Page:Journal of American Folklore vol. 12.djvu/65

 Memoirs of the American Folk- Lore Society. 57

4. A fin-bone of the haddock, carried in the pocket, will cure rheuma- tism. Stilly Cove, Trinity Bay, N. F.

5. A small serrated bone, found in the head of a codfish, is carried as a " lucky bone." New England.

6. A small bone from the head of a gar is carried as a " lucky bone."

Western Central States.

7. A smooth white " stone," found in the nest of a fishing-hawk, is car- ried for luck. This is probably a small bone from the head of a perch or other fish. Chestertown, Md.

8. Smoothly polished pebbles are carried for good luck, and are called " lucky stones." Chestertown, Md.

9. Two little bones, found in the head of a certain fish, are called lucky stones ; but the good luck comes only after they are lost.

Fort Worth, Tex.

10. A small bone, cut from a living turtle, is carried as a " lucky bone."

New England.

11. When the king-crab has a single claw (one half gone), break it off and carry it for luck. It is called a " lucky claw." Cohasset, Mass.

12. The left hind claw (hallux) of a crow is carried about for a "luck charm." Cambridge, Mass.

13. The globular head of the femur of a pig is kept in a box or bureau drawer as a " lucky bone."

Petit Codiac, N. B., and Baltimore, Md. (negro).

14. A veal bone, probably the head of the femur, is kept as a "lucky bone." Central New York.

A striking superstition of this sort is that of Germans in Ontario, as reported in a previous article of the present number. A black cat is to be stolen, boiled to death, and reduced to pulp ; the bones are to be picked out from the mess with the teeth while gazing in a mirror ; at a certain point in the operation, the performer will lose sight of the reflection of himself. When this happens, the bone at the time in the mouth, and to the agency of which this effect is due, is to be preserved. At any time, by inserting the bone between the teeth, the carrier has the power of making himself invisible. How singular such a belief, retained to the beginning of the twentieth century ! The underlying idea is obvious. A black cat, as a witch, possesses the ability of transformation ; such magic power must be due to some particular element of the organism ; the thing to be done is to discover that element, which confers on its possessor a

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