The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1870-03-17
THE CARDIFF GIANT.


IL Got to Cardin.
From the Buffalo Courier, March ID.
On the 10th of October, 1869, the Cardiff
Giant was discovered on the farm of William
@. Newell, at Cardiff, Onondaga county, in
this State, and since that time the giant"
has filled o large space in the public eye,
and elected more elaborate scientific com
mentary than anything which had ever been
unearthed, at least in the vicinity of Syracuse
The descriptions, the scientific opinions, the
minute analyses devoted to il are still fresh
in the minds of our readers General Lea
venworth said of it-"It has the marks of
the ages stamped upon every limb and fea-
ture in manner which no art can initiate"
Professors Woolworth and Hall decided in
favor of its antiquity. Professor Ward, of
Rochester University, was bewildered
by the spectacle it presented, and sug-
gested that "all ones feelings persuade
to accept IL as a real human being,
once instinct with lite and activity, now q
noble corpse" Professor Olmstead said:--
Gas work of art the Cardiff statue is per-
haps better embodiment of the intellectual
and physical power of a rock-hurling Titan
than any Italy possesses. Rev. Mr.. Calthrop
said that in the ancient world only the Greek
school of art was capable of such q perfect
reproduction of the human form. DR.. Boyn-
ton did not think the statue was 800 years old,
Jesuit fathers of this country, who are known
to have frequented the Onondaga valley from
220 to 250 years ago. Subsequent to the
time when our scientific savans had exhausted
themselves on the subject came suggestive
hints of fraud and humbug, and the Iron
bound box" has come to form an important
element in the history Of the giant.
This much by way of preface; and now for
the history of the Cardiff giant as told to us
hui Ifo ,NricYf fhn 1nritrn auth of fha
most consummate fraud of the age.
H. B. Morton arrived in the city Sunday
morning, at half-past o'clock, from Boston
via the Erie Railway, and put up at the Con-
tinental Hotel, and was quartered in room
No. 6. He asked the clerk if he could see
newspaper man. as he had something of i'm
portance to communicate. The writer of
this, who is not suspected of doing much in
the sleeping line, was informed of the wish
of the stranger and accompanied by friend
visited room No 6. Mr.. Morton had retired,
but begged us to take seat, and being in
formed that we were newspaper man, he
said that he wished to tell us all about the
Cardiff Giant. We intimated that consider
able had already been said on the subject;
but he replied, that although some true things
had been said about it, and good many
hints going .9 how it up as a fraud, a cor
rect statement of the facts had never been
AhduOs nc gave rs u TSdSOu lOT MAKING UQe
revelation that the ''giant" had with him
been failure, and that his partner, George
Hull, had not dealt fairly with him. We give
the language of II. B. Morton, although not
always in the precise manner in which it was
spoken.
MoRroNs STATEMENT
1 got up that giaut and worked on the idea
for year and a half. 1 found difficulty in
getting the proper material, and travelled
thousands of miles. 1 made known my plan
to George Hull, who was recommended to me
for his shrewdness and enterprise. / knew
the American people liked to be humbugged,
and would pay we'll for it. I wanted to beat
Barnum, and the thing was played as we'll as
it could until that cuss (HulD spoiled the
matter. could have stocked the 'giant" in
New York or Boston for half million dol
lars, but I have made nothing out of it.
AT FORT DODGE.
went with George Hull to Fort Dodge,
Iowa, on the 9th of June, 1868, and bought
quarry of gypsum in section No. l, and built
a shanty. Remained there six or eight weeks,
and finally found that in order to move the
block for transportation should have to
build three-quarters of a mile of corduroy
road, which would cost too much money. I
abandoned that quarry and went over to sec
tion No. 3, where the railroad was getting out
OBs
hired an Irishman named Mike Foley to get
out the block, and paid him fifteen dollars for
1T. ! then wanted to get it to Montana, in
Boone county, railroad station about forty
five miles distant and let out the Job for
seventy-fve dollars. The rough block must
have weighed over ten tons. This man who
took the job could only get together twelve
yoke of cattle, and had to give up the work.
The job was let three times before the block
could be moved and the second day out the
block had to be cut down to between seven
and eight tons. We broke through bridges
several times and had considerable trouble,
but on the twelfth day we got the block
to Montana station. Here it was loaded on a
fat-bottomed car, shipped to Edward Burk-
hardt, Chicago. Burkhardt is marble cut
ter, doing business at No, 1877 Washington
street, in Chicago.
IN THE WORKSHOP.
The block was taken from the Chicago
depot at night and was carried to Mr.. Burk-
hardt's barn, No. $40 Clark street, and there
deposited. After got into the barn we hung
mp quilts and carpets inside so as to deaden
the sound and keep spectators from looking
in upon us. A man named Saley, one of the
best sculptors in the country and who drinks
like a sack, was employed to carve the giant.
We were nearly two months at it, part of the
time nights on the rough of it.
THE GIANT FINISHED.
The giant is ten feet four and a half inches
long, thirty-three inches across the shoulders,
about twenty-five inches deep and weighs
900 pounds. The various marks upon it to
indicate the action of water and time were
chiselled out, and it took ninety dollars worth
of acids and ink to give it its present color
fha ho1 hox IL