Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1874-04-02
The Cardiff Giant OutdOne.

So MANY elaborate hoaxes, originating
"a this country, have imposed upon men
Of science at home and abroad that
America has gained in some quarters an
unenViable reputation It would be te-
dIous to enumerate these impOsitiOns-
from Locke's Moon Hoax down to the
Cardiff Giant-for scarcely a week passes
that a new one is not started, getting
more or less of newspaper run, accord
ing to its ingenuity. The latest of these
re have seen is an absurd story that
DOnati, the Italian astronomer, had his
death hastened by fright at the discovery
thai the earth was approaching the sun
with unsupported rapidity, so that we
shall all be burnt up within ten years or
Whereabouts. Prof. Agassiz, speaking
about this class Of hoaxes, while express
ing Indignation at their authors, made the
remark that " after all, if a scientific stu
dent is hUmbugged by them, he must be
himself to blame"
A5Ut whatever may be the bad eminence
Of america in these inventions, it is now
utterly distanced and eclipsed by an Ori-
entail performance. Our artifcer con-
tented himself with the manufacture
of one gypsum statue; the ingenious
Seiim ell Carl, of Jerusalem, has
AdHI LCdGCu u WHOLE uuSeun Oh an
tiquities-idols, vessels and pottery
inscribed with writings and Phenician
characters, and crusted apparently with
the evidence OF age. The first collection
was sold to the German Government, the
Museum of Berlin being regarded as
fortunate in securing the prize for 5000.
The productive powers of the Jerusalem
IaCtoTy seem to have been stimulated by
the German gold, and what is known as
the Shapiro collection was gradually
brought together. The collector from
whom 1t was named, M. Shapiro, appears
rather as the dupe than the accomplfce of
the lmposter On these curiosities the
inscriptions count by the hundred, the
characters being similar to those of the
famous Moabite stone. As for the vases,
and figures of animals, and rudely exc
Ented statuettes of men and women, and
fragments, and disks that might be coins
or might be tessere, there is no end of
them. In fact, the prodigality of the
supply from the faithful Selim had some
thing to do with suspicious that gradually
1egGG to cloud his fortunes. The second
collection became the subject of more
searching Investigations than the first.
The secret was well kept, however,
while from time to time during the two
years past a Christianized Jew furnished
i thesg.varied treasures, which he protested
IN 3ot&in from an Arab. The process
known among mining prospectors. as
= sailing" was successfully attempted, and
TWO German travellers were duly escorted
80 a spot in the land of Moab, where they
dug for themselves some fragments of
pottery. Profound learning was brought
to bear on the products of Selim's art
Under speCtacles and microscopes the re-
lations of the figures and devices to as
e tron0my and nature worship were devel-
oped, and in abstiuse monographs the
appropriateness was set forth of supposed
representations of the deitieS of Phenicia
One great obstacle was constantly en-
countered; the inscriptions in all cases
proved undecipherable. 1t was on this
rock the impOSture split
The details of the discovery of the
fraud read somewhat like a chapter in
the Arabian tales NJ Ganneau French
Consul at Jerusalem, who has for many
wears made the antiquities of Palestine an
object of special study, recognized in the
inscriptions a certain peculiar way Of
making the Ph9niCian characteristics one
might recognize handwriting-as being
that of a man who had copied some de-
tails for him from the MOabite stone, NJ.
Ganneau having kept the copy. The
man was a painter by profession, and
had made living by daubing bad Neo-
byzantine pictures for Greek pilgrims.
The statues, M Ganneau thought, this
painter, Selim ell Carl, might have
made himself; but the vases bore evil
dence of the potter's skill. So NJ.
Ganneau made quiet inquiries among
the potters Of Jerusalem, and at last
found, IN the shop of Hadj Kahlil ell
Mani, near the Damascus gate, one of the
workmen whom Selim had employed in
the manufacture. Many of the details of
the business are given in the words of
young apprentice; he speaks of statues
of men, dogs and women, with noses,
hands, feet and breasts, the whole covered
with writing" He carried some of these
and the vases and disks from the pottery
80 Selim's house One of the statues
was so hot that it burned him. These
Journeys were made after dark; and we
can see in the boys story that he ha,
more than the fears natural to follower
of Islam in dealing IN craven image
Finally he saw the objects at Sellmf
house pumped into the caldron, where
a hot solution of saltpeter gave them the
evidences of antiquity.
Surely we may say, with Carlyle, this is
The age OF shams.-N. Y. Tribune