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This pamphllet is the oinly aultorized account of tlt    coycry of the great wonder and the latest facts regarding    management; and is the only publication furnished by the owners of
the Giant with immediate and authentic information of any examinations,  experiments or new  developments  regardiing it.
Sulch newv facts will be immediately added to this pamphlet,
together witlh suelh scientific opinions as may be of interest or
value to the public.
The statements hlerein contained lhave been taken from the
lips of living witnesses on  the ground wlhere the events transpired, (excepting wherie reports are credited to otlher sonrces,) and
can be depended upon as reliable.
This publication will be tfound valuable for preservation, as
it records perlhaps the most important scientific discovery of thlis
century.  Certainly the wonder is sometlinog that in the whole
historv of tlhis country has never been exceeded, even if ever
equaled.
This pamphlet combines all the important facts as,narrated
by the newspaper press, in addition to whatever others mav occur, placing thlem in a convenient form for permanent preservation.  Cuts are l)eing prepared, illustrating, the various I)oinlts of
interest.
The Trade sluppl)lied bv byleding,ton & Ilowe, on liberal terms,
to whom all aoilers (eitlher whlolesale or retail) should be alddressed.
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THE
AMERICAN GOLIAlH.
-(Aeologal  isoove:.
PETRIFIED GIANT,
TEN AND ONE-HALF FEET HIGH, DISCOVERED
IN ONONDAGA COUNTY, N.Y.
HISTORY OF THE DISCOVERY ON OCTOBER 16,
1869, OF AN IMAGE OF STONE, THE SAME
BEING A PERFECTLY FORMED AND
WELL DEVELOPED MAN. DE              SCRIPTIONS OF THE
PETRIFACTION,. 
WITH   - -. 
Th  Opinions of Scientific Men — therea..
PRICE, 15 CENTS. -
W For Sale at all Newspaper and Book Stores. SD
SYIUSE, N. Y.:
PUBLILIED BY REDINGTOJ & ROWE, NO. 2 WIETING BLOCK, (BALINA ST.)
MUsIC PrJURRS AND WHOLALE DEALER.
IEntered according to Act of CoTs, A. D., 4869, by RD               Nox  & How, in the 
USffce of the.Northern District  of N.-Y.
L~ 9-'-,.
A WONDERFUL  2_-iS /1
0        *....  ow        a.
a, 
WONDERFUL SCIENTIFIC DlISCOVERY.
A GIANT OF STONE, 10 1-2 FEET IIIGHI, EXHUMED
IN ONONDAGA COUNTY, N. Y.
On Saturday forenoon, Oct. 16th, 1869, William C. Newell,
a farmer residing near the village of Cardiff, in the town of Lafayette, County of Onondaga, commenced to dig a well near his
barn. Two workmen were employed, Gideon Emmons and
JHenry Nichols; Mr. Newell being engaged meanwhile in drawing stone with which to line the well.   At the depth of about
three feet one of the workmen struck a stone, as he at first supposed.'A moment later he thought it a water lime pipe, and
asked for an ax with which to break it.  Before the ax arrived
the foot was partially uncovered, with the exclamation, "I declare, some old Indian has been buried here!"  Farthier excavation -iselosed the entire foot, and a part of the leg.  One of the
workmen, seeing the direction in which the body lay, dug down
just above where he thought the head might be, and his shovel
struck the nose.   The face and head were soon uncovered, and
in ashort time the entire figure exposed to view.  There then
:appeared to the few assembled spectators the colossal, well-pro,vtioned form of a human being of the following remarkable
DIMENSIONS.
From top of heed to instep of sole, ten feet three inches.  If
standing in a perfectly upright position, the height would be ten
feet, seven or eight inches. I
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Length of head from chin to top of head, twenty-one inches.
Nose, from brow to tip, six inches-across base of nostrils,
three and one-half inches.
Mouth four inches.
Shoulders from point to point, three feet.
Circumference of neck thirty-seven inches.
Length of right arm from point of shoulder to end of middle
finger, four feet, nine and one-half inches.
Across palm of hand, seven inches.
Length of second finger from knuckle joint, eight inclws.
Across wrist, five inches.
Distance around thighs, (about half way between knee and
thigh joints,) five feet, seven and one-half inches.
Leg, from hip joint to knee joint, three feet; throbh thigh,
one foot; through calf, nine and one-half inches.
Foot, nineteen and one-half inches.
The discovery, as may be supposed, created an immense sen   sation.  Mr. Newell was much perplexed and annoyed and de   termined at one time to fill up the exeavation and keep the dis   covery from the knowledge of the public. Sorne years ago a ra   zor was found in a hollow stump near by and suspicions were
then thrown out that a murder had been committed. The fam   ily feared that the corpse of the murdered man would in sonie
manner confront them through this discovery.
A rush occured of neighbors and others to see the exhumed
wonder, for intelligence of the Giant spread on the wings of the
wind. The excitement and ceaseless questions still farther con   fused the mind of the quiet proprietor and he almost uncon   sciously consented to various suggestions.  One was that the
body be raised that day (Saturday,)-consent for which Mr.
Newell acknowledges to have given.  Ropes were procured and
preparations made therefor, but the lateness of the afternoon
hour caused its postponement. This is a matter of rejoicing to
scientific men, as well as the public generally; for every one
naturally wishes to see the Giant as he had slept inhis bed for cen. turies, and for themselves examine the winding sheets he wrapped
' about him.
POSITION OF THE FIGURE.
The form is lying on its bagk, the head towards the east and
the feet toward the west!. The reclining posture is a perfectly
natural one, the limbs and feet being slightly drawn up.  The
figure appears as if a person had fallen there and died.  There
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seem to be evidences of considerable plhysical anguish in the,position of the limbs, of the body, and in the tension of the nerves
as well as the contraction of the muscles (which are fully developed.) The right hand rests upon the lower abdomen, and
the left is pressed against the back directly opposite. The left
foot is thrown partially over the right one, the leg resting partly upon its fellow, but not croising it.  The head is inclined to
the right.
The face is the only part seemingly free from traces of the
agony of dissolution. The expression is calm, thoughtful, almost
sweet. The high, massive forehead sets off with grand, yet benevolent dignity, the well rounded and proportioned features.
