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One Less Nose To Rub: Daniel Boone’s Luck Runs Out

July 14, 2008

The list of rub-a-dub body parts for tourists just got a little shorter.

According to an article in the Warrenton Journal, a Missouri man named Matthew Burgoyne has been arrested for ripping the plaque off of the burial monument of Daniel Boone in Defiance, MO, cutting it into pieces, and selling it to local scrap yards for $100. While awful, this crime would normally elude our attention — except that the plaque was not only a defiant broadside in the Daniel Boone Bone War, it was also a powerful talisman among those who know the secret of statue-burnishing. Boone’s bronze nose had been buffed to a shiny bulls-eye by visitors anxious to glom some of the pioneer’s lucky mojo.

The plaque had been in place for 93 years, so perhaps its protective hoodoo was exhausted, enabling its theft and destruction. Or, it may have become super-duper powerful from nearly a century of rubbing — and therein lies a possible darker purpose to Burgoyne’s crime.

The news story slyly states that “two small remaining pieces of the plaque” survived (they were found in the house of Burgoyne’s mom), and hints that they may be tossed into the melting pot when a replacement plaque is cast. Could one of those pieces be Daniel Boone’s lucky nose? Perhaps Burgoyne’s plan all along had been to keep this most powerful proboscis for himself, and sell off the rest of the plaque for peanuts as a diversion.

We hope that a replacement is put in place soon so that visitors can start rubbing it again. The plaque, like characters in a fantasy game, will become more powerful when it regenerates.

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2 Responses to “One Less Nose To Rub: Daniel Boone’s Luck Runs Out”

1. Rick Johns Says:
   August 4th, 2008 at 5:30 pm

   Very sad. John, Freyja, and I came across Daniel Boone’s grave by accident a few years ago — just saw the sign at 65 MPH, looked at each other, and turned around to go take a look. A lovely peaceful grave site for Daniel, his wife Rebecca, and several other family members. Yeah I know, the Kentuckians dug up Daniel’s body and hauled it off to Lexington, but the Missouri site is where he was buried and where his spirit still lives.

2. Sheryl Brewe Says:
   September 12th, 2008 at 10:29 am

   The two pieces will be on display at the Missouri DAR headquarters. The pieces are being taken to the headquarters Sept 12, 2008. This date marks the first time that any portion of the plaque has been removed from Warren Co. since 1915. The DAR is replacing the plaque with a black granite marker. They do not want to use bronze, since no one wants this to happen again. It will be 9 months until a new marker will be completed. So no part of the original plaque will be used in the new marker. One note to the reference to driving at 65 mph: The posted limit is only 55 mph. But thanks for stopping by, this site is visited by many people from several countries every year. We are in the process of doing more to improve the grave sites.

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