Los Angeles herald., 1891-02-05
PUZZLED PHILOSOPHERS.
CAN'T AGREE UPON THE THEORY
OF THE LATEST WONDER.
All Unite. However, in Saying That 1t Is
of Natural Formation.

1t is now nearly month since the
mysterious stone figure of a man found
in an ancient river bed in Fresno county
was placed on exhibition at 142 North
Main street. Daily ever since the place
has been visited by crowds of people.
Nor is it any wonder this should be SO.
No such mystery has ever been placed
on exhibition as this. Fossil remains
of human beings have been dug up, but
they have been sh altered and scattered
portions of the osseous frame of the hui
man body. In some instances it has
been few teeth, or part of skull. At
most only the bones of the thorax, or o
humerusffem1r, or tibia have been dis
covered with the bones of the head.
And these are usually FOSSIL bones, not
in any sense petrifactions. Petrefac-
tions have been discovered, too, but
only in a very fragmentary form.
Again, petrified bodies have been
discovered at times, but they
We're remains of persons whose burial
had been of recent occurrence, and there
fore easily identified. Once more fraud
ulent exhibits have been made of pre-
tended fossil, or petrified remains. In
all cases these frauds have very soon
been exposed and the show closed.
Here is body embracing the whole
anatomy of the human body. It has all
the fleshy parts intact. The teeth are
there, SO are the nails. So lifelike is it,
that the. skeptlcal are compelled to set
up the claim that the body is moulded
from cast made froma dead body. But
it is gigantic figure. 1t is 6 feet 6
inches in stature. Such a man would be
noted in life, and easily recognized even
in such a shape as this, if of recent
times. But this figure can not be of yes
terday. 1t has all the marks of
an archaeological nature about it.
Indeed its characteristics are those that
mark something of long passed geolo-
gical era.
Here are the points of interest about
this figure. Is it real, or is it decept-
ion? Is it recent, or is it of the far
past? One can ask a thousand ques-
tions, but who can answer any one of
them? So the stone figure lies there as
silent as a sphinx, an unsolved mystery
dug from the ancient bed of geological
river. 1t is an interesting study to say
the least. No such thing has heretofore
been unearthed from the earth. Few
human minds can resist the spell of
such mystery. We all lhave deep inter-
est in the question of the age OF human
race upon the earth. Is this fact that
works towards the solution of the ques-
ton, or is it not? There are other evil
dences than those described which
scientists fear to dwell upon. The per-
colations upon the body undoubtedly
caused by the action OF the flowing
water they dare notlclaim as unnatural.
In fact, those men of science who have
viewed,the wonder, say that such work
is unknown to art and known only to ma
ture.
Ip the cailon where this remarkable
specimen of departed humanity was
found, almost every natural object bears
signs of petrifaction. Specimens of
wood bark crusttaions and other inter-
esting objects were taken from near the
spot at the time the body
was found. A very large portion
of the population of Los Angeles has
gone to gaze upon the petriied man
with these questions in their minds.
None of them have found an answer.
They are still going and will continue to
do so'until the figure is taken away,
which will be at the end of this week,
as it will be put on exhibition at Pas
adena on Saturday.