The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1880-05-22


The horseshoe, now all the rage Is an
ornament, and affected By men aud women
alike has long been considered q token Of
good luck, especially BY sailors. Few sail
crs would start on voyage 10 ship on
which the potency Of the horseshoe was
not acknowledged. Il must be kept al
some conspicuous place as sign Of good
luck. On Western STEAMBOATS,, not a
deck-hand could be Induced 70 engage
himself on steamer that did not have a
partly-wOFn horseshoe nailed over the
companion way Of the bow. Very often
they are placed near the feure.head, at
tho stem Of the bow How long this su-
perstition has prevailed, it would be inn
possible to tell. II is by no means Of re-
cent orign. Horseshoes aud eonjurers
have been allies To find whole horse.
shoe ia the road that has been east from
the animal and still retains Eve Of the nails
in 1t, is considered remarkable token Of
good luck But should any one find a
horseshoe with all the nails 10 II. he NAV
consider himself endowed with wonderful
powers Of magic. This concoit, no doubt
had its origin IN the fact that il is almost
impossible fora horse 10 east shoe while
all the nails are intact There lived a
mao in Shenandoah county, Va, who
claimed to have found such horseshoe.
His name was Conrad Gerst. He had
little education, bet was considerable Of
kuaye lie professed to be able 70 work
wonders, and was believed by many peo-
pie to possess certain powerful conjecturing
powers. Gerst was shoemaker, and very
poor, for he was too lazy to work, and had
a large family Of children. He could heal
the sick, recover stolen articles. cure
diseased cattle, find underground streams
of running water, make the butter como
ior the diary women and drive Of witches.
a woman churned all day over d churniug
OF cream, but the butter would not come.
She sent for Gerst. He told her 10 Get an
old horseshoe, heat it red hot and cast Il
into the churn. Then, after cleansing The
ehurn with boiling water, he guaranteed
that the butter would come at the next Of.
fort And more. IL the woman would in
qulre carefully among her neighbors she
would discover that some one of them
AN enemy would have severe burn ON
some part Of her body There were pleu.
ty Of people who believed 10 this. Anoth.
sr case. A widow lady living two miles
from Gerst had sum Of money stolen
from her. Instead Of giving the matte,
, into the hands Of the authorities, she sem
, for Gerst. He inquired into the affair
! and after performing number Of iucapta.
! tions with stick that he carried and MAC
; ing his horseshoe in the fire and coolino I
, IN the spring, he announced confident,
that on the morning of the second da,
thereafter the money would be found Al I
!, certain place. This conclusion of the con
Jurer was widely circulated, and on n,
morning indicated quiet number ot peo
I pie assmbled at the widows house 10 a.,
! the prediction verified. The money wa
found at the place indicated. The solu
tion was that the thief, whoever he WA
believed in Gerst's pretended power, an,
returned the money out Of fear. The su
perstltion that imparts such virtues 10 In
! horseshoe gave birth to the prevailing ide
that makes it the emblem OF good luck.