DON'T KNOW IT.
(Just what do you do with that track now?)
Well, We takes dat track - IT'S NOT BUT A VERY FEW PEOPLE IN DIS DAY'S TIME HANTS TUH KILL A PERSON, BUT DEY WANTS DEM TUH COME UNDAH DERE CONTROL AN' HOLI "EM, Yo' KNOW. When dey do dis, so den dey use dese means.
[Informant, professional worker, starts another rite.]
Put DUST IN YORE SHOES. PREPARE IT WIT THREE DIFFREN THINGS. An' dey uSe dat tuh sprinkle dat in yore shoes. Dere certain things yo' kin do tuh pertect yo'. Yo' kin walk ovah any kind whatsomevah it is. It melt away. Why.all yo' would do - use salt, nine drops of vinegah.
(How would they use that?)
Weah three needles in yore cap or hatband or whatsomevah yo' gwine tuh do. Stick it - conceal it away.
(What did you do with that salt and vinegar?)
Well we take de salt an' vinegar an' drop nine drops in each shoe. Jis' put a little pinch of salt in dis shoe an' one in dis one, an' we walk anywhere we vanta go.
(You can walk over anything?)
Walk ovah anything a man kin put down.
Entry 5637
Well, dey say dat if a person - if dey git de foot track right at de do'step, see. When dey git de foot track right at dis step right aftah dey Walked in an' out, dey could take some out of it an' put it in sompin an' put some salt, peppah, black peppah, two or three drops of vinegah, an' bury it up undah de back steps. Says, dey von' come back any mo'.
Entry 5689
Git aholt of dat foot track, take up a half of a pound of dat firs' track along dere tuh de toe. Take dat wit 2 drops of vinegah, 2 drops of tur- pentine, 5 drops of coal oil. An' den dat will draw de man back home - woman or man. Aftah yo' git all dat tuhgethah, why yo' take dat [track] an' put it in a bottle an' drop dis [9 drops] on it. An' den yo' sprinkle dat along where dat, if yo' are gone away from yore home, yo' undah- stan', sprinkle dat along in de tracks [made after the first onel. Dat'll draw 'im along back home.
Entry 5836
Take some of dere hair an' mix it wit some cat hair an' put it in a Boctle of vinegah an' shake it up an' bury it undah de do'step an' let chew walk ovah it. Dat will run yo crazy. (That is if you took my hair you would bury that under my doorstep? Under my own doorstep?) Tes sir.
(That would set me crazy?)
Yes sir.
Entry 5852
Ah heard dat dey would take yore hair an' dey could wear it in dere shoes until yore hair would rot. See, when yore hair would rot, it would run yo' in de insane asylum, in de crazy house. (They put that in both shoes?) In one, in de left shoe. An' den some- time yo' take it an' yo' put it in some vinegah, some devil vinegah. Don' fo'- git about de devil vinegah, an' yo' shake it an' use it.
(What will that do if you put this hair in the devil vinegar?)
It will run yo' crazy.
Entry 6102
All right, yo' got a girl frien' an' she don't want chew doin't [doing it] wit nobodys else but 'er. She kin take some hair from right back of de mole of yore head, middle yo' know - back of yore head, some right oat de top. An' take it an' tie it up, an' tie it up in a rag. An' put some salt in it, an' soak it wit vinegar an' black peppah an' about two pods of red Peppah. An' bury dat right at yore front do'step. An' ef yo' don't go wit 'er yo'll go crazy.
Entry 6482
Well, yo' kin take a li'le bit of yore dirt from undah yore fingah- nails. Well, yo' git some salt an' git some alcohol, some vinegah - salt, an' put it in a bottle an' shake it up, an' make yo' do jis' lak dey want chew tuh do. (Do you get that dirt from under your fingernails or under mine?) No sir, git 'em from undah yore fingah- nails. Make yo' do jis' lak ah wan' chew tuh do. (Who would do that? Some woman to a man or man to a man? Something of that sort?) Eithah one could do it if dey knew [how]. Jis' lak yo' were mah wife an' yo' runs aroun' an' ah couldn't keep yo' home. Well, ah could git a li'le bit of dat dirt, yo' know, from undah yore fingahnails, an' make yo' do jis' lak ah wanted yo' tuh do.
Entry 6496
Ah've heard dat dey'd git holt of yo' toenails an' fingahnails an' a lock [of] yo' hair, an' put vinegah in it an' take an' care [carry] 'em in de woods. An' bo' a hole in a tree an' stick nine pins in dat hole. An' take de toenails an' fingahnails an' a lock of yo' hair an' ball it up, an' put it in wit dat li'le hole yo' bo'd. An' cut choo a peg an' put it in dere, jis' lak yo' gon'a cork up anythin'. An' yo' go dere evah mawnin' jis' a li'le 'fo' sunrise an' give it two licks real light fo' nine days. An' yo've drived dat fo' nine days an' de ninth day yo' drive it clean up. An' aftah yo' drive it clean up de ninth day, den de person who yo' got, he ain't be here long. Dat'll cure dem away, but dat won' kill 'em.
Entry 6501
An' take de dust an' put it in a glass, an' put some vinegah on it an' salt, an' dat will fix 'em. (What will that do to them? Suppose they took this dust from my fingernail. What would that do to me then?) Dat will make yo' wandahing.
Entry 6758
[The following medical rite I marked doubtful years ago and was about to throw it out with the discards. Years later on taking a second look I saw something unseen previously. Why did I keep it? Suppose we take a look:] (Cow manure? What do you do with that?) Yo' kin take cow manure, vinegah, dirt daubah nest an' black peppah an' if a person is got a disease, yo' kin keep dat disease on 'em wit dat cow manure, an' dirt daubah nest an' vinegah an' black peppah. [An excellent opening statement!] Yo' weah a bandage on yuh laig, on yuh lef' laig jis' evah mawnin', jis' put a fresh bandage on. An' jis' as long as dat bandage is applied tuh yo', dat disease will be applied tuh dat person.
(The person has the disease to begin with, you mean?)
Yes, sir.
(I see. Well, how do I know which person to apply it to?)
Well, it's jis' lak if somebody would come tuh yo' an' tell yo' an' say, "So- an'-so-an'-so is got a case of shankles or a case of pox or somepin, an' DEY BEEN WASTIN' TIME WIT MAH DAUGHTAH" or somepin. An' dey say, "If dere's any way dat ah kin keep it on 'em, ah wanta tuh do so." Well, den yo' [the author] know whut tuh tell 'em tuh do [when they come to you]. (Get this person's name and put the bandage on [PUT THE PERSON'S NAME ON THE BANDAGE!]. I see.) [My seeing at the time was not very good!] [Here we have a remarkable folk-medicine rite, one of the finest beliefs in Hoodoo, and yet I missed it! Perhaps I was tired, often interviewing for hours at a time. An experienced folklorist will immediately recognize: (1) the 4 in- gredients put in the bandage are about the commonest in folk medicine, cow manure a well-known ointment; and (2) that some doctors claim the power of being able to absorb a disease (see No.1007, p.387). For another example of the latter, some wart doctors pretend to, or are said to, catch all the warts they remove. In the present case however, we do not have an absorbtion rite, but a substitution rite; the absorbtion being only a pretense like the birth pangs of the husband in the couvade! The father in our present rite by pretending to have the venereal dis- ease of his daughter's paramour, keeps it upon the man permanently! Surely there must have been a time limit for the father's acting!]
Entry 6774
If yo' thought somebody wuz HOODOOIN' yo' or if yo' had any pain an' yo' thought it came from somebody's work dat had anything on yo', dat chew kin use a plastahs on dat part wit dirt daub- ah, wit de eithah pound dat up or let it dissolve in vinegah an' use dat applica- tion. It will give relief.
Entry 6781
Makes up a salve wit it, wit some dirt daubah nest, saltpetah, chewin' tobacca an' yo' make a salve. Now yo' kin put it in a li'le - ah dunnō [don't know] how much yo' goin' make up, but put chew a li'le vine- gah in it an' it's jis' lak a mustard, yo' know, jis' lak prepared mustard. Make a li'le of dat an' put it on de place an' see whut it will do fo' yo' [recording machine stopped, see later].
(What will that cure for example?)
Well, jis' lak a lotta people - yo' know yo' got a misery in yore ankle, cain't stand up on yore ankle. Dey [person working spell against you] got chew down in yore knees. (You said before [while machine turned off] that it kills off a lot of hoodoo ousiness.) Hoodoo business.
Entry 6811
Yo' take garlic, yo' see, if a person got poison in 'em. Yo' jis' take dat garlic an' yo' stew dat down wit vinegah, an' yo' give it tuh dat person tuh eat. Dat will kill it down in dere. (What kind of poison?) Any kind. Jis' say, jes' lak dere's a person down heah gives yo' poison in whiskey or sompin. Yo' know, jis' LAK A PERSON TRY TUH KILL YO', TRY TUH GIVE YO' ANY KINDA SNAKE-HAID DUST.
(Any live things in them?)
Yeah.
Entry 6845
Ah hear'd dat vinegah an' salt - take vinegah an' boil it, see, an' a li'le cayenne peppah, a [new] box of cayenne peppah, a five-cent box of cayenne peppah. Put a li'le lahd [lard] in it. Put a li'le, any kinda liniment in it, an' boil it tuhgethah an' strain it. Anint: [anoint] choreself [yourself] wit it. An' IT'S CALLED GRANDPAH LINI- MENT, LINIMENT MADE BY DE IN- DIANS, DE OLDEST LINIMENT EVAH BEEN. CURE RHEUMATISM, ANYTHIN' EVAH SUPPOSE DEY EvAH HAD. It's name is grandpa liniment, de oldest liniment out. An' it's made by a ole puson, an' it's good today. An' AH'VE SEEN DEY TAKEN SCALES OFF PEOPLE FEET LOOK LAK FISH SCALES WHERE PEOPLE HAVE DRAGGED DEM THROUGH FISH BONES AN' GIVE DEM WHISKEY TUH DRINK AN' CUZ SCALES TO COME [IN] DE BODY.
(How do they do that?)
Well, dey take de scales an' grin' dem up, see. Dey put it in whu' choo drink. If yo' lak coffee or tea, or even if yo' lak bread, yo' can't tell it when it look lak powdah. Dey sift it. An' it's in yuh body in a co'se [course] of time when de fish commence tuh 'eelin' [peeling] scales, yuh 'eel [peel] scales on yo' feet - 'eels [peels] de scales on dere body. Yo' know fish shed scales, an' when dey git ready tuh shed scales, yo' shed dem scales on yuh body.
(How did you say you take those scales off?)
Wit grandpah's liniment. [Grandpa's liniment could be the product of a hoodoo drug store or some hoodoo doctor.]
Entry 6879
(How can that be done?)
Well, yo' see, de way dat dey do it, dey git a rope. Yo' know a woman's iml pregnant. Dey goes tuh de step an' dey come ovah de step.
(Wait a minute. What do they do with that rope now?)
Dey take de rope offa de mule.
(Oh, this rope is around the mule?)
De rope is aroun' de mule. Dey git tuh de step an' dey come over dat rope nine times backwards. See, dey jump ovah de rope once an' dey walk aroun' it an' dey jump ovah it ag'in. An' when dey git ovah dat rope, den dey jump up lak a mule. Now, when dis lady comes out, dat's crossin' 'er as a mule [woman's period will be as long as a mule's]. Now tuh git dis cross off 'er before dis child is born, yo' git chew a Bull Durham [tobacco] sack. Yo' take dat Bull Durham sack an' yo' wash it clean, clean, clean. Yo' go tuh one a dese big sand places such as Jenkins, Watts-Cornell [or] J. J. Cox, sand dat's nevah been used, jis' come in. Yo' fill dat bag about three-qurtah full of dat sand. It's purtty white sand. Yo' git chew nine silvah dimes an' yo' put in dat sand an' yo' git chew, git chew a half a cupa vinegah. Yo' take dat an' yo' put it intuh a pot an' yo' boil. An' aftah yo' boil, yo' boil yo' an' yo' boil it down an' yo' see dis sack done boiled enough, tuh where yo' want it tuh boil at, den yo' take dis sack an' yo' go an' throw it undah 'er steps. Dat's de woman impregnant. Yo' throws it right undah 'er step wit dese dimes an' dis sand intuh it. Now, de liquid dat's lef' from dis, from dat vinegah, yo' got dat dere. Now, she mus' take a sip of dis evah mawnin' fer nine mawnin's. An' ah'll guarantee yuh it'll knock dat off. (That checks that cross that's on that woman, checks it right away. You can't do any harm at all.)
