It Could Happen Here - CZM Book Club: "Ark of Bones," by Henry Dumas with Dr. Treasure Shields Redmond (Part 1)

Episode Date: October 11, 2026

Dr. Treasure Shields Redmond reads Margaret and Hazel a ghost story about transcendance, legacy and an unearthly river boat, by exalted ancestor Henry Dumas who was murdered by a white cop in 1968.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. I'm Melissa Jeltson, host of the What Happened to Her podcast. We're kicking off the season with the Sandra Birchmore story, a case the police rode off as a suicide in a snowstorm. Her family never bought it, and the man they suspected wore a badge. You never know who that devil is because he's wearing in disguise. Sometimes it's a police uniform.

And you can get access to all episodes 100% ad-free with an I-Heart True Crime Plus subscription exclusively on Apple Podcasts, available only to IHeart True Crime Plus subscribers. So don't wait. Head to Apple Podcasts, search for IHeart True Crime Plus, and subscribe today. I'm Lacey Mosley, author, actor, stand-up comedian, creator, and host of Scam Goddess Podcasts. The True Crime Comedy Podcasts all about robbery, fraud, and those who practice it. Each week, I bring on an amazing guest. Ooh, I scammed them. What? I can talk to you for an hour. You're a generational yapper, like me. That's why I had to make yapping a job.

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I'm Fox Sports Reporter Jenny Taft. And I'm former U.S. Women's National Soccer team player, Carly Lloyd. And on our new podcast, whatever it takes, nothing is off limits. I played with players that didn't truly love the game. I found the love with the ball at my foot. I don't care what I'm being asked to do at Fox. I'm going to go get some reps and love it and embrace it. Listen to whatever it takes with Carly Lloyd and Jenny Taft on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Cool Zone Media. Book Club. Book Club. Book Club. Book Club. Book Club. Hello. And welcome to Cool Zone Media Book Club.

The only book club where you don't have to do the reading because often I do it for you. But sometimes other people do the reading for you. That includes this week. I'm your host, Margaret Kiljoy, and today, my producer, Hazel. Hi, Hazel. Hi. We are honored to be joined by Dr. Treasure Shields Redmond, who is here to read us a story. How are you today, Dr. Treasure?

I'm doing quite well, indeed. So glad to be here. Dr. Treasurer, you are many things. You are a poet, an educator, a history keeper. And would you be able to introduce yourself a little bit and talk about yourself and your own work? Of course. Greetings. It is I, your erstwhile conjurer, Dr. Treasure, here to talk about an exalted and ascended ancestor, Henry Dumas. I am a professor of creative writing.

I am a professor of African-American lit, a poet. a culture keeper, a conjurer, and the founder of the nonprofit, The Community Archive, where we collect and preserve the oral histories, the disappearing stories of mostly African-American communities. It's all ancestors all the time with me, and I am so happy to be here to talk about the beloved Henry Dumas. I am really excited about everything you just said about your I'm going to check a lot of it out. You also have a podcast, too. Is that true? I do. So I'm a tragic hipster, so I have several podcasts. Excellent. Me too.

Right, exactly. We just keep collecting them because we want to hear ourselves talk. But most of the podcasts are archived at the communityarchive.org. So one that I'm really proud of is the memoir my dad wouldn't write. which is a podcast where my father and I talk through his life chronologically, really revealing, challenging, fascinating conversation. So everyone who has the type of dad, who is closed mouth, and my dad is a member of the silent generation. So I am always surprised at how forthcoming he is. But if you have a dad that's more like most people's dads are, you will really enjoy the. the revelatory nature of that conversation.

So you can check it out at the community archive.org, or you can go to Spotify or any of the other places. You listen to pods. And it's called The Memoir My Dad Wouldn't Write. That's awesome. And a lot of people who listen to this show also listen to my history podcast. Cool people did cool stuff. And if you listen to that podcast, you should definitely check out that memoir because,

well, now I'm going to because it sounds really cool. It is October. It is spooky month, although I like to believe that spooky month is every month. And I hear that you have a ghost story for us. Yes. So in 1968, our beloved ancestor, Henry Dumas, succumbed to the bullet from a policeman. He was murdered. and his legacy of incredible unfinished novel, beautiful prose, wonderful poetry,

fell to his good friend, my father, Eugene Redmond, to execute. So I have been menteed by my dad for some decades now on how to love on the legacy of Henry Dumas. Henry Dumas wrote a story oft anthologized called Arc of Bones so Arc of Bones is our ghost story I'll be reading today Hell yeah

I also think that this work that you talk about about I guess this is what we're going to talk about next episode when we do a whole interview about this but I'm really excited about this idea of consciously intentionally preserving someone's legacy I mean anyone's legacy but especially someone who is

fucking murdered by the car You know, and what it means to be a cultural creator in a position in which you can get murdered by the cops, and therefore what it means to have an entire community prepared to help take control of that legacy. So I'm really excited about this. Thank you. Me too. All right, let's hear it. Ark of Bones by Henry Dumas. Head I, he was following me.

