Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1913-12-23
Local Blacksmith
Had Finger il, Old
Cardiff Giant Fake

The Cardiff giant is one Of the fakes
that. in the world Of taking. stands
side by side with Dr. Cooks discovery
Of the north pole and other monu-
mental hoaxes that a gullible public
has swallowed In the last half century.
Most readers, especially the older ones.
are more or less familiar with the his
tory Of the Cardiff giant, but prob
ably not many know that the idea Of
the giant was conceived in Mar
shalltown mans brain; that he WAS
one OF two who connived to carry the
scheme thru successfully and grew rich
thereby.
That the fake was exposed q few
months after the alleged discovery OF
the giant did not prevent the Mar
shalltown man from reaping huge
profit.
Martin, . Local Blacksmith.
This man was H. b. Martin. who
purported to be Boston, Mass, man
during the early period Of the giant
craze, but was later identified as q
Marshalltown blacksmith. After the
Of Martin was lost.
1t was in October. 1869. that the
Cardiff giant was uncovered on the
farm of William Newell, near the vii
lage Of Cardiff, N. Y. Newell was pur-
porting to be digging well near his
barn when one of the diggers struck
OF a huge man. More digging uncov-
,x.ho iafo "a ho "a
petrified body OF a gigantic male. If
teen feet high.
Report Spreads With Wind.
The news OF the find spread with the
winds. The next day was Sunday.
More than 1000 hastened to the farm
to look at the stone giant Newell
realized he had a gold mine In the
huge recumbent image, so he erected
a tent over the giant, and charged so
cents head for a look.
Newspapers sent reporters, and in .
few days the sensation OF the giant
swept over the country. Newell re-
fused $4,000 cash for the giant. There
then appeared George Hull, a cousin
of Newell, who took charge of the ex
hibition.
Scientists Are Fooled.
Special reporters and scientists
flocked to Cardiff. All of them were de-
ceived by the giant. Listen to what is
now an amusing scientific description
OF the giant. James Hall, the noted
New York geologist. said after he saw
the giant: The most remarkable arch
aeology discovery ever made In this
country That the statue has lain
for long time where II now lies there
can be no doubt. Any theory Of the
recent burial Of the statue in this place
is disproved, ETC., etc"
PIT. earnum Wanted It.
DR.. Amos Wescott wrote in the
Scientific American, 1T would be far
easier to suppose this vertible petri-
fication Of one OF the giants who lived
in those days than to suppose it
statue. = . There Is not chisel mark
upon the entire image. - Its origin
is as deep mystery as when first
brought to light"
P. T. Barnvm tried to buy 1t but
failed. A syndicate offered $4,000 for
1t, and was refused. Barnum had one
made like the original. put 1t on exhi-
bition in New York City as the or
iginal. Martin and Hull sought the
court 10 get Barnum enjoined. but evil
dence that both giants were fakes had
leaked out by that time and the court
refused to protect one faker from the
others.
Fort Dodge Man Uneovers Fake.
GaIusha Parsons, Fort Dodge
lawyer furnished the first clue that re-
suited in the fake being exposed. He
had read a scientific statement that
it was believed the giant was carved
from gypsum. but of a different col
or from the New York gypsum. This
recalled to his mind that he knew Of
a huge block Of gypsum that was
quarried out Of one of the Fort Dodge
gypsum quarries and shipped east
more than a year before. He wrote his
theory to the Northwest, paper
printed in Fort Dodge. 1t started an
investigation that. summarized very
briefly. ran like this:
George Hull and II. B. Martin were
in Fort Dodge for eight days during
July. 1868. They got out a huge block
Of gypsum, took it to Boone. and
shipped it to Chicago. The block was
traced in Chicago to the studio Of a
sculptor named Otto. Hull was the
model the sculptor reproduced from the
gypsum block. The statue was shipped
in a huge box from Chicago to George
Olds, Union, n. Y. where 1t arrived
Oct. 10. Odds got the box, hauled 1t
away on wagon drawn by four
horses, saying it was machinery. The
journey by wagon from Union to New
ellis farm was trip that required five
days 1t was buried on the spot where,
more than a year later, Newell started
to dig what he called a stock well.
This exposure Of the giant was
printed in pamphlet form by the
Northwest. and thousands Of them
were shipped to the eastern cities
where they were gobbled as greedily
as the sensation Of the giant had been
swallowed by the public.
Erosin Fools Scientists.
Hull aud Martin had selected
gypsum lying in creek bed as the
block out q which the giant was to
sculptored. Hart OF the surface Of the
block had been worn smooth and
eroded by the water This eroded tract
was left untouched by the sculptor and
showed plainly Sn the body Of the
giant. It was thiA evidence Of erosin
that fooled the scientists. who held 1t
to be conclusive evidence that the
giant had laid buried for many, n.any
years.
The exposure printed in the pamph
let took the wind out Of the fake, but
before the hoax had been shown to