RABURN, SM>HRONIA CATHARINE. 'FOURTH INTERVIEW. 12759 - . 32 ' RABURN, SAPKRONIA CATHARINE. FOURTH INTERVIEW.12759

June 8 Russell Gray *% Investigator .' ' January 21, 1938',

Interview with 3B.phronia .Catharine Rabur'h, Hartshorn©, Oklahoma, Route 1. 3ARLY DAY 'OF WHITE PEOPI£

Here in Oklahoma one hears many stories of the

superstitions of the Indians. "Everyone who has lived

here fcr any length of time will tell you such storiesj.'

stories about queer fantastic ceremonies that the Red

Men used to appease the spirits. The Indians, these

• people will tell you, believed that dreams were signs

from heaven, thought that the actions of animals and

birds -conveyed warnings of the future, believed that

sickness was caused by evil spirits, and were generally

very simple and credulous. These stories, are true—but

there is another side to the picture, a side seldom

•Tjroughtout by these folks who are so shoGked by the

weird irrational beliefs and customs of the Indians,

White pe'bple had beliefs and practices just as strange

and sense less—more so, because they had less excuse for

stich- ignorance! .having more chances'to read books and '

attend schools. Indian customs, at l»ast, wero never

downright, silly. • 34

RAKJRN, ".SAPHBQNI* CATHARINE. FQURTH I^TiiBVIEW. 12V59'

I earn* to the. Choctaw Nation in 1890,- and have -

lived here, in different communities, ever since. I

raised a large family of children to maturity, and helped

my husband to make a living for them, even doing work in-

the fields when necessary. I visited back, and forth

with neighbors and observed their daily lives, their cus-

toms and'beliefs. In the early days, everyone seomed

superstitious to some extent, most of them very much so

and I am- sorry to-s.iy .that I have been guilty of having

a few harmless superstitions, myself.

"Everyone knows about the superstitions regarding

Fridays, the number thirteen, black cats, glimpsing the moon over the shoulder, walking under ladders, horae-

sfeoe's, four-leaf clovers,*spilling , hovi ^ ; ±P

and "so on.

Other superstitions, not so comonly known maybe, were part of our daily lives fifty ypars .igo, And people

actually believed them. For instance, it was considered bad to pay back salt that had b*»«».n borrowed. To

borrow a knife was bad luck unless the borrower paid som© . 35

RAHJfiN, SAPHRONIA CATHABJNS. FOURTH. INTEHVIfciV. 12759

trifle for it, such as a *. It was bad luck for a

peroon to place his shoes higher than his head. It was

badNluck to put on the left shoe first.

Young girls believed that ir\th«>y would go to a

well a-t noon on the. first day of May and flash the sun-

light down into the well with a mirror they would s*e the*

countenance of their future husbands.

Girls wo.'e also taught that if they would go out

into the woods during the evening- of the first day in--

May they, could determine their future spouses. They were

supposed to go to a log that they had nev»r been to before;

' they must sit on the log and not mtter a word. If a girl

was to marry an old man or a widower she would hear a

rooster crow.^ If her future husband was to be a young

man she would hear a bird sing. But if her fate was

never to nrfrry she would hear her,coffin knock.

Did you ev$r hear of a "dumb-supper"? Thla was

supposed to be infallible. One girl could go through * this ceremony, but it was usually done by a group of

young girls. It also was to det*»jinine the identity of

a girl's future husband. Let us say that three gir'le 36

RABORN, SAPHRONIA CATHARINI,. FOURTH INTERVIEW. 12759

decide to s*r.ve a dumb-supper. They must cook the meal, set the table, and serve th* food, without saying a word.

•fi.ll their acts must be performed backward; they must back up to the table, far instance, to set down a dish, -and no one can laugh or thp s^ell will be broken. Then, when the meal is .ready and the girls sit down to eat, each girl's future husband will come in and take the place, set for him.

Girls were, taught that if they would go to an abandoned house at night, and, without using lights would toss a ball of yarn into the darkness thrcugh a window, -

they could determine their future mates. The girl was supposed to hold to one end of the yarn, and her future

•husband would wind up the otb»r end of it** « People believed that if they planted a cedar tree in their yards they would have bad luck; when th* tree got large enough to shade a grave, they thought, the on© who had planted the tree would die.

Fifty y°ars ago thpre were literally thousands of superstitions that cluttered up our lives. I have men-' tioned only a few. And you will notice that the ones I 37

RABURN, SAPHRONIA CATHABINE. FOUhTH-1NTMV1EW.12759

have told you about were, while absolutely useless, at

least more or less harmless. But now I want to tell you of superstitions that were of a nature to cause bad < health and possible" dpath.

