The Tiffin tribune. (Tiffin, Ohio) 1868-1887, 1869-11-05
A Stone What-is-It.

> The Syracuse papers are filed with
+ accounts of 4 remarkable discovery in
= the town of Lafayette, Onondaga
county. New York. The Syracuse
journal tells the story Of the discov-
cry as follows
On Saturday Mr.. William C. New
, ell, farmer residing near the village
of Cardiff, in the town of LAFAYETTE.
| had commenced TO dig a we'll on his
premises, near his dwelling that
when the excavation was made TO the
: depth of about two and q half feet in
the loose aIluyial soil, a hard sub
stance was struck, which was dug out.
. and on the removal Of few shovels
of earth, proved to be what seemed
the petriiied remains Of a very large
human being. The excavation was
, prosecuted till the whole of the re-
markable discovery was revealed to
the eyes of Mr.. Newell aud a number
of the residents of the vicinity who
had been drawn together by the news
of the occurrence. The form was ly-
ing on its back, the head toward the
east, and the feet toward the west.
The right arm and hand are across
the breast, and one of the legs crosses
the other The attitude is that of
human being and nearly all the spec
tators give the opinion that it is the
remains of a person, though others,
better versed in such matters than
the masses, pronounce it a statue
carved from stone Lying just be-
meath the surface Of the earth, the
massive body of stone, in human
shape, perfect and symmetrical in all
its parts, was an awe inspiring and
wonder provoking spectacle. Intelli-
gence of the discovery was sent to
this city, and precautions were taken
I against the mutilation of the statue.
During yesterday and this forenoon,
hundreds of people from the adjacent
country and many from this city have
visited the locality, and much specu-
latiOn is INDUCED in.
Here indeed was a discovery, aud
the lucky Yankee saw money in it. He
Immediately built tent over It and
charged the anxious sight-seers fifty
cents per each individual The news
papers published the discovery, there
by advertising the show Large num-
bers rushed TO see it, and glowing
accounts of the stone e-fellow were pub
lished, and the antiquarians puzzled
themselves to account for the origin
of the "Petrifed Man or "Ruried
Statue or the "Natural Curiosity
in Stone The following are the di-
mensions of the statue:
We obtained measurements of this
wonderful petrifed specimen of a past
race-(or possibly seulpture)-and
they are as follows
From top of head to inside sole-or
natural standing height-ten feet two
and one half inches.
From point of chin to top of head,
twenty-one inches.
/ Nose, from brow to tip, six inches;
across base Of nostrils three and a
quarter inches.
Mouth four inches.
From the two extremes of shoul.
ders, three feet.
Hand-across palm, seven inches :;
through the wrist, FIVE inches sec
ond finger, from the knuckle joint,
eight inches.
Leg-from hip joint to knee joint,
three feet; through thigh, one foot !.
through calf, nine and half inches.
! Foot, nineteen and half inches
long.
All went on swimmingly, and the
man who discovered the statue was
making money "like dirt" when in
came the N. 7. World and spoiled
the fun with the following
The country is profoundly agitated
at present over the discovery made
near Syracuse of a sphinx. 1t was
dug up two feet from the surface out
of allTvial soil, and science and spec.
ulation are in doubt whether it be a.
fossil Indian giant which has laid for
years so near the sunlight, or a mass
of crudely chiseled stone from a
nsighboring quarry, buried there some
years ago by half-crazed stone-cut-
ter, who was known to be cmulous OF
the fame of Michael Angelo. Pend
ing the adjustment of these opinions,
the fortunate finder has erected a.
tent over the sphinx, aud savaIs and
clergymen who come fockiug from
the most distant regions with arch
geological and antiquarian zeal, are
charged fifty cents head, and "they
takes their choice = One of the lat
ter has published his impressions and
says; "None but the greatest of
artists could have forr@ed and wrought
out the conception. of that stately
head, with its calm, grand smile, SO
full of mingled sweetness and
strength" This is, no doubt, all
true enough but we would advise
future rhapsodists who visit the
sphinx to notice the calm, grand smile
of the man who exhibits, and who has
already made between three and five
thousand dollars out of the little
game.