Bellows Falls times. [volume] (Bellows Falls, Vt.) 1856-1965, 1869-11-12
BELLOWS FALLS. VT, FRIDAY,

the reasons Tor thinking 1t apetrlfaetlon:
The naturalness of the whole thing.
The entire harmony of the parts. The
drawn up leg, the slightly contorted left
foot, the sharply distended toes, the twist
ed left hip, the left hand under and
against the hip, palm down, and the con-
vulsively pressed down right band upon
the lower part of the abdomen, with
force which bends up the fingers at the
ends, depressing them in the centre-all
speak in language not to be misunder-
stood, of anguish. That the head is
turned slightly over toward the right
from the true line of the body, and the
neck correspondingly twisted in the same
direction, is proven, not only by laying
straight edge along the body up to the
Adams apple, but more conclusively by
the fact that the right eye-ball, in setting
against the lower side of its socket, has
left the deep depression between itself
and the ridge of the nose, while the left
eyeball, settling in the same direction,
has pushed up against the lower wall of
the socket, leaving but very slight de-
preston at the inner corner of the eye.
The sole of the left foot, under side of
the left calf, thigh and elbow, and a por-
ton of the fingers of the left hand lying
under him, are somewhat eaten away, or
honey-combed, while the remaining por-
tions of the same parts are untouched by
the corroding agency. Proof conclusive
to my mind, that this was done prior to
the commencement of the petrifying pro-
cess, hes in the fact that the right exter-
nal ear flap, and large portions of the
neck, in the immediate region of the ear,
the under jaw and lower edge of the
cheek near it, are hanging in unmistak-
able clots of rotting and dropping flesh
besmeared as it were with the oozing pus
of incipient putrescence and at that
very point, fortunately, we may say, for
the interest of the face, arrested from
further decay by the preservatory pro-
cesses of petrifaction. Is this all COM
patible, let me ask right here, with the
hypothesis put forth by sundry newspa-
per writers, that the figure is the work of
a crazy Canadian sculptor2 The man
who could have done the left ear alone,
nearly gone as it is, not to mention what
have just given as TO the other ear
and its surroundings, would have earned
an eternal fame, and justly. / might
give scores of additional reasons in sup
port of the petrifaction theory, but it
would swell the article beyond the bounds
of newspaper propriety.
During the grading of section six Of
the Cazenovia and Canastoto railroad,
about twenty miles from Cardiff, the
scene of the present excitement, the skel-
etons of five gigantic human beings were
exhumed, one of them measuring eleven
feet in length. Petrifed fish have from
time to time been found near Cardiff, and
among others a perch, quite perfect and
of good size, was found by w. B. Kirk
of Syracuse. Five miles further down
the valley, in removing human body
some years since, from the Onondaga
valley cemetery, it was found turned tc
stone. Further north, in the same val
ley, the corpse of child, on being tax
en- up, was found to be petrifed. The
fody of man, buried few years, il
the same neighborhood, being taken uT
for removal, and found to be perfect
petrifaction, was taken home by the wild
ow, and is still retained in the house, sht
refusing to have it reburied. For thes,
statements l am indebted to writer il
the Syracuse Daily Standard, who cal
give names if necessary. Thus we Sc,
that petrifaction is no uncommon thing
in the vicinity of Cardiff. Mr.. Wright
!, who formerly owned the farm upon whicl
the great discovery was made, states tina
near by is a spring that will, within
few months, turn into solid stone an,
small deposits of sand and gravel. Th
Onondaga Indians are accustomed to re
gale their visitors with accounts of thing
which troubled their fathers and anon
those things were the stone giants
f Cor THE START OF BEEcHER.-Th
e Rev. Mr.. Patten, in a letter from De
!, troit to his Advance in Chicago, says tha
d talking with members of Henry War
+ Beecher's church one always hears anet
S dotes illustrative of his spirit and meth
e DDS. In his weekly prayer meetings h
J, is quite free, and draws out his member
r in responsive utterances. Thus, one eve
!, ming the exercises ran into the form {
}, personal experiences, and several of tn
e brethen told of their spiritual enjoymen
!, Mr.. Beecher suggested that this test
= mony was all very well, but that the a,
+ count of such smooth sailing did not ee
N e. IL L. L.. L q