The countenance is a study. Beautiful despite its immensity,
it displays a largeness of kindly feeling not commonly surmised
from  Fairy tales of Giants and Giant deeds.  The spectator
gazes upon the grand old sleeper with feelings of admiration and
awe. "' Nothing like it has ever been seen," say all who have
gazed upon it.  "It is a great event in our lives to behold it,"
(is the universal verdict,)-" worth coming hundreds of miles for
this alone."  "I would not for anything have missed seeing it,
for I consider it the greatest natural curiosity of the age," say
Geologists, Naturalists, Students and all who can intelligently
examine the Onondaga County Wonder.
The increasing interest of the public and the constantly enlarging attendance corroborate the previously expressed opinions of
the inestimable value of the discovery, and sanction the verdict
that the Cardiff Giant is the great wonder of thie Nineteenthli
Century. 
WHAT IS rr?
This question has been diligently asked and variously answered.
Dr. John F. Boynton, of Syracuse, a celebrated Geologist, went
among the first to the scene and examined the figure with much
care. His opinion, (which was the first one expressed by any
distinguished scientific authority) has been given decidedly that
the body is a massive and beautiful statue. His own language
will best state his reasons for declining to think it a petrifiaction.
A letter of his is subjoined, which was kindly furnished by himn
for publication. The letter was written to one of the most scientific men of America. *
~*~~ ~           SYRACUSE, Oct. 18th, 1869.
Henry Morton, Prof. in Pennsylvania University and Franklin Institute:
DIAR SIR:-On Saturday last, some laborers engaged in digging a
well on the farm of W. C. Newell, near the village of Cardiff, about 13 
5
miles south of this city, discovered, lying at about three feet below the
surface of the earth, what they supposed to be the "petrified body" of
a human being, of colossal size.  Its length is ten feet and three inches,
and the rest of the body is proportionately large.  The excitement in
this locality over the discovery is immense and unprecedented.  Thousands have visited the locality within the last three days, and the generat opinion seems to be that the discovery svas the "petrified body" of a
human being.
I spent most of yesterday and to-day, at the location of the so-called
"FOSSIL MAN," and made a survey of the surroundings of the place
where this wonderful curiosity was found. On a careful examination, I
am convinced that it is not a fossil, but was cut from a piece of stratified sulphate of lime, (known as the Onondaga Gypsum.) If it were
pulverized or ground, a farmer would call it plaster. It was quarried,
probably, somewhere in this county, from our Gypsum beds. The layers are of different colors-dark and light. The statue was evidently
designed to lie on its back, or partially so, and represents a dead person
in a position he would naturally assume when dying.  The body lies
nearly upon the back, the right side a little lower; the head leaning a
little to the right. The legs lie nearly one above the other; the feet
pa-:ially crossed.  The toe of the right foot, a little lower, showing
plainly, that the statue was never designed to stand erect upon its feet.
The left arm lies down by the left side of the body, the fore arm and
lham( being partially covered by the body.  The right hand rests a
short distance below the umbi[icus, the little finger spreading from the
others, reaching to the pubes. The whole statue evidently represents
the position that a body would naturally take at the departure of life.
There is perfect harmony in the different proportions of the different
parts of the statue. The features are strictly Caucasian, having not
the high bones of the Indian type, neither the outlines of the Negro
race, and being entirely unlike any statuary yet discovered of Aztec or
Indian origin. The chin is magnificent and generous; the eyebrow, or
supercilliary ridge, is well arched; the mouth is pleasant; the brow
and forehead  are noble, and the "Adam's apple" has a full developiment.  The external genital organs are large; but that which represents the integuments, would lead us the conclusion that the artist did
not wish to represent the erectal tissues injected.
The statue, being colossal and massive, strikes the beholder with a
feeling of awe. Some portions of the features would remind one of
the bust of De Witt Clinton, and others of the Napoleonic type. My
opinion is that this piece of statuary was made to represent some person of Caucasian origin, and deskned  by the artist to perpetuate the
memory of a great mind Ed noble deeds.  It would serve to impress
inferior minds or races with the great and noble, and for this purpose
only was sculptured of colossal dimensions. The block of gypsum is
stratified, and a dark stratum pases just below the outer portion of
the left eyebrow, appears again on the left breast, having been chiseled 
6
out between the eyebrow and chest, and makes its appearance again in a
portion of the hip. Some portions of the strata are dissolved more
than others by the action of the water, leaving a bolder outcroping
along the descent of the breast toward the neck.  The same may, less
distincetly, be seen on the side of the face and head. I4think that this
piece of reclining statuary is not 3D0 years old, but is the work of the
early Jesuit Fathers of this country, who are known to have frequented
the Onondaga Valley from 220 to 250 years ago; that it would proba  bly bear a date in history corresponding with the monumental stone
which was found at Pompey Hill, in this county, and now deposited in
the Academy at Albany. There are no marks of violence upon the
work; had it been an image or idol of worship by the Indians, it could
have been easily destroyed or mutilated with a slight blow by a small
stone, and the toes and fingers could have been easily broken off. It
lay in quicksand, which, in turn, rested upon compact clay.
My conclusion regarding the object of the deposit of the statue in
thiis place, is as follows:-It was for the purpose of hiding and protect ing it from an enemy who would have destroyed it, had it been discov ered. It must have been carefully laid down, and as carefully covered
with boughs and twigs of trees which prevented it from being discover ed. Traces of this new decomposed vegetable covering can be seen on
every side of the trench, and it is quite evident this vegetable matter
originally extended across and above the statue.
Above this stratum of-decayed matter, there is a deposit of very re cent date, from eighteen inches to two feet in thickness, which may have
been washed in, and likewise turned on by plowing.'A farmer who had
worked the land, told me that he had "back furrowed" around it, for
the purpose of filling up the slough where the statue now lies.
It is positively absurd to consider this a "fossil man."  It has none
of the indications that would designate it as such, when examined by a
practical chemist, geologist or naturalist.  The underside is somewhat
dissolved, and presents a very rough surface, and it is probable that all
the back or lower portion, was never chiseled into form, and may have
been designed to rest as a tablet. However, as the statue has not been
raised, the correct appearance of the under surface has not been determined, save by feeling as I pressed my hanud as far as I could reach under different portions of the body, while its lower half lay beneath the
water.
