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About The advocate. (Portland, Or.) 19??-19?? | View Entire Issue (Nov. 16, 1929)
Illustrated Feature Section fl A. / If * <• Portland Advoca te UN H IlM ito ia M . I k lf.i* 4 lirrlU ln | M* pi « » •• « < a l l * « « 1 M / U S T K A T K II F K A T U K K S K < T IO N — N o vem b er 16 , 1929 Illustrated Feature Section Of N IMVh If, tfiU r f t4IU»r H ow the Famous and Curious M ADSTONE Effects its Cu re 'N# «F or iimny yem > »hr Tyler fumlly ' In*vi* m rrfully cherUhed und pre- i M*nred Ui© gift An eurly Tyler. wlin | w i* u m * o raptutn. \ta* aiioun tlie Ciiven to Virginia by stoiu* when on one of hu trips by way ol tile Indies *»nd Africa A Early Colored Peo I member of tile fumlly reiuembers the ple, is Much Vener oft-re|>euted story which has been brought down from the early days ated in Time of t rial mu that on a atop nt a tropical Island a trio of native colored men Trouble. came to the ship ! «write hand «»me fellowa. they were T liry asked to nee tlie captain. lly DON CHARLES Tlie trader received them After S l llKIti: norm- myMterimiH talking over business matters relat- <onnertion between the ituc to provUlotiA and ornaments and I log Star, Sirius, and tin other matters, the frtenets annoum'ed A Strang«? Stone, I HtruiiK*' p ro p e rtie s of th e ¡ ¡ ^ . ^ hta MaiNtotie, given t o u Virginia! "Ths three M iim ini s » on »hr ,. . . . . , hrsrH and preceded to demonstrate t it III 11 y b y il V e n e r a t e d c o l o r e o Owlr claims as to thr wonderful ability of thr »(ones to save lltr m u tt. Thr ride»»," according to Mr Tyler Science 1» unable to give a »alia- look a klltch from hi» basket and tartorv answer a» to U>r place of the lilacril It within reach o f a deadly »tar» in tlie affair» of human brink», m ake Uiat »11» carried In an otlirr basket Hardly hod a m tnule r t a iw d and It 1» equally uiuibtr to IrU luat when the alert reptile reared hit why It la that tlie odd looking »'nnr head and »truck hi» fang» deep Into In ten m in now In tliv | mmm -o.Ion of tlie Vir the body of the kitten ginian grntlrman W K Tyler, of ute» tim e tlie kitten wo.» dead Loudoun County, »urrreda In every Instance. In »avlng persons Uoui a liorrlblr death from polaolilng. Tlie little village ol Aldle located tn I hr lllur nidge M< untalnv but forty mile» from Washington, la the plate » l i n e tlie lamou* m ills, nr to ki.H, T h r ir prtiplr comr iron» many n lie. to rrcrtve 11» benefit». Deadly »imkr bile», the ugly ga»h made from thr tearing fang» of »lid rata, »ling», and other Occident», are never frared if mil. the mail . t o n e ran lx- -.rrurrd I He Heine ef W F.. Tyler In «Idle. Vo., where thr mad»tone ha* been far a number o f generation». It to s much prlveg posse»»son and 1» guarded very lealonely. According Lu rumor, many efforts hare been made to rob the owner» of this wonder »tone. ,4i ve* Kitten'» l.tfe T h e n an otlirr kitten » a» taken (rum the basket and a Miake wo» a l lowed lo Hike It I t s lim e how ever the vial toe reached Into tits (locket and took out a »trange ap - liearlng »tone and iipfihed It to tile wound made by the » rrp ciil's fang» In a few scinixl» th r kitten reviv 'd , Jum |»d up and ran aw ay "T h e 1 ap taln wa» Invited to tc»t tlie woiuler» o f tile »U ne by tlie »0111c method, but he wa» afraid . T lien one of tile tali, hand.votttr fellows, bared hto arm to a imbkHicua snake and r rrrlv rd a s|>relally large and Origin In Africa »trong iloae o f the venom Im m e Thr origin of thla »trange object diately an ugly »welling »rt In. Imt rearin'» hark to Africa. According, no lime won lost In admtnUlernuc lo llie Tylrr lamlly. now cu»lodlams Hie stone to Uir wound and It worked of the healing ab ne. It waa Hie gift SO effei lively that a cure was m ade" >>f e o lm d man Homo »ay It was It seem.» that llie American sea used for a time In tlie Kant Indie»; eaptaln could not then hrllrvr lit» other» say that It was brought di own eye.» and refused (o bi'tlcve what rectly to America 'Hiere 1» no lie had Ju»t observed. He tried to doubt of It» qualities, aa there Is no buy one o f the strange «lone» 111» doubt of the fact that Mime generous oiler w »» refused, but lie wa» given colon'll Individual, many year» ago, a stone as a token of friendship and «eut In 111 l'in . i l |>o.s.ses .mu in Mils for tlie benefit of "h ji people." when he should reach home. Thua the oountry a» a gift of friendship. mads tour come lo America. «poison to drawn out that It can ab-ewos a colored woman known to many Nlwmr Never Falls sorb, the stone falls off and must friends of the writer, who dosed tlie The »lone. It waa explained to him. be boiled In milk to restore Us abil children of the family with bluing come Irom llie Iw-art of a white deer. ity to help. Sometimes the milk water whenever the raspy, frighten Other colored |ieople told that It was turns a grayish-green color. A fter ing sound of a croupy cough was specially .mode by a secret tribal wards It can b? again applied, and a& heard—and the children never had method. Whatever llie origin, the frequently as desired, or until It will croup. This fact was mentioned to stone » » » carefully preserved on the no longer stick to the wound. an eminent doctor, who replied: long homeward trip. " It to not so laughable. Indigo Is Saved from Rabies In Amerlra tlie stone was kept In The Tyler family has never known a component part of croup medi a »ale place Friends