The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1905-01-03
PETR|F|ED
WOMAN IS
CEMENT

Rutland, VT. Jan. 3.-Several thousand
vermonters who have paid their hard
earned money TO view what they supposed
10 be a petriied woman dug up in the
village OF Washington, are greatly in
censed 20 discover that the woman" is
made OF Portland cement. and that an
other "Cardin giant" hoax has been
sprung.
The body was unearthed by Willard
CROUCH Aug. l. II was found in ground
that had not been disturbed In many
years. and Clough was perfectly innocent
OF any hoax when he sold II 10 parties
who wanted II for exhibition purposes
Prof Charles H Richardson OF the de-
partment OF minerology and geology OF
Dartmouth college. made an examination
and was completely fooled. He sub
sequently gave the exhibitors a certificate
attesting 10 the genuineness Of the
body" and a neat sum OF money was
realized before the professor became
suspicious and demanded an arm for the
purpose OF making a microscopic ex
animation. This he had failed 10 do At
the outset In recent report Prof
Richardson says:
MY microscopic and chemical analy-
ses reveal the material used 10 be neat
Portland cement The freshly broken
surfaces show fragments OF pine shaw
ings thoroughly hlled with resin and
fresh as though cut from finished lum-
her today; also fragments OF ash. pre-
sumably from the staves OF the barrels
i'm which the cement was stored.
THE right arm was broken at the wrist
before its consignment to me, but subse-
quent 10 It's exhumation. To make the
fresh fracture appear more natural. a
coating OF light yellow paint was applied
over the area that would have been oc-
cupied by the normal bone
FOOLED THEM ALL
The surface of the body presented
many wsrty protuberances. perfectly
natural 70 long interment These, also
are Portland cement The body was
manufactured by casting, modelling and
sculpturing.
THE head was never attached to the
body; therefore. never severed from a.
The left arm was carved and. like the
body, coated over with a wash of cement.
The broken foot designed 10 show long
continued solution or decomposition. re-
suits easily from moulding the plastic
cement. The most clever part OF il all
is the perfect form OF the left leg.
This clever fake or 1904 must now
nc releRated N the category or the Car
diff giant, carved in gypsum and buried
I'm New York in 1862 Hull's second fake,
made Of clay and human hone baked I'm
4 furnace and buried in Colorado i'm the
early '70s; Ruddooks effigy Of cement.
found in Michigan i'm 1876, the petrified
man i'm Bathurst. Austria, 1889. and the
Rune Stone in southern Michigan. 1899 a"
Neither Professor Richardson nor any
one else can explain how the body got in
the ground. II is certain that the spot
was not disturbed for half a century
and that Mr.. Clough knew nothing Of the
matter until he accidentally ran upon an
arm. in digging an ice pond. Some one.
however, buried II there. Possibly it was
later forgotten.
Not only was the professor and gen
eral public fooled. but many astute physi-
clans as well. They came from miles
around, and one and all agreed that the
body was that of a woman living many
thousand years ago Many lectures have
been delivered on the subject and now
the wise doctors seem pained when the
matter is referred to-