The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1874-02-10
THE MAD STONE.

THE STORY OF AN nLINoI MAN WHO WAS
SAVED FROM H-YDRoPHoBIA By IT'S USE.
A letter TO the Chicago Inter- Ocean from
Batavia, III, gives this interesting descrip-
ton of a mad stone and how it works:
The stone is irregular in shape, about one
and a fourth inches long, one inch wide, and
three Fights of an inch thick, straight on the
face, as If worked of; the other side nearly
fiat, having the appearance of being it's
natural shape. 1t has the appearance of a
framework of cells, about 3-32s of an inch
in diameter. round, smooth, and having
the color and appearance of a brown flint.
The cavity in the interstices between them
are filed withz grxyish stone, porous, re-
sembling lava or pumice stone, with the
! grains running through from one side to the
other, and in places looking as If the grains
did not quite reach the even surface of the
cells. Mr.. Evans, the owner of the stone,
claims that his family and ancestors have
been in possession OF it for 200 years, but
does not claim to know its origin. He ap-
pears like a candid, intelligent farmer, and
expresses the most perfect confidence in its
efficacy as q remedy for the bite of a mad
dog or rattlesnake, if applied before the
the patient is taken with commissions; and
believes it will cure the disease, even after
it has reached that stage. / was bitten in
the hand by a dog on Thursday night
about seven O'Clock, and the wounds
were very thoroughly csuterized within
from ten to twenty minutes Before ap-
plying the stone (which was on Saturday
morning about thirty-eight hours after
L was bittenl, Mr.. Evans scarifed the
edges of the wound, removing as much Of
the burnt part as he could conveniently, re-
peating that process several times on re-
moving the stone from the deepest wound.
Ne fAan r1ooal tho Ctona rrn0n that uOun6
which was partly between my little and
third finger. binding 1t very tightly. Alter
about thirty minutes he removed it, and
and where
1T TOUCHED THE WOUND
it was wet with a thin matter, which emit
ted a very strong, sickening odor, which I
noticed at several different times on its re-
moval from the wound, and which contin-
ued to some extent to the last. A trace Of
that odor could be discovered when 1 tried
it. after cleansing, before the third or fourth
application: and as he continued its appli-
cation the odor which itiretained after being
cleansed seemed to increase. The applica-
tons to that wound were continued about
fifty-four hours, and to the other ION the
back OF my HANDY about twenty-four hours.
/ did not see him cleanse the stone,
as he took it from the room for
Ilhl IL pOoCs Oot - NaoN ~
cleaned it swith warm rwater, leaving it
fifteen or twenty minute before returning
it to the wound. After the first application
he left it on an hour or more each time. The
|. strong odor that 1t emitted was evidence to
me that it possessed some property that L
| did not understand, and the numerous cases
which he cited, where he had tested its efi-
cacy, never having failed but once, and that
when it had not a fair trial, gave me so much
confidence that in a similar case / should
= 20 -
to the wound as long as the virus remained
in the SYSTEM" 1 Am unable to say anything,
as the wounds on my hands were so located
| that it would not be a fair test, if it possessed
that quality, which / think the owner
claimed for 1t. 1 hope that whenever an
other case shall occur where it is deemed adj
visable to make q trial of the stone, the pa
tient will be accompanied by a physician
competent 10 detect and exposethe humbug,
II it be one, and note any phenomena that
may appear which might lead to a better
knowledge of the disease and its antidotes.
N. WoLcorr.