Mexico weekly ledger., 1895-01-24
Petrified Paternal Parent.
WOMAN RECOGNIZES HER
FATHERS BODY IN A
STONE STATE.
She Says She Can Tell 1t by Certain
Marks and Will Sue for Posses
sion The Rottenest Fake
on Record.

tARft5AHEgfho,y jan. ~. MrHs safan
+. stillen of Indian Springs, q small
town in Mcdonald county, appeared
Mt Newtonia II day this week, where
the petrltied man recently exh1meda at
Neosho was being exhibited, andiden-
titled the remains ~ those of her faith
er, Adam Chuck. Great excitement
prevailed at Newtonia as the news Of
the identification spread and interest
III the affair throughout the Southwest
in intensified by the fact that Mrs. Still
ten ~elaiina the hadt and will bring suit
for It's recovery
The discovery of the petPihed man at
| Neosha last fall caused quite a aensa-
tim and was given considerable pub
iictty at the time, One foot OF the stone
man WAS uncovered accidentally by n
lahorer who was digging about one of
the most popular springs at Ae6sho.
The owner uf Lhe iaud put n force of
diggefs Ia work who 6onn uncovered
the remarkable edriaaity, which 8aa
found TO he OF solid iinieatofe afitl very
heavy, The water of this spring from
which hundreds had daily slipped had
fawed over the body of the tone man
constantly and the theory Is that IL
caused the perturbation. The features
and every portion of the body except
the stomach are perfectly preserved,
So perfectly that 10 be In the presence
of the pe~triflcation ausea one to AL
most feel he il in the presence Of the
dead, The stomach has the appearance
of having been eaten away to a con-
siderable extent. The body shows
plainly that il was regularly laid out
before burial. The curiosity has been
exhibited at almost every town of any
importance in the Southwest and
everywhere has drawn great crowds.
At Sarcoxie several months ago ex-
County Collector Robert Iiottell, Sam
Levi and Marion Smith, all of that
place, expressed the belief that the re-
mains were those of Adam Chuck, n
man who disappeared near Neosho
during the late war. This word was
eventually taken to Mrs. Stiilen at In
dian Springs, who was able to give n
very accurate and detailed description
of her father. The right leg and arm
We're smaller than the left, she stated,
as the result of a severe attack of
rheumatism ,~whicbalso slightly shrivel-
ed the whole right side; one ear was
partially bitten off in a fight at shoot
ing match at Pennington's still-house
i'll Lawrence county. He was a tall
man and peculiarly powerful i'll build.
IDENTIFIED THE STONE.
In company with her husband and
several neighbors, Mrs. Stillen viewed
the remains. She was deeply affected
and trembled like a leaf as she beheld
the features which she declared were
Enthusiastically those of her father. The
remains tally perfectly with her de-
the body which the daughter does not
remember. This is a slash upon the
neck and the throat, which may have
tcause1 eiuck's death.
Peter E. Ranch, a farmer living on
Shoal Greek, near CRANKY, is said to
admit that he buried Chuck within
twenty feet of where this body was
found, and although Cluck myster-
iously disappeared and it was believed
he was murdered, Ranch declines to
throw lore light upon the case. He
says that there was no spring there at
the time of Cluck's burial, but that the
spring broke out about fourteen years
ago
Mrs. Stillen that she will
recover the body at any cost. While
she has not yet actually brought suit
she is in consultation with NJ. E. Ben
ton Of Neosho, who will undoubtedly
be her attorney. Mr. Benton says the
parties nowin possession have a bill of
sale, and the body must be recovered
by a process of law similar to the re-
covery of any other piece of property.
The petrified man is now owned by
DR.. G.. w. Harrison, Ii. Mcbride and
George Tatum. They purchased it of
Mr.. Knott, who owned the land upon
which the body was found. The LEAD
Hill Farm valued at $4,000, was
given for the stone man, and the own
ers value the curiosity at ten times its
cost, because of the money rapidly be-
ingmade out of it by exhibition. They
are men of means and declare they will
fight the suit to the court of last resort
before they will surrender the body. A
long and interesting battle win I'M
doubtedly be the result, and it is claimed
that the strong defense of the owners
will be that even though the body is
proven to be in the likeness of Adam
Cluck, it is not really his body, for the
reason that the stone formed in the
place and shape of his body rather
than from his flesh and bones. There
is not a particle of hair OF sign of hair
upon the petrification.
HILLS SILVER VIEWS.