1 00:00:03,760 --> 00:00:07,840 Speaker 1: Our world is full of the unexplainable, and if history 2 00:00:08,039 --> 00:00:11,200 Speaker 1: is an open book, all of these amazing tales are 3 00:00:11,320 --> 00:00:14,680 Speaker 1: right there on display, just waiting for us to explore. 4 00:00:16,200 --> 00:00:29,240 Speaker 1: Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosities. John Osborne lived a 5 00:00:29,360 --> 00:00:33,440 Speaker 1: charmed life. Born in eighteen fifty eight to immigrant parents, 6 00:00:33,560 --> 00:00:36,320 Speaker 1: he worked hard and built a reputation as a smart 7 00:00:36,360 --> 00:00:39,880 Speaker 1: young man. He graduated in eighteen eighty from the University 8 00:00:39,920 --> 00:00:42,520 Speaker 1: of Vermont with a degree in medicine and was quickly 9 00:00:42,600 --> 00:00:45,800 Speaker 1: hired by the Union Pacific Railroad as a company surgeon, 10 00:00:46,040 --> 00:00:48,839 Speaker 1: which ultimately lead him from the East coast to the 11 00:00:48,880 --> 00:00:54,240 Speaker 1: western town of Rollins, Wyoming. He dabbled in other occupations 12 00:00:54,520 --> 00:00:57,000 Speaker 1: and seemed to find success in all of them. He 13 00:00:57,160 --> 00:01:00,520 Speaker 1: was a farmer, a banker, a chemist, and a enter 14 00:01:00,520 --> 00:01:03,320 Speaker 1: and together with his day job as a physician, these 15 00:01:03,360 --> 00:01:07,200 Speaker 1: careers all seemed to fill his coffers and bolster his reputation. 16 00:01:07,720 --> 00:01:10,040 Speaker 1: By the age of twenty five, he was an elected 17 00:01:10,040 --> 00:01:12,959 Speaker 1: official in Wyoming, kicking off a career that led him 18 00:01:13,000 --> 00:01:15,640 Speaker 1: to the U s House of Representatives and even a 19 00:01:15,680 --> 00:01:20,000 Speaker 1: two year term as the Governor of Wyoming. It said 20 00:01:20,000 --> 00:01:23,480 Speaker 1: that Osborne could often be seen around town, smiling and 21 00:01:23,520 --> 00:01:26,080 Speaker 1: waving to people he knew, all dressed up in his 22 00:01:26,200 --> 00:01:29,120 Speaker 1: fine suit with his two tone leather shoes and matching 23 00:01:29,200 --> 00:01:33,320 Speaker 1: leather medicine bag. He was normal, successful and the sort 24 00:01:33,360 --> 00:01:35,440 Speaker 1: of man you'd want on your side if you were 25 00:01:35,440 --> 00:01:38,320 Speaker 1: feeling ill or needed the advice of a kind doctor. 26 00:01:39,200 --> 00:01:42,279 Speaker 1: That's John Osborne. But I want to tell you about 27 00:01:42,319 --> 00:01:45,360 Speaker 1: another man as well, because if John Osborne had an 28 00:01:45,360 --> 00:01:50,080 Speaker 1: exact opposite George Big Nose Warden, was it born around 29 00:01:50,120 --> 00:01:52,840 Speaker 1: the same time, George hadn't managed to find the same 30 00:01:52,880 --> 00:01:55,880 Speaker 1: path to success that John had. In fact, by eighteen 31 00:01:56,000 --> 00:01:59,360 Speaker 1: seventy eight, Big Nose George was an outlaw running his 32 00:01:59,400 --> 00:02:03,120 Speaker 1: own gang of criminals. That was the same year that 33 00:02:03,160 --> 00:02:06,040 Speaker 1: George and his associates try to rob a train outside 34 00:02:06,040 --> 00:02:09,520 Speaker 1: of Rollins, Wyoming, home to good old doctor John Osborne. 