This is one of the greatest curiosities of the early history of Onondaga county, and my great desire is that it should be preserved for the
Onondaga Historical Society* Efforts are being made by sonice of our
citizens to secure this ir the county where it belongs, and not suffer it
to bear the fate of other archeological specimens found in this region.
Hoping to be able to write you more in a few days, I remain yours
truly, 
.A
JOHN F. BOYNTON." 
IS THE BODY A PETRIFACION?
"The majority of visitors disagree with the opinion of Dr.
Boynton, that the figure is a statue, and pronounce it a petrified
mai.  It is claimed that no sculptor would have invented such
an unheard bf position and design for a statue.   tNo sculptor
could have so perfectly imitated nature, especially in the minutia
which render the image such a wonder. It is claimed by
the stone cutters and quarrymen who are constantly engaged in
cutting the Onondaga County stone, that no single block could
have been found of sufficient size, without a seam, from which
to have chiseled out such a monster,(they claiming that the seam
would have caused any such statue to split and fall apart under
the necessary concussions required for cutting it to anything like
its perfection in form.)
Other persons argue that no model of such a human being
would have been likely to have been presented to any of the
Indian or other inhabitants of America, within the past few centuries.
M1any also ask for what reason should such an immense and
expensive statue be hewn out and placed in so unfrequented a
part of the country   Hiow could it have been transported from
the region of rocks to its present location, in a swamp entirely
free from stones,) especially since it is completely without any
base or support of stone on which it can rest."  "No statue is
known to have been constructed," say the petrified advocates,
"in reclining posture, unless the artist left some portion of the
block of stone upon which the figure should rest, and be support ed and strengthened for a durability of ages."
Other incidental suggestions are set forth as follows, by a writ er in the Syracuse Daily Standard.
" The probabilities of its being a petrifaction have a better founda tion, independent of outward appearances. First, is the fact that with in a very short time, in the work of grading on section six of the Caze novia & Canastota R. R., the skeletons of five mammoth human beings
were exhumed, one of them eleven feet tall.  The point of exhumation
is not twenty miles distant from Cardiff.  There are proofs of a giant
race on this continent, and in this part of it; how far back, no one can
tell. Second-There is now in the possession of the Onondaga Histo rical Association, a fish near coe foot long, petrified to a perfect stone
solidity, which was found near Cardiff, and the color of this petrified
fish is very similar to the Cardiff giant stone. Mr. W. B. Kirk, of this
city, when living at Cardiff many sears ago, found near there a good
sized Perch, that was perfectly petrified.   Third-Five miles further
down the valley, at what is known as the Gnondaga Valley Cemetery,
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in taking up a human body for removal some years ago, it was found
to be solid stone; still further north, but in the same range, the corpse
of a child, on being taken up was found to be petrified-solid stone.Still another case-the body of a man who had been buried a few years
was taken up for remova!, and being found a perfect petrifaction, the
widow had it taken home, and it is yet retained in the house, and has
never been reburied. We might give names, but do not feel at liberty
to do so without first consulting family friends or relatives. These, and
other samples that might be given, prove that petrification is not uncommon in the vicinity of Cardiff, where our ten feet two and a half
inches, and well proportioned, giant was found."
A different statement still is made by Mr. Wright, father-inlaw of Mr. Newell, who formerly owned Mr. Newell's present
farm. Mr. Wright says that within a short distance of the present discovery, there is a spring of water which will within a few
months turn into solid stone any small deposits of sand and gravel.
Neighbors corroborate the statement.  A wag has suggested that
a factory be at once established there and petrified dogs, cats and
small fry generally be furnished to order.
The unsettled point of what it is, undoubtedly furnishes an
additional attraction regarding the mysterious stranger, as every
person wishes to see for himself and become judge in the trial of
Statue versus Fossil.
In this connection an interesting letter is subjoined from the
Hon. George Geddes.
To the Editor of the Syracuse Standard:-I find a notice in your paper of this morning of the "Stone Giant" at Cardiff, in which the fact
that I visited it yesterday is stated, with the remark that you are told
that I believe it to be a petrifaction. Allow me room in your paper to
say that this is stating my views a little stronger than I desire. I have
formed no opinion as to the origin of this wonderful thing. I was not allowed to make an examination of it beyond the privilege of looking
from over a railing into the pit where the giant lay, and this pit was
shaded by a tent, and the railing surrounded by double and triple rows
of people, all anxious to see. I do not complain that I was not allowed
a more perfect examination; there were to many too see to allow the
descent into the pit of any one. All questions by me of the gentlemen
in charge were politely answered. My impressions were decided that
I saw before and below me the figure of a giant in stone of some kind,
but what kind I could not tel for in that light and position it did not
resemble any rock that our system has in it. I thought it was quite unlike our limestone or our gypsum formations; and that if it was sulphate of lime, and the work of human hands, that it was more likely to
have been built up, than hewn from a solid rock. But as I have said,
1 had no means or liberty to make a close examination. I wish to say
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in addition, that I have traveled far and spent much money to see things
of not one-tenth the interest that this stone giant was t6 me, and thought
I had made good use of time and money.
Respectfully yours,
GEORGE GEDDES.
Oct. 20th, 1869.
WVIHAT IS THE CHARACTER OF THE SURROUNDINGS OF THE IMIAGE?
The spot is perhaps twenty-five feet below the house.  The soil
on the surface is a loose one, half santd and  half tmuc(k (dark.)
The spot has undoubtedly been filled in to a considerable extent
firom washings from the hills around. Mr. Wright, the former
owner, says that the spot used to be covered with water, and that
he had at one time a bridge constructed over this very point, in
order to reach the higher land beyond. Even after the water
<ailed to stand there constantly, he was obliged to use the bridg(e,
as tile soft muck was four or five feet deep, and was impassable
for cattle and teams.  The Onondag,a Creek was within twenty
rods of the spot, and at some seasons of the year overflows it.
Solme suppose the channel of the Creek was once there  The
p'.ace had been a regular swamp for years.  Air. Newell has owned
thle farm for three years, and has occasionally ploughed around
and thrown in dirt, to the depth of at least a toot.
