Subject:Work
Entries
Entry 8485
Well, dey says dat dey kin git chure blood an' write chure name, an' evah whut dey wanta do tuh yuh, write dat wit yore blood. Say, if dey want chew tuh go crazy, say yo'll go crazy; an' if dey want chew tuh leave town, yo'll leave town. If dey want chew tuh stay right dere wit dem - evah whut dey want chew tuh do, why dey write dat aftah dey write chure name an' yo'll stay right dere; but chew gotta take dat, aftah yo' write it, an' put it in a secret place where cain't nobody put dere hands on it but chew.
Entry 9866
Lak ah was mad wit chew an' we lived purty neah where we could git tuh each othah. Ah'd take a toadfrog an' git me a quart bottle an' wash it out good an' clean. An' he may be large but he'll go in; jes' mash [squeeze] 'im an' he'll go right on in alive. Take an' tie a string or wire aroun' de neck de bot- tle, an' climb up in a tree close tuh yuh place - 'long as it's about yuh place - an' hang it dere. Let it hang right dere until dat frog dies. Den take dat bottle down. Take dat bottle down an' take de frog out, an' bury de frog an' put de bottle back up dere. An' if yo' won't leave, yo'll nevah be able tuh work roun' dere; yo' jes' be dere, dat's all.
(Where do you put that bottle?)
Put it right back up, up in de tree.
(What do you do with the frog?)
Burry him.
(Where?)
Right down dere at de root of dat tree, burry de frog. An' if yo' stay dere yo'll nevah be able tuh do nuthin an' yo' more den able...
(Where would you do all this, at your own home?)
At de home - lak ah was mad wit chew, ah would do dis at chure home.
Entry 9876
Dey have used frogs wit de hard lumps on dem [toads?].
(How would they do that?)
Let 'em dry an' throw it undah de house. Yo'll nevah go an' neithah come.
(How would you get rid of that?)
Well, all yo' got'a do, jes' take de frog an' pays 'im a [silver] dime. An' when yo' pays 'im a dime, yo' ketch 'im alive an' yo' stick im on yo' do's. Stay wit chew a length'a time an' den he goin'a run dem out de house. (You do what?) Stick 'im alive on de backa yo' do'. Yo' ketch 'im an' take 'im swallah a dime. An' take a picket [stake] an' put a picket in 'is haid two han's [feet], bottom 'ands [back legs], until he come tuh be dry. When yo' want 'im tuh go out dere, den yo' go out dere an' den throw im dat same distance [direction] where dey is. Den he do yo' work.
(He'll [second toad will] throw off the other frog.)
[Two toads are used here, the first one thrown under victim's house so that he can nevah go and neither come. To counteract this spell, victim or his doctor catches and pays another live toad to work for him.] Yeah.
Entry 10096
I heard one fellow tell that too. As near as I can recall what he said. You take a black cat at twelve o'clock at night, boil the cat in hot Water until the flesh is boiled away from the bones. The first bone that floats up to the top of the water, you say certain words - I don't remember the words. You tie a string to the bone and keep the bone in your outh a certain length of time. Then tie that string around your neck with the bone hanging to it. That puts the person in the power of what they call...in ocher words he sells himself to the devil. He can work wonderful miracles. Be can do anything he wishes. It gives luck in gambling, too. [Fredericksburg, Ta., by Ediphone,62.]
Entry 10499
When yo' wants tuh sell yo'self to de devil, ah've heard of dat. Yo' go to de fo' fo'ks ah b'lieve fo' nine mornings - or 15 mornings, somepin lak dat. Ah disremember how many mornings, but anyway, dey say yo' kin go dere an' repeat a question. Say yo' re- peat dat ah think three times, ah believe, an' say Devil, Devil, ah wants tuh be with chew; wants tuh work fo' yo'. An' dey say de last mornin' yo' go, say den yo' meets up with a whole lotsa racket an' fuss an' all lak dat. An' dey say if yo' kin stand de fussing dat chew hear, why den yo' kin do most anything in de worl' - yo' come to do anything.