35 00:02:09,880 --> 00:02:12,160 Speaker 1: But it turns out there were a couple of undercover 36 00:02:12,280 --> 00:02:16,440 Speaker 1: sheriffs working alongside him. George ran and then when he 37 00:02:16,480 --> 00:02:20,520 Speaker 1: had the lawmen in his sight, he killed them. He 38 00:02:20,560 --> 00:02:22,880 Speaker 1: managed to live on the run for two years before 39 00:02:22,919 --> 00:02:26,080 Speaker 1: making the mistake of telling someone about the murders. He 40 00:02:26,200 --> 00:02:29,760 Speaker 1: was turned in, arrested, and then transported back to rollins 41 00:02:29,800 --> 00:02:34,000 Speaker 1: for his trial. On March twenty eight, one before his 42 00:02:34,080 --> 00:02:37,440 Speaker 1: trial could actually begin, George was pulled out of jail 43 00:02:37,480 --> 00:02:40,240 Speaker 1: by an angry mob and dragged, kicking and screaming, to 44 00:02:40,320 --> 00:02:43,160 Speaker 1: a nearby telegraph pole where a noose had been arranged. 45 00:02:44,880 --> 00:02:48,959 Speaker 1: George was the opposite of John Osborne. John was popular, 46 00:02:49,240 --> 00:02:52,880 Speaker 1: but the entire mob hated George, so when he managed 47 00:02:52,880 --> 00:02:54,880 Speaker 1: to get his hands free from the rope that bound 48 00:02:54,919 --> 00:02:57,200 Speaker 1: him and then wrap his arms around the pole to 49 00:02:57,280 --> 00:03:00,600 Speaker 1: keep himself from hanging, the crowd just watched and waited. 50 00:03:01,800 --> 00:03:04,280 Speaker 1: No one helped him, no one took him up on 51 00:03:04,360 --> 00:03:07,000 Speaker 1: his request to shoot him and prevent the slow death 52 00:03:07,040 --> 00:03:10,799 Speaker 1: by strangulation. They just mocked him and watched the clock. 53 00:03:11,560 --> 00:03:15,480 Speaker 1: Before long, big nose, George's arms gave out and he dropped. 54 00:03:16,040 --> 00:03:18,840 Speaker 1: He was dead a few minutes later, slowly choked by 55 00:03:18,840 --> 00:03:22,800 Speaker 1: the noose around his neck. He was buried in a 56 00:03:22,880 --> 00:03:26,760 Speaker 1: plain pine box. Legend says that George's nose was so 57 00:03:26,840 --> 00:03:29,040 Speaker 1: big that the undertaker had to get helped to hold 58 00:03:29,080 --> 00:03:31,160 Speaker 1: the lid down so that he could nail it shut. 59 00:03:31,880 --> 00:03:34,800 Speaker 1: I've seen pictures of the guy, and honestly I can 60 00:03:34,920 --> 00:03:40,080 Speaker 1: believe it. Big nose. George earned that nickname a short 61 00:03:40,120 --> 00:03:43,080 Speaker 1: while after he was buried, though someone dug him up. 62 00:03:43,760 --> 00:03:46,280 Speaker 1: Local physician wanted to do an autopsy and study the 63 00:03:46,320 --> 00:03:49,520 Speaker 1: remains of the murderer to see what physical reasons there 64 00:03:49,560 --> 00:03:53,560 Speaker 1: might be for George's deviant behavior, but he didn't find anything. 65 00:03:54,480 --> 00:03:58,400 Speaker 1: He did, however, keep some souvenirs. The doctor took some 66 00:03:58,440 --> 00:04:02,360 Speaker 1: skin from George's chest legs and had its hand. He 67 00:04:02,440 --> 00:04:05,440 Speaker 1: made leather from the flesh of a dead human, and 68 00:04:05,440 --> 00:04:07,960 Speaker 1: then he took that leather to a cobbler and had 69 00:04:07,960 --> 00:04:13,120 Speaker 1: a pair of shoes made. Oh and a medicine bag naturally. 