San Pedro Mountains Mummy

From MysteryWiki

The San Pedro Mountains Mummy was what appeared to be a mummified human, discovered in the 1930s by a pair of gold prospectors in the Pedro Mountains near Casper, Wyoming (Hein).

History

About 60 miles southwest of Casper, Frank Carr and Cecil Main[1] used dynamite charges while gold prospecting in June 1934[2]. One of their blasts reportedly opened up a small cave, within which was a seven-inch tall figure with a partially depressed skull. No other artifacts appeared to be in the cavern (Fee and Webb 772; Hein). It has been variously reported that Carr and Main returned to Casper with the mummy, where it was then sent on a tour of the western sideshow circuit[3]. It appears that the mummy entered the circuit under the guidance of Homer F. Sherrill before December 1934 ("Mummified Pygmy Found"). Main's 1936 affidavit confirms Sherrill's ownership, additionally stating that the mummy was located in the Field Museum of Chicago, Illinois[4]. However, archivist Armand Esai noted that the Field Museum has no record of the mummy's presence (Hein).

Bob David, a Casper history enthusiast, poses with the Pedro Mountain Mummy, c. 1950.

Eugene Bashor, a man who claimed to have seen the mummy in 1936, further claimed that he saw the mummy again in 1948. Bashor alleged that a user car dealer, Ivan T. Goodman, had it on his desk, but a New York conman made off with the mummy soon after (Peterson). Complicating matters further, Goodman accordingly passed away soon after. Bashor's allegations were later confirmed by Goodman's son Dixon (Hein). A photograph, taken around 1950, also portrays the mummy in a glass casing, being held by Casper history enthusiast Bob David (Hein).

Frontal X-ray, exact size of the Pedro Mountain Mummy. Original X-ray by Dr. Harry Shapiro. Photograph by Alan Rogers and the Casper Star-Tribune.

Before Ivan had given the mummy to the "conman," however, he had shared the mummy with Dr. Harry Shapiro, curator of biological anthropology at the American Museum of Natural History. Shapiro had taken X-rays of the mummy and sent the resulting films to George Gill, then professor of biological anthropology at the University of Wyoming (Hein). Gill and Shapiro agreed that the mummy was almost definitely a human baby, possibly stillborn. The pair discussed the strong possibility that the depressed skull was the result of anencephaly.

The subsequent conman was noted in three separate sources as a New Yorker named Leonard Wadler (Hein). Multiple sources seem to corroborate that Wadler was a businessman, rather than a "conman" as Bashor indicated. Additionally, a 2005 Casper Star-Tribune article by Brendan Burke claimed that another individual, John Adolfi, alleged that Wadler moved to Florida, dying their in the 1980s.

The U.S. Social Security Death Index substantiates this claim somewhat, as an individual named "Leonard Wadler" was noted as being born on 28 October 1902 and having died in January of 1980. Further, this individual's last benefit was located in Broward, Florida (although his last residence was New York City)[5]. Census information shows that the birthdate of this individual was actually 1907[6] and that his full name was Seymour Leonard Wadler, son of Harry "Harris" Wadler (1873-1955) and Anna Moskowitz (1877-1970). Wadler's death was recorded in the Florida Death Index (1877-1998) as having occurred on 15 January 1980 in West Palm Beach, Florida.

A 1994 episode of the popular television series Unsolved Mysteries focused on the story of the San Pedro Mountains Mummy, featuring an interview with Dr. George Gill. As a result, another mummy turned up, having been provided by a Wyoming rancher[7].

In 2005, John Adolfi offered $10,000 for the Pedro Mountain Mummy, in the hopes that he could use it to "poke holes in the paradigm evolutionists have created regarding human origins" (Burke). However, the mummy nicknamed "Pedro" remained missing.

Notes

  1. Sometimes spelled as "Mayne" (Burke).
  2. An article by Penelope Purdy appearing in the Casper Star-Tribune in 1979 claimed that the mummy was found in October 1932, according to "local legend." Fee and Webb reiterate that "folklore about the mummy clearly prefers [October] 1932" (772). However, the earliest certain record of the discovery, an affidavit by Cecil Main, is dated 13 November 1936 (Hein). Adding to the controversy, a clip from The Waco News-Tribune noted that a "mummified pygmy" was exhibited in Lusk, Wyoming in December 1934 ("Mummified Pygmy Found"). It appeared that this mummy was the San Pedro Mountains Mummy, although the article claimed that the owner was Homer F. Sherrill of Crawford, Nebraska. In fact, this account lines up with Main's own affidavit which stated that the mummy was "now owned by Homer F. Sherrill, and located in the Field Museum in Chicago, Illinois" (Hein).
  3. This is substantiated by stories told by David E. George (AKA John St. Helen), Elmer McCurdy, and Eugene Bashor (Fee and Webb 772; Peterson).
  4. The affidavit was sworn in Scotts Bluff County, Nebraska, but would not subsequently be recorded in Hot Springs County until 16 August 1943 (Hein).
  5. This individual's SSN was 072-12-3619, which was issued in New York before the year 1951.
  6. However, Greene notes that Seymour Leonard was born on 20 October 1902 (5). Interestingly, Seymour's sister was famed Off-Broadway actress Lucille Lortel.
  7. According to Hein. Peterson disagrees, labeling the discoverers as a "Cheyenne family."

External Links

References

  • “Mummified Pygmy Found.” The Waco News-Tribune, 15 Dec. 1934, pp. 7, www.newspapers.com/clip/7886175/mummified_pygmy_found/.
  • Burke, Brendan. “Man Offers $10,000 for Pedro Mountain Mummy.” Casper Star-Tribune Online, 3 Feb. 2005, trib.com/news/state-and-regional/article_c77f7c03-6169-5f9f-b3a8-4350c70b8966.html.
  • Fee, Christopher R., and Jeffrey B. Webb, editors. American Myths, Legends, and Tall Tales: An Encyclopedia of American Folklore. Vol. 1, ABC-CLIO, LLC, 2016.
  • Fugleberg, Jeremy. “Meet Chiquita: A Tiny, Blonde, 500-Year-Old Wyoming Mummy.” Casper Star-Tribune Online, 6 July 2014, trib.com/news/state-and-regional/meet-chiquita-a-tiny-blonde--year-old-wyoming-mummy/article_eea4b82a-0525-5fd2-8f78-85f925c203cc.html.
  • Greene, Alexis. Lucille Lortel: the Queen of Off Broadway. Limelight Editions, 2004.
  • Hein, Rebecca. “The Pedro Mountain Mummy.” WyoHistory.org, The Wyoming State Historical Society, www.wyohistory.org/encyclopedia/pedro-mountain-mummy.
  • Peterson, Christine. “Did a Mummy Prove the Legend?” Casper Star-Tribune Online, 31 Oct. 2010, trib.com/lifestyles/weekender/did-a-mummy-prove-the-legend/article_89ec3ff7-852a-52b1-a235-78fe97cd4b1a.html.
  • Rogers, Alan, and University of Wyoming. “Gallery: Searching for Little Man Mine.” Casper Star-Tribune Online, 23 Nov. 2017, trib.com/news/state-and-regional/gallery-searching-for-little-man-mine/collection_6276e3ed-d2ea-59ef-affa-443f443bd8df.html#21.