Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1904-10-05
ROOT SHAPE OF HUMAN BODY.
Tree Grew Over the Burial Place Of a
Young Hunter.

Stories of petrihed bodies are common
enough, but SO far only two human bodies
turned into wood have ever come to light,
and one Of them is hanging up in the labo-
ratory Of Dr. A. T.. Metz, professor of
chemistry in the medical department or
Tulane university. The other is in Brown
university, and is said to be the body of
Roger Williams. Both of these curiosi-
ties were found at the root of a tee, hay
ing the exact shape Of human body, and
were found in the attempt to eXhume
human body over the spot of whose burial
tree had grown.
The specimen in Dr. Metz's laboratory
consists of a trunk, two legs, on one of
which IS part of Il foot, and one arm.
The outline is almost perfect, some Of
the details of the human body being out
lined with remarkable precision. The
specimen was sent to DR.. Metz by what
he calls one of his boys" in his usual
method of referring to Tulane medical
graduates. This particular boy" is a
graduate of the class of '96, and is now
4 practjcing physician in Arkansas,
where the human root, or carbonaceous
human body, or whatever one might
choose to call it, was found.
The body was found under circum-
stances exactly similar to those under
which that of Roger Williams was found
\ boy about 10 years old was found dead
one day out in the woods, evidently killed
by the discharge of a shotgun which he
carried with him, in which was found an
empty shell. He also carried other hunt
ing paraphernalia, and everybody came to
the conclusion that he was out hunting
and had accidentally shot himself He
was Il stranger in the place. and no one
around seemed to know where he came
from or who his people were. After wait
ing Il while to see if anyone would come
to claim him, and after search and adj
vertising proved unavailing planter
finally took charge of the body and buried
it on his place, planting tree over the
spot for future Identification.
Years later, when the sprout planted by
the farmer had grown into huge tree,
the almost forgotten incident was recalled
to the people of those parts by the APP
pearance there of certain parties to whose
ears the story had just come They said
that from what they had heard Of the
story they believed the boy to have beeen
relative of theirs, whose parents were
still living. and who had been mourning
him as dead ever since fatal day when
he left home on a hunting trip. day that
correspOnded with the time of the finding
Of the body. They had come to that
place to make further investigation. and
upon hearing the story from some Of the
inha bitants who still remembered it were
convinced that the body buried under the
tree was that of the boy they were look
ing for. Permission was given to ex-
hume the body.
Upon digging beneath the tree they
found a carbonaceous outline of the box
IN which he was buried, and inside of this
the carbonaceOus outline of a human
body. AS in the case of the burial place
Of Roger Williams, though there was I'M
questionable proof that a body had been
buried at this spot, some people living
having been present at the burial, no
bones, dust or ether signs of d body were
to be found, nothing but this human
shaped root that now hangs in the med
ical department Of Tulane.
In discussing the matter with a report
err, DR. Metz said
1T is one of the prettiest demonstra-
tons of the indestructibility of matter
that know of."-New Orleans Picayune