70 00:04:14,760 --> 00:04:18,159 Speaker 1: So there you go, the story of two very different men, 71 00:04:18,760 --> 00:04:22,320 Speaker 1: a convicted killer and the well respected local doctor who 72 00:04:22,520 --> 00:04:25,760 Speaker 1: wanted to better understand him, which reminds me of an 73 00:04:25,800 --> 00:04:29,960 Speaker 1: old saying. Sometimes in order to understand a person, you 74 00:04:30,040 --> 00:04:33,760 Speaker 1: need to walk a mile in their shoes. If that's true, 75 00:04:34,440 --> 00:04:38,599 Speaker 1: then one thing is certain. No one understood big nosed 76 00:04:38,640 --> 00:04:58,480 Speaker 1: George Warden better than Dr John Osborne. Jimmy ran away 77 00:04:58,520 --> 00:05:02,359 Speaker 1: to join the circus. I know it's a bit stereotypical, 78 00:05:02,520 --> 00:05:05,159 Speaker 1: but I promise you it is the truth. He jumped 79 00:05:05,200 --> 00:05:07,240 Speaker 1: on a train in Brooklyn, and let it take him 80 00:05:07,279 --> 00:05:11,599 Speaker 1: all the way to Nebraska. Somewhere between those two locations, though, 81 00:05:11,839 --> 00:05:14,960 Speaker 1: he tossed the circus idea out the window and decided 82 00:05:15,000 --> 00:05:18,919 Speaker 1: to see what else life might have in store for him. 83 00:05:18,960 --> 00:05:21,240 Speaker 1: When he arrived in Nebraska, he stepped off the train 84 00:05:21,279 --> 00:05:24,080 Speaker 1: and began a new life with a clean slate. He 85 00:05:24,160 --> 00:05:27,200 Speaker 1: even changed his name. From that moment on, he would 86 00:05:27,200 --> 00:05:29,800 Speaker 1: be Richard Hart. He worked to get rid of his 87 00:05:29,880 --> 00:05:33,800 Speaker 1: thick Brooklyn accent, made friends and built a career, and 88 00:05:33,880 --> 00:05:36,920 Speaker 1: life was good. He spent time in the army and 89 00:05:37,040 --> 00:05:39,720 Speaker 1: served as an officer in France during World War One, 90 00:05:39,839 --> 00:05:43,960 Speaker 1: but eventually returned home because that's what Homer, Nebraska had 91 00:05:43,960 --> 00:05:48,680 Speaker 1: become for him. It was home. In nineteen nineteen, a 92 00:05:48,720 --> 00:05:51,719 Speaker 1: flash flood swept through town, Heart managed to save the 93 00:05:51,720 --> 00:05:54,720 Speaker 1: local grocery store owner, and as a result, the grocer 94 00:05:54,800 --> 00:05:57,000 Speaker 1: thought so highly of Heart that he allowed the man 95 00:05:57,080 --> 00:06:01,560 Speaker 1: to date his daughter, a pair eventually married to. During 96 00:06:01,560 --> 00:06:05,480 Speaker 1: the Prohibition, Heart served as an investigator, seeking out bootleggers 97 00:06:05,520 --> 00:06:08,400 Speaker 1: and bringing them to justice. When he began wearing a 98 00:06:08,400 --> 00:06:11,440 Speaker 1: pair of guns, one pistol on each hip, the locals 99 00:06:11,480 --> 00:06:14,520 Speaker 1: started to call him two guns Heart. He was effective 100 00:06:14,520 --> 00:06:18,640 Speaker 1: to making numerous arrests and shutting down dozens of operations, 101 00:06:19,000 --> 00:06:21,479 Speaker 1: and all that success earned him a new job as 102 00:06:21,520 --> 00:06:25,200 Speaker 1: the town marshal right there in Homer. But that's when 103 00:06:25,240 --> 00:06:28,800 Speaker 1: the cracks started to show. Richard Hart, they said, was 104 00:06:28,880 --> 00:06:31,760 Speaker 1: a wolf in sheep's clothing. He had a track record 105 00:06:31,800 --> 00:06:34,240 Speaker 1: for being more than a little too violent with the 106 00:06:34,360 --> 00:06:37,360 Speaker 1: Native Americans he encountered, and had been accused a number 107 00:06:37,360 --> 00:06:40,640 Speaker 1: of times of petty theft while performing his duty as marshal. 