Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1903-11-07


The shocking discovery by the French
,o,lce of plant for counterfeiting
r,immics, at Montrouge near Paris
and the disclosure that some OF the
hitherto most priced archaeolosic speci-
mems on exhibition in the Louvre are
"fakes" pure and simple. have caused
n sensation in science. France need not
.,ond alone In her embarrassment.
bowever. The enterprise OF counter
letting archaeologic and other naturai
history specimens is thriving wei nigh
the earth over--in the new world es-
pecially
Probably the most Migrant hoax ever
nerpetrated at the expense of American
sayants was that of the San Diego
Giant" A few years ago II came TO the
Notice of some Smithsonian scientists
who were visiting side show In At
,anta. Ga. 1t was parked to the mob
as the mummy of the tallest human
beine who ever lived to draw the breath
NJ life. and It cost only dime, 10
cents the tenth part of a dollar" to
acquire mental image OF the monster.
,rhe visiting scientists applied ther
taneline and found the giant to register
4 feet A inches from crown 10 heei'
They estimated that II must nave
hoasted feet OF height in real life.
This was allowing for shrinkage such
az would occur to the average mummy.
THE savants pronounced IL to be the
desiccated corpse of n historic IN
dian at least $50 years old.
According to the exhibitor, this num-
miaed giant was found in cave at
san Diego, Cal, by party of pros
pcctors over the head were the re-
mains OF leather hood which seemed
to be part of n garment used for the
shroud. Worn teeth were visible In the
mouth. The outlines Of the ribs were
plalnly seen through the skin. The
great elongated slender body was nude.
IL stood erect In rectangular box
about 10 feet long. The arms We're
folded across the breast, The exhibit
or agreed to sell the wonderful speci-
men to the National Museum In Wash
ington, for $500. The Offer was COM
municated to the institution, which dis
patched DR.. Lucas, one of It's corps Of
specialists. to Atlanta, the scientists
who had seen II first having had time
for no more than a superficial exam
nation. DR.. Lucas gouged n chunk out
Of the skin Of the alleged giant, This
he transmitted to one of the govern
ment chemical laboratories In Washing
ton In few days the chemist return
ed the intelligence that the alleged skin
was, in fact, hardened gelatine.
CALIFORNIA OsSIFIED WOMAN.
An alleged ossi6ed woman was sent to
Washington some time ago. The owner
was an honest man, the specimen haV-
ing changed hands several times before
he fell into possession of II, at a cost
of $500. He believed II to be genuine,
as did several scientific men who made
superficial examination. Some OF the
more skeptcal OF the latter returned
to the place of exhibition with drlll
obtained permission to turn the stone
lady on her face; and made bold to
bore a hole into the under side OF her
leg. The first boring exposed nothing
except a stone layer, but second
brought TO light a piece of iron pipe,
forming the skeleton OF the fake" In
yestigaton proved that this "ossified
lady came into being nc one Of the ce-
ment works OF California. She had
been shaped from casts, evidently TAX
en- from a woman's body An artist who
examined the specimen told the writer
that 10 was a perfect mold from the hu-
man form. There was not a seam mark
TO be found upon any part of It's sur
face, which completely reproduced the
contour Of the. skin.
The Smithsonian anthropologlsts are
periodically called upon to investigate
the remains of alleged prehistoric giants
exhumed from the western mounds.
One explorer reported that he had. dug
up In Dakota dozen human skeletons.
each measuring 10 feet in length when
put together. such finds almost invari-
ably prove to be the imperfect remains
Of large animate, like the mastadons,
the bones OF whose llmbs-the last to-
decay--were mistaken for human bones
by even the anthropooglsts of times
past.
THE GREAT SEA SERPENT HOAX.
The most colossal sea serpent hoax
on record was perpetrated by Or, Albert
G. Koch, who I'm 1876 exhibited IN Broad
way, New York, the tremendous skele-
ton Of an alleged elongated marine mon
ster which he called the "hydrachos'
or sea king" This consisted Of head
and vertebral column measuring ia
feet over ALL After Koch had been fool
ing scientists and laymen alike for a
considerable period Prof Wyman eN-
amined the bones thoroughly and dis
closed that they were those Of several
zeuglpdons strung together to represent
sea serpent Koch afterwards sold the
skeleton TO the Dresden museum.
The center for wholesale counterfeit
ing Of Indian relics was lately exposed
by A. H. jerks of the bureau OF
ethnology, Washington He discovered
this enterprise to be nourIshng In Me-
dina township, Dane county, Wis,