Distinctly Montana Magazine

55 w w w. d i s t i n c t l y m o n t a n a . c o m Miles and his petrified man returned to Livingston in an atti- tude of defeat. There he was intermittently displayed with wan- ing enthusiasm. Increasingly, he was propped up in a warehouse on Miles's property—not in display, but in storage. A business associate of Miles named C. O. Krohne, who felt that Miles was neglecting a still-fruitful business opportunity, almost succeed- ed in getting Miles to sell him the body for $2,500, but couldn't drum up the necessary enthusiasm to make it profitable. Final- ly, decades after he had toured the state and found an ardently appreciative audience, the petrified man was sold for $50. That buyer, name unknown, toured the state with it in a trailer. His- tory does not record the success of his venture; it must not have been great, for the petrified man was sold once more, and even- tually stopped touring altogether. Today, the petrified man is lost to us. No one knows where he is. Or who he was, Thomas Meagher, Antelope Charley, or well- made hoax. Hopefully, wherever he slumbers, whatever he is, it is given to him, at least, to dream. Perhaps he dreams of crowds. Maybe he dreams of the rocking of a train in motion, of bright lights, or the searching, almost sensual touch of the doctors who examined him at every town in the Treasure State. Perhaps he dreams that he still hears the drawing of tent flaps, the drop of a coin into a box, voices murmuring in naive amazement. Perhaps he dreams of bright lights, fame, and fortune. Maybe he longs to be found. Let's find him in whatever crate or landfill he's in now and try it all again. First we'll reacquaint him with his once-adoring Montana crowds, but we'll charge $18.50, the equivalent of 25 cents in 1899. Who's ready to invest? Then, once he's ready, we'll take him East. This time, let's try Madison Square Gardens, or at least Carnegie Hall. Liver Eating Johnson, THEN IN HIS MID-SEVENTIES, SAW THE BODY FOR HIMSELF AND PROCLAIMED IT WAS NONE OTHER THAN HIS OLD FRIEND "ANTELOPE CHARLEY," MISSING SOME TWENTY-FIVE YEARS.

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