LI E) RAR.Y 
 
 OF THE 
 
 U N I VLRSITY 
 
 or ILLINOIS 
 
 398.3 
 
 H994f 
 cop. 3 
 
 111. Hist. Survey 
 

 /\/y 
 
 7 
 
MEMOIRS 
 
 OF THE 
 
 ALMA EGAN HYATT FOUNDATION 
 
OFFICERS 
 
 Harry M. Hyatt, Director. 
 
 George Brokaw Compton, Secretary. 
 
 John A. F. Maynard, Librarian. 
 
 EDITORS 
 
 Samuel A. B. Mercer, "Egyptian Religion," University of Toronto, Toronto, 
 
 Canada. 
 Sylvain Grebaut, "Acthiopica," Univcrsite Catliolique de Paris, Paris, France. 
 Frans Blom, "Maya Research," Tulane University, New Orleans, La., U. S. A. 
 
 HONORARY ASSOCIATES 
 
 His Excellency Blatin Gheta Heroui 
 
 Foreign Minister to His Imperial Majesty's Government, Addis-Abefxi, Ethiopia. 
 
 The Honorable and Reverend H. J. Cody, D. D., LL. D. 
 
 President of the University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada. 
 
 ASSOCIATES 
 
 Raoul Allier, Doyen, Faculte Libre de Theologie Protestante, Paris, France. 
 Jean Capart, Conservateur en Chef, Musees Royaux d'Art et d'Histoire, Brussels, 
 
 Belgium. 
 C. T. Currelly, Director, The Royal Ontario Museum of Archaeology, Toronto, 
 
 Canada. 
 Mgr. R. Graffin, Directeur General de la Societe Anti-esctavagiste de France, 
 
 Paris, France. 
 Henry Guppy, Librarian, The John Rylands Library, Manchester, England. 
 J. H. Holwerda, Directeur, Rijks-Museum van Oudheden, Leiden, Holland. 
 Julian Morgenstern, President, Hebreiv Union College, Cincinnati, U. S. A. 
 Frederik Poulsen, Direktor, Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen, Denmark. 
 Giinther Roeder, Direktor, Pelisaetts- Museum, Hildesheim, Germany. 
 Mgr. Eug. Tisserant, Pro-praefecttcs, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Vatican 
 
 City. 
 
 FELLOWS 
 
 George A. Barton (History of Religion), University of Pennsylvania, Phila- 
 delphia, U. S. A. 
 
 G. S. Brett (Philosophy), University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada. 
 
 L'Abbe Henri Breuil (Pre-History), Colldge de France, Paris, France. 
 
 M. Cohen (Hamito-Semitic Languages), Ecole dcs Langues Oricntalcs vivantes, 
 Paris, France. 
 
 W. E. Crum (Coptic), Bath, England. 
 
 L'Abbe Etienne Drioton (Egyptologist), Musee dii Louvre, Paris, France. 
 
 Senatore I. Guidi (Ethiopic), Rome, Italy. 
 
 Yrjo Hirn (Aesthetics), Uniz/crsitdt-Hclsingfors, Helsingfors, Finland. 
 
 Fritz Hommel (Orientalist), Universitdt-Miinchen, Munich, Germany. 
 
 B. Hrozny (Hittite), Karlova Universita, Prague, Czechoslovakia. 
 
 C. Snouck Hurgronje (Arabic), Rijks-Universiteit, Leiden, Holland. 
 T. A. Joyce (Americanist), British Museum, London, England. 
 
 A. V. Kidder (Americanist), Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington, 
 
 I). C, U. S. A. 
 Stephen Langdon (Assyriology), Oxford University, Oxford, England. 
 Enno Littmann (Semitic Languages), Universitdt-Tiibingen, Tiibingen, Germany. 
 Hugo Obermaier (Anthropology), Universidad de Madrid, Madrid, Spain. 
 Sir W. M. Flinders Petrie (Archaeology). London University, London, England. 
 Hermann Ranke (lilgyptology), Universitdt-Heidelbcrg, Heidelberg, Germany. 
 N. Rhodokanakis (South Arabian Inscriptions), Universitdt-Gras, Graz, Austria. 
 F. Wilhelm Schmidt (Ethnology), Universitdt-Wien, Vienna, Austria. 
 C. C. Torrey (Old Testament), Vale University, New Haven, Conn., U. S. A. 
 Alfred M. Tozzer (Americanist), Peabody Museum and Harvard University, 
 
 Caml)ridge, Ma.ss., U. S. A. 
 Arthur Waley (Sinology), London, England. 
 
FOLK-LORE 
 
 FROM 
 
 ADAMS COUNTY ILLINOIS 
 
 BY 
 
 Harry Middleton Hyatt 
 
 M. A. (OxoN.) D. D. 
 
 Director of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 Officter d'Academie Francaise 
 
 Officier de l'Ordre de la Couronne Royale de Belgique 
 
 MEMOIRS 
 
 OF THE ALMA EGAN HYATT FOUNDATION new york 
 
 1935 
 
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CONTENTS 
 
 Weather 1 -799 
 
 Plants and Planting- in General 800-853 
 
 Clover, Grass, Mushrooms, Weeds 854-891 
 
 Flowers 892-963 
 
 Vegetables 964- 1121 
 
 Fruits and Berries 1122-1210 
 
 Corn, Oats, Wheat 1211-1245 
 
 Trees, Shrubbery, Vines 1246-1301 
 
 Aquatic Life 1302-1313 
 
 Insect Life 1314-1405 
 
 Spiders 1406-1486 
 
 Birds 1487-1579 
 
 Frogs, Toads, Salamanders, Snakes, Turtles 1580-1643 
 
 Poultry and Eggs 1644-1820 
 
 Animals in General 1821-1840 
 
 Bats 1841-1847 
 
 Moles 1848-1852 
 
 Rodents 1853-1892 
 
 Cats 1893-2015 
 
 Dogs 2016-2079 
 
 Sheep 2080-2085 
 
 Hogs 2086-21 13 
 
 Cows 2114-2187 
 
 Horses and Mules 2188-2272 
 
 Horseshoes and Muleshoes 2273-2305 
 
 Prospects for Children 2306-2348 
 
 Determination of Sex 2349-2385 
 
 Gestation 2386-24 1 7 
 
 Birthmarks 2418-2501 
 
 Parturition 2502-2525 
 
 Time of Birth 2526-2575 
 
 Physical Characteristics of Babies 2576-2630 
 
 Lactation and Weaning 2631-2670 
 
 Dentition 2671-2700 
 
 Care of Infants 2701-2814 
 
 Behavior of Infants 2815-2854 
 
 Human Body in General 2855-2882 
 
 Head, Chin, Face, Forehead, Neck 2883-2896 
 
 Hair, Combing, Comb 2897-3014 
 
X Contents 
 
 Mouth, Lips, Tongue - -- 3015-3025 
 
 Teeth -- 3026-3074 
 
 Crying, Laughing, Spitting-, Yawning. 3075-3090 
 
 Singing 3091-3115 
 
 Speaking, Calling, Swearing, Lying, Brag^ng. 3116-3141 
 
 Ears - - 3142-3180 
 
 Eyes - - - 3181-3239 
 
 Nose - 3240-3276 
 
 Sneezing 3277-3310 
 
 Arms, Back, Shoulders 3311-3325 
 
 Hands 3226-3375 
 
 Fingers and Finger-nails 3376-3419 
 
 StcttTiach, Thighs, Knees, Legs, Sitting 3420-3440 
 
 Feet, Toes, Toe-nails 3441-3470 
 
 Shoes, Shoe Strings, Stockings, Garters 3471-3563 
 
 Clothes 3564-3675 
 
 Sewing, Needles, Scissors 3676-3737 
 
 Pins, Hairpins, Safety Pins, Buttons 3738-3827 
 
 Rings, Birthstones, Personal Ornaments 3828-3852 
 
 Beauty 3853-3887 
 
 Bathing and Towels 3888-3901 
 
 Freckles, Blackheads, Pimples 3902-3929 
 
 Moles and Wens 3930-3966 
 
 Corns and Bunions 3967-4009 
 
 Warts 4010-4263 
 
 Sickness 4264-4306 
 
 Ailments of Infancy and Childhood: 
 
 Bed - wetting, Cholera Infantum, Colic, Croup, 
 
 Spasm, Thrush, Whooping Cough, Worms 4307-4467 
 
 Amputations and Operations 4468-4474 
 
 Asthma, Bronchitis, Catarrh, Hay Fever 4475-4500 
 
 Bites and Stings . 4501-4542 
 
 Bladder Trouble, Diabetes, Kidney Afflictions 4543-4572 
 
 Blood Troubles, Blood Poisoning, Bleeding, Hemorrhage, 
 
 Cuts 4573-4632 
 
 Blister, Chafing, Itch, Prickly Heat 4633-4656 
 
 Bowel Trouble, Constijxition, Diarrhea, Peritonitis 4657-4711 
 
 Backache, Bedsore, Bruise, Burn, Felon, Inflammation, 
 Pain, Side-ache, Sore, Sore Lip, Sore Mouth, Splin- 
 ter, StifT Neck, Swelling, Lacerated Vein, Whitlow 4712-4815 
 
 Choking and Swallowing 4816-4824 
 
 Chills 4825-4850 
 
 Cold, Cough, Diphtheria, Influenza, Sore Throat 4851-4959 
 
Contents 
 
 Earache and Deafness 
 
 Eczema, Erysipelas, Rash. Scrofula, Skin Disease, Tetter 
 
 Eye Trouble, Sight, Sty 
 
 Female Ailments 
 
 Fever, Malaria, Measles, Smallpox, T}^hoid Fever 
 
 Foot and Hand Troubles: 
 
 Chapping, Cramps, Swellings, Frostbite, Nail Wounds 
 
 Goitre and Mumps 
 
 Gout, Neuralgia, Neuritis, Rheumatism 
 
 Headache 
 
 Hiccough 
 
 Hysterics, Nervous Troubles, Shingles, St. Vitus Dance 
 
 Lung Trouble and Pneumonia 
 
 Nosebleed 
 
 Piles and Rectal Trouble 
 
 Poisoning and Poison Ivy 
 
 Stomach Troubles 
 
 Toothache 
 
 Ulcer, Tumor, Carbuncle, Cancer, Boil, Abscess 
 
 Various Ailments: 
 
 Appendicitis, Consumption, Epilepsy, Fainting, 
 Heart Trouble, Hives, Insanity, Jaundice, Kernel, 
 Paralysis, Seasickness, Trainsickness, Sprain, Social 
 
 Disease, Sunstroke, Swimming Cramps 
 
 Vomiting, Liniment, Salve 
 
 Snoring, Sleeptalking, Sleepwalking 
 
 Night Sweat 
 
 Nightmare 
 
 Dreams 
 
 Wishes 
 
 Signs of Love 
 
 When You Will See Your Beau 
 
 What Your Sweetheart Is Doing 
 
 Whether You Are Loved. 
 
 Losing Lover or Husband 
 
 Prospects for Securing Lover or Husband 
 
 Discovering Future Lover or Husband 
 
 Future Married Mate: 
 
 Character, Disposition. Financial Condition, Occupa- 
 tion, Physical Qualities 
 
 Engagement 
 
 4960-4980 
 4981-5012 
 5013-5026 
 5027-5101 
 5102-5138 
 5139-5189 
 
 5190-5271 
 
 5272-5302 
 5303-5384 
 5385-5416 
 5417-5450 
 5451-5472 
 5474-5489 
 5490-5553 
 5554-5577 
 5578-5596 
 5597-5623 
 5624-5655 
 5656-5714 
 
 5715-5786 
 5787-5797 
 5798-5876 
 5877-5892 
 5893-5905 
 5906-5917 
 5918-6459 
 6460-6646 
 6647-6660 
 6661-6692 
 6693-6713 
 6714-6757 
 6758-6780 
 6781-6982 
 6983-7155 
 
 7156-7211 
 7212-7219 
 
xii Contents 
 
 Time of Wedcling.. 7220-7249 
 
 Weather at tlie Wedding..... 7250-7265 
 
 Bridal Attire - 7266-7304 
 
 The Wedding 7305-7395 
 
 Married Life _ 7396-7412 
 
 House and Environs 7413-7445 
 
 Tools 7446-7473 
 
 Furniture and Furnishings 7474-7574 
 
 Umbrella 7575-7585 
 
 Sliarp Instruments 7586-7603 
 
 Knives, Forks, Spoons 7604-7697 
 
 Salt and Pepper 7698-7742 
 
 Eating and Drinking 7743-7880 
 
 Preparation of Food and Drink: 
 
 Fire, Cooking, Baking, Churning, Sauerkraut Mak- 
 ing, Wine Making 7881-7980 
 
 Soap Making, Cleaning Dishes, Dish Rag, Garbage, Re- 
 moving Ashes, Scrubbing, Washing Clothes, Iron- 
 ing, Bed Making 7981-8065 
 
 Sweeping and Brooms 8066-8145 
 
 Moving 8146-8209 
 
 Company 8210-8238 
 
 Walking Forth, Stepping Over Persons, Stumbling 8239-8342 
 
 Journeys 8343-8364 
 
 Forgetting, Retracing One's Steps 8365-8426 
 
 Letters and Stamps 8427-8462 
 
 Finding Lost or Stolen Articles 8463-8477 
 
 Work, Farming, Mining, Acting 8478-8532 
 
 Buying, Selling, Paying 8533-8547 
 
 Money 8548-8624 
 
 Law 8625-8633 
 
 Numbers 8634-8659 
 
 Games, Winning, Losing 8660-8673 
 
 Baseball 8674-8726 
 
 Craps 8727-8775 
 
 Gambling 8776-8834 
 
 Horse Racing 8835-8866 
 
 Playing Cards 8867-8944 
 
 Hunting 8945-8968 
 
 Fishing _ 8%9-9051 
 
 Fortune Telling ._ _ 9052-9059 
 
 Hoodoo and Witchcraft : 
 
 Witches, Two-headed Niggers, Hoodoo Women, 
 
Contents xiii 
 
 Black Cat Lucky Bone 9060-9107 
 
 Methods of Doing Evil 9108-9274 
 
 Bewitched Animals 9275-9308 
 
 Wreaths 9309-9354 
 
 In Love and Marriage 9355-9503 
 
 Protective Measures, Removing the Spell 9504-9682 
 
 Death Warnings 9683-10198 
 
 The Dying 10199-10214 
 
 Between Death and Burial 10215-10288 
 
 Funeral, Cemetery, Graves 10289-10369 
 
 Second Sight 10370-10400 
 
 Spirits and Ghosts 10401-10565 
 
 Miscellaneous 1 0566- 1 07 1 
 
 Rhymes - 10711-10825 
 
 Rimed Riddles 10826-10949 
 
PREFACE 
 
 Jacques Marquette and Louis Joliet passing down the Mississippi 
 River in 1673 were the first white men to see the present site of Quincy. 
 Permanent settlers, however, did not appear until 1820 and other 
 pioneers followed slowly. At the county's formation five years later it 
 contained merely seventy inhabitants. But this figure grew rapidly dur- 
 ing the next decade which brought so many immigrants into the Middle 
 West. These people who entered the country' between 1820-1840 came 
 from every American State. The original European ancestry was varied. 
 It included in a descending order persons of British (English, Scotch- 
 Irish or Ulster, Scotch), German, Dutch, French (Huguenot), Celtic 
 Irish and Scandinavian descent. Subsequent foreign immigration, pro- 
 bably reaching its peak before 1870, increased the German and Celtic 
 Irish proportions ; raising the former to first and the latter to second or 
 third place on the list. Excepting a few freed or escaped slaves, Negroes 
 arrived after the Civil War. Their number has remained about two 
 thousand. Greeks, Italians and Jews scarcely exceed the hundred mark, 
 are new-comers, and have not been approached for folk-lore.* The 
 essential composition of the population has changed little within the last 
 sixty or seventy years. 
 
 Bestowing an Old World origin upon each folk-lore item would be 
 an impossible task. Some of the ordinary beliefs, like horseshoes, pins 
 and weather-lore, constitute common property; while others, baseball 
 and craps for instance, are indigenous to the United States. It is pos- 
 sible, notwithstanding, to label much of the material ; but this has been 
 done only with hoodoo and witchcraft sayings. 
 
 An attempt was made to secure real experiences or stories rather 
 than bald statements and, excluding phonetic spelling, those obtained 
 have been recorded literally without corrections. Quotation marks en- 
 close this material. Omission of Negro dialect means tliat colored folk 
 speak the same language as their white neighbors. They do possess, 
 nevertheless, a small vocabulary peculiar to themselves and examples 
 frequently occur in the text. Even so, such tenns are not known by all 
 Negroes. Occasionally an informant has written his contribution. These 
 will be so indicated. 
 
 * Two or three items given as Jewish were also known to se\'eral non-Jewish 
 informants. Lore definitely Jewish was excluded. The same is true of the three 
 or four Indian sayings. 
 
xvi Preface 
 
 The principles observed in fiekl work have been two, knowing peo])le 
 intimately and interviewing thein personally. To describe this unceasing 
 process, of establishing contacts, acquiring credentials from one person 
 to another, and solving problems generally, is beyond either the purpose 
 or the compass of a preface. 
 
 At least ninety-five percent of the present collection was gathered 
 within the ten square miles comprising Quincy and its immediate envi- 
 rons. Considering these narrow geographical limits, the nature of some 
 of the items collected — the author would be ungracious towards his 
 native land and unfair to the reader's perspective, if he failed, to say 
 that Adams County is not a benighted community. 
 
 To the hundreds of individuals whose friendliness and co-operation 
 have been prerequisites for this volume, I offer grateful acknowledg- 
 ments. The Trustees of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation must be 
 thanked, not only for the opportunity of publication, but also because 
 they have pennitted absences from official duties during the last two 
 years so that a work previously begun might be concluded. In actual 
 collecting I am endebted to my niece, Mrs. John Andrew Leventis ; 
 and particularly to my sister, Mrs. Minnie Hyatt Small who laboring 
 with me and separately has rendered inestimable assistance. 
 
WEATHER 
 
 1. During warm weather, when the air is moist and no breeze stirs, 
 expect a thimderstonn. 
 
 2. Animals huddhng together in the pasture is a sign of rain. 
 
 3. There will be a change in the weather, if animals play and run 
 about. 
 
 4. If animals are covered with thin cm- light fur in the autumn, it 
 means a mild winter. 
 
 5. When in the fall the fur of animals is thick or heavy, look for 
 a cold winter. 
 
 6. Animals always prepare for cold weather by making warm nests. 
 
 7. The v.'inter v»-ill be cold, if animals build their beds early in the 
 autumn. 
 
 8. To kill (or to step on) an ant will bring rain. 
 
 9. Tread on an ant hill and you will cause a rain. 
 
 10. It indicates rain, if ants travel in a straight line. 
 
 11. If ants are very active, rain is coming. 
 
 12. Open ant hills mean rain. 
 
 13. As soon as ants start to tear up the ground, you may know that 
 summer has arrived. 
 
 14. If ants in the beginning of July build up the piles around the 
 entrances to their nests, they are enlarging the tunnels in expecta- 
 tion of an early and severe winter. 
 
 15. Unusually warm weather during the first week of August in- 
 dicates a white winter. 
 
 16. It always rains after you have washed and polished your auto- 
 mobile. 
 
 17. When bats squeak loudly and continuously and try to enter the 
 house, rain may be expected. 
 
 18. An abundance of beechnuts signifies an open winter. 
 
 19. If more bees enter than leave a hive, rain will fall soon, because 
 a bee is never caught in a shower. 
 
 20. Bees remaining near a hive foretell rain. 
 
 21. The weather is going to be fair, if bees fly a long distance from 
 their hives. 
 
 22. Prepare for cold and rainy weather, when bees travel a short 
 distance from their hives. 
 
 23. If bees buzz about in March, a cold spell is approaching. 
 
 24. Bushes filled with berries in the autumn presage a hard winter. 
 
Monoirs uf the Aluio Iigan Hyatt Fuiiiidation 
 
 25. It siynifies a cokl winter, to have beavers make a kir<;e lodge in 
 the falk 
 
 26. When a small "house" is buik by beavers, the winter will be mild. 
 
 27. If a large numljer of little birds dust themselves, it will storm 
 within three days. 
 
 28. Birds oil their feathers before a rain. 
 
 29. The flying of birds close to the ground betokens rain. 
 
 30. Rain can be expected, if birds eat a great amount of food in the 
 morning. 
 
 31. If birds sing during a rain, fair weather is at hand. 
 
 32. When birds begin to fly north, spring has come. 
 
 33. The mating of birds in August forecasts a late fall. 
 
 34. To hear a spring bird call late in winter is a sign that the weather 
 will turn colder. 
 
 35. If blackberries ripen late and slowly, the winter will be long and 
 cold. 
 
 36. If blackbirds bunch together in cornfields, they are preparing for 
 wintry weather. 
 
 37. If blackbirds gather in multitudes on the ground, snow is near. 
 
 38. To see a bluebird is an indication that the following day will be 
 fair. 
 
 39. The first appearance of a bluebird is a harbinger of spring. 
 
 40. The male blue jay has a peculiar note which it uses only before 
 a storm. 
 
 41. Blue jays become excited and call continually before a rain. 
 
 42. A broken bone will ache before a rain. 
 
 43. A person with rheumatism will have rheumatic pains before a 
 
 rain. "When I was a boy, a German teacher (in a Quincy 
 
 parochial school) asked, 'Where do you get the rains?' A boy got 
 up and said, 'From grandma's bones, because every time grand- 
 ma's bones ache, it rains'. " 
 
 44. An aching bone portends stormy weather. 
 
 45. It will rain, if you burn brush. 
 
 46. I f buffaloes go into a stampede, you may expect a storm. 
 
 47. Look for immediate cold weather, when you see autumnal but- 
 terflies. 
 
 48. Yellow butterflies in the autumn indicate a frost within ten days 
 that will tint the leaves with the same color. 
 
 49. An early api>earance of butterflies in the spring is followed by 
 fine weather. 
 
 50. We shall have rain, if camphor rises in the bottle. 
 
 51. When a camphor bottle is cloudy, there will be a storm. 
 
 52. A dampish feeling in the carpet on the floor means a rain. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 3 
 
 53. If you kick up a rug several times, rain is approaching. 
 
 54. A cat eating grass is an omen of rain. 
 
 55. Rain will follow the sneezing of a cat. 
 
 56. If a cat sneezes while its head lies on the floor, you may expect 
 rain. 
 
 57. Look for rain, when a cat begins to wash its face. 
 
 58. If a cat washes its face round the ears, rain is coming. 
 
 59. It is the sign of rain, when a cat is seen lying on its back. 
 
 60. If a cat lies sleeping in front of a fire and has its nose turned 
 upward, you will soon see rain. 
 
 61. Expect high winds and a storm when a cat is frislcy and dashes 
 about wildly. 
 
 62. A cat will begin to play and run up trees before a big windstorm. 
 
 63. If a cat sits with its back to the fire, you may look for cold 
 weather. 
 
 64. A cat basking in a February sun will go to the stove in March. 
 
 65. Caterpillars seen late in the autumn signify a very mild winter. 
 
 66. A large number of caterpillars in the autumn is the sign of a cold 
 winter. 
 
 67. If caterpillars are so numerous in the autumn that they drop down 
 in bunches from trees and bushes, look for an open winter. 
 
 68. The winter will be light, if caterpillars in the fall are light-colored. 
 
 69. Dark -colored caterpillars in the autumn indicate a harsh winter. 
 
 70. There will be a very cold winter, if caterpillars in the fall are 
 entirely yellow. 
 
 71. If caterpillars are wholly black in the autumn, expect a mild 
 winter. 
 
 72. If an autumnal caterpillar has a little yellow on the nose, it is a 
 sign of cold weather in the early part of winter. 
 
 72>. When caterpillars during the autumn are dark brown in the center 
 of the body and yellow at each end, the middle of the winter will 
 be very cold. 
 
 74. A yellow stripe running down the central part of a caterpillar's 
 body foretells cold weather in the middle part of winter. 
 
 75. If a catei^p'illar's tail has only a small amount of yellow, all of the 
 cold weather will appear late in winter. 
 
 76. If a chicken oils its feathers, rain is coming soon. 
 
 77. When chickens pick up little stones, it will rain. 
 
 78. Chickens refusing to come out of their coops in the morning is 
 a sign of rain. 
 
 79. To see a covey of chickens, especially in the morning, staying 
 close together near a bush or under a tree as if trying to hide, 
 means an approaching storm. 
 
Memoirs of tin' . llnia Jujaii Hyatt I'oundation 
 
 80. If chicken-. liiuKHc iMgelhcr outside the henhouse instc;i>l of goin^;^^ 
 to r<jost, expect rain. 
 
 81. "If chicken> \\A\ in the .sand. 
 Rain is at hand." 
 
 82. To have chickens seek sheher is a sign of rain. 
 
 83. The rain will continue all day. if chickens do not seek slielter. 
 
 84. If chickens remain out in the rain, it is only a .shower. 
 
 85. When chickens seek shelter while it is raining, the rain will 
 soon stop. 
 
 86. If chickens refuse to go out during a rain, it will soon clear off. 
 
 87. If chickens sing in a rain, exjiect fair weather soon. 
 
 88. To have chickens lly upon something and pick their feathers is 
 a sign that the rain is over. . 
 
 89. Chickens roosting high indicate that the next day will be fair. 
 
 90. When chickens roost low. the following day will be stormy. 
 
 91. A hard winter may be predicted, if chickens mcjult in August. 
 
 92. It is a sign of a light winter, when chickens shed feathers in 
 October. 
 
 93. Heavy feathers ow chickens foreshow heavy weather during the 
 winter. 
 
 94. It is a prophesy of a mild winter, if you can easily remcA'e the 
 inside of a chicken gizzard. 
 
 95. If the inside of a chicken gizzard cannot be removed readily, look 
 for a cold winter. 
 
 96. When chickens seek high perches in winter, the weather will 
 turn colder. 
 
 97. The rooster warns chickens, if it is going to rain. 
 
 98. .'\ crowing rooster means rain. 
 
 99. It is a sign of falling weather to have a cock crow vdieu going 
 to roost. 
 
 100. If a cock goes to roost crowing, you can look for rain before 
 morning. 
 
 101. "If a cock goes crowing to bed, 
 It will rise v.-itb. a watery head." 
 
 102. There will be rain, if a ctxrk crows after he has gone to roost. 
 
 103. Expect bad weather when a cock crows after going to roost. 
 
 104. .\ rooster crowing about eight o'clock at night means rain for 
 the following day. 
 
 105. A change of weather is imminent, if a rooster crows about nine 
 o"cU>ck at night. 
 
 loo. It will turn colder, if a rooster starts to crow about nine o'ckKk 
 at night. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 5 
 
 107. To hear a rooster crowing about ten o'clock at night means a 
 change of weather. 
 
 108. The crowing of a rooster after dark is the sign of rain (or change 
 of weather) before morning. 
 
 109. There will be rain before morning, if a rooster crows between 
 nightfall and midnight. 
 
 110. Rain may be expected soon, if a rooster begins to crow before 
 midnight. 
 
 111. You may look for bad weather, if a rooster crows at midnight. 
 
 112. "A rooster crowing in the morning 
 Is a sailor's warning. 
 
 If he crows at night, 
 It is a sailors delight." 
 
 113. A change of weather is indicated, if a rooster crows before twelve 
 o'clock noon. 
 
 114. If you hear a rooster crowing during a morning rain, the after- 
 noon will be fair. 
 
 115. The crowing of a rooster while it is raining means that the skies 
 will soon clear. 
 
 116. If a rooster crows during a rainstorm, a long dry spell is ap- 
 proaching. 
 
 117. When a rooster sits on a fence and crows very early in the morn- 
 ing, it will rain before breakfast. 
 
 118. If a rooster crows early in the morning while sitting on a fence, 
 look for rain that day. 
 
 119. It is an omen of rain, if a rooster jumps upon a fence or gate- 
 post and crows. 
 
 120. A rooster crowing on a fence is the sign of a nice day. 
 
 121. You can expect foul weather, if a rooster crows while sitting on 
 the ground. 
 
 122. To discover the dry and wet months of the year: "Take twelve 
 onions all the same size. Then cut a hole in the top of each onion. 
 Then fill each top with the same amount of salt. Then lay each 
 onion in a straight row on a table. You must lay them the way 
 the sun rises and sets. You must do this on Christmas Eve be- 
 tween eleven and twelve, and don't let anyone go near the table 
 after you have put them there. Get up on Christmas morning 
 early and go to the onions and say, 'J^^iuary, February, March, 
 
 April' and so on. Then look at each onion. Some onions 
 
 will have water running out of them and some will be dry. The 
 onions that have water running out of them will be wet months 
 and the dry onions dry months for the coming year." Written 
 contribution. 
 
i Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 123. A warm Christmas means a cold Easter. 
 
 124. You can always tell when it is going to rain, for your clothes 
 will not take starch. 
 
 125. If the clouds open before seven and close afterward, it will rain 
 before eleven. 
 
 126. "Open and shet 
 Is a sign of wet." 
 
 127. Buttermilk clouds are followed by a rain. 
 
 128. A golden appearance in clouds signifies fair weather. 
 
 129. Pink clouds in the west at evening are an indication of rain. 
 
 130. The gathering in the west of spotted clouds which look like a 
 flock of sheep indicates rain inside of twenty-four hours. 
 
 131. Clouds with streamers pointing upward foretell rain. 
 
 132. White drift clouds, called "sheep," are a sign of rain. 
 
 133. If the weather is cloudy on Monday, it will be cloudy on two 
 more days that week. 
 
 134. When clover leaves turn up and their whitish undersides can be 
 seen, expect rain. 
 
 135. The ripening of the top cocklebur on the bush is the sign of a 
 very cold winter. 
 
 136. If coffee bubbles cling to the side of the cup instead of floating 
 on the center, you may look for rain. 
 
 137. The twisting up of corn blades means rain. 
 
 138. If the texture of corn husks is thick, the winter will be cold. 
 
 139. A thin and meager texture in corn husks indicates an open winter. 
 
 140. One may look for a severe winter, if the com husk tightly encloses 
 and entirely conceals the ear. 
 
 141. If the corn husk loosely enfolds the ear and the tip of the ear 
 protrudes from the husk, expect a light winter. 
 
 142. There will be a cold winter, if corn silk is thick and abundant. 
 
 143. We shall have a mild winter when corn silk is thin and scanty. 
 
 144. Red com is followed by a hard winter. 
 
 145. When corns are more painful than usual, look for rain. 
 
 146. An itching corn is the sign of rain. 
 
 147. If corns hurt, a thunderstorm is near. 
 
 148. Rain may be expected, if the undersides of the leaves of a cotton- 
 wood tree are turned upw'ard. 
 
 149. If cows sniff, rain is in the air. 
 
 150. If cattle raise their heads and look up into the air, a storm is 
 brewing. 
 
 151. A considerable amount of lowing among cattle is the sign of rain. 
 
 152. "When a cow tries to scratch its ear, 
 It's the sign that rain is very near." 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 7 
 
 153. It will rain soon, if a cow thumps her ribs with her tail. 
 
 154. When a cow raises her tail over her back and runs, a storm is 
 at hand. 
 
 155. Rain will come before night, if cattle lie down in the barnyard 
 during the morning. 
 
 156. Cows refusing to go to the pasture, when they are turned loose 
 in the morning, mean rain before night. 
 
 157. If a calf romps around in a playful mood, look for falling weather. 
 
 158. There will be a change of weather, if cattle are restless and fight 
 each other. 
 
 159. A storm is threatening, if cattle huddle in groups when turned 
 out to graze. 
 
 160. If cattle crowd together, a bad storm is approaching. 
 
 161. Cows always return home before a storm. 
 
 162. If cows go home in the middle of the day, there will be a severe 
 storm. 
 
 163. Cattle staying close together in the autumn is the sign of a cold 
 winter. 
 
 164. If cattle in winter come running from the pasture, there is going 
 to be a blizzard within twenty-four hours. 
 
 165. Rain will fall before long, if a large number of crabs (crawfish) 
 leave the water and remain on land. 
 
 166. Rain comes after a cricket has been killed (or stepped on). 
 
 167. If you kill a cricket, expect rain next day. 
 
 168. When you hear crickets chirping, they are calling for rain. 
 
 169. If crickets chirp louder and more than usual, it will rain. 
 
 170. A crow crying in the morning foretells fair weather for the day. 
 
 171. To see a crow flying by itself means a bad storm. 
 
 172. A crow flying alone warns you of approaching rain. 
 
 173. A pair of flying crows indicates that we will have a mild storm. 
 
 174. Three crows are a sign of rain. 
 
 175. To see a large flock of crows means a change of weather. 
 
 176. If crows caw loudly and incessantly, we shall have rain. 
 
 177. Dandelion blossoms always close just before a rain. 
 
 178. The weather for the first three days of December determines the 
 weather of the three winter months. 
 
 179. No dew on the grass in the morning is a sign of rain. 
 
 180. A heavy dew in the morning indicates that it will not rain that day. 
 
 181. "When dew is on the grass. 
 Rain will never come to pass." 
 
 182. A light dew on the ground in the morning will be followed by rain. 
 
 183. If there is no dew for three successive mornings, it will rain. 
 
8 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 IS-k 'Ihree licavy clews on three mornings in succession are a sign of 
 rain. 
 
 185. Three successive nights of dew are followed by a hard rain. 
 
 186. Dew on the grass at night indicates that next day will be fair. 
 
 187. No dew on the grass at night forebodes bad weather for the 
 following day. 
 
 188. You may look for rain, if you see a dog eating grass. 
 
 \Sf^. If a dog while chewing grass changes his position frequently, 
 expect rain. 
 
 190. If a (log howls while company is leaving your house, prepare for 
 rain. 
 
 191. When a dog rolls on the ground, you can look for a change of 
 weather. 
 
 192. A dog rolling on his back foretells the approach of rain. 
 
 193. If your dog is frisky and darts around all day, you may expect 
 high winds and a storm. 
 
 194. A dog howling toward the moon in winter is the sign of snow. 
 
 195. There will be rain, if in fair weather a door sticks to its frame 
 and is difficult to open. 
 
 196. If doves coo constantly and are more restless than usual, look for 
 a change in the weather. 
 
 197. To hear a dove cooing in a tree means rain inside of three days. 
 
 198. When a duck flaps its wings rei>eatedly, one may expect rain. 
 
 199. An unusually loud quacking by ducks is the sign of rain. 
 
 200. W^ild ducks flying low indicate falling weather. 
 
 201. If wild ducks fly high, the weather will be clear. 
 
 202. If wild ducks fly south early in the autumn, there wall be an early 
 winter. 
 
 203. Winter will come late, if wild ducks do not go south until late 
 autumn. 
 
 204. It is going to rain, if you see dust whirling along the street. 
 
 205. An early Easter means an early spring. 
 
 206. A late Easter is the sign of a late spring. 
 
 207. Foul weather on Easter will continue throughout the forty days 
 until Ascension Day. 
 
 208. If an elephant puts its trunk straight up in the air and then hauls 
 it back, and does this repeatedly, stormy weather is coming ; for 
 an elephant can smell an approaching storm. 
 
 209. Fair weather on the three Ember Days will be followed by three 
 months of good weather. 
 
 210. If the weather of the three Ember Days is rainy, the three follow- 
 ing months will be wet. 
 
 211. The cold days of February will be wami days in March. 
 
Folk-Lorc from Adams County Illinois 9 
 
 212. Whatever day is warm in February will be cold in March. 
 
 213. When a person's feet hurt, it is the sign of rain. 
 
 214. If frostbitten feet itch, you may look for rain. 
 
 215. The itching of frostbitten feet is the sign of snow. 
 
 216. If a fire sighs, very cold weather is coming. 
 
 217. There will be cold weather, if a fire in the stove flutters. 
 
 218. Firelight reflected on the woodwork of a room foretells the 
 approach of cold weather. 
 
 219. A spitting fire is the sign of snowy weather. 
 
 220. If a fire crackles gently like the falling of hard granular snow, 
 you will soon see a snowstorm of this type. 
 
 221. If fish flop up in the water, you can expect rain. 
 
 222. A big storm is coming, if fish jump up incessantly in the water. 
 
 223. If fish fail to roll during the first rise of the river in spring, more 
 rain will soon follow. 
 
 224. Fish swimming near the surface of the water is a sign of rain. 
 
 225. When fish wash their faces in a pond (come to the surface and 
 suck), rain may be expected. 
 
 226. A large number of flies about the house means rain. 
 
 227. If flies begin to sting, it will rain. 
 
 228. Flies bite harder and oftener just before a rain. 
 
 229. Flowers emit a stronger fragrance before a rain. 
 
 230. If a flower, which normally has blossoms but once a year, blooms 
 twice during the season, a hard winter can be expected. 
 
 231. A fog in the morning indicates a clear sky later in the day. 
 
 232. If a morning fog falls, the weather will be fair. 
 
 233. If a fog rises in the morning, you may look for falling weather. 
 
 234. Whatever goes up must come down, therefore a rising fog will 
 come down in a rain. 
 
 235. A fog going upwards in the morning means clear weather. 
 
 236. There will be rough and rainy weather, if a fog fades away and 
 fails to rise. 
 
 237. You may expect fair weather, if a fog does not lift but evaporates. 
 
 238. An early rising of a fog is the sign of rain. 
 
 239. A fog lifting late means that the day will be clear. 
 
 240. Whenever there is a fog in January, expect a frost on the same 
 day in May. 
 
 241. As many foggy mornings as there are in January, so many frosty 
 mornings will there be m May. 
 
 242. Heavy fogs in January determine the dates of the last frosts of 
 spring. 
 
 243. The number of fogs in August shows how many snows there will 
 be during the winter. 
 
10 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 244. If fowl (Irys quickly while being cooked, rain is near. 
 
 245. It is the sign of rain, to take the last piece of bread on a plate. 
 
 246. You may look for rain, if you drop a piece of buttered bread and 
 it falls upside down on the floor. 
 
 247. When all the food at the table is consumed, you may expect clear 
 weather next day. 
 
 248. If all the food at a meal is eaten or preserved, so that none of it 
 is wasted, the sun will shine on the following day. 
 
 249. To cat in a water-closet is the sign of rain. 
 
 250. If you drop a fork and a spoon and the latter lies crossing the 
 former, there will be a storm. 
 
 251. A freeze on February 22nd means forty more freezes. 
 
 252. If the ground has thawed out before the 24th of February (St. 
 Matthias Day) and there is no ice, it will turn cold and freeze. 
 Hence : 
 
 "St. Matthias breaks the ice. 
 If no ice, he makes ice." 
 
 253. If it freezes in "Christ's grave" that is, while Christ was in 
 
 the grave (Good Friday to Easter), it can freeze any time during 
 the next forty days. 
 
 254. Friday is "the foulest of the fair" that is, either the best or 
 
 worst day in the week. 
 
 255. Whatever the weather is on Friday at noon, the weather for the 
 following Sunday will be the same. 
 
 256. Ugly weather on Friday foretells bad weather for Sunday. 
 
 257. If frogs croak during the day, they are calling for rain. 
 
 258. Kill a bullfrog and the weathei" next day will be foul. 
 
 259. To hear a rain frog (tree frog or tree toad) calling in a tree is 
 the sign of rain within three days. 
 
 260. A white frost means rain. 
 
 261. If frost clings to the trees late in the morning, you may look 
 for snow. 
 
 262. A large quantity of wild fruits in the summer denotes a hard 
 winter. 
 
 263. When wild fruits are plentiful in the autumn, you can predict a 
 cold winter, 
 
 264. To shut and open a gate is the sign of rain. 
 
 265. If a gate incessantly opens and slams, cold weather is near. 
 
 266. Noisy geese mean a rain, 
 
 267. Geese will cry unusually long just before a rain. 
 
 268. When geese flap their wings in the water, rain is approaching, 
 
 269. After a goose has dusted itself, if it gets up and flaps its wings, 
 you may expect rain inside of twenty-four hours. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 11 
 
 270. A white breastbone in a goose indicates a mild winter. 
 
 271. If the breastbone of a goose is dark, the winter will be cold. 
 
 272. There will be a long winter, if the goose has a long breastbone. 
 
 273. A short breastbone in a goose is the sign of a short winter. 
 
 274. An open winter may be predicted, if wild geese fly low as they 
 go south. 
 
 275. Wild geese flying high on their way south foretell a hard winter. 
 
 276. If a flock of wild geese flying westward does not turn southward 
 or northward when it reaches a town, there will be a great flood 
 in that town within a day or two. 
 
 277. The swarming of gnats means warmer weather and rain. 
 
 278. You may look for rain, if the joints of your body begin to feel 
 stiflf. 
 
 279. If you can see the white or silvery undersides of grape leaves, 
 there will be rain that day. 
 
 280. A heavy crop of wild grapes indicates a severe winter. 
 
 281. Rain will not fall, if the ground is wet in dry weather. 
 
 282. Bubbles rising from marshy ground are a sign of rain. 
 
 283. If a ground hog (woodchuck) sees his shadow on February 2nd 
 (Ground Hog Day), there will be another month of winter. 
 
 284. A ground hog seeing his shadow on February 2nd means six more 
 weeks of cold weather. 
 
 285. You may expect eight more weeks of cold weather, if a ground 
 hog can see his shadow on the 2nd of February. 
 
 286. If a ground hog does not see his shadow on February 2nd, spring 
 is near. 
 
 287. It will rain for seven Sundays in succession, if a ground hog sees 
 his shadow on the 2nd of February. 
 
 288. Seven weeks of rain will follow February 2nd, if a ground hog 
 sees his shadow. 
 
 289. The ground hog always stores away a large amount of acorns 
 for a cold winter. 
 
 290. If the ground hog does not lay aside a good supply of food, the 
 winter will be mild. 
 
 291. Guineas cry continually before a rain. 
 
 292. Guineas crying in the afternoon indicate rain. 
 
 293. It is a sign of rain to have your hair curl. 
 
 294. A large crop of hazelnuts is followed by a cold winter. 
 
 295. If hogs run about and play, look for a change of weather. 
 
 296. Pigs running around and squealing prophesy falling weather. 
 
 297. If hogs rush about with straw or wood in their mouths, there will 
 be a change in the weather. 
 
12 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 298. A change in the weather may be cxj)€ctctl, if you see hogs carry- 
 ing corn in their mouths. 
 
 299. To see pigs carrying straw in their mouths (hiring the summer 
 is a sign of rain. 
 
 300. If in winter pigs carry straw in their mouths, a cold spell is 
 ai>]3roaching. 
 
 301. ^'ou may look for cold weather, if hogs begin to build their beds. 
 
 302. When you see pigs pulling hay out of a haystack and making 
 nests, expect cold weather. 
 
 303. The squealing of hogs is a sign of cold weather. 
 
 304. I'igs looking to the north mean that cold weather is near. 
 
 305. It hogs are slaughtered early in the fall, and their lungs are 
 streaked, there will be a very cold and bad winter. 
 
 3U3. Clear lungs in hogs killed in early autumn indicate a mild and 
 good winter. 
 
 307. I f hogs killed early in the autumn have the large part of the milt 
 ])C)inting toward the head, you may expect a very cold winter. 
 
 308. When hogs are slaughtered in early autumn, and the small part of 
 the spleen lies toward the head, it is the sign of a mild winter. 
 
 309. We shall have an open winter, if hornets build their nests high. 
 
 310. Hornets building their nests low mean a severe winter, 
 
 311. There will be a change of weather, when horses race round and 
 play. 
 
 312. Horses are unusually frolicsome for several days preceding a 
 storm. 
 
 313. Horses play and gallop about for some days before cold weather. 
 
 314. \'()u may look for a change of weather, if horses roll on the 
 ground. 
 
 315. 1 1 horses group together in a corner of the pasture with their 
 backs to the wind, rain will come before night. 
 
 316. When you can hear clearer than usual the tread of a horse's 
 hooves on the road, expect rain. 
 
 317. If horses in the stable are sweating and switching their tails, rain 
 is near. 
 
 318. .\n early spring may be expected, if horses start to shed their 
 hair early. 
 
 319. The mating of insects in August foretells a late autumn. 
 
 320. 'W) see insects carrying material for nests indicates that cold 
 weather is approaching. 
 
 321. To discover the wet and dry months of the year: "Take twelve 
 onions. Name each onion after one of the months. Cut off the 
 toi)s of the onions and gouge out a cup in each one. Let the 
 onions stand until water gathers in the cups. The onion and the 
 
Folk-Lorc from Adams County Illinois 13 
 
 corresponding month which has water in the cup will be a rainy 
 month. Do this on New Year's Day." Written contribution. 
 
 322. To find out whether the year will be dry or wet: If the first 
 change of the moon in the new year comes during the morning, 
 we shall have a wet year; but if in the evening, the year will 
 be dry. 
 
 323. The weather on New Year's Day rules the weather of the three 
 following months. 
 
 324. The weather during the first three days of January governs the 
 weather for the three winter months. 
 
 325. The weather during the first three days of the year determines the 
 weather for the whole year. 
 
 326. The weather during the first twelve days of the year indicates 
 what the weather will be all year. 
 
 327. If you kill a June bug, you may look for rain. 
 
 328. To hear a katydid singing in August is a sign that there will be 
 frost within six weeks. 
 
 329. The continual sputtering of a lamp means rain. 
 
 330. It will rain, if a lantern flickers incessantly. 
 
 331. Sheet lightning at night is the sign of hot weather. 
 
 332. Lightning in the north means an immediate rain. 
 
 ZZZ. You may expect rain within twenty-four hours, if it lightens in 
 the north. 
 
 334. Lightning in the north for three successive nights will bring rain. 
 
 335. To have lightning in the south indicates dry weather. 
 
 336. It is a sign of a drought, if it lightens in the east. 
 
 ZZ7. On whatever day it lightens in February, you may look for a 
 frost sufficient to kill on the same day of the month in May. 
 
 338. A building protected by a lightning rod wnll never be struck, but 
 if it is, the lightning will run down the rod and into the ground. 
 
 339. Burn a piece of blessed palm in the stove on Palm Sunday and 
 your house will never be struck by lightning. 
 
 340. "My mother always kept the axe and the spade sitting in the house 
 and whenever w^e would see a storm coming upi, mother would 
 say, 'Children, run and throw the axe and spade out the door so 
 the lightning won't hit the house'. " 
 
 341. Sit on a feather bed and the lightning will not strike you. 
 
 342. "What my mother would do when she would see a big storm 
 coming up that was taking up the trees by the roots, she would 
 make us children all sit on feather pillows so the lightning would 
 not hit us." 
 
 343. Crawl under a bed and the lightning will not strike you. 
 
14 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 344. Regardless of the preceding item, some people will not sleep in an 
 iron bed when it lightens during a storm. 
 
 345. Some people will get into bed and cover up their heads when it 
 lightens. 
 
 346. A few persons will shut themselves up in a dark closet during a 
 storm with lightning. 
 
 347. During a storm, some people will stand in front of a glass window, 
 because lightning will not strike through glass. 
 
 348. Never leave windows up during a storm, for a draft blowing 
 through the house will draw in lightning. 
 
 349. When a storm is approaching, lie down on your back by a tree 
 and the lightning will not hit you. 
 
 350. Standing under a tree is the most dangerous place to be during a 
 storm. You must lie down on the ground out in the open to 
 prevent being struck by lightning. 
 
 351. You must never stand out in the oi>en during a storm, for you 
 will be struck by lightning. If you happen to be out in the open, 
 lie down on the ground. 
 
 352. If you are able to count ten between a flash of lightning and 
 thunder, you will not be struck. 
 
 353. Count as fast as you can between a flash of lightning and thunder, 
 and this number will indicate how many miles distant the lightning 
 struck. 
 
 354. If a man sits on a fence and curses, he will be struck by lightning. 
 
 355. It is risky to be in an automobile or carriage during a storm, 
 because the iron in these vehicles draws lightning. 
 
 356. A safe place to be during a storm is in an automobile, for lightning 
 will not strike near rubber. 
 
 357. To have a piece of iron or steel such as a pocketknife or hatpin 
 on your person is hazardous, for it will draw lightning during 
 a storm. 
 
 358. Lightning never strikes twice in the same place. 
 
 359. If lightning does strike the same place twice, mineral will be 
 found at that spot near the surface of the ground. 
 
 360. Lightning and thunder will turn milk sour. 
 
 361. An old negro woman said, "I would not use the wood of a tree 
 that has been struck by lightning for anything." 
 
 362. Put lime under the eaves of a house and you will have rain that 
 day. 
 
 363. Noisy locusts are a sign of dry weather. 
 
 364. If March comes in like a lamb, it will go out like a lion. 
 
 365. If March comes in like a lion, it will go out like a lamb. 
 
 366. Mice scampering around more than usual mean rain. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 15 
 
 367. It is a sign of a cold winter, if field mice lay up a large quantity 
 of corn in their burrows. 
 
 368. The thick part of milk rising to the surface indicates rain. 
 
 369. If milk or cream sours during the night, expect a thunderstorm, 
 
 370. Whatever way the Milk Maid's Path points in the sky will be the 
 direction of the wind on the following day. 
 
 371. Mists in March are followed by frosts in May. 
 
 372. Three misty mornings in succession are the sign of rain. 
 
 2)72). A mole coming to the top of the ground in winter foretells an 
 early spring. 
 
 374. A white Christmas means a green Easter. 
 
 375. A green Christmas indicates a white Easter. 
 
 376. Prepare for a storm, if the moon is tinged with red. 
 
 377. "If moon red be, 
 
 Of water speaks she." 
 
 378. "A pale moon doth rain. 
 A red moon doth rain. 
 
 A white moon doth neither rain nor blow." 
 
 379. You may look for rain, if the moon hides behind a thin veil of 
 mist. 
 
 380. If the moon sets clear on Friday, expect rain before Tuesday. 
 
 381. To learn the number of snows for the year, count how many days 
 old the moon is at the first appearance of snow. 
 
 382. Two full moons within the same month mean rain. 
 
 383. If a full moon is shining, there will not be any frost. 
 
 384. The moon changing in the morning is a sign of rain. 
 
 385. It will be a dry moon, if the moon changes in the morning. 
 
 386. Rain does not follow the changing of the moon in the afternoon 
 or evening. 
 
 387. The moon that changes at night is a wet moon. 
 
 388. If the moon changes when the wind is in the east, you can expect 
 bad weather that month. 
 
 389. When a moon appears new on Monday, the weather will be good. 
 
 390. The appearance of a new moon on Monday means rain for forty 
 days, 
 
 391. If an Indian can hang his shot horn on the tip of the moon, rain 
 may be expected. 
 
 392. There will be dry weather, if an Indian's shot horn cannot be 
 hung on the tip of the moon. 
 
 393. A new moon upon the point of which an Indian is unable to fasten 
 his powder horn will be a dry moon. 
 
 394. We shall have wet weather, if an Indian is not able to suspend his 
 powder horn on the end of a new moon. 
 
16 Memoirs of the Alma Egaii Hyatt Foundation 
 
 395. When a moon rests on its point, water is ixjuring out of the apron. 
 
 396. The apron is full of water, if a moon reclines on its back. 
 
 397. The moon is wet, if it stands on its point. 
 
 398. A moon standing on its end is a dry moon. 
 
 399. A moon lying on its side is a wet moon. 
 
 400. If the horns of a moon tilt upward, we shall have a hard rain. 
 
 401. When a moon lies on its back, the following month will be wet. 
 
 402. If the tips of a moon extend upward, a lot of water will flow 
 under the bridges. 
 
 403. A moon with ends pointing upward is a dry moon, because it is 
 holding up the water. Hence, there will not be any rain during the 
 following month. 
 
 404. If a moon on its back points toward the northwest, it is the sign 
 of a cold and rainy month. 
 
 405. A "cresent moon" has its points tilting downward. Since it can- 
 not hold water, look for rain. 
 
 406. If a moon stands on its horns, it will begin to rain within three 
 days and continue all month. 
 
 407. A "crescent moon," a moon with points tipping downward, is a 
 wet moon ; because water is pouring out of the dipper. 
 
 408. It is sometimes said that a "crescent moon," a moon resting on 
 its ends, is a dry moon ; for the water has run out of the dipper. 
 
 409. A moon hanging low in the south is the sign of mild weather. 
 
 410. "Circle round the moon, 
 Rain soon." 
 
 or 
 
 "Ring around the moon, 
 Rain soon." 
 
 411. "Ring around the moon, 
 Brings a storm soon." 
 
 412. A halo round the moon indicates a change of weather. 
 
 413. A circle round the moon means rain. The nearer the circle, the 
 sooner the rain. 
 
 414. A disk around the moon is the sign of a storm, 
 
 415. You may expect cold weather, if there is a circle round the moon. 
 
 416. If there is a ring around the moon in the evening, rain will fall 
 on the following day. 
 
 417. A large ring around the moon means a change in the weather. 
 
 418. As many circles as there are round the moon, so many will be 
 the days until it rains. 
 
 419. It will snow within twenty-four hours, if there are two circles 
 around a full moon. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 17 
 
 420. For every star inside the ring around a moon there will be a day 
 until the weather changes. 
 
 421. Count the stars within the circle round the moon and the number 
 will indicate how many days will pass before bad weather comes. 
 
 422. A star in the circle round a moon is the sign of clear weather. 
 
 423. Two stars within the ring around a moon mean rain within two 
 days. 
 
 424. Bad weather for two days may be expected, if the ring around 
 the moon contains two stars. 
 
 425. A circle of stars around the moon indicates rain. 
 
 426. "Morning wanders, 
 Evening blunders." 
 
 427. It always rains, if you wash the windows on the day you move 
 into a new house. 
 
 428. Rain always falls on moving day. 
 
 429. If mules trot about and play, rain will come soon. 
 
 430. A mule rolling at midday is the sign of a storm before midnight. 
 
 431. If a muskrat digs a shallow burrow, we shall have a mild winter. 
 
 432. When a muskrat's nest is built deep in the ground, look for a cold 
 winter. 
 
 433. A muskrat always cuts corn stalks and carries them underground, 
 if we are going to have a hard winter. 
 
 434. Drive a nail into the ground and there will be rain on the follow- 
 ing day. 
 
 435. Your nose itching three times inside of an hour is the sign of 
 rain within a day. 
 
 436. A heavy nut crop foretells a heavy winter. 
 
 437. When the nut crop fails, a mild winter may be expected. 
 
 438. When some distant object seems closer than usual, you may expect 
 rain. The nearer the object the sooner the rain. 
 
 439. Cut an onion in two, put water on one half, and then plant the 
 halves near each other. If the half which was covered with water 
 comes up first, the weather will be bad. 
 
 440. You can predict a mild winter, if in the autumn onions have thin 
 skins. 
 
 441. If onion skins are thick in the autumn, the winter will be cold. 
 
 442. Colder weather is coming, when an owl hoots in the morning. 
 
 443. An owl hooting in the daytime is the sign of rain. 
 
 444. If an owl hoots during the day, a heavy rain is near. 
 
 445. The hooting of an owl about two o'clock in the afternoon signifies 
 rain. 
 
 446. An owl's hoot after daybreak means bad weather. 
 
18 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 447. When you hear a number of owls hoot at the same time during 
 the clay, there will be a change in the weather. 
 
 448. If in the daytime an owl sits on a fence and hoots, look for rain. 
 
 449. The hooting of an owl in the timber along a branch or creek 
 during the day indicates wet weather. 
 
 450. If an owl hoots in the daytime on high ground or upon the hills, 
 dry weather can be expected. 
 
 451. When you can smell the paper mill, south of Quincy, rain is 
 approaching. 
 
 452. A chattering parrot is the sign of rain. 
 
 453. There will be rain, when peacocks run around crying. 
 
 454. A peacock will always strut before a rain. 
 
 455. An exceptional amount of crying by peacocks late in winter means 
 that cold weather has ended. 
 
 456. Hearing a peewee is the sign of a storm. 
 
 457. If a phoebe calls during the winter, the weather will become 
 warmer. 
 
 458. It will rain, if pigeons return slowly to their roost. 
 
 459. When pigeons are more restless than usual and continually coo, 
 there will be a change in the weather. 
 
 460. If a man's pipe smells stronger than usual, you can exi>ect rain. 
 
 461. If the tobacco in a man's pipe becomes hot and sticky, and the 
 pipe does not draw well, look for rain. 
 
 462. Bubbles rising from stagnant water in an old pond are a sign of 
 rain. 
 
 463. If your potatoes burn while being cooked, the weather will be dry. 
 
 464. When pursley (purslane) blooms, it is sure to rain. 
 
 465. While hunting in winter, if you find rabbits in the brush piles, 
 the weather will become cold. 
 
 466. If you see rabbits running in the open fields, when you are on a 
 hunt in winter, warmer weather is near. 
 
 467. The winter will be mild, if raccoons are thin in autumn or early 
 winter. 
 
 468. Fat raccoons during the autumn or early winter mean a cold 
 winter. 
 
 469. It is a sign tliat winter is over, when you see the first raccoon 
 tracks. 
 
 470. Prepare for rain to scare it away, 
 
 471. "Rain before seven, 
 Stop before eleven." 
 
 472. "Rain in the morning, 
 Sailors take warning." 
 
 473. Early morning rains and an old woman's dance are soon over. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 19 
 
 474. Hold out your right hand in the rain and the rain will cease. 
 
 475. A rain will not continue long, if the raindrops are large. 
 
 476. If raindrops are as big as a quarter, it will soon stop raining. 
 
 477. Large raindrops are a sign of dry weather. 
 
 478. When large bubbles form on the ground during a rain, it will 
 rain again the day following. 
 
 479. If it begins to rain at three o'clock in the afternoon, the rain will 
 continue until three o'clock afternoon the next day. 
 
 480. If raindrops splash up and resemble a fountain on the road, there 
 will be rain the next day. 
 
 481. We can expect cold weather, if rain becomes thick and heavy. 
 
 482. Rain from the east means three days of rain. 
 
 483. A Monday rain indicates three rainy days for that week. 
 
 484. If it rains on Monday, it will rain every day that week. 
 
 485. "Rain on Monday, 
 Sunshine next Sunday." 
 
 486. A Friday rain is the sign of rain on Sunday. 
 
 487. If it rains on Friday, it will not rain again until the following 
 Friday. 
 
 488. It is the sign of rain for seven Sundays, if it rains on Sunday. 
 
 489. There will be fifteen rains during that month in which rain falls 
 on the first day of the month. 
 
 490. Rain on the 1st of July brings seventeen days of rain for the 
 month. 
 
 491. Rain on the first day of dog days is followed by forty days of rain. 
 
 492. If it rains on Palm Sunday, we shall have rain for seven weeks. 
 
 493. A Good Friday rain is worthless. 
 
 494. You can expect rain for seven days, if it rains on Easter. 
 
 495. Rain on Easter means seven rainy Sundays in succession. 
 
 496. Rain on St. Swithin's Day (July 15th) is followed by forty days 
 of rain. 
 
 497. If it rains on New Year's Day, it will rain on six successive New 
 Year's Days. 
 
 498. It is said that rain falls on one hundred and twenty days during 
 the year. 
 
 499. Some people say that storms follow one of the nuinerous electric 
 currents which are thought by them to exist underground. Each 
 of these currents is supposed to have a terminal point somewhere. 
 Thus, when rain or snow is seen as far as a certain place on the 
 ground and then dry land lying beyond, the dead end of an electric 
 current caused the storm to stop there. The flow of underground 
 water is said to be regulated by the same phenomena. 
 
 500. A rainbow in the morning- means rain. 
 
20 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 501. A morning rainbow indicates a storm. 
 
 502. If there is a rainbow, it will not rain again that day. 
 
 503. "Rainbow in the morning, 
 Farmer take warning." 
 
 504. "Rainbow in the morning, 
 Sailors take warning." 
 
 505. "Rainbow in morn, 
 Sailors warned." 
 
 506. "A rainbow in the morning 
 Is a shepherd's warning." 
 
 507. A rainbow in the forenoon is the sign that it will rain before night. 
 
 508. "Rainbow at noon, 
 More rain soon." 
 
 509. A rainbow in the evening foretells fine weather next day. 
 
 510. "Rainbow at night, 
 Fisherman's delight." 
 
 511. "Rainbow at night. 
 Sailor's delight." 
 
 512. "A rainbow at night, 
 
 Is a shepherd's delight." 
 
 513. If there is a rainbow in the east, we shall have dry weather. 
 
 514. A western rainbow foretells wet weather. 
 
 515. A rainbow during a rain is the sign of three more rainy days. 
 
 516. The calling of a rain crow is followed by rain. 
 
 517. If you hear the cry of a rain crow after a drought, you may look 
 for rain. 
 
 518. When a rain crow calls late in the evening, rain will fall on the 
 following day. 
 
 519. If you hear a redbird sing, it is singing for rain. 
 
 520. You can expect rain, if a redbird whistles. 
 
 521. If a redbird says, "Wet, wet" look for a heavy rain. 
 
 522. Redbirds flying low is the sign of disagreeable weather. 
 
 523. There will be bad weather, if a redbird is seen in winter. 
 
 524. We are going to have a cold spell, if redbirds appear in winter. 
 
 525. If you are looking at a redbird and it flies away to the right, you 
 may expect cold weather. 
 
 526. While watching a redbird, if it flies away to the left, the weather 
 will turn warmer. 
 
 527. A redbird singing early in the spring means cold weather. 
 
 528. Rheumatic pains are a sign of approaching rain. 
 
 529. When robins arrive, spring is here. 
 
 530. A robin singing on the ground near the house indicates rain. 
 
 531. If rocks sweat, you may look for rain. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 21 
 
 532. "The circus men say they can always tell when it is going to rain 
 by the ropes getting tighter and tighter." From a former circus 
 man; but the belief is general. 
 
 533. When salt becomes damp and lumpy in the saltcellar, rain is near, 
 
 534. Accidentally dropping salt on the ground will bring rain. 
 
 535. It is going to rain, if sea gulls fly inland. 
 
 536. The weather of the first three days of any season denotes the 
 weather for the season. 
 
 537. If you sing in the bathroom, there will be rain next day. 
 
 538. "Sheep always go to a 'bob wire' (barbed wire) fence when a 
 storm is coming and that is why so many of them get killed in a 
 storm." 
 
 539. When sheep turn their backs to the wind, look for a cold spell. 
 
 540. " 'Dominicker' (speckled) sky, 
 Storm close by." 
 
 541. "Horses' tails and fishes' scales 
 Make sailors spread their sails." 
 
 542. "If at morning the sky be red, 
 It bids the traveler stay in bed." 
 
 543. "Evening red, morning grey, 
 Speed the traveler on his way. 
 Evening grey, morning red. 
 Bring down rain upon his head." 
 
 544. "Evening red and morning grey. 
 Will set the traveler on his way. 
 Evening grey and morning red. 
 
 Will pour the rain down on his head." 
 
 545. "Red at night, sailor's delight. 
 
 Red in the morning, sailor take warning." 
 
 546. "Red in the morning, sailors take warning. 
 Red at night, sailors' delight." 
 
 547. "Red at night, soldiers' delight, 
 
 Red in the morning, soldiers are mourning." 
 
 548. If there is a mare's tail in the sky, rain may be expected. 
 
 549. "A mackerel sky. 
 
 Never twenty-four hours dry." 
 
 550. "A mackerel sky never leaves the earth three days dry." 
 
 551. "A dapple sky never leaves the ground twenty-four hours dry." 
 
 552. A clear sky with a slight greenish hue is the sign of rain. 
 
 553. A deep blue sky indicates fair weather. 
 
 554. If the sky brightens after a rain and there is sufficient blue in the 
 north to make a shirt for a sailor, the weather will become clear. 
 
 555. "I was washing one day and I said to my neighbor, 'I don't know 
 
22 Memoirs of tJic Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 if to hang out my clothes.' She said, 'Wait until you see a blue 
 spot in the sky as large as a handkerchief and it will not rain'." 
 
 556. The weather will clear, if there is enough blue in the sky to make 
 a Dutchman a pair of britches (breeches). 
 
 557. The smallest speck of deep blue in the sky, no matter how cloudy 
 the weather is, indicates that there will not be any rain within 
 twenty-four hours. 
 
 558. Smoke clinging to the ground means rain. 
 
 559. When smoke falls to the ground, you may look for a change in 
 the weather. 
 
 560. If smoke hangs to the ground in winter, there will be snow. 
 
 561. Bad weather may be expected, if smoke remains near the ground. 
 
 562. When smoke rises into the air. the weather will be clear. 
 
 563. Smoke going down a stream is the sign of rain. 
 
 564. Smoke pouring out of a railroad engine in white clouds indicates 
 fair weather. 
 
 565. If coal smoke puffs out of a stovepipe into the room, snow is 
 approaching. 
 
 566. It is the sign of rain, if snails come out in large numbers. 
 
 567. We are going to have rain, if snakes begin to leave the water. 
 
 568. If snakes desert the water and seek higher ground, a considerable 
 amount of rain will follow. 
 
 569. A snake crossing your path means rain. 
 
 570. "If you want it to rain, kill a snake. Turn it over. Let its belly 
 up and it will sure rain." 
 
 571. Kill a snake and lay it on its back and rain will fall before sun- 
 down. 
 
 572. After killing a snake, toss it up into the air and if it falls on its 
 back, you may look for rain. 
 
 573. If you kill a snake and throw it up into the air and it comes down 
 on its back, there will be rain next day. 
 
 574. Cast in the air a snake that you have killed, and if it drops on 
 its stomach, the weather for the day will be fair. 
 
 575. Hang a black snake up by the tail and rain will come before night. 
 
 "One morning on our way to school in the country years 
 
 ago we found some black snakes, and we hung them up by their 
 tails in a row on the fence; and it just poured down before we 
 went home from school." 
 
 576. If you kill a black snake in diy weather and hang it up, there will 
 be rain before morning. 
 
 577. "If you kill a snake and hang it up on the fence with his belly up, 
 it will storm like hell in five hours." 
 
 578. When snipe start to cry, winter has been broken. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 23 
 
 579. When it begins to snow, they say that an old woman up in the 
 sky is shaking her feather bed. 
 
 580. Some say, when snow starts to fall, that there is an old woman up 
 in the sky picking geese. 
 
 581. Large snowflakes are a sign that the snow will not last long. 
 
 582. If snowflakes are small, it will continue to snow. 
 
 583. If snow has stuck to the sides of the trees, it will snow again 
 within a few hours. 
 
 584. Snow melting as it reaches the ground indicates that the snowfall 
 will be a flurry only. 
 
 585. If a snowfall melts immediately, but some of it remains in the 
 fence corners or other sheltered places, snow will soon come again. 
 
 586. The number of days between the first snow and Christmas shows 
 how many snows there will be that winter. 
 
 587. Notice the date of the month upon which the first snow falls and 
 that will be the number of snows for the winter. 
 
 588. Snow falling on the first day of March means that it can snow 
 any time during the next thirty days. 
 
 589. Snowbirds flying along a rail fence indicate that the weather will 
 turn colder within twenty-four hours. 
 
 590. It is the sign of rain, when soot drops down the chimney. 
 
 591. Soot burning in your stove during the summer means rain. 
 
 592. If during the winter soot burns in your stove, there will soon be 
 snow. 
 
 593. You may look for rain, if soot drops to the ground in summer. 
 
 594. Soot falling to the ground in winter foretells snow. 
 
 595. Six weeks of cold weather may be expected, if sparrows mate 
 in March, 
 
 596. When there are a good many spider webs on the grass, rain is 
 coming. 
 
 597. If you see outdoor spiders mending their webs, there will not be 
 any rain that day. 
 
 598. Spiders will desert their webs before a rain. 
 
 599. Spider webs hanging on the trees in autumn are the sign of 
 Indian summer. 
 
 600. To kill (or to step on) a spider means rain that day. 
 
 601. It will rain next day, if a spider is killed. "The teacher (in 
 
 a Quincy Sunday school) was teaching her class of children. A 
 big spider came crawling along on the floor. She put her foot out 
 and killed it. The children said it would rain the next day so they 
 could not have their picnic. She laughed and tried to tell them 
 they were superstitious, but when she got up the next morning, it 
 was raining." Written contribution. 
 
24 Memoirs of flic Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 602. To kill a spider on a gloomy day will bring rain that day. 
 
 603. There will be rain, if you see a large number of spiders crawling 
 on a wall. 
 
 604. Finding a great many spiders in the house is the sign of rain. 
 
 605. You may look for rain, if you step on a spider in the house. 
 
 606. Kill a spider on a rainy day and rain will fall on the day fol- 
 lowing. 
 
 607. If a sponge does not dry out rapidly after using, prepare for a 
 storm. 
 
 608. When you see squirrels gathering nuts, look for bad weather. 
 
 609. There will be an open winter, if a squirrel's stock of nuts is small. 
 
 610. If squirrels supply themselves with a large quantity of nuts, the 
 winter will be cold. 
 
 611. If squirrels bury their nuts deep in the ground, we are going to 
 have a hard winter. 
 
 612. If squirrels hoard their nuts just beneath the leaves on the ground, 
 you may expect a mild winter. 
 
 613. Squirrels always store nuts in the autumn, but when you see them 
 hoarding grain, a severe winter is coming. 
 
 614. It is a sign of early spring, if you find baby squirrels in an open 
 nest during the latter part of February. 
 
 615. If stars look dim, rain is near. 
 
 616. A dull and watery appearance in stars is the sign of rain. 
 
 617. Fine weather may be expected, if stars twinkle brightly. 
 
 618. The direction in which a star shoots shows the way the wind will 
 blow on the following day. 
 
 619. Large bright stars in winter mean frost next morning. 
 
 620. The worst storms always follow an east wind. 
 
 621. Severe winter storms are from the east to northeast. 
 
 622. When the first spring storm is froin the north or southwest, all 
 subsequent storms will come from the same direction. 
 
 623. If a storm subsides before sunset, next day will be fair. 
 
 624. If stormy weather clears during the night, it will be cloudy on the 
 following day. 
 
 625. A Friday storm means stonny weather before Monday. 
 
 626. "If you see a big storm coming up, run and stand in a door that 
 is between two rooms. If the house goes over, you will be safe 
 in that door." 
 
 627. "When you see a big storm coming up, run and get the axe and 
 put the point in the ground and it will cut the storm in two." 
 
 628. "A woman would always take a stick of wood when she would see 
 a storm coming, and stick this stick of wood in the fire and let it 
 get to burning; then take this burning stick out in the yard and 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 25 
 
 hold it up over her head, and swing it around three times to make 
 the storm go around." 
 
 629. It is dangerous to make a noise during a thunderstorm. 
 
 "When we were children, my mother would make us all sit down 
 and not move during a thunderstorm." 
 
 630. Burn blessed candles for protection, while it is storming. 
 
 631. Protect the house during a storm by burning palm branches that 
 were blessed on Palm Sunday. 
 
 632. Use a telephone during a storm and you will get a shock. 
 
 633. When in fair weather the stove or any iron object rusts overnight, 
 you can look for rain. 
 
 634. A milky sun in the early morning is a sign of rain. 
 
 635. A red sun in the early morning means a clear day. 
 
 636. A red sunrise followed by clouds later in the morning foretells 
 rain for the day. 
 
 637. If in summer the sun rises red, expect a very hot day. 
 
 638. The sun rising in the southeast indicates a cool summer. 
 
 639. A red sun has water in its eye. 
 
 640. "Circle round the sun, 
 Rain none." 
 
 or 
 
 "Ring around the sun, 
 Rain none." 
 
 641. If there is a halo round the sun, look for rain before night. 
 
 642. A sun drawing water in the morning is the sign of rain in the 
 evening. 
 
 643. If the sun draws w^ater in the evening, it will rain that night. 
 
 644. If in the evening the sun has drawn water, rain will fall next day. 
 
 645. A clear sunset means fair weather on the following day. 
 
 646. The weather will be beautiful for three days, if the sun sets clear. 
 
 647. When the sun goes down behind a cloud, the following day will 
 be stormy. 
 
 648. If the sun sets cloudy, it will rain for three days. 
 
 649. A hazy sunset foretells unpleasant weather. 
 
 650. "If the sun should set in grey, 
 The next will be a rainy day." 
 
 651. "If the sun goes pale to bed, 
 
 'T will rain tomorrow, it is said." 
 
 652. A red sunset indicates fair weather next day. 
 
 653. It is the sign of a stomi, if the sun sets red. 
 
 654. If the sun sets clear and red, the following day will be fair. 
 
 655. A red sunset in summer means hot weather next day. 
 
 656. Fair weather may be expected for the following day, if the setting 
 
26 Memoirs of the Alnia Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 sun reflects from windows. 
 
 657. Sunshine on Monday is a sign that the sun will shine every day 
 during the week. 
 
 658. If the sun goes down Tuesday behind a bank of clouds, there will 
 be rain before Friday night. 
 
 659. A cloudy sunset on Wednesday is the sign of rain before Sunday. 
 
 660. It will rain before the end of the week, if the sun sets behind 
 clouds on Wednesday. 
 
 661. If the sun is hidden by a cloud at sundown on Thursday, we shall 
 not have rain before Sunday. 
 
 662. A clear sunset on Friday means rain before Monday. 
 
 663. The sun setting clear on Friday will bring rain before Monday 
 night. 
 
 664. If the sun goes down in a cloud on Friday, look for rain before 
 Monday night. 
 
 665. The sun shines every Saturday in the year, if only for a short time. 
 
 666. Though the sun does not shine all week, there will be sufficient 
 sunshine on Saturday for the virgin to get a dry shirt. 
 
 667. Regardless of the weather on Saturday, there will always be 
 enough sunshine to dry a workingman's shirt. 
 
 668. In each year there are three Saturdays upon which the sun will 
 not shine, 
 
 669. Rain will come before Monday, if sunset on Sunday is cloudy. 
 
 670. When the sun is obscured by clouds at sundown on Sunday, you 
 may expect a storm before Wednesday. 
 
 671. There is never any sunshine on Good Friday. 
 
 672. During a rainy season, no matter how long it rains or how many 
 clouds are in the sky, the sun will shine every fourth day if only 
 for a minute. 
 
 673. A sun dog in the morning is the sign of colder weather. 
 
 674. An evening sun dog indicates a change in the weather. 
 
 675. The weather will turn warmer, if there is a sun dog in the evening. 
 
 676. Two sun dogs mean bad weather, 
 
 677. Cold weather can be expected, if two sun dogs appear in the east. 
 
 678. A sun dog on each side of the sun foretell a bad storm in the night. 
 
 679. If a sun dog is seen on the north side of the sun, the next rain will 
 come from the northwest, 
 
 680. The next rain can be expected from the southwest, if you see a 
 sun dog on the south side of the sun. 
 
 681. A sun dog in winter foreshadows colder weather. 
 
 682. Following an eclipse of the sun there are always five successive 
 days of rain. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 27 
 
 683. "A sunshine shower, 
 Never lasts an hour." 
 
 684. If the sun shines during a rain, we are going to have rain next day. 
 
 685. When sunshine and rain come together, it will rain at the same 
 time on the following day. 
 
 686. You may look for snow next day, if the sun appears during a 
 snowfall. 
 
 687. The sun shining during a rain means that the devil is whipping 
 his wife. 
 
 688. If sunshine, rain and a rainbow are seen at the same time, the 
 devil is fighting with his wife. 
 
 689. It is the sign that the devil is beating his wife, if the sun shines 
 during a rain. Stick a black-headed pin into the clay and lower 
 your ear to the pinhead and you will hear them. 
 
 690. Rain and sun at the same time are a sign of good luck. 
 
 691. If you stop your swing with your feet, it will rain. 
 
 692. A singing teakettle indicates a change in the weather. 
 
 693. If a teakettle boils dry, a storm is approaching. 
 
 694. After the arrival of a thrush in the spring, there will be no more 
 frost. 
 
 695. "Thunder before noon. 
 Showers in the afternoon." 
 
 696. "Thunder in the morning. 
 Is a sailor's warning." 
 
 697. Thunder in the winter is the sign of colder weather. 
 
 698. If it thunders in late November or early December, the weather 
 will not become colder. 
 
 699. A December thunder means that cold weather is approaching. 
 
 700. When you hear thunder in December, you can expect a frost in 
 May. 
 
 701. The date of a thunderstorm in January reveals the number of 
 spring days during May. 
 
 702. The number of times it thunders in January shows how many 
 frosts there will be in April. 
 
 703. If it thunders in January, look for frost in May. 
 
 704. Thunder on the 14th of January means frost on the 14th of May. 
 
 705. If it thunders in January, frost may be expected in June. 
 
 706. Thunder in February is the sign of snow in May. 
 
 707. A February thunder denotes a May frost. 
 
 708. The day upon which it thunders in February will be the date of a 
 frost in May. 
 
 709. Thunder on the 6th of February signifies a frost on the 6th 
 of May. 
 
28 Memoirs of the Alma Egaii Hyatt Fouiulation 
 
 710. If on the last day of February you hear thunder, you will see a 
 frost on the last day of May. 
 
 711. As many thunders as there are in February, so many frosts will 
 there be in May. 
 
 712. Thunder in the latter part of February or during the early days of 
 March is the sign that a cold spell is near, 
 
 713. The first thunder of spring indicates that winter is over. 
 
 714. To have thunder while trees are bare foretells cold weather. 
 
 715. If it thunders and lightens before leaves appear on the trees, we 
 shall have more cold weather. 
 
 716. Thunder after leaves have appeared on the trees means warm 
 weather. 
 
 717. It is a sign of rain, if toadstools spring up in old manure. 
 
 718. If a lot of toadstools pop up overnight, rain will fall before long. 
 
 719. A tree toad calling is the sign of rain. 
 
 720. Killing a toad will bring rain. 
 
 721. "When we were children, whenever we had a dry spell, my father 
 would say, 'Children, go out and find all the toad frogs you can. 
 Kill them and put all their bellies up so it will rain.' We did, and 
 it would rain." 
 
 722. If a train whistle is flat and hoarse, look for rain. 
 
 723. A clear and sharp train whistle indicates fair weather. 
 
 724. To hear train whistles at greater distances than usual means bad 
 weather. 
 
 725. The withering of leaves on the trees is the sign of rain. 
 
 726. We are going to have rain, if tree leaves turn inside out or upside 
 down. 
 
 727. There will be rain within twenty-four hours, when the leaves on 
 trees curl up. 
 
 728. The curling up of elm tree leaves foretells rain. 
 
 729. It will rain, if maple tree leaves turn up. 
 
 730. If oak leaves have turned up, you can expect rain. 
 
 731. The turning up of tree leaves on Monday means rain before 
 Sunday. 
 
 732. When dead branches fall from the trees in pleasant weather, rain 
 may be expected. 
 
 733. It is the sign of a hard winter, if a fruit tree blooms twice in a 
 season. 
 
 734. After leaves have begun to fall in October, if many of them still 
 hang on the branches of the trees, there will be much snow that 
 winter. 
 
 735. If the bark of sycamore trees remains smooth and white in the 
 autumn, you may look for a mild winter. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 29 
 
 7Z6. Cold weather for the winter is foretold, if moss grows on the 
 
 south side of trees in the fall. 
 72)7. If tree leaves are scanty, the winter will be mild. 
 
 738. Heavy foliage on trees indicates a hard winter. 
 
 739. A large number of tumblebugs is the sign of a severe winter. 
 
 740. Turkeys always jump up and down before a rain. 
 
 741. In winter, if turkeys go up to the very top of a roost, it will be 
 cold; if they stay in the middle of the roost, not very cold; and 
 if they remain on the ground, not cold at all. 
 
 742. A rain is coming, if turtledoves begin to coo. 
 
 743. The first call of a turtledove is a herald of spring. 
 
 744. After a turtledove has called in the spring, there will be no more 
 frost. 
 
 745. To open an umbrella in the house will bring rain. 
 
 746. Carry an umbrella on a cloudy day and you will scare away the 
 impending rain. 
 
 747. Tight hulls on walnuts are the sign of a cold winter. 
 
 748. We shall have a mild winter, if walnut hulls are loose and easily 
 removed. 
 
 749. If a wash rag remains damp a long time after using, a shower 
 is coming. 
 
 750. Wasps trying to enter the house foretell the approach of cold 
 weather. 
 
 751. If you see foam on the water in a stream or river, you may look 
 for rain. 
 
 752. If, on the first three days of the year, water runs down the ruts 
 in a road, there will be an open winter. 
 
 753. Sweating water pipes are a sign of rain. 
 
 754. Rain may be expected, if a water pitcher sweats. 
 
 755. If boiling water evaporates more rapidly than usual, there will 
 be rain. 
 
 756. To hear a weasel call, means rain. 
 
 757. "When the wind is in the east, 
 
 'Tis neither good for man nor beast. 
 When the wind is in the north, 
 The skillful fisher goes not forth. 
 When the wind is in the south, 
 It blows the bait in the fish's mouth. 
 When the wind is in the west, 
 Then 'tis at the very best." 
 
 758. There will be rain, if the wind is in the east. 
 
 759. A wind in the east brings rain inside of thirty-six hours. 
 
 760. It will rain, if the wind remains in the east for three days. 
 
30 Memoirs of the Ahna Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 761. Snow will follow an east wind in winter. 
 
 762. A whirlwind is the sign that it is going to rain. 
 
 763. You can look for rain, if you see a whirlwind going downstream. 
 
 764. Whirlwinds of dust in the spring indicate a dry summer. 
 
 765. If you see whirlwinds of dust, dry weather is approaching. 
 
 766. When a far ofi" whistle sounds very near, you may look for rain, 
 
 767. Wind in the east during early winter or late spring means either 
 snow or rain. 
 
 768. It is the sign of warm weather, if the wind blows from the east. 
 
 769. "The south wind brings wet weather. 
 The north wind, wind and cold together. 
 The west wind always brings us rain. 
 The east wind blows it back again." 
 
 770. A south wind indicates warm weather. 
 
 771. Summer rains are usually preceded by winds from the south 
 to east. 
 
 772. There will be no rain, if the wind is in the south and the sky is 
 cloudy. 
 
 772). When the wind is in the west, it will never rain. 
 
 774. If we have a cloudy sky, and wind from the west, do not look 
 for rain. 
 
 775. A wind from the west will bring cold weather. 
 
 776. The weather will turn cold, if the wind is blowing from the north. 
 
 777. Northeast winds in winter are the forerunners of big snowstorms. 
 
 778. We are going to have cold weather, if the wind sweeps down the 
 chimney. 
 
 779. If you examine the geese after they have gone to roost, the 
 quarter toward which they are looking will be the direction of 
 the wir^d on the next day. 
 
 780. The direction of the wind on the first three days of December 
 indicates how it will blow during the three following months. 
 
 781. Whatever way the wind is blowing on New Year's Day will be 
 its direction for the next three months. 
 
 782. If the wind is in a certain direction on the first day of the year, 
 it will be in the same direction every twenty-four hours for forty 
 days. 
 
 783. The direction of the wind on New Year's morning will not be 
 changed for more than twenty-four hours during the next forty 
 days. 
 
 784. If the wind is blowing from a certain quarter on New Year's 
 morning at five o'clock, it will blow in the same direction three 
 times that year. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 31 
 
 785. A south wind on New Year's Day means wind from the south 
 every day that month. 
 
 786. If on New Year's Day the wind is in the south, we shall have a 
 dry summer. 
 
 787. To have a north wind on New Year's Day is the sign of a wet 
 summer. 
 
 788. If there is a northwest wind on New Year's morning, the wind 
 will blow from that direction for forty days. 
 
 789. The direction of the wind on Good Friday will be its direction 
 during the forty days following. 
 
 790. In whatever direction the wind is blowing on Easter, it will blow 
 in the same direction for the next six weeks. 
 
 791. During the Ember Days of September watch which way the pre- 
 vailing winds blow. If they come from the north, we shall have 
 a cold winter; but if they blow from the south, the winter will 
 be mild. 
 
 792. "March winds and May sun, 
 Make linen white and ladies dumb." 
 
 793. It always rains after windows have been washed. 
 
 794. A cold winter foretells a hot summer. 
 
 795. An open winter is followed by a cool and rainy summer. 
 
 796. If you see a great many women on the street, you may look for 
 rain. 
 
 797. A large number of worms crawling on the ground is the sign 
 of rain. 
 
 798. The winter will be mild, if worms stay near the surface of the 
 ground in winter. 
 
 799. If worms remain deep in the ground during late autumn or early 
 winter, there will be a cold winter. 
 
 PLANTS AND PLANTING IN GENERAL 
 
 800. Fertilizer placed on the ground in the light of the moon is value- 
 less, because it will not decompose. 
 
 801. Scatter manure on a field during the dark of the moon and it will 
 sink down into the ground. 
 
 802. If you spread manure over the ground in the light of the moon, 
 it will dry up and blow away. 
 
 803. Put fertilizer on the ground in March during the dark of the 
 moon and it will enrich the soil. 
 
 804. Spread manure on the ground before eleven o'clock in the morn- 
 
32 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 ing and wait six clays ; then scatter leaves over the manure, and 
 the soil will become exceptionally fertile. 
 
 805. Rusty nails or old iron placed around plants will make them grow 
 better. 
 
 806. Plant seeds as soon as the soil has been prepared, or you will not 
 be successful with them. 
 
 807. To make a plant grow, spit into the hole that has been dug for it. 
 
 808. "I call it a real example of superstition and set it down as such, 
 and as one I have often met, that people believe in the 'planting 
 hand.' Some persons are supposed to have a mystic gift like 
 second sight, the power to make things grow." Written contribu- 
 tion. 
 
 809. If you plant anything in the Name of God, it will flourish. 
 
 810. About ninety years ago in pioneer days, a settler, living near what 
 is now a small town in the county, planted his seeds by saying, 
 "God bless the seeds." That year he did not get any crop. Next 
 year a neighbor of his planted seeds and said, "God damn the 
 seeds" and he reaped a large harvest. 
 
 811. Everything planted by a pregnant woman will grow well. 
 
 812. Never thank anyone who has given a plant to you or it will die. 
 
 813. If the giver of seeds is thanked, they will not grow. 
 
 814. Unless you steal plant slips from someone, they will never thrive. 
 
 815. If you want good root crops, you must plant the seeds in the dark 
 
 of the moon. The ancient and perennial witticism of the 
 
 farmer, who does not plant according to the different piloses of 
 the moon, runs something like this: "I don't plant in the moon, I 
 plant in the ground." The usual test, and one that is frequently 
 made by those who believe or want to believe in lunar signs, is to 
 plant tzuo rows of some vegetable in the same soil, one row during 
 a favorable and the other row in an unfavorable time of the moon. 
 The results, if the people trying the experiment are to be trusted, 
 always confirm the truth of their beliefs. 
 
 816. The seeds for all root crops will do well when planted during the 
 dark of the moon and in the sign of the "lower part of the body." 
 
 817. Seeds will grow and thrive, if planted in the moonlight. 
 
 818. Plant seeds when the moon is full and they will not do well. 
 
 819. Do not plant seeds in the sign of the Waterman, for they will 
 decay. 
 
 820. Anything planted in the sign of the "bloom" will flower all the 
 time and not bear. 
 
 821. The sign of the Cancer is moist. Therefore plant in this sign and 
 you will never have a failure. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 33 
 
 822. The best time to plant crops which grow underground is in the 
 sign of the "feet." 
 
 823. Things planted in the sign of the "head" will grow to stock 
 and vine. 
 
 824. The sign of the "knee" is a good growing sign. 
 
 825. Never gather a crop when the sign is in the "knee." 
 
 826. Seeds planted in the sign of the "knee" will rot. 
 
 827. If you plant seeds in the sign of Leo, they will grow well. 
 
 828. Everything planted in the sign of Leo will become rotten. 
 
 829. The best planting sign is in the Cancer. For second choice, select 
 the sign of the Scorpion. If these two signs are not available, 
 choose the sign of the Fishes. 
 
 830. Seeds which mature aboveground should be planted in the 
 morning. 
 
 831. For crops that ripen underground, plant the seeds in the afternoon. 
 
 832. If seeds are planted at noon, they will grow. 
 
 833. An unfavorable time to plant anything is on the 31st of the month. 
 
 834. Sow all kind of seeds on Good Friday for luck. 
 
 835. To leave an unfinished row means that the results of your plant- 
 ing will be unsuccessful. 
 
 836. If you stretch a yarn string over rows of plants in the early 
 spring, the frost will collect on the string and not injure them. 
 
 837. Frost during the light of the moon will not damage plants. 
 
 838. Plants will not be hurt, if there is a frost during the dark of 
 the moon. 
 
 839. A frost that follows a full moon will pinch plants. 
 
 840. If there is a frost between the new moon and full moon, it will not 
 nip plants. 
 
 841. No matter how heavy a frost is, if the wind blows from the north, 
 plants will not be killed. 
 
 842. A frost, when the wind is from the south, will destroy plants. 
 
 843. A frost after March 15th will not cause any damage to plants. 
 
 844. "The man that brings us whipped cream said he never plants 
 anything until the frogs have croaked three different times, be- 
 cause there will be killing frost until they do. He said they have 
 only croaked once this spring and we will have two more killing 
 frosts. Says this is a sure sign and always depends on it." 
 Written contribution. 
 
 845. When blackberries first are in full bloom, some people say, "Black- 
 berry frost" meaning that there will be a frost. This frost 
 
 rarely kills. 
 
 846. If there is no killing frost in September, we shall not have any 
 until after the 15th of October. 
 
34 Memoirs of the Alnia Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 847. Water dripping from the eaves of a house on New Year's Day 
 is the sign of an excellent crop year. 
 
 848. If a turtledove coos on New Year's Day, the crops will be good 
 that year. 
 
 849. Early thunderstorms indicate wonderful crops for the year. 
 
 850. If you can wet a handkerchief with rain on Easter, you may 
 expect a fine crop year. 
 
 851. Wrap jxiper around the tops of your plants and the grub worms 
 will not cut oflf the stalks at the ground. 
 
 852. Once a week give your house plants cold tea instead of water and 
 they will do better, 
 
 853. Keep plants in your bedroom at night for good luck. 
 
 CLOVER-GRASS-MUSHROOMS-WEEDS 
 
 854. If clover seed are sown in the light of the moon, they will not 
 sink into the ground. 
 
 855. Plant clover seed in the dark of the moon and they will take root 
 in the ground. 
 
 856. Clover seed should be sown on a "no moon day" that is, 
 
 during the twenty-four hours between the changes of the moon. 
 
 857. Sow clover seed in the sign of the Cancer and they will neither 
 freeze nor die during the winter. 
 
 858. The person who finds and picks a four-leafed clover will have 
 good luck. 
 
 859. "Blessed is the eye that seeth a four-leafed clover, 
 And cursed is the hand that plucketh it." 
 
 860. Some people consider four-leafed clovers unlucky. "Thirty 
 
 years ago my son-in-law and I were walking through the grape 
 arbor, and looking down we found seven four-leafed clovers. We 
 picked them, my son-in-law taking four home and I three. This 
 was Sunday afternoon. On Monday afternoon my son-in-law 
 went fishing with three other men and they all got drowned in the 
 river. The following Tuesday my husband died. So I think four- 
 leafed clovers very unlucky." 
 
 861. If you pick a four-leafed clover, another will grow in its place. 
 
 862. Let the finder of a four-leafed clover put it in a Bible and good 
 luck will come to him. 
 
 863. If you find a four-leafed clover, place it in your shoe for luck. 
 
 864. When you have found a four-leafed clover, stick it into your shoe 
 and you will be lucky as long as the clover leaf remains there. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 35 
 
 865. To obtain good luck after you have picked a four-leafed clover, 
 
 you must wear it in your left shoe. 
 865. If a four-leafed clover is found on the 1st of May, keep it and 
 
 you can secure whatever you desire. 
 
 867. To pick a four-leafed clover in May is unlucky. 
 
 868. Finding a four-leafed clover is the sign that you will inherit 
 money. 
 
 869. If you find a five-leafed clover, you are going to have bad luck. 
 
 870. Picking a five-leafed clover will bring you bad luck. 
 
 871. When you see a five-leafed clover, you must pick it and throw it 
 away to avoid bad luck. 
 
 872. Plucking a five-leafed clover will cause you good luck, provided 
 you pass on the clover to another person. This person in turn 
 will also have good luck, if he gives the leaf to someone else. 
 However, the one who finally keeps the five-leafed clover will be 
 unlucky. 
 
 873. If you find a six-leafed clover, you may expect bad luck. 
 
 874. "Years ago they would say the grass would get a better stand, if 
 you would sow your seed on a windy day." 
 
 875. Grass seed will not do well, unless sown in the light of the moon. 
 
 876. Cut your grass in the light of the moon and you will soon be cut- 
 ting it again. 
 
 877. If you do not want your grass to grow, mow it in the dark of the 
 moon. 
 
 878. Place a plank on the grass in the light of the moon and the grass 
 will continue to grow, because the plank will warp and turn up. 
 
 879. Lay a board on the grass in the dark of the moon and the grass 
 will die, for the board will remain flat on the ground. 
 
 880. Put a board on the grass in the dark of the moon and the grass 
 wni die within a week. 
 
 881. If a brick is left on the grass in the dark of the moon, it will sink 
 down out of sight into the ground. 
 
 882. A brick laid on the grass during the light of the moon will not 
 sink into the ground, and the grass will continue to grow under 
 the brick. 
 
 883. Grass will die if watered while the sun is shining. 
 
 884. Hold a grass seed stalk in each hand and then place the heads of 
 the stalks crossing one another inside your mouth. Pull the stalks 
 outwards between your closed teeth and the number of seeds left 
 on the stalk will tell you the time of day. As a matter of fact, 
 this rite was primarily a practical joke played by older children 
 upon their younger companions. The purpose was to leave a large 
 quantity of seeds in the victim's mouth. 
 
36 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 885. If a man is walking through a field and sees a four-leafed piece 
 of grass, he will soon find something. 
 
 886. Toadstools are poisonous. To the uninformed, all mushrootns 
 
 are toadstools. 
 
 887. A devil's-snufifbox is poisonous. As children we took great 
 
 delight in squeezing a devil' s-snuff box to see the brown powder 
 fly out. There zvas akvays something mysterious and intriguing 
 about these balls, perhaps, because adults told us the brown powder 
 was "deathly poison," and if any of it got up our noses, we would 
 die. We had no idea that these devil' s-snuff boxes were only dried 
 or mature puffballs, and the brozvn pozvder merely ripe spores. 
 
 ^S. If weeds are cut in the dark of the moon, they will not come up 
 again. 
 
 889. You can kill weeds by cutting them on the 21st, 22nd and 23rd of 
 May. 
 
 890. It causes bad luck to have weeds growing around your house. 
 
 891. If you see a piece of nettle pointing toward you, pick it up and 
 you will have good luck. 
 
 FLOWERS 
 
 892. Flowers will do well, if planted in the sign of the "bowels." 
 
 893. Flowers planted in the sign of the "bowels" will not open up. 
 
 894. If vining flowers are planted in the sign of the "fingers" they will 
 have long vines. 
 
 895. Plant flowers in the sign of the "fingers" and they will be beau- 
 tiful. 
 
 896. It is said that flowers will bloom better, if planted in the sign of 
 
 the "flower girl." Virgo, or the sign of the Virgin, is also 
 
 called: "bloom," "flower," "lady (or maid) with the branch," 
 "lady holding the flower," and "lady with the flowers in her 
 Jmnd." The technical terms of the Zodiac are rarely used, some 
 of them never, by the folk; perhaps for two reasons: First, the 
 popular names are more concrete and pictorial; and second, the 
 technical terms are not easily pronounced. 
 
 897. To have plenty of flowers, plant them in the sign of the "flower 
 girl." 
 
 898. Flowers which grow under the ground (tuberous flowers) will 
 do w^ell, if planted during the sign of the "lady with the jug in 
 her hand" (Aquarius). 
 
 899. If you plant flowers in the sign of the Twins, they will grow well. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 37 
 
 900. Plant flowers in the sign of the Twins and all of them will bloom 
 and be more beautiful. 
 
 901. The sign of the Waterman is a bad time to plant flowers. 
 
 902. Always transplant flowering plants in the light of the moon. 
 
 903. Flowers planted in the light of the moon will be filled with 
 blossoms. 
 
 904. You can have large and beautiful flowers by planting them in the 
 light of the moon. 
 
 905. Your flowers will bloom all the time, if planted during the in- 
 crease of the new moon. 
 
 906. Plant flowers in the full moon and they will be beautiful. 
 
 907. If flowers are planted on "Green Thursday" (Maundy Thursday), 
 you will get all kind of colors. 
 
 906. Thank the person who has given flower plants to you and they 
 will not grow. 
 
 909. If a woman plants flowers while she is menstruating, they 
 will die. 
 
 910. Blow tobacco smoke on your flowers and this will keep the bugs 
 away from them. 
 
 911. Pour water over Q.gg shells in a Jar and let them stand for three 
 days. Sprinkle this liquid on and around your flowers and it will 
 kill all the insects. 
 
 912. Mash tgg shells and let them stand in a jar of water. Pour this 
 liquid over your flowers and the blossoms will be beautiful. 
 
 913. When watering your flowers, use the water in which you have 
 washed your meat, and they will grow well. 
 
 914. Never water your flowers while the sun is shining, or they will die. 
 
 915. Carrying Alay flowers into the house will cause bad luck. 
 
 916. Do not keep "depression flowers" in the room with a sick person, 
 
 for they will sap the vitality of the patient. "A depression 
 
 flower is a lump of coal in a dish with salt over it and bluing and 
 mercury, and in no time you will have pretty blue flowers from 
 the bluing, pink flowers from the mercury, and white flowers from 
 the salt. Some people have very pretty dishes. They were all the 
 go last year." 
 
 917. Flowers are always removed from hospital rooms at night, because 
 they throw off a poisonous odor. 
 
 918. Some patients object to flowers in the sick room, because flowers 
 remind them of a funeral. 
 
 919. It is a sign of jealousy to wear a yellow flower. 
 
 920. Having yellow flowers in your room will bring you bad luck. 
 
 921. Write your troubles on a piece of paper and conceal it in a bou- 
 
38 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Fomtdation 
 
 quet of flowers ; then attend a funeral and throw the bouquet con- 
 taining the note into the open grave, and your troubles will pass 
 away. 
 
 922. If spring flowers bloom again in the fall, you may look for a 
 sorrowful winter. 
 
 923. Put wood ashes on the soil where you plant asters and the flowers 
 will not have lice. 
 
 924. A bridal wreath bush blooming out of season is the sign of bad 
 luck. 
 
 925. If a buttercup held beneath your chin casts a reflection against the 
 flesh, you are fond of butter. 
 
 926. Dig small holes near the places where you have planted carnation 
 seed and put in these holes the dye of any color that you want 
 in your flowers. When the carnations bloom, they will be the 
 color of the dye placed in the holes. 
 
 927. Plant dahlias on the last week of May in late afternoon during 
 the dark of the moon and they will do well. 
 
 928. If you plant dahlias in early morning during the light of the moon, 
 they will not bloom but grow to stalk. 
 
 929. Rub a dandelion against the bottom of your chin, and if yellow 
 adheres to the flesh, you like butter. 
 
 930. Hold a dandelion below someone's chin, and if you can see a 
 yellow reflection upon the skin, he is fond of butter. 
 
 931. Blow a dandelion seed-ball with one strong breath and the number 
 of seeds left will tell you the time of day. 
 
 932. Blow three times against a dandelion seed-ball and the number 
 of seeds remaining will be the time of day. 
 
 933. When you blow against a dandelion seed-ball, the direction in 
 which the seeds fly will show you where to seek your fortune. 
 
 934. Tickle a person's chin with a dandelion and if he laughs, he likes 
 butter; but if he does not laugh, he has no taste for butter. 
 
 935. In planting a fern always put some oats in the bottom of the pot 
 and the plant will thrive. 
 
 936. Pour a teaspoonful of castor oil around the roots of a fern, if it 
 is dying or drying up, and this will revive the plant. 
 
 937. Always water your ferns from the bottom upwards and never 
 from the top downwards. 
 
 938. To raise beautiful ferns, sprinkle them with the water in which 
 you have washed your clothes after your monthly sickness. 
 
 939. Touch the end (frond) of a fern and the plant will die. 
 
 940. If you give a fern to anyone, you are giving sorrow. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 39 
 
 941. The person who accepts the ^ft of a fern will never settle down 
 in life. 
 
 942. "Never let myrtle grow around your house. If you do, you will 
 have sickness and trouble in your house as long as it is growing in 
 your yard. My mother would never let a piece of myrtle grow in 
 her yard. One day I brought a piece home and she threw it over 
 the fence. Said it would bring trouble and sickness to our house." 
 
 Prejudice against myrtle is rather general. It is rarely seen 
 
 outside of cemeteries and even there it seems to he disappearing. 
 
 943. Pansies must be planted on the north side of the house or they 
 will not flourish. 
 
 944. Unless pansies are planted exactly two inches below the surface 
 of the ground, they will not grow. 
 
 945. If you want pansies to be beautiful and to grow tall, plant them 
 in the morning at six o'clock and always water them at six o'clock 
 in the morning. 
 
 946. Peony plants must not be moved except during the months of 
 October and November. If they are transplanted in any other 
 month, they will not bloom for three years. 
 
 947. To secure fine roses, set them out on the 25th of May. 
 
 948. "Mrs. E, has a plant that someone gave her thirty-nine years ago 
 for good luck, called the sea onion, and it has little onions that 
 come out on the sides of it. She gave me one little onion for 
 every member of our family this morning and told me to plant 
 them, that we would all have good luck, for it was good luck to 
 have that plant in your house." 
 
 949. To have sunflowers growing in your back yard will cause you 
 good luck. 
 
 950. Soak sweet peas overnight in milk before planting them and the 
 blossoms will be twice as large. 
 
 951. Rows of sweet peas must be planted pointing north and south or 
 they will not bloom, 
 
 952. If rows of sweet peas run north and south, the plants will blos- 
 som profusely. 
 
 953. If sweet peas are planted on St. Patrick's Day (March \7th), 
 they will grow well. 
 
 954. Sweet peas planted on St. Patrick's Day will have more fragrance. 
 
 955. "Plant sweet peas on St. Patrick's Day before sunup and you 
 will have the best of luck. I always plant my sweet peas on St. 
 Patrick's Day and I have beautiful flowers and so many that I 
 don't know what to do with them." 
 
40 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 956. Sweet peas should be planted on Good Friday, if you want to be 
 successful with them. 
 
 957. Plant petunia seed in the early morning and always water them 
 early in the morning and they will flower abundantly. 
 
 958. Unless you set out two tuberoses near together, they will not 
 bloom. One plant is supposed to be a male, the other a female. 
 The marks distinguishing the sexes seem to be unknown. 
 
 959. You must remove the little excrescences from a tuberose bulb 
 before planting or it will not produce blossoms. 
 
 960. Tuberoses bloom only once in seven years. 
 
 961. If you close yourself up in a room with tuberoses, their perfume 
 will kill you. 
 
 962. A tuberose is an unlucky flower. 
 
 963. There is considerable prejudice against tuberoses. Some think a 
 tuberose has the w^axy appearance of death; others, that it emits 
 an odor of death. 
 
 VEGETABLES 
 
 964. Vegetables which ripen underground should be planted in the 
 dark of the moon. 
 
 965. If vegetables mature aboveground, they must be planted in the 
 light of the moon. 
 
 966. Those vegetables, of which the leaves are used, ought to be planted 
 in the new moon. 
 
 967. If vegetables have blossoms and fruit, plant the seeds in the 
 full moon. 
 
 968. Scatter ashes over the garden on Ash Wednesday and lice will 
 not molest your vegetables. 
 
 969. If beans are planted in the morning, they will do well. 
 
 970. Beans planted in the morning will grow quicker and bear sooner 
 than beans planted in the afternoon. 
 
 971. Plant the seeds at noon and you will have plenty of beans. 
 
 972. Beans will drop their bloom and not amount to much, if planted 
 during the afternoon. 
 
 973. Never plant beans when the sign is going down, or they will grow 
 down instead of up. 
 
 974. Plant the seeds in the sign of the "arm" and you will secure beans 
 as long as your arm. 
 
 975. If you plant the seeds while the sign is descending from the 
 "arm" towards the "fingers," you will have more beans on each 
 vine than you can hold in your fingers. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 41 
 
 976. The sign of the "breast" is a good time to plant beans. 
 
 977. To obtain low bushes and hence more beans, plant your seeds in 
 the sign of the "feet." 
 
 978. You will get flowers and no beans, if you plant them in the sign 
 of the "lady holding a flower." 
 
 979. Beans planted in the sign of the "flower girl" will bear until frost. 
 
 980. If you plant beans in the sign of the "flowers," they will bloom 
 themselves to death and you will not get a bean. 
 
 981. A good time to plant beans is in the sign of the "thigh." 
 
 982. Plant the seeds in the sign of the Twins and you will pick two 
 beans instead of one. 
 
 983. Planting beans in the sign of the Twins and during the light of 
 the moon will bring you an excellent crop. 
 
 984. If beans are planted in the sign of the Twins and during the light 
 of the moon, they will not stop bearing until frost. 
 
 985. Always plant the seeds in the full of the moon and your vines 
 will be full of beans. 
 
 986. The best time to plant beans is when apple trees bloom. 
 
 987. Beans should be planted on Good Friday. 
 
 988. Plant beets when peach trees blossom. 
 
 989. Beets must be planted while the sign is going up. 
 
 990. In the sign of the "ami" is a good time to plant butterbeans. 
 
 991. If butterbeans are planted during the light of the moon and in 
 the sign of the Twins, you can pick them until frost. 
 
 992. To have good cabbage, set out the plants when the moon is one 
 third full. 
 
 993. If cabbage is planted in the sign of the "heart," the heads will 
 
 rot. "I knew a farmer that lost a whole field of cabbage, 
 
 because he set his plants out in the sign of the heart. The heads 
 all rotted and slipped down in the stalk." 
 
 994. To secure large heads, set out cabbage in the sign of the Scales. 
 
 995. If you plant cabbage in the sign of the Twins, the heads will be 
 twins ; that is, not head properly. 
 
 996. If you set out cabbage in the sign of the Twins, when you cut oflf 
 a head another will grow in its place. 
 
 997. Plant cabbage on Friday in the new moon and the frost will not 
 kill it. 
 
 998. Insects will eat up your cabbage ,if it is hoed during dog days. 
 
 999. Scatter elder leaves over your cabbage plants and insects will not 
 bother them. 
 
 1000. Sprinkle flour over your cabbage plants while the dew is on them 
 and you will drive away the worms. 
 
42 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 1001. Lay pennyroyal leaves over your cabbage plants and the worms 
 will desert them. 
 
 1002. Place plantain leaves over heading cabbage and the worms will 
 not molest the plants. 
 
 1003. Tie a head of cabbage to the ceiling on Christmas Day and stick 
 nails into it. This will bring you good luck during the coming 
 year. 
 
 1004. It is very unlucky to have a head of cabbage in the house on New 
 Year's Day. 
 
 1005. "When I was a girl, on Halloween we would go around and lay 
 a head of cabbage on every front step that we wanted them to 
 have plenty." 
 
 1006. Plant carrots in the sign of the "leg" and they will be long and 
 smooth. 
 
 1007. Carrots should be planted when peach trees are blooming. 
 
 1008. The 15th of July is a good time to plant winter carrots. 
 
 1009. If you plant cucumbers on the first three days of May, they will 
 bear themselves to death. 
 
 1010. You can secure long or large cucumbers by planting them on 
 June 21st, the longest day of the year. 
 
 1011. You will have success with your cucumbers, if the seeds are 
 planted on the 6th of July wet or dry. 
 
 1012. Plant cucumbers when cherry trees are in blossom. 
 
 1013. If you plant the seeds in the sign of the "arm," you will gather 
 as many cucumbers to a vine as you have fingers on your hand. 
 
 1014. Cucumbers planted in the sign of the Cancer will grow to vines 
 and not bear. 
 
 1015. Always plant cucumbers in the sign of the Fishes, because that is 
 a watery sign ; and the vines will not wilt or dry out. 
 
 1016. If you plant the seeds in the sign of the "thigh," your vines will 
 be full of cucumbers. 
 
 1017. You will i^ick a large crop of cucumbers, if they are planted in 
 the sign of the Twins. 
 
 1018. Planting your seeds in the sign of the Twins will give you two 
 cucumbers for every one that you would have had, had you 
 planted them at some other time. 
 
 1019. Cucumber seed planted in the sign of the Twins will produce two 
 cucumbers for every blossom. 
 
 1020. You will have an excellent crop of cucumbers, if they are planted 
 in the morning before sunrise. 
 
 1021. To procure a good crop of cucumbers, plant them on the 1st of 
 May before the sun rises. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 43 
 
 1022. "Plant cucumbers on the 6th of July, 
 You will have cucumbers, wet or dry." 
 
 1023. Scatter flour over your "pickle plants" (cu'cumbers) to drive away 
 the lice. 
 
 1024. If you plant cucumbers on the longest day of the year, insects 
 will not molest them. 
 
 1025. While wearing your night clothes, plant cucumbers on the 1st of 
 May before the sun comes up, and they will not be attacked 
 by bugs. 
 
 1026. Put a moth ball in a cucumber hill and tlie vines will not be 
 troubled by ants. 
 
 1027. Drop a nasturtium seed into each hill of cucumbers, when they 
 are planted, and the insects will not harm the vines. 
 
 1028. Plantain leaves spread among cucumber vines will keep insects 
 away. 
 
 1029. "If you will plant radish seed with your cucumbers, the bugs will 
 not bother them, for the bugs don't like radishes." 
 
 1030. Keep rhubarb leaves near your cucumber plants and insects will 
 not damage the vines. 
 
 1031. Rid your cucumber vines of insects by planting the seeds before 
 sunrise. 
 
 1032. Scoop out a turnip and set it upside down by a cucumber plant 
 and the insects will crawl into the turnip and not destroy your 
 vines. 
 
 1033. Soak your cucumber seed in turpentine before planting them and 
 the vines will never be hurt by insects. 
 
 1034. Hang a bunch of garlic over or keep it on the mantel for luck. 
 
 1035. If kohl-rabi is planted in the sign of the "lady with the branch," 
 the plants will grow to seeds instead of heads. 
 
 1036. "In planting lettuce I always say, 'Three seeds for the birds and 
 three for myself." 
 
 1037. Lettuce should be planted on the 4th of April. 
 
 1038. The 5th of April is a good time to plant lettuce. 
 
 1039. If lettuce is planted in the light of the moon, it will grow to tops. 
 
 1040. Plant lettuce on the decrease of the moon and it will not run to 
 seeds. 
 
 1041. If you sow mustard seed in your garden, you will experience more 
 trouble that year than you have ever had in your life. 
 
 1042. Onion sets planted when the sign is up will not stay in the ground. 
 
 1043. To secure large onions, plant your sets while the sign is going 
 down. 
 
44 Alcmoirs of the Alma llgan Hyatt I'oundation 
 
 1044. You can obtain large onions and small tops by planting your sets 
 in the sign of the "head." 
 
 1045. Your onion crop will be excellent, if the sets are planted on the 
 21st of March. 
 
 1046. Always take care that your onion sets stand upright when planted, 
 for if the sprouts are downward, your onions will grow through 
 the earth to China ; that is, they will not grow at all. 
 
 1047. Carry an onion in your pocket for luck. 
 
 1048. If you transplant parsley, you will have bad luck. 
 
 1049. An old saying for planting parsnips is: "As long as my arm and 
 as thick as my wrist." 
 
 1050. Parsnips will be long and smooth, if planted in the sign of the 
 "leg." 
 
 1051. Wild parsnips are poisonous. A good many people are in- 
 clined to think the same thing of cultivated parsnips. 
 
 1052. You will have low bushes and more peas, if the seeds are planted 
 in the sign of the "feet." 
 
 1053. Plant peas in the sign of the "flower" and they will grow to 
 flowers. There will not be any peas. 
 
 1054. Peas will bear until frost, if planted in the sign of the Twins and 
 when the moon is light. 
 
 1055. You can secure a good crop of peas and full pods, if you plant 
 the seeds in the full moon. 
 
 1056. Peas will thrive, if they are planted on St. Patrick's Day. 
 
 1057. Peppers can be grown only by a person who has a violent temper. 
 
 1058. Unless you are angry while planting peppers, they will not grow. 
 
 1059. "A woman I know, when she plants potatoes always said, 'In the 
 
 Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost' to every potato; 
 
 so she would get a big crop." 
 
 1060. Strew a little straw along the furrow in which you plant potatoes 
 and you will not have any weeds. 
 
 1061. For a good crop of potatoes, let ever}^ other row be planted with 
 onions instead of potatoes. The onions will get into the eyes of 
 the potatoes, make them cry, and thus produce continual moisture. 
 
 1062. You must never plant onions near potatoes, because the onions 
 will get into the eyes of the potatoes and make them cry. 
 
 1063. The results from planting the sets when the sign is going up will 
 be small potatoes and tops. 
 
 1064. Large potatoes can be secured by planting them while the sign is 
 going down. 
 
 1065. There will be a big potato crop, if they are planted in the sign 
 of the "bowels." 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 45 
 
 1066. Potatoes planted in the sign of the "feet" will have excrescences 
 like toes. 
 
 1067. If potatoes are planted in the sign of the Fishes, they will sur- 
 vive dry weather. 
 
 1068. To prevent the bugs from eating potatoes, plant your sets in the 
 sign of the "heart." 
 
 1069. A good time to plant potatoes is in the sign of the "legs." 
 
 1070. Potatoes will yield well, if planted in the sign of the "thigh;" or 
 as some say, in the sign of the Bowman. 
 
 1071. "If you plant potatoes in the sign of the Twins, your potatoes 
 will have all little potatoes over them. You will not have a smooth 
 potato in the field." 
 
 1072. Plant your sets in the sign of the Twins and you will get two 
 potatoes in place of the one that you would have secured, had you 
 planted them in some other sign. 
 
 1073. When the moon is on the wane, plant your potatoes and they will 
 do well. 
 
 1074. The best time to plant potatoes is in the dark of the moon. 
 
 1075. If you plant the sets in the sign of the "thigh" and when the moon 
 is dark, you will get smooth potatoes. 
 
 1076. Plant the sets in the sign of the "thigh" and when the moon is 
 light, and you will not secure a potato; for they will grow to 
 flowers. 
 
 1077. To make potatoes grow, plant them in the light of the moon. 
 
 1078. Always plant your late potatoes in the last dark moon of June. 
 
 1079. You can secure large potatoes by planting them in the morning 
 between the hours of nine and twelve. 
 
 1080. Potatoes planted in the morning will do better than those set out 
 in the afternoon. 
 
 1081. Good days on which to plant Irish potatoes are the 17th and 18th 
 of the month. 
 
 1082. The 17th and 18th of the month are good times to transplant 
 sweet potatoes. 
 
 1083. To have a fine crop, plant potatoes on the last two days of the 
 month regardless of the weather. 
 
 1084. Potatoes will do well, if they are planted on the 10th of April; 
 in other words, one hundred days from the 1st of January. 
 
 1085. One of the best times to plant potatoes is on election day in the 
 spring. 
 
 1086. You will dig up a large crop of fine potatoes, if they arc planted 
 on St. Patrick's Day. 
 
46 Memoirs of tJie Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 1087. A good crop of potatoes may be secured by planting them on 
 Good Friday. 
 
 1088. A great many potato bugs on the vines indicates a large number 
 of potatoes, 
 
 1089. "If you want to kill potato bugs, you have to go out at the hour 
 of twelve to three when the sun is the hottest." 
 
 1090. Carry a small potato in your pocket for luck, 
 
 1091. Plant pumpkins when apple trees are blooming, 
 
 1092. "Plant pumpkin seeds in May, 
 And they will all run away." 
 
 1093. "Plant pumpkin seeds in June, 
 And they will come soon," 
 
 1094. Seeds taken from a male pumpkin alone, or only from a female 
 pumpkin, will grow into flowers. There will not be any pumpkins. 
 To secure results you must select your seeds from both the male 
 and female pumpkins. The male pumpkin can be distinguished by 
 the large "blossom scar" left at the junction of the stem and fruit, 
 while on the contrary, the female pumpkin always has a small 
 blossom scar. 
 
 1095. Radishes planted in the sign of the "knee" will rot. 
 
 1096. Plant radishes in the sign of the "leg" so that they will be long, 
 
 1097. To secure fine and solid radishes, plant the seeds in the sign of 
 the "thigh." 
 
 1098. Plant the seeds in the sign of the "thigh" as it is going down and 
 you will get large radishes. 
 
 1099. Radishes are drunkards. They require a lot of water. 
 
 1100. "Never plant rhubarb where anyone walks, because it won't grow. 
 It likes to be where it is quiet." 
 
 1101. It is unlucky to plant sage in your garden, 
 
 1102. You will have bad luck, if you plant sage seed in your yard; but 
 you can avoid this by planting the seeds somewhere else and then 
 setting out the sage plants. 
 
 1103. Plant sage seed and you plant sorrow. 
 
 1104. To set out sage plants means that you are setting someone out of 
 your family. 
 
 1105. If you give sage plants to anyone, you will have a quarrel. 
 
 1 106. Squash planted in the sign of the Twins will bear well. 
 
 1107. When peach trees are blooming is a good time to plant tomatoes, 
 
 1108. Tomatoes will grow large, if planted in the sign of the Scales, 
 
 1109. The sign of the Twins is a good time to plant tomatoes. 
 
 1110. Plant tomatoes in the sign of the Twins when the moon is light 
 and they will bear until frost. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois A7 
 
 1111. Turnips planted in the sign of the "lady with the branch" will 
 grow to tops and seeds. 
 
 1112. To obtain large turnips, sow the seeds in the dark of the moon. 
 
 1113. If the seeds are sown in the light of the moon, the turnips will 
 be small. 
 
 1114. Sow turnip seed on the 4th of July wet or dry. 
 
 1115. Plant turnips on the 25th of July wet or dry. 
 
 1116. Your turnip crop will be large and excellent, if the seeds are 
 sown on the 10th of August. 
 
 1117. To secure sweet turnips, plant them on St. Laurence Day (lOf/i 
 of August). 
 
 1118. The sowing of turnips should be completed before the 20th of 
 August. 
 
 1119. If you plant turnips on August 25th wet or dry, you will have a 
 good crop. 
 
 1120. Your turnips will be bitter, if you sow the seeds in the afternoon. 
 
 1121. To have sweet turnips, always plant them in the morning before 
 
 eleven o'clock. "One day a man went over to a neighbor's 
 
 house and wanted him to give him some turnip seeds, said his 
 turnips were so sweet and his (ozvn) was always bitter. The man 
 said, 'When do you plant your turnip seed ?' The man said, 'Any 
 old time.' The other man said, 'I will give you some seed and you 
 plant them in the morning before eleven o'clock, if you want good 
 sweet turnips.' The man took the seed home and forgot to plant 
 them. One day he thought about his seeds. It was four o'clock 
 in the afternoon. A rain was coming up and he thought he had 
 better plant his seed before the rain, forgetting all about the man 
 telling him to plant them in the morning. That fall he went and 
 told his neighbor that he did not give him the sweet seeds, because 
 his turnips were all bitter. The neighbor said, 'When did you 
 plant them? I have only one kind of seed.' The man said, 'Four 
 o'clock in the afternoon. I forgot what you told me.' The 
 neighbor said, 'If you had of did what I told you, plant them in 
 the morning, you would of had sweet ones'. " 
 
 FRUITS AND BERRIES 
 
 1122. Snow on Christmas indicates a good fruit year. 
 
 1123. A great quantity of ice between Christmas and New Year's Day 
 is the sign of an abundant crop of fruit. 
 
48 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 1124. We are going to have a large fruit crop, if there is a thick coating 
 of ice on the trees in February. 
 
 1125. Fruit trees bear well, if planted in the full moon. 
 
 1126. If you transplant fruit trees on the increase of the moon, they 
 will produce more fruit. 
 
 1127. To plant fruit trees during the decrease of the moon will prevent 
 them from bearing. 
 
 1128. Frost during the light of the moon will not kill fruit. 
 
 1129. Empty dishwater around the roots of a fruit tree that does not 
 bear well and shows signs of dying, and this will revive the tree. 
 
 1130. If you have a fruit tree that does not bear, during the autumn 
 drive three rusty nails into its trunk near the ground, and you 
 will have fruit next year. 
 
 1131. Fruit trees pruned in the light of the moon will not die. 
 
 1132. Prune fruit trees in the full of the moon and they will be laden 
 with fruit. 
 
 1133. Fruit trees should be sprayed on Good Friday. 
 
 1134. The fruit crop will be small, if there is a rain while the trees are 
 blooming. 
 
 1135. Rain falling into the blossoms of fruit trees will make the fruit 
 wormy. 
 
 1136. Hang elder leaves on fruit trees and the insects will not injure 
 the fruit. 
 
 1137. To make fruit trees bear better, scatter ashes about them on Ash 
 Wednesday. 
 
 1138. Wood ashes sprinkled around fruit trees will keep the worms 
 away. 
 
 1139. If a fruit tree will not bear, tie pieces of iron on the branches. 
 
 1140. "My husband in the spring always put old horseshoes in the fruit 
 trees. It will make the fruit hang on the trees." 
 
 1141. If you estimate or count the unmatured fruit on a tree, it will 
 drop off before ripening. 
 
 1142. A fruit tree will die, if it is touched by a menstruating woman. 
 
 1143. A fruit tree will be barren next year, if you allow a pregnant 
 woman to shake it at harvest time. 
 
 1144. Fruit will not decay, if picked when the moon is increasing. 
 
 1145. Gather fruit on the decrease of the moon and the fruit that is 
 bruised will not rot or dry up. 
 
 1146. If you find double fruit, two pieces of fruit grown together, you 
 will have good luck. 
 
 1147. You may expect good luck when you find a piece of fruit contain- 
 ing two stones. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 49 
 
 1148. A sleet in February will produce a fine apple crop. 
 
 1149. Apples gathered in the light of the moon will not rot. 
 
 1150. After you have accepted an apple from someone and have bitten 
 into it, if the apple breaks apart while in your hand, return it to 
 the giver at once or you will have bad luck. 
 
 1151. Slipping on a banana peeling brings bad luck. 
 
 1152. The name "blackberry winter" is given to cold weather in May, 
 
 because it makes a good blackberry crop. "You can always 
 
 tell when the blackberries are ripe, because we always have a cool 
 spell which is called the blackberry winter." 
 
 1153. There will be no blackberries, if rain falls on the 1st of May. 
 
 1154. Rain on the 2nd of June means a poor crop of blackberries. 
 
 1155. "Mr. K. told me, a man on his block had a cherry tree and it 
 would always bloom, but he would not get any cherries. He told 
 him to hang the tree full of old bottles. He did, and that year he 
 got two crates of fine cherries." 
 
 1156. A single cherry tree will bloom but not bear. You must plant two 
 cherry trees to have fruit. 
 
 1157. Eating gooseberries before they are ripe will give you lice. 
 
 1158. There will not be any grapes, if it rains on Easter. 
 
 1159. Rain on the 4th of July means no grape crop. 
 
 1160. Hang rhubarb leaves on your grapevines to drive away the worms. 
 
 1161. Place wood ashes around your grapevines and worms will not do 
 any damage. 
 
 1162. Water grapevines with your old dishwater and they will not be- 
 come wormy. 
 
 1163. When you trim your grapevines leave two notches on each vine 
 and you will secure better grapes. 
 
 1164. Grapevines should be trimmed after the first frost in the fall. 
 
 1165. If you trim your grapevines just before the full moon and in the 
 sign of the Cancer, they will not be bothered by birds or worms. 
 
 1166. You will have bad luck, if you burn grapevines. 
 
 1 167. Swallow a lemon seed and a lemon tree will grow in your stomach. 
 
 1168. During the year in which seventeen-year locusts appear, mulber- 
 ries will be poisonous. 
 
 1169. If you swallow an orange seed, an orange tree will grow in your 
 stomach. 
 
 1170. A December sleet indicates a good peach crop. 
 
 1171. When the wind blows from the south on Christmas Day, there 
 will be fine peaches that year. 
 
50 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 1172. \Vc shall not have any peaches, if it thunders on the 12th of 
 February. 
 
 1173. Peach trees in bloom will never freeze in the light of the moon. 
 
 1174. Unless you plant two peach trees, a male and a female, you will 
 
 not get any fruit. "You can tell a woman and man peach 
 
 tree by the leaves. A man peach tree has wide leaves. A woman 
 peach tree has narrow leaves." 
 
 1175. The peach tree with the smallest blossoms produces the largest 
 fruit, and conversely, the tree with the largest blossoms bears the 
 smallest fruit. 
 
 1176. When you plant a peach tree, put old buckets and old shoes in 
 the hole, and the tree will grow well. 
 
 1177. "Empty your chamber pot every morning against a peach tree, 
 so it will bear better." 
 
 1178. Plant tansy about a peach tree and worms will not molest the tree. 
 
 1179. The person who swallows a peach seed will have a peach tree 
 growing in his stomach. 
 
 1180. If someone brings peanuts into your house, you will have bad luck. 
 
 1181. To eat peanuts and drop the shells on the floor will cause you 
 bad luck. 
 
 1182. If you litter the floor with peanut shells, a policeman will come to 
 your house. 
 
 1183. Never throw peanut shells around the front door, or you will be 
 arrested before the week is gone. 
 
 1184. "Never let anyone bring peanuts in your house in the shells; if 
 you do, they are keeping money out of your house. I was work- 
 ing (as charwoman) in a sporting house (house of prostitution 
 in this particular case) years ago and they would not let anyone 
 in the house that had peanuts in their shells. Said there would not 
 be any money coming in, if they let the peanuts in the house." 
 
 1185. "Years ago (about fifty) when I was a little boy nine years old, 
 my father had a beautiful pear tree. Every year it would be just 
 full of bloom, but would not bear. One day when my father was 
 gone, several boys and I took all of my father's nails and drove 
 them into the tree, just to be doing something. When my father 
 got home, I sure did get a good whipping for doing it. He 
 thought the tree would die. The next year that tree was just full 
 of nice pears. You see, the nails did the work. The tree needed 
 iron." 
 
 1186. Place old shoes and old buckets about the roots of a pear tree 
 when you plant it, and the tree will thrive. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 51 
 
 1187. "We had a blue plum tree for ten, years and it never had a plum 
 on it. It would just bloom all the time. One day my grandson 
 Rex came to see me, and he was playing out in the yard and he 
 took a hatchet and hacked into the tree. My son said, 'Why Rex, 
 why did you do that, for you will kill grandma's tree?' And the 
 next year that tree was full of blue plums." 
 
 1188. "I had an old yellow plum tree. It would bloom all the time but 
 would not bear. One day a lady came to our house and said, 
 'Hang all the old buckets you can find on that tree and it will bear 
 fruit.' We got all the old buckets we could find and hung on the 
 tree, and we had all the plums we could take care of after that." 
 
 1189. If you have a plum tree and it blooms but does not bear, in the 
 spring throw salt around the roots and you will get plums that 
 year. 
 
 1190. If a baby swallows a plum seed, a plum tree will grow out of the 
 top of its head. 
 
 1191. If you swallow a plum seed, a plum tree will grow in your 
 stomach. 
 
 1192. You must plant a row of male and a row of female strawberries 
 or they will not bear. 
 
 1193. You will not have any strawberries, unless you plant two or more 
 varieties in a patch. 
 
 1194. Plant melons when apple trees are blooming. 
 
 1195. If you plant watermelons in the sign of the Cancer, the vines will 
 not have a second growth, and your melons will be sweet. 
 
 1196. You can secure a large watermelon crop by planting them in the 
 sign of the "heart" and during the dark of the moon. 
 
 1197. Muskmelon planted during the sign of the Cancer in April will 
 do well. 
 
 1198. Insects will not damage your watennelons, if the seeds are planted 
 during the first sign of the "heart" in May. 
 
 1199. You will have a large watermelon crop, if you plant the seeds on 
 the first day of May before the sun is up. 
 
 1200. Insects will not destroy your watermelons, if the seeds are planted 
 before sunrise on the 1st of May while you are wearing your 
 night clothes. 
 
 1201. "If you want good, sweet watermelons, on the first day of May 
 take and make your holes. Then put in two pitchforks of cow 
 manure, then drop your seed right on that manure and cover it 
 with dirt; and you will have melons so large that you will not 
 be able to carry them, and sweet." 
 
 s:^^^' 
 
52 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foumlation 
 
 1202. You will have plenty of melons by planting the seeds during the 
 first three days of May. 
 
 1203. Melons should be planted on the 9th of May. 
 
 1204. There will be a large and excellent crop of watermelons, if the 
 seeds are planted on the 10th of May. 
 
 1205. "If you want a watermelon to weigh forty to one hundred pounds, 
 make a hole, then put in some manure, then some sand on top 
 of the manure, then dirt next, then four watermelon seeds and two 
 pumpkin seeds, then cover it with dirt; and you will never get less 
 than a forty pound melon." 
 
 1206. To have seedless watermelon : Let the vine grow until it is about 
 ready to bloom, then several feet from the hill dig a hole or trench 
 four or five inches deep under one of the runners. That part of 
 the runner which goes over the hole is to be buried in the hole 
 and covered with oats. All of the melons from the hole out to 
 the end of the runner will be seedless, but the other melons on 
 the vine will have seeds. 
 
 1207. "To see if a watermelon is ripe, you roll the melon from you and 
 if it rolls towards you on its own account, it is ripe." 
 
 1208. If you cut open a large watermelon and find it unripe, there will 
 be sickness and sorrow in your family. 
 
 1209. After you have cut a muskmelon in two, if you pick up one of 
 the halves and the seeds fall out, you will lose all your possessions ; 
 but if the seeds do not drop out, you will become rich within a 
 few months. 
 
 1210. A watermelon vine will grow in your stomach, if you swallow a 
 watermelon seed. 
 
 CORN-OATS-WHEAT 
 
 1211. Plant com in the dark of the moon so that the ears will grow- 
 near the bottom of the stalk where they will be within reach and 
 easily picked. 
 
 1212. Ears of corn will grow near the top of a stalk, if the seeds are 
 planted in the light of the moon. 
 
 1213. Com planted in the dark of the moon will have large ears low- 
 on the stalk. 
 
 1214. The sign of the "arms" is a good time to plant com. 
 
 1215. You will have a good corn crop, if the seeds are planted when 
 dogwood trees bloom. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 53 
 
 1216. Corn should be planted on the 26th of March. 
 
 1217. The 27th of March is a good time to plant corn. 
 
 1218. Never plant corn during the first three days of May. 
 
 1219. Plant corn when white oak leaves are the size of a squirrel's ear. 
 
 1220. The first appearance of the woodpecker is a signal for corn plant- 
 ing. 
 
 1221. More than three grains of com in a hill will not grow. 
 
 1222. Corn will not bear well unless you mix your seeds in the propor- 
 tion of one male grain to two female grains. These seeds must be 
 taken from male and female ears of corn. The former is long and 
 tapering on the top or growing end of the ear, and the latter 
 ear is blunt on both ends. 
 
 1223. "When my mother would plant corn, she would always say, 'Here 
 is some for the worms, some for the neighbors and some for 
 myself and she would always have a plenty." 
 
 1224. In planting corn take five grains to the hill, saying: 
 
 "One for the blackbird, one for the crow, 
 One for the mole and two to grow." 
 
 1225. When planting corn, say, "One for the cutworm, one for the 
 birds, one for the rats, one for the thief, and one for myself." 
 
 1226. A man who planted corn "on the shares," always dropped two 
 grains for the company, one for himself, and three for the mice 
 and rats. 
 
 1227. "In planting corn or wheat, I say: 
 
 'One for the cutworm, 
 One for the crow; 
 Two to plant, 
 And two to grow'." 
 
 1228. A farmer planting corn, says : 
 
 "Two for the crow. 
 
 Two to rot. 
 
 And two to grow." 
 
 1229. "My aunt would always plant corn and she would say, 'Three for 
 the hill, four for the crow, and two for the cutworm.' The cut- 
 worm thinks he has a plenty when he takes two, the crow thinks 
 he has had the hill when he takes three, and that leaves four for 
 the planter." 
 
 1230. When locust trees are laden with blossoms, there will be a large 
 corn crop. 
 
 1231. An excellent crop of corn may be expected, if it thunders in 
 November. 
 
54 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foutidation 
 
 1232. "Mr. P. told me, when he was a boy his father would always 
 make him take the cobs from the corn they were planting and 
 throw them over in a field to rot. If you would burn the cobs, 
 your corn would burn up in the summer when it was growing." 
 
 1233. Corn grows quicker in the light of the moon than it does during 
 a dark moon. 
 
 1234. There is no com growing weather until after Whitsunday (seven 
 weeks after Easter). 
 
 1235. Expect a good com crop, if the weather is dry in June. 
 
 1236. While husking corn, if you find a blue-spotted ear or "Sally corn," 
 it is the sign of good luck. 
 
 1237. "If you have a cornfield and some of the stalks of corn are real 
 white and have no green on them, do not pull them up; if you do, 
 some of your cattle will drop dead in the field." 
 
 1238. You are going to be sick, if the first new ear of corn that you see 
 has white silk. 
 
 1239. Sow oats on the 27th, 28th and 29th of March and you will have 
 a crop of grain. 
 
 1240. If oats seed are sown after April 10th, they will grow to straw. 
 
 1241. In sowing wheat by hand years ago, some farmers would say, 
 "Here're five for the rabbits, five for the moles and mice, five 
 for the birds, and the rest for myself." 
 
 1242. Heavy snows in winter mean a good wheat crop. 
 
 1243. If the nut crop fails, the wheat crop will be poor. 
 
 1244. A large crop of nuts is followed by a good crop of wheat. 
 
 1245. Walk backwards and throw your handkerchief over your left 
 shoulder into a wheat field for luck. 
 
 TREES-SHRUBBERY-VINES 
 
 1246. If you plant a tree or bush and name it after some prosperous 
 person, it will grow and do well. 
 
 1247. Trees should be planted when the moon is old. 
 
 1248. A good time to plant trees is on the 25th of May. 
 
 1249. Place oats about the roots of a tree that you are planting and it 
 will thrive. 
 
 1250. When planting a tree, let it lean a little to the north so that it 
 will grow straight. 
 
 1251. No matter how you plant a tree, it will always bend towards water. 
 
 1252. If you transplant a tree, be sure to mark its north side and to 
 set it out with this side to the north, or the tree will die. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 55 
 
 1253. Revivify a dying tree by driving a nail into its trunk. 
 
 1254. If a tree is going to die, drive a nail into the north side of its 
 trunk and it will live. 
 
 1255. You must immediately paint the stump left, after a limb has 
 been sawed from a tree, or the tree will die. 
 
 1256. Peeling bark in the dark of the moon will kill a tree. 
 
 1257. A tree will die, if chopped into during the dark of the moon. 
 
 1258. Timber is easily killed, if cut in the new moon. 
 
 1259. Chop into the bark on an Ember Day and the tree will not live. 
 
 1260. Hew down a tree while the sap is rising and the wood will become 
 wormy. 
 
 1261. If you cut down hickory nut trees between March and the 1st of 
 June, worms will eat up the timber. 
 
 1262. The best time to kill timber is on June 21st, 22nd and 23rd. 
 
 1263. If you want to kill trees or shrubbery during June or August, 
 they should be cut in the sign of the "heart." 
 
 1264. The 13th of August is a good time to kill trees or brush. 
 
 1265. Any tree you cut into from the 7th to the 14th of August will die. 
 
 1266. A tree will be killed, if you stick a penknife into it on the 21st 
 of August. 
 
 1267. Fell trees from the 1st of October to the last of November and 
 your wood will not become worm-eaten. 
 
 1268. It is the sign of bad luck to have a tree in your yard bloom twice 
 in the same season. 
 
 1269. When a tree in your yard has blossoms for a second time during 
 the year, pick the blossoms at once and you will not have bad luck. 
 
 1270. "I will not burn any cutting off of a tree, bush or vine. I always 
 put them in some corner of the yard and let them rot, for I think 
 it is bad luck to burn them." 
 
 1271. Eating buckeyes will poison you. 
 
 1272. Carry a buckeye for good luck. 
 
 1273. It is lucky to keep a buckeye in the house. "My father kept 
 
 a buckeye in his trunk for luck. He would not be without one 
 in the house." 
 
 1274. A transplanted cedar tree must be reset in the same position or 
 it will not grow. 
 
 1275. It brings good luck to plant a cedar tree in your yard and have 
 it live. 
 
 1276. Burning cedar wood will cause you bad luck. 
 
 1277. You must plant two chestnut trees, for one tree will produce burrs, 
 but no nuts. 
 
56 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 1278. If on your first trip to the country you see a field of cotton beaten 
 down, do not proceed farther, for you will have bad luck. 
 
 1279. It is unlucky to have ivy growing in the house. 
 
 1280. Lightning strikes the locust more often than any other tree. The 
 oak tree comes next. 
 
 1281. Moss always grows on the north side of a tree. 
 
 1282. Plant an oak tree in your yard and you will have good luck. 
 
 1283. Grub out osage orange bushes when the moon is dark in August 
 and they will come up again. 
 
 1284. Open a persimmon seed and you will find a knife, fork and spoon. 
 
 1285. One persimmon tree will be sterile. You must plant two of them. 
 
 1286. Do not gather pokeberries in June, for they are then wild and 
 \ery poisonous. 
 
 1287. Judas hanged himself on a redbud tree. 
 
 1288. You will have bad luck, if you burn sassafras wood. 
 
 1289. Two walnut trees must be planted together, for one by itself will 
 not produce nuts. 
 
 1290. It causes very bad luck to have a weeping willow in your yard. 
 
 1291. You can kill brush by cutting it in the dark of the moon. 
 
 1292. Grub out sprouts in June during the dark of the moon and they 
 w'ill not shoot up again. 
 
 1293. If shrubber}^ is cut on an Ember Day, it will not grow again. 
 
 1294. To make vines or bushes thrive, spit into the holes when planting 
 them. 
 
 1295. Vines should be planted in the light of the moon. 
 
 1296. You will have splendid results, if you plant vines in the sign of 
 the Cancer. 
 
 1297. "If you have a vine and only one side of the vine will bear, tie 
 a red string around the side that don't bear and the next year both 
 sides w^ill bear. I had a hop vine. Every year one side would be 
 just full of hops and the other side of the fence would be bare. 
 Someone told me about the red string, so I tied a red string around 
 the side that didn't have any hops and left the string on, and the 
 next year my hop vine was full on both sides." 
 
 1298. It is very unlucky to have a live-forever vine growing in your 
 yard. 
 
 1299. Never let anyone give you a piece of Wandering Jew vine, or it 
 will bring bad luck to the house. 
 
 1300. Heavy dews in August make heavy tobacco. 
 
 1301. A tobacco setter will have bad luck, if he allows the dropper to 
 get more than a row ahead of him. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 57 
 
 AQUATIC LIFE 
 
 1302. A crawfish pinching one of your toes will not let loose until it 
 thunders. 
 
 1303. There is a precious stone in the head of a crawfish. 
 
 1304. Carry on your person the precious stone from the head of a craw- 
 fish and you will have good luck. 
 
 1305. It causes bad luck to keep goldfish in the house. 
 
 1306. "If you have goldfish in your house, you will be ailing all the 
 time until you get them out." 
 
 1307. Never let anyone give you a goldfish or you will have bad luck. 
 
 1308. "Do you know that if you blow your breath in a goldfish jar, the 
 fish will die?" 
 
 1309. Minnows come by spontaneous generation. The old argimient 
 
 mid one formerly submitted as an infallible proof of this belief, 
 asserted that a creek will dry up completely duting a drought and 
 yet minnozcs always reappear immediately after the first rain. 
 
 1310. Sometimes fish fall during a rain. 
 
 1311. A certain bone in the head of fish will bring good luck, if kept on 
 your person. 
 
 1312. The bone in the head of a white perch is especially lucky, if 
 carried by a fisherman. 
 
 1313. Keep a piece of oyster shell in your pocketbook for luck and 
 money. 
 
 INSECT LIFE 
 
 1314. Ants may be kept out of a house by laying catnip leaves about 
 the rooms. 
 
 1315. Scatter cucumber peelings on the floor to drive away ants. 
 
 1316. Keep a piece of hoodoo paper in the house and you will not be 
 troubled with ants. 
 
 1317. It is unlucky to step on a mound of ants. 
 
 1318. If you gather fern leaves during the last two days of June and 
 place them under the bed, the bedbugs will leave. 
 
 1319. Your bed will not have bedbugs, if you wash it with water in 
 which cedar tree leaves were boiled. 
 
 1320. "If you have bedbugs in your house, just take a bottle of ammonia 
 and sit it on the floor in the center of the house for three days. 
 It will kill the bugs and you won't be worried with them any 
 more." 
 
58 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 1321. A bee will die after stinging. 
 
 1322. You can prevent bees from flyin^g away by putting the roots of 
 a blue lily (iris) in the hive. 
 
 1323. A swarm of bees will alight, if you ring a bell. 
 
 1324. To make bees alight while swarming, beat on tin pans. 
 
 1325. "A swarm of bees in May 
 Is worth a load of hay." 
 
 1326. "A swarm of bees in June 
 Is worth a silver spoon." 
 
 1327. "A swarm of bees in July 
 Is not worth a fly." 
 
 1328. Bees will desert the hive before some family misfortune. 
 
 1329. If a strange swarm of bees settles in your garden, you will have 
 good luck. 
 
 1330. A stranger is coming, if a bee flys into the house. 
 
 1331. To have a bee enter the house is the sign of good luck, provided 
 you let it remain for a few minutes and do not kill it. 
 
 1332. If a butterfly lights on your shoulder, it is good luck for you. 
 
 1333. Pulling ofif a butterfly's wing will bring you bad luck. 
 
 1334. You may expect company, if a butterfly enters the house and 
 lights on you. 
 
 1335. If a butterfly flies into the house, you will soon entertain a female 
 visitor. 
 
 1336. A butterfly coming into the house indicates that a stranger is 
 going to visit you. 
 
 1337. It is the sign of health and happiness, if the first butterfly that 
 you see in the spring is white. 
 
 1338. If the first butterfly seen in the spring is yellow, you will have 
 much sickness. 
 
 1339. "They say that if you will catch a butterfly and put him in a jar 
 and keep him until he turns into a caterpillow, you will always 
 have good luck." 
 
 1340. You commit a sin when you kill a caterpillar. 
 
 1341. Chiggers will not bother you, if you keep green pennyroyal in 
 your pocket. 
 
 1342. Kill a cricket and its mate will come and cut holes in your socks 
 or stockings. 
 
 1343. If a cricket is killed, other crickets will appear and eat holes in 
 the clothes of the killer. "I would not kill a cricket for any- 
 thing, for I did kill a cricket one day and when I went to get my 
 dress, the rest of the crickets had just eaten my dress full of 
 holes." 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 59 
 
 1344. Bad luck will be yours, if you kill a cricket. 
 
 1345. To hear crickets sing is always a lucky sign. 
 
 1346. If you hear crickets chirp after you have gone to bed, you may 
 expect good luck. 
 
 1347. Chirping crickets are telling you of future success. 
 
 1348. Crickets singing in the house is a sign of prosperity. 
 
 1349. There will be sickness, if a cricket suddenly stops calling and 
 leaves the house, 
 
 1350. It is an omen of good luck to have a cricket enter the house. 
 
 1351. A cricket coming into the house is bringing you good luck. 
 
 1352. If cows have gone astray, hold a daddy longlegs by the back legs, 
 and with one of his forelegs he will point out the direction toward 
 
 which to seek them. "When we were children, we would 
 
 always catch a daddy longlegs by the hind legs and he would 
 always take one of his front legs and tell us where the cows were, 
 and we could go right there for them." 
 
 1353. To locate cows that have wandered away, get a daddy longlegs 
 and ask him which way they have strayed, and he will put out a leg 
 
 in the correct direction. "Years ago when we negro kids was 
 
 on the farm and could not find the cows, we would always get a 
 handful of grand-daddy and make them tell us where the cows 
 were ; and they would always stick their legs in the direction, and 
 we would go right there and find them." 
 
 1354. When cows have roamed away and become lost, catch a daddy 
 longlegs and say, "Tell me where my cows are. If you don't, I will 
 kill you." With his front legs he will then point out the direction 
 in which the cows can be found. 
 
 1355. Kill a daddy longlegs and your cow will go dry. 
 
 1356. You will lose a friend, if you kill a daddy longlegs. 
 
 1357. A doodle bug will obey you, if you say: 
 
 "Doodle bug, doodle bug, 
 
 Come out of your hole, 
 
 Your house is on fire. 
 
 And your children are burning up." 
 
 1358. A doodle bug will begin to work at the bottom of its hole, if you 
 repeat: 
 
 "Doodle, doodle, doodle. 
 
 Your mother and grand-daddy are dead." 
 
 1359. To make a doodle bug come out of its hole pronounce the follow- 
 ing rhyme : 
 
 "Doodle bug, doodle bug, stick out your horns. 
 And I will give you ten bushels of corn." 
 
60 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 1360. Speak the following couplet to bring a doodle bug out of its hole : 
 
 "Doodle bug, doodle bug, come out of your hole, 
 If you don't, I'll beat you as black as a mole." 
 
 1361. Stoop down over a doodle bug's hole so that it can feel your 
 breath, and say until the bug appears : 
 
 "Doodle up, Johnnie Brown, doodle up, 
 
 Johnnie Brown, doodle up, Johnnie Brown." 
 After the doodle bug has shown itself, and you want it to go back 
 into its hole, repeat the following until it does: 
 
 "Doodle bug, doodle bug, go down, 
 
 Go down, Johnnie Brown, go down." 
 
 1362. If you desire a doodle bug to leave its hole, repeat until it comes 
 out: 
 
 "Doodle up, doodle up, doodle up." 
 You can make the doodle bug conceal itself again by saying 
 repeatedly : 
 
 "Doodle down, doodle down, doodle down." 
 
 1363. "When I was a boy, I would get down on the ground and whistle 
 and whistle down one of these doodle bug's holes in the ground, 
 and they would crawl out to see what I wanted." 
 
 1364. If you kill a dragon fly, you will have bad luck. 
 
 1365. It is the sign of visitors to have a firefly enter the house. 
 
 1366. When you see a large number of fireflies flying about, you may 
 look for company. 
 
 1367. Kill one fly and ten flies will come to its funeral. 
 
 1368. "When one of those 'news flies' (any kind of large fly that con- 
 tinually darts about a person) comes and buzzes around you, you 
 are going to hear some good news." 
 
 1369. A fly persistently flying about your face indicates that a stranger 
 either wants to meet or to talk with you. 
 
 1370. It is very unlucky to kill a Christmas fly. 
 
 1371. Repeat the following rhyme to a grasshopper and he will comply 
 with your command : 
 
 "Spit tobacco juice, 
 And I'll turn you loose." 
 
 1372. Never kill a katydid, or you will have bad luck. 
 
 1373. Killing a lady-bug will bring bad luck to you. 
 
 1374. A lady-bug will leave you, if you say: 
 
 "Lady-bug, lady-bug. 
 Fly away home. 
 Your house is on fire, 
 Your children will burn." 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Ilhnoi<; 61 
 
 1375. You can make a lady-bug depart by repeating: 
 
 "Lady-bug", lady-bug, 
 Fly away home, 
 Your house is on fire, 
 Your children are alone." 
 
 1376. Drive away a lady-bug by saying: 
 
 "Lady-bug, lady-bug, 
 
 Fly away home, 
 
 Your house is on fire. 
 
 Your children are burning, 
 
 All except little Ann, 
 
 And she crawled under the marble stone." 
 
 1377. If you get sand in your hair, lice will generate on your head. 
 
 1378. To rid yourself of lice, take one of them into the graveyard and 
 shoot it ; and the rest will leave. 
 
 1379. If you touch a locust, it will sting you. 
 
 1380. "A man had a bucket of locusts up in the Relief Office (for the 
 poor of Quincy) this week and said we are going to have war, 
 because every locust had a letter "W" on its wings, and that is 
 a sure sign of war." 
 
 1381. When a locust has the letters "W. W." on its wings, it means 
 "war" and "want." 
 
 1382. If there is a letter "P" on the wings of locusts, it is the sign of 
 peace. 
 
 1383. A locust bearing the letters "P. P." on its wings signifies "peace" 
 and "plenty." 
 
 1384. Maggots are produced spontaneously in rotten meat. The same 
 thing is thought to be true of cheese mites in cheese. 
 
 1385. Eat greens on "Green Thursday" (Maundy Thursday) and mos- 
 quitoes will not bite you that year. 
 
 1386. Mosquitoes will not bite you, if you wear alum on your person. 
 
 1387. To keep mosquitoes from biting you, rub coal oil behind your 
 ears. 
 
 1388. If a mosquito alights on your bare flesh, tighten your muscles and 
 hold your breath. The mosquito will not be able to fly away and 
 you can kill it. 
 
 1389. "If you are harvesting or sleeping outdoors, make your bed on a 
 haystack of new hay and mosquitoes will not bite you." 
 
 1390. Bittersweet will attract moths to the house. 
 
 1391. Hang up catnip in the house to drive away moths. 
 
 1392. Place cedar leaves under the carpet and you will not have any 
 moths. 
 
62 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt foundation 
 
 139.3. Prevent moths from entering by hanging up pennyroyal in the 
 house. 
 
 1394. A picture falling shows that there are moths in the house. 
 
 1395. Moths flying near cream or milk will turn it sour. 
 
 1396. A snail will melt into a grease spot, if you drop salt on it. 
 
 1397. To make a snail come out of its hole, say: 
 
 "Snail, snail, come out of your hole. 
 
 Or I'll beat you as black as (a piece of) coal." 
 
 1398. A snail will draw in its head, if you repeat this couplet: 
 
 "Snail, snail, put in your head. 
 
 Or else I'll beat you till you're dead." 
 
 1399. "If you see one of those thousand-legger (legged) bugs (centi- 
 pede) crawling, and you can kill it with the palm of your hand, it 
 will bring you excellent luck." 
 
 1400. To kill a wasp will cause you bad luck. 
 
 1401. A wasp flying into the house is a good omen. 
 
 1402. It is very lucky to have wasps build a nest in a window or on the 
 porch or under the eaves of your house. 
 
 1403. Sometimes it rains worms. 
 
 1404. Cut a fishing worm in two and each part will crawl away and 
 become a whole worm. 
 
 1405. Spit three times when you see a fever worm and you will not 
 have bad luck. 
 
 SPIDERS 
 
 1406. All spiders are poisonous. 
 
 1407. Cobwebs in the house come from dust. A good many people 
 
 used to believe and some even now, that cobwebs result from the 
 gathering of dust only. 
 
 1408. If you see a spider on your dress, you may expect a new one. 
 
 1409. To see a spider weaving a web means that a new dress is being 
 woven for you. 
 
 1410. Seeing a spider at night will bring you peace. 
 
 1411. It is the sign of a quarrel, if a spider crawls towards you in the 
 morning. 
 
 1412. When a spider runs down its web in the afternoon, you are going 
 to travel. 
 
 1413. You slay an enemy every time you kill a spider. 
 
 1414. Kill a spider and you will never conquer your enemies. 
 
 1415. A friend is slain each time you kill a spider. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 63 
 
 1416. You may expect to see a friend, if you run into a spider web. 
 
 1417. If a spider comes towards you in the evening, you will liave 
 company. 
 
 1418. Look for guests that day, if a spider swings down on its web in 
 front of you. 
 
 1419. A spider dropping down before you is a sign that you will meet a 
 bosom friend unexpectedly. 
 
 1420. A visitor may be expected, if a spider spins in front of your face. 
 
 1421. If a spider is spinning before your face, look for a welcome caller. 
 
 1422. A spider crawling on your bed means that a stranger is coming. 
 
 1423. When a spider runs over your bed, expect a stranger; but if the 
 spider is killed, the stranger will not come. 
 
 1424. If you kill a spider found on your bed, you will not have any 
 company that day. 
 
 1425. A stranger is going to call upon you, if you see a spider crawling 
 up the door. 
 
 1426. A welcome visitor will come, if a spider begins to weave its web 
 in the doorway. 
 
 1427. If a spider drops down on the table w^hile you are eating, you will 
 have company to the next meal. 
 
 1428. To find a spider on your table indicates that a stranger will share 
 the next meal with you. 
 
 1429. A spider seen at noon means good news. 
 
 1430. A spider is bringing good news to you, if it lets itself down on 
 a web. 
 
 1431. When a spider drops a single thread before you, if it returns 
 upwards, you will hear good news; but if it continues downwards, 
 you may look for bad news. 
 
 1432. If a spider falls down in front of you, you will receive some good 
 news that day. 
 
 1433. To walk through a spider web is the sign that you will get a letter. 
 
 1434. When you see a spider spinning its web downwards, kill it in the 
 palm of your hand and a letter will come to you. 
 
 1435. If you are in bed and a spider lets itself down from the ceiling, 
 you can look for a letter. 
 
 1436. A black-haired person will send a letter to you, if a black spider 
 crawls on you. 
 
 1437. A letter may be expected, when a spider lowers itself on a little 
 web in front of you. 
 
 1438. "If a spider comes down three times in front of you, you are sure 
 of a letter, as sure as if you already had it." 
 
 1439. A letter is coming for you, if you see a spider sinking down in 
 
64 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 front of your face; but if you kill the spider, you will not receive 
 the letter. 
 
 1440. A spicier spinning its web above your head is the sign that you 
 will get a letter. 
 
 1441. You may look for a letter, when you find a spider crawling on 
 your head. 
 
 1442. If a spider is caught running over your head, a letter will come 
 to you from the direction in which the spider moved. 
 
 1443. A letter for you will arrive, if a spider lowers a web onto your 
 shoulder. 
 
 1444. Spiders foretell events. "Miss L. told me she knew all about 
 
 the World War, that a spider told her. The spider wrote it on the 
 wall three times." 
 
 1445. "If you see a little red spider, it is called the money spider; and 
 it is the sign of fortune coming to you, if you do not harm it.'' 
 
 1446. When a very small spider drops in front of you, you are going 
 to receive money. 
 
 1447. You will get some money, if a spider is suspended over your head. 
 
 1449. To find a spider on your clothing indicates that you will soon have 
 money. 
 
 1450. Carry a live spider in your pocketbook and you will always have 
 money. 
 
 1451. Catch the spider that is weaving its web in front of you and put it 
 in your purse to secure money. 
 
 1452. "If you wish to thrive, 
 Leave the spider alive." 
 
 1453. "If you wish to live and thrive, 
 Let the spider walk alive." 
 
 1454. "If you want to live and strive. 
 Let the spider go alive." 
 
 1455. "If you wish to live and strive. 
 Let the spider run alive." 
 
 1456. Killing a spider will bring you bad luck. 
 
 1457. Never kill a baby spider, or it will cause you bad luck. 
 
 1458. It is the sign of bad luck to kill a black spider. 
 
 1459. If a spider lets itself down on a thread in front of you and then 
 climbs up the thread again, it is bringing you good luck, provided 
 you do not harm it; but if you kill the spider, you will have bad 
 luck. 
 
 1460. To kill a spider found crawling on your person will cause you 
 bad luck. 
 
 1461. You may exj^ect to have bad luck, if you kill a spider in the house. 
 "Mrs. H. told me she would not kill a spider in the house 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 65 
 
 for one hundred dollars. Said she would always pick them up and 
 put them outdoors. One time she had a good job and the house 
 was full of spiders, and kept killing them. A negro said, 'Don't 
 you know it is bad luck to kill a spider in the house ?' And in two 
 weeks she lost her job." 
 
 1462. If you kill all the spiders in your house, you will never have any 
 luck. You must always keep a few spiders in the house to be 
 
 lucky. "I always put the big spiders out of the door and let 
 
 the little ones stay in to grow, then put them out." 
 
 1463. Never kill a spider at night ; it is bringing you good luck. 
 
 1464. It is a bad omen, if a spider spins its web at night. 
 
 1465. To see a spider weaving its web from the ceiling after dark will 
 cause you bad luck. 
 
 1466. "If you see a spider at night, 
 
 It will bring you joy and delight." 
 
 1467. "If you see a spider in the morning, 
 It is a warning." 
 
 1468. "See a spider in the morn, 
 
 It'll bring you sorrow and harm," 
 
 1469. To have a spider spin a web during the morning is a lucky omen. 
 
 1470. A spider that approaches you very early in the morning is bring- 
 ing you good luck. 
 
 1471. You may expect good luck, if you see a spider weaving its web 
 from the ceiling in the morning. 
 
 1472. Seeing a spider spin its web in the afternoon from the ceiling 
 will cause you bad luck. 
 
 1473. Walk through a spider web and you will be unlucky. 
 
 1474. To have a spider crawling on you is a lucky sign. 
 
 1475. Finding a spider on your clothes means good luck. 
 
 1476. If a spider spins its web downwards in front of you, bad luck will 
 soon follow. 
 
 1477. It is the sign of good luck to find a spider in the house. 
 
 1478. If a spider makes a web in the corner of your room, do not sweep 
 it down, for as long as the web remains you will have good luck ; 
 but if you must clean the web away, destroy it after the spider 
 has gone, and bad luck will not come to you. 
 
 1479. Catch a live black spider and wrap it up in a piece of brown paper, 
 and place this package on the left side of your breast against the 
 skin. Let it remain there until the spider dies and you will have 
 good luck. 
 
 14^. You can secure good luck by carrying a spider in your pocket- 
 book. 
 
66 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 1481. Put in your purse a spider that drops down in front of you, 
 and you will obtain good luck. 
 
 1482. It is lucky to wear a dead sipider in your shoe. 
 
 1483. "If you get a live spider and put it in a piece of paper and put 
 that in your right shoe under the instep, so you cannot mash it; 
 and on the third day look at that spider, and if it is still breathing, 
 you will have excellent luck in whatever you do." 
 
 1484. Wrap up a spider that you have caught crawling on your person 
 and you will be lucky. 
 
 1485. Good luck will come to you, if you wrap up a live spider and keep 
 
 it in your stocking. "I have a negro friend, whenever she 
 
 wants to win anything, she always puts a spider in her stocking. 
 One morning she put a great big spider in her stocking, and do 
 you know, she won ten dollars that day on a lottery ticket." 
 
 1486. "A sporting woman (prostitute) always put a spider in her right 
 stocking, if she finds one, for good luck that day." From a negro 
 •woman zvho used to be a cliarwoman in the old Red Light district. 
 
 BIRDS 
 
 1487. If you touch the eggs in a bird nest, the birds will never return. 
 
 1488. Robbing a bird nest will bring you bad luck. 
 
 1489. You are committing a sin, if you rob a bird's nest. 
 
 1490. Let a birdcage fall to the floor and the bird will not sing again. 
 
 1491. If a bird in a round cage stops singing and leaves its perch, flying 
 around and around the cage, place it in a square cage; for some- 
 times a bird in a round cage will become dizzy. 
 
 1492. You can catch a bird by putting salt on its tail. 
 
 1493. If you catch a wild bird and keep it caged, you will have bad luck. 
 
 1494. Birds circling over the house is a sign of visitors. 
 
 1495. Good fortune is coming to you or to your family, when a number 
 of birds circle above your head. 
 
 1496. If a bird while flying overhead lets droppings fall on you, you 
 
 will take a long journey. "One day I was out in the yard 
 
 and a bird over me dropped something on my thumb. I took a 
 long journey. I went South." 
 
 1497. You will acquire good luck, if you can put salt on a bird's tail. 
 
 1498. A bird that flutters against your windows is bringing you good 
 luck. 
 
 1499. It is a sign of speedy news, when a bird flies against your window. 
 
 1500. To have a bird enter the house means bad luck. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 67 
 
 1501. Bad luck may be expected, if a bird comes into the house through 
 a door. 
 
 1502. You may look for good luck, if a bird flies into your house and 
 then departs through the same entrance by which it entered. 
 
 1503. If a bird enters the house through a window, the first person who 
 sees the bird will have bad luck. 
 
 1504. When a blackbird flies across your path, you may expect to en- 
 counter bad luck before you have reached your destination. 
 
 1505. To see the first bluebird of spring indicates that you are going to 
 have good luck. 
 
 1506. A blue jay coming into your yard is bringing good luck to you. 
 
 1507. A blue jay is never seen on Friday, because on this day each blue 
 jay carries a grain of sand to the devil. 
 
 1508. An old negro said to the white person who supplied the follow- 
 ing information : " 'Did you know that you never see a jay bird on 
 Friday?' I said, 'Why?' He said, 'The jay birds all go to hell 
 on Friday and tell the devil all the meanness you people do us 
 (negroes) through the week'." 
 
 1509. Never keep two canaries in the same room; they will not sing if 
 they see each other. 
 
 1510. A canary that has a wide and forked tail is a good singer. 
 
 1511. Do not sweep in the room where you keep a singing canary, for 
 the dust will injure its throat. 
 
 1512. Catching a stray canary will cause you bad luck. "A friend 
 
 of Airs. S. saw a canary in the yard and she didn't know whether 
 she wanted to catch it or not, because she said it was bad luck 
 to catch a stray canary. It was a very beautiful one, and Mrs. S. 
 said if she didn't catch it, she would. So Mrs. S's friend caught 
 the canary and put it in a cage, and the next day the rack around 
 the room which held all of her china plates fell and broke all of 
 the dishes. And the lady said, 'See, I told you I would have bad 
 luck'. " Written contribution. 
 
 1513. It is a sign of good luck to have cedar waxwings stop in your 
 yard, as they fly to or from the South. 
 
 1514. A crow will be able to talk, if you split its tongue. 
 
 1515. To keep crows from eating seed com when planted or the ripened 
 com, construct a scarecrow and set it up in the field. 
 
 1516. To prevent crows from eating your watermelons, stretch a piece 
 of binding twine across the patch and attach to it pieces of look- 
 ing-glass. The crows will see themselves in the glass and be 
 frightened away. 
 
 1517. Crows (or a "crow's roost") near a house are unlucky. 
 
68 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 1518. Upon seeing crows, interpret the omen as follows: 
 
 "One's unlucky, two's lucky, 
 Three is health, four is wealth. 
 Five is sickness, and six is death." 
 
 1519. It will cause you bad luck to shoot a dove. 
 
 1520. If while standing still you hear a dove call, you will not prosper 
 that year. 
 
 1521. To hear a dove calling while you are going up a hill indicates that 
 you will be successful all year. 
 
 1522. When you hear the first dove coo in the spring, go to the tree 
 where it is and walk around the tree three times ; and the direction 
 toward which the bird's head points will be the way you should 
 travel for good luck. 
 
 1523. A white dove flying above your head is a lucky omen. 
 
 1524. "My brother saw three white doves sitting on the foot of his 
 bed one night, and the next day his team of horses ran away with 
 him and he was sick for a long time. Almost died over it." 
 
 1525. An eagle always carries a lodestone in its mouth and that is why 
 it cannot be shot. From an old Indian. 
 
 1526. If a flock of wild geese comes from the west and shifts northward 
 as it reaches a town, that community will soon become prosperous, 
 
 1527. It is a lucky sign to have a kingfisher in your yard. 
 
 1528. Good luck is coming to you, if a martin builds a nest in your 
 chimney. 
 
 1529. According to an old Irishman: "A negro always thinks because 
 an owl takes its claws and scratches a chicken on the back, when 
 the chicken is sitting on a tree, that the owl is trying to find out 
 if the chicken is fat. The real reason is that the owl can't get a 
 hold of the chicken good when he is sitting on a tree, so he 
 scratches its back so it will scare the chicken so the chicken will 
 flap its wings and start to fly. Then the owl will get a good hold 
 on so he can carry the chicken to his nest." 
 
 1530. "Out on north Thirty-sixth Street years ago a German was plow- 
 ing out in the field. Did not go in to supper. An old owl that was 
 sitting in a tree was hollering, 'Make another round. Make another 
 round.' He thought the man at the house was hollering for him 
 to keep on plowing. So when it got dark the farmer went out to 
 see why the man did not come to supper. He said, 'You kept 
 hollering for me to make another round, and I did.' Then they 
 found out that an old owl in the tree was doing the hollering." 
 
 1531. You can stop an owl's hooting by turning a brass kettle upside 
 down. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 69 
 
 1532. An owl will cease its hooting, if you drop a hatpin into the 
 chimney of a lighted lamp. 
 
 1533. To make a screech owl stop calling, burn some salt on the stove. 
 
 1534. The hooting of an owl can be stopped, if you take off your shoes 
 and cross one of them over the other. 
 
 1535. Remove your left shoe and turn it upside down, and an owl will 
 quit hooting. 
 
 1536. "Whenever an owl goes to hollering, I always put a shovel in the 
 stove and when it gets hot the owl will stop." 
 
 1537. There will be trouble of some sort, if you hear a screech owl cal- 
 ling at night. "You might find a streak of grey hair in your 
 
 head next morning, the cat dead, or almost anything." 
 
 1538. Some member of your family will have an accident, if an owl 
 hoots at midnight. 
 
 1539. To hear an owl hoot at night always means bad luck. 
 
 1540. If an owl hoots while sitting on a fence, bad luck may be expected. 
 
 1541. Imitating the hoot of an owl will cause you bad luck. 
 
 1542. Bad news will follow the hooting of an owl. "I never hear 
 
 an owl hoot unless I hear bad news. Some years ago I was visit- 
 ing out in the country and I heard an old owl hoot for three nights 
 in succession. I said to the folks where I was, T am going to get 
 bad news.' And the next day the mailman brought me three letters 
 and in each letter they were telling me of a death in Quincy." 
 
 1543. Keeping a green parrot in the house will bring you bad luck. 
 
 1544. If you have a parrot that curses, you can break this habit by 
 holding the bird by its feet and dousing it up and down in water. 
 
 1545. If a peewee comes and calls once only near your house, it is the 
 sign of approaching trouble. 
 
 1546. Touch quail eggs and the bird will not return to the nest. 
 
 1547. Some say that the song of the quail is, "Bob white, bob white;" 
 whereas others beHeve it to be, "Wheat ripe, wheat ripe." 
 
 1548. Killing a rain crow will cause you bad luck. 
 
 1549. The first redbird that you see in the spring is bringing good luck 
 to you. 
 
 1550. To hear a redbird sing in the morning indicates that you are going 
 to have good luck. 
 
 1551. When a redbird enters your yard and sings, you may look for 
 
 good luck. "One day a redbird came to our yard and stayed 
 
 around all summer. I just had more work than I could do. One 
 day that bird got hurt and died. I lost my job right after that and 
 had nothing but bad luck." 
 
 1552. You will have bad luck if a redbird flies across the road in front 
 of you. 
 
70 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 1553. If a redbird crosses your path, you are going to receive a letter. 
 
 1554. It is the sign of company to have a redbird sing near your door. 
 
 1555. Unexpected visitors will come to your house, if you see a redbird 
 in the yard. 
 
 1556. To see a redbird is the sign that you will meet someone whom 
 you are not expecting. 
 
 1557. You will experience a disappointment on the day that you see a 
 redbird in your yard. 
 
 1558. A redbird fiying into your house means that your house is going 
 to burn. 
 
 1559. When a robin's nest contains three eggs, and three birds hatch, 
 the parents will push one of the birds out of the nest to perish; 
 because they will raise only two young ones. 
 
 1560. It is very unlucky to kill a robin. 
 
 1561. If you see a robin in the morning, someone will visit you that day. 
 
 1562. When a robin is seen, stamp it for luck. 
 
 1563. You are going to have good luck, if a robin builds its nest near 
 your house. 
 
 1564. A sparrow may be caught by sprinkling salt on its tail. 
 
 1565. Carry the breastbone of a sparrow in your pocket and you will 
 never be without money. 
 
 1566. During the month of August take a young sparrow from a nest 
 and in its stomach you will find a stone. Wrap this stone in a 
 linen handkerchief and wear it under your left arm and you will 
 be protected agamst slander. It will also give you an interesting 
 personality. 
 
 1567. Boil the heart of a swallow in milk and carry it on your person 
 and you can remember anything you hear. 
 
 1568. It is the sign of good luck to hear while walking down a hill the 
 first turtledove of spring. 
 
 1569. If while going down a hill you hear the first turtledove of the year, 
 you will go down hill all year. 
 
 1570. To hear while walking up a hill the first turtledove of the season 
 means that you will have good luck. 
 
 1571. To kill a whippoorwill will bring you bad luck. 
 
 1572. "When you hear the first whippoorwill holler in the spring, if 
 you have your hand on money you will have money all year. 
 Every spring I carry a piece of money, if it is only a dime, so 
 when I hear the first whippoorwill I can put my hand on that 
 money, so I will have money all year." 
 
 1573. Pat your pocketbook when you hear the first whippoorwill of 
 spring and you will secure money. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 71 
 
 1574. Open and look into your purse when you hear the call of the first 
 whippoorwill of the year and you will get some money. 
 
 1575. It is very lucky to have woodpeckers near your house. 
 
 1576. If a woodpecker knocks on a tree near your house, a visitor will 
 soon knock at your door. 
 
 1577. To have a woodpecker tap on your house is the sign of sickness. 
 
 1578. Wrens will not enter a wren-house during the first year it is set 
 up, but only on the second year. 
 
 1579. If you kill a wren, you will have bad luck. 
 
 FROGS-TOADS-SALAMANDERS-SNAKES-TURTLES 
 
 1580. Frogs sometimes drop from the sky during a rain. 
 
 1581. If while drinking at a spring you swallow a tadpole, it will develop 
 into a frog in your stomach. 
 
 1582. Kill a toad and your cows will go dry. 
 
 1583. If you kill a toad or frog, the milk from your cows will be bloody. 
 
 "When we were on the farm I would not kill a frog for 
 
 anything, for I did not want the milk to be bloody." 
 
 1584. Never kill a frog (or toad?) near milking time, or your cows will 
 give bloody milk. 
 
 1585. Throw a toad into a pond and bloody milk will be given by your 
 cows. 
 
 1586. You will stump your toe and stumble, if you kill a toad. 
 
 1587. After you have killed a toad, your house will catch afire. 
 
 1588. It is very unlucky to kill a toad. 
 
 1589. You can secure good luck by carrying the jawbone of a tree toad. 
 
 1590. Dry the breast of a tree frog and carry it wrapped up in paper 
 inside your pocket and you will always have good luck. 
 
 1591. The croaking of a frog at midnight on a battlefield will be fol- 
 lowed by a battle within three days. 
 
 1592. Salamanders (itwariably called "lizards") are poisonous. 
 
 1593. If you kill a lizard (salamander) that lives at a spring, the spring 
 will dry up. 
 
 1594. Snakes awake in the spring when they hear the first thunder. 
 
 1595. Poisonous snakes are born alive, non-poisonous snakes are hatched 
 from eggs. 
 
 1596. A snake will eat once a month only. 
 
 1597. If you cut up a certain kind of snake, the pieces will unite again 
 and the snake will crawl away. 
 
 1598. A hoop-snake takes its tail in its mouth, and forming a circle or 
 
72 Memoirs of the Alum Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 wheel, will in this fashion travel along the ground. Its usual 
 custom is to roll clown a hill ; and in so doing, if it hits and sticks 
 its tail into a tree, the tree will die. 
 
 1599. A snake will swallow her young in times of danger, and when 
 the danger has passed, the small snakes will crawl out of the 
 mother's belly. This is said to be especially true of black snakes. 
 
 1600. A "snake doctor" (dragon fly) will warn a snake, if danger is 
 near. 
 
 1601. The last part of a snake to die is its tail. 
 
 1602. A snake when killed will not die until sundown. 
 
 1603. Kill a snake during the mating season and its mate will come to 
 the body. 
 
 1604. A snake charms its victim before striking. 
 
 1605. A blue racer, said an old farmer, will always attack a man before 
 it runs. Many years ago while cutting corn down on Mill Creek 
 he happened to glance up and saw a blue racer resting on a nearby 
 hedge. Knowing what to expect, he held his corn knife in readi- 
 ness. The snake made a lunge at him through the air, but missing 
 its aim, glided away among the weeds. A blue racer will always do 
 this, said the old farmer. 
 
 1606. A snake will wrap itself around a woman's leg. This habit 
 
 in snakes is confined to tales dating from pioneer days. 
 
 1607. A rattlesnake will never strike a small child. A dairyman out in 
 Melrose Township said that he had some friends years ago who 
 one day found their small child playing with a rattlesnake. They 
 were not frightened, because they knew about this old saying; 
 but the snake slipped away as soon as it saw the parents. 
 
 1608. "If a snake bites you in June, the place will turn spotted the 
 same time next year. My uncle was snake bitten in June bad, and 
 every year he turns spotted in June at the same time." 
 
 1609. If you are bitten by a green snake, you will die. 
 
 1610. Let the first thing that you eat on Easter be a green onion and 
 you will not be harmed by snakes that year. 
 
 1611. To protect yourself against snakes at night, make a circle of 
 horsehair ; for a snake will not pass over horsehair. 
 
 1612. "If you are out camping and are afraid of snakes, if you will take 
 a rope and lay it around the tent, a snake will not crawl over it." 
 
 1613. Burn old rubber to keep snakes away. 
 
 1614. Snakes will not enter a garden where gourds are growing, for 
 they do not like the smell of gourds. 
 
 1615. Bloody milk from a cow means that she has been sucked by a 
 
 snake. A woman had a cow and sold milk to customers in 
 
 the neighborhood. One day a little girl came to report that her 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 73 
 
 mother would no longer buy the milk, because it was bloody. So 
 the owner, who had been unaware of this trouble, tested separately 
 each of the cow's udders and discovered that two of them were 
 giving bloody milk. Then she knew that her cow was being sucked 
 by a snake. Eventually she had to have the cow killed, for a cow 
 is never any good after a snake has been sucking her. 
 
 1616. When your cow gives bloody milk, it is a sign that she has been 
 
 sucked by a black snake. "We sure did have a time with the 
 
 black snakes when we were on the farm. The cows sure do like 
 the snakes to suck them. Would rather have a snake any day than 
 
 a calf to suck." Another person said, "We had a cow years 
 
 ago that let a black snake suck her all the time. She would not 
 come home to be milked." 
 
 1617. Never kill a snake that has sucked a cow, or the cow will go dry. 
 
 1618. There is a long, slim, bluish snake with glassy eyes (not a blue 
 racer), which is called a "milk snake," because it sucks a cow. A 
 cow will become so attached to this snake that she will hold back 
 her milk at night. 
 
 1619. Snakes are fond of cow's milk. A woman who found a snake 
 
 in her dairy house emptied ten large crocks of milk because she 
 thought the snake had been drinking some of it. 
 
 1620. Put a horsehair inside a bottle of water and it will eventually turn 
 into a snake. 
 
 1621. A hair from a horse's tail when placed in a barrel of rain water 
 will soon change into a living snake. 
 
 1622. If a hair from the tail of a grey horse is dropped into rain water, 
 it will gradually become a snake. 
 
 1623. During a dry year you will see "lots and lots" of snakes. 
 
 1624. Keep rattles from a rattlesnake in a violin and the instrument will 
 play much better. 
 
 1625. To see five snakes at one time indicates trouble in the family. 
 
 "One day I went somewhere and I saw five snakes. When I got 
 home I told my mother-in-law and she said, 'Oh, I am so sorry, 
 for that is trouble in the family.' And it was no time until my 
 husband and I separated." 
 
 1626. A snake crawling into your tent on the battle grounds denotes that 
 enemies are near you. 
 
 1627. A snake killed is an enemy conquered. 
 
 1628. If you kill the first snake of the season, you will overcome your 
 worst enemy. 
 
 1629. Kill a snake in May and you will subdue your enemies for twelve 
 months. 
 
74 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 1630. It brings good luck to kill the first snake that you see during the 
 spring. 
 
 1631. KilHng a snake will bring you sorrow. 
 
 1632. Kill a snake when you see one or you will have bad luck. 
 
 "Years ago I was working for a man for seven long years and we 
 got along fuie until one day his brother and wife came to see him. 
 Several days after they were there I went out the front door and 
 a big black snake was lying across the path. I said to his brother, 
 'Will you kill that snake for me?' And he did. I lost my job 
 that week. If I had of killed that snake I would of conquered my 
 enemies and got to stay, but the brother and wife got to stay 
 over me letting him kill the snake." 
 
 1633. It is lucky to kill three snakes on the same day. 
 
 1634. Catch a large rattlesnake, the older the better, and remove its 
 rattles. Carry these rattles on your person in a small bag and you 
 will never meet bad luck. 
 
 1635. A rattlesnake rattle carried in your pocketbook will give good 
 luck to you. 
 
 1636. Keep a black snake in the yard for luck. 
 
 1637. You may expect to have bad luck, if a snake crosses your path. 
 
 1638. To avert bad luck, after a snake has crawled across your path, 
 
 stop and look at the sun for a minute or two. "Whenever 
 
 my grandma would have a snake to cross her path, she would 
 always turn and look at the sun to keep her from having bad 
 luck." 
 
 1639. Never pick up a snake skin that you see during the spring, or 
 you will have a lot of trouble. 
 
 1640. A turtle when killed will not die until sundown. 
 
 1641. It is unlucky to kill a turtle, if you yourself do not intend to eat it. 
 
 1642. If a turtle bites your finger, it will not let go until there is thunder. 
 
 1643. Carry turtle bones in your pocket and you can secure good luck. 
 
 POULTRY AND EGGS 
 
 1644. "If you buy some chickens and want them to stay home, cut off 
 the end of their tails and burn the feathers so the wind can't carry 
 them away; for if the wind takes the feathers, your chickens will 
 fly away too and will not stay home." 
 
 1645. "Another way to keep chickens home, when you buy them, is to 
 cut the end of their tails oflf and burn the feathers; then take the 
 chickens to the chimney and rub it against the chimney, then turn 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 75 
 
 the chicken over three times and turn it loose, and it will not 
 go away." 
 
 1646. If your rooster is whipped by a neighbor's rooster, your chickens 
 will not thrive. 
 
 1647. To have chickens free from disease, feed them corn that has been 
 soaked in chamber lye. 
 
 1648. For white diarrhea, drop a piece of iron into the water that 
 chickens drink and also let them eat corn which has been saturated 
 in chamber lye. 
 
 1649. A woman bought five chickens, four of which soon died, and the 
 remaining one became sick. She went to the henhouse and said, 
 "Now God never put any sickness on anything. Everything is 
 perfect." Within several days the chicken was well. 
 
 1650. If a hawk is flying about, throw a horseshoe into the fire and 
 leave it there until hot ; and the bird's claws will become so clin- 
 ched that it will be unable to capture your chickens. 
 
 1651. Place one horseshoe in the fire and another under the doorstep 
 so that hawks will not molest your chickens. 
 
 1652. Putting a round rock in a fire will draw up a hawk's claws so 
 that it cannot seize your chickens. 
 
 1653. There will not be any lice or mites on your chickens, if you clean 
 the henhouse on Ash Wednesday. 
 
 1654. Scatter ashes in your henhouse on Ash Wednesday before sunrise 
 and your chickens will never have any lice. 
 
 1655. Dust your henhouse with ashes on "Green Thursday" (Maundy 
 Thursday) and the chickens will not get any lice that year. 
 
 1656. Your chickens will not catch lice, if you hang a banana stock in 
 the center of your henhouse. 
 
 1657. "If you will put a piece of sassafras under a setting hen, the 
 chicken lice will just scoot away and leave the hen." 
 
 1658. Hit a hen on the back and she will lay an egg. 
 
 1659. Feed ground bones to chickens to make them lay. 
 
 1660. You can make chickens lay by feeding them baked egg shells. 
 
 1661. Chickens will lay if given ground egg shells. 
 
 1662. Too much grit given to chickens will cause blood in the eggs. 
 
 1663. Give raw meat to chickens, to make them lay. A woman 
 
 always chopped up the crows that were killed on the farm and 
 fed them to her chickens. 
 
 1664. Hens will not lay near a potato patch. 
 
 1665. "Eggs are seventy percent water. If chickens have plenty of clear 
 fresh water, they are bound to lay." 
 
 1666. Thirsty hens cannot lay many eggs. 
 
76 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 1667. Hens that are compelled to drink ice water will not do well in 
 layinj^. 
 
 1668. Chickens will not lay on a windy day. 
 
 1669. You can cure a hen of eating eggs by cutting off the end of her 
 beak. 
 
 1670. A hen will not eat her own eggs, if you burn the shells after using 
 her eggs. 
 
 1671. Pick a small hole in an egg and insert black and red pepper. This 
 will teach a hen not to eat eggs. 
 
 1672. If you boil the egg that a pullet lays, she will not sit that year. 
 
 1673. To prevent a broody hen from sitting, tie a red string around 
 her leg. 
 
 1674. A brooding hen will not sit, if you tie a red string around her tail. 
 
 1675. Tie a red string around a broody hen's neck and she will not sit. 
 
 1676. Prevent a hen from sitting by putting her in a crate which has a 
 slat bottom. 
 
 1677. You can keep a hen from sitting by placing her head under her 
 wing and ducking her three times into a tub of water. 
 
 1678. You will have bad luck with the eggs, if you count your chickens 
 before they are hatched. 
 
 1679. Never set a hen on an even number of eggs, or you will not be 
 successful with the "hatching." 
 
 1680. Use thirteen eggs to a setting for luck. 
 
 1681. Always set a hen on fifteen eggs and they will hatch well. 
 
 1682. Write someone's name on each egg of a setting and every egg will 
 hatch. 
 
 1683. Eggs will hatch well, if when setting them the name of some 
 prosperous person is written on each egg. 
 
 1684. If you do not handle eggs as gently as possible, they will not hatch. 
 
 1685. If it thunders while eggs are being hatched, every egg will be 
 ruined. 
 
 1686. To prevent thunder from harming a setting of eggs, keep an empty 
 jug near the nest. The thunder will enter the jug and not jar the 
 eggs. 
 
 1687. A woman who formerly lived near Marblehead said that she could 
 not raise chickens there, because the blasting at the lime kiln 
 quarries always destroyed the eggs. 
 
 1688. If a hen is sitting in a bam and the barn door slams, the eggs 
 will not hatch. 
 
 1689. Eggs will not hatch if they are carried across water. 
 
 1690. If you set an egg that has two yolks, a twin chicken will be 
 hatched; but it will live only a few days. 
 
 1691. When a chicken is killed and she contains a mature egg, set it; 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 77 
 
 and the chicken that is hatched will have feathers lying in the 
 opposite direction from those of a normal hen. 
 
 1692. If you set a hen in the sign of the "bowels," the chickens hatched 
 will have bowel trouble. 
 
 1693. Set your eggs so that they will hatch in the light of the moon and 
 you will secure more chickens. 
 
 1694. You will have fine chickens, if the eggs are set in the light of 
 the moon. 
 
 1695. Set a hen at sunrise in the light of the moon and all the eggs will 
 hatch. 
 
 1696. If eggs are set so that they hatch in the new moon, the young 
 chickens will grow quickly. 
 
 1697. Chickens that are hatched in the dark of the moon will not thrive. 
 
 1698. Set a hen in the dark of the moon and half of the chickens hatched 
 will be deformed. 
 
 1699. You will have good luck with eggs, if you set a hen in the 
 morning. 
 
 1700. The best time to set a hen for a good hatch is exactly at noon. 
 
 1701. Set a hen in the afternoon and you will have bad luck with the 
 eggs. 
 
 1702. Every &gg of a setting will hatch, if they are set after sundown. 
 
 1703. If a hen is set when the wind is in the east, the chickens hatched 
 from the eggs will stand about chirping all the time and not 
 do well. 
 
 1704. Set a hen when the wind is in the south and she will hatch three 
 days sooner. 
 
 1705. A hen set on Sunday, provided the wind is in the north, will hatch 
 all the eggs. 
 
 1706. You will be unfortunate with the eggs, if you set a hen on Sunday. 
 
 1707. The first broody hen of the season should be set on Monday for 
 good luck. 
 
 1708. A brood will be successful, if you set your hen on Monday. 
 
 1709. Set a hen on Friday and she will bring you crosses to bear. 
 
 1710. If you set a hen on Ash Wednesday, each of the chickens hatched 
 will be of a color different from the rest. 
 
 1711. Eggs set on Good Friday will produce varicolored chickens. 
 
 1712. To secure a good hatch of chickens, set the eggs on the 6th or 7th 
 of any month. 
 
 1713. The chickens hatching from eggs laid and set in June will die. 
 
 1714. Chickens hatched in June will sleep all the time. 
 
 1715. To obtain chickens in June, set the hen so that the eggs will hatch 
 in the light of the moon; for if the chicks come out in the dark of 
 the moon, they will sleep themselves to death. 
 
78 Mcinoirs of the Alum Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 1716. A chicken hatched during the spring will lay every other day. 
 
 1717. If a chicken is hatched in the autumn, she will lay every day. 
 
 1718. If you want to know whether you will raise pullets or roosters 
 during the year, watch to see who enters your house first on New 
 Year's Day; if a woman, your chickens will be pullets; but if a 
 man, you may expect roosters. 
 
 1719. To ascertain whether eggs will hatch roosters or hens, tie a gold 
 ring on a string and hold it above one e.gg at a time. If the ring 
 swings back and forth over the egg, it will be a rooster; but if the 
 ring remains still, a hen will come from the egg. 
 
 1720. Candle an t-gg and if the air space is on the side, it will hatch 
 a hen. 
 
 1721. When a candled egg has the air space on top, a rooster will be 
 hatched. 
 
 1722. Set round eggs and they will hatch pullets. 
 
 1723. If you set long-pointed eggs, roosters will be hatched. 
 
 1734. Place a setting of eggs under the hen with your left hand and you 
 will have pullets. 
 
 1725. If you put eggs under a sitting hen with your right hand, you 
 will secure roosters. 
 
 1726. You can procure pullets from eggs by carrying them to the nest 
 in your apron. 
 
 1727. When you want roosters, carry the setting eggs to the nest in 
 a man's hat. 
 
 1728. Set eggs before sunrise and they will hatch pullets. 
 
 1729. Pullets will be hatched from the eggs, if a hen is set any time dur- 
 ing the morning. 
 
 1730. A hen must be set in the morning before eleven o'clock to produce 
 pullets. 
 
 1731. If a hen is set in the morning, only roosters will come from eggs. 
 
 1732. Eggs set in the afternoon will hatch roosters. 
 
 1733. Set a hen in the evening and pullets will be hatched. 
 
 1734. To raise roosters, set the hen after the sun goes down. 
 
 1735. To learn whether little chickens will be roosters or pullets, hold 
 each of them up by the feet, letting the head hang down; and if 
 it is a rooster, he will bend his head upwards until it meets his 
 feet; but if it is a pullet, she will lie absolutely still. 
 
 1736. Soak an egg in vinegar and you can put it in a narrow-necked 
 bottle. 
 
 1737. Attempt to spin an egg and you can tell whether it is boiled or 
 raw. If it spins, the egg is boiled; but if it does not spin, it is a 
 raw egg. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 79 
 
 1738. Do not beat an egg on the day it is laid, for it can be beaten better 
 the next day. 
 
 1739. Beating an egg the same day it is laid will cause you bad luck. 
 
 1740. The last egg a hen lays is very small. You must break it at once, 
 because keeping or eating this egg will bring you bad luck. 
 
 1741. You will have bad luck, if you find a soft-shelled egg. 
 
 1742. To avert bad luck when you find a soft-shelled egg, throw it 
 over the house. 
 
 1743. Bringing eggs into the house after dark is unlucky. 
 
 1744. If you carry eggs out of the house after dark, you may look for 
 bad luck. 
 
 1745. Count eggs on Sunday and you will be unlucky. 
 
 1746. A black chicken always has a pale white skin. 
 
 1747. Black chickens have a coarser meat than that of other chickens. 
 
 1748. If you kill a chicken and let it die in your hand, you will have 
 bad luck. 
 
 1749. When you wring off a chicken's head, never let it die in your hand, 
 or bad luck will befall you. 
 
 1750. It is very unlucky to kill a chicken by wringing its neck. Always 
 chop off the head. 
 
 1751. Jerk some feathers from the back of a chicken's head, just before 
 
 killing it, and it will not flop. This practice is usual at a 
 
 certain place in Quincy where chickens are killed. 
 
 1752. Keep a black frizzly chicken in your yard and you will never have 
 bad luck. 
 
 1753. Bad luck may be expected, if a grey chicken scratches under your 
 window. 
 
 1754. A chicken crossing your path will bring you bad luck. 
 
 1755. If a chicken runs across your path, return home and count ten 
 before starting out again and bad luck will be averted. 
 
 1756. Do not leave home on that day upon which your rooster fails to 
 crow before daybreak, for great danger lies ahead of you and 
 maybe death. 
 
 1757. It is an unlucky omen to hear a general cackling among hens. 
 
 1758. A crowing hen is the sign of bad luck. 
 
 1759. Unless you kill a crowing hen immediately, you will have bad 
 
 luck. "If a chicken crows early in the morning, kill her right 
 
 away and you will not have bad luck. We had a hen that just kept 
 crowing early one morning. My mother said we should kill her 
 and my father said, 'Oh, let her live. There is nothing to that 
 old saying.' And we didn't kill her. It was not a week until my 
 father had a stroke and we had nothing but trouble for years. 
 
80 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 My mother said if another hen would ever crow again early in the 
 morning, it would not live." 
 
 1760. When a rooster crows near your door, he is bringing bad luck. 
 
 1761. A rooster crowing on your doorstep on Sunday will cause bad 
 luck in the family. 
 
 1762. If a rooster crows while standing on your doorstep on Sunday 
 morning, you can prevent bad luck by killing the rooster at once. 
 
 1763. When a rooster goes crowing to roost, you may look for bad luck 
 in the family. 
 
 1764. It is a bad omen to have a rooster crow at night. 
 
 1765. Hearing a rooster crow before midnight is an unlucky sign. 
 
 1766. The crowing of a rooster at night, except during the Christmas 
 season, is a bad luck sign. 
 
 1767. There will be hasty news, if a rooster crows at noon. 
 
 1768. A rooster's crowing in the afternoon means that you will hear 
 speedy news. 
 
 1769. Unexpected news will be heard, if a rooster crows at dusk. 
 
 1770. If about dusk a rooster crows three times at your door, you can 
 look for unexpected news. 
 
 1771. It is the sign of bad news to hear a rooster crowing about dusk. 
 
 1772. Bad news will come, if a rooster crows before midnight. 
 
 1773. If a rooster crows three times and looks at you each time, you 
 will get a letter from a friend. 
 
 1774. A rooster crowing before midnight is the sign of a fire. 
 
 1775. There will be a fire, if a rooster crows at midnight. 
 
 1776. The crowing of a rooster early in the morning indicates that you 
 are going to have company. 
 
 1777. A rooster's crowing before breakfast means that you will have 
 visitors before supper. 
 
 1778. When a rooster crows before breakfast, you may look for guests 
 before bedtime. 
 
 1779. Someone will come, if a rooster crows on your front porch. 
 
 1780. Company can be expected, when a rooster comes to the porch and 
 crows three times. 
 
 1781. There will be an increase in the family, if a rooster turns towards 
 the door and crows. 
 
 1782. If a rooster crows in your door during the morning, you will have 
 company before the day is gone. 
 
 1783. A rooster crowing in your door foretells the coming of a stranger. 
 
 1784. Visitors are coming, when a rooster crows in front of your door. 
 
 1785. The crowing of a rooster in the front door will bring a welcome 
 guest. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 81 
 
 1786. Expect the arrival of guests, if a rooster crows before the front 
 door. 
 
 1787. Someone is coming into the family, if a rooster looks in at the 
 door and crows. 
 
 1788. If a rooster crows while looking out the door, someone will leave 
 the family. 
 
 1789. You are going to have company, if a rooster approaches your 
 door and crows three times. 
 
 17*90. If a rooster enters the house and begins to crow while you are 
 taking him out, you will have company that day. 
 
 1791. It is the sign that a man is coming to see you, if a rooster crows 
 in your back yard. 
 
 1792. Prepare for the arrival of a caller, if a rooster jumps upon a 
 fence and crows. 
 
 1793. You may look for a welcome visitor, if a rooster sits on a fence 
 and crows while looking toward the house. 
 
 1794. If a rooster on a fence crows when his head is turned away from 
 the house, you are going to have an unwelcome guest. 
 
 1795. A large amount of company will come, if chickens gather on the 
 porch. 
 
 1796. When two hens fight, you may look for the arrival of two women. 
 
 1797. Two old women will come to your house, if you see two old hens 
 fighting. 
 
 1798. A fight between two roosters is the sign that a man is coming. 
 
 1799. If you set a duck in the light of the moon, all eggs will hatch at 
 one time. 
 
 1800. Set a duck in the early part of a dark moon and you will be 
 compelled to help each duckling out of its shell. 
 
 1801. If there is thunder while a duck is sitting, not an egg will hatch. 
 
 1802. Thunder will ruin a setting of goose eggs, if they are in a nest oflF 
 the ground. 
 
 1803. "When I was on the farm I always set my hen and goose eggs 
 on the ground so when it thundered it would not hurt them." 
 
 1804. Thunder on Sunday will spoil a setting of goose eggs. 
 
 1805. Goose eggs will not hatch, if there has been any thunder in 
 February. 
 
 1806. To prevent lightning and thunder from harming your goose eggs 
 during the spring, you must place iron around the nest. 
 
 1807. Pick geese while the moon is shining and you will secure more 
 feathers, 
 
 1808. Passing a flock of geese on the road will bring you good luck. 
 
 1809. Never touch guinea eggs or the guineas will change their nest. 
 
82 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 1810. If you collect a guinea's eggs, always remove them from the nest 
 with a spoon and the guinea will not desert her nest. 
 
 1811. A guinea hen will always warn you of the presence of strangers. 
 
 1812. To hear a peacock crying in the night is the sign that you are 
 
 going to have trouhle. "Years ago a girl heard a peacock 
 
 crying all night, just two weeks before she was to be married. 
 She said, 'I am sure going to have some trouble.' And her beau 
 took sick three days before they were to be married and died." 
 
 1813. Whenever a peacock looks down and sees his ugly feet, he always 
 holds his feathers down to hide them. 
 
 1814. A pigeon flying into the house is bringing bad luck. 
 
 1815. Touch pigeon eggs and the pigeon will not return to the nest. 
 
 1816. If you merely touch the nest in which a turkey lays her eggs, 
 she will leave the nest and make another one. 
 
 1817. Remove the eggs with a spoon and a turkey will not abandon her 
 nest. 
 
 1818. In setting a turkey, put an iron hoop around her nest and thunder 
 will not kill the eggs before they hatch. 
 
 1819. A turkey with short claws is the sign that its meat will be tender. 
 
 1820. Long claws in a turkey indicate that its meat will be tough. 
 
 ANIMALS IN GENERAL 
 
 1821. "If you want to make your young stock dapple, take and put a 
 piece of elder stick about twelve inches long in their drinking 
 water and all your calves and colts will be dapple. I knew a man 
 that all of his horses were black, and he put a piece of elder stick 
 twelve inches long in their drinking water and when his colts 
 come they were black and white. Very pretty." 
 
 1822. Twins and triplets among animals are the result of two or three 
 coverings respectively. 
 
 1823. "Many people believe that the only time to castrate or alter an 
 animal is when the sign is on Scorpio or the secret parts, that the 
 animal will surely die if altered at any other time." Written 
 contribution. 
 
 1824. A good time to wean an animal is somewhere about the sign of 
 the "knee." 
 
 1825. Animals should be weaned on the decline of the moon. 
 
 1826. Give whiskey to an animal and its growth will be stopped. 
 
 1827. Never enter a barn during a storm ; animals draw lightning. 
 
 1828. All cows will kneel on Christmas Eve at midnight. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 83 
 
 1829. Animals will get on their knees and pray at midnight on Christ- 
 mas Eve. "I know this is so, for one Christmas Eve years 
 
 ago when I was living on a farm, I invited some people to my 
 house that did not believe that animals prayed at midnight on 
 Christmas Eve. And just at twelve o'clock all the horses, cows, 
 pigs and sheep on the place came up in the barn lot and got down 
 on their knees and looked up in the sky. They were praying. 
 And those people believed that animals pray after that." 
 
 1830. Animals can talk to spirits on Christmas Eve at midnight. 
 
 1831. Talk to animals at midnight on New Year's Eve and they will 
 understand you. 
 
 1832. Go to the cow shed on New Year's Eve at midnight and you will 
 find the cows on their knees in prayer. 
 
 1833. Some people claim a special gift by which they can stop the flow 
 of blood in animals. 
 
 1834. "If you don't want your cattle in the barn to be sick, take a file 
 and make three crosses in the doorsill that they walk under. My 
 brother had a barn full of stock and they were all sick. My sister 
 heard him talking about getting a new horse one day, so when 
 he started for the horse, she didn't tell him but she got a file and 
 went to the barn and make three crosses in the doorsill where that 
 horse would go under, and that horse was never sick." 
 
 1835. "When we lived out on the farm, my father had lots of horses 
 and cattle, and he always kept a goat running with his stock and 
 we never had any diseases." 
 
 1836. Your live stock will be healthy, if the stable is covered with 
 cobwebs. 
 
 1837. Keep pennyroyal in your stable and flies will not molest the stock. 
 
 1838. You will have bad luck, if you let an animal die in your hand. 
 
 1839. Spit over your finger when you see a dead animal to prevent 
 having bad luck. 
 
 1840. It is a sin to drink the blood of any animal. Always let the blood 
 of the slaughtered animal run onto the ground. 
 
 BATS 
 
 1841. A bat is full of bedbugs. 
 
 1842. A bat resting on your head will not let go until there is thunder. 
 
 1843. A bat will fly into a woman's hair and it cannot be removed until 
 the hair has been cut oflF. 
 
 1844. Killing a bat will bring you bad luck. 
 
84 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 1845. It is the sign of bad luck to have a bat fly into the house. 
 
 1846. When a bat enters the house after dark, someone in that house 
 will not be there on the following night. 
 
 1847. Carry the heart of a bat on your person and you will be successful 
 in everything that you do. 
 
 MOLES 
 
 1848. Moles are blind. 
 
 1849. Sprinkle garlic and sulphur at an entrance to a mole's run and 
 the animal will come out of the hole. 
 
 1850. Rats will not remain in a cellar where there is a mole. 
 
 1851. "If you want to catch a mole, always try in the morning between 
 five and six, eleven and twelve at noon, and five and six in the 
 evening; they are the hours they do their work. To catch them 
 you must put your spade about twelve or eighteen inches back of 
 where they are working, for when they hear you, they always 
 turn back." 
 
 1852. Hold a live mole in your hand just as high as you can over your 
 right shoulder, then squeeze the animal until it is dead, and you 
 will always have money. 
 
 RODENTS 
 
 1853. Scatter peppermint sprigs about the house to keep away mice. 
 
 1854. If you see a prairie dog go down into his hole three times, he will 
 go down a fourth time and bring up a rattlesnake. From an old 
 Indian. 
 
 1855. Rabbits have young every month except February. 
 
 1856. If you touch baby rabbits in the nest, the parents will forsake 
 them. 
 
 1857. The male rabbit will kill male baby rabbits when they are bom. 
 
 "The farmer that brings us butter told me the other day 
 
 that a male rabbit always kills the male rabbits when they are 
 born. We had six little rabbits bom this month and the next day 
 the male killed the four best ones and left two little weak ones. 
 This farmer said I would find out that the two left were females." 
 Written contrihution. 
 
 1858. Rabbits are not good to eat until after the first snow. 
 
 1859. To catch a rabbit put salt on its tail. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 85 
 
 1860. Kill for luck the first rabbit that you see in the winter. 
 
 1861. As long as you carry the ear of a jack rabbit in your pocket, you 
 will have good luck. 
 
 1862. Carry a rabbit foot for luck. 
 
 1863. The left hind foot of a rabbit will bring you luck, if carried on 
 
 your person. The left hind foot is sometimes called the 
 
 "fourth pazv." 
 
 1864. Wear a rabbit foot around your neck and it will cause you good 
 luck. 
 
 1865. To have good luck, carry the left hind foot of a rabbit that you 
 have caught (or shot) at midnight in a graveyard. 
 
 1866. Kill a rabbit in the light of the moon and hang one of its feet 
 about your neck for good luck. 
 
 1867. If you have killed a rabbit, carry its right front foot and you will 
 be lucky. 
 
 1868. Carry on your watch chain a front foot of a rabbit that has been 
 killed by you and good luck will come to you. 
 
 1869. Keep in your pocket the left front foot of a rabbit that you have 
 killed and it will bring you good luck. 
 
 1870. If you think that you are going to get into trouble, rub a rabbit 
 foot over your head three times while making a wish to avert the 
 misfortune ; then return the rabbit foot to your pocket. 
 
 1871. If you carry a rabbit foot in your pocketbook, you will never be 
 without money. 
 
 1872. You can always have money by carrying in your purse the left 
 hind leg of a rabbit which you yourself have killed. 
 
 1873. It is an unlucky omen to have a rabbit run across your path. 
 
 1874. To avert bad luck when a rabbit crosses the road in front of you, 
 you must return home and begin your journey again. 
 
 1875. Bad luck can be avoided, if a rabbit has crossed your path, by 
 spitting. 
 
 1876. You will have bad luck, if a rabbit runs from right to left across 
 the road in front of you. 
 
 1877. To prevent bad luck when a rabbit crosses your path by running 
 from right to left, jerk a hair out of your head. 
 
 1878. A rabbit crossing your path on Sunday morning is bringing you 
 wealth and pleasure. 
 
 1879. If a rabbit runs parallel to your path, you may expect good luck; 
 but if it suddenly darts in front of you, bad luck is coming. 
 
 1880. A raccoon can live all winter by sucking its paws. 
 
 1881. To drive away rats, singe the hair from one rat and turn it loose. 
 
 1882. Tie a tin can to the tail of a rat that you have caught and then let 
 it loose; and all the other rats will leave. 
 
86 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 1883. You can rid an infested place of rats by killing one of them and 
 then either let it lie or hang it up where other rats can see the 
 carcass. 
 
 1884. A great increase in the number of rats foretells a war. 
 
 1885. If you see rats leaving a building, it will soon burn. 
 
 1886. Rats will desert a doomed ship. 
 
 1887. You may look for bad luck, if rats cut your clothes. "A rat 
 
 gnawed my dress up one time and I had nothing but trouble all 
 that year." 
 
 1888. If a rat gnaws your clothing, you will soon remove your furniture 
 from that house. 
 
 1889. You yourself should never mend any clothes that a rat has gnawed, 
 for it will bring you bad luck. 
 
 1890. It is the sign of good luck to have a rat jump out of a drawer that 
 you have opened. 
 
 1891. If you catch two rats in the same trap, you are going to have 
 good luck. 
 
 1892. A squirrel running across your path will cause you bad luck. 
 
 CATS 
 
 1893. A cat has seven lives. 
 
 1894. A cat has nine lives. 
 
 1895. "When Margaret has kittens, old Tom will come and say to the 
 cat, 'Where are the babies?' The cat will say, T ain't, ain't going 
 to tell you, for you will kill them.' As soon as Tom goes away, 
 Margaret will take the babies where he can't find them. If Tom 
 does find them, he will turn their behinds up to see which is the 
 male and the female and all the males he will choke to death." 
 
 1896. If a cat eats catnip, it has a bellyache. 
 
 1897. A cat eats grass for medicine. If there is no green grass, it will 
 eat dry grass. 
 
 1898. To prevent fits in a cat, let it eat a piece of new dough. 
 
 1899. Raw meat eaten by a cat will give it worms which cause fits. 
 
 1900. Every cat has a worm in its tail. If the tail is not cut off, the cat 
 will have fits. 
 
 1901. "If a cat moves her kittens away from near a bank on a stream 
 or river, it is the sure sign of high water because a cat is very 
 smart." 
 
 1902. A cat draws lightning. 
 
 1903. "The first cat that was ever born was when it was lightening.. 
 That is why a cat was marked with lightning." 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 87 
 
 1904. "A cat is the only animal that will come out in the lightning. A 
 cat is marked with lightning." 
 
 1905. If a cat is dreaming, pull a whisker out of its lip, sleep on it that 
 night and you will dream what the cat was dreaming. 
 
 1906. A cat will suck the breath of a sleeping person and cause his death. 
 
 1907. If you tie paper around all four paws of a cat, it will dance itself 
 to death. 
 
 1908. Rub the four paws of a cat with grease and it will not leave home. 
 Do the same thing to a stray cat, if it comes to your house and 
 you want it to stay. 
 
 1909. To keep a cat from running away or to make it return home if 
 stolen, cut off and bury the end of its tail under the front doorstep. 
 
 1910. To prevent a stray cat from running av^ay, cut some hair from 
 its tail and wear it in your shoes. 
 
 1911. To retain a stray cat, let it see itself in a mirror. 
 
 1912. Never let a cat see itself in a mirror, or it will run away. 
 
 1913. Bring a cat home blindfolded and immediately throw it into the 
 middle of the bed and it will never leave. 
 
 1914. If you take a cat away in a sack and drop it, it will always come 
 back on the ninth day, 
 
 1915. To keep a cat from returning, always carry it down a stream, 
 
 1916. It is the sign that you have a friendly disposition if a cat 
 approaches you in a friendly manner, 
 
 1917. When a cat raises its fur at someone, that person has a bad dis- 
 position. 
 
 1918. You may expect company, if a cat fixes its whiskers. 
 
 1919. Visitors will come from the direction toward which a cat looks 
 while washing its face. 
 
 1920. After a cat has washed its face, if it turns to the east, someone is 
 coming from the east to call on you. 
 
 1921. When a cat has finished licking its face, if it looks to the west, a 
 caller from the west may be expected. 
 
 1922. The direction in which a cat's tail is pointing while it washes its 
 face, will be the quarter from which you may look for the arrival 
 of guests. 
 
 1923. A cat cleaning its face in front of the door is a sign of company. 
 
 1924. There will be visitors from the direction in which a cat looks 
 while washing its face in front of the door. 
 
 1925. If a cat sits in a doorway and licks its face, a guest is coming. 
 
 1926. Someone will come, if a cat cleans its face in the house. 
 
 1927. Unwelcome guests will soon arrive, if a strange white cat comes 
 to your home. 
 
 1928. If a black cat while running down the road before you, in the same 
 
88 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 direction as you are walking, turns to the right, bad luck may be 
 expected. 
 
 1929. When a black cat runs straight ahead of you, while you are walk- 
 ing down a road, and veers to the left, it is the sign of bad luck. 
 
 1930. If a black cat starts to cross your path and halfway turns back, 
 you will have bad luck; but if the cat continues across your path, 
 you may look for good luck. 
 
 1931. If a black cat runs across your path and then retraces its steps 
 in front of you, it is bringing good luck to you. 
 
 1932. You will have bad luck, if a black cat crosses your path. 
 
 1933. It is the sign of seven years of bad luck to have a black cat run 
 across your path. 
 
 1934. An old railroad man said that it was very difficult to get a man to 
 take out a train, if a black cat ran in front of him on his way to 
 
 work or before his train was due to leave. "I can remember 
 
 when we lived on Fifth Street. My husband came home from 
 work and said that a black cat ran across the track in front of 
 an engine and the engineer would not take the train out that night. 
 They got another engineer. That train had a bad wreck up around 
 Galesburg that night and several were hurt." 
 
 1935. A black cat crossing your path will cause you bad luck before your 
 
 journey is over. Mrs. B's nephew told me he went out to 
 
 Coatsburg several weeks ago and took his girl with him. When 
 they got out about five miles a black cat ran across the road in 
 front of the car. His girl said, 'Let's go back, we will have bad 
 luck before the trip is over.' He only laughed and went on. 
 "Everything went fine on our way home. When I was about three 
 miles from home I said to my girl, 'Well, nothing happened.' She 
 said, 'We are not home yet.' When we started up that hill at 
 Soldiers' Home, the back end of the car blew out, so we had to 
 be hauled in after all; and my girl had her way about the black 
 cat." 
 
 1936. The usual method for averting bad luck, when a black cat crosses 
 one's path in the city, is to make a detour by walking around the 
 
 block. "I was walking with a woman and a black cat ran in 
 
 front of us. She turned and went back and went around the block 
 
 to keep from having bad luck." A man working for the bus 
 
 line in Quincy several years ago would divert his bus from the 
 regular route and drive round the block, if a black cat ran in 
 front of him. This practice violated a city ordinance as well as 
 the bus company's regulations and made the driver liable to a fine 
 or discharge. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 89 
 
 1937. Turn around as soon as you see a black cat crossing in front of 
 you and continue your journey by some other way. 
 
 1938. To prevent bad luck when a black cat runs across your path, you 
 must return home and begin your trip over again. 
 
 1939. "Three years ago a woman was going to my mother's house and 
 after she started a black cat ran across in front of her. She went 
 back home and sit down for one half hour and then went to my 
 mother's house. Said if you do this you will not have any bad 
 luck." 
 
 1940. When a black cat passes in front of you, make a cross on the 
 ground, walk backwards three steps, whirl around on your heel, 
 then continue your journey and you will not have bad luck. 
 
 1941. Bad luck can be warded off, if a cat walks in front of you, by 
 taking nine steps backwards over the cat's path. 
 
 1942. If a black cat crosses your path, walk backwards ten steps and 
 you will not have bad luck. 
 
 1943. To avoid bad luck, when a black cat has run in front of you, take 
 ten steps backwards and turn around on your heel. 
 
 1944. You can avert bad luck, if a black cat has crossed your path, by 
 walking backwards ten steps and whirling around three times. 
 
 1945. You will not have bad luck, if you take twelve steps backwards 
 after a black cat has passed across your path. 
 
 1946. "If a black cat crosses the road, I always turn right around and 
 walk backward until I get way over the place where the cat 
 passed." 
 
 1947. Ward off bad luck, when a black cat runs in front of you, by 
 walking backwards until the cat is out of sight. 
 
 1948. Any kind of cat crossing your path will cause bad luck, but you 
 can avert this by walking backwards all the way to your destina- 
 tion without speaking. 
 
 1949. Count nine to avoid bad luck, if a black cat goes across your path. 
 
 1950. "If a black cat runs in front of me, I always try to pick it up 
 and throw it over my left shoulder to keep from having bad luck." 
 
 1951. Turning around three times will ward off bad luck, if a black cat 
 crosses your path. 
 
 1952. Turn around three times and spit, after a black cat has crossed in 
 front of you, and you will not have bad luck. 
 
 1953. To avert bad luck, whirl around three times and spit on the ground 
 while making each turn, when a black cat has crossed your path. 
 
 1954. Spit when a black cat runs in front of you and you will not have 
 bad luck. 
 
 1955. If a black cat crosses your path, spit and rub your foot through 
 
90 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 it; then walk backwards five steps, and bad luck will not come 
 to you. 
 
 1956. Take off your hat and spit into it to avoid bad luck, if a cat runs 
 in front of you. 
 
 1957. If you spit on your two "front fingers" (index fingers), when a 
 black cat passes in front of you, you will not have bad luck. 
 
 1958. Spit on your shoes to prevent bad luck, when a black cat crosses 
 your path. 
 
 1959. As soon as you see a black cat start across the road in front of 
 you, turn your back ; and if the cat is no longer in sight when you 
 look around again, you will not have bad luck. In other words, 
 if you do not notice the cat crossing before you, it does not cross 
 your path. 
 
 1960. An accident will occur before you get to your destination, if a 
 
 black cat runs across your path. "My friend always laughed 
 
 at me because I would go around the block whenever we would 
 meet a black cat. I would make her go with me. One day she 
 went downtown two years ago. I did not go with her. A black 
 cat ran in front of her. She was in a hurry. She said to herself, 
 'I am not going around the block, I am not afraid, I will go on.' 
 Before she got downtown she fell over something and broke her 
 leg in two places and was in the hospital a long time. She said if 
 a black cat runs in front of her again she will not go on, she will 
 go around the block," 
 
 1961. You will have an accident before you reach home, if a black cat 
 
 crosses your road. "Several years ago while driving I had 
 
 intended going north on Twelfth Street for the then so-called five 
 mile drive. Halfway out a black cat crossed directly in front of 
 the car. I immediately turned back to Locust Street and then up 
 to Twenty-fourth Street intending to take that road to get to my 
 destination. Again about halfway there another black cat crossed 
 my path. Again I turned around, retraced my way back to Locust, 
 went west to Fifth Street, then north on Fifth Street to again 
 connect with the five mile turn. Halfway there a black cat with a 
 white belly crossed directly in front of me. My friend said, 'You 
 will go ahead this time and quit your superstition or I'll never 
 again be seen with you.' I did. I worried all the way. Got there. 
 Back again safely in town. But on my way home, one and a half 
 blocks from my home, I was hit square in the middle of my 
 Hudson roadster by a drunken dentist of Quincy. Wrecked my 
 car. Set my companion clear across the street with a torn chest 
 and minor bruises. Completely wrecked the dentist's car. And 
 to cap the climax, when I took same into court, the dentist had 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 91 
 
 some witness swear he was not drunk or been drinking. This 
 other witness, who had to be fished out the wreck, was so drunk 
 he could not stand up ; and the judge dismissed the case. Neither 
 got nothing. But I got black cat experience. And how !" Written 
 contribution. 
 
 1962. While walking along the street, if a black cat passes in front of 
 you, it is the sign of bad luck; but if you pick up a penny before 
 you reach your destination, you will have good luck. 
 
 1963. "They say, if a black cat crosses your trail, it is bad luck, but I 
 say it is good luck. You walk by where he passed, looking up to 
 the sky, and you may find some money before you get home that 
 day or night." Written contribution. 
 
 1964. If a black cat runs less than four feet in front of you, you will 
 not be unlucky. 
 
 1965. You will find a disappointment at the end of your journey, if a 
 black cat crosses your path. 
 
 1966. It is the sign of unhappiness to have a black cat run in front of 
 you. 
 
 1967. A black and white cat crossing your path means good luck. 
 
 1968. It is very lucky to have a grey cat pass in front of you. 
 
 1969. You may look for sorrow, if a grey cat runs across your path. 
 
 1970. If a white cat crosses your path, you will have good luck. 
 
 1971. There will be sickness in your family, if a white cat passes in 
 front of you. 
 
 1972. An old colored woman said that years ago when she was a little 
 girl, she and her mother started on a journey, and a big yellow 
 cat ran across their path. Her mother immediately turned around 
 and walked backwards all the way to where they were going, in 
 order to avert bad luck. 
 
 1973. When walking along the street, if you meet a cat and it follows 
 you, you will secure some money. 
 
 1974. If while going down the street a black cat is met, you will have 
 bad luck unless you return home and start your journey again. 
 
 1975. To see a black cat means good luck. 
 
 1976. Meet a black cat late at night and bad luck will befall you. 
 
 1977. A white cat met late at night will bring you good luck. 
 
 1978. It is the sign of trouble to see a white cat. 
 
 1979. A cat following you home indicates good luck. 
 
 1980. Bad luck can be expected, if a cat follows you home. 
 
 1981. If a stray cat comes to your house, you may look for good luck. 
 
 1982. "Never let a cat come to your house. It is very bad luck. I was 
 working at a sporting house (house of prostitution in this case) 
 
92 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 years ago and they would not let a cat light on the place. Said it 
 was very bad luck." 
 
 1983. Steal a cat and take it home and you will have good luck. 
 
 1984. The girl who iinds a strange cat in her bedroom at night will 
 be lucky. 
 
 1985. Driving away a cat that has come voluntarily to your house will 
 cause you bad luck. 
 
 L986. Keep for luck a black cat that comes to your house. 
 
 1987. "They say if a black cat comes to your house you will have good 
 luck, but I am afraid of a black cat and would not feed one for 
 anything to see if they were bringing me luck." 
 
 1988. It is lucky to have a black cat come to your house. The blacker 
 the cat, the better the luck. 
 
 1989. The person w'ho finds a strange black cat in the house will have 
 
 luck. "Mrs. F's mother-in-law had been trying to get her 
 
 pension for months and one night the old lady told Mrs. F., a 
 black cat came in her room and jumped on her bed, and she petted 
 the cat and he left. But they thought she was dreaming this 
 because they lived in a fiat and it would be difficult for a cat to 
 get in. The next night the old lady saw the black cat again, and 
 she petted it again, but they still thought the old lady had been 
 dreaming. So the third night Mrs. F. got up and went into the 
 kitchen and she saw the black cat climbing in the window, and 
 ^the next morning she waited for the mailman and sure enough 
 she got her pension they had given up hope of getting. She said 
 black cats are lucky." Written contribution. 
 
 1990. If a white cat comes to your house it is an indication of good luck, 
 
 1991. A white cat coming to your house will bring you good luck, pro- 
 vided it remains. 
 
 1992. It is very lucky to have a cat of three colors come to your house. 
 
 1993. A cat eating grass is the sign of bad luck. 
 
 1994. Carry a bone from the left side of a black cat and you will have 
 good luck. 
 
 1995. Sailors will have bad luck, if the fur of a cat blows the wrong 
 way. This misfortune can be counteracted by greasing the cat's 
 jxiws. 
 
 1996. If a ladder is leaning against a building and a black cat walks 
 under it, the next person to climb that ladder will have bad luck. 
 
 1997. Letting a cat look into a mirror will cause you trouble. 
 
 1998. You may look forward to a disappointment if an angr^- cat 
 
 scratches you. 
 
 1999. If a cat scratches you, you will be disappointed that day. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 93 
 
 2000. You will always be lucky, if you know how to make friends with 
 strange cats. 
 
 2001. Sleep with a cat and you will have bad luck. 
 
 2002. Bad luck will come to the house in which a cat sneezes. 
 
 2003. Remove a two inch piece from the tip of a black cat's tail and dry 
 it. Keep this bit of tail in your left shoe for luck. 
 
 20O4-. It brings bad luck to step on a cat's tail. 
 
 2005. If you drown kittens, always throw them into the water with your 
 left hand or you will have bad luck. 
 
 2006. Drown a kitten (or cat) and its ghost wnll come back and haunt 
 you. 
 
 2007. If you must kill a cat, never drown it, for it will cause you bad 
 luck. 
 
 2008. Killing a cat will bring you bad luck. 
 
 2009. "Never kill a cat ; if you do, you will surely have seven long years 
 of bad luck, hardships and sorrow, even if you never had it 
 before. We killed a cat just after we were married and we had 
 nothing but bad luck and sorrow the first seven years of our 
 married life. I would not let anyone kill a cat at our place now for 
 anything." 
 
 2010. To kill a cat will cause you nine years of bad luck. 
 
 2011. Kill a black cat and the devil will come to you before another 
 black cat is seen. 
 
 2012. It is very unlucky to shoot a cat. You must kill it by some other 
 means. 
 
 2013. Shoot a cat and your luck will be gone forever. 
 
 2014. Run a straw through a pipestem and then pass the straw through 
 a cat's mouth, and the cat will die. 
 
 2015. If your cat is killed and you get another one, give it the same 
 name and you will have good luck. 
 
 DOGS 
 
 2016. Large dogs bark but do not bite. 
 
 2017. Small dogs rarely bark but usually bite. 
 
 2018. Cut off and bury the tail of a dog that has bitten you, and he will 
 neither bite nor bark again. 
 
 2019. "If you have a little dog and want its tail off, bite it off and it 
 will never get sore." 
 
 2020. A dog passing dog fennel always wets on it. 
 
 2021. "If a dog does his business in your yard, take it and burn it and 
 
94 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 he will not come back, because his bottom will burn all the time." 
 
 2022. When you see a dog answering a call of nature, cross your fingers 
 and he will not be able to complete his task until you have un- 
 crossed them. Another method for the same purpose, but not so 
 common, is to grasp tightly the index finger of the right hand in 
 the palm of the left hand. Still more rare is a third method: "If 
 a dog goes off in private, you can lock fingers with someone else 
 and he can't finish." This pastime, formerly rather general and 
 especially among children, seems to be about obsolete. 
 
 2023. "If you don't want your neighbor's dog to sh-t in your yard, put 
 red pepper out and they will stay away. A neighbor's dog will 
 never sh-t in his own yard. He will always come in your yard. 
 I don't know why. But when I used to hang up my washing, I 
 got tired of stepping in dog dung; so I put the yard full of red 
 pepper, and you bet they never did come back." 
 
 2024. If a bitch is bred during the last week she is in heat, the litter 
 will contain males only. 
 
 2025. To cure a sick dog, feed him dog fennel. 
 
 2026. Fits are often caused by a worm which every dog has in his tail. 
 To prevent fits, the tail should be chopped oflf during puppyhood. 
 
 2027. On Christmas Eve, New Year's Eve and the eve of The Epiphany, 
 feed a dog silver filings on a piece of buttered bread, and he will 
 never become mad or have rabies. 
 
 2028. A dog that licks the blood of a dead man will go mad. 
 
 2029. A dog with dewclaws never goes mad. 
 
 2030. "If a mad dog is coming your way and you are going toward him, 
 just keep on going. Don't turn back or the dog will sure bite you. 
 If you keep on going, the dog will never look back but keep on 
 going." 
 
 2031. Let a dog see himself in a mirror and he will die. 
 
 2032. If a dog sees his reflection in a looking-glass, he will always be 
 mean. 
 
 2033. You can make a dog savage by feeding him gunpow^der. 
 
 2034. "If you don't want your dog to bite you, take a piece of meat 
 and rub it under your arm, then turn it over and rub the other 
 side on the bottom of your foot, and feed it to your dog. He 
 will never bite you, but will eat other people up for you." Written 
 contribution. 
 
 2035. When a dog groans or whines in his sleep, he is dreaming. 
 
 2036. A dog is having dreams, if he stretches himself while asleep. 
 
 2037. To discover the dream of a sleeping dog, pull a whisker from his 
 lip and put it under your pillow ; and that night you will dream 
 what the dosr dreamed. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 95 
 
 2038. Place your hat over the head of a dreaming dog and that night 
 you will have his dreams. 
 
 2039. "If a dog is howling in the neighborhood, 1 always get up and 
 turn my shoes upside down and the dog will always stop." 
 
 2040. If a dog howls while someone is sick, turn your shoes upside 
 down; and not only will an end be put to the howling, but also 
 the sick person will recover. 
 
 2041. To make a dog discontinue his howling, remove your right shoe 
 
 and set it upside down on the floor. An old negro woman 
 
 said, "They would stop just as soon as my shoe was on the floor 
 turned upside down." 
 
