DUKE
UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY
Duke University Press
DUKE • UNIVERSITY • PUBLICATIONS
The Frank C. Brown Collection of
NORTH CAROLINA
FOLKLORE
IIOTO: BLANK *: STOLLl:R
DR. FRANK C. BROWN
The FRANK C. BROWN COLLECTION of
NORTH CAROLINA
FOLKLORE
The Folklore of North Carolina collected by Dr. Frank C. Brown
DURING THE YeARS I912 TO 1943 IN COLLABORATION WITH THE NORTH CARO-
LINA Folklore Society of \vhich he was Secretary-Treasurer 1913-1943
IN FIVE VOLUMES
General Editor
NEWMAN IVEY WHITE
Associate Editors
HENRY M. BELDEN PAUL G. BREWSTER
WAYLAND D. HAND ARTHUR PALMER HUDSON
JAN P. SCHINHAN ARCHER TAYLOR
STITH THOMPSON BARTLETT JERE WHITING
GEORGE P. WILSON
PAULL F. BAUM
Wood Erjgravings by
CLARE LEIGHTON
DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA
DUKE UNIVERSITY PRESS
Volume I
GAMES AND RHYMES • BELIEFS AND CUSTOMS • RIDDLES
PROVERBS • SPEECH • TALES AND LEGENDS
Edited by
Paul G. Brkwster, Archer Taylor, Bartlett Jere Whiting,
George P. Wilson, Stith Thompson
Volume II
FOLK BALLADS FROM NORTH CAROLINA
Edited by
Henry M. Belden and Arthur Palmer Hudson
Volume III
FOLK SONGS FROM NORTH CAROLINA
Edited by
Henry M. Belden and Arthur Palmer Hudson
Volume IV
THE MUSIC OF THE BALLADS AND SONGS
Edited by
Jan P. Schinhan
Volume V
SUPERSTITIONS FROM NORTH CAROLINA
Edited by
Wayland D. Hand
IN MEMORIAM
Frank Clyde IJrDvvn was horn at liarri.sonl)urg, Viri^inia. lO
October 1870 and died at Durham. North Carohna, 3 June 1943.
He was graduated with the A.li. degree from the University of
Nashville, Tennessee, in 1893 and began at once his long career
as a teacher. In the same year he married Miss Ola Mar-
guerite Hollis, of Covington. Georgia. She died in 1928, and
in 1932 he married Mrs. Mary Henkle Wadsworth. In iqoj
he received from the University of Chicago the M.A. degree,
and in 1908 the Ph.D. degree, with a dissertation on Elkanah
Settle.
In 1909 Dr. Brown came to Trinity Ctjllege, Durham, as
Professor of English. He was then already interested in folk-
lore, and a few years later organized the North Carolina
Folklore Society. At the same time he was actively concerned
with the affairs of the college: he was chairman of his depart-
ment and as Marshal he superintended for many years all its
public ceremonies. After the college became Duke University
he was made Comptroller and was continuously occupied with
the plans and appointments of the new buildings on both cam-
puses. Though he left his mark on Trinity College and Duke
University, his most enduring monument is this Collection of
North Carolina Folklore, which was made mainly through his
personal efforts and the enthusiasm he inspired in others.
617127
The FRANK C. BROWN COLLECTION of
NORTH CAROLINA
FOLKLORE
VOLUME ONE
GAMES AND RHYMES • BELIEFS
AND CUSTOMS- RIDDLES-
PROVERBS • SPEECH •
TALES AND LEGENDS
Edited by
PAUL G. BREWSTER
ARCHER TAYLOR
KARTLETT JERE WHITING
GEORGE P. WILSON
STITH THOMPSON
DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA
DUKE UNIVERSITY PRESS
952
COPYRIGHT, 1952, BY THE DUKE UNIVERSITY PRESS
Cambridge Uniz'crsity Press, London, N.Jf. i, England
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA BY
THE SEEMAN PRINTERY, INC., DURHAM, N. C.
PAGE
V
CONTENTS
In Memoriam — Frank Clyde Brown
Foreword by Paull F. Baum xi
General Introduction by Newman I. White i
Folklore : Its Meaning and Significance 3 — The Frank C. Brown
Collection: Its History, Nature, and Growth 12
Children's Games and Rhymes
Edited by Paul G. Brewster 29
Introduction 31 — Ball Games 36 — Hiding Games 37 — Jumping and
Hopping Games 39 — Practical Jokes 41— Battle Games 43—
Dramatic Games 44 — Guessing Games 57 — Forfeit and Penalty
Games 63— Games of Chase 72— Games of Dexterity 83— Imita-
tive Games 84 — Courtship and Marriage Games 89 — Teasing
Games 133 — Tug-of-War and Similar Games 137 — Games of
Smaller Children 144— Elimination Games 153— Dancing Games
154 — Miscellaneous Games 157
Counting-Out Rhymes 160 — Game Rhymes 169 — Rope-Skipping
Rhymes 170 — Catches or Sells 172 — Teasing Rhymes 175 — De-
risive Rhymes 178 — Divination Rhymes 179 — Charms 181 — Lulla-
bies 183 — Finger Rhymes 184 — Tickling Rhymes 188 — Assevera-
tions 190 — Recitations 190 — "Smart Aleck'" Rhymes 195 — Friend-
ship Verses 197 — Tongue-Twisters 197 — Miscellaneous Rhymes
198 — Bibliography 207 — Indexes 215
Beliefs and Customs Edited by Paul G. Brewster 221
Introduction 223 — Childhood 225 — Folk-Toys 232 — Courtship and
Marriage 235— Holidays and "Get-Togethers" 239— Household
Superstitions 247 — Plants and Animals 252 — Death and Burial
254— Miscellaneous Items 261 — Quilt Patterns 263 — Dyeing
266— Cooking and Preserving 270 — Beverage Making 274 —
Bibliography 276
Riddles Edited by Archer Taylor 283
Introduction 285 — Comparisons to Living Creatures 288 — to an
Animal or Animals 292 — to a Person 294 — to a Plant 297 — to a
Thing 297 — Enumerations of Comparisons 299 — Description of the
Parts of an Object 303 — Description in Terms of Colors 304 —
in Terms of Acts or a Scene 305 — Neck-Riddles 307 — Genealog-
ical Riddles 310— Arithmetical Riddles 311— Biblical Riddles 313—
Spelling and Letter Riddles 314— "How" Riddle 316— "What"
Riddles 316— "When" Riddles 318— "Where" Riddles 319— "Who"
Riddle 319— "Why" Riddles 320 — Miscellaneous Puns 322— Catches
324 — Miscellaneous 325 — Bibliography 326
[ix]
61712?
CONTENTS
Proverbs and Proverbial Sayings
Edited by B. J. Whiting 329
Introduction 331— Bibliography 355— Proverbs and Proverbial
Sayings 360
Folk Speech Edited by George P. Wilson 503
Glossary 505 — Salutations and Replies 611 — Bibliography 615
Folk Tales and Legends Edited by Stith Thompson 619
Introduction 621— Origin Legends 631— Queer Tales about Ani-
mals 636 — Tales of Magic 639 — Witches and their Deviltry
643— Ghosts and Hants 669— Other Mysteries 686— Buried Treas-
ure 691 — Numskulls and Fools 697 — Jokers 700 — Anecdotes 702 —
Animal Tales 703 — Bibliography 705
List of Contributors to This Volume 709
ILLUSTRATIONS
Dr. Frank C. Brown frontispiece
Wood Engravings
by Clare Leighton
Corn Shucking in the Mountains facing page 126
The Baptizing facing page 226
Fish Caught page 354
Washing Clothes facing page 456
Dragging Nets facing page 632
FOREWORD
One of my earliest memories of North Carolina is that of a
chilly ride to Raleigh, in February 1923, in an open Ford, to
attend a meeting of the North Carolina Folklore Society. This
was my first acquaintance with the Collection which is now at
long last being published. Since then I have had occasional
and casual glimpses of its progress, but until the present no
actual connection with it. In April 1949, however, I was asked
by a committee reporting to President Edens and Vice-President
Gross to take over the task, left unfinished at Dr. White's
sudden death, of seeing the Brown Folklore Collection through
the press. Much had been done; much remained to be done.
The manuscript of the present volume and that of the Ballads
and Songs (nearly two thousand pages) were ready and wait-
ing for the final editing. The problems of handling the music
were far from clear or settled. Later I learned of more mate-
rial, some of it not even yet in writing, for which apparently
no provision had been made in the plans for publication. What
had at first seemed plain sailing presently ran into heavy going ;
but now the haven is in sight and I can honestly express my
gratitude to the Associate Editors for their long patience and
firm forebearing.
Some of the delaying difficulties are readily accounted for.
Dr. Brown was an enthusiastic and indefatigable collector ; and
when one collects one collects everything — what may or may
not belong. Then only a Briarseus with the strength of a
Hercules can winnow and discard. It might be argued (suc-
cessfully) that a more highly selective representation of Dr.
Brown's Collection would have met the requirements; but the
gods have thought otherwise, and the gods not only have the
last word, they are often right. Nevertheless, it should be
stated clearly that though much is given, much remains, and
that the editors have omitted a great deal. In fact, a tabulation
of their rejections was once planned, but has been suppressed;
for the complete Collection, with multiple indexes, is now acces-
sible in the Duke University Library,
[xi]
XU FOREWORD
Moreover, as Dr. White's Introduction explains, the Collec-
tion was made over a large number of years in a great variety
of circumstances by various methods and from miscellaneous
sources. Some of the learned annotations betray this — an un-
evenness or incompleteness or similar irregularity. Much of
this was natural and inevitable ; but some of it also has been
aggra\ated by the lapse of time and of memory and the separa-
tion both among Dr. Brown's contributors and between them
and his later editors. It is hardly possible to exaggerate the
difficulties faced and so skilfully overcome by Dr. \\ bite when
he undertook to sort and copy, to arrange and index, the mass
of more or less unarranged papers. And after the happy selec-
tion of specialists as Associate Editors most suited to handle the
separate groups of folklore materials, each Associate Editor had
in turn to sort and arrange the materials he had received ; had
to consult with the General Editor and with his colleagues about
overlapping and interrelating details ; and finally each according
to his own lights and according to the special requirements of
his particular subject had to organize his matter into suitable
shape for publication. It is no wonder then that signs of un-
evenness and irregularity remain. It will be a wonder if many
errors do not remain — errors which the General Editor would
have caught and removed but which a late comer, who is hardly
more than a repair man, has not even recognized.
It is often hard to know where editing leaves oflf and inter-
fering begins. But inasmuch as the manuscripts came to me —
those which have come — in the state already described I could
not allow myself the presumptuous pleasure of 'editing' beyond
the requirements of formal consistency ; and even in these, such
is the variety of matter and such the necessary latitude (and
corresponding responsibility) which the General Editor had
given his Associate Editors, I have fallen far short of satis-
faction and should have fallen still lower without the expert aid
of Mr. Brice, of the Duke University Press. Different branches
of the general subject, and even parts of the same when a
division of labor was necessary, had to be treated by different
and not always consistent methods, and each specialist left to
his own ways and means. In this first volume, particularly, each
section should be regarded as a separate monograph, and what-
ever keys and clues are proper for an understanding of the text
should be sought in their normal places. Moreover, owing to
the multiple authorship and the variety of sources, a certain
amount of repetition could not be avoided; some of the Asso-
FOREWORD xni
ciate Editors have been handicapped Ijy an unfaniiharity with
the local background (it may be noted that of all the persons
named on the title page. Dr. White alone is a native of the
state) ; and many contributors, owing to the long period of time
over which their notes were accumulated, have changed address
and even their names, by marriage. We cannot hope to have
escaped frequent error in this respect ; we can only hope, under
the circumstances, to be forgiven.
The list of contributors, at the end of this volume, was
prepared by the General Editor. It is both a record and an
expression of gratitude for their interest and co-operation ; and
the same gratitude is due to all those whose contributions are,
for one reason or another, not here included. Special mention
should be made of Dr. Brown's enthusiastic and indefatigable
collaborator from 1921 until her death in 1936, Miss Maude M.
Minish, who in 1924 became Mrs. Dennis H. Sutton; and of
Paul and Elizabeth Green, of Chapel Hill. In 1926-29 Mr.
and Mrs. Green made a collection of "Folk Beliefs and Practices
in Central and Eastern North Carolina." which they generously
presented to the Brown Collection in 1945. The items in this
collection have been severally distributed through the present
volume in their appropriate places and are generally indicated
as the Paul and Elizabeth Green Collection.
It was Dr. White's hope, I believe, that this body of folklore
coming from the folk now all about us and assembled by one
of our contemporaries could be presented somehow in its natural
state, in some fashion to hold its position as 'popular.' But it
was a forlorn hope ; and for an obvious reason. The collections
of Dr. Brown and of the North Carolina Folklore Society had
become so large and miscellaneous that drastic simplification
and sorting, the regular work of scholars, was a necessary final
step — a process to be followed (in Jamesian phrase) without
mitigation of rigor.
It is still an ironical paradox that such interests as these,
springing from the folk, in the narrow sense of that word, the
unlettered members of the community, their tales and songs and
beliefs and their wisdom — grave and gay, trivial and otherwise,
cynical, tragical, comical, and nonsensical — should fall into the
hands of scholars, who have their own non-popular ways of
doing things. But it is inescapable. Das Volk dichtet: the
people make, the scholars codify and edit. When studies of
folk wisdom and habits are concerned with the prehistoric past
or the interpretation of 'savage' customs to explain what would
XIV FOREWORD
Otherwise have been lost to us, the paradox is extenuated ; for
folklore then takes its place with archaeology, anthropology, and
the other disciplines whose work it is to penetrate beyond the
barriers of recorded history. But the irony is intensified when
the records are contemporary and the results are an exhibit of
survival, of that persistence of racial instincts and uncultured
practices into our own civilized environment ; are a proof that
the race remains in so many ways what it was a thousand or ten
thousand years ago and progress appears to be a superficial
boast. Here our undeveloped past mingles with our advanced
present. Not only is there the juxtaposition of stages of grow^th
(if that is the word for it), but also the conflict of methods:
the mind of the scholar operating with the most unscholarly of
all subject-matters. They may cleave, as Bacon would say. but
they will not incorporate.
What results thus is something not only anathema but in-
comprehensible to the generality of the folk. Yet there is some-
where, if we can recognize it, a middle ground. For the
language, feelings, and beliefs of the people, their 'folkways,'
though they reveal often with uncomfortable poignancy the
lamentable limitations of our poor humanity, represent also our
fundamental and persistent vulgarity (in every best sense of
that word, bicn ctitcndu), our wholesome grossness and too too
solid earthiness, that part of us which remains free from the
taints of delicate culture and effeminating sensibility, or what
has come to be known as civilization. When the scholar, having
his own share of this commonness, records and analyzes by his
sophisticated techniques these many variations on the folk
theme, makes of them a spectacle and a sort of Athenian
holiday, there is of course no condescension, no affectionate
patronizing; and it is therefore pleasant to witness, with due
detachment, the two alien parties agreeing for the moment to
co-operate more or less, each a little amused and misunder-
standing, but both amenable and concessive to the oddities of
the other. It is pleasant and in its way enlightening.
There could be no better illustration of how such opposite
elements can be harmonized than in the wood engravings of
Miss Leighton in this volume and in the volumes to follow.
With an extraordinary blend of subtle comprehension and skil-
ful technique Miss Leighton has caught and reflected the North
Carolina folk-spirit in its many forms. Her pictures are not
meant to illustrate particular details of these volumes, but rather
to be a parallel record of the same phenomena.
GENERAL INTRODUCTION
By
Newman I. White
GENERAL INTRODUCTION
Folklore: Its Meaning and Significance
THE first spot on the earth's surface witli which folklore is con-
nected by a written record was the Garden of Eden. Why did
Satan assume the form of a serpent, and why has the serpent borne
such an evil reputation in tradition ever since ? The answer in both
cases is folklore. As for Satan afterwards, what except folklore
has transformed that scriptural Prince of Darkness into the mali-
cious, but somewhat familiar and companionable Auld Nick or
Clootie of Burns's 'Address to the Deil,' and the eternal, spell-
casting seducer of Ralph Hodgson's 'Eve'? Whose version of the
serpent is more potent today, that of science, when it tells us that
most snakes are harmless and beneficial, or that of folklore, when it
tells us that all snakes are our mortal enemies?
Wlien and where folklore began, and where will it end, nobody
knows. The word folklore was unknown in English previous to
1846, but the congeries of beliefs and practices that the word de-
notes was the law of all primitive societies and of family life even
before tribes came into existence. Archaeological investigations of
the most ancient civilization yet uncovered show that in Ur of the
Chaldees a princess collected antiques — which is a form of conscious
interest in what we call folklore. Thus the Chaldeans probably had
a word for it. If, as Sir Thomas Browne suggested, "what song
the syrens sang" is "not beyond conjecture," the nearest approach
to an answer will surely be made by folklore.
Today we celebrate Easter and Christmas and enjoy our mince
pies, gift-giving, holly and mistletoe, without thinking that they are
all pagan folklore survivals taken over and adapted by Christianity.
Divinities of two pagan folklores that have been "dead" nearly
two thousand years receive unconscious tribute from us when we
daily mention the names of months and weekdays. Adolf Hitler
followed soothsayers to his final catastrophe, just as Julius Caesar
met his death, as some thought, by not following them. Less than
seventy years ago a Negro magistrate in W^ilmington, North Caro-
lina, subjected a white man accused of murder to one of the most
primitive of all trials by making him touch the dead man to see if
the corpse would pronounce him guilty by bleeding afresh. As these
words were written a religious sect in Virginia was defying the
Governor of that state by persevering in snake rites which in one
form or another are older than history. Two years later, as these
N.C.F., Vol, I, (2)
4 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
words are being revised for publication, tlie same sect is repeating
the same defiance, and newspapers in Durham, North Carohna, are
publishing photographs of the use of snakes by a white congregation
in Durham, in defiance of a local ordinance hastily passed to end
the practice.
These are sporadic cases, but the number of people assaulted on
account of witchcraft spells in various parts of the United States
is much greater in the records of various petty courts than the
newspaper reader knows, and much greater in fact than the courts
know. George Lyman Kittredge, the great authority on witchcraft
in old and New England, w^as convinced that in the twentieth cen-
tury more than half the people in the world still believe in witch-
craft. Mr. G. C. Norman, the professional magician, says that in
his professional career he is often asked to counteract spells and
sometimes to impose them, and that he has probably encountered a
thousand such cases in the southeastern states. In 1907 the Uni-
versity of California published a report by Mr. Fletcher B. Dressier,
based upon an examination of nearly nine hundred normal school
students who had stated their belief, partial belief, or disbelief in
a number of current superstitions. The report indicated 44.9 per
cent belief. i\Ir. H. Addington Bruce, in an article in the Outlook
(August 26, 1911) concluded on the basis of a similar test of the
Harvard faculty that three-fourths of those tested were not immune
to superstitious beliefs. In both these tests "partial belief" was
counted as "belief." Very few confessed to being superstitious:
they were simply treating superstition with traditional, cautious
respect.
All of our arts and many of our present laws and beliefs orig-
inated in folklore many centuries before modern scholarship found
a name for it. Medicine originated mainly in tribal magic and
folk-tradition. So did chemistry. Astronomy was first the hand-
maiden of Chaldean soothsayers ; music served first the traditional
folk song and folk dance; painting and sculpture were closely re-
lated to magic and traditional beliefs and tales. In the Cro-Magnon
cave paintings, where surviving pictorial art began, the surprisingly
realistic representations of animals are supposed to have been efforts
to produce the animals themselves by sympathetic magic. History
and biography began with folk legends ; some bilious critics assert
that historians and biographers still occasionally mistake legend for
fact. Homer, the first great poet, merely assembled and touched
with his individual genius the various legends and beliefs long cur-
rent among the Hellenic folk. Aesop did the same for animal
fables. All arts and sciences were first transmitted by oral tradi-
tion, the common hallmark of all folklore.
The arts have continued to the present day to depend largely on
G E N E R A I, I N T R O D l^ C T I O N 5
folklore. The great medieval sources for theme, plot, and incident —
such works as the Gcsia RoiiianoriDii, the bestiaries, fabliaux,
and saints' legends — were largely folklore. Chaucer, one of the
most urbane of Englishmen, used folklore for some of his best
talcs. Shakespeare would hardly be Shakespeare without his mid-
summer night's fairies, his ghosts of Caesar and Hamlet's father,
his weird sisters, his Caliban, and his Ariel. The full extent to
which the greatest English poet drew upon folklore can be learned
only by recourse to T. F. Thiselton Dyer's Folk-Lorc of Shake-
speare, a book of over 550 pages. One of the most popular nar-
ratives of recent years, Franz Werfel's Song of Beniadettc, is a
medieval saint's legend revived. The music of many national songs
originated in folk songs — including the state song of North Caro-
lina, which is an old Swiss folk tune preserved in the Frank C.
Brown Collection. All artists in all times and places who have
drawn upon ancient mythologies for theme or ornament have thereby
become debtors to folklore.
The modern sciences have been less affected, but there is still
more folklore in science than all except the most thoughtful and
candid perceive. Our common law is traditional practice regularized
by legal recognition, and some statute laws are much the same.
Thus the adoption of children was practiced in England from the
earliest times, though the first .statute regularizing it was passed
in 1819. Previous to the end of the sixth century there was no
written Anglo-Saxon law, although laws, clearly recognized as sucn,
had long been in existence in the form of traditional custom. A
number of primitive races today have no laws at all except certain
clearly defined traditions that have never been written or stated
by any court or assembly.
Our acknowledged obligations to folklore are great, but our un-
recognized debts are probably greater. Folklore in its many forms
is by nature so nmch a part of our habitual lives that we are no
more conscious of it than we are of many other habits. The partial
consciousness that we have achieved is itself an evidence that we
are less close than formerly to the thing itself. And yet. once we
stop to think, we are surprised at the extent to which it still oi)erates
in our lives. Our very language is influenced by it. not only by the
thousands of folk proverbs and similes that we easily recognize as
such because they are still current, but by hundreds of words that
bear no immediately obvious evidence of folk origin. Thus the very
word influence preserves the primitive superstition that men's lives
were governed by some essence which flowed in from stars, and
the adjective recalcitrant pompously embalms a humorous folk im-
age of an animal kicking back while being urged forward.
When a Negro wants his wire screen repaired, not to keep out
the flies, but the ghosts, it is not merely current Negro imagination
0 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
that Speaks, but millions of primitive people in the past who con-
trived various ghost barriers. The Algonquin Indians (who were
in contact with Negroes and whites in Colonial Virginia) used nets
as a protection against evil spirits; the Louisiana Cajuns (who were
in contact with slaves imported from Virginia) still use sieves as a
protection against the supernatural loitp garou. When a boisterous
mob hangs an unpopular person in effigy, it is unconsciously con-
forming to the age-old and still extant belief that a person may
be injured by mutilating an image made to represent him. Modern
court eti(|uette is a survival of the primitive taboos by which chief-
tains were hedged about and protected. Similarly the modern cus-
toms of throwing old shoes after a newly married couple and
carrying a bride across the threshold both originated in primitive
taboos. When Joseph interpreted dreams in Egypt, he proceeded
upon the theory, current today, that dreams are symbolic. Dr.
Freud himself testifies that the dream which caused Alexander the
Great to resume his attack on Tyre was interpreted correctly and
according to Freudian principles. Dr. Freud also notes that the
theory of dreams as wish-fulfilment was anticipated by various folk-
proverbs, such as "The pig dreams of acorns," and "The hen dreams
of millet."
Folklore which today may be scientifically worthless has in the
past formed the lasting foundations of some of our most stable
institutions. Thus Sir James G. Frazer, in The Devil's Advocate
(1909, 1913), shows that marriage, private property, respect for
life, and respect for governmental authority all rest largely on wide-
spread primitive taboos mainly illogical in themselves. The same
author, in his The Scope of Social Anthropology (1908), has also
given eloquent testimony to the fact that even the crudest super-
stitions are anything but trifling today :
The reason why the higher forms of superstition or religion (for the
religion of one generation is apt to become the superstition of the next)
are less permanent than the lower is simply that the higher beliefs, being
a creation of superior intelligence, have little hold on the minds of the
vulgar, who nominally profess them for a time in conformity with the
will of their betters, but readily shed and forget them as soon as these
beliefs have gone out of fashion with the educated classes. But while
they dismiss without a pang or an effort articles of faith which were
only superficially imprinted on their minds by the weight of cultured
opinion, the ignorant and foolish multitude cling with a sullen determina-
tion to far grosser beliefs which really answer to the coarser texture of
their undeveloped intellect. Thus while the avowed creed of the en-
lightened minority is constantly changing under the influence of reflection
and enquiry, the real, though unavowed. creed of the mass of mankind
appears to be almost stationary, and the reason why it alters so little is
that in the majority of men, whether they are savages or outwardly
civilized beings, intellectual progress is so slow as to be hardly per-
CIENKRAL INTRODUCTION 7
ceptible. The surface of society, like that of the sea, is in perpetual
motion ; its depths, like those of the ocean, remain almost unmoved.
jNIany of our common daily practices still depend more upon folk
tradition than upon the printing press, which has done so much to
supplant oral tradition. How many have learned from books how to
row a boat, dress a baby, milk a cow, lire a g-un, bait a hook, tie a
knot, or drive a nail ? Soapmaking and spinning may have been
largely captured by science and industry, but despite hundreds of
cookbooks, cooking is still largely a traditional art, and so, perhaps
(if we include the wliole world), are husbandry and all the domestic
arts.
The extensive claims I have just made for the importance of
folklore are reasonable enough when one comes to consider its
accepted definitions. These have been well summarized in a state-
ment often made by Dr. Frank C. Brown to his folklore classes
and lecture audiences :
The term folklore may be said to include in its definition everything
which makes up the body of knowledge and of material things possessed
by the simple illiterate people, created by them, and inherited from past
generations : the language in large measure ; the social customs ; the out-
ward forms of religion and the folk-explanations of the phenomena of
nature ; how to farm and raise cattle and sheep and hogs and horses ;
how to hunt and fish successfully ; how and when to cut and cure grain,
handle woods, cook meats, fruits, vegetables ; how to build houses and
boats and implements for farming or hunting or warfare ; how to make
clothing and hats and shoes ; how to foretell the weather or the promise
of good crops or good and bad luck; how to become skilled in the use
of powers other than human or to defeat another's skill in the use of
magical powers. All legends and stories, songs, sayings, games, toys,
cures, charms, implements of war or of the chase, designs of lace, car-
pets, rugs, quilts go to make up the body of folklore, which originated
with the folk and which belongs to them. It is so extensive that it is
to be found in every phase of thought and activity in which man is
interested.
This conception of folklore represents an evolution of two or
three hundred years. In the seventeenth century men like John
Aubrey, Anthony a Wood, John Selden, and Samuel Pepys collected
traditional "curiosities" in the spirit of antic|uarianism rather than
of philosophic scholarship. In the early eighteenth century Joseph
Addison defended the traditional ballad, though rather apologeti-
cally. Shortly after the middle of the century the Gothic Revival,
the Ballad Revival, and the popularity of Chatterton and Ossian
came into vogue almost simultaneously, all of them aided and sup-
ported by that great expansion of anti(|uarian research all over
England which was such a valuable foundation aid for history and
biography as well as folklore. Yet Dr. Johnson ridiculed such
interests, and Bishop Percy was half ashamed and "improved" his
« NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
ballads, as ]\Iacpherson did his Ossian. Thomas Gray's weird sis-
ters and Celtic bards are conscious revivals, smelling of anti-
quarianism when compared with Shakespeare's natural use of similar
materials. But by the end of the century Robert Burns was writing
boldly and naturally in folk language about folk beliefs, and Words-
worth was defending both as proper materials for poetry — even
though neither Wordsworth nor Burns ever completely emancipated
himself from the conventional tradition.
The eighteenth century had made great strides toward what we
now know as folklore. From the angle of scholarship, however, this
interest was predominantly an antiquarian one, and from the angle
of literature it was predominantly a revolt against literary fashions
that were growing stale. Nevertheless, Wordsworth was soon to
suggest a really philosophic sympathy for ancient myths, which
several poets — himself, Keats, and Shelley — ^were to use in giving
mythology a new vitality in English poetry.
In the early nineteenth century Jacob and Wihelm Grimm, in
Germany, gave a great additional interest to folklore through their
work with folk tales and German myths. In England and in Europe,
however, well into the nineteenth century, study was limited fairly
generally to those branches of folklore which may be regarded as
popular literature or its materials — tales, myths, ballads, etc. Not
until the middle of the nineteenth century, after further expansion
of the eighteenth century lines of interest, did the word folklore
appear, as an indication that the interests it connoted had achieved
status as a separate, recognized field of study.
The first society for the study of folklore was the Folk-Lore
Society, founded in London in 1878. At about the same time a
broadened conception of folklore, known as the anthropological
school (in contrast with the older philological school), made its
appearance and found expression in England in such works as
Andrew Lang's Custom and Myth (1884) and MytJi, Ritual, and
Religion (1887), and E. A. Westermarck's History of Human Mar-
riage (1889-1901). It culminated in J. G. Frazer's The Golden
Bough (1890, 1907-15, 12 vols.), one of the great monuments of
English scholarship in the present century. This approach empha-
sized the importance of customs and institutions, rather than liter-
ature and art. It employed commonly the comparative method and
thus freed folklore from the channels of purely local or national
tradition in which it had been too strictly confined. Contemporary
primitive cultures received much of the attention previously re-
served for the primitive stages of civilized European peoples.
In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries other devel-
opments came more rapidly. Indifference to the significance of time
and place, which had characterized most of the anthropological
school (including even The Golden Bough), was corrected largely
GENERAL INTRODUCTION 9
through improvements in the older historical approach. The new
geographical approach, hrought to its highest fruition hy memhcrs
of the so-called Finnish School with the founding of the Folklore
Fellows organization in 1907, has done even more to put folklore
on a scientific basis as to scope and method. After the appearance
in France of the Linguistic Atlos of Edmond and Guillieron the
philological approach was broadened to include not only literature
but the language itself, a tendency whose most recent fruit is the
Linguistic Atlas of America (1939 — ). Political, economic, psy-
chological, and religious conditions have been increasingly recog-
nized as influences upon folklore in different times and places. Not
a little of the inspiration that went into the Atlns dcr dcntschcn
Volkskundc (Leipzig, 1937 — ), a monumental cartographic treat-
ment of German folklore, came from the Wrede-Wenker linguistic
atlas. Many of its maps, however, go beyond the products of folk
speech to include objects of material culture, showing that the con-
ception of folklore in Germany, as elsewhere on the Continent, has
perceptibly broadened since the golden age during the nineteenth
century. It has now become fairly well recognized that material ob-
jects, as w-ell as beliefs and oral traditions, are a part of folk life.
Haphazard museums of local antiquities that have flourished and
multiplied since the eighteenth century have been reorganized, en-
riched, and studied as depositories of the folk arts and their prod-
ucts. It is still true, however, that in America folk arts have yet
to find their proper place beside other forms of folk expression
which have always been regarded as more truly tracHtional.
Both the nature of folklore and the evolution of its study show
that it is fundamentally different from other recognized branches
of study. It is in fact a group of all the studies necessary to
understand a primitive or an illiterate society and the multifarious
survivals from that society in the midst of the sophisticated culture
that succeeded it. It is not merely a ghost of the past, but a ghost
and a flourishing organism at the same time. It may be properly
described as a stream, sometimes open, sometimes subterranean, per-
haps dwindling in volume with its length, flowing through the whole
history of man.
The fragments of the earlier society that have been rejected by
the sophisticated culture are those most easily recognized. They are
generally the "worthless superstitions and beliefs" which cause some
thoughtless condemnation of the whole subject as trifling. The con-
siderable body of folklore which still functions actively in sophis-
ticated societies is by comparison not nearly so fully recognized, but
is probably more significant.
From the fact that folklore is so closely related to most of the
arts and sciences it follows that folklore cannot be adequately under-
stood except partly through these same approaches. Anyone who
lO NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
would know folklore fully must, like Sir Francis Bacon, take all
knowledge for his province, an ambition which was scarcely prac-
ticable even in the sixteenth century. One branch of the subject,
if its necessary connections are included, is about all that most schol-
ars may hope to master.
It also follows that tlie same arts and sciences have much to
learn from folklore about themselves, once folklore is better under-
stood and presented. Since a number of reputable scientists are
now convinced that primitive magic charms really can cause sick-
ness and death, that certain savages actually have walked barefoot
over hot coals without being harmed, and that extrasensory per-
ception may be a fact, perhaps the folk gifts of second sight,
water-witchery, and even the removal of warts merit more serious
study. If modern psychology by the study of dreams has made us
recognize the ghastly power of the primitive mind underlying the
sophisticated mind, then we need to know more of what the primi-
tive mind thought of dreams, and we need to know vastly more,
through a different and less subjective approach, about every mani-
festation of the primitive mind that is recoverable. For the soci-
ologist folklore is still a somewhat neglected approach to a true
understanding of the group mind. Historians and biographers, con-
stantly trying to separate legend from fact, would profit by a better
knowledge of the nature of legend. Ethnologists, philologists, his-
torical geographers, and archaeologists, who have already studied
folklore to advantage, could use additional aid from a folklore better
organized and better understood.
The study of folklore will receive more light from allied branches
of knowledge and will in return ofifer more light to them when folk-
lorists modify their methods to meet these common interests more
fully. The long and incomplete evolution of the study has not been
matched, pari passu, by an evolution in method. Many collectors,
and perhaps a few editors, still preserve too much of the common
eighteenth-century attitude that folklore is primarily a mixed assort-
ment of amusing oddities. An acceptable technique has been devel-
oped and practiced for compact presentations. Many folklorists,
however, are inclined to take refuge in this well-established con-
vention and leave more intricate matters to "comparative folklore."
Yet from the larger point of view present techniques constitute
only an excellent foundation ; in the end all folklore is "compar-
ative." Its chief value is the startling and stimulating evidence it
can furnish of the kinship of the human mind in all ages and places.
One thinks of the universal sweep and interest of such a book as
Frazer's The Golden Bough, or of George Lyman Kittredge's
Witcheraff in Old and Neiv T-mjland, which is enlivened and gen-
eralized by parallel examples of almost every kind of witchcraft,
first from classical history and then from recent and conremporary
reports.
GENERAL INTRODUCTION II
Have we really studied ancient and medieval medicine, herbals,
bestiaries, household recipes, and works on needlecraft — not to
mention travel books and diaries — from the point of view of folk-
lore's deeper significance? It ought to mean more to us than it
has meant that the evil eye we have heard Negroes speak of is
dreaded not only by savages today, but was feared as an evil in-
fluence by Gaius Valerius Catullus, who was not afraid to lampoon
Julius Caesar; that the mythical hoop snake of current legend may
be some sort of collateral descendant of that more terrifying snake
reported by Caesar's troops which launched itself through the air
and penetrated trees and shields ; that the same veterans were more
nervous about the witches swarming over Thrace than about Pom-
pey's soldiers ; that the grain sacks used in Joseph's Egyptian
granaries (to judge by ancient models in the Metropolitan Museum)
were scarcely distinguishable from those used today ; that a gold
chain from Ur of the Chaldees is very like specimens of nineteenth-
century German goldsmiths' craft ; that one or two conventionalized
architectural decorations seem to be just about the same in ancient
Greek and ancient Mayan buildings ; that a spider has been credited
with saving, and in the same manner, the lives of King David,
Jesus, Mahomet, Robert Bruce, and a Revolutionary hero of New
York state named Tim Murphy; that some children's games being
played today in North Carolina are descendants of some games
played in the sand-lots and alleys of Athens and Rome.
Comparative folklore has indeed brought us a long step toward
fuller understanding of our dimly recognized, vastly complicated
human heritage. In the field of the folk tale, for example, we
have the five-volume Bolte-Polivka Amncrkungen zu den Kinder-
iind Hausmdrchen der Briider Grimm (Leipzig, 1913-32), which is
the cornerstone of all fairy-tale scholarship. An even broader
approach to narrative forms is Professor Stith Thompson's six-
volume Motif -Index of Folk-Literature (Helsinki and Bloomington,
Indiana, 1933-36), which classifies twenty-three main divisions and
nearly two hundred and fifty subdivisions of narrative motifs, with
bibliographical references, including as nearly as possible all avail-
able materials in all languages from folk tales, ballads, myths,
fables, mediaeval romances, exempla, fabliaux, jestbooks, and local
legends. As yet, however, there has appeared no interpreter to
use it on a scale commensurate with its scope and value, or to con-
nect its wealth of materials with other arts and sciences.
These opinions are expressed only as those of the General Editor
of these volumes. The associate editors are bound by them only
to the extent of their own convictions. A technique of study and
presentation which would realize fully the possibilities of folklore
could only be a gradual evolution. Nor could any one scholar ever
hope very reasonably to be able to apply it fully to more than one
12 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
branch of folklore. It would cut across the highly compartmented
view of knowledge encouraged by our modern age of specialization
and would require an attitude and a training possessed by few
scholars educated under the methods of this century. It might be
a beginning, however, if editors kept themselves and readers azvare
of the larger implications of folklore, even if they can attempt no
explanations beyond the immediately practicable. Even a beginning
would go far toward redeeming folklore scholarship from current
charges of mere antiquarianism, when presented for scholars, and
mere sentimental dilettantism, when presented for the general reader.
A slight and inadequate contribution toward this end is all that
these volumes can claim. In devoting one volume to music alone
they recognize the claim of musicologists that folk songs as tradi-
tionally edited have always made music too subservient to text. Folk
music can be more adequately presented if presented independently,
as folk music. In the illustrations by Clare Leighton it is hoped
that the association of graphic arts with folklore has been made
closer and more evident, with mutual advantages. Miss Leighton
has not sought to illustrate any single story, song, or belief, but
has tried to present an artist's interpretation of the life and environ-
ment of the people of North Carolina who are the principal cus-
todians of its folklore; and she has Hved and worked with them
in order to do so.
The Frank C. Brozvn Collection: Its History, Nature,
and Grozvth
The Frank C. Brown Collection of North Carolina Folklore
originated through the efforts of Dr. Frank C. Brown and the
North Carolina Folklore Society. It grew steadily over a period
of more than thirty years. During all but five of those years I
was in personal association with Dr. Brown, first as student, and
later as a faculty colleague ; and during a part of that time I was
also a member of the Society. The following account of the Society
and of Dr. Brown's labors as its Secretary and collector-in-chief is
based upon personal memory, therefore, as well as upon written
records.
In 1912 Professor John A. Lomax, then a vigorous collector of
cowboy songs, was president of the American Folklore Society.
Desiring to stimulate collection of other forms of folklore in the
Southern states, he wrote to all North Carolina professors of Eng-
lish who were listed as members of the Modern Language Asso-
ciation of America, urging the formation of a North Carolina
folklore society. Answers arrived expressing various degrees of
C E N K R A L I N T R O D U C T I 0 N I3
willingness and ability to co-operate. It was soon agreed among
the various professors interested that the lead had best be taken
by Professor Frank C. Brown, who had come to Trinity College
(now Duke University) just three years before as Professor of
English. Dr. Brown had already shown himself to be an energetic
organizer, and he w-as probably already interested in folklore, for
his collection contains a manuscript of "Lord Thomas and Fair
Annet" in his hand, dated 1898-99.
Dr. Brown began work at once, with the encouragement and
assistance of Professor Maurice G. Fulton, of Davidson College,
Professor George Summey, of the Agricultural and Mechanical
College, and Professors Tom Peete Cross, James F. Royster, and
John M. Booker, of the University of North Carolina. By Novem-
ber 2^, 1912, Professor Summey was reporting to Professor Lomax
that Dr. Brown "seems to be going at things in a vigorous way."
On the recommendation of Professor Lomax a copy of the Mis-
souri Folklore Society's constitution was obtained from Professor
H. AL Belden, who over forty years later was to become one of
the associate editors of the collection at whose birth-throes he had
aided. Favorable publicity was promised by the newspapers, and
influential people all over the state were invited to become sponsors.
On December 4, 1913, a committee of English teachers met in
Raleigh, and Professors Brown, Royster, and Cross issued a printed
statement announcing the first meeting of the Society for March
24, 1913, in the Senate Chamber at Raleigh. Dues were set (and
still remain) at one dollar, and all persons interested were invited
to join. Purposes were set forth and ten classifications of folklore
were listed. Forty leading citizens, most of them from the various
colleges and universities of the state, were named as a Committee
on Organization. Of this original committee the following are still
active in North Carolina education : R. D. W. Connor, R. L. Flow-
ers, Archibald Henderson, J. B. Hubbell, H. E. Spence, and W. H.
Wannamaker.
The state newspapers gave generous publicity to this announce-
ment: the Fayetteville Observer for March 18 even printed it entire
on the editorial page. Eighty members joined, thirty of whom
attended the first meeting at Raleigh on March 24. At this meeting
a constitution was adopted, otificers were elected, and talks were
made by Dr. Brown, Col. T. AL Pitman, and Professors Benjamin
Sledd, Tom Peete Cross, and Collier Cobb. Dr. James F. Royster
was elected President and Dr. Frank C. Brown Secretary-Treasurer.
The second annual meeting, held in Raleigh some time before
March 12, 1914, instructed the Publications Committee to begin
raising funds for the publication of a volume of folklore; and on
March 12, the committee issued a printed appeal, stating that enough
material had already been collected for a volume of 125 pages. At
14 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
about the same time it issued a printed circular of directions and
suggestions for collectors. Not content with exhorting his students
at Trinity College to contribute, Dr. Brown made efforts to interest
other colleges and groups. The Charlotte Observer for November
28, 1914, carried an account of a ballad concert and lecture given
by him in Charlotte before the State Teachers' Association. At
this meeting it was reported that 17 of the 305 old ballads in the
Child collection had already been found in North Carolina. The
Durham Sun for December 19 of the same year described a folk-
lore lecture by Dr. Brown at the Durham High School, assisted
with music by Mrs. T. E. Cheek and Miss Alice Hundley, both of
whom continued to help him in such matters for a number of years.
As a student at Trinity College at this time I was aware of all
these activities, though not particularly interested ; but it was their
influence that caused me later, as a teacher in Alabama Polytechnic
Institute in 1915-17, to begin my own collection of Negro folk
songs, finished in North Carolina and published in 1928. This was
only the beginning of Dr. Brown's stimulating influence on other
collectors. In the early 1920's Miss Maude Minish (later Mrs.
Denis H. Sutton), a childhood friend of mine, gave me for Dr.
Brown copies of a number of traditional ballads that she had been
collecting for several years. This began Dr. Brown's long friend-
ship with Miss Minish, which resulted in the addition of many
valuable songs and other items to the collection. Mr. Frank War-
ner, an undergraduate at Trinity College, began by singing songs
at Dr. Brown's folklore concerts and became in later years a col-
lector and interpreter in his own right, visiting many out-of-the-way
corners of the country and bringing out folk songs for his audi-
ences. Julian P. Boyd (now Librarian of Princeton University)
and Lacy W. Anderson (now principal of Warwick County High
School, in Virginia) went forth from Duke University as country
schoolteachers and collected a considerable number of manuscripts
in eastern North Carolina. Professor W. Amos Abrams, formerly
of Appalachian State Teachers College, a later president of the
North Carolina Folklore Society, was similarly started on a col-
lecting career while an undergraduate at Trinity. All of these
disciples contributed generously to Dr. Brown's collection, as did
many another student during several college generations.
Throughout all the years from 1912 to the present moment the
North Carolina Folklore Society has flourished. There was a suc-
cession of presidents, reports, papers, and concerts. Through the
years the meeting place changed back and forth in Raleigh, from
the Senate Chamber to the Woman's Club to the Sir Walter Hotel,
but until Dr. Brown's death, in 1943, there was only one Secretary-
Treasurer. Dr. Brown made the physical arrangements for the
meetings, assembled tlie ])rogram, suggested (sotto voce, to the
GENERAL INTRODUCTION 15
Nominating Committee) the next year's officers, reported on tlie
year's business— and went on collecting folklore. Every fall, well
in advance of the November or December meeting, the secretary
of the English office at Trinity College was busy with Folklore
Society correspondence. In the early days, well into the 1920s,
most of his English department accompanied Dr. Brown to the
annual meeting of the Society at Raleigh. The other colleges of
the state were also usually rather well represented at these
meetings.
The programs were always well balanced between the reports of
certain collectors and more specialized papers by various scholars.
Usuallv some folk singer appeared with guitar or banjo. One mem-
ber, Professor George P. Wilson, of the Woman's College of the
University of North Carolina (later a President of the Society and
now an associate editor of these volumes), read ten papers between
1934 and 1944.
Two specimen programs may be submitted as typical examples :
November i, 1929
Presidential Address : Mrs. S. Westray Battle. Asheville
Lecture: Ballads and Other Songs of the Kentucky
Mountains. Gilbert Reynolds Combs, Charlotte
Paper: Treasure Hunting in North Carolina. Frank C.
Brown, Durham
Paper: Folk Customs. L. W. Anderson, Halifax, Va.
Business Matters
November 14, 1933
Presidential Address: Mrs. D. H. Sutton, Lenoir
Social Values in Folklore and Folk Ways. Dr. Howard
W. Odum, Chapel Hill
Music: Folksongs. Mrs. Peyton J. Brown, Raleigh
Jesse Holmes, the Fool Killer. Dr. Jay B. Hubbell,
Durham
The Vampire in Legend and Literature. Mr. C. W.
Reeves, Durham
Business Matters
Everything went smoothly and briskly, thanks to Dr. Brown's
thorough management. No truer words were ever spoken m the
Society than those of a member renominating him to his perennial
post: "Ladies and gentlemen," proclaimed this admirer (in fitting
folk-metaphor), "our Secretary-Treasurer is a reg'lar steam engme
in nants." .
Dr. Brown himself seldom appeared on the program except in his
official capacitv. In 191 5 he read a paper, afterwards printed, en-
titled "Ballad Literature in North Carolina," and in 1929 he read
l6 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
a paper on "Treasure Hunting in North Carolina," which has sub-
sequently disappeared. Outside the state he appeared twice on the
program of the Popular Literature group of the Modern Language
Association of America (December 1923 and 1938) and once on
the program of the Southeastern Folklore Society (November
1941). His last publication was a brief sketch of the North Caro-
lina Folklore Society for the survey of North American folklore
societies which appeared in the Journal of American Folklore in
1943-
From the beginning, a principal object of the Society was the
publication of its collection. A volume was planned to appear by
Christmas of 1914, then was postponed until the following June.
Over three hundred advance subscriptions were in hand by the
beginning of 1915, and in February Dr. Brown reported himself
to one of his correspondents as editing the materials for the printer.
Toward the end of 1915 Thomas Smith, one of the principal con-
tributors, and Professors C. Alphonso Smith and Tom Peete Cross
asked the question that was to be raised again and again during
the next quarter-century — when could The Book be expected? Dr.
Brown thought then that by the spring of 1916 a two-hundred-page
volume would be ready, with its prize exhibit a group of twenty-
seven of the old ballads recorded by Professor Child. Some letters
indicate that the volume was being prepared for the press in 1916,
but for reasons now unknown it failed to get there. An unedited
collection of dusty carbon-copies found among Dr. Brown's papers
after his death seemed to the present editor to be probably the
materials then meant for the press.
In 1922 and again in 1925 Dr. Brown was asking publishers for
estimates on publication costs. At the same time he was writing
to Mrs. Reynolds (March 2"/, 1925), "It is going to require several
years to erect our entire monument . . . we want to move slowly
and surely. ... I am willing to put the time into it [but] I am
eager to escape any possible blunder which we might make bv
being too hasty." This was an attitude which he also expressed in
meetings of the Society and to various individuals, in conversation.
As long as there was anything more to be collected, he thought
publication should wait. Had he actually published in 1925, he
would have had available over two thousand song texts, one-half
of them with airs, and about one thousand pages of other types of
folklore.
Most members of the Society interpreted this attitude to mean
publication in a year or two. Tliomas Smith, encouraged, wrote
that he was glad to hear that the collection would soon appear.
Mrs. Sutton, who had written that she would like to publish a small
volume of her own, separately, was persuaded to await publication
of the whole collection. Mrs. Louise Rand Bascom Barratt, who
C E N K R A L I N T R O D U C T I O N I7
had threatened to withdraw lier materials, also consented to wait.
Otliers, however, were less patient. .Several out-of-state mem-
bers of the Society dropped their memberships because, as they
.said, they received no publications. Mrs. W. N. Reynolds and
Mrs. S. Westray Battle, who had made valuable contributions to
the Society both in money and as officers, urged immediate pub-
lication. Both ladies finally withdrew from the Society, and Mrs.
Reynolds, as a last move, withdrew in 1927 a gift of $500 con-
tributed for editorial purposes. She undertook to renew it, how-
ever, when publication actually began, a promise which was duly
redeemed in 1945.
Dr. Brown would probably not have yielded to pressure in any
event, but another factor had already made it virtually impossible
for him to publish in the late 1920s. From about 1924 to 1930 his
time was deeply absorbed by the expansion of Trinity College into
Duke University. His newly created post of Comptroller (1926)
made him the liaison man between the architects, contractors, and
outfitters, on the one hand, and the University administration and
faculty, on the other. He gave up most of his teaching. His time
was filled with interviews, business trips, and business correspond-
ence; his office overflowed with blueprints, time-reports, estimates,
agents, and samples of all the innumerable objects that go to equip
a modern university. Several times he had to cancel folklore ex-
peditions because of necessary business trips to New York or Phila-
delphia. During this time also the first Mrs. Brown died after a
long illness. "I have been so rushed with obligations," he wrote
to R. W. Gordon (October 26, 1920), "that when I do go home, I am
so thoroughly tired in my brain that I am quite content to have
my mind think on practically nothing."
Nevertheless, every November the English office was as busy as
usual w-ith preparations for the annual December meeting of the
Folklore Society. Folklore correspondence during these years was
as heavy as at any other time, sometimes even heavier, as in 1927,
for which over a hundred and twenty letters are extant. The col-
lection was increased by many new items, including the consider-
able group of songs contributed by Julian P. Boyd in 1927 and the
large group of children's games contributed by Mrs. Maude Minish
Sutton and Miss Mary Wilder in 1928.
Meanwhile, nobody was growing any younger. Thomas Smith,
who had from the first been one of the most valuable and enthu-
siastic contributors to the collection, wrote from his mountain home
(December 30, 1929) : "I hoped years ago to have lived to see your
work of North Carolina ballads published (my heart is still with
you in your work) but the weight of years and ill health has about
finished my hopes."
Dr. Brown himself was not quite the "steam-engine in pants" he
I» NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
had once been called. His hair had grown thinner and grayer, his
specially finished corncob pipe and his diamond stickpin of the early
days had both long since been laid aside. He no longer barged
into his work with the self-confidence that to some had seemed a
little overbearing, and had long since earned him, among under-
graduates, his nickname of "Bull" Brown. He had learned that
energy must be conserved. But though his manner was quieter
and far more patient (except with his automobile), he was as sure
of himself and his collection, as persistent in his purpose as he had
ever been.
During the late 1920s there appear to have been no active plans
for immediate publication. Pressure was renewed, however, as
soon as a diminution of Dr. Brown's work as Comptroller of Duke
University seemed to offer an opening. On September 27, 193 1,
Mrs. Sutton, probably his most loyal, and certainly his most highly
valued co-worker, wrote to warn him of the danger of further
delay :
I know too, how you feel. It is foreign to your nature to do anything
halfway, and you think there is much material yet to be collected. I
do not know whether you are right there or not. I am inclined to think
that your song collection is complete, and I am sure that if it is not
complete, there will be a popularized collection published at the Uni-
versity of North Carolina soon.
The next year (November 15, 1932) she informed him that she
had been receiving letters from a group of younger members of
the Society who seemed to be planning a coup. "There is a group
of us," she quoted from one of the letters,
who greatly appreciate the fine work done for the Society by the Sec-
retary, Mr. Frank C. Brown, but nevertheless should like to see the
materials collected made more available than they have been up to the
present time in the Secretary's possession. We believe that it would
be a great stimulus of interest for those newly become interested in
North Carolina folklore if they could see what already has been done
in the field. ... If enough of us who are really interested are present,
we should be able to accomplish something. One suggestion has been
made that we can move to have a committee appointed to index the
material ; also that it would be accepted under any conditions we wish
to impose, by the North Carolina Historical Commission, and could be
housed with their archives in Raleigh where attendants are on duty to
care for and show it.
As for her own attitude, Mrs. Sutton added that she wished her
contributions to be made available to all (jualified scholars but was
unwilling to deposit them with the Historical Commission. 'T am
sorry that the editing and publication of the material has been de-
layed so long, but T am not finding any fault, and I am not com-
bining in the coup."
GENERAL INTRODUCTION I9
A similar warning came from Dr. T. 1'. Harrington, of State
College. Dr. Brown was of the opinion that the storm would blow
over ; moreover, he regarded a large part of the collection as due
solely to his own efforts, and therefore not public property. "I
am quite sure." he informed Mrs. Sutton, "that I am not going to
give up my own materials to anybody." The proposal of the rebels
apparently came up for discussion in the 1932 meeting, though the
minutes of that meeting are lacking. Mrs. Sutton, elected Presi-
dent at this meeting, appointed a committee of three to consider
placing the collection with the Historical Commission. Perhaps she
smiled to herself as she named Dr. Brown chairman of this com-
mittee. And there is no record that the committee ever took any
action.
Duke University began classes on its new campus in 1930, after
which the duties of the Comptroller, which had been growing
lighter for several years, became virtually negligible. President
W. P. Few was willing at any time after 1930 to arrange a leave
of absence so that publication might begin. Since his second mar-
riage in 1932 Dr. Brown had formed the habit of spending most of
his summers in Blowing Rock, with Mrs. Brown and her family.
There, in the midst of a region rich in folklore, he had spent a
great deal of his time touring the surrounding country by auto-
mobile and recording songs.
For some years, however, he still clung to his old conviction that
the collection should be "completed" before it was published. He
had always thought of the editing as a one-man undertaking and
probably never realized that in the steady growth of the collection
for a quarter of a century its editing had long since become a
problem to be handled only by collaboration. A man in his sixties,
though still in good health, might well shrink from undertaking
such a task, alone, and in addition to other duties.
In 1939, however, at the age of sixty-nine, Dr. Brown once more
approached the task of publication. He began looking over his
manuscripts and marking items to be copied. Most of the copying
was done in the summers of 1941 and 1942, by his secretary in
Durham, from manuscripts mailed to her from Blowing Rock. Even
then, however, Dr. Brown's greatest interest was in collecting.
During the very years in which he was sending materials to his
secretary to be copied, he was riding joyously about the mountains
recordings songs and getting better versions of songs recorded years
before. Instead of the old Ediphone with which he had begun in
191 5 he now used a new Presto recorder provided by the Duke
University Research Council in 1939. During his first summer with
this machine (July-September 1940) he recorded 22^ songs and
traveled 2500 miles over mountain roads, according to his report
to the Research Council. A field journal, which begins July 18,
N.C.F., Vol. I, (3)
20 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
1939, and ends September 14, 1941, lists 365 songs as recorded
between those dates.
Very plainly, Dr. Brown's enthusiasm was for collecting, rather
than editing. "When I try to write an article," he once wrote to
Mrs. Sutton (July 24, 1930), "I almost invariably lose interest in
it before I get my notes copied. My interest is at fever heat in
making an outline and in making a rough draft, but as soon as this
has been made, somehow my interest lags and I almost become sick
when I feel that it is necessary to tear the thing to pieces and
rewrite it." This feeling, which he rightly supposed to be common
among scholars, could have no effect upon collecting. Nothing ever
really stopped him from collecting.
Since collecting was a joy forever and writing a weariness of
the flesh, it is a waste of sentiment to regret for his sake that he
never achieved the publication so long deferred. It is equally profit-
less to speculate now as to whether or not it would have been better
for the collection had it been published earlier. By delay the col-
lection arrived at a degree of completeness that would otherwise
have been improbable, but it lost the benefits of Dr. Brown's great
knowledge of his materials, for he left few notes on his manuscripts,
and most of his special information died with him.
As a collector, Dr. Brown was patient, thorough, energetic, and
enthusiastic. He allowed nothing to stop him. There are instances
in his correspondence of his turning back and pursuing leads that
had been either forgotten or laid aside for years under the pressure
of other duties. He was as tenacious of his manuscripts as he was
of his purpose. Few of those who considered withdrawing manu-
scripts for separate publication ever persisted to the end.
His principle was to collect everything of possible value, leaving
rejections and eliminations to a time when fuller and more leisurely
study could provide greater security against premature decisions.
With beginning collectors he was inclined to stress this point even
more. "I suggest," he wrote to Mr. R. F. Jarrett (January 28,
1915), "that you collect for us anything in the world that you can
find in the nature of a song, whether the title or the material seems
to indicate any value or not."
His dragnet for materials was an extensive one. For many years
he continued from time to time to give folklore concerts in various
parts of the state, usually at schools and colleges or for women's
clubs ; and at all these concerts he tried to stimulate collecting.
Through correspondence he furnished numerous programs, liter-
ature, and suggestions for other concerts and for study clubs. I-^or
nearly thirty years he managed the programs of the North Carolina
Folklore Society with a main eye to their stimulative effect. Dur-
mg the same years he was searching the student body of Trinity
College and Duke University for anyone likely to become a con-
GENERAL INTRODUCTION 21
tributor of folklore. From time to time he offered courses in folk-
lore for juniors, seniors, graduates, and summer-school students.
A prominent feature of these courses was always the collection of
local parallels to all the branches of folklore studied in the courses.
Many of the students in these courses continued to add to the col-
lection for years afterwards. From these students, and from every-
body else, he was always alert to secure the names of local sinj^ers,
raconteurs, and collectors with whom he would later open relations.
Most important of all, he was personally an indefatigable col-
lector. The collection contains a number of items in his hand
hastily penciled on old envelopes, cards, or pages from desk memo-
randum pads that were evidently taken down on the fly, without
anticipation or previous plan. Most of his personal collecting, how-
ever, was done on field trips which were usually carefully planned
in advance. How many such trips he made between 1914 and 1942
will never be known, for he fails to mention many of them in his
letters, and he usually kept no records except the materials collected.
Nor did he ever talk very much about them. I was in almost daily
contact with him from 1919 to 1942, sharing with him during many
of these years a common office and a common interest in folklore,
and yet I have learned far more about his field expeditions after
his death, from his letters, than I ever learned from his conversation.
Within less than twelve years after he began his collecting trips
Dr. Brown had already covered most of the state. "I have per-
sonally collected songs and other materials," he wrote to Henry
Grady Owens (February 11, 1926), "on Roanoke Island, and at
practically every one of the mountain counties along the Tennessee
and Virginia lines, and we have material from practically every
county in the state." In another letter he speaks of traveling twelve
hundred miles while collecting in the summer of 1936, and in the
summer of 1940 he traveled twenty-five hundred miles.
The occasional passages in his letters in which he speaks of col-
lecting trips confine themselves largely to a statement of the re-
sults. To Thomas Smith he wrote (November 30, 1929) : "You
will be interested to know that I made a collecting trip the first
part of September, when I went to Hendersonville, Flat Rock,
Sugar Loaf Mountain, Asheville, Burnsville, and Mount Mitchell.
I took the Ediphone along, and I was able to get some verv inter-
esting airs; one of the most interesting . . . was one to 'The British
Lady.' "
This trip happens to be one of those in which he was accom-
panied by Mrs. Sutton, who had described it far more graphically
in the Raleigh Nczvs and Observer for October 27, 1929. In her
account a car slithers over steep, rutted roads of wet red clay to-
wards a lonely cabin above Little Hungry Creek. Here an old
woman sings 'Willie Ransome' and other ballads, while her husband
22. NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
just back from the penitentiary, is skulking about in the surround-
ing woods, having no truck with furriners. Mrs. Sutton's account
tells also of the old women who sang at the Yancey County Home
for the Aged and Infirm, and of a steep climb to Mount Mitchell
to record twenty-two songs (including The British Lady') as sung
by Mrs. Wilson.
Seven years later Dr. Brown is writing to Dr. A. P. Hudson
(December 2, 1936) : "You doubtless know that Lomax and I
made a great many records of folk-songs in the mountains of this
state during the summer : Lomax was with me during most of the
month of July, and I worked practically all summer. ... I was
able to find a good many new airs and some songs which were new
to me, and I collected a rather large mass of materials on other
phases of the work." During this trip Professor Lomax was
describing his impressions in frequent letters to Mrs. Lomax, from
which I am permitted to quote the following typical extract:
We were out the entire day yesterday with a sandwich for lunch.
You would have enjoyed tlie dear old ladies singing in squeaky voices,
tremulous with age, about Lord Thomas a-riding his milk-white steed
up yanders (to rhyme with ganders) hill. They are as placid as these
mountains and make no apologies for puncheon floors or crannies in the
log walls of their houses. Presently we are off to hear some mountain
fiddling. Tomorrow we bring in a banjo picker, while Sunday we drive
a hundred miles to the home of one Bill Hoppas, far-renowned for his
singing and playing ability.
Dr. W. Amos Abrams, who accompanied Dr. Brown on a num-
ber of expeditions between 1939 and 1942, has described some of
his experiences in a letter to Mrs. Brown (January 2~, 1945) :
Through a student in one of my classes I discovered a certain ballad
manuscript which belonged to an Adams family over near Dehart, North
Carolina. Inasmuch as it contains what I believe to be the earliest
version (certainly handwritten version) of an ancient American variant
of 'The Brown Girl,' Dr. Brown, Lillian, and I set out in search of
the family, hoping to discover the history of the book and someone who
could sing the songs it contained. It was a rainy season and the roads
were red clay. I know no adequate adjective to describe how treach-
erously slick they were. We slipped from one side of the road to the
other, bent the running boards on both sides of the car, and at one time
we were actually careened over the side of the mountain. It was really
a fearful experience. We did get the history of the t)ook hut no singers
could we find. I remember that we ate dinner witli the family, and
what a meal ! A copy of the songs in the book is in Dr. White's hands.
I likewise recall an experience Dr. Brown and I had when we sought
for and found Mrs. Nancy Prather, whose post office address has slipped
out of mind at this moment. We went to Trade, Tennessee, turned right
and went back into North Carolina and took a road that led cross coun-
try in the direction of West Jefferson. We became stuck in a river
GENERAL INTRODUCTION 23
wliich we Iiad to cross without benefit of a bridge, the motor choking
down because tlie exhaust pipe was under water. We finally chugged
out in some fashion and found the house of Mrs. Prather's son or grand-
son with whom she was living. We drove through a meadow to a foot-
log but could not get the car across ; thus we were constrained to affix
the wire from the motor in the back of the car to the footlog. Mrs.
Prather came out on a little rickety porch with her flap-bonnet turned
down over her eyes — sharp eyes, too — but she was reluctant to sing for
us because only a year or two before this time some pretended ballad
collector had come through the community with this result : a few days
after his visit, revenue officers had arrested some neighbors for moon-
shining. Dr. Brown and I were quite naturally suspected of being
revenue officers, and it is not easy to prove one is not an officer under
these circumstances. I had with me a record made by Mrs. Prather's
grandson and on the record was a song Mrs. Prather had taught him
to sing. The boy's name, I believe, was Oliver Proffitt. Anyway, when
I played that record, she recognized his voice and her song. This little
incident broke the ice, and she sang eight songs for us, six of which
were Child ballads. The most valuable song she sang was 'Earl Brand' ;
I believe she called it 'The Old Man at the Gate.' I can see her now as
I write you, sitting on that rickety porch with her sharp eyes closed
under her flap-bonnet, singing a song so old that the history of it meant
much to us. Her voice was not good and her diction was hardly under-
standable ; so I bribed her little granddaughter to write out the words
and mail them to me. She did, and I sent Dr. Brown a copy of the
words. I bribed the girl by buying some flowers from her — flowers
which she wanted to give us. We came through the road to West
Jefiferson, I think, for we dared not try to cross the river again. . . .
This trip will be of interest to you, certainly. Miss Pearl Webb (one
of our students who had taught in the community we wanted to survey),
Dr. Brown and I left Boone one Sunday morning. We went to Heaton,
North Carolina, and drove up the Dark Ridge Road which follows
No- Where Branch. We had no luck during the morning hours, but we
passed by a home and Miss Pearl saw some people she knew who were
visiting at this home. She went in and found out that they knew some
ballads and that they would sing them when they returned home. Dr.
Brown gallantly ofifered to wait and take them home. The singers
were to have a part in a memorial service early in the afternoon. We
waited. We went to the memorial service, and I shall never forget this
experience. The cemetery was on the crest of a hill ; the wind was
blowing in quite a gale ; we were told that we were looking into three
states from this point. The preacher's hair blew in the wind and he
did his task in an eloquent fashion. When the service ended, our sing-
ers loaded in the car. I believe there were about eleven people to ride,
including seven adults and four children. I remember that I sat squatted
in the foot between the two seats. Miss Pearl held two kids on her
knee, and the others were stacked in quite tightly, as you can imagine.
We finally took a road which led down the mountain to the foot of
Dark Ridge and to the home of a Mr. and Mrs. Church. The children
were actually beautiful in features with the bluest eyes I have ever seen.
I think it was Mrs. Janie Cliurch who sang for us, and I am sure it was
24 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
she who sang 'The Seven King's Daughters.' Dr. Brown made an ap-
pointment and returned later, but I was not with him on this trip. We
returned home long after dark. . . .
I did not make this trip with Dr. Brown, but he told me about it. I
don't even remember where it was. I do recall that he had collected
songs from Aunt Becky Gordon some thirty years earlier and that he
was trying to find her again inasmuch as some of her songs made thirty
years ago on his wax records had been lost. I know that he chased her
all over one county and finally found her "hired out" doing the ironing
or washing for a family. She was to be paid fifty cents. Dr. Brown
persuaded the employer to let Aunt Becky sing for him, and she sang —
among the songs — 'O Lilli O,' a song he had collected nearly thirty
years earlier from her.
The lure of such names as Pick Breeches, Rip Shin Ridge, Little
Hungry Creek, Boiling Springs, Powder Mill Creek, Upper Hin-
son's Creek, Meat Camp, Mast's Gap was a strong one. "The
Churches live," says a note in Dr. Brown's field book for August
5, 1939, "at foot of Dark Ridge, on End of Nowhere Branch, Beech
Creek, near Pogy Mountain." To get there must have seemed
worth some of the reckless driving that witnesses hint of, even if
one had to keep his hosts singing until after midnight, as happened
in Boone on August 24, 1939.
Mountain people still remember the heavy rains of August, 1940,
which caused many a wash-out and road-slip. These rains— for a
while — actually immobilized Dr. Brown and his Ford, and so his
frustration by them is worth recording. His field book for 1940
ends abruptly after August 18 with the following note:
The floods have interfered greatly : I cannot go to Tinville, Banner
Elk, Spruce Pine, N. Wilksboro, Jonas Ridge, or any of the places
where I know material is to be had. I hope to get to Crossnore, Alta-
mont, Hughes, Buck Hill, etc., etc., but am not sure whether roads
can be opened before I must leave. This is August 18. The rains
started on Friday August 9, and continued without intermission until
August 15.
I never heard Dr. Brown speak of either the hardships (if he
thought of them as such) or the adventures of collecting. His let-
ters, however, are not without a quiet pride in the growth of the
collection and in the acquisition of particular rare items. One of
his early moments of elation must have been receipt of the follow-
ing praise from Professor A. H. Tolman of the University of Chi-
cago (January 31, 1915) : "You have made the greatest single find
possible in English balladry, in finding a good, full, traditional ver-
sion of No. 272, "The Suffolk Miracle.' " The same year Dr. Brown
was able to write to Professor I. G. Greer (February 13, 1915)
GENERAL INTRODUCTION 25
that he had ah-eady found two ballads never before found in
America.^
In those days collectors were much more excited than they are
now about the discovery of a ballad in formation, or newly born.
"Fortune has favored me also," Dr. Brown wrote to Dr. Benjamin
Sledd, December 1915, "in throwint;- into my hands two Negro bal-
lads which were composed in Durham within the last two years.
One of these, I believe, will prove to be in some respects the most
valuable item, in our whole collection. "-
In 1935 Mrs. Gertrude Allen Vaught contributed from Taylors-
ville the first text of 'Babylon' discovered in American tradition,
and in September 1940 Dr. Brown made a find which he jubilantly
described to Professor Reed Smith (February 21, 1941) as follows:
"I had the good fortune to discover in one of the almost inaccessible
coves in the mountains in North Carolina a very interesting version
of 'Robin Hood and the Beggar,' number two; so far as I know
this is the first time this particular ballad has been found in America,
and of course I am very proud to come upon it and to record it
upon nn^ machine."^
The treasures that might still be garnered were as alluring as
those that had been. Professor C. Alphonso Smith wrote to tell
Dr. Brown that D. W. Fletcher, in Durham county (his own back-
yard), could sing some old ballads. Mrs. Sutton wrote of various
marvelous ballad singers, such as "Myra" (Mrs. Barnette) who had
sung ballads to her from her childhood on, and Aunt Becky Gordon,
on Saluda Mountain, who "sings every song I have been able to
collect heretofore, and then some" (July 30, 1928). A Trinity Col-
lege student, P. D. Midgett, Jr., who had already furnished a num-
ber of songs, wrote from his home on Roanoke Island (June 5,
1920), "Papa says he knows 500." Another former student, L. W.
Anderson, wrote from Nag's Head about Mrs. Wise, who could sing
^ These were (i) 'The Suffolk Miracle,' as mentioned above, which
was contributed from Taylorsville by Mrs. R. E. Barnes (and two years
later, from Boone, by Professor I. G. Greer, both texts known locally as
'Jimmy and Nancy'), and (2) 'Robin Hood and Guy of Gisborne,' con-
tributed from Marion by Mr. G. C. Little in 1914. "So far as I know,"
Professor Reed Smith wrote Dr. Brown about the latter, "this is the
only variant of the Guy of Gisborne ballad found on American soil" (Jan-
uary 4, 1915). Professor Belden informs me that Dr. Brown was mis-
taken about 'The Suffolk Miracle' and that the ballad in question is not
Child 272 but a version of 'Nancy of Yarmouth." After Dr. Brown's
death, however, the true 'Suffolk Miracle' was added to the collection
by Professors W. Amos Abrams and Gratis D. Williams, in 1946, as
sung by Pat Frye, at East Bend, N. C, in the summer of 1945.
- Referring probably to the two songs on the sinking of the Titanic
by the Reverend J. H. Brown and Gaither Miller.
^ Sung by Mrs. Nora Hicks, September 5, 1940, at Mast's Gap. Pro-
fessor Belden states that this is really Child 140, 'Robin Hood Rescuing
the Three Squires.'
26 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
a hundred songs from memory. And a portentous well-wisher from
Greensboro embarked upon the unfamiliar ways of correspondence
long enough to write (December 14. 1936), "I can tell you a true
Ghost Story that sounds untrue there is a Great Sign and Wonder
that has arose in the human race." He never told, apparently, or
committed himself further to the perils of ruled tablet-paper, but
all the others were eventually sought out by Dr. Brown and levied
upon.
Finally, there was a great satisfaction in watching and reporting
the steady growth of the collection. By 1915 he was able to inform
Miss Amy Henderson (April 13, 1915) that North Carolina ranked
second among the states in the number of traditional ballads re-
ported. During that year the number increased from 18 to 20 in
January, then to 24 in April, and finally to 2^ in November. By
1936 this number had increased to 50, according to Dr. Brown's
count at the time. This accords fairly well with the final figures,
as established by Dr. H. M. Belden in 1948, after a careful study
of the song collection. Dr. Belden finds 51 Child ballads, but is
inclined to exclude four as either fragmentary or secondary versions.
This number is exceeded only by the state of Maine, represented
by 56 ballads in Barry's British Ballads from Maine. Virginia
counts 51 such ballads in Davis's Traditional Ballads of Virginia,
but Dr. Belden's strict principles of selection would exclude four
of these. Standard collections for other states (Indiana, Michigan,
Missiouri, Ohio, West V^irginia) show a total of from 25 to 33
Child ballads.
In 192.S and 1926 the number of all songs in the Frank C. Brown
Collection stood at 2000-2500, with about 1000 airs recorded. By
1935 between 400 and 500 of these airs had been transcribed from
the recordings.'*
' No such definite indications of the growth of other groups are
available. It is hard to estimate with any accuracy the number of
short superstitions or folk expressions in an unorganized collection
that has accumulated for years. Moreover, while Dr. Brown con-
tinued to collect all types of folklore, the folk songs — and par-
ticularly the traditional ballads as included in Professor Child's
collection — were his first, last, and greatest love. The only esti-
mate I have found of the general bulk of the collection exclusive
of the songs occurs in a letter to Richard Chase, dated October 24,
1942, in which he stated that he had typed about 2500 pages and
that this was about three-fourths of the total of such materials. •'•
Only after Dr. Brown's death, and after more than a year of
* Dr. Brown to Professor George Herzog, October 13, 1935. This
seems to have been an underestimate, for over 650 transcribed airs were
catalogued in the collection after Dr. Brown's death, and there was
little or no transcription from records after 1935.
^ This does not include over a thousand items added to these groups
after Dr. Brown's death.
GENERAL INTRODUCTION 27
concentrated copying, classifying, and cataloguing, has it been pos-
sible to arrive at a reasonably accurate computation of the size
and distribution of the Frank C. Brown Collection. For the whole
collection there are 556 contributors of 29,647 items from all but
14 of North Carolina's 100 counties, and 95 contributors of 1409
items from 20 other states and Canada. This does not include about
9000 items contributed anonymously or without indication of local-
ity, a grand total of over 38,000. If all contributions could be
clearly localized, there is little doubt that every county in the state
would be represented, as Dr. Brown believed.
The distribution according to counties is given on the folklore
map of North Carolina printed on the inside covers of this volume.
The following table indicates the distribution of the items under
Dr. Brown's sixteen main classifications:
Contributors Items
1. Husbandry I39 1834
2. Omens, Luck Signs 240 7330
3. Folk Medicine 138 2026
4. Magic, Charms, etc 205 1862
5. Divination 1 15 894
6. Housewifery 55 548
7. Folk Sermons 9 50
8. Pseudo Science 57 264
9. Folk Expressions 96 2711
10. Origin of Place Names 29 196
11. Riddles, Proverbs, Similes 57 6180
12. Children's Rhymes 95 m8i
13 Traditional Games 97 998
14. Customs 43 188
15. Legends, Tales 93 328
16. Songs [and Ballads] 667 374i
No collection of folklore is ever complete; the subject is far too
extensive for that. There is not a single category in the present
collection that could not be expanded. Folk dances are missing,
and folk arts in general appear but sparsely. The coarse and ob-
scene elements which persist so hardily in folk tales and folk songs
and attain proportionate representation in so few collections are
here almost entirely absent. Few informants like to commit such
matter to paper, or to communicate it orally to an English pro-
fessor. They are even more reserved with a Sunday School teacher,
and Dr. Brown was both.
Nevertheless the Frank C. Brown Collection is one of the largest
collections of general folklore in the English language ever to be
amassed mainly by the efforts of one man. It is also one of the
most homogeneous, for over 95 per cent of it comes from North
Carolina. This fact does not lessen its general interest, for North
Carolina holds its folklore in common with the whole English-
speaking world, but it does provide an unparalleled opportunity, if
28 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
properly interpreted, of understanding more fully than ever before
the folkways, sayings, beliefs, and songs of one region.
In the spring of 1943 Dr. Brown, then in good health, had asked
me to attend to the publication, so far as practicable, in case I sur-
vived him. After his death the three most interested parties — Mrs.
Brown, the North Carolina Folklore Society, and Duke University —
asked me to proceed according to a general plan I had suggested.
The manuscripts and all related materials were sorted, classified,
and edited for typing.^ The manuscripts were then typed in tripli-
cate. Each item was separately catalogued, and over forty mimeo-
graphed catalogues were compiled for the use of the editors. The
manuscripts, catalogues, and related materials were turned over to
Duke University as a permanent collection, and typescripts, cata-
logues, and other aids were sent to the associate editors. Work on
the manuscripts began in the summer of 1943 and was finished in
July 1945-
An editorial board was assembled, consisting of Professors H. M.
Belden and A. P. Hudson for the song texts and Professor Jan P.
Schinhan for the music (succeeding Professor George Herzog in
1947) ; Wayland D. Hand for husbandry, omens, folk medicine,
magic, divination, and pseudo science ; Archer Taylor for riddles ;
Stith Thompson for legends and tales ; Paul G. Brewster for house-
wifery, customs, and children's games, rhymes, and sayings; B. J.
Whiting for proverbs, similes, etc. ; George P. Wilson for folk
sermons, place names, and folk salutations, phrases, pronunciations,
and idioms. These editors were all chosen for their particular tasks
upon the nominations of a number of leading folklore scholars who
were consulted by the General Editor. Miss Clare Leighton was
engaged as illustrator, with a commission to provide a series of
wood engravings which would present an artist's interpretation, not
ro much of the folklore itself as of the land, the people, and the
customs out of which it grew.
The story cannot be closed, however, without an expression of
gratitude for the generous financial support which made the editing
and publishing possible — The Rockefeller Foundation (Division of
Humanities), The xA.merican Council of Learned Societies, The
American Philosophical Society, Independent Aid, Duke Univer-
sity, Mrs. W. N. Reynolds, and Mrs. W. Murray Crane.
Newman Ivev White
1948
®The related materials included nearly 1500 letters (1912-1943) con-
cerning the collection, 1,000 or more newspaper clippings, several bib-
liographies on various fields of folklore, and about 330 magazine articles,
lists, books, student theses, etc. These have all been organized and
arranged for convenient use and are now with the Frank C. Brown Col-
lection in the Duke University Library, together with the original manu-
scripts, the typescripts, and the phonograph records, music transcriptions,
lists, and indices.
CHILDREN'S GAMES AND
RHYMES
Edited by
Paul G. Brewster
CHILDREN'S GAMES AND
RHYMES
INTRODUCTION
GAMES MEAN different things to different people. The folk-
lorist and the ethnologist collect and study them for the light
they often throw upon the religious beliefs and ceremonies, the
social organization, and the general cultural background of the
peoples among whom they have been collected. As later pages
amply testify, they often retain traces of ancient custom, ritual, and
belief that have long since been lost from other expressions of the
folk mind. The teacher and the playground director value them
as aids not only in the strengthening of the bodies of the youngsters
under their charge but also in the inculcating of the ideals of team-
work and good sportsmanship. The specialist in mental diseases is
fre(|uently able to bring about an improvement in the patient's mind
by inducing liim to engage in certain carefully selected games and
sports. To the child who is playing, and to most of us, a game is
a contest — physical, mental, or a combination of the two — from
which both the participant and the onlooker derive pleasure.
Many of the games represented in this collection are very old.
Jacks, for example, was mentioned by Aristophanes two thousand
years ago as a game played by Greek girls. 'How Many Fingers?'
was played by Roman children at least as early as the first century
of our era. and may be much older. The game of 'Blindman's Buff'
is another that was known to Grecian youth of ancient times.
Allusions to it in English literature occur as early as the sixteenth
century. Our 'Odd or Even' was also well known to Greek and
Roman children of centuries ago. 'Prisoner's Base' is alluded to
in a literary passage of the thirteenth century. 'Oats, Peas, Beans,
and Barley' was played in France at least as early as the middle of
the fourteenth century. References to the playing of leapfrog appear
in .Shakespeare's Hcnr\ V (V, 2) and Jonson's Bartholomew Fair
(1.7).
The greater part of these games are not only ancient but also
extremely widespread. Variants of the guessing game 'How Many
Fingers?' have been found in England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales,
the Scandinavian countries, France, Italy. Spain, Portugal, Germany,
Belgium, Estonia. Greece, Yugoslavia. Switzerland, Turkey. India,
and Japan. 'Blindman's Buff' is played in Germany, Italy, Spain,
Norway, Sweden, and Poland as well as in English-speaking coun-
32 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
tries. Descriptions and diagrams of 'Hopscotch' have been recov-
ered from Italy. Greece, Albania, the Scandinavian countries, Spain,
Portugal, and elsewhere. 'Knights of Spain,' from which the North
Carolina 'Hog Drovers' is derived, is known in France. Italy. Spain,
Finland, Iceland, and Sweden.
In the editing of these games and rhymes. I have had in mind
both the student of folklore and the general reader. With a view
to aiding the former, I have indicated in the headnotes something
of the age, the history, and the geographical distribution of the
game, and have added whatever other information I could regard-
ing it. However, since this material really belongs rather to the
general reader than to the folklorist, I have, on the other hand,
striven to keep the essential folk quality of both the games and
the rhymes and, in order to convey to the former something of
the flavor of collecting, have quoted as liberally as limitations of
space permit from the comments of the collectors themselves. No
attempt has been made to "prettify" the texts. Punctuation has been
supplied only in cases where it was necessary for the sake of clear-
ness. Obvious mistakes such as misspellings and faulty line or
stanza order have been corrected. Aside from these changes, the
texts are essentially as given to the editor.
The editing of the games and rhymes in the Brown Collection
has been both a pleasurable and an instructive experience. As a
whole, the materials contributed are of a consistently high quality.
Many of the collectors and contributors had formerly been students
in Professor Brown's classes in folklore and consequently knew
what to look for and how to evaluate properly the texts found.
Some of them, notably Mrs. Sutton, were folklore collectors in their
own right, wath years of experience in the field. Their contribu-
tions, too. are valuable and important. Still others were persons
with no academic connection and no formal training in folklore but
enthusiastic and indefatigable in the collecting and sending in of
whatever they felt might possibly come under that heading. In
view of the fact that this latter group was the most numerous, the
proportion of chaff to wheat in the Collection is remarkably low.
By far the greater part of the material omitted from the pages
which follow was excluded not because of any poorness of quality
but because it had clearly been derived from printed sources or was
definitely not North Carolinian. ^
It has been most interesting (and enlightening) to me to com-
^ The only instance of deviation from this policy was the inclusion
of Mrs. Sutton's version of 'Twelve Days of Christmas,' which was
recovered in the neighboring state of Tennessee. The fact that the same
racial stock predominates in hotli states and the additional fact that this
particular version was collected not far from the boundary line made it
seem reasonable to assume that the game is or was known in North
Carolina as well. Games, like ballads, are no respecters of boundaries.
GAMESANURHYMES 33
pare these games and rhymes with tliose whicli 1 have collected in
Indiana, Missouri, and elsewhere. With several of them, partic-
ularly the dancing games, I was wholly unfamiliar. Others 1 was
able to place with the aid of the accompanying descriptions, but
would never have been able to recognize from the titles given. I
learned, for instance, that 'Hail Over' or 'High Over' was the
'Handy Over' of my Indiana boyhood, that 'Pretty Girls* Station'
(a fine title, incidentally!) was the game I had always known as
'Lemonade,' that 'Shu-li-lu' was merely a variant of the familiar
'Skip to My Lou.'
The bulk of these games and rhymes came from white informants.
Whether the collectors felt, and with some reason, that sufficient
materials could be obtained from these sources without the neces-
sity of collecting from the colored minority or whether they felt
that anything that might be recovered from the latter group would
be only a duplication of texts already collected is not clear. Of
course, the fact that much of the material was collected from people
living in mountain districts, where the Negro is practically unknown,
also helps to account for the meager number of Negro texts. It
seems regrettable that Negro games and rhymes do not form a
larger part of the Collection, not because they would have been
particularly good versions, perhaps, but because the inclusion of a
greater number would have given users of the Collection an oppor-
tunity to investigate the question of mutual borrowings and sub-
sequent changes to fit the borrowers' background and environment.
No one who has not done considerable work in the field of chil-
dren's games and rhymes can fully comprehend the difficulties to
be encountered in attempting any system of classification. In the
first place, it is impossible to make the divisions mutually exclusive.
A game which at first glance seems to be clearly a guessing game
will frequently contain, in addition to the element of guessing, those
of imitation and of chase as well. A game which one is inclined
to list as dramatic may, with equal justice, be classified as a court-
ship or a dancing game. The element of chase is to be found in
ball games, hiding games, dramatic games, guessing games, and
others. A second headache is the game which, originally and gen-
erally of one type, has been intentionally changed through the intro-
duction of another element (sometimes even a part of another game)
into something only remotely resembling the earlier and correct form.
The system of classification which I finally adopted is of my own
devising, and I anticipate criticism of it by admitting that it is not
without flaws. However, it is the best that several hours of trial
and error and general puzzlement could evolve. I have grouped all
the games into eighteen divisions, in each case using the most dis-
tinctive feature of the game as a basis for its inclusion in a particular
group. These divisions are:
34 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
Ball Games Games of Dexterity
Hiding Games Imitative Games
Jumping and Hopping Games Courtship and Marriage Games
Practical Jokes Teasing Games
Battle Games Tug-of-War and Similar Games
Dramatic Games Games of Smaller Children
Guessing Games Elimination Games
Forfeit or Penalty Games Dancing Games
Games of Chase Miscellaneous Games
Classification of the rhymes follows the same general pattern:
Counting-Out Rhymes Lullabies
Game Rhymes (exclusive of the Finger Rhymes
above) Tickling Rhymes
Rope Skipping Rhymes Asseverations
Catches or Sells Recitations
Teasing Rhymes "Smart Aleck" Rhymes
Derisive Rhymes Friendship Verses
Divination Rhymes Tongue-Twisters
Charms
Of the game divisions, that of Courtship and Marriage Games
contains by far the most material. The reason for this fact is
obvious. In the mountain districts, from which most of the games
of this type were collected, the "play-party" was a social institu-
tion of great importance. Residents of these localities, most of
them people of simple tastes, had brought with them the folk tradi-
tions from their native land. Cut off from contact with more
sophisticated centers, they were forced to find or to create their
own forms of entertainment and accordingly fell back upon this
folk tradition, a sizable part of which consisted of the ballads, tales,
and games which were their common heritage from English, Scot-
tish, or Irish ancestors. So popular were these games and songs
that even homes in which dancing was looked upon with disfavor as
one of the devil's snares to entrap the unwary threw open their
doors to the "play-party."
Dramatic games were also highly popular, this division ranking
second in point of size. Children have always been and always
will be actors and imitators, whether in the mountains of North
Carolina or on the sidewalks of New York.
Some game types are very scantily represented. One would have
expected to find at least one description of 'Bull Pen' among the
ball games; of 'Scissors, Paper. Stone' in the division of guessing
games; of 'Tin Tin' among the games in which the paying of a
forfeit is the penalty for laughing. Other games which are not to
be found in these pages are 'Crack the Whip,' 'Fruit Basket Upset,'
GAMES AND RHYMES 35
"One and Over,' 'Red Rover,' 'Cross Questions,' "Duck on the Rock,'
'Oranges and Lemons,' 'Marbles,' and 'Tit-tat-toe.' However, fail-
ure on the part of collectors to submit versions of these does not
mean, of course, that tliey are not to be found in North Carolina.
In all probability, most, if not all, of those mentioned could have
been or could still be recovered. *
Here, then, are the games of North Carolina, eminently playable
games, as their popularity through generation after generation
attests. May older readers of the pages which follow find pleasure
in recalling their own playing of many of the games described, and
may those of a younger age pass them on to those who follow. For
here, too, is America — its wholesome gaiety, its native resourceful-
ness, its ability and readiness to use teamwork if demanded, its
spontaneity, its individuality, its sense of humor, its love of fair
play.
N.C.F.., V'ol. I, (4)
36 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
BALL GAMES
ANTHONY OVER
This game is still popular not only in the South but also in the
Middle West, where it is called 'Anty Over' or 'Handy Over.' A
Canadian name for it is 'Tickley Tickley Over' (JAFL, lviii, 154).
In Newell, Games and Songs of American Children (p. 181), it is
called "Haley Over,' one of the names given it in the South, where
it is known also as 'High Over' or 'Hurley Over.' A description
of the game as played in Texas appears in PTFLS, xvii (1941),
148. See also Marran, Games Outdoors, p. 97 ('Aunty Over').
'Antny Over.' Description furnished by Maude Minish Sutton, of For-
est City, who saw the game played at several schools in Avery county
during the fall of 1917.
One group of boys stands on one side of the schoolhouse
and another group of approximately the same number stands
on the other. A member of the group having the ball calls,
"Ant'ny!" Someone on the other side then cries. "Over!"
The first speaker calls out, "Over she comes !" and throws the
ball over the roof. If it is caught, the player who made the
catch dashes around the corner of the building and throws the
ball at one of the players on the opposite side. Each boy hit
must join that side that hit him. If nobody catches the ball,
the game proceeds as before.
'Hail-Over.' Contributed by Mamie Mansfield, of Durham, 1927-32. No
source indicated, but presumably from Durham county.
Players are in two equal (or nearly equal) groups on oppo-
site sides of a building. The group which has the ball calls,
"Anti-over" and the other side responds, "Let it come!" (or they
call, "Hail Over" and the response is "Hail-over"). The ball
is thrown over the building. If it is caught, the one who holds
it may tag all the players he can as the groups rush to ex-
change places, and they must then join his side. If the ball is
not catight, each group keeps its position.
HAT BALL
Usually the ball is thrown into one of a circle of hats or caps;
sometimes holes in the ground take the place of the hats or caps
as in the following description. For other descriptions, see Newell,
p. 183; Acker, Four Hundred Games for School, Home, and Play-
GAMESAN I) RHYMES 37
ground, p. 225 ('Roly Poly'j and p. 227 ('Spud'j ; Goninie, Tradi-
tional Games of England. Scotland, and Ireland, i, 14 ("Balls and
Bonnets'), 199 ('Hats in Holes') ; Macla^an, Games and Diversions
of Argyleshirc, p. 9 ('Bonnety') ; Vernaleken and I3ranky, Spiele u.
Keime der Ki)tder in Oesterreicli, p. 10; Rochholz, .lleinannisclies,
Kinderlied 11. Kinderspiel, p. 389; Bohnie. Deiitsclies Kindcrlicd it.
Kindcrspicl, p. 609; Henius, Songs and Games of the Americas.
p. 10.
'Roley Holey.' Contributed by Maude Minish Sutton, Forest City,
c. 1928. Reported from Avery county.
A row of holes is made in the ground, each being given the
name of one of the players. Each boy takes a chance at rolling
the ball into one of the holes, all players standing several feet
away from the holes. The boy into whose hole the ball rolls
tries to hit some of the others with it. If he succeeds, a stone
is placed in the hole of the boy who was hit. When there are
three stones in any boy's hole, he is out of the game. In an-
other form of the game, the boy who gets three stones is pad-
dled by all the other players.^
HIDING GAMES
HIDE AND SEEK
This is one of the most popular of games and is found in all
parts of the country. It appears to be a favorite, too, among primi-
tive and near-primitive peoples. See, for example, Best, Games and
Pastimes of the Maori, p. 92 ('taupunipuni') ; Bryan, Ancient Ha-
umiian Life, p. 51 ('pe'epe'ekua' ) ; Kidd, Savage Childhood, p. 177;
Kidd, The Essential Kafir, p. 338; Culin, Korean Games, p. 51;
Ivens, Melanesians of the Southeast Solomons, p. 100; Malinowski,
The Sexual Life of Saz^ages, p. 246 ('supeponi') ; Stayt, The
Bavcnda. p. 98. It was popular also in Greece (Gulick, The Life
of the Ancient Greeks, p. 76).
For additional descriptions and references, see Gomme, i, i ;
Maclagan, p. 211; Marran, p. 134 ('Duck in the Hole'); Strutt,
p. 301. Under the name of 'All Hid,' this game was very popular
in Elizabethan England. Some allusions to it in the drama of the
period will be found in my recent article "Games and Sports in
Sixteenth and Seventeenth-Centtu'y English Literature" (irestern
Folklore, vi, 143 ).
'Hide and Hunt.' Contributed by Virginia Bowers. Reported from
Stanly county. No date given.
One player closes his eyes and, standing near a spot previotisly
^ In my own boyhood, in Indiana, a miss resulted in the thrower's being
given a stone. If the player at whom the ball was throw-n succeeded in
catching it, the thrower was paddled by the others.
38 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
designated as "home," counts slowly to one hundred while the
others hide. When he has finished counting, he calls :
"Bushel of wheat, bushel of rye,
All not hid holler 'I.' "
Then if there is no response, he calls:
"Bushel of wheat, bushel of clover.
All not hid can't hide over.
All eyes open ; here I come !"
When he discovers a hiding player, he runs to the place
called "home," touches the tree or wall that has been so desig-
nated, and calls out, "One, two, three for !" If the
player who was hidden succeeds in reaching "home" first, he
calls, "One, two, three for me !" When two or three have been
caught, the hunter may end the game with "All the rest home
free!" The first player caught is the next to hide his eyes.
This game is often confused with 'Hide and Seek.' Newell (p.
160) says that the two differ only in that players of the latter have
no "home" to touch, a statement which is in contradiction to the
preceding description. English forms are described in Gomme, i,
212-213, but they bear little resemblance to the American game.
This is the French cligne-mitsette or cache-cache, and is men-
tioned by Froissart (14th c.) as one of the games played in his
youth.
'I-Spy.' Description sent to Dr. Brown by Maude Minish Sutton, Forest
City, c. 1928, who obtained it in Tyrrell county.
This game is played just like 'Fifty-Oh' except that the
counter has to count to a hundred instead of fifty. There are
a number of short methods of counting used, such as a hundred
by fives, by tens, or "Ten, ten, double ten. forty-five, fifteen."
When a player is found, the counter must run "home" and
count "One, two, three for ." If the hider escapes being
found, he runs "home" and touches it, saying "Home free."
FIFTY-OH
Description furnished by Maude Minish Sutton, c. 1928, wlio saw the
game played in Tyrrell county.
This game is a form of 'Hide and Seek.' A base is chosen.
a tree or some other convenient spot. The counter is chosen
by a counting-out rhyine. He counts to fifty, closing with a
very loud "Fifty-oh!" He then says:
G A M E S A N n R II Y M E S 39
"A bushel of wheat and a bushel of clover,
All not hid can't hide over.
A bushel of wheat and a bushel of rye,
All ain't hid holler 'I.' "
If an3'one calls, the counting proceeds to fifty again. Then the
counter begins hunting. As he finds each one, he touches the
base and says "One, two, three for ." If any child is
able to slip "home," he says, "Home free." The first player
caught is counter for the second game.
KICKING THE CAN
Contributed by Mrs. John Carr, of Durham. Reported from Durham
county. No date given.
This is a variant of 'Hide and Seek.' The player who is
"It" kicks a can some distance from the base. While he is
recovering it, the others hide.
WHOOPY HIDE
Description furnished by Maude Minish Sutton, c. 1928. No source given.
This is another form of 'Hide and Seek.' Players announce
by whoops that they are hidden. The counter follows the
whoops, often being misled by the players, who change their
locations after they have whooped. As a rule, this changing
of position is regarded as "no fair," but, as in most cases of
controversy, the decision is against the child who is "It."
JUMPING AND HOPPING GAMES
HOPSCOTCH
Another very popular and widespread game and also a very old
one. The earliest allusion to it of which I am aware is that m
Poor Robin's Almanac for 1677, in which it is called 'Scotch-
hoppers.' Other names bv which it is known are 'Hop-score,' 'Hop-
crease,' 'Beds.' 'Hap the 'Bed,' 'Hickety-Hackety,' &c.
For descriptions, American and foreign, see Newell, p. 188;
Acker, p. 260; Marran, pp. 70-73; Smith, Games and Game Leader-
ship p 229; Gomme, 1, 223: Strutt, The Sports and Pastimes of the
People of England, p. 303: Henius, p. 14 ('El Peregrmo') ; Bohme,
p 509- Lewalter-Schliiger, Dciitsches Kinderlicd n. Kinderspicl, p.
242- Zeitschrift des Vereins fiir Volksknnde, xiii, 167; Folk-Lore,
V 340- VI, 359 (Danish); xl, 372 (Albanian); American Anthro-
pologist, N.S., I, 230 (Hawaiian) ; Parsons, Pegiiche, p. 52 ('ficha ) ;
Ludovici, "Sports and Games of the Singhalese," p. 33 ('masop or
'tatto') ; Martinez, Jucgos v Condones Infantiles de Puerto Rico,
40 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
p. 68 ('La Peregrina') ; Notes & Queries, 4th ser., iv, 94, 186;
Tradiciones Populares Espaiioles, v, 3 ; Ruiz, Los Jiiegos InfantUes
en la Escnela Rural, p. 68 ('La Escalera de Caracol' ) ; Reyes and
Ramos, Philippin-c Folk Dances and Games, p. 60 ('Piko' or 'Buan-
Buan') ; Parry, The Lakhers, p. 188 CSeuleucha' ) ; Maclagan, p.
134; Folk-Lore, xvi, 341-343: Earle, Child Life, p. 342; Woodward,
p. 66; de Cock and Teirlinck, i, 309.
Contributed by Maude Minish Sutton in 1928. Diagrams and directions
for playing both A and B were obtained from a little girl in Forest City.
Pitch a stone or a small block of wood into a square (i.e.,
from the first up to and including the sixth and last). Hop
over that square into the next, hop into each square in succes-
sion and return, pick up the block, and hop out. A player who
steps on a line, pitches the block into the wrong square, or hops
into the square where the block is must drop out of the game.
Contributed by Maude Minish Sutton in 1928. The diagram used for
this game has the form of a snail shell. Squares are not numbered and
no block is used.
Each player in turn hops into all squares in succession until
he reaches "Home," the center of the figure, and then returns.
If he makes the round without stepping on a line, he gets to
put his initials in any square he chooses. Then, on the next
tt-ip around, he is permitted to stop and rest in the square con-
taining his initials. Any player who steps on a line or into a
square containing another's initials is "out."
LEAPFROG
This game was popular in England at least as early as the 1300's.
Pendrill writes in his London Life in the 14th Century: "It was a
popular habit throughout the Middle Ages to play such games as
wrestling, hurlmg, and leapfrog in the streets and churchyards in
spite of the efforts of the authorities to relegate them to such open
spaces as Smithfield" (p. 21).
Descriptions are given in Strutt, p. 302 ; Gomme, i, 327 ; Mac-
lagan, p. 144; Ruiz, p. 62 ('El Burro Corrido') ; Culin, p. 33; Man,
IV, 136 (the Herzegovinan 'Eagles'); Journal of the Royal An-
thropological Institute, xxxix, 291 (British New Guinea) ; de Cock
and Teirlinck, i, 283; Gustavson, p. 67; Dijkstra, i, 230.
Contributed by Maude Minish Sutton. No source or date given.
One boy stands over as far as he can. A second takes a fly-
ing leap over the first, goes four or five yards ahead of him,
and stoops over also. A third player does the same, and this
GAMES AND RHYMES 4^
continues until all the players have assumed the same position.
Then the first hoy gets up, leaps over all the others, and takes
his place at the head of the line.
PRACTICAL JOKES
BARNYARD CHORUS
'Farmyard Chorus.' Contributed by Paul and Elizabeth Green, 1945,
as collected in eastern and central N. C, 1926-28. ;
In a whisper, the leader assigns to each player the name of
the farm animal whose voice he is to imitate. All are to crow,
whinny, moo. &c. at a given signal. However, the leader has
secretly instructed all but one of the players to remain silent
when the signal is given. At the signal, the voice of this un-
fortunate is the only one heard, much to his embarrassment.
Contributed by Cozette Coble, Stanly county. Reported from Stanly
county, but no date given.
Three chairs are arranged in a row and a girl is stationed
behind each. Each girl has a scarf around her neck. One of
the girls invites a boy to come and be shaved. He sits down
in her chair, she ties the scarf around his eyes, and a little boy,
who up to this time has been concealed behind the girls, kisses
him. Then the scarf is removed and the customer is asked if
that wasn't the quickest shave he ever had.
SCISSORS
Contributed by Elizabeth Janet Black, Garland, c. 1920-22. Collected in
Garland, Sampson county, but no date given.
Several people are seated in a circle. The leader crosses her
legs, says, "I received them crossed and I pass them uncrossed,"
uncrosses her legs, and hands the scissors to the player sitting
next to her. The scissors pass clear around the circle, and the
joke is to see how many fail to cross and uncross the legs.
POKER GAME
Contributed by Elizabeth Janet Black, Garland, c. 1920-22. Reported
from Garland, Sampson county.
Players are seated in a circle. The leader takes a poker in
one hand, pokes the floor with it, clears his throat, and says,
"He can do little who can't do this, this, this." He then gives
the poker to his neighbor, who is supposed to do exactly the
same thing. Several of the players will forget to clear the
throat.
42 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
MALAGA GRAPES
For Other variants, see Gomme, i, 363 ('Malaga Raisins') ; Folk-
Lore Journal, v, 51 (from Cornwall).
Contributed by Elizabeth Janet Black, Garland, c. 1920-22. Reported
from Garland, Sampson county. '
All of the players seat themselves in a circle. The leader
clears his throat and then says, "Malaga grapes are very good
grapes, but the grapes from China are better, better, better."
Each is to repeat the performance of the leader, but some are
sure to forget the clearing of the throat before speaking.
MY LOVE, W^HAT HAVE I DONE?
Contributed by Elsie Lambert. No place or date given.
Two or three boys go out of the room and then return one
at a time. A group of girls are sitting in a row or a semicircle.
The boy must go to the one he loves best, kneel at her feet,
take her hand, and say. "My love, what have I done?"' The
girl answers, "Acted a fool."
INTRODUCING TO KING AND QUEEN
See Gomme, i, 59 ('Carrying- the Queen a Letter') ; Newell, p.
120 ('King and Queen') ; Strutt, p. 310; Folk-Lorc, xvi, 442 ('The
King and Queen of Sheba') ; 443 ('Making Nuns') ; Rochholz, p.
435 ; Vernaleken and Branky, p. 86.
Description furnished by Gertrude Allen Vaught, Taylorsville. Reported
from Alexander county about 1927.
A boy and a girl are chosen as king and queen. Their
"thrones" are draped with a sheet or some other large covering,
with a vacant space left between the two, presumably an empty
chair. Sometimes a pan of water is put under the sheet at this
spot. A player is brought into the room to be introduced, and
is urged to take the vacant seat in the middle so that their
majesties may talk with him. As he sits down, the king and
the queen rise from their "thrones," letting him take a seat in
the pan of water.
MARCHING THROUGH PARADISE
Contributed by Gertrude Allen Vaught in 1927. Reported from Alex-
ander county.
A large group of boys and girls form two rows facing each
other. Players who have never had the pleasure of marching
through Paradise are in another room. One by one, the mem-
bers of the latter group are marched between the two lines.
and those forming the lines, who have provided themselves witli
pins, stick the victims from both sides as they pass through.
G A M E S A N 1) R H Y M E S 43
BATTLE GAMES
YANKEE SOLDIERS
This is a variant of 'We Are the Roman Soldiers.' See, for ver-
sions of the latter, Gonime, ii, 343-360; Newell, p. 248.
Contributed by Maude Minish Sutton, c. 1927. Only the text is given ;
no place is indicated.
Have yoti any bread and wine?
For we are the Yankees.
Have you any bread and wine?
For we are the Yankee soldiers.
Yes, we have some bread and wine,
For we are the Rebels. &c.
May we have a bite and sip, &c.
No, yoti'll get no bite and sip, &c.
Are you ready for a fight, &c.
Yes, we're ready for a fight, &c.
CAPTAIN OH FLAG
Contributed by Maude Minish Sutton, c. 1927. Version obtained in
Rutherford county.
Two boys choose up and select sides. A handkerchief is
hung on a tree or a fence at the "home" of each side. The
object of the game is for one side to capture the other's flag.
When the flag is threatened, the rallying cry is "Captain Oh
Flag!" If a member of one team is caught inside the home
boundary of the other, he is put in prison, from which he must
be rescued by one of his own party. The game ends when a
flag is captured. -
A BATTLE GAME
Contributed by Maude Minish Sutton, c. 1927. This version is reported
from Rutherford county.
Among the many season sports in the South is one played
by boys in the late fall. It has no name that we could find. The
boys make weapons of a piece of soft wood with a pithy center.
Into this pith or into a split in the blunt end of the weapon a
- Contributor's note : "This battle game is the most popular of its kind
in certain sections of North CaroHna. In one instance which came under
our observation, three boys were disabled for some days in one of these
hard-fought battles, and the winning captain broke his collar bone. It
is played with all the spirit and fight of a football game. It is often
used as a preliminary to a snowball battle or clod fight. The lines of
players sometimes fight until all on one side are "killed !" Cf. 'Stealing
Sticks' in this collection, p. 80.
44 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
long- piece of broom sage is inserted. When a sufficient num-
ber have been made, the sides station themselves at opposite
sides of a field and hurl these weapons at each other. If one
sticks up inside the "home" of the enemy, it must be returned.
If it hits a player and then falls to the ground, he is wounded
for a while. If it hits him and sticks in his clothes, he is dead.
The game continues until all the weapons are exhausted or
until all the players on one side are wounded or dead.
DRAMATIC GABIES
JENNY JONES
This is one of the most widely known singing" games. It is also
one of the most interesting, portraying (in the more complete
Scottish texts) the lover from afar coming to Jenny's home to woo
her, Jenny's daily occupations, and the subsequent illness, death,
and burial of the heroine. Of particular interest to the folklorist
are the color symbolism and the care exercised to select the right
color for the burial clothing, the dressing of the body by girl friends
and their carrying of it to the grave, the belief that excessive mourn-
ing disturbs the dead and causes them to rise and even to remon-
strate against it (cf. Child No. 78, 'The Unquiet Grave'), and the
belief that burial places are haunted by spirits of the dead.
Lady Gomme has given us seventeen versions of this game, sev-
eral of them from Scotland, which appears to have been its original
home. The 'Jenny Jones' and 'Jinny Jones' of English texts seem
to be corruptions of the Scottish 'Janet jo,' the last part of which
title is a term meaning sweetheart.
For other texts and additional references, see JAFL, xlvii, 334
(Georgia); xlix, 253 (Indiana); lx, 12-13 (Missouri); Notes &
Queries, I2th ser., vii, 405; viii, 95; Newell, p. 63; Beckwith,
Folk-Games of Jamaica, p. 45 ('I Come to See Jennie') ; Maclagan,
p. 123 ('Genesis' Ghost'); Gomme, i, 260-283; 11, 432-435; Bot-
kin, Tlie American Play-Party Song, pp. 30, 57, 100; Burne, Shrop-
shire Folk-Lore, p. 508; Southern Folklore Quarterly, vi, 189;
Gomme, Children's Singing Games, i, 22; Folk-Lore, xvi, 217-218;
Folk-Lore Record, iii, 171; iv, 173; Chambers, Popular Rhymes of
Scotland, p. 140; Collins, Alamance Play-Party Songs and Singing
Games, p. 31 ; Martinengo-Cesaresco, Fssays in the Study of Folk
Songs, pp. 14-15; Linscott, Folk Songs of Old Xew Fngland, p. 26.
Contributed by Maude Minish Sutton in 1927. This version was obtained
in Madison county.
A group of children form into a line with clasped hands.
Two of them act the i^arts of Miss Jennie Ann Jones and her
mother. The mother stands or sits on the ground, and Miss
Jennie Ann Jones hides behind her. The line advances, singing:
GAMESANDRIIYMES 45
"I'm going to see Miss Jennie Ann Jones,
Miss Jennie Ann Jones. Miss Jennie Ann Jones;
I'm going to see Miss Jennie Ann Jones
And how is she today ?"
"She's upstairs washing,
Washing, washing ;
She's upstairs washing,
You can't see her today."
"Very glad to hear it,
To hear it, to hear it ;
Very glad to hear it,
And how is she today ?"
The next answers are that she is upstairs ironing, cooking,
scrubbing, &c. Then the "mother" answers that she is sick,
better, worse, dead. The dancers then go back to the starting-
place and come back singing:
"What color is she to be buried in,
Buried in, buried in ;
What color is she to be buried in
On her burying day ?"
The mother suggests blue, and the others reply :
"Blue is for the sailors,
The sailors, the sailors;
Blue is for the sailors,
So that will never do."
The next suggestion is red, but the singers object :
"Red is for the army,
The army, the army ;
Red is for the army,
So that will never do."
Green is not suitable, for
"Green is for the jealous,
The jealous, the jealous;
Green is for the jealous,
So that will never do."
Black is not appropriate eith.er. for
"Black is for the mourner.
The mourner, the mourner;
Black is for the mourner.
So that will never do."
46 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
Finally the mother suggests white, and the singers agree :
"White is for the angels,
The angels, the angels ;
White is for the angels,
So that will have to do."
Then the singers retire and advance again, this time asking-
"Where shall we bury her,
Bury her, bury her?
Where shall we bury her,
Bury her today?"
The mother replies, "Under the apple tree." The line then carries
Miss Jennie Ann Jones to the spot representing the apple tree,
and pretends to bury her. As they withdraw, she gets up and
the other players sing :
"I thought I saw a ghost last night,
A ghost last night, a ghost last night ;
I thought I saw a ghost last night
Under the apple tree."
She then chases them. The first one caught is the Miss Jennie
Ann Jones for the next game, and the next one caught is the
"mother."
Contributed by Clara Hearne in 1923. This version, which is badly
corrupted, comes from Chatham county. Has "Miss Jenny Jones" for
"Miss Jennie Ann Jones." The game ends with a chase at the con-
clusion of the "bury" stanza.
OLD CRONY
Whether or not it is true that this children's game preserves the
memory of tlie Lord Protector of the Commonwealth, it is a fact
that a number of English texts contain the name Oliver Cromwell
and that the title of at least one American version is 'Old Crom-
well.' The North Carolina titles 'Crummle' and 'Grumble' lend
weight to the contention that "Cromweir was the original name.
There are many other titles by which the game is known: 'Old
Grimes,' 'Old Roger,' 'Poor Robin,' 'Cock Robin,' 'Cock Robin is
Dead,' 'Columbus is Dead,' 'Sir Roger is Dead.' 'Old Humpsy,' 'The
Lodger is Dead,' 'Old Ponto,' &c.
Other texts will be found in Gomme, 11, 16-24; Newell, p. 100;
Fuson, Ballads of the Kentucky Highkinds, p. 186; Gomme, Chil-
dren's Singing Games, i, 48; PTFLS, vi (1927), 229; FL, xvi,
200; XXIV, 82; Journal of the Folk Song Society, v, 295-296; FLJ,
I, 385; Broadwood and Maitland, English County Songs, pp. 94-95;
Douglas, London Street Games, pp. 76-77; Shoemaker, North Penn-
G A M K S A NM) RHYMES 47
sylrania Minstrelsy (2cl eel.), p. 303; American Anthropologist,
o's., I, 245; Graves, The Less Familiar Nursery Rhymes, p. 20;
Neely,' Tafcs and Songs of Southern Illinois, p. 195 ; Sharp : Karpeles,
English Folk Songs from the Southern Appalachians, 11, 370; Bot-
kin, The American Play-Party Song, p. 100; Beklen, Ballads and
Songs Collected by the 'Missouri Folk-Lore Society, p. 509; Pound,
American Hallads'and Songs, p. 2t,2: Scarborough, On the Trail of
Negro Folk-Songs, pp. 136-137; Henry, Folk-Songs from the South-
ern Highlands, p. 408; Collins, Alamance Play-Party Songs and
Singing Games, p. 13; Eddy, Ballads and Songs from Ohio, p. 176;
Flanders and Brown, Vermont Folk-Songs and Ballads, p. 182;
Gardner, Ballads and Songs of Southern Michigan, p. 415; Brown
and Boyd, Old English and American Games, p. 21; Mcintosh, Sing
and Szi'ing, pp. 56-58.
A
Contributed by Carrie Stroupe. Lenoir. Obtained in Lenoir about 1922.
Old Grumble is dead and laid in his grave,
Laid in his grave, laid in his grave ;
Old Grumble is dead and laid in his grave,
Laid in his grave.
They planted an apple tree over his head,
Over his head, over his head ;
They planted an apple tree over his head,
Over his head.
The apples got ripe and began to fall.
Began to fall, began to fall ;
The apples got ripe and began to fall.
Began to fall.
An old woman came along, a-picking 'em up,
A-picking 'em up, a-picking 'em up ;
An old woman came along, a-picking 'cm up,
A-picking 'em up.
Old Grumble jumped up and gave her a thump.
Gave her a thump, gave her a thump ;
Old Grumble jumped up and gave her a thump.
Gave her a thump.
Old woman went off a hippety-hop,
A hippety-hop. a hippety-hop ;
Old woman went off a hippety-hop,
A hippety-hop.
If you want any more, you can sing it yourself,
Sing it yourself, sing it yourself ;
If you want any more, you can sing it yourself,
Sing it yourself.
48 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
While singing the first verse, the singers make motions as if
laying Grumble in his grave. At the second, they wave their
hands over their heads. At the third verse, they raise their
hands over their heads and let them fall. As they sing the
fourth, they stoop over and pretend to be picking up apples
and putting them into a bag. At the fifth, each singer strikes
herself on the side. While singing the sixth verse, all put
hands on hips and limp away as though crippled.
Contributed by Junius Davis, Wilmington. Obtained in the vicinity of
Wilmington, c. 1915. No description given.
Old Crummle is dead and laid in his grave.
Heigh-ho, and laid in his grave.
There was an apple tree over his head.
Heigh-ho, over his head.
The apples were ripe and ready to drop,
Heigh-ho. and ready to drop.
There came an old cripple a-picking them up.
Heigh-ho, a-picking them up.^
Old Crummle arose and hit him a knock,
Heigh-ho, hit him a knock.
That made the old cripple go hippity hop,
Heigh-ho, hippity hop.
c
Contributed by Amy Henderson, Worry. Collected in Burke county,
c. 191 5. No description and a very corrupt text.
Old Crumley is dead and laid in his grave,
Um-on, laid in his grave.
There was an apple tree grew over the wall ;
The apples got ripe and began to fall.
There was an old woman came picking them up ;
Old Crumley arose and gave her a knock
Which made the old woman go hippity-hop.
My sister Betsy had a white horse ;
The saddle and bridle lay under the shelf,
H you want any more you can sing it yourself.
OLD WITCPI
Since 'Old Witch' and 'Chickainy, Chickamy, Craney Crow' have
the same theme and the differences between them are only superficial,
^ There appears to be a slight mixup here. The intruder should not
be a cripple until after receiving the knock from Old Crummle.
G AMES AND R II Y M F. S 49
I list here descriptions and additional versions of both: Gomnie, ii,
14-15 ('Old Danic'), 391 ("The Witch'j ; i, 39^ ff. ('Mother,
Mother, the Pot Boils Over'); Maclagan, p. 133 ('Searchinj,^ for
the Needle') ; Gomme, i, 151 ('Gled-Wylie'), 201 ('Hen and Chick-
ens'), 499 ('Old Cranny Crow') ; 11, 404 ('Auld Grannie') ; Newell,
p. 155 ('Hawk and Chickens') ; 215, 259 ('Old Witch') : Chambers,
p. 130 ('died Wvlie') ; Scarborough. On the Trail of Negro Folk-
Songs, p. 138; 'PTFLS, XVII (1941). 145 ("Old Uncle Tom'):
FLJ, V, 53; VII, 218; I, 386; Beckwith, p. 33 ('Hen and Chickens') ;
SFQ, \i, 221 ; Talley, p. 74.; Collins, p. 48; Tennessee Folklore So-
cietv Bulletin, xi, g- American Anthropologist, o.s., i, 282 (a Gipsy
text) ; Hunt and Cain, pp. 66-67 (Chinese) : Bernoni, p. 34; JAFL,
III, 139-140: v, 119; xxxiii, 51, 115; XXXIV, 38-39, 116; XL, 30-31:
XLVii, 335; Hurston, Mules and Men, p. 78 ('Chick, niah Chick,
mah Craney Crow'). Miss Hurston calls this "that most raucous,
popular, and most African of games."
Just as children's games have retained vestiges of ancient ritual,
traces of human sacrifice, hints of water and tree \vorship, and
the like, so have they preserved the witch tradition, in this par-
ticular instance the tradition of the child-stealing witch. From
earliest times belief in and charms against witches which abduct or
injure small children have existed in all lands. The evil Gello
(Gelu, Geloo, Gilo, Gylou), whose name lives on in the bitterly
ironical proverb "Fonder of children than Gello" and may be con-
nected with the Arabic-Persian ghoul (ghul), was the special dread
of the Greek mother. Lamia (whence the lamiae), whose cliildren
were killed by the jealous Hera, wife of Zeus, was believed to harm
mortal children in revenge. Hebrew mothers feared the malicious-
ness of Lilith, first wife of Adam. Mothers in Rumania took (and
perhaps still take) particular precautions against another child-
stealing witch, Avestitza. For an exhaustive study of the subject,
see Gaster, "Two Thousand Years of a Charm against the Child-
Stealing Witch." FL, XI (1900), 129-162 (reprinted in Studies and
Texts in Folklore, Magic, Mediaei'al Romance, Hebrczv Apocrypha,
and Samaritan Archaeology, 11, 1005-1038)
'Chicky My Chick My Craney Crow.' Contributed by Maude Minish
Sutton, c. 1927. This version from Caldwell county. "This game is
played in many places in the South. We found it as widely apart as
Harrodsburg, Ky., Lenoir, N. C, and Decatur, Mississippi."
There must be at least ten players. They are named re-
spectively : the witch, the mother, the cook, and Monday, Tues-
day, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
All of the group except the witch go to a "home." usually
a tree or a house corner, with a line drawn in front of it. The
witch goes a short distance away and sits down, pretending to
scratch in the earth with a stick. The mother, with a great
deal of dramatic action, orders the cook to go to the s])ring.
The cook goes, taking Sunday with her ; as they go. they sing :
50 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
Chicky, my chicky, my craney crow ;
Went to the well to wash my toe ;
When I got there, my chicken was gone.
What time is it, old witch?
The witch answers, "Twelve o'clock."
The cook puts Sunday behind her, and she and the witch
carry on the following dialogue :
Cook: What you doing?
Witch: Digging a well.
Cook: W'hat for?
Witch: There's a frog in the spring.
Cook: I don't believe it.
Witch : Look and see.
When the cook looks at the place where the witch has been
scratching, the latter steals Sunday and puts her behind a tree.
The cook calls her. pretends to get a bucket of water at the
spring, and goes home. The mother beats her for losing the
child, and goes to the spring herself, taking Monday with her.
Mother: Chicky, my chicky, &c.
Witch (ignoring mother's question) : There, give me a
match to light my pipe.^
Mother: I haven't any.
Witch: There's a frog in the spring.
Mother: I don't believe it.
Witch: Look and see.
The mother looks, and the witch steals Monday and hides her
behind a tree. This continues until all the children are stolen.
Mother and cook plot to recover them. The mother goes to
the witch's home for dinner. The witch tells her that she is
having chicken. She brings in Sunday and places her before
the mother. The latter pretends to bite her and says. "This is
no chicken; this is Sunday." She than spanks Sunday and
sends her home. Eventually all the children are similarly
recovered.
No title. Contributed by Mamie Mansfield, Durham, c. 1928. Obtained
in Durham county.
The children choose a mother hen and an old witch. The
witch pretends to be building a fire, while the mother hen with
* It was believed in early times that the "giving of fire'' out of the
house would give any evilly disposed receiver power over the household.
G A M E S A N U R II Y M E S 5I
all the chickens goes around her, each child holding to the
clothing of the one in front of her.
Chickery, chickery, cranny crow
Went to the well to wash niy toe ;
When I got back, my chicken was gone.
What time is it, old witch?
When they sing, "What time is it, old witch," the witch says
7, 8, 9, II, 3, or 10 o'clock. If she says a time other than lo
o'clock, the song continues. The mentioning of lO o'clock is a
signal for the chickens to get into a straight line behind the
mother hen for protection.
Mother: What are you doing, old witch?
Witch: I'm building a fire.
Mother: What are you building a fire for?
Witch: To boil a chicken.
Mother: Where are you going to get the chicken ?
Witch: From you.
Mother: I'm not so sure of that.
The mother holds out her hands and the witch tries to get
the chickens which stray out of the line. This game continues
until all are stolen. Then one or two other children, while the
witch and chickens are asleep, go and touch each chicken on
the head to wake him up and then all fly home cackling and
crowing.
'Chick-O-My, Chick-O-My, Craney-Crow.' Contril)uted by Lucille Bill-
iard, 1916. Reported from Robeson county.
Chick-o-my, chick-o-my, craney-crow ;
Went to the well to wash my toe ;
When I got back, my chick was gone.
What o'clock is it, old witch ?
These words are repeated by the old lady and her children.
The player who is the witch names any hour. If she names
12 o'clock, the mother asks, "What are you doing, old witch?"
(Unless the hour named is \2 o'clock they return home and
come again.)
Mother: What are you doing, old witch?
Witch : Picking up sticks.
Mother: What for?
Witcli: To cook a chicken.
Mother: Where are you going to get one?
IVitch: I'll get one of yours.
X.C.F., Vol. I, (5)
52 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
The witch then tries to tag one of the children, who have run
behind the mother for protection. The child tagged follows the
witch to her den, where she remains until all are caught. Then
the mother goes to dine with the witch. She pretends to taste
of a child, and tells the witch, "This tastes like my chick." The
children suddenly come to life, and they and the mother chase
and beat the witch.
'Old Witch.' Contributed by Jessie Hauser in 1923. Reported from For-
syth county.
In this game one child is chosen for the witch. She scratches
around on the ground as if hunting for something. The other
children come to her, and the spokesman and the witch carry
on this conversation :
"What are you looking for, old witch?"
"My darning needle."
"Is this it?"
Here the spokesman shows first one foot and then the other and
then each hand until the witch says "Yes" and starts after the
other players. They run to safety within a circle. Those
caught must be the witch or witches next time.
'Old Granny Hibble-Hobble.' Contributed by Maude Minish Sutton,
c. 1927. This particular version is from Abingdon, Virginia, but the
contributor has found others in N. C.
The mother selects the name she wishes to be known by ;
the children are all called by their own names. The mother
starts out to get a chicken to kill, when she meets Old Granny
Hibble-Hobble. The dialogue runs :
"Morning, Mrs. . Give me some fire to light my
pipe."
"I haven't any."
"How come you haven't ? I see sinoke comin' out your
chimney."
"Oh, that's just the chickens a-scratchin' in the ashes."
"No, it ain't either. The fox done caught all your
chickens."
"I don't believe it."
"Look and see."
The mother goes to look, and Granny steals the child. Then
the mother goes home crying and calling the child's name.
G AMES A N I) R II Y M F. S 53
The next day there is a repetition, and this continues until
all the children are stolen. Then the mother goes after Granny
to get her to wash for her. Ciranny gives all kinds of excuses,
all of which the mother counters with "I'll lend you mine."
Finally Ciranny consents. i)rovided the mother will stay for
dinner. Granny brings out a child at a time, calling each some
kind of food. The mother pretends to bite each one. Then
she says. "This is no chicken ; this is my !" She spanks
the child and orders it to "(iit home!" When all have been
recovered, the mother sicks the dogs (i.e.. the cliildren) on
Granny, and they pretend to tear her to pieces.
This version was collected from white children, who had
learned it from little Negro boys.
'Old Man Hippety Hop.' Contributed by Maude Minish Sutton, c. 1927.
No source given. A Negro version.
Old iMan Hippety Hop tuck my chile;
Put him over in de corn fiel'.
Bugs an' flies eatin' out he eyes f
Po' little thing cries. Mammy,
Mammy, Ivlammy, Mammy.
The mother steals her children one at a time from Old Man
Hippety Hop, who runs around with them behind him. When
he is between them and the mother, she cannot get one. He
dodges expertly, always limping." with the children holding to
each other in a line behind him. They cannot turn loose until
the mother holds one and counts "One. two. three."
The mother sings the above verse at intervals, and the chil-
dren call out "Mammy!" When all but one or two are caught,
the game gets hard. It ends when the last one is caught.
The second line of the verse has many variants: "Put him
grubbin' in de swamp," "Put him to choppin' (or pickin') cot-
ton." &c. We find the Negro child much more apt at impro-
vising than the white one. When the former has forgotten a
line, he will make up one rather than disappoint you. The
Negro version is most interesting in that it takes the child-eating
demon of folklore and makes of him an overseer forcing the
child to work in the fields. This is the best illustration we have
'' This is given as a lullaby by Scarborough, On the Trail of Negro
Folk-Sonys, pp. 147-148.
" Lameness is traditionallv a characteristic of the witch. Many an old
woman in the England of King James and in Puritan New England as
well went to her death largely because of a physical inhrmity. Note the
lameness of the witch in tlie following version and that implied m 'Old
Granny Hibble-Hobble.'
54 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
of a folk game being adapted to the understanding of the chil-
dren who play it.
'Old Witch.' Contributed by Gertrude Allen Vaught, c. 1928. Frag-
mentary version reported from Alexander county.
One child is the witch and another the mother, while the
rest are children. The old witch comes hobbling up on a stick.
The children exclaim :
"Here comes old Granny Hippeltyhop;
Wonder what she wants today?"
The witch knocks at the door, and the mother answers :
"What do you want ?"
"I want one of your children."
"Which one do you want?"
"Any of them."
"You can't have them."
No title. Contributed in 1945 by Paul and Elizabeth Green, as collected
in eastern and central N. C, 1926-28.
Chicky, ma chicky, ma craven crow ;
Went to the well to wash my toe ;
When I got there, the well was dry.
What time is it, old witch ?
I
No title. Contributed by Alma Irene Stone. No date or place given.
Chick-a-ma. chick-a-ma. crainy-crow ;
Went to the well to wash my toe ;
When I got back, my chickens were gone.
What time is it, old witch ?
J
No title. Contributed by Julian P. Boyd, Alliance. Collected about
1927-28. No place given.
Chicky, my chicky. my craney crow ;
Went to the well to wash his toe ;
Come back, one of his chickens was gone.
What time is it, old witch?
K
No title. Contributed by AUie Ann Pearce. Reported from Bertie
county; no date given.
GAMES AND R H Y M K S 53
Chickaniy, chickamy. craney crow ;
Went to the well to wash my toe ;
What time is it, Old Woman?
One o'clock going on to two.
LAZY MARY
See Gomme, i, 364-368; Newell, pp. 96-97; Pound, pp. 225-226;
SFQ, VI, 240-242; JAFL, XXVIII, 273-274; xl, 18-19; n'-ix. 254-
255; LX, 18; Botkin, p. 28; Gardner, Folklore from the Schoharie
Hills, p. 201 ; Shearin and Combs, pp. 44, 74; Linscott, i). 31. There
are numerous foreig^n parallels and analogues.
Contributed by Maude Minish Sutton, c. 1927. Version collected from
Nell Searcy, Chimney Rock.
Mother- Lazy Mary, will you get up ;
\\'ill you. will you. will you get up?
Lazy Mary, will you get up;
Will you get up today?
Mary: What will you give me for my hreakfast, &c.
If I'll get up today?
Mother (speaking) : Butter and hread.
Mary: No, mother, I won't get up, &c.
Mother: (ist verse repeated)
Mary: What will you give me for my dinner, &c.
Mother (speaking) : Peas and cornhread.
Mary: No, mother, I won't get up, &c.
Mother: (ist verse repeated)
Mary: What will you give me for my supper, &c.
Mother (speaking) : Nice young man with rosy
cheeks.
Mary: Yes, mother, I will get up, &c.
The players form a circle with Lazy Mary in the center,
seated in a chair. One speaks as the mother ; this one and all
the others march around Mary, singing. The ]:)layers select the
boy Mary is to be given for getting up.
LADY IN THE DINING ROOM
Contributed by Maude Minish Sutton, who oljtained it from colored
children in Buncombe and Caldwell counties, c. 1927.
Here sits a lady in the dining room,
A-sitting by the fire.
Head bent down, with an aciiing heart ;
Draw your children nigher.
56 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
This is a pretty game. The children form a ring, with one
of their number in the center. She sits with bowed head. They
circle around her until the last line, when they go in toward her.
MY FATHER OH NO !
Contributed by Maude Minish Sutton, c. 1927, whose account of the
finding I give in her own words.
"I ran across a funny thing the other day. My nurse, from
Newberry, S. C, was playing a sort of dialogue game with my
children. It is a corrupted arrangement of 'The Maid Freed
from the Gallows.' It goes like this:
'My father oh no, my father oh no
Have you brought me any silver or gold?
Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no,
I didn't bring you no silver and gold
I came to you, I came to you
I came to see you hanged, my dear ;
You need a shady tree.'
It follows the usual pattern : Mother. Brother. Sister, ana
Sweetheart. My oldest, Betty, was the 'maid.' The nurse was
the 'relatives' and 'friends.' "
GREEN GRAVEL
For other versions of this widespread game, see Gomme, i, 170;
Children's Singing Gomes, i, 28-31; Beckwith, p. 62 ('Green
Guava'); Burne, p. 510; Owens, p. 8; Newell, pp. 71, 242; Mac-
lagan, p. 83; Balfour and Thomas, p. 117: Collins, p. 21 ; Randolph,
The Ocarks, p. 161 ; SFQ, vi, 210; American Anthropologist, o.s., i,
244 ('Sweet Gravel'); Notes & Queries, 4th ser., vii, 415, 523;
TFLS, V, 28; FLJ, VII, 214; FLR, v, 84, 86; Haddon, The Study
of Man, p. 339; Broadwood and Maitland. pp. 26, 2y; McDowell,
p. 64; Halliweli, Nursery Rhymes, p. 148; Ford, Traditional Music
of America, p. 256; Shearin and Combs, p. 37; JAFL, viii. 254;
XXVI, 139; XXXIII, 100; XL, 13; XLii, 220-221; Lx, 42; Linscott,
p. 10; Mcintosh, Sing and Szving, pp. 65-66.
Gomme (i, 177. 182) calls this a funeral game. On the asso-
ciation of the color green with death or the dead, see JFSS, v, 83;
L. C. Wimberly, Folklore in the English and Scottish Ballads (Chi-
cago, 1928), p. 243; Wimberly, Death and Burial Lore in the Eng-
lish and Scottish Popular Ballads (University of Nebraska Studies
in Language, Literature, and Criticism, No. 8).
A
Contributed by Maude Minish Sutton, who collected versions in Bun-
combe, Rutherford, and Avery counties, c. 1927. The source of this
particular one is not given.
C A M K S A N I) R 11 Y M E S 57
A ring is formed around one girl, and those in the ring dance
around her, singing :
(ircen gravel, green gravel, as green as grass grows,
And all of the girls are red as a rose.
One of the dancers leaves the ring, goes up to the girl in the
center, and offers her hand. The ring goes on singing :
Poor Marg'ret, Poor Marg'ret, your true love is dead ;
He wrote you a letter, so how down your head.
The girl in the center of the ring jjretends to cry on the shoulder
of the other girl who has joined her.
Contributed by Gertrude Allen Vaught, Taylorsville. From Alexander
county.
Green gravel, green gravel, the grass is so green ;
It's pretty, it's pretty, as ever I've seen.
O Mary, O Mary, your sweetheart is dead ;
He wrote you a letter to turn back your head.
Players formed a ring, then marched around, singing the
above verses. As a girl was addressed, she had to turn her
back and march that way. The game continued until all were
turned the opposite way ; then it was begun again.
Contributed by W. Amos Abrams, Boone. Version obtained in Boone
in 1937. The A text, with " 't is beauty" for "it's pretty."
Contributed by Jessie Hauser, 1923. Reported from Forsyth county.
The A text, with "the fairest of ladies is fit to be seen" for line 2.
GUESSING GAMES
GRUNT, PIG, GRUNT
Games in which a blindfolded player must guess the identity of
or locate another are of several different kinds. In some of them
the one blindfolded tries to identify other players by touching their
clothing; in others, by listening to the sound of their movements
about him. Here the identification is made through the sound of
the player's voice. Of the same type are the Spanish 'El pi' and the
Polish 'Mruczek.' A similar Russian game is described by Pokrov-
skii in his Dctskic iyry. My article "Some Games from Other
Lands" (Southern Folklore Quarterly, vii, 109 ff.) contains de-
58 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
scriptions of identification games from Africa, Hungary, and
Bulgaria.
See PTFLS, xvii (1941), 145 ("Texas Grunt').
Contributed by J. T. C. Wright, Boone. Collected at Appalachian Train-
ing School, Boone, in 1922.
A ring- of players forms around one in the center who is
blindfolded and furnished with a stick. As the circle goes
around him, he touches one of the other players with his stick.
The one touched must grunt like a pig, and the toucher tries
to identify him by his voice. If he succeeds, the two exchange
places.
PUNCH BOARD
The name is modern, but the game is both old and widespread.
For a somewhat similar game played by Makonde children, see my
"Two Games from Africa" (American Anthropologist, n.s., xlvi,
269). In the latter, however, the player is tapped on the bead and
the game does not end with hiding. The French 'La Main Cbaude."
in which the player is struck on the palm of the outstretched band,
belongs to the same type, as does also the English 'Hot Cockles'
(Gomme, i, 229 J, which was popular in Elizabethan times and
earlier.
Contributed by Sadie Smith. No place or date given.
One person stands with his back tow^ard the rest. Someone
punches him once in the back. He turns aroimd and tries to
guess who punched him. If he is successful, the player guessed
must act as counter in the game of Hide and Seek which
follows.
JACOB AND RACHEL
This game, too, has many foreign parallels: the Spanish 'ijuanita,
donde estas?,' the Jugoslav 'Zmirke,' and 'Jack, Where Are You?,'
&c. For another American variant, see Acker, p. 27.
Contributed by Clara Hearne. Collected in Chatham county about 1922
or 1923.
A boy and a girl stand in the center of a ring of players. The
boy, who is blindfolded, calls, "Where are you, Rachel?" The
girl answers, "Here I am, Jacob." Then he tries to catch her.
HOW MANY FINGERS?
This is a game that has practically worldwide currency. It is
played in England, Ireland, Scotland. Wales. Germany, the Nether-
lands, Italy, Spain, Norway. Denmark. Sweden, Switzerland, Por-
tugal, Greece, Estonia, Jugoslavia. India, Turkey, Japan, Argentina.
Africa, and the United States.
For British and American variants, see Gomme, i, 46; Gutch.
GAMESANDRHYMES 59
County Folk-Lore, vi, p. 139; Balfour and Thomas, County Folk-
Lorc, IV. p. 104; Newell, p. 148. For foreign variants and refer-
ences, see my "Some Notes on the Guessing-Game 'How Many
Horns Has the Buck?'" {Hcaloidcas, xiii, 40-79), "'How Many
Horns Has the Buck?': Prolegomena to a Comparative Study"
(Volkskunde, n.s., iv, 361-393). "A Roman Game and Its Survival
on Four Continents" (Classical Philology, xxxviii, 134-137), "Some
African Variants of "Bucca, Bucca' " (Classical Journal, xxxix, 293-
296), and "The Kitte ande hoi Game of India" (Southern Folklore
Quarterly, vii, 149-152).
Contributed by Maude Minish Sutton, c. 1927. Collected in Tyrrell
county, one of the earliest settlements in the state. In this version the
game has become merely an ending to the game of 'Horns' ('Feathers').
Since the latter is quite a different kind of game, I have reserved the
first part of Mrs. Sutton's version for another section.
One player, blindfolded, is potinded on the back by another
to the accompaniment of this rhyme :
"Hickety hack on your poor back.
How many fingers do I hold up?"
The victim guesses the number of fingers. If he guesses in-
correctly, he is again potinded to the accompaniment of
"Two you said and fotn- I had,
Hicke'ty hack, &c."
This continues until the blindfolded player makes a correct
gtiess, when the two exchange places.
Contributed by Katherine B. Jones, Raleigh. Collected in Raleigh.
Rhyme only.
Come, Billv Buck,
Come try your luck ;
See how many fingers
I hold up.'
See Gomme, i, 218 ('Ho-go') ; Newell, p. 147; PTFLS. i (1916),
150; JAFL, I, 139; Lviii, 154 ('How Many Eggs in the Bush?');
Bealoidcas, in, 415; Hunt and Cain, Games the World Around, p.
159 (the Japanese 'Mek-Kong') ; Hall, Children at Play in Many
Lands, p. 36 (the Korean '^Nlek Konk'). Italian children play a
practically identical game which they call "Quantu lanzi.'
' The Sec of line 3 should be Say. 'Billy Buck' could not see the
number of fingers, since they are held up behind his back and he is
blindfolded besides.
6o NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
Contributed by Maude Minish Sutton, c. 1927. From Caldwell county.
This game is played with grains of corn or with chinquapins.
Each child starts out with the same number. The first puts
a small number in one hand, extends it toward the other, and
says, "Hul Gul." The other responds, "Hand full." Then the
first asks, "How many?" and the second must guess the num-
ber. If the guess is correct, the guesser wins all in the hand.
If wrong, he must give the other the number he guessed. The
game is won by the player who has the most grains at the end
of a certain time.
JACK IN THE BUSH
For an English version of the game, see Gomme, i, 187 ('Hairry
my Bossie').
Contributed by Jean and Hallie Holeman, Durham, c. 1930. Collected in
Durham county in 1922.
The first player holds out a number of chinquapins in his
closed hands and says. "Jack in the bush." The second player
replies, "Cut him down." "How many licks?" demands the
other, and the second player must guess the number. If the
guess is correct, the guesser gets all the chinquapins. If the
number guessed exceeds the actual number, the guesser gives
the first player the difiference. If the number guessed is less
than the actual number, the first player gives the guesser the
difference.
Contributed in 1945 by Paul and Elizabeth Green, as collected in eastern
and central N. C. in 1926-28.
One player puts a number of grains of corn in his hand,
closes his fist, holds it out, and says, "Jack in the bush." The
other replies, "Cut him down." The first player then asks,
"How many licks?" If the second player's guess is correct, he
gets all the corn.
c
'Snake in the Grass.' Contributed by Maude Minish Sutton, c. 1927.
Collected in Avery county.
This is the same as A except for the questions and answers,
which run :
"Snake in the grass."
"Bust his head."
"How many licks?"
GAMES AND RHYMES
BLINDMAN S BUFF
6i
Tliis is a very ancient game, known to Greek children centuries
ago as Mvitt x"^X'- Hazlitt (Dictionary of Faiths and Folklore, p.
56) conjectures that it may have had its origin in the traditional
story of Polyphemus. A description of the old Greek game will be
found in Gu'lick, The Life of the Ancient Greeks, p. 76.
It is known by many different names. German children call it
'Blinde Kuh,' 'EHnde Maus,' "Blinde Eule,' 'Piep iMaus,' and 'Blinde
Katze.' To Danish youngsters it is known as 'Blinde-momme' or
"lege Mus i Morke.' In France it is 'Mouche' or 'Colin-maillard.'
Italian children know it as 'Mosca' or 'Mosca cieca.' Other Eng-
lish names by which it is sometimes known are 'Billy Blind,' "Blind
Harie,' 'Blind Hob,' 'Blind Bucky Davy,' and "Hoodman Blind.'
The latter was given it because of the fact that the player was orig-
inally blinded with his hood. See Strutt, p. 308 for plates from a
Bodleian MS showing how the game was played in early times.
For versions of the game, see Newell, pp. 162-163; Strutt, p. 308;
Gomme, i, 37-40; Acker, p. 20; Smith, Gaines and Game Leadership,
p. T,2; Ruiz, p. 79 ('La Gallina Ciega'); Henius, p. 16; Martinez,
La Poesia Popular en Puerto Rico, p. 254; Culin, p. 54. A Rho-
desian form of the game is described in Smith and Dale, The Ila-
Speaking Peoples of Northern Rhodesia, p. 250 (Ing 'ombe ingofu' —
the blind cow). A Hawaiian version, called To-ai-pu-ni,' appears
in American Anthropologist, N.S., i, 233, and the manner of playing
the game in the Fiji Islands is described in Williams and Calvert,
Fiji and the Fijians, p. 127. The game is played also by the Jap-
anese. Henry Albert Phillips, author of Meet the Japanese, writes
(p. Ill): "For more than an hour we played 'Blind Man's Buff,"
'Scissors, Paper, Stone,' and 'Going to Yedo.' ..." A description
of the Chinese game appears in Yui Shufang, Chinese Children at
Pla\ (no pagination). An Eskimo form is described by Nelson in
his article "The Eskimo about Bering Strait" {liighteenth An-
nual Report of the BAE, pt. i). For a Filipino version, see Reyes
and Ramos, p. 51 ('Takip-Silem'). See also Lewalter and Schliiger,
p. 255 ; Bohme, p. 627.
Contributed by Maude Minish Sutton, c. 1927. Collected in Buncombe
county.
One of the players, selected by a counting-out rhyme, is blind-
folded. He must chase the others until he succeeds in catching
and identifying one of them. The player who is cauglit and
identified then wears the blindfold in the next game. This game
is very popular with children in their early teens.
PRETTY girls' STATION
See Gomme, i, 117 ('Dumb Motions') ; Newell, p. 249; Maclagan.
p. 140 ("The Dumbies' Trade'); FLJ, vii, 230; Douglas, p. 21
('Please We've Come to Learn a Trade') ; American Anthropologist,
o.s., I, 265; ^larran. p. 144 ('New Orleans Tag'); Smith, p. 318;
Rolland. Rimes et Jeux de I'Enfance, p. 149 ("Les Metiers'). In
62 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
Indiana and, I believe, in neighboring states, the game is known as
'Lemonade.' The questions and responses are as follows :
"Here we come !"
"Where from ?"
"New York !"
"What's your trade?"
"Lemonade !"
"Go to work !"
Contributed by Maude Minish Sutton, c. 1927. Collected in Caldwell
county. Mrs. Sutton reports that she found the game also in Ruther-
ford county and in Kentucky, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Mississippi.
The children divide into two groups. One grotip decides
upon an occupation to imitate, and marches toward the other.
They stop a short distance away, and the following dialogue
ensues :
1st group: Bum, bum, bum.
2d group : Where do you come from ?
1st group: Pretty girls' station.
2d group : What's your occupation ?
The members of the first group then pretend to do the work
previously agreed upon, and continue until those of the second
group guess correctly what the occupation is. Then the actors
run, while the players in the second group try to catch as many
as possible before they reach "home."
Contributed by Louise Bennett, Middleburg. Collected in Vance county,
but no date given. This version is like A except for the dialogue. Title
given as 'Pretty Girls' Town.'
"Where are you from?"
"Pretty girls' town."
"What's your trade?"
"Making signs."
"What's your sign?"
Contributed by Mabel Ballentine, Wake county. Collected in Wake
county, but no date given. Played in the same way as A. Title given
as 'Pretty Girls' Town.'
"Bum, bum, bum !"
"Where you from?"
"Pretty girls' town."
"What's your trade?"
"Hot lemonade."
GAMES AND RHYMES 63
D
Contributed by Gay W. Allen, Canton, Ohio, c. 1922.
Two sides are chosen, and they walk away from each other
until they are ahout 100 feet apart. One j^nnip then marches
back and dramatizes some kind of occupation. When this is
guessed by the opposing side, the others try to run back to their
station before they are tapped. All who are tapped must join
the other group. The game continues until all the players of
one group have been captured.
Contributed by Gertrude Allen Vaught, Taylorsville, c. 1928. Collected
in Alexander county. Identical with A.
THE WANDERING DOLLAR
See Newell, p. 151. Although his version derives from a German
source, the resemblance between its rhyme and that of our North
Carolina version is striking.
"Dollar." Contributed in 1945 by Paul and Elizabeth Green, as collected
in eastern and central N. C, 1926-28.
Chairs are placed in a circle. A person is seated in each, and
one stands in the center. A silver dollar is passed from hand
to hand as the players sing :
Dollar, dollar, how you wander
From one hand into the other !
Is it fair, is it fair
To keep Mr. standing there?
The object, of course, is to keep the person in the center from
knowing who has the dollar. If he guesses correctly, he and
the player holding the dollar exchange roles.
FORFEIT OR PENALTY GAMES
HORNS
This game is known also as 'Feathers' or 'All the Birds Fly.' It
is particularly popular in Northern Europe. For texts and descrip-
tions, see Newell, p. 119 ("Ducks Fly'); Gomme, i, 228: Beckwith,
p. 15 ('Bird Fly; Horse Fly'); Maclagan, pp. 157-158 ('All the
Horns in the Wood') : Bcaloidcas, x, 286 (as a game played at
wakes) ; Bohme, pp. 676-677; Eewalter and Schlager, p. 257'('Alle
Vogel fliegen') ; Vernaleken and Branky, p. 94; de Cock and Teir-
\inck,Kinderspel & Kinderlnst in Zuid-Nederland, p. 330 ('De vogel
vliegt') ; Collan, Siwmen kansan leikkejd, p. 139; Okkola, Siiomen
64 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
kansan kilpa- ja kotileikkcjd, p. 95. There are many versions in
manuscript in the archives of Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Latvia,
and Finland.
Contributed by Maude Alinish Sutton, c. 1927, who recovered it in Tyrrell
county.
The players ptit their forefingers down on a flat stirface, and
the leader says: "Horns, horns, horns, cow's horns" (or goat's,
deer's, &c.). As he names the animal, the players raise their
hands and point their fingers from the sides of their heads like
horns. The play proceeds rapidly. Suddenly the leader says :
"Horns, horns, horns, horse's horns" (or bird's,, cat's, &c.). li
a player raises his hands to his head when the animal men-
tioned has no horns, he must pay a forfeit.^
See Gomme, i, 96 ('Diamond Ring'); Newell, p. 151; American
Anthropologist, n.s.. i, 242; Best, p. 64; Bryan, p. 50 ('Papuhene') ;
Taylor, Te ika a niaui (New Zealand), p. 174; Theal, Kaffir Folk-
lore, p. 222 (Tnfumba') ; Stayt, The Bavcnda, p. 98 ('Kubvhe') ;
Maspons y Labros, Jochs dc la Infancia, p. 86; Arwidsson, in, 399.
Contributed by Maude Minish Sutton, c. 1927.
All the players except one sit in a row with clasped hands
extended in front of them. The extra player goes up and down
in turn, saying, "Hold fast all I give you." To someone in the
group he gives a thimble. At the end of the line he says to the
first player: "Thimble, thimble, who's got the thimble?'"^ The
child questioned indicates the player next to him and says,
"Jim's got it." The leader then asks Jim if he has the thimble,
and Jim denies it, whereupon the leader asks him. "What are
you going to do with him for saying you have the thimble?"
Jim then sets a task for the other to perform, and the game
continues in this way until each child has performed some task
imposed. Finally, the leader calls, "Rise up. thimbler !" and the
player with the thimble is leader for the next game. Common
"stunts" set are "Circle the room three times on your tiptoes"
and
"Kneel to the prettiest.
Bow to the wittiest.
Kiss the one you love the best."
* For the forfeit in this particular version, see 'How Many Fingers'
under the heading Guessing Games, pp. 58-59.
" Mrs. Sutton reports also an analogue called 'Hold Fast My Gold
Ring' in which the dropper says :
"Mary, Mary, hold my ring
Till I go to London and back again."
GAMESANDRIIYMKS 65
SIMON SAYS
See Acker, p. 140 ('Thus Says the Grand Mufti') and p. 287
('Simon Says'); Smith, p. 219 ('O'Grady') ; Journal of the Royal
Anthropological Institute, LXiii (1933), 171; Gomme, 11, 383;
Martinez, Jucgos . . . , pp. 204-205; iMulac, p. 217.
Contributed by Jean and Hallie Huleman, Durham, c. 1930, who collected
it in Durham county.
Any number of players can participate. One selected as the
leader sits in front of the others with his hands on the table,
thumbs sticking up. The leader says, "Simon says up!" All
the other players follow the action of the leader. When he says,
"Simon says down," he and the others turn their thumbs down.'
At "Simon says wiggle waggle," all rock their hands back and
forth on their thumbs. i"
If the leader gives a command without "Simon says," the
players must not obey, even though the leader performs the
action called for. If players make motions at the wrong time,
they must pay forfeits.
SPIN THE PLATE
See Smith, p. 54; Acker, p. 137; FL, xvi, 217 ('Spin the
Trencher'); FU, vii, 238 ('Truckle the Trencher'); Gutch and
Peacock, p. 260; Hedges, p. 25.
Contributed by Gertrude Allen Vaught, Taylorsville. Collected in Alex-
ander county in 1927.
Take a pan of any size and select a leader to spin it. Then
each player takes a number. The leader calls out a number
and spins the pan. If the player whose number was called
does not catch the i)an before it stops spinning, he must pay
a forfeit. As a promise that he will pay the forfeit when the
time comes, he must give the leader some small article such
as a pin, ring, &c. When there are a large number of forfeits,
a sale is held. One person sits in a chair to decree punish-
ments, while another holds the forfeited articles over the judge's
head without letting him see them. Then he says to the judge,
"Heavy, heavy hangs over your head," and the judge asks,
"Heavy or light?" The person responds "light" if it belongs
to a girl and "heavy" if the article belongs to a boy. Then the
judge imposes "fines" that cause everyone to laugh.
Contributed by Maude Minish Sutton, c. 1927. Collected in Caldwell
county.
^'' Sometimes the players leave their fists in the first position and
merely wiggle the thumbs.
66 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
The players sit in a circle on the floor. Each takes the
name of a flower. One of the number spins a plate in the cen-
ter, calling out one of the flower names as he does so. The
child who impersonates that flower must catch the plate before
it stops spinning or pay a forfeit. If he succeeds, he is the
next spinner. The game continues until all the players have
paid forfeits and then the forfeits are sold.
CLUB FIST
For Other versions, see Gonime, i, 117 ('Dump'), 207 ('Hewley
Puley'), II, 146 CSacks'), 305 ("Trades'), 419 ('Dump'); Newell,
p. 134; Northall, English Folk-Rhymes, p. 94; Abbott, Macedonian
Folklore, p. 325 ; Martinez, La Poesia Popular en Puerto Rico, p.
238, and Juegos y Canciones Infantiles de Puerto Rico, p. 91 ;
JAFL, IV, 36-37 (Spanish) ; xxix, 508 (New Mexican Spanish) ;
Beckwith, p. 19 ('King's Cupboard') ; Johnson, Folk Culture on St.
Helena Island, South Carolina, p. 167; Bohme, p. 504; Rolland, p.
45; Bernoni, p. 19; Kuret, p. 98.
A
Contributed by W. Q. Grigg, Indian Trail. Reported from Cleveland
county, c. 1925.
Players put their fists on top of each other, each grasping
the thumb of the one just below his. The one whose fist is
on top asks the others if they want to take their fists oft' or if
they want them knocked off. When all but one are off. he
asks the owner, "What you got there?" and the other replies.
"Bread and cheese." Then follows this dialogue :
W'here's my part ? — In the cupboard. Where's the cup-
board?— In the woods. Where's the woods? — Fire
burnt them. Where's the fire? — Water quenched it.
Where's the water? — Ox drank it. Where's the ox? —
Butcher killed it. \Miere's the butcher? — Rope himg
him. Where's the rope? — Rat gnawed it. Where's the
rat ? — Cat caught it. Where's the cat ? — Hammer killed
it. Wliere's the hammer? — Behind the church door
cracking hickory nuts.
The first one that shows his teeth gets four slaps, five pinches,
six spankings, and four hair pulls.
Contributed by Miss Amy Henderson, Worry. Collected in P.urke county
in 1915.
One player sets his fist on his knee and sticks the thumb up.
and another catches the thumb in his fist and sticks his thumb
G A M E S A N D R H Y M E S 67
up. When all are on, the leader asks the owner of the top
fist, "Take it off or knock it off?" /Vfter all have chosen and
only one fist remains, the following dialogue takes places he-
tween the leader and the owner of the last fist :
What you got there? — The king's cupboard. What's
it got in it? — Bread and cheese. Where's my share? —
The rat got it. Where is the rat ? — The cat caught it.
Where is the cat? — It's in the wood. Where is the
wood? — Fire burnt it. Where is the fire? — Water
quenched it. Where is the water? — Ox drank it.
Where is the ox? — Butcher killed it. Where is the
butcher? — Rope hung him. Where is the rope? — Rat
gnawed it. Where is the rat? — Cat caught it. Where
is the cat ? — Dead and buried behind the church door.
The first one that speaks or laughs shall have a slap and two
pinches.
Contributed by Jean and Hallie Holeman, Durham, c. 1930. Collected
in Durham county. -
One person places his fist on the table with the thumb stick-
ing up. The next takes hold of that thumb, leaving his own
sticking up. Each does the same except the leader, who keeps
his right hand free. The leader asks, "What you got there?"
The owner of the top fist answers, "Club fist." The leader
then announces, "Take it off or I'll knock it off !" If the answer
is "Knock it oft'," he knocks the fist loose from the others.
When only one fist remains, there ensues the following dialogue :
What you got there? — Bread and cheese. Where's my
share ? — The cat's got it. Where's the cat ? — In the
woods. Where's the woods ? — Fire burnt it. Where's
the fire ? — Water quenched it. Where's the water ? —
Ox drank it. Where's the ox? — Butcher killed it.
Where's the butcher? — Rope hung him. Where's the
rope? — Knife cut it. Where's the knife? — Hammer
broke it. Where's the hammer? — Laying behind the
old church door.
The first that laughs or shows his teeth will get three boxes on
the ear and three pinches.
Contributed by Maude Minish Sutton, c. 1927. She writes, "It has prac-
tically universal circulation. We found no group of children who were
not familiar with it." Xo source given for this particular version. Like
C except for ending.
X.C.F.. Vol. T, (6)
68 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
Where's the rope? — Rats gnawed it. Where's the
rats? — Hammer killed them. Where's the hammer? —
Behind the old church door cracking hickory nuts.
The first who smiles and shows his teeth gets ten pinches and
a knock. The game ends with a grinning contest, each child
seeing how wide he can grin without showing any teeth.
Contribv:ted by Lida Page, Durham. Collected in Durham county. No
date given. Same as C version except for ending.
Where's the rope? — Knife cut it. Where's the knife? —
Hammer broke it. Where's the hammer? — Stickin'
up behind the new church door.
The first one that laughs or grins gets two pinches and one
slap.
Contributed by Paul and Elizabeth Green in 1945, as collected in eastern
and central N. C, 1926-28. Same as C version except for ending.
Where's the cat ? — Rope hung him. Where's the
rope? — Knife cut it. Where's the knife? — Hammer
broke it. Where's the hammer? — Saw sawed it.
Where's the saw ? — Broke in three pieces and hid be-
hind the old church door.
All shut their lips tight, and the first to show his teeth in a
grin gets a pinch and a hair pull.
Contributed by Louise Watkins, Goldsboro. Reported from Wayne
county. Same as C except for ending.
Where's the knife? — Hidden behind the old church
door.
GENTEEL LADY
For Other versions, see Gomme, i, 148; Newell, p. 139 (from
Georgia). The latter assigns the game French origin and cites
Celnart, Manuel Complct dcs Jciix dc Socictc, p. 162 ('Le Chevalier
Gentil').
Contributed by Maude Minish Sutton, c. 1927. Collected in Giimney
Rock. This is the only version of this game in the Collection.
GAMESANDRHYMES 69
The first player says, "I, genteel lady, always genteel, come
from the genteel lady, always genteel, to tell you that my ship
has just come in from China bringing apricots" (or apples, or
any food beginning with a). The next player has to repeat
this formula and add to it an object beginning with b, and so
on. When a player makes a mistake, he must pay a forfeit.
I SAIL MY SHIP
Contributed liy Grace Barbee. Collected in Stanly county, but no date
given. This is the only text in the Collection.
One of the group of players says, "I sail my ship." Another
asks, "What is it loaded with?" Then the first speaker has to
name some kind of fruit, the name of which begins with the
first letter of his surname. If he fails, he must sit on the floor
until it comes his turn again.
THE PRINCE OF MOROCCO
For analogues of this game, see Newell, pp. 136-137. A similar
game, which I have seen played in Indiana, is called 'Poor Pussy.'
Players seat themselves in a circle, with one in the center for
"Pussy." The latter kneels before each of the others in turn. Each
player must, without laughing, stroke her head three times, saying,
"Poor pussy, poor pussy, poor pussy."
Contributed by Aura Holton, Durham. Collected in Durham county in
1923 or 1924.
Two players approach each other and, looking straight into
each other's eyes, say while solemnly shaking hands :
1st: The Prince of Morocco am dead, am dead.
2nd: I'm sorry to hear it; I'm sorry to hear it.
1st : He died of the gout in his big left toe.
2nd: I'm sorry to hear it; I'm sorry to hear it.
1st: And all the princes are coming in mourning,
wearing black rings in their noses.
2nd : I'm sorry to hear it ; I'm sorry to hear it.
The two then shake hands violently, saying, '^(iood evening,
good evening, good evening." The object is to keep from
laughing.
WHO STOLE THE CARDINAL's HAT?
See Newell, pp. 145-146; Strutt, p. 313; Gomme, 11, 79 ('Priest
of the Parish') ; Douglas, p. 83 ('Daddy Red-Cap') ; Billson. County
Folklore, 1 (Leicestershire and Rutland), p. 62; Beckwith. p. 13
('Master and Boy') ; Parsons. Pcguchc, p. 201 ('El Fichilingo') ;
Rochholz. p. 440. Cf. Reyes and Ramos, p. 66 ('Juego de Prenda') ;
Hedges, p. 95; van Gennep. p. 648; Alaclagan. p. 115; Bohme, p.
637-
7© NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
'The Priest of Paris Lost His Hunting Cap.' From an anonymous con-
tributor in Morganton. Collected in Morganton. No date given.
All the players are seated in a row. The one at the end is
the priest. The rest choose caps of various colors : red, yellow,
purple, &c. The object of the game is to send another player
to the foot of the line, all the others moving up. Each player
is particularly eager to send the priest to the foot. In that case,
the man below him becomes the priest and the original priest
takes a cap.
The priest opens the game. He says, "The priest of Paris
lost his hunting cap and (a certain color) cap found it." Then
he counts : "One, two, three, go foot." If he finishes before
the indicated cap can speak, the player goes foot. If the player
with the cap mentioned is on the alert, the following dialogue
takes place :
Player : I, sir ?
Priest : Yes, you, sir.
Player : Not I, sir.
Priest : Who then, sir ?
Player : Yellow Cap, sir. One, two, . . ,
TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS
Since we are accustomed to think of 'The Twelve Days of Christ-
mas' as a song rather than as a game, we are likely to forget that
the latter was its original form. It was a game of the Christmas
season, and was commonly played in English homes each Twelfth
Day night. Then as now it was a forfeit game, a forfeit being
exacted for each error in repetition.
For descriptions and texts of English versions, see Gomme, ii,
315-321. FLJ, VII, 244 gives the usual text but in a different kind
of game. Here the list of gifts is to be recited by each player in
one breath.
This is not a North Carolina version, having been recovered in
Hawkins county, Tennessee, but on the assumption that versions al-
most certainly exist on the other side of the Tennessee-North Caro-
lina line, I am including it here.
Contributed by Maude Minish Sutton, c. 1927. Collected in Hawkins
county, Tennessee. Airs. Sutton adds that Isabelle Gordon, of Knox-
ville, has recovered other versions of the game in the mountains of East
Tennessee, where it is played during the Christmas season.
Players sit in a row. The first one says, "The first day of
Christmas my true love brought to me one pigeon." The second
says, "The second day of Christmas my true love brought to me
one pigeon and two doves." The third says, "The third day
of Christmas my true love brought to me one pigeon, two doves,
and three sparrows."
Thus the game continues, birds being mentioned each time.
G A M E S A N 1) R H Y M E S /I
The first player to omit any of the gifts must pay a forfeit,
and the game goes on until each has failed to enumerate one
of the birds. Then the forfeits are told, and each owner re-
deems his by performing some allotted task. (The lady from
whom we collected this ([uaint game had forgotten the last three
gifts.)
THREE SHIPS
Contributed I)y Maude Minish Sutton, c. 1927. No source given for
this or the following game.
I saw three ships a-sailing on the Main,
Three white ships a-coming from Spain;
These three ships a-sailing on the sea
Are bringing some home to me.
What are they bringing you ?
This verse is repeated by each player in turn, and all the
gifts are repeated by each. If a player forgets any of the pre-
ceding names of objects, he is out.
WHAT HAD YOU FOR SUPPER?
"What had you for supper?"
"I had biscuit for supper. What had you?"
'T had biscuit and milk, &c."
MISS SUSANNA JANE
Contributed Iiy Maude Minish Sutton, c. 1927. Text and tune obtained
from Negro children in Forest City.
Somebody's in your cellar,
Miss Sue, Miss Sue ;
Somebody's in your cellar.
Miss Susie Anna Jane.
Did you ever see a monkey make a motion.
Miss Sue. Miss Sue?
Did you ever see a monkey make a motion.
Miss Susie Anna Jane?
This is played by a ring of children, with "the monkey" in
the center. The first verse is sung as the ring skips around.
As the second verse is started, the child in the center makes
all kinds of motions and grimaces, which are copied by the
others. The player who fails to perform the motions is put out
of the game or required to pay a forfeit.
POISON
For other versions, see PTFLS, xvii C194O. 146: Acker, p. 26;
Smith, p. 136 ('Poison Circle Tag'). This is not a forfeit or a
72 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
penalty game, but rather what may be termed a taboo game. First,
the "poison stick" is taboo and is avoided by all the players ; then
the unlucky player who touches it becomes taboo from the contact,
and the others try to stay out of his reach. Since this is the only
game of the type in the Collection, I include it in this section rather
than list it separately in another.
'Poison Stick.' Contributed by Lucille Cheek, Chatham county. Collected
in Chatham county in 1924.
xA.ll the children join hands and form a circle. A stick about
a foot long is stuck upright in the center. All the players pull
and try to make someone knock the stick over. The one who
knocks it over must try to catch the others, who cannot be
caught while they are stooping down. When one player is
caught, he must help to catch the rest.
'Poison Stick.' Contributed in 1945 by Paul and Elizabeth Green, as
collected in central and eastern N. C, 1926-28.
All join hands in a circle and try by pulling and pushing to
cause some player of the group to touch a stick whicli has been
sttick up in the center. The player who knocks it over must
then try to touch the others with the "poison stick." Players
touching wood are safe.
GOING TO PARIS
Contributed by Mrs. John Carr, Durham. Collected in Durham county
No date given.
I'm going to Paris ;
I'm going to pack my bag with
Each player fills the blank with the name of an article be-
ginning with the next letter in the alphabet, after having
repeated the other articles named by preceding players.
GAMES OF CHASE
prisoner's base
See Strutt, p. 67 ('Base' or 'Prisoners' Bars') ; Gomme, 11, 70-
83; Douglas, p. 19 ('Release'); Newell, p. 164; Maclagan, p. 217;
Acker, p. loi ; Smith, p. 255 ; Best, p. 93 (accompanied by a count-
ing-out rhyme); Ludovici, p. 33; Ruiz, p. 53 ('I.os Encantados') ;
Martinez, Jiiegos . . . , p. 211 ('La Barra') ; American Anthropol-
ogist, N.S., I, 233 (Hawaiian); Stair, Old Samoa, p. 136; FL, v,
40 (Malay) ; Bernoni, Guiochi Pop. Veneziani, p. 87; a Portuguese
GAMESANDRHYMES 73
version in Henius, p. 15 ('Barra Mantei^a' ) ; a Persian form of
the game in Hall, p. 67.
Literary allusions to the game occur at least as early as the
i20o's. Hazlitt (Dictionary of Faiths and Folklore, 11, 501) writes:
"In the Dictionary of Johannes de Garlandia. written in the early
part of the 13th century, under the enumeration of requisites for
the house of a respectable person, wc meet, oddly enough, with
barri, which are thus explained to us: 'Barri sunt genus ludi, Gallice
barres." Mention of it appears also in the Faerie Qneenc (1590),
the 30th song of Drayton's Polyolbion, Shakespeare's Cymbeline,
Marlowe's Edxvard the Second, and Jonson's The Sad Shepherd.
Contributed by Gertrude Allen Vaught, Taylorsvillc, c. 1928. Collected
in Alexander county.
Two leaders are chosen. These choose ahernately their fol-
lowers from all those playing. Each group selects a base some
fifty yards from that of its opponent, and each dares the other.
Any member of either side tapped by someone belonging to the
opposite side must stand in prison, a ring marked on the ground
a few yards behind the base. He may be won back if one of
his own side dares to run in and tap him. The game ends when
all members of one side have been caught.
Contributed by Maude Minish Sutton, c. 1927. Manner of playing the
same as that described in A.
Contributed by Maude Alinish Sutton, c. 1927. No statement as to where
the game was collected.
Two children who are good runners choose up and select
players until all are chosen. Two bases are selected as far apart
as "desired. Lines are drawn in front of these and parallel to
them. Behind these lines the players are safe. One side goes
over and dares the other. Sometimes the dare is accompanied
by a rhyme:
Dare, dare, double dare.
Anybody like you w^ould take a dare
And kill a sheep and eat the liair.
The others chase their oi)i)()nents home, catching as many as
thev can. The game ends when all the members of one side
have been captured.
Tag is one of the most common and most widespread of children's
games. There are numerous varieties of it: 'Iron Tag,' 'Wood
74 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
Tag-/ 'Squat Tag,' 'Cross Tag,' 'Shadow Tag,' etc., most of which
are represented in this collection.
Versions and descriptions are to be found in the following works :
Newell, pp. 158-159; Gomme, i, 83 ('Cross Tig'); Douglas, p. 76
('French Touch') ; Hall, p. 61 (a Syrian form in which the one
who is "It" has to hop while chasing the others, who can run) ;
Best, p. 92 ('Wi') ; Culin, p. 51 ; Maspons y Labros, p. 81 ; Humph-
reys, The Southern Nezu Hebrides, p. 51 ; Gardner, Folklore from
the Schoharie Hills, p. 247; Maclagan, pp. 207 fif. ; Reyes and Ramos,
p. 50 ('Kapitang Bakod').
This and the versions of other forms of tag which follow were con-
tributed by Maude Minish Sutton, c. 1927. Her collecting in North
Carolina appears to have been done in Avery, Burke, Caldwell, Mc-
Dowell, Mitchell, and Yancey counties. The sources of these versions
are not given.
One child, selected by a counting-out rhyme, is "It." He
chases his comrades and taps them. The first one he can hold
until he counts "One, two, three" succeeds him as "It."
SQUAT TAG
In this form of the game, "It" cannot tag a player who is
squatting. Players are allowed only three "squats" during the
course of a game.
TURN TAG
In this variety, "It" must chase anyone who crosses between
him and the child he is pursuing.^^
IRON TAG
In this form of Tag, the players are safe if they are able to
touch iron.^^
HOW MANY MILES TO BABYLON?
This game is known by many names : 'King and Queen of Can-
telon,' 'Marlybright,' 'Molly Bride.' 'Molly Bright,' &c. Gomme,
who gives 19 versions, thinks it illustrative of some fact in history.
Newell would derive it from the ancient English game of 'Barley
Break,' allusions to which appear in the works of Dekker, Beaumont
and Fletcher, Massinger, Middleton, Jonson, Shadwell, Sidney, Her-
" Another name for this is 'Cross Tag.' Maclagan (p. 207) calls it
'Tig and Relieve.'
^^ The efficacy of iron as an instrument for warding off the powers of
evil is well known. The Priest of Jupiter placed a piece of iron under
his pillow at night to ward off evil influences ( Burris, Taboo, Magic.
Spirits, p. it6). It was also used as a fiif/a dacmonum by the Hebrews
(Trachtenberg, Jewish Magic and Superstition, p. 160). Numerous ex-
amples of a belief in the virtues of "cold iron" are to be found in Eng-
lish and other traditions. The prototype of the "tagger" in all forms
of Tag was, of course, the Witch.
GAMESANDRHYMES 75
rick, Browne, and other i6tli and 17th century writers. The fact
that Strutt (p. 302) descrihcs the latter as closely resembling?
'Prisoner's Base' lends weight to Newell's conjecture. Mactaggart's
theory that the game perpetuates the activities of English chivalry
in the time of the Crusades — "Then Babylon in the rhyme, the way
they had to wander and hazard being caught by the infidels, all
speak as to the foundation of the game" {Gallovidian Encyclopedia)
— is interesting, but seems farfetched.
See Gomme, i, 231; Billson. p. 63; Simpson, p. 217; FLJ, vii,
230; Chambers, pp. 19, 123; Newell, p. 153; Collins, p. 49; JAFL,
V, 120; LX, 32; PTFLS, XVII (1941), 142: Southern Folklore Quar-
terly, VI, 256; American Anthropologist, o.s., i, 280; Notes &
Queries, 4th ser., vii, 141, 271, 415, 506, 523; O'Suilleabhain, p.
674; Northall, pp. 396, 398, 421, 422; Bancroft, p. 108; Botkin, p.
loi ; Hofer, Children's Singing Games, Old and New, p. 43; Mc-
Dowell, Folk Dances of Tennessee, pp. 68-69; Einscott, p. 18
('London').
'How Many Miles to Babylon?' Contributed by Maude Minish Sutton,
c. 1927. Collected m Yancey county.
Two grotips of children station themselves at opposite ends
of a field. (3ne child, the "Witch," takes her position halfway
between them. One group calls to the other: "How many miles
to Babylon?" and the members of the second group reply:
"Three score miles and ten." The next question is: "Can we
get there by candlelight?" to which the others reply: "Yes, if
you can run. But look out for the old witch who lives by the
road." Then the players who are going to Babylon start. The
witch chases them, and each one she catches has to help her
catch the others.
'How Far Is It to Molly Bright?' Contributed by Gertrude Allen Vaught,
Taylorsville, c. 1928. Collected in Alexander county.
One child stands at one tree, and another stands at another
tree. A third child between them is the "witch."
I St: How far is it to Molly Bright?
2nd : Three score miles and ten.
1st: Can I get there by candlelight?
2nd : Yes, if your legs are long and light and the witches
don't catch you.
Then the first two children leave their trees and try to exchange
places before the witch catches them. The one caught must be
"witch" in the next game.
y6 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
C
Contributed by Jessie Hauser, PfafFtown. Collected in Forsyth county
in 1923.
The cliildren choose sides and stand on bases some distance
apart. The questions and answers run :
"How far is it to Molly Bright ?"
"Three-score and ten."
"Can I get there by candlelight ?"
"Yes, if your legs are long enough."
Then the first speakers dash past the base of the second. All
who are caught before they can circle around to their own base
then become prisoners of the other group. This is repeated
until one side "breaks up" the other.
From an anonymous contributor. Robeson county. No date given.
Molly Bright stands at one base and the rest of the players
at another. Molly and the leader on the other side carry on
the following dialogue :
Leader : How far is it to Molly Bright's ?
Molly : Three score miles and ten.
Leader : Can I get there by candlelight ?
Molly : Yes. if your legs are long and light, there and
back again.
(Sometimes "Yes, if the bears don't get you" or "Yes, but don't
let the witches get you.") Then all the other players run for
Molly Bright's base, and she catches as many of them as she can.
E
Contributed by Minnie Stamps Gosney. Raleigh. Collected in Wake
county.
"How many miles to Boston?"
"Three score and ten."
"Can I get there by candlelight ?"
"Yes, and back again ;
What time is it. Old Witch ?"i3
F
Contributed by Lida Page, Nelson. Collected in Durham county,
"How far is it to Molly Bright?"
"Three score and ten."
"Can I get there by candlelight?"
^•■' An intruder from 'Chickamy, Chickamy, Craney Crow.'
G AMES AND R H Y M E S yj
"Yes, if your legs are long and light ;
Look out for the old blue bear."
G
Contributed by Allie Ann Pearce, Colerain. Collected in Bertie county.
"How far is it to Molly Bright?"
"Three score and ten."
"Can I get there by candlelight ?"
"If your legs are long and your heels are light."
Contributed by Amy Henderson, Worry. Collected in Burke county in
1915-
"How many miles to IMarley bright ?"
"Three score and ten."
"Can I get there by candlelight?"
"Yes, if your legs are long and your heels are light,
But watch out for the old witch on the way."
I
Contributed by Thomas Smith, Zionville, c. 1915. Collected in Zionville.
"How far is it to Molly Bright's ?"
"Three score and ten."
"Can I get there by candlelight ?"
"Yes, if the bears don't get you."
J
Contributed by W. C. Daulken, Chapel Hill, 1915. No source given.
"How far is it to Molly Bright ?"
"Three score miles and ten."
"Can I get there by candlelight ?"
"Yes, if your feet are quick and si)right
And the old witch don't get you. Look out !"
Contributed by Flossie Marshbanks, Mars Hill. Collected from childrci
in Mars Hill. No date given.
"How far is it to Molly Bright?"
"Three score and ten."
"Can I get there by candlelight ?"
"Yes, if your legs are long and light.
Look out for the old witches on the way."
Contributed by Ethel Hicks Buffaloe, Oxford. Reported from Gran-
ville county. No date given.
y8 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
"How far is it to Molly Bright?"
"Three score miles and ten."
"Can I get there by candlelight?"
"Yes, if your legs are long enough."
FOX IN THE MORNING
This is an example of a type of game in which players pretend
to be animals, and chase (or are chased by) each other. Other
games belonging to the same general type are 'Hen and Chickens,'
'Hawk and Chickens,' 'Gled Wylie,' "Wolf and Deer,' "Sheep and
Wolf; etc.
For other descriptions, see Strutt, p. 301; Gomme, i, 139; Mac-
lagan, p. 132 ("Hen and Chickens') ; Smith, p. 258 (played in
snow); Marran, p. 186 (played in snow); Acker, p. iii (played
in snow) ; Hunt and Cain, p. 69 (a Chinese version).
O. Henry has a short story titled "Fox-in-the-Morning," in the
course of which the game is described by one of the characters.
Whether or not the version given there was learned in Greensboro
(and there seems to be no reason for doubting that it was), its in-
clusion here appears to nie to be appropriate.
"I'll tell you how it's played. This president man and his com-
panion in play, they stand up over in San Mateo, ready for the
run, and shout: 'Fox-in-the-Morning!' Me and you, standing here,
we say: 'Goose and the Gander!' They say: 'How many miles is
it to London town?' We say: 'Only a few, if your legs are long
enough. How many comes out?' They say: 'More than you're
able to catch.' And then the game commences."^'*
'Fox in the Corner.' Contributed by Mamie Mansfield, Durham, c. 1928.
From Durham county.
One player is the fox ; all the others are geese. Both the
fox and the geese have homes (bases) ; these are some distance
apart. When they have taken their places, this conversation
follows :
Fox : Fox in the corner.
Geese : Geese in the corner.
Fox : How many men you got ?
Geese: More than you're able to catch.
The geese then try to get to the fox's home, where they are
safe. The fox catches as many as he can, and all that are
caught must go with him to the other base and become foxes.
The dialogue is repeated, and the geese are chased again and
again until all have been caught. The last one caught becomes
the fox for the next game.
'^* The Complete Works of O. Henry (Garden City: Doubleday, Page
& Company, 1927), p. 435. It will be noted that a couple of the lines
belong to 'Molly Bright.'
GAMESANDRHYMES 79
B
'Fox in the Morner.' From an anonymous contributor. No source or
date given.
One player is fox ; the otliers afe geese. The fox has a home
(base), and so have the geese. \Mieii they have taken their
positions, the following dialogtie takes place :
Fox : Fox in the morner.
Geese : Goose in the corner.
Fox : How many men you got ?
Geese : More than you can catch.
The geese then try to get to the fox's home, and he catches as
many of them as he can. All those caught become foxes.
Contributed by Gertrude Allen Vaught, c. 1928, from Alexander county.
Same as A except for the dialogue.
Fox : Fox in the morning.
Geese : Geese and the gander.
Fox : How many comes out ?
Geese: More than you can bander.
'Goosey Goosey Gander.' Contributed by Maude Minish Sutton, c. 1927.
From Caldwell county.
Three or four of the best runners challenge the crowd to a
game of Fox and Geese. Bases are arranged and the chal-
lengers are foxes, while the rest of the players are geese. The
foxes call from their base : "Goosey goosey gander !"
Geese: Fox over yander.
Foxes : How many geese you got ?
Geese : More'n you can catch.
The geese all run out and the foxes chase them. Frequently
they catch all the geese before they themselves are caught.
'Foxy Goosey Gander.' Contributed by Mrs. Norman Herring, Toma-
hawk. No source or date given.
Players choose sides, and the two groups face each other at a
distance of some 20 yards. One side calls: "Foxy Goosey
Gander!" The other answers :" 'Way over yander." The first
side calls: "How many geese have you?" The other replies:
"]\Iore than you can manage," and they try to reach the base
of their opponents without being caught.
80 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
WITCH IN THE JAR
See Newell, p. 163 ; Handelniann. J'olks- 11. Kiiidcr-Spiclc aiis
Schlcsivig-Holstcin, p. 65.
Contributed by Maude Minish Sutton, c. 1927. This version is identical
with the one given by Newell.
A home, usually a tree, is selected. All the players except
one, the "witch." are at this home. The witch draws several
circles on the ground, one for each of the other players. These
are the jars. The witch then chases the others and puts each
captive into one of the jars. Here he must stay until one of
the other players fresh from "home" frees him. A player who
has been freed from a jar cannot be recaught until he has been
"home." However, his rescuer can be caught, and so it is a
dangerous risk to attempt a rescue. When all the players are
captured, a new witch is chosen.
TAP BACK
Contributed by Gertrude Allen Vaught, c. 1928. Collected in Alexander
county. A variant of 'Drop the Handkerchief.' For an English version,
see Gomme, i, 144 ('French Jackie').
Any number can play this game. All take hands and form
a large ring. One player is chosen to tap. He or she runs
around the ring and taps someone on the back ; the one tapped
runs after the tapper and tries to catch him (her). H the player
catches the tapper, he (she) gets in the ring and remains there
until everyone else is caught and in the ring too.
STEALING STICKS
See Newell, p. 168; Smith, p. 214; Acker, p. 119; Reyes and
Ramos, p. 65.
Contributed by Maude Minish Sutton, c. 1927. Played by students of
Woodfin High School, Buncombe county.
This is played like Prisoner's Base except that each side has
a number of sticks which are kept in its home preserve. Each
side tries to steal the sticks belonging to the other. If caught
in their opponents' lines, players are sent to "prison." This
game, a very popular one with boys of from 10 to 14, gives
opportunity for the development of a good deal of strategy. In
some localities it is called 'War.'
CHASE THE SQUIRREL
Contributed by Maude Minish Sutton, who found it, c. 1927, played by
students in Buncombe county.
This is a sort of steci:)lechase. (3ne boy is given a start ; then
the rest chase him, singing:
G A M E S A N n R H Y M E S 8l
Let us chase the squirrel
Up the hickory, down the hickory ;
Let us chase the squirrel
Up the hickory tree.
and following exactly in his tracks. The object is to see if they
can catch him by taking the same risks he does. I once saw a
boy run along the top rail of a pasture fence. A ])ull was in
the pasture, and the fastest runner among the i)ursuers <|uit the
race, declaring. " 'T aint no fair fur him to run n\) tlKir when
he knows my galluses got red flowers on 'em."
Contributed by Mrs. Norman Herring, Tomahawk. No place or date
given.
All the players except one stand inside a large circle drawn
on the ground. The player outside the ring is the shepherd,
and he walks away calling : "Co-sheep, co-sheep, co-sheep !" All
must follow slowly and bleat : "Baa-baa. . . ."
Suddenly the shepherd turns around and chases them. All
that are caught before they reach the ring must help catch the
otiiers. The last player caught becomes shepherd.
NO ROBBERS OUT TODAY
Contributed by Zilpah Frisbie. Reported from McDowell county c.
1922-23.
This is a game originated by children of the neighborhood.
Two "robbers" hide along the path where the travelers have to
pass. After the robbers have hidden, the travelers walk along
singing :
No robbers out today,
No robl)ers out today ;
We are singing on our way,
For there's no robbers out today.
Suddenly the robbers rush out and try to catch the rest.
Those caught become robbers.
DR()1> THE HANDKERCHIKF
For Other versions, see JAFL, xxxi. 57; xxxiii, 96-97; xl. 2>2)\
Gomme, i, 305-310; 11, 407-408. 418; Northall, pp. 364-365; New-
ell, pp. 168-169; Pound, p. 74; Botkin, pp. 21, 30. 2^2; Hudson,
Folksongs of Mississif^pi, p. 118; Brown and Boyd. p. 32; Wolford,
The Play-Party iu Indiana, p. 59; JAFL, lx. 24: Gardner, l-'olk-
lore from the Schoharie Hills, p. 2^7, ; Loniax, Our Singing Country,
pp. jj, 168; Owens, Swing and Turn, p. 7: Johnson, p. 170; Ban-
82 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
croft, pp. 268-270; Linscott, p. yj ('Lucy Locket'); Halliwell,
Nursery Rhymes of England, p. 165 ; Popular Rhymes atid Nursery
Tales, p. 130; Bett, Games of Children, pp. 16, 29; de Fouquieres,
p. 91; Maclagan, p. 213; Gustavson, p. no; Stoylen, No. 113;
Acker, p. 23.
A
Contributed by Maude Minish Sutton, c. 1928. Collected in McDowell
county.
The children form in a ring, with one of their number out-
side. He runs around the circle and drops a handkerchief be-
hind someone. This player chases him around the ring. If the
dropper is caught, he is either kissed, takes his captor's place
in the ring, or has to tell the name of his sweetheart, depending
upon the locality. If he is not caught, the one behind whom he
dropped the handkerchief proceeds as he did.
Contributed by Mildred Peterson, Bladen county. Collected in Bladen
county c. 1923.
Drip, drop, drip, drop,
Send a letter to your love,
Tell my love I dropped it.
Little boy picked it up
And put it in his pocket.
Where shall I drop it?
Where shall I drop it?
Guess I'll drop it here.
Contributed by Mrs. John Carr, Durham. Collected in Durham county.
No date given.
A Tisket, a Tasket,
A green and yellow basket ;
I wrote a letter to my fellow
And on the way I dropped it.
FOX AND GEESE
Contributed in 1945 by Paul and Elizabeth Green, as collected in eastern
and central N. C. in 1926-28.
A large circle is drawn in the snow, with divisions like the
marks for cutting a pie. The fox stays in the middle at the
intersection of these lines, and chases the geese down the
"paths." None must step off them.
GAMESANDRIIYMES 83
GAMES OI- DEXTERITY
MUMBLE PEG
For descriptions of this game, see Newell, p. 189; Maclagan, p.
142 CObair na Sgeine') ; JAFL, ix, 272 (the Iroquois 'Da-yuh-sah-
yeh-huh'): Boyd, pp. 123-124.
Contributed by Maude Minish Sutton, c. 1927. No source given. The
game is known nearly everywhere, and could probably have been found
in all the counties in which she collected.
A double-bladed knife is opened with the long blade out and
the short blade halfway open. Each player in turn tries to
throw it so that one or the other of the blades will stick into
the ground. If the knife falls on its side, that counts nothing.
If it falls on its back, the thrower scores five points. If only
the short blade is sticking in the ground and the rest of the
knife does not touch, the score is fifteen. Scoring differs in
different localities. The knife is thrown by striking the ground
three times with the short blade and then" flinging it over with
a flip of the right forefinger. The game is often played by
grownups, particularly by old men on country store porches.
JACKS
For descriptions, see Gomme, i, 95 ('Dibs'), 122 ('Fivestones'),
239 CHucklebones'), 259 ('Jackysteauns') ; Notes & Queries, 9th
ser., IV, 378, 379; Maclagan, pp. 66-77 ('Chucks'); Best, p. 29
('Koruru' or 'Tutukai') : American Anthropologist, n.s., i, 228
(Hawaiian) ; Underbill, Social Organication of the Papago Indians
(Columbia Univ. Contributions to Anthropology, xxx), p. 146
('Mikitowua') ; Folk-Lore, xl, 373 (Albanian); Hall, p. 11 (ver-
sions from India, Korea, Syria, Persia, Turkey). Culin tells us
(PP- 58-59) that in the Chinese form of the game, from five to ten
or more jackstones are used. The version most nearly resembling
the usual form of the game in this country is Gomme's 'Check-
stones' (p. 66). Newell's version (p. 190) is a very complicated
one, as are also the English and Gaelic versions given by Maclagan.
The game of 'Jacks' is very old. Aristophanes mentions it, and
Pollux has left us a description of the game as played in Greece
two thousand years ago. It was popular later with Roman children
(Showerman, Rome and the Romans, p. 374). It was and is still
played in Russia and in Japan ('Tedama' or '0-tedama'). A form
of it exists also among the Eskimo (Nelson, "The Eskimo about
Bering Strait," p. 332).
Contributed by Maude Minish Sutton, c. 1927. Collected from children
near Chimney Rock.
Five small pebbles or small iron "jacks" in the form of double
tripods are used in playing this game. The player throws them
X.C.F., Vol. I, (7)
84 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
all up at once and catches them on the back of his hand. He
then goes through a series of intricate figures called by various
names such as onesums, twosums, threesums, foursums, &c. In
these first figures, the jacks are rolled out on the floor, then
one is chosen and thrown up. While it is in the air, the player
picks up the others in groups of one, two, three, and four.
Should he fail, another player takes his place. There are numer-
ous other figures, more or less intricate, that belong to this
game : feeding the chickens, riding the elephant, putting bulls
in the pen, etc. All are performed while one jack is in the air
or resting on the back of the hand. We found no boys who
were not familiar with the game.
IMITATIVE GAMES
OLD MOTHER HOBBLE-GOBBLE
For additional versions, see Newell, p. 131; Gomme, 11, 13-14;
Maclagan, p. i ('The Afflicted'); FL, xvi ('Aunt Dinah's Dead');
PTFLS, XVII, 146 ('Grandmother Humbum'), 149; Acker, p. 286
('Queen Dido') ; Williams, Folk-Sovgs of the Upper Thames, p. 79
('Three Jolly Bachelors' — as a song) ; Martinez, Juegos . . . , p. 237.
A
'My Mamma Sent Me to You.' Contributed by Maude Minish Sutton,
c. 1927. Collected in Forest City.
The children divide into two groups. One selects some form
of housework to imitate. The first group marches up to the
second, and this dialogue follows :
1st: My mamma sent me to you.
2nd: What for to do?
1 st : To do as I do.
They go through the motions of the work chosen, the others
trying to guess what it is. Variant titles are 'My Master Sent
Me to You' and 'Working by the Day.'^^
'Grandmammy Sent Me to You.' Contributed by Gertrude Allen Vaught,
c. 1928. Alexander county.
In this game all the players are seated in a circle. The leader
.says to the person next to him : "Grandmammy sent me to you."
The other asks, "What to do?" The leader replies. "To do as
^'^ As will be noted, this is really a combining of 'Old Mother Hobble-
Gobble' and 'Pretty Girls' Station.' The "To do as I do" and the title
are all that connect it with the former game.
G A M E S A N D R II Y M E S «5
I do," and begins to pat one hand on his knee. The other then
passes it on to the next and finally each player in the circle is
patting his knee with his hand. When it conies the leader's
turn again, he gives another motion. This continues tmtil all in
the circle are doing half a dozen things at the same time.
AS WE GO ROUND THE MULBERRY HUSH
See Newell, p. 86; Gomnie, i, 404-407; FIJ, vii, 210; Bancroft,
pp. 283-285; JAFL, XXVII, 250; XXXIII, 1 13- 1 14; XL, 15-17;
XXXI, 54; XXXIV, 38; XLVii, 339; SFQ, vi, 187; Pound, p. 74;
Johnson, p. 169; Wolford, pp. 56-57; Brown and Boyd, p. 8; Bot-
kin, p. 29; Gardner, Folklore from the Sehoharie Hills, p. 113;
FLR, IV, 173; Chambers, Popular Rhymes of Scotland, p. 134;
Linscott. p. 38; Sharp: Karpeles, 11, 373 ('Early Sunday Morning') ;
Hofer, p. 20.
Contributed by Lucille Cbeek, Cbatham county. Collected in Chatham
county in 1924.
As we go round the mulberry bush.
The mulberry bush, the mulberry bush,
As we go round the mulberry bush
So early in the morning.
This is the way we wash our clothes, &c.
All of a Monday morning.
This is the way we iron our clothes, &c.
All of a Tuesday morning.
This is the way we scrub our floor, &c.
All of a Wednesday morning.
This is the way we mend our clothes, &c.
All of a Thursday morning.
This is the way we .sweep our house, &c.
All of a Friday morning.
This is the way we bake our bread, (S:c.
All of a Saturday morning.
This is the way we go to church, &c.
All of a Sunday morning.
Contributed by Mrs. John Carr, Durham. Series : bake cake, brush
teeth, wash clothes, wash face and hands, brush hair, iron.
86 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
I WENT TO VISIT A FRIEND ONE DAY
Contributed by Mabel Ballentine, Wake county. A variant of 'Mulberry
Bush.'
I went to visit a friend one day,
She only lived across the way ;
She said she couldn't go out to play,
For Monday was her washing day.
Chorus: This is the way she washed away.
This is the way she washed away,
This is the way she washed away,
For Monday was her washing day.
Series : Tuesday, ironing day ; Wednesday, mending day ; Thurs-
day, sewing day ; Friday, baking day ; Saturday, sweeping day.
DO, DO, PITY MY CASE
For other versions, see Newell, p. 87; Scarborough, On the Trail
of Negro Folk-Songs, pp. 140- 141.
'Pity My Case.' Contributed by Maude Minish Sutton, c. 1927. No
source indicated.
There are seven verses following the housewife's weekly
routine :
My clothes to iron when I get home
My clothes to mend when I get home
My floors to scrub when I get home
My house to sweep when I get home
My bread to bake when I get home, &c.
The players in a ring imitate the work they are supposed to do.
WHEN I WAS A YOUNG GIRL
See Newell, pp. 88-89; Bancroft, pp. 261-262; Collins, p. 16;
Gomme, Children's Singing Games, i, 15-20; Gomme, 11, 362-374,
457; Johnson, Education by Plays and Games, p. 135; SFQ, 11, 151 ;
JAFL, XL, 15.
Contributed by Maude Minish Sutton, c. 1927. Collected at Woodfin
School, in Buncombe county.
When I was a young girl, a young girl, a young girl.
When I was a yoimg girl. oh. this way did I,
And that way and this way ;
When I was a yoimg girl. oh. this way did T.
Series; gentleman, old man. school teacher, mother, doctor.
The game is played by appropriate motions in imitation of
G A M E S A N n R H Y M E S 87
the people mentioned in the song. It has as many verses as
the imagination of the child can devise.
(IRKEN TREES UENDING
Contributed by Maude Alinish Sutton, c. 1927. Collected far up in the
mountains of Mitchell county.^"
Green trees hending, green trees bending, green trees bending,
Hold to the side and swing to the back ;
If you want to see a i)retty boy, back right back.
This game is played by a ring of children. ( )n the first three
phrases they sway in imitation of trees. On the fourth and
fifth phrases they swing as far back as they can, and t>n the last
line they jump back three steps.
OATS AND BEANS AND BARLEY
For other versions, see Gomme, ii, 1-13; Children's Singing
Games, 11, 50; Newell, p. 80; Journal of the Folksong Society, i,
67; Collins, p. 17; SFQ, vi, 193; American Anthropologist, o.s., i,
252; Botkin, p. 254; Walter, Old English Singing Games, pp. 26-27;
Wolford, pp. 94-96; JAFL, xii, 73-74; xxviii, 273, 494; xxxii,
494; XL, 14; LX, 16; Chase, p. 37; Hofer, p. 22; Gardner, Folklore
from the Schoharie Hills, p. 235 ; Brown and Boyd, p. 22 ; Ban-
croft, pp. 287-290; Burne. p. 508; Broadwood and Maitland, p. 87;
Linscott. p. 50 ('Shall I Show You How the Farmer?').
This might be classitied either as an imitative or as a courtship
game. I am including it in the former group, proceeding on the
assumption (in which I may be quite wrong) that the typical "play-
party" lines which appear in most texts are accretions and that the
original form, which far antedates any we possess at present, was
nearer Mrs. Sutton's 'See the Farmer,' or the 'Shall T Show You
How the Farmer?' of Linscott.
Contributed by Ethel Hicks Buffaloe. From Granville county. Text
only.
Oats, peas, beans, and barley grow ;
Oats, peas, beans, and barley grow ;
You nor I nor no one knows
How oats, peas, beans, and barley grows.
Thus the farmer sows his seed ;
Thus he stands and takes his ease.
He claps his hands, he stamps his foot^"
And turns all 'round to view the land.
i« "We found this game at two places. In one. Mitchell county, it
was played by a group of children of purest Colonial descent. In the
other, near Columbia, S. C. it was played by a group of Xegro children."
^^ For He stamps his foot, he claps his hands.
NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
He's waiting for a partner ;
He's waiting for a partner ;
So open the ring and take her in,
And kiss her as she enters in.
Now you're married, you must obey ;
Now you're married, you must obey ;
Now you're married, you must obey ;
So take a kiss and walk away.
Contributed by Lucille Massey. Reported from Durham county. Text
only. Practically identical with A except for last verse.
Down on this carpet you must kneel.
Low as the grass grows in the field ;
Salute your bride and kiss her sweet.
And rise upon your feet.
Contributed by Maude Minish Sutton, c. 1927. No source given. Text
only. The A text, with only minor verbal variations. Has concluding
couplet "To her be kind, to her be good. And always chop the kindling
wood."
