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.