 2042. The howling of a dog will cease instantly, if you take off your 
 left shoe and spit on the sole. 
 
 2043. If a dog has followed you to your house, you will have good luck. 
 
 2044. It is unlucky to let a strange dog follow you home. 
 
 2045. Keep a piece of meat in your shoe and give it to a strange dog 
 and he will follow you home. 
 
 2046. It is the sign of good luck for a stray dog to come to you and 
 remain. 
 
 2047. You may expect bad luck, if a stray dog appears at your house. 
 
 2048. Boil a dish rag and feed it to your dog and he will not run away 
 from home. 
 
 2049. A dog will never leave home, if you cut a few hairs from his head 
 and tail. 
 
 2050. If a dog is dissatisfied with the house into which you have recently 
 moved, let him smell some hair that you clip from the end of his 
 tail and he will stay. 
 
 2051. Remove and bury some hair from the tip of a dog's tail, and he 
 will always remain at home. 
 
 2052. A dog will not desert his home, if you sever a few hairs from 
 his tail and bury them under the doorstep. 
 
 2053. You can make a stray dog stay at your home by cutting a few 
 hairs from his tail and burying them under the front doorstep. 
 
 2054. Into a hole that you have bored in the doorsill, stuff a few hairs 
 from a dog's head and tail, and he will not leave home. 
 
 2055. Scratch a dog where is he unable to scratch himself and he will 
 never run away. 
 
 2056. To drive away a dog, tie a tin can on his tail. 
 
 2057. A visitor will come, if a dog's ears are turned inside out. 
 
 2058. If a dog so lies in a doorway that his head is inside the house and 
 the rest of his body remains outdoors, someone will come into the 
 family. 
 
96 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 2059. A dog lying in a doorway with his head pointed out the door 
 means that someone will leave the family. 
 
 2060. You may look for company, if a dog rolls on the floor. 
 
 2061. Watch the tail of a rolling dog and the direction in which it 
 points will be the quarter from which to expect guests. 
 
 2062. After a dog has rolled, gotten up and shaken himself, you will 
 have visitors from the direction he faces. 
 
 2063. There will be success in the family, if your dog rolls sunwise. 
 
 2064. If your dog crawls on his stomach and moans, expect trouble in 
 your house. 
 
 2065. You will have bad luck, if you let a dog look into a mirror. 
 
 2066. It is a bad omen for a dog to cross your path. 
 
 2067. Jumping over a dog will bring you bad luck. 
 
 2068. When a dog chases a cat up a weeping willow, your sorrows have 
 been chased away. 
 
 2069. The howling of a dog indicates bad luck. 
 
 2070. If your dog howls at night, there will be bad luck in your family. 
 
 2071. If a dog howls three times near a house and stops, it is a sign of 
 bad luck. 
 
 2072. There will be a fire, if a dog howls with his head raised. 
 
 2073. "If a dog comes out and sits down on his behind and hollers, 
 looking up to heaven, there will be a big fire." 
 
 2074. A dog whining beneath your window is bringing you bad luck. 
 
 2075. You will have bad luck on your journey, if you meet a growling 
 dog in your path. 
 
 2076. It is unlucky to kill a dog. 
 
 2077. Killing a dog will cause you seven years of bad luck. 
 
 2078. When your dog is killed, give your next dog the same name for 
 luck. 
 
 2079. Never bury a dog in your yard, or it will cause you bad luck. 
 
 SHEEP 
 
 2080. Shearing sheep on the increase of the moon will produce better 
 and stronger wool. 
 
 2081. Shear sheep after the first cold rain in May and you will get a 
 lot of wool. 
 
 2082. To secure a large amount of wool, sheep should be sheared on the 
 24th, 25th and 27th of May. 
 
 2083. If a lamb of yours is killed or dies, cut out its heart and bury it 
 in your yard. This will bring you good luck. 
 
Folk-Lore from Admns County Illinois 97 
 
 2084. It is a sign of luck to meet a flock of sheep. 
 
 2085. Passing through a flock of sheep will cause you bad luck. 
 
 HOGS 
 
 2086. Pigs can see the wind. 
 
 2087. Suck a nursing sow's tit and you will be able to see the wind. 
 
 2088. Hogs that eat chickens will never grow fat. 
 
 2089. A hog cannot swim, because the front legs are so short that they 
 will cut its throat. 
 
 2090. Hogs with worms can be cured, if chamber lye is placed in their 
 feed. 
 
 2091. "If your hogs have cholera, put chamber lye in the slop. When 
 we were small, our folks would make us wet in the chamber all 
 the time and put all of that chamber lye in the slop barrel to make 
 the hogs healthy." 
 
 2092. Pigs weaned in the sign of Leo will squeal all the time. 
 
 2093. If a hog is "seeded" when the moon increases, the wound will 
 swell. 
 
 2094. "Alter" a pig on the decline of the moon and the wound will not 
 swell. 
 
 2095. A hog "bored" in the sign of the "heart" will die. 
 
 2096. You will kill a pig, if you "mark" it in the sign of the "private 
 parts." 
 
 2097. Always castrate hogs when the sign is below the "waist." 
 
 2098. A good time to geld a hog is when the sign is between the "knee" 
 and "ankle." 
 
 2099. Emasculate a hog in the sign of the "feet" and the swelling will 
 go down. 
 
 2100. Slaughter hogs in the sign of the "head" and you will secure 
 good meat. 
 
 2101. If hogs are killed when the sign is between the "head" and "legs," 
 the meat will shrink and have a bad taste. 
 
 2102. For good meat, hogs should be butchered in the sign of the "neck" 
 during the increase of the moon. 
 
 2103. Meat will curl up and turn to lard, if you kill hogs in the hght 
 of the moon. 
 
 2104. Hogs slaughtered in the light of the moon will give withered and 
 flabby meat. 
 
 2105. Butcher a female hog in the light of the moon for good meat. 
 '2106. Kill a male hog in the dark of the moon to have excellent meat. 
 
 2107. By killing hogs in the dark of the moon you can obtain meat that 
 will not shrivel. 
 
98 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 2108. Slaughter hogs in the dark of the moon for lard. 
 
 2109. "We always killed our hogs in the full of the moon for better 
 meat." 
 
 2110. "Always kill hogs when the moon is full, then the marrow in the 
 bones will be full, and the meat won't shrink." 
 
 2111. Pork from a hog butchered in full moon will not contract and dry 
 out, but on the contrary, it will swell up and enlarge while cooking. 
 
 2112. To meet a drove of hogs on the road is unlucky. 
 
 2113. Never give a pig to anyone without accepting a piece of money in 
 exchange, if only a penny, or you will have bad luck. 
 
 COWS 
 
 2114. A small bull will sire more male than female calves. 
 
 2115. To secure female calves, cows should be covered by a large bull. 
 
 2116. If you make a steer of a calf in the sign of the "heart" it will die. 
 
 2117. If a calf is unsexed in the sign of the "private parts," it will 
 not live. 
 
 2118. Never wean a calf in the sign of the "head," or it will bawl inces- 
 santly. 
 
 2119. A calf weaned in the sign of the "head" will take a long time to 
 forget its mother. 
 
 2120. To keep a calf from bawling, wean it when the sign of the 
 "shoulder" is going down. 
 
 2121. A calf will cry continually, if you wean it when the sign of the 
 "shoulder" is going up. 
 
 2122. Take a calf from the mother just before the sign of the "heart." 
 
 2123. Wean a calf in the sign of the "heart" and it will fret itself to 
 death. 
 
 2124. If a calf is separated from the cow in the sign of the "heart," 
 both animals will moo all the time. 
 
 2125. Neither cow nor calf will bawl, if the calf is weaned in the sign 
 of the "thigh." 
 
 2126. "If you wean a calf when the sign is in the "knee," it will be 
 satisfied and walk right away from the cow." 
 
 2127. A cow will not miss her calf, if the calf is taken away in the 
 sign of the "feet." 
 
 2128. A calf should be weaned in the sign of the "feet" and when the 
 moon is dark. 
 
 2129. Separate a calf from the cow on Sunday morning during the 
 increase of the moon and you will not have any trouble with either 
 animal. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 99 
 
 2130. A good time to wean a calf is just after the new moon. 
 
 2131. The cow will quickly forget a calf that is weaned in the light of 
 the moon. 
 
 2132. If you wean calves during the three days preceding full moon, 
 you will have splendid and large cattle. 
 
 2133. A calf that is weaned in full moon will not lose weight. 
 
 2134. Cut two inches off the tail of a sucking calf that you have sold 
 and the cow will not bawl. 
 
 2135. When you sell a calf, remove the top of its tail and place this on 
 the mother's back to keep her from bawling. 
 
 2136. Before selling a calf, tack a piece of its tail on the barn door, and 
 the cow will not fret. 
 
 2137. A farmer said that he wanted to buy a calf years ago, but the 
 owner refused to sell unless the animal was removed backwards 
 from its mother. So the cow and calf were placed in the stable, 
 and the buyer, holding the calf by the tail, pulled it away back- 
 wards from the mother until neither cow nor calf could see each 
 other. 
 
 2138. A cow will go dry, if she eats acorns. 
 
 2139. If a cow eats green apples, she will go dry. 
 
 2140. If a cow eats buck brush, she will go dry. 
 
 2141. If a cow eats pumpkins, she will go dry. 
 
 2142. If a cow eats pumpkin seed, she will go dry, Some farmers 
 
 remove the seeds before feeding pumpkins to a cow. 
 
 2143. If a cow eats ragweeds, she will go dry. 
 
 2144. If a cow eats timothy hay, she will go dry. 
 
 2145. While a cow is being milked, if any of the milk falls on the 
 ground, she will go dry. 
 
 2146. To dr)' up a cow, squirt her milk on the ground four or five times. 
 
 2147. A cow will go dry, if she is not milked at the same time each day. 
 
 2148. A cow can be dried up by milking her for the last time on Sunday. 
 
 2149. The last milk from a cow about to go dry should be milked on 
 the ground. 
 
 2150. When a cow becomes fresh, jerk the first milking on the ground 
 and she will be flush. 
 
 2151. Always feed a cow's milk to the hogs on the first three days after 
 she has had a calf. 
 
 2152. If a cow begins to lose her milk, let her drink of it each morning 
 before she is fed and the milk will soon return. 
 
 2153. "If a cow gets its tail cut and the sun shines in her rear end, it 
 will give sour milk." 
 
 2154. Tie up the front legs of a heifer and while being milked she will 
 not kick with her hind legs. 
 
100 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 2155. If a man milks a heifer for the first time, she will never kick 
 when milked. 
 
 2156. "We had an old red and white cow and she would always step 
 over the milk bucket when we were milking, and nothing but 
 milkweeds would grow on that spot." 
 
 2157. Milk a cow for the last time on Friday morning and she will calf 
 in the daytime. 
 
 2158. A cow will calf during daylight, if she is milked for the last time 
 on Sunday morning. 
 
 2159. When a cow calves, bury the purification under an apple tree and 
 next time she will bear a female calf. 
 
 2160. If twin calves are of the same sex, keep them; but if of a dif- 
 ferent sex, get rid of them. 
 
 2161. "Whenever you bake, give the slake (slack) water to the cattle 
 and nothing will happen to them. They will be healthy." 
 
 2162. Boil elder leaves or bark, add a half cupful of lard, strain through 
 a cloth, and this will make an excellent salve for a cow's sore bag. 
 
 2163. If a cow's bag is hard and feverish, rub it with some of her own 
 fresh milk. 
 
 2164. "I knew a man that had a cow and she got a caked bag, and he put 
 cow manure all over her bag and it help her." 
 
 2165. "I know a man, he had a cow with a caked bag, and he almost 
 lost her; and someone told him about the poke root salve and he 
 made some, and it saved his cow." 
 
 2166. To cure a costive cow, cut a cake of soap into five pieces and boil 
 in a pint of milk. Administer the same dose twice. 
 
 2167. A cud, according to one farmer, looks like a little sack. Once he 
 found a dried cud that some cow had lost. 
 
 2168. A cow will die, if she loses her cud. 
 
 2169. Feed a greasy dish rag to a cow and she will recover her lost cud. 
 
 2170. "We had an old red cow. She lost her cud. We thought she was 
 going to die. We made her a cud out of an old dish rag, lard, 
 bacon rind, salt and some soot out of the cookstove; and she got 
 all right." 
 
 2171. Wrap a dish rag around a stick and let a cow swallow it if she has 
 lost her cud. 
 
 2172. When a cow has recovered her cud, she will spit out the false cud 
 that has been given to her. 
 
 2173. Cure erysipelas in a cow by feeding her wine soup into which 
 two nutmegs have been grated. 
 
 2174. Indigestion in a cow can be cured by feeding her a stolen dish rag. 
 
 2175. If a cow has eaten too much and is swollen up, she can be cured 
 by giving her finger-nail scrapings on a piece of bread. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 101 
 
 2176. Tie up a shovelful of human soil in a rag and insert it inside the 
 mouth of a cow that has bloated up from eating too much white 
 clover. This will make the gas leave her stomach, and she will 
 become well. 
 
 2177. To cure founder in a cow, stick a knife completely through the 
 hide in between her first and second rib, and the gas will come 
 
 out. Founder is frequently called "founders," and even 
 
 "flounders" inay sometimes be heard. 
 
 2178. If a cow bloats from eating clover, remove the swelling by throw- 
 ing a bucketful of water over her. 
 
 2179. If a cow has founder and she is standing up, tie rags around her 
 legs and pour hot water over them. This will cure her. 
 
 2180. If a cow has founder and she is lying down, cover her legs with 
 straw and pour hot water over them. This will take out the in- 
 flammation. 
 
 2181. To cure "hollow horn" in a cow, cut a gash in her tail, fill the 
 wound with salt and sew it up. 
 
 2182. Bore a hole in a cow's tail and fill it with pepper and salt for 
 "hollow horn." 
 
 2183. For "hollow tail" (tail beginning to rot off at the end) in a cow, 
 split the tail at the tip and fill the wound with pepper and salt. 
 
 2184. Pink eye in a cow will disappear, if you rub her bag with some of 
 her milk. 
 
 2185. If a cow has "wolf," cut the end of her tail until it bleeds, and 
 she will get well. 
 
 2186. It is the sign of bad luck for a cow to enter the house. 
 
 2187. When a cow starts to chase you, put your thumb inside your hand 
 and close your fist tightly, and she will not harm you. 
 
 HORSES AND MULES 
 
 2188. A colt will die, if "altered" in the sign of the "heart." 
 
 2189. Never geld a colt in the sign of the "private parts," because you 
 will kill it. 
 
 2190. Colts should be unsexed when the sign is between the "knee" and 
 "ankle." 
 
 2191. If a colt is weaned in the sign of the "head," it will not easily 
 forget its mother. 
 
 2192. A bad time to wean a colt is in the sign of the "heart," for the 
 animal will fret itself to death. 
 
 2193. A good time for weaning a colt is in the sign of the "feet" during 
 the dark of the moon. 
 
102 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 2194. Wean a colt just after the new moon and you will not have any 
 trouble with the animal. 
 
 2195. "If you go in a stable where a mule is and try to put a bridle on 
 him before he eats, he will kick your head off, if you are not 
 careful. 
 
 2196. A horse will soon recover his lost appetite, if you rub his teeth 
 with garlic and pepper. 
 
 2197. A large lump on the upper lip of a horse is the sign of bots. 
 
 2198. During the spring and fall feed pulverized tobacco to a horse and 
 he will never have bots. Powdered tobacco will also cure bots. 
 
 2199. Cure a sore breast in a mare by rubbing it with mashed jimson 
 weeds. 
 
 2200. To cure colic in a horse, give him tea made from the white part 
 of chicken dung. 
 
 2201. For colic in a horse, let him drink some brine off a salted mackerel. 
 
 2202. Cure distemper in a horse by feeding him a hornet's nest. 
 
 2203. "If a horse has fistula, take an elderberry limb and cover it with 
 ashes made from nothing but hickory wood, and use the elder- 
 berry limb as a syringe. It will cure a horse twenty-four out of 
 twenty-five times." 
 
 2204. Founder in a horse may be cured by feeding him some private 
 hair taken from three different persons. 
 
 2205. When a horse has founder, tie him in a pond so that he stands 
 with mud and water up to his knees. Do this during the daytime 
 for a week and all inflammation will leave. 
 
 2206. Put burnt leather over a galled spot on a horse and the hair will 
 not fall out. 
 
 2207. Give sunflower seed to a horse for heaves. 
 
 2208. "An Irishman had a horse that could not pass water. He got a 
 teakettle full of water and stood behind the horse and let the water 
 pour on the straw, and that horse started to making water. It 
 will work nine times out of ten." 
 
 2209. A sore neck or shoulder in a horse can be healed by keeping 
 jimson weeds under the horse's collar. 
 
 2210. As a cure for a horse's sore neck or shoulder, put an opossum 
 skin under his collar. 
 
 2211. To cure sweeny, make a slit in the horse's shoulder through the 
 two white skins until the shoulder blade is reached. Inflate the 
 wound by blowing through a goose quill and then sew it up. 
 
 2212. Treat sweeny by using the same method as given in the preceding 
 item, but instead of filling the gash with air, insert shot and sew 
 up the wound. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 103 
 
 2213. Cut a hole in a horse's shoulder, then fill the wound with borax 
 and sew it up. This will cure sweeny. 
 
 2214. For sweeny, make a gash in the shoulder of the horse. Put a 
 dime in the wound and sew it up. 
 
 2215. .Tie a live "hop-toad" on the withers of a horse and it will cure 
 sweeny. 
 
 2216. Feed slippery elm powder to a horse for worms. 
 
 2217. To cure worms, give the horse a mixture made of chimney soot, 
 egg shells, pepper and vinegar. 
 
 2218. If a horse cuts himself on a barbed wire fence, rub a piece of fat 
 bacon over the wire that caused the gash, and the wound will heal 
 within a few days. 
 
 2219. To prevent blood poisoning in a cut on a horse, wash the wound 
 with tea made of poison oak. 
 
 2220. To stop the flow of blood immediately, when a horse has cut him- 
 self on a fence, poultice the wound with flour, soot and sugar. 
 
 2221. Profuse bleeding in a horse can be arrested as follows: Bore a 
 hole into a tree and put in it some of the horse's blood, and then 
 plug up the hole with a wooden peg. 
 
 2222. "A man had a fine horse. He said he would give anyone twenty 
 dollars that would stop the horse from bleeding. My sister 
 counted fifty backwards and got the twenty dollars for saving 
 his horse." 
 
 2223. If a horse steps on a nail, poultice the wound with bread and milk 
 to prevent blood poisoning. 
 
 2224. Blood poisoning can be prevented, if the nail removed from a 
 horse's hoof is stuck into lard. 
 
 2225. When a horse runs a nail into his foot, remove the nail and carry 
 it in your pocket, and the wound will not become infected. 
 
 2226. A horse will neither become lame nor get blood poisoning, if you 
 pull out the nail that he has stepped on and drive it into a piece 
 of wood. 
 
 2227. Burn up the nail that a horse runs into his foot and he will not 
 
 have blood poisoning. "Several months ago a horse went by 
 
 my house and the horse stepped on a nail. I ran out and helped the 
 man take the nail out. Took it right in the house and put it in the 
 fire. The man was so thankful. Said it would save the horse." 
 
 2228. Each time a rolling horse turns over he is worth a hundred dollars. 
 
 2229. If a mule can turn over while rolling, he is worth a hundred 
 dollars. 
 
 2230. If a mule is unable to turn over when rolling, he is not worth 
 fifty dollars. 
 
 2231. "You can always tell a good horse by the way it rolls. If it is a 
 
104 Memoirs of the Aliiia Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 fine horse, it will roll over and over. If it is just a common old 
 horse, it will only roll part way over." 
 
 2232. Never buy a horse that shows the white of his eyes, or you will 
 not be able to do anything with him. 
 
 2233. When buying a horse, if he has: 
 
 "One white foot, buy him, 
 If two, try him. 
 If three, wait and see, 
 If four, let him be." 
 
 2234. "If you want to buy a horse: If it has one white foot, buy him; 
 if two white feet, try him; if three white feet, look for trouble; 
 and if four white feet, do not buy him." 
 
 2235. In buying a horse : 
 
 "If he has one white foot, buy him, 
 
 If two, try him. 
 
 Three, deny him. 
 
 Four white feet and a white nose. 
 
 Take off his hide. 
 
 And throw it to the crows." 
 
 2236. A horse with one white foot is always weak in that foot. 
 
 2237. If you buy a horse that has a white foot and the horse becomes 
 lame, he will always go lame in the white foot. 
 
 2238. "If a horse has a left hind white foot, he is very tricky. Can 
 learn to do anything, like opening a gate." 
 
 2239. Buy a horse with four white feet and he will bring you good luck. 
 
 2240. Never buy a horse with four white feet, or he will cause you bad 
 luck. 
 
 2241. "Never buy a horse with four white feet. They are just like 
 outlaws. You can't keep them any place. They jump out of 
 everj'where." 
 
 2242. If you are offered a fair price for a horse, or any other animal, 
 sell it or you will suffer a loss. 
 
 2243. If you sell a horse, never watch him as he is led away from the 
 stable, or you will have bad luck. 
 
 2244. To kill a mule will bring you sixteen years of bad luck. 
 
 2245. Keep a black cat near horses for luck. 
 
 2246. W^alking under a horse's head will cause you bad luck. 
 
 2247. To make a balky horse go, pick up a handful of gravel and put it 
 in his ear. 
 
 2248. Fill the mouth of a balky horse with dirt from the road and he 
 will go. 
 
 2249. You cannot lead a horse from a burning building unless you first 
 blindfold his eyes. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 105 
 
 2250. Passing a drove of horses on the road is a sign of good luck. 
 
 2251. When you see a horse, stamp him for luck. 
 
 2252. Count one hundred and fifty horses and you will find something, 
 
 2253. If you see a grey horse, stamp it and you will have good luck. 
 
 2254. Stamp one hundred and fifty grey mules for luck. 
 
 2255. Stamp a white horse for luck. 
 
 2256. Each time you stamp a white horse you add a year to your life. 
 
 2257. It is lucky to see a white horse. 
 
 2258. Spit over your left little finger when you see a white horse and 
 you will have good luck. 
 
 2259. Seeing a white horse will bring you bad luck. 
 
 2260. To avert bad luck, when a white horse is seen, spit between your 
 two fingers. 
 
 2261. Cross your fingers when you see a white horse and you will not 
 have bad luck. 
 
 2262. It is the sign of good luck to meet two white horses on the road. 
 
 2263. To see a white horse means that you will get a buggy ride. 
 
 2264. Seeing a white horse will bring you luck, if you say: 
 
 "Lippety, lippety, white horse, 
 When you have good luck. 
 Bring it to me." 
 
 2265. When you have met a white horse, you will soon see a red- 
 haired girl. 
 
 2266. If you pass a white horse on the road, you will not only see a red- 
 haired woman but also have good luck. 
 
 2267. To meet a white horse and a red-haired girl at the same moment 
 will bring you good luck. 
 
 2268. To see a white mule indicates that you will soon see a red-haired 
 negro. 
 
 2269. After you have seen a red-haired woman, you will meet a white 
 horse. 
 
 2270. If you do not see a white horse soon, after meeting a red-haired 
 woman, you will have bad luck. 
 
 2271. If you see three white horses, you will meet a red-haired girl. 
 
 2272. Look over your left shoulder, when you meet a white horse, and 
 you will see the devil. 
 
 HORSESHOES AND MULESHOES 
 
 2273. Carry for luck a horseshoe-shaped trinket, such as : watch charm, 
 tie pin, ring with horseshoe mounting, magnet, tin tag of a well- 
 known brand of tobacco, and similar objects. 
 
106 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 227 A. If you find a horseshoe and pick it up, you will have good luck. 
 
 2275. It is unlucky not to pick up a horseshoe that you have found, 
 
 2276. Not to pick up and hang up a horseshoe that you have found will 
 cause you bad luck. 
 
 2277. When you find a horseshoe, hang it on a fence for luck. 
 
 2278. A horseshoe found on a fence will bring you good luck. 
 
 2279. It is the sign of good luck to find a horseshoe with the prongs 
 
 pointing toward you. A' horseshoe lying in this position means 
 
 titat luck is coming towards you, but when the prongs point in the 
 opposite direction, luck is going away from you. 
 
 2280. If you find a horseshoe with the prongs pointed toward you, you 
 must hang it up to have good luck. 
 
 2281. If a horse drops one of his shoes while passing you, you may 
 expect good luck. 
 
 2282. Never keep a muleshoe that you have found ; it is unlucky. 
 
 2283. Picking up a broken horseshoe means bad luck. 
 
 2284. If you find a horseshoe, pick it up by the prongs so that the luck 
 will not fall out, and throw it over your head for luck. 
 
 2285. To secure good luck when you find a horseshoe, throw it over 
 your left shoulder. 
 
 2286. When you have found a horseshoe, throw it over your right 
 shoulder and you will have good luck. 
 
 2287. Finding a horseshoe will bring you good luck, provided you spit 
 on it and throw it away. 
 
 2288. Spit on a horseshoe that you have found and throw it over your 
 shoulder for luck. 
 
 2289. To have good luck when you find a horseshoe, spit on it and throw 
 it over your left shoulder. 
 
 2290. If you have found a horseshoe, spit through it and throw it over 
 your left shoulder for luck. 
 
 2201. To be lucky when you find a horseshoe, spit on it and hang it 
 over the front door. 
 
 2292. You will have good luck, if you find a horseshoe and hang or 
 nail it over the door. 
 
 2293. If you find a horseshoe, hang it "mouth" up (prongs pointing 
 upward so that the luck will not fall out) over the door, and it 
 will cause you good luck. 
 
 2294. Always nail or hang up a horseshoe so that the prongs point 
 upward, for if the prongs lie downward, your luck will fall out. 
 
 2295. If you find a muleshoe and hang it over the door, you will have 
 bad luck. 
 
 2296. If you see a horse lose his shoe, pick it up and walk backwards 
 into the house and hang it up for luck. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 107 
 
 2297. It is unlucky to remove a shoe from a dead horse. 
 
 2298. Finding a horseshoe without nails indicates bad luck. 
 
 2299. To find a horseshoe containing one or two nails is unlucky, but 
 if the horseshoe has three nails, you will have good luck. The 
 larger the number of nails after three, the greater the luck. 
 
 2300. If you find a horseshoe with one nail, a year of good luck is com- 
 ing to you. 
 
 2301. When you find a horseshoe, you will have as many years of good 
 luck as there are nail holes in the horseshoe. 
 
 2302. You can have good luck by carrying a horseshoe nail in your 
 pocket. 
 
 2303. It is lucky to wear a ring made from a horseshoe nail, 
 
 2304. If you are having bad luck, spit on a horseshoe and throw it over 
 your head, and your luck will change. 
 
 2305. Sleep with a horseshoe under your pillow on New Year's Eve for 
 luck. 
 
 PROSPECTS FOR CHILDREN 
 
 2306. If a woman leaves a diaper under a bed in the home where she is 
 visiting, there soon will be another birth at that house. Hence the 
 
 sayings: "Don't leave a diaper here" when the hostess does 
 
 not desire a child; and, "Somebody left a diaper" after a 
 
 child has been born. 
 
 2307. A woman on the first visit to a newly born child should not hold 
 it in her arms, for she will become a mother. 
 
 2308. If a married woman is the first person to see a recently bom 
 infant, she will have the next child. 
 
 2309. The woman who lays her coat or hat on a strange bed will get 
 a baby. 
 
 2310. If outgrown baby clothes are given away, the mother will soon 
 need them again. 
 
 2311. To find a baby's pacifier means an approaching birth in the family. 
 
 2312. The itching of a woman's loins is the sign of a birth. 
 
 2313. "If there are three women sitting in a room and all three are 
 menstruating, it is the sign that one of them will be pregnant 
 before the year is out. I was sitting in a room with two ladies and 
 all three of us were menstruating. I laughed and said, Tt won't 
 be me being pregnant, for I have been married eighteen years and 
 have no children.' They had the laugh on me, for before the year 
 was out I was pregnant and the only child I have was born." 
 
108 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 2314. "Some people say that if a couple gets married and go to a picture 
 show within the first three days they will have twins." 
 
 2315. "They say that if you go swimming the first day you are married 
 you will have twins." 
 
 2316. A bright star in the sky indicates that there will soon be a birth. 
 
 2317. A woman will soon have a baby, if she dreams that her mother 
 
 has had a child. One woman before the birth of each of her 
 
 four children dreamed that her mother had had a child. 
 
 2318. Dreaming of a baby foretells another child coming into the family. 
 
 2319. Count apple seed to discover the number of your future children. 
 
 2320. IjIow a dandelion seed-ball and the number of seeds left will show 
 how many children you are going to have. 
 
 2321. The number of knots or lumps on the navel cord of the first baby 
 reveals how many children will be born to the mother. 
 
 2322. If you want to learn the number of your future children, attach 
 a wedding ring to a string and lower it into a glass tumbler, and 
 ask, "How many children shall I have?" The ring will answer 
 by swinging to and fro against the sides of the glass, and each 
 distinct strike signifies one child. 
 
 2323. Count the veins branching out from the main vein in your wrist 
 and that will be the number of children you are going to have. 
 
 2324. Count the wrinkles in your forehead and you will know the 
 number of your future children. 
 
 2325. A poor man is certain to have many children. 
 
 2326. Children of late marriages are unhealthy and short-lived. 
 
 2327. A happily married couple will procreate good-looking children. 
 
 2328. If a husband and wife quarrel continually, their children will be 
 ugly. 
 
 2329. Twins run in every third generation. 
 
 2330. If a man and his wife couple twice at the time of conception, they 
 will have twins; if three times, then triplets. 
 
 2331. Children conceived while the father or mother, or both, is intoxi- 
 cated will be idiotic or svibject to epileptic fits. 
 
 2332. The birth of a female proves that the woman is stronger than her 
 husband. 
 
 2333. When a male is born, the man has more strength than his wife. 
 
 2334. "If you don't nurse your baby, you will soon have another." 
 
 2335. While a woman is still nursing her baby, she will never be 
 
 "caught." One woman said that she nursed her only child 
 
 six years for this reason, 
 
 2336. "Take a tablespoonful of bluing each morning for nine mornings. 
 They say it will make you miscarry." 
 
 2337. "If you want to miscarry, don't eat anything and take a half glass 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 109 
 
 of sweet milk and two teaspoonfuls of black gunpowder. Take 
 four doses four hours apart and it will bring you." 
 
 2338. "If a woman that is pregnant will walk under a mare's neck at 
 twelve o'clock noon for five days without touching its neck, it 
 will make her miscarry." 
 
 2339. "If you are pregnant, get on a horse and ride five miles just as 
 hard as you can. If you don't lose it then, you will not." 
 
 2340. "Take the water off rusty nails for nine days without drinking 
 anything else and this will make you miscarry." 
 
 2341. "If you will put nine rusty nails in some whiskey and senna tea 
 and take it, it will sure make you miscarry. You may not live, but 
 it will bring you." 
 
 2342. "Take a half pint of vinegar and nine rusty nails and six table- 
 spoonfuls of Epsom salts and let stand nine days before you take 
 it. They say it will make you miscarry." 
 
 2343. "Take ten cents worth of prickly ash, ten cents worth of senna 
 leaves, one tablespoonful of store tea, and make a tea of each one. 
 Then put them in a stone jar with a pint of whiskey and nine 
 rusty nails. Let stand for nine days, then give a tablespoonful 
 every two hours until they start to flow. It will make you mis- 
 carry. I know a woman that was seven months gone and she took 
 this and she sure lost it." 
 
 2344. "Make a tea out of peach leaves and the bark. Boil well and get 
 it real strong and take. It will bring your sickness, if you are 
 not over two months gone." 
 
 2345. A miscarriage can be effected by taking fifteen grains of quinine. 
 
 2346. Use senna tea for abortion. 
 
 2347. Take turpentine once a month just before the period and im- 
 pregnation will be impossible. 
 
 2348. "If a woman gets in the family way during the change of life, no 
 matter what she does she cannot get rid of the baby unless she 
 kills herself." 
 
 DETERMINATION OF SEX 
 
 2349. Boys are had more frequently by youthful than by elderly parents. 
 
 2350. A woman whose right ovary has been excised can have females 
 only. 
 
 2351. Males only will be born to a woman after the removal of her left 
 ovary. 
 
 2352. When in coitus the woman's stimulation surpasses that of her 
 husband's, a son will be conceived. 
 
1 10 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 2353. If during intercourse a man exceeds his wife in excitement, a 
 girl may be expected. 
 
 2354. The woman, who in sexual union lies on top of the man, will give 
 birth to a boy. 
 
 2355. A man crouching over the woman during copulation will beget a 
 daughter. 
 
 2356. The sex of the child will be female, if a woman after insemina- 
 tion rests on her right side. 
 
 2357. The reclining of a woman on her left side after coition will result 
 in a male child. 
 
 2358. Conception a few days before "full term," or just at the begin- 
 ning of menstruation, is an indication that a girl has been 
 generated. 
 
 2359. If a woman is fertilized within several days following menstrua- 
 tion, she will have a boy. 
 
 2360. A wife impregnated in the full moon means that her husband will 
 father a son. 
 
 2361. The woman who is fecundated on the increase of the moon will 
 become pregnant with a daughter. 
 
 2362. Babies begotten in the light of the moon are always girls. 
 
 2363. The absence of morning sickness during pregnancy is a sign that 
 the woman is carrying a boy. 
 
 2364. Morning sickness throughout the entire nine months of gestation 
 will be followed by the birth of a girl. 
 
 2365. Prepare for a daughter, if the pregnant woman's stomach is small. 
 
 2366. A woman with child will be delivered of a son, if she is large in 
 the waist. 
 
 2367. If the baby is going to be a boy, the woman will not be very 
 large in her abdominal region. 
 
 2368. The birth of a girl can be looked for, if the woman's stomach is 
 unusually large. 
 
 2369. A son will be sired by the man whose wife's hips fill out first. 
 
 2370. If the abdomen of a woman in pregnancy has filled out first, she 
 will be brought to bed with a girl. 
 
 2371. For a woman to carry a child all the way around, it means a 
 daughter. 
 
 2372. It will be a boy, if the baby is carried high. 
 
 2373. When the child is carried very high, the woman will bear a girl. 
 
 2374. The baby who is carried low is certain to be a boy. 
 
 2375. There will be a girl, if the woman's stomach is shaped to a point. 
 
 2376. If a woman carrying a baby feels considerable movement within, 
 a boy will be born. 
 
 2377. The sex of a child can be determined during the last three months 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 111 
 
 of pregnancy by counting the heartbeat of the embryo. The male 
 heartbeat is 120-130 times per second and the female heartbeat is 
 140-150. 
 
 2378. If a pregnant woman smokes she will have a son. 
 
 2379. When a woman goes two weeks beyond the time she expects her 
 baby, it will be a boy. 
 
 2380. The child will be a girl, if it arrives about the time anticipated or 
 a little sooner. 
 
 2381. If a woman during gestation wants a boy, she must make a wish 
 to that effect while looking at her husband. 
 
 2382. When a daughter is desired, the husband should look at his 
 pregnant wife as he makes a wish for this purpose. 
 
 2383. To discover whether a woman with child will have a girl or boy, 
 write the Christian names of the parents to be and also the name 
 of the month in which conception occurred ; then count the letters 
 in these words and divide the amount by seven. If the quotient 
 is an even number, the baby will be a girl ; if uneven, a boy. 
 
 2384. If there is a red streak down the middle of a pregnant woman's 
 stomach, she will give birth to twins. 
 
 2385. When a child is born with wrinkles on the upper portion of its 
 body: if it is a girl, the next baby will be a boy; if a boy, the 
 following infant is sure to be a girl. 
 
 GESTATION 
 
 2386. Storks bring babies. 
 
 2387. The doctor delivers children in his medicine kit. 
 
 2388. Infants come from the cabbage patch. 
 
 2389. Babies are found in hollow tree stumps. 
 
 2390. A child born on Christmas Day is presented by Santa Qaus. 
 
 2391. Never give a shower for a baby before it is bom or you will have 
 bad luck. 
 
 2392. Bad luck will befall those parents who are expecting a baby, if 
 they make any preparations for its arrival. 
 
 2393. After you have acquired a layette for the expected baby, do not 
 try the clothes on another child, for it will bring bad luck. 
 
 2394. A woman with child is always lucky. 
 
 2395. There will be trouble for the pregnant woman who attends a 
 funeral. 
 
 2396. It is exceedingly unlucky for a woman carrying a child to stand 
 in front of a mirror and observe her figure. 
 
 2397. If an expectant mother has her picture taken, it will cause bad luck. 
 
112 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 2398. A woman during pregnancy should not have a tooth filled, 
 because either the filling will become loose before or drop out 
 after the child has been bom. 
 
 2399. "When you are pregnant eat one cake of yeast every day and you 
 won't have any trouble with your teeth decaying after the baby 
 is bom." 
 
 2400. The mother loses a tooth for each child she has. 
 
 2401. To give her baby strong teeth, a woman during pregnancy must 
 drink limewater frequently. 
 
 2402. Too much meat eaten by a woman in the "family way" will pro- 
 duce an unusually large baby. 
 
 2403. Ill-fortune may be expected, if a woman gains weight in 
 pregnancy. 
 
 2404. To be weighed while pregnant is a bad omen. 
 
 2405. A woman is more likely to have an accident while swimming 
 during pregnancy than at any other time. 
 
 2406. "I knew a woman that was carrying a baby and she walked under 
 her mare's head every few days to hitch her to the buggy and she 
 carried her baby eleven months." 
 
 2407. "A woman one time was carrying a baby. It was way past time, 
 around ten months. She didn't know what was wrong, so she 
 went to a German midwife. And she didn't know what was wrong. 
 So the midwife said, 'Do you remember if you ever went under 
 a horse's head or not?' And the woman thought and said she 
 believe she did. The midwife said, 'Go home and walk back under 
 that horse's head, the other way than you walked before.' And 
 the woman did. And just as soon as she got under that horse's 
 head she started with pains. And the baby came before she got 
 into the house." 
 
 2408. If a woman with child steps over a rope to which a horse is tied, 
 her gestation will be prolonged to the twelfth month. 
 
 2409. "When I was pregnant, every time I went out I had to stoop to go 
 under the clothesline, and when my baby came the navel was all 
 around its neck; and we didn't think we could save him. We 
 thought he would choke to death." 
 
 2410. The woman who in pregnancy crawls under a fence (some say 
 through a hole in a fence) will wrap the navel cord around the 
 child's neck and strangle it to death. This calamity can be averted, 
 if the woman will crawl back under the fence. 
 
 2411. Stooping for any purpose whatsoever by a woman with child will 
 wind the baby's navel cord about its neck and obstruct the wind- 
 pipe, hence causing death. 
 
 2412. If a woman when pregnant reaches above her head, the navel 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 113 
 
 string will become twisted around the child's neck and prevent 
 respiration, thus causing suffocation. 
 
 2413. A pregnant woman sleeping with her arms stretched over her head 
 will twine the umbilical cord about an infant's neck and stifle it. 
 
 2414. During pregnancy, if the child kicks too hard, let the father put 
 his hand on the place where the motion occurs and it will stop. 
 
 2415. Twins will be born, if a woman can hear (feel?) distinctly the 
 beating of two separate pulses. 
 
 2416. The woman who has heartburn during pregnancy will give birth 
 to a child with a large quantity of hair. 
 
 2417. "When you are cleaning a chicken, always save the lining of the 
 gizzard. Cook it tender. Put it through a food chopper. Roll it 
 with a rolling-pin until a fine powder. If a woman who is preg- 
 nant has stomach trouble, give her a small portion of it three 
 times a day and it will cure sickness of the stomach." Written 
 contribution. 
 
 BIRTHMARKS 
 
 2418. A child can be marked only during the first three (some say four) 
 months of pregnancy, because after this time the child is well 
 formed and beyond the reach of outside influences. 
 
 2419. Children are marked during the last three months of pregnancy. 
 
 2420. A seven-month child is more easily marked than the child of 
 nine months. 
 
 2421. It is an old saying, that when a pregnant woman is frightened she 
 should never touch her face. 
 
 2422. If a pregnant woman becomes frightened, she should cross herself 
 immediately and say, "In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy 
 Ghost" and the baby will not be marked. 
 
 2423. A woman during pregnancy longed for red apples. She could 
 have secured green or yellow apples, but these would not satisfy 
 her. The child was bom with an inordinate desire for apples. 
 Even as a small baby she could be quieted easily, if allowed to 
 play with an apple. 
 
 2424. "We have a girl here now fifteen years old that has one arm.. 
 Her mother was pregnant and she was out car riding and the car 
 turn over and this woman grabbed her right arm, it was hurting 
 so; and when her little girl came its right arm was off between the 
 elbow and shoulder, with one little finger." 
 
 2425. Upon one occasion a woman with child desired bananas but could 
 not get them. Her daughter has always been very fond of bananas. 
 
1 14 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 2426. Some boys were playing baseball in the yard. As the mistress of 
 the house, who had been out in the barnyard, came through the 
 gate into the yard, the batter threw back his bat and accidentally 
 hit her on the head. She dropped dead, and at the same moment 
 the child was born. On this girl's head there is a bald spot of red 
 skin just the shape of a baseball bat. 
 
 2427. A man was cutting up a newly killed beef with a butcher knife 
 while his wife stood near watching him. Suddenly the knife 
 slipped and came within several inches of the woman's face. It 
 frightened her. When the child cam^e, he had on his face a large 
 red spot that looked like a piece of raw bloody beef. 
 
 2428. "My mother was pregnant and one day she wanted beefsteak. 
 When my father went to town, he was very fond of liver, so he 
 got a little. My mother did not like liver. So when he came home, 
 just to fool her, he threw the liver at her and said, 'Here's your 
 steak.' She open the package and said, 'O My God ! Frank, I 
 wanted steak and this is liver; and the same time threw her hand 
 on her stomach. And when her daughter came, it had two slices 
 of liver on her stomach." 
 
 2429. A woman during pregnancy drank large quantities of beer. Her 
 daughter is a great beer drinker. 
 
 2430. Years ago a man knocked at the door of a home and asked the 
 mistress to buy a Bible. She answered that she would rather have 
 a devil in the house than a Bible. Her baby was born with horns. 
 
 2431. "My mother was pregnant and she wanted blackberries, and she 
 did not get them. And when my brother was born he had a bunch 
 of blackberries on his forehead. They were red, but every time he 
 gets angry they are real black." 
 
 2432. A woman while carrying her baby ate so much candy that she 
 eventually despised it. The child has never eaten a piece of candy. 
 
 2433. A woman was passing along the street when a cat jumped upon 
 her face and frightened her. The child has always been afraid of 
 cats. Even when grown she would walk a block out of her way 
 to avoid meeting one. 
 
 2434. "A woman was pregnant and she went out in the yard. And she 
 was always reaching for cherries. They were so high on the tree 
 she could not get them often. So when her boy came he had a 
 small cherry tree on the back of his neck. In the winter that tree 
 
 would be dark brown in the springtime and in cherry 
 
 time, red." 
 
 2435. If a baby sticks out its tongue repeatedly, it wants something the 
 
 mother desired during pregnancy but was unable to obtain. 
 
 An infant immediately discontinued this habit when fed "chop 
 
Folk-Lorc from Adams County Illinois 115 
 
 suey," that being what the expectant mother had craved one 
 
 evening but could not procure. Formerly, when a newborn 
 
 child continually smacked its lips or stuck out its tongue, it was 
 rather customary to interrogate the mother in order to discover 
 the article of food. 
 
 2436. As a child I occasionally saw on the streets of Quincy a girl 
 heavily veiled and attended by a nurse. Naturally she was dis- 
 figured in some manner, but in what way, the tales told varied 
 considerably. Some people said the mother had been frightened 
 by a bull and consequently the girl's face bore an image of that 
 animal, while others believed her to have been marked with a 
 flaming red hand. Since writing the preceding, what is pro- 
 bably a truer version of the story has been discovered. The in- 
 formation comes from a woman whose mother lived next door 
 to the family. This household, a very large one, kept a herd of 
 cows in an adjoining pasture, and retained only one maid to do 
 all the work. In these many domestic tasks the mistress of the 
 house refused to assist, but instead, she would sit all day at the 
 window watching the cows. Her daughter was born with a "cow's 
 head," an elongated face and large pointed ears Hke those of a 
 cow's. The girl's birthmark according to popular belief was a 
 punishment from God, because the mother had sat admiring the 
 cows and had failed to help an over-worked servant. 
 
 2437. A woman in the fourth or fifth month of pregnancy was walking 
 across the pasture when a black cow started to chase her. She 
 became frightened and began to run, at the same time calling her 
 husband working in a nearby field. He immediately grabbed a 
 club and headed the cow oflf as his wife reached a tree and hid 
 behind it. While running, the woman's stocking had fallen down, 
 so she pulled it up. Her daughter when born had about one ankle 
 a large patch of black skin covered with rough black hair like that 
 of the cow's. This girl, now a woman, has always been compelled 
 to shave the hair from her birthmark. 
 
 2438. "My mother was pregnant, and they were making sorghum at 
 our house years ago. The man that would bring the cane was a 
 one arm man, and every time the man would bring a load, my 
 mother would say to my two brothers, 'Help that poor man 
 unload the cane. I feel so sorry for him with only one ami.' And 
 when my new brother came he had only one hand." 
 
 2439. "When you are carrying a baby never cry over every little thing 
 or your baby will be cross and irritable." 
 
 2440. There lived in a small town of the county a misshapen moron who 
 resembled a monkey (so it is said), and for this reason he was 
 
116 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 called "the monkey." One day while a woman of that community 
 came driving through the town, he hopped upon the rear of her 
 buggy. Turning around to see what had happened, and seeing the 
 deformed man leering at her, she almost fainted. When her child 
 arrived he was not only malformed but also the exact image of 
 "the monkey." 
 
 2441. "A woman was pregnant. She went to a dance one night and two 
 men got in a fight, and she threw her arms across herself and 
 said, 'O, my God !' And when her boy was born his hands were all 
 crossed. He was a bad cripple." 
 
 2442. A drunken man who had been in a fight came home with a very 
 bloody eye which frightened his wife. The child was born with a 
 red circle round one of its eyes. 
 
 2443. Hot grease splashing out of a skillet in which meat was frying 
 burned the woman's fingers, and she at once placed them against 
 her breast. On the daughter's chest there is the impression of 
 the mother's five fingers. 
 
 2444. While a woman watched her husband render lard, the kettle catch- 
 ing fire frightened her and she grabbed his arm to pull him away; 
 but jerked it so violently that he screamed. The child was born 
 with one of its arms purple from wrist to shoulder. 
 
 2445. A woman frightened by fire put her hand up to her face. There 
 was a red spot on one side of the child's face, when it was born. 
 
 2446. "Once there was a woman who was playing an organ in Quincy 
 and she jarred the lamp and it exploded and started to burn. She 
 threw her hands up to her face ; and when the baby came, one 
 whole side of her face looked like it was burnt." 
 
 2447. A woman on two different occasions when pregnant became 
 frightened by fire. Each child was born with red hair. 
 
 2448. "Mrs. M. just before the birth of one of her numerous children 
 was excited by the catching fire of some wood she had placed to 
 dry in the kitchen oven. She burned and blackened her hand in 
 dragging the wood from the oven and in her excitement pressed 
 the injured hand to her face. When her child was born it had ihe 
 black imprint of a hand on its face. It died in infancy and Mrs. 
 M. in telling the story to Walter many years later expressed 
 relief that it had died." Written contribution. 
 
 2449. A man, who during a fishing trip was accompanied by his wife, 
 pulled out a fish which flopped against the woman's arm and 
 frightened her. There is a fish birthmark on the arm of the child. 
 
 2450. "A woman not knowing anything was wrong with her, killed 
 some frogs out in the garden. When her baby came she had a 
 big frog on her back." 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 117 
 
 2451. The woman who gave this item has a round brown birthmark 
 over her right eye. She said that her mother wanted ginger 
 cookies upon several occasions during pregnancy and was unable 
 to get them. 
 
 2452. "Once there was a woman and she was pregnant, and she loved 
 curly hair. There was a man that came to her house that had 
 real curly hair, and every time he would come, she would keep 
 staring at this man's curly hair. When her baby came it had real 
 curly hair." 
 
 2453. A woman on a visit watched her hostess cooking some home-cured 
 ham of which she desired a piece but was too bashful to ask for. 
 The daughter when born had an arm without a hand. Instead of 
 the missing hand there was a stump at the wrist, and the arm 
 tapering from shoulder to wrist looked like a ham. 
 
 2454. "My mother was pregnant and one winter all she done was to 
 clean pig feet. And when her daughter came one foot had pig 
 toes." 
 
 2455. "In the year of 1884 a woman was taking the fat off the entrails 
 of a dead hog that had just been killed. She was standing with 
 her back to the slaughtering pen. Her husband not knowing she 
 was there fired at another hog and it let out a loud squeal. This 
 woman screamed and threw her hands over her face. Her husband 
 said, 'My God, are you there !' When their child was born it had 
 a hog face. It was just pitiful. The woman almost lost her mind 
 when she saw her baby. When the child was about a month old 
 they took it to Jacksonville (Illinois) to the hospital and it died 
 that night." Written contribution. 
 
 2456. "My mother was pregnant and she wanted some hog meat, and 
 they were poor and could not get it. And when I was born I had a 
 hog on my leg, and still have it." 
 
 2457. "One day a woman that was pregnant was out in the yard. She 
 did not see the family horse, but he came up and put his head on 
 
 her shoulder. And the woman screamed and said, 'O God!' 
 
 and at the same time put her hand on her shoulder. And when the 
 baby came it had a square place on its shoulder of horsehair." 
 
 2458. Ice cream, which could not be obtained, made a woman very 
 nervous and she kept smacking her lips. As soon as the baby 
 arrived it began to smack its lips and continued this habit for five 
 days until the midwife, who had fed the child almost ever)^hing in 
 an effort to discover what the mother had desired but was unable 
 to secure, finally gave it some ice cream. 
 
 2459. A woman who fell and hurt her leg rubbed the injured spot im- 
 
118 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 mediately. The son was born with one of his legs boneless from 
 knee to foot. 
 
 2460. When a married woman begins to associate intimately with another 
 man w'hile she is living with her husband, the child will not 
 resemble the husband. 
 
 2461. A woman developed a dislike for milk which she transferred to 
 her unborn child. This child is now a woman almost seventy years 
 old and has never drunk milk in her life. 
 
 2462. A mouse ran over a woman's face while she was lying down and 
 frightened her. She brushed it away with her hand. There is a 
 birthmark in the shape of a mouse on the child's face. 
 
 2463. A woman frightened by a mouse, threw her hand to her forehead ; 
 and as a result, the son was bom with a mouse birthmark on his 
 forehead. 
 
 2464. "A woman living at Rushville (Illinois) years ago went to the 
 cupboard to get something. As she opened the door a mouse 
 jumped out. She screamed and threw both hands on her legs and 
 when her little girl was born she had a perfect mouse on each leg 
 just above the knee. I know this is true because I saw it fifty 
 years ago." Written contribution. 
 
 2465. Six weeks before her child arrived, a woman who had gone down 
 into the cellar lifted her head and bumped it against one of those 
 old-fashioned nails with a square head. On her daughter's head 
 there is a ridge just the shape and size of that nail. 
 
 2466. One Sunday as a woman was on her way to church, she fell down 
 and broke her nose ; and immediately grasped it with her hand. 
 The child was born wnth a purple nose. 
 
 2467. "When I was pregnant I was out in the barn helping my husband 
 hold a sack. He was putting wheat in the sack and he accidentally 
 hit me over the nose with the shovel. I grabbed my nose and 
 screamed. And when my boy came it had a scar over his nose, 
 and still has it." 
 
 2468. A woman wanted dried peaches but her grocer did not have any 
 and she was unable to secure them elsewhere. The child was born 
 with a birthmark that resembled a dried peach. 
 
 2469. A woman became sick from eating fresh peaches. Since that time 
 she could eat tinned peaches only. Her child was bom with a 
 dislike for fresh peaches and has never eaten one. 
 
 2470. While on a visit a woman saw her hostess preserving pears, which 
 she wanted to taste, but was too reticent to ask for them. Her 
 child has always been very fond of pears. 
 
 2471. A woman desired new potatoes but the price was extremely high, 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 119 
 
 since they had just appeared in market, and she could not purchase 
 them. The child was born with a potato birthmark. 
 
 2472. "Seventy years ago my father and mother were out in the yard. 
 My mother was standing with her back to my father. My father 
 just in fun picked up a sweet potato and threw it and hit my 
 mother right on the back. My mother threw her hand back where 
 the potato hit and turned around and said to my father, 'Ain't you 
 ashamed of yourself?' My father said, 'Uh-huh, uh-huh.' When 
 my brother was born he had a perfect sweet potato on his back." 
 
 2473. "Years ago there was a woman who was pregnant and she mashed 
 a potato bug on her thumb. When the baby was born it had a bug 
 on its thumb. She wanted the doctor to take it off, but he refused, 
 saying it would go away. The girl is grown now, and she still has 
 that bug on her thumb." 
 
 2474. "A woman out here in Burton years ago was pregnant and she 
 wanted raspberries. She went to see a neighbor and she was mak- 
 ing raspberry pies. This woman said, T have been wanting rasp- 
 berries so bad.' And this woman said, 'When you go home I will 
 give you a pie for your supper.' And she did. The woman took 
 the pie home and put it in the pantry and went out to hoeing her 
 garden. When she came in to fix supper, the pie was gone. The 
 old man had come in from the field and seeing the pie, eat it all 
 up. She started to crying and threw her hand back of her neck, 
 and when her baby came, he had a bunch of raspberries on his 
 neck." 
 
 2475. "I had a girl friend that has a snake across her stomach. When 
 her mother was carrying her, she stepped out into the yard one 
 morning and stepped on a snake. Not thinking, she started to 
 killing the snake and when her baby girl was born it had a perfect 
 snake across her stomach. I have looked at the snake several 
 times." 
 
 2476. "Two snakes were fighting one day, just going over and over. And 
 one of them got killed. A woman came along pregnant and saw 
 the two snakes fighting. And she had twins and they would fight 
 all the time. And at last they both died." 
 
 2477. "A pregnant woman once went out to the henhouse to gather eggs. 
 A big snake was coiled up in the nest. She got frighten and throw 
 her hand to her face. When her baby was born it had the prints 
 of five fingers spread out on her face." 
 
 2478. "About seventy years ago a woman was pregnant and she was 
 out picking roses, and a big snake was in the bushes and she put 
 her hand on the snake. She screamed and threw her hand on her 
 
120 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 breast and when her baby came she had a rose and a snake on 
 her breast. And every spring when snakes shed their skin, the 
 skin would peel off of the snake on this woman's body just like 
 a snake. In time this woman married, but she would never nurse 
 any of her babies, because she didn't want anyone to see this big 
 rose and snake. She died just lately." This happened near Camp 
 Point. 
 
 2479. "When aunt Lil's mother was in the family way with her, she 
 saw a spider crawl down in front of her face. She hit at the spider 
 and accidentally touched her nose, and when aunt Lil was born 
 she had a little spider on her nose." Written contribution. 
 
 2480. After the first three months of pregnancy, if a woman craves 
 something and steals it, the child will become a thief. 
 
 2481. A woman craved strawberries when they were just in season but 
 she could not afTord to purchase them. Her child was born with 
 a strawberry birthmark. 
 
 2482. One day a woman looked longingly at some strawberries in the 
 grocery, but since they were forty cents a box, she felt as if she 
 could not afford them. The temptation being too strong, she sur- 
 reptitiously tasted one of the berries, but in so doing accidentally 
 touched the back of her neck. The child was marked on the back 
 of its neck with a strawberry. 
 
 2483. "This is about myself. When we were living out in the country 
 near Payson, one day I wanted strawberries. That was all I would 
 talk about. I said to the men folks, 'When you go to town bring 
 me some strawberries.' I don't know if I was nervous or not, but 
 I would always scratch my shoulder when I would tell them to 
 bring the berries, and when they would get home without them 
 I would scratch my shoulder and say, 'Why didn't you bring 
 them?' I was just crazy for strawberries. When my daughter 
 was born she had a bunch of strawberries on her shoulder." 
 
 2484. A girl was born with a strawberry over her left breast. Each year 
 just before strawberries ripen, this birthmark will turn redder 
 and begin to itch. 
 
 2485. If a woman during pregnancy will keep someone in mind for an 
 ideal or pattern, her child when born will resemble that person. 
 
 2486. A woman in a "family way" can have any kind of child she wants 
 by constantly thinking of and wishing for the desired qualities. 
 
 2487. During pregnancy a woman developed a great liking for tomatoes. 
 Tomatoes have always been a favorite vegetable with her daughter. 
 
 2488. If a pregnant woman is frightened by a turtle, the child will be 
 born with some of the features of a turtle. Two examples 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 121 
 
 of this belief can be cited, the one of a white girl and the other 
 of a colored boy. Upon separate occasions when fishing, the 
 mothers of these children had been frightened by turtles. Each 
 child possessed a clubfoot, and the girl's fingers were gnarled 
 and stiff, faintly suggestive of a turtle's claw. Moreover, her head 
 sank down between her shoulders somewhat in the fashion of a 
 turtle's. As a matter of fact, the girl's sunken head was the result 
 of a fall ; and incidentally, deformity was characteristic of her 
 family, her brother being similarly disfigured. 
 
 2489. "I know a woman that was pregnant and she got scared at a big 
 turtle. And when her twins came, each one had half of a turtle 
 on their front breast." 
 
 2490. To make a birthmark disappear, immediately smear it with some 
 of the afterbirth. 
 
 2491. "If a child is born with a birthmark, take it in a dark room and 
 rub the afterbirth over the birthmark and bury the afterbirth right 
 away without telling anyone, and as the afterbirth starts to decay, 
 the birthmark will leave the child." 
 
 2492. To remove a birthmark, wipe it with a dish rag and tlit-n place 
 the dish rag in a coffin that contains a corpse, while saying, "O 
 Lord, take with Thee what harmeth Thee not, but harmeth me." 
 
 2493. Rid yourself of a birthmark by stroking it with a dead person's 
 hand. 
 
 2494. A woman can drive away her birthmark, if she strokes it with 
 the hand of a dead man. 
 
 2495. A man can lose his birthmark by rubbing it with the hand of a 
 dead woman. 
 
 24%. "Years ago I had a niece that had a big cherry on the side of her 
 face. It was a birthmark. And her mother took her to a corpse 
 and let that child rulj that birthmark three times over the dead anrl 
 it went away." 
 
 2497. A birthmark can be removed by rubbing it with a duck's foot, 
 
 2498. Anoint a birthmark daily with olive oil until it goes away. 
 
 2499. Touch a birthmark with your tongue for nine mornings and it 
 will fade away. 
 
 2500. A "broom mark," caused by carrying a baby, can be driven away 
 by rubbing it with the child's first wet diaper. 
 
 2501. Sometimes a child is born with a red mark or streak across its 
 face which is called a "fire mark" or "temper mark." Lick this 
 disfiguration every morning for nine days and it will disappear. 
 
122 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 PARTURITION 
 
 2502. "When it's around time for your baby to be born and you get 
 up some morning feeling real good, look out, because your baby 
 will come inside of twenty-four hours." 
 
 2503. To ease the birth pangs, let a woman drink flaxseed tea before 
 childbirth. 
 
 2504. Just before the baby arrives, a midwife will make the woman sit 
 over a jar of boiling water which contains onions. This is to 
 cause an easy delivery. 
 
 2505. Immediately preceding the appearance of the child, a woman can 
 procure easy labor by sitting on a jar of hot water containing 
 turpentine. 
 
 2506. Previous to the beginning of birth pangs, delivery can be facili- 
 tated, if the woman holds her feet in hot water. 
 
 2507. "If a woman has children, the child she suffers the most with at 
 delivery will think the most of her when he gets older, and will 
 always stick by her while the others will turn her down." Written 
 contribution. 
 
 2508. If a pregnant woman crawls over her husband, he is going to 
 suffer as many pains as she will have. 
 
 2509. A husband sometimes has the pre-delivery sickness and birth 
 
 pangs experienced by his wife. My mother used to tell about 
 
 a case of this sort which happened at Canton, Missouri, when she 
 was a young woman in the early 1870's. The husband not only 
 had morning sickness and other ailments peculiar to a pregnant 
 woman but also suffered such acute pains during his wife's 
 delivery that he almost died. Although the wife's gestation and 
 parturition were quite normal, she, being fearful she might kill 
 her husband, would never have another child. 
 
 2510. To check an excessive flow in a confinement case, poultice the 
 woman with cow manure. 
 
 2511. Afterpains can be stopped by putting a razor under the woman's 
 bed. 
 
 2512. To lessen afterpains, place an axe beneath the woman's bed. 
 
 2513. "I was so sick and they could not find the axe or razor, so I told 
 them to put the butcher knife under the bed. Anything with a 
 sharp point would cut the pain. And it sure did help." 
 
 2514. Make a poultice for afterpains by stirring two ounces of linseed 
 oil and two ounces of hempseed oil in a dish with the yolks of 
 three eggs. 
 
 2515. Give chamomile tea to a recent mother. This purifies the blood 
 and heals the wound. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 123 
 
 2516. Bury the afterbirth and the mother will not have any afterpains. 
 
 2517. "Always bury the afterbirth deep, so the dogs can't dig it up; for 
 if they do, it will bring the mother very bad luck." 
 
 2518. If one can get and keep some of a baby's afterbirth, the child 
 will always be in that person's power. 
 
 2519. If you permit a mother to see her baby on the day of its birth, 
 she will never love it. 
 
 2520. Hot biscuits eaten by a woman in confinement will kill her. 
 
 2521. The woman who eats cabbage during confinement will die. 
 
 2522. Never let a woman during her lying-in eat fish; if you do, you 
 are murdering her. 
 
 2523. If a woman in confinement is allowed to eat sweet potatoes, she 
 will die. 
 
 2524. Do not visit a recent mother until she has left her bed, or you will 
 
 have bad luck. "I never go to see a new baby until the 
 
 mother is out of bed, for I think it very unlucky." 
 
 2525. While calling on a woman in confinement, always sit down before 
 you look at the baby; if you do not, the baby will have bad luck. 
 
 TIME OF BIRTH 
 
 2526. Children born in the light of the moon are more intelligent than 
 those born in the dark of the moon. 
 
 2527. A child born in the sign of the "fish" will be "crazy" about 
 water, that is, very fond of aquatic sports. 
 
 2528. If a child is born on a stormy night ,it will be a cross and nervous 
 baby. 
 
 2529. A person's life is influenced by the star under which he was bora. 
 
 2530. The child will be born at the same time during the day as its 
 begetting was effected. 
 
 2531. If a child is born about four o'clock in the afternoon, it will be 
 moderately rich throughout life. 
 
 2532. A child who is born about four o'clock on Saturday afternoon 
 will be very wealthy during its life. 
 
 2533. The day of the week on which you were born will always be 
 lucky for anything you attempt to do. 
 
 2534. "Monday's child is fair of face. 
 Tuesday's child is full of grace. 
 Wednesday's child is a child of woe. 
 Thursday's child has far to go. 
 Friday's child is loving and giving. 
 
124 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 Saturday's child must work for its living, 
 Sunday's child will never know want." 
 
 2535. "Monday's bairn is fair of face. 
 Tuesday's bairn is full of grace. 
 Wednesday's bairn has far to go. 
 Thursday's bairn is full of woe. 
 Friday's bairn is loving and giving. 
 Saturday's bairn works hard for a living. 
 But a child born on the Sabbath day, 
 
 Is lucky and bonny, wise and gay." 
 
 2536. "Monday's child is fair of face. 
 Tuesday's child is full of grace. 
 Wednesday's child is loving and giving. 
 Thursday's child must work for a living. 
 Friday's child is full of woe. 
 Saturday's child has far to go. 
 
 But the child that is born on the Sabbath day, 
 Is blythe and bonny and good and gay." 
 
 2537. "Wednesday's child is merry and glad. 
 Thursday's child is sour and sad." 
 
 2538. Anyone born on Friday must work for a living. 
 
 2539. Saturday is an unlucky day on which to be born. 
 
 2540. A child born on Saturday will never be wealthy. 
 
 2541. Babies bom on Sunday do not like to work. 
 
 2542. It is lucky to be born on Sunday. 
 
 2543. If twins are born on Sunday, they will always have good luck. 
 
 2544. Twins born on Sunday bring good luck to the family. 
 
 2545. A person born on Sunday will be capable in the management of 
 animals. 
 
 2546. The child who is born on Christmas Day will have the power to 
 understand the speech of animals. 
 
 2547. Christmas Day is a lucky time for a birth. 
 
 2548. A child born on Christmas Day is gifted with the power to see 
 spirits. 
 
 2549. Spirits can be seen by a child who is born on Good Friday. 
 
 2550. If a child is born on the thirteenth day of the month, it will die 
 on the same date. 
 
 2551. A child born on the thirteenth day of a month will not reach 
 old age. 
 
 2552. The person who is born on or between the twenty-first and 
 twenty-fourth day of a month will have good luck on the thir- 
 teenth day of any month. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 125 
 
 2553. If two members of a family are born in the same month of a year, 
 whether the same year or different years, it is unlucky. 
 
 2554. Anyone born between the 21st of January and the 21st of 
 February will always have bowel trouble. 
 
 2555. A woman born in February will be clever and sincere. 
 
 2556. A shrewd eye for business is characteristic of a man bom in 
 February. 
 
 2557. A bashful and slow disposition is one of the characteristics of a 
 man who is born in March. 
 
 2558. If a woman is born in March, she will be faithful in love and a 
 good wife. 
 
 2559. A person will be free-hearted, if he is born in March. 
 
 2560. Industry and fondness for her home and children are the traits 
 of a woman born in April. 
 
 2561. A man born in April will be very jealous, but he possesses other 
 qualities which indicate the making of a good husband. 
 
 2562. If a woman is born in May, she will worry about trivial affairs. 
 
 2563. Women will exert an undue influence over the man who is born 
 in May, and as a consequence, he may expect to meet many crosses 
 in life. 
 
 2564. Being a good wife and mother is the distinctive element in the 
 character of a woman born in June. She will live a happy life. 
 
 2565. The distinguishing traits of the man born in June are honesty 
 and success in love. 
 
 2566. Children born on the 16th or 17th of June will lead a life 
 of shame and sorrow. 
 
 2567. For anyone born in June, the 23rd of June will always be a 
 lucky day. 
 
 2568. The person who is born in July will have a sulky disposition. 
 
 2569. You will never accumulate any wealth, if you were born in July. 
 
 "My mother told me that was why I was always poor, 
 
 because I was born in July." 
 
 2570. The person born in August, a month during which the weather is 
 oppressively hot, will be hot-headed. 
 
 2571. A woman born in September may be described as prudent and 
 modest. Moreover, she is always virtuous. 
 
 2572. If a man is born in September, he will be honest, just and mo- 
 derate in his dealings, 
 
 2573. A woman who is born in December will have a quiet and good 
 disposition. 
 
 2574. The disposition of a man born in December will be characterized 
 by ambition and restlessness. 
 
 2575. A child born in December will have large knee joints. 
 
126 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF BABIES 
 
 2576. Colored babies are born white but as soon as the air strikes them 
 they begin to turn black. 
 
 2577. If a baby has large ears, it will be free-hearted, 
 
 2578. A baby will become a criminal, if there is no crease between the 
 lobe of its ear and cheek. 
 
 2579. All babies are born with blue eyes. 
 
 2580. A baby whose chin quivers will have a bad temper. 
 
 2581. The child who is born with long fingers will become a pianist. 
 
 2582. A baby born with a large amount of hair will have trouble in life. 
 
 2583. The child who is bom with considerable hair will prosper in life. 
 
 2584. If a baby is born without hair, it will meet very little trouble 
 during life. 
 
 2585. The baby who is born with long hair will soon die unless the hair 
 falls out. 
 
 2586. A baby whose hair is long will live, 
 
 2587. A baby with hair of a fine texture will not live long. 
 
 2588. If a baby has a cowlick, it will have a stubborn disposition. 
 
 2589. It is the sign of intelligence for a baby to have a crown on the 
 center of its head. 
 
 2590. To be born with two crowns means luck. 
 
 2591. If a baby is born with a closed hand, it will be closefisted or stingy 
 in life, 
 
 25^2, A baby born with an open hand will have an open-handed or a 
 generous disposition, 
 
 2593. There is a "soft spot" (the sutui-es) on the top of every baby's 
 head, and until this place becomes firm, the child will not talk. 
 
 2594. A baby is unable to walk until the "soft spot" on its head grows 
 hard. 
 
 2595. If a baby has a large mouth, it will become a good singer. 
 
 2596. A blue vein across a baby's nose indicates that it will not reach 
 maturity. 
 
 2597. If there is a blue vein on a baby's nose, the child will not live to 
 see its wedding clothes. 
 
 2598. A child born with teeth will not live long. 
 
 2599. A daughter will be lucky, if she resembles her father. 
 
 2600. The boy who looks like his mother will have good luck. 
 
 2601. A beautiful child will be homely when it has matured, 
 
 2602. If a baby is homely during infancy, it will be handsome on reach- 
 ing maturity, 
 
 2603. "Ugly babies make pretty ladies. 
 Pretty babies make ugly ladies." 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 127 
 
 2604. Anyone who is ugly in the cradle will be beautiful in the saddle. 
 
 2605. A baby born with a caul (or veil) will be gifted with second sight. 
 
 2606. The person who is born with a web has an augmented power of 
 
 second sight. "A web is a coarse piece of netting that is 
 
 over your veil when you are born, and if you have a web over 
 your veil, you can see still better." 
 
 2607. If one is born with two webs and a veil, he can always talk to 
 ghosts. 
 
 2608. The child who is born with a veil will be able to see ghosts. 
 
 2609. Anyone born without a veil will be unable to see ghosts. 
 
 2610. Keep the veil and after a year has past, let the baby look through 
 it and the child will become a fortune teller. 
 
 2611. A child born with a veil is endowed with the gift of healing. 
 
 2612. A baby will be intelligent, if it is born with a veil. 
 
 2613. Always preserve the veil which sometimes covers a baby's face at 
 birth and it will bring the child good luck. 
 
 2614. Save the veil, if a child is born with one, and sew it in its clothes 
 for luck. 
 
 2615. A baby's veil should be retained for luck, but if you lose or throw 
 it away, the child will be unlucky. 
 
 2616. If your child is born with a veil, guard it carefully; for if the 
 veil is stolen, the baby will have perpetual trouble. 
 
 2617. "If someone is born with a veil and they keep it, it should always 
 be buried in the coffin with the person; if not, the family will 
 have trouble as long as the veil is out of the coffin." 
 
 2618. Carry a caul and it will preserve you from drowning. 
 
 2619. Put a caul in your pocket when going to war and you will never 
 be shot. 
 
 2620. The sons of left-handed mothers will be left-handed. 
 
 2621. If the father is left-handed, his daughters will be left-handed. 
 
 2622. A seven-month baby or a baby born before the seventh month 
 will never live. 
 
 2623. A posthumous child has the power of healing. 
 
 2624. Almost every disease, and sometimes deformity, can be cured by 
 a posthumous child breathing against the patient's face. 
 
 2625. The seventh son of the seventh son possesses power to heal. He 
 is specially gifted in stopping the flow of blood. 
 
 2626. Future events can be foretold by the seventh son of the seventh 
 son. 
 
 2627. The birth of a seventh son always brings good luck to the family. 
 
 2628. The seventh daughter of a seventh daughter is endowed with 
 good luck. 
 
128 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 2629. The seventh child of a seventh child always becomes brilliant and 
 famous. 
 
 2630. A jx^rson born with a talent for playing a harp will always have 
 good luck. 
 
 LACTATION AND WEANING 
 
 2631. If camphor is rubbed on breasts before the birth of the baby, 
 the mother will not have any milk. 
 
 2632. Rub some of the afterbirth over the mother's nipples and she will 
 not have sore breasts. 
 
 2633. A salve for a woman's sore breasts can be made by mixing and 
 boiling as follows : Two ounces of unsalted butter, two ounces of 
 marrow of beef bone, two ounces of rosin, and two ounces of 
 tallow. 
 
 2634. Caked breasts can be cured by applying a poultice of (hot) cow 
 
 manure. • "Years ago a woman living in T. (a small town in 
 
 the county) was sick in confinement. Her husband was a doctor 
 and he had a call out in the country. And his wife's breast got 
 caked, and they put cow manure on it and she got all right." 
 
 2635. If a woman has caked breasts, poultice them with mashed elder 
 leaves. 
 
 2636. Boil elder leaves, if in summer ; or elder bark, if in winter 
 
 then add a half cupful of lard, cook down to a salve, and strain 
 through a cloth. Apply this to a woman's sore breasts. 
 
 2637. A flaxseed poultice is good for caked breasts. 
 
 2638. For caked breasts, fry hops in lard and apply hot. 
 
 2639. Lay hot pancakes on sore breasts as a cure. 
 
 2640. Poultice breasts with crushed parsley leaves to prevent caking. 
 
 2641. A salve made of poke roots is good for caked breasts. 
 
 2642. If a woman has "weed breasts" or caked breasts, they can be 
 cured by letting a puppy suck them. 
 
 2643. The mother who eats boiled cabbage while nursing a baby will 
 give it colic. 
 
 2644. A mother will kill her nursing child, if she eats fish and drinks 
 milk at the same time. 
 
 2645. A baby on reaching maturity will be affected by the sign in which 
 it was weaned. For examples : If you wean a child in the sign of 
 the "head," it will have headaches; if in the sign of the "heart," 
 heart trouble; and if in the sign of the "feet," sore feet. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 129 
 
 2646. A baby weaned in the sign of the "heart" will never cry. 
 
 2647. The child should be weaned in the sign of the "feet" to give a 
 mother an easy task. 
 
 2648. Wean a baby in the sign of the "fish" and you will not have any 
 difficulty with the child. 
 
 2649. Weaning an infant in the sign of the "head" will hurt its brains. 
 
 2650. To wean a baby in the sign of the "head" will make it headstrong. 
 
 2651. The child who is weaned in the sign of the "heart" will cry itself 
 to death. 
 
 2652. You will not experience any trouble with a child, if you wean it 
 as the sign is leaving the "heart." 
 
 2653. In the sign of the "legs" is a good time to wean a baby. 
 
 2654. A child will cry all the time, if it is weaned in the sign of Leo. 
 
 2655. A baby should be weaned when the sign is below the "sex organ." 
 
 2656. Wean a child in the light of the moon while the sign is receding 
 from the "knees" towards the "feet." 
 
 2657. One of the best times to wean a baby is on the decline of the moon. 
 
 2658. A woman can dry up her breasts readily by weaning the baby in 
 the dark of the moon. 
 
 2659. Friday is a good day on which to wean a child. 
 
 2660. A child born on Friday and weaned on Friday will always do well. 
 
 2661. Babies should be weaned from the tenth to the seventeenth of 
 the month. 
 
 2662. "If you wean a baby in May, 
 You will wean it away." 
 
 2663. Put bluing on the mother's breasts to wean a child. 
 
 2664. Breasts may be dried up by rubbing them with camphor. 
 
 2665. Nurse a baby for the last time beneath an elder bush and it will 
 not cry for breast milk again. 
 
 2666. If a baby dies before it has been weaned, dry the shirt which the 
 infant was wearing and place this over the mother's breasts to 
 dry up the milk. 
 
 2667. Let a mother sprinkle some of her milk over a flame or fire and 
 her breasts will dry up. Jewish. 
 
 2668. To wean a baby, place stove soot on the mother's breasts. 
 
 2669. Turn over a stove lid and squeeze some of your milk on the soot, 
 then replace the lid, and your breasts will dry up. 
 
 2670. To dry up breasts, squirt some of the milk on a hot stove each 
 
 morning for nine days. "I would always milk my breasts 
 
 on the stove every morning for nine mornings when I wanted to 
 wean my baby." 
 
130 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 DENTITION 
 
 2671. For teething, keep a necklace of allspice about a child's neck. 
 
 "I had nine children and every one of them wore a string of all- 
 spice around their necks when they were cutting teeth, and I did 
 not have any trouble. I think it very good." 
 
 2672. If the brains of a black hen are rubbed over a baby's gums, it will 
 teethe easily. 
 
 2673. An infant will not have a difficult time in cutting teeth, if you 
 rub its gums with a boiled egg and then let the child eat the &gg. 
 
 2674. Take a minnow out of a creek and pass it aHve over a baby's gums 
 to make teething easy. 
 
 2675. Give fennel tea to a teething child and also smear its gums with 
 honey. 
 
 2676. To prevent a child from having a cough when cutting teeth, a 
 flannel cloth should be kept around its stomach during the whole 
 period. 
 
 2677. If a man's hat is placed on a baby before it teethes, the infant 
 will have a hard time. 
 
 2678. A child will not experience any difficulty in cutting teeth, if you 
 hang a hog's tooth or a necklace of hog teeth about its neck. 
 
 2679. To make teething comfortable for a child, put about its neck the 
 lucky bone from a hog's head. 
 
 2680. Sore gums in a baby may be cured by the application of honey. 
 
 2681. To assist a child while cutting teeth, let it wear a necklace of Job's 
 tears. 
 
 2682. A necklace of Job's tears worn by an infant when teething will 
 ward off spasms. 
 
 2683. Never allow a baby to look into a mirror preceding dentition or 
 you will have a bad time with the child. 
 
 2684. Catch a mole and cut ofif one of its paws, which you must hang 
 up to dry. An infant will not be bothered with its first tooth, if 
 this dried mole-paw is suspended from the baby's neck. 
 
 2685. To ease the pains of teething, let a child wear the right leg of a 
 mole. 
 
 2686. Pains during teething can be relieved by suspending from a baby's 
 neck the right f>aw of a mole sewed in a small bag. 
 
 2687. The front paw of a mole carried in a little sack about the child's 
 neck will assist teething. 
 
 2688. Hang the two front feet of a mole round a baby's neck to help 
 it teethe. 
 
 2689. String a nutmeg, through which a hole has been bored, and place 
 it on a child's neck for easy teething. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 131 
 
 2690. The wearing of an orris root about the neck of a baby will aid 
 teething. 
 
 2691. Cut up a potato and string the pieces. Let a baby wear this neck- 
 lace to teethe easily. 
 
 2692. If a baby is cutting teeth, apply to its gums the brains of a wild 
 rabbit, and the child will not suffer any pains. 
 
 2693. Tie a black ribbon about an infant's neck during the teething 
 period and it will have an easy time. 
 
 2694. Rubbing the gums with sheep brains will assist a baby in cutting 
 teeth. 
 
 2695. To have a baby teethe easily, its gums must be rubbed with a 
 piece of silver. 
 
 2696. Aid a baby in cutting teeth by rubbing its gums with a (silver) 
 thimble. 
 
 2697. Boil a violet root in milk for a half hour and then punch a hole 
 through it. Place this root on a string and let the baby wear it 
 for cutting teeth. 
 
 2698. There will soon be another baby, if the preceding baby teethed 
 early. 
 
 2699. It is a very bad omen when a baby cuts its upper teeth first. The 
 child will go down to the grave instead of growing up. 
 
 2700. The child who first cuts its upper teeth will be the first one to die 
 in the family. 
 
 CARE OF INFANTS 
 
 2701. If a child is bom blind, the mother can make it see by squeezing 
 
 some of her milk into its eyes. A woman said that she tried 
 
 this remedy upon her blind baby without success. 
 
 2702. Before a newborn baby is dressed, someone should hold it by the 
 feet, letting the head hang down, and give it a gentle shaking. 
 This will prevent the child from having colic. 
 
 2703. A baby becomes liver-grown by lying continually in the same posi- 
 tion. The character of this disease is such that the child's liver 
 sticks to the back or to some other internal part of the body. 
 
 2704. To keep a baby from becoming liver-grown, every morning give it 
 a good shaking, letting its head hang downward. 
 
 2705. When a baby becomes liver-grown, hold its feet up in the air and 
 swing it back and forth. At the same time, or between swings,, 
 let someone rub the child downwards from the shoulder blades. 
 This will effect a cure. 
 
 2706. Prevent sore mouth in a baby by rinsing out its mouth with urine. 
 
132 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 "Years ago I knew a midwife that every baby she brought 
 
 she would always wash their mouth out with urine from the 
 chamber and she never had a baby to have sore mouth." 
 
 2707. "When you take the navel cord off a baby, don't let it change 
 hands or don't lay it down. Put it right in the fire, for if you lay 
 it down or change it from one hand to another, it will make the 
 baby's navel sore. When my baby was born, my mother carried 
 the baby right to the stove before she took the navel off, so she 
 could drop it right in the stove. And the baby was not sick with 
 its navel." 
 
 2708. If you lay down the navel cord removed from a baby, you will 
 make the child a bed-wetter. 
 
 2709. If a baby's navel will not heal, dust it with powder secured by 
 pulverizing a mud dauber's nest. This will cure the wound quickly. 
 
 "I know a woman that had a little baby and the midwife let 
 
 the navel get very sore. It would not heal. She got another mid- 
 wife and that was all she done for that sore navel was to get a 
 mud dauber's house, mash it to powder and put on that baby's 
 navel, and it got well right away." 
 
 2710. Cut a large raisin in half and lay it on a navel that is beginning 
 to get sore, and over this bind a twenty-five cent piece. The sore- 
 ness will "soon disappear. 
 
 2711. "If a newborn baby can't wet, take the white skin out of an egg 
 and lay over its privates and it will make water right away." 
 
 2712. Burn the first soiled diaper removed from a child and it will 
 never have any stomach complaint. 
 
 2713. As soon as a baby is born give it a spoonful of water and it will 
 never have a bellyache. 
 
 2714. It is unlucky to change the day fixed for a baptism. 
 
 2715. A child will have bad luck, if taken from home before it has been 
 baptized. 
 
 2716. A baby dying before baptism will not go to heaven. 
 
 2717. If you let a male baby wear beads during the first year of his life, 
 he will die by hanging. 
 
 2718. Unless the doctor's bill is paid promptly, the baby will not grow. 
 
 2719. If a child is carried upstairs before taken downstairs, it will rise 
 in the world. "When Mrs. R's son was born the grand- 
 mother carried him up a ladder into the garret of the one-storied 
 house to make sure that he would rise in the world. I remember 
 that the nurse who attended the mother of our prominent citizen 
 Mr. K. insisted on performing the same ceremony, which was 
 in that case made easier by the existence of stairs." Written 
 contribution. 
 
Folk-Lore fj-otn Adams County Illinois 133 
 
 2720. Carry a baby downstairs before taking it upstairs and it will 
 become rich. 
 
 2721. Let a baby see a sunrise before it sees a sunset and it will have a 
 long Hfe. 
 
 2722. If a child in its first year is taken across a river on a boat, it 
 will die. 
 
 2723. A child will die, if rain falls on its head before it is a year old. 
 
 2724. Rain falling on a child's head before it is a year old will give it 
 freckles. 
 
 2725. A baby will acquire the disposition of the person who first carries 
 it out of the house. 
 
 2726. During the first six weeks of a baby's life, always keep it wrapped 
 in a piece of cloth ; for if you dress the infant, it will never live 
 to reach maturity. 
 
 2727. "I always put my baby's clothes on over its feet instead of over 
 its head until it was a year old to keep it from having bad luck." 
 
 2728. When dressing a newborn baby, place its right arm in the sleeve 
 first so that it will be right-handed. Beginning with the left arm 
 will make the child left-handed. 
 
 2729. The first time a child wears stockings, put on the right before the 
 left stocking, to make it right-handed. If you start with the left 
 stocking, the infant will be left-handed. 
 
 2730. Never change a diaper that has been placed upside down on a 
 baby, or it will die within a week. 
 
 2731. A baby will become a thief, if the first diaper used is an old one. 
 
 2732. You will make a baby cross, if you iron its diapers. 
 
 272)Z. "I was visiting my father (fifty-five years ago) and I went and 
 put the remains out of the diaper in the fire, and he said my baby's 
 bottom would burn." 
 
 2734. Dress the baby in its best clothes on the first three Sundays of its 
 life so that it will always wear its clothes well and appear stylish. 
 
 2735. Preserve a baby's first pair of shoes for luck. 
 
 2736. To stop a baby's coughing, rub the "soft spot" on top of its head. 
 
 2737. Rocking the cradle without the baby is unlucky. 
 
 2738. To rock an empty cradle will make the baby cross. 
 
 2739. If you rock a sleeping baby in the cradle, it will become cross. 
 
 2740. Rock an empty cradle and the baby will not sleep well. 
 
 2741. If an empty cradle is rocked, the child will not live long. 
 
 2742. Bad luck will come to a child, if its baby carriage is sold. 
 
 2743. A precocious child will not reach maturity. 
 
 2744. To make a good-natured man of a male baby, let him suck a piece 
 of fat bacon. 
 
134 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 2745. Keep a red ribbon around a baby's neck to prevent someone from 
 giving it a bad eye. Jewish. 
 
 2746. Use scissors in cutting a baby's nails before it is six months old 
 and it will die. 
 
 2747. Cut the finger-nails of a baby during its first year and it will not 
 live. 
 
 2748. If you trim the finger-nails of a baby before it is one month old, 
 the infant will become light-fingered. 
 
 2749. Do not clip a baby's finger-nails during its first year, because you 
 will make it a thief. Scissors are made of steel, therefore the baby 
 will steal. 
 
 2750. A child will develop thievish tendencies, if you bite off its finger- 
 nails. 
 
 2751. Every child has a guardian angel that protects it from harm. 
 
 2752. Wrap a baby in fur before you dress it for the first time so that 
 it will have curly hair. 
 
 2753. Immediately after birth, place the baby on a curly rug and the 
 
 child's hair will become curly. "Mrs. M. told Walter that 
 
 when her child was about to be born her mother prepared for its 
 advent by placing conveniently near an old rug. Upon this she 
 placed the newborn child before it touched a fabric of any kind. 
 This was to insure its having curly hair." Written contribution. 
 
 2754. You can give curly hair to a child by frequently rubbing on top 
 of its head with your finger in a circular motion. 
 
 2755. Brush a baby's hair upwards every day to make it curly. 
 
 2756. A baby's hair will fall out, if it is cut during the first year of the 
 child's life. 
 
 2757. If you clip a child's hair before it is a year old, the baby will die. 
 
 2758. Trim a child's hair for luck on Friday when the moon is growing. 
 
 2759. Save the first clippings from a baby's hair for luck, 
 
 2760. Place a dime in the hand of a recently born baby and it will never 
 be without money. 
 
 2761. It is unlucky to put someone's hat on a baby's head before the 
 child is a year old. 
 
 2762. You will kill a baby, if you press the "soft spot" on its head. 
 
 2763. To discover whether or not a baby is sick, touch its forehead with 
 your finger, and if the perspiration tastes salty, it is sick; but if 
 the perspiration does not taste like salt, the infant is well. 
 
 2764. You can ward off sickness during the first two years of a baby's 
 life by tying around its neck the two front feet of a mole on a 
 string sufficiently long to allow them to rest on the stomach. 
 
 2765. W^hen a baby under a year of age is very sick, never buy any new 
 clothes for it, or it will die. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 135 
 
 2766. Pass a baby, before it is a year old, through a horse's collar to 
 make or to keep it healthy. 
 
 2767. Wash a baby's arms and feet in dishwater to make them strong. 
 
 2768. Dip the feet and hands of a newborn baby into cold water and 
 they will never become cold. 
 
 2769. Do not place a recently born baby on a table, for it will have bad 
 luck. 
 
 2770. To lay a child on a table before it is a year old is unlucky. 
 
 2771. If an infant under a year of age is laid on a table, its growth will 
 be stopped. 
 
 2772. Placing a baby on an ironing board will cause bad luck. 
 277Z. To hand a baby through a window is unlucky. 
 
 2774. "They say that if you pass a baby through a window over to 
 another window to a neighbor, it is bad luck for the baby." 
 
 2775. Laying a child down on its left side before it is a year old will 
 make it left-handed. 
 
 2776. During the first year always put a baby down on its right side to 
 make it right-handed. 
 
 2777. Crack on a Bible the first louse found in a male baby's hair and 
 he will become a preacher. 
 
 2778. "I have two sons, and years ago when I found the first louse in 
 their heads, I cracked it on the bottom of a tin cup and they are 
 both good singers." 
 
 2779. "When a child is born, if you will take a slice of apple and rub 
 over its tongue before anything else gets on their tongue, it will 
 make a wonderful singer of them. When my daughter was born, 
 my wife had someone to rub a slice of apple over her tongue 
 before she had anything else and she was a wonderful singer. My 
 daughter married and had several children and they are all won- 
 derful singers, because she had someone to rub a slice of apple 
 over their tongue before they had anything else." 
 
 2780. Place in an infant's hand, as soon as it is born, some object that 
 symbolizes the occupation you want the child to adopt in later 
 life, and your hope will be fulfilled. 
 
 2781. Measure a baby before it is a year old and it will not live to reach 
 its second year. 
 
 2782. Stretch out the anns of a child two years of age against the wall 
 and measure them finger tips to finger tips. Twice this distance 
 will be the child's height when grown. 
 
 2783. Kissing a baby on the mouth is unlucky. 
 
 2784. To choose a definite name for an unborn baby is unlucky. Always, 
 pick out several names and select one of these after the child is 
 born. 
 
136 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 2785. If you name your child after either its father or yourself, you 
 will not have any more children. 
 
 2786. Bestowing a saint's name upon your child will bring it good luck. 
 
 2787. It is unlucky to name a child for a dead person. 
 
 2788. A baby to whom the name of a dead person has been given will 
 
 not live long. "My uncle named two of his children after 
 
 dead people and he lost both of them." 
 
 2789. To change a child's name will cause it bad luck. 
 
 2790. You must always use a nipple of the same color or the baby will 
 refuse to take the bottle. 
 
 2791. If you take a baby's picture before it is three months old, it will 
 die. 
 
 2792. It is the sign of bad luck to have a baby's picture taken before its 
 first birthday. 
 
 2793. A child's first gift should come from its mother for luck. 
 
 2794. If a baby is unable to sleep, give it tea made of caraway seed. 
 
 2795. While a baby is asleep, turn it occasionally so that its head will 
 not flatten on one side. 
 
 2796. When a mother first arises from confinement, let her carry water 
 in a thimble and the child will not slobber. 
 
 2797. "If a baby slobbers, take a live minnow and draw it back and 
 forth three times through its mouth, then throw the minnow in 
 running water and the fish will swim away with the baby's slob- 
 bers. This is true because I tried it years ago. I had a baby and 
 it slobber all the time. One day we went fishing and I thought I 
 would try it, for we had a bucket of minnows ; so I took a large 
 minnow and drawed it through the baby's mouth three times and 
 threw it in the creek, and the minnow went down the stream. 
 You may laugh at me, but my baby never slobber after the fish 
 was out of sight." 
 
 2798. Whenever a child more than a year old sneezes, always say, "God 
 bless you" to keep it from having bad luck, 
 
 2799. If you step over a child lying on the floor, you will stunt its 
 growth, unless you step back over it at once. 
 
 2800. Counting a baby's teeth is unlucky. 
 
 2801. A child will not live long, if you think too much of it. 
 
 2802. It causes bad luck to tickle a baby. 
 
 2803. If a baby is ticklish on the soles of its feet, it will become a roamer. 
 
 2804. If a child is tickled, it will become a stutterer. 
 
 2805. Tickling a child on the feet before it is a year old will make it 
 stammer. 
 
 2806. When first visiting a recently born baby, kiss it and you will have 
 good luck. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 137 
 
 2807. On your first visit to a new baby, kiss the bottoms of its feet and 
 you will give it luck. 
 
 2808. The first time you see a newborn baby, kiss it while you make a 
 wish, and your wish will come true. 
 
 2809. Never visit a baby for the first time unless you take it something 
 to eat. If you do this, the child will always have food. 
 
 2810. If you visit a baby for the first time, point a loaf of "twist bread" 
 at it as you enter the door, and the child will have a long life. 
 Jewish. 
 
 2811. A baby visited by you for the first time will have good luck, if 
 you hold a fresh egg in front of it. 
 
 2812. If the first visitor to see a recently born baby offers it a piece of 
 money, the infant will be rich. 
 
 2813. Tie a pink string around the little finger of a baby on your first 
 visit to see it and the child will be lucky. 
 
 2814. It is very lucky for a man to let a newborn male wet on him. 
 
 BEHAVIOR OF INFANTS 
 
 2815. If a baby "sweeps" the floor, company will come. 
 
 2816. A child crawling to the center of a room is the sign of visitors. 
 
 2817. If a child crawls towards a door, a disappointment of some sort 
 will detain the guests that were expected. 
 
 2818. After a child has cried three nights in succession, it will never 
 cry again at night. 
 
 2819. A child who cries continually during infancy will have a good 
 disposition when it becomes an adult. 
 
 2820. It is a lucky omen to have an infant cry while being baptized. 
 
 "I know this is true because my baby cried at christening 
 
 and it had very good luck." 
 
 2821. The crying of a baby girl during baptism is a sign that she likes 
 her name. The godmother is supposed to give the child a pair of 
 shoes for luck. 
 
 2822. A baby boy crying at baptism means that he approves his name. 
 The godfather should give him a pair of boots for luck. 
 
 2823. A woman will be a happy old maid, if she was cross in infancy. 
 
 2824. The baby who is permitted to drink liquor will become a drunkard. 
 
 2825. Unless a child falls out of bed once, it will never be reared. 
 
 2826. A baby must tumble out of bed at least three times before it will 
 grow. 
 
138 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 2827. If a child does not fall out of bed before it is eleven months old, 
 it will become a fool. 
 
 2828. A child will be intelligent, if it falls from bed before it is a year 
 old. 
 
 2829. It is unlucky for a baby to see itself in a looking-glass. 
 
 2830. When a baby looks into a mirror before it is a year of age, it will 
 have bad luck. 
 
 2831. To allow a child to look over your shoulder into a mirror before 
 it is a year old will bring it some misfortune. 
 
 2832. Show a baby its reflection in a looking-glass and it will not survive 
 the end of the first year. 
 
 2833. A baby looking into a mirror will become vain. 
 
 2834. "Let an infant before it is a year old look into a mirror and it 
 will see the devil's butt." 
 
 2835. If a baby smiles while asleep, angels are talking to it. 
 
 2836. An infant desires something, when it holds out its tongue. 
 
 2837. Never let a baby suck its thumbs, or its upper teeth will stick out. 
 
 2838. It is a bad sign for a child to talk or walk too soon. 
 
 2839. If a baby learns to talk earlier than usual, its walking will be 
 retarded. 
 
 2840. The child who starts to walk sooner than is customary will have 
 its speech delayed. 
 
 2841. A few words spoken by a baby long before the time for speaking 
 begins, indicates a calamity in the family. 
 
 2842. When talking precedes walking in a child, the child's tongue will 
 cause its ruination. 
 
 2843. If a baby walks before it is six months old, it will be unlucky in 
 
 after life. "My sister's boy could walk before he was six 
 
 months old and he lost in everything he done. He just could not 
 have any luck." 
 
 2844. A baby will become selfish, if it closes its fists tightly. 
 
 2845. The habit of keeping the fists doubled is a sign that the child will 
 be stingy. 
 
 2846. It is a sign of love for money, if a child clutches a coin put in its 
 hand. 
 
 2847. If a child refuses to grasp a coin given to it, it will become a 
 spendthrift. 
 
 2848. If a coin placed in an infant's hand is held firmly, the child will 
 become wealthy; but if the coin is dropped, money will slip 
 through its fingers. 
 
 2849. Let a baby see a new penny, a shiny nickel and a bright dime. 
 Whatever coin the child picks out will foretell the measure of its 
 financial success in life. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 139 
 
 2850. To discover the child's future occupation set before him on the 
 floor a Bible, a dollar and a bottle. If he takes the Bible, he will 
 be a preacher ; the dollar, a banker ; and the bottle, a drunkard. 
 
 2851. You can find out what a child's work in life will be by placing in 
 front of him on the floor a dollar, a bottle and a hammer. If he 
 chooses the dollar, he will be a banker ; the bottle, a drunkard ; 
 and the hammer, a carpenter. 
 
 2852. To learn what a child will do in life, show him a bottle, a Bible 
 and a hammer. If he selects the bottle, he will be a drunkard; the 
 Bible, a preacher; and the hammer, a carpenter. 
 
 2853. To divine the future calling of a baby, let him look at a piece of 
 money, a book, a bottle and a hammer on the floor. If he 
 prefers the money, he will become a banker; the book, a lawyer; 
 the bottle, a doctor; and the hammer, a carpenter. 
 
 2854. When a baby first can crawl, lay before him a dollar and a bottle 
 of whiskey. If he crawls to the whiskey, he will be a drunkard; 
 and if to the dollar, he will always have plenty of money. 
 
 HUMAN BODY IN GENERAL 
 
 2855. The entire composition of the body changes every seven years. 
 
 2856. Human vitality is at its lowest between midnight and dawn. 
 
 2857. By exhaling all air from the lungs the body becomes much lighter 
 and can be easily lifted. 
 
 2858. A nervous person can do twice as much work as the one who has 
 steady nerves. 
 
 2859. A fat person is always good-natured. 
 
 2860. A fat man has a little penis. The last word is seldom used 
 
 by the folk. It is a substitution here and elsewhere for a variety 
 of popular terms. 
 
 2861. A tall man has a large penis. 
 
 2862. A small man has a large penis. 
 
 2863. A large man has a small penis. 
 
 2864. You can keep thin by drinking a half glassful of vinegar every- 
 day. 
 
 2865. Reduce (or keep down) your weight by smoking tobacco. 
 
 2866. Stand up frequently if you want to grow tall. 
 
 2867. Iron taken in any form will strengthen the body. 
 
 2868. Wear a leather strap around your wrist to make the arm strong.. 
 
 2869. Tobacco smoking will check a child's growth. 
 
 2870. In order to promote a child's growth, on his birthday give him a. 
 slap for each year of his age and one to grow on. 
 
140 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 2871. Jumping through a window will stop a person's growth. 
 
 2872. A child will cease growing, if he crawls through a window, 
 2S73. It is an old saying among colored folk that a "coal-black" negro 
 
 is a bad character. The reverse is thought to be true by white 
 people, that a yellow or light-colored negro is no good. 
 
 2874. Negroes also say that if a young colored boy drinks coffee, it 
 will make him blacker when he grows up. 
 
 2875. "If you can get to a person as soon as they have been electrocuted 
 and bury them in the ground with only their head out of the 
 ground, it will draw all the electricity from their body." Written 
 contribution. 
 
 2876. "If a man sees a woman naked, he will soon lose his mind and go 
 crazy." Written contribution. 
 
 2877. The power of hearing can be increased, especially in the dark, if 
 the mouth is kept open. 
 
 2878. I f someone sticks a person in the navel with a needle or pin, it 
 will cause almost instant death. 
 
 2879. A negro is more sensitive on the shin than a white person. Hence, 
 the first rule in a "free-for-all" fight with a negro is to kick him 
 on the shin. 
 
 2880. Measure yourself and you will bring your family bad luck. 
 
 2881. If you receive a scratch, it means that someone has told a false- 
 hood about you. 
 
 2882. If you find a scratch on your body, you will soon take a ride. 
 
 HEAD-CHIN-FACE-FOREHEAD-NECK 
 
 2883. Placing quicksilver on your head will give you bad luck. 
 
 2884. To have good luck, rub your hands on a negro's head. 
 
 2885. If two persons accidentally bump heads with one another, they 
 will be together next year at the same time. 
 
 2886. "I am ninety-six years old and I have never had warm water on 
 my face. In the summer I use ice water when I can get it. The 
 barbers call me an old Indian crank (the narrator is an Indian), 
 because I will not let them use warm water when they shave me. 
 I make them use the cold. I have not a wrinkle and I am not 
 going to have any." 
 
 2887. Wrinkles can be prevented by eating ten or twelve dried prunes 
 daily. 
 
 2888. Sleeping with your head raised high will give you wrinkles. 
 
 2889. "Dimple in the cheek, 
 Mild, gentle and meek." 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 141 
 
 2890. "Dimple on the chin, 
 Devil within." 
 
 2891. A girl with a dimple on her chin is not to be trusted. 
 
 2892. A burning face means that someone is thinking of you. 
 
 2893. People with high foreheads are very intelligent. 
 
 2894. A low sloping forehead identifies the possessor as a moron. 
 
 2895. If the back of your neck itches, you will receive a shock, 
 
 2896. An itching on the back of your neck indicates that you will meet 
 with some failure. 
 
 HAIR-COMBING-COMB 
 
 2897. Hair on the body signifies strength. 
 
 2898. A large quantity of hair on the body is a sign of virility. 
 
 2899. An unusual amount of hair on the head shows sexual potency. 
 
 2900. An abundance of pubic hair is an indication of virility. 
 
 2901. Hairy anns mean strength. 
 
 2902. Legs well covered with hair are an evidence of strength. 
 
 2903. It is a mark of wealth to have hairy arms. 
 
 2904. Hairy legs are a token of wealth. 
 
 2905. A person with a cowlick will be lucky. 
 
 2906. Two crowns (or a double crown) indicate that you will live in 
 two countries (governments or kingdoms). 
 
 2907. Anyone who has a double crown will eat bread on two continents. 
 
 2908. A person with two crowns will meet death by drowning. 
 
 2909. You will be lucky, after you have found the first grey hair on 
 your head. 
 
 2910. Remove one grey hair and two will take its place. 
 
 2911. Pull out a grey hair and you will soon find five. 
 
 2912. If you jerk out a grey hair, ten will come to its funeral. 
 
 2913. Eleven grey hairs will grow in the place of the one that has been 
 removed. 
 
 2914. Fright will turn a person's hair white. 
 
 2915. Hair will become white overnight from fright. 
 
 2916. Bald-headed men have more brains than men with an abundance 
 of hair. 
 
 2917. Men who become grey prematurely are usually good-natured. 
 
 2918. A Hght-haired man is always conceited. 
 
 2919. Women who have blond hair are less dependable than woman 
 with darker shades of hair. 
 
 2920. A blonde has a loving disposition but is fickle and unreliable. 
 
142 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 2921. The best husbands will be found among men with fine brown hair. 
 
 2922. Very dark hair in a man is always a sign of loyalty. 
 
 2923. A dark-haired woman is faithful and trustworthy. 
 
 2924. Women with dark hair are more loyal than light-haired women. 
 
 2925. A woman who has black hair with a fine texture is highly strung. 
 
 2926. Coarse black hair in a woman is a sign of a cross disposition. 
 
 2927. People with dark hair are more sensual than those who have 
 lighter tints of hair. 
 
 2928. A "redhead" is always a "spit-fire." 
 
 2929. A person with red hair either has a great many freckles or is 
 very fair. 
 
 2930. To have good luck, rub your hand on the head of a person who 
 has red hair, 
 
 2931. You will burn your hand, if you rub it on red hair. A generation 
 ago it was a rather common prank for a large boy to pretend that 
 his hand was burning while he rubbed his knuckles none too lightly 
 on the head of a small boy who had red hair. The prank was 
 never attempted unless the "redhead" was considerably smaller 
 than the aggressor. 
 
 2932. If you have tangles in your hair, rats have slept in it, 
 
 2933. Good fortune will come to a person whose crown itches. 
 
 2934. If one of your hairs will curl when you pull it between your 
 finger-nails, you have a terrible temper. 
 
 2935. Finding a hair in your mouth means that you will kiss a fool. 
 
 2936. If one of your loose hairs falls over your nose, you will receive 
 money unexpectedly. 
 
 2937. To find a hair on your shoulder indicates that you will get a letter. 
 
 2938. A string in your hair shows that someone is thinking about you. 
 
 2939. Hair should be cut during the change of the moon. 
 
 2940. Secure thick hair by trimming it on the increase of the moon. 
 
 2941. You will have hair with a fine texture, if you cut it in the "grow- 
 ing" of the moon. 
 
 2942. Hair clipped during the new moon will grow in twice as heavily, 
 
 2943. Let a girl clip the ends of her hair every new moon and her hair 
 will grow faster. 
 
 2944. If you cut your hair in the light of the moon and rub a new penny 
 over the ends it will grow quickly. 
 
 2945. Hair will always grow well, if cut on the first Friday of the new 
 moon. 
 
 2946. Cut your hair on Friday in the new moon and it will grow. 
 
 2947. You will become bald, if your hair is trimmed during the decrease 
 of the moon. 
 
 2948. Cutting your hair in the dark of the moon will make you bald. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 143 
 
 2949. To make hair "blunty," cut it in the dark of the moon. 
 
 2950. A man will lose his strength, if he allows a woman to cut his hair. 
 
 2951. Cure dandruff by washing your hair with a lotion made of one 
 fourth apple juice and three fourths water. 
 
 2952. If you dye your hair often, it will injure your brain. 
 
 2953. Eat crusts of bread to make your hair curly. 
 
 2954. Let a cat lick cow's cream off your face and you can grow a heavy 
 beard. 
 
 2955. You may obtain curly hair by frequently eating a large number 
 of eggs. 
 
 2956. Use the sap from grapevines trimmed in the spring as a tonic for 
 hair. 
 
 2957. You will not become bald, if you wash your hair with tea made of 
 wild grapevine blossoms. 
 
 2958. To wear a hat in the house will make you bald. 
 
 2959. If you boil a mole in an earthen pot and use this liquid when 
 washing your hair, your hair will turn white. 
 
 2960. Using a strong tea made of peach leaves will cure dandruff and 
 falling hair. 
 
 2961. If you wash your hair with peach leaf tea, it will grow. 
 
 2962. Never put peroxide on your hair ; it will affect your brain. 
 
 2963. Rain falling on your bare head will make your hair grow. 
 
 2964. You can cause your hair to grow by washing it with rain water. 
 
 2965. If it rains on your head during dog days, you will lose your hair. 
 
 2966. Cold sage tea is a good hair tonic and it also will darken the hair. 
 
 2967. Singe the ends of your hair to prevent its falling out. 
 
 2968. Wash your hair with March snow water to keep it from coming 
 out. 
 
 2969. Tea made of walnut hulls is a good hair tonic and dye. 
 
 2970. To burn combings will cause you bad luck. 
 
 2971. All your hair will fall out, if you burn your combings. 
 
 2972. You will become stupid, if your combings are burned. 
 
 2973. If it takes a long time for your combings to burn, you will live 
 to be very old. 
 
 2974. *T never throw my hair out or burn it. I always put it in the 
 water-closet so it will grow." 
 
 2975. Never burn your combings, but put them out where the birds 
 can get them for nests. If you do not, it is a sin. 
 
 2976. Birds building a nest with your combings will put tangles in your 
 hair. 
 
 2977. If you throw your hair cuttings outdoors and birds make nests 
 of them, you will have good luck. 
 
144 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 297^. There will be an increase in the family, if birds construct a nest 
 from your combings. 
 
 2979. It causes bad luck to have birds fly over the combings which you 
 have thrown away. 
 
 2980. If birds make a nest with a man's combings, he will become bald. 
 
 2981. When your discarded hair rots after birds have made a nest of 
 it, all the hair will drop out of your head. 
 
 2982. Always place your combings under a rock and your hair will 
 never fall out, 
 
 2983. To make your hair grow, put your clippings beneath a rock. 
 
 2984. Bad luck will befall you, if you lay your hair clippings under a 
 rock. 
 
 2985. Your hair will grow, if some of your cuttings are buried in the 
 ground. 
 
 2986. Stop hair from falling out by burying some of the combings. 
 
 2987. Throw your hair clippings or combings into running water and 
 you will lose your mind, 
 
 2988. Keep a slip of your hair in your locket for luck. 
 
 2989. A woman's hair will not take a "permanent wave," if she is 
 menstruating. 
 
 2990. If a woman during menstruation permits someone to comb her 
 hair, her hair will fall out. 
 
 2991. It will cause bad luck, if two persons comb someone's hair at the 
 same time. 
 
 2992. If you are compelled to finish combing your hair after someone 
 has started the task, expect bad luck. 
 
 2993. To comb your hair at night in front of a mirror is unlucky. 
 
 2994. You will be disappointed, if you comb your hair while sitting on 
 a bed. 
 
 2995. If you comb your hair just before going to bed, you will become 
 crazy. 
 
 2996. To see a woman combing her hair in the light of the full moon 
 is a bad omen. 
 
 2997. "To comb hair after dark. 
 Brings sorrow to the heart." 
 
 2998. Combing your hair after dark (or after sunset) will make you 
 forgetful (or absent-minded). 
 
 2999. It is unlucky to comb your hair after dark, 
 
 3000. To drop combings while you comb your hair in the morning will 
 cause bad luck. 
 
 3001. Misfortune will follow, if you count the teeth of a comb while 
 using it. 
 
 3002. To let a comb fall is the sign of a disappointment. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 145 
 
 3003. If you drop a comb while preparing to go somewhere, you will 
 be disappointed and compelled to remain at home. 
 
 3004. Dropping a comb and picking it up will bring you disappoint- 
 ment. 
 
 3005. Let someone pick up the comb that you have dropped and you will 
 not be disappointed. 
 
 3006. Step on a fallen comb to avert a disappointment. 
 
 3007. When you drop a comb, prevent a disappointment by placing your 
 right foot on it. 
 
 3008. Expect company, if you let a comb fall while combing your hair. 
 
 3009. Letting a comb drop while combing your hair means that you will 
 receive some money. 
 
 3010. To drop a comb will give you bad luck. 
 
 3011. If you let a comb fall, step on it and you will be lucky. 
 
 3012. A dropped comb should be stepped on three times and kissed to 
 avert bad luck. 
 
 3013. If the comb drops while you are combing your hair, prevent bad 
 luck by letting someone step on it before you pick it up. 
 
 3014. Trouble may be expected, if you let a comb fall behind you while 
 combing your hair. 
 
 MOUTH-LIPS-TONGUE 
 
 3015. If the corners of a person's mouth droop, he possesses a jealous 
 nature. 
 
 3016. A large number of wrinkles around your mouth means that you 
 are a story-teller. 
 
 3017. A woman who has a large mouth has a large vagina. 
 
 3018. A man with a large mouth is a c s (vaginam 
 
 mulieris ling ere). 
 
 3019. Itching lips indicate that you will kiss someone. 
 
 3020. It is a sign that you will be kissed, when your upper lip itches. 
 
 3021. A man will kiss a woman soon, if his lips itch. 
 
 3022. A woman whose lips itch will soon kiss a man. 
 
 3023. If your lips itch, someone is crying about you. 
 
 3024. A man with a mustache will come, if your upper lip itches. 
 
 3025. A blister, pimple or sore on your tongue shows that you have told 
 a lie. 
 
146 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 TEETH 
 
 3026. To cut your wisdom teeth early means that you will die young. 
 
 3027. Cutting your wisdom teeth late is the sign of a long life. 
 
 3028. Whenever you cut your wisdom teeth, your life is half over. 
 
 3029. You will never gain any knowledge or be wise until you have 
 cut your wisdom teeth. 
 
 3030. A space between the two front upper incisors indicates that you 
 will live far from your childhood home. 
 
 3031. Teeth close together in front are a token that you will always live 
 near the place where you were born. 
 
 3032. Broad front teeth reveal that you will be a lifelong traveler. 
 
 3033. A broad space between the front teeth signifies a long life. 
 
 3034. If your front teeth are wide apart, you will accumulate wealth. 
 
 3035. To count your teeth will bring bad luck. 
 
 3036. Picking your teeth with a pin will cause bad luck. 
 
 3037. Pick your teeth with a needle or pin and they will decay. 
 
 3038. Eat bread crusts to make white teeth. 
 
 3039. Qean your teeth with cigar ashes to preserve and to make them 
 white. 
 
 3040. Chew tobacco to preserve your teeth. 
 
 3041. Preserve your teeth by washing them with urine. 
 
 3042. If a tooth is lost, its mate will soon follow. 
 
 3043. "If a young man sheds his teeth before he is twenty-one, he won't 
 live long." 
 
 3044. "If a man sheds his teeth after he is twenty-one, he will live to 
 be a hundred years old." 
 
 3045. When a girl is in her ninth year or thereabouts, never have one 
 of her teeth pulled, or it will lead to serious trouble. 
 
 3046. It brings very bad luck to extract a tooth when the sign is in the 
 "head." One person knew a woman who died because she pulled 
 her tooth during this sign. 
 
 3047. Teeth should be pulled in the sign of the "shoulder." 
 
 3048. Pull a tooth in the sign of the "thigh" during the dark of the 
 moon and it will not hurt. 
 
 3049. If you have your first tooth pulled without using an anesthetic, 
 throw the tooth over your head and you will never have another 
 decayed tooth until you die, 
 
 3050. Hide a pulled tooth under a rock and your next tooth will be 
 straight. Moreover, you will never have toothache in the new 
 tooth. 
 
 3051. Throw an extracted tooth over your right shoulder and another 
 tooth will grow in its place. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 147 
 
 3052. Cast a pulled tooth over your shoulder, without watching to see 
 where it goes, and a straight tooth will grow in its place; but if 
 you turn around to look, the new tooth will come in crooked. 
 
 3053. If an animal finds a tooth which you have thrown away, the new 
 tooth will resemble the teeth of that animal. 
 
 3054. If you throw away your first tooth and a chicken picks it up, you 
 will get a chicken tooth. 
 
 3055. If a dog gets the tooth that you have thrown away, a dog tooth 
 will grow m its place. 
 
 3056. If a dog steps on (or walks over) the tooth that you have thrown 
 away, the new tooth will look like a dog tooth. 
 
 3057. If you throw a tooth away and a rabbit runs over it, your next 
 tooth will be a rabbit tooth. 
 
 3058. If a rat finds a tooth that you have thrown away, you will get a 
 rat tooth. 
 
 3059. Always drop a baby's tooth into a rat hole and the new tooth will 
 be beautiful. 
 
 3060. If a tooth comes out, put it under your pillow and in the morning 
 you will find a dime in the place of the tooth. 
 
 3061. Sleep on a pulled tooth and during the night it will turn into a 
 nickel. 
 
 3062. Place a pulled tooth under your pillow and it will change into a 
 piece of money. 
 
 3063. Put a pulled tooth in a glass of water and after twenty-four 
 hours it will become money. 
 
 3064. If a pulled tooth is left overnight in a glass tumbler, next morning 
 you will see a piece of money instead of the tooth. 
 
 3065. Drop the first tooth of a child into a glass of water and the witches 
 will come that night and put a penny inside the glass. 
 
 3066. Keep your tongue out of the hole left by the extraction of a tooth 
 to prevent a gold tooth from growing there. 
 
 3067. Always burn a pulled tooth for luck. 
 
 3068. It will cause you bad luck, if a pulled tooth is not burned. 
 
 3069. Place a pulled tooth beneath your pillow and you will have good 
 luck. 
 
 3070. Sleep on a pulled tooth and good luck will come to you. 
 
 3071. Carry a pulled wisdom tooth on your person for luck. 
 
 3072. Put a pulled tooth behind your grandmother's water pitcher and 
 she will have good luck. 
 
 3073. Throw a pulled tooth over your right shoulder to be lucky. 
 
 3074. To have good luck, throw a pulled tooth over your left shoulder. 
 
148 Memoirs of the Abna Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 CRYING-LAUGHING-SPITTING- YAWNING 
 
 3075. "Take a piece of sky-blue ribbon six inches long and print on 
 it the words 'weep not.' Work these words with scarlet red silk 
 floss and repeat, 'In the Name of the Father, the Son and the 
 Holy Ghost.' Wear it and you will not weep." Written contri- 
 bution. 
 
 3076. To laugh in bed is a sign that you will cry before morning. 
 
 3077. "If you laugh before seven, 
 You'll cry before eleven." 
 
 3078. After you have arisen in the morning and before dressing or eat- 
 ing, laugh at yourself three times while facing a mirror, and you 
 will be happy all day. 
 
 3079. "Laugh at the table 
 And sing in bed. 
 
 You are sure to shake hands 
 With a man not right in the head." 
 
 3080. Laugh on Friday and you will cry before Sunday. 
 
 3081. Laughing is catching. That is, to laugh at another's misfortune 
 will bring bad luck to one's self. 
 
 3082. "If you laugh at a person or make fun of a person, you will have 
 bad luck and something will happen to you." 
 
 3083. To mock someone will give you bad luck for the rest of your life. 
 
 3084. It is unlucky to spit on anyone. 
 
 3085. If you spit on yourself, a lie will be told about you. 
 
 3086. Spit for luck. 
 
 3087. You can avert bad luck by spitting. 
 
 3088. Draw a cross and spit on it for good luck. 
 
 3089. If one person yawns, everybody in the room will yawn. 
 
 3090. Avoid bad luck while yawning by placing your hand over your 
 mouth. 
 
 SINGING 
 
 309 L Go to bed singing and you will wake up crying. 
 
 3092. Sing in bed and you will cry before the following night. 
 
 3093. "If you sing in bed. 
 The devil is overhead." 
 
 3094. "If you sing in bed, 
 
 Sorrow hangs over your head." 
 
 3095. Singing in bed is the sign of a whipping, 
 
 3096. You will get a spanking next day, if you sing in bed. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 149 
 
 3097. It is unlucky to sing in bed. 
 
 3098. To sing in bed will bring you bad luck throughout the day. 
 
 3099. If in the morning you arise singing from bed, you will be happy 
 all day. 
 
 3100. "If you sing before you dress, 
 
 You'll have trouble before you undress." 
 
 3101. "If you sing before seven, 
 You'll cry before eleven." 
 
 3102. "If you sing before you eat, 
 You'll cry before you sleep." 
 
 3103. To sing before breakfast means that you will cry before night. 
 
 3104. Singing before breakfast indicates that you will cry before bed- 
 time. 
 
 3105. If you sing before breakfast, expect a disappointment. 
 
 3106. The person who sings before breakfast will fall into the mud. 
 
 3107. A child who sings before breakfast will get a beating before the 
 end of the week. 
 
 3108. It causes bad luck to sing before breakfast. 
 
 3109. A whipping will be given to the child who sings at the table. 
 
 3110. Singing at the table is followed by a disappointment. 
 
 3111. Never sing at the table, or you will have bad luck. 
 
 3112. "If you sing on the street. 
 Displeasure you will meet." 
 
 3113. It is unlucky to sing on the street. 
 
 3114. The one who unconsciously begins to sing in the bathtub will 
 have good luck. 
 
 3115. If two persons begin to sing the same song at the same time, 
 both of them will be lucky. 
 
 SPEAKING-CALLING-SWEARING-LYING-BRAGGING 
 
 3116. Talking to yourself shows that you are crazy. 
 
 3117. If you say anything disagreeable, it might happen. 
 
 3118. In saying something good of a person you cause him bad luck. 
 
 3119. Do not call anyone a fool, for you will have bad luck. 
 
 3120. Biting your tongue while speaking indicates that your next remark 
 
 will not be true. 
 
 3121. If someone is forced to sneeze while talking, it proves the truth of 
 his statement. 
 
 3122. A person who forgets what was on the tip of his tongue is about 
 to tell a lie. 
 
150 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 3123. If you do not finish what you began to say, expect a disappoint- 
 ment. 
 
 3124. When two persons speak the same thing at the same time, one of 
 them will have good luck. 
 
 3125. A sudden silence falling upon several persons while speaking 
 means that angels are passing through the room. 
 
 3126. To call a person by another's name indicates that the latter is 
 thinking of you. 
 
 3127. If you think someone has called your name, but find yourself 
 mistaken, you will receive something good in life. 
 
 3128. "If it sounds to you like someone called you at your door and you 
 open it and don't see anyone, you had better be careful, because 
 it is the devil after you sure." Written contribution. 
 
 3129. "If you are walking along and it sounds like you hear someone 
 call you and you look and don't see anyone, then it's the devil 
 after you." Written contribution. 
 
 3130. "If you are out in the woods and you hear something holler like 
 a person, take heed and go back, because you will get killed if 
 you don't." Written contribution. 
 
 3131. It is a sign of bad news to hear a mysterious voice call your name. 
 
 3132. If you hear your name spoken by a person who is dead, you will 
 have a long spell of sickness. 
 
 3133. A person who stutters can be cured by keeping a pebble under his 
 tongue. 
 
 3134. When about to swear, count ten and the impulse will be gone. 
 
 3135. Let an angry person count ten before speaking and his temper will 
 leave. 
 
 3136. If you accuse a person of something he did not do, you will have 
 bad luck. 
 
 3137. "It is an old saying, the only way to stop a liar from telling lies 
 is by telling him a bigger one, and he will stop lying to you." 
 Written contribution. 
 
 3138. "They say the only sure way to get the truth out of a crook is by 
 putting a woman in his cell with him, and she will get him every 
 time, because her power is so strong he can't resist telling her the 
 truth." Written contribution. 
 
 3139. Rap on wood when you brag or you will be unlucky. 
 
 3140. If you have had good luck with something and boast about it, 
 knock on wood three times or your luck will change. 
 
 3141. Never brag about anything before eleven o'clock in the morning or 
 you will have bad luck in the afternoon. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 151 
 
 EARS 
 
 3142. Large ears indicate that you are free-hearted. 
 
 3143. Large ears mean a generous nature. 
 
 3144. Small ears show a stingy disposition, 
 
 3145. It is a sign of someone talking about you, if your right ear burns. 
 
 3146. If your ears are burning, someone is saying something evil about 
 you. 
 
 3147. To have an ear burn means that someone is speaking of you: The 
 right ear for spite, the left ear for love. 
 
 3148. When your right ear burns (is red or itches), something good is 
 being said of you. 
 
 3149. You are being spoken of in an ill manner, if your left ear burns 
 (is red or itches). 
 
 3150. If your right ear burns (or itches), someone is speaking badly 
 about you. 
 
 3151. Something good is being told about you, if your left ear burns 
 (or itches). 
 
 3152. Put saliva on your ear when it burns and the person gossiping 
 about you will be outwitted. 
 
 3153. To discover what is being said about you, spit on your ear and 
 if it stops burning, the conversation is good; but if the ear con- 
 tinues to burn, the talk is bad. 
 
 3154. Make a cross with saliva over the ear that burns and name it for 
 someone you know. If your ear ceases burning, the person named 
 was the talker; but if your ear continues to burn, repeat the pro- 
 cess until the correct name is revealed. 
 
 3155. Spit on a burning ear and say, "If it is good, talk on." 
 
 3156. Outwit the speaker when your ear burns by spitting on it and 
 saying, "If it is bad, I hope you will bite 3'our tongue." 
 
 3157. Encourage the talker when your ear burns by spitting on it and 
 saying, "If a friend, talk on." 
 
 3158. Rub saliva on your ear when it burns and say, "If enemies, wish 
 me no harm." 
 
 3159. It signifies that a man is speaking of you, if your right ear burns. 
 
 3160. A burning left ear means that a woman is talking about you. 
 
 3161. A ringing in your ear shows that someone is speaking of you. 
 
 3162. Someone is talking about you, if there is a ringing in your right 
 ear. 
 
 3163. If your ear rings, it means: 
 
 "Left for might, 
 Right for spite." 
 
 3164. Something good is being said of you, if your right ear rings. 
 
152 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 3165. The talker is speaking ill of you, when your left ear rings, 
 
 3166. The remarks of the speaker are unkind, if your right ear rings. 
 
 3167. If your left ear rings, kind remarks are being made of you. 
 
 3168. Bite your tongue when your ear rings and you will make the 
 person talking about you bite his tongue. 
 
 3169. Mention the names of three persons whom you think are talking 
 about you when your ear burns, and the name upon which your 
 ear stops burning will identify the speaker. 
 
 3170. A singing in your left ear indicates that someone is asking for you. 
 
 3171. It is a sign that you are in the thoughts of a dear friend, if your 
 right ear sings. 
 
 3172. You will hear a secret from a girl friend, if your left ear itches. 
 
 3173. A secret will be told to you by a boy friend, if your right ear 
 itches. 
 
 3174. A tingling in your ears means sudden news. 
 
 3175. Pleasant news will follow a ringing in your right ear. 
 
 3176. There will be unpleasant news, if your left ear rings. 
 
 3177. If your ear itches, company will come. 
 
 3178. To have a ringing in your right ear is a sign of bad luck. 
 
 3179. You will have good luck, if your left ear rings. 
 
 3180. If you have a burning in your ear, there will be a fire in your 
 neighborhood inside of a month. 
 
 EYES 
 
 3181. You will be able to see on the darkest night, if you grease your 
 eyes with the blood of a bat. 
 
 3182. Kill a black cat and make a pair of gloves from its hide. Wear 
 these gloves and you can walk around in the dark and no one 
 will see you. 
 
 3183. Carry a dried owl's eye in a little bag and you can see people, 
 while you yourself remain invisible to them. 
 
 3184. If a large amount of white shows in a negro's eyes, he is dan- 
 gerous. 
 
 3185. A black-eyed woman should not be trusted. 
 
 3186. A woman with blue eyes is always faithful. 
 
 3187. A person with blue eyes will always be lucky. 
 
 3188. The woman who has grey eyes is greedy. 
 
 3189. Rub vaseline on your eyebrows to make them grow, become long 
 or thick. 
 
 3190. A person with long eyelashes will always have good luck. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 153 
 
 3191. The person whose eyebrows meet will be a thief. 
 
 3192. Never trust a person, if his eyebrows come together. 
 
 3193. The meeting of eyebrows indicates a jealous disposition. 
 
 3194. To have your eyebrows meet is a sign that you will become 
 wealthy. 
 
 3195. If one eyebrow is higher than the other in a person, he has criminal 
 tendencies. 
 
 3196. If your eye itches, you will cry. 
 
 3197. When your right eye itches, you are going to cry. 
 
 3198. It is an indication that you will cry, if your right eye burns. 
 
 3199. An itching of the left eye signifies that you will laugh. 
 
 3200. If your right eye jumps, you are going to laugh. 
 
 3201. "Right eye, cry eye. 
 Left eye, laugh eye." 
 
 3202. The quavering of a right eye means that something will please 
 you. 
 
 3203. You will be pleased by something, if your left eye itches. 
 
 3204. It indicates anger for your right eye to itch. 
 
 3205. A twitching in your left eye foretells that you are going to be 
 angry. 
 
 3206. If your left eye bats, you will have trouble. 
 
 3207. An itching right eyebrow is the sign that you are going to look 
 at something pleasant. 
 
 3208. Something unpleasant will be seen, if your left eyebrow itches. 
 
 3209. It is the token of a new friend, to have your right eyebrow itch. 
 
 3210. You will make an enemy, if your left eyebrow itches. 
 
 3211. The quivering of your right eye reveals that you will see a woman 
 whom you have not seen for a long time. 
 
 3212. If your left eye trembles, a man who has not been seen for a 
 long time will be met by you. 
 
 3213. Good news follows the itching of your right eye. 
 
 3214. Bad news is indicated, if your left eye itches. 
 
 3215. Expect a letter from a dear friend, when your eyebrow itches. 
 
 3216. To have your right eye itch is the sign of a letter. 
 
 3217. The itching of the right eye means that you will receive money. 
 
 3218. Either eye itching at night is a mark of good luck. 
 
 3219. Bad luck will follow, if your right eye itches. 
 
 3220. It signifies good luck for your left eye to itch. 
 
 3221. To see a cross-eyed person will bring you bad luck. 
 
 3222. If walking along the street you look into the eyes of a cross-eyed 
 person, you will have bad luck. 
 
 3223. Seeing a cross-eyed sailor over your left shoulder aboard a ship 
 is unlucky. 
 
154 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 3224. Beware of a woman with cross-eyes, for if you meet one, you 
 will certainly die before long. 
 
 3225. Bad luck for the week is indicated, if you look at a cross-eyed 
 woman on Monday. 
 
 3226. It is a sign of bad luck for the day to encounter cross-eyes in the 
 first woman met that morning. 
 
 3227. Avoid bad luck when you meet a cross-eyed person by turning 
 and going in the opposite direction. 
 
 3228. Cross your first and second fingers to prevent bad luck, if you 
 meet a cross-eyed person. 
 
 3229. If you see a cross-eyed person, cross two fingers and spit, and 
 you will not be unfortunate. 
 
 3230. When a cross-eyed woman looks at you, cross your fingers and 
 spit over them to avert bad luck. 
 
 3231. Misfortune can be driven away by spitting, if you see a cross- 
 eyed man. 
 
 3232. "I am very superstitious. If I should see a cross-eyed person, 
 even in church I would take off my hat and spit in it, so I would 
 not have bad luck." 
 
 3233. Spit into your hat, if you meet a cross-eyed Jew, and you will 
 be very lucky. 
 
 3234. To meet a person with a squint eye is unlucky. 
 
 3235. If you meet a "cockeyed" person on the street and he looks at 
 you, you will have bad luck. 
 
 3236. To keep your spectacles from steaming when you enter a house, 
 walk in backwards. 
 
 3237. Wipe your glasses with a dollar bill and they will not steam. 
 
 3238. If a person winks his left eye at you, according to sign language 
 he does not like you. 
 
 3239. In sign language, when you wink your right eye at someone, it 
 means that you want to meet him. 
 
 NOSE 
 
 3240. People who have pointed noses are busybodies; always meddle 
 with the affairs of others. 
 
 3241. A red nose is the mark of a heavy liquor drinker. 
 
 3242. A large nose in a man is an indication of a large penis. 
 
 3243. An itching nose discloses that you had your nose in (interfered 
 with) someone's business. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 155 
 
 3244. "If your nose itches, it is the sign of being wanted at home at 
 once, and it may be serious." 
 
 3245. If your nose itches, something is being said about you. 
 
 3246. An itching of the nose indicates that you will have a quarrel. 
 
 3247. You will be in a quarrel that day, when your nose itches. 
 
 3248. If your nose itches, you will receive some mail. 
 
 3249. If the tip of your nose itches, you will get a letter that day. 
 
 3250. The right side of your nose itching means a letter for you that 
 day. 
 
 3251. An itching on the end of your nose signifies a letter from some- 
 one who is on a journey. 
 
 3252. Good news will follow the itching of your nose. 
 
 3253. When your nose itches, you will hear news immediately. Make 
 a wish for good news. 
 
 3254. The right side of your nose itching is the sign of good news. 
 
 3255. Bad news will be heard, if the left side of your nose itches. 
 
 3256. An itching nose foretells money. 
 
 3257. If your nose itches, you will kiss a fool. 
 
 3258. A tickling on your nose indicates that you will kiss an old person 
 before the end of the day. 
 
 3259. "If your nose itches, your mouth is in danger. 
 
 Shake hands with a fool, and meet a stranger." 
 
 3260. Expect company, if your nose itches. 
 
 3261. If your nose itches, someone with a hole in his breeches will come. 
 
 3262. "Cream and peaches, my nose itches, 
 Somebody's coming with a hole in his breeches." 
 
 3263. If the right side of your nose itches, a man is going to call upon 
 you. 
 
 3264. The itching of your nose on the left side means a woman visitor. 
 
 3265. A woman will come, if the right side of your nose itches. 
 
 3266. A man is to be expected, if the left side of your nose itches. 
 
 3267. The nose itching on the right side at night signifies that an un- 
 known man will visit you next day. 
 
 3268. A woman who is not known will call upon you the following day, 
 if the left side of your nose itches at night. 
 
 3269. If you have a pain in your nose, someone is coming. 
 
 3270. If your nose itches at the end, someone will come riding. 
 
 3271. An itching on the end of your nose means that someone riding in 
 a buggy is going to visit you. 
 
 3272. There will soon be a change in your affairs, if your nose itches.. 
 
 3273. Rub an itching nose with your hand, then rub this hand on wood,, 
 and finally rub your knee with the same hand. This will bring- 
 you good luck. 
 
156 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 3274. It is a sign of good luck to have your nose itch on the left side. 
 
 3275. Bad luck is coming to you. if your nose itches on the right side. 
 
 3276. Wipe your nose on a teatowel for luck. 
 
 SNEEZING 
 
 3277. If you feel inclined to sneeze, press your finger under your nose, 
 327S. To prevent sneezing, rub your finger up and down the ridge of 
 your nose. 
 
 3279. Avoid sneezing by rubbing your finger across the top of your nose. 
 However, this remedy is dangerous, since it causes sore eyes. 
 
 3280. Always say, "God bless you" when you sneeze, to keep the 
 
 devil from flying down your throat. 
 
 3281. If someone sneezes, say, "God bless you and may the devil miss 
 you." 
 
 3282. When anyone sneezes, say, "Gesundheit (health)." The person 
 who has sneezed must answer, "Gesundheit ist besser wie krank- 
 heit (Health is better than siekness)." 
 
 3283. Sneezing is the sign of a cold. 
 
 3284. Sneeze before arising in the morning and you will have bad luck. 
 
 3285. "Sneeze before seven. 
 Company before eleven." 
 
 3286. "Sneeze before you eat, 
 Visitors before you sleep." 
 
 3287. "Sneeze before breakfast, 
 Company before supper." 
 
 3288. If you sneeze before breakfast, you will receive a letter that day. 
 
 3289. A sneeze before breakfast is the sign that you will hear exciting 
 news before the end of the day. 
 
 3290. Sneeze before breakfast and you will cry before dinner. 
 
 3291. To sneeze three times in succession before breakfast means good 
 luck. 
 
 3292. It is an omen of bad luck to sneeze on three separate occasions 
 before breakfast. 
 
 3293. If you sneeze at the table, you will have one more person to the 
 next meal. 
 
 3294. A letter will come to you that day, if you sneeze at the table. 
 
 3295. Sneezing at the table with your mouth full of food will cause 
 you bad luck. 
 
 3296. If you sneeze once, you are permitted to make a wish. 
 
 3297. Sneeze three times in succession and you will be disappointed. 
 
 3298. It indicates that you will be kissed, if you sneeze twice. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 157 
 
 3299. Five consecutive sneezes will bring you something new. 
 
 3300. To sneeze six times is the indication of a journey. 
 
 3301. If you sneeze twice, you will have two visitors that day. 
 
 3302. Sneezing thrice foretells a letter. 
 
 3303. To sneeze before three o'clock in the afternoon shows that you 
 are going to receive a letter. 
 
 3304. You may expect a letter, if you sneeze four times. 
 
 3305. Sneezing to the right signifies prosperity. 
 
 3306. It is the sign of worry, if you sneeze to the left. 
 
 3307. "Sneeze on Monday for health. 
 Sneeze on Tuesday for wealth. 
 Sneeze on Wednesday for a letter. 
 Sneeze on Thursday for something better. 
 Sneeze on Friday for sorrow. 
 
 Sneeze on Saturday, see your sweetheart tomorrow. 
 
 Sneeze on Sunday, safety seek. 
 
 For the devil will be with you the rest of the week." 
 
 3308. "Sneeze on Monday for danger. 
 Sneeze on Tuesday, kiss a stranger. 
 Sneeze on Wednesday, get a letter. 
 Sneeze on Thursday, something better. 
 Sneeze on Friday, sneeze for sorrow. 
 
 Sneeze on Saturday, see your sweetheart tomorrow." 
 
 3309. "Sneeze on Monday, sneeze for danger. 
 Sneeze on Tuesday, to kiss a stranger. 
 Sneeze on Wednesday for a letter. 
 Sneeze on Thursday, something better. 
 Sneeze on Friday for sorrow. 
 
 Sneeze on Saturday to meet your beau. 
 Sneeze on Sunday, watch your step." 
 
 3310. "Sneeze on Monday, 
 
 Pay your bills on Tuesday." 
 
 ARMS-BACK-SHOULDERS 
 
 3311. A long scratch on your arm means that you will take a long ride. 
 
 3312. If your left arm trembles, a woman desires to see you. 
 
 3313. A quiver in your right arm indicates that a man wants to see you. 
 
 3314. If you hit your "funny bone" (crazy hone), two women will visit 
 you. 
 
 3315. The itching of your right elbow signifies good news. 
 
 3316. It is the sign of bad news to have an itching on your left elbow. 
 
158 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 3317. There will be a present for you soon, if your left elbow itches. 
 
 3318. If your right elbow itches, a surprise is coming to you. 
 
 3319. To strike your left elbow is the token of a surprise. 
 
 3320. Hitting your right elbow will bring you bad luck. 
 
 3321. An itching back foretells a whipping. 
 
 3322. You will soon experience a sorrow, if your left shoulder itches. 
 
 3323. If your right shoulder itches, expect to receive a gift shortly. 
 
 3324. To read over anyone's shoulder will cause you bad luck. 
 
 3325. Looking at someone over your left shoulder means in sign lan- 
 guage that you wish to meet him. 
 
 HANDS 
 
 3326. A left-handed person must work three days for the devil. 
 
 3327. Cold hands reveal a warm heart. 
 
 3328. Wide hands show an ability to earn money. 
 
 3329. When partly closing your hand, if the lines of the palm form the 
 initial M, you may expect a long life; but contrariwise, you will 
 die young. 
 
 3330. To break anything in a person's hand causes bad luck. 
 
 3331. Scratching your hand with your finger-nails will bring you bad 
 luck. 
 
 3332. It means bad luck, if you stand up with your hands behind your 
 head. 
 
 3333. Long hair on the backs of your hands signifies wealth. 
 
 3334. If your hand itches, money is coming to you. 
 
 3335. The itching of the left hand is a sign of money. 
 
 3336. You are going to receive money, if your right hand itches. 
 
 3337. An itching in the palm of your right hand indicates that you will 
 get money. 
 
 3338. You will obtain money soon, if your left hand is itching. The 
 greater the itch, the larger the amount. 
 
 3339. Spit on your left hand when it itches, then rub your hand on 
 wood, and you will secure money. 
 
 3340. Spit into the palm of the left hand when it itches, then rub your 
 hand over your buttocks, and you will get money. 
 
 3341. Rub your itching left hand on unvarnished wood and you will 
 procure money. 
 
 3342. If you rub your itching palm on wood you will inherit money. 
 
 3343. The itching of your left palm is an indication of receiving money 
 unexpectedly. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 159 
 
 3344. A person from whom you are not expecting money will present 
 it to you, if your left hand itches. 
 
 3345. If your left hand itches, you will pay out money. 
 
 3346. An itching in the left palm indicates that you are going to pay 
 out money. 
 
 3347. You will give money away, if your right hand itches. 
 
 3348. "I always get work whenever my left hand itches." 
 
 3349. If your left palm itches, you will be called to visit someone you 
 love. 
 
 3350. News will come to you from afar, when your right palm itches. 
 
 3351. Spit into the palm of an itching right hand and you will receive a 
 letter. 
 
 3352. A letter is coming to you, if your right hand itches. 
 
 3353. If your left hand itches, you will be disappointed. 
 
 3354. When your right hand itches it is the sign of bad luck. 
 
 3355. Scratch your itching hand on wood for luck. 
 
 3356. When your left hand itches: 
 
 "Rub it on wood 
 
 And it will come good." 
 
 3357. You will have a caller, if your palm itches. 
 
 3358. If your left hand itches, expect company. 
 
 3359. The itching of your right hand is an omen of visitors. 
 
 3360. A friend whom you have not seen for a long time will be met, if 
 your palm itches. 
 
 3361. You will receive a call from a friend whom you have not seen 
 for a long time, if your right hand itches. 
 
 3362. If your right palm itches, you will meet a stranger. 
 
 3363. Someone will soon shake hands with you, if your right hand itches. 
 
 3364. When your right hand itches, an old friend will soon shake hands 
 with you. 
 
 3365. It signifies that you will shake hands with a stranger, if your right 
 hand itches. 
 
 3366. The itching of your right hand indicates that you will shake 
 hands with a stranger who is an unknown friend. 
 
 3367. If your right hand itches, you will shake hands with a stranger 
 who will become your friend. 
 
 3368. Shaking hands with your left hand will bring you bad luck. 
 
 3369. It is most unlucky to shake hands while wearing gloves. 
 
 3370. To shake hands over a gate is the sign of bad luck. 
 
 3371. If you and someone else attempt to shake hands with a third 
 person, the three of you will be invited to the same party. 
 
 3372. When two couples shake hands at the same time, they will have 
 good luck. 
 
160 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 ZZ7Z. If four persons while shaking hands accidentally cross each other's 
 hands, it is lucky for all of them. 
 
 3374. "I never shake hands with anyone when they leave my house. If 
 you do, they will never come back to that house to see you." 
 
 3375. If you enter a house and shake hands with someone, do not shake 
 hands with that person when you depart, for you will have bad 
 luck. 
 
 FINGERS AND FINGER-NAILS 
 
 3376. Short fingers are the sign of an easy life. 
 
 Z2)77. Long fingers mean that you will be compelled to work for a living. 
 
 3378. The person who has long fingers is given to thievery. 
 
 3379. Long fingers in a person reveal a grasping nature. 
 
 3380. If you are able to see through your fingers, you will be a spend- 
 thrift. 
 
 3381. Anyone possessing a crooked little finger is a crook. 
 
 3382. Cross your fingers for luck. 
 
 3383. Long narrow fingers are the sign of a good ancestry. 
 
 3384. Short stubby fingers denote that you descended from ancestors 
 who worked for their livelihood. 
 
 3385. If anyone points a finger at you, you will have a mishap before 
 the end of the day. 
 
 3386. "Some people say if you point your fingers at someone it will 
 give them bad luck for two weeks." 
 
 3387. A half-moon on each finger-nail proves that your forebears were 
 of good stock. 
 
 3388. A half-moon near the bottom of each finger-nail demonstrates 
 that your family came from excellent blood. 
 
 3389. White specks on your finger-nails are a mark of health. 
 
 3390. If you have white spots on your finger-nails, you are anemic. 
 
 3391. White marks on your finger-nails show a lazy temperament. 
 
 3392. To have white spots on the finger-nails signifies wealth. 
 
 3393. Each white speck on your finger-nails discloses a lie that you 
 have told. 
 
 3394. The number of white marks on your finger-nails indicates how 
 many presents you are going to receive. 
 
 3395. Count the white spots on your finger-nails just before December 
 25th and their total will reveal the number of Christmas presents 
 you will get. 
 
 3396. You can discover your fortune by counting the white specks on 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 161 
 
 your finger-nails, starting with the thumbs and repeating: 
 "Friends," "foes," "presents," "beaus," and "journeys to go." 
 
 3397. Biting your finger-nails is the sign of nervousness. 
 
 3398. A finger-nail biter will become insane. 
 
 3399. Anyone who bites his finger-nails will not grow tall. 
 
 3400. If you bite your finger-nails, you have thievish tendencies. 
 
 3401. Short finger-nails in a person mean that he is a talebearer. 
 
 3402. One should trim his finger-nails in the light of the moon for luck. 
 
 3403. It is lucky to cut finger-nails during the new moon, 
 
 3404. Clipping your finger-nails in the dark of the moon will bring you 
 bad luck. 
 
 3405. You will have bad luck, if you manicure your finger-nails in the 
 presence of company. 
 
 3406. Cut your finger-nails on: 
 
 "Monday for news. 
 Tuesday for a pair of shoes. 
 Wednesday for wealth, 
 Thursday for health. 
 Friday for woe. 
 Saturday for a journey to go. 
 Sunday for evil." 
 
 3407. If you trim your finger-nails on: 
 
 "Monday, a letter comes to you. 
 
 Tuesday, brings a new garment. 
 
 Wednesday, cares are few. 
 
 Thursday, brings you riches, 
 
 Friday, brings love's joys. 
 
 Saturday, brings misfortunes and troubles to annoy," 
 
 3408. File your fi.nger-nails on Monday for good luck. 
 
 3409. Pare your finger-nails on Monday before breakfast and you will 
 receive a present. 
 
 3410. If you cut your finger-nails on Monday before breakfast, you 
 will get a present before the end of the week. 
 
 3411. Trim your finger-nails on Monday and a present will be given to 
 you before the week is over. 
 
 3412. It is lucky to file finger-nails on Tuesday, 
 
 3413. To pare finger-nails on Wednesday will bring you good luck. 
 
 3414. Cutting finger-nails on Friday is followed by bad luck. 
 
 3415. Never trim your finger-nails on Friday if you are engaged in a 
 business deal, or you will lose during the transaction. 
 
 3416. Manicuring your finger-nails on Sunday will cause you bad luck. 
 
 3417. Clip your finger-nails on Sunday and evil stories will be told about 
 you throughout the week. 
 
162 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 3418. To cut your finger-nails on Sunday will make you blush before 
 the day is gone. 
 
 3419. The devil will be in you (have you, rule you, seek you) all week, 
 if you cut your finger-nails on Sunday. 
 
 STOMACH-THIGHS-KNEES-LEGS-SITTING 
 
 3420. An itching stomach is the sign of an invitation to a feast. 
 
 3421. "If your belly itches, you will be invited to a big feast." 
 
 3422. You are going to change your "sleeping-place," if your thighs itch. 
 
 3423. The itching of the left knee means bad news. 
 
 3424. If your right knee itches, you will hear good news concerning 
 business. 
 
 3425. Something about business not to your advantage will be heard, if 
 your left knee itches. 
 
 3426. When your left knee itches, expect to hear news that will cause 
 comment and gossip. 
 
 3427. There will be a change in your afifairs, if your right knee itches. 
 
 3428. If a woman's knee itches, she is fond of men. 
 
 3429. If your kneecap itches three times within an hour, you will have 
 your leg taken ofif inside of a month. 
 
 3430. A woman with large legs has a large vagina. 
 
 3431. It is the indication of a painful sickness coming to you, if your 
 shin itches. 
 
 3432. An itching ankle indicates that you will soon receive a gift of 
 money. 
 
 3433. Large ankles in a person reveal a descent from ancestors of the 
 working class. 
 
 3434. A person who has slender ankles comes from good stock. 
 
 3435. If anyone places his foot upon the chair in which you are sitting, 
 you will have bad luck. 
 
 3436. Sitting cross-legged is the sign of coming good fortune. 
 
 3437. To sit cross-legged on a chair will cause bad luck. 
 
 3438. To cross your knees and to sit with your hands crossed over your 
 knees means that you are brooding trouble. 
 
 3439. The boy who sits on his foot will be a tailor. 
 
 3440. If a man, instead of sitting down normally flops into his chair, 
 he masturbates. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 163 
 
 FEET-TOES-TOENAILS 
 
 3441. The person who has large feet is generous. 
 
 3442. Large feet signify intelhgence. 
 
 3443. A man with small feet has a large penis. 
 
 3444. A man with large feet has a little penis. 
 
 3445. To wake up a sleeping foot, moisten your finger with saliva and 
 make a cross over your knee. 
 
 3446. If your foot is asleep, you can awaken it by making a cross on 
 your leg with saliva. 
 
 3447. If your foot itches, you are going to walk in a strange land. 
 
 3448. An itching on the bottom of your feet indicates that you will 
 walk on strange ground. 
 
 3449. It is a sign that you will walk on strange ground, if your right 
 foot itches. 
 
 3450. An itching foot foretells a long journey. 
 
 3451. You will take an unpleasant trip, if the left sole of your foot 
 itches. 
 
 3452. The itching of the right sole of your foot means that you will 
 go on a journey from which you will derive pleasure. 
 
 3453. If your left foot itches, you will go where you are unwelcome. 
 
 3454. If your right foot itches, you are going where you are welcome. 
 
 3455. If the sole of your right foot itches, you will undertake some task 
 and be successful with it. 
 
 3456. If the sole of your left foot itches, you will attempt to do some- 
 thing and meet with failure. 
 
 3457. You will get a new pair of shoes, if your feet itch. 
 
 3458. Itching feet are a sign of sorrow. 
 
 3459. To have an itching right foot signifies good luck. 
 
 3460. It indicates bad luck to place your feet on a bed. 
 
 3461. Beware of the devil, if you cross your feet while dancing. 
 
 3462. If your toes are far apart, you will never reside anywhere except 
 in the town of your birth. 
 
 3463. Always burn your toe-nail parings for luck. 
 
 3464. Throw the parings from your toe-nails onto the floor or ground 
 and you will be forced to pick them up when you die. 
 
 3465. If someone steps on the toe-nail clippings which you have thrown, 
 onto the floor, you and that person will soon disagree. 
 
 3466. Cutting your toe-nails on Monday will give you success. 
 
 3467. To trim toe-nails on Sunday will cause you grief "A maa 
 
 living near me wanted his wife to cut his finger-nails and toe-nails 
 one Sunday. She did not want to do it. She said, 'Charlie, it will 
 
164 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 bring you bad luck, if I do.' He said, 'Go on and do it. There 
 is nothing to that.' Monday night he took a stroke and died that 
 night." 
 
 3468. It is unlucky to cut toe-nails on Sunday. 
 
 3469. Never pare your toe-nails on Sunday, or you will have bad luck 
 all week. 
 
 3470. If you cut your toe-nails on Sunday, the devil will possess you 
 throughout the week. 
 
 SHOES-SHOE STRINGS-STOCKINGS-GARTERS 
 
 3471. An old shoe is a lucky object. 
 
 3472. Burn an old shoe for luck. 
 
 3473. Always burn your discarded shoes and you will have good luck. 
 
 3474. It causes bad luck to burn old shoes. 
 
 3475. "We had a man in our neighborhood when he would get ready 
 to start out in the buggy, if no one was at the house to drop an 
 old shoe after him, he would always put one in the buggy and just 
 as he was going out the gate would drop it himself, so he would 
 not have any bad luck on his trip." 
 
 3476. When a person leaves home on a journey, throw an old shoe after 
 him so that he will have good luck. 
 
 3477. Never accept a gift of old shoes, or you will walk in the former 
 
 owner's troubles. "This Germ.an woman told me that a 
 
 woman gave her a pair of shoes and this woman (who gave the 
 shoes away) had dropsy. She put the shoes on one morning to 
 go to work and that night her feet were so swollen she could not 
 walk, and for several days her feet every night were so swollen, 
 she did not know what was wrong; for her feet never did swell 
 before. So she put on her own shoes and worked all day in them 
 and her feet were fine. She thought she was getting the dropsy 
 from the shoes (given to her), so she burned up the other woman's 
 shoes and didn't have any more trouble with her feet." 
 
 3478. "Years ago a man died with the smallpox, and after he was dead 
 five years, they gave his shoes to a man to wear. And that man 
 took the smallpox and died." 
 
 3479. If you give a pair of shoes to a friend, he will walk away from 
 you. 
 
 3480. Never borrow a pair of shoes from anyone or your friendship 
 with that person will soon be broken. 
 
 3481. Wear salt in the heel and toe of your right shoe to be lucky. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 165 
 
 3482. Keep red pepper and salt in your shoes for luck, 
 
 3483. Salt and pepper kept in your left shoe causes good luck. 
 
 3484. To have good luck, salt and pepper an old shoe and bum it. 
 
 3485. Stick a hairpin into your shoe and you will meet a good friend. 
 
 3486. Wear red pepper in your shoes to keep out of trouble. 
 
 3487. Wearing pepper in your shoes will keep your feet warm during 
 cold weather. 
 
 3488. During the winter, place red pepper in your shoes to keep your 
 feet warm. 
 
 3489. Put sugar in your shoes to coax your shirt tail down. 
 
 3490. You can coax your trousers down by keeping sugar in your shoes. 
 
 3491. Old shoes should be worn on Friday the 13th for good luck. 
 
 3492. It is a sign of good luck to have old shoes squeak while you are 
 walking in them. 
 
 3493. If your new shoes creak as you walk, it means that you still owe 
 the shoemaker his bill. 
 
 3494. You may prevent shoes from squeaking by driving a peg into the 
 center of each sole. 
 
 3495. "Never walk around with one shoe on and one off. My brother 
 did that all the time. I tried to stop him, but he would not listen, 
 for it is bad luck. And he lost his mind." 
 
 3496. To walk in one shoe will bring you as many bad days as steps 
 taken. 
 
 3497. If you walk about with one shoe on and one ofif, you will have a 
 year of misfortune for each step. 
 
 3498. Every step taken in one shoe is a step into trouble. 
 
 3499. As many steps as a child takes in one shoe, so many whippings 
 will he receive. 
 
 3500. "If you wear your shoes out on the toe, 
 You will spend money as you go." 
 
 3501. By wearing holes in the soles of your shoes you will become 
 wealthy. 
 
 3502. To place old shoes high oflf the floor is unlucky. 
 
 3503. New shoes that have never been worn should be put high above 
 the floor for luck. 
 
 3504. Set your removed shoes higher than your knees and you will be 
 sick. 
 
 3505. It causes misfortune to place your shoes higher than your head. 
 
 3506. To lay your shoes on the bed means bad luck. 
 
 3507. Never put a slipper on a bed, or it will bring you bad luck. 
 
 3508. It is a bad sign to set your shoes under a bed. 
 
 3509. If you stand your shoes under a bed and the toes point inward, 
 you will have bad luck. 
 
166 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 3510. To obtain good luck, let your shoes remain under the bed so that 
 their toes point outward. 
 
 3511. Rest your shoes on a chair and you will be unfortunate. 
 
 3512. Tying your shoes together and hanging them on a nail will give 
 you bad luck. 
 
 3513. It is an omen of bad luck to place shoes on a table. 
 
 3514. Putting new shoes on a table is unlucky. 
 
 3515. If you let your shoes (or slippers) rest on a table, you will 
 quarrel with someone soon. 
 
 3516. Setting your shoes on a table will involve you in a quarrel before 
 night. 
 
 3517. It is fatal for one's success to lay shoes on a table. 
 
 3518. Removing the left shoe first is very unlucky. 
 
 3519. To hook first the top buttons of your shoes will bring you bad 
 luck. 
 
 3520. Place your left shoe on first for luck. 
 
 3521. It indicates bad luck to step into your left shoe first. 
 
 3522. The right shoe should be put on first to secure luck for the day. 
 
 3523. It is an indication of bad luck to put the right shoe on first. 
 
 3524. To place the left shoe on the right foot foretells an accident. 
 
 3525. Placing the left shoe on the right foot signifies a misfortune. 
 
 3526. If your shoes are placed on the wrong feet, you will have an 
 accident with one of your feet. 
 
 3527. To put on two shoes that are not mates is the sign of good luck. 
 
 3528. If you pull on odd shoes and change them, you will meet with an 
 accident. 
 
 3529. To dress one foot completely before starting the other will bring 
 you bad luck. 
 
 3530. If you dress one foot entirely before beginning the other, you 
 will always be poor. 
 
 3531. It is lucky to put your left shoe and stocking on first. 
 
 3532. "My brother would not think of putting on his left shoe first. He 
 always puts on his right shoe and sock first, so he will have good 
 luck through the day." 
 
 3533. To acquire good luck for the day, put your right foot out of bed 
 first and draw on your right sock. 
 
 3534. Dressing the left foot first means a misfortune that day. 
 
 3535. If you dress the left foot first, you will quarrel that day. 
 
 3536. Put on both stockings first for luck. 
 
 3537. To place your stockings on wrong side out denotes good luck, if 
 you do not change them. 
 
 3538. If you have put on a stocking inside out, remove it and spit on it, 
 and you will have good luck. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 167 
 
 3539. If your stockings are on wrong side out, change them at noon 
 and spit into each heel for luck. 
 
 3540. Donning your stocking inside out is the sign of a present. 
 
 3541. If unintentionally you put a stocking on your left foot first, on 
 a Friday morning, you will be lucky. 
 
 3542. To secure good luck all day, put your right stocking or sock on 
 first and your right arm in your underwear and shirt first. If 
 you accidentally start with the right side of your body, you must 
 undress completely, return to bed and begin to dress again. 
 
 3543. Putting your stockings in your shoes before going to bed will 
 cause you bad luck. 
 
 3544. Look for bad luck, if you do not place your stockings inside youi 
 shoes at night. 
 
 3545. Check a runner in your stocking by spitting on it. 
 
 3546. If there is a hole in your stocking, you will receive a letter. 
 
 3547. A hole in your stocking means a letter. The size of the letter 
 depends upon the size of the hole. 
 
 3548. It is an omen of good fortune to have a hole in your stocking. 
 
 3549. If a measuring worm crawls on your stocking, you will get a new 
 pair. 
 
 3550. An aviator should wear a woman's stocking around his neck 
 for luck. 
 
 3551. Never let a man give you a pair of stockings, or you might put 
 your foot in trouble. 
 
 3552. The left shoe and right garter should be taken off first to procure 
 good luck. 
 
 3553. Put on the right garter and left shoe first and you will be fortu- 
 nate. 
 
 3554. It is lucky to don the left gaiter and right shoe first. 
 
 3555. If a man gives a pair of garters to a woman, she should always 
 let him put them on her the first time they are worn for luck. 
 
 3556. A woman who loses her garter is being deceived by one she trusts. 
 
 3557. If your shoe string comes unlaced, someone is talking about you. 
 
 3558. A shoe string coming untied shows that you are in the thoughts 
 of a friend. 
 
 3559. To have your left shoe string come loose means that evil is being 
 spoken of you. 
 
 3560. Something good is being said of you, if your right shoe string 
 comes undone. 
 
 3561. If you are walking and your shoe string comes unfastened, your 
 father loves you better than your mother does. 
 
168 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 3562. When walking, if your shoe string comes untied, you are loved 
 more by your mother than by your father. 
 
 3563. While walking it is unlucky for your shoe string to come un- 
 loosened. 
 
 CLOTHES 
 
 3564. "If you wear black and white, you'll surely have a fight. 
 If you wear white, you will always be pure. 
 
 If you wear pink, you will stink. 
 
 If you wear brown, you will wear a crown. 
 
 If you wear red and yellow, you will catch a fellow. 
 
 If you wear green, you will be forsaken. 
 
 If you wear grey, you will pray. 
 
 If you wear yellow, you will be jealous. 
 
 If you wear blue, you will always be true." 
 
 3565. It is unlucky to wear black. One person knew a young man 
 
 who for this reason would not wear any article of black clothing, 
 not even shoes or socks. 
 
 3566. To wear black is a sign of mourning; that is, never wear black 
 unless in mourning. 
 
 3567. You will have bad luck, if you wear a green dress. "A girl 
 
 told me she got a new green dress. The first night she had it on, 
 her beau went back on her. The second night she came in one 
 point of winning the head prize at cards. The third time she was 
 on a committee at a church supper and the supper was a failure. 
 So she gave the dress away. Said it was bad luck." 
 
 3568. The person who wears green clothes will soon begin work in some 
 toilsome occupation. 
 
 3569. Always wear a green dress on Friday for luck. 
 
 3570. To have luck, wear a green article of clothing or a green ornament 
 on Friday. 
 
 3571. Wear something red for good luck and money. "Mrs. D. 
 
 told me yesterday that a girl was in the store and said always 
 wear something red for good luck and money. This girl said, *I 
 always wear red bloomers for luck and money'." 
 
 3572. It causes bad luck to wear a yellow costume. 
 
 3573. If a butterfly lights on your shoulder, you will secure a new dress 
 which has the color of the butterfly. 
 
 3574. Bite oflF a butterfly's head and you will get a new dress the color 
 of its wings. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 169 
 
 3575. Putting on clothing wrong side out brings good luck, regardless 
 of whether or not the article is changed. 
 
 3576. Wear the clothes all day which you have put on wrong side out 
 and you will have good luck. 
 
 3577. To remove a garment that you place on wrong side out will make 
 you unlucky. 
 
 3578. An article of clothing that has been put on wrong side out should 
 not be taken off until noon. This will prevent bad luck. 
 
 3579. If you place your dress on inside out, do not change it until bed- 
 time and you will be lucky. 
 
 3580. When a dress is put on backwards, spit on it and turn it around 
 for luck. 
 
 3581. To prevent bad luck when a dress is placed on wrong side out, 
 spit on the hem. 
 
 3582. Bad luck can be averted by letting someone take off the dress 
 which you have put on wrong side out. 
 
 3583. Go behind a door and change the garment that you have placed 
 on wrong side out and you will not have bad luck. 
 
 3584. If you must remove the dress that you have donned wrong side 
 out, take it off over the back of your head and you will not be 
 unlucky. Never let the dress fall down over your face, or this 
 will cause you bad luck. 
 
 3585. After you have on your coat wrong side out, it is unlucky to 
 change. 
 
 3586. To have your drawers on wrong side out means good luck. 
 
 3587. If you put your dress on wrong side out, you will get a new dress. 
 
 3588. Do not change the dress which you have on wrong side out and 
 you will receive a present before the end of the day. 
 
 3589. It is the sign of a fire in the neighborhood to place your night- 
 gown on inside out. 
 
 3590. Something unpleasant will happen to the woman who puts on a 
 petticoat wrong side out. 
 
 3591. Expect an insult, if your shirt is on wrong side out. 
 
 3592. To put on your shirt backwards will bring you bad luck for the 
 day. 
 
 3593. Socks placed wrong side out on your feet foretell good luck for 
 the rest of the day. 
 
 3594. If your sweater is on wrong side out do not change it, because 
 you will have bad luck. 
 
 3595. To thrust your left arm first into a sleeve is unlucky. 
 
 3596. Always put your right arm first in a sleeve to avoid trouble 
 for the day. 
 
 3597. It is lucky to stick your left arm first into a coat sleeve. 
 
170 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 3598. Finding a ravel on your dress is an indication that you will obtain 
 a new dress. 
 
 3599. To find a ravel on your dress signifies that you are going to travel 
 soon. 
 
 3600. Bastings left in a dress show that it is not paid for. 
 
 3601. If the hem of your dress turns up when you put it on, good luck 
 is coming to you. 
 
 3602. Kiss the hem of your dress if it is turned up and pull it down 
 for luck. 
 
 3603. When your dress turns up in back, spit on it and you will receive 
 some money. 
 
 3604. The turning up of your dress behind, when you arise from a chair, 
 means a disappointment that day. 
 
 3605. Spit on the turned up hem of your dress and pull it down, and 
 you will get a new dress. 
 
 3606. To have the hem of your dress turn up indicates that you are 
 liked better by your father than by your mother. 
 
 3607. An underskirt or petticoat hanging lower than your skirt shows 
 that your father loves you better than your mother does. 
 
 3608. It is lucky to wear your underskirt shorter than your dress. 
 
 3609. If a man's shirt tail hangs out of his pants, there is a letter for 
 him in the post office. 
 
 3610. Long skirts are the sign of bad times. 
 
 3611. In good times skirts are short. 
 
 3612. Old friends should exchange dresses for luck. 
 
 3613. To tear your dress behind will cause you bad luck. 
 
 3614. The woman who kicks up her dress in back will be a thief. 
 
 3615. A butterfly lighting on you is bringing you a new dress. 
 
 3616. Upon whatever piece of your clothing a cricket crawls, you will 
 soon get that article new. 
 
 3617. Finding a measuring worm on your person means that you will 
 secure a new garment. 
 
 3618. You will soon acquire new that article of clothing upon which 
 you have found a measuring worm. 
 
 3619. When meeting someone who has on anything new, you must say 
 three times, "It is pretty" or something will happen to the owner 
 before the article is worn out. 
 
 3620. If a person wearing a new dress for the first time is pinched by 
 someone who does not know that the dress is new, the owner will 
 have good luck. 
 
 3621. You will obtain good luck for the entire year, if you wear some- 
 thing new on New Year's Day. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 171 
 
 3622. Not to wear something new on Easter will cause you bad luck 
 all year. 
 
 3623. Wearing a new suit for the first time on Saturday is unlucky. 
 
 3624. To don anything new on Saturday for the first time will bring 
 you bad luck. 
 
 3625. Holes worn into the knees of your pants show tliat you will 
 become rich. 
 
 3626. A lie will be told on you, if you burn a hole in your dress. 
 
 3627. Your troubles will never cease, if you burn a hole in your clothes. 
 
 3628. Bum a hole in your apron and someone will tell a lie about you. 
 
 3629. If you burn a hole in the front of your apron, expect trouble and 
 sorrow. 
 
 3630. The woman who drops her apron will lose a friend. 
 
 3631. To have your apron string come untied means that someone is 
 thinking of you. 
 
 3632. If while wearing an apron, the wearer and another woman, or 
 two other women, dry on it at the same time, they will have a 
 quarrel. 
 
 Z62)Z. You will quarrel with the person from whom you accept the gift 
 of a pair of gloves. 
 
 3634. Dropping your gloves will bring you a disappointment. 
 
 3635. To drop your gloves is the sign that you will shake hands with 
 someone who has cold hands. 
 
 3636. "I would not let anyone give me a handkerchief for anything, 
 because they bring me tears. For every time anyone gives me 
 one, I cry ; so I always tell my friends not to give me any, I would 
 not accept one, if I know they are giving me one." 
 
 3637. Wipe your tears on a handkerchief and throw it into an open 
 grave and your tears will be taken away. 
 
 3638. Never pick up a handkerchief that you let fall, or you will have 
 bad luck. 
 
 3639. To avert the bad luck which will follow the dropping of a hand- 
 kerchief, let someone pick it up for you. 
 
 3640. To hold a handkerchief against the ear means, "I cannot under- 
 stand you." 
 
 3641. Holding a handkerchief over both eyes indicates, **I am sorry" 
 or "I regret." 
 
 3642. To pull your handkerchief through your hands and look at some- 
 one is the sign you want to meet that person. 
 
 3643. If while walking along you throw your handkerchief around your 
 head, you want to be loved. 
 
 3644. Placing a handkerchief against your mouth signifies, "Do not 
 talk to me. I am finished with you." 
 
172 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 3645. If you rub your handkerchief against your mouth, you want to 
 be kissed. 
 
 3646. A handkerchief held in the right hand and tossed downwards 
 expresses, "Go to the devil." 
 
 3647. To hold a handkerchief thrown over your right shoulder says, 
 "Follow me." 
 
 3648. Dropping a handkerchief shows that you want the man behind 
 you to pick it up and follow you. 
 
 3649. It is very unlucky to wear a stuffed bird or a part of a bird on 
 
 your hat. "When we were girls, my father would not let 
 
 any of us wear a bird on our head. Said we were wearing some- 
 thing dead." 
 
 3650. Wearing two hats on your head will bring you bad luck. 
 
 3651. The child who wears two hats on his head will get a whipping. 
 
 3652. If you see a straw hat, stamp it for luck. 
 
 3653. When your hat blows off your head three times within an hour, 
 you will be hurt that day. 
 
 3654. The boy or man who enters the house wearing his hat will have 
 bad luck. 
 
 3655. It signifies misfortune for a man or boy to wear a cap while sitting 
 in the house. 
 
 3656. Eating at the table with your hat on will make you unlucky. 
 
 3657. To lay or throw a hat on the bed will cause you bad luck. 
 
 3658. It is unfortunate to lay a hat on the bed unless you place the 
 crown down against the counterpane. 
 
 3659. If a hat is laid crown downwards on a bed, the owner of the hat 
 will meet with bad luck. 
 
 3660. Laying a hat on a bed will bring bad luck to the person who sleeps 
 in the bed. 
 
 3661. If you place your coat on a bed, you will never have any luck. 
 
 3662. To spread a new dress or garment on a bed is the sign of bad luck. 
 
 3663. Spread on the bed a new dress that has never been used and you 
 will have bad luck before the dress is worn out. 
 
 3664. If you put your nightgown on while looking into a mirror, you 
 will be unfortunate. 
 
 3665. When a man gives a pair of pants to a woman, she should for luck 
 always let him see them on her the first time they are worn. 
 
 3666. Never remove your winter clothing before the 10th of May; it is 
 dangerous. 
 
 3667. If a rat cuts your clothes, you will not remain long in that house. 
 
 3668. It is unlucky to lay away anything that you wear frequently. 
 
 3669. Food that tastes good will spot clothes. 
 
 3670. Clothing will not be stained by food that does not taste good. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 173 
 
 3671. Do not take soiled laundry from one town to another, for you 
 
 will have bad luck. "When I used to work in hotels, the 
 
 traveling men would give me their dirty clothes, if they did not 
 have them washed. Said they would have bad luck at the next 
 town if they took them dirty." 
 
 3672. The woman who kisses the first person she meets after seeing the 
 new moon will get a new dress. 
 
 3673. Let a man kiss the first person he meets after seeing the new 
 moon and he will secure a new suit of clothes. 
 
 3674. If a woman has had an unobstructed view of the new moon, let 
 her kiss the first person met and she will obtain a new dress. 
 
 3675. To find a measuring worm on your head is the sign of a new hat. 
 
 SEWING-NEEDLES-SCISSORS 
 
 3676. To sew anything new on an old garment will bring you bad luck. 
 
 3677. If the thimble falls from your finger while you are sewing, you 
 are slow and lazy. 
 
 3678. As many stitches as you take in a garment which you have on, 
 so many tears will you shed. 
 
 3679. Permitting anyone to mend an article of clothing that is on you, 
 will make you stupid. 
 
 3680. If you sew a garment while it is on you, you will have bad luck. 
 
 3681. Sew something on a dress that you are wearing and you will 
 always be poor. 
 
 3682. Sewing a button on a garment while wearing it will cause you bad 
 luck. 
 
 3683. Hold a straw in your mouth wlien mending the clothes you are 
 wearing and you will not be unlucky. 
 
 3684. To sew up a hole in the stocking on your leg means that someone 
 will utter a scandal about you. 
 
 3685. Sew something on a dress you are wearing and someone will tell 
 a lie about you. 
 
 3686. If you mend a garment on you, there will be a lie told about you 
 with as many words as stitches used. 
 
 3687. To prevent a lie being told about you, keep a needle, pin or some- 
 thing with a point in your mouth when sewing the garment while 
 wearing it. 
 
 3688. The sewer who threads a needle with a long thread is a careless 
 person. 
 
 3689. When your thread knots while sewing, you will have a quarrel. 
 
174 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 3690. "If you burn a hole in a dress while making it, you had better 
 burn it up, for it is very bad luck. I knew a woman that was 
 making a dress and a spark from the stove blew on it and made a 
 small hole in the dress. She said it was very bad luck and put the 
 whole dress in the stove and let it burn up to keep from having 
 bad luck." 
 
 3691. Sew on Friday and you will be unfortunate. 
 
 3692. If you begin sewing on Friday, you will never finish your task. 
 
 3693. You will have bad luck with the garment that you begin on 
 Friday but are unable to finish the same day. 
 
 3694. "I never cut a dress out on Saturday, because I think Saturday 
 unlucky." 
 
 3695. It is unlucky to sew or to cut a garment on Sunday. 
 
 3696. "If you sew on Sunday you are making Jesus' heart bleed." 
 
 3697. "Real old people say, if you sew on Sunday you are sticking the 
 needle through Christ's heart." 
 
 3698. The number of stitches you take on Sunday will be the number 
 of lies told about you the following week. 
 
 3699. Sew on Sunday and you will remove the stitches on Monday. 
 
 3700. If you sew on Sunday, you will be compelled to pick out the 
 stitches with your nose. 
 
 3701. Sew on Sunday and you will rip out each stitch with your nose 
 on Monday. 
 
 3702. Every stitch that you took on Sunday must be ripped out with 
 your teeth on Judgment Day. 
 
 3703. Sew on Sunday and you will have to take out all the stitches 
 when you are dead. 
 
 3704. For each stitch taken on Sunday the devil will take nine stitches 
 in your eyelids when you die. 
 
 3705. Do not use a thimble when you sew on Sunday and the bad luck 
 will not be so severe. 
 
 3706. "If you sew on Sunday, sew without a thimble, so you won't have 
 to pick it out in the other land with your nose." 
 
 3707. When you sew on Sunday, prevent bad luck by keeping a stick in 
 your mouth. 
 
 3708. Cross your feet when you darn on Sunday and you will not have 
 bad luck. 
 
 3709. Never sew or knit between Christmas and the fourth day of the 
 new year and you will be lucky. 
 
 3710. "If you want to have good luck, start a pillow slip when the old 
 year is going out and the new year is coming in, and do not give 
 it away. If you give the slip away, you will have bad luck. I 
 started a pair of pillow slips one year on New Year's Eve and 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 175 
 
 gave the pair away and I had very bad luck right after I gave 
 them away." 
 
 3711. If you find a needle and do not pick it up, it will cause you bad 
 luck. 
 
 3712. Finding a needle means bad news. 
 
 3713. To drop a needle is the sign of good luck. 
 
 3714. If you let a needle fall and it sticks in the floor, expect bad luck. 
 
 3715. If a needle drops and sticks in the floor, you will have unexpected 
 company. 
 
 3716. If you lose your needle and someone asks whether it was threaded, 
 the needle will be found. 
 
 3717. It is unlucky to break a needle. 
 
 3718. To break a needle while sewing foretells the loss of a friend. 
 
 3719. If while sewing you break your needle, you will live to wear out 
 the garment on which you are working. 
 
 3720. If you break your needle in a garment that you are making for 
 someone, he will live to wear it out. 
 
 3721. The person for whom a garment is being made will not live to 
 wear it out, if you break your needle. 
 
 3722. Never borrow a needle from a neighbor, or you will have a fight 
 with her. 
 
 3723. To accept the gift of a needle from anyone will bring you bad 
 luck. 
 
 3724. Before you give a package of needles to a woman, extract one of 
 them from the package and prick her arm. This will prevent her 
 from having bad luck. 
 
 3725. Dropping a pair of scissors will make you unlucky. 
 
 3726. When you let a pair of scissors fall, step on them to avert bad 
 luck. 
 
 3727. If you drop a pair of scissors on Sunday, prevent bad luck by 
 letting them lie until Monday. 
 
 3728. It is the sign of good luck, if a pair of scissors open while falling 
 and then stick in the floor. 
 
 3729. Not to have a pair of scissors open and stick in the floor, when 
 dropped, will give you good luck. 
 
 3730. If you drop a pair of scissors and the point sticks in the floor, 
 someone will come. 
 
 3731. To drop a pair of scissors and have the point stick in the floor 
 will bring you an unknown visitor. 
 
 3732. Letting a pair of scissors fall means a disappointment. 
 3723. It is unlucky to break a pair of scissors. 
 
 3734. Using a pair of scissors on Sunday will cause you bad luck. 
 
176 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 3735. To leave scissors open while sewing is an indication that you will 
 
 be disappointed. 
 2)72^. Never let a pair of scissors lie about, but always hang them on a 
 
 nail and you will have good luck. 
 Z7Z7. To sit on a pair of scissors is a bad omen. 
 
 PINS-HAIRPINS-SAFETY PINS-BUTTONS 
 
 3738. It is lucky to find a pin. 
 
 3739. "If you see a pin and pick it up, 
 All that day you'll have good luck." 
 
 or 
 
 "If you see a pin and pick it up, 
 
 The rest of the day you'll have good luck." 
 
 3740. "If you pick up a pin as you walk along. 
 You'll have good luck all day long." 
 
 3741. "If a pin points toward you and you let it lay, 
 You'll have bad luck all that day." 
 
 3742. "See a pin and pick it up. 
 
 All the day you will have good luck. 
 See a pin and leave it lie, 
 All the day you will cry." 
 
 3743. "See a pin and let it lie, 
 
 You'll want a pin before you die." 
 
 3744. "If you see a pin, never let it lie, 
 
 For you will need it some day before you die." 
 
 3745. Pick up a pin that you find in order to avoid bad luck all week. 
 
 3746. Stepping on a pin is unlucky. 
 
 3747. Drop a pin and step on it and you will have bad luck. 
 
 3748. Good luck will come to you, if you see and pick up a crooked pin. 
 
 3749. To pick up a crooked pin will cause you bad luck. 
 
 3750. When you find a pin, throw it over your shoulder for luck. 
 
 3751. It is a sign of finding money, if you find a pin. 
 
 3752. Wear in your right shoe a pin that you have found and it will 
 bring good luck. 
 
 3753. Pick up a pin in the morning and you will receive a present that 
 afternoon. 
 
 3754. You will get a new friend if you pick up a stray pin. 
 
 3755. A pin found with the point toward you means "sharp luck." 
 
 3756. The pin pointing toward you should be picked up for luck, but if 
 it points in the opposite direction, let it lie or bad luck will befall 
 you. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois \77 
 
 2)7 S7. If a pin is pointed toward you, pick it up and stick it into your 
 clothing for luck. 
 
 3758. When the point of a pin is lying toward you, pick it up and stick 
 it into wood to be lucky. 
 
 3759. Pick up the pin pointing toward you and it will bestow good luck, 
 provided you pitch it over your right shoulder. 
 
 3760. If a pin points away from you, pick it up and give it to someone 
 else and you will obtain good luck. 
 
 3761. The person who finds a pin pointing toward him will soon find 
 money. 
 
 3762. A pin found pointing away from you indicates the loss of money. 
 
 3763. It is an indication of a disappointment to find a pin with its point 
 toward you. 
 
 3764. You are going to be disappointed, if the point of a pin is away 
 from you. 
 
 3765. To find a pin with the head toward you signifies "blunt luck." 
 
 3766. Do not pick up a pin if the head is lying toward you or you will 
 have bad luck. 
 
 3767. You will receive a letter, if you see a pin with the head toward 
 you. 
 
 3768. If a pin is found with the side toward you, you will be invited to 
 take a buggy ride. 
 
 3769. Finding a pin indicates that you will take a ride that day in the 
 direction toward which the pin points. 
 
 3770. When you find a pin, you will get a letter from someone who lives 
 in the direction toward which it is pointing. 
 
 3771. Always turn the point of a pin towards you before picking it up. 
 Never pick up a pin by the head first or you \\\\\ be unlucky. 
 
 3772. Pick up a pin sideways and you will take a buggy ride. 
 
 3773. A pin clinging to your dress is the sign that someone desires to 
 speak with you. 
 
 3774. If you happen to find a pin sticking straight in your dress, some- 
 body wants to see you; if two pins, two persons wish to see you. 
 
 3775. Somebody is talking about you when a pin sticks you. Name 
 someone and if the pin stays in, it is the person named; if the pin 
 falls out, it is not that individual. 
 
 3776. Placing a white pin in a black dress will be followed by bad luck. 
 Z777. You may expect bad luck, if you put a black pin in a white dress. 
 
 3778. Anybody who pulls a pin out of your dress will give you bad luck. 
 
 3779. To stick your finger with a pin will cause you a disappointment. 
 
 3780. It means that someone is angry with you, if a pin sticks you. 
 
 3781. The loss of a friend is indicated, if you accept the gift of a pin 
 
178 Mciiinirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 by taking it from someone's hand. To avert this misfortune, let 
 
 the giver first lay down the pin before you pick it up. 
 3782. If you ask for a pin and receive it, do not thank the giver or you 
 
 will have bad luck. 
 378v3. Never take a pin out of anyone's right hand but always remove 
 
 it from his left hand in order not to be unlucky. 
 
 3784. If you let a pin drop and it sticks in the floor, someone will come. 
 
 3785. Always keep a well filled pincushion and you will always have 
 money in your pocket. 
 
 3786. The finding of a hairpin is lucky. 
 
 3787. The man who picks up a hairpin from the street will have bad luck. 
 
 3788. Hang up in the first convenient place a hairpin that you have 
 found and it will bring you a letter. 
 
 3789. If you find a hairpin and hang it on a nail, you will get a letter. 
 
 3790. A hairpin found and hung on a nail or any iron object will cause 
 you good luck. 
 
 3791. The first friend you meet will be lost, if you do not hang up a 
 hairpin that you find. 
 
 3792. If you find a hairpin early in the morning, you will receive money 
 before the day is gone. 
 
 3793. Find a hairpin and you find a friend. 
 
 3794. When you find a hairpin, hang it on the first nail seen and you 
 will secure a friend. 
 
 3795. You will obtain a new friend, if you find a hairpin and hang it up 
 on the first thing available. 
 
 3796. After you have found a hairpin, name it for a friend and hang 
 it upon something. Whoever removes this hairpin before the end 
 of the week is going to take that friend from you. 
 
 3797. Name a hairpin that you find and stick it into your hair, and you 
 will acquire a new friend. 
 
 3798. If you find a hairpin and it is new, you will procure a new friend; 
 if it is old, an old friend will be lost. 
 
 3799. A friend is found, if you find a hairpin. Measure the hairpin and 
 if the two prongs are even, the friend will be a boy; if uneven, 
 a girl. 
 
 3800. Never pick up a hairpin or you will pick up someone's troubles. 
 
 3801. The woman who lets a hairpin fall and does not pick it up will 
 lose a friend. 
 
 3802. It is a sign that someone you like has you in mind, when a hairpin 
 drops from your hair. 
 
 3803. Lose a hairpin and you lose a friend. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 179 
 
 3804. If you find a hairpin and the prongs are straight, a straight-haired 
 woman lost it. 
 
 3805. Crooked prongs in the hairpin which you have found mean that 
 it was dropped hy a curly-haired woman. 
 
 3806. It is a good omen to find a safety pin. 
 
 3807. To put a safety pin in your dress and fail to fasten it is unlucky. 
 
 3808. Good luck will come to you, when you find an open safety pin. 
 
 3809. You will have good luck for the rest of the day, if you find an 
 open safety pin. 
 
 3810. "If you find a safety pin, pick it up, 
 And all day you will have good luck." 
 
 3811. To find a safety pin open is the sign of bad luck. 
 
 3812. Pick up a safety pin and it will bring you "sharp luck." 
 
 3813. Close an open safety pin that you find, spit through it and throw it 
 over your shoulder for luck. 
 
 3814. When you have found a safety pin, place it on a wire fence and 
 you will have good luck. 
 
 3815. If on New Year's Day a safety pin in the right side of your dress 
 comes unfastened, you are going to be unlucky all year. 
 
 3816. Pick up for luck a button that you find. 
 
 3817. Never walk over a button without picking it up or you will be 
 unfortunate. 
 
 3818. Do not pick up a button from the road or sidewalk, for it will 
 bring bad luck to you. 
 
 3819. If a button is found, you will find a friend that day. 
 
 3820. To be lucky, always pick up a pearl button that you see lying on 
 the ground. 
 
 3821. If you find a pearl button on the ground and fail to pick it up, you 
 will have bad luck. 
 
 3822. You can secure good luck by sticking the button that you have 
 found into your shoe. 
 
 3823. It is the sign of a letter to find a button. 
 
 3824. The man who loses a button from his waistcoat will become pros- 
 perous. 
 
 3825. If accidencally you tear oiT a button from your clothes, you are 
 going to be invited to a party. 
 
 3826. While dressing in the morning, it is very unlucky to pull ofT a 
 button from your clothing. 
 
 3827. A "charm string" is made by collecting a button from each of 
 your friends and then stringing these buttons. Carry this string 
 of buttons for luck. 
 
180 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 RINGS-BIRTHSTONES-PERSONAL ORNAMENTS 
 
 3828. Never allow anyone to remove a ring from your finger, or it will 
 bring you bad luck. 
 
 3829. Whoever removes a ring from another person's finger will have 
 misfortune. 
 
 3830. Taking a ring off a friend's hand will break your friendship. 
 
 3831. If a friend takes a ring from your finger, your friendship will be 
 broken. 
 
 3832. A birthstone should be worn for luck. 
 
 Zd>2>2). Wearing a ring with a setting which is not your birthstone will 
 cause trouble. 
 
 3834. Giving a person his birthstone will bestow good luck. 
 
 3835. Never keep a ring on the middle finger of each hand; it will 
 make you unfortunate. 
 
 3836. It is unlucky to wear two rings on the same finger. 
 
 3837. Secure good luck by wearing a ring with a cat's-eye setting. 
 
 "I have a ring with a cat's-eye and I never take it off my finger, 
 for I have good luck in everything I do." 
 
 3838. Wear a moonstone for luck. 
 
 3839. An opal is an unlucky stone. 
 
 3840. A ring with an opal setting means bad luck only for those who do 
 not have this jewel as a birthstone. 
 
 3841. It causes good luck to wear an opal in a ring, if it is your birth- 
 stone. 
 
 3842. If the opal is your birthstone, wear it and you will always have 
 work. 
 
 3843. Wearing a pearl ring will bring you bad luck, unless it is your 
 birthstone. 
 
 3844. Wear pearls and you will shed tears. 
 
 3845. Pearls are said to gain coloring and life when worn against the 
 human flesh, and if not used in this manner, to become dull and 
 lifeless. 
 
 3846. A dark and cloudy appearance in a pearl ihat you are wearing 
 indicates trouble. 
 
 3847. It is lucky to wear a sapphire. 
 
 3848. The sapphire inspires sentiments of love. 
 
 3849. During the week wear the following stones I'or luck: 
 
 "Yellow stones on Sunday, 
 
 Pearls on Monday, 
 
 Rubies on Tuesday, 
 
 Sapphires on Wednesday, 
 
 Garnets or red stones on Thursday, 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 181 
 
 Emeralds or green stones on Friday, 
 Diamonds on Saturday." 
 
 3850. If a girl breaks her beads, she will have bad luck. 
 
 3851. It is unlucky for a young girl to wear black beads. 
 
 3852. The person who wears a pin or the symbol of a lodge or club 
 to which he does not belong will be unfortunate. 
 
 BEAUTY 
 
 3853. To have slim ankles, every morning lie down and rest them on 
 the foot of the bedstead. 
 
 3854. You can secure a fair complexion by washing your face with 
 buttermilk. 
 
 3855. Eating carrots will give you a good complexion. 
 
 3856. If you eat chicken feet, you will become handsome. 
 
 3857. To be pretty, eat chicken gizzards. 
 
 3858. Stand on your head in a corner of the room and eat a chicken 
 gizzard to make yourself beautiful. 
 
 3859. If a girl eats chicken gizzards, she will have large breasts. 
 
 3860. Become good-looking by eating chicken hearts. 
 
 3861. Swallow a raw chicken heart to acquire beauty. 
 
 3862. Never drink cofTee ; it will give you a "muddy" complexion. 
 
 3863. Wash your face in dew to become lovely. 
 
 3864. Before the sun comes up on the Ist of May rub your face with 
 dew and it will make you attractive. 
 
 3865. "A maid who on the first of May, 
 Goes to the fields at the break of day, 
 
 And washes in dew from the hawthorn tree. 
 Will ever after handsome be." 
 
 3866. Get up before sunrise on the first three mornings of May and 
 cover your face with dew to be comely. 
 
 3867. On the first three mornings of May bathe your face in the dew 
 from an old stump and you will become beautiful. 
 
 3868. To procure large legs, a woman should wash them every morning 
 with the dishwater after the dishes have been cleaned. 
 
 3869. You may give yourself a better color by eating the yolks of eggs. 
 
 3870. Eat the skins of Irish potatoes and you will have rosy cheeks. 
 
 3871. Keep your face soft by always wiping it on a linen towel. 
 
 3872. Obtain a fine complexion by bathing your face in March snow 
 water. 
 
 3873. To pose habitually in front of a mirror will make a person ugly. 
 
182 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 3874. A girl can gain a beautiful complexion, if she sleeps in the moon- 
 light. 
 
 3875. Comeliness may be attained, if you rub dry oatmeal over your 
 face each morning upon arising. 
 
 3876. Beautify yourself by eating pumpkin seed. 
 
 3877. "They say that if a girl does not know what shade of cheek rouge 
 she should wear, for her to squeeze the tip end of one of her 
 fingers and whatever shade the blood in the tip looks like, that is 
 the proper shade she should wear." 
 
 3878. You can have rosy cheeks, if you eat the skins of sweet potatoes. 
 
 3879. Swallowing a turkey heart will make you good-looking. 
 
 3880. Use a baby's urine as a face lotion to become handsome. 
 
 3881. To produce loveliness, wipe your face every morning with a diaper 
 that a baby has wetted. 
 
 3882. If you wash your face each morning with your first urine, you 
 will be attractive. 
 
 3883. Bathe your face once a day in your own urine and it will bleach 
 your skin and create an excellent complexion. 
 
 3884. Washing your hands with your own urine will make them white 
 and beautiful. 
 
 3885. "Smoke follows beauty" (zvill go towards a beautiful person). 
 
 3886. "Snakes follow beauty." 
 
 3887. The sleep before midnight is known as "beauty sleep." 
 
 BATHING AND TOWELS 
 
 3888. "If two persons wipe hands together, 
 They will be friends forever." 
 
 3889. "If you dry your hands together, 
 You will be friends forever." 
 
 3890. Two persons simultaneously wiping their hands and faces on the 
 same towel will have a quarrel at the same time next day. 
 
 3891. There will be a quarrel between the two persons who do not twist 
 a towel after they have wiped on it together. 
 
 3892. It is unlucky for two persons to dry on the same towel at the same 
 time. 
 
 3893. Getting a towel twisted after using it will bring you bad luck. 
 
 3894. A towel falling from your hand is the sign of a female visitor. 
 
 3895. Never wash your face with soap every day or hair will grow on 
 your face. 
 
 3896. You will be clean all year, if you take a bath on New Year's night. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 183 
 
 3897. The person who washes himself with cold water does not stay- 
 clean as long as the one washing in hot water. 
 
 3898. Bathe between Christmas and New Year's Day and you will 
 remain clean the whole year. 
 
 3899. Two persons washing hands together in the same water will 
 quarrel that day. 
 
 3900. If you use the water that someone else has washed in, you and 
 that person will have a quarrel. 
 
 3901. Never empty the water that has been used by someone else or the 
 two of you will quarrel. 
 
 FRECKLES-BLACKHEADS-PIMPLES 
 
 3902. A person with freckles has good health. 
 
 3903. A large number of freckles indicates that your blood contains a 
 great amount of iodine. 
 
 3904. Bathe your face with buttermilk and your freckles will leave. 
 
 3905. To remove freckles, smear your face once with "cow plaster" 
 (cow manure). 
 
 3906. "If you want to take of? freckles, cover your face with cow 
 manure. Years ago two girls out in the country near Burton and 
 Liberty was going to a party. They had their dresses made, but 
 both girls had a lot of freckles; and they heard that if you would 
 put cow manure all over your face, it would take them off. So 
 they made up their mind to try before the party. They both 
 stayed at one house, and put it all over their faces. The next 
 morning when they washed, they were all green. The cow had 
 been eating something green and it stain their faces. It took the 
 girls several days to get the green off their faces. They got rid 
 of the freckles but didn't get to go to the party, for their faces 
 were too green. It got out and the boys and girls had a good time 
 over them missing the party over getting rid of the freckles." 
 
 3907. Arise on the first day of May and walk out of the house back- 
 wards. Bathe your face with dew and your freckles will disappear. 
 
 3908. Wash your hands with dew on the first day in May and rub them 
 over your face; then lay the hands on some other part of your 
 
 body, and the freckles will go to that place. "My face was 
 
 just full of freckles, so I got up on the first day of May and 
 washed my hands in the early morning dew. Then I put my 
 hands on my shoulders and the freckles left my face and went to> 
 my shoulders." 
 
 3909. Take away freckles by washing in the dew that is on clover. 
 
184 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 3910. Before dew disappears off the grass, rub some grass over your 
 face and the freckles will soon fade away. 
 
 3911. Freckles can be removed, if you wash your face with dew from 
 grass on the first nine mornings of May. 
 
 3912. You will never have freckles, if on the first day of May you bathe 
 your face in the dew off growing wheat. 
 
 3913. Mix dew from growing wheat with rose water and oil of lilies. 
 Use this lotion to drive away freckles. 
 
 3914. If you wash your face with wild grapevine sap, your freckles will 
 go away. 
 
 3915. Rid yourself of freckles by covering them with lemon juice. 
 
 3916. March snow water is a good lotion for removing freckles. 
 
 3917. In the spring children pop "squirters" (the seedpods of the soft 
 maple tree) into each other's faces. This juice is supposed to 
 cause freckles. 
 
 3918. Melon rind rubbed over the face will take off freckles. 
 
 3919. To make freckles disappear, wash your face with water that is 
 standing in a hollow stump. 
 
 3920. Freckles may be driven away, if you bathe them with the water 
 that has collected in an oak stump. 
 
 3921. Lose freckles by washing them with your own urine. 
 
 3922. Wipe your face daily with a baby's wet diaper to get rid of 
 freckles. 
 
 3923. A "flesh worm" (blackhead) will come out, if covered with wet 
 corn meal. 
 
 3924. You can take out a "flesh worm" by applying milkweed juice. 
 
 3925. Let urine remain in a pot overnight and next morning remove 
 the scum. Bathe your face in the clear liquid to get rid of 
 blackheads. 
 
 3926. Eating raw pork will give you pimples. 
 
 3927. If you eat sausage that is not well cooked or smoked, such as 
 "summer sausage," you will have pimples. 
 
 3928. Arise before daylight on the first three mornings of May and 
 wash your face in the dew. This will drive away your pimples. 
 
 3929. Drink clover blossom tea night and morning to clear your face of 
 pimples. 
 
 MOLES AND WENS 
 
 3930. A f)erson without any moles will lead a happy but uneventful life. 
 
 3931. It is lucky to have a mole on the right side of the body. 
 
 3932. A mole on the left side of the body is a sign of bad luck. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 185 
 
 3933. "A mole on the face, 
 You'll suffer disgrace." 
 
 3934. If you have a mole on the face, it will bring you good luck. 
 
 3935. "A mole on the lip, 
 You're a little too flip." 
 
 3936. "A mole on the ear, 
 
 You'll have money by the year." 
 
 3937. Anyone who has a mole behind the ear will die by hanging. 
 
 3938. Death by strangling is the meaning of a mole on the neck. 
 
 "I have two moles on my neck and I told my family I knew I 
 will strangle when I die." 
 
 3939. The significance of a mole on the neck is death by hanging. 
 
 3940. "Mole on your neck, 
 Money by the peck." 
 
 3941. "Mole on the neck, 
 Gold by the peck." 
 
 3942. "Mole on the arm. 
 You're a man's charm." 
 
 or 
 
 "Mole on the arm, 
 
 You are a gentleman's charm." 
 
 3943. "Mole on your arm, 
 You'll live on a farm," 
 
 3944. "If you have a mole on your arm, 
 You'll have money on a farm." 
 
 v?i945. "A mole on your arm. 
 
 You'll never be harmed," 
 
 3946. To have a mole on the arm or shoulder indicates that you possess 
 great wisdom. 
 
 3947. When your elbow bears a mole, you will become rich. 
 
 3948. Some disaster will come before you die, if a mole is on your hand. 
 
 3949. A mole on the "life line" of your hand foretells that you will 
 meet with a calamity in life. 
 
 3950. A mole on the stomach reveals a glutton. 
 
 3951. "A mole on your back. 
 
 More money than you can pack," 
 
 3952. "Mole on your back. 
 Money by the pack." 
 
 3953. "Mole on the back. 
 Money by the sack." 
 
 3954. "Mole on the back. 
 Brains you will lack." 
 
186 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 3955. A mole on the buttock denotes death by hanging. 
 
 3956. The man who has a mole on his knee will be very wealthy. 
 
 3957. A woman with a mole on her left knee will have many children. 
 
 3958. A mole on the left leg shows a bad temper. 
 
 3959. A mole on the right leg discloses a good disposition. 
 
 3960. If you pinch a mole ofi your body, or get it knocked off, you will 
 bleed to death. 
 
 3961. To remove moles: "Take a pinch of nitre and white cream of 
 tartar, pound separately. Then mix it and after sifting, put it in 
 a deep dish until it burns up and becomes like cake. Then put it 
 in another dish. Pour water over it. Stir with the finger till it 
 dissolves. Afterwards strain through a filter. Pour into a new 
 earthen pot upon the lire but do not boil. Just dry and pulverize. 
 After this is done, take nine ounces of distilled vinegar, two 
 ounces of brandy. Put into a glass and mix the powder. Let it 
 remain in the sun for three days and save it. Wash the moles 
 morning and evening and in a few days the moles will disappear." 
 Written contribution. 
 
 3962. "If you want to take a mole off, go and stand in the opening and 
 look at a full moon and don't look at anything else and say : 
 
 'O full of the moon, 
 
 O full of the moon, 
 
 O full of the moon, 
 
 Work thy charms, 
 
 Work thy charms, 
 
 Work thy charms. 
 
 And take the mole from off my face, 
 
 And take the mole from off my face, 
 
 And take the mole from off my face' 
 
 and it will go away if you don't take your eyes from the moon." 
 Written contribution. 
 
 3963. "If you have a mole, take your monthly fluid and rub over the 
 mole every night just before going to bed, and do this every night 
 during your period. Aly daughter was five years old and had a 
 big mole on the side of her face, and after she went to sleep, every 
 night during one of my periods I rub the monthly fluid over this 
 mole and it left." 
 
 3964. "I had a wen on my hand. I tried several things and it would 
 always come back. A negro man got burned in a fire and died. 
 I went to see him and took his hand and rubbed it over my own, 
 and it left and never did come back." 
 
 3965. Tie a white silk thread around your wen and leave it on for three 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 187 
 
 nights, then bury the thread under the eaves where water drips. 
 When the thread rots, the wen will be gone. 
 3966. Take off a mole by rubbing it with the milk of a cottonweed thrice 
 daily for three days. 
 
 CORNS AND BUNIONS 
 
 3967. Cut your corns as the moon begins to decrease. 
 
 3968. Corns should be trimmed in the dark of the moon. 
 
 3969. If you pare your corns on Sunday, you will be shamed before the 
 end of the day. 
 
 3970. Cure a corn by rubbing it every morning with alum. 
 
 3971. Always drop the parings on an ant mound and eventually the corn 
 will disappear. 
 
 3972. To get rid of a com, rub it with a candlestick. 
 
 3973. Use castor oil to deaden the pain of a corn. 
 
 3974. Remove a com by treating it with castor oil. 
 
 3975. A pinch of common chalk scrapings bound in a linen rag on a corn 
 is a good remedy. 
 
 3976. When passing a cherry tree, without being seen by anyone pull off 
 some leaves and rub them over your corn ; then bury the leaves, 
 and after they have decayed, the corn will be gone. 
 
 3977. Heat sap from a cherry tree and spread it over a corn, letting it 
 remain there for three days ; then the corn will fall off if soaked 
 in warm water. 
 
 3978. Get rid of a corn or bunion by bathing it with coal oil. 
 
 3979. Apply coal oil to a corn for nine nights and during the ninth 
 night the corn will leave. 
 
 3980. "I had a corn on my little toe. Blood poison had set in. I put 
 fresh cow manure on it and it got well." 
 
 3981. Poultice a corn with freshly mashed cranberries for a cure. 
 
 3982. A corn may be removed by cutting it off. 
 
 3983. You can lose your corns, if you walk barefoot in the dew on 
 the first three mornings of May. 
 
 3984. To remove a corn, sprinkle it with gunpowder; then light the 
 gunpowder and let it burn up completely. 
 
 3985. Swathe a corn in lard nightly for a week and the corn will come 
 off during the seventh night. 
 
 3986. Place a small slice of lemon on your corn every night until the 
 corn goes away. 
 
 3987. Dissolve a pearl button in lemon juice and apply this salve until 
 the corn comes out. 
 
188 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 3988. Whittle a match to a sharp peg, rub this over a corn, and then 
 drive the peg into the north side of a tree. The corn will soon 
 be cured. 
 
 3989. Remedies for removing corns are more effective if tried in the 
 dark. 
 
 3990. Everything concerned with the following remedy must be done in 
 
 the dark. "Remove shoes and stockings, cut a piece from a 
 
 raw onion and bind it on the corn. Go to bed without any light. 
 The next morning remove the rag and the onion from the corn 
 and drop both of them into any kind of hole in the ground, so 
 they will disappear from view in falling. Wait one night and the 
 corn will have disappeared, supposedly following up the rag and 
 onion." Written contribution. 
 
 3991. To drive away a bunion, cover it with a piece of newspaper that 
 does not contain any printed matter. 
 
 3992. Pennyroyal leaves made into a poultice and applied to a com 
 will remove it. 
 
 3993. As a corn cure, bandage it with crushed mint leaves. 
 
 3994. One can take away a corn, if it is rubbed with saliva on a piece 
 of cotton. 
 
 3995. Rid yourself of a corn by rubbing it with your first spittle in the 
 morning. 
 
 3996. Treat a corn by spitting on it for nine mornings. 
 
 3997. Each night before retiring and every morning after arising, spit 
 on your corn until it disappears. 
 
 3998. Night and morning for six months rub saliva on a corn to make 
 it leave. 
 
 3999. A corn can be taken off by sandpapering it. 
 
 4000. Corns may be cured, if they are anointed with a mixture of 
 bruised "sour sorrel" (sorrel) and lard. 
 
 4001. Wrap a rag, which has been dipped into turpentine, about a corn; 
 and within several days the cure will be effected. A variation of 
 this method is to apply turpentine night and morning. 
 
 4002. Put baking soda on a soft corn, then moisten with vinegar, and 
 the corn will come out. 
 
 4003. Dip a piece of raw boiling-beef into vinegar and bind it over a 
 corn. Do this for three nights and you may then remove the com. 
 
 4004. Soak a piece of copper in vinegar and then wash your com with 
 this liquid. The corn will soon drop off. 
 
 4005. A poultice of pepper, salt and vinegar is good for a corn. 
 
 4006. The removal of a corn is certain, if you trim it well and then 
 stick it with a hot piece of wire. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 189 
 
 4007. Keep on a com a piece of wool from a lamb and after a time the 
 corn can be removed. 
 
 4008. Boil together until thick, a two inch square of yeast bread, two 
 tablespoonfuls of catnip and a tablespoonful of sweet milk. Use 
 this as a poultice to take oflf a bunion. 
 
 4009. A callus on the bottom of the foot can be cured by walking in 
 the dew for three nights or mornings. 
 
 WARTS 
 
 4010. It is a sign of wealth to have a wart on the body. 
 
 4011. The person who has a wart will be lucky. 
 
 4012. A wart on the chin indicates a mean disposition. 
 
 4013. "A wart on the chin 
 Is a devil within." 
 
 4014. Hold a frog in your hand and you will acquire a wart. 
 
 4015. A bullfrog wetting on you will give you warts. 
 
 4016. You will get warts, if you touch a toad. 
 
 4017. Kill a toad and your hands will be covered with warts. 
 
 4018. Unless you spit as soon as you see a toad, a wart will appear on 
 your hand. 
 
 4019. Count the stars by pointing at them with a finger and you will 
 have a wart on that finger. 
 
 4020. People who possess the power to remove warts are sometimes 
 known as "wart doctors." 
 
 4021. The seventh son of the seventh son is able to cure warts. 
 
 4022. Some people can heal warts by counting them off. 
 
 4023. One healer could drive away a wart by rubbing it three times with 
 his finger. 
 
 4024. "A man had three warts. A woman took her finger and put it 
 in her mouth, then on the wart. She did this to all three warts 
 and in two weeks they were gone." 
 
 4025. It is possible for a man to remove a woman's warts, but a woman 
 is unable to cure a man's warts. 
 
 4026. If a healer reveals his secret for removing warts, the power will 
 disappear 
 
 4027. To cure a wart, mash ants on it. 
 
 4028. Rub slices of an apple over a wart, then bury them; and when 
 the slices rot, the wart will go away. 
 
 4029. Halve an apple and rub each piece on a wart ; then put the apple 
 together and bury it. As the apple rots, the wart will disappear. 
 
190 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 4030. To drive away a wart, cut an apple in two and rub both halves 
 around the wart while saying, "In the Name of the Father, Son 
 
 and Holy Ghost" three times; then put the two pieces of 
 
 apple together and bury it. 
 
 4031. "If you have a wart, take an apple and cut it in half and rub 
 
 over your wart as you say, 'In the Name of the Father' 
 
 then again when you say, 'Son' and again when you say, 
 
 'Holy Ghost' and bury it where water will drip on it; and 
 
 when the apple rots, the wart will go." 
 
 4032. A wart can be removed, if you rub it with a rotten apple and then 
 bury the latter. 
 
 4033. A piece of bacon rubbed about a wart on the decrease of the 
 moon will remove it. But you must bury the bacon. 
 
 4034. Cure a wart by rubbing it with a piece of bacon. Bury the bacon 
 and when it decays, the wart will be gone. 
 
 4035. Tie a piece of bacon over a wart and let it remain for one night. 
 Next morning bury the bacon on the east side of the house and 
 the wart will gradually wear off. 
 
 4036. To remove a wart, rub it with a piece of bacon. Hide the bacon 
 under a rock and after the former becomes rotten, the wart will 
 leave. 
 
 4037. Two days after the full moon rub a wart with a piece of bacon 
 while saying, "In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost 
 
 wart go away." Bury the bacon where water can drip on 
 
 it and your command will be heeded. 
 
 4038. Hang in a tree the piece of bacon that you have rubbed over your 
 wart, and after birds have eaten the bacon, the wart will go off. 
 
 4039. Slice bacon into small bits and tie them up in paper ; then rub your 
 wart with this package. Throw the package away and whoever 
 picks it up will get your wart. 
 
 4040. At sunrise rub a piece of bacon over your wart, making a cross 
 and saying, "In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost." 
 Bury the bacon where water can drip on it and cover it with a 
 rock. As soon as the bacon rots, you will lose your wart. 
 
 4041. "I had a bad wart on my hand. One evening my beau said, 'Let 
 me take off your wart.' He pick it until it bled ; then told me to 
 go somewhere and steal some baking soda without anyone know- 
 ing it. He rub it all over my wart and in a few days my wart was 
 gone." 
 
 4042. To lose a wart, rub it with a bean and then secretly bury the 
 latter. When the bean sprouts, you will be rid of the wart. 
 
 4043. To make warts leave, rub each of them with a white bean, then 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 191 
 
 conceal these beans in a hillside and walk away without looking 
 back. 
 
 4044. You can drive away a wart by rubbing it with a bean and then 
 dropping the bean into a water-closet. 
 
 4045. Spit on a bean and throw it away. This will take off a wart. 
 
 4046. To drive a wart away, rub it with a bean and cast the bean over 
 your shoulder without looking back. 
 
 4047. A wart may be cured by rubbing it with a bean and then throwing 
 the bean over your left shoulder. 
 
 4048. A wart on the nose may be driven away by rubbing it with a bean 
 and then placing the bean where water can drip on it. As the bean 
 starts to sprout, the wart will begin to come off. 
 
 4049. After rubbing your wart with green beans, put them beneath the 
 front doorstep. When the beans decay, you will no longer have 
 the wart. 
 
 4050. Cut off the end of a green bean and rub it over your wart. Place 
 the bean under your front door and the wart will soon be lost. 
 
 4051. Split a lima bean in half and rub it over your wart. Toss the bean 
 into a well and the wart will vanish. 
 
 4052. To get rid of a wart, rub it with a bean and cast the latter in 
 a well. 
 
 4053. Put as many beans in a paper sack as you have warts and place 
 the sack at the intersection of two streets. The person who picks 
 up the sack will take your warts. 
 
 4054. Let the grocer lay out nine white beans. Lift up one bean at a 
 time, rubbing it over your wart until you have thus used the entire 
 number. Then place them in a sack and while taking a walk, 
 casually drop the sack somewhere along your way. Whoever 
 picks up the beans will get the wart. 
 
 4055. Take a bean leaf when no one is watching, if anyone sees you 
 the charm will not succeed, and rub it over your wart. Bury the 
 leaf and when it decays, the wart will depart. 
 
 4056. Scratch a wart until it bleeds and smear some of the blood on a 
 bean leaf, which you must then secretly bury. The wart will 
 disappear within three days. 
 
 4057. Pluck a bean leaf and let someone rub it over your wart. Then 
 have the same person bury the leaf secretly; and when it rots, 
 the wart will be gone. 
 
 4058. "Years ago my hand was just full of warts. My brother took me 
 to the bean patch and took a handful of leaves and rub over my 
 warts, then went a little way and took another handful of the 
 leaves and rubbed over my warts, and then threw them down in 
 
192 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 the patch and said, 'You will leave all your warts in this bean 
 patch.' And I did, for my warts went away." 
 
 4059. Rid yourself of a wart by anointing it with the juice from 
 several bean leaves. 
 
 4060. As a cure, rub your wart with a white bean and then toss the 
 bean over your left shoulder without turning around to see where 
 it went. 
 
 4061. "If you have a wart and don't like someone, get a white bean and 
 rub over your wart. While you are rubbing the bean over your 
 wart, wish all the time the one you don't like will get your wart, 
 then throw it over your left shoulder where you can't find the 
 bean, and your wart will go away." 
 
 4062. Rub your wart with a piece of raw beef, then bury the latter ; and 
 when the meat rots, the wart will disappear. 
 
 4063. When you see a bone, pick it up and rub it over your wart ; then 
 restore the bone to its original position and the wart will soon 
 vanish. 
 
 4064. Pick up a bone that has been lying on the ground and rub the 
 underside of it over your wart. Throw the bone away and your 
 wart will eventually come off. 
 
 4065. Upon finding a bone, rub it on your wart and then cast it over 
 your shoulder. Do not look back and your wart will leave. 
 
 4066. Scarify a wart until you draw blood and then place two broom- 
 straws in the shape of a cross over it. Bury the broomstraws and 
 after they decay, the wart will be cured. 
 
 4067. Rub a wart thrice with three broomstraws and then bury them 
 where water drips. When they rot, the wart will be gone. 
 
 4068. Anoint a wart with castor oil twice a day to cure it. 
 
 4069. You can make a wart go away by anointing it with castor oil for 
 three mornings and evenings. 
 
 4070. Drive away a wart by applying castor oil nightly for seven nights. 
 
 4071. Mark your wart with a piece of chalk; and when the latter is lost, 
 you will lose the wart. 
 
 4072. Place a chalk mark on a stove and after the mark has disappeared, 
 your wart will go away. 
 
 4073. Draw one chalk mark around a wart and make another mark with 
 chalk on a stove. When the chalk mark goes off the stove, you 
 will no longer have the wart. 
 
 4074. If a circle is drawn around your wart with a piece of chalk and 
 a chalk mark made on a stove lid, the wart will leave after the chalk 
 mark has burned off the stove lid. 
 
 4075. To make a wart disappear, rub it with a dead chicken foot. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 193 
 
 4076. Sticking your wart until it bleeds and then rubbing it with the 
 inside of a chicken gizzard lining will drive away the wart. 
 
 4077. For a wart cure, twist a chicken gizzard three times above your 
 head and then throw the gizzard away as you depart without look- 
 ing back. 
 
 4078. The intestines of a black chicken rubbed over your wart and then 
 buried will take oflF the wart. 
 
 4079. "My brother had a big seed wart and he killed a chicken and took 
 the head and rub over his wart while the head was warm, and 
 his wart went away." 
 
 4080. Kill a rooster and immediately rub its head on your wart; then 
 bury the head and when it decays, the wart will leave. 
 
 4081. Scratch your wart until it bleeds and put some of the blood on a 
 piece of bread ; then feed the latter to the chickens and the wart 
 will disappear. 
 
 4082. "On Sunday morning at the noon service while the preacher is 
 praying for church to be over, tie a string around your wart and 
 
 say, *In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost take 
 
 my wart away.' Then when church is over, take that string out 
 and bury it, and say again while you are burying the string, 'In 
 
 the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost take my wart 
 
 away.' When the string rots, the wart will go away." 
 
 4083. Cover your wart with cinnamon to get rid of it. 
 
 4084. Make a wart vanish by picking it with a grain of corn and then 
 letting a red rooster eat the corn. 
 
 4085. A grain of corn rubbed over a wart until blood is drawn, and 
 then fed to a chicken, will drive off a wart. 
 
 4086. Take a grain of corn for each wart, count the grains and warts, 
 and then bury the corn. After the latter has decayed, the warts 
 will be cured. 
 
 4087. Picking your wart with a grain of corn until you draw blood, and 
 then letting someone bury the corn where you cannot find it, will 
 remove the wart. 
 
 4088. Have a friend bury the grain of corn with which you have picked 
 your wart until it bled: If the corn rots, the wart will come off; 
 if the corn grows, the wart will remain. 
 
 4089. To get rid of a wart, rub it with a grain of corn and then toss 
 the grain over your left shoulder. As soon as a chicken eats the 
 com, the wart will be gone. 
 
 4090. Prick a wart with a grain of corn until blood comes and throw 
 the grain over your left shoulder. Whatever picks up the corn 
 will have your wart. 
 
194 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 4091. Stick a wart and put some of the blood on a grain of corn. Cast ' 
 the corn away and when it decays the wart will leave, 
 
 4092. Thrust a pin into a wart and cover several grains of corn with the 
 blood. Feed this corn to an old rooster and he will catch your 
 warts. 
 
 4093. A wart will disappear, if you rub it with a grain of corn and then 
 pitch the corn over your head without looking back. 
 
 4094. Rub a grain of corn on your wart and then drop the former into 
 a well while saying, "Here goes my wart." The wart will be 
 removed when the corn rots. 
 
 4095. Count your warts and rub them with as many grains of corn as 
 you have warts. Let the grains fall into a well and after the corn 
 decays, the warts will go off. 
 
 4096. Make a wart go away by rubbing it with six grains of corn and 
 feeding the corn to a speckled hen. 
 
 4097. Drive away a wart by rubbing it with seven grains of corn and 
 giving the corn to your neighbor's chickens. 
 
 4098. Seven grains of corn rubbed on your wart, then buried and 
 covered with a stone so that they will not sprout, will take off the 
 wart as soon as they have decayed. 
 
 4099. A wart can be cured by rubbing it with nine grains of corn, which 
 must then be buried. 
 
 4100. Your warts may be removed by letting someone count them off, 
 but whoever does the counting will get the warts. 
 
 4101. Warts will leave, if someone counts them off without your 
 knowledge. 
 
 4102. To remove a wart, rub a fresh dandelion stem over it each morn- 
 ing for three days. 
 
 4103. When someone dies, go to the graveyard at midnight and call the 
 devil. He will come and take away your wart. 
 
 4104. "If you have a wart, go where they are laying out someone that is 
 dead and take that piece of cloth that is over the dead one's face 
 and rub that piece of cloth over your wart. Then you must put 
 that piece of cloth in the coffin with that dead one and let it be 
 buried with the dead, and your wart will go away." 
 
 4105. To cure a wart, take one of the candles standing by a coffin and 
 rub it over the corpse. 
 
 4106. Remove a wart by stroking it with the hand of a corpse while 
 saying, "Wart, wart, go away. It is no good to me, and it will 
 do you no harm." 
 
 4107. During the tolling of a church bell at a funeral say, "In the Name 
 
 of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost" and make the sign of 
 
 the cross three times. This will take away a wart or a growth. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois . 195 
 
 4108. A wart will leave, if you rub it on a corpse. 
 
 4109. Take a wart away by rubbing it over a corpse three times. 
 
 4110. A wart can be taken off, if you rub it over a dead person's face. 
 
 4111. A woman can cure her wart, if she rubs it three times on the 
 corpse of a male. 
 
 4112. A man may drive away his wart by rubbing it thrice over a female 
 corpse. 
 
 4113. While the bell is tolling, as a corpse is being taken from church, 
 say, "Now the bells are tolling for to put the dead one in its grave. 
 With this I will wash my warts away." Then rub your hand over 
 the wart saying, "In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy 
 Ghost" and the wart will leave. 
 
 4114. Just as the full moon begins to decrease, rub your hand on a 
 corpse and then pass the hand over your wart. This will make 
 the wart depart. 
 
 4115. Cure a wart by taking a dead cat to the cemetery. 
 
 4116. A wart may be removed if you bury a dead cat in a graveyard at 
 night. 
 
 4117. To drive away a wart, a dead black cat should be buried at mid- 
 night by the grave of someone who was wicked in life. 
 
 4118. Carry a dead cat at night, passing through a cemetery on your 
 way, to a crossroad. Here rub your warts with the dead cat and 
 they will be gone by morning. 
 
 4119. Tie a string around a wart and let it stay there for fifteen minutes, 
 then put the string in a coffin containing a corpse ; and when 
 the body rots, the wart will disappear. 
 
 4120. Sprinkle dirt from a newly dug grave over your wart and it will 
 leave. 
 
 4121. Just before the funeral procession starts from the house, rub your 
 wart on the face of the corpse and say, "In the Name of the 
 
 Father, Son and Holy Ghost take my wart." After the body 
 
 decomposes, a cure will follow. 
 
 4122. To remove a wart, on three Fridays in succession and thrice 
 during the day make a cross over the wart. 
 
 4123. If a stolen dish rag is rubbed over a wart and then buried, the 
 wart will come off as soon as the dish rag decays. 
 
 4124. Steal an old dish rag and rub it over your wart. Bury the dish 
 rag under the eaves and when it becomes rotten, the wart will be 
 gone. 
 
 4125. If a string from a dish rag is tied around a wart and then buried 
 beneath a rock, the wart will vanish after the string has decayed. 
 
 4126. Cut a small corner off a dish rag and rub it on your wart ; then 
 
196 Memoirs of the Ahna Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 place this piece of dish rag under a stone to rot, and the wart 
 will go away. 
 
 4127. Rid yourself of a wart by rubbing it with a stolen dish rag and 
 throwing away the dish rag. 
 
 4128. You must walk backwards throughout the whole of the following 
 wart cure rite : Carry a dish rag to a stump, dip it into the water 
 in the stump, wash your wart with the dish rag, and then return 
 home. 
 
 4129. A wart will come oflf, if it is rubbed three times with a strip taken 
 from your dish rag. 
 
 4130. Rub your wart with an old dish rag; then bury the dish rag 
 secretly and when it decays, you will no longer have the wart. 
 
 4131. To cure a wart, rub it with a stolen dish rag and then drop the 
 dish rag at the forks of a road. 
 
 4132. Remove a wart by rubbing it with a stolen dish rag and burying 
 the latter under a stone. 
 
 4133. "Years ago a woman had a little boy. He was playing out in the 
 yard and a toad just wet all over him. His face was just full of 
 warts. This woman went and stole her neighbor's dish rag and 
 washed this boy with it, then put it under the neighbor's doorstep, 
 and in no time this boy lost his warts." 
 
 4134. "I had a wart and stole a dish rag, and rubbed it over my wart 
 and then threw it over the eaves of the house." 
 
 4135. "Years ago my hand was full of warts. My mother got a elder 
 stick and laid it over my warts and made a notch in the stick; 
 then told me to go in the house and not watch where the cut would 
 drop. Then she started to walking around the yard, cutting on the 
 stick, without looking to see where it (the various pieces cut off 
 the stick) went; and when the stick was all gone, went in the 
 house. In a few days my warts were gone." 
 
 4136. Pick a wart until it bleeds and place the blood in an envelope. 
 Drop the envelope on the road and the one who finds it will take 
 your wart. 
 
 4137. Pare your finger-nails to the quick and rub some of these parings 
 over your wart. When your finger-nails grow out again, the wart 
 will be cured. 
 
 4138. To lose a wart, kill a frog and while the legs are still twitching, 
 cut off one of them and rub it over your wart. Then throw away 
 the leg. 
 
 4139. Make a wart leave by rubbing it with a gold ring. 
 
 4140. A wart may be lost by rubbing it with a piece of newly cut grape- 
 vine. Bury the grapevine where it cannot be found. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 197 
 
 4141. Tie several strands from your combings around a wart and bury 
 the hair used. After this hair has decayed, the wart will disappear. 
 
 4142. As a cure for a wart on your hand, stroke it with the other hand 
 while saying, "Water won't burn, fire won't freeze." Repeat this 
 formula nine times. 
 
 4143. To make a wart leave, rub it with grass that grows during the 
 spring among the bricks in a sidewalk. 
 
 4144. Take a hickory stick off the tree and in it cut a notch for each 
 of your warts. Bury the stick and when it rots, your warts will 
 go away. 
 
 4145. Rub on your wart a piece of the frog from the hoof of a horse; 
 then put this piece of frog under a doorstep and the wart will 
 leave. 
 
 4146. "If you have a wart, get a piece of dirt right off the bottom of a 
 horse's foot and rub over your wart; then throw that dirt over 
 your shoulder, and when the first rain comes and melts that dirt, 
 your wart will go away." 
 
 4147. Cure a wart by tying a hair from a horse's tail about it and 
 burying the hair. 
 
 4148. Tie a horsehair around a wart and every morning for nine days 
 pull the knot tighter. On the ninth morning the wart will be gone. 
 
 4149. To wish away a wart, count ninety-nine white horses and then one 
 white mule. When you see the white mule, make a wish that he 
 will take it away. 
 
 4150. Jimson weeds rubbed over a wart will cure it. 
 
 4151. Rub jimson weed leaves on your wart and then bury them. The 
 wart will disappear, after the leaves rot. 
 
 4152. Drive away a wart by anointing it with lemon juice. 
 
 4153. Drink a tablespoonful of limewater after each meal to make a wart 
 disappear. 
 
 4154. You can lose your wart by covering it with cow manure. 
 
 4155. Get rid of your warts by making as many notches in a match as 
 you have warts and then burying the match. 
 
 4156. Let a match burn and then rub the charred wood over your wart. 
 This will remove it. 
 
 4157. "Your monthly fluid will take off a wart. My husband had a big 
 seed wart, and after he went to sleep at night, I would rub some of 
 my monthly fluid over this wart. Did this the whole period, and 
 he lost his wart." 
 
 4158. Take off a wart by rubbing it with the milk from a milkweed. 
 
 4159. A wart will come off within twenty-four hours, if rubbed with 
 milkweed juice. 
 
 4160. Walk up to a milkweed, break off a piece of the plant and rub the 
 
198 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 juice on your wart; then throw the piece of milkweed over your 
 left shoulder without looking back, and the wart will soon leave. 
 
 4161. To remove a wart, look up at a full moon and say: 
 
 "What I see is growing, 
 What I'm rubbing is going." 
 You must do this when alone and for three consecutive nights. 
 
 4162. If your wart is rubbed with a green bean during the decrease of 
 the moon, the wart will vanish with the old moon. 
 
 4163. To cure a wart, rub it with a green bean leaf during the decrease 
 of the moon while saying, "In the Name of the Father, Son and 
 
 Holy Ghost." 
 
 4164. Lose your wart by going outdoors at midnight and saying to the 
 new moon : 
 
 "What I see is growing. 
 What I am rubbing is going." 
 Repeat this operation three nights in succession. 
 
 4165. Pass your hand over a wart while looking at the new moon and 
 say: 
 
 "You grow, 
 And you go." 
 Do this three times to remove the wart. 
 
 4166. During the full moon rub a wart with your mother's dish rag. 
 The wart will disappear, if the dish rag is buried at midnight in 
 the center of a crossroad. 
 
 4167. "When Mrs. N. was a little girl, her mother took her to a man 
 who said he could take warts away, but he told her she had to 
 come on Friday night and it had to be a moonlight night. So they 
 went and he took her out on the front porch in the moonlight and 
 repeated, 'In the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy 
 
 Ghost' three times ; and in a week's time her warts were 
 
 gone." Written contribution. 
 
 4168. Pick a wart with a needle, and having made a knot on a string, 
 rub the knot in the blood. Throw the knot away and the wart 
 will be lost. 
 
 4169. To rid yourself of warts, scratch the largest with a needle and 
 then place a drop of this blood on as many grains of corn as there 
 are warts. The corn must be fed to a rooster. 
 
 4170. Draw blood from a wart by scratching it with a needle, and rub 
 this blood on the two halves of a grain of corn that you have cut 
 in two. Then tie the two pieces of com together and throw it 
 away. Your wart will soon come off. 
 