I knowed he was following me, but I just kept going, like I wasn't paying him no mind. Had I, he never fished much, but I guess he knowed the river good as anybody. But he ain't know where the fishing was good. That's why I knowed he was following me. So I figured I'd better fake him out. I ain't want nobody with a mojo bone following me. That's why I was going along downriver instead of up, where I know fishing was good. Had I, he hard to fool.

Like I said, he knowed the river was good. One time I rode across to New Providence with him and his old man. His old man was drunk. Head-eye, he took the raft on across me and him. His old man stayed in New Providence. But me and Head-I come back. That's when I knowed how good of a river rat he was. Head-eye, he okay, except when he gets some kind of notion in that big head of his.

Then he act crazy, trying to show off his age. older in me, but he a little big for his age. Some people say reading too many books will stunt your growth. Well, on head eye, everything is stunted, except his eyes and his head. When he gets some crazy notion running through his head, then you can't get rid of him till you know what's on his mind. I know something was eating on him, just like I know that it was him following me. I kept close to the path lest he think I was trying to lose him. About a mile from my mind, house, I stopped and peed in the bushes, and then I got a chance to see how Head Eye was moving along. Head Eye, he drooped when he walked. They call him Head Eye, because his eyes looked bigger in his

head when you looked at him sideways. Head I about the ugliest guy I ever run upon, but he was good nature. Some people call him Eagle Eye. He about the smartest nigger in that raggedy school, too. But most time we call him Head Eye. He was always full. finding things, bringing them to school or to the cotton patch. One time he found a mojo bomb, and all the kids sent me went round talking about him putting a curse on his old man. I ain't say nothing. It won't none of my business. But head I, he ain't got no devil in him.

I found that out. So I'm kicking off the clay from my toes, but mostly I'm thinking about how to find out what's on his mind. He got this notion in his head about me hauled. getting the luck. So I'm faking him out, letting him droop behind me. Pretty soon, I break off the path and head for the river. I could tell I was far enough. The river was getting ready to bend. I come up on a snake twisting toward the water. I was getting ready to bust that snake's head when a fox run across my path. Before I could turn my head back, a flock of birds hit the air pretty near scaring me half to death. When I got on down to the bank,

I see somebody's cow lopping on the levee way down the river. Then to really upshel me, here come head eye drooping long like he had ten tons of cotton on his back. Head eye, what you following me for? I was mad. Ain't nobody thinking about you, he said, still coming. What's you following behind me before? Ain't nobody following you. But hell, you ain't. I ain't following you.

somebody's following me and I like to know who he is. Well, maybe somebody's following me. What you mean? Just what you think? Head eye, he was getting smart on me. I'd give him one of my looks, meaning that he better watch his smartness around me because I'd have him down eating dirt in a minute, but he act like he got a crazy notion.

You come this far ahead of me. You must be got a call from the spirit. What spirit? I come to wonder if Head Eye ain't got to work in his mojo too much. Come on. Wait, I grabbed his sleeve. He took out a little sack and started pulling out something. You fishing or not, I asked him.

Yeah, but not for the same thing. You see this bone? Head Eye, he took out that mojo. I stepped back. I wasn't scared of an old bone, but everybody had been talking about Head Eye and him getting sanctified, but he never went to church. Only his mama went. His old man only went when he's sober, and that'd be about once or twice a year. So I look at that bone. What kind of voodoo

you work with that mojo? This is a key bone to the colored man. Ain't but one in the whole world. And you got it? I act like I ain't believe him, but I was testing him. I never, ever rush upon a thing I don't know. We got it. We got. It belongs to the people of God. I ain't feel like people of God, but I just let him talk on. Remember when Ezekiel was in the valley of dry bones? I reckon I did. And the hand of the Lord was upon me and carried me out in the spirit of the valley of dry bones. And he said unto me, son of man, can these, bones live and I said unto him Lord thou knowest and he said unto me go and bind them together prophecy that I shall come and put flesh upon them from generations and from generations and the

