The Tiffin tribune. (Tiffin, Ohio) 1868-1887, 1871-10-12
HISTORY OF The CARDIFF GIANT.

Gus enterprise.
\ SiEu In front Of "a line new brick buillin
IN this place bears the iES -riptiou, "Georg
. Hull, manufacture and dealer in fOreiEl
and domestic cigars inside the Duildiu
are evidences OF quite an extensive business
. Jncontrldlct5l r3ul1- ~1y~ that both build
ing and business have been established will
capital earned To the proprietor by the Car
din Giant, of which ne was also the sole orig
inatOr, manufacturer. and perpetratOr. Nj
. Hull Is now in his l3tn year. He was bon
D at sydney : Ford. ON the Connecticut River
I between Hartford and Springfield. Here L
. lived on q farm TIL he was -. Through hi
t early life, which was filled with remarkable
incidents, he cultivated his peculiar mind IL
I a very peculiar way, almost wholly withOu
I books Dut. after all. in q way Just as wei
adapted as any other 70 ne him Tor mailih.
I the Cardiu Giant He was a born inventor
D y harness .'Suap" invented by him ina
I come into universal use His parents wer,
PurltanS-sJuruy old Connecticut people
. The young man was brought up in thi
most implicit obedience to his good Puri
7 tan mothers religious faith. But at the agl
when the reasoning powers Superceue tnj
simple trust OF childhood he began to iauncl
I out into freethlnklng, and then Tor the mrs
time he set himself 10 reading. His book
I We're exclusively those OF religious phllOSO
phy. Cutting loose from the faith in whict
he mad peen bred, he invented daring theO
rles OF his own upon religious matters
! His theOl ogtcal Inventors Were, a1stractlA
y Sneu king very unfortunate, though. pFactI
/ aIy they earned Tor him ais the lnonsy n;
D
/ GianL-the source Of his tOrtune-WaS the dt
! rect upsnOt Of his metaphysics, and that IL
[ TINS wise. The young skeptic, coming q
manhood, possessed a tOleruDle know Ledge
I Of the pOIemicaI literature Of religion. II,
had read something on both sides, though
! OF course, generally on the wrong side. HS
| had deyOured every thing that SavOred Of "a.
I tlOual philosophy, whether found IN David
fumes writings or in The SDriHqfieLt Re
publican. Thus he had become quite de
Gently fortified in iufidelity, and liked moth.
ing better than To show OF his pyrotecuuit
arguments against religion. hy engaging IN
discussions with clergymeu, deacOu>. and
church elders. twas IA the midst OF OngO
these discussions That there flashed on his
mind the conception OfJOhn Henry Cardiff
the OnOnCuga Giant OF Gypsum
HOW THE Project ORIGINATED.
Attue age of 2S the young but confirmed
skeptic leIJ the parental farm To make his
own independent fortune Ia the world
Chance guided his footsteps 10 Blnghamp-
ton, then one OF the flOurishIng large viIlt-
ges OF interior New York Charmed with
the resemblance Of tine ChenagO Valley "a
the rich natlandS Of the COuuectlcut, he
sought him out a few fertile acres two miles
norm OF the village, and transplGnJed there
MS old Connecticut occupation OF tobacco
raising. ON this farm he stayed % years,
and besides arguing all MS religious neigh
bOrS out of their senses, he continued 10 pay
for his land, and afterwards 20 support his
Old parents under his own roof AT the end
Of ID years he found ims-lfiu possession OF
a-fJr n farmer-cOmfOrJoDle little fortune,
being worth, when the important Crisis In
his life came, say s, ,ODO. This was about 1868.
