San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1889-01-10
ANCIENT ENGLISH CUSTOMS.
The Giant of the Chalk Hills-Burying
Suicides at Cross Roads.

Suicides at Cross Roads.
Amongst the almost universal custom of
raising tumuli, statues or monuments COM
memOrative of persons and events, England,
perhaps, stands alone with peculiar custom
Of carving objects on the sides of chalk hills
The 'Cerne Giant which is to be seen at a
great distance, dug on a hillside at Cerne
Abbas, DorsetShre, is a very interesting
specimen of this unique art. | do not re-
member the dimensions, but the figure occu
)ies a considerable space, otherwise it would
not be easily distinguished at a distance,
where only it can be made out 1t is that of
a man with club in his hand, and, although
it was, | believe, intended to represent one of
the early kings of England, do not think it
is certain which,
Strange objects of this and other kinds,
however, generally bear local reputation"
or otherwise, local tradition, which in the
present case is, as usual, rather absurd, and
is to the effect that the figure represents
giant who once killed and Toasted on farm
er's sheep on the hill, and having gorged him
self lay down to sleep, when the villagers
stole upon and killed himl | should state
that to form the figure the surface earth is
dug away, revealing the white chalk and it
would seem that considerable skill must have
been displayed and the work directed from a
distance, in order to give it the proper per-
spective. While the giant" has evidently
existed for many centuries, there is an excel
lent modern figure of horse and rider ON q
hill near the little watering place of Wey-
mouth, representing King George Ill, who
visited there. A statue is also erected on the
esplanade, with an inscription recording the
event. The hill missions have to be cleaned
up about once in two years.
The singular ancient custom of burying
suicides at cross county roads has long since
become obsolete | believe the persons so
"honored' had met their fate chiefly, if not
entirely, by drowning. 1t will be remem-
bered that Hood, relating the tragic end of
one of these unfortunates, concludes with the
witty couplet:
And they buried him at four cross roads
With q stake in his inside
1t is said that on being interred-presum-
ably without cothn-a green stake was
driven through the body of the victim.
The somewhat barbarouS custom of glib
betting murderers, too, has happily long since
been abolished. The worst form of gibbet-
ing alive or starving the condemned man to
death in an iron cage or some lonely heath,
exposed to the elements, was terrible COM
pared with the milder form of exposing the
body after death on post. In many locali-
ties the site of q gibbeting post is commemo-
rated, the writer remembering spot called
Jack Whites Gibbet."
Turning to something little more pleas
ant, the reader may not have heard, or, if so,
seen what are termed fairy rings" which
consist of distinct and perfectly formed
beaten round tracks, of about one foot, on a
green field, down or rabbit warren, ''tradi-
tionally" said to be formed by fairy. These
rings vary in size and distinctness, and while
some are quite fifty yards in circumference,
others are not more than ten or fifteen, and
are generally surrounded by the commonest
fungi or toadstool. 1t would be interesting
to know how these rings are really formed,
and although there seems some reason to
to suppose they are produced by the gambols
of rabbits, yet it is difficult to understand
how they could contrivs to form complete
circle.-Detroit Free Press