The Kendrick gazette. [volume] (Kendrick, Idaho) 1892-1968, 1905-06-16
HORSESHOE LUCK.
euporstitions Concerning Crescents Of
Iron All but Universal.

euperstitions Concerning Crescents Of
Iron All but Universal.
The origin of belief in horseshoe
luck" is so ancient that its origin has
never been determined with certainty.
and no superstition is more universal.
Ever since horses began to wear shoes,
those crescents of iron have been &C.
counted lucky emblems of all peoples.
races and nations that have been &C
quainted with their use.
The Chinese, for instance, say they
nail them up over their doors as
charm against evil spirits, because OF
the close resemblance in shape between
them and the arched body of the sacred
snake. Nagandra, one Of IT, r prin-
cipal deities.
Ask Turkish Mahometan for infor-
nation on the subject and he will tell
you that it is because they are In
form like crescent, the sacred en-
blem of Islam.
| A Polish Jew will explain that at
the Passover the Dlood sprins!ed upon
the Intel and doorposts, in the manner
directed by their ritual forms the chief
points of an arch; hence, obviously,
the value Of arch-shaped talismans
such as horseshoes are.
The stolid and unimaginative Rus
sian peasant, on the other hand, main
tains that the luck associated with the
horseshoe is chiefly due to the metal,
irrespective of its shape, iron being
, additionally charm wherewith to
nullify the malevolent designs Of evil
= spirits and COLLINS.
Very different Is the story by which
I the Irishman seeks to account for his
liking for the same talfsmanic symbol.
/, The name "Ironclad' or ireland he
, will tell you, originated as follows:
The whole island was once SUBJ
merged in the sea, out Of which it rose
only once in seven years, and then
only for a short time. Many attempts
had been made to break the spell and
induce the country to remain perma-
4 nently above the waters, but all were
n vain until, one day, a daring adven
n turer threw horseshoe from a boa,
r. on the topmost peak Of Wicklow noun
tains, just as they were disappearing
@ beneath the waves. Then, at last, was
% the ban removed. The Emerald Isle
"a began forthwith to rise again from thu
- ocean depths, into which it had sunk
And it has been dry land-more O
w less-ever since.
ID In England, up to comparatively re
-. cent times, horseshoes were extensive
a, ly used almost everywhere as anti
i. witch charms, and the custom Is no
a. even yet an extinct one. No witch,
used to be said, could enter buildin
over the door Of which horseshoe
or, better still, three horseshoes-ha
been affixed, prongs downward.
n The origin Of this particular belle
ia referable to the old legend Of s
Dunstan. This versatile English e.
elesiastic was skillful farrier, an
one day, while at work in his forg
the Evil One entered in disguise an
4 requested Dunstan to shoe his Sing
hoof." The saint, although he ut ono
recognized his malign customer, a.
coded, but caused him so much pal
\ during the operation that Satan begge
\ him to desist. This Dunstan did, bl
al only after he had made the Evil Or
nv promise that neither he nor any Of Il
" lesser spirits, his servants, would ev'
PN modest the inmates of house whel
horseshoe was displayed.-Chicai
} Chronicle.