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Stevens, "Ma"

I had some difficulty finding the root doctor's house. It was located in a Negro community known as B-- and in this particular section the dirt streets, continuing for perhaps only two blocks and ending abruptly in a blind alley or at the rear of a small grocery store or a house, formed an irregular, jagged pattern. The streets were bordered with row after row of weather-beaten one-story houses, each one so like its neighbors that it was almost impossible to distinguish one from another. Here and there where a blind flapped loosely in the wind or a window pane was missing one had a vacant staring expression. The search was further complicated by the fact that numbers had long been erased from most of the houses. Each time I stopped to make inquiries bandana-adorned heads appeared from windows and doors and surveyed me suspiciously. Occasionally from a discreet distance a low-pitched voice asked about my errand.

Sly whispers and furtive glances were exchanged when I announced that I was looking for "Ma" Stevens, the root doctor. She was apparently a well known character in the settlement. Superstitious neighbors confided their knowledge of her to me in awed whispers. "Ma is a root doctuh fuh sho'" and "She sho' knows plenty 'bout rootin'" they told me. I was informed that people visited her little house at all hours of the day and night and that "Ma" had been known to work effective cures for many who had had spells cast on them by enemies.

All of the stories were not pleasant, however, for it appeared that "Ma's" power could be used for evil purposes too. One woman knew of an unfortunate man who had somehow aroused the ire of the root doctor and in consequence had had "kunjuh" worked on him and had suffered a long lingering illness. Day after day the victim grew weaker and weaker until be finally died.

Even those people who claimed not to believe in "Ma's" ability as a root worker were careful not to speak too strongly against her. "I jes' keep out ob her way, an' when I does see her I is careful tuh be bery polite tuh her," was the common way they expressed their feelings in the matter.

I rode back and forth over the rough dirt streets, stopping ever so often for additional directions. At length the proprietor of a small corner shop told me that "Ma's" house was on a short street which started at a point in back of the store.

The house was a small unpainted structure, set far back on a barren, grassless plot. "Ma's" huddled figure could be seen on the front porch. As I approached she greeted me pleasantly and invited me inside.

Studying the stooped little figure I recalled the stories of witchcraft which the neighbors had told me and the association the old woman was rumored to have with spirits and magic charms and other sinister things. Her dark, thin face was crisscrossed with myriads of wrinkles. Eyes which were narrowed to mere slits gleamed occasionally with surprising brilliance. One side of her grizzled hair hung in a tangled mass, while the other side was neatly braided. Her short stocky figure was garbed in a fitted dark red velveteen coat, beneath which showed the hem of a faded black dress and that of a green apron.

The house consisted of the one room which we now entered. There was so much crowded into the small space that it took a while before the blurred massed objects could be seen as separate items. With difficulty I made my way to the rocking chair which "Ma" indicated, and looked around me. A square wooden table in the center of the room held a large assortment of miscellaneous articles. I studied these curiously, noticing in particular four glass jars which held what seemed to be literally hundreds of small orange and purple papers. Grouped about the room were a large number of chairs, most of them so close together that they bumped into one another. Larger pieces of furniture were a rusty iron stove, a couch draped with a faded red coverlet, and an old fashioned marble-topped dressing table which was almost hidden by its burden of bottles, pitchers, glasses, handleless cups, and jars filled with crepe paper flowers.

The walls were covered with a confusion of pictures. From all four sides the image of Bishop Grace looked down, elaborately attired in a flowing robe and towering head-dress. There were also two or three religious pictures, a collection of post cards, newspaper clippings, and several large framed photographs which "Ma" told me were of her various relations. From one wall there was suspended a wooden hat rack and here reposed a number of men's hats. All of these were in a badly battered condition and ranged in style from a boy's cap to a tall evening hat which still bore unmistakable traces of grandeur.

"Ma" told me that she was 103 years old. She talked of the days of her youth when she had worked as a laundress. For years she had served in this capacity in a series of small country hotels. However, as she grew older, the work proved too laborious for her failing strength, and she had been forced to depend on her children for support. During the past few years her husband and the children one after another had died. The husband had died of old age and the son and daughter had contracted what seemed at first like heavy colds, but had subsequently developed into serious illnesses. Now "Ma" was all alone in the world.

"I know jes' when duh end was tuh come fuh each one ob 'um", she said. "Somet'ing tell me each time. It is duh same way wid me. I will know jes' when it's time fuh me tuh die. Jes' a short time back I was so sick I couldn't raise my head. All duh folks would cum in an' look at me an' shake duh heads.

