The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-06-30
SOME MODERN GIANTS.
Some Men and Women Who Have Been
 Noted for Their Great Height. St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Some Men and Women Wn0 Have Been
 Noted fer Their Great Height. St. Louis Post Dispatch.
 Marie Fassnauer, Tyrolese woman towers to the height of feet.
 But Marie, in spite of her many inches, is not the most exalted lady who ever lived. Just a quarter of a century ago the world gazed with craned head and open mouth at a still taller giantess who looked down on her admirers from a height of feet inches, and who was said to be still growing" Marian. as this re- markabIe maiden was called had been born only sixteen years earlier in village near the Thuringian Mountains. and the Amazon Princess" was for some months the greatest attraction Tn the spectacle of "BabH and Bijou" at the Alhambra Theatre-a character In which she wore a wonderful suit or armor and was crowned with tower- ing headdress, the topmost plume Of which was a good ten rect rom the stage.
 Nor was Marian distinguished only by her great height: for she had beautifully proportioned figure, a dis tinctiveIy pretty face and a most ami able disposition. This magnificent creature had very brief tenure of life, for she died at Berlin less than two years later, and before she had seen her eighteenth birthday.
 In 1869 and 1870 Miss Anna H. Swan, the 'Nova Scotia giantess," caused con siderable sensation. Miss Swan seemed destined from the cradle to be a woman of abnormal dimensions; for though her father, a Scottish immigrant, was barely s feet 6 inches high, and her mother was half foot shorter still, Miss Anna reached 6 feet at the age of II, and at 16 was the talest person in Nova Scotia. For a time she was the chief attraction of Barnum's great show-and during this period twice narrowly escaped death from fire. She had, too, some hfstrionic ability, as was proved when she appeared as Lady Macbeth in New York; and before go- | ing to England she made a triumphal tour of the United States.
 Tn her prime Miss Swan was but | few inches short of 8 feet, and she | found an appropriate husband in Cap tain Martin Bates. the Kentucky giant. who was actually two inches taller than herself
 Chang, the Chinese giant who ended his days at Bornemouth not many years ago, was a man of enormous size, standing over feet in his socks, but he used to declare that he had a sister at home in China who could | easily look over his head. This re- markable lady was 8 feet inches in height and had a hand with a span of | two feet.
 Robert Hales. the Norfolk giant, who caused a great sensation in England about half century ago, was a mem | Der of a very remarkable family, which included some women of extra ordinary stature. His father, a far mer. was feet 6 inches high. and although his mother was but a paltry 6 feet 1t Is said that she had an ances- tor in the sixteenth century who stood 4 inches over feet. Of the children of this couple the four sons averaged feet inches, and five daughters but ] 1-2 inches less. Robert, the taIlest member of the family. was a little over 1-2 feet high, and measured 64 inches and 62 inches around the waist and chest, respectively, while the tallest of his sisters, who died at 20. was feet 2 inches in height and of proportionate build.