Lord said unto me son of man these bones are the whole house of thy brothers scattered to the islands behold I shall bind up the bones and you shall prophecy and thy name, head I, he stopped. I ain't said nothing. I've never seen him so full of the spirit before. I held my tongue. I ain't know what to make of his notion. He walked past me and loped on down to the riverbank. This here old place was called Dead Man's Landing because they found a dead man there one time. His body was so rotted and ate up by fish and crawd ads that they couldn't tell whether he was white or black, just a dead man. Hedai went over to them long planks and logs

leaning off in the water and began to push him around like he was making something. You was following me. I was mad again. Hedai acted like he was iggin me. He put his hands up to his eyes and looked far out over the water. I could barely make out the other side of the river. It was real wide right along.

there and take couple of hours by boat to cross it. Most I ever did was fish and swim. Head-eye, he act like he iggin me. I began to bait my hook and go down to the bank where he was. I was mad enough to pop him side the head, but I should have been glad. I just wanted him to own up to the truth. I walked along the bank. That damn river was rising. I was lapping up over the planks of the landing and climbing up the bank. Then the funniest thing happened. Head-eye, he stopped moving and shoving on those planks and looks up at me.

His pole is laying back under a willow tree like he wasn't gone to fish none. A lot of birds were still flying over, and I saw a bunch of wild hogs roving along the levee. All of a sudden, head-eye, he said, ain't mean no harm. What I said about you working with the devil, I take it back.

It almost knocked me over. Me and Hedai was arguing a while back about how many niggas there is in the Bible. Head I, he know all about it, but I ain't give on to what I know. I looked sideways at him. I figured he was trying to make up for following me, but there was something funny going on.

So I held my peace. I said, uh-huh, and just kept looking. looking at him. Then he points out over the water and up in the sky, waving his hand all around like he was twirling a lasso. You see them signs? I couldn't help but say, yeah, the ark is coming. What art? You'll see. Noah's art? Just wait. You'll see. And then he went back to fixing up that landing. I come to see what he was doing pretty soon, and I had a notion to go down and pitch in, but I knowed head I.

Sometimes he gets a notion in his big head, and he act crazy behind it. Like the time in church, when he told Reverend Jenkins that he heard people moaning out on the river. I remember that, because Papa went with the men. Head I, his old man, was with them out in that boat. They thought it was somebody took sick and couldn't row a shirt. But Head Eye, he kept telling them it was a lot of people, like a multitude. Anyway, they ain't fine nothing. And Head Eye, his daddy, hauled off and smacked him side the head.

I felt sorry for him and didn't laugh as much as the other kids did. But sometimes Head Eye's notions get me mad too. Then I come to see that maybe he wasn't following me. The way he was acting, I know he was escaping. to be there at Dead Man's Landing. I threw out my line and made like I was fishing, but I wasn't, because I was steady watching Head Eye. And now there's some ads, but you can skip them if you want.

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Available now. I'm Hamza. And I'm Martin. And we're the hosts of Out of Character. It's a podcast. I know. There's a lot of them to listen to these days. How are you going to get to us?

Well, there's a specific reason why you should listen to us. We are the best podcast in the entire world. I swear. I know, bold. But why don't we list some of the things we might talk about on a regular episode. So sometimes we'll talk about, I don't know, the Uber driver we just had. And how nice they were, or if we tipped them or not, come and find out. Sometimes we'll talk about that weird news story from last week. It's the one you're thinking about, trust me. Or maybe we'll talk about music and what's

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These stories all start in the same place, with a woman failed by a system that didn't believe her, that didn't protect her, that didn't see her. No child should ever experience that. And we were babies. She did all of these grave things. and came out and spoke about it, and he got a year. I never know who that devil is because he's wearing a disguise. Sometimes it's a police uniform. Listen to what happened to her on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts,

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And by, the cloud started to get thick as clapper milk. A wind come up. And even though the little waves slapping the sides of the bank made the water jump around and dance, I could still tell that the river was rising. I looked at head-eye. He was wandering off along the bank, wading out into the shallows and leaning over like he was looking for something. I comes to think about what he said, that valley of bones. I comes to get some kind of crazy notion myself. there was a lot of signs, but they weren't nothing too special.