 4171. A wart can be taken away inside of a few days, if you pierce its 
 threads several times with a needle. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 199 
 
 4172. Make a wart bleed by running a needle into it. Wrap up the 
 needle in paper and drop it at a crossroad to drive the wart away. 
 
 4173. Run a needle into a wart until blood comes. The wart will then 
 disappear, provided it is washed in a puddle of snow water. 
 
 4174. "Take a new needle and stick that needle in your wart. Then take 
 nine matches, one at a time and light them, and hold the match to 
 the eye of the needle until it burns out. Then light another and 
 hold to the eye of the needle, and when you get to the ninth 
 match you can lift that wart right out. I had a wart. I took a new 
 needle and nine matches and burned each match to the eye of the 
 needle until I used all nine. It sure did hurt and burn, but when 
 I got to the ninth match the wart came right out." 
 
 4175. Pierce a wart with a needle until it bleeds, and then stick the 
 needle into the ground near your front doorsteps. The wart will 
 be gone when the needle rusts. 
 
 4176. After drawing blood from a w^art by scratching it with a needle, 
 burn up the needle and the wart will be cured. 
 
 4177. A wart can be removed by rubbing it with an onion and throwing 
 the onion away without watching to see where it falls. 
 
 4178. Rub a wart with an onion and bury the onion. When the onion 
 rots, the wart will go away. 
 
 4179. Divide an onion into two halves and rub one of them over your 
 wart; then throw this lialf away and as it dries up, the wart will 
 dry up. 
 
 4180. Let someone cut an onion in half. Rub one of these pieces on your 
 wart and then fit the two halves together and bury them. This 
 will cure the wart. 
 
 4181. Cut an onion in two and rub one of the halves over your wart. 
 Fit the onion together again and bury it saying, "In the Name of 
 the Father, Son and Holy Ghost." The wart will disappear. 
 
 4182. Bake an onion in ashes and rub some of its juice over a wart for 
 a cure. 
 
 4183. Remove a wart by anointing it with the milk from an osage 
 orange. 
 
 4184. Anoint your wart three times with the milk from a "hedge ball" 
 (osage orange), then bury the latter and when it rots, the wart 
 will leave. 
 
 4185. Smear a few drops of blood from your wart on a piece of paper; 
 then go to a crossroad and throw the paper over your left shoulder. 
 Whoever picks up the blood will take your wart. 
 
 4186. To get rid of a wart, rub it with a green pea and then drop the 
 latter into a cistern. As soon as you hear the pea hit the water, 
 walk away without looking back. 
 
200 Monoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 4187. Rub three peach leaves over your wart and lay them on the ground. 
 Do this three times. The person who walks over these leaves will 
 get your wart. 
 
 4188. Having rubbed your wart with leaves from a peach tree, bury 
 them ; and when they decay, the wart will be gone. 
 
 4189. Carve three notches in the limb of a peach tree. You will lose your 
 wart v/hen these notches have grown together. 
 
 4190. Break a small limb oflf a peach tree and cut in it as many notches 
 as you have warts. Bury the limb where water drips and after it 
 has decayed, the warts will vanish. 
 
 4191. Cut in a peach tree a notch for each of your warts. Never look 
 at the peach tree again ; and when the notches grow together, you 
 will no longer have the warts. 
 
 4192. Cure a wart by rubbing it with a pebble and throwing the latter 
 over your left shoulder. 
 
 4193. To remove a wart, rub it with pebbles; then put the pebbles in a 
 sack and throw them over your shoulder. 
 
 4194. To lose a wart, rub it with a pebble; then cross running water 
 and throw the pebble back over your left shoulder into the water. 
 
 4195. Get rid of your wart by letting someone buy it for a pin. 
 
 4196. Sell a pin to someone for money and your wart will disappear. 
 
 4197. "I had two warts on my hand. A woman said to me, 'Do you 
 
 want to lose those warts?' I said, 'Yes.' 'Well, here, take 
 
 this pin out of my clothes and stick it in your coat and wear it.' 
 I did and my two warts went away." 
 
 4198. To take off a wart, run a pin through it and then heat the pin by 
 placing it against the flame of a match. 
 
 4199. A wart may be cured by sticking it with a pin and driving the pin 
 into an old stump. 
 
 4200. Make a wart bleed by piercing it with a pin. Throw the pin 
 directly in front of you as far as you can; then turn around and 
 walk in the opposite direction. This will take away your wart. 
 
 4201. Heat a pin by holding it over a lighted candle, then stick the pin 
 into your wart, and the wart will go away within seven days. 
 
 4202. Fry poke roots in lard and place them while hot on your wart. 
 Do this on four occasions and your wart will come off. 
 
 4203. Paint a wart three or four times with poke roots and it will go 
 away. 
 
 4204. "I had about nine warts on my hand. One day I took a piece of 
 pork meat and rubbed over my warts and gave the meat to the 
 dog. And I lost all my warts." 
 
 4205. "I had several bad warts on my hand. One day I rubbed a potato 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 201 
 
 over my warts and took the potato and buried it so it would not 
 grow. One day I looked and all my warts were gone." 
 
 4206. A wart will fall off, if you rub it with a potato twice a day for 
 two weeks. 
 
 4207. Slice a potato and rub the pieces over your wart. Bury the slices 
 of potato and when they have shriveled up, your wart will depart. 
 
 4208. Cut a potato in two, rub both halves over your wart, and then 
 bury them. If the potato sprouts, your wart will grow; if the 
 potato rots, your wart will leave. 
 
 4209. To make a wart go away, quarter a potato and rub each piece over 
 your wart. Then tie the potato together and bury it. 
 
 4210. Rid yourself of a wart by rubbing it with potato peelings and 
 throwing them over your left shoulder. 
 
 4211. "Take and cut an eye from a potato and rub over your wart, then 
 bury it and your wart will go. I know this is so, for I tried it on. 
 my hand and on several more people and they left." 
 
 4212. Boil potatoes and wash your hands in the water to cure a wart. 
 
 4213. "I had a bad wart. I took a rubber band and tied it so tight over 
 my wart that the end of my finger was all blue. Then I threw the 
 rubber band away and my wart left me." 
 
 4214. Bind a rubber band around your wart and the wart will disappear 
 within three days. 
 
 4215. You can drive a wart away by wetting it three times daily with 
 saliva. 
 
 4216. Spit on your finger and spread this saliva over your wart. Do 
 this on nine mornings and the wart will come oflf. 
 
 4217. Rush up and seize unexpectedly the person who has a wart and 
 spit on it. This will drive the wart away. 
 
 4218. Licking a wart with your tongue, as soon as you arise in the 
 morning, will remove it. 
 
 4219. For three mornings in succession, lick a wart with your tongue 
 before eating or drinking, and the wart will disappear, 
 
 4220. As a wart cure, sell the wart and keep the money. 
 
 4221. Sell your wart for a penny and put the money away so that you 
 cannot use it, and the wart will go away. If you spend the money, 
 the wart will reappear. 
 
 4222. Let someone buy your wart for a penny, and whoever makes the 
 
 purchase v/ill get the wart. "Mrs, H. gave her niece a penny 
 
 for each wart she had, and in a week Mrs. H. had a handful of 
 warts." Another person relates : "One day I stopped at a house 
 and a little boy was just full of warts. I said to the little boy, 
 T will give you a penny for your warts.' The boy said, 'Mister,. 
 when are you going to take my warts ?' I said, 'O, sometime when 
 
202 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 you are not watching I will get them.' I forgot all about the warts 
 and the next season (the speaker sells fruit trees) when I stopped 
 there, the boy said, 'O Mister, have you got all my warts, for they 
 are all gone?' I looked and sure enough they were gone." 
 
 4223. Spread a spider web over your wart, then burn the web, and the 
 wart will vanish. 
 
 4224. To remove a wart, pick it with a splinter until it bleeds, and then 
 throw away the splinter. 
 
 4225. Swish the finger containing the wart in some spunk water at mid- 
 night and say : 
 
 "Barley corn, barley corn, Injun (Indian) meal shoots. 
 Spunk water, spunk water, swallow these roots." 
 This will cure the wart. 
 
 4226. For each of your warts cut a notch in a stick and lay the latter 
 near the house so that water can drip on it. The warts will disap- 
 pear after the first rain. 
 
 4227. To cure warts, carve notches on a stick to represent them; then 
 dip the stick into vinegar and rub it over the warts. 
 
 4228. Pick up a stone at midnight and rub it on your wart ; then restore 
 the stone exactly as you found it, and the wart will be cured. 
 
 4229. To drive away a wart, take a stone from a spring and rub it over 
 your wart and replace the stone in its original position. 
 
 4230. Tie a black string around your wart, letting it remain for three 
 days ; then remove the string and wrap it about a cherry tree, 
 leaving it there for the same period of time. This will kill the 
 cherry tree, but you will lose the wart. 
 
 4231. If a string is tied around your wart and then buried; the wart 
 will disappear when the string becomes rotten. 
 
 4232. "I had several warts and I tied a string around each wart, then 
 took them off." 
 
 4233. Tie a woolen string around your wart and let it stay there all night. 
 Next morning bury the string and after it rots, you will no longer 
 have the wart. 
 
 4234. Draw blood from a wart by tying it tightly with a string. Conceal 
 the string beneath a rock and if no one finds or removes it, the 
 wart will disappear. 
 
 4235. Having tied a string around a wart and rubbed the wart with fat, 
 bury the string and fat; and when they decay, the wart will 
 come off. 
 
 4236. Tie a wart with a string and then tie the string to a rafter in the 
 loft of a barn. The wart will leave after the string rots. 
 
 4237. Put as many knots in a string as you have warts and bury the 
 string. When the string decays, the warts will go away. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 203 
 
 4238. "I had a big wart and I took a string and tied it full of knots and 
 then rub the knots over my wart and buried the string under a 
 board and my wart left." 
 
 4239. I\Iake a knot in a string for every wart you have and then rub 
 these knots on the warts. Bury the string beneath the eaves and 
 when it has decayed, the warts will depart. 
 
 4240. During the spring, tie as many knots on a white cord string as 
 you have warts, then cut a notch in a white oak tree for each of 
 these knots. When autumn comes, revisit the tree and you will 
 find its trunk covered with warts ; and yours will be gone. 
 
 4241. Scratch a wart until it bleeds and then make three knots in a 
 string. Rub this string over the wart and say, "In the Name of 
 
 the Father, Son and Holy Ghost take my wart." Bury the 
 
 string and say, "In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost." 
 This will cure the wart. 
 
 4242. "If you have a wart, take a red string and tie a knot in it, and 
 
 while you are tying it say, 'One' and don't speak until after 
 
 you bury the string. If you happen to have two or three, each 
 time you tie the knot say, 'One' and nothing else." 
 
 4243. "My daughter had several bad warts and I tied a string around 
 
 each one and said, 'O Jesus, take my warts away' and buried 
 
 the strings and they left." 
 
 4244. Stroke a wart thrice with your hand, then rub your hand three 
 times over a stump and the wart will leave. 
 
 4245. Wash a wart in stump water to remove it. 
 
 4246. Wrap a wet cloth around a sword and then wash your wart with 
 the cloth. Bury the cloth and when it decays, the wart will go 
 away. 
 
 4247. Tie a thread about a wart and then put the thread where water 
 will run on it. When the thread rots, the wart will be removed. 
 
 4248. A black linen thread tied about a wart is a good remedy. 
 
 4249. A wart can be taken off by tying a silk thread around it until the 
 blood stops. 
 
 4250. Let a toad wet on your wart to cure it. 
 
 4251. You can cure your wart by putting tobacco juice on it. 
 
 4252. Wet a piece of twist tobacco and apply it to your wart for two 
 nights and the wart will leave. 
 
 4253. Rub a wild turnip over your wart for three mornings and on the 
 third morning the wart will be cured. 
 
 4254. If you put baking soda on a wart and then a drop of vinegar on 
 the baking soda, it will take off the wart. 
 
 4255. Rub a green walnut over your wart and then bury the walnut. 
 If the walnut rots, your wart will disappear. 
 
204 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 4256. To remove a wart, rub it with the blossoms of a walnut tree. 
 
 4257. Pick a wart until it bleeds and then wash it in a puddle of rain 
 water. When the water dries up, the wart will vanish. 
 
 4258. To cure a wart, wash it with water and then throw the water over 
 
 your right shoulder. "I went and took some water and rubbed 
 
 it good over my wart and threw the water over my right shoulder, 
 and a drop of that water got on my cheek and I got a wart on 
 my cheek, and didn't lose the other wart either." 
 
 4259. Drive a wart away by rubbing it very rapidly with a wedding ring 
 for three consecutive mornings. 
 
 4260. Stand with your back to a well and tie a string around the wart. 
 Then throw the string over your shoulder into the well and you 
 will soon lose the wart. 
 
 4261. Tie a wheat straw around your wart and leave it on for three 
 days, then throw the straw away and the wart will depart. 
 
 4262. You may take off a wart by wishing it on a friend. 
 
 4263. As a wart cure, write a wish on a piece of paper and carry it to a 
 crossroad, where you must tear up the paper and scatter it to the 
 four winds. 
 
 SICKNESS 
 
 4264. As a preventive against contagious disease wear a piece of 
 asafetida sewed in a sack tied around your neck. 
 
 4265. A small bag containing camphor worn on your person will ward 
 off sickness. 
 
 4266. Remove the seeds from the ends of cloves and string them. If 
 a child wears this necklace, he will never get a disease. 
 
 4267. Keep a piece of garlic in your clothes, taking a bite of it now and 
 then, and you will never catch a disease. 
 
 4268. An Indian always carries live-forever leaves in his bosom to keep 
 off disease. From an old Indian. 
 
 4269. A disease will not be caught by the child who wears a string of 
 madder seed about his neck. 
 
 4270. A baby will not become sick, if during its first year a mole foot is 
 kept around its neck. 
 
 4271. Hold your nose (or breath) when passing a house where there is 
 a contagious disease and it will not harm you. 
 
 4272. "The bark off of the north side of the red oak tree will cure 
 almost any disease." 
 
 4273. If you carry an onion in your pocket, you will never have a 
 disease. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 205 
 
 4274. Immunize yourself against contagion of any sort by eating onions. 
 
 4275. Cut a cross on each of three small onions and put them over the 
 transom of the door. If anyone with a contagious disease enters, 
 you will be immune. 
 
 4276. "If there is any disease in your house, just take a few garlic 
 onions and hang them up in your house and they will draw all 
 the disease out in three days." 
 
 4277. Keep a blessed palm above your bed to protect you against serious 
 sickness. 
 
 4278. Tie rattlesnake rattlers in a sack and wear it around your neck 
 to keep disease away. 
 
 4279. Walk barefoot in the first snow and you will be free from sickness 
 all year. 
 
 4280. You will be protected against disease, if you place a spider in a 
 nutshell and wear it about your neck. 
 
 4281. Go swimming before sunrise on the first of May and you will not 
 be attacked by a contagious disease that year. 
 
 4282. Take a swim on the first of June to prevent any sickness during 
 the summer. 
 
 4283. Eat the first three violets that you find in the spring and you will 
 not be sick that summer. 
 
 4284. To discover whether someone will recover from sickness, rub a 
 piece of bread over the patient's teeth and then feed it to a dog. 
 If the dog eats the bread, the person will be restored to health. 
 
 4285. To find out whether a sick person will recuperate, rub a piece of 
 meat over his feet and then give it to a dog. If the dog eats the 
 meat, the patient's recovery is certain. 
 
 4286. If a sick person sneezes three times in succession before breakfast, 
 he will regain his health. 
 
 4287. It is unlucky for a sick person to see himself in a mirror. 
 
 4288. The sick person who looks into a mirror will grow worse. 
 
 4289. When a patient sings on the third day of sickness, it means that 
 he is becoming better. 
 
 42)90. A patient singing on the third day of sickness indicates a relapse, 
 
 4291. Yawning during sickness is a bad omen. 
 
 4292. Bad luck will befall the sick person who jumps over a fence. 
 
 4293. If someone while sick hears faint soft music and cannot account 
 for its origin or locate its source, it presages some misfortune. 
 
 4294. To buy or make a garment for a sick person denotes that he will 
 not get well. 
 
 4295. While a person is sick, if you dream that someone goes away, the 
 patient will die. 
 
206 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 4296. Never take anyone to a hospital on Friday : 
 
 "Friday flitting, 
 Short sitting." 
 
 4297. As a general rule the power to heal cannot be revealed or its 
 efficacy will be lost. It may be disclosed to another person only 
 when the possessor is on his deathbed. 
 
 4298. The power of healing is destroyed if the healer accepts money in 
 
 payment for services. A munber of people refused to explain 
 
 their methods of curing when they learned that these remedies 
 were going to be printed in a book which ivould be sold. 
 
 4299. Two women of German extraction were known to have used 
 springs for healing purposes, but their secrets could never be 
 discovered. The one woman was a specialist in curing sore mouth 
 and sun pains ; the other woman's only contribution is given in the 
 following item. 
 
 4300. "If anyone is sick in the house, get up on Easter before sunrise 
 and go to a spring and pray. Do not say a word to anyone going 
 
 or coming and you will get well." This old woman was 
 
 rather vague about the prayer, so it evidently included an incanta- 
 tion of some sort. Years ago she took her sick son to a spring in 
 South Park, Quincy, on an Easter mortiing. The boy spoke on 
 the way home from the spring and consequently died within a year. 
 
 4301. "If there is a sick person with you with whom the usual bodily 
 remedies have failed, fill a small flask with olive oil and water. 
 Pronounce over it with reverence the 18th psalm. Anoint all the 
 limbs of the patient and pray a suitable prayer in the name of 
 Eel Jah (?) and he will soon recover." Written contribution. 
 
 4302. "If you are sick a long time in one room, move into another room 
 so you will get well; for sometimes if you cannot get well in one 
 room, you can in another." 
 
 4303. Moving a bed that contains a sick person will cause bad luck. 
 
 4304. Make something for a sick person from a piece of shroud and he 
 will surely recover. (Jewish). 
 
 4305. When you have any kind of sickness, cross water and you will 
 improve. 
 
 4306. "Ten or eleven years ago (about 1920-192U I came upon a super- 
 stition which was quite new to me at the time. Questioning a little 
 girl about the health of her cousin who was suffering from a 
 badly infected arm, I was told that his condition was very serious 
 
 'Grandma had to talk to him last night.' On inquiry I 
 
 learned that Grandma knew how to 'talk over' people who were 
 afflicted with wounds or sores and made them well, and that she 
 frequently exercised her art for all sorts of people. She had 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 207 
 
 'talked over' Marie herself, but Marie declined regretfully but 
 firmly to tell what she said. 'You dassunt tell or something bad 
 will happen.' The school janitor to whom all the secrets of the 
 'South End' are an open book, told me that he knew several old 
 women who pretended to this skill, and he mentioned one within 
 two blocks of the school, a radius that would include Grandma 
 also. I mentioned Grandma's curious practice to Mr. B., pastor 
 of K. Church. He received the tale without any surprise and 
 acknowledged that the thing was common. Walter asked several 
 acquaintances of German parentage what they knew about it, and 
 he found that old women who will 'talk over' you can be found in 
 northeast Quincy as well as in south Quincy. No doubt this is 
 an old German superstition. It is certainly alive and fllourishing 
 in Quincy." Written contribution. 
 
 AILMENTS OF INFANCY AND CHILDHOOD 
 
 BEDWETTING-CHOLERA INFANTUM-COLIC-CROUP 
 
 SPASM-THRUSH-WHOOPING COUGH-WORMS 
 
 4307. Male babies wet more than female babies. 
 
 4308. Infants who are circumcised wet more than other children. 
 
 4309. Baby boys are more difficult to break of bed-wetting than baby 
 girls. 
 
 4310. "A child will not catch cold lying in its own pee." 
 43n. Playing with fire will cause a child to wet the bed. 
 
 4312. The bed will be wetted by the child who plays with matches. 
 
 4313. When a child sings in bed, he will wet the bed. 
 
 4314. "If a kid (child) drinks tea when he is young, it will make him 
 let water in the bed at night." 
 
 4315. You can prevent a person from wetting in bed, if you compel 
 him to sleep on a hard bed. 
 
 4316. Keep a child from wetting in bed by heating a brick and letting 
 him wet on it. 
 
 4317. Tea made from the pulverized lining of a chicken gizzard will cure 
 a child of wetting in bed. 
 
 4318. "To stop bed-wetting, take a handful of pop corn silk and a quart 
 of water and let boil slowly for fifteen minutes. Then give to a 
 child when he goes to bed one fourth cup to drink and that will 
 cure him." 
 
 4319. To cure a child of bed-wetting, conceal a piece of his clothing in 
 a coffin containing a corpse. 
 
208 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 4320. Throw some of a child's urine into an open grave to stop bed- 
 wetting. 
 
 4321. Let a person who wets in bed urinate into an open grave and this 
 will cure him. 
 
 4322. Cure a child of bed-wetting by pouring some of his urine into a 
 bottle and then secreting the bottle in a coffin with a corpse. 
 
 4323. "When someone is going to be buried, take a bottle and put some 
 of the urine of that person that is wetting the bed in that bottle. 
 Leave the cork loose so it will drip out, and put it in the coffin 
 and bury it with the dead. When the urine is all out of the bottle, 
 they will stop wetting the bed." 
 
 4324. If a female child wets in bed, place some of her urine in a bottle 
 and let it drip out of the bottle into a grave that has been dug for a 
 male corpse. Stop a male child from wetting by doing the same 
 thing with a grave opened for a female corpse. 
 
 4325. Stop a child's bed-wetting by feeding him garlic. 
 
 4326. Bed-wetting may be cured, if a child is made to eat a head louse 
 on a piece of bread. 
 
 4327. A tea made of mice will keep a child from wetting in bed. 
 
 4328. Fry a mouse and let a child eat one of the legs to cure bed-wetting. 
 
 4329. As a bed-wetting remedy, let the child eat a roasted mouse. 
 
 4330. "If a child wets the bed, take and put a mouse in a cloth and tie it 
 in the cloth ; then bite the head off the mouse in that cloth. Then 
 put the head and cloth around that baby's neck and throw the 
 mouse's body away. And let the child wear that head tied in that 
 cloth for several days. That will stop it from wetting the bed." 
 
 4331. Give tea made of red oak bark to a child as a bed-wetting cure. 
 
 4332. To make a child quit wetting in bed, let him urinate on a pig's toe 
 and then bury it, 
 
 4333. Tea from plantain leaves is a good remedy to cure wetting in bed. 
 
 4334. To keep a child from wetting in bed, hollow out a turnip and let 
 him urinate into it ; and then hang the turnip in the chimney. 
 
 4335. "A very old saying is, if a kid (child) makes water in the bed at 
 night, get some of his water and make him drink it two or three 
 times, and it will break him of the habit at once and at all times." 
 
 4336. Tea of wintergreen leaves will cure wetting in bed. 
 
 4337. To prevent cholera infantum, let a baby during the second year 
 wear a flannel band over its stomach. 
 
 4338. Cholera infantum can be cured by letting a baby wear the right 
 hind foot of a mole. 
 
 4339. To cure colic, put a piece of asaf etida the size of a thumb-nail in 
 whiskey or tea and administer for as many weeks as the baby is 
 old. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 209 
 
 4340. Take a baby to a blackberry patch where the vines droop over and 
 touch the ground. Pass the baby back and forth under these 
 arches to cure its colic. 
 
 4341. Soak a fev/ bay leaves in brandy within a warm room, and as soon 
 as colic appears, give one to four teaspoonfuls of this liquid. 
 
 4342. If a baby has "six months colic," let it suck a calamus root. 
 
 4343. Calamus root tea is good for a baby's colic. 
 
 4344. Cure "cramp colic" by letting the child chew a small piece of 
 dried calamus root. 
 
 4345. Use caraway seed in whiskey for colic. 
 
 4346. As a cure for colic, let a baby drink tea made of catnip leaves. 
 
 4347. Place the white droppings of a chicken in a white rag, pour hot 
 water over it, and give a teaspoon ful of this liquid every hour 
 for colic. 
 
 4348. Administer hourly to a child with colic a teaspoonful of tea made 
 from the white dung of a dog. 
 
 4349. Fan an infant and it will get colic. 
 
 4350. Fennel tea is good for a baby's colic. 
 
 4351. Never kiss an infant on the mouth, you will give it colic. 
 
 4352. "Winter colic" may be cured by drinking mule-tail tea. 
 
 4353. Dissolve the following ingredients in warm wine: a spoonful of 
 olive oil or sweet oil, a pound of crab-eyes, and the peelings from 
 four carefully dried and pulverized oranges. This mixture will 
 relieve colic pains. 
 
 4354. "If a baby has the colic, lay it down on its stomach; then pick it 
 up by its feet and shake it the opposite direction ; then lay it down 
 and pick it up by the feet again, and shake it the other direction." 
 
 4355. Put every kind of spice in a bag and dip the bag into hot water. 
 Lay this bag on a child's stomach for colic. 
 
 4356. Tie a black silk string around a baby's neck to ward off colic. 
 
 4357. Pass a child three times around the leg of a table to cure its colic. 
 
 4358. Never let a teakettle boil in the same room with a baby or it will 
 give colic to the child. 
 
 4359. Treat an infant's colic by blowing tobacco smoke up under its 
 clothes. 
 
 4360. Blow tobacco smoke into some milk from your breast and 
 administer a teaspoonful of it to a baby with colic. 
 
 4361. If tobacco smoke is blown on a child's stomach, colic will be 
 prevented. 
 
 4362. To cure a baby's cohc, pull it through the fork of a tree during 
 the dark of the moon. 
 
 4363. Give a little water to an infant as soon as it is born and the child 
 will never have colic. 
 
210 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 4364. As a croup remedy, poultice a baby's neck with bacon rind. 
 
 4365. Croup can be cured by wrapping the child's neck with a rag that 
 has been soaked in coal oil. 
 
 4366. Beat egg yolks and stiffen with sugar. This is a good remedy for 
 croup. 
 
 4367. Whip the white of an egg and add a pinch of alum. This will cure 
 membranous croup. 
 
 4368. Jelly made of elderberries is good for croup. 
 
 4369. For croup, give a teaspoonful of goose grease sweetened with 
 sugar. 
 
 4370. Bring two cupfuls of milk to a boiling point and add one cupful 
 of honey. Administer hot to a baby with croup. 
 
 4371. Let a child drink tea made of mullein leaves for croup. 
 
 4372. A buckskin string worn about a child's neck will cure croup. 
 
 4373. Let a child wear a piece of calfskin or leather around its neck 
 and it will never have croup. 
 
 4374. Slice an onion into a saucer, dust with sugar, and cover with 
 another saucer for several hours. This makes a good syrup for 
 croup. A variation of the same remedy is to cover sliced onions 
 with sugar and let them stand overnight. 
 
 4375. Cover the chest with a poultice of cooked onions to cure croup. 
 
 4376. Wrap an onion in brown paper, bake it in the oven, then remove 
 the juice and give it to a baby with croup. 
 
 4377. Take red pepper for croup. 
 
 4378. Grease a black silk ribbon and let the child wear it about the neck 
 as a preventive against croup. 
 
 4379. "My brother always had the croup. After my mother put the 
 (ungreased) black silk ribbon around his neck and let it hang 
 down over his stomach, he never had the croup again." 
 
 4380. Keep a black silk string on a baby's neck as a protection against 
 croup. 
 
 4381. "Sheep nanny" tea is good for croup. 
 
 4382. Rub skunk oil on the throat to cure croup. 
 
 4383. If a child has croup, stand him against a tree and into the trunk 
 drive nails just above his head. When he grows as high as the 
 nails, he will be well. 
 
 4384. Croup can be cured by bandaging the neck with a tobacco poultice 
 that has been dipped into grease. 
 
 4385. "My baby was real sick with the croup and someone told me about 
 the urine and I gave my baby a tcas^xjonful of my urine and it 
 got well right away." 
 
 4386. To cure croup, give the child a teaspoonful of urine three times 
 a day. 
 
Folk-Lorc from Adams Comity Illinois 211 
 
 4387. "My brother was very bad with the croup one time and my mother 
 took urine and put a lump of alum in it, let boil good, and gave 
 him a teaspoonful every few hours. She said it was the only thing 
 that saved him." 
 
 4388. Cure croup by taking a few drops of urine. 
 
 4389. Melt yellow vaseline and administer to children for croup. 
 
 4390. When a child has spasms, it must be handled carefully and in a 
 certain manner, or it will be disfigured for life. 
 
 4391. "If a baby has a spasm, burn up all the clothes they have on when 
 having the spasm ; you are burning up the spasms, and they will 
 not have any more." 
 
 4392. To stop spasms in a baby that is teething, let the mother bite off 
 the head of a mouse. 
 
 4393. Treat spasms by holding a half onion under a child's nose. 
 
 4394. A spasm can be checked by putting salt in the infant's mouth. 
 
 4395. If a child has a spasm, and its fingers are clinched, open them and 
 place salt in the hands. This will bring the child out of the spasm. 
 
 4396. For convulsions, bathe the baby's feet in hot water to which plenty 
 of mustard has been added. 
 
 4.397. "I knew a woman about thirty-five years ago that had a baby and 
 it was having one spasm after another. It had eleven spasms that 
 day. An old woman came along and wanted to know what was 
 wrong, for the woman was crying, and said, 'My baby is going to 
 die.' The old woman said, T will stop that. Just take off her 
 flannel skirt and turn it wrong side out, then bury the skirt.' And 
 they did. And the baby never had another spasm." 
 
 4398. Rub turpentine round a child's navel to cure a spasm. 
 
 4399. Cure a child's spasm by placing turpentine in the left hand and on 
 the left foot. 
 
 4400. Bring a child out of a spasm by putting the feet in hot water, a 
 cold cloth on the head, and a pinch of salt on the tongue. 
 
 4401. For thrush, take equal parts of borax and sugar and sprinkle the 
 throat. Thrush is frequently called "thrash." 
 
 4402. Drop a handful of the inside of persimmon bark into a pint of 
 water, boil down, strain and add sugar, and then add a small 
 piece of alum. This makes a good wash for thrush. 
 
 4403. To cure thrush : Let a man, who never saw his father, breathe into 
 the baby's mouth. 
 
 4404. Thrush can be cured by letting a woman, who never saw her 
 father, breathe into the child's mouth. 
 
 4405. As a thrush cure, rinse out the baby's mouth with its father's 
 urine. 
 
212 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 4406. It is better for a nursing baby to have whooping cough than one 
 who is already weaned. 
 
 4407. Tea of chestnut leaves sweetened with rock candy will cure whoop- 
 ing cough. 
 
 4408. Boil chestnut tree bark into a tea and give to a child with whooping 
 cough. 
 
 4409. For a whooping cough remedy, let a child drink tea made of 
 chestnut bark that has been taken from the tree as near to the 
 ground as possible. 
 
 4410. Red clover tea is very good for whooping cough. 
 
 4411. "Take an tgg and set it in a glass, then take a lemon and squeeze 
 the juice over the tgg and let set twenty-four hours. That will 
 take all the shell off of the tgg. Then beat the tgg and shell good 
 and give a child a teaspoonful every two hours for whooping 
 
 cough." The woman zvJio gave this remedy had just tried it 
 
 on her son, and she said that he zuas well within two weeks. 
 
 4412. As a whooping cough cure, let a child drink tea made of the bark 
 taken from the north side of an elm tree. 
 
 4413. If a child has whooping cough, take it to the city "gas house" and 
 carry it through the building several times. 
 
 4414. A child can be cured of whooping cough by having a horse breathe 
 into its face. 
 
 4415. "If a child has the whooping cough real bad, take a horse and run 
 it up and down the road real hard until the horse is almost out of 
 breath. Then hold the child up by the horse's mouth and let the 
 horse throw what little breath he has left in that child's mouth. 
 Do this for three mornings and the child will get well. Seventy- 
 five years ago my brother and sister had the whooping cough bad. 
 And my mother run a horse up and down the road for three 
 mornings, and let the horse blow its breath in their mouth. She 
 said she almost killed the horse, but my sister and brother got 
 well." 
 
 4416. Squeeze the juice of two or three lemons into flaxseed tea and 
 sweeten with honey. This is good for whooping cough. 
 
 4417. To cure whooping cough, let the child drink mare's milk. 
 
 4418. For whooping cough, mix equal parts of raw linseed oil, honey 
 and whiskey : To a young baby give a teaspoonful three times a 
 day, and to an older child administer a tablespoonful thrice daily. 
 
 4419. Peach leaf tea is good for whooping cough. 
 
 4420. Rub a wine glass of rum and half as much turpentine on the 
 child's chest to cure whooping cough. 
 
 4421. Cook sunflower seed until you have a thick liquid. Use this for 
 whooping cough. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 213 
 
 4422. A black velvet band w^om around the child's neck will prevent 
 whooping cough. 
 
 4423. Cross running water with the child who has whooping cough and 
 the disease will soon be cured. 
 
 4424. "If a child has whooping cough and you take it across a body of 
 water from one state to another, it will make the case lighter." 
 
 4425. If a child picks his nose and eats what is picked, he will have 
 worms. 
 
 4426. A child has worms, if he grits his teeth. 
 
 4427. When a child is pale and without color, it is a sign that he has 
 worms. 
 
 4428. If a child swallows a cat hair, he will get worms. 
 
 4429. The person who has a ringworm will die, if the ends of the ring- 
 worm meet. 
 
 4430. Worms can be eliminated from the body by eating cantaloupe. 
 
 4431. Eating carrots every morning will cure worms. 
 
 4432. Catnip tea is good for worms. 
 
 4433. As a cure, rub wet cigar ashes over a ringworm. 
 
 4434. To cure worms, take powder made from baked €^gg shells. 
 
 4435. The juice of elderberries mixed with honey cures roundworms. 
 
 4436. Tapeworms may be cured by taking the oil from a "male fern" 
 and mixing it with a half teaspoonful of common oil. Accord- 
 ing to an old colored zvoman, a male fern has a coarse leaf and 
 the female fern a fine leaf. 
 
 4427. When a green fig is pulled from a tree, several drops of milk are 
 exuded by the broken stem. Rub this milk on a ringworm to kill it. 
 
 This old remedy comes from the southern pari of the United 
 
 States. 
 
 4438. A good remedy for worms is to eat finely ground garlic. 
 
 4439. Give a child a head louse in a teaspoonful of jelly to rid it of 
 worms. 
 
 4440. Dip a rag into a manure puddle and rub it over a child's stomach 
 to free him from worms. 
 
 4441. Milkweed juice will cure a ringworm. 
 
 4442. Take onion juice for worms. They do not like the smell of onions 
 and will leave. 
 
 4443. If you eat raw potatoes, you will not have worms. 
 
 4444. Eat pumpkin to cure worms. 
 
 4445. Put a pound of finely chopped pumpkin seed in milk and take for 
 worms. 
 
 4446. A tapeworm can be exterminated by eating pumpkin seed. 
 
 4447. Cure worms by drinking pumpkin seed tea. 
 
214 Memoirs of iJic Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 4448. Eat pumpkin seed and nothing else except milk for twenty-four 
 hours, then take a dose of castor oil, and your worms will pass. 
 
 4449. Tea made from a mixture of rhubarb and burdock roots will cure 
 worms. 
 
 4450. Treat worms by drinking tea of rue. 
 
 4451. Sage tea will cure worms. 
 
 4452. Rub saliva on a ringworm for nine mornings to make it disappear. 
 
 4453. Cure ringworm by rubbing saliva in a circular motion over the 
 bottom of a used kettle, while repeating: 
 
 "Ringworm round, 
 
 Ring^vorm red, 
 
 Ringworm die, 
 
 To make (name) glad." 
 
 4454. Moisten the index finger in the mouth, ru!) it (-ver the bottom of 
 a sooty pot, and then make a cross on your rmgwonn. This will 
 kill the ringworm. 
 
 4455. A tablespoonful of salt in warm water taken as an injection will 
 make worms pass within two days. 
 
 4456. As a remedy for ringworm, apply mashed shoemake (sumac) 
 berries after they have been steeped in vinegar. 
 
 4457. "Use slippery elm for worms. Makes the intestines so slippery 
 the worms can't hold on." 
 
 4458. If you have a tapeworm, do not eat for a long time; this will 
 starve the tapeworm. Then chew a piece of fried "'eeisteak and 
 hold it in your mouth. The hungry tapeworm will smell the steak 
 and put its head up in your mouth, where you can grab its head 
 and pull it out. 
 
 4459. Place powdered sulphur on a knife and blow it into a child's 
 mouth to cure worms. 
 
 4460. A mixture of sulphur and molasses is good for worms. 
 
 4461. To cure a ringworm, rub a thimble round it seven times. 
 
 4462. Put tobacco leaves in a rag and pour boiling water over them. 
 Then place the rag containing the tobacco on a child's navel and 
 this will cure worms. 
 
 4463. A drop of turpentine taken with a little sugar will drive out 
 worms in a child. 
 
 4464. "If a child has worms, take a teaspoonful of turpentine, half a 
 teaspoonful of fresh lard. Rub right in the middle of the throat 
 and rub down never up. If you do rub up, the worms will go up 
 and choke the child. Rub down until you get to the navel. Then 
 rub around the navel nine times for nine nights. It will kill all 
 the worms." 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 215 
 
 4465. Cure a ringworm by rubbing it with the inside of a green walnut. 
 
 4466. A worm remedy: "God went upon an acre field, upon red acre 
 land. He made three furrows and found three worms. The first 
 was black, the other was white, and the third was red. Forthwith 
 N N (name of patient) all worms are dead. In the Name of the 
 Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Move three times with the finger 
 around the navel, while pronouncing the three holiest names." 
 Written contribution. 
 
 4467. Steep yellow dock roots in vinegar and rub on a ringworm for a 
 cure. 
 
 AMPUTATIONS AND OPERATIONS 
 
 4468. An amputated finger must be buried in the ground or the wound 
 will never heal. 
 
 4469. Always burn an amputated limb. If it is buried in the ground, 
 the wound will hurt until the limb rots. 
 
 4470. If you have any to€s or fingers removed, the others will hurt till 
 the surgeon buries the amputated ones. 
 
 4471. "I knew a man that had three fingers taken off. His hand hurt 
 all the time. They took up his three fingers and straightened them 
 and after that he did not have any more pain." 
 
 4472. Eating your finger-nails will cause an operation. 
 
 4473. Never have an operation when the sign is in the "head," "lungs" 
 or "bowels ;" it will kill you. 
 
 4474. Successful operations can be performed only when the sign is 
 going down and in the "knee." 
 
 ASTHMA-BRONCHITIS-CATARRH-HAY FEVER 
 
 4475. Asthma may be cured by wearing a necklace of amber beads. 
 
 4476. As a cure for asthma, soak blotting paper in saltpetre water, then 
 dry and burn it in the patient's bedroom. 
 
 4477. "If you have asthma, chestnut leaves tea is very good. Take it 
 for several months and you will have wonderful success." 
 
 4478. If a child has asthma, stand him in the chimney corner and drive 
 a nail into the masonry just the height of his head. When the 
 child grows higher than the nail, he will be cured. 
 
216 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 4479. To cure a child's asthma, bore a hole into the door jamb just level 
 with his head; then place one of the child's hairs in this hole, 
 cover it with putty ; and when his height exceeds that of the hole, 
 he will be well. 
 
 4480. Sleep on a pillow stuffed with hops to cure asthma. 
 
 4481. Smoking dried mullein leaves in a pipe will cure asthma. 
 
 4482. Place the furry side of a muskrat hide over your lungs to secure 
 relief from asthmatic pains. 
 
 4483. To smoke dried peach leaves in a pipe is good for asthma. 
 
 4484. Cure asthma by drinking wild plum bark tea. According to 
 
 one old woman, "The first cup will do you good." 
 
 4485. Dry inner bark from the wild plum tree just before the blossoms 
 open and make a tea of it. Drink two or three cupfuls a day for 
 asthma. 
 
 4486. If you have asthma, hide a lock of your hair in an old stump; and 
 when the hair rots, the disease will be gone. 
 
 4487. "My brother had asthma bad. My father took him out in the 
 woods and stood him up against a tree, then took his knife and 
 cvit a piece of the bark off and put some of my brother's hair in 
 that hole; and just as soon as my brother's head was above that 
 hole, he got well. My brother is a old man and he has never had 
 the asthma since that." 
 
 4488. Stand a child against an oak tree and drive three nails into the 
 trunk just the height of his head; and when he grows higher than 
 the nails, his asthma will be cured. 
 
 4489. Eat garlic to cure bronchitis. 
 
 4490. Bronchitis may be cured by drinking tea made of mule-ear leaves. 
 
 4491. Drink mullein leaf tea for bronchitis. 
 
 4492. Crush juniper berries and smoke them in a pipe to cure catarrh. 
 
 4493. As a remedy for catarrh, snuff a little lemon juice mixed with 
 water up your nose. 
 
 4494. Snuff up your nose four times daily a mixture of lemon juice 
 and honey for catarrh. 
 
 4495. A good cure for catarrh is to smoke dried mullein leaves. 
 
 4496. Smoke dried sunflower seed for catarrh. 
 
 4497. A tea of elder roots will cure hay fever. 
 
 4498. For hay fever, make a pillow from the leaves of life everlasting 
 (cudzueed) and sleep on it. 
 
 4499. Tea made from life everlasting leaves is good for hay fever. 
 
 4500. Smoke dried sunflower seed as a hay fever remedy. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 217 
 
 BITES AND STINGS 
 
 4501. If something bites you and you think blood poisoning will develop, 
 put equal parts of pulverized sassafras and slippery elm in a pan 
 with enough water to cover it ; then place this in a sack and apply. 
 
 4502. When you are stung by an insect, rub three kinds of weeds over 
 the wound to prevent swelling and to assuage the pain. 
 
 4503. A mixture of oil of sassafras and vaseline will dislodge lice from 
 your head. Also rub some of it on your clothes. 
 
 4504. To rid your head of lice, apply hot vinegar every day until the 
 nits are killed. 
 
 4505. If you get chiggers, put five drops of turpentine on a half tea- 
 spoonful of sugar and eat. The chiggers will not suck your blood. 
 
 4506. Make a cross over the mosquito bite with your finger-nail ; it will 
 cease itching and disappear. 
 
 4507. Tobacco placed on a wasp sting will prevent swelling and allay 
 the pain. 
 
 4508. Cure a bee sting by covering it with earwax. 
 
 4509. Immediate relief from a bee sting can be secured by covering it 
 with a piece of lean raw meat. 
 
 4510. When you are stung by a bee, apply a mud poultice to check the 
 swelling and to lessen the pain. 
 
 4511. Chew plantain leaves and place them on a bee sting. 
 
 4512. Rub a slice of onion over a bee sting to remove the pain and 
 swelling. 
 
 4513. Rub a bee sting with a mixture of yellow clay and juice from 
 peppermint leaves. 
 
 4514. A mixture of vinegar and clay applied to a bee sting will stop the 
 swelling and ease the pain, 
 
 4515. If a bee sting is covered with three leaves from three different 
 kinds of weeds, swelling will be prevented and soreness removed. 
 
 4516. When bitten by a snake, immediately suck the blood from the 
 wound and spit it out. 
 
 4517. "If a person is bitten by a snake, if they will place a string above 
 the wound so as to keep the blood from circulating, and then place 
 a silk handkerchief over the wound and have someone suck the 
 blood out of it through the handkerchief, and have them spit it 
 out, the bite will not be dangerous." Written contribution. 
 
 4518. "If you are bitten by a snake, take a wing right off of a live 
 chicken and put it to the bite and it will draw out all the poison." 
 
 4519. Split open a young chicken and bandage the raw meat around a 
 snake bite. 
 
218 Memoirs of flic Alma Ecjan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 4520. "If a person gets snake bite, if someone will kill a chicken and 
 split it open and put it on the bite while the chicken is still kicking, 
 it will draw the poison out." 
 
 4521. Cut a black chicken open and tie half of it about a snake bite. 
 
 4522. If a rattlesnake bites you, crush the roots of horehound and take 
 a teaspoonful as soon as possible. 
 
 4523. Mud rubbed over a snake bite will draw out the poison. 
 
 4524. If you have been bitten by a snake, the application of a poultice 
 made by mixing salt with a handful of bruised peach leaves will 
 remove the inflammation. 
 
 4525. Plantain leaf juice rubbed on a snake bite is a good remedy. 
 Indian. 
 
 4526. To cure a snake bite, go to a thorn bush and pick oiT a few of its 
 leaves. Mash these leaves and apply. 
 
 4527. A chew of tobacco laid on a snake bite will effect a cure. 
 
 4528. Binding a leaf of natural tobacco round a snake bite will cure it. 
 
 4529. A snake bite can be cured by drinking whiskey until you are 
 drunk. 
 
 4530. Immediately kill the snake that has bitten you, and wrap it around 
 the wound. The bite will not cause any trouble. 
 
 4531. "If a rattlesnake bites you, kill the snake right away and cut it 
 open and put the insides on your bite, and your bite will never 
 hurt you." 
 
 4532. The hair of the dog that bit you is good for its bite. 
 
 4533. Cure a dog bite by cutting off some of the hair from his tail and 
 binding it over the wound. 
 
 4534. When a dog bites you, rub some of his hair over the wound to 
 prevent blood poisoning. 
 
 4535. If a dog goes mad after biting someone, that person will also go 
 mad. To avert this, kill the dog at once. 
 
 4536. A person becomes mad on the ninth day after he is bitten by a 
 mad dog. 
 
 4537. To cure the bite of a mad dog, use a madstone. 
 
 4538. If you are bitten by a dog, take the precaution of touching a mad- 
 stone. You will not go mad, even if the dog does. 
 
 4539. "If a person is bitten by a mad dog, if they will get the person to 
 a madstone and put the stone on the bite, it will draw all the 
 poison out. And if the dog was not mad, the stone will fall off. 
 And if he was, the stone will stay on until it has drew all the 
 poison out." Written contribution. 
 
 4540. A madstone, according to an old farmer who once saw one used, 
 is grey and resembles a hog kidney. Years ago someone living 
 near him had been bitten by a mad dog, and the owner of a mad- 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 219 
 
 stone was called in to work the cure; which he began by putting 
 his madstone against the bite, where it stuck for a long time like 
 a magnet and could not be removed. This signified, said the 
 operator, that the madstone was sucking out the poison; further, 
 as soon as it was thoroughly saturated, it would drop off the 
 wound. Thus the madstone eventually let loose, and he placed it 
 in a crock of milk which turned grey immediately. This process 
 of administering the madstone and then dipping it into the milk 
 was repeated seven times. When it was applied for the eighth 
 time, it no longer adhered, indicating that all the poison had been 
 extracted ; but to make certain, the healer asked for another crock 
 of milk and swished the madstone in it as a final test. The milk 
 remained white. 
 
 4541. "A blue gum negro is very dangerous. It is just too bad for you 
 if he should bite you." 
 
 4542. The bite of a blue-gummed negro is poisonous. 
 
 BLADDER TROUBLE-DIABETES-KIDNEY AFFLICTIONS 
 
 4543. Boil one ounce of barberry leaves in a pint of water and use for 
 chronic diseases of the bladder. 
 
 4544. As a cure for bladder complaint, take thrice daily a glassful of 
 tea made from hops. 
 
 4545. Horse-radish tea will cure an afflicted bladder. 
 
 4546. Let a person, who is unable to urinate, drink tea of juniper berries. 
 
 4547. Tea made from pumpkin seed is good for bladder trouble. 
 
 4548. Drink alfalfa tea to cure diabetes. 
 
 4549. For diabetes, fry a piece of meat in an envelope, and then eat 
 the meat when browned. 
 
 4550. Diabetes can be cured by bathing in salt water. 
 
 4551. Drinking sauerkraut juice will cure diabetes. 
 
 4552. Stew a hive of bees and feed the broth to anyone suffering with 
 kidney trouble. 
 
 4553. As a remedy for kidney trouble, keep a peeled carrot in your 
 pocket and take a bite of it occasionally. 
 
 4554. Cook either the stems or leaves of "cheeseweed" and take for 
 kidney trouble. 
 
 4555. Kidney trouble may be cured by drinking a tea of crowfoot roots. 
 
 4556. Place six egg shells in a cup of boiling water and cook for ten 
 minutes. Take this liquid for kidney trouble. 
 
 4557. Drink the urine of a goat for a kidney complaint. 
 
220 Memoirs of the Ahna Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 4558. "If you have kidney trouble, go out in your back yard. You must 
 get right back of the house and dig three little holes in the ground, 
 then blow your breath in each hole and cover them up again. 
 
 You will get well." Some people say that you are not to 
 
 blow into the three holes at the same time; hut into the first and 
 fill it, then into the second while filling the first, and finally into 
 the third as the second is being filled. 
 
 4559. Horsemint tea is a good remedy for kidney trouble. 
 
 4560. Treat kidney trouble by taking tea made from juniper berries. 
 
 4561. Eat liver frequently to cure kidney trouble. 
 
 4562. Cure kidney trouble by drinking tea made from a mixture of dried 
 mullein and smartweed. 
 
 4563. Tea made of orange peelings is a good remedy for kidney trouble. 
 
 4564. Kidney trouble can be cured by taking a cupful of parsley tea 
 each night before going to bed. 
 
 4565. A good remedy for kidney trouble is peach leaf tea. 
 
 4566. Tea made from the leaves of a "male peach tree" will cure kidney 
 trouble. Upon asking this old negro woman what a "male peach 
 tree" was, she said, "When you have a peach tree that is always 
 full of bloom and the blossoms drop off and you have no fruit, 
 that is a male tree. The female tree always has fruit on it, if 
 it blooms." 
 
 4567. Take pills made of pine pitch for kidney trouble. 
 
 4568. As a remedy for kidney trouble, carry a potato in your pocket. 
 
 4569. A tea of plantain leaves will cure kidney trouble. 
 
 4570. For kidney trouble, drink tea made of plantain seed. 
 
 4571. Tea from watermelon seed is good for kidney trouble, especially 
 if the patient is unable to pass water. 
 
 4572. Kidney trouble can be cured by taking a tea made of wild carrot 
 roots. 
 
 BLOOD TROUBLES-BLOODPOISONING-BLEEDING 
 HEMORRHAGE-CUTS 
 
 4573. For bad blood, drink burdock root tea. 
 
 4574. "Raw cabbage chopped fine and mixed with salt, pepper, vinegar 
 and sugar, and eaten once a day, is the finest thing to take down 
 high blood pressure." 
 
 4575. Take daily a cupful of tea made from red clover blossoms and 
 alfalfa hay. This will reduce high blood pressure. 
 
 4576. A good drink for the blood is the liquid from three inches of 
 flaxseed soaked in a quart jar of water. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 221 
 
 4577. To check high blood pressure, drink three cupfuls of garhc tea 
 daily for three days, and on the fourth day begin to eat a garlic 
 each day for five days. Repeat this alternate process of drinking 
 garlic tea and eating garlic until well. 
 
 4578. Drink grape juice to make blood. 
 
 4579. To purify the blood, drink twice daily a tea made of hops. 
 
 4580. If you eat too much meat, you will have high blood pressure. 
 
 4581. Take molasses and sulphur to thin the blood. 
 
 4582. Too much nutmeg eaten by a person will dry up the blood. 
 
 4583. Tea from white oak bark makes a good spring tonic. 
 
 4584. Eating too much pepper will dry up the blood. 
 
 4585. A very good tonic can be made during the spring by cooking poke 
 roots with greens. 
 
 4586. Blood may be purified by eating raisins. 
 
 4587. In the spring thin your blood by drinking sassafras tea boik'd 
 either from the bark or the roots. 
 
 4588. To cool the blood, either tie a cold rag around or let cold water 
 run over the left wrist. 
 
 4589. It causes high blood pressure to drink at night water that has been 
 standing in a pail. You should always draw fresh water, but if 
 you must use the standing water, shake it well before drinking. 
 
 4590. Treat high blood pressure by drinking tea made of watermelon 
 seed. 
 
 4591. "Take wild cherry bark and white oak bark and boil together; 
 makes the best tonic there is in the spring." 
 
 4592. Blood poisoning never attacks a cut made in your foot while 
 swimming during the first ten days of August. 
 
 4593. To cure blood poisoning, use a poultice of beets. 
 
 4594. Apply a bread and milk poultice for blood poisoning. 
 
 4595. Blood poisoning can be cured by using chamomile tea as a wash. 
 
 4596. "If you have blood poison, take one cup of corn meal, one table- 
 spoonful of baking soda, one teaspoonful of salt, a handful of 
 peach leaves ; put the leaves in a pint of boiling water, let boil, then 
 strain and add the rest and apply to the poison." 
 
 4597. Scratch a bite or scab with your finger-nails and you will get 
 blood poisoning. 
 
 4598. Boil a tablespoonful of Epsom salts and ten cents worth of cedar 
 oil in a quart of water. Rub this liquid on blood poisoning for 
 a cure. 
 
 4599. Treat blood poisoning by applying a poultice of crushed live- 
 forever leaves. 
 
 4600. "My arm was bad with blood poison and I mashed plantain leaves 
 
222 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 and put one layer after another on my arm, and let stay overnight, 
 and the next day again ; and my arm got well in no time." 
 
 4601. Cure blood poisoning by drinking slippery elm tea. 
 
 4602. Poultice blood poisoning with sugar and soap as a remedy. 
 
 4603. Rub turpentine and salt on blood poisoning to effect a cure. 
 
 4604. Apply dusty cobwebs to stop the bleeding and to heal the wound. 
 
 4605. The lining of an egg placed on a cut will check the flow of blood. 
 
 4606. Bleeding may be stopped by putting some browned flour on the 
 wound. 
 
 4607. A paste of flour and vinegar applied to a cut will arrest the bleed- 
 ing. 
 
 4608. "One day a man was out in the field cutting corn and he cut his 
 leg with the corn knife, and he stuck the knife right down in the 
 ground and his leg stopped bleeding." 
 
 4609. "I stepped on a tack in the yard. I pulled it right out of my foot 
 and stuck the tack in the ground and it stopped bleeding right 
 away." 
 
 4610. Use ink to stop a bleeding. 
 
 4611. A cut made during the dark of the moon will not bleed much. 
 
 4612. If you cut yourself in the light of the moon, the wound will bleed 
 profusely. 
 
 4613. It causes bad luck to draw blood during the full moon. 
 
 4614. Bleeding can be stopped by poulticing the cut with dried sage 
 leaves. 
 
 4615. Check the bleeding of a sore by placing salt on it. 
 
 4616. Tie a snake skin on a cut and the flow of blood will stop im- 
 mediately. 
 
 4617. Soot from a chimney rubbed on a wound will arrest the flow of 
 blood. This method is seldom used because it is said to leave a 
 black scar. 
 
 4618. Cover a cut with sugar to stop the bleeding. 
 
 4619. A cut can be kept from bleeding by applying brown sugar. 
 
 4620. To stop the bleeding, hold wet tea leaves to a cut. 
 
 4621. Do not draw blood on Thursday or you will have bad luck. 
 
 4622. Bind a leaf of natural tobacco (or a piece of chewing tobacco or 
 a chew of tobacco) round a cut. This will check the bleeding and 
 act as a disinfectant. 
 
 4623. Vinegar in water will stop a bleeding, even if an artery is severed. 
 
 4624. Repeat the following to check a bleeding : "Upon Christ's grave 
 three lilies grow. The first is named youth, the other virtue's truth, 
 the third Subue (?). Stop blood. In the Name of the Father, 
 Son and Holy Ghost." Written contribution. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 223 
 
 4625. To make a bleeding cease, say the following : "Blessed is the day 
 on which Christ was born, blessed is the day on which Christ died, 
 blessed the day on which Jesus Christ arose from the dead. These 
 are holy three hours. By these N N (name of patient), I stop 
 thy blood. Thy sores shall neither swell nor fester, no more shall 
 that happen, than that the Virgin Mary will bear another son. 
 In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost." Written con- 
 tribution. 
 
 4626. Check a hemorrhage by laying an axe under the patient's bed. 
 
 4627. Treat a bad cut by rubbing it with charcoal. 
 
 4628. If you cut yourself in the sign of the "heart," the pain caused by 
 the wound will be greater. 
 
 4629. "In order to disinfect a cut or wound and to ensure its healing, 
 the instrument must be greased. A man who lived next door to 
 us many years ago cut his foot with an axe. He was given medical 
 attention, but for good measure the family greased the axe head 
 and laid it away carefully. If the axe had rusted the wound would 
 not have healed." Written contribution. 
 
 4630. Mix a half pound of lard, one fourth pound of beeswax and a 
 fourth pound of resin. This makes a good salve for cuts (or 
 burns). 
 
 4631. Disinfect and heal a cut by washing it with mullein leaf tea. 
 
 4632. When you cut yourself with a piece of tin, the wound will heal 
 if you bury the tin in the ground. 
 
 BLISTER-CHAFING-ITCH-PRICKLY HEAT 
 
 4633. "I had a bad fever blister several weeks ago and I took the saliva 
 on my finger, then some of my earwax, and rubbed on it; and it 
 cured the fever blister right away." 
 
 4634. "If you kiss a girl too much, you will have fever blisters; but the 
 girl won't have any at all, because the heat from the girl will come 
 to you." Written contribution. 
 
 4635. Carry a piece of alum in your pocket to prevent galling. 
 
 4636. Avoid chafing by keeping bitterweed in your pocket. 
 
 4637. You will never be chafed, if "dogweed" leaves are kept in your 
 pocket. 
 
 4638. "We went and planted several elderberry bushes in our back 
 yard so we could get the leaves in the summer so we could carry 
 them in our pockets to keep from getting galled." 
 
 4639. If you are galled, apply browned flour. 
 
 4640. To prevent being chafed, keep grape leaves in your pocket. 
 
224 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt foundation 
 
 4641. You will not be galled if you carry mullein leaves in your hip 
 pocket. 
 
 4642. "In winter if you will rub a little mutton tallow on the baby every 
 time you change its diaper, your baby will never be galled." 
 
 4643. If you wash in cold water and never wipe, you will not be galled. 
 
 4644. To cure chafing, use wheat dust. 
 
 4645. If you step on the ground where cows wet, you will get ground 
 itch, that is, your toes will crack. 
 
 4646. "Salve for itching hands : Take meadow rue, boil in olive oil, mix 
 a little beeswax therewith, so that is becomes a salve. Grease the 
 hands with it and soon they will be all well." 
 
 4647. As a cure for itch, wash in tea of poke roots. 
 
 4648. If a baby has itch, roll him in sulphur and lard. 
 
 4649. Sulphur and molasses is good for itch. Swallow some and rub 
 some on the place that itches. 
 
 4650. "Ointment for cure of itch : Take green corn or broom seed, press 
 the sap therefrom, boil it in the same manner mush is cooked, 
 and add five cents worth of sulphur and a quarter pound of lard. 
 Rub the body with it every night." 
 
 4651. Put twelve walnut leaves in a quart of water and boil down to a 
 pint, then strain and add a teaspoonful of sulphur; and use this as 
 a wash for itch. 
 
 4652. Ground itch can be cured by tying yarn around your toes. 
 
 4653. To stop an itching toe, tie a yarn string around it. 
 
 4654. To cure toe itch, hold your toes under a cow while she is relieving 
 herself and let the urine run over them. 
 
 4655. Prickly heat can be cured by rubbing it with crushed elder leaves. 
 
 4656. "If a person has prickly heat, if they will take a wash rag and 
 dip it in vinegar and wring it out and rub it over the places, it 
 will make the person cool and also kill the prickly heat." 
 
 BOWEL TROUBLE-CONSTIPATION-DIARRHEA 
 PERITONITIS 
 
 4657. Take three spoonfuls of apple vinegar thrice daily to regulate 
 the waste of the body. 
 
 4658. "My mother would always make a jarful of light bread biscuits 
 on Good Friday and whenever any child in the neighborhood 
 would get the summer complaint, my mother would take one of 
 these biscuits and grate it up real fine like powder and give to 
 the child, and they would get over the bowel trouble." 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 225 
 
 4659. Drink bonesetweed (honeset) tea as a laxative. 
 
 4660. Tea made from the bark of a butternut tree is a fine laxative and 
 does not cause griping. 
 
 4661. To treat bowel trouble in a child, bathe his stomach with a mixture 
 of catnip tea, fresh butter and sugar. 
 
 4662. Take tea made of hops for bowel trouble. 
 
 4663. If you swallow a hair, you will have inflammation of the bowels. 
 
 4664. To cure inflammation of the bowels caused by swallowing a hair, 
 eat a herring and then take a dose of castor oil. 
 
 4665. For inflammation of the bowels, drink kale soup. 
 
 4666. Tea of "mule-ear" leaves is good for loose bowels. 
 
 4667. Tea made of the bark from the east side of a peach tree is a good 
 laxative. 
 
 4668. Brown plantain seed on the stove and make a tea from them to 
 stop running off of the bowels. 
 
 4669. As a laxative, eat sauce made from the stems or drink tea boiled 
 from the roots of the rhubarb plant. 
 
 4670. For bowel trouble: Take a tablespoonful of salt, a teaspoonful of 
 black pepper, two inches of cider vinegar in a glass, and then fall 
 the glass with water and stir. Use a teaspoonful every twenty 
 minutes until well. 
 
 4671. When taking a tea for a laxative, add sugar and you will never 
 gripe. 
 
 4672. To make a mild cathartic, slice turnips, sprinkle with sugar and 
 let them stand overnight. 
 
 4673. Walnut leaf tea is good for bowel trouble. 
 
 4674. Catnip tea is an excellent remedy for constipation in children. 
 
 4675. Eat corn meal mixed with cold water to cure constipation. 
 
 4676. Constipation may be cured by eating oatmeal. 
 
 4677. Drink thrice daily a tea made from peach tree leaves for constipa- 
 tion. 
 
 4678. Take blackberry cordial for diarrhea. 
 
 4679. Cure diarrhea by using tea from blackberry roots. 
 
 4680. Diarrhea can be checked by eating a teaspoonful of powdered 
 white chalk. 
 
 4681. Eat a pinch of powdered tgg shells to stop a severe attack of 
 diarrhea. 
 
 4682. To prevent diarrhea during a baby's second summer, keep a piece 
 of flannel over its navel. 
 
 4683. Cook flour in water to a heavy paste and administer for diarrhea.. 
 
 4684. Brown some flour and take a tablespoonful of it to stop diarrhea. 
 
 4685. Three teaspoonfuls of flour, one fourth teaspoonful of pepper and 
 enough water to make a paste, will cure diarrhea. 
 
226 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 4686. Diarrhea may be checked by chewing ironweed. 
 
 4687. Boil an ounce of the root, bark or leaves of meadowsweet in one 
 pint of water. Two tablespoon fuls of this liquid administered 
 three times a day will cure diarrhea in children. 
 
 4688. "Mule-tail" leaf tea is very good for diarrhea or "summer com- 
 plaint." 
 
 4689. Chew "mule-tail" leaves to cure diarrhea. 
 
 4690. Mix a half teaspoonful of grated nutmeg and a half teaspoonful 
 of flour in water and give to a child for diarrhea. 
 
 4691. Drink a tea made from the inner bark of an oak tree to cure 
 diarrhea. 
 
 4692. Scrape upwards, never downwards, on a peach tree ; and take a tea 
 made of these scrapings for diarrhea. 
 
 4693. For diarrhea or "summer complaint," steep a handful of pepper- 
 grass in a pint of boiling water and take a teaspoonful with each 
 meal. 
 
 4694. Boil plantain seed in milk and administer for diarrhea. 
 
 4695. Diarrhea can be cured by drinking quince seed tea. 
 
 4696. Chew ragweed leaves to check diarrhea. 
 
 4697. "Take ragweed leaves, pull the leaves up from the stem, never 
 down, and put the leaves in a bowl. Pour boiling water over them. 
 After it stands half an hour, strain and sweeten; and give a baby 
 a teaspoonful every few hours. It is very good for the diarrhea. 
 We lived out in the country years ago and could not get a doctor. 
 Our baby spoiled fifteen diapers in one hour. We thought she was 
 going to die. Someone told us about the ragweed leaves tea and 
 we gave it to her. It saved her life." 
 
 4698. Tea made of raspberry leaves is a good remedy for diarrhea. 
 
 4699. To cure diarrhea in a child, give it a tea made from the new 
 sprouts of a black raspberry plant. 
 
 4700. Diarrhea may be cured by drinking tea made of rhubarb roots. 
 
 4701. Soak slippery elm in water and take this liquid to cure diarrhea. 
 
 4702. Eat cinnamon to check diarrhea. 
 
 4703. To cure diarrhea in a child, let it drink milk to which ground nut- 
 meg has been added. 
 
 4704. "Take five cents worth of allspice, cloves, and about four pieces 
 of cinnamon bark, and a cup and a half of water. Boil like tea. 
 Take a tablespoonful after each meal for diarrhea." 
 
 4705. Take smartweed tea for diarrhea. 
 
 4706. Remove the alcohol from whiskey by burning it, then sweeten and 
 drink for diarrhea. 
 
 4707. W^ild alumroot (alumroot) tea is very good for diarrhea. 
 
 4708. Diarrhea can be cured by drinking witch-hazel bark tea. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 227 
 
 4709. "Chicken grass" tea will cure the last stages of flux. 
 
 4710. Flux can be cured by eating the yolks of hard-boiled eggs. 
 
 4711. "R. told me a man was very sick out on Thirty-second and State 
 Street years ago with peritonitis. His wife went out and stood 
 behind the horse and caught the fresh droppings in her apron, 
 squeezed out the juice, and gave it to her husband to drink. He 
 got well. This is true, because they know the people." Written 
 contribution. 
 
 BACKACHE-BEDSORE-BRUISE-BURN 
 
 FELON-INFLAMMATION-PAIN-SIDEACHE 
 
 SORE-SORE LIP AND MOUTH-SPLINTER 
 
 STIFF NECK-SWELLING-LACERATED VEIN-WHITLOW 
 
 4712. "I had the backache one time so bad I could not lay down or do 
 anything. I went out to a farmhouse and stood behind the cows 
 and caught a bucketful of the fresh manure and took it home. 
 That night I took two towels and put that manure in it and put it 
 around my back. I sit up all night in a chair with that manure on 
 my back and the next day my pain was gone. It is an old remedy 
 but it is better than any doctor can do for you." 
 
 4713. Wear an eelskin around your waist for lumbago. 
 
 4714. As a remedy for backache, drink horse-radish tea. 
 
 4715. A pine-resin plaster will cure backache. 
 
 4716. Heat salt or sand, then place it in a bag and apply to the back for 
 lumbago. 
 
 4717. Bathe the back with coal oil; then heat salt until it is brown and 
 bandage the salt on the back, leaving it there for two or three 
 days. This will cure lumbago. 
 
 4718. To cure lumbago, pour a teaspoonful of turpentine into a quart of 
 water. Soak a rag in this liquid, then spread the rag over the back 
 and iron it dry. 
 
 4719. For a pain in the back, rub it with the following mixture: Five 
 cents worth of old sweet oil, a small quantity of voboilium, sperm 
 oil and bayberry oil. 
 
 4720. Lay an axe beneath the bed of a sick person and he will not get 
 bedsores. 
 
 4721. Prevent bedsores by putting a pail or tub full of old iron under 
 the patient's bed. 
 
 4722. Place a pan of water beneath a patient's bed to keep him from 
 having bedsores. 
 
228 Memoirs of the Alnia Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 4723. A bruise, cut or open sore should be covered with grated carrots. 
 
 4724. Kiss a bruise or bump to make it well. 
 
 4725. Put mashed live-forever leaves on a bruise. 
 
 4726. To cure a bruise, apply the smooth side of f>each tree leaves. 
 
 4727. Poultice a bruised finger with crushed plantain leaves. 
 
 4728. Bathe a bruise with vinegar and it will not turn black and blue. 
 
 4729. If you burn the bandage that has been wrapped around a burn 
 or sore, the wound will never heal. The bandage must be buried. 
 
 4730. "A man has got to tell this to a woman, or a woman to a man. 
 A man told it to me. If you burn yourself, blow on it real easy 
 and hold your breath while repeating this and say, 'Blow in frost 
 and come out fire.' You must say this nine times and the burn 
 will not hurt." 
 
 4731. "Repeat the following three times for bums: Away burns, undo 
 the hand; if cold or warm, cease the hand. God save thee N N 
 (name of the person), thy flesh, thy blood, thy marrow, thy bone 
 and all thy veins. They all shall be saved, for warm and cold 
 reign. In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost." Written 
 contribution. 
 
 4732. "Mrs. O's neighbor had a little girl and one day she fell against 
 the stove and burnt her hand very bad, and the mother couldn't 
 stop the child from crying, and she thought she was going to go 
 in convulsions. So she brought her over to Mrs. T. to see if she 
 could quiet her any ; and some man was delivering coal to Mrs. T, 
 and asked what was the matter with the little girl, and she told 
 him. He said, *I can make her stop crying if her mother wants 
 me to.' So he mumbled a few words over the child's hands and 
 Mrs. T. said the child stopped crying instantly. Mrs. T. asked 
 him what he said, and he said he couldn't tell anyone; if he did 
 tell, he would lose the power of healing all burns." Written 
 contribution. 
 
 4733. "My sister could take out a burn on your body. She would make 
 a cross over the burn, then say, 'In the Name of the Father, Son 
 and Holy Ghost' and it would come out." 
 
 4734. Bruised century plant leaves are ver}' good for a burn, 
 
 4735. When you burn your finger, touch the soft part of your ear and 
 this will remove the soreness immediately. 
 
 4736. A flaxseed poultice will take the inflammation out of a burn. 
 
 4737. Place the smooth side of peach tree leaves on a burn. 
 
 4738. Grated onions will remove "the fever" from a burn. 
 
 4739. Rub a burn with a peeled potato to take out the inflammation. 
 
 4740. If you burn your finger, put it in your mouth. This is known as 
 "sucking out" a burn. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 229 
 
 4741. A poultice of tea leaves will cure a bum. 
 
 4742. "If you have a felon coming on your finger, take the small end of 
 a fresh egg, break it open on the end, put your finger in it as far 
 as possible, leave your finger in the egg until it begins to feel 
 warm, then take it out. Repeat six tirnes, using a fresh tgg every 
 time, and your felon will leave." 
 
 4743. Poultice a felon with jimson weed leaves. 
 
 4744. As a cure for a felon, apply a slice of lemon. 
 
 4745. "Take fresh ox gall, boil it, and apply as warm as one can bear 
 it by dipping the finger therein, and keep it there until it becomes 
 cold. Thus the felon or worm dies soon." Written contribution. 
 
 4746. A poultice of mashed peach tree leaves is very good for felons. 
 
 4747. Cure a felon by tying a "hop-toad" on it. 
 
 4748. Blow tobacco smoke on a felon to relieve the pain. 
 
 4749. Tobacco spit is good for a felon. 
 
 4750. Take a small live frog from a spring and tie it on your felon, and 
 leave it there several hours. The frog will die and the felon will 
 become well. 
 
 4751. Keep sliced balsams in whiskey and tie a piece of this balsam on 
 an inflammation for a cure. 
 
 4752. Poultice an inflammation, sore or wound with crushed beet leaves. 
 
 4753. To cure an inflammation, apply cabbage leaves. 
 
 4754. Use a poultice of dog fennel for the inflammation in a sore. 
 
 4755. To heal an inflammation, cover it with mashed grape leaves. 
 
 4756. The application of bruised jimson weed is good for an inflam- 
 mation. , 
 
 4757. Treat an inflammation by rubbing it with rabbit fat. 
 
 4758. Whenever you have a pain, never rub up, but always rub down 
 so that the pain will pass out through the hands or feet. 
 
 4759. Cook soup beans and make a poultice of them for pains. 
 
 4760. Lessen a pain by applying a poultice of ground flaxseed. 
 
 4761. Pain can be eased by using a hot mush poultice. 
 
 4762. For pains, use a salve made of turpentine, camphor and lard. 
 
 4763. To cure "side-ache," pick up a clod of dirt, spit on the underside, 
 and restore the clod to its original position. 
 
 4764. The cloth with which you wipe a sore must always be burned. If 
 you wash the cloth, the sore will not heal. 
 
 4765. Apply a piece of bacon to a sore or wound and it will prevent 
 blood poisoning. 
 
 4766. Blackberry leaf tea, used as a wash or applied with a bandage, 
 will stop a running sore. 
 
 4767. To cure an "inflammation sore," cut open a black chicken and 
 apply. 
 
230 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 4768. If a woman has a bad sore, she should rub the hand of a dead man 
 over it, saying, "In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost 
 
 take this sore away." A man who has a bad sore must use 
 
 the hand of a dead woman and repeat the same words. 
 
 4769. Cure a sore by letting a dog lick it. 
 
 4770. Work honey, the older the better, into rosin. This salve is good 
 for a sore or a scald. 
 
 4771. Take a piece of lard the size of a bean, melt it, add the yolk of an 
 egg and some saffron, and stir well together. This salve will heal 
 open sores. 
 
 4772. "If you have an open sore, nothing is better than putting on sor- 
 ghum molasses." 
 
 4773. A poultice made of plantain leaves is good for a sore. 
 
 4774. A sore may be cured by applying a slippery elm bark poultice. 
 
 4775. Stepping on a dead snake will make sores break out on your 
 fingers. 
 
 4776. To heal a sore on the toe, tie a yarn string around it. 
 
 4777. Treat a sore by covering it with a wad of tobacco. 
 
 4778. "If you have sores on your head, wash your head with chamber 
 lye. Years ago we had a boy in our neighborhood and his head was 
 just full of sores, and they could not find anything to get the 
 sores well. One morning this boy was standing near a window 
 and a neighbor, not seeing him, threw the chamber out the window 
 and it went all over the top of this boy's head. And the sores got 
 well right away," 
 
 4779. Use a poultice of vinegar and yellow clay on a sore to prevent 
 blood poisoning. 
 
 4780. Sore lips may be cured by washing them with a strong tea of 
 white oak bark. 
 
 4781. To cure chapped lips, rub a finger behind your ears and then rub 
 your lips with the same finger. 
 
 4782. Wiping your mouth with a dish rag will give you hairy lips. 
 
 4783. I f you have a sore mouth or gums, chew the leaves of a soft maple 
 tree. 
 
 4784. To make a wash for sore mouth, boil peach bark, honey and alum 
 together. 
 
 4785. Quince seed tea is good for a sore mouth. 
 
 4786. "I know a woman that had her mouth full of canker sores and 
 they heat chicken droppings and gave it to her through a straw 
 and she got well." 
 
 4787. If there is a splinter in your hand and you are unable to remove it, 
 apply a piece of bacon and this will draw out the splinter. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 231 
 
 4788. "My daughter got a splinter in her foot. About a month after 
 that, inflammation set in. I took her to the doctor. He could find 
 nothing wrong. A friend told me about the mashed beet tops 
 poultice. I put it on her foot that day. The next day a splinter 
 about one eighth of an inch came out." 
 
 4789. Bury the splinter which you have extracted from your foot and 
 the wound will not become infected. 
 
 4790. When you have a splinter or thorn, poultice it with a mixture of 
 crushed carrots and honey, and this will draw out the splinter or 
 thorn and also soothe the pain. 
 
 4791. If a splinter is under your finger-nail and you are not able to pull 
 it out, keep your finger wrapped in a cold water bandage. This 
 will loosen the spHnter. 
 
 4792. For a crick in your neck, rub it on a tree against which a hog has 
 rubbed itself, and the crick will leave. 
 
 4793. To cure a stiff neck, lay a piece of blanket over it, then iron down 
 on the blanket and the pain will go out through your elbow. If 
 you do not iron down, the stiffness will spread through your whole 
 body. 
 
 4794. Keep a woolen string around the neck to prevent cramps in the 
 neck. 
 
 4795. Mix five cents worth of anise seed, oil of turpentine and oil of 
 juniper. Stir well and use this ointment on a swelling to make it 
 disappear. 
 
 4796. To reduce a swelling, make chamomile tea, drink some and use the 
 remainder as a poultice. A woman said that her husband had a 
 swollen arm, which the surgeon decided to remove. The day 
 before the operation she finally persuaded her husband to try the 
 chamomile remedy. In the morning the swelling had decreased to 
 such an extent that an amputation was unnecessary. 
 
 4797. A poultice of fresh clay is good for swellings and inflammation. 
 
 4798. Apply fresh cow manure to reduce a swelling. 
 
 4799. A swelling can be reduced by using a salve made of wheat flour, 
 eggs, saffron and vinegar. 
 
 4800. Mash wild geranium leaves and vines; then place in a bag and 
 put on a swelling to reduce it. 
 
 4801. Press a knife against a swelling to reduce it and to prevent dis- 
 coloration. 
 
 4802. To reduce a swelling caused by a bump, hold a silver or steel 
 knife against it. 
 
 4803. For a lump or bump, first put butter on it and then apply a knife. 
 
 4804. Reduce a swollen ankle by rubbing it with hot lard. 
 
 4805. Put vinegar on mullein leaves and apply to a swelling or bruise. 
 
232 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 4806. Brown paper soaked in vinegar will reduce a swelling. 
 
 4807. Scrape a parsnip and bind the scrapings on a "white swelling" to 
 reduce it. 
 
 4808. Reduce a lump or swelling on your arm by holding a silver spoon 
 against it. 
 
 4809. A swelling may be reduced by bathing it in your own urine. 
 
 4810. To reduce a swelling repeat the following: "Blissful be the day, 
 bhssf ul be that hour when thou will neither be smitten with swell- 
 ing or boil, till the Virgin Mary with another son will toil. In 
 the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost." Written coti^ 
 trihiiiion. 
 
 4811. If a vein is cut or torn, mash some "cart worms" and tie them 
 over the wound ; and on the fourth day the vein will heal without 
 any pain. 
 
 4812. For varicose veins, apply tea made from sheep sorrel. 
 
 4813. Apply a paste of gunpowder and vinegar to cure a ring-around 
 (xvhitlozv). 
 
 4814. Burn a piece of writing paper in a saucer and add one drop of 
 water to the ashes. Rub this paste on a run-around (tvhitlow) and 
 it will soon be cured. 
 
 4815. Bandage a green walnut hull on a run-around and it will get well. 
 
 CHOKING AND SWALLOWING 
 
 4816. When a person is choking, a violent slap between the shoulders 
 with the open hand will effect a dislodgment. 
 
 4817. Raise a baby's left hand over its head, if it is choking. 
 
 4818. To cure choking, let the patient chase a cow until he is tired. 
 
 4819. If a baby swallows anything, turn it upside down and the object 
 will drop out of its mouth. 
 
 4820. Years ago a man swallowed a cat hair. He became so emaciated 
 that Ills friends suspected tuberculosis. Old Dr. X. of Quincy 
 treated the ailment for a long time, but it did not seem to improve. 
 Finally the doctor's wife, who felt sorry for the patient, asked 
 her husband why he could not cure him. Dr. X. answered, "That's 
 the way I make my living. I could easily cure the man if I wanted 
 to. All he would have to do is to eat a whole herring, head and 
 all, and he would get well." It so happened that the maid over- 
 heard this conversation, and also knowing the patient, she told 
 him what to do. The man ate a whole herring and soon recovered. 
 
 4821. "If a mother knows that her child has swallowed a hair, give them 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 233 
 
 all the mashed potatoes and butter they can eat. then the next day 
 olive oil; and the hair will come with the potatoes the next day. 
 I knew a woman that her child was sick for almost a year. The 
 doctor could not even find out what was wrong. I said to her one 
 
 day, 'Maybe your child has a hair' and told her about the 
 
 mashed potatoes. So this mother gave her child the potatoes and 
 oil, and in several days when the potatoes passed, it was just full 
 of hair. The child got well after that." 
 
 4822. One must be careful when drinking at a spring, because a young 
 snake or snake egg might be swallowed ; and it will grow in the 
 stomach. As a remedy, the person should not eat or drink for 
 some time, then hold his head over water or milk ; and the starved 
 and thirsty snake will come out through the victim's mouth. 
 
 4823. If you swallow a snake, eat ivy and salt; then walk three miles, 
 and the snake will pass from you. 
 
 4824. Years ago a girl's stomach began to increase in size. It grew 
 larger and larger. Finally the doctor operated, and he removed a 
 large snake. 
 
 CHILLS 
 
 4825. To cure "dumb chills." take a piece of alum the size of the little 
 finger tip. 
 
 4826. If a person has chills, set an axe under his bed with the cutting 
 edge pointing upward at the patient. This will cure him. 
 
 4827. Wear camphor gum around your neck to prevent chills. 
 
 4828. Sitting in the sun and looking at a yellow caterpillar will give 
 you chills. 
 
 4829. A tea of corncobs is good for chills. 
 
 4830. Always soak cucumbers in salt water before using them and they 
 will never cause chills. 
 
 4831. If you place a yellow cucumber out in the sun and then sit back 
 in the shade to watch it, you will get chills. 
 
 4832. Keep a cyclamen plant in the house and you will have chills. 
 
 4833. Squeeze the juice of a half lemon into a beaten egg and let it 
 stand overnight, then add three tablespoonfuls of whiskey. Drink 
 this liquid and lie in bed for twenty minutes. Repeat the process 
 for three mornings and it will break up your chills. 
 
 4834. Treat chills by taking a tablespoonf ul of powdered egg shells three 
 times a day. 
 
 4835. Boil the green bark of the elder in milk and drink for chills. 
 
 4836. You can cure chills, if you drink every morning a cupful of tea 
 made from hops. 
 
234 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 4837. To break up chills, take Jamaica ginger and gin twice a day for 
 three days. 
 
 4838. A strong tea made of jimson weed seed will cure chills. 
 
 4839. "My husband had the chills and he wrote on a piece of paper, 'I 
 want to get well.' Then he folded it up and took it to a oak tree 
 in the woods, and took a piece of bark off and put the paper 
 against the tree, and put mud over the bark to hold it in place. 
 My husband got well and the tree died." 
 
 4840. Pieplant (rhubarb) roots in whiskey is a good remedy for chills. 
 
 4841. Keep salt in your shoes to cure chills. 
 
 4842. Sassafras tea is good for chills. 
 
 4843. Bake sheep lice and put them in jelly. Eat the jelly and it will 
 cure chills. 
 
 4844. Chills may be cured by drinking tea made of sheep droppings. 
 
 4845. Ague can be cured by taking a plunge into cold water. 
 
 4846. A plunge into cold water will cure "three days chills." 
 
 4847. Your chills will be gone by morning, if you set a pan of water 
 under the bed. 
 
 4848. Wild cherry bark in whiskey will cure chills. 
 
 4849. Cure chills by drinking willow bark tea. It is necessary that the 
 bark be scraped downwards from the tree and not upwards. 
 
 4850. "My sister had the chills years ago and she took a cup of salt and 
 went down to this creek that goes through South Park now (this 
 was before the creation of the present park) and stood on the bank 
 with her back to the water and throw this salt over her shoulder 
 into the creek, saying in the three highest names (In the Name of 
 the Father, Son and Holy Ghost), and she got well." 
 
 COLD-COUGH-DIPHTHERIA-INFLUENZA 
 SORE THROAT 
 
 4851. "Feed a cold and starve a fever." 
 
 4852. The person who removes his flannels on the 1st of May will not 
 catch a cold. 
 
 4853. "My father would always make us go barefooted on the first day 
 of May. He did not care how cold it was. He would make us so 
 we would not have a cold that year." 
 
 4854. Wear a small sack of salt tied around your neck and you will not 
 have a cold all winter. 
 
 4855. If you are caught in a rain, never change your wet clothes and 
 you will not take a cold. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 235 
 
 4856. If you are out driving at night and go through an alley, you are 
 certain to catch a cold. 
 
 4857. Burn alcohol and drink the residue for a cold. 
 
 4858. "Take and cook balsam with enough water to cover it. Put 
 through a rag. Then take cup for cup of the balsam juice and 
 sugar, just like jelly, and cook twenty minutes. Then put up in 
 glasses and bottles. In the winter, if you have a very bad cold, 
 take three tablespoonfuls, half a lemon juice, and put in a cup of 
 hot water and drink. It will cure any cold. I keep balsam jelly 
 in the house all the time." 
 
 4859. Boneset weed tea is very good for a cold. Indian. 
 
 4860. "Take strong brandy and dip a soft cloth into it and wet the soles 
 of the feet mornings and evenings and the cold will go away." 
 
 4861. "To cure a cold, take eight or ten drops of camphor on sugar 
 every two hours until better. Two or three doses will cure as 
 a rule." 
 
 4862. Catnip tea is good for colds. 
 
 4863. As a remedy for a cold, drink red clover tea. 
 
 4864. Take a teaspoonful of coal oil and a little sugar to cure a cold. 
 
 4865. "Take dandelion roots and leaves, and white clover and red clover, 
 and make a tea. Very good for colds. I always keep dandelion roots 
 and leaves, and white clover and red, dry in a bag ; and whenever 
 anyone in the family gets a cold, I always make tea, and it sure 
 does help them." 
 
 4866. A cold can be cured by drinking tea made of dr}- elder blossoms. 
 
 4867. Tea made of elderberries will cure a cold. 
 
 4868. For a cold or fever, drink a strong tea made from a mixture of 
 elder blossoms and pennyroyal. 
 
 4869. "If you have a cold, eat garlic. We always do when we have a cold 
 and find it very good." 
 
 4870. A good remedy for a cold is ginger tea. 
 
 4871. Rub downwards with goose grease, first on the chest, then in the 
 palms of the hands and finally over the feet; and this will drive 
 a cold out of your body through your feet. 
 
 4872. A tea made from the scaly bark of a hickory nut tree is good for 
 a cold. 
 
 4873. "If you have got a cold and want to get rid of it quick, just get 
 some hog hoofs and make a tea out of it and drink it, and it will 
 cure your cold inside of nine hours." Written contribu'tion. 
 
 4874. Boil horehound, licorice and sugar to a syrup and add honey and 
 glycerine. Take this to cure a cold. 
 
 4875. As a remedy for a cold, drink tea made from dried hollyhock 
 blossoms. 
 
236 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 4876. Drink horsemint tea and your cold will leave. 
 
 4877. Grate horse-radish, sprinkle with sugar and salt, and eat for a cold. 
 
 4878. To treat a bad cold, mix ten or twelve drops of turpentine with a 
 tablespoonful of lard and rub on the chest. 
 
 4879. Cut a lemon into a half cup of honey and add a little glycerine. 
 This is good for a cold. 
 
 4880. For a bad cold, beat the white of an e^g and the juice of a lemon 
 together, add enough sugar to sweeten, and then take. 
 
 4881. "Take mule-ear leaves and dry them in the shade. Then make a 
 tea and put in enough rock candy to make it sweet. Then drink 
 that for a bad cold." 
 
 4882. A cold may be cured by drinking tea made from mullein leaves. 
 
 4883. Slice a large white onion and cover with sugar. Take this juice 
 for a cold. 
 
 4884. To cure a bad cold, cut up an onion and sprinkle the slices with 
 sugar, and let them stand until a syrup forms. Eat these slices of 
 onion just before going to bed. 
 
 4885. Pour hot water on sliced onions which have been sugared and take 
 the syrup for a cold. 
 
 4886. Sprinkle sugar on onions and bake them in an oven. This syrup 
 will cure a cold. 
 
 4887. To cure a cold, poultice the chest with fried onions in a flannel 
 bag. 
 
 4888. Rub a roasted onion on the soles of your feet and a cold or cough 
 will disappear. 
 
 4889. Drink tea made from pennyroyal for a cold. 
 
 4890. Tea made from peppermint leaves W\\\ cure a cold. 
 
 4891. Take pine needles from a tree, boil in a small quantity of water 
 and add a little sugar. This is good for a cold. 
 
 4892. Dust hot pop corn with salt and feed it to a child who has a bad 
 cold. 
 
 4893. Cure a cold by drinking tea made from sage leaves. 
 
 4894. Drink sage tea mixed with honey for a cold. 
 
 4895. Take a teaspoonful of salt, two of vinegar and two of water for 
 a cold. 
 
 4896. Skunk fat is very good as a cold remedy. 
 
 4897. A cold may be cured, if you drink tea made of slippery elm bark. 
 
 4898. For a cold, use tea from sunflower seed. 
 
 4899. Mix a half cup of syrup, a lump of butter, a little pepper, and a 
 teaspoonful of vinegar; and take for a cold. 
 
 4900. "If a baby has a bad cold, rub tallow on the baby's foot and it 
 will cure it. My mother always would rub tallow on the bottom 
 of our feet when we had a cold." 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 237 
 
 4901. Cut a turnip into five slices and cover each slice with a teaspoonful 
 of sugar. The syrup will cure a cold. 
 
 4902. Put spice and sugar in warm vinegar, and drink for a cold. 
 
 4903. When anyone has a bad cold, surreptitiously place a pan of water 
 under the patient's bed and he will quickly recover. 
 
 4904. Wild cherry bark tea is good for a cold or a cough. 
 
 4905. Boil wild cherry bark and flaxseed together, then strain and add 
 sugar. Take a tablespoonful of this syrup three times a day for 
 a bad cold. 
 
 4906. As a remedy for a cold, boil equal parts of wild cherry bark, 
 mullein leaves and horehound ; strain and add sugar, and drink a 
 cupful of this liquid daily. 
 
 4907. Dip a soft cloth into strong brandy and rub the soles of the feet 
 morning and evening for a cough. 
 
 4908. Cure a cough by eating cloves. 
 
 4909. A bad cough may be cured, if you stroke your throat with the 
 hand of a corpse. 
 
 4910. To stop a child's cough, pull three hairs from the crown of his 
 head. 
 
 4911. A good remedy for a cough is to boil white oak bark and to use 
 it either as a gargle or a drink. 
 
 4912. Treat a bad cough by drinking tea made of raspberry leaves. 
 
 4913. Eat a mixture of sugar, salt and pepper from a teaspoon to cure 
 a cough. 
 
 4914. Bind a piece of old bacon around the neck to cure diphtheria. 
 
 4915. Heat a piece of rancid bacon in vinegar and wrap it about the 
 throat for diphtheria. 
 
 4916. To cure diphtheria, cook carrots and mash them well, then spread 
 this on a quill feather and swab the throat. 
 
 4917. '* Years ago they were dying all around me with diphtheria. I had 
 it very bad. They said I would not live until moniing. ]\Iy mother 
 took and put the hog manure poultice all around my neck and it 
 stayed on all night. The next morning I was some better. Then 
 my mother put on a new one and I got well soon; and they said 
 that was all that save me." 
 
 4918. A child will not get diphtheria if he wears sulphur in a bag on 
 his neck. 
 
 4919. To cure "flu" (influenza), place onions about the patient's room 
 and the disease will enter the onions. 
 
 4920. Steam horse manure and rub it on a person who has influenza. 
 
 4921. It a child writes on a steamy window with his finger, he will get 
 a sore throat. 
 
238 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 4922. Never remove a bandage from a sore throat, but let it fall off of 
 its own accord, or you will not rid yourself of the cold. 
 
 4923. Always wear beads and you will never have a sore throat. 
 
 4924. To cure a sore throat, rub it with a mixture of camphor gum and 
 lard. 
 
 4925. A sore throat can be healed by taking a teaspoonful of coal oil 
 each morning. 
 
 4926. Apply a poultice made from scrapings of crowfoot roots to cure 
 a sore throat. 
 
 4927. Drink elm tree bark tea for a sore throat. 
 
 4928. For sore throat, use a poultice of Epsom salts. Make the bandage 
 as cold as possible. 
 
 4929. Cure a sore throat by tying it up in a red flannel cloth. 
 
 4930. To cure a sore throat, take three hairs from the top of your head 
 and rub them over your throat while saying, "In the Name of the 
 Father, Son and Holy Ghost take my sore throat away." 
 
 4931. A sore throat or swelling may be cured, if it is rubbed with the 
 marrow out of a hog jowl. 
 
 4932. Poultice a sore throat with hog manure. 
 
 4933. A poultice of crushed hops is very good for sore throat. 
 
 4934. Make a tea from ten cents worth of horehound and some chestnut 
 leaves, and drink for a sore throat or a cold. 
 
 4935. For a sore throat, mix one cupful of lard and a half cupful of 
 sugar, and take inwardly when needed. 
 
 4936. Tie a slice of lemon on your neck to cure a sore throat. 
 
 4937. As a remedy for sore throat, use a poultice of mashed live-forever 
 leaves. 
 
 4938. Heat mullein leaves in warm vinegar and apply to the neck and 
 chest for a bad sore throat. 
 
 4939. Boil the inner bark from an oak tree and use as a gargle for sore 
 throat. 
 
 4940. If you have tonsilitis, gargle with strong tea made of white oak 
 bark. 
 
 4941. Roll an onion in flour paste and bake over hot coals. This makes 
 a good poultice for a sore throat. 
 
 4942. "I knew a man that had a sore throat. He had not been able to 
 eat for three days. And someone told him about the persimmon 
 bark, and he started to chewing it and got well right away." 
 
 4943. Eating tinned pineapple is good for a sore throat. 
 
 4944. Sprinkle pepper on fat pork, the older the better, and wrap this 
 around the neck to cure a sore throat. 
 
 4945. Let a slice of salted pork or fat bacon simmer for a few minutes 
 in hot vinegar and then bandage it about the neck for sore throat. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 239 
 
 4946. Boil potatoes in their "jackets," then place them in an old stocking 
 and mash until a juice oozes out. This will be only a small quan- 
 tity. Wrap the stocking containing the potatoes, as hot as you can 
 bear it, around the neck as a sore throat remedy. 
 
 4947. Treat a sore throat by gargling with strong sage tea. 
 
 4948. Gargle with salt water to cure a sore throat. 
 
 4949. To cure sore throat, bandage a ball of snow around it. 
 
 4950. A sore throat can be cured by wrapping a dirty stocking about it. 
 
 4951. Before going to bed, turn a stocking inside out and place the foot 
 against the sorest part of your throat ; then tie the whole stocking 
 around the neck and in the morning your sore throat will be gone. 
 
 4952. Tie the left stocking, which you have worn that day, around a 
 sore throat; and it will be well by morning. 
 
 4953. As a cure for sore throat, wrap about it the right stocking that 
 you have worn during the day. 
 
 4954. "I had ten children. I always kept a silk string around their neck 
 and we never did have any sore throats in the family." 
 
 4955. Cure a sore throat by taking a spoonful of powdered sulphur. 
 
 4956. Gargle with your own urine to cure a sore throat. A woman who 
 gave this item said that she had tried the remedy years ago. It 
 made her sick but it was the only thing which helped her. 
 
 4957. A vinegar gargle will cure a sore throat. 
 
 4958. To cure sore throat, make a poultice by mixing violet leaves and 
 red clover. 
 
 4959. Yellowroot is very good for sore throat. 
 
 DROPSY 
 
 4960. Repeat the following for a cure of dropsy : "Three flowers stand 
 upon the grave of the Saviour Jesus Christ. The one signifies 
 goodness of gold, the other humility, the third God's will. Water 
 stand still. In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost." 
 Written contribution. 
 
 4961. Make a tea from the whole plant of a bulrush, leaves, stems, every- 
 thing ; and give to a person who has dropsy. Indian. 
 
 4^2. "If you have dropsy, take one of those round green cactus and 
 bake it ; then cut it up in a quart of water and take it three times 
 a day. It will take the water away from the heart." 
 
 4963. "I knew a woman that had dropsy real bad and an old man came 
 along one day and he told the people to get a half bushel of carrots 
 
240 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 and make wine out of them and give it to her to drink. They did 
 and the woman got well." 
 
 4964. Instead of tea or coffee, drink tea made of dried chestnut leaves ; 
 this will cure the worst case of dropsy. 
 
 4965. "For a dropsy cure, take one gallon of sweet cider and boil it down 
 until about half. Take a cup of green elder bark and let it boil 
 in one and one half cups of water until you have one half cup of 
 the elder, then put that in the boiled cider ; and take a wine glass 
 full three times a day." 
 
 4966. Red clover blossom tea is very good for dropsy. 
 
 4967. "If you cook clover blossom and make a tea, it is very good for 
 dropsy. All the water in your body will pass with your bowels." 
 
 4968. To cure dropsy, mix two tablespoonfuls of cream of tartar in a 
 quart of water and take this dose frequently. 
 
 4969. Dropsy can be cured by drinking elder blossom tea. 
 
 4970. "Take the inner bark of the elder and make a tea of it and drink, 
 if you have dropsy; and it will make the water pass." 
 
 4971. "I had the dropsy bad. My legs were all swollen up and my whole 
 body. I took some elderberry roots and dry them, then scraped 
 them down, as the water in dropsy goes down ; and you must 
 never scrape up. Then I took a teaspoonful in a cup of water 
 three times a day. And I am well today." 
 
 4972. "If your feet swell, if you press in on it and it comes out at once 
 you don't need to worry; but if you press in on it and the flesh 
 stays, that is the sign of dropsy." 
 
 4973. A good remedy for dropsy is juniper berry tea. 
 
 4974. Boil milkweed in water and when cool bathe your feet. This will 
 cure dropsy. 
 
 4975. You will not have dropsy if you eat potatoes. 
 
 4976. "Take a cup of rye and a quart and a half of water and let it boil 
 for one half hour. Then drink the tea ofT of that just like water. 
 It will dry up all the water in dropsy. My husband was getting 
 dropsy. All of his family died with it. His stomach was swelling 
 so, I had to put a eight inch piece of cloth in the back of his pants. 
 Someone told me about the rye, so I went out to Pape & Loos 
 and got some rye and made him a tea. He started to taking it 
 just like water. And it was no time before his stomach went 
 down. And I took that piece of cloth out of the back of his pants. 
 I just think rye tea is wonderful. I would tell anyone to take rye 
 tea, if their feet or legs or anything went to swelling." 
 
 4977. An old colored woman said that years ago she had had dropsy, 
 having caught it from the man in the house where she worked. 
 "I went to the mill when the moon was going down, got nine 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 241 
 
 pounds of wheat bran, urinated in it nine times, put it in a white 
 sack, tied it up; then after dark I went out in the yard and took 
 my left hand and threw it up in a tree, and did not look at that 
 tree for seven years. Then I was well." 
 
 4978. Drink tea made from the roots of a wild cherry tree to cure dropsy. 
 
 4979. Treat dropsy by drinking tea made of wild geranium leaves. 
 
 4980. Burn "winter grape" (ivild grape) roots on a stone and then drink 
 some of the ashes in a cup of water for dropsy. 
 
 EARACHE AND DEAFNESS 
 
 4981. "People say that if a deaf person will go up in an airplane, they 
 
 will get their hearing back." It is also said, "If a child is 
 
 deaf and can't hear, if you will take it up in the air very high, it 
 will bring back their hearing." 
 
 4982. As a remedy for earache, breathe into the afflicted ear. 
 
 4983. Heat cow manure in sweet milk, then place this in a bag and tie 
 it against the ear for earache. 
 
 4984. "Take the dirt dauber's (mud dauber) nest, put in a teacup and 
 pour boiling water over it. Let it set for one hour and it will clear, 
 then strain through a cloth and put in a bottle. Warm it and put 
 one teaspoonful in each ear every night. It will cure earache, 
 risings in the head, and will cure you if you are hard of hearing. 
 This lady had a daughter who was very hard of hearing in both 
 ears. You would have to shout to her to make her hear. Some 
 man gave the remedy and she thought she would try it on her 
 daughter's ear. It couldn't do any harm. And she put one tea- 
 spoonful in each ear every night for one week. Her daughter 
 could hear so well that she could hear one whisper across the 
 room." 
 
 4985. To cure deafness, rub a gold ring around the ear while continually 
 repeating, "In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost." 
 
 4986. Cure earache by keeping the ear filled with goose grease. 
 
 4987. Put some hair from a negro's head in a child's ear to stop earache. 
 
 4988. Earache can be cured by placing hot milk in the ear. 
 
 4989. Roast an onion on ashes, then remove the burnt skin and squeeze 
 the onion over a rag. Put a drop of this juice in the ear to cure 
 earache. 
 
 4990. For earache, dip a piece of cotton into ground black pepper and 
 put this wad in the ear. 
 
242 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 4991. Place ground black pepper on a wad of cotton and then add a few 
 drops of sweet oil. Put this in the ear for earache. 
 
 4992. Treat earache by wrapping ground black pepper in a rag and 
 sticking it into the ear. 
 
 4993. Rub lard and ground black pepper on a piece of cotton and place 
 it in the ear to stop earache. 
 
 4994. To cure earache, boil a potato in its skin until almost done, then 
 cut it in half, crosswise, and scoop out a hole in the meat side of 
 one of the halves. Place a rag over this hole and then bandage 
 the potato against the ear, tying it on with a towel or flannel 
 cloth. This will drive the steam from the potato into the ear and 
 eflfect a cure. The same remedy may be used for a gathering in 
 the ear. 
 
 4995. Fry a piece of rabbit fat and put one drop of the grease in the 
 ear for earache. 
 
 4996. Cure earache by placing three drops of rabbit fat oil in the ear. 
 
 4997. Hold a bag of hot salt against the ear to cure earache. 
 
 4998. Warm salt water put in the ear will stop earache. 
 
 4999. As an earache remedy, use skunk fat. 
 
 5000. To stop earache, drop sweet oil into the ear. 
 
 5001. Put sweet oil in the ear and then take a pipestem and blow into 
 the ear. This will cure earache. 
 
 5002. "If a child has earache, take and make a funnel; then take brown 
 sugar and burn it, and let that smoke from the sugar go in that 
 funnel to the ear. Will stop the ache." 
 
 5003. Treat earache by blowing tobacco smoke into the ear. Some say 
 that this must be done by an old man and through a pipestem. 
 
 5004. To cure earache, place syrup in the ear and then blow tobacco 
 smoke on it. 
 
 5005. Remove an insect from your ear by putting a few drops of urine 
 in the ear. 
 
 5006. A little urine rubbed in the ear will cure earache. 
 
 5007. Urinate on a piece of cotton and piit this in the ear to stop the 
 pain. 
 
 5008. A child's earache can be stopped by placing some of his urine in 
 his ear. 
 
 5009. For a boy's earache, put in his ear a few drops of urine from a 
 girl. 
 
 5010. Stop a girl's earache by inserting into her ear a few drops of 
 
 urine from a boy. "I know a woman's little girl that had the 
 
 earache. She cried all night with it. A neighbor woman came 
 in and said, T can cure your little girl.' She went home and had 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 243 
 
 her little boy to urinate in a bottle, and then went back and put a 
 few drops in this girl's ear; and it stop aching right away." 
 
 soil. If you have earache, place some urine from a boy on a piece of 
 cotton and put it in your ear. 
 
 5012. Treating an ear with urine will cure deafness. 
 
 ECZEMA-ERYSIPELAS-RASH-SCROFULA 
 SKIN DISEASE-TETTER 
 
 5013. Dry up eczema by washing it with chamomile tea. 
 
 5014. Eczema can be cured by stroking it with the hand of a corpse. 
 
 5015. Get up before sunrise, secure three twigs and rub them over your 
 eczema; and then burn the twigs while saying, "In the Name of 
 the Father, Son and Holy Ghost." Do this for three mornings and 
 the disease will be cured. 
 
 5016. To cure eczema, steam white oak bark and elder bark, and bathe 
 the affected parts with this liquid. 
 
 5017. "This old man said, years ago everyone that had any diseases 
 would go down to this creek (in South Park) and wish it in the 
 creek. He said he knew a woman one day that was well and 
 walked across the bridge that went over that creek and got eczema 
 bad and almost died." 
 
 5018. Put dog waste in a quart of fresh milk and stir and strain through 
 a cloth. Drink this for erysipelas. 
 
 5019. "When I was a girl I had erysipelas bad. My mother took me to 
 an old woman. This woman put me on a long board, made me lie 
 down, then took three long strings, one white, blue, and red, and 
 started at my head and went to my toes with the three strings ; just 
 like she was measuring me. She done this three times at a time 
 and three times a day, and she would powwow all the time. And 
 
 in two days I was well." Pemisylvania, Dutch happened 
 
 sixty years ago. 
 
 5020. "My son never saw his father, so he had the power to cure rash 
 by blowing his breath on any child. People would come for miles 
 for my son to blow his breath on their children when they had 
 the rash." 
 
 5021. "My brother had scrofula bad. His neck was just a fright. My 
 mother took several large balsams and put them in the stove and 
 baked them, then scrape out the inside; and in several days he 
 was all right. We think it was wonderful." 
 
 5022. Boil a burdock root in a gallon of water and drink this tea for 
 scrofula. 
 
244 Memoirs of flic Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 5023. Reduce one ounce of bittersweet and one and a half pints of 
 water to one pint of liquid by boiling. Take two tablespoonfuls 
 three times a day to cure skin eruptions. 
 
 5024. Heal a skin disease by rubbing it with a mixture of butter and 
 sulphur. 
 
 5025. Poke root tea is very good for skin disease. 
 
 5026. Let plantain leaves simmer in butter and then use them as a 
 poultice for tetter. 
 
 EYE TROUBLE-SIGHT-STY 
 
 5027. To cure sore eyes, lay a piece of rotten apple on them overnight. 
 
 5028. Put a piece of raw beef (usually beefsteak) on a black eye to 
 draw out the discoloration. 
 
 5029. If you blacken your finger-nails with blackberries on Friday and 
 wash this off next morning, you will never catch sore eyes from 
 anyone. 
 
 5030. Bathe sore eyes night and morning with chamomile tea. 
 503L Pierced ears will prevent sore eyes. 
 
 5032. Piercing the ears will make the eyes stronger. This will be more 
 effective, if done in childhood. 
 
 5033. To prevent sore eyes, wear earrings. 
 
 5034. Wear earrings and you will not become blind. 
 
 5035. Strengthen a baby's weak eyes by washing them with tea made 
 of elder blossoms. 
 
 5036. "If you have granulated eyelids, take a little Epsom salts every 
 morning in a little water for a whole year and bathe the eyes in 
 it. This will keep the blood cool and will cure the worst cases that 
 doctors can't cure." 
 
 5037. Plucking hairs from the eyebrows will give you weak eyes. 
 
 5038. To remove a particle from the eye, turn back the eyelid and blow 
 the nose. 
 
 5039. When you have a particle in your eye, close the eyehd, blow the 
 nose, and the particle will come out through the nose. 
 
 5040. A particle can be removed from your eye by holding the upper 
 eyelid over the lower eyelid while you count twenty. 
 
 5041. If you get anything in your eye, raise and close the eyelid three 
 times and then blow your nose hard. 
 
 5042. If there is something in your eye, hold one nostril shut and blow 
 your nose. The particle will come out through the open nostril. 
 
 5043. When you have pains in your eyes, rub three fingers over your 
 eyeballs and the pains will leave. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 245 
 
 5044. Place a flaxseed in the eye to remove a particle. 
 
 5045. To cure sore eyes, rub them with the sap taken from grapevines 
 in March. 
 
 5046. Cure sore eyes by rubbing them with sap taken from grapevines 
 when they are cut in the spring. 
 
 5047. "My husband had very sore eyes and could not see. He went to 
 a woman before sunrise and she said, 'In the Name of the Father, 
 
 Son and Holy Ghost make this man's eyes better.' He went 
 
 for three mornings and on the third morning he was well and 
 could see good." 
 
 5048. Ha mother continually points a finger at her baby, it will get 
 cross-eyes. 
 
 5049. Never stand behind a baby, or it will look backwards at you and 
 eventually become cross-eyed. 
 
 5050. Wash a baby's eyes with milk from your breast to cure its sore 
 eyes. 
 
 5051. You will make a baby cross-eyed, if you let it look into a mirror 
 before it is a year old. 
 
 5052. A child will become cross-eyed if you lay it where the moon can 
 shine into its eyes. 
 
 5053. H you look into a mirror that has a wreath around it, you will 
 go blind. 
 
 5054. "A woman had bad eyes. Someone told her to eat an orange every 
 morning and it would help her eye?. She did, and her eyes got 
 well." 
 
 5055. To remove black rings from under your eyes, poultice them with 
 fresh oysters. 
 
 5056. A potato placed on a black eye will draw out the color. 
 
 5057. Pink eye can be cured with a poultice of grated potatoes. 
 
 5058. "A woman had a growth on her eyes and she took a radish and 
 
 said, Tn the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost' and 
 
 rubbed the radish over her growth and it went away." 
 
 5059. "Mrs. B's mother had something growing on her eye and she said 
 it was very painful. It was the size of a pea. And one day some 
 
 old German fellow said, 'Let me see your eye' and he spit 
 
 on his finger and rubbed it across her eye. And the next week he 
 asked her how her eye was getting along, and she said it was still 
 growing and it was still painful. So he spit on his finger and 
 rubbed her eye again. And in another week he came back and 
 asked her the same thing, and it wasn't any better. So he spit on 
 his finger and rubbed her eye the third time. And she didn't 
 notice it, and when he came back to ask her about her eye it was 
 completely gone. She asked him how he did it and he said he just 
 
246 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 used the spit and said nothing. But a man has to use his spit on 
 a woman and a woman has to use her spit on a man, once each 
 week for three weeks." Written contribution. 
 
 5060. As a remedy for sore eyes, rub them with the sahva of a new- 
 born boy. 
 
 5061. Cure diseases of the eye by rubbing them with the saliva of the 
 first-born child on the male side of the family. 
 
 5062. Sore eyes may be cured by bathing them with salt water. 
 
 5063. Use snow water on sore eyes. 
 
 5064. Treat sore eyes with March snow water. 
 
 5065. Water melted from the last snow in March will cure sore eyes. 
 
 5066. If you can see small black spots when your eyes are shut, your 
 sight is failing. 
 
 5067. Your sight is good, if you are able to see small white spots through 
 your closed eyes. 
 
 5068. "If you have sun pains over your eyes, go to a spring and stick 
 your head under the water before sunup. You must do this nine 
 mornings and you will get well. My son had sun pains over his 
 eyes. They would come just before sunup and leave just at sun- 
 down. Someone told him about going to the spring before sunup 
 and sticking his head under the water. So he thought he would 
 try it. And he went there nine mornings just before sunup and 
 put his head under the water and he got well." 
 
 5069. To cure a cold in the eyes, bathe them with hot tea. 
 
 5070. To remove the discoloration from a black eye, poultice it with 
 damp cold tea leaves. 
 
 5071. "If a person has a tusk, some people say that if they have it pulled, 
 it will effect their eyesight." 
 
 5072. "My brother had very bad eyes. Someone told him to wash his 
 eyes with his urine. He did and his eyes got well." 
 
 5073. If a firecracker explodes into your eye, apply a vinegar bandage 
 to remove the gunpowder. 
 
 5074. If an eyelash falls into your eye, you will have a sty. 
 
 5075. When anyone has a sty on his eye, they say he has wetted in an 
 alley. 
 
 5076. While crossing a field, if you stop in the path to urinate, you will 
 get a sty. 
 
 5077. If you stop in the road to defecate, you will have a sty. 
 
 5078. Wet in the road and it will take ofif your sty, and the next person 
 who walks over your urine will catch the sty. 
 
 5079. Rub three beans over your sty and lay them down in the road. 
 The first person who steps over them will take your sty. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 247 
 
 5080. Heat a brass thimble by friction, then rub it over your sty for 
 a cure, 
 
 5081. A sty can be cured by rubbing it with the tail of a black cat. 
 
 5082. You can cure a sty by rubbing it three times with the tip of a 
 
 black cat's tail. "I have had several stys and I always take 
 
 the end of a black cat tail and rub over my sty three times and 
 they always go away." 
 
 5083. To cure a sty, stand at a crossroad and say : 
 
 "Sty, sty, leave my eye, 
 Take the next one passing by." 
 or 
 
 "Sty, sty, leave my eye. 
 Go to the next passer-by." 
 
 5084. Rub a dish rag over a sty, then bury the dish rag and when it rots, 
 the sty will be gone. 
 
 5085. Cure a sty by rubbing it with a dish rag while saying : 
 
 "Sty, sty, leave my eye. 
 
 Catch the first one passing by." 
 Then throw the dish rag over your left shoulder without watching 
 to see where it goes. 
 
 5086. As a remedy for a sty, look through a knot hole in a fence. 
 
 5087. A gold ring rubbed over a sty will drive it away. 
 
 5088. Cure a sty by rubbing it with a gold wedding ring. Sometimes the 
 gold wedding ring is first rubbed on a blanket, or over one's knee, 
 or on a rug to make it hot. 
 
 5089. For taking ofT a sty, rub it with a gold wedding ring that has 
 been blessed. 
 
 5090. To remove a sty, rub it three times with a gold band ring. 
 
 5091. "If you have a sty, take a gold ring and rub it until it gets wami, 
 then rub the ring twice one way and then one time the otlier way 
 over the sty ; and your sty will be gone in the morning." 
 
 5092. Trfeat a sty by rubbing it nine times with a gold ring, each time 
 saying, "Sty, sty, leave my eye." 
 
 5093. "If you have a sty, take a gooseberry brier and rub three times 
 over your sty and it will go away." 
 
 5094. To cure a sty, stick it with a gooseberry bush thorn and then 
 throw the thorn over your left shoulder. 
 
 5095. "If you have a sty, go to a gooseberry bush and pull off nine of 
 those little stickers, and each one point at your sty; then throw 
 them over your right shoulder and your sty will leave." 
 
 5096. As a sty remedy, place on it a piece of brown paper in which meat 
 was wrapped. 
 
248 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 5097. Cure a sty by rubbing it three times with a potato. Then bury the 
 potato. 
 
 5098. A sty can be removed, if it is poulticed with grated potatoes. 
 
 5099. Pick up a rock and rub it over a sty, then put the rock in your 
 pocket ; and when the rock is lost, the sty will go away. 
 
 5100. For a sty, apply a poultice of tea leaves. 
 
 5101. To take off a sty, go to running water, rub some salt over the sty 
 and repeat three times, "Salt disappear like malt on the water." 
 
 FEMALE AILMENTS 
 
 5102. Drink tea made from the bark of a sweet apple tree to prevent 
 miscarriage. 
 
 5103. Menstrual blood is poisonous. 
 
 5104. During the change of life take tea made of chestnut leaves. 
 
 5105. Take a little cinnamon to stop an excessive flow. 
 
 5106. "If a woman eats too much cinnamon or nutmeg while she is 
 unwell, it will dry up her blood." 
 
 5107. "If you burn your menstruation cloth up, you will die; because 
 that will dry your blood up." 
 
 5108. "If you bum up your monthly cloths, you are burning up that 
 much of your life. I knew a girl that always burned her monthly 
 cloths and she got so thin and sick that they had to send for the 
 doctor ; and he told the mother, 'Do you mean to tell me you don't 
 know what is wrong with this girl? Well, she is burning up her 
 cloths every month and she is just burning up her life. If she 
 don't stop, she will die ; and I can't do a thing for her as long as 
 she does'. " 
 
 5109. Drinking tea made from the dried blossoms of white clover will 
 cure whites. 
 
 5110. "My mother always made me pee on red-hot coal whenever I 
 would get any pains in my ovaries. I would have to stand over 
 the bucket and let the steam come up." 
 
 5111. "If you will put a teaspoonful of cream of tartar and one lemon 
 in a half gallon of water and drink, will keep down the swelling 
 in change of life." 
 
 5112. A teaspoonful of cream of tartar and a teaspoonful of vinegar in 
 a quart of water is good for the menopause. 
 
 5113. "If you want a good wash for female trouble, take and make a 
 tea out of white elderberry blossom. It will cure any female 
 trouble." 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 249 
 
 5114. "Take elderberries when ripe and make a tea and give to a woman 
 when flowing and it will stop the flow." 
 
 5115. A tea made from elder blossoms and leaves is good for the 
 climacteric. 
 
 5116. "Take ginger tea and sit over a jar containing hot water; that will 
 bring your monthly sickness." 
 
 5117. "If you have female sickness, dig seven holes in the ground and 
 burn in each of them grapevine not over a year old. Then go and 
 sit down by the first hole with a cup and drink, and so on until 
 you have sit by all seven holes. At the seventh hole say, 'Let 
 me recover'." 
 
 5118. When the menstrual flow is irregular, boil the wood of the red 
 grapevine in red or white wine and drink. 
 
 5119. "If a person doesn't come in her monthly, take gunpowder in 
 broken doses for three mornings, thinking about it all the time; 
 then she will come." 
 
 5120. "You can always tell if a girl is menstruating by feeling the palm 
 of her hand. If the center is very warm and all the rest of her 
 liand cold, that is the sure sign." 
 
 5121. "If you take a cold and want to bring your sickness, make a tea 
 of horehound, sassafras and anise seed and take." 
 
 5122. "If you take a bad cold and your sickness don't come, take five 
 cents worth of juniper berries, five cents worth of senna; put a 
 pint of whiskey over it. Let stand two days. Then take a table- 
 spoonful before each meal. I know a girl that had a very bad cold. 
 Her sickness didn't come for three months. She didn't want to 
 tell her mother. She told me, and I told her about the five cents 
 of juniper berries and five cents of senna, and let it stand for two 
 days and take a tablespoonf ul before each meal ; and she got over 
 her cold." 
 
 5123. "Take the blossoms of a linden tree and make a tea to bring your 
 sickness." 
 
 5124. "Never drink milk during your monthlies, for it will give you 
 cramps." 
 
 5125. "If a girl drinks too much milk while she is menstruating, it will 
 dry up her blood." 
 
 5126. Mistletoe tea is a good remedy for menstruation that has been 
 stopped by a cold. 
 
 5127. "Take a hot mustard foot bath to bring your monthly sickness." 
 
 5128. The inner bark of oak boiled in water will cure whites. 
 
 5129. "If a woman has female weakness, take the tops of three Persian 
 onions. Boil them in wine and let the woman drink, saying, 
 'Recover from thy sickness' and she will recover." 
 
250 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 Sometimes the tops of three (white) onions are used, with or 
 without an incantation. 
 
 5130. A tea made of parsley roots will promote the menstrual flow, 
 
 5131. Pennyroyal tea is a j^ood remedy if menstruation has been stopped 
 by a cold. 
 
 5132. "A woman told me to wear a potato in a sack around my waist for 
 falling of the womb." 
 
 5133. "If a woman has female weakness, let her bathe her lower parts 
 of her body with rose water." 
 
 5134. "Tansy is good to bring on the menstrual flow. Take the tansy 
 and let a little water remain on it for some time, then take a wine 
 glass full." 
 
 5135. "Take turpentine and sugar if you are irregular and it will sure 
 bring you." 
 
 5136. "If a young girl's sickness stops on her from a cold, don't let her 
 eat bread or anything white; let her have everything red to eat, 
 like red onions, red beets, and red tomatoes ; and that will bring 
 her again." 
 
 5137. "Take a handful of caraway seeds and a handful of saffron; boil 
 them together in wine and let a woman that has female weakness 
 drink that. It is very good." 
 
 5138. "Never tell a woman having change of life anything that will 
 worry her or she will brood over it and it will cause her condition 
 to be bad." 
 
 FEVER-MALARIA-MEASLES-SMALLPOX 
 TYPHOID FEVER 
 
 5139. Seeing a caterpillar will give you ague unless you spit. 
 
 5140. If a caterpillar crosses your path, you can prevent fever by spit- 
 ting. 
 
 5141. Spit three times when you see a "fever worm" or you will have 
 fever. 
 
 5142. Kill a caterpillar and you will catch fever before the summer is 
 gone. 
 
 5143. To secure a good remedy for fever or measles, ask for one from 
 a stranger on horseback. If the stranger is riding a white horse, 
 the remedy will be more effective. 
 
 5144. "To keep from having a fever, go and sit on a crossroad; and as 
 soon as you see an ant carrying something in its mouth, get the 
 ant and put it in a copper pan and let it die there, and you will not 
 get the fever." 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 251 
 
 5145. To cure fever, tie one piece of fat bacon on the pulse and another 
 piece on the back of the neck, 
 
 5146. Bind cabbage leaves on your forehead as a fever remedy. 
 
 5147. Cut the ear of a cat and let three drops of blood fall into some 
 brandy, then add a little pepper; and have a patient drink this 
 for fever, 
 
 5148. "My daughter had a very high fever and one day someone told 
 me about bathing her in cockleburs. So I went out in the woods 
 and got a handful and mashed them, and made a tea and started 
 to bathing her. That night when the doctor came he took me out 
 in the kitchen and said, 'What have you done to your daughter? 
 She is so much better tonight. Her fever is going down.' Then 
 I told him I had been bathing her all day with the cockleburs. 
 The doctor said, 'Keep it up, for she sure is better.' And in a 
 few days she was all right." 
 
 5149. To prevent fever in a baby with a coated tongue, wipe off the 
 tongue with the diaper that the baby has been wearing. 
 
 5150. Dog fennel tea is good for fever and measles. 
 
 5151. "If one is sick with a burning fever, take a knife made all of 
 iron and go to a thorn bush and tie one of their hairs to the knife ; 
 then tie the knife to the thorn bush, after making a notch in the 
 bush. You must go back the second morning and make another 
 notch; then the third morning cut the thorn bush off at the 
 ground saying, 'O thorn bush, O thorn bush, I trust in thee that 
 they will get well'." 
 
 5152. Sweeten strong mullein tea and take for fever. 
 
 5153. Fever can be cured by poulticing the bottom of each foot with 
 chopped onions and salt. 
 
 5154. If a person has fever, place an onion under his bed and the fever 
 will go into the onion. 
 
 5155. "My husband was very sick with malaria fever and I did not have 
 any onion in the house, so I took two large potatoes and cut them 
 in halves and put them under the bed. His fever left and went 
 into the potatoes and he got well." 
 
 5156. Peppermint tea is an excellent remedy for fever and chills. 
 
 5157. For fever let the patient drink tea made of sheep droppings. This 
 is also used to make measles break out. The tea is usually 
 sweetened. 
 
 5158. To cure or to prevent fever, put a (new) silver coin and a priece 
 of salt of equal weight in a sack and carry it hanging over the 
 heart. 
 
 5159. Tying a snake skin around your head will cure fever, "Years 
 
252 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 ago my mother always kept a snake hide in the house to tie around 
 our heads, if we got the fever." 
 
 5160. For fever, a good remedy is to drink slippery elm tea. 
 
 5161. "If a baby has high fever, take and put two tablespoonfuls of 
 soda in a pint of hot water and take rags and wet them good and 
 tie them around each foot and each ankle and each wrist and 
 around their head; and when the rags get dry, wet them again. 
 This will break the fever. Three weeks ago Mrs. C's baby was 
 very sick with high fever, she done this, and broke the fever. 
 When the doctor came he wanted to know what she done, and 
 she would not tell him, afrai(d he would laugh. But some old 
 woman told her this." 
 
 5162. Drink sauerkraut juice as a cure for intermittent fever. 
 
 5163. Use tansy leaf tea for fever. 
 
 5164. "If you have a high fever and are past twenty years old, take and 
 put eight drops of turpentine on one half teaspoonful of sugar 
 and take that for three mornings. If it is a baby or small child, 
 only use two drops of turpentine." 
 
 5165. As a remedy for fever, place a bowl of water under the head of 
 the patient's bed ; or put a pan of water beneath the bed. 
 
 5166. A person who has had malaria will have it every seven years. 
 
 5167. Buttermilk is good for malaria. 
 
 5168. Take tea made from the bark of a horse-chestnut tree and it will 
 cure malaria. 
 
 5169. For malaria, administer walnut leaf tea. 
 
 5170. Measles will kill you, if they do not break out. 
 
 5171. If a person has measles during apple blossom time, he will not 
 have them so badly. 
 
 5172. Wear a piece of asafetida round your neck and you will not catch 
 measles. 
 
 5173. To cure measles, drink tea made from bark taken off the north 
 side of a cherry tree. 
 
 5174. When trying to force measles to break out, if you begin with cold 
 drinks, you must continue them. 
 
 5175. If you attempt to bring out measles and start by using hot drinks, 
 they must be continued. 
 
 5176. As a measles cure, drink tea made of dandelion petals. 
 
 5177. Hot tea from elder blossoms will make measles break out and 
 check the fever. 
 
 5178. Measles may be cured by drinking a tea made from the white part 
 of chicken dung. 
 
 5179. To make measles break out, bathe the patient in hot ground 
 mustard water. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 253 
 
 5180. Take saffron tea to bring out measles. 
 
 5181. When a baby has measles, he will become well if rubbed with his 
 wet diaper, 
 
 5182. Eat lettuce to prevent smallpox. 
 
 5183. A person who has had smallpox will never have tuberculosis. 
 
 5184. *Tf you have typhoid fever, kill two chickens and put each foot 
 in a chicken while it is still warm, don't take anything out of the 
 chickens, and it will draw all the fever into the chickens." 
 
 5185. "In the last stages of typhoid, put cotton socks on their feet and 
 fill the socks full of corn meal. Put in all the socks will hold, then 
 soak feet, socks and all in apple vinegar; and it will cure nine 
 times out of ten." 
 
 5186. Drink goat milk three times a day for typhoid fever. 
 
 5187. If a person has typhoid fever and his hair comes out, his new 
 hair will come in curly. 
 
 5188. Sliced onions placed in the room of a typhoid fever patient will 
 suck up the poisonous odors. The onions will turn black. 
 
 5189. "My daughter was real sick with typhoid fever. The doctor told 
 us she was going to die, that he could not do anything more for 
 her. A neighbor told me, if I would get apple vinegar and bathe 
 her, it would help. So after the doctor left, I sent my other girl 
 to the store to get some apple vinegar, and started to bathing her 
 all over, and kept it up. When I started to bathing her, she was 
 so weak she didn't know us, and the second day she started to 
 knowing us. And I got her well after the doctor said she would 
 die. And apple vinegar was what save her." 
 
 FOOT AND HAND TROUBLES 
 
 5190. Bathe your hands with the first snow to prevent them from chapn 
 ping during the winter. 
 
 5191. Hands should be bathed in March snow water and they will 
 not chap. 
 
 5192. Treat chapped hands by washing them with your own urine. 
 
 5193. "If you have cramp in the bottom of your feet, put a board in 
 the bed and put the bottom of your feet against it, and the cramp 
 will leave. I knew a woman that was pregnant. She could not 
 sleep at night. She would have such pains in the bottom of her 
 feet. Someone told her about the board and she had her husband 
 to get a board and put it in bed. And after that she kept her feet 
 on that board and she could sleep fine. Had no more cramp," 
 
254 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 5194. When the muscles of your legs contract and become knotted, drink 
 buckeye tea for a cure. 
 
 5195. Tie a candlewick around the leg just below the knee to prevent 
 cramps. 
 
 5196. Wear a copper wire bracelet for cramps in the arm. 
 
 5197. Stop a cramp in your leg by crossing the other leg over the leg 
 that pains. 
 
 5198. To cure swollen legs, rub mustard seed over them and wet the 
 seeds with the water in which the legs have been washed. Then 
 tie the seeds in a bag and bury it in the ground. 
 
 5199. You will never have cramps in your legs, if you keep red pepper 
 in your shoes. 
 
 5200. Wrap plantain leaves about swollen legs to take out the soreness. 
 
 5201. To cure cramps in the legs, wear a wide rubber band just above 
 the knee. In addition you must keep a dime under the rubber 
 band. 
 
 5202. "When I have cramps in my arms, and I have them a lot, I only 
 make a cross on my arm, then spit on it, and they will go away." 
 
 5203. If you have cramps in the legs, spit on your linger, then make 
 the sign of the cross on the bottom of your feet; and the cramps 
 will leave. 
 
 5204. Keep a pair of pointed scissors under your pillow or in the bed 
 to prevent cramps. 
 
 5205. Treat cramps in the legs by placing your shoes beneath the bed 
 so that the toes point outward. 
 
 5206. Lay your shoes under the bed, with the toes pointing inward, and 
 you will not have cramps in your legs. 
 
 5207. If you have cramps in your legs after going to bed, get up and 
 place your shoes upside down beneath the bed. 
 
 5208. Your legs will be free from cramps at night, if you set your 
 shoes crossing each other under the bed. 
 
 5209. To secure relief from cramps in the legs, keep your shoes crossed 
 and upside down beneath the bed. 
 
 5210. "I keep a soda bottle in my bed all the time, so if I get a cramp 
 in my feet or legs I can stand on it. I know this is so, because I 
 have tried it. Just as soon as I stand on the soda bottle my cramps 
 
 leave." The following remedy is also used: "If you take a 
 
 cramp in the leg or foot, place a round object like a broom handle 
 on the floor and place the ball of your foot on it and press hard ; 
 the cramp will leave." 
 
 5211. Put your socks in your shoes, then turn the latter upside down 
 and lay them under your bed each night for nine nights. This will 
 cure cramps in your legs. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 255 
 
 5212. Sleep with your socks on and you will never have cramps in 
 your feet. 
 
 5213. Hang your stockings up by the toes at night to prevent cramps 
 in your legs. 
 
 5214. Tie string on your ankle for cramps in the legs. 
 
 5215. "When I have cramps in my legs, I always take strings and wind 
 them around my legs to stop the cramps." 
 
 5216. As a cure for cramps in your legs, wear red string about the legs. 
 
 5217. Bind a cotton string on your leg just below the knee to stop 
 cramps in the legs. 
 
 5218. If your leg hurts, wrap a string around it just above the knee. 
 
 5219. If you carry sulphur in your pocket, you will not have cramps in 
 your arms or legs. 
 
 5220. Lay a small bag of sulphur at the foot of the bed to keep your 
 feet from cramping. 
 
 5221. Place a bowl of water under your bed at night as a remedy for 
 cramps in the feet. 
 
 5222. For cramps in the legs, arms or any part of the body, wrap the 
 afifected part around and around with yam at night ; and the pain 
 will be gone by morning. 
 
 5223. Walk around the house every morning barefoot in the snow 
 and your feet will never become cold or frozen. 
 
 5224. To cure frostbitten feet, burn to ashes a white woolen cloth that 
 has never been used and rub these ashes over the feet. 
 
 5225. A frostbite can be cured, if it is rubbed with stale beer. 
 
 5226. Use coal oil on frozen feet as a remedy. 
 
 5227. Treat frostbitten feet or chilblain with an application of cow 
 manure. 
 
 5228. As a cure for frozen feet, rub them with onion juice. 
 
 5229. Rubbing frostbitten feet with tallow will cure them. 
 
 5230. For frozen hands or feet, apply twice daily for several days a 
 mixture of turpentine and salt. 
 
 5231. Hold frostbitten feet in scalding water to cure them. 
 
 5232. "If you freeze your feet or hands, place them in cold water to 
 draw out the frost." 
 
 5233. When you have aching feet, sit with them stuck in wet clay to 
 remove the pain. 
 
 5234. Bathe sore feet with three tablespoon fuls of coal oil in a pan of 
 hot water. 
 
 5235. Tired feet should be bathed in a pan of hot water containing a 
 tablespoonful of coal oil and a little Epsom salts. 
 
 5236. To cure sore feet, walk barefoot in the early morning dew. 
 
256 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 5237. For sore and swollen feet, bathe them with a mixture of elder 
 bark and salt. 
 
 5238. Get up before sunrise on Good Friday, run up and down the road 
 barefoot, and you will not have sore feet all year. 
 
 5239. "I had a swelling- in my foot. It was twice the size it should be. 
 My father took me to a man and he spoke over it saying, 'In the 
 Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost.' He said that three 
 times, and my father had to take me three mornings. And I 
 got well." 
 
 5240. Boil a bunch of mullein leaves and some salt in a half gallon of 
 vinegar, and bathe swollen feet with this. A similar remedy : Boil 
 two tablespoonf uls of salt and a bunch of mullein leaves in a half 
 pint of vinegar and a gallon of water. 
 
 5241. White oak bark in hot water makes a good bath for sore feet. 
 
 5242. Treat swollen feet by bathing them with the water in which 
 potatoes have been cooked. 
 
 5243. Soak sore and tender or swollen feet in hot salt water. 
 
 5244. If your feet hurt, or a corn aches, remove your shoes and place 
 them so that the toes point under the bed. 
 
 5245. For swollen feet, bathe them in a half gallon of vinegar to which 
 a tablespoonful of baking soda has been added. 
 
 5246. Cure sore feet by wearing insoles of zinc in your shoes. 
 
 5247. Sprinkle powdered alum in your shoes to keep your feet from 
 sweating. 
 
 5248. If you get up before sunrise on the 1st of May and walk barefoot 
 in the dew, it will prevent sw^eaty feet. 
 
 5249. To keep feet from sweating, wash them with your own urine. 
 
 5250. When a person has stepped on a nail, slice beets and apply them to 
 the wound. This will draw out any infection. 
 
 5251. If you run a rusty nail into your foot, pull it out and burn it up 
 immediately; and you will not have blood poisoning. 
 
 5252. As soon as possible after stepping on a nail, put the foot in a 
 bucketful of fresh cow manure. 
 
 5253. A nail wound in your foot will heal quickly, if you grease the 
 nail and carry it in your pocket. 
 
 5254. To avert blood poisoning, after a nail has pierced your foot, grease 
 the nail and put it on a high shelf. 
 
 5255. If you tread on a rusty nail, extract it and place it in your pocket ; 
 and your foot will not become infected. Never put the nail as 
 high as your head, or you will then have blood poisoning. 
 
 5256. Grease the nail or tack that you have removed from your foot and 
 place it higher than your head near the door to avoid infection. 
 
Folk-Lorc from Adams County Illinois 257 
 
 5257. To prevent lockjaw or blood poisoning, when you have stepped on 
 a nail, grease the nail and drive it into the ground. 
 
 5258. A wound caused by running a rusty nail into your foot will heal 
 rapidly, if you bury the nail in the ground, 
 
 5259. If you step on a rusty nail, drive it into the ground up to its head 
 to make the swelling go down. 
 
 5260. A nail wound will not become sore, if the nail is hidden where it 
 cannot be found. 
 
 5261. "Keep a piece of fat hanging in the barn so if the horses or anyone 
 step on a nail, you can pull the nail out and go and stick it in that 
 fat, and it will never hurt whatever steps on a nail. My father, 
 when I was young, kept a piece of fat hanging up in the barn; 
 and whenever we children or the horses step on a nail, he would 
 stick it in that fat and leave the nail in it. That old piece of fat 
 was just full of nails and tacks, but we never had a sore foot." 
 
 5262. "I was harrowing the ground years ago and one morning stepped 
 on a harrow tooth. My mother went and mashed up some live- 
 forever leaves and put a piece of bacon with it and made a poultice 
 of it, and put on the bottom of my foot and I didn't have any 
 trouble." 
 
 5263. "If you run a nail in your foot, light a woolen sock and put it in 
 a bucket to bum, then hold your foot over that bucket with a 
 woolen cloth over the bucket and your foot, and the steam from 
 that woolen sock will take out all the poison in your foot." 
 
 5264. P^in can be removed from a nail wound in the foot by smoking it 
 for fifteen minutes over the fumes of a burning woolen cloth. 
 
 5265. To prevent an infection in your foot, put a chew of tobacco over 
 the wound caused by treading on a rusty nail. 
 
 5266. If you step on a rusty nail, apply to the wound a piece of bacon 
 that has been soaked in turpentine. 
 
 5267. "A lady today told me that she is sixty-four years old and when 
 she was five, she fell down and hurt her leg. Several doctors have 
 wanted to take her leg off, but she would not let them. One doctor 
 gave her up fifteen years ago, when this old German woman told 
 her about the raw turnips and rye flour poultice, and she has been 
 using it now for fifteen years. Her leg still hurts, but the poultice 
 keeps the swelling and poison out." Written contribution. 
 
 5268. Bum a "soup bone" and put the ashes on an "open leg" as a 
 remedy. 
 
 5269. "Mrs. J. had an uncle in the Civil War who was wounded in battle 
 and had lost the use of one of his legs. An Indian doctor, who 
 came through town, gave him a recipe as follows: Fry onions in 
 
258 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 new butter without salt, or in fresh lard, and rub the affected part. 
 His leg healed quickly." 
 
 5270. To cure an ingrowing toe-nail, lift up the corner of the nail and 
 let the tallow from a lighted candle drip on it. 
 
 5271. "It will amuse you to hear that my brother Walter, fourteen at 
 the time, just then made a great slash in his leg with his new 
 Christmas pocketknife. In the excitement the knife disappeared 
 and was not found for months. It at last turned up swathed in 
 grease and rags, where it had been hidden by our faithful colored 
 maid, who did not intend that her favorite Walter should be 
 endangered in life and limb by any foolish negligence of his 
 family." Written contribution. 
 
 GOITRE AND MUMPS 
 
 5272. If you strain your neck, you will get a goitre. 
 
 5273. Goitre may be cured by keeping a necklace of amber beads around 
 the neck. 
 
 5274. "I had a very bad goitre. It hung way down over my breast. And 
 that was all I did, was to take nine different kind of bean leaves 
 and put them on a cloth, so the smooth side of the bean leaves 
 would be next to my goitre, and put it around my neck; and it 
 cured me. You can see for yourself it is gone." 
 
 5275. Wear a necklace of black beads and when the supporting string 
 rots, the goitre will disappear. 
 
 5276. Cure a goitre by wearing a necklace of coral beads. 
 
 5277. As a remedy for goitre, stroke it with the hand of a corpse. 
 
 5278. "My brother saw a little girl fourteen years old with a bad goitre. 
 She went to where a dead person was laid out, and this girl took 
 the dead person's hand and rubbed it over her goitre three times, 
 and lay the dead hand back in the same position that it was in; 
 and in a year my brother met this girl and her goitre was gone." 
 
 5279. "If you have a goitre, you should go to a corpse, and if your 
 goitre is on the left side, take the dead person's left hand and rub 
 over your goitre on the left side; and if on the right side, take the 
 dead person's right hand and rub on the right side. Never only 
 take one hand and rub all around your neck. My sister had a bad 
 goitre and when our mother died, she took her left hand and 
 rubbed it all over her left side ; and her goitre got well on the left 
 side and never did get well on the right side." 
 
 5280. To cure your goitre, kneel down near a dead person and pray. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 259 
 
 asking- the Lord to have the corpse take it away. After burial, as 
 the body decays, in Hke manner will your goitre gradually fade 
 away. 
 
 5281. Rub a (greasy) dish rag over a goitre, then bury the dish rag; 
 and when it rots, the goitre will vanish. 
 
 5282. Drop a live frog into a skillet of hot lard and let it fry until dead, 
 then spread this grease over a goitre and it will go away. 
 
 5283. Rub the belly of a live frog on your goitre three times and throw 
 the frog over your left shoulder. Your goitre will disappear and 
 the frog will die. 
 
 5284. Wear a gold bead necklace to cure or prevent goitre. 
 
 5285. For goitre, keep a bag containing hops about your neck. 
 
 5286. To keep from having a goitre, wear a necklace of Job's tears on 
 the neck. 
 
 5287. A necklace of red beads worn around the neck will cure goitre. 
 
 5288. "My sister had a large wen (this cure is also used for goitre) on 
 the back of her head and it went away without her having a 
 doctor. I just know she took a potato and rubbed over her wen. 
 I would beg and beg her to tell me how she lost her wen, but she 
 would not tell me. I guess she was afraid to tell me. She was 
 afraid it would come back. She was always telling me to cut a 
 potato in three pieces and rub over my goitre. So one day I did, 
 and took the pieces way out in the country and buried them right 
 up against a tree, so no one could walk over it. And when I buried 
 them, I said, 'In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost.' 
 I didn't wait long enough to see if my goitre went away without 
 the doctor, for I had a very bad goitre. One night I almost choked 
 to death and they took me right to the hospital. I know the potato 
 would of helped me, if I had of rubbed it on sooner." 
 
 5289. Keep a wide silk band about the neck to cure goitre. "I know 
 
 this will cure it, for I had a goitre and I put a wide silk piece 
 around my neck and it left." 
 
 5290. You will never get a goitre, if you wear a black silk ribbon on 
 your neck. 
 
 5291. "A man's sister had a goitre. He went and killed a black snake, 
 cut its head right off and tied a string around the snake's neck; 
 then wrapped that snake around his sister's neck three times, then 
 took it off and wrapped it around again three times, then again 
 three times. This last time he let it stay on his sister's neck until 
 she started to getting blue in the face; then took it off, and the 
 goitre went away." 
 
 5292. "H you have a goitre and everything fails, get tin foil and wrap 
 around your neck and leave it there until the goitre disappears. 
 
260 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 My cousin had a goitre and nothing would help. One day some- 
 one told her about the tin foil and she tried it, and her goitre 
 disappeared." 
 
 5293. Rubbing a toad over a goitre will cure it. 
 
 5294. You can cure a goitre by keeping a toad around your neck. 
 
 5295. The following remedy comes from an old witch doctor who used 
 to sell it for five dollars: "Take a cup of sugar and a pint of 
 water and let that come to a boil, then let that come to lukewarm. 
 Buy an ounce of iodine and put three fourths of the ounce in this 
 syrup. Then take the other one fourth of iodine and put that in 
 a ten cent bottle of vaseline, and stir the iodine in the vaseline 
 good; that is the salve to rub on the outside of the goitre. And 
 the syrup is to take. Take a teaspoonful before each meal and 
 one before going to bed." 
 
 5296. "If a woman gets the mumps and they go down on her, she won't 
 be able to have any children." 
 
 5297. To prevent mumps from "going down" or "falling on" a person, 
 tie a string around the patient's waist. 
 
 5298. Put bacon on mumps to remove the soreness. 
 
 5299. Pain in mumps can be relieved by drinking hot catnip tea. 
 
 5300. Drink tea made of dog fennel leaves for mumps. 
 
 5301. "Years ago I took mumps in the morning. My mother took me 
 out to the hog trough, rubbed my neck over the hog trough, just 
 got my neck full of that old green slime. I was well by night." 
 
 5302. "If you have the mumps, go to a hog trough where the hogs have 
 rubbed and rub where your mumps are three times. They will go 
 away." 
 
 GOUT-NEURALGIA-NEURITIS-RHEUMATISM 
 
 5303. Place an ant hill in a bag and cook it and use as a poultice for 
 gout. 
 
 5304. Poultice gout with a mixture of goat milk butter and cow manure. 
 
 5305. Cut your finger-nails and toe-nails on Friday and you will not get 
 neuralgia. 
 
 5306. As a remedy for neuralgia, put horse-radish leaves on the stove 
 until they wilt, then apply these leaves to the aching place and 
 the pain will stop. 
 
 5307. To cure neuralgia, rub the affected parts with a lemon. 
 
 5308. Wear a nutmeg around your neck and you will never have neu- 
 ralgia. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 261 
 
 5309. Neuralgia may be cured, if a nutmeg attached to a red string is 
 worn on the neck. 
 
 5310. "Green rye tea will cure neuralgia, or kidney trouble. I always 
 keep rye growing in my yard and if I get sick with my kidneys 
 or feel neuralgia coming on, I always make tea out of the green 
 rye and take it." 
 
 5311. "Years ago Mrs. D. had a bad case of neuralgia. A traveling-man 
 told her husband that she should always put on her left stocking 
 and left shoe first. She did and her neuralgia left and has never 
 returned. Even today when she goes to buy a new pair of shoes, 
 she makes the clerk put on the left shoe first, because she is afraid 
 the neuralgia might come back." 
 
 5312. Smoke dried sumac berries in a clay pipe to cure neuralgia. 
 
 5313. For neuritis, keep a bag of alum in the bed. 
 
 5314. Fill a "soda bottle" wuth coal oil and a dime's worth of camphor. 
 Use this liniment for neuritis. 
 
 5315. To prevent neuritis, remove the "hearing bone" from the head 
 of a hog and wear it around your neck. 
 
 5316. Carry a piece of alimi to cure or to prevent rheumatism. 
 
 5317. Rheumatism can be cured by sleeping on a sock that contains 
 powdered alum. 
 
 5318. A bee sting will cure rheumatism. 
 
 5319. Cure rheumatism by wearing a brass ring. Some say that you 
 must not wear a gold ring at the same time. 
 
 5320. Keep a brass ring on the middle finger of the left hand to ward 
 ofif rheumatism. 
 
 5321. Rheumatism may be prevented by carrying a buckeye in your 
 pocket. 
 
 5322. Treat rheumatism by drinking buckeye tea. This will either kill 
 or cure you. 
 
 5323. Render a buzzard into grease and use this for rheumatism. 
 
 5324. "I will never have the rheumatism, because every night when I 
 go to bed, I tie a bag of camphor under each knee to keep from 
 having it." 
 
 5325. Each night sleep with your feet against a cat and your rheumatism 
 will go into the cat. 
 
 5326. The following is said to be an Indian remedy for rheumatism : 
 Boil three bunches of celery in two gallons of water until you 
 have one gallon of liquid. Drink three glassfuls a day. 
 
 5327. After killing a chicken, and while it is dying, if you hold it by the 
 feet with its head hanging down, you will get rheumatism. 
 
 5328. "Take a chicken and cut it in two and leave all the entrails in, and 
 put your foot right in the chicken and it will take all the rheu- 
 
262 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 matism you have in your body. The poison will go into the 
 chicken." 
 
 5329. Drink hard cider for rheumatism. 
 
 5330. To cure rheumatism, put a copper band on the affected place. 
 
 5331. A good remedy for rheumatism is to wear a copper wire round 
 your right wrist. 
 
 5332. Make two bracelets of fine copper wire and wear one of them on 
 the ankle and the other about the wrist to cure rheumatisui. 
 
 5333. If you keep a piece of copper in your pocket, you will never have 
 rheumatism. A negro said the rheumatism goes into the coj^per 
 and turns it black. 
 
 5334. Sleep with a dog to cure rheumatism. The dog will absorb the 
 disease and become crippled. 
 
 5335. Put dog fennel blossoms in a bottle and then fill it with coal oil. 
 Let this stand until autumn and you will then have an excellent 
 liniment for rheumatism. 
 
 5336. The rheumatic parts of your body can be cured by wrapping an 
 eelskin around them. 
 
 5337. Wear elder leaves in your shoes to ward off rheumatism. 
 
 5338. To cure any rheumatic part of your body, keep a piece of elk skin 
 on it. 
 
 5339. A piece of red flannel worn about the wrist will cure rheumatism. 
 
 5340. "I always take a strip of red flannel about three inches wide and 
 wrap around my legs for the rheumatism." 
 
 5341. Wear a red flannel string around the knee to prevent rheumatism. 
 
 5342. Rheumatism may be cured by alternately drinking three cupfuls 
 of garlic tea daily for three days and then eating a garlic a day 
 for five days. 
 
 5343. To throw the cuttings from your hair on the floor will make your 
 bones crack and give you rheumatism. 
 
 5344. You must always burn your hair clippings or you will get rheu- 
 matism. 
 
 5345. "Take ten cents worth of hartshorn and four eggs, and break one 
 tgg with just a little hole in the corner so the egg will come out; 
 then fill the tgg shell full four times with salt, four times with 
 vinegar, four times with turpentine ; then beat it all up good and 
 put in a bottle and rub it on for rheumatism." 
 
 5346. As a remedy for rheumatism, take a hot bath in water to which 
 hayseed has been added. 
 
 5347. Bend a horseshoe nail into a ring and wear it on your little finger 
 for rheumatism. 
 
 5348. Keep an Indian turnip in your pocket as a preventive against 
 rheumatism. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 263 
 
 5349. To prevent or cure rheumatism, eat a lemon with salt every morn- 
 ing before breakfast. 
 
 5350. Eat a lemon every morning one hour before breakfast until you 
 have consumed sixty-two lemons, and you will never have rheu- 
 matism. 
 
 5351. Place two tablespoonfuls of Epsom salts, the juice of two lemons, 
 and a quart of rain water in a bottle and shake well. Take a tea- 
 spoonful night and morning for rheumatism. 
 
 5352. "Aly daughter had rheumatism bad. She could not even sit up. 
 We had several different doctors. They could not do her any 
 good. One day I had a new man friend to come to the house and 
 he said, 'What is wrong with your daughter ?' I told him she had 
 rheumatism, that she had not been out of the bed for weeks. This 
 friend said, T will have your daughter out in a week.' I said, 
 'What is the matter with you? I have had two doctors and they 
 
 can't get her out.' 'Well I will show you I can.' He was 
 
 working on a farm. In several days he came to my house and 
 brought me some May apple roots and told me to make the tea. 
 I thought it would do no harm, because I had tried everything 
 else and I did want to get her out of bed, because she had three 
 little children. So I took the roots and made a tea and strained 
 them, gave her a tablespoonful every two hours. The second day 
 she was sitting up in bed and just as he said, she was on her feet 
 working around the house in a week time. It was just wonderful 
 how soon she got well over taking that May apple roots tea, when 
 the doctors could not help her." 
 
 5353. Boil mullein leaves in vinegar and use as a poultice for rheu- 
 matism. 
 
 5354. You will get rid of rheumatism, if you keep a nutmeg in your 
 pocket. 
 
 5355. For rheumatism, drink red oak bark tea. 
 
 5356. Treat any rheumatic condition by rubbing the afflicted part with 
 oil origanum. 
 
 5357. Use a poultice of peach tree leaves for rheumatism. 
 
 5358. As a cure for rheumatism, carry a penny in your pocket. 
 
 5359. Rheumatism will be cured or prevented, if a penny is worn in 
 each shoe. 
 
 5360. To treat rheumatism, make a liniment by putting red pepper in a 
 bottle and then fiUing it with coal oil. 
 
 5361. Juice from pressed peppermint leaves mixed with yellow clay will 
 make an excellent poultice for rheumatism. 
 
 5362. Eat uncooked pokeberries for rheumatism. 
 
264 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 5363. Rheumatism may be treated by drinking a tea made of dried 
 pokeberries. 
 
 5364. For rheumatism, drink a tea made from poke roots. 
 
 5365. Tea from poke leaves and stems is good for rheumatism. 
 
 5366. "Take two tablespoonfuls of pokeberries and place in one quart 
 of whiskey. Let it stand for twenty-four hours before using. 
 Take one tablespoonful three times a day and it will cure rheu- 
 matism." 
 
 5367. "I had rheumatism bad in my arm. I could not raise my ami up. 
 I went out in the wood and got some pokeberries and put in a 
 pint of whiskey and let it stand nine days, then took a table- 
 spoonful night and morning; and when the pint was gone, the 
 pain was gone. I think it is very good for rheumatism." 
 
 5368. "Take twenty-five cents worth of potassium and a pint bottle full 
 of water and take for rheumatism. Take one tablespoonful before 
 each meal." 
 
 5369. Just as soon as you put a peeled potato in your pocket, your rheu- 
 matism will begin to disappear; and by the time the potato drys 
 up, the rheumatism will be gone. 
 
 5370. Carry a potato in your pocket: If the potato rots, your rheu- 
 matism will leave; but if the potato becomes hard, the remedy will 
 be ineffective. 
 
 5371. Keep three small potatoes in your pocket for rheumatism. 
 
 5372. Cut a potato in two and wear a half on each knee for a rheu- 
 matism remedy. 
 
 5373. Spit on a rock for three mornings, then hide the rock under your 
 front porch and forget about it; and this will cure your rheu- 
 matism. 
 
 5374. Cure rheumatism by keeping salt in your shoes. 
 
 5375. Skunk oil rubbed over any rheumatic part of the body v/ill cure it. 
 
 5376. Last spring a man said that he was watching for the appearance 
 of the first black snake so that he could kill it and wear the skin 
 to cure his rheumatism. He does this each year. 
 
 5377. Wear rattlesnake rattles in your hatband to prevent rheumatism. 
 
 5378. For a rheumatism cure, keep a teaspoonful of sulphur in each 
 shoe. One negro explained that the sulphur will go up through 
 your system. 
 
 5379. A tea made from the innermost bark of a sycamore tree will cure 
 rheumatism. 
 
 5380. "The nurse at E. told me today that she went to see a very old 
 negro woman who had a severe case of rheumatism. This old 
 negress said to the nurse, Tf I could only get a thunderbolt, I sure 
 would get well.' The nurse asked, 'What is a thunderbolt?' The 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 265 
 
 old negress explained that they are found under the trees after a 
 big thunderstorm." 
 
 5381. Rheumatism can be cured by rubbing the ailing parts with the 
 "gold meat" (yellow meat) of a turtle. 
 
 5382. When you wash your hands and face in the morning, dry your 
 hands first and you will never have rheumatism. 
 
 5383. To cure rheumatism, swallow four or five times daily a capsule 
 containing five drops of wintergreen; and at the same time, rub 
 the affected parts with wintergreen. 
 
 5384. Mash up angleworms (also called "earthworms" , "fishing-worms" 
 and "red-ivorms") or let them decompose in the sun, and use this 
 oil for rubbing rheumatic parts. 
 
 HEADACHE 
 
 5385. Carry a buckeye in your pocket to prevent headache. 
 
 5386. Headache may be cured by drinking tea made of the butterfly 
 bush. 
 
 5387. To treat headache, put cabbage leaves on the forehead. 
 
 5388. Drink catnip tea for headache. 
 
 5389. Cure a headache immediately by snuffing carrot juice. 
 
 5390. You will have headaches throughout the year, if you cut your 
 hair in March. 
 
 5391. Keep your combings in a dark place or you will get a headache. 
 
 5392. To cure headache, hide your combings under a rock or where they 
 will not be found. 
 
 53(93. Always bury your hair cuttings and you will never have a head- 
 ache. 
 
 5394. If a bird picks up your combings and makes a nest of them, it 
 will give you a headache. 
 
 5395. When a bird builds a nest of your combings, you will suffer with 
 headaches until the nest is destroyed. 
 
 5396. If birds find your combings, you will have headaches the rest of 
 your life. 
 
 5397. To sit in the house with your hat on will cause a headache. 
 
 5398. For headache, poultice the forehead with hops boiled in water. 
 
 5399. As a headache remedy, put crushed horse-radish leaves on the 
 forehead. 
 
 5400. Lay mashed horse-radish leaves on the back of the neck to cure a 
 headache. 
 
266 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 5401. You can get rid of a headache, if you dip bruised horse-radish 
 leaves into vinegar and bandage them around the forehead. 
 
 5402. Wear a match in your hair to prevent headache. 
 
 5403. Soak brown paper in vinegar and bind it about the forehead for 
 headache. 
 
 5404. Headache can be cured by carrying a potato in your pocket until 
 it withers. 
 
 5405. The following prayer will cure headache or backache: "Lord of 
 the world may it please thee to be my physician and helper. Heal 
 me and relieve me from my severe headache and backache, because 
 I can find help only with thee, and only with thee is counsel and 
 action to be found. Amen." Written contribution. 
 
 5406. Tie a cold cloth around the head to cure headache. 
 
 5407. Keep rattlesnake rattlers in your hatband to ward off headaches. 
 
 5408. Putting on your left shoe first will give you a headache. 
 
 5409. To be free from headaches, wash your head with snow water on 
 Good Friday. 
 
 5410. "One day I was working out in a field and I said to a man, *I 
 have such a bad headache. I wish I had some medicine.' He said, 
 'Take your fingers and rub under your arms real hard, then smell 
 them.' I did and my headache went right away." 
 
 5411. Ha boiling teakettle is kept in the room, you will not get a 
 headache. 
 
 5412. Rid yourself of headaches by wearing one of your pulled teeth 
 around your neck. 
 
 5413. If a woman has a headache, put a live toad in a piece of white 
 linen and tie it on her head; and she will never have a headache 
 again. 
 
 5414. Cure a headache by drinking a large quantity of hot water. 
 
 5415. Black pepper and a few drops of vinegar taken in hot water will 
 cure a headache. 
 
 5416. Put your legs up to the knees in a tub of hot water containing a 
 handful of mustard and your headache will leave almost im- 
 mediately. 
 
 HICCOUGH 
 
 5417. If a person has hiccough, he has told a lie. 
 
 5418. Having hiccough means that someone is talking about you. 
 
 5419. Stop a person's hiccough by making him angry. 
 
 5420. Lie on your back and stretch your arms straight up in the air to 
 cure hiccough. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 267 
 
 5421. Treat hiccough by taking a slow deep breath and holding it as 
 long as possible. 
 
 5422. To get rid of hiccough, hold your breath while counting nine. 
 
 5423. As a remedy for hiccough, take teaspoonful doses of tea made 
 from the dill plant. 
 
 5424. Hiccough can be cured by placing your two little fingers in your 
 ears and holding your breath. 
 
 5425. Put the ends of your thumbs behind your ears and press them in 
 tightly to stop hiccough. 
 
 5426. To cure hiccough, hold both ears tightly closed and let someone 
 give you a drink of water. 
 
 5427. For hiccough, keep your fingers tightly in your ears and have 
 someone give you three swallows of water. 
 
 5428. To check hiccough, hold your index fingers out in front of you 
 and try to see how near you can bring them together without 
 touching. 
 
 5429. Frighten a person to scare away his hiccough. 
 
 5430. Hiccough may be checked by standing on your head. 
 
 5431. Rid yourself of hiccough by letting someone place a knife blade 
 on your tongue. 
 
 5432. "To stop hiccoughs, take a glass of water and hold a knife down 
 in the glass while you are drinking it ; and that will cut the water 
 and stop your hiccoughs." 
 
 5433. Swallow a little sugar in a teaspoonful of lemon juice as a hic- 
 cough remedy. 
 
 5434. Wear a nutmeg around your neck and you will not have hiccough. 
 
 5435. "There was an old man out at the Soldiers' Home that had the 
 hiccoughs for five days, and the doctor said, 'Get the old Indian. 
 He will stop them.' So I gave him five drops of peppermint in 
 a half glass of water and he got right over them." 
 
 5436. Eat plum preserves for hiccough. 
 
 5437. For a severe attack of hiccough, eat a potato three nights in suc- 
 cession instead of supper and then take a tablespoonful of castor 
 oil in hot coffee. 
 
 5438. To drive away hiccough, lift up one end of a rock, but be careful 
 to keep the other end on the ground, and then spit under the rock 
 and restore the rock to its original position. 
 
 5439. Letting a teaspoonful of sugar dissolve on the tongue is good for 
 hiccough. 
 
 5440. Saturate a lump of sugar with vinegar and eat for hiccough. 
 
 5441. Hiccough will leave, if you stick out your tongue and hold it there 
 as long as possible. 
 
268 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 5442. Keep a swallow of water in your mouth, close both ears with your 
 fingers, then swallow and the hiccough will go away. 
 
 5443. As a cure for hiccough, hold a mouthful of water and swallow just 
 when about to hiccough. The remedy is more effective if the ears 
 are kept closed. 
 
 5444. "Drink three sups up 
 
 Will cure the hiccoughs up." 
 
 5445. Take three swallows of water while holding your breath to stop 
 hiccough. 
 
 5446. Cure hiccough by taking seven swallows of water as you hold 
 your breath. 
 
 5447. Hiccough can be stopped by holding the breath while drinking nine 
 swallows of water. 
 
 5448. Hold nine sips of water in your mouth, count nine backward, then 
 turn around nine times ; and your hiccough will be gone. 
 
 5449. For hiccough, swallow ten drops of w^ater while holding your 
 breath. 
 
 5450. Twelve sips of water will cure hiccough. 
 
 HYSTERICS-NERVOUS TROUBLES-SHINGLES 
 ST. VITUS DANCE 
 
 545 L Grind dried chicken dung into a powder and give a pinch of it 
 in a prune to anyone with hysterics. 
 
 5452. Eat apples for the nerv^es and nervous troubles. 
 
 5453. Three spoonfuls of apple vinegar taken thrice daily is good for 
 nervousness. 
 
 5454. When you are nervous, drink catnip tea. "It is the very be.^t 
 
 medicine you can take for the nerves." 
 
 5455. As a remedy for nervousness, administer one teaspoonful of 
 celery seed in a cupful of hot water three times a day. 
 
 5456. If you kill a chicken and let it die in your hand, you will become 
 nervous. 
 
 5457. To cure nervousness, sleep with a bag of hops under your pillow. 
 
 5458. Drink peppermint tea for tired nerves. 
 
 5459. Tea of lady-slipper roots is good for nervousness. 
 
 5460. "If you are nervous, take and put pine needles in a bag and put 
 them under your pillow and sleep on them. I think they are very 
 good. I keep a bag under my pillow all the time to make me 
 sleep." 
 
 5461. Read Psalm XXIII when nervous. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 269 
 
 5462. It is the sign of nervousness, if a person "runs over" the heels 
 of his shoes. 
 
 5463. Do not smoke in bed at night for it will make you nervous. 
 
 5464. You can get rid of nervous trouble by eating walnuts. 
 
 5465. An excellent tonic for the nerves is wild cherry bark tea. 
 
 5466. Tea of wild geranium leaves is good for the nerves. 
 
 5467. When the two ends of a chain of shingles meet, the patient will 
 die. 
 
 5468. "If you will take a black cat and kill it, and while the blood is 
 dripping put the blood on anyone that has the shingles, it will 
 cure him.'' 
 
 5469. "If you have shingles, take a black hen and kill it, and rub the 
 blood all over your body, and that will cure them if you are not 
 too far gone." 
 
 5470. Apply a poultice of cranberries to cure shingles. 
 
 5471. Mix a teaspoonful of sulphur, a tablespoonful of lard, and ten 
 drops of camphor. Treat shingles with this salve. 
 
 5472. Drink tea made from the leaves or flowers of horsemint to cure 
 St. Vitus dance. 
 
 LUNG TROUBLE AND PNEUMONIA 
 
 5474. Tea made from the roots of the butterfly weed is good for lung 
 trouble or pleurisy. 
 
 5475. "If a child has lung trouble, take off all the child's clothes. Take 
 and boil corn on the ear, just like you feed a horse. When it gets 
 good and hot, wrap it in towels and put all around the child. Put 
 a cold rag on its head. My boy had lung trouble bad. Next to 
 pneumonia. I put the boiling hot corn around him and the cold 
 rag on his head. It sure did help him." 
 
 5476. For lung trouble, drink milk in which garlic has been boiled. 
 
 5477. Let a person with weak lungs drink "billy goat" urine. 
 
 5478. "I had a boy that was very sick with pneumonia. The doctor said 
 he could not get well. After the doctor left, I took fat bacon and 
 put a piece on each arm, and tied a piece on each bottom foot, 
 and a piece back of his neck, and left it on all afternoon. About 
 time for the doctor to come I started to taking it off, and the 
 doctor caught me. He wanted to know what I was doing and I 
 told him. He let me put it back on, and in two days we could see 
 he was getting better. And he got well. That bacon took out all 
 the fever." 
 
270 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 5479. As a lung trouble remedy, boil garlic in milk and add a pinch of 
 salt. 
 
 5480. Apply a hot poultice of mullein leaves to the chest as a lung 
 trouble remedy. 
 
 5481. To cure lung trouble, place sheep lice in some article ot food and 
 eat it. 
 
 5482. "My boy was very sick w^ith pneumonia. The doctor told me one 
 night he could not get v^^ell, he was very low, and to call him in 
 the night if anything went wrong. After the doctor left, 1 v. as 
 sitting in the kitchen crying, when a woman that lived in 'Slab 
 Holler (Hollow)' came to my house. She had heard how low my 
 boy was, and said, 'If you will let me, I will help you gel your 
 boy better.' I said, T will try anything.' Then she told me about 
 the cow manure and bread dough. I said I would try it. So she 
 went and got the cow manure and I made up some light bread. 
 We tied his feet up in that light bread dough and started to plot- 
 ting on hot cow manure poultice on his lungs. Just as soon as 
 they would get a little cool we would put another one on. We 
 kept that up all night. The next morning when the doctor rame, 
 w^hen I open the door, he said, 'How is the boy? I was looking 
 for you to call me last night.' I said, T believe he is better.' He 
 just looked at me. When he saw the boy, he said he was better. 
 *I believe he will live. What happened?' I said, 'Doctor, I don't 
 want you to laugh at me, but I will tell you what I did.' W^hen 
 I told him about the cow manure and dough, he said, 'That is 
 a good one for the doctor's book, cow sh-t and dough.' I knew 
 he was making fun of me, because he said, 'cow sh-t.' I said, 
 'Well doctor, you can make fun of me if you want to, but T saved 
 my boy and that is all I care about. Put it in the doctor's book 
 if you want to'." 
 
 5483. Pneumonia can be cured by keeping a piece of freshly killed 
 chicken on the chest. 
 
 5484. "If someone has pneumonia in the last stages, on the ninth day 
 throw the covers all off and open all windows, and nine times 
 out of ten they will pull through." 
 
 5485. "It's a funny thing about doctors. They claim that they can cure 
 everything but the pneumonia, but the superstitious people say 
 that they can cure the pneumonia with hogs hoof. They say, take 
 some hog hoofs, wash them clean and then put them in hot boiling 
 water and let them boil until they steam, then take the water and 
 drink it and it will cure the pneumonia. The name of the water 
 is hogs hoof tea." Written conttihution. 
 
 5486. "Take six or ten onions, put in a large pan, then add the same 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 271 
 
 quantity of rye meal and vinegar, enough to make a thick paste. 
 Stir it thoroughly and let cook ten minutes, then put in a cotton 
 bag, large enough to cover the lungs, and just as hot as a patient 
 can bear. For pneumonia this remedy never fails." 
 
 5487. "My boy was very low with double pneumonia. The doctor raid 
 he would not get well. I said to the doctor, 'I have an old remedy. 
 Can I try it?' The doctor said, 'Do anything you want. Your son 
 is very low.' I had some Granger Twist tobacco in the house. I 
 took it and pulled it all apart and put it in a pan. Then I pur 
 skunk oil over it, put it on the stove. When it was good and hot, 
 I put it on the bottom of his feet, lungs, just ever^'where; and my 
 boy got well. I will tell anyone, that when a doctor fails with 
 pneumonia, take and cure them with skunk oil and tobacco and 
 they will get well." 
 
 5488. "If anyone has pneumonia, take Duke Mixture tobacco and fry 
 the tobacco in lard and put it in a bag the size of your lungs, and 
 lay that bag over them. It will take out all the fever and cure 
 you. We keep a can of Duke Mixture tobacco fried in lard all 
 the time in the house. The longer you keep it the better. And 
 when anyone gets a cold in their lung, we put it right on." 
 
 5489. As a remedy for pneumonia or a cold, make a poultice of white 
 vaseline to which a pinch of ground nutmeg has been added, and 
 place it between the shoulder blades. 
 
 NOSEBLEED 
 
 5490. A woman, now dead, who formerly lived out in the country, 
 possessed the power to heal nosebleed as well as other ailments at 
 a distance. She was not a Christian Scientist. About a year or 
 so ago someone in Quincy had a severe nosebleed and telephoned 
 this healer to seek her advice. The latter, saying a cure could be 
 worked immediately, asked for the color of the patient's hair 
 and eyes ; and then assured her that the bleeding would stop within 
 a certain number of minutes. 
 
 5491. To stop a bleeding of the nose, wear a necklace of amber beads. 
 
 5492. Nosebleed can be cured by sticking the blade of an axe into the 
 ground. 
 
 5493. As a remedy for nosebleed, wear a necklace of red beads. 
 
 5494. Wearing a necklace of red corn will cure a bleeding nose. 
 
 5495. When your nose bleeds, count twenty and it will stop. 
 
 5496. Count fifty backward to cure nosebleed. 
 
 5497. If you put a wad of cotton in your nostril, it will check nosebleed. 
 
272 Memoirs of flic Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 5498. Place a piece of cotton under the upper lip as a nosebleed remedy. 
 54S)9. Treat a bleeding nose by holding a dime against the roof of the 
 mouth with your tongue. 
 
 5500. For nosebleed, keep a dime under the upper lip. 
 
 5501. A nose will cease bleeding, if a dime is held between the lower 
 lip and teeth. 
 
 5502. Wrap two dimes in separate pieces of brown paper and insert 
 these packages, one on each side, under your lower or upper lips. 
 This will cure nosebleed. 
 
 5503. To arrest nosebleed, dip a dime into cold water and lay it on the 
 back of the neck. 
 
 5504. Pressing under both ears simultaneously will stop nosebleed. 
 
 5505. It is lucky to have your nose bleed on Friday. 
 
 5506. Hold a gold ring against the roof of the mouth and your nose will 
 cease bleeding. 
 
 5507. To rid yourself of nosebleed, chew gum. 
 
 5508. Cure a bleeding nose by raising and holding both hands above 
 your head. 
 
 5509. To make a nose stop bleeding, put ice on the back of your neck. 
 
 5510. To check bleeding of the nose, dip a piece of cotton into good ink 
 and place it in the nose. 
 
 5511. Keep your nose from bleeding by dropping a key down your back 
 or holding a key against your back. 
 
 5512. To be free of nosebleed, wear a key on a green string about your 
 neck. 
 
 5513. Tie a bunch of keys on a green string and wear them around your 
 neck to cure nosebleed. 
 
 5514. "To keep from having a nosebleed; after it has started, put the 
 end of a key in your nose and then take it out and tie the key 
 around your neck next to your skin, and it will not only stop the 
 nosebleed, but you will not have the nosebleed as long as the key 
 is around your neck." Written contribution. 
 
 5515. You can stop your nose from bleeding by letting the blood drip 
 on a knife and then sticking the knife into the ground. 
 
 5516. Your nose will not bleed ; if you keep around your neck a necklace 
 of lead bullets or shot. 
 
 5517. If worn about the neck, a bullet with which something has been 
 killed will cure nosebleed. 
 
 5518. Wear a piece of lead that has never touched the ground and your 
 nose will not bleed. 
 
 5519. "If you have the nosebleed, take a piece of lead and put a hole 
 through it and hang it around your neck, letting the piece of 
 lead hang in that hollow place in your neck." 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 273 
 
 5520. Drop a nail down your back for nosebleed. 
 
 5521. Leave rusty nails in cider vinegar until the rust comes off and 
 then drink this liquid as a nosebleed remedy. 
 
 5522. If your nose bleeds, hold a nickel against your gums. 
 
 5523. "When I was a little girl I had the nosebleed all the time and my 
 mother put two nutmegs on a red string and made me wear them 
 all the time to school. If I would take them off, my nose would 
 start to bleed." 
 
 5524. For a bleeding nose, roll up a piece of paper and press it under 
 the upper lip. 
 
 5525. You may keep your nose from bleeding by chewing brown paper. 
 
 5526. Chew a piece of brown wrapping-paper and place the wad under 
 your upper lip to cure nosebleed. 
 
 5527. Nosebleed can be stopped by biting on a piece of paper held be- 
 tween your teeth. 
 
 5528. As a nosebleed remedy, soak a piece of brown paper in vinegar 
 and put it under your upper lip. 
 
 5529. Drop brown paper down your back for nosebleed. 
 
 5530. Tear one of the corners from a paper sack, fold up this piece of 
 paper, and then push it under your upper lip for nosebleed. 
 
 5531. Cure nosebleed by inserting a piece of writing paper under the 
 upper lip. 
 
 5532. Go where you cannot be seen and let your nose bleed on a white 
 rock, then turn the rock over and depart; and your nose will 
 cease bleeding. 
 
 5533. One can cure nosebleed by holding a pair of scissors against the 
 back of the neck. 
 
 5534. "Our neighbor would always drop a pair of scissors down any- 
 one's back that had the nosebleed." 
 
 5535. Keep a piece of silver under the upper lip to check nosebleed. 
 
 5536. Tie or hold a "snuff-ball" (devil's-snuffbox) under your nostrils 
 and your nose will stop bleeding. 
 
 5537. Check nosebleed by keeping a spoon under your tongue. 
 
 5538. Make a nose quit bleeding by pressing a spoon against the roof 
 of your mouth. 
 
 5539. As a cure for nosebleed, tie a string around the little finger of the 
 left hand. 
 
 5540. Yam string tied about one of the little fingers will cure nosebleed. 
 
 5541. Nosebleed may be checked by tying a yarn string around the left 
 little finger. 
 
 5542. Wrap a piece of red yarn on the thumb for nosebleed. 
 
 5543. If your right nostril is bleeding, tie a string around your right 
 arm above the elbow as a remedy. 
 
274 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 5544. When your left nostril bleeds, it can be stopped by tying a string 
 about the left arm above the elbow. 
 
 5545. Your nose can be kept from bleeding by wearing a piece of red 
 yarn or red string around the neck and letting it remain there for 
 three days. A woman said that she had tried this remedy. As 
 soon as she removed the yarn, her nose began to bleed ; but when 
 she replaced the yarn the bleeding stopped immediately. By 
 experiment she discovered that the yarn could be taken off only 
 after the third day. 
 
 5546. If your nose begins to bleed, suspend a dime from a red yarn 
 string and tie it on your neck, then open the Bible and say, "In 
 
 the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost stop my 
 
 nosebleed." 
 
 5547. A piece of stiff cardboard pressed firmly between your teeth will 
 prevent nosebleed. 
 
 5548. To cure nosebleed, hold a folded napkin or some solid substance 
 between your teeth, bite it hard, and at the same time clinch your 
 hands tightly. 
 
 5549. Pour cold water on your neck for nosebleed. 
 
 5550. Cure nosebleed by placing a wet or cold rag on the back of your 
 neck. 
 
 5551. To stop a severe nosebleed, tie a woolen string around the neck 
 and put a cold cloth on the head. 
 
 5552. Take a mixture of wild alum roots and red pepper for bleeding 
 of the nose. 
 
 5553. Pour hot water over wild cherry bark and a pod of red pepper. 
 Drink some of this liquid as a nosebleed remedy. 
 
 PILES AND RECTAL TROUBLE 
 
 5554. If you sit on a cold stone, you will get piles. 
 
 5555. To prevent piles, carry alum in your pocket. 
 
 5556. Keep a buckeye in your pocket either as a preventive or cure for 
 piles. 
 
 5557. Piles can be cured by applying a salve made from twentynfive 
 cents worth of calamus and one half cup of lard. 
 
 5558. Rub piles with burnt cork for a remedy. 
 
 5559. Use a mixture of burnt cork and lard to cure piles. 
 
 5560. "Take fresh hog manure, put it on the stove and let it melt. Let 
 it become cold. Put a few drops of turpentine in it, and it will 
 cure any bad case of piles." 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 275 
 
 5561. Carrying mullein leaves is good for piles. 
 
 5562. Put mullein leaves in a jar, pour hot vv^ater over them, and then 
 sit on the jar to ease pain caused by piles. 
 
 5563. A good ointment for piles can be made by mixing lard w\\h. 
 cooked mullein leaves. 
 
 5564. Boiled white oak bark is a good v^^ash for piles. 
 
 5565. Bathe piles with a liquid made by boiling white oak bark and alum. 
 
 5566. "If you have bleeding piles, take two large handfuls of peach 
 leaves and fry in lard until black, then strain, and it will make a 
 very good salve to apply." 
 
 5567. For piles, chew peach and cherry leaves together and insert the 
 wad in the rectum. 
 
 5568. A good salve for piles is made by cooking pumpkin seed one and 
 one half hours, straining, then adding lard and boiling down until 
 the mixture becomes thick. 
 
 5569. Drink slippery elm tea to cure piles. 
 
 5570. Bleeding piles may be healed by drinking a tablespoonful of 
 powdered sulphur in a pint of milk each morning or night. 
 
 5571. Treat piles by using a salve made of sweet oil and camphor. 
 
 5572. Wipe yourself with a piece of your old underwear, then burn it 
 up, and your piles will go away. 
 
 5573. Fill one half jar of vaseline with coal oil and use for piles. 
 
 5574. A good remedy for piles is to drink a glass of hot water, as hot 
 as you can take it, morning, noon and night. 
 
 5575. Yellowroot powder mixed with lard is very good for piles. 
 
 5576. "Put red-hot charcoal in a jar and some rosin and sit over it, 
 and it will cure rectum trouble." 
 
 5577. "Take five white onions and slice them, put them in a four-gallon 
 jar, then put in one half gallon of hot water ; sit over it for an 
 hour every day with a blanket over you to make you sweat. If 
 you do this, it will cure rectum trouble. Years ago a very rich 
 man living at Palmyra, Missouri, had rectum trouble bad. Spent 
 lots of money. He could not get well. An old colored woman 
 went to this man and told him she could get him well, if he would 
 do what she told him to do. He said, 'I will do anything to get 
 well. If you can get me well, you and your old man will never 
 want. You can have a home with me here.' So she told him about 
 the white onions. He could not get them in Palmyra, so he sent 
 and got a barrel full of white onions at St. Louis. Every morning 
 this old colored woman would fix the jar and he would sit on it 
 for an hour. He did this for one year and got well. The old 
 colored folks had everything they wanted." 
 
ZJd Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 POISONING AND POISON IVY 
 
 5578. If you are poisoned out in the woods, rub coal oil on the affected 
 place for a cure. 
 
 5579. A dime placed under your tongue will turn green, if you are 
 poisoned. 
 
 5580. When you are poisoned, drop three lilac leaves into a cup of 
 boiling water and drink this liquid to make you vomit. 
 
 5581. Mullein leaf tea makes an excellent wash for poisoning. 
 
 5582. A poultice of nightshade leaves is good for poisoning. 
 
 5583. Tie a white onion on any poisoned spot and it will draw out the 
 poison. 
 
 5584. If you accidentally take poison, drink urine to cause vomiting. 
 
 5585. If you get "poison ivy," you will have it for seven consecutive 
 summers. 
 
 5586. An application of strong catnip tea mixed with olive oil is good 
 for "poison ivy." 
 
 5587. Place goldenrod leaves in cold water and wash with this liquid to 
 cure "poison ivy." 
 
 5588. Put ironweed roots in an iron pot so that they stand upright and 
 then cook them. Use this liquid as a wash three or four times 
 daily for "poison ivy." 
 
 5589. As a "poison ivy" remedy, eat a poison ivy leaf. 
 
 5590. Chew poison ivy leaves occasionally and you will never be 
 poisoned by the plant. 
 
 5591. Treat "poison ivy" by drinking a tea made of poison ivy leaves. 
 This will make you sick, but you will never catch the disease again. 
 
 5592. For "poison iv}^" apply a poultice of crushed live-forever leaves. 
 
 5593. "Poison ivy" can be cured by using a paste of mashed nightshade 
 berries mixed with sweet cream. 
 
 5594. If you were born in a month containing the letter R, you will 
 always be poisoned by poison ivy; but if the month of your birth 
 does not have the letter R, you are immune. 
 
 5595. When you have touched poison ivy, wash with apple vinegar to 
 keep poison from breaking out. 
 
 5596. Wash "poison ivy" eruptions with strong cider vinegar and cover 
 them with cornstarch. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 277 
 
 STOMACH TROUBLES 
 
 5597. A good remedy for indigestion is to take three spoonfuls of apple 
 vinegar thrice daily. 
 
 5598. For stomach trouble, drink the water in which dried beans have 
 been cooked. 
 
 5599. If you are sick at your stomach, put camphor on your throat and 
 a cold cloth on your head. 
 
 5600. Wheel an empty baby carriage back and forth and you will give 
 the baby a "stomachache." 
 
 5601. A baby will have "stomachache," if you rock it in the cradle. 
 
 5602. Pulverize the dried lining of a chicken gizzard and take a tea- 
 spoonful in a little water for catarrh of the stomach. 
 
 5603. Tea of red clover blossoms will cure indigestion or stomach 
 trouble. 
 
 5604. Eat red clover blossoms for indigestion. 
 
 5605. To cure cramp in a woman's stomach, hang her dress upside down. 
 
 5606. Hang a man's trousers upside down to drive away his stomach 
 cramps. 
 
 5607. Tea made of elder flowers is good for cramps in the stomach. 
 
 5608. As a remedy for stomach trouble, drink dog fennel tea. 
 
 5609. "Chew the roots of wild ferns that grow along the banks of a 
 small stream and they will cure the worst case of sore mouth 
 caused by a bad stomach." 
 
 5610. When you can taste the gold in the filling of your tooth, you 
 have an upset stomach. 
 
 5611. Tea of hops is good for stomach trouble. 
 
 5612. Any ailment of the stomach can be cure by drinking tea made of 
 the horsemint plant. 
 
 5613. Grated horse-radish is good for indigestion. 
 
 5614. Eat Indian turnip to cure stomach trouble. 
 
 5615. Jimson weed tea will cure stomach cramps. 
 
 5616. Eat a lemon with salt every morning before breakfast and you 
 will never have stomach trouble. 
 
 5617. Chew "mule-tail" leaves for cramps in the stomach. 
 
 5618. Sprinkle pepper on your ice cream and you will never have a 
 "stomachache" after eating it. 
 
 5619. "A man out by Kinderhook (a few miles outside Adams County) 
 by the name of P., his stomach was always coming up (not vomit- 
 ing, but the stomach seemed to rise in his body). He just could 
 not stand the feeling. He called in the doctor and the doctor said, 
 T will give you something that will hold your stomach down.' The 
 doctor took number two buckshot and sugar-coated them, and 
 
278 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 told him to take three a day until he had taken twenty- four, and 
 that would hold his stomach down. He took the pills the doctor 
 gave him and did not have any more trouble until thirty-five years 
 after that. He called in the same doctor and he gave him a good 
 physic, and the twenty-four buckshot passed from him and he 
 lived to be an old man." 
 
 5620. If a person craves sour foods like pickles, slaw and sauerkraut, it 
 is the sign of biliousness. 
 
 5621. Turn a somersault to cure indigestion. 
 
 5622. "Chamber lye is very good for cramp in the stomach. Years ago 
 (about seventy- five) my grandmother was at a country church and 
 a man got the cramps so bad they didn't know what to do with 
 him. One old lady said, 'K we could just get some chamber lye, 
 he would get all right.' So they look around and found a can and 
 let someone use it, and gave it to this sick man and he got all right. 
 Years ago they called urine, chamber lye." 
 
 5623. Crush green violet leaves and place them on the stomach to cure 
 inflammation of the stomach. 
 
 TOOTHACHE 
 
 5624. "For toothache my mother always toasted a piece of bread, put lots 
 of black pepper on it, then put hot vinegar on that, then put it 
 on my face, and the toothache would go away." 
 
 5625. Fold a handkerchief three times, blow your breath thrice through 
 these six layers of cloth, and then rub your open hand down over 
 your face nine times. This will cure toothache. 
 
 5626. Toothache can be cured by chewing cloves. 
 
 5627. "If you have the toothache, take and bite into a white dog t-rd; 
 then throw the t-rd away and your toothache will stop. I know 
 several people that done that, and it always stopped their tooth- 
 ache." 
 
 5628. Place a little of your carwax on an aching tooth. 
 
 5629. To stop the pain in an ulcerated tooth, warm mashed figs and 
 hold them against your tooth until cold; then throw them away 
 and use other figs. 
 
 5630. Cut your finger-nails on Friday and you will never get toothache. 
 
 5631. "It is an old saying if you trim your toe-nails on Friday you will 
 never have the toothache. Two years ago we had a neighbor that 
 had two bad teeth aching. He didn't know about this cutting your 
 nails on Friday to keep from having the toothache, so he went 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois' 279 
 
 to the dentist one Thursday and had his teeth worked on, and the 
 dentist told him to come back the next week and he would fill 
 them. That night he was telling me about it, and I said, 'Trim 
 your toe-nails on a Friday.' The next day he got up and trimmed 
 his toe-nails on Friday, and has been doing it ever since. And 
 he never went back to have the two teeth filled, because they have 
 
 not ached since ; and that is two years ago." Another person 
 
 said : "I am getting to be an old man and I have never had the 
 toothache. Years ago my mother told me if you would trim your 
 toe-nails on Friday, you would never have the toothache. So I 
 never trim my toe-nails any day but Friday and I have never had 
 the toothache." 
 
 5632. As a toothache remedy, insert a piece of garlic in the cavity of 
 the tooth. 
 
 5633. "I knew a woman that said she had a tooth pulled and she buried 
 it in the ground, and after it was buried fifteen years she took it 
 up just to see if she would get the toothache; because she had 
 always heard her mother say, that as long as the tooth was in the 
 
 ground you would not have toothache. And she said just 
 
 as soon as that tooth was out of the ground she got the toothache, 
 and she had not had the toothache for fifteen years." 
 
 5634. Use a hot poultice of hops for toothache. 
 
 5635. "If you have a toothache, take and make a poultice of horehound 
 leaves and apply to the swollen parts of the tooth and it will get 
 well right away." 
 
 5636. If you prick the gum until it bleeds, using a splinter from a tree 
 that has been struck by lightning, your toothache will leave. 
 
 5637. To get rid of toothache, apply a poultice of bruised "mule-ear" 
 leaves. 
 
 5638. "If you have the toothache, take a nutmeg and make it square and 
 put a hole through the middle, and wear it around your neck and 
 your toothache will stop." 
 
 5639. Rub the gum about an aching tooth with red oak bark tea. 
 
 5640. Stick a whole black pepper into the cavity of a tooth for toothache. 
 
 5641. Sleep on a pillow stuflfed with feathers from the breasts of quails 
 and you will not be bothered by toothache. 
 
 5642. If you still have pains from the tooth that has been pulled, place 
 the tooth on a rock and hit it with a hammer. This will prevent 
 toothache in the future. 
 
 5643. Pick sage leaves when the plant is blooming and let them dry. If 
 you have a toothache, wet some of these leaves with warm water 
 and place them around your tooth. The pain will stop. 
 
 5644. Fill the cavity of a tooth with salt to cure toothache. 
 
280 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 5645. Treat toothache by heating a sack of salt and placing it on top 
 of your head. 
 
 5646. Always remove your right shoe first to keep from having tooth- 
 ache. 
 
 5647. The person who chews tobacco never has toothache. 
 
 5648. "After the tooth has been pulled, take a little vinegar in your hand 
 and put it on the root of your pulled tooth; then take that tooth 
 and lay it in the sun to dry, and you will never have the toothache 
 again." 
 
 5649. To stop a toothache, lay a cold cloth on your head and hold your 
 feet in hot water. 
 
 5650. When you have toothache, fill your mouth with water and sit on 
 a stove until the water boils. This will cure the toothache. 
 
 5651. As a remedy for toothache, hold a swallow of whiskey against the 
 aching tooth. 
 
 5652. Drink whiskey to cure a toothache. 
 
 5653. Chew wild cherry bark to stop a tooth from aching. 
 
 5654. You may cure toothache by holding very hot wild cherry bark tea 
 in your mouth. 
 
 5655. For toothache, jumping through a window will take away the 
 pain. 
 
 ULCER-TUMOR-CARBUNCLE-CANCER-BOIL-ABSCESS 
 
 5656. Make a poultice of May apple root for ulcer. 
 
 5657. To heal an ulcer of the stomach, take a teaspoonful of sulphur 
 with a glass of warm water daily for ten mornings. 
 
 5658. A tumor or cancer is caused by a bruise. 
 
 5659. "If you have a tumor, take red clover blossoms and bloody butcher 
 corn (red corn) and make a tea of it ; and take a cup of tea three 
 times a day and it will dry up a tumor. I have a tumor and I am 
 taking a cup of tea three times a day made from red clover blos- 
 soms and bloody butcher corn, and I am feeling lots better." 
 
 5660. To cure a tumor or abscess, get a human bone from a graveyard 
 and rub it over the tumor or abscess, then bury the bone under a 
 waterspout of a roof, where neither sun nor moon can shine on it. 
 
 5661. "If you have a tumor on the outside of your body, take it and 
 rub it over the corpse of a dead person three times and it will go 
 away. I know this is true, because when my father died, our 
 neighbor had a tumor on her arm and she came and rubbed her 
 tumor over my dead father three times, and in no time the tumor 
 was gone." 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 281 
 
 5662. A poultice of pulverized slippery elm bark will cure a tumor. 
 
 5663. "I had a carbuncle on my neck. Nothing would help. Someone 
 told me to put fresh cow manure on my neck. I did and it got 
 well." 
 
 5664. If a bruise is going to turn into a cancer, it will do so within five 
 years or never. 
 
 5665. "Take green cactus and rub all those little stickers off, then cook 
 and strain, and give to someone who has cancer. It is very good." 
 
 5666. Dry the lining of a chicken gizzard; pulverize it and take for 
 cancer of the stomach. 
 
 5667. "I had a friend that had a very bad cancer; in bed all the time. 
 Someone told her son about the clover tea. It was in the winter 
 and he could not get the fresh clover, so he got some clover hay 
 and took the best parts out and made tea out of it. It did help, 
 for his mother was able to get out of bed and is doing nicely. 
 Still living." 
 
 5668. "Take red clover blossom and make a strong tea and apply to a 
 cancer. If you act in time, it will cure the cancer." 
 
 5669. "A Quincy woman was sick for a long time with a cancer. She 
 had one breast taken off. Her husband was a druggist and worked 
 in one of Quincy's best drug stores. Her father was a druggist. 
 And they could not find a thing that would do her any good. This 
 woman got down in bed. She could not even sit up in bed for nine 
 months. My mother (a colored woman) went to work there. She 
 told this druggist if he didn't care, she would get his wife out of 
 bed, that she had got two women out of bed with cancers years 
 ago over in Missouri. So he told her to do whatever she wanted 
 to. My mother went out in the country and got a flour sack full 
 of red clover and a sack full of red com. The com and ear both 
 must be red. She came home and told the druggist she was going 
 to get his wife well. Then she put on a big pot of clover to boil 
 and a big pot of the corn, and let boil good for one half day. Then 
 she strained both and started to giving her the tea off of both. 
 In three weeks that sick woman started to sitting up a little each 
 day, and after she had took the tea for four months she was able 
 to do most of her work. And the woman got well and lived thirty 
 years after she took the red clover tea and red com tea." 
 
 5670. Put a poultice of corn meal and milk on a cancer and this will 
 take it out by the roots. 
 
 5671. "If someone has a cancer on the outside, take raw cranberries 
 and mash them. Put them on the cancer and let them stay over- 
 night. Next morning make a poultice out of water and corn meal 
 and apply to the cancer. It will take it out by the roots." 
 
282 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 5672. "Take fresh hog manure and fry it in fresh lard, and when it is 
 cool put in a few drops of turixMitine and apply to the rectum. 
 That will cure cancer of the rectum." 
 
 5673. "Take the back part of the horse hoof and scrape it and make a 
 tea out of it, and give that to anyone that has a cancer; it will 
 cure it." 
 
 5674. You can cure cancer in its initial stages by applying a poultice of 
 mashed live- forever leaves. 
 
 5675. "Take a sheepsark plant and squeeze it all up and take the juice 
 and apply on any spot that you think is a cancer and it will cure 
 it. I know a lady that had a bad cancer and the doctors could not 
 help her, and an old Indian told this woman about the sheepsark ; 
 and she got some and made this juice and applied on her cancer, 
 
 and that woman is living today ninety-three years old. I was 
 
 talking to her about ten years ago and she said the sheepsark 
 cured her cancer." 
 
 5676. Mash sheep sorrel and place it where the sun can draw out the 
 oil. Use this oil for a cancer. 
 
 5677. Cure a cancer with a poultice made from the whole plant of a 
 blooming wild violet. 
 
 5678. Cancer may be cured by drinking tea made of violet leaves. 
 
 5679. A combination of violet leaves and red clover makes a good 
 poultice for cancer. 
 
 5680. Every boil is worth five dollars. 
 
 5681. If you have a boil, you will have seven more. 
 
 5682. To have one boil means that you will get nine others. 
 
 5683. One boil is followed by thirteen more. 
 
 5684. "You will never have boils, if you don't wash your feet; for if 
 you don't wash your feet, the poison will all stay in your feet." 
 
 5685. To rid yourself of a boil, you must always burn the bandages. If 
 you throw the bandages away, the boil will remain indefinitely. 
 
 5686. A boil can be healed by poulticing it with a rotten apple. 
 
 5687. To cure a boil, apply a poultice made by boiling bitterweed in milk. 
 
 5688. A bread and milk poultice will draw a boil to a head. 
 
 5689. As a cure for a boil, use an application of tea made from burdock 
 roots. 
 
 5690. Make a boil come to a head by using the white of an egg. 
 
 5691. The lining in the end of an egg, when put on a boil, will bring it 
 to a head. 
 
 5692. Soreness can be removed from a boil by covering it with the skin 
 from an egg. 
 
 5693. "If you have boils, take enough elderberry leaves to make a sheet 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 283 
 
 and lay on them all night ; and in the morning your boils will all 
 be to a head." 
 
 5694. If you have a boil, take a tablespoon ful of Epsom salts every day 
 for a week and you will not have another boil. 
 
 5695. To bring a boil or carbuncle to a head, apply a flaxseed poultice. 
 
 5696. A poultice of ginger and flour w^ill draw a boil to a head. 
 
 5697. Place a poultice of lime and lard on a boil or gathering. 
 
 5698. Apply a poultice of linden roots, these must be freshly dug, 
 to a bloody boil at night; the core will be out by morning. 
 
 5699. Mash up a handful of yellow peach leaves and put on a boil to 
 remove soreness. 
 
 5700. "I know a woman that had a large boil right under her breast. 
 The doctor didn't help her, so I told her about the plantain leaves. 
 This was years ago. I was working for this woman. She let me 
 get some plantain leases. I mashed them good, then I put the 
 smooth side next to the boil ; and the next day the boil broke and 
 all the poison came out, and the woman got well." 
 
 5701. Eat raisins for boils. 
 
 5702. "I knew a boy that was just full of boils, and his mother made 
 a tea out of saffron and anise seeds ; and it was no time before 
 they were gone." 
 
 5703. "My uncle years ago had fifty-six boils. He went to see the doctor 
 and the doctor said, 'You have better medicine at home than I 
 can give you.' The doctor said, 'You go home and take three 
 shots out of your gun and a glass of water.' He did and got well." 
 
 5704. Swallow nine gunshot to cure boils. Take these in one dose or 
 one by one at different times. 
 
 5705. "My son was just full of boils and we took a pound of shot and 
 a pint of milk and boiled it and he took the milk and his boils 
 left." 
 
 5706. Pour boiling water over slippery elm and make a paste. When 
 applied to a boil, this paste will bring it to a head. 
 
 5707. Mix lard and powdered slippery elm bark. This salve is good 
 for boils, 
 
 5708. A (brown) sugar and (brown) soap poultice will draw a boil or a 
 gathering to a head. 
 
 5709. Put a little salt on some damp and moldy straw, then wrap this 
 around a boil, and a cure will follow. 
 
 5710. Boil some sycamore tree bark in a half gallon of water for two 
 hours. Drink this and it will cure your boil. 
 
 5711. As a boil remedy, apply fresh chewing tobacco. 
 
 5712. If you have a large boil under your arm, you can get rid of it by 
 urinating on the road. 
 
284 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 5713. A poultice made from the roots of the white pond lily is good 
 for a boil. 
 
 5714. To remove an abscess, rub it with the hand of a corpse; but you 
 must not say a word while rubbing. 
 
 VARIOUS AILMENTS 
 
 APPENDICITIS-CONSUMPTION-EPILEPSY-FAINTING 
 
 HEART TROUBLE-HIVES-INSANITY- JAUNDICE 
 
 KERNEL AND PARALYSIS 
 
 SEASICKNESS AND TRAINSICKNESS 
 
 SPRAIN-SOCIAL DISEASE-SUNSTROKE 
 
 SWIMMING CRAMPS 
 
 5715. Swallowing any kind of seed, especially grape seed, will cause 
 appendicitis. 
 
 5716. Tea made from cat-tail flowers is good for appendix trouble. 
 
 5717. If a baby keeps one thumb in its mouth and the other thumb in 
 its navel, the child will have appendicitis before it dies. 
 
 5718. One who becomes sunburned is not so likely to get consumption 
 as a person without sunburn. 
 
 5719 "If a person is very low with T. B. (tuberculosis) in the summer, 
 they are pretty sure to live until the leaves fall in the fall." 
 
 5720. About twenty years ago the author knew a woman in Quincy 
 who had tuberculosis. Her doctor told the husband and aunt that 
 she would live only a short time. The aunt refusing to accept this 
 verdict resorted to the following remedy : She wrapped the woman 
 from head to foot in a dough poultice about an inch thick. The 
 old poultice, which turned greenish black, was removed daily and 
 a fresh one applied. The woman died within a few weeks. 
 
 5721. Red clover tea will cure tuberculosis. 
 
 5722. If a person has tuberculosis, cook a young pup and let the patient 
 eat it. 
 
 5723. For tuberculosis, render a dog into lard and use it for cooking 
 everything the patient eats. 
 
 5724. Wash some rusty nails clean; put them in a bottle and fill the 
 bottle with whiskey. Let this liquid stand for twenty-four hours 
 and take a tablespoonful before each meal for tuberculosis. 
 
 5725. Tuberculosis can be cured by drinking a cupful of warm blood 
 from a pig that has just been slaughtered. 
 
 5726. Give milk from a sow to a child with tuberculosis. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 285 
 
 5727. Epileptic fits are always more frequent and severe during the 
 increase of the moon. 
 
 5728. "If you have epileptic fits, take the white part of chicken drop- 
 pings and dry them and make a powder, and give to the person 
 a teaspoon ful after each meal. I knew a child that had fits all the 
 time and the doctor could not help her, and someone told the 
 mother about the white part of the chicken droppings ; and she 
 tried it and the child got over the fits." 
 
 5729. Give three seeds of the jimson weed thrice daily to a person who 
 has epileptic fits. 
 
 5730. An ounce of powdered peony root boiled in a pint of water is 
 good for epilepsy. 
 
 5731. As a remedy for epilepsy, drink tea made of pokeberries. 
 
 5732. When a person has epileptic fits, cut off the front part of his 
 undershirt, boil and strain it, and let him drink this liquid. 
 
 5733. "If anyone has epileptic fits, take the undershirt right off after 
 they have a spell, and lay it on live coals to let smolder. Then 
 take a teaspoonful of the ashes in a glass of holy water and say, 
 'In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost.' And take it 
 three times a day." 
 
 5734. To cure a woman who has epileptic fits, give her three times a 
 day a tablespoonful of urine from a man whom she has never 
 seen ; and do the same thing for a man with epileptic fits by using 
 the urine of a strange woman. 
 
 5735. Administer a teaspoonful of holy water to a child who has fainting 
 spells. 
 
 5736. Lying down with your arms above your head will give you heart 
 trouble. 
 
 5737. Boil garlic in milk and drink for heart trouble. 
 
 5738. "If your heart runs all night and your hands bum, you will have 
 a heart attack soon." 
 
 5739. Tea made from the lily of the valley is good for heart trouble. 
 
 5740. If you smoke while swimming, it will cause heart trouble. 
 
 5741. "If a person has hives, they say if you go in swimming or get 
 wet and they go in on you, you will die." 
 
 5742. Drink tea of red clover roots to cure hives. 
 
 5743. Treat hives by drinking daily a cupful of tea made from dried 
 red clover blossoms. 
 
 5744. Cook potato peelings and peanut butter in lard and rub this on 
 hives for a cure. 
 
 5745. Hives can be cured by bathing in vinegar. 
 
 5746. An insane person always becomes worse during the increase of 
 the moon. 
 
286 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 5747. Cut a hole in the top of a carrot, fill this hole with your urine, 
 and then hang the carrot in a chimney. When the carrot decays, 
 your yellow jaundice will go away. 
 
 5748. As a cure for jaundice, place two small coins in wine and then 
 drink this liquid. 
 
 5749. Roll a raw egg in soot and eat it for yellow jaundice. 
 
 5750. Drinking tea made of "goose corks" (goose dung) will cure yellow 
 jaundice. 
 
 5751. "A lady told me that her sister-in-law had yellow jaundice bad. 
 They gave her up at the hospital, sent her home to die; and some 
 old lady told them about making pills out of sheep lice and flour 
 and sugar. And they did. And she got well." 
 
 5752. Eat three sheep lice in some article of food to cure yellow jaun- 
 dice. 
 
 5753. Boil some sow bugs in water and add enough meal to make a cake. 
 Bake this cake and when it is done, your jaundice will be gone. 
 
 5754. "Take the roots of the low wild rose and boil them, and it will 
 cure the worst case of yellow jaundice." 
 
 5755. Cure a kernel by making a cross over it with soot. 
 
 5756. Rub some of your saliva on the bottom of a kettle and then rub 
 the same finger over your kernel. This will take it away. 
 
 5757. To remove a kernel from your leg, urinate on a bucket of live 
 coals. 
 
 5758. The third paralytic stroke is always fatal. 
 
 5759. You can cure seasickness by taking pills made of brown bread. 
 
 5760. To cure seasickness, keep a piece of writing paper against the pit 
 of the stomach. 
 
 5761. Swallow a piece of salted pork for seasickness. 
 
 5762. Stand on tiptoe while eating sour pickles on board a ship and you 
 will never be seasick. 
 
 5763. Prevent train-sickness by putting a newspaper under your shirt 
 against the skin. 
 
 5764. Keep a potato in your traveling bag to ward oflF train-sickness. 
 
 5765. Train-sickness can be prevented by wearing a piece of writing 
 paper on the pit of the stomach. 
 
 5766. "If you have a sprain, the white of an egg and salt mixed to a 
 thick paste is one of the best remedies." 
 
 5767. Bruise and boil juniper berries and hay flowers in old wine. Use 
 this as a poultice for a sprain. 
 
 5768. Boil red oak bark and add corn meal and apple vinegar, and apply 
 to a sprain. 
 
 5769. Treat a sprain by rubbing it with oil of cedar. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 287 
 
 5770. Steep a handful of smartweed in boiling water and bathe a sprain 
 with this liquid; then bind the smartweed around the sprain. 
 
 5771. Crush the green stalks of wormwood and moisten them with 
 vinegar. Poultice a sprain with this. 
 
 5772. Bathe a sprain in hot vinegar to which salt has been added. 
 
 5773. "You can always tell if a person has a social disease; if the white 
 part of their eyes is white, they have it." 
 
 5774. "To find out if a man has a social disease, take his hat and turn 
 the inside band down. If it goes back in the hat of its own 
 account, he is all right; if it stays down, he is not." 
 
 5775. "If you have a social disease, let someone put you in a manure 
 pile and cover you all up but your head, so they can feed you; 
 for you may have to stay for several days. The manure will draw 
 out all the poison in your body." 
 
 5776. Place cabbage leaves on the head to prevent sunstroke. 
 
 5777. There will be no danger from sunstroke, if you wear elder leaves 
 under your hat. 
 
 5778. Avert sunstroke by keeping elder leaves in your pocket. 
 
 5779. Put grape leaves in your hat and you will not be sun-struck. 
 
 5780. "If you get hot and are afraid of getting overcome with the heat, 
 eat a mule-tail weed and you will be all right." 
 
 5781. Line your hat with oak leaves as a protection against sunstroke. 
 
 5782. Eat an onion before going out into the heat and you will keep 
 cooler. 
 
 5783. If you become overheated, drink a half cupful of vinegar and 
 water. 
 
 5784. Cramps can be prevented by laying a forked stick on your clothes 
 when you go swimming. 
 
 5785. To prevent cramps while swimming, rub urine over your body 
 before entering the water. 
 
 5786. Test the water with your feet, then with the hands, and finally 
 sprinkle a little of the water on your clothes. Do this before 
 getting into the water and you will not have cramps when swim- 
 ming. 
 
 VOMITING-LINIMENT-SALVE 
 
 5787. To cure vomiting, hold an tgg on the hollow below the Adam's 
 apple. 
 
 5788. "Take the lining of a chicken gizzard and make a tea to give to 
 stop vomiting. This will cure when nothing else will." 
 
 5789. Vomiting can be prevented by holding a piece of ice in the hollow 
 of the throat. 
 
288 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 5790. Drink peach leaf tea to check vomiting. 
 
 5791. Vomiting can be checked by taking smartweed tea. 
 57)92. Timothy seed tea is very good to stop vomiting. 
 
 5793. Chamomile tea must be made carefully and in the following man- 
 ner to be effective. Place the flowers in a cup (it must not be a 
 crock or any other receptacle) in which there has been no grease 
 of any kind, and then pour in the hot water. Count thirty and 
 strain immediately. If your chamomile tea is not made exactly 
 in this way, it will be poison. 
 
 5794. Mayweed blossoms in alcohol makes a good liniment. 
 
 5795. To make a healing salve, fry the green inner bark of the elder in 
 unsalted butter or in tallow. 
 
 5796. "Take five cents worth of mutton tallow, one cup of goose grease 
 without salt, and two balsam apples. Cook these together and 
 strain. Then put in a few drops of carbolic acid, and it will make 
 a good salve for sore lungs and chapped hands." 
 
 5797. "Cut a raw potato in half and put it in one pint of gasoline. Let 
 it set for one month and it will make a fine liniment." 
 
 SLEEP 
 
 5798. Sleep is caused by a sandman who sprinkles sand into the eyes. 
 
 5799. Go to bed on the left side and get up on the right side, and you 
 will have good luck all day. 
 
 5800. If you enter the bed on the right side and arise from the left side, 
 you will be unlucky that day. 
 
 5801. Crawling into bed over the footboard is unlucky. 
 
 5802. Never climb over another occupant of the bed, it causes bad luck. 
 
 5803. Lie on your right side to be lucky while sleeping. 
 
 5804. Enter bed right foot first, then lie on your right side for a few 
 minutes, and you will have a peaceful and dreamless night. 
 
 5805. To sleep peacefully, lie on your right side for ten minutes when 
 you go to bed, then turn over and recline on your left side. 
 
 5806. When you go to bed, rest on your left side for five minutes, then 
 turn over and lie on your right side ; and you will sleep well. 
 
 5807. Open a Bible and place it under your head, if you are unable to 
 sleep. 
 
 5808. When restless in bed, count one hundred backward and you will go 
 to sleep. 
 
 5809. If you become nervous during the night, get up and eat some- 
 thing. This will calm your nerves. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 289 
 
 5810. As a remedy for nervousness at night, keep a hatchet beneath the 
 mattress. 
 
 5811. Use a pillow stuffed with hops instead of feathers and you will 
 have a restful sleep. 
 
 5812. "Whenever I cannot sleep, I always get up and put a knife and 
 
 fork crossed under my pillow, and then go right to sleep." 
 
 The same remedy is good for nightmare. 
 
 5813. Eating an onion before going to bed will induce a sound sleep. 
 
 5814. You will sleep soundly, if you keep an onion over the head of 
 the bed. 
 
 5815. To sleep well, drink peppermint tea before retiring for the night. 
 
 5816. A vase of poppies kept in your bedroom will make you sleep 
 soundly. 
 
 5817. "If you can't sleep at night, if you will get up and put a handful 
 of salt in your pillow slip, you can sleep fine after that. I get up 
 two or three times a week at nights, when I can't sleep well, and 
 always put a handful of salt in my pillow slip and I go right to 
 sleep." 
 
 5818. Set your shoes with the toes pointing away from the bed and you 
 will sleep well. 
 
 5819. To secure a sound sleep, place your shoes under the bed wuth the 
 toes touching each other and make the sign of the cross saying, 
 "In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost." 
 
 5820. If you awaken in the night and cannot go back to sleep, get up 
 and change the position of your shoes or turn them in the opposite 
 direction. 
 
 5821. Drink wild cherry bark tea for sleeplessness. 
 
 5822. When nervous, get out of bed and walk around the block, then 
 return to bed and you can go to sleep immediately. 
 
 5823. Keep an axe under the head of your bed at night and you will 
 obtain "sharp luck." 
 
 5824. If you go to bed with your clothes on, you will get up backwards 
 and cross next morning. 
 
 5825. It brings bad luck for a woman to go to bed with a comb in her 
 hair. 
 
 5826. Sleep with an electric light shining on your face and you will have 
 a growth on your eye. 
 
 5827. To secure good luck during the night, sleep on some gravel which 
 you have picked up from under your right foot that day. 
 
 5828. If you are trying to memorize something from a book, stimulate 
 and strengthen your memory by sleeping on the book. 
 
 5829. When learning a poem by heart, say it twice after you have gone 
 to bed and you will never forget it. 
 
290 Memoirs of the Alma Egau Hyatt Foundation 
 
 5830. Sleep on the book and you will know your lesson next morning. 
 
 5831. Sleeping in the moonlight will make your head swell. 
 
 5832. It is unlucky to move a bed while someone is in it. 
 
 5833. A child will never grow if he sleeps with an old person. The latter 
 absorbs the vitality of the former. If they must sleep together, the 
 ill effects can be lessened by placing a pillow between them. 
 
 5834. Never let a child sleep with an old person, the child's life will be 
 shortened. 
 
 5835. Lying on more than one pillow will make you round-shouldered. 
 
 5836. "My aunt bet me I could not sleep on a pair of man's pants all 
 night as a pillow. I thought that would be easy. I said, 'I bet you 
 a dollar I can.' So she gave me a pair of pants. I folded them 
 up, put them under my head, tried and tried to sleep. Do you 
 know I lost my dollar? I did not shut my eyes that night to sleep." 
 
 5837. Prayers said after going to bed are addressed to the devil. 
 
 5838. "When you go to bed, say three Our Fathers and ask the poor 
 souls to wake you at a certain time. They will call you at that 
 time and you will never need an alarm clock." 
 
 5839. If you sleep with a razor blade under your head, you will have 
 "sharp luck." 
 
 5840. Sleep on an unironed sheet for luck. 
 
 5841. Throw your shoes under the bed when retiring for the night and 
 it will bring you good luck. 
 
 5842. If when going to bed you place your stockings in your shoes, 
 you will be unlucky. 
 
 5843. Put your shoes with the toes pointing under the bed to ward off 
 bad luck at night. 
 
 5844. If it is your custom to set your shoes beneath the bed, always turn 
 out the toes to have good luck during the night. 
 
 5845. It is unlucky to smoke in bed. 
 
 5846. Three persons sleeping together in the same bed is a sign of bad 
 luck. 
 
 5847. "Whenever I have bad luck through the day, that night I always 
 set a pan of water under the head of the bed, so my luck will 
 change for the next day." 
 
 5848. "If you go to bed and want water to drink and won't get up and 
 get it, it is bad luck for you." 
 
 5849. Whistling in bed causes bad luck. 
 
 5850. "My folks would never let us sleep with our heads to the north. 
 Said it was very bad luck." 
 
 5851. Set your bed so that it faces south and you will be lucky. 
 
 5852. Your bed should always face the north, if you wish to sleep well. 
 
 5853. If your bed faces north, it will cause you a lot of trouble. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 29\ 
 
 5854. To sleep with your head and feet lying north and south will 
 bring good luck. 
 
 5855. Bad luck will come to you, if you sleep facing the west. 
 
 5856. Sleep with your head toward the east and you will always have a 
 clear head. 
 
 5857. It is exceedingly unlucky to sleep facing the east, for that is the 
 way the dead are buried. 
 
 5858. Let your bed face the east for luck. 
 
 5859. You will get up with a headache, if you sleep with your head 
 toward the west. 
 
 5860. If your head is pointed eastward in the bed you will arise sunwise 
 and have a headache. 
 
 5861. Have the head of your bed to the east and you will never get up 
 with a headache. 
 
 5862. The head of your bed to the west will give you a great amount 
 of trouble. 
 
 5863. Always leave your bed from the same side you entered it to avoid 
 bad luck. 
 
 5864. It causes bad luck to get out on the left side of the bed. 
 
 5865. Get up on the right side of the bed and you will have good luck 
 for that day. 
 
 5866. If when arising you place your left foot first on the floor, it will 
 bring bad luck all day. 
 
 5867. To rise from the bed with your left foot first will make you cross 
 and unfortunate during the day. 
 
 5868. Getting out of bed on the left foot will cause bad luck for the 
 day; but if you re-enter the bed and lie down again, then get out 
 on your right foot, you will have good luck. 
 
 5869. Always stand on your right foot when leaving the bed. To put 
 your left foot first on the floor is a sure sign of an unpleasant day. 
 
 5870. Arise from bed with your right foot first and you will have good 
 luck all day. 
 
 5871. If you get up before dawn and see the moon over your left 
 shoulder, expect bad luck. 
 
 5872. If you hurt your foot when getting out of bed in the morning, 
 do not say anything bad and you will be lucky. 
 
 5873. To find a feather in your hair upon awakening means that you 
 have overslept an hour. 
 
 5874. If there is a feather in a child's hair when he gets up in the morn- 
 ing, he will receive a whipping. 
 
 5875. If the first thing seen as you leave the bed in the morning is a 
 needle, and it points toward you, you will be lucky all day. 
 
 5876. It is unlucky to have breakfast served in bed. 
 
292 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 SNORING-SLEEPTALKING-SLEEPWALKING 
 
 5877. When a person snores, whistle and he will stop immediately. 
 
 5878. Snoring can be stopped, if you tell the sleeper to quit. 
 
 5879. "If anyone is talking in their sleep, and you want to know what 
 they are saying, lay a horseshoe on their breast with the point up 
 and they will tell all they know. Years ago we were living on a 
 farm out near Burton and rny brother came to town. When he 
 got home he forgot what he did with the money. I said, 'Mother, 
 wait until tonight and I will find out.' So when he went to sleep, 
 I put the horseshoe on his breast and he started to tell what he 
 did with the money. He bought a girl a cheap dress and a pair 
 of stockings. The next morning I told him what he done with the 
 money, and he said he did buy them." 
 
 5880. Ask a sleeptalker questions and he will answer correctly, if you 
 do not mention his name. 
 
 5881. Hold the big toe of the one who is speaking in his sleep and you 
 can understand what he says. Do the same thing to make a person 
 talk while asleep. 
 
 5882. A sleeptalker may be made to speak by holding his little finger 
 in a glass of water. 
 
 5883. A person who talks when sleeping will disclose his secrets, if 
 you lay a wet cloth on his head. 
 
 5884. While someone is sleeping, put his hand in water and he will 
 reveal his secrets. 
 
 5885. Place the hand of a sleeper in muddy water and he will answer 
 your questions. 
 
 5886. It is unlucky for one to talk in his sleep. 
 
 5887. To awaken a sleepwalker will kill him. 
 
 5888. The person who walks in his sleep will not fall or do anything 
 dangerous, as long as you refrain from calling him by name or 
 arousing him. 
 
 5889. Prevent sleepwalking by placing a pan of water under the sleep- 
 walker's bed. 
 
 5890. "If someone walks in their sleep put a tub of water by their bed 
 so when they first put their feet out, both feet will go in the tub ; 
 and they will never walk in their sleep again. My aunt was always 
 walking in her sleep and we put a tub by her bed one night, and 
 when she started to get out, both feet went in the tub and she 
 never did walk in her sleep again." The same remedy was used 
 by another person: "My aunt tried that on her husband. She put 
 a tub of water in front of the bed. He fell in it and it sure broke 
 him from walking in his sleep." 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 29^ 
 
 5891. "If someone walks in their sleep, take a glass of water and put 
 under their bed; then get up the next morning and empty the 
 glass without them knowing it. Do this every night until they 
 stop." 
 
 5892. "My son walked in his sleep. One night he came down the stairs. 
 The second time I said, 'I am going to put a pan of water for you 
 to fall in, if you come down again.' In about an hour I heard my 
 son coming down the stairs for the third time. I went and put 
 a big pan of water at the foot of the stairs. When he got to the 
 bottom, he fell in the water. That broke him. He never walked 
 again in his sleep." 
 
 NIGHT SWEAT 
 
 5893. To cure night sweat, lay an axe beneath your bed. 
 
 5894. As a night sweat remedy, drop a handful of the inner bark from 
 a birch tree into a pint of boiling water and let it remain there 
 for twenty minutes. Take this tea cold just before going to bed, 
 
 5895. Sleep with cedar bark or leaves in a bag under your head and 
 you will not have night sweat. 
 
 5896. Boil red corncobs in your teakettle until you have a quart of 
 juice. Drink a half cupful of this tea each night until it is 
 exhausted and your night sweat will be gone. 
 
 5897. Stop night sweat by drinking tea made from the inner bark of an 
 oak tree, 
 
 5898. Drink cold sage tea before going to bed and it will prevent night 
 sweat. 
 
 5899. Night sweat can be prevented, if you place a cup of sage tea under 
 the bed at night. 
 
 5900. For night sweat, set your shoes beneath the bed and point the 
 toes out. 
 
 5901. You will be free from night sweat, if you put your shoes under 
 the bed so that the toes point toward the foot of the bed. 
 
 5902. Turn your shoes upside down under your bed for night sweat. 
 
 5903. Get rid of night sweat by keeping a pan of water under the bed. 
 Some say that the pan must contain a gallon of water. 
 
 5904. If someone without telling you will place a pan of water under 
 your bed and let it remain for nine nights, you will no longer have 
 night sweat; but if you look under the bed or learn that the water 
 is there, you will not be cured. 
 
294 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 5905. "If you have the night sweats, take a tub of water and put it 
 under the bed ; the first night leaving the width from water to 
 the top of the tub the width of a dollar, the second night the width 
 of fifty cents, the third night the width of twenty-five cents, the 
 fourth night the width of a dime. If you do this, you will never 
 have the night sweats any more." 
 
 NIGHTMARE 
 
 5906. Rid yourself of nightmare by sleeping on your back. 
 
 5907. Keep a Bible under your pillow and you will not have nightmare. 
 
 5908. If you place a hatchet beneath the head of your bed, you will not 
 get nightmare, 
 
 5909. Hanging a horse halter on the head of your bed will cure night- 
 mare. 
 
 5910. Put a knife under your pillow to prevent nightmare. 
 
 5911. "I sleep with a man's pocketknife under my pillow every night 
 to keep from having the nightmare." 
 
 5912. Place an open pocketknife beneath your pillow for nightmare. 
 
 5913. Cure nightmare by laying a pair of scissors under your head at 
 night. 
 
 5914. You can prevent nightmare, if you keep a piece of steel under 
 your pillow. 
 
 5915. To cure nightmare, set your shoes at the foot of the bed with the 
 toes pointing away from the bed. 
 
 5916. As a nightmare cure, turn your shoes upside down with the toes 
 pointed toward the head of the bed. 
 
 5917. Prevent nightmare by letting the toes of your shoes face east. 
 
 DREAMS 
 
 5918. Dreams are warnings of what is to happen. 
 
 5919. Dreams always come true. 
 
 5920. Interpret dreams by their opposites. 
 
 5921. Interpret dreams on the basis of similarities. 
 
 5922. If you have the same dream more than once, it will come true. 
 
 5923. The same dream on two successive nights will come true. 
 
 5924. When the same thing is dreamed on three occasions, it will come 
 true. 
 
 5925. If you dream the same thing three tinges in succession, it will 
 come true. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 295 
 
 5926. What is dreamed on the first night you sleep in a new house will 
 come true. 
 
 5927. On the first night you sleep in a new house, put a bucket under 
 the bed beneath your head, and whatever you dream will come 
 true. 
 
 5928. The first time you sleep under a new quilt your dream will come 
 true. 
 
 5929. If you put the "dream bone" from a ham beneath your pillow, 
 your dreams will come true. 
 
 5930. "Saturday and Sunday dreams told, 
 Come true before a month old." 
 
 5931. Sleep on a piece of wedding cake and your dream will come true. 
 
 5932. Pick up some dirt from under your left heel, when you first see 
 the new moon, and put this dirt under your pillow. What you 
 dream that night will come true. 
 
 5933. To discover your fortune, repeat the following: 
 
 "New moon, true moon. 
 
 Star in the stream, 
 
 Pray tell my fortune in my dream." 
 
 5934. Remove nine pieces from the shoulder blade of a rabbit and put 
 them under your pillow. What you dream that night will come 
 true. 
 
 5935. Count seven stars for seven nights and what you dream on the 
 seventh night will come true. 
 
 5936. If you sleep on your back you will dream. 
 
 5937. When you are awakened while dreaming, put your head down at 
 the foot of the bed and your dreams will soon return. 
 
 5938. Sleep with a pair of open scissors under your pillow and you 
 will never dream. 
 
 5939. To prevent dreaming set a glass of water under the bed. 
 
 5i940. Put both shoes beneath the foot of your bed and you will not 
 dream. 
 
 5941. Lay a Bible under your pillow and you will always have good 
 dreams. 
 
 5942. You can secure pleasant dreams by walking backwards to bed. 
 
 5943. You will have bad dreams, if you bite your finger-nails. 
 
 5944. Keeping your shoes under the bed at night will give you bad 
 dreams. 
 
 5945. If you eat pie before going to bed, you will have bad dreams. 
 
 5946. Exciting dreams mean that you have overloaded your stomach. 
 
 5947. When you eat too much supper, bad dreams will follow. 
 
 5948. Expect bad dreams, if you do not empty the water in which your 
 feet have been washed. 
 
296 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 5949. Never He where the moon can shine on your face while sleeping ; 
 you will have bad dreams. 
 
 5950. When you have bad dreams and immediately awake, sit up in 
 bed, raise your right hand several times straight above your head, 
 and you will return to a peaceful sleep. 
 
 5951. Having had a bad dream, next morning read a verse from the 
 Bible. 
 
 5952. If you have bad dreams, burn some salt on the stove next morn- 
 ing and this will break the spell, 
 
 5953. You can prevent bad dreams by laying your shoes under the bed 
 so that the toes point outward. 
 
 5954. "A dream out of season, 
 Trouble out of reason." 
 
 5955. "Dreams out of season, 
 Trouble without reason." 
 
 5956. "Dreams of things out of season, 
 Bring trouble without reason." 
 
 5957. Tell your dream before breakfast and it will come true. 
 
 5958. To have your dream come true, reveal it before breakfast on 
 Friday morning. 
 
 5959. To prevent a bad dream from coming true, never relate it before 
 breakfast. 
 
 5960. A dream told immediately after eight o'clock in the morning will 
 come true. 
 
 5961. If you disclose your dream before breakfast, you will have bad 
 luck. 
 
 5962. A dream on the seventh night after a new moon is of special 
 importance. If you reveal this dream, you will have bad luck. 
 
 5963. Always conceal a dream, if you do not want it to come true. 
 
 5964. If you have a dream and do not want it to come true, just as 
 soon as you get up and before saying a word, burn salt in the 
 stove. 
 
 5965. Your dream will be concerned with the last thing you think of 
 before going to sleep. 
 
 5966. To dream of an angel means that you should "watch your step" 
 (he careful). 
 
 5967. To dream of apples on a tree foretells prosperity. 
 
 5968. To dream of picking ripe apples off a tree and eating them is an 
 omen of good fortune. 
 
 5969. If you dream of ashes, you will lose a very dear friend. 
 
 5970. A dream of ashes forebodes a death. 
 
 5971. Dreaming of a large pile of ashes is a portent of sorrow and 
 mourning. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 297 
 
 5972. To buy a new automobile in your dream is a sign that you will 
 be invited to a party. 
 
 5973. An automobile accident in your dream indicates that someone will 
 attempt to inveigle you into a foolish investment. 
 
 5974. It is a very bad omen to dream of an axe. 
 
 5975. A dream of babies means good luck. 
 
 5976. When you dream of a laughing baby, it will bring good luck to 
 your home. 
 
 5977. If you dream of a crying baby, some deep sorrow will come to 
 your home. 
 
 5978. A newborn baby in your dream foretells a wedding. 
 
 5979. To dream of a baby means news of a death. 
 
 5980. A dream of a newborn baby is the sign of a death or marriage in 
 the family. 
 
 5981. To dream of picking green beans portends a death in the family. 
 
 "One night I dreamt I was out picking green beans. I had 
 
 so many green beans I didn't know what to do with them, and in 
 two days my husband died." 
 
