The Lake Charles echo. [volume] (Lake Charles, Parish of Calcasieu, La.) 1876-1898, 1878-08-01
True Tnwardness OF The Cardiff
Giant.


caived mo scientist, and it remained Tor
an ignorant BinghRmton ON. I'd 10
bacconist, by the name OF George HUI
to ,outwit and entrap them. Huil had a
DISCUSSION one evening. during the year
1865, with an Iowa minister concerning
the existence of gisnts in the oldsn time,
the latter maintaining the submissive Cd
the question and the former the negative
The clergyman, having q reader tongue,
got the better of Hull, who, strung by ms
defeat. determined upon q neat revenge.
FL. conceived the idea of carving rough
statue out of soft Stone that should pass
for pstrifsd giant, and in 1868 me pro
cesded to put his plans into practice'
After trying in vain to secure q BLOCK
of gypsum near Fort Dodge, Iowa, me
prospscted along the hneof the Dubuque
and Sioux City railroad, then building,
and having found suitable quarry
hired gang of railroad hanos tor bar
rel OF beer to get q Hlab out for MIN. LIT
took one whole Sunday to quarry the
gypsum, and when ready for shipment
the block weighed three and one half
toms, and measured twelve feet in length,
four feet in breadth and twenty two
inches in fhickneHs 1T was consigned TO
e. Burghard, Chicago, and in his barn it
was chiHeled into shape, Edward Sale, q
German, and one Markham, an Amer
ica1 doing the cutting. Mo particular
idea YVES followed out in fashioning the
image, tor although Hun wanted it to
represent fossil man "who had laid
down and disdI," he was suspicious that
the deception would not be a Hnccess,
and concluded to modify ii Sd that 1T
would pass for Rn ancient statue.
To give ii the appearance OF age it was
rubbed with sand and water, and the
entire surface was punctured with needles
to produce an imitation of the pores Of
the skin: Finally it was barhed in ink
and washed in sulphuric acid Thus
prepared, it was shipped TO Union N.
Y, weighing atthat time three Thousand
seven hundred and twenty pounds. 1t
arrived 81 Its destination Oct. IL, 1868,
and the 9TH Of the following month Was
shipped by 3 four-horse team, IN charge
of one of Hulns nephewa, to Cardiff, q
small village in Onandaga county, one
hundred and thirty-two miles wsst of
Albany. 1t took five days to transport
it, and Us q rain storm was prevailing
when it reached the NewelE--.s relative
OF HulFs---farm, it attracted Little attep-
tion. The place had been selected tor
the twofold reason that fossils had been
discovered in the neighborhood, and rhat
Newell contracted for onedourfh interest
to manage the business of resurrection.
The image was duly inferred lew
nights later, and in October Of the fol-
lowing year (1869) Newell received
orders TO find the giant" Laborers
were engaged to sink welt on the spot,
and, of course, the g fossil" was promptly
exhumed, one of the diggers calculating,
as he laid 1T bare, I" Jerusalem, its Q big
Injun." a crowd quickly gathered,
the news spread, the papers published
exciting accounts of the discovery, and
fie Cardiff giant was speedily Launched
into fame. -Four doctors OF scientific
pretensions in the vicinity pronounced
it 'petrifed man" DIR. Boynton, q
syracuse antiquarian, said lit was q
statue made some three hundred years
age by the Jesuit fathers,o and offered
$40 900 for it. a month later delsga-
tion OF scientists from all parts of The
state made q g Thorough inspection Of
it and proclaimed it q rtatue--in Ghe
opinion of Prof. Hull, state geologist, .
very ancient one. Prof. Ward, of the
Rochester university, declared ID worthy
the attention of archmologists, though
not dating hack to the stone age.
While tine excitement was at its height
Bull sold rhfee,quartas interest 10
some Z schestar people, and IL was then
exhibited to visitors at % much q head,
the returns for while being equal to
seven per cant. interest on $4,000 600.
At ,one SINE s25,00O was offered for o
one-eight share. Jan all, Haul made
100000 by the humbug Its exposure
MAS dna 70 Prof O. O. Maran Of YAie