The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1877-1885, 1878-09-19
There be Giants in These Days.

The main parlor of the Palmer House
Wa Yesterday b centre OF curiosity,
for there were chartered in it the big
gest man and woman known on earth.
lhis is no idle talk, as any one who
called upon the pair had ocular demon
straton. Captain and Mrs. NJ Y Bates
they are called. and each lacks one
half an lcn of being eight feet. They
nave recently arrived from Europe and
are en- route 10 1t. Louis. When one
1rsS enters the room his first impress
sion Is that the tales of Jack the Giant
Killer and the adventures Of GAlliver
quite possibly had some more solid
than mere fancy, for before
you stands two Is formidable giants,
physically, n were ever drawn by
~story-tellers. Yet they are as gentle.
as affabie, as courteous, and as intelli-
gent a couple as one would care ID
meet. Capt Bates a native of Ken
lucky, Is Z feet II! inches high, weighs
1876 pounds, measures 81 inches around
the chest, wears a No. 9 hat. a 26-inch
collar, a Is boot, and is 81 years of age.
he dresses neatly in black, wears a
massive gold chain, attached to which
is a*glgantlc watch, a present from
queen Victoria, wear a massive dia-
mOnd IN his shirt bosom, and a fash
lonable collar and scarf; has a ruddy,
healthy, healthy complexion, a pleas
ant smile. and Is a ready talker. AL
together he IS, as the reader can very
well See, an extraordinary giant, for
your mammoth men are generally
slovenly, dull, ignorant fellows. Mrs
Bates Is a native of Nova Scotia, of
Scotch descent. Her height is exactly
tho Cop0n &C t6nt &c L.. -- "
weight is 400 pounds. She is we'll
formed, and can hold her W in con-
~versation. For the benefit Of the fe-
male readers it may be stated that it
takes s~ixty-tive yards of goods to make
her a dress. The Inter-Ocean reporter
found her arrayed in a fashionably-cut
dress of green silk, and fingers, ears
and neck Ornamented with diamonds
in modest quantity.
IN the course of conversation that
the race was not degenerating physi-
cally, but men to-day were more rO-
bust n taller han they were several
centuries ago. He had come to this
conclusion by observation while
abroad. While in London he visited
the Tower, where the armOr of noted
soldiers in English history are kept,
and he is confident that not one in ten
of the average men of to-day could
get inside the war-covering of those
military heroes who figure in song and
story. The Captain while in England
devoted considerable time to an inves-
tigation of the legend of English giants.
The gigantic proportions of Og, Cog
and Magog, the guardians Of the Tower
centuries ago. are matters of history.
Og was the tallest of the trio, and his
suit of armor lies in that venerable
and interest pile. Og is said to have
been eight feet four inches high yet
Captain Bates tried to get into the
deceased giants fighting costume, but
found it entirely too short. 1t was
wide enough, however. The captain,
upon investigation, found that the
system, Of measurement had been
changed years ago, an ten and one
when Og tlourished, although he must
have been a tremendous fellow, could
not have been more than seven feet,
three inches, according to modern
measurement. Then he visited the
British Museum, where the skeleton
of Murphy hangs. He was said to
| have been nine feet, but by Capt.
Bates calculation could not have been
over seven feet seven. Then Chang,
the Chinese giant, who was on ehibi-
ton at Manchester while Potter Pal
mer's gigantic guest was in England,
was visited. Chang's vanity was tax
en- down by the Captain, who, after
divesting him of thick-soled boots
and a high head-dress measured only
seven feet eight inches. Chang an
nounces that he is nine feet high. Du-
ring the conversation the Captain
gave some interesting facts CLEANED
from his investigations into the histo-
ry of giants and giantesses, and ex-
plody many of the notions popularity
entertained regarding them.