Fayetteville observer. [volume] (Fayetteville, Tenn.) 1850-1966, 1866-07-12

From the Attica (IllinOis) Ledger.
Bitten by q Dog-A Won-l
aerful Mad Stone.
] One night the latter part of last
week as DR.. W. Il. Leymen, of this
place, was making d professional
call at the house of a Mr.. Holmes,
in Warren county, he was at.
tackled by two dogs belonging to
the place, and while endeavorirg to
defend himself fell, when one of
the dogs bit him severely on the
right arm. On the Doctors arri-
) wing home in this condition, his
, family became uneasy, and think
ing perhaps the dog that bit him
: was rabid, urged him to go to Terre
: Haute and apply the ''mad stone"
in the possession of Mrs. Taylor,
; of that place. The Doctor had no
: fears whatever, and had always
, regarded this stone az a humbug,
! but finally consented to go to salts
fly his family. On his arrival at
: Terre Haute he proceeded to the
;, house of Mrs. Taylor and had the
0 application of the same made
8 The lady informed him that if he
d was bitten by rabid animal the
r stone would adhere in thirty min
h utes. After three hours of faith
n ful application it failed 10 taEe hold,
0 and Mrs. Taylor announced, as
d the Doctor had thought from the
a first, and as all observation-disclosures
indicated DAT Ae was not bitten
by rabid dog. While there,
lhowever, the Doctor witnessed an
r operation of "the mad stone, and
l. cleaned such facts regarding il
! from reliable citizens of Terre
! Iaute, as to dissipate the skepti'
: = cism which he confessed he had al
= ways held regarding the efficacy of
!, this stone as an antidote for hydro
l. phobia. He met at Mrs Taylor
: man from Illinois, who had been
g bitten by mad calf, and to whom
. the stone adhered for thirteen
hours, drawing from the wounded
=. part a greenish colored matter,
IS which it failed to extract from
r. the Doctors arm. When the
IS stone became filled with this fluid
e it was soaked in warm water for a
!; time, when it would again adhere
e and absorb with its original force.
l. DIR. Leymen also conversed with a
gentleman in indianapolis who
had been bitten by an unmistaka-
bly, rabid dog, and used this stone
/ with success. Mrs. Taylor, who
/ is an old resident of Terre Haute,
Q and known by the citizens of that
t place as lady of worth and good
+ standing, states that the stone has
e been used in thousand cases, and
+ has never failed. She further
: says it was once applied to man
: who had already gone mad from
h the effects of a bite and while the
: fit was on him. He was entirely
9 cured.
/ Of the history of this stone we
e are not fully informed. It has
$ been in the Taylor families for
t eighty years past, and the account
i of its cures are familiar to most
: of our readers. The stone is
4 white, smooth and hard, is about
d two inches in length, half or three
quarters of an inch in thickness.
1t is porous, the pores being star
: shaped and running across the
stone in lines of perfect regularity.
The operation with it is performed
> by scarifying the flesh near the
: bite, and laying the stone on. 1t
: never aDSOrDS matter from the
!. wounded part unless the bite be
that of rabid animal. In the
| process of absorption, the matter
! frequently passes entirely through
!, the stone. We are indebted for
4 these facts to DR.. Leymen, who is
we'll known as aphysician of many
F. years practice, and gentleman
of unquestioned veracity. The
! Doctor very truly says that the
| stories about the stone seem incred-
ible, but facts are stubborn things,
and he is no longer among the
: skeptics.