The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1891-07-02

tent in the practice of using; but none
whose fame extended so far and wide
around as Granny Summers. This
using was land is yet, occasionally a
harmless, benevolent kind OF necro-
nancy employed for the cure Of human
ills, and not unfrequently for the re-
moval of disease in the lower animals
particularly the swinny in horses. had,
in my earliest days, some experience of
Granny Summers skill, but have not
sufficient space in my sixteen pages of
manuscript paper to tell about it, now.
Her great strength lay in her power to
cure sore eyes. An elite lady from
Fairfield once SAID to her: II have
come long way to you, ma'am, for
help. Can you relieve opthalmia?"
"No," replied she, II can only cure
sore eyes.
GrannySummer was character well
worthy of study. She was the sister Of
William Chapman, the grandfather of
the present DR.. Jas. K. Chapman, Of
Pomaria. She first married Fulmer
and was through this marriage the
mother of him who was commonly
known in the Dutch Fork as "Old
Abe" whose daughter is the excellent
mother of the Swigerts, of Peak. Her
last marriage was with George Summer,
one of the sons Of the "Old Pioneer"
Her manners in general were rude.
Mild was she, though, even unto tears
in sympathy for suffering; yet fierce
unto imprecations in her words of re-
I sentiment against injustice; and again
forgiving unto excess of charity to-
wards all injuries against her, when
| confessed and sorrowed for. Her
dwelling stood quarter of a mile from
my grandmother's, up the 'Maybinton
road. It was sombre house decaying
from age, seuatting almost fiat upon
the ground with two shed rooms in
front, and narrow open space between
to serve for a piazza. Such was likewise
the arrangement in the rear, looking
| towards Broad River. In the narrow
front piazza she sat most of her time
upon split-bottomed chair worn low,
her spectacles lifted above her brows on
her forehead, and looking down the
short, broad lane towards the main
road-as though expecting visitors.
Sitting together in the rear, short pi-
azza of my grandmother's house, as
was usual with us after our early break.
fast. we frequently saw groups of ele-
gantly dressed people approaching US
through the horse-lot, from the direc-
ton of the river Some of them wore
green goggles, and others had the sig
nifcant half-moon, green silk shade
over one eye. We knew at once, from
frequency Of the occurrence. what was
the trouble, and would therefore have
known without the invariable question
asked by the strangers: "Can you di-
rect US to the widow Summer's?" Our
answer always was: "Oh, yes. Come
through the house, and we will conduct
you out to the big-road up which you
must proceed quarter Of a mile until
you arrive at a broad, short lane, which
will lead you to where you can see
Granny Summer sitting in her piazza"
Thus, they went. These persons came
from Fairfield, crossing Broad River in
canoe, at the Cohees Shoals.
The relief received by these visitors
from Granny Summer was undoubted,
near by and far away. The process of
using was very simple. When this
"good old neighbor" once used for my
sore eyes in my early years, she re-
quired me to kneel down before her,
not in alteration, perhaps, but merely
to facilitate her looking down upon me
she being quite short and thick. She
traced the tip of her fore-fnger
around my eyes, muttering the while
some words in the German language
among which I recognized my own
name, "Pennetick," as she pronounced
it. This was done three times, a. s.. ort
intervals, and then my nurse, the ANA
zon Nancy, (of whom more, hereafteD
was ordered to GARY me home, and tell
my grandmother to apply to my eyes
cold, the rottenest horse apple that
could be found. The cure was COM
plete.
The belief in the efficacy of this in
nocent conjuration to cure disease was
very general, as have just remarked;
but there were some who denounced it
as foolishness. One of these was
physician, practicing his profession in
the Dutch Fork. His wonderful sue
cess won for him the confidence of the
entire people. He was very free in ut
tering maledictions against using, not
withstanding the fact of bis hearing so
many persons variously affected con-
fess that they had been entirely cured
by it. A time came on when there
were many cases of whitlow (bone-fel-
on, in popular language,) prevailing
throughout the Dutch Fork; and the
incredulous doctor became himself
victim. His suffering was frightful.
His sympathizers, one after the Others
advised him to so to DR.. George Koon,
whose little house stood for long time
a few hundred yards above the Poma-
ria residence, at the twenty-eighth
milestone. This advice for several days |
only enraged the sufferer, and drove
him to seek relief in hard riding and
harder swearing. "Och, Dogtel," said |
one of his old lady friends, "shtop dat
cussin and schwearin', and go to Koon;
bo 10 olSor |