Entry 6895
Den yuh kin git some root whut dey call de blacksnake root, grain [green] root, an' arrowroot, an' High John de Conkah. Well, dat's de root, dat John de Conquah, dat is goin' tuh conquah mos' anythin', any kinda HO0- DOO dat come. DAT'S A Did yuh git chew [down] [blacksnake root] grain root, an' de arrowroot, an' John de Conquah? DAT RooT'S VERY EXPENSIVE AN' AH KNOW ZACTLY WHERE TUH GIT IT, see. Yuh kin [take] dose roots an' boil 'em tuhgethah an' if anybody wuz HOoDOOED, if mah lady wuz HOODO0, take some of dat root when it's dry an' beat it.up an' give it tuh a lady in some ine an' dat'll perform. Yuh kin see it, scorpion drived an' - given in powdah tuh someone - movin' in 'er laigs. Git dat stuff an' boil it an' make tea out it, an' in ten days dat git de pain outa yuh body. Dat came out. One time she couldn't walk straight. Evah time she stand up she fell on de floah. Ah goes tuh dat dere fellah an' ah says, "Look, ah wan' chew tuh drive me out tuh de country. See yo' got a li'le hatchet." Ah want tuh get me a hatchet an' he gave me de hatchet, an' ah went tuh de red oak tree. Ah trimmed off de white bark an' de black bark ovah it an' cut down tuh de juicy wood. Ah cut me fo' chips out on east side. Ah goes tuh de west side of de tree an' ah cuts me fo' more. Ah cut de chips off de east side firs', den ah go tuh de west side. Den ah git me some blackberry root, chew undahstan'. Den ah git some mul- lein an' ah take dat home, put it tuhgethah. Ah gits home an' ah tell mah wife, ah say, "Look, git me about two quarts of vinegah." An' she put dat on de fiah an' boil it, boil it an' boil it. An' she let it cool. Den she bathe me from mah haid tuh mah feet [downward bathing so that it will go out through his feet] in de tub, an' ah ain't had a pain in dis laig since.
Entry 6897
Lak if yo're hurt, den yo' kin take red onions, an' urination, sulphuh, salt, vinegah an' boil all dat tuhgethah an' bathe 'em down in it, an' dat will run de poison out of dem.
Entry 6900
Git some red pod peppah an' some vinegah an' heat it real hot, an' git in it an' bathe in it. Wash all de parts. See, when it comes out through de po's [pores] of yore skin yo're sweat- in' den, an' dat'll cuz dat poison tuh go away from yo'.
Entry 6910
If dey do sumpin tuh hurt dere ahm [arm] an' it's swollen up or sumpin lak dat, dey could take some vinegah an' put it in a bottle an' some bluestone an' salt an' red peppah, an' jis' keep a-bathin' de ahm, rubbin', an' dat'll more or less cure it in dem. (What causes this swelling in the arm?) It will be jis' lak if dey wan' tuh poison yo' or: sompin, sompin dey puts down, an' yo' go an' put yuh hand on dis. See, dat makes dat stuff go through yuh ahm. It'll keep on a-workin' an' a-workin' till it git intuh yuh body. If [you] start in time - den let 'em take a lot of sulphur. Sulphur's good, too. Jis' take it, put it in yuh han' an' eat it. An' brimstone. Joo kin take a pill of brimstone an' eat dat an' yo' kin eat or drink poison an' it won't hurt choo. See, dat brimstone kills it out.
Entry 6940
(If I had these things, live things in me, now what would they give me to get rid of these - to get them out?) Dey'd [they would] give yo' vinegah fer one thing, 'twill run 'em out; an' use tobacco fer anothah. An' den de medicine dat yo' take, dat's whut dey give yo' fer tuh rub wit; but de medicine whut yo' take an' whut supposed tuh be some silvah money in it, some time might be a dime or quartah or somepin lak dat. But anyway, it supposed tuh be a big piece, so yo' could take a file or somepin-lak an' file it an' git - prob'bly git dust offa it or somepin, an' put it in some medicine an' let it set, an' drink it. Well, aftah yo' drinkin' dat, why dat supposed tuh run 'em outa yo', fix yo' so yo' kin git 'em out, if yo' are stopped up.
(What did they do with this vinegar and tobacco?)
Well, dey use dat fer tuh bathe dere body in.
(Do they use that alone or do they mix something with it?)
No, sir, mix it wit red peppah.
Entry 6943
[Silver will] run it outa yo'. Ah'll run it outa yo'. Ah'll git me a dime or quartah - so it's silvah money - take me a file an' ah'll file dat stuff, dat quartah, yo' see, an' git de dust, git it plumb dusty. All right, ah'll git me some vinegah, some salt. See, ah'll put it in dere. Ah'll put me fif- teen drops of turpentine in dere wit it. Ah'll git me a box of Epsom salts. Ah'll give yo' dat Epsom salts three times a day. Dat's tuh keep yore bowels open. Dat vinegah an' dat, whut ah got made up. Yo' drink it fo' times a day until it take a act on yo'. Well, now, it - in drinkin' dat, why it'll stir dat up in yo', yo' see, stir dat poison up. An' dat Epsom salt [is] tuh keep yuh bowels open, yo' see, an' pass it on through.
Entry 6975
Say yo' kin use nails, dat's when yo' a subject of gas. If yo' a subject of gas an' yo' use nine nails in a bottle of vinegah, yo' be shuh [sure] yo' drink.a tea- spoonful fo' nine mawnin's an' dat will take care of de gas.
Entry 6977
Well, now, yo' kin take lard an' vinegah an' sugah an' kill any poison in de worl'. Yo' undahstan' me, if yo' use it right away. Yo' undahstan' me, yo' kin take lard an' sugar an' mix it tuhgethah, yo' undah- stan' me, in a quart bottle. Lard, vinegar an' sugah. An' mix it in a quart bottle. If it's right den, yo' undahstan', an' take a tablespoonfulla it three time a day. An' dat'll stop any poison in de worl'.
(That's what you do [use] when people come to you?)
Sure.
Entry 7186
Git chew some whiskey, some anvil dust an' vinegah jis' where he lay down. Yo' lay down wit 'im an' leave it up undah 'is bed, an' he won't wake until yo' come. Jis' undah de bed. [Memphis, Tenn., (949), 1530:15.] [This fifth and final subsection of section FOLK MEDICINE gathers fragments either from doctors themselves or from patients or their relatives or friends talking about doctors. Actually, similar fragments scattered throughout Hoodoo, show that many of these brief statements could have been placed elsewhere.]
Entry 7195
Well, now, you uses flaxseed for one, slippery elm for two and then you get you some filet gumbo.
(Some what?)
Filet gumbo.
(Filet gumbo?)
[Filet (ground sassafras leaves) for gumbo is described several places in Boodoo.] Yes sir, that's green stuff that you uses for to cook with, see. And then you takes that and then you throws it around; around the house, see. And then you walks - steps in that and then you walks back and gets in the house with that, and that stuff will make you move. Now, another question is, if yo' don' wanta move. If I want you to stay, I just will get you some vinegar and the landlord's name, and fix that up with cayenne peppah, and then put his name down in there in a lemon, and then roll this lemon. And then take you a carrot and plant it.
(A what?)
A carrot.
(A carrot?)
Carrot, a carrot what you eat. Carrot. And take that carrot and plant it 'fore your door, and let it grow there. And just as it grows, you will remain there, right there. You never will move out of there, out of that house.
(Out of that house. Who will do this? The landlord, is he doing that?)
No.
(Who would do this to keep me in there?)
I would do that.
(I see.)
I would do that, make you stay there. You never would move, don't care how they don't like you, and how they would find fault of you. But you would stay there as long as that carrot is there with the landlord's name in the carrot and growing.
(I see.)
Entry 7228
[I met a galaxy of doctors in Charleston, S. Car., before I had suffi- cient experience to handle them. Two years later I would have been better pre- pared. Moreover the weather was excessively hot and the hotel rooms noisy at night. There was little rest. The fol- lowing doctor, Maguin or San Mongain was rather strange. At that time I thought all of them were! This man has already appeared in: No.1221, p.434; No.1417, p.464; No.1638, p.507; and No.2209, p.629.] (Well, now, how would a person harm me if they got a hold of my foot track? How would they hurt me with that?) How would he hurt chew wit dat? He'd take yore foot track an' carry it tuh de graveyard. An' tuh take it back from de graveyard, yo' gotta throw dis dirty watah undah yore house. An' tuh kill de spell from dere an' [to] drive de evil spirit, den begin burnin' dragon blood at twelve o'clock at night in dat ole shoe [this rite partially given in No.1221, p.434, v.1.]. (What would he do with this track if he took it to the graveyard? What would he do with it out there?) When he take de track to de graveyard, he put it tuh de haid of de graveyard [grave] an' pay dem one cent, calls yore name an' tole 'em tuh mind 'im. An' durin' de time dat he done take it tuh de graveyard, yore foot track, yo' come back home an' throw it ovah [under]neath yore house. An' go an' git dis gum-bush an' let it stay in yore house fer three days an' burn it. An' de pusson will come back an' go back tuh de graveyard an' git dis track an' turn yo' loose.
Entry 7383
Wal, dey say if a man kill a man an' yo' wanta git 'im, all yo' have to do, git 'is - some pieces of 'is clothes. Git a piece of clothes an' put some salt and vinegar ovah it, an' he come an' give up hisself to yo'. Yo' say, "What yo' want?" He say, "Wal, ah jes' like to come to see yo'." Sompin lak dat an' make a argue [argument]. Dat's de man.
(I see. You take the dead man's clothes and put the stuff on it.)
Yeh.
Entry 8313
If ah had 'is pichure, ah could take it an' bury it wit a horsehair or somepin lak dat undah 'is do'step an' put a li'le vinegar in it an' salt [3 ingredients] an' ah's fix 'im - li'le vinegah an' salt an' den bury it undah his do'step. An' when he come out de house in de mawnin', he's be paralyzed in 'is laigs.
(They bury this photograph with a horsehair, you say?)
Wit a horsehair an' some vinegah an' salt. An' put it undah 'is do'step. An' when he come out he'll be paralyzed in 'is laigs de nex' mawnin'.
Entry 8399
As fer as ah know 'bout usin' de photograph, now yo' kin take a per- son's photograph an' yo's in love wit a woman an' she quits yo', yo' take her photograph an' turn it bottomside upwards an' bury it an' dat'll kill 'em.
(How do you mean, turn it bottomside upwards?)
Bury it face down an' bury it in vinegah, an' dat'll make dem perish away.
Entry 8400
Put it in vinegah an' soak it an' stop it up tight, tight so no air can't git it, an' dat will - see, dat will pine 'em away, pine 'em away quick.
(I see, this photograph, put in the vinegar.)
Entry 8401
I've heard that you can take a person's photograph an' soak it in warm water and vinegar for sev- eral hours, so much so that the paint leaves the photograph. And take it out- doors and put it in some old outhouse, and turn the face to the wall, and leave it there for twenty-eight hours. Then bring it back and put it where it was at first, and bad luck will happen to this person.
Entry 8402
Well, dey kin run yuh crazy, or kill yuh, or make yuh git down sick, eithah.
(How do they do that?)
