Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1904-11-08

an Bros. q Shahan.
it to New York to exhibit for the pur-
pose of raising stock company to
manufacture of plaster Paris. Martin
said they We're going to take it to
Springfield, ILL.,, as Iowa's contribution
to the Lincoln monument which was
then being built.
|. When Mr.. Foley was interviewed
concerning the stone he informed them
that he could fill their order. He had
Just stripped. ledge of gypsum rock
about 100 feet long On top of this he
drilled about twelve holes and poured
in about fifteen pounds of powder. A
long fuse touched it off at once and the
rock was broken loose in splendid con-
ditfon, 1t was twenty four feet long.
three feet wide and eighteen inches
thick. When 1t had been placed on
temporary dock, previous to loading on
a large heavy wagon, it was cut in
two. When it was loaded on the wagon
one of the front wheels sank down in
to the soft earth until itzwas neces-
sary to have a heavy timber sawed for
the purpose of raising it. When all
was in readiness for transportation to
the town of Boone, distance of forty
miles, six yokes of exen We're hitched
to the wagon. So heavy was the load
IAdl cNGIy pIluSc GilEOuLG SuCCulADGG
to the great weight and it was found
necessary to follow the stone with a
derrick with which to rescue the load
from the wrecked bridges. Midway
between the two places, after the rock
had been lifted from mire, a guam
tity weighing nearly ton was clipped
off, the stone assuming the shape of a
common coffin, and one foot shorter
than originally, when finished. The
nd CT a 90 haty
Des Moines and Fort Dodge, met the
load four times a week for two weeks
during the progress of its transporta-
ton.
The contractor who was engaged to
move it to Boone, finally became dis
couraged over the progress he was
making and gave up his contract to a
man from Border Plains who added
another yoke of oxen and finally landed
it safe and intact on board a North
western car.
Mr.. Foley was paid nothing more
than days wages and at the time gave
no heed as to what might be the real
purpose of it. The remainder of the
twelve feet of the stone was hauled to
Fort Dodge and now occupies a part of
the foundation of a house built the
same year.
The stone was shipped to Chicago
where it was given in. charge of a
sculptor who carved it into giant,
pricked it with needles while it was
soft, to give it the appearance of hui
man skin, treated it with acids to give
it the ancient appearance and packed
it In an iron box, twelve feet long.
four feet wide and three feet deep, and
in this manner shipped it to George
Olds at Union, N. Y. 1t arrived at
Union on the 18th day Of October,
1863 November 4 a man claimed the
box. receipted for it, loaded it on
large wagon, hitched four horses on
and carted it fifty miles to place
near Cardiff in Onondaga county, N.
Y, where the giant was buried and re-
NAMED until October 16, 1869, nearly
year. when the resurrection took
place while pretending to dig for
well. Special trains were run from
New Yor, carrying visitors by the
thousands to see it and it is estimated
that $4,000 persons visited the spot
during the first week after it was dis
covered and paid 81 each for sight Of
the giant made from the stone quar-
ried by Michael Foley. Many scien-
lists were attracted to the place and
viewed it and differed in their opin-
ions. Some, considered eminent, pro-
nounced it genuine, while others pro-
nounced it a fake. P. T. Barnum Of
fered $4,000 for 1t and his offer was
rejected.
Hon. B. F. Cue, ex-lieutenant gov
ernor of Iowa, then editor Of the Iowa
Northwest, published in this city,
traced the matter up carefully and
published the first exposition of the
Cardiff giant.
Il never saw the stone from the
time it was hauled away to this day."
remarked Mr.. Foley while telling of his
connection in the matter. "But I
would like to get a glimpse of it now.
1t has not been very long since an old
man and his son from the east came to
Fort Dodge and after looking about
came to my house and asked me If
could get them a piece of the rock 1t
was made from. I took them down to
the lower part Of the town. and got
them quite a chunk Of the original
rock and thew seemed well pleased
with it, in fact insisted on my taking
some money for it, but I did not. Thew
finally made me take a fine pearl
handled pocket knife for my trouble.
There is any amount of the same kind
of rock around town today"