The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-04-30
THE CONGAREE MAIDSTONE.
Found i'm the stomach of a South
Carolina Deer in 1908.
From the New York Commercial Ad-

Carolina Deer IN 1SOO.
From the New York Commercial Ad-
vertiser.
Among the ignorant and supersti-
tious there is a firm belief in the eff
fcacy of that strange substance
known as the maidstone. It is in gen.
eral regarded much as is the philoso-
piers stone; but, whereas no speci-
men of the latter is known to exist or
to have existed, there are at the pres
ent moment 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 I. E. Orchard of the Mu-
steal Courier.
This maidstone is from two and a
half to three inches in circumference,
and nearly an inch thick. In shape it
is oval. It's surface is smooth. 1t re-
sembles beeswax in appearance. Be
ing very porous it is necessarily light
It's present guardian, who has firm
faith in it's properties, gives the fol-
lowing particulars, which he says, can
be corroborated:
The 'Congaree' is the most famous
maidstone in the world. 1t has an in
teresting history. 1t 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 1906 Soon after
If dicpnNTara6 hn 1oVf
by Its owner to geological museum
at the South Carolina College, where
it remained several years. In the early
spring of 1908 a mad dog invaded the
college campus, and bit four of the
students. 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 that
the maidstone be tested and it was at
once brought from the cabinet in
which it 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 doubt
ers were disposed to ridicule the cur
ative powers of the stone. and declar-
ed that belief in its ability to pr.
vent or cure hydrophobia was nothing
lNoo lllctll superstition. NGVoTIneIGSS,
three of 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 student whose cheek had been
torn by the beasts teeth. 1t adhered
thereto at once, and chung tenaciouSly
for an hour and forty minutes, when
it suddenly dropped off. It was there
upon placed in a vessel containing
milk and water. and. in less than
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, adhered, but not quite so tie
naciously. In the course of half an
| hour it dropped off again, was again
| eleansed, and again applied to the
| wound. This time it refused to adhere.
having extracted every particle of the
poison. 1t dropped off the first time
because it was congested.
THE young man who first submitted
to the treatment was saved, as were
| the two others who followed his ex-
ample. Tho 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,
dllcIs II It6Q SA'dTCS De SdlQ. having
suffered frightful agonies.
1.-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 mu-
scum, realizing its great value, again
took charge OF it, and applied it gra-
| tuitously to all who were in need of
1t in the vicinity. In every instance it
! proved efticacious. When he died, in
| 1920. he bequeathed it 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 mad dogs, but also on
! those who were suffering from snake
| bites, and always with uniformly sue
cessful results. 1t afterward came in
! to the possession of a resident of At
! lanta, who treated a score or more
| persons who had been bitten by mad
| dogs 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
! expenses being borne by a newspape
/ of the Crescent City. Notwithstand-
ing the fact that three days had
elapsed between the time they were
bitten and the time the stone was ap-
Piled to the wounds, a perfect cure
was effected.
ut is estimated that, from 1905.
when the stone was discovred to 1899,
when 1t was last used, upward of 145
persons have been successfully
treated"
Mr.. Orchard has such firm faith in
the virtues of the stone that he is
! willing to take it out of the safety de-
post vault where it now lies and place
it in the hands of some accredited per-
son, to be used gratuitously for the
benefit of those who have been re-
Gently bitten by mad dogs.