Dey take dat photograph an' git chew a saucah an' fill it about half full of vinegah, an' turn dat photograph down on de face in dat vinegah, an' take yo' a drinkin' glass an' set ovah it, an' let it set dere. An' when de vinegah eat all dat, yuh future [features] out of dat photograph, why yo' go crazy. Dey keep dat glass ovah it tuh keep de air from hittin' it. Yo' see, yo' can't let de air git in dere.
Entry 8403
Dey take a photograph an' place it in vinegah, turn de photograph down. See, yo' know what ah mean, turn de face down an' place it in vinegah. An' den let it stay in vinegah fo' - ah think it's nine mawnin's. An' den yo' take it, aftah yo' let it stay in dat vin- egah - see, it fades, yo' know. Den yo' take a hen aig an' push a li'le tiny hole in de hen egg an' let it drip right on dat pichure.
(What will that do?)
What dat will 'fect - it's almost similah tuh yore hair [in a previous rite by informant], but it jis' won't run yuh as bad. It will cuz yuh tuh have a Wondah- in' [wandering] mind, yo' know, become dissatisfied.
Entry 8698
Then you can git a bottle of vinegar an' write de name upon a piece of Venrick parchment.
(What kind of parchment?)
Venrick [a trade name?] parchment. An' they put this in this bottle of vine- gar with cayenne peppah, see. An' they roll this bottle aroun'. Go to de back door an' roll it all de Way tuh de front. (Just a moment. Do they roll it with their hands or feet?) De feet. Dey kick it wit de feet an' as dey kickin' it, dey use de words, "As dis bottle rō' [rolls] ah wan' choo to do de same." (I see.) An' they take it an' dey bury it on de science [signs of the Zodiac]. Dey will do this work by science, by de twelve science [signs].
(Well, what sign would they use on that?)
On de Balance.
(Oh, the sign of the Balance.)
Yes, on de Balance; yes, sir. See, dat's when de earth has power. An' dey buries dis bottle bottom upwards. An' de next mawnin' they get up before de sun rise an' dey pour dat hot water on dat an' de bottle busts [bursts]. Den dey move.
(I see, it will make them move.
Entry 8699
[To] make them move out of that house, tell you, yo' go an' get some of that olive oil.
(Wait a minute! Olive oil?)
Olive oil, and get some of dis here steel dust. Get a fresh bottle of vinegar.
(Get a fresh bottle of vinegar.)
Yes, sir. Yo' get the neighbor's name, either one in de family name [the man's or woman's]. Take a piece of papah an' cut it off just how many letters in that name. [The name is writ- ten and then each letter of the name is clipped off as a separate slip of paper.] An' take it an' put it down in that bottle. An' after puttin' it [these slips of papers] down in the bottle, take it an' roll it on de floor. After rollin' it on de floor, yo' take dat bottle an' set it up. If yo' ever could get anywhere close to de house, yo' set. it at sunrise. An' when yo' set it there, in three days dem people goin' from there.
(They will move away?)
Done gone away without any confusion at all. Yo' [they] wouldn't know how it was did. [New Orleans. La., (829).1221:1.]
Entry 8776
[Late in turning on recording machine] put chew some cayenne peppah an' some steel dust in dat [lemon, see later] an' yo' sews it up an' throw it in de rivah. Now, if yo' can't git de lemon an' yo' wants tuh use a bottle, yo' gits dat bottle an' yo' git chew some war watah. Yo' puts dere name down up in dere. All right, yo' use dis cayenne peppah an' git chew nine tacks down up in dere vinegah. All right, yo' kin stop dat up an' throw 'em in de rivah.
Entry 8782
Well, if yo' got a person - yo' kin take peoples' name an' put it in a bottle. Well, yo' take de name an' yo' write de name as ah tole yo', nine time, but yo' write it on a straight [ruled] piece of papah. Yo' kin put it in a bottle an' yo' kin take dat bottle an' yo' kin stan' anywheres off where yo' kin whip it; but yo' sup- posed tuh put peppah, vinegah an' Epsom salts an' gunpowdah wit anythin' evil dat yo' wants tuh do. Dat's in de bottle. See, yo' put all dat in dat bottle wit vinegah. An' yo' takes dat bottle an' git it on anythin' soft lak a cushion or pillah, anythin', an' yo' whips dat bottle. An' as yo' whip it yo' call dere name. An' when yo' do's dat, yo' doin' dat tuh make confusion. (And in writing those names, you write one right under each other nine times. And what do you write that with?) Yo' write it wit any kinda pencil.
Entry 8787
If yo' want to make 'em drift, yo' jes' take it an' get dat. Yo' always got to get dat name an' get dere right name, an' fix it up. Yo' put it into a bottle an' yo' get yo' some vinegar, strong, good vinegar, an' stick dat name down into dat vinegar, wit nine pods of red peppah - red peppah, not a strained peppah.
(Nine pods of red pepper?)
Yeah, an' stick it down into dat bottle wit his name in it an' dat old Epsom salts an' dat peppah. An' yo' can take it an' go to de rivah. Yo' seal dat bottle up an' yo' go to de rivah an' pitch it right in de channel. It'll float. An' as long as de bottle will float, dey'll always be goin' - dey goin' to keep goin'. Dey won't stay in no one place. Dey'll go to one place an' den dey'll come back to anothah place. Dey'll keep a-goin' an' dey'll nevah stop goin' until somepin gets dat bottle an' knocks dat stoppah out of dere. It goin' to get loose some way, if dose [things inside] won't keep it [afloat]. (I see. Now, you only write the name once on that piece of paper? You only write it once?) No, write it nine times, an' den make yore wish when yo' are writin' it.
(Oh, I see.)
Entry 8807
Dey say if dey git hold of yore han'writin', aniybody's han'writin' an put it in vinegah an' bury it, it'll upset 'em a lot; upset dey nerves an' dey can't write an' can't do any- thing.
Entry 8873
Dey take yore han'writin' an' draw [up] yore fingahs, see.
(How do they do that?)
Dey tell me dey take dat han'writin', a lettah - jes' lak ah write chew a lettah an' yo' wanta do sompin tuh me. When yo' git mah lettah, why yo' satis- fied. Well, yo' take mah lettah dat ah wrote chew an' yo' put it in a halfa glass of vinegah an' alkeehäl [alcohol]. Well, dey say den, if ah try tuh write, ah can't write. Mah fingahs an' mah veins will commence tuh draw. See, dey jes' commence tuh draw an' finely [finally] why ah gits lak a person deformed or sompin. Ah can't do nuthin becuz yo' got mah fingahs tied up intuh vinegah an alkeehal. Yo' see, it's strong. Well, dat jes' got mah veins tied. Ah can't write. Ah kin try but ah can't do nuthin.
Entry 8939
If yo' got any way of leaving your friends, if yo' got a idea of that, of somebody goin' to come there an' trouble yo', yo' understand. Yo' know, all yo' have to do, use this here steel dust and this cinnamon an' sugar. That will sweeten up the place there and they will change their mind. Yo' see, yo' takes a bottle of vinegar and the apartment have - probably may two or three windows into the apartment where you at. Well, yo' take this fresh bottle of vinegar - yo' could get a nickeZ[!] bottle of vinegar - an' yo' put it in a dif- ferent bottle [bottles numbering] just how many windows or doors that you got. Yo' take your cinnamon an' this steel dust an' yo' put down in there [bottles] an' sugar. Put it [bottle] down beneath any window or any door, where they could enter into the building. Just put that there. Every time they get there, their mind is upsetted - changed.
(Do you mix this stuff with the vinegar or use the vinegar alone?)
The vinegar and this here steel dust and this [cinnamon and sugar].
(What do you use the vinegar for?)
The vinegar, that's the strength - to strengthen, to sour it.
(Oh! To strengthen it.)
And sour it. Yo' see, that's to sour that - just like that sugah, that sugah sweetenin' that vinegar. Yo' see? Then yo' take lemons, such as lemon juice, an' squeeze it down in there. Well, yo' put it at all the windows in any little bit of bottle - small little bottle - an' just shake it. An' yo' put it in dere. Well, anywhere round that building they come at, that sugar an' sweetening. When they get there, they'll say, "Oh, well, I'll delay that for another day."
(They won't take anything from there? Won't steal anything from there?)
No, never would take nuthin.
Entry 8952
(Well, how would you handle a court case?)
How would I handle a court case? The sinner could be dead guilty, if he want- ed to be, you know. If the charges are up. Now, when you git to the courthouse, you kin git to the courthouse, you kin have you a nickel's worth of asafititee. After yo' get a nickel's worth of asafititee, yo' kin git yo' a bottle of vine- gar - bottle of vinegar. Now yo' sprinkle [vinegar] on that asafititee. Yo' have it done soaked, yo' have it done soaked in dat vinegar an' yo' have it in a small bottle, an' yo' jes' tote that in yore pocket an' have de stopper with a hole in it, an' jes' sprinkle it. They'll have no case up, no case at all. Dey keep putting it off, keep putting it off. Every time yo' go they keeps putting it off. Jes' have it [the bottle] in your pocket. [As in the preceding rite, once again we have witch deterrents; for vinegar see FACI, p.889, for asafetida, sev- eral places in Hoodoo.]
Entry 9336
Said dat dey kin take chicken aigs an' take nine needles. An' yo' have tuh soak dat aig in vinegah, where yo' put dem nine needles dere, an' bury 'em intuh somebody's gate or do'step, where dey go in at. An' dey'll step on 'em, mash 'em. Dey'll leave town. (Any kind of chicken egg?) Any kind.
Entry 9380
Yo' kin take a black hen's egg, soak it in vinegah 3 days an' go out at midnight at 12 o'clock, de time de clock strike 12 o'clock, an' throw it ovah de house an' dey'll move.
Entry 9425
(A black hen egg? What do they do with that?)
Well, dey claims dat dey write chure name on dat an' yo' put dat in vinegah an' let it stay dere nine days. An' den yo' break it ovah de person's do', if yo' wanta make 'em move. (You just write the name on this egg, just once?) Yeah, once on de aig, an' yo' put it in vinegah. Leave it stay dere nine days, an' den yo' throw it ovah dey do'. Also a guinea aig. A guinea aig is mostly bettah den de black hen aig. [THIS MAY BE MY ( ONLY EXAMPLE OF A GUINEA EGG.] Although lotsa people believes in de black hen aig, but a guinea goes roun' de house makin' fuss all de time. Yo' know, yo' notice dat? [Guinea fowls considered as good as a watch dog.] An' if yo' wanta make fuss an' keep confusion, yo' git dat guinea aig, yo' see, an' dat keeps de confusion. (You do the same thing as you did with the black hen egg.)
Entry 9426
Ah don' know whethah it's so or not, but dey tell me yo' kin take a black hen aig an' yo' kin - if yo' wants a person tuh stay 'way from yuh house- take a black hen aig an' put it up in vinegah till it becomes long, yo' know. Yo' know vinegah will make a aig git small as dis fingah [demonstrates finger], jis' stretch it. An' says, an' aftah dat aig gits where 'bout it stretches, yo'...if yo' put a aig in vinegah - ah don' know whethah yo' have experienced dat or not, but vinegah will make a aig stretch. [If reader does not believe this, an egg and vinegar are an inexpensive experiment.] Jis' put a aig in a bottle. Yo' kin put a aig in one small bottle, ain't no mo' 'en [more than] hole dat big [demonstrates]. Yo' kin put a hen aig in dere by puttin' dat hen aig in vinegah. Yo' see, vinegah will make dat hen aig stretch lak a string. Well, yo' kin put it in vinegah, a black hen aig. Dey tell me dey do dis. An' yo' kin take dat black hen aig an' if ah don' wan' chew tuh mah house, ah kin break dat aig whilst it's got dat vinegah in it, an' ah kin jis' strow [archaic for strew = to scatter] it around mah do'step or eithah way, mah entrance way, an' yo' cānt [can not] come in dere. Anybody kin come dere 'scusin' [excusing = eXCePt] yo'. IF YO' START IN DERE WHY YO'D HAVE SECH PAIN YO'D FALL 'FORE YO' COULD MAKE IT. But whethah dat dere is true, now ah don't say dat is true.
