Evening journal., 1889-02-18
THEY WERE VERY TALL.
GIANTS MALE AND FEMALE OF AN
GENT AND MODERN TIMES.

per as being contemporaneous with Cotter
alias o Brien. bore the distinction of being the
only giant that ever appeared on the stage
as an actor in play, Byrne. having evinced
histrionic talent, friend Of his. Mr. viii
lam Wicklow, prepared the play known as
1.-THE Giants Causeway; or. The Harle-
quin League" the name Of which alone
suggests the prominence Of something alb
normal in the cast Byrne was az this time
q years Of age; this was In 1881. Byrne died
year later at the untimely age Of % At
the time Of his appearance on the stage he
was exactly ! feet inch tall and, according
10 Tho British Magazine, had gained another
inch by the end Of the year After death he
measured feet inches. The immediate
cause of his death Is alleged to have been ex-
cessive drinking, TO which, the same author
ity says, no was always more or less addicted.
DIsLIKED THE DOCTORS
Byrne held the medical fraternity in holy
horror 1t was with great difficulty that be
was prevailed upon to accord an interview
to half dozen German and French physi.
clans who had Travelled from Paris TO London
for that express purpose, and not until the
snake charmer, the legless freak, the mana.
ager and the Arab knife thrower had con.
sented to ''stay and see him through would
the big BOBBY consent to the admission Of the
Of the doctors
Even in death the fear Of falling into the
hands of the "infernal chirurgical frater-
nifty" was uppermost in his mind. His last
request was that his remains might be thrown
into the ocean. This, some writers say, was
really done. The writer in The British Mag
azine says; Accordingly, after the death of
the giant at Cockspur street, Charing Cross,
his body was put on board vessel, conveyed
TO the Downs and sunk I'm twenty fathoms Of
water" II this writer narrates the facts as
they occurred sea ghouls must have been on
hand with their divers ready 70 hoist the de
funct giant from his watery grave as soon as
safety was assured by the disappearance Of
the funeral vessel, for the reason that the
skeleton Of the actor giant is now on exhibit
ton at the magnificent museum at Lincoln's
Inn Fields, London, where it has been for the
whole Of the time since the death Of Byrne,
with perhaps the exception Of week or ten
days, during which time the medical frater-
nifty, headed by the eminent John Hunter,
were negotiating with the friends of the de-
ceased for the purchase of the remains, and
they, the friends, were conducting their mock
sea burial
THE IRISH GIANT MR. MAGRATH.
In the museum Of Trinity college, Dublin,
may be seen the skeleton of the third gigantic
irishman, Mr. Magrath, who with Cotter and
a..
Irish history. When Magrath was youth
of 10, having always been very poorly
housed and fed, be came under the watchful
eye Of Bishop Berkeley, who was a great be
lever in the doctrine that food and raiment
have great deal TO do with muscular devei-
opment; presenting TO the kindly bishop a
splendid subject for a test of his then curious
belief. Berkeley took charge Of the gigantic
youth, fed and nourished his monstrous
frame with such good results that at the time
Of his death, four years later, be had attained
a height Of feet 0 inches Still another
skeleton in Dublin, that In the medical muse
UNI, measures feet 4 inches il length; but
to whom It formerly belonged the attendants
at the museum win not say.
One very curious and noticeable fact 10
connection with giant life is that there are
very few representatives OF the gentler sex.
We find very few accounts Of giantesses in
history. Another curious fact presents it.
self, perhaps OF equal moment 70 the thought
full reader, the fact that giants never live to
anything like ripe old age; all, or nearly
all, die young, with all symptoms of old age
Byrne died at % Magrath at 20; yet the ex-
aiming surgeon who held the post-mortem
over Magrath testifles that he died of old age
just as much as though he had lived 10 the
age Of IS OF co. The bones had hardened and
become brittle; the teeth looked old and
worn; but the chief proof Of old age in this
boy Of 20 was the fact that the cranial sutures
had disappeared, the skull in every way pre-
senting the appearance of being that Of a
man far advanced in years
LARGEST MEN OF OUR DAY.
The largest men who have ever been on
exhibition in America are; Capt Bates, of
Kentucky; Col Goshen and Chang Wu-Gon
from China. This long Celestial is : feet
inches tall He was on exhibition throughout
the principal cities Of the United States dur
ing the years 1880 to 1885, inclusive. Chang
was regarded as a great curiosity in every
city visited, partly on account Of the general
diminutiveness Of his race. At the time Of
his visit to the emperor Of Russia Chang was
presented with handsome gold watch, set
with diamonds, and another by Queen Vic
toria Of almost exactly the same pattern.
The largest woman ever born In America,
since the dawn Of history, at least. Is the wife
Of Capt Bates, the Kentucky giant referred
70 above This lady was born In Nova Scotia;
her maiden name was Swan; she is exactly 6
feet in height and well proportional.
Another giantess, Maria Wedde by name,
was ON exhibition in Manchester, England,
during the summer Of 1883. She was feet
10 inches in height, IA years old and still
growing Maria has been acknowledged by
the medical colleges Of Manchester and Glas
gov to DO the largest woman Of modern
times
The only entire family Of giants in the
United States is supposed 70 be that Of VIII
lam Shields, Of Hunt county, Tex. Thii
gentleman is the father Of seven sons, the
tallest Of whom is feet / inch, while tn,
shortest q is feet l05S inches in height Tw'
Of this remarkable family of giants are twins
and, strange to say, tney are the two tallest
one measuring exactly feet, the other fee
l inch.-John w. Wright in St Louis Re
public.
George Washington, Of st. Louis, wa
granted a divorce from his wife. One allie
cation in his testimony was that his wifi
once chased him over a quarter section O