1 66 POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY 



early days a bit of Germany transplanted bodily into the new world; 

 and, undisturbed by subsequent immigration, its inhabitants have re- 

 tained to the present day many of the traits and characteristics of their 

 ancestors. The existing surnames of the people are still largely Ger- 

 man; the Lutheran faith is strong; the language of the fatherland has 

 fallen into disuse almost within the memory of living men; and thi 

 customs and superstitions which prevail are, to a great extent, those 

 bequeathed by the pioneers to their descendants. 



Until ninety or a hundred years ago, according to local historians, 

 there were no physicians in this region. Besides the stock of medical 

 lore in the possession of the old women of every country neighborhood, 

 the sick had recourse only to a system of practise known as ' using/ 

 which consisted in rubbing the affected part with the hands of the 

 operator, blowing the breath upon it, and repeating over the patient 

 certain ancient charms or incantations, in the efficacy of which both 

 doctor and patient had unbounded faith. 



At the present day physicians are here plentiful, and in learning 

 and skill they compare favorably with those of any country district. 

 Many of them have enjoyed the advantages of the best schools in 

 America, and some have studied abroad. Yet here extremes meet, 

 and the highest and the lowest join hands. The skillful modern physi- 

 cian, armed with all the resources of science, sometimes finds himself 

 face to face with a method of medical treatment as old as humanity 

 itself; and he must pit his pills and powders against magical charms, 

 some of which bear on their face the marks of a time when Thor an 1 

 Woden were realities and not myths in the minds of men. 



It must not be understood that ' using ' is very generally practised. 

 Its employment is now uncommon and exceptional. As a rule the 

 Teutonic Carolinians are fairly intelligent, having schools, churches 

 and newspapers, and superstition is dying out. But a stubborn con- 

 servatism, seemingly innate in human nature, makes such things die 

 hard. There is still a class of people which clings tenaciously to the 

 old beliefs; and this class is apt — especially when regular physicians 

 fail, as they sometimes must, to relieve the afflicted — to have recourse 

 to some old man or woman who enjoys a local reputation for skill in 

 magic. Whether a cure is thus effected or not, belief in the method is 

 not shaken, for, as Bacon remarks, men count the hits but not the 

 misses. An occasional success offsets many failures, and so faith in the 

 formulas which age and the authority of the elders have rendered 

 sacred remains unimpaired. 



As one star differeth from another in glory, so, too, the practitioners 

 of ' using ' differ from one another in skill and in extent of knowledge. 

 Some are acquainted with the methods, but have little success in prac- 

 tise. To some who are successful only one or two of the charms are 



