The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-10-10
rHr nELIEr IN GrArrs.

Recently, as periodically occurs the subject of giants has been under dis cussion. and men and newspapers of more or less information are debating the question just as if 1t were a mat ter of present importance. It is es- sentiaily human. though. to try to find out that which is doubtful, and the ex- istencs or non-existence of gigantic race of human beings has engaged the attention of learned and unlearned men of all times and ages.
 That human beings of gigantic sta- ture and girth have at times appeared on earth is beyond doubt. The Scrip tural assertian, occurring in the Book of Genesis, that there were giants in the earth in these days may have been e figure of speech to indicate the exist ence of large race of men, who may not have been what we would now call giants, but we have no reason to doubt the definite statement of Goliah's great size. for all the references to him indi- cate that he was far above the ordinary size of men. Whether we take the longer or shorter cubit he was above nine feet high. Then. again. the Bible tells us of og. the King of Bashan. whose iron bedstead was nine cubits long. indicating that he was thirteen or same authority tells us of the sons of Anak, who were spoken of as giants in the conception of the smaller Israeli ites.
 It may be argued that these were all exceptional instances. just as we find in the present day an occasional specimen of man or woman very much larger than the average. But there are many who will not be satisfied with this view of it, and contend that there was time in the history of the earth when it's inhabitants were real giants. Reasoning from analogy, 1t must be admitted that there Is much ground for the belief. Why, they reason. should other animal life have been formed on gigantic scale. and not man7 There is no doubt as to the basis of the argument. The researches of paleon- tologists continually bring to light re- mains of animals, allied to living crea- lures. but many times larger than any of the same order now in existence. The crocodiles and alligators are the largest examples of saurians now liv- ing, and 1t Is rare to find one twenty feet in length. Remains of their an- cestors are continually found both in this country and in the old world, three or four times as large as any now liv- ing That these remains belonged to the same family as our present species Is beyond doubt and the only explana- tion is that all of them were of gigan- tic size in remote ages. but have grad ually dwindled to what we now find them
 What is a demonstrated truth in the case of reptiles is equally true of ani- mals and fowls. Remains of lions, bears and other animals vastly larger than any now to be found are ex- humed in various parts of the world, differing very little, except in size. from their descendants. And the same thing is true to a greater extent in the case of fowls than of animals, for bones of birds are found which, when living, were two or three times. perhaps more, larger than any of their species now to be found. Connning the Scriptural lan- guage to animals. reptiles and fowls we can truly declare that there were giants in the earth in those days"
 All these evidences of huge animal life in remote periods are used to strengthen the case of those who be- lieye that the earth was once peopled by a race of giants. True, there is the negative evidence that we find no prop erly authenticated remains of such men and women, but that will hardly be &C., cepted as positive prooof that they never were on earth. It Is a little sim guIar, too, that legend. mythology and fable should be so replete with stories of gigantic human beings unless there was some solid ground for 1t. We doubt If human kind will ever give up the belief that they. as well as the lower orders. are descendants of giants.