Entry 9715
Salt an' a little chamber lye an' a little vinegah, an' sprin- kle roun' yore do' will keep de law back. Dat's whut ah've heard. [Waycross, Ga., (1092), 1759:1.] [These four sticking or sharp-pointed instruments are of great importance in HOODOO, but usually they appear not alone or together but as parts of rites having more complex elements. For example we have: 4 new needles crossed in a handker- chief and folded 4 times to you, creating 16 squares, a rare example of "geometric progression" (for folding rites see 3182-3190, v.3) where the principal concern is neither needle nor folding but CAUSES OF SEXUAL IMPOTENCE (No.3162, p.2352, v.3). Another use of 4 needles does not appear in our present section because it is more useful elsewhere bringing back a murderer (MURDER, No.7316, p.3251, v.4). Yet nails, needles and pins, and tacks - isolated by themselves or in combinations - remain numerous, important and interesting, as we shall find in our first belief.]
Entry 9848
If yuh boy frien' wz goin' wit somebody an' yo' didn't want 'im tuh go wit 'uh, yo' could git nine red an' white [headed] matches [the red head of the match has a white dot on it], nine goldeye needles, an' nine gourd seeds, an' nine "grains" of dis red peppah.["Grains" are fre- quently used, meaning here seeds or pieces of the pep- per.] Take de inside out. Nine dose grains of dat pep- per. An' take dat an' mix it up all tuhgethah. Stir it up all tuhgethah an' tie it up real tight in a yarn rag. An' soak it in vinegah ovahnight. An' take dat an' t'row it undah somebody's step, whoevah dis boy's goin' wit, if yo' wan'a break 'im off from dis girl. An' he'll nevah go dere no more. He won' ca nuthin about nobody but chew.
Entry 10170
A friend of mine wanted tuh git rid of her husband an' she wuz in love with anothah man at de same time, an' so she took his picture, her husban's picture, an' she had some bergamot an' vinegah, salt an' peppah - jes' ordinary black peppah. And she kept it undah his bed.
(What did she do with these ingredients?)
Had them all together, folded togethah, an' even a piece of his hair. An' she folded that together an' she lighted a candle an' kept that burnin' undah his bed.
(The candle burning under his bed?)
Yessuh, little small tapers - white ones, very small. As soon as one would go out, she'd light the othah one. She kept a boxful, yo' know, continually. An' finally he left. [Some of the small tapers or candles are about the size of an old-fashioned wooden match.]
Entry 10184
An' some says anothah remedy tuh put 'em [candles being burned on you] out [is one] dat yo'll use on yuh head. Well, yo'll have tuh git chew diff'ren' little things. Yo'll git chew vinegah, a teacup of vinegah an' three teaspoons of olive oil, an' one egg an' yo' beat it up - whip it [3 things] up tuhgethah. Yo' beat up de egg first an' den add de othah all tuh it. An' put it in a bottle an' shake it up. Well, yo'll take some of dat, take a swallah of it evah now an' den, about two or three time a day or somepin othah like dat. Den yo' take some of dat an' put it on. Yo' know, dey say when de candle burns, it strikes yo' on one mos' pahtic'lah place - burning an' pullin' [demonstrates]. (It strikes you in one particular place, right here in the back of your head some place [informant demonstrates]. Where your neck and head meet, right up here some place [I demonstrate].) Well, some says it will be here [demonstrates]. Sometime it will be here [demonstrates]. But more in gen'ral it be's kinda back, it's pullin' [demon- strates]. Dey tell me it work like dat.
[I describe last demonstration.]
(Or near the left temple.)
Yas, neah de lef' temple or somepin lak it. It pulls. It seems as if some- one is pullin' on de strands of yuh hair. Dere's a strain, yo' know, on yuh hair. Dey say dat's whut dat is [someone burning a candle on you] when yo' have dat. (Well, you've taken some of this mixture, then you do something else you said.) Yo' take dat mixtry [mixture], yo' take it in yore han' jes' like dat. Let yuh han's git wet jes' like dat an' jes' like dis [demonstrates].
(Just rub it right on your scalp.)
De scalp of yuh head. An' sometimes it so severe yo' take de bottle an' po' it like dat [demonstrates]. Jes' douse yo' head wit it good [demonstrates].
(What will that do then?)
Dat eases it, but yo' gotta do dat about two-three days maybe.
(Well, what does that do to the candles?)
Dey say it puts dem out. Dat's whut ah heard, it puts 'em out.
Entry 11111
But they's got to have more to go with that skin to do you harm, besides just the skin off you feet. They can take the skin off the bottom of your feet and if they can get some of your hair, take that skin and some of your hair, and take a coconut, or either a bottle, and fill it up with vinegar, and throw it in the water where it will run and you start going and you'll never go back home again. In a bot- tle or coconut, but you gotta stop it up so it don't come out.
Entry 11199
Git dirt daubah dat-a-way an' put it in a bottle wit vinegah. Dat's uhut chew call a shure shot. Put it in de bottle wit vinegah, de dirt daubah, wit black peppah an' red peppah, an' if de people of dis house wuz gittin' 'long fine, a person would slip [in] heah at night an' throw it undah de house or plant it anywhere in de yard. In two week's time dey would be axin' [asking] one 'nothah fo' a divorce.
Entry 11627
Well, you can take a fish and make a person drift from one place to another, never will stay nowhere or know where they going. You take this fish and you cut him open, and you takes their name and you put it up in there, and you pours moving oil and cayenne pepper and vinegar in there, and sews this fish back up. And you go to any running stream of water and you throws it in there, and you use the three god- heads, which I mean are: 'God, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit: I wish as this fish float, I want you to drift the same way."
Entry 11712
Well, garlic's for luck for skinning.
(For what?)
Any kind of card games. You take garlic and antiphigestin. They have a' 'nointment, a salve-like they calls aniphigestine. People use it for sores. Well, you take garlic - take those little buttons of garlic - take one of 'em and cut it up into nine pieces. (Nine pieces.) Nine pieces of it. Take this - a whole tube of anamjestine... (Ana - anamajestine?) Anamajestine. Yes, sir. (All right.) Then you take it and wrap it up in a nice clean ohite cloth - just so the cloth is nice and clean. Then you take and take a piece of white - red flannel and wrap it up in that. And take this stove coal - hard, hard, you know, and beat it up just like a powder.
(Black coal?)
Black coal, yes, sir. And take some vinegar and put this coal in some vinegar, nalf a glass of vinegar. And put about a teaspoonful of that coal dust in that and steel dust - a small amount of steel dust. And put it on and boil it down i real low. And then you take and soak that garlic and anamajestine in it. That akes a toby.
(What's a toby?)
For cards - that tells you when your cards is on the table, when to turn 'em D. Tell you when to set.
(How will it tell you that?)
Well, when it's....it'll jump in your pocket.
(Do what?)
It'll jump.
(It'll jump to tell you to do that.)
Entry 11751
They kin take some graveyard dirt and people's hair and some of their clothes, and they would soaken it in vinegar and turpentine and wrap it up tight in some kind of jar, and put it underneath of the people's [victim's] steps that they may walk over it. It would cause an infection or transaction between the two. The person would git in contact with the person with whom he want to git to. That would bring the one whom that they wanted to them. [The person who walks over the bottle will find and visit the person who prepared the bottle.]
Entry 12159
Dey put somepin in de shoes. It's a mixture of this ground up - they call it hog-hoof. Yes, dey grind it up lak meal an' dey mix soda an vinegah an' salt, but it's gotta be ground up very fine, jes' lak flaxseed meal, in a powder, so it won't be notice- able. An' jes' powder de shoe aroun' wit dat. Dat will keep him from goin' off. [A note of mine reads: this keeps the man from being hoodooed away by another woman.]
Entry 13307
Well, if a woman wants tuh git rid of a man an' don't want him tuh come tuh her house no mo', de first thing she'll do, she'll go uptown to de drugsto' an' she git her some rock candy, an' she git her some whiskey. Git dis rock candy an' whiskey an' mix it tuhgether, an' she po's some vinegar in. An'when he come dere, she'll prob'ly have him tuh sit down. An' when he sit down, she prob'ly - yo' know a man doesn't pay much attention tuh a woman an when he go tuh sleep dere, an' she sprinkle dat ovah him. An' after she sprinkle dat ovah him he goin' leave her alone. He won't come back to her house no mo'. (What do you mean a man doesn't pay much atten- tion to a woman? What do you mean by that?) Well, some mens doesn't pay much attention tuh a woman when dey come tuh dere house. Dey jes' know dere [they are] at home. Yo' know, think dat dey [not] goin' do anything to harm 'em.
Entry 185
"It's bad luck fo' a whirlwind to come anywheres nearby yore place of business - yo' know, make those rings lak that yo' know, fo' kinda lak a circus. Say it's bad luck.
(What do they say that whirlwind is?)
Ah heared - ah tell yo' de truth about it. Ah re'lly hear some people say - de knowledge of mah experience of dat. Ah heared people say dat if yo' take de vinegar an' throw it roun' yore place of business - sometime people kin do things lak dat; they come up an' be's, do's de devil work. Throwin' vinegar round yore place of business, dey say that [devil work] would nevah happen.
(What wouldn't happen?)
Dose whirlwinds comin' in a circus, yo' know, roun' a person place of business where dey - round in de yard where men about close roun' in de field. Jes' sprinkle vinegar roun' about two acres of yore place of business; after that it would nevah happen. Ah heard a lady tole me dat, but not as ah really think.
(They say if it came here, it would bring bad luck to what you are doing?)
Yessuh, because she said dat it was a man caused dat tuh come roun' her house one time. She said it come in - jes' lak a whirlwind; she couldn't see nuthin' but jes' a round wheel of dust. It would come, she say, sometime on three corners of de house, an' she say every time that would happen, her child would be sick, until she went to a man an' he said dat man had her place dressed, and told her that she must put vinegar aroun' about two acres of her place of business, an' carry some along with her. An' she say from that day until dis, she tole me - she say it happen about two yeahs befo' dis, den it nevah happen any mo'.
Entry 621
I was in Norfolk, Virginia, an' a fellah was tricked by a girl with a fork, you know, while eatin'. I knew him, we worked together - we worked at the cap factory. An' he couldn't stay away from there [the girl's house] an' he couidn't stay with his wife. She [this girl] had him tricked. See, they'd been goin' together an' goin' together an' goin' together, but he got married on her. See, that's why she thought she'd do such a thing. An' he went to ever'body he knew [for advice] an' so he was told to go to a root worker an' ever'bodies don't like to go to a root worker, so he didn't jis' wan'a go. An' so he got so bad off an' his wife was goin' leave him so he jes' went on to a root worker. An' so dis place he went, she told him to take some snuff an' vinegar an' take this snuff - he soaked it in vinegar - put it under his girl's nose at night. An' she say if this woman wakes up, she hasn't got him fix - he jis' does his own ideas goin' there [he went there voluntarily]; an' if she don't wake up, he know she git somepin wrong [that he had been fixed]. So he did that. [She didn't wake up when the snuff was held under her nose.] An' whosomever he went to told him to bring it back to them [if the girl didn't wake up]. An' after he did [bring the snuff back] she kept it for three days an' nights. What she did, why he don't know, an' I don't know either. But she gave it back to him an' she told him to take it back [on his person] to this woman house ever' day he went there. An' ever' day he carried this snuff back there, she was goin' back an' forth to the store, back an' forth to the store. An' so he kept worryin' her an' kept worryin' her until she came clean with it. An' she told him what she had done. He didn't tell us exactly what she say she did to him, but she had tricked him in his food. She left Virginia.
