Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1903-05-30
THE coNGAREE MAIDSTONE.
A Stone That Became Famous
Throughout the South Now In New

A Stone That Became Famous
Throughout the South Now In New
York.
Among the ignorant and supersti-
tious there is firm belief in the ef-
fcacy Of that strange substance known
as the maidstone. It is In, general re-
garded as is the philosophers stone,
but, whereas no specimen OF the lat
ter is known to exist or to have ex-
listed, there are at the present mo-
ment at least four specimens Of the
former. Curiously enough, two OF the
four specimens were found in South
Carolina. One Of them is now in the
British museum; the other has, within
the past few days, been brought to
New York, and is in the possession OF
+. E. Orchard, of the Musical Courier.
The maidstone is from two and a
half to three inches in circumference,
and nearly an inch thick. In shape 1t
is oval. Its surface is smooth. 1t
resembles beeswax in appearance.
Being porous it is necessarily light.
Its present guardian, who has firm faith
in its properties, gives the following
particulars, which he says can be cor
roborated:
"The 'Congaree' Is the most famous
maidstone in the world. It has an in
teresting history. It was taken from
the stomach Of a deer, which was
killed in Congaree swamp. about
twenty miles from Columbia, s. c.
This was in the year 1905. Soon after
it was discovered the stone was lent
by its owner to a geological museum
at the South Carolina college, where
it remained several years. In the ear
ly spring of 1908 a maddog invaded
the college campus, and bit four stu
dents. There was not the slightest
doubt that the dog had the rabies.
One Of the young men who were bit
ten was the son of the president of the
college. Some one suggested the mad
stone be tested and 1t was at once
brought from the cabinet in which 1t
had lain useless for three years. One
of the professors offered to treat the
bitten students with the stone, with
whose mysterious powers few were
then familiar. Some doubters were
disposed to ridicule the curative pow
ers Of the stone, and declared that a
belief in its ability to prevent or cure
hydrophobia was nothing less than
/ nrfh
the young men who had been bitten by
the rabid dog consented to have the
stone applied to their wounds. 1t was
first placed upon the wound Of stu
dent whose cheek had been torn by
the beasts teeth. 1t adhered thereto
at once, and clung tenaciously for an
hour and forty minutes, when 1t sud-
denly dropped off. 1t was therefore
placed in a vessel containing milk and
water, and it less than a minute, the
fluid turned green, being impregnated
with the poison which the stone had
sucked from the wound. The stone
was washed off and again placed upon
the same wound, and, as before, adher-
ed, but not quite so tenaciously. In
the course of half an hour it dropped
off again, was again cleaned, and again
applied to the wound. This time 1t re-
fused to adhere, having extracted
every particle Of the poison. 1t drop
ped off the first Slme because 1t was
congested.
1.-THE young man who first submitted
to the treatment was saved, as were
the two others who followed his ex-
ample. The fourth student, who had
been bitten In the hand, made light
of the matter, and refused to have the
| maidstone applied to his wound. A
| week later he died Of hydrophobia, af-
ter, 1t need scarce be said, having suf-
fered frightful agonies.
"The stone at once became famous
throughout the south, and many
newspaper articles were published
about it in Columbia and elsewhere.
Its owner, who had lent it to the
museum, realizing its great value,
again took charge Of 1t, and applied
It gratuitously to all who were in need
OF it in the vicinity. In every instance
it proved efficacious. When he died,
in 1920, he bequeathed 1t to his son, who
a few years later sold it to a Charles
ton physician. For many years the
stone remained in Charleston, and was
used, not only on persons who had
been bitten by maddogs, but also on
those who were suffering from snake
bites, and always with uniformly sue
cessful results. 1t afterward came into
the possession Of a resident Of Atlanta,
who treated score or more persons
who had been bitten by maddogs and
snakes. On one occasion two young
men who had been bitten by a mad
dog in New Orleans went all the way
to Atlanta for, treatment, their ex-
penses being borne by newspaper OF
the Crescent City. Notwithstanding the
fact that three days had elapsed be-
tween the time they were bitten and
the time the stone was applied to the
wounds a perfect cure was effected.
1T is estimated that from 1905, when
the stone was discovered, to 1899, when
it was last used, upward Of 145 persons
have been successfully treated."-
New York Commercial Advertiser.
MORE THAN THE FIVE SENSES