The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1878-08-30
THE MAD STONE.
A Curious Remedy for Rabies.
From the Detroit Fraa Press

This is the greatest curiosity in
my collection, said Prof. Worth
yesterday.
The place was Worth's museum
on Woodward avenue, near Lsrned
street, and the person addressed was
News reporter. The professor
held in his hand flattened circle OF
stone, about three inches in diane
ter and an inch and half thick, in
shape representing q good sized
biscuit with the top and bottom
scooped out. The color was 8 dirty
red, and it weighed about three
quarters of a pound. The reporter
took it in his hand, looked it all over
intently, and could not see anything
very curious about it.
No idea what it is? Well, sir,
that is the famous Virginia mad
stone. 1t has been applied in nu-
merous cases of poisoning for dog
and snake bites, and has Invariably
cured the victim. This one has a
known record of 80 years. S. n.
Aron, of Virginia, got it from the
Indians, and when he died it came
into possession of his son George
Aron, who presented it to his fami-
ly physician, DR.. l.. L. Alexander,
of Spring Hill, Henry county, Ten
nessee, 1876, in gratitude for past
services. The doctor was attending
lectures at the university at Louis
vile, KY, when l learned that he
had the maidstone. After four in
terViews he consented to sell it to
me, and it is now the leading curl
osity of my museum
Did you ever cure anybody with
it?'
Yes, sir, two cases. man and
boy in st. Louis, Missouri, last year
while exhibiting on Fifth street.
They were both bitten by mad dogs.
1 first punctured the place where
they were bitten with these needles.
(Here the professor held up q bunch
of eighteen needles stuck through a
cork.) Then, having previously put
the stone in q bath of milk and wa
ter, applied it to the wound. 1t
adhered Immediately and stuck so
fast that it hung TO the flesh with
out any support. In few minutes
the milk on the surface of the stone
turned green as verdigris, and emit
ted a repulsive odor. After becom-
ing saturated with the virus it came
on, when l put it in another bath of
milk and water, and it discharged
the poison. Then l put it on again,
and repeated the process several
times till the virus was all extracted
and the patient removed from dan
GER
'Are there many more of these
mad stones p asked the reporter.
There are eighteen known to be
owned by different parties in the
United States. The most famous
is the Turner Evans maidstone,
which is owned by farmer of that
name who lives near Aramosa, To-
wa. 1t has been in his family for
about 40 years, having been handed
down from father to son for four
generations.
The stone has been applied over
700 times, and in every case was sue
cessful. 1t has been applied to hor-
ses, cattle and human beings. There
is one owned by a man in Lincoln,
Kansas, Il forget his name, but eve
rybody about there has heard of it
and knows the owner.) 1t is of ir-
regular shape, broken in two, and
held together with a metal band.
The widow Taylor of Terre Haute,
Indiana, has one also, of Irregular
shape, also broken, and also held
together the same way. On one &C.
casion a locomotive was chartered
especially to go to Terre Haute for
this stone. There are two owned
in Missouri, one at Carondelet and
the other by Judge Griffin, who re-
sides five miles from st. Charles.
There is another owned in Virginia,
between Lynchburg and Charlotts-
Vile. l can't remember the others.
The Burlington Hawkeye published
a list of the owners of Madstones,
in August last year, and l have got
it, but GAIT find it among my pa
pers.' a
DO the owners make any charge
for applying the stone?'
Yes; they generally charge from
$50 to 500, and none of them will
let the stone out of their possession.
They always go with it when it has
to be applied. The only persons
who give gratuitons use are Tur-
ner Evans and myself. Judge Grif-
fin and the man at CarOndelet have
$1,000 for their madstones.
The modus operandi of using it is
the same, but the Virgins
man cleans the virus out of his stone
by heating it-on a hot shovel instead
OF bathing it in milk
How do you account for its won
derful powers p
Il don't know the true scientific
reason, but it is evident that there
are properties in the stone which
have a chemical affinity for the vi
rus and repulsion of butter and
milk. 1t is claimed by a brother
and sister who live in Logan coun-
ty, ILL.,, that their mad stone will
cure erysipelas, which I suppose is
prodaced by tainted blood. Any
how they go on the no cure no pay
principle.