The war was then making men restless, and
driving them hlther and Jnlther on all sorts
of mad errands, either of fortune or militia
~ glory. The Broom County tobacco plan
ter was infected, and taking his family, he
started for 1.-The vest He went to WlscOn-
sin, and then TO Iowa. He never forgot his
skepUcal arguments. Wherever he Went
no elergymen or preacher, Protestant OF
Catholic, Hebrew or Greek, escaped his bat
Ieries. Many were the nights that he sat up
till morning arguing on theological matters,
One DARK stormy winters evening at Ackleyi
Hardin Co., Iowa. he was sitting Dy the dy-
ing bed Of q man named Ogden Tine village
pastor had been called in, and he too was a
watcher in the sick room. True 70 ms IN
stiRcLs Mr.. Hull called out the aged divine
in VtndicatiOn of his belief. From meas
uTed and slow conversation they advanced
TO a heated discussion, which prolonged II
self into an argument ana continued III
nearly morning. Debating upon the yecac-
ity OF the Old Testament history, the szepuC
stated his convictions that the urst two
chapters in Genesis, giving the history OF
the Creation, were false. lnls the venerable
ciergymen stOutly contested expressing the
most implicit faith in the narrative OF tine
Creation, and in the fact that our, nrst par
rents were more nearly perfect than tneiI
descendants have proved 10 be. There were
giants in those days You know, said the
Clergyman. What evidence have you that
there We're giants? demanded MS antaso-
replied the Jealous but tmprudent clergy
men.
Retiring to bed about daybreak, the heat
cd brain OF the skeptical debatOr reflected
long upon what seemed TO him the bigOtry
of religious ZealOts. They are ready TO be-
lieye anything, " he argued with himself
mo matter how impossible, they take stock
i'm anything that auOfuS them an argument
1 verify believe the old gentleman would be-
iieye a sack Ofhard salt was Lots wife, if II
were properly shown him. Hundreds O
people would believe in stone image OfOn6
Of the sons OF Anak II they snOuld nnu IL al
ready manufactured and couldn't discover
its origin" Then flashed on him the ful
conception OF John Henry Cardin, the Onon-
daga Giant. itspEtns up in his heated Dr1tin
in rull pnnOply. EEef9 uetaiL was therei
the stone image, its burial and discovery,
and the fortune to be made out Of showing
10 to thousands Of the credulOus al % cents
head! Ii is wonderful how works OF genius
thus flash on the inspired brain. Nothing
was lacking of the complete Cardiff GianI
in that first conception; the exact form OF
the image reSuScitateu from antiquity us
peculiar posture, unlike that OF statutes oil
gods and men, proving 10 cOncluslNely 10 De
notan image but n petrlfactl0ni the very
pores OF the skin, showing that the stone once
had flesh and blood aua . Vascuiar-SysteIn-
an had their place in that first conception
OF genius. Then there was the complete
scheme OF the fortune To be made rom sell
ing out nalf and quarter and eighth inter
ests. In only one single respect did the firs
idea differ from the final realization Iha
was in respect % size. The sons OF AnGl1, q
be like themselves, must surely De 10 Ieel
in hight and of that stature 10 was deter
mined that the fossil man should be made
to the uttermOst cubit. The difficulty Ofhnd.
ingr a stone sufficiently large however, caused
the Giant to abatc in his final actual length
10 70 feet ~ Inches
LOOEI,sG FOi A PAETcss-E-
From that night, uneasy rested the head
that gave birth TO that marvellous cOncep-
tiOn. The secret was kept locked IlghIiy
there. however, for eighteen months. NOtn-
ing was added TO or subtracted from the
original design, and the only thing devel-
Oued was the money and the pluck uecessii-
~ to carry the thing through. Al lensthrln
the early summer OF 1867, the decision was
taken. Mr. Hull brought back his family 70
BinghamptOn, and started again lnmedl-
atcly for the West 10 begin work Al tnal
time not one other soul had been made par
ticipatOr in the mysterious project Even
wi and family were IN total ignorance Ol
the object Of the hasty return to Bingham'
ton, and the immediate journey OF the nus
band and father to the West On MS arrlVa
in Wisconsin, Mr. Hull beginning 70 seareL
for land, felt the want OF a partner yet te
whom could he cOnfiCe a pro- ect which rest
ed 80 entirely on profound secresyt But thl
creator OF preadamire man WIS also "a SOoc
reader of his fellOW-men- He became ac-
quainted with Mr.. T.. from Morrison, IL.