Under the three or more feet of nmuck is found a strata of gravel
fromn two to six and eight inches in depth.  Tile body rests in and
upon this gravel bed.  The gravel under the neck of the image
was very solidly pressed down.  Underneath the gravel is found
red clay, into which the gravel is pressed.
The right limib is perfect all around with slight exceptions.
The left arm is perfect nearly to the hand, exceptini  that  the
slloulder is worn off some by the water underneath.  The bottom
of the rilght foot seems to be perfect.  Some slight portions of the
left foot lhave been cleaved off
The family and the neighbors give, it might be remarked, an
ori,giiial hypothesis of their own, regarding, the death of the man;
viz: that in passing along over this spot lie was either drowned
or swallowed up in the mire and suffocated to death.
Iow TO FIND THE GIANT.
Passengers by the Central or Oswego Railroads leave the cars
at Syracuse, and will find an excellent road through the beautiftil Onondaga Valley, to Mr. Newell's residence, twelve miles
fiomn Syracuse.   Strangers wil]find the principal hlack stand of
the city near the Wieting Block, gn Salina street.   The entire
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force of drivers became within three days perfectly acquainted,
not only with the road, but with the leading facts regarding the
wonderful discovery.   The demand for carriages has been immiense, and is constantly increasing.
Itf parties desire to spend the day at Cardiff, they can take the
Syracuse & Binghamton Railroad to Lafayette Station, and (wvith
considerable difficulty,) secure a team across to Mr. Newell's
house, a distance of about three miles.   There is no village at
Lafayette Station.
WHO VISITS THE WONDER?
Everybody. Old and young, male and female, people of all
classes of community, rush in a constant stream to view the inmense curiosity. People from all parts of the United States are
hastening to see the Giant before hlie shall be removed from his
longD, resting place. The average daily attendance for the first
week Was from three to five hundred persons.
HOW LONG WILL HE BE KEPT WHERE HE WAS FOUND?
Probably for. some time, as that seems to be the public wisll.
Arrangemnents have been made for some of the chief scientific
men of the country to examine critically the collossus. Their
opinion or opinions, (which will be published promptly in this
work,) will have much weight in the minds of the managers in
deciding, when and what to do.
WHO OWN THE IMAGE?
Three capitalits have bought of Mr. Newell, (who has declined
probably over one hundred offers,) a three-fourths interest in the
enterprise, The tour partners will determine what course to pursue.
WVe subjoin several reports of the Press for a few days succeeding the discovery of his Giantship.
From the Syracuse Daily Standard Oct. 18th, 1869.
The valley of Onondaga has a romance of beauty in its wild scenery,
and as the home of the famous tribe of the red men of the forest-the.
Onandagas-around whose conncil fires the chiefs and young warriors
of the Six Nations assembled to consult on matters of great moment.
It commences at the head of Onondaga Lake, having a broad surface
where the main part of our cy stands, and moderate hill-side boundaries,
untill we pass two miles south of the city bounds, where the bed of the
basin begins to narrow away and the hills on either side to be more
abrupt and higher. It continues to decrease in width, until it terminates
against Tully Hill, a distance c6 fourteen miles from the lake. Its beauty
of wild scenery is perhaps in greatest perfection in that part known as
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the Indian Reservation-still held by the Onondaga tribe-somewhat
south of the centre of the valley. Two main roads lead up the valley,
one at the base of the hills on either side; and rididg along either of
them in a pleasant day, an admirer of nature's wild grandeur has ample
occasion of admiration. The gentle slope, rising.way back and up as if
touc'hing the clouds, and the more abrupt and ragged, shrub-covered, not
less high hills, miniature mountains, with every now and then a ravine
down which the water leaps playfully along till it reaches the plateau
below and into the little creek on its way to the ocean-is a landscape
of beauty not easily described.
Just rfow this valley is the scene of an excitement, in the ending of
a supposed petrifaction of a human being-a giant. The point of interest is on the south side of the valley, opposite and just beyond the
little village of Cardiff, in the town of Lafayette-twelve miles from
this city, on a farm belonging to Mr. William C. Newell.
On Saturday last Mr. Newell thought to dig a well some six or seven
rods east of his house, and a trifle south-east of his barn The spot is
probably thirty feet below the house, and the surface soil is a loose, half
sand, half dark muck, the natural washing from the hills above. It is
not more than twenty rods from the creek, the channel of which is
thought to have been at or very near this spot many years ago. Mr.
Newell and a hired man, in digging, had gone down but two and ahalf feet when something hard was struck, which was believed to be a
stone. They thought but little of it at first, expecting to have to break
it loose and pry it out. But throwing out a few more shovels of earth
from its side, the feet of a man appeared. A few minutes more of labor exposed the legs to the calf; and now their interest being excited,
they began to dig carefully around it, until the whole form of a mana petrified giant-was brought to view. The neighbors began to hear
of what was found, and of course went at once to see.
Mr. Silas Forbes, who resides a mile and a-half distant, came to the
city Saturday evening and apprised us of the new found wonder, and
Sunday we went to see i. The story was a big one, and not liking
"Silver Lake Snaiks," we  wanted to see before telling our readers.
And here is what we saw:  The form of a man lying on his back, head and shoulders naturally
flat  at hip a trifle over on right side; the right hand spread on the
lower part of the abdomen, with fingers apart; the left arm half behind, and its hand against the back opposite the other; the left leg and
foot thrown over the right, the feet and toes projecting at a natural angle. The figure was of apparent lime stone, a mixture of the gray and
blue, common inmost parts of lre county, and seemed perfect in every
particular. The muscles a-e well developed; the ribs might be counted;
the nostrils are perforated so as to admit a large sized finger up near
two inches; the lines of toe and finger nails are plainly marked; the
left ear is partially gone, but the Eight one is perfect and in proportion
to the other parts; the nose finely shaped; the forehead high; and the
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"Adams' apple"' at the throat just projecting out, is as most common
with men. The appearance of the "countenance" marks the Giant of
the Caucasian race, and not the Indian.  If a work of art, the artist has
failed in any effort at hair on the head.
We have said that the whole was perfect.  And so it appeared, ex cept a few flakes dropped off while the work of exhumation was going
on; and perhaps others yesterday.  *If any well proportioned'nan will
make measurement of himself as above, he will see a striking agree ment of ratio.
