St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1893-05-16
A PETRIFIED CHILD.
The Very Strange Find Which
Startled and Mortified
Western Rancher.
The Doctors of Idaho Are Inter-
ested in a Dead Body That
Changes Color.

The petrified body of young girl was
recently found IN the northern part OF
Walla Walla county, in the eastern part
of this state, by ranc her. while clear
ing up small piece of land. The body.
or girl, of stone was first seen lying
about two feet underground, near the
root of tree, as the stump was being
grubbed out, 1t is generally supposed
to have lain there for nearly twenty
years. 1t has baen identified as the
body of Enelde de Valliere. the daugh-
ter of Frenchman, who settled in that
section about half century ago, says a
correspondent OF the ostDispatch.
The appearance of the land, and the
position in which the body was found,
have led to the belief that it was never
buried by mortal hands, but it must in
all probability have been covered from
view by the continual drifting Of earth,
dried leaves and the many decayed sub
stances that undoubtedly accumulated
at the base of the tree during the years
that have passed since the girl disap-
peared from her home. When taken
from it's grave the body was and still is
in complete state of preservation. 1t
is in the same condition of perfection
that it was in when life first became eX-
tinct.
The body was removed to the cabin of
the rancher, where it was washed and
thoroughly dried, when it became as
white and rs smooth as the pureSt fine
marble. 1t was removed to the home of
a physician in Idaho. where it is now.
According to James Mettler. who
has seen the body, there is not flaw or
scar visible to mar the symmetry Of the
graceful proportions of the figure, or the
beauty of the phenomenal colorlng of
the lips and cheeks. which has aroused
the interest of the few physicians that
have been permitted to gaze upon it.
This colOring, strange as 1t may appear,
comes and goes with the appearance
and disappearance of the sun. On dark,
rainy days the face remains as paid as
an ordinary piece of marble. Just at
sunrise the flesh tint of healthful repose
Is seen to settle on the features, giving
the face the appearance of quiet SUM
Der; but as the shades of night fall the
lfe-like form gradually changes, the
whiteness reappears and the body is
again in the icy clasp OF death.
When the body was found there was
a tiny gold chain encirclIng the neck,
with little star attached. upon which
were the initials ''E. de r." These inl-
tials gave the first clew to the identity
of the body. When it became known
that the body was that of Eneide de
Valliere a few of the old settlers In that
section recalled the parents of the girl.
One of the earliest settlers who dared
to brave the dangers that threatened
every white man who ventured in
Eastern Washington was Jean de
Valliere, an old Frenchman. He was
accompanied by his young wife and
little girl. He built himself little log
cabin and turned farmer. Years passed
away, and the little girl grew to be
Notwithstanding waman. She made
peace for her father with the Indians,
with whom she and her parents were on
full Lily, as the girl was called by the
Indians, played and frolicked with the
children of the old warriors, and as she
budded into womanhood she was cOurted
by the young men of the different
tribes.
Enelde was scarcely eighteen years of
age when she first manifested symp-
toms of weak mind. During the hours
of the day she was cheerful, but at
nightfall she became lstless and melan-
choly. She would stroll from her fa-
theirs cabin and wander aimlessly about
the great forest. needing no one and
acting like poor, idiotic child. One
night she walked out on the trail and
disappeared. AS she did no. return her
father went in search of her, but she
was never found. Her mother had died
in the meantime, and the loss of his
daughter worried the old Frenchman so
that he finally broke down. and, after a
brief illness, died.
Physicians cannot explain the singular