Contributed by Minnie Stamps Gosney. From Wake county. Text only.
The A text, with slight differences in wording.
E
Contributed by Maude Minish Sutton, c. 1927. No source given.
See the farmer plow his ground,
Plow his ground, plow his ground ;
See the farmer plow his ground
So early in the morning.
Chorus: Merrily merrily on.
Merrily merrily on ;
Over the stormy sea we go
Merrily merrily on.
See the farmer sow his seed. &c.
See the farmer hoe his corn. &c.
See the fanner rake his hay. &c.
See the farmer milk his cow, <S:c.
Players form a ring and imitate each task in unison.
G A M E S A N D R H Y M K S 89
'Oats, Peas, Beans.' Contributed by Mrs. R. D. Hlacknall. From Dur-
ban! county. Stanzas i, 2, 3 of iMassey text (B).
ANIMAL SONG
See Newell, p. 115 ('My Household'); his version was obtained
from a Georgia informant.
Contributed by Maude Minish Sutton, c. 1927. Learned from an old
lady who visited their home when Mrs. Sutton was a child.
I bought me a hen,
And my hen loved me ;
Fed my hen imder yonder tree.
Hen said fiddle 11 fee.
Bought me a turkey,
And my turkey loved me ;
Fed my turkey under yonder tree.
Turkey said gobble, gobble ;
Hen said fiddle li fee.
We imitated the sounds of the animals and frequently their
actions also. The game goes on until every animal or bird
known to the children playing it is named. It may end :
Bought me a wife.
And my wife loved me;
Fed my wife under yonder tree.
Wife would scold, scold {or jower, jower) ;
Donkey said bray, bray ;
Horse said neigh, neigh;
Cow said moo, moo ;
Dog said bow, wow ;
Cat said meouw, meouw ;
Sheep said baa, baa ;
Goat said maa, maa ;
Guinea said potrack. potrack ;
Duck said quack, quack ;
Turkey said gobble, gobble;
Hen said fiddle li fee.
COURTSHIP AND MARRIAGE GAMES
THREE DUKES
Numerous versions of this game have been collected; for some
others, see Newell, p. 47; Hudson, p. 296; Tennessee Folklore So-
ciety Bulletin, v, 27; JAFL, xl, 8; xlii, 229; XLvii, i^^y ; xlix,
90 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
257-259; Wolford, pp. 52-54; Gomme, 11, 233, 282, 455; Owens,
p. 5 ('Here Come Three Merchants A-Riding') ; Thomas, The
Singin' Gatherin', p. 14 ('Duke A-Riding'); FL, xxxv, 264-265;
FLJ, V, 46; VII, 222 ('The Duke of Rideo') ; FLR, in, 160 ('The
Duke'); v, 89; SFQ, vi, 200; Colhns, p. 33; Gomme, Children's
Singing Games, i, 42; American Anthropologist, o.s., i. 258; Beck-
with ('Ten Jews Arriving') ; Bealoideas, 11, 394 ('The Nine Daugh-
ters'— played at wakes); Douglas, p. 42; Botkin. p. 329; Dearmer
and Shaw, Song Time, p. 72; Kidson and Moffatt, Eighty Singing
Games, p. ii; Henry, Folk-Songs from the Southern Highlands, p.
242 (fragment) ; Broadwood and Maitland, p. jy; Brown and Boyd,
p. 19; Northall, p. 383; Chambers, Popular Rhymes of Scotland,
p. 143; Halliwell, The Nursery Rhymes of England, p. 107; Talley,
Negro Folk Rhymes, p. 85; Maclagan. p. 90 ('Three Brothers Come
from Spain') ; Linscott, p. 13.
'Ranchy Tanchy Teen.' Contributed by Maude Minish Sutton, who col-
lected versions of the game in Avery, Caldwell, Buncombe, and Ruther-
ford counties, c. 1927. This particular version comes from Chimney
Rock.
The children form in a line as if they were going to play
Base. Three of their number go a distance away, and then
begin to march back toward the others. The three and the line
alternately advance and retreat between verses.
Group : Here comes three dukes a-ridin',
A-ridin'. a-ridin', a-ridin' ;
Here comes three dukes a-ridin'
For the Ranchy Tanchy Teen.
What are you a-comin' here for?
Here for, here for. here for?
What are you a-comin' here for
For the Ranchy Tanchy Teen?
Dukes : We are comin' here to git married,
Married, married, married ;
We are comin' here to git married
For the Ranchy Tanchy Teen.
Group : Who do you think will have you, &c.
Dukes : We want Miss to marry us, &c.
Group : Who do you think will have you, &c.
Dukes : We want Miss to marry us, &c.
This is repeated three times, and a different girl is chosen each
time. These girls stay with the grouji.
Group : You are too black and dirty, &:c.
G A M E S A N I) R H Y M E S QI
Dukes : We are just as white as you are, &c.
Three Ciirls: Then we will p^o with you, &c.
The Dukes and their companions are chased "home" by the
rest of the group. Sometimes this game is played by all the
boys on one side and the girls on the other. Then the form is:
"Here comes some Dukes a-rovin'."
Contributed by Gertrude Allen Vaugbt, c. 1928. Reported from Alex-
ander county.
In this game the girls line up on one side of the room and
the boys on the other. Any number may be inserted in the
opening lines. The boys march up to the line of girls and then
withdraw ; the stanzas are sung by the boys and the girls
alternately.
Here come three dukes a-riding,
Here come three dukes a-riding
So early in the morning.
What are you riding here for, &c.
Riding here to get married, &c.
\\'ho do you think will have you, &c.
Any girl I want, ma'am, &c.
You look too dirty and greasy, &c.
Look as well as you do. &c.
Which one do you want, sir. &c.
Believe I'll take Miss , &c.
You may have Miss , &c.
Then each boy selects his girl and walks out.
'Here Come Three Dukes A-Riding." Contributecl by Mamie Mansfield,
Durham, c. 1927.
Three children come tripping to the long line of children some
distance away, and sing the first verse. The line answers with
the second verse, and so on through the game.
Dukes : Here comes three dukes a-riding,
A-riding. a-riding ;
Here comes three dukes a-riding.
Ransom, transom, tra, la, la, la.
92 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
Line : What are you riding here for,
Here for, here for?
What are you riding here for ?
Ransom, transom, tra, la, la, la.
Dukes : We are riding here to get married, &c.
Line : Who do you think would have you, &c.
Dukes : We think Miss will have us, &c.
The child named goes over to the dukes ; they continue until
all have been chosen. ^^
Contributed by Doris Overton, Durham. Collected in Durham county
about 1922. Text only. Same as C except for refrain, which is "You
ransom, tansom, turpin too."
Contributed by Lida Page, Nelson. Version collected in Durham county.
No date.
Here comes the Duke a-riding,
A-riding, a-riding ;
Here comes the Duke a-riding.
Ransom, tansom, tee.
We are riding here to get married, &c.
O, will you not take me, sir, &c.
We are just as fair as you, sir, &c.
ril take the fairest of you, &c.
F
Contributed by Caroline Biggers, Monroe. Fragmentary text collected
in Union county.
You are too black and dirty.
You are too black and dirty
Upon a summer's day.
Lm just as clean as you, miss, &c.
Who do you think would have you, &c.
^^ Note that in the three versions above, the transaction is strictly
between the parties most directly concerned. It is worth noting, too,
that there is no kissing and no marriage formula ; the whole matter is
purely a business arrangement. Gomme finds in this game traces of the
practice of exogamous marriage, which followed the earlier marriage by
capture.
GAMESANURHYMES 93
Contributed by Mary Olivia I'ruette, Cbarlutte. Fragmentary text from
Mecklenburg county. Same as /•", with "So early in the morning" for
"Upon a summer's day."
II
'The Three Dukes.' Contrilnited l)y Thomas Smith, Zionville, c. 1914.
Watauga county. With music.
Up step three Dukes a rovin'
Chorus: With a rancy tancy tee.
Pray will you have one of us, sir?
We are (juite as fair as you, sir.
KINGS OF SPAIN
Contributed by Maude Minish Sutton, c. 1927. "I saw it played by
grownups at a molasses boiling in .^very county."
This is a game very mtich like Rauchv Tanchy Teen. The
girls seat themselves in a row. The boys advance toward them
singing :
We are three fine kings of Spain
We've come to court your daughter Jane.
]\Iy daughter Jane she's far too young
To be courted by your lyin' tongue.^''
Be she young or be she old
Her beauty's fair, she must be sold.-"
The "Go back" of the next verse should, of course, be "Come back" or
"Turn back."
Go back, go back, you Spanish king,
And choose the fairest in our ring.
One boy steps out and says :
The fairest one that I can see
Is Miss to walk with me.
The girl thus chosen takes his hand, and they promenade around
the two groups. The game continues until all the boys and
girls are matched, and they then play some game that requires
partners. In this particular instance the latter game was Cross
Questions and Crooked Answers.
^^ Presumably this stanza and the fourth belong to the girls, though
the collector has not made this clear.
^° Unintelligible, but clarified by the corresponding verse in Newell :
Be she young or be she old,
'T is for the price she may be sold.
94 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
HOG DROVERS
Contributed by Jewell Robbins, Pekin. Text collected in Montgomery
county in 1922.
One boy holds a girl on his knee, while two others march
around them singing :
Hog drovers, hog drovers, hog drovers we air,
A-courtin' your darter so neat and so fair ;
Can we get lodgin' here, oh, here?
Can we get lodgin' here ?
The seated player sings in reply:
This is my daughter who sits on my knee,
And no hog drover can take her from me.
And you can't get lodgin' here, oh, here ;
And you can't get lodgin" here.
The two others march around singing :
Little for your darter and less for yourself ;
We'll travel this road to better and best ;
Then we'll get lodgin' here, oh, here ;
Then we'll get lodgin' here.
In the meantime, the lady informs her father which of the
crowd she wishes for a partner. Then the father replies to the
question of the hog drovers :
This is my daughter who sits on my knee,
And Mr. can take her from me
By bringing me another one here, oh, here.
By bringing me another one here.
Concession to modern taste has been made by having the lady
seated in a chair beside the gentleman who plays her father,
and the song goes :
This is my daughter who sits by my side,
And no hog drover can make her his bride.
'Pig Drover.' Contributed by Gertrude Allen Vaught. Reported from
Alexander county in 1927.
This game recjuires a large number of boys and girls. A
ring is formed of an ecjual number of boys and girls, and an-
other boy to play the father stands behind a chair in which a
GAMESANDRHYMES 95
trirl is seated. The f,^inie I)egins with the players marching
around these two, singing:
Pig drovers, pig drovers, pig drovers we are,
A courtin' your daughter so handsome and fair ;
Can we get lodging here, oh, here?
Can we get lodging here?
The father sings :
This is my daughter who sits on mv lap,
And no pig drover can take her from pap;
You can't get lodging here, oh, here ;
You can't get lodging here.
The group replies :
Your daughter is pretty, you're ugly yourself ;
We'll go a house farther and hetter ourselves.
We don't want lodging here, &c.
Then the father sings :
This is my daughter who sits on my knee,
And you, , can take her from me
By bringing me another here, oh, here.
By bringing me another here.
The boy whose name is called brings one of the girls who are
in the ring, and takes the girl in the chair as his partner. The
game continues until each boy has a partner for the game which
is to follow.
A circle is formed again double file (i.e., a double circle),
boys on the outside and girls on the inside. They march around,
and the boy who plays the part of the father begins calling :
John Brown will fool you directly ;
John Brown it's boys up to the next one.
The boys then move up one place so that each one has a new
partner. Sometimes the father calls: "John Brown, it's hack
to the next one," thus causing the boys to move back one place.
The game may have the girls change instead of the boys. It
is more fun if the caller calls the moves very quickly, making
the players pay close attention. All the time the game is being
played, the players continue marching around in a circle.
Contributed by Ivey Talmage Poole, Swepsonville. Nn date given, but
apparently collected in 1914 or 1915, from Burke county.
96 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
Hog Drovers is a game that used to be played in Burke county
by the young people. A boy and a girl would be seated in the
center of the room, side by side, and the rest of the crowd, act-
ing as hog drovers, would enter the room singing :
Hog drovers, hog drovers, hog drovers we are.
All courting your daughter, so pretty and fair ;
Can we get lodging here, oh, here.
Can we get lodging here ?
Then the boy sitting l)y the girl in the center sings :
This is my daughter who sits by my side.
And no hog drover can have her for a bride.
And you can't get lodging here, oh, here, &c.
The hog drovers would then reply :
Your daughter is pretty, you're ugly yourself ;
We'll go to a house further and think it much best [ !]
And we don't want lodging here, oh. here, &c.
Last, the boy in the center would sing :
This is my daughter that sits by my side.
And you, Mr. may have her for a bride.
And you can get lodging here, oh. here. &c.
The boy named would then take the place of the one in the cen-
ter, and the game would start all over again. \\'hile the hog
drovers were singing, they marched two by two around the
couple.
Contributed by Maude Minish Sutton, c. 1927. Collected from a moun-
taineer in Ingalls.
Hog drivers, hog drivers, hog drivers we are,
A courtin' your daughter so neat and so fair ;
Can we get lodging here, here.
Can we get lodging here?
Here sits my fair daughter close up by my side ;
No ugly hog driver gets her for a bride.
You can't get lodging here, here ;
You can't get no lodging here, here ;
Your daughter is fair, but you're ugly yourself ;
We'll go further on and get us more wealth.
We don't want no lodging here, here ;
We don't want no lodging here.
G A M E S A N D R II Y M E S 97
Here sits my fair claugiiter close up by my side ;
Some pleasant young fellow gets her for a bride,
And he can ha\e a lodging here, here ;
And he can have a lodging here.
This is a game played at mountain homes where dancing is
not permitted. A boy and a girl stand at one side of the room.
Another boy and girl catch hands and skip around them sing-
ing the first verse. The tirst boy responds with the second. The
second coujjle sings the third, and the tirst boy sings the fourth.
At the end he asks, "How about Mr. ?" The chosen boy
comes up and takes the girl, and the singing dialogue is con-
tinued until all the girls but one are paired off. Then this last
girl and the first boy clasp hands and raise them as in 'London
Bridge." The couples dance through singing:
Come under, come under,
My honey, my dove, my turtle dove ;
Come under, come under.
My dear, oh dear.
We'll take you both our prisoners,
My honey, my love, my turtle dove ;
We'll take you both our prisoners,
My dear, oh dear.
Then hug her tight and kiss her twice,
My honey, my love, my turtle dove ;
Then hug her tight and kiss her twice.
My dear, oh dear.
The last couple caught proceeds as directed in the last verse,
and "go ahead." The game goes on until each couple has been
caught ; then the leaders dance under the clasped hands of all
the other couples and are captured by the last. Then they, too,
kiss each other and the game ends. I asked an old man who
sat watching this game one evening why it was less harmful
than dancing. He replied : "There hain't no string music about
hit. String music belongs to the devil. "-^
^^ Contributor's note to D : This attitude toward string music and the
frowning upon dancing while condoning and even encouraging the play-
ing of kissing-games are often found in mountain communities. .V min-
ister who learned that 'Skip To My Lou' had been played at a church
social threatened to turn the players "out'n the church." He added,
" 'T ain't nothin' but a dancin'-frolic give a harmless name," while
another good brother said, ".-Xny movin' uv the feet to banjer music is
the work of the Devil." Another of Mrs. Sutton's informants, an old
lady in Mitchell county, said proudly, "My gals hain't nary one of 'em
run a reel, but they goes to play-parties regular."
"Mrs. Whisnant, a lifelong resident of Rutherford county, told me
98 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
Contributed by Gertrude Allen Vaught, Taylorsville. Collected in Stanly
county in 1927. Text only. The B text, with slight verbal variations.
'Pig Drovers.' Contributed by Merle Smith. Collected in Stanly county.
No date. The B text in two-line stanzas. Omits "John Brown" lines.
'Hog Drivers.' Contributed by Nancy Maxwell, Hazelwood. No source
given. Text collected about 1920. Three stanzas. The A text, with
some verbal variation.
'Hog Drovers.' Contributed by Ethel Brown, Catawba county. No
source or date given. Combined with a variant of 'Marriage' similar to
Newell's second version (p. 60). The C text with slight verbal variations.
I
'Hog Drovers.' Contributed by Otis Kuykendall, Asheville. Collected
in Asheville in 1939. Only the first verse belongs to our game; the
other four are from a text of 'Old Smoky.'
Hog drovers, hog drovers, do you come here
A-courting our daughters so neat and so fair ?
You can't get lodging here, oh here,
And you can't get lodging here.
J
'Hogdriver's Ballad.' Contributed by Pauline Smathers, Asheville. Col-
lected 1920. Music only.
'Hogdriver's Ballad.' From an anonymous contributor. No source or
date given. Music only.
GREEN GRASS
Contributed by Maude Minish Sutton, c. 1927. Collected in Rutherford
county.
This game is played much like 'Ranchy Tanchy Teen.' A
group of children stand in line, and one boy faces them. They
advance and retreat, singing alternate verses. When one girl
goes with the boy at the end of the second verse, they parade
up and down hand in hand while the line sings the last verse.
that this game used to be very popular at the Shcrrill Place at Hickory
Nut Gap. For many years this was a sort of inn, kept for travelers
crossing the Blue Ridge by the old road. Cattle, horse, and hog drivers
taking their herds to market and camping there doubtless found in the
game a touch of realism that was pleasing."
GAMES AND RHYMES 99
\\'alking up the green grass,
Raising heavy dust.
He wants a i)retty girl
\\ ho walks along with us.
I'll take this pretty girl ;
I'll take her by the hand.
She shall go to London,
London in the land.
She shall have a pretty duck ;
She shall have a drake.
She shall have a nice young man,
A-fighting for her sake.--
TIIREE BAKERS
Contributed by Maude Minish Sutton, c. 1927. Collected from children
in Rutherford county.
In this game the boys first assume the characters of workmen
rather than of royalty. The girls form a group, and all but one
pretend to be asleep. Three boys advance, saying [singing?] :
Here come three bakers three by three
To court your daughters one, two, three ;
Can we have a lodgin'
In this house tonight ?
The Mother replies :
Sleep, my daughters, don't you wake ;
These three bakers shall not take.
You can't have no lodgin' in this house tonight.
The boys withdraw some distance and then return, this time
saying :
Here come three farmers three by three, &c.
The Mother repeats the second verse, changing "bakers" to
"farmers."
The boys assume as many dififerent guises as they care to —
soldiers, sailors, &c. Then they come as three kings. This
time the Mother says :
Here's my daughter all safe and sound ;
In her pocket's a hundred pound.
On her finger a heavy gold ring;
I'm sure she's fit to go with the king.
-" Cf. Gomme, i, 154 ff. and Newell, p. 50 (a Scottish rhyme quoted
from Chambers).
N.C.F., Vol. I, (-8)
100 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
To this the boys reply :
If she won't have us when we're pore,
We'll leave your house and court no more.
Then they run, and the girls pursue them to their "home."
When the boys touch "home." they turn around and chase the
girls. This continues until all of one side have been caught.-^
SISTER PHOEBE
See Newell, p. 56 ('A Widow With Daughters to Marry') ; Hud-
son, p. 299 ('Under the Juniper Tree'); Wolford, p. 80; Owens,
p. 67; Talley, p. 140; JAFL, xxiv, 305 (Missouri); xxv, 272
(Nebraska); xxxiii, 107 (Michigan); xxvii, 300; xxviii, 268;
XLii, 225 (Ozarks) ; XLiv, 13-14; xlix, 248-249 (Indiana) ; lx. 11;
SFQ, VI, 244; Tennessee Folklore Society Bulletin, xi, 5; Beckwith,
p. 59 ('Old Mother Fibbie') ; Botkin. p. 313 ('Sister Phoebe') ; Mc-
Dowell, pp. 14-15; Northall, pp. 368, 374; Halliwell, The Nursery
Rhymes of England, p. 116; Linscott, p. 19 ('I Am a Rich Widow').
This game occurs only in sadly corrupted form. The original
European game was dramatic, and had both a rich and a poor
mother. For an exhaustive study of the game, which places our
American forms in their proper relation to the European, see Elsa
Enajarvi-Haavio, The Game of Rich and Poor (Folklore Fellozvs
Communications, No. 100).
'Old Sister Phoebe.' Contributed by Maude Minish Sutton, who obtained
it from Bob Huskins, a banjo picker from Mitchell, c. 1927.
Old Sister Phoebe, how happy are we
As we go 'round and 'round the juniper tree !
We'll tie our heads up to keep them all warm,
And two or three kisses won't do us no harm.
Old Sister Phoebe !
Here comes a poor widow a-marching around
And all of my daughters are married but one,
So rise up, my daughter, and kiss your true love.
Old Sister Phoebe !
This kissing game is a favorite among young people in the
remote parts of the Blue Ridge. Bob (the informant) was a
very picturesque person, and he sang this song to a rollicking,
jiggy tune.^-*
""•Cf. Gomme. n, 282 f. ('Three Sailors'). The "Here's my daughter"^
verse appears also in several variants of 'Three Knights from Spain'
(ibid., 263, 265, 267, 272, 273). The couplet which concludes the song
(or dialogue) is reminiscent of 'A Paper of Pins' and of the ballad
'Green Beds' ('The Liverpool Landlady').
^* Contributor's note : "He told me an old tale of a very religious old
man who was shouting- at a 'big meeting.' He had become very much
excited, and called out at the height of his religious enthusiasm, 'I want
GAMES AND RHYMES
SKIP TO MY LOU
See Hudson, p. 300: Wolford, p. 97; Fuson, p. 166; Lomax,
America)! Ballads, p. 294; Randolph, The Ozarks, p. 141; Richard-
son and Spaeth. American Mountain Songs, p. 82; Collins, p. 2y;
SFO, VI, 233; PTFLS, I, 15; XIII, 309, 331; Tennessee Folklore
Society Bulletin, vi, 13; JAFL, xxiv, 304 (Missouri); xxv, 270
(Nebraska); xxxiii, 123 (Michigan); xlii, 203 (Ozarks) ; liv,
164; XLiv, 305; XLix, 248; V, 118; Botkin, pp. 312-313; Neely, pp.
201-202; Cambiaire, /:a.s7 Tennessee and Western Virginia Mountain
Ballads, pp. 131-132; Mcintosh, Sing and Szving, p. 29; Mcintosh,
Southern Illinois Singing Games and Songs, p. 9.
A
Contributed by Maude Minish Sutton, c. 1927. No source given.
Round the house, skip to my Lou ;
Round the house, skip to my Lou ;
Round the house, skip to my Lou ;
Skip to my Lou my darhn'.
Steal my pardner and I'll steal again, &c.
Take her and go, I don't care, &c.
I can get another as pretty as you, &c.
Pretty as a red hird and prettier too, &c.
This is the mountain version of 'Steal Partner.' It is played
in homes where dancing is not permitted. The young people
choose partners and leave out one hoy. To the music of this
song, often accompanied by the banjo and the fiddle, the play-
ers skip to their stations. The odd player then steals a partner,
and the game proceeds.
'Steal My Partner.' Contributed by Florence Holton, Durham. Col-
lected in Durham county in 1916.
Stole my partner, so they say ;
Stole my partner, so they say ;
Stole my partner, so they say ;
So they say, my darling.
I can get another one, so they say, &c.
A little lietter-looking one. so they say, &:c.
Sister Barnes to sing "Old Sister Phoebe !" ' At the wave of laughter
that swept over the church, he recovered himself and said, ' "Weeping
Mary, Weeping Mary," that's the song I want,' but the solemnity of the
occasion had been lost."
102 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
All the players are paired off, with one extra boy. This is sung
while a boy skips across the circle and steals a girl from another.
'Steal My Partner.' Contributed by Gertrude Allen Vaught, c. 1928
From Alexander county.
Steal my partner, so they say ;
Steal my partner, so they say ;
Steal my partner, so they say ;
Step to my Loll, my darling.
Lost your partner, what'll you do, &c.
I'll get another, so they say, &c.
Can't get a redbird, a bluebird'U do, &c.
Buzzards on a fence rail, so they say, &c.
D
No title. Contributed by ]\Iildred Peterson, c. 1923. Reported from
Bladen county.
I lost my partner
And shou, li, lo ;
I lost my partner
And shou, li, lo ;
I lost my partner
And shou, li, lo ;
Shou. li, lo, my darling.
If I can't get a biscuit,
A tater will do. &c.
No title. Contributed by Louise Watkins, Goldsboro. Reported from
Wayne county. No date given.
Steal my partner, schu-li-lu ;
Steal my partner, schu-li-lu ;
Steal my partner, schu-li-lu ;
Schu-li-lu, my darling.
Can't get a horse, a mule will do, &c.
F
'Steal My Partner.' Contributed by Nina Mclnnis. No source or date
given.
Steal my partner, shu-li-lo ;
Steal my partner, shu-li-lo ;
Steal my partner, shu-li-lo ;
GAMES AND RHYMES IO3
Shu-li-lo, my darling.
I'll get another one, &c.
Rabbit in tbe pea patch, &c.
G
'Bounce, Simlin.' Contributed by Mabel Ballentine. Reported from
Wake county.
Bounce the simlin, toodle doo ;
Bounce the simlin, tocxlle doo ;
Bounce the simlin, toodle doo ;
Toodle doo, my darling.
Sweetheart's kicked me, &c.
I'll get another one, &c.
Better than the other one, &.c.
H
'Steal My Partner.' Contributed by Marguerite Higgs, Greenville. Pitt
county.
Steal my partner, shing-li-lu ;
Steal my partner, shing-li-lu ;
Steal my partner, shing-li-lu ;
Shing-li-lu, my darling.
Can't get a biscuit, a tater'll do, &c.
Can't get a horse, a mule will do, ike.
I
'Steal My Partner.' Contributed by Gertrude Allen Vaught, c. 1927.
Alexander county.
Pairs of boys and girls stand on opposite sides of the room
as they sing :
Steal my partner, steal her back again
It's not going to rain, not going to snow
And not going to rain no more.
Each boy steals a partner from the ojjposite side of the room.
This continues as long as the youngsters want to play.
'Steal My Partner.' Contributed l)y Louise Watkins, Wayne county.
Higgs te.xt, with "Schu-li-lu" fcjr "Shing-li-lu."
K
'Steal My Partner' Contributed by Cornelia Evermond Covington.
Florence county. Higgs text, with "as they say" for "Shing-li-lu."
I04 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
WEEVILY WHEAT
For Other versions of this game, see Sharp : Karpeles. p. 375 ;
Wolford, pp. 102-104: Thomas, The Singin' Gathcrin' , p. 74;
Thomas, Deznl's Ditties, p. 69 ; Scarborough, On the Trail of Negro
Folk-Songs, p. 286; Owens, p. 13: Colhns, p. 23; Lomax, American
Ballads, p. 290; Talley, pp. 81, 84-85; Randolpli, The Ocarks, p.
147; Botkin, p. 347; Richardson and Spaeth, p. 86; Neely, pp. 200-
201; Cambiaire, p. 140; Tennessee Folklore Society Bulletin, vi,
14; JAFL, XXIV, 302; XXVII, 290; xxviiii, 278; xxxii, 488;
XXXIX, 193; XLii, 207 (Ozarks) ; xlix, 246; liv, 163 (Maryland) ;
PTFLS, I, 17-18; XIII, 315; SFQ, VI, 198; Hofer, p. 38;' Chase,
p. 45 ; Sandburg, The American Songhag, p. loi ; McDowell, pp.
50-51-
'Old Soap Gourd.' Contributed by J. T. C. Wright, Appalachian Train-
ing School, Boone. Collected in 1922.
A ring of boys and girls is formed, with either a boy or a
girl in the center. If a boy is in the center, the pronouns used
in the song are different from those tised when a girl is there.
The boys and girls composing the ring begin to dance around
the one in the center and sing:
Old Soap Gourd he loves sugar and tea ;
Old Soap Gourd he loves candy ;
Old Soap Gourd loves to stand around
And kiss some pretty girl handy.
At the conclusion of the song, the player in the center kisses
someone of the opposite sex in the ring. The person kissed
takes the place of the player in the center.
B
'Weevily Wheat.' Contributed by Lucille Alassey. Collected in Durham
county.
Charlie is a handsome boy;
Charlie is a dandy ;
Charlie is the very boy
That brings all the neighbors brandy.
Five times five are twenty-five;
Five times six are thirty ;
Five times seven are thirty-five,
And five times eight are forty.
Five times nine are forty-five ;
Five times ten are fifty;
Five times eleven are fifty-five.
And five times twelve are sixty.
GAMES AND RHYMES IO5
This game requires eight couples. The couples walk along
with arms locked while singing the first stanza. When the
counting hegins, hoys go one way and girls another. The girls
skip in and out as if winding a Maypole, swinging one boy
with the riffht hand and the next with the left.
No title. Contributed by Mamie Mansfield, Durham. Collocted in Dur-
ham county about 1925.
I want some more of your weevily wheat ;
I want some more of your barley ;
I want some more of your weevily wheat
To make a cake for Charley.
Charley is a handsome man ;
Charley is a dandy ;
Charley is the very man
That drank old Abram's brandy.
Five times five are twenty-five ;
Five time six are thirty ;
Five times seven are thirty-five ;
Five times eight are forty.
Five times nine are forty-five;
Five times ten are fifty ;
Five times eleven are fifty-five;
Five times twelve are sixty.
'Weevily Wheat.' Contributed by Lida Page, Nelson. Collected
Durham county. Text C, with "He wants a little brandy."
E
No title. Contributed by Louise Rand Bascom, Highlands, 1914.
I don't want none o' your weevily wheat ;
I don't want none o' your barley ;
I want some of the good old rye
To bake a cake for Charlie.
Charlie he's the fancy man ;
Charlie he's your dandy ;
Charlie he's the very lad
^\'ho drunk up Grover's brandy.
I don't want none o' your sugar and cheese ;
I don't want none o' your candy ;
Just want to wheel and turn around
And kiss the first one handy.
Io6 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
'Weevily Wheat.' Contributed by Clara Hearne, 1922-23, Pittsboro.
From Chatham county.
Over the river to get the wheat,
Over the river for barley,
Over the river to get the wheat
To bake a cake for Charley.
And I don't want your weevily wheat.
And I don't want your barley;
I'll take the very best of wheat
To bake a cake for Charley.
Charley he's a fine young man ;
Charley he's a dandy;
Charley likes to kiss the girls
And feed them lots of candy.
Charley's here and Charley's there.
And Charley's over the ocean ;
Charley won't come back again
Unless he takes a notion.
No title. Contributed by Minnie Bryan Farrior, Raleigh. Version col-
lected in Duplin county.
Charlie he loves cake and wine;
Charlie he loves brandy ;
Charlie loves to turn these girls
Sweet as sugar candy.
I won't have none your weavely wheat ;
I won't have none your barley ;
I won't have none your weavely wheat
To make a cake for Charlie.
"Weevily Wheat.' Contributed by Evelyn Moody. Version from Stanly
county. Stanza 2 of Farrior text and
I want none of your weevilly wheat ;
I want none of your barley ;
I want some of your good ole corn
To bake a cake for Charlie.
I
No title. Contributed by James B. Turner. No place or date given.
All around the ring, my sugar lump ;
GAMES AND RHYMES I07
All around the ring, my sugar lump ;
All around the ring, my sugar lump ;
All around the ring, my darling.
Charley is a good old man;
Charley is a dandy ;
Charley is a good old man ;
He feeds his girl un candy.
PIG IN THE PARLOR
See Botkin, p. 290; PTFLS, xiii. 327: SFQ, vi. 196: JAFL
XXIV. 298; XIII. 309, 327; XXVIII, 283: XXXI, 152; XXXIII, 117-118
XL, 22: XLii, 211; XLiv, 12, 298; Owens, pp. 52-53: Wolford, p. 81
Pound, p. 2;^j ; Gardner, Folklore from the Schoharie Hills, p. 237.
A
Contributed by J. C. Knox, Leland. Reported from Brunswick county
about 1922.
The players form a circle, the girl to the right of her partner,
around an extra man. The object of the game is for the odd
man to secure a partner when the song reaches "All prom-
enade." The players join hands, start around the "pig" clock-
wise, and sing :
We have a new pig in the parlor ;
We have a new pig in the parlor ;
We have a new pig in the ])arlor ;
And he is Irish too.
Your right hand to your partner,
Your left hand to your neighbor,
And all promenade.
When "Your right hand to your partner" comes around, the
boys do as the song directs, the girls continuing the clockwise
movement. The boys right and left until the song reaches "And
all promenade," when each boy secures a girl and they prom-
enade in a counter-clockwise movement.
Contributed by Gertrude Allen \'aught, Taylorsvillc, c. 1928. Collected
in Alexander county.
My father and mother are Irish ;
My father and mother are Irish ;
My father and mother are Irish,
And 1 am Irish too.
108 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
We keep a pig in the parlor, &c.
We keep a cow in the kitchen, &c.
We keep a horse in the bedroom, &c.
THE needle's eye
See Newell, pp. 91, 241; Wolford, p. 72; Hudson, pp. 291-292;
Owens, p. 9; PTFLS, i, 23; Gardner, Folklore from the Schoharie
Hills, p. 234; SFQ, VI, 206; JAFL, xxvii, 297; xxviii, 263;
XXXIII, 115; XL, 18; XLii. 228; XLiv, 18; xLix, 247; Hudson, p.
291 ; Gomme, ii, 228, 289 ; McDowell, pp. 62-63 : Linscott, p. 43 ;
Hofer, p. 17; Shearin and Combs, A Syllabus of Kentucky Folk-
Songs, p. Z7-
A
'Thread the Needle.' Contributed by Maude Minish Sutton, c. 1927.
From Tyrrell county.
This game is played much like 'London Bridge.' Two chil-
dren raise their clasped hands, while the others, in a long line,
pass under the hands and the last couple is caught.
The needle's eye it does supply
The thread it runs plum through.
O many a lass have we let pass
Because we wanted you.
Not one so sweet or dressed so neat ;
We do intend before the end
To make this couple meet
And kiss sweet.
The couple thus caught then kiss each other. The second
verse was obviously "doctored" by the little girl who gave it to
me. She could not remember the traditional verse very well.
Gomme gives 12 variants of the game, and associates it with
'Raise the Gates.' It was formerly a game to be played on
Shrove Tuesday.-^
B
'Needle's Eye.' Contributed by J. T. C. Wright, Boone. Collected in
Boone in 1923.
A boy and a girl join hands above their heads. The other
players form a line and march through the arch thus formed,
.^t the conclusion of the song, the arch falls around the neck
''' Contributor's note : "Columbia, N. C, is a very old settlement. There
is a tradition there that it was settled by a boatload of people who came
from either England or Ireland, sailed up the Albemarle Sound to the
mouth of the Scuppernong River, and settled there. It is one of the best
fields in North Carolina for the student of folklore. The songs, games,
and folk legends arc even less changed there than in the mountains of the
South."
G A M E S A N I) K II Y M K S lOQ
of the person beneath it at that time. If the one caught is a
sj^irl and will permit it. the hoy who helped form the arch kisses
lier ; if the hoy is caught, then the girl who helped form the
arch does the kissing if she so desires. The one caught then
displaces the one of his or her sex in the arch, and the game
proceeds as before.
Needle's eye that does apply
The thread that runs so true ;
IMany a beau have I let go
For the sake of kissing you.
'London Town.' Contributed by Gertrude Allen Vaught, c. 1928. From
Alexander county.
Two are chosen leaders. They hold each other's hands clasped
above their heads, and the others all pass luider their out-
stretched arms. All sing:
Needle's eye that does so ply [supply?]
The thread that runs so truly.
And many a beau have I let go
For the sake of kissing you.
Many a dark and stormy night
When I went home with you.
And now you w^ent and broke my heart
For the sake of kissing you.
As they say "yo^i/' the two catch a player going under the arch,
and the caught one kisses one of the girls forming the arch and
then takes her place.-"
No title. Contributed by Minnie Stamps Gosney. Fragment obtained
in Wake county. No date given.
The needle's eye that does supply
The thread that runs so truly.
Many a cold and stormy night
Have I went home with Julie.
NUTS IN MAY
For additional versions, see Gomme, i, 424 If.; Xewell, pj). (S(),
236; Douglas, p. 51 (a fragment); Beckwith. p. 49; Haddoii, llic
Study of Man, p. 313: Gardner, Handbook for Recreation Leaders,
-" The same contributor also turned in a form of The Needle's Eye'
closely resembling 'London Bridge.' It has the verse belonging to the
former, but there is no kissing and the game ends in a tug-of-war.
no NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
p. 23; JAFL, VIII, 253; XXXI, 47-48, 132, 147, 178; Bancroft, pp.
285-286; FLJ, VII, 224; FLR, III, 170; V, 85; FL, xvii, 221 ; Lins-
cott, p. 16.
Contributed by Maude Minish Sutton, c. 1927. Collected from children
in Chimney Rock.
"Here we come, gathering nuts in May,
Nuts in May, nuts in May ;
Here we come, gathering nuts in May
So early in the morning."
"Who will you have for nuts in May ?" &c.
"I'll take Miss for nuts in ^lay," &c.
"Who will you have to pull her away ?" &c.
"I'll take Mr. to pull her away," &c.
"How do you know you can pull her away ?" &c.
"This is the way I'll pull her away," &c.
The children form two lines of equal length facing each other,
with space between the lines. They walk alternately toward and
away from each other, singing their own verses. The players
selected from each line face each other across the line drawn
in the center, and they try to pull each other over the Hne. The
one who succeeds has captured a member for his side. The
game goes on until all of one side have been captured.-'^
HAPPY IS THE MILLER BOY
See, for descriptions and texts, Gomme, 11, 436; Newell, p. 102;
Hudson, pp. 300-301; Owens, p. 100; Gardner, Folklore from the
Schoharie Hills, p. 235; Billson, p. 68; Collins, p. 14; Gomme,
Children's Singing Games, i, 17; 11, 46; Randolph, The Ozarks, p.
145; Douglas, p. 41; Botkin, p. 248; Neely, p. 197; Cambiaire, p.
137; McDowell, pp. 20-23; Wolford, pp. 67-70; JAFL, xxiv, 316;
XXV, 269; xxvii, 293; xxxiii, 15; Liv, 163; xLii, 205 ; PTFLS, i,
13; XIII, pp. 306, 325; FLJ, I. 385; V, 57; FLR, v, 86; Tennessee
Folklore Society Bulletin, v, 24; vi, 7; Mcintosh, Sing and Swing,
pp. 37-38.
'The Jolly Miller.' Contributed by Clara Hcarne, 1922-23. Version
from Chatham county.
^■'Contributor's note: "In one niountain ccmnnunity it was played on
Sunday afternoon by a group of young people wlio had just begun
'courtin,' and in this instance as each young man pulled his sweetheart
over the line, he kissed her soundly. Only one boy was pulled across
by a strapping young miss, and he was jeered at unmercifully by his
mates. She told me tearfully later, 'Aus quit me cayse I pulled him
over the line. He said 't wa'nt no girl's place to be so confounded
stout.' "
C. A M K S A N D R II Y M K S III
jolly is the niilU'r who lives by the mill ;
The wheel goes round with a right good will;
( )ne hand on the hopper and the other on the sack;
The right steps forward as the left steps hack.
Players select partners and form a circle, one couple in front
of another, thus fonr.ing a double ring. An extra player is in
the center of the circle. As the players march around and sing
the last line, the righthand player steps forward and the left
steps back (just exchange partners). The player in the center
attempts to get a partner during this change. If he succeeds,
then the one who is left without a partner has to be "It" and
take his jilace in the center of the ring.
'Johnny Miller.' Contributed by J. C. Knox, c. 1922. Reported from
Brunswick county.
This game is similar to TMg in the Parlor.' An odd player
is in it. Each couple joins hands, forming a circle, and the
odd player also joins hands with the rest. They all sing :
Little Johnny Miller, he works at the mill ;
He works all day, no matter what it will.
A hand in the hopper, the other in a sack,
The ladies keep going, while the gents turn back.
This circular motion continties until the last line is reached,
when the boys do as directed. Then the song is sung over again,
each boy grabs a girl, and they promenade until the end of it.
c
'The Jolly Miller.' Contributed by J. W. Miller. Reported from Lin-
coln county in 1934.
The miller is inside a ring composed of boy and girl partners.
The boys have the outside of the ring. They march around the
miller while they sing :
Jolly was the miller who lived by the mill ;
The mill goes around and gains what it will.
Corn in the hopper and hands in the sack,
Ladies step forward and gents step back.
At this, the miller steps out and tries to get a partner. If he
succeeds, then there is a fellow left out and he is the next
miller. The object is to have a partner and never to be a miller.
NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLO
'The Jolly Old Miller.' Contributed by Mamie Mansfield, c. 1928. From
Durham county. A very inadequate description, no mention at all being
made of the miller.
Girls form a ring, with boys forming an outer circle. When
they sing "Gents step forward and ladies step back," the man
walks by the side of the girl in front. This continues until
each boy gets back with his original partner.
E
'There Was A Little Miller.' Contributed by Minnie Stamps Gosney.
From Raleigh. No date given.
There was a little miller who lived by the mill;
The mill went around with a free good will.
One hand in the hopper, the other in the sack,
Ladies step forward and gents step back.
F
'Miller Boy.' Contributed by Jessie Hauser, 1923. Version from For-
syth county.
One time there was a miller boy lived by himself;
Turning of the mill was the gaining of his wealth.
One hand in the hopper and the other in the sack ;
The mill turns around and the ladies fall back.
G
No title. Contributed by Lucille Cheek. Reported from Chatham county
c. 1924.
Happy is the miller that lives in the mill ;
While the mill goes round, he works with a will.
One hand in the hopper and one in the hay ;
The mill goes round, and he cries out, "Great !"
H
'The Jolly Miller.' Contributed by Mabel Ballentinc. Reported from
Wake county.
Oh, jolly is the miller and he lives by the mill ;
And the mill goes round with a right good will.
One hand in the hopper and the otlier in the sack.
The left steps forward and the right steps back.
'The Jolly Miller.' Contributed by Lida Page. Reported from Durham
county.
There was an old miller and he lived by himself ;
He turned the wheel, and he gained no wealth.
G A M F. S A N D R II ^• M K S
113
Hand in the hopper and the other in the sack.
The gents ste[) forward and the girls |.s-/c| step hack.
'Miller Boy.' Contributed by Thomas Smith. Zionville, c. 1914. Col-
lected in Watauga county.
( )h, the miller hoy that tends to the mill
He takes the toll with his own free will.
One hand in the hopper and the other in the sack,
The ladies step forward and the gents fall hack.
'The Jolly Miller.' Contributed by Gertrude Allen Vaught, c. 1928.
From Alexander county. Hearne text, with "happy" for "jolly."
KING WILLIAM WAS KING JAMES's SON
See Newell, pp. yi,, 246; Wolford, pp. 62-64; Hudson, pp. 289-
290; Gomme. i, 304; Owens, p. i; Flanders and Brown, pp. 188-
189; Northall, pp. 2,72-T,y2>'' Gardner, Folklore from the Schoharie
Hills, p. 244; Botkin, p. 227; Neely, pp. 199-200; McDowell, pp.
66-67; Collins, p. 20; Lomax, Our Singing Country, pp. 65-66;
SFQ, VI, 216-220; JAFL, XIV, 299; xxiv, 313; xxvi, 355; xxvii,
295; XXXI, 50; xxxii, 493-494; xxxiii, 107-109; xLii, 226-227;
XLiv, lo-ii; XXXIX. 191; XLix, 249-250; Lii, 48; LX, 15; Henry,
Folk-Songs from the Southern Highlands, p. 406; American An-
thropologist, O.S., I, 247; Hofer, p. 30; Talley, p. 82; Puckett, Folk
Beliefs of the Southern Negro, p. 55; Whitney and Bullock, p. 146.
Nearly fifty texts of this popular game were sent in by con-
tributors. Many of these were, of course, duplications; others were
fragmentary or badly corrupted. Lines such as "Wore a star upon
his breast Twice as big as a hornet's nest" and "Upon his breast
he wore a star Pointing to the prison bar" occur frequently. There
is considerable disagreement as to the identity of William's parent,
the honor being ascribed to King George, King Simon, and King
James respectively.
'King William Was King George's Son.' Contributed by Maude Minish
Sutton, c. 1927. This version was collected in Mitchell county.
King William was King George's son ;
Round the royal race he run,
Wore a star upon his hreast
First to the East and then to the West.
Go choose you East, go choose you \\'est ;
Choose the one that you love hest.
If she's not here to take your part,
Choose another with all vour heart.
1 14 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
Down on this carpet you must kneel
Sure as the grass grows in the field ;
As you rise upon your feet.
Kiss your bride and kiss her sweet.
The players form a ring, with one in the center. They march
around singing the first verse. When the one in the center has
chosen, they stop going around, and he kneels down before the
girl of his choice. As the last verse is sung, he rises and
kisses her.
'King William.' Contributed by Gertrude Allen \'aught, c. 1928. From
Alexander county.
King William was King James's son,
From the royal race was sprung.
Wore a star upon his breast ;
Go point to the east, go point to the west.
Go choose your east, go choose your west ;
Choose the one that you love best.
If she's not here to take your part,
Choose another with all your heart.
Down on this carpet you must kneel
Sure as the grass grows on the green ;
When you rise upon yoin* feet.
Salute your bride and kiss her sweet.
Now you're married you must be good ;
Split the kindling, chop the wood.
Split it fine and carry it in ;
Then she'll let you kiss her again.
We sang these words as we marched around in a circle. One
boy was in the center of the ring, and he selected a girl from
the ring as his bride. Then they knelt, and in a minute arose
and the boy kissed the girl. Then the girl remained in the
center and selected a boy, while the words were changed in the
stanza to suit her.
'King William Was King George's Son.' Contributed by Lucille Bul-
lard. Reported from Robeson county in 191 6. Text B, witli "Round
the royal race he run."
The words are sung while the children march around in a
ring, with the one who is "It" in the center. He follows the
directions given in the song. The bride who has been chosen
then makes her choice in turn as the players again march around
singing.
AMES AND RHYMES
'King and Queen.' Contributed by Mrs. Norman Herring, Tomahawk.
No source or date given. Text A, with slight verbal variations. Has
"King Simon's son."
'King William Was King James's Son.' Contributed by Grace Tucker.
Chester, S. C. No source or date given.
King William was King James's son,
Around the royal race he run,
Wore a star upon his breast
Twice as big as a hornet's nest.
Go choose you east, go choose you west ;
Choose the one that you love best.
If she's not here to take your part,
Choose another wath all your heart.
Down upon the carpet you must kneel
Sure as the grass grows under your heel.
When you rise upon your feet.
Hug her tight and kiss her sweet.
Now you're married you must be good ;
Have your husband chop your wood.
Chop it fine, carry it in.
Now you're married, so kiss her again.
'King William Was King George's Son.' Contributed by Aura Holton,
Durham. From Durham county. Collected in 191 6. Te.\t H, with minor
verbal differences.
'King William Was King George's Son.' Contributed by Amy Hender-
son, Worry. Reported from Burke county in 1915. Te.xt A, with some
minor verbal differences.
No title. Contributed by Mrs. Laura Timmons, Boone. No source or
date given. Practically identical with Text A.
No title. Contributed by Lida Page. Nelson. Reported from Durham
county. No date given. Text ./. with no stanza division.
'King William Was King George's Son.' Contributed t)y Martha Wall.
Wallburg. Reported from Davidson county about 1941. Text B, witii
"From the royal race he run."
X.r.F.. \-nI. I, (9)
Il6 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLO
No title. Contributed by Mamie Mansfield, Durham. Collected in Dur-
ham county in 1922. Text B, with "All around the race he run."
'King William Was King George's Son.' Contributed by Mildred Peter-
son. Reported from Bladen county in 1923.
King William was King George's son.
Upon the royal race he run ;
Upon his breast he wore a star
Which was called the star of love.
Go to the east, go to the west ;
Go choose the one that you love best.
If she's not here to take her part,
Choose the one next your heart.
M
'King William Was King George's Son.' Contributed by Alma Irene
Stone. No source or date indicated. B text, with "Round the royal
race he run."
N
'King William Was King James's Son.' Contributed by Katherine Ber-
nard Jones, Raleigh. No source or date given. Text B, with minor
variations.
'King William Was King James's Son." Contributed by Minnie Stamps
Gosney. From Wake county. No date given.
King William was King James's son,
Around the royal race he run ;
On his breast he wore a star
Pointing to the ocean far.
Go point to the east, go point to the west ;
Go point to the one you love best ;
If she's not here to take her part.
Choose another with all your heart.
Down on this carpet you must kneel
As sure as the grass grows in the held ;
Salute your bride and kiss her sweet,
Then you may rise upon your feet.
p
No title. Contributed by Laurice Gwin Cluunl)liss. Reported from
Wilson county. No date given.
King William was King James's son,
All the royal race he won ;
GAME S A N I) R H Y M E S 1 1/
Upon his breast he wore a star
Pointing to the prison bar.
Go choose you east, go choose yon west ;
Choose the one that you love the best.
If she's not here to take her part.
Go choose another with all your heart.
Down on this carpet you must kneel
Sure's the grass grows in the held.
When you rise upon your feet,
Salute your bride and kiss her sweet.
'King William Was King James's Son.' Contributed by Ethel Hicks
Buffaloe, Oxford. Reported from Granville county. No date given.
King William was King James's son,
From the royal race he sprung;
He wore a star upon his breast
As big as any hornet's nest.
Choose the one that you love best.
If she's not here to take your part,
Go choose another with all your heart.
Down on this carpet you must kneel
Sure's the grass grows in the field.
When you rise upon your feet.
Salute your bride ancl kiss her sweet.
'King William Was King George's Son.' From an anonymous con-
trilnitor in Chatham county. No date given.
Down on this carpet you must kneel
Shore's the grass in the field ;
And when you rise upon your feet.
Salute your bride and kiss her sweet. -^
" Other versions and fragments were contributed by Louise Bennett
(Henderson text, omitting "go choose ye East"), Dixie Lamm (Hen-
derson text, with slight verbal variations), Cozette Coble (Tucker text),
Lucille Cheek (Page text), Valeria Johnson Howard (Bullard text, omit-
ting "If she's not here" couplet), Sarah K. Watkins (Bullard text, with
"point to the East" for "first to the East"), Lois Johnson (Henderson
text). Flossie Marshbanks (Bullard text). Ruth Morgan (Tucker text),
Marjorie Rea (Bullard text). Esther Royster (Stone text), Mary Olivia
Pruette (Bullard text), Merle Smith (Tucker text), Allie .-Xnn Pearce
(Bullard text), M. A. B. .Andrews (Timmons text, with some slight
variations). Ethel Brown (Bullard text), .Ada Briggs (Bullard text).
Il8 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
MARCHING TO QUEBEC
See Newell, p. 125; Botkin, pp. 351-353: Randolph, The Ozarks,
pp. 146-147; McDowell, pp. 18-19; Wolford, pp. 65-66; JAFL, v,
118; XX, 275; XXV, 271; XXVII, 293; XXXII, 491; XLii. 206-207;
XLiv, 19; Gardner, Folklore from the Schoharie Hills, p. 244;
SFQ, VI. 255-256.
'To Old Quebec' Contributed by John Bennett, East Flat Rock. Mr.
Bennett writes: "Found in newspaper clipping. In the Journal of Ameri-
can Folklore, Oct. -Dec. 191 9, Carl Van Doren gives this version from
Vermillion County, Illinois, not as a child's game but as a folksong. I
have found the verses, substantially as quoted by Mr. Van Doren, as a
game-song, used among adult and youthful mountain folk within memory
of the old along the route of the old Howard Gap cattle-drovers' road
through the Blue Ridge Mountains from Tennessee to North Carolina."
We're marching down to Old Quebec
And the drums are loudly beating;
The American boys have gained the day,
And the British are retreating.
The wars are all over, and we'll turn back
And never more be parted ;
Open the ring and choose a couple in
To relieve the broken-hearted.
Contributed by Maude Minish Sutton, c. 1927. Collected in Bostic.
"We have been unable to find it all anywhere else, though quite a few
children knew parts of it."
We're marching to Old Quebec
And loud the drums are beating ;
The Rebels brave have won the fight ;
The Yankees are retreating.
The war is over and we've come home
To the place from where we started ;
So open the ring and take her in.
For she is broken-hearted.
Go choose the one you love the best,
No one on earth above him ;
Heart and hand to him you give
To show him how you love him.
(or Kiss him, for you love him.)
Irene Thompson (Bullard text with exception of lines 3-4: "Upon his
breast he wore a star Pointing to the prison bar"), Caroline Biggers
(Bullard text), Virginia Bowers (Tucker text, with "snoot your Bright*"
for "salute your bride"), Ella Parker (Henderson text).
G A M E S A N D R H Y M E S 119
MARCHING ROUND THE LEVER
For otlier versions, see Goninie, ii, 122 f. ( 'Round and Round tlie
Vill:if,'e' ) : Maclagan. p. 65; Newell, p. 229; Balfour and Thomas,
p. 116; Hudson, pp. 287-288; Beckwith. p. 67 ('WalkinR Round the
N'allev'j ; Owens, p. 3; Collins, p. 15; Notes and Queries, 8th ser.,
I. 249; Hofer, p 16; SFQ, vi, 194; FL, xvii, 99; American An-
thropologist, O.S., I, 255; Douglas, p. 41; Bancroft, pp. 290-292;
JAFL, VIII. 253; XV, 194; XXIV, 306-307; XXVI. 138; xxxiii, 120-
121 ; XL. 26; XLiv. 12-13. 8-19; XLVii. 338; XLix. 243-244: McDowell,
p. 60; Neely, p. 204; Ford. Traditional Music of America, p. 260.
Brown and Boyd, p. 29 ; Linscott, p. 9.
Nineteen versions are given by Gonime. Slit- sees a connection
between this game and the customs of "beating the bounds" and
escorting a newly married couple around the town (note the refrain
"As we have done before"). Newell thinks village a corruption of
valley, and considers British versions inferior.
A
'Go In and Out the Window.' Contributed by Lucille Rullard. Re-
ported from Robeson county in 191 6.
Go in and out the window ;
Go in and out the window ;
Go in and out the window,
For yoti have <(ained the day.
Go forth and face your lover. &C.
I kneel because I love you, &c.
I measure my love to show you. &c.
Just one more kiss before I leave you, &c.
After the players have formed a circle, they drop hands. The
one who has been chosen "It" goes in and out the circle by
going before and behind those in the ring alternately while
they all sing. He acts out the words of the song, and begins
singing liimself at the third stanza.
B
'Go In and Out the Windows.' Contributed by Aura Holtcjn, Durham.
Collected in Durham county in 191 6.
Go in and out the windows ;
Go in and out the windows ;
Go in and out the windows,
For love has gained today.
Go kneel before your lover, &c.
Now rise and kiss your lover, &c.
120 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
The person who is "It" goes in and out the windows, formed
by the joined upHfted hands of the players forming the ring.
At the second stanza, he chooses his partner, kneels before her,
and — at the third stanza — kisses her.
c
'Go In and Out the Window.' Contributed by Maude Minish Sutton.
c. 1927. No source given.
Go in and out the windows ;
Go in and out the windows ;
Go in and out the windows,
For we have gained today.
Go forth and face your lover, &c.
I'll measure my love to show you, &c.
I'll bow before my lover, &c.
Played by a ring of children, with one in the center. He
executes each command as the ring sings the verses. Every
version we found has the same air.
D
'Go In and Out the Window.' Contributed by Mary Scarborough, c.
1923. From Dare county.
The players form a ring with hands raised. An odd member
weaves in and out, acting out the songs as these verses are
sung :
Go in and out the window ;
Go in and out the window ;
Go in and out the window.
For we have gained the day.
Go forth and face your lover, &c.
(The ring stands still while lover is chosen)
I kneel because I love you, &c.
It breaks my heart to leave you, &c.
'We're Marching Around the Love Ring.' Contributed by Ethel Brown,
Catawba county. No date given.
We're marching around the love ring ;
We're marching around the love ring ;
We're marching around the love ring,
Since we have gained the day.
G A M E S A N I) RHYMES
Go forth and face your lover, &c.
I measure luy love to show you, &c.
It breaks my heart to leave you, &c.
"Go In and Out the Window.' Contributed by Fannie Vann, Durham.
Durham county. Stanzas i, 3, and 4 are Bullard i, 2, 3.
2. There is a lillie in the valley ;
There is a lillie in the valley;
There is a lillie in the valley
As we go marching by.
Players march around in a circle singing, while the one in
the center must go between them. If a girl is in the middle,
she seeks a boy ; if a boy is in the middle, he seeks a girl. His
(or her) love is measured with a handkerchief drawn from the
shoulder to the waistline and then from shoulder to shoulder.
The one chosen goes into the center of the ring, and the game
starts over.
'Marching Around the Love Ring.' Contributed by Gertrude Allen
\'aught, Taylorsville. Collected in Alexander county in 1927. Text E,
with additional stanzas "I kneel because I love you" and "Give me a
sweet kiss before I leave you."
H
'Marching Round the Love Ring.' Contributed by Jessie Hauser. Pfaflf-
town. From Forsyth county. Collected in 1923. Vaught text, with
"grieves" for "breaks."
All children clasp hands and march around one who stands
in the ring. The one in the ring does all the things mentioned
in the song. Going in and out the window is simply going in
and out the ring under the clasped hands. The one chosen as
lover stands in the center for the next game.
No title. Contributed by Valeria Johnson Howard, Roseboro. Sampson
county. No date. Text A, with minor verbal differences.
J
No title. Contributed by Nina Mclnnis. No place or date given.
We're marching round the levee ;
We're marching round the levee ;
\\'^e're marching round the levee.
For you have gained the day.
NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
Go forth and face your lover, &c.
Go in and out the window, &c.
I measure my love to show you, &c.
I kneel because I love you, &c.
No title. Contributed by Macie Morgan. Reported from Stanly county.
No date given. Text E, with only slight verbal variations.
No title. Contributed by Dixie Lamm. Reported from Wilson county.
No date. Text E. with additional stanzas "I kneel because I love you"
and "Goodbye, I hope to meet you."
M
'We're Walking on the Levy.' Contributed by Mildred Peterson, c.
1923. From Bladen county.
I am walking on the levy ;
I am walking on the levy ;
I am walking on the levy,
For you have gained the day.
I am walking over the levy, &c.
No title. Contributed by Lida Page. From Durham county, no date.
A composite text. Text B, with minor verbal variations.
O
'We're Marching Round the Love Ring.' Contributed by Martha Wall,
Wallburg, c. 1941. Text from Davidson county. Text E, with addi-
tional stanza "I kneel because I love you."
'Go In and Out the Windows.' From an anonymous contributor. No
source or date given. Text B, with minor verbal variations.""
"■' Other texts and fragments were contributed by Louise Watkins
(composite of Bullard and Bennett texts), Mrs. John Carr ( Bullard
text), Wilma Foreman (Bullard text, with "bow" for "kneel" and re-
frain "As we are game today"). Katherine Bernard Jones (Bullard
text), Marguerite Higgs (Lamm text), Esther Royster (Page text,
with "love ring" for "lovers"), Marjorie Rea (Bullard text, with "done
today" for "won the day"), Clara Hearne (Lamm text, with slight verbal
variations), Ethel Hicks Bufifaloe (Page text, with 2nd stanza omitted
and "bound" for "hope"), Louise Bennett (Bullard text), Allie Ann
Pearce (Lamm text, with "go forth" for "stand in"), Caroline Biggers
(Lamm text, with "go forth" for "stand in"), Lucille Cheek (Royster-
Page text, minus last two verses), Ella Parker (Bullard text, with re-
frain "For you have won this day"), Minnie Stamps Gosney (Page text,
with "it breaks my heart to leave you" for "Goodbye, I hope to meet
you"), Roberta E. Pridgen, Flossie Marshbanks, Dorothy M. Vann, J. G.
McAdams.
r, A M K S AND R II Y M E S 123
CI.Al' IN, CLAP OUT
See Gomme. i, 215 ('Hiss and Clap'). It is to this game that
Edgar Lee Masters aUudes in "Lucinda Matlock" :
"1 went to the dances at Chandlerville,
And i)layed snap-out at Winchester."
'Clap In and Clap Out.' Contributed by Maude Minish Sutton, c. 1927.
All the girls g" owt of the room in a group. Each of the
boys selects a giVl and stations himself behind his chair. Each
girl, in ttirn. is called into the room. As she enters, she is
begged by all the boys to sit in their chairs. If she sits in the
wrong one, she is "clapped out" ; i.e., all the boys clap their
hands. If she sits in the right one, she is given another seat
and remains in the room. This is continued until all the players
are paired off.
'Clap-in and Clap-out.' Contributed by Clara Hearne, 1922-23. Re-
ported from Chatham county.
The boys retire to another room while each of the girls
selects a partner. One of the boys is then called back into the
room. He must guess which of the girls has chosen him. He
indicates this by sitting in a chair by her side. If he chooses
the right chair, he remains in the room. If he is wrong in his
guess, he is "clapped-out." This continues until each has a part-
ner. A better plan is to have the girls stand behind the chairs,
since then not so many chairs are needed.
QUAKER COURTSHIP
See. for additional versions, Newell, pp. 94-95; Pound, pp. 223-
224; Linscott, p. 276 ('Tlie Quaker's Wooing'); Belden, p. 265;
Gardner, Ballads and Songs of Southern Michigan, p. 425; Eddy,
Ballads and Songs from Ohio, p. 293; JAFL, xxiv, 341-342; xlix,
247; SFQ, III. 206; Mackenzie, Ballads and Sea Songs from Nova
Scotiu. pp. 380, 408.
A
Contributed by Maude Minish Sutton, c. 1927. Text .secured at Hibriton
Academy in Caldwell county.
]\Iadam, I come here a-courting.
Oh. oh. oh:
I'm in earnest, I'm not s])orting.
(Jh. oh, oh.
You sit there and court the fire ;
Tingaling a tingaling a tingaling a tire ;
124 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
That alone is my desire,
Tingaling a tingaling a tingaling a tire.
Here's a ring worth twenty shilling ;
It's yours if you are willing.
What care I for rings or money?
I want a man to call me honey.^*'
Contributed by Lucille Cheek. Reported from Chatham county about
1924. One stanza.
Madam, I am come a-courting ;
Hum, hum, heigho-hum !
'T is for pleasure, not for sporting;
Hum, hum, heigho-hum !
GREEN LEAVES
See Owens, p. y^; PTFLS, i, 25; xiii, 321 ; Botkin, p. 203; Wol-
ford, pp. 49-50.
Contributed by Jewell Robbins, Pekin. Reported from Montgomery
county in 192 1.
Green leaf, oh, green leaf that grows on a vine ;
Go choose you a partner, the prettiest you can find.
Honey in the gum so sweet, so sweet,
Love is bound to be.
When you get married, jump for joy;
When you get married, jump for joy;
When you get married, jump for joy;
Joy is bound to be.
Players join hands and form a circle. One stands in the
center. When the words "Go choose you a partner" are reached,
the one in the center chooses one of the others. They join hands
and stand still until the others sing. "W^hen you get married,
jump for joy." Then, while the remainder is being sung, those
in the center jump up and down. When the song is finished,
the one who was in the center at first joins those in the circle,
while the player who was chosen remains in the center. Then
a second game begins.
'" Contributor's note : "A middle-aged man told me it was a 'ring
game' when he was a boy. He was very vague as to the method of
playing, but knew it ended with a kiss. He played this rollicking tune
on his violin, and said he would not play the game now because he had
'learnt better.' From this I inferred that the game had been a sort of
dance. "
GAMES AND RHYMES 125
'Honey in the Gum.' Contributed by Jennie Belvin, Durliam, c. 1921.
Durham county.
Green leaves, green leaves grow on the vine;
Go choose you one as I have mine.
Honey in the gum so sweet, so sweet ;
Honey in the gum so sweet, so sweet ;
Honey in the gum so sweet, so sweet,
Joy is bound to be.
If I had a wife I'd jump for joy, &c.
Now I've got a wife, I'll jtimp for joy, &c.
Players form a ring and go round and round, singing. One
player is in the center of the ring. When the singers reach the
verse "If I had a wife." the child in the center chooses someone
in the ring. Then all the players jump up and down, clapping
their hands and singing the last verse.
No title. Contributed by Lida Page. Reported irom Durham county.
No date given.
Green leaves, green leaves grow on the vine ;
Go choose your one as I have mine.
Honey in the gum so sweet, so sweet ;
Honey in the gum so sweet, so sweet ;
Honey in the gum so sweet, so sweet.
For joy there's bound to be.
When you get married, jump for joy, &c.
Now I've got a wife, I'll jump for joy, &c.
D
"Green Leaves.' From an anonymous contributor. Reix)rtcd from Robe-
son county. No date given.
Green leaves, green leaves
That grows on a vine ;
Choose you a partner.
The j)rettiest you can find.
Honey in the gum so sweet, so sweet ;
Honey in the gum so sweet, so sweet ;
Honey in the gum so sweet, so sweet ;
Joy's bound to be.
Green leaves, green leaves, &c.
126 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
When you get a wife, jump for joy;
When you get a wife, jump for joy;
When you get a wife, jump for joy;
Joy's bound to be.
Green leaves, green leaves, &c.
Hug her neat and kiss her sweet ;
Hug her neat and kiss her sweet ;
Hug her neat and kiss her sweet ;
Joy's bound to be.
Green leaves, green leaves, &c.
No title. Contributed by Mamie Mansfield, c. 1928. Collected in Dur-
ham county. First two stanzas of D, with "Go choose you one And I'll
choose mine" as third and fourth lines.
GREEN GROWS THE WILLOW TREE
See Newell, pp. 56, 239; JAFL, xxxii, 491; xxxiii, lOO-mi;
XXXIV, 117; XLIX, 257.
A
No title. Contributed by Kathleen Mack. Reported from Davidson
county. No date given.
Green grows the willow tree ;
Green grows the willow tree ;
Green grows the willow tree ;
Come, my love, and stand by me.
(The one in the center chooses his partner)
On the bank the rushes grow ;
On the bank the rushes grow ;
On the bank the rushes grow ;
Kiss her sweet and let her go.
(Here the chooser kisses the chosen)
Throughout the game, the players go round the circle hand
in hand, singing.
'Green Grows the Willow Tree.' Contributed by Kate S. Russell. From
Person county. No date given.
On the bank the rushes grow ;
On the bank the rushes grow ;
On the bank the rushes grow ;
Kiss her sweet and let her go.
L\
CORN SHUCKING IN THE MOUNTAINS
GAMES AND RHYMES 127
'Green Grows the Willow Tree.' Contributed by Irene Thompson. From
Surry county, ^^lack text, with "give her a kiss" for "kiss her sweet."
IT RAINS AND IT HAILS
See Newell, pp. 84-86; Botkin, pp. 212-213; JAFL, in, 288;
XXVIII, 270; xxxiii, 103-104; XXXIV, 112; XL, 14; Sharp :Karpeles,
II, 380 ('Reap, Boys, Reaj)') ; Stoudt, The Folklore of the Penn-
sylvania Germans, p. 87; Gardner, Folklore from the Schoharie
Hills, p. 234.
'It Mists, It Rains.' Contributed by Maude Minish Sutton, c. 1927.
Reported from Tyrrell county.
It mists, it rains in cold stormy weather ;
Here comes the farmer, he's drunk all tiie cider.
You can be the reaper, I'll be the binder.
Somebody's got my true love, where can I find her ?
This game is played like 'J^Hy Miller.' Couples form in a
ring around one boy and skip around the ring to the first three
lines of the song. On the fourth line, each girl drops her
partner's arm and takes the arm of the boy in front, and the
boy in the center tries to steal a partner.
ALL DOWN TO SLEEP
Botkin, pp. 140-141 ; Gomnie, 11, 204-205; Newell, pp. 224-225;
Scarborough, p. 138; JAFL, xxiv, 117-119; xxvii, 292-293;
XXVIII, 269; XXXIII, 126; XXXIV, II7-II9; XL, 39; XLIX, 255-256;
Gardner, Folklore from the Schoharie Hills, p. 239. Cf. Mcintosh,
Sing and Swing, pp. 50-51.
Xo title. Contributed by Elsie Lambert. No place or date given.
Down sits a fair lady going to sleep, going to sleep;
Down sits a fair lady going to sleep
Among those jolly folks all.
She wants a young gentleman to keep her awake, &c.
Among those jolly folks all.
So write his name or tell it to me, or tell it to me, &c.
Mr. , your name is called.
A girl sits in a chair and sings this song, then walks around
the chair. She chooses the boy she wants, and they walk around
the chair. The girls re])eat this performance until each has a
partner.
1 r.cnVER IN THE GARDEN
Contributed by Maude Minish Sutton, c. 1927. Collected in Big Ivy
(Madison county). Mrs. Sutton writes that she was unable to find it
anywhere else. Cf. Newell, p. 238.
128 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
There's a flower in the garden for you, young man ;
There's a flower in the garden for you.
There's a flower in the garden, pick it if you can;
Be sure not to choose a false-hearted one.
The boy in the center of the circle selects a girl, and those in
the ring sing:
You got her at a bargain, my young man ;
You got her at a bargain, I tell you.
But you promised for to wed her six months ago :
So we hold you to your bargain, you rascal you.
The couple kiss and the girl remains in the center. The second
verse is the same except for a change from man and her to
maid and him.
RIG-A-JIG
See Botkin, pp. 298-299 ; Source Materials for Physical Education
in Florida Elementary Schools, pp. 332-334.
'Rig-a-Jig-Jig.' Contributed by Gertrude Allen Vaught, c. 1928. From
.Mexander county.
As I was walking down the street,
Heighho ! heigho ! heigho !
A pretty girl I chanced to meet.
Heighho ! heigho ! heigho !
Chorus: Rig a jig jig and away we go.
Aw ay we go, away we go ;
Rig a jig and away we go.
Heigho ; heigho ! heigho !
Say, my little miss, won't you marry me?
A soldier's wife then you would be.
Yes, kind sir, I will marry you ;
A soldier's wife then I will be.
There are two lines, one of boys and the other of girls. As
they sing, a boy and a girl join hands ; on the chorus, all dance
around singing. While singing the verses, they walk instead of
dancing.
JOHNNY, JOHNNY, SO THEY SAY
See Gardner's version of this game collected in Michigan (JAFL,
XXXIII, 106-107) ; Gardner, Folklore from the Schoharie Hills, p.
240; Newell, p. 72.
No title. Contributed by Maude Minish Sutton, c. 1927. The contributor
calls it simply "a kissing game."
GAMES AND RHYMES I29
John Smith, so they say,
Cioes a-coui"tin' iii^ht and day,
Sword and pistol hy his side,
Wants Miss — for to he his hride.
Take her by her hly-white hand ;
Lead her 'cross the water.
Here's a kiss and there's a kiss
For Mr. 's daughter.
A ring of children singing this song dance around another
player in the center.
TRAVELING
Contributed by Mabel Balleiitine. Reported from Wake county. No
place or date given.
We two will travel on,
And we two will travel on ;
We two will travel on
Till we two, we must part.
So fare you well ;
So fare you well, my dear.
I never expect to see you again
In five and twenty year.
I'll weep and I'll moan;
And I'll holler and I'll cry,
For my true love is gone away;
I know that I shall die.
Oh, yonder she comes.
And it's "How do you do?
And how have you been
Since I parted from you?"
I'll greet you with a kiss,
And I hope it will agree ;
Away down in North Carolina
And married we will be.''^^
ox Tl
See Botkin. pp. 185-186; Newel
ford, pp. 43-44; JAFL, xiv,
Linscott, p. 46.
Contributed by Maude Minish Sutton, c. 1927. "Collected in the Laurel
Country, where Cecil Sharp found so many British folksongs, dances, and
"A variant of 'Marriage.' See Newell, p. 60; Gardner, Folklore from
the Schoharie Hills, p. 241.
X.C.F., Vol. I, (10)
[R CARPET
veil, pp. 59-62;
Owens, p. 64 : Wol-
^7-298; XXX 11.
495; xi.i.x. 250-251
130 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
games." This text is nearly identical with Newell, pp. 60-61. "This
kissing game is played in rural homes where dancing is forbidden. It is
probably a fragment of an old English May Day dance or ballad."
On this carpet here we stand ;
So take your truelove by her hand.
Oh, find the one that you profess
Is the one you love the best. .
Oh, what a pretty choice you made !
Don't you wish you'd longer stayed?
Kiss her once and send her home ;
Tell her not to further roam.
LITTLE SALLY WATERS
For other versions, see Gomme, Children's Singing Games, li,
20-23; Traditional Games, 11, 149-179, 453-454; Hudson, pp. 290-
291; Newell, p. 70: Wolford, pp. 86-88; JAFL, viii, 254; xxxi,
159-160, 55, 147; XXXIII, 122-123; XL, 12-13; III. 147; L-^. 14'. Halli-
well, Nursery Rhymes, p. 229; Brown and Boyd, p. 42; SFQ, vi,
253-254; Burne, p. 508; FLR, v, 84-89; American Anthropologist,
O.S., I, 248; Beckwith, p. 78; Henderson, p. 26.
'Sally Walker.' Contributed by Maude Minish Sutton, c. 1927. Version
obtained in Burke county.
Little Sally Walker, sitting in a saucer,
Crying and sighing for some young man to come.
Rise, Sally, rise and wipe your weeping eyes ;
Fly to the East and fly to the West,
And kiss the one you love the best.
On the third line, the child in the center rises and chooses
one of the other players, who goes into the center with her.
On the fourth line, the two players in the center kiss. In some
localities the last line is "Choose the one you love best," and
kissing is omitted.
A variant, from Beech Grove school children, is as follows:
Little Sally Water,
Sitting in a saucer,
Rise up, Sally, and tinkle the pan ;
Wish that you may find a man.
Choose to the East, choose to the West;
Choose the one you love the best.
Now you've got him, kiss him sweet.
In another variant, from a group of Negro children in
Rutherfordton county, the girl in the center was blindfolded
and the words were as follows :^-
"* Contributor's note : "This game is very common in the Southern
Appalachians, where it is usually played by small children. Gomme has
GAMES AND R II Y M t: S I3I
Little Sally Flinders,
Sittin*:^ in the cinders,
Crying and sigb.ing for some yonng man to come.
Rise, Sally, rise ;
Wipe yonr weeping eyes.
Fly to'the Ivast. fly to the West;
Choose the one you love the best.
GO ROUND THE MOUNTAIN
See Scarborough, On the Trail of Negro Folk-Songs, pp. 132-133.
Contributed by Jean and Hallie Holeman, Diirbam, c. 1930. Collected in
Durham county.
Go round the mountain, two by two ;
Go round the mountain, two by two ;
Go round the mountain, two by two ;
Rise up, sugar, rise.
Go choose your partner, two by two, &c.
Let me see you make a motion. &c.
That's a mighty poor motion, &:c.
Let me see you make a better motion, &c.
Players form a large ring, with one child kneeling in the cen-
ter. Those in the ring march around singing the first stanza.
When they sing. "Rise up. sugar, rise." the child in the center
stands up. Then the children forming the ring stand still, and
the player in the center chooses his partner as the singing
directs. \i the third stanza, the two in the center make some
motion, any kind they wish. Those in the circle clap their
hands, pat their right feet, and continue singing. At the fourth
stanza, the children forming the ring shake fingers of dis-
approval at the two in the center as they sing "mighty poor
motion." The two in the center then try to make a better
motion, while those forming the circle clap their hands, pat their
right feet, and sing the final stanza.
48 variants, and believes it a corruption of the ancient tribal marriage
ceremony of our ancestors and connected with some form of water wor-
ship. She considers it (5ne of the oldest folk games of tiic race and a
relic of pre-Celtic peoples. .\\\ interesting coincidence connected with
this game is that I was told liy a Waldensian girl from \'aldese, a settle-
ment of Waldensians in Burke county, that Little Sallie Walker was a
counterpart of an old game played in her mother's native country."
[32 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
Contributed by Daisy Jones Couch. Durham. No place or date given.
First stanza only of Holeman text.
LITTLE SISSY
Contributed by Maude Minish Sutton, c. 1927. Collected in Forest City.
Both text and tune obtained.
Oh. bow and bow, and put your arms around me ;
Say little sissy, won't you marry me ?
Oh. bow and bow. and put your arms around me,
All them sassy words you say.
Oh. bow and bow. and put your arms around me ;
Say little sis.sy. won't you marry me?
Cjh. get back girls, don't you come close around me ;
Say little sissy, won't you marry me?
Oh. get back girls, don't you come close around me,
All them sassy words you say.
Oh. get back girls, don't you come close around me ;
Say little sissy, won't you marry me?
"We collected this coquettish game from Negro children.
They played it as a ring game, with a couple in the center
performing the pantomime. These two were natural actors.
The girl rolled her eyes, flounced her short ragged skirts, and
tossed her head, while the boy entreated in pantomime. Their
embraces were fervid and doubtless colored by motion pictures.
If there is a purely Negro game, this is one. The air and
pantomime were typically Negro in their abandon and wildness.
One of the two girls from whom we collected this air had a
wild, plaintive voice. She sang the melodies of all the games
we collected from Negro children, and sang them very well.
She danced extremely well, and in some of her dances there
were many evidences of savage origin."
UNCLE johnny's SICK ABED
See Goninie, 11, 321-322; Newell, p. '/2\ Wolford, p. 97; SFQ,
VI, 212-213; JAFL, XL, 13.
'Uncle Johnny Sick of Bed.' Contributed by Minnie Stamps Gosney.
Raleigh. From Wake county. No date given. Text only.
Uncle Johnny sick f)f bed.
What shall we send him?
Three good wishes,
Three good kisses.
And a slice of gingerbread.
GAMES AND RHYMES 133
What shall we send it in?
On a piece of paper.
Paper is not good enough ;
On a golden saucer.
Who shall we send it by ?
By the Governor's daughter ;
Take her by the lily-white hand
And lead her across the water.
Contributed by Maude Minish Sutton, c. 1927. Version obtained in
Caldwell county.
This kissing game, unenciunbered by rhyme or formula, is
extremely simple. All the players but one are seated. The
latter carries a pillow and walks about the room, finally kneel-
ing on the pillow at the feet of one of the players. The person
thus honored rises, takes the kneeling player's hand, raises him
to his feet, and kisses him. The second player then gives the
first his chair, takes the pillow, and continues the game. Beau-
mont and Fletcher mention a 'Cushion Dance,' from which
this game may be descended.
TEASING GAMES
KNOCK AT THE DOOR AND PICK UP A PIN
Contributed by Maude Minish Sutton, c. 1927. No source indicated for
this particular version. The contributor writes simply that it was found
in North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Mississippi.
Go knock at the door and pick up a pin
To ask if Miss is in.
She's not in, she's not out ;
She's upstairs frisking about.
Down she comes all dressed in silk,
Rose in her hand as white as milk.
On her hand a shiny gold ring.
She's ready to marry any old thing.
This song, as 'Mary's Mad.' is used in groups of girls to tease
someone of their number. One will begin the song and name
the victim in the second line. Immediately the others take it
up and sing it with appropriate pantomime. In some versions,
the first line is "Go knock at the door or jingle the ring," which
points clearly to a ballad origin.
r34 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
DEAR DOCTOR
Contributed by Maude Minish Sutton, c. 1927. Obtained at Fall Creek
School on Beech Mountain, N. C.
Oh, dear doctor, don't you cry ;
You'll find a wifie by and by.
If you find one dressed in green.
Don't take her ; she's not fit to be seen.
If you find one dressed in gray.
Don't take her ; she'll go away.
If you find one dressed in black,
Don't take her ; she'll run right back.
If you find one dressed in brown.
Don't take her ; she'll go to town.
If you find one dressed in red.
Don't take her ; she'll crack your head.
If you find one dressed in blue.
Don't take her; she'll not be true.
If you find one dressed in white,
She will lie in your arms all night.
As each verse is sung, the singers point derisive fingers at those
of their number who wear the color mentioned in that verse.
When the girl is chosen, the rhyme is fitted to her dress. For
instance, if her dress is blue, the last line is changed to "Do
take her ; she will be true."
WILLIAM A TREMBLETOE
See JAFL, liv, 169; vi, 67; xvii, 143; SFQ, in, 181; Beckwith,
p. 13; Bolton, The Counting-Ont Rhymes of Children, p. 117;
PTFLS, VI, 66; Newell, p. 203. See also Counting-Out Rhymes,
pp. 160 ff.
A
'William-a-Tremble-Toe.' Contributed by Amy Henderson, Worry. Col-
lected in Burke county in 191 5.
William-a-Tremble-toe,
He's a good fisherman ;
Catches his hens.
Puts them in pens.
Some lay eggs.
Some lay none.
Wire, brier, limber lock,
Three geese in a flock.
GAMES AND RHYMES I35
Some flew East, some flew West ;
Some flew over the cuckoo's nest.
O-U-T spells out; take your dirty dishrag and clear out.
The one that it comes out on has to go away, and the others
choose what they will be — vehicles, animals, birds, etc. — and
then these questions are asked and answered: "What would
you rather come home on?" (naming what each child has chosen
and something for the one who is away, too). If the one who
is away chooses the thing he is named, he is told to "Hop
home." but if he chooses something that stands for one of the
other children, the latter has to carry him home. When they
come up, the leader asks :
"What you got there?"
"A bag of nits."
"Shake it till it spits."
When this has been done, the leader asks the player who has
been brought home: "Which would you rather lie on. a feather
bed or thorn?" If he chooses a feather bed. he is thrown
down hard ; if he chooses a thorn bed, he is laid down easy.
'William and Tremble Toe.' Contributed by Mamie Mansfield, Durham,
c. 1928. From Durham county.
Players sit in a circle at a table or on the floor ; each places
two fingers before him. The leader counts out with the
following :
William and Tremble Toe ;
He's a good fisherman.
He catches his hens
And puts them in pens.
Some lay eggs,
Some lay none.
Wire, brier, limberlock ;
Sit and sing till twelve o'clock.
The clock fell down,
The mouse ran around ;
O-U-T spells out
To your old smoky home away at last.
Variants: To the little red schoolhouse on the hill
You old dirty dishrag, you.
The one who is "It" leaves the room. The other players
choose names, such as camel, bear, horse, or any other animal
or bird. "It" is also given a name. Then the leader says,
136 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
"Which would you rather come home on, a camel or a bear,
&c." calling over the names, including that which has been given
to "It." If "It" chooses his own name, he must walk home.
When he is brought back by one of the other players, the leader
asks, "What have you got there?" The bearer replies, "A
bag of nits." "Shake him till he spits," says the leader. Then
the game begins again.
c
'William Tremble-Toe.' Contributed by J. C. Knox. Reported from
Brunswick county. No date given.
William, William Tremble-toe,
He's a good fisherman ;
Catches hens.
Puts them in pens.
Some lay eggs, some lay none.
Wire, brier, limberlock.
Three geese in a flock ;
One flew over the goose's nest.
O-U-T spells out and begone.
You old dirty dishrag.
This game is played by placing the fingers, ends together,
in a circle. One of the players says these words, striking a
finger for each word. The unfortunate one withdraws from
hearing distance. The other players each select the name of
some article, bird, or animal, also naming one for "unlucky."
Then the following questions are asked him :
"When are you coming home ?"
"Tomorrow afternoon."
"What are you going to bring?"
"A gold plate, a silver spoon, and a fat raccoon."
"Which would you rather come home on ?"
Then the articles or animals are named, and the player
chooses one. If he selects one representing another player, the
latter must carry him in on his back. If not. he comes "home"
on his tiptoes. If he is carried in, the following dialogue takes
place between the leader and the bearer :
"What have you got there?"
"A bag of nits."
"Shake it till it spits!"
D
'William a Trimble Toe.' Contributed by Maude Minish Sutton, c. 1927.
Players spread their hands out in a row, and some one of
them repeats the rhyme, counting the fingers. At the end of
GAMES AND R H Y M E S 137
the rhyme, the child whose finger the last word comes on goes
away a short distance, while all the rest consult as to names.
Each child is named some animal, a name heing assigned to
the absent player as well. He is then asked "How do you want
to come home — on a horse, mule. &c. ?" If he selects the name
of one of the other players, the child who has that name must
carry him. If he selects his own name, he comes home "on his
tiptoes."
TUG-OF-WAR AND SIMILAR GAMES
LONDON BRIDGE
For Other versions, see Gomme i, 333; 11, 441; Newell, pp. 204,
253; Gardner, Folklore from the Schoharie Hills, p. 233; Flanders
and Brown, p. 45; Balfour and Thomas, pp. 113-114; Northall, p.
36; Collins, p. 24; Gomme, Children's Singing Games, 11, 14; Hofer,
p. 13; PTFLS, I, 20; American Anthropologist, o.s., i, 262; SFQ,
VI, 231; FL, XXXV, 266; JAFL, xxxiv, 38, 111-112; xxvii, 303;
XXVI, 356; XXXI, 146; xxxiii, no; xl, 38; xlvii, 339; lx, 24-25;
Bancroft, pp. 278-280: Brown and Boyd, pp. 12, T,y \ Smith, Games
and Game Leadership, p. 20; Ford, Traditional Music of America,
p. 262; Feilberg. "Bro-Brille-Legen," in Szrnska Landsmal, xii,
No. 4 (1905), 5-98; Linscott, p. 34; Parsons, Folk-Lore frovi the
Cape Verde Islands, p. 202.
A
Contributed by Maude Minish Sutton, c. 1927.
London Bridge is falling down, falling down ;
London Bridge is falling down, my fair lady.
Build it up with silver and gold, &c.
Silver and gold will fade away, &c.
Build it uj) with iron and steel, &c.
Iron and steel will bend and break. &c.
Build it up with sticks and stones, &c.
Sticks and stones will rot away, &c.^'^
" The theory of Gomme and Newell that in this game we have a
survival of the foundation sacrifice seems to be well founded. It will be
noted that great emphasis is placed upon the fact that, even though all
kinds of materials (silver and gold, wood and clay, iron bars, bricks and
mortar, etc.) are used and all kinds of precaution taken, the bridge will
break down again. The watchman set to guard it will fall asleep ; the
dog will find a Ixmc and carry it away; the cock will hv lured away
from his post by a hen and forget to give warning by iiis crow. The
138 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
Two children hold their clasped hands as high over their
heads as they can. The others form a line with their arms
around each other's waists and run under the arch formed by
the clasped hands, singing this song. The last one in the line
is caught in the ring made by the lowered arms and asked to
select one of two previously arranged things. When he chooses,
he is told to get behind one of the leaders whose "name" is
the thing selected. This continues until all the players are be-
hind one or the other of the leaders. A tug-of-war ends the
game.
Contributed by Wilnia Foreman. Reported from Stanly county. No
date given.
London Bridge is broken down, &c.
London Bridge is broken down by fairy ladies [ !]
Build it up with silver and gold, &c.
Silver and gold will be stolen away, &c.
Two girls clasp hands and hold them up, and a line of girls
passes under. The two catch one of them and ask her whether
she would rather be gold or silver. When she chooses, she
gets behind the girl representing her choice. The game ends
with a tug-of-war.
c
Contributed by Edna Whitley. No place or date given.
London Bridge is broken down, &c.
London Bridge is broken down, my fairy lady.
Build it up with silver and gold, &c.
Gold and silver will be stolen away, &c.
spirit of the water is angry at being bridged, and demands sacrifice. It
is significant that the prisoner who is caught so opportunely is haled oflf
to prison ("Off to prison you must go") despite the fact that he has
committed only petty larceny (stolen watch and chain or stolen watch
and lost the key). Significant, too, is the excessive price which he must
pay for his freedom, tliree hundred to "ten hundred" pounds. Nothing
could indicate more clearly that his fate has already been determined
and that it is through his sacrifice that the river spirit is to be appeased.
The classic example of the foundation sacrifice in balladry is the Greek
'The Bridge of Arta' (Rumanian 'Master Manole') ; the same theme
occurs also in a Bulgarian ballad. The following Biblical passage is
also pertinent: "In his days did Hicl the Bethelite build Jericho: he
laid the foundation thereof in Abiram his firstborn, and set up the gates
thereof in his youngest son Segub, according to the word of the Lord,
which he spake by Joshua the son of Nun" (/ Kings, 16: 34).
GAMES AND RHYMES I39
Get a man to watch all night, &c.
Suppose tlie man should fall asleep, &c.
Put a pipe into his mouth, &c.
Suppose the pipe should fall and hreak, &c.
Get a dog to hark all night. &c.
Suppose a dog should meet a bone, &c.
Get a cock to crow all night. &c.
_ Two players hold hands and raise them over their heads and
sing while the rest pass between them under their arms. The
two holding hands name themselves something. As the others
pass along, they catch them and compel them to choose between
the two. The game ends with a tug-of-war between the two
groups.
Contributed by Gertrude Allen Vaught. Taylorsville, c. 1928. Reported
from Alexander county. Stanza i of A, with "broken down" for "fall-
ing down."
Contributed by Minnie Stamps Gosney, Raleigh. Reported from Wake-
county.
London Bridge is burning down, burning down ;
London Bridge is burning down, burning down ;
What shall we do to save it ?
London Bridge is burning down, burning down ;
What shall we do to save it ?
Contributed by Lida Page. No title given. Reported from Durliain
county. First two stanzas of A, with "broken down" for "falling down."
Contributed by Marjorie Rea. No title. Reported from Craven count}.
No date given. First two lines of A.
Contributed by Martha Wall, c. 1940. From Davidson county. A frag-
ment of A.
I
Contributed by Ella Parker, Montgomery county. Vaught te.xt.
140 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
J
Contributed by Dixie Lamm, Wilson county. Vaught text.
SEE THE ROBBERS
Contributed by Maude Minish Sutton, c. 1927. A variant of 'London
Bridge.'
See the robbers coming through,
Coming through, coming through ;
See the robbers coming through,
My fair lady.
Here's a prisoner we have caught.
What'U you take to set her free?
A hundred pounds we cannot give.
Then to prison she must go.
Let her go, we do not care, &c.^'*
This game is played exactly like 'London Bridge' except that
the players do not choose which side they will be on. Two
girls form an arch, with their clasped hands, and the others
march through it, singing the above verses to the same tune as
'London Bridge.' The verses are sung alternately by the girls
who form the arch and those marching. At the end of the first
verse, a player in the line is caught in the encircling arms of
the arch ; and her captors sing the second verse, the marchers
the third, and so on. On the sixth verse, she goes behind one
or the other of the girls who have formed the arch. Wlien all
are lined up, there is a tug-of-war.
OPEN THE GATES
A
'Sun and Moon.' Contributed by Gertrude Allen Vaught, c. 1928. From
Alexander county.
Raise the gates as high as the sky,
And let all the king's horses come marching by.
Two children clasp hands and raise them to form an arch.
The others line up and march under, singing. Each player
caught was allowed to choose either the sun or the moon, which
were the names of the two holding up their arms. Then the
one who had chosen got behind either the sun or the moon.
When all were lined up, a tug-of-war followed.
'* It will be noted that these lines are an important part of the game
which has been lost from the 'London Bridge' texts above.
GAMES AND RHYMES I4I
B
'Raise the Gates.' Contributed by Maude Minish Sutton, c. 1927.
Raise the gates as high as the sky
To let King Geofge's troops pass by.
This is much Hke "London Bridge.' Two children join hands
and lift them as high as they can ; the others pass under the
"gates." The last child in line is caught and asked to choose
wiiich he wants, gold or silver. He chooses, and gets behind
the child whose name he has selected. The game closes with a
tug-of-war.
c
'Silver and Gold.' Contributed by Mrs. Norman Herring, Tomahawk.
No place or date given.
Two leaders face each other, join hands, and hold them high.
The rest march under while the leaders say :
Lift up the gates as high as the sky,
And let King George's army pass by.
Give him a lamp to light him to bed ;
Give him a hatchet to chop ofif his head."^^
They lower their arms at the word "chop," and catch a player.
Then then whisper to him, "Which would you rather be, silver
or gold ?" He makes his choice, and is put behind the leader
of the group of his preference. Then follows a tug-of-war
between the two grotips.
No title given. Contributed by Mary Olivia Pruette. From Mecklen-
burg county.
Raise the gates as high as the sky
And let King George's army go by.
Give him a light to light him to bed ;
Give him a knife to cut off his head.
No title given. Contributed by Lida Page. Nelson. Reported from Dur-
ham county.
Hold the gates as high as the sky
And let King George's army pass by.
Here's the candle to light him to bed ;
Here's the hatchet to cut off his head.
** This second couplet belongs, of course, to 'Oranges and Lemons.'
142 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
F
No title given. Contributed by Nina Mclnnis. No place or date given.
Raise the gates as high as the sky ;
Let King George's army pass by.^®
DRAW A BUCKET OF WATER
See Gomme, i, 100-108; 11, 418; Newell, pp. 90-91; Bancroft, pp.
263-264; JAFL, XL, 15-16.
Contributed by Maude Minish Sutton, c. 1927. Version obtained in Cald-
well county. "I have seen it played also in Avery, Buncombe, Mitchell,
and Rutherford counties."
Draw a bucket of water
For the Lady's daughter ;
One baboon and a silver spoon.
And so Miss creep under.
Variants: A silver ring and a golden pin
A silver spoon and a dish of gold.
Four girls cross hands and pull against each other in time
to the song. On the fourth line, one girl "creeps under" the
clasped hands of the opposite couple. The game continues until
all four are encircled by their opponents' arms. Then there is
an effort to break the clasp, usually ending in a "dogfall."
No title given. Contributed by Mamie Mansfield, Durham, c. 1928. Re-
ported from Durham county.
Draw a bucket of water
For my lady's daughter ;
Jennie come around
"Other texts and fragments were contributed by Martha Wall (Mc-
lnnis text). Alma Irene Stone (Mclnnis text), Esther Royster (Page
text), Flossie Marshbanks (Stone text = Mclnnis text), Marjorie Rea
(Pruette text), E. V. Howell (Mclnnis text, with "h'ist" for "raise").
The Bushmen of Africa have a very similar game. In his "Games,
Plays, and Dances of the khomani Bushmen" (Bantu Studies, x, 463).
Doke writes : "This game, played more particularly by the girls, though
small boys also participate, is almost identical with the European game
of 'Oranges and Lemons.' Two girls face one another and sing as each
strikes the palms of her hands against those of the other. . . . Mean-
while the other girls in a long line holding on to one another dance
round and pass between the two girls and beneath their upraised hands.
The last on the line is usually caught by the two. who question her. She
replies either 'I come behind the sun' or 'I come behind the moon,' and
on her choice she takes her stand behind one or other of the two. This
goes on until all the players are accounted for, when the usual tug-of-war
ends the game."
GAMES AND RHYMES 143
With a silver spoon
And draw Miss under,
c
'Draw a Bucket of Water.' Coutribiitecl l)y Doris Overton. Reported
from Durham county in 1920.
Draw a bucket of water
For my darling daughter.
One in the bush,
Two in the bush ;
Please let conic under.
HERE I BREW AND HERE I BAKE
See Newell, p. 90. This is another form of 'Bull in the Ring-,'
which has no rhyme. The latter is not represented in the present
collection, though Airs. Sutton mentions it as a very rough game
played by boys and writes of having collected it in Tyrrell county.
Contributed by Maude Minish Sutton, c. 1927.
A group of children form a ring by clenching their fingers
together. One child in the center throws himself against the
ring, saying:
Here I brew and here I bake ;
Here I make my wedding cake :
Here I break through.
If the first attempt is unsuccessful, he tries to break out at
another point. When he is successful, the player whose hold
he broke takes his place in the center.
IT SNOWS, IT BLOWS
Contributed by Maude Minish Sutton, c. 1927.
In this version of 'Here I Bake,' the child in the center
approaches the ring and says :
It snows, it blows, it freezes my nose ;
So please, little girl, let me come in.
I'll light my pipe and warm my toes.
And then I'll go home again.
Then when he has "lighted his pi])e and warmed his toes," he
tries to get out by throwing himself against the ring.
PULLING SWAG
For Other versions of this game, see Gomme, 11, 222 ('Sweer
Tree'); FL, xvii, 218; Maclagan, p. 234 ('Ceapan Togail') ; Kris-
tensen, No. 3600; Stoylen, No. 133.
144 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
'Pulling Swag.' Contributed by Thomas Smith, Zionville. Reported
from Watauga county about 191 4.
Two players sit on the ground, the bottoms of one's feet
against those of the other. With both hands, they hold to stick
crosswise between them. Each player tries to pull the other up
from his seat.
'Pulling Stick.' Contributed in 1945 by Paul and Elizabeth Green, as
collected in central and eastern N. C., 1926-28.
Two boys are seated on the ground, with a stick crosswise
between them. Each takes hold of the stick with both hands
and tries to draw the other up.
GAMES OF SMALLER CHILDREN
FROG IN THE MIDDLE
For Other versions, see Gomme, i, 145 ; Shearin and Combs, p.
38; Scarborough, On the Trail of Negro Folk-Songs, p. 130; Bot-
kin, p. 28; JAFL, LX, Z2.
A
'Frog in the Meadow.' Contributed by Gertrude Allen Vaught, c. 1928.
Alexander county.
Players form a ring, with one child in the middle. The rest
march around with their eyes closed, singing:
Frog in the meadow,
Can't get out ;
Take a little stick
And stir him all about.
This is sung twice, and during this time the frog hides. When
the second verse is finished, the players open their eyes and
exclaim : "Froggie's gone ! Let's go find him." Then they
hunt for the frog, who tries to catch them. The first one caught
becomes the frog for the next game.
'Frog in the Meadow.' Contributed by Cozette Coble. Reported from
Stanly county. No date given.
Frog in the meadow can't get out ;
Take a little stick and stir him all about.
Hide, froggy, hide; hide, froggy, hide;
Froggy 's gone !
GAMES AND RHYMES 145
Players form a ring and put one child in the center. All shut
their eyes and sing while marching slowly around him. The
frog hides during the singing. When the players reach
"Froggy 's gone!" they start in search of him.
c
'Frog in the Meadow.' Contril)uted by Maude Miiiisli Sutton, c. 1927.
l*"rog in the meader,
Can't get out ;
Take a little stick
And stir him all aljout.
The children form in a ring and go around one of their num-
ber who is squatted in the center. They rej^eat the rhyme
several times, then suddenly break the ring and run around,
.saying "Froggie ! Froggie !" The frog tries to catch them, but
if they squat and begin hopping, he must leave them alone.
The game continues until all are caught ; the first child caught
becomes froggie for the fcjllowing game.
'Frog in the Meadow.' Contributed by Pearl Webb. Pineola. Collected
in Pineola about 1921. With music.
Players form a ring, with one member in the center for the
frog. Those in the ring go around with their eyes closed,
singing :
Frog in the meadow,
Can't get him out ;
Take a little stick
And stir him about.
During the singing, the frog hides. The others then proceed
to hunt him. When they locate him, he tries to catch them.
He cannot catch them unless they are standing.
'Frog in the Meadow.' Contributed by Merle Smith. Reported from
Stanly county. No date given.
Frog in the meadow can't get out ;
Take a little stick and stir him all about.
Hide, froggie. hide ; hide, froggie. hide.
The children form a ring around some member of the group.
All close their eyes, skip around her, and sing. Then they open
their eyes and say, "Froggie is gone." Then they hunt until
they find him. When he is discovered, he chases them but
N.C.F., Vol. T. (11)
146 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
cannot catch them when they stoop. They are permitted to
stoop three times in a game.^^
'Frog in the Middle.' Contributed by Mamie Cheek, Durham. From
Durham county.
Frog in the middle,
And he can't get out ;
Take a httle stick
And punch him out.
The group forms a circle. One in the center is the frog.
While the ring marches around him singing, the frog runs out
and hides.
G
No title. Contributed by Allie Ann Pearce, Colerain. Reported from
Bertie county.
Frog in the middle can't get out ;
Frog in the middle can't get out ;
Send for the doctor to punch him out.
One, two, three, four, he's gone.
H
'Frog in the Meadow.' Contributed by Eva Furr. Reported from Stanly
county.
Frog in the meadow and to get him out,
Take a little stick and stir all about.
'Frog in the Meadow.' Contributed by Katherine Bernard Jones, Raleigh.
Vaught text.
'Frog in the Meadow.' Contributed by Flossie Marshbanks, Mars Hill.
Vaught text.
FARMER IN THE DELL
See, for other texts and descriptions, Gomme, 11, 420 ('Farmer's
Den'); Chase, p. 35; Newell, p. 129; PTFLS, i, 26; Ford, Tradi-
tional Music of America, p. 264; Hofer, p. 20; Tennessee Folklore
Society Bulletin, vi, 3; Bohme, p. 673; American Anthropologist,
O.S., I, 254 (The Man in the Cell'); SFQ, vi, 186; FL, xvi, 96
('Farmer's Den') ; Douglas, p. 37 (as a rope-skipping game) ; Ban-
croft, p. 265; Wolford, pp. 42-43; Botkin, pp. 29, 97, 100; Brown
and Boyd, p. 16; Gomme, Children's Singing Games, p. 14; JAFL,
^' Cf. 'Squat Tag,' p. 74.
GAMES AND RHYMES 147
II, 310; LX, 23; Fauset, Folk-Lorc from Nova Scotia (MAFLS,
xxiv), p. 128; Linscott, p. 7. Haddon (Tlic Study of Man, p. 267)
gives a Swiss version with the "Hurrah Viktoria" refrain.
'Farmer in the Dell.' Contributed by Maude Minish Sutton, c. 1927.
The farmer in the dell ;
The farmer in the dell ;
Hi oh the dairy oh,
The farmer in the dell.
Series: wife, child nurser [sic], dog, cat, rat, hone.
This is a ring game in which one child is chosen to be the
farmer. The others march around him singing. As each verse
is sung, one child is chosen. The "bone" becomes the farmer
for the next game. This game is widespread. We did not
talk to any child, white or black, who was not familiar with it.
'Farmer in the Dell.' Contributed by J. T. C. Wright, Appalachian
Training School, Boone, c. 1922.
A ring is formed, with one player in the center. Those in
the ring dance around and sing. As each stanza is sung, the
one in the center calls in someone from the ring. The one
last selected becomes the next "farmer."
The farmer's in the dell,
The farmer's in the dell;
Highho ! Victoria !
The farmer's in the dell.
Series : wife, child, nurse, dog, bone.
c
'Farmer in the Dell.' Contributed by Cornelia Evermond Covington.
Florence county.
Farmer in the dell.
Farmer in the dell ;
Heigh-ho Valeria
The Farmer in the dell.
Series: w-ife, child, nurse, dog, cat, rat (stands alone).
D
'The Farmer in the Dell.' Contributed by Edna Whitley. No place or
date given. Seven stanzas; 1-5 as in Covington text, with refrain
"Heigho the dairy-o."
6. The dog takes the bone, &c.
7. The bone stands alone, &c.
148 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
The children form a circle, hands joined. The "farmer" is
in the center. The circle moves around him, and he makes his
choices as the verses direct. Each child chosen enters the cen-
ter of the ring. As they sing the last verse, all clap their hands
and all but the "bone" return to the ring. He is the "farmer"
for the next game.
E
'The Farmer in the Dell.' Contributed by Gertrude Allen Vaught, c.
1928. Alexander county.
Children form a ring, with one in the center to be the
farmer. As they sing the stanzas, different children are
chosen by the ones inside the ring. When the last stanza is
reached, all stop marching around and clap their hands at the
"bone." Then the "bone" becomes the farmer, and the game
continues.
The farmer in his dell,
The farmer in his dell ;
Heigho the dairy
And the farmer in his dell.
Series: wife, child, dog, bone (alone).
'Farmer in the Dell.' Contributed by Lucille Bullard. Reported from
Robeson county in 1916. Covington 1-5 and Whitley 6, with "choose"
for "takes" and "Heigho, fairy Oh!" for refrain.
This game is played by the little children's joining hands and
marching around in a circle as they sing this song. Someone in
the middle who has been chosen farmer by a counting-out
rhyme chooses the wife by pointing to her. The choosing con-
tinues until all persons the game calls for are inside the ring.
'The
Farmer
G
in the Dell.' Contributed by
Lucille
Cheek,
from
Chatham
county.
The farmer in
The farmer in
I have a story
The farmer in
the dell,
the dell ;
for
the dell.
1923. Text
Series : wife, child, nurse, dog, cat, rat, cheese.
H
'The Farmer in the Dell.' Contributed by T. R. Waggoner, Atlanta, Ga.
Text contributed in 1922; no source given. Five stanzas; 1-5 of Cov-
ington text, with "Heigho Victoria."
GAMES AND RHYMES I49
Couples take hands, form a circle, and march around the
"farmer" in the center. They skip around, singing the song.
The farmer chooses the wife; the wife chooses the child. &c.
When the "dog" is chosen, they all clap their hands in his
face.
I
'The Farmer's in His Den.' Contril)iited by Etiiel Hicks Buffaloe. Texi
from Granville county.
The farmer's in his den ; the farmer's in his den ;
O, hail victory ! for the farmer's in his den.
Series: wife, child, servant, dog, hone (stands alone).
J
'The Farmer's in the Dell.' Gmtributed by Mrs. Norman Herring,
Tomahawk. No date given.
The children form a ring, with one in the center for farmer.
Then they join hands and march around him, singing :
The farmer's in the dell ; the farmer's in the dell ;
Hooray, Victorious, the farmer's in the dell.
Series: wife, child, nurse, dog, cat, rat, cheese (alone).
When all have been drawn into the center of the ring, they
clap hands and disband.
K
No title. Contributed by Marjorie Rea. Reported from Craven county
The farmer in the dell,
The farmer in the dell ;
Heigh ho the dairy O
The farmer in the dell.
Series: wife, child, nurse, dog, bone.
No title. Contributed by Mamie Mansfield, Durham, c. 1928. Reported
from Durham county.
The farmer's in the dell.
The farmer's in the dell ;
Loamiteria
The farmer's in the dell.
Series: wife, child, nurse, dog, bone.
ISO NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
'Farmer's in the Dell.' Contributed by Martha Wall, c. 1941. Reported
from Davidson county.
Farmer's in the dell,
Farmer's in the dell ;
Hi — o — Victoria
The farmer's in the dell.
Series : wife, child, nurse, dog.
RING AROUND THE ROSY
See Gomiiie, 11, 108 ff. ('Ring a Ring o' Roses') ; Newell, p. 127;
Whitney and Bullock, p. 144; Gardner, Folklore from the Schoharie
Hills, p. 222; SFQ, VI, 205; American Anthropologist, o.s., i, 253;
JAFL, XXVI, 139; XXXI, 57; xxxiii, 1 19-120; xl, 25; Botkin, p.
28; Northall, p. 360; JAFL, xxxiv, 38; lx, ^2; Linscott, p. 49.
A
'Ring Around a Rosy.' Contributed by Clara Hearne, 1922-23. Reported
from Chatham county.
Players form a circle, holding each other's hands, and march
around a child in the center, singing:
Ring around a Rosy,
A pocket full of posy ;
East, West — stoop !
The last one to stoop takes the place of "Rosy," who is in the
center of the circle.
'Ring Around the Rosy.' Contributed by Airs. Norman Herring, Toma-
hawk. No date given.
All join hands and march around, singing :
Ring around the rosy.
Pocket full of posy ;
^* Other texts and fragments contributed by Louise Bennett (Coving-
ton text, except "Victorio'' for "victoria," "chooses" for "takes," and
"the dog stands alone") ; Lois Johnson (Covington text 1-6; Whitley 7;
"Hi o victoria" refrain); Marguerite Higgs (seven stanzas; "his dale"
for "the dell" and "Heigh-ho Valeria") ; Louise Watkins (seven stanzas;
Peterson text, with "Heigh ho Valeria" for "Loamiteria") ; Irene Thomp-
son (Covington 1-7, with refrain "Hi Oh, Victorio") ; AUie Ann Pearce
(Covington text, with "The farmer O the fairy O" for "Heigh-ho Vale-
ria") ; Minnie Stamps Gosney (Wall text, witli "victory" for "victoria"
and "dog chooses a bone") ; Caroline Biggers (Covington text, with
"chooses" for "takes" and "the farmer O the fairy O" for "Heigh-ho
Valeria") ; Mary Olivia Pruette (Covington text, with "High o'er Vic-
toria" for "Heigh-ho Valeria"); Florence Holton (four stanzas; "High
O Victoria" refrain); Dorothy McDowell Vann; Antoinette Beasley.
G A M E S A N D R H Y M E S I5I
Dewberry, Blackberry,
Squat !
Then all sit clown, and the leader asks each child, "Who do
you love?" They are not allowed to rise until they answer.
One little boy's answer was "God."
No title. Contributed by Ada Briggs. Reported from Nansemond county.
No date given.
Ring around the rosies,
Pocket full of posies ;
Yeast bread, rise, bread ;
Squat !
D
No title. Contributed by Marjorie Rea. Reported from Craven county.
Ring around a Rosy,
Pockets full of posies ;
Down goes little Rosy.
'Ring Around a Rosy.' Contributed by Lois Johnson. Reported from
Davidson county.
Ring around the roses,
Pocket full of posies;
Hush, hush, hush.
And we'll all tumble down.
■Ring Around the Roses.' Contributed by Maude Minish Sutton, c. 1927-
Identical with Johnson text.
PUSSY WANTS A CORNER
See Gotnme, ii, 88; Newell, p. 256; Strutt, p. 302; American
Anthropologist, o.s., i, 277 ; iv, 342 (Teton Dakota); Maclagan,
p. 211 : Gardner, Folklore from the Schoharie Hills, p. 248.
'Pussy Wants a Corner.' Contributed by Maude Minish Sutton, c. 1927.
Each child except one gets a corner. This one wanders from
one to another, saying, "Pussy wants a corner." The answer
is always "Go to iny next neighbor." As she goes on to the
next, the last two players change corners, and "Pussy" tries
to slii) into one of them before the owner returns. If she is
successful, the child left out becomes "Pussy" for the next
game.
1 52 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
MAKING CHEESES
For additional versions, see Gomme, ii, 311 ('Turn, Cheeses,
Turn'); Maclagan, p. 78 ('Cheeses').
'Making Cheese.' Contributed by Maude Minish Sutton, c. 1927. Obtained
from pupils at Horse Creek School.
This is a quaint game of little girls. They all sing the rhyme
in a sort of chant, turning around as fast as they can. At the
end of the rhyme they stoop quickly, trying to make their
dresses puff out with the air :
Cheese, cheese, piece of lace ;
Big round cheeses in the market place ;
Costs a penny and a groat ;
Put a big cheese under your coat.
PEASE PORRIDGE HOT
See Newell, p. 132. This is a simple form of 'Chop the Poplar,'
a hand-clapping game played by older children. Hawaiian children
play a similar game, in which the hand-clapping is accompanied by
singing (American Anthropologist, n.s., i, 216).
'Peas Put In Hot.' Contributed by Maude Minish Sutton, c. 1927. From
pupils of Horse Creek School.
Peas put in hot.
Peas put in cold.
Peas put in the pot,
Nine days old.
Two children play this little game by alternately striking their
knees with their hands and clapping their hands together.
WRING THE DISHRAG
Contributed by Maude Minish Sutton, c. 1927, who gives no source for
it. This is not a game for the very smallest.
Two girls take each other's hands, and with arms raised above
their heads, go under their arms as rapidly as they can, con-
tinuing until they drop exhausted.
VIOLET BATTLES^^
Contributed in 1945 by Paul and Elizabeth Greene as collected in central
and eastern N. C, 1926-28. For a more complete description of this game,
see Newell, pp. 251-252 ('Violet Fights').
Children lock the heads of violets and then pull to see which
of the heads comes off first.
** When I was a child in southern Indiana, we called this game
'Rooster-fighting.'
GAMES AND RHYMES 153
POPPY-SHOWS
See Newell, pp. 251-252. The name seems to be derived from
'Poppet-show.'
'Pin Shows.' Contributed by Lucille Check. Reported from Chatham
county. No date given.
As a child. I delighted in niakino^ what we called pin shows.
A small hole was dug in the ground, usually in the shade of a
tree. This was lined with moss and filled with blossoms of
various kinds. A glass was carefully fitted over the top, and
then a paper. One paid a pin to see the show, and then the
paper was lifted.
ROTTEN EGGS
Contributed by Gertrude Allen Vaught, Taylorsville, c. 1928. From
Alexander county.
A child squats on the ground, hands clasped under the knees.
Two others take hold of her arms and shake her up and down.
If she lets loose, she is "a rotten egg."
SAIL THE SHIP
See Newell, p. 170. Hunt and Cain (Games the World Around,
p. 138) give a version from India.
Contributed by Mrs. John Carr, Durham. Reported from Durham county.
No date given.
Two girls clench each others fingers, brace their feet against
each other, and whirl rapidly around, moving their feet as little
as possible from the original position.
ELIMINATION GAMES
MARCHING TO JERUSALEM
This game belongs to the same general type as 'Fruit Basket
Upset' and 'Musical Chairs.' For a version of the latter, see
Gomme. 11, 408.
Contributed by Maude Minish Sutton, c. 1927.
A line of chairs is placed in the middle of the room, half of
them facing one way and the rest facing another. A line of
children marches around them to a tune played on some instru-
ment, patted, or sung. Suddenly the nuisic stops. As it stops,
each child tries to sit in a chair. There is always one player left
out. and he has to leave the game. One chair is then removed
from the line, and the game continues in this way until there
is only one child left. He is the winner.
154 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
See Acker, p. 142; Boyd, p. 116; Hedges, p. 27.
Contributed by Grace Barbae. Description of the game obtained in
Stanly county.
A dozen or more may play this game. Get half as many
chairs as there are players, have someone sitting in all the
chairs except one, and let the others stand behind the chairs.
The player standing behind the empty chair winks at one of
the seated players, who then makes a dash for the empty chair.
The player standing behind the chair in which he is sitting tries
to prevent his leaving.
DANCING GAMES
For other versions, see Gomme, i, 29 ff. ; FLJ, v, 58 ; FL, xxxv,
263; Journal of the Folksong Society, v, 219; JAFL, xxxiii, 93-
94; XL, 37.
Contributed by Maude Minish Sutton, c. 1927. Obtained in Stokes county,
where "it is a sort of dance, not unlike the Virginia Reel."
There was a farmer had a dog ;
Bingo was his name, sir.
B-i-n-g-o go ;
B-i-n-g-o go ;
Bingo was his name, sir.
One child is the farmer. The rest dance around him, sing-
ing the above verse. As the spelling begins, the farmer points
his finger at different children, who are expected to call the
right letter. If one fails, he becomes farmer.
B
Contributed by Katherine Mack. Reported from Davidson county. No
date given.
Each boy chooses a girl to be his partner. The game begins
with the couples marching around in a circle and singing :
Once a farmer had a dog ;
Bingo was his name, sir ;
B-i-n, g-o, go ;
B-i-n, g-o, go ;
Bingo was his name, sir.
GAME S A N I) R II Y M E S I55
The first time this is suiifi^, the couples march. At the end of
the first singing, they all join hands and dance around the
circle, singing the words again. The third time the song be-
gins, the lx)ys turn, give the girls on their left their right hands.
Weaving in and out with a swing, they sing the verse through,
and the game starts again.
c
Contributed by Jessie Hauser. This version ol)taine(l liy her in Forsyth
county in 1923.
All the players join hands and march arcjund in a ring,
singing:
Once a farmer had a dog;
Bingo was his name, sir.
B-i-n-g-o, go, B-i-n-g-o, go ;
B-i-n-g-o, go, Bingo was his name, sir.
They then weave in and out, half going one way and half the
other, still singing. Then they march around by twos, and
finally clasp hands and start at the first again.
GOING DOWN THE RAILROAD
Contributed by Maude Minish Sutton, c. 1927. Obtained from the play-
ing of Negro children in Forest City.
Goin' down de railroad
Do — do — do
Sally won't you marry ?
Do — do — do
Ole Miss Kujer goin' to twine all around ;
Ole Miss Kujer goin' to twine all around ;
Ole Miss Kujer goin' to twine all around ;
Do — do — do
Goin' down de railroad
Do — do — do
Lady ain't you sorry ?
Do — do — do
Ole Miss, &c.
This purely Negro game is played by couples ijromenading
on the first two lines, stopping and facing each other on the
third and fourth lines, then doing an intricate little dance step
on the chorus as they turn each other "wid de grapevine swing."
The children from whom we collected this were hardly more
than pickaninnies ; one little couple was entering into the game
with great spirit and the pantomime was delightful. The dozens
156 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
of pigtails with white string on the girl's head fairly snapped
as she shook her head in reply to the "Sally won't you marry?"
LOOBY LOO
See Gomnie, i, 352 ff. ('Lubin') ; Newell, p. 131 ; Billson, p. 64;
Chambers, p. 137; FLJ, v, 326; FL, xvi, 459; Collins, p. 12;
Tennessee Folklore Society Bulletin, vi, 6; Douglas, p. 41; Pound,
pp. 225-226: JAFL, XXVIII, 273-274; XL, 18-19; XLix, 254-255;
LX, 43; Graves, The Less Familiar Nursery Rhymes, p. 26; North-
all, p. 361.
'Looby Lou.' Contributed by Maude Minish Sutton, c. 1927. This ver-
sion from Negro children.
I put my right foot in ;
I put my right foot in ;
I give my right foot a shake, shake, shake,
And turn my body about.
Here we dance Looby Lou ;
Here we dance Looby Light;
Here we dance Looby Lou
Every Saturday night.
I put my left foot in, &c.
This game, which may be of recent origin, is very popular.
Children play it in the schoolyards, but they also play it in their
own yards, on sidewalks, and on vacant lots. It is much more
popular with girls than with boys, and is particularly popular
with Negro children. In the late afternoons and early evenings
after a long day of picking or chopping cotton, they play it,
giving to its air the minor cadences and peculiar lilt of Negro
folk music.
'Looby Lou.' Contributed by Gertrude Allen Vaught, Taylorsville, c.
1928. Alexander county.
Here we go. Looby Lou ;
Here we go, Looby Lou ;
Here we go, Looby Lou ;
All on a Saturday night.
Players march around very fast as they sing the stanza above.
When it is finished, they stand still and sing the following
stanzas, suiting their actions to the words :
I put my right foot in ;
I put my right foot in ;
GAMES AND R H Y M E S I57
I give my right foot a shake, shake, shake,
And turn myself about.
Sequence ; left foot, right hand, left hand, whole self.
At tlic close, the first stanza is repeated while the players skip
around in a circle.
'I Put My Right Foot In.' Contributed by Zilpali Frisbie, 1922-23. From
McDowell county.
The players form a circle, and one sings while the rest stand
still. She performs each action as she sings.
1 put my right foot in ;
I put my right foot out ;
I give my right foot a shake, shake, shake.
And turn myself about.
Then she joins hands with the others, and they dance around,
singing :
Right feet in, right feet in ;
Give our right feet a shake, shake, shake.
And turn ourselves about.
Sequence: left foot, right hand, left hand, cocoanut
[head?], whole self.
Chorus: Roven. Roven. Roven ;
Roven. Roven. Roven ;
Roven, Roven. Roven,
Sweet Saturday night.
No title. Contributed by Mary Olivia Pruette. Charlotte. Three stanzas
(right foot, left foot, left hand). Reported from Mecklenburg county.
'I Put My Right Foot In.' Contributed by Mildred Peterson, c. 1923.
From Bladen county. Pruette text without refrain and with "big head"
for "cocoanut."
MISCELLANEOUS GAMES
WRAP JACKET
The only reference I have been able to find to this game is Folk-
Lore, XII, 141, in which is given an Arawak version of the game
from Guiana.
158 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
A
Contributed by Maude Minish Sutton, c. 1927.
Two boys are matched for this game. They cut long limber
switches, clasp left hands, get into a ring together, and switch
each other until one is ready to give up. They often inflict bad
punishment upon each other.
Contributed in 1945 by Paul and Elizabeth Green, as collected in central
and eastern X. C, 1926-28.
Two boys cut switches, clasp left hands, and switch each
other until one "calls for the calf rope."
ELEVEN UP
See Gomme, i, 97; de Cock and Teirlinck, in, 215.
Contributed by Jean and Hallie Holeman, Durham, c. 1930. Reported
from Durham county.
This game can be played by any number of players. They
stack hands, one on top of another with palms down. The one
on the bottom each time is pulled out and put on top until
number eleven is reached. Number eleven is taken off. When
all the hands except one have been taken off, the person whose
hand is left is asked, "Which will you have — Yes or No?"
He makes his selection. Then he is asked three questions,
to which he must answer "Yes" if he chose "Yes," and "No"
if he chose "No."
Contributed by William B. Covington, Norfolk, Va. Version collected
in 1913. No source given.
Players place their hands one on top of the other, drawing
out the bottom hand and placing it on top, and counting until
eleven have been drawn out.
I GOT A PRETTY BIRD
(title supplied)
Contributed by Maude Minish Sutton, c. 1927. Obtained from pupils at
Roaring Creek School in Avery county.
Three little girls sat in a row. A fourth with an acorn cup
full of water held it over the head of each and repeated, "I
got a pretty bird; what color's yourn?" The first one said
blue, the next pink, and the third green. She then repeated
the question to each. The first said gray, the next black, and
G A M E S A N D R n Y M K S 1 59
she poured the water on the latter's head. The Httle girl on
wliose head she poured the water rose, filled the acorn cup
with water, and the procedure was repeated. This time the
(juestion was repeated eight times, and pink was the right color.
WHERE YOU ARE, WHO YOU're WITH, WHAT YOU'rE DOING
Contributed by Paul and Elizabeth Green, as collected in eastern and
central N. C, 1926-28. -
One person goes around and tells eacli player where he is;
another tells him with xvhoui he is ; and a third tells him ivhat
he is doing. This is all kept secret until each player stands and
tells all that he has heen told.
horse shoes
Contributed by Maude Minish Sutton, c. 1927. "There is no village or
small town in the South where pitching horseshoes is not a favorite
diversion of the men and boys."
A peg is driven into the ground, and the players stand a cer-
tain distance away and pitch the horseshoe at the peg. The
object is to "ring" the horseshoe around the peg. Each local-
ity seems to have its own method of scoring. Credit is given
for "leaners" as well as for "ringers."
HAPPY LAND
Contributed by Alaude Minish Sutton, c. 1927. Version obtained from
Negro children.
I want some peas and I want some rice,
Oh Happy Land
I want some pretty girl to be my wife,
Oh Happy Land.
We want a little girl and we want a little boy.
Oh Happy Land
We want a little girl and we want a little boy,
Oh Happy Land.
One boy in the ring selects a little girl. She in turn selects a
girl and a boy. This boy is in the ring for the next time. The
object seems to be to select the players in the ring rapidly, for
the game does not stop one moment. The ring goes around
one way just as fast as the children can walk. We collected
this from a group of Negro children playing in a cabin yard
after sundown one summer evening. They played for two hours
and played nineteen singing games, all but five of which we had
learned from white children.
l60 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
COUNTING-OUT RHYMES
For counting-out rhymes in general, see JAFL, i, 31 ff. (Turkish,
Armenian, Bulgarian, Basque, Swedish, French, German, &c.) ; 11,
52 (Mexican), 235 (Swedish); iii, 71; v, 120 (North Carolina),
148 (Kansas) ; vi, 206; viii, 252, 255 (Canadian) ; ix, 297 (Hun-
garian) ; X, 313 ff. (Bohemian, Bulgarian, &c.) ; xi, 208 (Korean) ;
XII, 102 (Armenian); xvi, 193 (South Russian Jews); xix ; 113
(Pennsylvania German), 1196; xxvi, 140; xxxi, 41 ff. (Canadian),
150, 157, 521 (Michigan) ; xxxiii, 378; FL, xvi, 207-208, 449-450;
XXV, 359; XL, 379; FLJ, I, 384; V, 48; VII, 258; FLR, iv, 175;
American Anthropologist, o.s., i, 267; n.s., i, 232; n.s., vi, 46-50;
Pommersche Volkskundc, iii, 28, 73, 137; iv, 27, 108, 154, 172;
V, 47, 63; VI, 108; vii, 39; X, 11; Zeitschrift des Vereins fiir
Volkskunde, v, 67, 282; vi, loi, 196; vii, 299; viii, 69, 402, 413;
XI, 461; Notes & Queries, ist ser., x, 124, 210, 369; Fauset, p.
127; Maclagan, pp. 227 ff . ; Northall, p. 341; Culin, pp. 53-54;
Nicholson, p. 306; Newell, p. 197; Billson, p. 68; Loorits, p. 49;
Gregor, pp. 169-175; Lewalter and Schlager, p. 57; Bohme, p. 389;
Ziiricher, Kinderlieder der dcutschen Schwei::, pp. 202-234; de Cock
and Teirlinck, iii, 221; Rolland, pp. 231-253; Addy. pp. 147-
148; Stoudt, pp. 45-53; Johnson, Folk Culture on St. Helena Island,
South Carolina, p. 165. The standard work on the subject is, of
course, Bolton's The Counting-Out Rhymes of Children.
WILLIAM A TREMBLETOE
See JAFL, xxvi, 141; xxxi, 41, 150, 526 (Michigan) : liv, 169;
SFQ, I, 43-44 (Nebraska) ; PTFLS, vi, 67; Bolton, pp. 3, 102-103.
117-118; Newell, p. 203; Johnson, Folk Culture, p. 165.
For 'William a Trembletoe' as a game see pp. 134-137 above.
A
'William Trembletoe.' Contributed by J. C. Knox. Reported from
Brunswick county. No date given.
William, W illiam Trembletoe
He's a good fisherman ;
Catches hens, puts them in pens;
Some lay eggs, some lay none.
Wire, briar, limber lock,
Three geese in a flock ;
One flew east, one flew west,
One flew over the goose's nest.
O-U-T spells out and begone.
You old dirty dish rag.
GAMES AND RHYMES l6l
No title. Contributed by W. B. Covington in 1913. "Reminiscences of
my early youth spent on tlie border of the sand hills of Scotland county."
William Tremble Toe
He's a good fisherman ;
Catches his fish,
Puts them in a dish ;
Catches his hens,
Puts them in pens.
Some lay eggs, some lay none.
Wire, briar, limberlock ;
The clock fell down,
The mouse ran around.
O-U-T spells out.
c
'William Trimbletoe.' Contributed by J. T. Poole, Morganton. Re-
ported from Burke county in 1914.
William Trimbletoe
He's a good fowler ;
Catches his hens.
Puts them in pens.
Some lay eggs, some none ;
Underfoot, Specklefool, trij) out and be gone.
Wire, briar, limber lock.
Three geese in a flock ;
One flew east, one flew west,
One flew over the cuckoo's nest.
W^hite, black, O-U-T spells out.
No title. Contributed by Alma Irene Stone. No place or date given.
William Trembletoe
He's a good fisherman ;
Catches hens, puts them in pens.
Some lay eggs, some lay none.
Wire, briar, limberlock,
Sit and sing till ten o'clock.
Clock fell down, the mouse ran around;
O-U-T spells out and gone.
You old dirty dishrag.-
^ A list of other contributors who furnished versions and fragments
of this and following rhymes will be found at the beginning of this
volume.
- This closing line shows great variation : "Begone to the old black
stump," "Begone to your old black home," "Begone to the old black
dog's house," "O-U-T spells out, you dirty dish of kraut," "To the
little red house on the hill." "To your old smoky home at last," &c.
N.C.F.. Vol. I, (12)
l62 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
EENY, MEENY, MINEY, MO
'See JAFL, i, 33; xxxi, 42, 150, 526 (Michigan); SFQ, iii,
179; FL, XVI, 450 (Scotland); O'Suilleabhain, p. 681; Bolton, pp.
46, 104-106.
A
Contributed by Maude Alinish Sutton, c. 1927.
Eeiiy Meeny Miny Mo
Catch a nigger by his toe ;
If he hollers, let him go.
Eeny IMeeny Miny Mo.
Contributed by Gertrude Allen Vaught, Taylorsville, c. 1928. Reported
from Alexander county.
Eeny, meeny, miney, mo,
Catch a nigger by the toe ;
If he hollers, let him go.
Eeny, meeny, miney, mo.
O-U-T spells out,
So out you go.
Contributed by Nilla Lancaster, Goldsboro. Reported from Goldsbort
in 1923.
Eanie, meanie, miney, moe.
Crack a feenie, finee, foe.
Hotcha, potcha, diamond notcha,
Ring out Fifty-0.3
Contributed by Zilpah Frisbie. Reported from McDowell county about
1923-24.
Eeny, meeny, miny, min ;
Catch a nigger by his chin ;
If he hollers, make him pay
Fifty dollars every day.
E
Contributed by Lida Page, Nelson. Reported from Durham county. No
date given.
Eny, meny, miney, mo ;
Catch a nigger and bite his toe.
* The first three lines of this are identical with those of an Indiana
text. The last line of the latter is "Rick, stick, ban, bo."
r. A M K S A NO RHYMES 163
If he hollers, let him go.
Eny, meny, niiney, mo.
Contributed liy I.ucillo Masscy, Diirliani county. Reported from Durham
county. Xo date given.
luia. mena. miiia. mo;
Catch a nigger hy the toe ;^
If he hollers, make him say
I'll surrender to the U.S.A.''
G
Contributed by Maude Minish Sutton, c. 1927. From Rutlierford county.
Eeny meeny tipty toe
Deena Dinah Doma no
O-u-t
Spells out you go.
ONERY, TWOERV, ICKERY ANN
See Bulton, pp. 43-44, 95; O'Suilleabhain, p. 681; SFQ, iii, 179-
180.
A
Contributed by Katherine Bernard Jones, Raleigh. No place or date
given.
Onery, oery, ickery Ann
Phillison, Phollison, Nicholas John;
Query, quory, weary, ivory,
Simkam, Somkoni, Buck.
B
Contributed by Nilla Lancaster, 1923. Reported from Wayne county.
Overy, Ivory, Hickory Ann,
Fillison. Follison. Nicholas John ;
Weenie, wonie, (|ueenie, quonie ;
Inklum, sanklum, huck.
Contributed by Amy Henderson, Worry. Reported from Burke county
about 1914-15.
Onery, twoery. hick'ry ham,
Frillicks and frollicks,
Nicholas John ;
* Negroes themselves say "Catch a lizard by the toe."
' Children in St. Louis and other cities sang this about the Japanese
during the war. See JAFL, Lx, 41.
164 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
Sinctum, sanctum, buck.
Onery, twoery, ickery Ann,
Hollowbone, crack-a-bone,
Nicholas John.
Sinctum, sanctum, buck.
D
From an anonymous contributor in Chatham county. No date given.
Onery, uery, ickery Ann ;
Hallibone, crackabone, Nicholas John ;
Queevy, quavy, Irish Mary ;
Stingalum, stangalum, Buck.
Contributed by I. T. Poole, Morganton. Reported about 1914 from
Burke county.
Onery, oary, ickery Ann ;
Filus, f olus, Nicholas John ;
Quevy, quavy, English navy ;
Stinkum, stankum, Barnev Buck.
Contributed by Nina Mclnnis. No place or date given.
Onery hurey hickory ham,
Phyllis-e, Phollis-e, Nickless John ;
Kever, kiver, Irish Maid ;
Skee-dad-lum, Buck.
The following rhymes are obviously based upon the above.
For other examples, see end of this section.
One zall, two zall, zig-zag-zan.
Bobtailed lizard in the frying pan.
Harem scarem, virgum varum ;
Sinctum, sanctum, Washington Buck.
One-zol, two-zol, three-zol zan;
Bob-tail dominica, tee-toe-tan.
Hailum, scailum, words of Baalam.
Zinctum, Zanctum, Zuck.
One-erzoll, two-erzoll, zickerzoll zan;
Bob-tail vinegar, you're the man.
MONKEY, MONKEY, BOTTLE OF BEER
See JAFL, xxxi, 44, 122, 150 (Canada), 533 (Michigan) ; SFQ,
I, 56 (Nebraska); iii, 180; Bolton, pp. 112, 116; Gardner, Folk-
lore from the Schoharie Hills, p. 229; Johnson, What They Say
in New England, p. 162; Finger, p. 163; Newell, p. 202.
GAMES AND R II Y M K S 165
A
Contributed by Zilpali Frisliic. Rcpurtcd from McDowell county about
19^2-23.
Monkey, monkey, bottle of beer,
How many monkeys have we here ?
One, two, three ; out goes he,
Down to the bottom of the deep blue sea.
Contributed by Mamie Mansfield, Durbam, c. 1928. Rcix)rted from Dur-
ham county. First three lines of ./.
AS I WENT UP THE CRAZY STEEPLE
Contributed by Doris Overton, Greensboro, c. 1922.
As 1 went up the crazy steeple,
There I met three crazy people.
One was black, one was l)lue :
One was the color of my old shoe.
What color was that ?
(The child pointed at supplies the name of a
color, and the counting out continues.)
B-1-a-c-k spells black !
(The child at whom the counter's finger is
pointing when the letter k is reached
must go out.)
A considerable number of counting-out rhymes begin with
"One, two, three," &c. Typical of this type are the following :
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven ;
All good children go to heaven.
When they get there, they will shout
"O-u-t!" And that spells out.
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven ;
All good children go to heaven.
All the bad ones go below
To keep company with Old Pilack Joe.
MARY AT THE COTTAGE DOOR
For counting-out rhymes beginning with numerals, see JAFL, i,
31; VII, 252 (Canada): x, 314. 319: xxvi, 142 (.South); xxxi,
45-46, 157^ 523-524 (Michigan): xxxviii, 243 (Bermuda); SFQ,
I, 4.T. 52, 55 (Nebraska) ; Bolton, pp. 44, 52, 94-96-
l66 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
A
Contributed by Zilpah Frisbie. Reported from McDowell county in
1923-24-
One, two, three, four,
Mary at the cottage door;
Five, six, seven, eight,
Eating cherries off her plate.
B
Contributed by E. V. Howell, Chapel Hill. No place or date given.
One two three four,
Mary at the closet door,
Eating grapes from a plate ;
One two three four.
ONE, TWO, THREE
A
Contributed by Martha Wall, Wallburg. Reported from Davidson county
in 1941.
One, two, three,
Mammy caught a flea.
Flea died, mammy cried ;
Out goes you !^
Contributed by Clara Hearne, Pittsboro. Reported from Chatham county
in 1923.
One, two, three,
Out goes he.
c
Contributed by Lida Page, Nelson. Reported from Durham county.
No date given.
One, two, star blue ;
All out 'cept you.
MY MOTHER AND YOUR MOTHER
See JAFL, xxxi, 47, 274 (Massachusetts) ; 533 (Michigan) ;
XLii, 305 (Massachusetts); xxi, 533 (Michigan); SFQ, i. 55
(Nebraska); iii, 178, 181; JAFL, xxxi, 534 ("My mother told me
to take this one") ; Bolton, p. iii (Tennessee).
' Letters are sometimes used instead of numbers :
A, B, C,
Mamma caught a flea.
Flea died, Mamma cried ;
A. B. C.
C. A M E S AND R II Y M E S 167
Contributed by Mary Olivia Pruettc, Charlotte. Reported from Meck-
lenburg county. No date given.
IM y nianinia and your maninia were hanging out clothes ;
My luainiua hit your mamma right on the nose.
Did it hurt ? Yes.
Y-e-s spells yes and out you go.
B
Contributed by Maude Minish Sutton, c. 1927.
My mother and your mother were hanging out clothes ;
My mother hit your mother on her hig nose.
\\'hat color was the blood?
R-e-d spells red and out goes you.
Others in which the mother is a prominent figure are these
contributed by Ada Briggs ( Nansemond county) and Minnie
Stamps Gosney ( \\'ake county) respectively. The one-line text
was contributed by Marjorie Rea (Craven county).
My mother went downtown to buy me a new dress :
What color was it?
(Someone guesses a color)
B-l-u-e spells blue and ()-u-t spells out.
My mother sent me to town to buy her a new dress ;
What color do you like best?
(Someone names a color)
R-e-d. &c.
IMy mother told me to put you out.'^
REE, BEE, BUMBLEBEE
See Bolton, pp. 93, 117; SFQ, i, 61 (Nebraska); in, 179.
Contributed by Minnie Stamps Gosney, Raleigh. Reported from Wake
county. No date given.
Bee, bee. bumblebee.
Stung a man upon his knee ;
Stung a pig upon his snout.
I declare if you ain't out.
CUPS .^ND S.AUCERS
Contributed by Mary Scarborough. Wanchesc. Reported from Dare
county, c. 1923.
Cups and saucers, plates and dishes ;
My old man wears calico breeches.
'' An Indiana version is "My mother told me to take this one."
l68 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
Does your old man do so ?
Y-e-s spells yes and out you go.
ENGINE, ENGINE, NUMBER NINE
See JAFL, xxxi, 44, 150, 531 (Michigan) ; SFQ, i, 56
(Nebraska); iii, 180; Bolton, p. iii.
Contributed by Carl G. Knox, Leland. Reported from Brunswick county
in 1925.
Engine, engine, number nine,
Running on Chicago Line ;
When she's polished, she will shine.
Engine, engine, number nine.
The same contributor furnished the following counting-out
rhyme :
Nigger, nigger, come to dinner,
Half -past two ;
Fried potatoes, alligators.
Out goes you !
RED, WHITE, AND BLUE
Contributed by Aura Holton, Durham. Reported from Durham county
about 1924.
Red, white, and blue ;
Your father's a Jew.
Your mother's a cabbage head.
And out goes you.
ACKER BACKER
Contributed by Lucille Massey, Durham. Reported from Durham county.
No date given.
Acker, backer, soda cracker,
Acker, backer, boo.
If your daddy chews tobacker.
He's a dirty Jew.
Typical of the counting-out rhyme composed entirely of non-
sense words and syllables are the following contributed by
Clara Hearne (Chatham county. 1923), E. V. Howell (Chapel
Hill), and Paul and Elizabeth Green (eastern and central
N. C, 1926-28) :
Ana, mana. dippery dick,
Delia, dolia. dominick.
Hotcha potcha dominotcha,
Hy, pon, tus.
GAMES AND RHYMES I69
Henry, nienry, depree, dee;
Dealgo, dolgo. dominee.
Hotelier, potcher, diamont notcher,
High pon tusk.
Ibbity, bibbity, zibbity, zab ;
Ibbity, bibbity. knabe.
GAME RHYMES
ONE, TWO, BUCKLE MY SHOE
See Gonime, ii, 195 (played with shuttlecock) ; Gregor, p. 20;
Northall, p. 48; Bolton, p. 14 (Armenian), 16 (Malagasy), 18
(Italian), 20 (German); Lewalter and Schlager, p. 60; Hyatt, p.
650; American Anthropologist, o.s., i, 272; JAFL, lvi, 109 (Iowa) ;
FLJ, VII, 255; FL, XXV, 357; XXVII, 413; SFQ, iii, 178; Douglas,
P- 34-
As Miss Leah Yoffie has pointed out in a recent number of the
Journal of American Folklore (i-X, 30-31), this is a chanted accom-
paniment to a ball-bouncing game as well as a counting-out rhyme.
It appears to have served both purposes in North Carolina.
A
Contributed by Fawn Watson, Marietta. Reported from Robeson county
in 1922.
One, two, buckle my shoe ;
Three, four, shut the door ;
Five, six, pick up sticks ;
Seven, eight, lay 'em straight ;
Nine. ten. a good fat hen ;
Eleven, twelve, roast her well ;
Thirteen, fourteen, girls a-courtin' ;
Fifteen, sixteen, girls a-fixin' ;
Seventeen, eighteen, girls a-waitin' ;
Nineteen, twenty, girls aplenty.
B
Contributed by [Merle?] Smith. Reported from Stanly county. No
date given.
One twf). buckle my shoe ;
Three four, shut the door ;
Five six, pick up sticks ;
Seven, eight, lay them straight ;
Nine ten. big fat hen ;
Eleven twelve, who's in the dell?
Thirteen fourteen, girls all courtin' ;
I/O NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
Fifteen sixteen, maids in the kitchen;
Seventeen eighteen, girls are waitin' ;
Nineteen twenty, my plate's empty.
c
Contributed by Mrs. Norman Herring, Tomahawk. No place or date
given.
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, dig and delve ;
Thirteen, fourteen, gents a-courtin' ;
Fifteen, sixteen, maids in the kitchen ;
Seventeen, eighteen, ladies a-waitin' ;
Nineteen, twenty, goodies aplenty.
ONE FOR THE MONEY
This rhyme is commonly used to start a footrace, and is known
and used by children all over the country.
A
Contributed by Antoinette Beasley, Monroe. No place or date given.
One for the money,
Two for the show,
Three to make ready.
And four for the go.
Contributed by Irene Thompson, Mt. Airy. Reported from Surry county.
No date given.
One for the money.
Two for the show ;
Three makes ready,
And here I go.
In this division belong also the rhymes recited by the player
who is "It" in a hiding-game, e.g., "Bushel of wheat, bushel of
rye, &c." For examples of these, see the section on games.
ROPE-SKIPPING RHYMES
See JAFL, xlii, 305-306 (Massachusetts) ; XL, 41; xli, 5/6-577;
XLVii, 383 (Pennsylvania); xxxix, 82 (New York); lii, 119
(Iowa); American Anthropologist, o.s., i, 267; Maclaj^an, p. 227;
Hyatt, p. 653; JAFL, lviii, 125; lx, 29; Douglas, p. 27.
GAMES AND RHYMES I7I
CINDRRKLLA
For Other texts of tliis rhyme, see JAFL, xi.vii, 385-386 (Penn-
sylvania) ; SFQ, 1, 49-50 (Nebraska); iii, 173; CI'LQ, 1, 377.
Contributed by Mrs. John Carr, Durliani. Reported from Durham
county. No date given.
Cinderella dressed in yellow,
Went uptown with a green tnnbrella.
She walked so slow
She met her beau ;
He took her to the picture show.
How many kisses did he give her?
(Count until there is a miss.)
LAST NIGHT AND THE NIGHT BEFORE
Other texts will be found in JAFL, xlvii, 385 (Pennsylvania) ;
SFQ, I, 61 ; III, 176, 181 ; Bolton, p. 117.
Contributed by Mrs. John Carr, Durham. Reported from Durham
county. No date given.
Last night and the night before,
A lemon and a pickle caiue a-knockin' at my door.
I went downstairs to let them in ;
They hit me on the head with a rolling pin,
And they said :
Lady Moon, Lady Moon, turn around ;
Lady Moon, Lady Moon, touch the ground;
Lady Moon, Lady Moon, show your shoe;
Lady Moon, Lady Moon, how old are you?
(Count until there is a miss.)
Contributed by Ada Briggs. Reported from Norfolk county. No date
given.
Last night and the night before,
Twenty burglars at my door ;
I went to the door to let them in.
And they stabbed me with a golden pin.
ASKED MY MOTHER FOR FIFTY CENTS
See JAFL, xliv, 434; lviii, 125 (New York); lx, 48; White,
p. 249; Hyatt, p. 646.
Contributed by Jessie Hauser, Pfafftown. Reported from I*"orsytb county
about 1923.
172 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
I asked my mamma 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.
Contributed by Gertrude Allen Vaught, Taylorsville, c. 1928. Reported
from Alexander county.
Went to a show and paid five cents
To see the elephant jump the fence;
He jumped so high he reached the sky
And never got back till the Fourth of July.
CHARLIE CHAPLIN WENT TO FRANCE
See SFQ, iii, 175 (Indiana) ; JAFL, xlvii, 386 (Pennsylvania).
Contributed by Mrs. John Carr, Durham. Reported from Durham
county. No date given.
Charlie Chaplin went to France
To teach the ladies how to dance;
First on heel, then on toe.
Then cross your legs and out you go !
AS I WENT UP THE SILVER LAKE
Contributed by William C. Daulken, Chapel Hill. Text obtained in
Chapel Hill in 1915.
As I went up the silver lake,
There I met a rattlesnake ;
It had eaten so much cake
That it made his tummy ache.
SALT, PEPPER, VINEGAR
Contributed by Mrs. John Carr, Durham. Reported from Durham
county. No date given.
Salt, pepper, vinegar, mustard.
Hot peas !^
CATCHES OR SELLS
The object of verses of this type is to cause a laugh at the ex-
pense of one of the players. This is usually accomplislied by trick-
ing him into saying something which will expose him to ridicule.
JUST LIKE ME
See Newell, p. 141 ; Johnson, What They Say in New Englund, p,
167; Lewalter and Schlager, pp. 193-194; FLJ, vii, 254; de Cock
* This is said while the jumper is gradually increasing her speed.
GAMES A N I) R II Y M E S 173
and Teiiiinck, iii, i6i. 340; Rolland, Rijiics ct Jcux dc I'Enfancc,
p. 309.
Contributed by Gertrude Allen \':uiKlit, Taylorsville, c. 1928. Text from
Alexander county.
The first and third lines of this verse are said hy the player
wishing to cause a laugh, the second and fourth hy the victim.
I went to the show-
Just like me
Saw a little monkey
Just like me.-'
I ATE (eight) it
See Stoudt, pp. 85, 86 ('Ich au') ; Johnson, ]Vhat They Say in
Nezi' England, p. 170; O'Suilleabhain, pp. 678, 683; FLJ, vii, 253.
Contributed in 1945 by Paul and Elizabeth Green as collected in eastern
and central N. C, 1926-28.
Lines are said alternately, the eighth falling to the player
who is to be the butt of the joke.
I saw an old dead sheep ; I one it.
I two it
I three it
I four it
I five it
I six it
I seven it
I eight (ate) \t}^
APPLE PIE
Contributed by Minnie Stamps Gosney. Reported from Wake county.
No date given.
No directions accompanied this rhyme, hut apparently the
lines are all repeated by the .same person.
A — apple pie
B— baked it
C — cut it
D — divided it
E — eat it
F — fought for it
G — got it
H— hit at it
I — eyed it
* A version common in the Middlewest has the series "I went upn
stairs," "Looked in the mirror," "Saw a little monkey."
"With this might be compared the "Pot i o" (Pot 8 0) and "i 1
see" (10 I see) rhymes. The latter, however, are not catches.
174 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
J — jumped at it
K — kicked at it
L — longed for it
M — mourned for it
N — nodded at it
O — opened it
At this point, the speaker skips to Q — quartered it, and the other
innocently asks, "Where is P?" The answer is "Not on me."
The rhyme then continues :
R — run for it
S — stood for it
T — turned it
U — earned it
V — viewed it
W — wanted it
XYZ — got in and run off and eat it.
KNIFE OR FORK
From an anonymous contributor in Robeson county. No date given.
The first speaker takes hold of the other's nose and asks,
"Knife or fork?" If the other's reply is "Fork," the first says,
"Give it a jerk" and proceeds to do so. If the reply is "Knife,"
the first speaker says, "Pull it all your life" and gives the nose
a hearty puU.^^
ARITHMETIC
Contributed in 1945 by Paul and Elizabeth Green, as collected in eastern
and central N. C, 1926-28.
Can you work arithmetic?
Yes, sir.
All right, get your paper and pencil.
All right.
A man bought some clothes. First, he bought a hat for $2.00.
Put it down.
Yes, sir.
Necktie, 10 cents.
Yes, sir.
Collar, 25 cents. Got that down?
Yes, sir.
Shirt, $1.00.
Yes, sir.
Pants, $3.50. Got his pants down?
Yes, sir.
Then kiss his a .
"Cf. Gardner, Folklore from the Schoharie Hills, p. 250 ("Pull It").
(; A M E S A N 1) R H Y M E S 175
TEASING RHYMES
IS MAD
A'?4^/.*"^^'^' '''''''' '^' (Canada); lviii, 126; .S7-(), iii, nSs;
A ] FLQ, 1, 25 ; JAFL, lx, 36. ~ . . j .
Contributed in 1945 by Paul and Elizabeth Green, as collected in eastern
and central N. C, 1920-28.
johnny's mad and 1 am glad.
And I know what it'll take to please him—
A bottle o' wine to treat him fine
And a pretty little girl to squeeze him.^^
BLACK EYE PIGGY PIE
See JAFL, xxxi, 60, 89 (Canada) ; xlvi, 9 (Ozarks) ; lviii 2--,jl
(New York City); SFQ, 1, 51, 52 (Nebraska); iii, i8s (Indi-
ana); FL. VI 395; Gutch and Peacock, p. 391; Johnson. If hat
J hey Say in \ ezv England, p. 49; Bergen, p. 7,7,: 'J-hiselton-Dver,
Folklore of U omen, p. 54 (Warwickshire): Northall. p 200 •
Fauset p 134; Peacock. A Glossary of Words Used in the Wapen-
{?*". ^/ i^«"^0' and Corringham, Lincolnshire (Publications of the
h.nglish Dialect Society, 1887), p. 99; Chambers, p. 343.
A
Contributed by Clara Hearne, Pittsboro. Reported from Chatham county
Black-eye. pick a pie.
Run home and tell a lie.
Blue-eyed beauty,
Do your mamma's duty.
Grey-eyed greedy-gut,
Eat all the world up.
Brown-eyed banty
Lived in a shanty.
B
Contributed by Gertrude Allen Vaugiit. Tavlorsville, c. 1928 Text from
Alexander county.
Black eye pick a pie.
Run home and tell a lie.
Blue eyes a beauty
Grey eye greedy gut.
Open your mouth ;
" The version with which I am most familiar has five lines, the fourth
bemg 'A bottle of ink to make him stink." The third line is "A bottle
of wine to make him shine." Some girl is always named in the last
line.
176 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
Shut your eyes.
Keep your mouth shut
And you'll swallow no flies. ^^
TATTLETALE TIT
Cf. JAFL, Lviii, 125; NYFLQ, 1, 26; Bergen, p. 27; Hyatt,
p. 653-
From an anonymous contributor in Robeson county. No date given.
Tattletale tit,
Your tongue shall be slit,
And every dog
Shall have a bit.
CRY, BABY, CRY
With these versions, cf. NYFLQ, i, 28; JAFL, lviii, 125; lx, 36.
Contributed by Gertrude Allen Vaught, Taylorsville, c. 1928. From
Alexander county.
Cry baby, cry ;
Stick your finger in your eye ;
Run home and tell a lie.
Yi! Yi! Yi!
B
From an anonymous contributor. No place or date given.
Cry, baby, cry ;
Stick your finger in your eye
And make the water fly.
GOODY GOODY GOUT
See JAFL, xxxi. 120, 166; SFQ, in, 185; Hyatt, p. 645.
Contributed by Gertrude Allen Vaught, Taylorsville, c. 1928. From
Alexander county.
Giddy, giddy, gout
Your shirt tail's out ;
Giddy, giddy, gin
My shirt tail's in.
CROSSPATCH, DRAW THE LATCH
Contributed by Susie Spurgeon Jordan. Reported from Transylvania
county. No date given.
^^ This last quatrain is out of place ; it properly belongs with the
"Smart Aleck" rhymes.
GAMESANDRHYMES I//
Cross patch, draw the latch,
Sit hy the fire and spin ;
Take a cup and drink it up
And call your neighbors in.
let's go to bkd
See JAFL, xxxi, 59: SFQ, iii, 185; Tennessee Folklore Society
Bulletin, XI, 7; Hyatt, p. 644.
Contributed by Roy M. Brown. No place or date given.
"Let's go to bed,"
Said Sleepy Head ;
"Oh no," said Slow.
"Hang on the pot,"
Said Greedy Gut,
"And let's have supper
Before we go."^*
OH, DEAR DOCTOR
With this, compare the version in NYFLQ, i, 23. See also New-
ell, p. 99 (The Doctor's Prescription').
Contributed by Maude Minish Sutton, Forest City, c. 1927.
Oh, dear doctor, can you tell
What will make poor well ?
She is sick and she might die ;
That would make poor cry.
JOHNNY GET YOUR HAIR CUT
See JAFL, lx, 35 (St. Louis) ; LViii, 127 (New York City).
Contributed by Martha Wall, Wallsburg. Reported from Davidson
county in 1941.
Cliicken in the house, rooster on the fence ;
Johnny get your hair cut, fifteen cents.
BILL, BILL
This teasing rhyme, says the collector, is known locally as
"whistlin' him off."' For a New York version, see NYFFQ, i. 30-31-
Contributed by Maude .Minish Sutton, Forest City, c. 1927.
** The version I know runs as follows :
"Let's go to bed,"
Said Sleepy Head ;
"Wait a while,"
Said Slow.
"Put on the pot,"
Said Greedy Gut ;
"Let's eat before we go."
N.C.F., Vol. I, (13)
178 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
Bill, Bill, stop stick a still ;
High ball, low ball, baldheaded Bill.
Contributed by Antoinette Beasley, Monroe. Reported from Union county.
No date given.
Little boy, little boy, who made your britches?
Ma cut 'em out and Pa sewed the stitches.
Little boy, little boy, where'd you get your knowledge?
Some at the free school and some at the college.
DERISIVE RHYMES
See Northall, pp. 302, 304, 308, 314-315; Newell, p. 97.
O LORD ABOVE, LOOK DOWN IN LOVE
Contributed by Thomas Smith, Zionville. Collected in Watauga county
about 1914.
O Lord above, look down in love
Upon us your little scholars ;
We hired a fool to teach our school
And paid him nineteen dollars.^^
MONKEY SITTING ON A RAIL
Contributed by Irene Thompson, Mt. Airy. Reported from Surry county.
No date given.
Monkey sitting on a rail.
Picking his teeth with the end of his tail ;
Mulberry leaves, calico sleeves,
Old school teachers are hard to please.
Contributed by Thomas Smith, Zionville. Reported from Watauga
county c. 191 4.
" The General Editor comments : "An analogue of this was current in
the Statesville Public School when I was there, 1898- 1907, and I quoted
it often then, though the superintendent, Professor Thompson, was a
friend of our family, and an admirable man :
A buzzard flew from East to South
With D. Matt Thompson in his mouth ;
But when he found he was a fool.
He dropped him in the Public School."
G A M E S A N U R II Y M E S 1 79
Monkey a-sitting on the end of a rail,
A-picking its teeth with the end of its tail
Mulberry leaves and calico sleeves,
Mr. Teacher is hard to please.
MR. A VERY GOOD MAN
Contributed in 1945 by Paul and Elizabeth Green, as collected in eastern
and central N. C, 1926-28. Cf. Chambers, p. 121.
Mr. , a very good man,
Teaches scholars now and then;
When he whips them, makes them dance
Out of England into France.
NIGGER, NIGGER, NEVER DIE
For fragments of a somewhat similar verse, see JAFL, lviii, 125
(New York City) ; lx, 35 (St. Louis).
Contributed by Mrs. Pridgen [Durham?]. No place or date given.
Nigger, nigger, never die.
Big flat nose and a shiny eye ;
Mouth as big as a steamboat slip,
India rubber nose and lip, lip.
Nigger eat scrap iron, yes he do;
Nigger he chews glue.
DID YOU EVER, EVER, EVER?
Contributed by Clara Hearne, Pittsboro. Reported from Chatham county
about 1922. -^
Did you ever. ever, ever
In your life, life, life
See a nigger, nigger, nigger
Kiss his wife, wife, wife?
DIVINATION RHYMES
RICH MAN, POOR MAN
For other texts, see JAFL, xxix, 529 (New-Mexican Spanish:
Pobre, Rico, Mendigo, Ladron, &c.' ) ; FL, xxiv, 81 (plaved with
seeds); xlix, 153 (Nebraska); MAFLS, xxix, 148; Simrock, p.
l80 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
2i8 ('Edelniann, Bettelmann, Doctor, Pastor; Ratsherr, Biirger-
meister, Schneider, Major'); Bolton, p. 19 (Dutch), 21 (German
and Swiss); Newell, p. 105; Bohme, pp. 184-185 (counting flower
petals), 709; Berg-en, p. 42; Johnson, IF hat They Say in New Eng-
land, p. 50; Bolton, pp. 91 (German), 120; Dennys, p. 11 ('Tinker,
tailor, soldier, sailor').
A
Contributed by Airs. Norman Herring, Tomahawk. No date given.
Rich man. poor man, beggar man, thief;
Doctor, lawyer, merchant, chief.
Contributed by Lida Page, Nelson. Reported from Durham county.
No date given.
Rich man, poor man, peddler, tinker.
ONE I LOVE
See Johnson, IVIiat They Say in Nezv England, p. 52; MAFLS,
XXIX, 145; Tennessee Folklore Society Bulletin, iii, 29; Hyatt, p.
333; JAFL, II, 71 ; XXVI, 373; lx, 26. Usually appleseeds or flower
petals are used in the counting.
Contributed by Fawn Watson, Marietta. Reported from Robeson county
about 1922.
One I love, tw-o I love,
Three I love, I say ;
Four I love with all my heart,
And five I cast aw-ay.
Six he loves, seven she loves,
Eight they both love.
Nine they come and ten they tarry ;
Eleven they court and twelve they marry.
Contributed by Mrs. Norman Herring, Tomahawk. No date given. The
A version, with slight verbal variations.
BLESS YOU, BONNY BEE
Contributed by Susie Spurgeon Jordan. Reported from Transylvania
county. No date given.
Bless you, bless you, bonny bee :
G A M E S AND K U V M E S
Say when will my wedding be.
If it be tomorrow day,
Take your wings and fly away.
CHARMS
LADVHUC, LADYBUG, FLY AWAY HOME
See Northall, p. 119; Chambers, p. 201; Bohine, p. 165: Bert^aMi,
p. 59; Napier, p. 116; Harland and Wilkinson, p. 70; de Gubernatis,
pp. 210-21 1 ; Hyatt, pp. 60-61 ; .Simpson, p. 167; Jones and Kroi)!',
The Folk-Tales of the Magyars, p. xx ; American Anthropologist,
O.S., I. 270; FL, XLVii, 366; XLix, 31; FLJ, 1, 355 (Magyar).
.\
Contributed by Jessie Hauser, Pfafftown. Reported from Forsyth county
in 1923.
Lady bird, lady bird, fly away home.
Your house is on fire ; your children will burn.
Contributed in 1945 by Paul and Elizabeth Green, as collected in eastern
and central N. C, 1926-28.
Lady bug, lady bug, fly away home ;
Bring me good weather whenever you come.
COME, BUTTER, COME
See my version in FL, xlvii, 366. As Miss M. Macleod Banks
pomts out (FL, XLViii, 217), a medieval text is quoted in Satan's
Invisible World (p. 84).
Contributed by Louise Bennett. .Middlelnirg. Reported fruin \'aiice
county. No date given.
Come, butter, come ;
Come, butter, come.
Peter's waiting at the gate
For a little frosted cake.
Come, butter, come.
I SEE THE MOON
Contributed by Lucille Massey. Reported from Durliani county. No
date given.
I see the moon
And the moon sees me ;
l82 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
God bless the moon
And God bless me.
STARLIGHT, STAR BRIGHT
Contributed by Elizabeth Janet Black, Garland, c. 1921. Collected in
Garland county.
Starlight, starlight,
First star I've seen tonight.
I wish I may, I wish I might
Have the wish I wish tonight.
NEW MOON, NEW MOON
Contributed by Mrs. Norman Herring, Tomahawk. No date given.
New moon, new moon, moon so bright.
Wish I may and wish I might
See before tomorrow night
Someone who would please my sight.
(Turn three times on the left heel and make three wishes.)
DOODLEBUG, DOODLEBUG
Contributed in 1945 by Paul and Elizabeth Green, as collected in eastern
and central N. C, 1926-28.
Doodlebug, doodlebug.
Your house is burning up.^^
FLY AWAY, BUZZARD
Contributed by Clara Hearne, Pittsboro. Reported from Chatham county
in 1922.
Fly away, buzzard ; fly away, crow,
'VVay down South where the wind don't blow.
^^ The warning conveyed in this verse is given to the ladybug, not to
the doodlebug. In my boyhood in Indiana, one bent over the doodlebug's
home, a conical heap of sand or fine dirt with a depression at the apex,
and called softly, "Doodlebug, doodlebug, doodle, doodle, doodle." The
belief was that the doodlebug would show himself in response either to this
or to the invitation "Doodlebug, doodlebug, come and get your supper."
Sometimes the doodlebug did actually appear, having emerged probably
to learn the amount of damage caused by the speaker's breath against
his house.
GAMES AND RHYMES 183
OLD BOB WHITE
Coiitrihiited by Ella Parker, Mt. Gilead. Reported from Montgomery
county. No date given.
Old I>ob White, your peas ripe?
No, nut quite ; cuine tomorrow night.
LULLABIES
COME UP, CHARLIE, LEt's GO TO RALEIGH
For verses somewhat similar to the following, see Scarhorough,
0)1 the Trail of Negro Folk-Songs, pp. 145-147.
Contributed by Jesse Carpenter, Durham. Reported from Durham county
in 1920.
Come up, Charlie, let's go to Raleigh
To see all the pretty little horses.
The black and the bay and the bob-tail gray
And all the pretty little horses.
hush-a-bye, baby
Contributed by Lucille Massey. Reported from Durham county. No
date given.
Hush-a-bye, baby ;
Daddy is near.
Mamma is a lady.
And that's very clear.
BAA, baa, black SHEEP
See Scarborough, On the Trail of Negro Folk-Songs, pp. 147-
149, and note comments on pp. 149, 158, and 160.
Contributed by Jean and Hallie Holeman, Durham, c. 1930. From Dur-
ham county. The words and tune of this lullaby have been recorded.
Baa, baa. black sheep.
Where yo' little lam"?
Way down yonder in de valley,
Buzzards an' de butterflies
pickin' out its eyes,
Po' little thing cryin' "Mammy!"
Contributed by Jesse Carpenter, Durham. Reported from Durham
county in 1920. The A text, with "Where did you leave your lamb?"
for second line.
184 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
Contributed by Florence Holton, Durham. Reported from Durham
county in 1916. The A text, with crow and blackbird for buzzards and
butterflies.
JOE MONROE
Contributed by Minnie Stamps Gosney. Wake county. Cf. Scarbor-
ough, On the Trail of Negro Folk-Songs, p. 154.
Joe Monroe cut off his toe
And hung it up to dry ;
All the girls began to laugh
And Joe began to cry.
FINGER RHYMES
THE crow's nest
See Maclagan, pp. 176-177 (The Crab's Nest'); Chambers, p.
116; FLJ, IV, 143 ('The Corbie's Hole'); FL, xvi, 441; Puckett,
P- 55-
Contributed in 1945 by Paul and Elizabeth Green, as collected in eastern
and central N. C, 1926-28.
Stick your finger in the crow's nest,
The crow is not at home ;
The crow is at the back door,
Picking at a bone.
The crow's at home !
The last line is said when the child's finger is caught in the
opening between the fingers of the two hands. Some merely
say, "Feed the crow ; he won't bite you."
here's my mother's knives and forks
See SFQ, i, 55 (Nebraska); iii, 184; FL, xxiv, 78; Gregor, p.
19; Maclagan, p. 138; Chambers, p. 116.
Contributed by Amy Henderson, Worry. Reported from Burke county
c. 1915.
Here's my mother's knives and forks
(Interlace fingers with the backs of hands together.)
GAMES AND RHYMES 185
Here's my motlier's table
(Turn fino^ers down, showing smooth level joints on top.)
Here's my sister's looking-glass
(liring little lingers up and make a point by joining tips.)
And here's the baby's cradle.
(Bring index fingers to a point and njck hands
from side to side.)
Contributed in 1945 by Paul and Elizabeth Green, as collected in eastern
and central X. C, 1926-28.
That's the lady's forks and knives,
And that's the lady's table ;
That's the lady's looking-glass,
And that's the baby's cradle.
JACK AND JIM
See JAFL, xxxi, no (Canada); SFQ, iii, 184; Addy, p. 77
('Peter and Paul') ; Beckwith, pp. 12, 78; Maclagan, p. 224; Halli-
well, p. no; American Anthropologist, o.s., i, 270.
Contributed in 1945 by Paul and Elizabeth Green, as collected in eastern
and central N. C, 1926-28.
Fly away. Jack ;
Fly away, Jill.
Come back. Jack ;
Come back, Jill.
(Said with bits of paper on fingers, by which the child is
made to believe they have really disappeared.)''
THIS LITTLE PIG
See JAFL, xxxi, 59, 114 (Canada); xi.vii, 334-335 (Georp:ia) :
FL, xiiii, 108 (Chinese); xxiv, 78; xliii, 257; FLJ, iv, 140; vii,
256; CFLQ, I, 293-294; SFQ, III, 182-183; American Anthropol-
^^ The speaker sticks a piece of black paper on the nail of each index
finger. At the first line he extends both fingers, backs up. toward the
child. .-Xs he says the third, he raises one hand quickly and then brings
it down with the second finger extended and the index finger doubled
under so that the bit of paper is hidden. At tlic last line he repeats the
raising and lowering of the hand, this time extending the index finger.
Missing lines are :
Two little blackbirds sitting on a limb (hill).
One named Jack, the other named Jim (JiH)-
I86 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
ogist, O.S., I, 2/5; Legey, The Folklore of Morocco, p. 171;
Gregor, pp. 14-15; IMaclagan, p. 113; Chambers, p. 20; O'Suillea-
bhain, p. 681; Johnson, What They Say in Nezv England, p. 184;
JFSS, III, 220 (quoted from Canti Popolari Toscani, Florence,
1921).
Contributed by Caroline Diggers, Monroe. Reported from Union county.
No date given.
This little pig went to market ;
This little pig stayed home ;
This little pig got roast beef ;
This little pig got none ;
This little pig said, "Wee, wee, wee, I want some."
Contributed by Caroline Diggers, Monroe. Reported from Union county.
No date given.
This little pig says, "I'll steal some corn."
This little pig says. "I'll tell."
This little pig says. "Where you get it?"
This little pig says, "Out o' IMarster's barn."
This little pig says. "Wee, wee, wee.
Can't get over Marster's barndoor sill."
c
Contributed by Mabel Ballentine. Reported from Wake county. No
date given.
This little piggy wants some corn.
This little piggy says, "Where you goin' to get it from?"
This little piggy says, "Out of the master's barn."
This little piggy says, "He hasn't got none."
This little piggy says, "Queek, queek.
Can't get m the barn door to get a grain of wheat."
D
Contributed by Nilla Lancaster, Goldsboro. Reported from Wayne
county in 1923-
Piggy says, "I'll go in daddy's barn."
Piggy says, "I'll steal wheat."
Piggy says, "Let's do daddy no harm."
Piggy says, "I'll tell."
Piggy says, "Wee-wee, can't get over the door sill."
GAMES AND RHYMES 187
Contributed iiy Sarali K. Watkins. Roixirtcd from Anson county or
Stanly county. No date given.
This little pig says he wants some corn.
This little pig says. "Where you gonna get it?"
This little pig says, "Out o' Massa's crih."
This little pig says, "I gonna tell Massa."
This little pig says, "Quee. ()uee, can't get no corn."
F
Contributed by Gertrude .^llen Vaught, Taylorsville, c. 1928. Text from
Alexander county.
This little pig says, "I'm going to steal wheat."
This little pig says. "I'm going to steal meat."
This little pig says. "I'm going to steal corn."
This little ])ig says. "I'm going to tell."
This little pig says, "Queeky, queeky.
Can't get over the door sill today."
G
Contributed by Eleanor Simpson, East Durham. Obtained in Durham
in 1923. This text sounds suspiciously modern.
This little pig went to China ;
To Korea this one ran.
This one went to India
And this one to Japan.
THIS IS THE CHURCH
See SFQ, i, 60 (Nebraska); in, 184: Newell, p. 138: Johnson,
What They Say in Nezv liuglaud, p. 195; American Anthropologist,
O.S., I, 275.
Contributed in 1945 by Paul and Elizabeth Green, as collected in eastern
and central N. C, 1926-28.
This is the church.
And this is the steeple ;
Lift up the roof
And see the people.
The first position of the hands is the same as the second in
'Here's Mother's Knives and Forks.' At the second line, the
index fingers are pointed upward and joined at the tips. At
the last two, the hands are turned backs down.
l88 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
LET THE PUPPY DOG LICK
Contributed by Doris Overton, Greensboro, 1922.
Stand back, big dog,
And let the puppy lick.
Knock first the wrist and then the tips of the fingers on the
table in a regular cadence.
FINGER NAMES
See JAFL, xxxii, 2>77 (South Carolina); li, 84 (Spanish);
SFQ, III, 183; FLJ, IV, 136; VII, 256; FL, xii, 79; xvi, 216
(Gaelic); Bealoideas, xi, 194; Stoudt, p. 32; Maclagan, pp. 114-
115; Chambers, p. 20; Northall, p. 10; Rochholz. pp. 99, 544;
Bohme, p. 49; Loorits, p. 21 ; Kidd, Saivgc Childhood, pp. 101-102;
Johnson, IVhat They Say in Nezv England, p. 185; Kristensen, pp.
14, 16, 17; Chamberlain, The Child and Childhood in Folk-Thought,
P- 43-
The usual Spanish names for the fingers are "the small and
pretty child," "the gentleman of the rings," "the foolish and crazy
one," "the pot licker," and "the lice killer." The Melanesians say
(Ivens, pp. 400-401) "the shriveled one," "the man alongside,"
"projecting head," "pointer, "i** and "splitter." South Carolina
names quoted in JAFL, xxxii, 377 are "Tom Thumb," "Billy
Wilkins," "Long Nancy," "Betsy Botkins," and "Little Whisky."
With the latter, compare the names in SFQ, iii, 183-184.
Contributed by Amy Henderson, Worry. Reported from Burke county,
c. 1914-15.
Say to the fingers, touching the little one first :
Littleman
Ringman
Longman
Lickpot
Thunibo
TICKLING RHYMES
For other tickling rhymes, see Johnson, llliat They Say in Nezv
England, p. 129; Hyatt, p. 648; Maclagan, p. 7; JAFL, xxxi, 113,
166 (Canada) ; FLJ, iv, 136; vii, 256; Gregor, p. 15; SFQ, in, 183.
Contributed by Maude Minish Sutton, Forest City. c. 1927.
" Since the coming of the white man, the native name has been
changed to one meaning "rub the toothpaste."
GAMES AND RHYMES I89
Old maid, old maid you're sure to be
If you laugh or smile when I tickle your knee.
Tickle, tickle on your knee ;
If you laugh, you don't love me.
If you are a lady.
As I take you to be,
You won't crack a smile
When I tickle your knee.
Bore a hole, bore a hole ;
Stick a peg, stick a peg.
Here comes a man
With an organ [auger] in his hand;
Bore a hole, bore a hole
Anywhere you can.
EYE WINKER
For 'Chin Cherry' and 'Eye Winker' rhymes in general, see
JAFL, VI, 21 (with Italian ;uk1 French parallels); xxxi, 113, 165
(Canada) ; FLJ, iv, 134; v. 211 ; SFQ, i, 53 (Nebraska) ; Gregor,
p. 14; Chambers, p. 20: SFQ. in, 182-183; Chamberlain, The Child
and Childhood in Folk-Thought, p. 91 (Sicilian and French).
Contributed by Gertrude Allen Vaught, Taylorsville, c. 1928. From
.\lexander county.
Eye Winker (touching eye)
Tom Tinker (touching other eye)
Nose Dropper (touching nose)
Mouth Eater (touching mouth)
Chin Chopper (tickling under chin)
BROW BRINKER
Contributed in 1945 by Paul and Elizabeth Green, as collected in eastern
and central N. C, 1926-28.
Brow brinker
Eye winker
Nose knocker
Mouth mocker
Chin chopper
Kootchy-kootchy-koo (tickle under chin)
IpO NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
KNOCK AT THE DOOR
Contributed in 1945 by Paul and Elizabeth Green, as collected in eastern
and central N. C, 1926-28.
Knock at the door (tap on forehead)
Peek in (look into eyes)
Lift up the latch (push nose up)
Walk in (touch mouth)
Take a chair (tickle under chin)
ASSEVERATIONS
CERTAIN, TRUE
Contributed in 1945 by Paul and Elizabeth Green, as collected in eastern
and central N. C, 1926-28.
Certain, true,
Black and blue ;
Lay me down and cut me in two.
Really and truly. ^^
RECITATIONS
ME AND MY WIFE AND A BOBTAILED DOG
See JAFL, xliv, 430; White, American Negro Folk-Songs, pp.
213, 229.
Contributed by Valeria J. Howard, Roseboro. Version from Sampson
county. No date given.
Me and my wife and a stump-tailed dog
Crossed Cane River on a hickory log.
The log did break and she fell in ;
Lost my wife and a bottle of gin.
WENT TO THE RIVER
See JAFL, xliv, 435; White, pp. 195, 297; Scarborough, On the
Trail of Negro Folk-Songs, p. 184; Hyatt, p. 647; PTFLS, vi, 189.
^^ This was the only rhyme of this type submitted. "Sure as the vine
grows round the stump" might possibly have been included in this sec-
tion, but it belongs rather in the division of friendship verses.
GAMES AND RHYMES IQI
A
Contributed l)y Amy Henderson, Worry. Reported from Burke county,
c. IIJI
1 went to the river and couldn't get across;
I paid five dollars for an old gray horse.
I took him to the river and he couldn't swim a lick ;
I took him on the other side and heat him with a stick.
I went to the river and couldn't get across,
Paid five dollars for an old gray horse.
I rode him down to the foot of the hill ;
And if he hasn't gone away, he's right there still.
Contributed by Lucille Cheek. Reported from Chatham county, c. 1924.
I went to the river and couldn't get across,
Paid five dollars for an old gray horse.
Horse wouldn't ride, horse wouldn't swim,
And I'll never see my five dollars again.
Version sent in by an anonymous contributor. From Chatham county.
No date given.
W'ent to the river and couldn't get across ;
Jumped on a nigger's hack and thought he was a hoss.
MISCELLANEOUS
Contributed by Clara Hearne, Pittsboro. Reported from Chatham county
in 1922.
Had a little mule, his name was Dandy ;
Fed him cake and sugar candy.
Had a little mule, his name was Jack;
Put him in the stable and he jumped out the crack.
Had a little dog, his name was Rover ;
When he died, he died all over.
Had a little dog, his name was Tough.
I think my speech is long enough.
192 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
Contributed by Marjorie Rea. Reported from Craven county. No date
given.
Roses on my shoulders,
Slippers on my feet,
I'm my mother's darling;
Don't you think I'm sweet ?
Contributed by Jessie Hauser. Reported from Forsyth county. No
date given.
I had a little pony, his name was Jack ;
I rode his tail to save his back.
His tail was black, his belly was blue ;
When he ran, he fairly flew.
Contributed by W. Q. Grigg, Indian Trail. Reported from Cleveland
county c. 1927.
Had a little dog, his name was Rover ;
He licked the butter till I had to mold it over.
Contributed by Allie Ann Pearce, Colerain. Reported from Bertie county.
No date given.
I had a little wife no bigger than my thumb ;
I put her in a cofifee-pot and beat her for a drum.
Contributed by Thomas Smith, Zionville. Reported from Watauga
county c. 191 4.
Had an old mule, his name was Jack ;
He died with his head in a fodder stack.
Contributed by Lucille Cheek. Reported from Chatham county about
1924.
Ladies and gentlemen, I tell you the fact ;
The old cow died in the fodder stack.
Ladies and gentlemen, I tell you the fact ;
Lost my breeches on the railroad track.
Contributed by Zilpah Frisbie. Reported from McDowell county 1922-23.
I had a little mule, his name was Jack;
I rode his tail to save his back.
His tail broke off ; I fell off,
And that's what gave me the whooping cough.
GAMES AND RHYMES I93
Contributed by Mamie Mansfield, Durham, c. 1928. Text from Durham
county.
Had a nuile, and his tiaiiie was Jack ;
I rode his tail to save his back.
His backl)one l)r()ke, the marrow flew^ ;
Get up, Jack, and go on through.
Contributed by Dorothy McDowell, Raleigh. No place or date given.
I had a little pig,
And fed him clover ;
When he died.
He died all over.
Contributed by Thomas Smith, Zionville, c. 1914. Text from Watauga
county.
I had five cents
And laid it on the fence ;
And come shower of rain
And ain't seed it since.
Contributed by Mrs. Norman Herring, Tomahawk. No place or date
given.
Here I stand on two little chips ;
Come and kiss my sweet little lips.
Contributed by Clara Hearne, Pittsboro, 1922-23. Text from Chatham
county.
Here I stand both fresh and fair.
Dark brown eyes and curly hair.
Rosy cheeks and dimpled chin.
One little heart that beats within.
Contributed by Martha Wall, Wallburg. Reported from Davidson county,
c. 1941.
Here I stand all fat and chunky.
Ate a duck and swallowed a monkey.
Here I stand all black and dirty ;
If you don't come and kiss me. I'll run like a turkey.
Contributed by Irene Thompson. Mt. Airy. Reported from Surry county.
No date given.
When I was a little boy
About so high.
Mama took a little stick
And made me cry.
N.C.F., Vol. I, (14) '
194 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
Now I am a big boy,
Mama can't do it ;
Papa takes a big stick
And tends right to it.
Contributed by Zilpah Frisbie, 1922-23. Text from McDowell county.
I know something I ain't gonna tell,
Two little niggers in the bottom of the well.
Contributed by Gertrude Allen Vaught, Taylorsville, c. 1928. From
Alexander county.
Jerry Hall, he was so small
A rat could eat him — hat and all.
Amen, Brother Ben
Shot a rooster,
Killed a hen.
Contributed by Cornelia Evermond Covington. Reported from Florence
county.
Mother, may I go out to swim ?
Yes, my darling daughter ;
Hang your clothes on a hickory limb
And don't go near the water.
Contributed by Gertrude Allen Vaught, Taylorsville, c. 1928. From
Alexander county.
Rabbit up a gum stump.
Possum up a hollow.
Fat gal down at Daddy's house.
Fat as she can wallow.
Contributed by Aura Holton, Durham, c. 1923. Reported from Dur-
ham county.
Variants of this rhyme occur in the songbooks of the early black-
face minstrels and in later traditional songs of both whites and
Negroes. See White, American Negro Folk-Songs, pp. 236-238.
I know something I won't tell.
Three little niggers in a peanut shell ;
One was black and one was blacker ;
One was the color of a chaw of tobacker.
GAMES AND RHYMES I95
Contributed by Amy Henderson, 1914-15. Reported from Burke county.
Little David took a rock no bigger than a l)titton,
And killed old Goliath just as dead as any mutton.
Contributed by Thomas Smith, Zionville. Reported from Watauga
county, c. 1914.
We had a i)ie made out of rye,
And possum was the meat,
Rough enough and tough enough
And more than all could eat.
The raccoon has a ring-ed tail,
The possum tail is bare;
The rabbit has no tail at all
But a little bunch of hair.-"
Contributed by Eleanor Simpson, East Durham, 1923.
Police, police, don't get me ;
Get that nigger behind that tree.
He stole money, I stole none ;
Put him in the guardhouse just for fun.-^
JOHN, JOHN, THE BARBER
With this verse, compare the New York City text given in JAFL,
LViii, 128-129.
Contributed by EHzabeth Janet Black, Garland, c. 1921.
John, John, the barber.
He went to shave his father ;
The razor slipped and cut his lip ;
It's John, John, the barber.
"SMART ALFXK" RHYMES
puddin' 'n' tame
Cf. the version in NVFLO, i, 22, and note the author's conjecture
as to the origin of the phrase.
Contributed by Jessie Hauser. Botli texts obtainefi in Fnrsytb county,
c. 1923.
"For other texts of this widespread rhyme, see JAFL, xliv, 429;
White, p. 235; Scarborough, On the Trail of Negro FolkSongs, p. 169;
Fauset. p. 129; Botkin, p. 241; I-'olh-Say (1930), p. 244.
-'' See JAFL. lx, 35. The first line is often "Teacher, teacher, don't
whip me" (Bolton, p. 112; SFQ, hi, 178).
196 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
What's your name?
Puddin' 'n' tame ;
Ask me again
And I'll tell you the same.
What's your name?
Puddin' 'n' tame.
Where do you live?
In a sieve,
GOODNIGHT, SLEEP TIGHT
For other versions, see Hyatt, p. 645 ; Maclagan, p. 253 ; CFLQ,
II, 161 (Maine).
Contributed by Gertrude Allen Vaught, Taylorsville, c. 1928. Text
from Alexander county.
Goodnight, sleep tight ;
Don't let the bedbugs bite.
ASK ME NO QUESTIONS
A
Contributed by Sadie Smith. No place or date given.
Ask me no fiuestions and I'll tell you no lies ;
Keep your mouth closed and you'll eat no flies.
Contributed by Clara Hearne, Pittsboro, 1922-23. Reported from Chat-
ham county.
Ask me no questions and I'll tell you no lies;
Give me some peaches and I'll make you some pies.
Contributed by Jessie Hauser, Pfafftown. Reported from Forsyth county
in 1923.
Where do you live?
In a sieve.
Who's your mother?
Bread and butter.
Contributed in 1945 by Paul and Elizabeth Green, as collected in eastern
and central N. C, 1926-28.
How old are you?
As old as my tongue and a little older than my teeth.
GAMES AND RHYMES I97
FRIENDSHIP VERSES
Contributed by Elsie Lampert. No place or date given.
When you are married and eating fish,
Don't get greedy and eat the dish.
When you are married and Hving on tlie hill,
Step to the mirror and kiss yourself for me.
Contributed by Ethel Hicks BufFaloe. Reported from Granville county.
No date given.
My mamma told me a long time ago,
"Son, don't you marry no girl you know.
She'll spend all your money,
Sell all your clothes ;
Then what will become of you
Goodness only knows."
Contributed by Mary Scarborough, c. 1923. Text from Dare county.
Oh, when you're up you're up,
And when you're down you're down ;
But when you're only halfway up.
You're neither up nor down.--
Contributed in 1945 by Paul and Elizabeth Green, as collected in eastern
and central N. C, 1926-28.
If you love me like I love you,
No knife can cut our love in two.
TONGUE-TWISTERS
BETTIE BODDIE
Contributed by Jesse Carpenter. Reported from Durham county, c. 1920.
Bettie Boddie bought some butter,
But the butter Ikttie bought was bitter ;
Then she bought some better butter
To make her bitter butter better.
*^ This verse brings back memories of my high-school days, in which
I knew it (in somewhat different form) not as a friendship verse but
as something quite the opposite, a high-school yell. It ran as follows r
When you're up, you're up;
When you're down, you're down.
When you're up against (name of school),
You're upside down !
198 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
When she bought her better butter,
It made her batter better.
Tip top tangle tongue ;
Say this riddle I have sung.
Contributed by Edna Whitley. No place or date given.
When a twister a-twisting would twist him a twist,
For twisting a twist, three twists he will twist ;
But if one of the twisters twist from the twist,
The twist untwisting untwists the twist.
MISCELLANEOUS RHYMES
PATTY-CAKE
Contributed by Lucille Alassey. Both texts from Durham county. No
date given.
Patty-cake, patty-cake, a baker's man ;
Pat him and prick him as fast as you can.
Pat him and prick him and mark him with "B" ;
Bake him in the oven for Billy and me.
Patty-cake, patty-cake, bake us a man ;
Roll him up, roll him up, put him in the pan.
Contributed by Doris Overton, Greensboro, 1922.
Pat-a-cake, pat-a-cake, baker's man.
Sure I will, Master, as fast as I can.
Pat it and prick it and mark it with T,
And put it in the oven for Tom and me.
Contributed by Zilpah Frisbie, Marion. Reported from McDowell county,
c. 1922.
Pat a cake, pat a cake, bake us a man ;
Roll him, roll him up, throw him in the pan.
Roll him up, cross him with T ;
Throw him in the oven for Ted and me.
Contributed by Marjorie Rea. Reported from Craven county. No date
given.
Patty-cake, patty-cake, baker's man ;
Beat it and roll it as fast as you can.
And toss it in the oven for little Sallie Ann.
PEAS PORRIDGE HOT
Contributed by .Mildred Peterson. Reported from Bladen county, c. 1922
Peas porridge hot
Peas porridge cold
GAMES AND RHYMES I99
Peas porrids^c in the pot
Nine days old.
Some like 'em hot
Some like 'em cold
Some like 'em in the pot
Nine days old.
OLD MARIA
See SFQ, iir, i8i ('Obadiah') ; JAFL, xliv, 436; xxvi, 143;
FL, XX, yy: Addy, p. 147; Coiiiitx Folk-Lorc I (Gloucestershire),
p. 144: PTFLS, XIII, 251.
Apparendy this rhyme is intended to test the memory of the
reciter. I have known of its being used as a rope-skipping rhyme.
Contributed by Amy Henderson. 1914-15. Botb versions were obtained
in Burke county.
Gena Maria fell in the hre ;
The fire was so hot she fell in the pot ;
The pot was so little she fell in the kettle ;
The kettle was so black she fell in the crack ;
The crack was so high she fell in the sky ;
The sky was so blue she fell in the canoe ;
The canoe was so long she fell in the pond ;
The pond was so deep she fell in the creek ;
The creek was so shallow she fell in the tallow;
The tallow was so hard she fell in the lard ;
The lard w^as so soft she fell in the loft ;
The loft was so rotten she fell in the cotton ;
The cotton was so white she stayed there all night.
Old Obadiah jumped in the fire ;
Fire was so hot he jumped in the pot;
Pot was so black he jumped on the rack;
Rack was so high he jumped in the sky ;
Sky was so blue he jumped in a canoe;
Canoe was so shallow he jumped in the tallow ;
Tallow was so soft he jumped in the loft;
Loft was so rotten he jumped in the cotton;
Cotton was so white he jumped out of sight.
GRANNY, WILL YOUR DOG BITE?
See JAFL, xlvi, 431; White, American Negro Folk-Songs, p.
241 ; Scarborough, On the Trail of Negro Folk-Songs, p. 194. See
also White, p. 193, where it appears as the first stanza of the Negro
jig-song 'Shortnin' Bread.'
NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
Contributed by Irene Thompson, Mt. Airy. Reported from Surry
county. No date given.
Chicken in the bread tray,
Scratching up dough.
Granny, will your dog bite?
No, child, no.
Contributed by Cornelia Evermond Covington. No place or date given.
Chicken in the bread tray,
Picking up dough.
Come back, chicken,
And have a little more.
Contributed by Thomas Smith, Zionville, c. 1914. Reported from
Watauga county.
Briar in yer finger and splinter in yer toe ;
Granny, will yer dawg bite ? No, child, no.
INSCRIPTIONS
Contributed by Gertrude Allen Vaught, Taylorsville, c. 1928. Text from
Alexander county.
If this book should ever roam.
Box its ears and send it home.
Contributed by Jean and Hallie Holeman, Durham, c. 1930. Text from
Durham county. The rhyme is made from the letters in the word
Preface, spelled forward and backward.
Peter Rice eats fishes ;
Alligators catch eels ;
Eels catch alligators ;
Fishes eat raw potatoes.
The following verse is a parody on the prayer "Matthew, Mark,
Luke, and John, Bless the bed that I lie on." For another version,
see Chambers, p. 149.
Contributed by Gertrude Allen Vaught, Taylorsville, c. 1928. From
Alexander county.
Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John,
Saddle a cat and Lll be gone.
GAMES AND RHYMES 20I
Contributed by Irene Thompson. Reported from Surry county. No
date given.
Oh, Mr. Flea,
You have bitten me
And now you must die.
So he cracked his bones
On the cold, cold stones,
And there he let him lie.
SNAKE BAKED A HOECAKE
Contributed by Amy Henderson, Worry. Reported from Burke county
c. 1914.
In variant versions this has been in oral tradition as a song
among whites and Negroes in the South since the early 19th cen-
tury. See White, American Negro Folk-Songs, p. 246.
Snake baked a hoecake
And set the frog to mind it ;
Frog went to sleep.
And Lizard come and found it.
RABBIT SKIP
Contributed by Clara Hearne, Pittsboro, 1922-23. Reported from Chat-
ham county.
Rabbit skip, rabbit hop.
Rabbit bit my turnip top.
MORE RAIN, MORE REST
Contributed by Mamie Mansfield, Durham. Reported from Durham
county in 1922.
More rain, more rest.
All fair weather's not the best.
WAKE UP, JACOB
Contributed by Dorothy McDowell Vann, Raleigh. No place or date
indicated.
Wake up, Jacob, day's a-breaking ;
Peas in the pot and hoe-cake baking.
JIGGERY-BUM
Contributed by Amy Henderson, Worry. Reported from Burke county
in 1915-
Jiggery-bum, cider come,
Massa give poor nigger some.
Two potatoes and dram
Make a nigger gentleman.
NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
OPEN YOUR MOUTH AND SHUT YOUR EYES
Contributed by Clara Hearne, Pittsboro, 1922-23. Reported from Chat-
ham county.
Open your mouth and shut your eyes,
And I'll give you something to make you wise.
Shut your eyes and open your mouth,
And I'll give you something that came from the South.
Shut your eyes and open your hand,
And I'll give you something to make you grand.
Contributed in 1945 by Paul and Elizabeth Green, as collected in eastern
and central N. C, 1926-28.
Open your mouth and shut your eyes.
And I'll give you a pretty little surprise,
Something to make you wise.
Contributed by Elsie Doxey, Poplar Branch, c. 1923. Text from Curri-
tuck county.
Open your mouth and shut your eyes,
And I will give you a glad surprise.
A MAN OF WORDS AND NOT OF DEEDS
See American Anthropologist, o.s, i, 273; Maclagan, p. 131;
Nicholson, p. 192 (quoted from Halliwell) ; FL, xx, 78 (as a ball-
bouncing' rhyme) ; xxiv, 81.
Contributed by Amy Henderson, Worry. Reported from Burke county,
c. 1914-
A man of words and not of deeds,
Is like a garden full of weeds.
When the seeds begin to grow,
Like a garden full of snow.
\Mien the snow begins to melt,
Like a garden full of hemp.
When the hemp begins to peel,
Like a garden full of steel.
When the steel begins to rust,
Like a garden full of dust.
When the dust begins to fly.
Like a needle in the sky.
When the sky begins to roar.
Like a bull (or lion) behind the door.
When the door begins to crack,
GAMES AND RHYMES 203
Like a hickory on your back.
When your back begins to smart,
Like a pain around your heart.
When your heart begins to bleed,
You are a dead man indeed.
SI'KI.LINt; RHYMES
For these and otlier examples, see SFO, viii, 301-303; Hoosicr
Folklore, VI, 73-74.
Contributed l)y .Mrs. Xornian Herring, Tomahawk. Xo date given.
H-U huckle
H-U huckle
B-U buckle
B-U buckle
C-U cuckle Y
Huckleberry pie.
Contributed by Saral: K. W'atkins. Reported from both Anson and
Stanly counties.
T-U turkey, T-Y tie
T-U turkey buzzard's eye.
LITTLE ROBIN REDBREAST
Contributed by Macie Morgan. Reported from Stanly county. No date
given.
Little Robin redbreast
Sat upon a rail.
Nibble, nabble. went his head;
Wiggle, waggle, went his tail.
RAIN COME WET ME
Contributed by Minnie Stamps Gosney. Text, with music, from Wake
county. No date given.
Rain come wet me ;
Sun come dry me.
Stand back, white man ;
Don't come anigh me.
RUN, NIGGER, RUN
See JAFL, i.viii, 125 (New York City); White, pp. 168-169;
Scarborough, On the Trail of Negro Folk-Songs, pp. 24-25. For a
description of the practice of posting patrols to restrict the move-
ment of Negroes at night, see White's headnote on p. 168.
204 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
A
Contributed by Amy Henderson, Worry. Reported from Burke county
in 1914 or 1915.
Run, nigger, run ; de patterol'll ketch you ;
Run, nigger, run ; it's almost day.
The nigger run. the nigger flew ;
The nigger tore his shirt in two.
Contributed by Minnie Bryan Farrior, Raleigh. Reported from Duplin
county. No date given.
Run, nigger, run ;
De pateroler'll ketch you.
Run, nigger, run ;
You better be a-runnin'.
c
Contributed by Dr. E. V. Howell, Chapel Hill. No place or date given.
Run, nigger, run ; the paterole will catch you.
GO TELL AUNT RHODA
See Chase, p. 3 ; Sharp :Karpeles, 11, 345 ('The Old Grey Goose') ;
JAFL, Lvi, no (Iowa) ; Scarborough, On the Trail of Negro Folk-
Songs, p. 195 ('Go Tell Aunt Tabbie'). This is really a song (a
lullaby, to be specific) rather than a rhyme.
Contributed by William C. Cumming. Reported from Brunswick county.
No date given.
Go tell Aunt Patsy {three times)
The old gray goose is dead.
The one she's been savin', &c.
To make a feather bed.
She died last Friday ;
It was a week ago.
Monday she was buried
Beneath the old oak tree.
The little goslins are weeping
Because their mammy's gone.
The old gander's a-mournin'
Because his wife is dead.
GAMES AND RHYMES 20$
B
Contributed bj Allie Ann Pcarce, Colerain. Reported from Bertie county.
Run and tell Aunt Patsy (three times)
The old gray goose is dead.
Wonder if she's been saving, &c.
To make a feather bed.
Don't weep, old Gander
Because your wife is dead.
Don't cry, little goslings,
Because vour mama is dead.
Contributed by Amy Henderson, Worry, c. 191 5. Reported from Burke
county.
Go tell Aunt Nancy {three times)
The old gray goose is dead.
The one she was saving, &c.
To make a feather bed.
The old gander's mourning
Because his wife is dead.
The little goslins are crying
Because their mother's dead.
She died with a pain
In her left great toe.
