Head Knocked Off By Rolling Stone

 

Victim's grave at Cedar Run Cemetery

In November of 1896, a farmer from Lycoming County met his demise in a bizarre manner. Joseph Champaign of Cedar Run was walking along a road at the foot of a hill upon which some boys were amusing themselves by rolling stones down its steep sides, when one of the stones took off a large chunk of the poor man's head, killing him instantly. The following article describing the weird death comes from the Canton Independent-Sentinel from Dec. 1, 1896. Fans of the macabre may also be interested in the part of about stray pigs munching on the dead man's brains. They just don't write stories like that anymore!