Signal-Copiahan. (Hazlehurst, Copiah County, Miss.) 1885-1888, 1885-12-24
CURING BY CHARMS.

would die.
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CURING BY CHARMS.
Strange Superstitions Rife In an
Old English Settlement
Years ago number Of cmigrants
from Dcvonshirc, Lancaster. Cornwall.
Yorkshire and other counties of En-.
gland settled in Northern Pennsylvania,
near the New York State line. They
had made some of the finest farms in
the State and are the best of citizens.
but many Of them cling with singular
tcnacity to strange belief in the eli.
cacy of certain charms that have been
used for centuries among the class to
which they belonged in England. The
charmed ring cure for epilepsy is one
OF these. Only few days ago jew
clcr at Honcsdale was called upon BY a
rcsidcr: Of the settlement. who had
with him his daughter, a sickly girl of
fifteen. The girl produced nine En-.
glish two-penny pieces, from which the
jewcler was requested to mako ring
to ii, the girls middle finger. 1t was
necessary, the farmer said, that por-
ton of each coin should be used and
the rest Of the pieces saved and re-
turned to his daughter. The coins
were given her by nine boys. as near
her own age rs could be found, which,
would give to the ring charm which.
when she put II on, would cure her Of
epilepsy, from which she was suffering.
This he maintained was u cure that
was always tried in Dcvonshirc and
never failed. II the victim Of epilepsy
was n male, the nine coins must be
presented by nine females.
Some Of these farmers keep the skins
OF adders in or OH their houses and
buildings, believing them to be Ger.
tain charm against fire. To cure aguc
The patient is taken to spot where
two roads cross. and an oak tree is
found as near the spot as possible. A
lock of his hair is lifted up and driven
into the tree with an ash peg. The
patient must then tear himself loose,
leaving the hair sticking in the tree,
and walk away without looking be.
hind him. Sufferers with erysipclas,
by wearing in q silken bag around
their neck toad from which the right
hind leg and the left fore leg has been
cut until the mutilated reptile dies will
get well Of the disease. The tongue
cut from a living fox, these charm be-
levers say. carried about the person
will ward of disease of all kinds, but
as the person carrying one Of these fox
tongues will surely die II he should
happen to meet = fox at any cross
roads. the charm is seldom invoked.
One old resident Of the settlement car.
ries in his pocket constantly an inn
mense tooth from a human jaw. The
tooth. he says. was taken from the
mouth of q man who was hanged In
Hcrtforlshirc more than hundred
years ago after the man was dead, and
was carried by the present owners
father. grandfather and grcatgrand.
father. 1t is carried as preventive for
toothache, the tooth from dead per-
sons mouth being certain charm
against that malady. The owner Of
the tooth says he never had the tooth.
ache In his life. A double hazelnut car.
ricd in the pocket or about the, person
is also preventive of the disease.
The charms for the dispersion OF
warts believed in by many of these hon.
est farmers are numerous and most
singular. For instance. II q person
with warts on his or her hands viii
write down the number of them on the
band of a tramp's hat without the
tramp knowing it he will carry the
warts away with him-that is, they
will gradually disappear from the per-
sons hands and appear on those Of tho
tramp. BY cutting notch on green
eldcr.stick for everyw wart person may
have, rubbing the stick on every wart,
and then burying 1t in the barn.yard
until It rots, the warts may be cured.
Warts may also be removed by taking
q black snail, rubbing II on oil the
warts at night, and impallng the snail
on thorn bush, repeating the r>occss
nine consecutive nights, by which time
the warts and the snail will both be
shrivcled up. Another way to get rid
Of warts is for the person to see y funsr-
al pass unexpectedly, wherever he
may be, and, as 1t passes, rub his warts
quickly and repeat the words; warts
and corpse pass away and never more
return" Green peas may also bo used
to advantage in taking of warts. Let
the afflicted person take as many peas
as he has warts and touch each wart
with different pea. He must then
wrap each pea in separate piece Of
paper and bury them secretly In the
shade Of an ash tree or under hazel
bush. II peas arc not In season and
the person with warts does not care to
try the efficacy Of any OF the above.
named charms. lot him select as many
peobles as he has warts. Sowing them
up In small bag, he must take them