Mooney.J ^'^^ [April 15, 



country in 1726, and the skull of one who had died a violent death was 

 preferred, being considered to retain more of the vital principle. 



Toothache is cured by rubbing the gum with the finger of a corpse, or 

 washing it with some of the water used in washing the corpse when pre- 

 paring it for burial. The cure is permanent. The pain is commonly sup- 

 posed to be caused by a small worm eating the tooth, and this worm is 

 sometimes killed by applying to the tooth a piece of tobacco, guano, or 

 some other pungent substance. The Omaha Indians, who hold the same 

 theory, kill the worm by blistering the skin on the outer surface of the 

 jaw. The dead hand holds an important place in Irish mythology. 



Headnclie is Q&WaiX flab'ras beag,* or "little fever," and is caused by the 

 joints of the skull springing apart until "the head is open" — ^just as we 

 sometimes hear a man under such circumstances say that his head is split- 

 ting. The woman who has the cure takes a woolen string, with which she 

 measures the head of the sufferer in three different directions, in order to 

 see how far it is open. First the string is put under the chin, and the ends 

 are brought up over the top of the head. Next it is measured in the same 

 way from under the nose to the back of the head, bringing the ends of the 

 string across just above the ears, and finally the string is drawn around 

 the forehead and over the temples to the back of the head. Having learned 

 how much the head has opened, she presses it firmly between her hands 

 to bring the sutures together, says certain words, and the cure is effected. 

 In one instance the patient was told that his head had opened something 

 more than an inch. There may be more virtue in this method than is at 

 first apparent. 



Earache is cured by putting into the ear a piece of wool from a black 

 sheep, saturated with oil, at the same time reciting the appropriate words. 

 The last remark holds good also of this cure. 



Sore throat is cured by putting the head of a live gander into the mouth 

 of the patient and making it scream down his throat. The thrush in chil- 

 dren is cured in a similar way, by getting a posthumous child to blow into 

 the mouth of the sufferer. The blowing must be done by the ()perator 

 while still fasting, and is generally repeated for three successive morn- 

 ings. 



Some persons can " set a charm " to staunch a icound so that not a drop 

 of blood shall flow from it. The charm is said to consist solely in the 

 repetition of certain words, without any application whatever. A hemor- 

 rhage can be stopped instantly by the application of a garment, which 

 has been washed or ironed on Sunday. 



There are several cures for a sprain. The most common method is to 

 tie around the joint ^fogee, or worn-out thread from a loom. Sometimes 

 a string is used which has been held in the mouth while a certain charm 

 is recited. The most remarkable method is used in Kerry, both for men 



* Pronounced feveams Vyug. 