3very illness commo.n to the pioneers, wh«»n I came to the Territory, had a -rooted "Cure." md. while this "cure" might not be harmful in itself, it kept people from treating the sickness in a sensible fashion;

they thought th^y were doing what was necessary, and a neglected dispas* ofte»n caused d»ath.

On* of the silliest things I ever heard about was the method an old woman near foteau used to cure her young daiighter of diptheria. She tied a liv» frog to the child*a throat with a flannel clotn, and l/»ft the frog there until it died. In spite of this the littlp girl got well. 'Hie woman bragged to me time and again that her action saved the >girlfs life.

I am sure that you have h^.ird that th» Choctaws thought sickness was caused by *»vil spirits; that they sang and danced at a sick Indian's house to drive the 38

RABURN, SAPHRONIA CATHERINE. FOURTH INTiBVIEft. 12759

spirits away. Bat did you know that white people used to have a sinular custom?

Y»ars ago doctors would come to a man's house when he was sick and b*»at on a.hollow log with«a stick in an effort to cur<* him; not Indians, but whites. Of course these "doctors" werp usually neighborhood men who got what training they had from some older person; they were not educated, .and their idea, if any, was to. distract the sick person's mind from his troubles by the sound of their drumming on the log.

I was raised near Hackr>tt City, Arknr;s-s, and this custor. I have just told you about was practiced there as far back as I can remember; it is possible th« custom originated in Arkansas. Then when so Piany Arkansas people moved to the Territory they took the custom with th^m.

If a child had thrash, or sore mouth, sompon^ who w:-.s not a relative co^.ld cur» the affliction (so it was believed) by taking a white-cak leaf' and going through a certain ceremony. The on? effecting th° cure had to take the child out of sight of the house and repeat thr^e times, 39

RABURN, S&PHBOyiA CATHARINE. FOURTH INTiSVIJSiff. 12759

•7

"Thrash away from here! n A man could teach this method to a woman, or a woman, could teach a man, but if someone

• "i taught it to a person of the same sex the spell would"be broken. As for that, nearly all-of these "cures", or charms, were like that; ajperson had to l^arn them from someone of the opposite sex. <•

* sure cure for asthma in children was ^-follows: take

the child out into the woods to a tree that he had never seen before. Have him stand against the tree and mark the spot wh^r** the top of his head touched the bark. Then bore a hole at that spot and put a lock of th? child's hair in the hole. The child •rsust walk away without looking back at the tree and he must not go back th^r^, <»v<=r. *

To remove-a sty from th»' «y»'a person would go to a crossroads and'rppeat thre** times, "bty, sty, leave my ey°; go to the next one passing byI"

To remove a wart from th» hand -s person w^uld st^al a dishrag and bury it -nd when he had forgotten the deed his

•9 wart would disappear. 40

RABURN, SAPHBONIA CATHARINE. -FOURTH INTERVIEW. 18759

'8

Sven o£ter I moved to the Territory people still

•* bled pcitients for almost every .sort of sickness; bleeding was t' *> last i-pLcrt, and was-.supposed to cure wher» ^vory- thing else failed. Svery family b-.d'a lance to use in - » bleeding people. The lanc<=> tifcd a spring on it that could be set so the point of the lance could go only so deep and no d^oper. If there wasn't a lance' handy, a knife with a piece of cork o\ the point woul<^ S»J?VJ* thp ]>ur

I remember once ricnVeftel** my "oldest d

* •* ,- Sarah, was born whpri I v/as- in t>ed 'for ov^r & iwith. unable tc eat anything except ruilk an*d soup, they blpd m*> until • my blood lost its red color and looked a^pal* yellow* I • got so weak it'Ua wond«r I didnlt ai» but th» old quack who was attending n^ told my husband it was th" thing to do.

»e made teas fron; herbs and ma dp our sick fdks drink them and it may be that th»re was sone practical value in those herb t«as, But we also made teas out of other things besides herbs, and I doubt very mu/jh'if* all of those drinks wer* beneficial; in fact, I imagijie some1 were harmful. For instance, as a cure for hives I have 41

RABUHN, SAPHRONlA CATHARINE. FOURTH INTERVIEW. 12759

people to giv» t»a ma dp from little bugs caught from

11 und<»r a rotting board. <>n, called th» bugs WBOW bugs.- —For colic people gave a t«a called "night eye" msde from the * large, round-looking callous, on the insid<=> of a horse's leg.

Teas made from th« dro])p\ngB of anii ale w^r<- .oalled "saffron c to s.M Cow saffron was good for pneumonia, ^nd 8h«=;^p ,gnd chicken saffron wai> good for colic.