Entry 10764
It's only certain days dat de bluestone, dat it will do ceruln work. Now, heah's de bluestone heah [demonstrates], den ah put in some lard an' chunk it [stir it] roun'. An' ah wants yo' gimme some work. Ah dip mah han' [demonstrates] in an' ah p'int [demonstrates] an' make a wish dat ah wants tuh work at S0- an'-so's house. Well, 'cos' God's Name gotta be mention, yo' see. Yo' p'int tuh dat place dere. An' yo'll shore git somepin tuh do.
(In what direction did you point?)
Dat way, at de house, right befo' yo' dat way.
(At the boss's house?)
Jes' lak, down roun' heah tuh dat church dat's where yo' goin', yo' goin' stay heah an' p'int. Stay right heah an' p'int.
(You simply pointed toward the boss's house or business?)
Yes.
Entry 10859
I know they say if you start to get a job and a black cat crosses you [crosses your path], you might as well go back home be- cause you goin' have bad luck. The man doesn't goin' hire you. He'll turn you back.
Entry 11370
Ah heah mah grandfather say dat evah yo' workin' fo' a man an' felt lak he wanted tuh git rid of yo' or somepin othah, it slow on de job, yo' jes' go an' take a fig leaf an' Write de 23rd Psalm, ah think, an' put it in a lil' red bag an' keep it an' let it stay in a stream of runnin' watah fo' about eight days. Say he won't fiah yo'.
Entry 11385
Policeman comes several times and you wanta keep him away, and you doin' underworld work. You have to get you oil of cinnamon, use your chamber lye, and cayenne pepper, and scrub every morning before the sunrise. Scrub into house [for trade], never out. Then you get you two brand-new files and you put 'em to your door and cross 'em. They can't come over that.
(Well, where did you put these at the door then? How would you put them?)
What, the files?
(Yes, at the door.)
You would put them underneath the doorstep.
(Underneath the doorstep. I see, so they won't come in.)
You have to use 'em in de back door like dat [also] if there is two entrances going in. Well they can't come across those two new files.
Entry 11693
Dey say take a piece of dis heah fo' corners of de world [a rare root in HOODOo], yo' know, a lil' piece of root about dat long. It's got fo' corners, call it fo' corners of de world. An' a piece of High John de Conker. An' tote dat [those 2 roots] an' dey say yo'll git work.
Entry 12301
Pass a hole into a lemon an' squeeze de juice out of it an' full it up wit sulphur an' brimstone an' salt. Take nine pins an' put through it an' den wrop it up jes' as tight as yo' kin, an' tie nine knots in it - into de string dat yo' wrop aroun' it. An' stick nine pins in it an' go ahead. (What will you do with that then?) Well, jes' carry it with yo'. (What is that supposed to do then?) An' den ah'll go ahead an' attack whatevah busi- ness yo' wanta attack, an' dat supposed to help yo' accomplish it.
(Any favors or anything of that sort?)
Yes.
Entry 12989
Or yo' kin take an' go to - if yo' believe in the root-working or hoodooing - go to them an' yo' tell them that yo' are out looking for a job. Git a cotton cord string an' take a dime an' put a hole in it an' put this string - run the string through that hole of the dime an' jest hang it around yore left ankle. Let it hang down so it can be in yore shoes, hang down in yore shoes, so anyone can't see it. An' yo' keep that around there an' that will give you luck to have work as long as yo' kin any time.
Entry 948
Jis' lak if yo' wanted somethin' tuh work good, see - yo' work on de new moon. Start on de new moon. Jis' lak dis mawnin' - as soon as yo' git up this mawnin' if ah wanta have success, see, start wit de new moon. If ah want yo' back soon, bring yo' back or leave, yo' start yo' work den. It's bettah tuh work on de moon, yo' see - he'll come back. Yore work will take effect quicker den - waitin' till de middle of de month till it git off, cain't do nuthin den.
Entry 8606
If yo' wants a job - an' yo' wants a job an' yo' make de boss give yo' a job. Well, yo' get his name, see, an' yo' write his name seven times. An' yo' put his name in de lamp, right on [or in?] the lamp an' yo' burn his name. An' yo' visit his job after that. Yo' can be stand- ing up there, he going to call yo'. An' he going to hire yo'. Take'a papah an' write his name seven times, yo' see, an' put it in de lamp and let it burn. [Burning on lamp would mean holding the slip of paper over top of lamp chimney until it ignited, then letting it burn out in a pan or shovel.]