Entry 1140
Heard of 'em usin' a broom string - dey use dat fo' cramps. If someone have tricked yo', yo' take a broom string. First yo' take it from de opposite end an' den dip it in some vinegar, an' den take it an' bring it roun' yore waist an' tie it in nine knots all de way. An' dat drives de cramps away. (You said, when you have cramps you tie this string, from the broom, round your waist, and tie nine knots in it and let the knots stay over your navel.) Let it hang ovah de navel. [You unwind the string backwards from the broom, beginning at de opposite end, the last part of the string sewed to the broom. This is a backwards rite, one of many reversing actions in magicl]
Entry 1153
Heard of 'em takin' buzzard feathers an' runnin' people off - fixin' 'em [as a protective device]. Yo' take dem feathers an' yo' carry it home an' yo' burn dat feather till yo' burn it in a ashes. An' put it in any kinda little can an' set it afire - let it burn into ashes. Yo' take dat feather [ashes] an yo' put it in some vinegar - put it in some vinegar an' let it set fo' three mornin's. An' when yo' set it fo' three mornin's yo' kin take dat vinegar [and ashes] an' sprinkle it either on de steps or any porch - on de back porch or de front. If anybody yo' had dat yo' don't want 'em round yo', yo' sprinkle it - an' yo' see 'em comin' yo' sprinkle it. When dey git dere dey'll turn round an' go back. Dey can't come no further den de steps - wit de buzzard feathers.
(You burn that buzzard feather and then put the ashes in the vinegar?)
Yes - de ashes in vinegar.
Entry 1351
I know of another lady, she had a swell leg, an' she went right in the back of the field an' she got some bushes - I reckon you have heerd talk about jimson weeds. Well, they got some jimson weeds an' put vinegar on 'em - put 'em in vinegar - an' put 'em to her leg, an' the leg completely went down.
(How did she get that swollen leg?)
She think dat she was hurt.
Entry 1612
Dey kin take yore chamber lye - jes' lak anybody go tuh work an' poison yo' or anything, yo' see. Well, yo' kin git some sweet milk, yo' see, an' honey, yo' understan', an' a lil' likker an' mix dat chamber lye - jes' a little, yo know - an' likker an' honey an' vinegar. Well, yo' take dat yo' see an' dat would make yo' vomit it up yo' see.
Entry 6775
Well, yo' kin take a dirt daubah nest an' vinegah an' make a poultice tuh carry away a sprain.
Entry 6778
[I know] evahthin' about it. Yo' take yo' some vinegah an' dirt daub- ah, yo' see, an' yo' mix it up jis' lak a salve-lak, yo' see, an' lay it on yore face wit a rag, yo' see. Plastah it on yore face. Dat bring dat swellin' down.
Entry 6779
Mud daubah nest is only good for fevahs an' diff'ren' things lak dat. Yo' break dat up an' put it in vinegah.
Entry 6807
Cook frog alive, add vinegar, when salve cold apply for venereal dis- ease.
Entry 11449
You [they] kin take yore fingernails. They kin lead you or make you go anywhere that they want you to do [go]. Now, your toenails - well, that's all the same thing. But either one of your nails, or part about you - that's a person got you in their lead - they kin lead you and they can do anything they want. Just like if you was my landlord and I had some of your fingernails or toenails, I would stay in this room [interviewing room] from now on and every time I come in here you'd take sides with me.
(What would we do with those [finger and toe] nails?)
They have to put 'em in - just put a little idene [iodine] in a bottle and put a little vinegar in - about nine drops of vinegar.
(That all they do with it?)
That's all. They gotcha. Don't have to do a bit more than that. Couple of ways that other people try to do somepin, it kinda keeps them away for awhile. but that - you take that, that's the real way to do. [New Orleans (867) 1405:2.]
Entry 12643
Fill a stocking with crushed red peppers and sprinkle vinegar on, and wear around waist to protect self against cunjuration. [Wilmington 125:1+85.]
Entry 603
Now, ah had dat done tuh me. Now, ah'll tell yo' de truth. In Alexan- dria, Virginia, mah privates used to ache when mah wife would go off or somepin lak dat - be off any length of time. An' ah couldn't even bothah wit nobody but her, an' ah couldn't do so much tuh her. So, we separated an' dey jis' went tuh swellin' up on me down dere. Ah called de doctah an' de doctah ast me did ah evah had a cramps or anythin' lak dat. Ah tole him, "No suh." So he give me a suscription [prescription] for a suspensor bag [suspensory] an' some medicine. An' jis' [it] ordinarily leave, yo' know - it didn't las long. So, ah wus on mah way tuh hunt mah wife - yo' know, ah had tuh go fin her. She wus in South Ca'lina down heah an' ah wus in Marylan'. So ah stop in Virginia an' someone tole me 'bout a ole woman named Stu-art ovah on de Canal in Alexandria - it's right dere [near] Washington. So, ah went ovah tuh see her - ole woman. Ah reckon she wus roun' 75 or 80 yeahs ole. She say, "Come in, son, ah know why yo' come." Say, "Sit down." An' she took a rock an' put it in mah han' jis' lak dat, an' say, "Yo' shet it tight an' think about yore trouble an' make some wishes." Ah think 'bout mah trouble an' take it out. Ah've nevah seen a rock look lak dat. An' she took it off an' she went tuh readin' dis rock.
(What color was the rock she put in your hand?)
"Bout a dove colored rock.
(Did it change while it was in your hand?)
Naw suh, it didn't change. She say, "Yo's a long way from home." Ah say, "Yes'm. She say, "Ah'm goin' stop yo' heah, now [ambiguous]. An' she say, "Yore mothah's uneasy 'bout chew." ' Say, "Dere she is - can't yo' see her? She got a big white apern [apron] on." Ah couldn't see nuthin' [on the stone]. Say, "Can't yo' see her dere?" Say, "Yo' got somebody daid in yore family?" Say, "Yes'm, mah sistah wus." Say, "Can't yo' see her dere?" Say, "She dressed all in white." Den she come down heah to de bottom of de rock an' she say, "Think now - yo' evah seen anythin' lak dat befo' in yore life?" Ah say, "No-mam." She say, "Think." Ah say, "No'm, ah can't think." "A ole rock," she say, "dat's yore wife pussy." She say, "Didn't she play deceitful wit chew when yo' git ready tuh have sexual interco'se with her? She had tuh go out in anothah room or somepin lak dat?" Says, "Well, she dressed herself fo' yuh" - she didn't tell whut she dressed it wit but she dressed her- self wit somepin - an' she say, "Yore dragged in dat while yo' wus havin' her." An' she say, "She didn't intend tuh kill yo' but in othah words, her intention wus fo' yo' tuh follow wit her wherevah she go. She's a woman wants tuh have her way." Say, "But it would event'ly [eventually] killed yo' if yo' have nevah gone back to her an' hadn't seen me. She say, "Ah'll take yore case fo' $41.50." An' ah paid her whut ah had an' she tole me, say, "Now, yo' may have tuh go tuh Baltimore" - yo' might know it - say, "Yo' go tuh Washington tuh de ole Dutch Center Market an' yo' git chew a package of mayapple root. [I interviewed a Washington root seller, also one in Mobile - see Root seller in Index.] Yo' boil it down - put it in a quart of watah an' boil it down to a pint" [diminishing amount magic - opposite of increasing amount]. An' said, "Yo' take a" - think she said it wus a tablespoonful de first night. She said, "De next night yo' git chew a package of pure apple vinegar - boil a quart of pure apple vinegar an' a package of Sensation tubacca."
(Sensation tobacco - what is that, smoking or chewing?)
Well, yo' kin chew or either smoke it. An' say, "Yo' shave yore hair off easy on yore han'." Say, "Make a syrup out dat. [You have] a syrup out dis Sensation tobacca an' de vinegar. Put it [the two syrups] togethah an' boil it an' make a syrup an' see, yo' 'noint chure haid good wit it - all yore privates an' ever'thing wit it." An' say, "De next night, see, yo' git yo' a bottle of sweet oil an' yo' drink ever' bit of it." Ah did jes' lak she said. So one day, 'bout de last day dem pains, de pains got on top me an' ah went tuh hollerin' upstairs. Mah cousin came up an' she say, "Whut's de mattah?" When she came upstairs ah wus down - ah had de foot of de bed jes' lak dis - she say, "Whut's de mattah?"
(Hanging onto the bed.)
Hangin' on de bed jes' lak dat - wit de suspensor bag on me.
(What kind of a bag on?)
Had on de suspensor bag - ah still had on dat suspensor bag de doctah had give me in Baltimore.
(What's that?)
Dat's tuh hol' dem balls up - dat's a truss, dey call it. So ah look roun' after her lak dat an' ah said, "Dat woman tole me dat mah haid wus damn big an' all - dat ah couldn't hear but ah'd feel somepin dere - somepin dere - an' maybe ah ain't feelin' it now." She laughed an' says, "Ef yo' don' treat dese wimmin right, dey'll kill yo'." So she rushed dis one man next do' to dis wumman cross de Canal dat had give me dat suscription tuh use an' tole her whut a fix ah wus in an' he said she laughed at him when he got dere an' tole him, "He'd be all right when yo' go back." An' sho' 'nuff when he came back ah wus all right. An' de next day ah went tuh work at de shop fo' five hours, an' ah throw 'way dat suspensor bag or dem trusses an' ah nevah had dem pains any mo' since. Naw suh. An' jes' mah ordinary nature came back to me an' ah could go wit any woman ah wanted, an' befo' ah could hardly rear it up an' anothah woman seem jes' lak a man. Dat de truth.
(What kind of a iob did you have with the Southern Railroad - firing?)
Firelighter in de roun'house.
(Oh, you were lighting the fires in the engines.)
In de engines.
Entry 892
About fifteen years ago [1922] I was workin' to a place an' didn't seem like de peoples seemed to like de way I was gittin' along. I was gittin' along purty well. [Then he becomes ill.] An' come along a colored fellah and his wife an' he told me, he say, they had buried somepin around the place where I worked at to throw me out mah job an' make me unhealthy. So he ast me - he was out de woods - there's a weed in de woods they call gall of de earth. I told [him] I did not [know it]. He say, "Well, you come an' I'll show it to yah. [It was] a little black place right down in de branch here [near Hartsville, S. Car.] an' he take me down there an' says, "Will you know this when you see it again?" I tole 'im, "Yes, I think so." But I ain't seen none of it around heah [Wilmington, N. Car.]. I've been lookin' close for it thinkin' I'd stay in tetch with it. So he had me to send an' git some vinegar. [Previously] I tole him mah right feet was swell up four times big as mornin [normal] - mah leg up to mah hip. I had to drag it. An' he put on a kittle an' heats some water. He put cookin' salt, vinegar an' chamber lye, some sun-cure [rather than smoke-cured] tobacco in it, and strained it out an' this gall of the earth, an' he boiled it about five minutes. Then he got de foot tub and he put a cover over it like this, an' he stirred it a little bit an' he kep' feelin' in it an' it got so he tole me to put mah feet in it. He took dese leaves of this gall of de earth - they's about dat wide I reckon an' about dis long, look kin'a like somepin dey call dog tongue [= hound's-tongue], [used these leaves] like a cloth, an' he bathed mah leg down [magic rite of down- ward] and feet. An' then he took de other handful of green stuff, gall of de earth leaves. He beat 'em up an' he put de salt an' [corn] meal in it, an' then he taken some of this same stuff he bathe mah feet with an' dampen it good all over an' bind mah leg down dis like I'd wrapped it around a wound. An' de next mornin' I could walk. De swellin', ever' bit of it was gone. An' it ain't never hurt me in that ankle since, but ever' year I have a hurtin' in de hip along between now [February] an' de spring of de year.
(How did he say you were hurt?)
He dug - was some kin'a bottle about half as big as that brown bottle yonder, about a half pint, an' it was a lota diff'rent kin'a roots in it. I don't know what dey was in it. An' he took it an' he shuck it up an' he looked at it an' he put some kin'a seal on it an' done some markin' on de paper [he pasted on the bottle] with a pencil an' he tole me did I know way dey a runnin' stream was. I tole him yes. He ast me how fer it was. I tole about a half of mile. So he said, "Well, you arrange to git dere an' throw it in dere at twelve o'clock mid- night." He say, "When you git dere, you jis' say, "Between the Father, Son and the Holy Ghost, beside me dere is no other [only time I ever heard this unusual addition, ' an' throw it right over your head, be sure you throw it in the water, an' don't look back at it." He say, "Go on back home. An' den after dat he went off an' died an' I never could tell no more about it by me changes places [moving] comin' over here [to Wilmington]. This happened in Hartsville, South Carolina. [Wilmington, N. Car., (312), 240: l; I interviewed his wife (313), next.]