l.. wag then engaged in the patent-righl
business. He was q SUCCESSFUL man. heap
peared 10 be man VINO could Keep a secret
30 he was picked out as a partner. Gradu
alIv but fully. the scheme was developed It
me attentive +. The successful patent-righi
vender replied al once that he was ready L
ago in" He would pat IN capital out cOull
NOT SPARE the time. But the time and per
soual aid was just what was needed most y
aII- and so, after exposing the secret, the OF
fer must be rejected, and no good come OF IL
Yet one good did come Of It. +. told OF an
ac1uaintance living in Chicago, one B., who
had more time, and would also -gO IN.
Though y. was never made partner vet II
was in his barn, in Chicago, that JOnu Hen
~ Cardiff' noble image was tlJer"itru sculp
tured. Moreover, the confidence shared Dl
the moneyed bet busy +. was never be
truyed.
DIFFICULT CARRIAGE.
Falling of getting a partner, the plucky
I gfant-maSer set out again alone. He hearC
J Of vast gypsum deposits near Fort Dodge
Iowa After visiting and surveying tn
gvnSum ne determined that the mdtcrla
I was exactly that Of petrltied giants, and S,
| he bought an acre OF the quarry land, being
! three miles below Fort Dodge, on tie cas-
side Of the river, paying 500 for IT, Iher
I drills, crOWhars, blasting implements anl
] DOvder were bought, and the first step 70
I ward reyolutiOuiZing geology commences
/ one bright morning IN Augusl- fOur mel
I were hired TO help quarry ont the stone
I They we're compelled 70 eHciFAle 70 a depLl
/ Of Is feet before any piece OF stone S1ncleni
I " large were found. Even tneu the layer
I seemed too thin for q prime glantf 50 W0ri
I was suspended for lew days and lurthe
.
I The giant-builder heard Dy report that at
I SPOT d mile to the east the D1Duque ant
Sioux City Railroad Company was engage
7 In constructing a culyert, and was quarry
I ing large pieces Of gypsum Tor the aren- go
I lug there, he fOund some beautiful larg
\ sections that seemed especially made 10
/ embOdying the fossil remains OF giaul
/ Quarrymen were hired 10 get out as large
I piece as possible. Ry successful -featHerin2
7 a huge fragment OF gypsuui II leet long, -
I feet wide, and feet thick, was separate
I from the rock. That fragment Is to-day IN
] Cardiff Giant. The stone thus procured wa
/ - miles from the nearest railroad station. I
l contract was therefore made with team
I ster 20 carry IL this - miles for So. IT
\ hitched on all the horses he could get an
tugged n n three days, getting 10 only w
I generous giant-maEer paid the discourage
I teamster sd and let him go. Then ne'
. c1utrac- was made with another man {
I g--rup1rre the Job ar $50. 10 was agreed tho
the stone should be 81 BOuuesbOro' in thre
DAYS, and its owner was told that he nee
/ give himself no uuetslue-s about IT, :
I he bet1OS his wearied brain and body TO IN
. awaiting the arrival Of the rough gen
. Morning and evening hs looked out Of "a
window 10 see the biz stone come into th
village. but In vain. At last he returned
the spot and found the gypsum lying ig,
where he had let 30. Indefatigable geuiu
again thrown back on IT'S own resourcf
mus apply its shoulder % the wheel Hu
himself hired hOrsas. hitrhu4 them on all
slowly but steadily the stone moved toWar
Bo0nesb0rO'. The journey lasted tLfe
weeks. but the railroad was finally reached
John Henry =tl-ted on tG- ll-t OF MS il
r4-r1u, IA u ROAD Journey marked lu h'a'
paint. .-tf. Hull, Chicago, H.