The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-07-01
CODY WAS PETRIFIED
w. K. Semple Made a Gruesome
Discovery.
THOUGHT IT A MURDER
Shipped as Fossils to Save Freight-A
Mummy That Induced Dunbar
to Go Into the Show
Business.

w. X. Semple, Inspector for the
Western Railway Inspection bureau,
while examining some freight at the
Montana Union freight depot yester-
day, came across what he at first took
to be a highly important discovery. 1t
is Mr. Samples duty to examine
freight that is billed here. to see if it
is properly classified. A bill came to
the bureau for fossils, which were be-
ing transshipped, and as fossils were
something rather unusual in shipments
at this point, Mr.. Semple decided to
examine the freight and see if it had
been correctly classified. Accordingly
he repaired to the freight sheds, where
he found a long cOftinshaped box of
rough boards. "Billy's' hair raised as
he tore off a board and pulled aside
the wrapping which covered the con-
tents of the box. He saw before him
what at first glance appeared to be
the body of a dead man. Visions of a
terrible murder and the body of the
victim being shipped to a distant point
to cover up the crime tlOated through
his mind, and he was on the point Of
rushing off to a telephone to summon
the police when it occurred to him
that what he saw did not look exact
ly right for a corpse, and he hestated
long enough to touch it, for he was
pretty sure that he did not have 'em,
and he wanted to be certain. When
his hand came in contact with the OBJ
ject his fears settled and he heaved
sigh of relief. 1t was hard stone
his hand felt. The supposed corpse
was nothing more nor less than the
petrif1ed body of a man.
Bill went back to the office and
raised the classification several points,
and after relating his experience to
the boys in the office, he went to
telephone and called up the shipper
who was at one of the hotels, and
whose name appeared in the bill of
lading as Thomas Dunbar to notify
him of the change in the classification.
When Dunbar appeared at the office
not long afterward he told his story.
He said he was a rancher at Victor,
this state, and some time ago he went
East on a visit to his old home at
Quincy, III. While there he visited
an old friend, who owned farm near
Quincy. Some years ago the friend had
lost an arm which had been buried on
his place. While Dunbar was visiting
him he decided to dig up the ampu-
tated member for some reason, and
on doing so found that it had petri-
fled. Many years before that time
man had been buried near the spot
where the arm had lain, and when the
fact was related to Dunbar, he be-
came curious to know if the body of
the man had petrified also, and it was
decided to eXhume the body and see.
Sure enough. they found the body had
turned to stone. AS the man had died
without relatives, and there was no
one enough interested in his memory
to care, the petrified mummy was
given to Dunbar, who decided to go
out OF. the ranchng business and go
into the show business and make
fortune exhibiting the petriied man.
He had shipped the body as fossils to
save freight. He said he intended clos
ing up his ranch at once to engage in
the new enterprise.
Mr. Semple said last evening that he
made careful examination of the pet
rified body and was satisfied it was
genuine.