Entry 1535
Three dimes made in the same year - three pieces of silver, but'they must be silver dimes and they must be a dime dat de woman settin' upon. Let me show you. [He shows me a dime.] It mustn't be that, just de neck and the head it must be the whole woman. Well, you must git three pieces of dese and they must be made in the same year, and put 'em into a little vinegar and you take three swallows for nine mornings off of that. And then dose things will begin to worry. And after dey work, den you kin tell whether they're [live things] in you. Den you kin go and git you some mulleins, git you some broom sedge root, git you some siZkroot [silkweed]. You mix all that together, make you a tea. Then you git you some potash, mix that with it. You git a little wormwood and mix with it too.
Entry 1834
Well, dey kin take yore hand-writin' - sho' dey kin. Ah've heard that. Dey take - lak yo' write me a lettah an' ah wanta do yo' something, ah take yore writin' an' ah fold it, ah fold it nine times. Den ah put me some pins an' nee- dles, nine needles an' nine pins in that an' put it in some steel dust an' some devil watah an' some ammonia an' bury it. Den yo' act'lly goin' tuh die.
(What is devil watah?)
Devil watah is devil vinegar. (And when you fold it how do you fold it? Fold it to you like this?) [I demonstrate.] No, fold it from yo'.
Entry 2773
[I made no special effort to collect material about Marie Laveau, the second, or the hoodoo dance. It was too late for either one and besides I am not a historian. There will probably be a little more material about both in the text somewhere.] Well, dat's a person will do yo' somethin' dat chew go - it sup- posed tuh be mean things when yo' go to a fo'k of de road. Dat supposed tuh be very mean but den dere ain't nuthin whut a mean person won't do at times. Well, yo' take yo' a aig an' yo' soak it in vinegah an' dis cayenne peppah, but chew put de names of de party on dat aig. Yo' understand, put de name of the party on that aig an' put it in a jar an' soak it in vinegah fo' nine days in dis peppah an' salt. An' den yo' goes tuh de fo'k of de road an' make yore wish, an' yo' dance an' ever'thing, an' break it, but nevah look back at it - jis' break it an' leave it dere.
(What will happen to that person then?)
He'll leave direct - won't be a long time leaving, leave town. Yo'll send him away.
(The way she explained it to you?)
Well, she tole me dat dere wus a woman by de name of Marie Baptiste. She had two daughters an' she liked fo' her daughters tuh outdress de girls down in de 7th Ward. Dat's whare ah wus bo'n in de 7th Ward. An' she sol' herself to de devil at twelve a'clock at night wit de fire of furnace - a furnace fire, yo know, at de fo'k of de road in de woods.
(What kind of a fire? A furnace? How'd she get the furnace out there?)
[I soon realized she was talking about a charcoal brazier, when her furnace becomes a hot pot.] Well, she brought it out dere. She had it out dere an' she sol' herself to him dat she could git anything she wanted so she could go in de sto's an' any- thing she take dey couldn't see her.
(What did she do when she got out there? Didn't she do anything?)
Well, dey had some kin' of a dance dey danced, de hoodoo dance - dey danced wit a'kinda meetin' lak. Dey danced an' dat's de way she sol' herself tuh de devil an' dey had de devil tuh git her away from de devil.
(Have you ever heard of that woman Marie Laveau?)
Yessuh, ah've heard of her.
(What have you ever heard said or told about her?)
Well, dere's so many things tole about her. Well, ah tell yo', her an' mah mothah used tuh be friends an' ah used tuh be in her house. Some of 'em claimed ah wus partly christened at her house, an' she done everything she could do. She used tuh use dem furnace an' fiah too, an' hot pots on her. Ah kin carry yo' tuh de same spot of ground where her house wus on - yessuh, St. Ann between Rampart an'Burgundy.
(She was pretty good wasn't she?)
Yessuh, she wus fine.
(Did they used to have those old hoodoo dances when you were a girl?)
Yessuh.
(What did they used to do?)
Dance in dey petticoat tail an' dey shimmy tail - dance.
(Did you ever hear of them dancing a person to death?)
No, ah nevah heard of that.
(They just had those dances for good-time dances?)
De good-time dance an' dey wus doin' dey work at de meantime, but dey wus doin' hoodoo work when dey used tuh dance. Plenty tuh eat an' plenty tuh drink, an' if it wus anything tuh harm, dey would have hearts - raw hearts an' dey would eat that.
(What kind of hearts?)
Beef hearts. (Can you tell me any particular whole story about any one particular thing that you used to do?) No, ah wus too young tuh remember.
(Does any of that go on today or has it all died out?)
Well, ah think it's all died out an' dere ain't nuthin of that much now. It's gone. It's mo' de spiritual whut's goin' on now. (All that ole-time stuff has all died out? Those dances and things of that sort?) Jis' de time dey has it at de ole lake every 24th day of June. Yo' know dat's St. John's day an' dat's mah day. At de lake [Pontchartrain].
(What would they do?)
De hoodoo dance. Dey dance an' dey has a meeting, an' anything dat dey would want tuh do, dey does it that day. If it's good or bad they does it that day. An' anybody could go out dere if dey would wanta go. [After she leaves, my contact man Edward and I talk, though a part of the opening conversation is unrecorded.] Dat her name non est.
(How do you spell that?)
Ah don' know.
(Is that her real name or just a?)
Jis' a nickname we give her. [If Edward actually used the words non est, they were something our assistant Mack, old-time taximan, had picked up in New Orleans.]
(She is supposed to be pretty good?)
Yes, she's a spiritualist.
(That woman that was just in here?)
Yes. End 1584. ["Algiers, La., Fri., Feb. 23, 1940 - 1584 - old woman - several things - Ph [[something looking like Phillip - probably name of person who brought her]]." Numbers Book 1558-1605. Almost anyone would have been described as giving "several things" after following 1583, Nahnee - see her long interview. I did not know that the next woman to walk through the door would be - DARK LADY - DARK GLASSES - DARK DEEDS - See her interview.]
Entry 6776
If yo' sprain yo' arm or yo' foot, yo' leg, mix it up wit vinegah an' tie it roun' dere, bandage a cloth aroun' dat. Dat's all ah know fo' dirt daubah nests.
Entry 8627
Yo' kin take an' break anybody up if it's a woman or a man, if yo' wants tuh break 'em up. Yo' take an' yo' write dere name down nine times wit indelible pencil, but chew make nine strips, an' as yo put one strip - yo put one strip straight an' yo' put one strip across. See, lak dat [demonstrates]. Yo' git chew some gunpowder, Epsom salts, some cayenne peppah an' some vinegar an' yo' puts dat in dat lemon. Yo' bo's [bores] a hole in de lemon an' yo' stick dat name down in dere an' po' all dat ingredient on top of it. But yo' have dem papahs crossed. Po' [pour] all dat ingredient on top of dat. When yo' po' it on top of dat, yo' git chew a cork stoppah an' yo' put it on dere. An' den yo' take dat piece of skin, de top skin, dat chew cuts back [end of lemon cut back as lid], an' yo' takes an' yo' sew it wit some black thread, an' yo' buries dat to de sunrise. Dat make confusion within de hour. (Now, the name is written once on nine different strips of paper. The name is written like John Edwards, just as we would write our name?) Yessuh.
(And you write this with just ordinary pencil?)
Yo' write dat wit indelible pencil.
Entry 11260
They kin get your socks and they get your toenails and any kind of little dirt from under your fingernails or toenails. When they get that, if they be around your house, they kin get your clothes. And they take a little piece of your underwear and cut a little piece where you sweats. Well, they take all of that and put it in a bottle. They goes to work and they gets vinegar, and then they go to work and takes your nature [surely means urine here] you know, if they can get your nature; but if they can't get your nature, they'll go to work and get someone to get it for 'em. They will put all that in a bottle and take it and stop it up. So when they stop it up, they'll put pins and needles and all in there. And when they stop it up, you see, well they uses psychology on you.
(I see.)
They'll go to work, some people, and get someone to go round to see you. See. That's the people is on [know what's going on] you know. And then when he [helper] goes to work and gets that stuff, then he'll go to work and start boostin' this fellow [professional hoodoo man]. You know, when they standing around, he say, "I know a man will do so-and-so and so-and-so." See. Well, dey done got you den. Well, if you are weak-minded, you believe that. See. Then they go to work then and you get all upset. You know, by being weak-minded they kin do so-and-so. Then they turn right around up on top of dat and say, "Well, I charge $25 or $30." Well, you know they are right, but someone went around and talked to you. I know a man that will do it. See, a strange man in town. Then, if you is weak-minded, you believe, you'll have confidence in 'em. Well, that's the people.
Entry 11676
If somebody put a spell on you, or evil verk [work] on yuh, ah kin take yuh any night at twelve 'clock an' go tuh de fork of de road. An' lak at a certain time [I will] fetch yuh on back home an' fix de door tuh yuh step - an' den yuh'll go back- ward an' go tuh yuh baid- room an' git a pair of 'is socks or some othah thing. An' nine days aftah dat yuh would be off from home. Nine days aftah dat yuh'll commence tuh... [I inter- rupt.] (Well what would you do at the crossroads? What Would you do down at the crossroads to cure a person?) Why yuh want me tuh tell yuh secret information? (I'm not going to be here to go into business again- st you or anything of that sort, you understand. [Long silence and I continue.] You see, what you tell me is confidential. It doesn't go any farther, you see.) Well, I'll tell yuh anyhow. Now yuh, if anybody harm yuh, hurt chuh, an' yuh Wan'a put a spell on dem [this is called "returning the spell"]. Yuh go an' git a frog, one frog. Git chuh nine, nine eightpenny cut nails. Yo' know what a cut nail is?
(Yes, a square nail.)
Mm [whatever that means!]. An' go carry it tuh de crossroads, jes' go ovah de dirt where his feet print [leave footprints]. Do lak dat [demonstrates] an do lak dat [demonstrates again] an' be raising de nail.
[I describe his actions.]
(The person puts his hands down on the ground.)
[The hands are spread out flat on the ground.]
Gotta have [demonstrates] ground gotta go through his hand, you know [demon- strates].
(Through his fingers.)
[He continues to demonstrate.]
Yuh put yuh fingahs here and den yuh put de nails right here.
[Demonstrates a hammer.]
(A special hammer you use for that purpose.)
[While this is going on.] De devil will come along. Nevah go up to him. Go back home as slow as yuh kin an' carry dat nailed-down [prints] an' take de sand wit it. Nail dem tuh de steps an' yuh do de same thing. Let him go in de house backwards. As he go at de step goes on up, go in backwards an' lay down [to rest]. He gonna git up early - sunrise. Aftah sunrise de nex' mawnin'. An' den yuh give him a quart of vinegah an' sulphuh, an' in dat bottle. An' put it dere an' throw it in runnin' watah, den dat will [begin to work]. An' in nine days time, if he ain't too long [gone, he will begin to recover].
[While machine stopped I ask a question.]
No, yo'll start at de do' an' den take five more [steps] an' git some vinegah. Tie it right togethah wit a piece of cord string an' put about a spoonful of sulphur, wit a quart of vinegah. But chew have dat fixed. Now you have dat fixed a couple of days, yuh undahstan'. Den aftah yuh do it, git de person an' let 'im take a dose three times a day.
(That'll cure him?)
In nine days now dat person week is up an' de reason it is done. If it's recently done, dey has de party dyin' in t'ree days. [Presumably the longer the spell in time, the longer it takes to cure it.]
(The person that put the spell on him.)
