The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-12-17
OLD ToDD's BIG FIND.
A PETRIFIED MAN THAT CERTAIN
LY MADE HOT TALK.


had a powerful hold upon the Imagination
of the pubic. In the west, especially In
mountainous districts, it is an exceedingly
dull year when stone man is not dis
covered. A variety of crinoid fossils is
popuIarly supposed TO be petri-
fed corncob. The cowboys and
miners tell a wonderful story of
"Petriied mountain" A miner sitting
IN the Inter Ocean office said recently to
the writer:
"Shoo, nuvver heerd NV Petterfied noun
tain? wy, wen ye git thare at the foot
We see pertaters n apples n nuts peter
fed an layin' roun' on the groun'. A
little higher up, tn roots of the grass
n trees is petterfied. Freshly We notice
that tn blades NV grass is gittin PETER
fed n then the bodies NV trees. After
while yen notice at ever blamed linn
on ever doggone tree is petterhed; an
ever branch on ever linn and ever twig
on ever branch an ever leaf on ever
twig-is plum petterfed. An kick my
shins eff thar amt a passed. O. petterhed
birds on them petterfed trees singin'
petterfed songs!'
A drummer at the Auditorium, few
days ago, told a good story of the finding
Of a petrifed man at Neosho, in Southwest
Missouri.
Il was dickering for a trade on lot OF
overcoats with old man Moss, the pioneer
storekeeper down there. Along came
lot of boys and a gang OF men, ana III
about five minutes the whole darned pop
lilation were moving as fast as their legs
could carry 'em in the direction OF the
creek bottom north of the town. An old
fellow named Todd had lately moved IN
from Iowa He appeared to nave CON
siderable pile of money and bought farm
and a lot of the swamp land close TO town.
His boys and girls cut dash IN Neosho
and soon grew popular. The old man
himself was a lank, rough-Spokeh ola Gu
zen and got the reputation OF pelhg hdru
to beat on a horse trade. But that cuts
no ice in this just now we soon lo9io
out that petrified man had Deeh as
covered on old man Todds land. Moss
made his clerk watch the store TIL ne Sot
back. and both of US started on run LOT
the creek. ,,o;,
ing with excitement. About a huhureo
men and boys were gathered around
trench. four feet deep, just below a little
spring The man was being prleo out
with crowbars. The first thlhg thdI
struck you was that he must nave peeh d
magnificent specimen when he was alive.
six feet two or three inches long ana per
fectlv proDortioned. Nearly every part OF
the dead man had been preserved even 10
the finger nails. The wrinkles IN the sole
of one of the feet were h1ehKe' one u
the hands evidently crossed over the
breast had slipped down about six inches
He evidently had been laid out regularly,
and the action of the water had Slowly
replaced every bit of flesh and bone WiIh
stone The petrifaction was hard gray
IL oh H.
borhood. The man must have weighed IN
life between 1870 and 200 pounds, Wmie the
netrifaction | reckon, weighed 100 or
1900 The thing was so ifellke that IL
was CHASTITY. The only impertectlon was
in the face where the eyes and mouth had
been. and in the abdomen. which was
scooped out in a basin that was about six
inches across.
Todd had gone out in the morning to
rake leaves and rubbish from the spring
in his pasture. In scraping around with
the spade, so he said, he struck against
rock. He thought he'd dig it up and deep
en- the springs bed. In doing this he came
on a rusty ramrod, piece OF gunlock, ana
what looked like a brass button OF sol
dier's uniform. About this time ms SPADE
struck the petrifed mans foot and Knock
ed off the big toe. AS soon as Todd had
uncovered the thing far enough to see
what it was, he felt sick, and went to the
house. He lay down on a lounge, and sent
the boys out with a neighbor to fnish
digging the find up.
Before noon half the population in town
had taken a squint at the petrified man.
The Todds decided they had a good thing.
and moved Sandy as they began to can
the petrified man, up to a vacant store
room and charged 10 cents admission
great discussion was Waged as to the
Dossible identity of the stone man. Even
the Oldest settler couldn't recollect that the
creek bottom had ever been the site OF a
graveyard. The man was laid out so reg
ulary that 1t didn't look as if he had been
murdered and put there. He was such
a tall we.l-formed fellow that some adj
vanced the idea that he was an Indian
scout Others thought the man must have
been a volunteer in the Mexican war. The
old Mexican trail is known TO have run
through the town. Others thought it must
be a union or confederate soldier, purled
there during the war
This theory was borne out by the ram
rod and piece of gunlock found near the
body. Old man Todd, who, of course,
claimed the body, was overrun with bids
for If There was talk for several days of
a stock company being formed in town to
Inv him at 5000. There is little college
in Neosho The president at that time was
the most conceited fellow l ever met. he
mt forward the great claim for his school.
He thought old man Todd ought to give
il 10 EN- as the nucleus of a museum.
Todd though, thought about as much of
the nucleus of a museum as he would OF
the nucleus of pile of stones, and paid
no attention to the professor.
"Wel who finally bought the mani
"Nohodv bought him Old man Todd
absolutely refused to sell. On the back of
Sandy's head there was a yielding spot,
something like flesh, with a few bristles
OF hair still left. So many people fingered
this that here was danger of its being rub
bed off entirely, and Todd put a stop to
II. Pretty soon all sorts of stories got
aAoaL. Some sneak started the yarn that
old man Todd had made the same dis
coverv on his farm down in Iowa. Others
said that a couple of men had brought the
thing to town in a wagon and had stopped
ut Todd's The liveryman declared that
Il week before long and unconscionably
heavy box had been shipped in on the
cars TO Todd Todd had stored it in his
barn. and two or three nights afterward a
nalf dozen men came in at about Il o'clock
ana drove away with it. Old man Todd
We nod os could be He kept on saving