Big John - Cowboy Muffler Man

Great Falls, Montana

Type: Cowboy (22 ft. tall)

Arm position: Straight Down

Accessories: Stetson Hat

Nicknames "Big John" has been known at times as " Jesse Jamestown," "Howdy the Cowboy," and "Angle of the Dangle"

Casino Baron

Big John is the mascot of the Big John Casino. He's a cowboy model, with hands extended down as if about to draw his pistols -- except he doesn't have any. He has been standing in Great Falls under the casino sign since 1999.

History

This Muffler Man was reported to have spent his early years in Jamestown, North Dakota, and had the nickname of the "Angle of the Dangle," because of the unique effect when viewed in profile, with those non-standard thumbs jutting out below his waist.

Barbara Bulgard wrote to us in 1997: "I was born in Jamestown and lived there for 23 years. We called our Muffler Man the 'Angle of the Dangle' because of the view you received if you parked to the left of the statue at the end of the motel building."

In 1996, we heard from a Bob Tubbs-Avalon, well-traveled North Dakotan, that "his name was Jesse Jamestown, he lived at a hotel along Interstate I-94, exit 259, and is no longer there." A later confirmation of the disappearance established that he probably moved on in 1995. We next heard of his reappearance in Great Falls in 1999.