ART. 15. HISTORY OF MEDICINE EXHIBITS WHITEBEEAD. 7 



Cramp ring. — A ring uiade from a nail that lias been used to fasten a 

 coffin, and that was dug out of a graveyard. A sovereign charm against 

 cramps. Used in China, England, and occasionally in tlie United States. Cat. 

 No. 143,114, U.S.N.M. 



Voodoo, hoodoo, obi, or obcah. — A species of magic art or sorcery practiced 

 by the African negroes, and continued to some extent by tlieir descendants 

 in the West Indies and the United States. The amulets or talismans used 

 are usually bones, hair, teeth, feathers, rags, bits of wood. etc. This speci- 

 men consists of a chicken feather, some human hair, a drop of blood on a 

 bit of rag, and a pine sliver. All are tied together and sewn in a piece 

 of shirting. Tlie amulet is worn on the neck as a preventive medicine, a 

 cure-all, and to prevent the working of a " voodoo " on or against the wearer. 

 Cat. No. 143,106, U.S.N.M. 



Madstone. — Model, cut from the mineral halloysite, of a " madstone " in 

 actual use. Believed to be the mineral of which some of the famous mad- 

 stones are composed. It absorbs moisture with avidity, and adheres to a 

 moistened surface until nearly saturated. Applied to the wound produced 

 by the bite of a mad dog, it is said to adhere until the poison is entirely 

 absorbed. The stone is then boiled in milk to remove the poison. Cat. No. 

 143,103, U.S.N.M. 



Madstone. — A highly polished seed of Gipiiiiocladus dioica. the Kentucky coffee 

 tree, like the one in the Museum's collection, was offered to the Smithsonian 

 Institution as a genuine madstone of proved efficacy for the sum of $1,000. 

 Cat. No. ] 48,104, U.S.N.M. 



Madstone. — A biliary calculus, or gallstone, formed in the gall bladder o-f 

 an ox. One of the earliest forms of madstones. Ibn Baithar (1248 A. D. ) 

 ascribes to it the power of attracting the poison of venomous animals. It was 

 applied to snake bites as well as dog bites. Cat. No. 49,360, U.S.N.M. 



Madstone. — Said to have been found in the stomach of a deer, by an Apache 

 Indian of New Mexico. It is a pebble of carbonate of lime, which may have 

 been swallowed by a deer with his food or water, and the surface etched 

 by the action of the gastric juices. Sent to the Museum as a veritable 

 madstone. Cat. No. 143,190, U.S.N.M. 



Madstone. — A reputed madstone purchased from Mr. J. R. Scott, Cable, 

 Wis. A brown, striated, porous pebble, deriving its attributed powers, no 

 doubt, from its peculiar appearance and the not unusual fact that the person 

 bitten by the dog recovered after the application of the stone. Cat. No. 143,492, 

 U.S.N.M. 



Madstone.- — A ball of matted liair, such as is occasionally found in the 

 stomach of domesticated cattle, buffaloes, and perhaps other ruminants. Two 

 balls of this kind were sent to the Museum from Alva, Okla., in 1906, as 

 veritable madstones. One of them was said to have been successfully used 

 in two cases of dog bite. Cat. No. 143,201, U.S.N.M. 



Coral. — Stops every flux of blood : drives away ghosts, illusions and dreams ; 

 hardens diseased gums ; cleanses putrid sores ; relieves pains in the stomach ; 

 and, taken in powder with wine, it cures gravel. Hung on fruit trees it 

 insures fertility and protects from hail and blighting wind. In great repute 

 during the Middle Ages both as a drug and as an amulet. Cat. No. 143,113, 

 L'.S.N.M. 



Agate. — Emblematic of health ; an enemy to all poisonous things ; assuages 

 thirst when held in the mouth. (Camillus Leonardus, fifteenth century.) 

 Worn as an amulet for the cure of scrofula and skin diseases. (Alliertus 