Entry 12741
Ah have tote 'em fo' protection.
(Those rattlesnake buttons? For what?)
Ah have tote 'em fo' protection, fo' workin' 'mongst mens. Now, ah'm a man an' mah bossman - make 'em think that he's workin'. An' yo' can't run me off.
(That is if you want to hold a job?)
If ah wanta hold it.
Entry 12998
Yo' go to him [boss] an' yo' have a silver dime in yore han', like you jes' goin' to borrow some money from him - cause see, dat's fer luck. An' he'll give yo' dat money, an' yo' won't have to pay it back unless yo' wanta. An' he'll give you a job an' he will tell yo' to go to work. An' dey all fer yo' if yo' kin always keep dat silver dime in yore han' like dat while yo' talkin' to him.
Entry 361
They say you kin go to the huckleberry bush - the devil's huckleberry bush - ever' Sunday morning fer nine Sunday morning, an' on the ninth Sunday morning, why, when he goes theah, he stays theah a while an' he cuts up [clowns] an' waits an' sings songs, an' aftah while the devil meets 'im. He hears a great ruslin' [rustling] in de leaves an' things, then the devil comes up. [A great ruslin' in de leaves shows the devil arriving in a whirlwind - see Nos. 167-183, and No. 355.] The devil comes up - him an' de devil has a talk - an' dey talk togethah, stayed theah an' talked togethah a while. Then aftah dat he sells hisself to the devil. Then the devil tells 'im he kin do jis' whut he please - nothin' won't hurt him, he would not have to work hard, an' de likes of that. Then he goes back [home]. An' den when he goes to work, why some ole man hires 'im - some white man hires 'im to work fer 'im. One day he wus settin' in the woods, cuttin' wood, haulin' logs, an' one thing anothah. Well, he goes in the woods an' goes to work. An' he works theah an' goes up that night an' he tells his master how much wood he had cut or how many logs he had mauled [split with a maul and wedge into cordwood]. Well, he didn't believe he had done all that work, so he makes up his mind that he would watch. So one day when he went out to work, why the man that bossed, he kin'a watched at 'im. So, aftah he went to work, why he went out theah an' hid himself. An'. he heard the axes a-goin', cuttin', an' chips a-flyin', an' de logs an' wood a-bustin'. He watched an' he start to creppin' [creeping] through the woods an' got a little closer to 'im. Seein' 'im, he wus settin' upon a stump whettin' his axe, whistlin', singin' - he had some little things theah playin' with. Well, them boys wus workin'! He had a crowd of 'em theah workin'! The logs wus a- flyin', they's pilin' up wood an' cordin' wood. It scared the ole man. He couldn't see nobody with 'im until he got right theah. He could see all these here little boys theah a-workin'. When he got there all these scattered. He went back - went back in the house. An' aftah while he come up, he tole 'im whut he had done. So this ole white man he got scared of 'im. So he discharged 'im. [FeW present-day readers can appreciate the activity here, the cording of wood. I have never cut a cord of wood but I have watched axmen cut and cord, and I have carried many cords cut up into the usual three sticks. Those devil's imps began work by driving down into the ground two solid stakes about two feet six inches apart and four feet high; then, eight feet away and parallel, two similar stakes were driven down, thus:--------: Wood was then cut into four- foot lengths - smaller logs round, large ones split - and stacked between these four stakes, so that the stack or pile filled this 132 cubic feet space; 128 being wood, the other 4 air space.]
Entry 651
You go down in the field and git manure, but you have to git a certain kind of manure. You have to git bull manure, not cow manure. Git that and wrap it in a red handkerchief. He claimed he was tricked. He let someone use his hammer and something they put on his hammer got on his hand and kept him from work. [This proves that he was poisoned.] Some one of these two-headed people that he was dealing with told him he had to git some bull manure. Well, I was jist a boy and they sent me to go git it. I go and git that bull manure and go and git some pokeberry root. Get the he pokeberry root. There's two kinds, a he and a she. The he one is white and the she one is red. The she one has a red skin on it, she come up out the ground. They git that and mix up with this manure together and cook it together and put that on him [his arm] and bind it down. He got so he went to work again.