If you're sharp-eyed, you're always seeing something along the Mississippi. I messed around and caught a couple of fish. Head-eye, he was wading out deeper in the sippy, about hip-deep now, standing like he was listening for something. I left my pole under a big rock to hold it down and went over to where he was. This ain't the place, I say to him. Head eye, he didn't say nothing. I could hear the water come to talk a little.

Only river people know how to talk to the river when it's mad. I watched the light on the waves, way upstream where the old sippy bend, and I could tell she was moving faster, rising. The shaking was fast, and the wind had picked up. It was whipping up the cane break and twirling the willows and the swamp oak that drew. drink themselves full along the bank. I said it again, thinking maybe Hedai would ask me where was the real place,

but he didn't even listen. You come out here to fish or fool, but he waved his hand back at me to be quiet. I knew then that Hedai had some crazy notion in his big head, and that was it. He'd be talking about it for the next two weeks. Hey! I hollered at him. I head. Can't you see the rivers on the rise? Let's shag out of here. He ain't paid me no mind. I picked up a couple of sticks and chunked them out near the place where he was standing just to make sure he ain't fall asleep right out there in the water.

I ain't never know had to fall asleep at a place, but being as he's so damn crazy, I couldn't take the chance. By just about that time, I hear a funny noise. Head out he heard too. because he motioned to me to be still. He waded back to the bank and ran down to the broken down planks at Dead Man's Landing. I followed him. A couple of drops of rain smacked me in the face and the wind she was whipping up a sermon.

I heard a kind of moaning like a lot of people. I figured it must be the wind. Head eye, he is jumping around like a perch with a hook in the gill. Then he find himself. He come to just stand alongside the planks. He is in the water about knee-deep. The sound is steady, not getting any louder now and not getting any lower. The wind, she's steady whipping up a sermon.

By this time, it's then got kind of dark and me, well, I didn't got kind of scared. Head-eye, he all right, though. Pretty soon he called me. Fish hound. Yeah, you better come down here. What for? Man, can't you see it's getting ready to rise? He ain't say nothing.

I can't say too much now because the clouds don't swole up so big and mighty that everything's getting dark. Then I seize it. I'm getting ready to chunk another stick out at him when I see this big thing moving in the far off, moving slow. Downriver, gnaw was upriver. No, it was just moving and standing still at the same time, the damnedest thing I ever seen. It just about a damn boat, the biggest boat in the whole world. I looked up, and what I took for clouds was sales. The wind was whipping up a sermon on them.

It was way out in the river, almost not touching the water, just rocking there, rocking and waiting. head eye I don't see him then I look and I see a rowboat coming head eye he didn't waded out about shoulder deep and he's waving to me I ain't know what to do I guess he about to know that I was getting ready to run because he hollered out come on fish

hurry I wait for you I figured maybe he was dead or something and was gonna get the glory boat over the river and make it on into heaven. But I ain't say it out loud. I was so scared. I didn't know what I was doing.

First thing I know, I was side by side with head-eye. And a funny-looking rowboat was drawn alongside of us. Two men, about black as anybody black wants to be, was steady stroking with paddles. The rain had reached us, and I could hear that moaning, like a church full of people pouring out their hearts, to Jesus in heaven.

All the time, I was trying not to let on how scared I was. Head-eye, he ain't paying no mind to nothing except that boat. Pretty soon it comes to rain hard. The two black jokers rowing the boat ain't say nothing to us, and every time I look at head-eye,

he'd popping his eyes out, trying to get a look at something far off. I couldn't see that far, so I had to look at what was close up. The muscles in them joker's arms was moving back and forth every time they swung them oars around. It was a funny ride in that rowboat because it didn't seem like we was in the water much. I took a chance and stuck my hand over the seat.

And when I did, they stopped rowing the boat. And when I looked up, we was drawing alongside this here art. And I tell you, it was the biggest art in the world. I asked Hedai if it was Noah's arm. And he told me he didn't know either. Then I was scared. They was tying that rowboat to the side where there was some heavy ropes hungover. A long row of steps were cutting to the side where we got out.

