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Remarkable Discovery

Remarkable Discovery

A Petrified Man Found
19 Miles West of Hennessey
On The Farm of Lewis N. Haworth

March 16, 1984 - The Hennessey Clipper

Submitted by: Mollie Stehno


Lewis N. Haworth is a young farmer who lives on section 12-township 19, range 10 west, in the northeastern corner of Blain county Oklahoma. While engaged last Friday, March 9, 1894, in removing the dirt and sand from a ledge of rock in a ravine on his farm preparatory to opening a stone quarry, he made a find that will realize him a snug sum of money if properly handled. While digging he came upon a hard substance sooner than he expected to find stone and digging more carefully he soon found that he had uncovered a stone resembling a man's foot. Greatly excited he called his brother and several other men who were not far away, and they soon uncovered what had once been a living, breathing human being, a man of fine figure, over six feet in length and well proportioned-but which had undergone petrifaction and is now a solid stone. The body was removed to Mr. Haworth's residence and soon attracted the attention of the entire neighborhood; people coming as late as midnight of Friday to see the strange sight. It was brought to Hennessey Saturday afternoon and placed on exhibition, hundreds of people paying an admission of 25 cents to see it.
The figure is a perfect one. The man was lying on his back, his head to the northeast and a little higher than his feet, legs and feet were close together, the right arm crossing the abdomen with the hand resting, palm down in the left loin, while the left arm was bent, with the hand resting over the right breast. The head seems rather long, but with the face is well shaped, the eyes are closed, the nose of Grecian mold, and the lips slightly open with some of the teeth plainly visible. The fingernails are highly polished and perfect in appearance. The form of the man being full and round indicates a sudden death-that he died in full health and that prettification set in before decay began. The wrinkles at the finer joints are natural, while in some places the delicate grain of the skin can be seen. A portion of the rock is missing from the back of each wrist. A hole is be seen on the right side-some say where a bullet struck him, while a long gash is seen on the throat that may have been made by a bloody knife.
The above is the story as told by Haworth, with a description of the figure as it now appears. It may be a cast made of cement or it may be young brother of the Cardiff giant, which proved a fraud years ago. Time will tell.


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