Entry 2147
Just like in this precinct where there Capt. Barrett[?]. You gotta get the captain's name, you gotta get the lieutenant's name and you gotta get the Sergeant's name. You gotta get three names. You gotta write them names down, you see. And in your place of business if they come there, you put it right under your counter, you see. And you gotta add a little sugar to that three times a week. You see, that'll keep peace and keep 'em under control. But you gotta have their names. If you don't have their names, you can't do nothing. But you gotta have the head official names, not the police on the beat because he don't do nothing unless he's instructed to. But the head officials s they gotta have. I had that place there and everybody's there and everybody is paying $10 a week, but I was running the place myself and I say, "Well, I'm not running this for no dago [Italian], I can't afford to pay." They tell me, "Well, we know you's all right - go ahead and do the best you can." Well, I run that three years and they tore the place down. Got trapped all right, but got trapped by the Prohibition people not by the police. Not me. People worked there. I did excellent business down there, but I was good with the precinct.
(When you pass up, you handed this money over to the police?)
Well, you supposed to give the police ten dollars a week. Everybody else was doing it. But I was giving them $20 a month. See, I wasn't giving them no $10 a week, because I was running it myself - couldn't afford it. I was making money all right but you don't have to let them know that. They used to come by there and get quarts of whiskey, you know, for nothing and I used to treat them some kind of way. Well, they give me a break. Got raided there once. That was by the Prohibition department. Well, I couldn't do nothing with them.
(They wouldn't take anything?)
Well, if I'd a been there - you see, I know the under cover agent, you see, but the guy who was working [for me] supposed to know him and didn't know him, and he come in and he sold him liquor. See. Well, after they got the counts on him they raided place, but they didn't take me - they'd taken him. Well, I had another boy in the place. I was renting him and letting him stay there and he took sick and they took care of him in the hospital, and after he had them Prohi- bition spotters come around the place, and I told him, I say, "I don't want these fellows coming around my place." Cause he had dogs and as a matter of fact they wanted him training the dogs, see. Well, I made him move. He goes on to the post office and told Mr. Lazell[?] that the place wasn't [what it was supposed to be]. See. Well, I used to work over at the office for Mr. Lazell.
(Who were you working for when you did this?)
Wm. J. Burns - Judge Barnes' Detective Agency.
Entry 4272
Why, yuh see - but dat's so hard to git - see, becuz prob'ly ah an' yuh in de room. Well, we's pass watah in de same bucket, but when yuh wanta git dat, yuh see, yuh [woman] gotta pass watah in one [bucket] an' have one fer 'em [man]. Co'se when yuh [he] pass watah in deah [there], yuh have tuh take dat watah. If he goin' throw sompin in deah [he could spit into it to kill any love cunjure see margin titles soon to follow, beginning with word SPITTING]. Yuh gotta throw dat in de toilet, yuh undahstan'. When yuh got dat stuff, yuh got 'im stopped tight [in a bottle]. Why dat's perfect. Well, now, if he comin' - if it's time fer 'im tuh be comin' from work, yuh jis' lifts dat stoppah up a little bit. Dat's fer 'im tuh come home. If it's payday, shake it [bottle] an' he can't stop till he git home. [He won't] git rid of de [money]. If yuh want 'im to broke [break away] an' run home, jis' git a little bit [of] de foot track an' put it [in] dere [bottle] too. Long as yuh has dat, why he's gOtta COme. BUT LONG AS HE WORKIN', WHY DURIN' DE DAY JIS' LIFT DE STOPPAH AN' GIVE HIM A LITTLE AIR, YO' KNOW, TUH WORK ON. BUT WHEN YUH THINK IT'S KNOCKIN'- OFF TIME, STOPPAH DOWN. An' shaken it [bottle] up an' [or] down lak dat [means]: WHEN YUH WAN' 'IM TUH WORK, SHAKE IT DOWN, yuh know stick it on de head; an' WHEN YUH WAN' 'IM TUH COME HOME, SET IT UP STRAIGHT. An' aftah he come home, yuh kin lay it down.
