. That's the way with some people in church. You can't
never get them to the front for nothin'. You has to fish deep for
them. The next one is the jellyfish. It ain't got no backbone to face
the right thing. That the trouble with our churches today. Too many
jellyfishes in em.' Next, he say is the gold fish--good for nothin'
but to look at. They is pretty. That the way folks is. Some of them go
to church just to sit up and look pretty to everybody. Too pretty to
sing; too pretty to say Amen! That what the parson preached Sunday.
Well, I'm a full-grown man and a full-grown Christian, praise the
Lord. Yes,'m, parson is a real preacher."

VOODOO MAN
UNCLE MARION JOHNSON, EX-SLAVE.
[Date Stamp: OCT 26 1936]

"Yes young missey ah'll sho tell yo-all whut yo wants ter know. Yes'm
ole Uncle Marion sho kin. Mah price is fo' bits fer one question.
No'm, not fo' bits fo th' two uv yo but fo' bits each. Yo say yo all
ain't got much money and yo all both wants ter know th' same thing.
Well ah reckon since yo all is been comin' roun' and tawkin' to ole
Uncle Marion ah cud make hit answer th' one question fuh both uv yo
fuh fo' bits 'tween yo. No'm ah caint bring hit out heah. Yo all will
haft tuh come inside th' house."

"[TR: " should be (]We went inside the house and Uncle Marion
unwrapped his voodoo instrument which proved to be a small glass
bottle about 2-1/2 inches tall wrapped to the neck in pink washable
adhesive tape and suspended from a dirty twine about six inches long.
At the top of the twine was a slip knot and in a sly way Uncle Marion
would twist the cord before asking the question. If the cord was
twisted in one direction the bottle would swing in a certain direction
and if the cord was twisted in the other direction the bottle would
swing in the opposite direction. Uncle Marion thought that we did not
observe this and of course we played dumb. By twisting the cord and
slyly working the muscles of his arm Uncle Marion made his instrument
answer his questions in the way that he wished them answered.)

"Now ifn the answer to huh question is yais swing towards huh and ifn
taint be still. (The bottle slowly swung toward me.) Now missy see hit
have done answered yo question and yo done seed hit say yes. Yes'm hit
sho am yes and yo' jes wait and see ifn ole Uncle Marion aint right.
Now yo jes answer the same question fuh tother young missy heah. Now
ifn the answer is yais yo turn toward huh which am the opposit