WEBVTT - How Did Human-Skin Shoes Feature in a Politician's Wardrobe?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Brainstuff production of I Heart Radio. Hey Brainstuff

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<v Speaker 1>Lauren Vogelbaum here. Politicians are under a lot of scrutiny

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<v Speaker 1>these days for everything from their tweets to their fashion choices.

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<v Speaker 1>Times sure have changed since the eighteen nineties, when a

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<v Speaker 1>new governor could show up to his inauguration proudly sporting

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<v Speaker 1>shoes made from the skin of a hanged human felon.

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<v Speaker 1>The skin in question belonged to an outlaw known by

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<v Speaker 1>the name of George Parrot or Big Nosed George, who

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<v Speaker 1>was hanged in Rawlins, Wyoming. In one he had tried

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<v Speaker 1>and failed to rob a train and subsequently killed two

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<v Speaker 1>of the lamen who came after him. Before this incident, George,

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<v Speaker 1>whose nose by all accounts was really remarkably large, was

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<v Speaker 1>just as small time horse thief. But after fleeing to

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<v Speaker 1>Montana following the murders and botched robbery, he robbed the

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<v Speaker 1>military calm boy of a local merchant who was traveling

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<v Speaker 1>back east with a bunch of cash. This successful hall

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<v Speaker 1>saw Parrot get cocky. He returned to the town where

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<v Speaker 1>the merchant was from, went into a saloon and started

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<v Speaker 1>bragging about the robbery and murders back in Wyoming. This

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<v Speaker 1>boasting resulted in his eventual capture and returned to Wyoming. There,

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<v Speaker 1>he unsuccessfully tried to escape from prison and was then

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<v Speaker 1>lynched and hanged on a telegraph poll by an angry

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<v Speaker 1>mob of more than two hundred people. After Parrot's death,

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<v Speaker 1>nobody showed up to claim the body, so one John Osborne,

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<v Speaker 1>the doctor who had pronounced him dead, took his body

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<v Speaker 1>home for medical study. Corpses variously obtained were popular learning

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<v Speaker 1>and teaching materials at the time. Osborne extracted Parrot's brain

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<v Speaker 1>and gave it to a friend, the surgeon Thomas McGee,

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<v Speaker 1>who wanted to study whether signs of criminality show up

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<v Speaker 1>in brain structures. Osbourne also sawed off the top portion

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<v Speaker 1>of George's skull and gave it to one Lillian heat,

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<v Speaker 1>a then fifteen year old girl who would go on

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<v Speaker 1>to become Wyoming's first female physician. She reportedly kept it

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<v Speaker 1>her entire life, using it at different times as an

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<v Speaker 1>ash tray and a doorstop. The bottom portion of parrots

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<v Speaker 1>skull Osborne put in a barrel with the rest of

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<v Speaker 1>the bones. Not one to waste any part of the

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<v Speaker 1>outlaw's corpse Osborne then skinned Parrot's body and had a

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<v Speaker 1>pair of shoes and a medical bag made out of

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<v Speaker 1>this human skin. Years later, Osborne entered politics and was

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<v Speaker 1>elected governor of Wyoming. To his inauguration, he wore the

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<v Speaker 1>shoes that a dozen years earlier had been a man

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<v Speaker 1>talk about a political statement. That very footwear is now

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<v Speaker 1>on display along with the death mask that Osborne cast

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<v Speaker 1>after parent's death, in the Carbon County Museum in Rawlings, Wyoming.

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<v Speaker 1>The bag, however, has never been found. Today's episode was

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<v Speaker 1>written by Jesselyn Shields and produced by Tyler Clang. For

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<v Speaker 1>more on this and lots of other topics, visit how

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<v Speaker 1>Stuff works dot com. If you'd like to hear more

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<v Speaker 1>about the story of Big Nose George Parrot, we did

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<v Speaker 1>an episode about him over on one of my other podcasts,

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<v Speaker 1>American Shadows, look for the episode dead Ends. Brain Stuff

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<v Speaker 1>is production of I Heart Radio. For more podcasts in

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<v Speaker 1>my heart Radio, visit the heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,

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<v Speaker 1>or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.