The morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1899-1930, 1900-11-14


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has been shipped here with view to It's
ultimate resting pace In some museum,
Meanwhile. any one Interested In fos-
slls, ethnology archaeology. geology or
any OF the kindred "ologies' Is invited
to cali at the establishment OF Samuel
Butter 4 Co, No, Is West Second street,
South Boston. view the curio. and. Il
able, tell the story " It's life.
II Is remarkable specimen. The pre-.
servation OF every part is tlawless. II
Is ;he form OF q well built, athletic man,
some thirty-hve or forty years Of age.
apparently, at the time OF death. Ex-
perts say that Il Is probably not the
body OF an Indian, as the features and
the feet are not those of the American
red man. II resembles more the re-
mains of white man. but whether he
anteceded the Indian or not can hardly
be- determined without an examination
Of the strata In which the body was
found,
4 Herald representative viewed "the
man OF stone" and then hurried out to
Cambridge, where he found Professor
Gordon, OF the Peabody Museum. ready
to listen to the story Of the curio and TO
accompany the newspaperman for an
examination OF the FOSSIL Professor
Gordon has recently returned from
Honduras. where for the last nine
months he has been making ethnologi-
cal and archaeological Investigations.
His opinion as an expert is reliable.
No. it Is not fake" said the pro-
fessor. In reply 20 question, TT Is
easily demonstrable that It is a true
fossil. Furthermore. it's the only fossil
cf its kind ever found. The thing re-
minds me more than anything else Of
the casts which they are getting out
Of Pompeii. This specimen is similar to
thase from the buried city, The only
difference Is that the moulds OF the bod
he's formed by the hardened lava in
Z wa tNi oEt bftuS utiNN hg HioSN'A VI
rcris 20 make the casts. while here na-
;ure performed the whole process.
1t is impossible to tell offhand what
is the age OF the fossil. That could only
be learned by a careful study OF the
strata from which 1t was dug, Hun
dreds OF years--and this is quite proba-
,hle-the fossil is very. very old. In that
case this specimen might have great
value In determining the predecessors
OF the Indians on this continent"
The professor paused to examine one
Of the feet. both OF which were broken
of just above the ankle when the body
was being exhumed.
Nov. you see" he continued. you
can scarcely distinguish the location
OF the bones Of the leg. This would in
dicate that complete decomposition had
taken place before petrescence was ac-
comphshed. This fact seems to prove
that It was a long process. and TO ar
que for the extreme age Of the fossil.
However. as l said. nothing absolute
can be determined until a careful study
OF the surrounding strata has been
made"
Professor Gordon would not hazard
a guess on the age OF the thing, but ad-
mitted that might be a thousand years
old. and possibly much more. He de-
clared that It was not the body Of an
Indian. but resembled more that Of a
white mar. The features he pronounc-
ed well formed and regular, with a
high brow. indicating good intellect. He
seemed inclined to the opinion that the
feet were those of a man who had worn
shoes, or at least sandals or moccasins
Of some sort.
The Nevada State Journal. the local
paper OF Reno. gives this explanation
Of TIE formation Of The fossil. which is
practically the correct one:
The stone man WIS found in Spring
Gulch, about three miles north Of Reno.
in a two foot seam OF clay, with gravel
above and below 1t. The body was
found on the outer curve OF the gulch.
opposite where an ancient stream had