This is a double shot picture of Elmer Mccurdy 1880-1911, a notorious robber and gunslinger at the end of the American Frontier Era. On his last train robbing job, Mccurdy holed up in a hayloft in Oklahoma until authorities discovered him and a one standoff ensued. On that fateful morning Mccurdy was gunned down by officers and his body was taken to an undertakers parlor in Pawhuska, Oklahoma. No one of relative decent ever arrived to claim the body and here begins our story of the macabre. The undertaker conceived an idea to have Mccurdys corpse mummified with a non arsenic embalming fluid and put him on display for anyone to see who was willing to pay a nickel and place the currency into the mouth of the corpse. The undertaker continued his lucrative display for 5 years as some people began arriving making offers to purchase Mccurdys remains. When all propositions were denied, an individual claiming to be an immediate family member of the deceased showed up stating that the family wanted possession of the remains for a proper burial in another state. The mummified remains were relinquished to the family member only to have Elmer Mccurdys corpse displayed in a traveling carnival 2 weeks later.Being that this was 1916, and the corpse of a slain gun slinger and robber werent high law enforcement priority, a case was never filed on the deceaseds whereabouts. For the next 60 years, Mccurdys corpse would be subsequently sold to carnivals, wax museums and haunted house displays all over the country. One haunted house display near Mt. Rushmore South Dakota refused to purchase Mccurdy thinking he was a plastic mannequin. lol Finally, one day in Long Beach California in 1976 at the Pike and filming location of the hit show The 6 Million Dollar Man, Mccurdys corpse showed up on the set and was discovered by one of the prop crew when he grabbed the mummified arm of what he thought was a prop and broke it right off. Once he discovered bone in the arm, Mccurdy was taken to a medical examiner and with super imposed pictures were able to identify the identity of the corpse. He was buried back in Oklahoma under 2 layers of concrete to ensure he would never be disturbed again. And thats the story of Elmer Mccurdy, born 1880, died 1911 and buried in 1977.
Posted on: Sat, 12 Jul 2014 17:05:33 +0000
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