The Republican journal., 1869-12-16
LET TER FROM CENTRAL NEW YORK.
Correspondence of the journal,
WINERY Weather--N. Y. Legislatures he
Stone Giant.

W.nfery Weather---N. Y. Legislature The
| Stone Giant.
SYRACUSE, Dec. s, 1869
| MI DEAR JOURNAL: Since my last there
mas but little transpired in this section to be
particularly worthy of note. ! take it for
granted that the autumn was aS unseasona-
| bly, cold with you as here, where snow came
while leaves We're green, ana where apples
have been killed by frosts while yet ungath-
cred and corn had TO be cut amidst snow
squalls, and potatoes We're left to the tender
mercics of the frost until - garden sass" was
gathered. But one of the worst affections
to our gardeners has been the injury to their
grapcyines, for this particular section is adj
mrably suited TO the growth OF the vine, and
wine-makmg has already made considerable
progress with some of our people, whose en-
terprlse for brief season will be thus inter
fcred with. lee has lust closed navigation
upon our canals, although the 10th was of
ticialy designated for their closing. SO the
French proyerb may be made to read The
Canal Board proposes. but Jack Frost dis
poses" The boatmcn have had rather poor
season, although high treights have lately
somewhat compensated for the early seasons
dullness. There is q vast quantity Of pro-
duce still in the West to come forward which
will give extra business to our railroads.
| Our Legislature will be in session about
the time you receive this, and our people
| hope better things from it than the last, un
der the Republican regime, which had be-
come, not to use too strong language, in
| famous
The 8 Cardiff Giant, > about which wrote
to you brief account, has been on exhibit
ton in this city several weeks, and is at this
moment in Albany, where it attracts As much
attention and speculation as when here. The
average number of visitors daily while here
was about 5000, at so cents each. and the
several railroads brought in many of these
from wide distances. As the price paid for
the Giant was at the rate of $50, 600 YOU will
see that the purchasers of stock in it have
made very good investment. think did
not mention before that the features Of The
Giant are Caucasian. The weight of the
statue is 29o2 pounds. Tho distance from
this city where it was found was but eight
miles, not sixteen as | stated
| | cannot recall any event that has caused
more speculation than this elimination; not
even the * Morgan excitement, which was
also Il New York wonder and related to a
! g dcmniton cold corpse, fed more v0lumi-
nOusiy the newspapers and the organ OF Won
| Al, -. l.,
we are about as wise in respect to the Cardiff
gentleman rs we have ever been in respect
| to the real facts about Morgan. Strange rs
it may seem, there are still 4 few obstinate
people who insist that it is all humbue' :;
| that the statue was made and then secretly
buried for the purpose Of speculation But
| it is evident to any person of common sense
who looks 1T the Giant, that IN artist capable
| of such 4 work need not resort to articc to
win fortune; and il has been properly re-
marked, that one who could successfully
carry out such a fraud ut least deserves for
his ingenuity all the greenbacks that the
Giant will bring to him. But repeat that
such an opinion is hardly entitled 10 respect
| y.
strange the ground which it casts us all back
upon. Biologists who have examined it
pronounce it to be sculpture, but they know
| of no stone like it in the State OF indeed in
the whole country; our sculptorS also pro
nounce it statue; but it has not vet been
examined by Il competent anatomiet, who
might at least decide one still much mooted
question, as to whether it is Il peuitaction or
| a work OF art? The majority of the people
here believe it to be Il petrltaction and |
find the number who thus believe il rather
on the increase, among Intelligent persons.
This is due TO one tact being now regarded
is settled against the original dictum Of the
! :. doctors,n who declared that the softer parts
Of an animal body never becomes petriiicd;
but so many instances have been adduccd to
the contrary within this State, that they are
at least silcnced if not convinced on this
point. The arguments in favor OF the
| pctritaction theory need not enlarge upon,
but they mainly rest upon the anatomical
correctness in all minute details of the fig
ure; the absence of any conceivable motive
in sculptor moulding figure in such A re-
cumbent position, yet every part of the body
As faithfully depicted as another; the alb
sence of hair upon the head, which is an
omission a sculptor would never commit,
while in petrificd bodies the hair has always
been missing. The advocates OF art have
their no less ingenious arguments. SO that
the Giant is n veritable What-iS-it?'
Be it statue or pctrtaction, the mystery is
almost equally great If the former, who
moulded it, and how came it here? If pet
riaction, we are led to believe that this re-
gion was once inhabited by q gigantic race,
an hypothesis strengthened by the alleged
finding of skeletons of similar size, At W.
rious times in this section. Some halt dozen
Of these are said to have been found during
the last summer by workmen while digging
on the lines of new railroads in this central
portion of the State. Our Indians have
some traditions of giants, but they are too
dim to give us any clear ideas upon the sub
ect. Sentinel" the intelligent CORE
spondent of the n Y. World, who was here
to inspect the wonder, observe, is disposed
to believe it to be y link in a great chain of
evidence, which may yet show that this con
tnent was inhabited by Caucasians long be-
fore the time of Columbus. But that is only
his opnion-and | fear we shall never see
unravellcdthc mystery attending this sphynx
of to-day, the Onondaga Giant.