 5982. Seeing a bear in your dream means that you have bitter enemies. 
 
 5983. There will be a death, if you dream of a bed. 
 
 5984. Trouble will follow a dream of bedbugs. "I always have 
 
 some bad trouble every time I dream of bedbugs." 
 
 5985. You will have success in business, if you dream of bees. 
 
 5986. When you dream of bees at work, they are bringing you good luck. 
 
 5987. It is unlucky to see a beehive in your dream. 
 
 5988. To dream of a beggar is a bad sign. 
 
 5989. Entertain hope for wealth, after seeing yourself a beggar in your 
 dream. 
 
 5990. When you see birds in your dream, they will bring friends and 
 fortune. 
 
 5991. To dream of a bird bodes a death. 
 
 5992. If you dream of seeing a bird in a cage, it indicates an approaching 
 wedding. 
 
 5993. Catching a bird in your dream means some big gain. 
 
 5994. To dream of birds with beautiful feathers: If by a woman, she 
 will secure a rich husband ; if by a man, he will get a rich wife. 
 
 5995. Dreaming of a birth indicates that someone is going to die. 
 
 5996. If you dream of your birthday, you will have trouble and sorrow. 
 
 5997. To dream that something bites you is a sign of coming sorrow. 
 
 5998. If you dream that a person bites you, someone is very jealous. 
 
 5999. To dream of anything black means bad luck. 
 
 6000. You will soon have trouble, if you dream of blackberries. 
 
298 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 6001. A dream of blackberries presages a death or very bad luck. 
 
 6002. To dream of being blind means that you will be very poor. 
 
 6003. The significance of blood in a dream is bad luck. 
 
 6004. It is a sign of sorrow to dream of blood. 
 
 6005. Dreaming of a boat in clear water foretells happiness. 
 
 6006. A dream of a boat in muddy water signifies disgrace. 
 
 6007. Breaking bread in a dream is a death warning. 
 
 6008. To dream of a lot of bread indicates death. 
 
 6009. If a woman dreams of kneading light bread, she will have a 
 miscarriage. 
 
 6010. It is a good sign to cross a bridge in your dream. 
 
 6011. To fall through a bridge while crossing it in your dream is a bad 
 omen. 
 
 6012. To dream that burglars enter your house means some great loss. 
 
 6013. A dream about your brother will be followed by a sudden death 
 in the family. 
 
 6014. Seeing a butcher slaughter some animal in your dream foretells 
 the death of a friend or relative. 
 
 6015. If you dream of cabbage, some of your friends are very sick and 
 there is little hope of their recovery. 
 
 6016. If you dream of cabbage growing, good fortune is coming to you. 
 
 6017. If you dream of eating cabbage, you will experience a sorrow. 
 
 6018. Dream of playing cards and you will receive money. 
 
 6019. It brings good luck to dream of cats. 
 
 6020. A family quarrel is imminent, if you see a cat in your dream. 
 
 6021. To dream of a cat signifies that you have a very deceitful friend. 
 
 6022. If in your dream a cat jumps on you, you will soon receive money 
 from a relative. 
 
 6023. When you dream that a cat jumps at you and fails to reach you, 
 bad luck will follow. 
 
 6024. A dream of black cats is followed by misfortune. 
 
 6025. Some danger threatens you, if a black cat crosses your path in 
 a dream. 
 
 6026. To dream of a cellar indicates that you will be very sick. 
 
 6027. To dream that you are in a cellar foretells that you will be sick 
 and almost die. 
 
 6028. Very good luck and a very long life are yours, if you dream that 
 you are in a cemetery. 
 
 6029. If you dream of being chased by Indians or bandits, and are 
 captured and about to be killed, it means beware of someone 
 posing as your friend who soon will do you a "bad turn" finan- 
 cially. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 299 
 
 6030. Dreaming that you receive a check means the loss of money. 
 
 6031. If you dream of picking and eating cherries, some financial gain 
 will follow. 
 
 6032. If you dream of picking cherries and throwing them away, you 
 will suffer a loss of money. 
 
 6033. A dream of chickens is a sign of wealth. 
 
 6034. To dream of hens which appear contented is an excellent omen. 
 
 6035. To dream of a half-starved chicken signifies that someone sup- 
 posed to be your friend is actually your enemy. 
 
 6036. To dream of a scrawny chicken means an enduring friendship. 
 
 6037. It is lucky to find the nest of a hen in your dream. 
 
 6038. To dream of cooking a chicken indicates that you are going to 
 hear good news. 
 
 6039. A crowing cock in your dream will bring you good news. 
 
 6040. It is a sign of money to dream of a child. 
 
 6041. If you dream of robbers kidnapping your child, your child will 
 become sick. 
 
 6042. A dream of having children means that you will be childless. 
 
 6043. To dream of a church signifies that secret enemies are trying to 
 harm you. 
 
 6044. To dream of a church is a warning for you to change your habits 
 and to live a better life. 
 
 6045. A woman who dreams that she is in church nodding towards the 
 preacher will be married to a preacher. 
 
 6046. Dreaming of a churchyard is the sign of a happy life. 
 
 6047. It is a death portent for some member of your family, if you 
 dream of being on a cliff. 
 
 6048. To dream of climbing indicates that you will rise to honor. 
 
 6049. If you see a large pile of clinkers in your dream, trouble is coming. 
 
 6050. It causes bad luck to dream of soiled clothes. 
 
 6051. You will move, if you dream of washing clothes. 
 
 6052. A great sorrow follows a dream in which you are dressed in black. 
 
 6053. If in your dream you lend a black dress to someone, you will have 
 bad luck. 
 
 6054. If a sick person dreams of a black dress, he will get better. 
 
 6055. Dreaming of a black coach is a death warning. 
 
 6056. It indicates bad luck to see a coffin in your dream. 
 
 6057. Someone in the family will die, if you dream of a coffin. 
 
 6058. The death of a dear friend is presaged, when you see a coffin in 
 your dream. 
 
 6059. If you dream of a coffin, and see someone in it, that person will 
 die. 
 
300 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 6060. When you see a coffin in your dream, it means that you will marry 
 rich but not live long. 
 
 6061. If in your dream you put someone in a coffin, you will soon 
 marry and have a home of your own. 
 
 6062. There will be an increase in your family, if you dream of corn. 
 
 6063. Seeing a cornfield in your dream foretells an addition to your 
 family. 
 
 6064. To dream of corn is a sign of wealth. 
 
 6065. When you see full ears of corn in your dream, you will have as 
 many good years as there are ears of com. 
 
 6066. When you see scanty ears of corn in your dream, you will have 
 as many bad years as there are ears of corn. 
 
 6067. To gather corn in a dream means very good luck in everything. 
 
 6068. Walking behind a corpse in your dream indicates that you will 
 hear of an accident. 
 
 6069. If you dream of exhuming a relative, another member of your 
 
 family will die. "One night my aunt dreamt that she crawled 
 
 out to the cemetery on her hands and knees, and dug up her little 
 boy ; and the very next week her other boy burn up playing with 
 matches and died." 
 
 6070. To dream of a cow is the sign of prosperity. 
 
 6071. To dream of a calf means certain gain. 
 
 6072. A dream of cows is followed by a quarrel. "One night I 
 
 dreamt of three cows. Two were standing still and one jumped 
 over me. The next day I had a big fuss with a woman." 
 
 6073. Dreaming of cows indicates excitement: If the cows are standing 
 still, the excitement is for someone else; but if the cows start to 
 chase you, you will have the excitement. 
 
 6074. If you dream of cattle, you will hear of a happy marriage. 
 
 6075. It signifies good luck, if in your dream you see a cow with milk 
 running out of her udders. 
 
 6076. To see dirty milk coming from the udders of a cow in your dream 
 foretells bad luck for a year. 
 
 6077. To see a crazy person in your dream means that you will receive 
 a present and become rich. 
 
 6078. You will hear of a wedding, if you cry in your dream. 
 
 6079. To dream of weeping is a sure sign of pleasure. 
 
 6080. To dream that you are weeping and miserable, means good news 
 and an important change in your affairs. 
 
 6081. If you dream of a green cucumber, someone will die. 
 
 6082. A cyclone seen in a dream foreshadows a death in the family. 
 
 6083. When a cyclone in a dream blows off the roof of a house, the 
 head of the family will die. 
 
Folk-Lorc from Adams County Illinois 301 
 
 6084. It is a good omen to dream of dancing. 
 
 6085. A dream in which you are dancing indicates that you will soon 
 have trouble. 
 
 6086. If you are about to be married and dream of dates, your engage- 
 ment will be broken. 
 
 6087. It is a good sign to dream of a clear day. 
 
 6088. Dreaming of the dead indicates that you will hear from the living. 
 
 6089. A dream of the dead is the sign that you will receive a letter. 
 
 6090. Dreaming of a dead person or death means a marriage. 
 
 6091. To dream of seeing your father or mother laid out in a coffin and 
 ready for burial means an approaching wedding either in your 
 immediate family or among your relatives. 
 
 6092. If you dream of your dead father, he is in purgatory and must be 
 prayed out. 
 
 6093. To dream of a dead person means that he is asking for your 
 prayers. 
 
 6094. If you dream of a dead person coming to life, you will hear of 
 sickness. 
 
 6095. When in your dream a dead person leads you into a flower garden, 
 a death is portended. 
 
 6096. To dream of a death is the sign of a death. 
 
 6097. It is an omen of death to dream of death three times. 
 
 6098. Dreaming of a dead person is the sign of a big storm. 
 
 6099. It will rain soon, if you dream of the dead. 
 
 6100. If you dream that someone is dying, a baby will be bom. 
 
 6101. If you dream of a death, you will hear of a birth. 
 
 6102. A dream of death means a sickness. 
 
 6103. After you have dreamed of the dead, stay indoors for a day; you 
 may be killed in some peculiar manner, if you leave the house. 
 
 6104. Seeing the devil in a dream is a sign of sickness and trouble in 
 your family. 
 
 6105. It is a good sign to dream of the devil. 
 
 6106. A dream in which you are playing with dice will be followed by 
 some disgrace. 
 
 6107. To dream of dirt means poverty and misery. 
 
 6108. It brings good luck to dream of a dog. 
 
 6109. It causes bad luck, if a dog bites you in your dream. 
 
 6110. If you dream of a dog and he bites you, you will have good luck; 
 but if he does not bite you, you will have bad luck. 
 
 6111. There will be a death in the family, if you dream of seeing a 
 donkey, 
 
 6112. It is a good sign to dream of passing through a door. 
 
302 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 6113. To dream of a dove means happiness at home. 
 
 6114. A dream in which you see a person exceptionally well-dressed 
 indicates that that person is going to die. 
 
 6115. If a man dreams of drowning, it will bring him sorrow. 
 
 6116. If a woman dreams of drowning, she will have a happy marriage. 
 
 6117. To dream of a half-starved duck means that someone who pre- 
 tends to be a friend is an enemy. 
 
 6118. Seeing a "real poor duck" in your dream indicates that you will 
 soon commence an important task. 
 
 6119. To dream of a duel means a quarrel with your lover. 
 
 6120. If you see "lots" of dung in your dream, shame and misery will 
 come to you through dissipation. 
 
 6121. It is a good sign, when an eagle flys over you in your dream. 
 
 6122. Bad luck will follow a dream of freshly dug earth. 
 
 6123. It is a sign of sickness to dream of an earthquake. 
 
 6124. A dream of eggs causes bad luck, 
 
 6125. A dream of eggs brings good luck, if they are unbroken. 
 
 6126. A dream of broken eggs is followed by bad luck. 
 
 6127. If you dream that you are handling eggs and break one acciden- 
 tally, you will have good luck ; but if you do not break any, you 
 will be unlucky. 
 
 6128. Dreaming of eggs means happiness. 
 
 6129. "If I dream of eggs I know I am going to have a fuss with 
 someone." 
 
 6130. To dream of a large quantity of broken eggs is the sign of a 
 quarrel. 
 
 6131. To dream of eggs means that you will receive money. "I 
 
 dreamt I found a nest with five eggs in, one night, and the next 
 day I got ten dollars for a present." 
 
 6132. When you dream of eggs, you will receive money. The greater 
 the number of eggs, the larger the amount of money. 
 
 6133. A dream of eggs is a warning of death. 
 
 6134. To see an elephant in your dream shows that the devil is after you. 
 
 6135. If you dream of an elopement, you will receive an offer of mar- 
 riage. 
 
 6136. When you make excuses in your dreams, it indicates that you will 
 tell lies. 
 
 6137. Seeing the face of an old woman in your dream is followed by 
 good luck. 
 
 6138. It brings bad luck to dream of falling. 
 
 6139. It causes bad luck to dream of someone falling. 
 
 6140. To dream of falling through the air and striking the ground fore- 
 bodes the death of the dreamer. 
 
Folk-Lorc from Adams County Illinois 303 
 
 6141. To fall in a dream and not to awaken before reaching the ground 
 portends the death of the dreamer. 
 
 6142. To dream of falling on the ground means dishonor and shame. 
 
 6143. If you dream of falling from a horse, it bodes misfortune and 
 disappointment. 
 
 6144. Sickness and poverty will come to your family, if you dream that 
 you are on a ship and fall overboard. 
 
 6145. To dream of falling into a swamp means that you will fall into 
 poverty. 
 
 6146. If you dream of falling out of a window, you will have an 
 accident. 
 
 6147. It causes bad luck to dream of feet. 
 
 6148. If you dream of going somewhere barefoot, your life will be 
 free from cares. 
 
 6149. When you dream of someone playing a fiddle, it is a sign that 
 you will be happy. 
 
 6150. A dream of filth means money 
 
 6151. To dream of a fire is the sign of a fire. 
 
 6152. If you dream of a fire and see bright flames, you will have good 
 luck. 
 
 6153. If you dream of a fire and see smoke only, you will be unlucky. 
 
 6154. To dream of a dying fire is an omen of bad luck. 
 
 6155. Dreaming of a fire foretells a coming joy. 
 
 6156. To dream of a lire which is blazing furiously means danger. 
 
 6157. If you dream of a raging fire, you will be separated from a friend. 
 
 6158. Dream of a fire and you will hear hasty news. 
 
 6159. To see a sparkling fire in your dream indicates that you will have 
 plenty of money. 
 
 6160. If you dream of a stove and there is a fire in it, you will secure 
 wealth; but if the stove is cold, you will live in poverty. 
 
 6161. To dream of a stove without a fire signifies a lawsuit. 
 
 6162. A dream of fire is a sign of death. 
 
 6163. Dreaming of a fire means that a relative will die. 
 
 6164. A dream in which you go fishing will be followed by trouble and 
 sorrow. 
 
 6165. To dream of catching a large fish indicates gain and profit. 
 
 6166. Catching a large fish in your dream foretells poverty. 
 
 6167. If you dream of going fishing, someone will cheat you out of 
 money. 
 
 6168. It is the sign of death to see a fish in your dream. 
 
 6169. "If you dream you see someone bringing in a sack of flour in the 
 house, that is death. One night a woman dreamt her husband 
 
304 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 brought home a sack of flour. She told me about her dream. I 
 told her it was death. And they lost their little girl right after 
 that." 
 
 6170. It causes bad luck to dream of flowers. 
 
 6171. To pick flowers in a dream is a sign of good luck. 
 
 6172. A dream of flowers out of season means bad luck. 
 
 6173. To see bright flowers in a dream indicates a pleasant life. 
 
 6174. Gathering flowers in a dream is a sign of a lasting friendship. 
 
 6175. To dream of casting flowers away signifies despair and quarrels. 
 
 6176. A dream of flowers indicates a death in the neighborhood. 
 
 6177. To dream of flowers is an omen of death. "One night I 
 
 dreamt I had so many flowers I did not know what to do with 
 them, and my best friend died that week." 
 
 6178. Planting flowers in your dream is the sign of death. 
 
 6179. The significance of a dream in which you fly is a journey soon 
 to be taken. 
 
 6180. "Dreams of old friends, 
 Bring news of them." 
 
 6181. "If you dream of a frog croaking, it is the sign you will succeed 
 just as soon as you quit fussing and go to work." 
 
 6182. Dreaming of a funeral (procession) means a death. 
 
 6183. To dream of being in a garden means that a joy is coming to you. 
 
 6185. It brings bad luck to dream that your garden is growing well. 
 
 6186. "If you dream of a nice garden growing, it is the sign of death. 
 One night I dreamt of seeing a garden just full of fine cabbage 
 and my mother died in three days." 
 
 6187. Concerning a dream of gloves: If they are new, you will have 
 much pleasure; but if they are old and soiled, you will have a 
 disappointment. 
 
 6188. To dream of wearing gloves is a sign of good fortune. 
 
 6189. If you dream of wearing gloves, you will have honor and pros- 
 perity. 
 
 6190. Dreaming of a white goat signifies prosperity. 
 
 6191. To dream of a black goat means a sickness, and it is uncertain 
 whether you will recover. 
 
 6192. It brings good luck to dream of gold and silver. 
 
 6193. Dreaming of a goose indicates profit and pleasure. 
 
 6194. To see a white goose flying in your dream is a sign that an angel 
 is coming for someone in the family. 
 
 6195. To dream of a large grain field foretells a happy marriage. 
 
 6196. It is a sign of pleasure to dream of grapes. 
 
 6197. If you dream of green grass, you will receive money. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 305 
 
 6198. It causes bad luck to dream of someone digging a grave. 
 
 6199. To dream of someone digging a grave means that another grave 
 
 will soon be dug. "A week after my mother died, I dreamt of 
 
 the funeral all over, and saw my mother's coffin at the cemetery 
 and a man digging another grave right by my mother's coffin, as 
 fast as he could dig. I knew it was going to be my father, because 
 it was right by my mother's grave. My father died seven months 
 after that." 
 
 6200. If in your dream you see yourself digging a grave, there will be 
 a death in the family. 
 
 6201. A dream of any kind of grease is the sign of death. 
 
 6202. Whoever plays on a guitar and sings in his dream will be lucky 
 in love. 
 
 6203. It brings bad luck to dream of firing a gun. 
 
 6204. To dream of your hair is a sign of misfortune. 
 
 6205. If you dream that someone is hanged, you will rise to great honor. 
 
 6206. To dream of being hanged is a sign of success in all your affairs. 
 
 6207. A dream of hell means that you should change your habits and 
 
 live a purer life. "I dreamt I died and went to hell. I went 
 
 to a big door and the devil was standing there with his pitchfork 
 turning over the dead on the fire. The devil said to me, 'What 
 do you want?' I told him I wanted to come in. He said, 'Go 
 back, I don't want you.' I knew then that I should change my 
 ways and do better, for I was not doing right. For even the devil 
 did not want me." 
 
 6208. It brings good luck to dream of ascending a hill. 
 
 6209. It is unlucky to dream of going down a hill. 
 
 6210. To dream of a hole in the ground is the sign of bad luck. 
 
 6211. A dream of a hole in the ground is an omen of death. 
 
 6212. To dream of a trench dug in the ground portends a death. 
 
 6213. Dreaming that you go down into a hole in the ground means death 
 for some member of the family. 
 
 6214. To see in your dream a pile of earth, which has been removed 
 from a hole, indicates a death. 
 
 6215. It is a sign of good fortune to dream of a horse. 
 
 6216. To dream of a white horse foretells good luck. 
 
 6217. It is unlucky to dream of a black horse. 
 
 6218. A dream in which a horse is running means bad luck. 
 
 6219. It signifies a disappointment, if you dream of a black horse. 
 
 6220. If you dream of a bay or grey horse, you will receive a letter. 
 
 "I always get a letter the next day after I dream about a bay 
 horse." 
 
306 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 6221. Dreaming of a black horse means that you will receive a letter. 
 
 "When I dream of a black horse I always get a letter and 
 
 the letter has bad news in it." 
 
 6222. To dream of a grey horse indicates that an officer is coming to 
 your house. 
 
 6223. If you dream that you are on a horse, you will rise in the world. 
 
 6224. A dream of a white horse is a warning of death. 
 
 6225. To dream that you are in a hotel is a sign of bad news. 
 
 6226. If you dream that you are in a large house, there will be a change 
 in your aflfairs. 
 
 6227. To dream that you are in an empty house forebodes a death in 
 the family. 
 
 6228. To dream of your husband is an indication that you will receive 
 money. 
 
 6229. If you dream of leaving your husband, it is a certain sign that you 
 will be separated from him. 
 
 6230. If you dream that you have the itch, or that your body itches, you 
 will receive money. 
 
 6231. A dream of joy indicates that you will probably lose something. 
 
 6232. To dream of a key signifies hate and anger. 
 
 6233. If you dream of being kissed, you will have disagreeable visitors. 
 
 6234. To dream of kissing someone means disappointment in love. 
 
 6235. It is an excellent omen to dream that you are in a kitchen. 
 
 6236. "If you dream of a knife, you will quarrel with someone soon. 
 Look out you don't cut them." 
 
 6237. A dream of knives is the sign of anger and disputes. 
 
 6238. To dream of going up a ladder indicates that you will rise in life. 
 
 6239. To dream of descending a ladder means that you will sink into 
 poverty. 
 
 6240. If you dream of climbing a ladder, you will have trouble; but if 
 you descend the ladder after ascending it, you will survive the 
 trouble. 
 
 6241. It is an omen of sorrow and suflfering to dream of lighting a lamp. 
 
 6242. A dream of writing a letter indicates good news. 
 
 6243. Dreaming of a letter is a sign that you will meet a new friend. 
 
 6244. If you see a bundle of letters in your dream and get them, you 
 will have bad luck. 
 
 6245. It signifies happiness to dream of receiving a bundle of letters. 
 
 6246. A dream of lice is an omen of death. 
 
 6247. To dream of lice is the sign of poor health. 
 
 6248. If you dream of lice on your head, you will soon have a "sick 
 spell." 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 307 
 
 6249. It is lucky to dream of a light. 
 
 6250. A dream of lightning is followed by trouble. 
 
 6251. To dream of lightning presages a death in the family. 
 
 6252. It is a good sign to dream of lilies in season. 
 
 6253. Good luck will come to you, if you dream of a lion. 
 
 6254. Dreaming of a lion means treachery from a friend. 
 
 6255. "If a married woman dreams of being lost, it is the sign of her 
 husband putting her out of the house." 
 
 6256. "If a single girl dreams of being lost, she will come up with a 
 baby without a husband." 
 
 6257. To dream of new lumber indicates sickness. 
 
 6258. If you dream of new lumber, it is an omen of a death; and the 
 nearer the lumber, the nearer the death. 
 
 6259. To dream of a man or men signifies that you will be very lucky. 
 
 6260. It is an indication of bad luck to dream of a man. 
 
 6261. To dream of a marriage is the sign of bad luck, 
 
 6262. Good luck and happiness will come to you, if you dream of a 
 wedding. 
 
 6263. If you dream of a marriage, you will inherit money. 
 
 6264. A dream of a wedding means that you will never marry, 
 
 6265. To dream of a wedding is the token of a death, 
 
 6266. Dreaming of a marriage indicates that someone in the family 
 will die. 
 
 6267. Wealth will come to you, if you dream of matches. 
 
 6268. To dream of eating a large meal means that you will soon attend 
 
 a funeral, "Every time I dream of a big meal I am sure to 
 
 go to a funeral soon." 
 
 6269. If you dream of meat, you will go to a wedding. 
 
 6270. A dream of spoiled meat indicates that you will hear of someone 
 
 getting into trouble. "My mother dreamed one night that my 
 
 father brought her home some spoiled beef and the next day her 
 brother got into jail," 
 
 6271. If you dream of white meat, a very white person will die; if you 
 dream of brown meat, a very brown person will die; and if you 
 dream of black meat, a very dark person will die. 
 
 6272. Meeting someone in your dream is an indication of prosperity. 
 
 6273. To dream of mice indicates dangerous friends. 
 
 6274. A dream of milk is the sign that you will fall in love, 
 
 6275. It is an omen of treachery to dream of looking into a mirror, 
 
 6276. Someone will slander you, if you dream of a looking-glass. 
 
 6277. To dream of money is the sign of bad luck, 
 
 6278. It causes good luck to dream of finding money. 
 
308 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 6279. To dream of finding a small piece of money is unlucky. 
 
 6280. It is a good omen to dream of finding a large piece of money. 
 
 6281. A dream in which you find a large amount of money means good 
 luck. 
 
 6282. If you dream of finding a purse full of money, you will have good 
 luck. 
 
 6283. A small amount of money found in a dream indicates bad luck. 
 
 6284. Fortune will favor you soon, if you dream of losing money. 
 
 6285. It causes good luck to dream of silver money, 
 
 6286. A dream of silver money brings bad luck. 
 
 6287. It is an indication of good luck to dream of finding silver money. 
 
 6288. To dream of finding two pieces of silver money is the sign of 
 good luck. 
 
 6289. It brings bad luck to dream of paper money. 
 
 6290. To dream of finding money is the sign of losing money. 
 
 6291. You will be disappointed, if you dream of inheriting money. 
 
 6292. A dream of money is the sign of a quarrel. *Tf I dream of 
 
 money I know I am sure going to have a fuss with someone." 
 
 6293. There will be a sickness in your house, if you dream of money. 
 
 6294. It signifies a wedding to dream of money. 
 
 6295. A dream of finding money is an omen of death. 
 
 6296. To dream of paper money forebodes a death. 
 
 6297. It is lucky to dream of the moon. 
 
 6298. It brings good luck in love and money to dream of the moon. 
 
 6299. If you see the moon and stars in your dream, and they have tails, 
 it is the omen of a death in the family. 
 
 6300. It is a sign of rain, if you dream of your mother. "When I 
 
 dream of my mother, it will just pour down rain the next day." 
 
 6301. "If you dream of moving, you will sure move. Every time I 
 dream of moving we do move in a few weeks." 
 
 6302. To dream of moving is a sign of trouble. 
 
 6303. To dream of mud means a sickness. 
 
 6304. To dream of a mulatto signifies success in love. 
 
 6305. To dream of murdering someone is the sign that you have false 
 friends and are in danger. 
 
 6306. If you see a naked woman in your dream, you are going to be 
 married. 
 
 6307. Dreaming of a naked woman means honor and joy. 
 
 6308. To dream of being naked is a death warning. 
 
 6309. It is the sign that someone will die, if you see a naked person in 
 your dream. 
 
 6310. If you dream of a naked woman, you will hear of a man's death. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 309 
 
 6311. If you dream of a naked man, you will hear of a woman's death. 
 
 6312. To dream of a naked man is the sign that you will die. 
 
 6313. You will be unlucky, if you dream of negroes. 
 
 6314. To dream of coming face to face with a negro means that you will 
 have some good gain. 
 
 6315. Expect a disappointment, if you dream of a negro. 
 
 6316. Dreaming of negroes indicates that you will have a serious quarrel, 
 and perhaps blood will be shed. 
 
 6317. Great happiness will come to you, if you dream of eating nuts. 
 
 6318. To dream of nutmegs means that you will rise to a high position. 
 
 6319. If you dream of onions, you will have trouble and sorrow. 
 
 6320. Dreaming of fried onions indicates that a friend is very ill but 
 will recover. 
 
 6321. It is an excellent omen to dream of oranges on a tree. 
 
 6322. To dream of an orchard means that you will receive a large amount 
 of money. 
 
 6323. You will be poor, if you dream of peanuts. 
 
 6324. If a man dreams of eating pickles, he will be loved by a sour and 
 crabby old maid. 
 
 6325. If a girl dreams of eating pickles, she will be kissed by an old 
 bachelor. 
 
 6326. To dream of a pig is an indication of assured gain. 
 
 6327. It brings good luck to dream of a pigeon. 
 
 6328. It is the sign of reconciliation to dream of a pigeon. 
 
 6329. A dream of a white pigeon is a death portent. 
 
 6330. To dream of plums is the sign of a death in the family. "One 
 
 night I dreamt we had a table full of fine plums. That next 
 morning I said to my son, 'We are going to have a death in the 
 family, because I dreamt of plums last night.' My son said, 
 'Mother you are always looking for something.' That was Monday 
 morning. Tuesday my son took sick and died Friday of the same 
 week." 
 
 6331. Dreaming of a policeman is a warning to beware of false friends. 
 
 6332. A dream of potatoes indicates that you have secret enemies of 
 whom you are unaware. 
 
 6ZZZ. To dream of a row of potatoes, with the potatoes protruding from 
 the ground, is a sure sign of death. 
 
 6334. "If you dream you are peeling a potato, and also see some money, 
 you can always look for trouble in two days after that dream." 
 
 6335. To dream of quarrehng and fighting means that you will hear 
 good news unexpectedly. 
 
 62)2)6. It is an omen of trouble to dream of a rabbit. 
 
310 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 6337. If you dream of rabbits, you will have pleasure and gain in some- 
 thing you are about to undertake. 
 
 6338. To dream of rabbits is a sign that you will receive a love letter 
 containing a proposal. Accept it, because it means happiness. 
 
 6339. To dream of running a race: If you lose, it will bring bad luck; 
 but if you win, all your troubles will be surmounted, 
 
 6340. It signifies shame and misery to dream of old rags. 
 
 6341. To dream of being out in the rain is a warning of death. 
 
 6342. It is a sign of secret enemies to dream of rats, 
 
 6343. If you dream of rats, someone will steal something from you, 
 
 6344. "If you dream of a red cross it is a sure sign of a death in the 
 family. Two nights before my mother died I dreamt of a red 
 cross in the heaven, and it came down and touch the ground and 
 I woke up; and my mother died in two nights after that," 
 
 6345. To dream of a relative indicates that a relative will die soon. 
 
 6346. There will be a quarrel in the family, if you dream of breaking 
 your ribs, 
 
 6347. To dream of large rocks and that you are on them: If you get 
 off the rocks, you will have good luck; but if you are unable to 
 get off the rocks, you will have bad luck, 
 
 6348. You will always have many friends, if you dream of roses, 
 
 6349. It is a good omen to dream that you are running, 
 
 6350. Everything will go wrong, if you dream of spilling salt, 
 
 6351. To see a pair of scissors in your dream means that you will quarrel 
 with your sweetheart, 
 
 6352. Someone is going to flatter you, if you dream of a shawl. 
 
 6353. If you lose your shawl in a dream, it signifies that your lover will 
 jilt you. 
 
 6354. It is a sign of great pain to dream of sheep, 
 
 6355. To dream of shoes is an indication of good luck, 
 
 6356. A dream of new shoes means good luck. 
 
 6357. It is a sign of bad luck to dream of old shoes, 
 
 6358. Dreaming of good shoes indicates good luck and honor, 
 
 6359. Losing a shoe in a dream is a bad omen, 
 
 6360. If you dream of losing your shoes, you will be very poor, 
 
 6361. To dream of old and shabby shoes means financial troubles and 
 the loss of a dear friend, 
 
 6362. You will lose a friend, if you dream of losing a shoe, 
 
 6363. If you dream of shoes, you will hear of a fight, 
 
 6364. To dream of losing your shoes indicates that you will lose some- 
 one in the family. 
 
 6365. "If someone is sick and you dream they run away or get out of 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 311 
 
 the house, they will sure die. If you find them in your dream 
 and get them back into the house, they will get well." 
 
 6366. To dream that someone is ill in bed foretells that he will never 
 recover. 
 
 6367. It causes bad luck to dream of smoke. 
 
 6368. To dream of smoke is a sign of death. 
 
 6369. It brings bad luck to dream of snakes. 
 
 6370. To dream that you have been bitten by a snake is a sign of bad 
 luck, 
 
 6371. It means good luck, if you dream of being bitten by a snake. 
 
 6372. Dreaming of a snake is an omen of trouble. 
 
 6373. If you reveal a dream in which a snake has been seen, you will 
 quarrel with someone soon. 
 
 6374. To dream of a writhing and twisting snake indicates danger and 
 imprisonment. 
 
 6375. To dream of a snake means that your house will catch fire. 
 
 6376. Snakes in a dream signify enemies. 
 
 6377. If you dream of snakes, it means that you have as many enemies 
 as snakes seen in your dream. 
 
 6378. If you dream of killing a snake, it indicates that you have con- 
 quered an enemy. 
 
 6379. If you dream of a snake and do not kill it, an enemy will harm 
 you. 
 
 6380. "If you dream of a snake and the snake is hollering and making 
 a noise, that is a sure sign of a death in the family." 
 
 6381. A dream of black snakes forebodes a death in the family. 
 
 "One night I dreamt a big black snake was on my bed and another 
 big black snake was trying to get on the bed. The next morning 
 at ten o'clock my niece was playing around a tub of hot water 
 and fell in and died before they could get a doctor." 
 
 6382. To dream of snow out of season means good luck. 
 
 6383. Dreaming of snow indicates that an important event in your life 
 will soon occur. 
 
 6384. If you dream of snow, you will either be disappointed or suffer 
 a loss. 
 
 6385. If you dream of someone, you will hear from him next day. 
 
 6386. To dream of a spider spinning its web means that you will receive 
 a large sum of money. 
 
 6387. A dream of spiders indicates success in love. 
 
 6388. To dream of a spider crawling on you is a sign that you are the 
 victim of a treacherous act. 
 
312 Memoirs of flic Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 6389. To dream of spirits or ghosts indicates that you will discover 
 
 something which has been concealed from you. 
 
 6390. If you dream that someone spits into your eyes, your feelings 
 will soon be hurt. 
 
 6391. It is a good sign to dream of spring weather. You will be 
 fortunate in something. 
 
 6392. It is a portent of death in the family to dream of starvation. 
 
 6393. To dream of stealing at night will bring bad luck. 
 
 6394. It is a good omen to dream of stealing in the daytime. 
 
 6395. To dream of a stork bodes a great misfortune. 
 
 6396. It is a sign of reconciliation to dream of a storm. 
 
 6397. If you dream of a big windstorm, you will be very sick. 
 
 6398. Dreaming of a storm or windstorm is a warning of death. 
 
 "I dreamt one night we had a big storm and it took the awning 
 off the house. My uncle died that week." 
 
 6399. To dream of strawberries means a new love and a happy mar- 
 riage. 
 
 6400. It is lucky to dream of the rising sun. 
 
 6401. To dream of teeth is a sign of good luck. 
 
 6402. To dream of losing a tooth foretells that you will lose a friend. 
 
 6403. If you dream that your false teeth fall out, you have false friends. 
 
 6404. A dream of pulling teeth is an omen of sickness. 
 
 6405. To dream of teeth portends a death. 
 
 6406. To dream of having a toothache is a death warning. 
 
 6407. To dream that your teeth fall out is a death portent. 
 
 6408. There will be a death in the family, if you dream of having a 
 tooth pulled. 
 
 6409. If you dream of having a tooth extracted and it hurts, expect the 
 death of a near relative; but if it does not hurt, a distant relative 
 will die. 
 
 6410. To dream of pulling your own tooth presages a death in the family. 
 
 "Years ago I had a very sick brother. We were living out 
 
 in the country, and the doctor told us one night if he was no 
 
 better the next day to come in town and he would change the 
 medicine. The next morning Charlie was no better, so my mother 
 said to my father, 'After breakfast I want you to go to town and 
 get some medicine from the doctor.' My father said, Tt is no use 
 of me going to town. I am making the trip for nothing, for you 
 know whenever I dream of pulling a tooth, we have a death ; and 
 last night I dreamt I was pulling my tooth.' At last my mother 
 got my father to go for the medicine, still saying he was making 
 the trip for nothing, so sure brother would die. He got in town. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 313 
 
 got the medicine and stopped at the post office and found a letter 
 from his folks, that his sister was dead. So the dreaming of the 
 tooth was for his sister and not his son as he thought." 
 
 6411. It is a sign of bad luck to dream that you are in a theatre. 
 
 6412. A dream in which thieves enter your house and rob you indicates 
 profit and honor. 
 
 6413. It brings good luck in love afifairs and business to dream of prepar- 
 ing or eating tomatoes. 
 
 6414. Dreaming of many green trees means that great wealth is coming 
 to you. 
 
 6415. If you dream of pulling up a tree by the roots, a relative will die. 
 
 "I dreamt one night of pulling a little tree up by the roots 
 
 and took it right through the house. The next day I got a telegram 
 my cousin was dead." 
 
 6416. To dream of seeing a turkey reveals that you have enemies but 
 will overcome them. 
 
 6417. If you dream of a turkey, you will receive a large amount of 
 money. 
 
 6418. You will have family troubles, if you dream of eating turnips. 
 
 6419. To dream of healthy twins is the sign of success in business. 
 
 6420. Dreaming of sickly twins means sorrow. 
 
 6421. It is a good sign to dream of an umbrella. 
 
 6422. Dreaming of an umbrella will bring good luck, if you do not walk 
 under it. 
 
 6423. To dream of an umbrella means that you will receive a great 
 amount of money. 
 
 6424. If you dream of an undertaker, you will die. 
 
 6425. It bodes misfortune to dream of eating vegetables. 
 
 6426. If you dream of a villain, you will lose your property. 
 
 6427. Dreaming of vinegar indicates family quarrels and misunder- 
 standings. 
 
 6428. If you dream that you are vomiting, you will soon become ill. 
 
 6429. To dream of walking shows that you will change your residence. 
 
 6430. To dream of opening and eating walnuts is a sign that you will 
 receive money. 
 
 6431. To dream of warts is an indication that you are loved by some- 
 one but do not know it. 
 
 6432. "If you dream of wasps, look out, for you are going to look into 
 some danger." 
 
 6433. Dreaming of wasps is a sign that you have enemies who are going 
 to injure you. 
 
 6434. To dream of dropping a watch foretells trouble. 
 
314 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 6435. It is a sign of trouble to dream of breaking a watch. 
 
 6436. A dream of water means bad luck. 
 
 6437. It causes good luck to dream of clear water. 
 
 6438. To dream of muddy water is unlucky, 
 
 6439. It signifies good luck to dream of running water, 
 
 6440. If you dream of clear water, exj>ect either to hear good news or 
 to receive money, 
 
 6441. A dream of clear water indicates happiness. 
 
 6442. If an unmarried woman dreams that she is wading in clear water, 
 she will soon be happily married to the man of her choice. 
 
 6443. Dreaming of muddy water means that you are going to have 
 
 trouble. "I always have lots of trouble and everything goes 
 
 wrong when I dream of muddy water." 
 
 6444. To dream of muddy water foretells that you will have a quarrel 
 before the day is over. 
 
 6445. It is a sign of sickness to dream of muddy water. 
 
 6446. To dream of bloody w^ater indicates that you will hear of some- 
 one who is going to shed blood soon. 
 
 6447. A dream of muddy water is a death omen, 
 
 6448. To dream of walking through muddy water portends a death. 
 
 6449. If you dream of water running off a house, someone in the family 
 will die. 
 
 6450. To dream of something white is a sign that you wall receive a 
 letter. 
 
 6451. If you dream of anything white, you will see a shroud. 
 
 6452. Dreaming of anything white means a death. 
 
 6453. It is a bad sign to dream of a will. 
 
 6454. To dream of making a will indicates that you will live long and 
 be successful in business. 
 
 6455. Someone will accuse you falsely, if you dream of going through 
 a window. 
 
 6456. It is a sign of domestic happiness to dream of a window. 
 
 6457. Dreaming of worms signifies that you will catch a contagious 
 disease. 
 
 6458. If you dream of a sign that has an "X" on it, misfortune will 
 overtake you. 
 
 6459. "Captain Michael P. in his youth was a bricklayer. He had one 
 night a dream which so impressed him with a feeling of danger 
 that he did not go to work next day. It was well for him that he 
 did not, for the scaffold on which he would have been working 
 fell from a great height. It would be easy to supply from imagina- 
 tion details of the dream and of a fatal accident to those on the 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 315 
 
 scaffold, but to tell the truth my memory of the story as it was 
 told me records neither. Captain P., who was a man of intelligence 
 and force sufficient to raise him from the position of illiterate, 
 friendless Irish immigrant boy to that of respected lawyer, poli- 
 tician, postmaster, told this story to his children and believed 
 firmly that the dream had saved his life." Written contribution. 
 
 WISHES 
 
 6460. If you fail to get your wish, you will have bad luck. 
 
 6461. Wish for something long enough and you will get it. 
 
 6462. "If three persons center their minds on a certain thing, it will 
 come true." 
 
 6463. Reveal a wish and it will not come true. 
 
 6464. To discover whether you will obtain your wish, take a deck of 
 cards and turn over one card at a time. If a red ace comes up 
 first, you will secure your wish ; if a black ace, you will not. 
 
 6465. After you have made a wish, count ten before speaking. 
 
 6466. Let two persons make wishes while dividing a double almond. 
 When they next meet, the first one to say, "Philippino," will have 
 his wish. 
 
 6467. Wish when you see a red automobile. 
 
 6468. If a red automobile is seen, stamp it and make a wish. 
 
 6469. Upon seeing a red automobile, run up and pinch someone and at 
 the same time make a wish. 
 
 6470. As soon as you see a red automobile truck, pinch yourself while 
 wishing. 
 
 6471. Make a wish as a load of empty barrels passes. 
 
 6472. A wish will come true, if it is made in a bed that has never been 
 slept in. 
 
 6473. Wish before opening the Bible. If you see the words, "And it 
 shall come to pass," you will get the wish. 
 
 6474. Having made a wish, if you can blow out all the candles on your 
 birthday cake with one breath, the wish will come true. 
 
 6475. The person who has a birthday may make a wish before he cuts 
 his birthday cake. 
 
 6476. As the boat goes through the draw of a bridge, make a wish. 
 
 This is frequently done on excursion boats out of Quincy. 
 
 6477. Spit into the water while on a bridge and make a wish. 
 
 6478. If you spit into the water when on a bridge, then walk across 
 the bridge and make a wish, you will obtain the wish. 
 
316 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 6479. Count twelve and make a wish as you cross a bridge. 
 
 6480. Make a wish while passing over a new bridge. 
 
 6481. Wish when you are crossing a railroad bridge, and if you do not 
 speak until the bridge has been crossed, you will get the wish. 
 
 6482. If you let a broom fall, make a wish before picking it up. 
 
 6483. You may make a wish when you find a button. 
 
 (3484. Look at the forepaws of a grey cat when you see one and make a 
 wish. The wish will come true, if you never see the cat again. 
 
 6485. The girl who finds a cat in her room should, before removing it, 
 stroke its back seven times and make a wish with each stroke. 
 
 6486. Wish as you eat the heart of a chicken. 
 
 6487. Swallow a small chicken heart whole and make a wish while it is 
 going down. 
 
 6488. Throw the heart of a rooster over your left shoulder while mak- 
 ing a wish and you will have good luck. 
 
 6489. When you have found a four-leafed clover, make a wish as you 
 hold it above your head. 
 
 6490. If you find a four-leafed clover, make a wish while putting it in 
 your shoe. 
 
 6491. After finding a four-leafed clover, kiss it and place it in your shoe ; 
 then remove the clover on the day you want your wish to come 
 true. 
 
 6492. Place a four-leafed clover in your shoe while making a wish, and 
 when the clover is lost, you will get the wish. 
 
 6493. Eat the first four-leafed clover that you find during the spring 
 and any wish made by you will come true. 
 
 6494. Let the person who plucks a four-leafed clover make a wish and 
 toss the clover away. 
 
 6495. Do not pick a four-leafed clover, but make a wish; and as the 
 clover grows, so will your wish grow. 
 
 6496. Make a wish while picking a five-leafed clover and then throw 
 the clover away. 
 
 6497. Make a wish as you pick a five-leafed clover and you will not 
 have bad luck. 
 
 6498. If coffee grounds are left in your cup, set the cup upside down 
 and put your thumb on the handle; then turn the cup around 
 three times while making a wish. 
 
 6499. After dropping a comb, step on it and make a wish before picking 
 it up. 
 
 6500. If you let a comb fall while combing your hair, turn the teeth 
 down and make a wish. This is done either to get a wish or to 
 keep from having bad luck. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 317 
 
 6501. When you find a grain of corn, make a wish and bury the corn. 
 
 6502. If a grain of corn is found, make a wish and count ten while 
 burying the grain. 
 
 6503. Wish on a dandelion that has gone to seed and then blow the seed- 
 ball; if the seeds come off with the first blow, your wish will be 
 granted. 
 
 6504. Make a wish before picking up a dish rag that you have dropped. 
 
 6505. If you let a dish rag fall, step on it and wish; then pick it up. 
 
 6506. Steal a dish rag and bury it secretly while making a wish. 
 
 6507. It is lucky to meet your double, especially if you make a wish 
 when you see him. 
 
 6508. A wish made at the sound of the first dove of spring will be 
 fulfilled. 
 
 6509. If your dress is turned up, make a wish before turning it down. 
 This will give you either your wish or good luck. 
 
 6510. When the hem of your dress is turned up, make a wish and kiss 
 it before turning it down. 
 
 6511. A dress put on backwards should not be changed until you have 
 made a wish. This will avert bad luck and bring you your wish. 
 Some say that you must wish three times to avoid the bad luck. 
 
 6512. Clothes put on wrong side out must not be removed until eleven 
 o'clock that morning; then you may take them off while making 
 a wish. 
 
 6513. While making a wish, drop the white of a fresh &gg into a glass 
 of cold water; if the white of the egg goes to the bottom and 
 
 stays there, you will get your wish if the white of the G.gg 
 
 bubbles and comes to the surface of the water, your wish will not 
 be fulfilled. 
 
 6514. When there is an eyelash on someone's cheek, let him make a wish 
 and guess which cheek has the eyelash. If he guesses correctly, 
 the wish will come true. 
 
 6515. Make a wish before picking up a fork that has fallen to the floor. 
 
 6516. Attend the "Three Hour Service" in a Roman Catholic Church 
 on Good Friday. Make a wish during this service, and if you 
 remain the whole three hours, you will get the wish. 
 
 6517. If a wish is made as you untangle your hair, it will come true. 
 
 6518. Hang up a hairpin that you find and make a wish. 
 
 6519. Wish when you find a hairpin and hang the latter on a nail. 
 
 6520. If a hairpin is found and hung on a rusty nail, you may make a 
 wish. 
 
 6521. After finding a hairpin, put it on a wire and make a wish. 
 
318 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 6522. Hang on a nail the hairpin that you find and make a wish. This 
 will bring you a letter. 
 
 6523. When you find a hairpin, let your sweetheart hold one end of it 
 while you grasp the other end; bend it and make a wish, then 
 throw the hairpin over your left shoulder. 
 
 6524. Wish upon seeing a haystack in a field and do not look at the 
 haystack again. 
 
 6525. Repeat the following rhyme when you see a hay wagon : 
 
 "Load of hay, load of hay, 
 
 Take my wish and go away." 
 or 
 
 "Load of hay, load of hay. 
 
 Make a wish and look away." 
 "Mrs. B. told me this afternoon she was sitting in the rocking- 
 chair looking out of the front window and saw a load of hay go 
 by. She wished she would become sick this month, as she had not 
 been for several months, and the next day she came." 
 
 6526. If a load of hay is seen, make a wish and count thirteen, then 
 look away. 
 
 6527. Make a wish when you see a load of baled hay and when the bales 
 are broken you will get your wish. 
 
 6528. Failing to make a wish while passing a load of hay will cause you 
 bad luck. 
 
 6529. There will be a serious sickness and perhaps a death in your 
 family, if you pass a load of hay without wishing. 
 
 6530. Wish just before you begin to climb a hill, and do not look back. 
 
 6531. W^ish when you see a white horse. 
 
 6532. If you see a white horse, say: 
 
 "White, white, horse. 
 Ding, ding, ding. 
 Where I go, 
 I'll find something." 
 Then make a wish and it will be granted. 
 
 6534. Stamp a white horse that is seen and make a wish. 
 
 6535. Spit over your little (left) finger, if you see a white horse, and 
 make a wish. 
 
 6536. Wish when you see a white horse and you will get the wish, 
 provided you do not see the horse again, 
 
 6537. Stamp two white horses that are pulling a load of hay ; then make 
 a wish. 
 
 6538. Count seven white horses and you will meet a red-haired woman ; 
 then make a wish. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 319 
 
 6539. After you have met seven white horses on the same day, wish 
 when you see the seventh horse. 
 
 6540. Stamp every white horse you meet and make a wish, and after 
 you have stamped the twentieth horse, the wish will come true. 
 
 6541. Make a wish after you have seen fifty white horses and a load 
 of hay. 
 
 6542. Count one hundred white horses and wish on the hundredth horse. 
 
 6543. When you see a grey horse, kiss the back of your hand while 
 making a wish, and then spit. 
 
 6544. Wish on the first colt seen during the spring. 
 
 6545. If you find a horseshoe, make a wish and throw the horseshoe 
 over your left shoulder. 
 
 6546. Wish when a horseshoe is found, and toss it over your right 
 shoulder. 
 
 6547. Having found a horseshoe, pick it up with your right hand and 
 make a wish while throwing the horseshoe over your right 
 shoulder. 
 
 6548. Spit on a horseshoe that you have found ; then make a wish and 
 pitch the horseshoe over your left shoulder. 
 
 6549. When you find a horseshoe, make a wish while spitting on it, and 
 then throw the horseshoe over your right shoulder. 
 
 6550. Having wished and spit on a horseshoe that you have found, throw 
 it over your head; and if the prongs on the toe remain up, you 
 will get your wish. 
 
 6551. If you find a horseshoe with the prongs toward you, make a wish 
 and throw the horseshoe over your right shoulder. 
 
 6552. The first person to pass under a horseshoe that you have hung 
 above a door may make a wish. 
 
 6553. Make a wish when entering a new house for the first time. 
 
 6554. When you first enter a new house, walk in backwards while mak- 
 ing a wish. 
 
 6555. As soon as you go into a new house, look at the kitchen and make 
 a wish. 
 
 6556. On the first night you move into a new house, wish as you name 
 the four corners of your bed. 
 
 6557. Make a wish at the first meal you eat in the house of "newlyweds." 
 
 6558. Light a match as you make a wish ; and if you can hold the match 
 until it burns out, the wish will be fulfilled. 
 
 6559. Wish when you see a man with a wooden leg. 
 
 6560. If you meet a man who has a wooden leg, make a wish and spit 
 on the sidewalk. 
 
 6561. A wish for money should be made when the sun is brightest. 
 
320 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 6562. You must wish on the increase of the moon to secure money. 
 
 6563. Wish at the appearance of the new moon. 
 
 6564. A wish made when you first see the new moon will come true, 
 provided you refrain from looking at the moon until it becomes 
 new again. 
 
 6565. The first time you see the new moon, bow to it three times while 
 making a wish. 
 
 6566. On seeing the new moon for the first time through the branches 
 of a tree, make a wish. 
 
 6567. When the new moon first appears, make a wish while looking at 
 it over your left shoulder. 
 
 6568. At the first appearance of the new moon, look at it over your 
 right shoulder while making a wish, 
 
 6569. Look at the new moon for the first time and make a wish while 
 
 you are picking up a piece of silver. "My sister held a silver 
 
 dollar in one hand and bent over and picked it out of her hand 
 with the other hand, making a wish and looking at the moon all 
 the time, and she got her wish." 
 
 6570. Never pick up a mop that you have dropped without first stepping 
 on it and making a wish. 
 
 6571. If a nail is found, drive it into something while making a wish. 
 
 6572. Do not make a wish soon after New Year's Day or you will have 
 bad luck. 
 
 6573. Put onion peelings on live coals and make a wish while they burn. 
 
 6574. Open a persimmon seed in a certain manner and you will see a 
 knife, fork and spoon. Make a wish while doing this. 
 
 6575. Make a wash while eating last the point of a piece of pie. 
 
 6576. Wish when you find a pin pointing toward you. 
 
 6577. When a pin in your dress sticks you, remove it while making a 
 wish; then replace the pin, and if it stays, you will get your wish. 
 
 6578. Upon finding a pin, stick it on your left shoulder with your right 
 hand while wishing; then give the pin away, and your wish will 
 be granted. 
 
 6579. Make a wish if a pin drops and sticks in the floor. 
 
 6580. The first thing every morning before speaking to anyone, read 
 Psalm XXIII and make a wish. This will bring you success. 
 
 6581. You may make a wish while a rabbit is running across your path. 
 
 6582. Wish as soon as you see a redbird. 
 
 6583. Wish upon seeing a redbird, and if you are able to spit three times 
 at the bird before it disappears from sight, your wish will come 
 true. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 321 
 
 6584. When a redbird is seen, make a wish; and if you can count three 
 before the bird flies, you will get your wish. 
 
 6585. A wish made upon seeing a redbird will come true, if the bird 
 flies to the right. 
 
 6586. As soon as you see a redbird, say: 
 
 "Redbird, redbird, 
 If you will be true, 
 I will see someone soon, 
 I am not expecting to." 
 Then wish to see this person and your wish will be fulfilled. 
 
 6587. Place a ring on a person's finger and make a wish. 
 
 6588. While making a wish, turn a ring around eighteen times on some- 
 one's finger. 
 
 6589. Make a wish while turning a ring with a setting around three 
 times on the finger of a friend. You will get your wish, provided 
 the wearer of the ring does not remove it until so instructed by 
 you. 
 
 6590. Wish a ring on a friend's finger and tell her to take ofif the ring 
 about the time you desire your wish to come true. If she removes 
 the ring before the appointed time, the charm will be broken. 
 
 6591. Put a ring on a friend's finger and make a wish. She is to remove 
 the ring three days later at the same time. 
 
 6592. Make a wish, if you see a robin. 
 
 6593. Stamp one hundred robins before summer arrives and then make 
 a wish. 
 
 6594. Throw some spilled salt over your left shoulder while making a 
 wish. 
 
 6595. If you spill salt, make a wish and throw some of the salt over your 
 right shoulder. 
 
 6596. Drop a pinch of salt on the fire just before going to bed and make 
 a wish. Do this for three nights. 
 
 6597. When a saw falls and sticks in the floor, make a wish before 
 pulling it out; and then hang it up. 
 
 6598. You should always make a wish while giving a sharp-pointed 
 article to anyone. If you fail to do this, your friendship will be 
 broken. 
 
 6599. Let two persons wish while folding a sheet, and if the last fold 
 comes out even, they will get their wishes. 
 
 6600. Spit on a new pair of shoes while wishing. 
 
 6601. You are permitted a wish, if your shoe string comes unloosened. 
 
 6602. Wish while tying a person's shoe string. 
 
322 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 6603. Put salt and pepper on a pair of old shoes and make a wish while 
 burning them. 
 
 6604. "A sky of red mixed with blue, 
 Make a wish with closed eyes, 
 And it's sure to come true." 
 
 6605. Make a wish after sneezing. 
 
 6606. If about to sneeze, make a wish quickly ; and if you do not sneeze, 
 your wish will come true. 
 
 6607. Let two persons who speak the same word simultaneously join 
 their little fingers while making a wish. 
 
 6608. When the same expression or word is uttered by two persons at 
 the same time, each must make a wish, touch wood, and then touch 
 something blue. 
 
 6609. If the same thing is spoken by two persons at the same time, they 
 should interlock their little fingers and make a wish. Then one 
 of them says a word and the other must give its opposite. For 
 example: The first person begins with, "salt," the second person 
 replies, "pepper ;" or if the first word is "man," the second word 
 could be "woman." After uttering two such words, both persons 
 repeat together, "When a man marries his troubles begin." 
 
 6610. Two persons accidentally saying the same thing together must, as 
 described in the preceding item, repeat alternately: 
 
 "Red, 
 Blue, 
 Needles, 
 Pins, 
 
 Shakespeare, 
 Longfellow." 
 Each is then permitted a wish. 
 
 6611. If two persons say something identical at the same time, they 
 must take hold of each other's hands with the little finger and 
 repeat alternately: 
 
 "Needles, 
 
 Pins, 
 
 Triplets, 
 
 Twins, 
 
 When a man marries. 
 
 His troubles begin. 
 
 What goes up the chimney. 
 
 Smoke, 
 
 Knives, 
 
 Forks, 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 323 
 
 Longfellow, 
 
 Shortfellow." 
 Then they make a wish, and together say, "thumbs." Never make 
 any other remark before the final word or the charm will be 
 broken. 
 
 6612. If a spider drops in front of you on its web, put the spider in 
 your pocket and make a wish. 
 
 6613. You will obtain success, if you make a wish each night while read- 
 ing the fourteenth chapter of the Gospel of St. John just before 
 going to bed. 
 
 6614. Wish as soon as you see the first star. 
 
 6615. A wish made at the appearance of the first star will come true, 
 provided you do not speak until another star is seen. 
 
 6616. When you see the first star, say: 
 
 "I see stars, 
 And stars see me, 
 I wish I may, 
 I wish I might, 
 Get this wish, 
 I wish tonight." 
 
 6617. At the appearance of the first star, recite : 
 
 "I see stars. 
 And stars see me, 
 I wish I will see, 
 Somebody tomorrow night, 
 I am not expecting to see." 
 
 6618. Repeat the following rhyme as soon as you see the first star: 
 
 "Star, star, star. 
 First star I've seen tonight. 
 Wish I may, wish I might. 
 Have the wish I wish tonight." 
 
 6619. While looking at the first star of the evening, speak the following: 
 
 "Starlight, star bright. 
 
 First star I see tonight, 
 
 I wish I may, I wish I might. 
 
 Bring true the wish I wish tonight." 
 
 6620. It is unlucky to see a shooting star unless you make a wish im- 
 mediately. 
 
 6621. If you can make a wish before a shooting star disappears, your 
 wish will come true. 
 
 6622. The following rhyme should be repeated as soon as a shooting 
 star is seen: 
 
324 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 "Starlight, star bright, 
 First star I've seen tonight, 
 Wish I may, wish I might, 
 Have the wish I wish tonight." 
 
 6623. Count seven stars for seven consecutive nights and then make a 
 wish. 
 
 6624. Make a wish when you hear the first thunder during the spring. 
 
 6625. Carry in your pocket for three days a thimble wrapped in a piece 
 of silk and make a wish each time you enter or leave the house. 
 
 6626. Tie your two big toes together and wish while walking backwards 
 to bed. 
 
 6627. When you stub your toe, kiss your thumb and make a wish. 
 
 6628. Throw your pulled tooth over the house as you make a wish. 
 
 6629. Wish while you toss your pulled tooth over your head or shoulder 
 or left shoulder. 
 
 6630. Make a wish if you see a freight train. 
 
 6631. Wish when you see a freight train, saying, "Yes, no; maybe so" 
 
 until you no longer see the train. The word spoken, either 
 
 "yes" or "no," as the train disappears, shows whether your wish 
 will be granted. 
 
 6632. As soon as you hear the first turtledove of spring, walk three times 
 around the tree in which the bird is perched and make a wish. 
 
 6633. Make a wish while passing a loaded wagon. If you pass the wagon 
 a second time, the wish will not be fulfilled; moreover, you will 
 have bad luck. 
 
 6634. W^ish while looking into a well for the first time and any wish 
 made will come true. 
 
 6635. Upon seeing the first whippoorwill of the year, make a wish. 
 
 6636. When the first whippoorwill of the season is heard, take three 
 steps backwards and pick up whatever lies beneath your left heel ; 
 then make a wish. 
 
 6637. As soon as you hear the first whippoorwill in spring, turn over 
 the money in your pocket and wish for more. 
 
 6638. Wish before breaking a wishbone with someone and you will be 
 lucky. 
 
 6639. Each of the two persons making a wish before breaking a wish- 
 bone together will get his wish. 
 
 6640. After a wishbone is broken, the one who holds the longer piece 
 will obtain his wish. 
 
 6641. The wish will be granted only to the person getting the shorter 
 l>iece of a broken wishbone. 
 
 6642. The one who secures the larger piece of a broken wishbone will 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 325 
 
 get his wish; and the other, holding the smaller piece, will be 
 married first. 
 
 6643. The holder of the shorter piece of a broken wishbone will be the 
 first to marry ; and the person having the longer piece will obtain 
 the better dinner. 
 
 6644. Make a wish with someone before breaking a wishbone with him, 
 and then place your piece over an outside door. 
 
 6645. Put your piece of the broken wishbone over a door, and you will 
 secure your wish after the bone has decayed. 
 
 6646. Wish on a piece of "wish vine" (love vine) and throw it over 
 your right shoulder; you will get your wish if the vine grows. 
 
 SIGNS OF LOVE 
 
 6647. The person who eats beets is in love. 
 
 6648. If there is a fever blister on someone's lips, it is a sign that he 
 has been kissed. 
 
 6649. Anyone having a dimple on the chin has been touched by Cupid. 
 
 6650. If a boy and girl while eating reach for the same thing at the 
 same time, a romance is brewing. 
 
 6651. A white spot on your little finger-nail reveals that you have a 
 sweetheart. 
 
 6652. A boy wearing a flower to school wants to get a girl. 
 
 6653. When a girl places a man's hat on her head, she desires a kiss. 
 
 6654. It indicates that you have a lover, if a lighted match laid down 
 by you burns up entirely. 
 
 6655. It is the sign of love to have a bleeding nose. 
 
 6656. When a man sends orchids to a girl, he is in love with her. 
 
 6657. Eating pickles is a sign of love. 
 
 6658. Salty soup means that the cook is in love. 
 
 6659. A shoe string coming untied shows that your thoughts are directed 
 toward your beau. 
 
 6660. To find a spider on your neck signifies that you possess a secret 
 lover. 
 
 WHEN YOU WILL SEE YOUR BEAU 
 
 6661. Press against your forehead the seeds of an apple, and the number 
 of those which do not fall off will tell you how many days it will 
 be until you see your beau. 
 
326 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 6S62. To ascertain when you will see your sweetheart, remove the skin 
 from an apple in one continuous peeling and throw this over your 
 left shoulder; if the peeling breaks, you will not see him; if it 
 remains whole, you will see him before the end of the week. 
 
 6663. A girl will meet her lover on the day she finds a four-leafed clover. 
 
 6664. "If you drop the comb while combing your hair you will see your 
 sweetheart before your hair gets mussed up." 
 
 6665. The dropping of a dish rag is a sign that your lover will come. 
 
 6666. To hear the call of a hawk means that your beau is approaching. 
 
 6667. Stamp a grey horse and you will see your sweetheart on the fol- 
 lowing day. 
 
 6668. If you let a knife fall, your "boy friend" will soon call upon you. 
 
 6669. The girl who cuts her nails on Saturday will see her sweetheart 
 on Sunday. 
 
 6670. Never eat onions on Saturday night or you will not see your lover 
 on Sunday. 
 
 6671. If a pan falls and rests upside down on the floor, you will soon 
 see someone you love. 
 
 6672. Pick up a pin found pointing toward you and you will see your 
 beau that day. 
 
 6673. Seeing a redbird on Saturday morning signifies that your sweet- 
 heart will visit you. 
 
 6674. To see a redbird means that you will soon see your beau. 
 
 6675. The singing of a redbird indicates that you will see your sweet- 
 heart before the week is gone. 
 
 6676. If you make a rhyme, you will see your beau before bedtime. 
 
 6677. Make a rhyme in order to see your beau before nine o'clock. 
 
 6678. Turn around three times a ring on someone's finger, and when 
 you have repeated this process with a ring on the hand of fourteen 
 different individuals, you will see your sweetheart. 
 
 6679. As soon as you see the first robin, sit down and remove your left 
 stocking; and if it contains a hair, your beau will soon call upon 
 you. 
 
 6680. "Sneeze before you eat, 
 
 See your sweetheart before you sleep." 
 
 6681. Sneeze before breakfast and you will see your sweetheart before 
 Saturday night. 
 
 6682. "If you love a person, think of them real hard and they will come 
 to you soon." 
 
 6683. "Stub your right toe, 
 You'll see your beau." 
 
 6684. "If you stub your toe, 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 327 
 
 You'll see your beau. 
 Kiss your thumb, 
 He'll be sure to come." 
 
 6685. After stubbing your toe, kiss your thumb and face the opposite 
 direction; and you will see your sweetheart. 
 
 6686. Walk backwards over the spot where you stubbed your toe, turn 
 around and kiss your thumb; and you will see your "fellow." 
 
 6687. If you stump your toe, kiss your thumb and think of your beau, 
 and you will see him. 
 
 6688. A tablespoon dropping to the floor is a sign that your lover is 
 coming. 
 
 6689. A toad crossing the road in front of you indicates that you will 
 see your sweetheart that day. 
 
 6690. When a toad hops across your path, your beau will come to see 
 you from the same direction. 
 
 6691. If you see a turkey buzzard sailing through the air, say: 
 
 "Sail, sail lonesome turkey buz'zard. 
 
 Sail to the east and sail to the west, 
 
 Sail to the one that I love best. 
 
 Flap your wings before you fly out of sight, 
 
 That I may see my sweetheart before Saturday night." 
 
 6692. Spit on a piece of burning wood that falls down and name it your 
 sweetheart; then replace it on the fire, and he will arrive before 
 it bums up. 
 
 WHAT YOUR SWEETHEART IS DOING 
 
 6693. An apron slipping oflf a girl shows that her sweetheart is talking 
 about her. 
 
 6694. A girl's beau is thinking about her, if her apron becomes un- 
 fastened and drops ofT. 
 
 6695. If a girl burns bread while baking, her beau is very angry with her. 
 
 6696. To burn bread when baking means that your sweetheart is think- 
 ing about you. 
 
 6697. When biscuits are burned, the girl's beau is angry with her. 
 
 6698. A girl's lover is talking about her, if her cheeks burn. 
 
 6699. The girl who finds a one-leafed clover will receive a letter from 
 her sweetheart. 
 
 6700. A burning on your left ear indicates that you are in your beau's 
 thoughts. 
 
 6701. Your lover is thinking about you, if your eye quivers. 
 
328 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 6702. A girl is being thought of by her sweetheart, if the fire goes out 
 while she is making it. 
 
 6703. A fire failing to burn shows that your beau is not busy. 
 
 6704. If you are able to tie a knot with a love vine, you are in the 
 thoughts of your sweetheart. 
 
 6705. When your nose itches, your "girl friend" is in danger. 
 
 6706. It is the sign of an angry sweetheart, if your shoe string comes 
 unlaced, 
 
 6707. A shoe string coming untied signifies that your beau is thinking 
 about you. 
 
 6708. The sweetheart is thinking about the girl whose skirt catches in 
 a briar. 
 
 6709. A girl's skirt turning up indicates that her lover is in a saloon. 
 
 6710. A thread getting tangled while a girl is sewing means that her 
 beau is thinking about her. 
 
 6711. When a girl's stocking falls down, she is being thought of by her 
 sweetheart. 
 
 6712. If a girl spills water while drinking, she is in her beau's mind. 
 
 6713. If a girl upsets coffee, water or any drink, her sweetheart is think- 
 ing of her. 
 
 WHETHER YOU ARE LOVED 
 
 6714. Wet three apple seed, then name and shoot them up towards the 
 ceiling. The seed that hits the ceiling reveals the name of the 
 person who loves you. 
 
 6715. Name apple seed and place them on the grate. The seed that 
 jumps first will show by whom you are loved. 
 
 6716. Let somebody name an apple and if you can break it in two, the 
 one named loves you. 
 
 6717. Give a name to an apple that is suspended from a string on Hal- 
 loween Eve, and if you succeed in biting it, you are loved by the 
 person named. 
 
 6718. Before you go to bed, name the corners of your bedroom. The 
 corner first looked at in the morning will indicate which of the 
 four persons named loves you best. 
 
 6719. Tie a knot in a cedar limb and name it. If it grows, you are 
 beloved by the person whom you have named. 
 
 6720. Place chestnuts in a fireplace or on a grate and name them. The 
 nut which jumps first signifies which one loves you most. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 329 
 
 6721. If you can with one breath blow off all the seeds from a dandelion 
 seed-ball, your sweetheart loves you. 
 
 6722. Your dress turning- up on the left side means that you are not 
 loved by your beau. 
 
 6723. When the right side of your dress is turned up, it shows that your 
 beau loves you. 
 
 6724. The person who winks at you with the right eye loves you. 
 
 6725. Name an eyelash your lover and blow it away. If you never see 
 the eyelash again, you are loved by him. 
 
 6726. If you can make a fire that will burn, your sweetheart or husband 
 loves you ; but if the fire does not burn well or goes out, you are 
 not loved. 
 
 6727. The man who is able in the morning to make a hot fire easily is 
 loved by his wife. 
 
 6728. Pick one by one the petals from a flower, usually a daisy, and 
 repeat, "He loves me, he loves me not." The last petal of the 
 flower will show your fate. 
 
 6729- Pull off all the petals one by one from a daisy while saying, "He 
 loves me, he loves me not." This will make you lucky. 
 
 6730. Tie a "lover's knot" with your handkerchief and after naming 
 the ends pull them. You are loved best by him whose name cor- 
 responds to the tightest end in the knot. 
 
 6731. Think of your sweetheart when you have hiccough; if it stops 
 immediately, he loves you ; if it continues, you are not loved by 
 him. 
 
 6732. Name holly leaves and throw them into the fire. The leaf named 
 for the one who loves you best will pop out first. 
 
 6733. To discover whether your beau or husband is loyal to you, cut a 
 lemon in half and rub both pieces on the four posts of your bed ; 
 then put the two halves of the lemon under your pillow. If you 
 see him in a dream, he is faithful; if you do not dream of him, 
 he is faithless. 
 
 6734. Let the girl who gets a letter from her sweetheart fold it up and 
 keep it next to her heart for three days and nights. If on the third 
 night she sees beautiful trees in a dream, the sweetheart is true; 
 if she dreams of water, he is false. 
 
 6735. Name a live-forever vine for your sweetheart and plant it at a 
 comer of your house. If it grows, he loves you; if it dies, you 
 
 are not loved by him. "When we were girls we were always 
 
 naming a live-forever vine and sticking it on the corner of old 
 log houses to see if it would grow and see if our beaus loved us." 
 
 6736. The girl who can tie two knots in a love vine without breaking it 
 
330 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 is loved by her sweetheart. "When I was a girl I was always 
 
 trying to see if my beau loved me by tying knots in a love vine." 
 
 6737. Name a love vine and place it on a bush. If it grows, the person 
 named loves (or will love) you. 
 
 6738. Name a match and strike it. If it lights, you are loved by the one 
 named. 
 
 6739. Think of a boy while striking a match. If it bums from end to 
 end without breaking or going out, he loves you. 
 
 6740. Light a match and let it burn as near as possible to your finger, 
 then spit on the burnt part and hold the match by the head. If the 
 match bums up entirely without breaking, your beau loves you. 
 
 6741. "Take and fill a saucer with water, turn a glass upside down, strike 
 a match and put it under the glass; if it sucks the water up in 
 the glass, it's the sign your sweetheart loves you." 
 
 6742. Bend the stalk of a mullein plant in the direction towards your 
 sweetheart's house. If it stays down, he does not love you; if it 
 becomes erect again, you are loved by him. 
 
 6743. While bending the stalk of a mullein plant to the ground, name it ; 
 if it remains down, you are not loved by the person named; if it 
 straightens up again, he does love you. 
 
 6744. After naming four onions put them under your bed. The onion 
 that sprouts during the night will show which of the four persons 
 named loves you. If none of the onions sprouts, you are not 
 loved by any of the four individuals. 
 
 6745. "Years ago we would write our beaus names on a piece of paper, 
 then light the paper. I f the paper burned up, he did not love us ; 
 if it would burn just around the name and not burn the name any, 
 he would love us." 
 
 6746. "If you want to find out if som^eone loves you, peel a peach without 
 it breaking and name it the one you love best. Take your right 
 hand and throw it over your left shoulder, and if he loves you, 
 it will fall in his first initial." Written contribution. 
 
 6747. Upon moving into a new house, name the corners of the room in 
 which you sleep. The one you dream about loves you. 
 
 6748. "If you want to find out if your beau loves you, take a spoonful 
 of pepper and put on a cold stove lid, then a spoonful of salt, then 
 another of pepper, then another of salt; then name one for you, 
 one for your beau, and one for you and one for your beau ; then 
 put a fire under that lid and if the ones you have named your 
 beau blaze up and burn, he loves you; if they don't blaze up, he 
 don't." 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 331 
 
 6749. Give a rose petal your sweetheart's name and if you can make it 
 pop, you are loved by him. 
 
 6750. Think of the one you love when you are about to sneeze and at 
 the same time touch your upper lip. If your beau loves you, you 
 will not sneeze. 
 
 6751. Name a pan of soap bubbles. If they do not burst, you are loved; 
 but if they break, you are not loved. 
 
 6752. If you put your stockings on wrong side out, your sweetheart 
 loves you. 
 
 6753. If you can remove all the seeds from a thistle ball with one 
 breath, your beau loves you. 
 
 6754. "If you want to find out what boy loves you, go out in the field 
 and get some blue thistle buds, then write the names of boy friends 
 on paper and pin each name on the bottom of a bud, then put 
 them in a big pan of water and set under your bed when you go 
 to bed that night ; and the one that loves you and you will marry 
 will all be bloom out floating around on the top." 
 
 6755. Let a girl whose thread knots while sewing name it for her sweet- 
 heart; and if she is loved, the knot can be loosened. 
 
 6756. "If a girl wants to find out which one of two boys likes her best, 
 if she will tie both her big toes with a twine string and then tie 
 the other ends of the strings to something else or else hold them 
 in her hand, and then name each toe the name of the boys, in the 
 morning the toe that is still tied is the boy that cares the most 
 about her." Written contribution. 
 
 6757. Give your sweetheart's name to a worm while fishing and then 
 bait your hook with it. If you catch a fish with that worm, he is 
 true to you. 
 
 LOSING LOVER OR HUSBAND 
 
 6758. An apron coming untied means that the girl has lost her beau. 
 
 6759. The girl who loses her apron and cannot find it will lose her 
 sweetheart. 
 
 6760. The wife who loses her apron will lose her husband. 
 
 6761. To discover whether a quarrel with your lover will be patched up, 
 fold up three clean aprons and place them under your pillow. If 
 you dream of him, he will come back; if you do not see him in 
 your dream, he will never return. 
 
 6762. Meeting a cat with green eyes indicates a quarrel with your beau. 
 "One night my sweetheart and I were going home from a 
 
332 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 dance when we met a black cat. I said it had green eyes. He said 
 it didn't. And we quarreled all the way home over that cat's eyes, 
 and didn't speak for a long time after that." 
 
 6763. If a girl lets her dishwater boil, her lover will go up the flue. 
 
 6764. Lose your garter and you will lose your sweetheart. 
 
 6765. If you let a woman have some of your combings, she will take 
 your lover or husband. 
 
 6766. Losing a hairpin is a sign that you will lose your beau. 
 
 6767. If you are holding hands with your sweetheart while walking, and 
 you are separated by a post or tree, your friendship will be broken. 
 
 6768. "Never burn your sweetheart's letters or you will fall out with 
 him." 
 
 6769. To hold a man's affections, never write to him after dark or you 
 will lose him. Always write in the daytime. 
 
 6770. "If you love a man a real lot, if you will sit down and write it 
 all out on a piece of paper, then tear it up, you will not lose him ; 
 but if you don't tear it up, you will." 
 
 6771. The man who strikes matches on the bottom of his chair will lose 
 his girl. 
 
 6772. If you accept a string of pearls from your sweetheart, you will 
 not only lose him but also shed a tear for each pearl. 
 
 6773. "If you have a pin in your dress when you are out with a man 
 and you happen to stick him with it, that is the sign you will lose 
 him." 
 
 6774. The absence of lover's quarrels foretells fights after marriage. 
 
 6775. "A man should never give a girl, that he thinks a lot of, a cheap 
 ring ; because when the ring turns her finger, it will also turn her 
 love away from him." 
 
 6776. "A scratch up and down 
 Is a lover found, 
 
 And a scratch across 
 Is a lover lost." 
 
 6777. Give a pair of shoes to your lover and he or she will walk away 
 from you. 
 
 6778. "Don't let your teakettle boil; if you do, it will boil all your beaus 
 away." 
 
 6779. "The girl who steps on your toe 
 Will soon steal your beau." 
 
 6780. A Christmas gift of an umbrella will break up a courtship. ■ 
 
 "I was going with a man for two years and he gave me an um- 
 brella for Christmas and we had a fight before Christmas week 
 was over." 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 333 
 
 PROSPECTS FOR SECURING LOVER OR HUSBAND 
 
 6781. Count apple seed and say: 
 
 "One, I love, 
 
 Two, I love. 
 
 Three, I love, I say, 
 
 Four, I love with all my heart, 
 
 Five, I cast away. 
 
 Six, he loves. 
 
 Seven, she loves, (this and the preceding line are often 
 reversed) . 
 
 Eight, both love, 
 
 Nine, he comes, 
 
 Ten, he tarries. 
 
 Eleven, he courts. 
 
 Twelve, they marry." 
 Occasionally the verses end as follows: 
 
 "Thirteen, a happy life. 
 
 Fourteen, a happy wife, 
 
 Fifteen, a lot of fun. 
 
 Sixteen, a little one." 
 Sometimes, but rarely, the rhyme closes as follows: 
 
 "Thirteen, they live happily together, 
 
 Fourteen, they part. 
 
 Fifteen, she died of a broken heart." 
 
 6782. Repeat the name of a boy you love while you cut open an apple, 
 and if the apple contains twelve seeds, you will marry him. 
 
 6783. The girl who has the strength to break an apple in two will be an 
 old maid. 
 
 6784. You will be able to secure anyone desired, if you can break an 
 apple apart. 
 
 6785. Let someone name an apple for you, and if you are able to break 
 the apple in two, the person named will become your lover. 
 
 6786. Using your thumb, pop an apple seed up into the air; and the 
 direction towards which the seed flies will indicate where your 
 sweetheart lives. 
 
 6787. Drop apples into a tub of water at a Halloween party and the one 
 who succeeds in biting an apple will be certain to marry. 
 
 6788. On Halloween Eve place stemless apples in a tub of water; the 
 first person, who by bobbing can lift an apple from the tub with 
 his teeth, will be the first one of that group to get married. 
 
 6789. The corner of your apron turning up means that you are going to 
 
334 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 marry; if already married, you will have a second husband. 
 
 6790. On a Friday night say: 
 
 "This Friday night I go to bed, 
 
 With a three-folded apron under my head. 
 
 This very night in a dream I will see. 
 
 Him who my true love is to be. 
 
 Not in gorgeous apparel or bridal array, 
 
 But in the garments he weareth every day. 
 
 If I am an old maid to be, 
 
 Let me in a green field be." 
 
 After repeating these verses, do not speak another word and go 
 
 to bed backwards. 
 
 6791. If a girl looks under her bed before getting into it at night, she 
 will be an old maid. 
 
 6792. Upon retiring for the night, leave near your bed three berries, one 
 white, one red and one black. When you awaken next morning, 
 close your eyes and choose one of the berries. If you select the 
 white berry, you will be married within the year; the red one, 
 you will soon be engaged ; and the black one, you will never marry. 
 
 6793. If a bird that has entered the house flies towards the west, some- 
 one in that house is going to be married. 
 
 6794. The first person to see a bird that has flown into the house will 
 marry before the year ends. 
 
 6795. To ascertain your fate after finding a bird's nest: If the nest is 
 empty, you will be an old maid ; if there are eggs in the nest, each 
 tgg indicates a year's delay before your marriage. 
 
 6796. A girl will become an old maid, if she takes the next to the last 
 biscuit. 
 
 6797. To discover your fortune for the coming year, on New Year's 
 Eve set four bowls on a table and put a coin in the first, a ring 
 in the second, a sprig of myrtle in the third, and leave the fourth 
 empty. Then blindfold someone and let him walk around the table 
 and bowls three times. After this, and still blindfolded, he must 
 place his hand on one of the bowls. If he touches the bowl with 
 the coin, you will get money; if the bowl with the ring, you will 
 receive a proposal of marriage; if the bowl with the myrtle, you 
 will be married that year; and if the empty bowl, there will be no 
 change in your lot. 
 
 6798. Take the last piece of bread and you will be an old maid. 
 
 6799. A girl will be an old maid, if while baking she lets her bread bum. 
 
 6800. Never step over a broom or you will be an old maid. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 335 
 
 6801. The person who steps in front of a broom that is being used, will 
 not marry that year. 
 
 6802. A girl will not get married that year, if a broom falls down in her 
 house. 
 
 6803. If the first butterfly that you see in the spring is white, you will 
 go to a wedding before the end of the year. 
 
 6804. Taking the last piece of cake means that you will never marry. 
 
 6805. To take the slice of cake lying on top of a cake signifies that you 
 will never get married. 
 
 6806. The person, who with one breath can blow out all the candles on 
 his birthday cake, will be married before the year is gone. 
 
 6807. Before going to bed remove seven cards from a deck without 
 looking at them ; put them in an envelope and place the envelope 
 under your pillow. Examine the cards next morning. If the 
 majority are hearts and diamonds, you will be married that year; 
 if spades and clubs, you will not marry that year. 
 
 6808. A girl will be an old maid, if she is fond of cats. 
 
 6809. Let the girl who is anxious to be married feed a cat from her old 
 shoes. 
 
 6810. The first person at whom a cat looks, after washing its face, will 
 be the first one to marry. 
 
 6811. A number of girls may hold up a quilt and toss a cat into its 
 center. The girl towards whom the cat goes, as it climbs out of 
 the quilt, will never be married. 
 
 6812. The girl who walks across a cellar door may expect to become 
 an old maid. 
 
 6813. Step over a cellar door and you will be an old maid for seven 
 years. 
 
 6814. If you walk across three cellar doors within one block, and while 
 passing over each cellar door name it for the same man, you will 
 meet him before you reach home. 
 
 6815. Knock over a chair and you will not be married that year. 
 
 6816. You will not get married for a year, if your chair is knocked over 
 by you while arising from the table. 
 
 6817. A chair falling over inside the house indicates that there will not 
 be a marriage in the house during the year. 
 
 6818. "If you will put a handful of chestnuts on the fire on Halloween, 
 you can tell how many beaus will pop the question; for every 
 chestnut that pops, a beau will pop the question." 
 
 6819. "If a boy and girl walking along the street stop in a store and get 
 some gum (chewing gum), each one should take a stick of gum 
 and chew for a while. Then the boy should give the girl lialf of 
 
336 Memoirs of the .lima Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 his g-uni to chew, and the girl half of her gum to the hoy to chew. 
 While they are chewing, if it don't crumple up they will get mar- 
 ried; if it crumples all up, they will never marry." 
 
 6820. When a chicken comes into the house with a piece of straw in its 
 beak and lays it down, there will be a wedding soon. 
 
 6821. You can have anyone you wish, if you swallow a raw chicken 
 heart. 
 
 6822. To find a two-leafed clover is a sign that you will be kissed by 
 your sweetheart. 
 
 6823. You may marry whom you desire by swallowing a four-leafed 
 clover. 
 
 6824. After finding a four-leafed clover, put it in your left shoe and 
 shake hands with the first person met. If this person is of your 
 sex, you will never marry; if of the opposite sex, you will get 
 married. 
 
 6825. Keep in your shoe a four-leafed clover which you have found and 
 you will soon meet a lover. When you have met him, then you 
 must wear the same four-leafed clover over your heart so that 
 your love will run smoothly. 
 
 6826. As soon as you find a four-leafed clover, hang it over a door ; and 
 if the first person who comes through that door is unmarried, your 
 wedding will take place that year. 
 
 6827. The girl who looks into the coffeepot while it is boiling will be 
 an old maid. 
 
 6828. A girl will never marry, if she dips bread or cake into her coffee. 
 
 6829. To drop a comb and accidentally step on it means that a mansion 
 of stone is being built for you. 
 
 6830. Finding a red ear of corn foretells your wedding within a year. 
 
 6831. If the first ear of corn you see in the season is red, you will hear 
 of a marriage before hearing of a death. 
 
 6832. A cow lowing during the night is the sign of an approaching 
 wedding. 
 
 6833. The person who is able to eat a crab apple without making a face 
 can get whom he wants. 
 
 6834. If a girl drops a cup and it breaks, she will be an old maid. 
 
 6835. Blow a dandelion seed-ball three times and count the seeds left. 
 This number will indicate how many lovers you are going to have. 
 
 6836. The number of seeds remaining on a dandelion seed-ball, after you 
 liave blown it once, will tell how many years will pass before 
 your wedding. 
 
 6837. You are certain to be married, if you can with one breath drive 
 away all the seeds of a dandelion seed-ball. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 337 
 
 6838. "If you are washing dishes and a fellow is helping you, and he 
 takes the dish rag out of the pan and wipes the table ofif, then puts 
 the rag back in the dish pan, and you pick up that rag and wash 
 some more dishes, you will marry that man." 
 
 6839. A dog scratching his romp along the ground means a marriage. 
 
 6840. Never let a man enter the front door on Monday, if you want to 
 be married. Make him come in through the back door or you will 
 be an old maid. 
 
 6841. The quarter in which you hear the cooing of the first dove of the 
 season is the direction from which a new sweetheart will come. 
 
 6842. A turned-up hem on your dress signifies that you are going to 
 receive a kiss. 
 
 6843. If a girl's skirt turns up, she should kiss it before turning it down, 
 and she will be kissed by her former sweetheart. 
 
 6844. The hem of a girl's dress turning up means that she will soon 
 have a lover. 
 
 6845. A girl should spit on the hem of her skirt before turning it down 
 and she will get a new beau. 
 
 6846. "A dimple on the chin, 
 Many lovers you will win." 
 
 6847. Taking the last portion of foo<l from a dish will delay your wed- 
 ding another year. 
 
 6848. Let your dishwater boil and you will not get married that year. 
 
 6849. Swallow the heart of a wild duck and you may have whom you 
 please for a husband. 
 
 6850. The itching of your left ear means that you will hear of a wed- 
 ding. 
 
 6851. Pluck a feather from the tail of a rooster and put it in your glove ; 
 then shake hands with the man you want, and you will get him. 
 
 6852. Crook your little finger when holding a cup while drinking and 
 you will be an old maid. 
 
 6853. To cut your finger while carving meat means a marriage. 
 
 6854. The one who is able to make the index finger and little finger 
 meet, when crossing them over the other two fingers, can marry 
 anyone desired. 
 
 6855. A white speck on your little finger-nail foretells a new sweetheart. 
 
 6856. The number of white marks on your finger-nails shows how many 
 lovers you will have. 
 
 6857. Tie a bouquet of flowers to the back of a chair, and pin on the 
 bouquet a note addressed to your sweetheart, telling him how 
 much you love him. This must be done three successive nights. 
 
338 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 If on the third night you dream of him, keep the bouquet for 
 three weeks, and he will soon be your husband. 
 
 6858. Sit on your foot and you will be an old maid. 
 
 6859. When the table is being set, if two forks are put at one place, 
 there will be a wedding in that house ; or it means an approaching 
 wedding. 
 
 6860. The person who places two forks at a plate while setting the table 
 will be an old maid, if a woman; a bachelor, if a man. 
 
 6861. If a woman finds two forks by her plate at the table, she will have 
 two husbands. 
 
 6862. If two forks drop to the floor and He crossing each other, it is the 
 sign of a wedding. 
 
 6863. "I had a girl friend that wanted a man she was very much in love 
 with and she borrowed a married woman's yellow garter and put 
 it on her right leg and made a wish that she would get that man 
 and she did marry him." 
 
 6864. If a man buys a woman a pair of garters, she should let him put 
 them on her the first time for good luck. 
 
 6865. You can secure a girl's love by pulling a hair from her head. 
 
 6866. Finding and picking up a hairpin will bring you a (new) sweet- 
 heart. 
 
 6867. If a girl finds a hairpin and does not throw it away, she will 
 receive a proposal before the year is out. 
 
 6868. If the hairpin found by a girl is kept for six months, someone 
 will propose to her when this time has expired. 
 
 6869. If three persons shake hands and accidentally cross each other's 
 hands while so doing, one of the three will marry soon. 
 
 6870. If four persons while shaking hands happen to cross each other's 
 hands, one of the four will get married soon or before the year 
 is gone. 
 
 6871. If two unmarried couples who have not seen each other for a long 
 time should meet and shake hands, so crossing hands that they 
 form a cross, one of the couples will marry before the year is out. 
 
 6872. One of your hands crossing the other while passing something at 
 the table means that you wull get married inside of a year. 
 
 6873. If two persons cross hands as they pass something at the table, 
 one of them will marry soon. 
 
 6874. Shaking hands across a communion table indicates that you will be 
 married. 
 
 6875. "If a man tickles a girl's palm, he wants to sleep with her." 
 
 6876. "I met a young man and I sure wanted him to come and see me. 
 He happened to drop his handkerchief on the ground. I did not 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 339 
 
 give it to him. I took it home and put it in a pan of water, then 
 held it over the fire until it crisped. He sure did come that next 
 night." . 
 
 6877. It signifies that a man wants to kiss a girl, if he places his hat on 
 her head. 
 
 6878. On Halloween lay a row of hazelnuts in the ashes along the edge 
 of the fireplace and name the nuts after boys and girls. When the 
 nuts become hot they will hop. Any two nuts named for a boy 
 and girl, jumping towards each other, indicates that they will 
 marry; if the two nuts jump away from each other, the boy and 
 girl symbolized will not get married. 
 
 6879. A boy and girl bumping heads together will become lovers. 
 
 6880. "Where the hollyhocks grow, 
 The beaus won't go." 
 
 6881. Count one hundred white horses and you will be married before 
 the year is gone. 
 
 6882. The girl who counts one hundred grey horses will get married on 
 the day the last horse is counted. 
 
 6883. Each nail in a horseshoe that you find represents one year before 
 your marriage. 
 
 6884. If a girl scorches clothes while ironing, she will be an old maid. 
 
 6885. Let a girl pin an ivy leaf or a piece of ivy over her heart and keep 
 it there for three days. At the expiration of this time, if the first 
 person with whom she shakes hands is a bachelor, she will marry 
 inside of a year ; if a woman, there will be no marriage that year, 
 
 6886. Kissing a girl on the nose will cause trouble. 
 
 6887. A man will have bad luck, if he kisses a girl behind the ear. 
 
 6888. If a man can kiss a girl's hand, he will get her; and a girl will 
 secure the man whose hand she is able to kiss. 
 
 6889. If the blade of a knife falling from the table hits the floor first, 
 there will be a wedding. 
 
 6890. Two knives by the same plate at a table signify an approaching 
 marriage, or a marriage within a week, or a marriage in the family, 
 
 6891. The person who while setting the table puts two knives at one 
 place will get married soon. 
 
 6892. A man finding two knives at his plate will have two wives, 
 
 6893. If two forks and two knives are laid at the same place on the 
 table, there will be a marriage before the year is out. 
 
 6894. While setting a table, if two knives are placed at one plate and 
 two forks by another plate, expect a wedding in the house before 
 the end of the year. 
 
 6895. Walk under a ladder and you will never be married. 
 
340 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 6896. If you climb a ladder but cannot reach the top, count the rungs 
 above you and the number will tell how many years will pass 
 before your wedding. 
 
 6897. "Two lamps in the room, 
 There'll be a bride soon." 
 
 6898. When there are two lighted lamps on a table at the same time, it 
 is the sign of a marriage in the family soon. 
 
 6899. Pour melted lead into a bucket of water at midnight on New 
 Year's Eve and the lead will assume various forms. If a crown is 
 formed, you will marry during the coming year. 
 
 6900. Girls have the privilege of proposing during leap year. 
 
 6901. Attend two marriages on the same day and you will get a beau. 
 
 6902. Light a match and let it burn out. The head of the match will 
 bend towards the place where your sweetheart lives. 
 
 6903. Strike a match and lay the unlighted end on some fire-proof sub- 
 stance, usually a stove, and when the match has burned out, it 
 will fall in the direction of your sweetheart's home. 
 
 6904. Name a lighted match and if it burns to the end without breaking, 
 the person named loves you; if it breaks in the middle, you will 
 marry him. 
 
 6905. To get a lover, look over someone's shoulder into a mirror. 
 
 6906. It is the sign of a wedding, if two persons kiss under the mistletoe. 
 
 6907. You may kiss anyone who is standing beneath the mistletoe. 
 
 6908. Name two leaves of mistletoe for a boy and girl, and place the 
 leaves on a hot stove. If the leaves jump towards each other, 
 there will be a marriage between the boy and girl named. 
 
 6909. "New moon, true moon, hail on me. 
 Who my true love is to be. 
 
 If I am to marry, let me hear 
 
 A dog bark near. 
 
 If I am to marry far away, 
 
 Let me hear a cow low. 
 
 If I am not to marry. 
 
 Let me hear my coffin beat." 
 
 6910. You can secure anyone you want by cutting your nails on nine 
 successive Sundays. 
 
 6911. When three unmarried persons bearing the same Christian name 
 meet at the same table, one of the three will get married inside of 
 a year. 
 
 6912. Having written the names of a boy and girl, cross out the letters 
 which are the same in each name, and repeat the following words 
 over the letters that remain: "Love," "friendship," "hatred" and 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 341 
 
 "marriage." The word spoken on the last letter will reveal the 
 relationship between the boy and girl. 
 
 6913. "When you meet a person at a party and you wish him or her to 
 be your affinity, repeat their name in a low voice twenty times 
 right there. Then that night just before going to sleep, wish 
 twenty times you will see them again, and you will sure get them." 
 
 6914. Oak trees are unlucky for lovers. 
 
 6915. "On the first day of May my mother and another girl went out 
 into the orchard and took hold of a tip end of a leaf on a tree. My 
 mother said, 'If I am to marry, let me hear a bird whistle keen' 
 
 and she did and got married. The other girl said, 'If I am 
 
 never to marry, let me hear a cow low' and she did. This 
 
 girl never did marry." 
 
 6916. Always carry the heart of an owl and you can get whom you want. 
 
 6917. If a man gives a pair of pants to a woman, she should for luck 
 let him see them on her the first time she wears them. 
 
 6918. To discover how soon you will marry, hang over the door a pod 
 that contains nine peas. Do this secretly and watch to see who 
 enters first. If an unmarried man comes in, you will be married 
 before the year is over ; if a woman, there will be no wedding for 
 you that year. 
 
 6919. Name the three corners of a piece of pie after friends and make 
 a wish, then start to eat the piece of pie by beginning in its center. 
 The first corner reached will be the name of the beau with whom 
 your wish will come true. 
 
 6920. If a pair of pigeons circle above you and your sweetheart while 
 walking, it means a marriage. 
 
 6921. A white pigeon coming near your doorstep indicates that your 
 lover will soon propose to you. 
 
 6922. To have a white pigeon approach your doorstep signifies a wed- 
 ding in the near future. 
 
 6923. "If you see a pin, pick it up and you will have an engagement 
 that night with a fellow; and he will come from the direction the 
 pin points to." 
 
 6924. A pin catching in your petticoat as you try on a dress foretells 
 marriage for you that year. 
 
 6925. If while trying on a dress a pin catches in your petticoat, you will 
 not be married that year. 
 
 6926. If you lose your pocketknife, you will lose your heart. 
 
 6927. Poplar trees bring bad luck to lovers. It is especially unlucky for 
 a lover to have one growing in his yard. 
 
 6928. "Never ask a man you are out with to put your vanity case, comb 
 
342 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 or handkerchief in his pocket; if you do, he won't find favor in 
 your eyes." 
 
 6929. If a number of girls are quilting, and having finished a quilt 
 remove it from the frame, the first girl to put a corner of the 
 quilt over her head will be the first one in that group to marry. 
 
 6930. The one who is able to walk seven railroad rails without stepping 
 oflf can marry any person he or she chooses. 
 
 6931. "If four of you are riding in the front seat of a car and you sit 
 on your date's lap, it is very bad luck for you." 
 
 6932. Tie a ring on the end of a long horsehair, and holding the free 
 end of the horsehair, lower the ring into a glass tumbler. The ring 
 will soon begin to swing back and forth. The number of times 
 the ring knocks against the side of the glass shows how many 
 years will elapse before your marriage. 
 
 6933. Use the same method as given in the preceding item. A distinct 
 strike against the glass indicates one year and an incomplete or 
 blurred strike means a month or a day. 
 
 6934. To learn how long it will be before you marry, tie a wedding ring 
 to the end of one of your hairs and lower the ring into the center 
 of a glass tumbler. If the ring starts to swing and strikes against 
 the glass, you will be married that year; if it does not hit the side 
 of the glass, you will be an old maid. 
 
 6935. "If you want to have good luck with a girl, just wear a rose." 
 
 6936. Upsetting salt at the table is a sign that you will not get married 
 that year. 
 
 6937. If you let a pair of scissors fall and they stick in the floor, make 
 a wish while pulling them out ; then cut a new piece of cloth, and 
 you will have a new sweetheart within a week. 
 
 6938. Set your shoes higher than your head and you will never be 
 married. 
 
 6939. It is the sign of a wedding to see two snakes (coiled) together. 
 
 6940. Sneezing twice before breakfast will bring you a new sweetheart 
 that week. 
 
 6941. To sneeze three times in succession means that you will not marry. 
 
 6942. "Where the spider web grows, 
 The beaus don't go." 
 
 6943. Your lover will leave and never return, if he sees a cobweb hang- 
 ing in your house. 
 
 6944. If you see the letter "M" in a spider web, it signifies marriage for 
 you. 
 
 6945. It is the sign of a wedding to have two spoons in the same cup. 
 
 6946. If you find two spoons in your saucer, you will get married twice. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 343 
 
 6947. Never drink from a glass when there is a spoon in it or you will be 
 an old maid. 
 
 6948. If you wear out your stockings in the heel before they are worn 
 out in the legs, you will be an old maid. 
 
 6949. Falling up the steps means that you will not marry that year. 
 
 6950. The girl who stumbles up the steps will not be married for seven 
 years. 
 
 6951. If a girl trips while going upstairs, she will marry. The higher up 
 the steps the tripping occurs, the sooner her wedding. 
 
 6952. Some member of your family will soon get married, if you see a 
 star fall. 
 
 6953. "Where sunflowers grow, 
 The beaus don't go." 
 
 6954. A girl will be an old maid, if she is hit by a broom while someone 
 is sweeping. 
 
 6955. If while sweeping you sweep your feet with the broom, you will 
 never get married. 
 
 6956. If someone sweeps your feet with the broom, there will be no 
 wedding for you. 
 
 6957. When sweeping, if you sweep someone's feet, that person will 
 never marry. 
 
 6958. Never let anyone sweep under your feet or beneath the chair on 
 which you are sitting; you will not be married. 
 
 6959. The person under whose feet you sweep will not get married that 
 year. 
 
 6960. If you sweep under the chair on which someone is sitting, that 
 person will be married once only. 
 
 6961. Sweeping beneath the chair on which someone is sitting means 
 that the wife or husband of that person will marry soon after her 
 or his mate dies. 
 
 6962. "If you sit on the table, 
 You'll marry when able." 
 
 6963. "If you sit on the table, 
 
 You'll marry before you are able." 
 
 6964. Place on the back of one hand some tea leaves taken from your 
 cup, then slap your wrist with the other hand and if with one 
 blow all the leaves fall off, you will be married inside of a year; 
 if they are not removed at the first attempt, the number of blows 
 required to dislodge them tells how many years will pass before 
 your marriage. 
 
 6965. "If a maid sees a stalk of tea plant floating in her cup, if she will 
 stir the tea three minutes, then hold the spoon up in the middle 
 
344 Memoirs of flic Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 of the cup if the stalk comes to the spoon, she will soon be 
 
 asked to marry." 
 
 6966. Never let a teakettle boil or you will be an old maid. 
 
 6967. Wearing a thimble on your left hand shows that you will never 
 marry. 
 
 6968. If the thread knots while a garment is being made, the sewer will 
 get married before the finished garment wears out. 
 
 6960. Let two girls occupying the same bed tie their big toes together ; 
 the first one to go to sleep will be the first to marry. 
 
 6970. To learn their futures, two girls sleeping in the same bed should 
 tie their big toes together with yarn. The yarn will break during 
 the night, and the girl who has the shorter piece in the morning 
 will get married first. 
 
 6971. Put a turkey wishbone above a door and the first one who comes 
 in will kiss you. 
 
 6972. If you find a twin fruit, like an apple or a peach, your marriage 
 will soon take place. 
 
 6973. When a twin vegetable is found such as a carrot or a potato, your 
 wedding is approaching. 
 
 6974. Raise an umbrella in the house and you will never be married. 
 
 6975. The man and woman who while walking allow some obstacle to 
 separate them will not marry each other. 
 
 6976. When someone fails to recognize you, it means that you are going 
 to get married. 
 
 6977. If your friends do not know you as you come down the street, 
 it is an omen of your approaching marriage. 
 
 6978. You may be married before the end of the year, if you can walk 
 around the block with your mouth full of water. 
 
 6979. Put in a pan of water on the table a button, coin, nut, ring and 
 stone. Blindfold yourself and with a spoon attempt to scoop out 
 one of the articles from the i>an. Three trials are allowed. If you 
 lift out the button, you will live in single blessedness; the coin, 
 you will acquire wealth; the nut, you will toil for a living; the 
 ring, you will marry; and the stone, you will travel a rocky road. 
 This divination is usually tried on Halloween. 
 
 6980. "My mother and a girl on the first day of May went to a well with 
 a piece of smoked glass and looked into the well. My mother saw 
 a man and she got married. The other girl saw her coffin and she 
 died inside of a year." 
 
 6981. Never climb through a window; you will be an old maid or a 
 bachelor. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 345 
 
 6982. Go out into the woods after dark and repeat : 
 "If I am to marry near, 
 Let me hear a bird cry. 
 If I am to marry far, 
 Let me hear a cow low. 
 If I am to single die, 
 Let me hear a knocking by." 
 
 DISCOVERING FUTURE LOVER OR HUSBAND 
 
 6983. The first letter picked up in your spoon when you are eating soup 
 
 will be the initial of your future mate. This refers to a 
 
 variety of macaroni shaped in the letters of the alphabet. 
 
 6984. If two apple seed are named and one of them stuck on each of 
 your eyes, the seed adhering to the skin will reveal the name of 
 your destined mate, and the seed falling off will indicate the name 
 of the person who does not love you. 
 
 6985. Give names to five apple seed and lay them on your face. The 
 first seed to drop ofT will tell you the name of your future married 
 partner. 
 
 6986. Put three apple seed on a stove lid and name them for beaus. The 
 seed that jumps first will tell you whom you will marry. 
 
 6987. Name a number of apple seed and put them on the kitchen stove. 
 The first seed that hops from the stove will show you the name of 
 your prospective husband, and he will come from the direction 
 towards which the seed moved. 
 
 6988. Toss an apple paring, which you have removed from the fruit 
 without a break, over your left shoulder; the paring lying on the 
 floor will assume the form of the initial of the person whom you 
 
 are to marry. This rite is sometimes reserved for the \st 
 
 of May. 
 
 6989. Peel an apple while looking over your right shoulder into a mirror 
 and throw the peeling over your left shoulder. You will see your 
 future husband or wife reflected in the mirror. 
 
 6990. During Halloween Eve write the name of a boy on each of a 
 number of apples and place the latter in a tub of water. Let a girl 
 kneel down beside the tub and, having her hands held or tied 
 behind, try to lift up an apple by the stem. This must be done with 
 the teeth. The apple she succeeds in raising out of the water will 
 bear the name of her prospective husband. 
 
346 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 6991. On Friday night when you go to bed, shp under your pillow an 
 apron that has been folded three times, and say, "Every night in 
 dreams let me see him who my true love is to be." 
 
 6992. To discover your future mate, visit some lonely and empty house 
 after dark and drop a ball of yarn in the yard. You must hold 
 the free end of the yarn and begin to walk around the house while 
 continually repeating, "I wind. Who holds?" Before you have 
 made the first circuit of the house your fortune will be revealed. 
 
 6993. Go to a deserted house on a hill at night, enter and raise a window ; 
 then, keeping the loose end of the yarn in your hand, throw a ball 
 of yarn out into the yard while saying repeatedly, "I hold. You 
 wind." Your future husband will pick up the ball of yarn and 
 begin to wind until he reaches the window. 
 
 6994. Having made a string of beans, throw it up into the air ; and the 
 initial assumed by the beans after they fall will be that of the 
 person you are going to marry. 
 
 6995. Give a name to each of the four posts of your bed, and the post 
 upon which you have your hand next morning will disclose your 
 destined mate. 
 
 6996. Name the bedposts on the first night you sleep in a room, then, 
 having donned your nightgown, leave the room and re-enter it 
 walking backwards. That night you will dream of the one you 
 will marry. 
 
 6997. When you stay all night with another girl, let her name the bed- 
 posts for you and you give names to the bedposts for her. The 
 first two bedposts seen in the morning will identify your respective 
 future mates. 
 
 6998. "If you want to find out if you will get your beau, take two 
 lemons and wear one in each pocket of your apron all day, then 
 peel them and rub the four corners of your bed with the lemon; 
 if you are to get him, he will appear in your sleep and make you a 
 present of two lemons; if he don't appear in your dream and give 
 
 you the lemons, you will not get him." Some say that the 
 
 lemons must be carried in the pockets of a dress; further, that if 
 you are not offered the tzvo lemons in a dream, you will be an old 
 maid. This rite is also used to discover an unknown future lover. 
 
 6999. "If you want to get married, stand on your head and chew a piece 
 of wit leather (piece of gristle) out of a beef neck and swallow it, 
 and you will get any man or woman you want." 
 
 7000. Sleep with a Bible under your head for three successive nights 
 and you will see your allotted mate in your dreams. 
 
 7001. Put a key in a Bible, letting the head of the key protrude beyond 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 347 
 
 the edge of the pages. Rest the tip of a finger upon the key and 
 say, "And Ruth said, Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return 
 from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and 
 where thou lodgest, I will lodge : thy people shall be my people, 
 and thy God my God." (Ruth 1 :16). Then continue by repeating 
 the alphabet ; and the letter upon which the key turns will be the 
 initial of your future husband. 
 
 7002. Enter a deserted house at midnight, light a candle and stick a pin 
 into it; and when the pin falls out, your appointed mate will 
 appear. 
 
 7003. "Make a wedding cake, then give three people a slice of that cake, 
 then take a slice yourself, then let each of the three people take a 
 bite out of your piece of cake, then you take a bite out of it, then 
 wrap your piece of cake up in paper and put it under your pillow ; 
 and you will dream that night of your true love." 
 
 7004. Walk across nine cellar doors and you will marry the first man 
 to whom you speak. 
 
 7005. You can discover your future mate by looking into a mirror on 
 the cellar steps. Do this on Halloween. 
 
 7006. On Halloween hold a candle in one hand and a mirror in the other 
 hand, and walk down the cellar stairs backwards. You will see in 
 the mirror the one you are to marry. 
 
 7007. While picking a four-leafed clover say, "I pluck thee four-leafed 
 clover and lay thee next to my heart, so grant me my dearest wish 
 and let me see my future husband tonight in my dreams," 
 
 7008. Lay a four-leafed clover beneath each corner of the sheet and you 
 will dream of your destined mate. 
 
 7009. When you find a four-leafed clover, put it in your shoe and you 
 will see your future husband in a dream. 
 
 7010. Place in the heel of your shoe the first four-leafed clover found, 
 and you will marry the first person met. 
 
 7011. After finding a four-leafed clover, stick it in your left shoe; and 
 the first man you speak to will be the husband allotted to you by 
 destiny. 
 
 7012. Hang a four-leafed clover over the door and you will be married 
 to the first man who enters. 
 
 7013. Think of a man while you swallow a four-leafed clover and you 
 will marry him. 
 
 7014. Upon hearing the first dove of spring, look down into your shoe 
 and you will see a hair the color of your destined mate's. 
 
 7015. As soon as you hear a dove coo, turn around three times and take 
 
348 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 off your left shoe, and in it you will find a hair like that of your 
 future mate's. 
 
 7016. Whirl around three times on your heel when the first turtledove 
 of the season is heard; and in your stocking there will be a hair 
 that resembles the hair of the person you will marry. 
 
 7017. The first time you hear a turtledove in the spring, sit down and 
 remove your shoes and stockings. In the heel of one of the stock- 
 ings you will find a hair resembling the hair of the one to whom 
 you will be married. 
 
 7018. "If you want to get married, catch a dove and bite its head off 
 and throw it over your left shoulder ; and the first man or girl who 
 comes along after that will be your future mate." 
 
 7019. If a young man rescues a girl from drowning, he will marry her. 
 
 7020. To have a "dumb supper" or "silent supper," several girls must 
 prepare a meal in the dark by doing everything backwards without 
 speaking a word. When everything is ready, they should put a 
 pan of water and a towel on the doorstep, leaving the door open, 
 and place a chair for each girl at the table wnth a vacant chair 
 opposite, and then sit down. The future husbands of the girls will 
 soon appear, wash in the pan of water, dry with the towel, sit on 
 the empty chairs opposite the girls, and eventually disappear. 
 
 7021. In the following method of having a "silent supper," the future 
 husbands of the girls will appear at midnight : "When I was a 
 girl, one night six of the girls I run with thought we would have 
 a silent supper and see who would come and sit by us. Our house 
 had one of those wide halls that went right through the house, 
 and we girls thought we would set the table in that big hall and 
 leave both doors open so our beaus could come in at either door. 
 We did everything backward in the dark and did not say a word. 
 We then sit down at the table backwards to wait for our future 
 husbands. When all at once a big storm came up and just as the 
 clock was about to strike twelve there was a loud crash of lightning 
 that just made the whole house tremble, and at the same time the 
 cat and dog out in the yard had a fight and the dog ran the cat 
 through the hall right over us. We did not know at that moment 
 it was the dog and cat fighting. We thought it was the devil after 
 us. Maybe you think we were not a bunch of frightened girls. 
 We never did see our future husbands that night. We were too 
 scared." Written contribution. 
 
 7022. Let several girls set a table, each putting at her own place a plate, 
 knife, fork, spoon, glass of water and chair. Then each girl must 
 stand behind the chair that is in front of the place which she has 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 349 
 
 prepared, and wait to see who comes into the room. If she is to 
 marry, her future husband will enter and drink the water; if she 
 is going to be an old maid, a coffin will slide into the chair before 
 her. 
 
 7023. "Years ago I went walking backwards to the cupboard on Hal- 
 loween and took three things (articles of food) out, then sit down 
 backward to wait for my beau to come and eat. I sit there a little 
 while and the geese hollered and the wind blew so hard that I got 
 frightened and didn't wait for my beau to come to eat." 
 
 7024. If a girl will fast on Midsummer Eve and set a table by laying 
 on it a clean cloth, bread and cheese ; then open the door and sit 
 down at the table as if to eat, the man she is going to marry will 
 come into the room. 
 
 7025. Three or four years ago a girl of high school age decided to hold 
 a "silent supper." Her mother, knowing of the plan, played a 
 practical joke by having one of the boys in the neighborhood 
 climb into her daughter's window at midnight. The girl was 
 terribly frightened ; ill for several weeks. 
 
 7026. Eat the yolk of a hard-boiled &gg and fill the cavity left in the 
 white part with salt ; then eat the latter. You will dream of your 
 future husband. 
 
 7027. After removing the yolk from a hard-boiled egg fill the white 
 portion with salt and eat it just before going to bed. Your destined 
 husband will bring you a drink in your dream. 
 
 7028. Cut a hard-boiled egg in two; remove the yolk from one of the 
 halves and fill the hole with salt. Eat this white part of the tgg 
 that contains salt, without drinking water, and go to bed back- 
 wards; and in your dream the man you are to marry will hand 
 you a drink. 
 
 7029. Everything concerned wnth the following rite is to be done back- 
 wards without laughing or speaking. Let the girl cook a hard- 
 boiled tgg, cut it in half, remove the yolk, and fill the cavity with 
 salt. Then she must sit down on something upon which she has 
 never sat before, get up and go to bed. The husband awarded her 
 by fate will appear in a dream and offer her a drink. 
 
 7030. Remove the yolk from a hard-boiled €:gg, fill the white part w^ith 
 salt, and eat the latter just before going to bed. The man to 
 whom you will get married will give you a drink in your dream : 
 If in a tin cup, he will be poor; if in a gold cup, wealthy. 
 
 7031. "If you want to find out who your future husband is, if two 
 people will take a egg on a spoon without speaking a word and 
 carry it on the spoon to the teakettle and drop it in, making a 
 wish at the same time when the egg is done take it out, cut 
 
350 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 it in half, then take off the shell, then take out the yellow, then 
 fill the white with salt, eat it and go to bed ; and your true love 
 
 will bring you a drink that night if rich, in a glass tumbler; 
 
 if poor, in a tin cup." 
 
 7032. "If you want to find out if you are going to marry a man, take 
 an egg and take a cord string and wrap that string around and 
 around that egg. Put on all the cord string you can get on it, then 
 put that egg on the fire to burn. Name it the man you love. If 
 the string burns off, you will marry the man ; if it don't, you will 
 not marry him. Do this on Halloween. Years ago when I was a 
 girl, I was going with a fellow that I thought a great deal of ; so 
 I took an egg on Halloween and wrapped a string around and 
 around it, put all the string I could get on the egg, named it my 
 beau and put it on the fire to burn. I was very much put out at the 
 time, for the string would not burn ; and it was no time until we 
 fell out. And I married another man." 
 
 7033. "One night just before I went to bed, I trimmed my finger-nails 
 and put them in the lamp to burn, hung my shirt over the cook- 
 stove; and the next morning when I got up there was a perfect 
 picture of a man's face on the windowpane, and it stayed there 
 until noon. About four years after I married a man that looked 
 just like that picture on the window glass." 
 
 7034. Pare your finger-nails just before going to bed and drop the 
 parings into the chimney of a lamp, then hang your bloomers over 
 the stove ; and while the parings are burning, the likeness of your 
 prospective husband will appear on the wall or in the looking- 
 glass. 
 
 7035. Give names to the white specks on your finger-nails and the speck 
 
 that stays on longest will reveal your future husband. "Years 
 
 ago when I was a girl I named all the marks on my fingers names 
 of the boys I knew, but I did not get the one I wanted to stay 
 on my finger." 
 
 7036. "One morning early in the spring I set down on the ground and 
 reached behind and got a handful of dirt, and found a black curly 
 hair in the dirt, and I married a man with black curly hair." 
 
 7037. In the hole you make by turning around three times on your right 
 heel you will find a hair like that of your destined mate's. 
 
 7038. Take three steps backwards and whirl around thrice on your heel ; 
 in the hole made you will see a hair like the hair of the person 
 you will marry. 
 
 7039. Walk backwards nine steps on a dusty road; raise your left heel 
 and under it you will find a hair like that of your prospective 
 husband's. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 351 
 
 7040. A hair found in the heel of your shoe will be the color of your 
 future husband's hair. 
 
 7041. Put in your shoe a hairpin that you pick up from the road and 
 you will be married to the first person met. 
 
 7042. When a hairpin is found, place it in your shoe; and you will 
 marry the first man you meet who wears a red necktie. 
 
 7043. On the evening of the 29th of April spread a handkerchief on 
 the lawn under a tree, and next morning you will find on the 
 handkerchief the initial of your future mate. 
 
 7044. Stamp a white horse while wishing to see your future husband, 
 and the first unmarried man you meet will be he. 
 
 7045. On seeing a team of white horses name ten different colors; and 
 when you meet a man with a necktie of the last color named, you 
 will marry him. 
 
 7046. Stamp ten white horses and the first man you see, who is wearing 
 a red necktie, will be your appointed husband. 
 
 7047. Count ten white horses and you will marry the first man you kiss. 
 
 7048. Each time you see a grey horse, make a wish ; and when you have 
 done this for twenty grey horses, you will meet someone with red 
 hair. The next man met will be your future husband. 
 
 7049. Count one hundred white horses and you will marry the first 
 unmarried man you meet. 
 
 7050. If you count ninety-nine white horses, the one driving the 
 hundredth white horse will be your prospective mate. 
 
 7051. After counting one hundred white horses, the first man seen 
 riding a white horse will be your future husband. 
 
 7052. Count one hundred white horses and mules, and if you do not 
 marry the first man you see after the hundredth white horse has 
 been counted, you will be an old maid. A white mule is counted 
 as ten white horses. 
 
 7053. Spit each time you see a white horse ,and when you have counted 
 one hundred white horses, the first person whom you meet will 
 be your future mate. 
 
 7054. After you have counted one hundred white horses, lay a wishbone 
 over the door; and the third man who comes through that door 
 will be your destined husband. 
 
 7055. Let a girl who finds a horseshoe hang it over the door or front 
 door and the first man to enter will be her future husband. 
 
 7056. During "Old Year's Night" melt lead and pour it on something. 
 In the lead you will see either the picture or the initials of your 
 prospective husband. 
 
 7057. Write down the license numbers of ten consecutive automobiles 
 on which the following numerals occur in succession: 000, 111^ 
 
352 Memoirs of the Alnm Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 222, 333, 444, 555, 666, 777, 888, and 999. Then you must meet 
 three white horses and a hald-headed man. The first man you 
 
 meet after this will be your future husband. One girl said 
 
 tfiat it took her fifteen months to secure ten consecutive license 
 plates bearing the successive numerals as listed. 
 
 7058. If you sleep with a mirror under your pillow, you will dream of 
 your prospective mate. 
 
 7059. Keep a mirror beneath your pillow for three nights in succession 
 and on the third night you will see your future husband in a 
 dream. 
 
 7060. Sleep on a mirror for seven nights in succession and you will 
 dream of your destined mate. 
 
 7061. You can discover your future husband by looking into a mirror on 
 Halloween. 
 
 7062. Lay a mirror upside down under your pillow on Halloween, and 
 as the clock begins to strike at midnight, get up and look into the 
 mirror. You will see your allotted mate. 
 
 7063. Sweep the parlor backwards on New Year's Eve while looking 
 into a mirror, and in the latter you will see your future husband. 
 
 7064. On seeing the new moon, look over your left shoulder and recite : 
 
 "New moon, true moon, 
 Dressed in blue. 
 If I should marry a man. 
 Or he should marry me, 
 What in the name of love, 
 Will his name be." 
 Make a wish and you will get it. 
 
 7065. While looking over your left shoulder at the new moon, repeat: 
 
 "New moon, new moon, let me see, 
 
 Who my future husband is to be. 
 
 The color of his hair, 
 
 The clothes he is to wear, 
 
 And the happy day he is to wed me." 
 
 7066. Look at the new moon and say : 
 
 "New moon, new, pray let me see. 
 
 Who my future husband is to be, 
 
 The color of his hair, 
 
 The color of the clothes he is to wear, 
 
 And the happy day he is to wed me." 
 7068. Go down into the cellar with a mirror at midnight and stand near 
 a window so that the new moon can shine on the mirror. Then 
 recite three times : 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 353 
 
 "New moon, true moon, 
 Come unto me and tell me, 
 Who my true love shall be." 
 You will see your true love in the mirror. 
 
 7069. If on a moonlight night you walk backwards around the house 
 while looking into a mirror held in your hand, your future husband 
 will look over your shoulder into the mirror. 
 
 7070. Make a wish while looking over your right shoulder, when you 
 first see the new moon, and you will dream of your appointed 
 husband that night. 
 
 7071. Walk backwards nine steps on the first night of a new moon and 
 reaching behind you, pick up anything that you touch. Place this 
 beneath your pillow, and next morning you will find there a hair 
 like that of your sweetheart's. 
 
 7072. After you have made ready for bed, set a lighted candle on the 
 floor in the center of the room and step over it. You will see 
 reflected upon your nightgown the shadow of your future husband. 
 
 7073. If you count thirteen neckties of the same color, you will marry 
 the next man you meet who is wearing a necktie of this color. 
 
 7074. Count ninety-nine blue neckties and the hundredth man you see 
 with a blue necktie will be your prospective husband. 
 
 7075. Write on a slip of paper the name of the man you love and lay 
 the slip under your pillow. If the person named also loves you, 
 you will dream of him that night. 
 
 7076. Put beneath your pillow before retiring three pieces of paper 
 upon each of which you have written the name of a boy. Remove 
 one paper as you enter the bed and another when you get up next 
 morning. The paper left beneath the pillow bears the name of 
 your future husband. 
 
 7077. On Halloween name two nuts, one for yourself and the other for 
 your beau, and place them on the grate. If they burn well, you 
 will marry your beau; if the nut named your beau hops away 
 from the nut that represents you, he does not love you. 
 
 7078. "During the Civil War there was a plant that grows in the garden 
 called old man plant, and if you would take a piece of that and a 
 horseshoe and hang them both over your door, your man was sure 
 to come under that door you would marry." 
 
 7079. Give names to four large onions and lay them on the stove. The 
 onion that sprouts during the night will disclose the name of the 
 man you will marry. 
 
 7080. If you carry two orange peelings in your pocket during the day 
 and sleep on them that night, you will dream of your destined 
 mate. 
 
354 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 7081. Place over a door the first pea that you find, and the first man 
 who comes through that door, provided he is not a relative, will 
 be your future married partner. 
 
 7082. Put above the door a pod containing nine peas, and the first person 
 entering, if of the opposite sex and unmarried, will be the one 
 whom you are going to marry that year. 
 
 7083. Wrap nine peas in a piece of paper upon which you have written 
 the words, "Come in, come in, my dear." Slip this piece of paper 
 under the doormat and the first unmarried man to enter will be 
 your future husband. 
 
 7084. "If you want to find out your future husband, walk out of the 
 house backward and walk to a peach tree, break off a small limb, 
 then walk backward to the house and throw that limb in the fire, 
 then walk backward to the door while that peach limb is burning ; 
 and when you get to the door, your future husband will grab 
 you in his arms." 
 
 7085. If a pin is about to fall from your dress, touch the pin each time 
 you repeat a letter of the alphabet ; and the letter spoken as the 
 pin drops, will be the initial of your destined husband. 
 
 7086. Lay grains of pop corn on a hot stove and name them your 
 friends. The first grain to pop will reveal the name of the one you 
 will marry. 
 
 7087. The man of whom you dream on the first night that you sleep 
 under a new quilt will be your future husband. 
 
 7088. The girl who can walk seven railroad rails, without tumbling off 
 or speaking, will marry the first man met after she has finished 
 this task. 
 
 7089. If the sun shines during a rain, lift up a stone and under it you 
 will see a hair the color of your prospective husband's hair. 
 
 7090. When you see a rainbow while the sun is shining, look under a 
 rock and you will find a hair the color of your future mate's. 
 
 7091. On the first day of spring shout into a rain barrel that stands at 
 the corner of the house. If you hear an echo, you will marry the 
 first unmarried man who comes around the corner of the house. 
 
 7092. The first person met after you see a redbird will be your lover. 
 
 7093. Think of a color as you put a ring on your finger, and you will 
 marry the next man you see with a necktie of that color. 
 
 7094. Pass a piece of cheese through a wedding ring three times, then 
 lay the ring under a girl's pillow; and she will dream of her 
 future husband. 
 
 7095. Wear for several hours a wedding ring that you have borrowed, 
 and then put it in one of your old shoes. Just before going to bed 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 355 
 
 repeat these words: "A wedding ring shall be mine." If you are 
 to marry, you will see your destined husband in a dream. 
 
 7096. Slip a wedding ring on a silk thread, and holding the two ends of 
 the thread in your left hand, lower the ring into a glass tumbler. 
 Recite the letters of the alphabet, and the letter mentioned as the 
 ring strikes the side of the tumbler will be the initial of the one 
 you are to marry. 
 
 7097. Turn the rings on the fingers of thirteen different persons, and the 
 first one to whom you speak after doing this will be your future 
 mate. 
 
 7098. If a boy turns the rings on the fingers of thirteen different persons 
 and then turns a ring on the hand of a girl, he will marry her. 
 
 7099. Let a girl run thrice round the house, touching the same rock 
 each time she makes the circuit, and she will then see a hair like 
 that of her future husband's. 
 
 7100. Make a rhyme before going to bed and you will see your destined 
 mate in a dream. 
 
 7101. Count the words in a rhyme that you have made by accident and 
 let each word represent a letter of the alphabet. The letter 
 representing the last word in the rhyme will be the initial of your 
 sweetheart. 
 
 7102. Sit down and remove your stocking, as soon as you hear the first 
 robin of spring, and in the stocking you will find a hair like that 
 of your future mate's. 
 
 7103. Repeat the letters of the alphabet while skipping rope, and the 
 letter upon which you miss will be the initial of your next beau 
 or future husband. 
 
 7104. Name the corners of a room on the first night you sleep in it, and 
 the first corner you look at next morning will reveal whom you 
 will marry. 
 
 7105. Put a thimbleful of salt under your pillow and you will dream 
 of your future lover that night. 
 
 7106. If you eat a thimbleful of salt and go to bed backwards, your 
 sweetheart will offer you a drink in a dream. 
 
 7107. Eat a thimbleful of salt for three nights in succession and go to 
 bed without drinking or speaking. You will dream of your future 
 mate two nights out of the three. 
 
 7108. Eat a thimbleful of salt without drinking and walk backwards 
 down the stairs. You will see your future mate in a dream. 
 
 7109. Take salt, using just enough flour to hold it together, and make a 
 cake. This is called a "salt cake." Then while wishing, eat half of 
 this cake and put the other half under your pillow. The man 
 offering you a drink in your dream will be your future husband. 
 
356 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 7110. Set your shoes in the form of a "T" on going to bed and do not 
 speak again that night. You will marry the man whom you see 
 in your dream. 
 
 7111. If you lay your shoes under the bed for three successive nights, 
 you will dream of your future husband on the third night. 
 
 7112. Sleep in your new shoes on the first night you have them and your 
 future husband will come and take them off during the night. 
 
 7113. Lay a snail on one piece of paper and cover it with another. The 
 snail in crawling will write the initials of your future husband's 
 name. Do this on the first day of May. 
 
 7114. On the first of May put a snail on a board and set the board out 
 in the sun. The snail crawling about will make the initials of the 
 man you will marry. 
 
 7115. "An old Irishwoman said when she was a girl she would hunt up 
 all the snails she could find and put them in the milk house with a 
 big pan of corn meal, to see the snails make letters in the corn 
 meal of her future husband." 
 
 7116. On the first of May hold a mirror over a spring and in the water 
 you will see a reflection of your future lover. 
 
 7117. Look over your left shoulder into a mirror while standing at a 
 spring on the first day of May, and you will see the face of your 
 future sweetheart or husband reflected in the glass. 
 
 7118. When you see three stars in a row, say: 
 
 "Three stars in a row, 
 Send me tonight my beau." 
 Then make a wish and it will be fulfilled. 
 
 7119. Sit down on the sidewalk and count seven stars, and you will 
 marry the first man who passes by. 
 
 7120. If you can count seven stars every night for seven consecutive 
 nights, on the last night you will see your future mate in a dream. 
 
 7121. Count nine stars each night for nine nights and on the last night 
 
 you will see the man you will marry. "It took me a year 
 
 before I could count nine stars for nine nights straight, and just 
 twenty minutes after I counted on the ninth night a swell looking 
 man went by our yard. My chum said, 'You will never marry that 
 man. He is too swell for you.' Just the same, I met that man and 
 married him in less than a year." 
 
 7122. Count nine stars for nine nights in succession and on the ninth 
 night, having placed a mirror under your pillow, you will dream 
 of your future husband. 
 
 7123. After counting thirteen stars on thirteen successive nights, on 
 the thirteenth night you will dream of the one you will marry. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 357 
 
 7124. You can discover your future husband by counting one hundred 
 stars and then looking to your left. 
 
 7125. Walk backwards down the steps while looking into a mirror, and 
 reflected in the latter you will see whom you are to marry. 
 
 7126. Shake up the tea leaves in your empty cup and they will form the 
 initial of your future husband. 
 
 7127. Sleep on a twin berry or fruit and you will marr}' the person of 
 whom you dream. 
 
 7128. Look at the veins in your right hand and whatever letter they 
 resemble will be the first initial of your future husband's name. 
 
 7129. "If two single people will take a tub of water and sit it down by 
 a stove that has a fire, then each one put a foot in the tub and 
 wash it, then each one take a piece of red coal out of the fire and 
 drop in this tub of water, wishing you will find the colors of your 
 future mate's hair in this coal, then put your other foot in and 
 wash it; then after you take out that foot pick up the piece of 
 coal out of the water and break it open, you will find the color 
 of your future mate's hair. Years ago my mother told me about 
 washing your feet to find the color of your beau's hair, so one 
 day my brother and I thought we would try it, and we did. We 
 done just what mother told us to do. And when I opened my piece 
 of coal I found black hair just like the man I married, and brother 
 light just like the woman he married." 
 
 7130. Let a girl write her beau's name on one slip of paper and her name 
 on another, roll up the two slips, and walking backwards drop 
 them into a basin of water that has been placed on a chair in the 
 center of the room. If next morning the beau's name is turned 
 face-upwards, she will marry; if her own, she will be an old maid. 
 
 7131. If a girl writes the names of boys on slips of paper and places 
 these slips in a pan of water, the slip that rises first to the surface 
 will show whom she will marry. 
 
 7132. Roll up slips of paper on each of which you have written the 
 name of an admirer, and let the slips fall into a bowl of water. 
 The slip that remains unrolled next morning will bear the name 
 of your future husband. 
 
 7133. Write each letter of the alphabet on a separate slip of paper and 
 put these slips in a pan of water. The first letter found on top 
 of the water in the morning is the initial of the man you are to 
 marry. 
 
 7134. Set a glass of water under your bed and across the rim of the 
 former lay a small piece of wood. You will dream of your 
 husband crossing a bridge. 
 
 7135. Drop a small stick of wood into a glass of water and place the 
 
358 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 latter beneath your bed. In a dream you will meet your prospective 
 mate as he crosses a bridge. 
 
 7136. Put a glass of water under your bed on Halloween Eve and on the 
 rim of the glass lay a piece of wood. You will dream of your 
 future husband bringing you a drink of water: If in a glass, you 
 will be rich; if in a tin cup, poverty will be your lot; and if in a 
 delft cup, you will live in moderate circumstances. 
 
 7137. If you set a glass of water beneath your bed on Halloween and go 
 to bed backwards, you will dream of your future husband. If he 
 hands you a drink of water in a glass, he will be wealthy; if in a 
 cup, he will be poor; but if he does not offer you a drink, you 
 will be an old maid. 
 
 7138. Place a pan of water under your bed at night and in the morning 
 you will see in the water a reflection of the man whom you will 
 marry. 
 
 7139. On Halloween put a basin of water at the side of your bed, turn 
 off the light and get into bed ; then raise up quickly and look into 
 the water, and you will see the face of your prospective mate. 
 
 7140. Go to a spring on Halloween and take a mouthful of water, but 
 do not swallow it. Then walk home backwards, get into bed 
 backwards, and swallow the water. Your future mate will give you 
 a drink in your dream. This entire operation must be done without 
 speaking. 
 
 7141. About dusk walk backwards to a well while looking over your 
 right shoulder into a mirror, and you will see your future husband. 
 
 7142. Look into a mirror while walking backwards to a well on the 1st 
 of May, and you will see your destined mate when you reach the 
 well. 
 
 7143. You can see the one you are going to marry by looking into a well 
 at midnight. 
 
 7144. Lie down on your back by a well on Halloween and hold a mirror 
 over your head so that you can see a reflection of the bottom of 
 the well. If you are to marry, the picture of your future married 
 partner will appear in the mirror. 
 
 7145. Hold a mirror over a well on the first day of May in such a 
 manner that it reflects the bottom of the well. You will see the 
 face of your future sweetheart in the mirror. 
 
 7146. If you look into a well on the 1st of May, you will see either your 
 future husband or a coffin. 
 
 7147. "On the first day of May just at noon, if you will take a looking- 
 glass and hold it up and look into a well, you' will see your future 
 mate or a ball of fire (meaning the devil will get you), or your 
 coffin." 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 359 
 
 7148. A girl may learn what her future husband is doing, if she looks 
 
 down into a well at sunrise on the 1st of May. "I had a friend 
 
 and she looked down in a well on the first day of May at sunrise, 
 and she saw a man riding on a white horse, and she married a 
 man with a white horse." 
 
 7149. To discover whom you will marry, walk around a wheat field on 
 the 1st of May. 
 
 7150. "When I was a girl I put my handkerchief out at midnight on the 
 growing wheat field, and on the 1st of May before sunrise I went 
 to see what my future husband's initials were. There were letters 
 on the handkerchief but I could not make them out." 
 
 7151. On the last night of April walk to a wheat field backwards, and 
 reaching behind you, lay your handkerchief on the wheat. Then 
 go to bed. Visit the wheat field next morning before sunrise. If 
 you find initials on the handkerchief, you will be married; if there 
 
 are not any initials, you will never marry. "Years ago my 
 
 sister and I tried it. My sister found the initials J. W. on hers 
 and she married a man with those initials. I did not have anything 
 on my handkerchief, and I am still an old maid." 
 
 7152. Break a wishbone with someone and put your portion over the 
 door. You will marry the first man who enters that door. 
 
 7153. Let the person who gets the shorter end of a broken wishbone 
 place his or her piece above the door, and the first man or woman 
 coming through the door will be the future husband or wife. 
 
 7154. Hang a wishbone over the door between Christmas and New 
 Year's Day and the first one who passes through the door will be 
 your prospective mate. 
 
 7155. Lay your part of a broken wishbone over a door, and you will 
 marry the first person who finds your piece of broken wishbone. 
 
 FUTURE MARRIED MATE 
 
 CHARACTER-DISPOSITION-FINANCIAL CONDITION 
 
 OCCUPATION-PHYSICAL QUALITIES 
 
 7156. The one who can break an apple in half will never be "bossed" by 
 the other married partner. 
 
 7157. If a girl is unable to make a bed well, she will get a worthless 
 man for a husband. 
 
 7158. It is unlucky to marry a person whose birthday occurs in the same 
 month as yours. 
 
360 Memoirs of the .lima Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 7159. Never marry a man who was born on the same day of the month 
 as you were; you wnll not Hve successfully together. 
 
 7160. If you were born in October, do not marry one whose birth 
 occurred in January. 
 
 7161. Taking the next to the last biscuit from the plate means that you 
 will marry a handsome man. 
 
 7162. Drop a biscuit and you will have a husband who is poor. 
 
 7163. If you leave dough in the bowl after making biscuits, your 
 husband will be a drunkard. 
 
 7164. If a girl burns her bread while baking, she will have a shiftless 
 husband. 
 
 7165. To burn bread when baking foretells that your marriage will be 
 unhappy. 
 
 7166. Spilling flour (on the front of your dress) while baking means 
 
 that your husband will be a drunkard or a shiftless man. 
 
 'T know this is so, for I never bake unless I get flour all over 
 myself, and my husband drinks anything he can get." 
 
 7167. You can discover your future husband's occupation by counting 
 your buttons as you say : 
 
 "Rich man, poor man, beggar man, thief, 
 
 Doctor, merchant, lawyer, chief." 
 The button counted on the last word will show his occupation. 
 The same rhyme is used for the same purpose while skipping rope. 
 
 7168. Let each of three blindfolded girls go into a vegetable garden and 
 pull up a cabbage by the roots. If the roots are straight, her 
 husband will be handsome; if crooked, he will be ugly; and if a 
 considerable amount of dirt clings to the roots, she will marry a 
 wealthy man. 
 
 7169. Take the last piece of cake on the plate and your future husband 
 will be handsome. 
 
 7170. The one who likes cats will be an excellent wife or husband. 
 
 7171. If a girl in love finds a strange cat in her bedroom at night, she 
 will be lucky in her love. 
 
 7172. "If you are thinking of getting married and are not sure about 
 the man being the right one, place a cocoanut on the floor and 
 break it open. By watching the shapes of the pieces as it falls 
 apart, you will be able to learn if your marriage will be right. If 
 large pieces fall, all right; if small pieces fall apart, no good." 
 
 7173. A man and woman having the same complexions will be unlucky in 
 marriage. 
 
 7174. If a man and wornan with dififerent complexions marry, they will 
 be lucky. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 361 
 
 7175. Cousins should never marry, because their children might be 
 deformed or idiotic. 
 
 7176. Having placed three cups on a table, fill the first with milk, the 
 second with vinegar, and the third with water. Blindfold yourself 
 and dip a finger into the first cup touched. If it contains milk, 
 your married life will be happy; if vinegar, your married partner 
 will have a sour disposition; and if water, you will never marr}\ 
 
 7177. A person with a fiery disposition should marry someone who is 
 mild, and they will always get along well together. 
 
 7178. Anyone fond of dogs will make a good married partner. 
 
 7179. A dog following a girl home is bringing her a handsome husband. 
 
 7180. "When I was a girl, one night when the bells were ringing out 
 the old year and the new one in, I got out of bed and got a glass 
 one half full of water and put the white of an egg in it, and set 
 the glass in the window. Did not say a word. Then went back 
 to bed. In the morning when I got up, I found a perfect ship in 
 the glass, and I married a sailor." 
 
 7181. If you have heavy eyebrows and they are close together, you will 
 marry a rich person. 
 
 7182. A girl who always has dirty elbows will marry a poor man. 
 
 7183. Two fat persons should never marry; they cannot live happily 
 together. 
 
 7184. Anyone who can make the index finger and little finger meet will 
 rule the household when married. 
 
 7185. If the fire that a girl is making does not burn well, her husband 
 will not be a "smart" man. 
 
 7186. One who is unable to make a good fire will never marry well. 
 
 7187. If you are able to build a good fire, you will get a good mate in 
 marriage. 
 
 7188. To ascertain whether your husband will have curly or straight 
 hair, comb your hair on Saturday night, then, removing one of 
 the hairs from the comb, put this hair in the palm of your Irnnd 
 and roll the hair until it curls into a little ball. Finally, try to 
 straighten the hair out by using a finger. If the hair remains 
 straight, he will have straight hair; if it curls, he will have curly 
 hair. 
 
 7189. A girl with hairy legs will marry a rich man. 
 
 7190. On interlocking your fingers when you fold your hands, if you 
 always lay the right thumb over the left thumb, you will be the 
 boss in your future household. 
 
 7191. On Halloween pour melted lead into a pan of water by letting the 
 lead pass through the handle of a key. Whatever tool is formed 
 
362 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 by the molten lead will disclose that tool with which your future 
 husband will work. 
 
 7192. If the lines in the palm of your hand form the letter "M," you 
 will marry a rich person. 
 
 7193. "To change the name and not the letter, 
 Is a change for the worse, not the better." 
 
 7194. "Changing the name and not the letter, 
 Is changing for worse instead of better." 
 
 "I know a woman that got married twice and changed her 
 
 name and not the letter and she has had nothing but trouble in 
 both marriages. The first husband shot himself before they were 
 married a year, and the second got killed before they were married 
 two years." 
 
 7195. To learn what your future husband's occupation will be, grate a 
 hazelnut, nutmeg and walnut ; then mix these grated nuts with 
 butter and sugar, and make pills of the paste. Swallow nine pills 
 on going to bed. If you dream of wealth, you will marry a gentle- 
 man ; of white linen, a clergyman ; of darkness, a lawyer ; of 
 noises, a tradesman or laborer ; of thunder and lightning, a soldier 
 or sailor; and of rain, a servant. 
 
 7196. The person who takes the last piece of pie from the plate will 
 secure a handsome married partner. 
 
 7197. "If you can walk twelve steps on the rail of a railroad track 
 without stepping off, you can conquer any man you marry." 
 
 7198. "If you wear your shoes out on the side. 
 You will be a rich man's bride." 
 
 7199. While skipping rope, say, "Stone," "brick," and "wood." The 
 material named as you miss a skip will tell you the type of house 
 in which your future husband and you will live. 
 
 7200. Examine the first snail that you see on the 1st of May, and if it 
 has a shell, you will marry a man with a house ; if there is no shell, 
 your husband will be a poor man. 
 
 7201. It is unlucky for a girl to marry a man shorter than herself. 
 
 7202. Hold a mirror over a spring on the 1st of May and you will see 
 reflected in the mirror a picture of your future husband. Whatever 
 
 he is doing will be his occupation. "Years ago a girl went to 
 
 the spring and held a looking-glass over the spring to see her 
 future husband, and she saw a man plowing. And she married a 
 farmer that looked just like the man in the spring." 
 
 7203. Marry a stranger and you will not live long. 
 
 7204. If a man's great toe is shorter than his second toe, he will be 
 henpecked when married. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 363 
 
 7205. If a woman's first toe is shorter than her second toe, she will be 
 the ruler in her future household. 
 
 7206. The husband will master the woman whose first toe is longer than 
 her second toe. 
 
 7207. If a girl splashes dishwater (or the water with which she is 
 washing clothes) over her apron or dress, she will have a drunkard 
 for a husband. 
 
 7208. If you get your dress wet when washing, you will marry a 
 drunkard; but you may prevent this, if you can hang on the 
 clothesline all his shirts wrong side out. 
 
 7209. If you are able to take your washing out of the boiler with your 
 finger, you will never marry a "drinking" man. 
 
 7210. A girl when out walking (years ago this was usually done when 
 she went after the cows) may ascertain whether she will marry a 
 
 young man, a bachelor, a widower by stopping, listening, 
 
 and saying: 
 
 "A young man, a bird sings, 
 
 A bachelor, a cow bawls, 
 
 A widower, a young one squals." 
 A distinction was formetly made between a young man and a 
 bachelor. The former was usually u/nder twenty-five years of age, 
 the latter older. 
 
 7211. Marry young and you marry for trouble. 
 
 ENGAGEMENT 
 
 7212. After the banns have been published, an engaged couple should 
 not be photographed until the wedding has taken place. 
 
 7213. Between the reading of the banns and the wedding, it is unlucky 
 for an engaged couple to have a lover's quarrel. 
 
 7214. If you kiss a man before you marry him, you will never Hve 
 happily with him. 
 
 7215. If the banns have been called and a person stumbles down the 
 stairs before the wedding, it is the sign of bad luck. 
 
 7216. If a man gives his fiancee a pair of gloves, he will not marry her. 
 
 7217. The girl who tries on another's engagement ring will never get 
 one for herself, 
 
 7218. It is lucky to have your birthstone in your engagement ring. 
 
 7219. If a girl loses her engagement ring, she will not be married to the 
 man who gave it to her. 
 
364 Memoirs uf the .lliiia Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 TIME OF WEDDING 
 
 7220. Marry while the hand of the clcx:k goes up and you will succeed 
 in life. 
 
 7221. If you are married as the hand of the clock goes down, your life 
 will be a failure. 
 
 7222. A wedding should be solemnized on the hour for good luck. 
 
 7223. "Wed in the morning. 
 Quickly undoing." 
 
 7224. To be lucky, marr>' during the full moon. 
 
 7225. You will have bad luck, if you marry in February. 
 
 7226. Get married in May and you will always be sorry. 
 
 7227. The 14th of May is an unfavorable day for a wedding. 
 
 7228. It causes bad luck to marry on the 27th of May. 
 
 7229. If one must marry in May, let it be either on the 24th or the 25th. 
 All other days of the month are unlucky and a marriage on any 
 of them will end disastrously. 
 
 7230. June is a lucky month for love and marriage. 
 
 7231. Marry in June and your husband will treat you well. 
 
 7232. The man wdio marries in June will soon lose his wife. 
 
 7233. The 3rd and 4th of June are the best days for a wedding. 
 
 7234. It is unlucky to marry on the 16th or 17th of June. 
 
 7235. The three lucky months for a wedding are June, October and 
 December. 
 
 7236. "Married on Monday, married for health. 
 Married on Tuesday, married for wealth. 
 Married on Wednesday, the best day of all. 
 Married on Thursday, married for losses. 
 Married on Friday, married for crosses. 
 Married on Saturday, no luck at all." 
 
 The rhyme is also given in the f ollow'ing form : 
 "Marry on Monday for health." 
 
 7237. "Wed on Monday, always poor. 
 Wed on Tuesday, w^ed once more. 
 Wed on Wednesday, a happy match. 
 Wed on Thursday, a plenty catch. 
 Wed on Friday, poorly matched. 
 Wed on Saturday, better waited. 
 Wed on Sunday, cupid wooing." 
 
 7238. "Marry on Monday, 
 Divorce on Tuesday." 
 
 7239. The most fortunate day in the week for a wedding is Wednesday. 
 
 7240. Marry on Wednesday and you will be happy. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 365 
 
 7241. If you are married on Friday, you will be \&vy unhappy. 
 
 7242. Bad luck will be yours, if you marry on Friday. 
 
 7243. Never marry on Friday; it is "hanginan's day." 
 
 7244. Never marry on Saturday; it is "nigger's day." 
 
 7245. Saturday has become the favorite day for a wedding. 
 
 7246. "Marry in Lent, 
 You'll live to repent." 
 
 7247. A lucky time for a wedding is during the forty days following 
 Easter. 
 
 7248. "Who marry between the sickle and the scythe will never thrive." 
 
 7249. Marrying on your birthday will bring you bad luck. 
 
 WEATHER AT THE WEDDING 
 
 7250. "Happy be the bride on whom the sun shines. 
 Unhappy the bride on whom it rains." 
 
 7251. "Happy is the bride the sun shines on, 
 Tears for the bride the rain falls on." 
 
 7252. Rain on the wedding day is unlucky for the bride. 
 
 7253. The husband will not treat his wife well, if it rains on the day 
 of the wedding. 
 
 7254. A bride's life will be full of tears, if she is married on a rainy day. 
 
 7255. A rainy wedding day means that the bride will shed a tear for 
 each raindrop. 
 
 7256. As many drops of rain as there are on her wedding night, so many 
 tears will the bride shed. 
 
 7257. H it rains on the day following the wedding, the bride will have 
 many sorrows. 
 
 7258. "They say a new joy comes with every raindrop on your wedding 
 day." 
 
 7259. The girl who marries on a rainy day will be a bad housekeeper. 
 
 7260. When rain or snow falls on the bridal carriage as it goes to 
 church, the couple will separate soon after marriage. 
 
 7261. Snow falling on the day of the wedding foretells happiness for 
 the bridal couple. 
 
 7262. If it snows on the wedding day, the husband will be good to his 
 wife. 
 
 7263. If there is a storm on the day preceding the wedding, the bride 
 will have a stormy life. 
 
 7264. A stormy wedding day indicates trouble for the bridegroom. 
 
 7265. Thunder during your wedding signifies unhappiness in your 
 married life. 
 
366 Memoirs of flic Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 BRIDAL ATTIRE 
 
 7266. Skip rope while saying, "Silk," "satin," "calico," "rags" 
 
 and the article named as you miss a skip reveals the material out 
 of which your wedding gown will be made. 
 
 7267. Count the buttons on your dress as you repeat, "Silk," "satin," 
 
 "calico," "rags" and the material mentioned on the last 
 
 button will be that which you are going to wear at your wedding. 
 
 7268. If a drop of blood falls on your wedding dress while it is being 
 made, your husband will kill you. 
 
 7269. "Married in white, you've chosen all right. 
 Married in green, ashamed to be seen. 
 Married in grey, you'll go far away. 
 Married in red, you'll wish yourself dead. 
 Married in blue, love ever true. 
 
 Married in black, you'll wish yourself back." 
 
 7270. "Marry in white, sailor's delight. 
 Marry in red, wish yourself dead. 
 Marry in black, wish yourself back. 
 Marry in brown, you will live out of town. 
 
 Marry in green, you'll wish you had never been seen. 
 
 Marry in pink, you are going to sink. 
 
 Marry in yellow, you will be ashamed of your fellow. 
 
 Marry in purple, you will always want to be in the circle. 
 
 Marry in blue, you will always be true. 
 
 Marry in lavender, you will always be savage." 
 
 7271. "Married in grey, you'll go far away. 
 Married in black, you'll wish yourself back. 
 Married in brown, you'll live out of town. 
 Married in red, you'll wish yourself dead. 
 Married in pearl, you'll live in a whirl. 
 Married in green, ashamed to be seen. 
 Married in yellow, jealous of your fellow. 
 Married in blue, he'll always be true. 
 Married in pink, your spirits will sink. 
 Married in white, you have chosen right." 
 
 7272. The girl who marries in a black dress will be an unhappy bride. 
 
 7273. "If you marry in blue, 
 Your love will be true." 
 
 7274. "If you marry in green, 
 You'll always be seen." 
 
 7275. You will have bad luck, if you get married in green. 
 
 7276. It is unlucky for a bride to wear red at her wedding. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 367 
 
 7277. If a woman marries in red, her husband will soon die. 
 
 7278. Yellow is an unlucky color for a bride. 
 
 7279. "If you marry in yellow, 
 You'll get another fellow." 
 
 7280. A bride at her wedding should wear: 
 
 "Something old and something new, 
 Something borrowed and something blue." 
 
 7281. Let a bride at her marriage wear something: 
 
 "New and blue, 
 Old and gold." 
 
 7282. It is the sign of good luck for the bride to find a spider crawling 
 on her wedding dress. 
 
 7283. A girl should never let the future husband see her dressed in her 
 wedding gown until the actual ceremony. 
 
 7284. It is unlucky for the bride's dress to be seen on her until she is 
 ready to leave for the church. 
 
 7285. After a wedding dress is finished, a girl should not try it on again 
 until she dresses for the ceremony. If she does, it will cause her 
 bad luck. 
 
 7286. The loan of a wedding dress means good luck to the borrower 
 and bad luck for the lender. 
 
 7287. Wearing out your wedding clothes will bring bad luck to you. 
 
 7288. A bride will not be lucky until she wears out her wedding clothes. 
 
 7289. You will never prosper as long as you keep your wedding clothes. 
 
 7290. If you wear out your wedding clothes quickly, you will always 
 have money. 
 
 7291. Never wear a wedding veil in a play; you will be an old maid. 
 
 7292. If you can use at your wedding the bridal veil worn by your 
 grandmother, you will always have wealth. 
 
 7293. It causes bad luck for a girl to show her bridal veil to anyone, 
 members of the family excepted, before the wedding. 
 
 7294. A bride will have bad luck, if she wears out her wedding slippers 
 before the end of the first year. 
 
 7295. Wear earrings when you are married and you will always be 
 happy. 
 
 7296. The bride who wears pearls will shed tears. 
 
 7297. For each pearl that a bride wears, her husband will give her cause 
 for weeping. 
 
 7298. Orange blossoms are lucky, whether worn by the bride or used in 
 the wedding decorations. 
 
 7299. To have luck, be married with your mother's wedding ring. 
 
 7300. The loss of a wedding ring means a misfortune. 
 
368 Memoirs of the ^llina Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 7301. If a bride loses her wedding ring, she will never live happily with 
 her husband. 
 
 7302. Removing a wedding ring from your finger will cause you bad 
 luck. 
 
 7303. It is unlucky to take a wedding ring off your finger until you have 
 been married a year. 
 
 7304. "As the wedding ring wears, 
 So wears away life's cares." 
 
 THE WEDDING 
 
 7305. Feed a cat out of an old shoe and your wedding day will be a 
 happy one. 
 
 7306. The sneezing of a cat in front of a woman on the day before her 
 marriage is a lucky omen. 
 
 7307. It is a bad omen, if a girl has an unpleasant dream on the night 
 preceding her wedding. 
 
 7308. The girl who reads the marriage service on the night before the 
 ceremony wall be unlucky. 
 
 7309. If a betrothed couple read the ceremony together before the wed- 
 ding, they wall have bad luck. 
 
 7310. Let the bride w^ear something of yours and you will either receive 
 a proposal inside of a year or be married the following year. 
 
 7311. If you can secret a lock of your hair in the hem of the bride's 
 dress, you will be married before the end of the year. 
 
 7312. Lend some article to the bridegroom and you will marry next year. 
 
 7313. If a girl is seen by her fiance an hour before the wedding, she will 
 have an unhappy married life. 
 
 7314. The bride who looks into a mirror just before leaving for the 
 church will be unlucky. 
 
 7315. A bride will have bad luck if she carries a handkerchief that was 
 used by a bride. 
 
 7316. Let the bride wear a piece of money in the heel of her left shoe 
 at the wedding and she will be wealthy. 
 
 7317. A girl at her wedding should carry her mother's prayer book 
 for luck. 
 
 7318. A bride can always be happy, if she carries salt in her pocket 
 when she goes to church to be married. 
 
 7319. A bridegroom can secure good luck by carrying a horseshoe in 
 his pocket while being married. 
 
 7320. The postponetnent of a wedding is unlucky. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 369 
 
 7321. If two persons in the same family marry during the same year, 
 
 one of them will be unfortunate. 
 7Z22. It is unlucky for two members of a family to be married at the 
 
 same time. 
 
 7323. The first marriage in a family determines the character of the 
 
 following ones. "My sister had three children. The first one 
 
 to marry married poor, and the other two both married very 
 poor." 
 
 7324. It is lucky to be married at home. 
 
 7325. "I heard grandma tell, that before the Civil War they never got 
 a license to marr}\ The colored folks would have to walk back- 
 wards and jump over a broom, and they were married." 
 
 7326. An old colored woman said that during slavery: "If two women 
 were in love with the same man and wanted him, their master 
 would give each woman a whip and they would start to whipping 
 each other; and the woman that could hold out the longest got 
 the man. That was called lap jacket." 
 
 7327. Attend a wedding in your old shoes for luck. 
 
 7328. If anyone wears a tuberose to a wedding, someone in the bridal 
 party will die before the year is over. 
 
 7329. A bridal couple should not enter the church within twenty- four 
 hours after a funeral; if they do, they will never see old age 
 
 together. "My cousin was buried one morning from the 
 
 church and I was to be married next morning in the same church. 
 My father wanted to put my wedding off. Said I would not live 
 long with my husband. I only laughed and got married. And we 
 did not live together long. My husband got sick and died." 
 
 7330. A flock of birds flying over the bridal carriage on its way to 
 church signifies that the couple will have many children. 
 
 7331. If you see a dove while going to church to be married, you will 
 have good luck. 
 
 7332. A bride will be unlucky, if her carriage on the road to church 
 passes a funeral procession. 
 
 7333. It is a sign of good luck, if a bridal party on its way to church 
 meets a lamb. 
 
 7334. If a bridal carriage is on the way to church and a pig crosses its 
 path, it is a bad omen. 
 
 7335. Never hand a telegram to a bride or bridegroom while they are 
 on their way to the church. 
 
 7336. If going to the wedding or at the wedding, the bride sees the bride- 
 groom before he sees her, she will always retain her influence over 
 him ; but if the bridegroom sees the bride before she sees him, he 
 will always retain his influence over her. 
 
370 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 7337. A bat flying into the church duringja wedding ceremony is the sign 
 of bad hick. 
 
 7338. The bride will have good luck, if her wedding veil is torn at the 
 altar. 
 
 7339. Stepping on the bride's veil is unlucky. 
 
 7340. Good luck will come to the bride if her veil is accidentally torn. 
 
 7341. If the sun comes out from behind a cloud and shines on the 
 altar during the wedding ceremony, the persons being married 
 will have happy and prosperous lives. 
 
 7342. It is unlucky for the bridegroom to misplace the wedding ring and 
 hunt for it. 
 
 7343. A wedding ring falling at the ceremony is a sign of bad luck. 
 
 7344. When hands are joined during the marriage service, the one whose 
 thumb is on top will be the master of the household. 
 
 7345. Give the clergyman officiating at the wedding service an odd sum 
 of money for luck. 
 
 7346. Give one of your hairs to a man and ask him to hold it between 
 his thumb and index finger. His first word thereafter will be his 
 first to his bride. 
 
 7347. To have good luck, a bride should take off her wedding ring and 
 put it back on just before leaving the church, and then never 
 remove it from her hand again. 
 
 7348. On leaving church a bride should always put her right foot first 
 for luck and happiness. 
 
 7349. "If a man and a woman get married and the wife steps out of 
 church with her left foot first, her marriage will be very unsuc- 
 cessful and will end up in court." Written contribution. 
 
 7350. Throw rice after a newly wedded couple to give them luck. 
 
 7351. Rice thrown at a newly married couple increases the chances of 
 their having children. 
 
 7352. The throwing of an old shoe after a newly wedded couple brings 
 them good luck. 
 
 7353. If you throw an old shoe at a bridal pair and it hits one of them, 
 they will be lucky. 
 
 7354. It means bad luck for the groom, if the wedding party on its way 
 from church meets a funeral. 
 
 7355. The newly wedded couple will have bad luck, if on the way home 
 from church they pass a funeral. 
 
 7356. You may be lucky by kissing a bride. 
 
 7357. If you can kiss a bride before her husband has an opportunity, 
 you will have good luck all year. 
 
 7358. If an ex-lover with hatred in his heart kisses the bride on her 
 wedding day, her honeymoon will be unhappy. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 371 
 
 7359. The girl who catches the bride's bouquet will be the next to marry. 
 
 7360. If the bride's bouquet is not caught, but falls to the floor, she will 
 have bad luck. 
 
 7361. A bride can secure good luck in married life by jumping over a 
 broom after the wedding. 
 
 7362. It is unlucky for a bride to have an unequal number of guests at 
 her wedding breakfast. 
 
 7363. If two spoons are found together at the bride's table, it means 
 another marriage in the family soon. 
 
 7364. The person who at a bridal party is accidentally seated between 
 the bride and bridegroom will soon be engaged. 
 
 7365. If you find the dime in a wedding cake, you will marry for money. 
 
 7366. The one finding the thimble in the wedding cake will never marry. 
 
 7367. To find the money in the wedding cake signifies that you will be 
 long in marrying. 
 
 7368. Sleep with a piece of wedding cake under your pillow for luck. 
 
 7369. You may dream of your future married partner by sleeping on a 
 piece of wedding cake. 
 
 7370. If a girl sleeps on a piece of wedding cake three nights and dreams 
 of the same man each night, she will marry him. 
 
 7371. Write separately six names and the word "stranger" on seven 
 slips of paper. Lay these slips and a piece of wedding cake under 
 your pillow. Each morning remove one slip, and on the seventh 
 morning the last slip will reveal your fate. 
 
 7372. When a bridesmaid desires to be married before the year is out, 
 let her pass a piece of wedding cake thrice through a wedding 
 ring and then sleep on the former. If she dreams of the man 
 desired, she will be married to him. 
 
 7373. Three times a bridesmaid, never a bride. 
 
 7374. If you can get the bride's handkerchief or some trinket of hers, 
 make a wish and it will come true ; but you must then return the 
 article to the bride or your luck will change. 
 
 7375. It is lucky to find anything lost or misplaced by the bride. 
 
 7376. Acting the part of a bride in a play is unlucky unless there is 
 also a bridegroom in the cast. 
 
 7Z77. A white pigeon flying near a house, in which there is a bridal 
 
 party, indicates that someone in that house will marry before the 
 
 year is gone. 
 7378. Let someone throw an old shoe among the guests at a wedding, 
 
 and the person hit by the shoe will be the first one of that group 
 
 to marry. 
 
Z72 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 7379. Let the bridegrooni hold a broom and stand on one side of the 
 room, and liave the unmarried men hne up at the opposite end of 
 tlie room. At a given signal they must race towards the broom, 
 and the first one to reach it will be the first to marry. 
 
 7380. After the wedding feast let the bride take the tablecloth and 
 attempt to ensnare with it one of the unmarried girls. The first 
 one she catches will be the first girl in the group to be a bride. 
 
 7381. You will give sorrow to the bride and bridegroom, if you give 
 them a fern. 
 
 7382. It is unlucky to give away a wedding present. 
 
 7Z^Z. A bride will have trouble, if she breaks anything on her wedding 
 day, 
 
 7384. The bride who breaks something on her bridal day will quarrel 
 with her mother-in-law, and the husband will side with his mother, 
 
 7385. If a bride weeps on her wedding day she will have bad luck. 
 
 7386. A bride crying on her wedding day is a lucky sign, for it shows 
 that she has wept all her tears away, 
 
 7387. If a bride and bridegroom part the day of their marriage, they 
 will have bad luck. 
 
 7388. If one of the bridesmaids pours hot water on the doorsteps as the 
 newly married couple leave the house on their honeymoon, some- 
 one in the bridal party will be married inside of a year. 
 
 7389. When a bride first enters her new home, the husband should carry 
 her over the threshold for luck, 
 
 7390. Let a bride jump over a broom just before she goes into her new 
 home and she will never be "hoodooed" there, 
 
 7391. The mother-in-law should break a cake or a loaf of bread over 
 the bride's head as she first enters the door of her new home. This 
 will establish friendly relations and make both happy, 
 
 7392. "Take a pound of Limburger cheese, spread between two towels, 
 making a poultice. Place under the pillow of newlyweds on their 
 first night together, and good fortune and many offspring will be 
 theirs." Written contribution. 
 
 7593. The first one of the bridal couple to go to sleep on the wedding 
 night will be the first mate to die. 
 
 7394. It is unlucky for a bride to have an uneven number of guests at 
 her first party. 
 
 7395. If a recent bride writes her maiden name by mistake, she will have 
 bad luck. 
 
Folk-Lorc from Adams County Illinois 2>7Z 
 
 MARRIED LIFE 
 
 7396. The following are the wedding anniversaries : 
 
 First — cotton Eleventh — steel 
 
 Second — paper Twelfth — silk and fine linen 
 
 Third — leather Thirteenth — lace 
 
 Fourth — fruit and flowers Fourteenth — ivory 
 Fifth — wooden Fifteenth — crystal 
 
 Sixth — sugar Twentieth — china 
 
 Seventh — woolen Twenty-fifth — silver 
 
 Eighth — rubber Thirtieth — pearl 
 
 Ninth — willow Fortieth — ruby 
 
 Tenth — tin Fiftieth — golden 
 
 Seventy-fifth — diamond 
 
 7397. If your husband leaves the house in an angry mood, go to a 
 friend's house and eat apple sauce ; and when he comes home 
 everything will be forgotten. 
 
 7398. To ascertain whether your husband is faithful, sleep with a piece 
 of your wedding anniversary cake under your pillow and you will 
 get an answer in your dream. 
 
 7399. The fur of a cat blowing the wrong way means that your sweet- 
 heart or husband is looking favorably at another woman. This 
 may be counteracted by greasing the fur. 
 
 7400. Always choose your second married partner at the grave of the 
 first one and you will have good luck. 
 
 7401. If a woman leaves her first husband and marries before he dies, 
 her mother will be unlucky. 
 
 7402. If a man's fire bums well in the morning, his wife will get up in 
 a good humor; but if the fire smolders, his wife will arise cross. 
 
 7403. When a woman's fire will not burn, it is a sign that her husband 
 is out of humor. 
 
 7404. A man will have bad luck, if he kisses another woman in front of 
 his wife, 
 
 7405. If your wife becomes angry and tries to fight you, catch and kiss 
 her while she is angry. If you do not, some other man will kiss 
 her before the year is out. 
 
 7406. The following prayer if carried on the person will bring peace 
 between a man and his wife. This comes from a woman who was 
 
 carrying it in her purse, and is given as written : "Qirist is 
 
 Born in Peice then through him 12 Deciples. St. Marcus & St. 
 Mathias St. Lucas. St. Johanas. 4 Avangelis T. N. Protect us 
 through the Holy birth & Magesty in the Holy Trienty. Aman. 
 
374 Memoirs of the Alnia Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 1 G. V. 1 R 312 Be with us in all Liberty XXX. In the Name 
 of the Father the Son & the Holy Ghost. Aman." 
 
 7407. To stop continual quarrels in the family, sprinkle sugar on the 
 floor; then sweep it up and burn it. 
 
 7408. A woman whose large toe is smaller than her next toe will live 
 longer than her husband. 
 
 7409. If a man's large toe is smaller than the next toe, his wife will die 
 first. 
 
 7410. "Never, never, let a man see you undress. It always causes trouble 
 in a family and maybe a divorce." 
 
 7411. Taking cod-liver oil will make a man passionate. 
 
 7412. A man will become passionate, if he eats hard-boiled eggs 
 
 HOUSE AND ENVIRONS 
 
 7413. To begin to build a house or anything on Saturday is unlucky. 
 
 7414. If the foundation for a house is laid in the dark of the moon, it 
 will sink into the ground. A foundation should be constructed 
 during the light of the moon. 
 
 7415. Roof a house in the dark of the moon. If the shingles are laid in 
 the light of the moon, they will warp. 
 
 7416. The building of a new house is the sign of a birth or death in 
 the family. 
 
 7417. Before you move into a new house that you have built, let a 
 priest bless it for luck. 
 
 7418. If a door is cut in a new house after it is built, the owner will have 
 bad luck. 
 
 7419. Cutting a new door in an old house is unlucky. "Mrs. B. had 
 
 a friend who went to look at a house with the idea of renting it. 
 The landlady informed the prospective renter that she was going 
 to put in a new door. The prospective renter then said, T will not 
 take it, for that is very bad luck.' The landlady replied, 'I am not 
 superstitious. I will live here and let you have my house' (which 
 was next door). This arrangement was agreed upon. The land- 
 lady lost both of her daughters before the year was out." 
 
 7430. It causes bad luck to cut a window in a house that has just been 
 built. 
 
 7421. Posts for a fence must be set into the ground during the dark of 
 the moon to be firm. If they are put in the ground when the moon 
 is light, they will become loose. 
 
 7422. Begin work on a worm fence (cigzag rail fence) during the light 
 
Folk-Lorc from Adams County Illinois 375 
 
 of the moon. If you start construction in the dark of the moon, 
 the fence will sink down into the ground. 
 
 7423. A fence should be made and repaired when the horns of the moon 
 point upward so that the fence will not sink down into the ground. 
 
 7424. Bad luck will befall the two persons who talk over a back fence. 
 
 7425. Touching an open gate will bring you bad luck. 
 
 7426. It is unlucky to shake hands over a gate. 
 
 7427. Hanging or swinging on an open gate causes bad luck. 
 
 7428. Do not shut an open gate or you will have bad luck. 
 
 7429. To close an open gate is unlucky unless you go through it first. 
 
 7430. You will pick up someone's troubles by shutting an open gate. 
 
 7431. Hang an old flatiron on a gate for luck. 
 
 7432. There will be bad luck in the family, if a gate is nearer to the 
 house than sixteen feet. 
 
 7433. Breaking a glass door is a bad omen. 
 
 7434. You will be unlucky, if you hang anything on a door knob. 
 
 7435. A door opening of its own accord means that an unwelcome visitor 
 is coming. 
 
 7436. An unexpected guest will soon arrive, if a door flies open by itself. 
 
 7437. To have good luck, drive a nail into the top of the front door and 
 back door. The nail must be in the exact center. 
 
 7438. To be lucky, scrub in front of your door every morning with lye. 
 
 7439. It is lucky to have a gypsy spit on your doorstep. 
 
 7440. Coming into the house through a door and going out through a 
 window will give you bad luck. 
 
 7441. Climbing through a window is unlucky. 
 
 7442. To enter a house through a window will cause grief. 
 
 7443. To avert the bad luck that comes from crawling through a window, 
 go back through the window. 
 
 7444. If you break a window, you will be unlucky. 
 
 7445. It is an omen of bad luck for a window to fall down when no one 
 is near. 
 
 TOOLS 
 
 7446. Carrying an axe into the house is unlucky. 
 
 7447. Carry the axe out of the house as it was brought in, and bad luck 
 will be averted. 
 
 7448. You will have bad luck, if you walk over an axe. 
 
 7449. To step on an axe is unlucky. 
 
376 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 7450. Avert bad luck by putting under the carpet near each outer door 
 a file with its point toward the door. 
 
 7451. You will have bad luck if you step over a hoe. 
 
 7452. To cany a hoc through the house will bring bad luck. 
 
 7453. Bad luck caused by a hoe taken into the house can be prevented, 
 if you carry the tool out the door while walking backwards. 
 
 7454. It is unlucky to rest a hoe against the house. 
 
 7455. If you drag a hoe across the porch, you will be unfortunate. 
 
 7456. Throw your hoe over a fence and bad luck will befall you. 
 
 7457. Walking under a ladder or stepladder is followed by bad luck. 
 
 7458. One who walks under a ladder will be unlucky for seven years. 
 
 7459. Bad luck caused by walking under a ladder may be counteracted, 
 if you turn around and walk back under the ladder in the opposite 
 direction. 
 
 7460. If you are having bad luck, walk under a ladder and you w^ill 
 become lucky. 
 
 7461. It is a sign of good luck, if you find a nail. 
 
 7462. A nail found with its point toward you indicates good luck; if 
 the head is pointing toward you, you will be unlucky. 
 
 7463. When you see a nail, pick it up and throw it over your left shoulder 
 for luck. 
 
 7464. If you find a nail, carry it in your pocket for luck. 
 
 7465. Do not pick up a rusty nail tliat you find, but turn it around and 
 let it lie. This will bring you good luck. 
 
 7466. Dragging a rake across the porch causes bad luck. 
 
 7467. You will have bad luck, if you take a rake through the house. 
 
 7468. Letting a rake lie on the ground with its teeth upward will give 
 you bad luck. 
 
 7469. Keep a small saw in the window and it will saw your troubles in 
 two. 
 
 7470. The one who carries a shovel or spade into or through the house 
 will be unfortunate. 
 
 7471. To avert the bad luck that comes from the spade or shovel carried 
 into or through the house, remove the implement in the same way 
 it was brought in. 
 
 7472. Prevent bad luck, when a spade has been brought into the house, 
 by taking the tool out the door while walking backwards. 
 
 7-173. Leaning a shovel against the house means bad luck. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 377 
 
 FURNITURE AND FURNISHINGS 
 
 7474. Sprinkle salt around the wick before lighting a candle and it will 
 not drip. 
 
 7475. A small stranger is coming, if a short flame rises from a candle. 
 
 7476. If the candle flame is long, a tall stranger will visit you. 
 
 7477. A lamp should always be extinguished, for it causes bad luck to 
 let it go out. 
 
 7478. When a lamp fails to go out at the first blow, each blow required 
 to extinguish the lamp represents a lie that you will tell. 
 
 7479. To drop a lamp globe while shining it is a sign of bad luck. 
 
 7480. It is very unlucky to have a lamp chimney break in your hand. 
 
 7481. If you use a coal oil light, keep a red flannel rag in the bowl of 
 the lamp and it will bring you good luck. 
 
 7482. To place a second lighted lamp on the same table means bad luck. 
 
 7483. Keeping two lighted lamps in the same room will cause bad luck. 
 
 7484. If an empty chair creaks, it is a bad omen. 
 
 7485. The breaking of a chair leg shows that you have an enemy. 
 
 7486. Bad luck will come to the house, if a child plays with a chair. 
 
 7487. To "walk" a chair is unlucky. 
 
 7488. Spinning a chair around on one leg (while dusting) will bring 
 bad luck. 
 
 7489. The child who twirls a chair about on one leg will receive a 
 whipping. 
 
 7490. When dusting a chair, never swing it around on one leg, or you 
 will soon have a bad quarrel wnth someone. 
 
 7491. Turning a chair around on one leg signifies a quarrel in the family. 
 
 7492. To straddle a chair, facing its back, will cause bad luck. 
 
 7493. Accidentally placing two chairs back to back is a sign of company. 
 
 7494. If you turn over a chair and then pick it up and sit down on it, 
 you will have bad luck. 
 
 7495. A vacant rocking-chair beginning to rock by itself is a bad omen. 
 
 7496. It is very unlucky to rock an empty rocking-chair. 
 
 7497. If you rock an empty chair, you are rocking up trouble for 
 yourself. 
 
 7498. Rocking an empty chair will bring bad luck to the house. 
 
 7499. To arise from a chair and leave it rocking foretells a "fuss." 
 
 7500. You will have bad luck, if you do not stop a rocking-chair after 
 you have arisen. 
 
 7501. Never sit in a rocking-chair at the dinner table, it causes bad luck. 
 
 7502. If a child rocks an empty rocking-chair, he will get a spanking 
 before he goes to bed. 
 
 7503. It is a sign of bad luck for a clock to stop running. 
 
378 Memoirs of the Alnia Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 7504. If you keep a clock that does not run, it will bring you bad luck. 
 
 7505. It is very unlucky to turn a clock so that it faces the wall. 
 
 7506. Good luck will come to the house, if a clock strikes three times 
 on Friday and then stops and does not run again. 
 
 7507. A cup that falls from your hand and does not break, indicates an 
 invitation to a stranger's wedding. 
 
 7508. Keeping old-fashioned dishes decorated with birds is unlucky, 
 unless they are heirlooms. 
 
 7509. If a plate falls and spins around, it is spinning you bad luck. 
 
 7510. To avert bad luck when a plate drops and spins around, spin the 
 plate in the reverse direction. 
 
 7511. When a dish flies to pieces in your hand, there will be trouble for 
 some member of the family who is absent. 
 
 7512. If a dish drops out of your hand and breaks, you will receive bad 
 news. 
 
 7513. Breaking a dish causes bad luck. 
 
 7514. To change your luck after breaking a dish, buy something though 
 it cost but a penny. 
 
 7515. To drop a dish and have it break will bring you seven years of 
 bad luck. 
 
 7516. If you drop a dish and it does not break, you may expect seven 
 years of good luck. 
 
 7517. The woman who breaks a dish and accidentally steps on the 
 pieces will have bad luck. 
 
 7518. Keeping cracked dishes in the house will cause bad luck. 
 
 7519. If you break one dish, you will not stop until you have broken 
 the complete set. 
 
 7520. Breaking one dish is the sign that you will break two more dishes 
 before you have finished. 
 
 7521. To break a dish indicates that you will break three things before 
 the end of the week. 
 
 7522. If you let a glass fall and it does not break, success awaits you. 
 
 7523. Break a glass and one of your secrets will become known. 
 
 7524. To drop a glass and break it will give you bad luck. 
 
 7525. Creaking furniture is a bad omen. 
 
 7526. You will have bad luck, if you split up and bum old furniture. 
 
 7527. "Move your furniture around every month in your front room 
 and you will have good luck. I never let a month go by that I 
 don't change everything around in my room, so I will have good 
 luck." 
 
 7528. P.adjuck will befall the person who breaks a milk bottle. 
 
 7529. It is unlucky to break a mirror. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 379 
 
 7530. The number of pieces into which a mirror is broken will show 
 how many unlucky years you will have. 
 
 7531. Breaking a mirror will cause you seven years of bad luck. 
 
 7532. "Whenever we would break a looking-glass, my mother would 
 make us children look and look so we would get every little piece, 
 so she could burn them so we would not have bad luck." 
 
 752)Z. If you break a looking-glass, bury all the pieces to prevent bad 
 luck. 
 
 7534. Bad luck resulting from a broken mirror can be warded off by 
 visiting a graveyard at midnight on a starless night. 
 
 7535. To avert the bad luck that comes from breaking a mirror, throw 
 the pieces of glass into a river and all your trouble will be washed 
 downstream. 
 
 7536. When you break a mirror, keep bad luck away by throwing the 
 pieces of glass into running water. 
 
 7537. If you break a mirror, break seven more mirrors and you will 
 not have bad luck. 
 
 7538. After you have broken seven mirrors you will have good luck. 
 
 7539. To break a mirror means that you will lose your best friend. 
 
 7540. Some say it is unlucky to look into a mirror. 
 
 7541. Looking into a mirror over someone's shoulder signifies a disap- 
 pointment. 
 
 7542. It causes bad luck to look into a mirror over someone's shoulder. 
 
 7543. You will have bad luck, if you look into a mirror over anyone's 
 left shoulder. 
 
 7544. Two persons who look into a mirror at the same time will be 
 unlucky. 
 
 7545. If two friends stand side by side and look into a mirror, they 
 will have trouble soon. 
 
 7546. When two persons see themselves together in a mirror, they will 
 be disappointed before the end of the day. 
 
 7547. The two persons who look into a mirror at the same time will be 
 parted forever. 
 
 7548. Friendship between two friends will be broken, if they look into 
 a mirror at the same time. 
 
 7549. "They say it is a sin to make faces in the looking-glass." ' 
 
 7550. If a pan turns upside down when dropped, it is a sign that you 
 will be out of food before the end of the week. 
 
 7551. The falling of a picture means bad luck. 
 
 7552. It is a sign of bad luck, if a picture drops out of its frame. 
 
 7553. To have a picture fall from the wall indicates that something 
 terrible will happen. 
 
 7554. If a person's portrait drops to the floor, trouble is coming to him. 
 
380 Memoirs of the Alum Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 7555. A picture hanging crooked on the wall is a bad omen. 
 
 7556. There will be bad luck for that house in which a picture or 
 portrait on the wall hangs crooked. 
 
 7557. A knocking behind a picture foretells bad luck. 
 
 7558. Storing away family pictures will be followed by misfortune. 
 
 7559. Someone throwing a pillow at you will give you bad luck. 
 
 7560. It is lucky to have a greeting embroidered on each of your pillow- 
 cases. 
 
 7561. To drop a poker indicates that a woman is coming to the house. 
 
 7562. A window shade flying up to the ceiling will be followed by bad 
 luck. 
 
 7563. If a window shade slips from your hand and rolls up, you may 
 expect company. 
 
 7564. There will be trouble in the house, if a statue falls to the floor. 
 
 7565. If paint drops off a statue, expect bad luck. "I would not 
 
 have one of those old statues sitting in the house that is made of 
 plaster paris for anything, for I think it brings bad luck to the 
 house." 
 
 7566. It is unlucky to have a stove in the front room. 
 
 7567. A stove lid turning upside down when dropped signifies that 
 someone will tell a scandalous tale about you. 
 
 7568. To hear a table creak is a sign of bad luck. 
 
 7569. If you sit on a table, you will be unfortunate. 
 
 7570. Sitting on a table will bring you a disappointment. 
 7l''7\. To wrap a rope round a trunk causes bad luck. 
 7572. It is very unlucky to sit on a trunk. 
 
 7^^7?). You will have bad luck, if you knock a vase off the mantel. 
 7574. Breaking a water pitcher is a bad omen. 
 
 UMBRELLA 
 
 7575. To be hit with an umbrella will cause you bad luck. "If I 
 
 see anyone with an umbrella, I stay away, for I don't want it 
 even to touch me, if someone is carrying it, for I think it very 
 bad luck." 
 
 7576. Never raise (some negroes say "hoist" or "high") an umbrella in 
 the house, it will bring you bad luck. 
 
 7577. A person will stop growing, if in the house you hold an open 
 umbrella over his head. 
 
 7578. It is very unlucky to open and put an umbrella over your head 
 while in the house. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 381 
 
 7579. Dropping an umbrella is the sign of a disappointment. 
 
 7580. To avert the disappointment caused by dropping an umbrella, let 
 
 someone pick it up for you. 
 
 7581. Laying an umbrella on the bed is unlucky. 
 
 7582. It signifies bad luck, for a man to give an umbrella to a woman. 
 
 7583. If you borrow an umbrella, you will have bad luck. 
 
 7584. In sign language, carrying an umbrella over your right shoulder 
 means, "Follow me." 
 
 7585. To carry an umbrella down in front of you indicates, "I do not 
 like you." 
 
 SHARP INSTRUMENTS 
 
 7586. Finding a pocketknife is a sign of good luck, no matter how old 
 and useless the knife may be. 
 
 7587. You will have bad luck, if you break a knife. 
 
 7588. It is unlucky to present to someone anything with a sharp point. 
 
 7589. Do not give a sharp-pointed article to a person, but lay it down 
 and let him pick it up. This will avert bad luck. 
 
 7590. Give away a knife or a sharp- pointed instrument and you give 
 away your luck. 
 
 7591. The gift of a knife or sharp-edged implement will cause a quarrel 
 between the giver and recipient before the year is gone. The 
 quarrel may be averted, if a coin (usually a penny) is paid in 
 exchange for the gift. 
 
 7592. Stick a friend while giving him a sharp instrument and bad luck 
 will be averted. 
 
 7593. "Don't give a friend anything sharp, because it will cut holes 
 through your friendship." 
 
 7594. It is a sign of bad luck to hand a person a sharp instrument point 
 first; for as some say, "It will cut their luck." 
 
 7595. If when lending a knife you throw it to the borrower instead of 
 handing it to him, you will lose your knife soon. 
 
 7596. "If you take a closed pocketknife and grip it in your hand, and 
 hit someone with your fist, it will kill them." 
 
 7597. If someone closes a knife that you have opened, you will be 
 unlucky. 
 
 7598. Never hand an open pocketknife to a friend; he might close the 
 knife and thereby cut your friendship. 
 
 7599. If someone lends you an open pocketknife, return it open or you 
 will have bad luck. 
 
382 Memoirs of the Ahna Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 7600. If a closed pocketknife was handed to you, return it closed for 
 luck. 
 
 7601. A sharp instrument falling and sticking in the floor or ground is 
 lucky. 
 
 7602. If a knife drops and the blade sticks in the ground or floor, it is 
 an omen oi good luck. The good luck will come from the direction 
 toward which the blade of the knife is pointing. 
 
 7603. If anything with a sharp point falls and sticks in the floor, com- 
 pany will come. 
 
 KNIVES-FORKS-SPOONS 
 
 7604. Silverware turning blue indicates that a dark cloud is gathering 
 over the house. 
 
 7605. Dropping silverware on the floor is a sign of company. 
 
 7606. Expect company, if you drop a piece of tableware on the floor. 
 
 7607. If you let a piece of tableware fall, someone will come hungry. 
 
 7608. It is a bad omen to carry away from the table a plate or saucer on 
 which there are two knives or two spoons. 
 
 7609. To drop a knife and fork together means that a couple is coming 
 to eat with you. 
 
 7610. If a knife and fork cross each other, when accidentally dropped 
 together, bad luck may be expected. 
 
 7611. It is the sign of a christening in the family, if you place two forks 
 at the same plate. 
 
 7612. Crossing two forks on the table foretells trouble. 
 
 7613. Two knives crossed at the table signify misfortune. 
 
 7614. Accidentally placing a knife crosswise over another knife on the 
 table will cause a quarrel. 
 
 7615. "If I put two knives and two forks at a place without thiiikii.g, 
 I always have company for the next meal." 
 
 7616. Putting two spoons in a pot indicates that two women will visit 
 you. 
 
 7617. To drop a knife means that someone is coming. 
 
 7618. When a knife drops to the floor, someone hungry will come. 
 
 7619. If a knife that has fallen to the floor points toward the door, it is 
 a sign of company. 
 
 7620. Dropping a knife on the floor will bring visitors from the direction 
 in which the blade points. 
 
 7621. If you drop a knife on your plate, guests will come from the 
 direction toward which the blade is pointing. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 383 
 
 7622. After dropping, if a knife sticks upright in the floor, look for a 
 visitor. 
 
 7623. If you let a knife fall, a man is coming to visit you. 
 
 7624. When a knife drops, the door will open and a man will enter. 
 
 7625. If you drop a knife, expect a man who will surprise you. 
 
 7626. A policeman will come, if you let a knife fall. 
 
 7627. To drop a knife on "wash day" indicates the coming of an old 
 man. 
 
 7628. If a butcher knife is dropped on "wash day," an old man will visit 
 you. 
 
 7629. Expect a policeman at your house, if you drop a butcher knife. 
 
 7630. If a butcher knife falls, a preacher will come. 
 
 7631. When a butcher knife is dropped, a preacher is coming to eat a 
 meal in your house. 
 
 7632. A woman will come, if you drop a knife. 
 
 7633. If you drop a knife, a woman will come from the direction in 
 which the blade points. 
 
 7634. If a knife falls, a strange woman is coming. 
 
 7635. Dropping a knife indicates that a hungry woman will come. 
 
 7636. If a knife is dropped, a girl will visit your house. 
 
 7637. Drop a knife and a child will call on you. 
 
 7638. Whoever drops a knife at the table will be disappointed. 
 
 7639. Do not pick up a dropped knife, for a friendship will be cut in two. 
 
 7640. The person who picks up the knife that someone has dropped at 
 the table will have good luck. 
 
 7641. It is unlucky to drop a knife while eating. 
 
 7642. Bad luck caused by dropping a knife can be warded off by leaving 
 the table at once. 
 
 7643. Another method by which bad luck can be averted, when you drop 
 a knife at the table, is to remain at the table but stop eating. 
 
 7644. If you let a butcher knife fall and it sticks in the floor, you will 
 be lucky. 
 
 7645. Spinning a knife on the table is unlucky. 
 
 7646. If a knife drops, you will have a quarrel, 
 
 7647. There will be a quarrel in the house, if a fallen knife lies edge 
 upward. 
 
 7648. When you buy a knife, always cut a piece of paper or wood with 
 it first to prevent bad luck. 
 
 7649. If someone is sharpening a knife and the blade points toward you, 
 it signifies a quarrel. 
 
 7650. Sharpen a bread knife on something other than a whetstone and 
 there will soon be strife in the house. 
 
 7651. Scouring bread knives on Sunday is unlucky. 
 
384 Memoirs of llic .iliiia Egaii Hyatt Foundation 
 
 7652. Company will come, if you drop a fork. 
 
 7653. If a fork falls to the floor while you are eating, someone will come 
 from the direction toward which the tines point. 
 
 7654. The dropping of a fork means that a woman is coming. 
 
 7655. A man will visit the house, if a fork is dropped. 
 
 7656. A man will come from whatever direction the prongs of a fallen 
 fork point. 
 
 7657. The falling of a fork indicates that a young man will visit you. 
 
 7658. You are going to have a boy visitor, if a fork drops. 
 
 7659. Expect a strange man, if you drop a fork. 
 
 7660. If a fork is dropped on "wash day," a male visitor will come. 
 
 7661. The dropping of a fork means that a hungry man is coming. 
 
 7662. If you let a fork fall, expect a man who will surprise you. 
 
 7663. A little friend is going to visit you, if you let a fork drop. 
 
 7664. Letting a fork drop while you are eating will bring bad luck. 
 
 7665. To prevent the bad luck caused by dropping a fork at the table, 
 leave the table immediately. 
 
 7666. Bad luck can also be averted, after you have dropped a fork while 
 eating, by staying at the table and refraining from food. 
 
 7667. It is a sign of bad luck to spin a fork at the table. 
 
 7668. Stir with a fork while cooking and you will stir up sorrow. 
 
 7669. Beware of flattery when someone gives you a fork. 
 
 7670. To drop a spoon is the sign of company. 
 
 7671. "Drop a spoon. 
 Company soon." 
 
 7672. "If you drop a spoon, 
 
 You're sure to have company soon." 
 
 7673. A visitor will come from the direction toward which the handle 
 of a fallen spoon points. 
 
 7674. If the open part of a dropped spoon remains up, expect a hungry 
 guest. 
 
 7675. If the bowl of a fallen spoon remains up, a caller will come 
 when the meal is finished. 
 
 7676. Expect a man, if you drop a spoon. 
 
 7677. The dropping of a large spoon or tablespoon will bring a woman 
 to your house. 
 
 7678. Letting a large spoon fall foretells the coming of a widow. 
 
 7679. You may look for an old woman, if you drop a big spoon. 
 
 7680. A big spoon falling on a "wash day" is the sign of a woman 
 coming. 
 
 7681. Expect a negro caller, if you drop a large spoon. 
 
 7682. An entire family will visit you, if you drop a tablespoon. 
 
 7683. You will have a large family as guests, if you drop a large spoon. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 385 
 
 7684. Dropping a big spoon indicates that a big fool will visit you. 
 
 7685. If a teaspoon or small spoon falls, a little fool is coming to see you. 
 
 7686. A visit by a young girl will follow the dropping of a teaspoon. 
 
 7687. If a teaspoon falls, you may expect a child to visit you. 
 
 7688. A disappointment will follow the dropping of a spoon. As some 
 say, "You will be disappointed that day." 
 
 7689. Never pick up a fallen spoon, or it will bring a disappointment. 
 
 Let somebody pick it up for you. "I will never pick up a 
 
 spoon, if I drop it. I will let it lay there all day until someone 
 else picks it up." 
 
 7690. You are going to have a little disappointment, if you drop a 
 teaspoon. 
 
 7691. To drop a tablespoon will cause you a big disappointment. 
 
 7692. If you turn over the spoon holder while setting the table and the 
 spoons fall out, you will have a "fuss" with someone soon. 
 
 7693. It is a sign of bad luck and perhaps death, if you drop a spoon 
 while eating at the table. 
 
 7694. To avert the bad luck which follo\vs the dropping of a spoon at 
 the table, leave the table at once. 
 
 7695. Ward off bad luck, when you have let a spoon fall while at the 
 table, by keeping your seat; but you must stop eating. 
 
 7696. Turning a silver spoon over in your mouth is unlucky. 
 
 7697. To spin a spoon at the table will bring bad luck. 
 
 SALT AND PEPPER 
 
 7698. It is very unlucky not to have salt in the house. "I never get 
 
 out of salt. I would not be in a house a minute without salt, for 
 I think it is very bad luck." 
 
 7699. When there is trouble in your house, sprinkle salt in the comers 
 of all rooms at night ; then sweep up the salt next morning and 
 throw it in front of the house. This Vv'ill drive away the trouble. 
 
 7700. To protect your home from harm, sprinkle salt on the front 
 doorstep. 
 
 7701. Sprinkle red pepper around your front door for luck. 
 
 7702. Keep salt and red pepper under your carpet and you will always 
 have good luck. 
 
 7703. As you sit down to eat, throw a pinch of salt over your shoulder 
 for luck. 
 
 7704. Drive away your troubles by throwing a handful of salt over your 
 left shoulder. 
 
386 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 7705. While crossing a river on a boat, throw a handful of salt into the 
 water over your shoulder, saying, "All my troubles go into the 
 river" and they will leave you. 
 
 7706. You can prevent a new servant from leaving by sewing salt in her 
 clothes. 
 
 7707. Carry salt in your pocket when you go somewhere and you will 
 never be homesick. 
 
 7708. "Crazy people eat lots of salt." 
 
 7709. Borrowing salt causes bad luck. 
 
 7710. To borrow salt from a neighbor foretells a quarrel. 
 
 7711. If necessity compells you to borrow salt, throw a pinch of it into 
 the fire to prevent bad luck. 
 
 7712. Bad luck can also be averted by giving something in exchange for 
 borrowed salt. 
 
 7713. Borrowed salt should never be returned, because it will bring bad 
 luck. 
 
 7714. Never permit anyone to return salt that has been borrowed from 
 you, or you will have bad luck, 
 
 7715. If a person borrows salt and repays it, the friendship between 
 borrower and lender will be broken. 
 
 7716. Spilling salt at the table means that you will have company at the 
 next meal. 
 
 7717. To spill salt will bring you a disappointment. 
 
 7718. Never pick up a saltcellar that you have knocked over at the table ; 
 you will be disappointed. 
 
 7719. Dropping salt indicates that you will cry before bedtime. 
 
 7720. If a child spills salt, he will get a whipping before night. 
 
 7721. You are going to have a quarrel, if you spill salt. 
 
 7722. To avert a quarrel when you spill salt, throw some of it over your 
 left shoulder. 
 
 7723. Expect trouble, when you drop salt on the ground. 
 
 7724. It is unlucky to spill salt. 
 
 7725. To ward off bad luck when you have spilled salt, throw some of 
 it over your shoulder. 
 
 7726. Throw over your left shoulder a pinch of the salt that you have 
 spilled and you will be lucky. 
 
 7727. If you upset the salt, throw some of it over your right shoulder 
 with the left hand for luck. 
 
 7728. To avert bad luck when you have spilled salt, burn some of it in 
 a fire. 
 
 7729. When you spill salt, throw some of it into the fire and your 
 troubles will be burned up. 
 
 7730. "If you spill some salt, pick up some of the salt you spilled and 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 387 
 
 put a little on the stove and let it burn. You will not have bad 
 luck. Every time my father spilled salt, he run and throw a little 
 on the stove to burn and he will not have bad luck." 
 
 7731. You can avert bad luck by dropping some of the spilled salt down 
 the chimney of a lighted lamp. 
 
 7732. When setting down the saltcellar, if you spill some of the salt, 
 take the saltcellar and shake salt first over your right shoulder 
 and then over your left shoulder ; and you will not have bad luck. 
 
 7733. To spill salt between yourself and the person sitting next to you 
 at the table means that you two will have a quarrel. 
 
 7734. Whoever passes salt to you at the table passes you trouble. 
 
 7735. "My grandma would not take a saltcellar stand out of anyone's 
 hand for anything, if someone passed her the salt. She would tell 
 them to set it down, then she would pick it up; for she thought 
 some very bad luck would come to her, if she took the salt out 
 of your hand." 
 
 7736. Always smile while passing salt at the table, or you will soon be 
 on bad terms with the person to whom the salt is passed. 
 
 772)7. Burning salt will make you unlucky. 
 
 7738. Burn salt and you will be forced to pick every grain of it out of 
 hell when you die. 
 
 7739. If the pepperbox falls over towards you and some of the pepper 
 spills out, it signifies that you are going to have bad luck. 
 
 7740. Never replace the pepperstand that you have knocked over, or 
 you will be disappointed. 
 
 7741. Spilling black pepper is the sign of a quarrel. 
 
 7742. When pepper is spilled, you can avoid a quarrel by mixing a pinch 
 of salt with the pepper and throwing it over your left shoulder. 
 
 EATING AND DRINKING 
 
 7743. Eat bananas to grow tall. 
 
 7744. Beans cause flatulence, hence they are vulgarly known as "wind 
 fruit." 
 
 7745. Alwayai blow the foam off your glass of beer for luck. 
 
 7746. "Beer is always better when drunk out of a can. Try it." 
 
 7747. "If a person wants to drink a lot of beer and don't want to get 
 drunk, if they will eat some butter before they start to drinking, 
 the beer will not make them sick." 
 
 7748. Eat something when you drink beer and you will never become 
 drunk. 
 
388 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 7749. The person who takes the last biscuit must kiss the cook. 
 
 7750. If a person shts down to eat without first saying the blessing, his 
 food will not please him. 
 
 7751. To take the last piece of bread means bad luck. 
 
 7752. To drop a piece of bread while eating it, signifies that someone is 
 coining hungry. 
 
 7753. A loaf of bread breaking in two while you are cutting it is an 
 unlucky sign. 
 
 7754. If a woman cuts bread into thick slices, she will be a good step- 
 mother. 
 
 7755. Breaking your bread into crumbs at the table will bring you 
 fMDverty. 
 
 7756. You will be unluck}% if you break bread in someone's hand. 
 
 7757. If anyone begins to break the bread which you are passing to 
 him, set the plate down immediately, or you will lose his 
 friendship. 
 
 7758. Someone will come hungry, if you take two pieces of bread at a 
 helping. 
 
 7759. To reach for a piece of bread, when you already have some on 
 your plate, means that a hungry friend is coming to see you. 
 
 7760. Two persons reaching for bread at the same time indicates! the 
 coming of a hungry visitor. 
 
 7761. "Never cut hot bread, for if you do, it is cutting Jesus' heart." 
 
 7762. You can learn to whistle by eating bread crusts. 
 
 7763. Eat burnt bread and you will be able to whistle. 
 
 7764. Eating bread crusts will give you rosy cheeks. 
 
 7765. Eat "lots" of bread and it will put hair on your chest, that is, 
 make you strong and healthy. 
 
 7766. To serve yourself bread and butter when you already have them 
 means that a hungry guest is coming. 
 
 7767. When a piece of bread falls, the buttered side to the floor, expect 
 a hungry visitor. 
 
 7768. Soak a Good Friday hot cross-bun in water until soft; then dry 
 and wrap it up in something. Preserve this bun and you will have 
 good luck all year. 
 
 7769. Breaking a piece of cake in another person's hand is unlucky. 
 
 7770. If a piece of butter falls under a chair, the automobile will be 
 stolen that day. 
 
 7771. Never tip your chair back while eating at the table; it will bring 
 you bad luck. 
 
 7772. A good cheese must be ripened in a manure pile. 
 
 777 Z. The unpleasant odor in some varieties of cheese comes from the 
 manure pile in which they were ripened. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 389 
 
 7774. If a person eats cheese for breakfast, it is gold; for dinner, it is 
 silver; and for supper, it is lead. 
 
 7775. Eat cherries for brain food. 
 
 7776. Eating the heart of a chicken is lucky. 
 
 7777. Sauerkraut should be eaten for luck on Christmas. 
 
 7778. Pork and black-eyed peas for Christmas dinner will bring you 
 luck throughout the coming year. 
 
 7779. Worms in the apples give cider a good flavor, 
 
 7780. It brings bad luck to leave anything in a cup or glass after a meal. 
 
 7781. Stirring coffee v^^ith a fork will cause bad luck. 
 
 7782. If you leave any coffee in your cup, even a few drops, you will 
 cry later. 
 
 7783. You will have trouble and worry for a week, if you upset a cup of 
 coffee. 
 
 7784. If you can skim the bubbles off your coffee and swallow them 
 before they burst, you will get some money. 
 
 7785. If you can sip the bubbles off your coffee, you are sipping money. 
 
 7786. To drink a small bubble off your coffee means that you will receive 
 a small sum of money. 
 
 7787. Drinking a large bubble off your coffee will bring you a large 
 sum of money. 
 
 7788. When pouring coffee into a cup, if the bubbles collect in a circular 
 form and you can drink them before they break, you will be rich. 
 
 7789. Drink the bubbles that arise to the surface, after you have dropped 
 sugar into your coffee, and you will drink money. 
 
 7790. If you can count all the bubbles on your coffee before they disap- 
 pear, you will receive some money. 
 
 7791. Count the bubbles on the surface of your coffee and you will get 
 a dollar for each bubble. 
 
 7792. Failing in your efforts to capture the bubbles on your coffee 
 means that you will lose money. 
 
 7793. "I would not drink out of a bottle for anything after someone 
 has taken some out and then put it back, for I think it very bad 
 luck." 
 
 7794. Spilling liquor on your clothes is a sign that you will get drunk. 
 
 7795. A drunken man never hurts himself. 
 
 7796. To be the last one eating at a table means that you will live the 
 longest. 
 
 7797. Stand for ten minutes after you have eaten and before you do 
 anything, and you will always be lucky. 
 
 7798. To reduce weight, every morning before breakfast eat an egg 
 which has been boiled a half hour. 
 
390 Memoirs of the Abna Egan Hyatt Foundatioti 
 
 7799. Never go in swimming- or take a bath immediately after eating; 
 it will make you sick. Always wait an hour. 
 
 7800. Some people believe that a negro will not eat anything sweet in 
 the morning until he has had a piece of fat meat, 
 
 7801. Fish is good for the brain. 
 
 7802. If anyone eats fish and ice cream while drinking whiskey, the 
 combination will kill him. 
 
 7803. To eat fish and drink milk at the same meal will make you sick. 
 
 7804. Eat a lemon when you swallow a fish bone and it will dissolve 
 the bone. 
 
 7805. "One day a woman ordered some finnie haddie fish (fimmn 
 haddie) at the Hotel Quincy and the colored waiter said, 'Lady, 
 did you ever eat any of that fish before ? Do you know it always 
 makes a woman sick?' She said, 'What is wrong with you? I am 
 ordering finnie haddie fish.' The waiter brought it to her, and 
 before she was through eating she took sick and had to leave the 
 table, and almost died that night with running off of the bowels." 
 
 7806. To drop food while you are eating means that someone else 
 desired it. 
 
 7807. If three persons drink out of the same glass without rinsing the 
 glass each time it is used, they will have bad luck. 
 
 7808. Cook black-eyed peas on Good Friday for luck. 
 
 7809. Navy beans should be cooked for luck on Good Friday. 
 
 7810. If two persons shake hands across the table, one of them will 
 break the friendship immediately. 
 
 7811. Helping yourself to something which you already have on your 
 plate indicates that someone will come hungry. 
 
 7812. When at the table you serve yourself something that you already 
 have, expect a hungry visitor. 
 
 7813. "Some people say we should eat horse meat instead of a cow, 
 because a cow has a split hoof." 
 
 7814. Eat horse-radish only in the months that have the letter "R." 
 
 7815. Never eat ice cream and cucumbers at the same meal. 
 
 7816. If you eat ice cream and drink beer at the same meal, they will 
 kill you. 
 
 7817. To sober a person who is drunk, give him the juice of two 
 lemons. 
 
 7818. "If you eat lots of mustard it will turn your insides yellow." 
 
 7819. If someone accidentally knocks a napkin oflF your lap, do not use 
 it, for it will bring you bad luck. 
 
 7820. When someone accidentally knocks a napkin off your lap, pick it 
 up and shake it. This is shaking out the trouble. Then get yourself 
 a clean napkin and you will have good luck. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams Comity Illinois 391 
 
 7821. If you fold your napkin after a meal at which you are a guest, 
 you will never be invited there again. 
 
 7822. Always have food cooked in your house on New Year's Day, or 
 you will lack something to eat before the year is out. 
 
 7823. On New Year's Day cook some article of food that swells and 
 your pocketbook will be swollen all year. 
 
 7824. Cook white beans on New Year's Day and you will not be "broke" 
 during the year. 
 
 7825. Eat cabbage on New Year's Day and you will have plenty to eat 
 all year. 
 
 7826. Fry cabbage for breakfast on New Year's Day and you will have 
 money all year. 
 
 7827. The person who eats cabbage on New Year's Day will not be 
 without money during that year. 
 
 7828. Have a head of cabbage in your house on New Year's Day and 
 you will be successful all year. 
 
 7829. Boil a head of cabbage on New Year's Day and serve it cut in 
 four equal pieces, and you will have gold all year. 
 
 7830. Eating cabbage and pork on New Year's Day will bring you 
 money. 
 
 7831. One must eat fish on New Year's Day to have luck for the coming 
 year. 
 
 7832. To have money throughout the year, eat herring on New Year's 
 Day. 
 
 7833. Eat herring at midnight on New Year's Eve and you will have 
 money all year. 
 
 7834. If you eat hog head on New Year's Eve at midnight and hold a 
 piece of money in your pocket, you will have money in your 
 pocket all year. 
 
 7835. Black-eyed peas and hog jowl eaten on New Year's Day will 
 bring you good luck all year. 
 
 7836. Eat rice on New Year's Day and you will have silver all year. 
 
 7837. At midnight on New Year's Eve eat sauerkraut and you will have 
 money all year. 
 
 7838. Serve sauerkraut for dinner (midday meal) on New Year's Day 
 and you will have luck all year. 
 
 7839. To overcome a dislike for olives, you must eat seven of them, 
 
 7840. You will never like olives until you have eaten nine of them. 
 
 7841. Eating onions nourishes the marrow of the bones. 
 
 7842. Oysters are not good to eat except in a month that has the letter 
 "R" in its name. 
 
 7843. If two persons cross hands while passing something at the table, 
 they will quarrel. 
 
392 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 7844. If a piece of pie on the table has its point toward you, you will 
 have good luck. 
 
 7845. What you have eaten will not be fattening, if you have pineapple 
 for a desert. 
 
 7846. Always keep a seat for the unexpected guest, because some day 
 you might entertain an angel in disguise. 
 
 7847. Never change places at the table ; it will bring bad luck. 
 
 7848. "Pork is poison because it came from a Jew, meaning a Jew was 
 turned into a hog." 
 
 7849. "If you eat raw potatoes, you are evil and hate everything 
 you see." 
 
 7850. Taking the last potato from the plate indicates that a hungry 
 person is coming. 
 
 7851. When reaching across the table, if your two arms form a cross, 
 you will quarrel that day. 
 
 7852. If at the table two persons reach for the same thing at the same 
 time, they will be together for another year. 
 
 7853. Two persons reaching simultaneously for the same thing at the 
 table is a sign of bad luck. 
 
 7854. A fat person can reduce his weight by eating rhubarb and lemons. 
 
 7855. Worms in the cabbage used will give sauerkraut a good flavor. 
 
 7856. Drink a bottle of soda into which you have dropped an asperin 
 and it will make you drunk. 
 
 7857. Always eat something green on St. Patrick's Day for luck. 
 
 7858. Spilling sugar will bring you a disappointment. 
 
 7859. It is a sign of company to find tea leaves in a cup of tea. 
 
 7860. Finding tea leaves in your cup of tea means that you will receive a 
 present soon. 
 
 7861. If the tea leaves in your cup float to the surface while you are 
 drinking, look for company. 
 
 7862. Using cream in hot tea will kill you. 
 
 7863. If at a party a person leaves a few drops of wine in his glass, 
 after he has drunk a toast, he will quarrel with one of the guests 
 before departing. 
 
 7864. It is unlucky to eat tomatoes before they are in season. 
 
 7865. Drink tomato juice when intoxicated and it will sober you. 
 
 7866. It is unlucky to drop a toothpick. 
 
 7867. To overturn the toothpick holder is the sign of a quarrel. 
 
 7868. Each vegetable and fruit is good for some part of the human body. 
 
 7869. Pouring water into a glass that is already filled indicates a quarrel 
 with your mother-in-law. 
 
 7870. You will have trouble, if you pour water into your glass when it 
 already contains some. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 393 
 
 7871. If someone's glass contains water and you add more, it is a sign 
 of bad luck. 
 
 7872. If you drink water quickly, it will make you fat. Avoid this by 
 sipping water slowly. 
 
 7873. Drinking water with your meals will make you fat. 
 
 7874. Drink well water and the minerals in it will make you tall. Some 
 say, without being able to specify the names of the minerals, that 
 this must be a certain kind of water. 
 
 7875. Stand on your head while drinking a glass of water and you will 
 have good luck. 
 
 7876. "If you go to a spring and the water is right cold and blue, don't 
 drink it; it is poison." 
 
 7877. Eating in a water-closet will bring bad luck. 
 
 7878. Drink good whiskey all week and buttermilk on Sunday for luck. 
 
 7879. The child who drinks whiskey will never grow. 
 
 7880. "An old saying is, if you drink whiskey all the time, it will kill 
 you; but I know a man here in town who drinks whiskey every 
 day for eighty-six years and is still living." 
 
 PREPARATION OF FOOD AND DRINK 
 
 FIRE 
 
 COOKING AND BAKING 
 
 CHURNING-SAUERKRAUT MAKING-WINE MAKING 
 
 7881. If you start a fire and it goes out, expect bad luck. "One 
 
 morning I built a fire in the kitchen stove, then went in the sitting 
 room to build one. When I came back in the kitchen my fire was 
 out. That day at work I was cutting timber and almost cut my 
 foot oflf." 
 
 7882. It is unlucky if your fire dies out before its fuel is consumed. 
 
 7883. Stir a fire with a broom and bad luck will befall you. 
 
 7884. Playing with fire will cause you bad luck. 
 
 7885. Drop salt down a chimney that is ablaze and the fire will subside. 
 
 7886. Never burn sassafras wood inside the house; it will bring bad 
 luck. 
 
 7887. Bad luck can be kept away from the household by burning alum 
 within the house. 
 
 7888 A spark flying from a fire foretells visitors. 
 
 7889. To have a fire roar (sing or pop) is the sign of a family quarrel. 
 
 7890. "I never cook white beans unless I drop three negro toe rocks 
 
394 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 (small black rocks) in them to cook. It makes them so much better. 
 You can always go out and pick them up out of the gravel. And 
 I never use the same three rocks over three times." 
 
 7891. If you bum beans, take them off the stove and put the pan in cold 
 water. This will remove the burnt taste. 
 
 7892. Boiling-beef will cook twice as quickly if you put a little vinegar 
 in the water. 
 
 7893. A woman who burns anything that is to be eaten will want food 
 before she dies. 
 
 7894. Lay a heel of hard bread on the lid of the pan in which cabbage 
 is cooking and there will not be any odor in the house. 
 
 7895. During her monthly sickness a woman cannot make good candy. 
 It will not get hard. 
 
 7896. Stick two nails into a tough chicken while it is cooking and this 
 will make the fowl tender. 
 
 7897. "If you are cooking a chicken and it is very greasy, drop a red 
 ai3ple in the pot and the grease will all go to that red apple." 
 
 7898. Burn your coffee and you will have bad luck. 
 
 7899. To spill coffee while making it is a sign of good luck. 
 
 7900. If when making coffee the cook forgets to put the lid of the 
 coffeepot down, there will be company at the next meal. 
 
 7901. If you want a soft-boiled tgg, sing the first stanza of "Nearer 
 My God to Thee," and the tgg will be ready to serve. 
 
 7902. Hold a pin in your mouth while grating horse-radish and your 
 eyes will not water. 
 
 7903. Jelly made on a rainy day will be cloudy. 
 
 7904. To make tough meat tender, lay it in strong vinegar water for a 
 few minutes just before cooking. 
 
 7905. Meat or vegetables will be tender, if you drop two nails into the 
 
 pan in which they are cooking. "I always keep two nails and 
 
 put them in everything I cook to make it tender. I have a pot of 
 white beans on the stove now and have two nails in them. I could 
 not cook without my nails." 
 
 7906. Keep a piece of bread in your mouth while peeling onions and 
 your eyes will not water. 
 
 7907. Your eyes will not be bothered by the onions if when peeling 
 them you hold a fork in your mouth. 
 
 7908. If you are peeling onions, stick a needle into your dress near the 
 shoulder and you will not shed tears. 
 
 7909. To prevent crying as you pare onions, keep a pin in your mouth. 
 
 7910. You can avoid weeping by holding a potato in your mouth while 
 }:>aring onions. 
 
 7911. Your eyes will not water, if you place a small potato on the end 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 395 
 
 of your knife while peeling onions. The onion fumes will go into 
 the potato. 
 
 7912. Begin at the root of the onion and peel upwards to keep from 
 shedding tears while peeling onions. 
 
 7913. Holding a toothpick in your mouth while paring onions will keep 
 your eyes from watering. 
 
 7914. The fumes from an onion will not get into your eyes, if you peel 
 the onion upside down. 
 
 7915. Peel onions under water and your eyes will not be troubled by 
 the fumes. 
 
 7916. If a woman preserves pickles during her monthly sickness they 
 will spoil. 
 
 7917. "If a pregnant woman makes pickles, they will turn out to be soft 
 every time." 
 
 7918. The cook who burns potatoes while they are on the stove will have 
 bad luck. 
 
 7919. To have good preserves, they must be made in the light of the 
 moon. 
 
 7920. "If you don't want to stir your rice when it is cooking, put three 
 or four marbles in the pan; and when the water gets hot, the 
 marbles will start to moving and keep moving through the rice so 
 you don't have to stir it. When the rice is done, the marbles will 
 come to the top of the pan." 
 
 7921. Sausages will not crack or break, if you leave the lid off the pot. 
 
 7922. "If you are cooking something and get too much salt in it, just 
 lay a wet dish rag on the lid and all the salt will go into that 
 dish rag." 
 
 7923. Never cook with anything sour during your monthly sickness ; it 
 will spoil. 
 
 7924. A woman who is menstruating will be successful in cooking any- 
 thing that is sweet. 
 
 7925. A watched teakettle or pot never boils. 
 
 7926. Let a teakettle boil and you will boil away your friends. 
 
 7927. To prevent lime from settling in the teakettle, always keep a 
 marble in the teakettle. 
 
 7928. Spilling vinegar is the sign of a quarrel in the family. 
 
 7929. A barrel of vinegar will spoil, if it is touched by a woman during 
 
 her monthly sickness. "My mother would never let any of us 
 
 near the vinegar or sauerkraut barrel when we were menstruating. 
 Said they would spoil." 
 
 7930. Vegetables or fruit will spoil, if they are preserved while a woman 
 
 has her monthly sickness. "A neighbor on the block with 
 
 Mrs, S. ordered two bushels of tomatoes last week, and she 
 
396 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 became sick ; so she sent them back, because the old saying is, the 
 fruit will spoil." 
 
 7931. Vegetables that grow under the ground will cook better, if you 
 keep the lid on the pot while they are cooking. 
 
 7932. Always leave the lid off the pot when cooking vegetables that 
 grow on top of the ground. 
 
 7933. The water in the pan should be boiling, before you put in it 
 vegetables that grow underground. 
 
 7934. Vegetables that grow aboveground must be put in a pan of cold 
 water when they are set on the stove. 
 
 7935. "I was cooking white beans several weeks ago and a neighbor 
 came in and said, 'O, are you cooking beans? I am too, so I will 
 throw mine away, for I would not eat them for anything; for 
 it will bring bad luck, if two people cook the same thing in the 
 same house on the same day'." 
 
 7936. The two women who bump into each other while preparing a meal 
 will work together next year at the same time. 
 
 7937. Set your bread before the sun comes up so that the bread will rise 
 with the ascending sun. 
 
 7938. Always bake bread in the morning and it will rise as the sun 
 comes up. 
 
 7939. Never bake bread after sunset or the bread will sink. 
 
 7940. Bake cake in the morning and it will rise as the sun rises. 
 
 7941. A cake baked in the afternoon will sink with the setting sun. 
 
 7942. Icing for a cake will not be any good, if it is made on a cloudy 
 day. 
 
 7^43. Stir a cake away from you and you stir away bad luck ; that is, 
 you will be lucky. The opposite is said to be true, that you will 
 stir good luck away from you ; in other words, you will be unlucky. 
 
 7944. Stirring bread towards you will cause you bad luck. 
 
 7945. If you stir a cake two different ways, the cake will fall. 
 
 7946. A cake will fall, if two or more persons stir it. 
 
 7947. A woman who is menstruating cannot make a good cake. 
 
 "Mrs. C. told me she would not think of making bread or a cake, 
 
 if she was sick; for it would not be good." Another person 
 
 said: "If a girl makes a cake during her monthly sickness, it will 
 be a flop." 
 
 7948. If the yeast used in making bread is carried across water, the 
 bread will not rise. 
 
 7949. Never thank a person who gives you yeast; the bread will fail 
 to rise. 
 
 7950. Putting too much soda in the bread dough means that you will 
 soon have company. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 397 
 
 7951. Bread or cake rising and then falling suddenly is a bad omen. 
 
 7952. It signifies an increase in the family, if bread cracks open while 
 baking. 
 
 7953. The woman who cuts bread dough with a knife will always be 
 poor. 
 
 7954. You can make a cake rise by laying on top of the stove the tgg 
 shells used. 
 
 7955. Never bum the tgg shells used in making a cake until the cake 
 has risen; if you do, the cake will not rise. 
 
 7956. Hold against your nose a loaf of bread as soon as you take it 
 from the oven; and if the loaf does not burn your nose, the 
 bread is done. 
 
 7957. To ascertain whether a loaf of bread is done, hold your face 
 against the bottom of the loaf; if it bums your face, the bread 
 is done. 
 
 7958. It is very unlucky to turn upside down a loaf of bread that you 
 have just removed from the oven. 
 
 7959. To drop a biscuit when taking the pan from the oven means that 
 someone is coming hungry. 
 
 7960. The baker who burns bread will be compelled to pick the same 
 amount of bread out of hell-fire after death. 
 
 7961. If you burn anything that can be eaten, you will have to pick it out 
 of hell-fire when you die, 
 
 7962. To bum bread while baking it means a disappointment, 
 
 7963. If you burn bread when baking it, you will go hungry or come 
 to want before you die. 
 
 7964. You commit a sin when you bum bread while baking, 
 
 7965. If you burn pastry dark, someone with dark eyes is coming. 
 
 7966. When butter will not come, stick a hot poker into the churn. 
 
 7967. An old negro woman said that when she was a girl and butter 
 failed to come, she would repeat the following rhyme by the hour : 
 
 "Come butter come, 
 
 Come butter come, 
 
 Peter's waiting at the gate. 
 
 Waiting for butter and cake. 
 
 Come butter come 
 
 I used to carry marks on my hands for weeks, if I would get tired 
 of churning, mother whipped me so hard." 
 
 7968. It used to be a saying that Germans always made an extra barrel 
 of sauerkraut for medicine . 
 
 7969. You may obtain good sauerkraut by making it in the sign of the 
 "feet." 
 
398 Monoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 7970. Sauerkraut made in the sign of the Fishes will be soft and 
 tasteless. 
 
 7971. Sauerkraut will be excellent if made in the sign of the "fish" and 
 when the moon is dark or on the wane. 
 
 7972. If you make sauerkraut in the dark of the moon, the brine will 
 sink to the bottom of the barrel and remain there ; and the sauer- 
 kraut will rot. 
 
 7973. The best time to make sauerkraut is in the light of the moon. 
 
 7974. Sauerkraut will taste better, if it is tamped into the barrel with 
 the bare feet. 
 
 7975. Sauerkraut will spoil if a menstruating woman touches or even 
 approaches the barrel. 
 
 7976. If you are cooking sauerkraut, drop an unpeeled apple into the 
 pan and there will not be any odor in the house. 
 
 7977. You will always have good wine, if it is made in the light of the 
 moon. 
 
 7978. Make wine on a cloudy day and the wine will be cloudy. 
 
 7979. To have clear wine, make it when the weather is clear. 
 
 7980. New wine will sour, if it is put in old bottles. 
 
 SOAP MAKING-CLEANING DISHES-DISH RAG 
 
 GARBAGE-REMOVING ASHES-SCRUBBING 
 WASHING CLOTHES-IRONING-BED MAKING 
 
 7981. "If you want to have good soap, make it in the full of the moon 
 and your pot will be just full of soap." 
 
 7982. Soap made during the full moon will be thick. 
 
 7983. If you boil soap in the dark of the moon, it will not thicken. 
 
 7984. Your soap will be "nice and thick," if it is boiled in the dark of 
 the moon. 
 
 7985. Soap will decrease while you are making it in the dark of the 
 moon ; and when the boiling is finished, there will not be any soap 
 left in the kettle. 
 
 7986. Soap cooked in the dark of the moon will not shrink after it is cut. 
 
 7987. Cook soap in the light of the moon and it will be thin. 
 
 7988. Never make soap when the moon is light ; the soap will shrink 
 after it is cut. 
 
 7989. Soap made on a cloudy day will turn to lye. 
 
 7990. To secure good soap, it must be boiled during fair weather. 
 799L You can have excellent soap by boiling it in March snow water. 
 7992. It is unlucky to drop a dish towel. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 399 
 
 7993. Letting a tea towel fall is the sign of company. 
 
 7994. If a tea towel drops to the floor, you will get a letter. 
 
 7995. Dropping a dish rag on the floor is a sign of company. 
 
 7996. If you do not w^ant company to come, after letting a dish rag fall 
 to the floor, step backwards over the dish rag. 
 
 7997. To keep company from coming, when you let a dish rag drop, pick 
 up the dish rag and shake it. This will shake away the company. 
 
 7998. When a dish mop drops, it means unexpected guests. 
 
 7999. If a dish rag falls from your hand, you will have a male visitor. 
 
 8000. To drop a dish rag signifies that a preacher is coming. 
 
 8001. If a dish rag stays together when it falls, a man will call on you. 
 
 8002. If a dish rag spreads out when it drops, you may expect a woman. 
 
 8003. A dish rag dropping to the floor indicates that someone who is not 
 "dressed up" will come. 
 
 8004. After a dish rag has fallen, look for the arrival of a "no account 
 person." 
 
 8005. If a dish rag is dropped, someone dirtier and slouchier than, you 
 will soon appear. 
 
 8006. "Drop a dishcloth on the floor, 
 Expect a bum at your door." 
 
 8007. When a dish rag falls to the floor, it means that an old hag 
 will come. 
 
 8008. If a fallen dish rag leaves a wet spot on the floor, someone dirtier 
 than you is coming; and he will wet on the floor. 
 
 8009. You may expect a female visitor if a fallen dish rag leaves a wet 
 spot on the floor. 
 
 8010. If a wet dish rag falls to the floor and does not leave a spot, a 
 man is coming. 
 
 8011. Someone hungry will come after you have dropped a dish rag. 
 
 8012. It signifies a hungry guest before the next meal, if a dish rag 
 falls to the floor. 
 
 8013. If a dish rag does not open when it falls, you will have good luck. 
 
 8014. It is a sign of bad luck for a dish rag not to open when it drops 
 to the floor. 
 
 8015. It is unlucky to touch anyone with a dish rag. 
 
 8016. Steal someone's dish rag and keep it for luck. 
 
 8017. When you are having bad luck, you can break the spell by boiling 
 a dish rag in dirty water. 
 
 8018. Drying two dishes at once means that you are doubling your 
 troubles. 
 
 8019. Washing your sugar bowl on Sunday night signifies that you will 
 have a houseful of company. 
 
 8020. Forgetting to wash a skillet indicates a guest at the next meal. 
 
400 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 8021. Never let your dishwater boil; it will cause family quarrels. 
 
 8022. You will scald the fairies if you empty dishwater out the back 
 door at night. 
 
 8023. Do not throw away your used coffee grounds, but bum them for 
 luck. 
 
 8024. I f on New Year's Day you throw anything out of the house, such 
 as coffee grounds, dishwater and ashes, it will bring you bad luck 
 all year. 
 
 8025. Your own bones will ache if you burn bones on the fire. They 
 must be thrown away. 
 
 8026. Bury fish bones instead of throwing them away, and you will 
 be lucky. 
 
 8027. "I never throw tgg shells out. I always burn them so I won't 
 have any trouble." 
 
 8028. Letting onion peelings lie about is unlucky. Burn them for luck. 
 
 8029. You will have bad luck if you drop onion peelings on the floor. 
 To avoid this, pick up the peelings immediately and burn them. 
 
 8030. Always burn your used tea leaves for luck. 
 
 8031. If you brush the crumbs off the table onto the floor, you will 
 always be poor. 
 
 8032. Shaking your tablecloth outdoors after dark will cause you bad 
 luck. 
 
 8033. Empty your garbage can after dark and you will be unlucky. 
 
 8034. Do not shake your rugs after dark or you will shake away your 
 luck. 
 
 8035. Emptying ashes outdoors after dark will bring trouble to the 
 house. 
 
 8036. If you take ashes out of the house after four o'clock on Friday 
 you will have bad luck. 
 
 8037. It is unlucky to remove the ashes on Christmas Day. 
 
 8038. "I would not take up ashes on New Year's Day for anything, 
 for I think it is the worst thing you can do; for it brings you 
 such bad luck." 
 
 8039. "I said to a woman one day, 'What a nice clean kitchen you have.' 
 She said, 'When I get up in the morning I never throw the cham- 
 ber outdoors. I always empty it on the floor and take a broom 
 and scrub ; and that is why it is so nice and white, my floor'." 
 
 8040. Scrub the floor on New Year's Eve at midnight and you will be 
 prosperous throughout the year. 
 
 8041. It is unlucky to step on a mop handle. 
 
 8042. Pick up a mop as soon as you drop it, for if someone steps over it, 
 you will have bad luck. 
 
 8043. If you spill water on the floor, never wipe it up by pushing a mop 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 401 
 
 or a rag around with your foot. Get down on your knees and 
 wipe it up, or there will be a serious quarrel in your family. 
 
 8044. "If you wash on Monday, 
 You have all week to dry. 
 If you wash on Tuesday, 
 You are not so much aware. 
 If you wash on Wednesday, 
 You wash for shame. 
 
 If you wash on Thursday, 
 You are not so much to blame. 
 If you wash on Friday, 
 You wash for need. 
 If you wash on Saturday, 
 O you are sluts indeed." 
 