Yeah, goes back [to him] see. [This is called returning the spell and by other names.]
[To be on the safe side I continue.]
(As I pass, I put them [my feet] down there and make my footprints and my handprints right at the crossroads.) Right at de cross of de road [making this the center of a square and a quin- cunx rite] and come right back to de steps and do de same thing. An' he'll [doctor] have to carry yuh back as yuh go backwards an' lay in de baid.
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 494
I have heard that if a witch rides you at night take a small vial, put hairpins and plain pins and vinegar and a loose stopper in the bottle, and put it under your pillow, and they say it will catch the witch. The witch will get in the bottle, can't get out. The pins will catch the witch and keep him in, and the vinegar will dissolve him and change the color of the contents and you will know that you have the witch. You'll never have trouble with witches as long as you live.
Entry 884
My great-grandmother was poisoned in some cabbages by one of her friends an' she gave her the cabbage to eat an' she ate it an' soon after she ate 'em she was swollen all up her feet clean in her hips. An' one of her friends went to see her an' she looked at her an' said she thought she was hurt - in fact this friend knew she was hurt an' she told her she's gon'a get a doctor, a root doctor, to do her some good. So she went to get the doctor an' when she got there he was so busy 'tending to somebody else he jes' told her whut to do for her. He told her to take lysol an' bathe in it in hot water all over an' take a dose of vinegar an' Epsom salt - make a dose of that together. She took it an' when it worked through her little green things come right out of her.
Entry 1311
Go to the cemetery and go to a sinner-man's grave and right over the middle of his chest and get some of that dirt, and as soon as I kin get it and bring it back home, and mix it up with vinegar and water and make it hard, hard, hard. Let it dry, dry. Divide it into four pieces.
(You cut this into four parts?)
Into four parts, and put one at the front door, one at the back, one this side, and [one] the other side. Can't nobody harm you, nobody come near yuh. (I see. You have some of that on each side of the house.)
Entry 1388
Only, lessen it was a kid or somepin couldn't talk plain: yo' know, an' anybody else dat, yo' know, dey say couldn't explain de words plain enough. Yo' takes a mockingbird egg an' cook it chew know good an' hard, an' eat it an' put a little vinegar on it. Dat'll make 'em talk plain. (Where did you hear that?) Dat was done in my country - ah experienced dat.
(In Georgia?)
Yes, sir. [After No. 1035, p.395, was typed I found this more detailed belief.] [St. Petersburg, Fla., (1021), 1652:11.]
[There are dangers in the preceding rite:]
Entry 1409
If anyone poison yo', yo' take de frog an' kill de frog, or either yo' kin, if yo' got nerve enough to gut him 'live, jes' take all his guts out an' cut both side of him off - all dis flesh an' stuff off. Jest leave his back an' his hind leg an' his front one an' his head - jes' cut his belly off an' put it into dis bottle wit vinegar, red vinegar, an' after yo' put it in dere, yo' put some artichoke, something dey call artichokes. Put dat in dere wit some red cayenne peppah. Put dat in dere an' some sulphur an' set it fo' nine mawnin's - nine mawnin's, an' then yo' drink that three times a day or at night - when yo' want to. That will relief anything dat evah happened.
(What does an artichoke look like?) [It is just as well that I asked.]
Artichoke is somethin' dat grows somethin' like a potato but it's knotty. Ah got some home. (Green - green on the outside isn't it? And you pull off the leaves like that?) [I must have demonstrated.] It's most lak a Irish potato. Yo' see some Irish potatoes got little knots in 'em, comin' out - well, it's jes' lak dat. (Does it grow out of the ground?) [I should have said, does it mature above- ground.] Yes sir - under de ground.
(What color is it?)
It's white. Yo' don't have tuh peel it, yo' kin jes' wash it off an' scrape it lak dat an' yo' kin eat it jes' lak it is. Jes' it ain't got no nice taste to it; it jes' fo' lak vinegar an' peppah an' onions an' stuff dey put in dere wit vinegar. It something lak somepin dey sprinkle ovah greens, yo' know whut chew call dat.
(Sauces?)
Yes.
Entry 1727
Well, ah tole him [my contact man] that if yo' wanted tuh break up any- one - yo' understan', separate anyone, yo' git some graveyard dirt an' yo' git dirt dauber with the holes in it, yo' understan'. Yo' roll that dirt dauber an' yo' git nine pods of red peppah an'.yo' git cayenne peppah an' yo' git vinegar an' yo' put it in a black bottle an' turn it upside down, an' in any corner of their yard. Ah guarantee it'll break anybody up dat chew Wanta break up.
(You put this bottle in the yard of the people you want to break up?)
No, in yore yard, right where yo' workin yore - yo' put that bottle. Dat'll separate anybody.
(Well, how would I know that I am separating the right people?)
Well, suppose yo' workin' fo' a person - tuh separate a party. Yo' know whut party yo' workin' fo'. Well, yo' know when dey separate. [You will know by your intention.]
Entry 2371
Drop nine drops of vinegar inside a bottle of white Heart Cologne an' yo' make a wish dat chew want a job an' yo' want to be lucky with a job, an' yo' take that Heart Cologne an' bury it at chure do'steps an' let it stay down dere fo' nine days. An' after nine days, yo' take dat Heart Cologne up an' jes' lak yo' - de time dat yo' wanta git dat job, yo' po' it every direction on yore clothes, yo' know, all in front of yo', an' po' a little bit in yore shoes, an' dey say dat known tuh make a person git a job. Say de man give it to yo' without any huntin' fo' it, but yo' must let it stay buried fo' nine days after yo' make a wish.
Entry 2372
My mother didn't believe in anything like superstition but my aunt did. I was working in Newport News, Virginia, with my uncle and one Saturday afternoon when I came home I found my aunt had gone down and had mama arrested. She was mama's sister-in-law, not her sister. My aunt found a bottle underneath her house, it wasn't buried in the ground, and swore that mama had put that bottle there. It had vinegar, salt and pepper, and a hard boiled egg cut up in it. An officer came out to serve a warrant on mama and when she heard about it she went over after my aunt. She lived next door. She figured she was a better woman and she was going to beat her up. Before she could beat up my aunt the officer took her down to the judge. The justice fined her $6.90 for trespassing. He didn't do anything about the bottle.
Entry 3629
Takin' yore chamber lye an' usin' dat an' yo' can't - yore dick won't rise till yo' see her, yo' know.
(Well, how do they use that? Do that?)
Put it in a bottle an' tie nine knots in a string, an' put de string aroun' de bottle an' put it up ovah top de door where yo' go out at; an' when yo' go out, dey lay dat bottle an' yore dick won't rise. An' while dat bottle layin' down, yo' come back an' den dey set it up. Yo' set de bottle up an' yo's all right den. (Well, what do they do with this string first? Where do they get the string first?) Wet it in de watah.
(Oh, they wet this - in whose water?)
In yores. (The woman gets the string and wets it in the man's water, and she ties these kmots in it.) Yes, ties nine knots in it. I hear'd of peoples takin' yore hair an' puttin' it in a rag, puttin' it in a bottle an' puttin' some vinegar wit it, an' puttin' it up ovah top de door. An evah time yo' go out dey lay dat bottle down, an' yo' have to come back; an' when yo' come back, dey set dat bottle up, an' yo' is all right.
(What would she do about getting his nature? What would she do with that?)
Put it in a bottle an' lay it 'cross, put it up in de do'r - see, anywhere yo' go out. An' when yo' go out she lay dat down when yo' come back, she stand it up. But yo' kin easily do somepin fer dat. [Norfolk, Va., (469), 475:7.] [I had intended to comment at the end of KNOTS NINE about the number of them in HOODOO. Instead I write a few words to fill in the end of this page.] [I agree with the informant who supplies our first margin title: AH'M GON'A TELL YUH SOMEPIN OTHAH DAT BEAT DE WORL'. Snail rites do beat de WOrl'. They are so amazing I have been more than generous with examples. HooDoO as a whole will show that no special effort was made to collect them, because sex in itself was never emphasized in field work. When I first heard about the snail rite in 1936, I thought the man was lying - see 3635.]
Entry 4356
Takes yuh chamber lye an' dey puts it in a bottle an' dey puts - git nine peas, nine black-eyed peas, an' nine nails, eight-penny nails about dat long [demonstrates] an' a needle, one sewin' needle. An' po' dat [urine] in dere [the bottle], an' a piece of fat meat an' throw dat in dere, an' nine straws. An' fo' dey put dat in dere, dey'll take it an' let it set up nine days. An' when it set up nine days dey'll go an' put it - dey'll take it an' put some mo' [things in]. Put black peppah an' salt an' vinegah in it an' three pods of red peppah. An' dey takes it [bottle] tuh de rivah an' throws it ovahbo'd ovah de right shoulder [using the left hand]. Dat'll run yuh crazy.
Entry 5080
(Get a piece of the garment?)
De sock.
(Of the person who is gone?)
Yes, an' he takes it NOT LARGAH DEN A POCKET HAN'KE'CH'EF. Taken dat piece not largah den a pocket han'ke'ch'ef an' take it tuh a runnin' stream of watah, tuh where rock run ovah - a stream from nature, earth, dat run ovah rocks. Wash it three times an' fold it up when it's wet, an' po'l vinegah ovah it, an' go tuh de graveyard an' git some li'le clay. Wrap it tight, real tight, an' put it in brown papah, three layahs of brown papah, an' turn it, twist it, an' den put news- papah round it, an' burn de newspapah off it an' let de brown papah covah it. An' den take it aftah dat an' wrap it up in a flesh [soft] towel lak dat. A towellak dat, one dose turkish towels. Take an' bury it in red clay an' let it stay dere seven days, an' den move it. Aftah seven days yuh'll move it. An' when yuh move it, den go an' bury it right by de rock, by dat stream, an' let it stay dere 21 hours, an' den move it - throw it away. She'll be back in 21 days.
(Where would you throw that away?)
Anywhere.
Entry 6638
[Before we begin margin title RATTLESNAKE POWDER, we must realize that snake oil was frequently used as a medication; see especially my introductory comment, to interview: 'IT'S KIND OF A MYSTERY, " p.1930. Since I have in Hoodoo almost no material about the preparation of snake oil, I am inclined to believe that the old tradition of snake oil was largely continued by local hoodoo drug stores. The following prescription for rattlesnake oil is complete except for a final page which may turn up later. The essential ingredients are here:] Now, if yo' got'a wife an' yo' wife leave yo', an' yo' can't git chew wife back; an' yo' wife leave as much as hat or a dress or a cloak in de house, yo' git dat cloak in dat hat. All right, yo' take dat hat an' yo' put jis' about a teaspoonfula sulphuh in vinegah, yo' unnahstan', an' den yo' takes whut dey call some rattlesnake oil an' sprinkle it in de hat.
(How do you get that rattlesnake oil? How do you get that?)
Dey make dat. Ah'm gona tell yo' how tuh make it directly [in a moment]. An' when [after], yo' put dat in de hat, an' den yo' put de hat back up, yo' see, an' she comin' back in maybe tuh git somepin or put on de hat, an' she can't go out dere. All right. Now give me a piece of papah an' ah'll give yo' a prescription how tuh make de oll: [I handed a piece of paper to informant and he wrote out the prescription. This sheet is missing at the moment, though I had it a few days ago. Fortunately the ingredients are written on the present transcription sheet in my handwriting: '10c oil of mint, lOc witch hazel" [[for some reason a fairly rare substance in hoodoo]], and 'lOç for 1 pound of sassafras."] [Charleston, S. Car., (512), 581:2.] [For Doctor Giles and rattlesnake oil, see No.7212, p.3208.]
Entry 11012
Soak black hen egg in vinegar 9 days, throw against house, you move.
[Mobile, Ala., 944:6.]
Entry 11213
Take the dirt dauber and take dis man's name.
(Yes?)
And you write the man's name and you set this in the bottle, and when you puts this in the bottle...
(Now what do you put in the Bible?)
You puts - in de bottle!
