Democratic Sentinel, Volume 22, Number 22, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 11 June 1898 — Spells Employed by Negroes. [ARTICLE]

Spells Employed by Negroes.

There are numerous harmless "spells” which are regular observances in the lives of the average Southern negroes. Besides the root chewing, the track lifting, etc., they have a love philter of frogs’ legs cooked in still water, and the ashes of a bat are powerful enough to keep away a rival or an enemy. To make a dog stay at home they cut off the tip of his tail and bury it under the doorstep. To make a wife obedient they “draw her plctur” and hide it in the shingles. Thus, waking or sleeping, there is a constant forcing or counteracting of destiny.