 8045. Never do your washing on Friday; you will be unlucky. 
 
 8046. "Wash on Friday, wash in need, 
 Wash on Saturday, a slut indeed." 
 
 8047. It is unlucky to hang out washing after dark. 
 
 8048. "If you iron the hem of your old man's shirt, you will have bad 
 luck." 
 
 8049. The woman who irons the hem of her husband's shirt will iron 
 away his money. 
 
 8050. Iron the hem of a man's shirt and it will make him bad-tempered. 
 
 8051. If the tail of the back of a man's shirt is ironed, it will make him 
 
 cross. "Mjy mother used to work for a woman years ago 
 
 and she would not let my mother iron the back of her husband's 
 shirt. Said it would make him cross, for whenever she forgot 
 and ironed the back of his shirt, he was always cross." 
 
 8052. Ironing the back of a man's shirt means that he will not live to 
 wear out the shirt. 
 
 8053. It causes bad luck to button a man's shirt after it has been ironed. 
 
 8054. Never iron the bed sheets or you will be unlucky. 
 
 8055. You will have bad luck, if you iron on Sunday. 
 
 8056. Always clean the bed in the dark of the moon and it will never 
 harbor bedbugs. 
 
 8057. Putting sheets wrong side out on the bed is the sign that you 
 will soon move. 
 
 8058. After you have begun to make a bed, never stop to do something- 
 else or you will have bad luck. 
 
 8059. You will be lucky all day if you make your beds early in the 
 morning. 
 
 8060. If a woman makes her beds in the morning, it shows that she is 
 a good housekeeper. 
 
402 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Fowidation 
 
 8061. The woman who makes her beds at noon is a lazy housekeeper. 
 
 8062. Two persons making the same bed together will have bad luck. 
 
 8063. If two persons make a bed together, they will soon quarrel. 
 
 8064. Not making the bed on Sunday will cause you bad luck. 
 
 "I would not let my bed go unmade for anything on a Sunday. 
 I make it the first thing when I get up to keep from having bad 
 luck." 
 
 8065. Turning a feather bed on Sunday is unlucky. 
 
 SWEEPING AND BROOMS 
 
 8066. "If you sweep after dark, 
 
 You will bring sorrow to your heart." 
 
 8067. To sweep after dark will bring trouble to the house. 
 
 8068. Never sweep the kitchen after supper, whether daylight or dark, 
 
 or you will sweep out all your money. "I used to work for 
 
 a woman and she would not let me sweep after supper. She didn't 
 care how much dirt was on the floor. Said it would sweep all her 
 money away." 
 
 8069. If you sweep after dark, you will sweep out the money made 
 that day. 
 
 8070. Sweep after dark and you will never be rich. 
 
 8071. Sweeping after dark means that you will lose a friend. 
 
 8072. You sweep away your best friend by sweeping after dark. 
 
 8073. When you sweep after dark, you sweep away your friends and 
 let your enemies in. 
 
 8074. Your luck will be swept away, if you sweep your kitchen after 
 sunset. 
 
 8075. If you must sweep your kitchen after sunset, you can avert bad 
 luck by burning the dirt. 
 
 8076. Never sweep your kitchen early in the morning before sunrise, or 
 you will be unlucky. 
 
 8077. It causes bad luck to sweep a porch after dark. 
 
 8078. Sweeping dirt over a doorstep after six o'clock in the evening 
 will bring bad luck. 
 
 8079. If dirt is swept out a door before sunrise, you may expect bad 
 luck. 
 
 8080. To sweep dirt out the door is the sign of a slovenly housekeeper. 
 
 8081. Never sweep dirt out the front door; it will bring you bad luck. 
 
 8082. Always sweep dirt out the back door or you will sweep away your 
 best friend. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 403 
 
 8083. It is unlucky to sweep dirt out a door at any time. Pick up the 
 dirt and carry it outdoors for luck. 
 
 8084. When a small child takes a broom and begins to sweep, company 
 is coming-. 
 
 8085. "If someone comes in to see you and you pick up a broom and go 
 to sweeping in front of them, that is the sign they are not wanted 
 and you want them to go home." 
 
 8086. Do not sweep immediately after the departure of a guest or you 
 will sweep him bad luck. 
 
 8087. To brush your foot with the broom while you are sweeping will 
 give you bad luck for a week. 
 
 8088. "If you sweep in front of someone, you are sweeping them off 
 the earth." 
 
 8089. Sweeping under a chair upon which someone is sitting will make 
 you unlucky. 
 
 8090. If you sweep under someone while he is sitting on a chair, you 
 are giving him bad luck. 
 
 8091. Sweep under a person's feet while he is sitting on a chair and 
 he will not grow any more. 
 
 8092. The person under whose feet you sweep will always be poor. 
 
 8093. Touching anyone with a broom while you are sweeping causes 
 
 bad luck. An old colored woman said, "I will fight in a 
 
 minute, if anyone touches me with a broom, for my mother 
 always said it was bad luck." Another negro said, "My son will 
 not stay in the house when I was sweeping. He will always get up 
 and go in another room or outdoors." 
 
 8094. The one who is hit by a broom will soon be arrested. "I was 
 
 sweeping around a woman's chair and I accidentally hit her with 
 the broom, and she was arrested before night." 
 
 8095. Hitting someone with a broom means that he will go to jail 
 before a week has passed. 
 
 8096. If you hit a person with a broom just before he starts "uptown," 
 he will have trouble before returning. 
 
 8097. The person who is hit on the top of the head with a broom will be 
 arrested. 
 
 8098. When someone is hit with a broom, he should spit on the broom 
 and take ten steps backwards. He will neither have bad luck nor 
 be arrested. 
 
 8099. It signifies bad luck, if you sweep under a bed on which someone 
 is lying. 
 
 8100. Sweep the top of a bed and you will have bad luck. 
 
 8101. Dropping a broom while sweeping is the sign of a new carpet. 
 
 8102. Letting the sweeping edge of a broom wear off at the two corners 
 
404 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 ("run into a funnel," as one person said) will bring- you bad luck. 
 
 8103. Keep the corners of your broom square or even for luck. 
 
 8104. It is unlucky to sweep on Monday. 
 
 8105. Sweep dirt out of the house on Friday and it will cause you 
 bad luck. 
 
 8106. If dirt is swept out of the house on Friday, the house will burn. 
 
 8107. Bad luck will befall you all year, if you sweep on New Year's Day. 
 
 8108. If you must sweep on New Year's Day, you can avert bad luck 
 by not taking up the dirt. Leave it in a pile on the floor. 
 
 8109. Sweeping on New Year's Day means that you will sweep out the 
 money made during the coming year. 
 
 8110. Burn up the rubbish when you sweep on New Year's Day and 
 you will have money throughout the new year. 
 
 8111. Sweep on the third day after Easter and you will have bugs in 
 the house. 
 
 8112. Never burn up a broom; it will bring you bad luck. 
 
 8113. It is unlucky to borrow a broom. 
 
 8114. If you must borrow a broom, take it without the owner's know- 
 ledge, and you will not have bad luck. 
 
 8115. Lending a broom will cause you bad luck. 
 
 8116. If you hand a broom through a window to someone, you may 
 expect bad luck. 
 
 8117. It signifies bad luck, to carry a broom through the house from the 
 front door to the back door. 
 
 8118. Carry a broom under your arm for luck. 
 
 8119. Carrying a broom over your shoulder will give you bad luck. 
 
 8120. To set a broom in the corner with the brush up shows that you 
 are an untidy housekeeper. 
 
 8121. Let a broom rest with the straws up and you will be lucky. 
 
 8122. To have good luck, place the broom on its handle in a corner. 
 
 8123. Leaving a broom with its handle up will bring you bad luck. 
 
 8124. Stand a broom on its handle and you will always be poor. 
 
 8125. Lean a broom against a bed and you will be unlucky. 
 
 8126. It is the sign of misfortune, to lay a broom on a bed. 
 
 8127. Stepping over a broom is a sign of slovenliness. 
 
 812-8. If you go to someone's house and have to step over a broom, it 
 shows that the mistress of that household is an untidy housekeeper. 
 
 8129. A broom dropping in front of the door means company before the 
 day is over. 
 
 8130. If you let a broom fall and do not step back over it immediately, 
 someone dirtier than you will come. 
 
 8131. To step over a broom will start a quarrel in the house. 
 
 8132. Step over a broom and you will break your mother's back. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 405 
 
 8133. The child who steps over a broom will get a whipping. 
 
 8134. When a broom falls across the door, it indicates that you will 
 walk on strange ground. 
 
 8135. If you step over a broom you will be arrested. 
 
 8136. If a broom falls in front of you and you step over it before 
 picking it up, you will have a "bed of sickness." 
 
 8137. Stepping over a broom will bring sorrow to your heart. 
 
 8138. Stumbling over a broom handle will bring you good luck. 
 
 8139. Always pick up for luck a broom that is lying on the floor or 
 ground. 
 
 8140. You will be unlucky, if you do not pick up a fallen broom at once. 
 
 8141. Walking over a fallen broom will cause you bad luck. 
 
 8142. To avert bad luck after you have walked over a fallen broom, 
 step backwards across the broom. 
 
 8143. It is a sign of good luck to have a broom drop in front of you. 
 
 8144. If a broom falls as you are passing it, you will have bad luck. 
 
 8145. It means bad luck, when a broom falls across the door. 
 
 MOVING 
 
 8146. On New Year's Eve sit on the floor with your back to the fire 
 and kick off one of your shoes so that it will go over your shoulder. 
 If the toe of the shoe points toward the stove, you will remain in 
 the house another year; if it points toward a door or window, 
 you will move before the end of the year. 
 
 8147. If you do not hear a turtledove in the spring, you will not move 
 that year. 
 
 8148. When you hear the call of the first turtledove of spring, the direc- 
 tion from which the sound comes will be the direction in which 
 you will move. 
 
 8149. If the first thing you hear in the morning is the cooing of a dove, 
 you will soon move in the direction from which the sound is 
 coming. 
 
 8150. It is unlucky to move on Monday. 
 
 8151. Friday is an unlucky day for moving. 
 
 8152. Moving on Friday will bring sickness to the family. 
 
 8153. You will have bad luck if you move on Saturday. 
 
 8154. You will not remain long at the house into which you move on 
 Saturday. It is also said that, "you will keep on moving." A 
 woman who owns a house, said, "I will never let anyone move 
 in my house on Saturday." 
 
406 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 8155. Move on Saturday and you will "break up" housekeeping before 
 the year is gone. 
 
 8156. The best day for moving is Sunday. 
 
 8157. Moving on Sunday will cause bad luck. 
 
 8158. Never move between two suns or you will have bad luck. 
 
 8159. One should move during the full moon for luck. 
 
 8160. "I would never move into a new house, if it was raining. I would 
 always wait until the next day so I would stay in the new house." 
 
 8161. "If someone moves on a rainy day and they get their bundle wet, 
 they will not stay long, for a wet bundle doesn't lay long." 
 
 8162. Helping a tenant move from your house will give you bad luck. 
 
 8163. It is unlucky to move twice within the same month. 
 
 8164. Move into a house where there has been trouble and you will have 
 
 trouble. "A woman told me about a family that had had 
 
 trouble in a house, the husband having lost his mind. This family 
 moved and the house remained vacant a long time. When the next 
 family moved in, the husband also lost his mind." 
 
 8165. Never move back into a house where you once lived; you will 
 have bad luck. 
 
 8166. When you inspect a house with the idea of renting it, carry a 
 broom under your arm for luck. 
 
 8167. "I was renting a house from a woman and when she took me to 
 the house to turn the keys over, she threw a broom into the house 
 before we went in. I said, 'What is that for?' She said, 'So we 
 will not fall out about the house'." 
 
 8168. Do not sweep the old house after everything has been removed 
 or you will have bad luck in the new house. One article should be 
 left behind while you are giving the old house its final sweeping. 
 
 8169. As you leave an old house for the last time, throw a broom over 
 it and you will leave all your troubles behind. 
 
 8170. To avert bad luck, throw a broom over the house out of which 
 you are moving. 
 
 8171. Let the broom be the last thing taken out of the house when 
 you move. 
 
 8172. While moving, carry the broom out of the house handle first for 
 luck. 
 
 8173. Taking the broom with you when moving will bring bad luck to 
 the family. 
 
 8174. Before moving out of the old house, send a broom and a loaf 
 of bread to the new house for luck, 
 
 8175. "Whenever you move, never put a broom on the wagon. Always 
 let someone carry it that don't belong to the family, and when 
 they get to the house pitch it over the gate for luck." 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 407 
 
 8176. The first thing carried into a new house should be the broom. 
 
 8177. Before taking anything into a new house, carry in a broom and 
 stand it in a corner, 
 
 8178. On going into a new house for the first time, take in the broom 
 brush part forward for luck. 
 
 8179. To secure good luck when moving, toss a broom through the 
 window into the new house. 
 
 8180. Throw a broom over the new house before you enter the front 
 door. This will bring you good luck. 
 
 8181. Carry a broom and fire shovel into the new house for luck. 
 
 8182. Let the first things taken into a new house be a dollar and a Bible, 
 and the members of your household will be wealthy and religious. 
 
 8183. Just before going into a new house, open a Bible and lay it on 
 the front doorstep; then pick up the Bible and enter the house. 
 You will be lucky in that house. 
 
 8184. Moving a cat is unlucky. 
 
 8185. You will have three years of bad luck, if you move a cat. 
 
 8186. "If you want to move a cat, when you move to another house, 
 just before you go, take the cat out in the yard and throw a 
 handful of salt over your left shoulder; and you can then move 
 the cat without having any trouble. Whenever I move I always 
 (take my cat up in my arms just before I am ready to start, go 
 out in the yard and throw a handful of salt over my left shoulder 
 to keep from having bad luck in the new house." 
 
 8187. You can have good luck when you move into a new house by 
 counting the corners of your room on the first day. 
 
 8188. If you move eggs to a new house, you will be unlucky, 
 
 8189. The first thing you carry into a new house should be something 
 to eat, and you will always have food. 
 
 8190. The first friend to make a visit after you have moved is supposed 
 to bring you a cake so that life in the new house will always be 
 sweet. Jezvish. 
 
 8191. If the first thing you take into a new house is a basket of food, 
 you will always be lucky and have plenty to eat, 
 
 8192. On moving always leave something in the old house for luck, 
 
 8193. To move a mop will cause you bad luck, 
 
 8194. Never plant mustard after moving into a new house; it is very 
 unlucky. Some say you must wait a year before planting mustard. 
 
 8195. If an old woman who has lived for years in a house is moved to 
 another neighborhood, she will not live long. 
 
 8196. The day before moving, go to the new house and read Psalm 
 LXII; and you will have good luck in that house. 
 
408 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 8197. To be lucky in a new house, let a priest bless it before you move 
 there. 
 
 8198. Before moving from an old house, scatter salt in the four comers 
 of one of its rooms. This will make you lucky in your new home. 
 
 8199. You will not have bad luck or sickness in your new home, if just 
 before leaving the old house you sprinkle salt in each of its rooms. 
 
 8200. A woman who moves without taking salt with her will have bad 
 luck. 
 
 8201. Take a sack of salt into the house first for luck. 
 
 8202. Hang a bag of salt behind the kitchen stove in your new house 
 and you will be lucky. 
 
 8203. Carry salt and bread with you when moving and you will always 
 have something to eat in your new home. Jewish. 
 
 8204. You will always have good luck in a new house, if salt, pepper 
 and sugar are carried there before you move. 
 
 8205. Never let the first article carried into a new house be a stove ; it 
 will cause quarrels in the family. 
 
 8206. On moving into a new house, wear a bag of sulphur for luck. 
 
 8207. To prevent disease and sickness in your new home, burn sulphur 
 immediately after moving. 
 
 8208. If you borrow something from a neighbor on the first day you 
 move, you will never have any luck in the new house. 
 
 8209. Soon after moving into a new home, have a "house warming" 
 (party) for luck. 
 
 COMPANY 
 
 8210. "Never fail to offer refreshments to visitors who come to see you 
 the first time, otherwise you may soon be at daggers points with 
 them." 
 
 8211. Strike a match and hold its head up straight, and it will bend in 
 the direction from which you may expect your guests. 
 
 8212. "One before breakfast. 
 Brings three before night." 
 
 8213. Company on Monday means that you can expect company every 
 day during the week. 
 
 8214. A visitor on Monday means visitors three days that week. 
 
 8215. Never make a call on Monday morning; you will take bad luck to 
 that house. 
 
 8216. Always visit on Monday afternoon for luck. 
 
 8217. If the first person to enter your door on Monday morning is a 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 409 
 
 woman, she will bring you bad luck. As one person said, "She 
 is a Joner (Jonah). Don't let her in." 
 
 8218. Letting a woman into your house first thing on Monday morning 
 will make you unlucky all week. 
 
 8219. "My mother used to watch on a Monday morning and if she 
 would see a woman coming in the yard first, she would go right 
 out in the yard and sit down under a shade tree to keep her from 
 sitting down in the house. It is all right if they sit in the yard, 
 but don't let them in the house, if you want good luck." 
 
 8220. If a "coal black" colored woman goes to a negro's home first thing 
 on Monday morning, it is an omen of bad luck. 
 
 8221. If a colored woman who is brown visits a negro home first thing 
 on Monday morning, there will be a quarrel. 
 
 8222. A negro man calling at the home of colored people first thing on 
 Monday morning brings bad luck for the week. 
 
 8223. If the first person to call at a negro's home on Monday morning 
 is a white man, it foretells good luck for the rest of the week. 
 
 8224. It is lucky to have a man as your first caller on Monday morning. 
 The fairer the man the better the luck. 
 
 8225. If the first person to visit your house on Monday morning is a 
 man who enters and sits on a chair, you will have good luck. 
 
 8226. "If a preacher comes to your house on Sunday just at noon, you 
 had better cook sauerkraut; because if you don't, you will have 
 trouble in your house the rest of the day." 
 
 8227. "If you live close to a church, and cook chicken every Sunday, it 
 will bring you bad luck ; and will soon draw a preacher around to 
 your door." 
 
 8228. Feed a stranger on Thanksgiving Day (last Thursday in Novem- 
 ber) for luck. 
 
 8229. It is unlucky to have a woman as the first caller on New Year's 
 Day. 
 
 8230. To have a woman as your first visitor on New Year's Day means 
 bad luck for you all year. 
 
 8231. "Years ago I knew a man that was in business, and a brunette 
 woman came in his store the first thing on New Year's morning 
 and he almost went broke. The next year he paid a blond man 
 to come to his store the first thing on New Year's morning so he 
 would have good luck and he done that for years." 
 
 8232. A woman coming to your house first thing on New Year's Day 
 means that you will have a visitor every day in the year. 
 
 8233. A man with a dark complexion crossing your threshold soon after 
 midnight on New Year's Eve will cause you good luck all year. 
 
 8234. You will be lucky, if a man is the first person to visit you on New 
 
410 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 Year's Day. "This New Year's Day I went over and told my 
 
 neighbor to send her son over to my house the first thing so I 
 would have good luck all this year, and she did." 
 
 8235. A man as the first caller on New Year's Day will bring you luck 
 for the whole year. 
 
 8236. If your first caller on New Year's Day is a negro, it is a sign of 
 bad luck. 
 
 8237. You take bad luck to any house you visit on New Year's Day. 
 
 8238. Never leave your house to make a call on New Year's Day or you 
 will drive away all your luck. 
 
 WALKING FORTH 
 STEPPING OVER PERSONS AND STUMBLING 
 
 8239. Never go through a swinging door and let it swing after you, or 
 you will have bad luck. 
 
 8240. Walking out of a door backwards is unlucky. 
 
 8241. If you walk through a door backwards, there will be a "bed of 
 sickness" in the house. 
 
 8242. Do not pass anyone in a doorway ; it will cause you grief. 
 
 8243. Bumping someone as you pass over a threshold will give you bad 
 luck. 
 
 8244. It is unlucky to knock on your own door. 
 
 8245. When entering your house at night, count ten for luck before 
 turning on the lights. 
 
 8246. You may expect bad luck, if you enter a house through one door 
 and leave by another door. 
 
 8247. Going into a house through one door and departing by another 
 door is the sign of good luck, provided you do not sit down in a 
 chair while in the house. 
 
 8248. The person who enters a house by one door and goes out through 
 a different door brings bad luck to the house. 
 
 8249. A stranger coming in one door and going away by another door 
 will take your luck with him. 
 
 8250. "One day a tramp came to our house and wanted something to 
 eat. I let him in at the back door and not thinking, I let him out the 
 side door, and he left his troubles behind; for my husband lost 
 his job an hour after the tramp left." 
 
 8251. If you enter a house by one door and use some other door on 
 departing, you will leave your luck behind. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 411 
 
 8252. On your first visit to a house, never go in one door and out 
 another, or you will have bad luck. 
 
 8253. It is a sign of bad luck to make your exit from a church through 
 a door different from the one by which you entered. 
 
 8254. A person who (on a first visit) goes in one door and departs by 
 another will never return to that house. 
 
 8255. Coming in one door and going out another means company. 
 
 8256. Enter through one door and depart by another and you will have 
 all your neighbors to the next meal. 
 
 8257. If a man enters by the back door and uses the front door as an 
 exit, your next visitor that day will be a man. 
 
 8258. If a woman comes in through the back door and goes out by the 
 front door, look for a woman as your next caller that day. 
 
 8259. Always leave a house through the door by which you enter or you 
 will eventually lose your mind. 
 
 8260. If you permit guests to come and go by different doors, there will 
 be a serious sickness in the house. 
 
 8261. If on leaving home you have locked the door, never unlock the 
 door to let someone in, or you will have bad luck. 
 
 8262. To tiptoe in your house is the sign of approaching sickness. 
 
 8263. "If you tell anyone good-by three times before leaving, you will 
 get killed before you get back." 
 
 8264. "I never tell anyone good-by when they leave my house. If you 
 do, they will never come back to see you." 
 
 8265. "If you watch a person out of sight, 
 They will be back before night." 
 
 8266. Never watch an automobile as it disappears when leaving the 
 house ; it will bring bad luck to the one who is going away. 
 
 8267. Watch a visitor out of sight and you will make him unlucky. To 
 avoid this, and also to give him good luck, whirl around on your 
 heel and walk back into the house just as soon as he starts away. 
 
 8268. Do not look back at a house when you depart or you will have 
 bad luck. 
 
 8269. It is lucky to walk in the rain. 
 
 8270. It is unlucky to pass in front of anyone without excusing yourself. 
 
 8271. Stepping in the footsteps of someone who is walking ahead of you 
 will cause bad luck. 
 
 8272. Never let your toes touch the heels of the person who is walking 
 
 in front of you or you will have bad luck. "Years ago I 
 
 was walking with a man one day and his toes touched someone's 
 heels that was walking in front of us, and he spit in the road and 
 turned right around and went back home to keep from having 
 bad luck." 
 
412 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 8273. To cross the street anywhere except at a crossing is unlucky. 
 
 8274. It is the sign of bad luck, if you stop in the middle of a block and 
 turn back. 
 
 8275. Counting the bricks in the sidewalk as you walk will bring you 
 bad luck. 
 
 8276. You will be unlucky if you step on a crack in the sidewalk. 
 
 8277. To step over a hole will give you bad luck. 
 
 8278. It means bad luck, if you walk over a cellar door. 
 
 8279. If you walk across a cellar door, say, "Bread and butter" 
 
 to avert bad luck. 
 
 8280. Walk across seven cellar doors and you will be lucky. 
 
 8281. Walking under the head of a horse will give you bad luck. 
 
 8282. It is a sign of bad luck to pass under a ring of smoke. 
 
 8283. Pinch someone for luck when you see a red automobile. 
 
 8284. Failing to pinch someone, when a red automobile is seen, will 
 make you unlucky. 
 
 8285. On seeing a red automobile, pinch someone and both of you will 
 have good luck; but if the other person returns your pinch, it 
 will cause you bad luck. 
 
 8286. "I knew a man that said if he ever met anyone on the road with 
 a birthmark he would always turn and go back, for God had 
 marked that person for some bad reason, and he did not want 
 bad luck." 
 
 8287. If you walk in front of a crippled man, he will pass in front of 
 you inside of an hour. 
 
 8288. "I knew a man that would go back home every time he met a 
 cripple, and would start all over so he would not have bad luck." 
 
 8289. "If you see a person with a wooden leg, say, 'Surprise, surprise, 
 
 surprise' then spit and turn away; and you will have a 
 
 surprise sure." 
 
 8290. "If a man passes a girl on the street and she looks at him and 
 smiles before she speaks, he had better turn and go back home, 
 for it's an old saying someone will rob him if he don't." 
 
 8291. "If you encounter a sailor at night. 
 Something will fill you with delight." 
 
 8292. It is a bad omen to see a stake lying across your path. 
 
 8293. If you meet a load of straw, go back home and sit down for five 
 minutes or you will have bad luck. 
 
 8294. When riding in the back of a truck, always face the direction in 
 which the truck is moving or you will be unlucky. 
 
 8295. To meet triplets anywhere is a good omen. 
 
 8296. A colored person will be lucky if he meets twins, especially if 
 they are a white boy and girl. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 413 
 
 8297. If two persons walking down the street bump heads, they will 
 be together next year at the same time. 
 
 8298. It is unlucky for you "to cut in" between two persons who are 
 walking. 
 
 8299. If two persons are walking down the street and a third person 
 passes between them, the first two persons will have bad luck. 
 
 8300. A dog passing between two persons who are walking will cause 
 bad luck. 
 
 8301. Passing between two dogs is unlucky, 
 
 8302. It means bad luck for the two persons who while walking let a 
 dog run between them. 
 
 8303. To have good luck, walk between two men. 
 
 8304. Walking between two palm plants will give you bad luck. 
 
 8305. If a snake crawls between two persons who are walking, they 
 will have bad luck. 
 
 8306. Pass between two women and bad luck will follow. 
 
 8307. Two persons who allow some object to come between them while 
 they are walking will soon quarrel. 
 
 8308. To avert a quarrel foretold by letting some object come between 
 them, the two persons should say, "Bread and butter." 
 
 8309. If two persons while walking pass on different sides of an object, 
 they will have bad luck. 
 
 8310. When two girls while walking let some object separate them, they 
 can avert bad luck by saying, "Your mother will break her back." 
 
 8311. To prevent bad luck, two persons who have allowed some object 
 to come between them while walking should say, "Bread and 
 butter." 
 
 8312. To keep from having bad luck after an object has come between 
 you and another person, one of you must go back around the 
 object, walking on the same side as your companion. 
 
 8313. To frustrate the bad luck which is indicated, when two persons 
 walk on different sides of a post or similar object, they should 
 join hands. 
 
 8314. "They say if you cross on the left side of a tree you should say, 
 'Bread and butter' or you will be unlucky." 
 
 8315. While walking with a person, never cross over and walk at his 
 other side or it will cause bad luck. 
 
 8316. When three persons are walking and one of them wants to move 
 over to the other side, he should make a cross on the sidewalk 
 with his foot to avert bad luck. 
 
 8317. It is unlucky for four persons to walk abreast on the sidewalk. 
 
 8318. To step over a person's feet will bring him bad luck, 
 
 8319. The bad luck caused by stepping over someone's feet can be 
 
414 Memoirs of tJic Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 warded off, if you step back over his feet. 
 
 8320. The one who steps over your feet is giving you bad luck. This 
 can be cancelled, if he steps back over your feet. It will also make 
 him lucky according to some people. 
 
 8321. The person who steps over the feet of another person will be 
 unlucky. 
 
 8322. "If you are lying down on the floor and someone steps over your 
 feet, they say that both of you will have bad luck." 
 
 8323. Never step over anyone who is lying on the floor or you will 
 cause a separation in his family. 
 
 8324. If you step over someone's feet, you will have a "spell" of sickness. 
 
 8325. To stump your toe is a sign of bad luck. 
 
 8326. To counteract bad luck when you stump your toe, walk back over 
 the object which caused you to stumble. 
 
 8327. When you stub your toe, go back over the object and return suck- 
 ing your thumb while holding the other hand behind your back. 
 
 8328. If you break a toe-nail when you stub your toe, tie the nail with 
 two stones in a rag and throw the latter over the house to prevent 
 bad luck. 
 
 8329. Stumping the toe of your left foot or stumbling with the left 
 foot is unlucky. 
 
 8330. It is a good omen, if you stumble with your right foot. 
 
 8331. If you stub your toe or stumble when going somewhere, it shows 
 that you will not be welcome there. 
 
 8332. If you stumble while on an errand you will forget the purpose 
 of your journey. 
 
 8333. On stumbling in a street or road, hold your fingers crossed until 
 you meet a person who passes without looking at you. Unless 
 you do this, someone in your family will have bad luck within a 
 few days. 
 
 8334. Tripping over a shoe is a bad sign. 
 
 8335. It is unlucky to stumble over a stone. 
 
 8336. You can avert bad luck when you have stumbled over a stone by 
 going back and kicking the stone out of the way. 
 
 8337. Striking your foot on an empty package of "Lucky Strikes" 
 (brand of cigarettes) is an omen of good luck. 
 
 8338. To stumble and fall is unlucky. 
 
 8339. If you fall when going on an errand, you must go home and start 
 over again to keep from having bad luck. 
 
 8340. It signifies bad luck, to stumble when going upstairs. 
 
 8341. Passing anyone on the stairs will bring you bad luck; whether the 
 two of you are going in the same or in opposite directions. 
 
 8342. To count steps while walking up them will bring you bad luck. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 415 
 
 JOURNEYS 
 
 8343. The direction in which you hear the call of the first dove of spring 
 is the direction towards which you will soon travel. 
 
 8344. Touch your beauty spot and you will go on a visit. 
 
 8345. Postpone a journey and you will never make it. 
 
 8346. Bless your house when you leave it so that it will not burn down 
 while you are gone. 
 
 8347. To avoid danger while on a journey, wear a black agate with 
 white veins. 
 
 8348. A traveler may avert danger by writing Psalm XVI on a piece 
 of paper and wearing it in the pit of the left arm. 
 
 8349. When traveling alone at night pray Psalm CXXI seven times 
 and you will be preserved from all accidents. 
 
 8350. "Always put a mission medal (scapular) in your car and you will 
 not have any wrecks." 
 
 8351. If you come to a crossroad while traveling and see a buckeye 
 lying on the right side of the road, pick it up; and you will be 
 prosperous on your journey. 
 
 8352. If at the beginning of a trip on water you accidentally drop your 
 handkerchief into the water, let it fioat away and you will have 
 good luck. Trying to retrieve the handkerchief will cause you 
 bad luck. 
 
 8353. "Whenever I take a trip I always take a small sack of salt in my 
 suitcase so I will have a safe journey." 
 
 8354. To carry wet clothes in your traveling bag or trunk is unlucky. 
 
 8355. While visiting in another town, if you leave some of your clothes 
 there, you will never go to that town again. 
 
 8356. Hitting your right leg when traveling is the sign of good luck. 
 
 8357. "A certain man told me, no matter if his mother had an engage- 
 ment with someone, she would not go if she hit her left leg on 
 the way. She would turn around and go home." 
 
 8358. A trip begun on Monday will bring you bad luck. 
 
 8559. Visit on Monday and you will visit every day that week. 
 
 8360. It is unlucky to start a journey on Friday. 
 
 8361. If you begin a trip on Saturday, you will soon return. 
 
 8362. Start a journey on Friday and you will never return. 
 
 8363. Beginning a trip on Saturday will cause misfortune. 
 
 8364. The thirteenth of the month is unlucky for starting on a journey. 
 
416 Memoirs of flic Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 FORGETTING 
 RETRACING ONE'S STEPS 
 
 8365. Forgetting a person's name is unlucky. 
 
 8366. To forget where you have hidden something will cause bad luck. 
 
 8367. To do something and forget that you have done it means that 
 you will cry before the end of the day. 
 
 8368. If you forget what you were about to say, walk over the threshold 
 and return, and you will remember it. 
 
 8369. Tie a string around your finger so that you will not forget. 
 
 8370. If you have forgotten anything and return home for it, you will 
 have bad luck. 
 
 8371. It is unlucky to retrace your steps, unlock the door, and enter the 
 house for a forgotten article. 
 
 8372. To go back to the house for something forgotten will be followed 
 by a disappointment. 
 
 8373. You can avert bad luck when retracing your steps by taking 
 another road. 
 
 8374. When you forget something and return to the house for it, take 
 nine steps backwards and spit over your left shoulder. This will 
 prevent bad luck. 
 
 8375. "If I forget something, I always turn right around and walk 
 backward ten steps so I will not have bad luck." 
 
 8376. "If I forget something and go back, I always turn around on my 
 heel three times for luck." 
 
 8377. "If I forget something and go back, I always take my foot and 
 make three marks in the ground." 
 
 8378. "If I forget something, I always make seven marks with my foot, 
 then spit in it to keep from having bad luck." 
 
 8379. "If I forget something and want to go back, for good luck I 
 always stop and make ten marks in the ground with my left foot, 
 then spit on it, and I will not have bad luck." 
 
 8380. To avert bad luck when you retrace your steps, make a cross with 
 your left foot, count twelve, and then sit down and make a wish. 
 
 8381. Bad luck can be prevented, when you return to the house for a 
 forgotten article, if you make a cross in the road and spit on it. 
 
 8382. "If you forget something and want to go back, stop right in the 
 road and make a large cross and say, Tn the Name of the Father, 
 
 Son and Holy Ghost don't let me have bad luck.' And then 
 
 go back and it will be all right." 
 
 8383. Keep spitting over your left shoulder while retracing your steps 
 home and you will not be unlucky. 
 
 8384. "If you forget something and go back, spit and rub your foot in 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 417 
 
 it before you go in the house, to keep from having bad luck." 
 
 8385. Spit three times before you enter the house, after retracing your 
 steps, and bad luck will be averted. 
 
 8386. Hold your two little fingers crossed while retracing your steps 
 and you will not have bad luck. 
 
 8387. To drive away bad luck, when you return home for a forgotten 
 article, sit down before starting out again. 
 
 8388. When you retrace your steps to the house, never sit down or you 
 will have bad luck. 
 
 8389. As soon as you reach the house, after retracing your steps, sit 
 down and cross your two index fingers for luck. 
 
 8390. On forgetting something and returning home, sit down and cross 
 your feet to prevent bad luck. 
 
 8391. "If I forget something, I always jump up taking my feet off the 
 floor for good luck." 
 
 8392. "If I start out and forget, and go back, I always sit down and 
 make a wish so I will not have bad luck." 
 
 8393. After retracing your steps, sit down, then get up and whirl around 
 two times to avert bad luck. 
 
 8394. To prevent bad luck when you go back home for something that 
 you have forgotten, sit down, then get up and turn around three 
 times. 
 
 8395. To forget and return home for something will cause a disappoint- 
 ment, unless you sit down, then get up and walk around the chair 
 three times. 
 
 8396. If you forget something and go back home, sit down and say a 
 prayer for luck. 
 
 83(97. When you have retraced your steps, sit down in a rocking-chair 
 and rock without letting your feet touch the floor. This will 
 prevent misfortune. 
 
 8398. "If I forget something, I always go back and sit down and say, 
 'Lord, don't let me have bad luck today' then go on." 
 
 8399. Sit down and count three when you return to the house for some- 
 thing forgotten, and you will not have bad luck. 
 
 8400. Sit down and count six on retracing your steps, or you will be 
 unlucky before you return to the house again. 
 
 8401. Misfortune can be averted by counting six after you return to the 
 house for a forgotten article. 
 
 8402. When you forget something and go back for it, sit down and count 
 seven for luck. 
 
 8403. When something is forgotten and you return to get it, sit down 
 and count seven backward to prevent bad luck. 
 
418 Memoirs of the Ahna Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 8404. You may avert bad luck on retracing your steps for something 
 forgotten, by counting nine, 
 
 8405. Let the person who forgets something and returns for it sit down 
 and count nine, then get up and turn around three times. This 
 will avert bad luck. 
 
 8406. "Whenever I forget and have to go back, I always take my hat 
 off, lay it down and put it back on to keep from having bad luck." 
 
 8407. The one who forgets something and goes back for it should take 
 off his hat and count nine to prevent bad luck. 
 
 8408. Sit down and count ten for luck, if you must return home for 
 something forgotten. 
 
 8409. Count ten before returning home for a forgotten article and you 
 will not have bad luck. 
 
 8410. If you count ten on your way back to the house to get something 
 forgotten, you will not be disappointed. 
 
 8411. Sit down and count ten for luck, if you must return home for 
 something forgotten. 
 
 8412. As soon as you enter the house, when you have retraced your 
 steps, sit down in a chair and count ten for luck. 
 
 8413. To avoid a disappointment caused by returning for something 
 you have forgotten, sit down in a chair and count ten. 
 
 8414. If something is forgotten and you return for it, sit down in a 
 rocking-chair and count ten. 
 
 8415. After you reach the house on returning for something forgotten, 
 count ten several times to prevent bad luck. 
 
 8416. "When I forget something, I always sit down and count thirteen 
 so I will not have bad luck." 
 
 8417. "If I forget something, I sit right down where I am and count 
 fifteen ; then I go back and get it, and I don't have bad luck." 
 
 8418. "If I forget something and go back I always count twenty." 
 
 8419. "If I forget something and have to go back, I always sit down 
 and count one hundred." 
 
 8420. To return home after beginning a trip will bring you bad luck. 
 
 8421. To retrace your steps after you have started on a journey means 
 that you will have bad luck before you reach your destination. 
 
 8422. To go back home after you have begun a journey and before 
 reaching your destination that day, is a bad omen. 
 
 8423. Retracing your steps three times when on a journey is a sign of 
 misfortune. 
 
 8-124. On leaving the house in the morning, if you go back you will be 
 unlucky. To avert bad luck you must return three times. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 419 
 
 8425. It signifies an accident, if you return to the house after beginning 
 a journey. 
 
 8426. To prevent an accident, after you have retraced your steps when 
 on a journey, make a cross in the ground and spit on it. 
 
 LETTERS AND STAMPS 
 
 8427. If you write the same thing twice, the one to whom you are 
 writing the letter is thinking about you. 
 
 8428. Use both sides of the sheet when writing a letter and you will 
 have bad luck. 
 
 8429. "I never write a letter only on Thursday, for that is the best day ; 
 for I always get what I want, if I write on Thursday." 
 
 8430. Write a letter backwards, and if the person to whom this letter 
 is addressed can read it, he will become wealthy. 
 
 8431. If a letter arrives on Monday, you will receive two more that 
 week. 
 
 8432. A letter delivered at your house by mistake means that you will 
 meet a stranger. 
 
 8433. Getting a letter with the address on the wrong side of the envelope 
 indicates that someone in your family will soon be missing. 
 
 8434. It is lucky to receive a letter on which your address is written 
 backward. 
 
 8435. If a letter comes for you and you are not the first person to touch 
 it, it is the sign that someone hates you. 
 
 8436. To get a letter in which the writing is thin signifies misfortune. 
 
 8437. When the writing in a letter that you have received is medium, 
 you will have bad luck. 
 
 8438. If you receive a letter in heavy writing, someone loves you. 
 
 8439. It is the sign of bad news to receive a letter written with a shaky 
 or unsteady hand. 
 
 8440. To receive a letter in which the writing is not on the lines of the 
 sheets, but crooked, foretells good news. 
 
 8441. If you get a letter in which the writing is well-placed on the lines 
 of the sheet, you will soon have money. 
 
 8442. Tear up a letter and bury the pieces for luck. 
 
 8443. "I knew a woman that always would bum her letters. I said to 
 her one day, 'Don't you know to burn up letters will bring you 
 bad luck?' And the very next day she fell and broke both of 
 her legs." 
 
420 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 8444. Fold a letter into nine folds and put it in a glove. Sleep on the 
 glove and you will dream of how to reply to the letter. 
 
 8445. Finding a letter on the street is the sign of good news. 
 
 8446. If a letter that you failed to stamp returns to you, you will soon 
 be unfortunate. 
 
 8447. Sticking a stamp upside down on an envelope is unlucky. 
 
 8448. I f you paste the stamp upside down on the envelope, you will not 
 receive a reply. 
 
 8449. A stamp placed in its normal and proper position on the right side 
 of an envelope means, "Write again." 
 
 8450. A stamp pasted on the left side of an envelope signifies, "Do not 
 write again." 
 
 8451. A stamp put lengthwise on an envelope indicates, "Will wait for 
 an answer." 
 
 8452. If a girl pastes a stamp lengthwise on an envelope so that it points 
 to the right, it expresses, "I want a kiss." 
 
 8453. If a boy afixes a stamp lengthwise on an envelope so that it points 
 to the left, it bears the message, "I want a kiss." 
 
 8454. A stamp attached "katty cornered" across an envelope says, "I 
 love you." 
 
 8455. A stamp inverted on an envelope is a sign of love. 
 
 8456. If a person receives a letter with the stamp upside down, the 
 sender loves him. 
 
 8457. A stamp inverted on a letter is the indication of a kiss. 
 
 8458. The meaning of a stamp upside down on a letter is, "I hate you." 
 
 8459. The significance of an inverted stamp on the letter is, "Do not 
 answer," 
 
 8460. If you place twenty-four cancelled postage stamps in an envelope 
 and throw them out of a window during the morning, you will 
 soon find something. 
 
 8461. Save four hundred dollars worth of cancelled postage stamps 
 and you will soon inherit four hundred dollars, 
 
 8462. During the latter part of 1933 a "chain letter" fad appeared. The 
 following specimen is self explanatory, and is given exactly as 
 written, but the names of two cities and of two persons have 
 been omitted to prevent identification : 
 
 We trust in God. He supplies our needs, 
 
 Mrs, F. Streuzel Mich. 
 
 Mrs, A, Ford, Chicago 111. 
 
 Mrs. K. Adkins, Chicago 111. 
 
 Mrs. R. Arlington Ill, 
 
 Mrs , Quincy Ill, 
 
 Mrs , Quincy Ill, 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 421 
 
 Copy the above names, omitting the first. Add your name 
 last. Mail it to five persons who you wish prosperity to. 
 
 The chain was started by an American Colonel and must be 
 mailed 24 hours after receiving it. This will bring prosperity 
 within 9 days after mailing it. 
 
 Mrs. Sanford won $3,000 
 Mrs. Andres won $1,000 
 
 Mrs. Howe who broke the chain lost everything she pos- 
 sessed. The chain grows a definite power over the expected word, 
 DO NOT BREAK THE CHAIN 
 See what happens on the 9th day. 
 Hoping it brings you luck 
 J. E. K. 
 
 FINDING LOST OR STOLEN ARTICLES 
 
 8463. When you lose an article, spit into the palm of one hand and then 
 strike the spittle with the index finger of your other hand. The 
 direction of the splash will indicate the location of the hidden 
 article. 
 
 8464. "I used to move so much when I was young. My brother said he 
 never had any trouble of finding me, because when he got to the 
 house, if I didn't live there, he would spit in his hand, strike the 
 spit with his other hand, and watch the direction it went. Then 
 he would start right out and find me." 
 
 8465. If anything is lost, pray to St. Anthony and you will find it. 
 
 8466. Pray to the saint for whom you were named to find a lost article. 
 
 8467. ''This German woman back of us told me, if she mislaid anything 
 and could not find it, she asked the Lord to help her; and He 
 would put it right down in front of her. This same German 
 woman lost a monkey wrench. She said, 'God, you know where 
 that monkey wrench is, help me to find it.' The next day two 
 little girls were playing out in the road and found a wrench. They 
 brought it to the house and it was her wrench." 
 
 8468. When you lose a marble, throw away another marble, watching 
 where it goes ; and you can immediately walk to the first marble 
 and pick it up. 
 
 8469. Put a marble in a box and then throw the box away without 
 looking. Search for the box later and you will find a boxful of 
 marbles. A boy said, "The trouble is, you don't know where you 
 threw it, and you never find the marbles you were to get." 
 
422 Memoirs of the Alnia Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 8470. "I have tried this a lot of times. When I can't find just where 
 the money is, I drop another pdece and it will roll right over to 
 the other piece. Sometimes the money will stop on a crack in the 
 floor. Then I know the money went down that crack." 
 
 8471. To find a lost ring, carry a peach switch held tightly in your hands, 
 and it will turn down when you walk over the hidden ring. 
 
 8472. If someone steals something from you, bum bread, and the thief 
 will be compelled to restore the article ; if not to you, then he must 
 give it to another person, for he cannot keep it. 
 
 8473. "If you miss anything about the house and you have suspicion of 
 a woman that seems strange, take a glass of vinegar and place on 
 the table and that party that took the thing will drink this vinegar. 
 It will make them sick, and you will find out who took it." 
 
 8474. "Someone took a gold ring from me and I took twelve sage leaves 
 and wrote the name of each Apostle on them and put the twelve 
 leaves in my shoes, and in several days the person that took my 
 ring brought it back." 
 
 8475. "If someone steals from you, the next morning go and burn a 
 piece of bread real black and throw it away and whoever took 
 anything from you can't keep it. It will come back." 
 
 8476. "To know the thief who robbed you : Take sunflower seeds which 
 you must gather in the sign of the Lion in the month of August. 
 Wrap them up over a wolf's tooth, then take a bay leaf and wrap 
 the tooth, then take the tooth and put it above your head, and 
 you will see the thief." 
 
 8477. "Take three pinches of bread, three pinches of salt, and three 
 small portions of lard. Make three packages (like a prescription 
 of powder) using one of each. Make a strong fire; lay all these 
 packages on the fire and say : 
 
 'I lay for the thief, bread, salt and lard 
 Upon the flame, for thy sin is hard. 
 I lay it upon thy lung, liver and heart, 
 That thou may feel a bitter smart. 
 It shall come upon thee need and dread, 
 As it approaches a dire death. 
 All veins shall in thy body burst. 
 And cause thee pain and quenchless thirst. 
 That thou shalt have no peace or rest. 
 Till all the theft thou has returned, 
 And place it where thou has taken the plunder, 
 Or be caught by lightning and thunder'." 
 Written contribution. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 423 
 
 WORK 
 FARMING-MINING-ACTING 
 
 8478. "Take a piece of real hard bread and sew it up in a little bag and 
 put that over your kitchen door. It will bring work to the house. 
 Five years ago I took and put a piece of hard bread in a bag and 
 put it over the kitchen door and my husband or I have had work 
 all the time." 
 
 8479. Wear red pepper in both your shoes when looking for work and 
 you will find it. 
 
 8480. If you are out of work, you can secure it by reading Psalm 
 LXXXII. 
 
 8481. To be successful in business, read Psalm LXXXII. 
 
 8482. "If you are about to go on a business trip, read the sixty-fifth 
 Psalm and keep in mind this name, Ji-he-ge, and you will get 
 good results." 
 
 8483. The best day of the week for starting any business is your 
 birthday. 
 
 8484. "A sporting woman always bums something on Monday in her 
 
 house, and says when she does it it is to draw a crowd of 
 
 men for her and trade will be good all the rest of the week." 
 
 8485. Begin a piece of work on Friday and it will cause you bad luck. 
 
 8486. A piece of work begun on Friday will not be successful. 
 
 8487. If you begin a job on Friday and are unable to finish it that day, 
 you will have bad luck. 
 
 8488. Things begun on Friday are never finished. 
 
 8489. Look for work on Friday and you will never remain in any posi- 
 tion very long. 
 
 8490. It is unlucky to work on Sunday. 
 
 8491. Start work in a new position on Sunday and it will end badly. 
 
 8492. What you gain by working on Sunday will be lost three times that 
 week. 
 
 8493. The person who works on Sunday will lose a day or two during 
 the week. 
 
 8494. Work on Sunday and you will be sick on Monday. 
 
 8495. Anyone working on Sunday will be put in the moon. 
 
 8496. Moving a bed around the room on Sunday will bring you bad luck. 
 
 8497. If a person burns brush on Sunday, his body will burn when 
 he dies. 
 
 8498. Burn brush on Sunday and you will be put in the moon. 
 
 8499. Once upon a time a man carried brush on Sunday and as a pimish- 
 ment he was placed in the moon. That is why you can now see 
 him in the moon, carrying brush. 
 
424 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 8500. It is also said that the man in the moon carries brush for hell-fire. 
 
 8501. You will be unfortunate, if you' burn leaves on Sunday. 
 
 8502. To burn paper on Sunday will make you unlucky. 
 
 8503. If one hoes on Sunday, bad luck will follow. 
 
 8504. It is said that years ago a man plowed on Sunday, and his hands 
 stuck to the plow until Monday morning. 
 
 8505. Chop wood on Sunday and you will be put in the moon. 
 
 8506. Leave the woods as soon as you hear three strange sounds like 
 timbers cracking, for something will surely happen. 
 
 8507. If while chopping wood you accidentally cut a chip in the shape 
 of a triangle, it is the sign of good luck. 
 
 8508. If two persons bump heads while working, they will be working 
 together in the following year. 
 
 8509. Two persons clicking their hoes together while hoeing in the 
 garden will again hoe side by side next year. 
 
 8510. Two farmers striking pitchforks together while working in the 
 field will work with each other next summer. 
 
 8511. If rain falls on the day that the fanner begins his plowing, he 
 will have a good harvest that year, 
 
 8512. Plowing up a black snake at the beginning of the season indicates 
 good luck for the farmer that year. 
 
 8513. A striped snake plowed up early in the spring is the sign that the 
 farmer will be unlucky that year. 
 
 8514. When a farmer first starts to plow, if he plows up a soft-backed 
 turtle, success for the year is assured. 
 
 8515. A hard-shelled turtle plowed up at the beginning of the plowing 
 season is the sign of misfortune for that year. 
 
 8516. It is the sign of an accident, if a woman enters a mine. 
 
 8517. The person who goes into a mine, when it is time for the miners 
 to leave work, will never come out alive. 
 
 8518. The light on a miner's cap going out as he enters the mine fore- 
 tells his death within fifteen minutes. 
 
 8519. Whistling in a coal mine will cause bad luck. 
 
 8520. Any unusual noise heard in a mine is a bad omen. Get out at 
 once or you will be killed. 
 
 8521. It is the sign of a cave-in, if a white rat is seen in a coal mine. 
 
 8522. The miner who strikes a sulphur ball with his pick while in a 
 mine will have bad luck. 
 
 8523. To see a light in a mine is the indication of an approaching 
 explosion. 
 
 8524. If anyone sings in an actor's dressing room, the play will not be 
 successful. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 425 
 
 8525. The show will fail, if there is any whistling in an actor's dressing 
 room. 
 
 8526. It means bad luck, if someone whistles in an actor's dressing room. 
 
 8527. If the actor who speaks the last lines rehearses them immediately 
 preceding the show, the production will not be a success. 
 
 8528. The show will soon close, if a dog howls outside the theatre 
 during the performance. 
 
 8529. A black cat walking across the stage from one wing to the other 
 during a performance is the sign that the play will have a long run. 
 
 8530. A cat of any color straying onto the stage^ while there is a per- 
 formance, means failure for the show. 
 
 8531. If an actor spills tea on the tablecloth at the evening meal, there 
 will be a small house that night. 
 
 8532. "Some actors say if they spill tea on a tablecloth, they will forget 
 their part that night. I was working in a place one night and one 
 of the actors spilled their tea, and she said, T will have to go to 
 my room and go over my part or I will fail tonight'." 
 
 BUYING-SELLING-PAYING 
 
 8533. Carry the head of a crow on your breast and all who deal with 
 you will lose in the transactions. 
 
 8534. If the first customer to enter the store in the morning does not 
 buy anything, the sales for the day will be poor. 
 
 8535. On taking vegetables to market never let the first customer leave 
 without selling him something or you will have bad luck that day. 
 
 8536. Sales will be good all day, if the first person to come into the 
 store is a woman. 
 
 8537. If several men, no matter for what reason, enter the store before 
 a woman comes in, sales that day will be bad. 
 
 8538. Few buyers in the morning mean a large number of buyers for 
 the afternoon. 
 
 8539. A good selling morning is followed by a bad selling afternoon. 
 
 8540. Sell to the first customer on Monday morning and you will have 
 excellent sales all week. 
 
 8541. "I knew a woman that was making her daughter a dress and she 
 did not have enough goods, but it was Monday and she said, 'I 
 will wait until Tuesday to buy it, for if I buy on Monday I will 
 be buying all week'." 
 
 8542. It is unlucky to buy anything on Good Friday. 
 
 8543. "If you have a rooming house and some of your rooms are vacant. 
 
426 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 put salt in your scrub water and you will be sure to rent all of 
 your rooms." 
 
 8544. Count your profits and you will lose them. 
 
 8545. Several years ago there was a craze for billikens. They were used 
 as mascots and good luck charms. In a woman's clothing store 
 at Quincy there is, or was until recently, a billiken about eight 
 inches high which stands on one of the counters. Each morning 
 before beginning work, some of the "salesgirls" will rub the 
 billiken for luck in sales that day. 
 
 8546. "If you pay your insurance ahead of time, something will happen. 
 Always pay a week later." The insurance collector who sup- 
 plied this item said the practice was fairly common. 
 
 8547. Never pay a bill on Monday or you will pay out money all week. 
 
 MONEY 
 
 8548. To have good luck, spit on a piece of money. 
 
 8549. It is lucky to put money in the foundation of a building. 
 
 8550. To be without money means bad luck. 
 
 8551. Finding money will bring you good luck. 
 
 8552. You will have good luck, if you find a piece of silver. 
 
 8553. It is a good omen to pick up a coin from the track of a mule. 
 
 8554. Keep the piece of money that you have found and you will get 
 more money. 
 
 8555. The one who finds a penny will be lucky. 
 
 8556. Do not spend a penny that you find, but save it for luck. 
 
 8557. When you find a penny, wear it in your shoe for luck. 
 
 8558. Never spend money that you have found, but keep it as good luck 
 money. 
 
 8559. To find a pocketbook filled with money means bad luck. 
 
 8560. Finding an empty purse will bring success. 
 
 8561. Carrying pennies in your pocket will make you unlucky. 
 
 8562. "I always keep a penny wrapped up in paper in my pocketbook 
 so I can say I am not broke." 
 
 8563. Carry a gold coin for luck. 
 
 8564. Wear a coin around your neck and you' will have good luck. 
 
 8565. If you wear a dime in your shoe you will never be unlucky. 
 
 8566. Keep a coin on your watch chain and it will give you good luck. 
 
 8567. To secure good luck, carry a penny or coin that was minted in the 
 year of your birth. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 427 
 
 8568. You will never lose money, if you carry a coin, especially an old 
 coin. 
 
 8569. The person who carries money in two different pockets will lose it. 
 
 8570. It causes bad luck to carry three dollars. 
 
 8571. If you receive a pierced coin from someone, keep it for luck. 
 
 8572. If someone gives you a new dime, carry it in your pocket for luck. 
 
 8573. The wearer of a new suit should be given a coin to carry for luck. 
 
 8574. On giving a new purse to anyone, be sure to put a coin in it for 
 
 luck. In accordance with this belief, some manufacturers put 
 
 a piece of imitation paper money in the pocketbooks they sell. 
 
 8575. You will have bad luck, if you accept a two dollar bill. 
 
 8576. The one finding the dime in a birthday cake will be rich. 
 
 8577. Sew a dime in a piece of red flannel and dip it into whiskey ; then 
 pin it on your stocking and wear it for luck. 
 
 8578. Good fortune in money matters will come to you, if you acciden- 
 tally step on dung. 
 
 8579. The person who is able to throw a feather over a house will find 
 money on the other side. 
 
 8580. A feather flying by you indicates that someone will steal your 
 money. 
 
 8581. Put some of your hair and some of the hair from your beau or 
 husband, and two needles, in a small bottle. Fill the latter with 
 whiskey. Place this bottle and a dime in a red flannel bag, and 
 wear it on your bosom. You will always have money. 
 
 8582. Keep a coin in your hatband and you will never be without money. 
 
 8583. The person whose initials (usually three) spell a word will become 
 rich. 
 
 8584. Always pick up the burnt matches that you see and you will find 
 money. 
 
 8585. Throw a match to the floor and if it lights you will get money. 
 
 8586. Turn your money over when you see the new moon and it will 
 increase with the moon. 
 
 8587. On first seeing the new moon, look at it over your right shoulder 
 if there is money in your pocket, and you will always have money; 
 or have money until the next new moon. 
 
 8588. "I always watch for the new moon in the new year and always 
 go out in the yard with money in my hand, if it is only a penny, 
 and I always have good luck and am never broke." 
 
 8589. At the appearance of the first new moon of the new year, hold a 
 piece of money in your hand and look at the moon over your 
 right shoulder. This will bring you money all year. 
 
 8590. Hold up a piece of money to the new moon and you will receive 
 money. 
 
423 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 8591. Show your pocketbook to the new moon and the money in the 
 former w^ill double. 
 
 8592. Shake a full pocketbook at the new moon and your money will 
 decrease. 
 
 8593. If you shake an empty pocketbook at the new moon you will be 
 without money until the moon is new again. 
 
 8594. Always burn your onion peelings and you will never be empty- 
 handed. 
 
 8595. "When you have onion peelings, if you will put them in a pan, 
 then sprinkle salt over them and put them on the fire to burn, 
 you will never be out of money." 
 
 8596. By burning your onion peelings you will be able to save money. 
 
 8597. Drive a nail into a post to secure money, 
 
 8598. "If you haven't any money and want some, just get a piece of 
 green paper and bury it in the ground ; and you will receive some 
 money in two weeks from some relative." 
 
 8599. When without money, read Psalm XXXVII and you will get 
 some. 
 
 SCOO. Read Psalm LXXII daily and say, "In the Name of the Father, 
 Son and Holy Ghost" and you will have money. 
 
 8601. "When I w^as a boy forty years ago, we were watching it rain 
 and the man with me said, 'O look, we are going to get a lot of 
 money.' I said, 'Why?' He said, 'Just look at all those bubbles; 
 sure sign of money'." 
 
 8602. You will never be without money, if you wear a little bag con- 
 taining red pepper. 
 
 8603. If you find eggs in a robin's nest, remove one and take it home, 
 keeping it overnight. Next morning restore the egg exactly as 
 found and you will always have plenty of money. 
 
 8604. Hang a man's socks up by the tops and you will be able to keep 
 your money. 
 
 8605. If you hang up a man's socks by the toes, money will slip through 
 your fingers. 
 
 8606. To fall up the stairs is the sign of money. 
 
 8607. As soon as you see a shooting star, say, "Money, money, money" 
 and you will get money. 
 
 8608. On seeing a star fall, put your hand in your pocket and say, 
 
 "Money, money, money" and your pocket will be filled with 
 
 money. 
 
 8609. If you see a star falling, rejjeat, "Money, money, money" 
 
 and you will fall heir to a fortune within a month. 
 
 8610. The one who sees a star shoot and can say before it disappears, 
 "Money, money, money" will be rich. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 429 
 
 8611. Save all the string from packages that you receive and you will 
 become wealthy some day. 
 
 8612. To secure money, put a tomato peeling over your door and you 
 will receive money within four days. 
 
 8613. You will be lucky, if someone gives you pennies on Monday. 
 
 8614. Receiving a nickel first thing on Monday morning is the sign of 
 good luck. 
 
 8615. To get pennies in change on Monday signifies that you will have 
 money all week. 
 
 8616. "When I was young my mother would not change money on a 
 Monday for anyone. She would make them go to a store to 
 change it. She would not even let you change money in the house. 
 Said it would bring bad luck on the house and the one that 
 changed it." 
 
 8617. If you can keep the money you make on Monday, it will increase 
 during the week. 
 
 8618. Have a coin in your pocket on New Year's Day and you will not 
 be in want of money all year. 
 
 8619. Do not spend a coin that someone gives you on New Year's Day 
 and you will have money the whole year. 
 
 8620. Spend money on New Year's Day and you will always be poor. 
 
 8621. By wearing a dime in each shoe on New Year's Day you will 
 have money all year. 
 
 8622. On New Year's Eve lay a loaf of bread, a silver dollar, and some 
 salt on the table; and you will have bread, money, and luck 
 through the coming year. 
 
 8623. Just before midnight on New Year's Eve set a tub of water out 
 in the yard and into it drop a penny. You will be lucky in money 
 matters for the next year. 
 
 8624. At midnight on New Year's Eve hold a piece of money in your 
 hand and get down on your knees and pray. This will give you 
 money all year. 
 
 LAW 
 
 8625. It is against the law to hit a person who wears glasses. 
 
 8626. It is against the law to cut down a castor bean plant. 
 
 8627. The use of a dark lantern is illegal. 
 
 8628. A check dated on Sunday is illegal. 
 
 8629. A check written in red ink is illesral. 
 
430 Memoirs' of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 8()30. A check for less than one dollar is illegal. 
 
 8631. If a rope breaks while a person is being hanged, he goes free. 
 
 8632. A loaded truck has the legal right of way on the road. 
 
 8633. It is illegal to possess a copy of the Seventh Book of Moses. 
 
 NUMBERS 
 
 8634. One misfortune is always followed by others. 
 
 8635. "Whatever happens twice 
 Will happen thrice." 
 
 8636. Two persons smoking the same cigarette will have bad luck. 
 
 8637. When you break something, you will not stop until you have 
 broken three things. 
 
 8638. In attempting to accomplish anything, the third effort is always 
 successful. Hence, "Three's lucky" or "The third time for luck." 
 
 8639. Number three is unlucky. 
 
 8640. If there is a fire, expect two more. 
 
 8641. One fire on a block will be followed by two more that week. 
 
 8642. A fire on a block means two more fires in that block during the 
 month. 
 
 8643. Three persons lighting their cigarettes with the same match will 
 be unlucky. 
 
 8644. The third person to light his cigarette with the same match will 
 have bad luck. 
 
 8645. If three persons use the same match in lighting their cigarettes 
 or cigars, the last person using the match will soon encounter 
 some danger. 
 
 8646. The one who holds the match by which three persons light 
 cigarettes will go to hell. 
 
 8647. When three persons light pipes with the same match, one of them 
 will meet a loss. 
 
 8648. "The railroad men believe, that if three light their pipes on the 
 same match, that one of them will have an accident that day." 
 
 8649. Giving away the last cigarette in your package will cause you 
 bad luck. 
 
 8650. If you get a flat tire while driving, you will have two more punc- 
 tures before you reach home. 
 
 8651. Seven is a lucky number. 
 
 8652. Never sleep in a hotel room numbered thirteen ; it will bring you 
 bad luck. 
 
 8653. It is unlucky to sleep in berth number thirteen on a train. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 431 
 
 8654. You will be unlucky during the year you are thirteen years of age. 
 "When I was thirteen years old I had very bad luck." 
 
 8655. Having a birthday on the thirteenth of the month is unfortunate. 
 
 8656. "A girl was going to take her life. I told her to say, 'God give 
 
 me courage' thirteen times each night for thirteen nights; 
 
 and she got over it." 
 
 8657. "A house, number 1313, across the street, is very unlucky. First 
 a man and wife were separated by a quarrel, and a week ago a 
 baby died there." 
 
 8658. It is a bad omen for thirteen people to sit at the same table. 
 
 8659. To stop on problem number thirteen when doing arithmetic will 
 give you bad luck. 
 
 GAMES 
 WINNING AND LOSING 
 
 8660. "Never try to play a game on the square all the time, for it is not 
 a good luck sign." 
 
 8661. To win in any game, try to touch a hunchback for luck. In gam- 
 bling the luck will be better, if the hunchback is a negro. 
 
 8662. It is unlucky to stop on number thirteen in a game. 
 
 8663. If before eleven o'clock in the morning you boast about winning 
 a game that afternoon, your side will be defeated. 
 
 8664. When listening to a game over the radio and the team you want 
 to be the winner is losing, cross your fingers for good luck. 
 
 8665. If you are listening to a game on the radio and the team which 
 you favor is losing, put your right hand in your left pocket for 
 good luck. 
 
 8666. A boxer always puts on his right shoe first for luck. 
 
 8667. If a prize fighter just before entering the ring greets a friend, he 
 will lose the match. 
 
 8668. If while shaking the dice when playing bunco you drop one of 
 them on the floor, you will not make any fives. 
 
 8669. To change your luck at bunco, throw the dice with the left hand. 
 
 8670. The quarter back in a football game who can get through the line 
 on receiving his first pass will win the game. 
 
 8671. Rub your two horseshoes together for luck when playing horse- 
 shoes. 
 
 8672. Never give away anything that you have won or you will be 
 unlucky. 
 
 8673. Do not sell anything you win, for it will bring you bad luck. 
 
432 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 BASEBALL 
 
 8674. If a baseball team on its way to the ball park meets a load of beer 
 kegs, it means good luck. 
 
 8675. The baseball player who finds a hairpin while going to the ball 
 park will get a two base hit the first time he bats. 
 
 8676. The baseball player who picks up a hairpin as he walks to the 
 ball park: If it is small, he will make a short hit; if it is large, 
 a long hit, perhaps a home run. 
 
 8677. Each white horse seen by a ball player on his way to the park 
 signifies a home run for him in the game. 
 
 8678. Keep a buckeye in your pocket while playing baseball and you will 
 have good luck. 
 
 8679. Always wear a red necktie to win in a baseball game. 
 
 8680. It is unlucky for a baseball player to wear a clean or new unifonn 
 in a game. 
 
 8681. A baseball player having a luclcy streak in hitting will not change 
 his uniform, no matter how soiled it is, until his luck changes. 
 
 8682. If a baseball player* is wearing a certain shirt and his team has a 
 winning streak, he will not change the shirt until his team begins 
 to lose. 
 
 8683. A baseball player will wear the same shirt all season unless he has 
 a batting slump, and then he will change it for luck. 
 
 8684. Some baseball players keep their caps turned backward for luck. 
 
 8685. The baseball player who sees a cross-eyed woman in the grand- 
 stand will fail to get a hit. 
 
 8686. The members of some baseball teams always lay their gloves down 
 in a row. If a player does not put his glove down in its proper 
 place in the row, or if he removes it before going out to the 
 diamond, he will have bad luck. 
 
 8687. It is unlucky to let anyone from the visiting team sit on the home 
 team's bench. 
 
 8688. A baseball player will step on first base for luck. He thinks it 
 will cause him to reach first base the next time he bats. 
 
 8689. To be put out at third base is unlucky. 
 
 8690. On one baseball team the coacher at third base would lay his 
 glove down on the line of the coaching box, and if a batter reached 
 first base, he would move the glove farther up towards home plate. 
 Each time the runner advanced, the coacher would push his glove 
 forward. This rite was supposed to advance the runner. 
 
 8691. The last half of the seventh inning is known as the "lucky 
 seventh" for the home team. By common consent and with one 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 433 
 
 impulse everyone stands up to stretch while the two sides are 
 changing places on the diamond. 
 
 8692. Some baseball players will step on home plate before leaving the 
 park in order to have good luck next day. 
 
 8693. An outfielder will touch second base after the game so that he will 
 reach that base on the day following. 
 
 8694. It is a sign that he will win, if the pitcher finds a toad in the out- 
 field before the game starts. 
 
 8695. Striking out the first man who comes to bat signifies that the 
 pitcher will win his game. 
 
 8696. To strike out the first batter indicates that the pitcher will lose 
 his game. 
 
 8697. It is unlucky for a pitcher to drop a ball when about to pitch it. 
 
 8698. By spitting on the ball a pitcher can make the batter miss it. 
 
 8699. "If a baseball pitcher spits on the ball before he throws it, you 
 can never hit it solid because the ball will slip off your bat. That's 
 what they call a hoodoo ball. It keeps the batter from hitting it." 
 
 8700. "When a baseball pitcher puts chewing gum on a ball, he does 
 it to keep the batter from hitting the ball out into the field, because 
 the ball will stick to the bat and cannot go very far from his bat." 
 
 8701. If the pitcher rubs slippery elm bark on his hands, he will cause 
 the batter to miss the ball. 
 
 8702. "Some ball players say, when a pitcher holds the ball between 
 both hands he is putting dope on it to hoodoo the batter." 
 
 8703. A pitcher thinks it is unlucky, if the second baseman throws the 
 ball to him. 
 
 8704. "If a pitcher walk around another pitcher to start the inning off, 
 it gives them (the other pitcher) the jinx and causes them to lose 
 the game." 
 
 8705. Changing bats after you have taken one is unlucky. 
 
 8706. Never cross your bat with another batter when on your way to 
 the home plate or it will bring you bad luck. 
 
 8707. The batter who passes between home plate and the pitcher's box 
 when going to bat will be hit by a pitched ball. 
 
 8708. Drive two nails into the end of your bat and it will not break. 
 
 8709. "When I want to make a hit, I always put dirt on my bat." 
 
 8710. Stick a piece of chewing gum on the lower end of your bat and 
 you will make a good hit. 
 
 8711. Spit on the end of your bat for luck. 
 
 8712. A baseball player on going to the batter's box will spit on the 
 ground and rub his foot in it for luck in batting. 
 
 8713. Some baseball players will turn around three times in the batter's 
 box for luck. 
 
434 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 8714. "I always take my bat and whirl it around my head three times 
 when I go to bat to make me have hits." 
 
 8715. If a batter fouls the first ball pitched to him, it is a sign that he 
 will strike out. 
 
 8716. It is unlucky to drop a bat between home plate and the catcher. 
 
 8717. If a batter on returning from home plate throws his bat down 
 and it crosses another bat, it will bring him bad luck. 
 
 8718. When an outfielder goes to the outfield, he will kick the same base 
 each time he passes it for luck. 
 
 8719. The baseball player who picks up a pin on the diamond and sticks 
 it in his uniform will have good luck as long as the pin stays there. 
 
 8720. If a baseball player starts out upon the field, forgets something 
 and returns for it, he will be unlucky in that game. 
 
 8721. If a baseball player is called back from the field and he returns, 
 he will have bad luck. 
 
 8722. An itching hand while playing baseball means that you will catch 
 the next foul ball. 
 
 8723. An outfielder muffing his first fly indicates that his team will win 
 the game. 
 
 8724. A third baseman will touch his base both on going out and coming 
 in from the field so that he will be lucky in batting. 
 
 8725. A third baseman who makes the third "put-out" will touch his 
 base for luck, especially if he is the next "batter up." 
 
 8726. A ball player on coming off the field will always lay his glove in 
 the same place for luck in hitting. 
 
 CRAPS 
 
 8727. "If you want to find out if you are lucky, go to a crap game." 
 
 8728. Carry one dice in your pocket for luck. 
 
 8729. "If you shoot like you don't care, you will win two out of three 
 times." 
 
 8730. "If you touch the dice on someone, they will have bad luck." 
 
 8731. "If you go to a crap game and see a cross-eyed person, then 
 don't gamble; because if you do, you will go broke." 
 
 8732. "If you rub dice in your hair, you will throw seven or eleven 
 every time." 
 
 8733. "If a fellow hold his hand over your head when you shoot, you 
 will have bad luck." 
 
 8734. "You can wave your hands over the dice when a man roll them 
 out and it will give bad luck and he can't win." 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 435 
 
 8735. "A man standing by you in a dice game is always bad luck, unless 
 he is in the game." 
 
 8736. "If you want to have good luck in dice, spit on them, then rub 
 them in your hands for luck." 
 
 B>7Z7. "Some people think that if they spit on the dice before they throw 
 them, they will have better luck." 
 
 8738. "If a gambler spit on the dice, he will beat you at the game, 
 because they are wet and sticky and they will fall on seven." 
 
 8739. "Sometimes a gambler put the dice in his mouth, which cause them 
 to stick on the table where they hit, and he will win." 
 
 8740. "If you see some old tramp around a crap game, just let him shoot 
 your hand and he will break the game." 
 
 8741. "You can rub dice on a woman's breast and it will give you good 
 luck and make you win." 
 
 8742. "You can rub the dice on a woman from hip to hip and it will 
 give you good luck." 
 
 8743. "Some gamblers let a woman carry a dice under her clothing for 
 a week, then take a dollar from her and go to the game ; and he 
 will win all the money in that game. The woman gives him 
 good luck." 
 
 8744. "Some gamblers put rosin in the eye of a dice to make it stay 
 on top." 
 
 8745. "If a fellow palm a dice in his hand while shooting, he will throw 
 seven or eleven every time and break you." 
 
 8746. "If a gambler in a crap game spin the dice up in the air and they 
 hit the table spinning, they will stop on seven or eleven and he 
 wins." 
 
 8747. "Gamblers in a crap game put a string across the table to keep 
 the gambler from sliding the dice on the table. If they cross the 
 string, it's no roll." 
 
 8748. "If you try to hop the dice over the line, you will throw craps 
 and then you will lose." 
 
 8749. "If you try to jump dice over the line, you will lose nine times 
 out of ten." 
 
 8750. "If you bounce the dice you will lose your money." 
 
 8751. "If you try to jolt the dice, you will go broke in an hour." 
 
 8752. "Some crap shooters pop their dice for luck." 
 
 8753. "If you try to cheat, you will throw crap every time." 
 
 8754. "When you shoot dice, pick them up and slide them and you will 
 win." 
 
 8755. "If you pick up the dice and one fall, best to leave them alone; 
 because you will lose, for it's bad luck to drop one of the dice." 
 
436 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 8756. "If you drop a pair of dice and they turn over, the seven will pass 
 you like a dog." 
 
 8757. "If you drop a pair of dice and they slide, there will be a seven 
 out quick." 
 
 8758. "Always throw dice just before starting a game, if you want to 
 win." 
 
 8759. "If you are in a crap game and you are coming out for your first 
 point, if you throw craps, that is the sign you will have no luck 
 in the game." 
 
 8760. "If you catch a four for a point, just holler, 'Little Joe, little Joe' 
 and they will come four every time." 
 
 8761. "If the dice five, just say, 'Come five, come five' and they 
 
 will five for you." 
 
 8762. "If you want to throw seven, just say, 'Ain't that heaven, ain't 
 that heaven' and they will come seven." 
 
 8763. "If you throw seven the first time, you will sure win with an 
 eleven." 
 
 8764. "If you catch an eight for a point, next time you roll them, holler, 
 'Skate, dice, skate' and they will come eight for you." 
 
 8765. "If you throw the dice and they come nine, just call for time." 
 
 8766. "If the dice come ten, just call, 'Big Ben, big Ben' and 
 
 they will ten for you." 
 
 8767. "If you roll dice out on the table and they stop on the same side 
 four times, they are chippy dice." 
 
 8768. "There is a pair of dice called bird-eyed dice; they don't do 
 nothing but pass you all day." 
 
 8769. "There are dice called pigeon-toed dice. The gambler use these 
 to cheat you with." 
 
 8770. "There are some dice that has a rubber fastener on and you can't 
 see them. When they roll the dice out, the rubber draws them 
 back up their sleeves." 
 
 8771. "If a white man and a colored man are shooting craps, bet on the 
 colored man." 
 
 8772. "To tell when a pair of dice is loaded, drop them two times ; and 
 if they fall on the same corner they are crooked." 
 
 8773. "If you drop a pair of dice and they roll, they are all right." 
 
 8774. "If you drop a pair of dice and they stick to the floor, they are 
 loaded." 
 
 8775. "If you drop a pair of dice on the floor and they bounce up, they 
 are crooked." 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 437 
 
 GAMBLING 
 
 8776. "Some gamblers say that the twelve face cards in a deck is the 
 Twelve Disciples of the Lord." 
 
 8777. "Don't be afraid to bet, because the fellow who isn't afraid to 
 bet is the man who makes the most money." 
 
 8778. "If a gambler is losing, he will pick up a boy baby and let it wet 
 on him. He thinks that will change his luck and make him lucky." 
 
 8779. "If when playing cards, you turn your cap bill to the back of your 
 head, you will go broke in two hours." 
 
 8780. "A good gambler never uses the same deck of cards twice." 
 878L "If you are going somewhere to gamble at cards and a cat follows 
 
 you, you will win." 
 
 8782. "If you are gambhng and are losing, some gamblers get up and 
 walk around their chair once, some two times and some three 
 times, to drive off what they call the Spanish curse, which is 
 supposed to last for seven year before it will wear out." 
 
 8783. "If you deal the first five times straight, then you will be the last 
 to go broke." 
 
 8784. "A gambler will never take a two dollar bill unless you tear oflf 
 the corner." 
 
 8785. "Friday is always unlucky to gamble on." 
 
 8786. "If you feel lucky on Friday, gamble, for you will have luck; but 
 if you don't feel lucky, don't." 
 
 8787. "Never gamble on Friday the thirteenth, for it is very unlucky." 
 
 8788. "If you see a black cat on Friday the thirteenth, it is a very bad 
 sign, don't gamble." 
 
 8789. "When you are sitting in a poker game never let a person put his 
 foot on your chair rounds ; if you do, he will give you bad luck 
 and you will surely lose your money." 
 
 8790. "Good poker players always sit with one foot over the other." 
 
 8791. "If someone pat you on the head while in a game, it is bad luck." 
 
 8792. Some gamblers have good luck pairs. The good luck pair of a well- 
 known gambler in Quincy were the deuce of diamonds and the 
 queen of spades. He was never known to lose when he held these 
 two cards. 
 
 8793. "It is lucky to have a luck piece of soine kind laying on the table 
 when you are playing poker." 
 
 8794. "If you are going to gamble, strike a match and if it burns to the 
 end, you will be lucky; if it breaks off, don't gamble that day." 
 
 8795. "If you want to have good luck when gambling, just kiss a 
 strange woman and you will win money in that game." 
 
 8796. "If you gamble every night, you will lose your luck." 
 
438 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 8797. "If you are losing, never moan and groan when you lose a pot, 
 and you will come out on top when the game's over." 
 
 8798. "You will be lucky at poker, if you borrow the money you play 
 with." 
 
 8799. "If you are gambling and someone come up to bum you for some 
 money, you will have bad luck and lose all your money too." 
 
 8800. "Never take any pennies in a game, for they are bad luck." 
 
 8801. "If someone hand you some pennies, throw them back over your 
 head, and you won't lose your luck." 
 
 8802. "If you are gambling, never give anybody anything while in the 
 game, or you will lose." 
 
 8803. "If you are in a gambling house, they will not let you throw 
 peanut shells on the floor, for that brings bad luck to the house, 
 and the house will be pulled (raided by the police) if you do." 
 
 8804. "If you win the first pot of money at a poker game in the evening, 
 you will have bad luck the rest of the evening." 
 
 8805. "Some gamblers carry a rabbit foot in their right pocket for 
 good luck." 
 
 8806. "I was a gambler and I would never play cards on a rainy day. 
 If I did, I would always lose. If I started to a town, and when 
 I got there it was raining, I would not stop. I would always go 
 to the next town to keep from having bad luck." 
 
 8807. "If you want to break the house, sprinkle some salt on the table 
 and the gamblers will all have bad luck; then wash your hands 
 in whiskey, and you will break them all," 
 
 8808. "Never try to win all the money in the world, for you will get 
 broke if you do; because luck only lasts for a few minutes and 
 then gone for a long time." 
 
 8809. "There are eyeglasses that you can get, that you can see a card 
 and tell what it is." 
 
 8810. "Some gamblers carry a glass in their pocket to look through the 
 cards." 
 
 8811. "Some gamblers can tell a card just by feeling it." 
 
 8812. "Some gamblers can tell what a card is by its weight." 
 
 8S13. "A gambler said, you can take a deck of cards, turn them all the 
 same color by saying some words and blowing on them." 
 
 8814. "We have a gambler here who can take a deck of cards and stand 
 off and look at you three or four times, and say some hoodoo 
 words, and make all of the cards come into your pocket." 
 
 8815. "A gambler can take a deck of cards up in his hand and he will 
 bet you that he can blow the spots off of them, then he take half 
 the deck in each hand and blow and blow on them, and the card 
 disappear." 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 439 
 
 8816. "A gambler can take the bottom card off the deck and shuffle them 
 and make the last card be on the top of the deck, and tell you 
 what card it is. It is called the three way switch." 
 
 8817. "A gambler will give you the ace, king, queen, jack and ten of 
 hearts or clubs, in other words to make you bet all your money 
 at one time ; then he will lay down a diamond hand and break 
 you every time. It is called a hand trick." 
 
 8818. "When a man shuffle and shuffle the deck, and sit it down for you 
 to cut, he can make you cut the same card that's on the top of the 
 deck back on the top in one square cut." 
 
 8819. "When you see a man take the cards in his hands and keep finger- 
 ing them, he is bewitching the hand: and when he comes down 
 with the hand on the table he will have a new hand altogether." 
 
 8820. "A gambler can take a card and throw it in the air and make it 
 land in someone pocket in the house without you knowing it." 
 
 8821. "Some gamblers can put a trey next to the top and give you the 
 other card." 
 
 8822. "Sometimes in playing Georgia Skin, they hold one up their 
 sleeve; then when they deal, they throw it to you." 
 
 8823. "If a man is playing the Georgia Skin, they cheat by carrying a 
 card on you ; then they put three aces under the deck and one on 
 top to win." 
 
 8824. "If you try to cheat the deck, you will cheat yourself." 
 
 8825. "If a person try to switch a card on you, then you switch at the 
 same time and they won't see you at all." 
 
 8826. "If a man keep watching you in a game, he is trying to cheat 
 you." 
 
 8827. "When you see a man picking up the cards real light one at the 
 time, he is stacking them so he will win; and he does every time." 
 
 8828. "If a card player carry his head down ii the game, he has a 
 stacked hand up his sleeve." 
 
 8829. "When you hear a gambler say he got an ace in the hole, some- 
 one is cheating in that game." 
 
 8830. "A gambler said, if a person try to cheat you, don't say anything 
 to them; just cheat when they do, and you will beat them at the 
 game." 
 
 8831. "If a gambler is hot and seem bothered and can't be trusted, it 
 is the sign he is busted." 
 
 8832. "If a gambler in a game say, 'I believe I am tired' he mean 
 
 someone has lied." 
 
41-0 Memoirs- of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 d&ZZ. "If a gambler say, 'I am going' he mean he is going to cut 
 
 your throat." 
 8834. "If a deck of cards is heavy painted, they are called phony cards 
 
 or called trick cards." 
 
 HORSE RACING 
 
 8835. The owner should keep a goat in the stall with a race horse for 
 luck. 
 
 8836. "A race track is never on the square, because the winning horse 
 is already out before they start." 
 
 8837. If you go to the race track with the intention of winning, you 
 will certainly lose. 
 
 8838. "If you go to a race and see a bull-legged (how-legged) man first 
 before you see anyone else, you will be lucky." 
 
 8839. "If you go to a race and see a bull-legged woman first, you will 
 be unlucky." 
 
 8840. "If you go to a race track and see a cross-eyed person, don't bet 
 on the races, because you will have bad luck; but if you see a 
 slick-haired colored person and rub your hand over his head, you 
 can bet and you will win." 
 
 8841. Bet on a horse race with two dollar bills for luck. 
 
 8842. Never bet at a race track on even days or you will lose your 
 money. Always bet on odd days for luck. 
 
 8843. You can win your bet by closing your eyes and choosing a horse. 
 
 8844. "If your left eye itches while you are at the races, don't bet at 
 the races, for if you do, you will lose." 
 
 8845. "If your right eye itches, then bet all your money, for you will 
 win." 
 
 8846. "If your foot itches, someone will get hurt in the race." 
 
 8847. "When a booker is giving a seven to one bet on a horse, don't 
 take it, because you will go broke if you do." 
 
 8848. "Never bet on a race when your mind say, 'No' because the 
 
 devil is trying to get you broke." 
 
 8849. Place your bet on the weakest horse for luck. 
 
 8850. The one who bets on the darkest horse will win. 
 
 8851. It is lucky to bet on a black horse. 
 
 8852. "If you see a race horse that is black all over, you will lose if 
 you bet on it." 
 
 8853. "If the horse is black and white, don't bet on it, for there is a 
 crooked deal going on." 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 441 
 
 8854. If the race horse has a white forehead, bet on him and you will 
 win. 
 
 8855. Betting on a grey race horse is unlucky. 
 
 8856. A race horse that holds his head high is fast and likely to win. 
 
 8857. A race horse that holds his head half-cocked is stubborn and 
 hence an "in and outer." Do not bet on him. 
 
 8858. A race horse with a shaky head is mean and unlikely to win a race. 
 
 8859. The race horse that carries his head down is lazy and will not be 
 a winner. 
 
 8860. A race horse with a long pretty tail is a good horse. 
 
 8861. A race horse with a bobbed tail is not a good horse. 
 
 8862. "If you are betting on the right-footed start, you will win." It 
 is also said, "If a horse starts off with the right foot, he will have 
 good luck." 
 
 8863. "If you are betting on the left-footed start, you will lose your 
 bet," It is also said, "If a horse starts off with his left foot first 
 in a race, he will have bad luck." 
 
 8864. A race horse that is difficult to saddle will not win a race, because 
 he does not want to run. 
 
 8865. A jockey who wears his cap backward will not win his race. 
 
 8866. Put some acid on the tail of the horse just before the race begins, 
 and he will win. 
 
 PLAYING CARDS 
 
 8867. It is an old saying that a deck of cards represents every chapter 
 in the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. 
 
 8868. Lucky at cards, unlucky at love. 
 
 8869. Unlucky at cards, lucky at love. 
 
 8870. You can change your luck next time you are dealer by dealing in 
 the reverse direction. 
 
 8871. For a change of luck "milk" the cards, that it, deal alternately 
 from the top and bottom of the deck. 
 
 8872. Four cards are dealt at one time in pinochle. To change your 
 luck, deal two cards at a time. 
 
 8873. "Never let anyone touch your hand while you are dealing the 
 cards, if you do, you will be very unlucky in the game." 
 
 8874. You will have bad luck, if you drop a card off the table while 
 shuffling. 
 
 8875. To drop the deck or a part of the deck on the table as you shuffle 
 is a sign of bad luck. 
 
442 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 8876. The card accidentally turned over in dealing will be trump. 
 
 8877. When a dealer accidentally turns up a card, it signifies that the 
 game will break up in a quarrel. 
 
 8878. Dealing from the deck which you cut to win the deal is lucky. 
 
 8879. After a deck is cut, it is lucky to deal from the uncut portion. 
 
 8880. Cutting cards is unlucky. 
 
 8881. It means bad luck if you do not cut the cards. 
 
 8882. "If you like to cut cards, you will cut yourself off from winning 
 three times out of four." 
 
 8883. Never cut cards when you are winning or your luck will change. 
 
 8884. You can secure luck by cutting the cards backwards, that is, put- 
 ting the cut towards the dealer instead of away from him. 
 
 8885. It is said of cutting cards : 
 
 "If you cut them thin, 
 You're sure to win." 
 
 8886. "If you cut cards and cut them deep, you are sore to the skin." 
 
 Cutting cards deeply, picking up more than half the deck, 
 
 indicates that you will not win; hence the remark, "You are sore 
 to the skin" because you are angry or disgusted with yourself. 
 
 8887. After the cards are cut, the dealer for luck should turn them 
 around on the table in the opposite direction from that in which 
 they were placed by the cutter. 
 
 8888. You will be unlucky with the hand in which the last card was 
 dealt to you. 
 
 8889. Look at the first and last card dealt you before picking up your 
 hand, and if they are of the same suit, you will have a good hand. 
 
 8890. Pick up your cards with the left hand for luck. 
 
 8891. Picking up all the cards of your hand at once will bring you good 
 luck. 
 
 8892. The player who is the last to pick up his hand will be lucky. 
 8S93. "Never be the last man at the table with your hand, for you will 
 
 be in tough luck all day long." 
 
 8894. Dropping cards will cause you to lose your luck. 
 
 8895. To drop a card is a bad omen. 
 
 8896. "If you pick up a deck of cards and drop them all out of your 
 hand, then look out and beware some great danger ahead of you." 
 
 8897. Bad luck at the beginning of a game will increase as the game 
 progresses. Quit at once. 
 
 8898. For luck in cards, carry the heart of a bat in your pocket. 
 
 8899. "If you want to win at cards, take a heart out of a bat and tie 
 a red string around it, then tie that around your right arm." 
 
 8900. "If you want to win at cards, take the heart out of a bat and tie 
 it up in a red ribbon, and wear that around your wrist; and you 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 443 
 
 will win at cards. One morning I was downtown and saw a bat. 
 I said to a boy, 'Get that bat for me and I will give you something.' 
 That night while we were eating supper, here came the boy with 
 the bat. I took its heart out and tie it up in a red ribbon, and put 
 in on my wrist; and went to a card party and I won the prize." 
 
 8901. A card player should carry in his pocket a bone from a corpse 
 for luck. 
 
 8902. "If you will carry the little finger of a person on you, it will give 
 you luck in playing cards or anything you play." 
 
 8903. Find the skeleton of a young baby and put your hand on the skull. 
 This will make you win at cards. 
 
 8904. Carry a buckeye in your right pocket and you will always be lucky 
 with cards. 
 
 8905. You may change your luck at cards by using a diflferent deck. 
 
 8906. "Never let anyone touch the deck you are playing with, if they 
 are not in the game, for he will give you bad luck." 
 
 8907. "Never take a deck of cards out of someone else's hands, for you 
 will have bad luck." 
 
 8908. Kiss a card before you play it and it will give you good luck. 
 
 8909. To check a losing streak, transfer your cards to the other hand 
 for luck. 
 
 8910. A good player will not play a second game of cards with the 
 same deck. 
 
 8911. Never lay a deck of cards on the bed; it is unlucky. 
 
 8912. You will not win at cards if you play while sitting in a rocking- 
 chair. 
 
 8913. To rest your foot on the chair of another player will cause you 
 bad luck at cards. 
 
 8914. A good card player will not allow you to stand behind his chair 
 and look at his hand over his shoulder. It causes bad luck. 
 
 8915. Change your luck at cards by sitting in another chair, 
 
 8916. Pick up your chair, shake it and blow on the seat; thus you will 
 shake away and blow away bad luck at cards. 
 
 8917. Get up and walk around your chair to be lucky at cards. 
 
 8918. Put your hand on top of your chair and hold it there while you 
 walk around the chair. This will give you good luck while play- 
 ing cards. 
 
 8919. When losing at cards, get up and walk around your chair; then 
 spit on the chair before you sit down. 
 
 8920. To change your luck at cards, place your chair with its back to 
 the table; sit astride the chair and face the table while playing. 
 
 8921. Keep a four-leafed clover in your pocket for luck at cards. 
 
 8922. Turn up the hem of your dress to be lucky when playing cards. 
 
44^ Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 8923. Sit on one of your feet while playing cards and you will have 
 good luck. 
 
 8924. Cut some hair from near a woman's ear and put this hair in the 
 palm of your hand, holding it there by a rubber band while playing 
 cards, and you will be lucky. 
 
 8925. "If I am playing cards and my hands sweat, I never lose in cards. 
 If they don't sweat, I always lose." 
 
 8926. "If you wave your hand over a man's head, you will give him 
 bad luck in playing cards." 
 
 8927. Change your luck at cards by sitting on your handkerchief. 
 
 8928. Never lay your hat on a bed when you go to a card party or you 
 will lose. 
 
 8929. Turn your hat over for luck when playing cards. 
 
 8930. "I know a woman that every time she goes to losing at cards, she 
 always scratches her head so she will have good luck." 
 
 8931. It is unlucky to play cards near a place where there has been a 
 murder. 
 
 8932. "If you will sprinkle some red pepper on the cards, it will burn 
 the bad luck off." 
 
 8933. To have luck at cards, sit on your score card. 
 
 8934. The person who has a high score card should keep it for luck. 
 
 8935. "If you want to win at cards, you must put on the shoes you are 
 going to play in before you eat. Never put on the shoes you are 
 going to wear to a party after you eat; if you do, you will lose 
 in cards every time." 
 
 8936. Spit over your left shoulder three times to change your luck at 
 
 cards. In recent years, because of changing social conditions 
 
 and sanitary considerations, one merely pretends to spit. 
 
 8937. Break a spell of bad luck at cards by walking around the table. 
 
 8938. Walk around the table three times to change your luck at cards. 
 
 8939. Playing cards across the grain of the table is unlucky. 
 
 8940. To be lucky at cards, turn up the cuffs of your trousers. 
 
 8941. "If you go to a card party and want to win, always wear new 
 pants. Sure sign of winning." 
 
 8942. Some women believe that wearing a certain pair of bloomers gives 
 them luck. Hence one hears such expressions as : "Well, I didn't 
 win any prize tonight, because I didn't have my lucky pants on." 
 
 8943. Carrying an umbrella to a card party will make you lose. 
 
 8944. You will win at cards, if you keep a wishbone in your pocket. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 445 
 
 HUNTING 
 
 8945. "If you want to secure a full bag of game, always let your dog 
 get your bag for you. We never went hunting unless we let the 
 dog go and get our game bag for good luck." 
 
 8946. Just before you start on a hunting trip let someone hit you with 
 an old shoe for luck. The more in the family that hit you, the 
 more game you will get. 
 
 8947. On leaving home to hi t, kick off your right shoe and put it on 
 again. This will bring you good luck. 
 
 8948. Carry a rabbit foot for luck while hunting. 
 
 8949. The hunter who shoots his gun once before leaving the yard will 
 be lucky. 
 
 8950. Never load your gun until you reach the hunting grounds or you 
 will not have any luck. 
 
 8951. "If you go hunting and your dog jumps up as high as your head 
 and keeps that up while you are getting ready, that is the sign 
 you will have bad luck." 
 
 8952. "If your dog lets out a yell like a wolf when you start to hunt, 
 you had better be careful; if you don't, you will get hurt." 
 
 8953. "If you are hunting and your dog gets on the track of a rabbit or 
 something else and turns around and comes moaning back to you, 
 howling; you had better go home for that day, because if you 
 don't, you will kill your dog trying to kill something else." 
 
 8954. To turn back after you have entered the woods to hunt is a bad 
 omen. 
 
 8955. If the first thing you see when entering the woods is an old 
 sunken boat on land, you will catch a lot of opossums. 
 
 8956. Kill a cricket when you first reach camp and your hunting trip 
 will be a failure. 
 
 8957. To find a large hairpin while hunting is the sign of good luck. 
 
 8958. "If you go hunting and the first thing you see is a redbird, it is 
 murder waiting you, if you go on hunting." 
 
 8959. "If you are out hunting and you are walking along and see your 
 shadow, it is a saying that you will not catch any game that day." 
 
 8960. Wrap a black horsehair around your wrist and you will shoot 
 straight. 
 
 8961. Game dies at once, if shot in the sign of the "heart." 
 
 8962. Never shoot your gun against the frozen bark of a tree or the 
 bullet will be deflected and come back and kill you. 
 
 8963. "My friend and I when we used to go hunting, he would always 
 go back home, if he shot three times and didn't hit anything. I 
 would say, 'Come on.' And he would say, 'What's the use?' But 
 
446 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 he would go home and sometime come back and meet me in the 
 woods, for that would be starting over." 
 
 8964. When a rabbit escapes you, remember that a rabbit always returns 
 to the same place. 
 
 8965. The hunter who skins his first rabbit will scare away the game. 
 
 8966. Kill the first rabbit you see on your first hunt of the year and 
 you will have a good hunting season. 
 
 8967. "If you are hunting and see three ducks flying, don't shoot them, 
 for they are messengers sent out by the other ducks to see if 
 everything is all right. If you shoot them, the other ducks will 
 not come out. But when you see ducks flying in pairs, it is all 
 right to shoot, for you will know the messengers have gone on." 
 
 8968. "When you go hunting for squirrels, if you find the first squirrel 
 on the ground, you will find all of them on the ground; if you 
 find the first squirrel in a tree, you will find them all in a tree that 
 day. When I go hunting for squirrels I always go down in 
 Washington Park to see if the squirrels are on the ground or 
 trees, so I will know where to look for them when I get to the 
 woods." 
 
 FISHING 
 
 8969. "If you will keep small fish in a tank in your yard, you can always 
 tell when fishing is good. If the fish come to the top, fishing is 
 good ; if the fish stay on the bottom, don't go fishing, for it is 
 poor fishing." 
 
 8970. "If fish in a globe are still and inactive, fishing is no good; if fish 
 in a globe are lively, fishing is good." 
 
 8971. "If fish flop out of water, fishing is no good, because they are not 
 hungry and will not bite." 
 
 8972. "If you go fishing and see a big fish jump up out of the water, it 
 will be bad luck for you that day; but if you go and see a small 
 minnow jirnip out of the water, it will be a great and successful 
 day for you, and you will have good luck all day and come home 
 with lots of fish." 
 
 8973. A good time to go fishing is when you see a chicken oiling its 
 feathers. 
 
 8974. When owls hoot during the day is a good time for catching catfish. 
 
 8975. Fishing on Friday is unlucky. 
 
 8976. You will have bad luck, if you fish on Sunday. 
 
 8977. "If a person goes fishing every Sunday and keeps it up and never 
 stops on Sunday, you will catch the devil on your hook some 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 447 
 
 Sunday, and you will be snatched off the bank into the water and 
 may drown." Written contribution. 
 
 8978. "There was a man years ago that went fishing every Sunday and 
 he would not fish any other day but Sunday. One Sunday morn- 
 ing he got up real early and went fishing. He got something on 
 his hook that looked like a person. He pull and pull and it holler 
 like a woman. And it grabbed him and pulled him in the water. 
 And he died for fishing on Sunday." Written contribution. 
 
 8979. Good days to fish are the seventeenth and eighteenth of the month. 
 
 8980. Fish for the first time in the season on Good Friday and you will 
 be lucky at fishing all year. 
 
 8981. Fish bite best (in daytime) in the dark of the moon. Fish cannot 
 see in the dark of the moon and are hungrier. 
 
 8982. Fish bite best (at night) on the increase of the moon. 
 
 8983. Fish bite best at night during full moon. 
 
 8984. Fish when the sign is in the "feet" for luck. 
 
 8985. The sign of the "fish" is a good time for fishing. 
 
 8986. You will not have any luck, if you fish when the sign is in the 
 "head." 
 
 8987. "Wind from the south, hook in the mouth. 
 Wind from the east, bite the least. 
 
 Wind from the north, further off. 
 Wind from the west, bite the best." 
 
 8988. Fish do not bite when the wind is in the south. 
 
 8989. "If the wind is in the south and it is cloudy, you can pull out fish 
 as fast as you put your Hne in the water." 
 
 8990. Fish bite best when there is a good soft wind from the south or 
 southeast. 
 
 8991. When the wind is in the east, fish on the east side of the bank. 
 
 8992. Do not fish when the wind is in the west; the fish will not bite. 
 
 8993. Fish on the west side of the bank, if the wind is in the west. 
 
 8994. "When the wind is in the southwest. 
 The fish bite the best." 
 
 8995. Always fish against the wind for luck. 
 
 8996. Never fish with a seine on a clear night ; you will not have any 
 luck. Always choose a cloudy night. 
 
 8997. A cloudy day is a good time for fishing. 
 
 8998. "If a fisherman goes out to fish, he should always pray, 
 P'or perpetual sunshine that will not fade away, 
 
 And he will have good luck all day." 
 
 8999. Fish bite well when it is thundering. 
 
 9000. Fish will not bite if it thunders. 
 
 9001. Catfish bite well when it thunders. "One time it was thunder- 
 
448 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 ing real hard, a man caught one hundred pounds of catfish right 
 down at the foot of Maine Street." 
 
 9002. If it rains, catfish will bite. "When I was a little younger I 
 
 used to love to go fishing, and I would always pick out a day 
 when it was raining to catch catfish. Many and many a day I 
 have sit on the river down here with an umbrella over me just 
 pouring down rain, but I was catching catfish and didn't care. I 
 used to pull out catfish just as soon as I would put the line in 
 the river, one right after another; and sometimes the rain would 
 be going down my back, but I got the catfish." 
 
 9003. Fish become excited and bite well when it is raining. 
 
 9004. When a rain comes rapidly and falls heavily, fish will stop biting. 
 
 9005. If a rain comes slowly and falls gently, fish will continue to bite. 
 
 9006. You will not catch any fish, if you see fish jumping on a rainy day. 
 
 9007. Go fishing just after a hard rain. 
 
 9008. Fish begin to roll following the first three warm days of spring, 
 and they will roll for three days. This is the best time to gig fish. 
 The term roll is applied to fish during their breeding season when 
 they swim near the surface of the water in a lolling and rolling 
 motion, insensate to everything. A generation ago, before the 
 bottoms or lowlands along the river were drained, one could see 
 thousands of carp and buffalo, a teeming and churning mass rol- 
 ling in the shallow water. A fisherman would wade out and easily 
 gig the fish, sometimes catch them with his hands. Gigging is 
 illegal. 
 
 9009. Carry a fishing pole into the house before you start on a fishing 
 trip and you will not get any fish. 
 
 9010. If on your way to fish, you see a pin, hairpin, (large) safety pin, 
 pick it up for luck. Failing to pick it up will bring you bad luck. 
 
 9011. A rabbit crossing your path when you are going fishing is a sign 
 of bad luck that day. 
 
 9012. "Saving the first fish caught brings better luck, but throwing it 
 away is like throwing your luck away." 
 
 9013. "A fisherman always throws the first fish he catches back in the 
 water for luck." 
 
 9014. "If when you go on a fishing party, the first person to catch a 
 fish will have good luck." 
 
 9015. Fish can see upward but cannot see downward. 
 
 9016. "When you go fishing, if you will take an old looking-glass and 
 hold it so the sun can hit it, it will blind the fish so you can catch 
 them with your hands." 
 
 9017. "If you go to a pond and make the water real muddy, the fish 
 will all come to the top." 
 
h 
 
 Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 449 
 
 9018. "Fish bite best at night, and if you will sit on the bank and play 
 a fiddle or a guitar, the fish just can't stay in the water. They will 
 all come to the top. They love the music of a fiddle or a guitar." 
 That fish like music is generally believed among negroes. 
 
 9019. "If you go fishing and play a French harp (harmonicon) , all the 
 snakes around will come." 
 
 9020. Throwing pebbles into the water excites the fish and makes them 
 bite. 
 
 9021. Turn your pockets inside out and you will catch catfish. 
 
 9022. You will not catch any more fish if you are stuck by a fish's fin. 
 
 9023. Never tell anyone how many fish you have, while you are fishing, 
 or you will be unlucky. 
 
 9024. If you talk while fishing, the fish will hear you and not bite. 
 
 9025. The person who swears while fishing will not catch a fish. 
 
 9026. It is unlucky to take a dog on a fishing trip. 
 
 9027. Let your shadow fall on the water while you are fishing and 
 you will scare the fish away. 
 
 9028. "If you want to fish for rough fish cat, buffalo, sturgeon or 
 
 carp fish with your bait deep." 
 
 9029. "If you want to fish for game fish, fish with your bait shallow." 
 
 9030. "I never go fishing unless I take anise along so I can chew and 
 spit on my hook for luck." 
 
 9031. Put asafetida in the bait and fish will bite. 
 
 9032. Use cake for bait and you will catch a lot of fish. 
 
 9033. "If you want to catch bass, if you will put a cigarette paper on 
 your hook and then put it in the water, and keep walking back 
 and forth with the line, you will catch them." 
 
 9034. Use dough balls to catch carp. 
 
 9035. "If you want to catch a two or three pound fish, always use a 
 grasshopper for bait." 
 
 9036. If your bait runs out, dip your hook into motor oil. This is good 
 for catfish. 
 
 9037. To catch sunfish or perch, use salty pork for bait. 
 
 9038. Spitting on your bait will give you luck. 
 
 9039. "When you go fishing, spit on the line and you will get fish by 
 the peck." 
 
 9040. After you have put a worm on the hook, spit on it for luck. 
 
 9041. It is unlucky to bait your hook with a worm by using your left 
 hand. 
 
 9042. "If I lose my hook and tie my bait on the line, I can catch more 
 fish than any four men with a hook." 
 
 9043. Fish will not bite if you use a bright cork on your line. 
 
 9044. "If you drop your line when you go to put it on the pole, you 
 
450 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 had better throw the line away and get a new line, for you will 
 not get any fish with the line you drop." 
 
 9045. Fishing with crossed lines is unlucky. 
 
 9046. To change poles while fishing will bring you bad luck. 
 
 9047. If the end of your pole touches the water, you will not be success- 
 ful at fishing. 
 
 9048. Never let anyone step over your line ; it will cause you bad luck. 
 
 9049. Use an even number of hooks on your line for luck. If you use an 
 odd number, the fish will not bite. 
 
 9050. "When I go fishing, I always fish with three lines or five lines. 
 I never fish with one line, for I think it is bad luck to fish with 
 one line. And I always get plenty of fish. And I always pick a 
 cloudy day, for the fish bite better on a cloudy day than a clear 
 day." 
 
 9051. "My neighbor said, 'A negro will not go fishing, if a dragon fly 
 lights on his cork. He will quit fishing'." 
 
 FORTUNE TELLING 
 
 9052. One should use a new deck of cards when telling fortunes. 
 
 9053. If the fortune teller runs through the cards more than three 
 times in the same direction, you will be disappointed. 
 
 9054. "Shuffle the cards. Cut them three times and lay them out in 
 rows, nine cards each, and in four rows. Take the king, if you 
 are a man, or queen, if you are a woman to represent your- 
 self, and count every way, and every ninth card will prove the 
 right one: 
 
 HEARTS 
 
 Ace — is your home 
 
 Two — a kiss or a love affair 
 
 King — light heavy-set man 
 
 Queen — a very faithful friend 
 
 Knave — a young boy 
 
 Ten — the wedding card 
 
 Nine — offer of marriage or wish card 
 
 Eight — joy and a good time 
 
 Seven — will shake hands with an old friend 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 451 
 
 DIAMONDS 
 
 Ace — a letter you will soon receive 
 
 Three — small sum of money 
 
 King — a fair business man 
 
 Knave — a messenger 
 
 Ten — large amount of money 
 
 Nine — forever meeting with disappointment 
 
 Eight — you are going to a dance 
 
 Seven — a newborn baby 
 
 CLUBS 
 
 Ace — papers to sign 
 
 King — a workingman 
 
 Queen — a gentle and pleasing woman 
 
 Knave — young single man 
 
 Ten — trip to a big city 
 
 Nine — drinking card 
 
 Eight — work card 
 
 Seven — beware of the opposite sex 
 
 SPADES 
 
 Ace — a coffin if the point is down, and if up, a very bad letter 
 
 Three — lies and scandal 
 
 Four — sick bed 
 
 King — very dark man and a lawyer 
 
 Queen — slender dark woman 
 
 Knave — dark man but hasty 
 
 Ten — tears and imprisonment 
 
 Nine — sickness 
 
 Eight — marriage broken off 
 
 Seven — grief and tears 
 
 Six — death card 
 
 You must study the cards well before you try to tell someone's 
 fortune. I will give you this for a sample : 
 
 We will say you are telling my fortune. I am the queen of 
 clubs. Then count nine cards from the queen of clubs. We will 
 say the ninth card is the ace of diamonds ; the next nine (counted), 
 ten of diamonds ; the next nine, king of spades ; the next nine, ten 
 of clubs; the next nine, eight of hearts; the next nine, nine of 
 clubs; the next nine, king of diamonds; the next nine, three of 
 diamonds; the next nine, knave of diamonds; the next nine, ace 
 
452 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 of hearts ; the next nine, nine of spades ; the next nine, six of 
 spades. 
 
 That would read I was going to get a letter, with a large amount 
 of money, from a dark man, to take a trip on, to a big city, and 
 would have a good time, maybe I would get work, with a fair 
 man, for small money; would get a message, from home, telling 
 of sickness, then death would follow. 
 
 You make a wish when you are telling the fortune, and if any 
 time the ninth card is the nine of hearts, you will get your wish." 
 9055. In telling fortunes, the cards mean as follows : 
 
 HEARTS 
 
 Ace — the card of love and marriage 
 
 King — a man of fair complexion 
 
 Queen — a woman of very fair complexion 
 
 Knave — you are trusting a man, sometimes a friend, some- 
 times a foe, avoid him 
 
 Ten — shows good nature and many children 
 
 Nine — promises wealth and is the wish card 
 
 Eight — the jealousy card 
 
 Seven — shows the person to be of a fickle and unfaithful 
 disposition 
 
 Six — shows a person of a generous, open, and credulous 
 disposition 
 
 Five — shows a wavering, unsteady disposition 
 
 Four — good news from an absent friend 
 
 Three — a pleasing surprise 
 
 Deuce — your love aflfair will terminate happily 
 
 DIAMONDS 
 
 Ace — a letter with money 
 
 King — you are ignoring good counsel 
 
 Queen — that she will be fond of company, and not a good 
 housekeeper 
 
 Knave — you have a false friend 
 
 Ten — promises great wealth 
 
 Nine — any transaction you make within nine days should be 
 profitable 
 
 Eight — moderate success in store for you 
 
 Seven — the best card in the pack 
 
 Six — you will never want 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 453 
 
 Five — a large sum of money will come, use it carefully 
 
 Four — an unexpected loss will come 
 
 Three — shows that you will be engaged in quarrels and law 
 suits 
 
 Deuce — something you desire very much you will shortly 
 receive 
 
 CLUBS 
 
 Ace — promises of great wealth 
 
 King — a man very happy and faithful 
 
 Queen — consult her, she will give wonderful advice 
 
 Knave — a generous, sincere and zealous friend 
 
 Ten — great riches to come speedily 
 
 Nine — don't make any change 
 
 Eight — be more independent with your business associates 
 
 Seven — promises a brilliant future 
 
 Six — plenty of chances in your present business, do not change 
 
 Five — declares that you will shortly marry 
 
 Four — a misunderstanding with a dear friend 
 
 Three — shows that you will be three times married 
 
 Deuce — be ready to grasp a splendid opportunity 
 
 SPADES 
 
 Ace — you will shortly attend a funeral 
 
 King — beware of a dark man 
 
 Queen — a dark woman is working against you 
 
 Knave — do not flirt with a dark person 
 
 Ten — the card of danger and unhappiness, look out for 
 accidents 
 
 Nine — is the worst card in the whole pack 
 
 Eight — a card of doubt and warning 
 
 Seven — be contented and strive for success 
 
 Six — death card 
 
 Five — shows speedy sickness 
 
 Four — shows that you will be unfortunate in marriage 
 
 Three — loss of property 
 
 Deuce — always signifies a coffin, but whom it is for depends 
 on the other cards that are near. 
 
 9056. "Pour the grounds of coffee in a white cup, shake them well, so 
 that the grounds may cover the whole cup. Make a wish, then 
 turn it over into the saucer. Then try and pick out the figures 
 that formed. 
 
 If you find one tree, it is good health. 
 
454 Memoir^ of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 If you see several trees in your cup, your wish will come true. 
 
 If the bottom of the cup is clear, no trouble for you. Dark 
 grounds denote trouble. 
 
 A single large ground on the edge of the cup is a letter bringing 
 good news. 
 
 A cluster of grounds on the side of the cup is unexpected 
 money coming from a death. 
 
 A clear way from the edge of the cup to the bottom, your way 
 is clear and no trouble for you. 
 
 A bunch of dark grounds on the side of the cup like birds brings 
 you bad news. 
 
 If a cross forms in your cup, great trouble and maybe death. 
 
 A ring in the cup is always marriage, and if a letter can be 
 discovered near it, that will be the initial of your future wife or 
 husband. 
 
 If a clover leaf is at the top of the cup, it is a good sign; at 
 the bottom, not good. 
 
 If you see an anchor at the bottom of the cup, success in 
 business ; at the top, you are going to fall in love. 
 
 If you see a snake, it is always an enemy. 
 
 If you see a dog's head on the top, you have true friends; if 
 at the bottom, enemies. 
 
 If you see the figure of a man, you will have a speedy visitor. 
 
 If a crown is in your cup, you will get a large fortune. 
 
 If you see a heart surrounded by dots of grounds, you will 
 recover some lost money. 
 
 If you see a coffin, it is a sure sign of death." 
 9057. "Take three dice. Shake them well with your left hand and throw 
 them out on a table, where you have drawn a circle with chalk. 
 If in throwing out the dice: 
 
 If one remains on the top of the other dice, it is bad luck for 
 you. You had better take care. 
 
 If the same number comes twice at a trial, you will get news 
 from abroad. 
 
 If a number rolls over the circle, that number does not count. 
 
 If one rolls on the floor, very bad luck. 
 
 Never shake the dice over three times at a trial. If you do, it 
 will not come true. You are just losing time. 
 
 What the dice mean : 
 
 Three — a very pleasing surprise. 
 
 Four — you will have a quarrel. 
 
 Five — you will meet a funeral. 
 
 Six — you will lose your property. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 455 
 
 Seven — someone will talk about you or you will hear a 
 scandal. 
 
 Eight — someone will propose to you. 
 
 Nine — you will go to a wedding, maybe your own. 
 
 Ten — you will go to a christening of a baby. 
 
 Eleven — a death that concerns you. 
 
 Twelve — you will get a letter. 
 
 Thirteen — tears and very bad luck. 
 
 Fourteen — you have a secret enemy; beware they don't get 
 you in trouble. 
 
 Fifteen — prosperity and happiness will come to you. 
 
 Sixteen — you will take a pleasant journey. 
 
 Seventeen — you will go on the water. 
 
 Eighteen — you will rise up in life and get a good job." 
 
 9058. Fortunes can be told by gazing into a crystal ball. 
 
 9059. One's fortune can be discovered by palmistry. 
 
 HOODOO AND WITCHCRAFT 
 
 WITCHES-TWOHEADED NIGGERS-HOODOO WOMEN 
 
 BLACK CAT LUCKY BONE 
 
 9060. "The devil will give you power to do evil things, if you sell your- 
 self to him." Negro. 
 
 9061. "You can talk to the devil face to face, if you sell yourself to 
 him." Negro. 
 
 9062. "You can take two hatpins and call up the devil by rubbing them 
 together and cursing God." Negro. 
 
 9063. "Boil a black cat until all the meat comes off and take the bones 
 to the four corners of the road and you will meet the devil. Then 
 talk to him and you will have good luck all your life." Negro. 
 
 9064. "If you want to be a evil fortune teller, take and kill a black cat 
 and take the bones out of the top of the cat's head and a tea- 
 spoonful of brains, and a bone out of the cat's neck, a chicken 
 wishbone ; then go out to the four comers of the road on a very 
 dark night, if it is raining that would make it still better, holding 
 all these things in your left hand. Then turn your back first on 
 the east, swearing, using the Lord's name in vain ; then turn your 
 back on the north, swearing, using the Lord's name in vain; then 
 the west, and the south last. Then kneel down and pray, using 
 the Lord's name in vain again. Now you have turned your back 
 
458 Mcinoirs' of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 three times, for they may have the evil eye and will throw a spell 
 on you." Gcrmayi. 
 
 9077. "If you want to find out if anyone is a witch, place a pair of open 
 scissors under her chair; and if she is a witch, she will not be 
 able to get up out of the chair." Irish. 
 
 9078. "Years ago a woman out in the north end of town was bothered 
 with a big cat around her house all the time. She didn't know if 
 it was a witch or not, but one day she got mad and pick up a stick 
 of wood and threw it at the cat. It h_it the cat right on the side 
 of its face, and the neighbor on the next block had the whole side 
 of her face black and blue where that stick of wood hit her." 
 German. 
 
 9079. "A little girl was crying all the time. She would cry every night. 
 The doctor could not find out wdiat was wrong. And a witch 
 doctor came along. He said, 'Someone has your little girl be- 
 witched. Someone is squeezing her kidneys and making her cry. 
 You watch tonight at twelve o'clock and a black cat will go 
 through the yard and your little girl will be better. Try and kill 
 the cat if you can.' They had all the neighbors looking for the 
 cat, but when it went through the yard at twelve o'clock, they 
 could not kill the cat." German. 
 
 9080. "Years ago I lived by a woman that I thought could put a spell 
 over you. I tried to be good to her, because I was afraid of her, 
 but one day we fell out over a child's fuss. Not thinking, one day 
 I let her oldest girl have something, and in a few days when I 
 came home from town and started up the front yard steps, a big 
 black cat kept getting in front of me. I thought it was a cat and 
 started to pick it up, when it went right through my fingers. When 
 I got to the porch, there it was again; and I gave it a good kick. 
 The folks on the porch said, 'What are you trying to do?' I said, 
 'I am trying to kill a big black cat.' And ever since that, every 
 two years I have some very bad trouble. The bottom just falls 
 out for me. Everything will go wrong. I know that woman has 
 never taken the spell off." German. 
 
 9081. "A black cat came all the time to a farmer's house. He was losing 
 all of his stock. Everything went wrong. He shot at this black 
 cat several times but he could not kill it. One day this cat said, 
 'You tried to kill me.' The farmer said, 'Damn it, I will get you 
 now.' And he reached in his pocket to get a silver dime and this 
 black cat begged so hard to let her go that he let her go. It was 
 one of the neighbors. After that he did not have any more bad 
 luck." German. 
 
 9082. "We had a mammy cat and it got lost and we could not find it. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 459 
 
 Someone told us they saw a cat and two kittens down in the field 
 but they could not catch it. One night I went out to pick up some 
 chips and I heard a cat meow. I looked and there sit our cat and 
 two kittens on the fence. I dropped my chips and ran in the house 
 after father. He went with me to get the cat and when we got to 
 the fence the cat was gone. Father said, 'Don't that beat you.' 
 Then I heard the cat again and it was on the other fence. Then 
 it disappeared and then we heard the cat under the house fighting. 
 We found out it was not our cat at all. It was our neighbor, old 
 aunt Sarah and her two daughters Helen and Lindy. They had 
 turned into a witch in the form of a cat and two kittens to make 
 us think it was our cat." Negro. 
 
 9083. "Seventy years ago a woman was sick on Jackson Street. They 
 had one doctor after another and they could not find out what 
 was wrong with her. A woman was living on that block, and 
 everyone thought she was a witch. She would never go in to see 
 this sick woman or take her anything and all the rest of the neigh- 
 bors would go in and try and help her. One day this woman died. 
 And the day of the funeral, while the hacks were all standing in 
 line, a big black cat came down the street and looked in all the 
 hacks, and when it got to the last one it disappeared. The hack 
 drivers could not see where it went. When the funeral procession 
 went by the corner house, there stood that big black cat in the yard 
 watching the funeral go by. It was that old witch standing in her 
 front yard watching the funeral go by." German. 
 
 9084. "This old woman, that used to bewitch everyone, would come 
 sometimes in the shape of a pig, just to scare the boys. Years ago 
 when they had the water trough in front of the saloons, this pig 
 would come and drink out of the trough. One night the boys 
 thought they would catch the pig, and they did. Kept pulling its 
 legs to hear it squeal, and the pig just kept squealing all the time. 
 Then they let it go. And the next night that pig did not come. 
 The old woman, that everyone thought was <i witch, came and 
 kept walking around the trough. But the boys did not say any- 
 thing to her. They knew better." German. 
 
 9085. "A woman was walking down ^Madison Street and passed a 
 neighbor's house and a pig came out of the yard and started after 
 her. She picked up a stick and hit the pig over the neck real hard. 
 The pig squealed and turned around and went back. The next 
 day a neighbor came in with her neck all tied up. I said, 'What is 
 wrong with your neck?' She said, 'You hit me last night.' I said, 
 'Why, I only hit a pig last night.' And she said, 'Well, that pig 
 was me'." German. 
 
458 Memoirs' of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 three times, for they may have the evil eye and will throw a spell 
 on you." German. 
 
 9077. "If you want to find out if anyone is a witch, place a pair of open 
 scissors under her chair; and if she is a witch, she will not be 
 able to get up out of the chair." Irish. 
 
 9078. "Years ago a woman out in the north end of town was bothered 
 with a big cat around her house all the time. She didn't know if 
 it was a witch or not, but one day she got mad and pick up a stick 
 of wood and threw it at the cat. It h_it the cat right on the side 
 of its face, and the neighbor on the next block had the whole side 
 of her face black and blue where that stick of wood hit her." 
 German. 
 
 9079. "A little girl was crying all the time. She would cry every night. 
 The doctor could not find out what was wrong. And a witch 
 doctor came along. He said, 'Someone has your little girl be- 
 witched. Someone is squeezing her kidneys and making her cry. 
 You watch tonight at twelve o'clock and a black cat will go 
 through the yard and your little girl will be better. Try and kill 
 the cat if you can.' They had all the neighbors looking for the 
 cat, but when it went through the yard at twelve o'clock, they 
 could not kill the cat." German. 
 
 9080. "Years ago I lived by a woman that I thought could put a spell 
 over you. I tried to be good to her, because I was afraid of her, 
 but one day we fell out over a child's fuss. Not thinking, one day 
 I let her oldest girl have something, and in a few days when I 
 came home from town and started up the front yard steps, a big 
 black cat kept getting in front of me. I thought it was a cat and 
 started to pick it up, when it went right through my fingers. When 
 I got to the porch, there it was again; and I gave it a good kick. 
 The folks on the porch said, 'What are you trying to do?' I said, 
 'I am trying to kill a big black cat.' And ever since that, every 
 two years I have some very bad trouble. The bottom just falls 
 out for me. Everything will go wrong. I know that woman has 
 never taken the spell off." German. 
 
 9081. "A black cat came all the time to a farmer's house. He was losing 
 all of his stock. Everything went wrong. He shot at this black 
 cat several times but he could not kill it. One day this cat said, 
 'You tried to kill me.' The farmer said, 'Damn it, I will get you 
 now.' And he reached in his pocket to get a silver dime and this 
 black cat begged so hard to let her go that he let her go. It was 
 one of the neighbors. After that he did not have any more bad 
 luck." German. 
 
 9082. "We had a mammy cat and it got lost and we could not find it. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 459 
 
 Someone told us they saw a cat and two kittens down in the field 
 but they could not catch it. One night I went out to pick up some 
 chips and I heard a cat meow. I looked and there sit our cat and 
 two kittens on the fence. I dropped my chips and ran in the house 
 after father. He went with me to get the cat and when we got to 
 the fence the cat was gone. Father said, 'Don't that beat you.' 
 Then I heard the cat again and it was on the other fence. Then 
 it disappeared and then we heard the cat under the house fighting. 
 We found out it was not our cat at all. It was our neighbor, old 
 aunt Sarah and her two daughters Helen and Lindy. They had 
 turned into a witch in the form of a cat and two kittens to make 
 us think it was our cat." Negro. 
 
 9083. "Seventy years ago a woman was sick on Jackson Street. They 
 had one doctor after another and they could not find out what 
 was wrong with her. A woman was living on that block, and 
 everyone thought she was a witch. She would never go in to see 
 this sick woman or take her anything and all the rest of the neigh- 
 bo'rs would go in and try and help her. One day this woman died. 
 And the day of the funeral, while the hacks were all standing in 
 line, a big black cat came down the street and looked in all the 
 hacks, and when it got to the last one it disappeared. The hack 
 drivers could not see where it went. When the funeral procession 
 went by the corner house, there stood that big black cat in the yard 
 watching the funeral go by. It was that old witch standing in her 
 front yard watching the funeral go by." German. 
 
 9084. 'This old woman, that used to bewitch everyone, would come 
 sometimes in the shape of a pig, just to scare the boys. Years ago 
 when they had the water trough in front of tlie saloons, this pig 
 would come and drink out of the trough. One night the boys 
 thought they would catch the pig, and they did. Kept pulling its 
 legs to hear it squeal, and the pig just kept squealing all the time. 
 Then they let it go. And the next night that pig did not come. 
 The old woman, that everyone thought was <i witch, came and 
 kept walking around the trough. But the boys did not say any- 
 thing to her. They knew better." German. 
 
 9085. "A woman was walking down Madison Street and passed a 
 neighbor's house and a pig came out of the yard and started after 
 her. She picked up a stick and hit the pig over the neck real hard. 
 The pig squealed and turned around and went back. The next 
 day a neighbor came in with her neck all tied up. I said, 'What is 
 wrong with your neck?' She said, 'You hit me last night.' I said, 
 'Why, I only hit a pig last night.' And she said, 'Well, that pig 
 was me'." German. 
 
460 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 9086. "A witch wanted to buy my sow and I would not sell it. And she 
 came in the shape of a real poor pig and would just squeal at me 
 all the time around my heels and follow me around. And I said, 
 'I know who you are. Damn it. I will fix you.' Then I got the 
 board. I said to the woman at my house, 'You watch when I go 
 to beating this board.' I beat the board. They sent for me. She 
 live two miles away. And when I got there she was black and 
 blue all over, and she said, 'I am going to die.' I said, *I will not 
 forgive you unt i you give me all the balls (witch balls) you have 
 and book (witchcraft book).' And at last she gave them to me. 
 And I took them home and I put them in a hole seven feet deep 
 and put a fire under them. And she died while the book and balls 
 were burning, I just thought the books and balls would not burn." 
 Ger}nan. 
 
 9087. "A witch is one that sells her soul to the devil and she has to keep 
 someone in her power all the time; if not, the devil will make her 
 suffer untold agony." German. 
 
 9088. "A witch was living at Thirteenth and Ohio Streets and she was 
 mad at her daughter because she stayed out all night, and a witch 
 has to put a spell on someone when they are mad. She called in the 
 neighbor girl to wash the dishes. This other woman did not want 
 her daughter to go. After she went, the mother had such a funny 
 feeling about her daughter, so she went over to see what her 
 daughter was doing, and she was standing up by the sink just 
 like dead. She could not move. The woman said, 'My God, what 
 did you do to my daughter? I am going to have you arrested.' 
 The witch said, 'O, do not, I will take the spell ofif. I just had to 
 put the spell on someone. My daughter was not here and I was 
 so mad.' So she took the spell off of my daughter and I took her 
 home." German. Thirty years ago. 
 
 9089. "About eight years ago I was running with a witch and didn't 
 know it until one day we were out picking some fniit, and she 
 was all dressed in black. All at once I look and she was gone. 
 Then she appear right away wearing a white dress. Then I knew 
 she was a witch." Negro. 
 
 9090. An old colored woman said a hoodoo woman will sit with her 
 back to the preacher when she goes to church. Asked whether a 
 person ever sat with his back to the preacher, she answered, 
 "Why yes, whenever they do anything real bad they always do. 
 They cannot look the preacher in the eyes." 
 
 9091. "A witch can cure her pain by rubbing sugar, salt, vinegar and 
 hot water over her pain." German. 
 
 9092. "About ten years ago a woman out at X. (a small town in the 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 461 
 
 county) was a witch. She was always bewitching someone. One 
 clay she got real sick and was sick a long time. She sent for the 
 Lutheran preacher. He told her she could not get well or die 
 until she would give up a witchcraft book she had. She said she 
 wanted her son to have the book so he could bewitch. The 
 preacher talked and talked. He talked with her four hours until 
 the sweat just rolled ofif of him. The preacher told her she could 
 not die in peace until she gave him the book. At last she reached 
 under her pillow and got the book out and gave it to him. The 
 preacher went and put it in the cookstove to burn; and while it 
 was burning, this old witch died." German. 
 
 9093. "Every seven years the witches come in your life." German. 
 
 9094. Ha person is bewitched and the witch dies, the witch must be 
 dead a year before the sptll is broken. German. 
 
 9095. "If you are sick, a hoodoo doctor can tell if you are sick or 
 hoodoo by putting a dime in your mouth, li the dime turns black, 
 you are hoodoo; if it don't, you are just sick." Negro. 
 
 9096. "If you think you are hoodoo, put a dime in your right shoe, and 
 if you are, the dime will turn black; then with it (putting the 
 dime in your shoe), the spell will go back to the person that 
 hoodoo you, and they will get the poison." Negro. 
 
 9097. "A witch doctor can tell if you are bewitched when he looks at 
 you, for if you are, he will see white clouds floating around 
 you." German. 
 
 9098. "If someone hoodoo or bewitch you, if you are a woman, you 
 must go to a man to take it off; and if a man, you must go to a 
 woman." German. 
 
 9099. "Never visit hoodoo people to find out things, for they will 
 hoodoo you." Negro. 
 
 9100. "Never take anything a hoodoo person give you, for you may 
 not be able to raise your hand any more." Negro. 
 
 9101. "If a hoodoo person wants to show you something, let them put 
 their own hand on it. You keep yours off, for they can poison 
 you like that." Negro. 
 
 9102. "We have a hoodoo woman here going around, who can come up 
 to you without you seeing her and leave without you seeing her." 
 This and the four following items are some of the things believed 
 about a zvell-known hoodoo woman of whom a number of negroes 
 are afraid. Incidentally, she has supplied some of the information 
 in the following sections and believes in her power. 
 
 9103. "We have a woman here that can make anything move in the 
 house wherever she move. She is called a hoodoo woman." Negro. 
 
462 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 9104. "If you are rich, this hoodoo woman could put her hand on you, 
 and you will g^t poor in one hour." Negro. 
 
 9105. "This hoodoo woman could rub her hands over your eyes and 
 you will go blind in one night; and she can rub them again over 
 your eyes, and you can see." Negro. 
 
 9106. "If you are blind, this hoodoo woman can make you see in two 
 days." Negro. 
 
 9107. "Some years ago a city officer met me on the street and asked if 
 it was true that I was going to use my power to turn out the city 
 force the following spring, that he had heard I was. And I said, 
 *We want a change.' And I said, 'I am going to use my power 
 to.' And it sure came to pass. The chief and all the station 
 officers lost out; and after that they called me the hoodoo doctor." 
 German. 
 
 HOODOO AND WITCHCRAFT 
 METHODS OF DOING EVIL 
 
 9108. "It is bad luck to tell people your right age, because they can take 
 your age and hoodoo you by numbers." Negro. 
 
 9109. "I can take a piece of apple and let you bite it, and it will make 
 your teeth fall out of your head." Negro. 
 
 9110. "If you rub hot ashes on the inside of a person's shoes, it will 
 make their arches fall." Negro. 
 
 9111. "Take an old shoe and put hot ashes in it and bury. It will make 
 that person's feet burn all the time." Negro. 
 
 9112. "A Miss B. that stayed with me, her father never would give her 
 mother his pay. She had a hard time getting along. One day an 
 old lady came and asked her for some money. She said, 'I can't 
 give you any because my husband don't give me any.' She said 
 if Mrs. B. would give her a loaf of bread she would give her a 
 little bag of beans to wear. She did. And the next pay day her 
 husband walked in and gave her every cent of his money. Mrs. 
 B. almost fainted. She kept wearing that bag until she died and 
 got all his money." German. 
 
 9113. "There is a man in town who says he can take a king of hearts 
 out of a deck of cards and carry it in his pocket, and people will 
 name him the king of the town in a month time. He hoodoo the 
 people and cause them to call him king." Negro. 
 
 9114. "If someone come to your house all the time to eat and you don't 
 want them to, get a bottle of castor oil and shake it up ; then place 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 463 
 
 it where they can see it when they start to eat, and it will make 
 them sick and they will not eat at your house, they can't eat at 
 all." Negro. 
 
 9115. "Never take a cigar from an evil person, for it may be loaded 
 with dope, and they will hoodoo you." Negro. 
 
 9116. "If you can bury anyone's dirty clothes down by a stream of run- 
 ning water, when that cloth rots they will start to fade and die." 
 Negro. 
 
 9117. "If you want to make a person sick, take a piece of their clothing 
 and put sulphur on it, then bury the piece of cloth." Negro. 
 
 9118. "A person can take your old clothes and run you insane. They 
 take your clothes and hair and mix it with some kind of stuff 
 and bury it in the ground, and it will cause you to go to an 
 asylum for the rest of your life. I don't see how it's done, but 
 people say they can do these things." Negro. 
 
 9119. "I can take your hat and cause your hair to fall out in three days," 
 Negro. 
 
 9120. "If you have got it in for someone, get one of their dresses, if a 
 
 woman, and if a man, a pair of their pants they wear, and 
 
 bury them ; and when the pants or dress rot, they will die." Irish. 
 
 9121. "If you room at a house and leave your clothes there, they can fix 
 you so you can't leave if you wanted to," Negro. 
 
 9122. "If a person wear your coat and give it back to you before the time 
 is up, they have hoodoo the coat; and if you wear it you will get 
 hoodoo." Negro. 
 
 9123. "If you want to put a spell on someone, take a bottle and put a 
 penny in it and two live cockroaches, and put it on their doorstep 
 so the party will have to pick it up. And you will have a spell 
 over them as long as they have the bottle in their hand." German. 
 
 9124. "A farmer was plowing in the field and this woman, that be- 
 witched the horse and everj'thing she could, was down by the 
 
 fence and said to the farmer, 'I guess you are hungry' and 
 
 gave him a sack of cookies to eat. He took the cookies. He was 
 afraid not to. Just as soon as he got over to the other end of the 
 field he buried them in the ground. He told me that he would not 
 eat those cookies for anything. If he did, she would have him 
 bewitched and he would have died." German. 
 
 9125. "This German woman said years ago in the South End (of 
 Quincy) a woman would stand in front of your house at six o'clock 
 in the morning and make the sign of the cross, and wish you 
 would lose your job, and you would sure lose it. Whenever they 
 would see this woman in front of their house they knew someone 
 was going to lose their job in the house." German. 
 
464 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 9126. "A neighbor gave another some cucumbers, and this woman 
 that gave her the cucumbers could put an evil spell on you. So 
 this woman did not eat any, but her husband did. That night 
 after her husband went to bed, they could just hear him fighting 
 with someone downstairs. He was lying on a couch. He told his 
 wife that this neighbor came and was sticking him in the ribs so 
 he could not stand it, and he scratched and scratched. The next 
 morning this man's arms were all swollen up so he could not do 
 anything. And this woman was so scratched up they took her to 
 the hospital. She told at the hospital that she had a fuss at home, 
 but it was this man that scratched her up, when she came to his 
 couch that night in the shape of some object. This woman died, 
 and as soon as she was dead, this man's arms got well again and 
 all the swellen left." Gerfnan. 
 
 9127. "There is something people can put in your door or under your 
 steps that will make you fall down in the door when you enter, 
 but I don't know what it is." Negro. 
 
 9128. "Never eat at an evil person's house for you might get hoodoo." 
 Negro. 
 
 9129. "If you get the eye of anyone and can hold it, you can make them 
 
 do anything." Negro. "If you want to win a person over 
 
 on your side, just catch his or her eyes when you are talking to 
 them and don't drop your eyes, and you will win every time." 
 Negro. 
 
 9130. "A sure way to hoodoo a person is to catch their eyes when 
 talking to them and don't let them go." Negro. 
 
 9131. "If you want someone to move out of a house, if you will go 
 and stand in front of that house on a dark night and whirl and 
 whirl a frontice bone out of a person's body (corpse), tied on a 
 string, they will move. No one will stay in a house after you 
 whirl one of those bones in front of the house." The old colored 
 man who gave this item said that a "frontice hone comes from 
 down in front of the body." Later, an old colored woman explained 
 that it "was a bone right doivn close to your privates, right in 
 
 front" further, that if you whirled this bone at night in 
 
 front of anyone's house, it would make such a mournfid sound 
 that the occupants would think their house haunted and move. 
 
 9132. "Some women put gopher dust in your coat pockets and it will 
 make you go back again in three days." Negro. 
 
 9133. "Put a little gopher dust in water and wash an apple in it, and 
 the first person that bite that apple will lose their teeth in five 
 days." Negro. 
 
 9134. "If the law is after you, go and sleep in a cemetery overnight; 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 465 
 
 and the next morning you can get up and the law will not look 
 for you." Negro. 
 
 9135. "If you throw flowers or a note into the grave, the party will not 
 rest until he or she does what you want them to." German. 
 
 9136. "If you chew gum and lay it down around and a person don't 
 like you, they can take your gum and hoodoo you if they want to." 
 Negro. 
 
 9137. "If a man carry a gun all the time, he will kill someone soon; 
 the gun hoodoo him." Negro. 
 
 9138. "A person can take some of your hair and make you go crazy." 
 Negro. 
 
 9139. "If you want to keep somebody from coming to your house, just 
 get and put some of their hair under your doorstep." Negro. 
 
 9140. "If someone is combing their hair and they pull the combing out 
 of the comb and throw them on the floor, and someone else picks 
 up those combings of hair and will burn them at your back door, 
 it will bring you very bad luck." Negro. 
 
 9141. "I know a woman that had beautiful hair and another woman 
 was jealous of her hair but didn't let her know it. She was always 
 wanting to comb it, and she bewitched it. While she would comb 
 it, she would always put pee on it. The other woman did not 
 know it, and one day all her hair fell out of her head over her 
 putting that pee on to bewitch her hair." Negro. 
 
 9142. "If you take a strand of hair out of a person's head and wear it 
 in your pocket for two days, it will give that person the headache." 
 Negro. 
 
 9143. "If you take some tar and put a little on a comb and comb some- 
 one's hair, it will make all their hair come out and they will be 
 bald-headed." Negro. 
 
 9144. "If your hair is cut with sheep shears and the shears then hidden, 
 your hair will never grow again. Years ago when my mother was 
 a little girl, she would cry every time she would comb her hair. 
 So the woman that was raising my mother got mad and went and 
 cut all her hair off with sheep shears and hid them under the 
 henhouse so her hair would not grow, and it did not grow." Negro. 
 
 9145. "You can harm a person in whatever way you want to by getting 
 a lock of his hair and burning some and throwing the rest away.'^ 
 Negro. 
 
 9146. "If you have it in for someone, try and get some of their hair 
 and take a cocoanut and put a small hole in the end. Then put the 
 hair in that cocoanut and put it in the ground with the hole down, 
 so the milk in that cocoanut will drip out. And as the cocoanut 
 drys up, the party will dry and fade away." Negro. 
 
466 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 9147. "I can rub my hand over your head and make you bald-headed 
 inside of two weeks." Negro. 
 
 9148. "If you don't like someone, if you can get some of their hair and 
 nail it on a tree; when that hair starts to grow, they will die." 
 Negro. 
 
 9149. "If anyone puts your hair up in a tree when the sap is coming up, 
 you will be hoodooed, and you will not get well unless you get a 
 hoodoo doctor." Negro. 
 
 9150. "If you want someone to die, take and drill a hole in a tree, then 
 take some hair oflf the back of their head and put in this hole, 
 then plug it up; and they will start to fade and then die." Negro. 
 
 9151. "If you want to make someone lose their mind, take some of their 
 hair to a young growing tree and cut a small hole, then put the 
 hair in that hole, then put the piece of tree against their hair. As 
 the tree grows against their hair it will be growing against their 
 brain, and in time they will lose their mind." Negro. 
 
 9152. "If you want to make someone disappointed, get some of their 
 hair and put it in a bottle, then wet in the bottle and put a cork 
 in the bottle and throw it in running water. It will turn their 
 hair white and they will not have any peace as long as that bottle 
 is in the water." Negro. 
 
 9153. "If you fall out with someone, take a lock of their hair and a 
 small photo and put it in a bottle, and wet in the bottle, and they 
 wall lose their life and they can't wet any more until they die." 
 Negro. 
 
 9154. "If you can get someone's hair and bury it by a running stream, 
 it will make them fade away and die." Negro. 
 
 9155. "If you want to make someone lose their mind, throw some of 
 their hair in running water and their mind will wander on just 
 like the hair is wandering on in the water." Negro. 
 
 9156. "If someone dislikes or hates you, take a glass one half full of 
 water, break a raw egg into it. Put a needle in it and place it 
 under your bed, and it will take that person's anger away." The 
 contributor said this remedy came from a gypsy. 
 
 9157. "I can take the length of your fingers and hoodoo you in two days, 
 make you do what I want you to do." Negro. 
 
 9158. "If a person want to look at your hands, doii't let them see how 
 long the life mark in your hand is, because they can get the length 
 of it and make your life shorter." Negro. 
 
 9159. "There is an old lady that lives on Madison Street, they say she 
 will take used paper and put salt and other articles in and wrap 
 it up; then after laying it on your porch, declares that ill luck 
 forever will follow you." German. 
 
Folk-Lorc from Adams County Illinois A67 
 
 9160. "If you have got it in for someone and want them to die, make a 
 hoodoo ball out of a pround puppy head, something they wear, 
 and roll it in sulphur and put it where they will walk over it, and 
 it will make them die." Negro. 
 
 9161. "A cow licks her hair and that hair goes down in the left side 
 of the pouch and that forms a ball, and if you have one of those in 
 your hand you can bewitch anyone." German. 
 
 9162. "I knew a person that they threw one of those hoodoo bags in 
 front of, and one day they got real sick and a snake came right up 
 through her mouth." Negro. 
 
 9163. "Someone put a hoodoo ball under my mother's front doorstep 
 years ago and when she started to go through the door she could 
 not move. She just stood there. They found the hoodoo ball and 
 threw it in the stove and all kind of light shot up from it. The 
 lights were just beautiful. My mother could walk right away as 
 soon as that ball started to burning." Negro. 
 
 9164. "Three years ago my sister got married, and her mother-in-law 
 didn't like her. She was very strong and healthy when she went 
 to live with her mother-in-law, and just as soon as she got in her 
 house, she started to going down, she just kept falling ofif. They 
 could not find out what was wrong. One day they found salt all 
 under the carpet of my sister's room. You see if anyone has it 
 in for you, they put salt in your room, that will pull you down. 
 And another day she sent her washing home for her mother to 
 wash. And while she was washing the dress she wore most of the 
 time, she found something in the hem of her dress. She took it 
 out and it was a little bag with sulphur, black pepper, red pepper 
 and salt. That was another thing that was pulling her down. My 
 mother took the bag out of her dress and my sister started to 
 getting better. She left her mother-in-law's house and she got 
 well." Negro. 
 
 9165. "I found a hoodoo bag in my yard one day. I guess someone was 
 trying to hoodoo me. I opened it and found salt, pepper, chicken 
 feet, a rabbit foot, ashes, and a little piece of razor. I took and 
 burned it up. So the spell was broken." Negro. 
 
 9166. "Squeeze a snake, a lizard and a mole until they die. Dry the 
 bodies, grind them to powder and place it in a bag. If you do not 
 like someone, throw this bag in front of him, and snakes, lizards 
 and moles will enter his body." Negro. 
 
 9167. "If you don't like someone, take a rattlesnake and kill it. Then 
 dry and make a powder of it. Then put that powder in their 
 coffee or something they eat, and in four months they will be 
 just full of little snakes." Negro. 
 
468 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 9168. "The old man eighty-four years old told me he went down to 
 Washington Park this fall. Someone hoodoo him. He was sit- 
 ting on the bench, and when he wanted to get up and go he could 
 not get up. Someone had to help him up and to the car. So the 
 next time he went down, he said he was going to fix his shoes, 
 so if he walked over any hoodoo balls it would not hurt him 
 and he would be able to get up off of the benches. So he went 
 and burned some alum, some salt, and took some tallow, and put 
 that all together and put it on the bottom of his shoes. That will 
 keep anyone from hoodooing you. After he put that on his shoes, 
 he went down in the park and did not have any more trouble." 
 Negro. 
 
 9169. "I can let you bite anything and take it and put some iodine on it 
 and you will have the toothache." Negro. 
 
 9170. "If a woman don't know you and try to rub her jaw against you, 
 she will hoodoo you if you let her." Negro. 
 
 9171. "If you want to get even with someone that is always getting 
 ahead of you, take a yarn string and put it across where they will 
 walk, and just before they step over the string you run and jump 
 over it first, and you will conquer them every time." German. 
 
 9172. If a woman kisses you twice on one cheek and once on the other 
 cheek, she is trying to hoodoo you. Negro. 
 
 9173. "Never be too quick to kiss a girl because she can hoodoo you 
 through the lip stick on her mouth." Negro. 
 
 9174. A colored woman said the best way to hoodoo a man is to put 
 powder and paint on him. 
 
 9175. "I had a beautiful white lily out in the yard and this neighbor, we 
 all thought could bewitch anything, wanted a piece of my lily. I 
 gave her a root several years ago not thinking. And my flowers 
 has not bloomed since." German. 
 
 9176. "If a person kill somebody and get away, I can get one of their 
 letters and make him surrender in one week." Negro. 
 
 9177. "Years ago I was working on Broadway between Sixth and 
 Seventh. I was out sweeping the sidewalk when I saw something 
 on the walk. I went over to see what it was, and it happen to be 
 a little puppy dog (salamander). I started to killing it and a 
 colored man that was walking up the street holler over at me and 
 said, 'Don't kill it. Give it to me.' But I killed it just the same. 
 I said to this man, 'What did you want with that. It is poison.' 
 He said, 'I could dry it up and make a powder out of it and put 
 it in a little paper bag and carry it, and if anyone was across 
 the street I could drop it on the sidewalk, and if the wind was in 
 the right way to carr}' it across the street, it would go up their 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 469 
 
 nostril and poison them and they would be full of puppy dogs.' 
 I was glad I didn't let him have it, but I was always afraid of 
 that man. The woman I was working for said he could not hurt 
 me, but I was scared of him just ihe same for years." Negro. 
 
 9178. "Years ago two men were always playing cards together and the 
 one man won all the money, so the other man got jealous of him 
 and thought he would hoodoo him so he could not play cards for 
 a while, and maybe he would win something. The next time they 
 started to playing cards, he took and put lizard powder on the 
 cards, and when this other man started to dealing the cards, his 
 thumb got to hurting so bad. And it got twice the size it should 
 be, and he started to suffering so he could not play any more 
 cards that night. And in the morning his thumb had a lizard in 
 the end of it. And the man did not get to play cards, and the 
 other man got to win the money." Negro. 
 
 9179. "Take hzards and make them real mad. Then kill them and cut 
 off their heads. Dry them and make a powder of the heads. If 
 you will sprinkle that on someone's head, they will have pains 
 and misery all the time in their heads. If you sprinkle it on their 
 body, they will just dribble away like consumption. If you put 
 it in their coffee to drink, they will have live things in them." 
 Negro. 
 
 0180. "My father and a neighbor woman went to sit up with another 
 neighbor woman that had been sick for three years. Everyone 
 told us her mother was a witch, and said not to eat anything in 
 that house, for everyone that did got bewitched. My father and 
 the neighbor woman said they would not eat anything. When this 
 old witch made some coffee real late in the night, it smelt so good 
 that my father and this woman took some. My father said while 
 this witch was making the coffee she reach up and got an old cup 
 from over the fireplace and lighted whatever was in this cup. It 
 made all kinds of beautiful lights. The next morning on the way 
 home my father felt something crawling on his arm. He could not 
 shake it off. When he got home he found he had a lizard under 
 his skin. While he was showing it to his wife and me, here came 
 the neighbor's husband all out of breath and said, 'Go quick for 
 the doctor, Renty Pole is just climbing in the fire and trying to 
 get on top of the fireplace. We can't do a thing with her.' So 
 my father got on his horse and almost killed our horse getting to 
 the doctor's house. The doctor was standing on the front porch, 
 and before my father had time to tell him what was wrong, the 
 doctor said, 'You go back home and when you get there Renty 
 will be all right, and that lizard under your skin will be gone,' 
 
470 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 And sure enough, everything was all right when father got home, 
 but we never did find out how the doctor knew without being 
 told." Negro. 
 
 9181. "If you will take the heads of a scorpion, lizard and a snake, and 
 dry them, then make a powder of it, you can hoodoo anyone with 
 it. If you have got it in for someone and you want to hoodoo 
 them, put some of this powder in your handkerchief, and when 
 you are talking to them, just take your handkerchief out and 
 shake it a little without them knowing it, and it will put a spell 
 on them." Negro. 
 
 9182. "Some people say they can hoodoo you with a cup of coffee by 
 putting something in it that comes through sickness (menstrual 
 blood)." Negro. 
 
 9183. "If anyone finds your monthly cloth and buries it, when the cloth 
 rots you will die." Negro. 
 
 9184. "If you get someone's sick clothes that you don't like, and bury 
 them in an old hollow tree, they will start to bloating and never 
 will come sick again unless you take the rags out of the tree." 
 Negro. 
 
 9185. "If you want someone to die, take two white mice and put them 
 in a box and wish that when those two mice starve to death the 
 person will die that you want, and they will." German. 
 
 9186. "My mother was going away on a trip about sixty years ago and 
 I was about fourteen year old. She didn't want to leave me alone, 
 because we had an old woman on our block that we thought was 
 a witch. The woman heard mother was going away and wanted 
 her daughter to stay with me, but mother was afraid of this 
 woman and went and got another girl to stay with me. This 
 made the old woman angry, and just before my mother started, 
 this old witch came to the fence and called me, and said, 'Here 
 is a pan of milk for you to drink.' The pan was so full I could 
 not carry it. She said, 'Drink a little off of the pan, then you can 
 carry it without spilling it.' Not thinking, I did. And as soon as 
 I got in the house I took real sick. I almost died and mother had 
 to put her trip off over her bewitching that milk just because she 
 was angry over mother not getting her girl to help me take care 
 of things while she was away." German. 
 
 9187. "The minister bewitched me. When I was a girl about sixteen at 
 church with my first beau, I got to laughing and making light of 
 the sermon. All of a sudden I had a terrible pain in my side and 
 back. I got so sick I could not stand it. I just doubled up. I could 
 not even sit up in church. So my beau said he would take me to the 
 doctor. I got up. I could not walk. My beau had to half carry 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 471 
 
 me to the door. When we started down the stairs to the doctor, 
 the minister said out loud, 'Bring that girl back upstairs.' And 
 they did. The minister gave me a glass of something to drink 
 and I got well immediately, was able to walk and the pain was 
 gone. The minister said out loud he would teach the young people 
 how to behave during the sermon. He sure did not have to teach 
 me after that." Negro. 
 
 9188. "A man out in the country went to town to buy several barrels 
 of molasses. He h-\d to pass an old woman's house that everyone 
 called a witch. On his way to town when he went by, she had a 
 large white towel hanging in the window and a large white kettle 
 under the towel. On his way back this woman was at the window 
 pulling on the towel just like she was milking. Just when his 
 wagon got by her door, the barrels in the wagon started to dancing 
 and danced all the way home. When the old man got home he did 
 not have any molasses in his barrels. The old witch had drained 
 out every drop of his barrels into her kettle in the window." Irish. 
 
 9189. "A boy read the Seventh Book of Moses and he bewitched the 
 next door neighbor and she got real sick. This boy went over to 
 see if he could help her, and they would not let him do anything. 
 This woman died that night because they would not let him take 
 the spell off after he had put it on her." German. 
 
 9190. "My mother-in-law is a witch. Every week she would send my 
 John a piece of pie and say, 'Don't let anyone eat this but John.* 
 I sure didn't let him have it, for she was trying to get him be- 
 witched. I always gave the pie to the children." German. 
 
 9191. "One time when I was with a child my mother-in-law was staying 
 with us for a week. In the night I felt someone trying to pull 
 me out of bed. It was her trying to bewitch that child before it 
 was born. And she did. He has been in trouble ever since he 
 has been born. In jail all the time." German. Not the same 
 woman as in the preceding item. 
 
 9192. "If you don't want anyone to live in a house, if you will put rusty 
 nails under their front doorsteps, they will not live in the house 
 over three days." Negro. 
 
 9193. "I had an enemy. She was talking about me all the time and 
 saying things that were not so. One morning I got up and wrote 
 her name on a piece of paper before sunrise and went out in the 
 yard and buried it, standing, looking to the east, and saying the 
 Lord's Prayer. I did this for seven mornings. Right after that, 
 this woman got real sick and sent for me and told me she was 
 very sorry for what she had done." German. 
 
 9194. "Write three times on a piece of paper the name of a person 
 
472 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 against whom you want something done. Write on the same paper 
 what is to be done. Say, 'In the Name of the Father, Son and 
 Holy Ghost. Amen.' Put the jmper in the coffin, or throw into 
 the open grave after the coffin has been lowered (the note is 
 nsxially and conveniently hidden in a hunch of flowers). When 
 the body decays it will take the message with it, and what was 
 written within the note will happen to the person whose name was 
 written therein. A man must do this to a woman's body and a 
 woman to a man's corpse." German. 
 
 9195. "When you are going before the judge, if you will hold a needle 
 in your mouth you will get a light sentence." Negro. 
 
 9196. "If a person is in bed and you don't want them to wake up, just 
 hang your nightie over their head so they can exhale (inhale) the 
 perfume and they will sleep until morning." Negro. 
 
 9197. "If you see someone coming to your house and you don't want 
 them, sprinkle some red pepper in the door and they will not 
 come in." Negro. 
 
 9198. "If you have it in for someone, get red pepper and have it cursed, 
 and sprinkle it around their house so they can walk in it; it will 
 make them very sick." Irish. 
 
 9199. "You can put a hoodoo on a person by filling an old shoe with 
 red pepper and placing it under his house." Negro. 
 
 9200. "Get an old pair of shoes and put pepper in them, then send them 
 to a person and it will give them the rheumatism." Negro. 
 
 9201. "If you steal something, put red pepper in your shoes and they 
 will not catch you." Negro. 
 
 9202. "If you will put some vinegar and pepper in a man's pants, he 
 won't be able to sit down in four weeks." Negro. 
 
 9203. "You can give someone a headache by taking and turning their 
 picture upside down." Negro. 
 
 9204. "If you have not seen anyone for a long time, take their picture 
 and set it up against the wall on the floor and you will see them 
 soon." German. 
 
 9205. "If you take someone's picture and turn it upside down so the 
 party is standing on her head, facing a looking-glass ; and she 
 will feel just the way people are talking about her." German. 
 
 9206. "If you have not seen anyone for a long time, take their picture 
 and put it behind the looking-glass and they will come soon." 
 German. 
 
 9207. "If you want someone to die, take their picture and draw their 
 coffin on the back of the picture and sit it upside down on the 
 mantle, and they will fade away and die." Negro. 
 
 9208. "Take a person's picture or photograph, take it out into the yard 
 
Folk-Lore f?'om Adams County Illinois 473 
 
 at midnight, burn it (something is first said over it) and the per- 
 son will die." German. Within recent years an old German 
 woman in Quincy was thought to have thus disposed of her sons 
 for their insurance money. 
 
 9209. "If you don't like a person, take a tintype picture of that person 
 and bury it right where they walk over it; when it fades, they 
 will die." Negro. 
 
 9210. "If you want to get even with someone, take and draw their 
 picture on a board and put it on a white oak tree. If you put the 
 nail through their eyes, their eyes will go out ; if you put it through 
 the side, they will have a pain in their side. You can make them 
 hurt wherever you want them to. Just drive the nail where you 
 want them to hurt." Irish. 
 
 9211. "If you want someone to die, take a tintype picture of them and 
 put it in water with the face down, and when the picture fades 
 they will die." Negro. 
 
 9212. "Put a person's photograph on the wall and drive a tack into the 
 heart and he will die." German. 
 
 9213. "There is a woman in town who can make a man or woman leave 
 town, and if you will take her their picture, she can make them 
 come back to you in three days, and they will never leave you 
 again." Negro. 
 
 9214. "If you want someone to die, dig a hole in the ground, then put 
 some straw in that hole, then get the picture of the one you want 
 to get rid of and lay on that straw, then light that straw without 
 touching that picture, and let it burn. The ashes will fall in that 
 hole, then cover them up with dirt, and they will soon get sick 
 and die." German. 
 
 9215. "If you want to put a spell on someone, take their picture and sit 
 it upside down back of another picture, then take a pitcher of 
 water and sit it behind the picture of the one you want to die, and 
 don't let anyone know it, and the person of the picture will be 
 laid out dead." Irish. 
 
 9216. "I can make a pill and give it to you and you will get very sick." 
 Negro. 
 
 9217. "My grandfather could bewitch anything. About sixty years ago 
 my brother came in and he said, 'Grandpa, the potatoes are full 
 of bugs. You had better let brother help me pick the bugs off.' 
 He said, 'Don't you go in the potato patch until tomorrow night. 
 I will get rid of the bugs.' My grandpa wrote a note to the bugs 
 and said, 'If you don't get out of the potato patch by tomorrow 
 night, you will all get killed.' He took the note out to the potato 
 patch and put it right down by the first row and put a big piece 
 
474 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 of dirt on it so it would not blow away. The next night when we 
 went out to the potato patch the bugs were all gone. Grandpa's 
 note did the work." German. 
 
 9218. "An old woman told me she could take some powder and sprinkle 
 it over your farm and kill everything that was growing on the 
 farm." Negro. 
 
 9219. "Some people can hoodoo a person by putting some powder in 
 their shoes. I've seen people's legs and feet swell up like a balloon 
 by wearing shoes someone sent them. It's a certain kind of 
 powder they use to put in the shoes and that takes effect on you 
 when you wear them and causes the swelling of the legs and feet." 
 Negro. 
 
 9220. "If you want to make a person restless and can't stay in one place 
 long, just sprinkle some salt and pepper in their footprints, and 
 they will keep moving." Negro. 
 
 9221. "If someone come to your house and you don't want them to 
 come back, go out and find their tracks and nail them full of nails 
 and they will just keep walking and walking; will not be able to 
 come back." Negro. 
 
 9222. "If you do something to a person they don't like, they can drive 
 a nail in your footprint and it will make you walk yourself to 
 death ; and if they want you to stop walking, they take the nail 
 out of your footprint and throw it into running water and they 
 will stop walking." Negro. 
 
 9223. "If you don't want someone to come back to your house, stick 
 three nails in their heel of their shoe where they leave a track in 
 the yard." Negro. 
 
 9224. "If you get a man's footprints and put a rusty nail in it, his foot 
 will burn him all the time." Negro. 
 
 9225. "If you put a rusty nail in a man's footprints and it bums him 
 and you want to stop it, take that rusty nail up and throw it in 
 water and it will not burn any more." Negro. 
 
 9226. "If you want to make someone suffer, put salt and pepper in their 
 tracks and they can't stand still." Negro. 
 
 9227. "If you want someone to move on, pour turpentine in their tracks 
 and they will start to running." Negro. 
 
 9228. "If you want to make someone hands ache, put acid in their hand 
 prints." Negro. 
 
 9229. "Read Psalm LV. It is fatal to your enemies. While reading it, 
 mention a certain name and that party will suffer much." German. 
 
 9230. "The left hind foot of a graveyard rabbit killed at twelve o'clock 
 in the full of the moon is good luck to the man that carrys it. He 
 can rub that foot over anyone and hoodoo them, or if they are 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 475 
 
 gambling he can rub that foot over them and they will lose every 
 time." Negro. 
 
 9231. "If you want someone to do as you say, take a piece of rag and 
 let them spit on it, then bury it ; and you can make them do what 
 you want." Negro. 
 
 9232. "You can take a piece of rosin and by putting that on their bed 
 clothing it will paralyze a person." Negro. 
 
 9233. "Never let anyone have salt. If you do, it will bring you bad luck, 
 for some people can bewitch you with salt." 
 
 9234. "If a person keeps coming to your house and you don't want them 
 to come back any more, just put some salt over the doorway, and 
 they will never come back again." Negro. 
 
 9235. "If you have an enemy and don't want them to come around your 
 house, wear salt and pepper in your shoes." Negro. 
 
 9236. "A person can take one of your shoes and bury it and make you 
 walk all the time." Negro. 
 
 9237. "If you have company and you don't want anyone to stay, try 
 and get back of them and sprinkle a little salt on their left shoulder 
 and they will leave." German. 
 
 9238. "If a woman sprinkles some salt from her house to yours, it will 
 give you bad luck until you clean the salt away and put pepper 
 over your doorsill." Negro. 
 
 9239. "If you put salt and pepper in front of a house, it will bring bad 
 luck to the people that live in the house." Negro. 
 
 9240. "If you think someone is talking about you, if you will put some 
 salt on the stove and let it burn, they will stop." Negro. 
 
 9241. "If you fall out with someone, put red pepper, salt, black pepper 
 and quicksilver under a rug or door where they walk all the time 
 and make a wish, 'In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy 
 Ghost' and they will have bad luck." German. 
 
 9242. "If you get the hat of someone and put vinegar and red pepper 
 in it, then bury it, that will make them never satisfied with any- 
 thing." Negro. . 
 
 9243. "If you want to make someone move out of a house, take a table- 
 spoonful of Epsom salts, a tablespoonful of sage, a tablespoonful 
 of cinnamon, a tablespoonful of black pepper, a tablespoonful of 
 table salt. Mix them good and sprinkle this around where the 
 person will walk over it, and he will sure move." German. 
 
 9244. "If you want your man to give you all of his money, take a pinch 
 of salt, a pinch of red pepper, and put it in a cup of chamber lye 
 and sprinkle it around in his room. Do this every day for a week 
 and he will give you all of his money." Negro. 
 
 9245. "Put sugar, coffee and salt on the stove and burn it. It will bring 
 
476 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 you anything you wish for, if you do this on a Friday morning 
 between six and twelve o'clock." Negro. 
 
 9246. "You can get any wish you ask, if you make salt rings on a stove 
 lid. You make three salt rings, one real large, one smaller and 
 one small (these rings are made within each other). You have to 
 make them in the hours of three, six, nine, in the morning, without 
 anyone knowing it, and make them for three mornings, and make 
 your wish and you will get it. I know a man that was running 
 with another woman, and his wife took salt and made three rings 
 on a stove lid for three mornings without him knowing it, and each 
 morning at the same time, and he gave up the other woman and 
 came back to his wife. I know another woman whose husband 
 was running with gamblers, and she made the salt rings and he 
 gave up the gamblers." Negro. 
 
 9247. "If you want to make a person's legs swell up so they can't walk, 
 get some talcum powder and mix it with salt and pepper; then 
 put it in their shoes, and their legs will swell up and they can't 
 walk." Negro. 
 
 9248. "If you want someone to die, put salt, red pepper and strychnine 
 and a little dirt together, and put that on their steps and they 
 will die." German. 
 
 9249. "Years ago (in slavery times) my mother said they took their 
 master out after dark through the keyhole every night and would 
 ride him all night because he Vv'as so mean to them. And just 
 about daylight they would put salt all over him to freshen him up, 
 because he would be about dead over the witches riding him all 
 night, and would put him back through the keyhole early in the 
 morning." Negro. 
 
 9250. "If someone does you dirty and you want to make them suffer, 
 take a pinch of salt, a pinch of bread, and a pinch of lard. Put it 
 on a good hot fire to burn every morning, and on a Friday morn- 
 ing make it a double dose. You must repeat while it is burning, 
 'For all dire dirt you have done me I hope all the veins in your 
 body will bust.' My cousin did me real dirty and I took a pinch 
 of salt, bread and lard, and burned it every day and said, 'For all 
 dire dirt you have done me I hope the veins in your body will 
 bust.' My cousin got so sick that everyone thought she was going 
 to die. I just kept on until my father found out what I was doing 
 and made me stop. My cousin got well again. I was so mad at 
 her I would of let her die." German. 
 
 9251. "If a woman's husband dies and you don't want her to marry 
 again, cut all of her husband's shoes all in little pieces, just as 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 477 
 
 soon as he is dead, and she will never marry. If you' leave his 
 shoes, some other man will walk in them." Negro. 
 
 9252. "If you want someone to die, take and sprinkle snake dust around 
 where they will walk over it and they will die." Negro. 
 
 9253. "If someone comes to your house and you don't want him to 
 come back again, just as he is leaving the door put a live spider 
 on his back and he will not come back again." Negro. 
 
 9254. "There are some people who has to have their teeth pulled out 
 because they are hoodoo." Negro. 
 
 9255. "A great many people think you can be hoodooed by giving some- 
 one three things. One day I offered a woman three oranges, and 
 at first she would not take them, thinking I wanted to hoodoo her. 
 I asked her why she didn't want to take them, and she said people 
 could be hoodooed by taking three things." Negro. 
 
 9256. "A man had a lot of cherry trees just full of cherries. Two boys 
 came and told him that someone wanted him down at the store. 
 He went out and walked three times around his trees, then went 
 to the store. After he left, the boys and several others got up in 
 the trees, starting to pick cherries. When they had their buckets 
 full they tried to get down and could not. He had the boys be- 
 witched. So they just had to stay up in the trees. When the old 
 man got back he laughed and said, 'Boys, give me the cherries 
 you have picked while I was gone.' And he got a tubful of 
 cherries." German. 
 
 9257. "When Mrs. B. was about four years old, she was in Schaffer's 
 store and four men were there playing cards, and someone 
 looked up and said, 'The Indians are coming.' The three men 
 that lived east from the store ran home. The fourth man, Mr. G. 
 got up and walked around the table three times, saying something 
 all the time. Then he said, 'The Indians will not come in here or 
 go west of the store where I live.' And they did not. Mrs. B. said 
 to me this morning she could see those Indians walking backward 
 even today, after Mr. G. bewitched them so they could not come 
 in the store." German. This happened more than seventy years 
 ago. At that time, before and somewhat after, Indians used to 
 come down the Mississippi River in great numbers from Min- 
 nesota and Wisconsin during the spring, bearing in their canoes 
 wares that they had made during the winter. One coidd see as 
 many as several hundred of them at one time camped at the foot 
 of Maine Street; some zvoiild remain in Quincy, others continue 
 down the river. In the autumn they returned to the north. Many 
 of the German and Irish immigrants were frightened on seeing an 
 Indian, as in the story just given. There always have been a few 
 
478 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 Indians, and usually an Indian doctor, in Quincy; though in recent 
 years the public generally has not known of their presence. 
 
 9258. "If you are mad at someone and you want to do them harm, take 
 a frog and put it in a bottle and let it starve, then dry that frog 
 and make a powder of it, and put that powder under their hat- 
 band without them knowing it, and the poison will go down in 
 
 their eyes and they will go blind." A similar powder can be 
 
 made from snakes or lizards by the same method. Negro. 
 
 9259. "You can put a person to sleep, if they chew tobacco by putting 
 some turpentine on it; when they start to chew it, they will get 
 sleepy and have to go to bed." Negro. 
 
 9260. "If someone sh-t in your front yard, take it up on a shovel, put 
 some turpentine on it, burn it, and their a. . . will burn forever." 
 Negro. 
 
 9261. "If your husband don't give you his money, take your urine and 
 put red pepper in it and sprinkle it through the house, then sweep 
 it up into one corner of the room. Do this for three days and he 
 will give you his money, I know a woman that is putting her 
 urine and red pepper through the house right now, and her 
 husband is giving her every cent of his money. She told me it 
 worked fine." Negro. 
 
 9262. "Never drink wine on a night party with someone who wants to 
 get you; if you do, they will hoodoo you with the wine." Negro. 
 
 9263. "I can take your water and put it in a can and stop it up, and it 
 will stop you from wetting; and you can't wet until I let that 
 water out of the can." Negro. 
 
 9264. "You can take a pill and mix it with vinegar and hypnotize a 
 person and make them do what you want them to." Negro. 
 
 9265. "If you don't like anyone and don't want them to come to your 
 house, take a bottle of blue vitriol and hang up by the porch or 
 door and they will not come in your house." Irish. 
 
 9266. "You can make a farmer's well go dry by putting some soda in 
 the well for one week, each day ; then draw a bucket of the water 
 out and throw it in the river, and the well will go dry." Negro. 
 
 9267. "Fifty years ago some young folks were in a yard and a girl 
 came out of the kitchen to get some water at a well, and a man 
 in the yard said to the other folks, 'Watch me stop that girl from 
 getting water.' After the girl had turned the handle on the well 
 several times, she stop her hand on the handle, stretch out straight 
 and did not move. She got all blue in the face. This man could 
 not take the spell oflF after he put it on her, and she would of died 
 right there, if they had not of found someone else to take the 
 spell oflF." German. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 479 
 
 9268. "A person can make you get very thirsty by putting a whiskey 
 bottle under your porch for three weeks, and then take it out and 
 throw it in the fire. The person will become very thirsty for 
 whiskey." Negro. 
 
 9269. "If you have it in for someone and want to make them sufifer, 
 take a pint of new wine and one ounce of oil of mustard and pour 
 that on their front doorstep and wish, 'In the Name of the Father, 
 
 Son and Holy Ghost' that they will have all kind of trouble 
 
 and misfortune and they will." German. 
 
 9270. "If someone does you harm and you wish they would live a lot 
 to suffer, they will die before you." German. 
 
 9271. "If someone does you harm and you wish they were dead, you 
 will die before they do." German. 
 
 9272. "About sixteen years ago there was an old woman that lived at 
 Mendon. This old woman lived about X. miles back into the 
 woods at the outskirts of the town. Her name was Mrs. K. She 
 married Mr. K. when she was young, and they lived in town. 
 After his death she went to live at this lonely old place. One time 
 a woman from Mendon went out there to see her. She was sit- 
 ting in the room with two big bags of paper money and one of 
 coins. When the woman went into the room, the money disap- 
 peared. The old woman made a sign for the woman from town 
 not to talk, but she couldn't understand it and said, 'Good day 
 Mrs. K.' As soon as she said this, the old woman disappeared 
 and the woman ran out of the house and back to town. She told 
 everybody the old woman was a witch and she lived in a bewitched 
 house. Ever since that the old woman was known as a witch. 
 About two weeks after the visit of the woman, a man went out 
 there. He found the old witch was dead and that there was a 
 scrap of paper in her hand that said, that if you lift the bricks 
 from the front walks that they would find money. No one was 
 ever brave enough to go and look." Written contribution. 
 
 9273. "Mrs. C. hved in half of a double house with a woman who had 
 a son eighteen years old. He could not walk. His mind was like 
 that of a child five years old. One day Mrs. C. said to this 
 woman, 'What is wrong with your son?' She replied, 'I don't tell 
 anyone, but I had a friend that bewitched him before he was 
 bom. My friend and I would go every day and pick up old wood, 
 and I got more wood than she did, and she got mad and be- 
 witched me'." 
 
 9274. "My mother had twins. She took them to a party. An old woman 
 was there and she made over the babies and kept making over 
 them. A lady at the party said to my mother, 'That old lady is 
 
480 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 a witch that is making over your babies. Something will happen 
 to them.' My mother said, 'They are healthy and have never 
 been sick.' But the next day my mother went to the bed. One 
 was dead and in five weeks the other one died. So you see the 
 old woman did kill them." German. 
 
 HOODOO AND WITCHCRAFT 
 BEWITCHED ANIMALS 
 
 9275. "Years ago I had a very dear friend. We both had the same 
 amount of hens. One day I moved in with her. We said we would 
 not have any trouble over the eggs. We put a curtain up across 
 the kitchen. She had one side and me the other. We cut a round 
 hole in the curtain so we could put things through. She always 
 got the eggs. I didn't get any eggs. One day I was over in her 
 side and she had a bucketful. I didn't say a word, but I thought 
 she was bewitching my hens. Right after that I set an old hen 
 with twenty-one eggs and she hatched out nineteen chickens. My 
 friend kept talking about the nineteen chickens, so I thought I 
 would move and take my chickens before she got them. After I 
 got moved, my chickens . would just jump up and down all the 
 time and die one by one. I told my husband she had my chickens 
 bewitched. He said, 'I will fix her.' So he drawed her picture 
 with her pipe in her mouth. It sure look like she was standing 
 right there. My husband is a witch doctor and he did not have to 
 take her picture to a white oak tree, he just spit tobacco juice in 
 her eyes. Several weeks after that I met my friend and she could 
 not see. Her eyes were all sore. I said, 'What is wrong with your 
 eyes?' But I knew it was the tobacco spit in her eyes." Irish. 
 
 9276. "This woman also bewitched the chickens of the woman across 
 the road. One day they started to jumping up and down and kept 
 that up for several days until they all died one by one." German. 
 
 9277. "A man had a bunch of hogs. They were sick all the time. He 
 just could not get them fat. One day he told a neighbor about his 
 sick hogs. This neighbor said, 'Maybe someone has them be- 
 witched. I will tell you how to find out. You take nine pieces 
 of wood and drop them in a tub of water and if they sink, the 
 hogs are bewitched; if they stay on the top of the water, they are 
 not.' So the farmer drop the nine pieces of wood in the tub and 
 every stick went to the bottom. Then he told him to take one 
 stick and bury it somewhere and don't let anyone know it or see 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 481 
 
 you do it. The farmer did, and all of his hogs got well after that." 
 German. 
 
 9278. "We had a neighbor in our neighborhood that could bewitch any- 
 thing. One morning she went to see a woman that lived on the 
 block and said, 'I hear you have some fine hogs. Let me see them.' 
 They went down to the hog pen and she said, 'You sure have 
 three fine hogs.' At noon when this woman went to feed her hogs, 
 she found all three dead. This woman had bewitched them." 
 German. 
 
 9279. "Sixty years ago a family were living out in the south part of 
 Quincy. A neighbor came to borrow all the time from them and 
 would not pay it back. So one evening she came for something 
 and they would not let her have it. She went home angry over it. 
 And the next morning when this man went to milk his cows, he 
 got bloody milk. She had bewitched them. Another neighbor 
 came in and he said, 'Take that bloody milk and put it on the 
 
 stove to boil and start to beating it and saying all the time 
 
 I beat the devil, I beat the devil Just keep saying this over 
 
 and over and they will come to borrow again.' This woman that 
 was a witch had two children, so when they were beating that 
 bloody milk, one of the children came and wanted something. The 
 people would not let her have it. In a few minutes she sent the 
 other child to borrow, and this child said, 'Mother said to take 
 
 that off the stove' for she was burning. But they would not 
 
 take it off. In a few minutes the old woman came and said, 'My 
 God ! Take that milk off the stove. I am burning to death. If 
 you will, I will never do that again.' And they took the bloody 
 milk off the stove. And they were all friends after that." Irish. 
 
 9280. "A woman had a cow and it gave blue milk all the time. She 
 tried everything but could not do any good, so someone told her 
 it was bewitched. So she got a witch doctor and he took a steel 
 knife, it must be steel, he took two knives and went to cutting 
 the milk. He just kept cutting and cutting the milk. And the 
 woman that had the cow bewitched came with her face all cut up." 
 German. 
 
 9281. "I knew a woman that had a cow about forty years ago that was 
 bewitched. The woman tried and tried to milk her cow. She tried 
 for three days. It would not let the milk down. Her son tried but 
 he could not get any milk. While they were standing around the 
 cow, talking one morning about the cow, the neighbor come who 
 this woman thought bewitched the cow, and said, 'What's the 
 matter here?' The woman said, 'For God's sake, if you can help 
 us, why don't you, for we can't get any milk and we are afraid 
 
482 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 her bag will bust.' The neighbor said, 'I will see what I can do.' 
 She went over to the cow and passed her hand under the cow's 
 bag three times, saying something to herself, and started to milk- 
 ing the cow and got milk right away. You see, this neighbor did 
 have the cow bewitched." German. 
 
 9282. "Eighty years ago my grandfather had a cow and she would sweat 
 all the time. The cow would have a drop of water on every hair. 
 He thought someone had the cow bewitched, so he went to a 
 healer and he told him to go to a undertaker and ask for some 
 old rings of? of a coffin. Years ago whenever they would dig up 
 someone that was dead, the undertaker would always save all the 
 old rings, hinges and nails ofT of the coffin, and if you could get 
 them, they would always take ofT the spell if someone had you 
 bewitched. So this undertaker let my grandfather have two old 
 rings and he hung one ring on each of the cow's horns one night, 
 and the next morning the cow was all right and did not have any 
 more sweat." German. 
 
 9283. "A farmer lived near Quincy. Everything went wrong with him. 
 All his cows started to dying one by one until he lost all of them. 
 Then he started to getting sick. He did not know what to do, so 
 he came in town and told a woman healer he thought a certain 
 woman had him bewitched. She said, T will fix her. You go in 
 that room and I will make her come here.' In a little while this 
 woman came all out of breath and said to the woman, 'What are 
 you doing to me?' This healer said, T didn't think you would do 
 what you are doing.' This woman got up and went home and 
 never did come back to see this woman again. The man went 
 home, and after that he got well and everything turned out all 
 right for him." German. 
 
 9284. "A farmer living out here (a few miles from Quincy) in the 
 country was bothered with a black cat. Every time he would go 
 to the barn a big black cat was around his cows and his cows were 
 giving bloody milk all the time. He could not find out what was 
 wrong with the cows. So one day the cat bothered him so much, 
 that he got after this black cat with the pitchfork, and when he 
 got this cat up in the corner of the barn and was about to kill it, 
 the cat turned into an old woman and begged this farmer for 
 mercy. And after that his cows did not give any more bloody 
 milk." German. 
 
 9285. "A neighbor had a fine cow. Another neighbor wanted to buy it 
 and he would not sell it. All at once this cow got real sick. She 
 would not eat. Even gave bloody milk. The cow got so weak, the 
 man thought his cow was going to die. He thought he would sell 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 483 
 
 the cow before it died. This man that wanted the cow got it at 
 last. Just as soon as he had the cow over to his house, the cow 
 started getting better and got well. This man had the cow be- 
 witched so he could get it. And he did." Irish. 
 
 9286. "Years ago two farmers were living out in the country. One went 
 and put a spell on the other man's cow and made it holler all the 
 time. The man went and got a priest to take the spell oft the cow. 
 The priest took the cord on his robe and whipped the cow so bad 
 that he Uhe cow) had bad marks all over him. The farmer said, 
 'Why did you do that?' The priest said, 'Go and see your neighbor 
 and you will see that he has marks all over him like the cow, and 
 the spell is broken. The cow will not holler any more'." German. 
 
 9287. "A farmer had a lot of Jersey cows and he could not get any 
 milk. He was wondering why. One night when he was driving 
 his cows up to the house, he happened to look over to his 
 neighbor's house, and this woman had two large white towels in 
 the window and was milking these towels just as fast as she could. 
 And she was milking this man's cows' milk into her own bucket, 
 and that was why this man was not getting any milk." Irish. 
 
 9288. "A friend of my stepmother was living in a house with a woman. 
 Everyone thought this woman was a witch and were afraid of her. 
 One morning this woman came in to my stepmother's friend's 
 room. She had a big towel hanging behind the door, and this 
 witch went behind the door where the towel was hanging, and 
 this woman could hear something just dripping and dripping 
 behind the door. All at once this woman came from behind the 
 door with a bucket of milk. The neighbor's cow next door did not 
 give any milk that morning. And they say this witch milked the 
 neighbor's cow right through the window and into the towel." 
 German. 
 
 9289. "About sixty years ago my mother had a fine cow. It got so she 
 would not eat, give milk or do anything. She thought someone 
 on the block bewitched the cow, because this woman was always 
 doing something to you. A neighbor told my mother that, 'The 
 next time you go to the barn and the cow will not eat or give 
 milk, take a handful of salt along and the first thing you see 
 around the cow throw the salt on them.' When she went to feed 
 the cow that night she would not eat. She looked around and saw 
 a little rabbit around the cow's feet. She threw the salt all over 
 that rabbit. And the next morning that old woman on the block 
 had sore eyes that had bewitched the cow." German. 
 
 9290. "A lady had a cow. It seemed to be very healthy, but it would 
 not give milk. She thought the neighbor had the cow bewitched, 
 
484 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 so she got an old man to take the spell off the cow. He told her 
 to make a red-hot fire in the cookstove, then go to the barn at 
 twelve o'clock at night and watch, and something would come 
 through a hole in the br.rn and she should grab it, run to the 
 house and put it in the fire. When she did, one of the neighbor 
 women came in and pleaded with her to take it from the fire. 
 She didn't. And in three days that neighbor was dead." German. 
 
 9291. "Mrs. K. had a cow, and the neighbor lady next door bewitched 
 her cow. The milk would have blood in it all the time. So a man 
 told Mrs. K. to say some holy words and put the cow's manure 
 all over the cow's bag. In a few days the lady next door lost her 
 own cow." German. 
 
 9292. "A baby in the family had always been sick. They were buying 
 milk from a woman. Some people thought she was a witch, but 
 these people liked her very much and did not think she was a 
 witch. So this other woman said, 'Boil the milk until the fisk 
 comes on the milk, and then take a fork and keep sticking it in 
 the fisk.' They did this and the neighbor woman that was selling 
 the milk to them came running in with her face all covered with 
 holes. So they found out she was a witch and stopped getting 
 milk from her. And the baby got well." German. 
 
 9293. "A woman had a child and it was sick all the time. It got so thin 
 that they had to carry it on a pillow. They were taking milk from 
 a woman. They thought maybe she had bewitched the milk, 
 because it would not agree with the child. Someone told them 
 
 to boil the milk and when the cream came to the top of the 
 
 milk, take something and stick the milk just full of holes. Lock 
 the door while you are doing it and let no one in. The witch will 
 
 come While they were sticking this milk full of holes, this 
 
 woman came, that they were taking milk from, with her face full 
 of holes and wanted to come in. They would not let her come in. 
 They stopped the milk and the child got well." German. 
 
 9294. "About seventy-five years ago my grandma and grandfather were 
 churning butter. They had churned all day and the butter would 
 not come. An old woman that lived near there was in the house 
 sitting and watching them churn. They thought she was a witch, 
 but they always treated her nice. My grandfather was getting 
 angry, because the butter would not come, and he went over to the 
 fireplace and pick up a pair of red-hot dog tongs and said to this 
 woman, 'You get your a. . . out of that chair and to hell out of 
 
 here' then drop the tongs in the cream. And as soon as that 
 
 woman went out of the door, butter came right away." German. 
 
 9295. "About eighty years ago a man at Mendon was always churning 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 485 
 
 butter, and his mother and him fell out over the butter. She 
 thought he was churning too much butter. They did not live in 
 the same house. One morning when he went to churning the 
 cream, the butter did not come. He thought right away his mother 
 bewitched the cream, because she was angry at him. A neighbor 
 
 told him to put a horseshoe in the fire, and when that got 
 
 red to drop it in the cream ; and if the cream was bewitched, the 
 
 butter would come and the witch would burn So he put the 
 
 red-hot horseshoe in the cream, and the butter came; and his 
 mother got burned bad." German. 
 
 9296. "A woman wanted some butter from her neighbor. The neighbor 
 got tired of loaning her butter, because she would not bring it 
 back. She had been borrowing for some time, so she said she did 
 not have any. When she started to churning the next day, this 
 woman (the lender) tried and tried to get butter, but it would not 
 come. So she went and told another neighbor she believe this 
 wom.an that she didn't let have the butter had bewitched her cream 
 because she could not get butter. This woman told her to go home 
 and put a nail in the fire, and when it got red-hot to drop it in 
 the cream. This woman went home and put the nail in the fire, 
 and when it got red-hot dropped it in the cream, and the butter 
 came right away. And this woman that had the cream bewitched 
 got a blister on her side just the size of that nail." German. 
 
 9297. "One day I was churning cream. I churned all day. Butter would 
 not come. I knew the neighbor next door bewitched the cream, 
 for she just stood there all the time watching me. When night 
 icame and I did not have any butter, I went and poured all the 
 cream and milk on the ground. I would not even feed it to the 
 hogs, for I did not want them to be bewitched like the cream." 
 Negro. 
 
 9298. "A woman was making butter years ago and all at once she looked 
 at the butter and it was gone out of the churn. She went and told 
 a neighbor woman about her butter. She said, 'Maybe someone 
 has bewitched your butter. Go home and stick a poker in the 
 stove, and when it gets red-hot keep sticking it in the stove. If 
 your butter is bewitched, the butter will come back.' This woman 
 went home, took her poker and put it in the stove, and when it 
 got real red started to sticking it back and forth. All at once a 
 neighbor came and wanted in, said she was burning up. This 
 woman would not let her neighbor in, and when she looked in the 
 churn, her butter was there." German. 
 
 9299. "My uncle had a horse, and a woman who was a witch wanted 
 to buy it. He said, 'My horse is not for sale for any money.' She 
 
486 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 said, 'That horse will never do you any good, if you don't sell it 
 to me.' The old witch went away and came back the next week 
 and wanted to buy it again. My uncle said, 'Damn it. I told you 
 before that horse was not for sale and I doii't want you coming 
 here trying to buy it any more.' The witch said, 'All right, that 
 
 horse will never do you any good' and left. She only got 
 
 about fifty feet from my uncle when the horse dropped dead." 
 German. 
 
 9300. "Years ago a farmer was living in Melrose (township). He said 
 every night at twelve o'clock the witches would come and curry 
 his horses. He could hear them clean the curry comb. They would 
 hit it on the side of the barn. And his horses' tails would all be 
 braided up. At last he got a goat and put it in the barn and the 
 witches did not bother them any more. He said his horses were all 
 in from being curried all night." Germun. 
 
 9301. "Years ago a family in the north part oi Quincy had a team of 
 black horses. Every night something would braid the horses' tails. 
 So they thought they would lock the barn door and keep them out. 
 But the next day they were braided again. The owner of the 
 horses said, 'I will stay in the barn tonight and see who is be- 
 witching my team.' Just between twelve o'clock and one o'clock 
 he saw a big black shadow over the horses. He took a big pitch- 
 fork and hit it over the head with it. So the next day the man 
 said, 'Whoever it was in my barn trying to bewitch my horses 
 will sure have a split head.' Sure enough, a woman in the neigh- 
 borhood had a split head the next morning and had the doctor. 
 And that was the witch." German. 
 
 9302. "A shoe cobbler had a fine stallion. He did not want to sell it for 
 any money. A witch in the neighborhood wanted to buy it and he 
 would not sell it to her. Every time this witch would come near 
 his place this man could not do a thing with this stallion. It 
 would start to running all over the place. He could not stop it. 
 One day we saw this witch coming. I said, 'Here comes that old 
 devil. I would stick your awl in the chair before she sits down 
 and she will not be able to get up until you take it out.' This shoe 
 cobbler went and put his awl in the bottom of the chair just 
 before she got in the door. And the old witch started to talking. 
 All at once you could see her face getting blue, and the stallion 
 out in the yard stop running. This old witch said, 'I must go home' 
 
 but she did not move. She just kept saying, 'I must go home' 
 
 but did not move. The cobbler said, 'Damn it, why don't 
 
 you go and stop saying you are going.' The witch said, 'I would, 
 but you have got me pinned down to this chair with your awl and 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 487 
 
 I cannot move.' So he took the awl out of the bottom of the chair. 
 This old witch got up and said, 'I will never bother you or any- 
 one else for I am a dead woman.' She went home and dropped 
 dead in her door. After she was dead and we were getting her 
 ready to bury, I looked and her bottom cheek (buttock) on the 
 right side was all black and blue where the awl stuck her, and the 
 awl was not even through the chair. But we got rid of her and had 
 no more trouble with the stallion." German. 
 
 9303. "Mrs. P. had a fine horse. They thought the woman across the 
 road bewitched the horse. The doctor could not find anything 
 wrong with the horse. He would not eat, and they could not do a 
 thing with him. So at last the doctor had to shoot the horse. When 
 the doctor left, the folks went out to the barn, cut the horse open, 
 took his heart out, took it to the house, put it in boiling water and 
 let it boil. The priest told them that this would give the one that 
 bewitched the horse so much pain that they would come to your 
 house. After several hours of hard boiling of the heart, in walked 
 Mrs. P's mother-in-law. She sure got a good whipping." German. 
 Thirty years ago. 
 
 9304. "Sixty years ago a man was living out here in Melrose. He had 
 two fine horses. A man wanted to buy them. He kept coming 
 over to see this man, trying to get him to sell them, but he would 
 not let him have them. Several days after he was over the last 
 time, both of the horses got sick, got down on the floor in the 
 barn. He could not do a thing for them. He sent for the doctor 
 and he could not do a thing for the horses. This old man never 
 went to church and he did not believe in church, but he went to 
 the priest and said, T want to buy a bucket of holy water.' The 
 priest said, T cannot sell you holy water. What do you want with 
 it when you never go to the church ?' The old man told him some- 
 one had bewitched his horses and he wanted to give them the 
 water to drink. Maybe it would help them. So the priest gave him 
 the bucket of water and told him to say, \\\\tn he gave the horses 
 the water to drink, he should say, Tn the Name of the Father, 
 Son and Holy Ghost.' The man took the water, went home and 
 gave each horse half, saying, Tn the Name of the Father, Son 
 and Holy Ghost.' And in two days his horses were well." German. 
 
 9305. "Forty-five years ago a funeral was going up the hill on Fifth 
 Street to the cemetery and the horses in the third Iiack just balked 
 and balked. They would not go. The driver got off the hack and 
 put sand in the horses' ears. He tried everything but they would 
 not move. An old witch was in the funeral and she had the horses 
 bewitched. She did not like someone that was in tliat third hack. 
 
488 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 At last the mourners in that hack had to get out and walk up the 
 hill. And just as the mourners were walking through the gate, 
 the horses started up. This old w^oman took the spell off of the 
 horses. Years ago we never went to a funeral unless someone 
 was bewitched or the horses." German. 
 
 9306. "Sixty years ago there was a funeral on Washington Street. On 
 the way to the cemetery the horses in one hack stopped and would 
 not go. There was a man at the funeral that bewitched the horses. 
 He never went to a funeral without bewitching the horses. So 
 the driver got off the hack and unhitched the horses. He tried 
 every way to get the horses to go, but they would not move. Then 
 the driver took the neck yoke and carried that around the hack 
 three times. Then he took the neck yoke and hit the tongue of the 
 hack real hard, and the man that had the horses bewitched dropped 
 dead right there. Then the driver hitched up the horses to the 
 hack and they all went on to the cemetery without any more 
 trouble." German. 
 
 9307. "i\ couple lived on Fifth Street between Washington and Payson 
 Avenue, and they could not keep a horse, cow or chickens. Every- 
 thing would die. A woman in the neighborhood bewitched them 
 so they would die, because she said she wanted the alley to be 
 clear (of manure) when she went through it to the store. The 
 old couple had to move to the country to get away from the 
 witch." German. 
 
 9308. "A man out here on Twelfth Street a few years ago, his chickens 
 started to flying around all the time. They would act like they 
 were crazy. The pigs would holler all the time and would not eat. 
 Even the cows gave bloody milk. And he could not do anything 
 with anything on his farm. Everything went wrong. A neighbor 
 came in one day and he was telling him about it. And this 
 neighbor said, T believe someone has your farm and cattle be- 
 witched. I would go to a monk and have him pray for you.' So 
 he did go over here on X. Street and told a monk ; and he started 
 to praying for this man. And his farm and cattle and everything 
 got all right on his farm." German. 
 
 HOODOO AND WITCHCRAFT 
 WREATHS 
 
 9309. "Many people who use feather beds examine them ever so often 
 to see if anything has formed from the feathers; in which case 
 they believe if completely formed, they will die." Irish. Written 
 contribution. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 489 
 
 9310. "If you dream the same thing three times in succession, that is the 
 sign someone has you bewitched. Look in your pillow to see 
 whether you can find anything." German. 
 
 9311. "I think that if you fmd a wreath of feathers in your pillow, you 
 have been hexed and will die if your wreath is finished; and if it 
 is not, you won't die until it is. My reasons are that I know a 
 lady who had been hexed, and they opened her pillow and found 
 a wreath that was not quite finished, and they left it there awhile; 
 and in a week she died, and they opened her pillow and found 
 that the wreath was finished." German. Written by a girl twelve 
 years old. The word hex is rarely used except in German con- 
 versation. 
 
 9312. "I had a niece that had been sick a long time. Some of the family 
 thought she was bewitched, so they opened her pillow and found 
 several pretty wreaths. They were all finished, and she died. If 
 the folks had of found those wreaths before they were finished, 
 she would not have died." German. 
 
 9313. "Our groceryman was engaged to a girl and she was very sick, 
 and they couldn't do anything for her, so she finally died. After 
 she died, they opened up her feather bed and the feather bed was 
 full of wreaths. They thought she was hoodooed, but didn't look 
 at the feather bed until it was too late. So they burnt up the 
 feather bed." German. 
 
 9314. "We had a pillow and no one could sleep on that pillow. Mother 
 tried, then I tried, then my mother gave the pillow to father to 
 sleep on without telling him that no one could sleep on it. That 
 night my father threw the pillow on the floor, said he could not 
 rest on it. The next day mother took the pillow out in the yard 
 and set it on fire, and when it was all burnt up, the ashes from 
 the pillow formed a perfect cross on the ground. Then we knew 
 the pillow was bewitched." German. 
 
 9315 "A man was going with a girl and one day they were talking and 
 she said, Tf anyone does me wrong, I can do them harm back.' 
 A few months after that this man stopped going with this girl, 
 and right away after that, the man got sick. He was sick all the 
 time. He thought this girl bewitched him. He had the headache 
 all the time. They say, if you have the headache all the time, some- 
 one has your pillow bewitched. So they open his pillow and found 
 a bird and several other things in the pillow. He took them and 
 put them in the stove to bum, and while they were burning, this 
 girl called on the telephone and wanted to talk to him. He would 
 not go and talk to her, and he got well." German. Several years 
 ago. 
 
490 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 9316. "Mrs. R. was sick all the time. They thought the neighbor woman 
 bewitched her. Someone told her to open her pillow. She did, 
 and found a perfect anchor in her pillow. She took it out and put 
 it in boiling water and let it boil. Then she got well. The neighbor 
 woman that had the spell on her got sick." German. 
 
 9317. "A woman's husband was never sick. One day a neighbor came in 
 and shook hands with her husband and after that he got sick right 
 away. His wife had one doctor after another but they could not 
 find out what was wrong with him. At last he died. And after 
 he died they just found his l^edtick full of all kind of animals 
 (made of feathers). If they had of found the animals before he 
 died and burned them, he never would of died." Gertnan. 
 
 9318. "When Mrs. V. was staying at our house we decided we would 
 change all the ticking on the pillows. They were old ; some were 
 from grandpa N. And when she opened one, she found a piece 
 of black velvet ribbon in one, and the feathers had clung on to it 
 and made a perfect form of a bird. Its bill, wings, and all were 
 completed. So she burnt them up. I don't know who this was 
 meant for, because the pillows were very old, but the feathers 
 looked so real that you would have thought it was a real bird 
 stuffed." German. Written contribution. 
 
 9319. "A woman's little girl was sick all the time. She would not eat. 
 Even the doctor could not find out what was wrong. One day she 
 felt something hard in her pillow. She opened the pillow and 
 found a perfect bird. They took this bird and put it on a fire to 
 burn, and after that the little girl got well." German. 
 
 9320. "My daughter was sick all the time. She could not eat or sleep. 
 Some neighbor told her when she could not sleep to get up and 
 throw her pillow on the floor and curse it good, then go back to 
 bed; and if she went to sleep, someone has a spell on her. One 
 night she could not sleep at all, so she got up and threw the pillow 
 on the floor and cursed it good, then went back to bed. She went 
 right to sleep. The next day she told this neighbor. She said, 
 'You are bewitched, open up your pillows and see if you can find 
 anything.' She did, and found a bird, butterfly and a wa-eath 
 almost finished. She put the wreath in the stove to burn, but the 
 bird and butterfly was so pretty she didn't want to burn them, so 
 she put them on the mantelpiece to keep. That night she could 
 not sleep again. She told the neighbor, and she said, 'What did 
 you do with the things you found in your pillows?' Then she told 
 her. And she said, 'You burn everything up.' And she did, and 
 the sjaell was broken; and she got all right after that." German. 
 
 9321. "If you will take some of a person's live hair, some salt and 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 491 
 
 pepper, and mix it all together and put it where they can walk over 
 it, it will bewitch them and make them sick. A woman got some 
 hair of a neighbor she did not like and put salt and pepper with it, 
 and put it under this neighbor's front doorstep, and this woman 
 went to failing. She was sick all the time. They could not find 
 out what was wrong. A neighbor told them maybe she was be- 
 witched, they should look in the bed and the pillow and see if 
 they could find an}1:hing. They did, and found a coffin in the 
 pillow that was almost done. They took this coffin and put it in 
 the stove. And while it was burning, curse all the time, wishing 
 the bad luck would fall on the person that had put the coffin in 
 the pillow. And the woman got well and the neighbor, that had 
 iput the hair, salt and pepper under the door, got sick." German. 
 
 9322. "A lady told me someone bewitched her brother. He was sick a 
 long time and no doctor could help him. He would always hear 
 something dripping, dripping all the time in the room. So one 
 day they opened his pillow and found a perfect coffin made out of 
 feathers with only one end not finished. If the other end had been 
 finished he would have died. It got in the paper some way about 
 the feather coffin, and an old man read about it. So he came out 
 and asked her brother if he believed in God; if he did, he could 
 cure him in three days. So the man took a skillet, put it on the 
 stove, with a pound of butter, some ivy leaves, and when that got 
 hot, he took three nails and dropped them in one by one, saying, 
 'In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost.' Then he buried 
 it in the cellar were the sun or moon could not shine on it. And 
 in three days he was well and lived for years after that." German. 
 Written contribution. The man in the story zvas the contributor's 
 brother. 
 
 9323. "A woman was sick all the time. Her husband had one doctor 
 after another but they could not find what was wrong. One day 
 someone said, T believe someone has your wife bewitched.' He 
 said, 'Oh, no, everyone likes my wife.' But when he went to 
 work, this woman started to looking in the pillows and she found 
 a wreath and a cross. She took them and put them in boiling water 
 and when they were boiling good, in came this woman's best 
 friend and knelt down by the bed and said, 'Anna, I believe you 
 will get better now.' This woman was bewitching her, trying to 
 get her husband, but after the wreath and cross was all boiled up, 
 this woman got well." German. 
 
 9324. "My sister was sick a long time. We thought someone had her 
 bewitched. We opened her pillow and found a cross all made out 
 
492 Memoirs of] the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 of small flowers. It was beautiful. We burned it up and my sister 
 got well." German. 
 
 9325. "A man was sick all the time. They had one doctor after another 
 for him and no one could help him. They could not find out what 
 was wrong, so one day a woman came in and said, T believe he is 
 bewitch. Let us look in all the feathers.' So they took oflF the 
 pillows and went through them, but didn't fine (find) anything, 
 so the old woman said, 'Well, lets take ofT the feather bed and go 
 through it.' And they did. And in the feather bed they found a 
 perfect big white dog, all done but its tail. If the tail had been 
 done, he would of died ; but they took feathers, tick and the white 
 dog right out of the house and put it on a fire out in the yard, 
 and when it started to burning, the man started to getting better. 
 And after that the man got well. He was bewitched." German. 
 
 9326. "I was working with some girls and they had a young sister. 
 This child would cry all the time. She would go into spasms. They 
 had several doctors, but they could not find out what was wrong 
 with her. One day they had this child's bedclothes out to air, and 
 when they started to take them in, someone said, 'What is wrong 
 with this pillow?' They could feel a hard lump in the pillow and 
 found a wreath almost done, with the little girl's hair all through 
 the wreath. Her sisters and I took that wreath and beat it, then 
 we put it on a fire to burn ; and while it was burning, a neighbor 
 came to borrow, and the folks at the house all got in a big fuss, 
 but the girl got well after that." German. 
 
 9327. "About thirteen years ago we lived on a farm. My father was 
 so mean to us, we would just fuss all the time. He would knock 
 my mother down. We just could not get along. All of our stock 
 died on the farm, one thing after another. Someone said to my 
 father, 'Do you have the headache at night?' He said, 'All the 
 time.' Then they told him to look in his pillow and maybe he 
 would find something. He did, and found a circular (ivreath) 
 almost done, and a horseshoe in the middle of it. He took the 
 circular and horseshoe and put them in the stove to bum, and 
 while they were burning, cursed all the time, wishing that whoever 
 put the spell on him and his farm would get it back themself. 
 And after the things were all burnt up, everything went better on 
 the farm and with my father." German. 
 
 9328. "My sister's baby was sick all the time. They had to carry the 
 baby around on a pillow for a year. They had the doctor and he 
 could not find out what was wrong. Then he said, 'Maybe the 
 baby is bewitched.' Then they thought they would look through 
 the pillows, and in the pillow the baby was sleeping on, they found 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 493 
 
 a circular and a needle in the middle of it, with the needle just 
 sticking full of feathers. And he told them to burn it and the 
 person that had done it would come a long distance to borrow 
 something. And just after the circular and needle was burned up, 
 a neighbor, that used to live next to them and had moved away, 
 came a long way to ask to borrow something. And they didn't let 
 her have it, and the baby got well." German. 
 
 9329. "If you find a rag in your feather bed with needles and thread 
 just stuck in it, some old woman will come dressed in black and 
 want to buy bottle or fruit jars at your house." German. 
 
 9330. "Years ago I was sick all summer. I just tried everything. We 
 had an old woman on our block that ever}'one thought was a witch. 
 She would always come and borrow from me. I was just a little 
 afraid of her. And one day I open my feather bed and found a 
 square pillow in it. It was all done but one corner. I took that 
 pillow and just filled it with pins, hoping the old woman's face 
 would be full of pmholes. Then I put the pillow, with all the pins 
 sticking in it, in an iron kettle and set it on the fire to bum all 
 night. In the morning all of the featliers were burned up but one 
 feather. And the next morning the old woman came and wanted 
 to borrow coffee, but she did not have any holes in her face. You 
 see, all the feathers did not bum. I did not let her have the coffee. 
 Then I got two little steel files that day and laid them down under 
 the door in the shape of the cross. And that old woman never did 
 come back to my house again." German. 
 
 9331. "I knew a boy out here in the south part (of Quincy) years ago 
 that was sick all the time. They done everything for him and try 
 everything anyone would tell them, but it would not do him any 
 good. Some of the neighbors thought he was bewitched, but the 
 folks didn't. But at last they went to looking in the bedtick and 
 pillows to see if they could find anything, and in one of the 
 pillows they found a rooster all done but a little of its tail. If 
 that tail had of been done, that boy would of died ; but they took 
 the rooster and put it in the stove to burn; and after that the boy 
 got well." German. 
 
 9332. "I was sick a long time. Nothing I got would do me any good. 
 I just tried everything. I was trying to work some. One night on 
 my way home from work a big black dog run up and knock me 
 down, then the dog disappear right away. I could not see the dog 
 anywhere. That night I was sick all night, could not sleep. The 
 next morning I went to work and told some of the girls about a 
 big black dog knocking me down, and there was no dog. They 
 said, T believe someone has yoL bewitched. Why, look at that 
 
494 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 long hair on your shoulder ! You are sure bewitched. I would 
 look in all your pillows when you get home tonight.' And I did. 
 I found a long rope with feathers all over it and two birds. One 
 bird was finished and the other one half done. A man told me I 
 would of died when that other bird was done. I had this man to 
 pray over me for three mornings and three nights, and I got well 
 after that; and he burnt all the things we found in my pillow." 
 German. 
 
 9333. "A minister's daughter had red hair and she always had the head- 
 ache. They took her to a doctor but he couldn't find out what was 
 the matter with her. One day when her mother was airing the 
 pillows, she felt something hard inside, so she opened the pillows 
 and inside of the pillow was her daughter's red hair braided into 
 a rope and into a wreath. It was almost completed. And they 
 burnt the pillow and feathers and the girl never had the headache 
 again. She also grew much stronger." German. 
 
 9334. A woman had a daughter who was about to be confined: "So we 
 got a woman to take care of her. One day this woman said to my 
 daughter, T can bewitch you if I wanted to. I have that power.' 
 And she did. My daughter got so nervous, she was sick for over 
 a year. She could not work or do anything. Someone said, 'Why 
 don't you open your feather bed, maybe you will find something?' 
 We did, and found several of the prettiest wreaths of roses all 
 made out of feathers. They were just beautiful. We made a 
 bamfire (bonfire) and put the wreaths on. They just cracked and 
 cracked. They did not want to burn. All at once this woman, that 
 said to my daughter that she could bewitch her, came and wanted 
 to know what we were doing. After that my daughter got well; 
 only, she would not sleep on feathers any more." German. 
 
 9335. "We had a neighbor. She was always wanting me to eat some 
 vinegar pie, but I would not, because they said she could get a 
 spell on you. At last she did get a spell on my husband. He was 
 sick all the time. We just could not find out what was wrong. 
 One day I opened his pillow and found two white roses on a 
 string, and five little roses, they were not on the string. I found 
 them just in time, for if those five little roses had of been on the 
 string too, my husband would of died. But I burned them up, 
 and after that my husband got well." German. 
 
 9336. "A woman was sick all the time. The doctor could not find any- 
 thing wrong with her. A friend told her to open her pillow and 
 maybe she would find sorr.ething. She did, and found little roses 
 in the pillow. She opened all her pillows then, and got a water 
 bucket full of pretty roses made out of feathers. Then she made a 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 495 
 
 fire and put them on the fire, but they would not burn. She had to 
 try this for three days, and the last day they burned up. So the 
 woman got well. That woman is living today but very old. She 
 will not sleep on feathers. Had her pillows made with something 
 else. Don't want to get bewitched again." German. 
 
 9337. "There was a man working where my husband was, and one day 
 he said to my husband, T wish you would have your wife go and 
 see my wife, I believe she is bewitched, she is sick all the time, 
 she sits in a chair all the time, just can't do anything. I have had 
 several doctors but they don't seem to help her.' So I went over. 
 Just as soon as I looked at her I said, 'Do you sleep on feathers ?' 
 And she said she was sleeping on a feather bed. I asked her to 
 let me see it, and she told me it was in the next room. I went in 
 and looked and found three wreaths, one real large one, and two 
 small ones. I didn't tell the woman what I found, but took them 
 home and put them in a glass jar and put the lid on. In a few days 
 those feathers all started to falling off the wreaths in the jar. 
 Several days after that, the man said to my husband, 'Tell your 
 wife to come over and see my wife again, she is feeling so much 
 better.' And it was no time until his wife was well again. Then 
 I showed them the feathers in the jar and told them about the 
 wreaths that someone had bewitched on her. I told them I would 
 not sleep on feathers for anything myself, because people can be- 
 witch you with feathers." Irish. 
 
 9338. "About eighty years ago three children were sick. They just done 
 everything for them, but could not help them. There was an old 
 woman that lived at the bottom of the hill, and some of the 
 neighbors told the mother they thought the children were bewitched 
 by this woman, but she didn't believe it ; and so two of the children 
 died. Then one of the neighbors said, 'You will not look, but I 
 am going to look, and she did ; and she found three wreaths in 
 the bed, two of them were all done and the other one was almost 
 finished. The two that was done was for the two little girls that 
 died, and if the neighbor had not found the wreaths, the other 
 child would of died ; but she took all the three wreaths and burnt 
 them up, and the other little child got well." German. 
 
 9339. "I had a neighbor. She had a little girl. She was sick all the time 
 and could not go to school. This woman was worrying. She 
 thought her little girl was going to die. Even the doctor could not 
 find out what was wrong. One day I said to her, 'Maybe your 
 little girl is bewitched.' She said, 'I do not believe in witches.' 
 But just the same, one morning she opened her little girl's pillow 
 and found three pretty wreaths made out of feathers. She was 
 
496 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 just sick, for she always heard that to find three wreaths in your 
 pillow you would die. Even if she didn't believe it, she went and 
 burned the wreaths up, and after that her little girl started to 
 getting better and at last got well. So this neighbor said maybe 
 there was something in being bewitched after all." German. 
 
 9340. "The woman next door to our house said when she was a little 
 girl her cousin was bewitched. She went to a fortune teller and 
 the folks thought she bewitched her. She was sick all the time 
 and they could not find out what was wrong with her. One day 
 they opened the pillow and found three wreaths in it. Two were 
 finished, but the third one was not. If that had of been finished 
 she would of died, for that was an old saying: If you have three 
 wreaths in your pillow finished you would die. My aunt took the 
 three wreaths and put them in the cookstove to burn. They always 
 say, when you are burning the wreaths, the witch will come 
 because she will burn. I was just a little girl and I can remember 
 I went to my aunt's house, and they were all sitting up around 
 the stove for the witch to come. The witch did not come, but my 
 cousin got well after that." German. 
 
 9341. "We had a woman in our neighborhood that was real sick for a 
 long time. The doctor could not find out what was wrong with 
 her. Someone told them to open the bedtick, and they found a 
 perfect wheel, all done but two spokes. If it had of been finished, 
 this woman would of died, but they found it just in time and 
 burned it up. So this woman got well." German. 
 
 9342. "My husband was real sick for a long time and one day when I 
 was making the bed, I feel something hard in the bedtick. I opened 
 up the tick and found several wreaths. I showed them to my 
 husband. He said, T would never believe it if you had of told me, 
 but when I see it with my own eyes, I have to believe it.' We 
 took the wreaths and burned them up. We had a hard time. They 
 would not burn at first, but at last they did, and my husband got 
 well." German. 
 
 9343. "Years ago a woman was living on Jersey Street. She was sick 
 all the time. One of her neighbors did not like her. One morning 
 when they got up, they found an old pillow on the front porch. 
 This woman that was sick said, 'My neighbor is sure trying to 
 bewitch me by putting her old pillow on my porch.' She opened 
 this pillow and found several small wreaths in it. They made a 
 barnfire (bonfire) out in the yard, so this old woman could see it, 
 and put the wreaths on the fire to burn up. After that this woman 
 that was sick so long got well." German. 
 
 9344. "A woman, everything worried her and everything went wrong. 
 
 ui 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois A97 
 
 Even her husband was out of work and could not get anything to 
 do. Someone told this woman to open her pillow and maybe she 
 could find something. It w^ould not do any harm to look. She did 
 and found a large wreath, right where her head would lay every 
 night. She took this wreath and put it on a barnfire out in the 
 yard and burned it up. After that her husband got work and she 
 had good luck in everything." German. 
 
 9345. "A lady had quite a lot of trouble. Her daughter committed 
 suicide and her husband died. She was sick all the time. Some- 
 one said, 'I believe someone has you bewitched. I would open my 
 pillows and see if anything was in them.' She did, and found a 
 number of wreaths of feathers, but they were not completed. 
 They told her to burn these feathers and she would regain her 
 health and get away from the power of the witch. And she got 
 well." German. 
 
 9346. "A man couldn't sleep for a long time. The doctor could not find 
 anything wrong with him. One of the neighbors said, 'Maybe he 
 is bewitched. I would look in his pillows.' So they opened the 
 pillow and found a perfect wreath made out of feathers. They 
 put the wreath in the fire and burned it up, and the next day a 
 neighbor woman came in with her hand all burned. You see she 
 was the witch." German. 
 
 9347. "A woman was living at Ninth and Jersey Street and had a little 
 girl. An Irishwoman was living in the other part of the house 
 and she just hated this little girl. This girl got sick. They had 
 one doctor after another. They could not even find out what was 
 wrong. One day I said to this woman, 'Why don't you look in 
 her pillow. I believe this old Irishwoman has a spell on her.' We 
 opened the pillow and found a large wreath. We took it and put 
 it in a hot stove and burned it. The lid just kept hopping up and 
 hopping up while the wreath was burning. All at once this Irish- 
 woman came to the door. We had it locked so she could not get 
 in. She said, 'My hands are burning up. Won't you give me some 
 butter to rub on them ?' I told this woman not to let that old devil 
 in, for she is the one that has your little girl bewitched. We did 
 not give her any butter. We just let her hands burn. And after 
 that the little girl got well." German. 
 
 9348. "A little girl was sick all the time. She was getting so thin they 
 thought she was going to die. One day they found a wreath in her 
 pillow. They took that wreath and put it in boiling milk and kept 
 sticking it with a knife, when all at once one of the neighbors 
 came in with her face full of holes and wanted to borrow some 
 salt. The man said to this woman, 'Get to hell out of here or I 
 
498 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 will kill you.' The little girl got well after that. If they would 
 of let her have the salt, she still would of had the spell over the 
 little girl." German. 
 
 9349. "One day my mother sent me over to the neighbor's house to get 
 something, and the man had a big butcher knife just sticking it 
 in and out of the feather bed. I said, 'What are you doing?' He 
 said, 'Someone has us bewitched and I am killing the witch'." 
 Irish. 
 
 9350. "I knew a woman some years ago who had a boy. He was sick all 
 the time and so mean they could not do anything with him. One 
 day another neighbor said, 'I would open his pillow and see if 
 anything was in it.' They did, and found a large wreath. They 
 took that pillow, wreath and all, and threw it in the privy; which 
 was a very bad mistake, for the boy lived to be an old man, sick all 
 the time and never was out of trouble. If they had of burned 
 that wreath, he would of been a good man and got well." German. 
 
 9351. "If a j>erson thinks someone has bewitched them, look in the 
 pillows and if you find a wreath forming of the feathers, take and 
 burn it. The next day the party that bewitched you will call you 
 (telephone) and ask you to go somewhere with them. Refuse 
 them and your spell will be broken." German. 
 
 9352. "If a person dies, and after he is dead you find a wreath of 
 feathers in his pillow, burn it; and the person who wished the 
 death will come tO' you." German. 
 
 9353. "If you find a wreath of feathers in your bed pillow, burn the 
 feathers, then put the ashes in a linen bag and let the person that 
 was sick wear them in the summer; and in the winter let them 
 wear them in a woolen bag." German. 
 
 9354. If you shape your pillows regularly, wreaths will not form in 
 them. This is merely a counsel of perfection for house- 
 keepers, and not generally believed to he a protection against 
 bewitchment. 
 
 HOODOO AND WITCHCRAFT 
 IN LOVE AND MARRIAGE 
 
 9355. "Never tell a woman you don't love her, because she will hoodoo 
 you and you will have to love her then." Negro. 
 
 9356. "If you want to fall out with someone, give them an apple to eat 
 with quinine and let them bite into it, and the person will soon get 
 sick and fall out with you." Negro. 
 
 I 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 499 
 
 9357. "If you will make vegetable soup and put something red in it, 
 like tomatoes, and a few drops of your blood, it will make him 
 love you forever. I know a woman that had a man and he was 
 running with every woman he saw. She made a big pot of vege- 
 table soup and put something red in it, and a little blood out of 
 her arm ; and say, he got so tame that he never went away from 
 the house any more and would not look at another woman." 
 Negro. 
 
 9358. "If you want to keep your beau or husband, take two drops of 
 blood out of your ann and put it in his coflfee, and they will love 
 you forever. I had a beau once and I thought a lot of him. I 
 thought I was going to lose him, so I took two drops of blood out 
 of my arm. My, but my arm was sore, for three weeks ; but 
 after I put the two drops of blood in his cofTee, he could not do 
 enough for me." Irish. 
 
 9359. "If you take a needle and draw the blood on your left hand be- 
 tween the thumb and the first finger, and take the blood and write 
 on a piece of white paper with a toothpick the three initials of 
 your beau's name, and wear this in the toe of your left shoe, you 
 will hold their love, for you in other words can guide them." 
 German. 
 
 9360. "If you want someone to love you, take the blood out of a live 
 pigeon and some of your blood, and write your beau's name and 
 your name with that blood on your arm or forehead, crossing the 
 writing of the names, and he will always love you." Irish. 
 
 9361. "If you want to make your sweetheart love you, take a needle and 
 pick your ring finger of your left hand until it bleeds. Then take 
 that blood and write his name and your name on a piece of paper. 
 Draw a circle around the names with the blood. At nine o'clock at 
 night bury that paper in the ground without anyone knowing it, 
 and he will always love you." Negro. 
 
 9362. "Let a woman write her sweetheart's name with some of her 
 menstrual blood, and he will fall in love with her." German. 
 
 9363. "I know a woman down here in the country (about eight miles 
 from Quincy) said thirty years ago she could get any man for her 
 daughter that she wanted, if she could get them into the house to 
 eat some of her cake she baked. There was a man in X. (a small 
 town in the county) that just hated her daughter, and this girl was 
 just crazy about him. One day this old woman got the man in 
 her house some way. The man said afterward he don't know why 
 he went, but just the same, he eat some of this old woman's cake ; 
 and he married the girl even if he did not like her. They say this 
 
500 Memoirs of the Ahna Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 old woman put her monthly in the cake, and that is why he 
 married the girl." German. 
 
 9364. "If a woman wants her husband to stay away from other women, 
 she can do so by putting a little of her blood in his cofifee, and 
 he will never quit her." Negro. 
 
 9365. "To make a man think the world of you, take a few drops of 
 your menstruation period and put it in liquid, wine, coffee or 
 anything they drink." Negro. 
 
 9366. "Take nine drops of your menstrual blood and put into some- 
 thing your husband eats or drinks, preferably in his coffee, and 
 he will never leave you." German. 
 
 9367. "If a woman can get a little of your blood on a piece of cloth 
 and tie it up in a bag and wear it on her leg, she will run you 
 crazy in nine days." Negro. 
 
 9368. "Some women use their unwell days of which they add to a cup 
 of coffee and give it to their husband, which is the cause of some 
 men going crazy. They say it will make them love them and stay 
 home." Negro. 
 
 9369. "If a man wants to get rid of his wife, take and make a hole in 
 a tree, then put her monthly rags in that hole and stop it up. That 
 will kill the tree ; and when the tree starts to dying, his wife will 
 die." Negro. 
 
 9370. "If you think your beau is going back on you, put a teaspoonful 
 of your monthly in a glass of wine and let him drink it. He will 
 not leave you." Irish. 
 
 9371. "If you have a boy friend and another girl is after him, try and 
 get some of her garments that has some of her monthly on, and 
 throw it in running water. As it fades out of the clothes, she will 
 fade out of his mind." Negro. 
 
 9372. "A man went with a girl and he got mad at her. Some way he 
 got a piece of her undershirt with some blood on it and wore that 
 in his hat, so he could put a spell on her. One day he asked her 
 to go fishing. She thinking he wanted to make up with her, went 
 with him. While they were fishing, a big snake came out of the 
 water. She said, 'Oh, look at that snake! It is after me!' If she 
 would of put her hand on that man right then, the spell would of 
 been broken ; but she did not, and he threw the spell on her. And 
 she is still seeing snakes all the time." Negro. 
 
 9373. "I was hoodoo by a woman years ago. I was just crazy about her. 
 I could not sleep or do anything for thinking about her. She 
 would come to the house were I stayed and go and see everyone 
 but me, knowing I wanted her to come to see me so bad. I just 
 could not stand it, so one day I told a man about it, and he said, 
 
 i 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 501 
 
 'You throw the hoodoo back on her and make her suffer. You 
 go down the road, and the first bone you see, pick it up and hold 
 it high above your head, and wish your bad luck on her while you 
 are swinging that bone around your head three times.' I did. 
 After that I got all right and didn't care for the girl. And she 
 got crazy about me, but I didn't care for her." Negro. 
 
 9374. "If you have a beau or husband and you have a fuss and he leaves 
 you, and you want to bring him back, take something he has given 
 you and scald it, then make a wish he will come back, and dry 
 whatever you scald, and it will hurt him so, he will have to come 
 back. I had a woman friend that was sick in the hospital and I 
 went to see her. She was crying. Her sweetheart had just left. 
 Said he was not coming back. I told her about scalding some- 
 thing he had given her. She said, 'I have only a book here, but I 
 cannot get out of bed to do that.' I said, 'I will take the book 
 home with me. I will make him come back to you.' That night I 
 gave the book a good scalding, then opened the book and made a 
 wish that her beau would come back, then closed the book up and 
 put it up to dry. The next day I went to the hospital and my 
 friend said, 'Oh, you did it, for I knew just when you were doing 
 
 it. My beau came back this morning and said What did you 
 
 do to me last night. I could not wait until I got back here to see 
 you this morning '." Irish. 
 
 9375. "If you eat the wing of a chicken, then take that little bone that is 
 almost at the end of the wing and drop it in the pocket of the 
 fellow you are going with, without him knowing it, he will ask 
 you to marry him." German. 
 
 9376. "If you love someone and they are indifferent to you, get a piece 
 of their clothing that they have worn next to them and pin it next 
 to the clothing you wear next to you, and they will soon grow to 
 love you again." German. 
 
 9377. "If you love someone and want to bring them back, take a piece 
 of cream, cheese and some flour and make a ball of it, and drop 
 it in their pocket without them knowing it." German. 
 
 9378. "If your boy friend has left you and you want him back, put your 
 dish rag under your steps ; and when it rots, he will come back." 
 Irish. 
 
 9379. To keep your husband from leaving you, hold some dragon's 
 blood in your hand on Friday night between eleven o'clock and 
 midnight, and say: 
 
 "Not this blood I want to burn. 
 But your mind I want to turn. 
 That you can neither eat nor drink. 
 
502 Memoirs of the .lliiia Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 Nor sleep nor rest until you 
 
 (Say what you want your husband to do) — 
 
 In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost." 
 Then burn the dragon's blood. The oi:)eration must be repeated 
 
 three times. This rite was used ivithout results during the 
 
 past year by the informant. A druggist said that dragon's blood is 
 still sold, though not as much as formerly. It is usually burned 
 for good luck. 
 
 (9380. "I was going with a man and was engaged to him, and another 
 girl wanted him. One day we were all at a picnic and she had a 
 bottle of whiskey, and she gave me some to drink, and after that 
 I got sick. I felt a quiver in my arm; and it just kept quivering 
 all the time in my arm, and I started to wasting away. The doctor 
 could not find out what was wrong. Mother had one doctor after 
 another. One day I was sitting on the porch and a hoodoo doctor 
 came along and said, T know what is wrong with you. If you will 
 listen to me, I will help you.' He told me not to eat anything for 
 nine days but milk and crackers, and on the ninth day he would 
 come. He did, and set a pan of hot milk on a chair by me, and I 
 could feel something up my arm and right into my neck, and a 
 frog jumped out of my mouth right in that pan. And I got well 
 and married the man, and the girl that had me hoodooed, died." 
 Negro. 
 
 9381. "I had a friend that her husband was very jealous of her. They 
 did not get along 'atall.' He w'as always telling her, wdien he got 
 mad, he was going to hoodoo her. So one day he got real mad 
 and left town. In a few days after he left, she got a little frog in 
 her throat. It worried her, because her grandma died with a frog 
 choking her to death over someone hoodooing her. This frog 
 kept choking this woman, so she went to a hoodoo doctor. And 
 he told her, her husband had put the spell on her, and if she would 
 ■write him a letter and send it to this hoodoo doctor, he would 
 send the letter to her husband and break the spell, but it would 
 kill her husband. This woman is in love with her husband and 
 didn't write the letter, for she did not want him to die. But she 
 still has that frog in her throat, choking her at times." Negro. 
 
 9382. "If you want to leave a woman and can't, get you some gopher 
 dust and spread it over her chest, and she will run you away." 
 Negro. 
 
 9383. "If you want a man or woman to fall in love with you, you just 
 get a stick of chewing gum and carry it in your pocket for ten 
 days, and then give it to them. Just as soon as they start to chew, 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 503 
 
 they will begin to love you, and no one can take them away." 
 Negro. 
 
 9384. "If you have a woman and don't want her to go with anyone, just 
 give her a stick of powder chewing gum, and she can't leave you." 
 Negro. 
 
 9385. "If a man love you and you love him, don't let him get a strand 
 of your hair; for if you do, he will run you crazy." Negro. 
 
 9386. "If you fall out with your beau and you don't want him to go 
 with another girl, take some of his hair and put it in a little sack 
 and pin the sack so it will lay on your bosom all the time. He may 
 try to go with others, but you will be on his mind all the time 
 and he will come back." Irish. 
 
 9387. "If your beau is getting to stay away from the house, try and get 
 some of his hair off of his head, and put it in a bottle of alcohol 
 and set it in the closet. He will come back to you." Negro. 
 
 9388. "Take two hairs out of your head and one out of your lover's 
 head and tie them together. Then put them in a small bottle. If 
 you lose that bottle, you will lose your lover; if you don't lose the 
 bottle, you will keep him forever." Irish. 
 