Though the figure has all the appearance of stone, nevertheless the
outer surface shaves off with a knife without materially dulling the
blade. This was tried, but of course was not allowed to proceed to
disfigure Mr. Giant. A scale that fell from the bottom of one of the
feet, looks much like gold quartz, but still is softish and crumbles readily, with a sort of soft sand stone result.  It rests on half sand, half
clay bottom, the earth above being, as we have already said, of a lighter
character.
News of this remarkable discovery rapidly spread, and yesterday
when we were there, people were coming and going, from  a circuit of
four or five miles around, in farm wagons, carriages and buggies, and
on foot, to see it.
John A. Clarke, Esq., being at Cardiff, Saturday evening to speak on
temperance, took occasion for a lamp-light view. Returning to the city
near midnight, he told the story;  and was telling it all day yesterday.
Not one in fifty of his hearers would believe the counsellor, generally
esteemed reliable though he is. Still, before the day was over a dozen
or more went out to satisfy their curiosity, and returned with full confirmation-and more too, and the "petrified Giant" is now the absorbing topic.
Mr. Newell has stumbled upon an "elephant" in this Giant.  Iis
neighbors say it is a fortune to himn. It is averred that he was offered
$5,000, 810,000 and even $20,000 for it; that a clergyman offered his
farm in exchange for the monster-but these offers were all declined.
WVe talked freely with Mr. N. He was quiet and modest, and we
doubt if he has received any such proposals, except perhaps jokingly.
He indicated no such thing. Yet heseemed anxious to have the "thing"
brought out all right if possible, be it what it may, and therefore guards
it by day and by night.
During Saturday night the surface water had settled in the pit so as
to cover the image. The wise men of Cardiff were consulte4. One
said, bail out the water-exposure to the air will do no harm.  The
other said, leave it thus until &)me scientific man comes to decide as to
the prospects of destruqtability. And the latter's advice was adopted.
Yet, when the water was undisturbed and clear, the whole could be
seen perfectly plain.  Later in the- day Dr. J. F. Boynton, the geologist, drove out with Mr. John Geenway, the water was bailed out, and
Dr. B. made a thorough inspection )f his Giantship, put his arms under
12
4 
13
the neck, and fairly hugged the monster.  The-general impression is,
that it is a petrifaction of one of those large human beings of which all
of us have heard so much in our youthful days, and have read accounts
of ill maturer years-not here, but somewhere else. A book lies before
us, having account of several, varying from eight to eleven feet; but we
stop not to extract therefrom.  Prof. Boynton, from a hasty examination, is of opinion that it is a work of art-a sculpture from stone.  If
this theory be correct, it would be scarcely less interesting than if a petrifaction. Inr the one case arises the speculation as to a gigantic race of
beings thatmay have inhabited portions of this "new world" hundreds
o(f years before Columnbus discovered it; the other as to how long ago
the artist did the work, and where came he, or his ancestors, from?MIen nigh on to a hundred years, and who have resided in the county
seventy of them, have never heard allusion to such a thing; the Indian
traditions speak not of it. The record of the first white man in this region-Catholic Jesuits-is of something over two hundred years.  That
record preserves matters of less interest than this would be, but not
this.  Then again we say it would have scarcely less interest as a work
of the chisel, than a petrifaction.
Our city is talking about the Giant. The story has passed from one
to another till very many, probably ten thousand, of our citizens have
already heard it. The interest is great in it, insomuch that it has been
alinost impossible for us to thus disjointedly write about the great wonder, because of the constant interruption by visitors who are anxious to
hear from one who has actually seen.
From the Syracuse Courier, Oct 18th, 1869.
On Sattirday m,,rning last the quiet little village of Cardiff, which lies
in the valley about twelve miles south of Syracuse, was thrown into an
exeitelnelit without precedent, by the report that a human body had
beeni exhumed ill a petrified state, the collossal dimensions of which had
never been the fortune of the inhabitants of the little village to behold,
anid the magnitude (,f which was positively beyond the coniprehension
i,r the ul-iderstanding of the wise men of the valley.  We  are told that
there were giants on the earth once; and, if the reports of those who
have investigated this discovery are true, and that they are we have no
d,eubt, this stony mian-who for hundreds of years may have slept untouched and undisturbed, had it not been for the rnde hand of a Cardiff
farmer -must have been one of them. The excitement in and around
Ca.rdiff extended until it reached the City of Salt, and all day yetterday
the discovery was the chief topic of conversation at the hotels and public places in the city.  Ofcourt, the most extravagant stories were told,
and greedily devoured 4  by gaping.listeners.  Some would have it
that the body exhumed ]was twenty-five feet high, and proportionately
large.  All day yesterday crowds visited the scene of the discovery, and
returned to tell the tale of the wonlderful discovery to their eager friends. 
14
Fron the Standard, Octber 23d.
LETTER FROM REV. MR. CALTHIROP.
DEAR SIR -As every one is deeply interested in the Onondaga  Giant, per haps it may be as well for each of us to add his mite towards guessing at the
solution of the problem he has silently set us all.
It is no wonder that so many are of opinion that he is a gigantic petrifaction,
His proportions are so perfect, and his appearance is so life like.   I will add,
that every one wants to think so80. If he proved to be a petrifaction, what a realm
of awe and mysterious conjecture woul he open to us.   But I, for one, feel
convinced that he will prove to be statue, and for these reasons:   First, I think there are evident marks of stratification in the stone. The left
eyebrow and the top of the nose are the parts most elevated. These correspond
exactly, both being composed of a white layer. On the chest is a squarish lay er of a dark tinge; around, and slightly below this, is another layer correspond ing exactly with the ins and outs of the first. Beyond, and below this, another
and another all alike, seeming to be simply lines of stratification. The level seems
exactlykept. Follow with your eye any two adjacent lines, and you will see that
where they are close to each other the surface has an abrupt change of level;
where they are further apart the surface is nearly horizontal. Where the sur face approaches the perpendicular, as on the sides, the dark line showing the
separation of the strata is thin, because it has been cut through nearly at right
angles. Where the surface is more horizontal the dark line is broader, because
it has been cut through obliquely, the breadth varying steadily with the angle
of inclination. The same can be plainly seen along the right leg.