And the moaning sound was real loud now. And if it wasn't for the wind and rain beaten and whipping us up the steps, I'd swear the sound was coming from someplace. inside the art. When head I got to the top of the steps, I was still making my way up. The two jokers were gone. On each step was a number,

and I couldn't help looking at them numbers. I don't know what number was on the first step, but by the time I took notice, I was on 1608, and they went on like that, right on up to a number that made me pay attention. 1944. That was when I was born. When I got up to Head Eye, he was standing on the number,

1977. And so I ain't paid the number anymore mine. If that art was Noah's, then he left all the animals on shore because I ain't seen none. I kept looking around. All I could see was doors and cabins. While we was standing there, taking in things, half scared to,

death, an old man come walking toward us. He's dressed in skins, and his hair is gray and very worthy. I figured he ain't never had a haircut in all his life, but I didn't say nothing. He walks over the head eye, and that poor boy's eyes about to pop out. Well, I'm standing there, and this old man is talking the head eye. With the wind blowing and moaning, I couldn't make out what they were saying. I got the feeling he didn't want me to hear either because he was leaning in on head-eye. If that old fellow was Noah, then he wasn't like the Noah I'd seen in my Sunday school picture cards. No, sir. This old man was wearing skins and sandals, and he was black as head-eye and me,

and he had thick features like us too. On them pictures, Noah was always white with a long beard hanging off his belly. I looked around to see some more people, maybe Shem, Ham, and Jaffeth, or wives and the rest who were supposed to be on the ark. But I ain't see nobody. Nothing but all them doors and cabins. The ark is steady rocking like it's floating on air. Pretty soon, Head Eye come over to me. The old man was going through one of the cabin doors.

Before he closed the door, he turns around and points at me and Head Eye. Head I, he don't see this, but I did. Talking about scared. I almost ran and jumped off that boat. If it had been a regular boat, like something I could stump my feet on, then I guess I would have done it, but I hell still. Fishhound, you ready? Had I say to me.

Yeah, I'm ready to get ashore. I meant it, too. Come on, you got this far. You scared? Yeah, I'm scared. What kind of boat is this? The ark. I told you once.

I could tell now that the roaring was not all the wind and voices. Some of it was engines. I could hear that chug, chugged, like a paddle wheel whipping up the stern. When are we getting off here? You think I'm crazy like you, I asked him? I was mad. You know what that old man did behind your back? Fish hound.

It's a soul boat. I figured by now I best play along with head-eye. He got a notion going, and there ain't nothing mess his head up more than a notion. I stopped trying to fake him out. I figured then maybe we was both crazy. I ain't feel crazy, but I damn sure couldn't make heads or tails of the situation, so I let it ride. When you hook a fish, the best thing to do is just let him get a little.

good hole, let him swallow it, especially a catfish. You don't go jerking him up soon as you get a nibble. With a catfish, you let him go. I figured I'd better let things go. Pretty soon, I'd catch up with something, and I did. Well, me and Head Eye were kind of arguing, not loud, since you had to keep your voice down on a place like that arc out of respect. It was like that. Head Eye, he tells me that when the cabin doors open, we were supposed to go downstairs. He said anybody on this boat could consider his self called. Called to do what? I asked him. I had to ask him, because the only calling I knew about was when somebody hollered at you or when the Lord called somebody to preach. I figured it out. Maybe the Lord had called him, but I knew dog well he wasn't calling me. I hardly ever went to church.

and when I did go, it was only to play with the gals. I know that I wasn't fit to whip up no flock of people with holiness. So when I asked them, called for what? I ain't having my mind nothing I could be called for. You'll see, he said. And the next thing I know, we was going down steps into the belly of the ark. The moaning jumped up into my ears loud, and I could smell something funny like the burning of sweet boo.

The churning of a paddle wheel filled up my ears when I had I stopped at the foot of the steps. I stopped too. What I saw I'll never forget as long as I live. Was it the products and services that support this show?

Probably not, but here they are. Carly Pierce, live at the Opera House, October 16th. Win your way in to the exclusive IHeart Radio Soundcheck Party, an intimate pre-show performance and Q&A. And then stay for the full show. I don't leave.

I'm going to stay. Avin Toronto. Enter now for your chance to win at iHeartRadio.ca. Stream Carly's new album, Honest Woman. Available now. I'm Hamza. And I'm Martin. And we're the hosts of Out of Character.

It's a podcast. I know. There's a lot of them to listen to these days. How are you going to get to us? Well, there's a specific reason why you should listen to us. We are the best podcast in the entire world. I swear. I know, bold.

But why don't we list some of the things we might talk about on a regular episode? So sometimes we'll talk about, I don't know, the Uber driver we just had. And how nice they were, or if we tipped them or not, come and find out. Sometimes we'll talk about that weird news story from last week. It's the one you're thinking about, trust me. Or maybe we'll talk about music and what's happening in the underground or drama in music or TV shows or the Met Gala and what the actors wore. What we're saying is we're not afraid to talk about everything under the sun.