 9389. "Pull a hair from the head of someone you wish to love you, and 
 bury his hair along with one of yours. He will love you forever.'' 
 Irish. 
 
 9390. "Take the hair out of the top of your husband's head and bury 
 some under the front doorstep, and he will never leave his home 
 for good. I keep some of my husband's hair in a bag so I will not 
 run out. I keep a little under the front step. I know he will never 
 leave me. I don't care how mad he gets when he leaves the house, 
 because that hair under the door will make him come back to 
 me." Negro. 
 
 9391. "If you want someone to love you, take some of their hair and 
 sew it up in a little red flannel bag and bury it two inches in the 
 ground under their doorstep, and you must put a piece of pine 
 board over it before you put your dirt on ; and they will love you 
 forever." Negro. 
 
 9392. "If you want to keep your husband or lover, take three hairs out 
 of his head and three out of yours, and put them between gold and 
 silver. Wear it and he will not leave." Negro. 
 
 9393. "Take a lock of your hair and put it in your sweetheart's hatband 
 so he don't know it, and let him wear it ; and he will always love 
 you." German. 
 
 9394. "If you want your man under your control, take his hair and 
 make a bag and wear it on your leg, and he will be easy to handle." 
 Negro. 
 
504 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 9395. "If you want to catch a man and keep him, take three hairs out of 
 his head and three hairs from your private hair. Tie these together 
 and bury them, and you will sure get him and keep him." Irish. 
 
 9396. "Pull out a few hairs from your privates and put them in the hat- 
 band of the man you want to love you. These hairs will lie against 
 his brain and make him crazy about you." German. 
 
 9397. "If you want to catch a man, take some of your private hair and 
 put it in his coat pocket and do not let him know it, and you will 
 sure get him." Negro. A similar version comes from another 
 negro: "If you want a man to think the world and all of you, cut 
 a few hairs from your privates and put them in his pockets." 
 
 9398. "Cut some hair from a woman's private hair and some from a 
 man's head, and tie it together and wear it in your left shoe, and 
 he will be crazy about you." Negro. 
 
 9399. "If a man wants to run a woman crazy, he can take a strand of 
 her hair and wear it in his shoes for a week." Negro. 
 
 9400. "If a man get your hair and put it in a bottle of vinegar, it will 
 make you crawl on your stomach for him." Negro. 
 
 9401. "If you want to get rid of your husband or wife, take some of 
 their hair and wrap it around a black string. Then tie it to a rock 
 so the rock will hold it down. Then throw the rock with the hair 
 on in running water, and they just can't keep out of the water. 
 They will jump into the water and the rock will hold them down 
 and they will drown." Negro. 
 
 9402. "If you want to keep your husband from running around, when 
 he is asleep cut off some of his hair on the top of his head and 
 wear that in your right shoe, and he will never leave you." Negro. 
 
 9403. "If you are going with a man and you don't want him to come 
 back, get some of his hair and put it in a bottle, then go to the 
 middle of the river and throw it in, and the man will go whichever 
 way the bottle goes." Negro. 
 
 9404. "If your husband is running around, take some of his hair and a 
 piece of his necktie and put in a bottle, then throw that in the 
 river; and when that necktie rots, that will change him." German. 
 
 9405. "If you want a man and his wife to separate, take some dog 
 hairs, some cat hairs, and salt and black pepper and a little dirt, 
 and mix that all together ; then put it on their front doorstep, and 
 they will start to fussing and at last separate." German. 
 
 9406. "If you want someone to love you, take their handkerchief and 
 take it to the garden and completely bury it under a bean hill, 
 and don't go back ; and be sure you do this just at nine o'clock at 
 night, and don't tell anyone." Irish. 
 
 9407. "If a girl wants to bring her lover back, on a midsummer eve 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 505 
 
 (Midsummer's Eve?), if tlie lonely maiden will take some hemj>- 
 seed and scatter them as she walks along, saying : 
 
 'Hempseed I sow, 
 
 Hempseed I hoe, 
 
 Let him that is my true love, 
 
 Come after me and mow' 
 
 She will meet her lover in three days after sowing." Irish. 
 
 9408. "My father had a man friend years ago and his wife (the 
 friend's wife) was very jealous of him (her husband). She was 
 always getting mad. So one day she thought she would make him 
 suffer, so she gave him some lizard powder. It was no time at all 
 until he was just full of little lizards. You could just see them 
 crawling up his arm. The man could not stand it, so one day he 
 went to see a hoodoo doctor and he told him, 'Your wife has 
 
 hoodoo you because she is jealous' and told him that when 
 
 his wife went to sleep, he should hit her real hard in the back, 
 and the shock would scare the little lizards out of him and into her, 
 and she would suffer and die. The man did not want his wife to 
 die, but he kept suffering so that one night he did hit his wife real 
 hard in the back, and the shock did scare the lizards out of him 
 into his wife. She just got full of them. You could see them 
 crawling everywhere under her flesh. And at last she died." 
 Negro. 
 
 9409. "If you want to marry a certain woman, just you get a lodestone 
 ring and let her see you wear it, and she will follow you any 
 place in the world and marry you." Negro. 
 
 9410. "Some women say, if you don't want a man to leave you, just get 
 a mole toe bag (put a mole's toe in a bag) and wear it on your 
 leg." Negro. 
 
 9411. Write the girl's name you want on a piece of paper and sleep with 
 that under your head, and she will come to see you in a month." 
 Negro. 
 
 9412. "If you want to get rid of soineone, write their name three times 
 in red ink on a piece of paper. Throw the paper in running water 
 and say, 'Depart from me ye worker of iniquity and wander on 
 until the day of judgment'." German. 
 
 9413. "If your beau leaves you and you want him to come back, write 
 his name on a piece of paper three times and wear this in your 
 left shoe, and he will come back to you." Negro. 
 
 9414. "If your man is going away from the house and has another girl, 
 you can bring him back by tying his necktie for him every time 
 he puts it on." Irish. 
 
506 Memoirs of the /Ihna Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 9415. "If you want a man to leave, take the pockets out of his pants 
 and he will go away." Negro. 
 
 9416. "A man's wife left him and took their only child with her. I 
 happened to pass their house and I said, 'What are you looking so 
 sad about, Fred?' He said, 'Glady is gone.' I said, 'Have you 
 got anything that belonged to her?' He looked around and found 
 an old pair of pink bloomers. I told him to scald them good, then 
 lay them out, make a wish that she would come back home, then 
 fold the wish right up in the bloomers and hang them up to dry. 
 He did. Several days after that I went by again. Fred said, 
 'Glady and the girl are back home.' I said, 'Lord, Lord, it did 
 work'." Irish. 
 
 9417. "If you want your beau to come back to you after you have fallen 
 out, take a large green pepper, then a darning needle and heat it 
 in the stove. Then stick that needle through and through the 
 
 green pepper and say In the Name of the Father, Son and 
 
 Holy Ghost, that he will come back And he will come back." 
 
 Irish. 
 
 9418. "If someone is going with your husband or your beau and you 
 don't want them to go, go to their house and throw red pepper and 
 salt in front of the door so they will walk over it. That will start 
 them to quarreling and they will fall out." Negro. 
 
 9419. "If you want to get rid of your sweetheart, just turn his picture 
 upside down and he will die." Negro. 
 
 9420. "If a person leave you and you want them to come back, just take 
 their picture and turn it upside down, and they will come back 
 to you." Negro. 
 
 9421. "If you have trouble with your beau and want him to come back, 
 take his photo and bury it face down, wishing he will come back ; 
 and he will sure come back in three days." Negro. 
 
 9422. "If you don't like someone and can get a tintype of them, and put 
 it in the cemetery, they will die. I know a girl that had a beau 
 years ago and he got angry at her, and took her tintype and put it 
 in a little box and took it out to the cemetery and buried the box ; 
 and the girl started to fade, and it was no time until that girl 
 died." Negro. 
 
 9423. "If you fall out with your sweetheart, get up on a Friday night 
 at twelve o'clock and put his picture on a cross and burn it up, 
 and he will come back to you." German. 
 
 9424. "If you want your friend to come back, put his picture in the 
 
 ground with the head to the house, wishing In the Name of 
 
 the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, that they will not eat, drink, 
 rest or sleep until they come back." German. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 507 
 
 9425. "If you are going with someone and want to stop, get a can of 
 acid and pour over their picture; and it will bum you two apart." 
 Negro. 
 
 9426. "A woman at Y. bewitched me and my husband. She was stuck on 
 my husband. And I lived nine blocks from her. I took a board 
 five feet long and draw her picture on this board and called her 
 by name. Then took a stick and beat her belly first, then her face, 
 and beat her all over from head to foot. Then turn the board over 
 and beat it on the back. The contributor then digressed to give 
 
 some directions as follows Then you stand the board up, 
 
 and if you hit her on the back of the head, she will fall over on 
 
 her face. I hit her on the back of the head and she said 
 
 (was reported to have said later), 'Oh, mamma, aunt Alice knocked 
 me down.' And I was nine blocks away. And she never did 
 bother me any more." German? 
 
 9427. "If you fall out with your beau and you don't want him to have 
 anyone else, take his photo and put it under his doorstep where he 
 will walk over it all the time. He will die if he does not find his 
 photo and take it out. A woman fell out with her beau and she 
 didn't want him to go with anyone else. So she took his photo 
 and put it under his doorstep, where he could walk over it all the 
 time, to make him die. This man started to getting sick and weak. 
 One day he went to a fortune teller and she told him about the 
 photo being under his step, and to take it out, and the one that 
 put it there would die. He went home and found the photo, just 
 like the fortune teller told him. He took it out and got well. This 
 girl that put it there died before the year was out." German. 
 
 9428. "If you want some particular person to come to your house, just 
 get a snapshot of them and lay it face downward on your dresser 
 under the cloth, and they will come inside of three days." Negro. 
 
 9429. "If you want to make someone love you, take and get their 
 picture and some of their hair and bury it." Irish. 
 
 9430. "A woman told me that when Henry F's wife died, Mary told a 
 neighbor she always wanted him. So one day Mary was out in the 
 back yard. She had Henry's picture and a pair of her earrings, 
 burying them. The neighbor said, 'What are you doing?' She 
 said, 'I always wanted Henry and I am going to get him.' And 
 she did." German. 
 
 9431. "If you fall out with your beau and you want him to be real sick, 
 take and dig a hole in the ground just the shape of a coffin and 
 put his picture in the hole with the face looking down. As the 
 picture fades he will fade." German. 
 
508 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 9432. "Turn your boy friend's picture upside down in front of a mirror, 
 if he has left, and he will come back to you." Irish. 
 
 9433. "Put your sweetheart's or husband's picture behind the looking- 
 glass. Stick a pin through his heart, and he will never leave. If 
 he does, he can't stay away." Negro. 
 
 9434. "If you want someone to come back, take their picture and put it 
 back of the looking-glass, and stick a needle through their heart 
 and wish they will come back, and they will." Negro. 
 
 9435. "If you want to get rid of someone take their picture and fill it 
 with pins, starting at the head and going to the feet. Leave all 
 the pins in that picture, don't take out a one ; then put the picture 
 in a box and put the box away. And in no time they will die." 
 Irish. 
 
 9436. "If you fall out with someone and you want them to come back, 
 take their picture and sit it upside down looking through a glass 
 of water, and put the glass of water in front of a looking-glass, 
 and they will come back." German. 
 
 9437. "Take a glass of water and take the picture of the man you have 
 fallen out with. If you want him back, put his picture upside 
 down over the glass so the hair on the picture will touch the water. 
 Then set that behind the piano. If you have no piano, put it back 
 of some musical instrument. It must be back of music. And let 
 it set for twenty-one days and he will come back to you." Irish. 
 
 9438. "If you fall out with your beau, take his picture and put a pin 
 through his heart, and put his picture upside down back of the 
 bed on the side where you sleep, and don't let anyone know it is 
 there. Make a cross and say, 'In the Name of the Father, Son 
 
 and Holy Ghost' making your wish. Either wish him good 
 
 or harm, and you will get it." German. 
 
 9439. "If you fall out with your beau, get his picture. Take three needles 
 and stick two needles through his heart one way and the third 
 needle the other way, and he will have heartache all his life." 
 German. 
 
 9440. "A man was crazy about a girl. This girl did not like this man. 
 This man's mother said, 'I would fix her. You take her picture 
 and just fill it with pinholes and then bury the picture with the face 
 down. When the picture starts to rot, the girl will start to suflfer- 
 ing.' And she did. A woman said it was just a shame how this 
 poor girl su tiered over this man doing her picture that way until 
 she died." German. 
 
 9441. "If you don't want your friend to come back to your house, put 
 his picture in the ground in salt, with the face down touching the 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 509 
 
 salt and the head away from the house, and he will not come 
 back." German. 
 
 9442. "If you fall out with your beau, take a glass of salt water that 
 will hold an egg up. Then take his picture and put it upside down 
 over the glass, and stir it every day. Make your wish every day 
 while you are stirring, and don't let anyone know it. You either 
 wish him good luck or bad, and you will get it." German. 
 
 9443. "If a man see a woman he wants, he can get her by taking a 
 picture of her and sleeping with it face downward under his head 
 for a week; and she will look for him until she finds where he 
 live." Negro. 
 
 9444. "If your sweetheart gets another girl, take his picture and place 
 it upside down on the wall. When the picture fades, he will come 
 back to you." German. 
 
 9445. "To make someone come back to you, take their picture and sit it 
 down over a glass of water in a dark place without anyone know- 
 ing it, and they will come back." Negro. 
 
 9446. If your husband or wife has left you, take his or her photograph, 
 and while making a wish that he or she will return, place the 
 photograph behind a picture hanging on the wall, and see that the 
 photograph faces the way the erring person has gone. Within 
 eight or nine days the husband or wife will return. Irish. 
 
 9447. "If you want to get rid of someone, let them sleep on a wet 
 pillow." German. 
 
 9448. "If you like someone and you want them to return, take a pin and 
 lay it down with the point toward your front door, and leave it 
 there nine days; and they will return." Negro. 
 
 9449. "If you want someone to love you, make a love powder out of a 
 half teaspoonful of sugar, one teaspoonful of peppermint and 
 one teaspoonful of grated candied orange peel. Then give to that 
 person one teaspoonful of this mixture in a glass of wine or 
 cofifee, and he will love you forever." German. 
 
 9450. "If you want to make a person leave town, just drive nails in his 
 footsteps in the ground." Negro. 
 
 9451. "If you don't want your man to talk to another woman, take a nail 
 and drive it at the end of his heel prints, and he will run from her 
 the next time he sees her." Negro. 
 
 9452. "If you have two men coming to your house and one don't want 
 the other to come, let one of the men take a new piece of zinc just 
 large enough to go under his (the other man's) footprints in the 
 dust, and when he goes to see the girl, take that piece of zinc and 
 put it under the footprints where the toes are pointing towards 
 the house, and turn that piece of zinc around with the toes point- 
 
510 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 ing away from the house, and he will never come back to see that 
 girl again." Negro. 
 
 9453. "If you are going with a young man and you don't want him to 
 come back, put some red pepper and salt right in his foot tracks, 
 and he will never come back again." Negro. 
 
 9454. "If you have a beau and he goes away from the house and you 
 want him to come back, take a needle and thread and go to the 
 front gate, and find his footprints and start to sewing toward the 
 house. That is sewing him back." Negro. 
 
 9455. "If someone has left you and you want him to return, read Psalm 
 CXXXIII three times every day." German. 
 
 9456. "If you want to break someone up from running around, read 
 Psalms LIII, LIV and LV three times at a time and three times 
 a day, and wish they will stop running around and they will stop." 
 Negro. 
 
 9457. "If your man runs with another woman, when he is sleeping take 
 the quilt that he is sleeping under and take your right hand, pass 
 it over your left hand and turn the quilt over. He will not run 
 with her again. A colored man was living in my neighborhood. 
 He was running with another woman. He got sick. Every morn- 
 ing this other woman would come to the house and ask how the 
 man was. The wife did not know what to do. Someone told her, 
 'While he is sleeping take your left hand, turn over the quilt he is 
 sleeping under.' She did this. When he got well he did not even 
 look at the other woman again." Negro. 
 
 9458. "If you don't want a girl to marry another man, just get her 
 engagement ring and wear it for three days, then give it back to 
 her ; and she won't marry that man, and it will give him bad luck 
 too." Negro. 
 
 9459. "If you think your beau or husband is drifting away from you, 
 burn black pepper and salt three times a day for three days, 
 
 wishing In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, 
 
 that they will not rest or have any peace until they come back 
 
 and they will come." German. 
 
 9460. "If two are running around together and you want to break them 
 up, take salt and pepper and mix it good, then put it down for 
 them to walk over. It will start them to fussing." Negro. 
 
 9461. "Sew some salt in a man's pants pocket without him knowing it 
 and he will not leave you." Negro. 
 
 9462. "If your husband is running with another woman, just before you 
 go to bed sprinkle some salt on the cookstove ; then go and hang 
 his pants on the foot of the bed. This must be done for nine nights 
 and he will stop the other woman." Negro. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illijiois 511 
 
 9463. "If you have a beau and he leaves and you don't want him to come 
 back, throw a small bag of salt at him as he leaves the house." 
 Negro. 
 
 9464. "If you want to get rid of your husband or wife, always throw 
 a little salt at them when they leave the house or come into the 
 house, and you will soon lose them." Negro. 
 
 9465. "Someone tried to put a spell on me and part me from my hus- 
 band. One day something came over me just as soon as my 
 husband came in the house. I went right out in the yard. I even 
 took my bedclothes out in the yard. He could not do a thing with 
 me for a week. I would not stay in the house at all when he was 
 home. Then one morning my husband found a salt bag under 
 the porch with salt, pepper and sulphur. My husband took that 
 bag and put it on the fire, and just as soon as that bag was all 
 burnt up, I went back in the house and we have not had any more 
 trouble. Someone had me bewitched, trying to part us." German. 
 
 9466. "If your man is running around with another woman, when you 
 are ironing his shirt, stick a needle in the collar so he will have 
 to pull it out, and he will give the other woman up and come back 
 to you." Negro. 
 
 9467. "Bury your husband's shoes in the front yard with the toes toward 
 the door and he will never leave you." Negro. 
 
 9468. "If you want to get rid of someone, take a pair of their old shoes 
 and burn them, wishing they will leave, and when they bum up, 
 they will leave you alone." Negro. 
 
 9469. "If you want to get a fellow out of town, take his right shoe and 
 pin it up under a box car that is leaving town, and he will leave 
 and never come back again. I was going with a fellow and I got 
 tired of him coming, so I took his right shoe and pinned it up 
 under a box car that was leaving town, and that fellow left ; and 
 up to this day I have never met him again." Negro. 
 
 9470. "If you want to get rid of your husband, take a quart bottle and 
 put some gun shot in it ; then put half water and half vinegar and 
 fill that bottle. Then add a few drops of whiskey. Put that under 
 his pillow and let him sleep on it without him knowing it, and he 
 will leave and never come back." Irish. 
 
 9471. "If you are going with a fellow and you can get one of his socks 
 he has worn but has never been washed, and sleep with that under 
 your pillow, he can never get away from you." Negro. 
 
 9472. "If you want to keep your husband, bury an old pair of socks and 
 he will not leave." Negro. 
 
 9473. "If your husband is running around with another woman, take his 
 dirty sock and bury it just the same way he took it oft", wishing 
 
512 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 he will stop the other woman. When that sock rots, the other 
 woman will give him up." German. 
 
 9474. "If someone leaves the house and you think they will not come 
 back and you want them to, take one of their socks and put that 
 under the carpet by the front door just the toe sticking out, and 
 they will come back." German. 
 
 9475. "If you don't want your husband to leave you, take a pair of his 
 old socks and fill them with dirt so they will stand up, and he will 
 never leave as long as the dirt is in the socks. I knew a woman a 
 few years ago that was afraid her husband would leave her, and 
 she took a pair of his old socks and filled them with dirt, then put 
 them in an old hatbox, standing them up so he would not leave. 
 They stayed in that box for three year, and one day someone was 
 helping her clean up, and thinking the old box was no good threw 
 it on the barnfire (bonfire) to burn with some other things. When 
 the woman found it out that night she was very worried, and the 
 next morning her husband left before she had time to fill another 
 pair of socks. This is true, and up to this day the woman had not 
 heard from her husband." Negro. 
 
 9476. "If you want to keep your husband home, take his old dirty socks 
 and hang them up behind the dresser, and don't let anyone know 
 it ; and he will never leave the house." Negro. 
 
 9477. "If your sweetheart or husband go away and leave you, and you 
 want him to come back, take his left foot sock and boil it twenty- 
 four hours ; and it can't help but bring him back to you. He will 
 not be able to stay away." Irish. 
 
 9478. "If you want your man to be true and you to be the boss, take a 
 pair of his socks that he is wearing and a pair of your stockings 
 that you are wearing. You must both wear them the same day. 
 Then you put your stockings in his socks and boil them hard for 
 about ten minutes. Then after dark bury them and do not tell 
 anyone. Do not let anyone see you. If you do this you will bury 
 all your troubles together." Negro. 
 
 9479. "If you want to get rid of your beau, take and put his sock on a 
 railroad track; and when the train runs over the sock, he will 
 travel the same way the sock went." Irish. 
 
 9480. "If you want to get rid of your husband, take a j^air of his dirty 
 socks and roll them up in a little ball, then go to a freight train 
 that is leaving town and throw the ball in an empty box car, so 
 he will travel the same way the socks go. About seven years ago 
 I wanted to get rid of my husband, so one day I took a pair of 
 his real dirty socks, rolled them up in a ball, went down in the 
 railroad yards, and as a freight train was leaving town, threw the 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 513 
 
 ball of socks in an empty box car, and he sure did travel from 
 home ; has not been back for seven years." Negro. 
 
 9481. "If you want to get rid of someone, take their dirty sock and 
 throw it in running water, and they will never bother you again." 
 Negro. 
 
 9482. "If a woman wants to get rid of her husband, she can by getting 
 his socks and put salt and pepper in them ; then bury them in the 
 ground for five days, then take them up and throw them in run- 
 ning water, and she will never see him again." Negro. 
 
 9483. "If you are going with a man and you want him to come back, 
 spit on his back just as he is leaving the door." Negro. 
 
 9484. "If your husband is running with another woman, take a red 
 string and measure his privates while asleep nine times, and tie 
 nine knots in that string and wear that string around your waist, 
 and he will stop the other woman." Negro. 
 
 9485. "If you don't want your husband to have any nature for you, 
 when he is sleeping measure his privates with a cord string and 
 tie three knots in it. Then hide the string in the house and he 
 will not have any desire for you." Negro. 
 
 9486. "If you want to keep the desire of your husband, take a white 
 cord string and tie nine knots in it and wear that next to your 
 body." Negro. 
 
 9487. "If you take a wishbone out of a turtle and put it in a man's 
 pocket, he can't leave you. He will just cling to you." German. 
 
 9488. "Some woinen say, if you don't want a man to quit you, just buy 
 him a suit of underclothes and wear it before he puts it on." 
 Negro. 
 
 9489. "If you don't want your sweetheart to go with another woman, 
 take the right sleeve out of his undershirt and wear the sleeve 
 around your waist." Negro. 
 
 9490. "If you wash your front door every morning with your pee, it 
 will draw men to your house." Negro. 
 
 9491. "Take nine drops of your first urine in the morning, put into your 
 husband's cofifee, and you will hold him." German. 
 
 9492. "If your husband is going back on you, put a teaspoon of your 
 urine in his coflFee for several nights and he will come back." 
 Negro. 
 
 9493. "If you want a man to stay with you, take chamber lye and put 
 it in his pancakes twice a week, and he will never leave." Negro. 
 
 9494. "I know this is so. This woman was my neighbor about forty 
 years ago. She thought she was losing her husband's love and she 
 went and put her urine in the cedar water bucket for him to drink. 
 And company came in for supper, and they all drank water ©ut 
 
514 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 of that cedar bucket with the urine in, and she did almost lose 
 her husband; and the company they almost vomited themself to 
 death that night." German. 
 
 9495. "A woman should take her first urine on Monday morning, put 
 it in a jar, in former days it was left in the chamber pot, and place 
 it under the bed. Leave it there for nine days, and it will hold 
 your husband." German. 
 
 9496. "If your beau or husband goes away with another girl and you 
 want him to stay with you, take your urine and sprinkle it under 
 your own bed and that will bring him back." Irish. 
 
 9497. "If your husband is running with someone, take some of his hair 
 out of his head and put it in some of your urine and boil it. Then 
 bury it under the door and he will not go with her any more. 
 Negro. 
 
 9498. "To bring your husband or beau back, take a piece of gold, a 
 piece of silver, some of his urine, a lock of his hair, a lock of your 
 hair ; put that all in a bottle and fill the bottle with whiskey. They 
 just can't stay away from you as long as you keep that bottle." 
 German. 
 
 9499. "If you want to bring someone back you love, take some of your 
 urine and put it in an old can with nine needles and a lock of their 
 hair. Put it on the stove to boil, and while it is boiling, they will 
 come in." Negro. 
 
 9500. "A colored man and his wife fell out about a year ago and she 
 left town. He said he was not going to let her have another man, 
 that he was going to make her die. This man took a big bottle and 
 filled it with his urine and put the bottle down in the cellar in a 
 dark corner, and fixed the bottle so it would drip out by the drop. 
 His wife that weighed two hundred pounds started to wasting 
 away, kept getting thinner and thinner, and was almost dead. She 
 
 went to a fortune teller and she told her her husband was 
 
 killing her by the inch, that he was doing something to her, for 
 her to go and see if she could stop him. If he did not stop, she 
 
 would die This woman got right on the train and came back 
 
 to Quincy and went to her husband. She looked so bad and thin 
 that he told her to go to the cellar and get the bottle. She went 
 and found the bottle with only about a spoonful of urine left in 
 the bottle. She poured it out and she started to getting better 
 right away, and got well. If she had not of found that bottle she 
 would of died." Negro. 
 
 "9501. "Right after the war (Civil War) a man and his girl went to a 
 dance and another man danced with his girl. This man w-as very 
 jealous of his girl and said, 'I will hoodoo him. I will fix him at 
 
 I 
 
Folk- Lore from Adams County Illinois 515 
 
 the next dance so he can never dance with my girl or anyone else.' 
 So when they all went to the next dance and this fellow was out 
 on the floor with his girl, he went and gave him a crack on the 
 legs with a black snake whip; and it cripple him for life. He 
 could not dance any more. So the man had no more trouble with 
 him." Negro. 
 
 9502. "If a wife don't like her husband very well and she is pregnant, 
 if she will turn her back to her husband and make a wish for the 
 child not to like the father, the child will never care for the 
 husband." Negro. 
 
 9503. "If your sweetheart goes away and you want him to come back, 
 write something real nice about him on a slip of paper and bury 
 it ; and when the paper rots, he will come back." German. 
 
 HOODOO AND WITCHCRAFT 
 
 PROTECTIVE MEASURES 
 
 REMOVING THE SPELL 
 
 9504. "Sleep with a Bible under your head and a witch will not bother 
 you." German. 
 
 9505. "If you sleep with a Bible and a pair of scissors under your pillow, 
 the witches cannot bother you." German. 
 
 9506. "If you hang a bottle of bluing down a fireplace, it will keep 
 Satan away." Negro. 
 
 9507. "If you are bewitched, boil a beef heart and while it is cooking, 
 keep sticking it with a needle ; the witch will have the same pains, 
 and the spell upon you will be broken." German. 
 
 9508. "If someone bewitched you, put a piece of red flannel in hot 
 water on the back of the stove and let it boil. The one that has a 
 spell over you will come and ask for forgiveness." German. 
 
 9509. "A little girl was sick all the time. A neighbor woman was always 
 bringing something in to eat. One day she brought in a nice big 
 homemade sausage. They did not want to eat it because they 
 thought she was a witch. After she left, another neighbor came 
 in and said, 'I would cook it and while it is cooking, take a fork 
 and stick the sausage all the time it is cooking.' They did. And 
 that neighbor came running with her hands just, full of holes. And 
 the little girl got well after that." German. 
 
 9510. "About thirty years ago a woman was living at Twelfth and 
 Monroe Street. She would get sick all the time. They could not 
 find out what was wrong. The doctors could not help her. Every 
 
516 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 time she would get sick, all the dishes in the cupboard would 
 rattle, just like they were all going to fall out. A neighbor told her 
 daughter, 'Maybe your mother is bewitched. The next time she 
 has a sick spell, go and put a pan of cold water on the stove and 
 let it boil good, and if your mother is bewitched, the witch will 
 come when it is boiling.' So one day the mother was sick, and she 
 put a pan of cold water on the stove. When it was boiling good, 
 a neighbor woman came running in the house and said, 'Please 
 take that water off the stove. I am just burning up inside. I just 
 cannot stand the pain. If you do, I will never harm your mother 
 again.' They took the \y3in off the stove. The neighbor went home. 
 And the woman never had any more sick spell. And the dishes 
 didn't rattle any more." German. 
 
 9511. "If you go somewhere and think you will be hoodooed, always 
 carry a piece of bread in your pocket." Negro. 
 
 9512. "To keep from being bewitched, a newly married couple should 
 step over a broom on entering the house for the first time." 
 German. 
 
 9513. "When I was going to school, a German teacher (in a parochial 
 school) put a curse on a boy that lived across the street from me. 
 I run with this boy's brother. Every time this boy would open the 
 oven door of the stove, a big black cat would jump out and all 
 kind of animals. It was just a pity. His brother and I went to 
 a colored man that takes off spells. He gave us a small bucket. 
 We did not look in the bucket to see what was in it. He told us 
 not to. He told us to bury that bucket in the comer of the yard 
 where that boy lived. Not to let anyone know it. Whoever put 
 the curse on his brother would come that night at twelve o'clock 
 and dig up the bucket. After we buried the bucket, we went 
 across the street to my house and sit up on the bank to w-ait. Just 
 at twelve o'clock the old German teacher came and dug up the 
 bucket, and the boy got well. The father took all his children out 
 of his school and the church where this man went." German. 
 
 9514. "About fifty years ago some people I knew moved into a house. 
 They thought the woman that lived next door was a witch, but 
 they didn't believe in being bewitched. They didn't live there long 
 until this woman got stuck on their little girl and would bring her 
 something to eat every day. This girl started to crying every night 
 at nine o'clock. They could not do a thing for her. She even got 
 sick, and no doctor could help her. The neighbor told this woman 
 she should burn something this woman brought over for the little 
 girl, and see if she would get better. So the next day when this 
 woman brought something for the little girl to eat, the mother 
 
Folk-Lorc from Adams County Illinois 517 
 
 put it in the stove to burn ; and while it was burning, this woman 
 came and said, 'What is the matter? I am burning.' And the little 
 girl got well and the neighbor didn't bring anything more for her 
 to eat." German. 
 
 9515. "About eighty-tfive years ago my father came to Quincy. They 
 moved into a house around Eighth and State Street. One day a 
 neighbor woman gave him a nice big red apple to eat. He got sick 
 right away. He didn't eat the apple. He put it on the shelf by the 
 stove. My grandmother could not do a thing with him. He would 
 try and crawl up the wall. Had fits. Just done everything crazy. 
 Another woman told my grandmother that he was bewitched and 
 she would come over and stay with her, and they would lock all 
 the doors and windows and put the apple in the stove and see 
 what would happen. They put the apple in the stove, and right 
 away this woman that gave him the apple came and beat and beat 
 on the door and begged to get in. Just as soon as she was in the 
 house, she ran to the stove and took that apple out of the fire. It 
 burnt her hands all up. It was the devil making her do that, 
 because she was suffering so. And my father got well." German. 
 
 9516. "Sixty-five years ago I knew a little girl. She would cry and cry 
 all the time. They could not do a thing with her. My uncle a 
 undertaker that was living at Ninth and State would take the 
 little girl in his wagon. That was the only thing that would keep 
 her still. The mother went to a healer to see what was wrong. 
 He said, Ts anyone in the house?' She said, *We have a man 
 boarder that just loves the child and is giving her candy all the 
 time.' The healer said, 'Don't let this man in the house again.' 
 When that man came home that night they would not let him in. 
 The last they seen of him he was out in the prairie near Four- 
 teenth and Broadway with his tongue hanging out black as coal. 
 The people did not want to keep his trunk in the house so they 
 sent it down to the Court House. When they burned the trunk 
 up, the earth just trembled and trembled." German. 
 
 9517. "About sixty years ago a family living here in Quincy got full of 
 lice. When they would sit down ,they would crawl all over them. 
 The old woman that lived next door had bewitched the lice on the 
 family. They were just crazy with them. They were not on their 
 heads, but on their bodies. They at last load to go to a witch 
 
 doctor, and he told them to get three lice and put them in a 
 
 bottle, and close all the windows and doors, then put this bottle 
 in the stove to burn ; and when this bottle is burning, the old wo- 
 man will come and want to get in. But don't let her in, and you will 
 get rid of the lice So the man put the three lice in a soda 
 
518 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Fomuiation 
 
 bottle and put it in the stove to burn. And while it was burning, 
 the old woman came and almost knocked the door down trying to 
 get in. They did not let her in, and they got rid of all the lice 
 right away." Irish. 
 
 9518. "A man stold sixty dollars from me. 1 went to a fortune teller 
 and she told me it was a blond man in the neighborhood, and if I 
 would do what she told me to do, he would come and tell me he 
 did it. She told me to take a pan and put in gasoline, salt and 
 coal oil and light it, and while it was burning, stir all the time; 
 and they would just burn up. They could not stand the burning. 
 All at once this man and wife came to me and told me they were 
 just burning up, and they took the money." Irish. 
 
 9519. "My husband always put his socks on a Saturday night away for 
 work on Monday morning. One Monday morning he got up and 
 one of his socks were half gone. It looked like someone had cut 
 it off. It worried me because we did not have any mice. The next 
 Monday morning when he got up his sock was half gone again. 
 I said to my husband, T will get you a brand-new pair for next 
 Monday morning.' And do you know, when he got up that new 
 pair he had not had on, one of the socks were half gone. This 
 was the fourth pair of socks. Then I told one of the neighbors and 
 she said, 'Someone has your husband bewitched. I would burn all 
 those half socks.' I did, and after that we did not have any more 
 trouble." German. 
 
 9520. "I was working for a woman for three long years. Two negro 
 women wanted my job, so they bewitched the basement of the 
 house. I would get up every morning feeling fine. I would get 
 sick every time I would start down the steps to the basement. The 
 iron would not work. I had trouble with everything in that base- 
 ment. I said to myself, 'Lord, help me to conquer my enemies.' 
 I dreamt that night I was going to a spring and the road was full 
 of snakes, but I didn't kill any, they all got away, so I knew I 
 still had enemies. I said again that night, 'Lord, help me to 
 conquer my enemies.' That night I dreamt four big frogs were 
 on the window, so I got a bucket of hot water and knocked them 
 in the hot water. I killed two and two got away. I am telling you 
 the truth. Do you know one of those negro women reached her 
 hand up out of the bucket and tried to get me. I said again the 
 third night, 'Lord, help me to get those two negroes.' I dreamt 
 that night I went down in the basement and there was two big 
 black snakes, one on the ironing board and one around the water 
 pipes. I said to myself, *I am going to kill you two negroes. You 
 are not going to get my job.' I got a kettle of hot water and 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 519 
 
 poured over the two snakes and killed them both. So I conquered 
 all of my enemies that night. The next morning I went to work 
 feeling fine, and the iron and everything worked. I had taken the 
 spell off the basement, and I stayed there for seven years after 
 that, happy and without any more trouble." Negro. 
 
 9521. "I was hoodooed once. A woman gave me a beautiful apple. I 
 did not eat it, because my mother told me not to eat anything that 
 anyone gave me, so I carried it home. I had a pretty ring on, my 
 brother gave me, and that apple was so poisonous that it ruined 
 my ring. It all turned black, and miy finger was all swollen by 
 the time I got home. My mother took the apple and put it on 
 the fire to bum, and blue lights all went up from it. A woman 
 told my mother, if I had of eaten that apple I would of died/' 
 Negro. 
 
 9522. "I had a daughter. She wanted a hem put in her skirt, so we got 
 one of the neighbor ladies to put the hem in. She was a well girl, 
 but every time she would put that skirt on, she would get sick. 
 Just as soon as she would take the skirt off, she was well. She 
 almost lost her mind. So we burned the skirt up, and she was all 
 right after that." German. 
 
 9523. "A woman had rheumatism in her leg and she had a enemy and 
 thought maybe her enemy was wishing it on her. She said to her 
 husband, 'I am going to a fortune teller to see.' And she told her 
 to go home and look on the third step going upstairs, under the 
 carpet, and she would find a needle, that it was doing the work. 
 She said, 'Don't touch the needle. Pick it up with something and 
 put it in the stove to burn.' The woman went home, found the 
 needle under the third step and put it in the baseburner, and after 
 that her leg got well. This is only about six years ago." German. 
 
 9524. "I had such a pain in my shoulder all the time. I just tried every- 
 thing. One day I happened to think that this woman, who we 
 thought was bewitching everyone in the neighborhood, gave me 
 some hollyhock seeds to plant. And I went and took them and put 
 them in the stove and burnt them. After that the pain left my 
 shoulder and I got all right." German. 
 
 9525. "About fifteen years ago a woman was living in Quincy and she 
 was running with a neighbor. This woman had a little girl that 
 this other woman just worship. This child was sick all the time. 
 It would cry night and day, and they just could not find out what 
 was wrong. So one day this mother took the child out here on 
 X. Street to a priest. The priest wanted to know if she had any 
 enemies, and she said, 'No, only a very dear friend that just 
 worship the baby.' The priest said, 'Did this woman ever give the 
 
520 McDiuirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundaiion 
 
 child anything to wear?' And this woman said, 'A very pretty 
 red flannel coat.' The priest said, 'Go home and burn that coat 
 and put a broom down in the door, and if this woman has a spell 
 on your child, she will not be able to walk over that broom.' The 
 woman did not want to bum the coat, because it was all the child 
 had ; but at last she did put it in the stove to burn, because she 
 could not do anything with the child, and put the broom down in 
 the door. While the coat was burning, this woman came to borrow- 
 something, and when she got to the door she could not step over 
 that broom; and the woman knew the priest was right. She had 
 the spell over the child. And they were never friends after that, 
 and the child got well." German. 
 
 9526. "An old German woman eighty years old said she was never 
 bewitched or her people, because her grandfather, then her father, 
 always on the 6th of Januar)^ the Three Kings' Day, would put 
 the letters C.M.B. over all outside doors before sunup, so the 
 witches could not get in ; and would put the same letters over the 
 stable door so no one could bewitch the cattle." German. 
 
 9527. "Always carry a black cat bone in your pocket, if you think some- 
 one is bewitching you." Negro. 
 
 9528. "Bum a black cat up and there will be one bone that will not 
 burn up ; that is called the lucky bone, and if you carry tliat bone 
 you will never have bad luck." Negro. 
 
 9529. An old German woman, who had the reputation of being a witch, 
 wanted to give a small red chair to the little boy in the family 
 which had this experience several years ago. The boy's grand- 
 mother, afraid of the old woman, accepted the gift. Soon after 
 this, they noticed that the child was becoming weakly, and no 
 matter what they did for him, he seemed to get worse. Thor- 
 oughly frightened, the grandmother painted the red chair white 
 and gave it to a little boy in another family. From that time the 
 sick child began to improve, but the family which had taken the 
 little chair painted white has had bad luck ever since. British. 
 
 9530. "If you can keep chickens with the feathers turned back the wrong 
 way, you will never be hoodooed." Negro. 
 
 9531. "When I was a girl and worked for a woman, she would have me 
 hang black coats over all the outside doors at night, to keep 
 witches out of the house at night." German. 
 
 9532. "Years ago my grandma had a little girl baby. She was sitting 
 out in the yard nursing that baby when a woman from the neigh- 
 borhood came along and said, 'How nice the baby is taking the 
 
 breast' and made over the baby. After the woman was gone, 
 
 that baby started to crying, and cried all the time, would not take 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 521 
 
 the breast any more, only cry. At last the baby died. Then she 
 had a son, and it started to crying all the time. My grandma said 
 she was not going to let this child die, so she went to a hoodoo 
 
 doctor, and he told her to put all the baby's things in the 
 
 cradle and throw that cradle over, so everything in it will go out, 
 do this for three times, then take the baby and stand in front of a 
 looking-glass with your back to the glass, letting the baby look 
 over your shoulder in the glass, and let your husband look in the 
 
 glass at the same time, he would see the witch and he didn't 
 
 see the baby in the glass, but he saw the woman in the glass that 
 said the baby was nursing so fine ; and it broke the spell and the 
 baby got well." German. 
 
 9533. "This woman told me she bought some butterbeans and a neighbor 
 came in and helped her shell them. After she left, this woinan 
 cooked them. They all got sick. They thought this neighbor had 
 bewitched the beans. So she put a cross over the front door and 
 one over the back door, and that neighbor never did come back 
 to her house again." German. 
 
 9534. "A neighbor was very sick, and the next door neighbor man told 
 this neighbor not to let his wife in, that she was always practising 
 evil power on the sick. They said, 'How can we keep her from 
 coming in the house?' He told them to put a cross over all the 
 windows and doors, and she will not be able to come in. They 
 went and put a cross over every opening, and the next day when 
 this woman went to see her neighbor, she could not get in the 
 door, she had to holler through the window. And this woman got 
 well after that." German. 
 
 9535. "H someone is doing you harm, place two files to make a cross. 
 Put them under a doormat, saying, 'In the Name of the Father, 
 
 the Son and the Holy Ghost, Amen' three times. They will 
 
 never bother you or enter." German. 
 
 9536. "If you think someone has a spell on you, take a fork and a rusty 
 nail and cross them and stick them in the ground. This will break 
 the spell." Gennan. 
 
 9537. "If you think someone is going to bewitch you, take a white rag 
 and make five knots in the rag. Take it outside and put it where 
 they will walk over it, and make four crosses out of soot on the 
 ground, and no one can harm you." German. 
 
 9538. "When you meet a man or woman who you think is a witch, make 
 the sign of the cross three times and they can't harm you." 
 German. 
 
 9539. "If you think someone is bewitching you, make a cross and go to 
 bed, and the witches will not get you." German. 
 
522 Memoirs of the .lima Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 9540. "Years ago my mother was in a club at X. Church with a woman 
 that could bewitch you. The ladies were all afraid of her, so they 
 went to the priest and asked him what to do about it. The priest 
 told all the ladies to put a paper cross in their pocketbooks, and 
 whenever this woman would come near them to say, 'Go to hell' 
 three times ; and she would not bewitch them." German. 
 
 9541. "About sixty years ago three men stoppled in a saloon to get a 
 drink. All of them worked in the same place. As they were stand- 
 ing at the bar, another man came in and he started to quarreling 
 with one of the three men. Of course the other two stood by their 
 friend, because they worked together. The man that started the 
 quarreling said as the three men started out of the door, 'I will 
 fix you before you get home.' The three pals started to walking 
 down the street and the man that had been quarreling was in the 
 middle. When they got about three blocks from the saloon, the 
 man in the middle stopped. He could not move. One of the men 
 said, 'What is wrong? I know you are not that drunk that you 
 can't move.' But he could not. The men tried and tried to move 
 him off that spot, but he could not move. They worked with the 
 man until the sweat run down their faces. Then one of the men 
 said, 'Do you remember that man in the saloon said he would fix 
 you before you got home? And he has put a spell on you. We 
 will get even with him, if I can just get your foot up enough to 
 get my pocketknife under your shoe.' So they worked and worked 
 until they did get one foot up enough for the man to get his knife 
 under his shoe. And he took the knife and cut this man's sole all 
 off his shoe, just cut it all to pieces. Then this man was loose. 
 Then they all went back to the saloon to see what happen to the 
 man. And there he was sitting in a chair with his face all cut up. 
 One of the men went up to him and said, 'You may think you are 
 smart, but there is always someone just as smart as you. Next 
 time you will leave us alone'." German. 
 
 9542. "If you keep a silver dime in your mouth, no one can poison you." 
 Negro. 
 
 9543. "If you will take a dime and bore a hole in it and wear it all the 
 time on you somewhere, you can't be hoodoo." Negro. 
 
 9544. "If you tie a dime around each ankle, you can't be hoodooed." 
 Negro. 
 
 9545. "If you wear a dime in the heel of your shoe, your enemies cannot 
 put a spell on you." Negro. 
 
 9546. "Wear a dime in each shoe to keep the witches away." Negro. 
 
 9547. "Take a dime and put red pepper over the dime, then wrap it up 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 523 
 
 in brown paper and wear it in your shoe, and you will not be 
 hoodoo." Negro. 
 
 9548. "My leg was all swollen. I thought maybe I was hoodoo. So I 
 made a garter out of red flannel and put a dime in it, and the 
 swellin all went out my toes and I got better." Negro. 
 
 9549. "If you are hoodoo, wear a rubber band aroimd your leg with a 
 
 dime on it when you put the rubber band on, wishing that 
 
 whoever put the hoodoo on you, they will get it themself. One 
 day my leg was hurting so bad that I thought that maybe I was 
 hoodoo. To be sure, I went to a hoodoo doctor and he put a dime 
 in my mouth to see if I were; and sure enough, the dime turned 
 all black. So he said I was hoodoo. He told me to put a rubber 
 band on my leg and a dime on it, wishing whoever put the hoodoo 
 on me would get it back. It was no time before I got well, and the 
 woman I thought hoodoo me went blind, and after that died." 
 Negro. 
 
 9550. "To keep the witches out of the house, place a dime under the fire- 
 place." Irish. 
 
 9551. "An old farmer came to town one day peddling something. An 
 old woman came out to the wagon and wanted to buy something, 
 but wanted them at her price. He would not sell it at her price, 
 
 and she said, 'I will fix you' and started in the house. The 
 
 man's horse fell down and broke his leg. The man didn't say a 
 word, just went and took out his knife and cut a piece of the 
 horse's ear off and nailed it on a tree standing by. The horse got 
 up and the old farmer drove his wagon on. It was a witch meet- 
 ing a witch." German. 
 
 9552. "A farmer was j^eddling apples one day and he drove by a 
 witch's house. She wanted some apples but said she had no 
 money to pay for them. He said, T can't give my apples away 
 without money.' She begged and begged but the man would not 
 let her have the apples. Then they had a fuss and his horse fell 
 down and broke its leg. The man went and cut off the corner of 
 the horse's ear and nailed it on a tree close by. The horse got up 
 and walked. The witch started to howling, 'Take that ear off the 
 tree.' She was suffering. But the apple man would not do it. He 
 left and let her suffer." Irish. 
 
 9553. "A man was hoodoo. Someone put a spider on his brain. He turn 
 against his mother. He was preaching and cursing all the time. 
 The mother got a hoodoo doctor, and when the doctor came in the 
 room he threw a big ball of fire on the floor, and it rolled from 
 room to room taking the evil out of the house. Then this ball of 
 fire jump up and hit the man (the patient) on the head, and the 
 
524 Mriiioirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 fire fell on the floor. The doctor then told this man to blow his 
 nose hard. He did, and the spider came out of his nose and run 
 across the floor. The doctor killed the spider and the man got 
 well right away." Negro. 
 
 9554. "I was working for a woman. I could not work. I was feeling 
 bad all the time for months. I just could go and that was all. One 
 day an old negro woman said, 'I believe someone has a spell on 
 you. If you want to find out who it is, I will tell you what to do. 
 I will burn some flour for you and you lay the flour down in your 
 front door, and whoever steps over tliat flour that has a spell on 
 you, will get it themself. It will make their feet hurt so they can't 
 walk, and if you hear of one's feet hurting, don't you go near them 
 for if you do, the spell will not work. After I put the flour in the 
 door, several weeks after that my best neighbor got sick with her 
 feet and could not walk, even had the doctor. I went and told 
 this negro woman and she said, 'That is the woman that has a 
 spell on you. It is that burned flour that is making her feet and 
 legs hurt.' I worried so over that woman being sick I said to the 
 negro woman, 'Don't you think we had better take the spell off her 
 legs ?' So the negro burned some more flour for me and told me 
 to take it after dark and go and throw it around the house and not 
 let anyone see me, and she would get well again. She did, and 
 that neighbor woman and I are good friends today." German. 
 
 9555. "A moulder lived in the southwest of Quincy near the river. 
 While he was home he would feel just fine, but when he got down 
 to the foundry to work, he would get sick and tremble all over so 
 that he could not work. The man that worked next to him said, 
 'Someone has got you bewitched. I would go to a priest and see 
 what he would say.' The man went to the priest at Y. Church. 
 At first the priest laughed. Then he said, 'You go to where you 
 spend the evening every night. You will see a man there with a 
 red flower on his coat. Go up to him and curse him, and curse 
 him, and say everything bad you can to him.' That evening he 
 went and found the man with the flower and did just what the 
 priest told him to do. Went back to work the next day feeling 
 fine, and didn't have any more trouble." German. 
 
 9556. "A man could not pass water. He thought a certain man had him 
 bewitched. Another man told him to go to a saloon and wear a 
 red flower and if this man did have him bewitched, he would 
 come and try to take this flower off, and not to let him do it. He 
 did just what the man told him to do, and the man tried to take 
 the flower oflf. And the man said, 'You are the one that had me 
 bewitched so I could not pass water.' And he let go and wet all 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 525 
 
 over this man. And he was never bothered with this man be- 
 witching him again so he could not pass water." German. 
 
 9557. "Years ago a man out here in the south part of town was sick all 
 the time, nothing would help him, so he went to a witch doctor; 
 and he said he was bewitch, because he had seven white spots in 
 the top of his mouth. If you ever see seven white spots in your 
 mouth, you are bewitched. So he told him, if he wanted to find 
 out who bewitched him, to wear a red rose on his coat; and he 
 would work on the person so that when they met him, they would 
 try and take the red rose away from him. So the next day he put 
 a red rose on and went down to a saloon, and a man there just 
 tried and tried to get the rose, but he would not let him have it. 
 He took the rose home and put it in the stove and burned it good ; 
 and the man got sick and the spell was broken." German. 
 
 9558. "If you think someone is doing you harm, get a two prong fork 
 and go to a crossroad where they walk, and bury it so they will 
 walk over it, using their name while you are burying it, and say 
 
 it, 'In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost' and 
 
 they will swell up and just pop open and die." Negro. 
 
 9559. "If you think someone has got a spell on you, take a forky fork 
 (a fork that opens and shuts) and put it up under your right arm 
 and walk through the house, and if you walk over any hoodoo 
 powder that someone has put down for you, that fork under your 
 arm will move. Then you can take the powder up and it will not 
 harm you." Negro. 
 
 9560. "If someone wants to give you something and you think they are 
 
 a witch, say under your breath, 'God bless me' and you will 
 
 not get in their power." German. 
 
 9561. "If scmieone's bothering you, take a grapevine when the sap is 
 in the vine and whip them ; then bury it, and they will not bother 
 you any more." Negro. 
 
 9562. "Grave dust is what a witch uses to hoodoo you, and you will 
 conquer her if you get some and wear it." Negro. 
 
 9563. "If you are walking down the street and you see a woman on one 
 side of the street sitting down and right across the street another 
 woman sitting down, and both looking at each other hard, they 
 are trying to bewitch you. If you can grab someone's hand and 
 walk on down the street, that will break the spell." German. 
 
 9564. "Years ago a boy was bewitched. He was just sick all the time. 
 The doctor could not find anything wrong with him. Someone 
 told his mother to take him to a healer. And they did. She said 
 something over him and he got well. In about ten years after that 
 he was bewitched again. They tried to find the healer again but 
 
526 Memoirs of the Alum Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 she was dead. And the doctor could not do anything. And the 
 boy lost his mind." German. 
 
 9565. "A boy forty-two years ago, only fourteen year old, was living 
 just three blocks from me on Madison Street. A woman in the 
 neighborhood bewitched this boy and everyone else. This boy 
 would just crawl up the wall all the time. It would take several 
 men to hold him down. It was very sad. My aunt would go there 
 all the time to help. At last they found an old negro man healer 
 and he said, 'I will fix tliat old witch.' And when he started to 
 working on the old woman, this boy started to vomiting. The 
 first day he vomited up a bundle of sticks with a string tied around 
 them, and the second day a bundle of sticks and the third day a 
 bunch of keys with a string tied around them. After that he got 
 well and they did not have any more trouble with him crawling up 
 the wall." German. 
 
 9566. "If you can't rest at night, put some blessed water under your 
 bed, and the witches will not bother you. My brother has been 
 sleeping with a can of blessed water under his bed for three years 
 to keep the witches away." German. 
 
 9567. "If you think you are bewitched and can't sleep, take a little holy 
 water and sprinkle it around the room three times and say, 'In 
 
 the Name of the Father, the Son and Holy Ghost' and you 
 
 will be able to sleep better." German. 
 
 9568. "I had a man boarding with me. He was always borrowing money 
 from me. I would let him have it, for I was afraid he would put 
 a spell on me. One day he asked me for a dollar. I didn't have it. 
 And he got real angry. I didn't have the money and I couldn't 
 give it to him. It was no time until I started to getting sick. My 
 stomach hurt all the time. One day my stomach was hurting so, 
 I look and there was a black snake right across my stomach. It 
 hurt so bad. The man was gone, so he could not take the hoodoo 
 spell off. So I went to Keokuk (loiva) to a hoodoo doctor, for 
 him to take the spell off. And in several weeks I was all right. 
 I am sure afraid of them hoodoo people," Negro. 
 
 9569. "If someone gets one of your stockings you have been wearing 
 and burys it under the front doorstep, you will get hoodoo. I got 
 real sick one time. Every time I would go out the front door I 
 would fall down. My legs went to swelling just up to the knees. 
 Then I knew someone had one of my stockings buried under the 
 front doorstep. I went to digging and found it had almost rotted 
 away. Then I sent to Hannibal (Missouri) for a hoodoo doctor 
 and he came. He would not even let me talk. Said it would break 
 the spell, because I had so much poison in me. He walked in the 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 527 
 
 house backward and done everything he could backward. It was 
 some time before I got well, but he pulled me out of it." Negro. 
 
 9570. "If you put a horseshoe over your door with the points down, a 
 witch will never come under your door." Irish. 
 
 9571. "If a person try to hoodoo you in leap year, put a horseshoe over 
 your door and they can't hoodoo you." Negro. 
 
 9572. "My little girl cried all the time. Every night just when we went 
 to bed, she would start in. We tried everything. We had a neigh- 
 bor that did not like my little girl and we thought she was be- 
 witching her. So I went to a priest and I just told him it was one 
 of his kind (Roman Catholic) that was bewitching my girl. The 
 priest prayed with me and gave me a small silver horseshoe with 
 three small nails in it. He told me that night after every- 
 one went to bed and the little girl was crying, for me to take that 
 horseshoe and for me not to let anyone know it or see me, that I 
 should nail that horseshoe in the floor of the kitchen door, and 
 
 my Httle girl would stop crying. So after everyone went to 
 
 bed, I went and nailed that horseshoe in the door, and the little 
 girl stopped crying right away. But do you know, when I got up 
 the next morning, the horseshoe was gone. That old witch came 
 and took it." German. 
 
 9573. "If you go away from the house and you think someone is hoodoo- 
 ing you, just before you go back in the house take and light a 
 piece of paper, and burn around the key hole ; and that will burn 
 away the evil spirits." Negro. 
 
 9574. "If a witch comes to your house, say, 'Kiss my a. . .' three 
 
 times under your breath; and she can't harm you." German. 
 
 9575. "If you see a witch coming, run and put the broom down in front 
 
 of the door and say, 'Kiss my a . . . ' three times ; and she will 
 
 not be able to step over the broom." German. 
 
 9576. "If you think someone is a witch and you do not want them to 
 bewitch you when you meet them on the street, say under your 
 
 breath, 'Kiss my a ... ' all the time until they get out of your 
 
 sight." German. 
 
 9577. "I had a neighbor man. Someone would come and choke him 
 every night at twelve o'clock, and in the morning he would say, 
 'Why don't they leave me alone and bother someone else?' So 
 another neighbor told him, if he would put a broom down on the 
 
 floor when he went to bed and say, 'Kiss my a . . . ' three 
 
 times, they would not be able to get in and choke him. He put the 
 broom down on the floor, and he slept after that and did not have 
 any more trouble." German. 
 
 9578. "To overcome a hoodoo, kill a lizard. Dry it by smoking. Beat it 
 
528 Memoirs of the Ahna Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 to a powder. Mix the powder with whiskey. Drink it. This will 
 cure you." Negro. 
 
 9579. "My girl friend's sister, someone hoodooed her; and snakes, frogs 
 and lizards all caine out of her mouth. They just run down on 
 the floor. They got the doctor but he could not do her any good, 
 because when you are hoodooed they can't help you. So this girl 
 died." Negro. 
 
 9580. "My uncle was hoodoo. Someone put a lizard and a beetle bug 
 in his arm. You could see them run up and down his arm. He 
 would just have fits every time the lizard and beetle bug would 
 move, he was in so much pain. His arm got as large as a stove- 
 pipe. They had one doctor after another and he could not help. 
 Then a hoodoo doctor came along and they got him to take the 
 spell off. The first thing he done was to throw salt all around the 
 room. Then he took a bottle out of his pocket and chew up some 
 roots and spit that in that bottle. Then he put a heavy cord string 
 around this man's arm, right where those things were, and tied it 
 real tight. Then he cut his arm and let all that blood run in that 
 bottle. The hoodoo doctor put the bottle on the shelf and said, 
 'Don't look in it until I come in the morning.* And said, 'The man 
 that hoodoo you will come tomorrow at twelve o'clock.' And he 
 did. He ran right by the house at twelve o'clock. He didn't look 
 in. When the hoodoo doctor came the next day to show us what 
 was in the bottle, and there was that lizard and the beetle bug that 
 came out of his arm in the bottle, and the man got well right 
 away." Negro. 
 
 9581. "My son used to play the guitar and he would always go up to the 
 corner house to see a boy. There was a lot of talk about his 
 mother being a witch. All at once my son got it in his feet. They 
 would hurt all the time. He got so he could not get out of bed. 
 We had the doctor but he could not find out what was wrong with 
 his feet. My sister came and she said, 'I know you are bewitched. 
 What do you do down at that old witch's house? I know she has 
 done something to you.' My son said, 'All she does is make me sit 
 in her chair when I come. She will not let me sit in any other.' 
 Then he started to cr^-ing and kept that up for two weeks, and 
 his feet hurting. We had a neighbor to come in and she said, 'I 
 am going to get your boy a cord and medal (scapular) and pray 
 for him nine days. H he is bewitched he will get well.' So she 
 got the medal. I am sure telling you the truth. Do you know, 
 twenty minutes after he had that medal on, he was down to the 
 corner store ; and in a few days he was well. So you see that old 
 witch had him bewitched." German. Forty years ago. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 529 
 
 9582. "Never allow a child to take money from a stranger, for a stranger 
 may use black magic on him. If the money is refused, the spell 
 is broken." German. 
 
 9583. "A little girl out here (in the south end of Quincy) has a grandma 
 that they say can bewitch you. One night last winter (1933) this 
 little girl got real sick in the night and they called in the doctor. 
 He could not find out what was wrong, but they did find out that 
 her grandma gave her twenty-five cents that day. The next day 
 they made the child give the money back, and she got well ; for 
 her grandma was trying to bewitch her with that money." 
 German. 
 
 9584. "Forty years ago on Madison Street a witch was living. One day 
 she went into one of the neighbor houses and wanted to use her 
 sewing machine. The woman let her sew all afternoon, and when 
 she got through she bewitched the machine. After she went home, 
 the other woman tried to sew. The machine would not move. So 
 she sent for a man to fix the machine. And when he came, he said 
 nothing was wrong. The machine worked fine for him. So the 
 woman tried it again, and it would not move. So she took the 
 machine and pushed it into another room and said, 'Now stay 
 there.' In another week she went into the room and thought she 
 would try the machine again. And it just worked fine. The 
 woman moving it took the spell off the machine, for it was only 
 bewitched to that one spot." German. 
 
 9585. "We happen to move into a house next door to a negro woman 
 and everyone said she could hoodoo you. I was always well, but 
 just as soon as we got into this house I was sick all the time. I 
 did not feel like working, eating or doing anything. If I would 
 go away and spend the day, just as soon as I would come in that 
 house I would get sick. Everyone said this woman next door was 
 hoodooing me, so we had to move. And I got well right away as 
 soon as we were out of that house." Irish. 
 
 9586. "A woman lived in our neighborhood. She was sick all the time. 
 She would holler all night that the devil was after her. No one 
 could sleep. A healer went there and said he would take the spell 
 off her, if they would give him a hammer and a nail. And they 
 did. He took the hammer and nail down in the cellar and stayed 
 awhile. When he came up he would not tell them what he did 
 with the hammer and nail, but said, 'This woman will get well 
 now.' And she got well right away." German. 
 
 9587. "If you want to kill a witch, take and draw her picture on a large 
 cardboard and drive a nail through her heart ; and every morning 
 
530 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 take a hammer and hit this nail once on the head for nine days, 
 and on the ninth day she will fall dead." Negro. 
 
 9588. "To cause a witch to die within one minute : Obtain a piece of the 
 heart of the cattle which has been bewitched. Then take a little 
 butter and fry the piece in it. Then take three nails from the 
 cof.fin of a corpse and pierce with them the heart through and 
 through, and while piercing the heart the witch will die at the 
 same moment." German. Written contribution. 
 
 9589. "I always keep onions in the house to keep the devils out." Negro. 
 
 9590. *Tf you think someone is putting an evil spell over you, sit down 
 for an hour and close your eyes and imagine you are all dressed 
 in orange and that everything around you is orange color. That 
 will break the spell." German. 
 
 9591. "Keep a penny in your pocket and you cannot be bewitched." 
 German. 
 
 9592. "I always keep red pepper in the house so I will have good luck 
 and not be hoodooed." Negro. 
 
 9593. "To keep a person from hoodooing you, keep red pepper in your 
 shoe all the time." Negro. 
 
 9594. "If you think someone has put something down for you to walk 
 over, you take a piece of brown paper, put some red pepper in 
 the brown paper, put it in your shoes, and when you walk over it, 
 it will do you no harm." Negro. 
 
 9595. "If you sprinkle black pepper and salt around your house, then 
 sweep it up and burn it, it will keep your enemies away." Negro. 
 
 9596. "If you have a crowd in the house and you want to see if you have 
 an enemy in the house, sprinkle black pepper on the stove; and 
 just as soon as that pepper goes to burning, if you do have an 
 enemy, they will get up and leave the house." Negro. 
 
 9597. "Picking up things on the street is bad. Maybe someone is using 
 it to bewitch you." German. 
 
 9598. "If you think someone is bewitching you, draw the picture of 
 the one you think it is, and take that picture to the woods where 
 the trees are very thick and nail that picture on a tree; and if you 
 have the right one, the spell will be broken." German. 
 
 9599. "Wear your pockets inside out to keep the witches off." German. 
 
 9600. "A little girl out in the south part of Quincy years ago was just 
 terrible. She would spit at everyone that would go by, take off her 
 clothes. The doctors or no one could do a thing for her, so they 
 thought they would get a hoodoo doctor. And he said the little 
 girl was bewitched. He told them to put a poker in the stove and 
 keep poking the fire, and if anyone did have the little girl be- 
 witched, they would come. So they started to f>oking the fire, and 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 531 
 
 it was no time until a neighbor came and knocked on the door 
 that never did come to the house, and said, 'Open the door. I am 
 suffering.' But the people would not let her in. And the woman 
 went home sick and the little girl got well." Gennan. 
 
 9601. "If you think you are bewitched, go to the priest and he will pray 
 a certain prayer over you; and if you are bewitched, that person 
 will show up." German. 
 
 9602. "My sister was bewitched. We thought the neighbor next door 
 bewitched her. She would howl like a dog and crawl on her hands 
 and feet. Would go up and down the steps that way. You could 
 not do a thing with her. We took my sister to the monks. They 
 have more power than the priests. They prayed over her several 
 times and she got well." German. 
 
 9603. "A woman lived in the southwest part of town. She was always 
 sick, and they could not find out what was wrong with her. They 
 went to a healer and he said, 'Nothing is wrong with your wife. 
 She is just bewitched. You go home, pull down the window 
 shades, lock your door, let no one in, and pray hard ; and the one 
 that bewitched her will come to the door; but whatever you do, 
 don't let her in.' While they were all praying, in walked this old 
 witch and said, 'My God, I hope you don't think that I bewitched 
 your mother?' They forgot to lock the door. So the mother died." 
 German. 
 
 9604. "Thirty-six years ago a red-headed woman went by my house and 
 stopped in and wanted to go to the toilet. I was making bread. It 
 was just fine. I had just taken it out of the oven. This woman 
 said, 'What fine bread you have.' I said, 'I never fail with bread.' 
 Then this red-headed woman said, 'What a beautiful child you 
 have.' She left me, and as soon as she was gone, my little girl 
 started to crying and kept it up for three weeks ; and my bread was 
 no good, and for three weeks I failed every time with my bread. 
 It would break all to pieces. We could not eat it. I went to the 
 priest at Z. Church and told him this woman had my bread and 
 baby bewitched. He prayed and told me, on my way home I 
 would meet this red-headed woman again and not to speak to her. 
 On my way home I did meet her, but I didn't speak to her. And 
 after that my baby stopped crying and my bread was just fine." 
 German. 
 
 9605. "A woman sold some apples to another woman and her little girl 
 got real sick right away after she eat some of the apple. That 
 night between twelve and one o'clock this woman that sold the 
 apples came, and you could see her face in the ceiling looking 
 down at this little sick girl. It was all red around the face in the 
 
532 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 ceiling. I was there myself and saw the face in the ceiling. She 
 came every night between twelve and one o'clock for a week, 
 looking at this child. The woman who had the sick girl went to the 
 priest at X. Cliurch and had him to pray for this girl. The next 
 day this woman with the apples came again and wanted to know 
 if she wanted some more apples. She said, *No, I threw the other 
 lapples in the privy to rot that I bought from you.' After that the 
 little girl got well." Geunan. 
 
 9606. "One day I was walking along the street and a woman said to me, 
 'Bill, I want you to help me, my son cursed me and left home, and 
 I have not heard from him for months.' Then I told her to go 
 home and to face the west, and say a prayer over her shoulder 
 and wish he would write, and I would work with her; and in 
 seven days she got a letter from him." German. 
 
 9607. "I know a woman that was always seeing a big black bug crawling 
 on the ceiling every night. She would not see it until she got in 
 bed, then it would come and crawl over the ceiling right above 
 her bed. Her grandma was a witch and had bewitched that bug 
 on the ceiling. She could not sleep, so she went to the priest out 
 here on X. Street and he prayed for her and took the spell off, 
 and she never saw the bug any more." German. 
 
 9608. "Years ago out here in the north end of town, a child was sitting 
 in a highchair, and an old woman came by selling medicine; and 
 she picked up the baby and made over it, then put it back in the 
 chair, then she left. And as soon as she was out of the yard, 
 that baby started to crying and kept it up for ten hours. She had 
 bewitched that baby. They had to take the baby to the priest, and 
 the baby got all right." German. 
 
 9609. "A couple had their first baby and they thought the world of it. 
 A neighbor woman was always making over the child. They 
 thought she liked the child, but she was bewitching it. The baby 
 got so he would cry all the time. They could not do anything. 
 They had the doctor. He came several times but he could not find 
 what was wrong. So they got the priest and he prayed over the 
 child, and said to watch and see who would come to the house 
 first. And this woman who we thought was the witch came to the 
 window and tapped on the glass and said, 'How is the baby.' So 
 w^e knew she was the witch." German. 
 
 9610. "A woman had a little girl twelve years old. They had a neighbor 
 that was always giving this girl something to eat. They would tell 
 the child not to take anything, but she would take it just the same. 
 This woman had her bewitched. She would get a fit every night 
 at twelve o'clock and every day at twelve o'clock. She got so bad 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 533 
 
 they could not find anything wrong. Then they got the priest and 
 he prayed over her. The priest told them not to let the woman 
 give the girl anything again after he had prayed. The very next 
 day the woman brought some nice oranges for the girl. They 
 would not let her take them and she got well. So you see this old 
 woman did have a spell over her." Germ,an. 
 
 9611. "A woman living out on Twentieth and Hampshire had a party 
 one day. She had one piece of cake left, so took it over and gave 
 it to a neighbor. This woman had twins, so she took the piece of 
 cake and broke it in two and gave each twin a piece. That night 
 the twins started to crying and just kept it up for several weeks. 
 The neighbors could not sleep. Even the doctor could not find out 
 why they cried all the time. So at last they thought maybe they 
 were bewitched. This woman went to the priest out on X. Street 
 and told him about it. The priest said, T will come tonight at 
 seven o'clock and I will pray. You go home and stop up every hole 
 and lock all your windows so they can't get out.' At seven o'clock 
 the priest came. He prayed for over an hour until the sweat run 
 off of his brow. Then he took his stole and made a cross and hit 
 the cradle real hard, and something jump out of the cradle and 
 went out through the chimney hole. The priest was real angr}-, 
 'because if that hole had of been stopped up he would of got the 
 woman." German. 
 
 9612. "A baby was sick all the time. The baby would start to crying 
 every night at twelve o'clock and keep it up until one o'clock, 
 almost go into hysterics. They could not do anything for this 
 child, so at last they went over to X. Church to see the priest, and 
 told him about the child crying every night from twelve until one. 
 
 He told them to go home and pray real hard and he would 
 
 pray with them, and at twelve o'clock to put some salt on the stove 
 to burn, and if anyone came to the house, not to let anyone in. He 
 
 did not care who it was So that night just at twelve o'clock, 
 
 when the baby started to crying, they put salt on the stove. And 
 while it was burning, a woman came that had always thought so 
 
 much of the baby she was always taking care of it and 
 
 wanted to borrow sugar. We did not let her in. She came back 
 the second time to borrow, and the third time her face was all 
 burnt up. She just begged to get in the third time, but we would 
 not let her in. And the baby stop crying that night. And we 
 didn't have any more trouble with our baby, for the woman never 
 came back." German. Fifty years ago. 
 
 9613. "My niece was bewitched by a neighbor. She gave her a pretty 
 rosary one day and put it around her neck. Just as soon as the 
 
534 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 child had it on, she started to jumping up and down. She would 
 just have fits. She would even wet in her clothes. She kept this 
 up for several weeks, then we took her to the priest and told him 
 we thought the rosary was bewitched. He took the child in church 
 and took the rosary off and said, 'Take her home. You will not 
 have any more trouble, but I will keep the rosary.' We went home 
 and we didn't have any more trouble." German. 
 
 9614. "My sister, a beautiful girl about eleven years old, was playing 
 out in the front yard when an old negro ragman came along. He 
 wanted to know if we had any rags. She said, 'No.' And he 
 bewitched her. That night at nine o'clock she started to screaming, 
 saying they should not saw her leg so hard. And every night for 
 four weeks at nine o'clock she would say the same thing. So we 
 took her to a priest and he prayed over her several times, and she 
 got better from day to day until she got well." German. 
 
 9615. "Early one morning when I went outside to get a bucket of water, 
 the neighbor lady called to me and wanted to know how my baby 
 was. I told her she was all right, that she hadn't woke up from 
 the night. I asked her why. She said that she dreamt my baby 
 was awful sick. That day I went visiting to my mother and stayed 
 until about time to get supper. When I got home I put my baby 
 down to play. She was two years old. She could not stand on her 
 feet. She would fall right down. And started to crying all the 
 time. I sent for the doctor. He could not find anything wrong 
 with her. After the doctor left, we called in a priest that was 
 visiting a sick lady in the neighborhood. The priest prayed over 
 the baby to drive the devil out, and then she got all right. The 
 priest told us to watch the first person that came the next morning 
 to inquire about her. That would be the one that had the spell 
 over her. And sure enough, that neighbor that had the bad dream 
 about her was the first one to come. We found out this woman 
 bewitched every baby she could. I was so afraid she would be- 
 witch my baby again, that I went and moved on Sunday to get 
 away from the witch." German. Twenty-four years ago. 
 
 9616. "My brother was bewitched years ago. I was only a boy then 
 about twelve years old and he twenty-one years old. We both 
 slept in the same room. And every night just at twelve o'clock 
 he would wake up crying and jump out of bed, saying his pillow 
 was full of bees, and run through the whole house, saying the bees 
 were after him. He did this for several months. And one night 
 when he jump out of bed, he said, 'Oh, look, there is a big bee 
 
 after me' and grab his hat at the same time and hit this big 
 
 bee. Just as he hit the bee I saw a big white feather come from 
 
 i 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 535 
 
 under a chair and go over to the door. I said, 'Did you hit the 
 bee?' He said, 'I did.' And just then we heard a noise. It sounded 
 Hke someone fell down the stairs. We knew then my brother was 
 bewitched. The next day my mother took him over to X. Church 
 to see the priest. He prayed over him several times, and he never 
 did hear any more bees in his pillow." German. 
 
 9617. "One day I was called by a lady friend on Tenth Street and she 
 told me that her niece's mind was not right, so I spoke to her niece 
 and told her (the aunt) just how she was, that she could not rest 
 at home and when she went away she was not satisfied either, so 
 I went to her home and told her what to read in the Bible. So I 
 went back in three days, and as I was talking to her, the other 
 woman (the aunt) from Tenth Street came in. I asked her if she 
 came in to see the old wizard, and she told me that they were 
 thankful to me, that I kept their dear one from going to the insane 
 asylum." German. 
 
 9618. "Another time I was walking along the street and a woman told 
 me her married daughter was going insane and would have to go 
 away and leave her five small children. This mother begged of me 
 to help her daughter. So I went right home with her and told 
 this daughter to read a certain Psalm out of the Bible, and she 
 did ; and the fear left her at once." German. 
 
 9619. "Carrying a rabbit's foot keeps all evil away." Negro. 
 
 9620. "Put a piece of rattlesnake skin in your shoe to keep the witches 
 away." Negro. 
 
 9621. "If you wear a piece of rattlesnake skin in your clothing, you 
 cannot be put under a spell." Negro. 
 
 9622. "My uncle was sick a long time. He could not find out what was 
 wrong with him. One day a traveling witch doctor came along. 
 He said, T can cure you. Catch the oldest rooster you have on 
 the place, put him in the hominy mortar alive and take the beater 
 and beat him to pieces, feathers and all ; then take him out and put 
 him on the stove, and beat him until he gets warm. Every night 
 before going to bed drink a saucerful of this rooster soup.' This 
 was to cure him of his sickness. And it did." German. 
 
 9623. "If someone is bothering you and you don't want them to, you 
 take a handful of salt and call their name and throw it over your 
 right shoulder, and they will not bother you." Negro. 
 
 9624. "If you will wear black pepper and salt in your shoes, you can 
 walk anywhere and not be hoodoo." Negro. 
 
 9625. "If someone has a spell on you, take red pep'per, salt, vinegar and 
 lard, and cook this and apply to your limbs ; and that will take the 
 spell off." Negro. 
 
536 Memoirs of llic .Uina Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 9626. "If you think someone has a spell on you, put red pepi^er and salt 
 in all four corners of the room. It will take the spell off." Negro. 
 
 9627. "If someone comes and you don't want them to come back, put 
 salt and black f«pper on the carpet. When they leave, take a 
 broom and sweep it out the door, and they will not come back." 
 Negro. 
 
 9628. "If someone comes to your house and you think they are putting 
 an evil spirit on you, just as soon as they leave, sprinkle salt all 
 around the cliair they were sitting on and put a little on the seat 
 of the chair, and they can't do you any harm." German. 
 
 9629. "Take a sack of salt and make a cross on it and put it under the 
 front doorstep, and you will keep away all evil." Negro. 
 
 9630. "If you sprinkle salt down every morning, anyone you don't want 
 to come in your house will not walk over that. I know a woman 
 that got up every morning and would sprinkle salt around her 
 kitchen door to keep out the neighbor she didn't want to come." 
 Negro. 
 
 9631. "If you don't want someone to come to your house, put wood 
 ashes and salt together and put on the front doorsteps, and they 
 can't walk over it." Negro. 
 
 9632. "If you don't want anyone to come to your house, put red pepper, 
 black pepper and salt under your door, and they will not come 
 back." Negro. 
 
 9633. "If you don't want anyone to come to your house ,when you see 
 them coming, go and throw salt around in the yard, and they will 
 not come in." Negro. 
 
 9634. "If you think someone is trying to give you bad luck, take red 
 pepper and salt, put in a pan, then go and start from the south- 
 east part of the house. You must leave your right hand free so 
 you can throw the pepper and salt from your house. You must go 
 all the way around your house, throwing the pepper and salt away 
 from the house, saying, 'In the Name of the Father, Son and 
 Holy Ghost'." Negro. 
 
 9635. "If you think someone is trying to do you liann, take and put salt 
 and pepper together and take it to your front gate and throw it 
 around, and if they come to your house, they will not be able to 
 step over that salt and pepper." German. 
 
 9636. "If you don't want anyone to come back when they leave the 
 house, throw some salt on their back." Negro. 
 
 9637. "If someone does you dirty and you don't want them to come to 
 your house, drop some salt back of them." Negro. 
 
 9638. "When a person leaves your house and you never want him to 
 return, throw a handful of salt after him." Negro. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 537 
 
 9639. "If someone comes to your house and you don't trust them, as 
 they leave, throw a handful of salt after them and say, 'In the 
 Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Don't come back.' 
 And they won't." Negro. 
 
 9640. "If someone comes to your house that has been mad at you, if you 
 think they have come for no good, just as soon as they leave, take 
 a handful of salt and throw on the floor by the door and sweep 
 it out, saying. 'In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost.' 
 That will take the evil oflF." Negro. 
 
 9641. "If you see someone coming to your house and you think they 
 want to hoodoo you, run and put some salt around the door. They 
 will come in and they cannot hurt you." Negro. 
 
 9642. "If you don't like your neighbor, put salt in their tracks and they 
 will never come back. I had a neighbor that w-as ahvays coming 
 to my house, and after she would leave, everything went wrong. 
 We would all get into a fuss. We got so, when we would see 
 her coming, we would say, 'Here comes hell.' One day just w^hen 
 she was coming in the yard, I said to a woman that was visiting 
 me, 'Here comes hell.' She said, 'Leave her to me. I will fix her.' 
 When this woman got ready to go home, my friend said, T wnll 
 walk to the corner with you. I want to tell you something.' I did 
 not know what my friend w'as up to, but as she went through the 
 kitchen she took a handful of salt. And as they walked down the 
 street, this woman kept dropping salt behind her until they got to 
 the corner ; then told her good-by and came on back. She said to 
 me, 'Well, I fixed her. Hell will never bother you again and make 
 you have any more fusses in this house.' And she never did come 
 back to my house again." Negro. 
 
 9643. "If someone come to your house and you don't want them to come 
 back, throw a handful of salt at them and say, 'In the Name of 
 
 the Father, Son and Holy Ghost ; move on' and they say they 
 
 will never come back again." German. 
 
 9644. "If someone come to your house and you don't want them to come 
 back, take salt and red pepper and mix good, and throw it at 
 them as they are leaving." Negro. 
 
 9645. "If someone come to your house and you don't want them to come 
 back, take salt and sulphur and mix good, and throw that on their 
 back as they are leaving and they will not bother you again." 
 Negro. 
 
 9646. "If you will put a pair of scissors under your pillow, open with 
 the points to the head of the bed, no one can harm you or bewitch 
 you. I was bewitched years ago, and someone told me about put- 
 ting the scissors under my pillow, open with the points to the head. 
 
538 Memoirs of the .lima Egan Hyatt foundation 
 
 and I have been doing this every night for years. I never go to 
 sleep without the scissors under my pillow, and I have never been 
 bewitched since that time." German. 
 
 9647. "There was a woman that lived in the north part of town and 
 another woman wanted her husband, and she went and bewitched 
 this woman's little boy. This boy got so he could not walk, eat 
 or do anything. They had some of the best doctors, but they could 
 not help the boy. Some woman told her to put a pair of scissors 
 under her pillow after dark, ojx;n, and to throw a bucket of boil- 
 ing water out the window after dark. And this woman got burned 
 on the face, and the boy got better ; but she had such a spell on the 
 boy he could not get well." German. 
 
 9648. "About five years ago my brother was sick all the time, he could 
 not sleep or do anything. We thought he was going to lose his 
 mind. One day he found a new screw driver in his car; he knew 
 someone put it there to bewitch him. So I took the screw driver 
 and put it in boiling water and boiled it for three days, then 
 buried it in the barn without anyone knowing it ; and my brother 
 got well." German. 
 
 9649. "A witch lived near my uncle. She would go through my uncle's 
 wheat field every day and he told her not to. She just kept on 
 going. So one night my uncle took sh-t from the outside toilet 
 and smeared it all over the fence where this old witch would come 
 over. And she got it all over herself. And she got so mad that 
 she bewitched my uncle. He got so sick right away he could not 
 move a hand or foot. He was just paralyzed for a long time. But 
 she did not bother my uncle again." German. 
 
 9650. "If you will burn your shoes as soon as you get through with 
 them, you will never be bewitched." German. 
 
 9651. "If you burn old shoes, you can keep the witches away." German. 
 
 9652. "If someone comes to your house and you think they are a witch 
 and you don't want them to come in, lay an old shoe in the door; 
 and if she is a witch, they cannot step over the shoe." German. 
 
 9653. "A woman came to see a man every night and stayed until twelve 
 o'clock, and when she would leave he would be sick all night and 
 could not sleep. He went and told another man. He said, 'That 
 old woman has you bewitched. I would fix her. The next time 
 she comes, you put a pair of your shoes down in the door; and if 
 she has you bewitched, she cannot get over those shoes to go 
 home.' So that night when she came, he put his shoes in the door. 
 She tried to go home but could not go through the door. He let 
 the shoes stay in the door until four o'clock in the morning, then 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 539 
 
 picked the shoes up. She went home but never did come again. 
 The man got well and could sleep fine after that." German. 
 
 9654. "A man worked in a foundry and was telling the men that he 
 worked with that he w^as so tired every morning. And one of the 
 men said, 'Maybe your wife is a witch.' He said. 'No.' Then he 
 told them that every night he would be riding a beautiful horse. 
 Then he would come back and tie the horse to a post out in front 
 of the house. Then he would go to bed. His wife was always 
 sleeping when he came to bed after tying the horse. The next 
 morning when he woke up, his wife was too tired to get up. One 
 of the men said, 'The next time you are on this horse, take it to 
 the blacksmith shop and have the horse shod.' So that night when 
 he was riding, he went to the blacksmith's house and the man said, 
 'It is too late for me to shod your horse.' The man said, 'I will 
 pay you well.' So they started to shodding the horse. The horse 
 kicked and kicked. They just had to tie the horse to be shod. He 
 rode the horse home, tie it to the front porch. When he got in the 
 house his wife was sleeping. The next morning when he got up, 
 his wife would not get up and get his breakfast. Said she was 
 too sick, 'I can't get up.' Then he pulled the covers off of her 
 and the horse's shoes were on her hands and feet. So she was a 
 witch and she was the horse he had been riding." Irish. 
 
 9655. "A man married a witch and he did not know it. He would sleep 
 fine, but when he got up the next morning he was all in. One day 
 he said to his neighbor, 'I don't know what is wrong with me. I 
 am so tired all the time.' The neighbor said, 'I spy a horse each 
 night with you on its back. Tonight you act like you are asleep, 
 and in the morning look in the bed and under it and see what you 
 see.' So that night after the man was sleeping, his wife turned 
 herself into a horse and put this man on her back, and took him 
 to the pasture and run around and around with him. In the 
 morning he looked and found on the bottom of her feet the prints 
 of the horse's shoe, and under the bed the horse's shoe. That was 
 why this man was not resting. His wife was taking him riding 
 every night through the ]>asture on her back." Irish. 
 
 9656. "A man had two horses in a barn and one would fret all the time. 
 He could not do a thing with him. He would foam at the mouth 
 all the time. He thought this horse was bewitched, so one night 
 he cleaned out the trough and never left a thing in it. Then he 
 sit down to watch. Just at twelve o'clock a white feather went to 
 floating over this one horse, and this man grabbed this white 
 feather and jump on the horse and rode to the blacksmith shop. 
 Thought he would get even with the witch. And while he was 
 
540 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 having the horse shod, a man came running in and said, 'Stop 
 shoeing tliat horse. My wife's hands are burning up'." German. 
 
 9657. "Some people were Hving by a witch and she was always borrow- 
 ing from them or giving something. They always had trouble. 
 She came to the house one day and wanted to borrow lard. The 
 man of the house said, 'No. And I don't want you to come here 
 any more.' The witch said, 'You' must let me have the lard for I 
 am sick and must have it.' The man let her have the lard and 
 said after she was gone. Til fix her so she will not come back any 
 more.' He drawed the old woman's picture on a piece of card- 
 board and took it out in the orchard and tacked it on a tree. Then 
 went to the house and got a piece of silver and beat it all up into 
 a silver bullet. You can always kill a witch with a silver bullet. 
 That night just at twelve o'clock this witch started in the yard. 
 This man shot through her picture on the tree and the old woman 
 drop dead." Irish. 
 
 9658. "An old witch lived in the neighborhood where my aunt and uncle 
 lived. He was always saying, T am going to kill that old witch so 
 she can't do us any more hann.' He went and turned out one of 
 his horses after supper and then went into the house. He said to 
 my aunt, T am going to make a silver bullet so I will be ready for 
 that old witch.' He took a dime and just kept pounding and 
 pounding until he got a bullet made. Then he put it into the gun 
 and put it by the bed to be ready. In the middle of the night he 
 heard such a noise down in the barn lot, he got his gun and looked 
 out the door and he saw something at the gate. He said, 'There 
 
 is the old witch' and fired at what he saw. He turned around 
 
 to my aunt, laughing and said, 'I have killed tliat old witch. She 
 will never bother us any more.' In the morning he found his best 
 horse dead in the barn lot. He forgot he had left it out, and the 
 old witch was still alive." Irish. Seventy-five years ago. 
 
 9659. "Years ago down here in the bottom around Quincy a man had a 
 sawmill. He had an order for seven thousand feet of lumber. He 
 just could not get it out. He had been working on this order for 
 about three months. Something went wrong all the time at the 
 mill. An old witch lived down near his place and was always 
 hanging around. He thought she was bewitching his sawmill. He 
 said to one of his men, 'I will give you a dollar if you will take a 
 piece of silver and make me a silver bullet to kill that old witch.' 
 The man said, 'I will not do it. I don't want the law after me.' 
 The sawmill man said, 'The law cannot get you, if you shoot her 
 picture and kill her.' So he made a silver bullet himself and put 
 it in the gun. Then he went and draw her picture on a piece of 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 541 
 
 cardboard and put it on a tree right where this old woman would 
 come into the yard. That night when the old woman started in the 
 yard, he shot a hole right through her heart on this picture. When 
 the old witch got even with this picture on the tree, she fell dead." 
 Irish. 
 
 9660. "A family were living next to a witch. She was always coming 
 over to borrow something. This family was having so much 
 trouble, so they thought they would not let her have anything 
 more. So one day she came and wanted to borrow grease. They 
 would not let her have it. And the witch said, T must have the 
 grease. I am sick. If I don't get this grease, I will die.' The 
 people didn't let her have it, and the witch almost died getting 
 home. After the witch went home, the man of this family went 
 and drawed a picture of this woman, putting her name under the 
 picture, then nailed the picture on an apple tree out in the yard. 
 After that he beat up a dime until he had a silver bullet. He put 
 this silver bullet in his gun, and just at noon he shot at the picture 
 on the apple tree. The witch had just started to come in the yard, 
 and drop dead when he shot at her picture." German. 
 
 9661. "About thirteen years ago in Quincy, a man was sick all the time. 
 He had one doctor after another. He just kept going down. So 
 he thought he was bewitched and the family did too. And they 
 thought it was a woman they knew. This man got the old woman's 
 
 picture and said he did not want to kill her if you shoot her 
 
 through the heart she will die so he put her picture up and 
 
 shot her through the legs. And she was cripple in one leg for a 
 long time after he shot her picture. But the man got well." Irish. 
 
 9662. "Years ago there was a little girl out in the South End (of 
 Quincy) that had a real big head, and it kept growing. Her people 
 called a witch doctor and he said someone had her bewitched. The 
 people suspected a woman in the neighborhood, so the witch doctor 
 drew a picture of the woman they thought it was, as good as he 
 could; then they hung the picture up on the wall and shot at it. 
 The next day this woman came to the house limping and wanted 
 to see the child. They would not let her in, so the spell was 
 broken. And the child's head went back to its own size." German. 
 
 9663. "If you put a piece of silver under your head, the witches will not 
 bother you." German. 
 
 9664. "A witch on Madison Street bewitched a woman. She could not 
 sleep for nights. So she went and moved out in the country to get 
 away from her, but she even bewitched her out in the country. 
 She could not sleep. She knew who the old woman was, so she 
 went to a healer and he told her all that old woman wanted was 
 
542 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 money, and for her when she went to bed that night to put a piece 
 of money in her hand so the witch would get it. That night when 
 she went to bed, this woman put a piece of silver in her hand, and 
 the witch came that night and took the money; and she was not 
 bothered any more and slept well." German. 
 
 9665. "My grandfather's parents lived on a farm next to another farm 
 where an old woman lived. They called her an old witch. She did 
 not have any children. The people who lived on the other side of 
 her had three girls. This old witch always wanted the smallest 
 girl. She would ask the woman for her all the time, but the mother 
 would not part with her little girl. One morning this little girl 
 disappeared. Everyone looked for her but they did not find her. 
 About two weeks later a stray sheep came to this girl's parent's 
 farm. They could not find the owner for the sheep so they kept 
 the sheep. When sheep killing time came, the man brought it up 
 to kill, but the sheep looked so sad out of its eyes. It even had 
 tears in its eyes. They would run down the sheep's face. This 
 man started to kill this sheep the second time, and the tears run 
 down its face. That old woman happen to be there that time, and 
 she told this man to get a skunk and cut off some of its tail and 
 wipe the blood across the sheep's eyes. Then bury the tail, and 
 when the tail was rotten, the little girl would come back. And in 
 about three weeks the sheep disappeared one day and the little 
 girl came walking in." German. Happened years ago near Plain- 
 ville. 
 
 9666. "I know a woman they gave snake powder to, and they could not 
 find a hoodoo doctor and the other doctor could not help her, and 
 she died; and she was just full of snakes. I know another woman 
 that they gave lizard powder to, and she had lizards crawling all 
 under her skin. You could just see them. They found a hoodoo 
 doctor and he got her well." Negro. 
 
 9667. "If you think someone is trying to hoodoo you or do you some 
 harm, and you meet them, walk backward six steps, spitting right 
 and left, and saying, 'John over John' and, 'Jo^^ the con- 
 queror' and they can't hurt you." Negro. 
 
 9668. "Clean out the stable between Christmas and New Years, and the 
 witches will not hurt your stock during the year." German. 
 
 9669. "If you put your stocking on wrong side out, the witch will get 
 you." German. 
 
 9670. "To keep your enemies out of your house, put a tablespoonful of 
 vinegar and a tablespoonful of sulphur in a little can and keep that 
 in the house, and they will never bother you." German. 
 
 9671. "If you think someone is hoodooing you, burn sulphur and salt 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 543 
 
 every day ; and open the door and your trouble will blow out." 
 Negro. 
 
 9672. "If you think someone is going to hoodoo you, when you see them 
 coming take two pieces of toothpicks and put them in your mouth 
 crossed, and they can't hoodoo you. If you have not the tooth- 
 picks, two small pieces of sticks will do, just so you keep them 
 crossed until the other person gets by." Negro. 
 
 9673. "If you don't want enemies to come around your house and put a 
 spell on you, wash your front doorstep every Monday morning 
 with pee." Negro. 
 
 9674. "A man thought an old witch that lived in his neighborhood had 
 bewitched his kidneys, for he was having so much trouble with 
 them. He suffered all the time. So he thought he would get even 
 with her. Someone had told him, that if you wet in a bottle and 
 hang it up where they cannot find it, they will suffer just like 
 you do. So he put a cork in the bottle, so it would stay strong, 
 and hung it way up in the chimney, then started a fire. If you do 
 this, the soot will go right to the person that has bewitched you 
 and will stick all over you' (the witch) until you take that bottle 
 out of the chimney. As soon as the fire was burning good, the 
 soot flew right over and just covered this old witch. Her kidneys 
 got to hurting her so she could not stand it. She went to this man 
 and wanted to know what he had done, and begged and begged 
 him to take the spell off. Said she was suffering so she could not 
 stand it, and the soot would not wash off. He said to her, 'You 
 old devil, I am going to torment you until you die.' And he did. 
 This woman got so she could not even pass her water. Even 
 got black in the face, suffering so over this bottle being up in 
 the chimney. At last her bladder busted and she died. And this 
 man said she could not bewitch anyone else now." The in- 
 formant said this happened in the south end of Quincy and that 
 she knew their names. German. 
 
 9675. "If you think you are hoodooed, take one pint of salt, one pint 
 of corn meal, one pint of your urine. Put that in a can on the 
 stove at twelve o'clock at night and cook until it burns. Then 
 throw the can and all away and your hoodoo spell will be off." 
 Negro. 
 
 9676. "A man was working for a woman. Everything went wrong with 
 this man. He was sick all the time. He could not work. Some- 
 one told him maybe this woman he was working for had bewitched 
 him, and if he would get a shovel and get it red-hot and wet on 
 it, if she had him bewitched, she would burn up. So this man got 
 a shovel and got it good and hot and started to wetting on the 
 
544 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt foundation 
 
 shovel. All at once this woman who was upstairs started to 
 screaming and said, 'What are you doing to me Ben? You are 
 just burning me up.' Ben said, *I want you to burn up. I am 
 only getting back on you for bewitching me.' After that he had 
 good luck, and she did not try to bewitch him again." Irish. 
 
 9677. "We had a neighbor who we thought was bewitching my son. So 
 I took a bottle and got a paper of pins and put them in the bottle, 
 then put my urine in and cork the bottle up and put it down in the 
 cellar in a dark place. And sure enough, that neighbor came to our 
 house with her face all full of little pinholes. And my son got 
 well after that." German. 
 
 9678. "A man was going down the street driving a team of horses. A 
 man standing on the corner laugh at him, and one of his horses 
 fell down and broke his leg. The man on the wagon said, 'You 
 are not so smart.' He crack his whip, and the man on the side- 
 walk fell down and broke his leg. It was a witch meeting a witch." 
 German. 
 
 9679. "I knew a lady tliat was sick all the time. Two of our best doctors 
 here gave her up. They sent for me. I can take off spells. When 
 I got to the house, whoever had the spell on her had it strong. 
 Why, the first time I went by I could not go in the house. I had 
 to walk by three times before I could go in that house. The third 
 time I went in. I found this lady biting her nails and pulling her 
 hair. She sure was bewitched bad. It didn't take me long until 
 I got the spell off of her," German. 
 
 9680. "Years ago a man out here in the south part of town was sick 
 all the time. He just tried everything. The doctor could not help 
 him, so at last he thought he would go to a witch doctor, and he 
 did. He prayed over him and gave him something to wear, and 
 told him he would work on the witch and she could not rest; if 
 he wanted to find out who the witch was, to go to South Park 
 Spring at six o'clock in the morning without speaking to anyone, 
 and the witch would come and wash her hands in that spring 
 water. So the next morning at six o'clock he went to the spring 
 in South Park, and just when St. Mary's Qiurch bell was ringing 
 six o'clock, here came an old Dutch (German) woman to the 
 
 spring with her hands all full of dough she was making bread 
 
 and this witch doctor was working on her and made her come to 
 
 the spring to wash her hands and this sick man jumped on 
 
 her and almost kill her beating her. But the man got well. The 
 spell was broken." German. 
 
 9681. "Years ago out here in the north part of town, a young man was 
 going with a girl, and his mother and sister did not like the girl 
 
Folk-Lore front Adams County Illinois 545 
 
 and wanted to break them up. So they got an old witch that lived 
 in the south part of town to bewitch this boy and make him sick, 
 so he could not go with this girl. After he gave the girl up, they 
 wanted to take the spell off. They got several doctors, but they 
 could not help them, for the witch was keeping the spell on him. 
 One day I met the sister downtown, and she knew I could take 
 a spell off, so she said, 'Bill, mother and I had a spell put on 
 brother to keep him away from a girl, and it has got beyond our 
 control, and will you please come out and take the spell off.' The 
 next day I went out, they lived on Vine Street, and I saw a woman 
 upstairs by the front window on a chair like she was trying to get 
 out of the window. This woman looked fat and short, just like 
 the boy's mother. When I got to the porch I met the sister with 
 a bucket of water, and I said, 'What is your mother doing up by 
 the window trying to get out?' She said, *My mother is not home, 
 she is up in the country.' Then she told me who the witch was. 
 Then I knew it was the witch getting out of the window, for she 
 was about the size of this boy's mother, and she knew me and 
 was afraid of me. I went up to see the boy, the witch was 
 gone, and it was no time until 1 had that boy on his feet again ; 
 and after I went to see him several times, he got well." German. 
 
 9682. "Years ago a yomig man out here by Rock Creek Station was 
 bewitched by a man. This man wanted his farm. This man was 
 sick all the time. He didn't know I could take off spells, so he 
 went to an old colored woman to take the spell off. He went there 
 several times and the last time he went, this old colored woman 
 told him if he didn't take her back to the farm with him, he would 
 die on the road. In the meantime he heard about me being so good, 
 and he came and asked me to go home with him, so I did. We 
 made the trip out in his horse and bugg>\ And as we got near the 
 place, about one hundred yards from the gate I saw a large man 
 with a heavy black beard coming down the road. As he got near 
 us he disappear right there. I asked the young man that was with 
 me if he saw the man, and he said, 'No.' Then from what he told 
 me, he was the man that was trying to swindle them out of their 
 farm. I stayed with this man several days and broke the spell ; and 
 this man got well again and didn't lose the farm." German. 
 
546 McDiuirs of the .ilma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 DEATH WARNINGS 
 
 9683. "Just before my mother-in-law died she looked up and said, 'Sally, 
 the angels are standing by my bed.' And she died the next 
 morning." 
 
 9684. "My little girl was lying in bed one night and she said, 'Oh, look 
 mother at that angel over my bed.' She died before the week 
 was over." 
 
 9685. "Several days before my sister died, mother saw an angel coming 
 up the back steps." 
 
 9686. "Just before my brother died, I was lying in bed; I look up and 
 the ceiling was beautiful. There was Jesus and all the angels 
 flying around on the ceiling. The sight was just beautiful. And 
 my brother died that night." 
 
 9687. "I was sitting in the kitchen one morning and my neighbor came 
 to the door to see me. Her body was in the shape of a big black 
 dog and her head was looking through a big spider web. That 
 woman died that week," 
 
 9688. "When I was a girl about fourteen years old I went out in the 
 hall and my aunt grab me in her arms, I screamed and ran back 
 in the room. It was my aunt that was living in the South. And 
 my mother got word that my aunt died just when she grabbed me 
 in her arms. I always have an omen if anyone dies in the family." 
 
 9689. "A lady saw her aunt come to her and she leaned over her bed 
 and she didn't say anything. This lady was very superstitious, 
 looked at the clock, because she knew it was a warning. It was 
 eleven o'clock at night. She said to her husband, T bet the lady 
 where aunt worked is dead.' So they went to sleep. And in the 
 morning her aunt came home, and this lady said, 'Did the lady 
 you take care of die?' And she said, 'She died at eleven o'clock 
 last night'." 
 
 9690. "My aunt was staying with us. One morning she said she wanted 
 to go to town and my husband took her to the train in the buggy. 
 I was sitting by the window after they left, and heard something 
 going up the stairs. I looked and saw aunt Toby going up the 
 stairs all dressed in a long black dress ; it was so long it was drag- 
 ging on the stairs. And she was at the depot about that time. It 
 was an omen, for she died in no time after that." 
 
 9691. "About sixty years ago we were living down on Second and 
 Hampshire Street. And I was lying on a couch, and all at once a 
 boy about fifteen years old came right up through the floor and 
 came over and sit down by me; sit there awhile, then disapj>ear. 
 And I lost my uncle after that." 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 547 
 
 9692. "One day I was peeling carrots and when I looked down in the 
 sink to wash them, I saw my brother's picture in the bottom of 
 the sink. He died very sudden sitting up; and he looked just like 
 that picture I saw in the sink that morning." 
 
 9693. When Mrs. D. was a small girl she was going home from work. 
 Crossing a stream she happened to look up and saw her brother 
 sitting in a large persimmon tree. He was wearing his Masonic 
 uniform and holding a sword. "I said, 'What are you doing up 
 
 there?' and he was gone. When I left in the morning he 
 
 was in bed and when I got home he was still in bed. He died the 
 next day." 
 
 9694. "My brother was in the Civil War on the Union side. He was a 
 bugle boy. One day I said to my mother, 'Lewis is going to die 
 because I saw his spirit this morning. He was blowing his horn 
 as he went to the spring to get his canteen full of water to drink.' 
 The very next day we got word I^wis was dead. And the soldiers 
 were dying just like sheep, for some women had put poison in all 
 the springs there. So me seeing my brother's spirit was a warning 
 he was going to die." 
 
 9695. "When my husband was sick, I saw a man going by the bedroom 
 window several times. I went out to see what he wanted and there 
 was no man there. The ground was covered with snow and there 
 were no tracks, so I knew it was an omen. And my husband died 
 that week." 
 
 9696. "Just before my stepfather died I saw a big bunch of red roses in 
 the room one night, and a man standing there holding me a letter. 
 And the very next morning I got a letter telling me he died 
 through the night. Those roses and man was an omen." 
 
 9697. "Years ago I went to the well to get some water and when I got 
 there, on the crossboard over the well was sitting my mistress' 
 sister in her nightgown. I dropped my bucket and ran back to the 
 house to tell my mistress, for her sister was sick in bed. My master 
 and mistress both went back with me, and she was still sitting on 
 the board, and they saw her. If they had not seen her I would of 
 got a good whipping. And she was dying while we were at the 
 well. We got word that day she was dead." 
 
 9698. Mrs. T. before her marriage was teaching school several miles 
 from home and consequently, lived with a family near the school- 
 house. One night after she had gone to bed, she saw her mother 
 standing in the room ; and the mother called the daughter's name, 
 "Sarah," then vanished. Thoroughly frightened she immediately 
 got up, dressed, and insisted on being taken home, asserting that 
 
548 Mcuioirs of the .lima Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 she knew something had happened. After much delay she reached 
 home, and found that her mother had died that evening. 
 
 9699. "Thirty years ago a man was standing on the corner in Quincy 
 near his home and he saw his sister-in-law coming down the street 
 all dressed in black and wearing a black veil, and go right in his 
 front door. He went over to his home to see why she was all 
 dressed in black, and she had not been there. This same lady came 
 to his house before the week was over and knocked on his front 
 door, and told him to come quick, his brother was dying. So it 
 was her spirit he had saw several days before." 
 
 9700. "One morning just at four o'clock in the morning I looked out the 
 window and there was my uncle looking in at the window with a 
 white shirt on and no head, and he died at four o'clock that morn- 
 ing, just when I was seeing him looking in at the window." 
 
 9701. "When during the Civil War the old people were sitting in the 
 room, they saw their uncle's face on the wall, and within a few 
 days their uncle died." 
 
 9702. Taking ashes out of a stove after sundown will bring a death into 
 the family. 
 
 9703. A bat flying against your window is the sign of death in the 
 family. 
 
 9704. There will be a death, if a bat flies into the house. 
 
 9705. If some of the beans that you have planted, come up white instead 
 of green, there will be a death before the end of the year. 
 
 9706. Moving a bed with a sick person in it, portends a death. 
 
 9707. The one who jumps in his sleep, and does not awake before hit- 
 ting the bed, will soon die. 
 
 9708. To see a black honeybee foretells a death. 
 
 9709. "One evening just at sunset two birds sit on a tree on Chestnut 
 Street singing, 'Won't be long. Won't be long. Don't you see? 
 You will. You will.' Then the birds flew away. I said to the 
 neighbor next door, 'Someone is going to die around here. I 
 wonder who it is ?' The next morning those two birds came back 
 and sit on the wire in front of Mr. M's house on Tenth Street 
 and sang, 'Won't be long. Don't you see? You will.' They did 
 that for three days and always said the same thing. I said, 
 'Something is going to hap^jen in Mr. M's house.' And in two 
 weeks Mr. M. died. And do you know, those two birds came and 
 sit on the wire in front of Mr. M's house and stayed all during the 
 funeral, but did not sing. And just as they brought the corpse out, 
 the birds flew away and did not come back." 
 
 9710. "One night we were sitting on the front porch and between eleven 
 o'clock and twelve o'clock a bird came and sang. I said to my son. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 549 
 
 who was on the porch, 'That is for Httle Jackie.' That was my 
 grandson and he was at the hospital very sick at the time. My 
 son got a Hght and ran the bird away. The next night that bird 
 came again between eleven and twelve. That next day my brother 
 took very sick. Then we thought the omen was for him. And 
 the next day he did die. And the third night that bird came back 
 again, just between eleven and twelve o'clock. And that week my 
 grandson died. And we had my brother and grandson at the 
 undertaker both at the same time. And my cousin dropped dead 
 that same week, making us have three deaths in the family at 
 the same time." German. 
 
 9711. When a bird plays about the corner of your house, there will be 
 a death in the family. 
 
 9712. "Just before my uncle died, a bird flew against the front door and 
 drop back dead. The next day my uncle drop dead." 
 
 9713. Several days before Mrs. L. expected her child, a large storm 
 came up, and in the midst of it a bird flew against the screened 
 window, trying to enter the room. She wanted to let the bird in, 
 but her husband objected. After a few minutes the bird flew 
 away, but soon returned and again attempted to enter the house; 
 then it left. Some days later Mrs. L. gave birth to twins, her first 
 children. Both of them died within two weeks. 
 
 9714. "Just before my brother Walter died, a bird came and flew against 
 the windowpane. The bird came early in the morning and stayed 
 until noon trying to get in. This was on Friday, and he died the 
 next Wednesday." 
 
 9715. "I had a man boarding with me two years ago, and we were all 
 sitting here in this room and a big white bird came to the window. 
 It looked as large as an eagle. We all got up and went on the 
 porch. We could see the bird fiying away. And the man that was 
 boarding with me drop dead while we were watching that bird 
 fly away. It was an omen for him." 
 
 9716. If there is a sick person in the house and a bird flies against a 
 windowpane, breaking its neck, the sick person will die. 
 
 9717. A bird lighting on the window sill is a death omen. 
 
 9718. When a bird lights on the sill of the bedroom window, you may 
 expect a death. 
 
 9719. "One Sunday morning while my husband and I was lying in bed, 
 the bedroom screen fell out of the window and a bird flew in the 
 (bedroom. I said to my husband, 'Oh, that is bad luck.' He only 
 
 , laughed. My husband was a carpenter, and the next day he was 
 working on a house and fell off the comish (cornice) and was 
 killed." 
 
550 
 
 Memoirs of the Alma ligan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 9720. If a bird (lies into the house, there will be a funeral within ten 
 days. 
 
 9721. To have a bird enter the house and circle round the room means 
 a death in the family. 
 
 9722. "If a bird comes in the door and circles around your head and 
 don't go out the same door it came in, you will die; but if it goes 
 out the same door it came in, you will not die." 
 
 9/2v3. "When my grandma died, a big white bird flew through the house 
 one night, and she died the next morning." 
 
 9724. A bird flying into the house through one window and going out 
 another window indicates a death. 
 
 9725. "One day a bird flew in our house. It came in at the front door 
 and flew out the back door, which is bad luck. That night my 
 grandson that was well as he could be, took a spasm and died 
 before morning." 
 
 9726. After entering a house, if a bird flies to the east, someone in that 
 house is going to die. 
 
 9727. A death is portended, if a bird injures itself, either when flying 
 into the house or while in the house. 
 
 9728. "If a bird flies into your house, someone will die if you don't kill 
 the bird. I never let a bird live that flies into my house. Those 
 old sparrows are always getting in, but they don't go out alive." 
 Only tivo examples of this practice are known to the author. 
 
 9729. To have a bird flutter over a bed signifies that the person who 
 sleeps in the bed will die. 
 
 9730. You may look for a death, if a bird sits in a sick person's bedroom. 
 
 9731. "Just before my little boy died, a bird flew in my house and sit 
 on every picture in that room, and when he lit on a picture he 
 whistled every time ; and my little boy died in several days after 
 that." 
 
 9732. "If you have a bird in the house and it sings through the night, 
 there will be a death in the family. We had a bird that started to 
 singing in the night and kept it up to morning. My mother said 
 it was an omen. And my brother died." 
 
 9733. The woman who cooks her own birthday dinner will not live to 
 see her next birthday. 
 
 9734. It is an omen of death if a large number of blackbirds fly around 
 the house. 
 
 9735. "A blackbird flew into my house when the blackberries were in 
 bloom, and before the blackberries were gone, my brother died." 
 
 9736. "I knew a woman that was sick in bed, and a blackbird got in the 
 room and flew around the bed three times; and she died that 
 night." 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 551 
 
 9737. Overturning a loaf of bread in the oven means a death in the 
 family. 
 
 9738. To have anything break or crack without being touched, is a death 
 omen. 
 
 9739. "About forty years ago my mother was making a cake for her 
 wedding anniversary. When the cake was done, she went to the 
 cupboard to get her glass. cakestand, and it was broke in two just 
 like someone cut it in two. My mother said, 'That is an omen 
 for me, because I found it, and I will not be here for my next 
 anniversary.' And my mother died in no time after that." 
 
 9740. "A woman was at a party about a month ago and all at once a 
 shelf fell full of dishes and broke every one of them. She said, 
 'That is a token, for I always get a token when someone died.' 
 And in a few minutes she got word the woman she was taking care 
 of died just when that shelf broke all the dishes." 
 
 9741. "We had six drinking glasses sitting on the table. No one was 
 near them. I was watching my mother who was sick in bed, when 
 all at once one of those drinking glasses cracked and broke in two. 
 
 , I looked at my father and he looked at me. We knew that mother 
 was going to die. She died that day." 
 
 9742. "About thirty-five years ago a family were sitting around a table, 
 eating, when all at once the table cracked like someone hit it with a 
 stick of wood. And just when that table cracked, that woman's 
 son died in another town." 
 
 9743. It is said that if a dying person is thinking of you, something in 
 your house will crack three times. — — "Our stove cracked three 
 times when my cousin died in St. Louis." 
 
 9744. Resting a broom against a bed indicates that the person who 
 sleeps in the bed will soon die. 
 
 9745. Stepping over a broom that is lying on the floor bodes death for 
 someone in the house. 
 
 9746. If a broom falls as you start out a door, and you have to step over 
 it, you may expect a death in the family inside of a )'ear. 
 
 9747. To carry a broom through the house signifies that you are carry- 
 ing a death into the family. 
 
 9748. Look for a death, if the first butterfly that you see in the spring 
 is white. 
 
 9749. "One of those black bugs just the shape of a casket (coffin) was 
 trying to get into the window three weeks ago. I said to my 
 husband, 'We are going to have a death.' And he just laughed 
 at me. In a few days we got word my nephew was sick in 
 
 Chicago, and I went and am just back from the funeral." 
 
 This negro woman said the insect is called "carrion." 
 
552 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 9750. Cabbage plants running to seed instead of heads is a warning of 
 death. 
 
 9751. "My brother went fishing, and his wife and I was sitting in the 
 j'ard when we heard him calHng us. We got up to find him, think- 
 ing he was home. And just when we heard him calling us, he was 
 drowning in the river." 
 
 9752. The mistress of the old colored woman who gave this item was 
 visiting in Chicago : "In the night this woman called me by name, 
 saying, 'Maria, Maria, my home is your home as long as you live.' 
 It was so real I spoke up and said, 'Why, when did you g^t 
 home?' She was dying in Chicago just when she was calling me." 
 
 9753. "I was putting coal in the stove one morning several years ago 
 and someone said, 'Esther.' I turned and said to my husband, 
 'Did you call me?' He said, 'No.' Then I asked my daughter in 
 the kitchen and she said, 'No.' It worried me, for I thought it 
 was an omen. Then that night my sister and her beau was to see 
 me, and I told them about someone calling me. It worried my 
 sister then, because her beau was not well and they were going 
 to get married. He took sick that very night and got down in bed 
 for two months, and died. So the omen was for him." 
 
 9754. "One night just before my husband and I went to sleep, I heard 
 my mother at the window calling me. She said, 'Josephine, Jose- 
 phine.' I said to my husband, 'Do you hear my mother calling 
 me? That is bad luck.' He only laughed, because my mother had 
 been dead eight years. It was a token, for my husband took sick 
 and died that week. And it was my mother trying to tell me he 
 was going to die." 
 
 9755. "Several nights just before my first husband died he called me 
 and said, 'Oh, Josephine.' Not thinking, I said, 'What do you 
 want?' My second husband said, 'What was that noise?' I told 
 him, 'Oh, nothing.' I didn't want him to know my first husband 
 was calling me. I just knew my first husband was going to die. 
 
 And he died in several days." Same informatit as in the 
 
 preceding item. 
 
 9756. "I was living in Chicago and my father was living just twelve 
 minutes away. One night something hammer real loud on the 
 steam pipes. I was in bed and something said, 'Go quickly.' My 
 father was sick. I knew he was worse, so I got up and went to 
 him, for something always calls me before death. When I went 
 in, father said, 'I knew you would get here, for I was calling 
 you.' And he died fifteen minutes after I got there." 
 
 9757. Do not answer when you hear a mysterious voice calling your 
 name in the night, for you will soon hear of a death if you do. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 553 
 
 9758. If you think someone called and you answer, then discover your 
 mistake, it is a token of your death. 
 
 9759. When cutting a deck of cards, if the card cut is the ace of spades 
 and it is upside down, there will be a death. 
 
 9760. "If you meet a black cat, you will hear of a death among your 
 friends right away." 
 
 9761. "Twenty years ago a man walked out Seventh Street and a black 
 cat ran in front of him. He said to himself, 'I don't want to die. 
 I am going to sit down and wait until someone else walks over 
 where the cat walked.' He sit down on a doorstep and stayed 
 until almost morning. No one came along, so he got up and went 
 home; and died the next week." 
 
 9762. A black cat crossing the road in front of you bodes a death in 
 your family before the year is out. 
 
 9763. "When a black cat runs in front of you, it is a sign of death in 
 your family; but if you make a cross with your two fingers, the 
 devil can't hurt you." 
 
 9764. "If a black cat crosses your path close, there is sure to be a death 
 in your family; and if the cat is at a distance, the death will be 
 later on." 
 
 9765. To have a white cat run in front of you means a death in your 
 family. 
 
 9766. A black and white cat crossing your path foretells that some 
 member of your family will die. 
 
 9767. It is a portent of death, if a yellow cat meows under your window. 
 
 9768. If you try to chase away a cat that is meowing beneath your 
 window, and it returns, look for a death. 
 
 9769. "If an old tomcat comes to your house and say, 'Lord' and 'Lord 
 
 have mercy on me' and keeps raising the devil, run him 
 
 away, for you will die if you don't. An old tom came to my door 
 one night and kept howling 'Lord' and 'Lord have mercy.' I went 
 and ran him away. I stood and looked out of the window to see 
 where he would go, for I wanted to see who would die in the 
 neighborhood. Do you know, he went right up to the preacher's 
 house and stood on his door, and kept howling 'Lord' and 'Lord 
 have mercy.' Do you know, that preacher died in two days." 
 
 9770. If a cat jumps on your foot, and you did not see the cat until it 
 was there, a relative will die within a week. 
 
 9771. There will be a death, if a cat walks on the piano keys. 
 
 9772. The person who transplants a cedar tree will die when the lower 
 limbs of the tree reach the length of his coffin. 
 
 9773. Plant a cedar tree in your yard and you will never live to sit in 
 its shade. 
 
554 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 9774. If a cedar tree is planted in a cemetery, the planter will die 
 before the tree is large enough to shade his grave. 
 
 9775. Spinning a chair on one leg will bring a death into the family. 
 
 9776. The person who unconsciously whirls a chair around on one leg 
 will soon die. 
 
 9777. "Some lady said, when she scrubs her kitchen she always puts her 
 chairs in a row, and when her cousin saw her she said, 'Don't do 
 that, you will sure go to a funeral.' And after a few days her 
 cousin died, and she went to the funeral. Another time she was 
 stacking her chairs, and finally she thought of what her cousin 
 said, and she wondered whose funeral she would go to this time ; 
 and in a few days the minister died and she went to the funeral." 
 
 9778. To place three chairs in a row foretells a death in the family. 
 
 9779. Never rock an empty rocking-chair ; you will rock someone out 
 of the family. 
 
 9780. Always stop a rocking-chair when you get out of it or some 
 member of your family will die. 
 
 9781. One evening while Mrs. E. and her husband were sitting in the 
 living room, she suddenly noticed that her small daughter's rock- 
 ing-chair, empty at the time, was rocking. She said to her husband, 
 "Something is going to happen." Two weeks later the little girl 
 died. 
 
 9782. "About ten years ago we were upstairs, we had gone to bed, and 
 we could hear the rocking-chair in the parlor rocking. My father 
 said, 'You girls have let the cat in the house, go downstairs and 
 put it out.' We went down and could not find the cat. And just 
 as soon as we got upstairs again, we heard the rocking-chair 
 rocking again. Then we knew it was an omen. And my father's 
 mother died that week." 
 
 9783. You may expect a death, if a white rocking-chair that is empty 
 begins to rock. 
 
 9784. "I had a baby that was eight months old that was sick. One night 
 while I was sitting by the bed, I heard someone take and draw a 
 chair across the room three times, and my baby died after that." 
 
 9785. A cherry tree blooming late in summer or in early autumn signifies 
 a death. The tree will also die. 
 
 9786. "If a hen crows, sure sign someone in the family will die. I 
 believe this because I know it is so." 
 
 9787. Unless a crowing hen is killed at once, someone in your family 
 will die. 
 
 9788. If all your chickens cackle at the same time early in the morning, 
 you can look for a death. 
 
 9789. A chicken scratching on your dooir is a death warning. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 555 
 
 9790. A rooster crowing at sundown presages a death in the family. 
 
 9791. If a rooster crows after sunset, you will hear of a death before 
 morning. 
 
 9792. The crowing of a rooster between dusk and dark signifies a death 
 in the family. 
 
 9793. You may expect a death in the family, if a rooster crows as soon 
 as he goes to roost. 
 
 9794. If a rooster crows immediately after going to roost, a friend will 
 die. 
 
 9795. A rooster crowing any time during the night foretells a death. 
 
 9796. "If a rooster crows at twelve o'clock at night, it means somebody 
 is changing this world and on their way to heaven." 
 
 9797. "If a rooster crows real sad, someone in the family is sure to die." 
 
 9798. "If a rooster crows and all the roosters in the neighborhood crow 
 at the same time, it is the sign that a sinner in the neighborhood is 
 going to die." 
 
 9799. "One day last year a rooster came and crowed in a man's door 
 across the street, with his head looking in. I holler over and said, 
 'You had better look out. Bad omen.' He said, T don't believe in 
 that.' The next day the rooster crowed again in the door. And 
 the third morning this man got a telegram. His son was dead. 
 So you see it was an omen." 
 
 9800. A rooster coming and crowing in the door indicates a sudden 
 death within two days. 
 
 9801. "We had a rooster that did not belong to us to come and crow 
 in our front door, and my mother died. 
 
 9802. To have a rooster crow three times in your door is an omen of 
 death. 
 
 9803. "Mrs. P. when a young girl had a baby sister and it had been very 
 sick but was feeling much better, and they thought it would get 
 well. All of a sudden a rooster flew on the back porch and crowed 
 three times in the middle of the afternoon. They lived in a flat 
 downtown and thought it very funny. They rushed out to look 
 for the rooster and it had disappeared, and that afternoon the 
 baby died." 
 
 9804. "Fifteen years ago we had a rooster to come and crow right under 
 my sister's bedroom window every morning for a month. My 
 mother said one day, T wonder who is going to die?' My sister 
 went fishing and was drowned." 
 
 9805. When there is snow on the ground at Christmas, deaths will be 
 fewer during the following year. 
 
 9806. If you see a white Christmas, there will be a light gravcA-ard. 
 
 9807. If you see a dark Christmas, there will be a heavy graveyard. 
 
556 Memoirs of the Alma Eyan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 9808. A white Qiristnias, a lean graveyard. 
 
 9809. A green Christmas, a fat graveyard. 
 
 9810. Sunshine on Christmas means a fat graveyard. 
 
 9811. "If a church hell rings, and a dog howls at the same time and 
 sticks his tail between his legs and looks at you, there will be a 
 death in your family." 
 
 9812. A ticking in the wall of a house is known as the "death watch." 
 It is the sign of death. 
 
 9813. "A girl working out at the Otis factory said she heard a watch 
 ticking in the wall one night, and the next day her father died." 
 
 9814. "A lady had a very sick mother and one afternoon while they were 
 sitting by her, they heard a clock from the inside of the wall strike 
 three times ; and after they heard this, the lady said she knew her 
 mother wouldn't get well, and she died the next morning. The 
 Germans call the clock wound uhr." 
 
 9815. When a clock stops running without any apparent reason for so 
 doing, there will be a death in the family, 
 
 9816. "Fifteen years ago we had a clock, setting on the dresser, that had 
 not nm for years. One day I was sitting, reading, and at quarter 
 to nine in the morning that clock struck. When my husband came 
 in for dinner I said, 'We are going to have a death in the family' 
 
 and told him about the clock. He did not believe me because 
 
 that clock had not run for years. And at quarter to four it struck 
 again in the afternoon, and again at a quarter to seven. My 
 husband was in the house this time and could not find out what 
 was making the clock strike without running, and went and threw 
 the clock away. And my stepbrother died three days after that at 
 a quarter to seven. It w-as a spirit that had gone on before, telling 
 us of this death." 
 
 9817. "A woman friend of mine told me she put an old clock up in the 
 attic, that had not been running, and it struck seven times at three 
 different times, and someone died in her family. It was a token." 
 
 9818. "I had a woman friend to die right here on this block, and all day 
 she said she saw white clouds floating through the room. It was 
 an omen, for she died that night." 
 
 9819. "About thirty years ago on the first day of May just at noon, some 
 girls had a looking-glass looking in a well to see their future 
 husband, when one of the girls screamed and said, 'I see my coffin' 
 
 and started to running to the house, the other girls after her. 
 
 When she got in the house, she said, 'Look, that coffin is coming 
 in at the window !' And that girl died in a month's time." 
 
 9820. "One day my granddaughter came running in the house and said, 
 'Grandma, I saw father out here in the back yard in a coffin.' I 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 557 
 
 said, 'Oh, don't say that.' But it worried me, for I thought it was 
 an omen. My son-in-law was not even sick at the time, but it was 
 not a week until he took sick and died. The day of the funeral, 
 when her father was in his coffin, my granddaughter said, 'Grand- 
 ma, that is just the way father looked out in the yard last week'." 
 
 9821. "A woman who was lying in bed saw a white coffin in the air 
 near her. Almost as soon as she saw it, it began to move and 
 floated out the window. She got up and said to herself, 'Some- 
 one is going to die in the family.' Just when the coffin passed 
 through her room, her sister-in-law died in another city." 
 
 9822. "About thirty-five years ago, one night I was lying in bed and all 
 at once I saw a coffin floating by my bed. It kept going by, and my 
 sister-in-law was in the coffin, all dressed in white. It worried me 
 so, I got up out of bed and went downstairs. I could not sleep. 
 I thought it was an omen. It was two o'clock in the morning. I 
 didn't go back upstairs that night, worrying about the coffin. We 
 were living out in the country, and the first thing that morning 
 we got a telegram telling us to come at once, that my sister-in- 
 law was very sick. And she died before the week was over, and 
 looked just like she did in that coffin I saw floating by me." 
 
 9823. "Out here in Burton one day a woman was watching her sick 
 baby, and she saw a small coffin in the room, and her baby died 
 that week." 
 
 9824. "My aunt was pregnant. The folks were all sitting at the table 
 eating their supper when my aunt said, 'Do you see that coffin 
 coming in at the window ?' We all looked but did not see it. She 
 said, 'It came right over here to me and touched my side, then 
 went out the front door.' My aunt said to my uncle, 'Sam, I am 
 going to die. That was my coffin going out the front door.' My 
 uncle laughed and said, 'You are nervous and did not see any- 
 thing.' When they were getting ready to go to bed, my aunt's 
 little girl, three years old, was playing with her mother and kicked 
 her real hard in the side. It hurt my aunt so bad she said, 'Get the 
 doctor Sam, I am going to die. You see, that coffin was for me.' 
 And she died before morning." 
 
 9825. "I was sitting in a room one day and all at once I looked over in 
 the corner of the room and there sit my son in a chair, and a coffin 
 in front of him, and on that coffin three lighted candles, one at 
 the foot, one in the middle and one at the head. I was just sick, 
 for I was afraid I was going to lose my son, for he was not in 
 the room. It was only an omen. I didn't lose my son, but my 
 son lost his mother-in-law and his sister-in-laws. So the coffin 
 and three candles were for them." 
 
558 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 9826. "Mrs. H's mother and father were sleeping in one room and she 
 and her sister were sleeping in the alcove right off the other room. 
 She said everyone was asleep except her, and she saw a black 
 coffin but she couldn't see who was in the coffin, but it was an 
 old-time black coffin with cut-off corners. In the morning she 
 told her mother and said not to say anything to anybody, because 
 their grandmother was very sick and they thought it would worry 
 everybody. She died in a few days, and her father and uncle 
 picked a black coffin with cut-off corners just like the one she 
 saw." 
 
 9827. "A woman saw a casket in her coffee grounds twice, standing on 
 stands, and her mother-in-law died soon after." 
 
 9828. "Mrs. S. saw a grave in her coffee grounds, with flowers around 
 it before the coffin was lowered, and her father died right after 
 that." 
 
 9829. To miss a row when planting com means that there will be a 
 death in the family before the corn is harvested. 
 
 9830. Missing a row in planting corn foretells a death in the family 
 before corn is planted again. 
 
 9831. If the first ear of com that you see in the season has white silk, 
 someone in the family will die. 
 
 9832. The birth of twin calves is a death omen for some member of the 
 family. 
 
 9833. It signifies a death for some member of the family, if a cow lows 
 in the morning between seven and eight o'clock. 
 
 9834. A cow that lows with her head over a gate portends a death. 
 
 9835. A lowing cow in front of the door forebodes a death in the family. 
 
 9836. A cow bawling in front of a window presages a death. 
 
 9837. "If a cow comes to your window and bawls three times, he is 
 telling you of a death. We had a neighbor, and one day the cow 
 jumped over the fence and came and stood by their bedroom 
 window and bawl three times, and the man in the house lost his 
 sister that week." 
 
 9838. "Mrs. R. and her father were sitting reading one evening. The 
 cradle containing an eight month's old baby was between them. 
 Suddenly the father looked up from his paper and asked his 
 daughter what the noise was. She also had heard the noise. It 
 sounded as if someone had run a stick over the rtmgs of the 
 cradle. No one else was in the room and nothing was near the 
 cradle. A few days later the baby died." 
 
 9839. "One evening I was coming home from work just about dusk. As 
 I came along by our neighbor's house I saw two men putting crape 
 on the front door. I went in the house and I said to my mother. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 559 
 
 *I did not know anyone was sick next door' and told my 
 
 mother about seeing the crape on the door. She said she would 
 go over in the morning, and did. When she got there no one was 
 even sick. Then my mother told her about me seeing the crape. 
 This neighbor said, 'That is a token. I am going to move right 
 away.' And she got out of the house the next day. Another 
 woman, that had been wanting that house, moved in the same 
 week. That woman was only in that house two weeks and took 
 sick and died. So seeing the crape on the door was a token of 
 death." 
 
 9840. "My son went down to Plainville to see his uncle. His uncle was 
 not well. Several people were sitting around, and my son saw a 
 large cross on the bedroom door of his uncle. And his uncle died 
 in a few days. The cross was a token." 
 
 9841. "Just before my little boy died, my mother and sister saw a cross 
 in the room. It stayed there until he died, then it disappear." 
 
 9842. If you kill a crow while hunting and bring it back to the house, 
 you may look for a death. 
 
 9843. A woman said that whenever she cried, some relative or friend 
 would die. 
 
 9844. "One night I went out in the yard to get a bucket of coal, and as 
 I started up the walk I noticed a lace curtain flying back and 
 forth at the kitchen window. I didn't know what to think, for I 
 had no curtain at the window. It worried me all night, for I knew 
 something was going to happen. And my daughter took sick in 
 about ten days and died. So it was an omen for her." 
 
 9845. The howling of a dog at night will be followed by a death. 
 
 9846. A dog howling portends a death. If the person for whom the 
 warning is meant, does not die soon, then he will die within the 
 year. 
 
 9847. Expect a death in the family, if a dog howls at midnight. 
 
 9848. If a dog howls at midnight, there will be a death in your neigh- 
 borhood. 
 
 9849. It is a token of death to hear a dog howl all night. 
 
 9850. When a dog howls in front of your house, death for some mem- 
 ber of the family is presaged. 
 
 9851. Someone has just died, or a death is portended, if a dog howls in 
 your (front) yard. 
 
 9852. A black dog howling around the house forebodes death for a 
 member of the household. 
 
 9853. To have a dog howl on the front porch is a death warning for 
 someone in the family. 
 
560 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 9854. A strange dog howling at your door denotes a death. 
 
 9855. One of your neighbors is going to die, if a dog howls in front of 
 your door. 
 
 9856. Never let a dog howl facing your door; there will be a death 
 within two days. 
 
 9857. It is a death portent, to have a dog howl in your doorway. 
 
 9858. It means a death, if a dog howls under your window. 
 
 9859. Look for a death inside of six weeks, when a dog howls beneath 
 your window. 
 
 9860. The death of a man is indicated by a dog howling three times at 
 night. 
 
 9861. A dog howling at the same time every night signifies a death on 
 the block in which you live. 
 
 9862. It is an omen of death, if a dog looks up at the moon and howls. 
 
 9863. Someone in the neighborhood is going to die, if a dog howls with 
 his nose pointed at the moon. 
 
 9864. A stray dog howling in the moonlight, with his nose pointed 
 toward a person, means death for that person. 
 
 9865. If a dog, sitting on a stiimp, looks up into the sky and howls, a 
 small child is going to die. 
 
 9866. If a dog howls while looking at the ground, there will be a death. 
 
 9867. When a dog sits down, howls while looking at the ground, with a 
 sad expression on his face, someone will die. 
 
 9868. "If your dog howls and growls, and you cannot see what he is 
 howling and growling about, then he is chasing death from your 
 door." 
 
 9869. "If a dog is howling, if you will look between his ears, you will 
 see what the dog sees. I knew a man, his dog was howling, and 
 he went out to look between his ears to see what the dog was 
 seeing, and he saw his own picture. And the man died in three 
 days." 
 
 9870. "A farmer living out in the country years ago around Quincy told 
 another man that when a dog would holler, if you would look 
 into his ears, you could see who was going to die. One day this 
 man's dog w-as laying down near a creek and he was howling, so 
 this man thought he would see if this man was telling the truth, 
 so he looked into his dog's ear and saw his own picture. He 
 fainted and rolled into the creek and was drowned," 
 
 9871. "When a dog is howling, if you will stand behind the dog and 
 look, you can see what direction the funeral is coming from." 
 
 9872. If a strange dog tries to enter a house where someone is sick, 
 there will be a death in that family. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 561 
 
 9873. A dog howling near a sick person foretells the latter's death. 
 
 9874. When a dog looks at you as if he can see through you, you will 
 soon die. 
 
 9875. "When my mother was sick, a big dog came and put its feet on 
 the doorsill and looked in at my mother, and my mother died in 
 three days after that." 
 
 9876. A dog that stretches himself out on the ground in front of you. 
 is measuring your grave. 
 
 9877. "We have a black dog down on the comer of Ninth and Chestnut 
 that will get on his back with all feet up in the air and roll every 
 time someone died in the neighborhood. We have had three deaths 
 around here, and that dog has got on his back every time all four 
 feet up in the air digging their graves." 
 
 9878. A dog that crawls on his belly and moans, is measuring his 
 master's grave. 
 
 9879. If a dog lies on the floor with his feet up in the air, and does not 
 move, someone in that house is going to die. 
 
 9880. When a dog lies down in a doorway so that his head rests outside 
 the door, someone will soon leave the family either by death or 
 marriage. 
 
 9881. You may expect a death, if a dog lying with his head pointed 
 downhill turns over to scratch himself. 
 
 9882. A death in the family is foretold, if your dog rolls sunwise. 
 
 9883. If a dog eats fish and swallows a bone, someone will soon die. 
 
 9884. Building a new door in an old house is a death warning. 
 
 9885. Someone in the family will die, if a door is made into a window\ 
 
 9886. "If you come in one door and go out the other door, you will 
 come back a corpse." 
 
 9887. "If a relative comes to your house, enters by one door and departs 
 through another, he will be brought back a corpse within six 
 months." 
 
 9888. On entering a house for the first time, be sure to leave it through 
 the same door or you will not live to see that house again. 
 
 9889. "The door came open one night, and my mother got up and closed 
 the door and took a tablecloth and tied it. And it blew open 
 again. And mother's father died the next morning." 
 
 9890. A sound as if someone has slammed a door is an omen of death. 
 
 9891. To hang anything on a door knob indicates a death. 
 
 98912. Hanging a dish rag on the door knob will be followed by a death. 
 
 9893. A turtledove cooing for three nights is the sign of a death in the 
 vicinity. 
 
 9894. When either a white dove or a turtledove flies over the house, 
 someone in the family will die. 
 
562 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 9895. If there is sickness in the house and a mourning dove coos nearby, 
 you may expect a death in the house inside of thirty-six hours. 
 
 9896. "One day I was going to work and a dove flutter right in front 
 of me. The dove went a httle farther, then flutter again in front 
 of me; then flew right up, and I did not see it again. And the 
 next day my girl chum died." 
 
 9897. "One day several doves flew on our porch. As I started to town 
 in the car a dove w^ent and circled all around the car. I said to 
 the woman that lived next door, 'What makes that dove keep 
 circling around my car?' She said, 'That is the sign of a death 
 in the family.' When I got home from uptown, we had word my 
 aunt died that morning." 
 
 9898. "About fifty-five years ago we were living across the street from 
 some people and the woman was sick. I w^ent over to the house and 
 when I got to the gate, two white doves flew over the gate, went 
 to the front door and flutter around the door several times, then 
 flew off to the cemetery. I said to her son that was in the yard, 
 'I don't like that, for that is a token of death.' And his mother 
 died that day." 
 
 9899. "My daughter was not feeling well. I was sitting at the window, 
 and a white dove came and picked on the window. And I said, 
 'My God, that's bad luck to the house.' The next day the dove 
 came again and picked on the same window. Then I knew sure it 
 was an omen. And my daughter died that week," 
 
 9900. "My mother was very sick in bed and we pulled the bed up by 
 the window, and two white doves came and sat on the window 
 sill until my mother died; and just as she was dead, they disap- 
 peared and we did not see them again." 
 
 9901. To have a turtledove fly into the house means a death before the 
 week is out. 
 
 9902. If a dove enters a room where a sick person is sleeping, and 
 alights on the bed or on the body of the patient, it indicates death 
 for the one who is sick. 
 
 9903. "I had a cousin whose brother was very sick. She woke up one 
 night and saw a white dove sitting in the room. The next morning 
 her brother had died at the same time she saw the dove in her 
 room." 
 
 9904. "One night I dreamt I was sweeping the front porch off, and my 
 neighbor came along and I said, 'How's your wife?' He said, 
 'She is dead.' It worried me, and I said to the folks while eating 
 breakfast, 'Just as soon as I sweep the porch I am going over to 
 
 see that neighbor, because she is not even sick' but my dream 
 
 was so real it worried me. And before I got the porch done, this 
 
Folk-Lorc from Adams County Illinois . 563 
 
 neighbor came by and I said, 'How's your wife this morning?' 
 And he said, 'She died last night.' Every time I dream of death, 
 someone dies." 
 
 9905. Twelve or thirteen years ago a man and his son worked at the 
 lime kilns near Marblehead, the former on the day and the latter 
 on the night shift. One afternoon the father dreamed that a rock 
 fell on his son and killed him, and so real was the dream, he felt 
 a weight on his chest stifling him. He awoke thoroughly 
 frightened. Within a few minutes someone came to tell him that 
 a large rock had fallen on his son's chest and had killed him. 
 
 9906. The person who burns a hole in a new garment and wears it, will 
 have a death in his family. 
 
 9907. Two women helping a third to dress, means that the youngest will 
 soon die. 
 
 9908. When everyone at the table takes a drink at the same time, there 
 will be a death before the year is out. 
 
 9909. A ringing like that of a bell in your ear is the sign of death. This 
 is called the "death bell." 
 
 9910. H the right ear rings, you may expect a death in your family. 
 
 9911. A rumbling noise in the left ear foretells a death. 
 
 9912. The itching of the right ear is a death portent. 
 
 9913. Snow on Easter signifies a fat graveyard. 
 
 9914. If your left eye itches for two days, either your brother or sister 
 will be lost by death. 
 
 9915. Your right eye itching for two days indicates that you will lose 
 an intimate friend by death. 
 
 9916. H your feet bum and your eyes jump at the same time, a member 
 of your family will die inside of two weeks. 
 
 9917. "The night before my brother-in-law died, my sister-in-law was 
 sitting up with him. She just kept hearing footsteps on the stairs 
 like someone was coming." 
 
 9918. To cut one's finger while slicing bread forebodes a death. The 
 more the finger bleeds, the closer the relative who will die. 
 
 9919. The person who cuts his finger while sick will never recover. 
 
 9920. Washing a flag is an omen of death for one of the family. 
 
 9921. "My grandmother said that before her little boy was bom, she 
 heard a scratch under the floor in the room which she was in. This 
 made her very nervous. It happened the baby did not live only a 
 few weeks. It was a very nervous one and just before it died, it 
 made the same noise as my grandmother had heard before the 
 boy was born." 
 
564 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 9922. If on entering a house, a person smells flowers and there are no 
 flowers, that person is going to die. 
 
 9923. Carry a bouquet of wild flowers into the house before the 1st of 
 May and there will be a death in the family that year. 
 
 9924. "One day in December a bridal wreath bloomed in my friend's 
 yard, and the next day my friend died." 
 
 9925. "A person leaving for a more healthful climate during the winter 
 or spring months is certain to die if flies collect around the door. 
 This proved true in a Quincy case. A certain doctor's wife went 
 to Texas for her health. Predictions of friends on seeing the 
 flies at her departure were followed by her death." Written con- 
 tribution. 
 
 9926. If two forks are placed at one plate, you may expect a death in 
 the family. 
 
 9927. "One day I went to the store. I said to the woman in the store, 
 'What are all those carriages doing out in the front?' She looked 
 
 and said, 'Why, I do not see any carriages' when I could see 
 
 them everywhere. The next week a woman and her daughter died 
 on the block, and there were carriages everywhere. So me seeing 
 those carriages was a token." 
 
 9928. "A woman was dying and she raised up in bed and said, 'Look at 
 Mrs. Smith's funeral going by.' They all looked, and no one was 
 going by. Mrs. Smith was a neighbor that was well. Mrs. Smith 
 took sick that week and died before the week was over. It was a 
 token of Mrs. Smith going to die." 
 
 9929. If children play funeral, one of them will die. 
 
 9930. Creaking furniture means a death in the family. 
 
 9931. "If you carry out your garbage after dark, you are carrying out 
 one of the family. I had a little boy and I would take him with 
 me every night when I took my garbage out. And we would sit 
 down and talk to a neighbor. And it was no time until I lost that 
 boy. After that I would never take garbage out after night." 
 
 9932. To awaken in the night and think you see a ghost, bodes a death 
 in the family. 
 
 9933. "Just before my mother died, I saw a great white goose fly over 
 the house. She died the next day." 
 
 9934. Mr. L. according to his granddaughter, who told the following 
 story, was the first druggist in Quincy. One of the few doctors 
 in town had his office in Mr. L's drug store and it was the custom, 
 whenever the doctor left on a case and another call came, for the 
 druggist to answer it. Saddle horses were kept in a stable behind 
 the drug store for this purpose. One night while the doctor was 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 565 
 
 away, he had an emergency call and the druggist answered it for 
 him. The place was some five or more miles from town and the 
 road merely a trail through the woods. Mr. L. reached the house, 
 did what he could, and then started back to town ; but on the 
 return journey a violent storm overtook him. When he reached 
 what is now Eighteenth and State Street, the edge of the woods, 
 he found that a large tree had been blown over and lay across 
 the path. He was just preparing to ride his horse round the tree 
 as a flash of lightning revealed three open graves by the side of 
 the fallen tree. He continued his way to town but was worried. 
 On arriving at the drug store he received news that his mother 
 and two sisters, who lived in Quincy and who had taken sick that 
 day, had just died of cholera. 
 
 9935. When a ground hog approaches a house, someone there will soon 
 die. 
 
 9936. A ground hog gnawing the corner of a house indicates a death 
 before the year is over. 
 
 9937. Dropping a comb while combing your hair portends a death in 
 the family. 
 
 9938. There will be a death in the family, if you let a comb fall behind 
 you. 
 
 9939. Expect a death in the family, if you comb your hair after dark. 
 
 9940. If two women comb another's hair at the same time, one of the 
 combers will die before the year is gone. 
 
 9941. If a person throws his combings into a fire and the hair burns 
 immediately, making a bright flame, it is the sign of a long life. 
 
 9942. When someone drops his combings into a fire and the hair does 
 not burn but smolders, it is an omen of a short life. 
 
 9943. The person who cuts his hair in March will die before the follow- 
 ing March. 
 
 9944. It means a death in the family, if one crosses his hands at the 
 table. 
 
 9945. A headache is the sign that you have lost a relative and will soon 
 get a letter telling about it. 
 
 9946. Never ride on a hearse unless you are the driver ; you will be the 
 next one to go. 
 
 9947. Carrying a hoe into the house signifies that someone will soon 
 dig your grave. 
 
 9948. If a hoe is carried into the house, some member of the family 
 will die. 
 
 9949. If the carcass of a butchered hog, that was hung on a tree, falls 
 
566 Memoirs- of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 to the ground, one of those who took part in the slaughtering 
 will die. 
 
 9950. "One day my sister and I came in from uptown and my brother 
 was sitting in the parlor. As we came in the room my brother 
 said, 'Girls, don't walk in the middle of the room, for if you do, 
 you may fall in that big hole.' My brother was well when he told 
 us that, and before the week was out he was dead, and his coffin 
 was sitting in the middle of the room just where he told ns not 
 to walk." 
 
 9951. The person who sees thirteen white horses at one time will soon 
 be carried in a hearse. 
 
 9952. "My husband was sick. I was working, and about six o'clock 
 something kept telling me to go home. So I started for home. 
 And just when I got in front of the house, a beautiful big white 
 horse went right in the front door with it not being open. I 
 thought right then that was an omen for my husband and it was, 
 for he died that night at nine o'clock." 
 
 9953. "Just before my niece died, one night I was sitting in a chair and 
 I saw a white horse coming up the road without any rider on; 
 and just when the horse got in front of me, it was only a cloud 
 of dust, and my niece died the next morning. I always see a white 
 horse just before anyone died in the family." Not the same coft- 
 tributor as in the preceding item. 
 
 9954. "About forty years ago I was working for a woman out in the 
 country, and one night when I was lying in bed, I saw a white 
 horse coming up the road without a rider. The next morning when 
 I got up, I said to the woman I was working for, *I would like 
 to go home, for I know something it wrong there.' She told me 
 to go and see. I started, and just before I got to the house, I saw 
 a line of my father's clothes all hanging out in the yard. Then I 
 knew it was an omen, for I was just going over a hill and there 
 was no yard there. And when I got home, my father (Iiad) died 
 that night just when I saw the horseless rider coming up the road." 
 Same contributor as in the preceding item. 
 
 9955. Building an addition to the house will bring a death into the 
 family. 
 
 9956. "We were all sitting out in the yard one afternoon and the four 
 comers of the house cracked real loud. We all ran in the house 
 to see what was wrong and we could not find anything. And my 
 mother's sister away from here died just when we heard that 
 noise." 
 
 9957. "My father was sick, and one night we heard a knocking in the 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 567 
 
 closet. My sister got up and went out and looked in the closet, but 
 could not see anything, then said, 'That knocking is for father.' 
 And my father died in three days." 
 
 9958. "One night I was sitting in the front room and heard a knocking 
 on the wall. It started at the ceiling and went to the floor. It did 
 that three times. I could not find out what it was, but it was a 
 token telling me of my brother's death, because he died in two 
 days." 
 
 9959. ''My mother was sick and one day I heard a loud knock on the 
 kitchen door. I said, 'Come in.' No one came. I said, 'Come in' 
 
 again. Then I went to the door and no one was there. I went 
 
 out in the yard and looked everywhere, but could not find anyone. 
 I got scared then, for I knew it was a token that my mother was 
 not going to get well. And she died that week." 
 
 9960. "One night two sisters were getting ready for bed and something 
 knocked on the window twice. And one of the sisters said, 'That 
 is mother calling me.' And the other one said, 'It is not for you. 
 It is mother calling me.' And it was only a little time until both 
 sisters did die." 
 
 9961. "I have heard my grandmother say that one time there were three 
 knocks on the door one night, and the next week there was a 
 death." 
 
 9962. "Just before my mother passed away I heard three loud raps on 
 the door and something said, 'Go quickly, go quickly, go quickly.' 
 And I got there just before my mother died." 
 
 9963. "One night we were all sitting in the kitchen and someone knocked 
 on the door three times and push the door open. I went to see 
 who was there and no one was there. My father said, 'It is me 
 going and I have only a short time to make it, and it's a long way 
 
 to go alone' meaning he was going to die. And he died that 
 
 week." 
 
 9964. "One night I heard three raps on the front door. I called and no 
 one was there. My husband took sick on Sunday and died on 
 Alonday. Those raps were tokens." 
 
 9965. "The night my father died, I heard three raps on the front door. 
 My husband got out of bed and went to the door. No one was 
 there. We went back to bed and in a half hour we heard three 
 raps again. I knew then my father was going to die because he 
 was not well. While my husband and I were talking about the 
 raps, here came my brother telling me to come quick, father was 
 dying. And he died at four o'clock that morning." 
 
 9966. "One day someone knocked on the front door three times. I went 
 
568 Meynoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt F oiindation 
 
 and no one was there. In half an hour someone knocked again 
 three times and no one was there. And my father was dying when 
 I heard those knocks." 
 
 9967. "One Sunday my cousin and her husband was going fishing. My 
 aunt tried to keep them from going. She just kept saying, 'I don't 
 want you to go.' But they went. In the afternoon my aunt heard 
 three raps on the front door. She got up and went to the door. 
 She went out in the yard but could see nothing. And just when 
 my aunt heard those three knocks, my cousin and her husband 
 were drowning up in the bay. They brought them home dead." 
 
 9968. "Aly husband and I heard three knocks on the front door one 
 night, and my husband got out of bed and went all around the 
 house to see who was doing the knocking. He could not find any- 
 one. Before daylight we got a telegram telling us my brother, who 
 was an engineer, was in a wreck and was killed just when we 
 heard those three knockings. It was his spirit telling us of his 
 death." 
 
 9969. "One night my wife and I went down to take supper with her 
 mother a few years ago, and while we were eating supper someone 
 knocked three times on the front door. I got up and went to the 
 door. No one was there. I came back to the table and we were 
 talking about the knocking and wondering who it was for, for 
 no one was sick in the family at that time. Two days after that, 
 my wife's mother took real sick and died before the week was 
 over. It was an omen for her." 
 
 9970. "My daughter was in bed one night and she heard three raps on 
 the dining room door. She got up and looked and no one was 
 there. She went back to bed and heard three raps on the dining 
 room door again. She knew then that it was the death angel. And 
 her little girl fell in the w'ell a few days after that and was drown." 
 
 9971. "One day my mother heard three knocks on the head of the bed, 
 and my father died that week." 
 
 9972. To hear three raps on the door and window at the same time 
 means a death in the family. 
 
 9973. "If you b^ve a patch of lettuce growing in your yard, and if 
 there is a white stalk among it, don't pull it up, for it means you 
 are pulling up a death in your family." 
 
 9974. If a candle goes out before burning to the end, a death is por- 
 tended. 
 
 9975. To allow a candle to burn itself out means that someone will die. 
 
 9976. The wind blowing out a light indicates a death. 
 
 9977. W'hen a light goes out, expect a death before the year is gone. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams Count j Illinois 569 
 
 9978. "I was taking care of a man with consumption. One night the 
 lamp went out and the front door opened at the same time. I went 
 and hghted the lamp and closed the door. Just as soon as I sit 
 down by the bed, the same thing happened again. I got up again 
 and my patient said, 'Never mind closing the door, they are coming 
 for me and I will go out that door in a few days.' And he died in 
 three days." 
 
 9979. Expect a death when an electric light in a hospital ward goes out. 
 
 9980. "I was over to see my sister one night and she had a lamp on the 
 table that was burning, and not thinking, she went and set an- 
 other lamp on the table. She said to me, 'Oh, look what I have 
 done ! I have two lighted lamps on the table at one time. Some- 
 one will die sure.' My stepfather was not well at the time, and 
 when I went home that night he was passing away." 
 
 9981. When the chimney of a lighted lamp breaks, someone in the family 
 will die. 
 
 9982. "One night I w^as at a party, and a lamp chimney cracked. I said, 
 'Someone in this party will hear bad news shortly.' And they did. 
 One of the party got a telegram that her sister had been shot." 
 
 9983. "My mother had been sick but was getting along real nice. She 
 was in one room, my sister and I were in another room. After we 
 put out the lamp, we were lying on the bed talking about mother, 
 when a big light hit the door that went into mother's room and 
 the light went everywhere. My sister jump out of bed on one 
 side and I on the other. We both went to the window but we could 
 not see any light anywhere. We knew it was an omen. And our 
 mother died that week." 
 
 9984. "My sister and I were lying in bed one night and my sister said, 
 'Oh, look at that light going through the room.' I looked too and 
 saw it. I said, 'Oh, I don't like that, for that is an omen.' And 
 our father took sick the next day and died in three days after we 
 saw the light." Not the same sisters of the preceding item. 
 
 9985. "Two days before my father died, my sister and I were lying in 
 bed and we saw a light over our bed. It just kept twinkling all 
 the time. We could not find out what it was. The next day my 
 father came to my house on horseback, and on his way there his 
 nose started to bleeding, and he died that night in the bed right 
 
 under where we saw the light twinkle." Not the same sisters 
 
 of the preceding items. 
 
 9986. "My sister and I slept together, and a week before she died I saw 
 a big bright light over the bed every night at eight o'clock. She 
 did not see it. I tried to make her see it but she did not. I guess 
 
570 
 
 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 it is because I was born with a veil on that I saw it." Not 
 
 the same sisters of the preceding items. 
 
 9987. "A man that hves back of us lost his mother about six months 
 ago. He told the neighbor lady that the night before she died he 
 heard a funny noise. He sat up in bed and lighted a cigarette, 
 and all at once a light passed through the room, making the room 
 as light as day. His mother was sleeping downstairs, and when 
 he went down the next morning his mother was dying." 
 
 9988. "One night a bright light went through our house. Several people 
 saw it. It came in the front door and when it got to the kitchen, 
 all at once you could hear a loud noise, like an explosion or 
 something busting. My husband was very worried, he thought 
 it was a token for me because I was sick ; but it was a token for 
 my sister in Chicago. She died in several weeks after that." 
 
 9989. "My mother lived in a house years ago with several families. One 
 day she was walking through the hall and she saw a bright light 
 under a bed. She thought maybe the bed was on fire and she 
 called to the woman that had that room, and they couldn't find 
 the light. And the woman that slept in that bed died in two weeks. 
 She gave birth to a child, and both died. So that was a token, 
 seeing the light." 
 
 9990. "Years ago I was lying in bed one night and a big star went 
 across the room. It scared me, and I said to my mother, 'Get up 
 and light the lamp, a big star went through the room and some- 
 thing is going to happen.' My father heard me and started to 
 fussing, saying, 'Fanny, you have been reading ghost stories to 
 that child.' And while my father was fussing and my mother 
 trying to tell me maybe I didn't see it, someone knocked on the 
 front door and told us my mother's mother passed away. And 
 we found out she died just when the star went through the room." 
 
 9991. "One night I saw a star floating around the room, and my brother 
 
 died that week." The informant is different from the one in 
 
 the preceding Hem. 
 
 9992. "My brother was taking a bath in the bathtub and one of the light 
 bulbs on the wall broke and all red and green lights went through 
 the bathroom. And my sister was standing right by his tub. After 
 the lights left the room, just as soon as my brother got dressed, 
 
 he went out and told the woman he was boarding with that 
 
 he was going home on the first train out, something was wrong 
 
 with his sister, that he had an omen He left on the next train, 
 
 and when he got home he found sister dead. She passed away just 
 when that light went through his room." 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 571 
 
 9993. "A girl was sewing at the sewing machine one day. It was a 
 beautiful day. When all at once she saw a flash of lightning. It 
 hit her machine and ran down to the floor. It scared her because 
 there was no cloud in the sky. And her mother was not feeling 
 well, so she thought it was a warning telling of her mother's death, 
 which took place in ten days after she saw the lightning." 
 
 9994. "There were several women sitting up with a corpse. All at once 
 they saw a light in the window. The woman near the window 
 said, 'Something is going to happen.' The very next night she 
 died." 
 
 9995. "One evening I was returning home with my sister about eight 
 o'clock at night. Just before entering the gate of our yard we 
 saw a light upstairs in the house moving from room to room. We 
 entered the house and went into the front room where mother was 
 sitting and asked her who was upstairs. She said no one was 
 upstairs, or for that matter at home. But we went up to make 
 sure. We didn't see any light. Within three months my father 
 and two brothers died." 
 
 9996. "Two years ago just at sunset I was out in the yard and I saw a 
 big ball of fire in the heaven and a little ball of fire drop from it. 
 I knew someone was going to die. And my sister took sick and 
 died in two days after that, and her baby died a month after that. 
 The big ball of fire was for my sister, and the little ball of fire for 
 her baby." 
 
 9997. "Two years ago my niece was walking down the road about dusk 
 and she saw a big ball of fire right in the road in front of her, and 
 when she got to the ball of fire it disappeared. It worried her 
 very much because her mother was not well, and when she got 
 back to the house she said, 'Someone is going to die because I saw 
 a ball of fire down in the road just now.' And right after that her 
 little girl took down with pneumonia and died in several weeks. 
 
 It was not for her mother as she thought." Same woman as 
 
 in the preceding item, but describing two different events. 
 
 9998. "One day my grandma and I were sitting on the front doorstep 
 years ago, and my grandma said, 'Look at that light coming up 
 the road.' I looked but could not see it. She said, 'Why, it is 
 coming in the front gate right up the walk.' And it was no time 
 until she died." 
 
 9999. "Three years ago one Saturday night I was driving out Eight 
 Street with a friend and all the lights on the car went out at 
 Eighth and Chestnut. We tried every way to get them started and 
 they would not light. My niece lives right along there so this 
 
572 Memoirs' of the .Ibna Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 friend said, 'I will get your niece to sit with you until I go and 
 get a battery. And when he was coming out of her yard, the 
 lights started to coming on. He said, 'Look, the lights are all on !' 
 We dro\e home and did not have any more trouble for a year 
 with the lights. The lights going off like they did was a token of 
 my brother's death. Sunday morning I got a call to come home, 
 that my brother took sick Saturday night ; and he died Sunday 
 morning at three o'clock. He took sick just when those lights 
 went out. I found out when I went home." 
 
 10000. Kill a locust (cicada) and you will soon die. 
 
 10001. One of the three persons who light their cigarettes with the 
 same match will die soon. 
 
 10002. When three persons light their cigarettes or cigars with the same 
 match, death will soon come to the one who received the last light. 
 
 10003. The person who measures his height is measuring his coffin. 
 
 10004. It is the sign of death in the family, if you let a piece of meat 
 fall from your mouth when at the table. 
 
 10005. If you see your shadow while looking into a mirror, you may 
 expect a death. 
 
 10006. When two persons look into a mirror at the same time, one of 
 them is going to die. 
 
 10007. Looking over another person's shoulder into a mirror indicates 
 that the younger of the two will die first. 
 
 10008. Never permit a sick person to see himself in a looking-glass ; it 
 portends a death. 
 
 10009. "My little girl was two years old. She had been very sick for a 
 week with congestive chills. I was sitting by her bed and all at 
 once a little white mouse came from somewhere and looked up in 
 my face so pitiful. And the next day my little girl died." 
 
 10010. If a family moves into a house that has never been occupied, 
 someone will die. 
 
 10011. "If you hear music and there is no one playing it, it is the voice 
 of death calling one of your friends." 
 
 10012. "Three days before my mother died I heard music over her bed. 
 It sounded like someone was playing chimes, and four days be- 
 fore my brother died I heard the same thing, the chimes playing 
 right over his head." 
 
 10013. "Four months before my little girl died, every time I would go 
 by her buggy I would hear music in the buggy. I told my 
 husband something was going to happen, and she died." 
 
 10014. "My sister and I were sitting in the house one night. We heard 
 music. It came in with the air and floated right out with the air. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 573 
 
 That night our neighbor next door had a stroke and died in the 
 night." 
 
 10015. "My father could not sleep one night after he went to bed. He 
 just kept hearing beautiful music out in the air. He was worried 
 over it, but would not tell us. He just said he could not sleep 
 and went out into the yard. The next day my seventeen year 
 old brother stepped on a nail, blood poison set in, and he died 
 before the week was over. Then he told us about hearing the 
 music." 
 
 10016. Cut the nails of a sick person and he will die. 
 
 10017. "If you want to find out if some of your friends are going to die 
 the next year, stand in front of a looking-glass on New Year's 
 
 Eve with your back to the glass. Call their names 'In the 
 
 Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost' and pray. Then 
 
 walk out of the room. Then walk back into the room still walking 
 backwards. And if you see a coffin in the glass, they will die; 
 if you don't see a coffin, they will live. Do this at twelve 
 o'clock." 
 
 10018. "If you go into a dark room on New Year's Eve just as the clock 
 
 is striking twelve and look into a looking-glass if you see 
 
 a coffin in the glass, you will die that year; and if you don't see 
 the coffin, you will not die that year." 
 
 10019. "If it is clear on New Year's Day, the white folks will die more 
 than the colored folks that year." 
 
 10020. "If it is gloomy on New Year's Day, the colored folks will die 
 more than the white folks that year." 
 
 10021. "One morning I was out on the back porch and something fell 
 down on the porch. It sounded like a big rock hit the porch. My 
 other son ran out and said, 'Mother, what was that?' We could 
 not find anything that hit the porch. And that day we got word 
 my other son that was out of town took his life with a gun when 
 we heard that noise." 
 
 10022. "One evening I was sitting rocking the baby when all at once 
 something hit our closet door. It sounded like all the dishes fell 
 out. I jumped up to see what was wrong and could not find 
 anything. My brother took his life over in Missouri just when 
 
 it sounded like all the dishes fell out of the closet." Different 
 
 family from the one in the preceding item. 
 
 10023. An object of any kind falling during the night is a sign of death. 
 
 10024. An owl hooting at night presages a death. 
 
 10025. "One night an old owl hollered, and we had three deaths on that 
 block all in a week's time." 
 
574 Memoirs^ of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 10026. If an owl hoots in the moonhght, there will be a death. 
 
 10027. Either a death or a birth is signified, when an owl hoots in front 
 of the house. 
 
 10028. The hooting of an owl in the back yard foretells death for some- 
 one in the family. 
 
 10029. "Just before my uncle died, an owl came and set on a tree in 
 front of the house for three nights, hooting. The fourth day my 
 uncle died." 
 
 10030. "An old owl came and sit on the tree right by this cottage three 
 nights and hollered, and Mr, T. died in here." 
 
 10031. To hear a peewee sing, is a portent of death. 
 
 10032. Expect a death in the family, if a peewee calls three times near 
 your house. 
 
 10033. The song of the "death bird" (peeivee) will be, "Komm mit 
 (come with me)," when someone in the house is going to die. 
 
 10034. If early in the morning a bird (peewee) near the house crys, 
 "Geh' mit (go zvith me)," the notes beginning softly and grad- 
 ually becoming louder, it forebodes a death in the family. 
 
 10035. To miss a row when planting onions signifies that someone will 
 die. 
 
 10036. A piece of white paper flying by your window means a death. 
 
 10037. A peach tree blooming prematurely is an omen of death. 
 
 10038. "Fifteen years ago we had a peach tree to bloom in the yard in 
 October. My sister was the first to see it and she said to my 
 mother, *Oh, look at that peach tree in bloom! That is an omen 
 for me.' My mother said, 'What is wrong with you?' But my 
 sister kept saying it was for her. And she died in two weeks 
 after she saw the peach tree." 
 
 10039. When a peacock cries in an unusual manner, there will be a 
 death. 
 
 10040. A peacock strutting around the house three times indicates death 
 for someone in the family. 
 
 10041. To carry a peacock feather into the house forebodes a death. 
 
 10042. If a pear tree blooms out of season, someone in the family will 
 die. 
 
 10043. "A woman's mother was sick and we were all sitting in the sit- 
 ting room, no one was in the parlor, when all at once someone 
 run the keys over the piano. We all heard it, and her mother 
 died that night." 
 
 10044. "We were all sitting in the sitting room one evening and we 
 heard a noise at the piano, and it sounded like every string on 
 the piano broke. We looked and we could not find anything 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 575 
 
 wrong with our piano. And in three weeks and at the same hour 
 we heard that noise, my mother died. It was a token, for she 
 was well when we heard it." 
 
 10045. "Just a year ago we were sitting on the porch and we heard such 
 a noise in the front room. We went in and the Lord's picture 
 fell off the wall, and in two weeks my son died." 
 
 10046. "One day the Lord's picture fell down. The string did not break, 
 it just dropped down. My niece died that week." Different 
 family from that in the preceding item. 
 
 10047. "We were eating dinner and my niece said, 'Oh, aunt, look ! The 
 picture in the front room is falling down.' It went down real 
 easy, and in ten days my brother died." 
 
 10048. "One day our family picture fell off the wall and it worried me, 
 because I knew it was an omen; and my brother died the next 
 week." 
 
 10049. "My grandma's picture fell to the floor one day, and the next 
 day my little brother that was nine months old took sick and 
 died that week. Two years after that my grandma's picture fell 
 again to the floor. I had a little brother just a week old. That 
 picture falling just seemed to knock the breath right out of my 
 'little brother, for he was dead before we could pick the picture 
 up." 
 
 10050. A picture falling from the wall indicates a death before the end 
 of the year. 
 
 10051. When a picture falls from the wall, the person whose picture it 
 is, will soon die. 
 
 10052. The dropping of a large family portrait from the wall presages 
 a death. 
 
 10053. If a small picture drops from the wall, it portends death for a 
 child in the family. 
 
 10054. To have a picture fall from the north wall of a room signifies 
 that a neighbor living north of your house is about to die. 
 
 10055. A picture dropping from the south wall of a room forebodes 
 death for some neighbor who lives south of your house. 
 
 10056. It is the sign that someone has just died, when a picture falls 
 from the wall. 
 
 10057. The person who picks up a picture that has fallen from the wall 
 will die. 
 
 10058. If a person's picture is standing on something and falls over on 
 its face, that person will die inside of a year. 
 
 10059. If a portrait or photograph of someone is torn, there will be a 
 death in less than a year. 
 
576 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 10060. To (lr(>j> a ix?r.son's photograph foretells his death. 
 
 10061. Breaking the glass that covers a family jx>rtrait means that the 
 person whose portrait it is, will soon die. 
 
 10062. The cooing of pigeons denotes a death in the family that owns 
 them. 
 
 10063. A pigeon lighting on the house is a death warning for someone 
 in the family. 
 
 10064. If a pigeon flies against the window, a death will follow. 
 
 10065. To have a pigeon break its neck against the window of a sick 
 room means that the patient will die. 
 
 10066. It is an omen of death, if a pigeon lights on a window sill. 
 
 10067. "A neighbor saw a white pigeon alight on a window sill of the 
 house next door. The pigeon left and returned again the next 
 day ; and the lady living at that house died that week." 
 
 10068. You may look for a death, when a pigeon flies into the house. 
 
 10069. There will be a death, if a strange pigeon enters the house and 
 sits on the bed. 
 
 10070. For every pine tree you plant in the yard there will be a death 
 in your family. 
 
 10071. "One night I was rocking my baby. He had not been very well, 
 and all at once two plates I have hanging on the wall started to 
 making a noise just like someone was hitting them. They would 
 just ring, just like someone was playing a tune, and baby died 
 the next day." 
 
 10072. "One night I put several nice large potatoes in the stove to bake. 
 When I went to get them, one of the potatoes was all scooped 
 out, just like someone had taken a spoon and took out one of 
 the potatoes. Nothing was left but the skin, and no one was in 
 the house. It was a token, for my husband dropped dead the 
 next day." 
 
 10073. "Aly father was lying on the couch one day and he jump up and 
 said, 'Something is wrong with my father. I just had a token.' 
 And we got word that day his father died just when he jumped 
 up and said, 'Something is wrong with my father'." 
 
 10074. "About forty-eight years ago I could not get my uncle Charlie 
 out of my mind. I would just sit and wonder if he died, if I 
 had a black dress to wear, and if they would send me a telegram. 
 What would they say. I just could not get that off my mind, so 
 I sit down and wrote my uncle a long letter, telling him how 
 much I thought of him, that he had been more than a father to 
 me. And when they got my letter, the next day he was dead." 
 
 10075. If a primrose blooms in your yard during the autumn, there will 
 be a death. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 
 
 S77 
 
 10076. "A bob white (quail) came three nights after dark and sit on our 
 gatepost and hollered, and on the third night my baby died." 
 
 10077. To see two white rabbits at night means a death. 
 
 10078. If a rabbit runs across a grave while you are in a cemetery, you 
 are going to die. 
 
 10079. Large drops of rain indicate that there has been a death. 
 
 10080. To have a rainbow bend over a house portends a death in that 
 family. 
 
 10081. Drag a rake through the house and you are dragging a death into 
 the family. 
 
 10082. A death is indicated, when a rat gnaws your clothes. 
 
 10083. A rat gnawing a man's overcoat signifies that that man will 
 soon die. 
 
 10084. To meet and not to recognize a friend on the street foretells his 
 early death. 
 
 10085. "A redbird came and picked on the bedroom window upstairs 
 and tried to get in; he almost broke the glass, picking so hard. 
 And my brother died that week." 
 
 10086. If a redbird pecks on the window of a sickroom until its bill 
 bleeds, the patient will die. 
 
 10087. To have a redbird light on the window sill means a death. 
 
 10088. "A robin came and sit on the window sill for three days and 
 sang each morning. He would try to get in. On the third day 
 my uncle died." 
 
 10089. Accidentally placing a rope round a man's neck shows that he 
 will die by hanging. 
 
 10090. If you are out in the woods and find a white rose before Mother's 
 Day (second Sunday in May), you will be dead before that day 
 arrives. 
 
 10091. "My sister was sitting by the window looking out. She had con- 
 sumption. She said to us, 'Do you see that red rose out there in 
 the yard? I will not be here when that rose is open.' And she 
 died before it did open." 
 
 10092. Planting sage seed in the yard will bring a death into the family. 
 
 10093. It is an omen of death to return borrowed salt. 
 
 10094. A sapsucker flying around the house is a sign of death. 
 
 10095. It means a death, if a sapsucker looks into the house through a 
 window. 
 
 10096. To think that it is Saturday and find yourself mistaken, presages 
 a death. 
 
 10097. Carry a saw through the house and someone in the family will 
 die before the year is over. 
 
578 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 1(X)98. "Several years ago my neighbor next door was in Quincy in the 
 hospital very sick. I was in bed. I heard this woman scream at 
 the foot of my bed. I got up and said, 'That is an omen.' And 
 she died in Quincy just when I heard that scream." 
 
 1CX)99. If the thread knots, the sewer will not live to wear out the 
 garment she is making. 
 
 10100. Sewing a garment that you have on, means that you are sewing 
 your shroud. 
 
 10101. To sew a button on clothing while someone is wearing it, means 
 that that person will die before the clothing wears out. 
 
 10102. A dress made without ripping a stitch portends your death before 
 the dress is worn out. 
 
 10103. If you start to make a dress on Friday and do not finish it that 
 day, you will never live to wear it out. 
 
 10104. Never go to a dressmaker on Friday to have a dress cut out; 
 you will die before you can wear out the dress. 
 
 10105. "My mother's friend cut out a pair of pants for her little boy 
 on a Saturday and didn't get them done, and he died before the 
 next Saturday, She always thought if she had not cut the pants 
 out on Saturday, he would have lived." 
 
 10106. "My father seventy years ago went out in the yard after dark 
 and the clothesline was just full of white sheets blowing on the 
 line. He went to the line and there were no sheets on the line. 
 He knew then it was an omen, and his wife took sick and died 
 in a few days after that." 
 
 10107. "Sixty years ago we lived on a farm out here by Payson. I was 
 a girl. We had a long row of gooseberry bushes in the yard. 
 My mother would always lay some of the clothes over them to 
 dry when she would do her washing. One night my mother went 
 out in the yard to do something and saw a large white sheet 
 lying over one of the bushes. Thinking she forgot some of her 
 washing, she went over to get the sheet, and just when she got to 
 the bush, the sheet went right up in the air and disappeared. She 
 knew then it was an omen. And her favorite sister took sick and 
 died before ten days." 
 
 10108. If you put a shoe on the wrong foot, you will soon go to the 
 graveyard. 
 
 10109. The person who becomes sick in a March that has two new 
 moons will never recover. 
 
 10110. A shark following a ship is a sign that someone on board will 
 die before reaching port. 
 
 10111. When you walk around in one shoe, you are measuring your 
 mother's grave. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 579 
 
 10112. "My grandfather was not feeling very well and one Saturday 
 night the shutters just shook and shook. We thought a big storm 
 was coming up, but it was clear outside; and my grandfather 
 died the next day at twelve o'clock." 
 
 10113. "Twenty-two years ago when we were living down on our farm 
 on Rock Creek, my brother's wife was staying with us. She was 
 not well. jMy son and I one night heard someone singing, 'Hal- 
 lelujah, over the hills (hymn).' I thought then it was an omen. 
 And the very next night when my brother's wife was in bed, she 
 said to me, *Do you hear that church bell ringing in the chimney?' 
 We did, but we didn't want to say anything about it, for she was 
 not well. And she died the next night at the same time she heard 
 the church bell ringing in the chimney." 
 
 10114. If while singing "Nearer, my God, to thee," you are unable to 
 change immediately the tune into a melody, a friend of yours 
 will die. 
 
 10115. One night a girl heard a choir at the foot of her bed, singing, 
 "Nearer, my God, to thee;" and a relative died at that moment 
 in St. Louis. 
 
 10116. Singing in one's sleep is the sign of death. 
 
 10117. "About five years ago we moved into a house. I was afraid to go 
 in any room in that house at night without my husband. I would 
 make him go with me all the time. One night he said, 'Are you 
 crazy ? What is wrong that you are so afraid in this house ?' In 
 just a few weeks after that I lost my little girl, and a few weeks 
 after her death I lost my husband. I was by him as his breath 
 left him, I could feel it pass me; and I was never afraid after 
 that. Being afraid in that house was an omen of them dying." 
 
 10118. "I had a friend that was sitting by her sick mother's bed, and 
 just before her mother died, she saw a cloud of smoke roll up to 
 the ceiling. And her mother died the next morning." 
 
 10119. "We had a neighbor. Someone was real sick and one of those 
 sign snakes (any snake believed to bring a zvarning) came to 
 the front door and raised its head up and looked right at that sick 
 person. One woman that was sitting in the room said, 'Look at 
 that sign snake !' The snake turned and run, and they followed it 
 and killed it. I think it was a shame to kill that snake after it 
 came to warn that the person was going to die." 
 
 10120. "Just before one of my neighbors died, I dreamt of her coming 
 to see me that night in the shape of a big black snake. Her head 
 was there and her body a big black snake, so large it could not 
 get in the house. She died the next day." 
 
 10121. If you see a snake doctor (dragon fly) on your door, or trying 
 
580 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 to get in, it presages a death. "We had a woman staying at 
 
 our house, and one of those snake doctors or green hornets came 
 and sit on the door just a month ago, and my husband cut its 
 head off; but the woman that was staying with us died." 
 
 10122. The one who sneezes at the table will soon die. 
 
 10123. Sneezing thrice before breakfast is a death omen. 
 
 10124. To sneeze with your mouth full of food at the table means that 
 someone in the family is going to die. 
 
 10125. There will be a death in your family, if you sneeze on Sunday 
 morning. 
 
 10126. The person who sneezes before breakfast on Sunday morning 
 will hear of a death before the week is gone. 
 
 10127. If you sneeze on Sunday morning at the breakfast table, expect 
 a death in the family. 
 
 10128. When anyone sneezes at the breakfast table on Sunday morning, 
 he will hear of a death before the week is over, or within a week. 
 
 10129. You will hear of a death before the end of the day, if you sneeze 
 three times before breakfast on Sunday morning. 
 
 10130. To sneeze thrice before breakfast on Sunday morning foretells 
 three deaths before the week has passed. 
 
 10131. If you sneeze twice in the evening for three successive evenings, 
 a member of your family will die. 
 
 10132. Sneezing seven times in succession indicates that you will soon 
 die. 
 
 10133. Never rub soap over your skin on Friday or you will die before 
 the year ends. 
 
 10134. It is believed that a soldier always has a premonition of his death. 
 
 10135. Carrying a shovel or spade into the house signifies an early 
 grave for someone in the family. 
 
 10136. The person who carries a spade into the house is digging his 
 grave, or some other person will dig the grave. 
 
 10137. To carry a spade through the house, in one door and out another, 
 denotes a death. 
 
 10138. "Never sit a spade in the house or you will have a death. One 
 day my father was digging up something and he came in to get a 
 drink, and he sit the spade up against the wall just inside of the 
 door. My mother said, 'Oh, why did you do that, for don't you 
 know that is bad luck and death ?' It was not a month until my 
 mother passed away." 
 
 10139. A death is presaged, if a sparrow sits on the window sill. 
 
 10140. Two persons saying the same thing at the same time presages a 
 death for one of them. 
 
 10141. If you hear a "knocking spider," it is the sig^ of death. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams Comity Illinois 581 
 
 According to several negroes, a "knocking spider" makes a faint 
 staccato sound. 
 
 10142. It is a portent of death, if a spider spins a web over the bed. 
 
 10143. A shooting star indicates that someone has just died. 
 
 10144. The person who in the early evening begins to count the stars 
 and does not finish the task, will soon die. 
 
 10145. If a person is sitting down with his feet stretched out and some- 
 one stumbles or steps over them, he will not live long. 
 
 10146. To step over a person's feet and not to step back over them 
 immediately portends his death. 
 
 10147. There will be a sudden death in the family, if the sun is blood- 
 red at sunset on a rainy day. 
 
 10148. Sweep under the bed of a sick person and he will die. 
 
 10149. Sweeping dirt out of the house after dark presages the sweeper's 
 death before the month is out. 
 
 10150. If a person lets a swing die and stop before he gets out of it, his 
 death is portended. 
 
 10151. To let a swing die instead of stopping it, means a death in the 
 family. 
 
 10152. A singing teakettle is a death warning. 
 
 10153. "One of the girls that belongs to my bridge club was telling me 
 she had some relatives for supper during Christmas holidays, 
 and when they were all at the table, there were thirteen ; and in 
 a month this girl's mother died. And one of them said she 
 knew that someone would die, but she didn't say anything be- 
 cause she was afraid she would frighten someone." 
 
 10154. "A woman said she would not sit at the table where thirteen were. 
 That was a sign that one at the table would die before the month 
 was out. This woman belonged to a club in St. Louis several years 
 ago with twelve people. One night one of the doctors in the club 
 
 brought a guest. T was real angry and said Do you know 
 
 doctor, someone in this crowd will die before the month is out? 
 
 He made fun of me and said You don't believe that 
 
 old stufif ? And that doctor himself took sick and died before 
 
 the club met again'." 
 
 10155. If thirteen persons sit at a table together, one of them will die 
 before the year is out. 
 
 10156. The first person to arise from the table, at which thirteen persons 
 are sitting, will die within a year. 
 
 10157. When thirteen persons sit down to a meal, half of them will die 
 inside of six months. 
 
 10158. If you count the cars of a passenger train, you will hear of a 
 death. 
 
582 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation, 
 
 10159. Pulling up a small tree by the roots is a death portent. 
 
 10160. A death is presaged, if a storm uproots a tree. 
 
 10161. A tree dying in the yard foretells a death in the house. 
 
 10162. If a tree on the edge of the street in front of a house dies, it 
 denotes death for some member of the family, or a death in the 
 neighborhood. 
 
 10163. You may look for a death, when a fruit tree blooms out of 
 season. 
 
 10164. Fruit and blossoms on the same tree indicate a death. 
 
 10165. The blossoming of a tree twice in the same year presages a death. 
 
 10166. If a tree that is planted at a grave dies, the planter will soon be 
 dead. 
 
 10167. A turkey buzzard flying over the house forebodes death. 
 
 10168. Opening an umbrella on the porch will bring a death to that 
 house before the end of the year. 
 
 10169. To open an umbrella in the house is the sign of death. 
 
 10170. If you raise an umbrella in the house, there will be a death in 
 the family. 
 
 10171. If an umbrella is raised in the house, the person who stands 
 under it will die. 
 
 10172. To raise an umbrella in the house and to put it over your head, 
 means death for someone in the family. 
 
 10173. If you walk about in the house with an open umbrella over your 
 head, a member of the family is going to die. 
 
 10174. Dropping an umbrella on the floor signifies a murder in that 
 house. 
 
 10175. "One morning I went to the store, and on my way home when I 
 got to the corner, I saw Mr. S. the undertaker going in our yard. 
 I started to running and when I got to our yard, my husband was 
 standing out in the yard. He said, 'What are you running for?' 
 I said, T just saw the undertaker come in and thought something 
 was wrong.' He said, 'No one has been here.' At twelve o'clock 
 I saw Mr. S. in the yard, and in the afternoon I saw Mr. S. again. 
 I told my husband and he said, 'Hell, you got the undertaker on 
 your brain.' And just three weeks after that, Mr. S. the under- 
 taker did carry my husband out of the house dead." 
 
 10176. "One night I stepped out of the kitchen door for a few minutes. 
 We had an old shed out in the yard close to the house. It was 
 nine-thirty at night, and I saw an old wagon under the shed, and 
 under the right wheel in the rear was a big white dog in that 
 wheel. We had no wagon in that shed. The next morning at 
 nine-thirty my aunt died. It was a token." 
 
 10177. "Seventy years ago my uncle was sick in Ursa, and one night a 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 583 
 
 dead wagon backed up against the front porch. The folks in the 
 house heard the noise and looked out, and as the wagon started 
 away, a coffin was in the wagon. The uncle died that night, and 
 that dead wagon they saw was the spiritual wagon." 
 
 10178. A member of your family will die, if you walk on the cracks or 
 the lines in a sidewalk. 
 
 10179. To permit another person to pass between you and your com- 
 panion, when you are walking, means death for someone in the 
 family. 
 
 10180. When four persons, each from a different family, walk abreast 
 down the street, one of them will soon die. 
 
 10181. A wall creaking at night forebodes a death. 
 
 10182. To do the family washing on New Year's Day will bring a death 
 to the house that year. 
 
 10183. If you have clothes hanging on the line on New Year's Eve, and 
 they blow back and forth at midnight, they are blowing a death 
 into the house that year. 
 
 10184. One night a woman heard a noise as if someone were dragging 
 a tree branch down the weather boarding of her house. Her 
 eldest son died within a year. When the author interviewed this 
 woman and was asking about death warnings, she seemed rather 
 disturbed by the subject. It was then that she told about the 
 noise and her son's death, adding that she had heard the same 
 sound only last night. This was the cause of her nervousness. 
 As a matter of coincidence, the woman died within the year 
 following the interview. 
 
 10185. If you look down into a well on the 1st of May and see your 
 reflection, someone in your family will die inside of a year. 
 
 10186. Never let anyone ride you in a wheelbarrow, or you will soon 
 ride in a hearse. 
 
 10187. "My mother always told me if a whippoorwill sings near your 
 house you will have a death in the family. One night a whip- 
 poorwill came and sit on the corner of our house and hollered. I 
 went out and run it away. The next morning it came back again. 
 I run it away again, but inside of an hour we got word my 
 sister was dead." 
 
 10188. "He had a very sick aunt. They were all there to visit her and 
 about dark a whippoorwill flew in and sat on the head of the bed 
 and hollered 'whippoorwill' three times, and the folks said, 'Aunt 
 Mary will die in three days.' And the whippoorwill flew away 
 hollering 'whippoorwill' three times. And in three days at the 
 same time aunt Mary died." 
 
 10189. "My grandmother was not feeling well. We were sitting in the 
 
584 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 kitchen. All at once she said, 'Look at that white thing in the 
 window.' She said, 'Oh, it fell down!' We did not see it or find 
 it. She died in two weeks. It was a token." 
 
 10191. If a window is made into a door, there will be a death in tlie 
 family. 
 
 10192. Cutting a new window in an old house signifies that someone 
 will die before the year is gone. 
 
 10193. When windows rattle without any apparent cause, you may 
 expect a death. 
 
 10194. Writing on the windows means that you will have a death in 
 the house. 
 
 10195. A window shade flying up is the sign of death. 
 
 10196. A noise like someone throwing down an armful of wood portends 
 a death. 
 
 10197. If a woodpecker pecks on a house where there is sickness, flys 
 away and returns several times to peck, the sick person will die. 
 
 10198. To have a woodpecker peck on your house three times is a sign 
 of death. 
 
 THE DYING 
 
 10199. Death usually takes place between midnight and dawn, because 
 the vitality of the body is then at its lowest. 
 
 10200. "My husband was sick. I knew he was going to die because he 
 would pick at the curtains all the time, just kept picking at them. 
 That is a sure sign of death. All at once he rose up and got hold 
 of the curtain and almost pulled it down, and said, 'Sally, let us 
 go.' I said, 'Not now.' And he died in a few minutes." 
 
 10201. "The week before my husband died he kept pulling and pulling 
 all the time at the sheets. We could not keep them on the bed." 
 
 10202. "My brother-in-law was sick for weeks, and the doctor told us 
 he could not die on feathers. As soon as we moved the feather 
 bed from under him, he passed away." 
 
 10203. "It is a very old saying, if you sleep on pigeon feathers you 
 cannot die." 
 
 10204. If a person has difficulty in dying, make a cross from a piece of 
 palm that was blessed on Palm Sunday, and place it over his 
 heart. 
 
 10205. When a dying person has severe and prolonged death pangs, put 
 an open Bible under his head. 
 
 10206. You can call back a dying person by repeatedly screaming or 
 shouting his name. However, this might hold him for an hour 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illbiois 
 
 585 
 
 or several days, but it will be much more difficult for him when 
 he be^ns to die again, for such a person dies in agony. 
 
 10207. You can revive a dying person by blowing your breath into his 
 face. 
 
 10208. To make a dying person linger longer, burn candles. 
 
 10209. The last name uttered by a dying person will be the name of the 
 next one to die. 
 
 10210. If a father or mother is dying, the child who is absent will be the 
 next to die. 
 
 10211. To discover whether a person is dead, hold a mirror to his mouth. 
 If there is moisture on the mirror, he is still alive; if there is no 
 moisture, he is dead. 
 
 10212. To ascertain whether a person is dead, stick a pin into him. If 
 on drawing out the pin, the pinhole closes, he is living; if the 
 pinhole remains open, he is dead. 
 
 10213. "I know a man that was very mean, he was dying, and another 
 man was sitting up with him. Just as the other man was dying, 
 this other man was standing by the bed and something grabbed 
 this man around the waist, and at the same time a long chain all 
 red dropped down from the ceiling and went right down through 
 the floor. This man said it was the devil after this man dying, 
 and grabbing him by mistake." 
 
 10214. "If you die angry at old folks, you will go to hell." 
 
 BETWEEN DEATH AND BURIAL 
 
 10215. Each death is followed by a birth. 
 
 10216. If there is a death, you may expect a marriage. 
 
 10217. For every death in the family there will be either a birth or a 
 wedding. 
 
 10218. A death signifies both a birth and a marriage in the family. 
 
 10219. One death in the fajnily is always followed by two more within 
 a year. 
 
 10220. If two members of a family die inside of a month, there will 
 soon be a third death. 
 
 10221. A death on a block in your street (or in your neighborhood) 
 indicates that there will be two more deaths in the same block 
 (or neighborhood) before the year is out. The third death does 
 not mean the end of death, for three successive deaths may occur 
 often in the same neighborhood. 
 
 10222. If there is a death, it will rain. 
 
586 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 10223. "If it rains while you have a corpse in the house, do not worry, 
 for they are very happy." 
 
 10224. The corpse knows what is going on in the house for three days. 
 
 10225. You will have bad luck, if you speak ill of the dead. 
 
 10226. As soon as the head of a family dies, someone must tell all the 
 animals about his death or they will die. 
 
 10227. If there are bedbugs in the bed on which someone dies, they 
 will leave the bed as soon as death takes place. 
 
 10228. "If you have bees and the master died, go out and cover all the 
 hives and tell the queen, so they won't swarm and leave. When 
 my grandfather died fifty-five years ago, we had an orchard full 
 of beehives, and we went out and covered every hive and told the 
 
 queen he was dead, to keep the bees from leaving." This 
 
 belief must have been rare in the county. The example given is 
 the only one that has been found. 
 
 10229. A bird will sit on something that belonged to the person who 
 has just died. 
 
 10230. Remove the cat from the house as soon as a person dies or it will 
 cause the family bad luck. 
 
 10231. "If you are sitting up with a corpse, and a black cat comes into 
 the room, someone in that room will die right after that funeral." 
 
 10232. A cat will eat a corpse. The face is usually attacked. 
 
 10233. "When my father died, the clock stopped running just when he 
 died, and we could not start that clock again so we gave it away." 
 
 10234. A clock stopping at the moment of death foretells another death 
 in the family before the year is gone. 
 
 10235. Stop the clock in a death room or you will have bad luck. 
 
 10236. The clock should be stopped as soon as a person dies and not 
 restarted until after the funeral. 
 
 10237. "If someone dies and you don't stop the clock just when they die, 
 you will have another death in the family just at the same time 
 they died at the same time within a year." 
 
 10238. "Never let a clock run after someone dies. Stop it as soon as 
 they die and don't let it run until after the funeral. Then when 
 you start it again, don't let it run from the time you stop it, like 
 if you stopped it at nine don't start it again at nine, start it at ten 
 or eleven, any time, just so it is not on the time you stop it. If 
 you don't, you will have another death right away." 
 
 10239. Another death is portended for the family, if the corpse does not 
 become stiff. 
 
 10240. If the fingers of a corpse are limber, someone in the family will 
 soon follow. 
 
 10241. You will hear a knock at the door after a person dies. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 587 
 
 10242. The day before Mr. L's father was buried, while members of his 
 family were sitting in the "front room" around the coffin, some- 
 thing hit the front door: "It sounded like someone shot a gun 
 right at the door. My mother went to the door. My little brother 
 nine years old was out in the yard. My mother said, 'What did 
 you do to make such a noise ?' He didn't even hear it. The woman 
 sitting by the door said, 'Too bad, but I know there will be an- 
 other die before the year is out.' x^nd sure enough, my brother 
 that was out in the yard died before the year was out." 
 
 10243. Cover the mirror in the death chamber (or any mirror in the 
 house) with a (black) cloth, to avert bad luck. 
 
 10244. The person who sees in a mirror the reflection of the corpse, 
 will have bad luck. 
 
 10245. If you see in a mirror the reflection of the corpse, there will soon 
 be another death in the family. 
 
 10246. "We were burying our boy and just before they started out with 
 the coffin, someone uncovered the mirror, and I saw the coffin 
 in the mirror. I almost fainted, because I knew we would have 
 another death, and before the year was out we lost our other 
 boy." 
 
 10247. "If someone dies in the family and you don't cover the looking- 
 glass, the one that looks in the glass where the dead are, will be 
 the first to go." 
 
 10248. "If someone dies in the house, take oflf the looking-glass right 
 away or cover it. If you don't, you will always see their reflec- 
 tion in that glass every time you go by, even after they are 
 buried." 
 
 10249. "The reason they always turn a looking-glass to the wall when 
 someone dies, is because it is the sign that someone will die in 
 that house just at the same time in one year from the time, if 
 they don't turn it." 
 
 10250. "The Irish always cover a looking-glass when there is a death in 
 the house, to keep the soul from seeing itself in the looking- 
 glass." This practice is not confined to the Irish and it seems to 
 he somewhat common. In addition to a number of examples 
 known to me, one a funeral recently attended by my sister, 
 Mr. Z., an undertaker, said that he frequently encountered the 
 u^age in negro homes. Strange to relate, he did not know the 
 reason for this superstition (or for that matter, anything about 
 death-lore) ; and had never asked, fearing he might give offense. 
 
 10251. After a person dies, a mouse will run over the keys inside a 
 piano. 
 
 10252. Never allow anyone to play music, sing or speak loudly in a house 
 
588 Memoirs^, of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 where there is a corpse, or another death will come before the 
 end of the year. 
 
 10253. As soon as a person dies, his picture begins to fade. 
 
 10254. Turn to the wall all the pictures and portraits in the death room, 
 or some relative will die, or, "so there will be no more deaths 
 that year." 
 
 10255. When in the death room you think you hear a sound resembling 
 the tick of a clock, but slightly louder, it is the "death tick." This 
 mysterious noise is almost synchronized with the ordinary tick- 
 ing of a clock, though more like an echo, and hence it is some- 
 times difficult to distinguish between the two. But the "death 
 tick" can be heard even when there is no clock in the room. 
 
 10256. If the sun comes out just after a j^erson dies, the soul will go 
 to heaven. 
 
 10257. If it lightens immediately after the moment of death, the soul 
 will go to hell. 
 
 10258. F'ormerly it was a general custom to place coins upon the eyes 
 of the dead, ostensibly to keep the eyes closed. It was considered 
 unlucky to remove these coins. 
 
 10259. At one time it was rather customary to tie up the jaws of a coqise 
 or to place a book under them, the book usually being the Bible. 
 
 10260. "Years ago they would put a saucer of salt on a dead person's 
 chest just as they would die, to keep them from spoiling until 
 they could get the coffin made." Mr. Z., the undertaker just 
 mentioned, also asserted that he occasionally found in a negro 
 home a corpse covered with salt. Neither did he know the cause 
 of tJiis custom, nor had he ever asked for the same reason given 
 in item number 10250. 
 
 10261. It is very unlucky to photograph a corpse. 
 
 10262. The person who photographs a corpse will have bad luck. 
 
 10263. To overcome your fear of the dead, touch a corpse. Some say 
 you must hold the hand of the corpse. 
 
 10264. If you touch a corpse, you will never dream of it. 
 
 10265. If a man touches a female corpse, he places a curse on it. 
 
 Undertakers generally in the United States seem to think it neces- 
 sary to advertise that they have a " female attendant." 
 
 10266. Let a corpse remain in the house over Sunday and tiiere will 
 soon be two other deaths. 
 
 10267. To remove a coqjse from one house to another will bring a death 
 into the last house inside of a year. 
 
 10268. "When my little girl was dead, the crape fell off the front door, 
 and my uncle died in ten days after that." 
 
 10269. "When my mother died, my sister did not like the crape on the 
 
Folk-Lorc from Adams County Illinois 589 
 
 door. The undertaker changed it, and my father died in seven 
 months." 
 
 10270. The razor used in shaving a corpse must be thrown away. 
 
 Formerly, a mans own barber performed this service, the charge 
 beittg five dollars. This work is now done by the undertaker. 
 
 10271. The one who wears the clothes left by a dead person will be 
 unlucky. 
 
 10272. "If anyone dies, never put their clothes away; always let some- 
 one wear them out, or the dead person will not rest." 
 
 10273. Using a dead person's comb will make you bald. 
 
 10274. "If after promising to pay the funeral expenses while the 
 
 undertaker holds his hand upon his forehead, asking, 'Who pays 
 
 these expenses?' the promise from the assembled family 
 
 or friends is broken, and the bill remains unpaid, the person or 
 persons making the promise will die within six months. Mr. X. 
 in Quincy used this method and lost little or no money, owing 
 to the strength of this belief among colored people." IVriticn 
 contribution. 
 
 10275. When relatives act as pallbearers, someone in the same family 
 will die soon. 
 
 10276. If someone with a withered hand dies, and you immediately put 
 a few drops of water on it, no one will follow ; but if this precau- 
 tion is not taken before burial, someone in the family will soon 
 die. 
 
 10277. To wear a white rose when your mother dies, is considered 
 unlucky. 
 
 10278. "You should not cry when your brother dies ; you should be 
 happy for luck." 
 
 10279. A murderer always revisits the scene of his crime. 
 
 10280. "A murderer can never sleep with his face to the east, the sun 
 will bother his conscience." 
 
 10281. Along the Mississippi River, a floating corpse is called a "floater." 
 Some states offer rewards for the recovery of bodies, usually 
 twenty-five dollars; and immediately the news of a drowning is 
 received, you w-ill see men in skiffs trying to earn the reward. 
 The ordinary method employed is "to drag" for the body. At the 
 end of two or more lines, grapnel or similar hooks are attached, 
 and these are sometimes weighted by pieces of iron pipe slipiped 
 through the lines. 
 
 10282. As a last resort in recovering the body of a i>erson who has 
 drowned, set off a charge of dynamite in the water where the 
 person sank. It is thought that the explosion will cause the 
 bladder to burst and thus raise the cadaver. 
 
590 Memoirs' of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 10283. To locate a drowned person, put some quicksilver on the middle 
 of a slice of bread and let the bread rest on the water where the 
 person went down. The bread and quicksilver will float and stop 
 over the submerged body. 
 
 10284. "If someone gets drowned, take the last dirty shirt they took off 
 and spread it out over the water, and it will float to where they 
 went down ; then it will whirl around several times and go right 
 down through the water, and you will find the body by the 
 shirt." The same method was explained by another person. "If 
 someone is drowned and you can find the last dirty clothes they 
 had on just before they went in, and put them in the water, the 
 clothes will float right where the person went down; and the 
 clothes will go around and around right over the body." 
 
 10285. "If a man drowns, take his old dirty socks he has been wearing 
 and throw them in where you think he fell in, and the socks will 
 go to where he is." 
 
 10286. You will always find the body of a drowned girl floating face 
 upward. 
 
 10287. "If a girl drowns and is in a family way, she will always float 
 with her face down." 
 
 10288. The body of a drowned boy always floats with the face down. 
 
 FUNERAL-CEMETERY-GRAVES 
 
 10289. It is unlucky to talk about a funeral. 
 
 10290. "If you have an ap|X)intment downtown and meet a funeral on 
 your way, you will not only have bad luck but also you will be 
 unable to keep your appointment. 
 
 10291. To have your horse balk while on your way to attend a funeral 
 means that you will go to another funeral before the year is gone. 
 
 "We were going to a funeral, and our horse just balked and 
 
 balked ; and that same week my little boy went fishing and fell in 
 the creek and was drown, and he was buried before the week 
 was over." 
 
 10292. Meeting a white chicken on your way to a funeral is an omen 
 of bad luck. 
 
 10293. If you are going to a funeral and meet a mad dog, it will cause 
 you bad luck. 
 
 10294. If a person stumbles and falls at a funeral, he may look for 
 another death in his family. 
 
Folk -Lore from Adams County Illinois 591 
 
 10295. The person who walks out in front of the coffin, as it is being 
 taken from the house, will be the next to die. 
 
 10296. To lock the door after a funeral procession has left the house is 
 very unlucky. 
 
 10297. You may expect another death in the family, if someone stops 
 the funeral procession after it has started. 
 
 10298. "If a priest forgets his chalice on his way to the altar, when he 
 is going to have a funeral, someone else will die in the family 
 soon. My brother's brother-in-law was being buried about two 
 years ago, and he was watching the priest and he saw he had 
 forgotten his clialice. He said to me after the funeral, 'We are 
 going to have another death but don't tell mother, because she has 
 been real sick and will worry.' And the next week we got word 
 our sister died out in California." 
 
 10299. If a funeral carriage or automobile turns around in front of your 
 house, there will be a death in your family inside of six months. 
 
 10300. It is the sign that you will soon be unhappy, if you see an empty 
 hearse passing your house. 
 
 10301. Expect a death in your family, if any vehicle connected with 
 death stops in front of your house. 
 
 10302. The person who sees his reflection in the glass side of a hearse 
 will soon die. 
 
 10303. In order to secure the right of way, it has been customary for 
 some years in Quincy to have the first automobile in a funeral 
 procession carry a white flag on each front fender. 
 
 10304. Crossing in front of a funeral procession will bring bad luck. 
 
 10305. You may pass in front of a funeral procession if you turn your 
 back to it. 
 
 10306. To "cut through" a funeral procession is unlucky. 
 
 10307. There will soon be a death in your home, if you pass through a 
 funeral procession. 
 
 10308. A black cat crossing in front of a funeral procession means an- 
 other death in that family. 
 
 10309. Counting the vehicles in a funeral procession will give you bad 
 luck. 
 
 10310. Never count the automobiles in a funeral procession ; it will bring 
 a death into your family. 
 
 10311. The one who counts the vehicles in a funeral procession will be 
 the next person to die. 
 
 10312. "It was said years ago, if you would watch a funeral go by and 
 count the carriages, the departed one would try to get your soul 
 to follow." 
 
592 Memoirs of thn Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 10313. To watch a funeral procession through a window will bring you 
 some misfortune. 
 
 10314. It is a sign of bad luck, if a horse in a funeral procession be- 
 comes frisky. 
 
 10315. "If the horses cut up to the hearse that is carrying a dead body, 
 there will be another death in the family soon." 
 
 10316. Never look backward while in a funeral procession; you will 
 soon go to another funeral. 
 
 10317. A hearse stopping on its way to the cemetery signifies that an- 
 other death in the same family will soon follow. 
 
 10318. The breaking down of a hearse on its way to the cemetery 
 indicates that there will be two more burials within three days. 
 
 10319. When a hearse or the wagon that is bearing a corpse breaks 
 down, another member of the family is going to die. 
 
 10320. After a funeral, if two carriages from the same funeral meet at 
 the intersection of two streets, then go in opposite directions, 
 expect another death. 
 
 10321. "If you bury any woman in all black with no color on her dress, 
 she will always come back and haunt the family. I know a woman 
 that was buried in all black several months ago, and she is coming 
 back all the time." 
 
 10322. "If you bury anyone with a veil over their face and the veil gets 
 in their mouth, they will call the family away. About forty years 
 ago my mother's aunt was buried with a veil over her face. The 
 family started to die one right after another until five were dead, 
 then they took up my great-aunt and found the veil was all stick- 
 ing in her mouth. They took the veil off, and after that no one 
 died in the family." 
 
 10323. "A little girl died that was three years old, and her mother put 
 a doll and a little horse in the coffin that she always played with. 
 I said to the mother, T would not do that, for there is an old 
 saying, never bury anything with a corpse.' And in a few weeks 
 this little girl's mother and sister died." 
 
 10324. Jewelry should be removed from a corpse, or the family will have 
 bad luck. 
 
 10325. Thursday is an unlucky day for burial. 
 
 10326. Never bury anyone on Saturday ; it means bad luck. 
 
 10327. When a person has an involuntary shiver, someone or something 
 is walking over the place of his future grave. 
 
 10328. A body should be buried so that it faces the east. 
 
 10329. The dead should not be buried in low-lying ground, where water 
 can seep into the grave, for sometimes this petrifies the body. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 593 
 
 There is a general prejudice against burial in lozv ground 
 
 because of zvaler, bitt belief in petrification is rare. 
 
 10330. A grave must not be dug except on the day of burial, for if a 
 grave is left open overnight, there will be another death. 
 
 10331. Someone in the family will be unlucky, if a grave is left open 
 overnight. 
 
 10332. Rain falling into an open grave is the sign of bad luck. 
 
 10333. If it rains into an open grave, another death in the family will 
 follow. 
 
 10334. You may look for another death in the family within three 
 months, if rain falls into an open grave. 
 
 10335. A relative will die inside of a year, if it rains into an open grave. 
 
 10336. A person will go to hell, if it rains into his open grave. 
 
 10337. "If a grave is left open, that is a sign that the corpse will come 
 to life after burial." 
 
 10338. To have it rain on a corpse at a funeral is a bad omen. 
 
 10339. Good luck is indicated, if it rains on a corpse while it is being 
 taken from the house to the cemetery. 
 
 10340. "If it rains any time from midnight up to the time of actual 
 burial at the cemetery, the corpse is in heaven ; especially so, if it 
 rains while the funeral procession is going to church or to the 
 cemetery or at the actual time of commitment." Written con- 
 tribution. 
 
 10341. A person will go to heaven, if it rains on his corpse. 
 
 10342. You may know that the soul of the dead person has gone to 
 heaven, if there is a peal of thunder following the burial. 
 
 10343. "Blessed are the dead that the rain falls on." 
 
 10344. "Happy is the soul, the rain falls on." 
 
 10345. "Some South End women were out to the cemetery after J's 
 funeral, and they said they tried several times to lower her 
 casket (coffin) and they couldn't do it. They had to dig the hole 
 larger than usual. They say they guessed the devil didn't want 
 
 her either." This refers to the burial of a reputed zvitch who 
 
 died in 1932. This is a splendid example of the unreliability of 
 eyewitnesses^ especially when these witnesses were expecting 
 something unusual. It should be remembered that a coffin is not 
 lozuered into an empty grave, but into a wooden container, hence, 
 the zmdth and length of a grave are mu-ch larger than the coffin. 
 Another witness, however, said tJiat it was only the lowering 
 apparatus which refused to work. This was probably the case. 
 A third witness said, the reason the coffin could not be lowered, 
 was that J. "didn't wayit to go." 
 
 10346. "If you go to a funeral, whoever leaves the graveyard first, one 
 
594 Memoirs of the Alnia Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 of their family will be the next one to be buried in that grave- 
 yard. Years ago when I was a boy and we were living out here 
 in the country, when we would go to a graveyard, everyone would 
 stand around. No one wanted to go to be the first one out of the 
 graveyard, because they would be the next one to have a funeral 
 in their house." 
 
 10347. If an undertaker leaves anything of his trade at the house and it 
 remains there until after the funeral, someone in that family 
 will soon die. 
 
 10348. Never let an undertaker forget to remove the crape from the 
 door; if he leaves it until after the funeral, there will soon be 
 another death in the family. 
 
 10349. As long as the funeral bill remains unpaid, the corpse will not rest 
 in its grave. 
 
 10350. Walking over a grave is unlucky. 
 
 10351. The person who walks over a grave will soon die. 
 
 10352. To walk over a grave is the sign that your grandmother is going 
 to die. 
 
 10353. The one walking over three graves will die before the year is out. 
 
 10354. "If you see a four-leafed clover on a grave, you are going to have 
 some friend to come to see you and give you some money." 
 
 10355. "If you find a match on a grave, and take it off, you will be 
 unhappy for five days. 
 
 10356. "If you want to be lucky, go to the cemetery and get some black 
 dirt ofif a grave and put that dirt under the steps so you will have 
 to walk over it ; and you will always have luck." 
 
 10357. A flower taken from a grave will not grow. 
 
 10358. The person who takes something from a cemetery will return 
 more than he took. 
 
 10359. It is unlucky to take anything out of a cemetery. 
 
 10360. Visiting a cemetery after dark will bring you bad luck. 
 
 10361. Pass through a cemetery at midnight and bad luck will befall you. 
 
 10362. Selling cemetery lots will cause bad luck. 
 
 10363. "An old saying is, if you tell a lie on someone that is dead, they 
 will turn over in their graves." 
 
 10364. "If you bury a person, and go back in a month and dig them up, 
 you will find them turned over on their face." 
 
 10365. "Years ago a man buried his wife for a week, then went back 
 and dug her up to get a ring oil her finger, but when he open the 
 coffin, she step out ; and he didn't give the ring to someone else." 
 
 10366. "If you dig up a person twenty years after he has been buried, 
 and if he looks the same as he did when he was buried, he will 
 have become a saint." Written contribution. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 595 
 
 10367. The hair on the body grows after death. When the old 
 
 cemetery on the site of the present courthouse in Quincy, was 
 removed years ago, it is said tfiat the workmen exhumed a man's 
 body on which the hair had grown down to and had tzmsted 
 around the feet. 
 
 10368. "Some people say that the unusually large and beautiful violets 
 which the children used to love to gather around the old deserted 
 Seaman property (at Fourteenth and Maine Street) were un- 
 usually beautiful, because years and years ago there was a ceme- 
 tery there ; and the graves having fallen into abandon, neglected 
 by any relatives and friends, that the spirits of the dead cultivated 
 the natural flowers for their own sake; and that any that were 
 plucked and taken away immediately wilted and died, so that 
 finally none but children ever ventured to pick them." Written 
 contribution. 
 
 10369. Never stop and look into an undertaker's window on New Year's 
 Day; it will make you unlucky. 
 
 SECOND SIGHT 
 
 10370. "If anything is going to go wrong in the day, I always have a 
 vision of it." 
 
 10371. "About a month ago I went to my kitchen door and I saw a light 
 in the heaven. I never did see anything like it before. It looked 
 like the heaven was on fire. I called someone to show them the 
 heaven, but they could not see it. I believe now it was a token, 
 for my niece's house over in Missouri got on fire last week. 
 Something went wrong with the stove and it blew up, and blew 
 my niece right out the door on fire. She is still sick from her 
 bums, and four others are hurt." 
 
 10372. Mrs. T. went to an old German woman who told fortunes. The 
 fortune teller gazed into a crystal ball for a long time, then 
 related what she could see, a grey coffin and a man lying in it. 
 Mrs. T. looked into the crystal but could not see anything. Four 
 days later Mrs. T. received a telegram saying that her cousin had 
 died in St. Louis ; and when she attended the funeral, she was 
 startled on seeing him lying in a grey coffin. 
 
 10373. "About ten years ago I was sick in the hospital, and one after- 
 noon my husband came to see me, and just as soon as he came 
 in the door I said, 'Our hogs are sick and dying.' He said, 'What 
 makes you say that?' I said, 'The hogs have been running 
 
596 Memoir^ of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 around my bed all morning.' Then he told me they were all sick 
 and dying. It was an omen." 
 
 10374. Mrs. K. was lying in bed one morning and when about to get up, 
 a picture flashed into her mind. She saw her daughter, an 
 expectant mother, in a bed and holding a dead newborn baby. 
 The baby came two weeks later. The hospital informed Mrs. K. 
 of the birth, also of the fact that the baby had died. The 
 daughter, on hearing that her mother would soon arrive, asked 
 the nurse to return the dead infant so that her mother could see 
 it. The nurse was reluctant to grant the request but finally con- 
 sented. When Mrs. K. entered her daughter's room, she was 
 somewhat startled, for she beheld the identical picture that she 
 had seen two weeks previously, her daughter with a dead baby 
 in her arms. 
 
 10375. "Just before the World War my son was away from home and 
 they were papering my room, so I was sleeping in my son's room. 
 I was lying there and something came out of the closet door next 
 to the bed and took me by the shoulder and shook me and said, 
 *Wake up, wake up, wake up, war is on.' Then I heard tramping 
 and tramping through the house from the front door to the back 
 door. Then I woke my husband and told him. He said I was 
 asleep. I said, 'How can I talk to you and be asleep?' I said, 
 
 T want you to get up and look in that closet' for I could 
 
 see something standing there, and I wanted him to pass by 
 (between her and the closet) and break the spell. And the next 
 morning we got word war was on, and my son got a telegram 
 to come." 
 
 10376. "About thirty years ago I had a girl boarding with me. She was 
 born with a veil on, and was always seeing things. One night 
 about nine o'clock I was reading and this girl was studying, when 
 all at once this girl screamed and threw her head on the table and 
 got hysterical. It was fifteen minutes before we could find out 
 what was wrong. And she told us she saw a man coming down 
 the stairs with his head ofT and lying on his shoulder. We could 
 never get that girl to go up the stairs again, only when we went 
 with her. Time went on and she married a man in Hannibal, 
 Missouri. She was always seeing things. Her husband died five 
 years ago, and she sets the table for him every time she eats and 
 puts a chair for him, and he always comes and eats with her and 
 talks to her through the meal." 
 
 10377. "My mother years ago took a looking-glass and held it so she 
 could look down into a well to see what she could see, and she 
 saw a man with two horses and a wagon of wheat, he was sitting 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 597 
 
 on the wheat. She kept looking and looking, for she thought she 
 was seeing things. She kept turning the glass around and around, 
 but every time she saw this man on the load of wheat. Time went 
 on and my mother married a man that looked just like that man 
 on the wheat. Time went on and my mother had four children 
 by this man. And one day he was hauling wheat and the horses 
 ran away with him on a load of wheat and killed him ; and my 
 mother said the horses looked just like the ones she saw in the 
 well years before." 
 
 10378. "Years ago a man and his girl were to be married out here around 
 Liberty. They had everything ready, even the wedding dress and 
 his suit. Several days before the wedding a gipsy fortune teller 
 came along and wanted to tell this girl's fortune. The girl 
 laughing, said, 'Can you tell me when I am going to get married?' 
 The old gipsy started to telling her fortune. The girl said, 'When 
 is my wedding day?' The old woman said, 'You go out to the 
 field and look in that old well you do not use, with that big white 
 stone on.' The gipsy didn't tell her a thing about her wedding 
 day. And she was to be married that week. They even had a 
 farm to go on. So after the gipsy didn't tell her a thing about 
 her wedding day and she was to be married that week, she went 
 out to this old well in the field, took the stone off and look down. 
 And instead of seeing water she saw a cemetery with an open 
 grave and a coffin by the grave. She started to running and 
 screaming, and going through the orchard she fell down and 
 fainted. They got the doctor and the priest. She told them what 
 she saw in the old well. They talked with her and did everything 
 for her they could. She died. And the day that she was to be 
 married was her funeral day. The old gipsy didn't want to tell 
 her she was going to die, so had her look in the well." 
 
 10379. "Years ago I was kneeling down to say my prayers. Chancing 
 to look up, I saw a man staring at me ; then he vanished. Several 
 days later I received a letter stating that my uncle had just died 
 in the East. My aunt soon came to Quincy. Among her effects 
 was a photograph of my deceased uncle. When I saw the picture 
 I was startled to find that it was the very likeness of the man 
 whom I had seen a few weeks before standing by my bed. I had 
 never seen my uncle nor had I ever seen a photograph of him." 
 
 10380. "I was sitting in a wheel chair patching one day and my mother 
 came and threw her arms around my neck and kissed me. I said, 
 'Mother, did you come all the way to see me or did Mr. Gee 
 come with you?' I went and fixed supper for her and put every- 
 thing on the table but the tea. She took my hand and set the tea 
 
598 Memoir:^ of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 back and said, 'Darling girl, all ma wants is for hei darling girl 
 to come and take care of me until I die or get well.' I knew then 
 it was a vision, and just as soon as I got my pension I went and 
 took care of her until she died." 
 
 10381. "My daughter Maud came to my bed one night last week all 
 dressed in brown, with her shoes squeaking, and looked at me so 
 sad. I just know she is in some trouble, for I don't know where 
 to find her." 
 
 10382. "One day years ago I had a neighbor that was looking for her 
 folks all day and they did not come. We had an old man on 
 our block that could see things, so she went over to his house and 
 said, 'Do you see anything of my folks?' This man rubbed his 
 fingers through his hair several times and said, 'They will be here 
 about dark, driving a white mule and a horse hitched to a wagon, 
 and I see such a big watermelon on the wagon.' And they did 
 come at dark with the melon, just like the old man said." 
 
 10383. "I have been raised up as a spiritual from childhood. It is very 
 common for me to see visions and get warnings. One time I saw 
 my brother's spirit, who died at the age of one and a half years. 
 He came to me with his hands folded and was kneeling on a 
 
 stand table, as if in prayer." This and the seventeen items 
 
 following come from a witch doctor. 
 
 10384. "One night, I was just a boy, I was always seeing things, and 
 I was lying on the bed when I saw a white lamb come in the 
 door, I jump up and started after the lamb and the lamb went 
 right under my mother's bed and me after it. My mother heard 
 me and said, 'What is wrong?' I said, 'A little white lamb went 
 under your bed and disappear and I was trying to catch it.' I 
 had a little sister born that week." 
 
 10385. "One day I was in a doze of sleep, when I woke up very sudden, 
 and there was a small girl standing near me. I asked her in a 
 
 kind way what she wanted, and she said, 'Nothing' and 
 
 disappear. The next day I found out that some of my neighbor 
 folks were plotting to cause me trouble," 
 
 10386. "One day I was sleeping and a loud clap of thunder woke me up. 
 It was daylight, and in a vision I saw three small children take 
 shelter in a cave; and the next day I heard that this same 
 thunderclap had cause the ground to cave in and cover three 
 
 children in the cave." About forty-fvve years ago during a 
 
 molent storm three children went into a cave that they themselves 
 had excavated in the side of a hill near Second and Kentucky 
 Street. The cave fell in and killed them. 
 
 10387. "One day in a vision I saw one of our roosters fall oflf of a roost. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 599 
 
 strangling, and the next day it sure did happen ; and when I 
 picked him up, I found that he had swallow a long piece of grass, 
 both ends at the same time, and by doing so, the loop had got 
 under his tongue ; and the more that he tried to swallow it, the 
 more it hurt him. And I made a hook and pulled it out." 
 
 10388. "Years ago I was watching the ball score at Fifth and Jersey, 
 and I didn't want to go through town, but something just made 
 me go to Fifth and Vermont; and when I was passing the 
 window of the enitployment agency, I saw a card in the window, 
 a machine hand wanted. I went in and got a good job that lasted 
 me three years. It was a good spirit that look me to it." 
 
 10389. "One night I was at Fifth and Hampshire Street and something 
 kept telling me to go to Fifth and Vermont, so I did; and when 
 I got to the corner I saw something in the street. I went down 
 and picked it up, and it was a one dollar bill. It was the good 
 spirit that told me to go there." 
 
 10390. "One day I was talking to a man about thirty years ago, that was 
 in business here, and told him that a dark complexion man would 
 rob him of some money ; and in a short time he took forty dollars 
 out of the cash register." 
 
 10391. "One day I was in a doze and I saw some people in a beer party, 
 and one of the women put her coat and purse on the bed, and 
 after awhile she missed her purse, and they called in the law, 
 and they searched all but one sick boy that was lying on the bed 
 sick, and could not find it. So this woman came at once to me 
 
 I was only living about a block from the party to see 
 
 if I could tell her anything. I told her what I saw to go 
 
 right back and look on that sick boy, and she would find a five 
 dollar bill, a dollar bill, a half dollar, a quarter, and a dime; 
 
 making six dollars and eighty-five cents she went right 
 
 back and they found the purse and money in this sick boy's 
 trouser leg." 
 
 10392. "A woman from out of town wrote me one day that someone had 
 stole her money ; could I tell her about it ? I wrote and told her a 
 fifteen-year old boy with a sandy complexion took it for someone 
 else. And after that she wrote me the boy own up. It was a put 
 up job by her husband for him to take the money." 
 
 10393. "One day I was walking along and two men came to me and 
 asked me if I thought they would get their clothes back, that 
 someone had stole them out of the room. I told them they would 
 get them back soon, and they found them at the sheriflf office." 
 
 10394. "One time a woman called and told me that she had lost her 
 wedding ring. And I had a vision and I told her that there was 
 
600 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 some chunk of wood in that room and to move it very careful 
 and she would find it on the edge in between the wood. And she 
 done what I told her and found it there." 
 
 10395. "One night a woman called me over the phone and told me that 
 she had lost her ring. I told her to look over a scarf that she had 
 just taken off, and she did, and found the ring." 
 
 10396. "One time a man lost his watch at the Otis plant and he came 
 and asked me if I could tell him anything about it; and I told 
 him just where to find it." 
 
 10397. "During the World's War a man stopped me on the street and 
 wanted to know if his brother was on that ship that got lost in 
 the war, for he had not heard from him for a long time. I told 
 him no. I said, 'He will be back in three months wanting money 
 like he always did.' And he was back before the three months 
 were up." 
 
 10398. "A man came to me one day and asked me about his wife and a 
 man. I told him the full details about his wife and sweetheart. 
 I told him that his wife would come back in twenty-one days, 
 which she did ; and begged him to take her back, which he did." 
 
 10399. "A woman, knowing I could see things, came to me one day and 
 asked me about if her husband was in Hannibal, Missouri; he 
 was gone and she could not find him. I told her no, that she 
 would find him only three doors from her home with another 
 woman. And the police found him there and arrested him and 
 the woman." 
 
 10400. "One day a friend of mine came and wanted to know if he w^ould 
 rent his garage. I told him that a small dark man was figuring 
 on it now, but he would go away ; and in a few days a sandy 
 complexion man of stout build would come, and he would rent 
 it to him, and he did." 
 
 SPIRITS AND GHOSTS 
 
 10401. On Christmas Eve the spirits walk. 
 
 10402. "A very old saying is, if a child stay out late at night, the stu- 
 dent doctor would get them and cut them up." Negro. 
 
 10403. It is believed by some people that the spirits of the dead return 
 to earth as animals. 
 
 10404. Sometimes the spirit of a dead person will leave the dying body 
 in the form of an animal. — — "I went with another woman one 
 night to sit up with a very sick man, and just as we started up 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 601 
 
 the steps, a big black cat jump down in front of us. I said, 'What 
 was that?' She said, 'It was his spirit.' And that man died that 
 night." 
 
 10405. The person who buries an animal alive will be haunted by its 
 spirit. 
 
 10406. Occasionally the spirit of a dead animal will return in its own 
 form, as a black cat did in the following example: "One time 
 when this lady was a baby, they moved into a big house. That 
 night when her father was gone, the mother was reading, when 
 she heard a human shriek, and then she heard three knocks 
 on the old dresser. The next day a beautiful cat came out of 
 the cellar. The cat went straight to the baby and began to play. 
 Whenever the mother wasn't looking, the baby began to cry. 
 She didn't know what made it do that. When the father came 
 home they went upstairs to look at a room that had once been 
 a baby room. They saw a very pretty rug. They began to wonder 
 why anybody would leave a rug in a house when they moved. 
 The father lifted the rug and saw that much blood stained the 
 floor. They tried to scrub it up, but it could not be taken out of 
 the floor. The mother went to the store and told the man about 
 it. He said that a beautiful baby had been murdered in that 
 room and that every night the blood would cry out. He told her 
 the baby once had a black cat but it had died in the cellar. He 
 told her not to let the black cat get near the baby because it would 
 try to choke the baby. She went home in a hurry and found the 
 cat trying to get at the baby's neck and the baby was crying. She 
 found out that the cat had tried to choke it whenever she wasn't 
 looking. They moved away the next day and the woman that 
 was that baby is still living. She isn't over twenty-six years old." 
 Written contribution. 
 
 10407. "They say that a strange black cat coming to your house should 
 not be chased off'; it might be some good spirit." 
 
 10408. Ghosts and spirits can be seen by animals. 
 
 10409. "If a dog hollers all the time, he sees a ghost," 
 
 10410. "If you live in a haunted house, your dog won't stay there with 
 you, for he is afraid to." 
 
 10411. If a horse snorts at night he sees a ghost. 
 
 10412. "If a horse is going along at night and stops in the road, he sees 
 a ghost, for horses can see ghosts when j'ou can't." 
 
 10413. "A man years ago was killed on an old covered bridge near 
 Kinderhook (Illinois. Just a fetv miles from Adams County) 
 and every time you would drive a horse over that bridge he 
 skitted all the way over. My mother would be in a buggy herself 
 
602 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 when the horse would skit all the way over." See number 
 
 10455. 
 
 10414. Years ago Mr. J. was driving along a country road about dusk 
 and his horse suddenly shied. Looking forward to discover what 
 had frightened the animal, he saw his brother standing in the 
 road. This seemed rather unusual to Mr. J., since the brother 
 lived in a distant community; but thinking his brother had made 
 an unannounced visit and was merely walking down the road to 
 meet him, he called out to the brother. Then the apparition 
 vanished. Some hours later Mr. J. learned that his brother had 
 died about the time he thought he had seen him in the road. 
 
 10415. "If your horse sees a ghost, look over his back between his ears 
 and you can see the ghost." 
 
 10416. "People say you can look over the left shoulder of a person who 
 
 can see a ghost and you can see them yourself." Also see 
 
 mmibers 2605-2609. 
 
 10417. A warm breeze passing you indicates the presence of a ghost. 
 
 One old colored woman said that she always knew when a 
 
 ghost was near, she could just feel it. 
 
 10418. "If something passes by you and your hair stands straight, it is 
 a ghost." 
 
 10419. "Some people say that when you pass by a place in the woods 
 where the air is hot, and your hair stands up on your head, there 
 is a ghost there." 
 
 10420. "Whenever you pass by at night where a person got killed, your 
 hair will stand straight up on your head." 
 
 10421. "If your hair feels tight on your head and you can't stand still 
 long, there is a ghost around you." 
 
 10422. "If your hair stands straight up on your head, there is a ghost 
 playing with it." 
 
 10423. "If you are passing a house and you feel a sudden warm breeze 
 come from that house, it is haunted." 
 
 10424. "If you look out your door and see something in the door and 
 there is nothing there at night, it is a ghost." 
 
 10425. "If you look straight in front of you at night and can see things 
 crossing before your eyes, it is a ghost." 
 
 10426. "If you go to bed with your light out, something will shake your 
 bed." 
 
 10427. "Never go to bed thinking about ghosts, if you do you will see 
 them in your sleep." 
 
 10428. "If you lay in your bed at night and hear something talking and 
 can't see it, it is a ghost." 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 603 
 
 10429. "If you hear someone call your name at night, it is the sign that 
 some poor soul wants you to pray for them." 
 
 10430. An old woman said that at night something comes to her house 
 and calls her names, but she cannot see anything. It is a ghost. 
 