Contributed by Gertrude Allen Vaught, Taylorsville, c. 1928. Reported
from Ale.xander county.
Go tell Aunt Patsy {three times)
Her old gray goose is dead.
The one she'd been saving, &c.
To make a feather bed.
The old gander is mourning
Because his wife is dead.
The little goslings are crying
Because their mama's dead.
The whole family's weeping
Because the mama's dead.
206 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
E
Contributed by Louise Bennett, Middleburg. Reported from Vance
county.
Go tell Aunt Patsy (three times)
The old gray goose is dead.
'T is the one she's been saving, &c.
To make a feather bed.
The gander he's a-moanin'
'Cause his po' wife is dead.
The goslings they are crying
Because their mamma's dead.
Oh, ain't you sorry
The old gray goose is dead?
AS I WAS GOING o'eR MISTY MOOR
See Gomme, Traditional Games of England, Scotland, and Ire-
land, I, 51.
Contributed by Maude Minish Sutton, Forest City, c. 1927. No informa-
tion as to source.
As I was crossin' the misty moor,
I saw three cats at an old mill door.
One was white and one was black;
One looked like my granny's cat.
I went to Ireland on my knees,
Sowing oats and jingling keys,
Saw an old woman by the fire.
Cat's in the dairy in milk to her knees ;
Hen's on the tree limb crowing for day.
Rooster's in the barn a-flailing corn ;
Never seen the like since I been born.-^
-^ The only other version of this rhyme I have found is that in Gomme.
Both bear some resemblance to the "lying song," although the similarity
is confined to the last lines. It is possible that the whole thing is
allegorical and that the animals and objects referred to are intended to
represent certain personages of the time of composition. Such allegorical
verses were many in Jacobean and Elizabethan times.
GAMES AND RHYMES 207
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210 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
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GAMES AND RHYMES 213
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INDEX OF GAMES
All Down to Sleep, 127
Animal Song, 89
Anthony Over. 36
As We Go Round the Mulherrv
Bush, 85
Barber. 41
Barnyard Chorus, 41
Base,' 72>
Battle Game. 43
Bingo, 154
Blindman's Buff, 61
Bounce. Simlin — Sec Skip to
My Lou
Captain Oh Flag, 43
Chase the S(iuirrel, 80
Chickaniv Chickamy Craney
Crow— ^t^t' Old Witch
Clap In, Clap Out, 123
Club Fist, 66
Co-Sheep, 81
Dear Doctor. 134
Do, Do. Pitv My Case, 86
Dollar— ^'iv' The Wandering
Dollar
Draw a Bucket of Water, 142
Drop the Handkerchief, 81
Eleven Up. 158
Farmer in His Den — Sec
Farmer in the Dell
Farmer in the Dell, 146
Farmyard Chorus — See Barn-
yard Chorus
Fifty-Oh, 38
Flower in the Garden. 127
Fox and Geese, 82
Fox in the Corner — See Fox in
the Morning
Fox in the Morner — Sec Fox in
the Morning
Fox in the Morning. 78
Frog in the Meadow — See Frog
in the Middle
Frog in the Middle. 140
Genteel Lady, 68
Go in and Out the Window —
Sec Marching Round the
Levee
Going Down the Railroad. 155
Going to Paris, 72
Goosey Goosey Gander — Sec
Fox in the Morning
Go Round the Mountain, 131
Grandmammv Sent Me to Vou —
See Old Mother Hobble-Gobble
Green Grass, 98
Green Gravel, 36
Green Grows the Willow Tree,
126
Green Leaves, 124
Green Trees Bending, 87
Grunt. Pig, Grunt, 57
Hail Over — Sec Anthony Over
Happy Is the Miller Boy, no
Happv Land, i 39
Hat Ball. 36
Here Comes Three Dukes a-Rid-
ing — Sec Three Dukes
Here I Brew and Here I Bake,
143
Hide and Hunt — Sec tlide and
Seek
Hide and Seek, 37
Hog Drivers — Sec Hog Drovers
Hog Drovers, 94
Honey in the Gum — See Green
Leaves
Hopscotch. 39
Horns. 63
Horse Shoes, 159
How Far Is It to Molly Bright?
— See How Manv Miles to
Babylon ?
How Alanv Fingers ? 38
How Many Miles to^Babylon?
74
How Many Miles to Boston? —
Sec How Many Miles to
Babvlon ?
Hul Gul. 59
2l6
I Got a Pretty Bird, 158
Introducing to King and Queen,
42
I Put My Right Foot In— 5"t't'
Looby Loo
Iron Tag, 74
I Sail My Ship, 69
I Spy, 38
It Mists, It Rains — Sec It Rains
and It Hails
It Rains and It Hails, 127
It Snows, It Blows, 143
I Went to Visit a Friend One
Day, 86
Jack in the Bush, 60
Jacks. 83
Jacob and Rachel, 58
Jenny Jones, 44
Johnnv. Johnny, So Thev Sav.
128'
Johnny Miller — See Happy Is
the Miller Boy
Jolly Miller, The — Sec Happy Is
the Miller Boy
Jolly Old Miller, The— 6"rr
Happy Is the Miller Boy
Kicking the Can, 39
King and Queen — Sec King
William Was King James's
Son
Kings of Spain, 93
King William — Sec King Wil-
liam Was King James's Son
King William Was King
George's Son — See King Wil-
liam was King James's Son
King William Was King
James's Son, 113
Knock at the Door and Pick
Up a Pin, 133
Lady in tlie Dining Room, 55
Lazy Mary, 55
Leapfrog, 40
Little Sally Waters, 130
Little Sissy, 132
London Bridge, 137
London Bridge Is Burning
Down — See London Bridge
London Bridge Is Falling Down
— Sec London Bridge
London Tow n — 5" e e The
Needle's Eye
Looby Loo, 156
Making Cheeses, 152
Malaga Grapes, 42
Marching Around the Love
Ring — See Marching Round
the Levee
Marching Round the Levee, 119
Marching Through Paradise, 42
Marching to Jerusalem, 153
Marching to Quebec, 118
Miller Bov — See Happv Is the
Miller Boy
Miss Susanna Jane, 71
My Father Oh No! 56
My Love, What Have I Done?
42
My Mamma Sent Me to You —
See Old Mother Hobble-
Gobble
Mumble Peg, 83
Needle's Eye, The, 108
No Robbers Out Today, 81
Nuts in May, 109
Oats and Beans and Barley, 87
Oats and Beans and Barley
Grow — See Oats and Beans
and Barley
Oats, Peas, Beans and Barley
Grows — See Oats and Beans
and Barley
Old Cronv, 46
Old Grannv Hibble-Hobble— 5"^f
Old Witch
Old Man Hippetv Hop— See Old
Witch
Old Mother Hobble-Gobble, 84
Old Peas, Beans and Barley
Grows — See Oats and Beans
and Barley
Old Witch, 48
On the Carpet, 129
Open the Gates, 140
Pease I'orridge Hot, 152
•Peas Put in Hot — Sec Pease
Porridge Hot
Pig Drivers — Sec Hog Drovers
Pig Drovers — Sec Hog Drovers
Pig in the Parlor, 107
Pillow, 133
Poison, 71
Poison Stick — Sec I'oison
Poker Game, 41
Poppy Shows, 153
I'retty Girls' Station, 61
Pretty Girls' Town — Sec Pretty
Girls' Station
Priest of Paris Lost His Hunt-
ing Cap, The — Sec The Prince
of Morocco
Prince of Morocco, The, 69
Prisoner's Base, 72
Pulling Stick — See Pulling
Swag
Pulling Swag. 143
Punch Board. 58
Pussy Wants a Corner. 151
Quaker Courtship, 123
Raise the Gates — See Open tlie
Gates
Ranchv Tancliv Teen — Sec Three
Dukes
Rig-a-Jig, 128
Ring Around the Roses — See
Ring Around the Rosy
Ring Around the Rosv. i so
Roley Holey— ^'rr Hat Ball
Rotten Eggs. 153
Sail the Shi]), i^^
Sally Walker— i>>r Little Sally
Waters
Scissors, 41
See the Farmer — See Oats and
Beans and Barley
See the Rohhers, 140
Silver and Gold — See Open the
Gates
Simon Says, 65
Sister Phoehe, 100
Skip to My Lou, loi
E X 217
Snake in the Grass — See Jack in
the Bush
Spin the Plate, 65
Squat Tag, 74
Stealing Sticks, 80
Steal Mv Partner — Se'e Skip to
My Lou
Tag, 7^^
Tap Back, 80
There Was a Little Miller— ^rc
Happy Is the Miller Boy
Thimhle, 64
Thread the Needle — See The
Needle's Eye
Three Bakers. 99
Three Dukes. 89
Three Ships, 71
To Old Quebec — Sec Marching
to Quebec
Traveling, 129
Turn Tag, 74
Twelve Days of Christmas. 70
Uncle Johnny's Sick Abed. 132
Uncle Johnny Sick of Bed — Sec
Uncle Johnny's Sick Abed
Molet Battles. 1^2
Wandering Dollar. The. 63
Weevily Wheat. 104
We're Marching Around the
Love Ring — See Marching
Round the Levee
We're Walking on the Levy —
Sec Marching Round the
Levee
What Had ^'ou for Supper? 71
When I Was a Young Girl. 86
Where ^'()U Are. Who You're
With. Wliat You're Doing,
Whoopy Hide. 39
Who Stole the Cardinal's Hat?
69
William a Trembletoe. 134, 160
William and Trembletoe — See
William a Trembletoe
2l8 I N
William Tremle-toe — Sec Wil-
liam a Trembletoe
Wink, 154
Witch in the Jar, 80
Wrap Jacket, 157
Wring the Dishrag, 152
Yankee Soldiers, 43
CHILDREN'S RHYMES
Acker, Backer, 168
A Man of Words and Not of
Deeds, 202
Apple Pie, 173
Arithmetic, 174
As I Was Going O'er Misty
Moor, 206
As I Went Up the Crazy Steeple,
165
As I Went Up the Silver Lake,
172
Ask Me No Questions, 196
Asked My Mother for Fifty
Cents, 171
Baa, Baa, Black Sheep, 183
Bee, Bee, Bumblebee, 167
Bettie Boddie, 197
Bill, Bill, 177
Black Eye Piggy Pie, 175
Bless You. Bonny Bee, 180
Brow Brinker, 189
Certain, True, 190
Charlie Chaplin Went to France,
172
Cinderella, 171
Come, Butter, Come, 181
Come Up, Charlie, Let's Go to
Raleigh, 183
Crosspatch, Draw the Latch. 176
Crow's Nest, The, i84
Cry, Baby, Cry, 176
Cups and Saucers, 167
Doodlebug, Doodlebug, 182
Eeny, Meeny, Miney Mo. 162
Engine, Engine, Number Nine,
168
Eve Winker, 189
Finger Names, 188
Fly Away, Buzzard. 182
Friendship Verses, 197
Go Tell Aunt Rhoda, 204
Goodnight, Sleep Tight. 196
Goodv Goodv Gout, 176
Granny, Will Your Dog Bite?
199
Hush-a-bye. Baby. 183
I Ate (Eight) It, 173
I See the Moon, 181
Inscriptions. 200
Is Mad, 175
Jack and Jim, 185
Jiggery-bum, 201
Joe Monroe, 184
John, John, the Barber, 195
Johnny Get Your Hair Cut, 177
Just Like Me, 172
Knife or Fork, 174
Knock at the Door, 190
Ladybug. Ladybug, Fly Away
Home. 181
Last Night and the Night Be-
fore. 171
Let the Puppy Dog Lick, 188
Let's Go to Bed, 177
Little Robin Redbreast, 203
Mary at the Cottage Door, 165
Me and My Wife and a Bob-
tailed Dog, 190
Miscellaneous, 191-195
Monkey. Monkey, Bottle of
Beer, 164
219
Monkey Sittinj^r on a Rail, 178
More Rain, .\lore Rest, joi
Mr. a \'ery (.iood Man,
'7')
Mv Mother and \'our Mother,
New Moon, Xeu Moon, 182
Nigger, Nis^^ger, Never Die, 179
O Lord Above, Look D<nvn in
Love, 178
Oil, Dear Doctor, 177
Old Bob White, 18^
Old Maid, Old Maid. i8c;
Old Maria, 199
One I Love, 180
Onery. Twoery, Ickery Ann, 163
One, Two, Buckle My Shoe, 169
One, Two, Three, 166
Open Your Mouth and Shut
^'our Eyes, 202
Overy Ivory Hickory Ann, 163
Parody, 200
Patty-cake, 198
Peas Porridge Hot, 198
Puddin' 'n' Tame, 195
Rabbit Skip, 201
Rain Come Wet Me, 203
Rich Man, Poor Man, 180
Run, Nigger, Run, 203
Salt, Pepper, Vinegar, 172
Snake Baked a Hoecake, 201
Speli,ing Rhymes, 203
Starlight, Star Bright, 182
Tliis Is the Church. 187
This Litde Pig, 185
Tittletattle Tit, 176
Wake Up. Jacob. 201
Went to the River, 190
William a Trimbletoe, 160
BELIEFS AND CUSTOMS
Edited by
Paul G. Brewster
BELIEFS AND CUSTOMS
INTRODUCTION
IN NO FOLKLORE collection — be it Southern, Northern, West-
ern, or Eastern — is there likely to be more than a modicum of
novelty unless it contains a strong admixture of beliefs and prac-
tices peculiar to foreign groups now resident in this country. What
is commonly thought of as American folklore, namely that derived
from English, Scottisli, or Irish sources, is substantially the same
wherever it be found, and it is only rarely that we encounter in
one section of the country a belief or a custom that is without
parallel in others and indeed in many other lands as well. Among
the very widely distributed customs and practices are, for example,
the wearing of "something old and something new" by the bride,
the stopping of all clocks when a death occurs in the family, the
coloring of eggs at Easter, taboos regarding menstruation and
pregnancy, the observing of planting "signs," the burial of a corpse
so that it faces the east,^ the practice of holding charivaris (bell-
ings, skimmingtons),- the scaring of children by threatening a visit
from "Raw Head and Bloody Bones, "-^ and the like.
Frequently, however, a practice takes on what might be termed
"local color" and thus varies in some of its details, though not
essentially, from that observed in other localities. It is of tlie in-
fre(iuent unique bits of folklore and of the somewhat more numerou>
^ Among some peoples, exactly the reverse is done. Native Fijians and
Samoans bury their dead facing the west, as did also the old time Winne-
bago and other Indian tribes.
According to tradition Sir Walter Raleigh was requested to face
the east as he stood on the scaffold awaiting execution. His reply to the
request is said to have been: "So the heart l)e straight it is no matter
which way the head lieth."
- In the case of more primitive races particularly, those are often de-
signed to express public opprotirium, the unchaste bride or tlie worthless
groom being subjected to ridicule and gross insult.
^ The "bugaboo" is not always a supernatural being. Centuries ago
children of Europe and Asia were terrified into being cpiiet by the mere
mention of .-Xttila and .-Marie. Later the names of Xapoleon and Claver-
housc ("Bloody Claver'se") were ecjually efficacious in Western Europe
and the British Isles, .^nd, in more recent times, thousands of European
children (and their elders as well) shuddered at the mention of Hitler
and Mussolini.
Sometimes, too, it is the members of certain trades of whom children
are naturally, or are taught to be. afraid— the blacksmith, the butcher, etc.
Readers of Thomas Hardy will recall in this connection the reddk-man in
The Return of the Xathe.
224 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
widespread customs and beliefs which have been changed slightly
by their locale that the pages of this introduction will treat.
The burning of the father's hat following the birth of his first-
born is undoubtedly one of the least widespread of practices. Al-
though the informant gives as the reason for the act the explanation
that it "cleans the baby's road" and brings good luck to the child,
we are still at a loss to understand why it should be a part of
the father's apparel, rather than a part of the mother's, which is
sacrificed. In some other sections of the country, e.g., southern
Indiana and Illinois, the hat is snatched from the father's head and
either thrown away or trampled underfoot on his first appearance
outdoors after the birth of the baby. The latter custom would
appear to be merely a refinement of the burning, which is certainly
the more primitive.
"Jumping the broom" as a form of the marriage ceremony is
likewise a practice belonging not only to a limited area but also to
a particular period, that of slavery times. Jocular allusions to it
are still to be heard even in parts of the Middle West, but there is
no indication that "jumping the broom" was ever practiced there.
The "smock marriage," which was in early times fairly common in
New England, appears to have been an importation into North
Carolina and not widely known or practiced either in that state or
in any other section of the South.
The keeping of Old Christmas, January 6, instead of or in addi-
tion to the "man-made" Christmas of December 25 may fairly be
said to be Southern, although isolated instances of its observance
have been recorded in other areas. It is not, of course, peculiar to
North Carolina. The shooting of firecrackers and the discharging
of firearms at Christmastime are customs rarely, if ever, observed
anywhere north of the Mason and Dixon Line. In other parts of
the country this form of noise-making, along with the din of bells,
horns, whistles, and rattles, is reserved rather for New Year's Eve.
The Southern fondness for the sound of guns and firecrackers at
Christmas is probably to be accounted for by the influence of early
French and Spanish settlers.
The John Kuners are definitely a North Carolina institution, and
have no counterpart outside the ceremonies of the Bahamas, where
they are said to have originated. An exhaustive account of the
Kuners' festivities has been given by Dougald MacMillan.'* The
peculiar method of dividing fish or game by a blindfolded man's
pointing to and thus assigning to each member of the party his
share of the spoil appears likewise to be indigenous. The practice
of clay-eating, too, is .Southern, though not restricted to North
Carolina.
The burial of children face downward is reported as a Negro
* Dougald MacMillan, "John Kuners," Journal of American Folklore,
XXXIX, 53-57-
BELIEFS AND CUSTOMS 225
practice. No hint is given as to its prevalence, and it is quite
possible that only one isolated instance of it was found. The cus-
tom is found among certain African tribes, some of which extend
it to all dead, regardless of age, but it definitely is not followed
very extensively by Southern Negroes.'' The wearing of hats in-
doors at a funeral service, reported to have been an importation
from the North, is also little practiced. In the decorating of graves
with a multitude of miscellaneous objects,*' and particularly in the
placing of food on or near the grave, however, we have another
strange custom of the Southern Negro. This sort of thing may
occasionally be done by the Negro in other sections, but it is much
more prevalent among Mexicans and South Europeans.
The pronouncement that every girl of marriageable age should
have picked at least enough cotton to fill her shoe is an excellent
example of the influence of "local color" upon a custom or a
belief. Tests of this type are to be found among many peoples and
in many different parts of the world. A few of the others fre-
quently encountered are the spinning of a certain amount of yarn,
the weaving of a specified quantity of cloth, etc.
The prohibition against the mixing of April 30 milk with that
of May I lest the butter be slow in coming appears to be of local
origin; at least I have found no parallels to it, nor can I even
hazard a guess as to the reasoning underlying it. It is to be re-
gretted that the collector of this particular item did not elicit a
bit more information from his source.
In the realm of cookery. Southern recipes have a distinctive
flavor, with emphasis upon cornbread, corn pone, and the virtues of
pot likker. No editorial comment needed ; read and drool !
CHILDHOOD
When the first boy is born in a home, all his father's hats
must be burned. "It'll fetch him hick," an old woman on
Smoky Mountain told the Red Cross nurse who tried to keep
her from burning all the hats a new father had. "My mammy
before me follered burnin' hats, an' she said the only man who
ever begredged a hat wuz the daddy of the triflin'est, no-
'' However, the Geechce Negroes of Georgia believe that if a family is
having trouble in raising its children the last one to die should be buried
face downward and then those born afterward will survive. Sec JAFL,
xix, 76 fF.
"Among them such articles as guns and knives, pipes, razors, jewelry,
toys, false teeth, cups and saucers, musical instruments, spectacles, and
flashlights.
N.C.F., Vol. I, (16)
226 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
'countest, dirt-eatin'est boy this side of the Ridge. This fire
cleans the baby's road."^ (Maude Minish Sutton)
Wet the baby's hair and curl it on the ninth day and it will
have curly hair.- (Kate S. Russell) v
A baby should be carried upstairs before downstairs so that
it will rise in life.^ (Lucille Cheek)
A child's finger nails should not be cut until he is a year old,
or you will not be able to raise him. Bite the nails off."* (Lucille
Cheek)
This belief was reported also by Lucille Massey, Durham county.
^ Cf. Randolph, Ozark Superstitions, p. 205. This custom is also
Cornish ; see CfLQ, i, 202-203, and Courtney, Cornish Feasts and Folk-
Lore, p. 131.
- JAFL, Lii, 115 (Tennessee — spit on baby's hair and curl it with finger
to make it curly).
^ FL, XXV, 349; XXXIV, 326; V, Z37; xxxvin, 179; JAFL, xl, 150
(Louisiana); xxxvi, 18 (New York); lh, 112 (Tennessee); xxxi, 25
(Ontario) ; v, 115 (Maryland) ; 11, 27 (Pennsylvania German) ; Puckett,
Folk Beliefs of the Southern Negro, p. 344; Hole, Eiujlish Folklore, p. 6;
Hyatt, Folk-Lore from Adams County, Illinois, p. 132; Bergen, Current
Superstitions, pp. 22-23; Macgregor, Highland Superstitions, p. 44 (if
no stairs, baby should climb upon chair) ; HFB, 11, 37 ; Gregor, The
Folk-Lore of the North-East of Scotland, p. 6 (mother to go upstairs
first after birth of child) ; Simpson, Folklore in Loivland Scotland, p.
203 ; Whitney and Bullock, Folk-Lore from Maryland, p. 97 ; Balfour and
Thomas, County Folk-Lore IV, 95 ; Stout, Folklore from loica, p. 143
(to make child high-minded) ; Earle, Customs and Fashions in Old Neza
England, p. 5; Carmer, Listen for a Lonesome Drum. p. 364 (Seneca — to
give child high ideals). This custom was reported also by Mary Pritchard
Taylor.
* JAFL, u, 27 (Pennsylvania German), 148; iv, 322 (Pennsylvania
German) ; v. 115 (Maryland) ; vn, 113, 305 (Georgia— to cut nails will
deform child) ; xu, 103 (Armenian) ; xiv, 33 (Kentucky) ; xviii, 298
(Newfoundland) ; xlviii, 330 (child will have fits if nails are cut before
one month) ; xxxi, 13 (Ontario — if nails are cut before six months, child
will be a thief), 91 (Ontario — child will be a thief if its nails are cut
before one year), 211 (Illinois — child will be a thief if nails are cut be-
fore one month) ; lii, 113 (Tennessee — cutting the child's nails before he
is a year old will make him a thief) ; FL, xxxix, 215 (Italian — child's
nails not to be cut until he is six months old) ; xxiv. 361 (Quebec — if
child's nails are cut before he is a year old, he will be bad or have a
poor memory), 227 (Ontario — child will be a thief if his nails are cut
before a year) ; FLR, i, 11; Bealoideas, vn, 176 (child's nails not to be
cut until he is a year old) ; HFB, 11, 35 (if child's nails are cut before
he is a year old, he will be cross-eyed) ; Pickard and Buley, The Mid-
west Pioneer, p. 76 (a child's nails should not l)e cut until he is nine weeks
old) ; Bergen, p. 66 (nails not to be cut before one year) ; Hole, p. 9;
Hyatt, ]). 134; Puckett, pp. 401-402; Gardner, Folklore from the Schoharie
Flills, pp. 304-305; Fausct, Folk-Lore from No7v Scotia, p. 198; Addy,
Household Tales, with Other Traditional Reniains, p. 102 (child will be
thief if nails are cut before he is a year old) ; Gregor, p. 9; Balfour and
Thomas, p. 58 (bite child's nails off or it will be a thief) ; Gutch and
Peacock, County Folk-Lore V. 228 (unlucky to cut child's nails before
THE BAPTIZING
BELIEFS AND CUSTOMS 227
Alonclay's child is fair of face ;
Tuesday's child is full of God's grace ;
Wednesday's child is merry and glad;
Thursday's child is sour and sad;
Friday's child is Godly given ;
Saturday's child must work for his living;
Sunday's child never shall want."'
( Lucille Cheek)
Often a mother chews food and puts it into the child's mouth.*'
(Green Collection, made hy I'aul and l'21izaheth (Jreen in eastern
and central N. C., 1926-28, and given to the Brown Collection
in 1945)
A hahy should be weaned when the sign is going down the
legs through the feet, never when it is in the head or the heart.^
(Green Collection)
In weaning a baby, use a sugar teat — a small white cloth
folded in the shape of a nipple and containing a mixture of
sugar and butter. (Green Collection)-
it is a year old), 230 (cutting nails before he is a year old makes a thief
of him) ; Gutch, Counfy Folk-Lore VI (child will die if his nails are
cut before he is a year old) ; Whitney and Bullock, p. 97 (child will be-
come a thief if his nails are cut before lie is a year old) ; Henderson,
Xotcs on the Folklore of the Northern Counties of Fngland and the
Border, p. 16; Alejandro Guichot y Sierra, Supersficioncs Populares
Andaluzas (Bihlioteca de las Tradiciones Populares Espaiiolas, i), pp.
265-266; Stout, p. 143 (bad luck to cut child's nails until it is a year
old) ; Thiselton-Dyer, English Folklore, p. 278 (bite off child's nails until
it is a year old or it will be a thief) ; Rogers, Early Folk Medical Prac-
tices in Tennessee, p. 39.
" This little rhyme on auspicious and inauspicious birthdays is widely
known. See Northall, English Folk-Rhymes, p. 161 ; Newell, Games and
Songs of American Children, p. 203; Fauset, p. 200; F L, vi, 394; Addy,
p. 119; Bergen, p. 21 ; Hole, p. 3; TFLS. xi, 5; Hyatt, p. 123; Henderson,
p. 9; Johnson, What They Say in New England, p. 51; JAFL, XL,
189 (Louisiana), xxxi, 91 (Ontario); Whitney and Bullock, p. 107;
Thiselton-Dyer, p. 238; Randolph, p. 206; Bolton, The Counting-Out
Rhymes of Children, p. 115.
"Randolph, p. 210; McKenzie, The Infancy of Medicine, p. 270
(allusions to the custom in England, Scotland, and France). Bartholo-
maeus Anglicus (fl. 1250) writes: "The nurse cheweth meat in her
mouth, and maketh it ready to the toothless child, that it may the easier
swallow that meat, and so she feedeth the child when that it is an
hungered." I saw this done in Southern Indiana about 1910. In this
instance the chewing was done by the grandmother, whose teeth were
even more badly decayed than the mother's.
•Randolph, pp. 49, 210; Hl'B. n, 25; Stout, p. 157 (never wean baby
when the sign is in the head) ; Thiselton-Dyer, p. 41 (Lithuanian— boys
to be weaned on wa.xing moon, girls on waning moon ) ; Harley, Moon
Lore (Scottish — if the child is put away from the breast during the
waning of the moon, it will decline all the time the moon is waning).
228 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
While weaning a baby, put its nightgown on backwards.
(Green Collection )\
Tie a rabbit foot around the baby's neck so that cutting teeth
will be easy.*^ (Mildred Peterson)
A good bite of earthworm will cause a child to cut teeth
without trouble. (Carolyn Kay Root).^
Feeding a child a fried rat keeps it from wetting the bed.^
(Green Collection)
** Since the rabbit is not particularly a digging or clawing animal, it
is hard to see why its foot should be tied around the baby's neck. A
much more common practice is to tie around the neck either a mole s
foot or a groundhog's, hi most instances the only connection of the
rabbit with teething is the rubbing of its brains on the child's gums or,
as in some of the following references, the use of the skin of its belly
as an amulet.
Puckett, p. 345 (mole's foot) ; FLJ, v, 267 (Virginia — same) ; JAFL,
Liv, 58 (Illinois — mole's foot on black string) ; iv, 168; xlviii, ^^y (Ten-
nessee— same) ; xlvi, 3 (Ozarks — same) ; Whitney and Bullock, p. 95
(same) ; Campbell, Folks Do Get Born, p. 35 (same) ; Hyatt, p. 130
(same) ; SFQ, ni, 39 (same) ; Rogers, p. 38 (same).
Other objects used as amulets are many and varied: Bergen, p. 70
(skin of rabbit belly) ; JAFL, v, in (Maryland — same) ; xxxii, 379
(Georgia — frog tied around neck) ; Carmer, Stars Fell on Alabama,
p. 282 (same) ; JAFL, xxxii, 393 (North Carolina — front foot of
groundhog) ; Aubrey, Rcmaines of Gcntilisme and Judaism, p. 114
(Irish — wolf's tooth) ; Whitney and Bullock, p. 95 (calf's tooth) ; Earle,
Customs and Fashions . . . , p. 8 (wolf fangs, fawn's teeth) ; Campbell,
p. 35 (hog tooth, dog tooth) ; Saxon, Tallant, and Dreyer, Gumbo
Ya-Ya, p. 247 (cow's tooth), 534 (hog's eyetooth, alligator tooth) ;
FLJ, I, 380 (Swiss — amber necklace) ; Aubrey, p. 114 (coral) ; Ran-
dolph, p. 144 (elder twigs, silver coin. Job's tears) ; Thomas, Dez'il's
Ditties, p. II (necklace of orris root) ; FL, xxiv, 120 (English Jews^
same) ; Rodd, The Customs and Lore of Modern Greece, p. 108 (thirty-
two grains of wheat strung around the baby's neck) ; Brendle and
Unger, Folk Medicine of the Pennsylivnia Germans, p. 120 (mouse tied
around neck).
For mention of rabbit brains rubbed on the gums, see Earle, Customs
and Fashions . . . , p. 8 ; Randolph, p. 145; Brendle and Unger, p. 119;
Aurand, The "Potu-U'oic" Book, p. 26; Kanner, Folklore of the Teeth,
PP- 32-34 (rabbit brains, sheep brains, sparrow brains, honey, butter,
lard, goat's milk, wine, blood, christening water, etc.). For a long list
of amulets worn as aids to dentition, see the same work, pp. 34-39.
" See Black, Nebraska Folk Cures, p. 19 (hind legs of rat fried) ; John-
son, p. 172; Bergen, p. 79 (rat soup); Gumbo Ya-]'a. p. 526 (roasted
rat) ; JAFL, xvii, 37 (Bahamas — fried mice or rats) ; FL, xxxvn, 367
(boiled mouse) ; xxxv, 356 (mouse), xlvii, 363 (Indiana — mouse) ,
SFQ, III, 34 (fried mouse) ; Pickard and Buley, p. 77 (fried-mouse
pie) ; Hole, p. 34 (fried mice) ; Hyatt, p. 208 (mouse) ; Puckett, p. 386;
Brendle and Unger, p. 188 (fried mouse) ; Black, Folk-Medicine, p. 159;
Campbell, p. 40 (fried mouse); FL, lii, 118 (Hungarian — mouse fried
with egg and given child to eat) ; liv, 293 ("In Norfolk, where roasted
mouse was a common remedy for bed wetting, the animal was sometimes
BELIEFS AND CUSTOMS 229
Peas placed in the shoes stop a child's growth.'" (Green
Collection )'-
Children are told that the sound of thunder is Cod stepping
or Ciod speaking.' ' (Green Collection)
Children are told that the lightning is (iod winking. (Green
Collection);
When it is snowing, children are told that the old woman is
shaking her feather bed.'^ (Green Collection)
Children were told that jail was a place where bad children
roasted alive. In Hull three roast mice had to be eaten. In Aberdeen-
shire the mouse was eaten with a spoon made from a horn taken from
a living animal known as a 'quick horn spoon.' According to Hovorka
and Kronfeld, the Magyars give it to the child to eat without his know-
ing what it is, whereas in Western Bohemia the child must cook the
mouse himself. In Upper Franconia the parents or relatives bite off
the head of a living mouse and hang it around the child's neck, or the
animal is cut up with its skin and hair into mincemeat which is sprinkled
with sugar and cinnamon before it is given to the child to eat.")
Mice and rats were and still are highly regarded as cures for other
things, among them whooping cough. See FL, xxxviii, 401 (boiled
mouse for whooping cough) ; xlix, 229 (roast mouse for whooping
cough) ; Liv, 291 (roasted mouse for smallpox) ; Addy, p. 91 (fried rat
for whooping cough) ; JGLS, n.s., hi, 27 (fried mouse for whooping
cough) ; Gutch and Peacock, p. 115 (same) ; Gregor, p. 127 (same) ;
Whitney and Bullock, p. 85 (roasted or fried mice for ague and whoop-
ing cough; Gutch, County Folk-Lorc J'l, 69 (for croup); Macgregor,
p. 45 (fried mouse for smallpox).
^° I have found no exact parallel to this. The usual belief is that to
step over a child stops his growth. References to the latter are numer-
ous : Gumbo Ya-Ya, p. 553; JAFL, xl. 150 (Louisiana); xxxviii, 387
(Jewish) ; vni, 252 (South Carolina Negro) ; xn, 263, 267 (Georgia-
stepping over person brings bad luck to him) ; xxvn, 246 (South Car-
olina Negro) ; vi, 66 (Isle of Man) ; 11, 27 (Pennsylvania German) ;
FL, XXXV, 47 (Czechoslovak); Whitney and Bullock, p. 98; Thorpe,
Northern Mythology, 11, no (Swedish) ; Leather, The Folk-Lore of
Herefordshire, p. 113; Puckett, pp. 338, 418; Doke, The Lamhas of
Northern Rhodesia, p. 212 ("Don't step over another's outstretciied legs
lest the latter's legs should become heavy") ; FLJ, i, 355 (Magyar) ;
JAFL, XIX, 211 (Filipino— causes bad luck) ; xx, 245 (North Carolina-
same) ; Brendle and Unger, p. 20.
Bealoideas, i, 247 (striking a child with an elder branch stunts him) ;
Bergen, p. loi (Newfoundland— whipping a child with a mountain ash
stops his growth) ; Thiselton-Dycr, The Folk-Lore of Plants, p. 292
(whipping with elder twig stops child's growth) ; Brand, in, 284
(same) ; Maddox, p. 209 (same).
'^ Gumba Ya-Ya, p. 557 (God rolling stones or the Devil driving his
chariot) ; Thorpe, in, 183 (German— Peter [or angels] playing bowls) ;
Legey, The Folklore of Morocco, p. 48 (a dumb angel trying to talk to
God) ; JAFL, xix, 210 (Filipino — the growling of a large cat) ; Bett,
Nursery Rhymes and Tales, p. 17 (Ciod having his coal put in) ;
Enthoven, p. 76 (the voice of Indra).
^° Simpson, p. 228 (Scottish — witches from Norway shaking feathers) ;
Thorpe, in, 183 (German— Peter shaking up his bed).
230 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
were hung up by the neck b}' a rope which had two httle
blades that would glide out and stick in their necks. (Green
Collection)
Children were told that unless they did so and so "Old Raw-
Head and Bloody Bones" would get them.^-^ (Green Collection) •
Children are told that the moon is made of green cheese.
(Green Collection)
Children were taught that an old mother 'coon found babies
in the woods and took them to people's homes. (Green
Collection)'
Children were taught that babies were brought by the stork. ^'^
(Green Collection)
Children were taught that babies are found in hollow stumps
or sugar barrels.^"' (Green Collection)
Children were told that the doctor keeps babies in his saddle-
bags. (Green Collection)
Children were told that babies are found in hollow stumps,
laid by a buzzard and hatched by the sun. (Green Collection)
Children were told that there is a pot of gold waiting at the
end of the rainbow. ^"^ (Green Collection)
Children are told that the Man in the Moon was put there
for gathering sticks on Sunday.^" (Green Collection)
^'' Gutch and Peacock, County Folk-Lore J\ 58; Hardwick, Traditions,
Superstitions, and Folklore, p. 131.
'^* JAFL, XL, 150 (Louisiana); Stout, p. 142 (brought by stork or
found in straw piles) ; Whitney and Bullock, p. 94 (brought by stork
or found in cabbage) ; Thiselton-Dyer, The Folk-Lorc of Plants, p. 26
(found in parsley-bed, brought by stork or woodpecker, found in cab-
bage or hollow tree).
^■'' Hyatt, p. Ill; JAFL, xl, 150 (found in cabbage patch).
^"JAFL, XXXI, 8 (Ontario) ; Kidd, The Essential Kafir, p. 113 ("The
Mashonas say that if anyone manages to run to the spot where the
rainbow rests on the earth he will find a large brass ornament") ; Werner,
Myths and Legends of the Bantu, p. 233.
^' See Abbott, Macedonian Folklore, p. 69; Thiselton-Dyer, p. 48
(refers to Numbers 15:32 — "And while the children of Israel were in
the wilderness, they found a man that gathered sticks upon the sabbath
day") ; Thorpe, i, 143 (Swedish — spots on moon are children carry-
ing water in bucket) ; Porteous, Forest Folklore. Mythology, and Ro-
mance, p. 267 (Cain taken to moon for bringing briars as an offering;
Isaac carrying wood for his own sacrifice ; woman who was placed in
the moon for churning on Sunday) ; Harley, p. 23 (man carrying cab-
bages stolen on Christmas Eve ; man who strewed briars on the path
to the cliurch in order to keep people from attending mass), 53 (a
n r, I. 1 K F S AND CUSTOMS 23I
LhiUlrcii l)clic\e that if they address a granddaddy loiiglegs
with "Daddy Longlegs, wliich way are my cows?" he will indi-
cate their whereabouts by pointing one of his legs.^** ((jreen
Collection)
At Easter the children always select a nest for the rooster
to lay in, and on Easter morning they visit it to find colored
eggs. Egg hunts are the usual thing, and at these the children
"pip" eggs with each other. Each takes an egg and they crack
the eggs together to see which will not get broken. Various
games are played. Everyone in the community serves eggs
prepared in various ways at all the meals on Easter Day.^^
(Ciertrude Allen Vaught).,/
If the hair of a child is washed in the juice of a grapevine,
it will be glossy and pretty.-*' (Mildred Peterson)
When you hear the whippoorwill or when the dogwood
blooms, it is time to go barefooted.-^ (Elizabeth Janet
Cromartie)':
woman in the moon), 60 (a hare in the moon), 69 (a tuad in tlic moon) ;
Enthoven, p. 50 (spinning woman, with goat near by).
FL, XXIV, 77 (Oxfordshire) —
The man in the moon was caught in a trap
For stealing the thorns out of another man's gap.
If he had gone by and let the thorns lie,
He'd never been a man in the moon so high.
For literary allusions to the lielief, see Tempest, n. 2, and Midsummer
Night's Dream, i, 3.
^"JAFL. XXIV, 319 (Kentucky); vii. 306 xl, 89 (Ozarks) ; Bergen,
PP- 58-59, 1048; Gardner, p. 275; Callaway, The Rclicjious System of the
Amazidu, p. 339 (boys use the bird called Isi pnngumangati for same
purpose, the bird pointing the direction with its head ; the praying mantis
is also used) ; Randolph, p. 48.
"' Puckett, p. 55; Hardwick, pp. 71-72; JAI'L. xn, 106-107 (Armen-
ian— coloring and breaking eggs) ; xvi, 138 (Syrian — breaking Easter
eggs) ; FL, xxviii, 450, 452; xxv, 373 (Jersey) ; Gumbo Va-Va, p. 573;
Whitney and Bullock, pp. 116-117; Abbott, pp. 35, 37; Gutch, Comity
Folk-Lore IL 245; Balfour and Thomas, County Folk-Lore IT. 70, 108";
British Calendar Customs (England), 1, 89-91 ; British Calendar Cus-
toms (Scotland), i, 45-46.
-"Hyatt, p. 143; JAFL, xl. 82 (Ozarks); xlvi, 3 (Ozarks); Follc-
Say (1930), p. 162 (Ozarks); Randolph, p. 164; Brendle and Ungcr, j).
loi (makes mustache heavy!).
-^ Randolph, p. 70 (go baref(X)ted on May i and you may leave your
shoes off with impunity until snow flies). According to Wilson (Pass-
ing lustitutiniis. p. 177), one was to begin going barefooted at sheep-
shearing time.
232 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
FOLK-TOYS
Tops. — Tops were made by cutting a spool in half and insert-
ing a small wooden peg for a spindle.-- (Clara Hearne)
Dolls. — Dolls were made from hickory nuts, from raisins and
figs, from May Pop bloom (man), from althea bloom (lady),
from immature corn, using the silks for hair.-'^ ( Jean and
Hallie Holeman) — Dolls were made from plants with long roots.
(Gertrude Allen Vaught) — Dolls and animals were made from
cloth. (Clara Hearne) — Rag dolls were made of cloth, and
jumping jacks of wood. (Nilla Lancaster)
Boats. — Boats were made from pine bark. Sails were made
by pasting paper on a small reed or broom straw. (Clara
Hearne)
Popguns. — Popguns were made from alder; cedar balls were
used as missiles.-^ (Clara Hearne)
Whistles. — Whistles were made of reeds. (Gertrude Allen
-- Playing with tops was a very ancient pastime. Whipping the top
is mentioned by Vergil (Acncid, Bk. vn, line 378), and the sport was
probably old even at that time. Top-playing was popular in England
at least as early as the fourteenth century (Gomme, n, 299-303). Both
Strutt (pp. 304-305) and Maclagan attest to its popularity in England
and Scotland respectively. Allusions to it appear also in the plays of
Shakespeare, the poems of Greville and Thomas More, and elsewhere
in English literature.
Tops are or were among the favorite toys of Koreans and Japanese
(Culin, p. 24), of the Maori (Best, p. 86), of the Hawaiians (Bryan,
p. 51), of the Singhalese (Ludovici, p. 39), of the peoples of India
(Mills, p. 64;"Hutton, p. 105), and of many American Indian tribes
(Culin, "Games." p. 733).
They were made not only of wood but also of stone, shells, and other
materials. Some were so made as to produce a humming sound ; many
were decorated with bright-colored bits of shell to make them more
attractive.
"'' Although not reported, there were undoubtedly dolls made of corn
husks as well. Dolls of this kind are still being made in the Southern
Highlands; see Eaton, p. 188. In the U.S.S.R., favorite materials for
the making of dolls are straw and grasses. For illustrations, see Kor-
shunov, lijnishki sa»iodcIki, pp. 72-73.
"^ The earliest allusion to the popgun, originally called potgun, appears
in an English comedy, The Kni(jlif of Grainc (1640). There are allusions
also in Marston's The Malcontent (iv, v) and in the Philasfcr of Beau-
mont and Fletcher (i, i), where the term elder-gun is used. In Korea
and Japan the name of papergun was given it because of the fact that
paper wads were used as ammunition (Culin, p. 29).
For descriptions and other information, see Strutt (p. 300) and Mac-
lagan (p. 172). The popgun was known in India, Ceylon, and among
the Cheyenne, Fox, Omaha, and other American Indian tribes (Culin,
"Games," p. 758).
Irish lads make a popgun from the wing-bones of the goose. To make
this (iunnai Gc, they punch tlie marrow out of the hone, insert a wooden
plunger whittled to fit the hole, and shoot it in the same way that
American boys shoot a gun made of alder. Paper wads are used for
ammunition. See Bealoidcas, .\v (1945), 281-282.
U 1-; I. I I'. |- S A N 1) t" V S T O M S J33
Vaught) — Whistles were made from rye stalks. (Cjertrude
Allen Vaught) — Sourwood sprouts were used to make whistles
in the spring of the year when the "sap was up." Goose (juills
made excellent "squealers."-'' (Green Collection) — -Whistles
were made of s(|uash vines. (Green Collection)
Windmills. — Windmills were made of wood or cornstalks.-*'
(Gertrude Allen Vaught)
IVatcr Mills. — Water mills were made of cornstalks. (Cireen
Collection)
Doll Dishes. — Cups were made from acorns. ((Gertrude
Allen Vaught) — Dishes were molded from clay. Nilla Lan-
caster)
U'ayoHS and Carts. — These were made from cigar hoxes and
spools. (Clara Hearne)
Animals. — Horses, dogs, cats, and other animals were made
from cornstalks. (Clara Hearne)
Bean Shooters. — Bean shooters were made from a fork of
the dogwood.-" (Clara Hearne)
Slings. — No description. (Gertrude Allen Vaught) — No
description.-*^ (Green Collection)
Bubble Blotvers. — These were made of spools. (Clara
Hearne) — Spools were used as bubble blowers. (Green Col-
lection )
Stick Horses. — Tobacco sticks were used for "horses."-^
(Green Collection)
Clothing. — Hats and aprons were made of leaves. (Ger-
trude Allen Vaught)
" Boys in Southern Indiana still make whistles from hickory and
willow just as I did more than thirty years ago. The hickory is also
used for the making of whips. The bark of a long slender hickory hmb
is split longitudinally into four or more strands. These are peeled down
to within about fifteen inches of the butt, and the limb is cut off at this
point. Then the strands of bark are plaited and a cracker, also of bark,
is added.
^'^ See Strutt (p. 307) for a painting, over five hundred years old, of
a children's windmill.
"Apparently these were what are now more commnnly called "nigger-
killers," consisting of a forked stick, two rul)ber bands, and a small bit
of leather to hold the missile.
-* Our slings (c. 1910) required the following materials: two strong
cords about eighteen inches long and a piece of soft leather, preferably
the tongue of a lady's shoe. The latter was cut in the form of an oval
about three inches long, and a hole was made in each end for tying the
cords. A small slit was cut in the center so that the pebble missile
would not slip out so easily. .\ loop was then made in the free end of
one of the cords and this \vas slipped over the little finger of the throw-
ing hand. The free end of the other string was held between thumb and
forefinger. When the sling had been whirled around the bead two or
three times, this string was suddenly released and the pebble was on its
way toward the mark. ,
-* See Strutt (p. 300) and Culin (p. ii) .
234 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
Wooden Guns and Sxvords. — Mentioned but not described.
(Nilla Lancaster)
Crosshozvs. — Mentioned but not described. (Green Col-
lection)
Bows and Arrows. — No description. (Green Collection) —
No description. (Nilla Lancaster) — Bows were made from
cedar; reeds were used for arrows.-^" (Clara Hearne)
Blate ( Bleat?) or Hawk-caller. — This consisted of a split stick
with a leaf tongue. (Green Collection)
Gigs. — Gigs made from dining forks and umbrella ribs were
used in catching fish and frogs in ditches and other shallow
water. (Green Collection)
5a//j.— Mentioned but not described. (Nilla Lancaster) —
"Tra-ball" made of yarn or cotton usually ravelled from worn
stockings. The name is from the ancient game of trap-ball or
trap-bat. (Green Collection)
Flippers. — These were made from strong, springy wood like
hickory or oak. A small limb or the trunk of a small tree was
used. They were left round on one end for a handle. The
other end was shaped oft' much like the half of a bow. They
were held with one hand, while the other hand was used to
hold a small pebble to shoot out for a distance of forty to fifty
yards. Small boys used to use them in war games. (Green
Collection)
Kites. — Country boys made them out of dried dog-fennel
stalks.'" (Green Collection) — Mentioned but not described.
(Clara Hearne)
Whirligig. — The whirligig is undoubtedly a folk-toy. It is
somewhat similar to a little device used by the ancients for
^" The favorite bow of boys in Scotland was one made of a horse's rib
(Maclagan. pp. 44-45)-
■" It appears that the kite was invented about 200 B.C. by a Chinese
general, one Han-Sin, who used it for signaling. From China, kite-
flying spread to Japan, Siam, Korea, and Turkey. The kite was intro-
duced into Europe in the seventeenth century, and instructions for mak-
ing it appeared first in England in John Bate's Mysteries of Nature and
Art (1634). Mention of it occurs a little later (1664) in Butler's
Hudibras.
Among the Melanesians kites were used as corks by fishermen, who
tied their lines to them. In England they were sometimes loaded witli
fireworks and then sent aloft, where the fireworks exploded. Musical
kites were made by attaching flutes, lyres, hollow bits of bamboo, or
perforated shells to the frame.
.A. favorite pastime, particularly in Korea and New Zealand, was kite-
fighting, i.e., the cutting of one's kite string by that of another. Ground
glass or coarse sand was rubbed on the strings to make them rough.
This sport was indulged in even by men, who often wagered large sums
on their respective kites.
For additional information on tlie sul)ject, sec Culin, and Laufer,
"The Prehistory of Aviation."
B E I. I K F S AND CUSTOM S 235
boring liolcs. It is whittled out of wood in the shape of an
arrow about ten inches long. This rod is split at the top and
a thread is inserted. Then a notch is cut in each end of another
thin board about four inches long and one inch wide, and a hole
is bored in the center of it. This is slipped over the top of
the arrow, and its ends are tied with the threads. Children
put their tingers on the board, press down, and the arrow re-
volves.-^- (Zilpah Frisbie)^
Stilts. — Mentioned but not described.-" ((ireen Collection)
Miscellaneous. — Hog bladders blown up and dried, kept to
make a noise on Christmas Day (Green Collection) ; rolling
the hoop (Green Collection); making of snow men-'*^ ((ireen
Collection) ; the making and playing of cornstalk fiddles*''"^
(Green Collection) ; the making of saddles from pea hulls and
of baskets from peach seeds, ((ireen Collection)
COURTSHIP AND MARRIAGE
A filmy yellow parasite called the love vine grows densely
along hedges and creek banks in the South. A handful of it
is torn from the parent bush by the girl who seeks to know her
fate, and thrown backward over her left shoulder. If it grows,
her lover is true.'^*' (Maude Minish Sutton)
To have good luck, the bride must wear
Something old and something new
Something borrowed and something blue.-"*'
(Jean and Hallie Holeman, Durham county) >
'' Native craftsmen, particularly those working in metal, in many
lands use a drill of this kind. A similar device was used in olden times
for making fires.
'^ The North Carolina term most commonly used seems to be "Tom
Walkers" ; in Louisiana the name applied to stilts is "George Walkers"
(Gumbo ya-]'a, p. 572). For descriptions and illustrations, see Culin
(p. 8) and Strutt (pp. 66, 303).
"* The making of snow men is a favorite sport also of Korean children
(Culin, p. 8). _
'''' In Yorkshire, children scraped the stems of a plant known as "fiddle-
wood" across each other ; see Thiselton-Dyer, The Folklore of Plants.
P- 235.
For a photograph of a cornstalk fiddle, see Eaton, p. 271.
"See Puckett, p. 327: J.-iFL. xl, 80 (Ozarks), 155 (Louisiana);
XLvni, 333 (Tennessee); II F, vi. 23: Bergen, p. 50; Randolph, p. 172
(love vine or dodder) ; HFR. 11, 31 ("Live Forever" and yellow
dodder) ; Carmer, Stars Fell on Alabama, p. 281 ; Barker, p. 252.
"Gardner, p. 302; HF, vi, 20; HFR, 11, 37; J.-iFL, vi, 103 (New
England) ; x, 77 (Canada) ; v, 114 (North Carolina) ; xxxi. 28. 97
(Ontario), 207; xxxvi, 10, 21 (New York); xl, 158 (Louisiana — "and
a bit of silver in the heel of her shoe") ; Stout, p. 147; Thorpe, 11, 113
(Swedish — if the bride dances with money in her shoes, no witchcraft
can harm her) ; Crawley, The Mystic Rose, 11, 05 (in Morocco, the
bride's brother places a silver coin in one of her slippers, puts them on
her feet, and then taps her three times with his own slipper).
236 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
An old Southern custom was for the bridesmaids to put the
bride to bed on her wedding night. •^''* (Mrs. Norman Herring),
If you laugh while being married, you will die early. (Mrs.
Norman Herring) '^
Alarry in white, choose all right ;
IMarry in blue, always be true ;
Marry in green, ashamed to be seen ;
Marry in brown, live out of town ;
Marry in black, you'll wish you were back ;
Marry in pink, your spirit will sink ;
Marry in yellow, ashamed of your fellow ;
Marry in tan, you'll get a good man ;
Marry in red, you'll wish you were dead ;
Marry in pearl, you'll live in a whirl ; r
]\Iarry in gray, you'll live far away.^** /
(Mrs. Norman Herring)
It is the custom in the South to throw rice and old slippers
after the married couple. It is thought to bring them good
luck.^" (Zilpah Frisbie) '^
An old slave custom was to "jump the broom" instead of
having a marriage ceremony. "'^ (Mrs. Norman Herring) */
•■'*' Cf. Earle, Customs and fashions .... p. 73 ("In Marblehead the
bridesmaids and groomsmen put the wedded couple to bed").
"^ For other texts and variants of this rhyme, see JAFL, xl, 158
(Louisiana) ; xxxvi, 10; xxxl 27 (Ontario) ; FL, xlix, 152 (Ne-
braska) ; xxvni, 452; Randolph, pp. 189-190; Stout, p. 149; MAFLS,
XXIX, 149; TFLS, HL 29; Hyatt, p. 168; Johnson. What They Say in
Xczc England, p. 131; (jardner, p. 301; Puckett, p. 330; Thomas and
Thomas. Kentucky Sut^ersfitions, p. 64; Fogel. Beliefs and Superstitions
of the Pcnnsyhcvnia Germans, p. 70; Poison, Our Highland Folklore
Heritage, p. 13; HF, vi, 22. Green, from its association with the fairies
and with the supernatural in general, is particularly ill-omened. See, on
this point, Gutch and Peacock, County Folk-Lore l\ 146; Gutch, County
Folk-Lore H, 290; Gutch, County Folk-Lore I'l, 81, 128; Whitney and
Bullock, p. 17; FLR, I, 12.
^''JAFL. XXXVI, 10; Abbott, p. 177; FLR. in, 133 (rice and zn'heat
thrown at the wedding of Henry VII in i486); Stout, p. 147; Rodd,
p. 95 (rice and cotton seed thrown) ; Hutchinson. Marriage Customs in
Many Lands, p. 8 (Hindu). Old shoes were formerly thrown after
English whalers to bring them luck (Bassett, Legends and Superstitions
of the Sea. p. 437)- In some parts of England icheat was thrown on
the head of the bride, a custom which is found also among Hebrews
and Sicilians ( Dennys, The Folk-Lore of China, p. 15. note). In Russia
the priest threw hops on the bride's head, at the same time expressing
the wish that she might be as fruitful as that plant. The throwing of
wheat at English weddings is mentioned by Herrick. Corn (wheat?)
was formerly thrown at Italian weddings ; see Thiselton-Dyer, The
Folk-Lore of Plants, p. 153.
"See Botkin, Lay My Burden Down, pp. 65. 86, 91. 124. 263; M,
Eileen Lyster, "Marriage over the Broomstick," JGLS, n.s., v, 198-
201; II, 343-344; III, 178; O.S., I, 179, 351; FL, xiir, 238; XXIV, 336-337
1! K 1. I K K S A X U C r S T () M S 237
Old shoes should he thrown after the hride to hring her
luck.-*- (Mrs. Norman Herring) y
Sometimes women wore smocks, so they just stood in the
closet during the marriage ceremony. -••' ( Rehecca Willis)/
(Gypsy); Gumbo Yii-Ya, p. 569; Thomas, Devil's Ditties, p. 8 (as part
of a play-party song).
Allusions to the custom occur also in nursery rhymes. For tlie fol-
lowing example, I am indelned to my mother, Mrs. Nancy E. Brewster,
who learned it in Southern Indiana some si.xty years ago.
^ly dollies are going to get married ;
It's simple as simple can he.
They hotli jump over the hroomstick,
•A.nd then they are married, you see.
In a Missouri German wedding ceremony descrihed in JAI'l. (.xxi,
63) the hride and groom take their stand on one side of a held, the
latter holding a hroom. The young single men of the party race toward
them from the opptosite side of the field. The winner seizes the broom,
and it is believed that lie will be the next bridegroom.
Samter {Ccburt, Hoch::cif, iind Tot) thinks that the purpose of
jumping was to elude evil spirits. He writes: "A person who has fallen
into such undesirable company (ghosts) has thus a simple and obvious
method of giving liis companions the slip ; he has only to step over a
besom. The ghosts, with the usual stupidity of their kind, do not think
of walking round, and dare not follow." Another suggestion is that
the broonistick was probably originally a branch of a sacred tree and
the jumping over it was intended to promote the fertility of the bride.
It is possible also that the jumping may originally have been a virginity
or chastity test (cf. the dancing in some of the English and Scottish
popular ballads).
Although "marriage over the broomstick" was occasionally practiced
by the Gypsies, their standard marriage ceremony appears to have con-
sisted in the breaking of an earthen jar (e.g., in the marriage of
Esmeralda to Gringoire in The Hunchback of Notre Dame). The
breaking of crockery at marriage ceremonies was a distinctive feature
also among the Jews, Greeks, Bohemians, and otiicr peoples (Crawley,
n, 94, 134; Westermarck. The History of Human Marriat/e, u. 4^9-
462 ; Leared, Morocco and the Moors, p." 3" ) .
It is interesting to note that jumping or stepping over a broom is also
believed to bring one bad luck, cause one not to be married, etc. See,
for example, JAFL, .\l, 172 (never step over broom), 173 (if one steps
over a broom, he will never be married) ; HPB, u. 26 (bad luck to step
over broom) ; Randolph, pp. 74, 182; Stout, p. 145 (if one steps over
a broom, will be an old maid), 148 (if one steps over a broom, will
never marry); Barker, p. 247; CTLQ. iv, 431 (don't step over hroom
if a married man !).
*" Cf. JATL, XL, 157 (Louisiana); Thiselton-Dyer, p. 203: Gutch
and Peacock, County J-olk-Lore \\ p. 233. The throwing of a shoe was
originally a symbol of renunciation of control (cf. Ruth. 4:7-8). The
throwing of shoes at modern weddings is symbolic of tiie relatives' re-
linquishment of the bride to her husband.
*"" Altliough the contributor has not made it i)Iain. i)otli tliis and the
following custom are connected with the Englisii "debt-evading" mar-
riage, which was later transplanted into New England social life and
apparently into that of the South as well, though it appears never to have
been so prevalent there. In eighteenth-century England the belief pre-
vailed that if a widow were "married in Her Smock without 'any Clothes
238 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
Women often waited until they got outside to put on their
wedding dresses so they could cut off the past entirely.
(Rebecca Willis J -
Weddings in my community are generally home affairs.
Usually the couple is married late in the afternoon and drive
to some of the groom's relatives, where they take supper. All
his intimate friends are invited and after supper, games are
played and songs, almost always love songs, are sung. The
first night in their home they are "belled." A large crowd of
friends get together and have bells, tin pans, guns — in fact, any-
thing that will make a noise — and then proceed after dark to
the house. Quite often the crowd is invited in by the bride
and groom, and games are played. I have helped with a num-
ber of "bellings" myself."*^ (Gertrude Allen Vaught)^
It was a custom at country weddings for the groom to give
a reception to the bride and the bridal party after the wedding.
This was called the infair."*'^ (Elizabeth Janet Cromartie).,
or Head Gier on," the husband would not be liable for any debts con-
tracted by his new wife before her marriage to him, and many records of
such "debt-evading" marriages appear. In New England it was thought
that if the bride were married in her shift on the king's highway a cred-
itor was prohibited from following her person any further in pursuit of a
debt. Mention of these so-called "smock-marriages" occurs frequently
in the records of that time. Sometimes they took place on the highway,
sometimes at the home of the bride, and occasionally at the home of the
groom. Usually, with some regard to the bride's modesty, they were
held at night, the groom having his bride's wedding dress ready for her
to don as soon as the ceremony was finished. Later the bride stood
unclothed in a closet and reached out her hand to her husband through
a hole cut in the door for that purpose.
For additional information on this curious custom, see Gutch and
Peacock, Comity foIk-Lorc /', p. 234; JAFL, vi, 100 (New England) ;
and Earle, CusfoDts and Fashions . . . , pp. 77-78. There is an allusion
to it also in PL, xlix, 193. Andrews (Colonial folkivays, p. 89) writes:
"In one instance the lady stood in a closet and extended her hand
through the door, and in another, well authenticated, both chemise and
closet were dispensed with."
** "Bellings" or charivaris are still popular in this part of the country
(Indiana) as w-ell, not only in the rural sections but also in fairly good-
sized towns. They have become rather rough affairs, however, since
everyone feels free to attend and many of them are there only for the
beer and liquor that are usually offered. The poor groom is sometimes
used pretty roughly, occasionally being taken for a ride in a hog crate or
otherwise humiliated. This horseplay is usually of short duration, how-
ever, particularly if the groom proves generous in the matter of refresh-
ments for the crowd. The bride is never molested except for being made
the victim of some rude but not unkindly banter.
See JAFL, xxxl 136 (Ontario) ; Southern Literary Messcnucr, vi
(1944), 281-286 (Ozarks) ; Trachtenberg, Jeivish Magic and Super-
stition, p. 160; and Holliday, Woman's Life in Colonial Days, p. 272,
Wuttke, p. 185.
*■'' For mention of this custom, see Thomas, pp. 1-8. An infair dinner
is the subject of one of James Whitcomb Riley's poems, "A New Year's
Time at Willards's."
r
BELIEFS AND CUSTOMS 239
A pregnant woman cannot make pickle successfully/" ((ireen
Collection) ^
To sit over a pot of stewed onions will cause a miscarriage.'''^
(Carolyn Kay Root) •
An expectant mother should not have her teeth pulled."***
(F.unice Smith) y
HOLIDAYS AND "GET-TOGETHERS"
Cows kneel at midnight on the eve of Old Christmas. ■*•'
(\V. S. Smith)
*'^FL, XLix, 231 (a pregnant woman is not to help in butchering or
meat-curing) ; Randolph, p. 195 (a pregnant woman must not help with
canning) ; Toor, A Treasury of Mcxicau Folkways, pp. iii, 157; Wallis,
Rcliyion in Primitive Society, p. 95 (Fiji— a pregnant woman must not
make pottery lest the clay crack); Crawley, i. 199 (Fiji— a pregnant
woman must not minister to her husband in any way) ; Campbell, p. 37
(Negro — if a pregnant woman cleans out a spring, it will go dry) ;
Webster, Taboo, p. 51 (Ba-ila of Northern Rhodesia— the presence of a
pregnant woman causes the skulls of newborn babies and puppies to
split, fruit to drop from trees, and eggs under a setting hen to crack),
p. 52 (Nyasaland — a pregnant woman is to be kept away from growing
crops, from food being cooked, and from beer that is being brewed) ;
Dennys, p. 49 ( China — a pregnant woman is possessed of the evil eye ) .
Much the same prohibitions and taboos apply to the menstruating woman
or girl. See Hyatt, p. 37 (flowers die when planted by a menstruating
woman); FL, Lvi, 270 (a menstruating girl spoils the butter); xxxvii,
97 (Gypsy — a menstruating woman is not to help with the preparing of
food); XL. 386 (a menstruating girl turns wine sour) ; JAFL, lh, 75;
xxxvHL 388 (Jewish — a menstruating woman not to touch the ark or
the scroll of the law), 398 (Jewish — a menstruating woman not to enter
a cemetery) ; xlh, 235 (a menstruating woman not to can fruit or make
kraut) ; xl, 83 (Ozarks — not to pickle cucumbers) ; Puckett, pp. 423-
424; Nassau, F-etichism m West Africa, p. 189 (a menstruating woman
not to enter a garden) ; Burriss, Taboo. Magic. Spirits, p. 43 (citing
Pliny, VH, 63) ; Kemp, p. 44 (not allowed to approach hearth).
*' Hyatt (p. 122) lists this as a means for securing an easy delivery.
A Jewish woman desirous of bringing about an aburtion nails a slioe
above the door {Edotli, 1, 126).
** ". . . it has not been very long since even in the medical and dental
profession the belief prevailed that the mciuth of a pregnant woman is an
inviolate Noli-me-tangere for operative procedure and that dental care
should be deferred until after childbirth. Extraction of teeth during
pregnancy was dreaded as fatal for the successful conclusion of the
parturition and harmful to the mother. This is exactly the popular
opinion as found almost everywhere in the civilized world as well as
in the uncivilized" ( Kanner, Folklore of the Teeth, p. 29).
*^JAFL, XL, 93 (Ozarks). 191 (Louisiana); \, 130 (Pennsylvania
German); xi. 12 (Maryland); \n, 98 (North Carolina); xxxn, 393
(North Carolina) ; TL, xxv, 368 (Sussex) ; JCLS. n.s., iii, 21: British
Calendar Customs ( F-nc/land ). 11. 74-75: Cutch, County I-olk-Lore 11,
114: Whitney and Bullock, p. 128; Thomas, p. 18; R?ndolph, pp. 77
78; Hole, p. 78.
240 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
Exactly at midnight on the night of Old Christmas, all cattle
and horses everywhere stand up and then lie down on the other
side."*^ (Susie Spurgeon Jordan)
Horses talk at Old Christmas.^^' (W. S. Smith)
Water turns to blood on midnight of Old Christmas. "^^
(W. S. Smith) ■
It was believed that at Old Christmas, animals got down on
their knees and turned to the East.-"^ (Green Collection)
Hop vines spread out on Old Christmas even if there is snow
on the ground.''^ (Mabel Ballentine)
The custom with Negroes around here is that whenever you
say, "Christmas gift," they say, "Hand it over."-'''' (Elizabeth
Janet Cromartie)
Some people shoot firecrackers on the Fourth of July, but
we shoot them on Christmas.-^" (Elizabeth Janet Cromartie)
At Christmas time, put mistletoe over the door. Any girls
standing under it may be kissed. •''' (Elizabeth Janet Cromartie)
Never keep Christmas decorations up after the twelfth day
after Christmas."'^ (Robert E. Long) ^,^
In Wilmington on Christmas Eve. John Kuners. Negroes,
went about singing, dressed in tatters with strips of gay colors
sewn to their garments. All were men. but some dressed as
women. They wore masks. Some rattled beef ribs ; others
had cow horns, triangles, Jew's-harps. They collected pennies at
each house. This custom resembles that reported from the
Bahamas, and the name is thought to have originated from
that of a man, John Connu. It is corrupted there to Junk-
anoes:'^ (Green Collection)
'''' Thorpe, n, 272 (Danish); ui, 330 (Dutch).
^'^JAFL, XL, 148 (Louisiana). See also Carmer. Stars Fell on Ala-
bama, p. 282.
"Whitney and Bullock, p. 128 (water turns to wine) ; JAFL. xu. 99
(Armenian — all rivers and springs stop for five minutes at midnight on
New Year's Eve) ; Randolph, p. yy (water in wells turns to wine at mid-
night of January 5).
"'^ See Gutch, County Folk-Lore //. 278: FL. xxiv, 89; Balfour and
Thomas, Cou)ity Folk-Lore IV, 80.
'''JAFL, xxxn, 393 (North Carolina — rosemary and poke): Thomas,
p. 18 (Kentucky — alder); Thorpe, ui, 148 (German — hops become green
on Christmas night).
"•"'See Gumbo Va-Ya, pp. 231, 570.
^'^ Ibid., p. 572; Barker, p. 183.
•"^^ See Gutch, County Folk-Lore VI, 118; Whitney and IJullock, p. 129;
Hardwick, p. 67. This custom is, of course, universal. Others con-
tributing it were Louise Bennett. Lida Page, Zilpah Frisbie, Alma Irene
Stone, and Gertrude Allen Vaught.
"Randolph, p. y2>'< British Calendar Customs ( F.nc/land), n, 92; JAFL,
V, 243 (Irish); xxxL 8 (Ontario — take down before end of month);
Gutch, County Folk-Lore VL 118; Whitney and Bullock, p. 129.
^'' See Dougald MacMillan's article in JAFL. xxxix, 53.
R K I. I K F S A X n (• r S T () M S 24I
In some parts of tliis county it is the custom to observe what
is known as Old Christmas. Opinion varies as to the (late;
some think it is the tifth and some the sixth of January. This
dav is believed l)v the people who keej) it to be the real Christ-
mas, the birthday of Christ. They say the Christmas we
regularlv keep is the "man-made" Christmas. Old Christmas
is kept in much the same way that w^e keep Christmas, the 25th
of December. (Jennie M. liclvin)
Old Christmas was celebrated in much the same way as
Christmas, but the celebration lasted only one night. In some
places there was a quilting bee. to which all the ladies were in-
vited. When the (|uilt was finished, they jjopped corn or roasted
apples. Sometimes they had a dance after the (luilting. (Clara
Hearne)
The weeJ< in which Christmas falls is a time for having parties
in my community. The voung folks meet and play games and
sing.' The night before' Christmas all the children hang up
their stockings, but Christmas trees in homes are rarely seen.
More often there is a tree at the church for everyl)ody. On
New Year's night we meet somewhere, usually at the school-
house, where we plav games and sing until midnight, when w^e
make all the noise possible. This is called Watch Xight. ( Ger-
trude Allen Vaught)
At Christmas time lots of folks used to make eggnog and
syllabub, and always decorated with holly and mistletoe.
(Elizabeth Janet Cromartie)
Christmas licjuor. eggnog. and other drinks were served to
all who dropped in. (CJreen Collection)
Bonfires were made of barrels of tar;' guns and firecrackers
w^ere discharged; and j^eople did as little work as possible be-
tween Christmas and New Year's. ( h^lsie Doxey)
The New^ Year's Shoot
Collected from Mr. A. Sidney Beam, of Cherryville. in January,
1948, bv Professor Arthur Palmer Hudson. The custom of wel-
comin^'in the New Year with gunfire appears to have been carried
into North Carolina by German-speaking immigrants, whose de-
scendants perpetuate it to this day, at least in Caston county. The
first written record of the North Carolina ".Shoot" hears the date
1774, but the custom may have been observed there even earlier.
Mr. Beam states that he has been saying the "New Year's Speech"
for 59 years, and believes the custom to be well cn-er 150 years old.
The shootins; besjins promptly at midnitrht of New Year's Eve
and continues until sunrise the following; morning. The celebrants
make a tour of the homes in the vicinity, stopping at each to dis-
charge their pieces after the recital of the following chant. What-
ever' its original purpose (to drive away evil spirits, to promote
242 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
fertility, etc.). the custom is now apparently only a way of showing
the crowd's good wishes to the people whose homes are visited.
Since Professor Hudson is later to publish elsewhere a full
account of this interesting custom, I present here only the tradi-
tional speech or chant as supplied him by Mr. Beam.
Good morning to you, Sir,
We wish you a happy New Year,
Great health, long life.
Which God may bestow
So long as you stay here below.
May he bestow the house you are in
Where you go out and you go in.
Time by moments steals away
First the hour and then the day.
Small the lost days may appear
But yet the[y] soon amount up to a year.
This another year is gone
And now it is no more of our own,
But if it brings our promises good
As the year before the flood.
Btit let none of us forget
It has left us much in debt.
A favor from the Lord received
Since which our spirits hath been grieved.
Marked by the unerring hand
Thus in his book our record stands.
Who can tell the vast amount
Placed to each of otir accounts ?
But while you owe the debt is large
You may pleade a full discharge.
But poor and selfish sinners, say
What can you to justice pay?
Trembling last for life is past
And into prison you may be cast.
Happy is the believing soul.
Christ for you has paid the whole.
We have this New Years morning call[ed] you by your name
And disturbed you from your rest.
But we hope no harm by the same.
As we ask come tell us your desire
And if it be your desire our guns and pistols they shall fire.
Since we hear of no defiance
You shall hear the art of science.
When we pull triggers and powder burns
You shall hear the roaringj^ of guns.
Oh, daughters of righteous [ness], we will rise
U K I. 1 K K S A N D l' U S T O M S 243
And warm our eyes and bless our licarts,
J'^or the old year's gone and the New Year's come
And for good luck we'll fire our guns.
Ouilting bees are ([uite common yet. The ladies and girls of
the community are invited to a home for the day, and quilts
are sewed or tacked together. Here they remain for dinner
and have a good "gossipy" time."" ((jertrude Allen Vaught)V
Apple peelings are quite common social affairs in our section.
A crowd of both old and young folks often gather together and
l)eel and cut ai)ples at night for a while. The young folks (juit
working not later than nine o'clock, and play games. While
they are working, they (|uite often sing all kinds of love songs.
Sometimes, instead of apple peelings, we have bean stringings,
bean shellings, or pea shellings. (Gertrude Allen Vaught)
Years ago when this country was a dense forest,, the people
in the community would invite the men for a day for "log-
rolling." The women were invited, too. While the men were
out in the woods, the women would quilt and |)re])are a big
feast. After supper they would have a dance, then a midnight
supper before going home.*''^ (Kate S. Russell)V
People do not have log-rollings now as they did some fifty
or a hundred years ago. However, there are a few log houses
still being built in the mountain section of North Carolina. I
remember hearing of a log-rolling in 1920. I did not go. but
others did, and they indicated that it was similar to the log-
rollings of our grandfathers' generation. ( Zil]:)ah Frisbie)*^
Log-rollings are still quite ccjmmon in my section, and usually
last at least one day. However, there are seldom any festivities
connected with them, ((jertrude Allen Vaught) V
The oldtime log-rollings and quiltings in our coimty are but
a memory. The log-rolling and quilting were generally held at
the same time. The men rolled the logs in the "new ground''
into heaps, while the women stitched quilts, gossiped, and
cooked dinner for the hands at the farmer's house. Sometimes
a jug of whiskey or brandy would be brought out to the "new
ground" by the owner of the farm and ])assed around to the
workers. This was supposed to aid the men in doing a great
amount of work in a short time. The men worked in squads of
from two to a half-dozen. Each s(iuad strove to perform the
greatest deeds of strength and skill. Loud yelling announced
"" For admirable descriptions of the oldtime quilting bee, see Webster,
Quilts, Their Story and How to Make Them, p. 152; Finlcy. Old Patch-
work Quilts and the Women IVho Made 'Them, pj). 33-34; and Bowles.
Homespun Handicrafts, pp. 157-158.
""For a good description of log-rollings, sec I'olk-Say, i (1929), 79-
85, and Wilson, Passing Institutions, p. 46.
244 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
the successful rolling of a log into a heap. Warning cries kept
the careless workers from heing caught by the big logs which
would roll swiftly down the hillside. At the sound of the
dinner horn coming from the house the workers would lay aside
their hand spikes, don their coats if they had been prudent
enough to bring them, and march for the house, where dinner
awaited them. The dinner would be all that any man could
desire. Almost every kind of meat and vegetable to be found in
the mountains and these well cooked were to be found on the
table. After the dinner the men would "rest a spell" and then
repair to the "new grcmnd" to hnish their work. (Thomas
Smith}
House raisings were a common thing in the early days of
our county. The older log houses which still stand were erected
by means of these oldtime house raisings. The neighbors of
men who wished to build a dwelling would "bunch in" and aid
him. Sometimes there were enough men on hand to complete
the house in one day. When the house was completed, the
owner would invite his friends and their "women folks" to a
bountiful supper, after which the young people would enjoy
themselves by dancing until late in the night. The dance music
would be furnished by some tiddler or banjo picker, who would
play "Tucker's Barn," "Devil's Dream," "Old Jimmy Sutton."
"Johnson Boys." "Turkey Buzzard," and other oldtime tunes.
(Thomas Smith)
"I ricollect a log rollin' we had 'way back yonder nearly fifty
years ago. W^e'd cleared that field on the hill back 'o the old
barn the winter before and had the logs all chopped and a-layin'
there ready to be rolled. So we axed nearly all the men for
miles around to help us roll them logs. ^lost o' the hands got
to the field early, tho' there was a few that come from over on
the river that was ten miles from our house ; they didn't git
there till way up towards twelve.
"We divided up into squads of four (I think one or two
squads had six because they didn't have quite as stout hands
as the rest).
"I£ach squad commencin' at the bottom o' the hill tuck a
'trough' up the hill a-racin' agin each other to see which could
roll the logs in their trough into heaps and git to the top o' the
hill first. The squad that got to the top first alius done a lot
o' hollerin' because they'd beat the others.
"Along up in the day the water carrier and the jug carrier
come out to the field. Uncle Joe Grey was the jug carrier,
and he got around purty lively for an old man. The only
trouble was he liked licker a little too well and we hadn't tuck
more'n three or fcnir drinks apiece till I'ncle Joe got drunk
B K I. I K F S A X D C U S T O M S ^4r«
and left the jug a-settin' in the middle o' the field. He crawled
oil under a tree and laid down and didn't ,^it up till way in the
eveniu".
"That didn't hother us much. We jist helped ourselves to the
licker and went on rollin' logs harder'n ever.
"list hefore twelve, wc rested a spell and when they hollered
for us to come to dinner, we stacked our handspikes and w^ent
to the house in a hurry, for we was a-gittin' good and hungry
hy this time.
' "There was several women and gals at the house. They had
a (luiltin' that day as they used to nearly always have when
there was a log rollin'. I 'ricoUect that some o' the gals waited
on the tahle and it kep' 'em husy a-waitin' on us too, I'll tell
you. for there was over thirty of us men and all of us hungry
as dogs.
"Well, we eat our dinners and went hack to the held to finish
rollin' them logs. After we'd tuck another snort or two at the
jug, we went to work agin and we shore done some log rollin'
that evenin' for hy an hour o' the sun we had all the logs rolled
in that field and there was ten acres in it if there was one.
"After we'd got through we all give a yell and started for
the house. Some o' the men that lived nearest went home, but
luost of 'em stayed. Supper wasn't ready yit, so we killed time
a-playin' leap frog and 'puUin swag' out in the yard. You see,
men was a sight stouter hack then than they are now, and w^e'd
just drunk enough to make us feel lively.
"]^lost o' the women and gals that was at the ciuiltin' had
stayed and after we'd eat supper we went into the 'big house'
and started up a dance. Old Sam Stone was there with his
fiddle, and he shore could play sich tunes as Turkey Buzzard,'
"The Miller Across the Ridge? and 'Cioin' to the Weddin.' He
shore couldn't he beat on them tunes. Several o' the gals could
dance like forty. I don't think there was many young men that
could dance much tho' ; se\'eral of 'em tried to and some of 'em
got lafifed at for bein' so awkward. There was two or three
old men tuck a big hand in the dancin' ; they beat the young
fellers all to pieces a-dancin' sich dances as the eight-handed
reel. One o' the old men I ricollect was old Uncle Joe. He'd
got over his drunk long before night, and it was a sight to see
him a-hoofin' around over the floor with the young gals.
"Ever'body got along peaceable that night. There wasn't
no fussin' or drinkin' like there used to be at some dances and
'wav up towards day we quit dancin' and ever'body went home
except a few that come from a distance." (Thomas Smith.
Communicated to him l)y Bennett Smith in 1915. F"ictitious
names are used throughout.)
246 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
Something green should be worn on St. Patrick's Day.
(Green Collection)
At Easter, people appear in new clothes if possible.^- (Elsie
Doxey)
Two cocks were made to fight until they became exhausted.
Then a man would go up with a spur in his hand (a piece of
iron made to represent a spur) and pretend to be separating
them, and stick this spur through the head of one of them so
that he could say which won.^^ (Kate S. Russell) .
A gander was caught and all the feathers picked from his
neck. Then he was hung up at just the right height for a
man on horseback to ride by and grab him. The man had to
ride his horse at high speed and pull the neck in two as he
rode.*^-* (Kate S. Russell) ^
It was the custom for the big farmers when hogs have been
killed to have a big chitterling sui)per and invite all their friends.
( Robert E. Long)
In earlier days it was the custom to give a "pound party"
for the new preacher or the new teacher. At these parties,
each person attending brought a pound of something as a gift.
(Green Collection)
In the fall of the year, the corn was gathered and piled near
the house. The neighbors for miles around were invited to the
shucking. All came, men and women. They told stories, sang
songs, and served drinks while shucking. \Vlienever a red ear
of corn was found, the finder could kiss any girl he liked.^''^
(Kate S. Russell)
Corn shuckings are still held in some parts of the country.
The men and women, girls and boys, from the neighboring
farms are invited to the home of the person giving the shuck-
ing. At least one meal is served, and the wives of the visiting
farmers often help prepare the meal. Often the corn is piled
into two large piles. Sides are chosen and the two teams race
to see which can finish first. Any man finding a red ear of
corn is entitled to kiss the girl of his choice, or in some places
he is allowed a drink of whiskey. If a girl finds a red ear and
does not hide it quickly enough, the first boy reaching her side
is entitled to a kiss. During the husking hours, songs are sung,
stories told, jokes told, and riddles asked. Often, after the
"-JAFL, XL. 123 (Louisiana): Gutch, County Folk-Lore II. 246:
Balfour and Thomas, County Por.-Lorc IT, 70 (if no new appart-l is
worn, the person will be spattered by birds flying overhead).
"^ Gutch, County I-olk-I.ore I'l. p. 141 ; Aul)rcy. p. 35 (citing Aelianus,
I'aria Historia, lib. il cap. 28).
"' See Cuniho i'a-)'a. p. 571, and Earic, Child Life in Colonial Days,
p. 352 (Dutch — "riding for the goose").
"■• Whitney and Bullock, p. 122.
BELIEFS AND CUSTOMS 247
task is done, the floor is cleared, the fiddlers hring out their
fiddles, and a regular barn dance is held. (Lucille Massey) '
When the corn has been hauled in from the fields, the farmer
invites his neighbors to help him shuck it. The housewife in-
vites other housewives of the neighborhood to assist her in
preparing a supper for all who come to the "shucking." The
supper consists of many fried chickens, a ham. or sometimes
a mutton or a beef, potatoes, pies, cakes, butter, preserves,
pickles, buttermilk, cofifee, and cider. If the shucking isn't
finished by dark, they have supper and finish afterwards. Dur-
ing the shucking there is much fun and merriment. Jokes are
told, yarns are swapped; and many join in singing folksongs of
various types. Quite often the housewives and daughters join
them after supper. The man who is lucky enough to find a red
ear is entitled to a drink of wine, cider, or eggnog. If a girl
finds a red ear. she is to be kissed by all the unmarried men
present. (Clara Hearne) ,
HOUSEHOLD SUPERSTITIONS
Always sweep dirt into the fire, never outdoors.^" (Elsie
Doxey) .
There is no harm in sewing on Sunday if you do not use a
thimble.*'" (Clara Hearne) -
*"' Puckett, p. 396 (Missouri Negro) ; Jones and Kropf, folk-Tales of
the Magyars, p. Ixvii ; JAFL, ni. loi (North Carolina): xii, 132
(South) ; Whitney and Bullock, p. 69 (to burn sweepings brings luck).
18 (don't throw crumbs outside, but burn them). Randolph (p. 70)
says, oddly enough, that sweepings are not to be burned.
A more common belief regarding sweeping is that it is unlucky to
sweep after dark. References to this arc numerous: Gardner, p. 290:
JAFL, XL. 173 (Louisiana): iv, 123 (don't sweep dirt out on Friday
evening) : x, 9 (Maryland) : xxxl 100 (Ontario — sweep dirt out, sweep
luck away); Abbott, p. loi (sweeping after dark sweeps away the
family's prosperity) ; Addy, p. 98; Newcomb, Navajo Tokens and
Taboos, p. 41; HTB, n, 2~, 37: Fogel. p. 109: Gutch and Peacock, p.
160 (same); Gutch, County Tolk-Lore II, 277 (unlucky to sweep dirt
out on Christmas Day or New Year's) ; (hi)nbo ]'a-]'a, pp. 538, 552
(bad luck to sweep after sundown) ; British Caloidar Customs (Eng-
land), \\, 45, 47, 48 (don't sweep dirt out on New Year's Day) ; HP,
\\, 19 (Iiad luck to sweep after dark) ; Stout, p. 197 (sweeping after
dark brings sorrow to the heart) : Westermarck, Ritual and Belief in
Morocco, L 593 (sweeping after dark sweeps away luck); PL. xxx,
184 (Japan — sweeping at night taboo) ; Randolph, pp. 70, 303.
""Cf. Hyatt, p. 174; JAPL. u, 98 (North Carolina). The usual be-
lief, however, is that sewing on Sunday is a sin for which nothing can
atone: JAPL, x, 9 (Maryland — sewing on Sunday pierces the Savior's
side, and the Devil will make the sewer pick out the stitches with his
nose) ; xxxvl 3; Gregor, p. 31 (if you sew on Sunday, the Devil will
take out the stitches at night); Whitney and Bullock, p. 108; Stout,
p. 191 ; Carmer, Stars Pell on Alabama, p. 282.
248 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
If the tail of a man's shirt is starched and ironed, it will cause
the owner to be harsh. ^''* (Green Collection)
Wash on Monday, you'll have all week to dry ;
Wash on Tuesday, not so much awry ;
Wash on Wednesday, not so much to blame ;
Wash on Thursday, wash for shame ;
Wash on Friday, wash for need ;
Wash on Saturday, you're a big goose indeed.^^
(Minnie Stamps Gosney)
Thunder causes milk to sour.''^ (Green Collection},,
Walnut leaves scattered over floors will drive away fleas. '^
(Green Collection)
Never mix April 30th milk with that of May 1st or the but-
ter will be slow in coming. (Green Collection) .
The old women must make the sauerkraut. If the young
ones make it, it will spoil. (Emmy Lou Morton)
If you will let your head get wet in the first rain of May, you
will not have a headache all year."- (Katherine Bernard Jones)
If you wash your face in dew the first morning in May, you
will be pretty.'^^ (Mildred Peterson) ..
"^ JAFL, XL, 174 (Louisiana) ; Whitney and Bullock, p. 42 (don't iron
the backs of clothes; to do so makes the back weak and brings bad
luck).
"'■'Thompson, Body, Boots, and Britches, p. 487; Gregor. p. 177,
Thiselton-Dyer, p. 246.
'"' JAFL, XL, 188 (Louisiana); xxxi, 8 (Ontario); Randolph, p. 73;
Stout, p. 167; Aubrey, p. 104 (thunder sours beer unless an iron bar
is laid across the barrel).
'^ I have found no exact parallel for this, though Bergen (p. 120)
says that walnut leaves are effective in driving away flies. There are
several other ways of ridding a house of fleas: Puckett, p. 317 (china-
berry leaves) ; JAFL, xu, 271 (Georgia — strip bark oft pine pole, and
fleas will alight on pole and stick to the resin) ; Randolph, p. 68 (keep
sheep in cabin), 44 (splinters from a lightning-struck tree), 68 (May
snow melted in fireplace, walnut or butternut leaves ) ; Pickard and
Buley, p. 71 (rue, wormwood, and gall) ; Thiselton-Dyer, llir Folk-Lorc
of Plants, p. 221 (Bohemian — a leaf of the palm); Donaldson, p. 172
(oleander ).
''- I have found no exact parallel to this belief. Cf. JAFL, vi, 261
(Irish — bathe in May dew and let the sun dry you, and the sun will
never burn you nor will flies bother you); Aubrey, p. 250 (May dew
good for gout).
'"'JAFL, XL, 167 (Louisiana); xlvi, 167 (Ozarks) ; vii, 108 (Alle-
ghenies) ; x, 79 (Pennsylvania German); I-'LJ, 11, 191; Bcaloidcas, vn,
177; Sf'Q, ni, 36; Puckett, p. 328; Earle, Customs and Fashions . . . ,
p. 308; Hazlitt, Dictionary of Faiths and Folklore, u, 400 (May dew
used by Catherine of Aragon in 151 5) ; Gardner, p. 264 (May rain water
cures blemishes) ; Thomas and Thomas, p. 104 (May dew or rain water
for freckles) ; Bergen, p. 143; Brand, Observations . . . , i, 218; Fogel,
p. 308; Northall, p. 162; Lean, Collectanea. 11, 396; Wright, Rustic
Speech and Folklore, p. 239; Hyatt, p. 181, 183; Brendle and Unger,
n V. I. I K F S A N D C V S T () M S 249
Wash Ndur hair in water made from March snow if you want
pretty ha'ir.'' ( EiVnU Walker)
To produce a luxuriant growth of hair, clij) the ends when
the moon is increasing.'"' (Gertrude Allen Vaught)
Sneeze on Monday, sneeze for health ;
Sneeze on Tuesday, sneeze for wealth ;
Sneeze on Wednesday, the best of all ;
Sneeze on Thursday, sneeze for losses ;
Sneeze on Friday, sneeze for crosses ;
Sneeze on Saturday, no luck at all ;
Sneeze on Sunday, the had man will he with you all next
week.'« (Edna Whitley)
Stir soap with a stick of pine or sassafras.'^ (Elsie Doxey)
If one will get on a feather bed during a thunderstorm, light-
ning will not strike him.''' (Mary Olivia Pruette) .
p. 62; Hardwick, p. 94; Gutch, County I'olk-Lorc I' I. 69; Whitney and
Bullock, p. 120; Balfour and Thomas, County folk-Lore //', j^; Old-
meadow, The Folklore of Herbs, p. 9.
hi his entry for .March 8, 1664, Pepys tells us that at the suggestion
of his Aunt Wight, his wife had used some "puppy-dog water" for her
complexion, an act which irritated him extremely. On May 28. 1667,
he writes that his wife is to gatiier May dew the next morning, as
Mrs. Turner has told her that it is the best thing in the world for her
complexion. He adds that he is content.
~* FL, II, 100 ( Szekely — water drawn from a well on March i l)eforc
sunrise cures all diseases); JAFL, xiv, 32 (Kentucky — March snow
good for sore eyes) ; Stout, p. 157 (German — wash hair in beer every
night to make it pretty!); Brendle and Unger, p. 122 (March snow-
water good for eyes ) .
"'J.iFL, LVHi, 123; IV, 120 (Pennsylvania German — cut on first Fri-
day after new moon); xl, 82 (Ozarks), 189 (Louisiana); xxxi, 6
(Ontario), 93; xxxvi, 19; FL, xx, 342; xxxiv, 220 (Ontario), 326;
XXV, 247 (Jersey) ; Hyatt, p. 142; Folk-Say (1930), p. 163 (Ozarks);
Bergen, p. 122; Randolph, p. 164; Johnson, li'liat They Say . . . , p. 145;
Whitney and Bullock, p. J2.
This item was contributed also by Lucille Alassey, Clara Hearne,
Louise F.ennett, Rel)ecca Willis. Lois Johnson, Jessie Hauser, and Minnie
Stamps Gosney.
'"J.IFL, XL, 164 (Louisiana); xi.iii, 325 (Alabama — sneeze on Sun-
day, devil will have you all week or you will be sick before the next
Sunday) ; xxxi. 14, 89 (Ontario) ; FLJ, vi. 92 (Washington, D. C.) ;
Johnson, What They Say .... p. 65 ; Puckett, p. 453: Xorthall, p. 176;
Hyatt, p. 157; CFLQ, iv, 290; Bergen, p. 145; Randolph, p. 55; TFLS,
lu, 34; XI, 6; ALAFLS, xxix, 193; Thiselton-Dyer, p. 239; Gregor,
p. 27; Whitney and Bullock, p. 107; Stout, p. 193; Rogers, p. 34.
'''JAFL, III, loi (North Carolina — sassafras or pine); xiv, 33 (Ken-
tucky— sassafras) ; Bergen, p. loi (Maine — white ash), 102 (elder-
berry); Randolph, p. 64 (sassafras). It is very bad luck to burn
sassafras (JAFL, in, loi ; v, 124); Whitney and Bullock, p. 9; HFB,
II, 27; JAFL. XXIV, 321; Carmer, Stars Fell on Alabama, p. 289). Cf.
Kemp, p. 44 (don't burn or cut a cherry tree).
""Stout, p. 167; Carmer, Stars Fell on .llabama, p. 282.
250 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
Make soap on the full of the moon or else it won't "set.""'*
(Madge Colclough) ■
If you make soap on the increase of the moon, it will thicken
better.^** (Josie Foy)
Soap should be made in the light of the moon.''^ (Minnie
Stamps Gosney)
Soap should be made in the dark of the moon.^- (Gertrude
Allen Vaught)
If a woman is making soap and a man stirs it, all will be
well; if another woman stirs it, it will be siioiled."^-^' ( h^lsie
Doxey)
If soap is to be firm, only one must stir it.''^^ (Green Col-
lection)
Soap should always be stirred the same way, to the right. ^'^
(Josie Foy) .
In stirring batter, sauce, syrup, etc., the motion must always
be sunwise. Reversing the direction will spoil the result or
invite bad luck. (Mary L. Walker)
Always bake cake while the sun is going up.^*"' ( Kate S.
Russell))
Don't throw away the eggshells tintil after the cake is baked. ''^"
(Green Collection) '
Don't try to bake cake while menstruating.'*^ (Gertrude
Allen Vaught) >
'•'JAFL, vn, 305 (Georgia); Bergen, p. 122. Also, hogs should be
killed in the full of the moon (Hyatt, p. 98).
Contributed also by Rebecca Willis. Wilma Freeman, Valeria Johnson
Howard, Clara Hearne, and Dixie Lamm.
^'^JAFL, XL, 185 (Louisiana). Contributed also by the Misses
Holeman.
" HFB, II, 25.
^" HF, VI, 18. The same item contributed by Mamie Mansfield, Allie
Ann Pearce.
^' JAFL, XXXI, 16 (Ontario) ; Whitney and Bullock, p. 58 (soap should
be stirred by man ; if woman comes into room first, bad luck ) . Cf. the
following : It is bad luck for a woman to call on you while you are
making soap (Green Collection) ; To insure success, soap should be
stirred by a boy (ibid.) ; If a man calls on you while you are making
soap, get him to stir it {ibid.).
^* Randolph, p. 62. This was contributed also by Gertrude Allen
Vaught.
"•"'Bergen, p. 123; NVFLQ, i, 213; Johnson, What They Say . . . ,
p. 69; Puckett, p. 408; JAFL, xl, 180 (Louisiana) ; xxvii,"246; iii, 231
(North Carolina) ; vii, 305 (Georgia) ; xxxi, loi (Ontario) ; Gregor,
p. 30.
'*'* NVFLQ, I, 213. Cf. Hyatt, p. 47 (to have sweet turnips, sow the
seed before 11 o'clock).
*' Eggshells should lie put on top of the stove while the cake is baking
(Mabel Ballentine).
'*'* A girl or woman in this condition should never attempt any cooking,
as it is sure to turn out ill. For other menstrual taboos, see above,
p. 239, note 46.
B Iv L I K F S AND CUSTOMS 25I
Stop the clock while the cake is haking. ((lertrude Allen
X'aught )
Don't walk across the floor while the cake is haking.^" (Ger-
trude Allen \'aught)
Put a pan of water just ahove the cake while it is haking.
(Mabel Ballentine)
When cooking onions, ]:)lace a pan of water over them and
there will he no odor/'" (Eleanor Simpson) .
To keep onion juice from getting into the eyes, htjld the
points of two needles between the teeth.'" ( W. H. Smith) i-
When peeling onions, stick a potato on the end of the paring
knife and the juice will not get into the eyes. (W. H. Smith)
Hold a raw potato in the mouth while peeling onions, and
the juice will not get into the eyes. (W. H. Smith).
To keep juice from getting into the eyes while peeling onions,
hold a match between the teeth. (W. H. Smith)
Holding a bit of bread in the mouth while peeling onions
will prevent the juice from getting into the eyes. (W. H.
Smith)
If one leaves the faucet open and lets the water run while
peeling onions, the juice will not get into the eyes. (W. H.
Smith) V
Boil a biscuit with cabbage and there will be no odor.
(Eleanor Simpson) y'
If you are going to wash dishes and you boil yoiu' water to
wash them, the old saying is that the witches will ride you.
(Green Collection)
Use pine wood when boiling molasses and it will not be
strong (ir smoky. ( lulith Walker) '
Put pennies in a])i)le liutter to keep it from sticking. (Green
Collection) .
Get the ugliest person you know to look in the cream jar and
it will turn so you can churn it. (Edith Walker )V
If a jug of molasses begins to "work" and is about to run
over, drop a wire nail into the jug and the molasses will stop
working immediately. (Carl G. Knox)
To make butter come (|uicklv when nn'lk is cold, add enough
hot water to make it warm. Also, during churning, call the
*" Any heavy walking or any other movement that sliakcs the floor
Wfill cause the cake to "fall." Contributed also by Mary Scarborough
Nilla Lancaster, and G. B. Caldwell.
""Bergen, p. 99; JAFL, xiv. 33 (Kentucky).
"^ Cf. Whitney and Bullock, p. 58 (hold a pin in the mouth) ; HF, vi,
112 (safety pin).
252 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
butter by the repetition of "Come, butter, come!"^- (Green
Collection)
Put salt in the churn or in the fire and butter will come more
easily and more quickly. (Green Collection) '^
Kraut should never be made on the decrease of the moon,
for the water will not rise on it and it will spoil. (Zilpah
Frisbie)
Feathers picked on the increase of the moon will be plentiful.
(Mrs. Norman Herring)--.
MISCELLANEOUS
It is difficult to remove fruit stains. But if you wait until
the peach or the blackberry season is over, the stain will come
out easily. (Green Collection )~
Butter comes easily if the cows are salted regularly. (Green
Collection) ^
Sometimes milk would not sour or turn to whey. To preserve
the butter, a beef reed taken from a cow was put in it. (Green
Collection)- ,
If all wash-goods are washed before being cut, they will
last longer. (AUie Ann Pearce)
For a good furniture paste, scrape two ounces of beeswax
into a pot or basin, then add as much spirits of turpentine as
will moisten it through. At the same time add to it when dis-
solved to the consistency of paste an eighth of an ounce of
rosin. Then stir in as much Indian red as necessary to make
it a deep mahogany color and it is ready for use. (Contrib-
utor's name not given.) r-
PLANTS AND ANIMALS
It is bad luck to thank anyone for plants or seeds. '^•'' (Zilpah
Frisbie )
Sage must not be gathered during the dog davs.''^ (Lucille
Cheek) -
"■ /'"L, xLvii, 366; XLvui, 217. A version of the rhyme appears also
in Sinclair, Satuii's hiTi'sihlr World Discovered. See Charms, pp. 181-
183, above.
'"^JAf'L, XLVUI. 333 (Tennessee); v, 115 (North Carolina); vn, 305
(Georgia — don't thank for combing) ; xi, 11 (Marjland — don't thank
for flowers); xxxL 9; xlh, 236; xl, 191 (Louisiana); xx, 246 (North
Carolina); HI-'B, u. 35; Gumbo Ya-Va, p. 536 (don't thank giver of
remedy) ; Pnckett, p. 400 (don't thank for combing) ; Whitney and
Bullock, p. 21 (same) ; Thorpe, n, no (Swedish — don't thank for
remedy), iii (Swedish — don't thank for pins) ; Stout, p. 168, 203 (don't
thank for picture) ; Nassau, p. 191.
"* Cf. Gardner, p. 298 (don't pick catnip during or after dog days).
BELIEFS AND CUSTOMS 253
'J\) make livdrangeas blue, place indigo at tlieir roots. (Kate
S. Russell)
Gather cucumbers in the morning with the short stems on
them. (Lucille Cheek)
To make a hen keep her nest, whip her under the wings with
a holly bush switch. ( Ziljjah hVisbie)
If you set eggs when the wind is eastward, the chickens will
"holler" themselves to death."'' (Ralph Chesson)-
Hens should be set three weeks before the full of the moon.
(Gertrude Allen Vaught)
If there are thunderstorms while eggs are "setting," the eggs
will not hatch. ( Zilpah Frisbie)
To break a hen from setting, put an alarm clock in the nest
and let it go off. (Zilpah Frisbie)
To break a hen from setting, put a pan of water in the nest
when she leaves and let her get in it when she comes back.^''
(Lucille Massey) ^
Do not set eggs so that they will hatch during dog days.
(Gertrude Allen Vaught)
Always set a hen on thirteen eggs."" ((iertrude Allen
Vaught)
Little turkeys thrive better with a hen than with a turkey.
(Lucille Cheek)
If it rains on Valentine Day, }Our chickens will stop laying.
(Gertrude Allen Vaught)
To ensure good luck with chickens, let a woman carry them
from the nest to the coop."^ (Gertrude Allen Vaught)
Grease little chickens' lieads with lard and kerosene when you
take them from the nest and lice will not bother them. ( Clara
Hearne)
Feed red pei)per to little chickens. (Clara Hearne)
Feed little turkeys black ]:)epper stirred into dough made of'
meal. (Clara Hearne)
Sprinkle ashes on animals and fowls on Ash W'ednesdav and
they will not be bothered with lice. (Clara Hearne)
Put Epsom salts in the chicken's water (one tablespoonful to
a gallon) and it will make them healthy. (Clara Hearne) ,
"•'Stout, p. I/O (if hen is set on Monday morning when the wind is
from the east, all the chicks will be pullets) ; HFB, n, 25 (north wind) ;
Randolph, p. 42 (never set a hen when the wind is from the .south).
"" Randolph, p. 42 (corn shucks fastened to hens' tails).
"'JAPL, xu, 49 (Canadian); iv, 122; xxxi. 86; /"A, lx, 290;
XXV. 247 (Jersey); HI-, vi, 14; HPV, n, 36 (uneven number); 1-LR,
IV, 105 (Irish— uneven number) ; Hyatt, p. 76; Gutch and Peacock, p.
165; Dennys, p. 35 (uneven number); Bergen, p. 85 (Maine). Pliny
(Xatuml History, x, c. 75) advocates tlie using of an uneven number.
"" Randolph, pp. 42-43 (eggs carried in a woman's bonnet invariably
hatch pullets; eggs carried in a man's hat always hatch out roosters).
254 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
Boil smartweed and scald out the chicken house to kill any
kind of insect. (Mamie Mansfield)^'
Cover newly hatched chicks with a sieve and place them in
the sunshine a little while, and they will live. (Zilpah Frisbie)
Pick off the little skin from chickens' bills when you take
them from the nest and they will live. ( Lucille Cheek) >
When you have killed a chicken, make a cross on the ground
with your finger, lay the chicken on its back on this cross, and
it will not flop. (Anonymous) V
To keep a chicken from flopping when killed, tuck the head
under the wing, swing the chicken around in a circle several
times, and then lay its head on a block and chop it off. (Zilpah
Frisbie) ;,
If you count chickens, turkeys, etc., they will die.^** (Wil-
liam B. Covington)
DEATH AND BURIAL
The "setting up" or wake watch was observed not only
through respect but also to keep away cats, which always try
to get to the body.^^*'* (Green Collection)
'"'' Whitney and Bullock, p. 57 (don't count young chickens or their
number will decrease). This counting prohibition extends to other ani-
mals and objects as well. See, for example, JAI-L, xlviii, 329 (Ten-
nessee— don't count graves or stars) ; xlvi. 14 (Ozarks — beekeeper never
gives exact number of bee gums); il 14 (Maryland — don't count cars
in funeral procession) ; v, 112 (don't count people at funeral) ; xxxi, 202
(Illinois — don't count carriages in funeral procession); xxxvi, 4; Ln,
114 (Tennessee — don't count baby's teeth or they will decay) ; xl, 86
(Ozarks — don't count cars in funeral procession) ; 159 (Louisiana —
same) ; xxxviii, 379 (Jewish — boys playing games count "Not one,
not two, &c.) ; Nassau, p. 214 (don't count children) ; Macgregor, pp.
43, 45 (don't count fish or you will catch no more) ; Puckett, p. 398
(don't count teeth in comb) ; 434 (don't count stars), 88 (don't count
cars in funeral procession) ; Fogel, p. 129 (same) ; Gutch and Peacock,
County Folk-Lorc V, 160 (unlucky to count anything too closely) ;
Whitney and Bullock, p. g- (to count child's teeth will cause its death),
103 (don't count carriages at funeral), 59 (don't count fish until home
with them). 18 (bad luck to count edibles to be cooked for dinner);
FL, xn, 179; Black. County Folk-Lorc III, 162 (don't count sheep,
cattle, horses, fish) ; Stout, p. 151 (if you count vehicles in a funeral
procession, you'll die within the year) ; Randolph, p. 44; Bassett, p. 436
(don't count fish) ; Barker, p. 251 (don't count wagons in funeral pro-
cession) ; Hanauer, p. 233 (boils result from trying to count stars) :
CFLQ, IV, 428 (don't count rigs in funeral procession).
^""JAFL, V. 181 (cats mutilate corpse); xxxviir. 396-397 (Jewish —
dead must not be left alone) ; xl, 86 (Ozarks). 196 (Louisiana — cats
eat dead people); xxxu. 383; v. 181 (Pennsylvania — cats mutilate
corpses) ; Gumbo Va-Va, p. 569 (cats eat corpses) ; FL, xi.vu, 327
(German) ; lx, 290 (cats would eat eyes out of corpse) ; Gutch. County
Folk-Lore VI, 135 (corpse must be watched constantly) ; County Folk-
BELIEFS AND CUSTOMS 255
It is believed that a person will die easier if his head is toward
the east.^"^ (S. M. Uixon) .
In laying out a dead person, always place the feet to the east
and the head to the west. I have known beds to be moved so
as to be in the right position.^"- (Green Collection) .
Graves should be dug east and west so that the dead wdl be
facing the east toward Gabriel when he blows his horn.^"^
(Helen Fraser Smith)
Lore II. 302-303 (niglit watch) ; III'B, 11, 34 ( ^^-ats mutilate corpse) ;
fhiselton-Dyer, p. 107; Gregor, p. 123; Loan, Collectanea, u, 113;
Trachtenberg, p. 174 (dying persons not to be left alone) ; Christiansen,
The Dead ami the Living, pp. 28, 30-31 (Norwegian); Hole, P- 50;
Puckett pp. 86. 470; Dennys, p. 24; Balfour and Thomas, County Folk-
Lore /r, 100; Toor, A Treasury of Mexican Folk-ways, p. 161 ; Paton,
Spiritism and the Cult of the Dead in Antiquity, p. 120; Kittredge, p.
^fhe night watch occurs in the following ballads: "Willie's Lyke-
Wake," "Fair Mary of Wallington," "Prince Robert," "Young Benjie,
"Lord Thomas and Fair Annet." On its appearance in balladry, see
Wimberly, Death and Burial Lore in the English and Scottish Popular
Ballads, pp. 92-99- .. , , , • • . ,
Among some peoples it was believed that a cats jumpmg over a dead
person would cause the latter to become a vampire. See, for example,
JCLS, N.S., n, 363 (body to be watched from death to burial lest sorne-
thing jumping "over it make it a vampire) ; Ralston, Songs of the Russian
People (cat jumping over corpse causes it to become a vampire) ; Rus-
sian Folk-Tales, p. 323 (same) ; Pennant. A Tour in Scotland (same) ;
Henderson, p. 43; Tozer, Researches in the Highlands of Turkey, u, 84;
Macgregor', p. 50; Abbott, p. 219 (night watch over corpse to prevent
cats or dogs jumping over it) ; Gregor, p. 207 (shut up cats at funeral;
if one jumps over corpse, the first person meeting it will go blind) ;
Dennys, p. 120 (if a pregnant animal jumps over a corpse, the latter
comes to life and gives chase to the nearest person, strangling him if
it catches him); Black, County Folk-Lore HI, 216 (cats to be locked
up whenever a death occurs) ; Simpson, p. 206 (domestic animals to be
put out of house at funeral). , , , , r ,
Another belief held even today is that cats suck the breath of sleepers,
particularly of children. For examples, see Thiselton-Dyer, p. 107;
JAFL ni, 98 (North Carolina) ; v. 181 ( Penn.sylvania) ; xn, 268 (Ken-
tucky)'; XXXI, 12 (Ontario) ; Whitney and Bullock, p. 98; FLR, u, 205
(cat born in May will suck sleeper's breath). See also Carmer, Stars
Fell on Alabama, p. 282; Brendle and Unger. p. 21; Hole, p. 79:
Kittredge, p. 178. , , . , , ,
^" Puckett, p. 81 (deathbed should be placed east and west, with head
toward the west). ^ ^^ . , , ,
^"-JAI-'L, V. 114 (North Carolina) : xxxi. 26 (Ontario — i)oth the
laying out and the burial) ; Abbott, p. I94- . ., . . ^
'■'"'J4FL XXXVIII, 397 (lewish); xi-, 86 (Ozarks). 160 (Louisiana);
XLVI, 16 (Ozarks); Puckett, p. 94: Hole. p. 55 (? a survival of sun-
worship) • Aubrev, p. 166; Whitney and Bullock, p. 104; Gumbo \ a-\ a,
p 309 (if buried facing west, will go to Hell); Gutch, County Folk-
Lore II, 309; Brown, The Andaman Islanders, p. 107 (if corpse is not
buried facing the east, the sun will not rise) ; .\bbott, p. 99 (one should
not lie with head toward the west, as that is the position of a corpse) ;
Parsons Mitla: Ton-n of the Souls, p. 143 ("Burial is with the head to
the west. It is therefore bad to sleep thus orientated") ; Rogers, p. 68.
William Burke, of the infamous firm of Burke and Hare, was buried
N.C.F., Vol. I. (18)
256 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORK
If the pictures and mirrors are not turned toward the wall
after a death, the dead man will haunt all those in the family.
His reflection is supposed to get in the mirrors and pictures.^'''*
(Constance Patten)
At the death of one of the family, the clock is usually
stopped.^"'' (Jethro Harris)
Negroes tie black on everything that comes into the house
between a death and a burial. ^"^^ (Helen Fraser Smith) \
Southern Negroes believe implicitly in burying children with
the face down.^*^^ (Helen Fraser Smith)
Bees will leave unless told of death. ^^^'^ (Green Collection )\//
in a grave dug north and south (Summers, The J'ai)ipire, p. 76). Sui-
cides were also formerly buried in a north-south position.
This was contributed also by Louise W. Sloan, who writes, "People
are buried with their feet to the east so that they can place them on the
rising sun and mount to heaven."
East is a good direction. As the little verse has it.
Shut the North window.
And quickly close the window to the South,
And shut the window facing West —
Evil never came from the East.
(Simpson, p. loi)
^"' JAPL. II, 12, 30; IV, 144; v. 242 (Massachusetts) ; vii, 253 (Massa-
chusetts) ; XI, 12 (Maryland) ; xxxviii, 398 (Jewish) ; xl, 85 (Ozarks),
159, 184 (Louisiana) ; xxxi, 26 (Ontario) ; xxxii, 392 (Georgia) ;
xxxvi, 20; McPherson, Primitive Beliefs .... p. 124; Puckett, p. 81;
Hole, p. 49 ; Gardner, p. 295 ; Grimm, Deutsche Mythologie, in, 492 ;
Rappoport, The Polklore of the Jezvs, p. 102; HP, vi, 26; HPB, 11, 36;
Liebrecht, Zur J'olkskunde, p. 350; Black, County Polk-Lore III, p.
216; Gutch, County Polk-Lore II, 301; Gregor, p. 207; Whitney and
Bullock, p. 102; Balfour and Thomas, County Polk-Lore IV, 99; Stout,
p. 151 ; Earle, Customs and Pashions . . . , p. iJi-
^"^ JAPL, II, 12; V, 242 (Massachusetts); xl, 85 (Ozarks — failure to
do so would mean another death within year) ; 159 (Louisiana) ; vii, 154
(Virginia) ; x, 12, 161 (Toronto) ; xxxi, 26, 100 (Ontario) ; xxxii,
392 (North Carolina) ; PL, xlix, 224 (clocks stop themselves at the
moment of death — grandfather clocks only ! ) ; HPB, u, 36 ; Gregor, p.
207; Whitney and Bullock, p. 102; Puckett, p. 82; Gardner, p. 295;
Lean, Collectanea, 11, 590; Christiansen, p. 18; Lcgey, p. 231; Stout,
p. 150; Gumbo Ya-Va, p. 307.
'^"'^JAPL, X, 161 (Kansas — crape tied to family cat); xxxi, 26
(Ontario — crape on bee hives) ; PLR, i, 59 (same) ; Gutch, County Polk-
Lore VI, 33 (same) ; Simpson, p. 204 (black coverings on furniture) ;
Earle, Customs and Pashions . . . (crape on family portraits).
"' Puckett, p. 107 (not children — purpose to keep spirit from return-
ing). This is the custom also among certain tribes of hidia (Crooke,
Popular Religion and Polk-Lore of Northern India, 11. 58-60). It is not
confined to children, however. See JAPL, 11, 190 (Omaha — burial face
downward of man struck by lightning). There is a reference also in
Lay My Burden Dozen (p. 86), but there is nothing to suggest a general
custom.
^'' - /'V,, III, 138; XXXIV, 325; XXXV, 349; XXXVII, 77 ■ XL, 123: XLIII,
252; XXIV, 223, 240 (kni)ck on liive with door key and tell bees);
B E L I E F S AND C U S T C) M S 257
Tell the I'ruii trees when the owner ches or the trees will die.
Some say that eaeh tree should be told sei)arately."''* (Cireeii
Collection)
The tools used in digging a grave should be left by the grave
for several days.^'" (Constance Patten) ,
When my grandmother died, my mother saved a lock of hair, ^
and she says it has always been a custom.'" ( Mabel liallentine)-,^'''^
There prevailed in some sections of North Carolina the cus-
tom of draping the furniture and the walls of the room in
which the deceased lay, with sheets."- (Green Collection) ,
It is a custom among Negroes for the relatives and mourners
to wear their hats in church. The custom is said to have been
brought from the North."'* (Green Collection) .
\\ hen there is a funeral in the country and a hearse cannot
be afforded, whatever the body is carried in must be black."'*
(Constance Patten)
Place money on a dead man's eyes to prevent their open-
jj-jgii5 (Constance Patten)
JAPL, XLvi, 14 (Ozarks); vni, 25 (Irish); vi, 107 (New England);
x.xxi, 26 (Ontario); Hole, p. 51; Henderson, p. 309; Puckett, p. 82;
Hyatt, p. 364; Legey, p. 231; Addy, p. 65; Thomas and Thomas,
p. 271; McPherson, p. 124; Gomme, Ethnology in Folklore, p. 127;
Macgregor. p. 44; Gutch, County Folk-Lore 11, pp. 65-66 (bees told
of death and given food from the funeral feast and pipes and tobacco,
all of which they used) ; Whitney and Bullock, p. 56; Gutch and Pea-
cock, County Folk-Lore ]', 28, 239, 241 (told of death and given food) ;
Gutch, County Folk-Lorc \'I, 33 (same) ; FLR, i, 59; ui, 136 (bees
to be wakened and told if person dies after sunset) ; Balfour and
Thomas, p. 12 (tap on each hive three times and tell bees of death) ;
Thorpe, ui, 161 (German) ; Tliiselton-Dyer, pp. 126, 130 (bees also
given part of funeral food); French Folklore, v, 13 (Normandy — knock
on hive three times, tell bees of death, and hang black crape on the
hive) ; Oldmeadow, pp. 68-169.
^""Thorpe, in, 161. This was contributed also by Clara Hearne.
^^"JAFL, xxxvui, 397 (Jewish — spade placed near grave so that
deceased can dig through to Jerusalem on Resurrection) ; Newcomb, p.
76 (spade or shovel used in digging grave never to be used again — often
iiroken and left near the grave) ; Webster, Taboo, p. 190 (New
Caledonia — iiravcdigycrs nuist remain near grave for four or five days
after a burial ) ; Randolph, p. 327.
"'Whitney and P.ullock, p. 105 (about 1875, customary to mount hair
of deceased in jewelry) ; Earle, Customs and Fashions . . . , p. 376 (lock
of the deceased's hair mounted in ring) ; JAT'L, vn, 221 (New England —
same).
^^-JJFL. v. 114 (North Carolina) ; Earle, Customs and Fashions ....
P- 373 (black liangings) ; W'ebster, Quilts, Their Story and llozv to
Make Them. p. 49.
"'Whitney and lUillock, ]>. 104 (a custom in the mountains of Western
Maryland); JAFL, xxi, 2,bs (Boston Negro).
"'I know of no exact parallel to this idea. .According to Gutch and
Peacock {Count\ F oik-Lore V, p. 236), the horses used must always be
black.
"'Puckett, p. 84; Gregor, p. 207; Whitney and Bullock, p. 102;
258 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
It is the custom to open the coffin so that all may pay their
last respects to the departed."" (Cireen Collection)
Nearly always after funerals, drinks were served to those
present or to the pallhearers at least."' (Rebecca Willis)
"When a nigger'd die. they'd sing all along de road to de
graveyard. You could heah 'em way off yonder." (Green
Collection)"^
Last year a Negro died on our place, and they would not let
my father have one thing to do about buying the coffin nor
would they use any of our teams to go to town after it. They
borrowed a team from one of our neighbors to go for the coffin
and also to haul it to the cemetery. They said that if they
used our teams some awful accident would come to us both.
(J. C. Paisley) .^
A corpse should always be taken from the house feet first. ^^*
(Constance Patten)
The first person who leaves the grave after a funeral will
be the next to die. "** (Green Collection) ,
The corpse is stretched on a board. On it is placed a platter
of salt and earth, unmixed. The salt is an emblem of the im-
mortal spirit, the earth of the flesh. ^-■* (Green Collection) '
Haltrich, Zar Volkskmidc dcr Siebcnhi'irycn Sachsen, p. 308; JAFL, u,
15 (Massachusetts — if the eyes of the corpse are allowed to remain open,
the last person looked at will die soon) ; Paton, p. 118 (weights on
eyes to keep them closed — 'The probable reason was the desire to keep
the spirit which still hannted its body from casting an evil eye upon the
living") ; Randolph, p. 313; Rogers, p. 66.
^^'' Earle, Customs and Fasliions in Old Nczv England, p. 371. This
custom is still observed also in the rural sections and small towns of
Indiana. In cases where the body is mutilated or wasted away from a
long illness, the coffin is kept closed.
"■^ Earle, Customs and Fashions . . . , p. 371; JAFL, vn, 219 (New
England).
'^^^ JAFL, XXXI, 26 (Ontario) ; Gutch and Peacock, County Folk-Lore
V, 243; Aubrey, p. 167; Whitney and Bullock, p. 103; Gumbo Ya-Ya,
p. 310; JGLS, N.S.. V, 43 (the body of Isaac Heron carried out feet
first) ; Cambridge, Anthropological Expedition to Torres Straits, v, 248
(among the Melanesians, the corpse is carried out feet foremost, other-
wise the ghost would find its way back and trouble the survivors) ;
Paton, p. 122 ("In Rome the dead man was carried out of the house
feet first in order that he might not see which way he was going and
be able to find his way back").
^'^^JAFL, XL, 87 (Ozarks — mourners not to leave cemetery until the
last clod is thrown on the grave) ; Randolph^ p. 319.
'-" Puckett, p. 83; Gregor, p. 207; Henderson, pp. 39-40; Simpson,
p. 206; Whitney and Bullock, p. loi (pan of salt on breast); Balfour
and Thomas, County Folk-Lore IV, 99, loi, 102; Hardwick, p. 181
("It is customarv yet in some parts of the North of England to place
a plate filled with salt on the stomach of a corpse soon after death") ;
Randolph, p. 313; Trachtenberg, p. 175; Rogers, p. 66; Brendle and
Una;er, p. 27.
Douce says that this is to keep air from getting into the bowels and
swelling the body, but suggests also that salt is an emblem of eternity
and immortality and consciiuently shunned by the Devil.
K K I I K I" S AND C V S TOMS 259
I heard of a woman whose dead hushand had been very fond
of chocolate cake. luich Sunday morning slie i)laced one at the
head of his grave and his spirit devoured it. ( LilHan Cheek)
In Yadkin county there is a family who visit the grave of a
brother and put meat and bread and much-liked foods on it,
thinking that he can come back to get it. They claimed that for
months after his death he would come back to the kitchen door
at night and beg for food. He died in an intoxicated condition.
The l^raveyard in which he was buried has always been con-
sidered •"banted." Once in broad open daylight a girl was pass-
ing that wav and became frightened at the sight of a headless
man who she said went into one of the graves.^-^ (Green
Collection) -
Leave cup and saucer, medicine bottles, and bits of pottery
on the grave so the spirit may use them in another life. (Helen
Fraser Smith)
I have seen a number of graves carefully outlined with large
white flints, bottles all of one kind with the necks sticking in
the ground, and. farther east, shells.^-- (Lillian Cheek)
The Negroes of Roanoke Island decorate the graves of the
dead with sea shells. This custom is also practiced by the
whites to a great extent. (Mary Scarborough) ,
I have noticed that not only the Negroes in our section put
bits of broken dishes, etc., on the graves, but also the whites
quite often. On one grave of a white person in a graveyard
near my home I noticed last summer pretty bits of china, a
broken lamp, broken vases, and a cracked cup or two. Many
of the graves in this same graveyard are profusely decorated
with all sizes and kinds of stones also. ((iertrude Allen
\'aught)
Burv with the corpse the left-over medicine. A Negro grave
in Chapel Hill was found surrounded by bottles, some half full
of medicine used by the deceased.^-'* (Green Collection) ^
^"Randolph (p. 237) quotes one of his older informants as saying,
"One of my neighbors thinks a man who has been dead four years comes
and steals cream out of his springhouse every night."
As recently as 1928 in England, court action was necessary to put an
end to Miss' Hoskyns-Abrahall's depositing of bread, fruit, wine, and
other foods on the grave of her father. For a complete account, see
Summers, The I'ampirc in Europe, pp. 60-62.
'-- Here as in the contribution which follows it, tlie custom appears
to have arisen simply from a desire to beautify the grave and perhaps
also to define its limits clearly and thus safeguard tlie occupant against
encroachment. ■• ,
^" The words bury idth of the first sentence seem to be contradicted
bv the second, which indicates that the bottles were around the grave.
For burial of objects with the deceased, see Newcomb, p. 75 (a flash-
light buried with a Navajo); Hardwick, p. 62 (Yorkshire— man buried
with candle pcnnv, and a bottle of wine) ; JGLS, n.s., vi, 297 (towel
26o NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
Leave a lamp on the grave and it will lead the deceased to
glory. (Helen Fraser Smith) \
Very frequently in old country graveyards you will find
broken vases and plates on graves. The reason for placing
broken bits on the grave is that the people know that some-
thing useless will not be stolen from the grave, otherwise it
might be. People often place sea shells on the grave. I have
seen many graves covered with sea shells, but 1 cannot give
any reason for it.^-"' (Zilpah Frisbie)
Cup, knife and fork are often placed on the grave. ^-•' (Con-
.stance Patten)
Never bury a person with his mouth open, for the spirit
might return.^-'"' (Rebecca Willis)
and soap in Gypsy woman's coffin) ; Gypsy Smith, His Life and Work,
p. 7 (uncle's fiddle, cup and saucer, plate, and knife buried in his
coffin) ; Hole, p. 53 (in Sweden, when a girl died unmarried, a mirror
was placed in lier coffin so that she might see to arrange her hair on
the Resurrection morning) ; Randolph, p. 315 (burial with loaded and
cocked rifle and revolver). The custom appears in the following ballads;
"The Two Brothers" (bow and arrows, sword and buckler, Bible,
chaunter) ; "Robin Hood's Death" (sword, bow and arrows, met-yard) ;
"Sir Hugh" (Bible, Testament, pen and ink).
^■* The reason assigned for the placing of broken objects on the
grave, while an excellent bit of rationalization, is hardly the correct one.
The true explanation is that it is the spirits of the objects and not the
objects themselves that are to serve the owner in the next world. The
breaking is merely the means of liberating the object spirit. What we
have here is, of course, a survival of an animistic belief, whether or
not the persons practicing the custom are conscious of the fact. In all
probability they are not conscious of it, and continue the custom simply
because their forebears observed it.
Sea shells were believed by primitive man to have magic powers,
chief among which were those of averting death and of giving to the
dead the power of rising again. On this point, see Fielding, Strange
Superstitions and Magical Practices, pp. 226-227.
^-^JAFL, xxvn, 248 (South Carolina Negro — crockery, lamps, and
toys) ; PTFLS, xiu, 130-131 (cups, saucers, jugs, knives, pitchers,
spoons), 132 (medicine bottles and light bulbs), 133 (oil lamps), 133-
134 (shells), 135 (comb, women's wearing apparel, jewelry, marbles,
razor, brush, watch, etc.), 136 (spectacles and false teeth) ; FL, xv, 453
(Jamaica — knives, pipe and tobacco, etc.) ; Puckett, pp. 104-105; Abbott,
p. 197 (playthings, books, jewelry) ; JGLS, N.s., 11, 360; v, 45 (broken
teapot placed on child's grave "lest he should be thirsty"), 46 (fiddle,
pipe, and knife, fork, and plate) ; Gumbo Ya-Ya, p. 319; Webster, p.
180; Read, Man and His Superstitions, p. 91. See also H. C. Bolton,
"Decoration of Graves of Negroes in South Carolina," JAFL, iv, 214;
E. higersoll, "Decoration of Negro Graves," ibid., v, 68-69; Mary A.
Waring, "Mortuary Customs and Beliefs of South Carolina Negroes,"
ibid., VH, 318-319; Barker, p. 251 (child's playthings).
*-" Just as primitive man associated his shadow with his spirit, so did
he associate his breath with the latter, hideed, .so closely were the two
identified in his mind that he used the same word for both. When the
breath finally stopped, the spirit left the body. To prevent its return or,
worse still, the entrance of a demon into the body, the mouth was closed
H }■: 1. I K K S A N n C U S T O M S 26 1
In some localities, graves are protected by lattice huts.
(Cireen Collection) -
Do not trot the horses across a bridge going to a funeral.
(IMr. Fairley)
After the death the windows are opened, and after the burial
everything about the deathbed is burned or aired. Rooms are
usually reiminted. These customs do not refer to contagious
diseases.'-' (Cireen Collection) ,
MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS
In Eastern North Carolina the fishermen have a peculiar way
of dividing the fish after they have finished pulling the seines.
Generallv there are a number of men among whom the fish are
to be divided. One of them divides the fish into as many, and
as nearly as possible equal, divisions as there are men present.
Then someone not to receive any fish turns his back and closes
his eyes while another either touches one of the shares with a
twig or tosses on some sand and asks, "Whose is this?" The
one with his back turned calls, "^Ir. A's" and so on and on
until all the divisions have been distributed. Then after this,
maybe one man will have a shad, wdiereas he would prefer two
or three fish of another sort, so they exchange among them-
selves. (Green Collection) •,
In the days when folks rode horseback, the first crowd would
go ahead for the first mile or two, tie their horses, and w-alk on.
The next crowd would come along and get the horses and over-
take the others. This was called "Ride and Tie."'^-* (Eliza-
beth Janet Cromartie)
Before the time of the cotton gin, every girl in Montgomery
countv was required to pick enough cotton from the seed to fill
and the nostrils plugged. It was owing to this lichef ni the identity
of the breath and the spirit that the act of sneezing was regarded so
seriously. The violent expulsion of breath in the sneeze meant that the
soul was. for an instant at least, free of the body. The Jews even be-
lieved that its return was possible only through direct divine intercession.
Our "Gesundheit," "God bless you," and similar ejaculations when one
sneezes are expressions of solicitude for the person temp<3rarily deprived
of his soul and evidences of the speaker's desire for its safe and speedy
return to him.
'-• This purification of the premises on which a death has occurred
is found the world over. Different methods are employed: washing with
water, burning of certain aromatic plants, and (among the Romans)
sweeping with a certain kind of broom. The reason was the same in
every case, the prevention of the dead man's return. For a wealth of
information on the subject, see Bendann (chapters viii and ix).
'-* Botkin, p. 134; Karlc, Customs and Fashinus . . . , p. 191.
262 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
her shoe. She was not considered industrious unless she did
this.i-» (Ella Smith)
Though disproved by Blackstone and the contrary asserted
by every lawyer in the land, the idea persists that a will is
void unless it mentions each child's name and bequeaths some-
thing to him.''"' (Thurston T. Hicks)
A current opinion has long prevailed that the youngest son
is entitled to the home place in the division of the ancestor's
lands.^i (Thurston T. Hicks) ^
Wake a person gently so that the soul will have time to come
back from the dream-world. When the soul leaves the body,
the person is in a trance. ^^- (Helen Fraser Smith)
Place a rattlesnake rattle in a violin to improve its tone.^^^
(Ella Smith) ^
^^^ Cf. Earle, Customs and Fashions • . . , p. 37 (Eastham, Massachu-
setts, 1695 — "Every unmarried man in the township shall kill six black-
birds or three crows while he remains single ; as a penalty for not doing
it, shall not be married until he obey this order"). Cf. also the New
England tradition that a young lady was not fit to be married until she
could make an Indian pudding that could be thrown up the chimney
and hit the ground outside without breaking (Webster, Quilts, Their
Story and Hozv to Make Them, p. 162).
^'"' There is a whole body of similar folk misconceptions of the law
and legal processes. Cf. the widespread belief that the conveying of a
corpse across a field makes a public thoroughfare of the route taken.
"^ Cf. Aubrey, p. 107. He does not give this particular belief, how-
ever, but says that disinheriting of the eldest son was held unlucky and
cites Exodus, 13:2 ("Sanctify unto me all the firstborn, whatsoever
openeth the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and of
beast ; it is mine").
In early times, it was the youngest and not the eldest son who in-
herited the family property, primogeniture belonging to a later and
more settled state of society. The eldest went out in search of adven-
ture, leaving the youngest at home to care for the father and mother
and eventually to inherit the household goods. It was the latter's duty
to support the parents as long as they lived ; when they died, he con-
tinued to live on the "home place." The custom was known not only
in England ("Borough English") but also in France and Germany,
and was doubtless almost universal at one time. In Kent the youngest
son (or daughter) was allotted the hearth place and as far as forty
feet around it. For additional information on this subject, see Elton,
Origins of Englisli History, p. 186.
^''-JAFL, IV, 113 (Burmese) ; xix, 211 (Filipino). Cf. the Gaelic
"Na duisg e gun ghairm air ainm" (Do not waken him without calling
him by name). Paton, p. 3 ("It is dangerous to waken one suddenly,
for the absent spirit may not have time to get back to the body") ;
Westermarck, Ritual and Belief in Moroceo, p. 273 ("It is bad to wake a
sleeping person too suddenly ; it should be done slowly and gently, by
touching his little finger or touching him with the palm of one's hand
and with the phrase subhan dllah ("God be praised"), since otherwise
he may be frightened and become mes' ot.") ; Randolph, p. 332 (to
wake a sleepwalker may cause his death); AlcKenzic, The Jiifaney of
Medicine, p. 223.
'■•" Hyatt, p. 73-
H K I. I F. F S AND CUSTOMS 263
A ccjrd is tied around the field to keep crows away from
watermelons. (Clara Hearne) ,
To keep harmful hirds away, nail a dead crow or hawk on
the harn.^^^ (Clara Hearne)
Negroes in the country sleep with windows and doors tightly
closed even in summer so as to keep the spirits out. Negroes
in town leave the door cracked. ^■^■'* (Constance Patten) ^
People have been known to frequent unusually clayey ditch
banks or newly dug clay holes to eat and carry off the pure
clay.'''" ((ireen Collection) ^
QUILT PATTERNS
The following names for quilt and coverlet patterns were re-
ported : Alabama Beauty^'" (contributor's name not given) ; Bas-
ket^'*** (Clara Hearne) ; Basket of Broachee ( ?) ; Bear's Paw^-*''
(Nilla Lancaster) ; Bird of Paradise"" (F. C. Brown) ; Broken*-
Chain {?): Brunswick Star"^ (Kate S. Russell); Buzzard's
"* JAFL, I, 131 (Pennsylvania German); Brendle and Unger, p. 95,
note.
^•"'Randolph, p. 157 (night air thought poisonous). Night is the time
of spirits. These are particularly dangerous to man when he sleeps,
for then the soul is temporarily absent from the body and both are
particularly vuhierable because of relaxed vigilance.
According to ancient Jewish belief, one should not bar the spirits'
paths of ingress and egress by shutting doors and windows, for this
invites their displeasure. It is better to make a small hole in door or
window. See Trachtenberg, p. 32.
^■'"' The practice of clay-eating appears to have been ])articularly com-
mon in North Carolina and Georgia. The clay eaten was a special kind
composed of silex, oxide of iron, alumina, magnesia, and water, and
was found in the greatest abundance in Richmcnid County, Georgia. No
clay of this type is found north of the Potomac. Children addicted to
the habit of clay-eat^ing could be cured of it by eating roasted bat.
See Laufer, "Geophagy," p. 176. The standard work on the subject
is C. G. Ehrenberg, Das Erdcn u. Fclsoi scliaffctide U'irkni dcs
unsichtbar klcincn Lcbcns auf dcr Erde, 2 vols., Leipzig, 1854.
"" See Webster, Quilts, Their Story and Hozv to Make Them, p. 126
(mentioned).
'■''*' Webster, p. 127: Hall and Kretsinger, The Romance of the Patch-
work Quilt in America, p. 196 (design). Cf. Hall and Kretsinger,
p. 126, no. 6 (Bread Basket).
^■■"'Webster, p. 125; Hall and Kretsinger, p. 79; Finley, Old Fatch-
zi'ork Quilts and the ll'omcn Who Made Them, pp. 97, 98, 99, 191;
Eaton, Handicrafts of the Southern Highlands, p. 130. This pattern was
called by the Philadelphia Quakers the Hand-of-Friendship ; it was known
also as Duck's-Foot-in-the-Mud.
'"'Finley, pp. 122-123; Hall, .-/ Book of Hand-U'o7'cn Coverlets, p.
180 (design) ; Hall and Kretsinger, p. 72 (design). An "all-over" pattern.
'''Hall and Kretsinger, ]>. 54 (design) ; Webster, p. 119; Finley, p. 93
(design). This pattern is sometimes known as Rolling Star or Chained
Star.
264 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
Roost (F. C. Brown); Capital T"- (Clara Hearne) ; Catch
j\Ie If You Can^^^ (contributor's name not given) ; Cherokee
Rose (F. C. Brown) ; Cross^"'-* H Nilla Lancaster) ; Diamond^-'^
(contributor's name not given) ; Fan"** (Kate S. Russell) ;
Flying Batlsji-'' (Kate S. Russell) ; Forbidden Fruiti-*'^ (F. C.
Brown); Four Hands Around"** (Clara Hearne); Friendship
Basket (Kate S. Russell) ; Georgia Fan (contributor's name
not given) ; Golden Stairs (Kate S. Russell) ; Hen and Chick-
ens^-^" (F. C. Brown); Hidden Flower (Kate S. Russell);
Irish Chain^-^^ (Clara Hearne) ; Jacob's Ladder^-"*- (Elsie
Doxey) ; Log Cabin^^-' (F. C. Brown) ; Lady Finger^"^ (Jessie
Hauser) ; Lazy Girl (contributor's name not given) ; Love
Knot^"'"' (Kate S. Russell and Clara Hearne) ; Lover's 'Knot^^^
(Nilla Lancaster, Kate S. Russell, and F. C. Brown) ; Memorial
^'■' Hall and Kretsinger, p. 86 (design). Cf. Webster, p. 127 (Capital
I)- .
^" Hall, p. 74; Hall and Kretsinger, p. 94. Known also as Heart's
Seal, Mound Builders, The Pure Symbol of Right Doctrine, Favorite
of the Peruvians, The Battle Ax of Thor, Wind-Power of the Osages,
Chinese 10,000 Perfections (Hall and Kretsinger, p. 95). The Fly Foot
or Devil's Puzzle is the reversed swastika (for designs, see Finley, p. 74,
and Hall and Kretsinger, p. 94). The former name is a corruption of
fylfot, another name by which the swastika is known.
^'' Hall, p. no (design) ; Hall and Kretsinger, p. 64 (design).
^*''' Webster, p. 121 (mentioned); Finley, p. 23 (Diamond Chain).
^"' Webster, p. 127.
"'Finley, p. 113; Webster, p. 125; Hall and Kretsinger, p. 82
(design).
^^^^ Webster, p. 119 (Forbidden Fruit Tree); Hall and Kretsinger,
p. 102 (Forbidden Fruit Tree — design).
^''•' This is also called Hands-all- Around (Hall and Kretsinger, p. 94,
no. 18) ; cf. Webster, p. 125 (Eight Hands Around). The name is that
of a square dance figure.
^'"Finley, pp. 83, 171; Webster, p. 124; Hall and Kretsinger, pp. 72
(design), 78 (design). Other names for the pattern are Duck and
Ducklings and Corn and Beans (Hall, p. ys).
^-''Finley, pp. 15, 23, 52, 82; Hall and Kretsinger, p. 236 (design);
there is also a Double Irish Chain and a Triple Irish Chain. The pat-
tern of one of the two Irish Chains in this collection is exactly that of
the Chained Five-Patch (see Finley, p. 167).
^■'- Finley, pp. 70-71 ; Hall and Kretsinger, p. 64, nos. 20 and 22. An
"all-over" pattern. With different arrangement of colors, it was known
also as Stepping Stones, Trail of the Covered Wagon, Wagon Tracks,
Underground Railroad, and The Tail of Benjamin's Kite.
^•''■' Hall and Kretsinger, pp. 181 (design), 197 (design) ; Eaton, p. 130:
Finley, pp. 28, 68; Webster, p. 127; Hall, p. 60. The name may derive
from the "Log Cabin and Hard Cider" publicity of the 1840 presidential
campaign.
^'' Hall and Kretsinger, p. 108, no. i (Lady-Fingers and Sunflowers).
^'■'' Hall and Kretsinger, p. 94 (design).
^•'■•" Hall, pp. 67, 82 (design), 172 (design), 208 (design); Hall and
Kretsinger, p. 70 (design) ; Rabb, Indiana Coverlets and Coverlet Weav-
ers, p. 407. This pattern is sometimes known as the Necktie.
K K I. I K. F S AND C I' S T 0 M S 265
Leaf (a)nti-iI)utor"s iianic not given); Missouri Trouhk^^-'"
(contributor's name not given) ; Monkey Wrench^''** (Elsie
Doxey and Clara Hearne) ; Morning Star^''" (Kate S. Russell) ;
Odds and Ends^"" (V. C. Brown); Old-b^ashioned Garland
(Kate S. Russell); Old-l-'ashioned Nosegay^'"'^ (Kate S. Rus-
sell) ; Old Woman's Puzzle^"- (contributor's name not given) •
Palmi''^* (Kate S. Russell) ; Patience^"^ (F. C. Brown) ; Rising
Sun^'"-'* (Nilla Lancaster); Road to Oklahoma^ ''^'^^ (Clara
Hearne) ; Rolling Stone^"' (contributor's name not given) ;
Rose of Sharon^''^*' (contributor's name not given); Rose Sta*"
One Patcb (Kate S. Russell); Saw Tootb^"" (Elsie Doxey);
Snake TraiP"" (Kate S. Russell) ; SnowbalP'^ (Kate S. Rus-
^'•' Other names are Tennessee Trouble, Spectacles, and Mountain
Flower. For a photograph of the design, see Hall, p. 73-
^^^'^Hall p. 84 (design). There is also a Double Monkey Wrench,
known too as Love Knot, Hole-in-the-Barn-Door, Puss-ui-the-Corner
Shoo-Fly, Lincohi's Platform, and Sherman's March. For a picture oi
the latter design, see Hall and Kretsinger, p. 94-
'■■"Webster, p. 120; Hall and Kretsinger, p. 60 (design).
'"" Webster, p. 130.
"'"^Hall and Kretsinger, p. 106 (design). .,,,,,,•
"-Webster, pp. 127 (Old Maid's Puzzle), 128 (Old liachelor s
Puzzle)- Hail and Kretsinger, p. 70 (Old Maid's Puzzle). The North
Carolina specimen is identical with that pictured in Hall and Kretsinger
p. 54, no. 5 ( Pieced Star ) . The pattern was designed to make use of
small scraps of cloth. . .
'"•■'Finley, p. 108; Hall and Kretsinger, p. 102. Ihis pattern is known
also as Hosanna. , ^, .
'"' Finley, p. 89 (Patience Corners); Hall and Kretsinger, p. 54
(Patience Corners— design). .
'"■'Webster p. 119; Finlev, pp. 116, 117. 122; Hall. p. 20 (mentioned) ;
Rabb, p. 402: Hall and Kretsinger, pp. 78 (design), 174 (design),
Bowles, Homespun Handicrafts, p. 163. This is a very intricate pat-
tern and one attempted by only the most expert quilt-makcrs. The
difficulty of execution helps to explain the comparative rarity of Rising
Sun quilts today. . ,, , ,
'""Hall and Kretsinger, p. 76 (design). This is sometimes called the
New Four- Patch. The Hearne pattern is identical with the Jact)b's
Ladder. . , ■ , .
'"•Hall and Kretsinger. p. 76 (design); binley, p. 115 (mentioned);
Hall, p. T9 (mentioned). Johnnie-round-the-Corner is another name
sometimes given it. The former name may have been derived from the
proverb.
'"" Finley, pp. 126-127 and plate 65: Hall and Kretsinger, pp. no. 112
and plates xxix and xxx ; Webster, p. 122 (mentioned). This is a very
old applique pattern. The name comes from the Song of Solomon, and
a quilt made from this pattern was almost invariably intended for a
'""Hall and Kretsinger, pp. 56 (design), 94 (design) ; Finlcy, pp. 112,
132 See also Hall and Kretsinger, pp. 144. IS3 (designs).
'■"Hall, p. 60 (Snail Trail); Webster, p. 125 (Snail's Trail); Hall
and Kretsinger. p. 84 (Snail's Trail) ; Eaton, p. 120 (Snail's Trail).
'•'Webster, p. 128; Hall and Kretsinger, p. 78 (design); Bowles, p.
163. In New England this is called Dog Tracks or Catspaw.
266 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
sell); Spider Web^'- (Kate S. Russell); Star ;i'=* Star of
Bethlehem^'^ (Clara Hearne) ; Star of the East^'^ (F. C.
Brown) ; Strangers (F. C. Brown) ; Sunflower^^^ (Kate S.
Russell) ; Sweet Gum Leaf (contributor's name not given) ;
Tree of Paradise^'^ (Nilla Lancaster) ; Tulip^"*** (Kate S. Rus-
sell) ; Tulip Block^^'-* (Clara Hearne) ; Washington Pave-
j^^gjij-iso (Kate S. Russell); Wheel of Fortune^^^ (Kate S.
Russell) ; W^idow's Trouble (F. C. Brown) ; Wild Goose
Chase^^- (F. C. Brown); Wild Rose^**^ (Clara Hearne);
World's Fair^^-* (Kate S. Russell).
Two designs (6-92.14 and 6-92.25), both of the same pat-
tern, are not identified by the contributor. They are, however,
clearly examples of the Courthouse Square (see Hall and Kret-
singer, p. 90, no. 17).
The following were contributed as names of blanket pat-
terns : Christian Ring, Chariot Ball, Leaf and Shell, Mt.
Cucumber, and Snowball Reed.
DYEING
A good dye for quilt linings may be made by boiling the
material in a mixture of pure red clay and water. After the
water has been colored sufficiently with the clay, it may stand
^^- Hall, p. 19 (mentioned) ; Hall and Kretsinger, p. 78 (design).
^" The Star design of the North Carolina quilt is the famous eight-
diamond Star of LeMoyne, the design upon which all subsequent star
and tulip designs are based. See Finley, pp. 23, 30, 57, 89, 132; Hall
and Kretsinger, p. 64, no. i. The name was corrupted to Lemon Star
in some sections.
^"Finley, pp. 25, 26, 58, 106, 122; Webster, p. 119; Hall and Kret-
singer, pp. 54 (design), 56 (design).
"''Hall, p. 65; Webster, p. 95; Hall and Kretsinger, pp. 58 (design),
84 (design) ; Eaton, p. 112.
""Hall and Kretsinger, p. 96 (design) ; Eaton, p. 130; Finley, pp. 39,
93; Hall, pp. 20, 55; Webster, p. 123. This pattern is known also as
Blazing Star or Blazing Sun.
"'Hall and Kretsinger, p. 102 (design).
"^Webster, pp. 49 (design), 119; Hall and Kretsinger, p. 102
(design).
""Finley, p. 124; Bowles, p. 163; Hall and Kretsinger, pp. 175 (de-
sign), 199, 214 (design).
180 Webster, p. 126 (Washington's Sidewalk).
^■^^ Hall, p. 68; Webster, p. 122; Hall and Kretsinger, p. 227 (de-
sign) ; Finley, pp. 62 (design), 82. The pattern was known as Wheel
of Fortune prior to 1850 ; after that date it was known in Ohio as The
Road to California (Finley, p. 82). It is sometimes called the Buggy
Wheel. Its original name appears to have been Burgoyne Surrounded
(see Hall and Kretsinger, p. 99).
"^Webster, p. 128; Finley, p. 194 (design); Hall and Kretsinger,
p. 96 (design). This is one of the popular triangle patterns.
"3 Webster, p. 122; Hall and Kretsinger, pp. 114 (design), 116
(design).
18* Webster, p. 119; Hall and Kretsinger, p. 84 (design).
BKI. lEFS AND CUSTOMS 267
till the greater part of the clay settles. Then the water is
jKHued off and hoiled. This clay is plentiful in sections of
LCastern North Carolina. I have known people who tried this
and found that it produced a fast color.^^'^' (Zilpah Frishie)
For a red dye, use one ounce of cochineal, two ounces of
tin. one-half ounce of cream of tartar, to one pound of deep
and one of pale, l^^irst run the cochineal to a powder, and
]nit it in as much water as will do. Let it hoil until it dissolves,
and then put in the cream of tartar and the tin. Stir it well
and put in the yarn. Let it boil a few minutes.'"*'' (Con-
tributor's name not given.)
A herb she called madder was used by my grandmother to
make a pretty crimson. The roots of this were used.^**^ (Ger-
trude Allen Vaught) '
Red oak bark was used for tanning leather. It gave a deep
red color. The white oak bark gave a light tan color.iss
(Mamie Mansfield)
For a red dye, use poke berries and set with alum. (Nilla
Lancaster)
For a red dye, boil sumac berries in water for a few hours,
adding a little salt. '■''•' (Kathleen Mack)
The water in which hickory bark is boiled makes a pretty
vellow dye. (Jessie Hauser) -
Buckhorn and sumac are used for different kinds of yellow.
(F. C. Brown) Y
IMarigold flowers boiled in water make a beautiful yellow/^'^
(Kate S. Russell)
^"^ In the early part of the eighteenth century, merchants carried pipe-
clay on their shelves and advertised it as one of the dyes they had in
stock. .
''" Cochineal and tin were two of the very few imported dye materials.
The former was brought from Central .America and Mexico and the
latter from the mines of Cornwall. The tin was dissolved in aqua fortis.
"' Madder is one of the oldest of dyes. It appears to liavc been used
first by the Egyptians, and later by the Moors in Spain. From Spam
it made its wav to Holland, whence it was brought to America by Dutch
settlers. Sec 'Eaton, Handicrafts of the Southern Highlands, p. 138.
Incidentallv, madder is the dye used for dyeing the red stripes in the
.American flag (Hall. .-/ Booh of Hand-Worm Coverlets, p. 153).
Rabb (Indiana Coverlets and Coverlet Makers, p. 401 ) mentions a
red dve made of bran, water, and madder.
^■"^ .\mong other ingredients for a tan dye were butternut and hemlock
bark and sumac leaves and twigs (Bowles, Homespun Handicrafts,
p. 188). ^, ^ ^
^"' .\ red dye could also be made from willow bark and bloodweed
sap (PTFLS,'\ui. 161).
"° Other plants utilized in the making of yellow dye were goldenrod,
Cottonwood bark, pecan bark, cedar bark (PTFLS, xni. 161); peach
leaves or smartwecd. alder, birch, walnut, hickory, yellow oak, Lombardy
poplar, sumac stalks (Hall, A Book of Hand-Woven Coverlets, p. 134) ;
laurel leaves (Webster, Quilts, Their Story and How to Make Them, p.
75) ; smart weed (Rabb, Indiana Coverlets and Coverlet Makers, p. 401).
For a more complete list, see Eaton, ot>. cit., pp. 341-342.
Hall (p. 133) lists also fustic, tumeric, and anotta as being used in
the making of a yellow dye.
268 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
Easter eggs may be dyed yellow with hickory bark. (Zilpah
Frisbie) ^
J\Iy grandmother used to make a dye of a pretty yellow color
from maple or walnut bark. (Gertrude Allen Vaught)
Red oak bark is used to make dye. Boil the bark and strain
it, and put some capus [copperas?] in it to set it to keep it
from fading. The dye is a deep yellow. (Mamie Mansfield) -
For a yellow dye, boil hickory bark for two or three hours.
Add a little coffee, and boil again. Then put in the cloth,
(Kathleen Mack)'
Boil plum root in water for a yellow dye. Set with cop-
peras.^'^^ (Nilla Lancaster)
My grandmother made a pretty yellow dye with broom straw.
She broke the straw into small pieces, poured boiling water
over it, then strained off the water. (Eleanor Simpson) V
For a brown dye, use walnut bark. Set it with salt. (Nilla
Lancaster)
For a brown dye, boil onion peelings in water for a long time.
Then remove them and the liquid is ready for the cloth.^^-
(Kathleen Mack) ■.
Take bark or old walnut hulls and boil in water. Then strain
off the water and you have a brown dye. My grandmother used
to make this dye for dyeing yarn. She also used it for coloring
Easter eggs. (Eleanor Simpson)
Roots of the walnut tree boiled with copperas will make a
brown dye. (Clara Hearne)
The bark from the root of walnut boiled in water makes a
beautiful brown. The shade can be varied bv the amount of
bark used.i''^^ (Kate S. Russell) ^■
Boil for one-half hour one pound of sumac and two of green
walnut shells, then enter your yarn. Handle well and boil for
one hour. Finish in another liquor with three pounds of red
oak bark and an ounce of bluestone. ( Contril)utor's name not
given.)
Take pine bark and red oak bark, red maple and sweet gum,
and boil together for a brown dye. Boil the yarn in the dye,
then dij) in or boil in strong lye. (Contributor's name not
given.)
Red root makes a pinkish brown dye. (F. C. Brown) ^
Leaves of the pigweed were used to make a green dye.
(Nilla Lancaster)
^"^ Copperas was one of the most often used mordants. Others were
alum, blue vitriol, verdigris, and cream of tartar. Salt and chamlier lye
were also used.
^"' A combination of butternut and maple l)ark was sometimes used in
the making of brown dye. Eaton {op. cit., p. 340) lists also pecan hulls,
bark of the spruce pine, bark of the chestnut oak.
^"^ For references to the use of onion skins in dye, see JAFL, i, 128-
129 (Pennsylvania German) ; li, 64. They seem to have been used more
often for yellow.
H K I, I K F S AND C U S T 0 M S 269
Easter egys may he dyed green with young wheat.''"
(Lucille Massey)
Sumac hoiled with e()])i)eias will ])r()<luce a hlack dye. (Clara
Hearne )
Mv grandmother d\ed things a beautiful hlack with the seeds
of the sumac, ((iertrude Allen X'aught^
Sumac and walmu hulls hoiled togeth<?'r make a hlack dye.
'Idiis is for yarn. (Kate S. Russell) •
Queen's Delight is used to make a hlack dye. (V. C. I»rown) '.
Dye the yarn copi)eras. then boil it in a strong dye of milky
puss'ly [purslane] and he sumac, and set with copperas. Dye
in August. (Contributor's name not given.) ,
To dye one pound of cotton black, boil one ounce of blue-
.stone. one quart of lye, and one pint of limewater for two
hours. Then change to a fresh liquor, adding one pound of
sumac and half an ounce of extract of logwood or half a pound
of chips. Finish with two ounces of copperas. ( Contributor's
name not given.)
To dye one pound of wool black, boil in a mixture of one
quart of good lye and half an ounce of bluestone for two hours.
Then change liquor and add one half an ounce of extract of
logwood. Boil gently two hours ; rinse well. Then put into
a fresh dye with one ounce of extract of logwood and one
ounce of bluestone. and boil gently for two hours.'*'"' (Con-
tributor's name not given.) T
For a purple dye. use red oak, sweet gum. and copperas.
(Nilla Lancaster)
Take the bark from maple, sweet gum, or red oak trees and
boil them in water to make a beautiful rich purj)le.'''*^ (Kate
S. Russell) .
To dye silk material blue, use a dye made by boiling in
water the flow-ers of the elder. This makes a navy blue. (Kate
S. Russell) \
To dye a blue color, use indigo and set with salt or soda."*'
(Nilla Lancaster) .
^"^ Recipes for the making of a solid green dye are few; Eaton's long
list of colors derived from plants (op. cit., pp. 340-342) includes only
two, one from hickory bark and the other from leaves of the lily-of-
the-valley. Frequently a dyeing of yellow was followed by one of blue
to produce the desired result. Kabb (p. 401) lists peacii leaves.
^"•■' Other plants used in the making of a black dye were bark of the
scrul) oak (Webster, p. 75), willow bark, butternut bark, oak bark, red
maple bark (Eaton, j). 340). i he latter is mentioned also by Hal! (p.
148) as an ingredient in a Kentucky recipe. The contributor adds tliat
after a short time the dye is purple but that the longer the boiling
continues the darker the dye will be.
^"'' Other purples were made from the flower of the red poppy (Eaton,
p. 341). A brownish red with indigo blue also produces a purple color.
'"' The indigo plant appears to have been native to the Southern
Appalachians and to have been cultivated in South Carolina and Loui-
siana (Eaton, pp. 136-137). Both flower and plant were placed in a
270 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
To dye cotton blue, boil for two hours in one ounce of blue-
stone, a quart of lye, and one pint of limewater. Then in a
fresh liquor, adding one pound of sumac and an ounce and a
half of extract of logwood. In a fresh liquor boil two and a
half ounces of extract of logwood. You must be careful to
keep the yarn well open while in the preparation. (Con-
tributor's name not given.)
To dye wool blue, boil in one quart of good lye, half an
ounce of bluestone for two hours, then in a fresh liquor with
half an ounce of extract of logwood. Boil gently for two hours ;
rinse well. (Contributor's name not given.)
To make lilac color, take the flowers from a juniper tree,
boil them in water, and add copperas to set.^"^ (Kate S.
Russell)
For an orange color, use a dye made from sassafras. ^^^
(F. C. Brown)
Sweet gum bark and red oak bark boiled with copperas will
produce a gray dye.-*^" (Clara Hearne)
COOKING AND PRESERVING
Ashcake. — Sift one pint of cornmeal, add a pinch of salt,
stir the mixture into a kind of paste, and pat out into a cake.
Pull the coals back from the fireplace and put the ashcake there
to dry off the top. Then cover the cake with ashes and put a
few coals on top. Bake for twenty minutes, and then serve with
butter.201 (Mabel Ballentine)
barrel and covered with a layer of straw. This was covered with a
layer of sumac, and then water was poured into the barrel and the whole
was allowed to stand until it decomposed. Experiments carried on at
the Pine Mountain Settlement School at Harlan, Kentucky, over the pe-
riod 1922-25 proved that in view of the cheapness of commercial indigo
dye the growing of the plant would not be practical (Eaton, pp. 343 fF.).
^"^ For other recipes for blue dye, see Rabb, p. 401 (indigo, rainwater,
and bran) and Hall, p. 133 (woad and indigo). The use of indigo as
a dye goes back to remote antiquity. Traces of it have been found in
mummy wrappings dating from almost a thousand years before Christ.
Woad, particularly as a stain for the skin, is also very old.
Eaton (p. 340) lists juniper berries as having been used in the making
of a khaki dye.
^'"' For orange, Eaton lists (p. 341) root of the bloodroot, madder, and
onion skins.
^""Willow bark was also used (Hall, p. 159). Eaton (p. 341) has
leaves of the mountain laurel, pecan hulls, sumac berries, and leaves of
the rhododendron.
^"^ See Bullock, The Williamsburg Art of Cookery, or, .Iccomplished
Gcntlcivo man's Companion, p. 97. For recipes for making hoecakes, see
p. 99 of the same work and Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, Cross Creek
Cookery, p. 23. Both hoecakes and ashcakes were made by Indian
women long before the time of the Pilgrims; see Earle, Customs . . . ,
p. 148.
B E I. I K F S A N D C I ' S T O M S 27 1
Make as fur cornbread, but be sure to make it good and
short. Then rake a place out in the coals, cover the cake with
ashes, and bake until it is done. ( Cjertrude Allen Vaught ) v
Put together the ingredients of cornbrcad and roll out
on big oak or collard leaves, one on each side of the l)atter.
Turn the cake over in the ashes a number of times while it is
baking, liat with pot licker. (Green Collection)
Corn Pone. — Mix at least a (|uart of meal with a tablespoon-
ful of salt and enough water to make a thin dough. Let the
mixture "set" until it ferments. Then stir it up again, and
jnit it in an iron pan. Bake for an hour and a half in a
moderately hot oven.-"- (Zilpah Frisbie) ,,
Take two cups of sifted meal, a pinch of salt, and water.
Mix into a stiff dough. Wrap the cakes in green oak leaves
and bake them slowly in the ashes. ( Nilla Lancaster)
This recipe recjuires one quart of corn meal, one-third
teaspoonful of soda, one-half teaspoonful of salt, and two cups
of buttermilk. Add a little water, mix thoroughly, and make
into pones. Bake in a hot oven — preferably an old-fashioned
oven which can be placed on the fire and then covered with a
lid on which coals may be placed. It is called "skillet and lid"
at home. (Gertrude Allen Vaught)
Fait\ Bread. — Put on a pan of grease to heat. Mix a cup
of meal and a pinch of salt, add water, form the dough into
a cake and fry it in hot grease. (Nilla Lancaster) '
Milk-Yeast Bread. — On a hot, sunny day, boil a cup of water
and a cup of milk, take ofif, and stir until nearly milkwarm.
Then add a teaspoonful of salt and enough flour to thicken the
hot milk. Cover this with a thin lid, and set in the siuishine.
Let it rise to twice the size. This is the yeast. When the
veast has risen, prepare a quart of flour, one tablespoonful of
sugar, a little more salt, and a piece of lard the size of a goose
tgg. Pour in the yeast and knead until it blisters and pops.
Now grease the iron oven, put in the bread, cover with the iron
lid, and put it out into the sunshine again. Prepare a bed of
coals to cook it with when it rises. Be careful to start to bak-
ing before the bread rises to the top. Bake until thoroughly
done. (Nilla Lancaster)
Salt-Rising Bread. — Take warm, fresh sweet milk and add a
little flour, meal, and salt. Make this into a thin batter and
leave it in a warm place overnight. Next morning, stir in
more flour and put it in a warm place to rise. When it has
risen, put as much flour as you want in a pan, add shortening,
and then pour in the yeast mixture. Finish making the dough
with warm water, place it in a pan, grease the well-kneaded
''"^ See Rawlings, Cross Creek Cookery, p. 24.
N.C.F., Vol. 1, (19)
272 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
cakes with butter, and then bake.-"-^ (Gertrude Allen Vaught) V
Hominy. — Take the water boiled off boiled ashes, put shelled
corn in it, and cook for a few hours. Take the grains out and
wash them several times. Cook them again, and then let them
stand in water for several da^'s. (Kathleen Mack)
Run down lye in the ash hopper, then boil corn in this
lye. Soak it in cold water for three days and it is then ready
to cook. (Gertrude Allen Vaught)
Succotash. — Boil snap beans with bacon until almost done.
Then pour in roasting ear corn, and cook all until done. Some-
times butter beans or blackeyed peas are used instead of snap
beans. (Green Collection)
Persimmon Pudding. — One quart of persimmons, a quart of
sweet milk, a pint of flour, two eggs, one cup of sugar, a tea-
spoonful of soda, and a piece of butter the size of a walnut.
Flavor with nutmeg.-"^ (Gertrude Allen Vaught) ,
One quart of seeded persimmons, two well-beaten eggs,
one teacup of sugar, a pint of cornmeal, two tablespoonfuls of
butter, and a pinch of salt. Mix together well. (Mabel
Ballentine) '-
Kraut. — Cut cabbage very fine, then place a layer in a stone
jar. Next, put in a layer of salt, and continue thus, stopping
now and then to punch the cabbage down with a stick. When
you have the jar full, place a rag over the jar top, then boards
(oak), and on top of that some large rocks to hold it down.
Look at it once in a while, and if the brine doesn't cover the
cabbage, apply water with a little salt in it. (Gertrude Allen
Vaught)
Cabbage was chopped up very fine and put in kegs or
stone jars. Salt was mixed with it in sufficient quantity to
produce a brine that would cover the cabbage. Sometimes, in-
stead of being chopped fine, the cabbage was cut into quarters
and packed in the jars or kegs. (Clara Hearne)^
Pickled Beans. — Cook for a short while as many string beans
as you like, then place in earthen jars, with a layer of salt,
then a layer of beans, etc. We pickle cucumbers in the same
way, only we do not cook them. Corn on the cob can l)e kept
in the same way. (Gertrude Allen Vaught)
String beans, or snaps, are frequently pickled in brine.
(Green Collection)'^
Sulphur Fruit. — Peel and slice your fruit, then place it in a
large wooden tub or other receptacle. Leave a space in the cen-
ter for a pan of live coals. On this sprinkle some sulphur, then
cover the tub with a thick cloth which fits down over it tightly.
-"■' Ott, Plantation Cookery of Old Louisiana, p. 26.
-"* During the past winter I noticed persimmon pudding listed among
the desserts on several Southern Indiana hotel menus.
K KIT K r S A N I) (■ I' S T () M S 2.~},
Keep replenishing llic sulphur and coals until the t ruit_ is done.
Our old colored mammy made this in large quantities, then
wrapped it in paper or a thick cloth and it kept all winter,
(Cjertrude Allen Vaught)^
Grape Pickle— Take sugar from the hottoni of a molasses
harrel and pick the grapes from the stem. l?ut into a jar one
laver of grapes and next a layer of sugar until the jar is full.
Seal a piece of paper over the mouth of the jar. and set it aside
for iMes during the winter. (Kate S. Russell) '
Put together in layers green grapes, grape leaves, and
salt. Let this ferment, and add cucumhcrs. Let stand until
pickled. ( Kathleen Mack)
Poke Salad.— The old colored mammy who lived in our home
for many years used to make this every spring. She gathered
the young tender leaves and washed them well. Then .she hoiled
or parboiled these in salt and a generous amount of water.
Next, she poured all this water off and put the leaves in fresh
water and seasoned them with salt and bacon. She then cooked
the salad until it was very tender. (Gertrude Allen Vaught)'-
Suits and diuiipliuc/s.—Th\s dish is composed of^ dried fruit
cooked with a ham bone, with dum])lings added. -*'■' (Green
Collection)
Toasted Potato Pituipkiji.—SVice one pumpkin into halves and
seed these. Have a bed of coals on an old-fashioned fireplace
and put the pumpkin on the coals, watching it closely all the
time. Cut after twenty-five minutes, and take up and serve
with butter while hot. (Mabel Ballentine)
Watennelon Syrup.— Tzke all the juice of six ripe nielons,
and put it into a pot and boil until it turns to .syrup. This was
done w^hen sugar was scarce. (Nilla Lancaster >-
Cream Pie. — Take nearly a cup of cream or milk for each
pie, sweeten slightly, add a little butter, and thicken with a
scant tablespoonful'of flour. Place in pie crust and make a
lattice work across with strips of dough. Any flavor— or fruit-
can be added. (Gertrude Allen Vaught)
Green Huckleberry P/V.— Made by preparing any amount of
green huckleberries you want. This takes more sugar than for
ripe ones, about half a cuj) to a pie. Put in a large piece of
butter, and then put in pie crust and bake. (Gertrude Allen
\'aught)
Family Potato-Pie. — Line an iron spider with a rich crust,
fill with alternate layers of potatoes, sugar, and pastry. Re-
'"'^ "Snit" is, of course, the German Schnitt, meaning steak or chop.
This dish is a special favorite among Pennsylvania Germans.
274 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
peat twice, then add spices, cream, and a little water. Put on
a top crust and bake.-"^' (Nilla Lancaster)
Vinegar Pic. — -Take half a cup of medium strong vinegar
and add half a cup of sugar, a piece of butter the size of a
walnut, and half a cup of water slightly thickened with flour.
Then place in pie crust and bake. (Gertrude Allen Vaught)
Preserves. — Use one pound of sugar to one pound of fruit,
and cook until the juice forms a thick syrup. Strawberries and
figs should boil only a few minutes. Put out into the hot sun-
shine daily for ten days, then jar it and the fruit will keep solid.
(Nilla Lancaster)
Jellies. — Use one cup of juice to one cup of sugar. When
sugar is scarce, syrup does as well. (Nilla Lancaster) ^
BEVERAGE-MAKING
IVJiiskey. — Take corn meal, cover it with water, and let it
stand for four days. Then work off. (Kate S. Russell)
Blackberry Wine. — Mash up blackberries, add water, and let
stand for three days. Strain through a yarn cloth and allow
to ferment again. Put up in airtight containers. (Kate S.
Russell)
Locust Beer. — Take locust, persimmons, and a little corn
meal, put it in a barrel, cover with water, and let it remain a
few days. To this may be added dried apple peelings and cores.
(Kate S. Russell)
Persimmon Beer. — Put persimmons in a barrel, pour warm
water over them, and let them set until they ferment.^'^^ (Kate
S. Russell)
Sassafras Tea. — Tea was formerly made from sassafras wood
or from holly balls. -''^ (Green Collection)
Rhubarb Tea. — Crush rhubarb stems and leaves, steep them
in boiling water, and drink. (Kate S. Russell)
Tansy Tea. — Bruise tansy leaves, steep them in either hot
or cold water, and drink. -*^^ (Kate S. Russell)
""'' See Ott, p. 76. The latter recipe lists among the necessary in-
gredients four wineglasses of brandy.
""^ See Lay My Burden Down, p. 66.
-"* Sassafras tea was highly regarded not only as a pleasant-tasting
beverage but also as a medicine. It was in great favor as a means of
"thinning the blood" in hot weather, and was believed to be a blood
purifier as well. Sassafras is mentioned in herbals of as early date as
1596, where it is recommended, among other things, for "making women
with childe" (The Mid-^vest Pioneer, p. 39).
-"" Juice from tansy leaves, together with buttermilk, was also one of
the early aids to feminine beauty. The buttermilk was applied to make
the complexion whiter; the tansy juice acted as an astringent.
BELIEFS AND CUSTOMS 275
Coffee. — I'urn coffeo (hx\i,fs for good-fiavort-d cofft-t-. ( Susit-
Si)iir54C(-)n Jordan)
Distilling. — Put apple cider in a big kettle with a sjwut or
tube running out into another vessel so that no air can escape
except through that tube. Build a steady fire under the kettle
with the cider in it. When it begins to boil fiercely, the steam
pushes through the pipe into the cold kettle, condensing into
l>randy. (Nilla Lancaster)',
W'iue. — Mash the berries and let them sour, then strain them
and add half as much sugar as the amount of the li(|uid. ( h^dna
Whitlev )
276 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
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2/0 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
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BELIEFS AND CUSTOMS 279
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28o NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
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H K I. I K F S A N 1) C IT S T O M S 2»I
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282 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
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Webster, Marie D. Quilts, Their Story and How to Make Them.
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Wilson, Gordon. Passing Institutions. New York, 1946.
WiMBERLY, LowRY C. Folklore in the English and Scottish Ballads.
Chicago, 1928.
Death and Burial Lore in the English and Scottish Popular
Ballads (University of Nebraska Studies in Language, Liter-
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Wright, Elizabeth M. Rustic Speech and Folk-Lore. London,
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Wuttke, Adolf. Der deutsche Volksaberglaube der Gegenwart.
3rd ed. Berlin, 1900.
RI DOLES
Edited by
Archer Taylor
RIDDLES
INTRODUCTION
RIDDLES ARE among the oldest of all mental diversions. Al-
tliough most types of riddles may be traced far l)ack in cultural
history, thev have' never yet been adecjuately described historically
and stvlisticallv ; such a study of riddles is still only in its early
i-taees.
One of the oldest known riddles is No. 5 in this collection : "What
is it that walks on four legs in the morning, two at noon, and three
at night?" This riddle, still common in oral tradition, puzzled the
Greeks two thousand years ago. Oedipus is supposed to have de-
feated the Sphinx by answering it. Although we have a Babylonian
clay tablet containing a few riddles that were used as texts in learn-
ing to read, we know very little about what riddles children asked
and answered on the road to school long ago. In this connection,
however, the Biblical riddles in the Frank C. Brown Collection are
especiallv interesting. They are the last descendants of the classical
method of instruction by question and answer. Commentators on
Homer instructed their hearers by catechetical questions, and Bib-
lical scholars in early times followed their procedure. Since the
procedure was very well known, it was quickly parodied. Even in
classical times men asked such whimsical questions as "What songs
did the sirens sing?" and "Was Hecuba older than Helen?" These
North Carolina riddles have lost the serious (|uality of Biblical
exegesis and are characteristically puns demanding a knowledge of
Biblical historv. The long verse riddle about the whale that swal-
lowed Tonah (No. 124) is representative of another line of descent
from okler times and fashions. In the Middle Ages and the Renais-
sance, men often amused themselves by versifying questions that
required a knowledge of Biblical history to answer them.
The problems in the study of riddles are concerned primarily with
the arrangement of texts and the collection of parallels. When these
tasks have been completed, we can undertake more fundamental in-
vestigations. The arrangement of texts has offered serious diffi-
culties. An arrangement according to answers wrenches apart
closely related riddles and pays no regard to the types of puzzles.
An arrangement according to initial words is equally bad. A satis-
factory arrangement should separate true riddles, that is to say.
questions that suggest an object foreign to the answer and confound
the hearer by giving a solution that is both obviously correct and
286 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
entirely unexpected, from questions that require the possession of a
special bit of information. The arrangement of the latter type of
questions must proceed according to both matter (Biblical, arith-
metical, genealogical) and form (What . . . ? Why . . . ?, etc.).
Such an arrangement has been attempted in the following collection.
Although thousands of riddles have been printed, one cannot
easily assemble the parallels to a particular text. Such parallels,
which are readily available for ballads or tales, can be brought
together only by reading hundreds of widely scattered collections.
The notes to this collection will give some idea of how parallels
can be assembled.
When we have collections of riddles with adequate comparative
notes, we can attack fundamental problems. We should like to know
the history and dissemination of particular texts. Something has
been said regarding the currency of the riddle of the Sphinx and
many another riddle, but our information is, on the whole, both
scanty and incomplete. We should like to know more than we do
regarding the technique of riddles. What riddles, for example,
begin with the formula "As I was going across London Bridge" ?
We should like to reach some conclusions regarding the choice of
themes. Why are dogs and cats so rarely the subjects of riddles?
Information of this sort is necessary to an understanding of the
place of riddles in culture.
This collection of North Carolina riddles is representative of
the variety of types of puzzle circulating orally. Only in recent
times have we come to recognize that several very different types
of puzzle are loosely called riddles.
The most important distinction to be made is the separation of
what I shall call the true riddle from other types of puzzle. A
true riddle is a description of an object in terms intended to confuse
the hearer. It consists of a vague general description and a specific
detail that seems to conflict with what has gone before. Humpty
Dumpty is, for example, a man of whom we are told that he cannot
be put together again after he has fallen. This conflict between
what is suggested in general terms and what is specifically asserted
arouses our curiosity, and the answer "egg" resolves the conflict.
Riddles of this sort can be solved if we remember that the first
idea suggested to us is only metaphorically true and the contradic-
tory assertion is literally true. In the Humpty Dumpty riddle we
are told that the answer is something living (the idea of a man is
only metaphorically true) and also something that cannot be put
together when it is broken by a fall (this is literally true).
This collection contains other varieties of puzzles. One of these
I shall call neck-riddles because, like the neck-verse that a medieval
criminal once read, if he was a learned man, to save his life, they
contain the assertion that the speaker by setting an insoluble puzzle
RIDDLES 287
gets his freedom or saves his life. Tlie le^-al l)ackgroun(l of tliis
procedure is (juite obscure ; its legality seems to i)e assumed in ver-
sions current in the Low Countries, (iermany, Scandinavia, and
England. Although this element of the neck-riddle is unknown in
countries where a Romance or a Slavic language is spoken and on
the shores of the Mediterranean, parallels to the questions are found
in these regions. In the fourteenth chapter of Judges, Samson
described a scene known only to himself, and the wedding guests
were of course unable to guess what he had in mind.
The remaining texts are, with a few exceptions, serious or whim-
sical questions intended to elicit a particular bit of information.
The asker may expect his hearer to know a particular arithmetical
procedure, to solve a family relationship stated in confusing terms,
or the like. The whimsical (luestions usually turn on a pun. In any
case, the hearer cannot answer the question without having at his
command a particular bit of information. Finally, there are (jues-
tions partaking of the nature of a rebus and a charade.
The places from which the following riddles were reported were
generally stated on the manuscripts. Some missing places were
supplied' by the General Editor from other manuscripts of the same
contributors, and from other data. Dates are almost uniformly
missing from the manuscripts, but it has been possible for the
General Editor to supply nearly all dates with approximate accuracy
through a compilation of data about the contributors obtained from
the alumni records of Duke University, the Duke University Sum-
mer School records, the correspondence of Dr. Brown, and personal
interviews with two or three contributors.
From these dates it appears that Dr. Brown's interest in collecting
riddles was most active in 1922-23 and that most of his collection
was made through a small group of students in his folklore classes
offered in the Summer School during those years. The riddles col-
lected by Paul and Elizabeth Green in 1926-28 were given to the
collection in 1945. after Dr. Brown's death.
The manuscript collection contains about 290 items (including
variants) from 69 contributors.
X.r.F., Vol. 1, (20)
288 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
I
COMPARISONS TO LIVING CREATURES
I. Form
a. A Member Present But Part of It Lacking
(The arrangement proceeds downwards from the head.)
1. jVIany eyes and never a nose, one tongue and about it
goes. — Shoe.
Elsie Doxey, Currituck county, 1922-23. Not hitherto reported. In
this unusual variety of the type, both the "eyes," which are the eyelets
of the shoe, and the "tongue" are used in a double sense. Only one of
the words used for a member of the supposed creature is ordinarily so
understood. The formula "many eyes and never a nose" is usually
found in riddles for a sifter or a potato.
2. East. West, North, South,
Ten thotisand teeth with never a mouth.
— Answer lacking.
Clara Hearne, Chatham county, 1922-23. The answer is probably "card-
ing comb" for flax, wool, or cotton; see Redfield, Tennessee, p. 39, No.
31 ; Knortz, p. 209, No. 31 (distorted) ; Boggs, North Carolina, p. 322,
No. 9 ; Randolph and Spradley, Ozarks, p. 88. The answer "saw" for
cutting stone occurs in the West Indies ; see Parsons, Bermuda, p. 256,
No. 74.
3. What is it that has feet and legs but nothing else? — Stock-
ings.
Grace Tucker, Stanly county, 1935-38. Farr, Tennessee, p. 319, No. 21.
b. Ab)ior>nulify in Form
4. What stands on one foot and has its heart in its head? —
Cabbage.
Kate S. Russell, Person county, c. 1923. The distribution of the
parallels suggests their origin in Europe, but no English parallel has
been reported. For kindred riddles with the answers "lettuce" or "cab-
bage," see Parsons, Bermuda, p. 265, No. 161 ; "cabbage," see Green-
leaf, Newfoundland, p. 11, No. 22; and Farr, Tennessee, p. 319, No. 21;
and "peach," see Knortz, p. 231, No. 37. There are parallels in Flemish,
German, and Danish.
5. What is it that walks on four legs in the morning, two at
noon, and three at night ? — Man.
Mrs. G. A. Vaught, Alexander county, 1928. Parallels to this riddle
of the Sphinx are too numerous to note.
6. Three legs up and six legs down.
And Old Black Jo riding to town.
— Old Black Jo with a three-legged pot on his head and
riding a horse to town.
R I I) I) I, K S 289
Zilpah I'>isbie. McDowell Cdunly. i«>22-23. Altliduj^li this riddle is
widely known in the United States, tiie figure of Old lilack }o docs
not occur in the parallels. This version seems to be a ciirruptitm in
which some of the elements have not been treated enigmatically. For
parallels to the usual form, "Black upon black come through th' town,
three legs up an' six legs down" ( Randolph and Spradley. Ozarks, p.
88), see Fauset, Nova Scotia, p. 160, No. 83; Brewster, Indiana, 39;
Bacon and Parsons. Virginia, p. 327, No. 11; Redfield, Tennessee, p. 38,
No. 22 ; Farr, Tennessee, p. 325. No. 95 ; Boggs, North Carolina, p. 324.
No. 19.
;-a. Long legs aiul sliort thiglis,
Bald head and no eyes.
— Tongs.
Clara Hearne, Chatham county, 1922-23. Parallels are reported only
in Irish; see O Dalaigh ("Long legs, crooked knees, a dead head with-
out eyes"), 200 ("A long thigh, a crooked hip, taking care, but no eyes
in its head").
7I). Long legs, no thighs,
Bald head, and no eyes.
— Tongs.
Jessie Hauser, Forsyth county, 1923. In this corrupt version "m:) thighs"
is an error suggested by the parallelism with "no eyes."
yc. Long legged, no thighs, hald headed, and no eyes. — Tongs.
Lucille Cheek, Chatham county, 1923.
2. FUXCTIOX
8. What goes aronnd llu- house and makes one track? — W'heel-
l)arro\v.
Paul and Elizabeth (ireen, eastern and central N. C, 1926-28. Slight
variants reported by Mamie Mansfield, Durham, 1922, and Lucille Cheek,
Chatham county, 1923. Widely current in American tradition; see
Fauset, Southern Xegro, p. 282, No. 62; Parsons, Sea Islands, S. C,
p. 156, No. 26; and many other versions. There are analogous Frisian,
Flemish, German, and Icelandic versions. Compare also the Filipino
sled riddle, "I went to Dagupan, but I left only two footprints" (Starr,
389). The Nova Scotian answer "snake" appears to be unique; see
Fauset, p. 173, No. 195.
9a. (iocs to everybody's house and does not go in. — Path.
Lucille Cheek, Chatham county, 1923. The lack of an interrogative
word in 9a is not a defect. In English, the riddler is confronted with the
choice between Who . . . ?, which signifies a person much more defi-
nitely than an interrogative in a language having grammatical gender,
and What ... ?, which turns the hearer's attention away from the
idea of a personification. Many riddles in this collection are similarly
constructed.
^90 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
9b. What is it that goes over the hill through the valley and up
to the house but doesn't come in? — Path.
W. Q. Grigg, Cleveland county, 1927.
go. Runs all over the yard ; comes to the door ; never comes
in. — Path.
Elsie Doxey, Currituck county, 1922-23.
9d. What goes all round the house and never goes in? — Path.
Jessie Hauser, Forsyth county, 1923.
9. Current in the southern United States ; see Parsons, Sea Islands, S. C,
p. 155, No. 5; Parsons, Aiken, S. C, p. 26, No. 9; and many other
versions. There are Welsh, Welsh Gypsy, Danish, French, Serbian,
and Hungarian parallels.
10. Goes all around the house and throws white gloves in the
window. — Snow.
Clara Hearne, Chatham county, 1922-23. See a seventeenth-century
parallel in Tupper, Holme Riddles, 43. For later English parallels, see
Gutch and Peacock, Lincolnshire, p. 398, No. 7 ; Burne, Shropshire,
p. 574, No. 10. For parallels from North America, see Waugh, Canada,
p. 70, No. 802; Fauset, Nova Scotia, p. 161, No. 93; Randolph and
Spradley, Ozarks, p. 82; Gardner, Schoharie Hills, N. Y., p. 256, No.
28; Newell, Jourmil of American Folklore iv (1891), 158; Parsons,
Guilford Co., N. C, p. 206, No. 54. Except for parallels in Welsh
(Hull and Taylor, 17-19), I have found nothing very similar elsewhere.
11. What goes through the fence and leaves its tail behind
it ? — Needle.
Elsie Doxey, Currituck county, 1922-23.
12. What jumps over the fence and leaves his tail behind him?
—Needle.
Mildred Peterson, Bladen county, 1923.
II, 12. This is a better form than the more familiar comparison to a
person who loses a bit of his tail (see Nos. 36, 37 below), but it is
much less popular. For parallels, see Parsons, Aiken, S. C, p. 37, No.
88; Parsons, Sea Islands, S. C, p. 157, No. 35; Leather, Hereford, p.
230 ("Through the hedge and through the hedge and takes a long tail
behind it").
3. Form and Function
0. Normal Form; Abnormal Function
13. What walks with its head downward? — Shoe tack.
Mildred Peterson, Bladen county, 1923. The parallels are usually more
elaborate. See Fauset, Southern Negro, p. 283, No. 72; Farr, Ten-
nessee, p. 323, No. 71; Rcdfield, Tennessee, p. 39. No. 39; Fauset, Nova
Scotia, p. 173. No. 193-
KIDDLES 2gi
14. What is that goes down to the branch with its head down
but doesn't drink? — ilorseshoes.
W. Q. Grigg, Cleveland county, 1927. The answer should be "horseshoe
nail"; see Book of Mccry Riddles (1629), No. 30 = Brandl, p. 13;
Farr, Tennessee, p. 323, No. 78. There are parallels in Flemish, Ger-
man, Danish, and Swedish. See also No. 17 below.
iv What has a face and can't see, can run but can't walk? —
Clock.
Mamie Mansfield, Durham, 1922. Compare "What has a face but can-
not see?" (Bacon and Parsons, Virginia, p. 315, No. 31) and No. 20
below.
16. Wanders often over the meadow, with a nice little tongue
but cannot speak, goes to water but cannot drink. — Cowbell.
Mrs. N. Lancaster, Wayne county, 1923. Compare "Down the hill and
across the hollow, it has a mouth and can't swallow" (Farr, Tennessee,
p. 324, No. 90).
17. What goes to the water but doesn't drink? — Cowbell.
Mildred Peterson, Bladen county, 1923. Compare "What goes to the
branch and don't drink?" (Fauset, Southern Negro, p. 283, No. 80).
See also No. 14 above.
18. Over water, under water, got a tongue, never drinks a
drop. — Wagon.
Mildred Peterson, Bladen county, 1923. Parsons, Guilford Co., N. C,
p. 203, No. 20. The formula "Over water, under water" is probably
borrowed from a riddle for a girl carrying a bucket of water over a
bridge.
19. It can run and can't walk,
It has a tongue and can't talk.
— Wagon.
Clara Hearne, Chatham county, 1923 ; anon., n.p., n.d. Parsons, Guil
ford Co.. N. C, p. 203, No. 21 ; Farr. Tennessee, p. 319, No. 12 (cor-
rupt) ; Brewster, hidiana, 22; Randolph and Spradley, Ozarks, p. 82.
20. Legs and don't walk,
Face and don't talk.
—Clock.
Mildred Peterson, Bladen county, 1923. Parsons, Guilford Co., N. C,
p. 204, No. 24. There are Spanish and Chilean parallels.
b. Abnornial Form; Abnormal Function
21. What has four eyes and can't see? — Mississippi.
Zilpah Frisbie, Mcl3owell county, 1922-23. Fauset, Southern Negro,
p. 280, No. 45; Redfield, Tennessee, p. 39, No. 40 and p. 41, No. 62;
Brewster, Indiana, 42.
292 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
22. What has four legs and can't walk a step? — Two pairs of
pants.
Anon, n.p., n.d. Halpert, New Jersey, p. 202, No. 16.
II
COMPARISONS TO AN ANIMAL OR ANIMALS
I. Comparisons to an Animal
23a. Hippity hoppity upstairs,
Hippity hoppity downstairs,
If you don't mind, Hippity hoppity bite you.
—Wasp.
Mrs. N. Lancaster, Wayne county, 1923.
23b. Hitty ditty upstairs,
Hitty ditty downstairs,
If you bother Hitty ditty,
Hitty ditty will bite you.
—Wasp.
Mamie Mansfield, Durham, 1922. Parsons, Robeson Co., N. C, p. 389,
No. II ; Fauset, Southern Negro, p. 288, No. 128 and many other Southern
parallels. Compare French : Parsons, Antilles, in, 368, Trinidad, 65
and 2>73, Grenada, 78. Bakongo : Denis, 53. The English and Scottish
parallels have the answer "nettle" ; see Tupper, Holme Riddles, 32.
24. Hippy tippy upstairs,
Hippy tippy downstairs.
If you go near Hippy tippy,
He'll bite you.
■ — Hornet.
Clara Hearne, Chatham county, 1922-23.
25. A dog in the woods can't bark. — Dogwood tree.
Mildred Peterson, Bladen county, 1923. Parsons, Aiken, S. C, p. 36,
No. 82.
26. What is it that goes over the hills and valleys in the day-
time and sits by the tire at night? — Milk.
W. Q. Grigg, Cleveland county, 1926. Farr, Tennessee, p. 320, No. 35.
27. Goes over the field in the day and sits on the table at
night.— Milk.
Lucille Cheek, Chatliani county, 1923. Fauset, Nova Scotia, p. 161,
No. 94-
RIDDLE S 293
28. What is it that runs all over tlu- pasture in the daytime
and sits in the cui)l)oard at night? — Milk.
Paul and Elizabeth Green, eastern and central N. C, 1926-28. Fauset,
Siuithern Xe.yrn, ]>. 282, Nos. 6(), 70; Brewster, Indiana, 54.
j(). tides all the davtime, comes in at night, sits in the corner
with its tongue hanging out. — Shoe.
Zilpah I'risi)ie, McDtnvell county, 1922-23. Redfield, Tennessee, p. 39,
^•o. 35 ; Fauset, Southern Negro, p. 282, No. 67 ; Parsons, Aiken, S. C,
p. 30, No. 40.
30. (iocs ail day. sits in the corner at night. — Shoe.
Lucille Massey, Durham county, n.d. (1922-30?).
31. What runs around all day and sits in the corner with its
tongue out ? — Wagon.
.Anonymous student. Trinity College, n.d. Parsons, Robeson county,
N. C, p. 389, No. 8; Parsons, Guilford county, p. 203, No. 22.
2. Comparisons to Several Animals
32. Two-legs sat upon Three-legs with One-leg in his lap. In
came Four-legs, grabhed up (_)ne-leg, and ran out the door. Up
jumped Two-legs, grabbed up Three-legs, made Four-legs
l)ring One-leg back. — A man sat upon a three-legged stool with
a ham in his lap. A dog came in. got the ham. and went out.
The man picked up the stool and made the dog bring the ham
back.
Mrs. G. A. Vaught, Alexander county, 1928. Parallels in almost every
collection of riddles.
33. Thirty white horses on a red hill,
Now they clamp, now they stamp.
Now thev stand still.
—Teeth.
Jessie Hauser, Forsyth county, 1923. .\lthough clamp is intelligible in
reference to teeth, it does not accord well with the scene of horses and
is probably intended for champ. For other examples of the use of
clamp in this riddle see Hyatt, .-\dams Co., 111., p. 688, No. 10922; Farr,
Tennessee, p. 324. No. 89. For the usual form of the riddle, see, among
many examples, Fauset, Nova Scotia, p. 157, No. 69; Parsons. I'ermuda,
p. 244. No. 2; Bacon and Parsons. Virginia, p. 325, No. 113.
294 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
'^ •
III
COMPARISONS TO A PERSON
34. Niddy, niddy, noddy, two arms and one body. — Wheel-
barrow.
Clara Hearne. Chatham county. 1922-23. The Canadian variant, "Niddy,
Noddy, two heads and one body" (Waugh, p. 70, No. 804), which is
not completely intelligible, is the only parallel that I can cite. In Indi-
ana, this form of the riddle describes a rolling pin (Brewster, 16), and
in North Carolina, a barrel (Boggs, p. 320, No. 2). This last use is
widely known.
35a. What goes all over the world and has but one eye? — ■
Needle.
Zilpah Frisbie, McDowell county, 1922-23 ; anon., n.p., n.d.
35b. What goes all over the world and has but one eye? —
Needle.
Mildred Peterson, Bladen county, 1923. Parsons, Bahamas, p. 475,
No. 35-
36. Old Mother Twitchet has but one eye
And a very long tail which she lets fly ;
Every time she goes through the garden gap
She leaves a bit of her tail in the trap.
— Needle and thread.
Elsie Doxey, Currituck county, 1922-23. Halliwell-Phillips, Nursery
Rhymes, p. 125; Redfield, Tennessee, p. J,7, No. 13; Parsons, Antilles,
ni, 433, Saba, 13.
37. There is an old woman that has but one eye. Every time
she goes through the gap she leaves a piece of her tail in the
gap. — Needle.
Louise Lucas, Bladen county. 1923. A second line, "And a long tail
which she lets fly," is vouched for by the rhyme and the parallels,
but is lacking here. See Spenny, Raleigh, N. C, p. no. No. 3 ("old
man").
38. Mary Mack all dressed in black.
Silver buttons down her back.
—Coffin.
Paul and Elizabeth Green, east and central N. C., 1926-28. Not hitherto
reported. The pertinency of the answer "coffin" is obscure. Tlie riddle
is related in some way to a very obscure children's game called "Alli-
goshee" ; see Alice Bertha Gomme, The Traditional Gawes of England.
Scotland, and Ireland (London, 1894), i, 7-
RIDDLES 295
39. Little Nancy Mtticoat
In a white petticoat
And a red nose ;
The longer she stands,
The shorter she grows.
— Candle.
Lucille Massey, Durham county, n.d. (1922-30?). "Little Miss Netti-
coat," Jessie Hauser, Forsyth county, 1923.
40. Little Nancy Etticoat
In her short petticoat ;
The longer she stands,
The shorter she grows.
— Candle.
Mrs. G. A. Vaught. Alexander county, 1928. Parsons, Antilles, ni. 424,
.\ntigua, 6 ; Parsons, Aiken, S. C, p. 24, No. i ; Brewster, Indiana, 26.
Found in virtually every English collection.
41. IJttle red ridin' coat ;
The longer she lives, the shorter she grows.
— Candlestick.
Lucille Massey, Durham county, n.d. (1922-30?). Parsons, Guilford
Co., N. C., p. 202, No. 19. With "red" omitted, Mildred Peterson.
Bladen county, 1923.
42. From house to house he goes
A messenger small and slight.
And whether it rains or snows,
He sleeps outside at night.
—Path.
Mrs. N. Lancaster. Wayne county, 1922-23. Perkins, New Orleans, p.
107, X(i. 14. See also Irish: Hyde, p. 171.
43a. What is it that goes all over the house during the day and
stands in the corner at night ? — Broom.
Mamie Mansfield, Durham, 1922.
43I). Coes all over the floor and stands up in the corner at
night.^ — Broom.
Lucille Cheek, Chatham county, 1923.
43c. What is it that goes all around the house in the morning
and sits in the corner in the evening? — Broom.
Lucille Massey, Durham county, n.d. (1922-30?). Brewster, Indiana.
17; Fauset, Southern Negro, p. 282, No. 65; Parsons, Sea Islands, S. C,
p. 168, No. 105; Parsons. Aiken, S. C;» p. 30, No. 39; Parsons, Robeson
Co., N. C, p. 390, No. 23.
296 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
44. I have a grandmother who walked all day and when she
got home took up no more space than could be covered by a
penny. — Cane.
Mildred Peterson, Bladen county, 1923. Not hitherto reported in Eng-
lish. The notion is widely current among riddlers. See the exact
parallel in the Bhil "After having run through the whole forest, he is
sitting on a place not bigger than a pice" (Hedberg, p. 875, No. 63).
A pice is a small Indian coin.
45. Humpty Dumpty sat on the wall,
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
All the king's horses and all the king's men
Can't put Humpty Dumpty together again.
—Egg.
Mrs. G. A. Vaught, Alexander county, 1928; 'Dumpty Dumpty.' Paul
and Elizabeth Green, eastern and central N. C. 1926-28. Found in
virtually all English collections. There are parallels in all the Germanic
languages.
46a. ^-tjng tall, black fellow.
Pull him back and hear him bellow.
— Gun.
.Mildred Peterson, Bladen county, 1923.
46b. Long, slick, black fellow.
Pull his tail, and hear him holler.
— Shotgun.
Mildred Peterson, Bladen county, 1923. Perkins, New Orleans, p. 107,
No. 16; Parsons, Aiken, S. C., p. i7, No. 80; Parsons, Guilford Co.,
N. C., p. 202, No. 18; Redfield, Tennessee, p. 39. No. 44: Farr. Ten-
nessee, p. 322, No. 64 and p. 325, No. 106; Halpert, New Jersey, p. 201,
No. 6.
47. What is that which is brought by a man, is full of nuts, has
no tongue, and yet speaks like a man ? — Letter.
Mildred Peterson, Bladen county, 1923. Not hitherto reported.
48a. As I was crossing London Bridge,
I met Sister Annie,
I pulled ofif her head and sucked her blood
And left her body standing.
— Jug of whiskey.
Mary Scarborough, Dare county, 1923.
48b. As I was going over London Bridge, I met a man, cut off
his head, drank his blood, and left a man standing still.— Jtig
of cider.
.Mrs. N. Lancaster, Wayne county, 1923. Gregor, Northeast Scotland,
pp. 76, -jj ; Parsons, Bermuda, p. 245, No. 3 ; Parsons. Sea Islands, S. C,
1). 160, No. 46; and many others.
K 1 1) U L E S 297
IV
COMTAKISOXS TO SEVI<:RAI. IM-.RSOXS
49. W'hitey saw Wliitey in W'hitey and sent W'hitey to run
Whitey out of Whitey. — A white man sent a white dog to run
a white cow out of a white cotton patch.
Mrs. G. A. Vaught, Alexander county, 1928. Parsons, Aiken, S. C,
p. 34, No. 66 ; Farr, Tennessee, p. 320, No. 27 ; Bacon and Parsons,
Virginia, p. 312, Wj. i ; I-^auset, Southern Negro, p. 283, No. 84.
Soa. W'hitey went ui)stairs, W'hitey came downstairs, W'hitey
left W'hitey upstairs on W'hitey. — .A white hen went upstairs
and laid a white egg on a white bed.