108 00:06:41,360 --> 00:06:43,839 Speaker 1: His true nature was catching up with him, it seemed. 109 00:06:44,360 --> 00:06:46,719 Speaker 1: When he was removed from his post as marshal, he 110 00:06:46,720 --> 00:06:49,919 Speaker 1: found himself unemployed and running out of money. So he 111 00:06:50,000 --> 00:06:52,559 Speaker 1: reached out to the family he had abandoned years before, 112 00:06:53,000 --> 00:06:55,280 Speaker 1: sending a letter to one of his brothers for help. 113 00:06:55,920 --> 00:06:59,680 Speaker 1: In response, that brother sent a check. The following month, 114 00:06:59,839 --> 00:07:02,919 Speaker 1: he sent another, and on and on it went, with 115 00:07:03,000 --> 00:07:06,120 Speaker 1: the generosity of his family helping him stay afloat and 116 00:07:06,160 --> 00:07:10,360 Speaker 1: pay the bills. That's the thing about family, when times 117 00:07:10,360 --> 00:07:13,200 Speaker 1: are tough, they always seemed to be there. They rally 118 00:07:13,280 --> 00:07:16,280 Speaker 1: around us, lift us up, and give us what we need. 119 00:07:16,840 --> 00:07:20,600 Speaker 1: Richard Hart's own family seemed completely normal in that respect, 120 00:07:21,680 --> 00:07:24,920 Speaker 1: except they weren't. They were so far from normal that 121 00:07:25,040 --> 00:07:28,200 Speaker 1: it's no wonder Little Jimmy had left town two decades 122 00:07:28,240 --> 00:07:31,600 Speaker 1: before and then changed his name. Because even though they 123 00:07:31,600 --> 00:07:36,480 Speaker 1: were blood, they were dangerous. Don't believe me, then, I 124 00:07:36,520 --> 00:07:39,760 Speaker 1: recommend doing a bit of light reading about Jimmy's brother Alphonse, 125 00:07:40,080 --> 00:07:43,600 Speaker 1: because I guarantee it'll open your eyes. After all, there's 126 00:07:43,640 --> 00:07:46,520 Speaker 1: a reason Jimmy's brother had a lot of money. He 127 00:07:46,600 --> 00:07:50,040 Speaker 1: was a mobster. Perhaps the mobster who had built a 128 00:07:50,080 --> 00:07:55,440 Speaker 1: career and fortune in the illegal bootlegging industry. Jimmy's brother Alfonse. 129 00:07:55,560 --> 00:07:58,720 Speaker 1: You see, it was none other than the legendary crime 130 00:07:58,760 --> 00:08:07,800 Speaker 1: boss himself, Al Capone. I hope you've enjoyed today's guided 131 00:08:07,840 --> 00:08:11,280 Speaker 1: tour of the Cabinet of Curiosities. Subscribe for free on 132 00:08:11,320 --> 00:08:14,320 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or learn more about the show by visiting 133 00:08:14,440 --> 00:08:19,040 Speaker 1: Curiosities podcast dot com. The show was created by me 134 00:08:19,200 --> 00:08:22,880 Speaker 1: Aaron Manky in partnership with how Stuff Works. I make 135 00:08:22,920 --> 00:08:26,480 Speaker 1: another award winning show called Lore, which is a podcast, 136 00:08:26,600 --> 00:08:29,520 Speaker 1: book series, and television show, and you can learn all 137 00:08:29,560 --> 00:08:33,080 Speaker 1: about it over at the World of Lore dot com. 138 00:08:33,120 --> 00:08:35,520 Speaker 1: And until next time, stay curious.