Vicksburg weekly herald. (Vicksburg, Miss.) 1868-1883, 1870-10-08

Curiens story ss en- Ezanmansn
nsaE uelrois,



count Of . pesFiEled human body
nov n that city, en- route TO the
State Fair at Jackson. They say
i was found On the bank OF the
Detroit river, ; few miles below
this city but neglect to state why
it should be taken around by
Saginaw to be got 10 Jackson.
This petriflcation is described as
Of the color Of sandstone, Of the
size of an ordinary man, which Il
resembles in oil external details,
and weighs about 900 pounds.
The Enterprise gives the follow
ing narrative as coming from those
who have the petriication in
charge:
"Over twenty years ago, near
the city Of Wyandotte, a stranger
appeared one night at a little hut
and desired from the inmates lodg-
ings for the night. He was a
large, powerful man, and seemed
to be travelling for some secret
purpose. During his stay it was
a~scertained by those who lived in
the hut that he had a large sum of
money, and the, inmates determ-
ined to get possession Of 1t. Dur.
ing the night he was inticed
into the adjoining woods
and there murdered. Those
who took his life, 1t would
appear, buried the mans money
near the beach, and also
the body Ofthe unfortunate victim.
The man was missed, and search
made for him and his effects, but
nothing could be found to throw
the least light on the affair, and It
passed out Of the memory of those
living near at hand, and the mys-
teriOus disappearance was, in fact,
looked upon as a legend Of the
old settlers. The people had for
gotten it, but a party, whose move
ments were directed by a clairvoy-
ant, were near the spot where the
man was buried, and they dug in
defatigably for q treasure said by
this "seer Of hidden things to be
buried in the soil near the waters
edge. They, 1t appears, knew
that the action Of the water had
caused a receding, and that where
there was formerly a sort ofbeach
was now under the water at least
eighteen inches. Not discouraged
by this, they worked hard at
night, and in secret, pretending to
have other business which com.
PEELED them to watch the shore.
During their search for the treas.
ure trove they came upon some
thing very hard and thought they
had Of last struck their treasure.
They worked patiently all night,
and struck q coffin, as they
thought, but the giving away Of
the surface, and quick stopping Of
further operations, made them be-
lieve there was something beside
money in the hole. After work
ing for an hour or two, they found
beneath the sand the perfect figure
of a man, turned to stone by the
continual washing of the sand
utilization Of the minute particles
with the decaying flesh Of the dead
man. They were cemented and
made a substance as hard as stone
itself, and equally heavy. The
outlines of the figure we're kept
perfect, even to the eyelids and the
wound in the skull where the man
was struck with the weapon, which
broke his skull on the back part.
The cash is apparent, and the
skull not only flattened and bro
ken, but cut open like a hssure in
a rock, only it is more regular.
One of the strangest features OF
this wonderful petrifaction is that
1t was, when first discovered, very
soft on the outside, and, on being
exposed to the air, grew hard i'm.
~mediately, and now is q perfect
conglomerate in all parts. The
muscles Of the arm, of the foot, Of
the shoulders, Of the neck, and the
veins of all parts Of the body are
shown perfectly. The legs in lifting
the weighty body, broke of, anG
also one Of the hands, but they
were secured, and show perfectly
the position ofthe man when de
posted in his wet and sandy bed
The figure is lying on its right
side, with the hand raised as II To
ward off a blow, and the Other
arm, from which the hand has been
broker, lies along the side, with the
arm bent from the elbow to the alb
domen, and the hand near the right
thigh. The right leg is crushed
up a little, but not over the other,
as If there were a sort Of spasmod-
ic action of the muscles before
death occurred. This position in,
dicates hat the man was hastily
put into a box, thrown into a hole
and smeared over with sand. In
taking it up the two legs were
broken, but they ct nicely to the
body, and the form is that of {
man of large size and fine develop.
ment. The face is placid and
well defined. The lips, nose, eyeI
and entire contour Of the face are
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