And if you want to see what that's like, come join us. It's a place where everyone can hang out, anyone. Wherever you're from, whatever you're like, you're welcome. Listen out of character from Will Ferrell's Big Money Players Network on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Pods, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Melissa Jeltsin, and in my new podcast, what happened to her, I'm bringing you new stories and conversations every week. Stories about women whose deaths were too quickly ruled a suicide.

She was starting to get worried and get scared for her safety. Stories of survival. The only difference between me and her, frankly, was a little bit of luck, because by all rights, I should be dead. Cases that everyone else called closed. They can't convict her, right? Like, she has so much evidence. These stories all start in the same place, with a woman failed by a system that didn't believe her, that didn't protect her, that didn't see her.

No child should ever experience that. And we were babies. She did all of these brave things and came out and spoke about it. And he got a year. You never know who that devil is because he's wearing a disguise. Sometimes it's a police uniform. Listen to what happened to her on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Lacey Mosley, author, actor, stand-up comedian, creator, and host of Scam Goddess

podcast. The True Crime Comedy Podcast, all about robbery, fraud, and those who practice it. Each week, I bring on incredible guests like Conan O'Brien, Iowa Debrie, Lamorne Morris, and Nicole Byer. Ooh, I scammed them. What? I could talk to you for an hour. You're a generational yapper like me. That's why I had to make yapping a job.

And the scams run the gamut. I'm talking about scams from the 1800s all the way up to today. I also warn you and keep you safe against scammers. Call your grandparents. Tell your parents to stop clicking on links, please. And now you can catch full episodes of my show on YouTube. If there's a scam, I'm here to protect you. And I'm also here to laugh with you.

So if you like fun, if you like comedy, and you like learning, and protecting yourself from criminals, start listening to scam goddess on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Didn't catch the latest Roland Martin unfiltered podcast? Here's what you missed. And the argument is, do you want to win? If you don't win, you have no power.

It's real. Those are the very people who I always say vote against their own economic interest, and they complain about the very thing they're receiving. It's raw. I knew that the issue of transgender athletes was not going well with a lot of black men. Roland Martin unfiltered. I went off, I said, this is exactly what I'm talking about. Y'all going to scream as you.

Chanel, but you don't want to see a black luxury company in the same vein. Catch Roland Martin's daily commentary on the Black Information Network. 12 seats, those are moving south. So if you Democrats, you don't wait to 2030, you better be hitting the ground going hard in the south now. And download Roland Martin unfiltered on the IHart Radio app, Apple Podcasts. Wherever you get your podcasts. And we're back. They were stacked all the way to the time.

of the ship. I looked around. The underside of the whole ark was nothing but a great bone house. I looked and saw crews of black men handling in them bones. There was a crew of two or three under every cabin around that ark. Why, there must have been a million cabins. They was doing it very carefully like they was holding on to babies or something precious, standing like a captain was the old man we had seen top deck. He was holding a long piece of leather up to a fire that was burning near the edge of an opening which showed outward to the water. He was reading that piece of leather. On the other side of the ark, just at the edge of the ark, a crew of men was winding up a rope. They were chanting every time they pulled. I couldn't understand what they

was saying it was foreign talk, and I never learned any kind of foreign talk. In front of us was a fence so as to keep anybody coming down the steps from barging right in. And we just stood there. The old man knew he was there, but he was busy reading. Then he rose up his long scroll and starts to walk in a crooked path toward the bones laid out in the floor. It was like he was walking frontwards, backwards, sideways, and every which away. He was being careful not to step on them bones. Head eye, he looked like he knew what was going on, but when I see all this, I just about popped my eyes out.

Just about the time I figure out and put things together, something happens. I about come to figure them bones were the bones of dead animals, and the men wearing skin clothes, well, they was the skins of them animals. But just about the time I think I got it figured out, one of the men hauling that rope up from the water starts to holler. They all stop and let him moan on and on. I could make out a bit of what he was saying,

but like I said, I never was good at foreign talk. The others began to chant in the back of and real low, and the old man, he stopped where he was, unrolled that scroll and read it. And then he holler out. Then he closed up the scroll and continue his coming toward me and head-eye. On his way, he had to stop and do the same thing about four times. All along the side of the art, them great black men were hauling up bones from that river. It was the craziest thing I ever saw.

