The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1886-01-27
A MAIDSTONE.
IT'S OWNER TREATS ONE HUN
DRED PERSONS 4 YEAR.
Some Stories Of it's Cures-A Man
who Regards All Deaths from
Dog Bites as Unnecessary.
Other MadSt ones.

the United States Is owned by CharlcS j.
Sauter, of this town. Mr.. Sauter came
into possession of the stone thirty years
ago, when he lived across the line IN llll-
nois. He knew wandering Frenchman
who had failed to make living and who
one day approached him in confidence,
and, producing the stone, described ITS
wonderful properties to him. Inc
Frenchman wanted $500 for it, but Sau-
ter could not raise the money. After an
unsuccessful attempt to form stock
company, Sauter took all the money ne
had, about 500, and offered it to the
Frenchman, who accepted the sum.
Once in possession Of the prize Sauter
managed to get himself bitten by u dog
in short order, and on applying the stone
he was delighted to notice that it stuck
to the wound. As he has never had any
symptoms of hydrophobia nc OF course
has confidence in the stone.
During the thirty years that the stone
has been in Mr.. Sauter's possession hun
dreds of people have had it applied to their
wounds, and only one has died, but the
owner refuses to admit that the trouble
in this case was hydrophobia. The man
came here full of whisky, refused to keep
the stone on. continued drinking, and
finally was kicked to death by horse
which he was trying to saddle. Mr..
Sauter's investment of 800 has been
paving one, for he is visited by more
than one hundred people a year, and ne
charges them all the way from $5 to $50
for the peculiar treatment which ne gives
them. Generally his patients come here,
but he has gone as far away as Iowa and
Northern Michigan with the stone.
In using the stone for dog bite it is
first put in lukcwarm water for few mo-
ments, and then applied to the wound,
the latter being made to bleed lightly.
Then, if there is any poison in the sys-
tenn, the stone Immediately adheres, and
will continue to do so until the poison
is all extracted or the stone is full.
When the stone falls off it is again
placed in warm water for few minutes,
when it will be covered with white
scum, which Sautcr claims is the poison
that it has extracted. This is continued
as long as the stone will stick. When 1t
will no longer adhere to the wound 1t IS
believed that the poison has all been alb
sorbed and the patient is discharged as
cured. If the stone refuses to stick to
the wound in the first place, then it is
claimed that there is no poison In the
blood and the charge is but S.. If sew
eral applications are necessary to remove
all the poison the charge runs as high as
x25 Mr.. Sauter keeps minute record of
all his cases, and this shows that in not
more than fifteen per cent. of them does
the stone stick. On his list may be seen
the names of hundreds of people living in
adjacent States. and there are several OF
them living in Louisiana, Mississippi,
Nebraska and Kansas. Throughout Illi-
nois and Indiana, where the farmers have
great faith in the efficacy of madstones,
it is common thing for the people to
take up subscription to enable some
fellow to 90 to the stone.
A year or two ago, a man in Iowa who
knew of boy who had been bitten by a
mad dog, and who had great faith in
madstones, was highly indignant when
he discovered that the lads physicians
had made no effort to find one. The boy
was frightened almost to death, and his
nerves became 50 shattered that he
finally had spasm or two. and though
the doctors said it was not hydrophobia,
the man on the outside knew it was.
Believing that great response
bility rested upon him, he went to the
telegraph office one night and sent mes
sages in all directions to editors Of news
papers, asking them if they knew where
a maidstone was to be had. One of these
telegrams was received in Chicago, and
by somebody there was forwarded to
Sauter, who Immediately communicated
with the Iowa enthusiast. The result OF
brief telegraphic correspondence was
that Sauter took his precious stone and
went to Iowa, meeting the oficious in
dividual and going with him to the bed
side of the boy. The lad by this time
was in a pitiable plight, and his parents
were not disposed to permit any expert
ments with the stone; but Sauter con-
vinced them that no harm could come of
it any way, and in the absence of the
doctors he went to work. The boy took
great interest in the proceedings. At the
first application the stone stuck, and the
Joyous EXPLANATIONS of the neighbor and
of Sauter convinced everybody that some
marvellous cure was going on. After the
third application the stone refused to ad-
here. and Sauter pronounced the boy
cured. The lad appeared to feel better,
and was better. In the course of two or
three days he sat up, and week later
he was out and around as we'll as ever
The neighbor declared that it was the
mad stone, but the physicians insisted
that both the sickness and the cure
were in large measure due to the boys
Imagination.
Sauter claims that the stone will cure
any kind of insect or animal bites. and
he points with pride to case, which he
says is the greatest he ever had. of lion
tanner named Driscoll, who was severely
bitten in several places by whelp.
According to Sauter's story, Driscoll
came here almost helpless-had to be
carried in fact--and his wounds were so
numerous and so large that it seemed al
most out of the question for one little
stone to do him any good. All hands
went at it, however, with great zeal
Driscoll himself was an ardent believer in
madstones. His father had been cured
by one, and he had known of other men
who had been benefited by them in like
manner. The stone and the patient were
made ready. Then Sauter applied the
charm to the biggest wound. and found
that it stuck so tightly that it was almost
impossible to knock it off. After ten