This image of a young African-American girl with a calf was taken circa 1900-1929 somewhere in Alabama. It is available at the Alabama Department of Archives.
According to notes taken by Lillian Finnell during her time as a Works Progress Administration writer in Tuscaloosa circa 1930, black sharecroppers had a explanation that went something like this:
A twig breaks behind you while you walk through the woods
"When you are walking along and hear a stick crack behind you, it's two dead folks arguin' bout whether it's you or not. One says, "It wasn't her"; another says, "Yes, it was". So they break the stick to make you turn round right quick so they can see you and whether it is you."
A dog goes under the house and howls
"When a person is sick and a dog goes off under the house and howls, the persons's going to die."
An owl screeches on your house
"When a screech owl comes and sits on your house and hollers "He-e-e-eh", it's a sure sign of death. But run and put a poker in the fire and heat it red hot and it'll keep Death away."
How to cure the chicken pox
"When chillun have the chicken-pox, make them go into the fowl house nine morning's in a row and shoo the chickens off the roof; the chickens flying over them will cure the chicken pox."
How to soothe arthritis
"When people get old and their joints get stiff, kill a buzzard and boil it. Then skim the grease off the water in which it boiled. Rub your joints with the buzzard oil and you'll get spry again."