Entry 12298
(What do they do with that cat hair?)
They take that cat hair and they put it with a piece of woman's shimmy or petticoat or anything of that kind. Put it into a lemon, throwing it into the Mississippi River, after putting War water in there. They'll keep that woman all upset. If she's gotten a job anywhere, she'll walk away from her job. She'll quit working. Her husband can't do anything to sat- isfy her. Everything that they do it just look like it wrong to her. See. It practically looks like it takes her mind from her. See. She don't have no presence of mind. See. By using it, she have...get a...
(She what?)
Get a animal amibition-like. See.
Entry 6137
Yo' kin take de hair out of de haid wit a comb - where dey cozb oat de hair, see. Git it an' dey kin take dat hair an' put it in - git chew a piece of paper, de sta- tionery hich dey writes op, see. Write dat name on it an' put de hair in it an' wit three cornahs, see, an' put it in de toe of yore shoe. An' yo' nevah be outa dere employment. Now, ah know dat's true.
(You would not be out of employment.)
Long as yo' work fo' dat person.
(Whose hair do you put in that paper?)
De employer's hair.
(What did you say about those three corners?)
Yo' fold yore paper in three corners - triangle. Qou put it in the toe of what shoe?) Under de left shoe - undah de innah sole.
Entry 809
Ah have a brother in Baltimore. He has two houses on North [Something] Street, an' if yo' evah travel to Baltimore - he's running a big barroom on Calvert Street. He don't want his wife to work in this barroom. She's jes' dere - jes' a pest in de way. An' he'll do anything in dis world - pay any amount of money he can to get her outa dis barroom where he kin handle it himself.
Entry 1717
Well, yo' kin - yo' ain't gotta keep de whole bat. Yo' kin git jes' even de two right wing off it, yo' see, an' yo' jes' kin sew it up. Keep it yo' see an' use dis same Heart Cologne.
(What is that good for?)
Good fo' luck - good fo' gamblin' - good fo' success in work an' all lak dat.
(Just the wing?)
Yes sir - de right wing - or yo' kin git two or three of dem, yo' see, jes' enough tuh make a little package yo' know - dey ain't large nohow. [Brunswick, Ga., (1249), 2123:7.] [These bat hands with many variations are everywhere and too numerous to catalogue here.]
Entry 2027
Yes, I've heard that, too. I've heard 'em say if they get John de Conquer - some High John de Conker and there's Low John de Conker - and they say if you kin get High John de Conker and go anywhere to the boss to get a job, they put it in their mouth and chew it and spit, and walk up and talk to this boss and spit around, say if there airy job anywhere there' the boss is goin' to hire you.
Entry 2030
You kin get some John de Conker and chew dat John de Conker when you go to de man, jes' like you wanta go to look for a job, you kin get dat John de Conker - well, you know what John de Conker is, don't you? You take dat John de Conker and you chew it and when you go to de man talking to him, you chew dat John de Conker and look him right in de eyes like this. And have some Heart's. Cologne on a pocket han'chief and when you talking, spread dat out and he'll give you a job.
Entry 2033
Now, I know a man and he got out of a job. He was out of a job for over a year and he got some High John de Conker and put it in some Hearts Perfume and heli'trope perfume and saturated hisself right good and went 'fore dis man. Well, when he usu'lly used to go dere the man wouldn't talk to him. So he made his wishes as he came out de door what he wants to happen. "In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, I'm going before my boss for a job, hoping that I be successful." Well, when he got there the boss walked up and shook his hand and said, "Walter, you huntin' fer a job?" He said, "Yeah." He said, "You ought been back long time ago." And give him his same job back, which he had knocked him off.
Entry 2151
If yo' know de boss name, yo' git chew a piece of High John de Conker root an' put dat same cayenne peppah an' salt in it 'fore yo' leave home, an' says, "Name, son-of-bitch, ah have to have a job. Ah want mah job back." An' yo talkin'to de root. An' den put it in yore pocket an' go on down dere an' he say, "Come heah, John, go tuh work. What's de matter? Where yo' been?"
Entry 2152
(You get the boss's name?)
