Fergus County argus. [volume] (Lewistown, Mont.) 1886-1946, 1891-01-15
THE CARDIFF GIANT.
An Interesting Talk With the Perperrator of
the Greatest OF American Humbugs.
Only Correct and Complete History Of That
Famous Giant Made Of Stone.


newspaper readers VIII remember the
fraud known as the Cardiff giant. The
originator OF that fraud, the maker O!
the giant, and perhaps the most sue
cessful humbuggsr OF the American
people who ever lived, not excepting
p. Il. Barnum himself, was George
Hull, who has been II resident oi
Superior for several years. He was a
cigar manufacturer 10y occupation, and
his place of business was in the build
ing directly opposite the Omaha depot
at the East end.
The Pioneer Press recently had oc-
caslon to correct u fake announce
ment of his DEATH He went east wit h
the intention OF remaining away for
| several months. Mr.. Hull was giant
III stature, standing six feet two inches
and having shoulders apparently a
yard wide. He had well proper
TONED frame and lowered above sur
| rounding byStanders like n son of
Anak. A silk hat added to his appar-
ent height. He was a great reader and
well informed. His bronzed face, long
black hair, blue eyes, smooth shaVen
chm, and short iron gray mustacne
gives him an expression OF power and
determination, mingled with shrewd-
ness and sagacity. Comparatively few
people in Superior knew him as the
Cardiff giant man.
To IL correspondent of the Pioneer
Press Mr.. Hull told the following inter
esting, and as he said at the time, the
only correct and complete history OF
| that famous stone giant:
| ''Ges," said the big man to the re-
porter's query,"I am George Hull and
| made the Cardiff giant. | am a Con
necticut Yankee by birth. My father,
John Hull, was a New Hampshire man,
and married my mother at Sheffield,
Conn. They were both of English
extraction. / was born at Sheffield
April 20, 1922, so you see ! am more
| than siNty-siX Years of age. Rather
surprises you, doesn't it? But 1t is
the truth. My father was a bridge
contractor. He lost great deal OF
money by partner and when / was
very youngwe all had to put our noses
to the grIndstone. | never had but
one years schooling, and when four
teen years OF age went to work in the
capacity of Il farm hand and turned
| the soil with Il wooden plow. When
was sixteen | learned to make cigars
i'll a small factory, and after a three
years service | branched out to the
| larger nelShboring towns and eventu-
ally became something OF sport.
| wrestled, ran and was an all-round
athlete. There were few who could
beat me at 100 yards. | married in
| 1856 and settled down. In 1850 ]
invented u harness snap, out OF which
| ought to have made myself rich, but
| didn't. / sold the patent for $500
to Sargent d Co., of Britain, y. y,
and fourteen years later they paid me
SO, 500 to lend my name to a petition
for an extensions OF the patent for an
other fourteen years. | afterward
learned that they made S4OO, 600 out
| OF the snap.
| "Well, it was at Ackley, Iowa, that
| first conceived the idea OF foolIng the
world with a big stone man. j had
some relatives at that place and sent
my sisters husband 1000 cigars for
him to sell at his request. He could
not pay me and | went out there to
see about it. | found his farm encum-
bered, and, as | thought great deal
| OF the family, / cleared on the mort
gage. A big met thodist revival was in
progress at Ackley at that time.
The people were too poor to pay
| the preacher for his services, and he
boarded round. l met him one night
and We had II long discussion and a
hot one. ] was then and am now an
atheist. After going to bed that night
| lay awake a long time wondering why
people should believe in stories of re-
markable giants and the like. Sud
denly | thought of making "a great
stone giant and passing it off as a
petriiied man.
Il returned to Binghampton and
sold out my business; went to Wiscon-
sin, where the idea continued o haunt
me. | returned to New York State
with my family and again went out to
Iowa. did not go near my folks at
Ackley. however. After a search
found a suitable stone near Fort
Dodge on the river bank. 1t was a
gray colored, resembling gypsum.
There were also discolored, BLUSH
streaks running through it which AFT er-
ward passed for veins OF u human
body. | bought an acre of ground
having rock of this description uponit
! then went to work with a force oi
men and i'll a few weeks had block
. ready to take away. The block was
eleven feet four inches in length, three
| ltcI Sly lll ana lttl
thick. This | transported by land to
the nearest station, Boone, forty-fivt
miles distant. This job occupied thret
, weeks and cost more than 5000. Ii
was no small task transporting this
great rock across the country oveI
prairie roads, fords and weak bridges
Two men in succession threw up theii
, contracts, and If | had not been su
pervising the Job, aided by jack screws
r windiasses, levers, etc, the ponderou'
9 mass would have remained on tbs
{ road.
, SAT Boone shipped my big rock tC
, Chicago, where | rented a one-storA
: building on North Clark street, clos,
o to the lake. Then 1 hired a stone
\ cutter, and cautioned HIM to secrecy
When the Fort Dodge people had askeC
me what | was going to do with tin
stone, | had told them that | wa
going to take it to Washington as
sample OF. the best building stone il
the country. In Chicago | anticipates
> even greater trouble from the inquIsi
e tive. My stonecutter was a German
:, and all he wanted was his wages.
never told him what Twas going to dc
and he, to the best OF my knowledge
n never told anybody what he wa
C doing.
:. II first made the model of a man i
clay. 1t lay on its back, and was jus
the shape the Cardiff giant assume
D. as the work of cutting it out pre-
e. gressed. On the under side OF tn
r body cut away some places, as di
v. not wish to have the giant too perfec
m because there should be some parts {
x the supposed giant which had nc
r petrified. l then made a tool wit
Sc bundles OF darning needles, the handl,
1T cast in lead, and with this tool wer
in over every inch OF the body, makir