St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1891-01-27
HULL SLIGHTLY MIXED.
At Least, SO Says a South Dakota
Man.

To the Editor of the Globe.
Since the reported death of George
Hull, the originator of the Cardiff
Giant hoax, / have seen quite
a number of articles telling how
it was done. The GLOBE of
the 18th has an account as told by Hull
himself in Binghamton hotel, how it
was carved. buried and dug up by him
self, which mast be little mixed.
When about eighteen years of age was
an employee in the old Tully hotel in
Tully, OnOndaga county, n. y, about
five miles from small village called
Cardiff, which is located at the foot OF
Bear mountain, on OnOndaga creek.
The hotel ran busS to the trains on
the old Syracuse & Binghamton railroad,
now the Delaware 81 Lackawanna. One
morning fine looking man came up in
the bus and registered as George Hull.
Binghamton, n. Y.
Mr.. Hull staid at the hotel until about
night, and finally asked me If l would
take him down to Cardiff and bring the
horse and buggy back. l told him |
would. We started about dark and
Stub Newell's farm house. Hull then
on foot, and that | could go back, but
requested me not to mention where l left
him, and also asked me if Ire should
want NE to take him to the same place
again if | would do so. | told him
would. He gave me a S. bill and drove
back.
In about week a heavily loaded
wagon with four horses attached came
up from towards BinghamtOn and went
towards Cardiff. 1t was something I'M
usual to see four-horse team in that
country, and all wondered if some one
wasn't putting up distillery some
where on Bear mountain, but no one
seemed to know much about it. On the
same day Mr.. Hull came again in the
same way, and in the evening | made
another trip, the same as the first, and
left him at the same place. 1t started
to rain before got back to Tully, and
was very dark. | have thought since it
was good night to bury giants.
About o'clock IN the morning some
one raped at the office door; l opened
. the door. and who should be there but
Mr.. Hull, and fine looking object he
was. He was wet to the skin, and COW
cred with stick-tights and burrs. l
picked them off and built fire in room
SO he could dry his clothing. In the
morning | went to store and bought
him a hat, as his silk hat was ruined.
Mr.. Hull took the first train to Bing-
hamton to wait for the giant to ripen.
l never saw him after that. About two
years from this time a friend sent me an
account of the great Cardiff Giant. L
was in the state OF Wisconsin, but it
flashed to my mind that George Hull
buried the giant the night took him to
Stub Newell's farm.
/ wrote letter to the man who was
proprietor of the Tully hotel at that
time, and told him what l thought. He
answered my letter, and said he had
never thought of it before, but thought
perhaps it might be SO. The giant was
dug up on the bank of OnOndaga creek,
about one mile from Cardiff, on Stub
Newell's farm. Mr.. Newell wanted a
we'll dug, and set his hired man and a
man by the name of Gid EmmonS dig
ging it, OF course, they dug the Car
diff giant up. The reason of burying
the giant at that particular place was
that wood or limbs of trees that dropped
in the water become petrified, and, OF
course, the giant had to be buried where
it would seem propable that it was a
genuine article. 1t was dug up nearly
100 miles from where the carving was
done. A three-quarter interest was dis
posed Of for S37,5OO, Mr.. Newell retain
ing the other quarter interest. There
were thousands of people who flocked to
Cardiff to see him as he lay in the grave.
Mr.. Hull probably made more out of the
venture than me could have done at his
trade IN the same length of time, that OF
cigarmaker. S. L. Q.
Odell, s. d., Jan. 20.