The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1897-05-13
Something About Giants.

II there is one thing in the show business
which can be depended upon to draw ii
is giant, provided always that he be big
enough. Strong men, contortionists, gym
nasts and trick birds or pigs may endure
for day, but freaks, particularly big
freaks. will endure for ever; for, as Trim
culo very justly remarks of the public,
when they will not give a doit to relieve
blind beggar, they will lay out ten to see
dead INDIAN That this is true, says the
London Standard, may be seen by the way
the public focked to see the recent Egyp>
tan giant, by the way they focked to see
his predecessor, Winkelmeyer, and by the
way they have, almost without exception,
gone in crowds to see the latest giant out,
ever since genius conceived the idea of
exhibiting for filthy lucre abnormally de-
veloped specimens Of the genus homo. But
giants existed long before the profitable
business was invented, and the names of
many OF them have been handed down to
posterity, simply because they were Of huge
proportions. and combined with their abnor
NAL development proportional amount of
strength. Thus, 1t is probable that. had
Goliath OF Gath. whose height theologians
place at over ten feet, not been the strong
est as well as the biggest warrior among
the Phillstines, We should never have heard
OF him. The same argument applies to
Moab. king Of the Amorites, and Og, king
OF Bashan. Orestes, too, was eleven and
half feet high. according to the Grecian
Legends, and he, together with Ajax the
Greater. had they not been gifted with
strength in proportion to their bulk, would
have been only ordinary soldiers of the Gre
can army before Troy.
When history begins, however, that is,
when Rome began TO reach its highest point
of civilization in the time of Augustus, and
learned men began to write about the times
they lived in. instead Of the times that went
by long before they were born, we get au-
thentic records OF giants. In Augustus
time for instance, there were according to
the authority Of valerius. two giants in
Rome who were over ten feet high. Their
names were Idusis and SecundilIa, and they
were keepers Of the gates of the gardens
Of Sallust. Then again we have a record in |
Piiny of one Polydamus, the son OF Meas, |
who was over nine feet high, and whose |
strength rivalled that of Hercules himself !
Poiydamus used in fact to boast his supe- |
riority to that Roman deity, and perform
bfs special tricks. For example. he once
Slew lion with blow Of his fist, and scat |
tered its brains about the arena. He could |
with his hand stop the swiftest chariot !
dead, and on one occasion seized a bull By |
the hoof in order TO carry 1t away. but the |
animal struggled so violently that the hoof |
was left in his hand. In the end he was |
killed by the falling In OF cave. When |
his companions noticed that the roof was |
falling they left but Polydamus was so vain |
about his strength that he though he could |
not be killed. So he stayed and was finally |
crushed TO death.
The emperor Vitellius sent to Darius. by |
way OF a present. a Jew named Eleszer. |
who was seven cubits high. that is. reckon /
ing the cubit at eighteen inches. ten feet, /
SIX inches: ard a giant who Is mentioned
ty the historian Tsctius was over nine feet.
His name was Corbulo and he lived In |
Nero's time, and was more than usually
skiiful general and soldier. besides being an
strong man. An account of
the ancient giants would be incomplete I
without mentioning Maximinus. the I'M
perial giant Of the third century. The most |
stories are told OF this en-
peror OF Rome His height was eight feet /
ten inches, he could draw unafdet loaded /
wagon which six oxen could not move, ar
could with kick break horses leg. while
his appetite was so great that his usual |
ratioas for the Gay consisted OF forty
pounds OF meat and whole amphora Of
wine, besides bread and dried and fresh
fruits
Medieval giants are plentiful, but,
strange TO say. the records OF them are no,
so authentic as those OF the times OF the
enperors- Funn.an. a Scottish giant. who
hoorished IN 81. seems 10 be the most au-
.hentic OF these, but as ne Is put down a.
being over eleven feet high the statement |
should not be criticised TOO closely. SSl
more s;ratling, however. Is the foilowtrs,
which Is yogched FOR by monastery fun
u monks: II i5ae some workmen. digging
near Roue1. came across a cave u w-aich
eere some human bones ard copper plate
soaring the words. Here Re the remains
II tie zrea; sn1 mighty Chsvei:er Rscca
se vsIienont." The skull was large eroazh
C have he'd busheI CT wheat AID ths shin
bone Nss over four fee; long. Il Che bonel
vas preserved BY The aforementioned
monks. and Ii was estimated hat the
1e.zat OF the 5efuact knight must have tx-
seeded eighteen feet. A stranger Trough
.oale xha; similar legend comes rom Ire !
ard. but Il tbs case TIE e-srovsrtrs
Aougn tia; they wo1Id. 20 use a. sxp-ss-
ssou popular twenty or rhlrry ye4zs aga.
70 the whole hog or rose IL hsp7s1st
: iss. Some men were digging x Irelsns
wien they csus~Aeross ertck fosre sase1
,entz.nzd human skeleton 10 isss thar -
.e, long. But there * . -s.soa S'es-e Coz
Ii these legends Aocor:.rg % German
,-o<esso-. ,k.ase bones. which ~s.e sup
,o<ed BY .z7orau. pS-sonx % ce these %
,u-rs- besrzs. were proczssy these Of mas :
oScas c. scrns c,hsr so<Sfxe5 rer-ss-s-
scIcz 10 TIE zz.r.t.a,es wo1,i yoox exactly .
xe secse u q MAJ ooeen EEsase;a czc I