Mamie Mansfield, Durham, 1922.
50b. W'hitie went upstairs and came down and left W'hitie up-
stairs.— A hen went upstairs, laid an egg, and came down.
Jessie Hauser, Forsyth county, 1923. Parsons, Aiken, S. C, p. 25, No.
5; Bacon and Parsons, Virginia, p. 323, No. 104; Parsons, Robeson
Co., N. C, p. 388, No. I ; Fauset, Southern Negro, p. 284, No. 88.
51. There's a garden that I ken,
F'uU of gentle little men.
Little caps of blue they wear
And green ribbons verv fair.
^— Flax.
Mrs. N. Lancaster, Wayne county, 1923. There are several versions in
verse, but none precisely the same. See Tupper, Holme Riddles, 37:
Gardner, Schoharie Hills, N. Y., p. 255, No. 14.
V. COMPARISON TO A PLANT
52. It is a long tree, but it has no shade. — River.
Mildred Peterson, Bladen county, 1923. Not hitherto reported. The
te.xt may be defective, for one expects a reference to "branches."
VI. COMPARISONS TO A THING
I. MOUSK
S3. What is it that has eighty-eight keys, yet none will open
any door? — Piano.
Grace Tucker, Stanly county, 1932. Not hitherto reported.
298 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
54. I am a small house and my name yellow. — Egg.
Mildred Peterson, Bladen county, 1923. Not hitherto reported. The
text is not fully intelligible and seems to be corrupt.
55. Walls of marble, lined with silk, has neither windows nor
doors, yet thieves break in and steal all the gold. — Egg.
Mrs. N. Lancaster. Wayne county, 1923. This is a corrupt version of
a widely circulated text that is better represented by a Canadian version
(Waugh, p. 69, No. 793) :
In marble walls as white as silk,
Lined with a skin as soft as silk,
Within a crystal fountain clear,
A golden apple doth appear.
No doors there are to this stronghold.
Yet thieves break in and steal the gold.
For other versions, see Halliwell-Phillips, Nursery Rhymes, p. 125;
Hyatt, Adams Co., 111., p. 660, No. 10861 ; Randolph and Taylor, Ozarks,
16; Farr, Tennessee, p. 319, No. 15; Perkins, New Orleans, p. 107, No.
18. See also such corruptions as Fauset, Nova Scotia, p. 167, No. 30;
Parsons, Bermuda, p. 251, No. 41.
56a. On yonder hill is a little green house,
In the little green house is a little white house,
In the little white house is a little red house,
In the little red house white and black children are lying.
— W^atermelon.
Mrs. N. Lancaster, Wayne county, 1923.
56b. Down in the meadow stands a green house,
In the green house is a white house,
In the white house is a little red house.
And the red house is full of little Negroes.
- — Watermelon.
Clara Hearne, Chatham county, 1922-23. Bacon and Parson^ Virginia,
p. 322, No. 95; Randolph and Spradley, Ozarks, 18; Brewster, Indiana,
32. A walnut is described in a similar way ; see Halliwell-Phillips,
Popular Rhymes, p. 142; Knortz, p. 223, No. 51; Hyatt. Adams Co.,
111., p. 670, No. 10934. See also No. 89 below.
57. On a little hill there is a little house.
In that little house there is a little shelf,
On that little shelf there is a little cup,
In that little cup there is a little sup,
And no one can get that little sup
Without breaking that little cup.
—Egg.
Eleanor Simpson, East Durham, 1923. Perkins, New Orleans, p. no,
No. 47; Chappell, p. 230, No. 7: Hyatt, Adams Co., 111., p. 660, No.
10860; Tapper, Holme Riddles, 33.
R 1 1) D L F. S 299
2. Thing
58. What arc those little white thin<;.s in vour head that hite?
—Teeth.
Elsie Doxey, Currituck county, 1922-23. Not hitherto reported. The
statement of the true function of the answer is unusual in riddling.
59. .As I was going over London Bridge,
I picked up something neither flesh nor hlood,
But it had four fuigers and one thunih.
— (ilove.
Eleanor Simpson, East Durham, 1923. Compare the more paradoxical
".\s I was going over London Bridge, I met a cartful of fingers and
thumbs"; see Halliwell-Phillips, Nursery Rhymes, p. 121; Knortz, p.
223, No. 53; Parsons, Bermuda, p. 260, No. 114; Fauset. Nova Scotia,
p. 151, No. 44.
3. Food
60a. As I walked throtigh the field. I found something which
was neither flesh nor hone, but in three weeks it walked alone.
Mary Scarborough, Dare county, 1923.
60b. When I was going over a field of wheat,
I picked up something good to eat,
Whether fish, flesh, fowl, or bone,
I kept it till it ran alone.
—Egg.
Paul and Elizabeth Green, eastern and central N. C, 1926-28.
61. As I was going through the wheat,
I found something good to eat.
'Twas neither blood nor flesh nor bone,
I picked it up and carried it home.
—^gs-
Zilpah Frisbie, McDowell county. 1922-23.
60. 61. In English tradition there are many parallels, from which 1
select Waugh, Canada, p. 68, No. 783; Fauset, Nova Scotia, p. 150, No.
41 ; Farr, Tennessee, p. 322, No. 65.
VII. ENUMERATION OF COMPARISONS
62. W^hat is it that is high as a house, low as a mouse, green
as grass, black as ink, bitter as gall, yet sweet after all? —
Walnut.
Mrs. G. A. Vaught, .-Mexander county, 1928. The parallels are both
old and widely divergent. See Book of Meery Riddles (1629), No. 24 =
300 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
Brandl, p. 12; Prctfic Riddles (1631), No. 48 =: Brandl. p. 59; Farr,
Tennessee, p. 324, No. 83; Hyatt, Adams Co., 111., p. 669, No. 10932;
Carter, Mountain White, p. 78; Perkins, New Orleans, p. 106, No. 5.
63. Higher than a house, higher than a tree.
O, whatever can that he?
—Star.
Elsie Doxey, Currituck county. 1922-23. Halliwell-Phillips, Nursery
Rhymes, p. 129; Bacon and Parsons, Virginia, p. 323, No. 103; Par-
sons, Barbados, p. 286, No. 60; Parsons, Sea Islands, S. C, p. 159, No.
42 ; Redfield, Tennessee, p. 36, No. 6.
64. Crooked as a rainbow,
Teeth Hke a cat.
Guess all your lifetime
And you can't guess that.
— Briar.
Clara Hearne, Chatham county, 1922-23. Fauset, Southern Negro, p.
285, No. 97; Perkins, New Orleans, p. 106, No. 11; Farr. Tennessee,
p. 321, No. 42; Knortz, p. 231. No. 86; Bacon and Parsons, Virginia,
p. 318, No. 50; Parsons, Sea Islands, S. C, p. 165, No. 72.
65. Crooked as a rainbow,
Teeth like a cat.
Guess your lifetime.
You never guess that.
— Saw.
Mildred Peterson, Bladen county, 1923. Parsons, Guilford Co., N. C
p. 204, No. 32; Brewster, Indiana, 52.
66. Crooked as a rainbow,
Slick as a plate.
Ten thousand horses
Can't pull it up.
■ — River.
Mildred Peterson, Bladen county, 1923. Parsons, Aiken, S. C, p. 36,
No. 76; Parsons, Sea Islands, S. C, p. 165, No. 71. In this and the
two preceding riddles the word crooked is pronounced as two syllables
and signifies bent rather than zviiiding or tivistcd.
67. Round as an apple,
Busy as a bee.
The prettiest thing
That you ever did see.
—Watch.
Louise Lucas, Bladen county. 1923. Thurston, Massachusetts, p. 182,
No. 2 ; Bacon and Parsons. Virginia, p. 320. No. 67 ; Parsons, Bahamas,
p. 471, No. 2 (clock) ; Fauset, Nova Scotia, p. 58, No. 73: Parsons, Sea
Islands, S. C, p. 164, No. 53.
RIDDLES 301
68. Routid as an ajjple,
Deep as a cui).
All the king's horses
Can't pull it u\).
—Well.
Jessie Hansen, Forsyth county, 1923; Mildred Peterson, Bladen county,
1923. HalliwcU-Phillips, Nursery Rhymes, p. 132; Fauset, Nova Scotiu,
p. is8. No. 74; Parsons, Bermuda, p. 259, No. 112; Parsons, Barbados,
p. 278, No. 17.
69. Round as a hiscuit,
Busy as a hee.
Something in the middle
Goes tick ! tick ! tee !
—Watch.
Mildred Peterson, Bladen county, 1923; Parsons, Aiken, S. C, p. 27,
No. 15.
Round as a hiscuit,
Btisy as a bee.
The prettiest little thinj^-
You ever did see.
—Watch.
Lucille Cheek, Durham county, 1923. With "As busy," Mamie Mans-
field, Durham, 1922. Witii "As busy," but "The" omitted, Mrs. N.
Herring, Tomahawk, n.d. With "The" omitted, .Aura Holton, Durham,
1924. Parsons, Guilford Co., N. C, p. 201, No. 2; Perkins, New Or-
leans, p. 106, No. 2; Halpert, New Jersey, p. 200, No. 18; Parsons,
Robeson Co., N. C, p. 389, No. 17.
71. Round as a biscuit,
Deep as a cup.
All the king's horses
Can't oull it up.
.Mamie Mansfield, Durham, 1922; .Xura Holton, Durham, 1924. With
"The" omitted, Lucille Cheek, Ciiatham county, 1923. Parsons, Guilford
Co., N. C, p. 201, No. i; Perkins, New Orleans, p. 106, No. 7; Ran-
dolph and Spradley, Ozarks, p. 83 ; Brewster, Indiana, 9.
72. Round as a diddle, steep as a cup.
And all the king's horses can't put it up.
—Well.
Mrs. N. Herring, Tomahawk, n.d. Not hitherto reported. The meaning
of diddle is obscure ; stccf> is a corruption of clccf>. Comi)are
Round as a riddle, deep as a cup,
And all the king's horses can't pull it up.
as cited in Boggs, North Carolina, p. 325, No. 23, in which riddle may
signify sifter.
302 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
73. Round as a saucer,
Deep as a cup,
All the king's horses
Can't pull it up.
—Well.
Mrs. G. A. Vaught, Alexander county, 1928. Parsons, Robeson Co.,
N. C. p. 389, No. 16; Parsons, Sea Islands, S. C, p. 156, No. 28;
Parsons, Aiken, S. C, p. 2"], No. 13.
74. Black as a coal, sleek as a mole.
Great long tail, and a thundering hole.
— Gun.
Mrs. N. Herring, Tomahawk, n.d. The answer "gun" has not been
previously reported. Compare
Black as a coal,
Slick as a mole.
Had a long tail,
And busted hole.
—Frying pan.
m Bacon and Parsons, Virginia, p. 323, No. loi and the parallels in
Parson, Barbados, p. 287, No. 69, and Redfield, Tennessee, p. 36, No. 3
(thundering hole).
75. What is that is as white as snow.
Green as grass, red as fire, and black as a crow ?
— Blackberry.
W. Q. Grigg, Cleveland county, 1927. See note to No. 76.
76. Green as grass and grass it's not.
White as snow and snow it's not,
Red as blood and blood it's not,
Black as ink and ink it's not.
— Blackberry.
Clara Hearne, Chatham county, 1922-23.
75, 76. The comparisons found in the parallels vary somewhat, and
the second version, which contains antitheses, is more frequent. See
Perkins, New Orleans, p. in, No. 52; Parsons, Bermuda, p. 255, No. 61 ;
Parsons, Guilford Co., N. C, p. 202, No. 11 ; Fauset, Southern Negro, p.
276, No. 10; Parsons, Aiken, S. C, p. 32, No. 48; Fauset, Nova Scotia,
p. 159, No. 78.
']'j. Opens like a barn door,
Shuts up like a trap.
Guess all your life,
You'll never guess that.
— Scissors.
Mildred Peterson, Bladen county, 1923. Parsons, Aiken, S. C, p. 35,
No. 75.
K I 1) 1) r. E s 303
78. Opens like a hariuloor,
Wings like a hat.
Spread out your arms,
And jump in that.
— Man's vest.
Mrs. N. Lancaster, Wayne county. 1923. Fauset, Nova Scotia, p. 155,
No. 56 (also: corset); Fauset, Southern Negro, p. 285, No. 99 (over-
coat) ; Perkins, New Orleans, p. 106, No. 6 (corset).
VIII. DESCRIPTION OF THK PARTS OF
AN OBJECT
79. What is it that is half Indian and lialf huffalo? — Nickel.
Grace Tucker, Stanly county, 1935. Not hitherto reported.
80. What is round at both ends and high in the middle? — Ohio.
W. Q. Grigg, Cleveland county, 1927. Randolph and Spradley, Ozarks,
p. 84; Brewfster, Indiana, 33; Redfield, Tennessee, p. 41, No. 71.
81 a. Dead in the middle and live at both ends. — Man and horse
plowing.
Clara Hearne, Chatham county, 1922-23. Parsons, Guilford Co., N. C,
p. 201, No. 6; Parsons, Sea Islands, S. C, p. 155, No. 17; Bacon and
Parsons, Virginia, p. 317, No. 44.
81 b. Alive at both ends. — Man and horse plowing.
Mildred Peterson, Bladen county, 1923. Not previously reported. The
expected contrast with the dead middle is lacking.
82a. Big at the bottom,
Little at the top,
Something the middle
Goes flippity-flop.
— Churn.
Jessie Hauser, Forsyth county, 1923. "Something in the middle goes
flip, flip, flop — Stone churn.'" Anon., n.p., n.d. Fauset, Southern Negro,
p. 277, No. 13; Brewster, Indiana, 15; Farr, Tennessee, p. 321, No. 43;
Chappell, p. 232, No. 19; Parsons, Robeson Co., N. C, p. 390, No. 21:
Parsons, Guilford Co., N. C, p. 202. No. 16.
82b. Shut in the middle.
Open at the top.
Something in the middle
Goes flippity-flop.
— Churn.
Paul and Elizabeth Green, eastern and central N. C, 1926-28. This
version, which is a corruption of the preceding, has not been previously
reported.
N.C.K., Vol. I. (21)
304 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
83a. Four downhangers, four stiffstanders, two lookers, two
crookers, and a whiskabout. — Cow.
Paul and Elizabeth Green, eastern and central N. C, 1926-28.
83b. Four stiffstanders, four downhangers, a hooker, a crooker,
and a switchabout. — Cow.
Lucille Cheek, Chatham county, 1923.
83c. Four stiffstanders, four hangers, two hookers, one switch-
about. — Cow.
Mrs. N. Lancaster, Wayne county, 1923. An enormous number of
versions have been reported in almost every European language. I cite
only a few parallels in English: Parsons, Guilford Co., N. C, p. 201,
No. 7 ; Redfield, Tennessee, p. 37, No. 20 ; Perkins, New Orleans, p.
Ill, No. 54; Fauset, Nova Scotia, p. 155, No. 58.
84a. Two lookers, two hookers, four standers, one crooker. —
Cow.
Paul and Elizabeth Green, eastern and central N. C, 1926-28.
84b. Two lookers, two crookers, four standers, and a switch-
about. — Cow.
Mildred Peterson, Bladen county, 'Sirs. G. A. Vaught, Alexander county,
1928. Versions beginning with "two lookers" are as numerous as ver-
sions like the preceding text. 1 conjecture that they are, however, a
secondary development in the history of the riddle. See Randolph and
Spradley, Ozarks, p. 87; Fauset, Southern Negro, p. 277, No. 14; Par-
sons, Sea Islands, S. C., p. 154, No. 15; Redfield, Tennessee, pp. 36-37,
Nos. 18, 19.
IX. DESCRIPTION IN TERMS OF COLORS
85. What is black and white and red all over? — Newspaper.
Jessie Hauser, Forsyth county, 1923. "What is it that is . . ." Mrs.
G. A. Vaught, Alexander county, 1928. Parallels are very numerous
but are naturally limited to English. See Boggs, North Carolina, p.
325, No. 20; Parsons, Guilford Co., N. C, p. 201, No. 8; Bacon and
Parsons, Virginia, p. 325, No. 119; Parsons, Aiken, S. C, p. 31, No. 44;
Brewster, Indiana, 40.
86. What is that of which the outside is silver and the inside
is of gold? — Egg.
Mildred Peterson, Bladen county, 1923. I have not noted an exact
parallel to this formulation of an idea that is otherwise frequently used.
See the Bahaman "Me riddle me riddle me randy oh. Here's a t'ing.
White outside an' yaller inside'' (Parsons, Andros Island, Bahamas, p.
275. No. 3).
R 1 I) I) I. K S 305
87. (irecn without, red within.
And full (jf little hlack men.
— Watermelon.
Elsie Doxcy, Currituck county, 1922-23. Usually stated even more
exi)Iicitly in terms of a house as in "A lot of little hlack children live
in a red house" (Bacon and Parsons, Virginia, p. 322. No. 95, var. 2).
See furtiier Fauset, Southern Negro, p. 276, Nos. 2, 5 ; Parsons. Roheson
Co., N. C, p. 388, No. 2: Parsons, Herniuda, p. 258, No. 13; Fauset,
Philadelphia, p. 554, No. 11 ; Perkins, New Orleans, p. 106, No. 3. For
expansion into the notion of a house within a house within a house,
see No. 56 above. A few versions avoid the notion of a house and rely
upon the contrast of green and red as in the South Carolinian "What
green outside an" red inside ?" ( Parsons, Aiken, S. C, p. 29, No. 27 ;
Parsons, Bahamas, p. 478, No. 65; Parsons, Sea Islands, S. C, p. 166,
No. 79).
88. Black within and red without,
Four corners round ahout.
— Chimney.
Elsie Doxey, Currituck county, 1922-23. With "and" omitted, Lucille
Massey, Durham county, n.d. Many parallels. See Perkins, New Or-
leans, p. ]o6, No. 4; Parsons, Guilford Co., p. 206, No. 52; F"ausct,
Philadelphia, p. 555, No. 23; Gutch and Peacock, Lincolnshire, p. 398,
No. II.
8g. Black within ; red without ;
Four corners round about.
— Fireplace.
Clara Hearne, Chatham county, 1922-23. See note to No. 88 above.
90. Is up green and come down red. — \\ atermelon.
Mildred Peterson, Bladen county, 1923. Parsons, Aiken, S. C, p. 34, No.
65; Parsons, Sea Islands, S. C, p. 166, No. 79.
91. What is it that is fn'st white, second green, then red, and
then black ? — Blackberry.
Mrs. G. A. Vaught. Alexander county, 1928. Par.sons. .Sea Islands,
S. C, p. 166, No. 84; Parsons, Robeson Co., N. C, p. 388, No. 5;
Parsons, Aiken, S. C, p. 32. No. 49.
X. DESCRIPTIDX Tx\ TERMS OF .ACTS
OR A SCENE
92. To her lover a lady .said, "Give me. I pray.
What you have not, nor can have, but might give away !"
Let each hereafter his dullness repent.
The fool did not know 'twas a kiss that she meant.
— Kiss.
Boylan's North Carolina Almanac (Raleigh), 181 1. .X literary riddle.
The folk-parallels have the answer "husband" as in "What is it a man
3o6 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
can give to a lady and can't give to another man?" (Perkins, New
Orleans, p. 113, No. 72). See Tupper, Holme Riddles, 91; Parsons,
Barbados, p. 290, No. 100.
93. I ain't got it, I don't want it,
If I had it, I wouldn't take the world for it.
— Bald head.
Aura Holton, Durham, 1924; Clara Hearne, Chatham county, 1922-23.
Parsons, Guilford Co., N. C, p. 204. No. 34; Parsons, Aiken, S. C,
p. 36. No. 84; Farr, Tennessee, p. 318, No. 4; Fauset, Southern Negro,
p. 288, No. 129; Beckwith, Jamaica, p. 216, No. 256; etc.
94a. What goes up a smoke pipe down but won't go up a
smoke pipe up? — Answer lacking.
Jessie Hauser, Forsyth county, 1923. See 94b and note.
94b. What is it that you can put up a stove pipe down, but
can't put up a stove pipe up ? — Umbrella.
Kilgo Hunt, n.p., n.d. Fauset, Nova Scotia, p. 173, No. 186; Hyatt,
Adams Co., 111., p. 669, No. 10931 ; Randolph and Spradley, Ozarks, p.
83 ; Farr, Tennessee, p. 320, No. 32.
95. What goes up when the rain comes down ? — Umbrella.
Kate S. Russell, Person county, 1923. Wintemberg, Canada, p. 133, No.
71; Greenleaf, Newfoundland, p. 20, No. 5; Parsons, Barbados, p. 291,
No. 116.
96a. A house full, and a yard full, and you can't get a spoonful.
— Smoke.
Jessie Hauser, Forsyth county, 1923 ; Lucille Cheek, Chatham county,
1923 (minor variations).
96b. Hands full, house full, yet can't catch a spoon full. —
Smoke.
Mrs. G. A. Vaught, Alexander county, 1928. Parsons, Guilford Co.,
N. C, p. 201, No. 3; Redfield, Tennessee, p. 38, No. 23; Farr, Ten-
nessee, p. 318, No. 3; Hyatt, Adams Co., 111., p. 666, No. 10908; Bacon
and Parsons, Virginia, p. 313, No. i.
97. A hill full, a hole full.
You can't catch a bowlful.
— ^list.
Elsie Doxey, Currituck county, 1922-23. Bacon and Parsons, Virginia,
p. 313. No. 11; Parsons, Bermuda, p. 245, No. 4.
98. What is it that one man can put on a wall, but when it has
fallen, forty kings can't put it back? — Egg.
W. Q. Grigg, Cleveland county, 1927. Allied to the Humpty Dumpty
riddle (see No. 45 above), but not previously reported in this form.
The conception is akin to the Russian notion that everything but an
egg can be hung on a nail.
R 1 n n I. E s
307
99. The more you take away, tlu- larger it i;ro\vs.— 1 lolc.
Clara Hcarne, Chatham county, 1922-23. Fauset. Nova Scotia, p. I75.
No. 209: Waugh. Canada, p. 68, No. 775; Parsons, Bermuda, p. 256,
No. -J-; Brewster, Indiana. 59-
100. It is long and slender, a man cutting at both ends, yet it
grows longer. — Ditch.
Mrs. N. Lancaster, Wayne cunty. 1923. The fir.st ^-''^f e^. ^I'l'^'^;;^ .^^^
have no parallels. For the fundamental concept see Fauset, Nova Sco la
p 175, No. 209: Parsons. Bermuda, p. 256. No. 78; Parsons. Robeson
Co.. N. C, p. 389, No. 13.
1 01. The old woman pidded it and padded it ; the old man took
off his britches and jumped at it.— Feather bed.
Mary Scarborough, Dare county, 1923. Parsons, Guilford Co. N. C
p. 205. No. 39; Randolph and Spradley. Ozarks, p. 84; Parsons, Robeson
Co.. N. C, p. 389. No. 10.
102. What is it: divided it stands, united it falls?— Stepladder.
M. Walker, n.p., n.d. Not previously reported.
103. What is that which breaks by even naming it?— Silence.
Eleanor Simpson. East Durham. 1923. Perkins, New Orleans, p. 113.
No. 80.
XI. NECK-RIDDLES
For discussion of this type, which consists of a scene
known only to the speaker, see F. J. Norton. -Prisoner
Who Saved His Neck with a Riddle." Folk-Lorc,
Liii (1942), 27-57.
104. Eove I sit. Love I stand.
Love I hold in my right hand.
Love I see in yonder tree,
I see Love, but he don't see me.
— \ man had a dog named Love. He killed the dog, sat (»n
some of it. stood on some of it. had blood on his hand, and a
piece of it was in the tree.
Zilpah Frisbie. McDowell county, 1922-23. Elsewhere the name of the
dog is often Ilo or Milo, but the names .^mor in Italian versions and
Laska (love) in Czech versions suggest that this North Carolina text
preserves the original form. Parallels are very numerous, and I cite
onlv those in English and give references to discussions wliere tho e
in other languages may he found. See Tvipper, Holnie Riddles 34 .
Fitzgerald, p i8s: Chambers. Scotland, p. io8;_Gregor, Northeast Sot-
land p 82; Greenleaf. Newfoundland, p. 19. No. 4: Parsons. Bermiula,
p 252 No 47; Parsons, Barbados, p. 281. No. 29; Perkins. New Or-
308 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
leans, p. in, No. 62; Parsons, Sea Islands, S. C, p. 157, No. 37;
Parsons. Guilford Co., N. C, p. 203, No. 23 ; Fauset, Nova Scotia,
p. 142, No. 4; Redfield, Tennessee, p. 47, Nos. 133-139; Fauset, Southern
Negro, p. 280, No. 40; Boggs. North Carolina, p. 48, No. 12; Randolph
and Spradley, Ozarks, p. 82 ; Carter, Mountain White, p. "]"] ; Bacon and
Parsons, Virginia, p. 327, No. 135; Parsons, Aiken, S. C, p. 26, No. 11.
For a list of the discussions of this riddle see Taylor, Bibliography,
p. 153; Schultz, Rdtsel ans dem hellenischen Kulturkreise, 11, 81-85.
105a. Riddle me, riddle me right,
Guess where I went last Friday night.
The bough did bend, my heart did quake,
When I saw a hole the fox did make.
— Answer lacking.
Clara Hearne, Chatham county, 1922-23.
105b. Riddle-em, riddle-em right,
Guess where I sat last Friday night.
I sat high, and de wind did blow,
I saw Cheek standing chewing his bridle,
I saw a man working idle.
— Man diggin' his sweetheart's grave. Cheek was the horse he
rode to the spot he had asked her to meet him. She got there
first and climbed a tree.
Kate S. Russell, Person county, 1923.
105c. Riddle me, riddle me right:
You can't guess where I was last Saturday night.
The wind did blow,
The cock did crow.
My heart did ache,
The earth did quake.
To see what a hole the fox did scrape.
— A man had threatened to kill his wife. One day when she
happened to be talking to some men about him (these men were
the men hired to kill her by her husband), they told her that
they would save her if she gave them a riddle to guess that
they did not know. Then she gave the riddle about her husband
who was digging a hole the Saturday night before to bury her
in. The men of course did not know that she knew about it
and did not guess the riddle. So they had to save her life.
Mabel Ballentine, Wake county, n.d.
I05d. Riddle ma, riddle ma riah,
Guess where T stayed last Friday night.
The wind did blow, my heart did ache,
To see what a hold that fox did make.
K 1 I) I) I. E S 309
—Once a trirl was persuaded l)v her lover to meet hmi at a
certain tree to run away to be married. She arrived there sooner
than the man. who was a thief, expected her to arrive bhe
cHmbed the tree and while she was hidden amon^ the leaves,
the man with his friend came and be^an to dig a j^rave. i he
girl heard them talking about robbing and then killing her and
burving her in this grave. . , r •.• 1
She staved in the tree until the men got tired of waiting and
left Then she came down and went home. On the next day
the 'man came demanding a reason for her failing to meet him.
She answered with this riddle and he was never seen again.
Mamie Mansfield. Durham, 1928. Boggs, North Carolina p 323. No
U Hvatt Adams Co.. 111., V- 661, No. 10869; Knortz, p. 216, No. 28,
R^andoph and Spradley, Ozarks. p. 84; Redfield. Tennessee P; 49. Nos.
ijo-i^v Fauset Nova Scotia, pp. 141-142, No. 2; Greenleaf Newfound-
and p' 19 No 3; Chappell, p. 228, No. 2; Fauset Southern Negro,
p 284 No 92; Parker, Oxfordshire, p. 330 ; T. Q. C Notes audQucncs,
2d set V (?858), 315 Perkins, New Orleans, p 112. No. 64; Brewster,
Indiana. 71; Hyatt. Adams Co., 111., p. 661, No. 10870; Johnson, St.
Helena I.. S. C, p. I59, No. 35- . ^ ^ „ , ,
This often occurs as a tale rather than a riddle. See J. Bolte and
1913), 371; F. Kidson, Journal of the Folk-Song Society, u (190&).
297-299-
106. An old woman was sent to the penitentiary. She was told
that if she could stand up and say a riddle that they had never
heard before, she would be turned loose. She said :
Once I was a child, now I am a mother,
And the child that I suckled
Was daddy to my brother.
— Answer lacking.
Paul and Elizaheth Green, eastern and central N. C, 1926-28. Parallels
are very abundant. I cite only English instances: I eather. Hereford
p. 179; Fitzgerald, p. 185; Fauset. Nova Scotia p 169, ^o. 141 . Par
Li. Rarhados o 283 No. 44; Parsons, Sea Islands, S. C, p. 168, No
,06 For dSussion'-see Taylor, "The Riddle of Morning Spring,"
Southern Folklore Quarterly, viii (i944). 23-25-
107. Six set. seven sprung, from the dead the living come.— A
bird and her nest with five young in a dead tree.
Paul and Elizabeth Green, eastern and central N. C 1926-28 The text
k a verv corrupt and a reconstruction is possible only m the hght
of snrh a version as this from Maryland: "Once there was a master
wh^said to hTcTlor^d man, 'If you ask me a riddle that I camiot answer.
I will set you free.' The servant proposed this riddle :
'I came out and in again ;
The living from the dead came;
There are six. seven there will be ;_ _^
Answer tliis riddle, or set me free.'
310 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
A bird's nest in a horse's skull. There were six young birds in the
nest, and when the mother came home, there were seven. The master
could not answer, and the servant went free (Whitney and Bullock, p.
175, No. 2688). Parallels are very numerous, and I cite only those in
English: Fauset, Nova Scotia, p. 140, No. i; Leather, Hereford, p. 179;
Hyatt, Adams Co., 111., p. 657. No. 10837; Chappell, p. 233, Nos. 22-24;
Gutch and Peacock, Lincolnshire, p. 400, No. 27; Carter, Mountain
White, p. 78; Notes and Queries, 8th ser.. iv (1893), 208; Randolph
and Spradley, Ozarks, p. 87 ; Parsons, Barbados, p. 286, No. 57 ; etc.
The versions current in the Southern United States often rest on the
contrast of "Six set and seven sprung" : see Fauset, Southern Negro,
p. 285, Nos. 93-95; Perkins, New Orleans, p. iii, No. 61; Boggs, North
Carolina, p. 324, No. 22; Parsons, Robeson Co., N. C, p. 390, No. 19;
Redfield. Tennessee, p. 40, No. 54; Parsons, Aiken, S. C, p. 30, No. 38.
See also such curiously corrupt versions as Beckwith, Jamaica, p. 202,
No. 182; Parsons, Bahamas, p. 479, No. 79.
108. A man in prison was told if he cotild set an unanswerable
riddle, he would go free. He said :
Brothers and sisters have I none,
But this man's father was my father's son.
— This man was son of the speaker.
Paul and Elizabeth Green, eastern and central N. C, 1926-28. Fauset,
Nova Scotia, p. 143, No. 7. Any difficult and confusing question may
occur in a neck-riddle. This genealogical query occurs separately in
No. 109 below.
XII. GENEALOGICAL RIDDLES
For discussion of riddles setting- problems of this sort,
see Archer Taylor, "Riddles Dealing with Family Re-
lationships," Journal of American Folklore, li (1938),
25-37-
109. It wasn't my sister, nor my brother,
But still was the child of my father and mother.
Who was it ?
—Myself.
Clara Hearne, Chatham county, 1922-23. Prettie Riddles (1631), No.
63 = Brandl, p. 60.
1 10. There was a blind beggar who had a brother and this
brother died. What relation was the blind beggar to the brother
who died ? — His sister.
Kate S. Russell, Person county, 1923. I have this in an oral version
from Ohio.
111. Pjrothers and sisters have I none.
Yet this child's father was my mother's son.
Relation ? — I am her father.
RIDDLES 3^1
Jessie Hauser, Forsyth county. 1923. Waugh, Canada, p. 64, No. 696;
Whitney and Bullock. Maryland, p. 1/3. No. 2674; Chappell. p. 234,
No. 28; Perkins, New Orleans, p. 109, No. 29; Parsons, Bermuda, p.
255. No. 63. For discussion, see Taylor, Relationships, p. 33 "• 5-
XIII. .\rithmi-:tical puzzles
These may be divided into seriou.s questions that can
be answered by ordinary mathematics and wliimsical
questions that involve some unusual knowledge, ordi-
narily a pun.
I. Serious Questions
112. If an egg and a half cost a cent and a lialf, how much will
twelve eggs cost? — Twelve cents.
Zilpah Frisbie, McDowell county, 1922-23. Known to me in oral tradi-
tion in Pennsylvania.
113. If a herring and a half cost a cent and a half, what would
three herring cost? — Three cents.
Kate S. Russell, Person county, 1923. "What will twelve herrings and
a half cost?— Twelve and a half cents," Lucille Massey, Durham county,
n.d. "How much will eleven herrings cost?— Eleven cents," Anon., n.p.,
n.d. Spenney, Raleigh. N. C, p. no. No. 5; Parsons, Aiken, S. C. p. 30.
No. 33 (eighteen); Parsons, Bermuda, p. 258, No. 106 (six). The
allusion to twelve and one half cents in the North Carolina variant has
survived from a time when this sum was familiarly used.
114. Two ducks in front of a duck, two ducks behind a duck,
and one duck in the middle. How many ducks in all ?— Three.
Paul and Elizabeth Green, eastern and central N. C, 1926-28.
115. A duck before two ducks, a duck behind two ducks, a
duck between two ducks. How many ducks? — Three ducks.
Aura Holton. Durham, N. C. 1924; "How many were there?" Mrs.
G. A. \'aught. Alexander county, 1928.
114, 115. Knortz. p. 253, No. loi ; Fauset, Philadelphia, p. 556. No. 31;
Parsons. Bermuda, p. 256. Nn. 71 ; Parsons, Sea Islands. S. C. p. 170,
No 115; Spennev, Raleigh. N. C. p. no. No. 6; Hyatt, Adams Co., 111.,
p. 660, No. 10858; Beckwith. Jamaica, p. 206, No. 217. There are
parallels in Welsh, German, Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish.
2. WiiiMsicwL Questions
it6. Two men met a beggar and gave him 12J/2 cents. What
time of day was it ?— Quarter to two.
Kate S. Russell, Person county. 1923.
312 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
117. If a new wagon comes to one hundred dollars, what does
a cord of wood come to ? — Ashes.
Elsie Doxey, Currituck county, 1922-23. The form of the question varies
somewhat. See Parsons, Barbados, p. 290, No. 108 ("If a stick of
tobacco cost six cents and a half, how much would a pipe load come
to?''); Parsons, Sea Islands, S. C, p. 173, No. 156; Spenney, Raleigh,
N. C, p. no. No. 7.
118. How many sides has a pitcher? — Two: the inside and the
outside.
Mrs. G. A. Vaught, Alexander county, 1928. Waugh, Canada, p. •]2,
No. 826.
119. If a man had twenty sick sheep, and one died, how many
would he have left ? — Nineteen.
i\Irs. G. A. Vaught, Alexander county, 1928. With slight variation,
Mildred Peterson, Bladen county, 1923. Fauset, Southern Negro, p.
292, No. 183; Parsons, Sea Islands, S. C, p. 175, No. 187; Parsons,
Aiken, S. C, p. 36, No. 35; Fauset, Philadelphia, p. 553, No. 4; Fauset,
Nova Scotia, p. 164, No. in.
120. Twelve pears hanging high.
Twelve men came passing by,
Each took a pear,
And left eleven hanging there.
— Man named "Each."
Jessie Hauser, Forsyth county. 1923; with "high" for "there," Zilpah
Frisbie, McDowell county, 1922-23; with "pears were hanging high" and
"went" for "came" (answer lacking), Paul and Elizabeth Green, east-
ern and central N. C, 1926-28. Knights: Halliwell-Phillips, Nursery
Rhymes, p. 12; T. W. C, Notes and Queries, 7th ser., iv (1887), 448;
Parsons, Aiken, S. C, p. 33, No. 55, var. i. Kings: Delevingne, Notes
and Queries, 7th ser., iv (1887), 511. Lords: Whitney and Bullock,
Maryland, p. 174, No. 2680. Brothers: Johnson, Antigua, p. 86, No. 39.
Men: Chappell, p. 231, No. 12; Parsons, Aiken, S. C, p. 33< No. 55,
var. 2; Fauset, Philadelphia, p. 553, No. 2; Fauset, Southern Negro,
p. 280. No. 39; Beckwith, Jamaica, p. 207, No. 214.
121. As I was going over London Bridge.
I saw a tree with twelve pears hanging.
Twelve men came riding by,
Each took a pear and left eleven hanging
— Man named "Each."
Mrs. N. Lancaster, Wayne county, 1923. With the introductory scene
of London Bridge, not previously reported.
122. Eleven pears were hanging high,
Eleven men went riding by,
Each man was taking a pear,
And left eleven hanging there.
— "Each Man" was the man's name.
RIDDLES 313
Mildred Peterson, Bladen county, 1923. (Eleven actors.) Parsons,
Aiken, S. C, p. 32, No. 55; Parsons, Guilford Co., N. C, p. 202, No.
13; Parsons, Barbados, p. 279, No. 21.
123. As I went down to St. Isles,
I met a man with seven wives.
Each wife had seven socks,
Each sock had seven cats,
Each cat had seven kittens.
Kits, cats, socks, wives, and all,
How many were going to St. Isles?
— Only one, me.
Edna Whitley, n.p., n.d. Also with slight verlial variations from Mrs.
G. A. N'aught, Alexander county, 1928; and Paul and Elizabeth Green,
eastern and central N. C., 1926-28. P^ound in virtually every English
collection. See Boggs, North Carolina, p. 324, No. 21 ; Fauset, Southern
Negro, p. 286, No. 112.
XIV. BIBLICAL RIDDLES
124. Where did Noah strike the first nail? — On the head.
Kate S. Russell, Person county, 1923. Gregor, Northeast Scotland, p.
82; Waugh, Canada, p. 72, No. 828. Also without Noah's name: Bacon
and Parsons, Virginia, p. 321, No. 80.
125. When did Noah sleep four in a bed? — When he slept with
his forefathers.
Eleanor Simpson, East Durham, 1923. Not previously reported.
126. When did we first hear of paper ctirrency? — When the
dove brought the green back into the ark.
Grace Tucker, Stanly county, 1935-38. Not previously reported.
127. There was a thing in days of old
( )f which I make a wonder,
It had in it a living soul.
Which after God did hunger.
It never sinned in all its life
It was so well behaved ;
It never had one spark of grace,
Yet how could it be saved?
This thing obeyed God,
Tho' it was no professor.
It was given as a rod
To punish a transgressor.
— The whale that swallowed Jonah.
314 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
Miss A. Henderson, Burke county, 1914-15. This riddle was learned
from an old lacemaker about 1872. Not previously reported.
128. Who was the first man that was nearly ruined l:)y watered
stock? — Laban's nephew Jacob, who scared the stock while at
water.
Norman L. Stack, Pasquotank county, 1922-23. Not previously reported.
XV. SPELLING AND LETTER RIDDLES
129. Constantinople — spell it in two letters. — It.
Paul and Elizabeth Green, eastern and central N. C, 1926-28. Parsons,
Sea Islands, S. C, p. 173, No. 163; Johnson, St. Helena I., S. C, p.
160, No. 41 ; Parsons, Bermuda, p. 262, No. 131.
130. Mississippi is a hard word. I bet you can't spell it. — It.
Lucille Massey, Durham county, n.d. Not previously reported.
131. Nebuchadnezzar, King of the Jews. Spell it in two let-
ters.—It.
Paul and Elizabeth Green, eastern and central N. C., 1926-28. Not
previously reported.
132a. Nebuchadnezzar, king of Jews,
Sat down on the floor to put on his shoes.
How do you spell that with four letters ?
—That.
Anon., n.p., n.d.; with "to tie up his shoes," the Misses Holeman, Dur-
ham county, 1922-36.
132b. Nebuchadnezzar, King of Jews,
Stepped in a hot pudding without his shoes.
How do you spell that with four letters ?
—That.
Anon., n.p., n.d.
132c. Nebuchadnezzar, King of the Jews.
Slipped off his slippers and slipped on his shoes.
How do you spell that with four letters ?
—That.
Anon., n.p., n.d. This elaboration which contains a rhyme with shoes,
is the usual form of the riddle. For parallels, which often differ in de-
tails, see Fauset, Southern Negro, p. 290, No. 164; Rcdfield, Tennessee,
p. 43, No. 98; Parsons, Sea Islands, S. C., p. I73. No. 162.
RIDDLES 315
133. Railroad Crossing, Look Out for the Cars.
Can vou spell it without anv R's ?
—It.
William D. Trader, n.p., n.d. (Clearwater, S. C. c. 1936?). Redfield,
Tennessee, p. 43, No. 97 ; Hyatt. Adams Co., 111., p. 656, No. 10828.
.\n investigation into tlic history of the warnings posted at railroad
crossings might throw some light on tlie history of this riddle.
134. Tadionias Tatanius took two T's
To tie two knots in two tall trees,
ilow many T's in that?
— Two T's in that.
Eleanor Simpson, East Durham, 1923. With 'Thomas Tattamus," Lucille
Massey, Durham, n.d. Thomas Tattamus is probably a corruption of
Thomas Didymus, but otherwise the history and meaning of this riddle
are obscure. For parallels, see Knortz, p. 219, No. 33; Waugh, Canada,
pp. 71-72, No. 820; Parsons, Barbados, p. 281, No. 31; Parsons, Ber-
muda, p. 262, No. 129.
135. Two M's, two I's, and a C. — IMimic.
Zilpah Frisbie, McDowell county, 1922-23. Not previously reported.
The choice of letters perhaps has some connection with the Roman
numerals MCMII, which might indicate the date of invention.
136. What were the tour letters in the alphahet that scared the
wolf?— O 1 C U.
Grace Barbee, Stanly county, n.d. Sentences composed of letters that
are read as words are not unknown, but this combination has not been
previously reported.
137. Spell hard water with three letters. — Ice.
Mrs. G. A. \'aught, Alexander county, 1928. Johnson, Antigua, p. 86,
No. 33; Fauset, Nova Scotia, p. 171, No. 172; Parsons, Sea Islands,
S. C. p. 161, No. 55; Fauset. Southern Negro, p. 290, No. 165; Par-
sons, Bermuda, p. 263, No. 145; Redfield, Tennessee, p. 45, No. 46;
Chappell, p. 238, No. 46; Gardner, Schoharie Hills, N. Y., p. 261, No.
99. There are Dutcii, German, and Danish parallels.
138. What word of three syllables contains twenty-six letters?
— Alphahet.
Grace Tucker, Stanly county, c. 1935.
139. What word of eight letters leaves ten when you subtract
five ? — Tendency.
Grace Tucker, Stanly county, c. 1935. Riddles of this type are not un-
known, but these examples do not seem to have parallels in oral tradition.
140a. Lazarus had it before; Paul had it behind; girls have it
once; boys not at all; old Mrs. Gilligan had it twice at one
time. — The letter L.
Mrs. Norman Herring, Tomahawk, n.d,
3l6 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
140b. Luke had it first; Paul had it last; Mrs. Miller had it
twice right in the same place until she got married the second
time, then she didn't have it at all. — The letter L.
Jessie Hauser, Forsyth county, 1923.
140C. Luke had it before ; Paul had it behind ; Miss Sally had
it twice in the same place ; girls all have it ; but boys can't
have it at all. — The letter L.
Mrs. G. A. Vaught, Alexander county, 1928. Parallels are very numer-
ous and differ somewhat in details. See Fauset, Nova Scotia, p. 167,
No. 129; Fauset, Philadelphia, p. 555, No. 26; Parsons, Guilford Co.,
N. C, p. 205, No. 44; Farr, Tennessee, p. 321, No. 46; Redfield, Ten-
nessee, p. 43, Nos. 99-101.
141. What is once in a minute, twice in a moment, yet not
once in a thousand years? — The letter J\L
Mrs. G. A. Vaught, Alexander county, 1928. Bacon and Parsons, Vir-
ginia, p. 321, No. 7T, Fauset, Nova Scotia, p. 167, No. 128; Gardner,
Schoharie Hills, N. Y., p. 257, No. 34 ; Johnson, Antigua, p. 83, No. 2 ;
Beckwith, Jamaica, p. 215, No. 254.
142. It's in the church but not the steeple,
It's in the person but not the people.
—The letter R.
Mrs. G. A. Vaught, Alexander county, 1928. Johnson, Antigua, p. 83,
No. 4.
XVI. "HOW?" RIDDLE
143. W^hat is the best way to make a slow horse fast? — Tie
him to a post.
Jessie Hauser, Forsyth county, 1923. Redfield, Tennessee, p. 42, No. 7.
XVII. "WHAT?" RIDDLES
a. The following are arranged alphabetically according-
to the noun following What ? The phrase kind of is
disregarded.
144. What is an awl? — Shoemaker's tool.
Grace Tucker, Stanly county, c. 1935. The meaning of the riddle is
obscure.
145. What bridge has never been crossed by anybody? —
Bridge of the nose.
Grace Barbee, Stanly county, n.d.
K I I) U I. E S 317
146. What military drill do we engage in once every year? —
March month.
Mrs. N. Herring, Tomahawk, n.d.
147. What kind of flowers is hetwccn the nose and chin? —
Tulips.
Grace Barbee, Stanly county, c. 1935. Parsons, Sea Islands, S. C, p.
174, No. 176.
148. What kind of hushand would you advise a young lady to
get? — .A single man.
Mildred Peterson, Bladen county, 1923. Parsons, Aiken, S. C, p. 37,
No. 90; Bacon and Parsons, Virginia, p. 317, No. 45.
149. \\'hat is blacker than a crow? — Feathers.
Kate S. Russell, Person county, 1923. With answer "His feathers,"
Louise Lucas, Bladen county, 1923. Redfield, Tennessee, p. 46, No. 125;
Fauset, Southern Negro, p. 287, No. 118.
150. Which of the Apostles wore the largest hat? — The one
with the largest head.
Clara Hearne. Chatham county, 1922-23. Perkins, New Orleans, p. 114,
No. 95; Fauset, Philadelphia, p. 555, No. 27.
151. What gives more light than a lamp? — Two lamps.
Kate S. Russell, Person county, 1923. Compare the more usual form
in No. 153 below.
152. What is kneaded most? — Bread.
Mrs. G. A. Vaught, Alexander county, 1928. Waugh, Canada, p. 66,
No. 755-
153. What makes more noise than a sc|uealing pig? — Two pigs.
Elsie Do-xey, Currituck county, 1922-23. Fauset, Nova Scotia, p. 170,
No. 157; Waugh, Canada, p. "jz. No. 830; Brewster, Indiana, 65.
154. What is older than its mother? — Vinegar.
Kate S. Russell, Person county, 1923. Gardner, Schoharie Hills, N. Y..
p. 258, No. 53.
155. What is the oldest table in the world? — Multiplication
table.
Eleanor Simpson, East Durham, 1923.
156. What is worse than finding a worm in an apple? — Finding
half a worm.
Crockette Williams, n.p., 1932.
3l8 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
b. What is tlie difference between a. . . . Arranged
alphabetically according to the tirst noun in the com-
parison.
157. Wliat is the difference between an apple and an old
maid? — Yoti have to sqtieeze an apple to get cider, while you
have to get side her to squeeze her.
Lucille Massey, Durham county, n.d. ; Eleanor Simpson, East Durham,
1923.
158. What is the difference between a doctor and a butcher? —
A doctor cuts to cure and a butcher cuts to kill.
Grace Tucker, Stanly county, 1935-38.
159. What is the diff'erence between a fountain and a queen? — -
One is heir to the throne, the other is thrown to the air.
Eleanor Simpson, East Durham, 1923.
160. W^hat is the difference between a hen and a fiddler? — One
lays at leisure, the other plays at pleasure.
Edna Whitley, n.p.. n.d.
161. What is the difference between a hill and a pill? — One
goes up, the other down.
Eleanor Simpson, East Durham, 1923.
162. What is the difference between a lover and an old maid?
— One kisses the misses ; the other misses the kisses.
Mildred Peterson, Bladen county, 1923. Waugh, Canada, p. 66, No. 751.
163. What is the difference between an old penny and a new
dime? — Nine cents.
Eleanor Simpson, East Durham, 1923.
XVIII. "WHEN?" RIDDLES
a. Arranged alphabetically according to the first noun.
164. When is a dog like a boy doing arithmetic? — When he puts
down three feet and carries one.
Clara Hearne, Chatham county, 1922-23. Waugh, Canada, p. 66, No. 750.
165. Wiien is a door a jar? — When it is ajar.
Clara Hearne, Chatham county, 1922-23. Fauset, Nova Scotia, p. 170.
No. 153; Waugh, Canada, p. 64, No. 704; Parsons, Bermuda, p. 258,
No. 99.
RIDDLES 319
b. If you wako up in tlu- uij^^lil Anantj^ed alplia-
betically accordiuj,^ to tlie essential word (usually a
noun).
166. If you wished a dinner at night? — Take a spread.
Clara Hearne, Chatham county, 1922-23. Riddles 166-172 have the
sound of the vaudeville stage. Parallels may be found in printed books
of riddles.
167. What would you do in case of fire? — Get to the window
and see the fire escape.
Clara Hearne, Chatham county, 1922-23. See note to No. 166.
1 68. If hungry in the night, what would you do? — Take a roll.
Clara Hearne, Chatiiam county, 1922-23. See note to No. 166.
169. If you wished to write a letter at night? — Take a sheet.
Clara Hearne, Chatham county, 1922-23. See note to No. 166.
170. What would you do for a light at night? — Take a feather
from the pillow — that's light enough.
Clara Hearne, Chatham county, 1922-23. See note to No. 166.
171. If you were sad, what would you do? — Take a comforter.
Clara Hearne, Chatham county, 1922-23. See note to No. 166.
172. If you wake up in the night thirsty, what would you do?
— Look under the hed and find the spring.
Clara Hearne, Chatham county, 1922-23. See note to No. 166.
XIX. "WHERE?" RIDDLES
173. Where was gunpowder invented? — China.
Grace Tucker, Stanly county, 1935-38.
174. On which side does a sheep have most w(X)l ? — On the
outside.
Eleanor Simpson, East Durham, 1923.
XX. "WHO?" RIDDLE
175. Who was the first whistler? — The wind.
Grace Tucker, Stanly county. 1935-38. Perkins, New Orleans, p. 113.
No. 76 ("Who was the first whistler, and what tune did he whistle? —
The wind. He whistled 'Over the Hills and Far Away'").
N.C.F.. Vol. I, (22)
320 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
XXI. "WHY?" RIDDLES
I. A Punning Answer
Arranged alphabetically according to the chief word.
176. Why don't angels have moustaches? — Because they have
a close shave getting in.
Jessie Hauser, Forsyth county, 1923.
177. Why is it easy to break into an old man's house? — Because
his gait is broken and his locks are few.
Eleanor Simpson, East Durham, 1923.
178. W'hy is a lady who faints in a public place like a good
intention? — Because she must be carried out.
Eleanor Simpson, East Durham, 1923.
179. Why is a lighten-bug the most ridiculous creature? — Be-
cause he shows his tail and holds a light to see it by.
Kate S. Russell, Person county, 1923.
180. Why is the nose in the middle of the face? — Because it
is in the center.
Clara Hearne, Chatham county, 1922-23. Perkins, New Orleans, p. 115,
No. 119; Farr, Tennessee, p. 321, No. 49.
181. Why is the novelist a strange creature? — Because his tail
comes out of his head.
Kate S. Russell, Person county, 1923.
182. W^hy is the schoolyard always longer at recess? — Because
there are more feet in it.
Grace Tucker, Stanly county, 1935-38.
183. Why are washerwomen great flirts? — Because they wring
men's bosoms.
Jessie Hauser, Forsyth county, 1923.
2. Catches
184. Why does the chimney smoke? — Because it can't chew.
Clara Hearne, Chatham county, 1922-23; Louise Lucas, Bladen county,
1923. Fauset, Nova Scotia, p. 172, No. 175; Greenleaf, Newfoundland,
p. 19, No. 2; Parsons, Sea Islands, S. C, p. 174. No. 167; Farr, Ten-
nessee, p. 325, No. 102.
RIDDLES 321
185. \\'hy do we buy shoes? — Because they don't give them to
us.
Jessie Hauser, Forsyth county, 1923.
186. Why does a hen cross the road in muddy weather?— To
get on the other side.
Jessie Hauser, Forsyth county, 1923- "I" muddy weather" omitted,
Mrs. G. A. Vaught, Alexander county, 1928. The details vary slightly.
Fauset. Philadelphia, p. 557, No. 41 ; Fauset. Nova Scotia, p. 170, No.
158- Waugh, Canada, p. 72, No. 835; Brewster, Indiana. 60; Bacon and
I'arsons. \'irginia, p. 325, No. 118; Redfield, Tennessee, p. 45. No. 122.
187. Why build pigpens on the north side of the barn ?— To
keep pigs in.
Jessie Hauser, Forsyth county, 1923- Redfield, Tennessee, p. 43, No. 119.
1 88a. Why doesn't George Washington command any more
armies? — Because he is dead.
Edna Whitley, n.p., n.d.
1 88b. Why doesn't George Washington lead any more wars?—
Because he is dead.
Grace Barhee, Stanly county, n.d.
3. Why Is . . . Like . . . ?
Arranged alpliabetically according: to the first noun.
189. Why is the coachman like the clouds ?— Because he holds
the reins.
Jesse Hauser, Forsyth county. 1923; Frederick Jenkins, New Brunswick
county, 1923.
190. Why is the letter F bke a cow's tail ?— Because it is the
end of bccj.
Mildred Peterson, Bladen county, 1923- Waugh, Canada, p. 66, No. 761.
191. What most resembles the half of a cheese?— The other
half.
Jessie Hauser, Forsyth county, 1923. Waugh, Canada, p. 72. No. 829.
192. Why is a man's bald head like heaven ?— Because there is
no parting there.
Jessie Hauser, Forsyth county, 1923- Waugh. Canada, p. 65, No. 732.
193. Why is the letter K and a pig's tail alike?— Both arc the
last of pork.
Lucille Cheek, Chatham county, 1923. Fauset, Nova Scotia, p. 172,
No. 182.
322 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
194. Why is a newspaper like a wife? — Beause a man should
have one of his own.
Mildred Peterson, Bladen county, 1923. Waugh, Canada, p. 66, No. 744.
195. Why are the sun and a loaf of bread alike? — Because both
of them rise.
Mildred Peterson, Bladen county, 1923. Compare "Why is the sun and
a French loaf of bread so much alike? — Because one rise in the east,
and one rise with yeast" (Parsons, Barbados, p. 289, No. 84).
XXII. MISCELLANEOUS PUNS
A few widely known riddles that involve a pun are
listed below under separate captions. The first two
puns below do not seem to have been reported else-
where as riddles.
196. Is it a sin to feed chickens on Sunday? — I feed mine on
corn.
Mildred Peterson, Bladen county, 1923.
197. Did you know that they were not going to make matches
any longer? — Long enough.
Mildred Peterson, Bladen county, 1923.
198. Down in a valley I met a brave knight.
All saddled, all bridled, all ready for fight,
All booted, all spurred, all ready to go.
I have told you his name and vou do not know.
—All.
Zilpah Frisbie, McDowell county, 1922-23. Fauset, Nova Scotia, p. 147,
No. 24; Randolph and Spradley, Ozarks, p. 82; Brewster. Indiana, 48.
199. There's a family, Mr. and ]\Irs. Bigger, and their little
daughter; of these three, which is the bigger? — The daughter
is a little bigger.
Kate S. Russell, Person county, 1923. Beckwith, Jamaica, p. 217, No.
271.
200. The father while at work one day had an accident. He
had the misfortune to cut off one foot. He was very, very
sick. Now, which is the bigger?— The father is One-foot
Bigger.
Kate S. Russell, Person county, 1923.
201. His accident resulted in death. Then, which is bigger?
— The father is still bigger.
Kate S. Russell, Person county, 1923.
RIDDLES 323
202. As 1 was going over London Bridge,
I met a man. and I'll be to blame
If I tell his name.
For I have told it five times.
— Man named 1.
Mrs. N. Lancaster, Wayne county, 1923. Redfield, Tennessee, p. 43,
No. 94; Hyatt, Adams Co., 111., p. 662, No. 10879; Brewster, Indiana, 25.
203a. Between heaven and earth, and not on tree,
I've told you, now you tell me.
— Knot on tree.
Kate S. Russell, Person county, 1923; "I told you," Jessie Hauser, For-
syth county, 1923.
203b. 'Twixt heaven and earth and not on a tree. — Knot.
W. Q. Grigg. Qeveland county, 1927. Chappell, p. 238, No. 50; Brew-
ster, Indiana. 29; Randolph and Spradley, Ozarks, p. 84; Fauset,
Southern Negro, p. 290. No. 159; Bacon and Parsons, Virginia, p. 317,
No. 43 and p. 326, No. 126; Parsons, Guilford Co., N. C, p. 205, No.
40; Parsons, Aiken, S. C, p. 33, No. 58.
204. There were four men, they all had the same father and
the same mother and vet they were Knot Bros. — Knot Bros.
Kate S. Russell, Person county, 1923.
205. A man went away on Sunday, stayed a week, and came
back on the same Sunday. How is that? — His horse's name
was Sunday.
Eleanor Simpson, East Durham, 1923. Also with slight variation, Lucille
Massey, Durham county, n.d. Parsons, Bermuda, p. 253, No. 53 ; Red-
field, Tennessee, p. 43, No. 96 ; Fauset, Southern Negro, p. 280, No. 38.
Compare Fauset, Southern Negro, p. 280, No. 37, and Parsons, Aiken.
S. C, p. 26, No. 7, with the answer "Monday."
206a. A man rode over a bridge and yet walked. How was
that? — Yet was his dog.
Lucille Massey, Durham county, n.d. Also, with slight variation, from
Zilpah Frisbie, McDowell county, 1922-23, and Eleanor Simpson, East
Durham, 1923.
206b. A man rode over London P.ridge, and yet walked. — Yet
is a dog.
Aura Holton, Durham, 1924.
206c. Man had a little dog; his name was Get. Get rid, but
yet he walked. — Answer lacking.
Paul and Elizabeth Green, eastern and central N. C, 1926-28.
324 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
2o6d. As I was going across London Bridge, I met a man
riding, and yet he was walking. — Little dog named Yettie.
Anon., n.p., n.d.
2o6e. Man — Get — Dog — Yet. — Answer lacking.
Paul and Elizabeth Green, eastern and central N. C, 1926-28. Parallels
are very numerous. See, among others, Parsons, Bahamas, p. 476, No.
48; Parsons, Aiken, S. C, p. 25, No. 6; Parsons, Bermuda, p. 249, No.
23; Parsons, Sea Islands. S. C, p. 167, No. 90; Fauset, Philadelphia,
P- 553, No. 8; Bacon and Parsons, Virginia, p. 320, No. 72; Fauset,
Nova Scotia, p. 147, No. 27; Parsons, Guilford Co., N. C., p. 202, No.
17; Redfield, Tennessee, p. 43, No. 95; Brewster, Indiana, 70; Randolph
and Spradley, Ozarks, p. 84.
XXin. CATCHES
207. Adam and Eve and Pinch-Me Tight
Went to the river to have a fight.
Adam and Eve fell in. Who was left out?
— When someone answers Pinch-Me Tight,
the questioner does so.
Paul and Elizabeth Green, eastern and central N. C., 1926-28. Fauset,
Nova Scotia, p. 146, No. 22; Randolph and Spradley, Ozarks, p. 85.
208. If 2 in I is stove polish and 3 in i is oil, what is 4 and i ?
— Five.
Anon., n.p., n.d.
209. Jackass on one side river, hay on other. — Give up? — Just
as the other jackass did.
Paul and Elizabeth Green, eastern and central N. C., 1926-28.
210. Difference between mule and elephant. — You'd be a fine
one to send after an elephant.
Paul and Elizabetli Green, eastern and central N. C., 1926-28.
211. The preacher was preaching about the horror of war; the
roaring of the guns, firing of the cannon, etc. A soldier was
asleep at church, dreaming of the war. Just as the preacher
said, "The cannon boomed forth," the soldier died. How do
you know that he died at this point? — You don't know.
Lucille Massey, Durham county, n.d. Waugh, Canada, p. 72, No. 836;
Randolph and Spradley, Ozarks, p. 89.
RIDDLES 325
XXIV. MISCELLANEOUS
212. Bed. — A little dark E in bed with nothing over him.
The Misses Holeman, Durham county, 1921-36.
213. Three- fourths of a cross and a circle complete,
A perpendicular line on which two half-circles meet,
An acute-angled triangle standing on feet,
Two half-circles, and a circle complete.
—TOBACCO.
Anon., n.p., n.d. Fauset, Nova Scotia, p. 166, No. 125; Boggs, North
Carolina, p. 325, No. 25; Parsons, Bahamas, p. 471,^ No. 4; Parsons,
Barbados, p. 289, No. 93 ; Parsons, Bermuda, p. 246, No. 5.
214. The word is in the plural number.
It is an enemy to sleep or human slumber.
To make the singular add an S
And this completes the metamorphosis.
— S-pain.
F. C. Brown, Durham, n.d.
215. There are enough bones in a pig's foot to go in the door
of everyman's house in the county. — Courthouse.
Jane Christenbury, Huntersville, N. C, 1923- Two parallels to this
obscure riddle elucidate it somewhat; sec "Take one hawg-fo(it [hog-
foot] bone and lav it at the door, an' it'll be all men's door.— Court-
house door" (Bacon and Parsons. Virginia, p. 316, No. 39) and "Dere's
enough bone in a pig foot to put one over ev'ry man do' in South
Carolina. — Put one over de courthouse do'" (Parsons, Aiken, S. C,
p. 30, No. 36).
326 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
BIBLIOGRAPHY
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County," Journal of American Folklore, xxxv (1922), 312-327.
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American Folklore Society, xvii. New York, 1924.
BoGGS, R. S. "North Carolina White Folktales and Riddles,"
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anderen Ratselbiicher seiner Zeit," Jahrbuch der Deutschen
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Folklore Quarterly, iii (1939), 93-105.
Carter, Isabel G. "Mountain White Riddles," Journal of Ameri-
can Folklore, xlvii (1934), 76-80.
Chappell, J. W. "Riddle Me, Riddle Me, Ree," Folk-Say, 11
(1930), 227-238.
Farr, T. J. "Riddles and Superstitions of Middle Tennessee,"
Journal of American Folklore, xlviii (1935), 318-326.
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"Negro Folk-Tales from the South," Journal of American
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'Tales and Riddles Collected in Philadelphia," Journal of
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(1881). 177-192.
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1937-
Greenleaf, Elisabeth B. "Riddles of Newfoundland," Marshall
Rez'iezv, i. No. 3 (Huntington, W. Va., 1938), 5-20.
Gregor, Walter. "Notes on the Folk-Lore of the North-East of
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don, 1881.
Gutch, Eliza, and ^Iabel Peacock. Fxamples of Printed Folk-
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Society, lxviii. London, 1908.
Halliwell-Phillips, J. O. Nurserx Rhymes of Fngland. Lon-
don, 1886.
RIDDLES 327
Popular Rhymes and Nursery Talcs. London, 1849.
Halpert, Herbert. "Ncj^ro Riddles Collected in New Jersey,"
Journal of American Folklore, lvi (1943), 200-202.
Hedberg, E. "Proverbs and Riddles Current among the Bhils oi
Kandesh," Journal of the Anthropological Society of Bombay,
XIII (1928), 854-892.
Hudson, A. P. "Sonic Folk Riddles from the South," South At-
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Hyatt, H. M. Folklore from Adams County. Illinois. Memoirs
of the Anna Egan Hyatt Foundation. New York, 1935.
Hyde, Douglas. Beside the Fire. London, 1890.
Johnson, Guy B. Folk-Culture on St. Helena Island. Chapel
Hill, N. C, 1930.
Johnson, John H. "Folklore from Antigua, British West Indies,"
Journal of American Folklore, xxxiv (1921), 83-88.
Knortz, Karl. Strcifaiige auf dem Gebietc amerikanischer
Volkskunde. Leipzig, 1902.
Leather, Ella M. The Folk-Lore of Herefordshire. London,
1912.
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xiii (1943), 80-101.
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XXXIV (1923), 330-331-
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"Bermuda Folklore," Journal of American Folklore, xxxviii
(1925 ), 244-265.
Folklore from Aiken, South Carolina." Journal of Amcri-
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)f the American Folklore Society, xxvi, iii. New York, 1943.
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Folklore of the Sea Islands, South Carolina. Memoirs of
the American Folklore Society, xvi. New York, 1923.
"Notes on the Folklore of Guilford County, North Carolina,"
Journal of American Folklore, xxx (1917), 201-207.
■Riddles from Andros Island, Bahamas," Journal of Ameri-
can Folklore, xxx (1917), 275-277.
"Spirituals and Other Folklore from the Bahamas," Journal
of American Folklore, XLi (1928), 471-485.
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Orleans." Journal of American Folklore, xxxv (1922), 105-115.
Randolph, Vance, and Isabel Spradley. "Ozark Mountain Rid-
dles," Journal of American Folklore, XLvn (1934), 81-89.
328 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
AND Archer Taylor. "Riddles in the Ozarks," Southern
Folklore Quarterly, vii (1944), i-io.
Redfield, W. a. "A Collection of Middle Tennessee Riddles,"
Southern Folklore Quarterly, 1, No. 3 (1937), pp. 35-50.
Spenney, Susan D. "Riddles and Ring-Games from Raleigh,
North Carolina," Journal of American Folklore, xxxiv (1921),
IIO-III.
Starr, Frederick. A Little Book of Filipino Riddles. Yonkers,
1909.
Taylor, Archer. A Bibliography of Riddles. Helsinki, 1939.
FF Communications, No. 126.
Thurston, Helen S. "Riddles from Massachusetts." Journal of
American Folklore, xviii (1905), 182.
TuppER, Frederic J. "The Holme Riddles (MS. Harl. i960),"
Publications of the Modern Language Association, xviii (1903),
210-272.
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American Folklore, xxxi (1918), 63-72.
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1925-
Wintemberg, W. J. "Folklore Collected in Toronto and Vicinity,"
Journal of American Folklore, xxxi (1918), 133.
PROVERBS AND PROVERBIAL
SAYINGS
Edited by
B. J. Whiting
PROVERBS AND PROVERBIAL
SAYINGS
INTRODUCTION
'"P^O OFFER a brief yet workable definition of a proverb, espe-
-^ cially with the proverbial phrase included, is well nigh impos-
sible. Indeed, one of our wisest and most learned students of
proverbial lore wrote, "The definition of a proverb is too difficult
to repay the undertaking; and should we fortunately combine in a
single definition all the essential elements and give each the proper
emphasis, wc should not even then have a touchstone. An incom-
municable quality tells us this sentence is proverbial and that one
is not. Hence no definition w^ill enable us to identify positively a
sentence as proverbial. . . . Let us be content with recognizing
that a proverb is a saying current among the folk. At least so
much of a definition is indisputable. . . ."^ The man, probably
Lord John Russell, who said that "a proverb is the wisdom of
many and the wit of one," produced a very pretty epigram, but
scarcely a definition of a proverb. ^ Happily, no definition is really
necessary, since all of us know what a proverb is. With a few
curious exceptions, all nations have had their proverbs and have
incorporated them in their literature, including their most sacred
books. Of course, the reverse has also been true, and gnomic utter-
ances have passed from manuscript or printed pages to the currency
of popular speech. Proverbs in literature have had their ups and
downs ; at times they have been acceptable to the prevailing taste,
at others they have been considered low. At all times, however,
they have been part and parcel of human nature's verbal daily
bread. They spring readily to our lips, and we recognize their
validity. It is not the "folk" alone who appreciate proverbs; even
the most solemn scholar, against his intellectual will, perhaps, or
caught off guard, responds to a bit of verbal reality snatched from
life, who can say when, and applied to the more or less mysterious
behavior of human kind. The proverbs presented in this section
will be familiar in aggregate to almost every reader, although it
is the editor's hope that the introduction and the individual refer-
ences to other occurrences may add body to the common recognition.
In general it would be difficult to demonstrate that proverbs
^Archer Taylor, The Proverb (Cambridge, Massachusetts). 1931, p. 3.
- For a number of definitions of various ages and merits, see Whiting.
"The Nature of the Proverb," Harvard Studies and Notes in Philology
and Literature, xiv C1932), 273-307.
^^2 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
illustrate national peculiarities, and that the study of a people's
proverbs will reveal those traits and emotions which may be held
to differentiate that people from all others. Proverbs appear to
reveal human nature, which is spontaneous and, on the whole, uni-
versal, rather than national nature, which is likely to be artificial
and often imposed by economic, social, and political circumstances.
Collections of "racial" or "national" proverbs have been made, and
are often imposing, and, indeed, present a specious appearance of
picturing the Russian, the Bantu, the Irishman, and the Tagalog
as they really are. The fallacy of the method is that it is selective
and that a different selection would give an entirely different
"national" or "racial" picture. The same themes, often expressed
in identical or almost identical fashion, will appear in the proverbs
of many widely separated and culturally aloof nations.^
A caveat against the improper use of proverbial material to
write the philosophical or spiritual life of a people does not deny
that individual proverbs are peculiar to a nation or national group.
Often, indeed, a proverbial formula will be found to be particularly
characteristic of some one country. The material objects used in
proverbs will naturally vary from one region of the earth to an-
other, and differences in linguistic structure will be reflected in
proverbs, even after the proverbs have been translated from their
original tongue. Thus it is that foreign proverbs appearing in,
say, English or German can often be identified as such and traced
to their original homes. On this principle any reasonably extensive
collection of proverbs made in the United States ought to reveal
sayings plainly attributable to the various nationalities and groups
which produced our ancestors. The present collection affords inter-
esting, though not unexpected, evidence of the mixed origins of
our proverbial lore.
The preponderant racial stock in North Carolina has from the
first been English. In 1790 the English contributed 83.1 per cent;
Scottish, Lowlanders, Highlanders, and Scotch-Irish, 11.2: German,
2.8; Irish, 2.3; French, .3; Dutch, .2; and all others, .1. Negroes,
slave and free, made up one quarter of the total population.-* To-
day these proportions have been little altered. There has been no
significant population influx since 1790. In the generation follow-
ing the Civil War a number of whites moved to the West and
Middle West, and a somewhat larger number of whites moved into
the state from the North. Similarly in the two inflation and de-
pression periods of the twentieth century a number of Negroes
moved to the North. These changes, however, made only slight
" For a recent and conclusive discussion of this problem, see F. N.
Robinson, "Irish Proverbs and Irish National Character," Modern Phi-
lology, XLIII (1945), I-IO.
* Guion G. Johnson, Ante-bellum North Carolina (Chapel Hill, 1937).
pp. 9-11.
PROVERBS 333
local inii)ressions, and North Carolina today has a white population
predominantly An^jlo-Saxon in descent.''
That, like the population, a majority of the North C'arolina
proverhs are of Enjjlish origin hardly requires demonstration to
any English-speakings person. An easy test is to observe the prov-
erhs in our collection whicli occur, or are somehow paralleled,
in the two standard English dictionaries of proverbs, Apperson and
Oxford, where we find that approximately 560 are found in both,
260 in Apperson alone, and no in Oxford alone." The total of
930 out of 2600 is made even more impressive than it appears
when we consider that the sayings found in Apperson and Oxford
are mainly proverbs and miscellaneous proverbial phrases, rather
than similes, a large number of which are clearly of American
origin.
Since proverbs current in Scotland often ditYer from those of
England only in slight dialectal peculiarities inevitably ironed out
in America, we are justified in labeling Scottish only those prov-
erbs w^hich were originally" or only to be found in Scottish col-
lections.** Among these are :■• A blind man needs no looking glass ;^"'
A lazy boy makes a smart man;^i Save for the sore-foot day;^~
Ready with his hat but slow with his money ;^^ Live in hopes if you
'" I am indebted to Professor White for the statements about present-
day North Carolina.
" For a check of Hardie against Apperson, see Richard Jente, "The
American Proverb," American Speech, vii (1931-32), 342-348- Pro-
fessor Jente concludes that few proverbs in Hardie can be justly called
"American."
' Both Apperson and Oxford draw, though not exhaustively, on earlier
Scottish collections.
* Under Horse (3) below we find that one informant calls the com-
mon English proverb "A short horse is soon curried" Scotch. No doubt
he had heard it from someone of Scottish descent, but the characteristic
Scottish form is in the compound proverb, "A bonny bride is soon buskit,
and a short horse is soon wispit (whisked)." In North Carolina the
English form was substituted but the Scottish remembered.
" The italicized words in all proverbs quoted in this introduction are
those under which the proverbs are alphal^etized in the collection.
^" This saying raises a problem of which there are other examples,
namely, the appearance of a proverb in two of the special groups. The
proverb appears in a well-known Scottish collection and also in one
made among the Negroes of Jamaica. If we ignore the possibility of
independent origins, and we are safe in doing so in this instance, we are
surely justified in feeling tliat the proverb came from Scotland in the
first place. It is not easy to determine, however, whether the proverb
owes its appearance in North Carolina to Scots or Negroes.
" Since this saying is found in Gaelic as well as Scots, it could have
been brought by either Highlanders or Lowlanders. See Whiting, "Low-
land Scots and Celtic Proverbs in North Carolina," Journal of Celtic
Studies, I (1949), 1 16-127.
^^ In Irish and Scottish Gaelic as well as Lowland Scots.
^' The American version suggests a reproof, whereas the Scottish
original, perhaps characteristically, advises the use of politeness to save
money, and the Jamaica Negroes preserved the original sense. In North
Carolina the ooint of view has changed.
334 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
die in despair (variants: Live in hope and die in despair; Live in
hopes, if you die upstairs) ;i^ He looks for the horse he rides on;i^
Mad on a horse sho's proud on a pony;!** True love is the weft of
life:^" A hairy man's rich. A hairy wife's a witch ;i^ When all
men speak, no one hears; A falling master makes a standing man;
An early master makes a long servant; It's a bare moor without
a tuft of heather ;i^ He has need of a clean pow (head) who calls
his neighbor nitty-now ; Preach in your own pulpit ; Many bring
rakes but few shovels ; He finds his sin in his punishment ; A
wrinkled skin conceals the scars ; All Stuarts are not kinsmen of
the king.-*^
There are only three sayings which can be ascribed without
reservation to the Highland Scots. These are : As old as the folks
in Jura,-^ He that owns Rome must feed Rome,-- A sigh goes
further than a shout. A few other proverbs may have been brought
by Gaelic-speaking Scots : What isn't worth asking for isn't worth
having;--^ Beauty never made kettle boil ;-^ Coivs off yonder have
long horns ;-'' Foreign cozvs wear long horns ;-•' The heaviest ear
of corn hangs its head the lowest.-"
^* The sense of the original, "Better live in hope than die in despair,"
has been altered for the worse in America, and the last example is an
admirable instance of how something can be remembered as a proverb
even after any sense has been reduced nearly to nonsense.
^■"' Certainly altered from a Scottish original, as even the Oxford quo-
tation is Scots, and yet the North Carolina version is almost exactly
identical with the translation of a Russian proverb.
^^ The meaning of the North Carolina saying is hardly clear until we
see the original : "He'll gang mad on a horse wha's proud on a pownie."
The American inversion has destroyed the sense. Observe the Montene-
grin version.
^' The Scottish conclusion of the proverb has been lost : "but it whiles
comes through a sorrowfu' shuttle."
^^ The Scottish form reads "A hairy man's a geary man, but a hairy
wife's a witch." The elimination of the dialectal "geary" added rime of
sorts to the saying.
^^ The Scottish form is more striking and more significant : "It's a
bare more that ye gang throgh an' no get a heather cow (a heather
cow is a tuft of heather)." A more obvious version is that which Ox-
ford quotes from a Scottish collection : "It's a bare more that he goes
over and gets not a cow." No hint of the reivers survived in North
Carolina.
""See also Button (i), Corn (3), Crazy, Night (12), Nose (i).
^^ Although this simile is not found elsewhere, it can hardly have
originated far from the island of Jura in the inner Hebrides.
^^ This saying is not very Gaelic in appearance, but found only in
Nicolson.
°" Nicolson has "It's a poor thing that's not worth asking," but there
is a similar German proverb from Pennsylvania.
"* Also found in Ireland, and note the Genoese version.
"■^ Also found in Ireland.
-" Described as "an old Scottish saying," this is doubtless an American
variant of the preceding proverb.
" Also found in Ireland.
PROVERBS 335
Because of the evident kinsliip of Irisli i)roverl)> with those of
GaeHc-spcaking Scotland, we may well take u]> the i)roverhs of
apparent Irish origin here; He lent his brccclns ])ut cut off the
bottoms;-^ Any clothes will tit a naked man; The dogs follow the
man with the bone ; A hungry eye sees far ;-" Better be in search
of food than appetite; Don't burn your fingers when you have
tongs; Do your lioiiselceef^ing in the mouth of the bag, not at the
bottom ; Every man should be sheriff on his own hearth ; Run
like yer s/;/V/ /(/// is on fire;-*" Be bare with the soil and the soil
will be bare witli you; Put the stranger Near the danger; The
three feasts due to every man — the feast of baptism, the feast of
marriage, the feast of death ; The three merriest things under the
sun : a cat's kitten, a goat's kid, and a young widow ; Three with-
out rule — a mule, a pig, a woman ; Cold zcalls make unhappy wives ;
It's a lonesome washing that has not a man's shirt in it; A wedge
of elm to split an elm ;'^i A good word never yet broke a tooth.
One proverb seems to be from Wales: I'd rather my neck felt
the yoke than the axe; and another saying. He jumped on it like
a hazvk on a chicken, may well be, although the number of Ameri-
can variants suggests that we may here be faced with coincidence
rather than provenience.
The German elements in North Carolina were in part Moravians
straight from the continent and in part Moravians and others who
came down from Pennsylvania. For a time they retained their
native speech.-*- and it is natural that a certain number of German
proverbs should have found their way ir.to common usage. Among
them are the following : Gray beard and red lip cannot be friends ;
Riglit beginning makes a right ending; The higher the bell the
further it sounds; All birds of prey are silent (var. Whoever heard
of a singing bird of prey?); The bite is larger than the mouth;
Don't blow what won't burn ;^^ Compliments cost nothing;-*"* The
costly is the cheapest in the long run ;3-''' It's a poor dog that can't
wag its own tail ;-^'* An old fox is hard to catch ;•"*" Friendship is a
"* The Irish versions read buttons for bottoms.
-" From Antrim and Down, and therefore, perhaps Scotch-Irish, as tlie
citations in Tilley suggest to be the case.
•^" The Irish reads: "Do it as if there were fire on your skin."
■''^ The Scottish Gaelic version is "A wedge of itself splits the oak."
^' See W. H. Gehrke, "The Transition from the German to the Eng-
lish Language in North Carolina," North Carolina Historical Rcx-icw, xii
(1935). 1-18.
"^ Reported from Pennsylvania.
■"" The German version, as given by Christy, adds ''yet many pay dear
for them." It sliould be noted that there are analogues in Creole French
and Scottish.
^'" Reported from Pennsylvania ; the analogues, two from Jamaica, take
another tack, namely, that the cheapest is the dearest.
'"' Reported as from an old German who came to America about 1850;
the English analogue refers to a horse.
" Reported from Pennsylvania.
X.C.K.. Vol. I, {23)
336 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
plant that needs watering; Two Jieads are better than one, even if
one is a cabbage head; What you lack in your head you make up
in your heels; Like holding a ladder for a thief; He steps like he
is walking on pins; So thin she can't make a shadow f^ An old
ivoman's dance is soon over ;^^ Between a woman's yes and a
woman's no There's not enough room for a pin to go.'**'
There is one proverb clearly French in origin. One must be
either hammer or anvil, sometimes ascribed to Voltaire, and an-
other, He never warmed his hand but he burnt it, which may come
from the French "Tel croit se chauffer qui se brule."'*^ Only one
proverb may properly be referred to Holland, The w'orse the car-
penter the more the chips, and even this has an English analogue.
Three proverbs are Italian in origin : The anvil lasts longer than
the hammer; A living ass is better than a dead doctor; The ass's
hide is used to the stick; a fourth. It's not the things you have
but what they mean to you, is closer to an Italian proverb than
to anything else brought to light. Denmark seems to have con-
tributed at least one proverb, It's a lazy bird that won't build her
own nest, and possibly a second, Act in the z'alley for those on
the hill.-*- There is also one of apparent Norwegian origin: First
bread and then the bride.
That American citizens of African descent should have a dis-
tinctive body of proverbs is suggested both by the prevalence of
proverbs among the native tribes of Africa,-*^ and by the circum-
stances, hardly requiring documentation, which have kept American
Negroes in a community of somewhat isolated social and intellectual
interests. Certain difficulties, however, trouble the investigator,
especially if he is not an inhabitant of one of the Southern states,
who attempts to draw a line between Negro and non-Negro prov-
erbs. The Negroes often borrow and slightly transform the
proverbs of their white associates, the grammatical usages of the
uneducated Negro and the uneducated white are so closely akin
as to be often indistinguishable, and, most annoying of all, there
is no good assemblage of American Negro proverbs. So deficient
are we in this last respect that it is often necessary to rely on
collections made in the West Indies, from both French- and English-
"* Reported from Pennsylvania ; an analogue was found in Maine
where, for what it may be worth, there was a German colony at
Waldoboro.
•'"' Reported from Pennsylvania ; the version from Texas is close,
though more elaborate.
■"• But note the Spanish and Russian occurrences. For other simi-
larities to German proverbs, see Apple (2) and Asking.
" The Bahaman "Some men bu'n dem hand when they only mean to
warm dem" possibly represents an intermediary form.
*- A third, "Honor the old," is perhaps too obvious to refer to the
Danish "Den Gamle skal man aere, den Unge skal man la;re."
" See, for examples. Whiting, "The Origin of the Proverb," Harvard
Studies and Notes in Philology and Literature, xiii (1931), 62 fi.
PROVERBS 337
speakint;' ijroups, tor purposes of identification, a procedure which
has obvious disadvantages and dangers.
Among the Negro proverbs are some of the most striking and
picturesque in the collection: The bait worth more than the fish;
Barking saves biting i"*^ He hung his basket higher than he could
reach :^"' If it's hot enough to set your neighbor's bcaril afire, you'd
better get water and wet ycmrs ;■"'' He who kills his own body works
for the worms;"*" Scraping on the bottom of the meal bin is mighty
poor music; A new broom sweeps clean, but an old brush knows
the corners :"''^ Like a bug arguing with a chicken;"*" When bugs
give a party tliey never ask the chickens ;"'*' Get the candles lighted
before you blow out the match ;"'^ Like a crab — all stomach and no
head ;"'- Slie cares no more for him than a crozv cares for Sun-
day ;'••* The dinner bell's always in tune for a hungry man; A bull
dog in troul)le welcomes a puppy's breeches ;■''"* Any dog knows bet-
ter than to chew a razor ;•'*•'' Don't-care keeps a big house v^^ Two
ears don't mean you hear twice ;^''' Every shet eye ain't sleep ;^*
When six eyes meet the story is over ;^'^ The eyebrozv is older than
the beard ;*^'^ Faith dares, Love bears ;"i Fine feathers are lifted
** Reported from Jamaica.
'■"'Jamaica and Bahamas.
'"Jamaica, Haiti, and found in Africa.
'■ Mauritius only, but doubtless used in the French-speaking West
Indies. Of course this, as well as other sayings found outside North
Carolina only in Creole Frencli, may not have been transmitted by
Negroes, but so many Creole proverbs are duplicated among tlie Jamaica
Negroes that a general rule is at least plausible.
*" Jamaica, with broom for brush in all three examples, hut see the
other parallels.
'" This appears to be a reworking of a saying found in Jamaica,
Surinam, Haiti, and, according to Hearn, in all the Creole dialects. The
Jamaican form is, "Cockroach neber in de right befo' fowl." There
is an .African version.
'*" Jamaica, Haiti, Trinidad and Granada. The Jamaica form is "Cock-
roach nick dance him no axe fowl" ; Trinidad, "When cockroach give
party he no ax fowl." This proverb and the preceding one were prob-
ably brought from .\frica.
" Jamaica.
•'■" Perhaps a reworking of the Jamaican "De reason crab no hab' head
a because him hab too good a 'toniach."
^^ Jamaica, where both examples read John Croze.
^* Antilles.
■"'^ Jamaica.
^" Jamaica.
"^^ Surinam.
^^ Clearly in circulation among Negroes, but the German occurrence
must be noted.
'^^ Jamaica and Haiti ; the Haitian version seems to be a perversion.
through lack of understanding, of a saying which is cryptic at best.
"'^ Jamaica, Haiti, and Bahamas.
*^ Jamaica. This saying is more abstract than most in the group.
338 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
when the wind blows ;"- One finger won't catch fleas ;^^ You can
hide the fire, but what about the smoke ? Better make friends when
you don't need them i^"* A bull frog knows more about rain than
the Almanac; Gap in the axe shows in the chip; Run from a ghost,
you meet a coffin ;^''* Good-bye is not gone; A person who never
stole anything has a lock of hair growing in the palm of his hand ;^^
A hog runs for his life, a dog for his character;*'" Idleness wears
away the frog's ass ;^^ A dainty lady takes a pin to eat a pea ;^^
You never know the length of a snake until he is dead •J'^ Dead
limbs show up when the leaves (buds) come out; Old "Manage-
good" is better than Mr. "Big-wage";'^ Before marriage keep both
eyes open; after shut one;"- A mule's gallop is soon over ;''^^ Penny
makes trouble a dollar can't cure;'''"* Set a cracked plate down
softly ;"•'' An empty pot never boils ;'''•' Never bet on 'taters (pota-
toes) 'fore grabbling time; Prayer's not long when faith is
strong;"" Quagmires don't hang out no signs; The rain doesn't
know broadcloth from jeans ; A noisy riz'er never drowned nobody -/^
A robin's song is not pretty to the worm; A good rooster crows
in any hen-house;'''^ A good run is better than a bad stand ;^'^ Give
me today's meat, yesterday's bread, and last year's wine and the
doctor can go ;^i Teeth don't show mourning ■,^~ Looking for work
and praying not to find it.^^
The evidence^"* presented here certainly points to a well-defined
and notable group of specifically Negro sayings in North Carolina,
and further suggests that the Negroes of the Caribbean and of the
mainland of North America shared a common store of proverbs.
"^ Haiti, Trinidad, vvitli parallels in Jamaica. There are African
analogues.
""* Jamaica, Haiti, Martinique, and Granada. There are African
analogues.
"* Jamaica. '" West Indian.
*"' This saying is one of those taken verbatim from B. W. Green, but
the Jamaican form, "Man dat no tell lie, hair grow in him han' middle,"
is closer than any other analogue.
"^ Jamaica, Antilles.
"* Louisiana. "" Jamaica.
'"' Probably a reworking of the Jamaican version.
''^ Jamaica.
''" Jamaica. Possibly the forms from Jamaica and North Carolina
represent a reworking of Franklin.
"■'' Jamaica. "' Jamaica, Trinidad.
'•'' Jamaica. '" Jamaica, Granada.
'''' Jamaica. '"* Jamaica, Granada.
''" Martinique. There is a Mexican version.
*° The Irish analogues must be noted.
*^ Jamaica, but certainly a borrowing.
*^ Haiti, Trinidad, and St. Croix.
'" Trinidad.
^* See also Apple (2), Blind (i), Bnol,^ (i), Buggy zdiip. Carrion,
Duck (5), Free-of-Chargc, Grapevine, Hand (3), Lick (2), Liz'e (4),
Negro (11), Neighbor, and Raindrop.
PROVERBS 339
The section editor I)elieves this to be a fair estimate of the situation,
but he cannot forbear pointing out that a few Ne^n-o informants
of West Indian birth could have been responsible for many of
the proverbs quoted in the preceding paragraph.
Whatever may be our verdict as to the proverbs which seem to
be of Negro circulation, sufficient facts have certainly been adduced
to show that in North Carolina, as is surely the case throughout
the United States, the various ethnic elements wliich are respon-
sible for our common nation are amply, and almost proportionately,
represented in our proverbial sayings. We must consider one other
source, or, perhaps better, popularizing influence, for our pro-
verbial wisdom, and that is in the evident popularity of the man
who easily deserves the title of the Sage of English-speaking North
America. Benjamin Franklin. In Poor Richard and in its virtual
epitome, the Way to If'ealth, Franklin came very close to compil-
ing a complete set of proverbs for a nation on the make. Frank-
lin's sayings are of three kinds: some are inherited English
proverbs put down without change, some are reworkings of familiar
proverbs, and others are maxims which owe their origin to Frank-
lin's acute and fertile mind. Since the proverbs which appear in
Poor Richard and the IVay to Wealth are not all under anything
which can be termed Franklin's copyright, no one would argue
that any proverb found in the North Carolina collection and also
in Franklin's writings was necessarily due to Franklin's influence.
Our collection, however, contains too many proverbs given wide
currency by the popularity of Franklin's publications for us to
ignore them here. Indeed, if the fact that one connnunication sent
in to Professor Brown contained four proverbs, and only four, all
found in both Poor Richard and the Jl'av to Wealth, means any-
thing beyond the most remarkable coincidence, then the present
collection is, to that degree, based directly on Franklin.**''
An inevitable question, but more easy to ask than to answer, is
How many of the sayings are native to North Carolina? The
question is not only difficult to answer, it is also dangerous, for
after an investigator has persuaded himself that a proverb orig-
inated in a particular locality and goes on record to that efYect,
there is a distinct possibility that someone else will demonstrate
*^ For the proverbs found in Franklin's writings, see Bag (3), Bed
(i). Blacksmith, *Boats, Borroimng, Carcass, Cat (23). *Coztf (14),
Dropping, Egg (3), *Expcricncc, *Fox (9), God (9), Kitchen, Leak,
*Mcal barrel, Money (3), *Moves, Nose (5), Pleasure (i). Plow, sb.
(2). *Floii; vb.. Rise, vb.. Sack (2), Shop, *Slecpiiig, *Strokes, Time
(10), Water (14), Word (8). An asterisk indicates a proverb which,
at least in its distinctive form, has not been recorded before Franklin.
It might be added that among the languages into which the ll'ay to
Wealth was translated was Gaelic, where it was printed in Donald
Macintosh's A Collection of Gaelic Proverbs and Familiar Phrases
(Edinburgh, 1785).
340 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
that it had been current for centuries in Belorussia or Zambesi. The
most polyglottic paroemiologist would hesitate to be unduly dog-
matic, even though he could fall back, if pressed, on "independent
origins." Some sayings, not so often proverbs as proverbial
phrases, betray their origin distinctly by turns of idiom or mate-
rial references. In the present collection there are a number of
sayings which, if not native to North Carolina, are fairly certain
to have been coined in one or another of the Southern states. Such
are, for examples, As big as a bale of cotton; As ugly as a mud
barn ; As pore as a bear that's wintered up in the balsams ; As red
as a bear's ass in pokeberry time ; As hollow as a bee-gum ; There
is something dead up the branch ; As ragged as a buzzard, and the
other buzzard sayings; As white as cotton; A cotton stalk too close
to the weed Will find the hoe gives it no heed; As po' as an empty
creek bottom ; As soft as cush ; As drunk as a doodle ; As touchous
as your eye; As snug as a flea under a nigger's collar; Poor folks
have poor ways, rich folks hateful ones ; God can't rope a mule-
headed cow by the horns ; As green as a gourd, and the other
gourd sayings ; As wild as a hayit ; As ill as a hornet ; Hop like old
jim crow; Not worth a june-bug with a cat bird after her; As
sound as a lightwood knot; As straight as a martin to his gourd;
She saves the lasses (molasses) skimmins ; Shines like new money;
As slow as a pokey moonshine; As ugly as a mud fence daubed
with misery or with terrapins or trimmed with tar ; Gray 7mdes
never die, they turn into Baptist preachers ; A dead nigger in the
woodpile, and the other Negro-nigger sayings; Smelled like a nest
of granddaddies ; As gray as an opossum; He is too lazy to work on
a pie train, an' him runnin' the taster ; As red as a polkberry ; Put
the big pot in the little one and fry the skillet ; Never bet on 'taters
(potatoes) 'fore grabbling time; As small as a redbug; Fattened
up like a piny-ridge rooter in chestnut time ; He kin weed his own
rozv and keep it clean too ; Sap-risin time is lovin' time and a lone-
some heart ain't good to bear; Rattles like shots in a gourd; She'll
put a spider in your biscuit ; He's as crazy about licker as a steer
is pond water; As fat as a Christmas turkey; As good as old ivheat
in the mill; As poor as a whippoorzvill; We go [at] it like a whirl-
zvind of woodpeckers; Arms a-going like zvinding blades; Bad as
de zvinter of de big snow in '57 when de nails popped on de roofs;
I'd be a good zvork hand myself ef I could do hit with my tongue.
These sayings, and any reader can easily increase the list, bear
the appearance of Southern origin, but it is impossible to demon-
strate that any of them are surely peculiar to North Carolina. In
a few cases it is possible to make an interesting, though not con-
clusive comparison. H. E. Taliaferro's Fisher's River ( North
Carolina) Scenes and Character s,^^' a volume not unlike, and prob-
«" New York, 1859.
PROVERBS 341
ably inspired by, A. B. Longstreet's Georgia Scenes, is unusually
rich in proverbial expressions,"^" many of which were still current
in North C^arolina when the materials for the present collections
were brought together. Of these the following are found only in
Taliaferro, sometimes with a slight difference, and here: As snug
as a flea under a nigger's collar; Shines like new money; He kin
weed his own row and keep it clean too; He's as crazy about licker
as a steer is pond water; As good as old zvlicat in the mill; We go
at [it] like a wlnrhvind o' woodpeckers.**^ That these sayings
should he current in North Carolina over a period of fifty to
seventy-five years, ^^ and not have been recorded elsewhere, suggests
at the very least a strong localization.
Place names and, to a lesser degree, personal names often make
it possible to locate the origins of sayings very exactly indeed.
Unfortunately few of the sayings in the present collection contain
such guides. We do find the names of a few Southern states in
such sayings as. As slow as a train through Arkansas; Passed like
a bat out of Georgia;^*' Kicks like a Kentucky vinle; As high as a
Georgia pine; As rare as Republicans in South Carolina. There is
no mention of North Carolina as a state, and only one saying which
contains local place names, but that is a striking example of the
individualism of the mountain people. Laurel Top, in the Great
Smokies, is some 5500 feet high and must look down across ten
miles of other peaks at Smokemont, a mere 3000 feet above sea-
level. It was a proud resident on exclusive Laurel who coined the
sentence, Fd rather be a knot in a log on Laurel than to live down
at Smokemont. Asheville and Charlotte, to say nothing of Durham
and Winston-Salem, may take notice !
Personal names are even less helpful than place names. Around
Vilas, in Watauga county, As smart as Beard's fiste was a com-
mon expression, but who Beard was and how his "fiste" earned
notoriety we do not know. Equally obscure are As hot as Bray's
love; Dick and the wheel in a tight place; Upon the honor of Joe
Dyer the Dutchman ; As hot as Kit's glove ; Take off like Snyder's
pup ; As crazy as Tom Tyler's old bitch. '^^ On two occasions the
informants gave the story behind a saying. As many as Carter had
oats is particularly interesting, though we once are told that Carter
was an inhabitant of Georgia. Thought like Jack Robinson springs
'^ See Southern Folklore Quarterly, xi (1947). 173-185, for the
proverbs in Fisher's River and some account of the author.
** Taliaferro, who uses the comparison twice, has zvhirlygust for
whirkcind.
*" Really longer, as Taliaferro says that "The scenes and stories found
in the work were enacted and told between the years 1820 and 1829"
(p. 13).
"" Georgia has been substituted, appropriately or not, for the more
ordinary hell.
"^ Tom Tyler's name was semiproverbial in England in the sixteenth
century, as witnessed by the play that bears it.
342 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
from an incident alleged to occur on the Neuse River, although the
outline of the story suggests an ancient fabliau plot.
Among the proverbs which have not been found elsewhere in
even approximate parallels are many so good and so evidently
popular that one is surprised, almost chagrined, at the apparent ab-
sence of other examples : Some specimens, most of which have the
true touch, deserve quotation: Well armed is half the battle; The
back pays for what the mouth eats ; A dirty bread tray tells of a
wasteful wife; Compliment another man's wife and endanger your
life; He and the dez'il drink out of the same jug; Evil disposi-
tions are early shown; Even bad dogs shouldn't bite at Christmas;
Never driz'c in where you can't turn around ; Don't neglect your
own field to plant your neighbor's ; Better to die on your feet
than live on your knees; Never complain to the feet when the
soul is heavy ; God can't cook breakfast with a snowball ; Don't
wait for your Granjiy's side saddle ; Like cutting from the leg to
add to the arm; Good liquor needs no water; An angry man opens
his mouth and shuts his eyes ; One-legged man better dance away
from the fire; Limber necks live longer'n stiff 'uns ; A^eed lends
speed ; The old make laws, the young die for them ; Plans on Sun-
day fail on Monday; Poverty is a hard bedfellow; Out of reach
is out of harm; You won't travel no good road ef you cross a
crooked style to git into it; Better save a man from dying than
salve him when he is dead ; The sea cannot be measured in a quart
pot; Sun is the poor man's clock; Thriftiness is the same thing as
stinginess; If you associate with trash, you'll flounder with trash;
Four zvalls do not make a home ; Wcddin' without courtin' is like
vittles without salt ; Don't wait to dig a ivcll to drown the cat in.
No doubt a more exhaustive search of printed collections, espe-
cially perhaps in foreign tongues, would have furnished other in-
stances of many of these, but even if that be true they bear striking
witness to the wealth of our proverbial lore and to the need for
more diligent and systematic investigation. The extensive gather-
ing of proverbs now being undertaken throughout the states by the
American Dialect Society should do much to remedy our present
deficiency.
To make a thoroughgoing analysis of the content of the proverbs
in our collection in an attempt to depict the ideals, ideas, and mate-
rial surroundings of the human beings who use them would be be-
yond the scope of this introduction. Some specific comments and
a few generalizations, however, may not be without interest. A
convenient, if obvious, w-ay to arrive at the material background of
the proverbs is to observe the relative number of occurrences of
the things on which the imagery of the sayings is based. For that
purpose we may list the objects, and also the abstract concepts,
which appear four or more times as key words of the various say-
PROVERBS 343
ings.''- Thus doy'-^'-'' leads the list with 54 occurrences; it is fol-
lowed by the devil with .v'^ ; uian with .^5:'" <('' \vith 25 ;^"' bird
and hcn^*^ with 24 each; horse with 23 ;'••' hell with 21; rfaji with
17; fOii',-''* (7(7(/, and Tt'('»(/ with 16 each; hog with 15 ;'■♦'■' bear, pig,
and »i»/r with 14 each; death, stwke, and water with 13 each; baby
(and 6a6t'). A't'^/ro (and nigger), night, and /f»u^ with 12 each; /zr^,
ro^r, and ivoman with 11 each; and fish, goose, and /!r«(/ with 10
each. Below 10 the number of objects increases rapidly. There are
9 references to bee, fox, penny, and shoe; 8 to child, dove, eye, kit-
ten, money, pin. rat. and stone; 7 to chicken, cricket, crozv, dirt,
dollar, duck, eagle, feather, fozcl, frog. lo7'e. 07el. stick, sun. trouble,
and zvord; 6 to bell, blind (man), briad. brick, egg. finger, foot,
gold, hand. horn, hound, leaf, lightning, nose, pot, rain, .yco,^'^** snow,
and zveather: 5 to bat. beginning, best, bug, bull, clothes, colt, ele-
phant, flea, friend, hair, heart. Job, life, lion, mouse, mud, needle,
ox, pie, potato, rock, sin, star, steel, thing, tree, turkey, ivhistle, and
zvork; 4 to Adam, air, arroiv, bark (of a dog), basket, bean-pole,
beauty, blood, bone. boy. breeches, butter, button, buzzard, calf,
candle, coal, dead, dust. ear. end. floiver. fly. ghost, glass, goat,
grave, hawk, house, ice. (the) itcli. king. lark, louse, master, mon-
key, mountain, nothing, ocean, rabbit, rainboze. rake, rooster, sheep,
silk. sky. string, tick. zvax. wedge, well (of water), wolf, wool,
and year.
Clearly enough the imagery of proverbs^''^ springs from the com-
mon objects of everyday experience at its simplest level: men,
women, and children, the parts of the body, day and night, animals,
birds, and insects,'"- the weather, money, plants and trees, food,
almost everything is ordinary and commonplace. In the world of
proverbs there has been no industrial revolution, no "improvements,"
no modern science. We are still in a predominantly agricultural
community where work is done by hand and horse, and day-long
"- The procedure is, of course, rough and ready, since it ignores all
but the words used for alphabetization, hut the results are nevertheless
indicative, and that is all that is claimed for them.
"■■' If we add hound, pup. and puppy to dog. the total is increased to 66.
"* The number of proverbs listed under man has little or no meaning
because of the general nature of a majority of the references.
"■■' If we add kitten we get a total of 33.
"" If we add chicken, rooster, and bantam we get a total of 37.
"'If we add colt we get a total of 28.
"* If we add bull, calf, and ox we get a total of 25.
*" If we add pig and sow we get a total of 32.
^°°If we add ocean we get a total of lo.
^"^ The lists just given account for almost e.xactly half of our say-
ings ; to have drawn from all would have served only to increase the
proportion of abstractions, but not their relative importance.
i»2 Very nearly a third of the objects listed are animals, birds, or in-
sects, and only three of these, the monkey, the lion, and the elephant,
are in anv wav uncommon.
344 NORTH CAROLIXA FOLKLORE
hours of labor are a necessary virtue and. in proverbs at least, the
way to wealth. We might think to find all this a particular reflec-
tion of North Carolina, a state, despite its recent industrialization
and big- business, factory cities and resort towns, still characterized
by isolated mountain cabins, small farms, and medium-sized com-
munities. It is. of course, a reflection of such a state, but the
same general picture may be drawn from any collection of prov-
erbs from almost any country or region. Proverbial lore may
some day assimilate itself to mechanized modern civilization, but
it has not done so yet.
Abstractions are understandably few in the four-and-more cate-
gories. We find beauty, beginning, best, death, life, hnr, nothing,
sin. and time; and even these are often used concretely enough. A
fairly safe generalization is that the proverbs of the English-
speaking peoples contain fewer abstractions than those of some
Continental and most Asiatic linguistic groups. In the field of re-
ligion we find the devil having a better than two-to-one advantage
over God, and while this may seem odd in a pious, perhaps even
fundamentalist, area, it holds in English proverbs generally.i*'^ If
we venture to compare hell with heaven, the disparity is even more
striking, since hell appears 21 times and heaven only 3. and of these,
two use heavens as synonymous with sky, and the third has it as
an apparent euphemism for God. Beyond a general reference to the
mingled piety and depravity of human nature and, more important,
to the many similes involving hell and the devil, no explanation
seems to be required.
If we wish to test the attitude of the folk toward some topic of
common interest and concern, we might well see what our proverbs
have to say about women. Proverbs, as a whole, are either blatantly
misogynistic or at best take a skeptical view of feminine qualities
and achievements. Despite the fact that women have normally con-
stituted half or better of the earth's population, have their share
of intelligence, are at least as vocal as men, and are certainly adept
at verbal improvisation, they have not composed or inspired many
proverbs in their praise. Chaucer's Wife of Bath made the
acute observation, along with her other pronouncements on life,
love, and letters, that the reason women are so harshly treated in
literature is that scholars in their enfeebled dotage do the writing.
"Who painted the lion," she asked, though not plaintively, "tell me
who?" True as this sweeping iudgment may be so far as written
literature goes, proverbs were not written, few of them were thrown
ofif by scholars, and one niiglit think a woman as likely to coin a
^"^ Apperson's entries run in aliout the same proportions, although God
does rather better in Oxford. For further evidence as to Satan's popu-
larity in proverbial sayings, the curious reader may consult Whiting,
"The Devil and Hell in Current English Literary Idiom." Harvard
Studies and Notes in PhUolociy and Literature, x.\ (IQ38). 201-247.
P R 0 \' 1-. K H s 345
good sayiiii;- as a man. Still ami all, whatever the reason, proverbs
are basically anti feminine, although our North Carolina collection
does not contain some of the more abusive and spiteful sayings.
Women are charged with wastefulness: A wasteful wife throws
out in tlie dishwater more'n her husband can tote in; A wasteful
ii<omo)i throws out with a spoon faster than her husband can fetch
in with a shovel; (She) throwcd more out the backdoor than her
old man could tote in the front; A dirty bread tray tells of a waste-
ful wife. Women will not listen to reason, like to have their own
way. and even to dominate their husbands : Three without rule —
a mule, a pig. a woman; A zwman convinced against her will, Is
of the same opinion still ;^''^ She wears the breeches in that family.
Women are inconstant : As changeable as a woman ; Between a
woman's "yes" and a woman's "no" There's not enough room for
a pin to go. Women are quick to find explanations for their con-
duct: A zi'oman's excuses are like her apron, easily lifted. Women
are often ill-favored: so ugly look like they been driven out of hell
for playing in the ashes; and when they are comely there is usually
a hitch : Good looks in a zvoman haint wuth as much to a man as
good cookin' and savin' ways ; Beauty never made kettle boil ; Seed
lots of beauty but never et a mess of it. Women talk excessively:
Her tongue moved like a clapper in a cowbell; A woman will have
the last word. Women are responsible for the evil in men: A bad
zvoman will ruin any man; and if this seems offset by A good zvife
makes a good husband, in actual application the latter saying is
used to shift responsibility for misconduct from husband to wife.
Women are sometimes promiscuous: His [sic] a poor dummern
that can't daddy her youngun by hits favor. Women indulge in
extremes of fashion: It's a wise child that knows his own mother
in a bathing-suit.'"'' Women are affected in manners: A dainty
lady takes a pin to eat a pea. Women's misfortunes are turned
against them: A hairy man's rich, A hairy wife's a witch. Women
who lose their husbands are too easily consoled for the loss: The
three merriest things under the sun : a cat's kitten, a goat's kid, and
a young widow. Widows make expensive wives : He that marries
a widozv with two daughters has three back doors to his house.^"®
Women are denied certain masculine privileges and slandered if
they assume them: A zvhistling girl and a crowing hen Always
come to some bad end or A zvhistling woman and a crowing hen
^"^ This saying is more often applied to iiuii or to Ininian beings in
general.
^""^ This adaptation of a saying in itself a reflection on wifely fidelity
is one of the infrequent examples of the eflfect of modern civilization on
our group of proverbs.
^*"' These references to widows, the only ones in the present collection,
are mild in comparison with the general run of proverbs on the subject.
346 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
Are neither fit for God nor nien.^*'" As an instance of hovv prov-
erbs are often contradictory we also have A whistling girl and
a bleating sheep Are the best stock a farmer can keep, but this
has the deprecatory form, A zvliistling girl and an old black sheep
Are the only things a farmer can keep. There are Wellerisms r^"^
Every little bit helps, said the old woman as she spat in the sea.^"^
and Every one (man) to his own taste, said the old woman as she
kissed the cow.^^" Of the remaining proverbs, one is objective:
An old zifouian's dance is soon over, but it may carry a reproof to
any old woman so unmindful of her years as to dance; another is
apparently neutral: Like mother, like daughter, and is matched by
Like father, like son, but both proverbs are usually used in reproof
rather than praise; the third alone is clearly on woman's side: Man
works from sun to sun; Woman's work is never done.m but the
sense is not such as to make a girl's heart leap up as she looks
speculatively from brook to river. The proverbial cards are braz-
enly stacked against the sex, but there is probably no good reason
to accuse the folk of more antifeminism than circumstances occa-
sionally seem to warrant. One may indeed suspect that women,
not always overly charitable toward an erring sister, are more apt
to use proverbs against women than are men. Other groups of
sayings, perhaps especially those dealing with animals, invite con-
sideration, but the rest must be left to those readers who care to
make an essay in proverbial philosophy.
After this discussion of the more general aspects of the prov-
erbs in the Frank C. Brown Collection, it is necessary before pre-
senting the collection to furnish some more particular account of
its origin and nature, and of the way in which it has been edited.
The present collection of proverbial material made within the
boundaries of North Carolina is one of the most extensive aggre-
gations of popular sayings so far printed from any one of the
states of the American Union. The regional collection of proverbs
has not been pressed as actively in the United States as in many
of the countries of Europe, and the following collection is due not
to any directed and concerted effort of systematic survey but to
the combination of four separate bodies of material. These four
groups are: the sayings in the Brown Collection itself; sayings col-
lected by Paul and Elizabeth Green in eastern and central North
^"'^ There are twelve distinct variants of this common proverb from
North Carolina alone. A parallel proverb is A sad barnyard where
the hen crows louder than the cock.
"* Wellerisms are curiously infrequent in the present collection ; in
addition to the two involving women there are only Great cry but little
wool, as the devil said when he sheared his hogs and That will be a
fire when it burns, as the fox said.
^'"' The more common version of this saying involves tlio old woman
in an even less decorous act.
^^^ It is often a farmer who kisses the cow.
'"The second half is found by itself in North Carolina.
PROVERBS 347
Carolina between I()j6 and 1928; a second i^roni) excerpted by Mr.
Green "frDni i)ersonal interviews made and recorded in Chapel
Hill by W'PA workers between 1934 and k;^^" ; and a collection of
similes made by Professor j. D. Clark from students at North
Carolina State College and printed as "Similes from the Folk Speech
of the South : A Supplement to Wilstach's Compilation" in South-
ern Folklore Quarterly, iv (1940), 205-226. Mr. and Mrs. Green
anil Professor Clark turned their materials over to the General
Editor of the Brown Collection, with their gracious permission to
use them in any way. The bulk of the total collection made it
impossible to print it in its entirety, and it was one of the tasks
of the section editor to select those savin.ii^s which seemed most
truly popular and representative. It will be well to give a brief
description of the various component parts.
( I ) When the magnitude of the Frank C. Brown Collection as
a wliole is considered, the relatively small number of proverbs which
it includes suggests strongly that Professor Brown was not espe-
cially interested in the accumulation of proverbs. The proverbial
sayings in the Brown Collection were found in separate groups,
varying greatly in iniml)er of items, usually, but not always, with
the name and native county of the contributor. From a comparison
of the names given with the records of Duke University it is clear
that from time to time Professor Brown procured lists of sayings
from students in his courses in folklore both during the regular
terms and in Summer School. One former student, for example,
loaned the General Editor a group of sayings which had been col-
lected for Professor Brown by members of his class in folklore in
1922. Since some of the sayings in this compilation are also found
in the same order of occurrence in certain of the anonymous con-
tributions, it appears that part, at least, of the material assembled
by the class in 1922 found its way into the Brown Collection twice.
An examination of the records also shows that considerable em-
phasis was placed on sayings during the Summer Schools of 1922
and 1923, particularly the latter. The appearance of a number of
uncommon, or individually worded, phrases in all or most of the
collections from these years indicates that a short checklist was
presented to the students and that they were invited to note the
sayings with which they were familiar and to add others which
might occur to them. The smallness of many of the collections
would indicate that this was a single exercise of no great impor-
tance. A more extensive use of the checklist method, and one
which lias left its mark on tlie i)resent collection, was made in
i')32. .\{ tliat time a numl)er of students were confronted witli
the "Virginia Folk-Sayings," which Bennett W. Green prefixed
to his Word-Book of Virginia Folk-Speech,^^- and asked to list the
"^Richmond, 1899, pp. 17-36,
34? NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
sayings known to them. The Brown Collection contains seven
papers based on this comparison, in which the Virginia collection
is lined up respectively against material from Richmond, Va. ;
Illinois, ]\Iaine, and Pennsylvania ; Mobile, Alabama ; Kentucky,
Tennessee, and North Carolina ; North Carolina and South Caro-
lina; "other states, mostly southern"; and South Carolina. Fur-
ther, a compilation from these papers, and possibly others, with
the various states listed after each saying, was made and placed
in the collection without names or comment. Because Green's list
was followed, for the most part, conscientiously, a number of ver-
sions of sayings peculiar to him in phraseology are necessarily en-
tered in the present collection. Green on occasion would give an
explanation of a specific saying; thus, "He is eating his white
bread now (said of a person living at his ease and comfort, whose
fortune may be worse later)." The exact form, gloss and all,
appears in the Brown Collection.^ ^'^ Although one might silently
omit any verbiage obviously drawn from Green, it has seemed
wiser to give all sayings exactly as they appear in the originals,
and I have indicated in the reference to Green wherever the form
of the entry is a verbatim copy of his version. In a great majority
of cases, of course, Green's form is standard and virtually identical
with the entries in all collections.
Other groups of proverbs were given to Professor Brown at
various times by individual students, and still others were sent him,
mostly before 1920, by correspondents, presumably members of,
or persons interested in, the North Carolina Folklore Society. Two
valuable contributors were Mrs. Gertrude Allen Vaught and Mrs.
Maude Minnish Sutton. Professor Brown's material contains the
typescript of a paper by Mrs. Sutton, entitled "Dialect and Prov-
erbs of Mountain Folk," from which a number of sayings have been
drawn.
With the exception of a handful of phrases which, though idio-
matic, are in no way proverbial, and a small number of familiar
quotations from literature, the sayings in the Brown Collection are
all entered below.
(2) The materials turned over to the General Editor by Paul
and Elizabeth Green are part of an extensive collection of "Folk
Beliefs and Practices in Central and Eastern North Carolina" col-
lected in 1926-28. The proverbs fill pages 249-365 of the original
typescript, which is preserved in the Library of the University of
North Carolina (VC 398 G 79). The collection is in two sections:
proverbs and the like (pp. 249-343) and similes (pp. 344-365).
Paul Green sent the General Editor the following statement con-
cerning the manner in whicli the proverbs were brought together:
"^ The saying is independently quoted from South Carolina (see
Bread (5) below), and is unquestionably current in North Carolina
as well.
PROVERBS 349
W'c traveled artmnd in eastern Nurth Cartjlina quite a liit in an old
Ford car back in 1927 and '28, and we talked to hundreds and hundreds
of people of all walks and stations of life in that region. We would
always raise the subject of "old sayings," stimulating our informants
with references to some well-known ones of our own, etc. We gathered
a great many proverbs this way. Then also w^e searched in our own
remembrance for those we had lieard. Although my father had died
a year or two before this project was underway, I imagine I set down
at least a hundred which I had heard him use, such as "willful waste
makes woeful want," "a fat today makes a hungry tomorrow," etc. Then
also Elizabeth and 1 went through a great number of proverb collections
and thus refreshed our memory as to those we had actually heard or
wliich some of our informants had heard. In addition to this we sent
out hundreds and hundreds of questionnaires, which among items of
superstitions, health, cures, etc., carried a heading calling for proverbs. I
am sure that our methods were quite unscientific, and no doubt through
the "consonance" of memory we caught some literary bits in our fishing
nets. So that is the way it was. And what among those proverbs is
good sound folklore and what is contaminated by the subjective imagi-
nation I cannot tell at this distance. But I would hazard a guess that
about ninety percent of the stuflf is authentic — maybe more.
The Greens' first section contains approximately 1650 items,
though the somewhat loose alphabetical arrangement, partly by key
word and partly by theme, leads to some duplication, but consider-
ably less than half of these entries were available for the present
collection. The astonishing thing about the Greens' collectanea,
something which deserves more attention than space permits here,
is its literary quality. Not only were many of the informants evi-
dently letter-perfect in the Bible from cover to cover, but they were
also ready to quote from a very considerable number of authors.
The first page of the typescript contains fifteen items, of which
the following can hardly be termed popular :i^'* Absolom, my son!
(Bible) ; Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh
(Bible); Act in the living present (Longfellow); Act well your
part, there all the honor lies (Pope) ; Thou shalt not commit
adultery (Bible) ; Whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after
her hath committed adultery with her already in his own heart
(Bible); Agree with thine adversary (juickly while thou art in
the way with him (Bible) ; Sweet are the uses of adversity (Shake-
speare) ; Many receive advice but few profit by it (Publius Syrus).
Each of the following pages affords almost as many examples:
]Make no entangling alliances (Jefiferson out of Washington) ; All
we ask is to be let alone (J. Davis) ; Wliat therefore God hath
joined together let no man jjut asunder (Bible); Beauty is truth,
truth beauty (Keats) ; A Ijoy's will is the wind's will (Longfellow) ;
None but the brave deserve the fair (Dryden); Brevity is the
soul of wit (Shakespeare) ; Casey has struck out (E. L. Thayer) ;
*** The present editor has supplied, perhaps presumptuously, the paren-
thetical identifications.
350 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
The curfew tolls the knell of parting day (Gray) ; Orthodoxy is
my doxy (Warburton) ; The poetry of earth is never dead (Keats) ;
We have met the enemy and they are ours (O. H. Perry) ; The
eyes are windows of the soul (Du Bartas) ; For old, unhappy, far-
off things and battles long ago (Wordsworth) ; The glory that was
Greece, the grandeur that was Rome (Poe) ; I am the master of
my fate, I am the captain of the same (Henley, with a difference) ;
Judy O'Grady and the Colonel's lady are sisters under the skin
(Kipling, with a diff'erence) ; What is so rare as a day in June?
(Lowell): Loaf and invite your soul (Whitman, with a differ-
ence) ; A man's a man for all that (Burns) ; Even Homer nods
(Horace) ; Stone walls do not a prison make (Lovelace) ; The
rainbow comes and goes (Wordsworth) ; Bless me, this is pleasant
riding on a [sic] rail (J. G. Saxe) ; Be sure you are right, then
go ahead (D. Crockett); To scotch the snake not kill it (Shake-
speare) ; Why should the spirit of mortal be proud? (W. Knox) ;
Survival of the fittest (H. Spencer) ; Suspicion haunts the guilty
mind (Shakespeare) ; Truth crushed to earth will rise again (Bry-
ant) ; There never was a good war nor a bad peace (Franklin) ;
When [a] lovely woman stoops to folly (Goldsmith) ; Wood-
man, spare that tree (G. P. Morris); Alas, poor Yorick (Shake-
speare ) . This chrestomathy, which could have been extended almost
indefinitely, and which scarcely suggests the enormous number of
Biblical quotations, is given primarily for its reflection of the high,
if orthodox, literary level of the Greens' informants and as a hint
to anyone who may wish to investigate the influence of printed and
religious sources on the stream of popular speech. No one would
pretend that such quotations belong in a collection of folk sayings,
but their value in determining the course of American civilization
on a particular level cannot be ignored. Once the learned and
extraneous matter has been excised, the proverbial sayings brought
together by the Greens are found to afford many of the most inter-
esting examples in the present collection. The reason for this is
that along with the purveyors of Biblical quotations and literary
tags, the Greens' informants obviously included many persons close
to the soil.
In contrast with the group just discussed, the Greens' similes,
which number just under 600, contain very few phrases of a purely
"literary" nature, though we do find "As beautiful as Adonis,"
which certainly is not popular, and "Heads bowed down like the
lonesome bulrush,'' which is certainly Biblical. There are more
of this sort, but the overwhelming majority of the similes are en-
tered in the present collection.
(3) Paul Green's sayings collected as part of a Works Progress
Admini.stration project between 1934 and 1936 are not numerous
and are almost all truly popular, for the project writers and
journalists interviewed hundreds of individuals in Chapel Hill and
P R O V K K H S 351
tlie surrinnuliiii; countryside and collected l)io!4i-aphical and socio-
loirical material. The result was a great mass of life histories of
I)eople most, though not necessarily all, of whom were in the lower
income and social hrackets. Paul Green went through the manu-
scripts, extracting the more interesting episodes and turns of speech,
among which were the proverbs and sayings. There are few
similes. The informants here are clearly far less well educated
than many of those used by the Greens for their earlier collection,
and there is evidence that the group contained more Negroes and
possibly persons of foreign birth.
(4) As J. D. Clark's "Similes from the Folk Speech of the
South" is already in print, little need be said of it. In his head
note Professor Clark says that "credit is due to some seventy-five
unnamed students who assisted me in collecting and preparing this
list of folk similes, during the session of 1939-1940 at North Caro-
lina State College." In an unpublished paper, found among Pro-
fessor Brown's "Term Papers," Professor Clark tells more precisely
how the collection was made. A "simile competition" was held and
"prizes of three dollars and two dollars were promised respectively
to those two students who could submit the two most numerous lists
of similes." The resulting entries showed "a range from seventy
to 550." When preparing the similes for publication, Professor
Clark omitted 318 similes which were in Wilstach and a handful
of obscene comparisons. He was kind enough, however, to furnish
the section editor with the similes which were already entered by
Wilstach and with a list of the "indecent" figures. The improper
similes, by the way, were twenty-five in number and pretty mild
as folk-obscenity goes. Several of them were also found in the
Brown Collection or in the Greens' contributions, and fourteen are
included in the present collection. A number of these are so
innocuous that few readers are likely to suspect that they had once
been on an index. The 318 similes which were in Wilstach as well as
Clark are used below and about 850 out of Clark's remaining 2,026
entries. A good many of those unused give the appearance of
owing their existence to a laudable desire to do well in Professor
Clark's competition. The collection as printed in the Southern
Folklore Quarterly is very interesting and should be consulted by
every student of popular sayings.
The present section is an amalgamation of those items from the
four collections just described which seem to the editor most
popular in origin and nature. Space would not permit the printing
of all the material, and even had the pages available been limitless,
there might well have been more loss than gain in presenting the
reader with everything. The Biblical, literary, and artificial nature
of many of the examples would make the collection seem a curiously
amorphous and unreal potpourri of "learned" quotations and popular
sayings. As it is, incomplete though it must be, the collection is
352 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
a good and representative cross section of the proverbial and fig-
urative speech of a population whose ethnic origins are sufficiently
varied to deserve the often misleading description of typically
American.
The task of selection is not an easy one. and it has not been
undertaken lightly. The determination of what is or is not popular
is plain in most cases if one is at all familiar with proverbial and
sententious utterances, but often enough there is a genuine doubt
which must be resolved by a subjective judgment. Subjective judg-
ments being what they are, it is unlikely that two equally competent
critics would be unanimous in their decisions on any given number
of sayings. The editor, though guided somewhat by a regard for
space, has been inclusive rather than exclusive. Certain nonpopular
sayings, indeed, are presented because they appear in one or more
of the standard collections.
The sayings are in a single alphabetical arrangement. Under
certain circumstances, notably when the proverbial material in a
literary work or group of works is under consideration, when, in
other words, the stylistic use of proverbs is of importance, it is
advisable to make certain subdivisions — proverbs, sententious re-
marks, proverbial comparisons, and other proverbial phrases. Such
segregation might, though perhaps not wisely, be used to break
down a very large collection of regional or national proverbs. In
a relatively small group, however, such as ours, the benefit, what-
ever it might be, of seeing all the similes, say, together, would be
outweighed by the inconvenience which several alphabetical lists
force upon the reader who desires to discover whether or not a
particular saying had been reported from North Carolina.
The method of alphabetization employed here is simple and has
been adhered to as rigidly as any such system can ever be followed
sensibly, that is, most, but not all, of the time. Each saying is
placed under the first important noun; if there is no important
noun, under the first important verb; and if there is no important
noun or verb, which is seldom, under the first important adjective
or adverb. There are, fortunately, no sayings here which contain
only pronouns, conjunctions, and prepositions. That this system is
the most convenient for the user will hardly be denied by anyone
who has discovered how much more convenient are Apperson's^^*''
arrangement and that of the second edition of the Oxford Diction-
ary, in comparison with that of almost any other dictionary of
proverbs, and even they mingle two systems to the occasional dis-
advantage of both. If space had been available the editor would
have given cross references to other important words within the
given sayings. Similes, for example, are entered in many collections
under the adjective rather than the noun, and there might be some
"" For this and similar apparently casual references, see the Bibli-
ography, below.
P R O V F. R H S 353
advatitaire in liavint,' all tlie •'yellow" figures together, rather than
under "hutter," "gold," and so on. It is unlikely, however, that a
collection of this kind will be consulted, as Wilstach's Dictionary
of Similes might be, by someone desiring an artful way of express-
ing yellowness. Of far greater importance is to give prominence
to the substantial things on which the speakers have drawn for pur-
poses of comparison. When more than one proverb falls under one
key word, the sayings are alphabetized by their first words. The
original forms of the proverbs are given exactly as they appear in
the collections, saving the silent correction of occasional transposed
letters, except that all similes begin with "as,"^^" which has the
marked advantage of bringing together all the comparisons involving
a particular object. Only in the Frank C. Brown Collection, and
not consistently there, are the names and localities of informants
given. Because of the general lack of such particulars, it would
be worse than useless to reproduce scattering indications of pro-
venience. When a saying is recorded more than once the number
of occurrences is given in parentheses immediately after the saying,
but the methods (see above) used in Professor Brown's classes
should be remembered before any conclusions are drawn from the
apparent frequency of certain sayings.
Editorial apparatus has been kept at a minimum, and temptations
to add discursive, interpretive notes have ordinarily been sup-
pressed. What seems overwhelmingly important in a collection like
this is to make it possible for the user to refer to standard works,
especially those which contain historical illustrations and explana-
tions of the sayings in question. A number of collections of a
general nature have been cited or quoted throughout i^^' these are:
Apperson, Berrey, Hyamson, NED, Oxford, Partridge, Tilley,^^^
and Wilstach. For specifically American sources, the following have
been cited as fully as possible: Bond, Bradley. DAE. Green, Han-
ford, Hardie, Poor Richard, Taliaferro, JVay to Wealth, and Wood-
ard. Other works in the Bibliography are cited or quoted only when
they offer an interesting parallel or illustrate a saying not found
in the more comprehensive collections. In addition the editor has
drawn on his own highly miscellaneous collectanea for examples of
sayings not found in edited collections, and here he has seldom
given more than one example even though it would have been pos-
sible to multiply references. In many cases no exact parallel has
been found, although something more or less approximate in form
or sense can be brought forward. There are nearly 2660 sayings
^^'' Clark consistently omits the initial "as," while the other collections
have it in some cases and not in others.
^^' Because of the diverse, and sometimes chaotic, arrangements of
these authorities, the editor is well aware that he must have been guilty
of occasional, perhaps frequent, omissions.
"* See T in Bibliography. The references to Tilley were added in
proof.
354
NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
in the collection and over 325 of these are without parallels, either
exact or approximate ; of these some 90 are proverbs or sententious
remarks, over 30 miscellaneous proverbial phrases, and over 200
comparisons or similes.
Finally, the Associate Editor must express his gratitude to the
men and women who actually collected the proverbs from North
Carolina, and his particular indebtedness to the assistance and en-
couragement of the General Editor, the late Newman I. White.
PROVERBS
355
BIBLIOGRAPHY
(Alphabetized l)y the short titles used in the notes)
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Allison Leiah Allison, ■"Folk Speech from Southeastern
Illinois," Hoosicr Folklore, v (1946), 93-102.
Apperson G. L. Apperson, English Proverbs and Proverbial
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Atkinson Mary J. Atkinson, "Familiar Sayings of Old Time
Texans," Publications of the Texas Folk-Lore So-
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Bergen I Fanny D. Bergen, Current Superstitions, IMemoirs
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1896.
Bergen II Fanny D. Bergen, Animal and Plant Lore, Mem-
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Berrey Lester V. Berrey and Melvin Van den Bark, The
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Bigelow John Bigelow, The Wit and Wisdom of the Hay-
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Bohn Henry G. Bohn, A Polyglot of Foreign Proverbs.
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Bond Richmond P. Bond, "Animal Comparisons in Indi-
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Cannell Margaret Cannell, '"Signs, Omens, and Portents in
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coln, Nebraska, 1933, 7-50.
356 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
Champion Selwyn G. Champion, Racial Proz'crbs, London,
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Chenet [Edmond Chenet, ed.], Provcrhcs Ha'iiicus, Port-
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DAE A Dictionary of American English, ed. Sir W. A.
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Davidoff Henry Davidoff, A Jl'orld Treasury of Proverbs,
New York, 1946.
England George A. England, "Rural Locutions of Maine
and Northern New Hampshire," Dialect Notes, iv,
part II (1914), 67-83.
Fauset Arthur H. Fauset, Folklore from Nova Scotia,
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XXIV, New York, 193 1.
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Germans, Lancaster, Pa., 1929.
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Fuller Thomas Fuller, Gnomologia, London, 1816 (1732).
Green Bennett W. Green, Word-book of Virginia Folk-
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Hanford G. L. Hanford, "Metaphor and Simile in Ameri-
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Hardie Margaret Hardie, "Proverbs and Proverbial Ex-
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Harris, G. W. George W. Harris, Sut Lovingood, New York,
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Harris, J. C. Joel C. Harris, Uncle Remus, His Songs and His
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Hearn Lafcadio Hearn, "Gombo Zhcbes." Little Diction-
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D'ialecis, New York, 1885.
Hendricks W. C. Hendricks, Bundle of Troubles and Other
Tarheel Tales, Durham. N. C., 1943.
Hislop Alexander Hislop, The Proc'erbs of Scotland,
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r R o V F. R n s 357
IIolTman W. j. lIolTniaii, "l-'olklort,- cf tlif Pennsylvania
Ck'niians," Journal of .hiicricait I'oUdorc, ii
(1889), 191-202.
Hyainson Albert M. Hyanison, ./ Pictioiuny of linglish
Phrases, London, 1922.
Hyatt Harry M. Hyatt, Folk-Lorc from Adams County,
Illinois, New York, 1935.
Johnson Guy B. Johnson, I' oik Culture on St. Helena
Island, South Carolina, t'liapel Hill, N. C, 1930.
Joyce P. W. Joyce, linglish as ll'c Speak It in Ireland,
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Kelly James Kelly, A Complete Colleetion of Scotish
Pro7'erbs, London, 1721.
Kephart Horace Kephart, "A Word-List from the North
Carolina Mountains," Dialect Xotes, iv, ])art vi
(1917), 407-419-
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Series, ed. Frederick H. Koch, New York, 1941.
Koch n Carolina Folk Comedies, ed. Frederick H. Koch,
New York, 1931.
Lean Collections by Vincent S. Lean of Proferhs (Eng-
lish and Foreign), Folk Lore, and Superstitions,
also Compilations tozvards Dictionaries of Pro-
verbial Phrases and Words, old and disused, Bris-
tol, 1902-4. 4 vols, in 5.
MacAdam Robert MacAdam, "Six Hundred Gaelic Proverbs
Collected in Ulster," Ulster Journal of Archaeology,
VI (1858), 172-183, 250-267, VII (1859), 278-287,
IX ( 1861 ), 223-236.
National National Proi'crbs: Ireland. London: Frank Palmer,
Proverbs: 19 13.
Ireland
NED A Nezv Linglish Dictionary on Historical Prin-
ciples, ed. J. A. H. Murray and others, Oxford,
1884-1928, 10 vols.: re-issued as The Oxford Eng-
lish Dictionary, Oxford. 1933, 12 vols.
NED Suppl. Supplement to A New linglish Dictionary, Oxford,
1933-
Nicolson Alexander Nicolson, A Collection of Gaelic Prov-
erbs and Familiar Phrases, 2\m\ ed., Edinburgh,
1882.
Northall G. F. Nortliall, Folk-Phrases of Four Counties
(Glouc, Staff., ll'aru'.. Wore), English Dialect
Society, j^^, London, 1894.
O'Rahilly Thomas F. O'Rahilly, A .Miscellany of Irish Prov-
erbs, Dublin, 1922.
Oxford W. G. Smith and J. E. Heseltine, Lite O.vford Dic-
tionary of English Proverbs. Second ed., revised
throughout by Sir Paul Harvey, Oxford, 1948.
358 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
PADS Publications of the American Dialect Society.
Paige [Elbridge G. Paige], Dozv's Patent Sermons, by
Dozv, Jr. Second Series, Philadelphia, 1857.
Parler Mary C. Parler, "Word-List from Wedgefield,
South Carolina." Dialect Notes, vi, part 11 (1930).
79-85-
Parsons Elsie C. Parsons, "Riddles and Proverbs from the
Bahama Islands," Journal of American Folklore,
XXXII (1919). 439-441-
Parsons, Elsie C. Parsons, Folk-Lore of the Antilles, French
Antilles and Fnglish, Part in, Memoirs of the American
Folk-Lore Society, xxvi, New York, 1943. Pp.
457-487 contain proverbs.
Partridge Eric Partridge, A Dictionary of Slang and Uncon-
ventional English, New York, 1937.
Partridge, Eric Partridge, Supplement to the First Edition of
Suppl. A Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional Eng-
lish, London, 1938.
Patterson William H. Patterson, A Glossary of Jf'ords in
Use in the Counties of Antrim and Down, English
Dialect Society, London, 1880.
Payne L. W'. Payne, Jr., "A Word-list from East Ala-
bama," Dialect Notes, in, part iv (1908), 279-328,
part V (1909), 343-391-
Pearce Helen Pearce, "Folk Sayings in a Pioneer Family
of Western Oregon," California Folklore Quar-
terly, V (1946), 229-242.
Perkins Anne E. Perkins, "More Notes on Maine Dialect,"
American Speech, v (1929-30), 118-131.
Poor Richard Poor Richard's Almanack, by Benjamin Franklin,
ed. B. E. Smith, New York, 1898.
Roberts T. R. Roberts, The Proverbs of JJ^ales, Penmaen-
mawr, 1885.
Roxburghe The Roxburghc Ballads, eds. Wm. Chappell, J. W.
Ebsworth, London, Hertford, 1871-99. 9 vols.
Smith and Mrs. Morgan Smith and A. W. Eddins, "Wise
Eddins Saws from Texas," in Straight Texas, Publications
of the Texas Folk-Lore Society, xiii (1937), 239-
244.
Snapp Emma L. Snapp, "Proverbial Lore in Nebraska,"
Uniz'ersity of Nebraska Studies in Language, Lit-
erature, and Criticism, xiii (Lincoln. Nebraska,
1933), 53-112.
Spence John Spence, Shetland Folk-I^ore, Lerwick, 1899.
T Morris P. Tilley, A Dictionary of the Proverbs in
England in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Cen-
turies, Ann Arbor, 1950.
P R O \" K R B S
359
Taliaferro [H. K. Taliaferro], Fisher's Rnrr (North Caro-
lina) Scenes ami Characters, by "Skitt," New
York. 1859.
Taylor Archer Taylor, An Index to "The Proverb," FF
Communications, 113, Helsinki, 1934.
Thomas D. L. and L. B. Thomas, Kentucky Superstitions,
Princeton, 1920.
Thornton Richard H. Thornton, An American Glossary, 3
vols.: I-II, Philadelphia, 1912; III, ed. Louise
Hanley, Madison, Wisconsin, 1939.
Tilley See T.
V'aughan H. H. \'aughan. Welsh Proverbs unth English
Translations (also issued as British Reason in Eng-
lish Rhyme), London, 1889.
Way to Wealth The Way to Wealth, Preface to Poor Richard Im-
proved (1758), in The Writings of Benjamin
Franklin, ed. A. H. Smyth (10 vols.). New York,
1905-7, III, 407-418.
Whiting B. J. Whiting, "The Devil and Hell in Current
English Literary Idiom," Harvard Studies and
Xotes in Philology and Literature, xx (1938),
201-247.
Whitney Annie W. Whitney and Caroline C. Bullock, Folk-
Lore from Maryland, Memoirs of the American
Folk-Lore Society, xviii, New York, 1925.
Wilson Sir James Wilson, Lozuland Scotch as Spoken in
the Lower Strathearn District of Perthshire, Lon-
don, 1915.
Wilstach Frank J. W^ilstach, A Dictionary of Similes, new
ed., Boston. 1930.
Wood G. W. Wood, "On the Classification of Proverbs
and Sayings of the Isle of Man," Folk-Lore, v
(1894), 229-274.
Woodard C. M. Woodard, "A Word-list from Virginia and
North Carolina," Publications of the American
Dialect Society, vi (1946), 4-43.
Woofter Carey Woofter, "Dialect Words and Phrases from
Westcentral West Virginia," American Speech, 11
(1926-27), 347-367-
Yankee )'ankee Phrases (a poem), in The Spirit of the
Phrases Public Journals; or, Beauties of the American
Xezi'spapers for 1805, Baltimore, 1806, 114-115.
?60 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
PROVERBS AND PROVERBIAL SAYINGS
A. He doesn't know A from a bull's foot. J. D. Robertson,
A Glossary of Dialect & Archaic Words Used in the
County of Gloucester (Englisb Dialect Society. 6i. Lon-
don. 1890) 186: He don't know a big A [AH] from a
bull's foot. See B below.
ABC. I. As plain as ABC. Wilstach 295.
2. As simple as ABC. Hardie 467 ; Wilstach 355.
Accidents. Accidents will happen in the best of (best regu-
lated) families (2). Apperson i ; Bradley 59; Green 17;
Oxford 2.
Ace of Spades. As black as the ace of spades (3). Berrev
T,2.y ; Hardie 466; Wilstach 497.
Actions. Actions speak louder than words. Bradley 59; Ox-
ford 2 ; Taliaferro 223.
Adam. i. As old as Adam (2). Apperson 466, old D(2) ;
Green 19; Hyamson S; NED Suppl. Adam^ ; Partridge
582 ; T A28.
2. As sure as Adam et the apple.
3. Destroy the old Adam. Oxford 2. Cf . Hyamson 5 ;
Partridge 582 ; T A29.
4. When Adam delved and Eve span. Who was then the
gentleman ? Apperson 2 ; Oxford 2-3 ; Sylvia Resnikow,
"The Cultural History of a Democratic Proverb."
Journal of English and Germanic Philology, xxxvi
O937) 391-405; Taylor 11 ; T A30.
Adder. As dumb as an adder. Cf. Apperson 139: As deaf
as an adder ; Hyamson 1 1 1 ; Taylor 26 ; T A32.
Advice, i. Advice is cheap. Bradley 60.
2. Cheap advice, dear repentance. Cf. Christy i. 10: He
who will not take advice, will have to buy dear repentance.
3. The best advice may come too late. Cf . Apperson 2 : Ad-
vice comes too late when a thing is done; Christy i. 11 :
When error is committed goocl advice comes too late-
TTI59.
Age. I. Age before beauty. Lean iii. 412.
2. Age makes man old. but not better. Cf. Apperson 233,
fox (25). quot. 1892: Men become old, but they never
become good ; Davidofif 8: Age makes many a man white
but not better (Danish).
1' K () V K K H S 3^>I
Air. I. As eniptv as air. Cf. Nl-:!) Empty, 4, quol. 1593.
2. As free as air (3). Apperson 234-5, quot. c. 1625; Ber-
rey 551.17; Hardic 467; Taylor 34; T .\88.
3. As light as air. T A90 ; W'ilstach 233.
4. As vacant as air. W'ilstach 451 .
Alive. As sure (surely) as you're alive (2). Lean ii. 879;
W'ilstach 401.
All. I. All's well that ends well. Apper.son 6-7. 9; I'.radley
jj; Hardie 461 ; ( )xf()rd 701 ; Taylor 52; T A 1 54.
2. (irab all, lose all. Cf. Apperson 268: (irasp all, lo.se all;
Oxford 262.
3. Want all, get none. Cf. Apperson 5 : All^ covet all lose ,
Franck 108: You wan' all you lo.se all; T A 127.
Alone. Better be alone than in ill company. Apperson 41-2;
Oxford 38; T C570; Woodard 34.
Alum. As bitter as alum. Cf. Lean 11, 807: As bitter as
aloes.
Angel. I. As beautiful as an angel. W'ilstach 15.
2. As sweet as an angel ( 2 ) . ^
3. Speak of angels and you hear rustling of their wings (4).
Speak of the angels and you will hear their wings rustle.
Speak of an angel, hear the rustle of its wing.
Speak of an angel and you can hear bats' wings flutter.
Bradley 60; Lean iv, 106; Oxford 643. See Devil (26)
below.
Angry. When angrv count ten, when very angry, one hundred.
Cf. Christy i, 29; Francis Crane, The Shocking Fink
Hat (N. Y., 1946) 203: Inspector Bradish whirled on
Patrick. He evidently counted ten, then said. 'TU talk
to you later" ; Oxford 11.
Another. He that pities another remembers himself. Apper-
son 499; Oxford 503; T P372.
Ant. I. As industrious as an ant. W'ilstach 214.
2. As tiny as an ant. Cf. Bond 56 : Small as an ant.
3. Works like an ant.
Antelope. As swift as an antelope. Bond 51.
Anvil. I. As hard as an anvil. NED Anvil, i, quf)t. 1413.
2. The anvil lasts longer than the hammer. P.ohn 95: Dura
l)iu I'incudine die il martello, cf. 120.
Ape. As hairy as an ape. 15ond 50; Hendricks 145.
Appearances. Appearances are deceitful. Apperson 1 3 ; T.rad-
ley 60; Oxford 328, judge from; T A285.
Appetite. Appetite comes with eating. Fogel 5 ; < )xtor(l 12;
T .\286.
362 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
Apple. I (a) An apple a day keeps the doctor away (2).
Apperson 13; Bradley 60; Hyatt 643 (10716); Taylor
12. (b) An apple a day keeps the doctor away. An
onion a day keeps everybody away, (c) Eat an apple
a day. To keep the doctor away ; Eat an onion a day,
To keep everybody away. Bradley 60.
2. Apples must fall near the tree. Davidofif 436: The apple
falls near the apple tree (Yiddish). Cf. Bohn 307: De
vrucht valt niet ver van den stam ; Cundall 91 : Papaw
no fall fur from tree ; Fogel 5 : D'r abbel roUt net weit
fum schtamm exept d'r bam schtet am bserik ; Hoffman
198: Der apb"l fait net wait fum shtam ; Lean i, 487;
Parsons, Antilles. 484: Apples don't fall very far from
tree; Vaughan 3 (16).
3. As round as an apple. Lean 11, 869; NED Round. 1,
quot. c. 1290; \\'ilstach 328.
April. I. April showers bring May flowers. Apperson 15;
Green 17; Hyatt 643 ( 10719) ; Oxford 13; Taylor 13;
TS411.
2. As sudden as an April shower. Wilstach 399.
Arkansas. As slow as a train through Arkansas. B. A. Bot-
kin, A Treasury of American Folklore (N. Y, 1944)
469.
Arm. I. As long as my (your) arm (2). Lean 11. 750;
NED Arm. 2b; Partridge 17.
2. Stretch your arm no further than your sleeve will reach.
Apperson 15; Oxford 625; T A3 16.
Armed. Well armed is half the battle.
Army. What's an army without a general ? Christy i. 36.
Arrow, i. As fleet as an arrow. NED Fleet, i, quot. 1588:
Wilstach 147.
2. As straight as an arrow (3). Apperson 60s; Green 31 ;
T A321.
3. As swift as an arrow. T A322 ; Wilstach 411.
4. As true as an arrow (2). As true as an arrow to its
mark. Cf. Wilstach 436: True as an arrow to its aim.
Ashes. As gray as ashes. J. S. Strange, The Clue of the Sec-
ond Murder (N. Y.. 1929) 54.
Asking. What isn't worth asking for isn't worth having (4).
What's not worth going after is not worth having. Hoff-
man 202: Was net fro'ghas wart is, is net ha' was wart.
Cf. Nicholson 219: It's a poor thing that's not worth
asking; Spence 228: It's little wirt that's no wirt the
askin' o'.
PROVERBS 363
Asleep, llc"s wortli more asleep than awake. Cf. Apperson
40: Vou are always best when aslcej) ; Ilislop 339: Ye're
best when ye're sleeping. See Dead, adj., below.
Aspen. Tremble like an aspen. .\])pers()n iS; llyamson 23;
T L140; Wilstach 433.
Ass. 1. .\ living ass is better than a dead doctor. 15ohn 131 :
\'al pill un asino vivo che nn dottore morto.
2. He that makes himself an ass must expect to be rode.
Apperson 19; NED Ass, ib.
3. The ass's hide is used to the stick. Bohn 107: La pelle
d'asino e usa al bastone.
August. Hit'll be a cold day in August. Cf. "A Word-List
from Kansas," Dialect Notes, iv, part v (1916) 321 : It
will be a cold day in June when he does that ; Thornton
HI, 175, chilly day.
Awl. As blunt as a peggin awl. Cf. Apperson 561 : Sharp as
a cobbler's elsin (awl).
Axe. As sharp as an axe. Hardie 468; Lean 11, 871.
B. Don't know B from a bull's foot. Apperson 21 ; Berrey
150.3; Hyamson 28; NED, B, 2; Oxford 346; Partridge
22 ; Woodard 39. See A above.
Babe. i. As helpless as a new born babe. Cf. Wilstach 199:
As helpless as a babe.
2. As innocent as a new born babe. Apperson 327-8 ; T B4 ;
Wilstach 216.
3. As weak as a new born babe. Cf. Lean 11. 889: As weak
as a child.
Baboon. As ugly as a baboon. Wilstach 567.
Baby. i. A purty baby makes an ugly girl. Cannell 34: If
a child is good looking when it is small, it will be homely
when it grows up: Christy 1. 504: A pretty ])ig makes
an ugly hog; Hyatt 126 (2603): Pretty bal)ies make
ugly ladies.
2. An ugly baby makes a purty girl. Cannell 34: If a child
is homely when it is small, it will be good looking when
it grows up; Hyatt 126 (2603): Ugly babies make
pretty ladies.
3. An old saying is "that ugly babies make handsome grown
people" and vice versa. See above, and cf. Hyatt 126
(2602) : If a baby is homely during infancy, it will be
handsome on reaching maturity.
4. As helpless as a bal)y (2). Charles G. L. DuC^ann, The
Secret Hand (London, 1929) 186.
364 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
5. As innocent as a baby. Hulbert Footner. A Sclf-Made
Thief (N. Y., 1929) 250.
6. Cries like a baby. Lee Thayer, Poison (N. Y.. 1926) 93.
7. Sleeps like a baby. F. Daingerfiekl, TJic Linden Walk
Tragedy (N. Y., 1929) 157.
8. The place for babies is at home.
9. This isn't making the baby's coat or twiging the kiln.
Cf. Bradley 91 : This isn't buying shoes for the baby ;
Hardie 465 : This won't buy a dress for the baby or
pay for the one it has on ; Woodard 34.
Back. I. The back is shaped to its burden. Hislop 106: God
shapes the l)ack for the burden; Lean iv. 109; Oxford
246.
2. The back pays for what the mouth eats. Cf. Apperson
37 : If it were not for the belly the back might wear
gold, 38: The belly robs the back; Champion 228 (3) :
The back receives what the mouth earns (Livonian) ;
Oxford 34.
Back door. Throwed more out the back door than her old
man could tote in the front. Cf. Apperson 21 : The
back door robs the house; T 1)21. (For women and
back doors: cf. Apperson 199, fair (9). 444, nice wife.
653, two daughters; ( )xford 451. 679; \\'oodard 43.)
See Wife (2) below.
Backward. He got up backward. Cf. Apperson 715: wrong
( 5 ) ; Oxford 544 : rise.
Bad. It is never so bad but what it could be worse. Oxford
464.
Bad Man. As ugly as the Bad Man. Cf. Hyamson 350: As
ugly as the devil; Brewster 268. where Bad Man is
given as a synonym for the devil ; Patterson 4.
Badger. As gray as a badger. Apperson 274; (j recti 19;
Partridge 350; Wilstach 186.
Bag. I. Don't let no bag o' tow block a good road.
2. He always holds the bag. (Snipe-hunting, to be made
a fool of.) He held the bag for the snipe hunt. He
will have the bag to hold. Berrey 214.6, 314.IT, 320.3,
371.2. 649.7; DAE Bag, 2; Green 24 (identical with the
third example), 33; Hardie 470; NED Bag, 18; Ox-
ford 20; Partridge 26.
3. It's hard for an empty bag to stand u])right. A]iperson
181-2; Oxford 170-r ; Poor Richard 99; Jl'ax to Wealth
4i6;TB30. .See Sack (2) below.
Bag-pipe. Like a bag-]iipe, never makes a noise till his belly's
full. Apperson 23 ; Oxford 20; T B34.
P R O V V. R H S M^?
Bait. The bait worth more than the tisli. (.haini)!!)!! 6_'i (20) :
When the l)ait is worth more than ihe ri>h 'tis time to
stop hshiuf? (American Negro).
Bale. As big as a bale of cotton. Cf. lulmund Kirke (James
B. Gilmore). My Southern rriciids (X. Y., 1863) 74:
Not bigger'n a cotton bale.
Ball. 1. As rotmd as a ball. Nl^I) Round, i, ([uots. r. 1290,
i583;T B61.
2. Eyes like two balls of hre. Taliaferro S?>^ 1^6 1. 162 (red
like) ; Thornton i. 178. circumstance ( 1848).
3. Rolls like a ball. Cf. NED Roll, 11, (luot. 1786.
Balloon. Head like a balloon.
Balm. Is there no balm in Gilead? Hyamson 31 ; Jeremiah
8: 22; Oxford 21.
Band. Raining to beat the band. Running to beat the l)and
(2). Berrey 20.6.13, 22.3, 29.3, 53-9-i6; Partridge 41-
Bandbox. Like he just came otit of the bandbox. Looks like
he just jumped off a bandbox. Berrey 4.4; Hyamson
32; Woofter 358. Cf. Partridge 554. neat.
Bank. As safe as a bank. Marcus Magill, Murder Out oj
Tunc (Philadelphia. 1931) 271.
Bantam. 1. .\s cocky as a bantam rooster. W. P.. Seabrook.
Jungle Ways (London, 1931) 138.
2. Like a bantam — lays summer or winter.
Bark (1). i. As close as bark on a tree (2). As clost as
the bark on a tree fore sap-risin'. As clost as the bark
on a white oak tree. Cf . Lean 11, 857 : As near as the
bark to the tree ; T B83.
2. As tight as the bark on a tree (2). Allison 96; Ilardie
468 ; Wil-stach 565 ; W'oodard 43.
3. Clings like bark to a tree.
Bark (2). i. B.ig bark and little bite.
2. Me i> all bark and no bite. Cf. Oxford 23: (Ireat bark-
ers arc no biters ; T B85.
3. His bark is worse than his bite (4). Apperson 26 ; 1 lyam-
son 34; NED Bark. s1y\ 2b; Oxford 23.
4. More bark than bite. Cf. j lulward Ward], llilgus
Britannicus. or the British HuilU'ros. 2nd ed. (London.
1710) 167: Those liery Barkers tho' no Biters.
Barking. P.arking saves ])iting. P.eckwith 17; Cundall 15.
Barn. 1. As big as a barn, b'auset 174(199).
2. As ugly as a mud barn.
366 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
Barn-yard. A sad barn-yard where the hen crows louder than
the cock. Apperson 298, hen (7); Oxford 291; T
H778.
Barrel, i. As big as a barrel (2). AlHson 95.
2. As empty as a barrel. Taliaferro 103.
Basket, i. As cute as a basket of kittens. Cf. J. C. Harris
26: ez soshubble ez a baskit er kittens.
2. As polite as a basket of chips. Atkinson 81 ; Berrey
349-3-
3. He hung his basket higher than he could reach. Beck-
with 56 (many variants) ; Franck 100: Don't hang you
goadie higher dan you can reach; Parsons 441: Don't
hang yer basket higher than you can reach 'em.
Bat. I. As blind as a bat (5). Apperson 54; Hyamson 51 ;
T O92 ; Wilstach 22.
2. As crazy as a bat (4). Atkinson 88.
3. As fast as a bat out of hell. Cf. Whiting 222.
4. Like a bat out of hell. Berrey 53.7.9.16; Partridge 37;
Whiting 222 ; W'oodard 34.
5. Pass like a bat out of a brush heap. Passed like a bat
out of Georgia. Passed like a bat out of hell. Cf. "A
List of W'ords from Northwest Arkansas," Dialect
Notes, III, part v (1909), 399; Whiting 222.
Bean pole. i. As skinny as a bean pole. Cf. Partridge 39.
2. As slender as a bean pole.
3. As tall as a bean pole. Hanford 178.
4. As thin as a bean pole. Herbert Asbury, The French
Quarter (N. Y., 1936) 340.
Bear. i. An old bear is slow in learning to dance. Christy,
I, 56 (German).
2. As cross as a bear (2). DAE Bear, ic; Hyamson 102;
Wilstach 76.
3. As hungry as a bear (5). Berrey 95.6; DAE Bear, ic;
Hardie 467 ; Taylor 41 ; Wilstach 206.
4. As pore as a bear that's wintered up in the balsams. Like
a bear that's wintered up in the balsams.
5. As red as a bear's ass in pokeberry time. Cf. NED
Suppl.. pokeberry. See Goose (9), Polkberry below.
6. As rough as a bear (2). I'.ond 50; Lean 11. 868: As
rough as a Russian bear.
7. As savage as a bear. Green 20; Lean 11, 870; Wilstach
334-
8. As strong as a bear.
9. As surly as a bear. Green 31.
10. As ugly as a bear. Wilstach 440.
1< O \' I". R B S
367
1 1. As warm as a bear.
ij. Hugs like a bear. Wilstacb 206.
n. If it were a bear it would bite you. Apperson 29-30;
I'.radley 92 (snake) ; Oxford 26; Partridge 40; T B129.
14. We killed the bear. Allison 95; Brewster 262. Cf.
Apperson 672: We dogs worried the hare; Oxford
696- We hounds slew the hare. <|U(>th the messan ; T
^737- . ,
Beard (1). i. (iray beard and red hp can not be friends.
Christy 1. 14: Gray beard and red lip seldom remain
good friends (German).
2. If it's hot enough to set your neighbor's beard afire,
you'd better get water and wet yours. Beckwith 121 :
When you see you neighbor beard ketch fire, tek water
wet fe'vou; Champion 526 (31): When you see that
your neighbour's beard is catching fire, bring water to
your own ( Fulfilde. Africa), 533 (12); Chenet 192
(1357); Cundall 52; Hearn 8 (10); Parsons. Antilles
466 (190).
3. Little beard, little manhood. Cf. Bohn 240: Poca barba,
poca verguenza (modesty).
Beard (2). As smart as Beard's fiste, used to be a common
expression in this community. (Contributed by Thomas
Smith of Vilas. Watauga county.) For fiste meaning
mongrel dog, see Phyllis J. Nixon, "A Glossary of Vir-
ginia Words," Puhlications of the American Dialect
Society, v (1946) 21.
Beauty, i. Beautv is only skin deep. Apperson 31 ; Bradley
60; Hardie 462; Oxford 28; T B170.
2. lieautv is skin deep. Ugly's in the bone. Beauty soon will
pass 'away. Old ugly hold her own. Apperson 31;
Bradley 60.
3. Beautv 'never make kettle boil. Champion 213 (3):
Beauty does not make the pot boil ((Genoese) ; National
Proverbs: Ireland 14: Beauty does not make the pot
boil; Nicolson 132: Beauty won't boil the pot; O'Rahilly
6 (17) : Beauty will not 'make the pot boil. ... It is
not beauty that 'makes porridge, but meal. . . . Prettiness
makes no pottage (Apperson 511); Snapj) 80 (n):
l^.eauty never boiled a pot ; T P568.
4. Seed lots of beautv but never et a mess of it. Cf. Christy
1. 61: One cannot live on beauty and One does not
imt beauty in the kettle. See Woman (10) below.
Beaver. As busy as a beaver. Wilstacb 40.
N.C.K.. Vol. I. (25)
368 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
Bed. I. Early to bed and early to rise Wakes a man healthy,
wealthy and wise. Apperson 173; Bradley 72; Lean 11,
733; Oxford 164; Poor Richard 78; Taylor 14; T
B184; Way to Wealth 410.
2. She made her bed, and she can lie on it. Apperson 391 ;
Bradley 61 ; Hardie 472 ; Oxford 399 ; Partridge 42 ; T
B189. '
Bedbug. As crazy as a bedbug (5). Berrey 152.5, 170.7.8,
296.8; Wilstach 73.
Bee. I. A swarm of bees in May Is worth a load of hay. A
swarm of bees in June Is worth a silver spoon. A
swarm of bees in July Is not worth a fly. Apperson
32-3 ; Bergen 11, 57, 90; Hyatt 58; Lean i, 450; T S1029.
2. As busy as a bee. Apperson y2>' 74! Hardie 469; NED
Bee, lb; Oxford 71 ; T B202 ; Wilstach 41.
3. As busy as a bee in a tar-bucket. DAE Bee, ib (tar-
barrel) ; W'oodard 35. Cf. Apperson 33: To bumble
like a bee in a tar-tub, 74 ; Oxford 78 ; He capers like
a fly in a tar-box; Partridge 94, 113.
As busy as a bee in a trench-pot. Cf. Fuller 19 (666) :
As brisk as a bee in a tar-pot.
4. Buzzing like a bee. Bond 56.
5. He has a bee in his bonnet. Apperson 33 ; Berrey 143.2.3,
152. 1. 3. 5, 212.2, 236.2, 274.2.6: Hardie 466; Hyamson
40; Oxford 29, cf. 284; Partridge 42. 43; T H255.
6. No bees, no honey.
7. Swarmed like bees. Wilstach 403.
8. Take a bee line for home. Berrey 41.1, 677.14; Hyam-
son 40; Partridge 42.
Straight as a bee line.
9. Where there are bees there is honey. Apperson 34;
Oxford 29; T B213.
Bee-gum. As hollow as a bee-gum.
Beet. As red as a beet (3). Wilstach 315.
Beg. I. Better to beg than borrow. Christy i, 66; Cundall 17.
2. Neither beg nor borrow.
Beggars, i. Beggars breed and rich men feed. Apperson
34; Oxford 31 ; T B244.
2- Beggars must not be choosers. Apperson 34 ; Bradley
61 ; Plardie 462; Oxford 31 ; Taylor 14; T B247.
3. Sue a beggar and get a louse. Apperson 35 ; Bradley 61 ;
(ireen 31 ; Oxford 629; T B240.
Beginning, i. A bad beginning makes a good ending (3).
Bradley 61 ; T B259.
P R O V K R B S ?i(^9
2. A good begintiin.u: makes a bad ending, liradley 6i.
3. A good beginning makes a right ending. Hislop 24: A
glide beginning makes a gude ending. Cf. Apperson
257; Oxford 250.
4. From small beginnings come great endings. Thomas
Burke, Niijht Pieces (N. Y., 1936) 96; T P.264.
5. Right beginning makes a right ending. Christy i, 67
( ("lerman).
Begun. I. Begun is half done. C"f. I^.ohn 135: Begonnen ist
hall) gewonnen; Lean 111. ^,77; Nicolson 225: Begun is
two-thirds done.
2. Well begun is half done (2). Apperson 674; Bradley
97 ; Hardie 462 ; Oxford 700 ; T B254.
Believe, i . A man believes what he wishes to. Apperson 36 ;
T B269.
2. Believe only half you hear. C f . Apperson 36; Oxford
32: Believe not all that you see nor half what you hear;
T A202.
Bell. I. A cracked bell can never be mended. Cf. Apperson
^6: A crackt bell can never sound well; Oxford 117;
T B274.
2. Agree like bells. Apperson 4 (want nothmg but hang-
ing) ; Oxford 6; Partridge 6; T B281 ; Wilstach 5.
3. As clear as a bell (3). Apperson loi ; Green 18; Hardie
467; T B271 ; Wilstach 56.
4. As fair as a bell (2).
5. Rings like a bell. Sir Dcgrcvant, ed. K. Puick (\'ienna,
191 7) 78, 11. 1207-8.
6. The higher the bell the further it sounds. I'.ohn 154: Je
h()her die Glocke hangt, je heller sie klingt.
Belly. I. As hot as if he had a bellyful of wasps. Apperson
315: Hot as if he had a bellyful of wasps and salaman-
ders.
2. Hungrv belly got no eyes. Cf. Apperson 37-8: The
(hungry) belly hath no ears. 81. empty (i) ; Champion
96 (10): Hunger has no eyes (Croatian). 235 (150)
(Montenegrin); Cundall 17: Hungry belly no got aise
( cars) ■ Kelly 30 ; T P.286.
Bench. Sitting on the anxious bench (6). Berrey 287.2;
DAE Anxious Bench; NED Suppl., Anxious, 2b.
Bend. Better to bend than to break. Apperson 42: Better
bow than break; Cundall 18: Betta ben' dan broke;
Hislop 58; MacAdam 181 (54) ; Oxford 39; T B566.
Berry, i. As brown as a berry (2). Apperson 70; Taylor
17; T B314; Wilstach 38.
2. As right as a berry.
370 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
Best. T. Hope for the best, get ready for the worst. Apper-
son 310; Oxford 303; T B328.
2. Make the best of a bad bargain (2). Apperson 40; Ber-
rey 306.3 (job); Hyamson 43; Oxford 36; Partridge
33; Taylor 13; T B326.
3. ]\lake the best of what you have.
4. The best comes first.
5. The best goes first. Apperson 39: The best go first, the
bad remain to mend ; Oxford 35.
Bible. As true as the Bible. Cf. Berrey 169.2: Bible truth.
See Gospel below.
Billiard ball. i. As bald as a billiard ball. Wilstach 12.
2. As smooth as a billiard ball. NED Billiards, 2, quot.
1637; Wilstach 365.
Bird. I. A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush (3).
Apperson 48 ; Bradley 62 ; Hardie 461 ; Oxford 44-5 ;
Taylor 15 ; T B363.
2. A bird is known by its feathers. [R. Brathwaite], The
Lmvs of Drinking (London, 161 7) 47; Nicholas IJreton.
The Crossing of Proi'erhs (1616), in Works, ed. A. B.
Grosart ( lulinburgh, 1875-9), 11. e. 5; 'J' B369.
3. A bird that can sing and won't sing ought to be made to
sing. Apperson 49 ; ( )xf ord 372 ; T B366.
4. A little bird wants but a little nest. Apperson 370 ; T
B379-
5. A little bird will tell you (2). Apperson 48; Berrey
197.10; Hyamson 46; Oxford 45; Partridge 54. 383;
Taylor 1 5 ; T B374.
6. All birds of prey are silent. Whoever heard of a singing
bird of prey? Bohn 166; Raubvogel singen nicht.
As blithe as a bird. NED Blithe. A 5a, quot. 1754.
As free as a bird. As free as the birds. Apperson 2^4;
T B357-
As gav as a bird. Cf. NED Gav. 4. quot. 181 2 ; \\ ilstach
168-9.
10. As harmless as the birds. See Dove (3) below.
11. As merry as birds. T B358-9; Wilstach 259.
12. As naked as a bird. Cf. Apperson 436: Naked as a
cuckoo. See Cuckoo, Jay (1), Jay-bird (2), (3) below.
13. As swift as a bird. (Tf. NED Swift, i, quot. c. 1386.
14. Birds of a feather flock together (3). Apperson 48;
Bradley 62; Hardie 462; Hyamson 46; Oxford 45;
Partridge 55 ; T B393. See Crow (6) below.
15. Cut up like^a bird. Cf. NED Suppl., Bird, 5c; Par-
tridge 483, like.
V R O V K R H S 371
16. Eats like a bird. |( )ftni with the achhtioii. "a peck at a
time." I
17. lu-erv hird hkes its own nest. .\])person 187; T I'^S^.
18. Flits'like a bird. Cf. NED Flit, 8b.
19. He kills two birds with one stone (2). Apperscm 340;
Green 2/; Hardie 472; Ilyanison 46; Oxford 334-5;
Partridge 55 ; T B400.
20. It's a lazy bird that won't build her own nest. liohn
359: Det er en lad hugl, (Ur ei i^ider l)\'.!.;,ii^e sin egen
Rede (Danish).
21. It's an ill bird that fouls its own nest. Apperson 323;
Bradley 62; Green 26; Hardie 463; Oxford 314; Taylor
1 5 : T B377-
22. Old birds are hard to catch. Cf. Ap])erson 49: Old birds
are not caught with chaff; Oxford 85; T I>396.
23. Sings like a bird. Bohn 54.
24. The early bird catches the worm (4). Apperson 173-4;
Bradley 61 ; Hardie 464; Hyamson 127; Oxford 16^-4;
T li368.
Bird dog. i. As alert as a bird dog.
2. I'm bein' careful as a bird dog. Cf. X. B. Mavitv. The
Case of the Missing Sandals (N. Y., 1930) 236: As
busy as a bird dog.
Birth. No man can help his birth. Christy i. S2 ( Hans
.\ndersen).
Biscuit. 1. As hard as a biscuit. Lean 11. 839: A biscuu
fare as hard for favour.
2. .As round as a biscuit. Hyatt 670 ( 10939).
Bit. F.very little bit helps (3). Apperson 188; Oxford 177.
Every little bit helps, said the old woman as she spat
in the sea. Cf. Lean it, 743: Oxford 180: Everything
helps, quoth the wren, when she pissed in the sea ;
Partridge 635 (old woman) : T \V935. See Little, sb.,
below.
Bite, sb. The bite is bigger than the mouth. DavidotT 31 :
Don't make the bite larger than the mouth (German).
Bite, vb. I. As soon be bit as scared to death. Veronica P.
John. The Singing Widow ( N. Y., 1941) 135: You
might as well kill a person as .scare him to death. Cf.
Champion 558 (127): h^right is worse than a blow
(Moorish).''
2. He bites off more than he can chew (3). Ik-rrev 242.3:
Bradley 62 ; D.\h: P.ite, 2 ; (ireen t,2 ; f lyamson 47 : XED
Suppl., Bite, 16; Taylor 15.
Z7^ NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
3. Once bitten, twice shy. Apperson 468; Green 29; Ox-
ford 474-5.
Black. As plain as black and white. Cf. Apperson 53. black
(3) ; Oxford 47-
Blacksmith. Like a blacksmith with a white apron. Apperson
53 : It is much like a blacksmith with a white silk a])ron ;
Poor Richard 124: What's proper is becoming: see the
blacksmith with his white silk apron !
Blazes, i. As cold as blue blazes. Howell Vines, The Green
Thicket World (Boston, 1934) 149. Cf. Whiting 244-5.
2. As hot as blazes (2). Berrey 33.7; Partridge 408. Cf.
Whiting 244.
3. As hot as blue blazes. Hardie 469.
Blicksens. i. As cold as blicksens (blitzen). Berrey 33.8
(blixens) ; Woofter 351 (blixens).
2. As hot as blicksens. Hanford 167 (blixum).
Blind (man), i. A blind man needs no looking glass. Cundall
84: Hislop 14. Cf. Apperson 54; Fuller i (18).
2. A blind man should not judge of colors. Apperson 54;
Oxford 51; T M80.
3. If the blind lead the blind both shall fall into the ditch.
Apperson 56; Hyamson 51 ; Oxford 51 ; T B452.
4. In the land of the blind the one-eyed man is king. Apper-
son 342 ; Oxford 338 ; T E240 ; Woodard 34.
5. Like a running blind man. Cf. Christy i, 85 : Blind men
must not run.
6. None so blind as those who won't see. Apperson 55 ;
Bradley 62 ; Oxford 50 ; T S206.
Blood. I. As red as blood (3). Apperson 526; Oxford 535;
Taylor 56; T B455 ; Wilstach 315.
2. Blood is thicker than water. Apperson 56 ; Bradley 62 ;
Oxford 51-2.
3. Blood will tell. Bradley 62.
4. As nuich blood as a turnip. No more blood than a turnip
(4). You can't get blood out of (from) a turnip (5).
Apperson 56; Bradley 62; Green 36; Hardie 472; Tay-
lor 15; TB466.
You can't git blood out of a turnip, ])ut you can get the
turnip. [The second part is written in on the type-
script.]
Blow. Uon't blow what won't burn. Hoffman 202 : Was net
brent branch mer net blo'sa.
Blue. .\s true as blue. Cf. Apperson 648, truf blue; Uerrey
434.4, 861.5; Hardie 472; Hyamson 54; NI-T) F,lue, le,
6b ; Oxford 672 ; Partridge 69 ; T T542.
I' R () \' K R B S 373
Board, i. As stiff as a board (2). Wilstach 388.
2. Lyin' on the coolin' board. Berrey i 17.6.
Boats. Little boats [should] stay near shore. Beckwith 104:
Small boats keep near the shore ; Bradley 82 ; Cundall
20 (as I'eckwith) ; Poor Richard 138: Great estates may
venture more; little boats must keep near shore; Way
to Wealth 415. Ct. Christy i, 91 ; Nicolson 177.
Body. He who kills his own body works for the worms. Hearn
12: Qa. qui touye son lecorps travaille pour leveres
(Mauritius).
Boil. As sore as a boil. Berrey 130.33, 284.8.
Boiler factory. As noisy as a boiler factory. Wilstach 275 :
Noisy as a boiler-shop.
Bone. I. As dry as a bone (5). Apperson 168; Berrey
276.9. cf. 95.7. 98.2, 105.7; Cireen 19; Hardie 467;
Hyamson 124; Partridge yy; Taylor 29; T B514; Wil-
stach 105.
2. Bones don't mourn. See Tooth (3) below.
3. He'll never make old bones.
4. To pick [a] bone (quarrel). Apperson 59-60; Berrey
338.3-5- 348.5 ; Hardie 472 ; Hyamson 57 ; Oxford 55 ;
T B522.
5. What is bred in the bone will never get out of the flesh.
Apperson 66; Bradley 63; Green 34 (will come out in) ;
Oxford 63 ; Taylor 16; T F365.
Book. I. Books don't tell everything. There's more than
what is in books. Cf. Christy i. 93 : Books don't tell
when de bee-martin an de chicken-hawk fell out (Ameri-
can Negro) ; J. C. Harris, Told by Uncle Remus
(N. Y., 1905) 232: den you got de idee dat ol' man
Remus know sump'n n'er what ain't down in de books?
2. Read him like a book. DAE Book, 3b; Oxford 534;
Taliaferro 257.
Boot. I. As crazy as a boot.
2. As easy as pouring water from a boot with the directions
written on the heel. T. M. Pearce. "The luiglish Prov-
erb in New Mexico." California Folklore Quarterlx, v
(1946) 353: He was so dumb he couldn't pour beer out
of a boot if the instructions were written on the heel.
Cf. Frederick Wakeman, The Hucksters (N. Y.. 1946)
150: I was a young, dumb kid. hot out of Princeton,
and not smart enough to pour piss out of a boot.
Bore chinch. As hot as a bore chinch.
Born. As sure as you are born (2). Nb^D Sure, B 4a. quot.
c 1650.
374 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
Borrowing. He that goes a-borro\ving goes a-sorrowing. Ap-
person 61 ; Hradley 63; T B545 ; Way to Wealth 415.
Bottle. You can't tell what's in a bottle by the label. Olive
E. Clapper. Washington Tapestry (N. Y., 1946) 99:
Labels do not always accurately describe the contents of
the bottle.
Bottom, I. He who is at the bottom can fall no lower. Cf.
Apperson 363 : He that lies on the ground can fall no
lower ; Oxford 365 ; T G464.
2. Scraping on the bottom of the meal bin is mighty poor
music. Champion 629 (356) : The bottom of the meal-
box makes mighty poor music (American Negro).
Bow. I. Bent like a bow. The hnage of Ipocrysy, in Poetical
Works of John Skelton, ed. after A. Dyce (Boston,
1856) II, 390.
2. Long bow (2). Berrey 316.4; Green 33; Hyamson 225;
Oxford 380; Partridge 86, 491.
Boy. I. A lazy boy makes a smart man. Cf. Cheviot 336:
The lazy boy makes a stark auld man ; Nicolson 334 : A
lazy youth will make a brisk old man.
2. A smart boy makes a lazy man.
3. As proud as a boy with a new toy. Cf. Wilstach 303 :
Proud as a boy with a brand-new top.
4. Like the boy the calf ran over. Richard M. Johnston,
Old Times in Middle Georgia (N. Y., 1897) 95 : Do?
why, they was both in the sitooation of the fellow the
calf runned over. They was both of 'em speechless,
and had nothin' to do nor say ; J. N. Tidwell, "A Word-
List from West Texas," PADS 11 (1949) 13.
Brain. An idle brain is the devil's workshop. Apperson 321 ;
Bradley 69; Hardie 464; Oxford 312; T B594.
Branch. There is something dead up the branch. Hanford
176 (Missouri).
Brass, i. As bold as brass (2). A])person 59; Berrey 299.5,
351.7; Hyamson 56; Partridge 75; Wilstach 28.
2. As brazen as brass (2). Green 18.
Bray. As hot as Bray's love.
Bread. 1. P.reafl is the staff of life. I'errev 91.7 ; Oxford 61 •
T BO 1 3.
2. Bread of (k'i)endence is bitter (MS better) food. Davi-
doff 92.
3. Butter your ])read.
4. Don't fall oul witli vdur bread and butter. Cf. .Apperson
518: To (iuarrel with one's bread and butter; Berrey
PROVERBS 375
294.2; Hvamson 62; NKD Su])])!., Bread and butter, 2;
Oxford 528.
5. First bread and tben tbe bride. Cbampion 23<S (4) :
First think of bread and then of the bride (Norwegian).
Cf. Apperson 26: Better a barn filled than a bed; Ox-
ford 205 : Vwst thrive and then wive.
6. He is eating his white bread now. (Said of a person
living at his ease and comfort, whose fortune may be
worse later.) F>radley 63 ; Green 24 (verbatim) ; North-
all 16. Cf. Apperson 64; ("hami)ion 153 (654) (French) ;
Oxford 167.
7. He knows on which side his bread is buttered. Apperson
64; Hyamson 62; Oxford 346; Partridge 90; Tavlor 16;
T S425.
Bread tray. A dirty bread tray tells of a wasteful wife.
Breakfast. Sing before breakfast, you cry before supper.
A])person ^y;^; Green 25; Hyatt 149; Oxford 591; T
Mi 176.
Breeches. i. Caught with the breeches down. Caught with
the britches down. Emmett Gowen. Old Hell (N. Y.,
1937) 56- Cf. Berrey 167.7. ^7^-3 (pants).
2. He lent his breeches but cut ofi the bottoms. National
Proverbs: Ireland 11: If you give the loan of your
breeches, don't cut ofif the buttons. Cf. Joyce 115: If
you give away an old coat don't cut ofif the buttons.
3. She wears the breeches in that family. Apperson 66 ;
Berrey 220.5, 446-15; Hyamson 62; NED Breech, 2;
Oxford 697 ; Partridge 91 ; T B645.
4. Don't get too big for your britches. Too big for his
breeches. Allison 99; Berrey 301.3.5; Green 34; Talia-
ferro 47, 95 ; Woodard 34.
Breeze, i. As free as the breeze. \\'ilstach 159.
2. As gentle as the breeze. \\'ilstach 171.
Brick. I. As hard as a brick. WihtSich ig;^; Yaukee Phrases
115-
2. As heavy as a ton of bricks.
3. As solid as a brick.
4. Fell like a ton of bricks. Irvin S. Cobb. Murder Day by
Day (Indianapolis, 1933) 156.
5. Swims like a brick. Partridge 92.
6. You can't make bricks without straw. Hvamson 63;
Oxford 64 ; T B660.
Bridge. Never cross a bridge until you get to it (4). Apper-
son 123; Bradley 63; Hardie 462; ( )xford 119.
3/6 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
Bridle. Put a bridle on yer tongue. Cf. Apperson 67 : A bridle
for the tongue is a necessary piece of furniture.
Brier, i. As sharp as a brier (2). DAE Brier. 2; Wilstach
342.
2. As smart as a brier (2). Atkinson 88.
Broad. It's as broad as it is long. Apperson 68-9 ; Green 26 ;
Hyamson 64; Partridge 94; Taylor 17 ; T B677.
Bronco. Buck like a bronco. Bond 46.
Broom, i. A new broom sweeps clean (4). Apperson 443:
Berrey 867.3, cf . 854.8 ; Bradley 64 ; Hardie 461 ;
Hyamson 250; Oxford 450; Taylor 17; T B682.
A new broom sweeps clean, but an old brush knows the
corners. Beckwith 87 : New broom sweep clean, but de
old broom know de corner; Champion 158 (165) : An
old broom knows the corners of the house (German) ;
Cundall 21 (as Beckwith) ; Franck 108: New broom
sweep clean, but ole one fine de corner. Cf. Collections
Relating . . . to Montgomeryshire, xi (1878) 311 (416) :
but it's the old one that picks out the dirt.
2. As stiff as a broom.
3. Jump the broom (get married) (2). Thinks I orter be
ready to jump the broom when he whistles (i.e.. marry
him). Broom-jumping day (wedding-day). Berrey
359.4; Hyamson 206; Oxford 66-7; Partridge 96. cf.
48. besom, 474, leap.
Brother. He sticks closer than a brother. He sticks to her
tighter than a brother. Hardie 471.
Buck (1). Haven't seen you since Buck was a calf. See
Hector below.
Buck (2). I. As strong as a buck. Cf. DAE Buck, n^ ic:
Hearty as a buck.
2. As wild as a buck (2). Apperson 686; T B692 ; Wil-
stach 476.
Bucket. Kick the bucket (3). Apperson 339; Berrey 1 1 7.1 i.i 8;
Hyamson 208; Oxford 334; Partridge 100; Taylor 17.
Buckle. Make buckle and tongue meet. Green 2^ ; NED
Suppl.. Buckle, lb; Taliaferro 249. Cf. Apperson 70-1
(thong) ; Oxford 67; T B696.
Bug. I. As snug as a bug in a rug. Apperson 585; Berrey
279.8 ; Hardie 468 ; Oxford 602 ; Wilstach 367.
2. As warm as a bug in a rug. Cf. Berrey 37.12: Cute as
a bug in a rug.
3. Let me put a bug in your ear (warn). .Mlison 98; Ber-
rey 197.6, 202.6, 206.5; Hardie 466.
P K O V K R B S 377
4. Like a hug aryuing with a chicken. Cf. Heckwilh 26:
Cockroach neher in de right befo' fowl; Chenet 131:
Ravete pas jam gangnin raison douvant poules ; Cham-
pion 545 (19) : In a court of the fowls the cockroach
never wins his case (Kongo, Africa) ; Franck 99 (as
Beckwith) ; Hearn 33: Ravette pas jamain tini raison
douvant poule (llearn notes that he found this proverb
in all the Creole dialects which he examined) ; J. Mel-
ville and F. S. Herskovits, SHrinaui Folk-Lorc (N. Y.,
1936) 461 (57) : I am cockroach, the hen will never
say 1 am right; Parson, Antilles 459 (34)-
5. When bugs give a party they never ask the chickens.
Beckwith 25 : Cockroach mek dance him no axe fowl ;
Chenet 130: Quand ravetes danser, yo pas jam invite
poules; Cundall 30 (as Beckwith); Franck 99 (as
Beckwith) ; H. M. Finlay, "Folklore from Eleuthera,
Bahamas," Journal of American Folklore, xxxviii
(1925) 294; Parsons, Antilles 457: When cockroach
give party he no ax fowl (Trinidad), 464: When cock-
roach hab dance, him no ax fowl (Granada). Cf. Fuller
116 (3871): Pheasants are fools, if they invite the
hawk to dinner.
Buggy whip. A buggy whip can't take the place of corn.
Champion 622 (61) : The buggy whip can't make up for
light feed in the horse-trough (American Negro). Cf.
Blakeborough 242 : Mair kindness, less lip. Mair corn,
less whip ; Davidoff 206 : \\'hip the horse with oats, not
with a whip (Yiddish). See Currying below.
Bull. I. As awkward as a bull in a china shop (2). Apper-
son '/2\ Hardie 470; Hyamson 66; NEL) Bull, ic; Ox-
ford 68; Wilstach 12.
2. As hard as a bull's horn. Cf. Apperson 284-5 : As hard
as horn.
3. As strong as a bull. Wilstach 395.
4. Bellow like a bull. Oxford 33; Wilstach 17.
5. Take the bull by the horns (6). Apperson 72; Berrey
208.2, 256.6; Hardie 471 ; Hyamson 336; Oxford 641 ;
Taylor 17.
Bullace. As bright as a bullace. Nh2D liullace, 1. cpiot. c 1430.
Bullet. I. As hard as a bullet. Green 19.
2. As swift as a bullet. NED Swift, i, quot. a 1593.
Bump. I. As useless as a bimip on a log.
2. Like a bump on a log. DAE Log. 3b; Green T^y \ Hardie
471. See Knot (2) below.
Business, i. Business before pleasure. Bradley 64.
3/8 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
2. Everybody's business is nobody's business. Apperson
187; Bradley 64; NED Business. 11, quot. 1709; Oxford
i79;TB746, W843.
3. ]\Iind your own business. Oxford 425; T B752. See
Household below.
Butcher. As fat as a butcher.
Butter. I. As fat as butter. Apperson 205; Berrev 39.12;
Green 23 ; Oxford 193 ; T B767 ; \\'ilstach 135.
2. As yellow as butter. Dorothy Erskine, The Crystal Boat
(N. Y., 1946) II. Cf. Apperson 53: Blake" (yellow)
as butter.
3. Melted like hot butter. Cf. Lean 11, 790: To melt like
butter in a sow's tail ; T B776.
4. So sweet butter wouldn't melt in her mouth. Apperson
74-5; Hardie 469; Hyamson 68; Oxford 136; Partridge
115; Taylor 18 ; T B774.
Butter-ball. i. As fat as a butter-ball (4). Allison 95 ; Brew-
ster 261 ; NED Suppl., Butter-ball, i.
2. As round as a butter-ball. J. C. Harris, Uncle Remus and
His Friends (Boston, 1892) 14-5.
Butterfly. As gay as a butterfly. Green 23; Wilstach 169.
Button. I. A person that will not pick up a button will not
pick up a dollar. Cf. Hislop 152: He that wina lout
and lift a preen will ne'er be worth a groat.
2. As bright as a button. Hardie 467; Yankee Phrases 115.
3. As round as a button. The Whimsical Jester (London,
1784) 83.
4. As slick as a button. Atkinson 89; Berrey 317.6.
Button hole. Take one down a button hole lower. Apperson
618; NED Button-hole, ib; Oxford 640; Partridge us;
T P181.
Buy. Better buv than borrow. Apperson 42 ; Oxford 39 ; T
B783.
Buzzard, i. As ragged as a buzzard. Green 20.
2. As sick as a buzzard.
3. Stinks like a buzzard. Cf. Bond 54 : To smell like a
buzzard; G. W. Harris 171: I b'leve theyse [buzzards]
not blam'd fur enything much, only thar stink.
4. Vomit like a buzzard. Cf. B. A. Botkin, Lay My Bur-
den Down (Chicago, 1945) 56: Yes sir. that's the way
turkey buzzards does. They pukes on folks to keep
them away, and you can't go near 'cause it he's so nasty.
Buzz saw. Snores like a buzz saw. Cf. J. C. Harris. Nights
with Uncle Renins (Boston, 1883) 331: sno'in lak a
saw-mill.
PROVERBS 379
By-gones. Let by-gones I)e hy-gones. Apperson 76; Bradley
64; Hyamson 69; Oxford 74; T B793.
Cake. I. As good as cake.
2. You cannot eat your cake and have it too (2). Apperson
178; Bradley 64; Hardie 465; Hyamson 70; (3xford
167 ; T C15.
3. Your cake is dough (2). Apperson ']'] \ Berrey 219.7,
336.5; DAE Cake, 3a; Hyamson 70; Oxford 75; Part-
ridge 120; Taliaferro 117, 127; T C12.
Calf. I. Bawls like a calf. P>ond 46; Taliaferro 205 (blated).
2. I'd rather be a sedate calf than a frisky cow.
3. If you want to catch the calf, give a nubbin to the cow.
C'f. Apperson 135, daughter (2).
4. Looks like a dying calf. Bond 46.
5. Sound like a dying calf.
Calm. Always a calm before a storm. The calm before the
storm, .\pperson 604; Taylor 18; T C24.
Camel. As thirsty as a camel. Bond 51.
Candle, i . C"ouldn't hold a candle to him. Hyamson 72 ;
Oxford 298: Partridge 123; Taylor 18; T C44.
2. Get the candles lighted before you blow out the match.
Cundall 26 : See de candle light bef o' you blow out de
match.
3. He burns the candle at both ends. Never light the candle
at both ends. Apperson 78; Berrey 313.2 ; Hyamson 72 ;
Oxford 70 ; Partridge 1 1 1 ; T C48.
4. W^ill neither work nor hold the candle. Green 35. Cf.
Apperson 134. dance (13): Hislop 124, 335: He'll
neither dance nor baud the candle.
Candle maker. The candle maker's death is dark. The death
of a candle maker is dark. Cf. Champion 618 (3) : He
who has to die dies in the dark, although he sells candles
(Colombian).
Candy. As easy as taking candy from a baby. Berrey 255.4;
Partridge, Suppl. 993.
Cannon. As loud as a cannon. Taliaferro 161, 163 (louder
than).
Canoe. Paddle your own canoe (2). Let him paddle his own
canoe (2). Berrey 217.3; Bradley '?>'/; Hardie 464;
Hyamson 261 ; Partridge 124. 600: Taylor -,2.
Cap. I. If the cap fits wear it. Apperson 81 ; Bradley 91 ;
Hyamson 73: Oxford 77-8; Taylor 18; Woodard 35.
See Shoe (8) below.
3<^0 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
2. Set his cap. Berrey 354.4, 358.4 ; Hyamson 73 ; Oxford
576; Partridge 125.
Carcass. \Mieresoever the carcass is there will the eagles be
also. Apperson 81 ; Matthew 24 : 28 ; Oxford 78 ; Poor
Richard 69 ; T C73.
Care. i. Better take care before take care comes. Portia
Smiley, "Folklore from Virginia, South Carolina, Geor-
gia, Alabama, and Florida," Journal of American Folk-
lore XXXII (1919) 375: Better take kyare 'fo' take
kyare come (South Carolina).
2. Care and sorrow turn a black head white. Fergusson's
Scottish Proverbs, ed. Erskine Beveridge (Scottish Text
Society, Edinburgh, 1924) 27 (324) : Cair and sorow
maks ane soon auld like; T C82. Cf. Christy i, 123:
Many cares make the head white (M. Greek).
3. Care killed the cat. Apperson 82; Bradley 64; Hardie
462; Oxford 7^; T C84.
Carpenter, i. The worse the carpenter the more the chips.
Bohn 328: Hoe slimmer timmerman hoe meerder
spaanders. Cf. Thomas Coryat, Crudities (Glasgow,
1905) I, 407 : The best carpenters make the fewest chips ;
Fuller 74 (2467) : He's not the best carpenter that
makes the most chips; Kelly 146; Lean iii, 484; T C93.
2. You may know a carpenter by his chips. Apperson 82.
Carrion. Where the carrion is there will the buzzard (crow)
be (2). Cundall 74: Wha' you see carri'n. crow da dey;
Hearn 27: Ou y'en a charogne, y'en a carencro (Loui-
siana) : Edward Ward, Satyrical Reflections on Clubs,
Works, V (London, 1710) 172: Where should the Crows
come but where the Carrion's to be found?
Cart. He puts the cart before the horse (7). Apperson 83;
Bradley 79; Hardie 469; Hyamson 76; Oxford 80;
Partridge 130; Taylor 19; T C103.
Cartbody. An empty cartbody rattles most. See Wagon (2)
below.
Carter. As many as Carter had oats (2). This may be used
in other states as it is here to denote a large number of
anything. Carter is pronounced here c'yarter. (Thomas
Smith, writing from Palmyra, Va. ) — Carter's oats. This
is a local phrase and comes from the fact that Carter
had all of his oats destroyed in a storm. Thus, to have
more than Carter had oats, is to have none at
all. (Madge Colclough.) — He's got more money than
Carter had oats. Payne 297: Carter's oats, . . . usually
in expressions of exaggerated comparison. "We had
P R O V E R B S 381
more whiskey than Carter had oats." The story goes
that Carter of (leorgia in hragging of the yield of a
certain oat-held, claimed that tlie oats were so thick that
he had to move the fence to find room to stack the
hundles ; V. Randolph, "A Word-List from the Ozarks,"
Dialect Notes, v. part ix (1926) 401: More'n Carter
had oats V very large (juanlity ; Publications oj
the Folklore Society of Texas, 11 (1923) 15 (Texas,
nsed of a large c|uantity).
Cat. 1. A cat has nine lives. Apperson 85; llyamson 251 ;
Oxford 83 ; Partridge 562 ; T Ci 54.
2. A cat will always light on its feet. Apperson 86. cat
(31) : Oxford iiz.
3. Act like a cat in a gale of wind. Ilanford 155 (Maine).
4. As agile as a cat. W'ilstach 5.
5. As antagonistic as cats and dogs. Cf. Apperson 88, cat
(64) ; Hyamson 77: Oxford 6; Partridge 132; T C184.
See (20) below.
6. As curious as a cat. Berrey 16 1.4.
7. As dark as a black cat. Eleanor A. Blake, The Jade
Green Cats (N. Y., 1931) 114.
8. As gentle as a cat. Thornton 11. 902, tote, quot. 1835.
9. As many lives as a cat. Oxford t,77 ; Wilstach 254. Cf.
Apperson 85. cat (2) ; Hyamson 251 ; ( Jxford 377.
10. As modest as a cat. Cf. Lean 11, 855: As modest as a
big cat at midnight.
11. As quick as a cat. Taliaferro 130.
12. As supple as a cat.
13. As weak as a cat. Allison 97; Green 34; Wilstach 465.
14. Cat on wheels. (Person who does something extraor-
dinary.) See Devil (25) below.
15. Cats that swim in the ocean all drown. Cf. Apperson
87 : Never was cat or dog drowned that could see the
shore; TCi 59.
16. Don't need it any more than a cat needs two tails. Per-
kins 122.
17. Fight like a cat. Georgette Hever, Behold, Here's Poison
(N. Y., 1936) 263.
18. He takes to it like a cat to water. T. Downmg. Murder
on the Tropic (N. Y., 1935) 120.
19. Looked like a cat with cream. Cf. Apperson 87: Like
a cat round hot milk and The cat is in the cream pot;
Oxford 83.
20. Quarrel like cats and dogs. Cf. Llyamson 5. See (5)
above.
21. Raining cats and dogs (for raining heavily). Rains like
382 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
cats and dogs. Apperson 523; Berrey 71.16; Hardie
471 ; Hyamson 'j'j ; Oxford 531 ; Partridge 134; T C182.
22. See like a cat. Kyng Alisaunder, in H. Weber, Metrical
Romances of the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth
Centuries (Edinburgh, 1810) i, 218, 1. 5275.
23. The cat in gloves catches no mice (2). Apperson 87;
Oxford 83 ; Poor Richard 147 ; T C145 ; Way to Wealth
411.
24. There are more ways of killing a cat than by choking
her with butter. Stuart Palmer, The Puszlc of the
Silver Persian (N. Y., 1934) 50; Woodard 35. Cf.
Apperson 88 (cream), 494, pig (22); Bradley 64:
There are more than one way to kill {or skin) a cat.
There are more ways of killing a cat than by choking
her with bullets. See Dog (50) below.
25. When the cat's away the mice will play (7). Apperson
89; Bradley 64; Hardie 465; Oxford 84; Taylor 20; T
Ci75-
Catch. Catch as catch can. Apperson 89; Berrey 355.1,
367.4; Green 21 ; Oxford 85; T C189.
Catching. It's catching before hanging. Green 32 : There is
catching before hanging.
Caterpillar. xA.s fuzzy as a caterpillar. R. P. Bond, "More
Animal Comparisons," American Speech, iv (1928-29)
123.
Cattle. Raining like cattle with their horns down. Cf. Han-
ford 159: Come with one's horns down ; Tennessee Folk-
lore Bulletin, IX (1943) 10: It will rain like cows fight-
ing before morning.
Cellar. As dark as a cellar. Wilstach 80.
Cemetery. As quiet as a cemetery.
Chaff. I. As light as chaff. Cf. NED Chaff, ly, quot. a 1340.
2. Scattered like chaff before the wind. Wilstach 336.
Chalk. I. As white as chalk. Taylor 67; Wilstach 471.
2. No more alike than chalk's like cheese. Apperson 90 ;
Lean 11, 822; Oxford 87; T C218.
Chameleon. As changeable as a chameleon. R. P. Bond.
"More Animal Comparisons," American Speech, iv
(1928-29) 123; T C221.
Charity, i. As cold as charity. Apperson 106; Berrey 276.9;
Green 18; Oxford loi ; T C249; Wilstach 61, 505.
2. Charity begins at home. Ai)person 91-2; Bradley 65:
Hardie 462; Oxford 88; T C251.
PROVERBS 383
Cherry, i . As red as a cherry. Apperson 526 ; T C277.
2. l.ips like cherries. W'ilstach 236, 237.
Cheshire cat. (irinning like a Cheshire cat. Apperson 94;
Uerrey 278.10; CJreen ^2; Hyamson 82; Oxford 267-8;
I'artridge 145; W'ilstach 188.
Chick. As downy as a chick. Snapp 70 (252).
Chicken, i . .As (fuare as a chicken hatched in a thunder
storm (2).
2. As tender as chicken. IJerrev 265.4 (a) ; Green 31 (a) ;
Lean 11, 882 (a) ; T C287(;i).
3. As warm as a chicken in a hasket of wool. See Hen (6)
below.
4. As young as a spring chicken. Cf. DAE Spring chicken,
2.
