The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1895-10-19
TWELVE PAGES.

many very tall people to be found in the
vicinity of Potsdam today. But these
instances are normal Giantism which is
abnormal, is not supposed to begin until
after a height of seven feet is passed.
THE PkUSSIAN SOLDIER GIANTS.
Europe for his big soldiers. Some of
them he pressed into his service by force,
while to gain possession of others he paid
large sums of money. They were his
pets, but it is probable that they would
not have proved very efficient in war.
The best machine for fighting or for any
other purpose is of moderate size. The
King once asked an officer of the British
army if an equal number of Englishmen
could whip his regiment of giants. The
officer replied that he was not sure about
that, but that half the number would un-
dertake the task with fair degree of
confidence. Frederick reviewed every
day his cherished regiment, which num-
bered 2, 400 men. In the front rank was
no man less in stature than seven feet.
Such is the story, but that is doubtless
an exaggeration. In the year 1775 the
Duke of Brunswick Hanover had
guardsman in his employ who, as al
legged, measured eight feet and six in
ches.
In 1864 Barnum exhibited four giants
in New York, all of whom were alleged
to be over eight feet. One of these was
Anna Swan, who probably was the larg-
est woman of this century. Sbe nearly
lost her lifs when the showman's muse
UNI was destroyed by fire in July, 1866.
Joseph Brice, French giant, exhibited
in 1862, measured six and a half inches
over seven feet. Possibly, with this ex-
ception, the tallest man in France in
1860 was Charles d'Indreyille of Nesle, in
Normandy, who was seven and half
feet high and stout in proportion. He
fought at Wagram and Moscow, and sub
sequently he was the proprietor of extern
siye glass works at Rouen.
Looking back through the records Of
modern times one finds note of William
Shard, known as the West Ham Giant,
who died of consumption in 1884. He is
said to have measured just seven feet and
half. Of nearly equal height was Big
Sam Mcdonald, who attracted the atten-
ton of the Prince of Wales and was
made lodge porter at Carlton House
He used to dress himself in female cloth
ing and exhibit himself as giantess.
On one occasion he was challenged to
fight by two soldiers. One of them he
swung around his head by one arm, and
the other ran away. At Mime. Tussaud's
used to be exhibited figure Of Rus
sian named Loushkin, eight feet and five
inches high He was a drum major in
the Imperial Guards. In 1920 died Will
liam Bardley of Yorkshire, who at 10
years of age was eight inches above seven
feet in height. A cast of one of his hands
College Of Surgeons.
In 1890 the sepulchre of an alleged
Irish chieftain was dug up near Donna
dea in peat bog. The skeleton measured
two and IA half inches over eight feet.
The story may be regarded as dubious.
Edward Bamford, a gigantic halter of
Temple Bar, died in 1868. His height
was seven feet and four inches. A stat
ure nearly sixteena hinches greater
than this was claimed for Patrick Cotter,
alias O'Brien, who was born in 1850 at
Kinsale, Ireland. His actual height was
about seven feet and ten inches only.
He was sickly. and displayed the typical
physical abnormalities of giantism.
Eventually he retired with a fortune,
and when he died at the age of 46, he
directed that his grave should be made
secure with iron bars and brick work.
This was to prevent the doctors from
stealing his body.
INSTANCES OF ELONGATION
1t is said that in those days showmen
in hiring giantsFused to stipulate for the
disposition of their bodies in case they
died. They were worth money dead.
Cotter took the name of O'Brien from
another Irish giant of that name who
was born about the same date. He was
said to be eight feet and four inches
high, but in truth he was trifie less
than ten inches over seven feet. His
skeleton is now owned by the Royal Col
lege of Surgeons The famous DIR. Will
liam Hunter gave $500 lbs. for his corpse
A remarkable, if not apocryphal, story
relates to boy named Charles
Charlesworth, who was born in Stafford
shire March IA. 1927. At five years of age
he was four feet and seven inches high
and worked at his fathers business
From that time he rapidly declined in
strength and bulk AT seven years of
age his strength, which had been won
derful, was gone, his body had become
emaciated, and he died with all symp-
toms of extreme old age. In 1913 there
was at Lekerkerk. in Holland, Usher
man named Gerrit Bastiaansen, who was
eight feet tall and weighed 500 pounds.
Far from having been of greater stat
ure than his descendants Of today prehis-
toric man was slightly smaller than the
modern. His bones have been dug up
and prove this fact. Human beings to-
day have more comfort and are better
nourished and these conditions tend to
increase the size of the body, making