I know then it wasn't no animal bones. I took a look at them and they was all laid out in different ways, all making some kind of body. And there was big bones and little bones, parts of bones, chips, tidbits, skulls, fingers and everything. I shut my mouth then. I knowed I was on something. I fished something out. I comes to think about a sermon I heard about Ezekiel in the Valley of Dry Bones. The old man was looking at me now.

He looked like he was sizing me up. Then he reached out and open the fence. Head eye, he walks through and the old man closes it. I keep still. You best to let things run their course in a situation like this. Son, you are in the house of generation. Every African who lives in America has a part of his soul in this art. God has called you, and I shall anoint you.

He raised the scroll over Head Eye's head and began to squeeze like he was trying to draw the wetness out. He closed his eyes and talked very low. Do you have your shield? Head Eye, he bring out this funny cloth I see him with and puts him. over his head and it flops all the way over his shoulders like a hood. Repeat after me, he said. I figured that old man must be some kind of minister because he was ordained head-eye right there before my eyes.

Everything he say, head-eye, he's saying it behind him. Aba, I consecrate my bones. Take my soul up and plant it again. your will shall be my hand when I strike you strike my eyes shall see only thee I shall set my brother free Abba this bone is thy seal I'm steady watching the priest is holding a scroll over his head and I see some oil falling from it it's black oil and it soaks into head eye shield and the shield Chil turns dark green. Hedda ain't moving. Then the priest pulls it off.

Do you have your witness? Hedda, he trembling. Yes, my brother fishhound. The priest points at me then like he did before. With the eyes of your brother fish hound, so be it. He was asking me. Turns and walks away just like you come. Head Eye, he go over to one of the fires, walking through them bones like he'd been doing it all his life.

And he holds the shield in it till it catch fire. It don't burn with a flame, but with a smoke. He puts it down on a place which looks like an altar or something, and he sits in front of the smoke cross-legged, and I can hear him moaning. When the shield is all burnt up, Head Eye takes out that little piece of mojo. bone and rakes the ashes inside. Then he zig walks over to me, opens up that fence and goes up the steps. I have to follow. Nothing to me. It was several days later that I see him again. We got back that night late and everybody wanted to know where we was. People from town said the white folks

had lynched the nigger and threw him in the river. I wasn't doing no talk until I see head-eye. That's why he picked me for his witness. I keep my word. Then that evening, whilst I'm in the house with my ragged sisters and brothers and my old papa, here come head-eye. He had a funny look in his eye. I know some notion was whipping his head. He must have been running.

He was out of breath. Fishhound. Brough, you know what? Yeah, I said, head-eye. He know he could count on me to do a little. my part, so I ain't mind showing him that I like to keep my feet on the ground. You can never tell what you get yourself into by messing with mojo bones. I'm leaving. Head I, he come up and stand on the porch. He got a no-count rabbit dog named Hey Boy, and when head I come up on the porch,

hey boy, he jump up and come sniffing at me. Get! I say to Hey Boy, and he jump away like somebody to kick him. We hadn't seen that dog in about a week. No telling what kind of devil meant he been into. Head-eye, he ain't say nothing. The dog, he stands on the edge of the porch with his two front feet looking at head-eye like he was going to get a piece of bread chunked out at him. I watch all this and see who been taking care of that no-count dog. A dog ain't worth a mouth of bad wine if he can't hunt, I tell head-eye, but he is stepping off the porch. bro i come to tell you i'm leaving we all be leaving if the sippy keep rising i say no he say then he walk off i come down off that porch man you need another witness i had to say something had i he droop when he

he walked he turned around but he ain't drooping i'm going but someday i'll be back you is my witness and head out he was gone, moving fast with that no-count dog running alongside him. He stopped once and waved. I got a notion when he did that, but I've been keeping it to myself. People have been asking me, where'd he go? But I only tell him a little something I learned in church, and I tell him about Zecchio in the valley of the dry bones. Sometimes they say, boy, you going crazy?

And then sometimes they say, boy, you're going to be a preacher yet. Or then they look at me and nod their heads as if they knew what I was talking about. I never told them about the art and them bones. It would make no sense. They think we crazy. Then for sure. Probably say I was getting to be as crazy as head I. And then they'd turn around and ask me again, boy, where do you say had I went?

The story is so good. And I love how you read it. Thank you. Thank Henry Dumas. Yes, such a wonderful study in Southern dialect. Such a wonderful story about memory. It reminds me of people from my home state of Mississippi. And I love the reserved narrator who is like, you know, says multiple times at the beginning, like, I don't say nothing unless I know what I'm going to be saying, right?