Another strong reason for its being a statue lies in the fact that not a single
limb is detached.  The right arm is not merely glued to the body throughout,
as well as the hand, but it has the appearance of only being cut into the stone to
a depth sufficient to give due relief. This is equally true of the left arm, and of
the two legs, which are joined to each other throughout. The sculptor has not
wasted a stroke of the chisel. I would add here, that between the third and
fourth fingers of the right hand, the slit is carried too far toward the wrist, seemingfly by a slip of the chisel.
Who did it?  A trained sculptor; one who had seen, studied and probably
reproduced many a work of art; one who was thorougly acquainted with human
anatomy. One, too, who had noble original powers; for none but such could
have formed and wrought out the conception of that stately head, with its calm,
grand smile, so full of mingled sweetness and strength.
He appears, however, to have worked under certain disadvantages. He had
not such command of materials as a civilized country could have afforded him.
He had to put up with the best stone he could find. I think that the peculiar
posture of the statue can be fairly explained by supposing that the original
block tapered away toward the feet, and was only just about the breadth of
the statue as we now see it. This seems fairly to explain the curious position
of the left arm.  The artist had to put it there because there was not breadth
enough to put it in any other position. So of the position of the feet-one
over the other.  The stone may not have been wide enough to have admitted
of any other position. Who was he? Let us analyze a little.
In the ancient world, only the Greek School of Art was capable of such a
perfect reproduction of the human form. I have seen no Egyptian or Assyrian sculpture which approached this in anatomical accuracy.
Throughout the middle ages till the great Art Revival, no one in Europe
had skill enough for-the purposee  It appears, therefore, that unless we adopt
the somewhat strained hypothesis that a highly civilized society, now utterly
extinct, once existed on thls continent, we are forced to search for our sculptor
among the European adventurers who have sought homes in North America
during the last three centuries, as no one, I presume, is prepared to maintain
a 
15
that the statue has a Greek or Roman origin, unless, indeed, it was brought
over as an antique by some forgotton amateur of art. 
Was it not then as Dr. Boynton suggests, some one from that French colony,
which occupied Salina and Pompey Hill, and Lafayette?  Some one with an
artist's soul, sighing over the lost civilization of Europe, weary of swamp and
forests, and fort, finding this block by the side of the stream solaced the weary
days of exile with pouring out his thought upon the stone. The only other
hypothesis remaining is that of a gross fraud.  One need only say with regard
to this that such a fraud would require the genius of a sculptor joined to the
skill and audacity of a Jack Sheppard.
But lastly, what did he intend it to represent?  Had he known of the discovery of America by the northmen,he mighthave had in his thoughts some gigantic Brown, or Erio, or Harold. The old northman is shot thlrough with an
Indian's poisoned arrow; his body is dying, as the tight pressed limbs express; but
the strong soul still rules the face, which smiles grandly in death.  If you had
objected that there was too much mind shining through the features, the sculptor might have answered that the closed eyes saw in prophetic vision that men
of his race would one day rule where he had lain down to die. But this is rather too high flown, so I had better conclude.
Yours,               f. R. CALTHROP.
LETTER FAVORING PETRIFACTION.
MR. EDrrOR:-It needs no apology to address you upon a subject that is now
engaging the constant attention of all your readers and thousands besides, and
if any person can throw any light upon the subject it would seem to be their
duty to communicate it to the public. While there has been much speculation
and wonder as to the nature and origin of the marvellous curiosity found last Saturday in the town of Lafayette, in this county, there has been made public no
argument from scientific men up to this time to settle the doubts and conviction% of the unlearned.   In the suggestions which I shall make upon the subject, I regret that I have not the benefit of a more extended knowledge of the
sciences which pertain to the subject, buthaving earnest convictions, supported
apparently by plausible reasons, I submit them to the consideration of the publie for whatever weight they may be entitled to.
The advocates of the theory that the subject in question is a statue, have too
many difficulties to overcome to establish their position.
If the subject is a statue it must have been formed by some person, who once
lived, and had an object or motive for making it.  Whlo can say what that object was?  It must have been formed by a person of wonderful genius and skill.
Where and when did such a person exist?  History gives no account of him.
Its formation and object must have been known to many persons who assisted
in its manufacturing and transportation. Where are those persons?
The objections to the theory that the figure in question is a statue, may be
briefly described as follows:
1st. This figure, if made byhuman hand, was intended to be exhibited; otherwise there can be no motive for making it. If it was intended to be exhibited,
it was also designed to assume some position, either an erect or recumbent one.
The reasons for keeping it in that position would have been provided by the
sculptor, by either making a pedestal for it to stand upon, a tablet for it to lie
on, or forming the body on the stone out of which it was cut, so that it would
lie upon a flat surface. Nothing of this kind is visible. There is nothing about
the figure remaining except what belongs to a man who has lain down alone in
solitude and agony to die and has Ed, and the story of whose death has been
preserved by the miraculous agencies of nature.
Second, if designed by man as the representation of man, the head would have
been covered with hair, the most beautiful ornament of the human body, yet no
trace of hair is found on this subject.
4 
16
Third, it has been claimed that the material of this figure is gypsum t.&en
from the hills of Onondaga county. The evidence of our most experienced
quarrymen is that a block of gypsum of sufficient size to make this figure was
never found in this region.
Fourth, if this figure was sculptured from marble or stone, its body, head and
limbs would be solid. Yet the orifices in its wasted rectum and other parts of
its body, and the resounding noise occasioned by striking upon it proves that it
is hollow internally.
Fifth, No statue was ever sculptured in this or a similar position. The posi
tion is precisely that which a person wbuld assume who was suffering an agony
which was to result in death. The hahds pressing opposite sides of the lower
part of the body and one leg drawn up and pressed against the other is the effort
of expiring humanity to relieve itself from pain. The sculptor's chisel and the
painter's brush have often been called upon to represent scenes of death in all its
various forms and manifestations. Yet have they never attained the simplicity,
the impressiveness, the vivid naturalness of the story told by the figure which
lies in yonder clay.
Sixth, It should also be observed that a sculptor who had the genius to form
such a figure would naturally keep a proper and harmonious proportion in the
different parts of the body, but it will be noticed in this subject that the feet are
unusually broad, projecting far beyond the natural lines of the leg, and giving
evidence of usage which has caused what is almost a ddformity. 