5. Chickens come home to roost. Bradley 65 ; Green 21 ;
Hardie 462. Cf. Apperson 130; Berrey 56.3; Oxford
124-5; Taylor 21. See Curses and Trouble (6) below.
6. Don't count your chickens before they are hatched. Ap-
person 95 ; Bradley 65 ; Hardie 462 ; tiyamson 99 ;
Oxford 112; Partridge 146-7; T C292.
7. Like a picked chicken in a rain storm.
8. Runs around like a chicken with its head cut off. Ber-
rey 266.5, -•^4-4; W'oodard 41.
Child. I. A burnt child dreads the fire (6). Apperson y^;
Bradley 65 ; Hardie 461 ; Oxford 70; Taylor 21 ; T C297.
2. As innocent as a child. Lean 11, 844; Wilstach 216.
3. Children and fools tell the truth (3). Apperson 96, cf.
22=,: Bradley 76; Oxford 92; Taylor 21 ; T C328.
4. Children repeat what their parents say. Cf. Apperson 96 :
What children hear at home soon flies abroad, 95 : The
child says nothing but what it heard by the fire ; Oxford
91, 92;TC300.
5. Children should be seen and not heard (2). Apperson
96; P>radley 65; Oxford 92-3; T M45.
6. Children thrive better after they are christened. Lean
II, 117: It is further believed that children will not
thrive if they are not christened.
7. Every child is perfect to its mother. Cf. Aj)])erson 473:
There's only one pretty child in the wc^dd. and every
mother has it; Bohn 156: Jeder Mutter Kind ist schon ;
Paige 160: .-\ mother almost always thinks her young
ones handsomer than any body else's.
8. It's a wise child that knows his own mother in a bathing-
suit. Cf. Apperson 697 ; Oxford 717.
N.C.F.. Vol. I, (26)
384 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
Chimney, i. As black as the back of the chimney. Green 18
(verbatim).
2. Smokes Hke a chimney. W'ilstach 365.
Chip. I. As dry as a chip (chips) (3). Apperson 168;
T C351 ; Wilstach 105.
2. Chip off the old block (3). Apperson 97; Berrey 16.1,
383.2; Hyamson 84; Oxford 93; Partridge 65; T C352.
3. He carries a chip on his shoulder. Berrey 348.6.8 ; NED
Suppl., Chip, 8.
Chipmunk. As gay as a chipmunk.
Christmas, i. A green Christmas, a white Easter. Apperson
98, Christmas (11); Taylor 21-2.
2. As slow as Christmas (2). Cf. Apperson 99: Coming —
like Christmas ; Nicolson 366 : Christmas-day will come
(said of persons long of coming) ; Oxford 104.
3. I wouldn't have it on a Christmas tree. People say. "I
wouldn't have such and such a thing" on a Christmas
tree or as a gracious gift. Bernice K. Harris, Folk Plays
of Eastern Carolina (Chapel Hill, 1940) 22. Cf. Part-
ridge 327: Would not have as a gift. See Gift (2)
below.
Church. As quiet as a church. Cortland Fitzsimmons, No
Ulfncss (N. Y., 1932) 134.
Circumstances. Circumstances alter cases. Apperson 100;
Bradley 66; Oxford 95.
Clam. I. As close-mouthed as a clam. Wilstach 60.
2. As talkative as a clam. Cf. D. Q. Burleigh. The Kristiana
Killers (N. Y., 1937) 116: as gabby as a clam.
3. As tight as a clam (2). Paul Haggard, Dead is the
Door-Nail (Philadelphia. 1937) 210.
Clap. The clap is no worse than a bad cold. David L. Cohn,
God Shakes Creation (N. Y., 1935) 119: These (vene-
real) illnesses are regarded as having the transiency and
triviality of a common head cold. Cf. Partridge 168,
cold, have a bad.
Clapper. Her tongue moved like a clapper in a cowbell. Cf.
NED Clapper, 3, quot. 1599, 4; Oxford 664: Her tongue
runs like the clapper of a mill.
Clay. I. As cold as clay (2). Apperson 106; Green 22;
NED Clay-cold; T C406; Wilstach 61.
2. Beat clay to make a pot. Cf. Christy i. 150: If the clay
is not beat, it does not become potter's clay (M. Greek),
151 : Unless the clay be well pounded, no pitcher can be
made (Latin).
PROVERBS 385
Cleanliness. Cleanliness is next to (lodliness. Apperson loi ;
I-.radley 66; Hardie 462; Oxford 96.
Clock. I. As regular as a clock (2). Atkinson 90; Hendricks
47-
2. As steady as a clock. W ilstach T^S^y.
Clockwork, i. As smooth as clockwork. Cf. Snapp 94 (34) :
to go like clock work.
2. Works like clockwork. l<"rank H. Shaw, Atlantic Mur-
der (.N. Y.. 1933) 17.
Clothes. 1. A man is not known by the clothes he wears. Cf.
Bradley 66 ; You can't judge a man by his clothes.
2. Any clothes will fit a naked man. Gaelic Journal, v
(1894) y^: Any thing will fit a naked man. Cf. Spence
213: It's ill ta gi'e a naked man claes.
3. Clothes make the man. Apperson 13. apparel; Bradley
66; Oxford 12; Taylor 22, 80; T A283.
4. Could iron clothes on his coat tail. (W'^orking in a hurry.)
Cf. B. A. Botkin, Lay My Burden Down (Chicago,
1945) 226: She went so fast a bird coulda sot on her
dress tail; Carolina Humor. Sketches b\ Harden II.
Taliaferro. Foreword by David K. Jackson ( Richmond,
Va., 1938) 28: away all would go, big and little, Robert
so fast that his frock-coat tail would stick out so straight
behind that a brimful tumbler of water could be set upon
it without danger (jf spilling.
5. Not worth the clothes on his back.
Cloud. I. Every cloud has its silver lining. Apperson 572;
Bradley 66 ; Hardie 462 ; Oxford 98 ; Taylor 22 ; T C439.
2. Red clouds at night, sailors' delight ; Red clouds at morn-
ing, shepherds take warning. Apperson 526-7. Cf. T
E191.
Clown. As funny as a clown. Wilstach 166.
Coal. 1. As black as coal. Apperson 51 ; T C458.
2. As hot as a coal. Apperson 315 (coals) ; Partridge 408
(coals) ; T C462 ; Wilstach 204.
3. As red as a coal of fire. Ricarda Huch, The Perur/a
Trial, trans. L. Dictz ( N. Y., 1929) 69: as red as burn-
ing coals.
4. ]\ves like live coals. Wilstach 117.
Coat. Cut your coat according to your cloth (3). Apj^ersou
131; Green 22; Hardie 462 (sail); Hyamsou 90; Ox-
ford 126; Partridge 161 ; T C472. See Garment below.
Cock. I. Struts like the cock o' the walk. Hyamson 90;
XED Cock, 7; Wilstach 396. Cf. Berrey 402.5.
2. That cock won't fight. r)xford loi.
386 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
Cockle burr. Stick as clost as a cockle burr in a sheep's wool.
Cf. Atkinson 78: sticking closer than a cockle burr.
Cold. Feed a cold and starve a fever. Brewster 265.
Stuff a cold and starve a fever (2). If you stuff a cold
you'll have to starve a fever. Bradley 66; Oxford 627.
Colt. I. A ragged colt may make a good horse. x\pperson
520; Oxford 530; Taylor 23; T C522.
2. As frisky as a colt. Wilstach 165.
3. As skittish as a colt. Atkinson 89 ; Bond 46.
4. As wild as a colt. Green 35.
5. The wildest colts make the best horses. Apperson 687.
Come. I. Easy come, easy go. Apperson 365; Berrey 375.3,
549.6; Bradley '/2\ Green 22\ Hardie 462; Oxford 165;
Taylor 29; T C533.
2. First come, first served (3). Apperson 214; Bradley 75;
Hardie 463 ; Oxford 204 ; Taylor 33 ; T C530. Cf . Bohn
6 : Au dernier les os ; Lean in, 488 ; Spence 223 : They
that come last must tak' what's left.
Communications. Evil communications corrupt good manners.
Apperson 193; Bradley 73; I Corinthians, 15: 33; Ox-
ford 180; T C558.
Company, i. Good company shortens the road. Apperson
257;TC566.
2. Present company is always excepted. NED Suppl.,
Present, i.
Comparisons. Comparisons are odious. Apperson no; Brad-
ley 66; Oxford 106; T C576.
Compliment, sb. Compliments cost nothing. Christy, i, 161 :
Compliments cost nothing, yet many pay dear for them
(German); Fuller 33 (1135). Cf. Hearn 25: Merci
pas coute arien (Louisiana); Hislop 109: Gude words
cost naething.
Compliment, vb. Compliment another man's wife and endanger
your life.
Conscience. A guilty conscience needs no accuser. A guilty
conscience speaks for itself. Apperson in ; Oxford 269;
T C606.
Cooks. Too many cooks spoil the broth (2). Apperson 640;
Bradley 67 ; Hardie 465 ; Oxford 665 ; Taylor 23 ; T
C642.
Coon. A coon's age (2). Berrey 1.2.8. 2.12; DAE Coon's
age; Hyamson 96; Partridge 179; Taliaferro 201.
PROVERBS 387
Coot. 1. As crazy as a C(K)t (2). Berrey 152.5, 170.7.
2. As drunk as a coot. Ik'rrey 106.7. ^ f • DAE Cooter,
lb; Thornton 1. J04, cooter.
Cork. Float like a cork. Merry Drollery (1661), ed. J. \V.
I'^bsworth (Boston. Lincolnshire, 1875) 107. Cf. Ox-
ford 636 : To swim like a cork.
Corkscrew. As crooked as a corkscrew (2).
Corn. 1. Eatin' their lonj^ corn. (In best financial period.)
2. My corn is in the grass.
3. No corn without chalT and no good without dross. Cf.
Apperson 460: No wheat without its chafif; Hislop 293:
There's nae corn without cauf ; Oxford 349 : Every land
has its laugh (law), and every corn has its chaff (Scot-
tish) : T L48; Vaughan 69 (493).
4. You won't git far totin' corn in two half-bushels.
Corpse. I. As cold as a corpse. W'ilstach 61 : cold like a
corpse.
2. As still as a corpse. Jean Giono. Blite Boy (N. Y.,
1946) 23.
Costly. The costly is the cheapest in the long run. Fogel 35 :
'S dierscht is immer's wolfelscht. The dearest is always
the cheapest. Cf. Apperson 257. good cheap, quot.
1732; Christy i, 36: That which is bought cheap is the
dearest; Beckwith 96: Ton de long run de cheapest is
de dearest; Franck 104; T C257.
Cotton. I. As white as cotton. Tom Powers. Sheba on
Trampled Grass (Indianapolis. 1946) 14: As white as
a cotton patch.
2. That puts me in low cotton. ( For morbidness or de-
pression.) Woodard 20.
Cotton stalk. A cotton stalk too close to the weed Will find
the hoe gives it no heed. Cf. Champion 623 (114):
Heaps of cotton stalks get chopped up from associati(jn
with the weeds (American Negro).
Cow. I. As awkward as a cow. Allison 95; Berrey 258.4.10;
Bond 46.
2. As big as a cow. Bond 46; Hendricks JS-
3. As clumsy as a cow. l>ond 46.
4. As comely as a cow in a cage. Apperson 118; Ilyamson
93; Oxford 104; Partridge 185; T C747 ; Wilst'ach 63.
5. As crooked as a cow's hind leg (2). See Dog (11)
below.
6. As dark as the inside of a cow's belly. Cf. Partridge
208 : dark as the inside of a cow.
388 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
7. Cows off yonder have long horns. Victoria Lincoln,
February Hill (N. Y., 1934) '/2; Joyce 118: Cows far
off have long horns; Mac Adam 260 (232): Cows far
from home have long horns ; Nicolson 63 : Far off cows
have long horns; O'Rahilly 33 (117). See (9) below.
8. Feed the cow that gives the most milk.
9. Foreign cows wear long horns. (An old Scottish say-
ing.) Cf. Bradley 67: Strange cows (stray cows) have
long tails. See (7) above.
10. Grows down like a cow's tail. Apperson 119; Green 23;
Oxford 268; T C770; Wilstach 189.
11. Like a cow's tail, always behind. Berrey 2.4.15, 8.4;
Hyamson 100. Cf. Apperson i, aback, 119, cow (29).
12. Looks like his cow had died.
13. Many a good cow has a bad calf. Apperson 119; Ox-
ford 251; T C761.
14. Now I have a cow and a sheep everyone bids me good
morrow. Apperson 460; Oxford 181, 580; Poor Rich-
ard 81 ; T S307 ; Way to Wealth 411.
15. The cow never knew the value of her tail till she lost it.
Apperson 119; Oxford 115; T C749.
16. Wouldn't trust him as far as I could throw a cow (or
horse) by the tail. Cf. Apperson 72, bull (7), 649,
trust (5) ; DAE Bull, ib; Oxford 673 ; T T556.
Coward. Better a coward than a corpse. Hislop 57. Cf. T
C776.
Crab. Live like a crab — all stomach and no head. Cf. Beck-
with 39 : De reason crab no hab head a because him hab
too good a 'tomach ; Oxford 590 : He is sillier than a
crab, that has all his brains in his belly.
Crabapple. As sour as a crabapple. Berrey 283.6, 284.6;
Blakeborough 230 ; T C783.
Crazy. [ ?Not as] crazy as he looks. Cf. Cheviot 161: He's
nae sae daft as he lets on.
Cream. As rich as cream. Atkinson 88.
Creek. As po' as an empty creek bottom. Cf. Blakeborough
232 : Ez poor ez moor-land.
Cricket, i. As lively as a cricket (2). Apperson 413. merry,
quot. 1918; Green 19; Hardie 468; Wilstach 238.
2. As merry as crickets. Apperson 413; Green 28; Oxford
420; Partridge 517; T (^82 5 ; Wilstach 259.
3. As peart as a cricket. Allison 97; Bond 56; Taliaferro
121.
4. As quick as a cricket. Allison 93.
5. As smart as a cricket (2). Bond 56: smarter'n a cricket.
PROVERBS
389
6. As spry as a cricket (-'). I'ond 56.
7. Chirps like a cricket. Wilstach 53.
Croesus. As rich as Croesus (2). Apperson 530; Hyamson
102; T C832.
Cross-eyed. So cross-eyed that when he cries the tears run
down his hack. Atkinson 81 ; W'oodard 36.
Crow. I. As hlack as a crow (4). .\pperson 51; Rerrey
32.7; Green 21 ; Hardie 466; Hyamson 48; Oxford 47;
T C844; W'ilstach 20.
2. As cunning as a crow.
3. As hoarse as a crow. Apperson 124.
4. As poor as a winter crow. Cf. J. S. Fletclier, The
Amaranth Club (N. Y., 1926) 64: as poor as a crow;
Perkins 130: poorer than a crow in the spring; Wilstach
297. 298 : As poor as winter.
5. As straight as a crow flies. W'ilstach 392.
6. Crows of a feather will flock together. See Birds (14)
above.
7. She cares no more for him than a crow cares for Sunday.
Beckwith 76: John-Crow neber care fe Sunday mornin'
and You no care more bout it dan John Crow care fe
Sunday mornin'; Cundall Jt, (as Beckwith). Cf. Bond
47 : To care as much as a cat does about Sunday ; Brew-
ster 262 : He knows as much about as a hog
knows about Sunday; Taliaferro 117: I keered no more
for 'um than a hog does fur holiday.
Crutch, As funny as a crutch. Atkinson 88; W'ilstach 166.
Cry. They cry loudest who are least concerned. Those who
cry loudest are not always the most hurt.
Crystal, i. As bright as a crystal. Roman Dyboski, ed.,
Songs. Carols, and other Miscellaneous Poems from the
Baliiol MS. 354 (Early English Text Society. Extra
Series, ci. London. 1908) 5. 1. 21.
2. As clear as a crystal (2). Apperson loi ; Hardie 467;
Hyamson 88 ; Taylor 22 ; T C875 ; W'ilstach 58.
Cuckoo. As naked as a cuckoo. Apperson 436; Partridge 549.
Sec Bird (12) above and Jay (1), Jaybird (2), (3)
below.
Cucumber, i. As cold as a cucumber. Apperson 113. cool,
quot. 161 5; Hyamson 96; W'ilstach 61.
2. As cool as a cucumber (4). Apperson 113; Berrey
269.4; Green 22; Hardie 467; Hvamson 96; Partridge
178; Taylor 23; T C895 ; W'ilstach 69.
Cunning. Too much cunning overreaches itself. Cf. Apper-
son 640: Too much cunning undoes; T C900.
390 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
Cure. What can't be cured must be endured. Apperson 129;
Bradley 72; Oxford 124; T C922.
Curiosity. Curiosity killed the cat (2). Bradley 64; Hardie
462.
Currying, Less currying and more corn. See Buggy whip
above.
Curses. Curses, like chickens, come home to roost. Apperson
130; Green 22; Oxford 124; T C924. See Chicken (5)
above and Trouble (6) below.
Cush. As soft as cush. Cf. Dx\E Cush : The crumbs and
scrapings of cracker or meal-barrels, fried with grease
(North Carolina).
Daisy. As fresh as a daisy (4). Apperson 235; Green 23;
Partridge 301 ; Wilstach 162.
Dance. Those who dance must pay the fiddler. Apperson 133;
Pearce 241 : The dancer must pav the fiddler ; Vaughan
174 (1218).
Dancing master. As polite as a dancing master. Wilstach 297.
Darning needle. As fat as a darning needle.
Dart. As quick as a dart (2). Wilstach 308.
Dawn. ' I. As beautiful as the dawn. Wilstach 15.
2. Darkest before dawn. Apperson 135; Oxford 129; Tay-
lor 41 ; T D84.
Day. I. As bright as day. Hyamson 63 ; T D55 ; Wilstach 33.
2. As clear as day (2). Apperson loi ; Hyamson 88;
T D56; Wilstach 56.
3. As different as day and niglit. Cf. Lean 11, 860: As
opposite as day and night.
4. As honest as the day is long (2). Wilstach 202.
5. As light as day (4). Hardie 468; Wilstach 233.
6. As lovely as day. Wilstach 246.
7. As naked as the day he was born. Oxford 442; T B137.
See World (1) below.
8. As plain as day. NED Day. B 3. quot. 1883.
9. As sure as the day. Wilstach 402.
10. As sure as the day is long. J. T. Farrell, No Star Is
Lost (N. Y.. 1938) 102, 278.
11. As true as the day is long.
12. Come day, go day, God send Sunday (4). (One con-
tributor adds: "Describes thriftless, shiftless people.")
Apperson 108; Green 22; Oxford 10^; Partridge 172-
T D61.
P R O V K R H S 391
13. If a fair day take your umbrella. Cf. Apperson 200: In
fair weather prepare for foul; Oxford 187.
14 Lay up against a rainv day. Lay up something for a
rainv day (6). Apperson 523; Berrey 2.1 376.5;
Hyamson 289; NED Rainy. 2b ; Oxford 532 ; T D89.
15. Lose a dav, lose a friend. Cf. Clifton Johnson, IVIwt
They Say in New England (lioston. 1896) 70: Ciam a
day." and you gain a friend.
16. Save for the sore-foot day. Gaelic Journal, v (1896)
187 (S^)' Hislop 199: Keep something for a sair fit;
^lacAdam 178 (15); Nicolson 223: It's well to lay
something by for a sore foot; Oxford 331 : Keep some-
thing for the sore foot. Cf. I'atterson 96; Wood 238.
17. The better the day. the better the deed. Apperson 45:
Bradley 68 ; Hardie 464 ; Oxford 39 ; T D60.
18. The (lav after finds fault with the work of the night. Cf.
Christv I, 213: The day sees the workmanship of the
night 'and laughs (M.' Greek); Fuller 166 (5495):
What is done\v night appears by day; Robert Her-
rick, Poetical JVorks, ed. F. W. Moorman (London,
191 5) 20: Faults done by night, will blush by day;
Vaughan 77 : Scofif not at the light For the deed of the
night.
Daylight. Davlight can be seen through a small hole. Apper-
son 136-7. dav; Lean iv. 204; NED Day, B 3, quot.
1580: Such as could see dav at a little hole; Oxford
569;TD99.
Dead, sb. i. As mute as the dead. Wilstach 270.
2. As silent as the dead.
3. Let the dead burv the dead. Bradley 68.
4. Speak no evil of the dead. Bradley 68 (ill). Cf. Apper-
son 594; Oxford 611 ; T D124.
Dead, adj. He's worth more dead than alive. Cf. Apperson
494: Like a pig. he'll do no good alive; Lean 11. 761:
Like a churl, no good to any till he be dead; Oxford
637 : He is like a swine, he'll never do good while he
lives; Partridge 627; T M1005.
Dead men. Dead men tell no tales. Apperson 138. cf. 158.
dog (25) ; P.radlev 68; Hardie 462; Oxford 132; Tay-
lor 25; T M511. '
Death, i. As certain as death. Yankee Phrases \iS-
2. As clammy as death (2). Wilstach 54.
3. As grim as death. Wilstach 188.
4. As inevitable as death. Wilstach 215.
5. As mute as death. Wilstach 269.
392 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
6. As pale as death (3). Apperson 482; Green 19; Hyam-
son 262; T D134; Wilstach 282.
7. As patient as death. W^ilstach 288.
8. As purple as death. Cf. Robert Bloch, The Opener of
the Way (Sauk City, Wisconsin. 1945) 295: Weildan
rested where he had fallen, face empurpled in death.
9. As silent as death. Apperson 571 ; T D135 ; Wilstach 353.
10. As slow as death. Berrey 54.5.
11. As still as death (2). Frederick I. Anderson, American
Book of Murders (N. Y., 1930) 100.
12. As strong as death. Wilstach 396.
13. As sure as death (3). Apperson 611 ; Green 20; Hyam-
son 333: NED Suppl., Death, 17; Partridge 212, 849;
T D136; Wilstach 401.
Deed. i. Deeds, not words. Apperson 141 ; Bradley 68;
Oxford 135.
2. Let the deed praise itself. Cf. Oxford 515: Neither
praise nor dispraise thyself ; thy actions serve the turn.
Deer. i. As fleet as a deer (2). Bond 51 ; Hardie 467.
2. As swift as a deer. Bond 51.
3. Runs like a deer. Oxford 552.
Delay. Delay is dangerous. Apperson 141-2; Oxford 136; T
D195.
Dependence. Don't put no 'pendance in dead wood. Don't
put no 'pendance in dead wood or a wind.
Desert. As dry as a desert. Wilstach 105.
Devil. I. As bad as marrying the devil's daughter and living
with the old folks. Apperson 142; Oxford 411; Part-
ridge 216.
As crazy as the devil. Berrey 152.5.
As cute as the devil. Green 18.
As hot as the devil. Whiting 211.
As mad as the devil. Whiting 212.
As mean as the devil (2). Whiting 212.
As naughty as the devil.
As quick as the devil.
As sorry as the devil.
As ugly as the devil (2). Apperson 658; Hyamson 350;
Wilstach 439.
As wicked as the devil.
Drive like the devil. Whiting 213.
Feel like the devil. WHiiting 213.
Fights like the devil.
Give the devil his due. Api)erson 143; Bradley 68;
Hyamson 113; Oxford 239; T D273 ; Whiting 205.
!• R O V K R B S 393
1 6. Great cry but little wdoI. as tin- devil said when he
sheared his hogs. "From the ancient mystery play
wherein the devil is shown in the comic situation of
shearing a squealing pig. much to the delight of the
audience. Not sure that it is mitive N. C. Consider."
[It is not native to North Carolina, nor is the episode
found in the mystery plays. J Apperson 428, 432 ; 1 lyam-
son 103; Oxford 263-4; Partridge 196. 396. cf. 532,
more sauce. 964, wool; T C871.
17. He and the devil drink out of the same jug. Cf. Kelly
378: You and he pishes in one Nut Shell; T O17.
18. He is between the devil and the deep blue sea. Apper-
son 143; Berrev 256.13; Hardie 470; Hyamson 113;
Oxford 138; T'D222; Whiting 203.
19. He swapped the devil for the witch. Green 31.
20. Like the devil before day.
21. Looks like the devil. Berrey 38.4; Whiting 213.
22. Looks like the devil a-horseback.
23. Room looks like the devil has had a fit in it.
24. Runs like the devil. Berrey 53.11; Whiting 213; W'il-
stach 330.
25. She's a devil on wheels. Whiting 217. See Cat (14)
above.
26. Speak ( talk) of the devil and he will appear (4). Apper-
son 145; Hardie 464; Oxford 643-4; Partridge 216;
T D294 ; Whiting 206-7.
Speak (talkj of the devil and his imps will appear (5).
Bradley 68; Green 31.
Talk about the devil and you'll see his smoke.
27. The devil can cite Scripture for his purpose. The devil
can quote scripture. Apperson 145; Bradley 69; Ox-
ford 138-9; T D230; Whiting 207.
28. The devil is not as black as he is painted. Apperson
147; Bradley 69; Hyamson 113; Oxford 141; Taylor
26; T D255 ; Whiting 207-8.
29. The devil is old and knows a lot. Lean iv. 117; NED
Devil, 22n, quot. 1581 : The Proverbe. that the divell
is full of knowledge, because he is olde ; Oxford 141;
T D246.
30. The devil is whipping his wife. If the sun shines when
it is raining, the Devil is beating his wife. Apperson
150, devil (III) ; Green 25; Hyatt 2^ (687-9) : Oxford
532; Parler 80; Partridge 216; Taylor 26 (grand-
mother); T S973; "A Word List from the South,"
Dialect Notes, v, part 11 (1919) 36 (North Carolina).
394 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
31. The devil knows his own. Cf. Apperson 696: A wise
man knows his own; Lean iv, 115: The deil's aye gude
to his ain ; T D245.
32. The devil places a pillow for a drunken man to fall on.
Champion 616 (2) (Canadian). Cf. Apperson 146:
The devil has no power over a drunkard, 168: Drunken
men never take harm.
33. The devil to pay and no pitch hot (2). Apperson 148;
Hyamson 114; Oxford 142; Partridge 215 (deuce),
216, 611 ; Whiting 217-8.
34. The devil will take care of his own. Oxford 140; Whit-
ing 207. Cf. Apperson 146. 149. See (31) above.
35. \\'hatever goes over the devil's back will have to go under
his belly. Cf. Apperson 150: What's got over the devil's
back is spent under his belly; Bradley 69; Oxford 260;
T D316.
36. When the devil was sick, The devil a saint would be;
When the devil got well, The devil a saint was he.
Apperson 148-9; Bradley 69; Hyamson 114; Oxford
142; Taylor 26-7; T D270; Whiting 208-9. Most ex-
amples read monk for saint.
37. Works like the devil. Whiting 214.
^8. You might as well eat the devil as drink his broth. Apper-
son 144, devil (32); Oxford 166; T 0291; Woodard
36 : Not willing to eat with the devil, but willing to eat
his broth.
Dew. I. As fresh as the morning dew. Wilstach 162.
2. As soft as the dew. NED Dew, i, quot. a 1400; Wil-
stach 369.
3. As sparkling as the dew. Cf. Wilstach 377: Sparkling
like dewdrops.
Diamond, i. As hard as a diamond. NED Diamond, ib.
2. It takes a diamond to cut a diamond. Apperson 151;
Bradley 69; Hyamson 115; Oxford 144; T D323.
Dick. I. As quare as Dick's hatband which went around nine
times and wouldn't tie. Apperson 151; Hardie 468;
Hyamson 115; Oxford 144; Partridge 219. 378; Taylor
24; Wilstach 308.
2. As tight as Dick's hatband (5). Berrey 106.7, 37^-7',
Oxford 144; Wilstach 426.
3. Dick and the wheel in a tight place.
Dickens, i. As hot as the dickens. Cf. Whiting 245.
2. As tired as the dickens. Wilstach 427.
Die, sb. I. As straight as a die. Hyamson 330; NED Die,
2f ; Wilstach 392.
2. As true as a die. NED Die, 2f ; Wilstach 435.
PROVERBS 395
Die, vb. I. A man can die Init once. Oxford 400-1 ; Taylor
2. lie tliat dies pays all debts. Api)er.S()n 151 ; .Shakespeare,
Tciiil^cst. Ill, 2; T D148.
3. You will die when your time comes and not before.
Green 36 (^ verbatim). Cf. Cheviot 385: We maun a'
dee when our day comes.
Dime. As thin as a dime. Cf. Lean 11. 884: As thin as a
groat.
Dimple. A dimple on the chin. A devil within. Bergen i. 32;
Cannell 32; Hyatt 141 (2890). 189 (4013) (wart).
Dinner. i. One thing to run for your dinner and another for
your life.
2. The dinner bell's always in tune for a hungry man.
Champion 624 (153): The dinner-bell's always in tune
( .\merican Negro).
Dirt. I. As cheap as dirt (4). Dirt cheap (3). Berrey
21.14. 351.15; Hyamson 116; Partridge 143; Wilstach
50.
2. As common as dirt (2). Green 18; Wilstach 64.
3. As easy as dirt.
4. As mean as dirt. Dorothy Bennett, Murder Unleashed
(N. Y., 1935) 117.
5. As rich as dirt. Cf. Edward Ward, The Wand'ring Spie,
Part II (London, n.d.) 66: Who gains most Dirt, most
Riches gathers.
6. As rotten as dirt. \\'ilstach 327.
7. As weak as dirt.
Disease. As well to die with the disease as with the remedy.
Cf. Oxford 5^8: The remedy is worse than the disease;
T R68.
Dish. As easy to lick as a dish. Partridge 253: easy as to
lick a dish; T D363. Cf. Apperson 362, lie, vh. (3);
Cheviot 129: He can lee as weel as a dog can lick a dish ;
Wilstach 108: Easy as for a dog to lick a dish.
Dishrag. As limber as a dishrag (2). Berrey 35.8; Payne
346; Woofter 359.
Dishwater. As common as dishwater. Green 18; Patterson
viii.
Dispositions. Evil dispositions are early shown.
Ditcher. Eats like a ditcher. Cf. Oxford 197: To feed like a
farmer ; T F62.
Do. I. Do as I sav. not as I do. Apperson 154; Oxford 148;
Pearce 241 ; Taylor 27-8; T D394.
396 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
2. Do it or let it alone.
3. Do it, then talk about it.
4. Do or die. Davidoff 90; NED Suppl.. Do, 16.
5. Never do anything of which you are ashamed. Christy
I, 165-
6. When a thing is done it's done. Apperson 468, 625 ;
Oxford 154; Snapp 103 (35) ; T T200.
7. You never know what you can do till you try. Oxford
344-5; Snapp 103 (2,7) '. You can never tell until you've
tried.
Dodo. I. As dead as a dodo. Berrev 233.12, 276.8 ; Hvanison
118.
2. As extinct as a dodo, ^^'ilstach 116.
Dog. I. A barking dog seldom bites (2). A dog that barks
seldom bites. Barking dogs don't bite. Barking dogs
rarelv bite. Apperson 157; Bradley 71; Hardie 462;
Oxford 23 ; Taylor 28 ; T B85.
2. A bull dog in trouble welcomes a puppy's breeches. Par-
sons, Antilles 464 : \\'hen bulldog hab trouble puppy
breeches fit e. Cf. Bates 40: Trubble catch man. monkey
breeches fit him.
3. A dead dog will not bite. Apperson 1^8, dog (25), quot.
1667; T D448.
4. A dog in the manger that neither eats or lets others eat.
Apperson 160; Hardie 469; Hyamson 11 8-9; Oxford
151 ; Partridge 231 ; Taylor 28; T D513.
5. A dog is man's best friend. A man's best friend is his
dog. Victor Bridges. The Girl in Block ( N. Y., 1927)
28.
6. A lean dog for a long chase. Bradley 71 ; Green 17. Cf.
Apperson 356 : A lean dog for a hard road ; Oxford 357.
7. A living dog is better than a dead lion. Apperson 376 ;
Bradley 71; Oxford 378; Taylor 28; T D495. •''^ee
Ass (1) above.
8. An old dog barks sitting down. Champion 618 (4)
(Colombian). Cf. Cundall 43: Darg ebber so ole, him
no forget sidun.
9. Any dog knows better than to chew a razor. Beckwith
126: You never see daag nyam [eat] razor; Cundall 40
(chew).
10. As cold as a dog's nose (2). W'ilstach 6r. Cf. Apper-
son 157: A dog's nose and a maid's knees are always
cold; Nicolson 192: Wind under a sail, and a dog's
nose, are two of the coldest things ; Oxford 152 ; T D522.
11. As crooked as a dog's hind leg (8). Apperson 122; Ber-
p R o V f: R B s 397
rey 42.3, 311.3; (irccn iS; llardie 4^)7 ; I'artrid^e 231,
cf . 837 ; \Vilstach y^. Sec Cow (5) al)ove.
12. As drunk as a dog. Cf. Berrey 106.7: dojj^-drunk ;
Taliaferro 254.
13. As faithful as a dog (2). W'ilstach 130.
14. As humble as a dog. I'ond 44: Koch i, 186. Cf. Lean
II. 843: As humble as a spaniel.
15. As hungry as a dog (3). Apperson 318; Uerrey 95.6.
16. As keen as a hunting dog.
17. As lazy as a dog. Nicolson 142 (old dog). Cf. Apper-
son 355 ; Oxford 355 ; Partridge 473.
18. As many as a dog has fleas. More than a
dog has fleas. Cf. Hardie 469: full of ideas as a dog is
full of fleas,
ig. As mean as a dog. Whitney 205.
20. As naked as a yard dog. Paul Green, JVidc Fields
(N. Y.. 1928) 239.
21. As pleased as a dog with two tails. Apperson 502, cf.
158, dog (20) ; Green 20 (proud), 29 (proud).
22. As proud as a dog in a doublet. Apperson 157; Oxford
i5i;TD452.
23. As shaggy as a dog. Bond 44 (old dog).
24. As sick as a dog. Apperson 569; Berrey 129.8: Green
20: Partridge 767; T D440: Wilstach 351.
25. As thick as hairs on a dog's back. Atkinson 90: Brew-
ster 267 ; Wilstach 420 : Woodard 43.
26. As tired as a dog (2). Green t,2 ; Hardie 472; NED
Dog, 15m: Nicolson 143.
27. Die like a dog. Oxford 144; I'artridge 219: T D509 ;
Wilstach 91.
28. Don't kick a dead dog. William N. Macartney, I'iftv
Years a Country Doctor (N. Y., 1938) 115.
29. Enough to make a dog laugh. Apperson 1 59 ; Green 22 ;
Hardie 470: NED Dog, 15m: Partridge 231; T H673.
30. Even bad dogs shouldn't bite at Christmas.
31. Every dog has his day (3). Apperson 159; Bradley 70;
Green 22 ; Hardie 462; Oxford 151 ; Taylor 28: T D464.
Every dog has his day and the bitch her evenings. Cf.
Api^erson 159, dog (41), quot. 1896.
32. Every dog to his own vomit. See (48) below.
33. Eollow like a dog.
34. He leads a dog's life. Berrey 282.^; Hvamson 119;
NED Dog, I5g.
35. He stays until the last dog is killed. Cf. Berrey 11.9:
Until the last cat is hung (to the very end) ; Pearce 230:
He'll stay until the last dog's hung: Helen M. Thurston,
398 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
"Sayings and Proverbs from Massachusetts," Journal
of American Folklore, xix (1906) 122.
36. He who ties a mad dog is Hkely to be bit. Cf. Cundall 79:
De man who tie mad darg a de right s'mody fe loose him.
37. If you give a dog a bad (ill) name you had just as well
hang him (3). Apperson 159; Bradley 86; Green 26
(verbatim); Oxford 237; W'oodard 36: Give a dog a
bad name and everybody will want to kick him.
38. It's a poor dog can't wag its own tail. (First heard in
Oxford. N. C., from an old German who came to
America around 1850). Cf. Apperson 313: It is an ill
horse can neither whinny nor wag his tail; Oxford 316.
39. Keep a dog tied up too long and he'll lose his nose for the
trail.
40. Let sleeping dogs lie (2). Apperson 578; Bradley 70;
Hardie 463; Hyamson 319; Oxford 362; T W7.
41. Lie down with dogs, get up with fleas. Bradley 61 ;
T D537 ; W'oodard 37.
Lie with dogs and you'll catch fleas.
Play with a dog and you'll catch fleas. Cf. Apperson
159; Oxford 365; Poor Richard 66.
42. Lies like a dog (2). Berrey 316.3.
43. Like a sheep-killing dog. Bond 44 (ashamed as a) (to
look like a).
44. Like a suck-egg dog. Parler 80 : I dee-double-dare you
like a suck-egg dog ; Irene Yates, "A Collection of
Proverbs and Proverbial Sayings from South Carolina
Literature," Southern Folklore Quarterly, xi (1947)
198: as shame-faced as a suck-egg dog.
45. Stinks like a dog. Cf. Samuel Rowlands, Works, ed.
S. J. H. Herrtage ( Hunterian Club. 3 vols., Glasgow,
1872-80) II, b, is: Perfum'd as sweet as anv stinking
Dog.
46. The dogs follow the man with the bone. O Rahilly 40
(138) : Keep hold of the bone and the dog will follow
you. Cf. Apperson 159: If you wish the dog to follow
you, feed him.
47. The dog that fetches will carry. Apperson 161 ; Oxford
1 52 ; Woodard 37.
48. The dog will return to his vomit. Bradley 70; Oxford
152; T D455. See (32) above.
49. The hit dog always hollers. The hit dog is always the
one that howls. Bradley 71 : The hit dog howls; Smith
and Eddins 244: The hit dog is always the one that
howls.
50. There are more ways to kill a dog than to choke him
PROVERBS 399
with l)uttcr. l-.nulley 70; Koch I, 259. Sec Cat (24)
ahove.
51. There's no use to have a doo^ and bark yourself. Apper-
son 162; Oxford 329-30; T D482.
52. Treated like a dog. H. Footner, Murder Runs in the
Family (N. Y., 1934) 25. Cf. T D514.
53. Works like a dog. Hardie 472.
54. You can't teach old dogs new tricks (4). Apperson 158;
Bradley 71 ; Hardie 465 ; ()xf(jrd 645 ; T D500.
Doll. As pretty as a doll. Cf. NED Doll, i. quot. 1578.
Dollar. I. As bright as a dollar (2). Hardie 467; Wilstach
33-
As bright as a new dollar. Berrey I48-5-9, I53-2-5:
W'oofter 349.
2. As good as a dollar.
3. As shiny as a new dollar.
4. As smart as a dollar.
5. As solid as a dollar. As solid as a silver dollar.
6. As sound as a dollar (4). Green 20.
As sound as a silver dollar.
7. He squeezes the dollar till the eagle screams. Maurice
Zolotow. The Great Balsauw { N. Y., 1946) 123; Wood-
ard 43 : He's so tight he holds his money till the eagle
squeals.
Don't-care. Don't care keeps a big house. Bates 42 : Don'
care keep big house ; Beckwith 42 ; Cundall 47.
Doodle. As drunk as a doodle (3). Cf. DAE Doodle. Doodle
bug.
Door. I. A creaking door never falls. Green 17. Cf. Apper-
son 121: A creaking gate (door) hangs long: Bradley
71; Hardie 461; Oxford 118: A creaking door hangs
long on its hinges.
2. As wide as a barn door. A\'ilstach 475.
Doorknob, i . As bald as a doorknob.
2. As dead as a doorknob (2). Paul Green, Out of the
South (N. Y., 1939) 154; Phoebe A. Taylor, Death
Lights a Candle (Indianapolis, 1932) 94.
3. As deaf as a doorknob. Berrey 139.7.
Doornail, i. As dead as a doornail (4). .Apperson 137;
Berrey 1 17.18, 248.6, 276.8.9; Hardie 467; Hyamson
III ; Oxford 131 ; Partridge 210; Taliaferro 58; Taylor
26 ; T D567 ; Wilstach 83.
2. As deaf as a door-nail. Apperson 138; Hvamson in;
Oxford 131 ; T D567.
N.C.F., Vol. I, (27)
400 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
Dormouse. As sleepy as a dormouse. Hvamson 120. Cf.
NED Dormouse, i ; T D568.
Dose. I. W^ent through Uke a dose of salts. Berrey 53.9.16;
Partridge 236, cf. 879; "A List of Words from North-
west Arkansas." Dialect Notes, iii, part 11 (1906) 138.
2. Works faster than a dose of croton oil. Cf. Berrey
24.19.
Dove. I. As gentle as a dove. W. W. Jacobs. Snug Harbour
(N. Y., 1931) 181.
2. As happy as doves. Cf. \\'ilstach 192: Happy as a turtle
dove.
3. As harmless as doves. Hyamson 178; T D572.
4. As mournful as a dove. Bond 54.
5. As peaceful as a dove. Bond 54.
6. As white as a dove. Wllstach 470.
7. Coo like a dove. Cf. NED Coo. i.
8. Moans like a dove. Wilstach 263.
Down, sb. As soft as down. Hardie 468.
Down, adv. Down is not always out. Cf. Snapp 100 (13) :
To be down but not out ; Taylor 29.
Draft. Don't miss her no more than a cold draft after the door
is shut.
Drake. As poor as a drake.
Dream. As unreal as a dream. Wilstach 446.
Drive. Never drive in where you can't turn around.
Dropping. Constant dropping wears away the stone. Apper-
son 112: Bradley 72: Oxford 107-8: T D618; Way to
JVcalth 411.
Drops. Small drops make a shower. T D617. Cf. Oxford
405 : Many drops make a shower.
Drouth. In a drouth all signs fail. Green 26. See Sign (1)
below.
Drum. I. As empty as a drum. NED Drum, i, quot. 1778.
2. As hollow as a drum. W'ilstach 202.
3. As tight as a drum (3). Apperson 633; Berrey 106.7;
Green 20; Hardie 468; Partridge 243, 885; Wilstach
425 (drum head).
Druthers. You can have yer druthers. Berrey 216.3; "Snake
River (Missouri) Talk," Dialect Notes, v, part vi
(1923) 206.
Let him have his ruthers and desires.
Duck. I. As slick as a duck's back. Bond 49: slick as a
duck.
P R O V F R B S 401
2. As \vol)l)ly as a cluck. Bond 49 (wabbly).
3. Flopped like a dying duck.
4. CJot ni' ducks in a row. (Ready; i)reparc(l lo start out;
everytbing lined up.) Josepbine I'inckney, Three O'Clock
Dinner (N. Y., 1945) 70: get bis ducks in a row before
tbe interview.
5. It's no sign of a duck's nest seeing a drake sitting on the
fence. Champion 625 (189) : It is no sign of a duck's
nest to see feathers on the fence (American Xegro).
6. Swim like a duck (2). Oxford 636; T F328; W'ilstach
414.
7. \\'addles like a duck. NED Waddle. 2b; Wilstacb 460.
8. Walks like a duck. Cf. Roxburghe iv. 526. 1. 30: danc't
it like a duck.
Duck-puddle. .\s muddy as a duck-puddle. Green 28.
Dummern. I lis [ ? Hits] a poor dummern that can't daddy her
youngun by hits favor. Cf. Fuller 141 (4676) : The
mother knows best, whether the child be like the father ;
Kephart 411, where dnnunern is given as a form of
i^'0)nan.
Dumpling. As round as a dumpling. Lean 11, 869; Wilstacb
328.
Dungeon. As dark as a dungeon (2). Green 18; Wilstacb 80.
Dust. I. As drv as dust (2). Apperson 168-9; Hvamson
124; NED'Dryasdust; T D647 ; Wilstach 105.
2. Cut the dust. (Go fast.) Cf. DAE Dirt, ib; NED Dirt.
6d.
3. Dust in the wheat and mud in the oats. Cf. Apperson
26: Sow barley in dree, and wheat in pul (mud);
Cheviot 290: Sow wheat in dirt and rye in dust; Fuller
127 (4235) ; Lean i. 414. The North Carolina version
seems based on a misunderstanding.
4. He who blows dust will find (for bll ) his own eyes.
.\pperson 57. blow (8) ; Oxford 53; T D648.
Dutch uncle. Talks like a Dutch uncle. Berrey 295.2 ; Hyam-
son 126; Oxford 162; Partridge 251.
Dyer. Upon the honor of Joe Dyer the Dutchman. ( Csed to
express surprise.)
Eagle. I. As bald as an eagle. Bond 54.
2. As strong as an eagle. Wilstach 395.
3. As swift as an eagle. Bond 54.
4. Eyes like an eagle. Cf. NED Eagle-eyed.
5. He spreads himself like an eagle. Cf. DAE Spread-
eagle.
402 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
6. Like an eagle among crows. Cf. Christy i. 282 : When
the eagle is dead, the crows pick out his eyes (German),
I, 124: The carrion which the eagle has left feeds the
crow.
7. Soared like an eagle. Bond 54.
Ear (1). I. Deaf in one ear and can't hear out'n the other
(3)- J- C. Harris 88: I'm de'f in one year en I can't
hear out'n de udder.
2. In at one ear and out at the other (2). Apperson 469-70;
Green 23; Hvamson 126; NED Ear, 3d; Oxford 318;
T E12.
3. There are ears on both sides of the fences. Cf. Apper-
son 163: There's no down without eyes, no hedge with-
out ears, 210, fields, 296, hedge (3) ; Champion 50
(180) : Woods have ears and both sides of the fences
(Irish) ; Oxford 199-200.
4. Two ears don't mean you hear twice. Champion 625
( 197) : One has two ears but one never hears the
word twice (Surinam).
Ear (2). The heaviest ear of corn hangs its head the lowest.
MacAdam 257 (188); National Proverbs: Ireland 79:
The heaviest ear of corn is the one that lowliest bends
its head ; Nicolson 256 : The heaviest ear of corn bends
its head lowest; T E8; Vaughan 237 (1653).
Earl of Hell. As black as the Earl of Hell. (Good, not
poison.) Partridge 58: Black as the Earl of Hell's
riding-boots ; Wilstach 20 : Black as the Duke of Hell's
black riding boots.
East. East is West, Home is best. Apperson 174; Hislop 84;
Oxford 165; Snapp 93 (16). Most examples read
"East or West."
Eating. As easy as eating. Cf. Paul Green, Wide Fields
(N. Y., 1928) 254: sHcker n'eating.
Eel. I. As slick as an eel.
2. As sleek as an eel (2). xApperson 579, slippery, quot.
1533; Berrey 257.11 ; Thornton 11, 809.
As slick as an eel and twice as nasty.
3. As sHppery as an eel (4). Apperson 579; Berrey 31 1.5,
317.6; Green 30; Hardie 468; Hyamson 320; Oxford
597 ; T E60.
Egg- ^- -^s full of conceit as an egg is full of meat. Green
19 (verbatim). Cf. Apperson 179: As full as an egg
is of meat; Hyamson 153; NED Egg, 4b; Oxford 230;
Wilstach 166: Full of quarrels as an egg is full of meat.
PROVERBS 403
2. As like as two fried t'g^s. Cf. K\i\) l\i^g, 4I). (|uots.
161 1, 1638; T E66.
3. Better an egg to-day then a hen to-morrow. Oxford 37;
Poor Richard J2 ; T K70.
4. Don't put all yours eggs in one basket. .Vpperson i(So-i ;
Bradley yj; Ilardie 462; Hyainsou 128; Oxford 169;
T k:89;
Don't put too many eggs in one basket.
The man who put his eggs all in one basket, should watch
that basket. Davidoff 115 (]\lark Twain).
5. He steps like he is walking on eggs. T K91. Cf. llic
Best oj Science Fiction, ed. Groff Conklin (N. V.. 1946)
263 : they walked on eggs when the Old Man had that
look; Hyamson 128: To tread upon eggs; NED Egg, 4b.
6. So hard up they have to fry the nest eggs when company
comes. h>y the nest eggs fur unexpected company. So
triflin' she has to fry the nest aigs when company comes.
Egypt- I- -^s black as Egypt. As black as Egypt's night.
2. As dark as Egypt (2). Atkinson 89; \\'ilstach 81. Cf.
Hyamson 129: Egyptian darkness.
3. As slow as Egypt.
Elbow grease. Elbow grease is the best cleaner. I^ll)ow grease
is the best polish. It needs a little elbow grease. Apper-
son i8r ; (jxford 170. Cf. Hyamson 129; NED Elbow-
grease; Partridge 255; T E103.
Elephant, i. As awkward as an elephant. Bond 51.
2. As big as an elephant (2). Wilstach iS.
3. As graceful as an elephant. Bond 51.
4. Memory like an elephant. Cf. Jane Allen. / Lost My
Girlish Laughter (N. Y., 1938) 182: An elephant never
forgets.
5. Remembers like an elephant. Cf. James W. Bellah.
Ward Ttcenty ( N. Y., 1946) 47: I'm a rememberer.
An elephant.
End. I. Can't see farther than the end of your nose (3).
Cf. Hislo]) 114: He canna see an inch before his nose.
2. Make both ends meet. Apperson 392 ; Berrey 376.4.
378.3 ; (ireen 28; Hyamson 130; Oxford 58; T E135.
3. Nearly to end of rope. Berrey 117.17, 129.11. 247.4,
262.3. SS4-2. 936.2; Hardie 471; Nb^D Rope. 4I) ; T
Ki33- '^
4. The end of mirth is heaviness. Cf. I'.ohn t,jj: I let einde
van de vrolijkheid is het begin van de treurigheid.
Enough. I. Enough is as good as a feast (4). Apperson
184-5; Bradley 73; Hardie 462; Oxford 174; T Ei^S.
404 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
2. Enough of anything's enough. Apperson 185 ; Taylor 30;
TE159.
3. Well enough is soon enough. Apperson 675, well (19) ;
T S640.
Everything, i. Everything happens for the best. Christy i,
477-
2. Everything in its time. Cf. Apperson 192; Oxford 180.
3. In everything consider the end. Cf. Christy i, 295 : In
all undertakings it is necessary to consider the end (La
Fontaine).
Evil. I. Evil fears the light. Cf. Cheviot 144; Taylor 31:
He that doeth evil hateth the light.
2. Of two evils choose the lesser. Apperson 654; Oxford
181 ; Taylor 31 ; T E207.
Ewe. As drunk as a ewe.
Exception. The exception proves the rule. Apperson 194;
Bradley 91 ; Oxford 181-2; Taylor 31 ; T E2i3a.
Excuse. A poor excuse is better than none. Apperson 22 ;
Bradley 73; Oxford 19; T E214.
Experience. Experience keeps a dear school but fools will
learn in no other. Apperson 195; Bradley 73; Hardie
463; Oxford 182-3; Poor Richard 116; T E220 ; ]Va\
to Wealth 418.
Eye. I. A hungry eye sees far. Patterson 54; T Mi 88.
2. As quick as the eye.
3. As touchous as your eye.
4. Every shet eye ain't sleep. "Folk-Lore from St. Helena,
South Carolina," Journal of American Folklore, xxxviii
(1925) 229: Every shut eye don't mean sleep; Johnson
161: Ev'ry shut-eye don' mean sleep; Kemp Malone,
"Negro Proverbs from Maryland." American Speech,
IV (1928-29) 285: Every shut eye ain't asleep; Woodard
42 : Every shut-eye ain't sleep, and every good-by ain't
gone (Negroes). Cf. Bohn 147: Es schlafen nicht alle,
welche die Augen zu haben.
5. His eyes are biggern'n his belly (3). Apperson 195;
Bradley 74; Hardie 472 (stomach) ; Oxford 183; Par-
tridge 46; Taylor 31 ; T E261.
Your eyes are bigger than your belly. Green 36.
6. Keep your weather eye open. Berrey 121.22; NED
Weather-eye ; Oxford 332.
7. No eye like the master's eye. Cf. Apperson 196, eye (9)
(13); Oxford 183; T E243.
8. When six eyes meet the story is over. Beckwith 121 :
When six yeye meet, 'tory done. . . . i.e., the entrance
p R o V i: R B s 405
of a third person breaks up gossip. Cf. Chenet 15
(102) : Quatre ges contre, menti caba. Quatrc yeux
se recontrent, le mensonge finit.
Eyebrow. The eyebrow is older than the beard. Cundall 49:
Yeyebrow older dan beard. Cf. Chenet 6 (36) : Babe
blanche dit "moin vie" souci dit li moins vie passe li.
La barbe blanche dit "je suis vieille" les sourcils disent
qu'ils sont moins vieux qu'elle, 114 (804): Souci pis
ancien passer babe, babe blanche envant li. Le sourcil
est plus ancien que la barbe, la barbe blanchit avant ;
H. H. Finlay, "Folklore from Eleuthera, Bahamas,"
Journal of American Folklore, xxxviii (1925) 294:
Eye winkers older than beard, but when beard come,
beard grow the longest.
Face. I. A face that would stop a clock. (That is, repel-
lant.) Brewster 261 : So ugly her face would stop a
clock; Green 17 (verbatim). Cf. B. Q. Morgan. "Simile
and Metaphor : Addenda," Dialect Notes, v, part vii
(1924) 290: Homely enough to stop a clock; \\'oodard
43 • ^S^y enough to stop an eight-day clock.
2. He spits in his own face. NED Spit, 6b, quot. 1639.
Failures. Three failures and a fire make a Scotsman rich.
Hislop 305 ; Oxford 654.
Faith. I. Faith dares, Love bears. Cundall 50: Fait' dare
eberyting, and lub bear eberyting.
2. Us got to take a heap o' things on faith, 'cause us ain't
got nobody's say-so. Cf. T L497.
Familiarity. Familiarity breeds contempt (2). Apperson
203; Bradley 74; Green 23; Oxford 190; Taylor 32; T
F47.
Famine. After a famine in the stall. Comes a famine in the
hall. Apperson 203, cf. 183, England (i); Oxford 4;
T F50.
Fart. Like a fart in a whirlwind. No more'n a fart in a whirl-
wind. Cf. Samuel H. Adams, A. U'oollcoft, His Life and
His World (N. Y., 1945) 71 : The critic (A. W.) cap-
tioned his article "Farce in a Gale of Wind." An alert
proofreader caught it; Berry 30.3: Not amount to a
belch in a gale of wind.
Farther. Go farther and fare worse. Apperson 250; Green
23; Hyamson 161 ; Oxford 241 ; T G160. See Look (2)
below.
Fate. As sure as fate (3). Berrey 164.4; Green 20; NED
Sure, adv., 4a; Partridge 894; T h'8i ; Wilstach 401.
406 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
Father. Like father, like son (3). Apperson 366; Bradley
74; Hardie 464; Oxford 194; T F92.
Fault. There is none without a fault. Apperson 449 : No man
liveth without a fault; Nicolson 199: You may go round
the world, but you'll not meet a man without fault ;
Oxford 178: Every man hath his fault.
Feast. I. A feast or a famine. Apperson 553, Scilly ; P. K.
Devine, Folk Lore of Newfoundland in Old Words,
Phrases and Expressions (St. John's. 1937) 61 ; Green
17; Wood 239.
2. The three feasts due to every man — The feast of bap-
tism, The feast of marriage. The feast of death. Cham-
pion 51 (208) (Irish). Cf. Gaelic Journal, xvi (1906)
167: The day of your being baptised, married, and
buried ; three most important in one's life.
Feather, i. As light as a feather (6). Apperson 364; Green
19; Hardie 468; Hyamson 222; Partridge 481 ; T F150;
Wilstach 234.
2. Dives like a feather.
3. Fine feathers are lifted when the wind blows. Cf. Bige-
low 19: Ce Iher vent ca venter moune ca ouer la peau
poule. It is when the wind is blowing that we see the
skin of the fowl; Champion 578 (17): A single gust
of wind suffices to expose the anus of a hen (Ruanda,
Africa) ; Hearn 14 (Trinidad) ; Parsons. Antilles 457
(8), 463 (144); Cundall 58 (579) (also Haitian and
Hausa examples).
4. Fine feathers make fine birds. Apperson 21 1-2; Brad-
ley 62 ; Hardie 463 ; Oxford 202 ; T F163.
Fine feathers do not make fine birds.
5. Like a feather in the breeze. Cf. T F162.
6. That will be a feather in his cap. Apperson 207 ; Berrey
243.1, 261. 1, 301. 1, 650.1 ; Green 31 (verbatim) ; Hyam-
son 140; Oxford 197; T F157.
7. When you ain't got but one feather in yer piller don't
pizen yer geese.
Fence. As ugly as a homemade fence. See Mud fence below.
Fence rail. i. As long as a fence rail (2).
2. As thin as a fence rail. Hanford 178.
Fewer. The fewer the better. Cf. Apperson 428. more the
merrier; Oxford 433; T M1153. See More below.
Fiddle, i. As fit as a fiddle. Apperson 217; Berrey 128.3;
Hyamson 141; Notes and Queries, 192 (1947) 159-61;
Partridge 272; T F202 ; Wilstach 141.
2. As sound as a fiddle.
PROVERBS 407
Fiddle chest. As fine as a fiddle chest. Cf. Thornton i, 316:
As fine as a fiddle; Yankee Phrases 114-
Fiddler. 1. As drunk as a fiddler. Apperson 166; P.errey
106.7; DAE Fiddler, ic; Hyamson 123; Wilstach 105.
2. As drunk as a fiddler's bitch (4). Apperson 166; Green
19; Partridge 273; Woofter 353.
3. As fit as a fiddler. Colin Brooks. The Ghost Hunters
(N. Y., n.d. [before 1931]) 112.
Field. Don't neglect your own field to plant your neighbor's.
Fig. He's not worth a fig. Apperson 456; Berrey 21.3; NED
Fig. 4; Oxford 200; Partridge 128, 274; T F211.
Fight. He that fights and runs away will live to fight another
day. Apperson 211; liradley 74; Oxford 200-1 ; T D79.
Figures, i . Figures are not facts. Cf . Chenet 57 : ^a qui na n
comptes pas toujou vre. Ce qui est dans les comptes
n'est pas toujours vrai.
2. Figures don't lie. Koch 11, 18. Cf. Willoughby Sharp,
Murder of the Honest Broker (N. Y., 1934) 13: Fig-
ures sometimes — yes, usually — lie.
Finger, i . Dressed like a sore finger. Berrey 89.4 ; Partridge
801.
2. Don't burn your fingers when you have tongs. Cham-
pion 51 (218) : Why burn your fingers when you have
a pair of tongs? (Irish).
3. Fingers were made before forks, so just crack your whip.
(First part only): Apperson 212; Oxford 202; Taylor
33 ; T F235 ; W'oodard 38.
4. Keep your fingers out of holes. Cf. Lean in, 384: A
fool oft puts his finger in a hole ; T F472.
5. My fingers are all thumbs (of a clumsy person). Apper-
son 212; Green 28 (verbatim) ; Hyamson 143; Oxford
202 ; T F233.
6. One finger won't catch fleas. Beckwith 93: One finger
can't ketch daag-flea ; Bigelow 31: Nion doigt pas sa
pouand puces; Champion 567 (7): One finger alone
can't rid itself of lice ( Ndonga, Africa). 570 (15)
(Nyang, Africa). 590 (12). 594 (105) (Thonga,
Africa); Chenet 35: Gnou sel doete pas jam tue pou;
Hearn 38: Yon doegt pas sa pouend pice (Martinique) ;
Parsons. Antilles 462 : One finger can't catch flea
(Granada). Cf. Cundall 51 : One finger can' ketch
louse ; Franck 104.
Fingernails. A man iiad better ne'er been born. Than have his
nails on Sunday shorn. Cut them on Monday, cut for
health, Cut them on Tuesday, cut for wealth. Cut them
408 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
on Wednesday, cut for a letter, Cut them on Thursday,
something better. Cut them on Friday, cut for sorrow,
Cut them on Saturday, sweetheart to-morrow. For all
or part, in various forms, see: Bergen ii. 66; Cannell
33 ; Clifton Johnson, What They Say in New England
(Boston, 1896) 58; Oxford 41; Thomas 206: T Nio;
Whitney 107.
Fire. i. A fire at one end and a fool at the other. Virgil
Scott, The Dead Tree Gives No Shelter (N. Y., 1947)
8 : a straw with a light on one end and a fool on the
other, that's what he called a cigarette. Cf. Oxford
208: A fishing rod has a fool at one end and sometimes
a fish at the other ; Partridge 294 : A fool at one end
and a maggot at the other. See J. W. Krutch, Samuel
Johnson (N. Y., 1944) 453. for the ascription of a
similiar saying to Dr. Johnson.
2. As brisk as a fire. Cf. NED Brisk, id.
3. As hot as fire (3). Apperson 315, cf. 338, Kentshire;
Hyamson 191 ; Partridge 408; T F247.
4. As mad as fire (2). Brewster 262.
5. As red as fire (3). Apperson 526; Hyamson 290; T
F248; Wilstach 316.
6. Burns like fire. Robert Burton, The Anatomy of Melan-
choly, 3 vols. (London, 1923), iii, 114 (iii, 11, ii, 3).
7. Fire often sleeps in ashes. Cf. Bohn 181 : Wer Feuer
bedarf . suche es in der Asche ; T F264.
8. Like a fire in high grass.
9. Spreads like fire. Wilstach 380.
10. That will be a fire when it burns, as the fox said. Apper-
son 214: Fire, quoth the fox, when he p — on the
ice; Kelly 184; Lean 11, 744: It will be a fire when it
burns, quoth the toad ( ?tod) when he s — t on the ice;
T F263. Cf. E. M. Fogel. Supplement to Proverbs of
the Pennsylvania Germans (Fogelsville, Pa., 1929) 9
(2016).
11. Works like fighting fire. Hanford 169. Cf. Apperson
711, work (6).
12. You can hide the fire, but what about the smoke? Cham-
pion 626 (223) (Jamaican) ; J. C. Harris 151: Youk'n
hide de fier, but w'at you gwine do wid de smoke?
Fish. I. As cold as a fish. Wilstach 62.
2. As crazy as a fish.
3. As drunk as a fish. Apperson 166; Berrey 106.7; ^
F299; Wilstach 105.
4. As much at home as a fish in water.
PROVERBS 409
5. I have other fish to fry. Apperson 216; Hardie 469
(and their tails to butter) ; Hyamson 144; Oxford 207;
Partridge 279; Taylor 33; T F313.
6. Like a fish out of water (3). Apperson 216; Hyamson
144; Oxford 206-7; Taylor 33; T F318.
7. Swims hke a fish (2). Hardie 471; Oxford 636; T
F328.
8. There are as good fish in the sea as ever were caught.
There are as good fish in the sea as out of it. Apperson
216; Bradley 75; Hardie 465; Oxford 206.
9. To drink like a fish (3). Berrey 102.22. 106.3; Green
33; Hardie 469; Hyamson 122; NED Drink, 11; Ox-
ford 157; Partridge 278; T F325 ; Wilstach 102.
10. Use a small fish to catch a big one. Apperson 580; T
F329.
Fishhooks. As crooked as a barrel of fishhooks. Woodard 36.
Flash. As quick as a flash (3). Wilstach 308.
Flattery. Beware of flattery. Cf. Christy i, 354: Beware of
the flatterer.
Flea. I . As nimble as a flea.
2. As skinny as a flea.
3. As snug as a flea under a nigger's collar (2). Taliaferro
190 (shirt collar).
4. As weak as a flea. Cf. NED Flea, ib.
5. He would skin a flea for its hide and tallow. He'd skin
a flea fur hits hide and taller. Skin a flea fur its hide.
Apperson 383, louse; Bradley 75; Koch 11, 42; Oxford
209, 595 ; Partridge 497-
Flint. I. As hard as a flint (3). Apperson 284; Green 19;
T S878: Wilstach 193.
2. Pick your flint and try again.
Flitter. As flat as a flitter. Hanford 162: flat as a flitter. . . .
Flitter means fritter (Indiana), cf. 166: honey-spring
and flitter tree.
Floor. As smooth as a floor. Wilstach 366.
Flounder. As flat as a flounder (3). Apperson 218; DAE
Flounder. 2; Green 19; Hvamson 146; Oxford 209;
I'artridge 283; T F382 ; Wifstach 144.
Flour. As fine as flour (MS flower). The l^cst uf Science
Fiction, ed. Grofif Conklin (N. Y., 1946) 247.
Flower, i. As fragrant as a flower. Cf. Wilstach 158.
2. As sweet as a flower. NED Flower. 3.
3. As welcome as the flowers in May (7). Apperson 673;
Hyamson 358; Oxford 211 ; T 1*^390; Wilstach 468.
410 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
4. Like a flower in the hair of a corpse. Cf. Eden Phill-
potts, Talcs of the Tenements (N. Y., 1910) 176: Like
a flower on a dung-heap.
Fly. I . As crazy as a fly in a drum. Cf . Partridge 292 : Like
a fly in a tar-box.
2. As thick as flies. Berrey 24.16, 332.9.
3. Buzzing Hke a fly. Wilstach 41.
4. You can catch more flies with a spoonful of honey than
a gallon of vinegar. Apperson 220 ; Hardie 462 ; Tay-
lor 66 ; T F403.
Fly paper. As sticky as fly paper. Cf . Wilstach 388 : Sticks
like fly paper.
Fly-trap. Mouth like a fly-trap. Cf. NED Fly-trap. 3.
Foghorn. Voice like a foghorn. B. A. Botkin, Lay My Burden
Down (Chicago, 1945) 234.
Folk. Poor folk have poor ways. P^oor folk have poor ways,
rich folk hateful ones. Pore folk is got pore ways and
rich ones is got hateful ones. Atkinson 85 : Rich people
have mean ways and poor people poor ways ; Bradley 88 :
Poor folks have poor ways, and rich folks damned mean
ones; D. S. Crumb, "The Dialect of Southeastern ^lis-
souri," Dialect Notes, 11, part v (1903) 325: Poor folks
has poor ways.
Food. Better to be in search of food than appetite. Gaelic
Journal, vi (1895) 61. Cf. Apperson 506, poor (29) ;
Bohn 368 : Fattig Aland soger om Maden, den Rige
om Lyst til at aede den ; Hislop 248 : Poor folk seek
meat for their stamacks, and rich folk stamacks for
their meat; Oxford 511 ; T M366.
Fool. I. A fool and his money are soon parted. Apperson
222; Bradley 75; Hardie 461 ; Oxford 214; T F452.
2. A fool for luck (4). E. D. Biggers, Charlie Chan Carries
On (Indianapolis, 1930) 256; J. C. Harris, Uncle Remus
and His Friends (Boston, 1892) 154: fool fer luck en
po' man fer chillun. Cf. /\pperson 224; T F517.
A fool for trouble.
3. Any fool can make money ; it takes a wise man to know
how to spend it. Apperson 223, fool (n).
4. Answer a fool according to his folly. Apperson 225 ;
Bradley 76; T F442.
5. Fool's names are like their faces, Always seen in public
places. Bradley 75; Snapp 83 (23). Cf. Apperson
681. white (II) ; Oxford 706; T W17.
6. No fool like an old fool. Apperson 228 ; Bradley 75 ;
Oxford 216; Taylor 34; T F506.
PROVERBS 411
7. Send a fool to the merchant [jur market) and a fool
comes home again. Apperson 228 ; Oxford 216 ; T l*\S03.
Ford. Rattles like a "Model 'T' Ford." Cf. Wilstach 549:
Rattle like a taxicah.
Foot. I. A going foot always gets something, if it's only a
thorn (2). Oxford 248; T F563 ; Wilson 187.
2. Better to die on your feet than live on your knees.
3. Don't hist one foot till the other's setting flat.
4. I tuck my foot in my hand and left there. P.errey
53. 1 0.1 1. '21 7.3; Kephart 412; Nr':D h^oot, 29a; Talia-
ferro 73 (and walked).
5. Never complain to the feet when the soul is heavy.
6. One foot in the grave and the other edging up (2). First
part onlv: Apperson 470; Berrey 116.6 (and the other
on a banana peel), 1 17.17. 129.3. u; Hyamson 149;
Oxford 476; Partridge 295. Cf. T F569. M346.
Forewarned. Forewarned is forearmed (2). Apperson 230;
Bradley 76: Oxford 220; Taylor 34; T H54.
Forgive. Forgive and forget. Api)ers()n 230: Oxford 220;
T F597.
Forty. He could dance (sing) like forty (2). DAE Forty,
2b ; NED Forty, Ab.
Fox. I. An old fox is hard to catch. Fogel 68: En alter
fux is haert zu fange. Cf. Apperson 232: An old fox
understands a trap: NED Fox. re: An old fox is not
easily taken in a snare; Oxford 470: An old fox is not
easilv snared ; T F647.
2. As crafty as a fox (2). T F629: Wilstach 73. Cf. Ap-
person 338: As craftie as a Kendalc fox.
3. As cunning as a fox (6). Apperson 232; Green 18;
Hardie 468 : Wilstach yj.
4. As red as a fox's ass. Cf. Ilanford 174: Red as a fox's
tail; Wilstach 315: Red as a fox.
5. As sly as a fox (4). Green 31 ; Hardie 468; Wilstach
361.
6. As wise as a fox. Cf. Apperson 688: As wily as a fox.
7. Dumb like a fox. Robert Bloch. The Opener of the Way
(Sauk Citv, Wisconsin, 1945) 306.
8. The old fox is caught at last. Cf. Bohn 72: Ancor le
volpi vecchie rimangono al laccio ; MacAdam 182 (68) :
Though the hare be swift she is caught at last; Nicolson
104: Reynard can't run for ever.
9. The sleeping fox catches no poultry. Apperson 233. fox
(11); Hardie 462; Oxford 596; Poor Richard 116;
T F649; ^^(^y ^0 Wealth 409.
412 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
Free-of-Charge. Old "Free-of-Charge" died long ago. Cf.
Champion 626 (244) : The mother of "free-of -charge" is
dead (Surinam).
Friday, i. Friday is the fairest or the foulest. Friday is the
fairest and foulest day of the week. Apperson 236-7;
Hilda Roberts. "Louisiana Superstitions," Journal of
American Folklore. XL (1927) 186 (981).
2. Friday night's dreams, on Saturday told, Are sure to
come true be it never so old. Apperson 236; Oxford
226.
Friend, i. A friend in need is a friend indeed. Apperson
237; Bradley 76; Hardie 461 ; Oxford 227; Tavlor 34;
TF693.
2. Better make friends when you don't need them. Cundall
60: Mek fren' when you no need dem.
3. Everybody's friend, nobody's friend. Apperson 238,
friend (8) ; T F698.
4. Old friends and old wine are best. Apperson 465 ; Ox-
ford 470; T F755.
5. You look like you'd lost your best friend. Cf. J. C.
Harris, Told by Uncle Remus (N. Y., 1905) 196: lookin'
like he done los' all his fambly an' his friends ter boot.
Friendship. Friendship is a plant that needs watering. Christy
I. 416: Friendship is a plant which one must often water
(German).
Fritter. See Flitter above.
Froe. As dull as a froe (2). Atkinson 88; Payne, 308 (frow) ;
Woodard 37.
Frog. I . A bull frog knows more about rain than the Almanac.
Champion 622 (68) (American Negro). Cf. Vaughan
113 (806): No botanist that ever wrote, Had half the
knowledge of a goat.
2. As cold as a frog's foot. As cold as a frog's toes. Cf.
Snapp 69: Cold as a frog; Wilstach 61.
3. As fine as frog fur.
4. As fine as frog's hair. Berrey 4.8, 128.3; Brewster 264;
Hanford 162; Time, April 22, 1946. 19: At the same
time a lot of things were picking up — were fine as frog's
hair; Woodard 38 (excellent) ; Woofter 354.
5. As scarce as frog hair. Cf. Apperson 239, frog (i) ;
Fogel 83 : Ropp mol en grotehor. Pull a frog-hair ;
NED Frog\ ib, quot. 1823.
6. Croak like a frog. Cf. NED Croak, i, quots. 1595, 1877.
7. Jumps like a frog. Bond 54.
PROVERBS 413
Frost. About as welcome as frost on an early bean patch. Cf.
Apperson 584: As seasonable as snow in harvest; Ox-
ford 601 : As welcome as snow in harvest ; T S590.
Fruit. I. Stolen fruits are always sweetest. Apperson 603;
Bradley 76; Oxford 219, cf. 622; T F779-
2. The ripest fruit falls first. Bradley 76.
Frying-pan. Out of the frying-pan into the fire (6). Apper-
son 240 ; Bradley 75 ; Green 29 ; Hardie 470 ; Hyamson
153; Oxford 230; J'artridge 304; Taliaferro 129: I'd
"jumped out'n the fryin'-pan smack inter the fire," as
the parrabal runs ; Taylor 34 ; T l'"784.
Out of the frying-pan.
Gains. There are no gains without pains. You can't have gains
without pains. Wilson 190. Cf. NED Gain, 2b, (juot.
1600.
Gall. As bitter as gall (3). Apperson 50; Hyamson 47;
T Gii ; Wilstach 19.
Game. i. The game is not worth the candle. Apperson 242 ;
Bradley 76; Hyamson 'J2; Oxford 232; Partridge 123;
Taylor 18; T S776.
2. The game is up. Hyamson 155; NED Game, 6b; Par-
tridge 314.
3. Stung at his own game. Cf. Taliaferro 237: It is diffi-
cult to beat an experienced man at his own game ; it
sometimes happens, however.
Gander, i. As gray as a gander. Bernice K. Harris, Folk
Plaxs of Eastern Carolina (Chapel Hill, 1940) 205: her
eyes is gray as a gander's; Lean 11, 838: As grey as a
goose.
2. As red as a gander's foot.
Gap. Gap in the axe shows in the chip. Champion 621 (15)
(American Negro).
Garment. Cut your garment according to your cloth (5).
Bradley 66. See Coat above.
Get. Get while the getting's good. P>errey 58.6; Partridge 41,
beat it, 339, going's ; Taylor 63, take.
Get-out. As mean as get-out. .As slow as all-get-out. Berrey
20.13, 29.4, 53.1 ; Lean 11, 817, as common; NI^D Suppl.
Get-out ; Patterson ix.
Ghost. I. As pale as a ghost (2). Green 20; Hyamson 262;
Wilstach 282.
2. As silent as a ghost. Wilstach 352.
414 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
3. As white as a ghost. Hardie 468; NED White, ic, 5a,
quot. 1897; Wilstach 470.
4. Run from a ghost, you meet a coffin. Champion 628
(313) : Run from a jumbie (ghost) and you meet up
with a coffin (W^est Indian).
Giant, i. As big as a giant (2). Cf. The Laud Troy Book,
ed. J. E. \\'uffing (Early EngUsh Text Society, cxxi,
London, 1902) 217, 1. 7367: mechel as a geaunt.
2. As strong as a giant (2). Cf. Roberts 81 : Love is
stronger than a giant.
Gibraltar, i. As firm as Gibraltar (3). E. D. Diggers, Be-
hind That Curtain (Indianapolis, 1928) 236.
2. As solid as Gibraltar. Barnaby Ross, The Tragedy of Y
(N. Y., 1932) 169.
3. As strong as Gibraltar. Guy Thorne, Tlie Ravenscrojt
Affair (N. Y., 1924) 121.
As strong as the Rock of Gibraltar.
Gift. I. A noisy gift hushes thanks.
2. I wouldn't have it as a gracious gift. See Christmas (3)
above.
Ginger mill. As hot as a ginger mill. Cf. NED Ginger, 1,
quots. 1 601, 181 1.
Giraffe, i. As tall as a girafife. Bond 51.
2. Neck like a giraffe. Bond 51.
Girl. A young girl never quite gets over her first man. Cf . Lean
I, 474 : Maidens love them that have their maiden-head ;
The Mysteries of Love & Eloquence, 3'd ed. (London,
1685) 207: Why doth a chaste woman love him ex-
ceedingly that had her virginity ? T L478.
Glass. I. As brittle as glass. Apperson 68; Hyamson 64;
T G134; Yankee Phrases 114.
2. As clear as glass (2). NED Clear, 3. quot. 1798: T
G135; W^ilstach 57.
3. As smooth as glass. Apperson 582; T G136; Wilstach
365.
4. As transparent as glass. Wilstach 431.
Globe. As round as a globe. W^ilstach 328.
Glove. I. Fits like a boxing glove. ( For poor or too tight fit.)
2. Fits like a glove (2). Berrey 16.8; Partridge 279.
Glue. I. As thick as glue. Partridge 875.
2. It sticks like glue (2). Carter Dickson, The Peacock
Feather Murders (N. Y., 1937) 34.
Go. Everything that goes up comes down. What goes up
must come down. Bradley 72.
PROVERBS 415
Goat. I. As hot as a mountain goat. Lean 11, 842 : He is as
hot in love as goats. Cf. NED Hot, 6c, quot. 1604;
I'artridge 337, goat, play the goat, goats and monkeys;
T G167; Wilstach 159: Free as a mountain goat.
2. As much sense as a billy goat.
3. Smell like a goat. Bond 48.
4. .Stinks hke a goat. Wilstach 391.
God, I. As good as God ever blowed breath in. As good as
(kxl ever let live. As good as Clod ever made.
I. As holv as God.
3. As sure as God made little apples. Apperson 611 ; l.er-
rey 164.4; Green 20; Partridge 849; Wilstach 402.
As sure as God made me.
4. As sure as there's a God in heaven. T (ii/S; Wilstach
401.
5. Face looked like the wrath of God. Mignon G. Eber-
hart, HasW IVedding (N. Y., 1938) 287.
6. God ain't choosey. Cf. Davidoff 87: Death is no chooser
(Yiddish).
7. God can't cook breakfast with a snowball.
8. God can't rope a mule-headed cow by the horns. (Mule-
head cd, more commonly muley, means hornless.)
9. God helps those who help themselves. Apperson 251 ;
Bradley 79; Oxford 244; Poor Richard 81 ; Taylor 35;
T G236; Way to Wealth 409. See Heaven (3) below.
10. God knows, but He won't tell. Berrey 150.7; Partridge
338.
II. God looks after drunkards, fools, and children. God
cares for fools and children. Hislop 83. Cf. Bradley
75 : Angels take care of fools and drunkards ; Lean in,
501 : Heaven takes care of children, sailors, and drunken
men ; Oxford 289 ; Woodard 37 : God looks after drunk-
ards and fools.
12. God sees all. Cf. Beckwith 53: (iodamighty neber shut
him yeye.
13. God tempers the storm to the shorn lamb. Apperson
253 ; Bradley 97 ; Hardie 463 ; ^ Oxford 246 ; Taylor 68 ;
T S3I5- ^, .
14. If God is for us, who can be against us.-- Christy i, 446:
If God be with us who shall stand against us (Latin) ;
John Flewlett. Cross on the Moon ( N. Y.. 1946) 160:
When God is with you . . . wlio can be against you?;
Romans 8: 31 ; T G238.
15. Where God puts his mark he sends his gift. Paul Green,
Wide Fields (N. Y., 1928) 94: fer where Old Moster
puts his brand he leaves his gift. Cf. T Gi 77.
N.C.F.. Vol. I, ((28)
4l6 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
1 6. You can't rush God.
Gods. Whom the gods love die young. Apperson 254 ; Brad-
ley '/J ; Hardie 465; Oxford 247; T G251. Cf. Taylor
92.
Gold. I. All that glitters is not gold (3). All is not gold
that glitters (2). Apperson 6; Bradley yj ; Hardie 461 ;
Oxford 249 ; Taylor 36 ; T A 146.
2. As bright as gold. Wilstach 34.
3. As good as gold (6). Apperson 256; Berrey 29.4; Green
19; Hardie 467; Hyamson 163; Partridge 341; Taylor
36; Wilstach 183.
4. As pure as gold. Cf. NED Pure, la, quot. 1362.
5. As yellow as gold. Apperson 717; T G280.
6. Glitters Hke gold. Cf. NED Glitter, ib. gold, 3b.
Goldfish. No more privacy than a goldfish. Alva Johnston,
The Great Goldwyn (N. Y., 1937) 49 (ascribed to I. S.
Cobb's Speaking of Operations) ; B. J. Whiting, "Some
Current Meanings of 'Proverbial.' " Harvard Studies
and Notes in Philology and Literature, xvi (1934) 234.
Good-bye. Good-bye is not gone. Kemp Malone, "Negro
Proverbs from Maryland," American Speech, iv (1928-
29) 285: Every good-bye ain't gone. Cf. Woodard 38:
Good-by, if you call that gone. See Eye (4) above.
Goose. I. A setting goose never gets fat. See Hen (1) below.
2. A wild goose never laid a tame tgg. Apperson 686 ; Ox-
ford 709.
3. As full as a goose. Allison 97 ; Bond 49.
4. As loose as a goose. Folk -Say, 1 (1930) 106.
5. As silly as a goose (2). Allison 100; Green 20; Robert
W. W^inston, It's a Far Cry (N. Y., 1937) 24.
6. Don't kill the goose that laid the golden egg. Killing the
goose that laid the golden egg (4). Apperson 266;
Hyamson 164; NED Suppl. Goose, i; Oxford 334;
Partridge 343; Taylor 36; T G363.
7. Don't smother the goose with the feather-bed.
8. His goose is cooked. Berrey 1 17.18, 1 18.3.5; Hyamson
163; Oxford 109; Partridge 178.
9. Like a goose's ass in mulberry time. See Bear (5)
above.
10. Squirts like a goose.
Goose grease. As slick as goose grease. Berrey 317.6; DAE
Goose grease.
Gosling. A gone gosling. (Meaning a person or thing is hope-
less, lost.) Berrey 239.1. 262.1, 416.1. 431. i. Cf. Par-
tridge 340.
PROVERBS 417
Gospel. As true as the gospel (2). Apperson 647; Oxford
();_'; T Ci^yS; W'ilstach 340. See Bible above.
Gossamer. As fine as gossamer. Wilstach 140. Cf. llyamson
222.
Gotten. Soon gotten, soon si)ent. Ap[)erson 588; Oxford 604;
Gourd. I. As green as a gourd (6). Allison 95; P.errey
150.6, 258, 3.9; Brewster 262; DAE (iourd. ih; Ilardie
467; Wdstach 187.
2. As hollow as a gourd.
3. As yellow as a gourd. Green 36.
Grain. To go against the grain (anything distasteful is said
to). Apperson 4; Hyamson 165; NED Grain, i6b;
Oxford 5 ; T G404.
Grandmother. You can't teach your grandmother how to pick
ducks. Atkinson 79 : Teach your grannie how to pick
ducks! Cf. Apperson 620-1; Berrey 295.2; Bradley
/y; Green 31 ; Hyamson 166; NED (jrannam, b, quot.,
1651 ; Oxford 645 ; Partridge 255. 348; T G406-9. (The
examples have roast eggs, sup sour milk, spin, suck eggs,
milk ducks, crack nuts, grope ducks, get children.)
Granny. Don't wait for your Granny's side saddle.
Grapes. Sour grapes (5). Apperson 268; Hardie 471 ; Hyam-
son 166; Oxford 262; Taylor 36; T F642.
Grapevine. You can tame a grapevine but that won't take the
twist out. Champion 634 (572) : You can't take the
twist out of the grape vine by cultivating it (American
Negro).
Grass, i. As green as grass (5). Apperson 273-4; Berrey
150.3.6, 165.5, -58-3-9; Hardie 467; Hyamson 168; Tay-
lor 36; T G412; Wilstach 187.
2. Go to grass (3). Berrey 27.6. 1 17. 11. 16.19, I94-9' 554-2;
DAE Grass, 3; Hyamson 166; Partridge 337, 349.
3. Grass never grows \\ hen the wind blows. Apperson 269.
Grasshoppers. As poor as grasshoppers.
Grave, i. As cold as the grave. Wilstach 61.
2. As dark as the grave. Wilstach 81.
3. As gloomy as the grave.
4. As silent as the grave. Apperson 571 ; Oxford 589; Wil-
stach 354.
Graveyard. As quiet as a graveyard. Wilstach 309.
Gravy train. Riding the gravy train since Roosevelt came in.
Berrey 277.1, 377.2, 467.6. 543-3-8.
4l8 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
Grease, i. As slick as grease. Berrey 255.5, 3^7-^'> Thornton
II, 809; Wilstach 359.
2. He is fried in his own grease. Apperson 269-70; NED
Grease, id; Oxford 230; Partridge 304; T G433.
Grist. All is grist that comes to my mill. Apperson 275 ; Ber-
rey 533. 1 I.I 5; Bradley 77; Hyamson 170; Oxford 268;
T x\l22.
Grit. She had grit in her craw. He ain't got no gut [sic]
in his craw. Hanford 174; Payne 317, 365. Cf. Bond
49-
Grundy. What will Airs. Grundy say? Berrey 231. i ; Hyam-
son 171 ; NED Grundy- ; Oxford 427.
Guinea. As speckled as a guinea (2). Cf. Parsons. Antilles
463 : Seven years no 'nough to wash speckle ofif guinea
hen back.
Gully dirt. Ain't worth gully dirt. As poor as gully dirt. Cf.
Koch II, 123: Bert ain't never going to amount to his
weight in gully dirt as a farmer.
Gun. I. As sure as gun's iron. Berrey 164.4.6; Payne 377;
Taliaferro 45, 53. 93 ; Wilstach 402.
2. As true as a gun. T G480 ; Wilstach 436.
Gun barrel. As straight as [a] gun barrel. Taliaferro 24.
Habit. Habit is second nature (2). Green 23; NED Habit,
9, quot. 1662; Oxford 125. Cf. Apperson 130.
Haddock. As dumb as a haddock. Cf. Yankee Phrases 115:
She, like a haddock, grew deaf.
Hades. As hot as Hades. Berrey 33.7 ; Whiting 247.
Hail. As thick as hail. Apperson 623 ; Green 20 ; Hyamson
340; T Hi I ; Wilstach 420.
Hair. i. A person who never stole anything has a lock of
hair growing in the palm of his hand. Cundall 84: Man
dat no tell lie, hair grow a him ban' middle; Green 17
(verbatim). Cf. Bohn 139: Der Miiller ist fromm, der
Haare auf den Zahnen hat ; Chaucer, Canterbury Tales
1(A), 563.
2. As thin as a hair.
3. Catch a long haired man where the hair is short. NED
Suppl. Hair, Sp ; Partridge 367.
4. It hangs by a hair. NED Hang, 8b.
5. The hair of the dog is good for the bite. Apperson 278;
Berrey 102.13; Bradley 62; Hardie 464; Oxford 271;
Partridge 231 ; Taylor 28; T H23.
P R 0 V K R B S 419
Half-cocked. Never yo oft' li;ilt-cocked. DAE 1 lalf -cocked ;
XKU Suppl. Half -cocked.
Halifax. Go to Halifax (2). Apperson 279; NED Go, 30b;
NED Suppl. Halifax; Partridge 368-9.
Halter. Don't talk of a halter in a house where one has been
hanged. Apperson 280; Oxford 548; T 11 59.
Ham. Eist like a ham. Gf. Nh'.D Sui)pl. Ham. 3. (|uot. 1928.
Hammer. 1. .\s dead as a hammer (3). Green 22; Par-
tridge 210; "Some Lumber and Other Words," Dialect
Notes. II. part vi (1904) 396 (Arkansas); Yankee
Phrases 115.
2. Head like a hammer. Gf. Woofter 356: hammer-headed
horse.
3. One must l)e either hammer or anvil. Bohn 22: II faut
etre enclume ou marteau ; Christy i . 32 : One must be
either anvil or hammer (Ascribed to Voltaire by Jefifer-
son in C. G. Bowers, The Young Jefferson [Boston.
1945] 368). Cf. Bohn 2y : II vaut mieux etre marteau
qu'enclume; Christy 11, 73: Once he was a hammer,
now he is an anvil.
Hand. i. As flat as your hand. NED Hand. 60a; Wilstach
144.
2. Don't bite the hand that feeds you. Hyamson 47 : Taylor
37-
3. He never warmed his hand but he burnt it. Gf. Bohn
58: Tel croit se chauffer qui se brule ; Parsons 441:
Some men bu'n dem hand whan they only mean to warm
dem (Bahamas).
4. He puts in with one hand and takes out with the other.
Cf . Davidoff 52 : With one hand he put a penny in the
urn of poverty, with the other took a shilling out.
5. Lend a hand. Hyamson 174; NED Lend, 2e ; T H97.
6. Wash hands together, Eriends forever; Wipe hands to-
gether. Eoes forever. Bergen i. 135: If two people wash
their hands at the same time, it is a sign that they will
be friends forever. If two people wipe their hands at
the same time, they will be foes forever (Alabama). Cf.
Green 34: Wash together, wipe together, fall out and
fight forever; Hyatt 182 (3888): If two people wipe
hands together, they will be friends forever (3890) :
Two persons simultaneously wiping their hands and face
on the same towel will have a quarrel at the same time
next day, 183 (3899) : Two persons washing hands to
gether in the same water will quarrel that day.
420 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
Handsome. Handsome is as handsome does. Apperson 281-2 ;
Bradley 78; Hardie 463; Oxford 274-5; Partridge 371 ;
T D410. See Pretty below.
Happen. What happens twice will happen three times. What
happens twice will happen thrice. Fogel 215: Was
zwet sich drit sich ; Hyatt 430 (8635) (thrice).
Happy. Better happy than wise. Apperson 284 ; Oxford 38 ;
T H140.
Hare. As swift as a hare. Cf. L. O'Flaherty, TJic Tent (Lon-
don, 1926) 265.
Harness. Fine harness and no mule. Cf. Paige 71 : Of no
more use than ... a saddle and no horse to ride.
Haste. I. Great haste is not always great speed. Cf. Apper-
son 427; NED Haste, 6; Oxford 281, 4^^; Taylor 62;
TH197.
2. Haste makes waste. Apperson 288 ; Hardie 463 ; Ox-
ford 281 ; Poor Richard 143 ; Taylor 38 ; T H189.
Hat. I. As black as mv hat. Green 18; NED Hat, 5c; Wil-
stach 20 (your).
2. He talks through his hat (2). Berrey 151.6, 180.2;
Hardie 471 ; Hyamson 336; NED Suppl. Hat, 5c; Par-
tridge 378.
3. Ready with his hat but slow with his money. Cundall
86 : Be ready wid you hat, but slow wid you money ;
Cheviot 53 : Be ready wi' your bonnet, but slow wi' your
purse; Hislop 55. Cf. Champion 107 (149) (Danish);
Oxford 273 : Put your hand twice to your bonnet for
once to your pouch.
Hatchet. As dead as a hatchet. Green 22.
Hatter. As mad as a hatter (2). Apperson 389; Hardie 470;
Hyamson 229 ; Partridge 379, 503 ; Wilstach 249.
Haunt. I. As wild as a hant.
2. Runs like a scared haunt.
Hawk. I . As keen as a hawk. Hyamson 207 ; Wilstach 222.
2. As wild as a hawk. Apperson 686 ; Wilstach 476.
3. Eyes like a hawk. L. Brock, Murder on the Bridge
(N. Y., 1930) 93.
4. He jumped on it like a hawk on a chicken (2). Collec-
tions Relating . . . to Montgomeryshire, xi (1878) 290
(222). Cf. Cheviot 137 (cock . . . grosset) ; Han ford
169 (chicken . . . June bug) ; NED June, 2 (Hawk . . .
June bug) ; Paige 272 (whippoorwill . . . fire-fly) ;
Thornton i, 505 (night-hawk . . . June bug, quot.
1862) ; Wilstach 221 (trout . . . May-fly).
PROVERBS 421
Hay. Make hay while the sun shines (3). Apperson 291;
Bradley 80; Hardie 464; Hyamson 180; Oxford 398-9;
Partridge 381 ; Taylor 38; f H235.
Hay wire. As tough as hay wire. Muriel E. Sheppard, Cabins
in the Laurel (Chapel Hill, N. C, 1935) 26: But Frankie
was small like tough hay wire.
Head. i. A hard head and soft mind.
2. He has a head, so has a pin. Apperson 293, head (15) ;
Cheviot 406 (nail) ; Green 23, 24; Oxford 284.
3. Head cool, feet warm. Cf. Apperson 113: A cool mouth
and warm feet live long; Davidoff 191 : A cool head and
warm feet live long ; T H253.
4. It's hard to put old heads on young shoulders. Apper-
son 464; Hardie 465; Hyamson 256; Oxford 470-1 ; T
M500.
5. Keep your head up. Cf. NED Head, 50b.
6. Little head, big wit; Big head, not a bit (2). Big head,
little wit. Apperson 271 : Great head and little wit ;
Hislop 229: Mickle head, little wit; Oxford 422; T
H245. Cf. Bradley 78: Little head, little wit; big head,
not a bit; Brewster 261 ; Hyatt 650 (10780).
7. Old head and voung hand. Apperson 464; Oxford 470;
T H263.
8. Put his head into the wolf's jaws. Cf. Hyamson 180:
Head in the lion's mouth ; Oxford 370.
9. Two heads are better than one (2). Apperson 655;
Bradley 78; Hardie 465; NED Head, 62; Oxford 680;
Taylor 38; T H281.
Two heads are better than one, even if one head is a
horse's. Green 34 (verbatim).
Two heads are better than one, even if one is a cabbage
head (3). Fogel 113 (1015) ; Hofifman 50.
Two heads are better than one if one is a blockhead.
Bradley 7^.
Two heads are better than one if one is a sheep's head.
Apperson 655; Bradley 78; Oxford 680; Partridge 753;
W'oodard 41.
Two heads are better than one or why do folks marry.
10. What you lack in vour head you make up in your heels
(2). Cf. J. M. Brewer, "Old-Time Negro Proverbs,"
Spur-of-the-Cock, Publication of the Texas Folk-Lore
Society, xi (1933), 103: What yuh don' hab in yo' haid
yuh got ter hab in yo' feet ; Christy i. 489 : Who falls
short in the head must be long in the heels (German) ;
Woodard 38 : make your head save your heels.
422 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
Heap. To be struck all of a heap. Apperson 7; Berrey
178.4.5.6, 267.6, 703.6; Green 32; Hyamson 180; Par-
tridge 382.
Heart, i. Don't wear your heart on your sleeve. Apperson
295; Hyamson 181 ; NED Heart, 54f ; Oxford 698.
2. Faint heart never won fair lady (2). Apperson 198;
Bradley 79; Oxford 185; Taylor 38; T H302.
3. His heart is in his mouth. Apperson 295 ; Hyamson 181 ;
NED Heart, 54b; Oxford 288; T H331.
4. His heart is in his shoes. Berrey 283.4, 300.7.12; Ox-
ford 287. Cf. (all reading boots) Apperson 294-5;
Hyamson 181 ; Partridge 383.
5. Home-keeping hearts are happiest. Cf. Lean iv, 23 :
Keep home and be happy.
Heaven, i. As broad as the heavens. Cf. W'ilstach 37: Broad
as Heaven's expanse.
2. As high as heaven. As high as the heavens. Hardie
467; NED Heaven, ib, quot. 1864; Wilstach 200.
3. Heaven helps those who help themselves. Davidofif 195.
See God (9) above.
Heck. Live in Heck's wood shed. (In more modern phrase-
ology, The Devil's ante-room.) Koch i, 50: Heck's ol'
pine field twenty miles t'other side o' hell. Cf. NED
Suppl. Heck.
Hector. Since Hector was a pup. Bond 45 ; Hardie 471.
Heels. To take to one's heels. Berrey 58.6 ; Green 33 ; Hyam-
son 183; NED Heel, 19.
Heifer. You'd better watch a frisky heifer.
Hell. I. An' he'd buy a load of cord wood to peddle out in
hell if you'd gi' him till Christmas to pay for hit. Cf.
Cheviot 153: He would rake hell for a bodle. (A bodle
was one-sixth of an English penny. It is said of the
Americans that "If there was a bag of cofYee in hell,
a Yankee could be found to go and bring it out), 154:
He'll gang to hell for hose profit; Kelly 225 (house
profit) ; Oxford 242; T H402.
2. As cold as hell (3). Berrey 33.8; Whiting 231.
3. As crazy as hell (2). Berrey i5^-5; Whiting 231.
4. As crooked as hell (2). W^hiting23i.
5. As deep as hell. Whiting 231 ; \\'ilstach 87.
6. As dumb as hell. Whiting 231.
7. As funny as hell. Whiting 232.
8. As hot as hell (2). Berrey 33.7; Whiting 232; Wilstach
205.
9. As poor as hell. Whiting 233.
P R O V E R « S 423
10. As sour as hell.
11. As strong as hell. Nl^D 1 lell. 10. (|u<)t. 1780.
12. As sure as hell. P)errey 164.4; Whiting 234.
13. As wide as hell.
14. Fight like hell. Whiting 236.
15. Hell is i)aved with good intentions. Apperson 297;
Uradley 79; Hardie 463; Oxford 290; T II404.
16. I'd cross hell on a broken rail. See (21) below.
17. Looks like hell. Berrey 38.4; Whiting 237.
18. Not worth hell room.
19. Stinks like hell. Whiting 238.
20. Ugly women — so ugly look like they been driv out of
hell for playin' in the ashes. W'oodard 39: Looks like
he was kicked out of hell for sleej)ing in the ashes (He
looks slovenly and dirty). Cf. Lean 11, 806: As big a
liar as Tom Payne (or Pepper), and he got kicked out
of hell for telling lies.
21. You'd better cross hell on a broken rail than be beholden
to an enemy. See (16) above.
Helve. Cast not the helve after the hammer. Apperson 632,
throw (7); Green 33; Hyamson 183; NED Helve ib;
Oxford 291 ; T H413.
Hen. I. A setting hen is never fat. A setting hen never gets
fat. Adams 62 (59); Christy i. 138; Cundall 59:
Sittin' hen nebber get fat; Hardie 462. See Goose (1)
above.
2. As busy as a hen with one chicken. Apperson 298; Ber-
rey 245.18; Green 21 ; Hyamson 68; NED Suppl. Hen.
lb; Oxford 71; Partridge 113: T H415; Wilstach 40.
3. As cross as a setting hen.
4. As fat as a hen's forehead. Apperson 205; Oxford 193;
Partridge 267; T H416.
5. As fussy as a hen. Cf. Bond 49 : Fussy as a hen with
one chicken and fussy as a setting hen ; Hardie 469 ;
Hyamson 68.
As hot as a hen in a wool blanket. See Chicken (3)
above.
As mad as an old setting hen. As mad as a setting hen
(2). See (5) above.
As mad as a wet hen (7). Berrev 284.8; DAE Wet
hen; NED Suppl. Mad, 8.
As proud as a hen with one chick. .\pj)erson 298. hen
(2), quot. 1888; Wilstach 303.
As scarce as hens' teeth (8). Berrey 25.9; DAE Hen,
2; Green 30; Hardie 468; Wilstach 335.
4^4 NORTH C A R 0 L I X A FOLKLORE
11. As tedious as an old hen. Koch i, 8i. Cf. NED Tetchy,
Techy.
12. As wild as a wet hen. Cf. Cheviot 49: As wanton (de-
jected) as a wet hen; Hislop 45.
13. Jes like a settin' hen — a going to set whether er no (2).
She's sorter like a settin' hen, she's going to do her
way er not do.
14. Like a hen on a hot griddle. Green 27; Hislop 340;
Patterson 51 ; Wilson 189; Woodard 41.
15. Makes more fuss'n an ol' hen with one biddy. See (5)
above.
16. Never sell a hen on a wet dav. Apperson 298, hen (12) ;
^lacAdam 178 (12) ; NED Hen. ib; Oxford 573.
17. Setting hens don't want fresh eggs. J. C. Harris 150:
Settin' hens don't hanker arter fresh eggs.
18. She goes about like a hen with her head chopped ofT (3).
Berrey 266.7 (cut). See Chicken (8) above.
19. The black hen lavs a white egg. Apperson 298; Oxford
48;TH4i8.
20. Writing looks like a hen's scratching. Cf. Colyn Blow-
hols Testament in W. C. Hazlitt, Remains of the Early
Popular Poetry of England, 4 vols. (London. 1864-66),
I, 96, 1. 99 : For on booke he skrapith like an hen.
21. You look as nice as an old hen and biddies.
22. You look like a hen chawing nails.
Hercules. As strong as Hercules. Wilstach 395.
Herring, i. As dead as a herring (2). Apperson 137; Ber-
rey 117. 18. 248.6, 276.8.9; Green 19; Oxford 131; Par-
tridge 210, 388; Taliaferro S7, 161 ; T H446 ; Wilstach
83-
2. Not worth a herring. Apperson 457 (21).
Hickory, i. As tough as hickory. Thornton 11, 624.
As tough as a hickory stick. Cf. Wilstach 430; Tough
as old hickory.
2. He looks like the very old hickory. He went like the
old hickory.
Hide. I. As fat as airy hide'll hold. Cf. Lean 11, 833: He is
swolne as great as the skyn wyl holde.
2. Save your hide. Berrey 256.11.
3. Tan your hide till it won't hold shucks. Cf. 'A\'ord-List
from Southwestern Wisconsin," Dialect Notes, v, part
VI (1923) 238: Lick him so his hide won't hold shav-
ings, won't hold hay.
Higher. The higher up. the greater the fall. Cf. Apperson
645 : The highest tree hath the greatest fall ; Hislop
I' K o \- K R n s 425
_>8i : The hiohiT clinil) the j,-rc;itcr fii' ; Kelly 3i<j: Tlu-
higher up. llie lower tall.
Hills. As old as the hills (4)- Apperson 466: Green 29;
Hardie 468; Hyamson 256; Wilstach 278.
Hindsight. Hindsight's better than fore sight. He has better
hind sights'n fore. Bradley 79; NKD Hindsight. 2;
Pearce 233 ; Taylor 9. 39.
Hinge, i. Squeaks Hke a rustv hinge. Wilstach 383.
2. To talk the hinges off Hades. Cf. Whiting 222 (5).
History. History repeats itself. Bradley 79; Oxford 296.
Hoe. As dull as a hoe. l^rewster 266; (]reen 19; Wilstach
106; Yankee Phrases 115.
Hog. I. A hog runs for his life, a dog for his character.
l^>ates 40: Hog run fe" him life, dog run fe' him char-
acter ; Beckwith 58 ; Franck 1 00 : Dog run f e character
him no run fe him life ; Parsons, Antilles 460 : Hog run
for him life; dog run for him character. Cf. Franck
105: .Spaniard chicken cry for life him no cry fe him
character.
2. As dirty as a hog. Wilstach 95.
3. As drunk as a hog. Apperson 167.
4. As fat as a hog. Allison 95 ; Apperson 205 ; NI^D Rake,
sb.\ lb, quot. 1694; T H483.
5. As greasy as a hog. Cf. Bond 49: greasy as a pig.
6. As greedy as a hog. Wilstach 187.
7. As lazy as a hog. Cf . Bond 48 : lazy as a pig.
8. As lousy as a hog. Green 19.
9. Eats like a hog (2). Wilstach 109.
10. Enough to make a hog blush. Cf. Apperson 58: To
blush like a black dog; Oxford 53.
11. He'll have the whole hog or none. Cf. Apperson 249-50;
Berrey 24.4.6.9.19, 243.4, 367.4, 754-13; DAE Whole
Hog; Hyamson 186; Oxford 242; Partridge 13 (ani-
mal). 336, 856 (swine); Taylor 39. (The examples
mostly read Co the zvliolc hog, with or without or none.)
12. Root hog or die (5). Root pig (hog) or die. Berrey
245.12; DAE Root Hog; Green 30; NED Suppl. Root,
le ; Taylor 57.
13. The greediest hog is the poore.st. Cf. Parsons. Antilles
460: Greedy puppy neber fat.
14. Wait like one hog waits on another. Pearce 230: We're
waiting for you as one pig waits for another ; Snapp 67
(133). Cf. Lean 11. 797: To stay for a person as one
horse does for another ; T H698.
426 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
15. You've got no more use for that ring than a hog has
for a side saddle. Cf. Apperson 118: He becomes it
as well as a cow doth a cart-saddle, 591, sow (12) ;
Oxford 608 : As meet as a sow to bear a saddle ; Par-
tridge 768, side-pocket. See Saddle below.
Hog hair. As coarse as hog hair.
Hogpen. As nasty as a hogpen. See Pigpen below.
Holes. I. As full of holes as a sifter.
2. Don't go poking into holes. Stay away from holes. Cf.
NED Hole, 3. See Finger (4) above.
Home. I. He lives at home and boards somewheres else.
2. Home is where the heart is. T- Cleft Adams, TJic Secret
Deed (N. Y., 1926) 116.
3. You have to go away from home to hear the news.
Adams 62 (61); Green 36. Cf. Apperson 116: You
must go into the country to hear what news at London.
Homespun. As plain as homespun.
Honesty. Honesty is the best policy. Apperson 306; Bradley
79; Hardie 463; Oxford 301 ; T H543.
Honey. As sweet as honey (3). Apperson 614; Green 31:
Hyamson 334; NED Sweet, ib; T H544; Wilstach 410.
Honor. There's honor among thieves. Apperson 308 ; Bradley
94 ; Oxford 302.
Hoo. Out of boo. (Out of line, out of square.) Apperson
303; Green 29 (verbatim); NED Ho, int. 2, B; Ox-
ford 480 ; Partridge 393 ; T H477.
Hook. Keep your hook baited. Cf. Christy i, 516: The hook
without bait catches no fish (German).
Hope. Live in hopes if you die in despair. Live in hope and
die in despair. Live in hopes, if you die upstairs.
Adams 62(62): Live in hope if you die in despair;
Hislop 60 : Better live in hope than die in despair.
Hops. As thick as hops. Apperson 623-4; Berrey 24.16,
332.9 ; Hardie 468 ; Hyamson 341 ; NED Hop, 3 ; Taylor
63 ; T H595 ; Wilstach 421.
Horn. I. As hollow as a horn.
2. As loud as a horn. Apperson 383 ; T H61 5 ; Wilstach 241.
3. He toots his own horn. (He boasts) (3). Apperson
57 (trumpet); Berrey 302.2; NED Suppl. Horn, 13b;
Oxford 52 ; Taylor 40 ; T T546.
4. I done blowed my horn. (Finished speaking) (2). Cf.
NED Suppl. Horn, 13b.
5. The horns should go with the hide. Apperson 311, horn
(6) ; Oxford 304.
P K O \- K R K S 427
6. Traveling in • is like splitting a horn crosswise.
Hornet, i. As ill as a hornet (6). /// means cross; cf. "Ten-
nessee Mountain Word-List," Dialect Notes, i, part viii
(1895) 362: Them's ill bees.
2. As mad as a hornet (2). Berrey 284.8; DAE Hornet, 2.
3. He got the hornets about his head. Cf. Berrey 256.10;
Hyamson 190; NED Hornet. 2.
Horse, i. A balking horse will not pull.
2. A lean horse for a long race. Samuel L. Bradbury,
Hiram Harding of Hardscrabble (Rutland, Vermont,
1936) 25. See Dog (6) above.
3. A short horse is soon curried (5). ( ( )ne example terms
it "Scotch.") Apperson 567; Bradley 79; Ilardie 461;
Oxford 584, cf. 56, a bonny bride ; Partridge 407 ;
Taylor 40; T H691.
4. A skittish horse won't carry double.
5. As balky as a horse. Cf. NED Balky.
6. As crazy as a horse in a windstorm. Cf. Partridge 395 :
Like a hog in a squall or storm.
7. As fast as a horse can trot. Christy i, 662 ; Wilstach
135. Cf. Apperson 362, lie (4).
8. As strong as a horse (2). Apperson 312; NED Horse.
25a; Partridge 406. cf. lyz, come it.
9. Balky horse'll always take a hill.
10. Don't swap horses while crossing a river. Bradley 80;
Hyamson 80, 334; Oxford 634; Taylor 40.
11. Eats like a horse. Berrey 94.12, 95.4; NED Horse, 25a;
Partridge 406; Wilstach 109.
12. He looks for the horse he rides on. Cheviot 423: Ye're
like the man that sought his horse, and him on its back ;
Christy i, 2: You look for the horse you ride on (Rus-
sian) ; Hislop 343 ; Oxford 403 (mare) ; Vaughan 271
(1880).
13. Hold your horses (2). Berrey 54.3, 252.4, 270.2; DAE
Horse, 4 ; \\''oodard 38.
14. Laugh like that of a horse. Cf. NED Horse-laugh;
Taliaferro 127.
15. Mad on a horse sho's proud on a pony. Hislop 123:
He'll gang mad on a horse wha's i)roud on a pownie.
Cf. Champion 232 (11): Who is proud on an ass will
run mad on a horse (Montenegrin).
16. Never look a gift horse in the mouth (2). Apperson
245-6; Bradley 80; Hardie 464; Hyamson 159; Oxford
236-7 ; Partridge 493 ; Taylor 35, cf . 65 ; T H678.
17. One horse is allowed to eat the grass and the other is not
allowed to look over the fence, Cf, Apperson 601 : One
428 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
may steal a horse while another may not look over the
hedge; Oxford 619.
18. One white foot — buy him, Two white feet — try him,
Three white feet — look well about him, Four white
feet — do without him. (MS has foot throughout.)
Apperson 313; Bergen 11. 28 (three examples from
Maine and Massachusetts); Cheviot 194; Hyatt 104
(2233-35); Lean i, 446; Oxford 705; Thomas 253-4;
T H641 ; W'oodard 14, fractious.
19. To ride a free horse to death. Bradley 80; Green 33;
Oxford 542. Cf. Apperson 312; Hardie 462; Partridge
288 ; Taylor 40 ; T H638.
20. Works like a horse. Berrey 245.12; Hardie 472; NED
Horse, 25a; Oxford 730; Wilstach 484.
21. Wouldn't trust him as far as could throw a (cow or)
horse by the tail. See Cow (16) above.
22. You can take a horse to water but you can't make him
drink (2). Apperson 314; Bradley 80; Hardie 465;
Oxford 356; Taylor 40; T M262.
23. You can't ride two horses at one time. Cf. Oxford 340:
One cannot be in two places at once.
Host. Do not reckon without your host. Apperson 525-6;
Hyamson 191 ; Oxford 535 ; Partridge 408; T H728.
Hostess. He's never met the hostess. (A dullard, common-
place person.)
Hot. I. Fear a man who blows both hot and cold. Apper-
son 57; Hvamson 53; NED Blow, 2b; Oxford 52; T
Mi 258.
2. He'll take anything that isn't too hot to hold or too heavy
to carry. Apperson 639-40; Oxford 26; T N322.
Hot cakes. Sells like hot cakes. Berrey 53.16; DAE Hot
Cakes, 2; Hyamson 310; NED Suppl. Hot, 12; Par-
tridge 120, 483.
Hound. I. A man who kicks his hound will beat his wife.
Cf. Champion 230 (73) : The man who strikes his horse
strikes his wife too (Livonian).
2. As clean as a hound's tooth. Wilstach 55 ; \\'oodard 38 ;
Woofter 357.
3. As hungry as a hound (2). Green 19.
4. As lazy as a hound.
5. As yellow as a suck-egg hound. See Dog (44) above.
6. He runs with the hounds and holds with the hare. Cf.
Apperson 541 ; Bradley 78: You can't hold with the hare
and run with the hounds; Hyamson 177: To hold with
the hare and hunt with the hounds ; Oxford 553 ; Par-
tridge 376, hare; T Hi 58.
1' R O V K R H S 429
Hour. I. ( )iK' hour's slcr]) hcfort- nii(lni,L;lU is worth two after.
Appt-rson =,yj: Hradk'v v-' ; ( )xl()r(l ^17; 'lavlor ^9:
T 11 744.
2. The hour niav break what time cau never mend. Apper-
son 315.
House. 1. A man's house is his castle. Apperson 316; Brad-
ley 80: Oxford 308; T M473.
2. As' big as a house (3). Hardie 466; Koch i, 345; Wil-
stach 18.
3. As high as a house. Taliaferro 163.
4. He was going like a house a-fire. Apperson 365 ; Berrey
20.5. 53.9.16, 255.5. 261.2, 277.4, 59I-2-5; Hardie 469;
Hvamson 192; NED House, 18; Partridge 410, 483;
W'ilstach 182.
Household. Mind your own household. See Business (3)
above.
Housekeeping. Do your housekeeping in the mouth of the bag,
not at the bottom, (iaclic Journal xv ( 1905) 21 : It is
not in the bottom of the bag that one may do the house-
keeping, but at the mouth. Cf. Apperson 45: Better
spare at brim than at bottom ; Kelly 59 : Better hold at
the brim, than hold at the bottom ; Oxford 41 ; Roberts
109: It is too late to save when the bottom of the sack
is reached ; T B674.
Hungry. Better to go hungry than be without reputation. Cf.
Apperson 610: Better to go to bed supperless than to
rise in debt; Oxford 40; T B183.
Hyena. Laughs like a hyena. Oxford 352.
Ice. I. As cold as ice (6). Apperson 106; T I2.
2. As slick as ice.
3. As slippery as ice. W'ilstach 360.
4. As smooth as ice. W'ilstach 362.
5. Don't skate on thin ice. Hardie 471.
Iceberg. As cold as an iceberg. Valentine Williams & D. R.
Simnis, Fog (Boston, 1933) 291.
Idleness. Idleness wears away the frog's ass. Hearn 10:
Bon-temps fait crapaud manque bounda .... Idleness
leaves the frogs without buttocks (Louisiana). Cf.
Beckwith iio: Too mtich si'-down wear out trousers;
Parsons, Antilles 463 (137).
Ignorance. Ignorance of the law excuses no one. Bradley 80;
Oxford 314; Taylor 42 ; T Ik).
Inch. I. Can't see an inch before his nose. Apperson 327;
430 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
NED Nose, 6a; Oxford 571 ; Partridoe 422; T I51. See
Nose (4) below.
2. Give him an inch and he'll take an ell. Apperson 327 ;
Bradley 69; Hardie 463; Hyanison 197; Oxford 238;
Taylor 42 ; T I49.
Indigo, As blue as indigo (5). Hardie 466; Wilstach 25.
Injun. Injun giver. (Give something, then ask that it be re-
turned.) DAE Indian giver; Hyamson 197; NED In-
dian, 4b ; NED Suppl. 4b ; Taylor 35.
Ink. As black as ink (2). Apperson 51 ; Berrey 32.7; Hardie
466; Hyamson 48; T I73 ; Wilstach 21.
Iron. I. As hard as iron. Hyamson 177; Wilstach 193.
2. He has too many irons in the fire. Don't put too many
irons in the fire. Apperson 328 ; Hardie 469 ; Hyamson
199; Oxford 405-6; Partridge 427; T I99.
3. Strike (smite) while the iron is hot (3). Apperson
605-6; Bradley 80; Green 31; Hyamson 199; Oxford
626 ; Taylor 42 ; T I94.
Itch. I. As old as the itch. Apperson 466; Partridge 582;
Wilstach 279.
2. As slow as the itch. As slow as the seven-year itch (4).
Berrey 54.5; Hardie 471; Woodard 42; Woofter 364.
3. As welcome as the itch.
4. So slow you can't ketch the itch.
Ivory. As white as ivory. Apperson 680 ; NED Ivory, 8b ;
T 1 1 09; Wilstach 472.
Jack. I. A jack of all trades and master of none. Apperson
330; Bradley 95; Hyamson 200; Oxford 323. Cf. Ber-
rey 432.2, 456.6, 524.9; Partridge 430; T J19.
2. Every Jack must have his Till. Apperson 329 ; Oxford
322-3 ; T J6.
Jack Robinson. i. Before you could say Jack Robinson.
Apperson 330; Berrey 2.10, 53.16, 58.6; Hyamson 201 ;
Oxford 29-30; Partridge 431.
Quick as you can say Jack Robinson.
Quicker than Jack Robinson.
2. Thought like Jack Robinson. (Jack Robinson was a
local character who boasted he could spend the night at
a stern farmer's house on Neuse River. The farmer
refused to let him stay. Thus to think "like Jack Robin-
son" is to think wrong.)
Jackass, i. As stubborn as a jackass. Bond 46.
2. Laughs like a jackass. Cf. NED Jackass, 3.
1' K () V K K 1! S 431
Jay. I. As naked as a jay. lU.nd 55. Sec- Bird (12) above.
2. As noisy as a jay.
Taybird. i. As happy as a javbird. (1. ••'! lu- .Sixlc-enth Ccn-
tury Lyrics in Add. MS. iS.;5-';" -'".'//'"■ >^^>^""
(1910) 352. 1. 3 : As joycond as the jeye.
2. As naked as a picked jaybird. Leishton P.arrel. Though
Yoiuu) (N. Y.. 1938) 45: As naked as a jaybird.
3. As naked as a jaybird's ass. lulward T. Walker, /:.'</rn;//-
ton (N. Y.. 1945) 198: naked-assed as new jaybirds.
Cf. Apperson 25: Bare as a bird's tail; John Pals,i,^rave,
The Comcdyc of Acolastus (London. 1540). f<>l- T. W :
As bare as a byrdes arse.
4. As saucy as a jaybird. J. C. Harris 24. C f. I'.ond 55:
saucy as a jay.
5. Git along about as well as a jay bird does with a sparrer
hawk.
6. Sling her feet as spry as a jay bird in wild cherry time.
Telly. Shake like jelly. [. C. Harris. Nights t.nth Uncle Remus
(Boston. 1883) 154: shake Hke a piece of jelly; W il-
stach 341.
Jelly fish. As spineless as a jelly fish. Wilstach 379.
Jerks I Can do it in two jerks of a rabbit's tail. Quicker
than two jerks of a lamb's tail. "The Phonology of
Western Reserve." Dialect Notes, iv, part vi (191/)
402: Two jerks of a lamb's tail; Anthony Reed, The
Stuffed Man (N. Y.. 1935) 20: In two shakes of a dead
lamb's tail. Cf. Vernon Patterson. .Ill Giants Wear
Yellow Breeches (N. Y.. 1935) 49: in a shake of a dead
lamb's tail.
2 I'll do it in two jerks of a sheep's tail. Before three
jerks of a sheep's tail. I'll do it in three jerks of a
dead sheep's tail. I'll do it in three jerks of a sheep's
skin. R. P. Tristram Coffin, Lost Paradise (N. Y.,
1934) 71: in three shakes of a lamb's tail; "Contribu-
tions of the Cornell University Dialect Society," Dialect
Notes. II, part iii (1901) H^: Three jerks of a lamb's
tail. See Shakes below.
Jessy. Give him Jessy (punish) (2). DAE Jesse; 1 lyam-
son 203, Jesse; NED Suppl. Jesse; Partridge 437;
Louise Pound, "(live him Jesse." American Speech, xxi
(1946) 151-2.
Jet. As black as jet (2). Apperson 51 ; Cireen 21 ; laliafcrro
191 ; T J49; Wilstach 21.
Jew. I. As stingy as a Jew.
2. As tight as a Jew (2).
432 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
3. That beats the Jews (4). Alhson 100; Brewster 267;
DAE Beat, 3; Helen M. Thurston. "Sayings and Prov-
erbs from Massachusetts," Journal of American Folk-
lore, XIX (1906) 122.
Jim-crow. Hop Hke old jim-crow. Cf. DAE Jim Crow, 2b;
NED Jim-crow.
Job. I. As old as Job's turkey. Thornton i. 495. quot. 1848:
They must be as old and tough as Job's turkey.
2. As patient as Job. Hyamson 204 ; NED Job. i ; Oxford
49o;Tj59.
3. As poor as Job. Apperson 505; Oxford 510; T y6o;
Wilstach 298.
4. As poor as Job's turkey (6). As poor as Job's turkey
hen (2). Berrey 378.3; Dx^E Job's turkey; Green 29;
Hardie 468; Hyamson 204; NED Suppl. Job, 2; Par-
tridge 441; Taliaferro 175; Taylor 54; Thornton i,
495-6; Wilstach 298.
5. As slow as Job's turkey.
Joneses. Beat the Joneses. (Examples: "He swore to beat
the Joneses." "He could lie to beat the Joneses.")
Cf. S. E. Morison, Builders of the Bay State Colony
(Boston, 1930) 68: keeping up with the Joneses.
Joseph. As colored as Joseph's coat. Cf. O. S. Adams,
"Proverbial Comparisons from California," Calif orniu
Folklore Quarterly, v (1946) 337; Partridge 445.
Judge. I. As sober as a judge (2). Apperson 585; Berrey
105.9; Hardie 468; T J93 ; Wilstach 368.
2. As solemn as a judge. Wilstach t,/2.
3. As tight as a judge.
Jug. As tight as a jug. Cf. Koch i, 40: tighter'n a rum jug;
Lean 11, 884: As tight as a bottle.
Jug-handle. All on one side like a jug-handle. DAE Jug
handle; Green 18, 27; Patterson 2.
June-bug. i. As happy as a June-bug (2). Atkinson 88;
Wilstach 192.
2. Not wuth a june-bug with a cat bird ater her. See
Hawk (4) above.
Jura. As old as the folks in Jura, (jura is an island in the
inner Hebrides. )
Kettle. Kee]) the kettle boiling. Cf. Oxford 331 : Keep the
pot boiling.
Kill. Dressed ht to kill (3). DAE Kill, i; Partridge 241,
279.
P R () V K R H S 433
Kindness. Kindness cannot he buu.^lU. Oxford 336; T K45.
King. I. As happy as a king (2). Apperson 283; Berrey
278.15; Hardie 467; Oxford 277; Partridge 517, merry;
T K54; W'ilstach 193.
2. As proud as a king. Wilstach 302.
3. As rich as a king. T C832.
4. Live like a king (2). T P592 ; Wilstach 238.
Kit (1). Kit and biling (all of vou) (2). P.errey 18.1. 24.4,
380.3 ; DAE Kit. 3 ; NF.D Suppl. Kit.
Kit (2). As hot as Kit's glove. Cf. NED Kit. sb.^ 2.
Kitchen. A fat kitchen makes a lean will. Apperson 205 ;
P>()hn 148: ]^>tte Kiiche. magere Erbschaft ; Poor Rich-
ard 66; T Kiio; Way to U'ajlfh 413.
Kite. As high as a kite (2). Berrey 106.7; DAE Kite. 3;
Wilstach 200.
Kitten, 1. As cute as a kitten.
2. As gentle as a kitten. J. Latimer, The Lady in the
Morgue (N. Y.. 1936) 175.
3. As lively as a kitten. Green 27.
4. As playful as a kitten. Bond 47; Green 20; Northall 10.
5. As spry as a kitten. Charles \V. Tyler, Blue Jean Billy
(N. Y., 1926) 140.
6. As tame as a kitten.
7. He's a big shot where little shots ain't no more than kit-
tens in a dog-house.
8. Stick to one like a sick kitten to a hot brick. Bond 47;
Koch II. 16: actin' like a sick kitten ag'in a hot brick.
He takes to it like a kitten to a hot brick.
Like a sick kitten settin' up to a hot rock.
Knee-high. i. Knee-high to a duck (3). Berrey 21.1 1, 1 16.5 ;
DAE Knee-high. 2; Hardie 470; NED Suppl. Knee-
high; I'artridge 459; Thornton i. 519.
Knee-high to a duck's tail.
2. Knee-high to a grasshopper (5). Berrey 21. 11, 39.10,
116.5; DAE Knee-high, 2; Piardie 470; NED Suppl.
Knee-high; Thornton i, 519.
Knife, i. As sharp as a knife. Claudia Cranston, Murder
Maritime (Philadelphia, 1935) 22; Lean 11, 871.
2. He who lives by the knife will die by the knife. Cf.
Matthew 26:52: All they that take the sword .shall
perish with the sword.
Knocks. Little knocks rive [MS give] great blocks. Apper-
son 372.
Knot. I. As sound as a lightwood knot. Cf. DAE Lightwood
434 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
knot ; Bernice K. Harris, Folk Plays of Eastern Caro-
lina (Chapel Hill, 1940) 98: tough as a light'ood knot.
2. As still as a knot on a log. Cf. Woofter 359: Like a
knot on a log (motionless). See Bump (2) above.
Know. Know thyself. (Jxforcl 344; Taylor 43 ; T Ki 75.
Knowledge. Knowledge is power. Apperson 347; Bradley 81 ;
( )xford 345 ; Taylor 43.
Laborer. The laborer is worthy of his hire. Bradley 81 ; Luke
]0 : 7 ; Oxford 347 ; T L12.
Lace. As fine as lace. Cf. \\'ilstach 140: Fine as a mist of
lace and Fine as point lace.
Ladder, i. As steep as a ladder. Cf. \\'ilstach ^^y : Steep,
like the ladder of a hay-mow.
2. Like holding a ladder for a thief. Bohn 180: W'er die
Leiter halt, ist so schuldig wie der Dieb.
Lady. A dainty lady takes a pin to eat a pea. Bates 42 :
\\'hen dainty lady lib well, him tek a pin fe' eat peas ;
I'eckwith 117; Cundall y-^.
Lamb. 1. As gentle as a lamb (2). Oxford 234; T L34.
2. As innocent as a lamb. Wilstach 216.
3. As meek as a lamb (3). Oxford 234; T L34.
Lane. It's a long lane that has no turning (2). Apperson
379; Bradley 81; Green 26; Hardie 463; Oxford 381 ;
Taylor 56 ; T R207.
Lark, i . As blithe as a lark. W'ilstach 24.
2. As gay as a lark (2). Green 23; Wilstach 168.
3. As happy as a lark (2). Berrey 278.15; Hardie 467;
Wilstach 192.
4. Sings like a lark (2). Jesse Stuart. Foretaste of Glory
(X. Y.. T946) I32;TL70.
Latch-string. Keep the latch-string on the outside. You'll
find the latch-string on the outside. DAE Latchstring,
b; Green 36; NED Latchstring; NED Suppl. Latch-
string; Pearce 234.
Late. I. Better late than never. Apj)erson 44; Bradley 81;
Hardie 462; Oxford 40; Taylor 44; T L85.
2. It's never too late to learn. Apperson 442 ; Oxford 450 ;
T L153. Cf. Bradley 81 : It is never too late to mend;
Hardie 463. See Old, adj. beknv.
. 3. Too late to worry. Cf. Apperson 640: Too late to grieve
when the chance is past.
K () V K K H S
435
Lath. As thill as a lath. ApiKTscn (yJ^' ^'i"^'^'" -« ; '^^ ^'^^^'
Wilstach 4-'-'-
Laugh. 1. Lau-h and k'-w tat. Apperson 351-2; Bradley
Si ; llyanison 217; Oxford t,S^ \ Taylor 44; 1 Kq 1 •
2. He who laughs last laughs hcst. .\i)person 331 : I'radk'V
81 ; Hardie 463; Oxford 353.
Laughing. Laughing is catching. liradley Si; Hyatt 148
(3081) ; Thomas 288.
Laurel. I'd druther be a knot in a log on Laurel than to live
down at Sniokemont. (Laurel Top and Smokemont,
Swain county, N. C, are in the Great Smoky Mountains.
See U. S. Geological Surz'ey: Tennessee-North Caro-
lina: Mt. Guyot Quadrangle. Laurel Toj). on the state
line, is approximalely 5500 feet in height, while Smoke-
mont, some ten miles from Laurel, is only about 3000
feet.)
Lazy Lawrence. If ye don't watch ole Lazy Lawrence, 'e'U
git ye. (This expression is generally used to urge lazy
children.) Apperson 355; Oxford 355-6; Partridge 473;
J. S. Udal. Dorsetshire Folk-Lore (Hertford. 1922) 301 :
Laurence has got hold of you, 305 (9).
Lead. As heavy as lead (4)- Apperson 296; Green 19; Hardie
467; NED Lead, ic; Taylor 39; T L134; Wilstach 198.
Leaf. I. As fragile as a leaf. Wilstach 158.
2 Numerous as the leaves on the trees. Jackson Gregory,
Kh the Conqueror ( N. Y., 1933) 88 (many).
3. Shaking like a leaf. Tom Powers, Sheba on 1 ram pled
Grass (Indianapolis, 1946) 159; T L140.
4. Tremble like a leaf (2). NED Leaf, la, (|uot. 1413; T
L140.
5. Turn over a new leaf. Apperson 652; Berrey 3-4-2:
Hvamson 218; Oxford 676; Taylor 44; T L146.
6. We' all fade as a leaf. Wilstach 125.
Leak. A small leak will sink a (great) ship (2). Apperson
372; Oxford 356; Poor Richard \\q: T L147: 1 1 ay to
IV eaJth 412,-
Lean. Don't eat the lean and leave the fat. Cf. Oxf(jrd 641 :
You must take the fat with the lean.
Leap, sb. It is a leap in the dark. Apper.son 336; Hyam.son
219; Oxford 357; TL148.
Leap, vb. Better to leap before you look than always to look
and never leap. See Look (1) below.
Leather. As tough as leather. A])i)erson 642 : Berrey 310.6;
T L166; Wilstach 430. See Shoeleather, Whit-leather
below.
436 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
Leech, i. Sticks like a leech. Sticks like a leech on a log.
Sticks tighter than a leech. Hardie 471 ; NED Leech,
la; W'ilstach 388.
2. You hold on like a leech.
Left-handed. A left-handed person owes the devil a day's work.
Green 17; Hyatt 158 (3326) : A left-handed person must
work three days for the devil ; Thomas 85 ; Woodard 39.
Leg. I. Like cutting from the leg to add to the arm. See
Peter below.
2. To talk the leg off an iron pot. Green 33; Partridge 17
(argue), 863.
Length. You never know the length of a snake until he is
dead. Cundall 105: When yaller snake dead, you can
measure him. (Le., You cannot measure a live snake.
You can only appreciate a danger when it is past.)
Leopard. As spotted as a leopard. Cf. NED Leopard, 2.
Liar. A liar is not to be believed even when he speaks the
truth. Apperson 361 ; Bradley 82 ; Oxford 362 ; T L217.
Lick. I. A lick and a promise and better next time. (Allud-
ing to a hasty wash given to a child, dish, etc.) Berrey
21.5, 156.2.3, 243.2; Green 17 (verbatim) ; Hardie 466;
NED Lick, ib; Partridge 480; Partridge, Suppl. 985,
cat-lick.
2. A lot of licks to drive a nail in the dark. Champion 630
(395) (American Negro).
Life. I. As big as life (2). Berrey 169.11.
2. As large as life and twice as natural. Berrey 20.10,
1 69.11; Green 19; Hardie 466; Oxford 350; Wilstach
226.
3. As natural as life. Wilstach 272.
4. The biggest thing in life is a funeral at the end of it.
Cf. Christy i, 221 : The greatest business of life is to
prepare for death.
5. While there's life there's hope (2). Apperson 364;
Bradley 83; Oxford 366; Taylor 44-5; T L269.
Light. I. As fast as light. Wilstach 135.
2. Out like a light. Berrey 106.4.8, 11 7. 18. 703.3.4.6.
Lightning, i. As fast as greased lightning (3). Berrey
53.7.9.16; DAE Greased; NED Greased, i; Partridge
482.
2. As fast as lightning (2). Taliaferro 64 (faster).
3. As quick as greased lightning. Wilstach 308.
4. As quick as lightning (3). Apperson 518; Berrey 148.9,
257.11; Green 30; Hyamson 287; Taliaferro 151. Cf.
fL279.
I' R O \' K R H s 437
5. Strike like liKlitiiin,^-. Wilslach 394.
6. l.ightning never strikes twice in the same place (3).
Li.yhtnini^ never strikes in the same place (2). liradley
Like, sb. I -ike knows like. Apperson 367-8; Oxford 368;
Taylor 45 ; T 1 .2S6.
Like with like.
Like, vb. If you don't like it you may himp it. I'.errey 270.3,
279.4; DAE Lump; Lean ni. 511.
Liking. Little liking where there is no likeness. Ai)i)erson
368 : Likeness causeth liking ; T L294.
Lily. 1. As fair as a lily (2). Cf. NED Fair. 6. quot. 1554.
2. As pure as a lily (2). Hardie 468; Wilstach 403.
As pure as the lilies of May.
3. As white as a lily. Apperson 680; Hyamson 359; i
L296; Wilstach 471.
Limbs. Dead limhs show up when the leaves (buds) come
out. Champion 634 (559) ^ r)ead limb on the tree
shows itself when the buds come out (American Negro).
Line. i. As straight as a line. Apperson 604-5; Green 31;
T L303 ; Wilstach 392.
2. Hew to the line, let the chips fall where they may. brad-
ley 83; Green 24.
Lion. I. As bold as a Hon (2). Apperson 59: Green 21;
Wilstach 28.
2. As brave as a lion (2). W . Faulkner. The Unvan-
quishcd (N. Y.. 1938) 260.
3. As fierce as a lion (3). T L308 ; Wilstach 139.
4. Beard the lion in his den. Hyamson 38; Oxford ^7-
5. Roars like a lion. NED Lion. la, quot. a 1687; Wil-
stach 326.
Lip. I. Keep a stifT upper lip. Berrey 270.3. 299.1 3 ; DAE
Li]); NED Stifif, n ; Partridge 450- ♦'^31 ; Tahaferro 117.
2 Put your lip in somebody else's business. Cf. Apperson
552'; Oxford 564; T L328.
Liquor. Good liquor needs no water.
Listeners. Listeners never hear good of themselves. Apper-
son 370; Koch II. 13: eavesdroppers; Oxford 371; T
L336.
Little, sb. Everv little heli^s (2). Apperson 188; Bradley 82;
Oxford 177 ; Partridge 635 ; Taylor 45- See Bit above.
Little, adj. Little but loud. Bradley 82 ; Oxford 372.
Live I . Live and learn. Apperson 375 : Bradley 82 ; Oxford
37S-6; Tavlor 45; T L379-
438 NORTH CAROLINA F O L K L 0 R K
Live and learn, die and forget it all. Green 27 ; G. F.
Northall, A IVarzvickshirc Word-Book (English Dialect
Society, London, 1896) 276.
2. Live and let live (2). Apperson 375; Bradley 82; Ox-
ford 376 ; T L380.
3. Live to learn and learn to live. Cf . Cheviot 387 : We're
to learn while we live.
4. The longer we live the more we learn. Franck 100: De
mor' you lib, de mo' you larn, 106 (368). Cf. Apper-
son 375 ; Oxford 382 ; T L393.
Lobster. As red as a lobster. Hardie 468 (boiled) ; T L405 ;
W'ilstach 316.
Locusts. As destructive as locusts. Cf. NED Locust. 3.
Log. I. As easy as falling off a log (2). Apperson 175;
Berrey 255.4 ; DAE Log. 3 ; Hardie 467 ; Partridge 253.
As easy as falling off a slick log. Falling off' a log (for
easily).
2. As easy as rolling oft' a log. Berrey 255.4; DAE Log, 3;
NED Suppl. Log. lb; Partridge 704.
3. Sleeps soundly as a log. Slept like a log (2). Berrey
251.4; Hardie 471 ; NED Log. ib, quot. 1886; T L410;
Wilstach 358.
Look. I. Look before you leap. Apperson 380; Bradley 83;
Hardie 464 ; Hyamson 226 ; Oxford 383 ; Taylor 45 ; T
L429. See Leap, vb., above.
2. You may look farther and fare worse. Cf. James Shirley,
Dramatic JJ'orks, ed. A. Dyce. 6 vols. (London, 1833)
II. 299 : I may go farther and fare worse. See Farther
above.
Looked. Long looked for come at last. Apperson 379; Green
2-/ ; Hardie 464 (expected) ; Oxford 381 ; T L423.
Loon. As crazy as a loon (7). Berrey 152.5, 171. 7; DAE
Loon. 2; Hardie 467; NED Suppl. Loon, ib; Wilstach
73-
Lord (1). He hollers Lord and follows devil. Cf. Christy i,
536 : God in his tongue and the devil in his heart ; DAE
Holler, I, quot. 1917.
Lord (2), As drunk as a lord (4). Apperson 166; Berrey
106.7; (]reen 19; Hardie 467; Hyamson 123; Partridge
405; Taylor 29; T L439 ; Wilstach T05.
2. As rich as lords. Wilstach 322.
3. Live like a lord. \\'ilstach 238.
Lose, You can't lose what you ain't got. ( )xford 385.
Louse. I. As dead as a louse. Shirlcv and .\. Seifert, Death
p R o V i: R B s 439
Stops at the Old Stone Inn (N. Y., 1938) 144. Cf.
Apperson 137 : As dead as a nit.
2. As gray as a louse.
3. As poor as a louse. Cf. Partridge 49^): As mean as a
louse.
4. You move like the dead lice were (Iroi)pmg off you.
(ireen 36 (verbatim ).
Move like the dead lice wuz a drappin' off' 11 you. Apper-
son 249 : To go as if dead lice dropped off you ; T L474.
Cf. Paul Green, Wide Fields (N. Y., 1928) 254: She's
slow enough fer the dead lice to be popping ofif'n her.
Love, sb. I. All's fair in love and war. Apperson 384; Ox-
ford 186; Taylor 46; T A 139.
2. Hot love soon cools. Apperson 315; Oxford 307 ; T L483.
3. Love is blind. Apperson 384: I'.nidley 83; Oxford 389;
Tavlor 45 : T L506. , t. „ o
4. Love laughs at locksmiths. Apperson 3CS5 ; bradley «3 ;
Oxford 390.
5. The course of true love never runs smooth. Apperson
116; Oxford 113.
6. True love is the weft of life. Hislop 307: True loves
the waft o" life, but it whiles comes through a sorrowfu'
shuttle. Cf. T L547. . ^ c-
7. You can't live on love. Cf. Christy i. 649. 652. See
Beauty (4) above.
Love, vb. I . Love me love my dog. Apperson 386-7 : P.rad-
lev 83; Hardie 464; Hyamson 119; Oxford 391; T
D496.'
2. Love me little, love me long. Apperson 386; Bradley
83; NED Love, 2a; Oxford 391 ; Taylor 45; T L539.
Lucifer. As proud as Lucifer (2). Apperson 514; Hyamson
227 : Oxford 521 ; T L572 ; Wilstach 302.
Luck. Thev's more good luck than they is good conduct in
this world. Cf. Lean iv. 12: More by luck than good
guiding: \Vilson 193.
Lucky. It is better to be born lucky than rich. Apperson 45 ;
P.radley 84.
Mad. So mad he couldn't spit (spit straight) (2).
Madman. Raved like a madman. Wilstach 313.
Maggots. He has maggots in his head. Ai)pers()n 390; Ber-
rey 143.3 ; Partridge 382 ; T M6.
Magpie, i. As talkative as a magpie. Wilstach 415.
2. Chatters like a magpie (2). Wilstach 49.
440 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
Make. i. As mean (rough, ugly) as they make them. Cf
Berrey 20.13, ^^-l^ -94; Partridge' 18, as, 341, good,
506, make, 938, warm.
2. As we make it so we have it.
Mammy, i. He's tied to his mammy's apron strings. Berrey
223.1; Hyamson 20; Oxford 13; Partridge 16; T A312.
2. He was raised under his mammy's coattails.
Man. I. A drowning man will catch at a straw. Apperson
166; Bradley 'J2\ Hardie 469; Oxford 159; Taliaferro
137; Taylor 29; T M92.
2. A hairy man's rich. A hairy wife's a witch. Cheviot 12:
A hairy man's a geary man, but a hairy wife's a witch ;
Hislop 26; Wilson 187.
3. A man is never a hero to his own servant. Lean iv, 61 ;
NED Hero, 3, quot. 1764; Oxford 455.
4. A man is not known by his looks. Cf. DavidofT 256:
One must not hang a man by his looks. See Clothes (1)
above.
5. A man's self is his worst enemy. Cf. Apperson 239,
friend {2y), quot. 1831 : You 'may find your worst
enemy, or best friend, in yourself.
6. A man who treats his own stock bad will treat others'
bad. Cf . Bohn 245 : Quem mal quer os seus, no querra
ben OS aliens. He that is unkind to his own will not
be kind to others (Galician) ; Hislop 149: He that's ill
to himsel will be gude to naebody.
7. A man without a knife Is not worth a wife.
8. A poor man with children has got a millstone about his
neck. Cf. Kelly 326: The best thing that ever hap-
pened to a poor Man, is that the first Bairn dye. and
all the rest follow.
9. A silent man is a wise man. Cf. Aphra Behn, The Dutch
Lover, in Works, ed. M. Summers (London. 191 5) i,
264 : A prudent Man speaks least, as the Spaniard has it.
10. An angry man opens his mouth and shuts his eyes.
11. Better be an old man's darling than a young man's slave.
Apperson 464; Bradley 87; Oxford 38; T M444-5 ;
Woodard 40.
12. Beware of a smiling man. Cf. NED Smiling, i, quot.
1602.
13. Don't bother a man when he's busy.
14. Don't take a lazy man's load (3). Hyamson 218; Par-
tridge 473; Pearce 241.
15. Everv man for himself and the devil take the hindmost,
Bra'dley 91 ; Hardie 462; Oxford 178; T D267, Mi 14;
P R () V K K U S 441
\\'hitiii}4- _'o8. L'\. AppcTson iH<;; Taliaferro J56: Ev'ry
man fur hisself. and (iod for all; Taylor 31.
16. Every man has his price. Oxford 178.
17. Every man to his taste. Every man to his own taste.
Every one to his own taste, said the old woman as she
kissed the cow. Apper.son 191-2; Oxford 178; Taylor
J4;TMi03.
18. Fat men are jolly. Cf. Hyatt 139 (2856) : A fat jjcrson
is always good-natured ; Paige 282 : Blessed are they
that are fat : for they shall he jolly and good natured,
and poverty can't make them poor; Taliaferrcj 194:
Hashliead dift'ered from most fleshy men, who are said
to he good-natured; T F419.
19. Get a man drunk if you would know him.
20. Great men are not always wise.
21. It takes a wise man to play the fool. Cf. Apperson 696:
He is not a wMse man that cannot play the fool; Oxford
455 : No man can plav the fool as well as the wise man.
7i8;TM428.
22. Man hrung nothing here and he'll take nothing away.
Cf. I Timothy 6:7: For we hrought nothing into the
world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.
23. Man proposes, God disjKJses (2). Apperson 397; Brad-
ley yy ; Oxford 403 ; Taylor 46, 94 ; T M298.
24. (a) Man works from sun to sun; Woman's work is
never done, (h) Man ma}- work from sun to sun, A
woman's work is never done. Bradley 98 ; Betty Mac-
Donald, The Egg and I (Philadelphia, 1945) 161 : Man
works from dawn to setting sun, But woman's work is
never done. See Woman (5) helow.
25. Many men, many minds. Apperson 586; Green 28;
Oxford 406; Taylor 47, 94; T M583.
26. Men are sorry witnesses in their own cause. Cf. Apper-
son 55: Men are hlind in their own cause; Bohn 286:
Xinguem he hom juiz em causa ])ro])ria; ()xfor(l 50; T
M540.
27. Never hit a man when he's down. Uradlev 71 ; Hardie
462 (kick a fellow). Cf. Iniller 86 (2847): It is a
base thing to tread upon a man that is down.
28. Old men are twice children, .\pperson 464-^; Oxford
472;TM57o.
Once a man and twice a child. Ap])erson 464-5, quot.
1631.
29. One-legged man l)etter dance away from the fire. Cf.
Champion 624 (138) : Man with half a foot always dance
near his family (Jamaican).
442 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
30. Sleep like a dead man. W'ilstach 358.
31. Sweet talk him and feed him. No man stays fur from
a sweet mouth and a good table. Feed him good and
sweet-talk him and he'll hang clost around his own door
step. Cf. Oxford 696, way.
32. There's more hope for a drinking man than a lazy man.
33. To know a man you must winter him and summer him.
T W516; Wood 242: You must summer and winter a
stranger before you can form an opinion of him. Cf.
Hislop 176: I'm no obliged U) simmer and winter it to
you, 336 : Ye maun hae't baith simmered and wintered ;
O'Rahilly 24 (89) : To know a person one must live in
the same house with him.
34. When all men speak, no one hears. Kelly 343 ; Oxford 8.
35. Wise men learn by other men's mistakes, fools by their
own. Apperson 698; Oxford 718; T M612, 615. Cf.
Way to Wealth 414: Wise men learn by others Harms,
Fools scarcely by their own.
Man in the moon. As high as the man in the moon. Cf.
Erasmus, The Praise of Folic, trans. Sir Thomas Chal-
oner (London, 1549) A ii : as farre wyde, as from
hence to the man in the moone.
Manage-good. Old "Manage-good" is better than Mr. "Big-
wage." Cundall 84 : Manage good better dan big wage.
Marble (1). As cold as marble. Wilstach 62.
Marble (2). i. As round as a marble (2). Fauset 158 (74).
2. As slick as a marble.
March, i. As windy as March (a March day). Cf. NED
March, i, quot. 1500-20.
2. March comes in like a lamb and goes out like a lion.
Apperson 401 ; Bradley 99 ; Green 28 ; Oxford 407 ;
Taylor 47 ;T M641.
March hare. As mad as a March hare (3). Apperson 389;
Green 28; Hardie 470; Hyamson 229; Oxford 396;
Partridge 503; T Hi 48; Wilstach 249.
As wild as a March hare.
Mare. To find a mare's nest (2). Apperson 402; Green 24
(and is laughing at the eggs); Hyamson 234; Oxford
408 ; T M658.
Marriage, i. Before marriage, keep both eyes open; after,
shut one. Beckwith 18: Before you married keep you'
two eye open ; after you married, shut one ; Cundall 85 ;
Oxford 331 : Keep your eyes wide open before marriage,
and half shut afterwards; Poor Richard 92.
r R o \- 1: R B s 443
2. Marriai,a^s are made in lieaven. A])pers()n 404; I'.radley
S4 : ( )xtc)rd 409 ; T M688.
Marry. 1. (a) If you marry in l)lack. you'll wish yourself
back. If you marry in red, you'll wish yourself dead,
If you marry in yellow, you'll be ashamed of your fel-
low. If you marry in green, you'll be ashamed to be
seen. If you marry in blue, you'll always be true, If you
marrv in brown, you'll live out of town. If you marry
in gray, you'll live far away, If you marry in white, you
are chosen all right, (b) If you marry in white, you
have chosen right. If you marry in black, you will wish
yourself back. If you marry in blue, your love will be
true. If you marry in brown, you will live in town, If
you marry in yellow, you will want another fellow (2).
Emelyn E. Gardner, Folklore from the Schoharie Hills,
Netv York (Ann Arbor, 1937) 301-2; Hyatt 366
(7269-71) ; Oxford 410-11 ; Thomas 64. (The parallels
all ditTer in varying degrees.)
2. Marrv in haste and repent in leisure. Apperson 404;
Bradley 84; Hardie 464; Oxford 411 ; T Hi 96.
3. M ore's 'married than's doing well (2). Cf. Apperson
426: More folks are wed than keep good houses; Kelly
334 (264).
4. Not married till bedded.
5. You'll get over it before you get married. Cf. Allison 99;
Brewster 264 : The hurt child is consoled for his
scratches or bruises by being told, "You'll get well be-
fore you're twice married" ; Cireen 36 : You'll be well
before you are twice married.
Martin. As straight as a martin to his gourd. Irene Yates,
"A Collection of Proverbs and Proverbial Sayings from
South Carolina Literature," Southern Folklore Quar-
terly, XI (1947.) 198.
Master, i. A falling master makes a standing man. Hislop
19, cf. 41 ; Oxford 189.
2. An earlv master makes a long servant. Hislop 84. Cf. T
M712.'
3. Like master, like man. Apperson 366-7. 646, trim ; Brad-
ley 85 ; Oxford 412, 427. mistress. 671. trim ; Tavlor 47;
T M723.
4. No man can serve two masters. Apperson 449 ; r)radley
84; Hyamson 311 ; Oxford 455; T M322.
Match. As fat as a match (4). Green 19, 23; Lean 11, 827:
As fat as a match with the brimstone off.
Meal barrel. Always taking out of the meal barrel and never
444 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
putting in soon comes to the bottom. Apperson lo;
Hislop 52; Oxford 9; JVay to IVealth 414-5.
Mean. Too durned mean to get shot. Cf . Atkinson 82 : He's
too mean to die.
Meaning. There is as much meaning in a wink as a word.
{Meaning substituted for inalice in the MS.)
Meat. One man's meat is another man's poison. Apperson
410-11 ; Bradley 85 ; Oxford 416: T M483.
Methuselah. As old as Methuselah (4). Green 19; Hardie
si; Partridge si8; Taliaferro 254 (Mathuzlum) ; Tay-
lor 51 ; T M908; Wilstach 278. '
Midnight, i. As black as midnight. Blakeborough 231 ; Wil-
stach 21.
2. As dark as midnight. NED Midnight, 4b; Wilstach 80.
Mile. As long as a country mile. Cf. Lean 11. 763 : Like a
Welsh mile, long and narrow. (Tedious) ; Oxford 546:
Robin Hood's mile; T M925.
Milk. Don't cry over spilled milk (4). Apperson 126; Brad-
ley 85; Hardie 462; Hyamson 104; Oxford 122; Par-
tridge 809; Taliaferro 90 (grieve) ; T M939.
Mill. I. I could ride to the mill on this knife. (Meaning
it is so extremely dull.) Atkinson 83: You could ride
to the mill on that knife without any blanket (it's so
dull). Cf. Apperson 538, Romford; E. ]\L Fogel,
Supplement to Proverbs of the Pennsylvania Germans
(Fogelsville, Pa., 1929) 8 (2012) ; Oxford 542.
2. That's what they told me down at the mill. Cf. Apper-
son 416, mill (2), 418, miller (13); Nicolson 79: A
country-side smithy, a parish mill, and a public-house,
the three best places for news, 369.
Miller, i. As bold as a miller's shirt. Apperson 417, miller
(3) ; Bohn 164; Oxford 55, cf. 708, as wight; Partridge
521 ; T M959; Wilstach 498. (The parallels explain that
a miller's shirt, or collar, is bold because it takes a thief
by the throat every morning.)
2. Drown the miller. (Too much water [milk] in flour in
making bread) (2). Apperson 166, cf. 418, miller
(14); Berrey 35.7; Hyamson 240; NED Miller, ic;
Oxford 526; Partridge 521 ; T M962.
Million. Looks like a million. Berrey 37.6.10.
Millpond. As level as a millpond. Cf. NED ]\Iill-pond; Wil-
stach 230: Level as a pond.
Minds. The minds of great men run in the same channel.
P R O V K R H S 445
l)r;ulley 85: (ircat miiuls run in tlif same channel;
1 laidie 463 ; Sna[)i) 87 ( j6 ) .
Mine. What's mine is yours and what's Nours is mine. ( )x-
ford 425; T M980. ef. K. C. (inrdon, County l-olk-
Lorc, Suffolk (Fulk-Lore Society, London, 1893) 147:
What's her's is mine. etc.
Minute, i. As small as a minute. Cf. NED Minute, 5.
_'. No higger than a minute. C. G. (iivens, All Cats Arc
Cray (Indianapolis, 1937) 253.
Mirror. As clear as a mirror. Wilstach 57.
Misery. Misery makes us acquainted with strange bed-fellows.
Apperson 418; Green 28; Oxford 426; Taylor 49.
Misfortunes, i. Better be wise by the misfortunes of others
than your own. See Man (35) above.
2. Misfortunes never come singly. Misfortunes rarely come
alone. Apperson 419; Bradley 85; NED Misfortune,
ic; Oxford 426-7; T M1012. ' See Trouble (7) 1)elow.
Miss. A miss is as good as a mile (2). Apperson 419; Brad-
lev 85; Oxford 427; Partridge ^2t,\ Tavlor 49. Cf. T
I56. ^
Molasses, i. As slow as cold molasses (2). Wilstach 360.
As slow as molasses (2). Berrey 54.5, 150. 5, cf. 184.12.
As slow as molasses in January. Berrey 54.5. 150.5. cf.
414.3; Hardie 471 ; Wilstach 360.
As slow as molasses in winter. Slower than molasses in
winter. Partridge 526.
As slow as molasses running up hill. Cf. H. W. Smith.
"Notes from Cape Cod," Dialect Notes, iv, part iv
(1916) 266: slowern' cold molasses in the winter-time
running up hill.
He is as slow as molasses down a tato row.
2. As thick as molasses (2). H. Ashbrook, Murder of
Sigurd Sharon (N. Y., 1933) 48.
3. She saves the lasses skimmins.
Mole. As blind as a mole (2). Apperson 55; Berrey 106.8
(for dead drunk); Hyamson 51; NED Mole ib; T
M 1034 ; Wilstach 23.
Monday. As blue as a Monday morning. Cf. Berrey 3.2,
107.2, 247.1, 283.2.
Money, i. A little money is soon spent. Cf. Apperson 371 :
A little good is soon spent ; T G299.
2. He would steal the money off a dead man's eyes (2).
Berrey 145.6.
3. If you would know the value of money try to borrow it.
446 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
Apperson 421; Oxford 344; Poor Kichard 147; T
Mi 104; IV ay to IVealih 415.
4. Marry for money and you will be sorry you married at
all. Cf. Fuller 66 (2238) : He that marrieth for wealth
sells his liberty.
5. Money can do anything. Helen McCloy, Dance of Death
(N. Y., 1938) 169; T M1084. Cf. Apperson 421, money
( I ), 423, money (47) ; Oxford 429.
6. Money is the root of all evil. The love of money is the
root of all evil. Berrey 559.1; Bradley 85; Hyamson
297; Partridge 705; Taylor 49; I Timothy 6: 10.
7. Money makes the mare go (2). Apperson 422; Bradley
86; Green 28; Oxford 430; Partridge 509; Taylor 49;
T Mi 077.
8. Shines like new money. He's shining in Abraham's
bosom like a piece of new money. His eyes shinin' like
new money. Taliaferro 48 : shinin' away . . . like a
piece uv new money, 76 : His eyes shinin' away like
new money.
Monkey, i. As agile as a monkey. Wilstach 5.
2. As funny as a barrel of monkeys. Wilstach 166.
3. As tricky as a monkey.
4. We had more fun than a barrel of monkeys (2). Berrey
280.1.
More fun than a box of monkeys (7). Berrey 280.1.
Month. A month of Sundays. Apperson 423, 673 ; Berrey
1.2.8, 2.12; Green 17; Hyamson 332; Oxford 431;
Partridge 530.
Moonshine. As slow as a pokey moonshine.
Moor. It's a bare moor without a tuft of heather. Hislop
179: It's a bare moor that ye gang through an' no get
a heather cow. (A "heather cow" is a twig or tuft of
heath) ; Lean iv, 9; Oxford 22: It is a bare moor that
he goes over and gets not a cow ; T M1133.
More. The more the merrier. Apperson 428 ; Bradley 86 ;
Oxford 433; Taylor 49; T Mi 153. See Fewer above.
Morning, i. As fair as morning. Wilstach 129.
2. As lovely as the morning. Wilstach 246.
Moses. As meek as Moses (5). Green 28; Hyamson 237;
Wilstach 256.
Mother. Like mother like daughter. Apperson 367 ; Oxford
435 ;T M1199.
Mountain, i. As big as a mountain (2). Cf. James Shirley,
Dramatic Works, ed. A. Dyce (London, 1833) vi, 46:
Huge as a mountain.
PROVERBS 447
2. As high as a nuumtain. Cf. NED Mountain, if ; Maurice
Walsh, Nine Strings to Your Bcnv (Philadelphia, 1945)
18 : mountain high.
7. Never make a mountain out of a molehill. Apperson
430. cf. 514; Hyamson 245; NKD Molehill. 2; Oxford
436 :T M1035.
4. The mountains are calm even m a tempest.
5. The mountain labors and brings forth a mouse. Apper-
son 430 ; Oxford 436 ; T M 121 5.
Mouse. 1. As meek as a mouse. Wilstach 255.
2 As poor as a church mouse (4)- Apperson 505; Berrey
378.3, 418.1; Green 29; Hardie 468; Hyamson 278;
Oxford 510; T C382.
3. As quiet as a mouse (2). Apperson 519; Taylor 55;
Wilstach 309.
4. As still as a mouse (2). Apperson 519, quiet, quots.
1656. 1772; T Mi 224.
5. As timid as a mouse. Wilstach 426.
Mouth. I. A closed mouth catches no flies. Oxford 98; T
Mi 247. Cf. Apperson 220, fly (9)-
2. Every times he opens his mouth he puts his foot m it.
Berrey 170.6.9, 188.17; Oxford 478.
3. What enters the mouth goes into the belly.
Moves Three moves are as bad as a fire (4). Two moves are
as bad as a fire. Three removes (moves) are as bad
as a fire. Apperson 629; Bradley 86; Oxford 654;
Taylor 56; Way to Wealth 41^-
Moving days. Monday for health, Tuesday for wealth,
Wednesday the best day of all, Thursday for losses
Friday for crosses, Saturday no luck at all. Oxford
428 (of marriage). Cf. Hyatt 364 (7^36-7) : Married
on Monday, married for health, etc. ; Thomas 64.
Much. I. That's too much of a good thing. Apperson 640;
]^,errey 24.15; Hvamson 345; Oxford 665; Partridge
898;tTi58.
2 You can have too much of anything. Cf. Apperson 640-1 :
Too much of one thing is naught ; Oxford 665 ; Roberts
39; T T158.
Mud I. As clear as mud (2). Berrey 172.4; Green 18;
NED Mud, 3; Partridge 158. 539: Taylor 22.
2. As fat as mud (2). Green 23.
3. As mad as mud. Partridge 503.
4. As thick as mud (2). Green 20; Lean 11. 883 (gutter
mud).
N.C.F., Vol. I, (30)
448 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
5. As Ugly as mud. Cf. W'ilstach 439 : As ugly as were
ever born of mud.
Mud fence. i. As homely as a mud fence. Berrey 38.5,
428.1. Cf. Perkins 120: homelier than a stump fence.
2. As ugly as a mud fence. Brewster 261 ; DAE Mud
fence.
As ugly as a mud fence daubed with misery (3). As
ugly as a mud fence daubed with terrapins. Cf. DAE
Mud fence, quot. 1907 (stuck with tadpoles).
As ugly as a mud fence trimmed with tar.
Mud pie. As ugly as a mud pie.
Mule. I. A mule's gallop is soon over. Beckwith 43 (don-
key) ; Cundall 45 (donkey); Lean iv, 119: The dull
ass's trot lasts not long ajid Trotta d'asina non dura
troppo.
2. As balky as a mule. Bond 46.
3. As contrary as a mule. Allison 98 ; Bond 46.
4. As obstinate as a mule ( 2 ) . W'ilstach 2yy.
5. As stout (strong) as a mule.
6. As strong as a mule. Horace McCoy, TJicx Shoot
Horses, Don't They? (N. Y., 1935) 22.
7. As stubborn as a bob-tail mule. As stubborn as a mule
(3). Atkinson 90; Berrey 210.3; Wilstach 396.
8. As tough as a mule. Bond 46.
As tough as mule's hide.
9. Blaze face mule, always a fool.
10. Brays like a mule. N. I. White, American Negro Folk-
Songs (Cambridge, Mass., 1928) 320 (corn-fed mule).
11. Gray mules never die, they turn into Baptist preachers.
Cf. G. W. Harris, 89: Thar am two things nobody ever
seed : wun am a dead muel, an' tother is a suckit-rider's
grave. Kaze wdiy, the he muels all turn into old field
school-masters, an' the she ones intu strong minded
women, an' then when thar time comes, they dies sorter
like uther folks ; Thomas 257 : All bricklayers will turn
to gray mules w'hen they die and A white mule will
never die. Whoever saw a dead gray mule or a poach-
er's grave?
12. Kicks like a Kentucky mule. Cf. Bond 49: kick like a
Bay State mule; Hanford 168.
Kicks like a mule. Bond 46.
13. You are as crazy as a hump backed mule. You crazy
hump-backed mule you.
14. You look as nice as a blue mule.
Mule skinner. Swears like a mule skinner. Cf. Bill Maudlin,
Up Front (N. Y.. 1945) 112-3: It would have glad-
PROVERBS 449
dened the hearts of those old sokhcrs at home, who
were convinced that this new army was going crazy
with newfangled inventions, to see long columns of
halky mules heing cajoled and threatened up the trails
hy their hearded, swearing, sweating skinners. (The
h'ahitual profanitv of mule skinners was alluded to
appreciatively hy John Kieran on Inforinaiion Please,
April 22, 1946.)
Murder. Murder will out. Appcrson 433-4 ; I'radley 86; Ox-
l.ird 439: T Mi3i5-
Mush. 1. As soft as mush (2). Wilstach 368.
2. As thick as mush (2). Cf. Apperson 624: As thick as
porridge; Wilstach 421 (oatmeal), 422 (hasty pudding).
Mustard. It's all to the mustard. (All to good.) Berrey
128.3. 279.6; DAE Mustard, 3; NED Suppl. Mustard
if.
Nail. I. As naked as mv nail. Apperson 436; NED Naked,
ih; Oxford 442; Partridge 549; T N4; Wilstach 271.
2. As tough as nails. Wilstach 430.
3 Hit the nail on the head (4)- Apperson 435; ^iCrrey
169.6 (right nail). 188.13. 2S7-7-' Hardie 469; Hyam-
son 247 :N)x ford 296; Taliaferro 144: Taylor 50;
T N16.
Naught. Naught is never in danger. Apperson 437 : Oxford
444;TN342.
Necessity. Necessitv is the mother of invention. Apperson
439 : Bradlev 86 ; Hardie 464 : Oxford 445-6 ; Taylor 50 ;
f N61.
Neck. I. I'd rather mv neck felt the yoke than the a.xe.
Roherts 121 : Choose either the yoke or the axe;
X'aughan 98 (699): When the ox the yoke refuses,
Then the ox the poleaxe chooses.
2. l.imlier necks live longer'n stiff 'uns.
T, Their necks'll stretch hemp. (They are set for hang-
ing.) Cf. NED Hemp, 3.
Need. i. Need hath no law. Api)er.son 438: Necessity has
no law ; P>radlev 86; Oxford 445 : Taylor 50; T N76.
2. Need lends speed. Cf. Apperson 439: Need and night
make the lame to trot and Need makes the naked man
run and Need makes the old wife trot; Oxford 446; T
Needle. 'iV As fine as a needle. Cf. Nk:D Needle, la. quot.
T c8zi
2. As nude as a needle. Apperson 436, naked. ([Uot. 1858;
Partridge 549. naked ; T N94.
450 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
3. As sharp as a needle (2). Apperson 561 ; Green 30;
NED Needle, la; Taliaferro 56; T N95.
4. Like hunting for a needle in a haystack (2). It's like
looking for a needle in a haystack. Hard to find as a
needle in a haystack. Apperson 440; Hardie 469;
Hyamson 226 ; Oxford 446-7 ; Taliaferro 83 ; Taylor 50 ;
T N97. Cf. Partridge 632.
5. Needles and pins, needles and pins. When a man marries
his trouble begins (2). Apperson 440; Green 28;
Lean i, 469 ; Oxford 447 ; Woodard 40.
6. Sews with a red-hot needle and a burning thread. Atkin-
son 82 ; Collections . . . Relating to Montgomeryshire,
XIII (1880) 329 (745) ; T N98; J. S. Udal. Dorsetshire
Folk-Lore (Hertford. 1922) 302. Cf. Champion 527
22) : A hot needle burns the thread (Ga, Africa) ; Par-
sons, Antilles 460: Hot needle burn thread.
Negro (Nigger), i. A dead nigger in the wood pile. Berrey
166.1.3. 170.1, 207.2, 317.1 ; DAE Nigger 12; Hardie
466; NED Suppl. Nigger, ic; Oxford 452.
2. All niggers look alike to me. Jonathan Daniels, Tar
Heels (N. Y., 1941) 202.
3. As black as a nigger. Lean 11, 807 ; NED Negro, i, quot.
1782.
As black as a Negro in the dark. As black as a Negro
shovelling coal at midnight. Cf. Hislop 192: It would
be a hard task to follow a black dockit sow through a
burnt muir this night.
4. As lazy as a nigger.
5. As shiny as a Negro's eye. See (9) below.
6. As sleepy as a nigger.
7. Give a nigger a book and you just as well kill him.
8. Give a nigger an education and you ruin a good plough-
hand. J. C. Harris 223 : Put a spellin'-book in a nigger's
ban's, en right den en dar' you loozes a plow-hand. Cf.
TP437-
9. Shines like a nigger's heel. Hardie 468: As shiny as a
nigger's heel ; Pearce 237 ; Wilstach 344.
10. Sweating like a Negro going to the 'lection (2). Sweat-
ing like a nigger at election. Berrey 123. 11, 245.12;
Brewster 265; Hanford 177 (Arkansas) ; Woodard 42.
11. Takes a deaf nigger not to hear the dinner horn. J. C.
Harris 151 : Hit's a mighty deaf nigger dat don't year
de dinner-ho'n.
12. Tastes like a Negro family has just moved out of my
mouth. Cf. Partridge 132: To feel as if a cat has kit-
PROVERBS 4SI
tened in one's mouth ; \'ance Randolph, Ocark Mountain
folks (N. Y., 193-^) 40: an' my mouth a-tastm' hke a
cat had done littered in it.
Neighbor Better a neighhor that is near than a brother that
is far otY. Champion 562 (244) : Your neighbour who is
near is better than your brother who is far away (Moor-
ish) : Cundall 90: Near nabour better dan furra broder ;
NED, Neighbour, i, proverbs, quots. 13. . . 1539'. Nicol-
son 244; Proverbs 27:10. Cf. Apperson 437: A near
friend is better than a far-dwelling kinsman; Oxford
444;TNiio.
Nest. Smelled like a nest of grandaddies. Ct. Lerrey 120.5O.
Nettle. Grasp a nettle hard and it will not sting you. Cf.
Api^erson 442; Berrey 208.2; Hyamson 166; NbU
Grasp. 3 ; Oxford 274 ; T N133.
News. I. As far reaching as bad news. Bad news travels
fast (2). Bradley 86; Green 21. ^, , . ^^
111 news travels fast. Apperson 325; Oxford 31^; ^
N 1 47-8.
2. News'll keep. r, u q r\
3 No news is good news. Apperson 450 ; Bradley «7 ; Ox-
ford 457 ; T Ni 52.
Nickel. As worthless as a plugged nickel. Berrey 21.3. Ct.
NED Suppl. Plugged.
Night. I. As black as night. Hyamson 47; NED Night, ib.
2. As calm as night. Wilstach 42. . , ,
3. As dark as night (2). Green 22 ; NED Night, ib.
4. As different as night from day. See Day (3) above.
5. As gloomy as night. Wilstach 179.
6. As silent as night. NED Night, ib, quot. i795 ; 'i N165 ;
Wilstach 353. . .
7. As sure as the night follows the day. Cf. Wilstach 401 :
Sure as dav and night succeed each other.
8. He walked around looking like a black night on the seas.
Cf. Northall 6: A face like a wet Saturday night.
9. In the night all cats are l)lack. Apperson 85 ; (Jxford 86;
T C50.
10. Night makes no difference to a blind man.
11. There's no night without day. Cf. T N164.
L2 To rest well at night let your diet be light or else you'll
complain with stomach and pain. Diet light, rest well
at night. "Pr<eceptis of Medecyne," The Bannatyne
Manuscript, ed. W. Tod Ritchie (Scottish Text Society,
1928-34) II. 176. 11. 29-30: Quha wald tak rest vpoun
the nicht The supper sowld be schort & licht; Wood
452 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
241 : To be easy at night much supper don't eat. Or else
thou'lt complain of wanting thy health.
Nit. I. As dead as a nit (2). Apperson 137; Green 19;
NED Nit, 3; Partridge 564.
2. He has more than nits and lice in his head. Apperson
428; Green 24; Mac Adam 263 (283).
3. Nits make lice. Apperson 446; Oxford 453: I'artridge
564; T N191.
Nobody. Hurts like nobody's business. Berrey 20.5.6.13. cf.
294. 53-9-
Nose. I. A long nose is easy burnt. Cf. Hislop 203: Lang
noses are aye taking till them.
2. As plain as the nose on your face (3). Apperson 452;
Berrey 171.5; Hvamson 274; Oxford 503; Partridge
637-
As plain as the nose on a man's face. Green 20 ; Oxford
503;N2i5.
3. Cut off your nose to spite your face (2). Apperson 131 ;
Green 32; Hyamson 254; Oxford 126; Taylor 51.
4. He can't see ahead of his nose. NED Nose, 6, quot.
1734; Partridge 422, inch; T N220. See Inch (1) above.
5. He has his nose to the grindstone. Apperson 452 ; Hyam-
son 253; Oxford 462; T N218; JVay to Wealth 412.
6. He is led by the nose. Apperson 3SS"6; Hvamson 253;
Oxford 356 ;TN233.
Nothing. I. Nothing is good or bad except by comparison.
Apperson 453. nothing (14) ; T N298.
2. Nothing venture, nothing have. Apperson 454 ; Oxford
465; Taylor 51 ; T N3 1 9.
3. Out of nothing, nothing comes. Apperson 454- S; Ox-
ford 462 ; T N285.
4. We don't charge nothin' for settin' in a cheer. See Sit
below.
Nut. I. As brown as a nut (3). W'ilstach 38. Cf. NED
Nut-brown.
2. It is a hard nut to crack. Berrey 173.2. 242.1, 256.3,
400.3, 41 1.2; Hyamson 255; NED Nut. 4; Partridge
375-
Nutmeg grater. As rough as a nutmeg grater. Green 30;
W ilstach 328.
0, I. Like an (J (aught) with the rim rubbed out.
2. As round as an ( ). Cf. W'ilstach 'i^2^ : Round as Giotto's
O.
Oak. I. As stately as an oak. W'ilstach 386.
PROVERBS 453
2. As sturdy as an oak. David Maj,^arshack, Death Cuts a
Caper (X. v.. 1935) 340.
Ocean, i. As boundless as the ocean. Wilslach 30.
2. As deep as the ocean. See Sea (2) I)clo\v.
3. As salty as the ocean. Cf . England 79 : salter'n the briny
ocean.
4. As wide as the ocean. See Sea (4) below.
Oil. I. He poured oil on the lire. Nl^^D Oil, 3c. quot. 1^60;
TO30.
2. Oil and water won't mix. Alice Campbell, Desire to
Kill (N. Y., 1934) 18.
3. Pour oil on troubled waters. Apperson 463 ; Hyamson
256; Oxford 469; Taylor 51.
Old, sb. I. Honor the old. Cf. Bohn 354: Den Gamle skal
man sere, den Unge skal man laere ; Lean iii, 453 ; F.ild
would be honored ; T E96.
2. The old make laws, the young die for them. Cf. Lean
IV, 70 : Old men for counsel ; young men for war.
Old, adj. Never too old to learn (2). Apperson 442, never
too late; Bradley 87; Oxford 450; T L153. See Late
(2) above.
One. I. As easy as one and one make two.
2. One at a time, they last longer. Cf. J. C. Harris, Nights
zi'ith Uncle Remus (Boston, 1883) 67: Ef you'll des
gimme han'-roomance en come one at time, de tussle'll
las' longer.
Onion, i. As bald as an onion. C. (i. (livens. The Jig-Time
Murders (Indianapolis, 1936) 15 (bald-headed).
2. As slick as a peeled onion (2). Allison 95 ; Berrev 317.6;
W'oofter 364.
Opossum. I. As gray as an opossum. Cf. NED Opossum,
I, quot. c 161 5.
2. Crins like an opossum, l^.ond 52.
Opportunity, i . Opportunity knocks but once. Opportunity
never knocks twice. Apperson 231, Fortune; Bradley
87; Hardie 464; Oxford 221, Fortune; T F608.
2. Opportunitv makes the thief. Apperson 475; Green 29;
Oxford 478; T O7 1.
3. Seize the handle of opportunity. Bradley ^j : Take
opportunity by the forelock. Cf. Apperson 462, occa-
sion, 635. time; Oxford 658-9; T T311.
Orange. As round as an orange (2).
Organdy. As crisj) as organdy. Cf. Vincent Starrett, Murder
in Peking (N. Y., 1946) 268: Her lettuce-green organdv
was cool and criso.
454 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
Otter. As slick as an otter's slide.
Ounce. An ounce of prevention is worth a ponnd of cure (2).
Bradley 89; Green 17; Hardie 461. Cf. Apperson 475;
Oxford 479, 480.
Oven. I. As hot as an oven. Wilstach 205.
2. As warm as an oven. NED Oven, 2, quot. 1766.
Owl. I. As drunk as a boiled (biled) owl (3). Apperson
166; Berrey 97-11, 106.7.8; DAE Owl, 2; Green 22;
Hardie 468; Partridge 75; Wilstach 104.
2. As drunk as an owl. Apperson 167; Berrey 107.7.8.
3. As loony as an owl. Cf. Snapp 70 (285) : As crazy as
a hoot owl.
4. As sleepy as an owl. Bond 55.
5. As solemn as an owl. DAE Owl, 2 ; Wilstach 373.
6. As wise as an owl (3). Berrey 148.9; Hardie 468; Wil-
stach 478.
7. Feel like a stewed owl (3). DAE Owl, 2. Cf. J. W.
Carr, "A Word-List from Hamstead, S.E. New Hamp-
shire," Dialect Notes, iii, part in (1907) 187: feel like
a boiled owl.
Ox. I. As awkward as an ox. See Cow (1) above.
2. As dumb as an ox. Allison 95 ; Bond 47 ; Hardie 467.
3. As slow as an ox. Bond 47.
4. As strong as an ox (2). Wilstach 395.
5. As stubborn as an ox (2). Cf. B. A. Botkin, Lav My
Burden Down (Chicago, 1945) 22: The mule ain^t
stubborn 'side of the ox. The ox am stubborn and then
some more.
Oyster, i. As dumb as an oyster. Dx\E Clam, 3, quot. 1889,
Oyster, 2; Wilstach 106.
2. As mum as an oyster. Wilstach 268.
3. Oysters are said to be good only in the months in which
there is an r. Apperson 480; Green 29 (verbatim);
Oxford 483-4; T O117.
Paddy. As Irish as Paddy's pig. O. S. Adams, "Proverbial
Comparisons from California," California Folklore Quar-
terly, v (1946) 336; Partridge, Suppl. 1006.
Pancake. As flat as a pancake (3). Apperson 218; Berrey
262.2.4.9, 283.4.7, 352.7, 378.4; Green 23; Hyamson
146; Oxford 209; Partridge 284; T P39; Wilstach 145.
Paper. As thin as paper (2). Val Gielgud and Holt Marvell.
London Calling (N. Y., 1934) 69.
Paper-hanger. As busy as a one-armed paper-hanger with
the seven-year itcli. Berrey 245.12.18; Hardie 472:
PROVERBS 455
Workiiii;: liki- a oiu'-armed paper-hanger with the itch ;
Wilstach 40 (with the hives).
Parasol. Like a fool who puts up a parasol against the moon-
light.
Parker. To think like Parker drcnipt. Collected with Jack
Robinson (2) ahove. (Api)arcntly Parker's dream did
not materialize.)
Parrot, i. As talkative as a parrot. Gordon Young, Trra^/^r^?
(N. Y.. 1928) 2.
2. Chatter like a parrot. Cf. Apperson 510: To prate like
a parrot; Oxford 516; T P60.
3. Talks like a parrot. I'ond 55.
Partridge. As plump as a partridge. Apperson 504; NED Par-
tridge, Aa, quot. 1892, B, i, quot. 1844, Silk, ic, quot. a
1732; T P84; Wilstach 296; Yankee Phrases 114.
Pat. As long as Pat stayed in the army (3). Cf. England 74:
As long as John Brown stayed in heaven. (No time
at all.)
Pea. I. As alike as two black-eyed peas (2). As like as tw^o
peas. Apperson 366 ; Hyamson 222 ; Oxford 680 ; Par-
tridge 613; T Pi 36.
As like as two peas in a pod (3). DAE Pea, 2; Hardie
468.
As much alike as two peas. Green 19.
2. As thick as peas in a pod. Virginia F. Boyle, Dez'il Tales
(N. Y., 1900) 163: thick ez peas in er pod. Cf. F. L.
Packard. Tiger Clazvs (N. Y., 1928) 151 : as thick as
peas ; Partridge 875 : Thick as peas in a shell ; Taliaferro
258 : as thick as cow-peas in thar hull ; Wilstach 420 :
Thick as beans in a pod.
3. Rattled like peas in a bladder. W'ilstach 313.
Pea soup. As thick as pea soup. Wilstach 420. Cf. Berrey
7.1.9; NED Pea-soup.
Pea-time. Looks like the last of pea-time (2). DAE Pea
time, 2 ; Green 27 ; NED Suppl. Pea-time. Cf. Payne
344; Thornton 11, 651.
Peach, I. As pretty as a peach (2). Wilstach 300.
2. Blooming like a peach. Wilstach 24.
Peacock. i. As proud as a peacock (5). Apperson 514;
Green 29; Hyamson 283; Oxford 521; T Pi 57; \\'il-
stach 303-
2. As vain as a peacock (2). Wilstach 451.
3. Struts like a peacock (2). NED Strut, 7I) ; W ilstach 396.
Pearls. Don't cast your j)earls before swine. Apperson 488;
456 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
Bradley 87 ; Hyamson 267 ; Oxford 493 ; Taylor 52 ; T
P165.
Pebble. Only pebble on the beach. (For egotism.) Berrey
301.7, 388.2; Hardie 471 ; Partridge 613.
Peck. Every man must eat a peck of dirt before he dies.
Apperson 178; Hyamson 116; Oxford 165; Tavlor 27;
TM135.
Pecker. Keep your pecker up. Berrey 270.3, 299.1.3; Hyam-
son 267; Lean iv, 23; Oxford 332; Partridge 613.
Peg. Take him down a peg. Apperson 618, take (27) ; Ber-
rey 21.8, 222.4. 3044; Hyamson 267; NED Peg, 3;
Oxford 640; T P181 ; Woodard 41.
Penny, i. A bad penny always comes back. Berrey 21.4, cf.
435.1 ; Bradley 87; Hardie 461.
A bad penny is hard to get rid of.
To turn up like a bad penny. Green 34; Hyamson 268.
2. A penny saved is a penny earned. A penny saved is a
penny made. Apperson 490; Bradley 87; Hardie 461;
Oxford 495 ; Taylor 53 ; T P206.
3. As bright as a new penny. Lean ir. 811 ; Wilstach 33.
4. As clean as a penny. Apperson loi ; Green 18; Par-
tridge 617; T P188.
5. In for a penny in for [a] pound. Apperson 490; Hyam-
son 268; Oxford 318-9; T P196.
6. Penny makes trouble a dollar can't cure. Beckwith 100:
Tuppence bring trouble hundred pound can't cure ;
Franck 105 : Quatty buy trouble hundred pound can't tek
it ofif ; Hearn 35 : Tampee ka gagnen malhers ka doublons
pas sa gueri (Trinidad).
7. Penny wise, pound foolish (s). Apperson 490; Bradley
88; Hyamson 268; Oxford 495; T P218.
8. Shines like a new penny. See Money (8) above.
9. Take care of the pennies and the dollars will take care
of themselves. Apperson 490 (pounds for dollars) ;
Bradley 71 (dimes for pennies) ; Hardie 464 (as Brad-
ley) ; Oxford 640 (as Apperson).
People. I. People don't change, and nothing don't change
them, but they change things. Cf. Elizabeth Daly,
Somezvhere in the House (N. Y., 1946) 12: Perhaps
I'm not sure that people ever really change. They may
seem to, but . . .
2. People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones
(4). Apperson 248; Berrey 154.9; Bradley 80; Hardie
464; Hyamson 160; Oxford 285; Partridge 332; Tay-
lor 35 ; T H789.
WASHING CLOTHES
PROVERBS 457
Pepper, i. As hot as ])cppcr. W'ilstach 204.
J. As hot as red pepper.
Persuasion. Persuasion is better than force. Chri.sty 11, 123.
Peter, lie robs Peter to pay Paul. Apperson 534; Hardie
471 ; J4yamson 295; Oxford 545; Partridge 621 ; Taylor
S^; T P244. See Leg (1) above.
Physician. Physician, heal thyself. Apperson 492; Taylor 53;
T P267.
Piano. Legs like a piano. Cf. l)()rf)thy (iardiner. Beer for
Psyche (X. Y., 1946) 245: And she always had piano
legs.
Pickle. As sour as a pickle (2). Berrey 283.6. 284.6.
Pickpockets. Agree like pickpockets at a fair (2). Apperson
493 ; Oxford 6 ; Wilstach 5.
Picture, i. As perfect as a picture. Cf. NED Picture, 4,
quot. 1 80 1.
2. As pretty as a picture (5). Green 20; W'ilstach 300. Cf.
Partridge 625.
Piddle. Every piddle makes a puddle. Cf. Fuller 42 (i453) '■
Every path hath a puddle ; Kelly 312 ; T Pioo.
Pie. I. As easy as pie. Berrey 255.4; Hardie 467; W'ilstach
108.
2. As good as pie. DAE Pie, ib.
3. As nice as pie. DAE Pie, ib.
4. As sweet as pie. David Frome. The Strange Death of
Martin Green (N. Y., 1931) 147.
5. Eat humble pie. Hyamson 193; Oxford 309; Partridge
413-
Piecrust. As short as piecrust. DAE Piecrust; Hanford 160;
Lean 11, 872; Taliaferro 123.
Breath as short as piecrust. Taliaferro 117.
Pie train. He is too lazy to work on a pie train, an' him
runnin' the taster. Wouldn't work in a pie factory if
you'd give him a tastin' job. See Gravy train above.
Pig. T. As crooked as a pig's tail.
2. As dirty as a pig (3). Hardie 467.
3. As fat as a pig (2). Apperson 205, fat as a hog; Ber-
rey 39.12; Hardie 467; Taylor 32.
4. As greedy as a jMg (4). Hardie 467.
5. As happy as a dead pig in the sunshine. J. C. Harris.
Uncle Remus and His Friends (Boston. 1892) 247: He
des lay dar des ez ca'm ez a dead pig in de sunshine.
Cf. Apperson 607: As subtle as a dead pig; Hislop 131 :
He's as happy as a dead bird; Oxford 123.
458 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
6. As happy as a pig in a puddle. Cf. Apperson 493
(muck) ; Hardie 467 (sink) ; NED Sow, 3c, quot. 1877;
Partridge 627.
7. As hungry as a pig.
8. As slick as a greased pig. England 80.
9. Bleed like a stuck pig. NED Stuck, i ; Partridge 627.
10. Don't buy a pig in a poke. Apperson 494; Berrey
545- 1 4, cf- 91-56; Hardie 469; Hyamson 272; Oxford
72-3 ; Partridge 627 ; Taylor 53, 85 ; T P304.
11. Eats like a pig. Phil Stong, Stranger's Return (N. Y.,
1933) 127.
12. Grunts like a pig. NED Grunt, i, quot. c 1400.
13. He don't need it no more than a pig needs the New
Testament. Cf. Bond 48 : To care as much as a hog
does about Sunday. See Crow (7) above.
14. Squeals like a pig. Bond 48 (stuck pig).
Pigpen. As nasty as a pigpen. Cf. Blakeborough 231 : Ez
mucky ez a pig-sty. See Hogpen above.
Pillow. As soft as a pillow. Wilstach 371.
Pin. I. As clean as a pin. Green 18 (new pin) ; Nell Mar-
tin, The Mosaic Earring (N. Y., 1927) 2. Cf. Apper-
son 444.
2. As like as two pins. \\'ilstach 234.
3. As neat as a pin (3). Berrey 4.9; Green 28; Taliaferro
245-
4. As sharp as a pin. Cf. W. H., Grammatical Drollery
(London, 1682) 107: No . . . Pin Was so sharp as her
C^hin.
5. As smart as a pin. Gordon Sinclair, Cannibal Quest
(N. Y., 1934) 177. Cf. Partridge 557, new.
6. He steps like he is walking on pins. Cf. Fogel 120: Du
lafscht as wannd uf nodle drede detscht. You walk as
if you trod on needles. See Egg (5) above.
7. (a) Find a pin and let it lie. You'll need the pin before
you die (2). (b) See a pin and let it lie. Need a pin
before you die. Apperson 497; Green 26. (c) See a
pin and pick it up, It will bring to you good luck ; See a
pin and let it lie. You will need it 'fore you die (2).
(d) See a pin and let it lie. To good luck you'll say
goodby ; See a pin and pick it up. All the day you'll
have good luck. Apperson 497. pin (7), (8) ; C^annell
47-8; Hyatt 176 (many variants) ; Oxford 500.
8. So C|uiet you could hear a ])in drop. Oxford 287.
Pine. I. As high as a Georgia pine (2). (One example adds
that it means drunk.)
2. As straight as a pine. Wilstach 392.
PROVERBS 459
3. As tall as a pine. Wilstach 386, stately.
Pine knot. As tou^h as a pine knot. DAE Pine knot, 2. Cf.
Wilstach 193 (h'lrd).
Pinhead. As small as a pinhcad. Cf. llyamson 45: As big as
a pin's head; NED Pin-head, i.
Pink. As pretty as a pink (2). DAE Pink-, 2.
Pipe. Put that in your pipe and smoke it. Bcrrey 1 58.8 ;
Hyamson 273 ; Oxford 527 ; Partridge 633 ; Taylor 53.
Pirate. Swears like a pirate. Hardie 471.
Pitch. 1. As black as pitch (4). Apperson 135; Hyamson
4"; i' P357; ^^'ilstach 21.
2. As dark as pitch (2). Apperson 135 ; Green 22 ; T P3S7 ;
Wilstach 81.
Pitchers. Little (small) pitchers have long (large) ears (2).
Apperson 372, quot. 191 4; Bradley 72 ; Green 31 ; Hardie
464 ; Oxford 374 ; T P363.
Place. I. Have a place for everything and everything in its
place (2). Apperson 499; Bradley 94; Oxford 503;
Taylor 54.
2. Keep to your place and your place will keep to you. Cf.
Hislop 199: Keep hame, and hame will keep you. See
Shop below.
Plank. As stifY as a plank. Berrey 106.8 (dead drunk).
Plans. Plans on Sunday fail on Monday.
Plate. Set a cracked plate down softly. Beckwith 99: Put
me down softly, me a cracked plate; Cundall 95.
Play. As good as a play. Apperson 256; Hyamson 163; NED
Play, 14, (|uot. 1871 ; Partridge 341 ; T P392 ; Wilstach
183.
Pleasure, i. Fly pleasure and it will follow you (2). Apper-
son 502 ; Poor Richard 91 ; T L479; ^^Xv to Wealth 411.
2. Stolen pleasures are always sweetest. Apperson 603 ; Ox-
ford 622 ; T P423.
Plow, sb. I. Don't stop the plow to kill a mouse. Apperson
503. plough (3) ; Oxford 508; T P433.
2. (a) He who on the farm would thrive. Must either hold
the plow or drive, (b) He that by the plow would thrive.
Himself must either hold or drive. Apperson 503 ;
Hardie 463; Oxford 508; Poor Richard 128; T P431 ;
Way to Wealth 412.
Plow, vb. Plow deep while sluggards sleep, And you shall
have corn to sell and keep (2). Apperson 503; Ox-
ford 507-8; Poor Richard 159; Way to Wealth 410.
460 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
Plumb. As true as a plumb. Cf. W. Faulkner, As I Lay Dy-
ing (N. Y., 1931) I : straight as a plumb-line.
Plummet. Drop like a plummet. Wilstach 103.
Pocket. I. As dark as a pocket. Partridge 207.
2. As handy as a pocket in a shirt. Allison 100; Brewster
266; DAE Pocket, 7.
3. Fits like a pocket in a shirt.
Poet. The poet is born not made. Apperson 504 ; Oxford 509 ;
T P45I-
Poison (Pizen). i. As green as poison. Paul Green, J Vide
Fields (N. Y., 1928) 5.
2. As mean as pizen. Meaner than pizen (3).
3. Hate worsen pizen. Berrey 336.4; Oxford 282; Par-
tridge 644; T P459; Wilstach 195.
Poker. I. As stiff as a poker (4). Apperson 602; Berrey
41.2; Green 20; Hvamson 328; Partridge 831 ; Wilstach
388.
2. Looks like he had swallowed a poker. NED Poker, i,
quot. 1844. Cf. Apperson 177, to eat a stake; Oxford
167 (stake) ; Partridge 851 : swallowed a stake; T S810.
Pole (1). I. As tall as a pole. Cf. Apperson 619 (hop-pole,
may-pole).
2. As hard as climbing a greased pole with an armful of
eels.
Pole (2). As wide apart as the poles. Hyamson 360. Cf.
Lean 11, 827, As far; NED Pole. 2, quot. 1880; Wil-
stach 134, 475.
Polecat. Stinks like a polecat (2). Apperson 504; Oxford
621 ; T P461 ; Wilstach 390.
Polkberry. As red as a polkberry. Cf. NED Poke, sb.^, 3,
quots. 1869, 1899; NED Suppl. Poke-berry. See Bear
(5) above.
Pope. Sewed up tighter than the pope's drawers.
Poppet. As pretty as [a] poppet. Mari Sandoz. The Toiii-
Walker (N. Y., 1947) 65. Cf. NED Poppet, i, quots.
1597, 1830.
Port. Any port in a storm (2). Apperson 12; Green 17;
Oxford II.
Possession. Possession is nine points of the law (2). Apper-
son 507; Bradley 88; Hardie 464; Oxford 512; Taylor
54;TP487.
Post. 1. As deaf as a post (5). Apperson 139; Berrey
139.7; Green 19; Hyamson iii; T P490; Wilstach 84.
P R O V F. R B S 461
2. As duiul) as a post. Allison 95; T P490.
Pot. 1. A little pot Is soon hot. Apperson 372; ( )xford 374;
T P497.
2. A watched pot never hoils (2). Ajjperson 669; Uradley
88; Green 18; llardie 462 (kettle); Oxford 694.
3. An empty pot never hoils. Ik'ckwith 126: N'on never see
empty pot hwoil over; C'undall 96: . . . (i.e.. Poor people
have nothing to give away) ; Parsons, Antilles 465: You
neher see empty pot hoil over (Granada).
4. It's pot calling the kettle hlack. Pot calling the kettle
black (4). the pot can't call the kettle black (4). The
pot calls the kettle black. Pot needn't call the kettle
black. Apperson 507 ; Green 29 ; Hyamson 279 ; Ox-
ford 512-3; Partridge 58, 354, 452; Taylor 54; T K21,
33-
5. Pot luck (5). Berrey 94.6.1 1, 2 18. 1.6, 754.8; Hvamson
279; NED Pot-luck.
6. The pot which goes often to the well will come home
broken at last. Apperson 498-9 (pitcher) ; ( )xford 502;
Taylor 54; T P501.
7. Put the big pot in the little one and fry the skillet (3).
(One example adds: When one expects to serve a big
dinner.) They put on the big pot and i)Ut the little
one in it. (In praise of hospitality.) We'll put the
big pot in the little one. When you come we'll put the
little pot in the big one. Atkinson 87 : We'll put the
big pot in the little one ; also put the big pot in the little
one and fry the skillet ; J. Frank Dobie. Coronado's
Children (Dallas, 1930) 252: The big pot was in the
little one ; the goose was hanging high ; the skillet was
a-frying. San Antonio was lusty, free, booming, with
the sky for the limit, and the lid thrown away ; Green
35; Payne 261 : Put the big pot in the little one (and
make soup out of the legs) ; \Voodard 41 : We'll put the
little pot in the big pot and stew the dishrag; Woofter
362 : Put on the big pot and the little one. ( To prepare
to cook for a large number of people.) Cf. Hislop 118:
He has coup'd the muckle pat into the little ; Oxford
116.
Potato. I. As soft as a 'tater. "A Word-List from Aroostook,"
Dialect Notes, in, part v (1909) 416.
2. Dropped like a hot potato. Patterson 2)-'' \\ ilstach 103.
3. His family is like potatoes; all that is good of them are
under ground. Oxford 513.
4. Never bet on 'taters 'fore grabbling time. Champion 633
(537) : Don't b"«- on a tater hill before the grabblin'
N.C.F.. Vol. I, (31)
462 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
time (American Negro). Cf. "A List of Words from
Northwest Arkansas," Dialect Notes, in, part i (1905)
81 : To grabble is "to dig potatoes, taking only the largest
and injuring none."
5. Thint er tater in the dish. (Nothing to eat.) (2). Cf.
T. J. Farr, "The Language of the Tennessee Mountain
Regions." American Speech, xiv (T939) 91 : Not a 'tater
in the patch. (Refusal to grant a favor.)
Pound. Pound hush, the penny speaks.
Poverty, i. Poverty and laziness go hand in hand. Cf.
Apperson 355 : Laziness travels so slowly that Poverty
soon overtakes him ; Roberts 37 : Hunger will not part
from idleness; Vaughan 206 (1427); Way to Wealth
409-10.
2. Poverty is a hard bedfellow.
3. When poverty comes in at the door, love flies out at the
window (3). When poverty comes in at the door love
goes out at the window. When poverty comes in love
goes out the back door. Apperson 508; Bradley 88;
Hardie 465; Oxford 513; T P531.
Pow. He has need of a clean pow (head) Who calls his neigh-
bor nitty-now. Kelly 133; T P532.
Practice, sb. Practice makes perfect. Apperson S09 : Bradlev
89 ; Oxford 684, use ; T U24.
Practice, vb. Practice what you preach. Apperson 509 ; Brad-
ley 89; Oxford 514-5; T P537a.
Prayer, i. Prayer's not long When faith is strong. Cundall
96 : Pr'yer needn't be long when fait' 'trong.
2. Prayers come from the same mouth as oaths. Cf. James
3:10: out of the same mouth cometh forth blessing and
cursing.
Preacher. Dress up like a preacher. "A List of W^ords from
Northwest Arkansas," Dialect Notes, iii, part i (1905)
91.