Like, you know? And then here at the end, the narrator is like, I think I know what happened in this story. But I'm not going to tell you. Like, this is one of my favorite stories we've ever had on this show. I would just be like real. This is so my shit. I am so excited about this. Yes.

I mean, it's just the right amount of mystery. It's just the right amount of surrealism. Yeah. Dream like, you know, did that happen? Did it not happen? But also so understandable to. Like Margaret was asking me earlier Is you actually like should I pre-read this?

Am I gonna have a hard time knowing what's going on? Is it too psychedelic? It's like I Like I think that you'll get pretty clearly what happens in the story But it'll leave you There's no easy answers about what it all means And I love I love stories that can do that

And this story, Henry Dumas is so so effective with the words And I love the like at the beginning showing the like everyday omens of like well I saw a snake and then a fox and then a bunch of birds and then a cow and then my friend and like all of it was kind of unnatural even though it's a perfectly natural thing you know just like in a rural place you of course you would see a snake yeah but would you see it in that order yeah right exactly and like that is so real that feeling of otherworldliness that can be invoked by sort of normal things. And it's such a good opening to what is going to happen. But we're going to

talk a whole bunch more about this story next week. Well, you and I, we're all going to talk about in about five minutes. But everyone else is going to have to wait an entire week to hear us talk to you more about what the story means and about the author and all of that. But in the meantime, do you have anything that you want to plug here at the end of this first episode? In the meantime, in between time. Yes. So I would love for people to go to the communityarchive.org. Check out the archive of sound there.

If you feel so moved, please donate. And follow me on Instagram. I am on Instagram at the community archive with underscores between the words. And you can go to the doctor treasure. if you're interested in conjure and the southern practice of magic that we call who do. Hell yeah.

And I'm Margaret Kiljoy. You can find me the same place as I always plug. And we'll see you all next week. It could happen here is a production of Cool Zone Media. For more podcasts from Cool Zone Media, visit our website, coolzonemedia.com. Or check us out on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to

podcasts. You can now find sources for it could happen here listed directly in episode descriptions. Thanks for listening. I'm Melissa Jeltson, host of the What Happened to Her podcast. We're kicking off the season with the Sandra Birchmore story, a case the police rode off as a suicide in a snowstorm. Her family never bought it, and the man they suspected wore a badge. You never know who that devil is because he's wearing in disguise. Sometimes it's a police uniform. And you can get access to all episodes 100% ad-free with an I-Heart True Crime Plus subscription exclusively on Apple Podcasts, available only to IHeart True Crime Plus subscribers. So don't wait.

Head to Apple Podcasts, search for IHeart True Crime Plus, and subscribe today. I'm Lacey Mosley, author, actor, stand-up comedian, creator, and host of Scam Goddess Podcast. The True Crime Comedy Podcasts all about robbery, fraud, and those who practice it. Each week, I bring on an amazing guest. Ooh, I scammed them. What? I can talk to you for an hour. You're a generational yapper like me.

That's why I had to make yapping a job. And now you can catch full episodes of my show on YouTube. Start listening to Scam Goddess on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. I'm Hamza. And I'm Martin. And we're the host of Out of Character. The funniest podcast in the entire world. I like that.

It's a good way to promote ourselves. We are two funny guys having fun enjoying ourselves. and we just know how to have fun, unlike anyone else. If you guys like fun conversations, hot takes, what else? Not too hot, just kind of lukewarm. Just to get your mind thinking a little bit. Listen out of character on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Didn't catch the latest Roland Martin unfiltered podcast?

Here's what you missed. People wake up and go, oh, damn, wait a hold up. They change all of that? Yes. It's real. This is a wholesale attack. It is targeting black people. in every federal agency.

It's raw. White folks have never allowed that reckoning to last more than a decade. Catch Roland Martin's daily commentary on the Black Information Network. And download Roland Martin unfiltered on the IHart radio app, Apple Podcasts. Wherever you get your podcasts.

I'm Fox Sports Reporter, Jenny Taft. And I'm former U.S. Women's National Soccer team player, Carly Lloyd. And on our new podcast, whatever it takes, nothing is off limits. I played with players that didn't truly love the game. I found the love with the ball at my foot. I don't care what I'm being asked to do at Fox.

I'm going to go get some reps and love it and embrace it. Listen to whatever it takes with Carly Lloyd and Jenny Taft on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.