An' write it down, see. Well, yo' bring it home an' yo' take salt an' sugah an' sprinkle it ovah dis piece of papah whut choo got de boss's name on it... an' wear it in yore shoe fo' nine days, an' jis' keep a-goin' back, back tuh him. An' git chew some of dis heah oil of clover an' oil of bergamine [bergamot] an mix it togethah, an' Jockey Club perfume an' mix it together. [Three perfumes.] Git chew some root dey call John de Conker. See, aftah yo' got his name in yore shoe, well, yo' put dat oil of clover an' oil of bergamine wit dat Jockey Club perfume. Dat Jockey Club perfume keeps dat oil of clover and oil of bergamine from smellin' an' yo' sprinkle it on yo'. An' den yo' have dat John de Conker vine or root in yore mouth an' yo' chew it well, an' when yo' walk up to 'im talkin' about jobs, see he'll git de influence of dat odor, an' den yo' be jis' spittin jis' lak yo' chewing tobacco, an' yo' keep a-goin' dere an' event'lly he'll give yo' a job.
Entry 2256
De blacksnake root - an' yo' kin take it an' dig it up - it's a kind of a big ole red root done has a blue flower. Well, yo' kin dig dat up an' yo' kin tote it in yore pocket all de time, an' when yo' go tuh git a job yo' kin keep feelin' dat in yore pocket, until dat gits on de boss's mind hard an' den he'll give yo' a job dataway.
Entry 2308
Kin get snake bones and tote them and that makes 'em be lucky. And I hear that people totes some root called black marster and that would be lucky and make'em get jobs.
Entry 2810
Take a candle and you pay a quarter for it. (Take a candle.) Pay 25c and it burns eight days. You set that candle for eight days and let it burn, and in the eighth day he'll get you a job, whether he done turn you off or not. He maybe done turn you off, but by you burning that candle on the bossman, that will make him reflect in his mind and take you back. I've seen it happen.
(I see. What color candle would that be?)
Be white.
(White candle.)
Yes, slr.
Entry 3834
[Take] dat blood an' put it on a rag er somepin an' bury it up undah 'is house. Dat'll keep 'im down. (Blood from any part of his body?) Any part of 'is body. (How do you mean keep him down?) Well, how yo' keep )'im down - see, dat's buried undah de earth, undahstan'. Well, dat keeps 'im painful - jes not able to work, not go.
Entry 4772
Co'se sometime it be a hard proposition, but still yuh kin win. When- somevah yuh goes fo' a job, yuh have yore clothes, yore undahwears turn on de wrong side. Den when yuh speak tuh 'im, yuh have a match-stick, anythin' lak dat, in yore mouth, an' yuh talkin' tuh 'em. He won' turn yuh down. He'll tell yuh, "if it's any way dat ah kin put chew tuh work, " an' If it's possible why yuh'll git a job.
Entry 7637
Yo' kin take dat graveyard dirt an' throw it aroun' in yore house an' throw all alongside of de bed, an' rub it on down dere. An' yo' kin take dat graveyard dirt an' yo' kin make a man - ah mean work fo' yo' de balance of 'is life wit dat graveyard dirt. An' take a little of it an' tie it in de cornah of red silk han'ke'- chuf an' tote it on yo'. Jes' tote it on yo' enywhere an' he'll nevah be satis- fied till he back wit chew.... He git away from yo', he ain't satisfied until he git back where he wuz....
Entry 12050
[I hold in my hand and will attach to this manuscript an original notation made in 1937 while transcribing cylinders recently recorded at Wilming- ton, North Carolina. All these transcriptions are pencil written so that I could reduce the number of playbacks. Here is the brief nota- tion: '50ç for (hoodoo) bag to get job. Tel. (Telediphone cylinder No.) 221 (+85). Wil. (Wilmington) No.227 (informants number)." As you know, this hoodoo material of mine was collected out in the field, in the homes and hotels of black people during the Great Depression. Let no one tell you Black people preferred the meager dole to a job. There must be 200 rites in HOODOO for get- ting or keeping a job! That price 5Oç also shows the scarcity of money.]
