The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1854-09-09


From the Petersburg (Ya) Inteligenccr,
August lG
The Mad stone Again--Cctious Co,rOb-
Grating Evidence.
Seeing tho communication below, from
! the Macon 0ia.) Messenger, in the columns
of the Columbia South Carolinian, reminded
US of letter which was addressed to Us
/ few weeks ago by 4 medical gentleman of
Georgia and dated At n locality in that
! state known as Cave Spring We had laid
| the letter aside for furthur reference and it
had accidentally escaped our attention. In
/ truth, We suspected from the singular idea,
as it appeared TO Us, of obtaining such con
crctions MS the mad s one, from goats and
/ other animals, the writer intended only
| bit of irony upon the n count we had given
Of that poison-cXtracting substance in the
! possession of Mr. Oliver Of this ci,y-and to
| indicate his ncredulity about it in this way.
! We find however, by the statement in
| the Macon paper, that We were mistaken in
our suspicion and that the notions and ex-
, pcrimcnts of our Cave Spring correspond
ent relative 10 the obtaining Of like substance
! from the bodies Of goats are not rs chitneri-
I Ndi tH ~ lNA piIy'tA tt4tI'I W 4bI IL
! would be no more remarkable to get such
/ stones from the hastt of goat than ola
/ deer. The author ofthc communication to
the Macon Messenger obviously had seen
our article about the Petersburg mad stone
/ copied in that Journal, and, in using his own,
| followed thc direction Of putting Il into wa
ter after every application. The success
/ which attended his experiment cannot ra-
] L.. ..l 81
than that ol the stone, and the circumstan-
/ c:s 20 further to sustain the Tcputed eff.
cacy Of the one we spoke Of here II affords
/ additional and strong testimony TO support
the claims Of the latter to the character
ascribed 10 it, Why should it be deemed
/ incredible that the poison Of sgrl cnt or Of
a rabid dog should be extracted from the
wound Of the bitten person by the nystJri-
Gus power Of this little stone, properly up
piled:
! Things equally marvellous in nature and
equally incomprchcnSblc to us are often TO
BE- seen. But we have not time nor room to
pgoionc our remarn. All that We can say
is, il there be the sovereign virtue in thcs.
strange substances that experiment his
shown there j., they are entitled 10 be con-
sidcrcd as remedies dispensed by q mcrcilul
Providence for enc Of the most horrible and
deadly malldics that could rack the human
frame. We subjoiu the Cave Spring letter
under the hop, that il VIII meet the eyes Of
the owner Of the stone uf which ", spoke,
tMr OliYcr,J and that hc ~.il forward the
information requested - the gentleman in
Georgia, whose name We do not feel priyil-
eyed to publish, but which Mr.. o. can, at
any time, be informed Of at this Office.
From the Columbia South Carolinian.
\ TALE ron THE CUMoUS.-Wc received
the following communication from Major j.
u. Wilkes, Of Doo'y county. lie is highly
respectable citizen, well known To W., and
we feel no hesitation in assuring the public
that hc would make no statements which
were not fully rcliable.-Nccon Messenger.
Editors OF the journal and Messenger:
Permit me to lay fore your readers 4
few facts which may furnish matter Of spec
ulation for the curious but may be doubted
by some or ridiculed by others. They are,
nevertheless strictly true. Some twelve
years ago lweEt out with party on a deer
hunt, and shot down fine buck. While
dressing linn, cut M the haslC: for my
hounds, and in doing so, cut out stone Of
dark greenish color, about where the wind
pipe joins the lights. 1t was from an inch
and half TO two inches long, and quite
heavy for its size, although it appears to be
porous. ! have heard of such stones from
old hunters, and that they possessed the
faculty of extracting poison, and other medi.
cal y.rtucs-but they were seldom found
They were called beaslc or hezoar stoneI
| have been frontier man and killed many
a deer, but haze never found another Of the
same kind laid il by more rs matter Of
curiosity than having any faith in its yir-
tues.
On the 18th ult had f,voraitc dog BIT
ten on the nose by large rattlcsnakc. The
dog at once commenced rcclng and fell
. down. ! was within few feet of him, and
Immediately (as the only remedy at hand
forced chew of tobacco down his throat
got him home very soon and dissolved some
alum, but found his jaws nearly set.
forced open his mouth and poured it down
his throat then rccollcc,cd seeing in your
paper Of the 5;h ult the descrip ton OF stone
and its virtue in extracting poison, in pos
session Of some family in Virginia, which
: stone, presume, was similar to the one
had taken from The der | got bowl o.
$ warm water and applied the stone to thC
=, place bitten, and then dropped It into til,
, water, when could see dirty, dark greer
I substance shooting out Of it, This | re
pcatcd three times with a similar result
, The fourth time it seemed to show that al
: the poison had been extracted. In les,
: than minute the dog got mp, yomtcd u,
the tobacco, and the swelling subsidized i'm
= mcdately. In less than two hours he wa:
$ perfectly well, and eating anything that wa'
: offered him.
| Now, will not decide which Of the three
S rcmeiies-thc tobacco, the alum or tht
= stone--curcd the dog: but from the fact tina
= he was immediately cured on the application
Q OF the stone should reasonably weigh in ia
c vor ofthat remedy. In the article published
: in your paper It is remarked that 1--WE ar,
Z. not aware that the existence ofsuch is known
;, to the scientific world at all, and it is spok
c en- Of as its origin being n mystery, an,
n wholly unknown, Now, will not the ahov,
= facts reveal the mystery Of their origin?
= have now several highly respectable neigh
f bors who were with mo when | obtained tn,
: stone. live about nine miles east of Mon
tczuma, in Dooly county, where it may b,
:. seen or the use Of it obtained, by any on
I, who may need it, j. y. WiLEEs.
q CAVE srHlNG, Ca, July 10, 1851.
/. To the Editor OF the Petersburg IntClligcn
n Ger.
Q Dear Sir From slip in the Southern
r Weekly Post Of Sth inst, learn that 70,
D. have had an opportunity Of examining
4 "4god .StoHC," now IN the hands OF one Mr.
/. Oliver oryour city, and that You have hear,
Q of several in the eastern part of your state.
@ take the liberty of directing YOU lin
;. of inquiry, inasmuch as the subject of thci
4 origin and nature has been amattCr of spec
ulation and investigation with Inc for som
time.
Il Iwoud be pleased to learn Of Mr.. Oliver
Il through you, the history Of this particula
.