 10431. It brings bad luck for a door to push in and out without wind. 
 Some spirit is doing it. 
 
 10432. The house is haunted if a door closes or moves without anyone 
 doing it. 
 
 10433. "If you ever go to an empty house and the doors open and close, 
 then it's time you leave, for if you don't you won't be able to 
 leave at all." 
 
 10434. "Some people say there is a house here, you can leave your bed 
 unmade, but when you get home it will be made up." 
 
 10435. "There are houses you can pass at night and hear something hol- 
 lering all night. It is ghosts." 
 
 10436. "We have houses here you can lock up all the doors and come 
 back home and find everything open. That is a haunted house." 
 
 10437. "An old woman says she knows a house that will fall down in the 
 day and rise at night after ten o'clock." 
 
 10438. "They say we have houses here that rock after ten o'clock at 
 night." 
 
 10439. "An old woman told me that there was a house here that rocks 
 and shakes after midnight." 
 
 10440. "They say we have houses here that make smoke at night but 
 are never on fire." 
 
 10441. "An old woman said she has seen houses on fire, but when she 
 got there, there was no fire." 
 
 10442. It used to be believed generally among negroes, and the belief 
 lingers with many of the older colored folk, that a person about 
 to die will visit the cemetery to hunt his grave. 
 
 10443. "I was working in Jacksonville (Illinois) on the street lights. I 
 had another colored man helping me. One night I was standing 
 with my ladder ready to light a light when this man said, 'Move 
 your ladder and let these people pass.' I looked and could not 
 see anyone. And he said they were spirits going by to the 
 cemetery to hunt their graves." 
 
 10444. "My mother worked for Miss Nancy. One morning on the path 
 I met Miss Nancy all dressed up with her new sunbonnet on, 
 and she was going straight to the cemetery. When I got home 
 I said to my mother, T met Miss Nancy in the path.' Mother 
 said, 'You only met her spirit, for she is very sick and cannot 
 get out of bed.' And in a few days Miss Nancy was dead." 
 
 10445. "When I was nine years old, one night just at dusk I went to 
 
604- Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 the spring to get a bucket of water. On my way back I met my 
 father coming down the path. Thinking that he had come to 
 help me carry the water, I started to reach him the bucket. He 
 did not take it. I watched him. He went right by me and straight 
 on to the cemetery. I knew then that he was going there to pick 
 out his grave. When I got to the house he was sitting in the 
 kitchen by the stove. I looked so funny, mother said, 'What is 
 wrong?' I said, 'I just met father down the path.' Mother said, 
 *Tliat was his spirit you saw, for he has not been out of this 
 room.' And my father died that week." 
 
 10446. "This Mrs. P. certainly believes in seeing spirits. She told me 
 the room we were in was just full of spirits, only I could not see 
 
 them as she did, because she was born with a veil. 'When I 
 
 was a girl, the boys and girls did not like to walk with me to 
 church, because I was always getting ofif the sidewalk to let 
 some spirit pass by going to the cemetery'." 
 
 10447. A spirit of the other world always knocks on the wall when one 
 in the house is sure to die. 
 
 10448. "If you hear a knock on the door and no one is there, that is a 
 spirit that has passed on, coming back to tell you that you will 
 have another death in the family soon." 
 
 10449. "I have been hearing knocking on the wall and bed for the last 
 thirty years. When I hear it on my bed, I know it is sickness 
 for me. When I hear it on the door or wall, I know it is for 
 someone in the family. I believe the spirit doing the knocking 
 is my dead husband. He died about thirty years ago and he died 
 in sin." 
 
 10450. If your mother dies, she will come back to see you every night 
 for seven days. 
 
 10451. "A negro boy told me this. Ever so often the spirits of the dead 
 in a family return in the form of someone, a stranger, asking aid. 
 It may be an old man or woman who has died, returning as a 
 beggar asking food or money. It may be a child begging, to sell 
 something or to be given something. If you turn the person 
 down, you are turning down the spirit of your departed dead. 
 Probably a reason why negroes are so generous to beggars and 
 agents." Written contribution. 
 
 10452. "About eight years ago I had a friend move into a large two- 
 story house down on the bottom road going north by the ice 
 house. It was haunted. There was a big spot of blood on the 
 floor in one of the rooms, and they could not get it off the floor. 
 No one could sleep in that room. The doors and windows would 
 be open all the time. They would lock the door at night and when 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 605 
 
 they would get up, the door would be open, the windows would 
 be open. So they only stayed a few weeks. No one would stay 
 there a month." 
 
 10453. "There is an old house seven miles from Kinderhook (Illinois) 
 that is haunted. No one will live in it any more. They give you 
 cheap rent but people will not stay. I lived in it myself about 
 fifteen years ago and you could always hear strange things. One 
 night we went out to the barn to get wood to build a fire, and 
 no one was in the house, and you could hear a noise like someone 
 was moving chairs up to the table. About every other night you 
 could hear blood drip and drip over in the comer where the dead 
 bodies laid. You see, years ago a man was going with a girl in 
 that house, and her folks would not let them marry. So one night 
 this beau came to the house and killed the girl's mother, the girl 
 and the dog, and threw them in that corner where you hear the 
 blood dripping. Then he killed himself. They never could get 
 the blood ofT the floor. They put a new floor over the blood but 
 that didn't stop you from hearing that blood drip. Every' one that 
 lives in that house can hear that blood dripping, and that is why 
 no one will live there." 
 
 10454. "Years ago a young man was going with a girl for a long time, 
 and they fell out. He said, T will never marry you.' The girl 
 worried so over it that at last she killed herself. In no time this 
 young man started to going with another girl. Every night when 
 he would go to see this girl, on his way home down Vine Street 
 he would meet the spirit of this dead girl right on the sidewalk. 
 She would not let him pass. She made him stand there for 
 a while, then the spirit would disappear and he would go home 
 and worry. He could not sleep or eat. At last he went to see a 
 priest out at Z. Church and told him about meeting the spirit 
 every night. The priest told him, that night when the spirit 
 stopjjed him, to call her by name and say, 'What is wrong that 
 you can't rest in your grave?' He did. The spirit said, 'Pray for 
 
 me, pray for me' and disappeared. He went home and 
 
 prayed all night. The next morning the man went and told the 
 priest that this spirit said, 'Pray for me.' The priest said, 'I am 
 going to hold five o'clock mass in the morning and see why that 
 poor soul wants us to pray, and you pray for her every hour. 
 The next morning the priest prayed so hard at mass he did not 
 have a dry stitch on him, but he found out that this girl was to 
 become a mother and that was why this spirit was stopping this 
 man every night. She was worrying over killing her unborn 
 child." 
 
606 Monoirs^ of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 10455. A story is also told about the old Kinderhook bridge (see number 
 10413) by a negro. Years ago he and his employer one night 
 were driving a herd of cattle along the road that led to the bridge ; 
 he in front, leading, and the employer in the rear. Two miles 
 before reaching the bridge : "My horse snorted and would not 
 go on. I looked and there was a large black spot (bloodstain) 
 on the road. I got ofT my horse and had to lead him around that 
 spot. And just before we got to the bridge, I saw tvv^o men 
 standing on the bridge in white shirts ; and when I got to the 
 bridge, they were gone. I told my boss, George B., and he said 
 not to be afraid, that happened all the time. Two men were 
 killed right where that black spot is in the road." On another 
 occasion this old negro was again driving cattle, and when he 
 reached the bridge, he heard a noise like a gunshot (the two men 
 had been shot), and a light flashed up from the bridge: *T was 
 not afraid this time because my boss told me not to be." 
 
 10456. "When I was a girl I worked out. I was working in a big board- 
 ing house where we had lots of railroadmen and cattlemen. We 
 had a large lumberyard about three block from us and they 
 never could keep a night watchman. He would work one night, 
 then give his place up. I didn't know what was wrong. One day 
 several of our boarders were late for dinner and I was waiting 
 on them, when one of the men said, *Do you know the night 
 watchman left last night again down to the lumberyard?' And 
 one of the men said, 'What is wrong down there?' This man 
 said, 'I will tell you, for I saw it myself. Every night between 
 twelve o'clock and one o'clock a man comes all dressed in white 
 with a long measuring stick, measuring lumber, and when the 
 night watchman sees that ghost going around measuring lumber, 
 he just leaves and you can't blame him.' The man said, 'What is 
 wrong with you?' The other man said, 'Well, if you don't be- 
 lieve it, I will take you down about twelve-thirty to the lumber- 
 yard and show you the ghost, and you can see for yourself.' I 
 stood and took in all they were saying. So one night real soon 
 after that, at twelve-thirty they went to see the ghost. Sure 
 enough, they saw the man all dressed in white going around 
 measuring lumber. They talked so much about it around the 
 boarding house, that the man that owned the place heard about 
 it. And he went to the priest and told him he wanted him to go 
 to the lumberyard at twelve-thirty and see what he could do 
 about the ghost. So the priest went. He took two boys to carry 
 two candles, and a boy to carry the cross. All four went out 
 one night at twelve-thirty. The priest saw the ghost measuring 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 607 
 
 lumber. He went up to the ghost and said, 'What are you doing 
 here? Can't you rest in peace?' The ghost said, *I have been 
 cheating the people on the measure of lumber.' The priest said, 
 *Are you willing to make that all right?' The ghost said, T am 
 here to be relieved.' The priest said, 'Go in peace.' And the 
 ghost left and they never did see him again in the lumber}'ard. 
 The ghost was one of the firm that had died, and when he was 
 living he cheated ever^^one he waited on." This happened over 
 fifty years ago zvhen the narrator, an old German zvonian, lived 
 in St. Louis, Missouri. 
 
 10457. "One night I heard someone call, 'Molly, Molly.' I said, 'David, 
 
 what do you want ?' thinking it was my brother in the next 
 
 room. The voice said, 'It is not David. It is Will' and said, 
 
 'Molly, those darkies are fighting over there.' It was my dead 
 husband warning me not to go across the street." 
 
 10458. "Two weeks ago I was lying in bed and my mother came to the 
 bed and said, 'I am tired, Jessie. I have come a long way to tell 
 you to move, for if you don't, you are going to get into trouble.' 
 And I took it for a token and moved the next day, for once 
 before my dead daughter came and told me to do something, and 
 I didn't do what the spirit told me to do and I got in trouble bad." 
 
 10459. "The same lady was almost dying on the operating table in 
 Chicago, Illinois. Her relations were here in Quincy. Did not 
 know it. That night the lady's mother woke up in the middle of 
 the night and saw her daughter's ghost standing over her and it 
 was weeping. The next day the mother told the lady's brothers 
 and sisters that their sister had died because she had seen her 
 ghost. They began to pack to go to Chicago, when they got a 
 telegram saying that she was all right, because the doctor had 
 given her a shot (hypodermic) at the last minute and saved her 
 life." Written contribution. 
 
 10460. "Mrs. A's mother is close to eighty years old. She was telling a 
 story when she was a young girl. They lived uptown in a flat and 
 the rats were very bad, and one night the girls wanted to go to a 
 dance but the mother told them they had to do their dishes before 
 they went ; but somehow they put the dishes in the sink and didn't 
 do them. The old folks went to bed and the mother woke up about 
 midnight to see if the girls had got home from tlie dance. But 
 they hadn't got home yet, so she fell to sleep; and they heard 
 the worst noise. It just shook the house, but they were afraid to 
 go out and see what it was. It sounded like all of the dishes in 
 the cupboard broke. And nine days afterwards they got word 
 from Germany that his mother died the very night they heard 
 
608 Memoirs^ of the jlh)ta Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 the terrible noise. They said (reported from Germany) her last 
 words was this boy's name. And her spirit came to him when 
 she died." Written contrihiitioyi. 
 
 10461. "After Mrs. D. had gone to bed, she saw her daughter in a Hght- 
 green dress come to her dresser. She called to her but she didn't 
 answer, so she got up and went to her room, and she was asleep. 
 The girl in the green dress came back the second week and the 
 third week, but whenever she talked to her, she would disappear. 
 Shortly after that they took her daughter to a hospital and she 
 lay between life and death for three weeks. Mrs. D. said it was 
 her dead sister that came back to warn them that the other girl 
 would be very ill." Written contribution. 
 
 10462. "One day my father said to my mother, 'Did you see that yellow 
 canary bird come in at the front door and go right through the 
 house to the kitchen?' My mother and I did not see it. My 
 father said, 'That was my son's spirit and I am going to follow 
 it soon.' And my father died in two weeks." 
 
 10463. "I know a woman that has only been dead several months, and 
 they had a party in the house last week. While the party was 
 going on, the doors would open and shut all the time with no one 
 near the doors. It broke the party up. They could not understand 
 it. It was the dead woman coming back. I guess she didn't like 
 it, having a party so soon after her dying." 
 
 10464. "A woman died and she had a beautiful scarf. She always said 
 when she died she wanted that scarf put in the coffin, she did not 
 want anyone to have it. When she died they did not put it in the 
 coffin, and every night after she was buried she would come 
 back. You could see a big black object going over the house 
 ever}' night. So they thought they would give this spirit the scarf. 
 Someone said never to hand a spirit anything. So they put this 
 scarf on a long pole, and when this spirit came that night, they 
 held the pole out and the spirit took the scarf ; and they never 
 saw the spirit or scarf again." 
 
 J 0465. "A woman was mean to her mother. The mother said, 'When I 
 die I will come back and haunt you, you will never sleep or rest.' 
 When her mother died, she did come back. When the girl would 
 go to bed at night she would hear chains rattle in the room. And 
 the ghost would put the bedcovers off and even pull her hair. 
 This girl could not sleep. She could not eat. The ghost would 
 knock the table over with everything on it. She got the police- 
 man and he could not find anything wrong. She got the police- 
 man the second time and told him she could not rest. The police- 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 609 
 
 man said, 'Go walk the streets then.' She did. And at last she 
 died over the ghost not letting her rest." 
 
 10466. "I know a man that his wife was sick, and he started to going 
 with another girl. She called him to the bed one day and said 
 she knew he would marry this other girl when she was gone, 
 and if they didn't treat her two little girls right, she would come 
 back. This woman died and he married the other girl in six 
 weeks. Every night after they were married they would hear all 
 the tinware in the kitchen fall on the floor. They would get up 
 and when they got in the kitchen, everything was all right, but 
 just as soon as they went back to bed they would hear all the 
 things fall again. They could not sleep. This woman soine way 
 found out the dead woman was jealous of her so she left. The 
 woman said she could not stand her coming back every night." 
 
 10467. "A brother and sister was living on Eight Street. One was living 
 on one side of the road and the other was living on the other 
 side. Their father died and made a will and wanted them to 
 change houses, and they did not want to, so they kept on living in 
 the same houses. So one night the old man came back with his 
 big straw hat on and his cane. He walked up and down the road 
 on Eight Street just like he did when he was living. He kept 
 coming back every night and walking up and down the road, and 
 everyone seeing him, that it worried the brother and sister, so 
 they changed houses just like their father wanted ; and the father 
 stopped coming back." 
 
 10468. "About thirty years ago we worked on a farm. It was a large 
 house of fifteen rooms. The man had died and his son didn't do 
 like he wanted him to do. They said the house was haunted, and 
 no one would stay over a week. We said we would try it, for we 
 didn't think the house was haunted, but we found out it was. 
 Every time it would rain, the doors and windows all over the 
 house would open and shut and keep that up all the time it was 
 raining. It scared us to death, but we were getting good money 
 and we just stayed on. One night we heard someone at the 
 kitchen door. It sounded like someone had an axe hitting on 
 the door. My husband went to the door and when he got there 
 the noise stopped, but just as soon as he sit down, the chopping 
 at the door started again and kept up all night. One of the 
 neighbors told us they didn't see how we could stay there with 
 all that noise, but we stayed in that haunted house two years, 
 always hearing that noise and scared almost to death. We saved 
 every cent of our money and bought us a little place and got out 
 of that haunted house." 
 
610 Mi'iiioirs' of the Alma ligan Hyatt foundation 
 
 10469. "Years ago a girl was lying in bed and she said she felt a breeze 
 over her. It was a ghost or something, for it told her that if she 
 would start digging down in the cellar, she would come to a pile 
 of old pai>ers, then to keep on digging and she would come to a 
 can, then open it up and she would fnid lots of money. So she 
 went down in the cellar and started to digging. She came to the 
 ^XLixTs just like the ghost or whatever it was told her, but she 
 
 got afraid before she got to the money and gave it up." 
 
 The old Irishwoman who told the story was the girl. 
 
 10470. "When I was seventeen years old I was living in a haunted 
 house. It had a large basement with two rooms. Every night at 
 twelve o'clock someone would unlock the door down in the cellar 
 and come upstairs into the kitchen, go out the back door, and 
 that was IcKked, and come right back in the house and through 
 my bedroom, and go to the front room and disappear. I would 
 not hear anything until the next night at twelve o'clock. They 
 kept this up for a month. One night this ghost came to my bed 
 and said, 'Do not be afraid, I will not hurt you.' They told me 
 to go to the small room in the cellar and to move three planks, 
 and dig down until I found black dirt, and under that dirt I 
 would tind some tin cans and broken dishes, and under that a 
 pot of money; that the silver was there, but the greenbacks had 
 decayed. I went down the next day and started to dig. I propped 
 the door open to the room, but it would not stay open. Every 
 time I would open it, it would close up. I kept on digging, but 
 every time I put the shovel in the dirt I got cold, and the more I 
 would dig the cooler I would get. I found everything the way 
 the ghost said, the black dirt, then the cans and broken dishes. 
 But I was getting so cold. I left before I got to the money. T 
 tried to get my boy friend to dig for the money, but he would 
 not, because he said, 'If a ghost tells you about money and you 
 go and tell someone else and they dig and hnd it, the}^ will die.' 
 He said he did not want to die. So I had to let the money stay 
 there." Negro. 
 
 10471. "One day I met a man on the street and he said, 'Bill, I want 
 you to go home with me, 1 am afraid. I see my mother every 
 night in the room. So I went home with him. And that night 
 when she appear, I told him that she wanted to tell him that she 
 had hid some money in an old boot in the wagon shed, and didn't 
 want anyone else to have it but him. So we looked in the shed 
 and we found it there, just like I told him; and she did not 
 appear to him any more after he got the money." 
 
 10472. "About forty years ago some people moved into a house up on 
 
Folk-Lorc from Adams County Illinois 611 
 
 the bottom road, and one day the woman found a chart in that 
 house that told where some money was buried, on up the road 
 back over an old fence. This chart also told it was for a certain 
 person, and for no one to try and get it but the right person, for 
 they could not have it. I knew this woman. She was large and 
 not afraid of nothing. So one moonlight night she went up to 
 get the money. When she got to the fence where the chart told 
 about it, she started climbing over the fence ; and when she was 
 halfway over, something slapped her face and she fell back over 
 the fence. She could not see a thing, so she tried climbing over 
 the fence again; and the thing slap her back again. She tried 
 three times, then gave it up, for the dead spirit was not going to 
 let anyone have that money but the right one." 
 
 10473. "My grandmother was always saying someone tried to wake 
 her every night. They would come and shake her and tell her to 
 go up in the attic and look in a book and she would find some 
 money. So one night she went with the person to the attic and 
 found the money. Then the person said to my grandmother, 'Go 
 down by the cow^ shed and I will show you where to dig and you 
 will find something else.' But my grandmother w^as too frightened 
 to go that night. She put the money in a tin box on the table. 
 When she got up the next morning she opened the box and the 
 money was gone. That night the person came again and told her 
 to do the same thing. So she went to the attic again and found 
 the money. Then she followed this person to the cow shed and 
 dug down and found the half of a man's arm. She was so 
 frightened she dropped the arm and ran into the house. The next 
 day they put the ami in the cemetery, and that person never 
 returned again. The arm belonged to grandmother's murdered 
 brother, and the money was in the book in the attic." 
 
 10474. "Years ago a man and wife and child were traveling. They were 
 tired out and happened to stop at an old empty log house near 
 Kington (near Liberty). The man said to his wife, 'We will 
 camp here for several days. Maybe I can get some work,' The 
 man unhitched the horses, and said. T will go down here and see 
 if I can find a spring for water and water the horses.' The 
 woman and child went in the house to see what they could find. 
 The man at the spring heard his wife screaming and hurried 
 back to see what was wrong. She said, 'This house is haunted. 
 Just as soon as we got in the house an old man with a cane came 
 in the door and kq>t walking around us, then went out the door.' 
 Her husband said, 'You just imagined it.' After they had some 
 lunch, her husband said, 'I am going up here to this next farm- 
 
612 Memoirs' of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 house and see if I can get some work.' The man told this farmer 
 he would like work and he was down in that old house. The 
 farmer said, 'That is my house. If you will stay five years, I 
 w'ill deed you the house, but no one stays over a night.' The man 
 said he was not afraid of ghosts. And the fanner told him to 
 come up in the morning to work if he still wanted to stay. While 
 the man was gone this old man came again and walked all around 
 this woman and pointed his cane at her. She started to howling. 
 
 The old man said, 'Do not be afraid. I will not harm you' 
 
 and went out the door. When her husband came she said, 'Lets 
 go. This house is haunted. I will not stay.' Her husband knew 
 it was, but he would not tell her; only said, 'You are seeing 
 
 things' and would not go. The next morning this man went 
 
 to work. After he was gone, in came the old man again and 
 walked all around this woman and pointed his cane at her. She 
 started to howling again, and he said, 'Lady, I will not hurt you. 
 I am back here for a reason. I have come to do you good. My 
 wife and I were murdered here for our money. Only, they did 
 not get it. I want you and your husband to do two things for 
 me. We are buried out here in a cave. I want you to take us up 
 and bury us on the hill in the graveyard and mark the place.' 
 Then this ghost took this woman in the cellar, took his cane and 
 made a mark on the ground where some money was. Then he 
 took her to the southeast corner of the house on the outside and 
 said, 'Tell your husband to dig there.' He made another mark 
 with his cane. 'He will find a box of money and the deed to this 
 house. This house is mine. It is yours if you do what I tell you. 
 Do you see that cave over there? That is where we are buried.' 
 Then the ghost disappeared. The woman went back to the cellar 
 to see if she could find anything and she dug up an old pitcher 
 full of money. She sit it on the shelf. When her husband came 
 home from work she said, 'I have made more money than you 
 today.' He did not know what to think, his wife talking like 
 that, when he knew she had not been out of the house. Then she 
 told him all about the old man coming again. He went right 
 outside and starting to digging, dug up the box with the money 
 and the deed. The next morning he went to the cave and dug 
 up the bones, got a nice box and put the old couple's bones in it 
 and buried them up on the hill in the graveyard. The house was 
 theirs, and the ghost did not come back." 
 10475. "An old man and his wife years ago came to a farmhouse out in 
 the countr)' and wanted to stay in the old hut next to this farm. 
 The farmer said, 'If you can stay there, I will not make you pay 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 613 
 
 any rent. The house is haunted. No one will stay overnight. A 
 man and his wife were killed there.' The man said, 'I am not 
 afraid.' So they took the hut. Everj' night they would just hear 
 everything, but they stayed. One evening when the man was 
 gone and the woman was alone, in came an old man walking all 
 bent over with long white whiskers and carrying a cane. He said 
 to this woman, 'This is my house. I am buried out here in that 
 old cave by the door. If you will bury me right, I will give you 
 all I have.' He told her the deed to the house was in the cellar 
 and some money, that someone had killed him and his wife for 
 their money and deed, but did not find them. When her husband 
 came home she told him what the old man told her. They went 
 to the cellar and found the old man's bones and buried them. 
 They were not poor any more. They had the deed to the house 
 and money. The house was not haunted after that, or did they 
 
 hear any more noise." This is a shorter version of the story 
 
 given in the preceding item, but from a different source. 
 
 10476. "About eighty years ago a man wanted to get rid of his wife, so 
 he heard of a haunted house out here in the country about twelve 
 miles from Quincy, so he went and rented it, thinking when she 
 would see the ghost, she would be afraid and not stay, for no 
 one would stay in that house over a night. This man did not tell 
 his wife about the ghost, just thought she could find it out. They 
 moved in one afternoon and the next morning when this woman 
 went to sweeping the kitchen, an old man was sitting in a chair 
 by the fireplace. This woman did not say a word. The next 
 morning when she went to sweeping, the old man in the chair was 
 by the fireplace again. This woman did not tell her husband that 
 she had seen a ghost. But the third morning she asked the old 
 man what he wanted, and the ghost said, 'You are the first 
 person that has ever asked me what I wanted. I will tell you 
 
 what I want' and took her to a tree in the pasture ; and he 
 
 pointed at the ground and said, 'You will find something there, 
 if you dig.' This woman started to digging and found eight 
 hundred dollars. Then she went to the house and called her 
 husband and said, 'You brought me out here to this haunted house, 
 thinking I would be afraid and leave, but the ghost took me to 
 where the money was, I have the money now, so you get out. 
 I am going to stay'." 
 
 10477. "Years ago up on Honey Creek out in the woods near Mendon an 
 old woman died. She had some money and she had it buried in 
 the cellar. This old woman died before she told anyone where 
 the money was. People would go there to live and dig for the 
 
614 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 money. Just as soon as they would start to digging, they would 
 hear chains rattling on the stairs and hear moaning and crying 
 in the house. No one would stay over a night. And when every- 
 one would go out the yard, three white sheep would go over the 
 fence ahead of them and go down the road without any heads 
 on. At last one old man said he was not afraid, he would go and 
 dig for money. He stayed several nights trying to dig for the 
 money, then hung himself on the stairs. He could not stand the 
 noise he heard, that crying and moaning and the noise on the 
 stairs. After that they took the house down." 
 
 10478. "We lived in a house on Madison Street, and when I went to bed 
 at night, I would lay there and couldn't go to sleep. I could not 
 move my hands and feet. And all at once the closet door opened 
 and something came to the bed. My mother said whenever I saw 
 anything to say, *In the Name of the Lord what do you want?' 
 I did this and they went back into the closet. Sometimes it would 
 be a person and sometimes a bouquet of flowers. We had to 
 move from this house. An old German lady said there was 
 money buried under the closet and the person was coming back 
 for it." 
 
 10479. "Seventy years ago when I was just a young girl, I was working 
 for a woman. She had two children. This woman died and her 
 sister came to live with us. Every night just at dusk we would 
 hear three raps on the closet door right by the bed where this 
 dead woman did sleep. After this lasted so long, it made the 
 sister so nervous hearing these raps every night, she said she 
 would have to move. The day we were moving, just about time 
 for these raps to come, the boy who was about twelve years old 
 said, 'I am going upstairs.' I said, 'What do you want upstairs? 
 Everything is out up there.' He said, T want to go alone.' I 
 tried to keep him from going but could not. I thought I would 
 watch him and not let him know it. All at once those three raps 
 came and this boy said, 'In the Name of the Father, Son and 
 Holy Ghost, mother what do you want?' You see he knew it 
 was his mother, and she told him to get a shovel and go and dig 
 under the rosebush in the back yard until he came to an oven. 
 Then go and get his uncle to help him get the oven out. And he 
 done just what his mother's spirit told him to do. And the oven 
 was just full of money. And that boy was very rich after that. 
 We would of left all that money if the boy had not of talked to 
 his dead mother." 
 
 104S0. "Thirty-four years ago my brother and I were out looking for 
 hidden treasure or money. My brother could always tell where 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 615 
 
 there was any kind of 'medal.' We had heard about some hidden 
 money up on the bottom road back of an old brewer}^ Years 
 ago there was an old gambling den up near there, and we heard 
 about some gamblers put money there, so we went up to look 
 for the money. My brother located near the spot, so we each 
 lay down about six feet from where he located it, to wait. When 
 you are waiting to dig up a hidden treasure there is something 
 that will always come and stand right over the spot, and you 
 must not speak or move until they go away, then start to digging 
 right where they stood. Sometime it will come in the shape of 
 a chicken, cat, dog or just anything. While we were lying there 
 waiting for something to come, a big black snake as big as my 
 arm and about six feet long came crawling down through the 
 bushes and leaves. It made such a noise that my brother forgot 
 and jump up and cursed the snake. He was afraid because it 
 came so near him. That broke the spell, because the snake was 
 coming to stand over the treasure; and you can't say a word 
 while watching, so we had to go home without the money." 
 
 10481. "Eighteen years ago I was dressing my baby when the door 
 started to open and shut real easy. I looked around and there 
 was no wind or anything to make the door move, so I said, 'In 
 the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, if you are a spirit 
 
 and want to talk to me, go real hard' and the door started 
 
 to open and shut real hard. After that I didn't know what to 
 say to the ghost and it didn't bother me any more that day ; but 
 that night after I went to bed, something kept snoring at the 
 head of my bed and I thought it was the spirit back, so I said 
 again, 'In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, what 
 do you want?' This time it spoke to me and said, 'Go down in 
 the cellar and dig between the gas pipes, four feet down, and 
 you will find something.' The next morning my husband and I 
 went down. He was carrying the lamp and I was to dig. I just 
 got started to digging when the light went out. and my husband 
 screamed and ran up the stairs. Up to this day he will not tell 
 me what he saw on the bank of the cellar; but I never tried to 
 dig any more. We moved because we found out the house was 
 haunted over an old woman being murdered there." 
 
 10482. "If you should by accident see a light like that of a lamp, at 
 midnight, it is a sure sign of hidden treasure there. Cover it 
 with a board, 'In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost' 
 
 and dig along the side of it to undermine it, and you will 
 
 find it." 
 
 10483. "If you are digging for some money or hidden treasure in the 
 
616 Memoirs of tJie /lima Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 ground, you must not dig right down to it, you must dig a little 
 from it and then come up under it ; for if you dig right down to 
 it, it will move away and disappear, and you will not find it." 
 
 10484. "If a person died and leaves some money buried some place, they 
 will come back every night and day to see if it is still there; and 
 if you try to dig it up, they will get angry at you and you will 
 never find it." 
 
 10485. The person who finds hidden treasure by digging for it, will live 
 only a year. 
 
 10486. The B. place is situated about seven miles from Quincy. A man 
 working there some years ago, it being in the days before auto- 
 mobiles and good roads, was obliged to live with the family 
 until he had completed his task. One night he was suddenly 
 awakened. Someone, for he could feel the hands, had taken him 
 by the feet and was slowly swinging them from side to side. He 
 was too frightened to move. Then the hands were withdrawn 
 and someone near his face, he could feel the breath, kept whisper- 
 ing unintelligible words into his ear. At last he found strength 
 to jump out of bed and light the lamp. The person or thing had 
 vanished. Sometime after this a younger brother of the man 
 happened to sleep in the same room and he had the identical 
 experience; and still later their sister was also a victim of the 
 ghostly visitor. The owners of the house had never been bothered 
 by a ghost, though the mistress upon several occasions when 
 looking out of the window saw an old man standing in the door 
 of the barn loft ; but the apparition did not come near the house 
 or attempt to communicate with its occupants in any manner. It 
 was well-known in the neighborhood that years previously a 
 former owner of the farm had been murdered by unknown hands, 
 presumably for his money, since he had had a reputation for 
 wealth. Neighbors thought that this money had been hidden on 
 the farm and that the spirit of the dead man was trying to tell 
 where it could be found. 
 
 10487. "Monday night I went to bed. I could not sleep and it seemed 
 like someone was pulling and trying to pull me out of bed. I got 
 so nervous I got up and looked under the bed to see if anyone 
 was there. The next day I met an old German lady. I said, 
 'What is the sign, if soineone is pulling you out of bed and you 
 can't sleep?' She said someone was going to die and they wanted 
 to ask forgiveness for something they done wrong to that person 
 and could not die in peace." 
 
 10488. "Sixty years ago a girl killed herself in a house out in the country 
 a few miles from Quincy, and after she was dead, she would 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 617 
 
 come back every night at twelve o'clock and walk up and down 
 the stairs. You could hear her walking up the stairs plain. You 
 could even see her hand on the banister, when she was coming 
 up; and when she got to the top of the stairs the lights would 
 all go out in that house, even if you were reading. This happened 
 every night. They could not keep anyone in that house, so at 
 last they tore it down." 
 
 10489. "Five miles below Quincy on an island there is an old haunted 
 house. They say years ago a man killed a woman there, and this 
 woman is always coming back. She will come to the house, then 
 she will always go and stand in the barn door with her hands up 
 just like she is going to fly, then she disappear; but every time 
 this ghost comes, she turns out the horses and cows that are tied 
 in this bam." 
 
 10490. "About twenty-eight years ago my husband was working on an 
 island right above Quincy, They had a house on this place with 
 two rooms down and one up. There were about ten men working 
 there at the time, and they would watch for the ghost. They 
 would lock the window, but they could see something raise the 
 window, come right in and walk over them and go right out the 
 other window. The men were just lying around on the floor, 
 and just as soon as the ghost would go through the house, they 
 would get up and go out and find all of their horses loose and 
 out of the barn. They tried to catch the ghost but could not, but 
 they would see it all the time." 
 
 10491. "If you find your bed all torn up when you come home, and 
 there is no one in the house, then a ghost has been there." 
 
 10492. "There was a boy who drove his sister from home, then she 
 died. Two days after that he took sick, and someone tore his 
 sheets and tied him ; and when they fixed him something to eat, 
 something spit in it and he could not eat. On the fifth day he 
 died." 
 
 10493. "Years ago a man killed his sweetheart in a house on south 
 Twenty-fourth Street. After that the house was haunted. No one 
 could sleep in that house after that. Someone would always pull 
 the bedcovers off the bed. At last they had to tear it down." 
 
 10494. "She said her uncle had been dared to sleep all night in a haunted 
 house on Twenty-fourth Street. That night he arose to see where 
 a queer moaning sound was coming from. When he came back, 
 the bed was placed at the bottom of the stairs and the bedclothes 
 were still upstairs. He carried the cot upstairs again and slept at 
 the top of the stairs. As soon as he would fall asleep, the covers 
 
618 Mctitoirs of the .lliiia Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 would be pulled from him and thrown downstairs. The next 
 morning he ran home as fast as he could." 
 
 10495. "Forty years ago a house on the corner of Twentieth and Vine 
 was haunted. A woman lived there they say that would keep 
 babies that belong to girls that were not married. They say that 
 a baby was murdered in that house and buried in the cellar. 
 After that anyone in a certain room could not keep any bed- 
 clothes on. Two boys were sleeping up there and each one would 
 say the other was pulling the bedclothes off the bed. Then they 
 found out it was ghosts and they moved. They could not keep 
 anyone in that house after that and at last they had to tear the 
 house down." 
 
 10496. "Our house was haunted. Someone would pull the cover off the 
 bed every night. We could not keep a cover on us at night. At 
 twelve o'clock every night the dishes would start to rattle and 
 keep it up tmtil morning. No one could sleep in the house. So 
 my father went to see a priest. We didn't belong to his church 
 but someone told my father a priest could help us. So he went. 
 And the priest told my father to get a peck of mustard seeds 
 and throw it in all the comers of the rooms and leave it there 
 and the ghost would not come back. So father got the peck of 
 mustard seeds and put them all over the house. And we never 
 heard the ghosts any more and could sleep after that fine." 
 
 10497. "Another thing that happen in that house was we never could 
 keep any bedclothes on the bed. Something would pull them off. 
 And we had double doors in that house and my mother would 
 lock them at night, and when we got up in the morning they 
 would be standing ojien. One night she nailed it up and the 
 ghost took the nails out and the doors were open the next 
 morning." Not the same house as in the preceding item. 
 
 10498. The S. farm is a certain number of miles in a particular direc- 
 tion from Plainville. The family formerly living there had two 
 daughters, grown but unmarried. These girls were in an advanced 
 stage of tuberculosis. Realizing the seriousness of their condi- 
 tion and the possibility of approaching death, they said that if 
 there was any way for them to return from the grave, they 
 would. Both died within a short time of each other. The evening 
 after the burial of the second girl, the three brothers were sleep- 
 ing upstairs and the mother downstairs, the house was severely 
 shaken and failed with a loud roaring noise. The mother called 
 up to her sons and asked what they were doing, but they were 
 as frightened as she. There were no neighbors closer than a 
 half mile, and when questioned in the morning they af-firmed 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 619 
 
 that nothing unusual had happened in or near their homes. Later, 
 the family did not deny that in one room of the house, pre- 
 sumably the room of the dead girls, the person sleeping in it was 
 unable to keep the bedclothes over him. As fast as the bed- 
 clothes were pulled up, they were jerked off by an invisible force. 
 The house still stands but is uninhabited. 
 
 10499. "Two brothers were living in a house. It belonged to one. They 
 had a fuss one day and he (the owner) told his brother to leave, 
 to never come back on the place with his family again for any- 
 thing. Time went on and this brother that owned the house died 
 and the other brother went back with his family. Just as soon as 
 his wife would clean the house up and they would go out in the 
 other side, this spirit of the dead brother would come and dirty 
 it all up. They could not keep the house clean. They had a little 
 boy and when he would go to bed at night he would lay his 
 clothes by the bed and the next morning they would find them 
 in the barn loft. They could not keep anything in place. Even 
 when his wife would make pies and leave them on the table and 
 leave the room, when she would come back she would find the 
 pies in the coal bucket and the pie pans all bent up. My aunt 
 was there one day spending the day. She went to see if she could 
 see the spirit. And this is true. She put her hat in the parlor, 
 and they were out in the other room, and here came my aunt's 
 hat right out the door by itself with all the trimming off. My 
 aunt left after that. She didn't stay to spend the day or see the 
 spirit. After that the spirit wrote on a slate to his brother, 'If 
 you don't move I will kill you.' So the brother got out." 
 
 10500. "The grandmother of my friend Emma had been all her long life 
 it seems a woman of violent and uncontrolled temper, though I 
 never saw her except as a quiet, rather friendly old woman. She 
 was past ninety when Emma told me that her rages which had 
 been very hard to bear by Emma's cousin Bertha who lived with 
 her, had met with a curious check. Bertha reported that latterly 
 when the old lady broke out in fury the vases would leap from 
 the mantel shelf, pictures would fall from the walls, or the like, 
 and grandmother would become as meek as anyone could desire. 
 Emma had perfect confidence in Bertha's honesty in the belief 
 that these things hai>pened, but for herself she needed the evi- 
 dence of her own senses. What occurred in her presence she 
 described to me within an hour or so of its happening, for she 
 came to see me on her way home from her grandmother's house. 
 She was sitting alone with the old lady, giving poor Bertha a 
 much needed respite. Some chance remark set grandmother off 
 
620 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 into an explosion of rage. Immediately, at the window behind 
 Emma came a vigorous, authoritative thump, the sound of a blow- 
 that might have been exj>ected to break the glass. Grandmother 
 subsided into silence. Emma was at the window within a second, 
 but there was no one there. The house stood a very narrow space 
 from the next one, which presented a windowless wall. There 
 was not room for an intruder." Written contribution. 
 
 10501. Some years ago there was a house near Eleventh and Broadway 
 in which one could hear periodically a rapping sound as if a 
 person were pounding the outside walls and this occurred even 
 during the day. Careful watch both inside and outside the house, 
 when the rapping happened to be audible, did not reveal any 
 human agency. As it became impossible to keep or to secure 
 tenants, the owner went to Z. Church and obtained a priest who 
 exorcised the house. After exorcism, the rapping noise was never 
 heard again. 
 
 10502. "^ly husband and his first wife were living in a haunted house 
 out near Plainville. The first night just after they went to bed, 
 they heard a noise in the cellar. It sounded like tin cans were 
 falling down. They got up and went in the cellar but they had 
 no cans and could not find out what it was. The next night they 
 heard the cans again. This time the man got his gun and went 
 around the house but could not find anything. And every night 
 just after they would go to bed they would hear this same noise 
 like cans falling. So they had to move to get away from the 
 ghosts." 
 
 10503. "A white woman and her husband had a little home. One day 
 her husband died and it was no time until she married a colored 
 man. After she was married her dead husband's spirit came 
 every night and knock the stovepipe down in the kitchen and 
 all the pans off the stove. At last she had to give up her home. 
 She got tired of putting up the stovepipe every morning. And 
 just as soon as she moved to another house the spirit did not 
 bother her." 
 
 10504. "Thirty years ago I had two stepchildren. We could always hear 
 a noise on the door. It would sound like someone would take a 
 whip and hit the door first one way then the other. Every time 
 we would hear that noise the children would be scared to death. 
 One day I went to the store and when I got back the children 
 were in a corner trembling. They said that while I was gone 
 someone came to the door and whipped and whipped and the door 
 cracked and the whole wall shook. I said to my husband, 'This 
 house is haunted. We are going to move. I don't want these 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 621 
 
 children scared to death.' My husband did not beHeve the house 
 was haunted. We moved thinking we could get away from the 
 noise. The spirit follow us to the new house. We kept on 
 hearing the whipping on the door. One night my husband was 
 lying back in a chair. He jump up and said, 'Why are you 
 pulling my toes and nose for ?' No one was near him. It was a 
 spirit wanting to tell us our boy eleven years old was going to 
 die, for he drowned right after that. And we did not hear any 
 more whipping on the door." 
 
 10505. "The first night we moved in that house on Seventh between 
 Maine and Jersey, when we were eating supper, a big light came 
 on the side of the wall. It looked like a big plate. It rolled and 
 rolled over the wall, then drop down in the sink. It made such a 
 noise. It sounded like shooting upstairs. Then right after that 
 shooting we could hear moaning and crying. Then it sounded 
 like someone was dragging som.eone down the stairs. There was 
 an old well in the yard and it sounded like they would throw 
 something in the well. You could hear the water splash. We 
 were afraid that night, but we got used to hearing that dragging 
 down the stairs every night and throwing something in the well. 
 My mother would lock the back door, but every morning it would 
 be open, where they would go through to that well." 
 
 10506. About forty years ago a deserted house between Sixth and 
 Seventh on Madison Street in Quincy stood back from the street 
 and faced the alley. Many people considered the house as a 
 haunted one. Every night between eleven and twelve o'clock 
 all the windows and doors of this house would ?iy open and then 
 close. Eventually, someone heard a voice in or near the house, 
 saying, 'Look in the cistern.' Neighbors investigated at once 
 and found the body of a man, which on identification proved to 
 be the remains of the former occupant of the house, who had 
 been missing for several years. After the burial of the corpse, 
 the opening and dosing of the doors and windows stopped. 
 
 10507. "On the old covered bridge, now torn down, was often seen a 
 ghost stalking to and fro. Now and then there was heard groans, 
 as from one grasping for breath. It has been discovered that in 
 1857 a man was set upon by two men, robbed and hanged near 
 the bridge. The body was found by early settlers and buried. 
 The old Ursa bridge was very old and built on the honor plan. 
 There was objection to it in the days of autos, since from one 
 end a curve prevented one from seeing the incoming car as it 
 sped from the hill." Written contribution. 
 
 10508. "In Memphis, Tennessee, years ago a woman was killed and a 
 
622 Memoirs, of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 tree grew up on that spot just the shape of a woman. And they 
 say they cannot cut it down. At night you can pass that tree and 
 you can see it moving around. Some men tried to cut it down, 
 but every time they hit the tree with an axe, it would holler 
 and groan like a person ; and when they cut into it, it will bleed 
 like blood. It is a poplar tree." Negro. 
 
 10509. "I was sitting reading one night and our little dog started to bark. 
 I looked to see what was wrong with the dog and there was a 
 big dog at the kitchen door with his paws on the door trying to 
 get in. Then the dog went over to the window and put his paws 
 on the window sill trying to get in. About three o'clock that night 
 my husband heard a loud noise in the cellar. He thought maybe 
 it was the man that the dog belong to, cursed me and made me 
 go down in the cellar to see, and I didn't find anything. Then he 
 said, 'Look, there is a man standing in our yard, talking to our 
 neighbor, with yellow corduroy pants and a blue jacket.' With 
 that he picked up a crowbar that was lying in the house and 
 started to go to hit the man. When he got to the spot the man 
 was gone. He turned and said, 'Lena, I will never curse you 
 again. That was a token for me. And the next day he dropped 
 dead right on the spot where the man was standing." 
 
 10510. "I was sick for a long time. A woman came to see me one day 
 and said, 'I have a charm for you to wear in the shape of a little 
 dog; will bring you good luck.' I put the charm on a string of 
 beads I was wearing around my neck. Several days after that I 
 was lying in bed and that little dog jumped right off my neck 
 and hit me in the face. I sure was scared. I sent for that negro 
 woman and she said that charm was a talking hand and I didn't 
 talk to it. I said, 'After this when you give me something tell me 
 what to do, for that dog jumping off my neck liked to scared me 
 to death.' I started to talking to the charm and got well in a few 
 days." 
 
 10511. "My sister and I lived at Eight and Kentucky^ Street and the 
 house was haunted. One day my sister was wiping dishes and a 
 little brown dog came up right through the floor and stood there. 
 My sister tried to run it off. It would not go. Then she thought 
 she would throw the plate at the dog that she had in her hand. 
 She tried and tried but the plate would not leave her hand. Some- 
 thing just keep the plate in her hand. And the dog just disai> 
 peared in the floor just like he came." 
 
 10512. "My mother and a whole wagonload of young folks eighty years 
 ago were going to singing school. They passed a cemetery but 
 they did not think anything about it. All at once someone in the 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 623 
 
 crowd said, 'Why, there is a little black dog riding on the double- 
 tree.' And one of the boys took the black snake whip and hit it. 
 The dog jumped off. They went a little way and someone said, 'O, 
 there is that black dog on the wagon again.' The boys took the 
 black snake whip and hit it again, and the dog jumped off. That 
 black dog done that all the way, jumping on and off, until they 
 got back to the cemeters'; then it disappeared in the cemeterv^ 
 It was someone's spirit riding with them out of the cemetery 
 to singing school.'' 
 
 10513. "]\Iy mother rented a house thirty-iive years ago, and the man 
 when he rented it said to my mother, T will let you have this 
 house because we have always been friends, but I want you to 
 promise me you will lock my dead wife's bedroom, for she told 
 me before she died she didn't want anyone to use it.' So my 
 mother took the house and locked the door. I was working away 
 from home and lost my job so I came home. I was about four- 
 teen years old. I found this bedroom door locked and I said, 
 
 'Mother, what is this door locked for' and she told me the 
 
 man's wife didn't want anyone in there. I said, 'Mother, I am 
 going to take that for my room.' We had a fuss, and at last 
 mother said, 'If you come screaming out of that room, don't 
 blame me.' I said, 'I am not afraid of ghosts.' So I fixed the 
 room up that day and that night when I went to bed I did leave 
 the lamp burning, even if it was a moonlight night. I was lying 
 there looking at the window and the moon when a white dog 
 jump up on the window. It jump down on the floor, and when 
 it jumped it shook the whole house. It even scared my mother, 
 for she screamed and said, 'What is wrong?' I would not speak 
 to my mother because that would make the ghost leave. But the 
 lamp went out when mother screamed. I was not afraid, I lit 
 the lamp again, and there stood that dead woman at the foot of 
 the bed, looking so mad at me, with her arms folded. I said, 
 'What in the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost do you 
 want?' Then she told me she didn't want anyone in her room. 
 I told her I had no place to sleep, could I not stay there. Then 
 she said, 'If you will let no one come in the room but you, don't 
 even let them sit down or change their clothes or do anything in 
 the room, I will not bother you; but if you let anyone in this 
 
 room, beware' and she disappear. And I never let anyone 
 
 in, and the ghost never came again." 
 
 10514. "About thirteen years ago a man and I started out on a journey 
 and when we got to the edge of some woods this man said, 'You 
 wait. I will be right back.' I sit down on a log. It was getting 
 
624 Memoirs- of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation) 
 
 dark and I waited a long time and he did not come, so I got up 
 and started down the road. It was so dark I could not see where 
 I was going, so I fall down and went to sleep. Something woke 
 me up, rubbing their cold hands over my face. I looked up and 
 I could see two girls, one standing on each side of me, with long 
 hair. And one of the girls said, 'Will you please move off of 
 our grave. We can't sleep with you lying on it.' I jumped up and 
 beat it. I didn't wait to be told the second time. I was in a 
 graveyard and did not know it. I run until I got to the top of 
 the hill, then I look back and saw the two girls standing there. 
 And I started out again." 
 
 10515. "One day when we were living on Seventh Street my mother told 
 me to get two buckets of water. I went out to the cistern in the 
 yard, and just as I went to set the buckets down there was such 
 a noise in the closet, it sounded like all the pots and pans fell 
 down. Then the closet door open and a beautiful girl walked 
 out. I tried to catch her, and just when I thought I had her, she 
 disappear." 
 
 10516. "That old haunted house on Seventh Street was a large place and 
 we only lived downstairs. No one was living upstairs. One day 
 my mother was washing clothes. I was just a boy and I was 
 helping her in the back yard hanging up clothes. I looked upstairs 
 and saw a man on the porch. I said to mother, T am going up to 
 see what he wants.' I went upstairs and could not find anything. 
 I went through every room and only one closet door was locked. 
 I tried to open it but I could not. Then I went down and got 
 the axe and just when I was starting in the house with the axe, 
 my mother said, 'Put that axe down. I don't want you bringing 
 in a coffin.' So I went without the axe and started to kicking on 
 the door and all at once I turn around and a girl was standing in 
 front of me, all ready for bed. I could not move. Then the girl 
 moved. I did sure move downstairs after that girl got out of 
 my way." Same informant as in the preceding item. 
 
 10517. "I sure believe in presentiments. Years ago when I was working, 
 one night I was walking home just at dusk with my money. As I 
 was crossing over a little brook, something said, 'Walk fast. 
 Walk fast.' I looked up in the trees and all around but could not 
 see anything. All at once that voice said real loud again, 'Walk 
 fast. Walk fast.' When I got to the gate I looked back and our 
 neighbor was following me with a big club in his hand. If that 
 voice had not of warned me to walk fast like it did, I would have 
 been killed for my money. And I was so good to that old nigger. 
 Always doing something for him." 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 625 
 
 10518. "I am about to relate an incident that occurred probably in the 
 1850 decade, perhaps a Httle earlier. There had been a terrible 
 epidemic of cholera throughout the whole course of which John 
 G., an honest, pious Irishman, had been indefatigable in nursing 
 the sick and burying the dead. He was the very last man to die of 
 cholera in that epidemic. He fell sick after dark on that night 
 of his death. He was alone with his faithful wife who dared not 
 leave him and call the priest. She knew well enough that he was 
 dying. In the midst of her anxiety there came a knock at the 
 door, and when she opened it there stood the priest with the holy 
 vessels in his hands. T have been called to come to John G.,' said 
 the priest. But no one except the wife who had not dared to 
 leave his side had known that John G. was ill. John G. died, 
 but not without the sacraments. This is the story as his grand- 
 daughter told it to me, and as she received it from her mother, 
 who had it from hers." Written contribution. 
 
 10519. A man who worked at the Gardiner Governor Works in Quincy 
 was killed about two weeks before his wife gave birth to a child. 
 This baby cried continuously and the mother did not know what 
 to do. Eventually, someone told her to show the infant a picture 
 of his father and also to let the child handle something that had 
 belonged to him. She did so, and the baby's crying spells ceased 
 immediately. Throughout babyhood and early childhood, this 
 child was always trying to get his father's picture, and later 
 when grown he would frequently tell how his father had played 
 with him; nor could he ever be convinced that he had been 
 posthumously bom. 
 
 10520. "The Burton Cave (about eighteen miles from Quincy) is 
 haunted. A man was killed right in front of the cave. You can 
 go there in the daytime and everything is all right, but if you 
 go by there at night something will pull you right into the cave." 
 
 10521. "I have known two persons who asserted that they were able to 
 see ghosts. The first was a lady of good standing and fair educa- 
 tion, the daughter of a Presbyterian clergyman, wife of a fairly 
 successful merchant, related to the most respected people in town, 
 mother of two sons of perhaps fourteen and sixteen years when 
 she told me this. I have the impression that the two experiences 
 that I am setting down were not the only ones she had. She may 
 even have mentioned others, but these are the only ones I re- 
 member. She was a visitor in the family of her fiance whose 
 dwelling was what we now know as the Commandant's residence 
 at Soldier's Home. She sat with other girls, one of them her 
 future sister-in-law, in the upstairs front chamber which had 
 
626 Memoirs, of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 been assigned for her use. Through the open door of the room 
 she saw pass down the corridor toward the head of the stairs the 
 figure of a man. He looked in upon her with a fierce angry 
 stare. She sat amazed and silent for a moment, wondering who 
 he was and how he got there, and almost immediately she saw 
 him returning along the well of the stairway. When she realized 
 that he was passing horizontally above the stairs and not descend- 
 ing upon them, she found voice to cry out. He brandished a 
 stick threateningly, frowning upon her all the while, and vanished 
 from her sight. At her outcry the other girls gave the alarm and 
 search was made for the intruder in vain. Long afterward she 
 was told that her description of the man tallied in every detail 
 with that of a man, only son of the builder of the house, who 
 some years before returning at night from town intoxicated as 
 was his habit had fallen into the creek that runs through the 
 grounds of Soldiers' Home just north of Locust Street, and had 
 been found there in the morning, drowned. The second ex- 
 perience she related was of an apparition of the same man. She 
 was now a bride, living in this same house with her husband's 
 family. Her room was on the ground floor in an ell that extends 
 toward the west. You can locate it for yourself if you drive 
 through the grounds. A party of members of the family and 
 callers were gathered in her room. Through the door, which 
 nevertheless did not open, came this man, dark, sullen, and 
 threatening as before. He moved to a small table on which were 
 fruit and cakes, seemed to help himself to a cake, again looked 
 threateningly upon her, and vanished as before. She told me 
 this herself and she was serious about it. I have never heard 
 that that house had the reputation of being haunted, although I 
 know very well a lady who lived there for years, her father 
 being Commandant." Written contribution. 
 10522. "The other ghost seer of my acquaintance was a pleasant old 
 German woman, mother of the one-time sheriff P., and mother- 
 in-law of a lady who was for several years our housekeeper, 
 Mrs. M. by name. Knowing my delight in ghost stories, Mrs. 
 M. introduced me to her mother-in-law. Yes, said Mrs. P., she 
 had been seeing ghosts ever since she was ten years old, though 
 she had seen none lately. There were no ghosts about that place 
 where she was then living (the courthouse). She told me about 
 quite a number of apparitions, most of which I remember but 
 vaguely. One ghost she saw on moving into a new residence. It 
 was a bright moonlight night, and stepping without a lamp into 
 a room in an ell she saw through the curtainless window a youne 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 627 
 
 man, red-headed, blue-eyed, pale, peering into the room. He 
 moved above the ground not on it, and so she knew him for a 
 ghost. She learned afterward that the house had many years 
 before had an evil name and that a young Irishman had once 
 disappeared from the place and never afterward been heard 
 from." Written contribution. 
 
 10523. "Her husband at one time conducted a saloon on South Fifth 
 Street just opposite the old Franklin School. The ghost of a 
 woman haunted this place and Mrs. M. often met her in the 
 corridor. The house burned down one night. The family had 
 scant time to remove themselves with but few of their belongings. 
 From the sidewalk across the street Mrs. M. saw the roof fall 
 in, and just before it fell she saw her ghostly lodger standing at 
 the window gazing apparently at the crowd below. A year later 
 the husband had again established a saloon on the corner of 
 Fifth and York, the same close neighborhood. A man from the 
 country came in for refreshment and spoke to the proprietor 
 about the frightful misfortime that had overtaken him the year 
 before. The saloon keeper said that the misfortune had not been 
 so terrible, his new venture had prospered and except for a pas- 
 sing inconvenience he had nothing to complain of. 'But your 
 wife,' said the man, 'You lost your wife in the fire !' The saloon 
 keeper said that his wife was alive and well at that moment. She 
 had come to no harm in the fire. 'Who was the woman then 
 that was killed in the fire?' asked the man. 'No one was killed 
 in the fire,' insisted the saloon keeper. 'But I swear to you,' said 
 the man, 'That with my own eyes I saw the roof fall in upon a 
 woman who was standing at an upper window ! Who was that 
 woman'?" Written contribution. 
 
 10524. "Seventy years ago a couple came and built a cabin (log cabin) 
 on Mill Creek and lived there awhile. The man chopped wood. 
 Then one day this man died and they buried him right close to 
 the cabin. His wife and the dog stayed in the cabin and worked 
 around the neighbors. One morning she did not show up to 
 work. Someone came along the next day and saw the dog dead 
 with his head all mashed in. They could not find the woman. 
 But after that every moonlight night they would see this woman 
 come from the woods and walk around this cabin, then go back 
 to the spot where she came from and disappear in the ground. 
 Then an old negro couple came along and wanted to rent the 
 place. The neighbors told him the place was haunted. He didn't 
 care. So he and his wife saw the ghost every moonlight night. 
 She would still come from the woods and walk around the house 
 
628 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 and go back. This old negro one night thought he would follow 
 the ghost. He did, and the ghost disappeared right in the ground 
 in front of him. This negro started to digging right where the 
 ghost went down, and he found the body of that woman that had 
 lived in that house. They could tell her by her hair. They took 
 this body of bones and put them in a box and buried it. And the 
 ghost never walked again." 
 
 10525. Concerning a well-known house in Quincy: "Years ago a rich 
 southerner built that place. When he died it is said that a cousin 
 put a live bee in his mouth and took his hand and made him to 
 sign his name to the will, so the cousin could say he had life in 
 him when he signed the will. The will left everything to the 
 cousin and nothing to the rightful heir. It is told that for years 
 the old man with long white hair would come back every night 
 and wander through the rooms upstairs and unlock the doors 
 and sit by the fireplace. And everyone that has lived in that house 
 since Mr. T. died has parted (husband and wife have separated) 
 and lost all their money up to right now." 
 
 10526. A well-known haunted house in Quincy was that of an Indian 
 doctor which formerly stood on Twelfth Street between Vermont 
 and Broadway, where the Indian had killed his white wife and 
 then himself. After this tragedy no one ever lived in the house 
 and it soon fell into ruins, ruins which were started and facili- 
 tated by boys throwing stones through the windows. There were 
 the usual bloodstain, mysterious noises and lights. Some be- 
 lieved, in spite of the coroner's verdict, that the Indian had never 
 died, his coffin having been filled with stones and buried ; others 
 thought a mock burial had taken place, the live Indian having 
 been buried but later secretly exhumed. This latter theme, that 
 of mock burial, is also the subject of another death in Quincy, 
 but for various reasons cannot be described here. 
 
 10527. "An old woman was sick in bed. She always would knit all the 
 socks and stockings for everyone in the family. She was worry- 
 ing because she did not have them done and was sick. While she 
 was lying in bed, a beautiful white horse came down the steps 
 and came to her bed and put its nose in her hand and said, 'I 
 have come for you.' The old woman said, 'O, don't take me 
 now. I am not ready. Wait until I get all the stockings and 
 socks knit for the family.' The horse said, T will come back for 
 you.' The old woman got well, and started to knitting, and the 
 nearer she got done the more she would worry about that white 
 horse. She was all done but one sock. She started on it, then 
 laid it up on the table and said, 'I will not finish it because I 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 629 
 
 don't want to die.' But she died that week." From an old 
 
 Irishman in his eighties, who said the story is nitiety years old. 
 
 10528. "About forty-eight years ago a man w^as dying and just before 
 he died he wanted his wife to promise, on the ninth day after he 
 was buried she would come to the cemetery; he said he would 
 talk to her. She would not promise, but on the ninth day she 
 went and stood at the window ; you could see the cemetery from 
 their house. She said she saw something walking around and 
 around his grave. She didn't know if it was him or not, for 
 she was afraid to go and see." 
 
 10529. "The first dike up the river on the Illinois side, once a month 
 on a moonlight night a man wnll come from the bank and walk 
 to the end of the dike, then disappear in the water. I have seen 
 this myself several times, but could not find out what it was or 
 why he did it." 
 
 10530. "Years ago up on an island right above the bay there was a 
 family murdered, and on a moonlight night, hunters when they 
 are in their cabins can see the man, woman and girl walking 
 around through the bushes. Their faces are all cut and bloody. 
 When the hunters go to w^here they are walking, they disappear." 
 
 10531. "A w-oman and her husband did not get along. This woman 
 killed herself and left a little baby six months old. The woman 
 would come back every night. You could hear her run up the 
 walk and open the front door. Then you would not hear any- 
 thing imtil the next night. My brother was staying there and he 
 heard the Avoman every night. About a month after this woman 
 was dead, this baby was sick and was sitting on its grandma's 
 lap. It looked up to the ceiHng and said, 'Mama.' And the child 
 had never talked before. And the baby died that night. And the 
 woman never walked up the walk again. She was just coming 
 back after her baby, and when she got it, that was all she 
 wanted." 
 
 10532. "About fifty years ago a school teacher, that lived on the south 
 side of Vermont Street between Eighth and Ninth, went back on 
 her beau ; and one morning while she was sitting by the window, 
 putting on her shoes and combing her hair, the beau came and 
 shot her. Ever}' morning after that you could see that girl sitting 
 at the window in the morning, combing her hair. I used to take 
 care of some horses that were in the alley in a big barn, and 
 every morning when I went to take care of the horses, I would 
 see her myself, sitting there. No one would stay in the house 
 and they had to take it down." 
 
630 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 10533. "About fifty years ago we were living at Thirtieth and Broadway 
 in a double house. An old woman that lived on the other side 
 went out to milk her cow one morning and came in the house 
 and laid down and died. My mother found her. We had a 
 grapevine over the back porch and a cistern on that back porch. 
 My mother and this woman would always wash out there. We 
 children took the diphtheria three months after this woman was 
 dead and my mother got up one morning at two o'clock to go to 
 the cistern to get us some fresh water, and when my mother got 
 to the cistern, she met this woman standing there. My mother 
 
 said, 'Why, Mrs. N. I thought you were dead' she was so 
 
 real. And the ghost said, 'I am dead, but came back to wash my 
 
 clothes' then disappear in the grapevine. We moved as soon 
 
 as we got well." 
 
 10534. "Years ago out on Honey Creek about one mile northeast of 
 Mendon there was a fannhouse out in the woods. A man lived 
 there that had ten children. He buried five of them in the yard. 
 And after that family left, everyone that would move into that 
 house could not stay. They would be sitting in the room and a 
 big black cat would come in the door and come and jump on your 
 lap, then go to the stairs and disappear. My uncle thought he 
 would go and live in the place. The first night, he was smoking 
 his pipe, this black cat came and jumped on his lap. He said ho 
 thought it was a cat. It was so real that he started to pet it. And 
 it jump down and went to the stairs and disappear. And he 
 didn't live there long. He got out. They took the old house 
 down." 
 
 10535. "Up here on Rock Creek (near Ursa) there is a place where there 
 is five graves, four white, and one old colored woman that would 
 be over a hundred if she was living. A man and his wife came 
 out of Quincy last summer to Rock Creek to pick up some rocks 
 (for a rock garden) and while they were picking them up, they 
 got close to these graves, and they saw an old woman with a 
 long black dress on to the ground and a sunbonnet on with a 
 black veil over the sunbonnet. She was just walking around the 
 creek. This man and his wife were not afraid, but they left. 
 They talked about it all the way home and said they would go 
 back again. They were not afraid. So in about a week they went 
 to this same place again and put their car up near the place (of 
 the graves) , and not seeing anything, started to picking up rocks 
 again ; when one of them happen to look up and saw this time 
 the old woman was all dressed in white, with white sunbonnet 
 and white veil. This time she was not walking. She was flying 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 631 
 
 around their car. She fly around their car several times, then 
 disappear in the woods. And the people from Quincy went 
 home." 
 
 10536. "One night my father was coming home from a dance and he 
 saw his girl Nancy on the corner. She was all dressed in white, 
 with a white sunbonnet with pink trimming. He went over and 
 looked into her sunbonnet and said, 'What are you doing out this 
 time of the night ?' And he found out she did not have her head 
 on. She started to running him and ran him all the way home. 
 He fell in the door and his mother said, 'What is wrong with 
 you? I told you that the devil would bring you home some night.* 
 He said, 'It was not the devil. It was Nancy's spirit running me 
 home, because I looked into her face'." 
 
 10537. "\Ve had a woman to die in Quincy several months ago and after 
 she was gone about two weeks they heard someone knock on the 
 front door. Her son went to the door and open it and there 
 
 stood his mother. It scared him so he holler, 'It's ma" and 
 
 she disappeared." 
 
 10538. "A woman was very extravagant with thread. She was always 
 throwing it away. One day this woman got sick and she said to 
 her mother, 'O, look, there is the devil.' Her mother looked but 
 said she did not see him. The woman said, 'O, there he is at the 
 foot of the bed, holding up a large spool of thread.' And the 
 devil said to this woman, 'See this thread? As many threads as 
 are on this spool, just that many days you will serve in hell with 
 me.' It was a token. She died that night." 
 
 10539. "One time a lady woke in the middle of the night and looking 
 toward the foot of the bed she saw a man in a blue shirt and 
 dark pants. She was almost scared stiff with fright. She tried 
 to call her husband but could not speak. Finally she gave such 
 a punch that he groaned and the man faded. The next day when 
 she went to the store she told the grocennan what happened. He 
 told her that the next time it happened, to say to it, 'What in the 
 Name of the Lord do you want?' And if it just mumbles and 
 don't say anything, to say, 'What in the name of the devil do 
 you want?' Because Satan might be wanting to warn you of 
 something that is going to happen." 
 
 10540. "I fancy you will think worth recording what Mrs. M. told me, 
 in connection I think but am not quite sure, with the very ghost 
 mentioned here. Mrs. M. being in the habit of meeting a very 
 pathetic and appealing apparition, mentioned it to her confessor. 
 He said that this was plainly one that had almost passed through 
 its purgatorial period and that it wished to communicate some 
 
632 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 message that weighed heavily upon it. He advised Mrs. M. to 
 speak to it and give it the opportunity to unburden itself. But 
 Mrs. M. never did so. She was not at all afraid of these appari- 
 tions but she had never spoken to one, and could not bring her- 
 self to do so. You understand of course that ghosts cannot 
 speak unless spoken to." Written contribution. 
 
 10541. This old negress when a girl, sixty-five years ago, worked for a 
 white family in Monroe City, Missouri. The room in which she 
 slept was haunted. Each night during the three years she re- 
 mained with this family, the closet door of her bedroom would 
 
 open and a woman dressed in white, having large blue eyes 
 
 and arms folded on her breast would appear, walk over to 
 
 the bed and then fade away. "I didn't know her name. If I had, 
 I would of asked her what she wanted, for ghosts will always tell 
 you if you call them by name. After the three years I got 
 married. Another negro girl by the name of Anna went to work 
 and they put her in that room. She only stayed one night, for 
 when that closet door opened and that woman come walking over 
 to the bed, that negro raised the whole town of Monroe City. 
 She was sure afraid. I was not." 
 
 10542. Shoot at a ghost and you will always draw blood. 
 
 10543. Strike at a ghost and you will have bad luck, 
 
 10544. "A very old saying is, if you curse a ghost, they will slap your 
 face and you will have to walk backward the rest of your days." 
 
 10545. "I was sitting by the radio about two months ago when I saw 
 something come in the front door. It came right to my chair 
 and knocked me over and took all the buttons ofT my shirt, and 
 I have not been able to find a button yet." 
 
 10546. "There was a boy years ago who cursed his mother and some- 
 thing slap him and left the print of a hand on his face." 
 
 10547. "If a human form should appear to you, speak to it in the three 
 highest names, the Father, Son and Holy Ghost; and it will 
 answer you. Don't get frightened." 
 
 10548. "If a person died in a bed and you sleep in the same bed, and 
 they worry you, just get a Bible and put it under your pillow, 
 and they will not worry you again." 
 
 10549. "Ten years ago a white woman was playing a piano on C. Street 
 and her husband shot her while she was at the piano. Not long 
 after that her brother died very sudden in the dining room. 
 After that everyone said the house was haunted. I didn't care. 
 I moved into the house. I was sleeping in the front room and 
 my son was in the room back of me. I could always hear knock- 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 633 
 
 ing on the door and my bed, but I did not care. Every night this 
 woman come and stand by my son's bed and look at him, then 
 walk around the bed and then disappear through the window. My 
 son always slept with a revolver under his pillow. This spirit 
 came one night and pulled the revolver from under my son's 
 pillow and throw the gun down on his feet. Then I did get 
 afraid. I thought maybe this ghost would kill him some night. 
 I got the Bible and read the ninety-first Psalm and prayed, and 
 made him sleep with the Bible under his head. And the spirit did 
 not bother him any more. I went and moved my bed out of the 
 front room into the dining room. Someone said, 'That room is 
 haunted too.' But I was not afraid. Only, I saw the spirit one 
 time and the man (who killed his wife) came to my bed one night. 
 He was tall. His hands were cold and his finger-nails long. I 
 could just feel them sticking in my side. He was trying to lift 
 me out of bed. This spirit got me to the edge of the bed, then 
 disappeared. Then I got up and read the ninetywfirst Psalm and 
 put the Bible under my head. After that we did not see any 
 more spirits in that house. But the closet door would always 
 open when I would go near it. I never had to open it." 
 
 10550. "Several years ago I started out to my aunt's house near Liberty. 
 I was walking and when it got dark I stopped in an empty house, 
 thinking I would stay all night and walk on to my aunt's house 
 as soon as it got light in the morning. The house did not have 
 any door and all the windows were broken out. I was afraid of 
 snakes, because I didn't have any whiskey along. I was tired out, 
 so I lay down on the floor by the open door with my coat under 
 my head for a pillow. I don't know how long I was asleep, but 
 something woke me up and a man was standing over me. I 
 asked the man what he wanted. He did not say a word, only 
 looked at me. I thought it was time to go when he did not speak. 
 If I had of had a Bible to put under my left ann he would of 
 talked to me, for spirits will always talk to you if you have a 
 Bible under your left arm and ask them, 'What in the Name of 
 the Father, Son and Holy Ghost do you want back here?' So I 
 started out the door and step on something. It sounded like a cat 
 howling. It just kept howling and following me down the road. 
 I don't know if it was a cat or the old man's spirit turn into a 
 cat. I never stopped to see. I just kept going and got to my 
 aunt's house in the morning all in." 
 
 10551. "If your house is haunted, if you will put the butcher knife and 
 the Bible under your pillow, the ghost will not come in the house. 
 
634 Memoirs of the Alma Ecjan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 One time we were living in a haunted house, and after we went 
 to bed, you could see people come in the window. They would 
 walk all over our bed, even take the cover off. Someone told us 
 about the butcher knife and Bible, and we put it under our 
 pillow and the ghost did not bother us. One night we took it 
 out to see if the ghost would come back, and sure enough they 
 started to walking over our bed, and we put it back and we had 
 no more trouble with ghosts." 
 
 10552. "If a house is haunted, if you will tack a new board down in 
 front of the door, you will never be bothered with ghosts." 
 
 10553. "I used to work for a doctor in Fowler, IlHnois ; and he died. 
 One night I was walking along the street, after the doctor was 
 buried, and all at once I felt a warm hand take hold of my hand. 
 I was not afraid because I knew when we got to the four corners 
 of the street they would let loose, because spirits don't go across 
 a road ; and I knew it was the doctor. And his hand slipped right 
 off when I got to the four corners." 
 
 10554. A woman, whose father recently died, worried and cried con- 
 tinually. Each night the father appeared at the front of her bed. 
 Finally, she asked an old negro woman about the apparition; 
 and the latter said that the father had come because he wanted 
 her to stop crying. After a time and with considerable effort 
 she ceased to cry, and her father's spirit no longer came. 
 
 10555. "If a bad negro dies and you don't want his spirit to bewitch 
 you after he is dead, take some of his hair after he is dead, bore 
 a hole in a tree, put the hair in that hole and plug it up. He will 
 never harm you. One day some negroes were boring a hole in a 
 tree and a white man saw them. He said, 'What are you doing 
 to that tree?' The negroes told him that a very bad negro had 
 died, and they had some of his old gray hair they had taken off 
 his head after he died and they had bound and socked it into 
 that hole, and if anyone would pull that plug out of that tree, 
 his spirit would float around and he would bewitch everyone 
 that he met." 
 
 10556. Offer your hand to a ghost and you will never be troubled by 
 or afraid of a ghost again. 
 
 10557. Keep evil spirits away by placing a horseshoe under your pillow. 
 
 10558. Formerly, one occasionally found a negro who wore a match in 
 his hair as a protection against ghosts. 
 
 10559. Burn old rubber to frighten away ghosts and bad spirits. 
 
 10560. Place salt on the front doorstep and you will not be molested 
 by ghosts. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams Couniy Illinois 635 
 
 10561. "If the house is haunted, if you will put a bag of salt over each 
 door with a little black mark on each sack, the ghost cannot 
 come in." 
 
 10562. "If someone hangs in a barn, that bam is haunted and stock will 
 not stay in there. If you will hang a sack of salt over every horse 
 or cow in there, they will stay in. I know a barn that was 
 haunted. A man hung himself in there. After that you could 
 not keep any stock in there. The person that lived there would 
 tie up his horses and cows and the next morning they would all 
 be out of the barn, until someone told him about hanging a sack 
 of salt over each head. He got the salt and put a sack over each 
 head of his stock that were in that barn and he never had any 
 more trouble with them getting loose." 
 
 10563. Burn old shoes to drive away ghosts. 
 
 10564. If you are chased by a ghost, stand in the middle of running 
 water and make the sign of a cross. 
 
 10565. Ghosts can be kept out of a house by burning sulphur. 
 
 MISCELLANEOUS 
 
 10566. "If you adopt a child and mistreat it, you will have a very raw 
 deal from your closest friend." 
 
 10567. It is believed by some people, that when a patient in a certain 
 state asylum becomes too violent, he is killed by being hit on the 
 head with a brick wrapped in a wet rag, so that it will not leave 
 any marks. 
 
 10568. To ring a church bell on Friday is a sin. 
 
 10569. The person who counts the tolls of a church bell will have bad 
 luck. 
 
 10570. Losing a Bible will make you unlucky. 
 
 10571. The Bible is holy and should be kept on the center of a table 
 standing in the middle of your living room. Further, you must 
 never place anything on top of the Bible. 
 
 10572. It is a sin to mutilate the Bible in any way. 
 
 10573. You will have bad luck if you play with the Bible, for it is 
 God's work. 
 
 10574. To throw a Bible down onto the floor when you are in a fit of 
 anger will cause bad luck. 
 
 10575. If you open the Bible and your finger rests on the words, 
 "Verily, verily" it is a sign of good luck. 
 
636 Memoirs of the .lima Egan Hyatt foundation 
 
 10576. "Stamp for bicycles, ting a-ling-, ling-, 
 On your way you'll find something." 
 
 10577. If you allow someone to cut the first piece out of your birthday 
 cake, you may expect bad luck. 
 
 10578. Reading the back of a book first is unlucky. 
 
 10579. ''A man in the south part of Quincy had the Seventh Book of 
 Moses and he gave it away to a man one day downtown, and 
 when he got back home the book was on the table. After you 
 have that book you just can't give it away, for it will always 
 come right back to you." 
 
 10580. A wagon can cross a bridge without shaking it, but a cat crossing 
 the bridge will shake the bridge from end to end. 
 
 10581. "Never try to be hard on your brother, for if you do you will 
 have bad luck." 
 
 10582. When buffaloes raise their tails up high and put them over their 
 
 backs, that is the sign of a stampede. From an Indian 
 
 ninety-six years old who was formerly with Buffalo Bill's Wild 
 West Show. 
 
 10583. Hanging up a new calendar before the new year begins, will 
 make you unfortunate. 
 
 10584. The man who places a calendar on his workbench will lose his 
 position before the year is gone. 
 
 10585. "Some people say Christ was a black man, because his hair was 
 wool." Negro. 
 
 10586. The one who on Christmas is the first to say, "Merry Qiristmas" 
 or "Happy New Year," will be lucky that year. 
 
 10587. Bad luck may be expected, if the Christmas greens are left up 
 after New Year's Day . 
 
 10588. It is the sign of a long life for a person to see a violet-colored 
 cloud. 
 
 10589. There used to be a man here in town who could hang a cornet 
 on the wall, wave his hands over it, and the instrument would 
 play. 
 
 10590. "If you are crooked, you will have bad luck." 
 
 10591. "If you go to a dance with a girl and a fellow comes and 
 brushes against you before you get into the dance hall, there will 
 be a bloody fight before the dance is over about the girl with 
 you." 
 
 10592. Never untie the ribbon on a diploma, always slip it off; for if 
 the ribbon is untied you will have bad luck. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 637 
 
 10593. If a girl has a doll and changes its name, the doll will break. 
 
 10594. "On election day if it rain, 
 
 They say it is the Democrats' gain." 
 
 10595. "If you go to the circus and give an elephant a chew of tobacco, 
 he will get mad and tear up the show; and if he sees you again, 
 he will know you and pick up a rock and try to kill you with it ; 
 if you run, he will follow you all over town." 
 
 10596. Wear a small white elephant around your neck as a lucky charm. 
 
 10597. Keep the statue of an elephant in your house for luck. 
 
 10598. If you have an elephant ornament in your house, always place it 
 so that the tail will be toward the north and you will have good 
 luck. 
 
 10599. An elephant mascot kept in the house should always have its 
 trunk up for luck. If the trunk is down, you will be unlucky. 
 
 10600. "Never do evil and try to hide it, for it will tell on you in two 
 days." 
 
 10601. The woman who throws out hot dishwater will either scald or 
 drown the fairies. 
 
 10602. "If you don't have your house in apple pie order (good order) 
 on New Year's Day, the fairies will bring you bad luck." 
 
 10603. Counting the cars of a freight train as they pass will bring you 
 good luck. 
 
 10604. If on Friday you keep thinking the day is Saturday, look for 
 misfortune. 
 
 10605. "They say down in Georgia a black man has to tip his hat to a 
 white man." Negro. 
 
 10606. "They say down in Georgia if a black man sees a white mule, he 
 has to bow to it." Negro. 
 
 10607. "They say down in Georgia if a black man sees a white rooster, 
 he has to call him Mr. Rooster." Negro. 
 
 10608. "They say down in Georgia if a black man goes to a house and 
 the floor is white, they have to bow and kiss the floor." Negro. 
 
 10609. "A girl that uses powder and paint is very poison." 
 
 10610. "When an old person gives you something to keep for luck, kee]) 
 it, for it will make you very rich some day, because it is a good 
 luck token." 
 
 10611. Never give away anything that has been given to you; bad luck 
 will befall you. 
 
 10612. Giving away something that you have found, will bring you 
 bad luck. 
 
 10613. An "Indian giver," one who takes or demands back something 
 he has given away, is always unlucky. 
 
638 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 10614. "If you plan what you are going to do next year without the aid 
 of God, you will have a bad start." 
 
 10615. Speak goo<I things about other i)eople all the time and you will 
 always be lucky. 
 
 10616. The one who does good to everybody will have a happy and 
 successful life. 
 
 10617. "If you do one person a good deed and refuse to do another 
 person a good deed, you will have bad luck."' 
 
 10618. "If you talk back to your mother and try to fight her, you will 
 have bad luck the rest of your life unless she forgives you." 
 
 10619. When small children have guns and begin to play soldiers, it is 
 a sign of war. 
 
 10620. "When a hobo hits a new town, he believes that if he is turned 
 down at the first place he goes to, his luck will be poor in that 
 town." 
 
 10621. It is a bad omen, if you upset a bottle of ink. 
 
 10622. "If you are in the country and see a light in the woods and you 
 can't get to it, it is a jack o' lantern." 
 
 10623. "It is sure unlucky to follow a jack o'lantern. They will always 
 take you to a brush pile full of thorns and let you stay." 
 
 10624. "If a jack o'lantern is following you, just take and turn your 
 pockets inside out in your coat or dress and it will turn around 
 and go back." 
 
 10625. The person w^ho attends court every day to hear a trial will soon 
 find himself in jail. 
 
 10626. Licorice is made from old rubber boots. 
 
 10627. You can always be lucky by keeping a lodestone in your pocket. 
 
 10628. "If you ever carry a lodestone in your pocket and lose it, you 
 will have all kinds of bad luck." 
 
 10629. Pulverize a piece of lodestone and put the powder in a sack. 
 Wear the sack around your neck for luck. 
 
 10630. If you are in a bad humor on Monday, you will be cross all week. 
 
 10631. The moon is made of green cheese. 
 
 10632. "They used to say that there is a boy and dog burning brush in 
 the full moon. Miss L., an old negro, insisted that this was true, 
 because she had seen them many a time ; and that if I would look 
 real good, I could see them too." 
 
 10633. "It is an old saying, if you take a magnet (magnifying ) glass at 
 night and hold it up to the moon, you will see a woman and a 
 dog burning brush." 
 
 10634. People with bad dispositions are under the influence of the moon. 
 
 10635. Look for war, if you see a red moon. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 639 
 
 10636. To see a new moon for the first time on Saturday is lucky. 
 
 10637. If you see a new moon for the first time on Monday, you will 
 have good luck. 
 
 10638. "The first time you look at a new moon, if you look at it full in 
 the face, it means a month of hard labor for you." 
 
 10639. If you have something in each hand when you first see a new 
 moon, you will never want. 
 
 10640. On looking at a new moon for the first time, if you are holding 
 something in your hand, expect a present soon, or before the 
 next new moon. 
 
 10641. It is lucky to see a new moon while you are climbing a hill. 
 
 10642. Seeing a new moon as you come down a hill means bad luck. 
 
 10643. Looking at a new moon over your left shoulder indicates bad 
 luck. 
 
 10644. The person who sees a (new) moon over his left shoulder will 
 be lucky. 
 
 10645. It will bring you good luck, if you look over your right shoulder 
 at the new moon. 
 
 10646. "If you see a new moon over your right shoulder for the first 
 time, you had better run." 
 
 10647. Gazing through glass at a new moon will cause you bad luck. 
 
 10648. To see the reflection of a new moon in a mirror is unfortunate. 
 
 10649. It signifies bad luck, if you look at a new moon through the 
 branches of a tree. 
 
 10650. If you talk about murder every day for six months, you will 
 soon be hanged for murder. 
 
 10651. If your child is taking music lessons, make him practice in the 
 morning before nine o'clock and he will learn twice as quickly. 
 
 10652. A person who changes his Christian name will soon die. 
 
 10653. Watch closely at midnight on New Year's Eve and you can see 
 an old man leave your house and a young child enter. 
 
 10654. A dark and gloomy New Year's Day foretells a hard year for 
 negroes. 
 
 10655. A clear and sunny New Year's Day indicates that white folk will 
 have a bad year. 
 
 10656. Wish everyone you meet a "Happy New Year" and you will 
 have good luck all year. 
 
 10657. Whatever a person does on New Year's Day he will do every 
 day during the year. 
 
 10658. The one who speaks an angry word on New Year's Day will be 
 angry all year. 
 
640 Memoirs of the .lima Egan Hyatt foundation 
 
 10659. To secure good luck for the year, throw a brick through the 
 doorway on New Year's Day. 
 
 10660. Always carry something new into your house on New Year's 
 Day so that you will obtain other things that year. 
 
 10661. "If you want to have goo<l luck all year, on New Year's Day 
 every time you go out of the door always carry something back 
 in the house, if only a rock or a chip of wood. This New Year's 
 Day I had company and I had to run out in the yard several 
 times, and every time I came back in the door I would pick up a 
 handful of old leaves just to be taking something in the house 
 so I would have luck." 
 
 10662. Breaking anything on New Year's Day means bad luck for you 
 all year. 
 
 10663. Go to church on New Year's Eve and you will be good all year. 
 
 10664. A strange noise at night is the sign that something terrible will 
 happen. 
 
 10665. Keep a nutmeg on a string around your neck for luck. 
 
 10666. Accepting a delivered package wrapped in red paper is a sign of 
 bad luck. 
 
 10667. Always pick up a pencil that you find on the street and you will 
 be lucky ; the larger the pencil, the better the luck. 
 
 10668. If you talk about the police all the time, you will be in jail before 
 the end of the year. 
 
 10669. "If you are alone and get afraid, say, 'Lord have mercy, Jesus 
 have mercy. Lord have mercy on me, because you know I have 
 harm no one.' Cross your heart and body, and hold up your 
 right hand, and you need not be afraid." 
 
 10670. Say this every day: "Help me to help myself" and it will 
 
 bring you good luck. 
 
 10671. A certain prayer written on a piece of paper and carried over 
 the heart will protect the wearer from being wounded by gun or 
 
 knife. One person was wearing such a charm but the author 
 
 could not secure a copy of it. 
 
 10672. "It is bad luck to get mad at the preacher in church." 
 
 10673. "If you mock a preacher, you will be cut down like a tree." 
 
 10674. "If you read the Psalm CXVI daily with devotion, trusting in 
 God, you will be safe from violent death." 
 
 10675. Read Psalm LXXVII daily and you will not want or be in 
 danger. 
 
 10676. To obtain the good wmII of old friends, pray every morning and 
 evening the one hundredth and thirty-third Psalm. 
 
 10677. You will find a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 641 
 
 10678. Say the Lord's Prayer while looking" at a rainbow and you will 
 
 be lucky. 
 1(X)79. Put a sea shell to your ear and you can hear the sea roaring. 
 
 10680. The four best days of the week for shaving are Monday, 
 Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. 
 
 10681. If you see something shining in the dark, do not touch it or you 
 will have bad luck, 
 
 10682. "Several months ago I saw a large heart in the northwest part of 
 the sky. It was just full of little stars. That is the sign of 
 war." 
 
 10683. "During the war (Civil War) my mother would make us children 
 watch the heavens at night to see if there was going to be a big 
 battle. You could always tell, for there would be blue, red and 
 white stripes everywhere in the heavens. That was the sign that 
 blood was going to be shed." 
 
 10684. To cure a person of smoking, push a horsehair through his 
 cigarette and when he smokes the cigarette, it will make him sick. 
 
 10685. The person who can blow smoke rings will be lucky. 
 
 10686. Smoking a cigarette with a gold band will bring you good luck. 
 
 10687. Never eat any of the first snow of the year, it will poison you. 
 
 10688. You can bless with water from March snow because it is holy. 
 
 10689. It is unlucky to see a shooting star. 
 
 10690. If you see a star fall, you will have good luck. 
 
 10691. Each time a star shoots, either there has been a death or a birth. 
 
 10692. A falling star shows that a soul has gone to heaven. 
 
 10693. If a star shoots to the right, a soul is entering heaven. 
 
 10694. A star shooting to the left indicates that someone has just en- 
 tered hell. 
 
 10695. "A shooting star guides a new soul from heaven to the earth, 
 and in the path which it makes, a soul departing from the earth 
 finds its way back to heaven." 
 
 10696. "There are seven stars that are always in the heavens in one 
 little spot, and if you will watch, just before a war they disap- 
 pear." 
 
 10697. "I am an old woman and I never did count a star in the sky. My 
 mother told me it was bad luck to count them." 
 
 10698. "If you think about stealing all the time, you will turn out to be 
 a crook in six years to come." 
 
 10699. You will never have any luck, if you try to rob the poor. 
 
 10700. A lump of sulphur carried in your pocket will give you good luck. 
 
 10701. Two persons who work up a swing together will have bad luck. 
 
 10702. You can drive a pin into an automobile tire and you will not have 
 a blowout, if the pin is quickly removed. 
 
642 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 10703. "If you have a puncture and have no patching, just take some 
 sand and water and push it in the hole; it will hold for four 
 hours." 
 
 10704. Water can be found by using a hazel divining rod or a peach 
 fork. Each time the end of the stick bends dovi^n, it indicates a 
 foot to be dug before reaching water. Some dowsers say that a 
 dowsing fork must be held back-handed. 
 
 10705. "If you dive in the water and you go under a barge and you 
 come up against the barge with your back, it will hold you there 
 and you can't get away; if you come up with your stomach 
 against the barge, you can get away." 
 
 10706. A girl or woman should take a pebble from the spring she visits 
 for the first time and sew it in the hem of her dress. She will 
 have good luck when the pebble is lost. 
 
 10707. If you gaze into deep water and can see to the bottom of it, you 
 will have good luck. 
 
 10708. It is unlucky for two persons to be in a water-closet together. 
 
 10709. Stick a pitchfork into a whirlwind that is coming down the road 
 and the devil will jump out of it. 
 
 10710. It is very unlucky to make a will. 
 
 RHYMES 
 
 10711. A whistling girl and a bleating sheep 
 Always come to the top of the heap. 
 
 10712. A whistling maid and running sheep 
 
 Are the very best property a man can keep. 
 
 10713. A woman that whistles and a hen that crows, 
 Has her way wherever she goes. 
 
 10714. The old colored woman who gave this game said she had played 
 it as a child during the Civil War. While the children sang they 
 would make a mark on the ground like this / at each word ; and 
 when the singing was finished, count the marks. There should 
 be thirty-two of them. 
 
 All 'long, all 'long, 
 
 Linkton Lou. 
 
 All 'long, all 'long, 
 
 Linkton Lou, 
 
 Is a very good do. 
 
 I bet any man. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 643 
 
 A pint of rum, 
 There are no more 
 Than thirty-two marks. 
 
 10715. Amen, 
 Brother Ben, 
 Shot at a rooster, 
 Killed a hen. 
 
 10716. An apple a day- 
 Keeps the doctor away. 
 
 10717. Apple core, 
 Bite no more. 
 Point him out, 
 
 Hit him in the snout, 
 
 10718. The following rhyme was said to the child who attempted to 
 fool you after the 1st of April: 
 
 April fool has come and past, 
 And you are the biggest fool at last. 
 
 10719. April showers 
 Bring May flowers. 
 
 10720. Aunt Jemima ate cake. 
 Aunt Jemima ate jelly. 
 Aunt Jemima went home 
 
 With a pain in her 
 
 Now don't get excited, 
 And don't be misled, 
 
 For Aunt Jemima went home 
 With a pain in her head. 
 
 10721. Bread and butter, 
 Come to supper. 
 
 10722. Butcher, butcher, killed a louse, 
 Hung it up in the slaughterhouse. 
 
 10723. Chink, chink, Chinaman, 
 Sitting on a fence, 
 Trying to make a dollar, 
 Out of fifteen cents. 
 Along came a policeman. 
 And clubbed him on the head. 
 Chink, chink, Qiinaman, 
 Fell down dead. 
 
Cy\4 
 
 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 10724. Christmas is coming, 
 Turkeys are fat, 
 Please put a nickel, 
 In grandpa's hat. 
 
 If you haven't a nickel, 
 A penny will do. 
 If you haven't that, 
 God bless you. 
 
 10725. Cocks crow in the mom, 
 To tell us to rise. 
 
 And he who lies late. 
 Will never be wise ; 
 For early to bed. 
 And early to rise. 
 Is the way to be healthy, 
 Wealthy and wise. 
 
 10726. The following song was sung by an old colored woman as a 
 girl during the Civil War. She called it, "Shaker and Quaker 
 Song:" 
 
 Come down meekly, 
 
 Come down lowly, 
 
 Come down all the way. 
 
 Lit go to glory. 
 
 Shake yourself, limber be; 
 
 You will be free. 
 
 Shake yourself, Hmber be; 
 
 You will be free. 
 
 Tra-la-la, tra-la-la. 
 
 10727. Come, lets to bed, 
 Says sleepy head. 
 Tarry awhile says slow. 
 Put on the pan, 
 
 Says greedy Nan, 
 Lets sup before we go. 
 
 10728. Lets go to bed said sleepy head, 
 Lets ^yait awhile said slow ; 
 
 Put on the pot said greedy gut, 
 Lets eat before we go. 
 
 10729. Lets go to bed said grey eyes. 
 
 Lets stay up and eat awhile said greedy gut. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 645 
 
 10730. Come when you're called, 
 Do as you're bid, 
 
 Shut the door after you, 
 Never be chid. 
 
 10731. Cow, cow, come blow your horn, 
 And you shall have a peck of corn. 
 
 10732. Do you carrot all for me? 
 My heart beets for you. 
 With your turnip nose, 
 And your radish nose; 
 You are a peach. 
 
 If we cantaloupe. 
 Lettuce us marry; 
 Weed make a swell pear. 
 
 10733. Do you like beer? 
 A sock in the ear. 
 
 10734. Do you hke butter? 
 
 I'll punch you in the gutter. 
 
 10735. Do you hke jelly? 
 
 I'll punch you in the belly. 
 
 10736. Do you like pie? 
 
 I'll punch you in the eye. 
 
 10737. Do you want a nickel? 
 Suck a pickle. 
 
 10738. Dressed in yellow, pink or blue. 
 Nursing cats is all they do, 
 Poor old maids ! 
 
 10739. Father may I go to war? 
 Yes you may my son ; 
 Wear your woolen comforter. 
 But don't let off your gun. 
 
 10740. Fatty on a steamboat. 
 Stinks like a nanny goat, 
 
 10741. Good-night, sleep tight. 
 Don't let the bedbugs bite. 
 
 10742. Goody, goody, gout, 
 Shirt tail out; 
 
(A6 
 
 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 Goody, goody, gin, 
 Shirt tail in. 
 
 10743. Grandma tipsy toe, 
 
 Lost her needle and couldn't sew. 
 
 10744. Harry, Harry, ain't no good, 
 
 We'll chop him up for kindling wood. 
 
 10745. Here I stand all ragged and dirty. 
 
 Kiss me quick and I'll run like a turkey. 
 
 10746. Here I stand on two little chips, 
 Come and kiss my sweet little lips. 
 
 10747. Hot boiled beans and very good butter, 
 Ladies and gentlemen come to supper. 
 
 10748. I asked my mother for fifty cents, 
 To see the elephant jump the fence ; 
 He jumped so high, he touched the sky, 
 And didn't get back till the fourth of July. 
 
 10749. I beg your pardon, I grant your grace, 
 And hope the cat will scratch your face. 
 
 10750. I beg your pardon, I'll grant your grace; 
 If that won't do, I'll spit in your face. 
 
 10751. I caught my bow, 
 
 I seized my arrow ; 
 But missed the crow, 
 And shot a sparrow. 
 
 10752. I had a little dog, 
 
 And his name was Jack, 
 
 I put him in a box. 
 
 And he jumped through a crack. 
 
 10753. I had a little dog, his name was Rover, 
 And when he died, he died all over. 
 
 10754. I had a little monkey, 
 I sent to the country; 
 
 They fed him on gingerbread. 
 
 Viffo, baffo, they hit him on the head; 
 
 Now my poor little monkey is dead. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 
 
 6A7 
 
 10755. 
 
 or 
 
 10756. 
 
 10757. 
 
 10758. 
 10759. 
 10760. 
 10761. 
 
 10762. 
 
 I know something, I won't tell, 
 Three little negroes in a big hotel. 
 
 I know something, I won't tell. 
 Three Httle niggers in a peanut shell. 
 
 I know something, I won't tell, 
 Three little niggers in a peanut shell; 
 One jumped in and one jumped out, 
 And one jumped into the sauerkraut. 
 
 I see the moon. 
 
 And the moon sees me; 
 
 I follow the moon. 
 
 And the moon follows me. 
 
 I should worry, I should care, 
 I should marry a millionaire. 
 
 I should worry, I should cry, 
 I should marry another guy. 
 
 I should worry, I should fret, 
 I should marry a suffragette. 
 
 I told Ma, 
 Ma told Pa; 
 Harry got a licking, 
 Ha! Ha! Ha! 
 
 I went down to the river, 
 Couldn't get across; 
 Jumped on a nigger. 
 Thought he was a horse ; 
 The horse wouldn't pull, 
 Sold him for a bull ; 
 The bull wouldn't holler. 
 Sold him for a dollar ; 
 The dollar wouldn't pass, 
 Threw it in the grass ; 
 The grass wouldn't grow, 
 Sold it for a hoe ; 
 The hoe wouldn't dig. 
 Sold it for a pig; 
 The pig wouldn't squeal, 
 Sold him for a wheel ; 
 
 or Sold it for a crow 
 The crow wouldn't squeal 
 
648 
 
 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 or / threw it in the sh-t 
 
 And you slipped in it 
 
 The wheel wouldn't run. 
 Sold it for a gun; 
 The gun wouldn't shoot, 
 Sold it for a boot ; 
 The boot wouldn't fit. 
 So I threw it in the pit. 
 
 Another ending 
 
 The grass wouldn't grow, 
 
 We gave it to the show; 
 
 The show was nice, 
 
 We bought a piece of ice; 
 
 The ice was cold, 
 
 And my father didn't scold. 
 
 10763. A generation ago, children used to write rhymes such as the 
 following in their textbooks : 
 
 If my name you wish to fine (find), 
 
 Look on page twenty-nine. 
 
 If you wish my name to see, 
 
 Look on page twenty-three. 
 
 If my name you wish to discover. 
 
 Turn back ten pages from the cover. 
 
 If my name you lack, 
 
 Turn four pages from the back. 
 
 If my name you want to know, 
 
 Look on page 1-2-0. 
 
 10764. If you are slow-footed. 
 Your papa was crooked. 
 
 10765. If you are to be a gentleman, 
 As I suppose you'll be. 
 You'll neither laugh nor smile. 
 For a tickling of the knee. 
 
 10766. If you love me as I love you, 
 No knife can cut our love in two. 
 
 10767. If you step on a crack, 
 
 You'll break your mother's back. 
 
 10768. Step on a crack. 
 
 Break your mother's back. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 649 
 
 10769. I'm a little curly head, 
 My father is a preacher. 
 
 I love to go to Sunday school, 
 And listen to my teacher. 
 
 10770. I'm a little Hindoo, 
 I do all I kindoo; 
 
 If my pants and shirt don't meet, 
 I'll make my little skindoo. 
 
 10771. It is a sin, 
 
 To steal a pin; 
 
 It is a greater. 
 
 To steal a potater (potato). 
 
 10772. It's raining, it's pouring. 
 The old man is snoring. 
 
 10773. I've got a rocket, 
 In my pocket, 
 
 I cannot stop to play. 
 Away she goes, 
 I've burnt my toes, 
 'Tis Independence Day. 
 
 10774. Jack and Jill ran a race. 
 
 Jack fell dov^n and skinned his face. 
 
 10775. When a negro's corn is gone, this is what he says: 
 
 Jesus my all to heaven is gone. 
 
 Squirrels have eat up my new ground cawn (corn). 
 
 10776. Johnny's mad and I am glad. 
 And I know what to please him; 
 A bottle of ink to make him stink. 
 
 And three little nigger girls to squeeze him. 
 
 Variant' for third line 
 
 A bottle of wine to make him shine. 
 
 10777. Katydid, katydid, come from your tree, 
 And tell, little tattler, what did she? 
 
 10778. When two children separate and each trys to get the last look at 
 the other, one will say: 
 
 Last look. 
 
 You dirty crook. 
 
650 
 
 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 10779. Lemonade, 
 Made in the shade, 
 Stirred with a spade. 
 
 Good enough for any old maid. 
 
 10780. Little head, little wit. 
 Big head, not a bit. 
 
 10780tt.If a child loses something and other children help in the search, 
 they say : 
 
 Losers weepers, 
 Finders keepers. 
 
 10781. When one child mocked another, the child mocked would say: 
 
 Mocking is catching, 
 Hanging is stretching. 
 
 10782. Mother may I take a swim? 
 Yes my darling daughter; 
 
 Hang your clothes on a hickory limb, 
 And don't go near the water. 
 
 10783. Nigger, nigger, never die. 
 Black face and shiny eye, 
 Crooked nose and crooked toes, 
 That's the way the nigger grows. 
 
 10784. Old mother witch fell in a ditch. 
 
 Picked up a penny and thought she was rich. 
 
 10785. One, two, 
 Buckle my shoe; 
 Three, four, 
 Close the door; 
 Five, six. 
 
 Pick up sticks ; 
 
 Seven, eight, 
 
 Lay them straight ; 
 
 Nine, ten, 
 
 Big fat hen; 
 
 Eleven, twelve. 
 
 Ring the bell : (or Men tnust divell, or delve) 
 
 Thirteen, fourteen. 
 
 Maids are courting; (or Maids are sporting) 
 
 Fifteen, sixteen. 
 
 Maids are fixing; (or Maids are kissing) 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 651 
 
 Seventeen, eighteen, 
 
 Maids are waiting; 
 
 Nineteen, twenty, 
 
 That's a plenty; (or Maids are plenty) 
 
 Twenty-one, twenty-two, 
 
 That will do. 
 As children we used to continue, but I can remember only two 
 items with certainty: Twenty-three, twenty-four; say no more. 
 Twenty-nine, thirty; your face is dirty. 
 
 10786. One's company. 
 Two's a couple. 
 Three's a crowd. 
 
 10787. Opossum up a gum stump 
 Raccoon in the holler (hollow) ; 
 Shake him down boy, 
 
 And I'll give you a quarter of a dollar. 
 
 10788. The first letter in each word of the following rhyme represents 
 one letter of the word "preface" spelled forward and backward. 
 The rhyme is to be repeated as quickly as possible. 
 
 Peter, reater, eater; 
 
 Fish, alligators catch eels. 
 
 Eels catch alligators; 
 
 Fish eat raw potaters (potatoes). 
 
 10789. Punch and Judy, 
 Fought for a pie. 
 Punch gave Judy, 
 A knock in the eye. 
 Says Punch to Judy, 
 Will you have any more? 
 Says Judy to Punch, 
 
 My eyes are too sore. 
 
 10790. Raccoon up a persimmon tree, 
 The opossum on the ground ; 
 He said you son of a gun, 
 Shake those simmons down. 
 
 10791. Raccoon tail is ringed around. 
 Opossum tail is long and bare ; 
 Rabbit has no tail. 
 
 Just a little bunch of hair. 
 
C52 Memoirs of the Ahna Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 10792. Red and yellow, 
 Catch your fellow. 
 
 10793. Ring the bell to go to hell, 
 Climb the rod to go to God. 
 
 10794. Roses are red, 
 Violets are blue; 
 Sugar is sweet, 
 And so are you. 
 
 10795. Smarty, smarty, had a party; 
 
 Nobody came but a red-headed (or big fat) darky. 
 
 10796. Snake, snake, run in the grass; 
 And I'll not hurt you as you pass. 
 
 10797. Snow is white and coal is black. 
 
 If your pants are loose, pull in the slack. 
 
 10798. Step in a hole. 
 
 Break your mother's sugar bowl. 
 
 10799. Step on a nail, 
 
 Get your father in jail. 
 
 10800. When a child refused to give a part of his apple or anything to 
 another child, the latter would say : 
 
 Stingy gut, stingy gut, 
 Eat the whole world up. 
 
 10801. Summer winds blow strong and cool, 
 For I'm obliged to stay in school. 
 
 10802. Take oflF your left shoe. 
 
 And I can tell you your fortune; 
 I'll tell you what your trouble is, 
 I'll tell you who wants you, 
 I'll tell you who loves you. 
 God loves you. 
 The devil wants you, 
 And the trouble is, 
 To put on your shoe. 
 
 10803. Taste and try. 
 Before you buy. 
 
 10804. Tattletale, tattletail. 
 Hanging on a bull's tail. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 653 
 
 10805. Tattletail tit, 
 
 Your tongue shall be slit, 
 And every little dog. 
 Shall have a little bit. 
 
 10806. Ten little Indians standing in a line, 
 One went home and that left nine ; 
 Nine little Indians swinging on a gate, 
 One fell off and that left eight ; 
 
 Eight little Indians never heard of heaven, 
 One kicked the bucket and that left seven ; 
 Seven little Indians cutting up tricks. 
 One broke his neck and that left six; 
 Six little Indians kicking all alive, 
 One went to bed and that left five; 
 Five little Indians on the cellar door, 
 One tumbled in and that left four ; 
 Four little Indians out on a spree, 
 One dead drunk and that left three ; 
 Three little Indians in a canoe. 
 One tumbled overboard and that left two; 
 Two little Indians fooled with a gun. 
 One shot the other and that left one ; 
 One little Indian with his little wife. 
 Lived in a wigwam the rest of his life; 
 One daddy Indian one mammy squaw, 
 Soon raised a family of ten Indians all. 
 
 10807. Ten little nigger boys went out to dine, 
 
 One choked his little self and then there were nine; 
 Nine little nigger boys sat up very late. 
 One overslept himself and then there were eight; 
 Eight little nigger boys traveling in Devon, 
 One said he'd stay there and then there were seven ; 
 Seven little nigger boys chopping up sticks, 
 , One chopped himself in halves and then there were six; 
 
 Six little nigger boys playing with a hive, 
 A bumblebee stung one and then there were five ; 
 Five little nigger boys going in for law, 
 One got in chancery and then there w-ere four; 
 Four little nigger boys going out to sea, 
 A red herring swallowed one and then there were three; 
 Three little nigger boys walking in the zoo, 
 A big bear hugged one and then there were two ; 
 
654 
 
 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 Two little nigger boys sitting in the sun, 
 One got frizzled up and then there was one; 
 One little nigger boy living all alone, 
 He got married and then there were none. 
 
 10808. John Brown had a little Indian, 
 John Brown had a little Indian, 
 John Brown had a little Indian, 
 One little Indian boy. 
 
 One little, two little, three httle Indians, 
 Four little, five little, six little Indians, 
 Seven little, eight little, nine little Indians, 
 Ten little Indian boys. 
 
 10809. One little, two little, three little Indians, 
 Four little, five little, six little Indians, 
 Seven little, eight little, nine little Indians, 
 Ten little Indian boys. 
 
 Ten little, nine little, eight little Indians, 
 Seven little, six little, five little Indians, 
 Four httle, three little, two little Indians, 
 One little Indian boy. 
 
 10810. The Irish and the Dutch (Germans), 
 They don't amount to much. 
 
 10811. The old sow died with the whooping cough. 
 The old cow died with the colic; 
 
 Along came a nigger. 
 
 With his banjo and his fiddle. 
 
 Going over the river to a frolic. 
 
 10812. Thirty days has September, 
 April, June and November ; 
 All the rest have thirty-one. 
 Save the second month alone, 
 Which has twenty-eight in fine. 
 Till leap year gives it twenty-nine. 
 
 10813. Thirty days has September, 
 April, June and November. 
 All the rest have thirty-one. 
 February has twenty-eight alone. 
 Excepting leap year, that's the time, 
 When February's days are twenty-nine. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 655 
 
 10814. Tit for tat, 
 You kill my dog, 
 And I'll skin your cat. 
 
 10815. Tom was a bad boy. 
 Beat a poor cat. 
 Dick put a stone, 
 
 In a blind man's hat. 
 Harry was a boy, 
 Who wouldn't say his prayers. 
 They all went to the devil, 
 And nobody cares. 
 
 10816. Tom was a bad boy, 
 Beat a poor cat. 
 Tom put a stone. 
 
 In the blind man's hat. 
 
 Tom was a bad boy, 
 
 Wouldn't say his prayers. 
 
 Along came the devil, 
 
 And kicked him down the stairs. 
 
 10817. Two against one, 
 Is nigger's fun. 
 
 10818. Up the hill 
 
 And over the ridge, 
 
 Down the hill 
 
 And across the bridge. 
 
 Up the hill 
 
 And a great way off. 
 
 The wind will blow 
 
 My top notch off. 
 
 10819. Was ever heard such noise and clamor, 
 The hatchet's jealous of the hammer. 
 
 10820. Watchman, watchman, don't catch me. 
 Catch that nigger behind the tree ; 
 
 He stole gold, , 
 
 And I stole brass; 
 Watchman, watchman, go to grass. 
 Variant for last line 
 
 Watchman, watchman, kiss my . . . 
 
 10821. What goes up must come down, 
 Either on the head or on the ground. 
 
656 Memoirs of iJie Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 10822. What shall we do? 
 Spit in our shoe. 
 
 10823. What's your name? 
 John Brown. 
 
 Ask me again, 
 
 And I'll knock you down. 
 
 10824. What's your name ? 
 Pudding and tame. 
 Ask me again and 
 I'll tell you the same. 
 Where do you live? 
 Down the lane. 
 What's your number? 
 Cucumber. 
 
 10825. Where was Moses when the light went out? 
 Down in the cellar eating sauerkraut. 
 
 RIMED RIDDLES 
 
 10826. 
 
 10827. 
 
 10828. 
 
 or 
 
 10829. 
 
 All saddled, all bridled, all ready to go, 
 I've told you his name three times, 
 And now you don't know. 
 
 Down in the valley there is a bright light. 
 All bridled, all saddled, all fit for a fight. 
 I have told you my name three times in a row, 
 And still you can't guess I know. 
 
 All. 
 
 All. 
 
 A railroad crossing, look out for the cars ; 
 Can you spell all that without any R's ? 
 
 A-L-L T-H-A-T. 
 
 A railroad crossing, look out for the cars ; 
 Bet you can't spell it without any R's. 
 
 A man walked down the garden path, 
 He tipped his hat and drew his cane, 
 What was his name? 
 
 I-T. 
 
 Andrew. 
 
Folk-Lorc from Adams County Illinois 657 
 
 10830. There is a girl in our town, 
 Silk and satin is her gown, 
 Silk and satin, gold and velvet. 
 Can you guess her name, 
 Three times I have told it? 
 
 Ann. 
 
 10831. King Morocco built a ship. 
 
 And in this ship his daughter dwelt. 
 
 And I will tell her name three times to you, 
 
 And you shall tell it once to me. 
 
 Ann. 
 
 10832. Round and deep and good to keep. 
 Because you use it once a week. 
 
 Bathtub. 
 
 10833. Four legs up and four legs down, 
 Soft in the middle and hard all around. 
 
 Bed. 
 
 10834. As I went over London bridge, 
 
 I met a heap of people, 
 Some were nick, some were brown, 
 And some the color of tobacco. 
 
 Bees. 
 
 10835. Behind the King's kitchen there is a great vat. 
 And a great many workmen working at that. 
 Yellow is their toes, yellow is their clothes, 
 Tell me this riddle and you can pull my nose. 
 
 Bees making honey. 
 
 10836. Way out in the field there stands a grey mare. 
 Hoist up her tail and sop your bread there. 
 
 Beehive zmth honey on it. 
 
 10837. Years ago there was an old man in jail. His jailer promised to 
 set him free if he could ask a riddle which he the jailer could 
 not answer. So the old man propounded the following: 
 
 "As I was walking down the lane. 
 
 Out of the dead the living came. 
 
 Six there were, and seven there will be, 
 
 If you can't guess this riddle, set me free." 
 
 A man walking down the lane saw the 
 carcass of a horse which contained a 
 nest with six little birds and one nn- 
 hatched egg. The jailer could not guess 
 the riddle and the prisoner was libe- 
 rated. 
 
638 
 
 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 10838. 
 
 10839. 
 
 10840. 
 
 10841. 
 
 or 
 
 10842. 
 
 10843. 
 
 10844. 
 
 10845. 
 
 What makes a lot of noise in a house with one door, 
 
 And if it sits in a draft, you can hear it no more? 
 
 Bird in a cage. 
 
 White as snow and snow it isn't, 
 
 Green as grass and grass it isn't, 
 
 Red as blood and blood it isn't. 
 
 Black as tar and tar it isn't. 
 
 A blackberry. First the white blossom, 
 then the green berry which turns red, 
 and when ripe is black. 
 
 Down yonder hill. 
 
 There stands a mill, 
 
 And in the mill, 
 
 There is a chest. 
 
 And in the chest, 
 
 Is a drop that everyone needs. 
 
 Blood. 
 
 Black without and red within. 
 Hoist up your leg and stick it in. 
 
 Black without and red within. 
 Hop about and put your foot in. 
 
 Boot. 
 
 A body met a body in a bag of beans. 
 
 Said a body to a body. 
 
 Can a body tell a body what a body means ? 
 
 Two bugs in a bag of beans. 
 
 Little Nanny Etticoat, 
 In a white petticoat, 
 And a red nose ; 
 The longer she stands, 
 The shorter she grows. 
 
 Candle. 
 
 There is a yellow house upon the hill, 
 In the yellow house is a cream house, 
 And in the cream house is a pink house. 
 And inside the pink house. 
 There is a lot of white babies. 
 
 As I went through the garden gap. 
 Whom should I meet but Dick Redcap, 
 
 Cantaloupe. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 
 
 659 
 
 10846. 
 
 10847. 
 
 or 
 
 10848. 
 
 10849. 
 
 10850. 
 
 10851. 
 
 10852. 
 
 10853. 
 
 A stick in his hand, a stone in his throat, 
 
 If you'll tell me this riddle, I'll give you a goat. 
 
 Patch upon patch and a hole in the middle, 
 Guess this riddle and I'll give you a fiddle. 
 
 Black within and red without, 
 With four comers angling about. 
 
 Black within and red without, 
 And four corners round about. 
 
 Big at the bottom. 
 Little at the top. 
 Little thing in the middle, 
 Goes flippity flop. 
 
 Cherry. 
 
 Chimney. 
 
 Chimney. 
 
 Churn. 
 
 A riddle, a riddle, as I suppose, 
 A hundred eyes and never a nose. 
 
 Cinder sifter or potato. 
 Tied at both ends and raised in the middle. 
 If you can guess this riddle I'll give you a fiddle. 
 
 Clothesline. 
 Black we are, but much admired. 
 Men seek for us, till they are tired, 
 We tire the horse, but comfort the man. 
 Tell me this riddle, if you can. 
 
 Coal. 
 Four stiff standers. 
 Four down hangers, 
 Two lookers. 
 Two crookers, 
 And one switch about. 
 
 Cow. 
 Higgledy, piggledy, here we lie, 
 Picked and plucked and put in a pie. 
 My first is snapping, snarling and growling. 
 My second is busy romping and prowling. 
 Higgledy, piggledy, here we lie. 
 Picked and plucked and put in a pie. 
 
 Currants. 
 
C60 
 10854. 
 
 10855. 
 
 10856. 
 
 10857. 
 
 10858. 
 
 10859. 
 
 10860. 
 
 10861. 
 
 10862. 
 
 10863. 
 
 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 First you see me in the j,n-ass, dressed in yellow gay; 
 Next I am in dainty white, then I fly away. 
 
 Dandelion, 
 A water there is I must pass, 
 A broader water never was, 
 And yet of all waters I ever did see. 
 To pass over with less jeopardy. 
 
 Dew. 
 Slippery wet and greasy, 
 When it's in, it's easy. 
 When it's out, it slips about, 
 Slippery wet and greasy. 
 
 Dish rag. 
 What loves a dog and rides on his back; 
 He can travel for miles and not leave a track? 
 
 Flea on a dog's tail. 
 A duck before two ducks, 
 A duck between two ducks, 
 A duck behind two ducks. 
 
 Three ducks. 
 Twelve pears hanging high, 
 Twelve men came riding by. 
 Each man took a pear. 
 And left the eleven hanging there. 
 
 A man named Eachman. 
 A cup sitting in the window. 
 And you can't take a sup. 
 Without breaking the cup. 
 
 Egg- 
 
 In marble walls as white as milk, 
 
 Lined with a skin as soft as silk. 
 
 Within a fountain crystal clear, 
 
 A golden apple doth appear. 
 
 No doors there are to this stronghold, 
 
 Yet thieves break in and steal the gold. 
 
 As I went through a field of wheat, 
 I picked up something good to eat, 
 It was neither flesh nor bone. 
 And I kept it until it could walk alone. 
 
 Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, 
 Humpty Dumpty had a great fall ; 
 
 E-gg. 
 
 Egg. 
 
Folk-Lorc from Adams County Illinois 661 
 
 All the king's horses and all the king's men, 
 Couldn't put Humpty Dumpty together again. 
 
 Effg- 
 
 10864. What has a trunk but no till, a mouth but no bill ; 
 As tame as a mouse, but could kill if it will? 
 
 Elepfiant. 
 
 10865. Read my riddle, I pray. 
 What God never sees. 
 What the king seldom sees, 
 What we see every day. 
 
 10866. If hours were sold like hats and shoes. 
 
 What time of day would Adam choose? 
 
 An equal. 
 
 Eve. 
 
 10867. The old woman, she pit and she pat it. 
 
 The old man took off his pants and sprang at it. 
 
 Feather bed. 
 
 10868. What is three fourths square. 
 And black as a bear. 
 
 If you don't tell me this riddle, 
 I will pull your hair. 
 
 Flatiron. 
 
 10869. Riddle come, riddle come right. 
 
 Can't guess where I was last Friday night. 
 
 The wind did blow. 
 
 And the cock did crow, 
 
 My poor heart did ache. 
 
 To see the hole the false fox did make. 
 
 One Friday night a man was sitting up in 
 a tree when a nian named Fox came along 
 and began to dig a hole in which to bury 
 his sweetheart. 
 
 10870. Last Friday night I sat high, 
 I looked low ; 
 
 I looked for two to come, 
 
 But one did come; 
 
 And it made my heart ache, 
 
 To see the hole the fox did make. 
 
 The man's name was Fox and he was to 
 bring a preacher to the tree to marry him 
 and the girl, but he came alone and dug 
 the hole to put her in. 
 
662 
 
 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 10871. 
 
 10872. 
 
 Long legs, crooked toes, 
 Glassy eyes, snotty nose. 
 
 Frog. 
 
 What's out and in. 
 But never can win? 
 
 Gambler. 
 
 10873. Over the water and under the water. 
 But still not touching the water. 
 
 A girl carrying a jug of water on her head 
 while walking over a bridge. 
 
 10874. This is an old negro riddle : 
 
 A long, black, slim, slick fellow, 
 Pull his cock and make him bellow. 
 
 Gun. 
 
 10875. Riddle me, riddle me, what is that. 
 Over the head and under the hat? 
 
 Hair. 
 
 10876. I washed my hands in water that never rained or run, 
 
 I wiped my hands on silk that neither was woven nor spun. 
 / washed my hands in dew and imped 
 them on corn silk. 
 
 10877. Riddle dee, riddle dee right, 
 Where did I go last Saturday night ; 
 The wind did blow. 
 
 And the cocks did crow? 
 
 Henhouse. 
 
 10878. What shoemaker makes shoes without leather. 
 With all four elements put together, 
 
 Fire and water, earth and air, 
 Every customer has two pair? 
 
 Horseshoer. 
 
 10879. As I was going over London bridge, 
 I met a man under the bridge; 
 
 If I were to tell his name, 
 
 I would be to blame, 
 
 I've told his name five times. 
 
 10880. Lives in winter, 
 Dies in summer, 
 
 And grows with its roots upwards. 
 
 10881. There was a man of Adam's race, 
 He had a certain dwelling place ; 
 
 Mr. I. 
 
 Icicle. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 
 
 663 
 
 10882. 
 
 10883. 
 
 10884. 
 
 10885. 
 
 10886. 
 
 10887. 
 
 Neither in heaven nor in hell, 
 
 Nor any place that mortal yet did dwell. 
 
 Jonah in the whale's stomach. 
 Hips says I, 
 Hangs by my side; 
 One went in, 
 Two hung by. 
 
 Keys. 
 
 Luke had it before. 
 
 Paul had it behind. 
 
 Doctor Lowell had it before and behind, 
 
 And twice as bad behind as before; 
 
 Miss Gallager had it twice in the middle, 
 
 Before she was married. 
 
 Girls have it. 
 
 Boys do not ; 
 
 It is in life, 
 
 But not in death. 
 
 The letter L. 
 
 What flares up and does a lot of good, 
 And when it dies, it's just a piece of wood? 
 
 What goes up and down, 
 But never goes to town? 
 
 King met a king in a lane. 
 King said king what is thy name? 
 Silver is my bridle, silver is my bow ; 
 I told you my, name three times in a row. 
 And yet you don't know. 
 
 Old Mother Twitchett had but one eye, 
 And a long tail, which she let fly. 
 And every time she went over a gap. 
 She left a bit of her tail in a trap. 
 
 Match. 
 
 Moon. 
 
 My. 
 
 Needle. 
 
 10888. 
 
 10889. 
 
 What is long and slim, works in the light, 
 Has but one eye, and an awful bite? 
 
 Black upon black, 
 Brown upon brown, 
 Three legs up. 
 Two legs down. 
 
 Needle. 
 
664 Mi'tnoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 or 
 
 Brown upon black, 
 
 Black upon brown, 
 
 Three legs up, 
 
 And six legs down. 
 
 A negro riding on a horse with a three- 
 legged kettle on his head. 
 
 10890. What is it that we see made, 
 
 And never see after it is made? 
 
 Noise. 
 
 10891. As I was going to St. Ives, 
 
 I met a man with seven wives; 
 Each wife had seven sacks. 
 Each sack had seven cats, 
 Each cat had seven kits ; 
 Kits, cats, sacks and wives. 
 How many are going to St. Ives? 
 
 One. 
 
 10892. The land is white, the sea is black. 
 
 It will take a good scholar to riddle me that. 
 
 Paper and ivriting. 
 
 10893. What flower is this? 
 
 My first is in pork. 
 
 But not in ham. 
 
 My second is in oyster. 
 
 But not in clam. 
 
 My third is in pond, 
 
 But not in lake. 
 
 My fourth is in hand. 
 
 But not in shake. 
 
 My fifth is in eye. 
 
 But not in wink. 
 
 My whole is in a flower. 
 
 That's red, white and pink. 
 
 Peony. 
 
 10894. I went into my grandmother's garden. 
 And there I found a farthing. 
 
 I went into my next door neighbor's. 
 
 There I bought a pipken and a popkin, 
 
 A slipkcn and slopken, 
 
 A nailboard, a sailboard. 
 
 And all for a farthing. Pipe. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 
 
 665 
 
 10895. 
 
 10896. 
 
 10897. 
 
 10898. 
 
 or 
 
 10899. 
 
 10900. 
 
 10901. 
 
 10902. 
 
 Flour from England, fruit from Spain, 
 Met together in a shower of rain; 
 Put in a bag and tied with a string. 
 Tell me this riddle and I'll give you a ring. 
 
 Plum pudding. 
 Hoddy, doddy. 
 With a round body, 
 Three feet and a wooden hat, 
 What's that? 
 
 A three-legged iron pot. 
 
 What man can marry a wife. 
 Yet live single all his life? 
 
 Preacher. 
 What goes up and goes down, 
 Touches neither sky nor ground? 
 
 What goes up and down, 
 
 And never reaches the ground? 
 
 Pump handle. 
 When I was taken from the fair body, 
 They then cut off my head, 
 And thus my shape was altered. 
 It's I that make peace between king and king, 
 And many a true lover glad. 
 All this I do and ten times more. 
 And more I still could do. 
 But nothing can I do, 
 Without my guider's will. 
 
 Quill pen. 
 Stiff as standing in the bed. 
 Sometimes white and sometimes red; 
 Every lady in the land, 
 Takes it in her hand. 
 And puts it in the hole before. 
 
 Radish. The "hole before" is the mouth. 
 Purple, yellow, red and green. 
 The king cannot reach it, nor the queen ; 
 Nor can old Noll, whose power's so great, 
 Tell me this riddle, while I count eight. 
 
 Rainbow. 
 
 I've seen you where you never were, 
 And where you never will be. 
 
C-66 
 
 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foufidation 
 
 And yet you in that very place, 
 May still be seen by me. 
 
 Reflection in a mirror. 
 
 10903. What is the relationship? 
 
 Brothers and sisters I have none, 
 
 But this man's father is my father's son. 
 
 Father and son or stepbrother. 
 
 10904. Riddle me, riddle me, rin-e-go. 
 
 My father gave me some seed to sow. 
 
 The seed was black, the ground was white, 
 
 If you are a good scholar, 
 
 You can guess this by tomorrow night. 
 
 The ground zvas covered with siww and 
 the boy could not plant the seed. 
 
 10905. Two brothers we are. 
 Great burdens we bear. 
 
 All day we are bitterly pressed; 
 
 Yet this I must say. 
 
 We are full all day, 
 
 And empty when we go to rest. 
 
 10906. What is as round as the moon. 
 As black as a coon, 
 
 And has a little black tail? 
 
 10907. The skunk upon the stump. 
 And the stump upon the skunk. 
 The stump says the skunk stunk. 
 And the skunk says the stump stunk. 
 
 10908. Houseful and yardful. 
 And you can't get a spoonful. 
 
 or 
 
 or 
 
 or 
 
 Shoes. 
 
 Skillet. 
 
 Skunk on a stump. 
 
 A houseful, a chimneyful 
 But not a bowlful. 
 
 A houseful, a holeful, 
 
 And yet you can't catch a bowlful. 
 
 A houseful, a roomful 
 And you can't get a handful. 
 
 Smoke. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 667 
 
 10909. As high as a castle, as weak as a wastle, 
 And all the king's horses can't pull it down. 
 
 10910. As I looked out of my chamber window, 
 I heard something fall; 
 
 I sent my maid to pick it up. 
 But she couldn't pick it all. 
 
 10911. You use it between your head and toes, 
 The more it works the thinner it grows. 
 
 Smoke. 
 
 Snuffbox. 
 Bar of soap. 
 
 10912. As I was walking down the lane, 
 I met my sister Mary Ann ; 
 
 I knocked off her head, sucked her blood, 
 And let her body stan (stand) . 
 
 Bottle of soda pop or bottle of wine. 
 
 10913. What goes up like a little black ball. 
 Comes down in a hurry and covers all? 
 
 Soot. 
 
 10914. I went up my worldly wick-a-wax, 
 I saw Tom Tick-a-tax; 
 
 I called captain Max, 
 
 To drive Tom Tick-a-tax, 
 
 Out of my worldly wick-a-wax. 
 
 Old sow in a potato patch. 
 
 10915. I went out in the woods and got it, 
 Came home and looked for it, 
 
 The more I looked for it. 
 The more I hated it. 
 
 10916. Higher than a tree, 
 
 Higher than a house. 
 Oh ! Whatever can that be ? 
 
 Splinter. 
 
 Star. 
 
 10917. I have a little sister, 
 
 They call her, peep, peep. 
 
 She wades in the water, 
 
 Deep, deep, deep; 
 
 She climbs up the mountains, 
 
 High, high, high; 
 
 My poor little sister. 
 
 She has but one eye. Star. 
 
668 
 
 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 10918. 
 
 10919. 
 
 10920. 
 
 10921. 
 
 10922. 
 
 or 
 
 or 
 
 You are just a tiny spark, 
 Hanging up there in the dark, 
 Like a cinder from the sun, 
 When the day is done; 
 All your sisters and your cousins, 
 Come a crowding out by dozens, 
 Just to see what makes you merry. 
 Jolly, jolly, fairy. 
 
 As they wink and blink and twinkle, 
 All the sky looks like sprinkle, 
 Of white sugar on a cake. 
 Like that the fairies bake. 
 
 First white, then red, 
 
 There isn't a lady in the land. 
 
 Who wouldn't take it in her hand. 
 
 Hick-a-more, hack-a-more. 
 
 On the king's kitchen door; 
 
 All the king's horses, 
 
 And all the king's men. 
 
 Couldn't drive Hick-a-more, Hack-a-more, 
 
 Off the king's kitchen door. 
 
 What sings morning, noon, and night, 
 And when the fire's out, shuts up tight? 
 
 Thirty white horses upon a red hill, 
 Now they dance, now they prance. 
 Now they all stand still. 
 
 Thirty white horses upon a red hill, 
 Now they clamp, now they tramp. 
 Now they all stand still. 
 
 Thirty white horses upon a red hill, 
 Now they champ, now they clamp. 
 Now they all stand still. 
 
 Star. 
 
 Strawberry. 
 
 Sunshine. 
 
 Teakettle. 
 
 Teeth and gums. 
 
 10923. 
 
 I went to the woods and got it, 
 I sat me down and looked for it ; 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 669 
 
 The more I looked at it, the less I liked it, 
 
 And brought it home, because I couldn't find it. 
 
 Thorn. 
 
 10924. Upon the hill stands a red bull, 
 
 , He eats and eats and never gets full. 
 
 Threshing machine. 
 
 10925. Three-fourths of a cross, and a circle complete, 
 A rectangle where two semi-circles meet, 
 
 A rectangle-triangle standing on feet, 
 Two semi-circles, and a circle complete. 
 
 Tobacco. 
 
 10926. Long legs, crooked thighs, 
 Bald head, and no eyes. 
 
 Pair of tongs. 
 
 10927. The children of Holland take pleasure in making. 
 What the children of England take pleasure in breaking. 
 
 Toys. 
 
 10928. There is something on yonder hill. 
 Rocks and rocks and never stands still. 
 
 Tree. 
 
 10929. I'm in everyone's way. 
 But no one I stop; 
 
 My four horns every day. 
 
 In every way play. 
 
 And my head is nailed at the top. 
 
 Turnstile. 
 
 10930. On London bridge I looked down through a crack, 
 Saw the devil with a whirl upon his back. 
 
 10931. What goes up the chimney down. 
 
 But can't come down the chimney up? 
 
 10932. High as a house. 
 And low as a mouse; 
 As bitter as gall, 
 But good after all. 
 
 10933. As soft as silk, 
 As white as milk. 
 As bitter as gall, 
 A strong wall, 
 
 And a green coat covers me all. 
 
 Turtle. 
 
 Umbrella. 
 
 Walnut. 
 
 Walnut. 
 
670 Memoirs of the Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation 
 
 10934. There was a little green house, 
 
 And in the little green house, 
 There was a little brown house, 
 And in the little brown house, 
 There was a little yellow house, 
 And in the little yellow house. 
 There was a little white house, 
 And in the little white house. 
 There was a little heart. 
 
 10935. 
 
 10936. 
 
 10937. 
 
 10938. 
 
 Round as an apple, rough as a bear, 
 
 If you guess this riddle, you may pull my haii 
 
 What hangs on the wall and looks so fine, 
 But when it's dirty, it isn't worth a dime? 
 
 What goes in dry, comes out wet, 
 Tickles your belly, and makes you sweat? 
 
 As I went up heeple steeple. 
 There I met a heap of people. 
 Some were black and some were blue, 
 Some were the color of my old shoe. 
 
 10939. Round as a biscuit. 
 Busy as a bee, 
 Prettiest little thing, 
 You ever did see. 
 
 10940. Runs as smooth as any rhyme, 
 Loves to fall but cannot climb. 
 
 10941. My first I hope you are. 
 My second I see you are, 
 My third I know you are. 
 
 10942. Round as a hoop. 
 Deep as a cup. 
 
 All the king's horses. 
 Couldn't pull it up. 
 
 10943. Riddle me, riddle me, riddle me. 
 
 Perhaps you can tell what this riddle may be ; 
 
 Walnut. 
 
 Walnut. 
 
 Wallpaper. 
 
 Washboard. 
 
 Wasps 
 
 Watch. 
 
 Water 
 
 Welcome. 
 
 Well. 
 
Folk-Lore from Adams County Illinois 671 
 
 As deep as a house, 
 As round as a cup, 
 And all the king's horses 
 Can't draw it up." 
 
 IVelL 
 
 10944. Tren, trip and trail, 
 Which was the bitch's name? 
 
 Which. 
 
 10945. Long, slim and slender, 
 Tickles where it's tender; 
 Tickles were the hair grows, 
 Long, shm and slender. 
 
 A whip, applied to the back of a horse. 
 
 10946. What goes over hill and vale. 
 Makes a noise, but never leaves a trail ? 
 
 Wind. 
 
 10947. Arthur O'Bower has broken his band. 
 He comes roaring up the land ; 
 
 The King of Scots with all his power, 
 Cannot turn Arthur of the Bower. 
 
 10948. As I was going across London bridge, 
 I met my sister Sally, 
 
 I bit off her head and sucked her blood, 
 And left her body standing. 
 
 10949. There was a hill, you know. 
 And on the hill, you know. 
 There was a house, you know. 
 And in the house, you know. 
 There was a table, you know. 
 And under the table, you know. 
 There was a dog, you know. 
 What was his name, you know. 
 
 Wind. 
 
 Bottle of wine. 
 
 'You know" or "uno. 
 
INDEX 
 
INDEX 
 
 Abortion : See miscarriage. 
 
 Abscess: 5660, 5714. 
 
 Absent-minded : See forgetful. 
 
 Absent treatment: in cures, 5490; in 
 removing spells, see hoodoo and 
 witchcraft; in discovering lost 
 articles, etc., see second sight. 
 
 Accident: 1538, 1960-1961, 2405, 3524, 
 3526, 3528, 3653, 5973, 6068, 6146, 
 8349, 8516, 8648, 8846, 8952. 
 
 Accusing : 3136, 6455. 
 
 Ache : See pain. 
 
 Acid: 5796, 8866, 9228, 9425. 
 
 Acorn : 289, 2138. 
 
 Actor : 8524-8532. 
 
 Adam's apple : 5787. 
 
 Adoption : 10566. 
 
 Afterbirth: 2490-2491, 2:,;6-2518, 2632. 
 
 After dark: See night. 
 
 Afternoon: 114, 292, 386, 445, 479, 695, 
 831, 927, 970, 972, 1080, 1120, 1412, 
 1472, 1701, 1732, 1768, 2531-2532, 
 3141, 3303, 3753, 7941, 8216, 8538- 
 8539, 8663. 
 
 Afterpains: 2511-2514, 2516. 
 
 Agate: 8347. 
 
 Ague: 4845, 5139. Also see fever. 
 
 Air: 1, 10419. 
 
 Airplane: 4981. 
 
 Alcohol : 4857, 5794, 9387. 
 
 Alfalfa: 4548, 4575. 
 
 Alley: 4856, 5075. 
 
 Allspice: 2671, 4704. 
 
 Almond: 6466. 
 
 Alphabet: 6983, 7001, 7085, 7096, 7101, 
 7103, 7133. 
 
 Altar: 7338, 7341, 10298. 
 
 Alum: 1386, 3970, 4367, 4387, 4402, 
 4635, 4784, 4825, 5247, 5313, 5316- 
 5317, 5552, 5555-5565, 7887, 9168. 
 
 Alumroot : 4707. 
 
 Amber beads: 4475, 5273, 5491. 
 
 Ambition: 2574. 
 
 Ammonia: 1320, 5345. 
 
 Amputation: 3429, 4468-4471. 
 
 Amulet: 862. 864-865, 1047, 1090, 1272, 
 1304, 1311-1313, 1450-1451, 1479- 
 1483, 1485-1486, 1565-1567, 1589- 
 1590, 1634-1635, 1643, 1847, 1861- 
 1872, 1994, 2003, 2302-2303, 2614, 
 2618-2619, 2671, 2678-2679, 2681- 
 2682, 2684-2691, 2693, 2697, 2745, 
 2764, 2988, 3071, 3481-3482, 3486, 
 
 3550, 3752, 3822, 3827, 3832, 3837- 
 3838, 3841-3842, 3847, 3849, 4264, 
 4269-4270, 4273, 4278, 4280, 4330, 
 4338, 4356, 4372-4373, 4378-4380, 
 4422, 4475, 4568, 4635-4638, 4640- 
 4641, 4790, 4854, 4918, 4923, 4954, 
 5132, 5158, 5172, 5491, 5493-5494, 
 5512-5514, 5516-5519, 5523, 5546, 
 5555-5556, 5561, 6625, 7316-7319, 
 7464, 7481, 7707, 8206, 8347, 8353, 
 8533, 8557, 8562-8568, 8571-8572, 
 8577, 8581-8582, 8554, 8556, 8558, 
 8602, 8618, 8621, 8678, 8728, 8898- 
 8902, 8904, 8921, 8924, 8944, 8948, 
 8960, 9063-9072, 9112-9113, 9201, 
 9230, 9359, 9375-9376, 9386, 9392, 
 9394, 9398-9399, 9402, 9409-9410, 
 9413, 9484, 9486, 9489, 9511, 9527- 
 9528, 9540, 9542-9547, 9591, 9593- 
 9594, 9620, 9624, 10510, 10558, 
 10596-10599, 10627-10629, 10665, 
 10700. 
 
 Ancestors : 3383-3384, 33B,7-3388, 3433- 
 3434. 
 
 Anchor, of feathers, in bewitched 
 wreath: 9316. 
 
 Andiron: 9294. 
 
 Anemic: 3390. 
 
 Angel: 2751, 2835, 3125, 5966, 6194, 
 7846, 9683-9686, 9970. 
 
 Anger: 1058, 2431, 3135, 3204-3205, 
 3780, 5419, 6232, 6237, 6695, 6697, 
 6706, 7397, 7405, 9156, 10214, 
 10574, 10658, 10672. 
 
 Angleworm : See fishing -n'onn. 
 
 Animal: in general, 2-7, 1822-1827, 
 1829-1831, 1833, 183(^1840, 2545- 
 2546, 3053. 6014, 10403-10405, 
 10408; of feathers in bewitched 
 wreath, 9317. See various animals. 
 
 Animal possession : See zooanthropx. 
 
 Anise: 4795, 5121, 5702. 9030. 
 
 Ankle: 2437, 3432-3434. 3853, 4804, 
 5161, 5214, 5332, 9544. 
 
 "Ankle," sign of Zodiac: 2098, 2190. 
 
 i^ nniversarv, wedding : 7396, 7398. 
 
 Ant: 8-14. 1026, 1314-1317, 3971, 4027, 
 5144, 5303. 
 
 Ant lion : See doodle bug, larva of 
 dragon fly. 
 
 Anus : 9574-9577. See rectal trouble. 
 Compare buttock. 
 
 Aphrodisiac: 7411-7412. 
 
676 
 
 Index 
 
 Apostles, the Twelve: 8474, 8776. 
 
 Apparel : See clothes. 
 
 Apparition : 9683-9701. 9819-9828, 9839- 
 9840. 9844, <;927-9928, 9934, 9950, 
 9952-9954, 9983-9992, 10106-10107, 
 10175-10176, 10536. Also see gfiost, 
 second sight. 
 
 Appendicitis: 5715-5717. 
 
 Apple: 986, 1091, 1148-1150, 1194, 2139, 
 2159, 2319, 2423, 2779, 2951, 4028- 
 4032, 5102, 5027, 5171, 5452, 5686, 
 5967-5968, 6661-6662, 6714-6717, 
 6781-6788. 6833, 6984-6990, 7156, 
 7779, 7897, 7976, 9109, 9133, 9356, 
 9515, 9521. 9605. 
 
 Apple sauce : 7397. 
 
 April: 702, 1197, 1261, 2560-2561. 
 
 April 4th: 1037. 
 
 April 10th: 1084, 1240. 
 
 April 29th: 7043. Also see May 1st. 
 
 Apron: 1726, 3628-3632, 6693-6694, 
 6758-6760, 6763, 6789, 6991, 6998. 
 7207. 
 
 Aquarius : See Waterman. 
 
 Archer, sign of Zodiac : See Boiiman. 
 
 Arithmetic: 8659. 
 
 Arm: 1566, 2034, 2307. 2424, 2444, 
 2449, 2453, 2728, 2767, 2782, 2901- 
 2903, 3311-3320, 3542, 3595-3597, 
 3724, 3942-3946, 5196, 5202, 5219, 
 5222, 5420, 5478, 5543-5544, 5736, 
 8118, 8166, 8899, 9357-9358, 9360, 
 9380, 9408, 9559, 9580, 10550. 
 
 "Arm," sign of Zodiac: 974-975, 990, 
 1013, 1214. 
 
 Armless baby, result of birthmark: 
 2424. 
 
 Armpit: 1566, 5410, 8348. 
 
 Arrested: 1182, 8094-8095, 8097-8098, 
 10625, 10668. 
 
 Asafetida: 4264, 4339, 5172, 9031. 
 
 Ascension Day : 207. 
 
 Ash : See prickly ash. 
 
 Ash Wednesday: 968, 1137, 1653-1654, 
 1710. 
 
 Ashes: 923, 968, 1137-1138, 1161, 1654- 
 1655, 2203, 3039, 4433, 4814, 4980. 
 5224. 5268. 5733. 5969-5971, 6049, 
 6878. 8024, 8035-8038, 9110-9111, 
 9165, 9244, 9314, 9353, 9631, 9702. 
 
 Aspcrin: 7856. 
 
 Aster: 923. 
 
 Asthma: 4475-4488. 
 
 Asylum: 10567. 
 
 Attire : See clothes. 
 
 August: 15, 33, 91, 243. 319, 328, 1263, 
 1283, 1300, 1566, 2570, 4592, 8476. 
 
 August 7th: 1625. 
 
 August 10th: 1116-1117. 
 
 August 13th: 1264. 
 
 August 14th: 1265. 
 
 August 20th: 1118. 
 
 August 21st: 1266. 
 
 August 25th: 1119. 
 
 Automobile: 16, 355-356, 5972-5973, 
 
 6467-6470. 7057, 7770, 8266, 8283- 
 
 8285, 8294, 8350, 8650, 10702-10703. 
 Autumn: late, 33, 319. 
 Aviator: 3550. 
 Awl: 9302. 
 Axe: 340, 627, 2512, 4626, 4629, 4720, 
 
 4826, 5492, 5823, 5893, 5974, 7446- 
 
 7449, 10516. 
 
 Baby: 1190, 2306-2854, 3957, 4270, 
 4307-4467, 4642. 4648. 4682. 4697, 
 4817, 4819, 4900, 5035, 5048-5050, 
 5052, 5060, 5061, 5149, 5161, 5164, 
 5181, 5600, 5717, 5975-5980, 8778, 
 8903. 
 
 Etaby carriage : 2742, 5600. 
 
 Back: 2450, 2472, 3321, 3951-3954, 
 5420, 5111, 5520-5521, 5529, 5534, 
 5906, 5936, 7144, 8132, 8310, 8327, 
 8661, 9408, 9483. 
 
 Backache: 7412-4719. 
 
 Backwards: 1245, 1940-1948, 1956, 
 1956, 1972, 2137, 2222, 2296, 2407- 
 2410, 2799, 2336, 3580, 3592, 4128, 
 5448, 5496, 5808, 5942, 6511, 6554, 
 6626, 6636, 6686, 6790, 69%, 7006, 
 7020-7021, 7023, 7028-7029, 7038- 
 7039, 7069, 7071, 7084, 7106, 7108, 
 7125, 7130, 7137, 7140-7142, 7151, 
 7325, 7453, 7472, 7996, 8098, 8130, 
 8142, 8240-8241, 8319-8320, 8326, 
 8374-8375, 8403, 8430, 8434, 8684, 
 8779, 8865, 8884, 9564, 9667, 10017, 
 10146, 10316. 
 
 Bacon: 2170, 2218. 2744, 4033-4040, 
 4364, 4765, 4787-4788, 4914-4915, 
 4945, 5145, 5262, 5266, 5298, 5478. 
 
 Bad luck : See luck. 
 
 Bag: 1634, 1914, 2686-2687, 3183, 4055- 
 4054, 4193, 4264-4265, 4278, 4355, 
 4501, 4716, 4800, 4854, 4887, 4918, 
 4977, 4983, 4997, 5132. 5158. 5198, 
 5220, 5303. 5313, 5324, 5457, 5460, 
 5486, 5488, 5530, 5645, 5895, 6169, 
 8206, 8353, 8478, 8602. 
 
 Baking: 2161, 6009, 6695-6697, 6799, 
 7163-7166, 7937-7965, 10072. 
 
 Baking soda: 4002, 4041, 4254, 4596, 
 5161, 5245, 7950, 9266. 
 
 Balance : sign of Zodiac : See Scales. 
 
 Bald: 2916, 2947-2948, 2957-2958, 2971, 
 2980-2981. 2990, 7057, 9141, 9143, 
 9147, 10273. 
 
 Balsam: 4751, 4858, 5021, 5796. 
 
 Banana: 1151, 2425, 7743; stock, 1656. 
 
 Bandage : 4729, 4764, 4922, 5685. 
 
 Bandit : 6029. Also see burglar, robber, 
 stealing, thief. 
 
 Bandy-legged : See bow-legged. 
 
 Banker: 2850-2851, 2853. 
 
 Banns : 7212-7213, 7215. 
 
Index 
 
 677 
 
 Raptism: 2714-2716, 2820-2822, 7611. 
 
 Barbed wire: 538, 2218. 
 
 Barberry leaves : 4543. 
 
 Barefoot : 3983, 4009, 4279, 4286, 4853, 
 5223. 5236, 5238, 5248, 6148, 7974. 
 
 Barge: 10705. 
 
 Barn : See stable. 
 
 Barrel: 1621, 6471, 7091, 7929, 7972, 
 7974-7975. 8674, 9188. 
 
 Baseball: 2426, 8674-8726. 
 
 Bashful: 2557. 
 
 Basin of water : 7130, 7139. Also see 
 bowl, bucket, pan, tub. Compare 
 glass. 
 
 Bass : 9033. 
 
 Basting: 3600. 
 
 Bat: 17, 1841-1847, 3181. 7337, 8898- 
 8900, 9703-9704. 
 
 Batchelor : See love and marriage. 
 
 Bathing, body: 3871, 3888-3901, 4643, 
 5198, 5382, 5684, 594«, 7799. 
 
 Bathroom : 537. 
 
 Bathtub: 3114. 
 
 Battle, and battlefield: 1591, 1626, 
 10683. 
 
 Bay horse : 6220. 
 
 Bay leaves: 4341, 8476. 
 
 Bay berry oil : 4719. 
 
 Beads: 2717, 3850-3851, 4475, 4923, 
 5273, 5275-5276, 5284, 5287, 5491, 
 5493. 
 
 Bean: 969-987, 4042-4061, 4162-4163, 
 4759, 5079, 5274, 5598, 5981, 6994, 
 7744, 7809, 7824, 7890-7891, 7935, 
 9112, 9406, 9705. 
 
 Bear: 5982. 
 
 Beard: 2954. 
 
 Beau: 3307-3309, 3396, 3564, 6119, 
 6351, 6353, 6523. Also see love 
 atid marriage. 
 
 Beauty: 2327, 2601-2604, 3853-3887, 
 7764; sleep, 3887; spot, 8344. 
 
 Beaver : 25-26. 
 
 Bed: 343-345, 1318-1319, 1346, 1422- 
 1424, 1435, 1524, 1913, 2306, 2309, 
 2511-2513, 2825-2828, 2994, 3076, 
 3079, 3091-3099, 3460, 3506-3510, 
 3542, 3657-3663, 3853, 4277, 4303, 
 4313, 4315, 4626, 4720-4722, 4826, 
 4847, 4903, 5154-5155, 5165, 5193, 
 5204-5209, 5211, 5220-5221, 5244, 
 5313, 5317, 5324-5325, 5334, 5810, 
 5814, 5818, 5823, 5832, 5841, 5843- 
 5847, 5849, 5851-5852, 5889-5891, 
 5893, 5899-5905, 5908-5909, 5915- 
 5916, 5927, 5937, 5939-5940, 5944, 
 5950, 5953, 6472, 6556, 6626, 6733, 
 6744, 6754, 6790-6792, 6969-6970, 
 6995-6996, 6997-6998, 7111, 7134- 
 7140, 7195, 7581, 8054, 8056, 8099- 
 8100, 8125-8126, 8496. 8911, 8928, 
 9156, 9196, 9438, 9462, 9495-9496, 
 9566, 9646, 9706-9707, 9729, 9736, 
 
 9744. 9902, 9971. 10012, 10069. 
 10142, 10148, 10148, 10188, 10228; 
 making. 7157, 8057-8065. 
 
 Bedbug: 1318-1320, 1841, 5984, 8056, 
 10227. 
 
 Bedclothes: 9232. Also see pilloiv, 
 sheet. 
 
 Bedsore: 4720-4722. 
 
 Bed-wetting: 2708, 4307-4336. 
 
 Bee: 19-23, 1321-1331, 4508-4515, 4552, 
 5318, 5985-5987, %16, 9708, 10228. 
 
 Beechnut: 18. 
 
 Beef: 4003, 4062, 5028, 6999, 7892. 
 
 Beefsteak: 2428, 4458. 
 
 Beer: 2429, 5225, 7745-7747, 7816, 8674. 
 
 Beestings : 2151. 
 
 Beeswax : 4630, 4646. 
 
 Beet: 988-989, 4593, 4752, 4788, 5250, 
 6647. 
 
 Beetle : See insect. 
 
 "Beetle bug:" 9580. 
 
 Beggar: 5988-5989, 7667, 10451. 
 
 Bell: 1323, 4107, 4113, 7180, 9811, 
 10113, 10568-10569. 
 
 Berry : See zdld berry and various 
 berries. 
 
 Berth on train: 8683. 
 
 Bethrotha! : See engagement. 
 
 Betting : See gambling. 
 
 Bible: 862, 2430, 2777, 2850, 2852, 5461, 
 5546, 5807, 5907, 5941, 5951, 6473, 
 7000-7001, 8182-8183, 8867, 9470, 
 9504-9505, 9617-9618, 10205, 10259, 
 10548-10551, 10570-10575. 
 
 Bicycle: 10576. 
 
 Biestings: See beestings. 
 
 Biliousness : 5620. Also see indiges- 
 tion. 
 
 Bill: 2718, 3310, 3493, 8547, 10349. 
 
 Eilliken: 8545. 
 
 Birch: 5894. 
 
 Bird: in general, 27-34, 1165, 1487- 
 1503, 2975-2981, 3649, 4038, 5394- 
 5396, 5990-5994, 6793, 6915, 6982, 
 7330, 7508, 9709-9732, 10229; of 
 feathers, in bewitched pillows, 
 9315, 9318-9320, 9332; cage, 1490- 
 1491, 5992; nest, 1528, 5394-5395, 
 6795. 8603. 
 
 "Bird-eved dice:" 8768. 
 
 Birth: 2306-2630, 3957, 4363, 5296, 
 5594-5595, 6042, 6100-6101, 7330, 
 7351, 7392, 7416, 10217-10218, 
 10691. 
 
 Birtlidav: 2870, 5594, 5995, 7158-7160, 
 7249, 8483, 8655, 9733. Compare 
 2526-2575. 
 
 Birthday cake: 6474-6475, 6806, 8576, 
 10577. 
 
 Birthmark: 2418-2501, 8286. 
 
 Birthstone: 3832-3834, 3840-3843, 7218. 
 
 Biscuit: 2520, 4658, 6697, 6796, 7161- 
 7163, 7749, 7959. 
 
678 
 
 Index 
 
 Bite and stinp : 1321. 1385-1389. 1608- 
 1010. 1642, 2018, 2034, 4501-4542, 
 4597, 5997, 6370-6371. 
 
 BitiiiR: 2019, 2750, 3120, 3156. 3168, 
 3397-3400. 3574, 433U. 4392, 5527, 
 5547-5548, 5943, 6717, 6787, 9109, 
 9133, 9169, 9356, 9679. 
 
 Bittersweet: 1390, 5023. 
 
 Bitterweed: 4636, 5687. 
 
 Black: 5999; agate, 8347; bee, 9708; 
 berry, 6792; beads, 3851, 5275; cat, 
 1928-W/), 1974-1976, 1986-1989, 
 1996, 2003, 2245, 3182, 4117, 5081- 
 5082, 6024-6025, 8529, 8788, 9079- 
 9082, 9083, 9284. 9527- 9528. 9760- 
 9764, 10231, 10308, 10404, 10406- 
 10407, 10534; cat luckv bone, 1994, 
 9063-9072, 9527-9528; caterpillar, 
 71 ; chicken, 1746-1747, 1752, 2672, 
 4078, 4521. 4767; clothes. 3564, 
 6052-6054, 9329 ; coach, 6055 ; coat, 
 9531; cow, 2437; dog. 9332, 9687; 
 dress, 3776, 6053-6054, %90, %99, 
 10321; eyes (pigmentation), 3185; 
 — eve (discoloration), 5028, 5055- 
 5056, 5070 ;— eyed peas, 7778, 7808, 
 7835; goat, 6191; hair, 1436; — 
 headed pin, 689; horse, 6217, 6219, 
 6221, 8851-8852; horsehair, 8960; 
 insect, 9749; linen thread, 4248; 
 meat, 6271; pin, 3777; ribbon, 
 2693; silk ribbon, 4378-4379, 5290; 
 silk string, 4356, 4380; spider, 
 1436; string, 4230, 4356, 9401; 
 velvet ribbon, 4422; wedding 
 clothes, 7269-7272. 
 
 Black and white: cat, 1967, 9766; 
 clothes, 3564-3566; horse, 8853. 
 
 Blackberry: 35, 845, 1152-1154. 2431, 
 4340. 4679, 4766, 5029, 6000-6001 ; 
 cordial, 4678. 
 
 "Blackberry frost:" 845. 
 
 "Blackberry winter:" 1152. 
 
 Blackbird: 36-37, 1504, 9734-9736. 
 
 Blackhead: 3923-3925. 
 
 Black-raspberry : 4699. 
 
 Blacksnake: 575-576, 1599, 1616, 1636, 
 5291, 5376, 6381, 8512, 9073, 9520, 
 9568, 10120. 
 
 Blacksnake whip: 9501. 
 
 Bladder: 10282. 
 
 Bladder trouble: 4543-4547. Also see 
 kidney trouble. 
 
 Blasting: "1687. 
 
 Bleeding: 2625, 4604-4626, 9918. Also 
 see nosebleed. 
 
 Bleeding piles : 5566, 5570. 
 
 Bleeding tree: 10508. 
 
 Blessed articles: 339, 630-631, 4277, 
 5089, 5733, 9304, 9566-9567, 9581, 
 10204. 
 
 Blessing: 7417, 7750, 8197, 8346, 10688. 
 
 Blind: 2701. 5034, 5053, 6002, 9105- 
 9106, 9210, 9258. 
 
 Blister : 3025, 4633, 6648. 
 
 Blizzard: 164. 
 
 Block: 6814, 6978, 8274, 8641-8642. 
 
 Blood: 2028, 2515, 4041, 4056, 4066, 
 4076, 4081, 4084-4085, 4087-4088, 
 4090-4092, 4136, 4168-4170, 4172- 
 4173, 4175-4176, 4185, 4200, 4224, 
 4234, 4241, 4257, 4516-4517, 4613, 
 4621, 5125, 6003-6004, 7268. 9357- 
 9361, 9364, 9367, 9580. Also see 
 bleeding, cut, menstrual blood, 
 nosebleed. 
 
 Blood,: animal in general, 1833, 1840; 
 bat, 3181; black cat, 5468; black 
 hen, 5469; corpse (human), 2028; 
 hc^, 5725; horse, 2220-2222; hu- 
 man (see preceding section in 
 index) ; pigeon. 9360 ; skunk, 9665. 
 
 Blood crying out : 10406. Compare 
 10508. 
 
 Blood poisoning: 4501, 4534, 4592- 
 4603, 4765, 4779, 5051, 5254-5255, 
 5257. 
 
 Blood pressure: 4574- 4575, 4577, 4580, 
 4589-4590. 
 
 Bloodstain, indelible: 10452-10453, 
 10455. 
 
 Blood trouble: 4573, 4576, 4578-4579, 
 4581-4588, 4591. 
 
 Bloody boil : 5698. Also see boil. 
 
 "Bloody butcher corn :" 5659. 
 
 Bloody milk: 1583-1585, 1615-1616, 
 9279, 9284-9285, 9291, 9308. 
 
 Bloody water : 6446. 
 
 "Bloom," sign of Zodiac : See Virgin. 
 
 Bloomers: 3571, 3665, 7034. 8942, 9416. 
 
 Blooming out of season : 230, 733, 922, 
 1268-1269, 6172, 9785, 9924, 10037- 
 10039, 10075, 10163-10165. 
 
 Blotting paper : 4476. 
 
 Blowing: 931-933, 2211, 2320, 4359- 
 4361, 4459, 6474. 6503, 6565, 6721, 
 6725, 6753. 6806, 6835-6837, 7478, 
 8916. Also see breath. 
 
 Blue: 6608; clothes. 3564; eves, 2579, 
 3186-3187; milk, 9280; necktie, 
 7074; ribbon, 3075; wedding 
 clothes, 7269-7271, 7273, 7280-7281. 
 
 Bluebird: 38-39, 1505. 
 
 Blue-gummed negro: 4541-4542. 
 
 Blue-jay: 40-41, 1506-1508. 
 
 Blue lily, iris: 1322. 
 
 Blue racer : 1605. 
 
 Blue vitriol: 9265. 
 
 Bluing: 916. 2336, 2663, 9506. 
 
 Board: 878-880, 4238, 5193. 7114, 9086, 
 9210, 9391, 9426, 10552. 
 
 Boasting : See bragging. 
 
 Boat : 1886, 2722, 3223, 5762, 6005-6006, 
 6144, 6476, 7180, 7705, 8955, 10110. 
 
Index 
 
 679 
 
 Body, human, in general : 2855-2882, 
 2897-2898. 4010, 7868. 
 
 Boil: 5680-5713. 
 
 Bone: 1659, 4063-4065. 5268. 5343, 
 7841, 8025, 9373; black cat (See 
 black: cat huky bone); chicken, 
 9353, 9375; fish, 1311-1312, 7804, 
 8026, 9883; goose, 270-273; hog, 
 2679, 5315, 5929; hmnan, 42-44; 
 human (corpse), 5660, 8901-8903, 
 9131; rabbit, 5934; sparrow, 1565; 
 tree frog or toad, 1589-1590; 
 turtle, 1643, 4987. Also see mar- 
 roiv, mole-pazv, rabbit foot. 
 
 Boneless leg, result of birthmark: 
 2459. 
 
 Boneset : 4659, 4859. 
 
 Book: 2853, 5828, 5830, 10578. 
 
 Boot: 2822, 10226. 
 
 Borax: 2213, 4401. 
 
 Borrowing and lending : 3480, 3722, 
 6053, 6860, 7095, 7280, 7286, 7312, 
 7583, 7595, 7599, 7709-7710, 7712- 
 7715, 8113-8115, 8208, 8798-8799, 
 9233, 9279, 9326, 9328, 9330, 9347- 
 9348, 9525, 9612, 10093. 
 
 Bossing household : See ruling house- 
 hold. 
 
 Bots : 2197-2198. 
 
 Bottle: 50-51, 1155, 1620, 1733, 1736, 
 2790, 2850-2854, 4322-4324, 5210, 
 5314, 5335, 5724, 7528, 7793, 7856, 
 7980, 8581, 9123, 9152-9153, 9258, 
 9265, 9268, 9329, 9387-9388, 9400, 
 9403, 9498, 9500, 9506, 9517, 9580, 
 %74, 9677. 
 
 Bcwel trouble: 2554, 4657-4711. Com- 
 pare stomach trouble. 
 
 "Bowels," sign of Zodiac : 892-893, 
 1065, 1692, 4473. 
 
 Bowl: 6797; of water, 5165, 5221. 
 Also see basin, bucket, pan, tub. 
 Compare glass. 
 
 Bow-legged: 8838-8839. 
 
 Bowman, sign of Zodiac : 1070. 
 
 Box car : 9569, 9480. 
 
 Boxer : 8666. 
 
 Boy and dog in the moon : 10632. 
 
 Bracelet: 5331, 5332. 
 
 Bragging: 3139-3141, 8663. 
 
 Brain : black chicken, 2672 ; human, 
 2649, 2952, 2962, 7775, 7801, 9151, 
 9396, 9553; rabbit, 2692; sheep, 
 2694. 
 
 Brandy: 3961, 4341, 4860, 4907, 5147. 
 
 Brass: kettle, 1531; ring, 5319, 5320; 
 thimble, 5080. 
 
 Bread: 245-246, 2027, 2175, 2223, 2810, 
 2953-2954, 3038, 4008, 4081, 4284, 
 4326, 4594, 4658, 5624, 5688, 5759, 
 6007-6009, 6695-6696, 6798-6799, 
 6828, 7164-7165, 7391, 7751-7767, 
 7894, 7906, 7937-7939, 7944, 7948- 
 
 7952, 7956-7958, 7960, 7962-7964, 
 8174, 8203, 8472, 8475, 8477-8478, 
 8622, 9250, 9511, 9604, 9737, 9918, 
 10283. 
 
 Bread knife: 7650-7651. 
 
 Bieakfast: 117-118, 1777-1778, 3103, 
 3105-3108, 3286-3292, 3409-3410, 
 5349-5350, 5876, 5957-5959, 5961, 
 6681, 6940, 7774, 7798, 7826, 8212, 
 10123, 10126-10130. 
 
 Breaking: 3330, 3717-3721, 3733, 3850, 
 6007, 6127, 6346, 6435, 6638-6639, 
 6645, 7383-73S4, 7391, 7433-7444, 
 7479-7480, 7485, 7511-7515. 7517, 
 7519-7521, 7523-7524, 7528-7539, 
 7553, 7755-7757, 7769, 7574, 7587, 
 8637, 9738-9740, 10044, 10061, 
 10318-10319, 10662. 
 
 Breast: 1479, 2443, 2478, 2484, 2489, 
 3859, 8741, 9382, 9386. Also see 
 chest. 
 
 "Breast," sign of Zodiac : 976. 
 
 Breast trouble: 2631-2642. 
 
 Breastbone : goose, 270-273 ; sparrow, 
 1565; tree frog, 1590. 
 
 Breath, breathing i 1308, 1388, 1906, 
 2624. 2857, 4271, 4403-4404, 4558, 
 4730, 4982, 5020, 5421-5422, 5424, 
 5445-5447, 5449, 5625, 10207. Also 
 see blozving. 
 
 Breeches : See bloomers, pants. 
 
 Breeze: 10417, 10423. 
 
 Biiar: 6708. Also see thorn. 
 
 Brick: 4316, 7199, 8275, 10659. 
 
 Bridal: attire, 7266-7304; veil, 7291- 
 7293, 7338-7340. 
 
 Bridal-wreath, flower: 924, 9924 
 
 Bride: 7250-7263, 7266-7304, 7310-7311, 
 7313-7318. Also see love and mar- 
 riage. 
 
 Bridegroom: 7264, 7283, 7312-7313, 
 7319, 733S-7336, 7342, 7354. 
 
 Bridesmaid: 7372, 7373, 7388. 
 
 Bridge: 6010-6011, 6476-6481, 7134, 
 10413, 10455, 10507, 10580. 
 
 Brier : See briar. 
 
 Brine: 2201, 7972. 
 
 Bronchitis: 44S9-4491. 
 
 Broom: 6482, fj801-6802, 6954-6961, 
 7325, 7361, 7379, 7390. 7885, 8066- 
 8145, 8166-8167, 8169-8181, 9512, 
 9525, 9575, 9577, 9744-9747. 
 
 "Broom mark :" 2500. 
 
 Broom seed: 4650. 
 
 Eroomstraw : 4066-4067. 
 
 Brother: 6013, 10278. 
 
 Brown: bread, 5759; caterpillar, 73; 
 clothes, 3564; hair. 2921; meat. 
 6271 ; paper, 1479, 4376, 4806, 5096, 
 5403, 5502, 5525-5526, 5528-5529, 
 9547, 9594; soap, 5708; sugar, 
 4619. 5708; wedding clothes, 7270- 
 7271. 
 
680 
 
 Index 
 
 Bruise: 4724-4728. 4805, 5658, 5664. 
 
 Brush, plant: 45, 465, 1264, 1291, 8497- 
 8500, 10623. 
 
 Bubbles : 136, 282, 462, 478, 6751, 7784, 
 7786-7792, 8601. 
 
 Buck-brush: 2140. 
 
 Bucket: 1176, 1186, 1188, 5927; of 
 water, 6899. Also see basin, bowl, 
 pan, tub. Compare glass. 
 
 Buckcve: 1271-1273, 5168, 5194, 5321- 
 5322, 5385, 5556, 8351, 8678, 8904. 
 
 Buckshot: 5619. 
 
 Buckskin string : 4372. 
 
 Buffalo: 46, 10582; (fish), 9028. 
 
 Bug : See insect. 
 
 Buggy: 3271. Also see carriage. 
 
 Buggy ride: 2263, 3768, 3772. 
 
 Building, construction : 7413 - 7422, 
 9884-9885, 9955, 10191-10192. 
 
 Bull: 2114-2115, 2436. 
 
 Bullet: 5516-5517, 8962, 9081, 9657- 
 9660. Also see shot. 
 
 Bullfrog: 258, 4015. 
 
 "Bull-legged :" See boiv-legged. 
 
 Bulrush: 4961. Also see cat-tail. 
 
 Bump: 4724, 4801-4803, 8243. 
 
 Bumping: 7936; heads, 2885, 6879, 
 8297, 8508. 
 
 Bunco, game: 8668-8669. 
 
 Bunion : See corns. 
 
 Burdock: 4449, 4573, 5022, 5689. 
 
 Burglar : 6012. Also see bandit, robber, 
 stealing, thief. 
 
 Burial: 10289-10369. 
 
 Buried treasure : See treasure. 
 
 Burn: 2443, 4630, 4729-4741, 4770. 
 
 Burning: 45, 339, 463, 628, 630-631, 
 1166, 1232, 1270, 1276, 1288, 1533, 
 1536, 1613, 1644-1645, 1650-1652, 
 1670, 2021, 2227, 2707, 2712, 2733, 
 2970-2975, 3067-3068, 3463, 3472- 
 3475, 3484, 3626-3629, 3690, 3984, 
 4006, 4156, 4174, 4176, 4198, 4201, 
 4223, 4391, 4469, 4476, 4706, 4729, 
 4764, 4857, 4980, 5015, 5107-5108, 
 5117, 5251, 5263-5264, 5344, 5572, 
 5685, 5733, 5952, 5964, 6558, 6573, 
 6596, 6603, 6654, 6695-6697, 6738- 
 6741, 6745, 6748, 6768, 6800, 6902- 
 6904, 7032-7034, 7084, 7164-7165, 
 7407, 7526, 7532, 7711, 772^-77?,\, 
 77Z7-77Z9,, 7886-7887, 7891, 7893, 
 7898, 7918, 7955, 7960-7965, 8023, 
 8025, 8027-8030, 8075, 8110, 8112, 
 8207, 8346, 8443, 8472, 8475, 8497- 
 8498, 8501-8502, 8594-8596, 9086, 
 9892, 9140, 9145, 9208, 9214, 9245, 
 9250, 9260, 9279, 9292-9296, 9298, 
 9303, 9314-9321, 9323-9328, 9330- 
 9336, 9338-9348, 9350, 9352-9353, 
 9374, 9416, 9423, 9459, 9462, 9468, 
 9477, 9497, 9499, 9507-9510, 9514- 
 9525, 9554, 9557, 9573, 9595, 9600, 
 
 9648, 9650-9651. 9671. 9675-9676, 
 9906. 9941-9942, 10208, 10559, 
 10563, 10565. 
 
 Burton cave: 10520. 
 
 Burying objects: 1909, 2018, 2051-2054. 
 2079, 2083, 2159, 2491-2492. 2516- 
 2517, 2875, 2982-2986, 3050, 3965, 
 3976, 4028-4037, 4040, 4042-4044, 
 4049, 4055-4057, 4062, 4066, 4078, 
 4080, 4082, 4086-4088, 4098-4099, 
 4104, 4116-4117. 4119, 4123-4126, 
 4130 4132, 4140-4141, 4144, 4147, 
 4151, 4155, 4166, 4178, 4180-4181, 
 4184, 4188, 4190 4205, 4207-4209, 
 4211, 4231, 4233-4235, 4237-4239, 
 4241-4243, 4246, 4255, 4319, 4322- 
 4323, 4332, 4397, 4468-4471, 4479, 
 4486, 4632, 4729, 4789, 5084^ 5097, 
 5198, 5258. 5281, 5288, 5392-5393, 
 5532, 5633, 5660, 5775, 6501-6502, 
 6506, 7533, 8026, 8442, 8458, 8598, 
 9111, 9116-9118, 9124, 9146, 9154, 
 9183-9184, 9193-9194, 9209, 9231, 
 9236, 9240. 9242. 9322. 9361, 9389- 
 9391, 9395, 9406. 9421-9422, 9424, 
 9429-9431, 9440-9441. 9467, 9472- 
 9473, 9478, 9482, 9503, 9513, 9558, 
 9561, 9569, 9648. 
 
 Bush: 24, 67, 79, 1246, 1270, 1294, 
 6737, 10632-10633. 
 
 Business: 2556, 3415, 3424-3425, 5985, 
 6413, 6419, 6454, 8481-8484. Also 
 see buying and selling. 
 
 Busybody: 3240, 3243. 
 
 Butcher: 6014. 
 
 Butchering: 305-307, 2100-2111, 6014. 
 
 Butcher knife: 2427, 2513, 7628-7631, 
 7644, 10551. 
 
 Butter: 925. 929-930, 934. 2633, 4661, 
 4803, 4821, 4899, 5024. 5026, 5269, 
 5795, 7747, 7766, 7770. 7966-7%7, 
 9294-9298. 9327, 9588; of goat 
 milk, 5304. 
 
 Butterbean: 990-991, 9533. 
 
 Buttercup: 925. 
 
 Butterfly: 47-49, 1332-1339, 3573- 
 3574, 3615, 6803. 9748; of feathers 
 in bewitched pillow, 9320. 
 
 Butterfly bush: 5386. 
 
 Butterfly weed: 5474. Same as preced- 
 ing plant. 
 
 Buttermilk: 3854, 3904, 5167, 7878. 
 
 "Buttermilk cloud:" 127. 
 
 Butternut: 4660 7195. 
 
 Buttocks : 2733, 3340 3955, 9302. Com- 
 pare anus, rectal trouble. 
 
 Button: 3519, 3682, 3816-3827, 3987, 
 6483, 6979, 7167, 7267, 8053, 10101. 
 
 Buying and selling : 2136, 2232-2235, 
 2237, 2239-2243, 4195-4197, 4220- 
 4222, 4294, 5972, 7514, 7591, 7948, 
 8533-8547, 8856, 8858, 8619-8620, 
 8673, 9329, 10362. 
 
Index 
 
 681 
 
 Buzzard: 5323, 6691. 10167. 
 
 Cabbage: 992-1005, 2388, 2521, 2643, 
 4574, 4753, 5146, 5387, 5776, 6015- 
 6017, 6186, 7168, 7825-7830, 7855, 
 7894, 9750. 
 
 Cactus : 4962, 5665. 
 
 Cake: 5931, 6474-6475, 6804-6806, 6828. 
 7003, 7169, 7365-7372, 7391, 7398, 
 7769, 7940-7942, 7945-7947, 7951, 
 7954-7955, 8190, 8576, 9031, 9363, 
 10577. 
 
 Cakestand: 9739. 
 
 Caked breasts : See breast f rouble. 
 
 Calamitv: 2841, 3948-3949. 
 
 Calamus: 4342-4344, 5557. 
 
 Calendar: 10583-10584. Also see holi- 
 days, month, various days under 
 the varioiis months, season, iveek, 
 various days of the week, year. 
 
 Calf: 157, 1821, 2114-2115, 2151, 2157, 
 2159-2160, 6071, 9832. 
 
 Calfskin: 4373. 
 
 Calico wedding clothes : 7266-7267. 
 
 Callers : See company. 
 
 Calling, with voice: 3126; mysterious, 
 3127-3132, 9698, 9751-9558, 9%2, 
 10429, 10457. 
 
 "Calling back" the dying: 10200. 
 
 Callus : 4009. Also see corns. 
 
 Camphor : 2631, 2664, 4265, 4762, 4827, 
 4861, 4924, 5314, 5324, 5571, 5599. 
 
 Camphor bottle: 50-51. 
 
 Camping : 1612. 
 
 Can : See tin can. 
 
 Canary: 1509-1512. 
 
 Cancer, disease: 5658, 5664-5679. 
 
 Cancer, sign of Zodiac: 821, 829, 857. 
 1014, 1165, 1195, 1197, 1296. 
 
 Candle:" 630, 4201, 5270, 6474, 6806, 
 7002, 7006, 7072, 7474-7476, 9825, 
 9974-9975, 10208; funeral, 4105. 
 
 Candlestick: 3972. 
 
 Candlewick: 5195. 
 
 Candy: 2432, 7895. 
 
 Cantaloupe : See mnskmelon. 
 
 Cap: 3655, 8779, 8865. 
 
 Caraway seed : 2794. 4345. 
 
 Carbolic acid : 5796. 
 
 Carbuncle: 5663, 5695. 
 
 Card: See playing cards. 
 
 Cardboard: 5547, 9587, 9657, 9659. 
 
 Carefree: 6148. 
 
 Careless : 3688. 
 
 Carnation : 926. 
 
 Carp: 9028, 9034. 
 
 Carpenter: 2851-2853. 
 
 Carpet: 52-53, 1392, 2753, 7450, 8034, 
 8101, 9164, 9241, 9474, 9627. 
 
 Carriage: 355. Also see buggv, wagon. 
 
 "Carrion:" 9749. 
 
 Carrot: 1006-1008, 3855, 4431, 4553, 
 4572, 4723, 4790, 4916, 4963, 5389, 
 5747. 
 
 Casting away : See throiving aivay. 
 
 Castor-bean plant: 8626. 
 
 Castor oil: 936, 3973-3974, 4068-4070, 
 4448, 5437, 9114. 
 
 Castration, of animals : 1823, 2093- 
 2099, 2116-2117, 2188-2190. 
 
 Cat: 54-64, 1893-2015, 2068. 2245, 2433, 
 2954, 3182, 4115-4118, 4428, 5081, 
 5082, 5147, 5325, 6019-6025, 6484- 
 6485, 6762, 6808-6811, 7170-7171, 
 7305-7306, 7399. 8184-8186, 8529- 
 8530, 8781, 8788, 9063-9072, 9078- 
 9083, 9284, 9405, 9527-9528, 9760- 
 9771, 10230-10232, 10308, 10404, 
 10406-10407, 10534, 10550, 10580. 
 
 Cafs-eye: 3837. 
 
 Catarrh: 4492-4496; of stomach, 5602. 
 
 Caterpillar: 65-75, 1339-1340, 4828, 
 5139-5141. 
 
 Catfish: 8974, 9001-9002, 9021, 9028, 
 9036. 
 
 Catnip: 1314, 1391, 1896, 4008. 4346, 
 4432. 4661, 4674, 4862, 5299, 5388, 
 5454, 5586. 
 
 Cat-tail : 5716. Also see bulrush. 
 
 Cattle : See cozv. 
 
 Caul : 2605-2619, 9986, 10376, 10446. 
 
 Cave: 10520. 
 
 Cayenne pepper : See red pepper. 
 
 Cedar: 1274-1276, 1319, 1392, 5769, 
 5895, 6719, 9772-9774. 
 
 Cedar oil: 4598. 
 
 Cedar waxwing, bird: 1513. 
 
 Ceiling: 1003, 1435, 1465, 1471-1472, 
 6714, 9605, 9607. 
 
 Celery: 5326, 5455. 
 
 Cellar: 1850, 6026-6027, 7068, 9322, 
 9500, 9586, 9677; door, 6812-6814, 
 7004, 8278-8280; stairs, 7005-7006. 
 
 Cemetery : See graveyard. 
 
 Centipede : 1399. 
 
 Century plant : 4734. 
 
 Chafing: 4635-4644. 
 
 "Chain letter:" 8462. 
 
 Chair: 3435, 3437, 3440, 3511, 3604. 
 6771. 6815-6817, 6857, 6958, 6960, 
 7130, 7484-7502, 777Q-777\, 7846- 
 7847, 8089-8091, 8225, 8247, 8395, 
 8397, 8412-8414, 8782, 8789, 8912- 
 8920, 9077, 9302, 9529, 9628, 9775- 
 9784. 
 
 Chalice: 10298. 
 
 Chalk: 3975, 4071-4074, 4680. 
 
 Chamber lye : See urine. 
 
 Cliamomile: 2515, 4595, 4796, 5013, 
 5030, 5793. 
 
 Change of life: See mctwpausc. 
 
 Chariging : clothes (see dressing) ; date, 
 2714; of moon, 322, 384-388; 
 name, 2789. Also see postponing, 
 shape chanqinq. 
 
 Chapped: hands, 4781, 5190-5192, 5796; 
 lips, 4781. 
 
tS2 
 
 Index 
 
 Charcoal: 4627. 5576. 
 
 Charm: 7400, 8348, 10671. Also see 
 aimdct. 
 
 "Charm string :" 3827. 
 
 Cheating: 6l67. Also see gambling. 
 
 Check : 6030, 8628. 
 
 Cheek: 2577, 2889-2891, 3870, 3878, 
 6514, 6698, 7764. 
 
 Cheese: 7094, 7392, 7772-7774, 9377, 
 10631. 
 
 Cheese mite: 1384. 
 
 "Checseweed:" 4554. 
 
 Cherry: 1012, 1155-1156, 2434, 2496, 
 3976-3977, 4230, 5173, 5567, 6031- 
 6032, 7775, 9256. Also see u'Ud 
 cherry. 
 
 Chest: 4375, 4420, 4482, 4871, 5480, 
 5483, 5486-5488, 5879, 7765, 8533, 
 8581. Also see breast. 
 
 Chestnut: 1277, 4407-4409, 4477, 4934, 
 4964, 5104, 6720, 6818. 
 
 Chewing gum : 5507, 6819, 8700, 8710, 
 9136, 9383-9384. 
 
 Chicken: 76-121, 1529, 1644-1798, 1803, 
 208c^, 2000, Ziul, 3054, 4076-4081, 
 4084, 4085, 4089, 4092, 4096-4097, 
 4169, 4317, 4518-4521. 4767, 4786, 
 5178, 5184, 5327-5328, 5451, 5456, 
 5483, 5602, 5(>.<6, 5728, 5788, 6033- 
 6039, 6486-();88, 6820-6821, 7776, 
 7896-7897, 8227, 8579-8580, 8973, 
 9275-9276, 9307-9308. 9353, 9375, 
 9530, 9622, 9790-9804, 9786-9804, 
 10292, 10607. Also see bone, 
 brain, feathers, heart, zuishbone. 
 
 Chicken foot: 3856, 4075, 9165. 
 
 Chicken-grass : 4709. 
 
 Chicken head: 4079, 4080. 
 
 Chief: 7167. 
 
 Chigger: 1341, 4505. 
 
 Chilblain: See frostbitten feet. 
 
 Child: 1607, 2869-2870, 2872, 2874, 
 3107, 3109, 3499, 3651, 3957, 4266, 
 4478-4479, 4487-4488, 4658-4661, 
 4^>74, 4687, 4690, 47'J3, 4892, 4910, 
 4921, 4987, 5008-5011, 5475, 5726, 
 5735, 5833-5834, 5874, 6040-6042, 
 7175, 7486, 7489, 7502, 7720, 7879, 
 8084, 8133, 9929, 10566, 10619. 
 Also see baby. 
 
 Ciiills: 4825-4850, 5156. 
 
 Chimney: 590, 778, 1528, 1645, 4334, 
 4478, 4617, 5747, 7805, 9674. 
 
 Chin: 925, 929-930. 934, 2580, 2890- 
 2891, 4012-4013, 6649, 6846. 
 
 China: 7396. 
 
 "Qiip-py dice:" 8767. 
 
 Choking: 4464, 4816-4819. 
 
 Ch 'lera infantum: 4337, 4338. 
 
 Chop sucy : 2435. 
 
 Christ : 10585. Also see Jesus. 
 
 "Christ's grave :" 253. 
 
 Christmas : 122-123, 374-375, 586, 1003, 
 1122-1123, 1171. 1766, 1828-1830, 
 2^)17, 2390. 2546-2548, 3709, 3898, 
 7154, 7777-7779., 8037, 9668, 9805- 
 9810, 10401, 10586. 
 
 "Christmas fly:" 1370. 
 
 Christmas greens : 10587. 
 
 Christmas presents : 3395, 6780. 
 
 Church: 4082, 4113, 6042-6045, 6516, 
 7329, 7iZ7-7lZ'^, 7347-7349, 8227, 
 8253. 9090, 10663, 10672. 
 
 Church bell: 4107, 4113, 9811, 10113, 
 10568-10569. 
 
 Churning : 7966-7967, 9294-9298. 
 
 Cicada (often called locust) : 363, 1379, 
 10000. 
 
 Cider: 4965, 5329, 7779. 
 
 Cigar: 8645, 9115, 10002; ashes, 3039, 
 4433. 
 
 Cigarette: 8337, 8636, 8643-8646, 8649, 
 9033, 10001-10002, 10684, 10686. 
 
 Cigarette paper : 9033. 
 
 Cinnamon: 4083, 4702, 4704, 5105-5106, 
 9243. 
 
 Circle: 2754, 9361. 
 
 Circular : See wreath, of feathers. 
 
 Circular motion: rubbing in a, 2754, 
 4398, 4453, 4461-4462, 4464, 4466; 
 whirling objects above head in a, 
 628, 8714, 9373. Also see ivalking 
 around. 
 
 Circumambulation : See walking 
 around. 
 
 Circumcision : 4308. 
 
 Circus: 10595. 
 
 Cistern : See well. 
 
 City : See tozvn. 
 
 Clay : 689, 4513-4514, 4779, 4797, 5233, 
 5361. 
 
 Qay pipe: 5312. 
 
 Cleaning: henhouse, 1653-1655; stable, 
 9^668. Also see bathing, sn'ccpiiig, 
 zcashing. 
 
 Clergyman : See preacher^ priest. 
 
 Clever: 2555. 
 
 Cliff: 6047. 
 
 Climacteric : See menopause. 
 
 Climbing : 6048, 6238, 6240, 6530, 6896. 
 
 Clinker : 6049. Also see ashes. 
 
 Clock: 7720. 7503-7506, 9812-9817, 
 10233-10238. 
 
 Clothes: 124, 938, 1343, 1449, 1475. 
 1887-1889, 2614, 2702, 3407, 3564- 
 3675, 3757, 3825-382(), 4294, 4319. 
 4359, 4391, 4397, 4440, 4852, 4855, 
 5605-5606, 5732, 5774, 5777, 5779, 
 5781, 5784, 5786, 5824. 5842, 6050- 
 6054, 6884, 6968, 7065-7066, 7266- 
 7304, 7706, 7794, 8354-8355. 9116- 
 9118. 9121, 9160. 9329. 9376. 9590. 
 9906, 9954, 10082, 10101, 10271- 
 10272. Also see separate articles 
 of clothing. 
 
Index 
 
 683 
 
 Clothesline: 2409. 
 
 Cloud: 125-133, 557, 636. 647, 658-6f>l. 
 664. 669-670, 672, 772, 774, 7341, 
 7942, 7978, 7989, 8989, 8996-8997, 
 9050. 10588. Also see skv. 
 
 Clove: 42('>6, 4704, 4908, 5626. 
 
 Clover: 134. 854-873, 2178. 3909, 3929, 
 4410, 4575, 4863, 4865. 4958, 4966- 
 4967, 5109, 5603-5604, 5659, 56f)7- 
 5669, 5679, 5721, 5742-5743, 6489- 
 6497, 6663, 6699, 6822-6826, 7007- 
 7013, 8921, 10354. 
 
 Club badge, emblem or pin : 3852. 
 
 Clubfoot: 2488. 
 
 Coach : 6055. 
 
 Coal: 916, 7129. 
 
 Coal mine : See miii-e. 
 
 Coal oil: 1387, 3978-3979, 4365. 4717, 
 4&64, 4925, 5226, 5234-5235, 5314, 
 5335, 5360, 5573, 5578, 7481, 9518. 
 
 Coat: 2309, 3585, 3597, 3661, 9122, 
 9132, 9397, 9531, 10083, 10624. 
 
 Coated tongue: 5149. 
 
 Cobbler : See shoemaker. 
 
 Cobweb: 1407, 1836, 4604,6943. 
 
 Cock : See rooster. 
 
 "Cockeyed:" 3235. 
 
 Cocklebur: 135, 5148. 
 
 Cockroach : 9123. 
 
 Cocoanut: 7172, 9146. 
 
 Cod-liver oil: 7411. 
 
 Coffee: 136, 2874, 3862, 5437. 6498. 
 6713, 6828, 7781-7784, 7786-7792, 
 7898-7900, 8023-8024, 9056. 9245, 
 9358. 9364-9366, 9368, 9449, 9491, 
 9827-9828. 
 
 Coffeepot: 6827, 7900. 
 
 Coffin: 2492, 2617, 4104-4105, 4119, 
 4322-4323, 605r>-6061, 6091, 6909, 
 6980, 7022, 7146-7147, 9194, 9207, 
 9282, 9431, 9588, 9749, 9772, 9819- 
 9828, 10017-10018. 10246. 102^^5. 
 10323, 10378; of feathers in be- 
 witched pillow. 
 
 Coffin, hinges, nails, rings : 9282, 9588. 
 
 Coin : 2846-2849, 5158, 5748, 6569, 6797, 
 6979, 7591, 8552-8553, 8555-8557. 
 8561-8568, 8571-8574, 8576-8577, 
 8581-8582, 8613-8615, 8618-8619. 
 8621-8623, 8800-8801, 10258. 
 
 Coitus: 2330-2333, 2352-2362. 
 
 Cold: 3282, 4851-4906, 4934. 5121- 
 5122, 5126, 5131, 5136, 5489. Also 
 see cough, sore throat. 
 
 Cold sore : See fever blister. 
 
 Colic: 2643, 2702, 4339-4363. 
 
 Collar: 9466. 
 
 Color: 48, 68-69, 907, 926, 1710-1711. 
 1992, 2790, 3573-3574, 5081, 5082, 
 5490, 7014-7017, 7037-7040, 7045. 
 706)5-70W), 7073, 7089-7090, 7093, 
 7093, 7129, 7269-7281, 7965, 8850, 
 9590. Also see separate colors. 
 
 Colt: 1821, 2188-2194, 6544. 
 
 Comb: 3001-3014, 5825, 6499-6500. 
 6664, 6829, 6928, 7188, 9143, 9937, 
 9938, 10273. 
 
 Combing : 2970-3014, 6664, 7188, 9939- 
 9940. 
 
 Combings: 2970-2987, 4141, 5391-5392, 
 5394-5396, 6765, 9140, 9941-9942. 
 
 Coming and going : See going and 
 coming. 
 
 Communion table : 6874. 
 
 Company: 190, 1330, 1334-1336, 1365- 
 1366, 1417-1428, 1494, 1554-1555, 
 1561, 1576, 1776-1798, 1918-1927, 
 2057-2058, 2060-2062, 2815-2817, 
 3008, 3024, 3177, 3260-3271, 3285- 
 3287, 3293, 3301, 3314, 3357-3359, 
 3361, 3374, 3405, 3715, 3730-3731, 
 3784, 6233, 6840, 7394, 7475-7476. 
 7493, 7561, 7563, 7603, 7605-7607, 
 7609, 7615-7637, 7652-7687, 7716, 
 7752, 7758-7760, 7766-7767, 7811- 
 7812, 7821, 7846, 7850, 7859, 7861, 
 7888, 7900, 7950, 7959, 7965, 7993, 
 7995-8012, 8019-8020, 8084-8086, 
 8129-8130, 8190, 8210-8238, 8255- 
 8261, 8264, 8267. 
 
 Complexion: 2879, 2929, 3854-3855, 
 3862, 2872, 3874, 3877, 3883, 4427, 
 6271, 7173-7174, 8220-8221, 8224, 
 8224, 8231, 8233. 
 
 Conceit : See vanity. 
 
 Conception : 2330-2333, 2530. Compare 
 2349-2361. 
 
 Conjuring: See hoodoo and untch- 
 craft. 
 
 Constipation : See bowel trouble. 
 
 Ccmsumption: 5183, 5718-5726. 
 
 Convulsion : See spasm. 
 
 Cook: 6658, 7749. 
 
 Cookies: 2451, 9124. 
 
 Cooking : 244, 463, 692-693, 6038, 6827, 
 7668, 7890-7980, 7976, 9733. 
 
 Copper: 40(M, 5144, 5333; band. 5330; 
 pan, 5144; wire, 5196, 5331-5332. 
 Also see penny. 
 
 Copulation : See coitus. 
 
 Coral beads : 5276. 
 
 Cork: 5558-5559. 
 
 Corn: 144, 298, 367, 433. 1211-1238, 
 1515, 1647-1648, 4084-4099, 4169- 
 4170, 4650, 4892, 5358-5359, 5475, 
 5494, 5659, 5669, 6062-6067, 6501- 
 6502, 6830-6)831, 7514, 9829-9831. 
 
 Corn blade: 137. 
 
 Corncob: 1232, 4829, 5896. 
 
 Com field: 36, 6063. 
 
 Corn husk: 138-141. 
 
 Corn knife: 4608. 
 
 Corn meal: 3923, 45%, 4675, 4761, 
 5185, 5670-5671, 5753, 5768, 7115, 
 9675. 
 
 Corn silk: 142-143, 1238, 4318. 
 
684 
 
 Index 
 
 Cornstarch : 5596. 
 Corns: 145-147, 3967-4009, 5244. 
 Cornet: 10589. 
 
 Corpse: 2028, 2492-2496, 3964, 4103- 
 4106, 4108-4114, 4119, 4121, 4319, 
 4322-4324, 47 (>S, 4909, 5014, 5277- 
 5280, 5660-5^>61, 5714, 6068-6069, 
 8901-8903, 9131, 9194, 10224, 
 10231-10232, 10239-10240, 10244, 
 10258-10267, 10275-10276, 10281- 
 10288, 10301, 10321, 10324, 10364- 
 103()5; limber, 10239-10240. 
 
 Corpulence: See fat person, iveight. 
 
 Cosmetics: 3877, 6928, 9173-9174, 
 10609. 
 
 Cotton: 3994, 5497, 5510; plant, 1278; 
 socks, 5185; wedding anniversary, 
 7396. 
 
 Cottonweed : 3966. 
 
 Cottonwood leaves : 148. 
 
 Cough: 2676, 2736, 4888, 4904, 4907- 
 4913. Also see cold, sore throat. 
 
 Counting: 352-353, 381, 1141, 1678, 
 1745, 1755, 1949, 2222, 2252, 2319- 
 2324, 238.^ 2800, 3001, 3035, 3134- 
 3135, 3395-3396, 4019, 4086, 4095, 
 4100-4101, 4149, 5040, 5422, 5448, 
 5495-5496, 5808, 5935, 6465, 6479, 
 6502, 6526, 6538-6542, 6584, 6593, 
 6623, 6781, 6881-6882, 6896, 7046- 
 7057, 7073-7074, 7101, 7119-7124, 
 7167, 7267, 7790-7791, 8187, 8245, 
 8275, 8342, 8399-8405, 8407-8419, 
 10144, 10158, 10309-10312, 10569. 
 10603, 10697. 
 
 Court: 10625. 
 
 Cousin: 7175. 
 
 Cow: 149-164, 1237, 1352-1355, 1582- 
 1585, 1615-1619, 1821, 1828, 1832, 
 1834-1837, 2114-2187, 2436-2437, 
 4645, 4()54, 4818, 6070-6076, 6832, 
 6909, 6915, 6982, 7813, 9161, 9278- 
 9289, 9290-9293, 9307-9308, 9507, 
 9526, 9588, 9833-9837. 
 
 "Cow's head," result of birthmark: 
 2436. 
 
 Cowlick: 2588, 2905. 
 
 Cow manure: See dung. 
 
 "Cow plaster :" 3905. 
 
 Crab: See crawfish. 
 
 Crab, sign of Zodiac : See Cancer. 
 
 Crab apple: 6833. 
 
 Crab-eyes, drug: 4353. 
 
 Cracking objects: 7952, 9738-9739, 
 9741-9743, 9956, 9982. Also see 
 brcakinq. 
 
 Cradle: 2604, 2737-2741, 5601, 9532, 
 9611. 
 
 Cramps: in arms, 5196, 5202, 5219, 
 5222; in bowels, 5124 (also see 
 bowel trouble, stomach trouble); 
 in feet, legs and hands, 5193-5195, 
 5197, 5199, 5201, 5203, 5205-5222; 
 
 in neck, 4792-4794; in stomach, 
 5605-5607, 5615, 5617, 5622; while 
 swimming, 5784-5786. 
 "Cramp colic :" 4344. 
 Cranberry: 3981, 5671. 
 Crape: 9839, 10268-10269, 10348. 
 Craps: 8727-8775. 
 Crate with slat bottom: 1676. 
 Crawfish: 165, 1302-1304. 
 Crazy : See insanity. 
 Crazy bone : 3314. 
 
 Creaking furniture: 7484, 7525, 7568. 
 Cream, of cow: 369, 1395, 2954, 3262, 
 
 5593, 7862. 
 C:eam of tartar: 3961, 4968, 5111- 
 
 5112. 
 Creek: 449, 4S50, 5017. Also see run- 
 ning water. 
 "Crescent moon :" 405-408. 
 Crick in neck: 4792-4793. 
 Cricket: 166-169, 1342-1351, 3616, 8956. 
 Cripple: 8287, 8288. Also see deformity. 
 Crook: 3138, 3381. 
 Crops: See 800-1301. 
 Cross: 250, 1534, 1834, 1940, 2422, 
 3154, 3445-3446, 4040, 4066, 4107, 
 4122, 4275, 4454, 4506, 4733, 5202- 
 5203, 5208-5209, 5316, 5755, 5812, 
 5819, 6344, 6862, 7610, 7612-7614, 
 8380-8382, 8426, 9125, 9314, 9330, 
 9360, 9423, 9438, 9533-9540, %11, 
 9629, 9672, 9840-9841, 10204, 10564, 
 10630; of feathers in bewitched 
 pillows, 9323-9324 
 Cross, disposition: 2439, 2528, 2732, 
 2738-2739, 2823, 2926, 5824, 5867, 
 8051. 
 Cross-eyes : 3221-2233, 5048-5052, 8685, 
 
 8731, 8840. 
 Crossed: feet, 3461, 3708, 8390, 8790; 
 fingers, 2022, 2261, 3228-3230, 
 3382, 8333, 8386, 8389, 8664, 9763 ; 
 hands, 3373, 3438, 6869-6873, 7843, 
 7851, 9944; heart, 10669; knees, 
 3438; legs, 3436-3437, 5197. 
 Crossroad: 4053, 4118, 4131, 4166, 4172, 
 4185, 4263, 5083, 5144, 8351, 9063- 
 9064, 9073, 9558, 10320, 10553. 
 Croup: 4364-4389. 
 Crew: 170-176, 1514-1518, 5833, 9842. 
 
 Also see rain crow. 
 Crowfoot roots : 4555, 4926. 
 Crowing hen: 1758-1759, 9786-9787. 
 Crown, shape of : 6899. 
 Crown, of head : 2589-2590, 2906-2908, 
 
 2933, 4910. 
 
 Crumbs: 7755, 8031. 
 
 Crusts of bread: 2953, 3038, 7762, 7764. 
 
 Crving: 2439, 2646, 2651-2652, 2818- 
 
 2822, 3023, 3075-3077, 3080, 3091- 
 
 3092, 3101-3104, 3196-3198, 3201, 
 
 3290, 3742, 5977, 6078-6080, 7385- 
 
 7386, 7719, 7782, 8367, 9843, 10278. 
 
Index 
 
 685 
 
 Crystal-gazing: 9058, 10372. 
 Crystal wedding anniversary : 7396. 
 Cucumber: 1009-1033, 1315, 4830-4831, 
 
 6081, 7815, 9126. 
 Cud: 2167-2172. 
 Cup: 136, 2778, 5899, 6498. 6834, 6852, 
 
 6945, 6964-6%5, 7030-7031, 7126. 
 
 7136, 7176, 7507, 7780, 7782, 7859- 
 
 7861. 
 Cures: 3902-5797, 5877-5917. 
 Curly hair : 2452, 2752-2755, 2953, 2955, 
 
 3805, 5187, 7188. 
 Cursing: 354, 3134, 9025. 9062, 9064. 
 
 9067, 9198, 9320-9321, 9327. 9555, 
 
 9574-9577, 10265, 10430, 10546. 
 Curtain: 9844, 10200. 
 Customer : 8534-8540. 
 Cut: 4592, 4605, 4607-4608, 4611-4612, 
 
 4614, 4616, 4618-4620, 4622, 4627- 
 
 4632, 4723, 5271, 6853, 9918-9919. 
 
 Also see bleeding. 
 Cyclamen: 4832. 
 Cyclone: 6082-6083. 
 
 Daddy longlegs : 1352-1356. 
 
 Dahlia: 927-928. 
 
 Daisy: 6728-6729. 
 
 Dance: 473, 3461, 6084-6085, 10591. 
 
 Dandelion: 177, 929-934, 2320, 4102, 
 
 4865, 5176, 6503, 6721, 6835-6837. 
 Dandruff: 2951, 2960. 
 Danger: 1756, 3309, 6156, 6374, 6432, 
 
 6705, 8347-8348, 8645, 88%, 10675. 
 Dapple: sky, 551; stock, 1821. 
 Dark: rites performed in the, 2491, 
 
 3989-3990, 5391, 7195, 10018. Also 
 
 see flight, midnight. 
 Dark eyes: 7965. 
 Dark-haired: 2919, 2922-2927. 
 Dark lantern: 8627. 
 Dark of the moon : See moon. 
 Darning: 3708. 
 Daughter: 2599, 2621. Compare 2349- 
 
 2385. 
 Days : See holidays, and days under 
 
 the various months and week. 
 Dead, the: 2787-2788, 3132, 4119, 4121, 
 
 5857, 6088-6095, 6098-6099, 6103, 
 
 10215-10369. Compare ghosts. 
 Dead: animal, 1838-1839; bird, 3649; 
 
 cat, 4115-4118; snake, 4775. 
 Deaf: 4981, 4984-4985, 5012. 
 Death: 961, 963, 1518, 1609, 1812, 2520- 
 
 2523, 2550-2551, 2585, 2587, 2596- 
 
 2598, 2644, 2662, 2666, 2699, 2700, 
 
 2716-2717, 2722-2723, 2726, 2730, 
 
 2741, 2743, 2746-2747, 2757, 2762, 
 
 2765, 2781, 2788, 2791, 2801, 2832. 
 
 2878, 2908, 3026, 3130, 3224, 3721. 
 
 3937-3939, 3960, 4284-4285, 4294- 
 
 4295, 4304, 4429, 4473. 5719, 5758. 
 
 5970, 5979-5981, 5983, 5991, 5995. 
 
 6001, 6007-6008, 6013-6014, 6047. 
 
 6055, 6057-6060, 6069, 6081-6083, 
 6090. 6095-6097, 6101-6102, 6111, 
 6114, 6133, 6140-6141, 6162-6163, 
 6168-6169. 6176-6178, 6182, 6186, 
 6194, 6199-6201, 6211-6214, 6224 
 6227, 6246, 6251, 6258, 6265-6266, 
 6268, 6271, 6295-6296, 6299, 6308- 
 6312, 6329-6330, 6333, 6341, 6344- 
 6345, 6365-6366, 6368, 6380-6381, 
 6392, 6398, 6405-6410, 6415, 6424. 
 6447-6449, 6451-6452, 6529, 6831. 
 6961, 7203, 7328, 7393, 7408-7409, 
 7416, 7596, 7393, 7802. 7816. 7862, 
 7880, 8052, 8088, 8263, 8517-8518, 
 8520, 8958, 8962, 9683-10369, 10652, 
 10691. 
 
 "Death angel:" 9970. Also see angel. 
 
 "Death bell:" 9909. 
 
 "Death bird:" 10033. 
 
 "Death tick:" 10255. 
 
 "Death watch:" 9812-9813. 
 
 Deceit: 3556, 6021. 
 
 December: 178. 698-700. 780, 1170, 
 2573-2575, 7235, 9924, 10104. 
 
 December 25th: See Christmas. 
 
 Decrease of the moon: See dark of 
 the moon. 
 
 Defecation : 5077, 9260. Compare dung : 
 hitman. 
 
 Deformity: 2424, 2436, 2438, 2440- 
 2441, 2488. 2624. 4390, 7175, 8287- 
 8289, 8661, 9501. Also see birth- 
 vtark, cross-eyes. 
 
 Delft cup: 7136. ' 
 
 Delight : See pleasure. 
 
 Democrat, member of political party : 
 10594. 
 
 Dentition: See teething. 
 
 "Depression flowers:" 916. 
 
 Devil: 687-689, 1507-1509. 2011, 2272 
 2430, 2834. 3093, 3128-3129, 3280- 
 3281, 3307. 3326. 3419, 3461, 3470. 
 3704, 4103. 5837. 6104-6105. 6134. 
 7147. 8848. 8977. 9060-9064, 9073. 
 9087, 9506, 9763, 10213, 10709. 
 
 Devil's-snuffbo.x: 887, 5536. 
 
 Dew: 179-187, 1000, 1300, 3863-3867, 
 3907-3913, 3928, 3983, 4009, 5236, 
 5248. 
 
 Dewclaw : 2029. 
 
 Diabetes: 4548-4551. 
 
 Diamond, precious stone : 3849 ; wed- 
 ding anniversary, 7396. 
 
 Diaper: 2306. 2500, 2712, 272,0-2733, 
 3881, 3922, 4642. 5149. 5181. 
 
 Diarrhea : See bozvel trouble. 
 
 Dice: 6106. 8668. Also see craps. 
 
 Dill: 5423. 
 
 Dime: 2214, 2760. 2849, 3060, 5201, 
 5499-5503, 5546, 5579, 7365, 8565. 
 8576-8577, 8581, 8621, 9081, 9096. 
 9542-9550, 9658. 
 
 Dimple: 2889-2891, 6649, 6846. 
 
686 
 
 Index 
 
 Diphtheria: 4914-4918. 
 
 IDiploma: 10592. 
 
 Dirt, earth, pround : 2248, 4145-4146, 
 5932. 61U7, 6122, 6214, 7036. Also 
 see filth, garbayc, ground, siccep- 
 ing, leashing. 
 
 Disagreeable : See unpleasant. 
 
 Disappointment: 1557, 1965, 1998-1999, 
 2817, 2994, 3002-3007, 3105, 3110, 
 3123, 3297, 3353, 3604, 3634, 3732, 
 3735, 2,7(ii-Z7M, 3779. 6143, 6187, 
 6219, 6234, 6291, 6315, 6384, 7541, 
 7546, 7570, 7579-7580, 7638, 7688- 
 7691, 7717-7718, 7740, 7858, 7962, 
 8372, 8395, 8410, 8413, 9053, 9152. 
 
 Disaster: See calamity. 
 
 Disciples : See Apostles. 
 
 Disease : See cures. 
 
 Disgrace: 3933, 6006. Also see shame. 
 
 Dish: 6838, 6847, 7207-7508, 7511-7521, 
 7608, 7621, 7757, 8018, 9511, 10071. 
 
 Dishonor : 6142. 
 
 Dish rag: 2048, 2169-2171, 2174, 2492, 
 4123-4134, 4166, 4782, 5084-5085, 
 5281, 6504-6506, 6665, 6838, 7922, 
 7995-8017, 9378, 9892. 
 
 Dishwater: 1129, 1162, 2767, 3868, 
 6763, 6848, 7207, 8021-8022, 8024, 
 10601. 
 
 Disposition : 1057 - 1058, 1916 - 1917, 
 2439, 2528, 2552, 2568, 2570, 2573- 
 2574, 2577, 2580, 2588, 2591-2592, 
 2650, 2725, 2732, 2738-2739, 2744, 
 2819, 2823, 2844-2845, 2559, 2889- 
 2890-2891, 2917-2918, 2920, 2934, 
 3015, 3142-3144, 3188, 3193, 3327, 
 3379, 3441, 3564, 3677, 3679, 3688, 
 3958-3959, 4012-4013, 7176, 8050- 
 8051, 10630, 10634. 
 
 Distemper : 2202. 
 
 Divination: 122, 321-322, 381. 439, 884, 
 925, 929-934, 1718-1719, 1735, 1739, 
 2319-2324, 2383, 2763, 2849-2854, 
 2973, 3153-3154, 3169, 3329, 3395- 
 3396, 3775, 3799, 3804, 4284-4285, 
 6464, 6^)31, (/)40-6643, 6661-6662, 
 6714-6721, 6725-6726, 6728-6751, 
 6753-6757, 6761, 6781-6788, 6790, 
 6792, 6795, 6797, 6806-6807, 6811, 
 f>818-6819, 6821, 6824-6826, 6833, 
 6835-6837, 6854, 6856-6857, 6878, 
 6881-6882, 6885, 6896, 6899, 6902- 
 6904, 6908-6909, 6912, 6915, 6918- 
 6919, 6929-6930, 6932-6934, 6964- 
 6965, 6%9-6970, 6978-6980, 6982- 
 7157, 7167-7168, 7172, 7176, 7180, 
 7188, 7191, 7195, 7197, 7199-7200, 
 7202, 7210, 72()6-72o7, 7346, 7359, 
 7360, 7365-7367, 7369-7372, 7378- 
 73.^0, 7388, 7393, 7398, 7408, 7478, 
 S14(., 8211, 84^)3-8477, 8585. 8794, 
 9052-9059, 9277, 9532, 9549, 9554- 
 9557, 9559, 9819, 9869-9871, 9941- 
 
 9942. 10017-10018, 10283-10285, 
 10377, 10704. 
 
 Diving: 10705. 
 
 Divining-rod: 10704. 
 
 Divorce: 7238. 
 
 Doctor: 2387, 2718, 2853, 7167. 
 
 Dog: 188-194, 2016-2079, 2517, 2642, 
 3055-3056, 4204, 4284-4285, 4348, 
 4532-4540, 4769, 5018, 5344, 5627, 
 5722-5723, 6108, 6110, 6839, 6909, 
 7178-7179, 8300-8302, 8528, 8945, 
 8951-8953, 9026, 9332, 9405, 9602, 
 %87, 9811, 9845-9883, 10176, 10293, 
 10409, 10509-10512, 10632-10633; 
 of feathers in bewitched pillow, 
 9325. 
 
 Dog bite: See bite and slings. 
 
 Dog and boy in the moon: 10632. 
 
 Dog and woman in the moon : 10633. 
 
 Dog days: 491, 998, 2965. 
 
 Dog fennel: 2020, 2025, 4754, 5150, 
 5300, 5335, 5608. 
 
 Dog tongs, f iredog : 9294. 
 
 Dog weed : 4637. 
 
 Dogwood: 1215. 
 
 Doll: 10593. 
 
 Dollar: 2850-2851, 2854, 5680, 7791, 
 8182, 8570, 8622. 
 
 Dollar bill: 3237. 
 
 "Dominicker," Dominique, sky : 540. 
 
 Donkey: 6111. 
 
 Doodle bug: 1357-1363. 
 
 Door: 195, 626, 1425-2426, 1501, 1760, 
 1781-1789, 1834, 1923-1925, 2058- 
 2059, 2291-2293, 2295, 2817, 4275, 
 4479, 5256, 6112, 6552, 6644-6645, 
 6826, 6840, 6918, 6971, 7012. 7054- 
 7055, 7078, 7081-7082, 7152-7155, 
 7389, 7391, 7418, 7433, 7435-7438, 
 7440, 7450. 7619, 7624, 7701, 8078- 
 8083, 8117, 8134, 8145-8146, 8239- 
 8244, 8246-8261, 8368, 8371, 8478, 
 8612, 9127, 9140, 9197, 9234, 9241, 
 9265, 9330, 9418, 9448, 9467, 9474, 
 9490, 9497, 9525-9526, 9531, 9533- 
 9535, 9569, 9570-9572, 9575, 9577, 
 9630, 9632, 9640-9641, 9652-9653, 
 9789, 97W-9802, 9835, 9854-9857, 
 9880. 9884-9890, 9898, 9925, 9959, 
 9961-9970, 9972, 9978, 10191, 10241, 
 10296, 10431-10433, 10448, 10659. 
 Also see cellar door. 
 
 Door knob: 7434, 9891-9892. 
 
 Doormat: 7083. 
 
 Doorsill: 2054, 9238. 
 
 Doorstep: 1005, 1651, 1761-1762, 1909, 
 2052-2053, 4049, 4133. 4145, 4175, 
 6921-6922, 7388, 7439, 7700, 8183, 
 9123, 9127, 9139, 9163, 9192, 9248, 
 9269, 9321, 9378, 9390-9391, 9405, 
 9427, 9629, 9631, 10356, 10500- 
 10561. 
 
 Double: See resemblance, ticin. 
 
Index 
 
 687 
 
 Dough: 1898, 548. 5720. 7163, 7950. 
 
 7953. 
 Dough-ball: 9034. 
 
 Dove: 196-197, 1519-1524, 6113, 6508. 
 6841. 7014-7015. 7018, 7331, 8149, 
 8343, 9894-9900, 9902-9903. Also 
 see turtledove. 
 Down sign and up sign, of Zodiac: 
 973, 975, 989, 1042-1043. 1063-10^, 
 1098, 2120-2121, 2657-2658. 
 
 Downstairs and upstairs : 2719-2720. 
 
 Dciwnstream : 563, 1915. 
 
 Downwards and upwards: 131, 134, 
 148, 232-235, 238-239, 937, 1431, 
 1434, 1459, 1476, 2293-2294, 2705, 
 2719-2720, 2755, 3646, 4464, 4692, 
 4697, 4758, 4793, 4849, 4871, 4971, 
 7912, 9015, 9435. 
 
 Dowser: 10704. 
 
 Dragon's blood : 9379. 
 
 Dragon fly: 1364, 1600, 9051, 10121. 
 
 Drawer: 1890. 
 
 Drawers : 3586. 
 
 Dream: 1905, 2037-2038, 2317-2318, 
 4295, 5918-6459, 6733-6734, 6747, 
 6761, 6857, 6991, 6996, 6998, 7000, 
 7003, 7007- 7009, 7025-7031, 7058- 
 7060, 7070, 7075, 7080, 7087, 7094- 
 7095, 7100, 7105-7111, 7120. 7122- 
 7123, 7127, 7134-7137, 7140, 7195, 
 7307, 7369-7.370, 7372, 7398, 844-4, 
 9310, 9520, 9904-9905. 10120, 10264. 
 
 "Dream bone" of ham : 5929. 
 
 Dress: 1343, 1408-1409. 1887, 3567, 
 3569, 3573-3574, 3579-3582, 3584, 
 3587-3588, 3598-3604, 3608, 3612- 
 3615, 3620, 3626, 3662-3663, 3672- 
 3674, 3681, 3685, 3690, 3694, Z77Z- 
 3774, Z776-277^, 3807, 3815, 5605. 
 5646, 6053-6054, 6114, 6509-6511, 
 6577, 6722-6723, 6773, 6842-6845, 
 6924-6925, 7085, 7207-7208, 7908, 
 8922, 9120, 9164, 9690, 9699. 10102- 
 10104, 10321, 10624, 10766. 
 
 Dresser: 9428, 9476. 
 
 Dressing: 2702, 2726-2730, 2734, 2752, 
 3518-3544, 3552-3554, 3575-3597, 
 3601. 3664, 3826, 6752, 7410, 10108. 
 
 Drift clouds: 132. 
 
 Drinking: 1581, 2461, 2874, 4314. 4589, 
 4822, 5017, 5124-5125, 5848, 6852, 
 6947, 7743-7880. 
 
 Driving: 4856, 7050-7051, 8650. 
 
 Droning: 246, 250, 2848. 3O00, 3002- 
 3014, 3630, 3634-3635, 3638-3639, 
 3648, 3677, 3713-3715, 3725-3732, 
 3747, 3784, 3801-3802, 6434, 6664- 
 6665, 6668, 6671, 6688, 6694. 6829, 
 7162, 7343, 7360, 7445, 7479, 7507, 
 7509-7510, 7512, 7515-7516, 7522, 
 7524, 7550-7554, 7561, 75M, 7567. 
 7S72,, 7579-7580, 7601-7603, 7605- 
 7607, 7609-7610, 7617, 7644, 7646- 
 
 7647, 7652-7666. 7670-7695, 7752, 
 7767, 7770, 780f), 7819-7820, 7866, 
 7959, 7992-8014, 8042. 8101, 8129- 
 8130, 8134, 8136, 8140-8145, 8352, 
 8(>68, 8697, 8716-8717, 8755-8757, 
 8874-8875. 8S94-8896, 9041, 9746, 
 9937-9938, 9949, 10004, 10060, 
 10174. Also see falling objects, 
 spilling. 
 
 Dropsv: 3477, 4960-4980. 
 
 Drought: 116. 122, 181. 335-336. 363, 
 385, 392-395. 398, 403, 408, 450, 
 463, 477, 513, 517, 576, 764-765, 
 786, 1623. 
 
 Drowning: 2618, 2908, 6115-6116, 7019, 
 10281-19288. 
 
 Drunkard : 2824, 2850-2852, 2854, 7163, 
 7166, 7207-7209. 
 
 Drunkenness: 2331, 4529, 7747-7748, 
 7794, 7795. 7817. 7856, 7865. 
 
 Duck: 198-199, 1799-1801, 6117-6118. 
 Also see zvild duck. 
 
 Duck foot: 2497. 
 
 Duel: 6119. 
 
 "Dumb chills:" 4825. 
 
 Dumb-supper : 7020-7025. 
 
 Dung: 4440, 6120, 7772-7772, 8578; of 
 bird, 1496; of chicken, 2200, 4347, 
 4786, 5178, 5451, 5728; of cow, 
 1201, 1205, 2164, 2510, 2634. 3905- 
 3906. 3980, 4154, 4712, 4798, 5663, 
 5775, 9291; of dog, 2021-2023, 
 4348, 5018, 5627; of goose, 5750; 
 of hog, 4917, 4932. 5560, 5672; 
 of horse. 4711, 4920; of human 
 body, 2176, 5077, 9260, 9649; of 
 sheep, 4381, 4844, 5157. 
 
 Dust: 204, 1407, 1511. 
 
 "Dutchman's britches," blue spot in 
 cloudv skv : 556. 
 
 Dye: 926^ 2952, 2966, 2969. 
 
 Dying, the: 10199-10214. 
 
 Dynamite: 10282. 
 
 Eagle: 1525. 6121. 
 
 Ear : 1387, 2577, 3142-3180, 3640, 3936- 
 3937, 4735, 5031-5032, 5424-5427, 
 5442-5443, 5504, 6700, 6850, 6887, 
 8924, 9909-9912, 10679. 
 
 Earache: 4982-4984, 4986-5004, 5006- 
 5011. 
 
 Earrings: 5033-5034. 7295, 9430. 
 Earth : See dit-t, ground. 
 
 Earthquake: 6123. 
 
 Earthworm: See fishinq-zvorm. 
 
 Earwax: 4588, 4633, 5628. 
 
 East: 336, 388, 482, 513, 620-621, 677, 
 757-761, 767-769, 771, 1703, 1920, 
 4035, 4667, 5856-5858, 5860-5861, 
 5917, 6<)91, 8987, 8991, 9064, 9193, 
 9726, 10280. 
 
 Easter: 123, 205-207, 253, 374-375, 
 
688 
 
 Index 
 
 494-495, 790, 850, 1158, 1610, 3622, 
 4300, 7247, 8111, 9913. 
 
 Eating: 245-249, 1157, 1271, 1427-1428, 
 1585, 1610, UA\, 1740, 1858, 2520- 
 2523, 2^>;3-2(>44, 3656, 3855-3860, 
 38()9-3870. 3876, 3878, 3926-3927, 
 4580, 4582, 4584, 510(), 5136, 5618, 
 5945, 594()-5947. 5968, 6017, 6031, 
 6268, 6317, 6324, 6413. 6418, 6425, 
 6430. 6486, 6575, 6647, 6650, 6657, 
 6833. 6983. 7743-7880, 9128, 10124, 
 10127-10128. 
 
 Eaves: 362, 847, 1402, 4124, 4134, 
 4239. 
 
 Eclipse: 682. 
 
 Eczema: 5013-5017. 
 
 Eelskin: 4713, 5336. 
 
 Egg: of bird, 1487-1489, 1546, 1559, 
 8603; of chicken, 1658-1745, 2514, 
 2o73, 2711, 2811, 2955. 3869, 4366- 
 4367, 4411, 4456, 4605, 4710, 4742, 
 4771, 4799, 4833, 4880, 5345, 5691- 
 
 5692, 5749, 5766, 5787, 6124-6133, 
 6513, 7026-7032. 7188, 7412, 7798, 
 7901, 8188, 9156, 9442; of duck, 
 1799-1801; of goose, 1802-1805; of 
 guinea, 1809-1810; of pigeon, 
 1815; of turkey. 1816-1818. 
 
 Egg shell: 911-912, 1660-1661, 1670, 
 2217, +411, 4434, 4681, 8434, 7954, 
 8027. 
 
 Eighteen : 6588. 
 
 Eighteenth of month: 8979. 
 
 Elbow: 3314-3319, 3947, 4793, 5543- 
 5544, 7182. 
 
 Elder (berry) : 999, 1136, 1821, 2162, 
 2203, 2635-2636, 2665, 4135, 4368, 
 4435, 4497, 4638, 4655, 4835, 4866- 
 4868, 4965, 4969-4971, 5016, 5035, 
 5113-5115, 5177, 5237, 5337, 5607, 
 
 5693, 5777-5778, 5795. 
 Election day: 1085. 10594. 
 
 Electric light : 5826. 8245, 9979, 9992. 
 
 Electricity : 499, 632, 2875. 
 
 Elephant: the animal, 208, 6134-6135, 
 
 10595; as ornament and mascot, 
 
 10596-10599. 
 Elk skin: 5338. 
 Eleven : 2406, 2913. 
 Eleven-month baby : 2406. 
 Elm: 728. 4412. 4927. 
 Elopement: 6135. 
 
 Ember Days: 209-210, 791, 1259. 1293. 
 Embroidery : 7560. 
 Emerald: 3849. 
 Emetic : 5580, 5584. 
 Enemy: 1626-1630. 1632. 2548. 3158, 
 
 3210, 33%, 5982, 6035, 6043. 6117, 
 
 6332, 6342, 6376, 6377-6379, 6416, 
 
 6433, 7485, 8073, 9520. 
 Engagement: 6086, 7212-7219. 
 Engagement ring: 7217-7218, 9458. 
 Enjoyment: See l>lcasurc. 
 Entering and leaving a house : 3375, 
 
 6625, 8246-8260, 9886-9888. Also 
 see forgetting, turning back. 
 
 Envelope: 4136, 4549, 6807. Compare 
 8427-8462. 
 
 Evening: 322, 386. 426. 509. 518. 543- 
 547. 643-656, 658-664, 668. 674-675, 
 1417, 1733. Also see night, mid- 
 night. 
 
 Epilepsv: 2331, 5727-5734. 
 
 lipiphany. The: 2027, 9526. 
 
 Epsom salts: 2342, 4598. 4928. 5036, 
 5235. 5351. 5694, 9243. 
 
 Erysipelas : 5018-5019. 
 
 Evil eye: 2745, 9076, 9129-9130. 
 
 Excrement : See dung. 
 
 Excuse: 6136. 
 
 Excusing self : 8270. 
 
 Exhumation: 6069, 10364-10366. 
 
 Exorcism : See priest. 
 
 Explosion : 8523. 
 
 Eve: 2442, 2451, 2579, 2701, 2745, 
 3181-3239, 3279, 3641, 5490, 5773, 
 5798. 6390, 6604. 6701. 6724, 6792, 
 6984, 7902, 7906-7915, 7968, 8685, 
 8731, 8840, 8843-8845, 9076, 9105, 
 9129-9130,9210, 9258, 9275, 9289, 
 9590, 9914-9916, 10258. 
 
 Eyebrow: 3189, 3191-3195, 5037, 7181. 
 
 Eyeglasses : See glasses. 
 
 Eyelash: 3190, 5074, 6514, 6725. 
 
 Eyelid: 3704, 5036. 
 
 Eyesight: See sight. 
 
 Eye trouble: 3279, 5027-5101, 5826. 
 
 Face: 1369, 2421, 2427, 2445-2446, 
 2448, 2455-2456, 2462, 2477, 2886, 
 2892, 2954, 3584-3585, 3863-3864, 
 3866, 3S>7l-3872, 3875, 3880-3883, 
 3890, 3895, 3907-3908, 3933-3934, 
 3962, 4414-4415, 5949, 6137, 6985, 
 7549, 7957, 9170, 9605, 10546. 
 
 Face paint: 9173, 9174, 10609. 
 
 Face powder : 9174, 10609. 
 
 F:.inting: 5735. 
 
 Fairy: 8022, 10601-10602. 
 
 Faithful: 2558, 2922-2924, 3186, 7398. 
 
 Fall : See autumn. 
 
 Falling: 2825-2828, 3106, 6011, 6138, 
 6146, 8338-8339, 8606, 10294. Also 
 see stumbling. 
 
 Falling objects: 1394, 10023, 10045- 
 10047, 10048-10058, 102o8. Also 
 see dropping. 
 
 Falling star : See shooting star. 
 
 False: See deceit, enemy, treachery, 
 niitrustivorthy. 
 
 False teeth: 6403. 
 
 Falsehood : See lie. 
 
 Fanning: 4349. 
 
 Farewell : See good-by. 
 
 Farm: 3943-3944. 
 
 Father: 2599, 2621, 3561-3562, 3606- 
 3607, 4403-4405, 6091-6092. 
 
Index 
 
 689 
 
 Fat person : 2859-2860, 7183, 7854. 
 
 Fear: 10263, 10669. Also see fright. 
 
 Feather: bird, 5994; chicken. 91-93, 
 341-342. 1644-1645. 1691.1751, 5873, 
 6851, 8579-8580, 9530, %16, %56 
 (Also see zireath) ; goose, 1807; 
 peacock, 1813, 10041 ; pigeon, 
 10203; quail, 5641; rooster, 6851. 
 
 Feather bed: 341, 579, 8065, 9325, 
 9329-9331, 9334, 9337, 9341-9342. 
 
 February: 69, 211-212, 2>2>7, 614, 706- 
 708, 710-712, 1124, 1148, 1805, 
 2555-2556, 7225. 
 
 February 2nd, Ground hog day: 283- 
 28 S 
 
 February 6th: 709. 
 
 February 12th: 1172. 
 
 February 21st: 2554. 
 
 February 22nd: 251. 
 
 February 24th : See St. Matthias Day. 
 
 Feet: 213-215, 691, 1955, 2034, 2454, 
 2488, 2702-2703, 2705, 2727, 2767- 
 2768, 2803, 2807, 3435, 3439, 4285, 
 4354, 4396, 4399, 4400, 4592, 4758, 
 4853, 4860, 4871, 4888, 4900. 4907, 
 4972, 4974, 5153, 5161, 5184-5185, 
 5193-5195, 5197, 5199. 5201, 5203, 
 5205-5212, 5213-5223, 5233-5238, 
 5241, 5243-5244, 5246-5249, 5325, 
 5328'. 5416, 5478, 5487, 5649, 5684, 
 5827, 5866-5870, 5872, 5948, 6147, 
 6636, 6858, 6955-6959, 7037-7039, 
 7129, 7348-7349, 8043, 8087, 8091- 
 8092, 8316, 8318, 8320-83Z2, 8324, 
 8329-8330, 8376-8379, 8384, 8390, 
 8397,8789-8790, 8846, 8913, 8923, 
 9770, 9916, 10145-10146. 
 
 Feet, trouble with : 214-215, 2645, 2803. 
 2805, 3441-3461, 3487-3488, 3708, 
 4629, 9110-9111, 9219, 9554, 9581. 
 