(Oh, in a bottle. You put all this in a bottle?)
All this in a bottle. Well, I call a bottle a jar - one of these pickle jars - and put the vinegar in there with the man's name in there. That's the dauber dust. Then you takes this man's name and you just put the pin and the tacks and the needles in there. And then you put it in there, and every day at twelve o'clock you shake it up and call this man's name. Every day you do the same thing until the ninth day that you see that you get your wishes.
(What kind of wishes do you make?)
Well, the wishes that I would make, would be the bad destruction on him. That'd be bad luck for him to have. That's the bad wishes.
Entry 11984
They mix your hair with human excrement, add salt and vinegar, and throw it into running water before sunup to run you crazy. [Washington, D. C., 822:3.]
Entry 12018
If you mix a person's hair with salt and vinegar and bury it, you will run him crazy. [Wilmington 216:3+85.]
Entry 12024
To keep his love, woman takes piece of his clothes, graveyard dirt, soaks them in vinegar and turpentine, wraps tight, seals in jar, and buries under steps. [Richmond 341:6.]
Entry 12865
Sprinkle salt, pepper and vinegar in your house and on the doorsteps to prevent people from giving you bad luck. [Washington, D. C. 822:2a.]
Entry 13149
A woman can use salt and vinegar on a man's socks and sew them up into the mattress to influence him. [Washington, D. C., 813:5.]
Entry 2719
I've heard that you take a little vinegar and a little short rug, and put a little vinegar on the rug and put it across the door, and they will come to the door but they won't come no further. That keeps them from coming across that rug.
Entry 1097
(How would they do that?)
We'll take a bath. You get some ammonia and a spoon of salt and vinegar and you bath nine nights or mornings, whichever you prefer. You take a bath in that. That protects you, keeps your enemies from doing you anything. [Magic three ingredients.] (How much ammonia do you use?) A tablespoon of each.
(Oh, a spoon each of all those three things?)
Yeah, a tablespoon of each and you bathe.
Entries from source headings
These entries are listed under the following headings in the source volume:
- URINE AND SOCK HIS - HEARTS COLOGNE - VINEGAR; REMAIN TOGETHER 3 DAYS - WITH IT SHE DRESSES HIM — Volume 3, entries 3313. Source context: THE PHYSICAL HUMAN BODY ITSELF → SEXUAL IMPOTENCE → CAUSES OF SEXUAL IMPOTENCE → MISCELLANEOUS.
- RED ONION - SULPHUR - VINEGAR - EGGS — Volume 3, entries 3790. Source context: THE PHYSICAL HUMAN BODY ITSELF → SEXUAL IMPOTENCE → CURES FOR SEXUAL IMPOTENCE.
- RED ONION - VINEGAR - BLACK PEPPER — Volume 3, entries 3791. Source context: THE PHYSICAL HUMAN BODY ITSELF → SEXUAL IMPOTENCE → CURES FOR SEXUAL IMPOTENCE.
- VINEGAR - SOCK TOE - 2 NEEDLES - IN BOTTLE OF; BOTTOM UPWARD ON FLOOR UNDER MATTRESS — Volume 3, entries 5061. Source context: THE PHYSICAL HUMAN BODY ITSELF → SWEAT → SOCKS AND STOCKINGS.
- SALT - RED PEPPER - BLACK PEPPER - TRACK; 8 INGREDIENTS IN SHOE 9 DROPS OF VINEGAR AND PINCH OF SALT; IN EACH SHOE - 3 NEEDLES IN CAP OR HATBAND — Volume 4, entries 5631. Source context: THE PHYSICAL HUMAN BODY ITSELF → SWEAT → FOOT TRACK.
- VINEGAR - FINGER DUST - SALT; 3 INGREDIENTS TO MAKE YOU WANDER — Volume 4, entries 6501. Source context: THE PHYSICAL HUMAN BODY ITSELF → FINGERNAILS - TOENAILS - FOOTSKIN.
- COW MANURE - BLACK PEPPER - DIRT DAUBER NEST - VINEGAR; WITH THESE BANDAGE YOUR OWN LEFT LEG EVERY MORNING; FOR OTHER PERSON'S DISEASE — Volume 4, entries 6758. Source context: THE PHYSICAL HUMAN BODY ITSELF → FOLK MEDICINE → CURES FOR AND PROTECTION AGAINST AILMENT AND DISEASE.
- (5) DIRT DAUBER NEST AND VINEGAR — Volume 4, entries 6774. Source context: THE PHYSICAL HUMAN BODY ITSELF → FOLK MEDICINE → CURES FOR AND PROTECTION AGAINST AILMENT AND DISEASE.
- GARLIC AND VINEGAR FOR SNAKE HEAD DUST — Volume 4, entries 6811. Source context: THE PHYSICAL HUMAN BODY ITSELF → FOLK MEDICINE → CURES FOR AND PROTECTION AGAINST AILMENT AND DISEASE.
- INDIAN LINIMENT FOR SCALY SKIN - MADE FROM; SALT - RED PEPPER - VINEGAR - AND ANY LINIMENT; CALLED GRANDPA'S LINIMENT — Volume 4, entries 6845. Source context: THE PHYSICAL HUMAN BODY ITSELF → FOLK MEDICINE → CURES FOR AND PROTECTION AGAINST AILMENT AND DISEASE.
- RED ONION - URINE - SALT - SULPHUR - VINEGAR - BATHE DOWN — Volume 4, entries 6897. Source context: THE PHYSICAL HUMAN BODY ITSELF → FOLK MEDICINE → CURES FOR AND PROTECTION AGAINST AILMENT AND DISEASE.
- RED PEPPER PODS - VINEGAR - HOT BATH IN — Volume 4, entries 6900. Source context: THE PHYSICAL HUMAN BODY ITSELF → FOLK MEDICINE → CURES FOR AND PROTECTION AGAINST AILMENT AND DISEASE.
- VINEGAR - 9 NAILS IN BOTTLE OF - DRINK 9 MORNINGS — Volume 4, entries 6975. Source context: THE PHYSICAL HUMAN BODY ITSELF → FOLK MEDICINE → CURES FOR AND PROTECTION AGAINST AILMENT AND DISEASE.
- VINEGAR - RED CLAY - RHEUMATISM — Volume 4, entries 6976. Source context: THE PHYSICAL HUMAN BODY ITSELF → FOLK MEDICINE → CURES FOR AND PROTECTION AGAINST AILMENT AND DISEASE.
- VINEGAR - SUGAR - LARD - FOR POISON — Volume 4, entries 6977. Source context: THE PHYSICAL HUMAN BODY ITSELF → FOLK MEDICINE → CURES FOR AND PROTECTION AGAINST AILMENT AND DISEASE.
- WHISKEY - ANVIL DUST - VINEGAR - UNDER BED — Volume 4, entries 7186. Source context: THE PHYSICAL HUMAN BODY ITSELF → FOLK MEDICINE → A FEW MORE DOCTORS.
- CARROT PLANTED BY THIS DOCTOR - AFTER USING; VINEGAR - LANDLORD'S NAME - CAYENNE PEPPER - LEMON ROLLED; TO COUNTERACT: FLAXSEED - SLIPPERY ELM - FILET OF GUMBO — Volume 4, entries 7195. Source context: THE PHYSICAL HUMAN BODY ITSELF → FOLK MEDICINE → A FEW MORE DOCTORS.
- (5) SALT AND VINEGAR OVER MURDERED MAN'S CLOTHES — Volume 4, entries 7383. Source context: THE PHYSICAL HUMAN BODY ITSELF → MURDER → HOW MURDERER CAN BE CAUGHT.
- ROLLING: NEW BOTTLE OF VINEGAR - OLIVE OIL; STEEL DUST - NEIGHBOR'S NAME - MAN OR WOMAN; WRITTEN - EACH LETTER CLIPPED OFF SEPARATELY; STOPPED UP IN BOTTLE - ROLL ON FLOOR - SET IT; AT SUNRISE NEAR THEIR HOUSE - LEAVE IN 3 DAYS — Volume 4, entries 8699. Source context: THE PHYSICAL HUMAN BODY ITSELF → DEATH AND BURIAL AND GRAVEYARD → THREE SUBSTITUTES FOR HUMAN BODY → NAME.
- BURY HANDWRITING - VINEGAR - UPSET DEY NERVES — Volume 4, entries 8807. Source context: THE PHYSICAL HUMAN BODY ITSELF → DEATH AND BURIAL AND GRAVEYARD → THREE SUBSTITUTES FOR HUMAN BODY → LETTERS AND HANDWRITING.
- VINEGAR-LEMON JUICE - STEEL DUST - CINNAMON-SUGAR; BITTER AND SWEET SEPARATED BY MAGIC POWDER; AS MANY SMALL SMALL BOTTLES AS DOORS AND WINDOWS; SHAKE MIXTURE - THEIR [THIEF'S] MIND IS UPSETTED — Volume 4, entries 8939. Source context: ADDITIONAL RITES AND BELIEFS → THEFT.
- ASAFETIDA AND VINEGAR — Volume 4, entries 8952. Source context: ADDITIONAL RITES AND BELIEFS → COURT CASES.
- NEEDLES 9 - EGG SOAKED IN VINEGAR; BURY AT GATE OR DOORSTEP — Volume 4, entries 9336. Source context: ADDITIONAL RITES AND BELIEFS → THE AMAZING CHICKEN EGG.
- 3 DAYS - SOAK BLACK HEN EGG IN VINEGAR; THROW OVER HOUSE AT MIDNIGHT TO MOVE — Volume 4, entries 9380. Source context: ADDITIONAL RITES AND BELIEFS → THE AMAZING CHICKEN EGG.
- VINEGAR - BLACK HEN EGG SOAKED IN - WILL MAKE; DAT HEN AIG STRETCH LAK A STRING - VINEGAR SOAKED; EGG BREAK AT VICTIM'S DOORSTEP OR ENTRANCE WAY — Volume 4, entries 9426. Source context: ADDITIONAL RITES AND BELIEFS → THE AMAZING CHICKEN EGG.
- MIX 3: VINEGAR - 3 TEASPOONFULS OLIVE OIL - EGG; WHIP - BOTTLE - SHAKE - 2 OR 3 SWALLOWS DAILY AND; RUB ON PAIN: NECK - SCALP - LEFT TEMPLE ETC.; CAUSED BY SOMEONE BURNING A CANDLE AGAINST YOU — Volume 5, entries 10184. Source context: ADDITIONAL RITES AND BELIEFS → MORE CANDLE RITES.
- DIRT DAUBER POWDER - VINEGAR - RED AND BLACK PEPPER; IN BOTTLE - UNDER HOUSE OR IN YARD - DIVORCE INSIDE — Volume 5, entries 11199. Source context: "CHANNEL DE WORLD".
- GARLIC IS FOR SKINNING - CUT BUTTON OF GARLIC INTO; 9 PIECES - MIX WITH SALVE ANTIPHLOGISTIN - WRAP IN; WHITE CLOTH - THEN RED FLANNEL - BEAT STOVE COAL TO; POWDER - ADD VINEGAR - STEEL DUST - BOIL - SOAK; GARLIC - ANTIPHLOGISTIN MIXTURE IN - THIS MAKES A TOBY; TOBY WAS LOWER MISSISSIPPI RIVER NAME FOR A HAND; A FETISH WARNING HOW TO PLAY BY JUMPING IN POCKET — Volume 5, entries 11712. Source context: "CHANNEL DE WORLD".
- HOG HOOF - SALT - VINEGAR - SODA - GROUNDFINE; WORN IN SHOE KEEPS ANOTHER WOMAN AWAY FROM MAN — Volume 5, entries 12159. Source context: "CHANNEL DE WORLD".
- 3 INGREDIENTS: WHISKEY - VINEGAR - ROCK CANDY - WOMAN; SPRINKLES OVER SLEEPING MAN TO KEEP HIM FROM RETURNING — Volume 5, entries 13307. Source context: "CHANNEL DE WORLD".