March 22, 1881, infamous Old-West cattle rustler & highwayman “Big Nose” George Parrott (unknown-1881), alias George Manuse or George Warden, met his earthly demise when he died from the effects of having been strung up from a telegraph pole by a lynch mob after murdering a jailor & escaping from the Rawlins Jail in the town of Rawlins in Wyoming Territory where he had been awaiting execution for murder.
☞Because no one came forward to claim Parrot’s body, two local doctors, Dr. Thomas Maghee & Dr. John Eugene Osborne, took possession of
Parrott’s corpse in order to study the outlaw’s brain for clues to his criminality. The top of Parrott’s skull was sawn off & later presented to 15-year-old Lillian Heath, then a medical assistant to Maghee. Heath later became the first female doctor in Wyoming in 1893 -- just three years after Wyoming Territory became the State of Wyoming. She is said to have variously used the George Parrot’s skull cap as an ash tray, a pen holder, & a door-stop.
Skin from Parrott’s thighs & chest was removed & sent to a tannery in Denver, where it was made into a pair of shoes & a medical bag. Dr. Osborne later wore the shoes to his inaugural ball after being elected as the first Democrat Governor of the State of Wyoming. Parrott’s dismembered body was stored in a whiskey barrel filled with a salt solution for about a year whilst the experiments continued, after which he was buried in the back yard behind Dr. Maghee’s medical office.
The death of Big Nose George faded into history until May 11, 1950, when construction workers unearthed a whiskey barrel filled with bones whilst working on the Rawlins National Bank. Inside the barrel was a skull with the top sawn off, a bottle of some sort of vegetable compound, & the shoes that were said to have been made from Parrott’s skin. Dr. Lillian Heath, then in her 80s, was contacted & the skull cap was sent to the scene. It was found to be a perfect match to the skull in the barrel, & DNA analysis later confirmed that the remains were those of Big Nose George.
Today, the shoes made from the skin of Big Nose George are on permanent display at the Carbon County Museum in Rawlins, together with the bottom part of the outlaw’s skull. Parrott’s skull cap is now on display at the Union Pacific Museum in Omaha, Nebraska. The medical bag made from Big Nose George Parrot’s skin has become lost to history.
The left-hand photograph depicts the moustachioed visage or Old-West Outlaw Big Nose George Parrott. The right-hand photograph depicts pioneer female Old-West doctor, Lillian Heath, M.D. late in her life as she displays the top of Big Nose George’s skull.
A “Powder monkey”aboard USS New Hampshire, 1864. His chief role was to carry gunpowder from the powder magazine in the ship's hold to the artillery pieces, either in bulk or as cartridges, to minimize the risk of fires and explosions.
US Soldiers on New Georgia near Munda in July/August 1943
Note they are carrying (L to R) a M1928 Thompson, M1 Garand, and a M1903 rifle
A cropped version of this picture was used for the cover of the September 6, 1943 LIFE Magazine Issue
LIFE Magazine Archives - William C Shrout Photographer
St. Elmo, Colorado was settled in the 1870's and grew to be a town of over 2,000 residents. The town sits in one of the most scenic spots in Colorado, and was a popular tourist destination even in the 1800s. Today St. Elmo has many historic buildings remaining.
