Mad stones are found in the digestive tracts of some cows.
Mad stones are small clumps of hair and fur that have calcified into small stones in the digestive tracts of cud-chewing animals. Regarded as a type of bezoar stone (the fossilized remnants of hair found in any animal), mad stones are said in folk tales to remove poison from a wound or cure someone who has been bitten by a rabid animal. The lore of the mad stone is especially popular in the Southeastern United States, where tales of mad stone cures are found in the Ozarks, Kentucky, Arkansas, North Carolina and Georgia.
Instructions
1. Search areas that attract large quantities of animals that chew their cud. Mad stones are only found in the stomachs and digestive tracts of animals that chew their own cud, such as cattle, deer, hares, camels and other ruminant animals. It may be possible that privately-owned farms will allow you to sift through the remnants of recently-slaughtered animals in search of any mad stone calficiations. Follow all local and state regulations in dealing with animal carcasses, and offer to sign a waiver of liability if you are granted access. Forests that attract deer are also a good place to search for mad stones, but make sure to go during the deer-hunting off season to avoid being mistaken for one.
2. Visit a message board or online community that specializes in folklore and legends. You may be able to secure a mad stone from a member who owns one already. However, do not offer money for your mad stone; superstition states that mad stones will lose their effectiveness if it is bartered for money. You can, however, offer different items in trade for the stone. Some mad stone owners may even allow you to borrow the stone for a brief period of time, but this is rare. Mad stones are passed down through generations of family members, with the eldest son receiving it from his father.
3. Contact a local hunter's association and see if they will let you accompany some of their members during deer season. Most myths contend that the best mad stones come from deer, especially white deer. Explain your goal to your fellow hunters and ask if you can be present when the deer is dressed after shooting. Slice open the stomach of a freshly-killed brown or white deer and examine the contents of the stomach. You will be looking for a small stone, approximately 2 to 4 inches in diameter, that feels slightly gritty and pourous to the touch. The mad stone may be smooth, or it may be covered with several bumps and nodules. Mad stones range in color from dark green to light brown.
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