Seventh, If a statue, why should one of the eyes differ so much from the other,
one of them being open, and one nearly or quite shut?
Eighth, If this figure is a statue, explain how it has been transported and
handled to place it in its present position.  It is estimated by the best judges
that the figure weighs from a ton and a half to.two tons. This immense weight
could not have been transported by any known means of transportation in the
neighborhood of the figure, and it could not have been handled without the aid
of machinery.
Ninth, Perhaps the greatest objection to the statue theory is the last on
which I shall mention, and that is the majestic simplicity and grandeur of the
figure itself. It is not unsafe to affirm that ninety-nine out ot' every hundred
persons who have seen this would have become immediately and instantly imn pressed with the idea that they were in the presence of an object not made by
mortal hand, and that the figure before them once lived and had its being like
those who stood around it. This feeling arises from the awful naturalness of
the figure and its position. No piece of sculpture of which we have any ac count ever produced the awe inspired by this blackened form lying among the
common and every-day surroundings of a country farm yard.
We see objects of larger size every day, formed from materials which excite
our wonder or admiration, and -upon which have been bestowed the highest
skill of the artist, the sculptor and the painter, but there is in that blackened
mass, that worn and impaired as it is by the action of the elements, and re pulsive from the nature and color of the material forming it, which inspires
In awe and reverence such as the handiwork of a mortal, no matter how
gifted, has ever accomplished. I- venture to affirm that no living sculptor can
be produced who will say this figure was conceived and executed by any human
hand.  But Mr. Editor I am afraid I have trespassed too far on your attention
and space. There is much more to be said on the'subject, which at a future time
I will say.'                                      R.
The present owners of the Ggnt have engaged Col. J. W. Wood, known all
over the country as a popular showman, as their manager. To-night Mr. W.
will have a much larger tent (forty feet) over his giantship, so taat hereafter.
many more can be accommodated at a time-whetherthey can see better we are
not sure. -
-
I. 
17
From the Syracuse Journal, October 23d, 1869.
SPEAKING OF THE CARDIFF GIANT.
Reports of Committees.
Three  of us-  Tom,  Dick  and  Harry-interviewed  the stone wonder  on
Thursday of this week, and here are our reports.  Tom sees everything from a
ludicrous point of view, and is nothing if not fuilny.  Dick is a common-sense
fellow, who makes up in positiveness what he lacks in education; and I am-Yours,
very respectfully,                 TOM'S REPORT.                            A. C.
TOMB S REPORT.
His Majestic Highness  was in  bed  when  we  reached the royal residenee
although it was high noon by the dial.                             
But the obliging janitor was convinced, by a'single glance at the cards we prepresented, thatit would not do to refuse us admission.  We found the Noble Duke
divested of wearing apparel and enjoying his morning ablution, which was  dmninistered by a valet de chambre, who stood on a platform above his His Excellency, and
held him down with a ten foot pole. The countenance of the great man expressed
composure and serenity. His eyes were closed and his general appearance and attitude were limp and cadaverous, causing us to fear, for a moment, that His Mightiness might be dead instead of sleeping.
Our apprehensions were allayed, however, when the irreverent attendant punched
his Sublime Majesty in the head and chest, and elicited an impatient, cavernous, 
respoisive "ugh!'"
Having feasted our eyes on the unveiled grandeur of the stupendous Knight, we
begged permission of his keeper to get into the Imperial bed and embrace the
gigantic leet.  We begged in vain.  Let us then grasp that autocratic right hand,
which reminds us so touchingly of the dear, fat, fried-cake hands Bridget used to
moutld for us in our infancy. Our request was declined with emphasis. May we not
breaithe an affectionate word into that dexter ear, which seems placed far down towards his shoulder as if on, purpose to receive our tender message?  "He's deaf,"
said the heartless man with the pole.  Let us at least give him one-just one-kiss
for his mother.  "He never had no mother," responded the inexorable valet, and
we turned sadly away from the Kingly presence of the sweet, sleeping orphan.
As we wended our homeward way we gave ourself up to meditation, while our
companions gave themselves up to sandwiches and boiled eggs.
Wve called to mind the striking resemblance in form and features, which the vast
monarch bears to the Stoneman family, and we rejoiced that a gallant General of our
army could trace his ancestry to one who stood so high in the community.
From appearances we should judge the seraphic Emperor to be a man of property
-worth at least fifty thousand dollars.
Whether he were so or not, we certainly were petrified-with astonishment.
Yours for the right,             THOMAS.
DICK'S REPORT.
There's no use talking; that fellow was once a living and breathing human being.
uIn my opinion he walked these hills and valleys, just the same as we do, thousands
and thousands of years ago. We read of the sons of Anak, but this ehap was the
father of Anak. It is beyond the art of man -to carve so perfect a human being out
of stone.  Anybody who could sculp like that could have made his fortune, without
hiding his work away and letting it be discovered by accident in after ages. And
who ever saw a piece of statuary in such a position, and without hair on?
The man that says that this petrified man is nothing but a graven image, proves
that he is a little soft in the upper story.  There is no shadow of doubt that this is a
genuine petrifaction.  I would take my oath of it.  Dr. Boynton writes a long rigmarole to show that he is a statue made by the Jesuits; but in my opinion the Dr.
is just laying low so that he can buy the curiosity and make his pile on him.   Why,
you can see the very cords in his legs, where the flesh has decayed off; and the
matter running out of his right eye has turned to stone. Would the Jesuits have
been likely to carve cords and tears? The idea is too absurd to be thought of. This
is my report, and I don't care what anvyy else says.                  RICHARD.
* HARRY'S REPORT.
Whether the colossal figure be a petrifeaction or a piece of statuary, it is a mystery
and a success.
Who carved it?, When was it made?  Whom does it represent?  What is its les
0
I
I-II 1. I., -
I I-z, 1, 
son?  Why was it hi'dde?n 7         flow appens it that trdition is silent about it?  3hew
are puzzling questions, which at present are solved only by conjecture.
Let no one imagine that he has an adequate conception of this wonder till he has
seen it, with his own eyes.  Description seems to be no aid whatever; ocular inspec tion is positively necessary
He who fails to see the curiosity in its present locality and position, will have
reason to regret this neglect or misfortune all his life time.