Preacher's son. Acts like a preacher's son. Cf. Apperson 335,
July (7); Fogel 159 (1410) ; Oxford 97: Clergymen's
sons always turn out badly ; Wilstach 404 : Swore like a
preacher's son.
Pretty. Pretty (Purty) is as pretty ('purty) does (3). Brad-
ley 89; Payne 359; Snapp 87 (28). See Handsome
above.
Pretzel. As crooked as a pretzel. Berrey 31 1.3; Taylor 24.
Pricks. It is hard to kick against the pricks. Apperson 339;
Hyamson 208 ; Oxford 333 ; Taylor 35 ; T F433.
P R O V F. R B S 463
Prince, l-ivc like a prince. Nl':i) Prince, ic; T i'592 ; Wil-
stach J3S.
Principle. The priiicii)le is the ih\n^.
Print. As i>lain as print, llyanison 274; Xh:i) Plain, 18I);
Wil-tach 3J3.
Professor. .\s al)sc'nt-niin(le(l as a i)n)fess()r. Cf. 1 lu.^h Hol-
man. (> This Crooked IVav (N. Y., 1946) 210: an
ahsent-niinded professor's job; Lee Thayer. They Tell
Xo Tales (N. Y.. 1930) 77: That was the proverbial
absentniindedness of genius.
Provider. A good provider is never without a mate.
Prune, i. As wrinkled as a prune. Cf. Berrey 21.3: [Not
worth a] (wrinkled) prune.
2. Full uf prunes. (Foolish.) Ik-rrey 280.9.
Pudding. As thick as pudding. Cf. Wilstach 4^2: Thick as
hasty pudding. See Mush (2) above.
Pulpit. Preach in your own pulpit. Hislop 327: Ye canna
preach oot a' your ain pu'pit. Cf. Kelly 386.
Pumpkin (Punkin). i. As yellow as a pumpkin (2). Talia-
ferro 125. As yellow as a punkin (2). Green 36.
2. Could bite a punkin through a crack. Cf . Apperson 307 :
To lick honey through a cleft stick.
Punch. As pleased as Punch. Apperson 502; Berrey 277.5;
Green 20; Hyamson 284; Oxford 507; Partridge 640;
Wilstach 295.
Pup I As cute as a speckled pup. As cute as a speckled pup
under a red wagon. Cf. Atkinson 88: As pretty as a
speckled pup under a new-painted buggy ; John Hewlett,
Cross on the Moon (N. Y.. 1946) 225: as purty as a
spotted puppy dog under a red wagon.
2. As pretty as a spotted pup. As pretty as a speckled pup.
Berrey 37.10; Bond 45; Brewster 261 ; Woofter 362.
3. As sore as a pup. Gregory Dean, The Case of the fijth
Key (X. Y., 1934) 100.
Puppy. T. As friendly as a i)ui)])y. Wilstach 163.
2. As playful as a puppy. I'ond 45. ^^ „r ,
3. As weak as puppy-water. Cf. Wilstach 466: Weak as
water.
Purse You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's car. Apper-
son 571-2; Bradlev 89; Hardie 465; Hyamson 317;
Oxford 589 ; T P666.
Putty. As soft as putty. Blakel)orough 231.
464 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
Quagmires. Quagmires don't hang out no signs. Champion
631 (459) (American Negro). Cf. Parsons, Antilles
138: Trouble never blow shell.
Quality. Quality before quantity. Cf. Oxford 527: Quality,
without quantity, is little thought of.
Quarrel. It takes two to make a (juarrel. Apperson 655 ;
Bradley 89; Oxford 681.
Queen, i. As happy as a queen. Wilstach 192.
2. As stately as a queen. Wilstach 386.
3. Live like a queen.
Questions, (a) Ask me no questions I'll tell you no lies (4).
Bradley 89; Oxford 15; Taylor 55. (b) Ask me no
questions, I'll tell you no lies, Give me no apples. I'll
make you no pies. Green 20. (c) Ask me no questions
I'll tell you no lies; Bring me some peaches And I'll
make you some pies, (d) Ask me no questions. I'll tell
you no lies. Give me some flies and I'll bake you some
pies. (White folks say "Cherries" instead of "flies.")
Quilt. Split the quilt. (Divorce.) Cf. Brewster 264: split
the blanket.
Rabbit, i. Jumps like a rabbit. Bond 53.
2. No sleepier'n a rabbit. Cf. J. C. Harris, Nights with
Uncle Renins (Boston, 1883) 93: Brer Rabbit, he one
er deze yer kinder mens w'at sleep wid der eye wide
open.
3. Quicker than a rabbit to his hole.
4. Runs like a rabbit. N. B. Mavity, The Fate of Jane
McKenzie (N. Y., 1933) 11.
Rag. I. As limber as a rag (2). J. C. Harris. Nights with
Uncle Remus (Boston, 1883) 66: ez limber ez a wet rag.
2. As limp as a rag (2). Wilstach 235.
3. Feel like a boiled rag. Berrey 35.10; Partridge 75.
4. I lit a rag up the holler. He lit a rag up that holler for
all the world like his shirttail was on fire. Paul (Jreen.
Out of the South (N. Y., 1939) 82; Ke])bart 414. Cf.
Brewster 266: light a shuck.
Rail. I. As skinny as a rail. James T. Farrell. The Young
Manhood of Studs Lonigan (N. Y.. 1935) 207.
2. As thin as a rail (5). Wilstach 422.
Rail fence. As crooked as a rail fence. Berrey 31 1.3 : Pearce
235-
Rain, sb. i. A small rain will lay a great dust. Apperson
522 ; Oxford 531 ; T R15.
PROVERBS 465
2. As right as rain. ApperscMi 531 ; lierrey 169.6.10; I'ar-
tridge 698 ; Wilstach 324.
3. More rain, more rest. All fair weather's not the hest (2).
Apperson 521 (12), =,22 (23) ; Bradley 90 (first half) ;
Oxford 433, 531 (first half). Cf. Beckwith 85: More
rain, more rest ; more grass fe niassa horse.
4. Sense enough to come in out of the rain (5). She hasn't
sense enough to come in out of the rain (4). lierrey
150.2; DAM Rain, vl) ; Green 30; llardie 469; Par-
tridge 685.
5. The rain doesn't know hroadcldth from jeans (.MS
beans). Champion 631 (466): Raindrops can't tell
broadcloth from jeans (American Negro).
6. \'oice like rain on a tin roof.
Rain, vb. It never rains but it pours (4). Apperson 522;
Bradley 90; Hardie 463; Oxford 531-2; Taylor 55.
Rainbow, i. As beautiful as a rainbow. Wilstach 15.
2. As crooked as a rainbow (2). Hendricks loi.
3. Go to the end of the rainbow and you will find a pot of
gold. There is a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.
Apperson 523; Green 25; Oxford 171.
4. Rainbow in the morning. Sailors take warning. Rain-
bow at night, Sailors' delight. Apperson 323 ; Bradley
99; Hardie 466; Oxford 531 ; Tavlor 35; 'Hiomas 200;
T R20-1.
Raindrop. One raindrop Can't make a crop. M. X. Work.
"Geechee and Other Proverbs," Journal o] .Imcrican
Folklore, xxxii (1919) 442: One rain won't make a
crop.
Rake. i. As lean as a rake. Apperson 356; Oxford 357;
Partridge 474 ; T R22 ; Wilstach 229.
2. As poor as a rake (2).
3. As thin as a rake (2). Hanford 178; Xh:D Rake. ib.
4. Many bring rakes but few shovels. Hislo]) 115: He
comes oftener wi' the rake than the shool ; T R24. Cf .
Oxford 43.
Ram. Butts like a ram. Taliaferro 198.
Ram-rod. i. As stifif as a ram-rod. Wilstach 389.
2. As straight as a ram-rod (2). Hardie 468; Hendricks
91 ; Wilstach 392.
3. Looks like he had [a] ram-rod down his back. DAE
Ramrod, quot. 1904.
Rasp. I. As rough as a rasp. Green 20.
2. \'oice like the rasj) of a file. Cf. XED Sui:)])l. Rasp, vb. 4.
Rat. I. As gray as a rat (2). Green 19.
466 NORTH CAROLIXA FOLKLORE
2. As wet as a drowned rat. NED Rat. 2b ; T AI1237 ; Wil-
stach 468.
As wet as a rat (2). Cf. Bond 53: Limp as a wet rat.
3. Caught like a rat in a trap. W. S. ]\Iasternian, TJie
Bloodhounds Bay (N. Y., 1936) 262.
4. Die like a rat. Nora and G. E. Jorgenson, The Circle of
Vengeance (N. Y., 1930) 223.
Dies like a rat in a hole. Wilstach 91.
5. Do you not smell a rat? Apperson 580; Hardie 472;
Hyamson 289, 321 ; Oxford 598; Partridge 788; T R31.
6. Fled like rats from a sinking ship. Oxford 533 ; Taylor
55-6; T M1243; Wilstach 145. Cf. Apperson 524, rat
(2).
7. Fought like a cornered rat. Cf. Bond 53 : To fight like
a rat in a corner.
8. Trapped like rats. Wilstach 431.
Raven. As black as a raven (2). Apperson 51 ; Wilstach 21.
Raw head. Raw head and Bloodv bones will get you. Ox-
ford 533 ; T R35.
Razor. i. As keen as a razor (2). Hardie 467; Wilstach
2,2.2.
2. As sharp as a razor (2). Apperson 561 ; Berrey 128.3,
148.5.9, 241.8, 257.11, 281.16; Hyamson 313'; NED
Sharp, id; Taliaferro 161 ; T R36 ; Wilstach 342.
As sharp as a razor blade. Harry Miller. Footloose
Fiddler (N. Y., 1945) 124-5.
Reach. Out of reach is out of harm.
Reap. He who would reap well must sow well. Cf . Apperson
591 ; Hyamson 290; Oxford 608; T S687.
Redbug. As small as a redbug. Cf. "A List of Words from
Northwest Arkansas," Dialect Notes, iii, part i (1905)
74, 92 : a redbug is a chigoe or chigger.
Reel. Straight off the reel. Berrey 255.5 (I'ig'it off) ; DAE
Reel, lb; Green 31 ; NED Reel, 2c.
Remedy. The remedy is as bad as the disease. Apperson 528 ;
Oxford 538; TR68.
Repentance. Death-bed repentance is no repentance. Cf.
Nicolson 260 : Death-bed repentance is sowing seed at
Martinmas; Oxford 351: Late repentance is seldom
true; T R77.
Republicans. As rare as Repuljlicans in South Carolina.
Revenge. Revenge is sweet. Apperson =,28; Oxford 539; T
R90.
P R O \- K R B S 467
Rhyme. There's neither rhyme nor reason in it. Apperson
529 ; Oxford 540 ; T R98.
Rib. Gettin' hisself another rib. (Getting married) (3). Cf.
NED Rib, 3.
Ribbon. As sHck as a ribbon. W'ilstach 358.
Ripe. Soon ripe, soon rotten. Appcrson 588; Green 31;
NED Ripe, ic; Oxford 604; T R133.
Rise, sb. The higher the rise the greater the fall Cf. Apper-
son 301 : The higher standing, the lower fall ; Oxford
295 ; T S823. See Higher above.
Rise, vb. He that riseth late must trot all day. Apperson
532-3, quots., 1659, 1736; Oxford 544; Poor Richard
107: T Duo; IVay to JVcalth 409.
River, i. A noisy river never drowned nobody. Cf. Beck-
with 22 : Bragging riber neber drown somebody ; Cun-
dall loi ; Eranck 99; Parsons. Antilles 458 (Granada).
2. All the rivers run into the sea. yet the sea is not full. Cf.
Apperson 7 : All rivers do what they can for the sea ;
Ecclesiastes 1:7; Nicolson 188; T R140.
3. Do as they do over on the river (i.e., do without). Cf.
Lean 11, 758: "Do as they do in the Isle of Man."
"How's that?" "They do as they can"; A. G. Powell,
/ Can Go Home Again (Chajx^l Hill, 1943) 186: Do
like they do in Alabama — do without.
Road. I. Shortest road to the penny, longest to the dime.
Cf. Champion 625 (177) : The man that always takes
the shortest road to a dollar generally takes the longest
road from it (American Negro).
2. You won't travel no good road ef you cross a crooked
style to git into it.
You won't hit no good road tother side a crooked style.
Robin. A robin's song is not pretty to the worm. Champion
635 (600) : The worm don't see nothing pretty in the
robin's song (American Negro).
Robin Hood. All around Robin Hood's barn. (A speaker who
takes a long time to tell anything is said to "go all around
Robin Hood's barn" to get to the main point.) Apper-
son 536; Berrey 167.4; Brewster 266.
Rock. I. As firm as a rock (4). Apperson 671, weak (2).
quot. 1900; Green 23; T R151.
2. As hard as a rock (5). Berrey 210.3; Green 19; Hardie
467 ; Taylor 38 ; T S878.
3. As solid as a rock. A. Williams, Polk-Songs of the Upper
Thames J'allev (London, 1923) 262.
468 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
4. As Steady as a rock. NED Steady, 8 ; Wilstach 387.
5. Swims like a rock. Cf. Oxford 636: To swim like a
stone; T S893.
Rocking chair. Rides easy as a rocking chair. Cf. Atkinson
8y : This pony paces like a rocking chair.
Rod. Spare the rod and spoil the child (4). Apperson 592-3;
Bradley 65; Hyamson 295; Oxford 609; Taylor 57; T
R155. Cf. Proverbs 13: 24.
Rome. I. He that owns Rome must feed Rome. Nicolson
18: He that has Rome must keep Rome up.
2. Rome was not built in a day (6). Apperson 537; Brad-
ley 90; Green 30; Hyamson 296; Oxford 547-8; Tay-
lor 57; TR163.
3. When in Rome do as Rome does. W'hen in Rome do as
the Romans do. Apperson 537; Bradley 90; Hvamson
296; Oxford 547; Taylor 57; T R165.
Room. There's most room at the top. There's plenty of room
at the top. Bradley 95 : There is always room on top ;
Mary K. O'Donnell, Those Other People (Boston,
1946) 271 : There's always room at the top for people.
Rooster. i. A good rooster crows in any hen-house. Hearn
10: Bon coq chante dans toutt pouleille (Martinique);
T. M. Pearce, "The English Proverb in New Mexico,"
Coliforuia Folklore Quarterly, v (1946) 353: He that's
a good rooster will crow in any henyard. Cf. Champion
620 (4) : A good cock will crow on any dung-heap
(Mexican).
2. As game as a rooster. Bond 49.
3. Crows like a rooster. Bond 49; Taliaferro 205 (game-
rooster).
4. Struts like a rooster.
Rooter. Fattened up like a piny-ridge rooter in chestnut time.
Rope. I. Ropes of sand. Apperson 538; Oxford 548; T
R174.
2. Take in your rope.
Rose. I. As fresh as a rose. Apperson 235; Green 23; T
R176; Wilsatch 161.
2. As lovely as the rose. Cf . Wilstach 247 : Lovely as a bud-
ding rose and Lovely as spring's first rose.
3. As pretty as a rose.
4. As red as a rose (2). Apperson 526; Hardie 468; Ox-
ford 535; T R177; Wilstach 315.
5. As sweet as a rose. NED Rose, 4a. quot. o 1732; T
R178; Wilstach 405.
6. Blushes like a rose. Snapp 75 (54).
PROVKRBS 469
7. Blooming like a rose. Thornton i, 170, chipper, quot.
1837-40.
8. Every rose has its thorn. Tlardie 463; NED Rose, 4h.
9. Lie on roses when voung. thorns when old. Oxford 364;
T R186.
Roses in youth, thorns in old age.
10. Looks like the last rose of summer (2).
11. No rose without a thorn (4). Apperson 451; Oxford
549; T R182.
Row. I. Hoe your own row. DAE Row, 5b; NED Row, 6c.
2. He kin weed his own row^ and keep it clean too. Talia-
ferro 28, 257.
Let him weed his own row.
Rowing. As hard as rowing up stream.
Ruby. As red as a ruby. Wilstach 316.
Run. A good run is better than a bad stand (2). "Folklore
from St. Helena, South Carolina," Journal of American
Folklore, xxxviii (1925) 228 (Negro) ; Green 17; John-
son 161. Cf. Joyce 116; MacAdam 230 (514) ; National
Proverbs: Ireland 78: Better a good run than a long
standing; NED Run, sb.\ 2a, Stand, sb.\ 4c; F. N.
Robinson, "Irish Proverbs and Irish National Char-
acter," Modern Philology, xliii (1945) 8: Better a good
flight than a bad stand.
Sack. I. An old sack needs much patching. NED Sack, 3,
quot. 1546; Oxford 473; T S8.
2. It is hard for an empty sack to stand upright. Apperson
181-2; Bigelow 107: Sac qui vide pas connait rete
debout ; Bradley 72: Hardie 461; Oxford 170-1 ; Poor
Richard 134. See Bag (3) above.
Saddle. As funny as riding side-saddle on a sow. Fits like
a saddle on a sow's back. Apperson 591 ; Oxford 608:
As meet as a sow to bear a saddle; Partridge 161 : Her
clothes sit on her like a saddle on a sow's back, 721 :
suit one as a saddle suits a sow ; T S672 ; Wilstach 427 :
The title of a knight, on the back of a knave, is like a
saddle upon a sow. See Hog (15) above.
Safe. Better to be safe than sorry. See Sure below.
Saffron. As yellow as saffron (2). NED Saffron la, quot.
1 778 : Wilstach 487.
Said. I. It is easier said than done. Apperson 54^; Oxford
165; T S116.
2. Least said, .soonest mended (2). Apperson 357; Bradley
470 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
82, 91 ; Green 27 ; Hardie 464 ; NED Least, 4 ; Oxford
359 ; T L358 ; Woodard 39.
Least said the better.
3. Little said is soon mended. Apperson 372-3 ; Oxford
359-
Sail. I. Carry no more sail than you have wind to.
2. Set your sail as the wind blows. Oxford 712; Snapp ""j
(17).
3. Take in your sail. Cf. Hyamson 301 : To haul in one's
sails ; NED Take, 82i, quot. 1641.
Sailor, i. As drunk as a sailor.
2. Curses (cusses) like a sailor (2).
3. Swears hke a sailor. Charles G. Givens, The Rose Petal
Murders (Indianapohs, 1935) 28.
Salt. I. Not worth the salt that goes in your bread. Cf.
Apperson 549: Not worth (or Worth) one's salt; Ber-
rey 21.7; Hyamson 304; Oxford 734.
2. Help me to salt, Help me to sorrow ; Brew me my malt,
And on the morrow. Apperson 548-9 (first part
only) ; Oxford 291 (as Apperson).
3. Put salt on a bird's tail and you can catch him. Apper-
son 549; Berrey 314.6; Hyamson 304; NED Salt, 2c;
Oxford 560; Partridge 724; T B401.
4. Take it with a grain of salt. Take that with plenty of
salt. (Don't be too quick to believe that, skeptical.)
Hyamson 303 ; Oxford 261 ; T G402.
Samson. As strong as Samson (2). T S85 ; \\'ilstach 395.
Sap-rising. Sap-risin' time is lovin' time and a lonesome heart
haint good to bear.
Sardines. Packed like sardines (2). Berrey 24.16; Partridge
727.
Sassafras tea. So no-count he can't keep hisself in sassafras
tea and rabbit terbaccer. Too triflin' to keep hisself in
sassafras tea and poke sallit.
Satan. As ugly as Satan. See Devil (10) above.
Satin. I. As smooth as satin. NED Satin, 2, quot. 1706,
Sleek, 2, quot. 1754.
2. As soft as satin. Wilstach 372.
Sauce. What's sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander.
Apperson 266; Bradley 91 ; Hyamson 306; Oxford 561 ;
Partridge 315; T S102.
Saucers. Eyes as big as saucers. NED Saucer. 4. Cf. Talia-
ferro 56 : head big as a sasser.
Eyes like saucers. Wilstach 116.
P R O V V. K I! S 471
Save. l)etter save a man from dying tlian salve him when he
is (lead.
Saw. W ould fight a circ'lar saw.
Say. Say well is good, but do well i> I)eUer. AjJpiTson 551 ;
Oxford 563; T S123.
Say-so. Say-so is not say-true. Cf . Apperson 623 : They say
is half a lie; Bohn 153: Horensagen ist halh gelogen ;
XKD Say-so; Oxford 648.
Scare-crow. As ugly as a scare-crow (2). W'ilstach 439.
Scat. l>efore you could say scat (2). Berrey 2.10, 53.16, 58.6.
Ouicker than you can say "scat." DAE Scat; NED
Suppl. Scat.
Schoolboy. As bashful as a schoolboy. Cf. Fuller 24 (843) :
Bashfulness is boyish.
Schoolgirl. As bashful as a schoolgirl. W'ilstach 14.
Scissors. As cold as scissors.
Scores. Don't rake up old scores. Cf . Apperson 84 : To cast
up old scores, 467 : Old reckonings make new quarrels.
Scotchman. i . As stingy as a Scotchman. Cf. Partridge 734.
See Jew (1) above.
2. As tight as A Scotchman. Berrey 106.7 (drunk),
376.3.6.7. See Jew (2) above.
Scratch. Scratch where it itches, b^liza Gutch and AI. Pea-
cock, County Folk-Lorc. Lincolnshire ( Folk-Lore So-
ciety, London, 1908) 405; Roxburghe v, 171.
Screw. To have a screw loose. Berrey '/:2, 152.5, 433.8.
Sea. I. As boundless as the sea. Wilstach 30.
2. As deep as the sea (2). Hardie 467; Wilstach 87.
3. As restless as the sea. Roberts 227 ; W'ilstach 320.
4. As wide as the sea. See Ocean (4) abo\e.
5. He goes to sea in a sieve. Cf. Cliristy 11, 238: "Tis hard
to sail over the sea in an egg shell; T Si 75.
6. The sea cannot be measured in a quart pot.
Secrets. Sell ( ?Tell) her secrets at the crossroads. Cf. Cham-
pion 632 (487) : Cross-road's bad place to tell secrets
(American Negro) ; J. Skelton, Works, ed. after A.
Dyce (Boston, 1856), i. 30, 1. 36: It can be no coun.sell
that is cryed at the cros : T C841.
Seeing. Seeing is believing (2). Apperson 556; P>radley 61 ;
Hardie 464; Oxford 571 ; Taylor 58; T S212.
Self-praise. Self-praise is half scandal. Adams 63 (loi).
The proverb was heard in Tryon, N. C, by l^-ofessor
J. B. Munn in 1945. Cf. .\])pers()n •,-,■;■. Self-j^raise is
472 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
no recommendation; Christy ii, 153: Self-praise is half
slander ; Hislop 257 : Self-praise comes aye stinking ben
and Self-praise is nae honour ; Oxford 572-3 ; T M476.
Send. You look like you were sent for and couldn't go. Alli-
son 97 ; Brewster 264.
Service. Otifered services are always refused. Cf. Bohn 296:
Aangeboden dienst is onwaard ; Oxford 519: Prof erred
service stinks ; T S252.
Seven years. If one keeps anything seven years he will always
find a use for it. Keep a thing seven years and you'll
find use for it. Apperson 337 ; Oxford 330; T T141.
Shadow. I. As close as your shadow. Cf. Blakeborough
230: Ez friendly ez yan's shadder.
2. Don't be afraid of your own shadow. Apperson 3 ; Hyam-
son 312; NED Shadow, 4b; Oxford 3-4; T S261.
3. He could walk 50 mile and not stand nary time in his
own shadder. He has to stand up twice to make a
shadow. So thin she can't make a shadow. Fogel 137:
'R is so mager as 'r ken schatte macht ; Perkins 1 22 :
Too thin to cast a shadow.
Shakes. I'll do it in two shakes of a dog's tail. I'll do it in two
shakes of a lamb's tail. In two shakes of a sheep's tail
(3). Green 26.
I'll do it in three shakes of a sheep's tail. Berrey 1.3,
2.10; Partridge 748; Taliaferro 75, cf. 127: afore three
strokes ov a mutton's tail. Cf. Hyamson 312; Par-
tridge 8y, Suppl. 1029. See Jerks above.
Shank. Shank of the day. Berrey 3.10; NED Shank, 9.
Share. Share and share alike. Apperson 561 ; NED Share,
6e; Oxford 579; T S286.
Sheep. I. As docile as a sheep. Cf. Bond 48: docile as a
lamb.
2. As naked as a shorn sheep. Apperson 436; Partridge
549-
3. Follow like sheep. Apperson 563 (iij. Cf. 1 S309;
Wilstach 1 54 : Follow like a flock of sheep.
4. One bad sheep spoils the flock. Apperson 563 ; NED
Sheep, 2a(d), quot. c 1530; Oxford 564; T S308.
Sheet. As white as a sheet (3). Apperson 680; Green 35;
Hardie 468; Taylor 67 ; Wil.stach 470.
Sheriff. i. As welcome as the sheriff.
2. Every man should be sheriff on his own hearth. Cham-
pion 59 (607) : Every man is a sherillf on his own
hearth (Iri.sh). Cf. Apperson 189: Every man is a
PROVERBS 473
kiii<:: at honu' ; Xicolson 286: A man is a king in his own
house; Oxford 518: Every man is a priest in his own
house.
Shingle. As straight as a shingle. W'ilstach 392.
Ships. Tass like ships in the night. W. S. Howard. Ihuic
Acthclrcd (Sydney, X.S.W., 1944) 70: they were, so to
s]')eak, ships that passed in a night.
Shirt. r. Keep your sliirt on! Berrey S4-3. 251.4, 269.2,
270.2; DAE Shirt, 2a; NED Suppl. Shirt, 2f; Woodard
39 ; W'oofter 358.
2. Run like yer shirt tail is on fire (2). Cf. MaeAdam
181 : Do it as if there were fire on your skin; Xational
Proverbs: Ireland 41.
Shoe. I. As comfortahle as an old shoe. Hardie 467.
2. As easy as an old shoe. Apperson 175; Nh3D Shoe, 2m,
quot. 1825; Wilstach 108.
As easy as an old shoe. (Said of the fit of anything, or
of any easy temper.) Green 19 (verbatim).
3. As plain as an old shoe (2). Green 20; Taliaferro 258.
4. He eares more for the shoe than the foot. Cf. Davidoflf
383 : Better cut the shoe than pinch the feet.
5. He knows where the shoe pinches. The shoe ])inches.
Apperson 565; Bradley 91; Green 24; Hvamson 31s;
Oxford 583: Taylor 58; T M129.
6. I hain't been in his shoes and T can't gauge his footsteps.
7. I wouldn't be in his shoes. NED Shoe. 2k.
8. If the shoe fits, wear it. Bradley 91 ; Hardie 463. See
Cap (1) above.
9. Kicked around like an old shoe. Cf. NED Shoe, 2a.
10. ^'ou look as nice as new red shoes. Cf. J. C. Harris,
Vnclc Remus and His Friends (Boston, 1892) 95: des
ez ])urty ez red shoes wid blue strings in um.
Shoe leather. As tough as shoe leather. NED Shoe-k-ather,
a; W'ilstach 430. Sec Leather alxive and Whit-leather
below.
Shoestring. As slender as a shoestring.
Shooting. I. As easy as shooting. T. E. Nichols. Forty
Years of American Life ( Eondon. 1854) i. 387.
2. As sure as shooting (2). P)errey 164.4; DAl^ Shooting.
I ; Green 20; Wilstach 401.
Shop. Keep thy shop and thy sho]) will keep thee. Apperson
337; C3xford 331 ; Poor Richard 76; T S392 ; JEay to
Wealth 412. See Place (2) above.
Shot (1). I. As quick as a shot. Richard Curie, Corruption
(Indianapolis, 1933) 246.
474 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
2. A long shot with a hnil) in the way.
Shot (2). The had shot is a ready Har. Bohn 143 : Ein schlechter
Schiitz. der keine Ausrede findet. 261 : Vallestero que
mal tira, presto tiene la mentira. The archer that shoots
badly has a lie ready, 269 : Besteiro que nial atira prestes
tern a mentira.
Shots. Rattles like shots in a gourd.
Shoulder. Over the left shoulder. Apperson 478; Berrey
204.3; Green 29; Hyamson 219; Oxford 481-2; Par-
tridge 476 ; T S405.
Shovel. He must have been fed with a shovel.
Show. I. As exciting as a wild West show.
2. As good as a show. Wilstach 183.
Shroud. A shroud has no pockets. There are no pockets in
a shroud. Bradley 92; Champion 180 (1231) (Ger-
man) ; Jesse Stuart, Foretaste of Glory (N. Y., 1946)
81 : He would come back at his critics by saying that
shrouds were pocketless.
Shucks. He feeds shucks to the geese. Cf. Apperson 276:
Not fit to carry guts to a bear ; Hanford 1 72 : pack guts
to a bear; Oxford 80; Woofter 361: pack guts to a
goose. (To work at dishonorable employment.)
Siamese. As close as Siamese twins. Cf. Oxford 391.
Side. I . As broad as the side of a house. Cf . Bertram Atkey,
The Man ivith Yellozv Eyes (N. Y., 1927) 174: As
broad as the side of a barn.
2. He laughs on the wrong side of his face. Apperson 352 ;
Hardie 471 (singing); Hyamson 217; Oxford 352;
Taliaferro 32 : you'd better be laughin' t'other side o'
yer mouth. 150: I told 'um they'd laugh t'other side o'
thar mouths afore it were done ; T S430 ; Woodard 39 :
I'll make you laugh on the other side of your face.
Laugh on the wrong side of your face (that is, cry).
Green 27 (verbatim).
3. There are two sides to every question. Bradley 89 ; Ox-
ford 680.
Sieve. i . As empty as a sieve. Cf . Hardie 466 : a mind like
a sieve ; T S435.
2. Leaks like a sieve. Oxford 356; Wilstach 228.
Sigh. A sigh (MS sign) goes further than a shout. Cham-
pion 76 (567) (Gaelic).
Sight (1). I. Out of sight is out of mind. Apperson 476;
Bradley 92; Hardie 464; Oxford 480; T S438.
2. The sight of you is good for sore eyes (4). The sight
PROVERBS 475
of you is good for sore eyes, or, will cure sore eyes
(i.e., I see you so seldom). Api)erson 589; Berrey
37.2.10. 277.1, 395.1, 427.1, 428.1; Green 32; Hardie
466.
Sight (2). Their sights are set too high. Cf. Paul Green,
//■/(/(' I'iclds (X. v., 1928) 88: her sights were set
higher 'n me.
Sign. I. All signs fail in dry weather (2). Bradley 99;
Brewster 263 ; Taylor 29. See Drought above.
2. Signs don't produce money. Cf. Apperson 570-1 : The
sign invites you in ; but your money must redeem you
out.
Silence. Silence gives consent (2). Apperson 571 ; Bradley
92; Green 30; Hvamson 316; Oxford 589; Tavlor 59;
T S446.
Silk. I. As fine as silk (6). Allison 97; Berrev 4.8, 128.3;
DAE Silk, ic.
2. As glossy as silk.
3. As smooth as silk (2). Wilstach 362.
4. As soft as silk (3). Apperson 585; Green 31; NED
Silk, ic; T S449 ; Wilstach 369, 371.
Silver spoon. To be born with a silver spoon in one's mouth.
Apperson 572; Hyamson 317; Oxford 57; Partridge
82, 770 ; Taylor 61 ; T S772.
Simon pure, Simon pure. P>errey 99.2, 169.5. 11, 456-3. 475-1,
505.12, 583.4; DAl'^ Simon-pure; Hyamson 317; NED
Simon pure ; Partridge 770.
Sin. I. As black as sin. NED Sin, 2c.
2. As crooked as sin.
3. As guilty as sin. S. Palmer, The I^ucclc of flic Red
Stallion (N. Y., 1936) 27.
4. As uglv as home-made sin (2). Atkinson 88; Hardie
468.
As ugly as home-made sin cooked in the fire-place.
As ugly as sin (3). Apperson 658; Oxford 682; Par-
tridge 923 ; T S465 ; Wilstach 439.
As ugly as sin and nearly as agreeable. Green 20. Cf.
Lean 11, 862: As pleasing as some sins. 886: As ugly
as sin and not half as pleasant.
5. He finds his sin in his punishment. Hislop 129: He reads
his sin in his punishment.
Sink. Sink or swim. Apperson 574; Plyamson 318; Oxford
592 ; T S485.
Sit. Sit down and rest yourself, settin's cheaper'n standin'.
Apperson 92 : It is as cheap sitting as standing ; Fred
476 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
Kitchen, Jesse and His Friends (London, 1945) 76;
Koch I, 318; Koch II. 29; Oxford 89; T S495. Cf.
Lean iv, 12. See Nothing (4) above.
Six. I. At sixes and sevens. Apperson 575; Berrey 174.6;
Hyamson 318; Oxford 594; Taylor 59; T A208.
2. Six of one and half a dozen of the other. Apperson 575 ;
Berrey 28.1; Green 30; Hyamson 318; Oxford 594;
Taylor 59.
Sixpence, i. A nimble sixpence is better than a slow shilling.
Christy i, 109 (a pawnbroker's maxim); Green 17;
Lean iv. 133. Cf. Apperson 41, 445, 446, nimble penny;
NED Nimble, 3d.
2. There's a sixpence difference between those who work
and those who don't work, and those who don't work
get the sixpence. Cf. Apperson 624 : There is not the
thickness of a sixpence between good and evil.
Skeleton, i. As loud as two skeletons wrestling on a tin roof .
Noisier than two skeletons dancing on a tin roof.
(There is a less decorous version.)
2. As poor as a skeleton.
3. As thin as a skeleton. Wilstach 422.
Skill. Skill and patience will succeed where force fails. Cf.
Christy 11, no: Patience and time accomplish more than
force and violence (La Fontaine) ; T S500.
Skin. I. A wrinkled skin conceals the scars. Cheviot 351:
The wrinkled skin easily conceals a scar.
2. As tight as the skin. Taliaferro 153.
3. By the skin of his teeth. Berrey 209.2, 378.2.3; Hyam-
son 319; Oxford 595; Partridge 775; T S510.
4. To come off wnth a whole skin. Northal 26.
Skunk. I. Smells like a skunk. Bond 52.
2. Stinks Hke a skunk. Bond 52.
Sky. I. As blue as the sky (2). Hardie 466; Perkins 130.
2. As high as the sky (2). Sky-high. Berrey 106.7
(drunk); Gaelic Journal, xvi (1906) 155; NED Sky-
high.
3. To blow one up sky high. Green 32; NED Sky-high,
quot. 1840.
4. When the sky falls we shall all catch larks. Apperson
576; Oxford 595 ; Partridge 777 ; Taylor 59; T S517.
Sled-runner. Foot like a sled-runner. Time, February 4,
1946, 68: they'll have "sled-runners for feet."
Sleep. Hours of sleep : Nature needs but five, Custom gives
men seven, Laziness takes nine, And weakness eleven.
Apperson 577 ; T H746.
PROVERBS 477
Sleeping. There will be sleepiiii;- enough in the grave. (MS
grove.) Apperson ^7^; Oxford ^ij(); Poor Richard
\o4; Way to Wealth 409.
Slice. A shoe from a cut loaf is never missed. Apperson
565. shive, (juot. 1901 ; Champion 628 (332) (Jamai-
can) ; Northall 7; Oxford 582; T T34; Wilson 188.
Slip. There's many a slip Twixt the cup and the lip. Apper-
son 129; Bradley 92; Hardie 465; Ilyamson 104; Ox-
ford 123; Taylor 25; T T191.
Slow. Slow and steady wins the race. Oxford 597-8. Cf.
Taylor 61, steady.
Small. There's nothing too small to use. Cf. Apperson 455:
There's nothing but is good for something; Bohn 156:
Kein Ding ist so schlecht, dass es nicht zu etwas niitzen
sollte.
Smell. I f smell were all, the goat would win. Cf . Bohn 402 :
\ar det giort med Skisegget, da vandt Giedebukken. If
a beard were all, the goat would be the winner; Ox-
ford 27: If the beard were all, the goat might preach.
Smoke, sb. Where there's smoke, there's fire (2). Where
tliere is smoke there is a little fire. Where there's smoke
there's bound to be fire (2). Where there is so much
smoke there's bound to be a little fire. Where there's so
much smoke, there's some fire. Where there is smoke
there must be some fire. Apperson 582; Bradley 75;
Hardie 465; Oxford 454, 458; Taylor 60; T F282,
S569.
Smoke, vb. Better to smoke here than hereafter.
Snail. I. As slimy as a snail. Bond 58.
2. As slow as a snail (3). Hardie 471; NED Snail, 2;
T S579 ; Wilstach 360.
Snake, i. As coldblooded as a snake. Bond 53.
2. As crooked as a black snake. As crooked as a snake
(6). Bond 53 ; Snapp 69 (224).
As crooked as a snake's path.
3. As hard to see as a green snake in the grass.
4. As hissing as a snake. Wilstach 200.
5. As low as a snake. Bond 53 : lower than a snake.
6. As low down as a snake's belly. Leslie h^)rd, The
Strangled Witness (N. Y.. 1934) 120; Snapp 69 (234) :
Lower than a snake's belly; Woodard 40: Low enough
to crawl under a snake's bell v. Cf. Berrev 39.10, 145.6,
265.
7. As mean as a snake (2). As mean as a striped snake.
N.C.F., Vol. I. (32)
478 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
8. As poisonous as a snake. Snapp 69 {^22'j).
9. As poor as a snake. Atkinson 89; Jesse Lilienthal,
Gambler's IVijc (Boston, 1933) 226. Cf. NED Snake, 3.
10. As sinuous as a snake. Bond 53.
11. As slick as a snake in the grass. Cf. Thornton i, 387,
greased lightning, quot. 1837: slicker than snakes.
12. As treacherous as a snake. Bond 53.
13. Don't stir up more snakes than you can kill. Cf. Apperson
341 : Kindle not a fire that you cannot extinguish, 523 :
Raise no more spirits than you can conjure down; Ox-
ford 532 ; T D319.
14. No more sense (money, etc.) than a snake has hips. Ber-
rey 378.2, cf. 29.2.
Snot. As slick as snot.
Snow. I. As light as snow. Cf. Austin Dobson, Complete
Poetical Works (Oxford, 1923) 64: Light as a snow-
flake.
2. As pure as snow (2). John Dos Passes, The 42nd
Parallel (N. Y., 1930) 371.
As pure as the driven snow. John Dos Passos, The 42nd
Parallel (N. Y., 1930) 364.
3. As seasonable as snow in summer. Apperson 584, quots.
1605, 1732; NED Snow, ic, quots. 1594, 1854; Oxford
568, 601, as welcome; T S590; Wilstach 338.
4. As soft as falling snow. As soft as snow.
5. Snow is the poor man's fertilizer. Christy 11, 285. Cf.
Apperson 15 : Snow in April is manure.
6. As white as snow (4). Apperson 681; Hardie 468;
NED Snow, ib; Taylor 67; T S591 ; Wilstach 471.
Snowball. He's got as much chance as a snowball in hell (2).
Lasts no longer than a snowball in hell. Berrey 163.6,
218.5. 10; Hardie 472; Taylor 20; Whiting 223. Cf.
Partridge 132 (cat in hell) 386, 419.
No more chance than a snowball on the Ijack log.
Snyder. Take ofif like Snyder's pup.
Soap. I. As slick as soap (2). As slick as soap grease.
Wilstach 359.
2. As ugly as homemade soap.
Soap maker. As slick as a soap maker's arse (ass). As slick
as a soap maker's door string. Cf. Fergusson's Scottish
Proverbs, ed. Erskine Beveridge (Scottish Text So-
ciety, Edinburgh, 1924) 80 (1043).
Soil. Be bare with the soil and the soil will be bare with you.
Champion 60 (627) : Don't be bare with the soil or the
soil will be bare with you (Irish). Cf. Apperson 592:
!• K O V K R H S 479
Who sows little mows the less; Kelly 299: Sow thin.
mow thin; Oxford 608.
Solomon. As wise as Solomon (3). Lean 11, 894: NMD
Solomon, qiiot. 1678; T S609 ; Wilstach 478.
Something, Better something than nothing at all. Apperson
S^j ; Oxford 603 ; T S623.
Son. My son's my son till he's got him a wife. My daughter's
mv daughter all the davs of her life. Apperson 587 ;
lli-adley 67 ; Oxford 603'; T S628 ; Woodard 42.
Soot. 1. As hitter as soot. Apperson 50; Green 21 (sut) ;
XED Soot, la, quot. c 1302.
2. As black as soot (sut) (3). Apperson 51; Hyamson
47; NED Soot, la. cpiot. c 1420; T S642 ; Wilstach 21.
Soup. I. As easy as drinking soup (uit of a sluice.
2. As thin as soup. Cf. \\'ilstach 564: Thin as boarding
house consomme and Thin as homeopathic soup, etc.
Sow, sb. I. Like the old sow, you have to pull her ears off
to get her to the wash and pull her tail ofif to get her
away. Christy i. 629 ( trough for wash ) ; (ireen 2y (ver-
batim ) ; Woodard 38.
2. Suck a blue sow and see the wind.— Saying. As a blue
sow was i>retty apt to be razor-backed, leggy, snouty,
and tusky, this recipe was on all fours with the one for
catching turkey buzzard [s] by sprinkling salt on their
tails. (This saying is said in the MS to come from
O. W. Blacknall's paper, "Old Plantation Signs and
Wonders," and to have been "heard on the plantation
in the 1850's and i86o's.") Cf. Apperson 494: Pigs
can see the wind ; Green 24 : Hogs see the wnnd ; Hyatt
97 (2086) : Pigs can see the wind (2087) : Suck a
nursing sow's tit and you \v\\\ be able to see the wind ;
Oxford 500 ; Thomas 233 : Tf you drink a sow's milk,
you will be able to see the wind; T P311 ; Whitney 60
(1273 A) : Pigs see the wind.
3. The still sow gets the wash. Apperson 602, (juot. 1920;
Oxford 620-1 (drafY) ; Tavlor 60 (drafT) ; T S68r. Cf.
NED Wash. II.
Sow, vb. Whatsoever man soweth that shall he reap. Apper-
son 591; IJradlev 92; (ialatians 6:7; Oxford 608; T
S687.
Spade. Calls a spade a spade. A]i])erson 592; n\amson 324;
Oxford 75 ; Taylor 60 ; T S699.
Spectacles. He looks for his spectacles while they are on his
nose. Cf. Apperson 74, butcher (3), (4) ; Oxford 71.
See Horse (12) above.
4^0 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
Speech. Speech is silver, silence is golden. Apperson 594;
Bradley 92; Hardie 464; Oxford 612.
Spider. She'll put a spider in your biscuit. Payne 361 : To
tell one a piece of bad news, to do one an injury. A
facetious way of saying "poison one." Cf. Green 30:
Put a spider in his dumpling.
Spit. I. So dry he'd have to prime himself to spit. T. M.
Pearce, "The English Proverb in New Mexico," Cali-
fornia Folklore Quarterly, \r (1946) 352.
2. So much company there wasn't room to spit (crowded).
Spit image. Spit image (likeness). Spit'n'-image (close re-
semblance). Apperson 367; Berrey 430.8; NED Suppl.
Spitting, 3; Oxford 614, 368; Partridge 810; T ]\Ii246.
Cf. Hardie 469 ; NED Spit, 2e.
Spring (1). As fresh as a spring. Wilstach 161, 162.
Spring (2). As welcome as spring. Lean 11, 889 : As welcome
as is the spring to the earth.
Squirrel, i. As quick as a squirrel. Bond 53.
2. As thrifty as a squirrel. Cf. Bond 53 : provident as a
squirrel.
3. Climb like a squirrel. Cf. NED Squirrel, i, quots. c
1592, 1726.
Stable. It's too late to shut the stable when the horse is gone.
It's too late to lock the stable door after the horse is
stolen. Locking the stable door after the horse is stolen
(2). No use to lock the door after the horse is stolen.
Apperson 598-9; Bradley 80; Hardie 465 (barn);
Hyamson 326; Oxford 587 ; Taylor 40-1 ; T S838.
Shut the stable door after the horse is gone, (jreen 30.
No use to lock the door after the money is stolen.
Stack. As black as a stack of black cats. Berrey 32.7 ; DAE
Stack, 5; Hardie 466; Thornton i, 238 (dark); Wil-
stach 20.
Stand. Strong enough to stand alone (6).
Star. I. As bright as a star. NED Star, ib, quot. r 1450.
2. As countless as the stars. Wilstach 70.
3. Counting the stars won't pay the taxes. Champion 629
(354) : Counting the stars doesn't help the meat box
(American Negro). Cf. Hyatt 641 (10697) • I am an
old woman and I never did count a star in the sky. My
mother told mc it was bad luck to count them ; Thomas
70-1 : If you count the stars, you will die.
4. Eyes like stars. Wilstach 117, 118, 119, 120, 122.
5. Glitters like the stars. Cf. NED GHtter, la, quot. 1675.
PROVERBS
481
Statue. As still as a statue (2). NEU Statue. la. quol.
iS_'3; Wilstach 389. Cf. T S834.
Steam engine. Tuff like a steam engine. Hardie 470.
Steel. I. As cold as steel. I). Vunnv, The Stnimje Death of
Martin Green (N. Y., 1931) 141-
2. As hard as steel (2). T S839; Wilstach 193.
3. As strong as steel. L. Ford, The Simple II 'ay oj I uison
(N. Y.;i937) 271 ;T S839.
4. As tough as steel. T S839.
5. As true as steel. Apperson 647; Hyamson 348; NhU
Steel. 2b; Oxford 672; T S840; Wilstach 436.
Steeple. As tall as a steeple. Wilstach 415.
Steer. He's as crazy about licker as a steer is [about] pond
water. Taliaferro 31 : "Licker" was at them all, and he
(J. Snow) loved it as a thirsty ox does pond-water.
Stick. I. A crooked stick makes a crooked shadow. Apper-
son 123; Cundall 34; Oxford 617 (staiT) ; T S801.
2. As cross as two sticks (6). Apperson 123; Green 18;
Hardie 467; Hyamson 102; Partridge 193, 830; Wil-
stach 76.
3. As dry as a stick. Green 19; NED Cucumber, 2b. quot.
1760.
4. As fat as a poking stick.
5. As stiff as a stick.
6. As straight as a stick (3). Cf. Lean 11, 877: As straight
as a wand.
7 He furnished the stick to break his own head. Apperson
601 ; Kelly 182; T R153. Cf. Lean iv, 43 : Many there
be. . . .
8. More than you can shake a stick at (5). Berrey 20.3;
DAE Stick, 4; Hardie 470.
Stitch. A stitch in time saves nine (8). Apperson 603;
Bradley 93 ; Green 1 7 ; Hardie 462 ; Hyamson 329 ; Ox-
ford 622 ; Taylor 61.
Stone. T. A rolling stone gathers no moss (3). Apperson
::,T,j: Bradley 93; Hardie 461; Hyamson 296; Oxford
547 '; Taylor 61 ; T S885.
A rolling stone gathers no moss, but a stagnant pool
stinks, (ireen 17 (verbatim).
A rolling stone gathers no moss, but a setting hen never
gets fat. Joseph C. Bridge, Cheshire Proverbs (Ches-
ter, 1917) 5 (18).
2. As cold as a stone. Apperson 106; Green 22; Hyamson
92; NED Stone. 3c; T S876 ; Wilstach 61.
482 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
3. As dead as a stone. Wilstach 83. Cf. Berrey 1 17.18;
NED Stone, 3c.
4. As deaf as a stone. Hyamson in ; NED Stone, 3c; T
S877 ; Wilstach 84.
5. As hard as a stone. Apperson 284; Hyamson 177; NED
Stone, 3c ; T S878.
6. As naked as a stone. Apperson 436.
7. Heart Hke a stone. Cf. Hyamson 181 : Heart of flint
(stone) : NED Stone, 4b; T H311.
8. Leave no stone unturned. i\pperson 358 ; Hyamson 329 ;
Oxford 359; T S890.
Storm. I. After the storm the cahn comes. Apperson 604;
Bradley 93 ; Oxford 4 ; T S908.
2. As rough as a storm. Wilstach 328.
Stove. As warm as a stove. Wilstach 464.
Stranger. Put the stranger Near the danger. Champion 61
(656): [Always put] the stranger near the danger
(Irish). Cf. Maci\dam 231 (530): The bad and no
good on the back of a stranger; Nicolson 189: Let the
blame of every ill be on the stranger ; Oxford 624 : The
stranger is for the wolf.
Straw. I. Not worth a straw. Apperson 458; Berrey 275.2 ;
NED Straw, 7a; Oxford 624-5 ; Partridge 571 ; T S918.
2. The straw that breaks the camel's back. Apperson 351 ;
Hyamson 330; Oxford 351 ; T F158.
That is the last straw. Dorothy Aldis, Murder in a Hay-
stack (N. Y., 1931 ) 19.
Streak. Ran like a streak. Berrey 53.7.9.16; NED Streak,
3c; Partridge 483, 838.
Runs like a blue streak. Berrey 53.7.9.16, 189.3; Hardie
472; NED Suppl. Blue, 13.
Stream. i. He swims against the stream. Apperson 606
(strive) ; Hyamson 331 ; Oxford 627; T S927.
2. He swims with the stream. Hyamson 331 ; NED Stream,
2f ; T S930.
String. I. As long as a piece of string.
2. As straight as a string. Wilstach 392.
3. He harps on one string. Api>erson 287 ; Berrey 276.7 ;
Oxford 280; T S936.
4. Pull the string, the latch will fly. Green 29.
Strokes. Little strokes fell great oaks. Apperson 373 ; Brad-
ley 82; Oxford 627. many; Poor Richard 135; T S94r ;
Way to Wealth 41 1.
Stuarts. All Stuarts are not kinsmen of the king. Hislop 45 ;
Kelly 14; Oxfords.
V K () V K R H S 483
Substance. He parts with tlu- suhstance for the shadow. Cf.
Apperson 560: Catch not at the sliadow and lose thf suh-
stance; Christy i, 162: Do not abandon the sul)stance
for the shadow; T S951.
Succeed. If you don't succeed at first, try and try again.
l)radley 93 ; NED Try, 16a. ([uot. iS - ( popular melody).
If at first you don't succeed, keep suckling- till you do
succeed.
Success. Nothing succeeds like success. Apperson 454;
l^radley 93 ; Oxford 464.
Sugar. I. As sweet as sugar (5). Lean 11, 881 ; Wilstach
405-
2. She is neither sugar nor salt. Apperson 441 ; TTyamson
304; NED Salt, 2f, Sugar, 2b; Oxford 630; Partridge
556; Patterson loi.
Sulphur. As yellow as sulphur. Wilstach 487. Cf. NED
Suljihur, ic, quot. 1725.
Summer, i. If you can sing in the summer you may dance
in the winter. Cf. Roberts 129: He who works while
summer lasts will sing all through the winter.
2. No summer without a winter. A]:)person 608 ; Oxford
630.
Sun. I. As bright as the sun. NED Sun, id, quots. a 1225,
a 1300; Wilstach 35.
2. As dazzling as the sun. Cf. Wilstach i>T^.
3. As good as the sun ever shined on. XED Sun, leCb).
Cf. Apperson 306 : As honest a man as the sun ever
shone on.
4. As sure as the sun sets. Cf. Wilstach 401 : Sure as sun-
rise and Sure as sun-up.
5. As sure as the sun shines. Wilstach 401.
6. As welcome as the sun after a rain.
7. The sun is the poor man's clock. See Snow (5) above.
Sunbeam. As bright as a sunbeam. NED Snnljeam, la, fjuot.
c 1290; Wilstach 34, 36.
Sunlight. As bright as sunlight. NED Sunlight, la, quot.
c 1205.
Sunset. As beautiful as the sunset. W'ilstach 15.
Sunshine. Sunshine follows the rain. Cf. A])])erson 520-1 :
After rain comes sunshine; NED Sun, ie(h ) ; T R8.
Sure. Better sure than sorry. Lean 111, 431; ( )xf()rd 38.
See Safe above.
Swallow. One swallow does not make a summer. Apperson
484 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
612, cf. 708; Bradley 93; Hardie 464; Oxford 634, cf.
'J2'j; T S1025.
One swallow does not make a spring.
Swan. As graceful as a swan. Bond 50.
Sweet. Every sweet has its sour. NED Sweet, 3, quot. 1553.
Swimming hole. She has carried herself to a bad swimming
hole. (Said of a girl who marries a worthless man.)
Sword. As sharp as a sword. Cf. NED Sword, 2, quot. 1513;
Wilstach 343.
As sharp as a two-edged sword. Wilstach 343.
T. I. It fits to a T (4). Berrey 16.8; Hyamson 335; NED
T, ic; Partridge 279.
2. We stand like a T.
Tack. I. As sharp as a tack (2). AUison 95 ; Berrey 148.5.9,
241.8. 257.11, 281.16, 640.6; Hardie 467.
2. Head like a tack. Cf. Elsie Warnock, "Terms of Dis-
paragement in the Dialect Speech of High School Pupils
in California and New Mexico," Dialect Notes, v, part
II (1919) 62: Tack-head.
Tail end. Like the tail end of hard luck. Cf. Apperson 381 :
To look like the picture of ill luck ; N'c^v York Folklore
Quarterly, 11 (1946) 220: He's the tail end of nothing
cut off and tucked in ; Taliaferro 258 : we'd look like
the peaked eend uv nothin'.
Tailor. The tailor to his needle, the shoemaker to his last.
Cf. Apperson 104: Let not the cobbler go beyond his
last; Bradley 92; Davidoff 415: Let every tailor keep
to his goose; Hyamson 90; Oxford 99-100, 269, the
gunner; T C480.
Tales. Don't tell tales out of school. Apperson 619; Berrey
198.4, 206.2; Hyamson 336; Oxford 643; T T54.
Talk, sb. I. Big talk and little deeds. Cf. Apperson 273;
NED Talk. 5a; Nicolson 319: Much talk and little done;
Poor Richard 65 : Great talkers little doers ; Smith and
Eddins 244 : Big talker, little doer ; T T58.
2. Talk is cheap, and (but) it takes money to buy dirt (2).
Cf. Apperson 619, talk, quot. 1678: Prate is but prate,
it's money buys land ; Bradley 94 : Talk is cheap ;
Pearce 237 : Talk's cheap, but it takes money to buy
bread and butter ; T T59.
Talk, vb. I. He talks a lot but says nothing.
2. He talks just to hear his head roar. Koch 11, 135.
Tar. I. As black as tar (3). Berrey 32.7; Hardie 466.
P K () \' K R B S 4^5
2. Slower than lar in cold moonshine. Sec Molasses (1),
Moonshine ahove.
Tell. Tell me who you go with and I'll tell ycni who you are.
Apperson 621 ; Oxford 646; T T87.
Tempest. Like a tempest in a tea-cup. Apperson 604 (storm) ;
Ilyamson 338; NED Tea-cup, c.
Thanks. Thanks killed the cat. Cf. Apperson 125: Cry you
mercy killed my cat; I'ohn 119: IVr dir oraii merce, la
mia gatta mori ; T C874.
Thank"e starves the cat. Green 31.
Thief. I. As thick as thieves (2). Apperson 624; P.errey
24.16, 332.9; Hyamson 341; Partridge 875; Wilstach
421.
2. As welcome as a thief. Wilstach 573.
3. When thieves fall out. Apperson 625 : When thieves fall
out honest men come hy their own ; Bradley 90 : When
rogues fall out, honest men get their dues ; Hardie 465 ;
Oxford 649; T T122.
Thing. I . A thing not needed is easily found.
2. All things come to him who waits. Bradley 96 ; Oxford
1 79-80 ; Taylor 66.
3. Good things are put up in small packages (2). Precious
things come in small packages. Beckwith 54 : Good
t'ing wrap in small parcel; Bohn 17: En petites boites
met-on les bons onguents. 331 : Kostbaare dingen doet
men in kleine doosjes; Bradley 89: Precious metals
(gems, things) are put up in small packages.
Precious things are put up in small packages (and so is
poison).
4. If you want a thing well done, do it yourself. Apperson
156, cf. 322 ; Oxford 690; Taylor 67; T D401.
5. It's not the things you have but what they mean to you.
Cf. Bohn 108: Le cose non sono come sono, ma come
si vedono. Things are not as they are, but as they are
regarded.
Thorn. As sharp as a thorn. Ap])erson 561 ; T T230.
Thought. I. As invisible as thought. Wilstach 218.
2. As quick as a thought. Apperson 518-19; Green 30;
Hyamson 287 ; Wilstach 309. Cf. T T240.
3. Second thoughts are best. A])person SS^: Hvamson 309;
Oxford 568-9; T T247.
Three. i. As thick as three in a bed. Ap])erson 624; Green
20; XED Thick, 10; Partridge 875 ; \\V)odard 43.
2. The three merriest thiniLis under the sun : .\ cat's kitten,
A goat's kid, And a VDung widow. .\(ifi())ial Pnn'crhs:
486 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
Ireland 15: The three most pleasant things, a cat's kit-
ten, a goat's kid, and a yoving widow.
3. Three without rule — A mule, A pig, A woman. U. J.
Bourke, The College Irish Grammar (Dublin, 1883)
301 : Three without rule — a woman, a pig and a mule ;
National Proverbs: Ireland 31 ; (3'Rahilly 71-2 (248) :
The three most difficult to teach — a woman, a pig, and
a mule. Cf. Apperson 615; Collections . . . Relating to
Montgomeryshire, xii (1879) 299 (491): Three things
that will have their own way — a lass, a pig. and an ass ;
Nicolson 332; Oxford 637, swine; T S1044.
Thriftiness. Thriftiness is the same thing as stinginess.
Thumb. Stands out like a sore thumb. Robert G. Dean, The
Sutton Place Murders (N. Y., 1936) 104.
Thunder, sb. i. As black as thunder. Apperson 52; Green
18; Hyamson 47; Wilstach 20.
2. As loud as thunder (3). Wilstach 241.
3. As ugly as homemade thunder.
Thunder, vb. So loud you couldn't hear it thunder.
Tick. I. As fat as a tick. England 72.
2. As full as a tick (3). Apperson 241; Berrey 24.15,
106.7; DAE Tick, 2; Green 19; NED Suppl. Tick, ic;
Partridge 306; T T281 ; Wilstach 166; Yankee Phrases
"5;
3. As tight as a tick (4). Desmond Holdridge, Pindorama
(N. Y.. 1933) 33.
4. Holds fast as a tick. Cf. J. C. Harris, Uncle Remus and
His Friends (Boston, 1892) 119: he helt on, like tick
on a cow.
Tiger, i. As fierce as a tiger. Cf. NED Tiger. 2a, quot.
2. Fights like a tiger. V. Bridges, The Girl in Black
(N. Y.. 1927) 271.
Time. i. As fast as time. Cf. DAE Time, 10: To run like
time.
2. As old as time. Wilstach 278.
3. Be ruled by time.
4. Half past kissing time and time to kiss again. Berrey
3.12, 191. 5; Partridge 368; "A Word-List from Western
New York," Dialect Notes, iii, part vi (1910) 442.
5. There is a time for all things.. Apperson 192. 634; Brad-
ley 94; ( )xford 659; Taylor 64; T T314.
6. Time and tide wait for no man (2). Apperson 6\^, 6^4;
liradley 94; llardic 465; Oxford 658; Tavlor '64 ;' T
'r3-^3-
P K () \- l". K H S
487
Time and truubli' wait for iid man.
7. Time flies in winter; liorse Hies in snnimer. Cf. I'.radley
94 : Time flies ; Oxford 659 ; T T327.
8. Time gets around, there's no warts on its tail.
9. Time heals all vvomids. P.radley (M- Cf. Aijperson 634,
time (i6):TT325.
10. Time lost is never found. Apperson 383; Oxtord 660;
Poor Richard 128; T T332 ; Way to Wealth 409.
Time lost is never regained. Cf. Apperson 635: Time
lost we cannot win ; ( )xford 660.
11. Time will tell. J. J. Connington, TJic liyc in the Museum
{ P.oston. 1930) 232.
Tinker, Not worth a tinker's dam. Worth as much as a
tinker's dam. Apperson 456 (6), 458; Berrey 21.3:
(ireen 28 (cuss) ; Partridge 128.
Tit. Tit fur tat. Apperson 635-6; Kelly 310; Oxford 661;
T T356. Cf. Berrey 191. 4.
Tit for tat, You kill my dog and I'll kill your cat (6).
Bradley 95 ; Green 32.
Titty. I. As useless as titties on a man. No more use than
a man's titties. Cf. Marguerite Eyssen, Go-Dcvil (N. Y.,
1947) 57: useless as tits on a tomcat.
2. It is a tough titty to suck, but she sucked it. (Hard
trials.) Cf. F. H. Brennan, Meino to a Firijuj Squad
(N. Y., 1943) 126: Dr. Lincoln is chewing a tough titty.
Toast. I. As crisp as toast.
2. As dry as toast. NED Toast, ih. quot. 1842.
3. As warm as toast (2). Apperson 315, quots. i860, 1901 ;
Partridge 408, hot ; T T363 ; Wilstach 463.
Tobacco. Don't chew your tobacco twice. Bradley 65 ; Wood-
ard 43 ; Woofter 350.
To-day. i. Give me to-day's meat, yesterday's bread and
last year's wine and the doctor can go. Beckwith 52;
Franck loi. Cf. F'oor Richard 118: Give me yester-
day's bread, this day's flesh, and last year's cyder ; T \t,2.
2. To-day's to-day and to-morrow's to-morrow.
3. Use not to-dav what to-morrow may want. Apperson
660.
Tom Tyler. As crazv as Tom Tyler's old bitch. Cf. Partridge
<^95-
Tomb. As cold as the tomb. Wilstach 61.
To-morrow. .\ever leave for to-morrow a thing that can be
done to-dav. Never put off till to-morrow what yon can
400 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
do to-day. Apperson 517; Bradley 95 ; Hardie 464 ;
Oxford 526 ; T T378.
Tongue. i. A tongue hung in the middle and wags at both
ends. A tongue tied at both ends and loose in the mid-
dle. Her tongue is hung in the middle and loose at
both ends. Her tongue is tied in the middle and loose
at both ends (3). Her tongue runs as if tied in the
middle and loose at both ends. Her tongue's fastened
in the middle and loose at both ends. His tongue is
hinged in the middle and wags at both ends. Tongue
wags as if it were fastened in the middle and loose at
both ends. Tongue wags like it is tied in the middle and
loose at both ends. Cf . Apperson 638 : His tongue is
well hung.
2. He talks with his tongue in his cheek. Hyamson 345 ;
NED Tongue, 4d, Suppl. Tongue, 4d.
3. Lock up your tongue or it will lock you up. Cf. Apper-
son III: Confine your tongue lest it confine you.
Tooth. I. As painful as a sore tooth.
2. He didn't cut his teeth yesterday. Cf. NED Cut, 38;
Partridge 201.
He has cut his wisdom teeth. Berrey 148.5, 17 1.2, 257.8.
432.1 ; Partridge 201.
He hasn't cut his eye teeth yet. Apperson 197; Berrey
148.5, 171.2, 257.8, 432.1; Hyamson 135: Partridge
201, 898; Taliaferro 11 1 : Fse cut my eye teeth long ago.
3. Teeth don't show mourning. Bigelow loi : Dents pas ca
poter dei ; Hearn 18: Dens pas ka pote dei. . . . Teeth
do not wear mourning — meaning that, even when un-
happy, people show their teeth in laughter or smiles
(Trinidad) ; Parsons, Antilles 458: Dent pa ca po'te dei
(Trinidad), 484: Teeth don't wear mourning (St.
Croix). Cf. C^hampion 509 (28) : When one suflfers in
the entrails, the teeth smile (Amharic). See Bone (2)
above.
Toothpick. I . As thin as a toothpick. Allison 95 ; W'il-
stach 422.
2. Legs like toothpicks.
Top. Spin like a top (2). Taliaferro 117; Wilstach 378.
Tortoise. As slow as a tortoise. Bond 53.
Trap. Caught in his own trap. They who lay tra]:)s for others
are often caught by their own bait. Cf. Apperson 598,
spread nets; Bohn 179: Wer Andern eine Grube grabt,
fallt selbst hinein ; Christy 11, 205: Subtlety .set a trap
and was caught itself ; J. C. Harris, Xiglifs with Uncle
p R o \' V. R n s 489
Remits (lioston. 1S83) 120: Dey wuz allc-rs a-layin'
traps fer Brer Rabbit en gittin' cotch in um deyse'f ;
R. Williams. Poorc Mau's Pittance {c 1606), in Ballads
from Manuscripts, ed. T'. J. Furnivall, 2 vols. (London,
1868-72), II, 44, 1. 155: riiie selfe weare caught in the
trappe thou didst lave.
Trash. If von associate with trash, \()u'll B(»under with trash.
Tree. i. A tree is known by its fruit. Api^erson 645; Brad-
ley 95; Oxford 670: Taylor 65; T T497.
2. As the tree falls, so shall it lie. Apperson 644-5 : ^ '503-
3. Flourish like the green bay tree. Green 27; NED Bay,
2: Psalms 37: 35; Wilstach 150.
4. Hanging from a tree. (Doing something ridiculous
which results adversely to the doer.)
5. There's alius a tree laying across the road. Cf. Apper-
son 540: There will be rubs in the smoothest road.
6. You are barking up the wrong tree (2). Berrey 320.2,
cf. 418, 170.7; Green 21; Hardie 468; Hyamson 34,
347; NED Wrong, A. 7b; Partridge 2>i'y Taylor 13;
Woodard 34.
Trick. He who plays a trick must be prepared to take a joke.
Cf. Oxford 325: If ydu give a jest, you nuist take a
jest.
Trojan. i. His boys are regular Trojans. (Stalwart, brave.)
Cf. Hyamson 348; NED Trojan, 2.
2. To fight like a Trojan. Laurence Housman, The Duke
of Flamhorough (N. Y., 1929) 166.
3. To work like a Trojan (2). Apperson 646; Berrey
245.12; Hardie 472; Partridge 911 ; Wilstach 484.
Trooper. i. Cur.se like a trooper. Thorne Smith, Turnabout
(N. Y., 1933) 136.
2. Swears like a trooper (2). Apperson 613; Berrey 194-3;
Green 33 ; Hardie 471 ; Hyamson 334; Oxford 635 ; Par-
tridge 852, 911.
Trouble, i. Don't borrow trouble. Bradlev 95; Partridge
82.
Don't borrow trouble, it'll come soon enough.
2. Don't go looking for trouI)le. DAE Trouble, 2; Hyam-
son 226.
3. Never go to meet trouble. Hyam.son 237; Oxford 417.
4. Never trouble trouble till troul)le troubles you. Apper-
son 646; Bradley 73.
5. Trouble don't last always.
6. Troubles, like chickens, come home to roost (6). See
Chicken (5) and Curses above.
490 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
7. Troubles never come single. Apperson 419. misfortunes;
Bradley 95; Oxford 426; Taylor 49. See Misfortunes
(2) above.
Troubles never come alone Init in battalions.
Trout. I. As healtbv as a trout. Apperson 590, sound, quot.
1891.
2. As speckled as a trout. Cf. NED Speckled. 2a, quot. 1832.
Truth. I. As naked as truth. Apperson 436; T T561. Cf.
NED Naked, 6b.
2. Truth is stranger than fiction. Apperson 650 ; Bradley
95; Hardie 463 (fact) ; Oxford 185.
Trying. As easy as trying. Cf. Oxford 165: As easy as
lying.
Tub. Every tub must stand on its own bottom (3). Let every
tub stand on its own bottom. Apperson 193; Bradley
96; Green 22; Hardie 463 (sit); Oxford 675; Par-
tridge 84 ; Taylor 65 ; T T596.
Tune. You'll whistle another tune. Green 36 (verbatim).
Cf. Berrey 12.2. 304.5, 322.4; Hyamson 317; NED
Tune. 4b.
Turk. Works like a Turk. Allison 94 ; Brewster 265.
Turkey. i. As fat as a Christmas turkey. Cf. Hyatt 644
(10724): Christmas is coming. Turkeys are fat; NED
Suppl. Turkey, 6, quot. 1836.
2. As full as a Christmas turkey.
3. As hot as a roasted turkey. Cf . Wilstach 204 : Hot as a
basted turkey.
4. As red as a turkey snapper. As red as a turkey's snout.
Cf. Allison 96; Bond 50: red as a turkey gobbler's
snout ; Green 20 : As red as a gobbler's snout ; Lean 11,
867: As red as a turkey-cock's jowls; T T611.
5. Never said turkey to me! (Failure to give some in-
formation or to invite one to some gathering or party.)
DAE Turkey, 4a. Cf. Berrey 188.14, 191. 6. 559.34;
Hyamson 337; NED Turkey, 2d; Thornton in, 684.
Turkey egg. As speckled as a turkey egg. Allison 95. Cf.
Brewster 261: As freckled as a turkey egg; Perkins
130.
Turn. I. One good turn deserves another (3). x'Xpperson
470-1 ; Bradley 96; Hardie 464; Oxford 257; T T616.
2. Turn about is fair play. Apperson 652 ; Bradley 95 ;
Green 34; Oxford 676.
Turnip. As round as a turnip. Wilstach 328.
Turtle. As slow as a turtle. Bond 53.
p R o V i: R H s 491
Two. 1. As suro as two and two arc four. Oxford 678;
\\il>tach 401. Ct. T T641.
2. To put two and two together. Apperson 653; Green
33 ; Hyanison 350.
3. Two's company, three's a crowd. Api)erson 655 ; Brad-
ley 66; (heen 34; llardie 465; Oxford 680. Cf. Par-
tridge 878.
4. Two to make a hargain. one to hreak it. ( l""irst ixirt
only) : Bradley 60; Hardie 463: Oxford 08 1. Cf. Tay-
lor" 13.
Two cents. I feel like two cents worth of soap. Cf. Berrcy
304.5. 305.4 : feel like two cents.
Valley. Act in the valley for those on the hill. Bohn 370:
(lior saa i Dalen. at du frygter ei hvo staaer paa Valden.
Act so in the valley, that you need not fear those who
stand on the hill.
Velvet. I. As glossy as velvet.
2. As smooth as velvet (2). Wilstach 365.
3. As soft as velvet (2). Wilstach 371.
Vine. I. As crooked as a vine (2).
2. Clings like a vine. Cf. Wilstach 59: Clings fast as the
clinging vine.
Vinegar. As sour as vinegar (4). Fogel 55: So sauer as
essich; A. L. Rowse, U cst-Coitnfry Stories (London,
1945) 63.
Violet. As blue as a violet. Cf. NED Violet, la, quot. 1838,
lb, quot. 1697.
Virtue, i. Make a virtue of necessity. Apperson 663 ; Hyam-
son 354 ; Oxford 688 ; Taylor 66 ; T Wy^.
2. \'irtue is its own reward. Apperson 663; Bradley 96;
Oxford 687; T V81.
Vise. Grips like a vise. Wilstach 188.
Wafer. As thin as a wafer. Green 32 ; NED Wafer, i ; Wil-
stach 422.
Wagon. I. As full as a little red wagon. Cf. England 7S:
Hot's a red wagon (very drunk) ; Hardie 467: As hot
as a little red wagon.
2. An empty wagon rattles most. Cf. Apperson 1 82 : Empty
vessels make the most sound ; Beckwith 47 ( 284 ) : Empty
dray mek de mos' noise; Bradley 72; Cundall 47 (438) ;
Hardie 464: An emptv wagon rumbles loud; Oxford
171 ; Jim Tully, Blood' on the Moon (N. Y., 1931) 70;
Empty wagons make the most noise; Henry William-
son, Life in a Devon Village (London, 1945) 274: A
492 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
leary [light] cart maketh the most noise. See Cartbody
above.
Walls, I. Cold walls make unhappy wives. Champion 62
(731) : Cold walls make dissatisfied wives (Irish). Cf.
Apperson 25 : Bare walls make giddy housewives ;
Cheviot 379: Toom stalls mak' biting horses ; T \\'i8.
2. Four walls do not make a home.
3. Walls have ears. Apperson 665-6, cf. 210, fields, 296,
hedge ; Bradley 'jz ; Oxford 690 ; Taylor 66, campus ; T
W19.
Wash. Wash on Monday, you will have all week to dry ;
Wash on Tuesday, not so much wry ; Wash on W' ednes-
day, not so much to blame ; Wash on Thursday, wash
for shame ; Wash on Friday, wash for need ; Wash on
Saturday, you are a big goose indeed. Apperson 668;
Hyatt 401 (8044) (slightly varied and rearranged).
Washing. It's a lonesome washing that has not a man's shirt
in it. Champion 62 (714) ; National Proverbs: Ireland
7-
Wasp. 1. As ill as a wasp. Cf. Apperson 668, wasp ( i) ;
T W76. See Hornet (1) above.
2. No bigger than a wasp. Cf . Bond 56 : slim as a wasp.
Waste, sb. Wicked waste makes woeful want. Wilful waste
makes woeful want. Apperson 687, wilful ; Bradley 96 ;
Green 35 ; Hardie 465 ; Oxford 694. wilful ; T W81 ;
Woodard 43, wilful.
Waste, vb. Waste not, want not (2). Apperson 668; Brad-
ley 96; Green 34; Hardie 465; Oxford 694.
Water, i. As free as water (2). Wilstach 159.
2. As weak as water (3). Apperson 670-1; Green 34;
Hyamson 357: T W88; Wilstach 466. See Puppy (3)
above.
3. He pours water on the other man's wheel. Cf. Apperson
190: Every man wishes water to his own mill, 570: To
put one's sickle into another man's corn. 627, thrash ;
Nicolson 65 : Each draws water to his own mill ; Ox-
ford 156.
4. In hot water. Berrey 256.2.13; Hyamson 191 ; Partridge
409.
5. Just like putting water on a duck's back. Rolls like
water ofif a duck's back. Sheds water like a duck's
back. Allison 100; Apperson 169; Hyamson 356; Ox-
ford 695.
6. Loves water like a duck. Cf . Bond 49 : as a duck takes
to water.
V R () \' I-. K H s 493
7. Loves w;ikT like :i fish. Roberts _>_'5 : 1 Jkc lish for
water.
8. Still waters run ckv]) (J). Apperson 602-3; r.radley 9O ;
llardie 464; Oxford 6ji ; Taylor 67; T Wi-W
9. Takes to water like a duck. Cf. Bond 49: as a duck
takes to water; Oxford 642: To take to a thing like a
duck to water.
10. That won't hold water. Berrey 169.7, 170.4; (ireen 31;
Hvamson 356; NED Hold, 32I).
11. To "throw cold water on a thing. 1 lyamson 92.
12. Water seeks its level. Adams 64 (127); B.radley 96;
I'earce 22,S.
13. Why pour water on a drowned rat." Apperson 669,
water (4) quot. 1738; T W102. Cf. Hislop 189.
14. You never know the worth of water till the well is dry.
Apperson 670; Bradley 97; Hardie 465; X1<:D Well, 4;
Poor Richard 122; IVay to Wealth 415.
Waves. As wild as the waves. Wilstach 476.
Wax. I. As close as wax. Apperson 102; Berrey 376.7;
P^artridge 161, 941 ; T W134; Wilstach 60.
2. As slick as wax.
3. As tight as wax. Dorothy ( )gburn. Death on the Moun-
tain (Boston, 1 931) 78.
4. Mehed like wax. Oxford 418; T W137; Wilstach 2=,><.
Way. I. He looks both ways. Cf. Apperson 380-1 : To look
both wavs for Sunday ; Partridge 494.
2. Looking nine wavs for Sunday (2). Apperson 380-1,
look (18, 24) ; Berrey 137-8. 13. 162.3; ^ireen 33 (two) ;
XED Way. 9c; Partridge 494, 562; T W145.
3. See your w^ay out before you venture in.
Weakest. The weakest goes to the wall. Apperson 671 ; Hy-
amson 357; Oxford 697; Taylor 67; T W185.
Wear. Better wear out than rust out (2). Apperson 46;
Bradley 97 : Oxford 42 ; T W209.
Weather, i. All bad weather ain't foul and all the shine ain't
sunnv. See Rain, sb. (3) above.
2. As changeable as the weather (2). Cf. Apperson 91 : As
changeable as a weather-cock ; Roxburghe i, 296, 1. 41 :
fickle as the weather ; T W223.
3. As uncertain as the weather. Wilstach 441.
4. Ill weather and sorrow come unsent for. Ai)person 325-6,
cf. 589. sorrow; Lean iv. 6; T W219.
5. Never mind the weather if the wind d(jn"t blow. P.radley
99; Christy 11. 430: Green 28. Cf. Api)er.son 689:
There's no weather ill when the wind is still ; Cheviot
260 ; Oxford 698 ; T W220.
N.r.F.. Vol. 1. (ii)
494 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
6. Sorter under the weather. Apperson 658-9 ; DAE
Weather, i ; NED Weather. 2f.
Wedding. Weddin' without courtin' is Hke vittles without salt.
Cf . Apperson 423 : Money without love is like salt with-
out pilchers.
Wedge. I. A wedge of elm to split an elm. Gaelic Journal,
XVI (1906) 167 (468); O'Rahilly 95 (299): A wedge
of itself splits the elm. (Well known in Southern
Irish.) Cf. Champion 620 (24) : There is no wedge
like that of the same wood (Mexican) ; National Prov-
erbs : Ireland 38 : A man may be his own ruin, a wedge
from itself splits the oak-tree ; Nicolson 202 : A wedge
of itself splits the oak.
2. As dead as a wedge. Paul Green, Wide Fields (N. Y.,
1928) 99.
3. As dumb as a wedge.
4. Strong enough to hold up a wedge. (Said of coffee
usually.) Cf. Helen Hamlin, Nine Mile Bridge (N. Y.,
1945) III : The tea was scalding and strong enough to
float a spike ; Vance Randolph, "A Fourth Ozark Word-
List," American Speech, viii (1933) 53, wedge floating;
Woodard 42: Strong enough to bounce (float) an iron
wedge. (Said of coffee, tea, etc.) See Stand above.
Weed. I. Grows like a weed. Hardie 469.
2. The weeds outgrow the corn. Apperson 6/2-7, ; NED
Weed, id; Oxford 699; T W242.
3. Weeds grow fast. Cf. Apperson 326; NED Weed, id;
Oxford 317; T W238.
Well, sb. I. A shallow well is soon dry.
2. As deep as a well. Green 19; NED Well, 4, quot. i860.
3. Can't stop to dig a well to put out a house on fire.
Christy i, 3 : To dig a well to put out a house on fire
(Tamil).
4. Don't wait to dig a well to drown the cat in.
Well, adv. Let well enough alone. Apperson 361 ; Berrey 155.2,
275.2; Bradley 97; Hardie 463; Oxford 360; T W260.
Whale. I. As big as a whale (2). Wilstach 18.
2. As low as whale manure.
What. She know's what's what. Apperson 677-8 ; Berrey
149.8, 150.3. 153.2, 169.3. 257.8; Green 30 (verbatim);
Hyamson 358; Partridge 463; Taliaferro 170; T Ki 78.
Wheat. I. As good as old wheat in the mill. Cf. Taliaferro
176: Good as wheat in the niill-hopper ; Wilstach 183:
Good as wheat.
P R O \' K R H S 495
2. As yellow as wheat. Cf. Nl*:!) Suppl. Wheat, 4, qnot.
i9i5-
Wheel. I. A wheel that can't turn can't spin.
2. As good as the fifth wheel on a wagon. .\i)i)ersun 210;
HarcHe 468: liyanison 142; Oxford 200; T W-'^^^-
As useless as the hfth wheel on a wagon. Wilstach 570.
3. Old wheels run hest in deep ruts; New wheels want to
cut new ruts.
Whip. I. As (juick as a whi|). C"f. Xh^D Whi]), n .
2. As smart as a whip. DAE Smart, 2; Hardie 46;; Wil-
.stach 361.
Whippoorwill. i. As poor as a whippoorwill. Atkinson 89
(physical state): Paul Green, Wide Fields (N. Y.,
1928) 173. Cf. Jesse Stuart, Foretaste of Glory (N. Y.,
1946) 57: As thin as a whippoorwill in the spring.
2. Xo higger than a whipperwill. Cf. [Elhridge G. I'aige],
Daw's Patent Seniioiis: Second Series (Philadelphia,
1857) 205: For, like the whippoorwills. when you come
to^strip the feathers off, there is nothing left of them.
Whirlwind. 1. He was going like a whirlwind.
2. We go at lit] like a whirlwind o' woodpeckers. Taliaferro
138 : away went the har like a whirlygust uv woodjieckers
were arter it, 177: at it we went like a whirlygust uv
woodi:)eckcrs.
Whisker. As close as a whisker.
Whistle, sb. i. As clean as a whistle. Apperson loi : P.errey
4.9, 24.19, 176.2; NED Whistle, ib, Sui)pl. Wliistle;
Wilstach 55.
2. As clear as a whistle. Berrey 24.19; Nl^D Whistle, ih;
W^ilstach 56.
3. As keen as a whistle. Green zy.
4. As .slick as a whistle (2). Herrey 24.19, 128.3, 255.5:
Hardie 468: Wilstach 359.
5. He paid dear for his whistle. He paid too niucli for his
whistle. Cheviot 375: To pav dearly for his whistle;
DAE WHiistle, ib; NED Whistle, ib(c): Oxford 49i-
Cf. Adams 64 (128) : Don't buy a whistle just because
it's cheap. See R. Franklin, Jl'orks (1840), 11, 181-2.
Whistle, vb. (a). A whistling girl and a crowing hen Always
come to some bad end. (b). A whistling girl and a
crowding hen Never come to a very good end (2).
(c). A whistling girl and a crowing hen Will surely
come to some bad end. ( d ). Whistling girl and crowing
hen Always come to some bad end. (e). WHiistling
girls and crowing hens will come to some bad end.
496 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
(f). Whistling girls and crowing hens Always come to
some bad ends. (g). Whistling maids and crowing hens
Never come to any good ends. (h). A whistling woman
and a crowing hen Never come to any good end (2).
( i ) . A whistling woman and a crowing hen never came
to any good end. (j). A whistling woman and a crow-
ing hen Are neither fit for God nor men (2). (k).
Whistling woman, crowing hen — Neither fit for God nor
men. (1). A woman who whistles and a hen that crows
Will always find a way wherever she goes. Apperson
680; Bradley 97; Cannell 26; Green 18; Hofifman 198;
Edgar MacCulloch, Guernsey Folk Lore (London, 1903)
540; Nicolson 181; Oxford 119. crooning; Tavlor 35;
Whitney 158. Cf. Hyatt 79 (1758-9).
2. (a). A whistling girl and an old black sheep Are the
only things a farmer can keep. (b). A whistling girl
and a bleating sheep Are the best stock a farmer can
keep. (c). Whistling girl and a bleating sheep Best
property a man can keep. Cannell 26-7; Fauset 187
(209) ; Hyatt 642 (10711-2) ; Thomas 290.
White. Every white has its black. Oxford 705-6.
Whit-leather, As tough as whit-leather (4). Apperson 642,
tough as leather, quot. 1678; NED Whitleather, ib.
Suppl. Whitleather, ib; Taliaferro 184; T L166; Wil-
stach 430. See Leather and Shoe leather above.
Why. Every why has a whyfore. Apperson 683 (wherefore) ;
NED Why. 6c ; Oxford 707 ; T W331.
Widow. He that marries a widow with two daughters has
three back doors to his house. Oxford 410. Cf. Apper-
son 683 ; T W335.
Wife. I. A good wife makes a good husband. Apperson
264; Oxford 257; T W351.
2. A wasteful wife throws out in the dishwater more'n her
husband can tote in. Cf. Money Does Master All Tilings
(York, 1696) 53: Unthrifty Wives wast more than Hus-
bands gaine. See Back door above and Woman (2)
below.
Wildcat. Fight like a wildcat. Anthony Gilbert, The Body
on the Beam (N. Y., 1932) 103.
Wildfire. Raining (Spread) like wildfire (2). Berrey 53.9;
Hyamson 360; NED Wild-fire, 5c; Wilstach 381.
Wild oats. He sowed his wild oats in a briar thicket. Sow
his wild oats and settle down. Apperson 686-7 ; Berrev
438.1; Hyamson 323-4; Oxford 709; Partridge 577; T
.06.
P R O \- K R B S 497
Will, sb When there's a will tliere's a way. Apperson 687;
ilradley 97; Oxford 710; Taylor 67-8; T \V157.
Will, vb. I. He that will not when he could cannot when he
would. .Apperson 292; Oxford 710; T N54.
2. What will he, will be. Apperson 560, shall he; P>ohn 'j'j :
Che sara, sara.
Willow. As slick as a ix^cled wilier shoot and as clost as the
hark on a tree.
Wind. I. As changeable as the wind. Green 21; NED
Wind. 7, quot. 1500-20; Roberts ii" \ T W412.
2. As fast as the wind (2). Cf. llvanison 334: As swift
as the wind; NED Wind. 7; T ^'41 i.
3. As fickle as the wind. T W412; Wilstach 138.
4. As fleet as the wind. Wilstach 147.
5. As free as the wind (2). Apperson 234-5; NED Wind,
7, quot. 1610; Wilstach 159.
6. As strong as the wind. Wilstach 395.
7. Do not argue with the wind. William Morton. The
Mystery of the Human Bookcase (N. Y., 1931 ) in.
Cf. T W438.
He could fight at the change of the wind.
He was gfting like the wind (2). Berrey 53.16. Cf.
NED Wind, 7.
He was going like the wind sent him.
It's an ill wind that blows nobody good (4). Apperson
326; Bradley 97; Hardie 463; c5xford 317-8; T W421.
Like trying to catch the wind in a net. Apperson 690,
wind ( 19) ; Hyamson // ; Oxford 85; T ^^'4I6.
Runs like the wind. S. Rohmer. Tales of Chinatown
(N. Y., 1922) 208.
Splitting the wind. DAE Split. 9: Taliaferro jt,.
He tries to fence in the sea. the wind, etc. ^'ou can't fence
in the wind. Cf. R(jl)erts 225 : Like tying the wind in a
sack.
16. When the wind is in the east. The fish bite least ; When the
wind is in the west, The fish bite best ; \\'hen the wind
is in the south, The fish bite at the mouth. Cf. .\i)per-
son 215, fish (2). 691, North wind, (3), South wind
(4) ; Bradley 99: When the wind is in the south it blows
the bait int(j the fish's mouth; Hyatt 447 (8987) : Wind
from the south, hook in the mouth. Wind from the east,
bite the least. Wind from the n(jrth. furthest oflf. Wind
from the west, bite the best; ()xford 712; Thomas 239;
T W443.
Winding blades. .\rms a-going like winding blades. (]. W.
498 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
Harris 166: his hans a-flyin roun his hed like a par ove
windin blades.
Wine. I. Keep the good wine for the last.
2. When the wine is in, the wit is out. Apperson 164;
Oxford 6; T W471.
Wink. As quick as a wink. Wilstach 308.
Winter, i. As bad as de winter of de big snow in '57 when
de nails popped on de roofs.
2. There won't be a winter like last winter. (Apparently
this remark is used to disparage overoptimistic state-
ments, whether one's own or someone else's. Possibly
rhetorical understatement, after the English fashion,
with slight irony or sarcasm.) Cf. Chenet 18: L'annee
passe toujoti pi bon. L'annee passee est tou jours la
meilleure.
Wisdom. Wisdom is better than strength. T W-^2y. Cf. Ap-
person 695 : Wisdom goes beyond strength.
Wise. He is wise who is wise in time. NED W'ise, ia(f),
quot. 1879. Cf. Apperson 697: He is wise that is ware
in time; Oxford 718; T T291.
Wishes. I. If wishes bide, beggars ride. Apperson 699;
NED Wish. la; Oxford 719; T W538.
2. If wishes were haystacks, there'd be more fat cows. Cf.
Brewster 267 : Mistakes don't make haystacks or there'd
be more fat cattle.
3. If wishes were horses, beggars might ride. Apperson
699; Bradley 61 ; Hardie 463 ; Oxford 719: T W538.
Witch. Feel like a stewed witch (4). Payne 375.
Wiving. Wiving and thriving go hard together. Cf. Apper-
son 701 : It's hard to wive and thrive both in a year ;
Oxford 721 ; T Y12.
Wolf. I. A wolf in sheep's clothing. Apperson 701 ; Hyam-
son 362; Oxford 723. Cf. Berrey 616.4.
2. As gaunt as a wolf. Wilstach 168.
3. As hungry as a wolf (3). Apperson 319; Berrey 95.6;
Hyamson 194; T W601 ; Wilstach 207.
4. He cries wolf ! wolf ! Apperson 702 ; Hyamson 362 ; Ox-
ford 122; T W609.
Woman, i. A bad woman will ruin any man.
2. A wasteful woman throws out with a spoon faster than
her husband can fetch in with a shovel. Allison 98;
Brewster 265 ; Lean i, 466. See Wife (2) above.
3. A woman convinced against her will, Is of the same opin-
ion still. Snapp 83 (40) (man). Cf. Oxford 106: He
that complies against his will, is of his own opinion still.
P K O \' l'. R B s 499
4. A woman's excuses are like her apron, easily lifted. Cf.
Apperson 704 : A woman need but look upon her apron-
string to tind an excuse; Lean i, 475: A woman has no
excuse readier than her apron ; Oxford 724 ; T \V659.
5. A woman's work is never done. Apperson 704 ; Cheviot
402; Oxford 724; T \\'679. See Man (24) above.
6. A woman will have the last word. Apperson 707 ; Ox-
ford 726; T \yj22.
7. An old womans' dance is soon over. Fogel 27 : Alter
Weiber danz halt net lang a ; Smith and Eddins 244 :
The morning rain is like an old woman's dance, soon over.
Cf. Hohn 146. 358.
8. As changeable as a woman. Cf. T WYjqS; IvKvard
Ward, A Humble Offering to the Best of Queens, 14,
in A Collection of Historieal and State Poems, . . . being
the Fifth Volume of Miscellanies (London, 171 7) : For
woman is by Nature giv'n to change.
9. Between a woman's yes and a woman's no There's not
enough room for a pin to go. Bohn 192 : Zwischen eines
Weibes "Ja" und "Nein" lasst sich keine Nadelspitze
stecken ; Champion 273 (/?</) (Russian) ; Davidofif 486
(Spanish ).
10. Good looks in a woman haint wuth as much to a man as
good cookin' and savin' ways. See Beauty above.
11. The old woman is picking her geese. (It is snowing.)
Apperson 584, snow (6), cf. 683, Widdecombe ; NED
Goose, id. Cf. Cheviot 338: The men o' the East Are
pyking their geese. And sending the feathers herc-away,
there-away ; Oxford 707.
Wonders. Wonders never cease. Ai)person 708: Oxford
726: Snapp 103 (38).
Won't. He that won't must be made to. See Bird (3) above.
Wood. I. Don't holler till you are out of the woods. Hyam-
son 363 ; NED Wood. 5b.
2. Haven't seen you since the woods was biuMied. Where
you been keeping yo'self ? Brewster 264.
3. I can't see the wood for the trees. Apperson 708 ; Hyam-
son 362 ; Oxford 570 ; T ^\'733.
Wool. T. All wool and a yard wide. (Good character, gen-
erous.) Berrey 29.4, 143.5, 169.11, 279.6, 309.8; DAE
All wool, W'ool, 2b; Partridge. Suppl. 1049.
2. As soft as wool. NED Wool, if; Wilstach 369.
3. He who goes for wool mav come home shorn. Apperson
709. wool (3) : Oxford 728; T W734.
500 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
4. Pull wool over her eyes. Trying to pull wool over one's
eyes. Berrey 314.6; DAE Wool, 2a; Green 34 (ver-
batim with second example) ; NED \\'ool, ig(b) ; Thorn-
ton II, 708.
Word. I. A good word never yet broke a tooth. Gaelic
Journal, v (1894) 24: A tooth is not broken by a good
word. Cf. MacAdam 265 (307) : A sweet voice does
not injure the teeth; O'Rahilly 23 (85) : A kind word
never broke anybody's mouth.
2. A word and a blow and the blow first. Northall 7.
3. A word to the wise is sufficient. Apperson 710; Bradley
98; Hardie 462; Oxford 728; T W781. Cf. JVay to
IVcaltli 408 : a Word to the Wise is enough.
4. Big words and little deeds. Cf. Bohn 399: Store Ord
giore sielden from Gierning. Big words seldom go with
good deeds ; NED Word, 4.
5. Fine (Soft) words butter no parsnips (2). Apperson
200; Bradley 98 (soft) ; Green 31 (soft) ; Oxford 187;
Partridge 276; T W791.
6. His word is as good as his bond. The word of an honest
man is his bond. Apperson 710; Bradley 79; Koch i,
200 ; Oxford 300 ; Taylor 69 ; T ]\I458.
7. Kind words can never die.
8. Manv words won't fill a bushel. Apperson 400; Kelly
251^; Oxford 729; T W817 ; Way to Wealth 408.
Work. I. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.
Apperson 8-9 ; Bradlev 98 ; Hardie 461 ; (Oxford 730 ;
T W842.
2. He gums up the works. Berrey 35.5 ; DAE Gum. 4.
3. Looking for work and praying not to find it. Hearn 20:
Gens f egnants ka mande travai epis bouche ; mains khers
yeaux ka pouier Bondie pou yeaux pas touver. . . .
Lazy folks ask for work with their lips : but their hearts
pray God that they may not find it (Trinidad).
4. No work no pay. Cf. Lean iii, 498: He that will not
labour must not eat; T Lio.
5. Shoot the works. Berrey 117.11. 130.32, 198.3 etc. (see
Index, 1 104, the works).
Work hand. Ed be a good work hand myself ef I could do hit
with my tongue. (Said to one giving advice as to how
to do something.) Cf. Bohn 173: Von Wortcn 7.u
W^erken ein weiter Weg.
World. I . As naked as when he came into the world. Cf.
( )xt'ord 442: Naked as he was born; T B137; Wilstach
271 : As naked as their mothers bore them. See Day (7)
above.
P R O V K R K S 501
2. As sure as the \vi>rl(l. William Marcli, Conipaiiy K
(X. v., 1933) yj.
3. He wants the world with a fence around it. Hardie 469
(and a shoe of the moon) ; Snapp 83 (35).
4. I've got the world by the tail. Berrey 261.4; Oxford
731 : World in a string; T W886.
5. Let the world slide. Let the world wag. Apperson 360-1 ;
Nh:D Wag. 7c. World. 3; Oxford 732; T W879.
6. The world and his wife were there. Apperson 711 ; Ber-
rey 380.3; Hyamson 364; Oxford 731.
7. The world is a small place after all. Oxford yT,i.
8. The world will not last forever. Oxford y^J.
Worm. I. Like a worm in hot ashes. Like a worm in the
fire.
2. The worm will turn. Apperson 712; Bradley 98; NED
^\'orm, 3b; Oxford 669; T W909.
Worst. Worst done first; easiest done last. Cf. T \\9i7.
Wounds. Wounds made with words are hard to heal. Cf.
Cheviot 99: Evil words cut mair than swords.
Wrongs. Two wrongs don't make a right. Apperson 657;
Bradley 90 ; Oxford 681 ; Taylor 69.
Yardstick. Looks like he had swallowed a yardstick. DAE
Yardstick, 2.
Year, i . As long as a hundred years.
2. As sorrowful as the year.
3. It will all be the same a hundred years from to-day.
Apperson 7 ; Bradley 69 ; Oxford 8 ; Taylor 57 ; T Y22.
4. One year's weed, Seven year's seed. Cf. Apperson 474:
One year's seed, seven years' weed ; Oxford 477-8.
One year's seeding makes seven years' weeding.
Yelling. Any yelling, Do for selling. Cf. Champion 622 (72) :
Any cry do for buyin' (Jamaican).
Zebra. As strii)ed as a zebra. Wilstach 395.
FOLK SPEECH
GLOSSARY • SALUTATIONS AND REPLIES
Edited by
George P. Wilson
FOLK spi:p:ch
GLOSSARY
INTRODUCTION
MA^■^' P1-:0I'LE try as hard to get rid of local peculiarities
in their speech as scholars try to preserve them, at least for
the record. Neither the scholars nor the people who are trying to
avoid provincialisms ever quite fully succeed, fortunately at least
for the latter. Standard English, of course, is a necessity of edu-
cation and culture; but the language of anyone forced to speak
and write exclusively from handbooks and dictionaries would prob-
ably be as flavorless as a drink of distilled water. There is a
saltiness and tang in local speech which even Dr. Samuel Johnson
recognized in practice. He favored slightly the language of his
own native Lichfield both in his speech and in his dictionary, and
he grumbled about one of his dependents that "she was wiggle-
waggle, and I could never persuade her to be categorical."
The terms wliicti are listed here have other values, however, than
their homely, natural saltiness. The dialect words are the most
important ones, but space does not allow me to go into their
worth as fully as I should like to (elsewhere I have published an
article on this subject). Since dialect is not a corrupt form of
standard English (often the reverse is true), it can help us under-
stand many difficult passages in our authors — the Beowulf poet,
Chaucer, Shakespeare, Spenser, Milton, Tennyson, Browning, etc.
I am convinced that Shakespeare, for example, wrote some puns
which scholars without a sufficient knowledge of dialect are unable
to detect as puns or to interpret with any degree of good sense.
There are puzzling passages in old diaries and letters, like Wil-
liam Byrd's and Henry Purefoy's, that can be understood only with
a knowledge of dialect. Many terms which such writers used have
not been recorded in any lexicographical work. Phonologists are
aware of the light that dialect can throw on the earlier stages of
English. The British scholar Henry C. Wyld says: "Those who
have given attention to the sound system of any English dialect
and have traced the vowels back to their Old and Middle English
ecjuivalents, know with what perfect regularity the old sounds are
represented in the modern dialect. The same vowel always changes
under the same conditions, in the same direction. Any apparent
exceptions can be accounted for either through the influence of the
literary language, through that of some neighbouring dialect, or as
506 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
the result of analogy with other forms, which have developed quite
normally."^ Seventy years ago two European linguists recognized
the value of dialect in a study of comparative grammar : "The liv-
ing popular dialects are of the greatest possible importance for the
methods of comparative grammar. "-
Another practical value of dialect is the use which writers can
make of it. It helps portray character, depict local color, present
humor and pathos. Many of our best writers from Chaucer to our
own times have made use of it.
Every alert historian, sociologist, and anthropologist is aware of
the ethnological value of two closely related folk cultures — folklore
and folk speech. Dialect often brings us breathtaking surprises
with its poetic words : accord, denture, evening glom, a fellow and
a zvench, handful of days, proffer, rain-seed, sun-ball, tarry, wanton.
and many another such word.
And finally, dialect helps us to understand those who speak it —
something of their occupations, their culture, their religion, their
history, their wit, their joys and sorrows.
The entries in this glossary include most of the materials com-
prising Groups 7, 9, and 10 in Dr. Brown's classification of folk-
lore: namely, peculiar or unusual interpretations of Scripture (7);
unusual pronunciations and meanings, peculiar salutations and re-
plies, the origin of words, animal calls, figurative expressions (over-
lapping somewhat with proverbs as edited separately by Dr. B. J.
Whiting), humorous rhymes, unusual names, dance calls (9) ; and
the origin of place-names (10). The entries represent a number
of linguistic aspects : mainly the meanings of words, some pro-
nunciations, some usages in grammar — plurals, verb forms, nega-
tives, etc. Most of the words here are dialect ; some are literary ;
some are creations in America or even North Carolina ; a few are
slang. Some of the words are very familiar but have unfamiliar
meanings. I have tried to avoid giving nonce words, words
created by individuals and used by them only, personal slips in
grammar, mere mispronunciations, and other verbal idiosyncrasies.
The reader may wonder why I have put into this list some rather
commonplace words. I have put these in, for the most part, be-
cause I have tried to show that they are historically older and liave
a better literary ancestry than most people think; I felt that the
reader would be enlightened and pleased to learn that so many
expressions now on the lips of living North Carolinians — though
sometimes held in contempt by the half -educated — have been em-
ployed over the centuries by some of the greatest writers — Alfred,
Chaucer, Shakespeare, the translators of the Bible, and others who
have handled our language with precision and beauty.
^ Transactions of the Yorkshire Dialect Society, 1904, p. 20.
^ Hermann Osthoff and Karl Brugmann, Introduction, Morphologischc
Untersuchungen, vol. i (1878).
FOLK SPEECH 507
Sumc explanatidii of my mctliod ol" trcatinj^' tliis material sliould
prove helpful. Unless 1 had some reason for not doing so, I looked
up eacli term in six lexicos^raphical works and indicated its pres-
ence or ahsence in each of these works, whether the term had the
same or different meanings in eacli of these works as in the list.
(See the Key helow.) I regret that some of my definitions are
not more full and specific. In many instances the contrihutor gave
only the most general definition or none at all : banstransUc, gowl,
hypochitis, magrnduscs, etc. Very few contributors indicated any
pronunciation. The locales of many words were not given. Sel-
dom was it pointed out what class of speakers used the terms, or
the frequency of their appearance. Through correspondence and
personal consultation with persons who could supply information,
and through my own knowledge of the speech of this state, I have
attempted to supply much of the missing information. Even so, I
have been compelled to put down some words not so well supported
by explanation as I should like them to be. But 1 have observed,
to my comfort, that some of the best English and American lexi-
cographers sin likewise in such omissions. They doubtless feel as
I do: that some information about a word is better than none. If,
however, I have sinned in some instances by omissions, I have
atoned for this — or have I sinned again ? — by giving long discus-
sions on and many quotations for some entries : cooler, lay-overs
to catch meddlers, lynch, moon-calf, oi, techy, etc. These par-
ticular terms, I thought, needed more light than some others, since
there is more misunderstanding about them or less known about
them.
When it seemed desirable to clarify the meaning of a term or
its usage at certain periods of our language, I have given quota-
tions ranging from Anglo-Saxon times to our own. Not every
quotation has the exact w^ord under which it is entered; but if not,
it has a kindred word. Nor does every quotation employ the word
in the exact sense given in the glossary; it may give the word in
a related sense. However, most quotations do illustrate the term
as used in North Carolina. In quoting I have attempted to give
the exact spelling, punctuation, etc., that I found in the original.
But for the sake of emphasis and clarity, 1 have taken the liberty of
italicizing the term illustrated.
With so much material to look up in six lexicographical sources
and with a few thousand (juotations to be copied from several
scores of books, it can hardly be expected that I should not fall
into some errors. These errors will provide an intellectual feast,
of its kind, for the Tom Folios. I hope that readers will not be
annoyed by some minor discrepancies here. Titles and tlieir accom-
panying dates are not always entered the same way. If I quote
from the Oxford Dictionary (NED), for example, I put down the
5o8 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
form of the title found there (usually abbreviated) and the date of
the work given there. When I quote independently from Shake-
speare, for example, I give a fuller title and the date accepted by
some good scholar, which may be at variance with the date of that
same title given in the Oxford. As far as possible, I have tried to
quote from uncorrupted versions — Shakespeare, the Bible, Milton,
etc. — versions having the original spelling, punctuation, and capi-
talization. But I have not always been able to secure pure versions.
Hence there will appear some discrepancies on this score.
In presenting these words as folk speech in North Carolina, 1
do not imply that they are thereby North Carolinian. True, some
of them may be of North Carolina origin. Many of them are found
elsewhere in the South and even the United States and Great
Britain, as so many of the accompanying quotations will show.
Some of the terms here have been listed and dealt with in other
publications. But very few, if any, have been so fully treated
elsewhere and accompanied by so many quotations.
Key to Abbreviations and Symbols
a. before a date = ante, "before."
A-S = Anglo-Saxon or Old English.
A. V. = Authorized Version of the Bible.
c. before a date = circa, "about."
c. after an arabic figure = "century."
central = in central part of N. C.
DAE = Dictionary of American English.
DN = Dialect Notes.
east = in eastern part of N. C.
HDD = English Dialect Dictionary.
EETS = Early English Text Society publications.
general = found generally throughout N. C.
illiterate = having no learning or almost none.
ME = Middle English.
MnE = Modern English.
NED = Nezv English Dictionary, later entitled O.vford English
Dictionary.
north = in northern part of N. C.
PADS = Publication of the American Dialect Society.
phr. = phrase,
prone. = pronunciation,
south = in southern part of N. C.
q.v. = quod vide, "which see."
T = Thornton's American Glossary.
FOLK SPEECH 509
T-D = Thornton's American Glossary in Dialect Notes.
W = Webster's New International Dictionary, 2nd ed.
west — in western part of N. C.
The following? symbols are used in connection with the six lexi-
cographical works consuhed: W, NED. EDD. DAE, T, and T-D:
+ = the lexicographical work so marked gives the same or prac-
tically the same meaning (s) which the glossary here gives.
— = the lexicographical work so marked gives different meanings
from the onefs) which the glossary gives.
± — the lexicographical work so marked gives one or more
meanings which the glossary gives but lacks one or more mean-
ings which the glossary gives.
* preceding an entry = not in any of the six lexicographical
works consulted; probably of American origin; 547 entries so
marked and with (*).
(*) preceding an entry = the numbered definition in the glossary
preceded by an asterisk not found in any of the six lexi-
cographical works consulted; meanings so marked are probably
of American origin.
§ = not listed in any of the six lexicographical works consulted,
but probably in use at some time in British (and perhaps
American) English; eleven such entries.
Key to Pronunciation
Knowing the pronunciation of a word is extremely important,
for the pronunciation of a word is a prime essential of that word;
if we had no pronunciation, we could have no words. I have,
accordingly, indicated the pronunciation of those words about which
there might be some doubt. But there is one exception: I found
some words in the Collection whose pronunciation was not given
and which I did not know and could not discover through inquiry.
I make use of the alphabet of the International Phonetic Asso-
ciation because I believe that this is the most accurate and logical
phonetic alphabet yet invented. It is also the simplest phonetic
alphabet to learn. The professor who taught it to me said that any
person with average intelligence could learn it within thirty minutes;
it took me longer.
With some alterations. I give below what I wrote for Instruc-
tions to Collectors of Dialect (in Publication of the American
Dialect Society, No. i).
The phonetic symbols are placed in brackets below and in the
text.
N.C.F., Vol. I. (.U)
510 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
ALPHABET OF THE INTERNATIONAL PHONETIC ASSOCIATION
VOWELS
IPA
Key
IPA
Symbol
Word
Transcription
i
like ca
in seat
[sit]
I
i
" sit
[sit
e
a
safe
[set]
8
e
" set
[set]
^]
a
" sat
[sast]
a]
a
" Fr. /(/
between
[^
] and [a]
[la]
uj
00
cool
kul]
u]
00
good
gud]
0]
0
" 90
[go]
Aj
It
cup
[kAp]
>]
a
" call
[kDl]
a
a
" father
['fa9c^.
3^
ir
" bird
[bs^d]
3^]
er
*' West, bu
tter
['bAt2^]
9l
a
sofa
['sofa]
er
" So. and N.E.
butter
['bAta]
DIPHTHONGS AND TRIPHTHONGS: COMBINATION VOWELS
ai] like i in ride [rmd]
au]
" OH
house
[haus]
au]
OU
houses
when first
element is
back and very
low
['hauziz]
[«uj
OU
•' house
when first
element is
front and 1
OW
[haeus]
[ei]
a
place
[pleis]
[di
oi
" oil
[ad]
[ju
" 3"'
yule
[jnl]
eu
" Europe
['jurap]
ue
" due
[dju]
[m]
ue
due
[diu]
[aua]
ou
" di. house
[hauas]
[jsi]
" a
" di. cat
[kj-.-eit]
[j^a]
a
" di. yal
[gjaeal]
!•• O L K S P K V. C U SI I
CONSONANTS
I PA
Kcv
I PA
Syiiihol
Word
Transcription
[Pl
like
t
HI
peak
h-ikl
bj
b
beak
|l.ik|
t]
t
ten
Itnil
d]
"
d
den
|(lrn|
k
"
c
eoai
|knt|
g
"
(/
■'
(J oat
l,^^<'t|
nij
like
in
"
meat
Iniitl
n]
"
n
"
neat
Inill
[y]
"0
the velar
sing
[siijl
nasal
"
sink
[Siljk]
IJ
••
/
"
leaf
[lif]
r]
"
r
rise
[raiz
f]
"
I
"
fine
[fain'
V
"
"
vine
fvain]
0
"
)h
thin
[B.n]
a
s
"
th
then
fcVn]
s
••
loose
fins]
z
••
s
lose
lluzl
J
•'
sh
"
ship
l.hpl
3
"
g
roiige^
|ru3|
il
"
V
you
[j"l
IH
•'
h
"
'hat
fhst]
[wl
"
zv
"
zi'in
[wm]
COMBINATION
CONSONANTS
[tfl
like
ch
in
chureh
ftj^^t/l
cl5l
"
j and dg
judge
[(l3A(l3|
hwj
"
wh
'*
zclien
[hwrn]
MARKS INDICATING ACCENT, LENGTH, AND QUALITY
['] ahove the line indieates primary accent; all accent marks
are placed before the sylial)le concerned: provoke
[pro'vok] .
[,] below the line indicates secondary accent: provocation
[iprava'kej^n].
f :] after a symbol indicates long (|nantity : /'(/;- [bo:].
I ■ I over a vowel rir diphthong symbol indicates nasal (|nality :
aunt lot]. [at|. pant |pcet|. hunh [h.\|.
[,] nnder a sonorant symbol indicates that it is syllabic with-
out a vowel : ['bAtn], I'tebl].
^ Cf. Asher ('jej^f. -a] and azure ['a?5T. -a].
NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
A. GLOSSARY
a, ah [a. 9]: pron. (+W, +NED. +EDD) /. NED:
"In most northern dialects a new unstressed form originated
from the diphthongal / by dropping the second element, and
retaining the first . . . eh, a; by the lengthening of this again
there has been developed a new stressed form [se, a, d] written
ah, aa, oa, which is now the ordinary form of the pronoun in
north Eng. and Sc. dialects." Cf. Hardy, Return of the Native,
1878, III. iii : " 'Miss Vye was there too?' 'Ay, 'a b'lieve she
was.' " Journal of the Lakeland Dialect Society, Nov., 1944,
16: " 'Ah hed to git them doon an' sec a bit o' shootin' theer
was an what Ah wad git if Ah brock owt.' " — General.
Illiterate.
a [a, 9] : vb. (+W. +NED, +EDD, +DAE) Contraction
of have. "I would a gone, but I had to work." NED: "Ex-
ceedingly fre(|uent in 1 3-1 7th c." Sometimes redundantly: "I
like to a not a knowed ye." Cf. Cursor Mundi, 14 c, Cotton
5284: "pat wald a don me o mi lyf." Paston Letters, Ap. 16.
1451 : ". . . and it is fond that your fader shuld a died seysyd.
and that ye shuld a entyryd ther in after your fader dysseys. ..."
Shakespeare, Hamlet, c. 1600, iv, v. 197: "God a mercy on his
soul." — North and central. Common among illiterate ; rare
among educated.
a [9] : prep. ( + W, +NED, +EDD, +DAE) On. at. in.
"He works a Monday." Cf. Shakespeare, / Henry IV, c.
1597, II, iv. 78: "No, Francis; but to-morrow, Francis; or,
Francis, a Thursday."
a, a- [a, 9] : prep. (+W, +NED, +EDD. +DAE) On. in;
used with gerund. Cf. Shakespeare, King Lear, c. 1605. v, iii,
274: "I killed the slave that was a-hanging thee." — General.
Mainly illiterate.
a [9] : sign of infin. Contraction of to or (//. f + EDD)
"I'm going a see what I can do about it." — Somewhat rare. See
quotation under frani-pole.
abide: vh. C+W, +NED, -l-EDD) To tolerate, to en-
dure; generally with a negative. "I can't abide that oldest l)oy
of hern." Cf. Shakesi:)eare, Merry Wives, c. 1597. i, i, 297:
"By my troth, I canncjt abide the smell of hot meat since."
able: adj. i+W, +NED, +EDD) Rich, possessing con-
siderable means. Cf. Shakespeare, Merchant of Venice, c.
1597. IV, i, 208: "Is he not able to discharge the money?"
!■ 0 L K S P K K C U 5 1 3
Pepys, Currcsp., 1005: "It was the child of a very ahlc citizen
in Ciracious Street." (NED)
aboon: prep, and adi'. ( + \\'. +NKD, +KDD) Above.
Ci. Burns, To William Simpson, 1785, 44: "Ramsay an' famous
I'Vryuson (iied ln)rth an' Tay a lift aboon."' — West. Rare.
accord: rb. (+\V, +EDD) 'Yo digrtt. Ci. Morte Arthure,
14 or 15 c, 343: " 'Cosyne. (|uod the concjueror, Kyndly thou
asches : 3fe my concelle accordc to concjuere 3one landez.' "
]\Iilton, Paradise Lost, 1674, 11, 503: ". . . Wasting the earth,
each other to destroy: As if (which might induce us to accord)
I\Ian had not hellish foes enow besides." Scott. U'az'crly, 11,
xix, 293, 1817: "Proceed as we accorded l)efore dinner,"
(NED)— East. Rare.
addled: adj. ( + W, +NED, +EDD) Mentally weak,
crazy. — West. Rare.
admiration, to make: phr. ( + NED) To show^ surprise.
Cf. Shakespeare, Cynibeli>u\ c. 1610, i, vi, 38: "What makes
your adjuiration': It cannot be in the eyes."
afeared: adj. ( +W, +NED, +EDD) Afraid. Cf. Mark,
c. 1000, 9, 6: "Me wies ajccred mid e3e." Chaucer, Shipman's
Tale, c. 1385, 400: "This wyf was not affered ne afTrayed."
Pepys, Diary, Sept. 6, 1666: "I became afeard to stay there
long. . . ." Hardy, Return oj the Native, 1878, i, viii : "Then
I came down here, and 1 was afeard." — General. Illiterate.
Somewhat rare.
afflicted: adj. ( + W, -NED) Idiotic— Rare.
afore: prep, -dwd adv. (+W, +NED, ±EDD) Before, in
fnjnt. Cf. AS Chronicle, yr. 894: "[He] 3egaderede . . .
micelne here onforan winter." (NED) Queen Elizabeth, trans.
Boethius, 1593, 6, 15: "Have we not wrested with follies rash-
ncs among the elder sorte afore our Platoes age . . . ?"
Shakespeare, Ki)ig Lear, c. 1605, i, v, 4: "If your diligence be
not s])eedy, I shall be there ajore you." — General. Illiterate.
aforetime: adv. (+\\', +EDD) Formerly, a long time ago.
Cf. Coverdale. Daniel, 1535, 6, 10: "Like as his maner was to
afore tyme." (NED)
*against: adj. Injurious to. "Drinking bad liquor is cer-
tainly against hini."
*ageful: adj. CJld, becoming old. — Guilford county.
agg on [aeg] : I'b. (+EDD) To incite, to egg on.
*agg'avate: prone. Aggravate.
agin: prep., adv., and con j. (+W) Against. al)out. by the
time that. C\. Chaucer. Nim's Priest's Tale, c. 1385, 4262 : "But
on a day, agayn the even-tyde. The wynd gan chaunge. . . ."
514 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
Paston Letters, May 25, 1455: ". . . preyng you to rembre my
systir Margrete ageyne the tyme that she shal be made nonne."
agribble by me: phr. Agreeable ivith me; suitable, pleas-
ing to me.
*a-heating and a-hustling and a-boiling: phr. Busy with
housework. — Edenton.
ahere: prep, and adv. ( + DAE) Here. "Look ahere."
— General. Illiterate.
ahint: prep, and adv. ( + W, +NED) Behind. Cf. Scott,
Black Dwarf, 1816, iv, 26: "I ance heard ane whistle ahint me
in the moss." (NED)
aholt: n. (+EDD) Ahold, a hold. Cf. Dargan. Call
Home the Heart, 1932, 20: "I kain't git aholt o' her." — West.
See holt.
*ahoo: adj. Awry. — Chapel Hill.
*aig [e(i)g] : prone. Egg.
*aily: adj. Not well, ailing, complaining. — West.
*airn [?ern, aean] : pron. (Any) one. "Have you got a
knife?" "No, I ain't got aim with me." See arro and ary. —
Illiterate.
*alas and ochone (ochrone) : phr. See ochone (ochrone).
§allhow: phr. How, completely how. "He told all hotv he
beat that fellow up." Cf. Layamon, Brut, c. 1205, 28250:
"And hu he wolde taken on, and al hii he wolde don."
all-outdoors, as . . . as: phr. (—DAE) Extremely, very,
"He's as mean as all-outdoors." "It's as hard as all-outdoors
to make money now." — General.
all-overs: ;;. (+W) Nervousness, uneasiness. — West.
all the: phr. (+W) Used before adjectives and adverbs,
generally the comparative, to imply a comparison or a super-
lative. "Is that all the fast you can run?" = "Is that as
fast . . . ?" "Is that all the better you can do?" = "Is that
the best . . . ?"
allow, 'low: vb. ( + W, +NED, +EDD, +DAE, +T)
To consider, to be of opinion. "I 'lozc it might rain."
alter: 7'/;. (+W, +DAE) To castrate.
ambitious: adj. ( + DAE, +T) Vicious. "That dog is
mighty ambitious."
an: prep. ( + NED) In, on. "There is ba'm an Gilliad,
To cure a sin-sick soul." — A spiritual in N. C. Cf. Shake-
speare, Winter's Tale, 161 1, iv, iii, 7: "Set my pugging tooth
an edge." (NED)
I- 0 I, K s r K 1". ill 515
an: conj. (+W, +NED, +EDD) If. "An it ain't here
when 1 git back, I'm gonna raise the devil In the Cumberland
Gap." — Old song in N. C. Cf. Shakespeare, Much Ado, c.
1599, I, i, 137: "Scratching could not make it worse an 'twere
such a face as yours were." Hardy, Return of the- iWattve,
1878, I. iii : ■' 'We'll give 'em a song, an' it please the Lord.' "
*and those: phr. Used after another substantive to mean
one or more persons. "Helen and those were there." — For-
syth county and east. For further discussion, see PADS, No.
i p. 39-
aneath: fyrcp. and adr. (+\V, +NED, +ED1)) Beneath.
angry: adj. (+W, -l-NED, -l-EDD) Of a sore or wound:
inflamed, red. Cf. Gosson, Sch. Abuse, 1579, 21 : "Curst sores
with often touching waxe angry." (NED)
anigh: adj., prep., and adv. ( + W, +EDD, +DAE ) Near.
*'ant [ 5t, Dut] : prone. Want. "I 'ant a pound of coffee." —
Illiterate. Occasional.
*antigodlin : adj. and adv. Leaning, not parallel. — West.
See PADS, No. 2, pp. 17, 53.
apassed, apast: prep, and adv. (+W, +NED, +EDD)
After, beyond. "It's a little apast meal's time."
apern: n. (+W, +NED, +EDD) Apron. Cf. Cover-
dale, Genesis, 1535, 3, 7: "They . . . sowed fygge laues to-
gether, and made them apurns." (NED)
appearant: adj. (+W) Apparent. Cf. Meric Casaubon,
trans. M. Aurelius's Meditations, 1634, viii, 127: "The first
[relation], to the appearant secundarie cause. . . ."
appearantly: adv. ( + EDD) Apparently. Cf. Lucy Fur-
man, Lonesome Road, 1927,. 192: "Well, hit hain't my world!
I never planned it — or, I gonnies, I'd feel a sight more respon-
sible for it than Him that did appearantly does."
^archives of gravity, to record (file) in: phr. i. Tn re-
sponse to a ([uery of the lulitor. Dr. J. C]. de Roulhac Hamil-
ton, of the University of N. C, writes: "The story, as I recall,
is this. Wilson Carey, a Negro member of the so-called 'carpet
bag convention' of 1868, according to the newspajier account,
expressed himself as follows: T wishes to expatiate and I
want what I say to be recorded in the archives of gravity.' It's
pretty characteristic stuff, but I have always wondered if the
story did not originate on some slim foundation in the fertile
brain of Josiah Turner." — Old j^eople. Now rare. 2. To
tal)le a motion ; to dismiss or forget an idea as worthless or
undesirable. — (juilford county. ( )1(1 pe()])le. Facetious, jocular.
Now rare.
5l6 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
*arm baby: n. A baby small enough to hold in the arms. —
Central and east.
am [am] : prone. (+^^ ) Iron. — West. See fire. PADS,
No. 2, p. 29.
arro ['aero]: adj. ( + NED) E'er a. any. Cf. Fielding,
Totn Jones, 1749, v, 13: "I don't believe there is arrozv young
gentleman in this County. . . ." — Illiterate. See aim and ary.
*arter ['a:t9, -a^] : prep, and adv. After. I have heard my
father quote a rejection letter to a wooer purported to have
been written bv the slaves of a rich white woman in southern
Va:
"I hain't not yours,
I shan't not be —
So no mo
Don't you come arfer me."
— Illiterate.
ary ['an] : odj. ( +W, +DAE. +T) E'er a. any. "Have
you got ary cow you can sell me?" Cf. Shakespeare, Winter's
Tale, c. 1610, IV, iv, 810: "Has the old man e'er a son, sir. do
you hear . . . ?" Sheridan, The Rivals, 1775, iv, iv : ". . . and
I'd foot it with e'er a Captain in the country. . . ." — Illiterate.
See aim and arro.
as: pron. ( + \V, +NED, +EDD. +DAE) Who, that.
"These folks as go around meddling with other folks' business
ought to be shot." Cf. Shakespeare, Merry Wives, c. 1599, v,
V, 57: "Those as sleep and think not on their sins." — Illiterate.
as: conj. (+W, +NED, +EDD, +DAE) That. "I
don't know as I can go today." — Illiterate.
as how: eonj. ( + W. +NED, +EDD, +DAE) That,
whether. Cf. Smollett, Huuiph[ry] Clinker, 1771, i, 274: "I
believe as liozv your man deals with the devil." (NED) —
Illiterate.
*ash potato: ;;. Irish potato. — Granville and Swain counties.
Illiterate. Rare.
(*) ashy (pale) : af//. i. (-W, +NED, +DAE) Angry,
out of sorts. Cf. Shakespeare, Venus and Adonis, 1503. 75:
"Still is he sullen, still he low'rs and frets. Twixt crimson
shame and anger, ashy pale." *2. The greyisli color of the
Negro's skin when he is sick or frightened. — Rare.
ast [ccst] : vh. ( + W, +NED) Present, past tense, and
past participle of ask. Cf. Pasfon Letters, Sept. 6, 1454:
". . . he sent for me and ast me how I fared." — General. Older
persons ; educated and uneducated.
*asted: ?'/'. Past tense and past participle of ask. — Central
and east. Rare. Illiterate.
FOLK SPEECH 517
atowards: prcl^. ( + EDD) Towards. "He went at oiuards
Jim's." — Rare.
*atter | '.xt^, o ] : /re/', and adv. Ajtcr. — General. Illit-
erate. Rare.
*atter while: l^hr. .Ijfcr a while. — Illiterate.
*auger-eyed : (/(//'. 1 laving sharp eyes. — Swain county.
*away: )i. Way. "1 don't know which 07cay would he
best." — General. Illiterate.
ay-la [ai-la, -Ise] : infcrj. ( + EDD) Exclamation of assent
(yes), surprise, grief. — West. Old persons. Rare.
aye Gad [ar c]xd] : intcrj. By Ciod. — General.
*baby-cradle: ;/. Cradle. — Mainly west.
back: vb. (+\V. +EDD, +T) To address a letter. Cf.
Barrie, Thrums, 1889, ix : "He had written a letter to David
Alexander and wanted me to 'hack' it." — Old persons. Obso-
lescent.
back and to: pJir. ( + EDD, +DAE) To and from. "He
goes hack and to Altamahaw-Ossipee every day." — Alamance
county.
*back, to break the: fhr. To be over the main or worst part.
"I think that the hack of i^'iutcr is broken now." — Guilford
county. Old people. Rare.
§backdoor: u. The anus. Cf. Piirejoy Letters, Eeb. 27,
1749: "My mother is very glad to hear George the Second
[not the King] & his mama have so good health, & wishes she
may be able to suckle him till hee has bred his teeth. & when
hee is on breeding his teeth she desires his back Door may be
kept a little open with some Syru]:) or Violets & if that dos
not do give him at a Time from a quarter of an ounce to half an
ounce of manna ... & heartily wishes George 2"^ blessings of
health & long life." — General. Rare.
backin's: ;/. ( — NED, +T-D) Eow wine or low-proof
li(|uor. — West.
back-jaw: ;;. (-l-b'DD) Back-talk, insolent reply. "D(jn't
give me no back-jaiv, big boy!" — Central and east. Mainly
Negroes.
*backstall: vb. To hold back; "to stall back." — General.
Rare.
*backwater: z'b. To retreat, to change front. — Central and
east.
*bacon-meat: n. Bacon. — West.
bad man: ;;. (—DAE) The devil. Usuallv to children to
5l8 NORTH CAROLIXA FOLKLORE
induce good behavior. "If you don't stop crying the (old)
bad ma)! will get you." — General. Obsolescent.
*bad off: plir. Very sick. — Central and east.
ballet ( ['bseht] : M. ( + W, +NED) Ballad. NED: "In
1 6th and i/th c. the termination —ad was commonly changed
into the more familiar —at {e, —ct ( [sic] cf. salad, sallet). . . ."
The Song of Solomon of the A. V. appears in the Bishop's
Bible. 1568, as "The Ballet of Ballets:' Cf. Shakespeare, Mid-
suuuner Night's Dream, c. 1595, iv, i, 225: "I will get Peter
Quince to write a ballet of this dream." Pepys, Diary, Jan. 2,
1665: "To my Lord Brouncker's ... in Covent Garden; where
I occasioned much mirth with a ballet I JDrought with me, made
from the seamen at sea to their ladies in town." Hardy, Re-
turn of the Native, 1878, i, iii :"'... we can drop down across
the Quiet Woman, and strike up a ballet in front of the married
folks' door.' " — West.
ballup ['bsebpj : n. (-W, +NED) The front or flap of
the breeches; the codpiece. Cf. Rob. Hood, c. 1600, xxiii, 58:
"Then he put on the old mans breeks, was patch'd from ballup
to side." (NED)— Chapel Hill.
ballyhack: vb. (— W, —DAE) To impose on. — Central
and west.
band, to beat the: phr. ( + DAE) To be surprising, unex-
pected.— General.
*bandadooing about: phr. A joyful journey from place to
place.
ban(d)-dog: ;;. (+W, +NED, +EDD) A fierce dog, one
that has been chained up. Cf. Promptorium Parvuloruin. c.
1440: "bonddogge, molossus." Peter Levins, Manipulus
Vocabulorum, 1570: "A Bandogge, canis catenarius." Shake-
speare, 2 Henry VI, c. 1592, i, iv, 21 : "The time when screech
owls cry and bandogs howl."
*banstrauslie: adv. Boisterously.
bantlin': n. (+W, +NED, +EDD) A child. EDD :
"The word prop, means 'a child begotten on a bench and not
in the marriage bed.'" Cf. Drayton, Eclog., 1593. vii, 102:
"Lovely Venus . , . Smiling to see her wanton Bantling game."
(NED)— West.
baseborn: ;;. and arfy. (-f-W, +NED) A bastard ; illegiti-
mate.
bassalon: //. (—NED) A ragged man. (NED: "basselan.
Some kind of fabric") — West.
battling-stick : ;/. (+EDD) A stick used to beat clothes
while washing them. See beating-stick.
K 0 L K SPEECH 519
beak: n. ( + \\) The peak of a house.— Central and cast.
beat down: rb. ( + W, -NED) To cheat.— Central and
east.
beat of, the: f^lir. (+DAE, +T) That which or who sur-
passes sonu'thino- or somebody else. 'T've never seen the beat
of him." — (ieneral.
*beating-stick: ii. A stick used to beat clothes while wash-
ing tlK'Ui. See hattlinij-stick.
bed-blanket: ii. ( +DAE) Blanket.— West.
bed-stick: ;;. ( + EDD, +DAE) A smooth stick about three
feet long used to level a feather bed when making it up. —
North.
been: vb. (+DAE) Part of have been with the auxiliary
omitted. Used even by educated persons who would never use
taken and seen in the same way. 'AVhere you been all day,
Henrv ?" — General. Common.
*begredge [bi'cjred5] : prone. Begrudge. — General. Illiterate.
*behin'est: adj. Behindest; the one behind, late; some-
times used as a noim. "He's the behin'est one in the field." —
Occasional.
being (as): eonj. ( + W, -fNED, -t-EDD) Since, be-
cause. EDD: "Being (not used by late writers), since. Ash."
Cf. Shakespeare, -' Henry IV, c. 1598, 11, i, 199: "You loiter
here too long, being you are to take soldiers up in counties as
you go." — General. Illiterate.
bell-cow: ;/. (—DAE) The lead cow of a herd, the one
that wears the bell ; figuratively a leader. — West.
belong: rb. (+EDD) To deserve, to behoove, to be
api)r()priate, should. "He belongs to come here today." Cf.
Shakespeare. So)inef, 1609, Lviii, 11 : "... to you it doth belong
Yourself to pardon of self-doing crime." Hebrezvs, 161 1, 5, 14:
"But strong meate belongefh to them that are of ful age. . . ." —
General. Illiterate. See long-.
belshnickling : n. (—DAE) Dressing in old clothes and
masks during Christmas holidays, and going from house to house.
Pranksters so engaged were usually given cake, candy, nuts,
etc. — \'alley of Va.
*berlaskin: ;/. A hurting, an annoyance.
bescrow and bescrew: phr. (-I-NED) To curse. Cf.
Chaucer, Wife oj Bath's Prologue, c. 1385. 844: "Now elles,
frere, I bishreice thy face. Quod this Somonour. and I bish-
rewe me." More, Debell, 1533, 948/2: "I durste well in the
520 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
same work (Some saye) bcshrcii.'c hym, and bcshroive hym
agayne." (NED) — Chapel Hill.
best: vb. ( + W, +NED, +EDD) To get the better of
one; to cheat one. "He bested me in that trade." — General.
better: vb. (+W, +NED) To improve, become better.
"He's betterin' every day." Cf. Shakespeare, Richard III, c.
1594, IV, iv, 122: "Bett'ring thy loss makes the bad cause
worse." Carlyle, Chartism, 1839, 11, 116: "The general con-
dition of the poor must be bettering instead of worsening."
(NED) — General. Not frequent.
better'n: contraction. (+EDD) Better than; hadn't . . .
better. "He give better'n a hundred dollars for that horse."
"We'd better go, better'n we?" — North and west. Rare.
between whiles: phr. (+W, +NED, +EDD) Between
times. Cf . J. Phillips, Toiternier's Trav., 1678. v, xviii, 242 :
'"Betzveen whiles they have Sweetmeats, Coffee, and Fruits."
(NED)
*beyeck and beyack: vbs. To trifie with one, to make a fool
of one. — Chapel Hill.
*Bible-book: ;/. Bible.— West. Illiterate.
*biddykin: ;/. A little person; a little chicken. Suffix kin
= "little." Biddy may be related to Gaelic bideach, "very
small"; thus biddykin would be a double diminutive. — Harnett
county.
'*big: vb. To make pregnant. — General.
*big-butt: ;;. An aristocrat, a "bigwig," "bigbug."
biggin: ;/. (+W, +EDD) A house, a dwelling.— Chapel
Hill.
biggity, biggedy, bigety, bigotty: adj. ( + W, H-EDD,
+ DAE) Self-important. — General.
bight [bait] : n. (+\V, -NED, -EDD, -DAE) A suc-
tion current. — Edenton.
*big-leg: ;;. Common name for "milk-leg." — Durham and
Duplin counties.
hing: vb. ( + EDD) To slap or hit.
*birtle: vb. To cut up. "Aye, birtle a bit, lad, a wee bit." —
Chapel Hill. Rare.
*biscuit-bread : n. Biscuit. — West.
bit, a: n. (-W, -NED, -EDD, -fDAE: short bit, ten
cents; long bit, fifteen cents). Fifteen cents.
*bit and grain, every: f^hr. Completely, all, just as. "He's
every bit and grain as good as you are." — General.
*blackberry storm : ;;. The cold season that sometimes
I* O L K SPEECH 521
comes wIk'U l)lackl)rrri(.'s arc in bloom. See blackberry winter
and (hxj'n'ood ^ciiitcr.
*blackberry winter : n. '^nuw -ds bhickbcrry storm. (VA)D:
"blackberry sitJitiiier, a spell of fine weather in the hlackherry
season." ) — \\'est.
*black cloud: /;. A crowd of Negroes. — Central and cast.
*black story: ;;. A decidedly bad lie. — (jencral. See story.
black-strap: ;/. ( -W, -EDD, -DAb:, -T ) \'ery strong
l)lack molasses; New Orleans or Puerto Rico molasses. —
General.
bless God: interj. ( + EDD) A mild oath.— General.
*bless out: I'b. To berate. — (General.
*blind: 7'/'. To confuse or fool; to surprise a teacher by
knowing the correct answer (used at University of N. C). —
Central and east.
blink: ;;. ( +W, +NED, +EDD) A view, a look. "I
haven't had a blink at him since he came."
blockade (liquor) : ;;. ( +DAE, +T, +T-D) Licpior made
unlawfully. — General. Obsolescent.
*blow (one's) horn: phr. To be through with a task; to
boast.
blutter: adj. (-NED, +EDD) Dirty, unclean. Cf. Rob.
Hood, c. 1550. I, iii : "That w^e two can be dung with any blutcr
base beggar/' ( NICD)
*body-waist: ;;. A child's luider-waist. — Alexander county.
boodler: ;/. ( + W, +DAE, +T-D) A grafter.
booger ['bucja, -a-]: n. (—NED, —DAE) A friendly
term applied to some object previously named. "I ran back
and climbed that booger [a flagpole]." Eor other meanings of
booger, see PADS, No. 2, pp. 28, 40; and No. 6. ]). 7.
*booger at: rb. To start at from fright (?). "The horse
kinda boogered at him." — Central and east. Rare.
booger man: /;. (— W) The devil. — General. 01)solescent
('■)■
*books: interj. .\ call ( in former days) to lessons. "Books,
books, come to booksl'' — Central and east.
*book-schoolin' : ;/. Education. — Caldwell county.
*book-write: 7/'. I'o write a book. "Mrs. Dargan is always
book-zi'riti)ig." (I had just seen Mrs. Dargan after she had
completed one of her novels; hence the luountain woman's
comment.) — Swain county.
*book- writer : n. One who writes books. "Oh, he's prob-
ablv another one of them book-writers." — West.
522 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
boomer: ;/. ( + DAE) A mountain squirrel — "light brown,
between a grey squirrel and a ground squirrel" (said a moun-
taineer) ; a mountaineer. The village Boomer, Wilkes county,
is said to derive its name from this little animal. See mountain
boomer.
born days: ;;. (+W, +EDD) One's life. "Never in all
my bor)i days have I seen such a fool." Cf. Motteux, trans.
Don Quixote, 1701, Pt. I : "... if I ever saw a finer thing in
my born Days." — General.
*borrow: z'b. To lend. — North. Rare.
*borrow trouble: phr. To assume that one is to have trou-
ble ; to look for trouble. — General.
*bother: n. The shift a fox makes to cause dogs to lose his
trail.— West.
*bound: z'b. The past participle of bind. To be strongly
impressed from the view of the speaker ; to be under necessity
of doing something. Never used except in passive. The auxil-
iary is omitted in the first person but not in the second and
third. "I bound he'll come." "He's bound to die if he can't
get that doctor." — General.
bounden: z'b. (+W, -l-NED). To be sure; to be obliged.
In the passive form. "He'll be bounden to go to see her." —
Caldwell county. Cf. Cursor M[undi], 1300, 12117: "pou es
vnder and ]?ar-in bounden." (NED)
*box: n. A stringed musical instrument, generallv a guitar.
—West.
*boys: n. The rebounding raindrops after they hit a sur-
face.— A child's word. Granville county. Obsolescent ( ?).
brag cotton (corn, tobacco, etc.) : ;;. (+W, -I- DAE, -f-T)
Prize cotton (etc.) ; that on which the owner brags. — Central
and east.
'^branch, to make a: plir. To urinate. — General.
*brand-spank-firing-new : adj. Brand new. EDD gives:
brand-span, brand-spankiu (new), span-nezv. — West.
bread: vb. (-HW, -hNED, +DAE, +T) To provide with
bread. "We get enough corn to bread us through winter."
Cf. Tourgee, Fool's Errand, 1879, xviii, 19: "They had enough
to bread themselves." (NED)
break: z'b. (+W, -f-NED) To age, to become weak as one
grows older. Cf. Swift, Cadenus and l'., 1713. in, iii, 15: "I'm
sorry Mopsa breaks so fast." (NED)
*break: I'b. Of school : to close. — Central and east.
breath: n. (H-EDD) The least idea, word, conception.
"I didn't think a breath of what he said." — Central and east.
I- () I. K S P K E C H 323
breech, britch: rh. ( +\V. +XED. +1':DD) To put l)recclies
on one. If. Thackeray. Poniciuiis, 1850, Liii : ". . . when the
hero was breeched." — \\'est.
breeches, to wear the : />//;-. ( + \V, +NED, +EDD) To
act tlu' niak', tn he the hoss ; said especially of a woman. Cf.
Tlu)nias Wilson, Klietoric, 1553, 89: "As though the good man
of the house weare no breecks or the Graye Mare were the
hetter horse." (XED) Shakespeare, 3 Hen. VI, 1593, v, v,
24: "That you might still have worne the Petticoat. And Xe'er
have stolne the Breech from Lancaster." (XED) — General.
Common.
breechless, britchless : adj. (—XED) Flenpccked. — Cald-
well county. Rare.
*bresh broom [hrejj : prone. Brush hruont. — (ieneral. Illit-
erate.
brickly: adj. (-hEDD. +DAE) Brittle.— Central and east.
bridal wreath: ;;. (NED does not define; -EDD, -DAE)
A her]) bath supposed to restore virginity. — Central and east.
*brief : adj. Poorly, not well. "Pm feeling pretty brief to-
day."— Central and east.
brigaty, briggety, briggoty: adj. ( + W, +DAE) Aggres-
sive, "forward." — \\autauga and Durham counties.
*bright: adj. Of the color of a Negro : yellow. — Central and
east.
^British soldier: ;?. The spider lily. — Central and west.
brogue: 7'/^ (-W, -DAE) To walk about— West.
broke up, (all) : adj. ( + W) Distressed over some misfor-
tune. "She's all broke up over the death of her son." —
General.
bruise (along): ib. (-W) To go around slowly with no
particular aim; to stroll. — Central and east.
*bruise around (among): -rb. To go (among), to associate
with. "He's bruising around among the women." — Ciranville
county. Obsolescent.
brute beast: n. (+XED) An animal. Cf. Robynson. Trans.
Utopia, 1551. II, 127: "For they beleue that the soules of brute
beastes be immortall and everlasting. . . ." Bk. Quintessence,
1460-70, 1 1 : "Fro fleisch of alle brute beestis." ( KKD)
*buck-eye log, to jump the: phr. To die. "Ol' Daisy [a
horse] has juni])ed the buck-eye log. First time I ever knowed
her to d(j that." — Swain county.
*buckle off: rb. To hurry off.
bugle: n. (+\\) Any kind of horn for blowing.
524 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
bulge, to get the: n. ( + W, +DAE, +T) To get the ad-
vantage of one. — Central and east.
buUet-patchin' : n. ( + DAE) A cloth placed around a
bullet to be used in a muzzle-loading rifle. — West.
bull-pen: n. (— W) A ball game played by school children
two generations ago. — Yancey county. Obsolescent.
*buinswiggle : vb. To surprise.
buncombe, bunkum: adj. ( + W, +DAE) Great, massive,
rank.
"There was a tree grew on a hill,
And what a hnncomhc tree that was."
—Old folk song in N. C.
*buncombe also : phr. An aspersive comment on a woman's
character as being no better than that of other women of low-
class. — West.
bundling: n. (-W, -NED, -EDD) Courting.— Cald-
well county.
bungle: vb. (-W, -NED, -EDD) To confuse.
bunting: adj. (— W) Having no tail. — West.
*burn up: %'b. To cheat; to make one very angry. "Boy,
he sho burnt you up in that trade." — General.
*burntmaul: ;/. A general term for a weapon. Caldwell
county.
bush-whacker: ;/. (-W, -NED, -DAE, -T) A South-
erner who fought on the Northern side during the Civil War.
*buss-head: ;/. Illicit whisky. — West.
buttercups: ;/. (—EDD) Patent leather pumps (shoes)
with straps. — West.
*butter-hearted : odj. Tender-hearted.
*buzzard lope: n. and vb. Running in an awkward, loose-
jointed manner ; to run in this fashion. — Central and east.
*buzzard talk, to make: phr. To quarrel. — Central and east,
cabbage: vb. (+W, +NED, -hEDD, +DAE) To take
possession of without right, to steal. Cf. Arbuthnot, History
of John Bull, 1712, Pt. I, x: "Your tailor, instead of shreds,
cabbages whole yards of cloth." — West.
*calabosh: n. The entire crowd. — McDowell county.
call: ;/. (+W, +NED, +EDD, +DAE) Occasion, cause,
need, excuse. "He ain't got no call to complain about his treat-
ment." Cf. DeFoe. Crusoe, 1719. 423: "What ca//, what occa-
sion, much less what necessity I was in, to go." (NED)
Dickens, D. Copperfield, 1850,'xxxii: "There's no call to be
afeer'd of me." (NED) — Swain county. Illiterate.
K 0 L K S P E E C H 52$
call over: I'b. (—NED) To mention, to speak of. "You
called over that fellow's name just a minute ago." — Caldwell
county.
*candy-cracking: ;/. A party at which candy is jjroken and
served. — West. Obsolescent.
cank: ■:■/'. (-KDD) To annoy. "That's Ijeen canking
Bill's heart for years." — Caldwell county.
*caper: ;;. A vicious animal.
*card: vb. To go home, to move on. "Well, I'd l)etter be
carding." — West.
keep (a) care: phr. (+XED, +EDD) To take care of,
to look after. Cf. Shakespeare, Tempest, 1610, 11, i, 30: "If of
life you keep a care, Shake olT slumber and beware." (NED)
— Caldwell county.
*carpet, to be on the: pJir. To be courting. "Well, I hear
he's on the carpet again, and his wife ain't been dead more'n a
year." — West.
carry: rb. (+W, +NED, +EDD, +DAE, +T-D) To
accompany or to take. Cf. 2 Kings, 161 1, 9, 2: "Look out
there jehu . . . and carry him to an inner Chamlier." (NED) —
General. See PADS, No. 2, p. 7.
carrying-on: n. (^-W^ +NED, +EDD) Foolish or im-
moral behavior. Cf. Butler, Hitd [ibras], 1663, i, ii, 556: "Is
this the end to which these carryings-on did tend?" (NED) —
General.
catawampus: adj. ( + W, -NED, -1-DAE, -T) Cross-
wise.— General. I-^requently jocular.
catawba [ka'toba] prone. (-I-DAE) Catalpa. — General.
caterwauling: n. (+W, +NED) The crying of a cat or
a similar noise. Cf. Shakespeare, Tzveljth Night, c. 1601, ii,
iii, 76: "What a catertvauling do you keep here?"
*cateslunkit : adj. Crosswise ; a carpenter's term.
(*) catface: n. i. (+W, +NED, +DAE, +T-D) A knot
or bruise in lumber. — Chapel Hill. *2. A wrinkle or pucker
in clothing ironed when too dry. — Granville county.
cat's-foot, the: intcrj. (-I-DAE) An exclamation indicat-
ing disgust or disbelief. — General. See dog's foot, the.
cattle: n. (-I-W, +NED, -t-DAE) Low, worthless people.
Cf. Gosson, Sch. Abuse, 1579, 27: "We have infinite Poets, and
Pipers, and suche peeuishe cattel among vs in Englande, that
Hue by Merrie begging." (NED) Evelyn, Diary. Jan. 24,
1682: "The Duchess of Portsmouth. Nellv, . . . concubines, and
Cattell of that sort." (NED) H. W^alpole, Hist. Doubts,
N.C.F., Vol. I. (35)
526 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
1/68, II: "To have consulted astrologers and such cattle."
(NED)
*cauglit, to get (be) : vb. To become pregnant unintention-
ally.— Granville county. Obsolescent.
*cauglit short, to get (be) : phr. To have a sudden urge to
defecate. — Granville county. Obsolescent.
cavil: rb. (+W,, +NED, +EDD) To find fault, to dis-
agree. Cf. Shakespeare, / Hen. IV, 1596, in, i, 140: "But in
the way of Bargaine ... He caiiil on the ninth part of a hayre."
(NED)
*chainy berry ['t/eni] : prone. China berry. — Central and
east. Illiterate.
chamber-lye: n. ( + NED, +EDD) Urine. Same mean-
ing in Grose. Cf. Shakespeare, / Henry IV, 1596, 11, i, 23:
". . . and your chamber-lye breeds fleas like a loach." — Gran-
ville and Guilford counties. Rare.
chance, (big, nice, great, whole) : n. ( + DAE, +T) A great
number, many. "I have a nice chance of potatoes this season."
— General. Mainly rural people.
chance: 7'/;. (+W, +NED, +EDD) To risk. "I wouldn't
chance getting there before the rain." — General. Rare.
chance on: vb. (-t-NED) To come upon by chance. "If
you cliance on any good melons, buy me one."
chap: ;/. (+W, —NED) A child of either sex. — General.
Common.
character [,kj£e'rsekt9, -a^] prone. NED: "In the i6th-i7th
c. often [accented on second syllable]." — General. Illiterate.
chawS chawed [t/o] : vb. (+W, +NED, +EDD, +DAE)
Cheiv, chciced. Cf. John Baret, Alvearie, c. 1574: "Purslane
hath a binding power ; being chazved in the mouth, it helpeth
teeth that be on ec'ge, and taken in sallets asswageth heate of
the stomach." Pepys, Diary, June 7, 1665: ". . . so that I was
forced to buy some roll-tobacco to smell and chaw. . . ."
chaw-: z'b. (+\V) To embarrass. "What that fellow
said to you last night certainly did chaw you." — Caldwell
county.
check: ;/. (+DAE) A light meal.
cheep: vb. ( +\\\ +1'J)D) To reveal confidential matter.
"Don't you (last cheep what 1 just tcjld you." — Central and east.
*cheer Itjto. ->] : prone. Chair.
chimley |'tjunh| : prone. (+W. +NED. -fEDD, +DAE)
Chimney. Cf. Unton Invent., 1596, 5: "One paire of dogges
in the Chynily." (NED) Hardy, Return of the Native, 1878,
FOLK SPEECH 527
VI. iii : " ' 'Tis a pity to make two (7!n;(/('\'-corncrs where there
need be only one.' "
*chinch-den: //. A bed infested with hedhngs.
*chipperdale: ;/. A worthless woman, a strnmpet.
chist: prone. (+\\\ +NIvD) Chest. Cf. Chaneer, Wife
of Bath's Prologue, c. 1385, 309: 'AVherfor hydestow . . . The
keyes of the chist away fro me?" (NED)
(*) chomp |tj,-)mp]: proiie. i. (+\\', +k:Dl)) champ.
*2. ( )f persons: restless, anxious to go. — West.
chouse: :•/). (+\\', +NED) To cheat. Same meaning in
Grose. Cf. Drvden. ]]'ihi (lallant, 1662, 11, i: "You shal chouse
him of Horse. "Cloaths, and Money." (NED)
*christmas: /;. Liquor — usually a supply supposedly for the
Christmas holidays. — General.
*church, the big: phr. No church at all. "He belongs to
the biif church." — Granville and Guilford counties.
church-house: u. (— W, — DAE) Church. — West.
circumstance, a: phr. ( — DAE, +T. +T-D) An unusual
or distinctive person. "Mr. Jim sho' is a circumstance." —
Granville county.
civil: adj. ( +W, +NED. -EDD, -DAE) Polite, cour-
teous, kind. Cf. Shakespeare, -' Henry IV, c. 1598, 11, iv, 328:
". . . how vilely you did speak of me . . . before this honest,
virtuous, civil gentlewoman." Goldsmith, Cit. W ., 1 760,
Lxxxvii: "They were certainly the civilist people alive."
(NED)
*clavers will get you, the: clause. This would ai)pear to be a
threat, perha])s like lay-overs to catch ineddlcrs, q.z'. NED
gives clavcr as n. and vb. : "Idle garrulous talk. . . ." "To
talk idly. . . ." EDD gives claver as n. : "A rabble or crowd.
a numerous and disorderly community."
*clay-root: n. An uprooted tree. — Central and east.
dumb, clomb: %'h. (+W, +NED) Past tense and past
particii)le of r//;;;/'. Cf. ./-.S'. CZ/ro//.. a. i 123. an. 1070 : "Hi . . .
cluuihen upp to the [sic; for /)f]hal3e rode." (Nh3D) Mil-
ton. Paradise Lost, i66y, iv, 192: "So clomb this first grand
Thief into God's fold."
*coat-tail: ;;. A woman's skirt. — Granville county. Obso-
lescent.
*cold-cock: vh. To knock one unconscious. — W^est.
collop: ». (+W, +NED, -l-EDD) Cold pork. Cf. Borde,
Dyctary, 1542, xvi, 273: "Bacon is good for carters and plow-
men . . . but and yf they haue the stone . . . coloppes and egges
528 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
is as holsome for them as a talowe candell is good for a horse
mouth." (NED) Gent. Mag., 1790, 719: "Most places in
England have eggs and callops (slices of bacon) on Shrove
Monday."
come through: vb. i. (+EDD) To recover from sick-
ness. 2. ( + DAE) To confess religion. — General.
common: flrf/. ( + NED, +DAE) Pleasant, agreeable, like-
able. Cf. Wyclif, 2 Mace. 1382, 9, 27: "For to be eomoun to
30U." (NED) Douay version, ibid., 1609: "I trust that he
wil deale modestly and gently . . . and that he wil be eoinnwn
unto you." (NED) — Old people.
*common, like: phr. As usual. "I didn't knock and go on
in like eoimiion. — Guilford county. Old people.
*common, right: phr. Friendly. — Central and east.
*compellment: ;/. Compulsion, necessity. "I didn't want to
give up that house, but eoinpellment driv me to it." — Durham
county. Illiterate.
confidence: z'b. (—DAE) To have confidence in. "I don't
confidence that fellow nohow." — West. Illiterate.
consentable: adj. (— W, —NED) Willing. — East.
contrarious: adj. { +\N , +NED, +EDD) Contrary, stub-
born, annoying. Cf. ^. Eng. Leg., c. 1290. 59/181 : "Laste }?e
pope were Contrarious a-3ein is Ordre." (NED) Chaucer,
Wife of Bath's Prologue, c. 1385, 780: "Thay ben so wicked
and contrarious, Thay haten that her housbondes loven ay."
(NED) Shakespeare, / Henry IV, c. 1595. v, i. ^2: "The
contrarious winds that held the king so long." — West. Old
people.
contrary: z'b. ( + W, -l-NED, +EDD) To annoy, to irri-
tate ; to oppose the wishes of one. "You shouldn't contrary a
sick person." Cf. Chaucer, The Squire's Tale, c. 1385, 705:
"I wol yow nat contrarien in no wyse as fer as that my wittes
wol suffyse." Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet, c. 1596, i, v,
87: "You are a saucy boy: . . . You must contrary me!"
contriving, contrivingest: adj. ( + NED) Shifty, shrewd.
— General.
*cookinghot: phr. CooA'/nir/, a gerund used adverbially. 1.
Of persons: hot from cooking. 2. Of a stove: hot enough to
cook on.
*cook pot: n. A pot used for cooking. — West.
cook room: n. ( + W, +NED, +DAE) A kitchen.— Cen-
tral and east.
coon a log: phr. (-t-NED, -hDAE, -l-T) To crawl on a
log on all fours like a coon. — West.
FOLK S P K i: C H 529
*coon muddle: n. Ihunswick stew.— Cliapcl I lill.
coon's age://. ( + W, +DAE, +T) A Ion- time.— General.
cooler: ;/. (+\V. +NED, +DAE, +T) A turtle. Cf.
P\DS No 3 p. 26: Gullah "l'kutD|, 'tortoise. W. L. Mc-
Atee, 'Nomina Abitcra, pp. 21, 22: "Loggerhead '1 urtle
(Carctta rarc/Za)— Samuel Clarke (A true and faithful account
of the four chiefest Plantations of the English in America, etc.,
1670. p. 21 ). writing of loggerhead turtles in the Bermudas says:
•Shortly after their coming to these islands, the male and
female 'couple, which thev call cooting, this they continue about
three days together, during which time they will scarce separate
though a boat come to them, nor hardly when they are snutten.
This'' may he toned down from H. Stubbe's account m the
Philosophical Transactions (Royal Society of London, 2, 1667,
p soo) which asserts that 'The Tortoises . . . coot for fourteen
daies together.' . . . [McAtee quoting from John K Strecker,
Contrib. Baylor Univ. Mus., 16, 1928, p. 20:] Among the
negroes of the Gullah district of South Carolina, a cooter is
any kind of hard-shelled turtle. The name has spread all over
the South. . . .' "
cooter around: z'&. (+W) To travel aimlessly.— West.
copper-toed shoes, brass-toed— : ». ( + DAE) Children's
shoes equipi^ed with a brass or copper piece at the toe to guard
against wearing out. — Central and east.
corn-fed: adj. (-W, +NED, +DAE) Of persons:
husky, prosperous. Probably figurative use from the fact that
animals fed on corn are lively and husky. Deloney, Jacke
Nezvb., 1598, VIII, 104: "My folkes are so come jcd we have
much adoe to please them in their diet." (NED)
*corn John: //. A hoecake.
*corn-rows: //. The divisions in the hair when combed and
plaited close to the skin.— Duplin county. Negroes.
*corn-wagons: //. The rattle of thunder.— Central and east.
corpse bird: //. (+EDD: "the tawny owl, Syniinm aluco")
Perhaps the owl. .V. & Q., 5th ser., i. 1 14: "Thomas Edwards,
in his English and IVclsli Dictionary . . . , gives the translation
of the word 'night raven' as bran nos, i.e., night crow, 'which,
said he, 'is called the corpse bird.' ... it is regarded by the
peasants in some parts of Wales as foreboding 'luckless time'—
a death generally. Pughc, in his IVelsli Dictionary . . . , says
that the corpse bird ('Aderyn y corff' of Thomas Edwards) is
the brown owl. One rhymer wrote of that bird as follows:—
530 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
'The corpse bird with his dog's nose.'
[That is, the bird was thought to be able to smell as well as a
dog.]"
corruption: n. (+W, +NED, +EDD) Pus. Cf. John
Baret, Alvcarie, c. 1574: "Matter, or corruption coming out
of a wound or sore, pus." Shakespeare, Hamlet, c. 1600, iii,
iv, 148: "It will but skin and film the ulcerous place, Whiles
rank corruption, mining all within. Infects unseen." — General.
cotton: vh. (-NED, +EDD) To obey, to bow down to.
— Central and east.
countenance: vh. (+W) To approve of. "I couldn't
countenance such goin's-on." Cf . Shakespeare, Rape of Lucrece,
1594, 343: "As if the heavens should countenance his sin."
Exodus, 161 1, 23, 3: "Neither shalt thou countenance a poor
man in his cause."
country: adj. (+DAE) Of meat, butter, eggs, etc.: pro-
duced on the farm. — General.
*'couterments ['kuta^mmts] : ;;. Various little articles. Per-
haps from accoutrements, q.v., PADS, No. 2, p. 38. — Avery
county.
*cove-cull: n. A mountaineer. — Caldwell county.
*cove-juice: ;/. Whisky. — Caldwell county.
cow-beast: /;. (+EDD) A cow, any member of the bovine
family. — West.
cow-brute: n. (±DAE) Same as cow-beast. — West.
cow-critter: n. (±DAE) Same as cow-beast and cow-
brute. — West.
cowcumber ['kaukAmba, -sr] : prone. ( + W, +NED, +EDD,
+ DAE) Cucumber. The common pronunciation of the seven-
teenth and eighteenth centuries. EDD : "It is not pronounced
['kiukAmba, -a^] in any of the dialects." Cf. R. Scot, Discv.
Witches, 1594 XIII, 246: "The cowcumber loveth water."
(NED) See PADS, No. 2, p. 41.
*cowi ['kA:wi], cowin ['kAwinJ: intcrj. A call to cows.
Lowth records the old plural cowen for kiiie, in his Short Intro-
duction, iy62, pp. 23-24, note 2.
*cow-stonip [stamp] : n. A cool, shaded place where cows
seek refuge during the heat of the day and "stomp" when at-
tacked by flies.— West.
*cowy: adj. Of milk: Coivy milk has an un]:)leasant taste
somewhat like "oniony" or "weedy" milk, Init the "cowy" taste
is supposed to result from tlie cow's being in heat. — Granville
county. Old people. Rare.
FOLK SPEECH 531
crack, creek, of day: /^Itr. (+W. +XED, +K1)D, +DAE)
The break of day. "He got up by the crack of day." C"f.
Dutch: ". . . bet kricckcn ofte aenbreken Van den dagh.''
(EDD) Turbev., Ecjlogs, 1567, in, 251 : "He wak'd at creek
of day." (KED) — General. Old people.
*crack: I'b. To leave slightly open — fo crack a door. Guil-
ford county. Old people.
*creasy, creesy (sallet) ['krisij : ». The cress. — General.
creation, all over: f'hr. ( + DAb') ICveryvvhere. — Central
and cast.
creeper:;/. (+W. +NED. +DAE) A frying pan.
crope: rb. (+\V, +NED, +EDD) Past tense and past
participle of creep. Cropen, crope were common in the thir-
teenth century ; crope was the common form in the sixteenth
century. (NED) Cf. Lay., c. 1275, 18472: "Somme hii crope
to ]?an wode." (NED) Coverdale, / Sam., 1535. 13, 6:
"They crope into caues and Dennes." (NED)
crouse around: vh. (—EDD) To walk stealthily.
*crying: adj. Least, any. Generally modifies thing. "I
haven't a crying thing to wear." "I don't know a crying
thing." — Granville county.
culch: n. ( + NED,' -j-EDD, +DAE) Clean rul)bish—
paper, strings, cloth, etc.
*cull list, to be on the: phr. To be no longer on the mar-
riage list. — West.
cumfluttered : adj. ( + \\') Excited. — Caldwell county.
*cush (molly) : n. (-W. +DAE, -T-D) Corn bread
(generally stale ) cruinl)led and fried or stewed in water and
grease, sometimes flavored with onions. — General. See mush.
*cush hominy : ;/. Corn meal hominy. Same as cush (?). —
Central and east.
cutout: rb. ( -+-\\', —NED, —DAE) To win someone
else's sweetheart. — General.
cut the dust: phr. (T: cui dirt) To go fast.
*cutting room: n. Room where feed is cut for cattle. — Cald-
well county.
cyar [kjci:, -r | : prone. Car. John W'dlkev, Pronouncing
Dictionary, 1791, sec. 92: "When the a is preceded by the gut-
turals, hard g or c, it is, in polite pronunciation, softened by
the intervention of a sound like e, so that card, cart, guard,
regard, are pronounced like kc-ard, ghe-ard, ke-art, re-ghe-ard."
dab: ;;. (+^^^ —EDD) A small amount. — General.
532 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
Maddy: vb. To beget a child. "He's daddicd more children
than he can feed."- — West.
dandy: adv. ( + EDD) Very. "She is feeling dandy fine
today, thank you." — Central and east.
M'ant [dont, d5(t)] : contraction. Don't zvant. "I d'ant a
thing to eat." — Granville county.
diSittQT'.vh. ( + EDD) To confuse, embarrass. — West.
dauncy ['donsi] : adj. i. ( + \V, -NED, +DAE) Sick,
sickly.— Central and east. 2. (-W, -NED, -DAE) Bad
tempered. — Central and east. 3. (— W, +NED, —DAE)
Mentally unstable. 4. (-W, +NED, -DAE) Particular.—
West.
*day, to have a bad: phr. To give birth to an illegitimate
child.— West.
day, to pass the: phr. ( + EDD) i. To spend the day visit-
ing one. — Granville county. 2. To have no other words with
one except those of salutation or response. — Granville county.
*day and time, in this: phr. Now, at this time. — Caldwell
county.
*daylight, to see daylight through (one): phr. i. Said of
a very thin person. — Central and east. 2. Said of a woman not
wearing enough petticoats to keep the light from showing
her legs. — Duplin county.
dead of night, the: phr. (+W, +EDD) The middle of
night. Cf. Shakespeare, Rape of Lucrcce, 1594, 162: "Now
stole upon the time the dead of flight, When heavy sleep has
closed up mortal eyes." — Central and west.
*dead on (one's) feet: phr. Tired, worn out, with, perhaps,
the additional idea that one must continue to keep going. —
General. Old people.
*dead to the world: phr. Unconscious — asleep, drunk, in a
faint, etc. — Central and east.
denture: n. ( + NED, +EDD) An indentation, a slight
depression. "My foot made a denture in the moss." Cf. Act
I Jas. II, 1685, c. 22 {Parish St. James's IVestm.) : "Crossing
from the south-west corner of the wall of the said house in the
said Portugal Street to the middle dentcr thereof . . . Proceed-
ing from the said middle dcnter westwards. . . ." (NED)
depreciate: vb. (-W, -NED, -DAE) Negative of
appreciate — not to appreciate.
*dern [ds^n] : pron. Theirn. — Granville county. Illiterate.
*desk together (with) : vb. To sit at the same desk with an-
other.— Central and east. Obsolescent.
FOLK SPEECH 533
devise: rh. (+W, -f NED) To tell, to narrate. Cf. Cax-
ton, Myrr., 1481, i, v, 16: "We shal dcitisc to vow heraftcr the
fourme of the world." (NED)
*dib: ;;. .\ little chicken. — Piedmont.
*dicky breakfast: n. A breakfast fashionably late. — Central
and cast.
*diddy: ;;. A little chicken.
*dingle-berry: ;;. A testicle. — Orange county.
dingus, dinkus: ;;. (+W, +DAE) A thing. — Swain county.
*dip: ;;. A cliickcn.
disbehave: :•/'. (+EDD) To misbehave. — Central.
*discerning of day: plir. Daybreak; the first appearance of
day. — West.
dismals:;/. ( + NED, +EDD) The melancholies, low spirits.
Cf. C. Lamb, Final Mem., 1834. v, To Mrs. Haslitt: "When
we are in the dismals there is no hope from any quarter what-
ever." (NED)
*div [div] z'b. The past tense and past participle of divc.^
General. Illiterate.
*do how (what) : phr. Used in asking one to repeat what
he said = "What did you say?" — Central and east.
do (one) out of : phr. ( -W. +NED, -EDD) To cheat.—
Central and east.
§do (one) right: plir. To treat one fair. Cf. Meric Casau-
bon. trans. .Marcus Aurelius's Meditations, 1634, Note 40: "I
am glad I have had occasion here in this subject to do Plato
some right. '^
*doctor-medicine: ;/. Medicine i)rescribed or given by a
doctor. — -West.
*doctor-woman : n. A midwife, a herb woman "doctor." —
West.
*dog finger: ;;. The index finger. — West.
*dog's foot, the: inter j. A mild exclamation. — General.
*dog-stud: ;;. A childless husl)and. — Chapel Hill.
dog-tired: adj. (-I-NED) Very tired. Equivalent to
Shakespeare's dog-weary, Taming of the Shrczv, c. 1596, iv, ii,
60: "O master, master, I have watched so long That I am dog-
zveary." Mar. Edgeworth. Ennui, 1809-12, vi, 47: "Wretched
little dog-tired creatures." (NED)
dogwood winter: n. ( + T-D) The cold period that some-
times comes when dogwoods bloom. Cf. T-D : "A man from
N. C, who was visiting Philadelphia, in the course of the con-
534 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
versation used the expression dogzi'ood ivinter. . . . He ex-
plained it : 'There is always a cold spell of it in May, when the
dogwood tree is in bloom. For several days there is cold,
disagreeable, cloudy weather, and often a touch of frost. . . .' " —
West. See blackberry storm and blackberry zvinter.
do-less: ;/. and adj. (±\V, +NED, +EDD, -1-DAE) A
person who does little ; a lazy, worn-out person. — Guilford
county, west.
*do-lolly: n. A generalized term applied to some object not
named, perhaps because the name is not known or cannot be
recalled, or because the speaker holds the object in contempt. —
Central and east.
Money (gal) ['doni gjaeal] : n. A female sweetheart. — West.
*don't [do] prone. Don't. — General. Illiterate.
*dot : adj. Crazy.
doty: adj. ( ±W,, ±NED, ±EDD, ±DAE) Of wood :
rotten; of people (figuratively and disparagingly): simple,
crazy. — Central and east. Rare in latter sense.
dough: vb. (— W, —NED) To feed dough to chickens.
"Jane, go out and dough the biddies while I get supper." —
Harnett county.
dour: adj. (-W, -EDD) Dark.— W^est.
*dourie, doury: adj. Uneasy, worried. — West.
down: adv. (+EDD) Very, exceedingly. "He's a dozvn
good hoehand." — Central and east.
*down-go: n. Economic descent; in a worse condition —
age, health. "That family is surely on the dozvn-go." — West,
*dramster: ;;. One who drinks — takes a dram. — General.
drift: ;;. (-I-EDD) A great number. Cf. Shakespeare,
King John, c. 1596. ir, i, 412: "Our thunder from the south
Shall rain their drift of bullets on this town." — Central and
east.
droll: adj. (-EDD) Lifeless, not well. "I feel kinda
droll today." — Granville county. Old people.
drooped up: adj. (NED; without up; EDD: draupit)
Sick. "The old hen is all drooped up." — Central and east.
*droozly-make : n. Jerusalem oak — a kintl of plant used to
make medicinal syrup. — West.
drop: rb. ( +W, +NED, -l-EDD, ±DAE) To give birth
to a child or an animal. Cf. Pepys, Diary, June 22, 1662: "A
Portugal lady . . . that hath dropped a child already since the
Queen's coming." (NED)
'drought |drM| : prone. Drought. — West. Rare.
FOLK SPEECH S35
*drug-Out: adj. lired out. "I'lu alius so driKj-oitt when
dinner is over. I can't hardly git out of niy cheer."— Caldwell
county.
drumly: adj. ( +\V. +NKU, +EDD) Muddy.— West.
drunk': adj. (-W, -NED) Of a cake or lightbread:
heavy, not risen. — General. Rare.
*drunkard: ii. A small yellowish lly that sucks fermenting
juices. — Central and east.
duckatoon: ii. (W and NED: a silver coin = 5 or 6 shil-
lintis ) Something of little value. — West.
Mulcimore ['dAlsi,mor] : ;/. Dulcimer.— West.
*duly: adz'. Sincerely, honorably. "He courted that gal
duly." — Caldwell county.
Mumb-devil: n. "A bucket with a stretched sheep-skin
rosin string." — Central and east.
Mumifutchet ['dAmi,fAtJit] : n. A gadget; a term used
humorouslv or because the speaker is unable to think of the
name of some object. — West.
dunty, dunt: adj. ( + NED, +EDD) Stupid. Cf. Grose,
1790: "A dunt sheep; one that mopes about from a disorder in
his head."
dust: u. ( + NED, -l-EDD) A small amount of meal or
flour. "I'd like to borrow a dust of flour till I can go to the
mill." — General.
ea [e(i)] : prone. The following words spelled with ca are
pronounced here and there in the state as indicated. The per-
sons using this pronunciation are generally the older ones, but
their culture and education may vary : bead, bleat, dead, head,
measure, pleasure, real, treasure. There is. of course, good
background for such pronunciation, as anyone may readily
prove who turns to the rhymes of Pope and other eighteenth-
century poets.
ear: See er.
-ed: vb. ending. (Individual w^ords not checked in the six
dictionaries.) Past tense and past participle of many strong
or irregular verbs appear in N. C. folk speech as regular weak
verbs. Some illustrative examples from earlier English —
mainly standard usage of the time — are given.
blowed: Cf. Shakespeare, Henry V, c. 1599. in. ii. 98: "I
would have bloi^'ed up the town. . . ."
catched: Cf. Milton. Paradise Lost, 1667, x. 542: "And
the dire hiss renewed, and dire form Catched by contagion."
536 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
costed: Cf. Wyclif. Office of Curates, after 1383, ch. 25,
8: ". . . litel costid }?er aboute."
growed: Cf. Chaucer, Prologue to IVife of Bath's Tale,
c. i^^S' 759- "That in his gardyn grozved swich a tree."
hurted: Cf. Caxton, Sons of Aymon, c. 1489, iii, 78:
"It is the man among all oure enmyes that . . . more hath
hurted vs." (NED)
knowed: Cf. Hardy, Return of the Native, 1878, i, vi:
" 'Folk would say — folk that knozved what a true stone
was — . . . .' "
seed: Cf. Hardy, Return of the Native, 1878, v, ii :
" 'Yes, sir; at your house was where I seed her first.' "
*edzact: vb. To reason out. "I'd better edzact that out
for myself." — West.
*e'er one [ea] : pron. Either one. "Which horse do you
want?" ''E'er one will do." — Granville county. Rare now.
Egyptian; ;/. ( + W^ +NED, +EDD) A Gypsy. Cf.
Fitzherb., Just. Peas, 1514, 98, b: "It is ordayned agaynste
people callynge themselues Egypcians, that no such persons be
suffered to come within this realme." (NED) Shakespeare,
Othello, c. 1604, III, iv, 56: "That handkerchief did an Egypti-an
to my mother give." Fielding, Tom Jones, 1749, xii : "A com-
pany of Egyptians, or as they are vulgarly called gipsies."
(EDD) — Central and east.
elenient(s): n. ( + NED, +EDD) The sky, the weather.
Cf. Digby Myst., c. 1485, 11, 371 : "A mervelous ly3t from
thelement dyd glyde." (NED) Shakespeare, 2 Henry IV, c.
1598, IV, iii, 58: ". . . and I in the clear sky of fame o'ershine
you as much as the full moon doth the cinders of the
element. . . ."
ell and yard: phr. (+W, +NED: king's ell) The three
stars in the belt of Orion. — Central and east.
ellum ['ebmj : ;/. ( + NED, +DAE) Elm. One of many
examples of svarabhakti. — General. Illiterate.
enamoured: vb. Used as a past participle in the literary
sense. "That boy is sho enamoured of that girl." — Buncombe
county.
enduring, (whole): adj. (DAE: as prep.) Entire, whole.
"He loafed the zchole enduring time he was supposed to work."
— Granville county.
*entitlements: ;/. Just rights. "I have some entitlements
to that land myself." — West.
er, ear [a:, ar] : prone. Many words having the spelling
er and ear, coming from Middle English er, are i)ronounced by
K O r, K SPEECH 537
old people of little or no education as indicated here. This
type of pronunciation is more prevalent in the central and east
than in the west. II. C. Wyld says of this pronunciation in
early Modern English: ". . . we may say that the -ar- pro-
nunciations appear to have heen almost universal for at least
two and one half centuries |i6th, 17th. and first half of i8th
cent.], among the political speakers. . . . During the sixteenth
century these South-lCastcrn forms hecame fashionahle, and
were much used hy (Jueen Elizabeth herself. ... As a matter
of fact, the -ar- forms are more fre(|uent in the Oueen's later
letters and in her translations than in those written in her girl-
hood.'' {History of Modern Colloquial English, pp. 215, 216)
Here are some words having this pronunciation : certain, con-
cern, desen'e, mercy, sermon, serpent, servant, vermin, verse;
bear, early, earn, earnest, earth, learn, pear, search, sz^'car, tear
( to rend ) , wear, year.
-er: suffix. The comparative and the superlative degrees of
the adjective and the adverb are generally formed by adding
the suffixes -er and -est rather than by using the adverbs more
and most, regardless of the length of the word. This principle
is in conformity with early English.
-es: pi. Some words which form their plural in current
standard luiglish by adding -.y form their plural among the
uneducated by adding -es: deskes or destes, ghost es, listes,
ncstcs, postes, vestes, xvaistes. See gystis in quotation from
Paston Letters under oi, and cosfes, ibid., under passel.
*'e's [es] contraction. Let's. " 'It's go to fo'H'n today." —
General. Young people mainly.
-est: suffix. See -er, suffix. Cf. Spenser, Epithahunion. 1595,
106: "Heli^e adorne my beautifullest bride." Shakespeare,
Much Ado, c. 159S, II, i, 392: "And Benedick is not the
unhopefullesf husband I know." R. L'Estrange, Erasm. Colloq.,
1699, 92: "This is the talkingest Place that ever I set mv foot
in." (NED)
*even to boot: pJir. To make a trade without boot being
given on either side. "Let's trade even to boot." — West.
evening: n. (+\V. +EDD) Afternoon. Cf. Shakespeare,
Much Ado, c. 1598. Ill, ii, 84: "Good den, brocker." Kit-
tredge says, Si.x'teen Plays of Shakespeare: "Good den: good
e'en — i.e., good even ; good afternoon. The regular salutation
after midday." EDD : "The day is divided into morning, mid-
dle of the day, and evening. Night begins at six o'clock." —
Rural sections mainly.
'evening glom [glani] : n. The melancholy close of day ( ?).
—West.
53^ NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
*ever' ['evs] : adj. Every. "I've worked ci'er day this
week." — Granville county. Illiterate.
*ever* bit and grain : phr. All there is of a thing. "I'll bet
he's spent ever' hit and grain of his poor wife's savings." — West.
everly: adv. (+W, +NED, +EDD) Always, continually.
Cf. Barbour, Bruce, 1375, 11, 58: "He . . . Duelt in hys
chambyr with him evirly." (NED)
*evern ['eva^n] : adv. and conj. Whenever, if. From ever
an = "if ever" (?). "Yes, and I'll put the law on you evern
you do that." — West.
*everwhat: pron. IJliafever (metathesis). — General.
*excuse: prep. Except. "I will work with anybody on this
farm e.\-eit.<;e him." — Central and east. See excusing.
excusing: prep. ( + W) Except. "Everything is clean
excusing that spot on the rug." See excuse.
extra: adj. ( + NED) Excellent, very good. Perhaps an
ellipsis for "extra good." "This cotton is extra." — Central and
east.
*eyeballs: ;/. One's favorite person; "apple of the eye."
"She [a wonian of her daughter] is mv exeballs.^'' — (niilford
county. Rare.
§failing disease : ;?. Tuberculosis. Ci. Deuteronomy, 1611,
28, 65 : "And among these nations shalt thou find ease . . . :
but the Lord shall give thee there a trembling heart, and jailing
of the eyes [Heb. killayon]."
*faintified: adj. On the point of fainting, weak. "This
hot-dry weather makes me feel sickly and faintified." — Guilford
county. Rather illiterate.
fair: (K (+W, +NED) A female sweetheart. Cf. Shake-
speare. Mid. N. D., 1590, I, i, 182: "O hapie fairel Your eyes
are loadstarres." (NED) Pope, Rape of the Lock, 1714, 11,
loi : "This day, black omens threat the brightest fair." —
West.
fair-weather friend : n. ( + W, +NED) A friend only
when tilings are going well. Cf. Pope, Letters, Oct. I, 1730:
"]\Iy jair-Zi'cather jricnds of the summer are going away for
London." (NED) — Central and east.
family way, in a (the) : phr. (— W, +NED) Pregnant.
"Louis's wife is in a family icay again." Cf. Mrs. E. Parsons,
Mysf. JVarn., 1796, i, 90: "The Countess was again in the
family zvay."
*far, farther, further, all the: phr. As far as. "This is all
the far I can go today." — Central and east.
FOLK SPEECH 539
farrer, furrer: udj. and adv. ( + NED, +EDD) Farther,
further. Cf. Barbour, Bruce, 1375, 19, 537: ". . . on the farrer
syde Toward thame slely can he ryd." — General. Ilhterate.
*farrest, furrest: adj. and adv. Farthest, furthest. Cf. Bar-
bour, Bruce, 1375, 19, 530: ". . . And cum apon the ferrest
syd."
fau't \i:>i\: prune. ( +\V, +NED, +EDD) /-(/;///. Henry
Bradley. Shakespeare's lingland, 11, 541 : "There were also
pedants [in Shakespeare's time] who took the written form of
words as a guide to pronunciation, and insisted on sounding
the letters which in unaffected speech had become silent ; and in
a few words, such as jault, they succeeded in inducing the
educated classes in general to follow their example." And thus,
what was once correct in usage has now become incorrect. Cf.
Queen Elizabeth, trans. Plutarch's De Ciiriositate, 1598, p. 132,
25: ". . . Than if adultures part be plaid as jaiit no Less."
Pope, Essay on Criticism, 171 1, i, 170: "I know there are to
whose presumptuous thoughts Those freer beauties, ev'n in
them, seem faults." (Note rhyme: thoughts, faults.) Journal
of the Lakeland Dialect Society, Dec, 1946. 28: ". . . than
thowt his hearen mun be et faut cos aw wes es still es t' grave."
— (General. Mainly illiterate.
fau'ty: prone. (+NED. +EDD) Faulty. Cf. Gawain
and the Green Knight, c. 1360, 2386: "Al fazvty is my fare." —
General. Mainly illiterate.
*favorite ['fevo,rait] prone.- — West. Illiterate.
feather into: vb. (-W, FDD: "feather, to beat") To
fight, to light into. — West.
*f eather up to : vb. To show fight. "He feathered up to
them big fellers eechin' [itching] for a fight." — West.
*feather-legged : adj. Frightened, cowardly. 'T get sorta
feather-legged when 1 get around her !" — West.
*feathers, to get (one's), up: phr. To become angry, to
make one angry.-^West.
'fellow, a and a *wench: plir. A pair of mismatched
socks (jr stockings; that is, a companion and a noncompanion.
I have heard the expression used only in reference to socks or
hose, but I susi^ect that it may apply to a mismatched ])air of
any wearing apparel. Cf. Shakespeare, lien. /', 1599. iv, viii,
42 : "Give me thy Gloue Souldier : Looke, heere is the fellow
of it." (NED) Hardy, Return of the Native, 1878, vi, ii :
" 'Have you seen one of my lost new gloves about the house,
Rachel ?' inquired Thomasin. 'It is the fellow to this one.' " —
Rockingham county.
540 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
(*) fernent, fernint [tVnint, t>-] : prep, and adv. i.
( + \V, +NED, +EDD) Opposite.— West. *2. Beneath.—
South. See fenicnth and foment.
*fernenth: prep, and adv. Opposite, beyond. "If it was
me, I would put hit right yonder ferneutli the sassafac bush." —
West. See jernent and foment.
*Ferro ['fero] : n. Fharoah. — West.
fift [fift] n. and adj. ( + NED) Fifth. From A-S fifta.
Cf. Barbour, Bruce, 1375, xvii, 594: "And thai [that] at the
sege lay, Or it wes passit the fift day. . . ." Tyndale, Revela-
tions, 1534, 9, I : "xA.nd the fyfte angell blewe, and I sawe a
stare fall. . . ." Cranmer, 1539, ibid.: "And the fyft Angel
blewe. . . ." Geneva, 1582. ibid.: "And the fyfte Angel
blew. . . ." A. v., 161 1, ibid.: "And the fift Angel
sounded. . . ." Stationer's Register entry, Aug. 4, 1600:
"[Shakespeare's] Henry the Ffift / a booke ... to be staied."
—General. All classes. See fitli, twelft, and tivelth.
'fighty-fied: adj. Inclined to fight, easily angered. — Gen-
eral. Old people.
*fillilu ['fili,lu] : n. Some jocularly mysterious thing.
Somewhat like lay-overs to catch meddlers. When an in-
quisitive child (or adult) asks what one is doing, the answer
may be: "I'm making a fillilu." — Granville county.
find^: z'b. (+W, +NED, -FEDD, +DAE) To supply a
person (usually a worker) with provisions. Cf. Barbour,
Bruce, 1375, i, 323: "Na thar wes nane that euir [him] kend
Wald do sa mekill for him, that he Mycht sufficiantly fundyn
be." Chaucer, Nun's Priest's Tale, c. 1385, 2829: "By hous-
bondrie of swich as God hire sente She foond hirself and eek
hir doghtren two." Steele, Guardian, 1713, No. 58: "The
king of Sweden finds me in clean linen." (NED)
find-': vb. ( + W) To give birth to, especially of animals.
"The old cow found a calf last night." — General.
*fire, to put a out: phr. To set a fire to a field or
the woods, generally with an incendiary intent. The standard
meaning, to extinguish a fire, is also used.- — ^West.
fire-board: n. (-W, -NED, -DAE) The mantel.—
West and north.
fire-stick: n. (-W, -NED, +EDD, -fDAE) A fire poker,
generally of wood. — Central and east.
*firing-new: adj. Brand-new. Cf. Shakespeare, Love's
Labour's Lost, c. 1593. i, 179: "A man of fire-new words."
'fishing: pres. part, or adj. Nodding, asleep. — General.
Rare.
FOLK SPEECH 54I
fith llil)|: //. and adj. ( + NED) /'/////. Cf. Bk. St. Al-
bans, i486, "The /////(' yere a grete stagge." (NED) Caxton,
Encydos, 1490, EETS, No. 57, p. 166, 1. 8: "The jythe yere
of the Regne of Kyngc IlcMiry the scueiith." — (jcncral. All
classes. See fijt.
fitten: adj. ( + \V, +NED, +EDD) Eit, suitable. "He
ain't fit ten to be a officer." Cf. H. More, Song of Soul, 1642,
IV. XXX : "Sensation The soul some fittoi hint doth promptly
lend to find out plantall life." (NED)
*fixM 7'/'. To cheat. — General.
*fix-: 7'h. To castrate or spay an animal. — General. I'^arm-
ers mainly.
*fix^: x'b. To make pregnant. — Central and east.
'fix'*: I'b. ( + DAE) To be on the point of doing something.
"I was just fixing to go to see you." — -General. All classes.
See PADS. No. 2, p. 9.
*fixy: adj. Dressy, particular about clothes or arrange-
ment of things in the house. — Caldwell county.
*flamdonia: ;;. A pancake or lunch stand.
*flatform: /;. Platform. — Central and east.
fleech: rb. (+W, +NED, +EDD) To flatter. Cf.
Douglas, Encados, 1513, 11, 72: "The false flechand Vlixes."
Burns, Duncan Cray, i/g2, 11: "Duncan flecch'd and Duncan
pray'd." (NED)
flesh, to carry: phr. (+W) To weigh more; to weigh
heavier than one is supposed to. — Central and east. Old people.
flesh, fleshen, up : rb. (NED : flesh, tr. vb. ; EDD : fleshen)
To take on weight, to become fat. — Central and east. Old
people.
flesh crawl, to make the: phr. ( + NED) To make the
flesh creep. — Central and east. Common.
fletch: n. (-f-NED) Flitch; smoked bacon.
*flibbity: adj. Limp; not crisp. "This bacon is mighty
^/7)/';7y."— East.
*flirting at the heart: phr. Fluttering at the heart.
'flitter: ». A fried meat cake of any kind.
flower-pot: n. (EDD: "flozuer-plot, a nosegay") A bou-
quet.— West.
*fluke. I'b. To withdraw; to go back on one's word.
fly-flapper: n. (+\\\ +NED, -DAE) A fan used to
drive away flies. Cf. Bi>. Lavington, Enthus. Method. Papist,
1749, I, 90: "If a Fly-flapper be held up to blow it ofT. . . ."
N.C.F.. Vol. I. (36)
542 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
(NED) Darwin, Origin Spec, 1859, 133: "The tail of a
giraffe, which serves as a fly- flapper. . . ." (NED) — North.
See fly-minder.
*fly-minder: ;/. A fly-fan. At Prestwould, near Clarks-
ville, Va., is still preserved Sir Peyton Skipwith's large
mechanical fly-minder, which was operated by a slave boy who
stood some distance from the table from which the flies were
being kept away. A picture of this device may be seen in
Thomas T. Waterman's The Mansions of Virginia, p. 196.—
Granville county. See fly- flap per.
foot, to take (one's) in (one's) hand: phr. ( + NED,
+ EDDj To depart, to set out walking. Cf. Smollett, Don
Qiiix., 1755, IV, iv, i, 232: "Andrew . . . made his bows, and
as the saying is, took his foot in his hand." (NED)
foot-adz: ;;. (EDD: does not list but defines another word,
foot-cich, as a joot-adz; +DAE) An adz. — North and west.
footback: n. and vh. ( + DAE) In jocular phrase: on
jootback ; to walk. — West.
*foot-slipper : n. A slipper, a light shoe. — West.
forgive: rb. ( + W, +NED) To release from obligation.
"He wouldn't jorgive me my rent." Cf. Cursor Mundi, 12 c,
25109: "Lord /or^/Zj^ )70u dettes ours." (NED) Shakespeare,
Merry Wives, Qi, 1. 1562 (v, v, 178) : "Nay husbands let that
go to make Ameds, Forgiue that sum, and so weele all be
friends." Matthew, 1611, 6, 12: "And forgiue [ a(f>irjfiL ] vs
our debts as we forgiue our debters."
*form (thing): ;/. The least thing; generally accompanied
by a negative. "I don't owe him a form thing." — General. Old
people.
foment, fornint: prep, and adv. (+W, +NED, +EDD)
Opposite, in front of. — West. See fernent and fernentJi.
*fotched-on: adj. Mainly of persons but sometimes of
things : not of the community or section ; educated ; used in con-
tempt. "He's one of them fotched-on school teachers, and
knows everything." — West. Illiterate.
fought ffaut] : /^rowr. ( + EDD)— South. Rare.
fraction: ;/. (+W, +NED. -hEDD) A fight, disturbance,
disagreement. Cf. Ord. Crysten Men, 1502, iv, ix. 193:
". . . on y^ whiche there maketh ony fraction." (NED) Shake-
speare, Timon, c. 1607, 11, ii, 220: "After distasteful looks and
these hard fractions."
*fram: x'h. To whip, to beat. — West.
*f ram-pole: n. A weapon; a stick or some other object with
FOLK S P E E c n S43
which to beat one. "Coin' a get me a jram-pnlc and beat you
up." — West and DupHn county.
franzied: adj. ( + NED, -EDO) Crazy.— West,
franzy: u. (+\\'. +NED, +EDD) Variant of jrcnzy;
temper, anger, despair. Cf. Hoccleve, Jcrclaus' Wife, c. 1422,
715: "Tlie^Shipman liad also the jrancsic." (NED)
'freckle's difference: phi: A small difference. "There isn't
a freckle's difference between those twins."— Central and east.
•free gratis: adj. Free: gratis.— (ieneral. Illiterate. Not
common. .See mortified to deatJi.
*free hand: n. One who is liberal, generous. Cf. Chaucer's
jrce. Shipwan's Talc, c. 1385, 1366: 'They wolde that hir
housbondes sholde be Hardy, and wyse, and riche, and ther-to
jrcc." — General. Old people.
*fresh out of: phr. Just out of. "I'm jresh out oj coffee;
I'd like to borrow a little from you."— General. Old people.
Sometimes jocular.
fretty: <z(/7. ( +W. +NED, +EDD) Fretful. Cf. Dick-
ens. Let. to Forster in Forster, Life, 1873, 11. no: "O'Con-
nell's speeches are the old thing: frctfy, boastful, frothy."
(NED)— General. Rare.
frez [frez] : vb. ( + EDD) Past tense and past participle
of jreece. — General. Old people. Rare.
*Frigga's Day: n. Friday. — Piedmont. Reported,
friz [friz]: vb. (+W. +NED. +EDD) Past tense and
pa.st participle of /rrr.c:r.— General. C^ld i>eople. Rare.
frog-sticker: u. ( + DAE) A pocket-knife; used jocularly
or contemptuously. — General.
frousty: adj. (W: jroway, jrousy; FDD: f rousted)
Slouchy. disorderly. — West.
fruit-orchard: n. ( + DAE) An orchard for fruit.— West.
furder: prone. ( + NED. +EDD) Further, farther. Cf.
Gamuicr Curton's Needle, 1575. 11, ii, 5: ". . . that same man
saith furder he neuer offended you in word nor intent." Queen
Elizabeth. Letters of Elizabeth and James 11, Oct. 18. 1591 :
". . . Robert Bowes ... is in danger of furder loss if he may
not in tyme prevent the same. . . ." Milton, Animadv.,\6^\,
187: "Ere a foot furder we must bee content. . . ." (NED) —
Illiterate.
furer: adj. and adv. ( + NED. +EDD) Further, farther.
Cf. Wyclif, Sel. IVks., c, 1380, in, 184: "Sum fcrrer and
sum nerrer." — Illiterate.
544 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
*gaggl6 ['gsegl] : z'b. Garylc. — Central and east. Illiterate.
gaily: adj. ( + NED, +EDD) Gay, frisky, well. Cf. Kelly,
Scot. Proverbs, 1721, 400: "How dee yee. . . . Bra'lv, finely,
Gcily at least." (NED)
*galax out: z'b. To earn money by gathering galax. "Well,
I've gala.vcd out a pair of shoes this week." — West.
*ganibling-stick: ;;. The gambrel.— West. See gamble,
PADS, No. 6, p. 14.
gander: vh. (— W; NED: "gandcr-uionth, the month after a
wife's confinement" ; "gander-iiiooner, a husband during this
period" ; EDD : "to be on the gander-hill, a term used of a
husband when his wife is confined.") To remain near one's
pregnant wife. — West.
*gant-lot [gsent-] : ;/. A lot in which cattle are confined
to make them gaunt (gant) so that they may travel better. —
West.
*gar [g(j)a] : vb. To open wide. "Gar your mouth open,
son, so I can see your throat." "Don't gar that door ; it's al-
ready too cold in here."' — Granville county.
gauster ['gosta] f^;. (+W, -NED, +EDD) To domineer.
gentle: rb. ( +W. +NED, +EDD) Of an animal: to make
gentle; to treat kindly. Cf. R. Lee. Va. Hist. Mag., 1735, iii.
356: "Y'r colts have not been gentled any, so Charles can't
lead them up." (NED) — General.
get away with: phr. (-W\ -EDD, -DAE, +T-D) To
embarrass. — Central and east.
*giggle-soup : ;;. Strong drink. — Chapel Hill.
gimlet-eye: ;/. ; gimlet-eyed: adj. (-W, +NED, -EDD)
Piercing, watchful eyes ; having such an eye ; an uncompli-
mentary term. Cf. Hughes, Tom Broivn at Oxj., 1861, in:
"A head . . . from which one lively little gimlet eye went
glancing about." (NED) — Granville county.
gin [gin]: vb. ( + NED, -f-EDD) Past tense (and past
participle) of give. Cf. Burns, On a Scotch Bard, 1786. 5:
"Our billies gi'en us a' a jink." (NED) J. C. Harris, Hoxv
Mr. Rabbit Saz'ed His Meat, c. 1880: "Ez de tale wer gim to
me des dat away I gin it unter you."— General. Illiterate.
*gin-rollers, to be put through: phr. To be subjected to
rough or un])k'asant treatment. — Granville count}-.
*git (get) further: 7'b. Of gossi]) or a rt-mark: to allow to
be repeated; generally with a negative. "I'll tell you some-
thing if you zvon't let it git no further." — Central and east.
giveout^: z'b. (-t-EDD) To lose hope that something
1' 0 L K S P K K C II 545
(favorable) will occur. "I can't wait for that man any longer;
I gk'c him out." — Central and east.
give out-: vb. { + \\, +NKD) To announce, to state.
"He (jirc out that he'd preach next Sunday." Cf. Cursor M.,
c. 1340, Cott. Galba 29518: "And )?at cursyng vnlawful es . . .
]?e whilk es gifcn out ouer tyte. . . ." (NED) Caxton, Reynard,
1481, Arb. 113: "And thenne by goddes grace I shal ycve out
the sentence and lugement." (NED) Steele, Spect., 1712,
No. 503 : "When the i)salm k'hs yivcn out, her voice was dis-
tinguislu'd above all the rest." (NED) — General. Old people.
give out'': vb. (+W. +NED, +EDD, +DAE as «..
+ '1') To become exhausted, to fail. "I completely give out
climbing them mountains." Cf. Fitzherb., Ilusb., 1523, 32:
"Those plowes give out to sodeinly, and therfore they be the
worse, to drawe." (NED) Swift, Grand Quest., 1729:
"Madam. I always believ'd you so stout, That for Tw^enty
denials you would not give out." (NED) — General. Old
people.
*give out^: z^b. To acknowledge, to accept as; generally in
the passive. "He's gii'en out to be the best shooter in this sec-
tion."— General. Old people.
*giv(en) up to be: plir. Acknowledged to be; accepted as.
— General. Old people.
glaiket, glaikit ['glekit] : adj. (+W, +NED, +EDD)
Lazy, careless, foolish. — Rare.
"gnat's bristle: n. Something very small or insignificant.
Cf. Bentley, Boyle Lect., 1642, iii, 86: "To discern the .s-;;;a//-
cst Hair upon the leg of a Gnat.'" (NED) — General.
go:vb. ( + W, +NED) To walk. Ci. Paston Letters, Oct.^
28, 1455: "Sir, your men haue robbed my chambre, and thai
haue myn hors, that I may not ride with you to my lord your
fadir, wherfor, I pray you, lete me ride, for I am old, and may
not -go.' It was answerid hym ageyn, that he shuld walke
forth with them on his feete." Shakespeare, Tempest, c. 161 1,
III, ii, 22: "We'll not run . . . Nor go neither." Luke, 1611,
12, 38: "Beware of the Scribes, which love to go [irepiTraTeco]
in long clothing." Sir Thomas Browne, Letter to his son Dr.
