The Topeka state journal., 1903-05-07
PROUD OF PETRIFIED MAN.
Which Reminded the Narrator of An
other Such Man and His Making.

OGR6T 0uCn A20 ana his MaklQR.
Mr. H. E. c. Bryant Cred Buck) of
the Observer, returned yesterday from
an official visit to Hendersonviile.
t 'Tis a good country he said, "and
its people are well informed, sturdy citi-
zens. but just now they are not discuss
ing thing on the Lords earth but the
oetritied man.
Proud of him. are they?"
"Prouds not the word,'' declared Mr..
Bryant. why, Squire Sitton, on whose
land the man was found, has gotten a
title deed for the man and has him
stored away. but you hear every other
man you meet in Henderson county
talking about our man-our petrified
man. That same petrihed man has
caused more excitement in Henderson
county than the civil war; and any man
in tie county who hasn't seen the curl
os1ty IS ashamed to look his fellow man
in the face.
Here's a picture of him" said Mr.
Bryant, producing a photograph which
showed the head and shoulders of the
petritied man. and the hands clasped
high on his breast. The most astonish-
ing things about the man to be is his
resemblance to a prominent Charlotte
lawyer. Both have exactly the same
expression (Mr. Bryant gave the
name of the lawyer in question. but
/ LOT OBVIOUS reasons the name cannot De
printed). THE petrified man." contia-
ued Mr. Red Buck weighs $50 pounds
and is five feet ten inches high. When
he Hved--if he ived-he must have
weighed about 40 pounds and worn
No Is shoe. Since I was born I have
never seen such feet as those of the
petrified man.
How did they find him? Well. on
March 3, Squire A. w. Sitton and his
renter, George A1cKinna, were watching
land on Boilson's creek, in Henderson
county. An old negro named Albert
Petty was digging away at the bottom
of a two-foot ditch. Suddenly his shov-
el seraped against hard object which
proved to be the foot of the Detrified
man. Petty came out of that ditch like
a shot cat. but Squire Sitt0n, McKinna,
and others unearthed the perified man
and carried him to Sitton's home.
The news of the wonderful find
spread over the country like wildhre
and in forty eight hours Squire Sitton S
home was the most popular place in
Henderson county. From forty miles
around people rode to see the petrifled
man, and at all hours of the day and
night the curiosity was inspected by
visitors. who simply crowded the house
The thing got on the nerves OF Squire
Sittons wife, and finally the squire. de
claring that his wife would go crazy If
the stampede kept up, buried MS heaVy
man in the cellar. Pretty soon he will
dig IN the petrified man and exhibit
him at so much per see
..One of the most remarkable Incl
dents of fha discovery" continued MI
Rrvant was the fact that no end of
widows in Henderson county inmed-
lately developed a fOndness for the
petrifed man. Every widow IN that
/ section of country. whose husband had
disappeared. burst into tears and said:
/ srrhat's my Tom or That's my Bill,
mr. That's my dear John; I know him
BY them dear feet It got SO bad after
a while that Squire Sitton had to get
/ a guard to keep watch DAY ana hlshe
+ to keep the widows from coming and
/ bodaciously eloping with the petrifled
And then the petrifed man began to
/ figure as lost relative. ana evidence
was found to indicate that he was kin
! to a large proportion of the population
I Of Henderson county Over a hundred
neoole were able to give minute details
+ as to the identity of the curiosityg ana
could explain just how it happened 10
be found on BOilson's creek Through
all the furore Squire Sitton kept q
Jealous watch on mis- property and re
hands on him. They say up there IN
Henderson that the squire is as fond OF
that man as if he was his own son.
How did the man become petrifled? ?
Search me. OF c0urse-1 say of course
Squire Sitton's man is all right: but I
remember that Z petrified man was
found near Columbia. s. c., five or six
years ago and was exhibited IN nearly
every town in this state After the
owners had made quite a good deal of
money. out of him they sold his petrified
nfbs to some Germans for a big sum
$4,000 or more In the course of time
the Germans got into a big lawsuit over
the man. and the judge ordered that he
be ana1yzed in court Then they found
that the things was a fake-had a lead
pipe backbone: and it was afterward
discovered that the object had been
built at a cost of $25. and placed in
the ground two years before it had been
dug up and exhibited.
s-Petrified men may be all right con-
cluded Mr.. Bryant. but I wouldn't be-
lieve that I was properly petrifled un-
less some body would go through me
with an auger and prove that wasn't
manufactured according to order
Charlotte Observer.
Special display Of Summer Millinery
Thursday and Friday at Morrison's,