The herald and mail. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1873-188?, 1876-04-07
PREHISTORIC GIANTS.
The NSW Mammoth Cave, and the Early
AfhErfcfn Giant.

The NSW Mammoth Cave. and the Earl,
AfhSrfcftn Giant.
The conduct of the prehistoric races o
this continent, in emitting to leave am
record which could establish their origin
and customs, was extremely thoughtless
They managed such things vastly bette
| in Europe. When the cave-dweller
grew tired of their subterranean exist
| ence and decided to die, they had som,
consideration for those who were to com,
after them. They selected specimens o
the bones6f all the animals of the period
and drew portraits of themselves on the
handles of their tooth brushes, and theT
laid down to die surrounded by thest
mute witnesses of their fondness for ART
and animals. Thus, when a British cx.
| plOrer finds a cave-dweller's skeleton
with its accompanying cabinet of curios
| tiles, he is at once enabled to assert that
! the cave-dwellers were contemporary
| with bears and tooth bru shes, and has
| the great satisfaction of knowing that as
soon as he can discover the date at which
the caYe-bear fourished in the British
| Islands, he will know the date at which
the cave-dweller lived In North Amer
lea, on the contrary, the earliest residents
were sublimely selfish, and cared nothing
whatever for the archaeological feelings
of subsequent generations. When a
mound-builder died, he neither collected
any extraneOus bones, nor took the slight
est care of his own. Had he requested
his surviving friends to look upon his
corpse in the light of an antiquarian cor
ner-stone, and to bury in it box con-
tanning the newspapers and coins of the
period, there would be some pleasure in
digging him up. Or If he had simply
directed that his name and destination
should be inexpensively stenciled on one
of his largest bones, he could have saved
us great deal of improbable discussion
as to his real character. But he did
nothing of the sort and in consequence,
when we now find his skeleton, it is use
less even to the coroner, and entirely in
distingtiishablg from the ordinary Indian
skeleton.
fh5 public will be unpleasantly re-
minded of this eallcus indifference to
the future OH the part Of prehistoric
Americans by the recent discovery Of
three unusually fine skeletons in Ken
lucky. A Louisville paper asserts that
two tfieti lately tnd 4rtOok 10 explore a
cave which they accidentally discovered
not far from that city. The entrance to
the cave was small, but the explorers s6of
found themselves in a magnificent apart
ment, richly furnished with the most eX-
pensive and fashionable stalactites. In a
corner of this hall stood a large stone
family vault, which the two men promptly
pried opeti: In it we're found three
skeletons, each tieArly nine feet in height
The skeletons appear to have somewhat
frightened the young men, for on seeing
so extensive collection of bones, they
Immediately dropped their torch, and
subsequently wandered in darkness for
thirty-six hours before they found their
way back to daylight and soda. water.
Now, it Is evident that these gigantic
skeletons belonged to meh very different
from the men of the present day. a
skeleton eight feet and ten inches in
height would measure fully nine feet
when dressed in even a thin suit of flesh.
The tallest nine-foot giant is rarely more
than six feet fottr inches high in private
life and without his boots, and even giants
of this quality are scarce and dear The
three genuine nine foot men of Kentucky
must have belonged to a race that is now
entirely extinct and hence it would be
a matter of very great interest if we could
learn who and what they were.
it would be difficult to excuse the in
differetCe of these giants to our rational
curiosity. They could afford TO be buried
in a gorgeous family vault, and hence
could have easily afforded to decorate the
vault with plain and inexpensive door
plate. They could afford to pay the cost
of having their heavy bodies carried
long distance into the cave before they
were deposited in the vault, and ii is rCa-
sonably certain that they did not obtain
possession of so eligible a burial. place
without paying a large price to the local
cemetery company. And yet they did
not take the trouble to furnish us with
the slightest clue to their identity. Not
only did they omit to put n door-plate on
their vault, but they failed to deposit n
visiting card, or worthless certificate of
petroleum stock, or anything whatever
bearing the name of either of them, in
the tomb. Not so much as a boot or
paper collar, gilt sleeve button or
cheap jack-knife, was buried with them.
When we contrast this selfish parsimony
with the generous forethought OF the
cave-dweller who died with bear skull
in one hand. rhinoceros' horn in the
other, and with his pockets stuffed full
of engraved toothbrush handles, merely
in order to please remote posterity, we
can only blush for the selfish want of
public spirit of the early American giant.
OF course, the tale of the two young
Kentuckian explorers needs confirmation.
They may have made their alleged dis
covery while in an advanced state of hot
whisky, or they may have manufactured
their skeletons before finding them, with
the view of adding TO the attractions of
the centennial exhibition. Whole pano-
ramas of eccentric skeletons have been
seen in Kentucky and else
where, by men who have looked too fre-
quently upon the whisky when it is hot
and favored with sugar and lemon-peel;
and the story of the Cardiff giant reminds /.
us that the manufacture of prehistoric /
men has already been attempted. Still, /
even if the early American giant proves /
to be fact, we have no reason to hope /
that we shall ever find out what manner |
of man he was 1t is only too evident /
that he was az inconsiderate as the early /
American cucumber, which insists upon /
running all over contiguous vegetable /
beds, without depositing sufficient GU
cumbers to atone for its trespass. He /
died and left no sign, and he deserves our
l. r. L. E,l.