er folks that
tell it ter me sed it wuz the trufe. "There wuz a woman that wuz sick,
her name wuz Mary Jones. Well she lingered and lingered till she finally
died. In them days folks all around would come ter the settin up of
somebody wuz dead. They done sent some men after the casket since they
had ter go 30 miles they wuz a good while getting back so the folkses
decided ter sing. After while they heared the men come up on the porch
or somebody got up ter let em in. Chile jest as they opened the door
that 'oman set straight up on that bed, and sich another runnin and
gittin out of that house you never heard; but some folks realized she
wuzn't dead so they got the casket out der way so the wouldn't see it
cause they wuz fraid she would pass out sho nuff; just the same they wuz
fraid of her too. The men went off and come back with pistols guns,
sticks and every thing and when this 'oman saw em she sed don't run I
wont bother you' but child they left there in a big hurry too. Well
this here Mary went to her sister's house and knocked on the door and
said "Let me in this is Mary I want to talk to you and tell you where
I've been. The sisters' husband opened the door and let her in. This
'oman told 'em that God had brought her to and that she had been in a
trance with the Lord. After that everyone wuz always afraid of that
'oman and they wouldn't even sit next 'ter her in church. They say she
is still living.

This happened right yonder in McDonough years ago. A gal went to a party
with her sweet'art and her ma told her not ter go well she went on any
how in a buggy. When they got ter the railroad crossing a train hit the
buggy, and killed the gal; but the boy didn't get hurted at all. Well
while they wuz sittin up with this dead gal, the boy comes long there in
his buggy with anudder gal in the buggy; and do you know that horse
stopped right in front 'uv that house and wouldn't bulge one inch. No
matter how hard he whipped that horse it wouldn't move instid he rared
and kicked and jumped about and almost turned the buggy over. The gal in
the buggy fainted. Finally a old slavery time man come along and told em
to git a quart of whiskey and pour it around the buggy and the hant
would go away so they did that and the spirit let 'em pass. If a han't
laked whiskey in they lifetime and you pour it round when theys at they
will go away.

The following are true conjure stories supposedly witnessed by Mrs.
Heard.

There wuz a R