Edward Brown, Ap. 8, 1677: "I was surprized yesterday with
a payne in my loynes wch makes nu- unable to go or stand." —
East. Rare.
*go' [go] : vb. Going as part of a verb phrase. "Em go'
spank you if you don't stop crying."— Central. Many jK-rsons
who use it are unaware that they do.
*go and come, a (great) : phr. Confusion. There was a
546 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
great go a)id come over at Harry's house last night." — Central
and east.
goat: n. ( + NED) A lustful man, generally an old man.
Cf. Shakespeare's goatish. King Lear, c. 1605, i. ii. 140: "An
admirable evasion of whoremaster man, to lay his goatish dis-
position to the charge of a star." Traherne, Cli. Ethics, 1675,
VII, 90: "When a covetous man doteth on his bags of gold . . .
the drunkard on his wine, the lustful goat on his women . . .
they banish all other objects." (NED)"
*God-a-niassy [,gad-3-'ma;siJ interj. A mild oath. iM'om
God a (hare) mercy. Cf. Shakespeare, / Henry //', c. 1598,
III, iii, 58: ''God-a-mercy\ so should I be sure to be heart-
burn'd."
*Godfry, by: interj. A mild oath.
godlin(g)s: interj. (-NED, +EDD) A mild oath. Cf.
Wheeler, Dial., 1790, 17: "But ea godlins I'll match him."
(EDD)— West.
*gog: z'h. To eml)arrass. — West.
gone [gon] : prone. Survival of an older pronunciation. Cf.
Peter Levins, Manipuhis Vocahulorum, 1570, who rimes gone
with hone, drone, hone, prone, stone, etc. Spenser, Epithalaniion,
1595, 311 : "Now it is night, ye damsels may be gon. And my
love alone." Pope, Dnnciad, 1728, 11, 311: "Fast by, Hke
Niobe (her children gone) sits mother Osborne, stupefied to
stone !" H. F. Page, Lyrics and Legends of the Cape Fear
Country, 1933, 136: "Sits a ham bone, JVIos' de meat gone. . . ."
— Harnett, Robeson, and Sampson counties. See on.
gone, get: phr. ( + EDD) To disappear, get lost. "I don't
know how that knife got gone." — Granville county.
*goobies: n. Peanuts; a child's word. — General. Some-
what rare now.
Goodman: n. (-NED, +EDD, -DAE) God; Jesus
Christ. — West.
goose: z'b. ( — W) To make a person jumj:) or Hinch by
thrusting him in the side (or elsewhere ) with the finger or
the thumb, or to make a pretense of doing so. W. L. ATcAtee,
Supplement to Rural Dialect of Grant County. Indiana, in the
'Nineties, has further information on the leruL — General. See
goos(e)y.
goos(e)y: adj. (— W) Susceptible to being goosed. Mc-
Atee (see source of term just above) : "... I have noted indi-
viduals who, when goosed, jumped in the air and squealed like
a horse. Some were so responsive as to shy at a gesture made
with an uncocked thumb. . . ." — General.
!• 0 L K SPEECH 547
*go-poke: ;/. A traxeliiig bag. — West.
*gourds, to saw: plir. To snore while asleep. — (jeneral.
*gowl: ;;. A horse.
grain: ;;. (-W, +NED, +EDD) The least bit; a very
small amount; generally of the abstract. C"f. Chaucer. Troilus
and Criscydc, c. 1384, in, 1026: "And wolde a busshel venim
al excusen. For that o greyn of love on it shove !" Shakespeare,
King John, c. 1596, iv, i, 93: "O heaven! that there were but
a mote in yours, A grain, a dust, a gnat, a wandering
hair. . . ." Amos, 161 1, 9. 9: "I will sift the house of Israel
among all nations, like as corn is sifted . . . , yet shall not the
least grain [Heb. tscror] fall upon earth." Hearne, Collect.,
Ap. 9, 1706, I, 221 : "A . . . stupid Blockhead, without one
Graiji of Learning." (NED)
*granny sakes: intcrj. A mild oath. — General.
*grannys alive : intcrj. A mild oath. — General.
grass, goto: phr. (— NED, +DAE) A friendly impreca-
tion. "Oh. you go to grass. I don't believe he said it."
grass, in the : phr. (+DAE) Of a crop: overcome by
grass. — Granville county.
gravel: vb. (+W, +NED. -f-EDD. +DAE) To annoy,
to embarrass. Johnson, Dictionary, 1755: "To gravel, to
puzzle ; to stop ; to put to a stand ; to embarrass. . . . To stick
in the sand. William the Conqueror, when he invaded this
island, chanced at his arrival to be gravelled; and one of his
feet stuck so fast in the sand, that he fell to the ground. Cam-
den." Cf. Shakespeare, As You Like It, c. 1600, iv, i, 74:
"Nay, you were better s]>eak first ; and when you were grav-
ell'd for lack of matter, you might take occasion to kiss. Very
good orators, when they are out, they will spit." Sir Thomas
Urquhart, trans. Rabelais. 1653, i, 13: ". . . will not you be con-
tent to pay a puncheon of Breton wine, if I do not blank and
gravel you in this matter, and put you to a non-plus?" Burns,
Letter to George Thomson, Oct. 19, 1794: "These English
songs gra:rl me to death."
graveyard cough: ». (-I-DAE) A cough indicative of
death; a tuberculous cougli. Granville and Guilford counties
and Chapel Hill.
great big old: pitr. See little old.
*green hand, to have a: phr. To have the knack of grow-
ing fruits and vegetables; "to have a grccii thiiiiib." — Granville
and Guilford counties.
green (out): vb. (-I-NED) To outwit; to make a fool of.
Cf. Pall Mall C, Sept. 7/1, 1884: "Some of the little victims
548 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
of overpressure had, at any rate, enough spirit in them to
'green their visitors pretty freely." (NED) — West.
grey (up) : vb. ( + NED) To become grey; to become old.
Cf. Shirley, Bird in Cage, 1633, v, i, i, 4b: "Canst thou . . .
change but the complexion of one Hayre? Yet thou hast
f/rayr^/ a thousand." (NED) — General. Old people.
*grez [fjrez] : vb. Past tense and past participle of grease.
— General. Illiterate.
grit: vb. (+DAE) To grate (corn on a grittcr). — Swain
and Graham counties. See gritter.
gritted bread: n. ( + DAE) Bread made from gritted corn.
—Swain and Graham counties. See grit and grittcr.
gritter: n. (+DAE. +T-D) A perforated piece of tin
(about 8 X 24 inches) used to grate green corn on to make
gritted bread. — Swain and Graham counties.
gritty bread: ;/. ( — DAE) Variant of gritted bread. — Swain
and Graham counties.
Guinea, go to: inter j. (EDD: ''giiiny, an expletive") A
mild imprecation. Probably a euphemism for go to gehentw.
Greek , Hebrew Gc Hinnoui: a place of sacrifice, tor-
ture, fire, hell. Cf. Nashe, Unfort. Trav., 1594, v, 131 : "This
is our custome . . . When the poor fellowes hax'e gone to
Gehenna, [and] had course bread and whipping chere all their
life after." (NED) S. Smith, Major Doxvning, 1833. 151:
"I've wished the Bank to Guinea more than fiftv times."
(DAE)— General.
*gullick [VjAlik] : ;;. Gullet. — Central and east. Illiterate.
*gully-washer : n. A heavy rain. — Central and east.
gun: vb. (4- EDD) Past participle (and past tense) of
give. See gin.
gun for: vb. ( + DAE) To pursue with a gun. — West.
guttle: vb. (-W, +NED, +EDD) To swallow liquid
noisily and avidly. Cf. Gayton, Pleas. Azotes Don Quix., 1654,
11, iii, 42: "Sancho durst not gormandize, and guttle and guzzle
too." (NED)
hack: vb. (EDD: "/locfe, to jeer") To embarrass, to tease.
— General. Somewhat rare. See haivk.
*hack, to put (one) under: pJir. To liack, q.v. — Central.
Less comuKjn than hack.
*half after, ten (etc.) minutes till: phr. A term used in ex-
pressing time. "It's ten minutes till half after twelve." That is:
12 :20.— Rare.
I" (1 I, K S 1' K E C H 549
*half-brindle-to-buck: adj. ()f uncertain iic(li,<j[rcc or an-
cestry. "That l)nll is lialj-hriiicUr-t()-ht(ck:'—\\\'si.
*half-sled: ;;. A sled for hauling logs. — West.
*hani-meat: ;;. //(////. — West.
*hancher |'h;entJo, -j | : /;. //</;/(//er7T///V/.— Illiterate.
handful of days: /^hr. ( + XED) A short time. Cf. Earl
Manch., . // Mondo, 1633. 1488: "The longest liver hath hut a
handjul oj daycs." (NED)— Chapel Hill.
*handily: adz'. Rightly, justly. "You can't handily get rid
of him." See handy-.
*handle talk: phr. To gossip. — Caldwell county.
handy: adj. ( + EDD) Quick, nimhle. — Central and west.
handy^: adz: ( + EDD) I-^asily, (juickly. readily. "I'll
come as soon as I handy can." — General. Old people. Rare.
handy-: adz\ (— EDD) Rightly, justly. "Vou can't /za/u/y
blame him for not telling you the truth." — West. See handily.
*happen-so: ;/. A coincidence; a thing that merely hap-
pened without |)re-arrangement or intention. — Granville county.
*hassel, hassle ['haesl] : z'b. To pant, to he out of breath
and breathe heavily. Cf. Proinptorinin Parvuloruui, c. 1440:
"raskyn, exalo" (editor's note: "to pufT or blow"). Ilalliwell,
Dictionary of ArcJiaic and Provinci<il Words, 1847: "raskc, to
puff, or blow" ; raxil, to breathe, to nourish." H. F. Page,
Lyrics and Legends of the Cape Fear Country, 1933, 112: "Old
rooster sets a Ims'lin upon an apple limb." — Central and east.
*hat-holding: adj. Very polite, to the extent of taking one's
hat oti' and holding it while talking to another person. — Chapel
Hill.
*hath |h;e:6. haMB] ;/. Hearth. — ( iranville county.
haves: z'h. i+XlU)) Present tense third person singular
of haz'c. Cf. T'lavelok, c. 1300, 1980: "He haucs a winde in
his side." ( X ED )— Illiterate'.
*hawk: zi). To annoy; to tease; to embarrass. — General.
See hack.
*hazel-snout : ;;. A turncd-up nose. — Central. Rare.
*head of children: phr. I'hv term used in speaking of the
number of children. "Thai man has tzceli'c head of children."
— Central. Rare.
*headingest: adj. IMost unusual or striking. — West.
heave and set: phr. ( — NED) To become overexcited,
uncontrollable, and noisy. — We.st.
*heavy on (one's) feet: phr. To be unable to stand or get
550 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
about well on one's feet, because of age, sickness, ui over-
weight.— General. Old people. Rare now.
height: ;/. ( + EDD) The greater quantity. "I cut the
height of my wheat last week." — Central and east.
hen scratches: See pot hooks and hen scratches.
hern: prone. ( + \V. +XED, +EDD) Hers. The -n of
hern, hisji, ourn, theirn, and yoitrn was proljably added in Mid-
dle English times by analogy with niin (mi), thin (thi). The
-n conveniently distinguishes the pronoun from the pronominal
adjectives her, his, etc. Cf. Ayenbite, 1340, iii : "Yblessed by
]>t guode wyfman |?et of hiren l?et flour l?er to dede." (NED)
Wyclif, Selected English Works. 14 c. iii. 310: ". . . ]:>e child
was hern j^at wolde have it on lyve, and not liern that would
have it deed." Dr. Otto Jespersen quotes an old rhyme, undated,
in his Modern English Grammar, II, 403 :
"He that prigs what isn't his'n.
When he's cotched, is sent to prison.
She that prigs what isn't hern,
At the threadmill takes a turn."
— General. Illiterate.
het [bet]: rb. ( + W, -f-NED, +EDD, +DAE) Past
tense and past participle of heat. Cf. Lydgate, Minor Poems,
c. 1430, 40: "She het his bak." (NED) Marlowe and Chap-
man, Mitsccus, 1616: "Her blushing Jiet his chambers." (NED)
— General. Illiterate.
*high, as as: phr. As many as. "I've killed a.y /n'^/z
as twenty squirrels a day." — General. Old people.
(*) high-ball: ;;. i. ( + DAE) A railroad signal to move
on. — General. *2. A girl's refusal to go with a man, or to accept
a drink. — West.
*high cotton, to be (walk) in: phr. i. To be prosperous;
in good social standing. — General. 2. To be wearing a short
cotton dress. — Guilford county.
*hilt: n. Hold. "I got a hilt of that coon by the hind leg."
— Granville and Swain counties. Illiterate.
hilt: rb. ( + NED, +EDD) Past tense and past participle
of hold. — Granville and Swain counties.
hing: z'b. ( + NED, +EDD) Past tense of //cn/r/. "They
hing him some years ago." Cf. Cursor Mnndi, c. 1340, 17035:
"While he Jiyng on that tree. (NED) Capgrave, Oiron., 1460,
214: 'Anon the King . . . hing the Januensis and mad a new
Capteyn." (NED) Hing is now current in Yorkshire dialect.
Writes Edward P. Clayton, Transactions of the Yorkshire
Dialect Society, viii, xlviii, 39: "The dialect form [of hang]
FOLK S P E K C H 551
is [hnj|. n.l':. hdii, M.K. Iiaiu/c, l)iU ( ).X. Iiciujju. The M.l'-.
form of the verh lunujc would normally become Pinchinthorpe
[haij] like such words as |Uraij) Ihramj or busy, [stOraij]
strong, [laijj long, all of which have -ang in ALE. But the
dialect form is not [haij] but [hiij|, which presupposes a M.E.
Iicngc, from O.N. hcngja, with the raising of c to [i] before the
following nasal, like dialectal [drni/J drench, [linGJ length, and
[strinO] strength. These all had e in M.E." — West. Rare.
hisn: /^/-o». (+\V, +XE1), +1<:DD) His. Cf. Love.
Bomn'ent Mirr.. c. 1410, lx.xii, 119: "Boote )?at was oure
iove and no3t hxse)te." (NED) Dickens, Bleak House, 1853.
xxxvi -"Whose- .... Charley?" 'His'n, Miss.'"' (NED) See
hisself, \Asse i: prun. ( +\V, +NED, +EDD) Himself. The
forms hisself and theirself [theirsehes) have both logical and
analogical grounds for use. Self, although originally an adjec-
tive, has since the fourteenth century often been used as a noun ;
consequently his and their, possessives, are normal forms to
attach to self. Some of the current standard forms of com-
pound pronouns are made up of the possessive form, rather
than the objective, plus self: myself, ourselves, yourself, your-
selves. Cf. Cursor Mundi, c. 1340, Fairfax, 1726: "Noe . . .
wro3t his-self in )?at labour." (NED) Dickens, Nich. Nick.,
1838, xxxiv: "Gorging his-self with vittles." (NED) — Gen-
eral. Illiterate.
hit: pron. (+\V. 4-NED, -f-EDD) It. A number of
writers on the use of hit and it, among them the editors of
NED and EDD, say that //// is the emphatic form and it the
unemphatic. I have been unable to detect any such distinction
in Southern use. Our dialect si>eakers will use, without dis-
tinction, both hit and it in the same sentence. Hit continued
in writings till the end of the sixteenth century. Queen Eliza-
beth used hit more often than it. I have noted in thirty-two
of her letters fifty-nine uses of hit and twenty-two of it. Queen
Elizabeth, Letters of Eli::obeth and James VI, Let. XV : ". . . and
make hit ])laine that we delt plainly . . . that I may know what
you wcjld tliat I should do . . . that constrained you did /;//. . . ."'
I heard this sentence in (niilford county : "That bass hit //// [the
live minnow] as soon as hit struck the water." — Very common
in west ; heard even among educated. Elsewhere rare except
among those of no education or but little.
*hobby of bread : phr. A piece of bread.
*hoe crop: ». A crop cultivated onl}- with a hoe, no plow
being used. — General.
*hold: vb. To examine, to look at. "Lei me ludd your
program." — Rare.
552 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
hold up: vb. I. ( + NED, +EDD, -T-D) To continue
working.— Central and east. 2. ( + NED, +EDD, -T-D) To
keep well— Central and east. 3. (±W, -NED, ±EDD,
—T-D) Almost to cease raining, snowing, or hailing. — General.
holp [hop, holp] : rb. ( + \V, -hNED, +EDD) Past tense
and past participle of help. Cf. Shakespeare, King Lear, c. 1606,
III, vii, 62 : "Yet, poor old heart, he holp the heavens to rain."
— Illiterate.
holpen: z'b. ( + W, -hXED, +EDD) Past participle of
help. This was the normal form of the past participle in
Anglo-Saxon and was very common in Middle English. Cf.
Tyndale, Luke, 1526, i, 54: "He . . . hath holpen his servaunt
Israhel." (NED) Mrs. Browning, Aurora Leigh, 1856, 24:
"I who was Entreated thus and holpen." (NED) — West.
Illiterate. Rare.
holt: ;/. ( + W, -fNED, +EDD. +DAE) Hold. Cf.
Pol. Rel. & L. Poems, c. 1375, 241 : "Alas! helle me hath in
holt." (NED)— General. Illiterate. See aholt.
homely: adj. (±W, -hNED, +EDD) HomeHke. friendly ;
familiar ; applying oneself to matters about the house. Cf .
Wyclif, Gal., 1388, 6, 10: "To alle men; but most to hem that
ben homliche of feith." (NED) Caxton. Preface to the
Aeneid, 1485 : ". . . some gentlemen desired me to use old and
homely terms in my translations." Shakespeare, Macbeth,
1605, IV, ii, 68: "If you will take a homely mans aduice. Be not
found heere." (NED)
hongry ['hoggri] : adj. (+W, +NED. -fEDD) Hungry.
Cf. Tyndale, Luke, 1526, i, 53: "He hath filled the hongry
with goode thinges." (NED) — Illiterate.
hooks: n. (-(-DAE. -I-T) A disease of the eyes of horses,
believed to be caused by the natural "wiper" just al)ove the
eyeball. Sometimes a person will cut ofiF this wiper in the be-
lief that this oi:)eration will cure the disease. — West.
hoop and holloa, a: plv. (— EDD) A general term ex-
pressing a short distance. "He lives just a hoop and a holloa
from here." — General.
hopping mad: phr. ( + NED. -fEDD, +T) Very angry.
Cf. Cotton, Scoffer Scojt, 1675, 52: "I us'd to make him hop-
ping mad." (NED) — (Central and east.
*horny: adj. Sensual, lascivious. — General. Somewhat rare.
horse-beast: ;/. (-I-EDD) Horse.— West.
*horse-critter: ;/. Horse. — West.
horses, to hold (one's) : phr. ( + DAE) To calm down ;
cease exaggeration.— Central and cast.
FOLK s p r i: c II 553
boss |lios|: vb. ( + \\') To annoy, hlacks^uard. "\)(>n\ lioss
UK', l)i^ hoy." — (ieneral. Negroes.
hostel: ;;. (+W, +NED) A lodging i)lace.— West.
*hot-shots: ii. The first of (hstilled h(|uor tliat eonies from
the worm. — West.
'house, at (to) the: /^/;r. At (to) home. Gf. German
Nach Ifaiisc. "He is at the Iioiisc." "Let's go to the house." —
Granville county.
how soon: f^hr. (— XI^D) Soon. (|uickly. "I liope hoiv
soo)i }-oiu- mother will come back." — Iredell county.
*hull: /;. A cartridge for a rifle, gun, etc.— West.
huzzy-pocket: n. (NED: "hussy-case, a case for needles,
threads, etc.") A ])ocket which is hung on the wall to put
little things in. — Avery county.
*hyah-hyahing [hjo-'hju inj | : //. A ruckus, a disturbance.
— Gentral and east.
*hyeard [hjs'd] : prone. Heard. — General. Illiterate.
*hyearn [hjVn] : vh. Past tense and past participle of liear.
— General. Illiterate.
*hypochitis: n. A disease.
*idol: n. A duck decoy. — Central and east.
*igonnies [ai'ganiz] interj. Mild oath. Cf. Lucy Furman.
Lonesome Road, 1927. 192: "Well, hit hain't my world! I
never planned it — or / goniiies, I'd feel a sight more responsible
for it than Him that did appearantly does." — General. Old
people. Rare.
ill: adj. ( + W, +NED, +EDD) Angry, vicious. "Better
not go crost that field where that bull is ; he's powerful ///."
Cf. Barbour, Bruce, 1375, in, 103: "Of¥ thar cowyne the
thrid had tliai That wes rycht. stout, /'//, and feloune." — Mainly
west.
ill-convenient: adj. ( + NED, +EDD) Inconvenient. Cf.
Garrick. Lying J^alet, 1740, 11: "It will be ill-convenient to pay
me tomorrow." (NED) Scott, Rob Roy, 1817, xxvi : "Whilk
wad be iU-convenient to your father's aflfairs. (EDD)
infair, infare ['infsa, -a-]: n. (+W, +NED. +EDD,
+ DAE, +T, +T-D) A feast given at the groom's home after
the marriage. From A-S infccr, "entrance," from in + jaran.
"to go." "Old Tom Ray was powerful rich, but when his son
got married, all they had at the injare was corn bread and sour
buttermilk. They put this stufT on a board laid over two bar-
rels." Cf. Gen., c. 1250, 3. 24: "Da gesette God set )7am infccrc
engla hydrsedene." Barbour, Bruce, 1375, xvi. 340: "For he
554 NORTH CAROLINA F O L K L 0 R P:
thoucht for till iiiak Iiifair, And till mak giul cher till his men."
(EDD) Spalding, Trunb. Chas. I. 1670, 11. 54: "Upon the
25th of October he brought over his wife to his own house in
the Oldtown, where there was a goodly iiifarc." (XED) —
Mainly west. Old people. Rare.
ingen ['njan], ingern ['nja^nj : ;/. (+\\', +NED, +EDD:
['iijganj Onion. Cf. Compt. Bk. D. U'cddcrburnc, 1596, 71:
"Half a last of lug^conics." Scott, Leg. Montrose, 1818, 11:
"Our Spanish colonel, Whom I could have blown away like the
peeling of an ingan." (NED)
*insect: ;;. A crawling baby. — Hatteras Island. Reported.
*iron man: u. A silver dollar.
*isshy ['i/i] : ;/. A child born of a white mother and a
Negro man. 1 have heard isshy-jrcc Xcgro, referring to a slave
that had I)een issued his freedom. — Central and east.
*itch [it/|: prone. Each. — Central and east. Illiterate.
izzard: //. ( +\\', +NED. +EDD) The letter ^-. Heard
in the phrase "from a to iczard." — Central and east.
*jab [d5cebj : /;. A chimney corner. — West.
*jack-house: /;. A privy. Vrom jacjites. Cf. Burton, .-^naf-
omy of Melancholy, 1621 : "There was a goddess of idleness, a
goddess of the draught, or jakes." (EDD) Shakespeare,
King Lear, c. 1606, 11, ii. /2: "I will daub the walls of your
jakes." Shakespeare puns on jakes and Aja.v in Love's Labor's
Lost, c. 1593, V, ii. 581 : "Your lion that holds his poleaxe sit-
ting on a close-stool, will be given to Aja.v." Grose. 1785:
"Jakes, a cacatorium." See johnny-house.
jail-house: n. (-f-NED, +DAE) Jail, the building.— West.
*jam by: phr. Near by. "He went 7(7/;/ by me and didn't
see me." — West.
jant fd3cXMit| : prone. (+NED. -fEDD) Jaunt.— West.
*jay-hole: ;/. S]xice on a mountain road where a vehicle or
a team may pass another vehicle or team. — West.
*jedge fd3ed3| : prone. Judge. — General. Illiterate.
*jigger of sense, a: phr. A small amount of sense. "That
fellow hasn't got a jigger of sense." — Central.
jimber-jawed : at/y. (-W, -l-NED, +DAE. +T) Crooked-
jawed. — Central and east.
*jimmie-john: prone. Demijohn. — (ienend. Illiterate.
jim-swinger : n. (4- DAE) A long-tailed coat, a frock coat.
— General. Old people.
*jindice ['d3amdis] : prone. Jaundice. — Central and east.
Illiterate.
I- 0 L K S P E E C H 555
*jiiie off [d-vunl : vh. To go t,. bed. that is. "join ofC —
West.
•jip-jawed: adj. 1 laving jaws that do n..t meet.— W est.
jist l(hisl| : /^ro^u-. ( + l':i)l)) .//(-s/. -illiterate.
* John Brown, I'll be: iiiWrj. A mild impreeation.— (n-an-
ville cnuntv. Rare imw.
•John Henry: ;;. 1 landwritiny.— Central and east. Joeular.
johnny (jonny) cake: ;;. ( +\V. +XED. -I'DD. +l)Al£.
+ 7 +T-D ) Corn cake. From jouniev cake. B. W. Green,
Word-Book of llrcjwia folk Speech: "Made from corn meal
mixed with water or milk, seasoned with salt, and baked on a
board set on edge before the fire." Cf. Bishop Reicbel, Diary,
June 8, 1780 (in Archives of Salem College) : "Unser Nacht-
Camp war an einam schone freyen griinen Platz. wo wir die
ersten Journey Cakes mit Appetit essen."— Central and east.
*johnny-house: ;;. A privy.— General. See jack-house.
join-up: vh. ( -W ) To join a church.— Ciranville and Swain
counties.
•Joneses, to beat the: phr. To lie egregiously.
jounce: vb. (-EDD, -T, -T-D) To whip, beat.— West.
(*) journey-proud: adj. i. (+EDD) So excited over the
prospect of a journev that one cannot eat or sleep.— Surrey
countv. Old people. ' Rare. *2. Acting in a superior manner
because one has traveled.— Duplin county. Common.
jow ld5au]:7'/'. (+KDD) To talk loud and angrily.—
General.
jower, jour ['dsaua, -3^]: n. and vb. (±W, +NED,
-EDD. +DAE) Quarreling, incessant talkmg ; to quarrel
to talk constantly. Cf. Hayman, Quodlibcts, 1628, 11, 37: I
pray that the Lord that did you hither send, you may your
cursings, swearings, jourings, end." (C. F. Smith, Irons.
Am. Phil. As., xiv, 50) Boston Evening Post, Nov. 23. 1707:
"The dog snarls and joii^ers at friends as well as foes." (T)
jubus ['d3ub3s] : prone. ( + EDD) Dubious, doubtful. Cf.
Pinnock, Blk. Cv. Ann, 1895: 'T'm allays jubus o" eggs from
that shop." (EDD)— Central and east. Illiterate.
*jularker: ;;. A beau.— Avery county.
*jusem-sweet: ;;. A beau.— Avery county.
kick: 7'^. (+DAE) To jilt.— General.
*kill-pot: ;/. A water-terrapin.— Granville county.
kindly: fl</7-. (+EDD) Kind of (?). somewhat. "I feel
kindly sick this morning."— West. Generally illiterate.
556 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
*kinnery: /;. Kinfolk. From kindred ( ?). Cf. Rheims,
Mark, 1582, 6. 4 : •". . . That there is not a Prophet without
honour, but in his ovvne house, and in his ovvne kiiircd." —
West. llHterate.
*kin-see to (till) can't-see: phr. From early morning (the
time one "can see") till dark (the time one "can't see"). 'T
work from kin-see to can't see." — West. Illiterate. Rare. See
N. Y. Herald-Tribune. Book Reviezv, Dec. 15, 1946, p. 16.
kite: :•/'. ( +D.\h^) To go very fast. — Central and east.
*kittle-f ooted (kettle-) : adj. Barefooted ; in one's sock-feet.
— Harnett count}-. Rare.
*kiiee baby: n. A child just old enough to creep or walk; a
second baby. "I got a knee-baby and a arm baby [one in arms,
younger than knee ])aby]." EDD : ''Knee-bairn, a child not old
enough to walk."
*know in mind : phr. To be certain or relatively certain.
"I didn't see him take that gun, but I knoz>.' in mind he did."
— Central and east. See know in reason.
*know in reason: phr. Same as kiiozi' in mind. — Swain
county.
knowledgeable: adj. ( + W, +NED, +EDD) Possessing
knowledge ; intelligent. "She's a knozdcdgeable womern if ever
I seed one." Cf. S. Lover, Leg. Ire!., 1831, 45 : " 'A gintleman
like you, that ought to be knozcledgeable.' " (NED)
lalligag riuh.cjaHj, Id-] z'b. ( -DAE) To talk in an idle
manner. Related to Greek AuAayew ( ?). — Guilford county.
lap child: ;/. (±XED) A child small enough to sit on one's
lap ; a sjxjilt child of any size ; a child that likes to sit on one's
lap. Cf. Ftiller, Ch. Hist., 1655, 111, iii, 3: "Canterbury his
servants dandled this lap-childe with a witness." (NED)
la rose |l(i roz | : pJir. See la\-oz'ers.
"lasting water: ;;. A si)ring that never goes dry.
Match pin: ;;. A safety pin. — West and Guilford county.
*lay a fire: phr. To put wood and kindling in a hreplace or
stove ready to make a fire. — General. Rare.
lay by: z'b. ( -W, -NED, +DAE) To ])ut the last fur-
rows to a cro]) of corn, tobacco, etc. — General.
layoff: vb.^ ( + EDD. +DAE) To plan, to intend to do
something. "I've \aid off to come to see vou for a month." —
North.
lay out: z-b. (+W. +Xl':i). -DAI-:) To plan, to intend to do
something. Cf. Stanley, Hist. Philos., 1624, v, 169/1 : "Diony-
1- 0 L K SI' !•: K c II 557
sius /(//(/ out to take him. l)ul could not li.uht on him." (NED)
j. II. Xc'wman. /'(/r. Scriii. X , 1S34, 1, 150: "To he seen of
nu-n. to /(7\' (till for human i)rai,se." (XI'^I)) — Central and cast.
lay-overs to catch meddlers: f^hr. (+\V. +Xh:i). +1':DD)
An cxprcs.sion used hy elders to in(|uisitive children to stop
them irum further en(|uiry or search ahout matters they should
remain ignorant of. The expression varies greatly as to the
first word and somewhat as to the form in which the whole
phrase is expressed, whether: "lay-overs catch meddlers." ". . .
for . . . ." or ". . . are traps for. . . ." It is more common in
the South than any other part of America. It a])])ears in the
British Isles also.
Here are some of the variant forms for the first word as they
are found in different states :•'• aloes — Ga., Tenn. ; larocs, laros,
la rose, larroi'.'s (I assume that these are different spellings of
the same or nearly the same sound) — Va., N. C"., (ia.. La.;
larcovcrs. larovcrs — Va. ; larojomcdlcrs — Md., I'enn., Ohio,
Ark. ; larnis. \'a. ; layers, layers — Cia. ; layo — Ga. ; layoes —
S. G.. Ga. ; layoles — Ga. ; lay-overs — Va., N. C., S. C.. Cia.,
Fla., Miss., La., Tenn., N. J., Ind. ; lay-rozvs — S. C., Ga., Miss.,
Ala., La. ; lee oters — S. C., Ga. ; lee rozvs — S. C., Ga. ; lee roys —
Ga. ; leodables — Ga. ; leos — Ga. ; lie rose — Tenn. ; lorries — X. C. ;
make rows — Fla. ; middlers to eat eh fiddlers — Ga. ; traf^s — Ga..
In the British Isles are such variants as: lao::;e, lare-over( s),
layer-overs, layers, lay-holds, lay-houds, layors, lay-(n'cr( s).
lay-o'ers, lay-o's, lee-o'ers, loze, rareouers.
Many persons have attempted to explain the origin of some
of these terms, but no one has given a completely satisfactor\-
explanation. Here are some explanations :
B. W. Green, JVord-Book of Virginia Folk-Speech: 'lare-
over. n. From larva, a ghost, spectre, mask, skeleton ; used to
frighten children."
Mrs. Katharine C. Gregory, Greensboro Daily Neivs, Jan. 19,
1937: "[My father's] interpretation [of laroes] was of the
manner of the day, classical. . . . He told me the story of the
Lares and Penates, of which I afterwards read in my Latin
l)ooks. He said that in old Fnglish families [these Latin]
household gods were often alluded to, and no doubt the early
families in the south talked of these hou.sehold gods that,
mythically at least, they brought with them overseas. Lars . . .
was the guardian and protector of the hou.sehold, esix?ciallv i)ro-
tecting its i)eace from invasion, by 'ketching the meddlers.' "
I give the next two quotations because the two i)ersons who
attempted the explanation of the term hit u])on the same solu-
" I am indebted mainly to Professor Lowry Axliy, Savaiiiiali, (la., for
most of the information in tliis paragraph { .hiicrictiii Sprccli, u, p. 409).
X.C-.F.. Vol. 1, (,i7)
558 NORTH C A R 0 L I \ A FOLKLORE
tion, right or wrong. in{le})en(lciitly. and neitlicr person knew
the other then or later.
George P. Wilson, (ireenshoro Daily Xcws, Jan. 23. 1937:
"It is possihle that the French "la ruse,' or its English equiva-
lent 'a ruse,' a trap, a trick, a snare, may be the corrupted
expression la rose. Otosis and folk-etymology can work strange
changes with words. . . ."
A. B. Andrews, Raleigh, in the Iw-ank C. Brown Collection,
9, 198: "Some years ago I read an . . . article, which I think
appeared in the Charleston News & Courier, upon the expres-
sion Larosc to cafcli meddlers. ... It stated that the expression
arose among Huguenot settlers' children of South Carolina,
who playing with other children could communicate with each
other in French, which . . . could not be understood by their
playmates, who spoke only English. When they were asked
what they had told, or what was that, they answered in French
'La ruse pour attrapier le curieux,' which easily became cor-
rupted into 'Larose to catch meddlers.' "
Cf. Grose, Classical Dictionary of the J'lilgar Tongue, 1785:
"Lareovers for meddlers, an answer frequently given to chil-
dren, or young people, as a rebuke for their impertinent curi-
osity, in enquiring what is contained in a box. bundle, or any
other closed conveyance."
lay up: vb. (— FDD) To intend. — Central and east.
*layaway: 77). Waylay. — Central and east. One of several
examples of metathesis. Cf. backset, hoppergrass. — Central and
east. Illiterate.
lazy-bed: n. (-NED, +EDD) A patch of land in which
Irish i)otatoes are planted and covered with straw, leaves, etc.,
to make work after the crop is planted imnecessary ; hence
"/(/.cry-bed." — (Jranville comity.
*lazy-tom: ;/. A water-run hominy beater. — West.
*lazy worm: //. Laily x^'orui, in ballads sung in N. C. A
folk pronunciation resulting from otosis. — Caldwell county.
learn: vb. ( +W, -fNED, +EDD) To teach. Cf. Cover-
dale, Psalms, 1535, 25, 5: "Lede me in thy trueth and lerne
me." / Timothy. 161 1, i, 20: "( )f whom is Hymeneus and
Alexander, whom I haue deliuered vnto Satan, that thev may
learne iTnuScvwJ not to blaspheme." Coleridge, Lett., 1801,
I, 365: "They /(•(/;■;; u.s to associate a keen and deep feeling
witli all the good old phrases." (Ni'.l)) Tennyson, Merlin
and the (,'leam, 1889, 14: "Mighty the Wizard Who found me
at sum-ise Sleeping, and woke me And learn'd me Magic!"
(l>ut in line 115: "Who taught me in childhood.") — Illiterate.
*leedamoren [ 'lide.moon | : luh'. Little more than; almost.
I' O I, K S P E K C II 559
"That fall Icc'doiiiorcii killed him." — (iranville county. Negroes.
C)l).sole.>^ceiit.
leetle I'litll: prone. ( + \V. +NKD, +h:i)n) Little.
Johnson, Grammar in Diet., 1755. cj : "There is another form
of diminution among the English, by lessening the sound itself,
especially of vowels ; as there is a form of augmenting them
[sic] by enlarging or even lengthening it ; as . . . little pro-
nounced lee-tle." (XRD)
*leg, to break a: fhr. To give birth to an illegitimate child.
Same meaning in (irose. — West.
leg-bail, to take (give): phr. ( + \V, +XKD, +EDD) To
run away; to absent oneself from appearing at court or the like.
Cf. Ferguson, Poems, 1774, 234: "They tcjok leg-bail and ran
awa \\\' pith and speed." (NED) Hughes, Totn nro7C)i at
O.vf., 1861, XI. 107: "He was giving them leg-bail as hard as
he could foot it." ( NED) — Central and east.
lentil [lene, line|: n. (+W, +NED, +EDD) Length.
Cf. Cursor Muudi, 14 c, Gottingen 1642: "Has fild )?is world
on Icnth and brede." Sc. Poem Heraldry, 30, in Q. Eliz. Acad.,
c. 1500, 94: ". . . (|uhiche at linth I did write." (NED) — Gen-
eral. Not common.
lessen f'lesn] : eonj. (+NED, +EDD) Unless ; /c\s\s- ///a;;.
"I won't go lessen you go with me." Cf. Paston Letters (no
month given), 1449?: "My cosyn Cler thynkyth that it were a
foly to forsake hym lesse tlian ze knew of on owdyr as good or
better."
let up: vb. (-NED, -EDD, +DAE, -T) To cease, to
slacken ; used mainly of weather. "The rain is letting up ; we
can go now."
*liebill: n. A paper signed Ity a man acknowledging that
he has been guilty of making false statements against some per-
son. Marshall DeLancey Haywood, Law Notes, Oct., 1919,
p. 138: "In your issue for . . . July, 1919, you have an article
headed 'The Founder of the Ananias Club,' quoting an old
court record of Cumberland county. North Carolina, . . . 1822,
one William Jones had an entry made that 'T do hereby
acknowledge myself a Public Liar, and that T have told un-
necessary lies on Jesse Northington, and his family,' etc. ... a
paper of this character is still in use in some rural communities
of the South and is known as the 'Lie Bill.' "
lift: ;/. (+\V. +NED, +h:DD) The sky. Cf. Cursor
Muudi, c. 1300, 495: "Somme in ]>e er]>e somme in |?e lift." J.
Wilson, Noct. Anibr., 1826, i, 130: "The sweet calm moon in
the midnight lift." (NED)— East.
560 \ 0 R T H C A R 0 I. I N A F O L K I. 0 R E
lift, on the: f^lir. ( +\V, +XKD. -DAE) Mainly of an
animal : to be sick or injured to the point that the animal is
unable to stand and must be lifted. — General.
*lift, down on the: /^hr. Same as on the lijt. — Granville
county.
*lift: Z'b. To take food from the stove or fireplace to be
served on the table. "Janie, //// the beans while I go get some
onions." — West.
*light, to get up by:/'//;-. To get uj) before sunrise. — General.
light in: z-b. ( — IXAIC) To begin. — Central and east.
like to have: l^lir. (+NED) Almost, nearly, to come near.
Cf. Shakespeare, As Y'oit Like If, 1600, v, iv, 48: "I haue had
foure quarrels, and like to haue fought one." (NED) Swift,
GnUivcr's Travels, 1726, Pt. i. v: ". . . and had like to have
ended in my utter destruction."
*lint-dodger: ;/. (EDD: "eoftoti-uocjger, a Lancashire
cott()n-s])inner" ) A stunted, sickly cotton-mill worker. Cf.
Daniels. Tar Ifcels, 213: "She is not just a lintdodger but a
girl." ( Wentworth, .-/;;;. /^Z. /^/r/. ) I-".. II. I lartsell," "\\'(jrds-
worth's 1S35 "rdstscri])!.' " Siudics in Fhiloldf/y, xi.ii (1945),
622: "just as his | Wordsworth's | ])ortrait of the forlorn little
'liiit-doilj/cr' in The T.xnirsio)! |\'iii, 297-334] had anticipated
by a generation the revolting evidence introduced beftjre the
Factory Eaw Commission of 1833. . . ."
*liquor-head : ;/. A drunkard. — West.
"listen at: :/'. Listen to. Used in some places by educated
as well as by the uneducated. See PADS, No. 2, p. 46.
*little bit, every: phr. A short time. "He stopped to rest
every Utile hit." — (ieneral.
little-house: /;. ( + W, +NED, +EDD) A privy.— General.
*little old, li'l ol' : </(//. Little; not of much im])ortance.
Old in (/real big old and little old has no reference to age or
time. The term may express contempt or affection. "I
wouldn't liave your li'l ol' gun ; it ain't no count." "That's
a right cute /;"/ ol' baby of yourn." — General. All classes but
mainly less educated. See great big old.
^little-un: /;. A small child. Cf. George Eliot, Adam Bede,
1859: ". . . as he said, 'Come, Metty — come, little nnsV "
(Tillett and ^'arl)orough, linage and Ineident. 43)
'lively: adj. Immoral. — Central and east.
*liver-mush : n. Liver-pudding. Vxom ij^x, Leberii'urst {!).
^West. See liver-ivish.
F 0 I. K s r K K r 11 561
*liver-wish: ;;. Liver-pudding. I'vum Civv. Lrhrnciirst {?).
— West. See lii-cr-niush.
*living gods, by the: iiilcrj. A mild oath. — Swain county.
log in (one's) road (path, etc.): plir. i+NVA)) A hin-
drance, an ol)stacle. Cf. North, trans. i'liitarcJi, Annilhil, 1 595,
1 148: "Anniball . . . knew that this great ourthrow would also
be a great loggc in his ivay.'' (NED) — Caldwell county.
*loll [kilj : •c'^. Of the wind: to become less active; to lull.
— (General.
longM vb. (+\V. +NED, +KDD) To belong to. Cf.
Eug. Gilds, 1389. 11: "pe catel long\ngc to }?e companyne."
(NED) Chaucer, Sqrs. T., c. 1386,' 8: "Hym lakked noght
that longcth to a kyng." (NED) Merlin, c. 1450, 140: *'A11
the londe that longeth to the crowne." (NED)
long-: vb. ( +W, +NED, +EDD) To concern, to per-
tain to, to befit, should. "He longs to work till five o'clock."
Cf. Chaucer, Rom. Rose, a. 1366, 1222: "She durste never
seyn ne do But that thing that hir longed to." Paston Letters,
Dec. 19, 1461 : "I sent my niodyr the lettyr because of swyche
materys as longed to hyr in that same lettyr." See belong.
long sweetening: ;/. ( + \V. +DAE: also long sugar, +T)
Molasses, syrup. See short siceetening. — Obsolescent.
*longway(s), a: adi'. A great deal, very much. "I'd a
longiK-ays rather work than be hungry." — Central and east.
*'loo [luj : ;;. Hullabaloo. — Central and east.
*look, to be on the: f^hr. To be courting. "I hear Henry's
on the look again." — West.
love powder: ;/. ( + NED) A powder supposed to induce
love. Cf. Webster, Ditehess oj Malfi, 1623, v, vii : "Confesse
to me Which of my women 'twas you hyr'd to put Loue-f^ozcder
into my drink." (NED) Yarrow, Love at First Sight, 1742,
14: "There are Things call'd Charms, Bribes, and Love-
Powder." (NED)— West.
lowins: n. (W and NED : /oa' ■ziv/zc ; -|-1'J31) ) Low-proof
whisky. Cf. French, Distill., 1641, i: "There will come forth
a weak Spirit, which is called lozv Wine." ( NED)
luck up: vb. (NED: without up) To have good luck in
some venture. "I sure lucked up getting a good car." — Guil-
ford and Iredell counties. Rare.
lynch: vb. (+W, -NED, +DAE, -fT) To kill a person
illegally by hanging. Most of the dictionaries define the word
so as to include any kind of illegal killing and almost anv kind
of illegal bodily injury. I believe tliat the first definition, given
above, is the one held to by most pe(ii)le in .Xortli Carolina and
562 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
Virginia (and possibly in other Southern states). Some
Southerners do agree with the more general definitions, but I
suspect that these persons have been influenced by the defi-
nitions of dictionaries and certain legal books.
Dr. G. MacLaren Brydon, of Richmond, X'irginia, agrees
with me as to the meaning of the term, and has kindly provided
me with some valuable information.
Part of Dr. Brydon's letter to me, March 5, 1947: "The
usual statement is that Col. Charles Lynch of Bedford County
[\'irginiaj originated Lynch-law by horsewhipping a bunch of
obstreperous tories. But I have not found more than one or
two authorities who contend for Col. John Lynch's hanging
horse thieves. Yet my Grandfather's story [see below] of
seeing the tree ujion which the horse thieves were hanged seems
to me pretty strong evidence of a tradition which was current
in 1840."
The following introduction and footnotes to a quoted passage
are kindly furnished me l)y Dr. Brydon also :
"Extract from a sketch of Mrs. Elizabeth Fontaine by the
Rev. George Washington Dame, D.D.,^ rector of Camden Par-
ish, Danville, Virginia, from 1840 to 1895. This sketch ap]>ears
in the Memorabilia and Sketches of his life and work prepared
by Dr. Dame. They are in manuscript form, typewritten copies
being owned by the Church of the Epiphany, Danville,
Hampden-Sydney College, and the Virginia Diocesan Library,
Richmond.
"'Her [i.e.. Mrs. J^'ontaine's | husband was a clerk or man-
ager for "Judge" Lynch,'' who had a store in the neighborhood
of Fall Creek Depot, and after the Judge removed to near
Lynchburg, Mr. Fontaine occupied the house in which he had
formerly lived, where he summarily dealt justice to horse
thieves, and where the law known by his name had its origin.
The Judge was said to be a very fine man, and the evidence
must be very clear before he would permit the people to "give
the accused the ro]}e" : which lueant to take him to the tree
before the door, and less than a hundred yards from it. and
hang hiuL The tree was still standing when I came to the
county [i.e., in 1840I, and for years afterward, and only lately
has rotted down. The house in which the Judge lived is, I
* Rev. George Washington Dame was horn in Rocliester, New Hamp-
shire, 1812, and died in Danville [X'irginia], 1805. . . . Mrs. Fontaine
was one of his parishioners living in Pittsylvania County." [Dr. Dame
was the grandfather of Dr. Brydon.]
''■"Judge Lynch was Col. John Lynch, wlio was a justice of the peace
of Pittsylvania County. He later removed to Camphell County. He
owned Lynch's Ferry, on the James River, where the town of Lynch-
burg was later estaiilished."
FOLK S P K E C H 563
believe, still standing a few hundred yards to the west of h'all
Creek Depot.' "''
*mad, to fly: plir. To become suddeidy angry. — Central and
east.
*magru(iuses : ;/. The ingredients.
*make (right) out: I'h. To hurry, to escape. — Central and
east.
*male-cow: ;/. A bull; an ox. — West.
*inale-hog: ;;. A lioar ; a barrow. — West.
*man: ;;. i. A small block or wedge of wood placed in the
timbers of a contrivance to hold the timbers together or to act
as a set-screw. 2. A cake. — W est.
§inan: vb. To apply manpower. "He was cutting up so
much that we had to luan him." Cf. Shakes])eare, Othello, c.
1604, V, ii. 270: "Mail but a rush against Othello's breast, And
he retires." — Central and east. See inan-pcnvcr.
*man-critter : ;;. A human being. — General. Illiterate.
*man-person : ;;. .\ human being; a man. "Yes. these are
right good shoes; maybe some man-person could b.x them up
like new." — General. Illiterate.
*man-power: vb. To employ the force of man. "I don't
know whether I can inan-pon'cr this boat against that current
or not." — West. See man, vb.
man-sworn: adj. ( + W, +NED, -l-EDD) Perjun-d, break-
ing one's oath. Cf. Cursor Mundi, 14 c, Cotton and Gottingen
231 12: "Murtherers mansuorn als." Scott. Hrt. Midi.. 1818,
XV : "I shall be man-szvorn in the very thing in which my testi-
mony is wanted." (NED)
manner, in a: phr. (— W. -I- NED) Almost, after a fashion,
not quite satisfactorily. "I've finished my plowing in a man-
ner." Cf. Shakespeare, King John, c. 1596, v, vii, 89: "Nay,
it is in a manner done already ; for many carriages dispatch'd
it to the seaside."
*mark: z'b. To castrate; probably a euphemism. — General.
Obsolescent.
*mash on, to have (get) a: phr. To be in love with. "Tie's
certainly (/of a mash on that girl." — (General. Rare now.
mash-tub: n. ( — W, +NED) A tub in which mash is fer-
mented to make whisky.
"The revenue, the revenue —
Canipe and ( )ld Sams —
" "This sketch was written about 1890."
564 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
They'll cut down your niasJi-tiibs
And drink up your drams."
— Moonshiners' song in X. C.
*masterest: adj. Greatest, most remarkable. "He's the
master est worker I've ever seen." Cf. Dargan, Highland An-
nals, 1925, 205: "He'd set and tell the niastcrcsf tales."
masterly: adj. (—NED) Great, strong, remarkable. Cf.
Shakespeare, Hamlet, c. 1600, iv, vii, 97: "He made confes-
sion of you ; And gaue you such a masterly report For art
and exercise in your defence. . . ."
*mauler: ;;. An iron rod some twenty inches long and an
inch and a half in diameter, part of it hollow and tapering to
a point. The hollow portion is filled with powder and a fuse
is inserted through a small lateral hole. The tapered end is
driven into a log an inch or two ; then the fuse is ignited.
When the explosion takes place, the log is split, "mauled." — ■
Granville county (and Mecklenburg and Halifax counties, Va.).
Called powder wedge in Guilford county.
may: //. ( +W, +NED, +EDD)' A maid, a girl. Cf.
Cursor Mitndi. 14 c, 3238: "pe mai l^at 3ee \\'ald haue.'" Col-
lier Cobb, Early English Sitrz'ii'als on Hatteras Island, 1910, 4:
"'Won't vou make a picture of my may and me?'" — East.
Rare.
measley: adj. ( + W, +NED, +EDD) Poor, inferior,
contemptible. "He's a measley scoundrel." "Oh, I've got a
measley ])atch of corn. I won't get the seed back." — General.
melt: /;. ( +W, +NED. +EDD) The spleen, milt. Cf.
Museum Rust., 1764, 11, li, 146: "The melt or spleen was very
small and thin." — Melt used by all classes.
*mergens: n. See murgens.
mericale ['menkl] : prone. (NED, EDD : meracle) Miracle.
Cf. Cursor Mwidi, 14 c. Cotton 2066: "Fild o mirth and o
mericale." — General. Illiterate.
mess^: ;/. (W, NED. EDD: a group of four jieoj^le) A
crowd of people. Cf. Shakespeare, Love's Labor's Lost. c.
1593. v, ii, 61 : "A mess of Russians left vs but of late." ( Prob-
ably means four here.)
*mess-: ;/. A person regarded as more witty, lively, enter-
taining, etc., than most people; a "show." "Now ain't Mr.
Jim a messl" — General.
mess around (about): vb. (-hNED, +EDD) To idle, kill
time, ])utt(.'r around. Cf. Mrs. Lynn Linton, in Life, ii^53. vii,
8^ : "1 mess about my flowers and read snatches of French."
(NED)
I- 0 L K SPEECH 565
mich, meech [niitj] : 7'b. ( + NED, -EDD. -T) To
\vhimi)cr. to gnuiihle. C'f. Florio [ll'orld IVords?], 1598:
•'Xicchiarc, to lament ... to iiiichc, to gruml)le closely or show
sonic signe of discontent." (XED) See PADS, No. 2, p. 46,
for another meaning in Xortli Carolina. — West.
'middling peart lpJ3t|: f^Jir. Vn'wW well. "I'm feeling
middUiuj peart today."'— West. Illiterate. See peart.
'might nigh: pJir. Xearly, very nearly. — Illiterate.
'might (mought) could: vb. Might he ahle.— Illiterate,
th(>u,L;h occasionally used hy persons of some education.
'mightily: adj. Aliglity. i)owerful. great. "He's mightily
in his own light.'" — Central and east.
'mighty heap more : phr. A great deal more. — Central and
east.
'mighty long: phr. A great while. "He didn't live here so
iiii(/hty loiu/.^' — Central and east.
'mighty much: phr. A great deal. "I never thought so
ini(/lity much of him." — General.
'milk-gap: 11. The gap through which cows and calves pass
at milking time. — West.
million: prone. ( +W, +NED) Melon. Cf. W. Coles.
Adam in Eden, 1657, xcix : "Citruls or Turkey Millions are
of the same temperature as the Gourd." (NED)
*mincy ['mnisi] : adj. Over particular, over exact, finicky.
"You're mightv miiiey ahout your breakfast today. Are you
sick?" — West.
mind, to have a great (good) : phr. ( + T) To he inclined,
to have a strong desire. Cf. I^irquhar, Beaux' Stratagem,
1707. Ill, i: "We have a great mind to know who this gentle-
man is. . . ."
mind: rb. (+W, +NED, +EDD) To remember. "I
;;;;';/(/ the very day you were born." — General.
'mindful: adj. Obedient. — Central and east.
*minister's-face: n. A hog's head. — Granville county.
'misbehave: z'b. Of children: to urinate or defecate in an
im])ro})er jtlace or at an im])roper time.
'misery, in the : phr. In uncomfortableness ; in a state of
nervousness. "I alius sit /;; the misery in a doctor's of^ce." —
Guilford county. Rare. Illiterate.
'mislick: n. A misdirected bknv. "I made a misliek and
hit my thumb."
mizzle: rb. ( + \\'. +NED, +EDD) To rain in fine or
566 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
foglikfc drops. Cf. Caxton, Encydos, 1496. EETS, No. 57, p.
55, 34: ". . . the sayde cloudes were well thyk . . . and tormented
[them] Rygth asperly with Rayne mysell. . . ."
*mojos: n. A charm or spell.
moldwarp, mouldwarp: ;;. (— W, — XED, — EDD) A
stupid person, a dolt. "That fellow's always doing the wrong
thing ; he's such a moldivarp he hacks me to death." Cf. Wyclif,
Oj Prelates, c. 1380, xxvii, 3: "... & he ]?at can not ]>es,
worldly statutis maad for singular wille and coueitise is hoolden
but a fool and vnable to teche & reule cristene peple ... & to
J?is ende ]?es worldly moldzcerpis taken keies of helle in stede
of keies of \>e kyngdom of heuenes." — Caldwell county.
mommick: n. and vb. (±W, -NED, +EDD) A foul,
torn-up mess ; to tear up, mess up, befoul.^ — General. See
mouunock, PADS, No. 6, p. 21.
*monkey-suit : n. An elevator boy's uniform. — Chapel Hill.
moon-calf: n. i. (+W, +NED, —EDD) "In mountain-
eer's [of North Carolina] superstition, a shapeless thing, with-
out life, that a steer causes in a cow by worrying her." (H.
Kephart, Dialect Notes, iv, 415) ''Mooncalf: abortion, monster.
The moon was thought to have an influence in forming such
creatures." (Kittredge, Tempest) Cf. Shakespeare, Tempest,
1610, II, ii, no: "How cams't thou to be the siege of this
mooncalf?" Carlyle, Sar. Res., 1858, iii, x, 168: "England . . .
ofifers precisely the elements ... in which such moon-cah'cs
and monstrosities are best generated." (NED) — West. 2.
(-hE, +NED, +EDD) A fool, an idiot. The quotations
from Shakespeare and Carlyle also agree with this second
meaning. Cf. Ben Jonson, Nezvs from Xezv IForld, Pr.:
". . . Moone Calves\ What Monster is that. . . ? ... A very
familiar thing, like our foole here on earth." (NED) Dickens,
B. Rndge, 1840, vi : ". . . standing gaping at her, like an old
mooncalf as I am." (NED) 3. (-W, -NED, -EDD) A
bastard. — West.
moon-eyed: adj. (+W, -hNED, -EDD) Of horses: blind
during certain phases of the moon. Cf. Markham. Masterp,
1610, II, xii, 239: 'T haue scene many a slothfull and heauy
horse brought to be moone eyed by the follv of his rider."
(NED)
*moon-fixer: ;;. A very tall person. — Granville county.
*mop the hair: phr. To wash the hair. — West.
*more than half : plir. Scarcely, hardly, incompletely. "He
don't mure'n half tend to his business." — Central and east.
§morning, in the: plir. On the morrow — not confined to
FOLK S P K F. C II 567
nioriiings. Skoat, Jity. Did.: "'Oii the iiior)i' = on tlu' mor-
row; Barbour's Bnicc, 1, 601 : to-iiiorn = to-niorrovv, id. i, 6ji.
Morn and morrow are merely doublets. . . . AS. morgcu, morn,
morrow." "I'm yoing to town //; tlic iiioniiiKj al)out two
o'clock [tbat is, in the afternoon of tomorrow].'' — (Jranville
county. Rare now.
mort, a: ;/. ( +\\', +NED, +EDD) A great many; very
much. Cf. Echard. I'lautus, 1694, 94: "They had a mart o'
Prisoners." (NED) Sheridan, The Kifals, 1775, i, i : ". . .
here's a mart o' merrymaking, heh ?"
'mortified to death: pJir. Chagrined, embarrassed. "I was
mortified to death when he told me that I was the fellow who'd
bent his fender."^ — Guilford county. Rare. Cf. free gratis,
tooth-dentist, etc.
mose, mosey: z'b. (+W, +NED. +EDD, +DAE, +T,
— T-D) To move reluctantly, to prowl, to move about slowly
or stupidly. Cf. H. F. Page, Lyrics and Legends of the Cape
Fear Country, 1933, 158: "'Long came Aunt Rhody: 'Chile,
you daid? Get up en' mosey off tub yo' baid.' " — General.
mought [maut] : vb. ( +\\'. +\EU, +EDU, +T. +T-D)
Past tense of may. Cf. O. E. Chron., an. 992 : "5if hi muhton
J?one here ahwaer betrae]?]7en." (NED) Hampole, c. 1330,
Lxxxvii. 6: "Thai did me till nioste wrechednes that thei
mought." (EDD) Shakespeare. 5 Henry VI, c. 1592, v, ii, 45:
"And more he would have said . . . That mought not be dis-
tinguished." Bacon, Nezv Atlantis, 1627: ". . . such a vast sea
mought cause it." — General. Illiterate.
mountain boomer: )i. (— ^^^ —DAE) A mountaineer. —
West. See boojiier.
mouth: ;;. (-t-NED) The voice, especially of a hunting
dog. "That young dog o' mine's jest naturally got the best
mouth I ever heard in a race." Cf. Shakespeare, Midsummer
Niglit's Dream, c. 1595, iv, i. 127: "My hounds are . . .
match'd in mouth like bells. Each under each." — West.
mouth, down in the: /'/n-. (+W, +NED) Dejected. Cf.
Bp. Hall. Cases Consc., 1649, i, vi, 43: "The Roman Orator
was downe in the mouth." (NED) Freeman in Life & Lett.,
1891, II, 426: "I got down in tlie ntoutJi yesterday." (NED)
— Central and east.
*mouth, to put (one's) on (a person) : phr. To
curse one. — Chapel llill.
much: adj. (+N1^D) Strong, great. "He is a much man
in his arms." Cf. Lav., c. 1205, 28036: "Al ))ere muche halle
rof hire honden beo to-droh." ^(NED) Langl.. P. PL, 1362,
IX, 61 : "A Muche Mon." (NED)— Central and east.
568 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
*much of: plir. Strong, great, valuable; followed ])y a sub-
stantive: ''much of a man, car," etc. — Central and east.
mud-fat: adj. ( + NED, +EDD) \'ery fat; generally in
reference to an animal. — General.
mud flat: n. ( +\V. +XED, +DAE) The muddy bottom
land along a stream. — Central and east.
murgens, mergins: n. (EDD: "mcrgiu, adj., most numerous,
largest") A great many. "He has miirgcns of watermelons
this year." — Central and east.
mush: n. ( + W, +NED, +DAE; T and T-D : "anv kind
of porridge") A dish made of boiled corn meal seascme'd with
gravy or butter. See cnsh.
m\xs\i\Q:vb. (-EDD) To shuffle cards.
^^ name: vh. ( + W, +NED. +EDD) To speak of by name.
"Don't name that fellow around me ; I can't stand him." Cf.
Shakespeare, Merry Wives, c. 1599, iv, i, 65: "Never name
her, child, if she be a whore." — General.
nappy: adj. (-NED) Kinky-headed. "Colored folks
comes into this world nappy, and they goes out nappy.'' —
Guilford county.
*nard [na:d] : ;;. and adj. Yellow homespun cloth; said to
be a corruption of "northern." I have heard [na:d] and
['nara], which I took to be forms of "narrowed (cloth)" and
"narrow (cloth)." — Illiterate.
narn [na :n, narnj, naern, nairn [naean. nsern] : pron.
( + EDD) Not a one, never a one, none. "I don't own a dog.
and I don't want naern." — Illiterate. See nary.
nary, nairy ['naeri] : adj. (+W, +NED. +EDD, +DAE,
+T, -l-T-D) Not one, not a, never a; from ne'er a. Cf.
Shakespeare, Taming of the Shrew, c. 1597, i. ii, 80: ". . . an
old trot with ne'er a tooth in her head." Shakespeare, Much
Ado, c. 1598, II, i, 336; "Hath your grace ne'er a brother like
you?" Fielding, Tom Jones, 1749, xviii, 8: "And if she will
but be obedient to me, there is narrow a father within a hun-
dred miles o' the place, that loves a daughter l)etter than I do."
Sheridan, Rivals, 1775, i, i, 2: ". . . ne'er a Sir Lucius
O'Trigger in the kingdom should make me fight. . . ." See
narn.
nater ['nets, -a^] : prone. ( -l-EDD) Nature. So pronounced
in the eighteenth century ; Walker condemned it ; Webster
approved it. Cf. Hardy, Return of the Native, 1878. vi, iv :
"Really all the soldiering and smartness in the world in the
father seems to count for nothing in forming the uater of the
FOLK S P K E C II 569
sons." Dargan. Call I Ionic the If cart. 193-', 20: '"Iluit would
be iiatcr. \\'c kain't he'p that. 'A gal she ninst marry, an' a
wife she must carry.' " — General. Illiterate.
'nation of a time, a: {^lir. A very good time. "We had a
nation oj a time at that party." — Central and east.
'nature, to take (one's) : plir. To unsex a ])erson or an ani-
mal. "If I have that operation, I'm afraid it will take my
nature." — (inilford county. Rare.
nearabout, nearbout: adv. ( + W, +EDD, +DAE) Nearly.
— Central and east.
necked |'n}kid|: prone. (VA^V): I'nt-skid]) Naked. — Gran-
ville county. Practically all classes of a community.
necktie party: n. (-hDAE, +T) A hanging; a lynching.
Sometimes used facetiously. — General.
Ned, by: ////(t/. (-hDAE) A mild oath. — General.
needcessiiy: ;;. ( + NED, -fEDD) Necessity. Cf. Scott,
//;■/. Midi, 1818, x.xi: "'Is this necessary?' said Jeanie. . . .
'A matter of ahsolute needccssify,' said Saddle-tree." (NED)
*neen |'ni:n|, neene ['nina] : z'b. plus ucg. Xecdn't. "You
;/(•(•/;(' come for it; I'll take it to you." — West.
[negatives]: 1. M ulti-negativcs. Speech of the uneducated
still clings to the early English feeling that the more negatives
used, the more emphasis gained. Cf. Chaucer, Prologue to
C. T.. c. 1385, 70-71 : "He never yet no vileinye ne sayde In al
his lyf, un-to no maner wight." Paston Letters, May 10, 1465:
". . . he sayd ... he durst not take no sute ayenst hem
nother. . . ." A. B. Shelley, IVord Study, Oct.. 1945, reports
as heard in Raleigh, N. C. : "Naw, suh, Ah ain't got nothin tuh
give tuh nobody tuh do no good for nothin' nohoiv.'" 2. Ncga-
tiz'c = positive. "I wouldn'f care to go" = "I should like to
go." — Caldwell county.
*nellify: vb. X'ariant of ;/H////y ; to balk. — l*'ast.
*news-toter: //. A tatler, a gossip. — Granville county.
next: adj. (-fhLDD) The one following the immediate
one. "I am coming to see you next week" means the second
week hence. — Granville county.
nigger: :•/'. ( — ^^^ —NED. =!=EDD: "nigger, to work
hard" ) To do hard work, and generally without proper recom-
pense or appreciation. — West.
Nimshi: ;;. ( + W. -FDAE, -fT, -hT-D) A blockhead. In
New luigland : a mischievous child. — Central and east.
*no not one, to: phr. Indefinitely. "This rubber band will
stretch to no not one.''
570 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
*notice: vb. To court. "I hear Clem is noticing again." —
West.
*nullify: vb. Variant of ncllify; to balk.— East.
obleege [o'l)lid5] : prone. ( +\\\ +NED) Oblige. Cf. Pope,
Epistle to Dr. Arbiithnot, 1735, 208: "Dreading ev'n fools by
flatterers besieged. And so obliging that he ne'er obliged.''—
General. Illiterate.
*occasion, no: phr. Equivalent to "You're welcome," "Don't
mention it," etc. Used in response to "Thank you."— General.
Old people.
*ochoiie (ochrone), alas and: inter j. H. F. Page. L\rics and
Legends oj the Cape Fear Country, 1932. p. 162 (and 99) :
"Ochone, an exclamation of deep regret." W: "Oclione, an
Irish and Scottish exclamation of grief or lamentation." NED :
"Ohone, ochone, from Gael, and Ir. Ochdin, oh! alas!" —
Central.
Oder ['Ada], anoder [a'uAda] : prone. ( + XED. +EDD)
Other; another. Cf. Paston Letters, Ap. 29, 1459: ". . . and
on of hem was indosyed to yow . . . and to fyve or sexe odyr
gentylmen ; and anodyr was sent onto your sone. . . ."
of: prep. (+W, +NED, +EDD) On, upon. "He put
that fellow flat oj his back." Cf. Shakespeare, Much Ado, c.
1595' III' V, 40: "An two men ride oj a horse, one must ride
behind." — Central and east.
offish: adj. i±\\, ±NED. +EDD, +DAE, ±T, ±T-D)
Sick. shy. not sociable. Cf. Betsy Bobbett. 1842, 289: "I am
naturally pretty offish and retirin' in my ways with strange
men folks." (NED) Hardy, Far from ^the Madding Crowd,
1874, Lii : "She's not fond of him — quite offish and quite care-
less, I know." (EDD)
oi [ai] : prone. ( + W. +NED, +EDD) We know from
the rhymes of the poets of the seventeenth and the eighteenth
centuries and from the discussions and phonetic indications of
the lexicographers of the eighteenth century that many — per-
haps most — words spelled with oi were pronounced fai], or
similarly, in those centuries. Dialect speakers, therefore, are
again merely following a good historical tradition when they
pronounce o/- words with the "long" /. The following words
are thus pronounced in many sections by the uneducated :
anoint, appoint, boil, coil [kwail], groin, hoist, join, joint, joist,
oil, point, poison, roil (even by the educated), soil, spoil, toil.
Cf. Cursor Miindi, 14 c. Trinity 601 1 : "Bile & blister bollynge
sore." Wyclif, Luke, 1382, 16, 20: "Houndis camen. and . . .
lickiden his bylis." Paston Letters, Feb. 4, 1445: "Wetith of
FOLK SPEECH 571
yourc hrotluTc John now |lio\\?| manic (/ystis wolle serve the
"parler . . . and what Icnj^th they most be. ..." Shakespeare,
Cor., 1607, I, iv, 31: "Vou Shames of Rome; you Heard of'
Byles and Plagues Plaister you o're." (NED) John S. Ken-
yon, American Pronunciation, nth ed., sec. 340, says: "Sliakc-
speare has only bylc [for boil\." I'ope, Essay on Criticism,
171 1, 524: "Good nature and good sense must ever join; To
err is human, to forgive divine." Gray, Elegy, 1750, 29: "Let
not Ambition mock their useful toil, . . . Nor Grandeur hear
with a disdainful smile. ..." Hardy, Return of the Natiz'e, 1878,
II, vi : "'He's not one of the old set, but have jined us be-
cause t'other couldn't come.' " However, as far as I have
observed, some o;-words are not pronounced [ai] but [di] :
choice. coi)i. )ioise. voice, etc.
Old Ned: ;/. (-EDD, -DAE) The devil.— General.
'oman ['\m^n] : prone. ( + NED ; KDD: uman). IVoinan.
a. Pasto)i Letters, ?I455, i, 343: "Youre pore bede oman and
cosyn. Alice Crane." (NED) Shakespeare, Merry Wives, c.
1600, I. i, 233: "But can you affection the 'oman?" — General.
Illiterate. See 'ooman.
§on^ [on I : prone. On. A. J. Ellis observed that one Eng-
lish dialect pronunciation of on was [on] (EETS, No. 56,
pp. 12, 21). — Robeson and Sampson counties. All classes.
See gone.
on-: prep. (-(-EDD) About, concerning. "She knows a
right smart on gardening." Cf. Shakespeare, Rape of Lucrece,
1594, 187: "For unstained thoughts do seldom dream on evil."
(Also = of here.)
ovi^: prep. (+NED. +EDD) Of. Ci. Prod. Hen. HI ,
1258, I: "Henr' Jnn'z godes fultume king on Engleneloande,
Lhoauerd on Vrlounde. Duk on Norm' on Aquitaine and earl
on Aniow\" (NED) Gammer Gurton's Needle, 1575, i, iii, 6:
"Cham sure on it." Shakespeare. King Lear, c. 1606, i, iv, 114:
"Why, this fellow hath banish'd two ons daughters." Suckling,
Constant Lover, a. 1642. 9: "P)Ut the spite on't is. no praise
Is due at all to me."
*on the up and up : phr. Getting better, improving. "He's
on the up and up since he got that Indian medicine." — West.
on- fjn-, on-| : /^;r/7> and /^r(;/;r. ( + N l-.D. + b:DD ) Un-\
oncertain. andean, onless, oiinuinnerly. ontd (until), onto, etc.
Cf. Paston Letters, Oct. 31, c. 1449: "Item, for as moche as
that I am bonden for my Lord Scales to my Lord Cardnale in
¥"= mark, the qu[ech] somme he kan not fynd no way to pay
hit. onlese then that he sel a parcel of his "land." Eng. Gilds,
1607, 442: "Margory Davies . . . wold not remoue her habi-
572 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
tacion onles she might haue a way ... to passe. . . ." (NED)
See onto (= tinto) in Paston Letters, under oder, above,
*one: pron. One or the other. "Jane or Mary one went to
see her." — Polk county.
onliest: adj. ( + EDD) Only. "This is the oiiliest child
living with me now." — General. Mainly Negroes.
*'oii't [ont] : prone. \\'on't. "Sam 'on't be back till to-
morrow."— Granville county.
'ooman ['Aman] : prone. ( + \\', -hNED) \\'oman. Cf.
0. Tzvist, 1838, LViii : "'Ah, and so's the young 'ooiuan of
property that's going to take a fancy to me.' " (NED) Illit-
erate. See 'oman.
*open winter: n. A winter with but little snow. — Central
and east.
ourn ['ciwan. arn, aurn] : pron. (-hW, -|-NED, -hEDD)
Ours. Cf. Wyclif and Purvey, Mark, 1380. 1388. 12, 7: "This
is the eire ; come 36, sle we hym, and the eritage schal be
ourun." J. Greenwood. Eng. Gram., 171 1, 105: "Hern, Ourn,
Yourn, Hisn, for Hers, Ours, Yours, His, is bad English."
(NED) Foote, Trip to Calais, 1778, 11, 52: "Instead of doing
like our'n, they wear their woollen smocks over the rest of their
clothes." (NED) — Illiterate. See hern.
ourns [ 'awanz, arnz, aurnz] : /)ron. (-hNED. -I-EDD) Ours.
—Illiterate.
out: 7'b. ( + W, +NED. -hEDD) To put out. "Out that
wet dog before he shakes hisself." — General. Rare.
out'n ['autn]: prep. (-W, -l-EDD) Out on = out of.
"My wife kin throw more out'n the window than I can bring
in at the door." Cf. Gushing, 1888, 11, vii : "If they met to-
night, the miller 'ud cuss him outen his sight." (EDD) —
General. Illiterate. See on^.
outlandish: adj. ( + W, -f NED, -f EDD) Foreign, not of
one's community, bizarre. Cf. Chaucer, The Former Age, c.
1374, 22: "No marchaunt yit ne fette outlandish ware." Cover-
dale, I Kings, 1535, i, i : "But Kynge Salomon loued many
outlandish w^emmen." (NED) Neheniiah, 161 1. 13. 26:
". . . nevertheless even him did outlandish [Heljrew nokri]
women cause to sin." — General. Mainly old people.
*outlandishest : adj. Most outlandish. The common way of
forming the superlative among the users of dialect. See -est.
*outrageable : adj. Outrageous. — Rare.
outsider: n. (— T, — T-D) An illegitimate child. "That
oldest youngun of hern is an outsider." — West.
FOLK SPEECH 573
*own: 7'/'. *i. To give birth to. "I've ozviicd nine chil-
dren, and dichi't have no trouble when they come." — Duplin
county. 2. { +\\' ) Of a mother animal : to nurse and take care
of her young, thus acknowledging them as hers; frecjuently in
the negative. "That old sow wouldn't uzcn her pigs ; just fought
them and threw them around." — Granville county.
*pack off on: phr. (h21)D: to pack if upon a person) To
blame another for something one is guilty of himself. "He
tried to pack that stealing off on Ed." — General.
pair: ;/. ( +\V, -hNED, +EDD) A set of things— not
necessarily two — closely related or connected: a pair of balances
(or scales), a pair of beads, a pair of stairs (or steps), etc. Cf.
Tyndale, Revelation, 1534, 6, 5: ". . . and he . . . had a payre
of balances in his honde." (Same for Cranmer, 1539; Geneva,
1557; and A. V.. 161 1.) Baret, Alvearie, 1580: "Balances or a
payre of balance." Chaucer, Prologue to C. T., c. 1385, 159:
"Of smal coral aboute hir arm she bar A peirc of bedes, gauded
al with grene." Paston Letters, 1426, i, 12: "Certeyns
maitTfaisons . . . the seyd John Grys ... by the s])ace of a
myle to a payre gah^'cs ledden." (NED) Pepys. Diary, Sept.
2, 1666: ". . . or clambering from one pair of stairs by the
waterside to anotlier."
*pair of minutes (seconds) : phr. A short time. "I'll be with
you in a pair of >niiiiites." — (ieneral. All classes.
'pallet: ;/. A task, an allotted amount of work. "I done
finished that pallet. Do you have anything else for me to do?"
— Duplin county.
pant: z'b. (+\V) To put pants (trousers) on for the first
time. "I knowed him before he was panted." — Caldwell county.
panter ['penta, -a^] : prone. ( + NED, +EDD) Panther.
Cf. Bestiary, c. 1220, 733: "Panter is an wilde der." S. Hawes,
Examp. Virt., 1503, ix, 4: "And bv a swete smelle 1 knewe a
panter." (NED)— West.
*parable, to speak a : pJir. To say something to the point,
something wise. — Central and east.
paradise apple: ;/. (— W, —NED) The tomato.
particular : (/(/;. ( + NED, +EDD) Careful, cautious. "Be
particular when you cross the street."
pasnip [ 'pccsnip I : /TOHf. (-I-NED) Parsnip. Eolk speech
is again historically correct : the word comes from M.E.
passcnip, pasnep ; that from O.F. panaie ; and that from Lat.
pastindca, which is from the verb pastinare, "to dig up." Cf.
Trevisa, Earth. De P. R., 1398, xvii, cxxxvii. Bodl. 22^/2:
N.C.F., Vol. I, (38)
574 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
"Euriche herb \vi]? a rote of meche norissching haj:> seede
]?at is nau3t norissching; as it fare]? in Pasiicpis and in rapis."
(NED)
pass, make a at: phr. (-NED) To make an at-
tempt or pretense at doing something. "He's been making a
pass at plowing all day." — Granville county.
pass the time of day : phr. (-W, +NED, +EDD) To
visit leisurely and informally. — Central and east.
*pass words: phr. To quarrel. "They passed some words
before John hit him." — Central and east.
passel ['psesal] : n. (+\V, +NED, +EDD) Parcel (of
people) ; a crowd, a group of anything. Cf. Past on Letters, a.
1468, II, 332: "Pies yow to send me passels of costes and
expences 3e here and pay for the said causes." (NED) — Gen-
eral. Illiterate.
pateroll ['past9,rolJ : ;/. {DXE: patrol (I jer) Patroller. See
PADS, No. 6, p. 22.
*pattyroller['paeti,robj : prone. Patroller. — Granville county.
Obsolescent.
*patternize: vb. To pattern or model after a copy. "I pat-
terniced my dress after Mary's."
*peacified: adj. Peaceable.
peanut, names for: goober (African dialects: [ijguba,
olurjgupa] ). goober-nut, goober-pea, gooby, ground-nut, ground-
pea, gruber, peanut, pender (pinder), pinda, pindal.
peart [pjVt]: adj. ( + W, +NED, +EDD, +T) There is
a vast difference in meaning between the words [pjs^t] and
[ps^t]. The writer of the following has expressed this differ-
ence well : "No word in literary English precisely expresses the
idea of peart, least of any does pert. Peart conveys the impres-
sion of sprightly liveliness, of a joyous, healthy, fresh, happy
condition, in the person or animal to which it is applied." —
F. T. Elworthy, A^ & Q., 9th ser., iv (1899), 461. Cf. Shake-
speare, quartos of Midsummer Night's Dream, c. 1595, i, i, 13:
"Awake the peart and nimble spirit of Mirth." Dunbar, Poems,
1500-20, Lxxv, 10: "He wes townvsche, peirt, and gukit."
(NED)
pearten (up) ['pjVtn] z'b. ( -f\\\ -fEDD. +T) To en-
liven, to cheer up; to become lively, cheerful. "That fellow
certainly peartens a body up with his lively jokes." "I hear
that Mary's baby is peartening up some." — General. Illiterate.
peartish ['pjs^tij] : arf;. (-HEDD) Somewhat well, some-
what lively ; showing improvement.
I- 0 L K SPEECH 575
peartly Ipj'^l'ii: '"/•'• (+\V') Lively, ciuickly. Cf. W.
Browne, Hrilaiinia's I'dsforals, early 17 c., 135: "'riien a nimble
S(|uirrill . . . sits f^cartly on a houyii his brcnvne nuts eracking."
(Cent. Diet.)
peartness ['pj-i inisj : /;. ( +\\', +1^DD) Liveliness.
*peas: ;;. Any shelled beans or peas. — Central and east.
*peck: ;/. The aet of nagging. — West.
peck: vh. ( — W, +NED) To dress a millstone. Cf. J.
Smith. Old .U/c, 1666, 79: "Because they cannot make their
mills grow, as they daily decay by grinding; they are fain to
supply that want by often pcck'nuj their milstones." (NICD)
R. B. House, Miss Site and the Sheriff, 1941, 21 : ". . . Ananias
would peck the millstones to sharpen them."
peck at (on): vb. (+W, +NED. +EDD) To nag at, to
find fault with. Cf. "Smectymnuus," Viiid. Auszv., 1641, v, 70:
"The Scripture hee pecks at.'' (NED)
peck for oneself : phr. ( + EDD) To work for oneself, to
have to look out for oneself by working.
*peckerwood : ;/. A poor, low-class white person. — Chapel
Hill.
peckish: adj. ( + W. +NED. -EDD) Hungry; incHned
to nag. Cf. (jrose, Diet. J'lilg. Tongue, 1785: ". . . peckish,
hungry." (XED) — (iranville and Guilford counties.
peel (one's) eye: phr. (-I-DAE) To be on the lookout.
"When you go over there, keep your eye peeled for a good
horse."- — Granville county.
*peepy: ;;. A small chicken or turkey ; perhaps onomatopoeic.
- — (ieneral.
*pee-weezy: ;;. A little dried-up person. — Nash county.
pestle-tail: ;/. (EDD: "a horse's tail denuded of hair") A
mule ; perha])s because the tail of the mule is trimmed to the
shape of a wooden pestle, or small maul.
*petitious: adj. Intricate, difficult to do.
*pew: t7). 1'o go to church — that is. occupy a pew. "I'm
going a-pcccnu/ toniglu." — Gaston coimty.
*plilegni fflim] : prone. — Central and east.
phlegm cutter: ;/. (-I-DAE) An early morning drink of
li(|uor. — Central and east.
piece: ;/. (-W. +X1-:D. +b:DD, +T. -T-D) A con-
temi)til)le girl or woman. The word is usually ])rece(led by an
adjective — brazen, jresli, hateful, sassy, sluttish, sorry, etc. Cf.
Shakespeare, Winter's Tale, c. 161 1, "And thou, fresh piece Of
excellent witchcraft, who of force must know The royal fool
576 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
thou copest with. . . ." Burton, Anat. Mel., 1621, i, iv, i, 143:
"A waspish cholerick shit, a craved peece." (NED) Shirrefs,
Poems, 1790, 117: "There's a few wad think her sic a saucy
piece." (NED)
*pieded: adj. Spotted, streaked but not in a well-defined
manner. "That's a right pretty pieded calf." — West.
*piedy: adj. Same as pieded. — Swain county.
piggin: //. (— W, —NED; EDD : "a small iron pot with
two ears"; —DAE) A skillet. The word is, of course, also
used in its usual sense. — Central and east.
pilau ['pilo, -d] ; in Sumter county, S. C. ['ps^lo] : ;;. ( +W,
4- NED) A dish of meat — chicken, squirrel — boiled with rice.
I am unable to account for the r-sound in Sumter county, S. C.
Cf. Byron, Don Juan, 1818, iii, 243: "Pilaus and meats of all
sorts met the gaze."
*pimp jennet, pimp jenny: n. A pimple. — Central and east.
See pip jenny.
*pine-bark stew: n. Fish and vegetables stewed together. —
Central and east.
piner: n. (— W, —NED, —DAE) A person who carries a
(pine) torch to assist with landing fish.
*piney -woods rooter: ;;. A common pig or hog. — Central
and east.
pink of the evening: phr. (EDD: "pink and shank, first in
the morning and last at night.") Early twilight. — Central and
east. See shank of the evening.
pinking in of the day : phr. (-I-EDD) The time just before
dusk. — Central and east.
*pipjenny: n. A pimple. — Chapel Hill. See pimp jennet.
pitch a crop: phr. ( + W, +NED, +DAE) To plant a
crop. Cf. Clave, PJiil. Trans., 1688, xvii, 946: "In stifi^ Soyles,
if the Crops be not early pitch' d, . . . the Roots neuer spread
or shoot deeper." (NED) — General.
pitch in: vb. (+\V, +NED, +DAE) To begin; to assist.
Generally followed by and plus another verb. "Henry, pitch
in and help me finish before dark." Cf. Kipling. Captains
Courageous, 1897, ix : "He's paid me half now; and I took
hold with Dan and pitched right in." (NED) — General.
*pitch out: I'b. To begin. Generally followed by a gerund
or and plus another verb. "He pitched out dancing." "He
pitched out and ran." — Central and east.
*pity-sake, to take on: phr. To take pity on. "He
took pity-sake on me and give me some work." — West.
1- 0 L K SPEECH 577
*pizen (poison) (one's) pasture: />//;■. 'JV) oret revenge on
one. "That scoundrel will piccii ycr pasture if you don't watch
him." — Central and east.
plague take (one): plir. ( + NED, +EDD) A mild impre-
cation = may the phujitc take yon. Cf. Edwards, Damon &
Pythias, in Hazl., Dodslcy, a. 1566, iv, 102: "A phujiic take
Damon and Pithias !" (NED) Shakespeare, Romeo and
Juliet, c. 1596, 111, i, 94: "I am hurt. ./ phujiie o' both your
houses."
*play-children : ;/. Children that play together. — Central
and east.
*play-pretty: ;/. A toy.
pleasure: -Ak (+W, +NED, +EDD) To please. Cf.
Peter Levins, Manipitlits I'ocabulontm, 1570, To the Reader,
XXI : "Considering therefore, that Whereas he that writeth,
meaneth euer to pleasure some body. . . ." Shakespeare, Merry
Wiz'es, c. 1599, I, i, 251 : "What I do is to pleasure you, coz."
Dickens, Pickzc, 1837, vi : "The wall must be crumbled, the
stone decayed. To pleasure his dainty whim." (NED)
plug (along, at): I'b. (— W, —NED) To move or work
slowly but steadily.
*plum(b) sight: ;/. That which or who is surprising, out of
the ordinary. — Central and east.
*plum(b) nellie: phr. Completely out of town ; nearly in the
country.
plunder: n. (-W, -NED, -DAE, -T) Trash, worth-
less odds and ends. "Pve got a lot of plunder in my garage
that ought to be thrown away." — General.
*plunder: vh. To hunt around for something. "He's plun-
dering in the kjft for something to fish with."- — Central and east.
*plunder-room: ;/. A store room; a room in which to store
"plunder." — Central and east.
poke: ;/. (+NED. -hEDD) A bag. CI Rot. Hundred, a.
1276, I, 398/2: "yuidam judei Lincolnie . . . furebantur unam
pokam lane." (NED) Chaucer, Cant. Tales, c. 1386, A4278:
"They walwe as doon two pigges in a poke.'" (NED) Wyclif,
Trac'tus de Pseudo-Freris, 14 c, EETS, No. 74, p. 319: "(jC- |7us
)?ei faren ofte as don doggis in a poke."
poke around (about, along): -Ak (-KNED. -HEDD. -hDAE)
To move about skjwly and, generally, without any definite pur-
pose. Cf. E. Fitzgerald. Lett. 1839, i, 49: "I dare say you
think it very absurd that [I] should poke about here in the
country, w^hen I might be in London seeing mv friends."
(NED)
57?) NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
poke-easy: ;/. (+W) A very slow, easy-going person. —
General.
*poii horse: n. Corn meal cooked in stock from liver pud-
ding.— Central and east.
*poor barkery: Ji. "Poor white trash." Prohal^ly a cor-
ruption of Gullah hiickra, "white man," which is related to Efik
and Ibibio [mbakara]. — New Hanover county.
poor mouth, to talk: phr. (T: make a poor mouth) To
plead poverty.
poor-stock manners : n. Manners indicative of poor (in-
ferior ) background. — West.
posy-pot: n. ( EDD : ''posy, a bouciuet") A bouquet. —
Guilford count}'.
pot hooks and hen scratches: phr. (NED: "pot-hook,
crabbed or illegil)le writing") Illegible writing. Grose, 1785:
"Pothooks and hangers, a scrawl, bad writing." — Central and
east.
*pounce: ;/. An explosion. "There was a terrible pounce
over in the south." — Central and east.
*powder wedge: n. Same as mauler, q. v.
power, a: n. ( +W, -l-NED, -l-EDD) A great deal, very
much; a great many, a crowd. "She's got a poz^rr of hair."
Cf. Fuller. Worthies, a. 1661, i, 194: "Imploying a power of
poor people. . . ." (NED) Crowne, Misery Civ. War, 1680,
I, i: "They have a poiver o' money." (NED) Gray, Corr.
W. N. Nicholls, 1770, 113: "It will do you a power of good
one way or another." (NED) Dickens, Old C. Shop, 1840,
Liii : "It has done a pozver of work." — General. Mainly old
people.
powerful: adj. and adv. ( + NED, +EDD, +DAE. +T)
Great, considerable ; very, exceedingly. "A pozverjul sight of
folks came." "I'm pozverjul glad to see you." Cf. W. Irving,
Tour Prairies, 1835, xiii: "He was pozverjul tired." (NED)
Dickens, Mut. Fr., 1865, i, v: "He took a pozverjul sight of
notice." (NED)
precious little (few): phr. ( + NED. +T) Very little.
"He knows precious little about farming." Cf. Asa Ciray, Lett.,
1839, 268: "While on the Continent I have received precious
jezv letters." (NED)
preparate: vh. (— W, -hNED) To prepare. Cf. Bk. Quin-
tessence, 1460-70, 8: "Who so coude reparate and preparate
kyndely |^is tier." (NED) — Central and east.
[prepositions, several together] : "Oh, Gal, ain't you a-going
across down over to Rose's?" Cf. Alfred, Voyages oj Ohthere
FOLK s r E K c n 579
ami U'lilfsta)!. 9 c. : ". . . and Hci^ad wikk- iiKiras witt eastan
and Tv'/'(/ ///^/' on cmlangc )?aem hynnin lande."
* press, in the: pJir. Foetus in itlcro. "lie has eiglit chil-
dren and another one in the f^rcss."— DnpHn county.
'pretty, bet (give) a: f^hr. A form of lis^ht verhal wager.
"I bet a f^rctty he never told her where he'd heen. — General.
*pretty, not to do: phr. Said of woman who has been guilty
of immoralitv. — Central.
[price, different ways of asking the] : Ihra' do you sell this?
How nnieh are yoit asking for this? I low nnieli are you getliiu/
for this? How much arc you lioldimj this for? How much are
you letting this go jar? How much docs this cost? Hozv much
do you want for this? Hozv much will this set uic back? What
arc you asking for this? Jlliat arc you letting this go for?
JVhat do you charge for this? What do you get for this?
Jlliaf do vou sell this for? W'hat is this? What is this zvorth?
What will this bring (fetch) ? What will this cost mc?
proffer: vb. ( + W. -fNED, +EDD) To offer as a gift:
to tender one's assistance. "He proffered to help me build the
boat." Cf. Piers Plowman, c. 1362, A. vii, 41 : "And 3if pore
men prof re f^ ou presentes or 3iftes, take]? hem not." Shake-
speare, / Henry IV, c. 1598. v, i. 19: "The Earl of Armagnac
. . . Proffers his only daughter to your Grace." — West.
Illiterate.
prog [pracj] : /;. (—\\\ +NED, — EDD) A kmch given to
a traveler (member of the family or departing guest), to be
eaten during his trip. Cf. Fuller. 1665, Ch. Hist., vii. ii, 290:
"The Abbott . . . every Saturday was to visit their beds, to see
if they had not shuffled . . . purloyned some progge for them-
selves." (NED). — Low-Country. S. C.
prog [prag]: vb. (-W. +NED. +EI)D) To work aim-
lessly, piddle; to roam around idly. Cf. Ouarles, Pmbl., 1635,
II. ii : "We travel sea and soil, we pry. we prowl, We progress,
and we prog from pole to pole." (NED )
O projeck ['prad5ek] : rb. i. ( +W. +DAh:. +T) To
play, .show lack of seriousness, cut up.- — General. *2. To wan-
der about, walk about aimlessly; to pry. — General.
*proofvial: ;;. A small vial used to proof newlv made
whisky. — West.
*proon over: -.■b. To brood over. — Central and east,
proud^: adj. (+\V, +NED. +EDD) Pleased, happy.
"I'm proud you came to see me." Cf. Gen. & Ex., c. 1250,
1414: "Wid gold, and siluer. wid srud. Dis sonde made
de maydcn pnid." (NED) Shakespeare, Rich. //. 1593, iii.
S80 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
iii, 191 : Faire Cousin, you debase your Princely Knee, To
make the base Earth prozud with kissing it." (NED) Dry-
den, Apol. Heroic Poetry, 1677, i, 182: "The author of the
Plain Dealer, whom I am proud to call my friend." (NED)
*proud-: flc?y. ( + W, +NED, +EDD) Of female animals :
maris appetens. Cf. Turberv., Venerie, 1575, vii, 17: "A fayre
Bitch . . . the whiche you may make to goe proude in this
wyse." (NED) P. Beckford, Hunting, 1781, 62: "Watch
over the bitches with a cautious eye, and separate such as are
going to be proud before it is too late." (NED) — General.
*pulley-bone: n. The wishbone. — General.
pullykins: n. ( + DAE) Forceps, pincers. — Central and
east.
*pump-knot: n. A knot on the head produced by a blow. —
West.
*puny list, on the : phr. Sick, indisposed. "He's on the
puny list today and can't work." — General.
*puny-turned : adj. Delicate, sickly. "All his wives have
been puny-turned." — West.
pushed for: phr. ( + EDD) In need of. "He's powerfully
pushed for something to eat." — General.
*pushy: adj. Unpleasantly aggressive. — Granville county.
*pussy-gutted ['pAsi-] : adj. Fat-bellied. Probably from
pursy, "fat, corpulent." — Granville county.
*put above one : vb. Not to believe a person mean enough
to do dishonorable things; generally with a negative. "His
neighbors say he burnt that house, and I wouldn't put it above
him." — Granville county. See put past.
put away: 7'&. ( + NED, +EDD) To bury.— Central and
east.
put down: rb. (— EDD, —DAE) To snow or rain a great
deal. — Granville county.
put off on: I'h. (—DAE) To speak disparagingly of one.
put out: rb. ( + NED. -DAE, -T) To embarrass, to
disappoint ; generally in the passive. "Henry'll be powerful
put out if he can't see Mary tonight." Cf. Shakespeare,
L. L. L., 1588, v, vii, 102: "Ever and anon they made a doubt,
Presence maiesticall would put him out." (NED)
*put past, not: vb. To believe a person mean enough to do
dishoiioral)le things. "1 wouldn't put it past him that he stole
that car." — Central and east. See put above.
put up at: phr. (-FDD) To lodge at or with. — Gran-
ville county and west. Cf. Philip Quarll, lyzy, 32: "We put
F O L K S P F. E C II 581
. , th r,r t rotticrr" (NED) Dickeiis. Barn. Rudgc, 1840,
'^^^ eitS go i to lindon, sir, or put up at once."
^^^pu^t^upfor- pJu: In need of. not having. "They tell me
the c.ld man is put up jor enough to eat.
*put up for-, phr. To endure, to stand for. I wont put
up for his lying any longer. '
auare |kNva>o -r| : pronc. (+\\\ +VA)\1) Queer. Cf.
B^'l^^::^ of tl Lir.^^^, ^-,);" Vene^al'"""^
this isn't the quarest that ever I knowed. -Cxeneral.
*quartering time: n. Resting time for workers between fore-
noon and afternoon.— West and north.
other a q„cyne from a queene." /^ED) S akespeare^^
t/.„..., TV r TCQ8 I i =;i : . . ■ cut me oft the villains neau .
ft "w the'g- nt h 'channel." Scott. Abbot. .820. .v. "My
*rg ma/er «ill stick nothing to call an honest woman a sU,t
or aucau." (NED)
querry \'k^^■ev.\ : prouc. (+NED) QHom- (an excavation
querry I K J y , s r^^ j^ Fannande. Inscr. St.
from which stone is taken), yi. -lv "Thin rrafti
Helais. Abingdon in Leland. Itm., 1458. vi . ^^J}]''^^'^^^
men for the gnrrry made crowes of yre. (NED) bwain
countv. ^ . TT r-
nuick- ;/ (+NED) Quicksand. Cf. Bancroft m H. Gary,
quick ''; /|.^ ' "^ 40:*Tamherein Sloughland, in
the midst of quicks and quagmires. (NED)-Central ana
east
quirl [kw^l] : ». and z^&. (\N : vb ; T : "a tangle") A coil ;
^° Vote: vb. To sound, to make a noise. "I heard a gun
quote over in the woods."— West.
[r, intrusive]: A number ot words here "™| J^'^^^" ^orth
rniolina folk speech have act|iured an r. Uns / is neitner
of fte two transitional .-sounds. Exantpks '-^ ^^^' ^^
iX ■/.</! /.""""). iog"" «"""'"■ Linl'"" "•""■»'", ■
murcli ."<■/.) Pertater (totato). termorrer ilawonow)
Sght^d'^/.') whirp (»■;.,», winder, womern, wormen,
wormern [woman).
S82 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
rabbity: adj. (-W, -NED) Hiding in a field (like a
rabbit).
rack: n. (-W, -NED. -EDD) A small cloud. ''Racks
are forming in the west; I think we're going to have rain." Cf.
Shakespeare, Tempest, c. 1611, iv, i. 156: ". . . the great globe
itself . . . shall dissolve, And leave not a rack behind." — Cen-
tral and east.
raft: ;;. (+W, +NED, +EDD, +DAE, ±T) A large
number of persons or things. "He has a rajt of monev." "A
rajt of people were at the dance." Cf. Barrow. Unity of
Church, Serm., a. 1677, ,321 : "The Synod of Trent was called
to settle a rajt of Errours and Superstitions." (NED) —
General.
*railroad time: n. Correct time. — Central and east.
*rain-seed: n. Mottled clouds (supposedly indicative of
rain). — Central and east.
raisin ['rizn] : prone. ( + W, +NED) NED: "The pro.
['rizn] remained current after the spelling reason had been
dropped, and is still defended by Webster in 1828. . . ."
Walker, Pronouncing Dictionary, 17^2: "If antiquity can give
a sanction to the pronunciation of a word, this [pronunciation]
may be traced as far back as the days of Queen Elizabeth.
[Walker then cites the passage from / Henry IV, below.]
This pun evidently shows these words were pronounced alike
in Shakespeare's time, and that Mr. Sheridan's pronunciation
of this word, as if written rays' n, is not only contrary to gen-
eral usage, but . . . destructive of the wit of Shakespeare. Mr.
Sheridan has Mr. Scott, Mr. Perry, and W. Johnston, on his
side ; and I have Dr. Kenrick and Mr. Nares on mine."
Cf. Shakespeare, / Henry IV, c. 1598, 11. iv, 265: "If reasons
were as plentiful as blackberries. I would give no man reason
upon compulsion." H. J. Pye, Connn. Commentators Shakes,
1807, 225 : "Reason and raisin . . . are pronounced alike in the
age of George the Third, by every person who speaks without
afifectation." (NED)
ramps: n. (+W, -fNED, -hEDD) The ramson, a wild
garlic. Cf. Turner, Libelliis, 1538: "Arisaron . . . puto hodie a
nostris dici rammes aut rampes.'^ (NED) lUair. Aiitobiog.,
1663. Ill, 53: "All things smelling of a root called ramps."
(NED) Dargan. Call Home the Heart, 1932, 118: "Gone to
the Swimmin' Bald for ramps." — West.
*ramrod: vb. To force, deceive, or overpersuade one into
doing something. "The politicians have ramrodded tlic })eople
into voting for this measure. "^ — West.
rapid, to get: plir. (—EDD) To become very angry, belli-
I" 0 L K SPEECH 583
cose. "Don't (jct too rapid, big boy ; 1 might liave to take you
down." — Central and east. Mainly Negroes.
*rare and pitch (charge) : phr. To c|uarrel \ iolently ; to
create a disturl)ance. — Ck-neral.
*rash: ;;. An inllaniniation in tlie mouth of a cliild. —
General.
rawhide: z'h. ( + \\') To bear an ol)ject on one's back. —
West.
*read after: vb. To read the works of a writer; to read
about a person. "I been reading after that fellow ever since
he came out for Congress." — General.
*ready-coine-down: ;/. Plenty of money. "They say he has
the ready-eonie-dozvn.'' — General.
'realize: z'b. To recognize. "I didn't reali::e you with that
new hat." — Central and east.
reckon: vb. ( + W, +NED, +EDD, +DAE, +T) To
suppose, believe, intend. Cf. Tozvnclcy Myst., c. 1460, xvii,
509: "Begyn I to rekyn I think all dysdayn For daunche."
Wriothesley, Cliron., 1530, i, 16: "Some recken he killed him-
selfe with purgations." (NED) Romwis, 161 1, 8, 18: "For
I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy
to be compared with the glory which shal be reuealed in vs."
(Wyclif, denie; Tyndale and Cranmer, suppose; Rheims,
thinkc.) Shakespeare, Tzvo Gentlemen, c. 1591, 11, v, 4: "I
reckon this always, that a man is neuer undone till he l)e
hanged." Hardy. Return of the Native, 1878. vi, iv : "'A bit
and a drap wouldn't be amiss now, I reckon.' "
rectify: z'b. (— W, — NED) To dilute or change the qual-
ity of whisky so as to produce it cheaper. — West.
'redd (up): z'b. (+W, +NED, +EDD, +T, +T-D) To
set a hcjuse in order ; to clear a table. Cf. Rutherford, Lett.,
1637, I, 32^: "Waiting on till . . . the great hall be redd for
the meeting of that joyful couple." (NED) — General.
redd the hair: plir. (+NED, +EDD) To comb the hair.
Cf. Wt'dv. liccl. Hist., 8 c. "Heo hire feax gerardde.'' Ramsay,
Christ's Kirk Gr., 1715, 11, v: "Some redd their Jiair, some
set their bands." (NED) — General. Rare.
red-eye: n. (+W, +NED. +DAE, +T, +T-D) \'ery
strong inferior whisky. — General.
remember: vb. (+W, +NED, +EDD) To remind. Cf.
Chaucer, l-ranklin's Tale, c. 1385. 1243: "And this was, as
thise l)ookes me reinenibre The colde. frosty seson of Decembre."
Paston Letters, Nov. 18, 1456: "And where as I late wrote
unto yow in a lettre by Henre Hansson for the fundacion of
584 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
my college, I am soore sette therupon; and that is the cause
I write now, to reinembre yow agayn to meve my Lords of
Canterbury and Wynchestre. ..." Shakespeare, / Henry IV,
c. 1598, V, i, 32: "And yet I must rcinemher you, my lord,
We were the first and dearest of your friends." Rossetti,
Dante & Circ, a. 1850, i, 98: "She remembered me many
times of my own most noble lady." (NED) — West. See
remind.
remind: vb. (+W, +NED, +EDD) To remember. Cf.
Wither, Vox Pacij., 1645, 189: "Let him re-mind, what Attri-
butes were given." (NED) See remember.
residenter: n. (+W, +NED, +EDD) A resident. Cf.
Sir G. MacKenzie, Crim. Laws Scot., 1678, i, vii, i: "The
Justice-deputs were not ordinar Residenters in Town." (NED)
Phil. Trans., 1765, LV, 194: "The total of residenters . . . being
I5'734-" (NED) — Swain county.
resky ['reski] : (W: = m^y?) Doubtful. — West.
riddle: vb. ( + EDD) To remove fat from the entrails of
animals. — Granville county.
ridicule: n. (+W, +NED, -EDD) A reticule. Cf. Har-
ral. Scenes of Life, 1805, 11, 105: "Angel instantly drew the
paper from her ridicule." (NED)
riffle: n. ( + NED, —DAE, — T) The wave of water pro-
duced by some obstruction on the bottom of a stream. Cf.
F. Baily, Jrl. Tour, 1796, 149: "These places . . . are called
by the inhabitants 'Rifiies' ; I suppose, a corruption of the word
'ruffle,' as the water is violently agitated in these parts."
(NED) — Swain county.
rifle gun: n. (+DAE) A rifle.— West.
right: adv. ( + W, +NED, +EDD, +DAE) Very, ex-
tremely. Right is an adverb frequently used in the South. It
was also very common in early English. Cf. Barbour, Bruce,
1375' XV, 82: "Schir Johne steward . . . wes voundit throu
the body thair With a sper that right scharply schair." Paston
Letters, Ap. 20, 1453 : "The Queue was right well pleased with
her answer." Shakespeare, Tempest, c. 1611, in, iii, 11: "I
am right glad that he's so out of hope."
§right many: pJir. A great many, very much. Cf. Paston
Letters, Ap. 9, 1460: ". . . for by the good Lorde I trist receyve
this holy tyme it is my owen steryng and good hert to you
warde, for that I her and see, and moost of your wele willers,
in eschuyng of inconvenyentz as right matiy talke must ensue
to you ward." Hardy, The Man He Killed, 1902: "We should
have sat down to wet Right many a nipperkin." — (General. All
classes. Very common.
FOLK SPEECH 585
right much: /^//r. l+KDl)) A great many; very much.
Cf. Faston Letters, Ap. 20, 1453: "And when she come in the
Quenys presens, the (Juene made rylif meelie of her. ..." Cax-
ton, Encydos, 1490. h'ETS. 25, 12: "This gentyhiian was
nioche fayr to hyholde . . . ryht honorable emonge them . . .
and . . . yyJit iiioclie byloued of Elysse."
right smart, a: {^hf- (+W, +NED. EDD : snwrt, +DAE,
+ 'r-i) ) A good deal, a great many; quite. "He has a right
SDiorf money." "It's a riglif smart distance to White Plains." —
General. Mainly illiterate.
rimption: ;;. ( + \\') A good deal. — West.
*rinctum-do: //. An unnamed contrivance. "What are you
making?" "Oh, a rinctum-do." — Central and east.
rip and tear: phr. f + NED, +EDD) To curse, quarrel, to
l)e noisily unpleasant. — W'est.
rippit: ;;. and vh. (W. NED: «. ; +EDD) A fight; to
fight. Cf. Douglas, Encados, 1513, iii, 203: "The hundredth
rial temjMllis ding OfT riott, rippift, and of reveling." (NED
and hZDD )
*river, up the: phr. To or at prison. "John's up the river
now."
riz [riz] : vh. (+W, +EDD) Past tense and past par-
ticiple of rise. From A-S risoiu plural past tense of nsan. —
General. Illiterate.
roach: n.^ndvb. ( + DAE, -T, -T-D) A roll-back wave
induced by combing or brushing the hair back ; to comb or brush
the hair in this manner. — General.
*rock house: n. A rock cave; an opening under a rock. —
Caldwell and Swain counties.
*roke: vb. Past tense and past participle of rake. — Guil-
ford county. Rare.
*rolling-stock man: ;;. A migrant worker. — Chapel Hill.
romance around: vh. (-1-EDD) To loaf. — Central and east.
room, in the of: phr. ( + NED. +EDD) In the
place of. Cf. Caxton, Foytes of A., 1489. iii, viii. 183:
"Takynge his leu he sayth to the Captayne that he shall putte
another for hym in his rowme." (NED) 2 Samuel, 161 1. 19,
13: ". . . (}od do so to me . . . if thou be not captain of the
host before me continually /;; the room of Joab." Milton,
P. L.. 1667, III, 285: "Be thou in Adams room The Head of
all mankind." (NED)
*rooster a gun: phr. To cock a gun. Perhaps an example
of verbal modestv or humor. — West.
586 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
rotten: adj. (+W, +NED, +EDD) Common, low, im-
moral, indecent, dishonest. Cf. Wyclif, Works, c. 1380, i, 15:
". . . and of ]?is roten blasfemye come]? many fals jugementis."
Jacob and Esau, 1568, v, vi : "Come out thou Mother Mab,
olde rotten witche." Shakespeare / Henry IV, c. 1598, i, iii,
108: "Neuer did base and rotten policy colour her working with
such deadly wounds." — General.
*rough feed: n. Fodder, hay, and other heavy feed for
cattle.
round-shave: n. i. f + NED. +EDD, — DAE) A concave
iron tool used to round out the inside of barrel staves. Cf.
Holme, Armoury, 1688, iii, viii, 351/1 : "A kind of a small
half round Plain. . . ." (NED)— Yancey county. 2. ( + DAE)
A long-handled iron tool used to chip turpentine pines. — South
and central.
ruck: vh. (EDD: ;/., "noise, racket") To rattle, make a
noise. "I could hear my hack nickiii'." — Central and east.
ruction: ;;. (+W, +NED, -KEDD) A quarrel, a fight.—
Central and east.
rue back: z'b. (W, NED, EDD : without /^ari^) To with-
draw from a l^argain. Cf. Chaucer, Troylits, c. 1374, v, 107:
"Syn I se . . . ]^at to late is now for me to rezvc To dyomede
algate I wol be trewe." (NED)
*ruff [rAf] : prone. Roof of the mouth. — Central and east.
ruin: I'b. (+W, -hNED) To make pregnant ilHcitly.
"He tried to kill the man who had ruined his daughter." Cf.
Gay, Begg. Op., i72y, i: "Tell me. hussy, are you mined or
no?" (NED) Leland. Mem., 1893, i, 164: "She replied,
'Please, sir, I don't live anvwhere now; Eve been ruined.'"
(NED)
tuinate (+W, +NED, +EDD) To ruin. Johnson, Dic-
tionary, 1755: "This word is now obsolete." Cf. Shakespeare,
3 Henry VI, 1593, v, i, 83: "I will not ruinate my Fathers
House, Who gaue his blood to lyme the stones together."
(NED) Dickens, Unconwion Trav., i860, in: "It wasn't their
faults ... if I warn't made bad and ruinated.'" (NED) — Gen-
eral. Obsolescent.
ruination: n. (+W, -hNED, +EDD) Ruin; the cause of
ruin. Cf. Mrs. A. M. Bennett, Juvenile Indiscr., 1876, iii, 142:
"It may be the ruination of you, besides costing a power of
money." (NED)
run in the ground: /'/^r. (+W, +NED, +DAE, +T) To
talk about too much, to reduce to the absurd, to overdo. Per-
haps a figure from hunting : to run the game into a hole in the
FOLK SPF. ECU 58/
ground, where it would be fruitless to attempt to get it. —
General.
*run (one's) lip: flir. To sccjld ; to talk a great deal with-
out saying anything. — General.
*runction: ;;. A noise. — Cha])el Hill.
*ruthers and desires: phr. Wishes (rathcrs) and desires;
usually : "to let one have his nithcrs and desires." — General.
Illiterate.
-s, -es: suffix. Third person plural of present tense. This
usage may he a survival from the northern Middle English. —
Mainly west. Illiterate.
sad': adj. ( + \V, +NED, +EDD) Heavy, sodden. Vve-
quently said of cake, bread, etc. Cf. Wyclif and Purvey, Luke,
c. 1588, 6, 48: ". . . and it mi3t not moue, for it was foundid
on a sad stone." R. Holme, Anuoury, 1688, iii, 31 //i :
"Bakers Terms in their Art . . . Sad, heavy, close Bread."
(NED)
saft [sxh]: prone. (+\V, +XED. +EDD) Soft. Cf.
Dalrymple, Leslie's Hist. Seot., 1596, 11, 2t,S: "[He] prosper-
ouslie landes at Leith . . . with a safte wind." (NED)
Sam Hill, what in the: plir. ( + W, -f DAE, +T) A mild
oath ; a euphemism for a stronger oath. — General.
sass [s?es] : n. (-I-DAE) Shortened form of garden sass;
garden vegetables. — General.
sassafac: n. (+W) Sassafras. — West.
*satefel |'setfol|: adj. Hypocritical, deceitful. — (iranville
county. Kare.
say: z'b. (+XED) To pronounce. "How do you .s-ay that
fellow's name?" Cf. Judg., 161 1, 12, 6: "Then said they vnto
him. Say, now. Shibboleth: and he said Sibboleth." (NED)
says I: elause. ( +NED) / say. Cf. Dryden & Lee, Dk. Guise,
1682, Expl.: "Jack Ketch, says I, 's an excellent Physician."
(NED) Gordon & Trenchard. Ind. Whig, 1720, 215: "Says
I to myself, This reverend ill-tongu'd Parson will certainly
quarrel." (NED)
scandalize: vh. (+\\', +NED) To cause a scandal to one.
Cf. Rheims, Matthew. 1382. 18. g: "And if thine eye scandalise
thee, plucke him out. and cast him from thee. ..." Shake-
speare, Tzvo Gentlemen oj I'erona, c. 1591, n, vii, 6r : "I fear
me it will make me scandalized.'"
scase [skts] : prone. ( + W, -l-NED) Scarce. Cf. Bramp-
ton, Penit. Ps.. 1414, Percy Soc. 21 : "To synfull man thou were
588 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
neuere scace.'' (NEDj Tyndale, Acts, 1526, 14, 18: "With
these sayings scacc refrayned the people." (NED) — General,
Illiterate.
*scliool breaking: ;;. Commencement, the close of the school
year. — General.
Scratch, Old: ». ( +\V, +NED, +EDD) The devil. "If
you aren't a good Ijoy, Old Scratch will get you." Cf. Aniory,
Buncle, 1756, i, 303: "Scratch was the name I had for the evil
one." (NED) Trollope, Three Clerks, 1858, xx : "He'd have
pitched me to Old Scratch." (NED)
*scratch of a pen: phr. The smallest bit of writing. Letter
from Halifax county, 1836: ". . . she has not the scratch of a
pen to sho for anything."
scrimption: n. ( + W, +EDD) A small amount. Cf. Ken-
nedy, Banks Boro, 1867, 208: "You won't get the least scrim-
shin of nice hot cake." (EDD)- — Central and east.
*sculp: rb. To plow a newground superficially. — Wake
couniy.
*scutter ['skAta, -3 ] : n. "A very mischievous person." —
Johnston county.
see: vb. ( + W, +NED, +EDD) To look after, to take
care of, to accompany home (to look after, protect). Cf.
Chaucer, Summoner's Tale, c. 1385, 469: "Unnethes myghte
the frere speke a word, Till atte laste he seyde, 'God you see.' "
Shakespeare, Cor., 1607, iii, 137 : "Go see him out at Gates. . . ."
(NED)
*set: n. A covey of birds. — Watauga county.
*set the hair on (one) : phr. To outdo one ; to give one a
severe tongue lashing. — West.
*set out: vb. To go courting. — West.
*set, school: phr. School begins, opens for the school year.
— Central and east.
*set up with: vb. To court. See PADS, No. 2, pp. 26, 30.
■ — General. Obsolescent.
setting-up: ;/. ( + DAE) Awake. — Central and east.
several: n. and adj. (+W, +NED, +EDD) A great
many. "I have several cherries this year."
shank of the evening, (day) : phr. (+W, +NED) The
late afternoon, the early evening. — General. See pi)ik oj the
evening.
sharp, look: z'b. ( + NED, -EDD) To look carefully; to
keep a strict watch. "If you'll look sharp, you can see that
squirrel on the left limb." Cf. Ld. Auckland, Corr., 1788, 11,
FOLK S P K E C It 589
69: "At nine o'clock we began to look sJiarf' after tlu' fortune
hunters." (X1':D)
she (her): f^roii. ( + KDD) Used sometimes to refer to
inanimate things (not personified) — a gun. a stove, a chjck.
"Yes. she's a good ck)ck. She don't never lose no time. Dora
sets licr every morning by the train. I can't stand to hear her
ticking of a night; so Dora stops her every night and sets her
every morning." — Central and east.
sheets, three in the wind: phr. ( + NED) Drunk.
Cf. I'2gan. Real Life, 1821. i. xviii. 385: "Old Wax and Bristles
is about three sheets in the iciiul." (NED) — Central and east.
*shell corn to (one) : phr. To talk angrily to one. — Guil-
ford county. Rare.
shet: vb. ( + \V, +NED, +EDD) To shut, to close. All
tenses. Cf. Chaucer, IVife of Bath's Tale, c. 1385. 1141:
"And lat me shette the dores and go thenne." Caxton,
Eneydos, 1490, EETS, No. 57, p. 79: ". . . whiche thinges she
kept clos & shctt withynne the shryne of her sorrowful!
thoughte." Turberv., Faulconrie, 1575, 292: "The hawke will
sniffe often and shet her eyes towards night." (NED) See
shot.
shet of, get: See shut.
shieling, shealing: u. ( + W, +NED, +EDD) A shep-
herd's hut. Cf. Scott, Leg. Montrose, 1819, xviii : "Montrose
. . . was laid down to sleep in a miserable shieling." (NED)
—Chapel Hill.
shilling: u. A dime. (— T, — T-D). — Central and east.
shimmel: n. (NED : "A streak of white on a horse's face")
A white horse.
shin: vb. To shine.
*shinny, cut up : phr. To create a disturbance.
shirt-tail boy: ;;. (-HDAE) A small boy. Perhaps from
the fact that some small boys in pre-Civil War da}s wore only
a long shirt in w^arm weather. — Central and east.
shivering owl : ;;. (+W) The screech owl. — Central and
east.
*shoe: ;/. Figurative: A situation, an undertaking. Letter
from Halifax county, 1838: "It is a shoe that you have never
had on your foot before."
*shoe-around : ;;. A country dance, a frolic, a party. — West.
*short-talk: rb. To talk crossly. "It would shame Lige
powerfully if you'd short-talk him in company." — West.
shot: rb. ( + NED, -l-EDD) Past tense and past participle
N.C.F.. Vol. I, (39)
590 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
of shut. Cf. Cov. Lcct-hk., 1521, 669: "The gates of the Citee
shal-be shot euery nyght at viij of the clok." (NED) Tyn-
dale, Dent., 1530, 11, 17: "And then the wrath of the Lorde
. . . shott vp the heuen that there be no rayne." (NED) See
shet.
shot, get : See shut.
*shot-gun house: n. A house having all its rooms in one
row. — Alamance county. Also in Arkansas.
*shoved to death : phr. Very busy. ''Vm shoved to death
trying to finish my plowing." — Central and east.
*show: ;;. ( — NED) A person regarded as more humorous
and lively than the average. — Central and east. 'That man is
certainly a show."
showancy: n. (—NED) Aggressiveness, "pushiness." A
variant of assuraiiey ( ?). — Granville county. Illiterate.
*shower of children: phr. A great manv children. — Chapel
Hill.
shut, get (be) of: phr. ( + W, +NED, +EDD)
To get rid of. Cf. Nashe, Saffron IValdren, 1596, To Rdr., D,
3 : "Doo what I can, I shall not be shut of him." (NED) — Gen-
eral. Illiterate.
sib: n. (+EDD) A companion, a relative. — East.
side with: 7'/;. ( + NED) To defend ; to join. Cf. Holland,
trans. Livy, 1600, xxix. vi, 713: "The citie of Locri ... in the
generall revolt of all Italic, had sided also with the Carthagin-
ians." (NED)
side-kick: n. (+W) A beau who is not the regular one.
sight^: II. ( + W, +NED, -HEDD) A large number. Cf.
Gower, Conf., 1390, i, 121 : "Out of his sepuhure Ther sprong
... Of floures such a wonder syhte. . . ." (NED) Burton,
Anat. Mel, 1621, 11, iii, iii : "O ye Gods, what a sight of
things do not I want ?" (NED)
sight^: n. ( + NED, +EDD) The pupil of the eye.
"Henry's gal's got danged funny eyes. The sight o' one's
bigger'n the other'n." Cf. Palsgr., 270/1 : "Sight of the eye,
le noyre de loyil." (NED)
sight, a^: /;. ( + W. +NED, +EDD) A great deal. "I've
studied about it a sight." Cf. T. Hook, G. Gurney, 1836, 11,
49: "One . . . eats and drinks a considerable sigJit more than
one does at home." (NED) — General.
sight, a (one)-: ;/. ( + DAE) The distance one can see. Cf.
Bartlett, 1848: "In North Carolina the distance that can be
seen on a road is called a sight." (DAE)
59 1
FOLK S P E K C H
*sight: vK To lunnt ..r show the way. 'Til su,hl you to
hi-, house.'"- -Central and cast.
•sight rather, had a: ^/.;. ^^ron^c-r than <. n. -. I .i
, sj„ rather sec her dea.l than nKU-ne<l to tha .knnl .
:' . ,. , vi.-i) -1)\1<:) I nnsnal, worth lookmg
Granville etuuity.
*si?n TJav to: /^//r. I'ay attention to.
• -^ /L,„,^^ • -/) I +\in:>) To hiut, to make known.
signify (round). c/>. '+'\'\-'' , ^.j ... .'Teeth luulst
C\ Shakesneare. . //c/zrv / /. ^- i .i9-' ^' y.- :'-+■ .,„
lou in thv head To sunnjy thou cam'st to hite the world. _
*sin- 'rh To hiss hke a goose. I'robahly of onomatopoeic
ori!n' "1 think that old goose has a nest. She has been sm-
Inui a't me all the morning."-Granville county.
.inkers- ;/ ( -W. -^AE) Dtmiphngs cooked with
ch'kJ:^"- some other meat.-Granville and Swain coun le.
<;i«.tren- n ( +\V. +EDD) Sisters. Cf. English Gilds, i2>^9,
EFTS No. 40. p. 29: ". . . al bretheren and systcrcn schulyn
helden 'and kepen upon here power."
size of: /'/n-. (+EDD) The truth ot (the matter ).-Cen-
''tklmi^on: n. A small an.otmt ; not enough to be concerned
"'skipping-jenny: .. Rice and peas cooked together.-East.
•slack, to keep up: pin: Not to work much^East.
slack talk: ..and W. (+NED,+EDD) Gossip, idle talk .
to gossip, to talk idly.— \\ est.
*slam: adr. luitirely.-Central and east.
*slam, a whole: />/n'. A great many .-Central and east
; , w +\ED +EDD) Completely, directly.
Cr'l?iket; kI:/) H». ^^•. X. -A turnstile leading s,a,
avvav into the meadows." (NEO) , , , ,
■slapping-high: .uij. Of a child : hiRh 0,00.,!, to he slappcl.
—Kandoli)h county.
•slaunchways r.K>n,jwe.l : ,.,//. and a,h: Slan.uays
•slew, slue: ,0 A .n-at nnmher. -A ,*.. of people was
"luckenslide: »,/y. (-NED. -I'-"") SU.ping.-Central
"'"'."""■ , vv +NFD -EDD, -DAE. -T) A small
■'^^'l l.,n,l Cfl/two" />•<-»»<,/> b.frf... 1624, Bundle .08
Fry "One kttdii,; orbuildin. ('w„h a little ,*>-• of .round
thereunto . . .)•" (NED)
592 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
*slipper-slide : ;/. A shoe horn. — Central and east.
*sloosh [shij] : «. A great many. "I got a big sloosh of
chickens this spring." — Central and east.
slosh out [slaj] : vb. ( + DAE) Of liquid: spill out; to
cause to spill out. — Central and east.
*slow-joe: ;;. A water-run hominy beater. — West.
slud [slAdJ : z'b. Past tense and past participle of slide. Cf.
Morte Arfhurc, 14 or 15 c, 3854: "His hand sleppid and slode
o slante one the mayles." — Illiterate.
*slunch: vb. To slant.
smack: odz'. ( + EDD) Completely. — Central and east.
*small: n. A dime.
*smidgum: ;;. Smidgin, a small amount. — Rare.
smooch up: ( — DAE: without h/i) To dress up.
snippy: odj. (-W, -NED, -EDD) Proud.— Central
and east.
snollygoster: 11. ( + DAE) DAE : "A Georgia editor kindly
explains that 'a snollygoster is a fellow who wants office re-
gardless of party, platform or principles, and who, whenever
he wins, gets there by sheer force of monumental talknophical
assumnacy.' " — Wake county.
snouch up: rb. To dress up.
snurly: adj. (NED: "snarly, full of snarls or knots";
4-EDD) Twisted, knotty. — Caldwell county.
so as: conj. (+W, -fNED) So that. Cf. Queen Eliza-
beth, Letters of Queen Elizabeth and James ]1 of Scotland, 16
c, Letter xliii : ". . . we doe therefore return our said seruant
to reside with you as our ambassadour as heretofore he hath
been, so as all former intelligences may continew betwixt you
and us. . . ."
sob: Z'b. (+W. +NED, -hEDD) To be thoroughly wet.
soaked. "Your shoes are sobbing." Cf. Evelyn. Fr. Card.,
1658, 267: "When the tree being sobb'd and wet, swells the
wood, and loosens the fruit." (NED)
sobbing: adz'. (-I-EDD) Very (wet). "Your clothes are
sobbing wet."
sock into: z'b. (T : def. not same as here, but illustration fits
definition here.) To thrust or drive into. "This is the toughest
meat I ever socked a fork in." — Granville county.
soft sawder: n. and vb. ( + W, -f NED. +EbD) Flatterv ;
to flatter. Cf. E. Fitzgerald, Lett., 1889, i, 232: "He ... by
dint of good dinners and soft sawder finally draws the country
gentry to him." (NED)
FOLK SPEECH 593
some-time: adj. ( — W, —NED) Undc'iK'iulahk' ; acting
only at such time as would seem favorable to oneself; ()])]X)r-
tunistic. "She's a soinc-timc friend; I don't want to have any-
thing to do with her." — Guilford county. See somctimcy.
sometimey: adj. Same as somc-tiiiic, q.:'. — Chapel Hill.
*song ballit: ;/. A ballad, a folk song. — West.
sont [sont|: rb. (-I-NED) Past tense and past participle
of jiv»i/.— Mainly illiterate Negroes.
soogan: n. (+W, +NED, +EDD) A kind of saddle used
on an ox to transport objects on. — Avery county. See sugan.
soon: adj. (±\V, +NED, +EDD) Early. "Cf. Wyclif,
ScL Wks., c. 1380, I. 235: "Rut Crist tolde hem of souncre
perils. . . ." (NED) I.angley, tr. Pol. Verg. dc Invent.,
1546, II, 105: "The old proverbe is true; that as soone sow^ing
somewhat deceaveth, so late sowing is always naught." (NED)
— General.
sow [sau] : ;;. (—DAE: sozv-bug) The silver fi.sh (Saccha-
riiia). — Granville county.
spang: adv. (+W, -f NED'; T : definition does not agree with
the one here but the illustrative sentence does.) Directly,
completely, quite. "He jumped spang in the middle of the
water." — General.
speciment: prone. ( +NED, — EDD) Specimen. Cf. Cave,
Eeclesiastiei, Creg.-Nac, 1683, 282: "He had scarce given a
Spceiinenf of his Learning." (NED) — Yancey county.
spell: vb. (+W, +NED, +EDD) To narrate, to tell.—
Forsyth county.
sperit ['spent] : prone. ( + W) Spirit. Cf. Mortc Arthure,
14 or 15 c, 4227 : "And thus passes his speryt."
spit cotton: plir. (— W) To spit froth from the mouth
caused by drinking whisky. "Way down South where they all
spit cotton, Poor man dies, he's .soon forgotten." — Parody on
"Dixie" made by a North Carolina mountaineer. Cf. PADS,
No. 2, pp. 50, 54. Same as spit ivhite, q.v.
spit white: phr. (+NED) NED: "To eject frothy-white
sputum from the mouth." Cf. Massinger & Dekker, Virg.
Mart., 1622, jii, iii : "Had I bin a Pagan stil, I could not haue
spit li'hite for want of a drink." (NED) See spit cotton.
*split (one's) load : phr. To beget twins. — Central and east.
spondulix: n. ( — W, —NED, — T) The usual meaning
is money, but in some sections the term refers to sexual de-
sire.— Central and east.
square (a) round: vb. (-fEDD) To make room for one.
59 !- NORTH CAROLIXA FOLKLORE
"Square around for John and let him have a seat." — Central
and east.
squirts: ;/. (+\V, +NED, +EDD) Diarrhea. C£.
Promptorium Parvulorum, c. 1460: "Scqzvryf, idem quod flvx,
supra." (NED)
*stomping: adv. Very, excellent. "Mr. Charlie is a
stompin' good man to work for." — Guilford county.
start: vh. ( + NED) To find. "I've lost my cow and I
can't start her anywhere."
start-naked: adj. ( + \V, +XED) Stark-naked. Older
forms are stcort-nakct, steort-nakcd , stert naked. A-S steort,
means "tail." Stark-naked comes from stcort-naked. NED :
"The literal sense would seem to be 'naked even to the tail.' "
This is another of the many examples which show that the
dialect form is the older and the historically better form. Cf.
Juliana, c. 1225, 16: "& he het hatterliche strupen hire steort-
naket." (NED)
step aside: vb. ( + NED) To commit (sexual) immoral-
ity. Cf. Burns, Addr. to Unco Guid. 1786. vii : "To step aside
is human." (NED)
*stick-broom : ;;. "A store-bought" broom — one that has
a stick for a handle ; the "bresh-broom" (a home-made broom)
has no stick. — Central and east.
stink: vb. (-1-NED) To emit a pleasant odor. "That
pumgranny shore stinks good." Cf. Aelfric, Grammar, 11 c,
37: "Ic stinee swote oleo." (Bosworth and Toller, A-S Diet.)
Ormin, c. 1200, 8194: "To strawwnenn gode gressess J^ger, j^aet
stunnkenn swi]?e swete." (NED)
*stinking-jim: n. A small terrapin (Sicrno-notJierus odora-
tus). Other names are: stinking turtle, sti)iky pot, and stinky
turtle. — Central and east.
*stomach, to turn (one's) : phr. To make one sick or dis-
gusted.— Central and east.
*store-bought : adj. Bought at a store rather than made at
home. "Is that a store-bought shirt you got on?" — Central
and east.
story: n. and vb. (W: "a falsehood"; -l-NED) A liar;
a lie; to tell a falsehood. Generally euphemistic. "You storied
to me about going to that dance." Cf. Aubrey, Lives, Sir H.
Blount, a. 1697, i, no: "Two young gentlemen that heard Sir
H. tell this sham so gravely . . . told him they wondered he
was not ashamed to tell storys. . . ." (NED) W. S. Gilbert,
Utopia, 1893, 11: "Oh, you shocking story." (NED)
stout: adj. ( + W, 4- NED, -fEDD) Healthy, strong. Cf.
I- O L K S P E !•: C H 595
Shakespeare. Timon. c. 1607. iv. iii. 3-': "^Y^<^ '^""' '"''"'
pillo^ves from ])elow their heads." rurcjoy Letters, I742, h,
^4- "I would have made it a hrace [of hares] hut now the
green wheat is come up the hares ^row stout & are exceedmg
hard to catch."— West. See last ([notation under give out- .
g^jj^g. .,/, (+NED. -T) Past tense and past participle
of stave (^)- to thrust in. drive in with great force. "He
store thai knife in Lem's hack."— General. Illiterate,
stove-room:;;. (-NED) The kitchen.
stove up: adj. (-EDD. -T-D) Stiff, sore, lame hecause
of hard work or jihysical injury.— Central and east.
*stow: ;;. A rahbit burrow.— Central and east.
'stracted: prone. (EDD: ''straet, an aphetic form of the
obs pp. "distract' ") Z);^/;-ar/rc/.— Central and east.
straddle-bug: ;;. (-W. -NED, DAE: some illustrations
fit meaning here: -T. -T-D) A politician who tries to seem
on both sides of a question.— Central and east.
strenth fstrenG. strmB] : prone. (+W, +NED, +EDD)
Strenqth. Cf. Barbour, Bruee, 1375. i. 5^4: "Then slayn wes
mone'thowsand Off thaim with-owt, throw strenth of hand.
James VI of Scotland, Letters of Queen Elizabeth and James
VI of Scotland, 16 c. Letter xxvii : "... I looke that ve will
gene me at this tyme suche a full satisfaction ... as sail be a
meane to strenthin and unite this yle. . . ."
*stretch: vb. To wait on the table. "I'll cook, wash dishes,
and do such thini,-s; but vou'U have to do the sirefehmej."—
\\'est.
*stribbly: adj. and adv. Untidy: untidily.— Catawba county.
strike (up with) : rb. ( + NED) To meet, to come in con-
tact with. "If you strike up with Jini. let him know I'm here.
"This is the coolest place I've struek." — General.
strollop: ;;. (-EDD) A woman of loose or questionable
character. — West.
'stroy: prone. ( + W, +NED, +EDD) Destroy. Cf.
Morte Arthurc, 14 or 15 c, 1927: "But 3if thowe wolde alle
my steryne stroye fore the nones." Shakespeare. Antony and
Cleopatra, c. 1607, in, xi, 53: "See How I convey my shame
out of thine eye By looking back What I haue left behind
Stroy' d in dishonor."
*struck: ;;. A bushel. From "struck" bushel (?).— Chapel
Hill.
*strut, in a: phr. To be under strain, hard pressed, usually
by work. "I've been ;;; a terrible strut trying to finish my
plowing before it rained again."— Granville county.
596 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
*stud horse: n. A man who has fathered many children. —
Central and east.
study (about): z'b. ( + EDD) To take under considera-
tion; to think about. "I'll study about helping him pay that
debt." Cf. Shakespeare, RicJiard II, c. 1595, v, v, i : "I haue
been studying how I may compare this prison unto the world."
Yks. Comet, 1844, i, i : "Moare Ah studied aboot it an' war it
pottered me." (EDD) — Central and east.
*studyinent: n. Consideration, study, reverie. "He's in a
powerful studymcnt trying to figure out how to get the money."
Illiterate. Mainly Negroes.
stump: vb. (-W, -hDAE) To confuse, to outdo. "What
he said has got me stumped." — Central and east.
*stun: vb. Past tense and past participle of stand. — Guil-
ford county. Rare.
*such a matter as : phr. Of time: about, approximately.
"He was here such a matter as two hours ago." — Central and
east.
sug(g)an: ;;. (-W, -NED, -EDD) A bag-wallet.
Probably same word as soogan, q.v.
sugar loaf: ;/. (-W, -NED. -DAE) Whisky.
*sugar-mouthed: adj. Deceitful, "sateful," "sweet-mouthed."
— Central and east.
sull (up): Z'b. ( + DAE) To be sullen ; to sulk. DAE:
"? Back formation from sullen, a." — West.
*sun-ball: n. The sun. — Central and east.
sun-pains: ;/. (-I-DAE) Severe pains in the limbs and
body, as reported by slaves. The pain began with the rising
of the sun and ceased w^hen it set. — Granville county. Obsolete.
sun-time: n. (— W, — NED) Standard time as opposed to
daylight-saving time or war time. — A modern term. General.
survig(e)rous [s3'vaig(9) ras, sa^-] : adj. (+W, +DAE,
-1-T, +T-D) Fierce.— West.
swag: n. (-1-DAE) A depression, a sag. "Tliis floor has
a szt.'ag in the center." — Swain county.
swag: Z'b. ( + W, +NED, -hEDD) To sink down, to
sag. — West.
swage [swed5] : vb. i+W, -f-NED, -I- EDD) To assuage.
Cf. Wyclif, Hereford, and Purvey, Proverbs, 1381-88, 26. 10:
". . . and he that settith silence to a fool, szvagith iris." Milton,
Paradise Lost, 1667, i, 556: "Not wanting power to mitigate
and szvage With solemn touches, troubl'd thoughts."
*swamp dollar: ;;. A large penny. — Duplin county.
FOLK SPKF. CH 597
*sweeling: n. A loaf of bread. — West.
*swink: i-b. To shrink. — Granville county.
*swunk: vh. Past tense and past participle of szcink, q.v. —
Granville county.
*tabernickle ['toebDinikl] : prone. Tabernacle . — Granville
county.
tacky party: ;;. (+DAE) An informal party attended by
persons dressed in "tacky" clothes. — Central and east. Obso-
lescent.
*taddick: ;;. A small amount. Same as tod dick, q.v.
take and plus another verb: phr. (-I-DAE) Cf. Gen. &
Ex., c. i2^o, 1751 : "He tock and tvenfe and folwede on."
(NED) fzvo Fifteenth-Century Cookery-Books, EETS, No.
91, p. 31 : ''Take and sethe a gode gobet of Porke. . . ." Cax-
ton. Eneydos, 1490. EETS. No. 57, p. 2/: "But dydo . . . toke
and hydde priuily in a certyn place of hir shippe all the grete
tresours. . . ." — Central and east. Illiterate.
take (a)way: vh. ( + NED, +EDD) To go, to go away.
Cf. R. G. Gumming, Hunter's Eije S. Ajr., 1850. 125/1 :
"Thev set the dogs after him, when he took awa\ up the river."
(NED)
take in, school: phr. ( + DAE) To begin school after a
recess or a vacation. "School takes in next Monday." — Central
and east.
take on: vh. (+W, +NED, +EDD) To make a great
ado, to grieve. Cf. Syr Gener, c. 1430. 5200: "That yondre
knight on the white stede Taketh on as a devil in dede."
(XED) Coverdale, Num., 1535. 14. i : "Then the whole con-
gregacion toke on and cryed. ..." ( XED) Shakespeare,
Merry IVives, c. 1599, iv, ii, 22: "Why, woman, your husband
is in his old lunes again. He so takes on yonder with my hus-
band, so rails against all married mankind, so curses all Eve's
daughters . . . that any madness I ever yet beheld seem'd but
tameness, civility, and patience to this his distemj)er. . . ."
*take out^ : ( — NED) To unliitch an animal. — Central and
east.
takeout-: f-NED. +EDD) To set out; to go. Gen-
erally indicates hurry. "He took out to town." "He totdc out
and run."
take up at: phr. ( + NED) To live at or with, to turn in.
Cf. Pepys. Diary, Oct. 14, 1662: "To Cambridge . . . , whither
we came at about nine o'clock, and took up at the 'Beare.' "
(NED) — Central and east.
598 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
talk (to)i: vh. ( + EDD) To court. "We been talkin
about two years." Cf. Shakespeare, Lear. c. 1605. iv, v, 30:
"My lord is dead ; Edmund and I haue falk'd."
talkto^: vb. (+W, +NED) To abuse, to give a cur-
tain lecture. Cf. Clark Russell, Jack's Courtsh., 1884, xvii:
"A person capable of giving a seaman a talking to." (NED) —
Central and east.
*tall pin: ;/. A safety pin.
*'taren't [ta:nt] : cl. A contraction = "it is not." " 'Tarcn't
no matter for 'em; they got what was comin' to 'cul" — Cen-
tral and east.
tarry: vh. {+\N, +NED, -hEDD, -FDAE, +T) To stay,
to wait, to abide — the usual literary sense. "I'd be glad if
you would tarry with me till the evening." Cf. E. E. Allit. P.,
14 c, c, 87: "I schal tarry J?ere a whyle." (NED) Psalms,
161 1, 68, 12: "She that tarried at home, diuided the spoile." —
West. Mainly illiterate.
taste, a: n. ( + W, +NED, +EDD) The least bit, a
little. "Your car is a taste better than mine, but there isn't two
hundred dollars difference." — Central and east.
*tater riffle ['teta-] : ;;. Light bread. — West.
team: n. (+W, +NED, +DAE) A vehicle drawn by a
horse or horses. In New England a farmer will say: "I will
put some apples in my team, hitch up my horses, and drive to
town." This same usage occurs in the South. In Homeric
times the Greeks and Trojans did not ride on horseback ; yet
Homer tells us (in the Iliad) that a warrior "dismounted from
his horse" — that is, from his chariot. (Condensed from a re-
port by Dr. George W. Lay.)
*tear up the house: phr. To disarrange, throw into dis-
order, things in a house. — Central and east.
techious, tetchious ['tetjias] : adj. Same as techis. tetchis;
techy, tetchy, q.v. — General. Illiterate.
techis, tetchis ['tetjis] : adj. Same as techious, tetchious;
techy, tetchy, q.v. — General. Illiterate
techy, tetchy ['tetji] : of//. (+W, +NED, +EDD) Of
persons or animals : irritable, easily provoked, sensitive ; of
things, conditions : that which brings about irritation, etc. Half-
educated persons believe that techy (etc.) is a corruption of
touchy. But the reverse is true : the "learned" word touchy
is a corruption of the older (now folk) word techy. (Just as
the half -educated have taken IW^lsh rabbit and "corrected" it
to Welsh rarebit. Verily "a little learning is a dangerous
thing.") Cf. Shakespeare, Rouieo and Juliet, c. 1593, iv, iv,
r 0 L K s p F r c IT 599
i68: "A grievous hiirllK'u was thy l)irth ti) me; Tetchy and
wayward tliy infancy." W . Perkins, in Liiisinore Papers, 1639,
Sec. II. iv, 53: "lie is as tcachy as any wasp." (NED)
Tfhomas) Adams, Works, 1629. 111, 266: "Now, God is never
anyry without cause ; he is no froward God, of no tetchy and
pettish nature. . . ." (Cent Diet.) — General.
tell: vb. i+W, +NED, +EDD) To distinguish, to recog-
nize. "Ik' fore I got these glasses, 1 couldn't tell a man across
the street."
*tell out in front: phr. To tell one frankly to his face.—
Chapel Hill.
tetched in the head: phr. (— EDD) Insane, crazy, t(juched.
— Cirainille and Guilford counties.
thank-you-ma'm: ;/. ( -W, -NED, -DAE, -T-D) Some-
thing of slight worth. "1 wouldn't give him a thaiik-\oi(-iiia'iii
for every dog he has." — Central and east.
*thanky-poke: ;;. A lady's purse.
thanky-suit: /;. A suit given away; hence a rather worth-
less one.
that: adv. (+\V, +NED, -fEDD) So, to such an extent
or degree. "She's that pretty she'll soon he married." Cf.
St. Ciithbert, c. 1450, Surtees 6279: "His sekenes pat encrest,
He gert beere him . . . Aboute l^e contre on a here." (NED) —
Central and east.
that 'air: prone. ( + NED) That there. Cf. J. Neal, Bro.
Jonathan, 1825, i, 224: "Is that 'air fellow gone yet?" ( NED)
the I art. (-I-NED, -I- EDD) Used before names of many
diseases or sicknesses: the cold, the headache, the pneumonia.
Cf. Sax. Leechd., c. 1000, 11, 314: "Wid pccre 3eolwan adle . . .
3enim ]-?es sceorpan moran and belonican." (NED) Pepys,
Diary, Mar. 26, 1662: "This being, by God's great blessing, the
fourth solemn day of my cutting for tlie stone this day four
years. . . ." Shakespeare, Tiuwn, c. 1605. \\, iii, 433: "Go,
suck the subtle blood o' the grape. Till //;<• high feuer seethe
your blood to froth. . . ." — General.
the, in bed: phr. In bed. — Central and east.
theirn \d3\\\: pron. ( +W, +NED, -f-EDD) Theirs. See
Jiern. — General. Illiterate.
*theims ffi^-nz] pron. Theirs. — General. Illiterate.
theirself, theirselves ['Qs^self, -selvz] : pron. ( +\\' , -I- NED,
-l-EDD) Themselves. Cf. Cursor M ., 14 c, Cott. 537S: "To
ches }?am ware pair-self will neuen." (NED) Caxton, Rule
St. Benet., 1490, xxxiii, 129: "Nor is it leefull ony to haue a
thyng to theyrselj propre." (NED) Morgan, Algiers, 1728, i,
6oO NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
Pref. 22: "They aver that they tJicir selves have been no less
scandalized than I myself." (NED)
them: dcm. adj. (+W, +NED, +EDD) Those. Some
linguists believe that tJicui in "fJicni boys," etc., is a survival of
the dative plural of the Anglo-Saxon definite article and
demonstrative 9aein (6ain); that the word survived in Early
Modern English as a dative and then was used as any case.
Cf. H. Clapham, Bible Hist., 1596, 92: "To Samaria and them
parts." (NED) Topsell, Foiir-f. Beasts, 1607, 126: ''Them
few dogs which be kept must be tyed up in the day time."
(NED)— Illiterate.
then: conj. (+\V, +NED, +EDD) Than. Than and
then were the same word originally, but later were differen-
tiated in meaning. Shakespeare's First Folio has many ex-
amples of then — than. Cf. Malory, Arthur, 1470-85, ix, xxxv,
395 : "I am more heuy that I can not mete with hym, thenne for
al the hurtes." (NED) Coverdale. Ps., 1535, 95, 4: "He is
more to l)e feared tlien all goddes." (XED) Shakespeare,
Cymb., c. 1610, iii, v, 10: "To shew lesse Soueraignty then
they, must needs Appeare vn-Kinglike." — Illiterate.
*they: e.vpl. There. "They's a sight o' fruit this year." —
Illiterate.
thick-neck: n. (-EDD) A bully.— Chapel Hill.
thing: //. (— EDD) A lively, interesting person. "Mr.
Henry sho' is a thing." — Granville county.
thing-um-a-jig: n. ( + NED) General term for some ob-
ject whose name the speaker does not know or cannot recall ;
or a name for an object regarded jocularly or with ridicule. Cf.
L. Carroll, Hunting of Snark, 1876, i, 9: "He would answer
... To 'What-you-niay-call-um ?' or 'What-was-his-name !' But
especially 'Thing-iim-a-jigV " (NED)
think: vb. (+NED, -FEDD) To cause one to think, to re-
mind one. "Jim, think me to go by your grandma's and get
that pig." Cf. Ayenh., 1340, 100: "pis word uader }'e bcpengp
]?et ]?ou art zone." (NED)
this here: pron. ( + W, +NED, +EDD) This. Cf. Toxmie-
ley Mysteries, c. 1460, 137: "The best wyse that we may hast
vs outt of this here." Meric Casaubon, trans. Marcus Aurelius's
Meditations, 1634, To the Reader, 3: ". . . M. Aurel. Antoninus
his booke : which either must bee this here, or none." — Illiterate.
thoughted: 7'b. (-fEDD) Past tense and past participle of
think. "I thoughted he'd come back." Cf. Shakespeare, Venus
and Adonis, I =,g^, 5: "Skk-thoughted Venus makes amain to
him. , . ." — Central and east. Illiterate.
FOLK SPEECH 6oi
thoughty: adj. ( + \V. ±NED, ±KDD) 'I'houghtful, kind.
— Illiterate.
'thout lOautj : /'/r/'. ( + N1^1)) Without. "Don't go out-
doors thout your coat on."
*'thouten ['5uutii|: /rc/i., conj.. and adv. Without. "1
won't go 'thoutcn him." "1 won't go 'fhoiitcii you go." —
Illiterate.
threaten: rb. ( +\V, -NED, -j-EDD) To plan, intend ; to
he on the point of doing something. "I've heen threatening to
come to see you for a long time." "It's threatening to rain any
minute."
thribble: r/'. anda</y. ( + W, +EDD) Trehle.
thumb-paper: n. ( -1-DAE. — T-D) A loose piece of pai>er
moved from page to page to protect a l)ook against "thumh-
spots." — Central and east.
*thunder, to play: f^hr. To commit an error or a hlunder. —
Central and east.
thunder-struck: (/(/;'. (— \\') Lightning-struck.
'tidier: ;;. A good housekeeper, a person who tidies up
things. — Central and east.
*tobystruck: adj. (EDO: ''toby-trot, a half-witted per-
son.") Cgly ; mentally unbalanced. — Central and east.
toddick: n. (+W) A small amount. Same as taddiek,
q.v. NED: "Tod is app. the same word as Mod. E. Eris . . .
todde "bundle, pack, small load.' " — General.
§toder, todder, tudder ['tAda, -a^] : pron. and adj. The other.
Cf. Paston Letters, June 29, 1454: "And Gyl^oun seyde that he
wolde endyte as many as he cowde understonde that wer of the
toder party. . . ." Jrl. of the Lakeland Dieilect Soeiety, Dec.
1945, II : "Tudder stoo-ary consarns his lordship when he was
owt shuttin' (jn f mosses."
tolerable: adj. (+W, +NED, -HEDD) 1-airly well, fairly
satisfactory. Cf. Shakespeare, All's Well, c. 1603, 11, iii, 212:
". . . thou didst make tolerable vent of thy travel; it might
pass." Daniel Boone, Letter to His Sister, 181 6. in Thwaite,
Daniel Boone. 233: ". . . I . . . am at present at my sun
Nathans and in tolarable halth. . . ."
*toni-cat: i-b. To call on the ladies at night. — West.
*Tommy tart: ;;. A Johnny cake.
*tooth-dentist: ;/. A dentist.- — General. Illiterate.
toreckly: adv. (+EDD) Directly.
totched: vb. (NED: toche) Past tense and past participle
of toueh. Cf. Cursor Mundi, 14 c. Cotton 21549: ")^e thred
J?ai toched til his hide." — General. Illiterate.
6o2 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
tote on: rb. (EDD: "foit, to totter, play the fool. . . .")
To act foolishly. — Gaston county.
toting: ;/. (—DAE) The surreptitious carrying home of
food by a servant. — Durham county. See PADS, No. 2, p. 13.
*toting-papers: ;/. A warrant. "The sheriff was here look-
ing for you. He had fotiiig-papcrs for you." — West.
*tough titty: ;/. A dangerous person. — Chapel Hill.
tourer: ;?. (+\\') A tourist. — Swain county.
*trace, to break a: phr. To be headstrong; to make a spe-
cial effort. "He'll do it or break a trace.'" — Central and east.
tracks, to make: phr. (+NED, -hDAE) To run, to walk
rapidly. — Central and east.
traipse, trapse, trapes: vb. (±W, +NED, +EDD) To
walk slowly and aimlessly. Cf. Verney Mem., 1647, i, 368:
"What soever wether comes I must go trapesing a foote to y^
end of y^ lane." (NED) Swift, Jrl. to Stella, Mar. 2, 1710-
II : "I was traipsing to-day with your Mr. Sterne." (NED)
trash^: ;/. (+W. +NED, +EDD) Any waste matter, a
small piece of loose matter. "He got a piece of trash in his
eye." — Central and east.
trash^: n. (+W, +NED, +EDD. +DAE) A common
worthless person; also used as plural. Cf. Shakespeare. Othello,
1604. V, i, 85: "I suspect this Trash to be a party in this
Iniurie." (NED)
*trash-breaker, trash-washer: ;/. A big and sudden down-
pour of rain, a g 11 1 1 y-2casher. ^Genera.].
travel: z'b. (+W, +NED. +EDD) To walk, to go by
foot. "Did you come by boat or travel?" Cf. Proverbs, 1611.
24, 34: "So shall thy poverty come as one that fravelleth
[Aramaic halak]."
tree-molasses: n. (-I-DAE) Maple syrup.
tree-sugar: ;/. (+W') Maple sugar.
*trim: vb. To castrate. — Granville county.
trollop: ;;. (-W, -f-NED, -I- EDD) A worthless person,
generally a woman. Cf. Wither, Sheph. Hunt., 161 5. Eel. 11:
"Such wide-mouth'd Trollops that 'twould doe you good to
heare their loud-mouth Echoes teare the Wood." (NED) —
West.
trollop: vb. ( + W', -I- EDD) To get around in a slovenly
manner. — Central and east.
*trout-fish: ;/. Trout. — West.
trysting-out: ;;. (— W, —NED) A clandestine meeting
between a married man and a married woman who are not
married to each other. — Caldwell county.
!• 0 L K S 1' E K C H 603
tuck: rb. (+\\\ +X1^0. +1^U1)) Past tense and past
participle of take. Cf. Sc. Ley. Saints, c. 1375, i, 36: "He
hym tiik to 1)0 hyni " (NEUj
tune up: vb. ( + KDD) To cry. Also: tioic up and cry.—
Granville county.
turn^: ;/. (-EDD, +DA1*:) A load, a quantity, an armful.
—West.
*turn-: ;/. Manners. "She'll get along all right ; she's got
a good tiirn.^' — Central and east.
turn (one's) back: phr. (-XED) To turn around momen-
tarily ; to he off guard. "I can't tiir)i my back hut what you
get into trouhle." — Central and east.
turn loose plus another verb: plir. (+DAI':) To act ini-
pulsively or suddenly. "She turned louse and (jot married."
"He turned loose and hit ;;/t'."— Granville and Guilford counties.
twelth [tweiej : /Tonr. ( + NED. +EDD) Tzvelfth. Cf.
O. E. MartyroL, a. 900, Dec, 216: "On ]?am ticelftan montae."
(NED) Cursor Mundi, 14 c, Trinity 22653: ">e tzvelthe
token is sorwes sere."
undercoat: ;/. (+W, +NED, +EDD) A woman's under-
skirt. Cf. Ann. Keg. Chron., 1759, 73/2: "She was stript of
all her cloaths to her shift and under-coatJ'—Gtn^vTiX. Old
people.
up and plus another verb: phr. ( + NED) Cf. Chaucer,
Troylus, c. 1374. iii, 548: "Pandare vp and . . . streight a
morwe vn-to his nece went." (NED) Bunyan, Holy War,
1682, 240: "At the sound of their feet he would up and
run. ..." (NED) — General.
(*) upping-block: ;/. i. ( + NED, -hEDD) A block used
by ladies to mount a horse. Cf. Grose, DicL Vulg. T., 1796:
"Vpping-block, steps for mounting a horse." (NED) — Cleve-
land county. *2. A stile.
*ups, the: /;. The advantage. "He's got the ups on you
now." — Central and east.
upscuddle: ;/. i+W) .\ (luarrel, a disturbance.
*up yonder: adv. In front of the house.— Central and east.
use: vb. i+W, +NED, -hEDD. -hDAE) To live at, to
frequent, to feed at. Cf. :Malory, Arthur, i470-<^5- ^^^^^ /^S;
"1 am a gentil- woman that -vseth here in this forest huntynge."
(XEDj
usen: vb. ( + EDD) Past participle of use, to be accus-
tomed to. "Pass me the beans; I want something to eat I'm
usen to." — West.
604 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
vigrous ['vaigras] : adj. ( — NED) Angry, out of sorts. —
West.
vigrously: adv. (—NED) Angrily, testily. — West.
Vines, to be in the: phr. To stagger from drunkenness. —
West.
*wag: z'b. To carry about an object. "I got tired of zvag-
ging that young un on my hip." — West.
*waist baby: ;/. A baby tall enough to reach one's waist. —
South.
wait on: vb. i. (+NED, +EDD, +DAE) To wait for.
Marten's Voy. Spitsbergen in Ace. Sez'. Late Voy., 1694, 11,7:
"We were forced to zcait on him above half an hour, before he
came from underneath the ice." (NED) — General. 2. (+W,
-NED, -EDD, +DAE) To court. "He's been z^'aiting on
the widow now for nigh on four year." — Old people. Obso-
lescent.
waiter: n. (+W, +NED) A man or woman attendant for
the groom or bride at a wedding. — Central and east.
walk with: vb. (+W. +NED, +EDD) To court. Cf.
Hardy, Return of the Native, 1878, i. ix : "'The great reason
with my own personal self for not letting you court me. is that
I do not feel the things a woman ought to feel who consents
to zvalk z^'itJi you with the meaning of being your wife.' "
walking-boss: ;/. (+DAE) An overseer. — West.
wall, waul, the eyes: phr. (+W, +NED, +EDD, +DAE)
To roll the eyes towards one without any or much movement
of the head; generally indicative of dislike or contempt. Cf.
Douglas, Aeneis, 1513, viii, vii, 154: "In the breist of the
goddess graif thai Gorgones heid, . . . wyth ene zvauland."
(NED) Scott, Pirate, 1821, xxx : "Presently recovering him-
self, he zvazvls on me with his grey een, like a wild cat."
(EDD)
wall-eyed, waul-eyed: ac/;. (-FW, -fNED, -hEDD) Cross-
eyed.
"wandering dew: 11. The zvandering Jezv. Same as zvon-
dcring dezc. — Duplin county.
wa'n't [wont, want] : vb. plus neg. (±W, -l-NED) Con-
traction of zvas or zvere plus not. "He zva'n't there yesterday."
Cf. Vanbrugh. False Friend, 1702. v, i: "Who did you let in? it
z^'an't your Master, sure?" (NED) — Central and east.
wanton: n. (+W, -HNED) A word used in its usual liter-
ary sense. — Caldwell county.
wasting-away : n. (NED: without azi'ay; H-EDD) Tubercu-
FOLK SPEECH 605
losis. Ct. I^lyot, Ihct., 1538: "Tabu, ii c()nsuni[)tion, zvastyngc,
or putri faction of things." (NED)
§watch: fb. To notice, observe. "You can zvatcli it when
you will: a drunken man never gets hurt." Cf. Shakespeare,
Troilits and Crcssida, c. i6o2, ii, iii, 138: "Yea, zvatch his
pettish lunes, his el)l) and flows." — Central and east.
water-brash: ;;. ( +\V, +NED, +EDD) Violent nausea.
—Central and east.
water-head: )i. (+\\') A person who has a very large
head and who is supposed to be of low mentality. — CJranville
county.
water-jack: 11. ( + NED) A man or boy who brings water
to wt)rkmen. — Cencral.
way, in a bad: plir. ( + NED, +EDD) Dangerously ill.
"I hear poor Sam's in a bad way — not expected to live." —
Central and east.
*weak trembles, to have the: phr. To be worried. — W^est.
weather-breeder: ;/. (+\V, +NED, +EDD) Good weather
which is sui>posed to presage bad weather. Cf. J. Arrowsmith,
CJiai)i Princ, 1659. 391 : "Look at a very fair day, as that which
may prove a zveathcr-brceder, and usher in storms." (NED)
wed^: z'b. (+\V, +NED, +EDD) Past tense and past
participle of zved, to marry. Cf. Morte Arthur e, 14 or 15 c,
700: "That warnes me wyrschippe of my zvcddc lord." Shake-
speare, Com. Err., 1590, i, i, 37: "In Siracusa was I borne, and
zvedde Vnto a woman. . . ." (NED) — General. Common even
among educated.
wed-: Z'b. (+\\', +NED) Past tense and past participle
of zvccd. "I zvcd my tobacco last week." — General. Common
even among educated.
weddinger: n. ( + W, +NED, +EDD) Member of a wed-
ding party. Cf. Ora & Juliet, 181 1, iv, 185: "But won't you
have some cake, ladies, before the zvcddingcrs come to church ?"
(NED)
well-faring: adj. ( + W, +NED, +EDD) Well, pros-
perous. Cf. A. M., tr. GuiUemeau's Fr. Chirrug., 1597, 47/3:
"The entralk's of a sownde and zcclfariug man." (NED) —
Caldwell county.
went: vb. ( + NED, -hEDD) Past participle of go. Cf.
Medieval Lyric, Ubi Sunt Qui Ante Nos Puerent, 17: "Al that
joye is Zi'ent away." Purefoy Letters, Ap. 9, 1751 : "I must
entreat you to get my mother's gold repeating watch & my
gold watch rectified ; my mother's watch has never zcent since
the watchmaker had it in hand when wee were in London, &
N.C.F., Vol. I, (40)
6o6 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
mine has been cleaned by a country ffellow & has not gone
[note] since." (Henry Purefoy, the writer of this letter, at-
tended Oxford University.) — Illiterate.
wet (one's) whistle: plir. ( + W, -f-NED) To take an
alcoholic drink. Cf. Chaucer. Reeve's T., c. 1386, 235: "So
was hir ioly whistle wel y-ivet." (NED) Dickens. Copper-
field, 1850, VII : "The wine shall be kept to ivet your zchistle."
(NED) — Central and east.
we-uns ['wians] : pron. (+W, +T-D) IVe ones; we. —
West. Illiterate.
whang: vb. ( + W, +NED, +EDD, -DAE) To beat. Cf.
Meriton, Yorksh. Dial, 1684, 54: "If she hear she'l zvhang me
verra sayer." (NED) Burns, Ordination, 1768, iii : "Heresy
is in her pow'r, And gloriously she'll ivhang her." (NED) —
Central and east.
whang-leather: n. (NED: Whang, ivhang of leather: T:
zvhang) Tough rawhide cut into strips and used to sew shoes
or belting. Cf. Lindsay, Chron. Scot., a. 1578, S.T.C., i. 117:
"Ane gret scheifT of arrowis knet together in ane quhange of
leathir." (NED)— West.
what all: phr. ( + W, +NED) What ; all the things. Cf.
S. Parker, tr. Cicero's De Finibus, 1702, Pref. : "The Grandeur,
Eloquence. Neatness, and I know not zchat all, of an Author's
expression." (NED) — Central and east.
what for: phr. (+W, +NED) What kind of. "Uliat
for man is your new boss?" "What for looking book is it?"
Cf. Spenser, Shep. Cal., 1580, iv, 17: "What is he for a Ladde
you so lament?" (NED) W. Rand. tr. Gassendi's Life
Perresc, 1657. 11. 265 : "Consider . . . how many, and zvJiat
for Epistles he sent to this very City." (NED) — Central and
east.
whenever: adv. (-1-NED, +EDD) When; as soon as. Cf. tr.
Sorel's Com. Hist. Francion, 1655, viii, 7: "He gave me a good
supper last night zvhen ever I came within his doors." (NED)
Monthly Mag., 1800, ix, 323/2: "We will go to our dinner
zvhenever the clock strikes two." (EDD and NED) — Central
and east.
where: conj. (+W, -f-NED. +EDD) Whether. Cf.
Chaucer, Knight's Tale, c. 1385. 1539: "For she . . . Ne
reccheth nevere zvher I sinke or flete." (NED) Wyclif, Of
Prelates, 14 c, xiv, 17: ". . . hou schulde l?an ony synful
wrecche ]?at wot neuere zvhere he schal be damnyd or sauyd,
constreyne men to bileue )?at he is heuyd of holy chirche?"
Shakespeare, King John, c. 1596, i, i, 75 : "But once he slander'd
K n I, K S P E K C II 607
me with bastardy. lUil whc'r 1 l)e as triu' l)(.'i,M)t or no. . . ." —
Granville couniy and west.
whiffet: ;;. ( -\V. -XI*:!) ) A taltletalc— Cdiapel 1 lill.
whing |lnvii]| : ;;. The -i^'iiuj of a i)l()\v. — Central and east.
*whisky-head : )l A drunkard. "My man had plenty of
faults, hut he weren't no wliisky-licad." — Chapel Hill.
*whistle-breeches: ;/. A small hoy who has put on his first
trousers and is (juite proud of them. — Alamance county.
*white and yellow Octobers: phr. Chrysanthemums. —
Chapel Hill.
*white, to act: f^lir. ( + \\') To act fairly, respectablv. —
East.
whitleather: 11. i. ( + NED, +EDD) Cured but not
tanned leather. Cf. tr. Favine's Theat. Hon., 1623, i, vi, 58:
"A large strong thong or strap of zvhit-lcafher." (NED)
2. The cartilage of an animal. Derham. Phys. ThcoL, 1713,
vr, iii, 362: "That . . . Ligament — Called the Whitleather,
Packax. Taxwax. and Fixfax." (NED) See patti-zvhack,
PADS. No. 2, p. 47.
*whitleather stage, at the: phr. At the stage (age) of an
old maid — tough and unmarriageable. — West.
who all: pJir. ( =t\\' ) Who. The use of all in this phrase is an
attempt to make an indefinite pronoun. It means "who in the
world?" "Who in general?" It may be used in the ]:)ossessive :
''Who all's horse is that?" (A reduction of Dr. George W.
Lay's explanation.)
whoop and a hollo, a: pJir. ( + NED) A short distance;
a short time. "He lives a whoop and a hollo from my house."
Cf. Villiers (Dk. Buckhm.), RehearsaL 1672. v. i: "Ere a full-
pot of good ale you can swallow. He's here with a whoop, and
gone with a hollo." (NED) Scott, Let., Jan. 19. 1S15, in
Lockhart : "We are much nearer neighbours, and within a
whoop and holla." (NED)— West.
whop down [hwap] : vh. (-I-EDD) EDD : "To sit down
heavily and carelessly." — Central and east.
widow lady: ;/. (-fNED) A widow. Cf. Shakes])eare.
King John, c. 1596. 11, i, 548: ". . . how may we content this
Zi'idow lady?"
widow man:;/. (-t-W. -J-NED. +EDD) A widower.
widow woman: n. ( + W, +NED) A widow. Cf. Wy-
clif, / Kings. 1382, 7, 14: "Yram, the son of the widozve
woman." (NED) / Kings, 161 1, 17. 9: "... I have com-
manded a zvidozv woman there to sustain thee."
6o8 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
*wiehard and catty byward ['wihard and 'k^eti 'baiwa^d] :
phr. Diagonal ; "antigodlin." Reported from Burke county.
I am unable to find further information of any kind on this
phrase.
*wild-hog: vb. To live a life of debauchery; to be wild. —
West.
Vinding-blades : ;/. (DAE: "A step in dancing") An
imaginary whirling-bladed instrument ; used figuratively to ex-
press great rapidity. "When he fell, he went down that there
mountain side like ivinding-hlades." — West.
wind-sucker: n. (-W, -NED, -EDD) A lean runty
pig that is supposed to stand in a corner and suck wind ; by
transference, a thin weak person, generally a child. — Granville
county.
winegar ['winiga] : prone. (-I-NED) I'inegar. Cf. Armin,
Nest Niniu, 1608, 20: "The king calls for zdnigar to his
sallet. . . ." (NED)
wire road: //. (— W^) A road along which telephone or
telegraph wires are strung. — Central and east.
without: conj. (+W, +NED, +EDD) Unless. "He
won't go icithoiit I go with him." Cf. Shakespeare, Com. Er.,
c. 1589, III, ii, 92: "A very reverent body. Ay, such a one as
a man may not speak of zcifJioiif he say 'sir — reverence.' " —
General. Illiterate.
witteness ['witanes] : prone. ( + NED) Witness. "Well,
that's another zvitte)iess for my Lord. Who'll be a witteness
for my Lord?" — A spiritual in N. C. Cf. Test. Ehor., 1525,
Surtees, vi, 13: "Thies ivitfenesses, Thomas Beaumont. . . ."
(NED)
woe: vb. (NED: hvoghe) Past tense of zceigh. "I
caught a fish that woe five pound." Cf. St. Cliristofer, 14 c.
364: "The childe swa heuy zvoghe pat ofte-sythes one knees
he hym droghe." (NED) — Graham county. Rare.
woman: n. (+W, -l-NED) A harlot, a mistress. Cf.
Shakespeare, / Henry IV, c. 1598, in, iii, 70: "Ye lie, hos-
tess. ... Go to, you are a zvonwn, go!" ". . . Who. I? . . .
God's light, I was never call'd so in mine house before!" Beau-
mont and Fletcher, The IVoman-Hater, 1607, n, i : ". . . thou
art a filthy impudent whore; a woman, a very zi'oma)!." Defoe,
Crusoe, 1719, Globe, 11, 384: "If any of you take any of these
IVomen, as a Woman or Wife, ... he shall take but one."
(NED)— Rare.
wonder: vb. (+W, -f NED, +EDD) To cause to won-
der. "It zvonders me how that bear ever climl)ed that tree."
FOLK SPEECH 609
Cf. Mme D'Arblay. Diary, Oct. 25, 1788: "She . . . has a
sedateness that wo)u{crs me still more." (NED)
'wondering dew: ;/. The zvandcring Jczv. Same as tvan-
dcriuij (/(■:.•.— (h-anville and Randolph counties.
wooden overcoat: ;;. A coffin; used facetiously.— Central
and east.
wood's colt: ;/. (-W) An illegitimate person ; generally
used in reference to a child. — General.
*word, put the out: phr. To notify; to let scjme-
thing be known. 'Tut the ivord out that there will be preaching
next Sunday." — West.
*workon: vb. To castrate. — (h-anville county.
work brickie: adj. (-W: "U'orkbHttlc, industrious";
-NED: "IVorkhrackle, eager to work") Unaccustomed to
working. — West.
*worration [wa're/an] : n. Worry, annoyance. A blend of
zcorry and botheration (?). "Every bit of that zvorration is
right" on top of me." — Guilford county. Rare.
worrit: n. ( + W, +NED, +EDD ) Worry. Cf. Dickens,
0. Tii'ist, 1838, XVII : " 'A parochial life, Ma'am, ... is a life
of zvorrit, and vexation, and hardihood.' " (NED)
wrastle ['reesl] : prone. IVrestle. Cf. Lay., c. 1205, 24699:
"Sumnie heo zirccstlcden." (NED) Chaucer, Monk's Tale,
c. 1385. 276: ". . . and she coude eke Wrastlen by verray force
and verray might With any yong man."— General. Illiterate.
wrastler ['rasb, -a^] : prone. ( + W, +NED, +EDD)
Wrestler. Cf. Meric Casaubon, trans. Marcus Aurelius's Medi-
tations, 1634, III, 29: ". . . free from any manner of wrong or
contumelie. . . . not capable of any evil from others : a zvrastler
of the best sort."
*writermarouster [.rita^ma'rausta^J : n. A writ to set the
law into action to oust a person. — West.
wusp '[wuspj : n. ( + W, +EDD) A zvisp of hair, straw, or
the like. — Caldwell county.
yan: adj. and adv. (+W, +NED, +EDD) Yonder, yond.
Cf. Partenax, c. 1475. 5827: "Behold yande that hiduous moun-
tain. (NED)— West.
*yanli |js] : adj. Of irregular shape. "I've cut tiiis piece
of plank sort of \anh." — West.
yarb, yerb: n. ( +W, +NED, +EDD) Tyndale. .Ua//.,
1526. 13. 32: "When it is growne it is the greatest amonge
xerb'es." (NED)— West. Illiterate.
6lO NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
yistiddy [jis'tidi] : prone. (NED: ^isfcrday, ^isfirday,
etc.) Yesterday. — General. Illiterate.
*yonder, in: phr. In there. "/» yonder in the i)arn." —
Central and east.
young un: ;;. ( + NED, +EDD) A child; a young one.
"The young uns growed up and got the devil in 'em." ( Xinety-
six-year-old woman) Cf. Wyclif, Mark, 1382, 16, 5: "Thei
goynge yn into the sepulcre sy3en a ^ong con, hilid with a whit
stoole." (NED) Mrs. Elizabeth Mary Wright, Rustic Speech
and Folk-Lore, 1914, i, quoting a north-country woman: "T'
young uns dizn't talk noo leyke what they did when ah wer a
lass." — General.
yourn: pron. (+W, +NED, +EDD) Yours. Cf. Wy-
clif, Gen., 1382, 34, 16: "Thanne we shulen 3yve and take
togidere our dow3tris and jouren."' (NED) — Illiterate. See
hern.
*yourns: pron. Yours. — Illiterate.
*yourunses: pron. Yours. — Illiterate.
you uns [juns] : pron. ( + DAE, -l-T-D) You ones; you.
Tyndale, Matthew, 1534, 3, 9: "And se that yc ons thynke to
saye in your selves. . . ." — West. Illiterate.
*you uns all: pron. You ones all; you all. "You uns all
come to see me." — West. Illiterate.
*you unses ['junsiz] : proji. You oncses; you. — West.
Illiterate.
yow-yow [jau-jau] : n. and vb. (EDD: "Fow, the noise
made by a howling dog.") A disturbance, quarrel; to make a
disturbance, to quarrel. — Central and east.
*yudder: adj. and pron. Other. — Illiterate.
yuke [juk] : ;;. (W, NED, EDD: yoke) A small piece of
land, of indefinite size. NED : "One-fourth of a Sulung, about
50 or 60 acres . . . ; hence, later applied to small manors." —
East and S. C.
*yuner ['JAua] : pron. You; you all. — Duplin countv ; also
S. C.
FOLKSPEECH 6ll
B. SALUTATIONS AND REPLIES
Below are only a few of the several hundred salutations and
replies or expressions referring to health which are found in North
Carolina. Although I have looked up many of these expressions
in lexicographical works and have found some of tliein. I am not
indicating that fact or giving illustrative quotations from printed
sources. There seems but little point in doing either of these. As
with the Glossary, above, although the salutations and replies are
all found somewhere in North Carolina, I do not mean to say that
they are confined to North Carolina or any one section in North
Carolina.
The material in this group is less important than that in the
Glossary; but since it represents one aspect of North Carolina
folk speech not usually recorded, it seems to me worth publishing.
The first important word is in boldface type.
"I'm able to eat three meals a day." — General.
"I'm able to take nourishment through a quill." (The quill,
used to suck liquid through, was the predecessor of the drug-
store "straw." — Humorous. The remark does not mean that
the speaker has heen sick.) — Granville county.
"He's so as to he about." — East.
"He's bad off." — General.
"How be
ve
"He's bedfast." (He is unahle to get out of hed.) — Central
and east.
"He's bedridden." (Same as above.) — Central and east.
"I'm no better and no worse."
"His body is stififening." (He is dying.) — Central and east.
"Breath is shaking in his throat." (He is on the point of
dying.) — Central and east.
"He is breathing his last." — Central and cast.
"He is just breathing, and that is all." — Central and east.
"I'm pretty brief today." ( I am not feeling so well.)
"Did you come for a chunk of fire?" (That is: "Did you
come for fire and are in a hurry to get hack home?" An in-
direct way of asking one to stay longer.) — (Granville county.
"He's getting cold from the feet up." (He is dying slowly.)
— Central and east.
"Come hack when you can stay longer." — General.
"Come back when you can't stay so long." (Humorous.) —
General.
6l2 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
"Come in if you can get in for the dirt (trash, phmcler)." —
Central and east.
"Come in and rest your bonnet and shawl." (Said to either
man or woman.)
"Come in and rest your hands and face.'' (Humorous.) —
Granville county.
"Come in and rest your hat." — Guilford county.
"Come in and set a while."
"How (do) you come on?" — General.
"Come over and set a spell."
"Come in. You shan't be noticed." (Humorous.) — Gran-
ville county.
"Common."
"Just (only, right) common." — Central and east.
"As well as common."
"Sorter common."
"I ain't complaining." — Central and east.
"They's all complaining."
"How's your corposrosity sagatiating ?" (Humorous.) —
Granville county.
"I ain't no 'count."
"He's in a death chill." — Central and east.
"He's in a death fit." — Central and east.
"He's got the death rattles." — Central and east.
"I'm just dragging along."
"I'm just dragging around."
"He's in a dying state." — Central and east.
"I'm just easing along."
"He's enjoying poor health." (Generally said of a person
who likes to complain about his health.) — Central and east.
"His eyes are set." (He is almost dead. ) — Central and east.
"I'm fair to middlin'."- — Central and east.
"How fares it today?"
"I'm fat and sassy." — Central and east.
"I never felt better and had less." — Granville county.
"Fine and dandy." — Central and east.
"I'm pretty gaily today."
"Git down and let your saddle cool." (Alight and stay
awhile.) — Central and east.
"Git down and rest your critter." — West.
"Doing ])retty good." — Central and east.
"His hands are set." (He is dying.) — Central and east.
"How's your hearty?" "It's coming."
"Hey!" [lu-i|. (This ]M-onunciation is the general form
among Southerners, fhai] is not Southern.)
"What's your hurry?" (Said to a person about to leave.)
FOLK S P K F. C II 613
"He's on his last." — Central and east.
"Lift your hat and rest your wrap." — West.
"Light and come m." (In the older sense: ahght from a
horse ; now the term may I)e used in reference to an automo-
bile.) — (ieneral.
"Light and cool your saddle." — Central and east.
"Light and hitch.'"
"Light and look at your saddle." — Central and east.
"Light otT and set."
"I'm little hut got the ditTerence in mv pocket." — Chapel
Hill.
"Do you love chicken?" "Yes." "Then have a wing."
(Offering her his arm.)
"He's low down." (Very sick.) — Central and east.
"I'm medium."
"I'm middlin'.'"
"I'm sorter middlin*."
"He's in misery." — Central and east.
"His mouth is open." (He is so weak that he is about to
die.)
"I don't feel much."
"I'm not much."
"He's nae waur." — Wilson county.
"I'm jes' ordinary." — Central and east.
"Jes' wanted to pass the time of day with you." (Said
upon leaving after spending a short time with one.)
"She's past hope (cure)." — Central and east.
"She's peak and puling."
"She's peart." — (jeneral.
"She's middlin' peart." — General,
"She's right peart." — General.
"I'm poorly."
"I'm poorly, thank God!" (That is, I could he worse.) —
West.
"Kinder poorly."
"Right poorly." — Central and east.
"Oh, she's sorter puny."
"She's on the puny list."
"I'll qualify." (That is, I don't feel bad.)
"I'm rearin' to go."
"Right as a berry."
"She's right smart." — General.
"I hope you are well." "Same back to you."
"Scratch under and come in." (Has a canine allusion.) —
Harnett county.
"I'm just shackling arr)und."
6l4 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
"I'm right sharp today."
"He's in a sinking state." — Central and east.
"I've slept my right away."
"I'm feehng slowly." — Central and east.
"Oh, I'm just so so."
"She's as sound as a fiddle."
"She's sprightly." — Central and east.
"Won't yon stay the night?"
"I can't stop long."
"He's right stout." (In good health.) — Central and east.
"Won't you tarry with us tonight?"
"Tip of the day to you."
"Time enough to leave." (Said to a person about to leave.)
"Just tolerable only."
"I'm pretty tolerable."
"Top of the day to you."
"Top o' the morning to you."
"Oh, I'm tough as whitleather."
"I'm trifling." — Granville county.
"I'm still able to trollop."
"Good morning. Margaret. Frosty morning!" "Sho is!
Make you turn about." — Guilford county.
"He's so as to be up and about." — Central and east.
"She's up and doing."
"He's up and stirring." — Granville county.
"I'm sorter under the weather." — General.
"I'm as well's common." — Wake county.
"I'm wiggling."
S I' K K C II 615
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Yorkshire Dialect Society, Transactions of. Yorkshire Dialect
Society, 1898 .
FOLK TALES AND LEGENDS
Edited by
Stith Thompson
FOLK TALKS AND LEGENDS
INTRODUCTION'
TO ALMOST any general reader of folk tales three questions
occur at once: How interesting are they? How significant are
they? And to what extent are they still believed? The answer to
the first of these questions is partly a matter of the reader's per-
sonal taste, but it also depends partly on the way ni winch tlie
story is told. The genuine narrator of folk tales is both naive and
cunning. He either believes or partly believes his story himself:
he is speaking to sympathetic, credulous listeners: and he possesses
the art of the Ancient Mariner himself to induce, if necessary, a
willing suspension of disbelief. Unfortunately most of the stories
in the present collection are one step removed from the original
narrator; thev are stories for the most part written down by stu-
dents or local enthusiasts who heard them from folk narrators.
Only in the last three years of his collecting did Dr. Brown hcj^m
recording stories directly from the lips of folk-narrators. The
reader therefore, will find the substance of the stones, but he will
have to use his imagination to recapture the original flavor ot
most of them. , t -i
The significance of these tales is both general and local. Like
all folklore, they illustrate the similarities and differences with
which the human mind operates under all the imaginable variations
of time. race, and locality. They furnish at the same time clues
to many forgotten avenues of actual contact between the thinking
of different races. They elucidate various traits of tradition itself.
and of the particular localities and people from whom the folk
tales arise. They possess this significance, however, only poten-
tially for those readers who are willing to study them seriously.
The' major key to such study of folk tales is Professor Stith Thomp-
son's Motif-Index of Folk-Literature, published in six volumes.
1932-36. This book analyzes all folk-narratives into the motits ot
which they are composed, and then lists each motif as it occurs at
any time and place in folklore or in literature derived from it. In
editing the present collection it was only necessary for Professor
Thompson to refer each story to its proper section in his Mohf-
hidex. As a key for the general reader's use of this index 1 have
^ The Introduction was written by the General Editor during Professor
Thompson's absence in South America.— N.I.W.
N.C.F., Vol. I, (41)
622 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
subjoined to Professor Thompson's notes on the first two legends
abbreviated statements of the full annotations supplied bv his Motif-
Index.
The third common question — to what extent are these legends
and tales actually believed in North Carolina? — is the subject of
this essay. The quality of belief is so much more strained than
that of mercy, there is so much difference betwen zealots and
"light half-believers in their casual creeds," that it would be rash
to attempt a dogmatic statement that would settle the extent to
which folk legends are actually believed in North Carolina. Even
while professing our disbelief in ghosts, for example, we do not
linger in graveyards at night or volunteer too readily to sleep in
haunted houses.
Fortunately the Frank C. Brown Collection contains about a
hundred and fifty newspaper clippings which were gathered during
the same years as the legends. These clippings not only add to the
body of legendary materials, but they throw an interesting light
on the spirit with which such stories are received in their com-
munities by people who are not under the immediate spell of the
folk-narrator. The following pages offer a digest of these mate-
rials, leaving the reader, for the most part, to his own conclusions.
One would say instantly that the ancient belief that a corpse
would bleed when touched by the murderer could never have been
applied as a practical test in legal proceedings in any Anglo-Saxon
civilization for hundreds of years. When we remember its use in
the Nicbelimgoilied, it is with the comfortable feeling that Sieg-
fried's exploits were recorded some six or seven hundred years
before the Age of Electricity. Yet if we turn to the note on the
story entitled "Murderer Betrayed,' we find newspaper evidence that
it was practiced, with a kind of surreptitious legal sanction, in
Wilmington, North Carolina, in June, 1875.
The related phenomenon of witchcraft still flourishes in North
Carolina, though the state has as yet provided no sensation com-
parable to the trial of John Curry and Wilbert Hess in York,
Pennsylvania, in 1929, in which the defendants were accused of
murder inspired by one of the hex doctors who practiced openly
and even hung out signs in the city. Yet North Carolina has at
least one witchcraft trial to offer. On December 3, 1920, Colonel
Henry E. Shaw told the North Carolina Folklore Society of a
North Carolina witchcraft trial in which he was counsel for the
plaintiff. The action was brought before a local justice of the
peace in Kinston, in the summer of 1916. "Little Andy" Davis
and his daughter Dora charged that Reed Worley, a neighboring
farmer, had bewitched "Little Andy." He certainly looked, as he
claimed to l)e, "near 'bout dead," and his arm and side were so
affected that he was unable to work. Reed Worley had earlier
0 K N 1. S 6-^3
T A I. 1-. S A N 1
accused Dora Davis of l.cin^ indirectly responsible lor the death
of his babv. "Then he p'.nted his finder nghl at mc. D..ra
testified 'an- he said, "Some of yC people in less than three weeks
toi • to he dead, an' you will never know how ,t co,ne a^ou.
She reported the threat to her father. Several days later. W orley
an' dwindlin' awav ; an' vou see hnu nuw. what a fix he s n .
itdefendant'explained that he had shot at a screech owl, but
utt dv de d anv belief in n.agic or any attempt to pr-t.ce >t^
The a was dismissed, and Little Andy Worley promptly w d
in ;.: chair. He protested to Colonel Shaw that Ij. -- ^ -'^f^
'•I know he will finish me tom^ht, and I wdl be a dead man
"'cllid "shaw believed bin. But he thought be ..ndd try an
extrale-al remedy: -'Andv Davis, haven t you any sense at all.
Do^fv^u Realize that you are no. utterly -n.pt ^.^ ^Z^
fluence'of anv witch, and especially this man? Don t you see he
has con e into tliis courthouse and denied the faith, laid his ban
on the Holy Bible and sworn that be has no such Po-"^^^^^^^^^^
vou know that bis power is now gone forever? ^^, '^d^^^^^^
vancuished bv its own logic. After a moments thought, Little
Aid broke i,\to a laugh of triumph and departed completely cured^
a; these paragraphs were being written there appeared m the
Durha H..^//;nd the Durham Sun, March 12-20, 1947. a witdv
craf sensation which attracted national attention, following the
1 clarg om the Duke University Hospital of Stephen Richard-
son a twentv-four-vear-old Negro from Franklin county. Mo e
Irmlvear "earlier 'be bad been bewitched by a Franklin county
t b UKtor apparently at the instance of rival suitors /^"^the
me th spell was cast' bis sweetheart avoided him. and he took to
s bed His appetite forsook him. he was unable to work, and he
was soon emaciated and bedridden. The witch doctor. Adam
Alston, was shot and killed by another Negro who ^eh^v"! ^hat
Alton was trying to place him under a similar spell. Stephen
R hTrdson was convinced that the spdl upon him could not be
Loved and that he would die: another -'tcl^^^^-^- ^f^nd^ ^
so The doctors could find nothing organically wrong and ^^ere
unable to help him. When he was discharged from the hospital
the n wspape's described him as reduced to skin and bones, unable
to eat unable to speak above a whisper. His photograph published
a few days later does not support this description. '- -re is no
doubt that he was in bad condition and cmvincci tliat be ^^as
doomed.
624 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
The publicity attending Richardson's return home to die brought
several offers of assistance. An anonymous person from another
state recommended by long-distance telephone a witch doctor whose
power he knew, but whose name he refused to give. Mr. Marsh
Babbitt, a New York professional hypnotist, announced his willing-
ness to cure Richardson by hypnotism and began making arrange-
ments to come to his aid, with the co-operation of newspapers and
an airplane company.
Meanwhile a professional magician. Collins the Magician, of
Durham (Mr. G. C. Norman), visited the patient under the spon-
sorship of the Durham Sun. and gained his confidence by a series
of magic tricks. Next he produced the spirit of the dead witch
doctor by causing a wooden hand to rap twice on a blackboard. He
represented the spirit as asking Richardson's forgiveness, which
was granted. He produced water out of his own ear to combat
Richardson's belief that his drinking water had been bewitched,
and he gave the victim a small bag filled with secret charms, which
was to be buried according to secret instructions. Richardson be-
came cheerful ; he announced himself as free of the spell, ate a
hearty meal, and made plans to resume his regular work habits.
When Mr. Babbitt arrived a day or two later he was greeted by
a patient already largely restored. He hypnotized Richardson under
the eyes of a physician and told him he was hungry and that the
witchspell was broken. When Richardson was de-hypnotized he
ate another large meal, laughed, and expressed the belief that he
was cured.
An aftermath of the episode was the receipt by Collins the
Magician of a large number of letters and telephone calls asking
him to remove other hex spells, and even in one or two cases to
impose spells.
An unidentified and undated clipping in the collection, apparently
from an Elizabeth City newspaper, gives three cases of recent con-
juration in Pasquotank county. In the first a white storekeeper was
wasting away and discovered through a conjure doctor that his
washwoman had bewitched him. He transferred the spell to her
by burying a charm under her doorstep, and she was saved from
death only by his digging up the charm. In the second case a
Negro farmer was being destroyed by a spell, but rescued himself
by obtaining a counter spell from a conjuror in Currituck county.
And in the third instance a young Negro of twenty was actually
conjured to death, though he was under the care of physicians,
because he believed himself doomed. He knew the name of his
conjuror, but died without revealing it.
We seem forced to conclude that witchcraft is still a power in
North Carolina today. Chapel Hill is the enlightened seat of the
State university, but it is said that nearly every week an automobile
T A 1. K. S A N I) I. K C. ENDS
625
leaves the town tilled with Xeiimes l..mn.l l..r S.mth ( aiolma to
consult witch doctors there. Nor are we <|uite eoneel m tlie com-
placent, common assumpti.-n that the ol.ler wilchcralt ot the seven-
teenth centurv was merely an affair of silly and ,nal.cmus old
\\x)men Many of il> i)ractitioners were sincere in their heliets,
refused under' torture to deny them, and died for them with the
fortitude of Christian martyrs. It has heen suggested in Mr. W il-
liam Seahrook's Witchcraft: Its Pozvcr in the World Today (1940)
that seventeenth-century witchcraft was really a religious faith
driven underground much earlier by the triumph of Christianity.
Saint Augustine's earlv identification of witchcraft with the devil,
the common institution of witches' Sabbaths, the occasional ajjpear-
ance of earlier pagan deities in medieval witchcraft, and the fact
tint in the old and unbroken Italian tradition witchcraft is still
known as la vccchia rcligionc (the <.ld religion), all lend a certain
plausibilitv to the suggestion.
Newspapers contemporary with the Frank C. Brown Collection
show a considerable popular belief in supernatural manifestations.
According to an undated clipping from a Durham paper. Carson
Searles of Dunn, predicted at the age of forty-tour the very day
and hour of his actual death fifteen years later, and was so con-
vinced of the truth of his prophecy that he prepared fully for his
death in the week before it actually occurred. Since he had also
prophesied that he would several times return from the grave
within less than two months after his death two families moved ou
of the house in which he had died, convinced that they had several
times seen his ghost.
There have been ghost ships since the Hyuu/ Dntclwiau, notably
the Gloucester schooner Charles Haskell, which sank another
schooner in 1869 and was thereafter deserted by four successive
crews (Durham Herald, Dec. 2, 1920) because she was persistently
pursued bv the phantom of the ship she had sunk. In the same
vear a woman in Nag's Head told a story of a boat w-liich had
drifted ashore there many years before, to become North Carolina s
m..st mvsterious ghost ship. If the details are truly reported, this
nnist have been the pilot boat in which the beautiful 1 heodos.a
Burr sailed from Georgetown. South Carolina, on December 30,
1812 never to be seen again. On the boat were found some
women's clothes, together with a portrait known to have been taken
aboard bv Theodosia Burr and later identified as a portrait ot her
by several competent authorities. According to a clipping irom a
Durham paper (undated, but c. Dec. 12. 1935) the portnut was
accepted as genuine bv the North Carolina Art Society. There is
a legend at Nag's Head that many years after Theodosia Burr s
disappearance, pirates at Norfolk. Virginia, confessed to having
bciarde.! the Imat an.l kilk<l all on it. Another legend reported from
626 X 0 R T H C A R O L I X A FOLKLORE
Southport in an undated, unidentified clipping states that the boat
was captured by pirates from the former pirate rendezvous of Smith
Island, off the mouth of the Cape Fear River, and that Theodosia
Burr was for some time a guarded prisoner on the island until she
eluded her guards and committed suicide. The guards were there-
upon killed by the captain, and their ghosts are still supposed to
roam the island by night, seeking their escaped prisoner.
Concerning other pirates the newspaper clippings add slightly to
Dr. Brown's collection. The Norfolk J'irginian Pilot for October
16, 1921, contained an illustrated article on The Old Brick House,
two miles above Edenton on the Pasquotank River. The house was
still standing in 1921 and was supposed to have been the residence
of the pirate, Edward Teach, better known as Blackbeard. The
walls, three feet thick, contained secret closets and panels, and
legend says the house formerly had stone steps inscribed "E.R.T.
1709."
The most widespread legends about Blackbeard. however, are
those concerning his buried loot. These legends, at least, have
seemed convincing to a number of people who have invested time
and money in treasure hunts. Blackbeard's Island, off the coast of
Georgia near Darien. has been the scene of so many such hunts
that nearly all its surface is said to have been dug over. Late in
1934, according to two Washington dispatches quoted in newspaper
clippings, fresh permission was given for a search by a Mr. Her-
bert L. Nelson, a contractor who had invented a "delicate instru-
ment" for locating buried treasure.
Unnatural monsters roaming the state seem to have met with
only moderate credulity. Thus the hog-stealing waumpas of Manteo
(Raleigh Daily Nczvs, Oct. 21, 1930) was a screaming nocturnal
prowler which walked upright and left huge tracks like those of a
dog, so that some people locked their doors and kept the children
at home — but others were skeptical. In the neighboring and less
hardy state of South Carolina, however, when the ill-tempered
catlike, cow-sized African Udilacus prowled the streets of Rock
Hill, there was greater consternation. Two Negroes (Rock Hill
Evening Herald, Feb. 5, 1938) threw rocks at it and ran, but
Professor Milledge B. Seigler, in a letter enclosing the clipping,
quotes the chief of police as saying that there were no Negroes
on the street on Saturday night, that cooks had to be escorted home,
and that there were a hundred telephone calls in one day in(|uiring
if the beast had yet been slain.
Most numerous among the press clippings, as in the collection
itself, are stories of ghosts and haunted houses. Some are legends
from past generations, others are contemporary stories that may
or may not attain the vitality of legend, and one or two are perhaps
stories invented in order to create a legend. When the Cherokee
T A L K S AND L E C. E N 1) S 627
Indians were cruelly evicted from their territory, one of their chiefs,
named Tsali, is said to have killed an American soldier under
provocation and then to have i,'-iven himself up to be executed, on
the understanding that the military commander would use his in-
fluence to permit the return of his people. According; to an article
in the Charlotte Obscnrr (Aug. 4, 1940) his ghost still walks the
mountain tops awaiting his tribe's return.
A story in the Durham Herald or Sun (c. June 8, 1938) tells of
a ghost that appeared in Pittsboro after sixty years. One evening
in May, 1839, Helen Randolph Hardin met Phillip Jones, her suitor,
by a spring on her father's farm and became betrothed to him.
That night she died suddenly in bed. In time the house passed
into other hands and the story was largely forgotten, but after
many years a number of people began seeing her ghost near the
spring. Between 1900 and 1908 a Negro servant named Scotland
Scurlock, who is said never to have heard the original story, saw
tlie ghost repeatedly, always near the spring.
A house in Goldsboro known in 1922 as The House of Bad
Luck was believed to be haunted by two ghosts. In 1918 a young
man died suddenly and unaccountably in his bed there, and soon
afterwards his Negro servant was found dead on the railway tracks
near by. Both the young man's fiancee and the servant's wife went
insane. By 1922, according to the San ford Carolina Banner (Feb.
8, 1922), both the man and his servant were believed to haunt the
house, and two witnesses claimed to have seen one or the other
of them.
On October 8, 1923. near the same town, a man named J. E.
Pearsol was murdered. The suspected murderer, Charlie Farmer,
eluded the sheriff, at least for several months. By early January
of the next year a number of motorists began noticing — always at
night and in the same place — a shadowy figure pacing the roadside.
When offered a lift the figure always disappeared without uttering
a word. The belief spread that the figure was Pearsol's ghost
returning to bring his murderer to justice. (Wilmington Star,
Jan. 18, 1924, and an unidentified paper under the dateline Golds-
boro, Jan. II.)
A ghost with a similar mission, but by contrast both invisible
and very talkative, resided for some months in the home of Mr.
L. A. Smith, a farmer of Little Lunden. near Dunn. According
to an undated clipping from a Raleigh newspaper. Mr. Smith heard
rappings on his ceiling and sawed through the spot to investigate.
Soon afterwards the ghost began to talk. He identified himself as
Jim Reeves, a local half-wit who had disappeared eight years before.
He said he had been murdered in the hall of this house and buried
under the wood{)ilc — and Mrs. Smith said there wa> a dark spot
on the hall floor which could not be cleaned. The ghost stated that
628 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
he would remain until his murderer was punished. (He seems
never to have named his murderer, but it must be remembered that
he had already identified himself as a half-wit.) A peculiar feature
of the story is that the ghost spoke only when the little daughter
of Mr. and Mrs. Smith was asleep. It was necessary to place
guards around the house as a protection against the "thousands of
people" who came to see and listen — some of whom reported hear-
ing knockings, and some a few words.
Similar rappings and ghostly moanings (but no conversation)
under a house in Bristol, Virginia-Tennessee, as recorded in an
undated clipping from a Charlotte paper, caused the tenants to
move and "hundreds of people to visit the place every day."
