Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1892-03-15

aANA AsNtm A@SgotA~0 W QUINN 49,
servers.
Tie idea conveyed by the word giant
in classical mythology is that of beings
more on less man-like, but enormous ia
size and strength. Figures like the Titans
and the Giants. whose birth from heaven
and earth is sung by Hesiod in the The
ognomy. such as heap up mountains to
scale the sky. and war beside or against
the gods, must be treated with otIer like
naonstrous figures OF the wonder tales Of
the world AS belonging altogether to the
realms Of mythology
Besides the conception OF giants as
special races distinct from mankind, il
was common opinion Of the ancients
that the human race had itself degenera-
ted, tie men Of primeval ages having
been of so far greater stature and strength
as to be in fact gigantic. Yet so far as
can be judged by actual remains it does
not appear that giants, in the sense OF
tribes Of altogether superhuman stature,
ever existed, or that the men OF ancient
time were, on the whole, taller than those
now living. 1t is now usual TO apply the
word "giant" TO beings not superhuman
In their height. but merely the tallest
men and women of our nations.
Until the beginning OF the present cen.
tury. it was universally believed that
giants, Of a size far exceeding those
which are exhibited in our times, form
erly existed, either as nations on as indi-
vidual specimens. This belief was based,
first, on the asserted discovery Of colossal
human bones; second, on supposed scrip
tural evidence; third, on the evidence OF
various ancient and medieval authors.
A reference to the first volume of Cul.
ver's easements Fossilcs will show that
the bones OF elephants, rhinosceroses,
mastodons, etc, have been exhibited and
accepted as evidence of prehistoric
giants. Even so good a naturalist as
Buffen fell into this popular delusion
aud figured the bones of an elephant as
the remains of human giants. Saint
Hilaire, In his Historic des Anomalies
dsrOrgainsation, notices several of the
most famous of these cases. A gigantic
skeleton which was found at Trapani in
Sicily, in the fourteenth century, was at
once pronounced to be that of the CLASH
cal giant, Polyphemns, and his height
was calculated at 300 feet. 1t was
pointed out that the bones differed in
form as well as In size from those
Of a man, but this objection was easily
met by the question, Why, if his
height was sixty times as great as that
OF an ordinary man, should not his form
also be different? Many less celebrated
giants were subsequently exumed in
Sicily, aud the existence of the "Osseous
Canerus" described by De Quatrefages in
bis Rambles Of a Naturalist fully ac-
count for such discoveries at an epoch
when few could recognize the differences
In form between the bones of an elephant
and those of man.
Nor have our own countrymen been
less credulous than their neighbors. In
i712 DIR. Increase Mather, in the "Philo-
sopIlical Transactions, announced the
discovery OF enormous bones and teeth,
which had been found in the State of
New York, and which he regarded as af-
fording evidence Of the existence OF gi-
ants of enormous size in ancient tiNe5.
The bones were in reality those OF a mas
todon.
The Scripture evidence, when carefully
examined, does not amount to much.
The Hebrew words nephirim and gibo-
rim, which occur several times in the
book of Genesis, and which are trans
lated giants, might as well be trans
lated bearded, Scruel" or @violent
men. The height Of Og, King of Ba-
shan, is not given-we are only told the
length of his bed. And including his
helmet, which was probably taken into
account in the recorded measurement,
Goliath at most did not exceed eight feet
and half in stature and consequently
was not taller than some giants of mod
ern days.
The classical evidence Is abundant, but
obviously untrustworthy. Thus, Piutarch
relates that Serboeins had the grave Of
Antalus, in the city Of Tungis, opened
and, finding there his body full 60 cubits
long was infinitely astonished, ordered
the tomb to be closed, gave his confirma-
ton to the story and added new honors
TO the memory of the giant Piiny
gives to one, Gabbaras, an Arabian, the
stature of nine feet nine inches. Gaping
this with the mention OF Posio and Se-
cundilIy, who were half foot higher.
Pliny reports also that an earthquake
in Crete disclosed the bones of a giant
torty-six cubits in length, who was held
by Dorne to be Orion and by others Otus.
What exaggeration can do in this way
may be judged from the fact that the
Patagonians, whose average height is five
feet eleven inches, are described in Piga-
fetta's Voyage Round the World as so
monstrous that the Spaniards' heads
hardly reached their waists Descending
10 more certain evidence, there can be no
doubt that height of eight and nine
feet, and probably Of more than nine
feet, has been attained. There Is skel-
eton in the museum Of Trinity College,
Dublin, eight feet six inches an height; I;
that Of O'Brien tor Byrne1 in the museum
Of the College OF Surgeons Of England is
eight feet two inches, and that Of a giant
N the museum at Bonn is eight feet, and
the actual body, with the soft parts at
xached, was probably two or three inches
longer than the skeleton. For example,
we find it recorded that o 'Brien measured
eight feet four inches after his death.