The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-12-18
A LOCK OF RED HAIR.
It was Buried In Oak One Hundred and
 Fifty Years Ago.

l A LOCK OF RED HAIR. | It was Buried in Oak One Hundred and Fifty Years Ago. | Indianapolis News.
 The mystery of a lock of red hair buried in the heart of an oak tree for | a century and half. l There was nothing to indicate that
 1t was department store advertise ment of a special drive in sherlock Holmes" nor that it was an ingenious press agents hint of revival of The
 Prisoner of zenda" by delicate sugges- tiion of the Red Rassendyl. It might
 have been relic of the Spring Lake | Park medallion schemee for some re- | sourceful real estate dealer of the for
 est primeval, who perforce used hair l in place of medallions, but thers was | not a scrap of advertisement to show
 where to find the office of Chief Foxy Boy, to have 1t redeemed in wam- l pun.
 To whom did it belong2 Why and by
 whom was it placed there? These are | questions that belong to speculation, or l traditions of pioneer days. If the sf- lent oak knew, it did not tell.
 It was brought to light by a work
 man in the Adams & Raymond veneer l VenecTe l ing from an oak log, one-sfxteenth and
 one ne-thirty-second of an inch thick. He
 had used about fifteen, inches of per- | feet, finely grained wood. when he
 came to a curious defect. Under
 careful examination 1t was found to
 bs due to a hole bored in the tree. and plugged by a rough wooden pin. The workman continued his saving I Taking off three more inches fin thin | sections. he came to what was appar-
 ently the end of the hole and the pin,
 and there found the lock of red hair. Had Been There 15O Years. l Much interest was excited by the
 discovery. It could not be ascertained whether or not the tree grew in In-
 diana, but 1t is supposed that it did. | It is said that an oak tree takes on O new circle of growth from an eighth I to quarter of an inch in thickness Y each year. It was figured that the i ,e in m hair ,gw holave been placed in t. live in what is vir-" Aeo years ago. is munity. They will have a to sey- g. country life in the making of garden
 and the garnering of fruits and crops 10 and the love of home will he stimulate; ,nl hy dividing them into fe'-s,!ss each C. n- which will occupy a mouse as well bull t- and attractive as those in which liv' lv the children of the well-to-do. It Ii he believed that gr ,$ yas has been the sue .s. cess of the asylum In the past In ti,tin s1 it's charges for usSful lives, it will at
 a. tain asiaf fan sye 1Ss SsEeatfr measure s or success growth of the oak. then young or
 would at least have left some more marks.
 There is a tradition of a peculiarity
 among the indians that one finds rath- l CT difficult to account as probable. Still 1t is a tradition. It Is said that with few exceptions the hair of insane In- dians was either red at the time they
 became mentally deranged. or turned
 red afterward. If this was true, this | lock of red hair may be a certificate that some poor Lo was found non com pos mentis by his tribe.
 Charm to Prevent Phthisis.
 However, there is lore of early white | settlers that offers equally as inter | esting and plausible explanations Old
 people in Indiana tell of custom of- | ten resorted to to prevent phthisis
 that may throw light on the lingering | lock that may have adorned some once
 lovely head. It is said that as soon as
 a child was able to stand with its
 back to a tree, the father would bore
 a hole in the tree just above it. and
 after placing 2 lock of hair therein. | seal it with aS pin. Should the child
 continue healthy and grow until It's | head came above this hole 1t was the belief that 1t would never fall a vic. | tim to phthisis. Other charms to prevent disease
 were also buried in trees in like man. | ner. Horseshoes have been found in | forks of trees. Some were wrapped in | hair, othors in cloth. taken from gar
 ments worn by the person who wished
 to be protected. It is a fascinating relic-this shin
 ing lock that has reposed undisturbed
 through parts of three centuries in the
 bosom of the strong old king of the forest One naturally turns to witch
 craft for some explanation of the cir
 cumstances which caused 1t to be
 placed there. | Relief from witch's Spell. | An old gentleman with a mind stored 1 with knowledge of the curious super-
 stition concerining witches. which folk
 unquestionably accepted in other days,
 when told about the discovery at the
 Adams & Raymond factory. said the hair doubtless was hidden in the tree
 on the advice of a "witchmaster." He tells a story of the use of hair charm
 within his personal knowledge. A | young man. convinced that he was
 bewitched by a young woman. went to A "witchmaster" for advice" The | '1witchmaster' told him to go to the woods, bore a hole in an oak tree and place a lock of his hair therein. and to
 close the hole with a pin. He eau
 tioned him against striking the pin | too hard in the final blow. saying that
 if he disobeyed this part of the in-
 structions he would surely die. The young man forgot He put all his
 strength in the last blow-and died
 soon afterward | A story of love and bedewing tears. I l of hatred and the cruel sa"age's scorch- | ing faEsots--a story of old days when
 men loved mystery and sought the aid | of black art in many affairs Of life |
 may be bound up in these glinting | threads. but the fingers that could un- | ravel 1t have long been dead. Brian c. Hughes. the New York practical