Anything like this is SMC? R/ DEC405 MAD STONES Have you ever heard of a "mad stone"? It seems our ancestors were quite familiar with them as evidenced by news items found in early Nevada County newspapers. Cathy Straley, a reader who is researching the Redland community of Nevada County, sent me this item she found in a 1912 iocal news column from the area around Redland- "Sherman Riggs, who was thought to have been bitten by a mad dog last Wednesday, was taken to the mad stone for treatment. He is reported much better." I also came across a news item from the Caney community about someone being taken to the mad stone for treatment, but I didn't record the date. Our curiosity was aroused concerning these mad stones. What were they and how did they help someone who had been bitten by a rabid animal? Cathy and I did some research on the Internet to try to find more information on this since we had never heard of it before. We soon discovered that mad stones were used in many parts of the country, especially in rural areas, and many peopie had faith that these stones would actually cure a person who had been bitten by a rabid animal, a poisonous snake, or a spider. A mad stone looked just like a rock but felt li9ht, almost like pumice or a puff-ball mushroom. The egg-shaped stones were formed in the stomach of a deer (usually a male white deer) after the ingestion of hair or some other foreign object. The stomach fluids of the deer would cause the stone to form. This is in folklore and believed in by many country folks (especially mountain people, such as in the Ozarks) and even some physicians, to counteract the poisonous effects of the bite of an animal, such as one affected with rabies, or of a poisonous snake. The mad stone was used for treatment by soaking or boiling it first in fresh, sweet milk and applying it to the wound while still warm or hot. It was applied as many times as it would actually adhere or stick to the wound. Every time it fell from the wound, it was soaked or boiled again, and the milk actually turned green from the stone's absorbed poison. In rural America, when doctors were not always availabie, I guess one can understand why a mad stone might be someone's only hope. According to a newspaper article I found from 1899, a former Texas resident said the mad stone was considered an article of religious faith by early settlers of Texas. He said there were so many mad stones one need never go more than 75 or 100 miles to find one. The precise location of each was known to aimost every family within its radius. If someone was bitten by an animal known to be or suspected of being hydrophobic, a messenger was dispatched for the nearest mad stone. If there was a railroad, the messenger was carried on a special engine and given the right of way over regular trains. If the journey was overland, the messenger rode at breakneck speed on the fastest horse h ........................ +'; .....