I heah 'um whisper 'She is sho' sick. She nebuh git up.' I laugh tuh myse'f. I knowed dey was wrong an' I wuzn't ready tuh die. I don't let on I heah 'um. Some ob 'um was so sho' dat I was goin' tuh die dat dey mobe out my bes' furniture. I lay dere an' watch 'um mobe it out - one piece atta anudder. I was so sick I couldn't do nuttin' tuh stop 'um. When I git better an' start tuh git aroun' dose folks sho' was scared. Dey don't nebuh cum heah no mo' - guess dey is worried 'bout what I might do tuh 'um."

"Ma" paused momentarily, and glancing again about the crowded little room I wondered just where the stolen articles of furniture had been placed and whether or not the guilty persons' worries were concerned with the black magic that "Ma" might direct against them.

"I don't 'member jes' how I git tuh be a root doctuh," the old woman continued. "Seems lak yuh jes' hab tuh be born wid duh knowledge. I jes' allus seemed tuh know how tuh work cures and make medicines. Folks was allus cumin' tuh me an' asking me tuh cure some illness. When I was young an' went out washin' I didn't hab much time tuh cure folks. Den when I git too old tuh work steady I stay home an' mix up all kind ob charms and' magic remedies. 'Fore I know it mo' and mo' folks heah 'bout me an' soon dey cum from all ober to be cured. I been workin' roots now fuh yeahs.

"Folks used to dribe here in cars mos' any time, even in duh middle ob duh night. I nebuh knew when dey would be cumin'. Some would hab crazy spells an' spasms an' be ravin' mad. Someone hab put a spell on 'um. I work ober 'um an' when dey leab dey would be all right agin."

I tried to find out just how "Ma" effected these cures, but she was not yet ready to divulge her secrets. She stared blankly for a moment and didn't answer.

"Do you still cure people?", I asked.

"No Ma'am, not bery much no mo'. Yuh see duh p'lice drag me intuh court some yeahs back fuh practicin' witchcraft. Some ob duh neighbors complain. I show 'um right dere in duh courtroom how I mix duh medicine an' how I could he'p folks. Dey couldn't prove nuttin' on' dey jes' let me go. Atta dat I mighty careful tho'."

"I tell yuh jes' how witchcraft started", "Ma" continued. "In duh beginnin' duh Debill was an angel in Heaben. He tell a lie an' dat start all duh trouble in duh world. He see how God make man an' he say 'I could make man too.' God say, 'Yuh make yuh a man', so Lucifer make a man an' show him tuh God. God say 'Blow breath in yuh man'. Lucifer he blow breath in duh nostrils an' out ob duh nose cum lizards an' snakes an' maggots an' spiders an' all sech t'ings. Atta dat dese t'ings was allus ebil. When dey see what duh Debil hab done dey dribe him out ob Heaben. He fall hard an' he land an' make Hell. An' dis was duh start ob witchcraft an' ebil in duh world. An' long as dere be a debil in Hell dere will be witchcraft in duh world."

The subject of witchcraft reminded me of the many tales of witches related by the neighbors. In response to my question as to whether or not her slumbers were disturbed by the nocturnal visits of these creatures, "Ma" nodded her grey head sagely. She went on to tell me of some of her personal experiences with them.

"Dey is dead spirits what cum an' ride yuh when yuh is asleep. Dey take different shapes, sometime dey is men sometime dey is women an' sometime animals. When yuh wake up dey is chokin' an' smotherin' yuh. When dey sees yuh is awake, dey jump off an' go away. In duh mornin' yuh is all worn out."

"Dere is all kind ob spirits. 'Cose ebrybody can't see 'um. Only dose who is born wid a caul. Now I was born wid a caul an' I see 'um all duh time. Lots ob time I is walkin' 'long duh road an' dere is a spirit right nex' tuh me, talkin' jes' like a person.

"One night a spirit cum tuh me in my sleep an' tell me 'bout where a pot ob gold was buried. It take me out ob duh house an' down duh road tuh a clump ob oak trees. Dere sho' 'nuff was duh rim ob duh pot. Duh nex' day I take my husban' tuh duh place. We use a long stick called a strikin' rod. We dig down wid it an' when it hit duh pot we dig right down in dat spot. We find a big pot an' it hab a heap ob money an' spoon an' knives in it. All ob dis make me rich fuh a long time an' I buy lots ob t'ings. I hab some ob duh money an' duh knives an' spoons right now some place in duh house.