Elmore Threatt, a Negro of North Monroe, was unjustly perse-
cuted by the ghostly voice of his dead wife, saying everywhere,
in daylight and in dark, alone and in company, "Elmore, Elmore,
you poisoned me" — in spite of his patient explanation that he was
'possum hunting at the time. The Monroe Journal of March 17,
1922, in printing this story, recorded that other people could not
hear the words, but could hear buzzing, scratching noises at the
time. Publication of this story elicited (ibid., March 21, 1922)
the experience of Mr. Ellis Goodwin, a "truthful sober citizen"
of Marshville. On the night a neighbor was dying Mr. Goodwin
heard a tremendous clattering from the graveyard, as if a building
had collapsed; and next day, as the body was being lowered into
the grave, the same noise was heard both by Mr. Goodwin and
by several others. It began in the road near the grave, moved off
down the road like a galloping horse, and died away in the woods
across the creek.
Ghostly legend has been invoked to explain North Carolina's
most advertised natural mystery, the Brown ^Mountain lights. These
lights are the subject of nearly a dozen newspaper clippings from
1913 to 1940 or 1941, and they form the basis of a mystery novel.
Kill One, Kill Tzvo, by W. W. Anderson, published in 1940. As
described by various witnesses they consist of a ball, or several
balls of red or orange light about the size of a toy balloon. They
appeared at irregular times over the top of Brown Mountain and
moved erratically up and down or backwards and forwards, visible
at a distance, but vanishing on near approach. At the prompting
of North Carolina senators the lights were investigated by the
U. S. Geological Survey in 1913 and 1921. In 1921 Senator Sim-
mons also secured an investigation by the National Geographic
Society, and an opinion was expressed by Dr. W. J. Humphries,
of the U. S. Weather Bureau. The Geological Survey's explanation
— automobile and train headlights — was scouted by local opinion.
The lights were not beams, but balls, and they were observed dur-
ing the 1916 floods when automobile traffic had been stopped. The
TALES AND LEGENDS 629
National Geo,q:ra])liic Society concluded that the manifestations were
electric, and Dr. Humphries of the Weather Bureau elahorated this
explanation somewhat hy comparison with Andes li,t;htninij and
Castor and Pollux.
Local speculation was hy no means satisfied. Tiie Mort^anton
Ncii's Herald for September 22, 1921, quoted some picturesque pre-
Lavoisier scientitic notes recorded in 1771 by Gerard William de
Brahni, the German en.e;-ineer who in 1756 built Fort Loudon on
the Tennessee River. Though de Brahm mentions no specific lights
at all, he does say that the mountains emit nitrous vapors which are
borne by the winds, and that when laden winds meet each other
"the niter inflames, sulf urates and deteriorates." A Mooresville
correspondent of the same paper, Mr. E. C. Ivey, offered a more
modern chemical solution — the lights were produced by spontaneous
combustion of sulphuretted hydrogen gas, like a similar phenomenon
on a farm near Dudley Shoals, in Caldwell county. But the in-
vestigators for the Geological Survey had already considered and
rejected the chemical possibilities.
A rather plausible physical explanation was offered by Mr. H. C.
Martin in the Lenoir Topic (as quoted by the Morganton Ne^vs
Herald, no date). To him the lights were probably a mirage re-
flection of the lights of Lenoir, Morganton, and Granite Falls, some
twenty miles away. Heated currents of air moving up the Catawba
valley met cooler currents from the mountains, forming a reflecting
screen on which the distant lights were projected. The erratic
movement of the lights was ascribed to changing points of contact
in the air currents. This explanation receives interesting support
from the independent investigations of Mr. Hobart A. Whitman,
of Newland, as related in the Charlotte Obsert'cr (Aug. 10 or 11,
1940 or 1941). Mr. Whitman investigated from several positions
with a telescope and surveyor's transit and concluded by triangula-
tion that the principal lights only appeared to be above Brown
Mountain, but were really centered over Hickory (forty miles
away). Morganton (twelve miles away), and Vaklese (an inter-
mediate distance). While the apparent lights were wavering, the
actual lights were stationary, and their color was explained by the
hazy atmosj)here through which they were seen from a higlier
elevation.
The last two theories would seem to gain support from the fact
that there has been adduced no legend dealing with these lights
prior to the twentieth century, and no evidence that the lights
themselves had appeared before that time. The lights seem to have
been noticed only after the neighboring towns had developed to a
certain size with a certain amount of electric illumination.
The story of the Brown Mountain lights furnishes an interesting
testimony to the innate love of mystery, and it exemplifies the
630 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
eternal conflict between science, pseudo science, and legend to ex-
plain the sensational and apparently inexplicable. Legend was not
backward in asserting its ancient functions. An unidentified clip-
ping that can be dated in August, 1940, refers to a legend that the
lights were spirits of Cherokee and Catawba warriors slain in an
ancient battle on the mountainside; and a variant (Spruce Pine
Tri-County News, Aug. i, 1940) makes them the spirits of Indian
maidens seeking their lovers who have been slain in battle. The
Charlotte Observer (Aug. 29. 1937) prints an interview at Banner
Elk with Mr. Shepherd M. Duggar, author of two books on
Western North Carolina, in which the lights are said to be attrib-
uted by some of the local inhabitants to the spirit of a woman
supposedly murdered on Jonas Ridge about 1877 by her husband.
There is no evidence of antiquity or general currency for any of
these legends, and their general characteristics are suspiciously
familiar. One wonders if they are not better examples of the
tendency to legend than of genuine legends in themselves. Even
so, many genuine legends may have originated similarly.
A similar conclusion is to be deduced from the whole body of
newspaper reports cited in this essay. They offer no acceptable
proof whatever for the actual truth of the marvels they describe.
On the other hand their very existence is proof of popular interest,
which implies a latent willingness to believe ; and they offer abun-
dant testimony to the actual belief which exists among the immediate
spectators in many circumstances and communities. They should
provide a thoughtful background for anyone inclined to read the
following legends as mere idle chatter and tradition. Even though
many of them have lost the immediate vitality which a folk-narrator
would give them, their connection with the general habits of the
human mind and with an intricate maze of tradition and belief
reaching into anti(|uity and into all the corners of the earth are
evident to anyone wlio will follow up Professor Thompson's
annotations.
Professor Thompson has edited for publication 118 of the 285
folk tales and legends in the Frank C. Brown Collection and has
used a simpler classification of his own instead of the twenty-two
subdivisions under which they are classified in the collection. He
states his principles of selection as follows:
"The editor has consistently omitted several categories of material
in the papers: newspaper clippings concerning other states than
North Carolina, stories reported by students from other states and
obviously coming from outside North Carolina, and. in one or
two cases, tales taken down in North Carolina but very recently
imported from Eurojje. It was impossible to be ccMisistent about the
use of American Indian legends. Only a few, mostly from the
Cherokee, were found and thev have generallv been used here. For
6m
imrpoM-> of c.)iii]);irison relcrencc li;i^ hirn nuulc to S. 1 hoinpMJii,
Motif-Imlcx of 1-olk-Litcnitiirc (Hel>inki and 151o()niiiii;l()n, Indiana.
1933-36)."
I. ORIGIN LEGENDS
TIIK MAX IX TIIK MOON
From TluMiias Smitli. Watauga county, c. iyi5- Cf. M otif-Imicx
A751.1.'
A mail was ])iit in the moon for l)iirnins4- l)i-ush on Suiulay.
Our parents used to keep us children from huilding lires out-
doors on Sundays hy telling us the fearful fate of the man m
the moon.
THE lover's leap
From Mrs. Gertrude Allen Vaught. Alexander county. i922-23(?). A
verv widespread hidian legend to be found in all parts of the country
{Motif -Index A985).- The story immediately following belongs in the
same group of legends.
^ In the Motif-Index all numt)crs beginning with A deal with mytholog-
ical motifs. All numbers from A6oo-A8gy deal with mythological expla-
nations of the general features of the universe and their origms
(cosmogony and cosmology). Within this group all beliefs and traditions
dealing with the moon are indexed between A740-A758.
\7;i deals with tlie general legend that there is a man m the moon,
and cites sixteen references in several languages, showing this belief in
various parts of eastern and western Europe, Asia, Africa and among
American Indians and Australian Maoris. A75i-i refers specifically to
the belief that the man in the moon is there as a punishment for some
misdeed. Six references are cited, in Gefinan and English, reporting this
belief in Europe and among Isthmian and Latin-American Indians. 1 he
prevalent European form of the belief is that the man in the moon is
Judas • in Latin America one of the beliefs is that the punishment is for
incest. Under A751.4 are reported several northeastern European be-
liefs that a man once set out to tar the moon and remained there with
his tar-bucket. [N. I. W.] „ j , •., .u • • .-
-The reference numbers A980-A991 all deal with the origin ot par-
ticular places on the earth. A985 deals specifically with places named
from despairing lovers who throw themselves from high places. It is
stated without reference that the belief is common among North .\men-
can Indians. Reference is made to T. F. Crane, The Exemfla of Jacques
de J'itrv in Publications of the Folklore Society, xxvi, no. 214 (London.
1890), pp. 220 <?. ; and to J. A. Herbert, Catalogue of Romances w the
Department of Manuscripts in the British Museum (London, 1910), iii, 17.
From these two references we learn that a medieval sermon among the
British Museum manuscripts speaks of a Saltus Galteri in Normandy, so
named because a lover leaped from a clifT into the sea, expecting his
mistress to follow; and that in the twelfth century one of the sermons
of Jacques de Vitry speaks of the Saltus Templan between Tyre and
Acre, where a Templar knight leaped into the sea to escape pursuing
Saracens. , , . , , ,
Cross references to T80 and T211.3 show the related legends of tragic
love and of husbands and wives killing themselves to avoid separation.
[N. I. WM
632 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
(Jn Rocky Face mountain near my home there is an extremely
steep slope on the north side called "Lover's Leap." I have
been told that the name was given it because two lovers perished
there. Whether they made a false step and were accidentally
killed or fell purposely isn't known. However, it was true that
the parents of the girl were bitterly opposed to the match. The
slope is extremely steep and is rock for about fifty feet or more.
HOW ESTATOE RIVER GOT ITS NAME
From Pearl Webb, Pineola, North Carolina, c. 1936.
Estatoe River in Avery county was named for a beautiful
Indian princess who was forsaken by her lover. Heartbroken,
she cast herself into the stream and was drowned.
HOW THE INDIANS GOT FIRE
From Edna Whitley (place and date not indicated). This Cherokee
Indian legend is common to American Indians in many parts of the
continent. See Motif -Index A1415.2, and especially Stith Thompson's
Talcs of the North American Indians (Cambridge, Mass., 1929), p. 289
n. 63. _^
The Indians didn't have any fire when they lived here, and
there was three old witches that lived just over the hill that
kept fire both day and night.
One warm night a young Indian called all his animal friends
together and they planned a way to get fire. They went to
the old witch's home and all hid except the Indian, but before
they did so he told them what to do. Then he went to the
door and shivered as if he was cold, and the Indian went in,
and when the witches wasn't looking he took one of the fire
brands from the fire place. Then he gave it to the red breast,
he flew to the fox and the fox gave it to the frog who jumped
into the pond, but the women got him by the tail which as he
jumped come oiT. But he swallowed the spark of the fire and
when he came to the other side he coughed up the spark of
fire. The Indian took the fire and it wasn't long till the Indians
had a good fire. They guarded the fire both day and night
and they were never cold again as long as they lived, or until
the whites brought a better method of fire.
THE ORIGIN OF NEGROES
From Lucille Massey, Durham county, i927-28(?). For other tales of
the origin of Negroes, see Motif-Index A1614. An interesting parallel
to the creation of man in a covered vessel occurs among American
Indians; see Motif-Index A1295.
When God had finished making the world, and all that is
in it, He had a few scraps left over. Now (^od could think of
nothing else to make, so He took these scraps and put them
into a large iron pot. He stirred and mixed the scrai)s well,
DRAGGING NETS
r ALES A N 1) 1. K C K N 1) S 633
then \\v turned the ))iit n])>i(le down and said, "lion jMit, make
\vhats()c\ cT thou wilt." Me left the put turned down for a
day and nii^hi. When Me turned it over a little negro, or
hlaek hoy and j^irl were standing there. And these were the
lu'st hlack j)eoi)le on earth.
WHY THE NEGRO WORKS
Only iiDtation : "iiurns" (without indication of place or date). For
many parallel stories see Motif-Index A1671.1. The choice l)etween the
two t)undles is a widespread theme; see Motif-htdc.v L211.
In de heginnin' (jod he tuck two bundles and he ])lace 'em
before a nigger and a white man, an' one bundle he niek \er\-
large and one bundle bin berry little. De nigger he bin hal)
fust choice, and you know a nigger with a greedy big eye. he
tink the big bundle de best, so tek dat. Den de white man he
tek what was left de little bundle. De white man he had a
pin and ink in it an' in de nigger sack was jjIows and every-
thing else to work with.
THE ORIGIN OF THE WOODPECKER
From Kate S. Russell, Person county, i927-28(?). I know of no exact
parallels to this tale, though there are other stories ahout why the
woodpecker bores holes in trees. See Motif-Index A2456.1.
Once upon a time there was an old woman baking cakes;
an old man, a wizard, came by. Xow this little old woman
had on a red cap. a black shawl, and a white skirt. She was
a very tiny woman.
This old w^oman told him her cakes were all to(j large, but
she would bake him a tiny one. She baked it yet it seemed
too large, so she baked him another, and another till the cake
was about the size of a grain of wheat; yet that was too large
to give away.
As she was so stingy, this old man changed her into a
woodpecker, made her ti}' up the chimney, and as she Hew up
she got her white skirt black with soot. He told her she
would have t(j bore and bore for food the rest of her life.
JAY BIRO.S AS THE DEVIL's SERVANTS
From the Reverend George W. Lay, eastern N. C, 1913-15. I know of
no exact parallels. The same idea is conveyed in an item sent in by
Rebecca Willis (Airs. Marshall James Brooks, Jr.) of Atlanta, Texas:
Blue jay birds are evil spirits; on Friday they go to hell to report
things that happen in the world. Each carries a grain of sand t(j the
devil.
Most birds in our climate become quiet in the middle of the
day, and this is said to be a characteristic of the jay bird in
the South. The negroes have the saying that the jay bird is
quiet because during that hour he goes to hell to carry down
brimstone for the use of the devil. And when a negro would
634 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
catch a jay bird he would wring its head off and say "you
won't carry down no sulphur to hell to burn up dis nigger."
HONEY BEES AND RED CLOVER
From Z. Teeter (A.B., Duke, 1922). c. 1920. It is surprising to find
this legend, thus far reported only from Pomerania (see Dahnhardt,
Natursagcn, in, 306). See Motif -Index A2231.3.2.
Honey bees always stay away from red-top clover blossoms.
God gave them choice of working on Sunday or of working the
red-top clover blossoms. They chose to work on Sunday.
WHAT THE GUINEA HEN SAYS
Told to Mr. Thomas F. Leary by Mrs. Quinn Roberts near Shelby,
N. C, and reported c. 1940. I do not know of a close parallel to the
tale.
A long time ago, there were many foxes in the county. All
the farmers had many chickens upon which the foxes made their
depredations. The farmers all obtained dogs to keep the foxes
away from their chicken-yards. For a time there were no
chicken-raids. The dogs woke their masters in time for them
to get their guns and shoot the foxes. But by and by the head
dog in the neighborhood was approached by a group of foxes.
"Look here," said the chief fox, "there is no use in our fight-
ing each other this way. After all, we are distant relatives.
Wouldn't you like a nice fat hen to eat every night?"
The dog admitted that he would.
"Well then," said the fox. "from now on, you keep quiet
until we get a few chickens and then you can liark your head
off. In return we'll leave a fat hen, all dressed, in the hollow
stump near your farm."
The dog agreed to the proposition, and told his fellow dogs
about it. They all decided to join up with the foxes.
From that time on, the farmers lost more chickens than
ever. When the foxes had finished their work, the dog would
set up a frenzied barking but, by the time the farmer got
down with his gun, there was nothing to shoot at. Things
went from bad to worse.
But the farmers were not the only ones worried. So were
the chickens. They had a conference among themselves and
said, "None of us could act as watchdogs. We can't yell loud
enough." So they went to the guinea hens and said to them,
"Listen, you birds have good strong voices. Will you act as
watchdogs to scare off the foxes and wake the farmer?"
At first, the guinea hens said "No." but the chickens said.
"If you don't you'll soon be eaten too. because the foxes will
eat all us chickens and will then start to eat you." So the
guinea hens agreed.
That night while the dog sat watching, the foxes came
TALES AND LEG E N D S 635
sneaking Uj) to the cliickcn-yard. I hit ht'forr tlu'_\- CDuld get
in, the guinea liens started screaming "I'^oxes!" "h'oxes!"
"Foxes!" One of tlie farmers awoke immediately and seizing
his gun ran down and shot some of the foxes. He gave the
dog a good heating and set him to minding the front yard.
He set the guinea hens up as i)ermanent guardians of the harn-
yard. And so they are today. The first night they yelled, tlu'y
yelled so hard that they hecame hoarse. .\nd they are still
hoarse today, hut if }()u will listen clcjsely you will hear that
they are saying in their hoarse voices, "Foxes! Foxes! Foxes!"
SOME FLOWER LEGENDS
The Maiden-Hair Fern
From Clara Hcarne, Chatham county 1922-23. For other talcs of plants
coming from the bodies of the murdered, see Motif -Index A2611.
A lover murdered his sweetheart and left her lying hy the
side of a spring. At the spot where her head lay a fern grew
up. This fern is called the "maiden-hair" fern.
The Sunflower
From Mrs. Xilla Lancaster, Wayne county. 1923. For stories of other
persons turned into plants or flowers, see Motif-liidcx A2610.
Once a little girl with golden curls lived in the world below.
She begged to see the sun daily. Her mother told her that the
sun was a cruel, red-hot monster and he would burn her into
a little brown stem. One day the little girl escaped and
climbed up to the earth near the sea. Oh how beautiful every-
thing was ! She sat down in the sand and buried her little
feet. Then she gazed up, the sun saw her and knew how well
she liked to sit and gaze at him. She was changed to a beauti-
ful sunflower that always looks to the sun.
The Fuschia
From Mamie Mansfield, Durham, N. C, 1927-28. I do not know a
parallel tale.
The fuschia flower is supposed to belong to the devil. The
purple bell that drops down is his bell, the red petals that turn
up are hell flames.
TREES PUNLSHED FOR IMPIETY
The As])en
From Kate S. Russell, Person county, i927-28(?). The tale exactly as
given is not commcju, but it is usually said that all the trees except the
aspen refused to make Christ's cross and for this reason the aspen leaves
tremble. See Motij-Indcx Z352.
Years ago when all the trees bowed before Jesus the aspen
refused, and has ever since trembled in fear.
X.C.F., Vol. I. (42)
636 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
The Mistletoe
From Kate S. Russell, Person county, i927-28(?). For parallel, see
Motif-Index A272 1.2.1.
Many hundred years ago the mistletoe was a very large
tree. The Cross on which Jesus died was made from this large
tree ; so it was condemned thereafter to the life of a parasite.
II. gUEER TALES ABOUT ANIMALS
THE HEADLESS DOG
From W. S. Smith, Buncombe county, 1022. For headless animals,
see Motif-Index Bi 5.1.1.
Some people in my commimity claim that a dog without a
head passes along a certain road at frequent intervals. They
say that if a person meets the dog and hits at it with a stick,
the stick will go through the dog and never harm hiuL It
seems to be a dog but has no real material body. Once a
drunk man fell and killed hiuLself and the dog appears near
that place.
THE LAND OF THE MERMAIDS
From Margaret Eckerson, eastern N. C, 1919. This tale has interest-
ing parallels. For the underwater world, see Motif-Index F133.1 ; for
the mermaid belief, see B81. For other flood legends, see Aioio.
"They believe in 'fish-people,' too, up there — some of the
old fellows. Every sailor knows that everything grows in the
ocean just the same as on the land — strawb'ries and punkins
and ears o' corn — all just as natural, only in the form of a
fish. And if there's all them other things in the ocean, there's
fish-women there. I believe it just as much as I believe I'm
a-settin' here today, and I knozv I'm a-settin' here."
"You never saw one. Captain ?"
"I don't know if I have or not. Many a time when 1 was
watchin' at night, I'd see a head bob up and look around, and
bob down again. That might have been them.
"And why are all these things in the ocean just the same as
on the land? Ah, once there wasn't no ocean out there. Once
it was all dry land. Then came the Fh^od. And where the
waters of the Flood came from. I don't know, and whether
they was salt or fresh, 1 don't know; but they covered up all
them dry places, and whatever was growing on the land before
the waters came, kept on growing after, only it came aVn'c.
It's alive. It turned to a kind of fish."
T A 1. I-: s A X D 1. !■; c; k n d s 637
THE COWS ON CHRISTMAS KVE
From Mrs. Gertrude Allen Vaught, Alexander county, i922-23(?). In
another place she mentions that on New Year's Eve the cattle will low
iir kneel down in prayer. The legend is widely known, as witness
Ihiiiiias Hardy's heautiful poem 'The Oxen.' See Motif-hidcx B251.1.2.
( )n old Christmas I have lieard ni\- old nei^ro mamiiiv say
that cows al\va\s kiu'cl l(( prax' and that she had seen them.
SNAKK STORIKS
The Poisoned Tree
From Clara Hcarne, Chatham county, 1922-23. For various tales of
snakes and their imagined tiualities, sec Motif -Index B751.
Many 3-ears ago the ]ieoi)le in a neii^hborhood near Pittshoro
had assembled at the clun-ch for service. Before the service
began, a man out in the grove encotuitered a large snake. He
looked for something with which to defend himself. The snake
ran toward him. and the man to protect himself dodged behind
a tree, 'idle snake at once threw himself against the tree
fastening himself to tlie tree l)y the horn on the end of his
tail. There he hissed at the man, who struck at him with a
jiole until the snake was killed. The man left him there in the
tree and went into the chtu'ch. When the ser\ice was over,
he found that the leaves on the tree had withered and later the
tree died.
The C\)ach-\\'hip Snake
From Mrs. Nilla Lancaster, Wayne county, 1923. While not exactly
liarallel. this story has an interesting resemblance to that of the hoop
snake which takes his tail in his mouth and rolls like a wheel. See
Motii-Iudcx B765.1.
.\n old man in our neighl)orhood told of ])eing chased by a
coach- whi]). He was working south of Kingstree, when he was
a youth of seventeen years, living with his brother. One night
he took a foot path that led across a swamp to see some girls.
He left for home about eleven o'clock and walked very fast as
he knew many snakes were in tlie swamix Presently he beard
something rattling in. tlie buslies. tlien something like a bull-
whip crack. He glanced l)ack. lie heard it again still nearer.
He began to run ; so did it, ])op])ing that whip. He fell in his
brother's ])orch exhausted when he reached there. Next day
they both went to investigate. They found his tracks from six
to eight feet apart, and the trail of a coach-whip behind, but
the trail did not go far out in the clearing. This snake ran after
others and was at last shot and killed by hunters.
638 NORTH CAROLIXA FOLKLORE
Snakes Swallowing Their Young
From Mrs. Nilla Lancaster, Wayne county, 1923. See Motif-Index
B751.1.
Uncle G. D. Langston once killed a large snake, and when
the snake's head was cut off thirteen young snakes ran out.
His hired man told him he saw the snake swallow them, when
he called him to come kill the snake.
The Little Girl Who Fed the Snake
From Clara Hearne, Chatham county, 1922-23. One of the few ex-
amples of a well-known European folk tale in our collection. It is num-
ber 105 in Grimm's collection of folk tales. See Aarne-Tliompson,
Types of the folktale, No. 285.
Every day the little baby would crawl out into the yard with
her tin of milk. She would stay for quite a while and seemed
to be amusing herself. This continued for several days. One
day the mother went out into the yard and found the child
feeding a snake with the milk from her tin. She screamed for
her husband and he came and killed the snake. They called
the snake a milk snake.
CATS AND CORPSES
From Henry Belk, Union county, c. 1920. The belief that cats mutilate
corpses is widespread. See Motif -Index B766.1. The belief, in North
Carolina, is further recorded from Jessie Hauser of Forsyth county.
She also repeats the equally well-known belief that cats will suck the
breath of babies. For the latter, see Motif-Index B766.2.
A corpse in a house will attract the cats of the vicinity to
gather around it and conduct themselves in a very unearthly
sort of way — weirdly serenade the soul on its way to the other
land, for instance. I first had this superstition, which may be
explained by natural causes, from a lawyer at Monroe. After
making an assertion similar to that above, he related a story
to prove it. An old-maid aunt of his died in Charlotte. Re-
ceiving a telegram to this effect, he went to the city to sit up
with the corpse during the night. Arrived at the house, he
found only a group of spinsters at the wake. The night wore
on, and the magnetic influence of the dead body began to have
its effect on the cats of the neighborhood, so the lawyer said.
The coffin containing the body was alongside a window which
opened on the ])orch. ( )n the outside, the howling of a cat
grew louder and more insistent, seeming to come from the
porch. Disturbed, the lawyer left the room, intending to chase
the cat away. On the porch, however, he could not see the
animal. As he re-entered the hall, he beheld the women rush
pell-mell from the room as if terrified. Although unnerved, he
confessed to me, he re-entered the room and beheld a large tom-
T A I. r, s A N n I. F. r, k n n s 639
cat ])aciiig up ami ddwu tlif coltiu in a very ai^itated M)rt of
wav. Xothiiig else heing handy, he seized his hat fr(»in the
rack and hied it at the animal, which littering a farewell }u\\ 1
leaped DUt the window whence it had entered.
III. TALICS OF MAGIC
RIPE FRUIT .\T TWELFTH NIC.IIT
From Mrs. Maude Minish Sutton, Lenoir, X. C. Mrs. Sutton's con-
tributions, generally undated, were made from 1922 to lier deatii in 1936.
For similar accounts, see Motif-hidcx D2145.2.2.
'Txe hreshed the snow hack off'f hops and seen 'em green
as they'd he in June on ( )ld Christmas," said an old lady when
we were discussing the stories of Twelfth Night. "An' I've
seen the limhs on the cherry tree a bendin' plum to the ground
at the same time."
MURDERER BETRAYED BY VICTIM's BLOOD
The manuscript is page 16 of a typescript bearing a penciled notation
"Rev. Minish," and undated. Probably it is part of a lost paper by
Mrs. Maude Minish Sutton, who collected some of her materials in Ashe
county. It is a very good example of a widespread belief. See Motif-
Index D1318.5.2.
This superstition achieved a temporary and somewhat dubious standing
in North Carolina legal practice in 1875. In Wilmington, N. C, on
June II, 1875, a Negro serenader named Charles Jackson engaged in a
barroom brawl with two white men and was thrown into the street.
Shortly afterward, on the same night, he was shot to death. The two
men were arrested, and both men were taken to the dead body. Wil-
mington was then under the domination of Negro and Carpet-bagger
officials, and the preliminary examination was held by a Negro Justice
of the Peace named Moore. The news story and the preliminary hear-
ing are reported at length in the Wilmington Star (June 12. 15. 1875),
but with no mention of the test-by-blood. The Raleigh A'ctc? for June
18 tells how one of the accused. W. I. Jackson, was forced to touch the
corpse as a test of his guilt, and the Charlotte Obscnrr (June 20) carries
a brief indignant article to the same effect. A cautiously written article
in the Wilmington Star (June 13) seems to take notice of similar talk
in Wilmington. It tells how the two accused were taken to the corpse
against their will, how Jackson touched the corpse, and how the sheriff
refused permission for the proceeding and claimed ignorance of its execu-
tion. Specific attribution of these proceedings to the Negro justice, how-
ever, and specific reference to the test-I)y-blood are both carefully
avoided. [N. I. W.]
He [Old j\Ian Woody] told me the story oi an Ashe county
murderer who was discovered because the wounds of his victim
bled when he came to look at the cori)se. "I see'd that." he
said. "Bill [the dead man| had on a stiff white sliirt and a
black suit. I was goin' to ])reach the buryin' sermon. W'iien
Jim come up to look at the corpse — jes as unconcerned, 'cau.se
640 X O K T II C A R 0 L I X A F () L K L () R I-
nobody but Jinny knowed they wuz mad — the l)l()od commenced
to run out on that white shirt, hit jes spurted. Jim yelled out,
'Good Gawd A'mighty, I done hit,' and fell down in a fit. That
was a merrical, I tell you." I agreed that it must have been!
He was very vague as to what happened to Jim afterwards.
HOW TO KEEP CORN FROM FIRING
From Mrs. Norman Herring, Tomahawk, N. C. Though I do nut know
of this particular practice, it is a clear case of sympathetic magic. See
Motif -Index D1782.
My husband had thrown a large quantity of seed corn cobs
into his cart to haul them to the house for fuel. A neighbor
coming up asked casually if he was going to carry the cobs to
the river.
"The river," said my husband, "why the river?"
"Why," said the man, "the way to keep corn from firing is
to put the cobs your seed corn comes olT of in the river."
ANOINTING THE NAIL
From Mrs. Norman Herring, Tomahawk, N. C, i920-3o(?). Sympa-
thetic magic again {Motij-Indcx D1782).
Rena's boy had stepped on a nail. 1 went to get some tur-
pentine for him. When I came back she was laboriously
extracting two nails from a board. "What are you doing?" 1
asked. "Why, I'se trying to git de nail out ter grease and put
up and I ain't shore which one it wuz that stuck in so I'se
twine ter grease bof 'er dem."
THE SELF-ROCKING CHAIR
From Roy Brogeen, near Calypso, Duplin county, c. 1922. For other
automatic magic objects, see Motif -Index D1601.
Years ago at a house of my grandfather near Calypso in
Duplin county there was a chair that would rock every night
and no one could ever see anyl)ody in the chair or find out
what caused the chair to rock.
PREMONITIONS OF DEATH
Sounds from the Coftin Shop
From Elsie Doxey, Currituck county, 1922-23. Such stories of premo-
nition of death are very widespread. Cf. Motif-Index D1812.
A man in Currituck county who was a coffin maker knew
when he was to be called upon to make one, for he could hear
a noise in the shop like someone hammering. Others than the
maker heard the same thing at the same time he did.
The Song of the Saw
A story in the Brown Collection without indication of author
or of place, except that it is said to be common around Fayette-
ville, is obviously worked up into an artistic short storv. It tells
TALES A N 1) 1. I. (. K N 1) S 64I
(if a woman wlm spends a niglit in a slran<,fc' honsc wliik' Iht
aunt is (l\in_^' in andlluT. In the night slie lu'ars a sound of a
saw working in a shop used to make C(;ffins. She is tcrrilK-d
hut notices that this liappms at three o'clock. 'Mie next morn-
ing she finds that her aunt liad (hed at exactly that liour.
Liunher for the Coffin
From Klsic Doxcy. Currituck citunty, ii)J2-j,^.
In Currituck county tliere was a child wlio was ill. The
mother was watching o\er it afti'r midnight, and all of a sud-
den she heard someone pulling lumher or sawed hoards out
from luuler the house. The father went out to investigate but
found nothing — the hoards were in the usual place. The next
day the child died and these same hoards were used in ])re])ar-
ing the grave for its burial.
Before the death of another child, the father had seen a light
leave his front gate and go slowly toward the family cemetery.
Wraith of the Sweetheart
From Kate S. Russell, Person county, 1927-28! ?).
When a certain lady had fever, her sweetheart looked out
and saw her form floating near the door wrapped in white.
When he called the other people's attention to it. it had begun
to rise. Several people saw it but it flew upward so fast it
looked like a white cloud. In a few hours a message came that
she was dead.
OLD QUAWK
Unidentified newspaper clipping, Ocracoke, dated March 15. For other
tales of offending the spirits of the waters, see Motif -Index C41.
Tomorrow is Old Ouawk Day — and su])erstitious natives on
Ocracoke Island will forego \enturing on the waters of the
sound.
March l6, thev sa}\ is a da\- of sudden S(|ualls — a dav when
small craft shcnild be discreetly docked.
The natives claim that, many years ago on one March i6, a
man went (Jut clamming or oystering: that his craft became
l)ecalmed and that he grew profane. Conse(|uently, a sudden
wind fell on hinu
The man went by the name of ( )ld (J^'^'*'*''"'- hence the name
for March i6 hereabouts.
RIDI.XC. IMS IIORSI-. To IlI'T-L
From George E. Knox, Wasliington, N. C. For the curse resulting in
death, see \Iolif -Index D2061.2.4. For tiic defiance of the devil and its
results, sec C12.2.
.\hout MO years ago, there lived near Washington, Xorth
642 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
Carolina, a man who had several good horses and a very bad
temper. He was very fond of whiskey and when under the
influence of it was very mean to his wife. One day he had been
to the store and had been drinking very heavily and while
boasting was challenged by another man to participate in a
horse race later in the day. He went home and his wife tried
to get him to stay at home, telling him that he was not al)le to
ride his horse. He said he would ride his horse and win the
race or he would ride his horse to Hell. He then whipped his
wife and when he left she told him she hoped he would be in
Hell before the day was over. The race began and the man
whipped his horse and got him to running at a very great
speed. About half way the agreed distance was a road leading
from the course and immediately after leaving the straight
course there was a very sharp turn in the road. The horse on
arriving at this road started to go that road instead of the race
course. He was going too fast and the man was trying to
make him go the straight road, so that his hoofs made deep
tracks in the soft ground. (It had been raining and in this
country the ground gets very soft.) In turning so suddenly
the man was thrown against a pine tree and killed. The place
has been visited by people ever since then. The tracks of the
horse are still visible and the stump of a pine tree stands on
the spot where the man was thrown.
It is said that a person can pile sticks or even drive sticks
in these horse tracks and that on revisiting the spot after alwut
an hour the sticks have been removed and the tracks bare.
(This is supposed to be a true story. I have visited the place
several times and the tracks are there and there is nothing in
them.) Some people say that after a long rain if a person
passes the spot at night, loud groans can be heard.
THE LETTER OF CHRIST
A tradition reported several times, sometimes as a recollection from
older people and sometimes quoting from newspapers, tells of a mysterious
letter, apparently believed in by many people of North Carolina. (It is
reported by Charles R. Bagley as heard from his grandparents, Mr. and
Mrs. W. R. Dudley, in Moyock, N. C, about thirty miles south of
Norfolk.) According to a letter of W. B. Covington (Norfolk. Va.. c.
1914) to Dr. Brown the mysterious letter was written by Christ just
after his crucifixion, signed by the angel Gabriel ninety years after the
Saviour's birth, and presumably deposited by him under a stone at tlie
foot of the cross.
On this stone appeared the following : "Blessed is he who shall turn
me over."
No one knew what the inscription meant, or seemed to have sufficient
curiosity to investigate, until the stone was turned over Iiy a little child
and the letter . . . was discovered. . . .
The story goes that the little child wlio foimd it ]>assed it to
one who became a convert to tlic Cliristian faith. lie failed to
TALES AND I. E C. ENDS 643
have the letlcr jjuhhshcd. lie kept it, however, as a sacred
nieniento of Christ and it passed down to ditTerent generations
of his family for more than a thousand years.
During this period the family suffered repeated misfortunes and
moved to different countries until finally some of them came to
America, hringing the letter with them. 'Iliey settled in Vir-
ginia, then moved further South, still followed hy misfortvme,
when finally the last memher, a daughter, apj^roached her
deathbed and called a neighbor, a Mrs. Thompson, giving lier
the letter and relating its history for more than a thousand
years. The Thompson woman began the attempt to have it
published, and it first appeared in the Rome. Ga.. Tribune on
October 31. 1891. It then a])peared in the Dalton. (Ja.. Citizen,
and ^Frs. W'ortman. now living in Marion, Indiana, clipped it
and kept it in her possession for many years without any effort
to have it published. She was followed by misfortune, which
was attributed to her neglect in trying to have the letter
published.
IV. WITCHES AND THEIR DEVILTRY
THE WITCH AND THE ROOSTER
From Russell H. Cawdill, Ashe county, c. 1922. This story contains
some of the most popular beliefs about witches still current in America.
For the curse by the disappointed witch, see Motif-Index G269.4 ; for
various tales of bewitching, see P2070. The production of the snake by
an imitation of its movements is a good example of sympathetic magic
{Motif -Index D1782; cf. also D445, transformation: image of animal
vivified).
About a hundred years ago, in a little country home in Ashe
county, near Clifton, North Carolina, there lived a woman by
the name of Lyla Weaver, who was said to be a witch. This
woman was known to do very many curious things by witchcraft.
(_)nce tipon a time as this woman was ]:)assing the home of
my great-grandfather she saw a fine rooster standing on the
lawn in front of the house. She asked my grandfather to give
the rooster to her, and when he refused to do so she went on her
way, telling him that the rooster would never do him any good.
Her w^ords were true, however, for she was not out of sight
before the rooster flew upon the grindstone and crowed just
once, falling dead as he did so.
At another time she was in a store buying some cloth and
when the merchant told her the ])rice she becaiue angry and
began to run her finger around upon the counter with a cir-
cular motion, and there followed it a large snake which fright-
ened the merchant so much that he gave her the whole bolt of
cloth to leave his store.
644 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
She did many other things such as those stated ahove, and
she was considered throughout the neighhorhood to possess the
power of a witch.
I do not know the date of her death, Init her grave is near
Clifton, North Carohna, about twelve miles west of Jefferson.
It is said by the people who have seen her grave that the red
streaks upon the marble which marks it cannot l)e blotted out by
any means.
There is no written history of this witch's life ; all that is
known of her has been handed down to us orally.
'VIRA GILBERTS AND HER WITCHCRAFT
From Amy Henderson, Worry, North Carolina, 1914-15. This story is
full of witchcraft motifs which we shall be meeting in later stories. For
killing the witch with a silver bullet, see Motif-Index D 1385.4. For the
witch in the form of an animal, see G211. For making the cows go dry,
D2083.1. For tormenting the witch by sticking the pins in the paper,
D2063.1.1. For the curse by the disappointed witch. G269.4. For the
tabu against lending to the witch, C784.1. For the witch in the form of
a bird, G211.15. The driving of the nail in the witch's picture is simply
another form of D2063.1.1, with nails used instead of pins.
I went to my neighbor for stories about witches. She was
very reluctant to own that she had ever heard any, but by a
judicious pretence of believing such things I coaxed her to tell
me the following.
"My Mother used to tell me about an old woman that they
said was a witch. Well, I've seen her myself many a time.
She was old 'Vira Gilberts. She didn't have any home ; just
stayed about, anywhere that anybody would let her. She was
working for a man named Jones Gibson. She was a big strong
woman and could do a man's work. That day she was making
fence right close to the woods, and some men were himting.
She kept hollering to them, "You can't shoot that squirrel," or
"You needn't shoot at that squirrel; you can't kill it," and they
bored a hole in a bullet and put silver in it. I've always heard
you could kill a witch with a silver bullet. She didn't know
they had put silver in this bullet and after dinner they came
back there and she began to holler to them again, and they saw
a squirrel on the tree and thought she had witched herself into
it ; so they shot at it with the silver bullet and it fell ; and just
as it fell 'Vira hollered out, "Oh, you've put my eye out with
that limb," and her eye was out. She said that when they shot,
a limb broke off and hit her in the eye and put it out. When
they picked up the s(|uirrel it wasn't hit anywhere but in the
eye.
'Vira Gilberts was staying at my first coirsin's one >ear help-
ing with the work, and she insisted on doing the milking, but
my cousin wouUln't let her. .Sjie wanted to do it herself. '\'ira
r A I. 1'. s A X n I. I", c !■ X n s ^>45
s-iid "XcMT miiui; vou won't get ;iny milk il \ uu cU.u'l let
UK- 'd(. it"- and. sure' enough, the cows got to giving less and
k-ss till the\- just nearly went dry. One day when h ranees
went t.i nulk slie didn't get but about a spoonful from each cow.
She i.ut it in a little bottle, just a little bottle and there was a
place l)etween the milk from the two cows; one would just
stay a little piece above the other and no matter how you wou d
shake them von couldn't make them mix. Somebody had told
Frances that if 'X'ira had 'witched the cws and was makmg
them go dry. she must put six new pins in a i^aper. ^tick them
in the paper, and put that under the hearth rock— that it the
person was a witch thev would feel pins sticking m them, bo
she took the six new j.ins and stuck them in a pai>er and put
them under die hearth rock and she said that night that old
•\'iry hollered all night that pins were sticking in her. She
said' A'iry took on so that she believed she would have died
if she hadn't got up and took die pins out from under the
hearth rock. . , ,, ,
My neighbor .said she had heard her tather tell about a luan
that used to live clo.se to him that had a fat hog and one day
somebody came there and wanted him to kill it. lie won dn t
and they got mad and said he would see, bed have to kill it.
That 'very night their babv got powerful sick and they knew
in reason t'hat person had 'witched it. They .sent for an old
man that lived ar.nm<l there. They had called him a witch
doctor You know in them days they had folks that they said
could doctor anything that had been 'witched. The old man
came and his wife with him and he said he would do )vh^t he
could, but he couldn't do much unless the man w.-uld kill tliat
boo- and burn it. He said he was willing to kill the hog and
burn it if it would do the baby any good. So he went out to
kill the hog and the old man said for his wife to take the broom
and stand in the door and mind out anydung that tried to come
in and he would do what he could for the child: and be Did
the mother not to let anybody that came after anything have it.
For they said alwavs when you were doctoring them that some
of the witch's family would come to borrow something and if
you let them have it the doctor couldn't do any good.
So when the man killed the hog and was burning it the
witch doctor's wife stood in the door with the bmom m her
hand and a bird came and tried to get in and she had to tight
as hard as she could to keep it out. The child got well.
They say if anybody bewitches you and gives you a headache
or anything and you will go out and draw the suspected per-
son's'picture on the house and drive a horseshoe nail m the
place that i> hurting it will cause the witch to suffer. So this
646 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
woman's mother had a mighty bad headache and her Httle son
went out and drew the picture of the old woman that he thought
was responsible for his mother's pain. He drew this on the
house with a clod of dirt and drove a horseshoe nail in her
head and set off as fast as he could go for her house to see if
it had any effect. When he got there she was nearly dying
with a headache. None of the family knew anything about what
he had done till they heard a big fuss behind the house and
went out there and he was trying to pull the horseshoe nail
out. He said he was afraid it would kill the old woman.
OLD HENRY
From Thomas Smith, Watauga county, 191 5. The protection from the
witch by hanging up the closed bottle, although somewhat resembling
other means of protection (Motif-Index G272), probably has parallels,
but I have not seen them.
Thirty or forty years ago there lived in the Brushy Fork
Country an old man who had the reputation of bewitching
people. Old Henry, as his neighbors called him, was feared
by everyone for miles around on account of his causing those
whom he "got mad at" to have bad luck.
Mrs. Polly Rayfield of Sharps Creek, a few miles distant
from Brushy Fork, tells the following tale of Old Henry. She
is a woman of wonderful memory especially for things that
happened in her young days. She says :
"Once I went over to Breshy Fork to see Henry's boy Jim's
wife. Jim's wife wuz tuck doun powerful bad awhile afore
that and I'd heerd she wuz so bad off I concluded to go and
see her. Her folks wuz there a waitin' on her and none of
'em knowed what ailed her. Only they said she had made Ole
Henry mad about somethin' or other and right straight she wuz
tuck down sick. I didn't see nottin' of Henry but they wuz
all powerful 'fraid he'd come in there. Jim's wife alius got
worse when Henry come in the room. Her folks kep a new
bottle hung up to the loft by a string clost to her bed and
they kep that bottle stopped mighty tight so's to skeer the
witches out o' the house. If they didn't keep the bottle stopped
up they said she'd git wuss. I didn't stay long for T wuz afraid
Ole Henry might be purty clost around there and I didn't want
to set eyes on him."
DISCOVERING A REMEDY AGAINST WITCHES
From J. K. Turner, Edgecombe county, c. 191 5- The witch as an animal
and the killing with the silver bullet apjieared in a preceding story.
"This story was told me by a hunter who lived in Edgecombe Co., X. C."
— Contributor's note.
There was a prevailing notion of tlie i>eople of lulgecombe
County early after the Civil War that witches inhal)ited a sec-
T A L K S A N D I. E 0 ENDS 647
tion of that Cduntry known as Henrietta C"reek. This ereek
was a small tributary of the Tar River, and it was surrounded
on l)oih sides by very thick woods. The land was low^ and
boggy. This creek was known for miles around as the best
hunting grounds in that county, and people came to hunt the
game that abounded in the woods on this creek.
Once a man was hunting in these woods near this creek.
The air was quiet and not a rustle was heard among the leaves
as the hunter trod quietly through the forest in search of game.
As the sun was setting the hunter came to an old pine tree
that had been struck by lightning, and the bark had fallen ofif,
leaving the tree bare. The hunter sat down beneath this old
tree to rest. As he sat there, he heard a solemn knock. The
knocking was repeated several times and he got up to see what
it was that was keeping up the noise. He glanced up ; near
the top of the dead piue was w^hat appeared to be a common
w^oodpecker storing away food for the long cold winter.
The hunter decided to relieve the bird of his task. He took
aim and fired. The bird did not fall and the man thought it w^as
a poor aim, so he reloaded his gun and fired again. To his
chagrin, the bird still remained in the same position and con-
tinued to peck away upon the old pine tree. The hunter re-
loaded his gun, an old-time muzzle-loader, and taking aim again
fired. He got the same result as before. He then loaded and
reloaded and shot the bird several times ; still he could not
budge it. He was somewhat perplexed and could not realize
why he did not kill the bird. The thought of witches in that
section came to him. He remembered that a witch could change
into any shape or size. He concluded that it must l)e a witch
that he was shooting at.
The hunter was now at a loss to know what steps he was
to take next, because he had used all his shot. He was on the
point of leaving when the thought came to him to search his
pockets for shot. He did this, liowever. in vain. But while
searching his i)ockets his hand came in contact with a silver
dime, which he decided to cut into small pieces and use as shot.
After the dime had been cut uj) and the gun once more loaded,
he tried his luck again.
He took aim and fired. This time to his astonishment the
bird ceased to peck and to retain its position on the tree; but
giving a loud shriek and relaxing its hijld upon the tree, it fell
lifeless to the ground.
Ever since this occurrence the ])eople of Henrietta neighbor-
hood believe that the only way to kill witches is to shoot them
with silver.
648 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
KILLING THE WHITE RABBIT
Told by Mr. Hobgood (no further information). Both motifs, the
witch as an animal and using the silver bullet are in two preceding
stories.
In the early sixties there lived in Granville count v a man
l)v the name of Hedgepeth, a great hunter, especially of rah-
bits, possums, and coons, but he was ignorant and superstitious.
He heard that a white rabbit had been seen in the neighborhood
— such an animal had never been seen there before. Dogs could
not run her down, and lead shot would not penetrate her. This
man loaded his old musket with pieces of silver, cutting up a
silver dollar for that purpose, and went out to find the witch
that had taken this form, and the bold, valiant hunter bagged
her and took her home, Init not to eat her.
SAM guy's witch TALE.S
From Thomas Smith, Watauga county, c. 1915. The bewitching by
sending the bad dream is rather unusual in witch stories. I know of no
exact parallel. For the magic ring or circle made in the dust, see
Motif -Index D1272. For the bargain with the devil, see N211.
Sam Guy is about sixty-five years of age. He has lived
nearly all his life in the rich mountain section; he is a squirrel
hunter of no small ability, also used to be a great 'sang' (gin-
seng) digger. His education is very small and he has always
been regarded as a believer in witches.
Old Ferro
Ye know Eph' Tucker that used to live on the Hashion.
Well he wuz allis counted a mighty truthful man and he used
to tell me a sight o' tales about witches. He said when 'e lived
down in Ashe there wuz a man named Ferro who shore could
bewitch people. Eph said he wuz a talkin' with Ferro one
da\- and Ferro told him there wuz a man lived clost him that
had done him some mean tricks and he wuz a goin' to make
that man see some trouble that night.
"Ax him in the mornin','' Ferro says, "and he'll tell ye that
he's seed a heap o' trouble last night."
Well Eph met the man next day and shore 'nougli he told
Eph he hadn't slep' a bit the night afore. Eph axed him what
wuz the matter and he went on to tell about seein' a big thing
like a bear a walkin' the jist [joist] over his bed all niglit.
the man said he tried to shoot the thing l)ut his gun wouldn't
shoot, and he had to set there and watch that ole bear, or wliat-
evcr it wuz, all night a walking on the jist l)ackards and forrids
right over his bed.
How to Become a Witch
Well ater that Eph sayd he knowed ole Ferro shore wuz
T A I. K S A X I) 1. K C K X I) S 64C)
a witch ami he (Ircicknl he'd hkr tc hv a witch Itio so's he could
aggervate people thai he didn't like. One day he says to l-'erro
says he, "1 want to learn to hewitch jjcople like you can."
"Ferro kindly agreed to show him how^ to be a witch, lie
says, "You come with me out in the road." The\- went out'n
the wagin road and Ferro tuck a stick and made a ring in tlie
dirt. "Xow you git in that ring," says Ferro. Fi)h he got in
the ring. "Xow squat down." says Ferro. Eph he s(|uatted
tlown. "Wow,'' says Ferro, "put one hand under yer right foot
and tother hand on top o' yer head." Well Eph put one hand
under his foot and tother on top o' his head. "Now." says
l-'erro. "vou say ater me, 'Devil take me ring and all.' " Eph
said he wuz a gittin' a little hit skeered by this time but he
said what ole h>rro told him, "Devil take me ring and all,"
and about that time the ground begin to sink right under him.
Eph says he felt hisself a goin' right down an' down. He .shore
wuz 'skeered by this time and 'e give a jump right out o' the
ring and run from that place as hard as he could. He didn't
turn his head to look l)ack. After that Eph said he never tried
to be a witch anymore.
TRAXSFERRIXG THE SPELL
From Lucille Massey, Durham county, ig27-2S(?). For the cure by
transferring the disease to an animal, see Motif-Index D2161.4.1.
There was once an old man who lived in Wake county who
had terrible spells. He shook like a man with a hard ague.
He was said to have been conjured by a witch. An old Negro
woman told him if he would catch a frog just before he felt a
spell coming on. and tie it to the foot of the bed, the frog would
have the spell instead of him, and he would never have another.
He did that and the frog shook so that the breath was knocked
out of him, and he was too weak to move for -sexeral hours.
The man never had another spell.
RIDDEN BY WITCHES
From Mabel Ballentine, Wake county, as told to her by a great-uncle
from Scottsburg, \'a. For parallels to this and the following stories of
men ridden by witches, see Motif-Iudex G241.2.
My great uncle used to tell this tale: A boy that he knew
in the neighborhood was ridden to a party by a witch and as
witches change hands into feet, this boy's hands were bruised
all to pieces the next day.
ii
One of the folk beliefs and practices in central and eastern North Caro-
lina collected in 1926-28 by Paul and Elizabeth Green, of Chapel Hill.
Aunt Rose said a witch rode her all one night. Uncle Aaron
says the old folks used to fmd witches and when they caught
650 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
them there'd l)e just a lump of jelly. Uncle Aaron is still
living on the Batts farm, near Tarhoro. He says he has a
sister that was a witch. She only weighed ninety-nine pounds.
He says there never were any more witches. If a witch was
bothering you, you must put a sieve over the place and it can't
go through the meshes.
Old Chris Adams who lived below Buie's Creek and had two
daughters was thought to be a witch.
iii
From I. T. Poole, Burke county, 1914. For witches transforming a man
to a horse and riding him, see Motif-Index G241.2.1.
There is a popular witch tale which is known practically all
over Burke county. There was a man by the name of Ike
Hurt who claimed to be bewitched by Dempse Lafevers and
Sal Winters. The witches were said to change Ike into a
horse and ride him away about five miles to the Catawba River
and then return with him. Those who saw Hurt in this con-
dition, say that he was in a very miseral)le condition.
iv
From Mrs. Nilla Lancaster, Wayne county, 1923, as told by Mrs. C. A.
Wilkinson of that county.
We had an old colored woman when I was a child, that
would tell us how the witches rode her all night. She said
that they would ride her like she was a horse over hills and
ditches till she was almost dead, then they drove her back home
like they drove her ofif, and that was through the chimney.
She said that if she put brown straws all around the house
and around her bed and did not step over them, the witches
would not come, for when they crossed a straw they were no
longer a witch.
She would go thro' all this straw-laying every night.
WITCH-RIDDEN HORSES
From Mrs. Nilla Lancaster, Wayne county, 1923. The belief in the
riding of horses by witches is very general. See Motif-Index G265.3.
The belief that the horseshoe will bring good luck is also widespread ;
see D1561.3. For its use when placed above a door to keep away the
devil, see G303. 16.17.
An old man used to claim the witches rode his horse at least
once a week. He said that the horse would be wet with sweat,
and her mane all tangled up, he had watched but he never
caught anything. After he nailed horse shoes over the door,
and over his harness hook she was not ridden any more.
GRANNY FRONE
Originally recorded by Miss Pearle Webb, granddaughter of Granny
Frone, for Prof. W. A. Abrams, Boone. N. C., and transcribed by Dr.
Brown (Record XXXIIA-I) in August, 1940. Several of tlie motifs
TALES A N D LEGENDS 65I
liavc already been noticed in tlie preceding witch stories : the evil work
of the witch in the dairy, Motif-lndcx D2084.2, the tormenting of the
witch by driving the nail into her picture (D2oC)i.2.2), and the destruc-
tion of the dogs.
I recollect specially a story my Mammy used to lell me a
long time ago. \'es, 1 guess 1 could tell it to you; here, just
wait till I get this snulT out of my uiouth. 1 never coidd talk
with snuff in my mouth.
Now as I recollect it. old Uncle VA Dodson and .Vunt C"in(ly
they lived away up yonder in the gap around hack ahout i88o,
I guess. Well, it seems as how witches had heen pestering of
them for a good long spell of time. First one of Ed's steers
died, then the cows started in going dry and they couldn't
make butter off the milk and that was a sure sign of witches
working. Well, next one of Ed's dogs, one of his very best
dogs, just laid down and died ; and when that happened Ed
flew plumb off the handle, my Mammy said, and started rav-
ing around that he be damned — now that's the \-ery words he
used — he be damned if he would stand any more of it. Granny
or no Granny, he would i)Ut an end to it.
You see, the witch was his own Granny, old Granny Frone
that lived over across the hill from him. She got mad at Ed
about something or other and that was her way of paying him
back.
Well, Ed said damned if he cared whose Granny she was,
her picture was going on a young black gum tree with a nail
in the heart of it fore dark and that he was going to sink her
u]^ t(j the head. You know that was the way you doctored
against a witch. You drawed a picture on a tree, put a cross
where the heart ought to be and a nail in the heart. Then the
witch would be taken ailing right away. Then you keep driv-
ing the nail on in and she would get worse and worse till by
the time you got the nail driv up she would be dead. That is
unless she could borrow something from theuL ^'ou see. that
way she could break the power of the doctoring.
But Ed was that mad he swore that the nail was going plumb
uj) to the head and that nary drap nor grain or anything was
she to get off his place. So when old Granny Frone took ailing
and begun to send the boys first for some salt, then a little
baccer. next some fire to kindle with, why nary a thing did
she get ; and VA kept driving the nail in. Well, pretty soon
he had it sunk nearly to the head and old (iranny Frone was
just about gone when Mammy said that Aunt Cindy got to
feeling sorry for her and begun to beg lul to i)ull the nail out.
Aunt Cindy told IMammy that it seemed just like plain murder
to her and that all day she had had a terrible feeling that
something awful was going to happen, especially after tlie old
X.C.F.. \'ol. I. (43)
652 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
rooster came and stood in the door and crowed three times.
But Ed, his mind was made up, and he was so sot on what he
was doing that he couldn't be stopped.
Well, Mammy said that along towards dark Ed looked out
the door and saw old Granny Frone coming down the ridge
w^ith her hand over her heart and her hair a-flying. "Lord
have mercy on us, Ed," said Aunt Cindy, "yonder 's Granny
Frone coming here. A-coming to die on this place and leave
her witch sperrit wandering around here to go into some of us."
And with that Ed grabbed up the hammer and took off up the
ridge to pull the nail out. But he was too late a-starting. Granny
Frone just got inside the gate and was begging for water and
hollering, "You've killed me, you've killed me."
About that time Aunt Cindy run to her with a gourd of water
begging her to take it and drink from it, but just as she reached
out her hand to take it, why instead of taking it she just threw
up her hands and fell and muttered, "You killed me, Ed Dodson,
you killed me ! But Em getting even with you now. My
sperrit, my witch sperrit — Fm leaving it here, Ed Dodson, to
plague you as long as you live." And with that she was gone.
Yes, that's what they say; her spirit went into Ed. He al-
ways did act quare after that, but he never did do anybody any
harm that we ever heard of, yet he was afraid of the dark.
THE WITCH AND THE SILVER BULLET
One of the folk beliefs and practices in central and eastern North Caro-
lina collected in 1926-28 by Paul and Elizabeth Green. From the
(Raleigh) Neivs and Obscnrr, February 20, 1927. For the piercing of
the image of the witch, see Motif-Index D2061.2.2. The "immunity" of
the witch to lead bullets and vulnerability to silver has already been
noticed in preceding stories (see Motif-Index D1385.4). The use of the
broom and of the upside down poker are examples of the many kinds of
protection against witches. See Motif-Index G272. For the caution
about borrowing and lending, see C784.
There lives today near Arden, N. C, a little woman, who
since she was a mountain girl has been interested in the super-
stitions of the mountaineers — Miss Susan Lambert.
On one occasion Miss Lambert recalls, there was a young
woman member of a household who was ill. The "witch-
doctor" arrived and after a lot of "hokus pokus" told them
some of the things that they must do in order to get rid oi the
evil spirit that was "ridin' her."
That, however, was just the beginning. They were to deter-
mine after careful counsel just who it was that had "bewitched"
the young woman. That fact once determined, they were to
draw a likeness of the "witch" upon a piece of cardboard, place
the image against a tree and fire into it with a silver bullet.
The latter specification was added to make the presence of the
653
dciuoii more sinister and was also ni accordance with the
popular helief that witches were ininiune to lead Imllets. Accord-
inglv the family treasures were pooled and enough sdver articles
'.■cciu-ed to produce the hullet in an old-fashioned hullet mold.
\fter the image had been pierced with the hall, according to
the prevailing custom, the silver was dug out of the tree by
the "witch-doctor" with the aid of supernatural powers and a
good stout pocket knife. This silver was but a trifle of the
many things that it was necessary tor tlie "witch-doctor to
remove in order for the "spell" to be completely broken.
In the particular instance related above, there was an old
woman bv the name of Eliza Pressly, who was rather unortho-
dox as far as belief in witches was concerned, although her
neighbors were not so careless in their views. Accordingly
when she learned that this family had made her picture and
gone through the ritual of firing the silver bullet into it. she
had a lot of fun.
Gifted with the ability to improvise her own crude songs,
she went up and down the valley singing about how the silver
l)ullet had not harmed her. Horrified, the people of the com-
munitv. or at least a good many of them, saw in her actions
the confirmation of their worst fears. After that she was
granted a respectful audience and distance on all occasions.
There were certain tricks that were proof against the magic
of the "witches" and all mountaineers, who were credulous to
the extent of fearing sinister machinations on the part of their
neighbors, were well versed in the practices that would keep
oft' the "si^ell."
One of the simplest and most effective guards was to drop
a broom across in front of the door. This protected all msrde
the cabin bv making it impossible for the "witch" to enter.
Those who did not have faith in this method sometimes found
comfort in securing a new dipper and inuring a cup of water
on the fire. This was regarded as one of the surest means of
securing immunity from the evil practices of the sorcerers.
Turning the poker upside down was another method that was
frequentlv employed, according to Miss Lambert, who observed
this practice among her neighbors at the api)roach of some
poor old woman who was looked upon with suspicion.
As the story goes, one family, cautioned by the "witch-doctor"
against the approach of a person to borrow something, salt,
sugar, coffee, or some other commf)dity. refused a neighbor a
loan of one of these articles and she went back through the yard
screaming, finallv falling into a faint. No move was made to
help her in what would probably be diagnosed today as an
attack of appendicitis, and after a time she came to and man-
654 NORTH CAROLIXA FOLKLORE
aged to make her way home. The family was ver}- well satis-
fied, taking everything into consideration, regarding themselves
as fortunate that they had been warned in time of the approach
of the witch.
witches' salve
From Lucille Massey, Wake county, ig27-2S(?). Usually a witch
smears fat on a broom in preparation for her flight through the chimney.
See Mofif-Indcx G242.1.1.
At midnight an old, old woman, dried up to a tiny size,
would come down the chimney and sit down in front of the
fireplace. She would take some grease from her pocket, grease
her hands and behind her ears. Then she would say "Up and
out," and disappear up the chimney.
BETSEY LONG-TOOTH
From Dr. A. P. Hudson, Chapel Hill, 1947, reported to him from
Wilson county in 1934 or 1935 by Hugh Buckner Johnson and written
down by Mr. Johnson in 1945. For a parallel to the principal action
see the story preceding.
IMany, many years ago there was to be found in the north
of England an ancient and extensive forest, through the middle
of which wandered an ill-kept public road. So unsavory w-as
the reputation of this forest that few people had the temerity
to make their homes anywhere m its vicinity, and as a result
the whole surrounding countryside bore an exceedingly desolate
appearance.
Late one afternoon in that part of the year formerly enliv-
ened by the celebration of Christmas, an elderly gentleman
trudged painfully through the shallow snow that partially con-
cealed the icy road. He was hungry, threadbare, and half
frozen, but still possessed the appearance of one who had seen
better days. Ere he reached the scattered growth of trees that
betokened the proximity of open country, the shadows of night
were beginning to creep through the forest and the air to grow
more chill.
Hope of finding food and lodging of any sort whatsoever
diminished rapidly as darkness came, but suddenly his apathetic
step was quickened by the faint glow of a distant light. A few
minutes more and he stood breathless before a snug, thatched
cottage of two or three rooms, from the chimney of which the
smoke rose mistily toward the glittering stars. In response to
his timid knock, the door was opened by a sinewy old woman
of indeterminate age, who demanded of him rather abruptly,
"Who are you, and what do vou desire of Betsev Long-
tooth?"
"T am a worn out old liody," he re])lie(l, "whose name the
T A I, K S A N D I, K V. V. N I) S 655
Great World lias loiiy since rorj^dttcn, hut in hcltcr days 1 was
known as Richard Woodward. I ha\-c travelled long and far
to-day on the frozen high-road, nor have I had the hlessing
of a single crunih to appease my hunger. Surely, 1 shall i)erish
to-night, good mistress, be 1 not preserved through the good-
ness of your heart."
"It is indeed a bitter night," she said after some hesitation,
"for even a dog to have no shelter. Come in and warm your
frozen bones by the fire."
Closing the door, she followed him to the great open fire-
place, where the red flames danced merrily around a steaming,
aromatic pot. After he had thawed a little, she produced a
squat black bottle from the corner-cupboard and emptied it into
two rather dirty glasses. A few swallows of the fiery liquor
brought new life into his veins and an increased interest in his
surroundings, but before anything like a fair inventory could
be made, he was handed an ax and instructed as to its purpose.
"If you want to eat any supper after I finish cooking it, you
must do something to earn it. There is a big pile of wood
in the rear and light enough to cut it by. Even now the rim
of the moon peeps over the trees. There is nothing like a good
pile of dry wood to keep a body from freezing on a long winter
night."
The old man took the ax and stepped into the yard. As his
eyes became better adjusted to the dim light, he was able to
discern the wood-pile and to execute his chore without endan-
gering life and limb with a false stroke of the l)lade. After
cutting two or three heaping armfuls of small logs and piling
them in a corner of the cottage, he again seated himself by the
fire and began to converse with his hostess, who was engaged
in placing the steaming dishes on a rude table of oak. Among
other things he learned that her husband had been dead for
many long years, that she had no relatives to speak of, and that
she was called Betsey Long-tooth because of the single long
fang still imbedded in her gums.
After they had eaten and the dishes had been cleared away,
he was led to the door of an adjoining room, handed a lighted
candle, and wished a good night's sleep. Having no desire to
retire so early, but feeling that the wishes of his hostess should
be complied with, he soon found himself comfortably situated
between a feather mattress and a huge pile of (|uilts.
He had already taken his first cat-nap when a low hum of
feminine voices, punctuated now and then by a laugh, aroused
him to the fact that something unusual was taking place in
the next room. Curiosity overcame propriety, and he felt
obliged to leave his snug retreat for a chilly kneeling-]:)lace at
656 X (1 R T II C A R 0 L I X A F 0 L K L 0 R K
the key-hole. An occasional word was all he could hear, some-
thing about a "big time" and "getting started." Then Betsey
Long-tooth unlocked a large chest in the corner and from it
lifted a bowl and a shapeless bundle which materialized into
several night-caps of knitted wool. The bowl was placed care-
fully in the middle of the hearth.
The old man could see no sense in such tomfoolery, but he
kept his eye at the key-hole to attempt further discoveries. He
had not long to wait. When the heart of the fire had liquified
the contents of the bowl, old Betsey wetted her fingers with
the substance and thoroughly massaged her head, upon which
she then clapped on one of the night-caps.
"Gossip and gossip and up the chimney I go!" she said quite
distinctly, and disappeared quick-as-a-flash. The several young
women in the room oiled their heads, put on night-caps, re-
peated the magic words, and vanished one after the other in
the same fashion as had their hostess, who was, our hero now
realized, an honest-to-goodness witch. Emboldened by unsatis-
fied curiosity, he threw on his clothes and hurried into the room
vacated so mysteriously before his very eyes. To his delight a
single night-cap lay on the floor near the bowl, which still con-
tained a small portion of colorless liquid. With some trepidation
he anointed his head as the others had done, pulled the night-
cap down to his ears, and said,
"Gossip and gossip and up the chimney I go!"
The next instant he found himself sitting on the top of the
chimney. Betsey Long-tooth and the girls were perched along
the ridge of the roof. After considerable argument about where
they should go, the old witch finally said,
"Gossip and gossip and away to London Town I go !"
Each of the young women did the same. Finding himself in
solitary possession of the snow-covered roof, Richard Wood-
ward without more ado said,
"Gossip and gossip and away to London Town I go!"
After a short period of rapid motion through the icy air, he
floated gently onto the middle of a cobble-stoned London
street. The witches ignored his presence entirely and began
to discuss with great animation their next move.
"We have come to the right place," quoth Betsey Long-tt)oth.
"Methinks I see here a warehouse wherein are stored great
barrels of fine wines. What say ye that we enter these portals
and celebrate the season right merrily ?"
"Oh, let's do!" came a chorus of assenting voices.
"Gossip and gossip and through the key-hole 1 go!" said
Betsey Long-tooth, and through the key-hole she went. The
young women made haste to follow her. leaving our hero with
A X n I. K c; !• X D s
no cnnii)an\- except his own thoughts. Mis decision was has-
tened In- a shrill hlast of wind that howled down the snowy
street and pierced his ragged garments at every seam.
"Gossip and gossip and through the key-hole I go !"
The interior of the warehouse was pleasantly warm. Soon he
was ahle to discern row ui^on row of dark tuns, each tilled to
the hrim, no douht. with deliciously warming l^everages. Like
shadows his erstwhile neighbors flitted from barrel to barrel.
Then there was a thud, followed by the sound of trickling
licjuid mingled with a medley of gurgles and sighs of satisfac-
tion. Cask after cask was sampled, part of the contents being
drunk and the remainder carelessly allowed to spill on the
sanded floor.
"I might as well l)e hanged for a wolf as for a sheep," mused
friend Woodward as the merriment increased. "l-Jesides, a body
really needs a bit of a dram on a night like tonight to keep
from catching cold. I Ijelieve that I shall take a try at this
little one. if the bung is not too tight."
The relative tightness of bungs was inconsequential, l)ut the
wine was indeed wonderful. Inspiration led him to oi)en a
second keg. Ah! Nectar fit only for gods to drink! Long,
long had been the years since wine of such body and flavour
had passed his lips, and a tear of reminiscence dimmed his
eyes momentarily as he placed a finger under the drain of a
huge funnel and filled it to the brim with red Burgundy.
The ladies decided now to be more sociable, and frolicked
around poor Richard in a most provocative manner. All be-
fuddled with wine and smiles and witless that they laughed at
him and not with him, he pranced al)Out like an aristocratic
scarecrow in a high wnnd. Shortly before the time for the
first gray light of dawn to appear on the horizon, Betsey Long-
tooth stopped this game of mouse and cats and drew the girls
aside for a whispered consultation. Leaving them to laugh
over what she said, the old woman tightened the night-cap on
her head and incanted,
"Gossip and gossip and away home I go!"
The girls di.sa]i])eared one after another, and Ivichard did
not notice that the last to leave slipped off his night-ca]i and
took it with her as she repeated the magic words. Consequently,
when he said, "Gossip and gossip and away home I go !" he
only bumped his head on the door-knob. He sat down to worry
over his sad plight, but fell fast asleep before a single line of
care could form on his forehead.
Came the dawn, and the time of opening the building for
the business of the day. The wrath of the owners was in-
describable when they found their choicest \intages drunk up
658 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
or forming pools upon the white floor. There was no question
about the doors and windows having been tightly locked, but
who had effected the frightful carnage ? Then they found Rich-
ard Woodward sleeping peacefully beside a huge hogshead in
one corner. Rude hands were laid instantly upon his person,
and he was dragged before the frown of a haughty judge. The
witnesses swore to their testimony.
"You know the penalty of the law for theft?" demanded the
judge.
"Yes, milord."
"Have you nothing at all to say in your defense before I
pronounce the judgment?"
"No, milord, nothing," said poor Richard, who feared the
stake more tlian he feared the gallows.
"Then tomorrow at sunrise you shall be led to Tyburn Hill
and hanged by the neck until dead. And may God have mercy
upon your soul !"
Richard Woodward was old, and life had already done its
worst to him. This final ordeal he resolved to bear unflinch-
ingly, as a bitter draught with which to cure forever the ills
of this temporal world. It was some small satisfaction to know
that neither friend nor enemy would note his ignoble passing.
After the heavy-handed jailor had locked him securely in a
cheerless cell, he disposed himself to sleep until the time for
his transmutation into a better world. Several hours had
passed without incident when the silence was broken by a
sibilant whisper.
"Richard Woodward! Richard Woodward, awake!"
Surely, he must have been dreaming, for the cell was dark
and empty as before. No ! Soft steps were approaching his
lowly cot.
"Hurry, Richard, hurry ! Soon the sun will rise, and the
guards will come to take you to the gallows."
Not until then did he realize that Betsey Long-tooth had
come to preserve him from the kindly offices of the hangman.
Springing to his feet, our hero seized the articles that were
thrust into his hands, hastily anointed his head, and drew on
the magic night-cap. Old Betsey received the l)owl from his
hands, adjusted her own cap, and said,
"Gossip and gossip and away home I go !"
"Gossip and gossip and away home I go!" he echoed.
Another moment and both were out of the prison, out of
London Town, and on their way to the snug little cottage in the
north of England. Ere long they passed over the immense
dark forest, down the wide chimney, and landed side by side
on the warm hearth.
TALES A N I) I. K C, K N D S 659
"Let us marry." said Richard Woodward.
"I am willing." replied Betsey Long-tooth.
So they married each the other and lived happdy ever after.
THE WITCH AT THK SHOOTING MATCH
From Thomas Smith, Watauga county. 1914-15. as told by Lindsay
Ellison Mr. Smith savs, "Mr. Ellison, who is a gray-ticarded tarmer
of small learning, liad 'stopped at my home for shelter from a storm.
There were five or six other persons present and some one started a
discussion as to whether or not witches really existed on this earth.
Mr Ellison argued that witches were a reality and told the following tale
to support iiis argument." For weapons made magically worthless see
Motif-Imhw D2086.
When I lived helow the mountains I ricollect there wuz an
old woman named Katy Townsen that everybody claimed wuz a
w'itch, that wuz forty year ago I reckin, but I ain't fergot the
time we had a shootin match clost her house. There wuz a
dozen o' us fellers, all purty good shooters and we got there
early to the place where we aimed to shoot. It wuz right clost
to ole Katv's house and we hadn't more'n got there till out
she come and l)egun to abuse us fer gittin' that clost to her
house to shoot.
We jist laffed at 'er and that made 'er madder n ever, and 1
ain't fergot w^hat she said.
"Fll take the shot out o' yer guns," says she. "and ye won t
hit nothin."
Well, we went ahead and shot at the spot fer an hour or
two I reckin, and ater every shot we'd go up to the spot to see
where we'd hit. but as shore as yer alive not a single shot ever
hit that spot. ^ .
Ater we'd shot several shoots apiece and didn't^ hit a thing
we decided to c|uit and we went home a feelin' purty bad
whipped out. Old Katy shore had tuck the shot out o' our
guns.
WITCHES AS CATS AXU RABBITS
From Mrs. Nilla Lancaster. Wayne county. 1923- For parallel, see
Motif -Index G211.2 and G211.4.
Witches are suj^posed to change into cats with long legs and
neck, a bowed up back, and long tail. You can't kill these cats.
In the same manner witch rabbits you can't kill, they appear
to sit up and make faces at you.
THE WITCHKRV CRUISE
From Loraine L. Benz, Marengo. Indiana, 1941-42. Of uncertain origin,
whether from Indiana or North Carolina. This sounds like a concocted
story, though the relation of witches to a sieve is found elsewhere and
the power of supernatural beings to make themselves invisible is also well
660 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
known. For the magic storm raised by Satan, see Motif-Index
D2141.0.3.
One evening two hundred witches and sorcerers, each in a
sieve, went on a sea journey — and in mid-ocean met Satan him-
self rolling upon a huge wave, resemhling a haystack in size
and appearance. The ladies went on board a foreign vessel
which was richly laden with wine. Here the witches, naturally
invisible to the crew, feasted and revelled and made merry, and
when they had had enough, Satan, their master, raised a terrible
storm and vessel and crew and all on board, with the exception
of the old witches, went down.
A witch's death
From the collection made in eastern and central N. C. in 1926-28 by
Paul and Elizabeth Green. For the cats as servants of the witch and
having mystic associations with her, see Motif-Index G225.3. For the
marvelous manifestations at her death, see Motif-Index D2141.0.4.
Mrs. Sam Reid of Little King's Creek described to me the
death of Ann Melton who was an accomplice in the death of
Laura Foster. She said the yard was full of black cats
squalling and spitting blue fire, that the flames cracked and
snapped around her bed, that a tall black-hooded form stood
by the bed all night. She closed her story thus : "She'd been
hung anyhow, but her neck was jes too purty to stretch hemp."
THE WITCH AND THE YELLOW CAT
From Merle Smith, Stanly county. For the witch in the form of a cat,
see Motif-Index G211.2 and also the following story.
There was a man whose horse was sick. He noticed that
there was always a yellow cat in the feed trough every morn-
ing, so he shot the cat and in the neighborhood there was a
woman playing witch with that cat. She lay up a long time
because the cat was dead — but made out like her arm hurt her.
THE WITCH-CAT IN THE MILL
Dr. Richard Dillard of Edenton, N. C, in the course of a long article
on "The Old Brownrigg Mill and Its Memories" tells the story of the
witch-cat in the mill. The article is undated but was probably written
a few years before 1924, since it was given to Dr. Brown apparently
May 2, 1924. This is a well-known European tale, and the legend is
probably told of this mill. The style is, of course, not that of a folk
legend. For parallels, see Motif-Index G252.
It was the hal^it of Tim Farrow, the milk'r in charge dur-
ing the stormy, uncertain days just preceding our war of the
Revolution, when the sun was westering in the tops of the big
cypress trees just below the mill, to knock down the gates and
close the mill, his day's work over, and if thi- weather was
plea.sant he tarried until dark fishing about the mill and carried
his little string of i)erch and catfish to his cottage across the
T A I. 1' S A X I) I. v. C, I". X T) S 66 1
(lain to \)v cooked l)\- his littK' dauj^lUfr, lor llic\- li\i-(l there
alone.
( )ne evenint;- just at dusk, while he was fishing; near the mill-
house, his eyes musing- upon the dark, deep, mysterious woods
on the opposite side of the pond, which he always regarded
with many misgivings concerning its [)()ssil)le occupants, for to
him it was the horderland of an unknown world, he saw a canoe
suddenly push out from the dense sliadows of the shore, out
upon the polished mirror of the mill-pond. He soon discovered
that it contained a woman with her Shaker l^onnet drawn closely
over lier face. Tim thcnight she looked a very old hag of a
woman, hut as the hoat drew near him and landed at the dam
he was surjjrised to he brought face to face with a very heau-
tifid young woman. She seemed tired and hungry, as if her
journey had been long, and as soon as she stepped out of the
boat appealed to him for food and lodging for the night. Tim
was a guileless, simple-hearted man, and fascinated bv her
beauty and affected ])y her tale of distress he readily consented,
and without further ado she was assimilated in the little house-
hold, thoroughly adapting herself to Tim's humors and caprices,
and showing such motherly tenderness and devotion to his little
daughter that he became infatuated, and married her, for he
had an instinctive love of home and was alive to the importance
of the little things that make for comfort and happiness in life.
The people of the neighborhood, however, soon became sus-
picious of her. Some declared she was a very peculiar and
unusual person, while the less charitable and superstitiotis made
no secret of saying that they firmly believed her to ])e a witch
and that her hut was surely located somewhere in the deep,
lonely woods across the mill-pond. An old woman at whose
house she had spent the night, said that the next morning the
big feather bed in which she slept was only mashed down in a
little round spot in the middle as if a cat had slept there.
Later on the people of the neighboring farmsteads were sud-
denly attacked with a peculiar type of fever, which stubbornly
resisted all the' efforts of the country doctors and resulted in
several deaths. Then everybody said she had bewitched the
entire community and oj)enly accused her of witchcraft.
Some of the bolder and more impudent ones went to Tim
and demanded that she leave the neighborhood at once. .\t
first Tim laughed at their absurdity, then became angrv and
insulting, so that the mill lost much of its i)atronage, and Tim
began to feel the pinch of hard times, for his wages were l)ased
entirely on receipts, and at the same time he realized the pos-
sibility of soon losing his job, but worst of all Tim realized that
he was growing old and that his young wife was tiring of him.
662 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
Troubles go in flocks. Tim began to experience other diffi-
culties and perplexities. Sometimes on opening the mill-house
door in the morning he would find his sacks of corn torn open,
and the grain scattered all over the floor ; at other times the
gates would be partially raised and the water wasting through
them, when he was absolutely certain that he had driven them
down tightly when he left the mill the evening before ; then
he would find nails in the hopper, put there to make the mill-
stones jump and jerk and spit fire at him ; his measures would
be upset, and the bear-grass thongs with which he always tied
his meal-sacks were scattered about everywhere. All this dis-
order and confusion became unbearable. Tim was indignant,
for he was sure it was the premeditated malice of some of the
neighbors who hated him on account of his wife, and that they
were playing these cruel practical jokes upon him so that he
would eventually be compelled to leave. After worrying sev-
eral days he determined to watch there at night, to catch and
severely thrash whoever the offender might be.
Several nights he spent in uneasy vigil alone in the mill-
house, but nobody came ; there was nothing to disturb him but a
few rats scampering about the floor eating the scattered grains
of corn ; and he felt that his enemies had at last grown tired of
their persecutions.
One afternoon about dark there came a severe thunderstorm,
and Tim said to himself, "If they are coming back at all they
will come tonight." So telling his wife that he was going out
to the country store and would not be back until very late, he
went at once to the mill and secreted himself among some sacks
of meal he had ground that afternoon. The force of the storm
seemed to spend itself about the mill, the rain plumped heavily
upon the shingle roof, the lightning flashed everywhere, burnish-
ing the pond with a brazen, lurid light, and the thunder was
so heavy that it made the old mill-house quake and tremble
more than if all the wheels were turning and all the machinery
were working at once. Tim was awe-stricken and regretted
many times that he had left home.
Presently the storm abated. Then it seemed to him that he
had never heard such a carnival of frogs before ; all the frog-
choirs in the mill-pond were joining in one grand oratorio. He
had a sense of morbid dread, for he knew that frogs had always
been considered under reproach, were associated with the devil,
and were necessary to witches and their enchantments. Then he
heard a wagon rattling down the hill as if coming to the mill,
but it turned out to be a belated farmer going home after the
storm ; he passed over the bridge, and the loud knocking of
his wagon wheels was soon out of hearing. Some fireflies came
TALES AND LEGENDS 663
into tlu' huildin^, Hashed their searchlights in his face and
startled him ; he felt as if he were ( )restes pursued by the furies.
And just as he was about to eoni])ose himself aj^ain a h\f^ owl,
alightiiii^- on the roof, gave three loud guffaws that seemed to
pierce his very soul. lie was overwhelmed by a presentiment
of impending disaster ; he felt that something unusual was
about to happen. Gooseflesh came out all over his body, he
shuddered, and his old slouch hat, heavy and white with the
lueal dust deposited on it, rose light as a cork above his head,
the loud beating of his heart could not be controlled, and his
whole frame quaked with dread.
Then on a sudden there were loud knocks upon the front
door, repeated several times in rapid succession, as if it had
been struck l)y a dozen broomsticks ; all at once the door flew
open, and in rushed a flock of black cats, with their tails all
spread out and their backs hum])ed up in a menacing manner.
They began at once to describe a large circle about him, draw-
ing it closer and closer and striking at him with their ])aws as
they ran by at full S])eed. Tim was bewildered, he was unpre-
pared for the emergency, he had not counted on such a catas-
trophe ; but it was soon clear to him that he must fight, that it
would be a life and death afifair with forty angry cats attacking
him at once. He felt, too, that he had to deal with some sort
of supernatural power, so he bethought himself of an old axe
he had near by (the very self-same one "Old Abner" showed
me when he began his story). Tim seized it with both hands
and raised it high above his head, selecting as his ([uarry a
particularly vicious-looking old cat, whose eyes flashed a green-
ish fire, and as she passed in the circle which was now drawing
very close, and slapped at him, with the vehemence of Siegfried
slaying the dragon, the axe descended, and completely severed
the right foot from her body and it rolled ofif in the meal-box.
Then followed a pandemonium of screams and caterwauls that
ended in a stampede ; the back door flew open and out they
went down the path over the dam, with Tim in hot pursuit ;
but about halfway over he stumbled and fell and they dis-
a])j>eared in the blackness of the night.
Tim hurried home as fast as he could to tell his wife about
his strange experience, and was completely dumbfounded to
find her lying in bed with her right hand cut ofT at the wrist.
For a moment he could not speak. Then as he began to ques-
tion her she immediately changed into a black cat. and
disappeared.
No sooner had she done so when Tim heard a loud roaring
of water, as if a great freshet were coming down the mill-
])ond, and he ran with all spei-d along the dam in order to raise
664 I^' " K T II ^ -^ R 0 L I X A V 0 L K L O R 1-
the gates and save the mill, but before he was halfway across,
the dam began to tremble beneath his feet, the tall trees along
the bank tottered and fell into the water, as if swe]Dt by the
besom of destruction. In a second more one hundred feet of
the dam was swept away and Tim went down and was drowned
in the flood. The big gap made in the dam the}' say is visible
to this day.
BOAZ SQUIRES, THE MAGICIAN
Reported by Julian P. Boyd as collected from his pupils in Alliance,
N. C. 1926-27. The idea of magic objects acting at the command of a
magician is widespread. See Motif-Iudcx D1601. For the cats as the
witch's familiar spirits, see Motif-Index G225.3. The last sentence in the
account is far from clear. One is not sure what is meant by "the
charm was broken."
Boaz Squires, magician and wizard, was one of the first
settlers in this county. The land patent he held was for land
just back of Alliance High School running all the way to
Bayboro.
Often at supper some person or thing knocked on his door
and called him out. His neighbors said that they heard blows
and licks given, and that Boaz would return with scratches
and cuts. They said he had been fighting with the devil. He
was a great, powerful man. Once he made a contract with a
man to build a boat by twelve o'clock on a certain day. At
nine that morning the man asked him if the boat would be
finished on time. Boaz told him not to worry. The man then
asked him how much of the boat was still to be done. Boaz
said that he had not yet started but told him to get his men
together to come down to the river and launch the craft, and
it would be completed by twelve that day. At eleven the people
heard a great tree fall in the forest, and shortly thereafter, a
great knocking and hammering, as if many men were at work.
At twelve they went down to the river to launch the craft, and
found Boaz sitting quietly whistling on top of the completed
craft.
He was a wizard and was able to command tools to work
for him. He could dig ditches and do all kinds of difficult
tasks without working.
He had a large chest in his house and told his wife never
to open it. For about three years she managed to control her
curiosity, but finally, one day when Boaz was away, she opened
it and found therein two huge cats. When Boaz came in, just
at that moment, he was struck dead. It was said among the
people that Boaz had been conjured, l)ut during the conjuration
had locked up these two cats and thereby broken the charm;
on their release the charm was broken.
T A L F. S A X 1) L K C K N D S 665
WORK OF TllF. WITCH DOCTOR
From Charles L. Coon, Wilson, N. C. iyi5- A good summary of North
Carolina witch beliefs. Practically all the motifs have been noted m
other tales.
My fatht-r, who was born in 1S34, has often tnld nie that
one of his earhesl recollections centered aronnd the death ot a
young neighbor bov who received no other medical attention
to aid him in combatting a severe case of typhoid fever than
that supplied by the neighborhood witch doctor. This boy's
parents were igiiorant and superstitious and believed in witches
and in the powers witches were supposed to possess. When
their young son fell sick they imagined he had been l)ewitched,
so the witch doctor was sent for. He came and told the parents
that their surmisings were correct, that witches had certamly
caused the sickness of their child. Confidingly the parents
permitted the witch doctor to have his way, and the treatment
for "witches" was immediately begun. First, the "doctor"
ordered the return of all borrowed property to the owners and
also ordered that the parents of the sick boy call in everything
which happened to have been borrowed from them. These
orders embraced everything, and one neighbor was very much
inconvenienced by having to return a log chain which he was
using and could not at the time replace without purchasmg a
new one. But finally all borrowed property was m place and
then the doctor proceeded to treat the bewitched boy. For
several weeks he visited the patient and put him through many
physical calisthenics, all the while uttering in a low voice what
appeared to be magic words or incantations in Pennsylvania
Dtitch to drive away the spell wrotight by the witches. But
no one understood or could interpret the magic words which
were used. Davs passed and the child finally died. The witch
doctor then reluctantly admitted that the spell of the witches
was bevond his ix)wers.
The death of this young child under such circumstances seems
not to have caused anv great public indignation at the time.
Only upon a few persons in the neighl)orhood did this death
make any lasting impression, so general was the belief in
witches.
But who were these so-called witches.^ They were said to
be human beings, sometimes men but more often they were
supposed to l3e women. These witches were always regarded
as mischief makers and malignant beings. Certain persons in
the neighborhood were generally regarded as possessing maig-
nant powers and were designated as witches. 1 hese witches
were often thought to roam about tlie country, mostly at night,
shooting hair balls. The slightest touch of the breath of those
666 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
swift flying balls resulted in loss of youth and physical health.
Sometimes the witches were supposed to walk the rail fences
on all fours, displaying large, flaming red eyes. It was thought,
too, that the witches would sometimes steal away the horses
from the barns and ride them at night about the country on
their accursed missions. Horses ridden on such missions by
witches were thought to disclose the fact by having some parts
of the hair or the mane or tail kinked or knotted. Witches
were frequently supposed not only to exert their evil influences
upon human beings but also upon hogs, cattle, fowls, cats, dogs,
and the like. If a cow went "dry," the witches were often
charged with it. If the hogs or the cattle became diseased the
witches were supposed to have been exercising their spells and
the witch doctor was called in to try to restore them to health
again. Some claimed they had seen witches enter their homes
during the night, get astride their brooms and "ride" the brooms
around the rooms, searching for victims. Some claimed to have
seen witches on such occasions flourish the brooms over their
heads and disappear up the chimney, after no one could be
found in the house upon whom they could place their curses.
But witches did not always travel at night. Sometimes a
"witch-man" would come to a shooting match and spoil the
"luck." On such occasions the participants would immediately
disperse, saying that no prizes could be won while a witch-man
was in their midst.
Witches were thought to have the power not only to dis-
appear or to vanish out of the sight of ordinary mortals, but
also to assume the form of turkeys or other fowls. In such
guise, witches were often claimed to have been seen. Let me
relate an example.
It was currently reported that a witch-man once assumed the
shape of a turkey gobbler and perched himself on the limb of
a high tree beside the path a famous hunter had to ])ass to
reach his home. The hunter shot twenty-nine rounds at the
supposed turkey, not knowing it was a witch. Every time his
gun would fire, the witch turkey would stand erect on his
perch, shake himself, and sit down again. Disgusted with his
bad markmanship the woodsman went his way. Not far from
the scene of his discomfiture, the hunter met a friend and re-
lated to him his recent experience. His neighbor immediately
pronounced the turkey a "witch" and declared that the witch-
turkey could not be brought down except by means of a silver
bullet. The two hunters then proceeded to the home of the one
who had just shot twenty-nine times at the supposed turkey,
moulded a silver bullet, and retraced their steps toward the
tree upon which the "witch" was perched. As the hunters
T A L E S A N D h K C K N D S 667
ai)])roachc(l within ranj^e, the turkey witch, suspecting what was
ill store for him and that the hunters were possessed of a silver
bullet, tiew away. However, the hunters, not yet satisfied,
walked on in the direction the turkey had flown, and after pro-
ceeding onlv a few hundred yards, they encountered a well-
known witcii, a man who was famous all over the country as a
witch of witches. This incident convinced the hunters that they
were entirely correct in their surmisings, and that the turkey
they had only recently seen fly away was the witch which they
encountered a few minutes later in the human shape arrayed
in his hunting shirt.
I have already called attention to one method used to efTect
a restoration of those supposed to be bewitched. The usual
means resorted to to restore those who suffered from the spells
worked by the hair balls thrown by witches was the following :
The witch doctor would set a ladder up against a house, jjass
the patient from bottom to top and from top to bottom through
the rungs, something like plating the "splits" in the seat of a
chair. After this performance, the patient was passed through
a large horse collar, and a kind of magic oil or grease was
used to make round rings on the ])atient's back. Dipping the
thumbs of the patient in this oil ended the ])erformance.
MISCELLANEOUS TRADITIONS ABOUT WITCHES
From Alex Tugman, Todd. N. C, c. 1922. Most of these motifs have
been met in earlier stories in this section. For parallels, see Motij-Indcx
D2081, land made magically sterile; G265, witch abuses property;
D2083.1, cows magically made dry; D2084.2, butter magically kept from
coming; G265.3, witch rides horses at night; G241.2, witch rides on
person ; G272.2, magic herb protects from witch.
Under the spell of a witch, crops will either not mature or
will wilt up and die. Pigs do not die, ])ut will stop growing
in spite of feed and attention and in nian\- cases will even
become smaller. Cows do not die, but the flow of milk ceases
to a great extent in most cases, and sometimes ceases entirely.
What milk is given will not produce butter. Bewitched horses
die after trying to climb trees and walk logs and fences. Horses
are often ridden by witches without being bewitched. You can
tell when the witch has taken a ride by the horse's mane being
tangled and knotted. Pe(^i)le are very often amazed in this
way, though they seldom if ever lose their lives in this way.
Their distress is usually limited to sickness, loss of property,
failure of crops, bad dreams, and in rare cases, the object of
the witch's wrath is taken from his bed at night and forced to
crawl through brier ])atches and over stones until he is (|uite
exhausted, while the witch takes a ride upon his back.
N.C.F., Vol. I. (44)
668 X 0 K T H CAROLINA F 0 L K L 0 R K
Witches have a natural antipathy for lye soap. So in order
to be successful in soap-making you must stir it with a sassafras
stick while it is boiling. This, of course, will counteract the
influence of the witch. Cream for making butter seems espe-
cially susceptible to the influence of witches. If, in churning,
the butter will not sei^arate from the milk, it is evidence of a
witch. The only thing to do on such occasions is to put a coin
in the bottom of the churn. The presence of the money attracts
the attention of the witch and the butter will thus come.
One of the folk beliefs collected in central and eastern N. C. in 1926-28
by Paul and Elizabeth Green. All these motifs have been seen in other
stories in this section.
People used to believe in witches. There was a man supposed
to be a witch, and the people would not sell him anvthing for
they said he would bewitch them. My great-grandmother's
father was out in the yard one day and he came and asked him
to sell him something. Her father wouldn't do it. The witch
man went past the barn, where her mother was milking and
as he passed, the cow fell over as if it were dead. Another man
who was there said it was bewitched, so they called in two
women who were witch doctors, and they cured it. My great-
grandmother said that she didn't believe in witches but that this
really happened.
iii
From Airs. William C. Scott, Greensboro N. C, 1936. For the magic
conjuring bag, see Motij-Inde.x Di 274.1.
Conjure men or women are looked upon as mysterious and
sometimes dangerous people, by the other Negroes. They have
the power of "throwing a spell" upon another person, and the
power of taking spells of¥ of people. In the country the con-
jure men are greatly feared by the Negroes, but in town they
make a good living by their practices. I went to see a colored
woman in Fayetteville who had paid five dollars to a conjure
man for casting a spell upon a man who was going with her
daughter. The conjure man had put the hair of a horse's tail,
two needles, gunpowder, and a small rock into a bag and buried
it under the doorstep of the man he was "throwing." In this
particular case the conjure man succeeded. I was also told of
a conjure man that sold magical handkerchifs which cured any
kind of a pain.
T A L K S A N I) I. i: <; K N D S 669
V. CHOSTS AXn HANTS
TlIK L1TTIJ-: Ri:i) MAN
From Adelaide X. Vuvs. Winston-Saleni, 1(^5. C'f. Mnlif-Indcx E281.
The l)cst kiuiwn Salcni yhost is the Little Red Man, once a
familiar tii,nn-e in the Brothers House, if tradition niav he he-
lieved. The (|ueer part ahout this story is that its origin was
neitluT in crime nor in mystery, and a proper ghost story should
have either the one or the other as foundation. Here is what
really hajjpened, as noted in the official record of the death
of Andreas Kremser, the entry standing as No. 45 in tlie Church
Book of Salem Congregation.
"The Single Brother, Andreas Kremser, (lei)arte(l early in
the morning of March 26, in the Brothers House here, and was
huried on the 27th in our God's Acre.
"He was horn March 7, 1753, in Gnadenhutten in Pennsyl-
vania, and from his third year was hrought uj) in the home and
school for little hoys, first in Bethlehem and then in Xazareth.
"In Octoher. 1766, he came to North Carolina. In Bet]ial)ara
he worked as a shoe-maker; and on Feh. 6, 1772. he moved to
Salem.
"On the 25th of March. 1786. he attended the festival services
of the congregation and of his choir, hut was unconuuonly ([uiet
all dav. After the evening service several of the Brethren de-
cided to work for a while on excavating the cellar for an additicjn
to the Brothers House. They used the method which had heen
emi)loyed successfully in similar cases, that is the\- undercut a
hank and then pulled down the overhang. Several Brethren
douhted the advisahility of doing that here, hecause of the more
sandy character of the soil, hut few agreed with them.
"Ahout half past eleven Brother Kremser was warned hy a
Brother who found him kneeling at this work, hut he could not
see the danger. Ahout twelve o'clock, midnight, a Brother who
was watching overhead saw that a great hank was hreaking,
and called to the men working helow to jump hack, which they
did, and no one was much hurt except our Brother Kremser,
who could not get away c|uickly hecause he was on his knees.
He was covered hy the falling earth and (|uite ])urie(l in it. He
was dug out as quickly as possihle, and was then still alive, and
spoke, complaining of pain. It was evident that his left leg
was hroken. The doctor. Brother Lewis, opened a vein in his
arm. hut little hlood flowed, and there were soon signs of his
approaching departure, which followed ahout two o'clock, the
blessing of the Church having been given to him amid many
tears."
This fatal accident in the midnight hour seems to have made
670 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
a deep impression on the men living in the Brothers House ;
and thereafter, when an unusual sound was heard at night, espe-
cially if it resemliled the tap-tap-tapping of a shoemaker's
hammer, someone would whisper : "There's Kremser !" It is
said that he was small of stature, and that he was wearing a
red cap when the l)ank caved in on him, and now and then
somebody would hear light steps hurrying through the hall, and
occasionally someone would catch a glimpse of a little man in a
red cap slipping past a door.
In the course of years changes came, and the building was
no longer used as a home for the unmarried men of the com-
munity, but was occupied by some of the older women. Little
Betsy often went thither to visit her grandmother. Now little
Betsy had just learned to talk when a serious illness left her
entirely deaf. She was tenderly cared for, knew nothing of
accidents, death, or ghosts, but one day she came to her grand-
mother in some excitement, pointing to the hall and saying in
her childish speech : "Betsy saw little man out there, and he did
this at her," beckoning with her finger, as one child calls an-
other to play. A child's imagination, or the Little Red Man,
who knows? The latter was the accepted version.
Years passed, and stories told by elderly ladies living in the
house were received with a half smile, until one day one of
the substantial citizens of Salem showed a visitor through the
interesting subcellars of the former Brothers House. He told
the tradition of the Little Red Man, and suddenly there he was !
The two men suddenly resolved to catch him. but their out-
stretched arms met around empty air, while the Little Red Man
grinned at them from the doorway. The substantial citizen told
the incident to the man who told me, so what more definite
proof could be desired ? Incidentally I might remark that the
aforesaid substantial citizen was not addicted to the use of
spirituous refreshments, so that otherwise obvious explanation
will not suffice.
The present generation of residents in the old Brothers
House declares that the Little Red Man no longer a])pears ;
and it is claimed that the termination of his activity was caused
by a visiting minister, who, hearing the story, declared that
he could "lay the ghost," and pronounced an invocation to the
Trinity, adding the command: "Little Red Man, go to rest!"
Since this was the most long-lived ghost that Salem has owned
it seems an open question whether one should be grateful to
the clergyman who exorcised him. or to the electric lights which
have driven the shadows from the subcellars of the one-time
Brothers House.
T A I. K S A N I) I. K C K N I) S 67 1
THE LIXEBACK GHOST
From P)ri)\vn Hughes (age 78), Hughes, N. C. Recorded September 4,
1940. For the general subject of ghosts haunting houses, see Motif-
Index E281.
Ill the time of the Revolutionary War there was an old
gentleman and a lady spent a night with a certain Zeh Franklin.
They were carrying a very heavy box and it was in dead of
winter and the weather was very had, and in the uKjrning when
they got up to go the old gentleman had to have some person
to help the box on his shoulder. It was heavy, and they were
making their way to Cranberry, they said. This country then
was not very thickly settled. But they never reached Cranberry
and it was supposed that they had been nuuxlcred on the way.
Well, several years after that there was a storehouse built by
Taylor Burleson, and a man named Henry Lineback rented the
storehouse from Burleson and put a stock of goods in it. From
the time he commenced selling goods he heard something
strange about the place in different forms. At times it would
appear as dropping something from the loft down on the floor,
like a sack of coffee falling, and then it would go to the scales
and weigh stuff, which seemed unnatural like a spirit, you know,
and at times it w^ould work at the door like it would try to
break in and then it would disappear for that night. Then
probably the next night it would come to the bed and crawl on
you and press down on }ou and it got Mr. Lineback afraid to
sleep in the store. Well, he hired some clerks, and a man
named Bill Key said that it would come and whistle like there
was a small tree standing in the yard and it would whistle like
it was in the top of the tree, and would work at the door and go
to the scales and weigh like it was weighing shot in the scales.
One night Mr. Lineback went to the store with Mr. Henry
Holler to sleep and when he opened the door, there was quite
a big shaggy dog creeping along between the counters and he
thought that somebody had left the dog there, but they hunted
and hunted all over the place and there was no dog in there.
Well, Mr. Lum Smith and I came to stay in Henry Lineback's
store and we stayed quite a while there, and Mr. Smith heard
a noise one evening when he was getting ready to go down to
supper. He looked out and saw something going up in the air
like a balloon. Well, a little further on, I had to go off to
school and left Mr. Smith there by himself but the last night
I stayed with him he told me that the next morning he didn't
sleep any. There was something just like pulling the side of
the house, like pulling raw hides down over the side of the
house all night.
Well, Mr. Smith slejjt by himself after that, and one night —
672 N O R T H C A R 0 L I X A K O L K L 0 R K
he had the doors barred ui> with iron bars — he waked up and
there was a man a-standing there and that excited him. He had
a lamp in his hand. Smith threw the cover back over his head
and he said the bed shook just Hke it would tear all to pieces
and finally it t|uit and then he said he stood there for about
an hour or so before he went to sleep and finally he went to
sleep and he dreamed that a woman and a little girl came to
him and wanted him to get up and go with them down in a
patch of laurel near the store building and they would show him
where they had some money buried. Well, then he said the
woman said. "Now I'll stick this little crooked stick up by this
log and here's a tree, and you can find the place when you want
to dig for it." Mr. Smith said he waked up and as soon as it
got light next morning he went down there in a place where he
had never been before and he found that little crooked stick
a-sticking up by the log, but he never dug for it. He said people
would call him crazy digging for money, so he never dug for it.
But he says that is not the worst he had ever seen. l)ut he
wouldn't tell that.
Well, my wife and I, we stayed in a room in one end of the
store after we bought Henry Lineback out, and one night my
wife was sick and about twelve o'clock in the night she asked
me to get up and get her some medicine. Well, I got up on
the floor and when I got up on the floor something took hold
of the door and shook the whole side of the house just like an
earthquake almost. Of course we didn't know what it was. A
light snow fell that evening and no person had traveled in it,
and I opened the door and looked out to see if I could see any
tracks made in the snow but there was nothing there, nothing
whatever, nothing had been around the door. So about three
or four nights again I had to get up and I thinks before I
got up, what if that shaking takes place again? Well, I hadn't
been out on the floor but ten seconds when the same shaking
took place again but I didn't open the door the next time.
Well, I have a friend, Mr. William Daniels, who lived on
Grassy Ridge — no, on Hawk Back Mountain — and he heard of
the ghost being so rapid there, so he came on purpose se\-eral
miles to sleep in the house to see if he could hear anything.
And behold, it got on him that night and like to smothered him
to death in the bed. He said when it got ofif it went like news-
papers being torn up and went right down through the head of
the bed.
Well, my little experience there in sleeping : I was there by
myself one night. I hadn't gone to sleep yet, but something
crawled up on me just after I had gone to bed and commenced
pressing down and I gave a main kick and kicked it off the
lower ciul of tlu' 1)0(1. My brotluT and 1 were sleeping in
there one night too and we hadn't gone to sleej) hut were lying
there talking. 1 had a ledger lying on the end of the counter,
and the foot of the bed ju.^t gave rooni for a per.son to walk
between the foot of the bed and the counter. Something i)icked
that book up and coninienced turning through it i)age by i)age
and it had about time to turn through a thousand-page ledger ;
then it pitched it down on the counter and then picked it up
again and turned through it again two or three times and fmally
it (|uit. But I didn't ask it how the account stood.
Later they did some mining work right near the old store
building and they had a mine shaft about sixty-tive feet deep.
They were working that with a whim and they had a boy up
there tending to it. They were working a horse in the whim and
during the night something like a big shaggy dog would jump up
and tn- to get the horse by the nose. This boy's uncle was down
at our house sleeping and he came down there very much ex-
cited and wanted his uncle to go up with him. He said some-
thing was trying to bite the horse's nose ofif. and he went there
and stayed with him a while but a little later on Mr. Tom Love
saw the same looking dog disappear down in one of those deep
mine holes.
The party that was boarding with me. Mr. Grindstatf. and
was sleeping in an old church, said that he had heard many
unnatural noises there. One day when they were working the
mine u]) there ( at that time all the fixtures and everything was
moved out of the old store building) there was a clock that lit
in and struck eleven o'clock and there was no clock in the
house. It just naturally struck eleven o'clock. .\t that time
they could hear banjos a-picking in there. When that house
was being built by a Mr. Rose, the contractor, he had the gum
ceiling uj) but not the floor laid on top, but he said something
as heavy as a man's weight walked from joist to joist back-
wards and forwards during the daytime.
THE CRK.\KIN'G BUREAU
From C. R. Baglcy, .Moyock, N. C. c. IQIS-
I went to an old house once to see the man and liis wife.
Just before retiring the lady of the house came up to nie and
said, "You need not worry if you hear the old bureau creaking
tonight, and don't pay any attention to steps on the stairs."
I went to bed rather fate after we had held family prayers,
l>ut had scarcely fallen asleep when I was suddenly awakened
l)y such popping and snapi)ing of that old l)ureau as I had never
heard before. Anxious to settle in my mind the cause of this
uncannv noise. T rose hurriedly, lit my candle, and peered
6/4 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
everywhere. There was nothing to be seen. I tried to sleep,
but without success. The same noise happened at regular inter-
vals for the rest of the night. At times steps could be heard
on the stairs — steps of men carrying a heavy burden.
At breakfast next morning I told my experience, l)ut could
get no satisfactory explanation of the unusual noises. The lady
simply said that it was an occurrence which happened every
night of her life.
This story was told by a preacher in reply to a young preach-
er's statement that his people were so superstitious that it was
necessary for him to preach a sermon against spirits. After
relating this experience which he himself had, he turned to the
young preacher, "Do you mean to tell me that you preached to
your people against spirits?"
THE CROATAN FISHERMAN
From Hodgin, southeastern N. C. (No further information given.)
About ten years ago a Croatan who lived about one quarter
of a mile from our pond was known far and near as being a
great fisherman. He might be seen almost any night with a
light going to the pond to fish. He worked on the farm in
the daytime ; therefore, he did not have time to fish then. By
exposing himself to the winter's cold, in this way, he had
pneumonia and died.
After this, the Negroes said they could see Uncle Billy with
his light going to the pond to fish almost every night.
A while after this a family of Negroes moved into the house
he had lived in. They told that Uncle Billy might be heard
feeding his mule, and taking down his fishing poles and nets.
THE GHOST ON THE MILL ROAD
By J. S. Jones, Cumberland county, no date, but after 1917. For this
and the next story, see Motif-Index E272.
While on a visit in the country (Cumberland county) my
sister, brother, grandmother, and two aunts, and I were going
from the little village to grandmother's home about a mile away.
On the way we had to pass an old mill pond — and had to cross
two bridges across the races. We had just crossed the first
bridge when everyone in the company heard something like the
rustle of the wind l)ehind us. Everyone looked around and saw
a man coming — but without any effort at all — he was simply
gliding with the breeze. He passed within five feet of the com-
pany and was seen by all. As he passed by we could see his
white collar, but could not see his head. We watched him
until he had gone about fifty yards then he vanished. We
retraced our steps and would not go home until some men went
with us.
T A I. K S A N 1) L K C. ENDS 6/5
TllK GHOST ON THE CKMETKRV ROAD
Prnm Fannie Vann, Clinton, N. C, I923(?)-
fri-htcncd and ran away.
HAUNTED GRAVEYARDS
f'iSecial abode of haunts. Others, however, were avo.ded at
night to some extent.
ii
From Eleanor Simpson, East Durham. 1923.
\ \earo woman once told me that when she hxed n a 1 ttk
tormentors.
THE GHOSTLY PACK
Fr,,tn W O Grigg, Cleveland county, c. 1927.
• a' count V roadside in Cleveland county, hack m slave
6/6 N O R T H C A U O L 1 N A F O ]. K I. () R K
short chase of about a hundred and fifty yards, the hounds dis-
appeared under a pile of wood and nothing has been heard of
them since.
KADESH ORGAN
From W. Q. Grigg, Cleveland county, c. 1927.
There is a Methodist church in upper Cleveland by the name
of Kadesh, where at almost any time during the day if one be
there, footsteps can be heard going up the steps, along the aisle
and finally the church organ will begin to play. A carpenter,
whose veracity isn't usually questioned, has told this story. He
had been sent there to do some repair work on the church.
When he heard the steps in the church, he thought some one
was coming in to see how he was getting along, but on looking
up, he saw nothing at all. The footsteps proceeded up the
aisle, and then the organ began to play. He looked around,
but no one could be found. He immediately made his exit, and
to this day no one can explain the mystery.
GHOST STORY FROM DARE COUNTY
From Mary Scarborough, Dare county, c. 1923-25. Cf. Motif-Indrx
E236.
Once upon a time there were two sisters named Mary and
Kate. Kate was the owner of a beautiful diamond ring.
Finally, Kate died, and when she lay dead Mary took the ring
from Kate's finger.
Several days later, a figure came and stood before Mary and
said in a shivering tone, "Mary, I'm so cold." This happened
night after night and Mary could bear it no longer. She knew
the figure was Kate. When she asked advice someone sug-
gested that she ask Kate to come in and warm. She did and the
following conversation took place.
Mary : "Kate, where is your beautiful ?"
Kate: "In the grave, so-o cold."
Mary: "Where are your beautiful white hands?"
Kate: "In the grave, so-0-0 cold."
Mary: "Well Kate, where is your beautiful diamond ring?"
Kate, suddenly: "You got it!"
A HANDSHAKE
From Mrs. Nilla Lancaster, Wayne county, 1923. For the dead sweet-
heart haunting the faithless lover, see Motif-Index E211.
A long time before the Civil War a young man, George
Deans, was engaged t(j a beautiful yovuig girl, Rachel Vincent.
The girl was very deeply in love, and when she became aware
of her lover's infatuation for another girl, she began to pine
and droop. Day bv day she grew weaker and soon she was near
r A 1. K s A \ II I. K <; !•■ N I) s 677
to death. She had her liinid .scud for Ikt htvcr. She told him
that he had proved untrue lo her in this world hut she would
claim him in the next.
A few day.s later she was buried in the family graveyard.
One night this lover went to call on the other girl and made
love to her. He had to return home 1)\- the grave\ar(l where
his first love was huried.
When he passed by, the ghost of his dead love appeared and
clasped his right hand in a strcjug grasp.
lie went on home white as cotton, liis hand in an agonv of
pain. The next morning his hand was shriveled U]). They sent
for the doctor, but it was no use. He was dead in three days.
HANTS
From Helen Fraser Smith, 1923. Cf. Motij-lndcx E230, F436, K742.2,
and E236.
Our cook told me a story about a man living in her neigh-
borhood wdio had killed another man in self-defense. Some
weeks later, the man was "tak'n sick" because the s])irit of the
murdered man had gotten inside him and cast a spell.
The most popular belief in hants is that they are unearthly
beings who at one time were men. Ways of knowing their
presence are by: the breaking of sticks, cats or rabbits crossing
one's path, and bats flying in the house. A Xegro will not
pick up a coat or anything lying cjn the ground if a stick is
lying across it. Also jack-o'-lanterns are supposed to be the
spirits doomed to wander in the sw-amps, and can be dodged by
turning the pockets inside out !
Our cook told me an interesting story concerning the topic.
It seems that her family occti]iied a house in which a woman
had died. One evening she and her sister went to the well for
water. While they were pulling the bucket uj) their mother
heard a peculiar noise in the house and immediately came run-
ning outside to tell the girls not to bring the water inside. The
noise was the dead woman's spirit ])rotesting against tin- use
of her well.
TKK I'OLLV I'l.ACK CllOST
From Mrs. (Jertriule Allen \'aught, .Xlexander county, \()22-2^.
At a place near my home familiarly known in the commiuu'ty
as "The ]\)lly Place" a ghost used to wander. A friend of
mine told me he was coming by there one night and he saw
a white thing approaching him. He was so frightened he
couldn't move for a few minutes and the ghost kept coming
nearer. Then he ran as fast as he could and looked back three
times. Twice when he looked back it was still following him
but the third time it was gone. .\n old woman had died there
all alone several years l)efore.
678 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
THE SPINNING WHEEL
From Mrs. Gertrude Allen Vaught, Alexander county, 1922-23. For
the ghostly object, see Motif -Index E530.
My great-great-grandfather Mays took my grandmother to
an old home known as the "Flowers House" near York Insti-
tute, where people had been hearing a wheel spinning. He told
it to spin and it began. Grandmother said it sounded exactly
like the noise made by a spinning wheel. I have often heard
her tell this story and of how frightened she was at the time.
THE HAUNTED SPRING
From Thomas Smith, Watauga county, 1914-15. All arc well-known
motifs; see Motif -Index E421.1.2, E501.12.4, and E411.1.
There is a spring by the roadside one mile east of Watauga
River where many different kinds of ghosts are said to be seen.
The reputation of the place for being haunted is known to
scores of people. Andrew Wilson, a reliable farmer living
near Zionville, has seen one of the haunts; he says. "I was
coming from Elk Park one night about twenty years ago (in
1915). I'd been there with a load of lumber. When I come
to the spring where the. ghosts are seen I stopped to let my
horses drink. The horses wouldn't drink and they seemed like
they was skeered. Just then I looked ahead of me in the road
and seed a man standing there. I could see he had shiny brass
buttons on his coat like a soldier. Thinking it was somebody,
I says "Howdy." It didn't make no reply, so I spoke agin but
it didn't notice me. I watched it several minutes and while I
was gazin' at it the thing jist seemed to fade away and I could
never see where it went to. I tell ye, I drove off from there
in a hurry, but I didn't see the worst things that are seen there,"
continued Mr. Wilson. "Why! lots and lots of people have
passed there of nights and see'd the strangest things you ever
heerd tell of. They first see seven possums cross the road and
go into a laurel thicket near the spring, then seven dogs right
after the possums, then seven men across the road right after
the dogs into the laurel and right after the men, they see seven
coffins sail across the road to the laurel thicket, ^'es, there was
a man murdered there before the war ; that's what causes them
strange things to be seed."
THE HAUNTED LAUREL
From Thomas Smith, Watauga county, 19x4-15. Cf. Motif-Index
D1812.5.1.7 and E411.1. Mr. Smith says, "The ghost tales are all taken
from narratives by people well along in years. The incidents related are
told by them in good faith. Among the people who have related them
to me are Mrs. Chonie Smith, Mrs. Polly Rayfield, Bennett Smith, and
others, all residing in this vicinity. Concerning the apparition seen by
Dr. Rivers of Boone, I will say that tliis lias been well known for
T A L K S A XI) I. I". C I". N I) S 679
over 40 VL'ars. Dr. Rivers was a rcliahli' man, from all accounts. (His
son is tiic editor of tlie Watauga Pniiocrat.) The Headless Uog is also
a well-known tale. The spots wliere it was said to first appear at can
still he located."
The Big Laurel, a dense jungle of laurel ivy and other moun-
tain timber lying in the western part of Watauga county, used
to he haunted, according to reliable peoi)le living near there.
Among the many who had encounters with hants along the old
road leading through the laurel was Dr. Rivers, a well-known
physician of Boone.
A few years after the close of the Civil War the doctor was
riding along the lonely road through the laurel just before day-
break. At a i^lace where the road made a temporary bend to
avoid a large fallen oak tree the doctor was surprised to see in
the road on the other side of the fallen tree a strange man sit-
ting on a gray horse exactly like his own steed. Turning the
bend into the main road the doctor was still worse surprised to
find no horse or man where he had just seen them. They seemed
to have vanished suddenly. The i)hysician rode on to a farm
house two miles distant where he told the story of his encounter
with the strange horseman to several people, some of whom are
yet living. The spectral horseman was believed to have been
a warning of Dr. Rivers' death, as he died a very short time
afterward. The exact spot where the strange horseman was
seen by Dr. Rivers can be pointed out at any time by more
than one person living near the laurel.
There are several other tales of ghostly sights seen by per-
sons tra\eling the road years ago but they are so much alike
that it would be useless to retell them. No one knows any
reason for the laurel being haunted, though one man suggests
that the Indians who used to camp here of a summer may have
murdered one of their own tribe and buried him in or near the
laurel.
THE SPEAKING CORPSE
From Adelaide N. Fries, Winston-Salem, 1934. Cf. Motif-Index E415.
One ghostly incident is associated with the Saleiu Tavern, its
authenticity vouched for by the tavern-kee])er himself, who in
his later years told the story to a young friend, who in turn
told me.
One day a man on horseback rode up to the Tavern and
asked for a room. The tavern-keeper, seeing that the man was
ill. helped him to bed and sent for the doctor, but in spite of
all efTort and care the man lapsed into a coma before any (|ues-
tions were asked, and died without recovering consciousness.
Investigation showed that his clothes were not marked, and
his saddle-bags contained nothing which gave a clue to his
68o
O L K L U K E
identity, so he was given decent burial in the Parish Grave-
yard, and his saddle-lmgs were laid away on the bare chance
that they might be claimed.
A few days later the servants in the tavern became uneasv,
and began to talk about "something" haunting the place. The
tavern-keeper pooh-poohed the idea, and sternly bade them be-
have, but the whispers and the nervousness continued. One
evening a maid rushed into the office, pale with fright, and
declared hysterically that something was out in the hall. An-
noyed and impatient, the tavern-keeper went to investigate, and
to his utter amazement at once became aware that something
really was there. Instead of running he stood his ground, and
received a message which gave the name of his late guest, the
name of a man in Texas said to be the late guest's I)rother, the
message ending with a request that the brother be notified of
his decease.
Impressed in spite of himself, the tavern-keeper decided to
write a letter to the Texas address as given, describing the
guest and giving full details of his end. In due time an answer
came, bringing full confirmation of the guest's identity, and
asking that the saddle-bags be forwarded to the Texas home.
I never heard what Ijecame of the horse, but it probably paid
for the Tavern room, medical care, and burial expenses. As
soon as the first letter to Texas was written, the manifestations
ceased, and the shipment of the saddle-bags permanently closed
the incident, even the servants hearing no more of the supposed
spirit, which apparently departed as soon as its errand was
accomplished.
THE HEADLESS MAX OF STOXEV CREEK
From Mrs. Nilla Lancaster, Wayne county, 1923. For the headless gliost,
see Motij-Indcx E422.1.1.
On a hill near Stoney Creek stands a small church house.
Back of this house is a graveyard so old that few can tell where
any whites are buried. The Negroes have used it in the later
days. Years ago a man was said to have been killed under a
big oak, his head being cut oi¥ and carried away leaving his
unknown body. The body was found under this oak in the
churchyard. They buried it in the graveyard behind the church.
You may find some old men today that will tell you that they
have seen that headless body, wrapjied in a sheet, begging for
his head, and moaning, standing under that oak tree about the
hour of midnight.
THE HEADLESS WOMAN
From W. Q. Grigg, Cleveland county, 1927. Cf. Motif-Index E422.1.1
and E581.
John Gantt, of upper Cleveland, was riding along a country
.,■ .\ I. KS AN 1. I. K<i K N l.S <>^1
road (.ne nisht with a friend and at a certain place ni llie r..ad
a headless wc.inan appeared. She followed a short distance, and
jumped on the horse hehind his friend. She reniamed there only
a few moments until she vanished. Mr. Gantt resolved to ask
who she was and what she wanted if he should see her agam
So, he happened to he passing hy there a few nights later and
she came and jumi)ed on the horse hehind him. He didn t ask
her anything.
THE CR.VZV WOM.W GHOST
From W. Q. Grigg. Cleveland county, 1927- Cf. Motif -Index E581.
In the country district of upper Cleveland a certain man
stopped in a church to get out of a storm one summer nigljt.
Just as he stepped inside the door, he saw a woman in a night
dress coming toward him with outstretched arms. He was hold-
ing his mule just outside the door and as soon as he collected
his presence of mind, he leaped on his mule and started away.
However he was not to escape so early, for the old woman
iumi^d on hehind him. He found out later that the ghost was
a crazv woman who lixed in the neighborhood. She had wan-
dered off and happened to be in the church where he stopped.
THE BRIDAL GHOST
From W. Q. Grigg. Cleveland county, 1927- For the dead lover's
malevolent return, see Motif-Index E210.
John Lutz. a man in upper Cleveland, had lost his sweetheart,
she having died of typhoid fever. One night he came ruling by
the gravevard. and as he passed between the graveyard and the
church he saw her rise from the grave with her mother. Her
eves and mouth seemed to be of flame, but he recognized her
She advanced and crossed the road in front of his horse, and
as she passed she spoke and said "Come along John, and went
into the church. He. of course, did not follow her bidding
but went straight home. His horse was so much trightcned
that for days afterwards every time anyone a])pr()ache(l the
stable it would tremble violently.
GR.\VEV.\RI) GHOSTS
From Lucille Massey. Durham county, U)27-2?<(')- Wi.lesprca.l motifs.
Cf. Motif -Index E421.1, E547.
One night a man was otit hunting opossums. He had the
best opossum dogs in Wake c.unty. He heard his dogs bark-
ing furiouslv for a few minutes, then a frightened and ternhed
note was heard, and the barking became terrified whines. 1 he
man stopped suddenly and listened. He heard a loud noise as
of the clanking of many chains, and the groaning ot many
people.
682 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
Looking about him, the man found that he was standing in a
road between two graveyards. The clanking of the chains and
the groaning and moaning kept up. The most pecuHar of all
things was the uncanny action of the dogs. They came grovel-
ing and sliding over the ground towards their master, with their
hair bristling straight up. They jumped upon the man, clung
closely to him, showing every evidence of extreme terror. Be-
coming frightened himself, the hunter ran from the scene, and
the mystery was never solved.
THE BONNETED GHOST
From James Hawfield, Union county, I9i5-i6(?). Cf. Motij-lndcx
E422, E581.
There are stories of hants in my community. I rememl^er
hearing a man tell of a hant getting after him one cold, rainy
night. While he was riding horsel)ack through a dark wood
that was said to be haunted, a hant got upon his horse and
rode along with him for a long distance. The man said the
ghost was dressed in white and had a bonnet pulled down over
his face.
THE HEADLESS DOG OF BRUSHY FORK
From Thomas Smith, Watauga county, 1914-15. Cf. Moiij-Indcx E413,
E421.2, and E522.
There once stood a schoolhouse on a little rise near the road
leading from Cove Creek to Brushy Fork. The house had been
gone for many years and the only evidence of its existence was a
heap of stones where the rough chimney had once stood, when
people living in the settlement near there began to speak of see-
ing the headless dog ( which came out of the heap of stones on
the site of the old schoolhouse).
The cause of the hant appearing there has never been ex-
plained. Some people hint that long ago when the country
was thinly settled and people were not very inquisitive con-
cerning each other's doings a traveler and his dog were killed
by robbers and buried under the schoolhouse.
There are several persons living in Cove Creek who have
heard of the dog without a head which used to follow those
who passed the schoolhouse site after dark. Some of them
remember hearing reliable people tell of having seen the spectral
dog, even of being followed by it. One man was traveling the
road to Brushy Fork after dark ; he was riding. Just as he
rounded the bend where the old schoolhouse had stood he plainly
saw by the light of the full moon a large black dog come down
the bank from the chimney place. It came into the road and
followed after hiuL Having heard of the hant before, the
traveler put spurs to his horse and rode rapidily away from the
T A I, K S A N 1) r. K C. V. N I) S 683
gloomy ])lace. hut tlu- dog houncU'd after him ,swiftl\-, and actually
loai)ed on tht- horse's hack hehind the frightened man. Casting
a glance hackward. he saw the ghastly creature sitting calmly
hehind him. its hloody neck from which the head was missing
almost touching him. The horse apparently was not aware of
the horrid spectre's close proximity hut the man certainly was,
although he dared not look hehind him the second time until
he had reached a settlement several miles distant, where on
venturing to look hack he found the dog had vanished.
One night nearly thirty years ago, three young men were
returning from a meeting on Brushy Fork. Their way home-
ward led past the haunted house site ; prohahly they had each
heard the tales ahout the headless dog and regarded them as
made-up stories. They passed the heap of stones on the rise
ahove the road, where they saw nothing unusual hy the light
of the moon which was shining hrightly ; hut some distance he-
yond there one of the young men looked hack and ohserved a
large black dog following closely behind them. He called the
attention of the others and they stopped to observe the animal
more closely ; their observation convinced them that it was the
headless dog, and that it cast no shadow on the ground where
it walked in the bright moonlight. Without saying much the
young men turned and traveled as rapidly as possible on their
way home, but the dog still followed them and even went ahead
gamboling and rolling at their feet. One youth struck at it with
a cane ; the cane went through the spectre as through a shadow,
and struck the road. After this the young men broke into a
run, the dog keeping close with them imtil they reached a creek
some two miles from where it had first appeared ; here it turned
back, evidently very reluctant to do so, as it could be seen in
the moonlight to stop now and then and turn in the direction
of the terrorized youths, who lost no time in widening the dis-
tance between themselves and the horrible spectre.
There are other tales told of this hant, but the instances
related are sufficient to prove that the headless dog of Brushy
Fork was as bloodcurdling a sight as ever human eyes looked
upon.
THE HEADLESS MAX NEAR THE BRIDGE
From Elizabeth Janet Cromartie, Garland, N. C, c. 1928. Cf. Motif-
Index E422.1.1.
One time I was in the kitchen talking to our cook, and she
was telling some tales about how she wouldn't cross a bridge
not far from our house by herself after the sun went down be-
cause there was a man without a head there that would get after
you.
684 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
THE GHOSTLY WARNING
From Thomas Smith, Watauga county, 1914-15. Cf. Motif-Index
E423.1.1, E421, and D1812.5.1.17.
Grandma Smith, who is eighty-four years of age (in 1915),
relates the following instance of a ghostly warning which
occurred in the Johns River section of Caldwell county over
seventy years ago.
"Came" Allen, a young man of the neighhorhood, started one
night from the house where he was staying, for a brick kiln
which was being burned by a man named Moore.
Shortly after he started young Allen noticed a dog following
him down the road. The peculiar thing about the dog was its
tail, which was white and thin like a strip of "factory cloth" ;
the young man walked very fast but the dog kept right at his
heels. Once he turned and kicked at the strange animal, but
his foot seemed to go through it, and badly scared he hastened
on toward the brick kiln. The dog only ceased to follow him
when he was close to the blaze of the kiln. Several men, mostly
Negroes, were gathered around the fire, and, to them, the
young man told about his pursuit by the dog with the "factory
cloth" tail, which must have been a warning of his death, as
a few minutes afterward just as he was preparing to make a
running jump in a contest with some of the darkies, he dropped
dead. The facts related were well known at the time by every-
one in that neighborhood. Grandma says, when she was a
girl, she used to be afraid to pass the spot where "Came" Allen
fell dead.
THE GHOSTLY LIGHTS
From Thomas Smith, Watauga county, 1914-15. Mr. Smith says: "This
narrative was told me by Abner Grogan (age 55) who lives near Big
Laurel, noted as a place where 'hants' are seen. He has lived in this
settlement practically all his life ; his father's name was Anderson Grogan.
Anderson Grogan was a Confederate soldier, and died in 1864, I think,
at Camp Morton, Indiana."
I've seen the lights many a night a comin' out o' the lor'l.
Sometimes they's two lights and then agin they's three. They
look jest like candles and they come a sailin* up the road to-
wards my house till they git to that big gate below the barn.
The night at'er anybody dies in the neighborhood them lights
jest comes and goes all night. I've seen 'em and dozens o'
others has seen 'em. The night a'ter Herman Wilson's wife
died we seen them lights a comin' and a goin' as long as we
stayed awake. .Sometimes they'd come to the gate and then
take down the branch and then agin they'd sail out across that
field yander to-wards the lor'l. I've allis heerd that Injuns
caused them things to be seen in the lor'l. Vou know they
u.sed to camp all around about here. I've jilowed uji a bushel
T A L K S A N I) I. K C. K N I) S 685
o' Injun" llints in them ole lu'lds hack o' the lor'L They's
purty good grounds fer l)'levin' that them Injuns made way
with some o' their hand and huried 'em in the lor'l and that's
what causes them Hghts and other strange things to he seen here.
THE GROANING GHOST
From Kate S. Russell, Person county, 1923 (?). Cf. Motif -Index
£547- 1.
Only a few years ago, in a home in Roxhoro, ahout four
o'clock in the afternoon, when one of the kids came home from
school, the little girl ran in to get something to eat. All her
jx^ople were away from home. She heard a terrible mourning
u|)stairs, and knowing that her hrcjther had heen sick the night
before, she ran u]) to his room and called him. On entering
the room, she found it vacant, hut heard the groaning in an-
other room. She went in every room in the house, but was
unable to locate the mourning.
Becoming frightened, she ran to the next house for her
mother, and the other neighbors were asked to come and help
search for the ghost. There were ahout twenty people search-
ing every nook and corner, till after sundown, but were never
able to locate the noise.
THE DYING CHILD
From J. S. Jones. Place not given. For analogous stories, see Motif-
Indcx E-22.2.
In 1 91 7, a man moved into our neighborhood. He knew no
one and no one knew him. Soon after settling there his yf)ung
boy became sick of fever ; the father and mother sat up nights
and attended to the child until they were broken down.
Finally my brother and I went to sit up with the child so
the parents might have a night's rest.
.•\botit 4 o'clock A..M. I was sitting by the fire in a straight
chair, and being tired and sleepy I fell asleej) and fell over.
When the chair struck the floor the child began to groan and in
a few minutes died. Hie very second the child breathed his
last breath, all five doors in the house flew wide open. I closed
the doors myself.
THE PARTING GHOST
From R. T. Dunstan, Greensboro, N. C, c. 1925. Cf. Motif-Index E586.
When a ])erson dies his spirit always goes back to where he
earned his last money, or where he lost a limb or any member of
his body, to claim it before leaving for the other world.
OOO NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
REWARD FOR STAYING IN HAUNTED HOUSE
From Eleanor Simpson, East Durham, 1923. She had it from a Negro.
For the reward for staying in the haunted house, see Motif -Index H1411.
One night an old man went to a farmer's house and asked to
remain there overnight. The farmer told him he could sleep
there provided he would go out to the little haunted house in
the back yard. The farmer promised to give the stranger a
bag of money if he would stay in the house till morning.
The stranger went to the house and got ready to go to bed,
but before retiring he sat on the floor and began reading his
Bible. He heard something rolling and went out to investigate
but found nothing. He began reading again and he heard some-
thing skating. He investigated but nothing did he find. These
noises went on till early in the morning. A knock sounded on
the man's door and on opening it, he found a headless man
standing there with a hatchet in his hand. This headless man
took him by the hand, led him down the steps to a little door
at the end of the steps. He took the hatchet, knocked the door
in and pulled out a bag of money and handed it to the stranger.
He received his reward for staying all night in that haunted
house.
THE FORK IN THE SKIRT
From Roy Grogeen, Randolph county. A loose version of a rather wide-
spread story.
Some years ago there was an old woman that ])elieved in all
ghost stories. One day someone told her to go out and stick
a fork in a certain grave. She did this that night and she stuck
the fork through her skirt while she knelt down to stick the
fork in the ground. When she started to get up, her skirt was
caught by the fork and she thought it was a ghost holding it.
She fainted and died there. People said that the reason for
this was that she was old and had heart trouble. This hap-
pened in Randolph county. The farm is called "The Old Hines
Place."
VI. OTHER MYSTERIES
Bluebeard's death
From P. D. Midgett, Roanoke Island, Wanchese, N. C, c. 1921.
Mrs. Janie Stowe of Hatteras says that it is an alleged fact
that after Bluebeard was captured, beheaded, and thrown over-
board at Ocracoke he swam around the ship three times in
search of a rope by which to climb to the deck.
TALES AND I. K G K N D S 687
Til' HOC-STEALING "WAUMl'AUs"
Frcin Kakiyli />(/i7v Xncs, (3ctol)cr, 1930.
Stories are at lar<;e that a "vvaiinipaus," wliicli rises u]) in
various parts of the country, has l)een steahng hogs l)odily on
Roanoke Island; that it walks upright most of the time with a
squealing hog in its arms ; makes screauLs much like a radio
soprano, and rims the scale downward to hullfrog hass ; has a
track like a dog, hut as large as a horse's footprints. Some say
they have tracked it for miles hack to its lair in a swamp just
heyond the graveyard in the poorhouse oldfield. Some advance
the theory that it is a hear strayed over from the mainland.
Others say it is a thief under pressure of Hoover pr(jsperity,
while Joe W'oodley, old-time Negro, says with much hluster
and liravado. which helies his looks: "Tain't nuthing hut damn
hlack nigger."
THE THREE FAIRIES
From W. S. Smith. Cornelius, N. C, 1920-25. For tlie fairies in white,
see Motif -Index F236.1.3.
Near here two sisters and a brother claim to have seen three
fairies. The children were from twelve to fourteen years of
age ; and all tell the .same thing about the fairies. They say that
the fairies were very white and dres.sed in white ; that they were
about three feet high, held hands, and moved before them very
fast, disappearing in a woods.
THE VISION OF AUNT SALLY SIMMS
From Mrs. Ira Vance, Pineola, N. C. ; from a recording made July 5,
1940 — as told to her by Aunt Martha ("Granny") Clark. Many common
motifs are here. Cf. Motif-Index D1731.2 and D1812.3.3 for the dreams.
For devil motifs, see G303.
Well, Jake and Betty were married and Bill was the brother
of Betty, and Ralph was a dear friend to Betty and they had
sjjarked a lot before she and Jake were married, and Bill
resented this because he was very fond of his sister and of her
husband, Jake.
The house was a little old log cabin that was built down here
about a hundred and fifty years ago and was in pretty biad
shape, and they had a little lean-to built to one side, and Sally
came to stay with Betty because Jake was off at work aiid
Betty was afraid to stay by herself so he got Sally to stay with
her at night until he could come back. He was usually gone
about ten days at a time.
One night Sally was settin' by the fire and Betty was sick in
bed, and Sally heard something far ofT all of a sudden like all
kinds of music playing — fiddles, banjos, and all kinds of music
that was going on, and a big noise of shuffling feet like if they
08» NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
were dancing, and all of a sudden the door flew open and the
latch-string was pulled on the inside and button was turned
and in came the devil, his wife, four children — now they say-
there ain't no children in hell but there was four children with
the devil that night — and nine of the most beautiful women
Aunt Sally had ever seen, and there were nine hellcats that
danced all over the floor round and round, and the old devil
had his pitchfork in his hand, a big long tail, and they went
into the little lean-to where they ate and they put supper on
the table. They put all kinds of the best things to eat : pies,
cakes, and jugs and jugs of syrup; and my goodness, they had
apple dumplings as big as your fist and great big dishes of
salad. They asked Aunt Sally to come to supper but she said,
"No thank you, I've done been to supper." They insisted that
she eat but Aunt Sally wouldn't. They went ahead and ate it
all and I don't know what went with the dishes.
They just disappeared, and then the devil came into the liv-
ing room, the room where Aunt Sally was settin', and they
danced around and had music, and all of a sudden they just van-
ished away. Aunt Sally went on to bed that night — she slept in
a trundle bed under the bed where Betty was sleeping. The next
day she got up and had to hunt pine knots and wood and things
like that in the woods. She wanted to have pine knots so that
she would have light the next night cause she felt like the devil
and his wife would come the next night. They didn't have
any oil lamps then and had no way of making light except by
candles, and only a few had candles, and she gathered pine
knots all day and had a great big pile in the chimney corner
when dark came.
She had her work all done and was settin' and waiting and
all of a sudden she heard far away music coming closer and
then it seemed like she heard people dancing and all kinds of
pretty music, the latch-string had been pulled in that night and
all of a sudden the button turned and in came the devil and
his wife, the nine beautiful women, and the nine hellcats, and
those four children, and they put another supper on the table
and they invited Aunt Sally to eat with them but she told them
no, as she did the night before, that she wasn't hungry. And
that night she had a big forestick on the fire and a big backstick,
and pine knots burning in order to make the light, and one of
the little hellcats went and climbed up on the forestick right
slam in the blaze and was settin' there. Aunt Sally said, "Get
down from there, you little hellcat, don't you know you'll get
burned up?" And that cat just sat there right on, it never got
down, and the others came up to the stove and she picked up a
kettle full of boiling water and poured on the cats, and the boil-
ing water just rolled off and didn't do one bit of harnL
T A I. K S A N 1) I. K C. K N I) S 689
The devil then came in with a vial of hlood in his hands and
he went up to Hetty's hed and Aunt Sally got up and went
liack to the hed and said, "Get uj) from there, don't you know
that woman is sick?" And he just gave a little flit and right
over hehintl the hed he went and hefore you could hat your
eyes he was hack in the middle of the floor again. She looked
around and the devil's wife was standing there and she had
taken a little tin hox out of her bosom and she oi)ened the box
and stuck her tinger in it and it looked like hlood. and she went
up to each of those beautiful women and on each breast made
a cross of blood on each of the women's breasts, and then they
all just disappeared.
So the next day Aunt Sally gathered pine knots again and
the third night there was no moon, no stars, just as dark as it
could be. Aunt Sally went to the door, opened it, and looked
out, and it was just as light out as day and the yard was full
of chickens picking around, but they didn't have a chicken on
the i^lace, yet the yard was full of chickens there that night
and it was just as light out and she looked out at the corner of
the house where the digging was going on and she could see
the shovels full of dirt coming out of the o])en grave. On the
other side of the house she saw an apple tree and she saw a
hand sticking out from the limbs of the apple tree and the hand
was holding a white-handled pocket knife and the hand was
cutting out the twigs and they were falling to the ground. Then
she saw a big white oxen with black spots on it and a man
was riding on the oxen, and she looked back then for the hand
and the knife and it was gone. A lot of twigs had been cut
off and was laying on the ground and then she looked back for
the man and the oxen and the man was lying down in the yard
flat on his back and the oxen was laying by his side, and then
it all vanished away and turned dark.
And the next moment she got up and said, "Well, I've stayed
here the last night I'm goin' to; you'll have to get somebody
else to stay." She came over to my house and said, "The
devil's routed me. the devil's routed me, the devil's routed me!"
I said, "What on earth do you mean, Sally?" Then she told
me all this story. Of course I didn't believe it and I said.
"Aunt Sally, you know good and well you just dreamed that."
But she says, "Xo, I didn't dream it. \'ou know good and
well if I had a-dreamed that I wouldn't have gone to the trouble
of gathering wood and pine knots to make light. I wouldn't
have worked all day so hard if it had been a dream." And
she got mad and left, and she told it to several people and we
all knew Aunt Sally had just dreamed it.
As I told you before, Ralph was in love with P.etty and they
690 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
had done quite a good deal of sparking before Betty and Jake
was married. Bill knew about this and he didn't want Ralph
to break up the home of Jake and Betty. Ralph and Betty
decided to run away and leave Jake and be married, so they
started out and Ralph had a big white oxen with black spots
on it and that was the only thing they had to take away with
them. They started out on foot. One would ride a piece until
one would get tired and then the other would ride. They were
going over the mountain trails — there wasn't any roads then,
just mountain trails and things like that that the cattle had
made — and as they was going along over Chestnut Knob, some-
how or other Bill knew that they were going to run away and
he went on ahead. He had a white-handled pocket knife and he
went on ahead and he got up to about Chestnut Knob and there
was an old apple tree turned up by the roots and he got into the
little bush that was made by that tree coming up and decided
he would wait there and shoot Ralph as he came along. He
couldn't get a good view of the road for tlie twigs in his way,
so he took that white-handled knife and trimmed all the little
twigs away so he could have a clear view of the road.
He didn't have to wait very long, however, until be heard
Betty and Ralph coming. Ralph at the time was riding on the
oxen and whenever he came even with the opening Bill had cut
there in the tree so as to get a good view of the road, he had his
old hog-rifle and he just "bang" and shot him.
So Betty went running back and she ran all the way home
and told that Ral]:ih was up there on Chestnut Knob dead, that
someone had shot him from ambush. They didn't go see him
till next day, none of his folks didn't, and the next day they
WTUt up there the oxen was laying there by the side of the dead
man and when they looked around before they took the dead
man up they saw the white-handled knife that Aunt Sally had
described laying there where whoever shot Ralph had been
trimming away the twigs so as to get a clear view of the road.
They took him up and some of the folks remembered that Ralph
said when he died he wanted to be buried on the top of Chest-
nut Knob, and so they just took him right on up there, dug a
grave, and buried him right on top of Chestnut Knol).
Now there is a tower up there and anyone that wants to see
that grave can go right up there and see it. He said be wanted
to be buried there so he could hear the dogs running coons all
the (lays be was buried until the Resurrection.
THE CURSE ON BATH
From R. B. Edwards. Belhaven, N. C, 1918-23.
Bath, North Carolina, is situated on one of the most navigable
rivers in the state and near the most arable farm land in all
T A L K S A N I) T. K (; K N I) S 69 1
North Carolina. Hath lias bet'ii hlcst with the sun of several
(.-eiituries shiiiintj down on it. Vet Bath, with all its prospects
of being a great town or city, is the same size today that it was
in the days when the pirate Blackheard ( 'Feach ) roamed the
coasts of North Carolina, and returned to l-Jath laden with the
ca]:)tured spoils of other vessels.
When Governor Eden was in all his glory, and the state of
North Carolina was yet young as to towns. Hath was already
founded and had the prospects of being a great town — until
one day a certain preacher came to Bath to take up the min-
istry there. This preacher was very successful at first and
everything went on well until there became some friction be-
tween the preacher and the congregation. The preacher, whose
name was John Whitfield, was told to leave. This Whitfield
made ready to do, but as he was about to leave Bath, he shook
the dust from his feet, and put a curse on Bath by saying that
he hoped that Bath would never grow.
Right at this point, according to tradition, Bath ceased to
grow, and on through the past centuries, while towns have
risen up all around Hath, and have progressed, and gone for-
ward, Bath remains the same today as it was the day that John
Whitfield put a curse on it.
Vn. BURIED TREASURE
THE HEAVY SADDLE-BAGS
From Maybelle Poovey, High Point, N. C, 1933-36. For the treasure
lights, see Motif-Index N532.
It was 1845. ^Var had been declared with Mexico. An old
man by the name of Stoner was keeper of a tavern and a toll-
bridge. The tavern was on the Caldwell county side of the
river, and was a rambling two-story structure with the toll
office and a store-room below adjacent to the dining room, and
rooms for lodging above.
One evening just at dark a lone traveller, riding horseback,
going west, asked for accommodation. He dismounted, and,
with the assistance of the tavern-keeper, unloaded a pair of
saddle-bags that were almost too heavy for the two to handle.
Those saddle-bags were locked in the strong box of the toll
office overnight. At daylight next morning, the traveller awoke
Mr. Stoner, asked for his assistance in loading the heavy saddle-
bags, borrowed a spade, and before riding away, swore to
secrecv the keeper of the tavern, with the assurance that he
intended to bury the gold which he said filled the heavy saddle-
bags, and upon his return would give instructions that would
X.C.F., Vol. I, (45)
692 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
enable Mr. Stoner to find the spot should he never return from
the Mexican \\^ar.
After a couple of hours, the man returned with the empty
saddle-bags, gave a very vague account of how the spot might
be found if his return was delayed more than a year after the
war should close, and rode ofif.
Mr. Stoner kept faith with the soldier, and told no one of the
incident until more than a year after hostilities had ceased with
Mexico. Then, calling in several neighbors, he organized a
treasure hunt, and for several years the search for the treasure
continued intermittently, and the story became the common lore
of the community. Large excavations may still be seen all
along the hillsides that sloped toward the river, where searchers
toiled in their seasonal occupation of digging. For years after-
ward it was said a light could be seen on drizzly nights by
those who lived across the river, and that it seemed to start
near the old tavern, travel in a zigzag course along the slope,
and finally rising into the tree tops disappear.
Most of the territory over w4iich search was made seventy-
five years ago is now covered by the impounded waters of Lake
Hickory, and the light is no longer to be seen.
blackbeard's treasure
From Erwin D. Stephens, Hobucken, N. C, 1918-22. Cf. }[ofif-Index
N511.1 and N553.
Hobucken is a farming-fishing village located at the head of
Jones' Bay, just south of Pamlico River and five miles west
of Pamlico Sound. The great marshes come to the very doors
of these simple-living farmers and fishermen. Of the many old
tales that are recounted the following one interested me most.
According to tradition, the pirate Blackbeard buried a treas-
ure chest in the marsh near here. He killed and buried a man
with the treasure to guard it and walled up the excavation with
bricks to the top of the ground. Five men, two of whom are
still living, have found the spot where the treasure is buried,
but none of them has been able to unearth it.
People say that once the spot is found something happens
to frighten the finder away, and he is never able to locate the
place again. One man who found the spot cut the grass away
with his knife and cut a path to a road near by, but the next
morning when the man went back to dig, he could find no trace
of what he had done the previous day. Another man placed
his shirt on a stake over the spot and went to the house for a
spade. When he returned, he could find no trace of his shirt
or stake. Tradition .says that the treasure moves each time it
TALKS A N I) I. K C, K N I) S 693
is discovered. Several people have dug for the treasure hut
have heen frightened away each time. On cold windy nights
the voice of the man who guards the treasure can he heard ;
snatches of old sea songs and shouted oaths ride the winds uj)
the Bay.
ii
Lifdrniant not given.
The Teach legends and myths are almost as varied, vague,
and mystical as are the Arthurian legends, and no less inter-
esting or romantic, hut they are too well known to he dwelt
upon at length here. That old freehooter Edward Teach or
Thatcli, called Blackheard the Pirate, was one of the most inter-
esting characters that mastiueraded in our past. One hears con-
stantly ahout the Teach lights, Teach's Hole, his i)hantom ship
of the Alhemarle seen on moonlight nights and always por-
tending disaster for those who see it, the treasure chests hidden
at various places with always a man killed and huried near
them to guard them, particularly the immense one out in the
Chowan River near Holliday's Island. It has heen located
many times and as many times has defied the treasure hunters,
for just as they are ahout to secure the prize the chain of the
windlass hreaks or a violent windstorm arises and they have to
scurry for the shore.
Teach's name is associated with many localities and at every
one with a different wife; he is credited with thirteen. The
so-called Teach House on the Pasquotank River just above
Elizabeth City bears the initials "E. T. 1709" on the doorsteps,
and is very interesting with its stories concerning him.
iii
From a collection made in eastern and central N. C. in 1926-28 by Paul
and Elizabeth Green, Chapel Hill. Cf. Motif-Index C401.3 and N553.2.
In Edenton one garden was constantly being dug up by the
Negroes to get Blackbeard's treasure. They said that they had
found it often, but that it disa])peared. The correct formula
was to dig for it, and after you struck the iron ring in the
top, no word was to l)e uttered until you had it out of the
ground. They told that every time they struck the ring, some-
one would yell out "The Christ, the Christ." and it would
disapj)ear.
DREAMING OF TREASURE
From Julian S. Boyd, as contributed by Minnie T.ee, Alliance, N. C, 1926.
A surprising parallel to a tale known in tlie iialtic countries about plow-
ing with a rooster and harrowing with a hen (Motif-Jndex N543.2).
Cf. also D1314.2, E422.1.1, N531, and N576.
Three boys l)elonging to the same family had a dream. Each
of them dreamed of hidden treasure, and each dream was like
694 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
the Others in all respects. They were told in the dreams that
a treasure was buried under a certain tree in a field, and that
if they would follow directions, and say nothing of their
dreams to anyone, they would find the treasure. Each was
told to "Plow the land with a rooster" and "Harrow it with a
hen," and the treasure would be found.
The first son said nothing of his dream, and attempted to
carry out the instructions. During his plowing and harrowing,
about a dozen headless Negroes appeared, and marched slowly
around him ; he was so frightened that he gave up the task and
went home. The second son did likewise, and the same vision
of the headless Negroes appeared. The third son was engaged
to a young lady, and being troubled by his dream, he told her
that he had something to tell her, but could not tell her until
after the wedding. They were married, and immediately after-
ward, he told her of his dreauL They went through the same
process as the others, saw the headless Negroes, but continued
until they found the treasure, were made very wealthy, and
lived happily ever after.
UNCLE BILL DIGS FOR MONEY
The story below is the conversation as nearly as I can reproduce it that
Joe. my brother, and I had with Uncle Bill Jones, of Lanvale, N. C.
(Name of informant missing.) Many interesting widely known motifs
are here, e.g., Motif-Index N532, C401.3, D1314.2.
"But, Uncle Bill, do you really believe you saw those things
while you were digging for that money? Don't you think that
you imagined you saw those spirits which you told me about?
I think you just heard someone telling you that a person dig-
ging for money could see spirits, and you thought you saw and
heard something when you were digging. Wasn't that the way
of it?" I asked the old darkey after he had told me an account
of his experiences on a money-digging expedition.
"Naw suh, Cap'n ! Naw sub ! Dere wa'n't no 'magination
'bout dat."
The following is what he told me :
"Yas suh, Cap'n, we'd bin seein' dem munny lites down
neah de ribber, and I knowed dare wuz munny dere. I wuz
stayin' on Cap'n Pent'n's place at dat time, an' ol' Kurnel
Grimes's place wuz 'bout a half o' mile down de road to'rds
'Lizal)ef town, an' on his place, down nex' to the ribber, wuz
a' ol' brick pile. Sumbody tole dat munny wuz buried dere,
so I begun ter look 'roun. I knowed, if dere wuz enny munny
buried dere, I cud fin' it.
"Mary Hill, Son Hill's gal, cooked fuh de (irimeses an' dat
made things jus' right. Me an' Sump Brown, yuh kno' Sum
us'ter wurk fuh de ol' Kurnel. chojiijin" up wood an' feedin'
TALES AND L K G K N I) S 695
(le hojj^s an' hosscs. we wuz goin' er dig trrgctlu-r, an' Mary
wuz gonna let us kno' whin de ol' Kurncl an' his fokc wuz
goin' down to de heach. We had hit fix'd jus' rite.
"Well, whin June uv dat year cum, de ol' Kurnel tuk his
fani'K- to W'rightsville l^each. Mary tole us whin, an' how
long (ley wuz gonna he gone, dat wuz de same year dat Mc-
Kinley wuz killed. De old Kurnel lef on Chusday an' de moon
fulled on Thu'sday nite. We wuz gonna dig whin de moon
fulled, 'cause munny's nigh de top o' de groun' on a full moon.
"Well, Thu'sday nite cum, — dat wuz whin de moon fulled,
so we got our picks an' shuvvols an' started fuh de ol' hrick
pile. Now, Sump's got a crazy hruther. an' he cum ter go wid
us dat nite.
"Now whin yuh dig fuh munny, Cap'n, yuh gotta talk hy
sines. Well, we made up our sines on de way down. We
soon got to de place an' putt our tules down. De fust thing
you gotta do whin yu dig munny is make er ring roun whur
yu gonna dig, an' whin yu git in dat ring yu cain't speak a
word, — yu mustn't ehen open yuh mouf, 'cause, ef you do, dat
mimny's done gone. Yas, suh, dat munny moves rite now.
"Sump started diggin', 'n we wuz gettin' 'long purty good
whin heah cum look'd like de whole ribber. Dat crazy nigger
what wuz wid us wuz scairt near 'bout ter death an' started
ter run. but I cotch 'im by his arm an' slapped muh ban' ober
his mouf, 'cause I knowed dat nigger wuz gonna holler ef 'e
cud.
"Vas suh, Cap'n, I kwieted dat nigger. De water cum up
to de edge uv de hole whur Sump wuz diggin', but hit jes
faded 'way rite dere. But sech a roadin' I neber heard. Sump
wuz scairt an' started ter jump out, but I sined to 'im to stay,
an' he did.
"I dug a while after Sump, an' den hit wuz dat crazy nig-
ger's time ter dig, so we putt 'im in de hole. Dea's whin de
trubble cum. Dat black scound'il had a piece er tobaccker in
'is mouf, an' he hadn't bin in dat 'ole more'n long enuf ter
frow out two shuvvelfuls, whin 'Spit-too!!' dat nigger spit.
Bum-a-lum-a-lum ! dere wint de munny. Hit jus' trabbled
'way under de groun'. 'W^ell, I'll be (jeorge Tom,' I sez, 'dat
nigger had ter go open 'is mouf.'
"\\'ell, I knowed hit twa'n't no use ter dig enny mo' 'cause
dat munny wuz gone, an' gone for free years or mo'."
"But, Uncle Bill," I interrupted, "you mentioned money
lights. What do they look like, and when do they appear?"
'■^'as suh. Cap'n, you kin see 'em on rainy nites. Dey looks
like dey float 'long thru de air 'bout seben or eight feet 'bove
de groun', an' dey looks like a ball uv fire. Whurever you
see dat lite you kin kno' dat dey's nnuniy nigh.
696 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
"Free years later I wuz still wurkin at Cap'n Pent'ii's place,
an' Sum wuz workin' wid Kurnel Grimes. We seed dem munny
lites ag'in. so we wuz gonna dig de fust chance whut we got,
but yu hear me, we didn't let him, dat crazy nigger, know
nuthin' 'bout our plans.
"Whin de full moon cum in July, Kurnel Grimes tuk his
famble down to de beach ag'in. Me an' Sump wanted sumun
ter go wid us, so we got Lit Jeems. Dat wuz on a Thu'sday
nite and we wuz gonna dig on Friday nite, 'cause dat wuz
whin de moon fulled. Now Lit's got a munny rod, so on de
nex' nite we wuz gonna take hit an' go try ter git dat munny
ag'in. 'Bout 'leben o'clock de nex' nite we wint down to de
ol' brick yard. Dere wuz a' ol' Chaneyberry tree close by. an'
dat munny rod pinted straight to dat ol' tree. We foUered it,
an' sure nuff, whin we got dere, hit pinted right straight down.
W'e knowed de munny wuz dere an' we made sines to keep
kwiet.
"Hit wuz time ter start diggin', so we throwed down our
things an' wint ter wurk. I made a ring an' started diggin'.
I hadn't bin diggin' long befo' heah cum a' ol' mean lookin' man
had a purty girl draggin' her by de hair. He had a big ol'
'nife in one ban', and jus' time he got rite in frunt uv me, he
draw'd back dat ol' 'nife an' cut at dat gurl's thote, but jus'
whin he cut, everthing faded way, an' dere wa'n't no man or
wumman. Dem two niggers what wa'n't diggin' started to run,
but I sined to 'um ter cum back.
"Yas sub, dey cum back, an' I putt Sump ter diggin'. He
hadn't bin in dat hole more'n two mi units 'fore heah cum de
ribber rushin' down on 'im. He 'membered how it done dat
fust time, so he jus' turned his back an' dug on. Hit cum
rite up to 'im an' faded 'way like hit did befo'.
"Now hit wuz Lit's time ter dig. Yu kno' sumun's gotta
be in de hole all de time. W^hin one steps out, he's gotta putt
one foot out an' let de nex' pusson whut's gonna dig putt one
foot in. Den whin he takes his yuther foot out de yuther
feller's gotta putt his yuther foot in.
"Lit got in all rite an' started diggin', but he hadn't got
more'n started good whin we hurd sump'n up in dat ol'
Chaneyberry tree. 'J^sus Master, whut is it !' sez I to myself.
I looked up in dat ol' tree, an' dere wuz a great big ol' pile-
driver hammer hung ovah a limb, an' a man wuz cuttin' at
de rope wid a great big cleaber 'nife. I sined to Lit to keep
on diggin', an' he did, but dat man cut dat rope ennyway. Jus'
'bout time dat hammer got down on Lit's haid, hit faded 'way.
"Hit wuz my time ter dig now, an' dog my black cats to
Hami)ton ef I didn't go an' spile thing. I wuz diggin' 'way
T A I. K S A N I) I. K C. K. N I) S 697
whin luar cum a bull ycarlin' wid horns 'bout foah inches long.
1 sed tcr niysef. sez I, 'Dat bull ain't gonna hurt me,' an' I
hilt my haid down. But dat bull cum on, an' jes 'bout time
he orter struck mc, I hollered, an' Buni-a-lum-a-lum, dere wint
our munny. Dog my buttons ef I didn't want ter shoot my-
self. ) us'' wint an' lo's' dat munny, an' we had alreddy reached
de kittle whut had de munny in hit. I struck hit wunce or
twice wid my shuvvel. I had alreddy sined ter Sump to bring
me a piece ov tame munny, so's he cud thro' hit in an' tame de
vuther munny."
-But Uncle Bill," I asked, "why did you have to tame the
other money?"'
"Good Lord, bruther," he replied, "yu can't oj^en yo mouf
befo' yu tame dat munny, 'cause ef yu do, dat munny's gone
rite now, — hit, kittle, an' all."
"How do vou know that the money will leave?" I asked him.
" 'Cause, Cap'n Martin tole me so. He dug fuh munny
once, an' he sed yu had ter do that."
"Well, well. Uncle Bill," I said, "your exjx^riences in dig-
ging for money certainly made an interesting tale. Where do
you think that money is now?" 1 asked him.
"Hit's back dere now. Munny'll cum back in free or foah
years ef yu don't bother it," he told me.
Just at this point of the conversation Mother called me to
dinner. I went to the house and Uncle Bill went on towards
the creek with his fishing pole.
Vni. NUMSKULLS AND FOOLS
WHAT THE MILL SAID
From Isabella Crumartie, Garland, N. C, 1928-29. Cf. Motif-Index
J2615.1.
Uncle Peter lived down near Ivanhoe. The jK-ople always
called the old field where he lived "The Old Peter Field." He
was a miller and looked after the mill near Ivanhoe, where
Mrs. Moore now lives. One Sunday morning he wanted some
meal so he went to the mill and put the corn in the hopper,
and when the mill began to grind, he thought he heard it say.
"Take care, Peter. Take care, Peter. Take care, Peter!"
until he got so scared he shut down the mill and ran home as
fast as his long legs could carry him !
WASH BEE DAY
From Mavl)elle Poovey, High Point, N. C, c. 1934- Cf. Motif-hidcx
J1743.
It was mid-winter of 1853. and the weather was bitter cold.
698 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
Mrs. A. C. Houck, living on "Greasy Creek" in Caldwell county,
had sent her little daughter to return a borrowed household
article to a lone cabin far up on the slope of Flat Top where
three middle-aged spinsters lived together.
When the little girl arrived at the cabin, the three maiden
ladies were engaged in scrubbing the bee stands and benches,
using a scrub broom and hot water which froze a sheet of ice
over bee gum and bench as fast as it was poured on. The
youthful visitor was urged to go in to the fire, which she was
glad to do.
Presently the three women had finished their disagreeable
task and came in. With the natural curiosity of childhood the
neighbor girl incjuired why such a disagreeable day should have
been selected for the task just finished. One of the spinster
trio replied : "Why child, didn't you know that this was 'Wash-
Bee-Day'? If we hadn't washed the bee gums today the bees
would all be drones. Now you have some book learnin', you
jest git the Almanac hangin' on that peg by the clock and read
it with your own eyes, and you will see that this is 'Wash-
Bee-Day.' "
When the Almanac was consulted, sure enough this was the
notation that was found : "February 22, Wash. B'day."
DEER DRIVING
From Miss Isabella Cromartie, Garland, N. C, 1928-29. For similar
tales, see Motif-Index J 1762.
One day five Irishmen were going deer driving. The leader
put them all at a stand and told them all when the dogs jumped
a deer to be ready to shoot him when he came running by.
After a while the dogs jumped a deer and he came running
by one of the Irishmen, but he didn't shoot. In a few minutes
a toad frog came hopping along and he shot him. When the
Irishmen heard the report of the gun they came running, cry-
ing, "Where's the deer, Pat?" and Pat said, "I haven't seen
a deer." And they said, "You must have, we heard the dogs
jump him and heard you shoot at something." Then Pat said,
"Well, there he is then," pointing at the dead toad frog. They
all said, "That's no deer, that's a toad frog." Pat said, "I
ain't seen no deer then, all I saw was a man going by with a
basket on his head."
HE DID WHAT HE WAS TOLD
From Mrs. Norman Herring, Tomahawk, N. C. For similar tales, see
Motif-Index J2465.
Doc told Bill, "Bill, I want you to run around and plow
out my potatoes this morning."
Bill stared. "Plow 'em out, doc?" he asked. Doc was busy.
"Yes," he answered shortly.
TALES AND I. F. C. K N D S (^9
So Bill plowed the potatoes very much out of the <,'ri)und !
"Doc " he said, "1 never did hate to do nothni' as had ni
my lite,' hut you told me to." Doc took his medicine like a
man. ^, i r i
"Bill," he said. '•yt)u're the first nig^^erf ve ever seen wlio did
what he was told, here's a prize for you."
THE MOOX ON TIIK FENCE
From Mrs. Xornian Herring. Tomahawk, N. C. Cf. M of! f -Index
Ole Man Johnson and his family were shut in for the night.
The temptation to play a prank was too great to he resisted hy
a numher of white hoys who lived not far away.
They found an empty shoe box, cut a round hole m the
bottom, sat it up right on Ole Man Johnson's fence, and put
a light in it to shine through the hole. They hid and shook
the gate to attract the family's attention. All grew quiet
within the house, then Ole Man Johnson said to one of his
hoys: "In facts. Rasberry. you go to de do' and see what's at
de gate." ,,^,
Rasberry went, looked, and bounded back m the house. Uli
Pappy ! De moon's on de fence," he cried.
"You's crazy, nigger, you's jes' scared. Jeems Owens, you
go and see what's at de gate."
Jeems Owens went, looked, and likewise bounded back.
"Oh, Pappy, de moon is shore on de fence."
"You niggers is hofe crazy-scared. Pll go myself."
And he went. While he was looking, the hidden boys
groaned. He bounded back over chairs, pickaninnies and all
too badly frightened to speak. At first he only waited. And
while he waited, his heart went Inim]^, bump. bump, thump,
thump, boom !
Ole Man Johnson crouched farther into the corner and mur-
mered. "In facts. Jeems Owens, de moon's shore on de fence,
and she roars like a butt-head."
He had heard his heart!
CUTTING OFF THE SNAKE's HEAD
From Mrs. Norman Herring. Tomahawk. N. C. For similar tales, see
Motif -Index J1820-J1849.
"Jeems" Owens was big and black and always went bare-
footed. One dav he was cutting a ditch and standing m the
mud with shallow water in the bottom of it. Suddenly he saw
what he thought was the head of a black snake, jioking iip
through the mud. "Look out." he cried, and with his spade
came down on the snake's head. Then he screamed. He had
cut otif his big toe !
700 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
IX. JOKERS
JOHN moccasin's TRICKS
The following two tales of John Moccasin are from Thomas Smith,
Watauga county, 1914-15. They sound as if based on fact.
This eccentric character Hved many years ago. His real
name was John Green, the other name being given him on
account of his always wearing- moccasins on his feet instead of
shoes. He was a man of great strength and a hunter of bears
and other wild animals that then roamed the mountains of Cald-
well and Watauga. The following are only a few of the many
tales that have been told of him in one section and must have
happened considerably over a hundred years ago.
Johnny's Revenge
There was a wedding at a neighbor's house and as Johnny
had not been invited he felt himself to be badly slighted and
proceeded to take revenge. The manner of his revenge was
as follows : taking his gun he v/ent into the forest and killed
a young deer, which he carried to the roadside along which
the wedding party were to pass on their way to the groom's
parents. Standing by the road and leaning far out over it was
a large tree. Up this tree climbed Johnny Moccasin carrying
the young deer with his teeth. Seating himself among the
branches of the tree he awaited the coming of the wedding
party. It was not long before the party, all on horseback,
appeared in sight. There were perhaps fifty people in the
party, men and women riding two abreast, singing, laughing
and talking loudly, evidently enjoying themselves. Their hilar-
ity was soon brought to a sudden close, for just as the fore-
most riders galloped under the leaning tree the young deer was
dropped into the road almost on their horses' heads. This
caused a stampede ; half the party were thrown from their
steeds while those who remained in the saddle went dashing
in every direction. The wonder is that no one was killed or
fatally injured. During the excitement Johnny ]\Ioccasin
climbed down from his perch and disappeared in the dense
forest.
Johnny's Startling Visit
Anotlier neighbor of Johnny's slighted him l)y failing to in-
vite him to a dinner which he had given on some special occa-
sion. While the neglectful neighbor and his guests were seated
at the table eating, drinking, and making merry, John Moccasin,
clad only in a hunting shirt, leaped in at the open doorwa}',
crawled on his hands and feet to the table, raised hiuLself up.
TALES AND LEGENDS 701
and seized a large i)iece of venison with his teeth. P.efore the
astonished company could recover from their surprise the
scant ly clad old hunter had leaped out at the dt)or and w^as
gone.
MEAT AND KRKAD AND I'UDDING TOO
From Isabella Cromartic, Garland, N. C, c. 1928. See Motif-Index
J1341.
Long time ago when the white folks had slaves one old
marster put two to work in the woods sawing logs. The logs
were hig and it was tiresome work. So after a while ole
marster went down to see how they were getting along.
\\'hen he got there they were sawing mighty slow. The
slaves turned to him and said : "That saw is telling you what
ole miss give us for dinner: 'S-O-U-P, S-O-U-P, S-O-U-P,
S-O-U-P.' "
Then ole marster said : "Go up to the house and tell your
miss to give you both some meat and bread and pudding too."
The slaves went up to the house. Ole miss gave them all
they wanted of meat and bread and pudding too !
When they went back they worked fast. x'\nd this time the
saw said, "Meat-and-bread-and-pudding-too, meatandbreadand-
puddingtoo, MEATANDBREADANDPUDDINGTOO !
WHY MILLIE GOT SANCTIFIED
From Mrs. Norman Herring, Tomahawk, N. C. For a similar story,
see Motif-Index K263.
Millie, an old Negro woman, had a daughter, Tamah, who
told me the following story :
"Twuz when Sanctification fust Ijroke out an' eveybody wuz
crazy 'bout hit. One day some er de niggers wuz gathered
roun' a little sto" when one er dem began to preach. Now
'twuz powerful hot weather and de san' wuz mighty deep all
roun' de sto'. D'rectly maw begun ter shout n' jump. Den
all de niggers began shouting. D'rectly I miss Maw and I
go roun' de sto' a-lookin' fer her and dere she wuz, wif eve'y
rag er clo's off a shakin' dem for dere life. I said, 'Maw,
what ails you?' She never stopt shakin' but she said, 'I know
ef I got em all ter shoutin' dey wouldn't miss me ner notice
me and de fleas wuz about ter eat me up.' "
] don't care if I don't get her
From Isabella Cromartie, Garland, N. C, c. 1928. For this talc, see
Motif-Index K95.
One time two boys were going to see the same girl. The
girl couldn't decide which one she w^anted. So they both went
to the father and asked for her. He got a ])an of water and
702 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
told them to wash their hands and that the one who dried his
hands first without a towel could have the girl. They both
washed their hands. One stood wringing his hands and say-
ing over and over, "I wish I could get her." The other one
shook his hands rapidly in the air saying. "I don't care if I
don't get her, I don't care if I don't get her, I don't care if I
don't get her." And of course his hands were dry first and
he got the girl !
THE BACK LOG
From Isabella Cromartie, Garland, N. C, c. 1928.
A slave came in one day and asked his master, "How much
Christmas kin I have?" The Marster said, "Until the back
log burns out." So the slave cut a black gum log, rolled it in
the ditch and let it stay several days until it was well soaked.
Then he rolled it out so it would dry on the outside. Christ-
mas morning he brought it in and put it on and asked again,
"How much Christmas kin I have?" The old Marster said,
"Until the back log burns out." For seven days he came in
and asked the same question. So the slave had a whole week
of vacation.
X. ANECDOTES
THE TWO SUITORS
From Isabella Cromartie, Garland, N. C., c. 1928. For similar tales, see
Motij-Indcx K1984.
Once upon a time there was a girl who had two suitors,
a rich man and a poor man. One evening the poor man
came to see the girl. The family had planned to have their
regular supper of mush and milk. But in came the rich suitor
and the girl hustled around and got up a good supper. When
they were all seated at the table, they called on the poor man
to say grace. Here is the blessing he offered.
The Lord be praised,
I am amazed
To see how things have mended,
For supper I see
Shortcake and tea
Where miLsh and milk were intended.
SEARCHING FOR A WIFE
From Isabella Cromartie. Garland, N. C, c. 1928. For similar tales,
see Motij -Index H381.
One time a man was out looking for him a wife. He came
to one house and stopped for dinner. They offered to have
T A K V. S A N I) 1. K C, K N 1) S 703
his liorst' fed. hut he told them U) just j^ivc him the scrapings
from the hread tray. At the other ]>lace he said the same
thing. But the next place he came to tliey ofifered to feed his
horse and he told the girl to just give the scrapings from her
hiscuit tray, and the girl howed very politely and said, "We
don't have scrajiings in our bread tray, thank you." Then he
said. "You're the girl for me."
THE GALL] NIPPER
I->om Lcniisc \V. Sloan. Davidson, N. C, 1921. Cf. Motlj-huhw X1021
for similar exaggerations.
In Bladen county some i)eople still believe what a great many
people used to tell al)out the "vociferous gallinippers," a kind
of powerful mosquito that went on the rampage after sundown
and in one well-known case carried off a nigger baby. To
escape them you should stay in the house with the windows
and doors shut or burn light'ood knots or smudges, and if you
go abroad at night carry a torch.
THE MOUNTAIN-CLIMBING STEER
From Louise W. Sloan, Davidson, N. C, 1921. Widely known in
America.
In Wilkes county, foreigners, those from beyond the county
line, are told of the guy-scoot-er-sky, the wonderful native
steer with hind legs several inches longer than forelegs, thus
admirably adapted to mountain climbing.
XI. ANIMAL TALES
THE RACE
From Gara Hearne, Chatham county, 1922-23. See Motif -Index Kn.i
De deer an' the tarpin wuz goin' to run a race. De tarpin
he gits three others beside himself, which made four, an' lie
placed them along the race track. When they started to race,
the tarpin an' de deer started together an' had a certain dis-
tance to run. When dey run dat distance, de deer he hailed
that tarpin, "Where are you at now, brother Tar])in?" De
tarpin says, "Here me, on ahead!"
-An' da nex' time they run another distance and the deer
hailed the tar])in again, "Where you at now, brother Tarpin?"
An' de tarpin .says, "Here me, on ahead!"
An' dis time de las' race, the deer says, "1 must outrun
brother Tarpin." So he called out, "Where are you. brotlier
'J'arpin?'' An' de tarpin .say, "Here me, on ahead!"
An' de deer bein' so outrun bv de tarpin, runs to de tarpin
704 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
an' stomps him all to pieces. From dat day to this de deer
has no use for a tarpin.
BRER FROG IN DE ROAD
From Isabella Cromartie, Garland, N. C, c. 1928. An Aesop fable
(Motif -Index J652.1).
One day Brer Frog was sitting in the road and by and by
here come an ole wagon : "tap-a-lac-a-tap-a-lac." Mother Frog
out in the pond says : "Pa, get out o' the road, here comes a
wagon." And Brer Frog he sits right there and hollers: "Bear
Round, Bear Round." The little frog hollers out: "Get out
of the road, Pa." But Brer Frog he just sits there and hollers ;
"Bear Round, Bear Round." Then the wagon runs right over
Brer Frog and he hollers out : "Whoa, 1 told you to Bear
Round and you Beared Down!"
IN THE CHEST
From Clara Hearne, Chatham county, 1922-23. Motif-Index K714.2.
De fox an' de rabbit knowed where there was lots of apples
and pears. So dey made a plot to call each other an' go befo'
de light come. An' de ole fox went off an' left the rabbit an'
got his an' come back home. Den he went over to the rabbit's
home.
De fox say, "Brer Rabbit, I waked up early dis morning
so I went an' got the pears and apples an' brung 'em fur as
my house. You come go home with me an' you can have some
of mine."
Brer Rabbit went home with him. In a few minutes the
fox said, "Brer Rabbit, I hear de houn dogs, jump in my
chest."
The rabbit got in the chest. Brer Fox put on a kettle of
water on the fire and began to bore holes in the chest. Brer
Rabbit says, "What ye doin', Brer Fox?" Brer Fox say,
^'Givin' you some air." Then the fox got his kettle of boiling
water and began to pour it through the holes. The rabbit say,
"Flea bitin' me." Fox say, "Turn over on de odder side." So
fox scalded the rabbit and ate him up.
TALES AND L EC: EN US 705
BIBLKX^RAPIIY
The references on wliich this chissification of folk tales
is based are too extensive for reprinting here, hut may
be found in my Motif-Index of Folk-Literature (6
vols., Helsinki [Finland] and Bloomington [Indiana],
1932-36). I have confined the present list to a selec-
tion of the most important general works on the folk
tale and have included some of the more important
collections of tales in English, French, German, Ital-
ian, and Spanish, but not in the lesser known lan-
guages. A fuller bibliography may be found in my
book The Folk Talc, New York, 1946, pp. 463-480.
Addy, S. O. Household Tales Collected in the Counties of York,
Lincoln, Derby and Nottingham. London, 1895.
Andrade, Manuel J. Folklore from the Dominican Republic.
New York, 1930.
B axeman, G. W. Zanzibar Tales. Chicago, 1901.
Blade, J. R. Contes Populaires de la Gascoigne. Paris, 1886.
3 vols.
Bleek, W. H. I. Reynard the Fox in South Africa. London,
1864.
Bleek, W. H. I., and L. C. Llovd. Specijnens of Bushman Folk-
lore. London, 191 1.
BoLTE, Johannes, and G. Polivka. Anmerkungen su den Kinder-
und Hausmdrchen der Briider Grimm. Leipzig, 1913-32. 5 vols.
Callaway. C. Nursery Talcs, Traditions and Histories of the
Zulus. London, 18O8.
Campbell, F. J. Popular Tales of the Jl'est Highlands. Edin-
burgh, i860. 4 vols.
Carriere, Joseph M. Tales from the French Folklore of Missouri.
Evanston and Chicago, 1937.
Chase, Richard. The Jack Tales. Boston, 1943.
Chatelain, H. Folk-Tales of Angola. Boston, 1894.
Comhaire-Sylvain, Suzanne. Les Contes Ha'itiens. Port-au-
Prince (Haiti), 1937.
Consiglieri-Pedroso. Portuguese Folk-Talcs (tr. H. Monteiro).
London, 1882.
Cosquin, Emmanuel. Contes Populaires de Lorraine. Paris,
1886.
Cox, ^L•\RIAN Roalfe. Cinderella. London, 1893.
Crane, T. F. Italian Popular Tales. Boston, 1885.
7o6 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE
Cronise, F. M., and H. W. Ward. Ciiniiic Rabbit, Mr. Spider and
the Other Beef. London, 1903.
Curtin, Jeremiah. Hero Tales of Ireland. London, 1894.
Myths and Folklore of Ireland. Boston, 1890.
Dasent, G. W. Popular Tales from the Norse. Edinburgh, 1858.
(3d ed., 1877.)
Tales from the Fjeld. London and New York, 1896.
DoKE, Clement M. Lamba Folk-Lore. Memoirs of the American
Folklore Society, xx, New York, 1927.
Edwards, Charles L. Bahama Songs and Stories. Boston, 1895.
EspiNOSA, AuRELio M. Cueiitos Populares Espanoles. Stanford
University, 1923-26. 3 vols. Enlarged edition, of which original
forms vols, i and 2 : Madrid, 1946-47. 3 vols.
EspiNOSA, JosE Manuel. Spanish Folk Tales from Neiv Me.xico.
New York, 1937.
FoRTiER, Alcee. Louisiana Folk-Tales. Boston, 1895.
Gardner, Emelyn E. Folklore from the Schoharie Hills, New
York. Ann Arbor, 1937.
Griffis, W. E. Szviss Fairy Tales. New York, 1920.
Groome, F. H. Gypsy Folktales. London, 1899.
Harris, Joel C. Nights zm'th Uncle Remus. Boston, 191 1.
Uncle Remus, His Songs and Sayings. New York, 191 5.
Uncle Remus and His Friends. New York, 1892.
Hartland, E. S. English Fairy and Folk Tales. London, 1890.
Herskovits, M. J. and F. S. Suriname Folklore. New York,
1936.
Hunt, Margaret. Grimm's Household Tales. London, 1884.
New ed. New York, 1944.
Hyde, Douglas. Beside the Fire. London, 1890.
Jacobs, Joseph. English Fairy Tales. London, 1890.
More English Fairy Tales. London, 1893.
Jones, C. C, Jr. Negro Myths from the Georgia Coast. New
York, 1888.
Kennedy, Patrick. The Fireside Stories of Ireland. Dublin,
1870.
Legendary Fictions of the Irish Celts. London, 1866.
Larminie, William. IVest Irish I'olk Tales and Romances.
London, 1893.
Luzel, F. M. Contcs Populaircs de Basse-Bretagnc. Paris, 1887.
3 vols.
McKay, J. G. More West Highland Tales. Edinburgh and Lon-
don, 1940.
MuLLEY, J. Fairy Tales from Afar (Danish). London, ihd,
Danish Fairy Talcs. New York, 1919.
T A L K S A N 1) I. K C. K N L) S JOJ
Parsons, Elsik C Folklore of tlic .■iiitillcs. French and Jinglish.
New ^■()rk. i<)33. 3 vols.
Folklore of the Sea Ishnnls. South Carolina. New York,
Folklore of Andres Island, Bahamas. New York, 1918.
F'olklore from the Cape Verde Islands. New Y^ork, 1923.
2 vol J
Penzer, N. M. The Pentamerone of Ciambattista Hasile. Lon-
don, 1932. 2 vols.
Rael, Juan B. "Cuentos Espanoles de Colorado y de Nuevo
Mejico," Journal of American Folklore, hii, 227 ff., i.v, ff.
Rattray, R. S. Akan-Ashante Folk Talcs. Oxford, 1930.
Sebillot, Paul. Contes Populaires de la Hautc-Bretagne. Paris,
1880-82. 3 vols.
Talbot. P. A. In the Shadow of the Bush. New York. 1912.
Thompson, Harold W. Body. Boots and Britches. l'lii]a(k'li)hia,
1940.
Webster, \V. Basque Legends. London, 1877, 1879.
Werner, Alice. Myths and Legends of the Bantu. London, 1933.
Y^eats, W. B. Irish Fairy and Folk Tales. London, 1892.
X.C.F., VoL I, (46)
CONTRIBUTORS TO THIS VOLUME
The following list contains the names of all known con-
tributors to the Frank C. Brown Collection whose contributions
fall within the limits of this volume. The classifications within
the Collection that are so included are : 7 Folk-Sermons ; 9 Folk
Words, Pronunciations, Meanings and Salutations; 10 Place
Names; iia Riddles; 11!) Proverbs and Proverbial Sayings;
12 Children's Rhymes; 13 Traditional Games; 15 Tales and
Legends.
The number of the classification is indicated in italics; the
number of items contributed is indicated by the figures in roman
type.
Except in the glossaries of folk-expressions and proverbial
sayings the names of individual contributors to this volume
appear with the contributions. All, of course, appear in this
list.
A variety of reasons prevented the printing of all the mate-
rials received. Among these were considerations of space,
duplication or near-duplication, incompleteness, insignificance,
anonymity (in most cases), and the desire to include only mate-
rials of North Carolina provenience. The editors are convinced
that nothing of significance has been omitted. n.i.w.
Abrams, \V. Amos: /-'-2 ; IJ-2. Ada: ii-i; u-w. Briggs, Caro-
Adams, Helen: 12-1. Aiken, B. line: 12-2. Britt, George W. H. :
P.: 9-1. Allen, Gay W. : 13-21. y-2. Brogden, Roy O. : 15-1.
Allen, Louis Carr, Jr.: 13-4. Broods, David N.: ii-i. Brower,
Bagley, Charles R. : 9-2; i2-\; Rufus F. : lo-i. Brown, Ethel:
^J-i ; ^5-4- Baker, Eleanor: 11-2. is-j; 13-7. Brown, Frank C:
Ballentine, Mabel: 9-7; 11-7; 9-1; ^^-i- Brown, R. L. : 13-4.
I2-S\ i3-'iS- Barbee, Grace: //-5; Brown, Roy M.: 12-2. Buffaloe,
12-10; 13-6. Barbee, J. W. : J3-1. Ethel Hicks: 9-5; 12-14. BuUard,
Barbee, Mrs. J. W. : 13-1. Bas- Lucile Marie : /.?-i4. Burns, :
com, Louise Rand : 9-1 ; 12-2. 13-2. Burrus, Andrew Jackson :
Baugh, Atha S. : 9-1. Beasley, • /.?-i. Burt, Mrs. W. C: /5-1.
Antoinette, 9-1; 12-12. Blacknall, Bushee, Isabel B. : 12-2.
Mrs. R. D.: 9-7; 12-6; 13-2. Carpenter, Jessie T. : 12-13.
Bowers, Virginia: /.,'-4. Boyd, Carr, Elizabeth J.: 9-1. Carr,
Julian P.: 12-3: 13-2. Bridgers, Mrs. John: 9-19: ii-z\ 12-4,
Furman A.: 9-4: //-81. Briggs, /.?-48. Gates, Mary Anne: /5-1.
CONTRIBUTORS TO THIS VOLUME
Caudill, Russell H. : 13-2. Causor,
C. : /5-1. Cavenaugh. Eli: 15-2.
Chambliss. Laurice Gwinn : 12-s ;
13-2. Chappelle, [Miss Iris?]:
12-5. Chappelle, Iris C. : J2-3.
Charlotte Observer: 15-2. Cheek,
Lucille : 9-6 ; /0-5 ; J7-42 ; 12-29, ;
/J-18. Cheek, Mamie E. : 12-2;
7J-4. Christenbury, Jane: ii-i.
Coon, Charles L. : 15-1. Couch,
Mrs. Daisy Jones : 12-2. Couser,
: 12-1. Covington, Cornelia
E. : i2-g ; 7^-5. Covington, Wil-
liam B. : 13-i; 15-1. Cromartie,
Angus Black : 13-2. Cromartie,
Elizabeth Janet: 9-98; 11-11; 12-
14; 13-6; 13-2. Crump, Mrs.
L. B. : 13-4. Cumming. William
C: 12-2.
Daulken, William C. : 9-2 ; 12-
13; ^.?-5- Davis, Junius: 12-2.
Davis, S. M.: 12-1. Dillard, Rich-
ard: 9-8; 70-1; 75-5. Doering,
Eileen: 9-1; 77-1. Doering, John
Frederick: 7-1 1; 9-1 1; 70-i ; 13-2;
13-y. Downs, William R. : 13-1.
Doxie, Elsie: 9-170; 70-7; 77-60;
12-10; 15-2. Dunston, R. T. : g-2;
13-2. Durham Morning Herald:
13-6. Durham Sun: 15-2.
Eckerson, Margaret: 13-1. Ed-
wards, Raleigh B. ; lo-i ; 15-1.
Ellis, Mrs. Alma Jones: 7-7; 9-1.
Fairley. : 12-1; 13-2.
Farrior, Minnie Bryan: 9-20; 7.?-
20; 13-6. Fletcher, Eula G. : 75-1.
Foreman, Wilma : 7j-6. Fries,
Adelaide L. : 9-1 ; 75-5. Frisbie.
Zilpah R. : 9-205; 70-3; 77-51; 12-
34 ; i3-i- Fulton, Maurice G. :
7.?-2. Furr, Eva : 9-2 ; 77-2 ; 13-4.
Fussell, Tina: 77-1 ; 7i'-io.
Gant, Miss — : 9-1. Gill,
Thomas J. : 7.?-4. Goldberg, Caro-
line L. : 9-16. Gosney, Minnie
Stamjjs: 77-2; 7.'-42; 7J-26. Gray-
son, Alda: 12-1. Green, Paul: 7-4;
77-110. Green, Paul and Eliza-
beth: 9-312; 77-1654; 7_'-io8; 7.?-
67; 75-11. Greensboro Daily Ne2vs:
75-1. Grigg, W. Q.: 9-1; n-H)
12-12; 13-3; 75-5. Grimes, Minnie
Bryan: 12-1.
Hauser, Jessie : 7-6 ; 9-7 ; 10-4 ;
77-68; 7.?-79; 7J-13; 75-3. Hauser,
Lucille : 12-2. Hawfield, James :
75-9 . Hearne, Clara: 7-4; 9-106;
70-37; J/-136; 7^-56; 13-23; 15-7.
Henderson, Amy: 9-7; 11-16; 12-
52 ; 13-g ; 13-3. Herlong, Edith
Virginia : 77-3. Herring, Mrs.
Norma J.: 9-23; 10-6; 77-10; 12-
26; 13-14; 13-16. Hickman, Wes-
ley J.: 9-5. Hicks, Marguerite:
13-10. Hicks, Nathan: 9-1. Hicks,
Mrs. Nora: 75-1. Higgs, Mar-
garite: 9-1; 7i>-2. Hill, D. H. :
9-3. Hobgood, : 75-1;
Hodgin, : 13-6. Hoffman,
George E: 9-13,- 13-2; 13-1. Hole-
man, Joan and Hallie : 9-35 ; 77-
20; 7.?-4; 13-16; 13-2. Holton,
Aura: 9-1; 77-5; 7i'-i8; 13-10.
Holton, Florence E. : 7^-6 ; 7^-5.
Howard, Valeria Johnson: .9-5:
7i'-42; 7J-14. Howell, E. V.: 7.?-
27 ; 13-2. Hull, Sue Virginia :
75-1. Hunt, Kilgo: 77-2.
Jenkins, Frederica : 9-1 ; 70-2
Johnson, Lois: 9-2; 7^-9; 7.?-io.
Johnson, Thomas M.: 9-1; 7i'-4-
Johnson, Wheeler: 9-1. Jones,
Katherine Barnard: 9-12; 13-5.
Jordan, Margaret Gabel : 75-1.
Jordan, Susie Spurgeon : 9-3 ; 7.?-
21.
K., W. : 75-1. Knox, George E. :
9-1; 75-2. Knox, Carl G. : 70-12;
/7-20. Knox, Joseph C. : 13-6.
Kuykendall, Otis P.: 13-1.
Lambert, Autie Bell : 13-2. Lam-
bert, Elsie: 77-1; 7i'-2 ; 13-7.
Lamm, Dixie V. : 12-s ; 7.?-7. Lan-
caster, Mrs. Nilla: 7-4; 9-34; 70-
5; 77-49; 7.P-22; 7.?-i9; 75-9. Lay,
George W. : 9-3; 13-1. Leake,
William B. : 7.?-2. Leary, [Thomas
F. ?] : 9-1. Leary, Thomas F. :
13-1. Little, George C. : 7.?-2.
Long, Robert E. : /0-6. Lucas,
Louise: 77-4; 7-'-io. Lumberg,
Martha: 12-1. Lunsford, Bascom
CONTRIBUTORS TO THIS V O 1. U M K
•II
Lamar: y-70 (contril)uted direct to
Vroi. Wilson, luit in ins. collec-
tion) : /M. Add from Wilson's
List.
McAdams, J. (iUim. jr.: /-'-13.
MacCaulay, Joanne: /.i-i. Mc-
Dowell. Dorothy: /-'-i. Mclnnis,
Nina: 9-1; /.?-i2. McKay. James
Alexander: 9-1. McKinnon, Mrs.
Henry A.: 10-2. McMillan, Harry:
13-1. Macrea, Julia: 9-8. Mack,
Kathleen: /5-1. Mack. Kather-
ine : i.^-g. Magazine article, 1931 :
75-1. Mangum, Eura: /.?-i. Mans-
field, Mamie: 7-8; 9-36; 11-49;
12-21 ; ^J-35 ; J^5-^- Marshbank,
Flossie: 9-5; 7.^-11: /.,'-5. Mar-
tin, Hubert Clay: /5-1. Massey,
Lucille : 9-97 ; lo-z ; 77-96 ; 7i'-75 ;
^J-15; ^5-4- Maxwell, Nancy Lsa-
belle: 7J-i. Meacham, Charles T. :
10-2. Merritt, F. B. : 15-1. Midg-
ett, P. D., Jr.: 75-1. Miller,
Jacob Weller : 13-2. Monroe Jour-
nal: 75-1. Moody, Evelyn: 7-?-2.
Morgan. Macie : 7_'-5 ; 7 j-6. Mor-
gan, Ruth : 1^-2. Mull, Bessie
Lou : 13-2.
Newton, Helen Adams : 12- .
Neiv York Times: 15-2. New
York Ncivspaf^cr: 75-25. Nezvs
and Observer (Raleigh) : 7-6.
Nichols, Madge T. : g-y ; 77-2.
Overton, Doris: 9-20; 7_'-i3;
/.?-8.
Page, Lida: 9-3 \ 1^-27; rj-35-
Parker, Ella: 9-4: 7_'-i6; 13-7.
Patten, Constance : 9-6 ; 75-2.
Pearce, Allie Ann : 9-22 ; 7_'-38 ;
7jf-ii. Peatross, Edith: 7.?-i.
Peterson, Mildred: 9-51; 77-86;
7^-14; 13-2S. Pickens, Marshal
L: 9-1. Poole, Ivey T. : 7-'-6;
^.?-7; ^5-1- Poovey, Maybelle:
75-4. Pridgen, Mrs. [Loraine L
Seley?] : 7,?-2. Pridgen, Roberta
Elizabeth: ' 9-6: 7i'-8. Proffit,
Frank : 75-4. Pruette, Mary
Olura: 9-4; 77-1 ; 7.?-i6; 7.?-9.
Raleigh Daily Neivs: 15-1. Rob-
bins, Jewel, 7^-8; 7,?-6. Robinson.
Ethyl Aleiic: ii-i. Root, Caro-
lyne K.: 11 -4. Royster, Esther
Frances: 9-7; /J'-i3; 13-g. Royster,
J. M.: 9-3. Royster, V. C. : 12-2.
Russell, Kate S. : 7-2 ; 9-74 ; lo-b ;
II-S7; 12-6; 13-21; 75-11.
Satterfield, Clem : 9-2. Scarbor-
ough, Mary: 7-4; 9-1; 70-3: 77-7;
i2-b; 13-3; 75-1. Schaffncr, John,
III: 75-1; 75-2. Self. Julia E. :
12-7. Shaw, Henry E. : 15-1.
Sheppard, Susan: 75-1. Simpson,
Eleanor C. : 70-2; 77-25; i^-7;
13-2; 75-2. Sinclair, Mildred S. :
77-1. Sloan, Louise Withers: 9-1;
75-1. Smathers, Miss [Pauline?] :
9-3. Smathers, Pauline: 7.?-i.
Smith, Miss : 7.?-2. Smith,
Helen Eraser : 75-2. Smith, Lizzie
May : 7.?-2. Smith, Merle : 9-3 ;
77-6; 13-S; 75-1. Smith, Sadie;
7.?-6; 13-20. Smith, Thomas: 9-
87; 70-13; ^^-5: ^•?-44; 13-^2; 15-
16. Smith, W. H.; 9-1. Smith,
W^illiam S. : 75-7. Sondley, F. A.:
75-2. Southern Literary Mes-
senger: 9-5. Spivey, E. B., Jr.:
75-1. Stack, Norman LeRoy:
9-1; 77-2; 75-1. Stephens, Erwin
D. : 75-1. Stevens, James: 75-1.
Stone, Alma Irene : 9-4 ; 7_'-27 ;
13-6. Stroupe, Carrie : 7^-2. Sut-
ton. Elizabeth B. : 70-2; 77-6. Sut-
ton, Mrs. Maude Minish ; 9-391;
70-17: 77-21; 75-6. Swaringen,
Roy A.: 7-4.
Teeter, Zebulon : 75-1. Thomas,
Mrs. C. C. : 13-2. Thomas, Eltie :
75-11. Thompson, Irene: 9-1; 7.?-
40; 7.?-i2. Tillet, Mr. and Mrs.
Charles K. : 7.?-i. Timmons, Mrs.
Laura B. : 12-2. Trader, William
D. : 9-31: 11-6. Tucker, Grace:
77-12; 7_'-4; 7.?-2. Tugman, Alex-
ander: 75-1. Turner, James B. :
7_'-2. Turner, Joseph K. : 75-1.
Vance. Mrs. Ira M.: 75-12.
\^ann, Dorothy M.: 9-11 ; 7.?-20.
Vaught, Mrs. Gertrude Allen:
9-112; 70-7; 7_'-93; 7.?-iiO; 75-4.
Waggoner, Thomas R. : T3-4.
12
CONTRIBUTORS TO THIS VOLUME
Walker, Edith: 9-6. Walker, M.:
11-2. Walker, Mary L. : 9-3.
Wall, Martha E. : g-2; 12-25; 13-
12. Walton, Beulah : 12-2; 13-4.
Ward, Rosalie G. : 15-1. Ware,
Robert D. ; 12-2. Watkins, Laura :
12-2. Watkins, Louise F. : 9-1 ;
12-4; 13-14. Watkins, Sarah K. :
/i'-i3; 13-3. Watson. Fawn: 9-12;
11-7 ; 12-6. Watson, Sarah K. :
13-5. Webb, Pearl A.: 9-5; 13-2;
15-2. Whitley, Edna : 0-3 ; 11-6 ;
12-2; 13-6; 13-2. Williams, C. :
9-1. Williams. Crockette : 9-2;
ii-i. Willis, Rebecca: 13-2; 13-1.
Wilson, George P. : 9-478 (con-
tributed in the process of editing,
not in original ms. collection).
Winston, R. W. : 10-7; 13-2. ll'in-
ston-Salem Journal and Sentinel:
75-1. Wood, "Granny": 13-1.
Wood. Ray : 77-6. Woodie. Mr.
and Mrs. : 75-1. Wright,
J. T. C. : 12-4 ; 13-7.
D00479265X
398.0S756 D877F v. 1 617427
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