Entry 10612
If yo' want a job, yo' go down tuh de boss. Well, if dis fellah want- ed a job, didn't have no work an' didn't have nowhere tuh stay, an' everybody dat he went to, had turned him away. An' he went tuh a fellah dat supposed tuh know. De fellah give him three kind of roots: give Adam an' Eve, an' dis blacksnake root an' dis heah devil snakeroot [see later]. He taken dat root.... (Devil snakeroot or devil's shoestring?) Devil's shoestring! Dey called it de devil root. Take dat root an' fix dat root up in a kind of a compound an' he go down dere. When he git dere tuh dat man he take it an' goes an' git him a buckeye an' puts hit in his pocket. An' he wears dat buckeye. De buckeye made out of - dem lit- tle black buckeye lak dat. He takes dat an' he goes down an' he talks to de man. He put all of dat in Hearts Cologne an' he goes down dere to de man an' he gits tuh rubbin' his hand lak dat. An' walks up tuh de man an' started tuh talkin' with de man. De man will tell him, no, but be shore tuh come back de next day. Well, he'll come back de next dat still a-rubbin' dat root. Well, he'll git dat root, every one of 'em, one in each pocket an' one in each foot. An' he gits dere an' de man go tuh talkin' an' he'll have a piece in his mouth chewin'. When he git dere de man go tuh talkin' an' say, "Well, ah guess, if yo' think yo' kin work, ah'll give yo' a job." An' yo' tell de man yo' kin work. Jes' as long as yo' keep dat roots rubbed up an' keep it fulla Hearts Cologne, well de man will nevah fiah yo', but de time dat yo' lose dat root, yo' lose yore job.
Entry 12283
I've heard that they take a string, one that you've worn, and take it and get hold of it, and tie a knot in it and name the knot, and ever knot is named, and they tie so many knots in that string; and then they take those knots and put them down where the individual has to walk over them. And after he's walked over 'em as many times as there are knots in that string, then that individual will become confused in his busi- ness affairs and also in any kind of work that he has to do, and he gits so he can't do it.
Entry 2893
On de job where ah am now, some of de girls burn candles in de service where dey change dere clothes and they say they do that to hold their jobs - to keep luck with the bossman dat dey working with. (What kind of candles do they burn? Have you seen them burn them? They burn them where they change their clothes on the job. In a factory or something of that sort where they work?) A hotel. (And they burn these in the room where they change their clothing. What kind of candles do they burn?) Ordinary candles. (Do they burn them at any special time? Or say anything while they are doing it like that?) They burn de candle and jes' befo' they begin to burn - jes' befo' they light the candle [demonstrates] they carry they han' ovah their head like this and say, "Lord, help me tuh keep luck," an' then they light the candle.
(They make a circle over their head just like a halo.)
That's right. [For a halo rite three times clockwise and three times anti-clockwise with three waters, see p.16, line 1.]
(How long do they burn that candle? Have you any idea?)
Jest about an hour.
(Do they burn these right in the hotel?)
Right in the hotel.
Entry 4112
Jis' lak 'if ah workin' on a job. See, DERE'S A BOSS ON DIS JOB. Now, ah'll gO to WOrk - IF DIS BOSS DRINKS, SEE - AH'LL GO TO WORK AN' TAKE SOME OF MAH WATAH AN' PUT IT IN DAT BOTTLE AN' HE'LL COME TO LOVE ME, See. (He'll what?) He'll come to love me jis' lak he love his mothah. Take mah watah in de bottle an' he'll drink off it an' he'll come to love me. An' ah kin handle him jis' lak a baby - jis' lak yuh take a horse an' give him sugah.
Entry 13300
John de Conkah, you git dat, an' dragon's blood an' a little piece of lodestone [3 ingredients] an' wrap dat in a piece of flannen an' make a [hand and feed] Hearts Cologne or Good Riding Scent [the only appearance of this perfume] an' jes' rub dat ovah yuh face after having a couple of days of good work, yo' know. An' jes' rub dat ovah yuh an' not only de boss - nobody can't turn yuh down. [I hope the reader did not miss the poignancy of after having a couple of days of good work. This desire for work - the many rites for getting and holding jobs - is everywhere in HOODOO. That hoodoo drugstore perfume Good Riding Scent is unique.]