Centre Democrat. [volume] (Bellefonte, Pa.) 1848-1989, 1879-06-26
GIANTS.
Some ofths Tall People of History.

The existence of race Of giants far
exceeding those exhibited In modern
times was fully believed in up to the
commencement Of the eighteenth cen
tury Hhig belief was founded partly
upon the Old Testament. partly upon the
discovery Of huge bonts supposed 10 be
those of human beings, and partly upon
the accounts handed down by medieval
writers. The Old Testament SAYS:
"Thcre were giants in those dayg,m and
giant is applied 10 several races Of men,
ns the Anakim, Rephaim, Emim, the
Ionycnim and others. There are several
instances in the Old Testament Of indi-
vidunl giants, such IA Og (who slept on
bcdstcad Of from and Goliath The
height of Og Is not mentioned, but Co
Hath, at most, did not exceed eight and
IA half feet in STATURE Other historians
(sometimcs called pr6fanc) also mention
giants, but some of their accounts are
not worthy of belief Plutarch states
that when the grave Of Antnus WIS
opened by Serbonius the body was found
to be sixty cubits long. Pliny also re-
hates that at an earthquake in Crete the
bones of agiant forty y-six cubits in length
were disclosed. Giants play part in
the mythology Of almost all nations Of
Aryan descent. The Greeks, who re-
size. with hideous cOuntenanccs, and
having the tails Of dragons, placed their
abode in volcanic districts. whether they
were iablcd 10 have been banishcd after
three unsuccessful attempts upon heaven.
when the gods. with the assistance Of
Hercules, imprisoned them under Ktna
and other volcanoes. The body Of Ores
tcs, according 70 Greek history. was
eleven and half feet high. The giant
Galbara, brought from Arabia 10 Rome
under Claudius Caesar. was about ten
feet, and the bones of Sccendilla and
Puiio, keepers Of the gardens Of Saliust.
were but six inches shorter. We read
that the giant Fcrragus, slaid by Orlando,
nephew OF the celebrated Charlcmagnc
was eighteen feet high. Funnum.
Scotchman, who lived at the time
OF Eugene II, King of Scotland,
measured eleven and half feet
and La Mare, in his voyage to the
Straits OF Magellan, reports that on De
cemhcr 18th he found at Port Desire
several graves covered with stones, and. .
having the curiosity TO remove them, he
found human skeletons ten and eleven
feet long. Coming TO more reliable cvi-
dence, 1t seems certain that height OF
even more than nine feet has been at
tanned. In the museum Of Trinity Col
IcR", Dublin, there il skeleton eight
feet six inches in height In tlfc museum
of the Royal College Of Surgeons Of Eng
land is another eight feet two inches In
height. and another in thesmuseum ai
Bonn eight feet. The giant who was
shown in Rouen in 1885 measured eight
feet four and "A half inches. The En-
Peror Of MaXimin was one inch shorter
Skcnklns and Plaicrus, physicians OF the
last century, saw several Of that stature.
and Goropins saw a girl nineteen years
Of age who Was ten feet high. In 1913
the remains Of supposed giant were
found on the Rhonc 1t was stated tha,
the sSclcton had been in "A tomb thirty
feet long. bearing the inscription " Tcu-
t0iD1huS Kcx." The Parisians crowded
"a see the bones Of the King Teueio-
bochuS; but it was aftgward found that
tn" remains were not those of man.
but ul a mAstodon. Dr. MAthcr. in l7I2.
announced the discovery Of the bones
and teeth Of giant in the province of
New York. The statement was pub +.
lishcd in the Philosophical Transac- /
tons but Il was subsequently asccr- /
iained that the bones in this case also .
wcrr those Of mastodon. Ii appears
that attempts have been made 10 manu-
iacturc giants. According TO Gcoffrcy
Saint llilaire, Bishop Berkeley attempted .
Ia manufacture one. lie reared an or
phan boy named MAgrath on certain .
hygicnic principles. and succeeded so far .
that at the age Of seventeen years he was
seven feet in height, lie died with all .
the symptoms of old age when he had I
completed his twentieth year. at which 4
time he was seSrn feet eight inches high. 4
Great diversity as To height prevails .
ufnHuw tho hmm rura ha,.
Cccd six feet. In northern latitudes men
are below the ordinary standard. In .
temperate climates the height varies .
from four and a half 20 sin fcct