It was the spring of 1932 and Cecil Main and Frank Carr were bored. They had worked all week for peanuts and the weekend was upon them. Grabbing a few sticks of dynamite they headed off to the San Pedro Mountains 50 miles southwest of Casper, Wyoming. Their fever for gold led them to a spot that looked promising. With a mighty blast the mountain opened up exposing a cave. The four-foot ceiling made exploring a bit uncomfortable as they crawled 15 feet back until their attention was arrested. They stared at it and “it” appeared to stare back. Set on a stone ledge was a little mummified man. After wrapping him in a blanket they went into town showing off their find. Later in 1932 a Cheyenne, Wyoming physician examined the 14-inch tall mummy. His skin was dried and tan with an oversized head and a look that told you he had met a horrible end. The doctor said he believed it was an infant. But do infants have sharp little teeth on the top and bottom? Like an orphan, Pedro changed owners frequently. From his shoebox home with Cecil Main he was traded for an insurance policy in Nebraska. The insurance salesman then sold it to Floyd Jones who displayed Pedro in his Meeteetse, Wyoming Drugstore. Pedro sat quite content as his popularity grew. It was 1945. “I’ve got to have him,” said used car salesman Ivan Goodman to himself as he gazed upon the little man. “How much?” said Goodman. He would not leave Jones Drug Store unless he owned the mummy. They settled on $2,500 . . . the same price that Goodman had recently paid for a new home. Pedro went on the road. “Come on, I’ve got Pedro, let’s go” said Goodman’s son to his dad’s employee. Hauling a trailer out of Wyoming they set their sights on California. They were going to make a killing showcasing the mummy. “Let’s earn some money here before we move on,” Goodman’s son said as they brought the trailer to a halt in Salt Lake City, Utah. Pedro sat comfortably in his new house, a glass “bell jar” which protected him from the streams of paying onlookers. The lines were so long and the event so fascinating the locals would not let them go. Being held up so long by the crowds, they headed back to Wyoming with a fistful of dollars and stories to tell. In 1950 Leonard Wadler called Goodman, convincing him to “bring Pedro to New York.” Wadler, a “non-practicing physician” living in NY City, discussed with Ivan ways he could help promote little Pedro. Goodman stayed in Wadler’s penthouse apartment as the two planned the mummy’s move to superstardom, an event which would never happen. Anthropologist Henry Shapiro examined the artifact. X-rays revealed a fully formed human like skeleton. With a damaged spine, broken collarbone and fractured skull which accounted for Pedro’s grimace. The week Pedro spent at the American Museum of Natural History drew to a close. Shapiro felt uncomfortable with his conclusions. If he sided with some who believed Pedro was a 60-year-old full grown male then he’d have the job of placing him in an evolutionary family tree that has little room for such a creature. In the end Dr. Shapiro concluded Pedro was an infant born with a disease that made him look older than he was. Goodman thanked the doctor and went back to Wadler’s apartment. Goodman, recently diagnosed with a brain tumor, blacked out and Wadler saw his opportunity. He put the ill man in a cab. Goodman found himself on a plane heading back to Wyoming without Pedro. Ivan Goodman died three weeks later in a Denver hospital. While most accounts tell of the Mummy’s mysterious disappearance after Goodman’s death in 1950, the Goodman family knew exactly who had it and where it could be found. But try as they did to retrieve the mummy from Wadler, it was all in vain. Several months later a letter addressed to Ivan Goodman from Wadler filled mom and children with hope. Wadler spoke about what he called the past promise of a sale of Pedro to him. The Goodmans saw neither payment nor Pedro. Ten years passed and little Dixon Goodman was now a man. He and a buddy headed across country to confront Wadler for release of the mummy. Using the return address of the last letter from Wadler, they found the apartment building only to miss Wadler by two days! The bellboy said Wadler and the “little man” had gone to Florida for the winter. That was the last solid lead recorded in the attempt to recover Pedro. Some possibilities about the whereabouts come from mummy enthusiast Gene Basher, 78, of Encampment, Wyoming. In a recent interview Basher said he spoke with a woman who was a researcher and an investigative reporter from Wyoming. She told Gene that in the late 70’s Wadler was still alive, in Florida and had the Mummy. He did not display it much for fear of legal action. Rumor has it he died in the 80’s with no trace of the mummy. Are you ready for something really mysterious? Every Anthropologist, including Henry Shapiro and George Gill of the University of Wyoming, stated the Mountain Mummy is a grossly malformed infant or fetus suffering from anencephaly, a severe condition where most of the cranium and brain have failed to develop. However, many who do not have a PhD, like Dixon Goodman, believe he is a fully formed 60-65 year old adult. But why for one second would we consider their testimony over qualified, educated doctors? Consider this revelation: Both Basher and Goodman independently reported to me one important piece of information that all the medical reports conveniently leave out: Pedro the Mountain Mummy has pubic hair. Postscript: In Shoshone Indian lore there is a recurring theme about tiny people called "Nimerigar". Interestingly, in Shoshone tradition, the "Nimerigar" killed their own people with a blow to the head when they became too old or ill to be useful. Could it be that Pedro was once a "Nimerigar" chief, given that his mummified remains were found in a sealed cave? NOTICE: Out of respect for Mr. Goodman's request for privacy, please direct all queries about Pedro to Bibleland Studios. Thank you. To help you with your research, we have collected and scanned dozens of old newspaper articles .. Continue to next page to view them.

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Published on: 2005-02-01 (27354 reads)