The times., 1899-05-15
THE CARDIFF GIANT.
RanSest Fraud Ever Perpetrated on
GullibIe Humanity.
(From the Philadelphia Times

4
| The recent death of Prof. o. c. Marsh,
the famous paleonto. ogist OF Yale College.
brings to mind the fact that he was the
| hrst to detect the fraudulent character of
the famous petrifed man known the world
over as the Cardiff giant Some years ago.
shortly after the waT-the narrator canrot
fix the exact date and all books CT refer
! ence are silent the subject, although
it was probably in 1S59-there. was pub
| lished in some OF the newspapers Of the
country an announce ment that thsre had
been exhumed near Cardiff. small sst-
| tiement not far from BinghaMtol, y. Y,
what was called and long supposed to be
a perfect figure of a gigantic man, which
by the preserving qualities of that particu-
lar bit OF earth had been transform in o
stone image, OF petrifaetion- The dis
| covery created intense exeiteIns MT 70. only
in the scientific world of this country AMI
among learned men abroad. but among
people generally. as being strong evidence
Of a gigantic race OF men once having troi
| this continent The colossal stone figure
lit WIS over nine feet long-was placed
on exhibition on TIE spot where it was
found, an admission fee being charged for
the privilege OF viewing it. and the pre-
prietor of the farm took in more money
I taan il he had discovered a rich vein Cf
goid-bearing quartz. There were doubt
| ing Thomases. however, but 1t was nat
until some years later that the Cardiff
giant came to be looked Upon by scientific
men as a gigantic fraud instead OF gi-
/ gaItic petrifaction.
/ About ten years ago the narrator. in the
/ law Offices of the late James H. Heveril.
was introduced to gentleman named John
Rankin. who had been mayor OF
Binghamton. prior to the dis
coyery of the famous stone image. He was
! born in the small town OF Homer, N. Y.
whence Re removed to Binghamton, whe-e
for awhile he taught penmauship. There
he met Mr. Heveril, who then was a fire.
| quent visitor to that prosperous eomnIuni-
! ty, probably owing 20 The fact that the Ia
| dy who afterwarI became mis- wife was
| there receiving ner education. After the
discovery of the Cardiff giant, Rankin sud-
| denly and mysteriously gave evidence of
having acquired considerable wealth. A5
result of the narrator meeting Rankin be
| lsaTnsd-no matter how or from whom
| the true history of that famous exhuma-
| tion, which you will find in no book but
you can depend upon its entire reliability.
The Cardin giant was one OF the clever
| est frauds ever perpetratsd ur0n that most
| gullible cotsrie known as ''the scientific
| world 1t is singular how learned men
of this class can be iupSd by ehar,aIans
with an ease that would be impossible
among ordinary men possessed OF no grsdt-
4
sense. Instances CT this kind are nurier-
| Gus. The great Lsidy pronounced Fore
! parsh's calcimined elephant a genuine
f., White Elephant from SIAM" and men Of
equal scientific rank declared that the Car
diff giant was the petrifed body OF pre-
| historic man. Prof. John Hall. the gsolo-
gist of the State OF New York publicly
stated his belief in its antiquity; Dr. Oliver
/ Wendell Holmes eXpatiated upon its Won
dcrful anatomical interest and even Ralsh
Waldo Emerson pronounced it beyond the
| depths of his philosophy
| Yet the stcne image was an utter fraud
/ whose originator was John Rankin and his
sole motive was the making OF money
/ With the aid OF a farmer named George
/ Hull on whose grounds the figure was sub
sequentIy found-aud probably with the as
/ sistance of others-the mammoth human
| effigy was constructed out OF cement and
| sand in a barn secured for the purpose in
| the neishhorhood Of Cardiff When CON-
! plsted different parts Of the body were
! washed repeatedly with a strong decoc-
/ tior Of coffee until the DARK stains had
| permeated below the surface. When il was
/ in readiness the figure was buried az night
time at the spot where it was subsequently,
| discovered, the dirt in and around the hole
/ having been thoroughly mixed with the
| same kind of sand OF which the alleged
| pstriied body vas composed Everything
| being in readiness the farmer who owned
| the land found a prstext some time later
/ for making an eyhumatiou at tAe point OF
burial and the Cardiff giant was revealed
( to a wondering psople. While the scientific
world was debating whether the mammoth
I figure was real fossil or a stone cut three
/ hundred years before by the Jesuit fathers.
I or Phoenician gCd, Hull and his con-
! federateS-Rankiu keeping himself dis
! creetly in the backgTound-were Turing
money rapidly from the curious public. who
were charged 30 cents a head for viewing
the gigantic patriaeajlon. and the schemias
| farmer even refused an ofler OF SlO.0G9 for
| part intrest in his wonderful possession.