and neighbors of an Instance where It failed to re cine." heard llie tale of Its myalerloua lieve suffering. Belief in madstones was common (lowers. Then »lie n a large copper The Aldle mads tone was once used hundreds of years ago in many part» head snake sunk Its fangs Into the by a Washington woman who had o f the East Travelers tell of col hand of a neighbor the stone was been bitten by a large Maltese cat, ored people who had these stones, called for. T lie stone was applied IS years ago. Fearing rabies, the sometimes called "tabersheer,” or and the neighbor recovered. After woman made the trip Into the Blue opal. Some have said that tlie stono this, others came to be treated. There Bulge MountaUto for the sake of the is made of Juice which become» to no record ol It« ever (ailing to leaving a mucilag I treatment of the madstone. There evaporated. lielp. the charm worked, and today the inous rather than solid sub-lance. ‘ One lady came all tlu^ way from The great Oriental traveler. Jean New Orleans.’’ said Mr. Tyler, "ask ! woman to well. Scientists of the De Baptiste Travernler. tells of finding ing to have her little daughter treat t r im e n t of Agriculture who exam- a colored man who had a madston* ed for » rabid dog bite. It took sev 1 ined the cat found traces of rabies. and who used It to extract poisons. eral days to complete tlie Journey ¡The madstone. however, drew out He said "The test for a true mad and the child's leg was In terrible the poison and saved the woman's stone to to place it in the mouth— * condition. But after several appli life. Whether the stone to possessed of If good it will leap to the palate and cations o. the stone, the swelling magical powers or not, no one knows. adhere. It also boils w ater" Tlie went down, the wound assumed a boiling water effect was probably pinkish, healthy look, and In a few ¡Colored people who have studied tlie caused by the bubbles arising. origin of these stones claim that It dav* tlie child was -estored to per to their ability to absorb substances, Rid St. Paul Use It? fect health.” Prof. Kunz says: "Madstones act to suck out the moisture, that makes ually have property of adhering There Is, loo. thr account of an the- so reliable. Science ignores strongly to the tongue, and when old colored man. called Jerry, who the subject. • dropped In water emit rapid stream» was bitten while in the woods He Have Siientitlc Basis of air bubbles After absorbing mat consulted tlie village doctor, but the At the Army Medical Museum In ter they become opal-like. They pos 1 welling continued Then the sum - was applied and ,he wound quickly Washington, tn a report of the B rit sess absorption properties to greater ish Association for the Advancement degree than any other substance and healed Mr Tyler says; "In my fathers o f Science, there to an article by Dr. it ts strange that they have not been used as a more widely used antidote declining days 1 often applied the it c white who soys; "Madstones immersed in water are for poison"' stone and )t seemed quite natural A i Florence. Italy. In 1863. while for me to continue to use It. to re found to absorb to an extent of 5 lieve suffering and distress, as the per cent, of their weight. Applied to excavating on the site of the old Church of the Templars, dedicated to fresh wounds carefully adjusted, donor» said.” blood absorbs to a maximum of 2 1 St. Paul, there was found an earthen ’.rake* Poison From Body vase. On this vase in bas-telief, per cent, of weight of the stone." A madslone seems to have the And further, and highly Important. between two designs was a figure of strange ability to tuke poison from It to stated that. "Madstones boiled St Paul being bitten by a serpent, the body. Just how, why. or In what in milk or water are found to be as described in Acts 28th chapter, way it Accomplishes this, no one toxic In case of venomous wounds ' verses 3 to 6 In Latin was read the .seems to know Possibly the three Inscription. "In the name e f St. Paul Quack Madstone« colored wise men of an ear'.y dav un and by this stone thou shalt draw Tliose who laugh and scoff at the out poison.” derstood. This souvenir Is about one and stone that was the gift of early col I t might appear that there were one-fourth Inches In length, of ,i ored folk are thus confronted by colored folks in St. Paul's day who light and dark brown color, resem the scientific statement knew the secret of this strango bling an nlniond In shape. O f course, there are quack mad- stone. in time of difficulty, a fter the slones, Just as there are quack medi Who knows tlie secret of a magnet sling of a poisonous creature, the cines and quack doctors In (he world. which picks up only certain things? stone to first placed tn a glass of But real madstones. like tlie one at It Is possible that the madstone. not water, while the wound U scratched Aldle. do their work thoroughly and mad as Its name Indicates, possesses with a sharp blade of a knife, then conscientiously. It appears to be a a like virtue and hidden strength in The she of llie madslone I» here shown It has pithed of great value lo the madslone Is applied directly to fact that mapy of the so-called m ys eliminating poison. many eolurrd anil while people when bitten by snakes, mad dogs and oilier tlie wound. I f there Is poison there, terious charms hark back to common pulso non» erra lures. TH E END • the stone adheres. When all the sense and common medicine. There