The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-08-06
NO HUMAN PETRIFACTIONs.
All Thus Far Reported Have Been
Proved to BE Fraudulent.
From the Washington Post.

From the Washington Post.
A mild sensation was created at the
chronological Bureau one day last week.
The head of man reported to be pet
rlfied, and discovered somewhere in the
wilds of New Jersey, was forwarded to
the bureau, and convocation of scien-
lists was called. A young geologist
connected with the survey had discov-
cred this remarkable curiosity, and had
sent a detailed description to the bu-
reau. 1t was not the only petrified
man who had been forwarded to the
bureau. They are annual, or, rather,
semi annual occurrences.
mo such thing as a human petri-
faction has ever been discovered" re-
marked Prof. w. ]. MCGEE, but that
is no reason to say that it cannot exist.
or has not existed. 1t may be possi-
BILE. l doubt it, and everybody else
who has inquired into the matter at all
doubts it. The human flesh has never
been known to become petrified, but
nevertheless, any case reported to us is
inquired into, SO we awaited with some
degree of curiosity the coming of this
gentleman
This gentleman" was very carefully
packed, and the box labeled glass"
His description had aroused general in
terest, so there was quite an assem-
plage of ethnologists, biologists, and
Psychologists, as we'll as clerks,
and. in fact, the entire bureau force
on hand TO view the curious head as
soon as it arrived.
No sooner was it unpacked than Prof.
MCGEE announced: This is no petri-
fed man." 1t so closely resembled one,
however. the features were so plainly
fnH nd he the4o
petrifaction that there was questions:
What else is it?'' What do you call
it," 1t was limestone boulder Gu
riously fashioned, it was true, but
limestone boulder none the less 1t
was a disappointment
we should like to discover genuine
petrified man." remarked one of the
ethnologists; I'VE should really like to
find one after all these years."
The gentleman being thus rudely de-
clared fraud remained for day or
two on exhibition, and was then fired
back to his original habitation, with a
letter to the young geologist.
But this petrified man was nothing
compared to his most recent predeces-
sor. His predecessor was a woman.
They speak of her still at the bureau
as Mrs. Stone, and her story never
fails to bring a weird smile. IF 1t had
not been for that gaspipe,'' remarked
Prof. MCGEE gravely, she would have
been a remarkably fine woman, in
deed" All of the ethnologists are
very mysterious when conversing about
her. Her story is one of the most
pathetic that the bureau has ever en-
countered.
She came to US from the West"
said Prof. McGee sadly, where they
usually come from. She had been ex-
hibited around in small towns and her
appearance had invariably caused a
big sensation and she became the nine
days wonder. We heard about her
frorA all quarters and at length decid-
ed to investigate. We had received
several letters from the company she
was travelling with, which, 1 must say,
seemed to be anxious to substantiate
her reputation, so we agreed to send
on for her. She came. We went down
in body to the depot to meet her and
decided to have the inquest at once.
/ did not say anything, but carried
along a few little instruments in my
pockets. For a petrified woman she
was certainly remarkable specimen. -
The scene of the inquest was a grue-
some affair. 1t was late on winter
afternoon, and one gas Jet was lit. The
body was laid out in the center of the
room in it's frame coffin, and Prof
MCGEE, with much gravity, proceeded
to conduct the services. They con-
sisted OF taking from his pockets those
little Instruments and of boring a few
inches into the foot. To the amaze
n1ent of every onlooker small sec
ton of a gas pipe was struck This
ended the inquest. Mrs. Stones rep
utation as a professional was forever
spoiled, and she no longer went gallf-
wanting around the country posing as
1.-THE one and only petrihed woman ever
discovered in the history of the world"
other Petriied Frauds.
That was not the only instance of
a petrified fraud catching popular
favor.
There is a factory somewhere out
in California" continued the scientist,
(which manufactures these petrified
human beings by the wholesale, and
distributes them around various Sec
tions OF the country, has them discov-
cred, and sells them for a stipulated
sum for exhibition purposes. They
make casts directly from life. One of
the workmen connected with the estab-
lishment had a club foot. One Of the
objects issued by this factory also had
that club foot, and after its discovery
down in the Pueblo country, the petrf-
fed man with the club foot became the
sensation of the West"
Every kind of a petrified human be-
ing. men, women, and children, In
dams. giants, and what-not, has been
unearthed in remote parts of the Unit
cd states. and their finding has result
ed in a big sensation for the immediate