The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-04-23

in which the giant was supposed 20
have lain undisturbed for SO many CEN
turtles Fossils were somewhat in his
line too. even in those early days, and
It was perfectly natural that his inter
est should have been aroused by these
stories of fosst liZed man. He was
however, skeptical from the start. He
was determined to examine into tho
foundation for all the wonderful stories
he had heard, and SD one day a small,
keen-eyed man presented himself and
so cents at the tent in Syracuse, Where
the wonder lay in state.
THE attendants had no idea who
their visitor was. and their susUicicns
were not aroused even when he request
ed permission to go inside the ropes and
make a more minute examination. This
permission was secured after some diff
liculty. He was accompanied by the
keeper, who, during the examination
kept pointing out all the fine points of
his charge in apparent fear that Pro-
lessor Marsh might miss something.
The professor. however, saw a great
many more things than any one had
any idea of. The first thing he noticed
was that the stone of which the image
was made was gypsum. 1t so happens
that gypsum is soluble in 400 parts of
water, and that the region in which the
image was found was very damp SO
how under the sun, the professor asked
himself, could it have retained that lire
polish and all the fine pinhole marks
that the scientists had explained as
pores of the skin? The professor fur
Their observed that these pores them
selves occurred at regular intervals and
in the same abundance, which at once
led him to the conclusion that this had
been made with some instrument NOV
ing regularly over the surface. In fact,
Professor Marsh had hardly examined
the thing five minutes before he saw
that it was a gigantic fraud. The first
step he took after reaching the, hotel
was to write a letter to a newspaper
friend exposing the fraud. which that
gentleman at once published. This let
ter went the rounds of the press, and
was generally regarded as convincing
proof against the antiquity of the giant
Professor Marsh's trouble did not
end there, however. He met antag-
oniSm near home. One of the most pic
turesque figures upon the Yale campus
in those days was the Rev. Alexander
McWhorter. McWhorter was a Yale
graduate, a former professor in the
Troy Theological seminary, a man of
much antiquarian knowledge and gen.
eral scholarship. There was one thing
in the world of which McWhorter was
very fond. and that was this same Car
diff giant. 1t was a very tender spot
with him. He had q pet theory that
long before the time of Columbus or
Left Ericsson, the New World, and es-
pecially that region in western New
York, had been inhabited by Phoeni-
clans. OF course, the discovery of the
Cardiff giant was conclusive evidence
that this theory was correct. 1t was
not a fossilized man, after all, but a
Phoenician god, many centuries old.
''McWhorter worshiped this god as
devoutly as the old Phoenicians them
selves, and when he read Professor
Marshs letter he was a very angry
man. AS soon as Professor Marsh re-
turned to New Haven his theological
friend began to upbraid him.
You are wrong, sir. absolutely
wrong he shouted. in his pompous
way, flourishing his cane. You do not
know what you are talking about, sirp
The whole thing is a fraud!' re-
turned Professor Marsh.
Il tell you, sir answered the di-
vine. that in three months it will be in
the British museum
Professor McWhorter nearly lost his
mind on the subject. The Cardiff giant
and his name were synonymous, both
in New Haven and elsewhere. He
preached about it, leetured about it,
went on a regular missionary tour. One
night he collected the Yale faculty
about him in Professor Thatcher's room
and, with the aid of an endless number
of charts, explained his theory at
length.
1.-The proprietors of the image at once