Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1910-09-20

nothing 1t was a piece Of pitch
lblend-that was all.
There appeared no connection be-
tween this case and the apparently
foolish idea entertained by the pro-
prietors of certain mineral springs
| that the water taken from the spring
would lose it's virtue if removed far
from the place where it burst from
the earth. 1t was held in ancient
times that the famous springs of
Joachimsthal were inhabited by
spirit, and that those who bathed in
the water and drank it were acted
upon by this spirit, and that the water
had no virtue in itself. In the New
Testament we are told of another
spring of the same character, and SIM
| liar stories have been told of medi-
cinal springs in Spain and elsewhere.
| 1t is known that the water of these
springs does actually cure rheuma-
tism and many other diseases, and
| it is also known that the Self-same
water, bottled and shipped away from
| its source, and used for bathing or
drinking, has no more effect than or
dinary water would have. For
long time the men of science said this
could not be-that the effect of the
water was due to certain chemicals
dissolved in it, and the same effects
could be produced by artificially
compromising the water in exactly the
same proportions.
On one side was SCIENCE backed up
by common sense, and on the other
side was superstition, backed up by
stubborn facts. Then along came DR..
and Mrs. Currie with the discovery
of radium. They led the way to the
discovery that the beneficent agent
in the Joachimsthal water and that of
many other springs is radio-activity,
and that the emanation Of radium
passes through glass and is wholly
| lost in three days. So that water
taken from radioactive spring, bot
tied and shipped a three days jour-
ney, is no longer radioactive and has
| lost most of it's curative power. The
| Curries also led the way to the discov-
cry that radium is the great remedy for
the removal of purple birthmarks, and
| that a piece of pitch blend that is
high in its percentage of radium is
not a mere voodoo stone, but a
thoroughly scientific means Of treat
ment.
The most amusing case of super
sttion-turned scientific is told by a
prominent st. Louis surgeon, who was
serving his term as inferno in a New
York hospital some twenty years ago.
In the charity ward was an Irish boy
whose foot had been crushed by the
| impact of a horses hoof. The boy
had sundry other injuries, but the
most stubborn one was that sore on
the top of his foot, which fatty re-
fused to heal. Various dressings were
tried and then skin grating was re-
sorted to. The inferno had the case
in hand, and he was driven to the use
of his utmost skill by the attitude Of
the boys mother, an ignorant old
Biddy, who greeted each new effort
| and failure with a wise nod of her
head and the remark:
Il could ave told yez it 'uld do no
good at all at ALL"
At last the inferno gave up. He
had used every means known to
science for the healing of an open
sore, and each in turn had proved Of
no avail. Each time he had been in
formed by the mother:
when yez git done, I'll heal it up
mesilf."
You can try your hand at the sore
tomorrow" the young doctor finally
informed her. He was very sure that
the wound would never heal.
The following morning she arrived
with the materials FOR the cure. In
small cigar box she carried hand
full of lint which she had picked out
by hand. Beneath this lay a nut
meg crater and an old horn comb.
Several yards of linen bandage and
needle and thread composed her SER
geons outfit. The doctor looked at
the strange assortment with undiS-
guised contempt. The woman said:
| Some sez as how a rubber comb
| is Just as good, but me granny allus
used horn comb, and granny never
failed"
| Thereupon she set to work. The
afflicted foot was barred and she pro-
ceeded to CRATE over the raw surface
| a film of horn comb. 1t was evident
that this was not the first time that
the comb had been pressed into SER
vice in the healing of a wound, for
the back showed the marks of the
crater at several places. When an
even layer of horn had been spread
over the wound, with heaven knows
how much nutmeg and dust, she
dropped the lint lightly on so as not
to disturb the covering. More lint
was piled on, and finally the foot was
bandaged and sewed up in linen
casing. The mother gave instructions
that the casing was not TO be opened
| for three weeks.
At the end of this time the band
age was removed and the sore was
replaced by perfect layer of healthy
tissue. The doctors were amazed,
but the old woman found just what
she expected Then the inferno set
himself the task Of finding out why
the absurd treatment was success
| full and his explanation Is that norm
| Is the same substance as human skin.
The hand-picked lint and bandage
only served to hold the grated horn
| in place until it could unite with the
open surface to form new skin. The
practice was not scientific, but it was
based on experience, which is some
| cpianpn ST InniS