The Big Nose George Page

The man who became a pair of shoes!

Big Nose George Picture George Parrot, AKA Big Nose George is famous for being the only man in American history to become a pair of shoes after his death. His skin was literally used to make a pair of shoes which were worn by the doctor who received his body after his death and who later became governor.

As you can see from the photo, he had a huge nose and therefore the reason for his nickname. He was a rustler and robber who in his life ran with many outlaws, including Dutch Charley. He, along with Frank James (not of the James Gang fame) AKA 'M' or McKinney (the gang leader),Charley Clark AKA 'Dutch' Charley, Jack Campbell, Sim Wan, Tom Reed, Frank Tole a man name 'Sandy' formed a gang in the Powder River region of Wyoming. At some point and for unknown reasons they decided they should rob a train in southern Wyoming on the Union Pacific Line near the Platte River. When they set upon this task, they had little idea how best this might be accomplished. Since McKinney had vandalized a railroad track on one occasion previously, Big Nose thought that perhaps this procedure would work for their purposes. At a section of the railroad 3-4 miles east of the community of Medicine Bow, at the west end of a bridge, they would remove the bolts from a splice in the rail and connect a telegraph wire so they could separate the rails when the train was approaching. This would derail the train so they could easily rob it. They set about their chore in the early morning hours of Friday August 16, 1878 but Big Nose later lamented that he was nearly swept off the bridge and killed by an unexpected eastbound passenger train. After laboring most of the day, they managed to get the rail separated but no more had they gotten it accomplished than a Union Pacific section crew came along on the track in a hand car (a manually operated car which traveled the tracks under human power). The would-be robbers hid from the hand car but the workers realized that there was a dangerous situation so they began repairs to the sabotage. McKinney wanted to shoot the section men but Big Nose stated that they would have to kill him first because he 'didn't come to kill any section men'. This caused great discord in the gang which was never resolved. Since they had been foiled in their attempt, the gang headed south toward Elk Mountain and a possible hiding spot.

The law, in the form of Robert Widowfield and Henry H. Vincent was summoned and dispatched to the area and a pursuit ensued with the gang heading toward Elk Mountain, a rugged, forested mountain nearby where they though they could evade capture. It was there on August 17, 1878, in Big Canyon along Rattlesnake Creek that Deputy H. H. Vinson and Robert Widowfield were killed by the desperadoes. The gang had spent the night along the trail and upon waking in the morning saw riders approaching so they hid behind some nearby bushes, fearing these men were sent to arrest them. The two lawmen rode into camp and Widowfield got down from his horse to test the ashes in the fire pit. He discovered the ashes were still hot and proclaimed the gang was "somewhere close by". Little did he know just how close! It was at this point that Frank Tole, from the bushes shot Widowfield in the face and the rest of the gang opened fire on Vincent. Since Vincent was still on his horse, he proceeded up the hill but since he was wounded, was unable to ride with any ease and the gang was able to catch up to him and commence shooting again, this time killing him. They proceeded to strip the body of any valuables such as his boots, his hat and his gun. They took a cartridge belt and strapped it to his left leg and used this to drag the body into a thicket where they covered it with other boughs and branches. It was here that the gang split up, all heading to the safety of the Powder River country once again.

After an extensive man hunt, Dutch Charley was the first caught in Montana and he confessed to the crimes and was returned to Wyoming. He was hopeful that confessing would gain him favor and a prison term rather than the death penalty. Sorry, Charley but the locals were too upset with losing two of their own and they removed Charley from a train headed for Rawlins for trial in 1879. They lynched him from a telephone pole soon after removing him from the train because there were no trees in town. Big Nose eluded capture for two more years but in 1881 was also apprehended in Miles City, Montana and also confessed. He too was removed from the train at Carbon on his way to Rawlins for trial but the mob was subdued and George went on to Rawlins, still alive. He was subsequently convicted and sentenced to hanging. Big Nose once again came up with a big plan which back-fired. He decided to try to escape but was thwarted and since he beat up and almost killed a guard in the process, the locals decided enough was enough. They broke George out of jail themselves, quickly taking him to a telephone pole in front of a Saloon and across the street from the Hugus Store where they promptly attempted to lynch him. The first attempt proved futile as they perched Big Nose on a barrel with the noose around his neck and kicked the barrel out from under him. When he fell, his feet ended up touching the ground. So they tried again but this time, Big Nose climbed the pole, pleading with the mob to shoot him instead of hanging him. They then tied his hands behind his back and this time, George's life came to an end at the end of the mob's rope.

Doctor J. E. Osborne

Since nobody came to claim the body of the outlaw, a young doctor in Rawlins named J. E. Osborne (shown at left) took the body and proceeded to cut the top of his skull off. He then examined the brain to see if there was some abnormality which made him do what he had done. He found no abnormalities. He then had George skinned and sent the skin to a tannery in Denver, Colorado where he ordered a pair of shoes made from the skin. Dr. Osborne actually wore the shoes made from George's skin on special occasions and he must have looked very handsome indeed as he later became the Governor of the State of Wyoming. It is said that he wore these same shoes to the inaugural ball and the shoes now sit in the Carbon County Museum where they are proudly displayed!

It must have been determined that George had not suffered enough indignity so they placed his body in a barrel and he was buried nearby (it was discovered some 70 years later during construction of the Hesteds building). This barrel was unearthed in 1951 by construction crews digging the basement for the dimestore located between Cedar and Buffalo Streets and between 4th and 5th Streets. The mystery as to where he had been buried was revealed when they matched the top of the skull with the portion found in the barrel, positively identifying the remains as those of Big Nose George.

The top of George's skull became a bowl owned by Dr. Lillian Nelson (the first female doctor to practice in Wyoming) and she used it as a doorstop. The shoes and sawed-off skull, as noted previously, ended up at the Carbon County Museum in Rawlins which at one time was the Mormon church. Admission to the museum is free so please, if passing through this area, stop in and look through the museum, taking special note of this historic display! What a bizarre and unlikely tale but it actually happened in the Wild, Wild West.