"Unless a spirit show yuh a pot ob gold yuh can't dig it up. One time my brother cum tuh visit me an' he see a big roun' t'ing lak a rim ob a pot in duh ground. He git a strikin' rod an' start diggin'. Duh wind start tuh howl an' all sorts ob strange noises begin. Duh rod jes' go down in duh ground an' duh pot sink deeper an' deeper. My brudder git scared an' stop diggin'. He jes' hab tuh gib up tryin' tuh git dat pot."

"Ma" seemed by now to have overcome her reluctance to talk of her methods of curing people, and she went into detail to tell me just how she compounded certain remedies.

"I need a piece ob homespun, a pot ob fire an' some Holy Oil", she said. "I anoint duh head wid de oil 'an wrap duh head. I den rub duh head an' say duh words what work duh cure. Den I unwrap duh homespun an' t'row it in duh fire. I hit it nine licks an' punch it nine times. Den duh fits jes' go 'way. Dragon's Blood an' incense is good, too, tuh use in cures."

Conjures, "Ma" told me, were often made of ground up snakes and lizards. If the enemy desired to put a spell on or to cripple the victim he put this powder in his shoes, hat, or other articles of apparel, However, if the intention was to kill, the poison was put in whiskey or coffee and fed to the victim.

Conjures could be turned back on the enemy who designed them, if the intended victim manufactures a Hell Fire Gun. To make this it is necessary to have some old newspapers, some fire, a tub of old rags, gun powder, sulphur, and an old turpentine bottle. "Ma" said she had made many of these guns, and that one time she had caught three enemies instead of one. Of course most people would be ignorant of how to connect such a gun and would have to consult a root doctor who had knowledge of such things.

"Many yeahs back dere was a woman who lib right nex' door tuh me. She allus make out lak she was my frien' an' talk nice tuh my face, but she was really my enemy. She was jealous ob what I hab an' she was plottin' how tuh do me ebil.

"One mornin' I go ober tuh her house an' she sittin' down eatin' her breakfast. She say 'sit down an' hab some coffee wid me."

"I hab duh coffee an' I stay an' talk. Atta a time I cum back home. All ob a sudden I feel sick - my head was dizzy an' I hab tuh sit down on a chair. Right away I knowed dat woman hab kunjuh me. Dere was a charm in dat coffee. I goes right out in duh yard an' I gits what I need to make a Hell Fire Gun. I hab tuh work fast fuh dat kunjuh was pow'ful strong an' I was feelin' worse all duh time.

"In jes' a little time I hab made duh gun an' I shoot it off. "Stead ob ketchin' one enemy I ketch t'ree. Dat woman hab git two man tuh he'p her kunjuh me an' when I shoot off duh gun it git 'um all. First t'ing yuh know I heah how first one an' den anudder was sick. Dey git worse an' worse an' atta a time dey all die."

A cure for a conjured person was also described by the root worker. This consisted of Rattlesnake root, a new cup, and 1/4 pt. of gin, and some sulphur. The root is first washed in the new cup and the gin and sulphur added. The mixture is stirred nine times one way, then nine times in the opposite direction, then punched nine times. It is now ready for consumption. "Ma" insisted that this remedy had never failed to cure, even when the victim had almost wasted away.

The ingredients for another concoction were Dragon's Blood, sugar, sulphur, and spice. All of this when well blended made an effective charm for warding off evil and assuring good luck. The powder should be sprinkled in the four corners of a room, going diagonally from one corner to the other, thus forming a cross. This powder is used for matters of the heart, for business, for luck in games, in short for any emergency. "Tuh make a love charm duh women put duh powder in cologne an' put it on demselves. Dey is sure tuh catch duh men dis way," the old woman explained.

"Ma" rummaged around on the shelves of the cupboard of the cabinet and brought forth several samples of her magic art. She displayed a yellow waxy substance which she said was Dragon's Blood and many different powders. A brown paper package contained a charm which she said she had compounded for a client.

The queer looking purple and orange papers in the glass jars on the table were magic charms which were used for a variety of purposes.

As I prepared to depart "Ma" urged me to return and get some of her magic powders for protection against evil influences.

Shaking her grey head, upon which there now perched incongruously a saucy navy blue and red skating cap, she told me warningly: "Yuh nebuh can tell who is a witch an' who is workin' 'gainst yuh. Folks can do yuh lots ob harm an' yuh hab tuh be careful dat nobody don't put a spell on yuh."

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