 "Feet," sign of Zodiac : 822, 977, 1052. 
 1066, 2099, 2127-2128, 2193, 2645, 
 2647, 2656, 7969, 8984-8985. 
 
 Felon: 4742-4748, 4750. 
 
 Fence: 117-120, 354, 448, 539, 577, 589. 
 1540, 1792-1794, 2218, 2220, 2277- 
 2278, 2410, 3814, 4292, 5086, 7421- 
 7424, 7456. 
 
 Fennel: 2020, 2025, 2675, 4350, 4754, 
 5150, 5300, 5335, 5608. 
 
 Fern: 935-941. 1318, 4436, 5609, 7381. 
 
 Fertilizer: 800-805, 1201, 1205, 1249. 
 
 Fever: 4851, 4868, 5139-5160, 5162- 
 5165. 
 
 Fever blister: 4633-4634, 6648. 
 
 "Fever worm:" 1405, 5141. 
 
 Fickle: 2920. 
 
 Fiddle: See znolin. 
 
 Filteen: 489, 1680, 8417. 
 
 Fifty: 2222, 5496, 6541. 
 
 Fig: 4437, 5629. 
 
 Fight: 2441, 2442, 6363. Also see 
 qtiarrel. 
 
 File: 1834. 7450, 9330, 9535. 
 
 Filth: 6150 . 
 
 Finger: 1642, 1839, 1957, 2022, 2258, 
 2260-2261. 2443, 2473, 2488, 2581, 
 2754, 2763, 2813, 3228-3230, 3277- 
 3279, 3376-3386, 3779, 3877, 4019, 
 4395, 4453-4454. 4466, 4468-4471, 
 4633, 4775, 5043, 5048, 5424, 5427- 
 5428, 5442, 5539-5542, 5882, 6535, 
 6587-6591, 6607, 6609, 6611, 6740, 
 6775, 6852-6854, 7176, 7184, 7190, 
 7209, 7346, 8327. 8333, 8369. 8386. 
 8389, 8463-8464. 8664, 8902, 9157. 
 9361, 9763. 9918-9919, 10240. 
 
 "Fingers," sign of the Zodiac: 894- 
 895, 975. 
 
 Finger-nails: 2175, 2747-2750, 2934, 
 3331, 3386-3419, 4137, 4472. 4506 
 4597. 5029, 5035, 5630, 5943, 6651, 
 6669, 6855-6856, 6910, 7033-7035, 
 9679, 10016. 
 
 Finger print: 2443, 2477. 
 
 Finnan haddie: 7805. 
 
 Fire: 60, 63, 219, 220, 628, 1536, 1558, 
 1587, 1650-1652, 1774-1775. 1885. 
 2072-2Q72,, 2249, 2444-2448, 2667, 
 2707, 2733, 3180, 3589, 4311, 5733, 
 5757. 6151-6163, 6375, 6596, 6692, 
 6702-6703, 6726-6727. 6732. 6748, 
 6818, 6876, 7032, 7084, 7129, 7147 
 7711, 772^,-7729, 7882-7885, 7888- 
 7889, 8025, 8106, 8146, 8346, 8477, 
 8595, 8640-8642, 8650, 9250, 9268, 
 9295-9296, 9298. 9553, 9600, 9941- 
 9942. 
 
 Firecracker: 5073. 
 
 Firedog: 9294. 
 
 Firefly: 1365-1366. 
 
 Fire-making: 7185-7187. 7402-7403. 
 7881. 
 
 "Fire-mark:" 2501. 
 
 Fireplace: 6720. 6878. 9506. 9550. 
 
 First day of month: 489. Also see 
 under each month. 
 
 Fish: 221-225, 1305-1312, 2201, 2449, 
 2521, 2644, 2674, 2797, 4664, 4820, 
 6168, 6757, 7801-7805, 7831-7833, 
 8026. 10110. 
 
 "Fish," sign of the Zodiac : 2527, 2648, 
 7971. 
 
 Fishes, sign of the Zodiac: 829, 1015, 
 1067, 7970. 
 
 "Fishes' scales," clouds: 541. 
 
 Fisherman: 570, 757, 1312. Also see 
 fishing. 
 
 Fishing: 6164-6617, 6757, 8969-9051. 
 Also see fisherman. 
 
 Fishing - worm : 797-799, 1403-1404, 
 5384. 9040-9041. 
 
 Fist: 2187. 2844-2845, 7596. 
 
 Fistula, in horse : 2203. 
 
 Fit: in cat, 1898-1900; in dog, 2026. 
 Also see epilepsy, spasm. 
 
690 
 
 Index 
 
 Five: 682, 1518, 1625, 1955, 2166, 2338, 
 
 2911. 3299, 4901, 5342, 5435, 5577, 
 
 5664, 6985. 8783, 9050, 9133, 9482, 
 
 9537, 10355. 
 Fivc-lcafed clover : 869-872, 6496-6497. 
 Flag: 9920, 10303. 
 Flame: 6152. 
 Flannel: 2676, 4337, 4682, 4852, 4929, 
 
 5339-5341. 7481, 8577, 8581, 9391, 
 
 9508, 9548. 
 Flatiron: 7431. 
 Flattery : 6352. 7669. 
 Flatulence: 7744. 
 Flaxseed : 2503, 2637, 4416, 4576, 4736, 
 
 4760, 4905, 5044, 5695. 
 "Fleshworm :" See blackhead. 
 Flippancy : 3935. 
 "Floater:" 10281. 
 Flood 276. 
 Flour: 1000. 1023, 2220, 4606-4607, 
 
 4639, 4683-4685, 4690, 4799, 5267, 
 
 5696, 5751, 6169, 7166, 9377, 9554. 
 Flower: 229-230, 892-922, 6095, 6170- 
 
 6178, C)652, 6728-6729, 6857, 7396, 
 
 9075. 9135, 9555-9556, 9922-9923, 
 
 10357. Also see various flowers. 
 "Flower," sign of Zodiac : See Virgin. 
 "Flower girl," sign of Zodiac : See 
 
 Virgin. 
 Flux: See boiccl trouble. 
 Fly: 226-228, 1327, 1367-1370, 1837, 
 
 9925. 
 Flying, in dream: 6179. 
 Foam: 751, 7745. 
 Fog: 231-243. 
 
 Folk-medicine: 3902-5797, 5877-5917. 
 Food: 244, 2423, 2425, 2428, 2431, 
 
 2434-2435, 2451, 2453, 2456, 2458, 
 
 2468-2471, 2474, 2481-2484, 2489, 
 
 2809, 3669-3670, 5620, 7743-7980, 
 
 8189, 8191, 8203. 
 Fool: 2827, 2894, 2935, 3257, 3259, 
 
 3669-3670, 7684-7685. 
 Foot : See feet. 
 Football: 8670. 
 
 Footprint: 9220-9227, 9450-9454, 9642. 
 Forehead: 2324, 2431, 2463, 2763, 2893- 
 
 2894, 5146, 5387, 5398-5399, 5401, 
 
 5403, 5406, 6661, 9360. 
 Forgetful: 2998. 
 Forgetting: 3722, 8322, 8365-8426, 
 
 8532 8720 
 Fork: 250, 1284, 5812, 6515, 6859-6962, 
 
 6893-6894, 7609-7612, 7615, 7652- 
 
 7669, 7781, 7907, 9536, 9558-9559, 
 
 9926. 
 Fork of road: 4131. 
 Fork of tree : 4362. 
 Forked stick: 5784. 10704. 
 "Furky fork:" 9559. 
 Fortune : See diriiiation, luck, money, 
 
 forlime teller. 
 Fortune teller: 2610, 2626, 9052-9059, 
 
 9340, 9427, 9500, 9518, 9528, 10372, 
 10378. 
 
 Fortv: 207, 251, 253, 390, 491, 496, 
 782-783, 788-789, 7247. 
 
 Foundation of building: 7414, 8549. 
 
 Founder: in cow, 2176-2180; in horse, 
 2204-2205. 
 
 Four: 672, 1518, 1854, 3304, ^2,72-^2,72,, 
 4202, 5345, 5905, 6744, 6797, 6870- 
 6871, 7079, 8317, 8767, 9537, 10180. 
 
 Fcur hundred: 8461. 
 
 Four-leafed clover: 858-868, 6489- 
 6495, 6663, 6823-6826, 7007-7013, 
 8921, 10354. 
 
 Ff urteen : 6678. 
 
 Fourth of July: 1114, 1159. 
 
 "Fourth paw," of rabbit: 1863. 
 
 Fraternal pin : 3852. 
 
 Freckles: 2724, 2929, 3902-3922. 
 
 Free-hearted: 2559, 2577, 3142. 
 
 Freeze: 251-253. 
 
 Freicht train: 6630-6631, 9469, 9480, 
 10603. 
 
 French harp: 9019. 
 
 Friday: 254-256, 380, 486-487, 625, 
 658, 662-664, 997, 1507-1508, 1709, 
 2157, 2534-2536, 2659-2660, 2758, 
 2945-2946, 3080, 3307-3309, 3406- 
 3407, 3414-3415, 3417, 3541, 3569- 
 3570, 3691-3693. 3849. 4122, 4167, 
 4296, 5029, 5305, 5505, 5630-5631, 
 5958, 6790, 6991, 7236-7237, 7241- 
 7243, 8036, 8044-8046, 8105-8106, 
 8151-8152, 8360, 8362-8363, 8485- 
 8489, 8785-8786, 8975, 9245, 9250, 
 9379, 9423, 10133, 10568, 10604, 
 10680. 
 
 Friday the 13th: 3491, 8787-8788. 
 
 Friend: 1356, 1415-1416, 1419, 1773, 
 3157, 3171, 3209, 3215, 3360-3361, 
 3364, 336^3367, 3396, 3479-3480, 
 3485, 3558, 3612, 3630, 3718, 3754, 
 3781, 3791, 3793-3799, 3801, 3803, 
 3819, 3827, 4262, 5969, 5990, 6014- 
 6015, 6021, 6029, 6058, 6035-6036, 
 6117, 6157, 6174, 6180, 6243, 6254, 
 6273, 6305, 6320, 6331, 6348, 6361- 
 6348, 6361-6362, 6402-6403, 6589- 
 6591, 7539, 7545, 7548, 7592-7593, 
 7598, 7639, 7663, 7715, 7757, 7759, 
 7810, 7926, 8071-8073, 8082, 8190, 
 8667, 10084, 10354, 10566. 10676. 
 
 Fright: 2421-2422, 2427, 2433, 2436- 
 "2437, 2440-2442, 2444-2449, 2455, 
 2457, 2462-2464, 2477-2478, 2488- 
 2489, 2914-2915, 5429. 
 
 Frog: 257-259, 844, 1580-1581. 1583- 
 1584, 1590-1591, 2450, 4014-4015, 
 4138, 4750, 5282-5283, 6181, 9380- 
 9381, 9520, 9579. 
 
 Frog powder : 9258. 
 
 Frog in horse hoof : 445. 
 
 "Frontice bone:" 9131. 
 
Index 
 
 691 
 
 Frost: 48, 240-242, 260-261, 328. 337. 
 
 371, 383, 619, 694, 700, 702-705, 
 
 707-711, 744, 836-846, 997, 1128, 
 
 1164, 1173. 
 Frostbitten: feet, 214, 215, 5223-5224, 
 
 5526-5232; hands, 5230, 5232. 
 Fruit and fruit trees: 733. 1122-1210, 
 
 7396, 78;S8, 7930, 10163-10164. Also 
 
 see various fruits. 
 Fruit jars: 9329. 
 Fruit stone: 1147, 1167, 1169, 1179, 
 
 1190-1191, 1210. 
 Full moon : See moon. 
 Fundament : See anus. 
 Funeral: 918-921, 2395, 4107, 4113, 
 
 4121, 6182-6183, 6268, 7329, 7332, 
 
 7354-7355, 9305-9306, 9927-9929, 
 
 10289-10399. 
 "Funny bone:" 3314. 
 Fur : 4-5, 2752, 4482. 
 Furniture, in general : 7525-7527, 9930. 
 
 Gain: 5993, 6071, 6165, 6193, 
 
 6337, 6412. 
 Gall : See ox gall. 
 Galling : See chafing. 
 Gambling: 8727-8866, 9230, 9346, 
 
 see playing cards. 
 Game : See hunting. 
 Games: 8f>60-8834, 8867,8944 
 Garbao-e: 7955, 8023-8033, 8594 
 
 9931. 
 Garden: 6184-6186, 7168. 
 Garlic: 1034, 1849, 2196, 4267, 
 
 4325, 4438, 4489, 4577, 4869, 
 
 5476. 5479, 5632, 5737. 
 Garments : See clothes. 
 Garnet: 3849. 
 Garter: 3552-3556, 6764, 6863 
 
 9548. 
 "Gas house :" 4413. 
 Gasoline: 5797, 9518. 
 Gate: 264-265, 3370, 7425-7432, 
 
 9635, 9834, 9898. 
 Gatepost: 119, 10076. 
 Geese: 266-273, 580, 779, 1802 
 
 6193-6194, 9933. Also see 
 
 63-26, 
 
 Also 
 
 -8596, 
 
 4276, 
 
 5342, 
 
 6864, 
 
 8175, 
 
 1808, 
 zinld 
 geese. 
 
 Gemini, sign of Zodiac : See Twius. 
 
 Generation : 2329. 
 
 Generous: 2592, 3143, 3441. 
 
 Gentle: 2889. 
 
 Gentleman : 7195. 
 
 Georgia, the State of : 10605-10608. 
 
 "Georgia Skin," card game : 8822-8823. 
 
 Geranium : See zi'ild geranium. 
 
 Gestation: 2363-2417. Also see p-rcg- 
 tiancv. 
 
 Ghost: 1830, 2548-1549, 2607-2609, 
 5838, 6389, 9932, 9968, 10321, 
 10368, 10401-10565, (also see sec- 
 ond sight); of animals, 10405, 
 10406; of cat, 2006. 
 
 Gigging: 9008. 
 
 Ginger: 4870, 5116, 5696. Also see 
 Jamaica ginger. 
 
 Ginger cookies: 2451. 
 
 Giving: 812. 813, 908, 940-941, 1105, 
 1150, 1307, 2213, 3347, 3A77-3A79, 
 3551, 3633-3634. 3636, 3723-372^, 
 3768, 3781-3782, 3834, 6578, 6772, 
 6775, 6777, 6780, 6864, 7216, 7219, 
 7381-7382, 7588-7593, 7712, 7949, 
 8574, 8649. 8672, 10610-10613. Also 
 see present. 
 
 Gizzard: 94-95, 2417, 3857-3859, 4076- 
 4077, 4317, 5602, 5666, 5788. 
 
 Glass : doorpane, 7433 ; tumbler, 2322, 
 3064, 6741, 6932-6934, 7096, 7181, 
 7522-7524, 7745, 7780, 7863, 8473, 
 9741; of water, 3063-3065, 5432, 
 5882, 5891, 5939, 6947, 7031, 7134- 
 7137, 7807, 7869-7871, 7875, 9156, 
 9436-9437, 9442, 9445, 9939. 
 
 Glasses : 3236-3237, 8625. 
 
 Glory : See hand of glory. 
 
 Gloves: 3182, 3369, 3633-3635, 6187- 
 6189, 6851, 7216, 8444. 
 
 Glowworm : See firefly. 
 
 Glutton: 3950. 
 
 Glycerine: 4874, 4879. 
 
 Gnat: 277. 
 
 Goat: 1835, 4557. 5186, 5304, 5477, 
 6190-6191, 8835, 9300; butter, 
 5304; milk, 5186; urine, 4557, 
 5477. 
 
 God: 809-810, 1059, 1649, 2422, 2436, 
 2492, 3075, 3280-3281, 4030-4031. 
 4037, 4040, 4082, 4107, 4113, 4121, 
 4163, 4167, 4181, 4241-4243, 4466, 
 4624, 4625, 4731, 4733. 4768, 4810, 
 4850, 4930, 4960, 4985, 5015, 5047, 
 5058, 5239, 5280, 5288, 5405, 5546, 
 5733, 5735, 5819, 7406, 8286, 8382, 
 8390, 8462, 8467. 8600, 8^)56. 9062. 
 9064, 9067, 9193-9194, 9241, 9269, 
 9304, 9322, 9379, 9417, 9424, 9438, 
 9454, 9520, 9535. 9558, 9560, 9567, 
 9634, 9639-9640. 9643, 10017, 
 10045-10046. 10481-10482, 10513, 
 10539, 10547, 10550, 10614, 10669. 
 10674. 
 
 Godfather: 2822. 
 
 Godmother: 2821. 
 
 Going and coming : See entering and 
 leaving, path crossed, sight (watch- 
 ing person out of), visiti)ig, walk- 
 ing forth. 
 
 Goitre: 5272-5295. 
 
 Gold: 6192, 7281, 7774, 9392, 9498, 
 10677; beads, 5284; coin. 8563; 
 cup. 7030; ring, 1719, 4139, 4985, 
 5087-5089. 5090-5092, 5319, 5506; 
 tooth, 5610. 
 
 Golden: cloud, 128; wedding an- 
 niversary, 7396. 
 
692 
 
 Index 
 
 Goldenrod: 5587. 
 
 Goldfish: 1305-1308. 
 
 "Gold meat," of turtle: 5381. 
 
 Good-by: 826s3-8264. 
 
 Good Friday: 253, 493, 671, 789, 834, 
 
 ■95<), 987, 1087, 1133, 1711, 2549, 
 
 4658, 5238, 5409, 5616, 7768, 7808- 
 
 7809. 8542, 8980. 
 Good luck : See luck. 
 Gotxi-natured : 2744, 2859, 2917. 
 Goose : See qcesc. 
 Gooseberry: 1157, 5093-5095. 
 "Goose corks," goose dung : 5750. 
 Goose grease: 4369, 4871, 4986, 5796. 
 Gopher powder: 9132-9133, 9382. 
 Gospel of St. John, chapter fourteen: 
 
 6613. 
 Gourd: 1614. 
 Gout: 5303-5304. 
 Grain: 613. See various grains. 
 "Grand-daddy :" See daddy longlegs. 
 Grandniotlier : 3072, 7292, 10352. 
 Granulated eyelids : 5036. 
 Grape (vine) : 279, 1158-1166, 2956, 
 
 4140, 4578, 4640, 4755, 5<M5-5046, 
 
 5715, 5779, 6196. Also see zvild 
 
 grape. 
 Grass : 54, 188-189, 874-885, 1897, 1993, 
 
 3910-3911, 61^97. 
 Grasshopper: 1371, 9035. 
 Grate: 6715, 6720, 7077. 
 Grave: 921, 3637, 4117, 4120, 4320- 
 
 4321, 4324, ()198-6200, 7400, 9135, 
 
 9194, 9934, 10078, 10166, 10327- 
 
 10329, 10330-10337, 10345, 10350- 
 
 10357, 10363, 10378, 10442-10445, 
 
 10514, 10528, 10535. 
 Grave dust : 4120, 9562, 10356. 
 Gravel: 2247, 5827. 
 Graveyard: 1378, 1865, 4103, 4115- 
 
 4118, 5660, 6028, 6046, 7534, 9134, 
 
 9422, 9774, 9898, 10358-10362, 
 
 10378. 
 Graveyard rabbit: 1865, 9230. 
 Gray : See grc\. 
 Grease: 1908, 1995, 2443, 4378, 4384, 
 
 4629, 5253-5254, 5256-5257, 5271, 
 
 6201, 7399, 7897. 
 Greedy: 3188. 
 Green: clothes, 3564, 3567-3570; food, 
 
 7857; paper, 8598; snake, 1609; 
 
 stones, 3849; string, 5512-5513; 
 
 wedding clothes, 7629-7271, 7274- 
 
 7275. 
 "Green Thursday :" See Maundy 
 
 Thursday. 
 Greens, vegetable: 1385, 4585. 
 Greeting : 10656. Also see shakitig 
 
 f lands. 
 Grey: cat, 1968-1%9, 6484; chicken, 
 
 1753; clothes, 3564; eyes, 3188; 
 
 hair, 2909-2917; horse, 1622, 2253, 
 
 6220, 6222, 6543, 6667, 6882, 7048, 
 
 8855; mule, 2254; wedding clothes, 
 7269, 7271. 
 
 Grief : See crying, sorrow, tears. 
 
 Gristle: 6999. 
 
 Ground: 13, 14, 37, 121, 191, 281, 287, 
 314, 338, 349-351, 359, 373, 43S- 
 434, 478, 499, 530, 534, 558-561, 
 593-594, 611-612, 627, 741, 797-804, 
 851. 855, 881-882, 1026-1027, 1042, 
 2145-2146, 2149-2150, 3464, 4175, 
 4608-4609, 4645, 5257, 5259, 5492, 
 5515, 5518, 6210, 6214. Also see 
 burving, dirt. 
 
 Ground" hog: 283-290, 9935-9936. 
 
 Ground itch : 4645, 4652. 
 
 Ground squirrel : See gopher. 
 
 Growth, human: 2718, 2771, 2799, 
 2826, 2869-2872, 4478-4479, 4487- 
 4488, 5058-5059, 5833, 7577, 7879, 
 8091. 
 
 Grub worm: 851. 
 
 Guardian angel: 2751. 
 
 Guests : See company. 
 
 Guinea: 291-292, 1809-1811. 
 
 Guitar: 6202, 9018. 
 
 Gull: 535. 
 
 Gmn : See chewing gum. 
 
 Gums : 4783, 5522. Also see mouth, 
 teething. 
 
 Gun: 2619, 6203, 9137, 10619, 10671. 
 Also see hunting. 
 
 Gunpowder: 2033, 2337, 3984, 4813, 
 5073, 5119. 
 
 Gunshot : See shot. 
 
 Gun wound, protection against : 2619, 
 10671. 
 
 Gypsy: 7439, 10378. 
 
 Hair: 293, 1377, 1436, 1843, 1877, 2204, 
 2416, 2437, 2447, 2452, 2582-2590, 
 2752-2759, 2897-3014, 3333, 3797, 
 3804-3805, 3895,4141, 4479, 4486- 
 4487, 4821, 4910, 4930, 4987, 5151, 
 5187, 5343-5344, 5390-5396, 5402, 
 5490, 5873, 6204, 6517, 6538, 6664, 
 6679, 6765, 6865, 6934, 7014-7017, 
 7036-7040, 7048, 7065-7066, 7071, 
 7089-7090, 7099, 7102, 7129, 7188- 
 7189, 7311, 7346, 7765, 8231, 8581, 
 8732, 8840, 8924, 9118-9119, 9321, 
 9138-9155, 9326, 9385-9404, 9429, 
 9437, 9497-9499, 9679, 9939-9940, 
 '/;43, 10273, 10367, 1(H18-10422, 
 10555, 10558, 10585. 
 
 Hairball: 9161. 
 
 Hairpin: 3485, 3786-3805, 6518-6523, 
 67()6, 6866-6868, 7(Ml-7(>42, 8675- 
 8670, 8957, 9010. 
 
 "Hallelujah over the hills," hymn: 
 10113. 
 
 Halloween: 1005, 6717, 6787-6788, 
 6818, 6878, 6979, 6990, 7005-7006, 
 
Index 
 
 693 
 
 7032, 7061-7062, 7077, 7136-7137, 
 7139-7140, 7144, 7191. 
 
 Halter, of horse: 5909. 
 
 Ham: 2453, 5929. 
 
 Plammer: 2851-2853, 5642. 9581, 9586. 
 
 Hand: 474, 1399, 1434, 1724-1725, 1748- 
 1749, 1838, 1852, 2005, 2187, 2436, 
 2438, 2441, 2448, 2591-2592, 2620- 
 2621, 2728-2729, 2760-2761, 2768, 
 2775-2776, 2780, 2844-2848, 2930- 
 2931, 3079, 3090. 3259, 2272,, 3326- 
 3375. 3438, 3635, 3642, 3646, 3781, 
 3783, 3884, 3888-3890, 3908, 3948- 
 3949, 4014, 4165, 4244, 4395, 4399, 
 4646. 4758, 4781, 4871, 5120, 5190- 
 5192, 5230-5232, 5320, 5508, 5539, 
 5548, 5625, 5738, 5796, 5884-5885, 
 5950, 6543, 6547, 6549, 6578, 6746, 
 6767, 6851, 6869-6874, 6885, 6888, 
 69f>4, 6967, 6995, 7069, 7096, 7128, 
 7188, 7190, 7192, 7344, 7346, 7426, 
 7480, 7507, 7511-7512. 7596, 77Z7, 
 
 7756, 7769, 7810, 7843, 7851, 8313, 
 8327, 8463-8464, 8504, 8624, 8608, 
 8665, 8669, 8722-8734, 8736, 8745, 
 8840, 8890, 8903, 890^8907, 8909, 
 8918, 8924-8926, 9041, 9064, 9100- 
 9101, 9105, 9147, 9158, 9228, 9317, 
 9359, 9361, 9372. 9457, 9563, 9680, 
 9944, 10276, 10556, 10589, 10639- 
 10640, 10669. 
 
 Hand of glory : 2493-2495, 3964, 4106, 
 4768, 4909, 5014, 5277-5279, 5714, 
 10263. 
 
 Handing: 2773-2774, 3781, 3783, 7589, 
 7592, 7594-7595, 7598, 7734-7736, 
 
 7757, 8116. Also see passing. 
 Handkerchief: 555, 850, 1245, 1566, 
 
 3636-3648, 4517, 5625, 6730, 6876, 
 6928, 7043, 7150-7151, 7315, 8352, 
 8927, 9406. 
 
 Handless baby, result of birthmark : 
 2438, 2453. 
 
 Hand-print: 2448, 9228, 10546. 
 
 "Hand trick," in cards : 8817. 
 
 Hanging, death by: 2717, 3937, 3939, 
 3955, 6205-6206, 10089, 10562, 
 10650. 
 
 "Hangman's Day:" 7243. 
 
 Happiness: 1337, 2327, 3930, 6005, 
 6046, 6074, 6113, 6116, 6128, 6149, 
 6160, 6173, 6195, 6245, 6262, 6317, 
 6338, 7176, 7183, 7Z37, 7240, 7250- 
 7251, 7258, 7261, 7295, 7305, 7341, 
 7348. 
 
 Hard cider : 5329. 
 
 Harm: 1468, 2751, 3945. 
 
 Harmonicon : 9019. 
 
 Harp: 2630. 
 
 Harrow : 5262. 
 
 Hartshorn: See ammonia. 
 
 Hat: 1722, 1726, 1956, 2038, 2309, 
 2677, 2761, 2958, 3232-3233, 3649- 
 
 3660, 3675, 5397, 5774, 5777, 5779, 
 5781, 6653, 6877, 8406-8407, 8928- 
 8929, 9119, 9242, 9372, 10605. 
 
 Hatband : 5377, 5407, 5774, 8582, 9258, 
 9393 9396. 
 
 Hatchet":' 1187,' 5810, 5908. 
 
 Hate: 6232, 6912, 8435, 8458, 9156. 
 
 Hatpin : 357, 1532, 9062. 
 
 Haunted house: See ghost. 
 
 Hawk: 1650-1652, 6666. 
 
 Hawthorn tree : 3865. 
 
 Hay: 1325, 2144; stack, 302, 1389, 
 6524; seed, 5346; wagon, 6525- 
 6529, 6537, 6541. Also see straw. 
 
 Hay fever: '4497-4500. 
 
 Hay flowers : 5767. 
 
 Iiazel fork or switch: 10704. 
 
 Hazelnut : 294, 6878, 7195. 
 
 Head: 628, 1190, 1377, 1441-1442, 1495, 
 1842, 1870, 2284, 2304, 2411, 2426, 
 2465, 2488, 2593-2594, 2702, 2704, 
 2722>-272A, 2727, 2736, 2754, 2762, 
 2795, 2883-2885, 2888, 2930, 3049, 
 3332, 3505, 3584, 3643, 3675, 3858, 
 4077, 4093, 4142, 4383, 4400, 4478- 
 4479, 4487-4488, 4503-4504, 4778, 
 4817, 5159, 5161, 5255-5256, 5409, 
 5413, 5430, 5475, 5588, 5645, 5649, 
 5736, 5831, 5839, 5883, 5895, 5927, 
 5937, 5950, 5999, 6248, 6489, 6550, 
 6629-6653, 6877, 6879, 6929, 6938, 
 6999. 7144, 7391, 7577-7578, 8096, 
 8476, 8714, 8733, 8791, 8801, 8840, 
 8926, 8930, 8951, 9147, 9179, 9373, 
 9662, 10172-10173. 
 
 "Head," sign of the Zodiac: 823, 1044, 
 2100-2101, 2118-2119, 2191, 2645. 
 2649-2650, 3046, 4473, 8986. 
 
 Headache: 2645, 5385-5416, 5859-5861, 
 9142, 9203, 9315, 9327, 9333, 9945. 
 
 Headless apparition : 9700, 10376, 
 10536. 
 
 Headstrong : See stubborn. 
 
 Healer: 1833. 2611, 2623-2625, 4020- 
 4026. 4167, 4297-4299, 4403-4404, 
 4730, 4732-4733, 5020, 5047, 5059, 
 5239, 5490, 9282-9283, 9516, 9564- 
 9565, 9586, 9603, 9664_. 
 
 Healing : See folk-medicine. 
 
 Healing at a distance: 5490. See absent 
 treatment. 
 
 Health: 1337, 1518, 2326, 2766, 3307, 
 3389, 3406, 3902, o247, 7236, 7765. 
 
 Hearing: 2877, 4981, 4984-4985, 5012. 
 
 "Hearing bone,' from a hog^s head: 
 5315. 
 
 Hearse: 9446, 10300, 10302, 10315, 
 10317-10319. 
 
 Heart: bat, 1847, 8893-8900; chicken, 
 3860-3861, 6486-6487, 6821, 7776; 
 cow, 9507, 9588; human, 5158, 
 6825, 6885, 7007, 9212, 9433-9434, 
 9438-9439, 9587-9588, 9659, 9661, 
 
694 
 
 Index 
 
 10669, 10671; lamb, 2083; owl. 
 6916; rooster, (A88, 6734; turkey. 
 3879; wild duck. 6849. 
 
 "Heart," sign of the Zodiac : 993, 1068, 
 1196, 1198, 12<)3, 2095, 2116, 2122- 
 2124, 2188, 2192, 2645-2M6, 2651- 
 2652, 4628, 8961. 
 
 Heartbeat : 2377. 
 
 Heartburn : 2416. 
 
 Heart trouble: 2645. 5736-5740. 
 
 Heaven: 2716, 10256, 10340-10342. 
 10692-10693, 10695. 
 
 Heaves: 2207. 
 
 "Hedge ball :" See osage orange. 
 
 Heifer: 2154-2155. 
 
 Height, human: 2782, 2861, 2866, 3399, 
 4383, 4478-4479, 4488-4489, 7201, 
 7743, 7874. 10003. 
 
 Hell: 1507-1509, 6207, 7738, 8''>46, 
 10214, 10257. 10336, 10694. 
 
 Hell-fire: 7960-7961, 8497, 8500. 
 
 Hem. of dress: 3581, 3601-3602, 3605- 
 3606, 8048-8050, 8922, 10706. 
 
 Hemorrhage : 4626. 
 
 Hempseed: 9407. 
 
 Hempseed oil : 2514. 
 
 Hen : See crowing hen, chicken. 
 
 Henpecked : See ruling household. 
 
 Herring : 46M, 4820, 7832-7833. 
 
 Hiccough: 5417-5450, 6731. 
 
 HickorV (nut) : 1261, 2203, 4144, 4872. 
 
 Hill: 450, 1521, 1568-1570, 1598, 4043, 
 6208-6209, 6530, 6993, 10641-10642. 
 
 Hip : 8742. 
 
 Hives: 5741-5745. 
 
 Hobo: See tramp. 
 
 Hoe: 7451-7456, 9947-9948. 
 
 Hoeing: 998. 8503, 8509. 
 
 Hog: 295-308, 2086-2113, 2151. 2454- 
 2456, 2679, 4332, 4792, 4873, 4917, 
 4931-4932, 5301-5302, 5315, 5485, 
 5500, 5672, 5725-5726, 6326, 7334, 
 7848. 9084-9086, 9277-9278, 9308, 
 9949. 
 
 Hog face, child born with : 2455. 
 
 Hog's head, lucky bone from: 2679. 
 
 Hog teeth, necklace of : 2678. 
 
 Hog toes, child born with: 2454. 
 
 Hole: 808. 926, 1176, 1205-1206, 1294, 
 1342-1343. 1887-1889, 2054, 2221, 
 2410, 3261-3262, 3500-3501, 3546- 
 3548, 3625-3629, 3667, 3684, 3690, 
 4479, 4487, 4558, 5086, 5117, 6210- 
 6214, 7037-7038, 8277. 9150-9151. 
 9214, 9369, 9431, 9906. 9950. 
 
 Holidays and special days : See Ascen- 
 sion Day, Ash Wednesday, Christ- 
 mas, Dog Days, Easter, Ember 
 Days, Epiphany, Fourth of July, 
 Good Friday, Green Thursday, 
 (Maundy Thursday), Ground Hog 
 Day, Hallozveen, Hangman's Day, 
 Independence Day (Fourth of Ju- 
 
 ly), Indian Summer, Judgment 
 Day, Leap Year, Lent. Maundy 
 Thursday, May Day, Midsummer 
 Eve, Mother's Day, Nczu Year's 
 Day, Nigger's Day, Old Year 
 Night, Palm Sunday, St. Laurence 
 Day. St. Matthias Day, St. Pa- 
 trick's Day, St. Szinthin's Day, 
 Thanksgiving Day, Three Kings' 
 Day (Epiphanx), Whitsunday. 
 
 "Hollow horn:" 2181-2182. 
 
 "Hollow tail :" 2183. 
 
 Hollow tree: 9184. 
 
 Hollv : 6732. 
 
 Hollyhock: 4875, 6880, 9524. 
 
 Holy watery 5733, 9304, 9566-9567. 
 
 Homesick : 7707. 
 
 tlominev mortar : 9622. 
 
 Honev:' 2675-2600, 4370, 4416, 3418. 
 4435, 4494, 4770, 4784, 4790, 4874, 
 4879, 48fM. 
 
 Honor : 6048. 6189, 6205, 6307, 6412. 
 
 Honesty: 2565, 2572. 
 
 Hoodoo and witchcraft: 7390, 8874, 
 8819, 9060-9682. 
 
 Hoodoo bag, or hoodoo ball : 9160, 
 9162-9168, 9465. 
 
 Hoodoo paper : 1316. 
 
 Hoodoo woman: 9090, 9102-9107. 
 
 Hoop: 1818. 
 
 Hoop-snake: 1598. 
 
 "Hop-toad:" 2215, 4747. 
 
 Hops: 1297, 2638, 4480, 4544, 4579, 
 4662, 4836, 4933, 5285, 5398, 5457, 
 5611, 5634. 5811. 
 
 Horehound: 4522, 4874, 4906, 4934. 
 5121, 5635. 
 
 Hornet: 309-310, 2202. 
 
 Horns, child born with: 2430. 
 
 Horse: 311-318, 1620-1622. 1821, 1834- 
 1837, 2188-2228, 2231-2243, 2245- 
 2253, 2255-2267, 2269-2272, 2281, 
 2296, 2338-2339, 2406-2408. 2457, 
 4145-4149, 4414-4415, 4711, 4920, 
 5143, 5261, 5673, 6143, 6215-6223, 
 6531-6544, 6667, 6881-6882, 7044- 
 7054, 7813, 8281, 8677, 8851-8853, 
 8855, 9299-9307, 9551-9552, 9654, 
 9656, 9658, 9678, 9951-9954, 10291. 
 10314-10315. 10411-10415, 10455, 
 10527. 
 
 Horse-chestnut : See buckeye. 
 
 Horse collar : 2766. 
 
 Horsehair: 318, 1611, 1620-1622, 2206. 
 2457, 4147-4148, 6932-6933, 8460. 
 10684. 
 
 Horse halter: 5909. 
 
 Horsemint : 4559, 4876, 5612. 
 
 Horse-racing : 8835-8866. 
 
 Horse-radish: 4545, 4714, 4877, 5306, 
 5399, 5401, 5613, 7814, 7902. 
 
 Horseshoe: 1140, 1650-1651, 2273-2281, 
 2283-2294, 2296-2302, 2304-2305. 
 
Index 
 
 695 
 
 5879, 6545-6552, 7055, 7078, 7319, 
 9295, 9570-9572, 9654-9655, 10557; 
 of feathers, in bewitched pillow, 
 9327. 
 Horseshoe, nail : 2298-2303 ; ring, 5347. 
 Horseshoes, game: 8671. 
 
 "Horses' tails," clouds: 541. 
 
 Hospital: 917, 4296, 9979. 
 
 Hot cross-bun : 7768. 
 
 Hotel: 3671, 6225, 8652. 
 
 House: constructing, 7413-7420, 9555, 
 10191-10192; burning, 1587, 6375, 
 8106, 8346; in dreams, 5926-5927, 
 6226-6227, 6412, 6449; bride will 
 occupy, 7199-7200: protected 
 against lightning, 338 - 348, 626- 
 631 ; throwing objects over, 1742, 
 6628, 8170, 8180, 8328, 8579; in 
 wishes, 6553-6557. Also see enter- 
 ing and leaving, moving, and va- 
 rious parts of a house. For haunted 
 house see ghost. 
 
 Housekeeper: 7259, 8060-8061, 8080, 
 8120. 
 
 H'unchback : 8661. 
 
 Hundred: 5808, 6542, 6593, 6881-6882, 
 7049-7054, 7057, 7074, 7124, 8419. 
 
 Hundred and twenty : 498. 
 
 Hundred and fifty : 2252, 2254. 
 
 Hungrv guest: 7607, 7618, 7635, 7661, 
 7674, 7752, 7758-7760, 7767, 7811, 
 7812, 7858, 7959, 8011-8012. 
 
 Hunting : 465-466, 8945-8968. 
 
 Hydrophobia : See mad dog. 
 
 Hymn: 7901, 1013-10115. 
 
 Hysterics : 5451. Also see spasnt. 
 
 Ice: 252, 1123-1124, 5509, 5789. 
 
 Ice cream : 2458, 5618, 7802, 7815-7816. 
 
 Icing: 7942. 
 
 Idiot: 2331, 7175. 
 
 Illness : See sickness. 
 
 Imprisonment : 6374. Also see arrested. 
 
 Imitating: 1541. 
 
 Incantation: 1036, 1049, 1059, 1223- 
 1225, 1227-1229, 1241, 1357-1362, 
 1371, 1374-1376, 1397-1398, 2322, 
 2798, 3155-3158, 3280-3282, 3619, 
 3962, 4058, 4094, 4106, 4113, 4121, 
 4142, 4161, 4163-4165, 4225, 4242- 
 4243, 4453, 4624-4625, 4730-4731, 
 4810, 4960, 5083, 5085, 5092, 5101, 
 5117, 5129, 5151, 5933, 6616-6619, 
 6622, 6631, 6691, 6781, 6790, 6909, 
 6982, 7064-7067, 7118, 7705, 8607- 
 8610, 8656, 8760-8761, 8764, 8766, 
 9250, 9279, 9379, 9412, 9520, 9540, 
 9574-9577, 9667, 10670. Also see 
 God. 
 
 Increase of the moon : See light of the 
 moon. 
 
 Independence Day : See Fourth of 
 July. 
 
 Index finger: 1957. 4454, 5428, 6854, 
 
 7184. 7346, 8389, 8463. 
 Indian: 391-394, 4268, 6029, 9257. 
 "Indian giver :" 10613. 
 Indian summer : 599. 
 Indian turnip: 5348, 5614. 
 Indigestion: 5597, 5603-5607, 5613, 
 
 5615, 5617, 5620-5622. 
 Industrious : 2560. 
 Infant : See babv. 
 Inflammation: 4751-4757, 4767, 4797; 
 
 of the stomach, 5623. 
 Influenza: 4919-4920. 
 Ingrowing toe-nail : 5270. 
 Initials: 1380-1383. 6746, 6983, 6988, 
 6994, 7043, 7056, 7085. 7096, 7101, 
 7103, 7113-7115, 7126, 7128, 7133, 
 7150-7151,7193-7194, 8583, 9359. 
 Ink: 4610, 5510. 8629, 9412, 10621. 
 Insanity: 2876, 2987, 2995, 3116, 3398, 
 3495, 5746, 6077, 7708, 8164, 8259, 
 9118, 9138, 9151, 9155, 9367-9368, 
 9564, 10567. 
 Insect: 319-320, 910-911, 998-999, 1024- 
 1025, 1027-1033, 1136, 1198, 1200, 
 4502. 5005, 8111, 9607, 9749. See 
 various insects. 
 Inside out : 3538, 3540, 3579, 3589, 9021, 
 
 9599, 10624. 
 Insole: 5246. 
 Insult: 3591. 
 Insurance : 8546. 
 Intelligence: 2526, 2589, 2612, 2828, 
 
 2893, 2916, 3442. 
 Intermittent fever: 5162. 
 Intestines : 4457. 
 Intoxication : See drunkenness. 
 Investment : 5973. 
 Invisibility: 3182-3183, 9067-9088,9070- 
 
 9072, 9089, 9102, 9272, 9682. 
 Invitation: 3371, 3420-3421, 3825, 5972, 
 
 7507. 7821. 
 Iodine: 5295, 9169. 
 Iris : See lil\. 
 
 Iron: 344, 355, 357, 633, 805, 1139- 
 1140, 1176, 1185, 1187-1188, 1648, 
 1806, 2867, 3790, 4721, 5151, 7431. 
 Also see flatiron. 
 Iron hoop : 1818. 
 
 Ironing: 2732, 6884, 8048-8055, 9466. 
 Ii oning-board : 2772. 
 Iron weed: 4686, 5588. 
 Itch, disease: 4645-4654, 6230. 
 Itching: ankle, 3432; back, 3321; 
 corns, 146; crown of head, 2933; 
 ear, 3148-3151, 6850, 9912, 9914- 
 9915; eye, 3196-3197. 3199. 3203- 
 3204, 3207-3210, 3213-3220, 8844- 
 8845; elbow, 3315-3318; feet, 214- 
 215, 3447- 3459, 8846; hand, 3334- 
 3367, 8722; knee, 3423-3429; lips, 
 3019-3024; neck, 2895-2896; nose, 
 435, 3243-3275, 6705; shoulder. 
 
696 
 
 / udex 
 
 3322-3323; skin, 3431; stomacli, 
 
 342U-3421 ; thigh, 3422. 
 Ivorv : 7396. 
 Ivy:1279, 4823, 6885, 9322. Also see 
 
 poison ivy. 
 
 Jack o' lantern: 10622-10624. 
 
 Jack-rabbit ear: 1861. 
 
 Jamaica ginger: 4837. 
 
 January: 240-242, 324-326, 701-703, 
 
 705, 752, 3709, 7160. 
 January 1st: See New Year's Day. 
 Jai.'uary 6th : See Epiphany. 
 January 14th : 704. 
 January 21st: 2554. 
 Jaundice: 5747-5754. 
 Jawbone of tlie tree toad: 1589. 
 Jay : See blue jay. 
 Jealous: 919, 2561, 3015, 3193, 3564, 
 
 5998, 7271. 
 Jelly: 4843, 7903. 
 Jesus: 9686. Also see Christ. 
 Jesus' heart: 3696, 3697, 7761. 
 Jew: 3233, 7848. 
 
 Jewelry: 10324. Also see rings. 
 Jimson weed: 2199, 2209, 4150-4151, 
 
 4743, 4756, 4838, 5615, 5729. 
 Job's tears: 2681-2682, 5286. 
 Jockey: 8865. 
 "Johnnie Brown," doodle bug name: 
 
 1361. 
 Journey: 1412, 1496, 1756, 1873-1876, 
 
 2075, 3300, 3396, 3406, 3447-3454, 
 
 3475-3476, 3599, 3671, 6179, 7707, 
 
 8134, 8331, 8343-8364. 
 Joy : See pleasure. 
 Judas Iscariot : 1287. 
 Judge: 9195. 
 Judgment Day : 3702. 
 Jug: 1686. 
 
 July: 14, 1327, 2568-2569. 
 July 1st: 490. 
 July 4th: 1114, 1159. 
 July 6th: 1011, 1022. 
 July 15th: 496, 1008. 
 July 25th: 1115. 
 Jumping: 2067, 2871, 4292, 7325, 7361, 
 
 7390, 8391, 9171, 9707. 
 Ju'mping rope: See skipping rope. 
 June: 705, 1078, 1093, 1235, 1263, 1286, 
 
 1292, 1318, 1326, 1608, 1713-1715. 
 
 2564-2565, 7230-7232, 7235. 
 June 1st: 1261, 4282. 
 June 2nd: 1154. 
 June 3rd: 7233. 
 June 4th: 7233. 
 June 16th: 2566, 7234. 
 June 17th: 2566, 7234. 
 June 21st: 1010, 1024, 1262. 
 June 22nd: 1262. 
 June 23rd: 1262, 2567. 
 June-bug: 327. 
 Juniper: 4492, 4546, 4560, 4795, 4973, 
 
 5122, 5767. 
 
 Just: 2572. 
 
 Kale: 4665. 
 
 "Katty-cornered :" 8454. 
 
 Katydid: 328, 1372. 
 
 Kernel: 5755-5757. 
 
 Kerosene : See coal oil. 
 
 Kettle: 1531, 4453-4454, 5756. Also see 
 teakettle. 
 
 Key: 5511-5514, 6232, 7000, 7191, 9565. 
 
 Keyhole: 9249, 9573. 
 
 Kidnapping: 6041. 
 
 Kidney trouble: 2711, 4552-4572, 5310, 
 9078, 9153, 9263, 9555-9556, 9674. 
 Also see bed-zvetting, bladder 
 trouble. 
 
 Killing: 8, 166-167, 258, 3Z7, 570-577, 
 600-602, 606, 720-721, 1089, 1320, 
 1340, 1342-1344, 1355-1356, 1364, 
 1367, 1370, U72-U73, 1378, 1388, 
 1399-1400, 1413-1415, 1423-1424, 
 1434, 1439, 1456-1463, 1519, 1548, 
 1560, 1571, 1579, 1582-1588, 1593, 
 1602-1603, 1617, 1627-1633. 1640- 
 1641, 1748-1751, 1759, 1844, 1851- 
 1852, 1860, 1865-1869, 1872, 1883, 
 2005-2015, 2076-2077, 2100-2111, 
 2244, 2450, 2473, 2475, 4017, 4079- 
 4080, 4138, 4520-4521, 4530-4531, 
 4535, 4750, 4767, 5142, 5144, 5184, 
 5282-5283, 5291, 5327, 5376, 5456, 
 5468-5469. 6378-6379. 9728, 9787, 
 9842, 10000. Also see butchering, 
 murder. 
 
 Kinderhook bridge: 10413, 10455. 
 
 Kingfisher: 1527. 
 
 Kissing: 2783, 2806, 2807-2808. 2935, 
 3012, 3019-3022, 3257-3258. 3298, 
 3308-3309, 3602, 3645, 3672-3674, 
 4351, 4634, 4724, 6233-6234, 6325, 
 6491, 6510, 6543, 6627, 6648, 6653. 
 6684, 6687, 6822, 6842-6843, 6877, 
 6886-6888, 6906-6907, 6971, 7047, 
 7214, 7356-7358, 7404-7405, 7749, 
 8452, 8457, 8795, 8908, 9172-9173, 
 10608. 
 
 Kitchen: 6235, 6555, 8068, 8074-8076, 
 
 8202 
 Kitten: 1895, 1901, 2005-2006. 
 Knee: 2575, 3273, 3445, 35(M, 3956- 
 3957, 5195, 5201, 5217-5218, 5324, 
 5341, 5372, 8043. 
 "Knee," sign of Zodiac : 824-826, 1095, 
 1824, 2098. 2126. 2190, 2656, 3923- 
 3429. 3438, 4474. 
 Knife: 357, 1266, 1284, 2177, 2427, 
 2513, 4459, 4487, 4608, 4801-4803, 
 5151, 5431-5432, 5515, 5812, 5910- 
 5912, 6236-6237, 6668, 6889-6892, 
 6894, 6926, 7586-7587, 7590-7591, 
 7595-7600, 7602, 7609-7610, 7614- 
 7615, 7617-7651, 7911, 9753, 9280, 
 10551. 
 
Index 
 
 697 
 
 Knitting: 3709. 
 
 Knob: See door knob. 
 
 Knocking: 3139-3140, 6982, 8244; 
 
 mysterious, 7557, 9957-9972, 10241, 
 
 10447-10449. 
 "Knocking-spider :" 10141. 
 Knot: 3689, 4148, 4168, 4237-4242, 
 
 6704, 6719, 6730, 6736, 6755, 6968, 
 
 9484-9486, 9357. 10099, 10592. 
 Knot hole: 5086. 
 Kohl-rabi: 1035. 
 
 Lace wedding anniversary : 7396. 
 Lactation: 22>Z-\-2Zy:, , 2631-2670, 4406. 
 
 Ladder: 1996, 6238-6240, 6895-68%, 
 7457-7460. 
 
 "Lady with the branch," "Lady hold- 
 ing the flower," "Lady with the 
 flowers in her hand," sign of 
 Zodiac : See Virgin. 
 
 "Lady with the jug in her hand," sign 
 of Zodiac : See Waterman. 
 
 Lady-bug: U7:i-U76. 
 
 Lady slipper, plant : 5459. 
 
 Lamb: 364, 365, 2083, 4007, 7Z5i. 
 
 Lamp: 329, 1532, 2446, 6241, 6897-6898, 
 7731, 7033-7034, 7m-7A?,i, 9978, 
 9988-9982. 
 
 Lantern : 330, 8627. 
 
 Lap: 6931. 
 
 "Lap jacket:" 7326. 
 
 Lard: 2108, 2162, 2170, 2224, 2444, 
 2636, 2638, 3985, 4202, 4464, 4630, 
 4648-4650. 4762. 4771, 4804, 4878, 
 4924, 4935, 4993, 5269, 5282, 5488, 
 5557, 5559, 5563, 5566, 5568, 5575, 
 5672, 5697, 5707, 5744, 8477, 9250, 
 9625. 
 
 Last portion: 245, 6796, 6798, 6804, 
 6847, 7161, 7169, 7196, 7749, 7751, 
 7850. 
 
 Laughing: 934, 3076-3082, 3199-3201, 
 5976. 
 
 Lavender wedding clothes : 7270. 
 
 Law: 8625-8629, 9195. Also see ar- 
 rested, court, policeman, trial. 
 
 Lawsuit: 6161. 
 
 Lawyer: 2853, 7167, 7195. 
 
 Laxative : See bowel trouble. 
 
 Layette: 2393. 
 
 Lazy: 2541, 3391, 3677. 
 
 Lead: 5518, 5519, 6899, 7056, 7191, 
 7774. Also see bullet, shot. 
 
 Lead pencil : 10667. 
 
 Leap year: 6900, 9571. 
 
 Leather: 2206, 2868, 4372-4373, 7396. 
 
 Leaves of tree: 48, 148. 725-731, 734, 
 737-738, 804, 8501. Also see 
 various trees. 
 
 Leaving and entering a house: See 
 entering and leaving. 
 
 Left: arm, 1566, 2728, 3312, 3595, 3597, 
 5544, 8348, 10550 ; side of bed, 5799, 
 
 5800, 5864; side of black cat, bone 
 from, 1994; side of body, 2357, 
 2775, 3932, 5805-5806; breast, 
 1479; direction, 526, 1929, 3306, 
 7124. 8453, 9667, 10694; side of 
 dress, 6722; ear, 3147, 3149, 3151 
 3160, 3163, 3165, 3167, 3170, 3172, 
 3176, 3179, 6700. 9911; elbow, 
 3316-3317, 3319; side of envelope, 
 8450; eye, 3199, 3201, 3203, 3205- 
 3206, 3208, 3210, 3212, 3214, 3220, 
 3238, 8844, 9914; foot, 3451, 3453, 
 3456, 3534-3535, 3541, 4349, 5866- 
 5869, 6636, 7039, 7349, 8329. 8379- 
 8380; foot, race horse starting 
 with, 8863; garter, 3554; hand, 
 1724, 2005, 3335, 3338-3341, 3343- 
 3346, 3348-3349, 3353, 3356, 3358, 
 3368, 3783, 4399, 4817, 4977, 5320, 
 5539, 6967, 7096, 7727, 8669, 8890, 
 9041, 9064, 9359, 9361, 9457; knee, 
 3423. 3425-3426, 3957; leg, 3958, 
 8357; little finger, 2258, 5541; 
 sjde of neck, 5279; side of nose, 
 2357, 2775, 3932, 5805-5806 ; ovary, 
 2351; pocket, 8665; shoe, 865, 
 1535, 2003. 2042, 3483, 3518, 3520- 
 3521, 3524-3525, 3531-3534, 3552- 
 3553, 5311, 5408, 5932, 6824, 7011, 
 7015, 7316, 9359, 9398, 9413; shoe 
 string, 3559; shoulder, 1245, 1950, 
 2272, 2285, 2289-2290, 3074, 3223, 
 3322, 3325, 4047, 4000-4061, 4089- 
 4090, 4160, 4185, 4192, 4194, 4210, 
 5085, 5094, 5283, 5871, 6488, 6523, 
 6545, 6548, 6567-6578, 6594, 6629, 
 6662, 6746, 6988-6989, 7018. 7064- 
 7065, 7117, 7463, 7543, 7584, 7704, 
 7722, 7726, 7732, 7742, 8186, 8374, 
 83.S3. 8936, 9237, 10416, 10643- 
 10644; sock, 9477; stocking, 2729, 
 3531, 4952. 5311, 6679; thumb, 
 7190; side of tree, 8314. 
 
 Left-handed: 2620, 2728-2729, 2775, 
 3326. 
 
 Leg: 1606, 2456, 2459, 2464, 2902, 2904, 
 3429-3430, 3436-3438, 3446. 3868, 
 3958-3959, 4608, 4971, 5267-5269, 
 5271. 5340, 6559-6560, 6863, 7189, 
 8289, 8356-8357, 8838-8839, 9247, 
 9361, 9394, 9410, 9501, 9549, 9661, 
 %78; cramps in, 5193-5195. 5197, 
 5199, 5201, 5203, 5205-5222; swol- 
 len, 5198, 520€, 9548. 
 
 "Legs," sign of the Zodiac: 1006, 1050, 
 1069, 2101, 2653. 
 
 Lemon: 1167, 3915, 3986-3987, 4152, 
 4411, 4416. 4493-4494, 4749, 4833, 
 4858, 4879-4880, 4936, 5111, 5307, 
 5349-5351, 5433, 5616, 6733, 6998, 
 7804, 7818, 7854. 
 
 Lending : See borrowing. 
 
 Lent, season : 7246. 
 
698 
 
 / lid ex 
 
 Leo, sign of the Zodiac: 827-828, 2092, 
 2654, 8476. 
 
 Lesson : 5830. 
 
 Letter: 1432-1443. 1553, 2937, 3215- 
 3216, 3248-3251. 3288. 3294. 3302- 
 3304. 3307-3309. 3351-3352, 3407. 
 3546-3547. 3()09, 3767, 3770, 3788- 
 3789, 3823, 6089, 6183, 6220, 6221, 
 6242-6245, 6338, 6450, 6522. 6691, 
 6734, 6768-6/09, 7994, 8427-8459. 
 9176. 9381. For letters of the al- 
 pliabet see alphabet. 
 
 Lettuce: 1U36-1040, 5182, 9973. 
 
 Liar: 3016. Also sec lie. 
 
 Libra : See Scales. 
 
 Lice: bodv, 1157, 6246-6248, 9517; 
 chicken, 1653-1657; head, 1377, 
 2777-2778, 4326, 4439, 4503-4504; 
 plant, 923, 968, 1023; sheep, 4843, 
 5481. 5751-5752. 
 
 License plate of automobile : 7057. 
 
 Lickin?, with tongue: 4218-4219. 
 
 Licorice: 4874, 10626. 
 
 Lie, falsehood: 2881, 3025, 3(J85, 3120, 
 3122, 3137, 3393, 3417, 3626, 3628, 
 3685-3687, 3698, 5417, 6136, 7478, 
 10363. 
 
 Lie, posture : See lyin(;. 
 
 Life, change of: See menopause. 
 
 Life everlasting, plant: 4498-4499. 
 
 Life-line of palm: 3949, 9158. 
 
 Light: 6249, 8245. 8518, 8523, 9976, 
 9977, 9999; mysterious, 9983-9998, 
 10505, 10622-10624. Also see 
 candle, electric light, lamp, lantern. 
 
 Light of the mocjn : See inooti. 
 
 Light-fingered: 2748. Also see thief. 
 
 Light-haired: 2918-2920. 2924, 2927. 
 
 Lightning: 331-361, 538, 715, 1280, 
 1806. 1827, 1902-1904, 5636, 6250- 
 6251, 7195, 10257. 
 
 Lightning-bug : See firefly. 
 
 Lightning-rod : 338. 
 
 Lilac: 5580. 
 
 Lilies, oil of: 3913. 
 
 Lily, iris: 1322, 5713. 6252, 9175. 
 
 Lily of the valley: 5739. 
 
 Lima bean: 4051. 
 
 Limburger cheese : 7392. 
 
 Lime : 362, 5697, 7927. 
 
 Liniewater : 2401 , 453. 
 
 Lind(en) : 5123, 5698. 
 
 Linen: 792, 3975. 5413, 7195, 7396; 
 handkerchief, 1566; thread, 4248; 
 towel. 3871. 
 
 Linseed oil: 2514, 4418. 
 
 Lion, animal : 3M, 365, 6253-6254. 
 
 Lion, sign of the Zodiac: See Leo. 
 
 Lips: 2458, 3019-3024, 3935, 4780-4781, 
 5498. 5000. 5501-5502, 5524, 5516, 
 5528, 5530-5531, 5535, 6750, 9068. 
 
 Lipstick: 9173. 
 
 Liquor: 2824, 3241, 7794. Also see 
 
 alcohol, beer, blackberry cordial, 
 brandv, ii'hiskex, wine. 
 
 Little finger: 2258". 2813, 5424. 5539- 
 5.541, 5882, 6535, 6()07-6609. 6611, 
 6852. 6854, 7184, 8386, 8902. 
 
 Live-forever, plant: 1298, 4268, 4599, 
 4725, 4937. 5262. 5592. 5674, 6735. 
 
 Liver, meat: 2428, 4561. 
 
 Liver-grown : 2703-2705. 
 
 Lizard: 1592-1593, 9180, 9579-9580. 
 
 Lizard powder: 9166, 9177, 9178-9179, 
 9187, 9258, 9408, 9578, 9666. 
 
 Load: 1325, 6471, 6525-6529, 6537, 
 6541, 6633, 8674. 
 
 Loadstone : See lodestone. 
 
 Locket: 2988. 
 
 Lockjaw : 5257. 
 
 Locust, insect Cusuallv called grass- 
 hopper) : 1380-1383, 1168. See 
 cicada. 
 
 Locust, tree: 1230. 1280. 
 
 Lodestone: 1525, 9409, 10627-10629. 
 
 Lodge emblem or pin : 3852. 
 
 Loins: 2312. 
 
 Longevity: 2256. 2721, 2810, 2973, 
 3027, 3033, 3329, 6028, 7796, 10588. 
 
 Looking-glass : See mirror. 
 
 Lord, picture of the: 10045-10046. 
 
 Lord's prayer: 5838, 9193, 10678. 
 
 Losing articles: 2615, 3556, 3716, 3803, 
 6353, 6359-6360, 6362, 6364, 6759, 
 6760, 6764, 6766. 6926, 7219, 7301, 
 7375, 9388. 10570. 
 
 Losing and winniiig : See games, gam- 
 bling. 
 
 Loss : 6012, 6030, 6032, 6231, 6384. 
 
 Lost articles: 8463-8471, 10394-103%. 
 
 Louse : Sec lice. 
 
 L.cve and marriage: 3147, 3407, 3643, 
 3848, 4634, 6202, 6234, 6274, 6298, 
 6304, 6324, 6387. 6399, 6413, 6431, 
 6647-7412, 8438, 8454-8456, 8868- 
 8869, 9074, 9246, 9251, 9355-9503, 
 9512, 9819. 
 
 L,ove potions and powders : See 9355- 
 9503. 
 
 Love-vine: 6646, 6704, 6737. 
 
 "Lover's knot :" 6730. 
 
 "Lower part of the body," sign of the 
 Zodiac : 816. 
 
 Loyal : See faithful. 
 
 Luck : 690, 853. 858, 860. 262, 865, 867. 
 8()9-873. 890-891, 915. 920, 924, 
 948-949. 1003-1004, 1034, 1047- 
 1048, 1090, 1101-1102, 1146-1147, 
 1150-1151. 1166. 1180-1181, 1236, 
 1245, 1268-1270, 1272, 1276. 1278- 
 1279, 1282, 1288, 1290, 1298-1299, 
 1301, 1304-1305, 1307, 1311-1313, 
 1317, 1329, 1331-1334, 1339, 1345- 
 1346, 1350-1351, 1364, 1370, 1372, 
 1399-1400, 1405, 1452-1486, 1488, 
 1493, 1497-1498, 1500-1506, 1512- 
 
Index 
 
 699 
 
 1513, 1517-1519, 1522-1523, 1527- 
 1528, 1539-1541, 1548-1552, 1560. 
 1562-1563, 1568-1570, 1575, 1579, 
 1588-1590, 1630-lf>38, 1641, 1643, 
 1678, 1699, 1701, 1706-1707, 1739- 
 1745, 1748-1750, 1752-1755, 1757- 
 1763, 1765-1766, 1808, 1814, 1838- 
 1839, 1844-1845, 1860, 1862-1869, 
 1873-1877, 1879, 1887, 1889-1892, 
 1929-1932, 1935-1936, 1938-1945, 
 1947-1CH8, 1950-1959, 1962, 1964, 
 1967-1968, 1970, 1972, 1974-1977, 
 1979-19%, 2000-2005, 2007-2010, 
 2012-2013, 2015, 2043-2044, 2046- 
 2047, 2065-2067, 2069-2071, 2074- 
 2079, 2083-2085, 2112, 2113, 2186, 
 2239-2240, 2243-2246, 2250-2251, 
 2253-2255, 2257-2262, 2264, 2266- 
 2267, 2270, 2272-23{)5, 2391-2394, 
 2397, 2403, 2517, 2524-2525, 2533, 
 2539, 2542-2544, 2547, 2552-2553, 
 25o7, 2590, 2599-2600, 2613-2615, 
 2627-2628, 2630, 2714-2715, 2727, 
 2735, 2737, 2742, 2758-2759, 2769- 
 2770, 2772-2774, 2783-2784, 2786- 
 2789, 2792-2793, 2798, 2800, 2802, 
 2806-2807, 2811, 2813-2814, 2820- 
 2822, 2829-2931, 2838, 2880, 2883- 
 2884, 2905, 2909, 2930, 2933, 2970, 
 2977, 2979, 2984, 2988, 2991-2993, 
 2996, 29'99-3001, 3010-3013, 3035- 
 3036, 3046, 3067-3074, 3081-3084, 
 3086-3088, 3090, 3097-3098, 3108, 
 3111, 3113-3115, 3118-3119, 3124, 
 3134, 3136, 3139-3140, 3178, 3187, 
 3190, 3218-3223, 3225-3235, 3273- 
 3276, 3284, 3291-3292, 3295, 3320, 
 3324, 3330-3332, 3534-3355, 3368- 
 3370, 3372, 3374-3375, 3382, 3386, 
 3402-3405, 3408, 3412-3414, 3416, 
 3435-3437, 3459-3460, 3463, 3466, 
 34(j8-3469, , 3471-3476, 3481-3484, 
 3491-3492, 3495-3497, 3502-3503, 
 3505-3514, 3518-3523, 3525, 3527, 
 3529, 3531-3534, 3536-3539, 3541- 
 3544, 3548, 3550, 3552-3555, 3563, 
 3565-3567, 3569-3572, 3575-3586, 
 3592-3595, 3597, 3601-3602, 3608, 
 3612-3613, 3620-3624, 3638-3639, 
 3650, 3652, 3654-3665, 3668, 3671, 
 3676, 3680, 3682-3683, 3690-3691, 
 3693-3695, 3705, 3707-3711, 3713- 
 3714, 3717, 3723-3729, 3733-3734, 
 373(^3742, 3745-3750, 3752, 3755- 
 3760, 3765-3766, 3771, 3776-3778, 
 3782-3783, 3786-3787, 3790, 3806- 
 3808, 3810-3818, 3820-3822. 3826- 
 3829, 3832, 3834-3841, 3843, 3847, 
 3850-3852, 3931-3932, 3934, 4011, 
 4287, 4291-4293, 4303, 4613, 4621, 
 5505, 5799, 5803, 5800, 5801-5802, 
 5823, 5825, 5827, 5832, 5839-5851, 
 5854-5855, 5857-5858, 5863-5868, 
 
 5870-5871, 5875-5876. 5886, 5961- 
 5962, 5968, 5974-5976, 5986-5988, 
 5990, 5999, 6001, 6003, 6010-6011, 
 6016, 6019, 6023-6024, 6028, 6034. 
 6037, 6050, 6053, 6056-6057, 6065- 
 6067, 6075-6076, 6084, 6087, 6105, 
 6108, 6110, 6109-6110, 6112, 6121- 
 6122, 6124-6127, 6137-6139, 6143, 
 6147, 6152-6154, 6170-6172, 6185, 
 6189, 6192, 6198, 6203-6204, 6208, 
 6210, 6215-6216, 6218, 6244, 6249, 
 6252-6253, 6259-6262, 6277-6289, 
 6297-6298, 6313, 6321, 6327, 6339, 
 6347, 6349, 6355-6359, 6367, 6369- 
 6371, 6382, 6391, 6393-6394, 6400- 
 6401, 6411, 6413, 6421-6422, 6436- 
 6439, 6453, 6460, 6488. 6497, 6500, 
 6507, 6509, 6511, 6620, 6633, 6638, 
 6729, 6887, 6914, 6928, 7158, 7171- 
 7172, 7174, 7213, 7215, 7218, 7222, 
 7224-7225, 7228,7230, 7234-7236, 
 7239, 7242, 7247, 7249, 7252, 7282, 
 7287-7289, 7293, 7299, 7302-7303, 
 7306, 7308-7309, 7315, 7317, 7319- 
 7322, 7324, 7327, 7331-7333, 7337- 
 7340, 7342-7343, 7345, 7347-7348, 
 7350, 7352-7357, 7360-7362, 7368, 
 7375-7376, 7382, 7385-7387, 7389, 
 7395, 7400-7401, 7404, 7413, 7417- 
 7418, 7420, 7424-7429, 7431-7434, 
 7437-7441, 7443-7473, 7477, 7479- 
 7483, 7486-7488, 7492, 7494, 74%, 
 7498, 7500-7501, 7503-7506, 7508- 
 7510, 7513-7518, 7524-7537, 7540, 
 7542-7544, 7551-7552, 7556-7557, 
 7559-7560, 7562, 7565-7566, 7568- 
 7569, 7571-7573, 7575-7576, 7578, 
 7581-7583, 7586-7592, 7594, 7597, 
 7599-7602, 7608, 7610, 7613, 7640- 
 7645, 7648, 7651, 7664-7667, 7693- 
 7698, 7701-7702, 7709, 7711-7714, 
 7724-7728, 7730-7732, 7735, 7737, 
 7739, 7745, 7751. 7753. 7756. 7768- 
 7769, 7771, 7776-7778, 7780-7781, 
 7793, 7797, 7807-7809, 7819-7820, 
 7831, 7835, 7838, 7844, 7853-7857, 
 78^4, 7866, 7871, 7875, 7877-7878, 
 7881-7884, 7886-7887, 7898-7899, 
 7918, 7935, 7943-7944, 7992. 8013- 
 8017, 8023-8024. 8026, 8028-8030, 
 8032-8034, 8036-8038, 8041-8042, 
 8045, 8048, 8054-8055, 8058-8059, 
 8062, 8064-8065, 8074-8079. 8081, 
 8083, 8086-8090, 8093. 8098-8108, 
 8112-8119. 8121-8123. 8125-8126, 
 8138-8145. 8150-8151. 8153, 8157- 
 8159, 8162-8163, 8165-8166. 8168, 
 8170, 8173-8175, 8178-8181, 8183- 
 8188. 8191-8194, 8196, 8202, 8204. 
 8206, 8208-8209. 8215-8220. 8222- 
 8225. 8227-8231, 8233-8238, 8239- 
 8240, 8243-8249, 8251- 8253. 8261. 
 8266-8286. 8288, 8292-86%, 8298- 
 
700 
 
 Index 
 
 8.306. 8309-832J, 8325, 8328-8330, 
 8333-8342. 8352. 8354. 8356. 8358. 
 8360, 83()3-83^)^). 8370. 8373-8376, 
 8378-8381, 8383-8394. 8396-8397, 
 8399-84 W. 8412. 8415-8417. 8420- 
 8424. 8428. 8434, 843f)-8437, 8442- 
 8443. 844<)-8447. 8485, 8487. 8490. 
 8496. 8501-8503, 8512-8513. 8515. 
 8519-8520. 8522, 8526. 8535, 8542, 
 8548-8553. 8555-8559. 8561. 8563- 
 SS(>(K 8570-8575, 8577-8578, 8588. 
 S<:>13-8614. 8616. 8636. 8^)38-8<>39, 
 8643-8644. 8(A9. 8651-8655. 8657- 
 &>(>2, 86/4-8W>6. 86o7, 8671-8675, 
 8678, 8f)83-8684, 8686-8689, 8691- 
 8()92. 8705-8706. 8711-8713. 8716- 
 8719. 8721, 8724-8728, 8730, 8733- 
 8737, 8741-8743, 8759, 8778, 8786- 
 8789. 8791, 8794, 8796, 8799-8801, 
 8803-8807, 8838-8842, 8849, 8855. 
 8868-8870. 8873-8875. 8878-8881, 
 8883-8884. 8887-8895. 8897-8898, 
 8901-8902. 8904-8909. 8911, 8913- 
 8918, 8922-8924. 8926-8927, 8928- 
 8934. 8936-8940, 8942. 8945-8551, 
 8954, 8957, 8972, 8975-8976, 8980, 
 8984, 8986. 8995-8996, 8998, 9010- 
 9015. 9023, 9026, 9038, 9040-9041, 
 9045-9046, 9048, 9140, 9159, 9230, 
 9233, 9238-9239, 9241, 9458, 9528, 
 9592, 9634, 10225, 10230, 10235, 
 10243-10244, 10258, 10261-10262, 
 10271, 10277-10278, 10289-10290, 
 10292-10293, 10296, 10304. 10306, 
 10309, 10313-10314, 10324-10326, 
 10331-10332. 10338-10339, 10350, 
 10356, 10359-10362, 10369, 10569- 
 10570, 10573-10575, 10577-10578, 
 10581, 10583, 10586-10587. 10590, 
 10592, 10596-10599, 10602-10604, 
 10610-10613, 10615, 10617, 10620- 
 10621, 10623, 10627-10629, 10636- 
 10637, 10641-10645, 10647-10649, 
 10656, 10659, 10661-10662, 10665- 
 10667, 10670, 10672, 10678, 10681. 
 10685-10686, 10689-10691, 106>97, 
 10699-10701, 10706-10708, 10710. 
 
 "Lucky Strikes:" 8337. 
 
 Lumbago: See backache. 
 
 Lumber: 1260-1261, 1267, 6257-6258. 
 
 Luni? trouble: 5474-5477, 5479-5481, 
 5796. 
 
 "Lung," sign of the Zodiac : 4473. 
 
 Lungs, of hog: See milt. 
 
 Lye: 7438, 7989. 
 
 Lying, falsehood : See lie. 
 
 Lying, posture: 5420, 5736, 5803-5806. 
 Also see sleep. 
 
 "M," the letter: 3329, 6944, 7192. 
 
 Mackerel: 2201. 
 
 "Mackerel sky:" 549-550. 
 
 Madder: 4629. 
 
 Mad dog : 2027-2030, 4532-4540, 10293. 
 
 Madness: See insanity. 
 
 Madstone: 4537-4540. 
 
 Maggot: 1384. 
 
 Magnet: 2273. 
 
 Magnifying glass: 10633. 
 
 "Maid with the branch," sign of Zo- 
 diac : See Virgin. 
 
 Maiden name: 7395. 
 
 Malaria: 5155, 5166-5168. 
 
 Man in the moon : 8499-8500. Compare 
 10632-10633. 
 
 Man's hat: 1722, 2677, 6653. 
 
 Mantel: 1034, 7573, 9207. 
 
 Manure: 717, 801-802, 804, 4440. Also 
 see dung. 
 
 Maple: 729, 4783. 
 
 Marbles: 7920, 7921, 8468-8469. 
 
 March: 23, 64, 211-212, 364-365, 371, 
 595, 712, 792. 803, 1261, 2557-2559, 
 5045, 5390. 9943, 10109. 
 
 March 1st: 588. 
 
 March 15th: 843. 
 
 March 17th: See St. Patrick's Day. 
 
 March 21st: 1045. 
 
 March 26th: 1216. 
 
 March 27th: 1217, 1239. 
 
 March 28th : 1239. 
 
 March 29th: 1239. 
 
 March snow water: 2968, 3872, 3916, 
 5064-5065, 5191, 7991, 10688. 
 
 Mare: 2199, 2338, 2406; milk, 4417. 
 
 "Mare's tail." clouds : 548. 
 
 Market: 8535. 
 
 Marriage : See zccdding. 
 
 Marrow : of beef bone, 2633 ; of hog 
 jowl, 4931 ; of human bones, 7841. 
 
 Martin: 1528. 
 
 Mass : See requiem tnass. 
 
 Masturbation : 3440. 
 
 Match: 3988, 4155-4156, 4174, 4198, 
 4312, 5402, 6267, 6558, 6654, 6771, 
 6738-6741, 6902-6904, 8211, 8584- 
 8585, 8643-8645, 8647, 8794, 10001- 
 10002, 10355, 10558. 
 
 Mattress: 5810. 
 
 Maundy Tiiursdav : 907, 1385, 1655. 
 
 May: 240-241, 337, 371, 700-701, 703, 
 706-711. 792, 867, 927, 1009. 1092, 
 
 1152, 1198, 1202, 1218, 1261, 1325, 
 1629, 2081, 2562-2563, 2662, 3911, 
 3928. 3983, 7226. 
 
 May 1st, Mav Dav : 866. 1021, 1025, 
 
 1153, 1199-1201, 3864-3867, 3907- 
 3908, 3911, 4281. 4852-4853, 5248, 
 6915, 6980. 7113-7117. 7142, 7145- 
 7151, 7200. 7202, 9819, 9923, 10185. 
 
 May 2nd: 3866-3867. 
 
 May 3rd: 3866-3877. 
 
 May 6th : 709. 
 
 May 9th: 1203. 
 
 May 10th: 1204, 3666. 
 
 May 14th: 704, 7227. 
 
 May 21st, 22nd, 23rd: 889. 
 
Index 
 
 701 
 
 May 24th : 2080, 7229. 
 May 25th: 947, 1248, 2082, 7229. 
 May 27th: 2082, 7228. 
 May apple: 5352, 5656. 
 May flowers : 915. 
 Mayweed : 5794. 
 Meadow rue : 4646. 
 Meadowsweet : 4687. 
 Meal: 1427-1428, 3293, 6557, 8012, 
 8020, 8256. Also see breakfast, 
 eating. 
 Measles: 5143, 5150, 5157, 5170-5181. 
 Measuring: 2781-2782, 2880, 3799, 
 4383. 4478-4479, 4487-44«8, 5019, 
 9157-9158, 94«4-9485, 100O3. 
 
 Measuring - worm : 3549, 3617-3618, 
 3675. 
 
 Meat : 913, 1384, 1899, 2034, 2045, 2100- 
 2111, 2402, 4285, 4509, 4549, 4580, 
 5096, 6269-6271, 6853, 7904, 10004. 
 
 Medicine: See folk-medicine. 
 
 Meek: 2889. 
 
 Melon: 1194-1210, 1516, 3918, 4430, 
 4571, 4590. 
 
 Membranous croup : 4367. 
 
 Memory: 1567, 5828-5829, 8368. Also 
 see forgetting. 
 
 Mending: 3679, 3683-3684, 3686. 
 
 Menopause: 2348, 5104, 5111-5112, 
 5115, 5138. 
 
 Menstrual blood: 3963, 4157, 5103, 
 9182-9184, 9362-9363, 9365-9366, 
 9368-9372. 
 
 Menstruation: 909, 938, 1142, 2313, 
 2358-2359, 2989-2990, 5105-5108, 
 5114, 5116, 5118-5127, 5130-5131, 
 5134-5136, 7895, 7916, 7923-7924, 
 7929-7938, 7947, 7975. 
 
 Merchant: 7167. 
 
 Mercury: See quicksilver. 
 
 Meteor: See shooting star. 
 
 Mice: 366-367, 1853, 2462-2464, 4327- 
 4330, 4392, 6273, 9185, 10009, 
 10251. 
 
 Middle finger: 3835, 5320. 
 
 Midnight: 110-111, 122, 430, 1538, 1591, 
 1765, 1772, 1774-1775, 1828-1832, 
 1865, 2856, 4103, 4117, 4164, 4166, 
 4225, 4228, 6899, 7002, 7021, 7062, 
 7068, 7143. 7150, 7534, 7833-7834, 
 7837, 8040, 8233, 8623-8624, 9066- 
 9067, 9073, 9079. 9208, 9230, 9290, 
 9379, 9423, 9513, 9675, 9847-9848, 
 10017-10018, 10183, 10199, 10361. 
 
 Midsummer Eve : 7024, 9407. 
 
 Afidwife: 2407, 2504, 2706, 2709. 
 
 Mild: 2889. 
 
 Milk: cow, 360, 368-369, 950, 1355. 
 1395, 1567, 1582-1585, 1615-1619, 
 2138-2158, 2163, 2166, 2184, 2223, 
 2337, 2461, 2644. 2697, 4008, 4370, 
 4445, 4448, 4540, 4594, 4694, 4703, 
 4835, 4983, 4988, 5050, 5124-5125, 
 
 5476, 5479, 5570, 5670, 5687-5688, 
 5705, 5737, 6075-6076, 6274, 7176, 
 7803, 9186, 9279-9281, 9284, 9287- 
 9289, 9290-9293, 9308, 9380; goat, 
 5186, 5304; human. 2701, 4360, 
 5050, (also see lactation) ; mare, 
 4417; sow, 2087, 5726. Also see 
 buttermilk. 
 Milk bottle: 7528. 
 
 Milkmaid's Path: 370. 
 
 "Milk snake:" 1618. 
 
 Milkweed: 2156, 3924, 4158^4160, 4441, 
 4974. 
 
 Milky Wav : See Milkmaid's Path. 
 
 Mill: 451, 4977. 
 
 Milt, of hog: 305-308. 
 
 Mine, coal: 8516-8523. 
 
 Mineral: 359, 7874. 
 
 Minister : See preacher, priest. 
 
 Minnow: 1309, 2674, 2797. 
 
 Mint : 3943. Also see horsemint, pep- 
 permint. 
 
 Mirror: 1516, 1911-1912, 1997. 2031- 
 2032, 2065, 2396, 2683, 2829-2832, 
 2993, 3078, 3664, 4287-4288, 5051, 
 5053, 6275-6276, 6905. 6980, 6989, 
 7005-7006, 7058-7063, 7068-7069, 
 7116-7117. 7122, 7125. 7141-7142, 
 7144-7145, 7147, 7202, 7314, 7529- 
 7549, 9016, 9068. 9205-9206, 9432- 
 9434, 9436, 9532, 9819. 10005-10008, 
 10017-10018. 11211. 10243, 10245- 
 10250, 10377, 10648. 
 
 Miscarriage: 2336-2348, 5102, 6009. 
 Compare menstruation. 
 
 Misfortune: See luck, sorrozv, trouble. 
 
 "Mission medal," scapular : 8350. 
 
 Mist: 2,7\-Z72. Also see fog. 
 
 Mistletoe: 5126, 6906-6908. 
 
 Mocking: 3082-3083, 9187, 10673. 
 
 Modest: 2571. 
 
 Molasses: 4460, 4581. 4772. 9188. 
 
 Mole, animal: 2,7Z, 184«-1852. 2959. 
 
 iMole, disfiguration: 3930-3963. 3966. 
 
 Mole-paw : 2684-2688, 2764, 4270, 4338. 
 
 Mole powder : 9166. 
 
 "Mole-toe bag:" 9410. 
 
 Monday: 133, 389-390. 483-485, 625, 
 657. 662-6(>4, 669, 731, 1707-1708, 
 2534-2536, 3225. 3307-3310. 3406- 
 3411. 3466, 3699, 3701, 2>727, 3849, 
 6840, 72?>6-722,^, 8044, 8104, 8150, 
 8213-8225, 8358, 8359. 8431. 8484, 
 8494. 8504. 8540-8541, 8547, 8613- 
 8617. 9495, 9673, 10630, 10637. 
 10680. 
 
 Money: 868. 1313, 1561, 1572-1574, 
 1852. 1871-1872, 1878. 1973. 2113, 
 2760, 2812, 2846-2849, 2853-2854. 
 2936, 3009, 3062-3064. 3217, 3256, 
 3328, Z2,?>A-3ZA7. 3432, 3500, 3571, 
 3603, 3751, 3761-3762. 3785. 3792, 
 3936, 3940-3941, 3944, 3951-3953, 
 
702 
 
 Index 
 
 4220-4221, 4298. 5358, 5359, 5748, 
 6018, 6022. 6029-6032. 6040, 6131- 
 6132, 6150, 6159, 6167, 6197, 6228, 
 6230, 62'i3, 6277-6296, 6293, 6322, 
 6334, 6361, 6386, 6417, 6423, 6430, 
 6440, 6561-6562, 6631, 6797, 6979, 
 7316, 7345, 7365, 7367, 7514, 7591, 
 7784, 7786-7792, 7S23-7S2A, 7826- 
 7830, 7832-7834, 7836-7837, 8049, 
 8l):.8-8070, 8109-8110, 8441, 8461, 
 8470, 8548-8624, 8628, 90^7, 9112, 
 9244, 9261, 9272, 9582-9583, 9664, 
 10354. 
 
 "Muney spider:" 1445. 
 
 Monk: 9602. 
 
 Month: 122. 178, 209-210, 321, 223- 
 324, 382, 385, 3S7-3SS. 391-394, 401, 
 4U3-4U4, 406-408, 489-490. 587, 780- 
 781, 788, 833, 1081, 1083, 1596, 
 1712. 2383, 2550-2553, 2(.61, 5594, 
 7158-7159, 7527, 7814, 7842, 8163, 
 8364, 8642, 8979. 
 
 Moon: 194. 322, 376-425, 992, 1247, 
 2939, 4977, 5052, 5660, 5727, 5746, 
 5871, 5949, 6297-6299, 6562-6569, 
 7423, 8495, 8498-8500, 8505, 9322, 
 9862-9864, 10109, 10531-10635; 
 dark of the, 801, 803. 815-816, 838, 
 855-856, 877, 879-881, 888, 927, 
 9f)4, 1040, 1073-1075, 1078, 1112, 
 1127. 1144-1145, 1196, 1211, 1213, 
 1233, 1256-1257, 1283, 1291-1292, 
 1697-1698, 1715, 1800, 1825, 2094, 
 2106-2108. 2128, 2193, 2657-2658, 
 2947-2949, 3048, 3404, 3967-3968, 
 4033. 4162-4163, 4362, 4611, 7414- 
 7415, 7421, 7971-7972, 7983-7986, 
 8056, 8981; full, 382-383, 419, 
 819, 839-840, 906. 967, -985, 1055. 
 
 1125, 1132, 1165, 2109-2111, 2132- 
 2133, 2360, 2996, 3962, 4037, 4114, 
 4161. 4166, 4613, 7224. 7981-7982, 
 8159, 8983, 9230; light of the. 800, 
 802, 837, 854, 875-876, 878, 882, 
 902-905, 92S, 965. 98.^984, 991, 
 1039, 1054, 1076-1077. 1110, 1113, 
 
 1126, 1128, 1131, 1149, 1173, 1212, 
 1233, 1295, 1693-1695. 1715, 1799, 
 18f/). 2080, 2093, 2102-2105, 2129, 
 2131, 23ul-23()2, 2526, 2656, 2940- 
 2941, 2944, 3402. 4612, 7414-7415, 
 7421-7422, 7919, 7973, 7977, 7987- 
 7988, 8982; new, 389-390, 393-394, 
 840, 966, 997, 1258, 1696. 2130, 
 2194, 2758, 2942-2946, 3403. 3672- 
 3<,74, 4164-4165, 5932-5933, 5962, 
 6909, 70()4-7066, 7068, 7070-7071. 
 8586-8593, 10636-10^49 ; changiivi? 
 of tiie, 322, 384-388; halo round, 
 410-424; "no moon day," 856; Ixjy 
 and dog in the, 10632; man in the, 
 8499-8500; woman and dog in the, 
 10633. 
 
 Moonlight: 817, 1807, 2996, 3S74, 4167, 
 5831, 7069, 10026. 
 
 Moonstone. 3838. 
 
 Mop: 6570, 8041-8043. 8193. 
 
 Morning: 30, 78-79, 112. 114, 118, 122, 
 125, 155-156, 170, 179-184, 231- 
 243, 261, 322, 372, 384-385, 426. 
 442, 471-473, 500-501, 503-507, 542- 
 547, 634-638. 642. 673, 696, 783-784, 
 788, 804, 830, 928, 945, 957, 969- 
 970. 1079-1080, 1121, 1411, 1467- 
 1471, 1550, 1561, 1699, 1729-1731, 
 1762, 1776, 1778, 1782, 2129, 2157- 
 2158, 3077-3078, 3099-3102, 3141, 
 3226, 32S4-3285. 3541. 3753, 3792. 
 4216, 4218-4219. 4233. 4253, 4259, 
 4415, 4431, 4452, 5119, 5151, 7223, 
 8059-8060, 8215, 8217-8225. 8229- 
 8236, 8614, 8663, 9833, 10125-10130. 
 Also see breakfast, sunrise. Com- 
 pare sleep. 
 
 Morning sickness : 2363-2364. 
 
 Mortar: 9622. 
 
 Moses : See Seventh Book of Moses. 
 
 Mosquito: 1385-1389, 4506. 
 
 Moss: 736, 1281. 
 
 Moth: 1390-1395. 
 
 Moth-ball: 1026. 
 
 Mother: 2317, 2600, 2620, 3561-3562. 
 3606-3607, 6091, 6300, 7299, 7317, 
 7401, 8132, 8310, 10277, 10450. 
 
 Mother-in-law: 7384, 7391, 7869, 9164, 
 9190-9191, 9303. 
 
 Mother's Day, second Sunday in May : 
 10090. 
 
 Motion picture: 2314. 
 
 Mouse : See Mice. 
 
 Mouth: 2595, 2783, 2797. 2877, 2935, 
 3015-3018, 3090, 3259, 3644-3M5, 
 3683, 3687, 3707, 4299, 4351, 4394. 
 4403-4405, 4454, 4458-4459. 4782- 
 4786, 5498-5502. 5506, 5516. 5527- 
 5528, 5530-5531. 5535-5538. 5609, 
 5717, 6978. 7140, 7616, 7902. 7906- 
 7907, 7909-7910, 7913. 8739, 9095, 
 9542, 9549, 9557, 9672, 10004, 
 10124, 10322. 
 
 Moving: 427-428. 6051. 6301-6302, 
 6429, 6556, 6747. 7417, 8057, 8146- 
 8209, 9131, 10010. 
 
 Mud: 2205, 3106, 4510, 5423, 6303. Also 
 see clav. 
 
 Mud dauber: 2709, 49&4. 
 
 Mulatto: 6304. 
 
 Mulberry: 11()8. 
 
 Mule: 429-430, 2195, 2229-2230, 2244, 
 2254, 2268, 4149, 7052, 8553, 10606. 
 
 "Mule-ear," plant: 4490, 4666, 4«81, 
 5637. 
 
 Muleshoe: 2282, 2295. 
 
 "Mule-tail," plant: 4352, 4688, 4689, 
 5617. 5780. 
 
 Mullein: 4371, 4481, 4495, 4562, 4631, 
 
Index 
 
 703 
 
 4641, 4805, 4882, 4906, 4938, 5152, 
 5240. 5353, 5480, 5561-5563, 5581, 
 6742-6743. 
 
 Mumps: 5296-5302. 
 
 Murder : 63C5, 7268, 8931, 9176, 10174, 
 10279-10280, 10650. Also see blood- 
 stain, hoodoo and witchcraft, spi- 
 rits. 
 
 Muscle: 1388, 5194. 
 
 Mush, of corn meal : 4761. 
 
 Mushroom: 717-718, 886-887, 5536. 
 
 Mus-'c: 1624, 6149, 6202. 9018-9019, 
 10253, 10651; mysterious, 4293, 
 10011-10015, 10113-10115. 
 
 Musical instruments : See cornet, 
 French harp, guitar, harp, piano, 
 violin. Also see hell. 
 
 Muskmelon: 1197, 1209, 4430. 
 
 Muskrat: 431-433, 4482. 
 
 Mustache: 3024. 
 
 Mustard: 1041, 4396, 5127. 5179, 5198, 
 5416, 7818, 8194. 9269. 
 
 Mutton tallow: 4642, 5796. 
 
 Myrtle: 942, 6797. 
 
 Nail: 434, 805, 1003, 1130, 1185, 1253- 
 1254, 2223-2227, 2292. 2294, 2340- 
 2343, 2465, 3512, 3736, 3789-3790, 
 3794, 4383, 4478, 4488, 5250-5266, 
 5261, 5520-5521, 5724, 6519-6522, 
 6571, 7437, 7461-7465, 7896, 7905, 
 8597, 8708, 9192, 9210, 9221-9225, 
 9296, 9322, 9450-9451, 9536, 9572, 
 9586, 9587-9588, 9598, 9657, %60. 
 Also see horseshoe nail. 
 
 leaked: 2876, 6306-6312. 
 
 Name, naming: 122, 321, 1246, 1682- 
 1683, 2015, 2078, 2383, 2784-2789, 
 2821-2822, 3126-3127, 3131-3132, 
 3154, 3169, 3775, 3796-3797, 5880, 
 5888, 6556, 6692, 6714-6720, 6725, 
 6730, 6732, 6735, 6737, 6743-6749, 
 6751, 6754-6755, 6757, 6782, 6785, 
 6814, 6878, 6904. 6911-6913, 6984- 
 6987, 6990, 6995-6997, 7032, 7035, 
 7064, 7075-7076, 7079, 7086, 7104, 
 7130-7132, 7193-7194, 7371, 7395, 
 8365, 8466, 8474, 9193-9194, 9359- 
 9362, 9411-9413, 9426, %23, 9660, 
 10017, 10593, 10657. 
 
 Napkin: 5548, 7819-7821. 
 
 Nasturtium: 1027. 
 
 Navel: 2709, 2710, 2878, 4398, 4462, 
 4464, 4466, 4682, 5717. 
 
 Navel cord: 2321, 2409-2413, 2707- 
 2708. 
 
 "Nearer, My God, to Thee," hymn : 
 7901, 10114-10115. 
 
 Neck: 1864, 1866, 2434, 2474, 2482, 
 2745, 2764, 2895-2896, 3550, 3938- 
 3941, 4278-4280, 4330, 4356, 4364- 
 4365, 4372-4373, 4378-4380, 4384, 
 4422, 4475, 4792-4794, 4854, 4917- 
 
 4918, 5145, 5172, 5272-5273, 5284, 
 5286-5287, 5308-5309, 5315, 5412, 
 5434, 5478, 5503, 5509, 5512-5514, 
 5516, 5519, 5533, 5546, 5549-5551, 
 5638, 6660, 8564, 10089, 10596, 
 10629, 10665. 
 
 "Neck," sign of the Zodiac : 2102, 
 2678-2679, 2684, 2686-2689, 2690, 
 2693, 2697, 4264, 4270. 
 
 Necklace: 2671, 2678, 2681-2682, 2691, 
 42u6, 4269, 4330, 4338, 4356, 4372- 
 4373, 4378-4380, 4422, 4475, 5273, 
 5275-5276, 5491. 5493-5494, 5516. 
 
 Necktie: 7042, 7045-7046, 7073-7074, 
 7093, 8679, 9404, 9414. 
 
 Needle: 2878, 3037, 3687-3688, 3697, 
 3711-3724, 4168-4176, 5875, 7908, 
 8581, 9156, 9195, 9328-9329, 9359, 
 9361, 9417, 9434, 9439, 9454, 9466, 
 9499, 9507, 9523. 
 
 Negro: 1508, 1529, 2268, 2576, 2873- 
 2874, 2879, 2884, 3184, 4541-4542, 
 4987, 6304, 6313-6316, 7325, 7681, 
 7800. 8220-8223, 8236, 8296, 8661, 
 8771, 8840, 9051, 10019-10020, 
 lu555, 10585, 10605-10608, 10654. 
 
 >jerves and nervous trouble: 5452- 
 5461. 
 
 Nervousness: 2528, 2858, 3397, 5808- 
 5810. 
 
 Nest, of bird: 1559, 1563, 2975-2978, 
 2980-2981. 
 
 Nettle: 891. 
 
 Neuralgia: 5305-5312. 
 
 Neuritis: 5313-5315. 
 
 New Year's Eve and Day : 321, 323, 
 497, 781-788, 847-849, 1004, 1084, 
 1123, 1718, 1831-1832, 2027, 2305, 
 3621, 3710, 3815, 3896, 3898, 6572, 
 6797, 6899, 7063, 7154, 7180, 7822- 
 7838, 8024, 8038. 8040, 8107-8110. 
 8146. 8229-8238, 8618-8624, 9668, 
 10017-10020, 10182-10183, 10369, 
 10587, 10602, 10653-10655, 10658- 
 10663. 
 
 News: 1368, 1429-1432, 1499, 1542, 
 1767-1772, 3131, 3174-3176, 3213- 
 3214, 3252-3255, 3289, 3315-3316. 
 3350. 3406, 3423-3424, 3426, 3712, 
 6038-6039, 6080, 6088, 6158, 6180, 
 6225, 6242, 6335, 6385, f)440, 7512, 
 8439-8440, 8445. 
 
 "News fly:" 1368. 
 
 Newspaper: 3991, 5763. 
 
 Nickel, coin: 2849,^3061. 5522, 8614. 
 
 "Negro-toe rock:"' 7890. 
 
 "Nigger's Dav :" 7244. 
 
 Night: 102-112, 122. 185-187, 331, 334, 
 387, 510-512, 545-547, 1410. 1463- 
 1466, 1531-1542, 1702, 1734, 1743- 
 1744, 1764, 1766, 1772, 1812, 1846, 
 1976-1977, 1984, 2039-2042. 2069- 
 2074, 2993, 2997-2999, 3267, 3896, 
 
704 
 
 Index 
 
 4589, 4856, 6393. 6769, 6832, 6982, 
 6991-6993. 7021-7024, 7188, 7937- 
 7938, 8033, 8047, 8a')6-8075, 8077- 
 8078, 8291, 9791-9795, 9845-9864, 
 9893. 9931, 9939. 10035-10030, 
 10076, 10149, 10199. 10360. Also 
 see evening, viidniqht. 
 
 Night clothes: 1025, 1200. 
 
 Nightgown: 3589, 3664, 7072. 
 
 Nightmare: 5812, 5906-5917. 
 
 Nightshade: 5582, 5593. 
 
 Night sweat: 5893-5905, 9196. 
 
 Nine: 1894, 1914, 1941, 1949, 2010, 
 2336, 2340-2343, 2499, 2501, 2670, 
 3704, 3979, 3996, 4054, 4099, 4142, 
 4148, 4174. 4216, 4452, 4464, 4536, 
 4730, 4977, 5068, 5092, 5095, 5211, 
 5274, 5367, 5422, 5447-5448, 5484, 
 5625, 5682, 5704, 5904, 5934, 6910, 
 6918, 7005, 7039, 7071, 7082-7083, 
 7121-7122, 7195, 7840, 8374, 8404- 
 8405, 8407, 8444, 8462. 9277, 9366- 
 9367, 9380, 9448. 9462, 9484, 9486, 
 9491, 9495, 9499, 9581, 10528. 
 
 Ninety-nine : 4149, 7050, 7074. 
 
 Nitre: 3961. 
 
 Noise: 629, 7195, 8506, 8520, 9921, 
 10021-10022. 10184, 10193, 10196, 
 10242, 10664. 
 
 Noon: 113, 255, 508, 695, 832, 971, 
 1429, 1700, 1767, 2338, 3539, 3578, 
 7147, 8061, 9819. 
 
 North: 32, 276, 304, 332-334, 554-555, 
 622. 679, 757, 769, 776, 787, 791, 
 841, 943. 951-952, 1250, 1252, 1254, 
 1281, 1526, 1705, 3988, 4272, 4412, 
 5173, 5850, 5852-5854, 8987, 9064. 
 10054, 10598. 
 
 Northeast: 621, 777. 
 
 Northwest: 404, 679, 788. 
 
 Nose: 435. 2466-2467, 2479. 2596- 
 2597, 2936, 3240-3276, 3700-3701. 
 3706, 4048, 4271, 4393, 4425, 4493- 
 4494. 5038-5039, 5041-5CH2, 6705, 
 6886. 7956, 8826. Also see nose- 
 bleed, sneeslng. 
 
 Nosebleed: 5490-5553, 6655. 
 
 Notch: 1163, 4135. 4144, 4155, 4189- 
 4191, 4226-4227. 4240. 5151. 
 
 November: 698. 946, 1231, 1267. 
 
 Nudity : See naked. 
 
 Numbers : See eighteen, eleven, fifteen, 
 I>fty> fi'^^'C. forty, four, four hun- 
 dred, foiirtcm, hundred, hundred 
 and tn'cnty, hundred and fifty, 
 nine, ninety-nine, seven, seventeen, 
 six, sixteen, sixty-tzvo, ten, thir- 
 teen, thirty, three, tzvelve, tzventy, 
 tii.'enty-one, tiventy-four, tiuo. 
 
 Nursing : See lactation. 
 
 Nutmeg: 2173. 2689. 4582. 4690, 4703, 
 5106, 5308-5309. 5354, 5434. 5489, 
 5523, 5638, 6318, 7195. 10665. 
 
 Nuts: 436-437, 608-612, 1243-1244, 
 6317, 6466, 6979, 7077. Also see 
 almond, chestnut, cocoanut, hacel- 
 nul, hickory nut, peanut, ivalnut. 
 
 Nutshell: 4280. 
 
 Oak: 730, 1219, 1280, 1282, 2219, 
 3920. 4240, 4272, 4331, 4488, 4583, 
 4591, 4691, 4780, 4839. 4911. 4939- 
 
 4940, 5016, 5128, 5241, 5355, 5564- 
 5565, 5639, 5768, 5781, 5897, 6914, 
 9210, 9275. 
 
 Oatmeal: 3875, 4676. 
 Oats: 935, 1206, 1239-1240, 1249. 
 Obesity : See fat person, weight. 
 Occupation: 2780, 2850-2854, 7167, 
 
 7191, 7195, 7202 
 October: 92. 734. 946, 7160, 7235. 
 October 1st: 1267. 
 October 15th: 846. 
 Odd number: 1679, 7345, 7362, 7394, 
 
 8842, 9049. 
 Odd shoes: 3527-3528. 
 Odor: 229, 917, %1, 963, 1613-1614, 
 
 4442, 7773, 7894, 7976. Also see 
 
 stn^Uing. 
 Oil, bayberry: 4719. 
 Oil. castor : See castor oil. 
 Oil of cedar: 5769. 
 Oil. coal : See coal oil. 
 Oil, cod-liver : 7411. 
 Oil, hempseed: 2514. 
 Oil of juniper: 4795. 
 Oil of lilies: 3913. 
 Oil, linseed: 2514, 4418. 
 Oil of mustard: 9269. 
 Oil, olive: 7839-7840. 
 Oil origanum : 5356. 
 Oil of sassafras : 4503. 
 Oil, sperm : 4719. 
 Oil, sweet : See siveet oil. 
 Oil of turpentine : 4795. 
 Old : man, 5003 ; maid, 6324, (also see 
 
 love and marriage) ; person. 3258, 
 
 5833-5834: woman, 473, 579-580, 
 
 1797, 6137. 
 "Old man plant :" 7078. 
 Old Year Night: 7056. 
 Olive: 7839-7840. 
 
 Olive oil: 2498, 4301, 4353, 4646, 5586. 
 One-leafed clover : 6699. 
 Onion: 122 321, 439-441, 1042-1047, 
 
 1061-1062 1610, 2504, 3990, 4177- 
 
 4182, 4273-4275, 4374-4376, 4393, 
 
 4442, 4512, 4738, 4883-4888, 4919, 
 
 4941, 4989, 5129, 5153-5155, 5188, 
 5228, 5269, 5486, 5577, 5583, 5782, 
 5813-5814, 6319-6320, 6573, 6670, 
 6744, 7079, 7841, 7906-7915, 8028- 
 8029, 8594-8596, 9589. 10035. 
 
 Opal: 3839-3842 
 
 "Open leg:" 5268. 
 
 Operation, surgical : 4468-4474. 
 
Index 
 
 705 
 
 Qpossum: 2210, 8955. 
 
 Orange: 1169, 4353, 4563, 5054, 6321, 
 
 7080. 9255, 9449; blossoms, 7298; 
 
 color, 9590. 
 Orchard: 6322. 
 Orchid: 6656. 
 Orris root: 2690. 
 Osage orange: 1283, 4183-4184. 
 Our Father : See Lord's Pra\cr. 
 Ovary: 2350-2351, 5110. 
 Oven: 7956-7959, 9737. 
 Overcoat: 10083. 
 Owl: 442-450, 1529-1542. 3183, 6916, 
 
 8974, 10024-10030. 
 Ox gall : 4745. 
 Oyster: 5055, 7842; shell, 1313. 
 
 'P," the letter: 1382-1383. 
 
 Pacifier, baby's: 2311. 
 
 Pain: 42-44, 145, 147, 213, 528, 3269, 
 3973, 4353, 4469-4471, 4482, 4628. 
 4748, 4759, 4758-4763, 4790, 5043, 
 5233, 5298-5299, 5306, 6354, 8025. 
 
 Pallbearer: 10275. 
 
 Palm of hand : 1399, 1434, 3329, 5120, 
 7188, 7192, 8463, 8464. 8924. 
 
 Palm: blessed, 339, 631, 4277, 10204; 
 plant, 83C4. 
 
 Palm Sunday: 339, 492, 631, 10204. 
 
 ^almistrv: 9059. 
 
 :»an: 1324, 5744, 6671, 7550; of water, 
 4722, 4847, 4903, 5847, 5889, 5892, 
 5903-5904, 6754, 6876, 6979, 7020, 
 7131, 7133, 7138, 7191. Compare 
 basin of -water, bowl: of water, 
 bucket : of ivater, glass : of UHJier, 
 tub : of water. 
 
 ['ancake: 2639, 9493. 
 
 ^ancreas of hog: See milt. 
 
 ^ansv: 943-945. 
 
 :^ants: 556. 3261, 3262, 3490, 3609, 
 3625, 5606, 5836, 6917, 8940-8941, 
 9120, 9202, 9415, 9461-9462. 
 
 ^'aper: 851, 921, 1907, 3991, 4039. 
 4172, 4185, 4263, 4376, 4476, 1479. 
 1483, 4549, 4806, 4814, 5096, 5403. 
 5502. 5524-5526, 5528-5529, 5531. 
 5760. 5763. 5765, 6745, 6754, 6770, 
 7075-7076, 7083, 7113, 7130-7133, 
 7371, 7396, 7648, 8348, 8502. 8598, 
 9033. 9159, 9194, 9359, 9361. 9411, 
 9503. 9547, 9573, 9594, 10036, 
 10666. 
 
 ■'aper mill at Quincy : 451. 
 
 ^aralytic stroke : 5758. 
 
 ^arrot: 452, 1543-1544. 
 
 :^arslev: 1048, 2640, 4564. 5130. 
 
 ^aisnip: 1049-1051, 4807. 
 
 Cartridge : See quail. 
 
 'arturition : 2502-2525. 
 
 'arty: 3371, 3420-3421. 3825. 5972. 
 6913, 7394, 8209, 8935. 8941, 8943. 
 9262. 
 
 'assenger train: 10158. 
 
 Passing : through horse collar in cure 
 rite, 2766; under arches of black- 
 berry vine in cure rite, 4340; 
 around table leg in cure rite, 4357; 
 throug-h fork of tree in cure rite. 
 4362. Also see handing. 
 
 Pastry: 7965. 
 
 Path crossed: 569. 1504. 1552-1553, 
 1637, 1754-1755, 1873-1879, 1892, 
 1930-1972, 2066, 5140, 6025, 6581, 
 6689-6690, 7334, 9011, 9761, 9762- 
 9766. 
 
 Paying: 3310, 3345, 3346. 
 
 Pea: 1052-1056, 4186, 6918. 7081-7083, 
 7778, 7808, 7835. Also see szvect 
 Pea. 
 
 Peace: 1382-1383, 1410. 
 
 Peach: 988, 1007, 1107, 1170-1177, 
 1179, 2344, 2468-2469, 2960-2961, 
 3262, 4187, 4191, 4419, 4483, 4524. 
 4565-4566, 4596, 4667, 4677, 4692, 
 4726, 4737, 4746, 4784, 5357, 5566- 
 5567, 5699, 5790, 6746, 7084. 8471, 
 10037-10038. 
 
 Peach fork, stick: 10704. 
 
 Peacock: 453-455, 1812-1813, 10039- 
 10041. 
 
 Peanut: 1180-1184, 6323, 8803. 
 
 Peanut butter 5744. 
 
 Pear tree: 1185-1186, 2470, 10042. 
 
 Pearl: 3843-3846, 3849, 6772, 7296- 
 7297; button, 3820-3821, 3987; 
 wedding anniversary, 7396 ; wed- 
 ding clothes, 7271. 
 
 Pebble: 3133, 4192-4194, 9020, 10706. 
 
 Peewee: 456, 1545, 10031-10034. 
 
 Pencil: 10667. 
 
 Penis: 2860-2863, 3242. 3443-3444. 
 9484-9485. 
 
 Penknife: 1266. 
 
 Penny: 1962, 2113, 2849, 2944, 3065. 
 4221-4222, 5358-5359, 7514, 7591. 
 8555-8557, 8561-8562. 8567. 8613, 
 8615, 8623, 8800-8801, 9123, 9591. 
 
 Pennyroyal: 1001, 1341, 1393, 1837, 
 3992, 4868, 4889, 5131. 
 
 Peony: 946, 5730. 
 
 Pepper: 1671, 2182-2183, 2196, 2217. 
 3483-3484, 3487, 4405, 4574, 4584, 
 4670, 4685, 4899, 4913, 4944. 4990- 
 4993. 5147, 5415, 5618. 5624, 5640, 
 6603, 6748, 7739-7742, 8204, 9164- 
 9165, 9200, 9202, 9220, 9226, 9235 
 9238-9239, 9241, 9243, 9247, 9321, 
 9405, 9459-9460, 9465, 9482, 9595- 
 9596, 9624, 9627, 9632, 9635. See 
 also red pepper. 
 
 Pepper, plant: 1057-1058, 9417. 
 
 Pepper-lx)x: 7739-7740. 
 
 Peppergrass : 4693. 
 
 Peppernnnt: 1853. 4513, 4890, 5156, 
 5361. 5435, 5458. 5815. 9449. 
 
 Perch, fish: 1312, 9037. 
 
706 
 
 Index 
 
 Peritonitis: 4711. 
 
 "Permanent wave:" 2989. 
 
 Peroxide: 2962. 
 
 Persian onion : 5129. 
 
 Persimmon: 12S4-1285, 4402, 4942, 
 6574. 
 
 Personalit>' : 1566. 
 
 Perspiration : See s^vcat. 
 
 Petticoat: 3590, 3607, 6924-6925. 
 
 Petunia: 957. 
 
 Phantom coffin: 9819-9826. 
 
 Phantom funeral: 9927-9928. 
 
 Phantom wagon, funeral : 10177. 
 
 Phoebe, peewee : 457. 
 
 Photograph: 7212, 9153, 9203-9209, 
 9211-9215, 9419-9446, 10261-10262. 
 Also see picture, portrait. 
 
 Pianist: 2581. 
 
 Piano: 9437, 9771, 10043-10044, 10251. 
 
 Pick, tool: 8522. 
 
 Picking: at curtains, 10200; at sheets, 
 10201. 
 
 Pickle: 5620, 5762, 6324-6325, 6657, 
 7916-7917. 
 
 Picture: 1394, 2397, 2791-2792, 7551- 
 7558, 9209-9215, 9275, 9426, 9446, 
 9587, 9598, 9657, 9659-9662, 9731, 
 10045-10061, 10253-10254. Also see 
 photograph, portrait. 
 
 "Picture show :" See motion picture. 
 
 Pie: 5945, 6575, 6919, 7196, 7844. 
 
 Pig : See hog. 
 
 Pigeon: 458-459, 1814-1815, 6327-6329, 
 6920-6922, 72,77, 9360, 10062-10069, 
 10203. 
 
 "Pigeon-toed dice:" 8769. 
 
 Piles: 5554-5575. 
 
 Pillow: 342, 2037, 2305. 3060, 3062, 
 3069, 4480, 4498, 5204, 5457, 5460, 
 5641, 5807, 5811-5812, 5817, 5833, 
 5835, 5907, 5910-5914, 5929, 5932, 
 5934, 5938, 5941, 6733, 6761, 6807, 
 6991, 7000, 7003, 7058-7059, 7062, 
 7071, 7075-7076, 7094, 7105, 7109, 
 7122, 7368, 7371, 7392, 7398, 7559- 
 7560, 9309-9354, 9447, 9470-9471, 
 9504-9505, 9646-9647, 9663, 10551, 
 10557. 
 
 Pillow slip: 3710. 
 
 Pimple: 3025, 3926-3929. 
 
 Pin: 689, 2878, 3036-3037, 3687, 3738- 
 3785, 4092, 4195-4201, 6576-6579, 
 6672, 6773, 6923-6924, 6925, 7002, 
 7085, 7902, 7909, 8719, 9010, 9330, 
 9433, 9435, 9438, 9490, 9448, 9677, 
 10212, 10702. 
 
 Pinching: 3620, 6469-6470, 8283-8285. 
 
 Pincushion : 3785. 
 
 Pine : board, 9391 ; needles, 4891, 5460; 
 pitch, 4567; resin plaster, 4715; 
 tree, 10070. 
 
 Pineapple: 4943, 7845. 
 
 Pink: cloud, 129; string, 2813; wed- 
 ding clothes, 7270-7271. 
 
 Pink eye, disease : 5057. 
 
 Pinochle: 8872. 
 
 Pipe: tobacco, 460-461, 2014, 4481, 
 4483, 4492, 5312, 8647, 8648; 
 water, 753. 
 
 Pipestem: 5001, 5003. 
 
 Pisces, sign of Zodiac : See "fish," 
 Fishes. 
 
 Pitch : See pine : pitch. 
 
 Pitcher, tableware: 754, 3072, 7574, 
 9215. 
 
 Pitchfork: 8510, 10709. 
 
 Placenta : See afterbirth. 
 
 Plantain: 1002, 1028, 4333, 4511, 4525, 
 4569-4570, 4600, 4668, 4694, 4727, 
 4773. 5026, 5200. 5700. 
 
 Planting: 800-824, 826-835, 844, 854- 
 857, 874-875, 892-909, 926-928, 935, 
 943-947, 950-959, 964-967, 969-997, 
 1006-1022, 1024-1027, 1029, 1031, 
 1033, 1035-1046, 1048-1050, 1052- 
 1087, 1091-1098, 1100-1104, IHX>- 
 1121, 1125-1127, 1156, 1174, 1176, 
 1178, 1186, 1192-1206, 1211-1229, 
 1232, 1239-1241, 1246-1252, 1274- 
 1275, 1277, 1282, 1289, 1295-1296, 
 1301, 6178, 9772-9774, 9829-9830, 
 10035. 10070, 10092, 10166. 
 
 "Planting hand:" 808. 
 
 Plaster of Paris: 7565. 
 
 Plate : See dish. 
 
 Playing cards : 6018, 6464, 6807, 8867- 
 8944, 8976-8834, 9052-9053, 9054- 
 9055, 9759. 
 
 Pleasant: 3207. 
 
 Pleased: 32{]2-3203, 3207. 
 
 Pleasure: 112, 510-512, 545-547, 1466, 
 1878, 3452, 6079, 6183, 6187, 6193, 
 6196, 6231, 6307, 6337, 8291. 
 
 Plenty: 1005, 1383. 
 
 Pleurisy : 5474. 
 
 Plow: 7202, 8504, 8511-8515. 
 
 Plum: 1187-1191, 6330. Also see zifild 
 plum. 
 
 Plum preserves : 5436. 
 
 Pneumonia: 5478, 5482-5489. 
 
 Pocket: 1047, 1090, 1341, 1565, 1590, 
 1643, 1861, 1869-1870, 2225, 2302, 
 4273, 4568, 4635-4638, 4640-4641, 
 5099, 5219, 5253, 5255, 5321, 5333, 
 5348, 5354, 5358, 5369-5370, 5385, 
 5404, 5555-5556, 5778. 6612, 6625, 
 6637, 6928, 6998, 7080, 7318-7319, 
 7464, 7707, 7834, 8569, 8572, 8587, 
 8608. 8618, 8665, 8678, 8728, 8805, 
 8898, 8904, 8921, 8944, 9021, 9132, 
 9142, 9375, 9377, 9383. 9397, 9415, 
 9461, 9487, 9511, 9527-9528, 9591, 
 9599, 10624, 10700. 
 
 Pocketbook: 1313, 1450-1451, 1480- 
 1481, 1573-1574, 1635, 1871-1872, 
 
Index 
 
 707 
 
 6682, 8559-8560, 8562, 8574, 8591- 
 8593 9540. 
 
 Pocketknife: '357, 1266, 5271, 5911- 
 5912, 6926, 7586, 7596, 7598-7600. 
 
 Poem: 5829. 
 
 Pointing with finger: 2810, 3385, 3386, 
 4019, 5048. 
 
 Poison: 886-887, 917, 961, 1051, 1167, 
 1271, 1286, 1406, 1592, 1595, 4542, 
 5103, 5578-5584, 5793, 7848, 7876, 
 9542, 10609, 10687. 
 
 Poison iv>' : 5585-5596. 
 
 Poison oak: 2219. 
 
 Poke (berry) : 1286, 2165, 2641, 4202- 
 4203, 4585, 4647, 5025, 5362-5367, 
 5731. 
 
 Poker, card game: 8776-8834. 
 
 Poker, implement: 7561, 7966, 9298, 
 9600. 
 
 Polecat : See skunk. 
 
 Policeman: 1182, 6222, 6331, 7626, 
 7629, 8803, 9634, 9195, 10668. 
 
 Poltergeist: 10465-10466, 10468, 10489- 
 10503, 10551. 
 
 Pond: 462, 1585, 2205, 9017. 
 
 Pond lily: 5713. 
 
 Poor: 2325, 2569, 3530, 3681, 6323, 
 6360, 7030-7031, 7037, 7162, 7182, 
 7200, 7237, 8031, 8092, 8124, 8620. 
 Also see poverty. 
 
 Pop corn: 4318, 4892, 7086. 
 
 Poplar: 6927. 
 
 Poppy: 5816. 
 
 Porch: 1402, 1779-1780, 1795, 5373, 
 7455, 7466, 8077, 9159, 9265, 9268, 
 9853, 9897. 
 
 Pork : 21 00-21 1 1 , 3926.4944- 4^46, 5761 . 
 7778, 7830, 7834-7835, 7848, 9037. 
 Also see bacon, ham, lard. 
 
 Portrait: 7554, 7556. Also see photo- 
 graph, picture. 
 
 Possession, mental disease: 9602. Own- 
 pare 9565. 
 
 Post: 6767, 7421, 8597. Also see bed- 
 post, gatepost. 
 
 Postage stamp: 8446-8461. 
 
 Posthumous child: 262Z-262A, 4403- 
 4404, 5020. 
 
 Postponing : 7320, 8345. Also see 
 clianging. 
 
 Pot: See kettle. 
 
 Potassium : 5368. 
 
 Potato: 463, 1059-1090, 1664, 2471- 
 2472, 2523, 2691, 3870. 3878, 4205- 
 4212, 4443, 4568, 4739. 4821, 4946, 
 4975, 4994, 5056-5057, 5097-5098, 
 5132, 5155, 5242, 5288, 5369-5372, 
 5404, 5437, 5744, 5764, 5797, 6332- 
 6334, 7&49-7850, 7910-7911, 7918, 
 10072. 
 
 Potato bug: 1068, 1088-1089, 2473. 
 9217. 
 
 Poverty: 6002, 6107, 6144-6145, 6160, 
 
 6166, 6239, 7136, 7755. Also see 
 poor. 
 
 Powder : See face, frog, gopher, grave 
 dust, gunpowder, lisard, love po- 
 tions and poivders, mole, puppy, 
 scorpion, snake, talcum. 
 
 Pow-wowing : 5019. 
 
 Piairie dog: 1854. 
 
 Prayer, praying : 4082, 4300-4301, 5280, 
 5405, 5837-5838, 6092-6093, 7407, 
 7750, 8396, 8465-8466. 8624, 9193, 
 9332, 9581, 9601-9603, 9605-9606, 
 9609-9612, 9614-9616, 9680, 10017, 
 10429, 10454, 10671, 10678. 
 
 Prayer book: 7317. 
 
 Praying animals : 1829, 1832. 
 
 Preacher : 2777, 2850, 2852, 4082, 6045, 
 7195, 7345, 7630-7631, 8000, 8226- 
 8227, 9090, 9092, 9181, 10672- 
 10673. 
 
 Precosity : 2743. 
 
 Pregnancy : 811. 1143, 2336-2348, 2363- 
 2384, 2386-2507, 7917. 9502. 
 
 Present: 2793, 3317, 3323, 3394-3396, 
 3409-3411, 3540, 3588, 3753. 6877, 
 7381-7382, 7582, 7860, 10640. Also 
 see gitnng. 
 
 Preserves: 5436, 7919. 
 
 Prickly ash: 2343. 
 
 Prickly heat : 4655-4656. 
 
 Priest: 7417, 8197, 9286, 9303-9304, 
 9525, 9555, 9572, %01-%02, %04- 
 9605, 9607-9616. 10298, 10454, 
 10456, 10501. 
 
 Primrose: 10075. 
 
 "Private parts," sign of the Zodiac : 
 2096, 2117, 2189. Also see "secret 
 parts," "sex organ." 
 
 Privates: 2711. Also see penis, pubic 
 hair, vagina. 
 
 Prize-fighter : See boxer. 
 
 Profit : See gain. 
 
 Proposal : 6135, 6338. Also see love 
 and marriage. 
 
 Prosperity: 1348, 1526. 3305. 3824, 
 5967, 6070, 6189-6190, 6272, 7289, 
 7341, 8040, 8351. 
 
 Prostitute : 1 184, 1486. 1982, 8484, 9490. 
 
 Prudent: 2571. 
 
 Prune: 2887. 5451. 
 
 Psalm: XVI. 8348; XVIII. 4301; 
 XXIII, 5461. 6580 ; XXXIII. 9455 ; 
 XXXVII. 8599; LIII, 9456; LIV, 
 9456; LV. 9229. 9456; LXII, 
 81%; LXV, 8482; LXXII, 8600; 
 LXXVII, 10675; LXXXII, 8480- 
 8481; LXXXXI, 10550; CXVI, 
 10674; CXXI, 8349; CXXXIII, 
 10676. 
 Pubic hair: 2204, 2900, 9395-9398. 
 Puffball: 887, 5536. 
 Pullet: 1672, 1718. 1720, 1722, 1724, 
 1726, 1728-1730, 1733, 1735. 
 
708 
 
 Index 
 
 Pumpkin: 1091-1094, 1205. 2141-2142, 
 
 3876, 4444-44-48, 4547, 5568. 
 Puncture, automobile tire: 8650, 10702- 
 
 10703. 
 Puppy: 2642, 57^2. 
 Puppy-powder: 9160. 
 '■Pupp>- dog :" See Heard. 
 Purgatory: (>()92. 
 Purple wedding clothes : 7270. 
 Purse : See fockctbook. 
 Pursley, purslane: 464. 
 
 Quail: 1546-1547, 5641, 10076. 
 
 Quarrel: 1105, 1411, 2328, 3246-3247, 
 3465, 3515-3516, 3535, 3564. 3632- 
 3633, 3689, 2>722, 6020. 6072, 6119, 
 6129-6130, 6175. 6236, 6292, 6316, 
 6335, 6346, 6351, 6373, 6427, 6444, 
 6761-6762, 6774, 7213, 7384, 7407, 
 7490-7491. 7499. 7591. 7614. 7646- 
 7647. 7649-7650. 7692, 7710-7711, 
 7711-7722, 77iZ, 7736. 7741-7742, 
 7843, 7851, 7863, 7867, 7869, 7889, 
 7928. 8021, 8043. 81^63, 8131, 8167, 
 8205, 8210, 8221, 8307-8308, 8877, 
 10591, 10618. 
 
 Quarter, coin: 2710. 
 
 Quicksilver: 916, 2883, 9241, 10283. 
 
 Quilt: 5928. 6811. 6929, 7087, 9457. 
 
 Quince: 4695. 4785. 
 
 Quinine: 2345, 9356. 
 
 "R," tlie letter: 5594, 7814, 7842. 
 
 Rabbit: 465-466, 1855-1879, 2692, 3057, 
 4757, 4995-4996, 5934, 6336-6338, 
 6581, 8964-8966, 9011, 9289, 10077- 
 10078. 
 
 Rabbit-foot: 1862-1872, 8805, 8948, 
 9165, 9230, 9619. 
 
 Rabies : See ^nad dog. 
 
 Raccoon: 467-469, 1880. 
 
 Race, foot : 6339. Also see horse ra<:- 
 ing. 
 
 Radio: 8664-8665. 
 
 Radish: 1029, 1095-1099, 5058. 
 
 Rafter: 4236. 
 
 Ragweed: 2143, 46%-4697. 
 
 Rail fence: 589, 7422. 
 
 Railroad: 6630-6631, 8653, 9469, 94«0, 
 10158, 10603; bridge, 6481; en- 
 gine. S(A; men. 1934. 8648; rails. 
 6930, 7088, 7197, 9479; whistle, 
 722-724. 
 
 Rain: 2. 8-12, 16-17, 19-20, 22, 28-31, 
 41-43, 45, 50, 52-60. 78. 80-88. 97- 
 98. 100-104. 108-110, 114-116. 118- 
 119. 122. 125-127. 129-132. 134, 
 136-137, 145. 14«-149. 151-153. 155- 
 156. 165-169. 172, 174, 176-177, 
 179-185. 188-190. 192. 195. 197- 
 199, 204, 210, 213-214, 221, 223- 
 229. 234, 236, 238, 244-246, 249, 
 257, 259-260, 264, 266-269, 281-282, 
 
 287, 291-293, 299, 315-317, o27, 
 329-330, 2>i2-Z2,^, 362, 366, 368, 
 2>72, 377-380, 382, 384, 386-387, 
 390-391, 394-397, 399-402, 404-407, 
 410, 413, 416. 418, 425. 427-429, 
 434-435, 438, 443-445,448-449,451- 
 454, 458, 460-462, 464. 470-499. 
 502, 507-508, 514-521, 528, 530- 
 535. 537, 543-544, 548-552. 555, 
 557-558, 563, 566-577, 590-591, 593, 
 596-598, 600-606, 615-616, 633-634. 
 636, 639-644, 648, 650-651, 658- 
 662, 664, 669. 672. 679-680, 683- 
 691, 695, 7\7-722, 72S-72>2, 740, 
 742, 745-746, 749, 751, 753-759, 
 762-763, 766-767, 769, 771-774, 787. 
 793, 7%-797, 850, 1153-1154, 1158- 
 1159, 1310, 1403, 1580, 2U81. 2723- 
 2724, 2963. 2%5. 414/). 4226. 4855, 
 6099, 6300, 6341, 7089, 7195, 7250- 
 7260, 7903, 8160-8161, 8269, 8511, 
 8601, 88W^ 9002-9007, 1007^;, 10147, 
 10222-10223. 10332-16336, 10338- 
 10341. 10343-10344. 
 
 Rainbow: 500-515, 688, 7090, 10080, 
 10677-10678. 
 
 Rain crow: 516-518, 1548. 
 
 Raindrop: 475-477, 480, 7255-7256, 
 7258, 10079. 
 
 Rain frog: 259. 
 
 Rain water: 1621-1622, 2964, 4257, 
 5351. 
 
 Raisin: 2710, 4586. 5701. 
 
 Rake: 7466-7468, 10081. 
 
 Rapping : See knocking. 
 
 Rash, disease : 5020. 
 
 Raspberry: 2474, 4698-4699, 4912. 
 
 Rat: 1850. 1881-1891, 2932, 3058-3059, 
 3667, 6342-6343, 8521, 10082-10083. 
 
 Rattles of rattlesnake: 1624, 1634-1635, 
 4278, 5377, 5407. 
 
 Rattlesnake: 1607, 1854, 4522, 4531, 
 9620-%21. 
 
 Rattlesnake powder : 9167. 
 
 Ravel: 3598-3599. 
 
 Razor: 2511, 5839, 9165, 10270. 
 
 Reading: 3324. 8430, 10578. 
 
 Reconciliation: 6328, 6J96. 
 
 Rectal trouble: 5554-5577, 5672. 
 
 Red: apple, 7897, 9515; automobile, 
 6467-(>470, 8283-8285 ; beads, 5287, 
 5493; berrv, 6792; bloomers, 3571 ; 
 clothes. 3577; corn, 144, 5494, 
 5659, 5669, 6830-6831 ; corncob, 
 5896; cross, 6344; flannel, 4929, 
 5339-5341, 7481, 8577, 8581, 9391, 
 9508. 9548; flower. 9555-9556; 
 food. 5136. 9357; ink. 8629, 9412; 
 moon, 376-378 ; necktie, 7042, 7046, 
 8679; nose, 3241; paper, 1066^); 
 ribbon, 2745, 8900; rooster, 4084; 
 rose, 9557, 10091; silk thread, 
 3075; spider, 1445; stones, 3849; 
 
Index 
 
 709 
 
 string, 1297, 1673-1675, 4242, 5216, 
 5309, 5523, 5545, 8899, 9484; wed- 
 ding clothes, 7269-7271, 727G-7Z77 ; 
 varn, 5542, 5545-5546. 
 
 Redbird: 519-527, 1549-1558, 6582- 
 6583, 6584-6586, 6673-6675, 7092, 
 8958. 10085-10087. 
 
 Redbud tree: 1287. 
 
 Red clover: 4410, 4575. 4863, 4865, 
 4858, 4966, 5603-5604. 5659. 5668- 
 5669, 5679, 5721. 5742-5743. 
 
 Red hair: 2447, 2928-2931. 7048. 
 
 Red-haired n^ro: 2268. 
 
 Red-haired woman: 2265-2271, 6538. 
 
 Red oak: 4272, 4331, 5355, 5639, 5768. 
 
 Red pepper: 1671, 2023, 3482, 3486, 
 3488, 4377, 5199, 5360, 5552-5553, 
 7701-7702, 8479, 8602, 8932, 9164, 
 9197-9199, 9201, 9241-9242, 9244, 
 9248, 9261, 9418, 9453, 9547, 9592- 
 9594, 9625-%26, %32, 9634, 9644. 
 
 Red worm : See fishing -zvorm. 
 
 Red and yellow clothes : 3564. 
 
 Reflection: 218, 656, 925, 930, 6634, 
 6980, 7143, 7146, 7148, 10185, 
 10302, 10378. Also see mirror. 
 
 Reincarnation : 10403. 
 
 Religious: 8182. 
 
 Remembering : See memory, forget- 
 ting. 
 
 Renting: 8167, 8543. 
 
 Requiem mass : 10298. 
 
 Rescuing : 7019. 
 
 Resemblance: 2452, 2460, 2599-2600, 
 6507. 
 
 Resin : 4630. Also see p-ine, rosin. 
 
 Restlessness in life: 941, 2574, 3032. 
 
 Retracing steps : See backwards, turn- 
 ing back. 
 
 Reversing : 3542, 3601-3602, 3605, 4354, 
 6685, 7447, 7453, 7459, 7465, 7471- 
 7472, 7492, 7510. 7996, 8870-8871. 
 8887, 9090, 9452. Also see back- 
 wards, inside out, turning around, 
 turning back, upside down, wrong 
 side out. 
 
 Rheumatism: 43, 528, 5316-5384, 9200, 
 9523. Also see neuralgia, neuritis. 
 
 Rhubarb: 1030, 1100, 1160, 4449, 4669, 
 4700, 4840, 7854. 
 
 Rhvme: 81. 101, 112. 126, 152, 181, 
 252. 377-37S, 410-411, 426, 471- 
 472, 485, 503-506, 510-512, 540- 
 547, 549, 640, 650-651, 683, 695- 
 6%, 757, 769, 792, 859, 1022, 1092- 
 1093, 1224, 1227-1228, 1325-1327, 
 1357-1362, 1371, 1374-1376, 1397- 
 1398, 1452-1455, 1466-1468, 1518, 
 2233, 2235, 2264, 2534-2537. 2662, 
 2889-2890, 2997, 3077, 3093-3094, 
 3100-3102, 3112, 3163, 3201, 3259. 
 3263, 3285-3287, 3307-3310, 3356, 
 3500, 3564, 3739-3744, 3810, 3849, 
 
 3865. 3888-3889, 3933, 3935-3936, 
 3940-3945, 3951-3954. 39fj2, 4013, 
 4161, 4164-4165, 4225, 4296, 4453, 
 5083, 5085, 5444. 5930. 5933, 5954- 
 5956, 6180, 6525, 6532, 6586, 6604, 
 6610-6611, 6616-6619, 6622, 6676- 
 6677, 6680, 6683-6684, 6691, 6776, 
 6779, 6781, 6846, 6880, 6897, 6909, 
 6942, 6953, 6962-6963, 7064-7067, 
 7100-7101, 7118, 7193-7194. 7198, 
 7210, 7223, 7236-7238, 7246, 7250- 
 7251, 7269-7271, 7273-7274, 7279- 
 7281, 7304, 7671-7272, 7967, 8006, 
 8044, 8046, 8066, 8212, 8265, 8291, 
 8635, 8987, 8994, 8998, 9379, 9407, 
 10576, 10594, 10711-10949. 
 
 Rib: 6346. 
 
 Ribbon: 2693, 2745, 3075, 4378-4379, 
 4422, 5290, 8900, 10592. 
 
 Rice: 7350-7351, 7836, 7990. 
 
 Rich(es) : See wealth. 
 
 Riddle: 10826-10949. 
 
 Riding: 2263, 2339, 2882, 3270-3271, 
 3311, 3768-3769, 3772, 5143, 6223, 
 6931, 8294, 9249, %54-9655, 9946, 
 10186. 
 
 Right: arm, 2728, 3313, 3542, 3596, 
 5543, 8899, 9559; side of bed, 
 5799-5800, 5865; side of body, 
 2356, 2776, 3931, 5803-5806; direc- 
 tion, 525, 1928, 3305, 6585, 8351, 
 8552, 9667, 10693; side of dress, 
 3815, 6723; ear, 3145, 3147-3148, 
 3150, 3159, 3162-3164, 3166, 3171, 
 3173, 3175, 3178, 9910, 9912; 
 elbow, 3315. 3318, 3320; side of 
 envelope, 8449; eve, 3197-3198, 
 3200-3202, 3204, 3207, 3209, 3211, 
 3213, 3216-3217, 3219, 3239, 6724, 
 8845, 9915; foot, 3007, 3449, 3452, 
 3454-3455. 3459, 3524-3525, 3533, 
 5804, 5827, 5868-5870, 7037, 7348, 
 8330; foot, race horse starting 
 with, 8862; garter, 3552-3553; 
 hand, 474, 1725, 3336-3337, 3347, 
 3350-3352, 3354, 3359, 3361-33^.7, 
 3646, 3783, 5950, 6547, 6578, 6746, 
 7128, 8665, 9457, 10669; knee, 
 3424, 3427; leg, 3959, 6863, 8356, 
 9410; side of neck, 5279; side of 
 nose. 3250, 3254, 3263, 3265, 3267, 
 3275; ovary, 2350; pocket, 8805, 
 8904; shoe, 1483, 2041, 3481-3523, 
 3532, 3554, 3752, 5646, 8666, 8547, 
 9096, 9402, 9469; shoe string, 
 3559; shoulder, 1852, 2286, 3051, 
 3073, 3323, 3647, 3759, 4258, 5095, 
 6546-6547. 6549, 6551, 6568, 6595, 
 6(>46, 6989, 7070, 7141, 7727, 7732, 
 8587, 8589, 9623, 10645-10646; 
 sleeve, 9489; sock, 3532-3533. 
 3542; stocking, 1486, 2729, 3542, 
 
710 
 
 Index 
 
 4953; thumb, 7190; toe, 6683; 
 
 wrist, 5331. 
 RiRht-handed : 2728-2729, 2776. 
 Ring: 1719. 2273. 2303, 2322, 3828- 
 
 3831, 3833, 3835-3836, 3840, 3843, 
 
 4139, 4259, 4985, 5087-5089, 5090- 
 
 5092, 5319-5320, 5347, 5506, 6587- 
 
 6591, 6078, 6775, 6797, 6932-6934. 
 
 6979, 70<>3-7098, 7217-7218, 7299- 
 
 7304, 7342-7343, 7347, 7372, 8471, 
 
 8474, 9410, 9458, 9521. 
 Ring-around: See zchitlozv. 
 Ringworm: 4429, 4433, 4437, 4441, 
 
 4452-4456, 4461, 4465, 4467. 
 "Rising," swelling: 4984. 
 River: 751, 2722, 7535, 7705, 9266, 
 
 9403-9404. Also see running icater. 
 Road: 316, 480, 752, 5712. Also see 
 
 crossroad, path crossed, street. 
 Robber : 6041. Also see bandit, burglar, 
 
 stealing, thief. 
 Robin: 529-530, 1559-1563, 6592-6593, 
 
 6679, 7102. &.03, 10088. 
 Rock: 531, lo52, 2^^82-2984, 3050,4036, 
 
 4040, 4125, 4234, 5099, 5373, 5392, 
 
 5438, 5532, 5642, 6347, 7090, 7099, 
 
 7890, 9401. Also see stone. 
 Rocking: 2737-2741. 
 Rock candy: 4407, 4881. 
 Rocking-chair: 7495-7502, 8397, 8414, 
 
 8912, 9779-9783. 
 Roof : 6083, 7415. 
 Room : 920, %1, 1478, 1984, 4302, 4358, 
 
 6718, 6747, 6897, 7104, 8187-8199, 
 
 8652, 9244, 9626, 10571. 
 Rooming-house: 8543. 
 Rooster: 97-121, 1646, 1718-1719, 1721, 
 
 1723, 1725, 1727, 1731-1732, 1735, 
 
 1756, 1760-1799, 4084, 4092, 4169, 
 
 6039, 6488, 6851, 9622, 9790-9804, 
 
 10607; of feathers, in bewitched 
 
 pillow, 9331. 
 Rooster head: 4080 . 
 Rope: 532, 1612, 2408, 7103, 7167, 
 
 7199, 7206, 7571. 9333, 10089. 
 Rosarv, bewitched: 9613. 
 Rose : 947, 2478, 6348, 6749, 6935, 9557, 
 
 10090-10091, 10277; of feathers, 
 
 in bewitched pillow. Also see zinld 
 
 rose. 
 Rose water: 3913, 5133. 
 Rosin: 2633, 4770, 5576, 8744, 9232. 
 
 Also see pine, resin. 
 Rouge: 3877. 
 Round-shouldered : 5835. 
 Roundworm, disease : 4435. 
 Row: 835, 951, 1060-1061, 1192, 1301, 
 
 9777-9778, 9829-9830, 10035. 
 Rubber: 356. 1613. 7396, 10559; band, 
 
 4213. 4214, 5201, 8924, 9549; boots, 
 
 10u2o. 
 Ruby : 3849 ; wedding anniversary, 
 
 7396. 
 
 Rue: 4450, 4646. 
 Rug : See carpet. 
 Ruling household: 7156, 7184, 7190, 
 
 7197, 7204-7206, 7344. 
 Rum; 4420. 
 
 Run-around: See zvhitlozv. 
 Runner, in stocking : 3545. 
 Running : 6339, 6349. Also see race. 
 Running water: 2797, 2987, 4194, 4423- 
 
 4424. 5101, 6439, 7535-7536, 9065- 
 
 9W)7, 9116, 9152, 9154-9155, 9222, 
 
 9371. 9401, 9403-9404, 9412, 9482, 
 
 9487, 10564. 
 Rust: 633, 1130, 2340-2343, 5251, 5255, 
 
 5258-5259, 5265, 5521, 5724, 7465, 
 
 9192, 9224-9225, 9536. 
 Ruth I, 16: 7001. 
 Rye: 4976, 5267, 5310, 5486. 
 
 Sack : See bag. 
 
 Saddle: 2604. 
 
 Safety pin: 3806-3815, 9010. 
 
 Safifron: 4771, 4779, 5180, 5702. 
 
 Sage : 1101-1105, 2966, 4451, 4614, 4893- 
 4894, 4947, 5643, 5898-5899, 8474, 
 9243, 10092. 
 
 Sagittarius, sign of Zodiac : See Bow- 
 man. 
 
 Sailor: 112, 472, 504-505, 511, 541, 545- 
 546, 554, 696, 1995, 3223, 7180, 
 7195. 
 
 "Sailor's shirt," blue patch in cloudy 
 sky : 554. 
 
 Saint: 2786, 8466, 10366. 
 
 St. Anthony: 8465. 
 
 St. John, the Gospel of : 6613. 
 
 St. Laurence Day, August 10th.: 1117. 
 
 St. Matthias Day, February 24th. : 252. 
 
 St. Patrick's Day, March 17th.: 953- 
 955, 1056, 1086, 7857. 
 
 St. Switliin's Day, July 15th.: 496. 
 
 St Vitus dance: 5472. 
 
 Salamander : See lizard. 
 
 Sales: 8534-8540, 8545. 
 
 Saliva: 2499. 2501, 3152-3158. 3445- 
 3446, 3994-3998, 4024, 4215-4216, 
 4218-4219, 4452, 4454, 4633, 4740, 
 5059-5061, 5756. Also see splitting. 
 
 "Sally corn:" 1236. 
 
 Saloon: 6709. 
 
 Salt: 122. 533-534, 916, 1189, 1396, 1492, 
 1497. 1533. 1564, 1859, 2170, 2181- 
 2183, 2763, 3481-3484, 4005, 4394- 
 4395, 4400, 4455, 4524, 4550, 4574, 
 4596, 4603, 4615, 4670, 4716-4717, 
 4823, 4841, 4850, 4854, 4877. 4892- 
 4893. 4913, 4948, 4997-4998. 5062, 
 5101, 5153, 5158, 5230, 5237, 5240, 
 5243, 5345, 5349, 5374, 5479, 5616, 
 5644-5645, 5709, 5766, 5772. 5817, 
 5952, 5964, 6350, 6594-6596, 6603, 
 6658, 6748, 6936, 7026-7031. 7105- 
 7109, 7318, 7474, 7698-7700, 7702- 
 
Index 
 
 711 
 
 7738, 7742, 7885, 7922, 8186, 8198- 
 8204, 8353, 8477, 8543, 8595. 8622, 
 8807, 9091, 9159, 9\64, 9168, 9220, 
 9226, 9233-9235, 9237-9241, 9243- 
 9250, 9289, 9321, 9405, 9441-9442, 
 9453, 9459-9465, 9482. 9518. 5580, 
 9595, %12, 9623-9630. 9633-9645, 
 %71, %75, 10093, 10260, 10560- 
 10562. 
 
 "Salt cake:" 7109. 
 
 Saltcellar: 533, 7718, 7732, 7735. 
 
 Saltpetre : 4476. 
 
 "Salt rings:" 9246. 
 
 Sand: 81, 1205, 1377, 1507, 4716, 10703. 
 
 Sandman : 5798. 
 
 Sandpaper : 3999. 
 
 Santa Claus : 2390. 
 
 Sapphire: 3847-3849. 
 
 Sapsucker: 10094-10095. 
 
 Sassafras: 1288, 1659, 4501, 4503, 4587. 
 4S42, 5121, 7886. 
 
 Satin wedding clothes : 7265-7267. 
 
 Saturday: 666-668, 2532, 2534-2536, 
 2539-2540, 3387-3389, 3406-3407, 
 3623-3624, 3694, 3849, 5930, 6669- 
 6()70, 6673, 6681, 6691, 7188, 7236- 
 7237, 7244-7245. 7413, 8044, 8046, 
 8153-8155, 8361, 10096, 10105, 
 10326, 10604, 10636. 
 
 Saucer: 6741, 6946, 7608. 
 
 Sauerkraut: 4551, 5162. 5620 7777, 
 7837-7838, 7855, 7929, 8226; niak- 
 ing, 7968-7976. 
 
 Sausage: 3927, 7921, 9509. 
 
 Saw: 6597, 7469, 10097. 
 
 Sawmill: 9659. 
 
 Scab: 4597. 
 
 Scald : 4770, 8022, 9374, 9416. 
 
 Scales, sign of the Zodiac: 994, 1108. 
 
 Scandal: 3684, 7567. 
 
 Scapular, blessed medal: 8350, 9581. 
 
 Scar: 4617. 
 
 School: 6652. 
 
 Scissors: 2746-2749, 2725-2737, 5204, 
 5533-5534. 5913. 5938, 6351. 6937, 
 9077, 964^9647. 
 
 Scorching: 6884. 
 
 Scorpio, sign of Zodiac : See Scorpion. 
 
 Scorpion, sign of the iZodiac : 829, 
 1823. 
 
 Scorivion powder: 9181. 
 
 Scouring: 7651. 
 
 Scratch: 1998-1999, 2055. 2881-2882. 
 3311, 3331, 3355. 4597, 6776, 8930 
 
 Screw-driver : 9648. 
 
 Scrofula: 5021-5022. 
 
 Scrubbing : 7438, 8039-8040, 8543, 9490. 
 
 Sea: 6144, 10679. 
 
 Seagull : 535. 
 
 Sea onion, plant : 948. 
 
 Sea shell: 10679. 
 
 Seasickness : 5759-5761. 
 
 Season : 536. Also see zvintcr, summer, 
 spring, autumn. 
 
 Season, blooming out of : See bloom- 
 ing. 
 
 Second si?ht : 2605-2606, 2626, 10370- 
 10400. Also see apparition, ghost. 
 
 Secrecy: 2491, 4297. 4732. 6463. 6506. 
 Many rites, especially wart cures, 
 and divination, are done in secret. 
 
 Secret: 2172-3173. 
 
 "Secret parts," sign of the Zodiac : 
 1823. Also see "private parts," 
 "sex organ." 
 
 Seeds: for planting, see 800-1301. 
 
 Selfish: 2844. 
 
 Selling and buying : See buying and 
 selling. 
 
 Senna: 2341, 2343, 2346, 5122. 
 
 Sensual : 2927. 
 
 Separated bv objects, two persons 
 while walking: 6767, 6975, 8298- 
 8314, 10179. 
 
 September: 791, 846, 2571-2572. 
 
 Servant: 7195. 7705. 
 
 Seven : 287-288, 488, 492, 494-495. 960, 
 1893, 1933, 2009, 2077, 2855, 3985, 
 407O 4097-4098. 4201, 4461, 4540, 
 5117. 51(X), 5446. 5585, 5681, 5935, 
 5962, 6485, 6538-6539, 6623, 6807, 
 6813, 6930, 6950. 7060 7088, 7119- 
 7120 7371, 7458, 7515-7516, 7531. 
 7537-7538, 7839, 8280, 8349, 8378, 
 8402-8403, 8651, 8782, 9093. 9193. 
 9244. 9399, 9443, 9557, 9817, 10132, 
 10450, 10696. 
 
 Seven-month child: 2420, 2622. 
 
 Seventeen : 490. 
 
 Seventeen-year locust: 1168. 
 
 Seventeenth of the month : 8979. 
 
 Seventh of the month : 1712. 
 
 Seventh Book of Moses: 9189. 10579. 
 
 Seventh child : 2629. 
 
 Seventh daughter : 2628. 
 
 Seventh son: 2()25-2627, 4021. 
 
 Sewing: 3676-3737, 4294, 6710 6755. 
 6937, 6967-6%8. 10099-10105. 
 
 Sewing machine : 9584. 
 
 Sex: animal, 1822-1823, 1855, 1857. 
 1895. 2024, 2093-2099, 2114-2117. 
 2159-2160 2188-2190; bird. 33, 
 595 ; human. 2898-2900. 2927, 2330- 
 2385, (also see breast trouble, me- 
 nopause, menstrual blood, men- 
 struation, ovary, penis, pubic hair, 
 vagina, ivomb); insect, 391 ; plant, 
 958, 1094, 1156, 1174. 1192, 1222, 
 1277, 1285, 1289. 4436, 4566; snake, 
 1603. 
 
 "Sex organ," sign of the Zodiac : 2655. 
 Also see "private parts," "secret 
 parts." 
 
 Shade: 4831. 
 
712 
 
 Index 
 
 Shade, of window: See icitidozc shade, 
 also curtain. 
 
 Shadow: 283-288, 7072, 8959, 9027, 
 10005. 
 
 Shakint-: 2702, 2704, 4354, 7820, 7997, 
 8032, 8034, 8592-8593, 8916. 
 
 Sliaking hands: 3079, 3259, 3368-3375, 
 3635, 6824, f)851, 6869-6871, 6874, 
 6885, 7426, 7810, 9317. 
 
 Shame : 25o6, 3969, 6120, 6142, 6340, 
 8044. Also see disgrace. 
 
 Shape changing: 9071,9078-9082,9083- 
 9086, 9126, 9284, 9289, 9290, 9301, 
 9611, 9665. 
 
 Shark: 10110. 
 
 Sharp instruments: 3687, 7588-7594, 
 7601, 7603. 
 
 Shaving: 10680. 
 
 Shawl: 6352-6353. 
 
 Shears : See sheep shears. 
 
 Sheep: 538-539, 2080-2085, 2694, 4844, 
 6354, 9665. 
 
 '"Sheep," clouds : 132. Compare 130. 
 
 Sheep lice : 4843. 
 
 "Sheep nanny:" See dung: sheep. 
 
 Sheepsark : 5675. 
 
 Sheep shears : 9144. 
 
 Sheep sorrel : 4812, 5676. 
 
 Slieet: 5840, 6599, 7008, 8054, 8057, 
 10106-10107, 10201. 
 
 Sheet lightning : 331. 
 
 Shell : 1313, 7200, 10679. 
 
 Shepherd: 506, 512. 
 
 Shiftless : See slovenly, worthless. 
 
 Shin: 2879, 3431. 
 
 Shingle, of roof : 7415. 
 
 Shingles, disease: 5467- 5471. 
 
 Ship: See boat. 
 
 Shirt: 554, 666, 667, 2666, 3542, 3591- 
 3592, 7033, 7208, 8048-8053, 9466, 
 10283. 
 
 Shirt tail : 3489, 3609. 
 
 Shiver: 10327. 
 
 Shock, electric : 632. 
 
 Shoe: 863-865, 1176, 1186, 1482-1483, 
 1534-1535, 1910, 1958, 2003, 2039- 
 2042, 2045, 2735, 2821, 3406, 3457, 
 3471-3515, 3543-3554, 3752, 3822, 
 4841, 5199, 5205-5209, 5211, 5244, 
 5246-5247, 5311, 5337, 5359, 5374, 
 5378, 54(38, 5646, 5818-5820, 5841, 
 5843-5844, 5900-5902, 5915-5917, 
 5932, 5940, 5944, 5953, 6355-6364, 
 f)490-6492, 6(:>00, 6603, 6777, 6809, 
 6824-6825, 6938, 7009-7011, 7014- 
 7015, 7017, 7(M0-7042, 7095, 7110- 
 7112, 7198, 7305, 7316, 7327, 7352- 
 7353, 7378, 8146, 8334, 8474, 8479, 
 8557, 8565, 8621, 8()66, 8935, 8946, 
 8947, 9096, 9110-9111, 9168, 9199- 
 92;)1. 9219, 9235-9236, 9247, 9251, 
 9359, 9398-9399. 9402, 9413, 9467- 
 9469, 9541, 9545-9547, 9593-9594, 
 
 9620, 9624,9650-9653,10108,10111, 
 10563. 
 
 Shoemake: See sumac. 
 
 Shoemaker : 3493. 
 
 Shoe string : 3557 - 3563, 6601 - 6602, 
 6659, 6706-6707. 
 
 Shooting: 1378, 1519, 1865, 2012-2913, 
 6203. Also see hunting, silver 
 bullet. 
 
 Shooting star: 6620-6622, 6952, 8607- 
 8610, 10143, 10689-10695. 
 
 Shop: See store. 
 
 Shot: 2212, 5516, 5619, 5703-5705, 
 9470. Also see bullet. 
 
 Shoulder: 1245, 1332, 1443, 1852, 1950, 
 2272, 2285-2290, 2457, 2483, 2831, 
 2937, 3051-3052, 3073-3074, 3223, 
 3222-3325, 3573, 3647, 3750, 3759, 
 3813, 3908, 3946, 4046-4047, 4U60- 
 4061, 4065, 4089-4090, 4146, 4160, 
 4185, 4192-4194, 4210, 4258, 4260, 
 4850, 5085, 5094-5095, 5283, 5835, 
 5871, 6488, 6523, 6545-6551, 6567- 
 6568, 6578, 6594-6595, 6629, 6646, 
 6662, 6746, 6905, 6988-6989, 7018, 
 7064-7065, 7069-7070, 7112, 7141, 
 7463, 7541-7543, 7584, 7703-7705, 
 7722, 7725, 7727. 7732, 7742, 7908, 
 8119, 8146, 8186, 8374, 8383, 8587, 
 8589, 8914, 8936, 9237, 9532, 9606, 
 9623, 10007, 10416, 10643-10646. 
 
 "Shoulder," sign of the Zodiac: 2120- 
 2121 3047. 
 
 Shovel: ' 1536, '7470-7471, 7473, 8181, 
 9676, 10135. Also see spade. 
 
 Show: See theatre. 
 
 Shower, party: 2391. 
 
 Shrewd : 2556. 
 
 Shroud: 4304. 
 
 Shrubbery: 1263, 1293. 
 
 Shudder : See shiver. 
 
 Shutter, of window: 10112. 
 
 Sickness: 916-918, 942, 1208, 1238, 
 1306, 1338, 1349, 1518, 1577, 1971, 
 2040, 2763-2765, 3132, 3431, 3504, 
 4264-4306, 6015, 6026-6027, 6041. 
 6054, 6094, 6102, 6104, 6123, 6144, 
 6191, 6247-6248, 6257-6258, 6293, 
 6303, 6320. 6365-6366, 6397, 6404, 
 6428, 6445, 6529, 7799, 7803, 7805, 
 8136, 8152, 8207, 8241, 8260, 8262, 
 8324, 8494, 9095, 9114, 9117, 9706, 
 9872-9873, 9875, 9895, 9898, 9902- 
 9903, 9919, 10008, 10016, 10065, 
 10086, 10109, 10148, 10188, 10197. 
 Also see cures. 
 
 Side-ache: 4763, 9210. 
 
 Sidewalk: 4143, 7119, 8275-8276, 8316- 
 8317, 10178. 
 
 Sight: 3181, 5032, 5034-5035, 5037, 
 5053, 5066-5067, 5071. 
 
 Sight, watching persons as they go 
 out of : 8265-8267. 
 
Index 
 
 713 
 
 Sign language: Z22?,^2>22,9 , 3325. 3640- 
 
 3648, 7584-7585, 8449-8459. 
 "Sign snake:" 10119. 
 Silence, rites in: 1948. 3125, 4300, 
 5714, 6481, 6615, 6790, 7029, 7110, 
 9680, 104SO. 
 Silent supper: See dumb supffcr. 
 Silk: band, 5289; cloth. 6625; hand- 
 kerchief, 4517; ribbon, 4378-4379, 
 5290; string, 4356, 4380. 4954; 
 thread, 3075, 3%5. 4249. 7096; 
 wedding clothes, 7266-7267, 7396. 
 Silver: 2027, 2695-2696. 5158. 5535, 
 6192, 7396, 7774, 8522, 8622, 9392, 
 9498. 9572, 9663. 
 Silver bullet: 9081, 9657. 9660. 
 Silver spoon: 1326, 7696. 
 Silverware : 7604-7605. 
 Simultaneous acts: 2885. 2991, 3115, 
 3124, 22,7 1-22,7 Z, 3632, 6607-6611, 
 6650, 6869-6870, 7222, 7424, 7544- 
 7548, 7760, 7810, 7852-7853. 7935- 
 7936, 8062-8063, 8297, 8508-8510, 
 8()36, 8643-8648. 9907, 9940, 10001- 
 10002, 10006, 10140, 10701, 10708. 
 Sin : 1340, 1489, 1840, 2975, 7549, 7964. 
 
 10568, 10572. 
 Sincere: 2555. 
 
 Singing: 537, 2595, 2778-2779, 3079, 
 3091-3115, 4289-4290. 4313, 6202, 
 7901, 8524, 10113-10116, 10252. 
 Sitting: 2525, 2994, 3435-3440. 3655, 
 2727, 5144, 5554, 5562, 5576-5577, 
 6679, 6858, 6931, 6958, 6960-6963, 
 7102, 7119, 7492, 7494, 7499-7501, 
 7569-7570, 7572, 7703, 8089-8091, 
 8146, 8225, 8247, 8293. 8380, 8387- 
 8390, 8392-8400, 8402-8403, 8405, 
 8408, 8411-8414, 8416, 8419, 8789- 
 8790, 8912, 8915. 8919-8920, 8925. 
 8927, 8933, 9202. 
 Six: 328, 497, 595, 790. 804, 1518. 3300, 
 4096, 4556, 4742, 7371, 8400-8401, 
 9667. 
 Six-leafed clover : 873. 
 "Six-month colic:" 4342. 
 Sixteen : 2244. 
 Sixth of the month: 1712. 
 Sixty-two: 5350. 
 Skeleton: 8903. 
 Skillet: 5282, 8020. 
 Skin: 1388, 1608. 2478, 2484, 3845. 
 Skin trouble : 5013 - 5026. Also see 
 blister, chafing, itch, prickly heat. 
 Skipping rope: 7103, 7167, 7199, 7266. 
 Skirt: 3607, 3610-3611,6708-6709,6843, 
 
 9522. 
 Skull: 8903. 
 Skunk: 4382, 4896, 4999, 5375, 5487, 
 
 9665. 
 Sk>-: 540-557, 579-580, 6604. 10682- 
 
 10683. Also see cloud. 
 Slander : 1566, 6276. 
 
 Slaughtering : See butchering. 
 
 Sleep: 1906, 2001. 2305, 2413, 2739- 
 
 2740, 2794-2795. 2835, 2888, 3060- 
 
 3062, 3070, 3887, 4480, 4498. 5193, 
 
 5212, 5457, 5460. 5641, 5798-5904, 
 
 5926, 5928, 5931. 5936, 5938, 5949- 
 
 5950, 6680, 6807. 6875. 6969-7071, 
 
 7104, 7112, 7138, 726S-7272, 7392- 
 
 7393, 7398, 8444, 8652, 8653, 9134, 
 
 9196, 9259, 9320, 9411, 9443. 9447. 
 
 9457, 9471, 9484-9485, 9504-9505, 
 
 9567, 9646, 9663-9664, 9707, 10116, 
 
 10280. Also see bcd-zvetting. 
 
 Sleeping foot: 3445-3446. 
 
 Sleeplessness: 5807-5811, 5812, 5817, 
 
 5820-5822, 5950. 
 Sleeptalking : 5879-5886. 
 Sleepwalking: 5887-5888, 5890-5892. 
 Sleet: 1148. 1170. 
 Sleeve: 3395-3396. 9489. 
 Slipper: 3507, 3515. 7294. 
 Slippery elm: 2216. 4457, 4501, 4601, 
 4701, 4774. 4897, 5160, 5569, 5662, 
 5706-5707, 8701. 
 Slobber : 2796-2797. 
 Slovenlv: 8003- 8008, 8080, 8120, 8127. 
 
 8130. 
 Smallpox: 3478, 5182-5183. 
 Smartweed: 4562. 4705. 5770. 5791. 
 Smelling: 451, 460, 5410, 9922. Also 
 
 see odor. 
 Smiling: 2835, 7736, 8290. 
 Smoke: 558-565. 910, 3885, 4359-4361, 
 4748, 5002-5004, 6153, 6367-6368, 
 8282, 10118. 
 Smoke rings : 10685. 
 Smoking: 2378, 2865. 2869, 4481, 4483, 
 4492, 4495-4496, 4500, 5312, 5740, 
 5845, 8636-8648, 10684, 10686. 
 Snail: 566, 1396-1398, 7113-7115, 7200. 
 Snake: 567-577, 1594-1639, 1854, 2475- 
 2478, 3886, 4278, 4516-4531, 4616, 
 4775. 4822-4824. 5291, 5376-5377, 
 5407, 6369-6381, 6939, 8305. 8512- 
 8513, 9019, 9073, 9162. 9372, 9520, 
 9568. 9579, 10119, 10120, 10550. 
 Snake bite: See bites and stings. 
 "Snake doctor," dragon fly: 1600, 
 
 10121. 
 Snake powder: 9166-9167, 9181, 9252. 
 
 9258, 9666. 
 Snakeskin: 1639. 4530, 4616, 5159, 
 
 5376, 9620-%21. 
 Sneezing: 2798, 3121, 3277-3310, 4286, 
 6605-6606, 6680-6681, 6750, 6940- 
 6941, 10122-10132. 
 Snipe: 578. 
 Snoring: 5877, 5878. 
 Snow: 15, 27, 194, 215, 219-220, 243, 
 261, 374-375. 381. 419, 499, 560, 
 565, 579-588. 592. 594, 686, 706, 
 734, 761, 767-777, 1122, 1242, 1858, 
 
714 
 
 Index 
 
 4279, 4949, 5223, 6382- 6384, 7260- 
 7262, 9885-9806, 9913, 10687. 
 
 Snowbird: 589. 
 
 Snow water: 2968, 3872, 3916, 4173, 
 5063-5065, 5190-5191, 5409, 7991, 
 10688 
 
 "Snuffball:" See dcz'il's-snuffbox. 
 
 Soap: 2166, 3895, 4602, 5708, 6751, 
 10133; inakinu:, 7981-7991. 
 
 Sober: 7805, 7817. 
 
 Social disease : See venereal disease. 
 
 Sock: 1342, 3532-3533, 3593, 5185, 
 5211-5212, 5263, 5317, 8604-8605, 
 9471-9482, 9519, 10285. 
 
 Soda : See baking soda. 
 
 Soda bottle: 5210, 5314, 7856. 
 
 Soft maple: 4783. 
 
 "Soft spot:" 2593-2594, 2736, 2762. 
 
 Soldier: 547, 7195, 10134. 
 
 Somersault: 5621. 
 
 Somnambulism : Sec slecpzvalking. 
 
 Son: 2600. 2620. 
 
 Soot: 590-594, 2170, 2217, 2220, 2668- 
 2669, -1453-4454, 4617, 5749, 5755, 
 9537, 9674. 
 
 Sore: 4615, 4723. 4729, 4752, 4754, 
 4764-4779, 5027, 5029-5031, 5033, 
 5043, 5045-5047, 5050, 5054, 5060, 
 5062-5065, 5069. Also see bedsore, 
 cut, zcoiind. 
 
 Sore breast : See breast trouble. 
 
 Sore eyes : See eye trouble. 
 
 Sore feet: 5233-5238, 5241, 5243-5244, 
 5246. 
 
 Sore lips: 4780-4781. 
 
 Sore mouth: 2706, 4299, 4783-4786, 
 5609. 
 
 Sore neck : 4792-4794. 
 
 Sore throat: 4921-4959. 
 
 Sorghum : 4772. 
 
 Sorrel: 4000, 4812, 5676. 
 
 Sorrow: 922, 940, 1103, 1208, 1468, 
 1631, 1969, 2009, 2068, 2997, 3094, 
 3307-3309, 33Z2, 3406, 3458-3459, 
 3467, 3o29, 3636-3637, 3681, 3844, 
 5971, 5977, 5996-5997, 6004, 6017, 
 6052, 6115, 6164, 6241, 6319, 6420, 
 7226, 7257, 7381, 7442. 7668, 8137, 
 8242. 
 
 Soul: 5838, 10256-10257, 10312, 10340- 
 10344, 10349, 10429, 10692-10693, 
 10695. 
 
 Soup : 4665, 6658, 6983, 9357. 
 
 "Soup bone:" 5268. 
 
 "Sour sorrel :" 4000. 
 
 South : 202-203, 274-276, 335, 409, 680, 
 736, 757, 769-772, 785-786, 842, 
 951-952, 1171, 1513. 1704. 5851, 
 5854, 8987-8990, 9064, 10055. 
 
 Southeast : 638, 8990, 9634. 
 
 South Park, Quincy : spring, 4300, 
 968U; creek, 4850, 5017. 
 
 Southwest: 622, 680, 8994. 
 
 Sow : 2087, 2105, 5726. 
 
 Sow bug : 5753. 
 
 Spade: 340, 7470-7472, 10135-10138. 
 Also see shovel. 
 
 "Spanish curse:" 8782. 
 
 Spanking : See whipping. 
 
 Sixirrow: 595, 1560, 1564-1565, 10139. 
 
 Spasm: 2682, 4390-4400. 
 
 Speaking: 2593, 2838-2842. 3116-3125, 
 r)607-6611, 6693, 6698, 9024. 10140, 
 10225, 10615. 
 
 Speaking of you: 3145-3171, 3245, 
 3557-3560, 5418. 
 
 Speaking, rites without : See siletue. 
 
 Speaking animals: 9081, 9284, 9709, 
 9769, 10033-10034, 10527. 
 
 Speckled hen: 4096. 
 
 Spectacles : See glasses. 
 
 Spell : See hoodoo and zintchcraft. 
 
 Spendthrift: 2847-2848, 3380. 
 
 Sperm oil : 4719. 
 
 Spice: 4355, 4902. Also see allspice, 
 cinnamon, clove, ginger, nutmeg, 
 etc. 
 
 Spider : 596-606, 1406-1486, 2479, 4280, 
 6386-6388, 6612, 66<>0, 6942, 6944, 
 7282, 9253, 9553, 9687, 10141-10142. 
 
 Spilling: 6350, 6594- 6595, 6712-6713, 
 6936, 7166, 77\6-77i2>, 7739-7742, 
 7783, 7794, 7899, 8043. 
 
 Spirit : See ghost, second sight, soul. 
 
 Spirit: of animals, 2006, 10405-10406; 
 human, in form of animal, 10403- 
 10404, 10512, 10534. 10550; as a 
 tree, 10508. Also see ghost. 
 
 Spirits returning as animals : 10403. 
 
 Spirit writing: 10499. 
 
 "Spiritual wagon:" 10177. 
 
 S^vite: 3147, 3163. 
 
 Spitting: 807, 1294, 1405, 1839, 1875, 
 1952-1958, 2042, 2258, 2260, 2287- 
 2391, 2304, 3084-3088. 3229-3Z33, 
 3339-3340, 3351, 3538-3539, 3545, 
 3580-3581. 3603. 3605. 3813, 4018, 
 4045, 4217, 4763, 5139-5141, 5202- 
 5203, 5373, 5438, 6390, 6477-6478, 
 6535, 6543, 6548-6550, 6560, 6583, 
 6600, 6692, 6740, 6845, 7053, 7439, 
 8098, 8272, 8289, 8374, 8378-8379, 
 8381, 8383-8385, 8426, S463-M(A, 
 8548, 8698-8699, 8711-8712, 8736- 
 8739, 8919, 8936, 9O30, 9038-9040, 
 9076, 9231, 9275, 9483, 9667. Also 
 see saliva. 
 
 Spleen, of hog : See milt. 
 
 Splinter: 4224, 4787-4791, 5636. 
 
 Sponge : 606. 
 
 Sponsors : See godfather, godmother. 
 
 Spontaneous generation : 1309. 1384. 
 
 Spoon: 250, 1284, 1326, 1810, 4808, 
 5537-5538, 6688, 6945-6947, 6%5, 
 6979, 6983, 7031, 7363, 7608, 7616, 
 7670-7697, 8066. 
 
Index 
 
 715 
 
 Spoonholder : 7692. 
 
 Sports: 8674-8726, 8835-8866, 8945- 
 
 9051. 
 "Sporting house:" 1184, 1982. 
 Spot: of blue in cloudy sky, 554-557; 
 
 on clothes, 3669-3670. Also see 
 
 bloodstain. 
 Spotted: cloud, 130; skin, 1608. 
 Sprain : 5272, 5766-5772. 
 Spring, season : arrival of. ZZ, 39, 455, 
 
 469, 529, 713; early, 205, 373, 614; 
 
 late, 206. 
 Spring, water: 1581, 1593, 4299, 4822, 
 
 4850, 5068, 7116-7117, 7140, 7202, 
 
 7876, 9680, 10706. 
 "Spunk water:" 4225. 
 Squash, vegetable: 1106. 
 "Squint eye:'' 3234. 
 Squirrel: 608-614, 1219, 1892, 8968. 
 "Squirter:" 3917. 
 Stable: 1688, 1827, 1834, 1836-1837, 
 
 2136, 4236, 9668, 10562. 
 Stain : 3669-3670, 4203, 5029. Also see 
 
 bloodstain. 
 Stairs: 6949-6951, 7108, 7125, 7215. 
 
 8340-8341, 8606. Also see cellar 
 
 door. 
 Stake, stick: 8292. 
 Stammering : See stuttering. 
 Stamp: See postage stamp. 
 Stamping: 1562, 2251, 2253-2256, 3652, 
 
 f)468, 6534, 6537, 6540, 6593, 6667, 
 
 7044, 7046. 
 Staiiding : 2866, 3332, 4383, 4478-4479, 
 
 4487-4488, 5762, 7797, 8914; on 
 
 head, 3858, 5430, 6999, 7875. 
 Star: 420-425, 615-619, 2316, 2529, 
 
 4019, 5933, 5935, 6299, 6614-6623, 
 
 6952, 7118-7124, 8607-8610, 9990- 
 
 9991, 10143-10144, 10689-10697. 
 Starch: 124. 
 Statue: 7564-7565. 
 Steak : See beefsteak. 
 Stealing: 814, 1983. 2174, 2480, 4M1, 
 
 4123-4124, 4127, 4131-4134, 6343, 
 
 6393-6394, 6412, 7770, 8016, 8290, 
 
 8580, 1069^10699. Also see stolen 
 
 articles. 
 Steel : 355-357, 5914, 7396, 9280. 
 Stepladder: 7457. 
 Stepmother : 7754. 
 Stq>ping : on, as counteractant, 3006- 
 
 3007, 3011-3013, 3726, 6499, 6505, 
 
 6570; over (persons), 2799, 8318- 
 
 8324, 10145-10146. 
 Steps : See doorstep, stairs. Also see 
 
 backivards for taking steps back- 
 wards. 
 Stick: 1821, 2171, 2203, 3707, 4135, 
 
 4144, 4189-4190, 4226-4227, 5015, 
 
 5784, 7084, 8471, 9277, 9565, 9672. 
 Stiff neck: 4792-4793. 
 Sting and bite : See bite and sting. 
 
 Stirring: 7668, 7781, 7920, 7943, 7945- 
 7946. 
 
 Stitch in side: See side-ache. 
 
 Stingy: 2591, 2845, 3144. 
 
 Stitches: 3678, 3686, 3698-3704, 3706. 
 
 Stocking: 1342, 1485-1486, 2729, 3531, 
 3536-3542, 3684, 4946, 4950-4953, 
 5213-5218, 5222, 5311. 5842, 6679, 
 6711, 6752, 6948, 7016-7017, 7102, 
 8577, 9478, 9569, 9669. 
 
 Stolen articles, recovery of : 8472- 
 8477, 9518, 10391-10398. Also see 
 stealing. 
 
 Stomach: 1167. 1169, 1179, 1191, 1210, 
 1581, 2428, 2475, 2676, 2764, 3420, 
 3421. 3950. 4337, 4354-4355, 4361, 
 4379. 4440, 4661, 4821-4824, 5760, 
 5765. 
 
 Stomach trouble: 2411, 2712-2713, 
 5597-5623. 
 
 Stone: 4098, 4126, 4132, 4228-4229, 
 5554, 6979, 7089, 7199, 8328, 8335- 
 8336. Also see birthstone, rock. 
 
 Stone of fruit : See fruit stone. 
 
 Stooping: 2409, 2411. 
 
 Store: 8534, 8536-8540, 8545. 
 
 Stork: 2386, 6395. 
 
 Storm: 1, 40, 44, 46, 51, 61-62, 79, 
 90, 147, 150, 154, 159-162, \(A, 
 171, 173, 193, 208, 220, 222, 250, 
 312, 338-360, 369, 376, 411, 4114, 
 430, 456, 499, 501, 538, 540, 607, 
 620-632, 647, 653, 670, 678, 
 693. 1827, 2528, 5380, 6082-6083, 
 6098, 6396-6398, 7203-7265, 10160. 
 
 Stove: 565, 591, 597. 633. 1533, 1536, 
 2670, 4072-4073, 5306, 5650. 5952, 
 5964, 6160-6161, 4074. 6748, 6908, 
 6986, 6987, 7033, 7079, 7086. 7566- 
 7567, 7730, 7954-7955, 8202, 8205, 
 9240, 9245-9246, 9279, 9596, 9742. 
 
 Stranger: 1330, 1336. 1369. 1422-1423. 
 1425, 1782, 1811, 3259, 3267-3268, 
 3308-3309, 3362, 3365-3367. 3731, 
 5143, 7203, 7371, 7475-7476, 7507, 
 7634, 7659, 8228. 8249, 8432, 8795, 
 9582, 10451. 
 
 Strangling, death bv : 3938. 
 
 Strap, leather: 2868. 
 
 Straw: 297. 299-300. 1060, 2014, 3683, 
 4066-4067, 4261, 5709, 6820. 8293, 
 9214. Also see hav. 
 
 Strawberry: 11^^2-1193, 6399. 
 
 Strawberrv birthmark: 2481-2484. 
 
 Straw hat: 3652 
 
 Stream: See creek, river, running 
 water. 
 
 Street: 204, 796, 3112-3113, 8273. Also 
 see block, crossroad, path crossed, 
 road. 
 
 Strength: 2767, 2867-2868. 2897, 2901- 
 2902, 2950, 6716. 6783-6785. 7156, 
 7765. Also see virility. 
 
716 
 
 Index 
 
 String: 836, 1297, 1516, 1673-1675, 
 1719, 2813, 2938, 4082, 4119, 4125, 
 4168, 4230, 4231-4243, 4260, 4356, 
 4372-4373, 4380, 4652-4653, 4776, 
 4794, 4954, 5297, 5309, 5512-5513, 
 5523, 5539-5546, 5551, 6717, 6756, 
 7032, 8369, 8611, 8899, 9171, 9401, 
 9484-9486, 9565. Also see thread. 
 
 Strychnine: 9248. 
 
 Stubbing toe: 1586, 6627, 6683-6687, 
 8325-8329, 8331. Also see stum- 
 hlin{j. 
 
 Stubborn: 2588, 2650. Also see sulky. 
 
 "Student doctor:" 10402. 
 
 Stumbling: 6949-6951, 7215, 8138, 
 8329-8338, 8340, 10145, 10294. 
 Also see falling, stubbing. 
 
 Stump, of tree: 2389, 3867, 4128, 
 4199, 4244, 4486, 9865. 
 
 Stump water: 3919-3920, 4128, 4245. 
 
 Stumping : See stubbing. 
 
 Stupid: 2972, 3679, 3954. Also see 
 fool. 
 
 Sturgeon: 9028. 
 
 Stuttering : 2804-2805, 3133. 
 
 Sty: 5074-5101. 
 
 Sugar: 2220, 3489-3490, 4366, 4369, 
 4374, 4401-4402, 4463, 4505, 4574, 
 4602, 4618-4619, 4661, 4671-4672, 
 4858, 4861, 4864, 4874, 4877-4880, 
 4883-4886, 4874, 4877-4880, 4883- 
 4886, 4891, 4901-4902, 4905-4906, 
 4913, 4935, 5002, 5134, 5157, 5164, 
 5295, 5433, 5439-5440, 5708, 5751, 
 7195, 7396, 7407, 7789, 7858, 8019, 
 8204, 9091, 9245, 9449. 
 
 Suicide: 10453-10454, 10488, 10526, 
 10531, 10562. 
 
 Suit: 3623, 3672, 3674, 8573. 
 
 Sulky : 2658. Also see stubborn. 
 
 Sulphur: 1849, 4459-4460, 4581, 4648, 
 4651, 4918, 4955, 5024, 5219-5220, 
 5378, 5570, 5657, 8206-8207, 9117, 
 9160, 9164, 9465, 9670-9671, 10565, 
 10700. 
 
 Sulphur ball : 8522. 
 
 Sumac: 4456, 5312. 
 
 Summer: dry, 764, 786; cool and 
 rainy, 795 ; hot, 794 ; wet, 787. 
 
 "Summer complaint :" 4658, 4693. 
 
 Sun: 64, 248, 634-690, 792, 883, 914, 
 1089, 1638, 2153, 4828, 4831, 5384, 
 5648, 5660, 5676, 6400, 6561, 7089- 
 7090, 7114, 7250-7251, 7341, 7937- 
 7941, 8158, 8998, 9016, 9322, 10147, 
 10256 
 
 Sunburn: 5718. 
 
 Sunday: 255-256, 287, 485-486, 488, 
 495, 659, 661, 665. 669-670, 731, 
 1705-1706. 1745. 1761-1762, 1804, 
 1878. 2129, 2148-2158, 2534-2536, 
 2541-2545, 2734. 3080, 3307-3309, 
 3406, 3416, 3418-3419, 3467-3470, 
 
 3695-3708. 3727, 3734, 3849, 3969, 
 4082, 5930, 6669-6670, 6910, 7237, 
 7651, 7878, 8019, 8055, 8064-8065, 
 8156-8157, 8226-8227, 8490-8505, 
 8628, 897^8978, 9067, 10125-10130, 
 10266. 
 
 Sun dog: 673-681. 
 
 Sunfish: 9037. 
 
 Sunflower: 949, 2207, 4421, 4496, 4500, 
 4898, 6953, 8476. 
 
 Sun pains : 4299, 5068. 
 
 Sunrise: 1756, 2721; rites at, 4040, 
 7148; rites before, 955, 1020-1021, 
 1025, 1031, 1199-1200, 1654, 1695, 
 1728, 3864-3866, 3928, 4281, 4300, 
 5015, 5047, 5068, 5238, 5248, 7150- 
 7151, 7937, 8076, 8079, 9193. 
 
 Sunstroke: 5776-5779, 5781. 
 
 Sunwise: 122, 2063, 5860. 
 
 Surgeon : See operation. 
 
 Surprise: 3318-3319, 7662, 8289. 
 
 Sutures : See "soft spot." 
 
 Swallow: 1567. 
 
 Swallowing objects: 1167, 1169, 1179, 
 1190-1191, 1210, 1581, 3861, 3879, 
 4428, 4663-4664, 4820-4824, 5715, 
 6487, 6823, 6849, 7013, 7804. Also 
 see choking. 
 
 Swamp: 6145. 
 
 Swearing : See cursing. 
 
 Sweat: 2763, 4781, 5410, 8925. Also 
 see night szi'eat. 
 
 Sweater: 3594. 
 
 Sweating feet: 5247-5249. 
 
 Sweeny: 2211-2215. 
 
 Sweeping: 1511, 6801, 6954, 6961, 7063, 
 8066-8145, 8168, 10148-10149. 
 
 Sweetheart : See beau. 
 
 Sweet oil: 4353, 4719, 4991, 5000, 5001, 
 5571. 
 
 Sweet pea: 950-956. 
 
 Sweet potato: 1082, 2472, 2523, 3878. 
 
 Swelling: 4795-4810, 4931, 5259, 5831. 
 
 Swimming: 2089, 2315, 2405, 4281- 
 4282. 4592, 5740. 5741, 7799, 
 10705; cramps, 5784-5786. 
 
 Swing: 691, 7427, 10150-10151, 10701. 
 
 Swinging door : 8239. 
 
 Swollen: feet, 5237, 5239-5240, 5242- 
 5243, 5245 ; legs, 9548. 
 
 Sword : 4246. 
 
 Sycamore: 735. 3836, 5379, 5710. 
 
 Syrup: 4899, 5004. Also see molasses. 
 
 Table: 1427-1428, 2769- 2771, 3079, 
 3109-3111, 3293-3295, 3513-3517, 
 3627, 3656, 3800, 3846, 4357, 6816, 
 6838, 6859-6861, 6872-6873. 6889- 
 6894, 6898, 6911, 6936, 6962-6963, 
 6979, 7176, 7482, 7501, 7568-7570, 
 8622, 8658, 8920, 8937, 8939, 9257, 
 9742. 9908, 9944, 10122, 10124, 
 10127-10128, 10153-10157, 10571. 
 
Index 
 
 717 
 
 Tablecloth: 7380, 8032, 8531-8532. 
 Tablespoon: 6688, 7677-7684, 7691. 
 Tableware: 7606-7607. Also see knife, 
 
 fork, spoon, dish, etc. 
 Tack: 4609, 5256, 5261, 9212. 
 Tadpole: 1581. 
 Tailor: 3439. 
 Talcum powder : 9247. 
 Talking : See speaking. 
 Talking in sleep: See sleeptalking. 
 "Talking hand," amulet: 10510. 
 "Talking over," method of healing: 
 
 4306. 
 Tall : See height. 
 Tallow: 2633, 4642, 4900, 5229, 5270, 
 
 5795-5796, 9168. 
 Tangles in hair : 2932, 2976. 
 Tansy: 1178, 5134, 5163. 
 Tapeworm : 4436, 4446, 4458. 
 Tar: 9143. 
 
 Taste: 3669-3670, 5610, 5620. 
 Tea: 852, 2343, 4314, 4339, 4,381, 
 4620, 4741, 5069, 5100, 6964-6965, 
 7126, 8531-8532. 
 Teakettle: 692-693, 4358, 5441, 6778, 
 
 6966, 7031, 7925-7927, 10152. 
 Tearing : 4263, 6770, 7338, 7340, 10059. 
 Tears: 3636-3637, 3678, 3844, 6772. 
 
 Also see crying. 
 Teatowel : 3276. 
 
 Teeth: 2398-2401, 2598, 2800, 2837, 
 3026-3074, 3702, 4284, 4426, 5071. 
 5412, 5501, 5527, 5547-5548, 5610, 
 6401-6410, 6628-6629, 6788, 9067, 
 9109, 9133, 9254. 
 Teetliing: 2671^-2700, 3026-3029, 4392. 
 Telegram: 7335. 
 Telephone : 632. 
 Telling: the animals, 10226; the bees, 
 
 10228. 
 Telling fortunes : See divination, for- 
 tune teller. 
 Telling time: 884, 931-932. 
 Temper: 1057-1058, 2570, 2580, 2928, 
 
 2934, 3135, 3958, 7177, 8050. 
 "Temper mark:" 2501. 
 Tempest : See stortn. 
 Ten: 48, 352, 1367, 1755, 1942-1944, 
 2912, 3134-3135, 4592, 5449, 5657, 
 6465, 6502, 7045-7047, 7057, 8098, 
 8245, 8375, 8413-8415, 8379, 8408- 
 8412, 9383. 
 Ten-month baby : 2407. 
 Tenant, of house: 8162. 
 Tenth of the month: 2661. 
 Tent: 1612, 1626. 
 Tetter : 5026. 
 
 1 hanking : 812-813, 908, 3782, 7949. 
 Thanksgiving Day : 8228. 
 Thaw: 252. 
 Theatre: 2314, 6411, 7291, 7376, 8524- 
 
 8532. 
 Thief: 2731, 2748-2750, 3191, 3378, 
 
 3400, 3614, 6412, 7167. Also see 
 stolen articles, stealing. 
 
 Thigh: 3422. 
 
 "Thigh," sign of Zodiac: 977, 1016, 
 1070, 1075-1076, 1097-1098, 2125, 
 3048. 
 
 Thimble: 2696, 2796, 3677, 3705-3706, 
 4461, 5080, 6625, 6967, 7366. 
 
 Thinking: 24«5-2486, 5119, 6659, 6682, 
 6687, 6694, 6696, 6700-6702, 6704, 
 6731, 6739, 6750, 7013, 7093. 
 
 Thinking of you: 2892, 2938, 3126, 
 3171, 3631, 3775, 3802, 6707-6708, 
 6710-6713, 8427. 
 
 Thirteen: 1680, 3491, 5683, 6526, 7073, 
 7097-7098, 7123, 8416, 8652, 8654, 
 8656-8659, 8662, 9951, 10153-10157. 
 
 Thirteenth of month: 2550-2551, 8364, 
 8655, 8787-8788. 
 
 Thirty: 588. 
 
 Thirty-first of the month : 833. 
 
 Thistle: 6753-6754. 
 
 Thorn: 4790, 5093-5095, 10623. 
 
 Thorn-bush: 4526, 5151. 
 
 "Thousand-legger," centipede: 1399. 
 
 "Thrash," disease: See thrush. 
 
 Thread: 3075, 3688-3689, 3965, 4247- 
 4249. 6710, 6755, 6968, 7096, 9329, 
 9454. 10099. Also see siring. 
 
 Three: 27, 133, 174, 178. 183-185, 197, 
 209-210, 259, 323-325. 334-335, 372, 
 406, 435, 482-483, 515, 536, 550, 
 628, 646, 648, 668. 760, 752, 780- 
 781, 784, 844, 911, 932, 946, 1009, 
 1130, 1202, 1218, 1320, 1405, 1438, 
 1444, 1483, 1518, 1522, 1524, 1559, 
 1591, 1633, 1645, 1704, 1770, 1773, 
 1780, 1789, 1812, 1854, 1870, 1940, 
 1944, 1951-1953, 1770, 1780, 1789, 
 1812, 1854, 1870, 1940, 1944, 1951- 
 1953, 1992, 2071, 2132, 2151, 2204, 
 2271, 2299, 2313-2314, 2329, 2496, 
 2734, 2797, 2818, 2826, 3012, 3078, 
 3169, 3291-3292, 3297, 3302. 3326, 
 3371, 3429, 3619, 3653, 3866, 3961, 
 3965-3966, 3977, 3983, 4003, 4009, 
 4023, 4030-4031. 4056, 40^)7. 4069, 
 4077, 4102, 4107, 4109, 4111-4112, 
 4122, 4129, 4161, 4164-4165, 4167, 
 4184, 4187. 4189, 4214-4215, 4219. 
 4230. 4241, 4244, 4253, 4259. 4261, 
 4275-4276, 4283. 4286, 4289-4290, 
 4357, 4415, 4418, 4466, 4488, 4502, 
 4515, 4558, 4624, 4731, 4910, 4930, 
 4996, 5015, 5019, 5041, 5043, 5047, 
 5079, 5082, 5090-5091, 5093, 5097, 
 5101, 5119, 5129, 5141, 5147, 5151, 
 5164, 5186, 5239, 5278, 5283, 5288, 
 5291, 5302, 5326. 5342, 5371. 5373, 
 5427, 5437, 5444, 5445, 5453, 5455, 
 5545. 5580. 5625, 5661, 5703, 5729, 
 5752, 5758, 5846, 5924-5925, 6073, 
 6097, 6183, 6186, 6462, 6498, 6511, 
 
718 
 
 Index 
 
 6565, 6583, 6584, 6589, 6591, 6596. 
 6625, 6632, 6636, 6678. 6714, 6734, 
 6761, 6792, 6797, 6814, 6835, 6857, 
 6869, 6885. 6911. 6919. 6941, 6986, 
 6991, 7000, 7003. 7015-7016, 7037, 
 7038, 7054, 7057, 7059, 70(>8. 7076, 
 7094. 7099. 7107, 7111, 7118, 7168, 
 7176, 7370, 7372-7373, 7506. 7520- 
 7521, 7807, 7890, 8185. 8212, 8214, 
 8263, 8316, 8376-8377, 8385, 8394- 
 8395, 8399, 8405, 8410, 8423-8424, 
 8431, 8477, 8492, 8506, 8570, 8635, 
 8637-8648. 8650. 8713, 8714, 8782, 
 8936, 8938, 8963, 8967-8968, 9008. 
 9050. 9053, 9067, 9076, 9119, 9132, 
 9148-9151. 9194. 9223. 9246, 9255- 
 9257. 9261. 9268, 9306, 9310, 9322, 
 9332, 9336-9340, 9373, 9379, 9392. 
 9395, 9407, 9412-9413, 9421, 9428, 
 9439, 9455-9456, 9458-9459, 9485, 
 9517, 9520, 9532, 9535, 9538, 9540. 
 9567, 9572. 9574-9575. 9577, 9588, 
 9648, 9657, 9679, 9710, 9736-9743, 
 9778 9784, 9802-9803, 9814. 9816- 
 9817', 9825. 9837, 9860, 9893, 9907, 
 9940, 9957-9958, 9961-9972, 9978, 
 9984, 10001-10002, 10012, 10025, 
 10029-10030. 10032. 10040, 10076, 
 10088, 10123, 10129, 10129-10131, 
 10159-10162, 10164, 10166, 10188, 
 10198, 10219-10221, 10224, 10266, 
 10318, 10353. 
 "Three days chills :" 4846. 
 Three Kings' Day, January 6th: See 
 
 Epiphmiy. 
 "Three-way-switch," in cards: 8816. 
 Throat: 3280. 4382. 4401, 4464, 4909, 
 
 5999, 5787, 5789. 
 Throat trouble: See cold, cough, sore 
 
 throat, etc. 
 Throwing away: 871, 1245, 1742, 1950, 
 2^84-2290, 2615, 3051-3059, 3073- 
 3074, 4039, 4045-4047, 4051-4054, 
 4058, 4060-4061, 4064-4065, 4067, 
 4089-4091, 4093-4095, 4127, 4131, 
 4134. 4136. 4138, 4146, 4160. 4168, 
 4170, 4172, 4177, 4179, 4185-4187, 
 4192-4194, 4210, 4213, 4224, 4258, 
 4260-4261, 4320, 5085, 5283, 6175, 
 6488, 6494. 6496, 6523, 7463, 7535- 
 7536, 7703-7705, 7722. 772S-7727, 
 7742, 8023-8024, 8026-8027, 8170, 
 8180. 
 Thrush, bird: 694. 
 Thrush, disease: 4401-4405. 
 Thumb: 2187, 2473, 2837, 5425, 5542, 
 5717, 6627, (MA-G6&7, 6786, 7190, 
 7344, 7346, 8327. 
 Thunder: 352-353, 360, 695-716, 1172, 
 1231, 1302, 1594, 1642, 1685-1686, 
 1801-1806. 1818. 1842, 6624, 7195, 
 7265, 8999, 9000-9001, 10342. 
 Thunderbolt: 5380. 
 
 Thunderstorm: 1, 147, 369, 701, 849, 
 
 5380. 
 Thursday: 661, 2534-2537, 3307-3309. 
 340(^3407, 3849, 4621. 7236-7237, 
 8044, 8429, 10325, 10680. 
 Tickling : 934, 2802-2805, 6875. 
 Timber : See huuber, woods. 
 Time: See telling time. 
 Timothy: hav. 2144; seed, 5792. 
 Tin: can, 1882, 2056, 7746, 9263, 9499, 
 9675; cup, 2778, 7030-7031, 7136; 
 pan. 1324; piece of. 4632; tag, 
 2273; wedding anniversary, 7396. 
 Tin foil: 5292. 
 Tintype: 9209, 9211, 9422. 
 Tir>toe: 5762, 8262. 
 Tire, of automobile: 10702-10703. 
 Toad: 718-721, 1582-1589, 2215, 4016- 
 4017, 4133, 4250, 4747, 5293-5294, 
 5413, 6r)89-6690, 8694. 
 "Toad frog:" 721. 
 Toadstool: 717-718, 886. 
 Toast, drinking a : 7863. 
 Tobacco: 460-461, 910, 1300-1301, 1371, 
 2014, 2198, 2378, 2865, 2869, 3039- 
 3040, 4251-4252, 4359-4361, 4384, 
 4433, 4462. 4507, 4527-4528, 4622, 
 4748, 4777, 5001, 5003-5004, 5265, 
 5487-5488, 5647, 5711, 8636, 8643- 
 8647. 9115. 9259, 9275, 10001-10002, 
 10595, 10684-10f)86. 
 Toe: 1302, 1586. 2454, 3462, 4470, 4645, 
 4652-4654. 5881, 6626-6627, 6683- 
 6687, 6756. 6779, 6969-6970, 7204- 
 7206, 7408-7409, 10016. 
 Toe-nail: 3463-3470, 5220, 5305, 5631, 
 6669, 6910, 8325-8327, 8329, 8331, 
 8328 
 Tomato:" 1107-1110, 2487, 6413, 7864- 
 
 7865, 7930, 8612. 
 Tongue: 2435. 2779, 2836, 3025, 3066, 
 3120, 3133, 3156, 3168, 4218-4219, 
 4400, 5149. 5431, 5439, 5441, 5499, 
 5537, 5579. 
 Tonsihtis: 4940. 
 Tooth : See teeth. 
 
 Toothache : 3950, 5624-5655, 6406, 9169. 
 Toothpick: 7866, 7913, 9359, 9672. 
 Toothpick holder: 7867. 
 Towel: 3276, 3871, 3890-3894, 7392, 
 
 7992-7994, 9188, 9287-9288. 
 Town: 276, 1526, 3671, 8355, 8806. 
 
 10620. 
 Toy: 10323. 
 Tiadesman: 7195. 
 Train : See railroad. 
 Train-sickness : 5763-5765. 
 Tramp, vagabond : 8740, 10620. 
 Transference, of disease: 3964-3965, 
 3971-3972, 3976, 3988, 3990, 4028- 
 4040, 4042-4058, 4060-4067, 4071- 
 4082, 4084-4100, 4104-4119, 4121, 
 4123-4138, 4140-4141, 4143-4147, 
 
Index 
 
 719 
 
 4149, 4151, 4155, 4160, 4162-4163, 
 4166, 4168-4170, 4172, 4176-4181, 
 4184-4194, 4199-4200, 4204-4205, 
 4207-4211, 4213, 4222-4224, 4226, 
 4228-4244, 4246-4247, 4255. 4257- 
 4258, 4260-4263, 4332, 4333, 4334, 
 4486, 4750, 4763, 4768, 4792, 4839, 
 4850, 4977, 5014-5017, 5078-5079, 
 5083-5085, 5094-5095, 5097, 5099, 
 5151, 9266. 
 
 Transplanting: 902, 946, 1048, 1102, 
 1126, 1252, 1274, 9772. 
 
 Trap: 1891. 
 
 Travel : See journey. 
 
 Traveler: 542-544, 2803, 2906-2907, 
 3030, 3032. 
 
 Traveling bag : 5764, 8354. 
 
 Traveling-man: 3671. 
 
 Treachery: 6254. 6275, 6388. 
 
 Tieasure, buried: 9272, 10469-10486. 
 
 Tree, in general: 62, 67, 79, 197, 261, 
 349-350, 583, 599, 714-716, 732- 
 733, 736, 1246-1270. 1281, 1598, 
 2221, 3988, 4038, 4362, 4383, 4487, 
 4792, 5380, 5636, 6414-6415, 6566, 
 6632, 6734, 6767, 6915, 8314, 8962, 
 914^9151, 9184, 9369, 9551- 9552, 
 9598, 9659-%60, 9949, 10159-10166, 
 10508, 10555, 10649. Also see fruit 
 tree, leaves, stump, and various 
 trees. 
 
 Tree frog, or toad: 259, 719, 1589- 
 1590. 
 
 Trial: 10625. 
 
 Trinity, rites in the Name of The : 
 See God. 
 
 Triplets: animal, 1822; human, 2330, 
 8295. 
 
 Trouble: 921, 942, 1041, 1537, 1545, 
 1625, 1639, 1709, 1812, 1870, 1978, 
 1997, 2064, 2582, 2584, 2616-2617, 
 3014, 3045, 3100, 3206, 3407, 3438, 
 3477, 3486, 3498, 3551, 35%, 3627, 
 3629, 3800, 3833, 3846, 5853, 5862, 
 5954-5956, 5984, 5996, 6000, 6049, 
 6085, 6104, 6164, 6240, 6250, 6270, 
 6302, 6319, 6334, 6336, 6339, 6372, 
 6434-6435, 6443, 6886, 7211, 7264, 
 7383, 7410, 7430, 7469, 7497, 7499, 
 7511, 7535, 7554, 7564, 7604, 7612- 
 7613, 7699, 7704, 7723, 7729, 7734, 
 7783, 7870, 8018, 8027, 8035, 8067, 
 8096, 8164, 8169, 8226, 8250, 9478. 
 Also see lu^k, sorroiv. 
 
 Trousers : See pants. 
 
 Trousseau : See bridal attire. 
 
 Trunk, traveling: 7571-7572, 8354. 
 
 Trustworthy : See faithful. 
 
 Tub: 4721; of water, 1677, 5890, 5905, 
 6787, 6990, 7129, 8623. Also see 
 bathtub. 
 
 Tuberculosis : See consumption. 
 
 Tuberose: 958-963, 7328. 
 
 Tuesday: 380, 658, 2534-2536, 3307- 
 3310, 3406-3407, 3412, 3849, 7236- 
 7237, 7238, 8044. 
 
 Tumblebug : 739. 
 
 Tumor: 5658-5662. 
 
 Turkey : 740-741, 1816-1820, 6416-6417, 
 6691. 6971. 
 
 Turkey buzzard: 10167. 
 
 Turning around: 1940, 1943, 1951-1953, 
 1959, 1972, 3052, 4200, 5448, 6686, 
 7015-7016, 7037-7038, 8267, 8375- 
 8376, 8393-8394, 8405, 8713. 
 
 Turning back: 1755, 1874, 1936-1939. 
 1974, 3130, 3227, 4200, 8272, 8274, 
 8286, 8288, 8290-8293, 8336, 8339, 
 8357, 8365-8426, 8953-8954. 8963. 
 
 Turnip: 1032, 1111-1121, 4334, 4672, 
 4901, 5267, 6418. 
 
 Tunrentine: 1033, 2347. 2505, 4001, 
 4398-4399, 4420, 44C>3-4464, 4505. 
 4603, 4718, 4762, 4795, 4878, 5134, 
 5164, 5230, 5266, 5345, 5560, 5672, 
 9227, 9259-9260. 
 
 lurtle: 1640-1643. 2488, 2489, 5381, 
 8514-8515, 9487. 
 
 Turtledove: 742-744, 848, 1568-1570. 
 6(,32, 7016-7017, 8147-8148, 9893- 
 9894, 9901. Also see dove. 
 
 Tusk, tooth: 5071. 
 
 Twelve: 326, 1945, 2408, 4651, 5450, 
 6479, 6782, 7197, 8380, 8474, 8776. 
 
 Twelve-month baby : 2408. 
 
 Twenty: 5040, 5495, 6540, 6913. 7048, 
 8418. 
 
 Twenty-one: 9437. 
 
 Twenty-first of the montli : 2552. 
 
 Twenty- four: 8460. 
 
 Twenty-fourth of the month: 2552. 
 
 Twig: 5015. Also see stick. 
 
 Twin, double: almond, 6466; berry, 
 7127; chicken, 1690; crown, of 
 hair on head, 2907; fruit, 114(>- 
 1147, 6972, 7127; vegetable, 6973; 
 yolk, 1690. 
 
 Twins: animal, 1822; calves, 2160, 
 9832; human, 2314-2315. 2329-2330, 
 2.nS4. 2415, 2476, 2543-2544, 6419- 
 6420, 8296. 
 
 'Twins," sign of Zodiac : 899-900, 982- 
 984. 991. 995-996, 1017-1019, 1054, 
 1071-1072, 1106, 1109-1110. 
 
 Twist bread: 2810. 
 
 Two: 173, 358-359, 382, 419. 423-424, 
 676-677, 958, 1174, 1277. 1285, 
 1289, 1509, 1518, 1796, 1798, 1891, 
 2262, 2299, 2330, 2476, 2553, 2590, 
 2607, 2885, 2906, 2908, 2911, 2991. 
 3115, 3124, 3298, 3301, 3314. 3650- 
 3651. 3774, 4066, 5184, 5502, 5523, 
 5923, 6288, 6334, 6537, 6633, 6638- 
 6645, 6736, 6789, 6859-6862, 6890- 
 6892, 6893-6894. 6897-6898, 6901, 
 6906, 6908, 6920, 6939-6940, 6945- 
 
720 
 
 Index 
 
 6946, 6969-6Q70. 6984, 7077, 7080. 
 7321-7322, 7363, 7424, 7482-7483, 
 7493, 7520-7521, 7544-7548, 7608- 
 7616, 7758, 7760, 7810, 7843, 7852- 
 7853, 789<'), 7905, 7935-7936, 8018, 
 8062-8063, 8163, 8297-8313, 8328, 
 8393, 8427, 8508-8510, 8581, 8635- 
 8636. 8671. 8708. 8780, 8782, 8967, 
 9062, 9142, 9185, 9388, 9672, 9898, 
 9900, 99-26, 9980, 10006-10007, 
 10077, 10131, 10140, 10320, 10701, 
 10708. 
 
 Two dollar bill: 8575, 8784, 8841. 
 
 " J'wo-headed nigger:" 9074. 
 
 Two-leafed clover : 6822. 
 
 Typhoid fever: 5184-5189. 
 
 Ugly: 2328, 2601-26(M, 3873, 7168. 
 
 Ulcer: 5656-5657. 
 
 Umbilical cord: See navel cord. 
 
 Umbrella: 745-746, 6421-6423, 6780, 
 6974, 7575-7585, 8943, 10168-10174. 
 
 Underclothes: 94«8. 
 
 Ifndershirt: 9489. 
 
 Underskirt: 3607-3608, 5732-5733. 
 
 Undertaker: 6424, 9282, 10175, 10347- 
 10348, 10369. 
 
 Underwear : 3542, 5572. 
 
 Unfinished : row, in planting, 835 ; 
 task, 3693, 8487, 10103. 
 
 Unhappy: 7165, 7250-7251, 7265, 7272, 
 7358. Also see crying, sorroiv. 
 
 Unpleasant: 3208, 3451, 3590, 3208, 
 3451, 3590, 6233. 
 
 Untidy : See slovenly. 
 
 Untrustwordiy : 2919-2920, 3185, 3192. 
 
 Unwelcome: 1194, 1927, 3453, 7435, 
 8331 
 
 Upside down: 246, 1531, 1535, 2039- 
 2041, 2730, 5207, 5211, 5532, 5605- 
 5006, 5902, 5916, 6671, 7550, 7567, 
 7914, 7958, 8447, 8448, 8455-8459, 
 8929, 9203. 9205, 9207, 9215, 9419- 
 9420, 9432, 9436-9438, 9442, 9444, 
 9759. 
 
 Up sign and down sign : See dozvn sign 
 and up sign. 
 
 Upstairs and downstairs : See down- 
 stairs and upstairs. 
 
 Upwards and downwards : See dozi'n- 
 wards and upwards. 
 
 Urine: 1177, 1647-1648, 2090-2091, 
 2706, 3041, 3880-3884, 3921-3927. 
 4310, 4320, 4322-4324, 4335, 4385- 
 4388, 4405, 4778, 4809, 4956, 4977, 
 5005-5012, 5072, 5075-5076, 5078, 
 5110, 5192, 5249, 5584, 5734, 5747. 
 5785, 8039, 8778, 9141, 9152-9153, 
 9244. 9261, 9263. 9490-9500, 9673, 
 9675-9677. Also see bed-wetting, 
 kidney trouble. 
 
 Urine: bullfrog. 4015; cow, 4645, 
 4654; goat, 4557, 5477; toad, 4133, 
 4250. 
 
 Urinating : 2814, 4316, 4321, 4332. 4334, 
 
 5712, 5757, 8008. 
 Ursa bridge: 10507. 
 
 Vagabond: See tramp. 
 
 Vagina: 3017, 3430. 
 
 Vain: 2833. 
 
 Vanity: 2833, 2918. 
 
 Vanity case : 6928. 
 
 Varicose vein : 4812. 
 
 Vase: 7573. 
 
 Vaseline: 3189, 4389, 4503, 5295, 5489, 
 5573. 
 
 Vegetables, in general : 964-968, 6425, 
 7868, 7930-7934, 8535. Also see 
 separate vegetables. 
 
 V^etable soup: 9357. 
 
 Vehicle: See automobile, bicycle, bug- 
 gy, carriage, ivagon. 
 
 Veil: 10322. Also see bridal veil, caul. 
 
 Vein: 2323, 2596-2597, 4811-4812, 7128. 
 
 Velvet ribbon: 4422. 
 
 Venereal disease : 5773-5775. 
 
 Vest : See icaistcoat. 
 
 Vine: 1270, 1294-1299. 
 
 Vinegar: 1736, 2217, 2342, 2864, 3961, 
 4002-4005, 4227, 4254, 4456, 4467, 
 4504, 4514, 4574, 4607, 4623, 4656- 
 4657, 4670, 4728, 4779, 4799, 4805- 
 4806, 4813, 4895, 4899, 4902. 4915, 
 4938, 4945, 4957. 5073, 5112, 5185, 
 5189, 5240, 5245, 5345, 5353, 5401, 
 5403, 5415, 5440, 5453, 5486, 5521, 
 5528, 5595-5597, 5648, 5745, 5768, 
 5771-5772, 5783, 6427, 7176, 7892, 
 7904, 7928-7929, 8473, 9091, 9202, 
 9242, 9264, 9400, 9470, 9625, 9670. 
 
 Violet : color, 10588 ; flower, 2697, 4283, 
 4958. 5623, 5677-5679, 10368. 
 
 Violin: 1624, 6149, 9018, 9073. 
 
 Virgin, sign of the Zodiac: 820, 896- 
 897, 978-980, 1035, 1053, 1111. 
 
 "Virgin's shirt," blue patch in cloudy 
 sky : 666. 
 
 Virgo, sign of Zodiac : See Virgin. 
 
 Virility: 2332-2333, 2898-2900. 
 
 Virtuous: 2571. Also see faithful. 
 
 Visiting: 2306-2309, 2525, 2806-2812, 
 3349, 8344, 8359. Also see com- 
 pany. 
 
 Vitality: 916, 2856, 5833-5834, 10199. 
 
 Vitriol: 9265. 
 
 Voboilium : 4719. 
 
 Vomiting : 5580, 5584, 5787-5792, 6428. 
 
 "W," the letter: 1380-1381. 
 
 Wagon: 6525-6529, 6537, 6541, 6633, 
 
 8175, 10176, 10580. 
 Waist: 5297, 9484, 9489. 
 "Waist, sign of the Zodiac :" 2097. 
 Waistcoat: 3824. 
 Walking: 2594, 2838-2840, 2842-2843, 
 
 6068, 6429. 
 
Index 
 
 721 
 
 Walking around object, circling: 1522, 
 6632, 6797, 6992, 7069, 8395, 8704, 
 8782, 8937, 8938, 9256-9257, 9306, 
 %34. 
 
 Walking forth : See entering and 
 leaving, forgetting, journey, path 
 crossed, separated by objects, turn- 
 ing back, znsiting. 
 
 Walking in sleep: See sleepwalking. 
 
 Walnut: 747-748, 1289, 4255-4256, 
 4465, 4651, 4673, 4815, 5169, 6430, 
 7195. 
 
 Wanderer: See restlessness, tramp, 
 traveler. 
 
 Wandering Jew, plant: 1299. 
 
 Want: 1381, 2534, 7963. 
 
 War: 1380-1383, 1884, 2619, 10619, 
 10635, 10682-10683, 10696. 
 
 Wart: 4010-4263, 6431. 
 
 Wart doctor: 4020-4026, 4167. 
 
 Wash boiler : 7209. 
 
 "Wash day :" 7627-7628, 7660, 7680. 
 
 Washing: clothes, 6051, 8044-8047; 
 dishes, 6838, 7207-7209, 8019-8020, 
 8044-8047, 10182-10183. Also see 
 bathing, scrubbing. 
 
 Washing : automobile, 16 ; clothes, 
 6051, 7207-7209, 8044-8047, 10182- 
 10183; dishes, 6838, 7209, (also see 
 dish rag); flag, 9920; window, 
 427, 793. Also see bathing. 
 
 Wash rag: 749, 4656. 
 
 Wasp: 750, 1400-1402, 4507, 6432-6433. 
 
 Watch: 6434-6435; chain, 1868, 8566; 
 charm, 2273. 
 
 Water: 462, 499, 567, 751, 755, 1251, 
 1620-1622, 1689, 2178-2180, 2506, 
 2527, 2713, 2722, 2768, 2796, 2886, 
 4031, 4037, 4040, 4048, 4067, 4128, 
 4190, 4194, 4225-4226, 4245, 4247, 
 4257-4258, 4305, 4363, 4396, 4400, 
 4423-4424, 4588-4589, 4722, 4791, 
 4^5-4846, 4850, 4903, 5017, 5165, 
 5221, 5231, 5414-5415, 5426-5427, 
 5432, 5435, 5442-5450, 5503, 5549- 
 5551, 5574, 5650, 5660, 5847, 5882- 
 5885, 5889-5892, 5903-5905, 5939, 
 5948, 6005-6006, 6436-6449, 6477- 
 6478, 6712-6713, 6734. 6741, 6754, 
 6787-6788, 6876, 6899, 6978-6979, 
 6990, 7129, 7130-7140, 7176, 7180, 
 7191, 7705, 7869-7876, 7891, 7933- 
 7934, 7948, 8352, 8623, 9156, 9211, 
 9225, 9436-9437, 9442, 9445, 10329, 
 10703, 10707. Also see rain water, 
 running water, snovj water, stump 
 water. 
 
 Water-closet: 249, 2974, 4044, 7877, 
 9350, 9605, 10708. 
 
 "Waterman," sign of Zodiac : 819, 898, 
 901. 
 
 Watermelon: 1195-1196, 1198-1201, 
 1204-1208, 1210, 1516, 4571, 4590. 
 
 Water pipes : 753. 
 
 Water pitcher: 754, 3072, 7574, 9215. 
 
 Wax : See beeszvax, earumx. 
 
 Waxwing : See cedar waxwing. 
 
 Wealth(y): 1209, 1878, 2531-2532, 
 2540, 2720, 2812, 2848, 2903-2904, 
 3034, 3194, 3307, 3333, 3392, 3406- 
 3407, 3501, 3625, 3947, 3956, 4010, 
 5989, 5994, 6033, 6060, 6064, 6077, 
 6160, 6267, 6414, 6979, 7136-7137, 
 7168, 7181, 7189, 7192, 7195, 7198, 
 7236, 7290, 7292, 7316, 8182, 8430, 
 8576, 8610-8611. 
 
 Weaning: animal, 1824-1825, 2092, 
 2118-2137, 2191-2194; human, see 
 lactation. 
 
 Weasel : 756. 
 
 Weather omens: 1-799. Also see. 
 
 Web: See cobzceb, spider. 
 
 "Web:" 2606-2607. 
 
 Wedding: 2314-2315, 2326. 5931, 5978, 
 5980, 5992, 6045, 5994, 6060-6061, 
 6074, 6078, 6086, 6090-6091, 6116, 
 6135, 6195, 6261-6266, 6269, 6294, 
 f>306. 6338, 6399, 6442, 6642-6643, 
 6714-7412, 7507, 9074, 9246, 9251, 
 9355-9503, 9512, 9819, 10216-10218. 
 
 Wedding cake: 5931, 7003, 7365-7372. 
 
 Wedding ring: 2322, 4259, 5088-5089, 
 6934, 7094-70%, 7299-7301, 7342- 
 7343, 7347, 7372. 
 
 Wedding veil : See bridal veil. 
 
 Wednesday: 659-660, 670, 2534-2537, 
 3307-3309, 3406-3407, 3413, 3849, 
 7236-7237, 7239-7240, 8044, 10680. 
 
 Weed: 888-890, 1060, 4502, 4515. 
 
 •'Weed breast:" 2642. 
 
 Week: 133, 254, 483-484, 657, 666, 
 2533, 3225, 3307-3309, 3406-3407, 
 3417, 3419, 3469-3470, 3698, 3745, 
 3849, 4339, 7521, 7783, 7878, 8087, 
 8213-8214, 8218, 8222-8233, 8359, 
 8431, 8484, 8492-8493, 8540-8541, 
 8546-8547, 8615, 8617, 8641, 10630, 
 10680. Also see various days of 
 the li'cck. 
 
 V/eeping : See crying. 
 
 Weeping willow tree : 1290, 2068. Also 
 see cK'Ulozi'. 
 
 Weight: 2403-24(M, 2864-2865, 7798, 
 7845, 7854, 7872-7S73. 
 
 Welcome: 1421, 1426, 1785, 1793, 3454. 
 
 Well : 4051-4052, 4094-4095, 4186, 4260, 
 6634, 6980, 7141-7148, 7874, 9266, 
 9819, 10185, 10377, 10378. 
 
 Wen: 3964-3965, 5288. 
 
 West: 129-130, 276, 514, 757. 769, 773- 
 775, 1526, 1921, 5855, 5859, 5862, 
 6691, 6793, 8987, 8992-8993, 9064. 
 
 Wetting : See bed-zvctting, urinating. 
 
 Wheat: 1241-1245, 3912-3913, 7149- 
 7151; dust, 4644; straw, 4261. 
 
722 
 
 Index 
 
 Wheel, of featliers, in bewitclicd pil- 
 low: 9341. 
 
 Wheelbarrow: 10186. 
 
 Whetstone: 765U. 
 
 Whip: 9501, 9678. 
 
 Whipping: 3095-3096, 3107, 3109, 3321, 
 3499. 3651. 5874, 7326, 7489, 7502, 
 7720, 8133, 9561. 
 
 Whippoorwill: 1571-1574, 6635-6637, 
 10187-10188. 
 
 Whirling around : See turning around. 
 
 Whirlwind: 762-765, 10709. 
 
 Whiskev: 1826, 2341, 2343, 2854, 4339, 
 4345, 4418. 4529, 4706, 4751, 4833, 
 4840. 4S48, 5122, 5366, 5367, 5651- 
 5652, 5724, 7802, 7878-7880, 8577, 
 8581, 8807, 9268, 9380. 9470, 9498, 
 9578. 10550. 
 
 Whistle: 722-724. 766. 
 
 Whistling : 1363, 5849, 5877, 77(>2.-77(^, 
 8519. 8525-8526. 
 
 White: 5136. 6450-6452. 9748, 9973, 
 10189; bean, 4043, 4054, 4060-4061, 
 7824. 7890. 9705 ; berrv. 6792; bird, 
 9715. 9723; butterfly, 1337. 6803; 
 cat, 1927, 1970-1971. 1977-1978, 
 1990-1991, 9765; chicken, 10292; 
 clothes, 3564, 9822; coffin, 9821; 
 cord string, 4240, 9486; corn silk, 
 1238. 9831; corn stalk, 1237; dog, 
 10176; dog. of feathers, in l>e- 
 witched wreath, 9325; dove, 1523- 
 1524, 9894, 9898-9900, 9903; dress 
 Z777; drift cloud, 132; goat, 6190 
 goos'e, 6194, 9933; hair, 2914-2915 
 2959; horse, 2255-2267, 2269-2272 
 4149. 5143, 6216, 6224, 6531-6532, 
 6534-6542, 6881. 7M4-7(M7. 7049 
 7054, 7057, 8677, 9951-9954. 10527 
 white lily, 9175; linen, 5413, 7195 
 meat, 6271; mouse, 9185, 1O009 
 mule, 22f>8, 4149, 7052. 10606 
 onion, 5583; paper, 9359, 10036 
 pigeon, 6329. 6921-6922, 7Z77 
 10067; pin, 3776; pond lily, 5713 
 rabbit, 10077; rat, 8521; rock 
 5532; rocking-chair, 9783; rooster 
 10607; rose. 10090. 10277; sheet 
 10106-10107; silk thread, 3965 
 wedding clothes. 7269-7271 ; wine. 
 5118; woolen cloth. 5224. 
 White clover: 4865. SW). 
 White oak: 1219. 4240. 4583. 4591. 
 4780, 4911, 4940, 5016, 5241, 5564- 
 5565. 9210. 9275. 
 White perch: 1312. 
 W hite and black : See black and white. 
 Whites, disease: 5109, 5128. 
 Vv^hitlow: 4813-4815. 
 Whitsunday: 1234. 
 Whooping cough : 4406-4424. 
 Widow: 7678. 
 Widower: 7210. 
 
 Wild: berries, 24; carrot, 4572; cher- 
 ry, 4591. 4848. 4904-4906. 4978, 
 5553, 5633, 5654, 5821 ; duck, 20O- 
 203, 6849, 8967; flowers, 9923; 
 fruit, 262-263; geese, 274-276, 
 1526; geranium, 4880, 4979; grai>e, 
 280, 2957, 3914, 4980; parsnip, 
 1051 ; plum, 4484-4485; rose, 5754; 
 turnip, 4253. 
 
 Will, legal document : 6453-6454, 10710. 
 
 Will of the wisp: See jack o' lantern. 
 
 Willow: 1290, 4849, 7396. Also see 
 •weeping willozv. 
 
 Wind: 61-62. 193, 315. 370, 378. 388, 
 539, 618, 620. 757-792. 841-842, 874, 
 1171, 1644, 1668, 1703-1705, 2086- 
 2087, 6397-6348, 8987-8955. 
 
 Window: 346, 348, 427, 793, 1402, 
 1498-1499, 1503, 1753, 2074, 2773- 
 2774, 2871-2872, 4921, 5655, 6146, 
 6455- 6456, 6981, 6993, 7180, 7420, 
 7440-7445, 7469. 8116. 8146. 8179, 
 8460, 9534, 9767-9768, 9804, 9836- 
 9837, 9858-9859, 9885. 9899-9900, 
 9960, 9972. 10036. 100(4-10067, 
 1O0S5-10O88, 10095, 10139, 10191- 
 10194, 10313. 
 
 Window curtain: 9844, 10200. 
 
 Window shade: 7567, 7563, 10195. 
 
 Wine: 2173. 4353. 4963. 5118, 5129, 
 5748, 5767, 7863, 9262, 9269, 9365, 
 9370, 9449 ; making. 7977-7980. 
 
 Winking: 3238-3239, 6724. 
 
 Winning and losing: 1485, 8660-8944. 
 
 Winter: early, 14, 202; late, 203; long, 
 35, 272; mild or cold, 4-5, 7, 14-15, 
 18, 24-26, 35, 65-75, 69-75, 91-95, 
 135, 138-144, 163, 230, 262-263, 
 270-271, 274-275. 280, 289-290, 294, 
 305-310, 367. 431-433, 436-437, 440- 
 441, 467-468, 609-613, 733. 735- 
 739, 747-748, 752, 791, 794-795, 
 798-799; short. 273. 
 
 Winter carrot: 1008. 
 
 "Winter colic :" 4352. 
 
 "Winter grape:" See zi'ild grape. 
 
 Wintergreen: 4336, 5383. 
 
 Wire: 538, 2218, 4006, 5196, 5331-5332, 
 6521. 
 
 Wire fence: 3814. 
 
 Wisdom: 3029, 3946. 
 
 Wisdom teeth: 3026-3029, 3071. 
 
 Wish: 1870, 2381-2382, 2808, 3253, 
 3296, 4061, 4149, 4262-4263, 5017, 
 6460-6646, 6863. 6913. 6919, 6937, 
 7031, 7044, 7048, 7064, 7070, 7109, 
 7118, 7129, 7374, 8380. 8392, 9050, 
 9054, 9125, 9241, 9246, 9269-9271, 
 9321, 9327, 9373-9374, 9416, 9421, 
 9424, 9434, 9438, 9442, 9446, 9456, 
 9459, 9468, 9473, 9502. 9549. 
 
 Wishbone : of chicken, 6638-6645, 7054, 
 
Index 
 
 723 
 
 7152-7155, 8944, 9064; of turkey, 
 6971 ; of turtle, 9487. 
 
 Wish vine: 6646. 
 
 Witch ball: 9U86, 9161. Also see 
 hoodoo ball. 
 
 Witchcraft and hoodoo: 3065, 9060- 
 9682, 10345. 
 
 Vi'itch-hazel : 4708. 
 
 Withered hand: 10276. 
 
 "Wit leather:" 6999. 
 
 Wolf: 8476. 
 
 "Wolf," cow disease: 8476. 
 
 Woman and dog in the moon : 10633. 
 
 Womb, falling of the: 5132. 
 
 Wood: 297, 361, 62^, 1270, 1276, 1288, 
 2203, 2226, 3139-3140, 3173, 3339, 
 3342, 3355-3356, 3758, 5636, 6608, 
 6692, 7134-7136, 7199, 7396, 7648, 
 7886, 85U5, 8507, 9277. 
 
 Wood ashes: 923, 1138, 1161, 2203. 
 
 Wood struck by lightning : 361, 5636. 
 
 Woodchuck: See ground hog. 
 
 Wooden leg : 6559-6560, 8289. 
 
 Woodpecker: 1220, 1575-1577, 10197, 
 1U198. 
 
 Woods: 449, 3130, 6982, 8506, 8954- 
 8955, 95^8, 10622. 
 
 Wool: 2080-2082, 4007, 7396. 
 
 Woolen : cloth, 5Z24, 5264 ; sock, 5263 ; 
 string, 4233, 4794, 5551. 
 
 Work: ^o38, 2541, 2858, 3326, 3348, 
 3377, 3568, 3842, 8478-8532. 
 
 Workbench: 10584. 
 
 "Workingman's shirt," blue spot in 
 cloudy sky : 667. 
 
 Worm: 797-799, 851, 1000-1002, 1135, 
 1138, 1160, 1161-1162, 1165, 1178, 
 1200-1261, 1267, 1403-1405, 3549, 
 3617-3618, 3675, 4811, 5741, 5384, 
 6457, 6757, 7779, 7855, 9M0-9041. 
 
 Worm fence : 7422. 
 
 Worms, disease: in cats, 1899-1900; 
 in dogs, 2026; in hogs, 2090; in 
 horses, 2216-2217; in persons, 
 4425-4467. ^ 
 
 Wormwood: 5771. 
 
 Worry: 2562, 3306. 
 
 Worthless: 7157, 7164, 7166. 
 
 Wound: 4468-4471, 4729, 4752, 4765, 
 5250-5256, 5267-5269, 5271. 
 
 Wrapping paper : 5526. 
 
 Wreath : 5053 ; of feathers, in witch- 
 craft, 9309-9354. 
 
 Wreck: 8350. 
 
 Wren: 1578-1579. 
 
 Wrinkle: 2324, 2385, 2886-2888, 3016. 
 
 Wrist: 2323, 2868, 4588. 5145, 5161, 
 5335-5332, 5339, 6964, 8900, 8960. 
 
 Writing: 921, 4263, 6455, 6754, 6769- 
 6770, 6912, 6990, 7057. 7075-7076, 
 7083, 7130-7133, 7371, 7395, 8348, 
 8427-8459, 8474, 9193-9194, 9359- 
 9362, 9411-9413, 9503, 10194. 
 
 Writing paper: 4814, 5531, 5760, 5765. 
 
 Wrong side out : 3537, 3539, 3575-3578, 
 3581-3588, 3590-3591, 3593-3594. 
 4397, 6512, 6752, 7208, 8057, 9669. 
 
 Yarn : 836, 4652-4653, 4776, 5222, 5540- 
 5542, 5545-5546, 6970, 6992-6993, 
 9171. 
 
 Yawning: 3089-3090, 4291. 
 
 Year: 122, 321-322, 325-326, 381, 498, 
 665, 668. 784, 946, 960, 1003, 1569, 
 1572, 1933, 2009, 2010, 2077, 2244. 
 2256, 2300-2301, 2855, 2885, 3497. 
 3621, 3815, 4279, 4281, 5166, 5238, 
 5390, 5664, 6065-6066, 6076, 7458, 
 7530-7531, 7768, 7778, 7823-7829. 
 7831-7838, 7852, 7936, 8024, 8040, 
 8107, 8109-8110, 8185, 8230. 8232- 
 8235, 8297, 8567, 8508-8509, 8589, 
 8618-8619, 8621-8624, 8654-8782, 
 8980. 9093, 9668. 9805-9810, 10182- 
 10183, 10185, 10219, 10586, 10614, 
 10654-10663. 
 
 Yeast: 2399, 7948-7949. 
 
 Yellow: butterfly, 48, 1338; cat, 1972, 
 9767; caterpillar, 70, 4828 (com- 
 pare 72-75); clay, 4513, 4779, 
 5361; clothes, 3564. 3572; cucum- 
 ber, 4831; flower, 919-920; garter, 
 6863; peach leaves. 5699; stones, 
 3849; wedding clothes, 7270-7271, 
 727d>-7279. 
 
 Yellow dock : 4467. 
 
 Yellow jaundice : 5747, 5749-5752, 5754. 
 
 Yellowroot: 4959, 5575. 
 
 Yellow and red : See red and yclloiv. 
 
 Zinc: 5246, 9452. 
 
 Zodiac: 816, 819-829, 857, 892-900, 973- 
 984, 989-991, 993-996, 1006, 1013- 
 1019, 1035. 1042-1044, 1050, 1052- 
 1054, 1063-1072, 1075-1076. 1095- 
 1098. 1106, 1108-1111, 1165. 1195- 
 1198, 1214, 1263, 1296. 1692, 1823- 
 1824, 2092, 2095-2102, 2116-2128, 
 2188-2193. 2527, 2645-2656, 3046- 
 3048. 4473-4474, 4628, 7969-7971. 
 8961, 9884-8986. 
 
 Zooanthropy : 9602. Compare 9565. 
 
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