Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1904-10-25
OF CARDIFF FAME
Man Who ouarried the Rock for the
Great Giant Celebrates His s2d
Birthday and Tells About ths
World Famous Fake.


Special to Times-Republican.
Fort Dodge. Oct. 25.-Surrounded by
a happy family Of children and grand
children, Michael Foley of this city
celebrated his eighty-second birthday
anniversary with good chances for
participating in many to come. Mr..
Foley has lived quiet life for many
years, but remembers well the time
that he was engaged to quarry the rock
which was afterward made into the
Cardiff giant" one Of the most colos-
sal frauds ever perpetrated upon an
unsuspecting public.
1t was in the month of July, 1858,
that two men, one giving his name
as Hull, of Syracuse, N. Y, and the
other Martin, claiming to be from Ce-
dar Rapids, engaged quarters at the
old st. Charles hotel in this city. They
pretended to be studying the geograph-
ical conditions about Fort Dodge. They
made several inquiries as to where
they would find a large ledge OF gyp-
sum rock. They even WENT SO far
as to buy an acre of ground and quar-
ried it with a view Of finding out just
what they wanted, but failed. They
were finally Informed in a casual way
that Michael Foley, who was engaged
in getting out rock for a railroad Conn
pany. could in ell probability get them
what they wanted. When pressed for
an explanation as to what purpose
they intended putting the rock, Hull
explained that they were going to ship
it to New York to exhibit for the pur-
pose Of raising stock company to
manufacture plasterparis. Martin sadd
they were going to take 1T to Spring.
field, ILL.,, as Iowa's contrilbut iIon 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 a ledge of gypsum
rock about 100 feet long. On the top
Of this he drilled some 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 condition. 1t was twenty
four feet long, three feet wide and
eighteen inches thick.
The stone was shipped to Chicago
where it was given in charge of q
sculptor who carved it into a giant,
pricked it with needles while it was
soft, to give it the appearance of hui
man skin, treated it with acid to give
it the ancient appearance, and packed
# 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 Oct. 10, 1868. On Nov. man
claimed the box, receipted for it, load
cd IT on a large wagon, hitched four
horses on and carried 1t fifty miles to
. Mace near Cardiff, in Onondago
comfy. New York. where the giant was
buried and remained until Oct. 16,
1869. nearly year, when the resurrec-
tion took place while the men were
nretending to dig a we'll. Special
trains were run from New York, car
wing visitors by the thousands, 10 see
+ and it is estimated that $4,000 per-
cons visited the spot the first week
after it was discovered and paid 81
each for sight of the giant made
from the stone quarried by Michael
E-olav