I was not permitted to make a careful and thorough examination.' Hands off,"
was the imperative order of the proprietor, and I bowed to the decreer.  I craved per mission to apply a drop of acid in order to determine certainly whether the material
was gypsum or ordinary limestone, but *y request was denied.  If on the application
of acid there had been no effervescence, the inference Would be that the specimen was
.not  limestone, the material of which petritactions are usually composed.   But
.although chemical tests and manipulations were prohibited, there seemed to be no1
,,disposition to forbid the use of our eyes-at a respectful distance. And the propi iet,)Fr'
very kindly refrained Irom exacting a promise that we would not express an opinion,
if.we should have temerity enough to form one.
I take it that this specimen was carefully placed in its present locality.  Had it
been washed from a distance, it would have been fractured and nmutilated, ind it
M ould not in all likelihood, have lodged in its present easy and natural position.
If this were once a living man, he must have died ages and ages ago.  If buried, the
accumulated deposits upon his grave, in this losv piece of groand, during thousands
.of years would have been deeper than three feet. If he were drowned, or if he lay
down on the surface of the earth to die, the flesh Would have decayed and dropped
:from.his bones without petrification. If he were petrified in his present locality, we
,ought to find other petrifications in its immediate neighborhood, whereas all the
,twigs and branches which covered and surrounded him are free from the slightest en-;
crustation.
Human bodies do not petrify in layers; but the strata in the Cardiff giant, especially
on the left side, are as.manifest as they are in a ledge of rocks.  The eye brows, the
-tip of the nose the breast and the thigh are of the same stratum, and the layers in the
T'ight arm are clearly of different degrees of density.
The conclusion seemns irresistible that the giant is a work of art rather than of na'ture.  The sculpture muot.lhave been done some years ago, or the lowver parts of the
figure would not have crumbled and been washed away by the sluggish oozing of
the water through the soil
Its age cannot antedate the present race of men, for the shape of the head and the'
features are entirely modern.' The old-time people, as portrayed in the sculpture of
Assyria and Egypt, had no such heads as this.  The artist evidently took a corpse for
a model and proportioned.Iis.colossal figure by careful measurement. He was thus
enabled to secure the general anatomical accuracy for wlfich his giant is remarkable.
He followed the model very closely, not attempting to represent a living being, not
venturing even to supply the missing hair. And these omissions, the result of inex  perience, furnish, singularly enough, the principal arguments to the petrifactionists.
For the popular opinion that the body and head are hollow, that the nostrils and
other orifices are open, and that the.,tendons in the decayed leg are visible, has not
the slightest foundation.  Why was this image made?  Why hidden? and by whom'.
arc questions whichI must be excusedfirom answering at present.           HENRY.
THE BELIEF OF TE,ONONDAGA INiDIANTHE BODY OF AN INDIAN PROPHET.
To the Editor of the Syraouse Journal:  In your columns devoted to "Letters from the People," I thought you would at
this time publish the following, it being interesting as one of the current opinions of
the Indians of'the Castle" regarding the wonderful "human  petrified statue,"
which, in its colossal proportions and the sphyax-like silence of its history is so electrifying and exciting the people.
By one of the old squaws I am told that a large number of Onondagas believe that
the statue is the petrified body of a gigantic Ind ian prophet, who flourished many
centuries ago, and who foretold the coming of the pale-faces, though long before the
foot of our forefathers had Tuched the western continent. He warned his people
with prophetic fervor of the coming encroachments of the white man, and the necessity of their abstinence from a poison drink he would bring to craze and destroy
them. He told them that he should die and be buried out of their sight, but that
'THEIR DESCENDANT. WOULD SEE HIM-AGAIN.                        J. P. FOSTER,
8tate.Agnt anc. eacher far He Dnondaga Indians.
is
I 
19
THE STONE GIANT.
On Saturday the sale of the remaining one-half interest in the Great Giant Wonder
was closed up.  Another partner, Mr. Wm. Spencer-an old-time schoolmate of Mr.
Newell-was taken in, so that the present owners are Wm. C. Newell, of Cardiff, Alfred Higgins, Dr. Amos Westcott and Amos Gillett, of this city, David H. Hannurn,
of Homer, and Wm. Spencer, of Utica.
Saturday was a bad day, as to -weather; nevertheless several hundred visited the
Giant.
Sunday was a crusher. The people began to go early, and kept going all day long.
From eleven to three o'clock it was a dense nwss of people on the Newell farm.
Around the house and barns acres were covered with teams and wagons, and the road,
for a long distance in either direction, was lined with them. It seemed as if such another jam never went to a show before, and it was with great difficulty that the line
could be kept so that all could have a fair sight.  All the proprietors were on hand,
and did all they could to accommodate the crowd.  At three P. M. twenty-three hundired tickets had been sold, Mr. Higgins bringing in the $1,150 received therefor, for
safety.  Not less than three hundred tickets were sold after three o'clock, so the total
number of visitors for the day would be 2,600.
The Tully story of fraud is exploded. The mysterious man said to have visited
that village, etc., turns out to be no other than a cousin of Mr. Newell's, a resident ot
BInghamton, and atobacconist. He was on the grounds all day yesterday, and frankly
told all there was of his visit at the time alleged, to the satisfaction of every one.
LETTER FROM A PETRIFACTIONIST.
EDITOR STANDARD:-Permit me to notice a few of the arguments upon the Cardiff
dI,scovery, appearing in your paper of Saturday last, and the Journal of the same day.
It seems a committee of the editors and owners of the Journal, named respectively
Tom, Dick and Harry, of widely various characteristics, visited the Giant last week,
and treat the subject on their return by articles published in that highly original sheet,
aecording to their respective peculiarities.  Tom, who is evidently admired in his
family circle as a man of great humor, has so cultivated that faculty that it presents
an abnormal development, and if petrification ever does overtake him, posterity may
hope it will not operate upon his intellectual faculties. Dick, on the other hand, is
gloomily satirical, and by the aid of that useful faculty utterly annihilates his oppoiieuts without saying anything.  But last, Harry takes up the theme and treats it in a
spirit becoming the gravity of the subject.
He thinks that the artist formed the figure according to a pattern, having a cold
"corpse" conveniently by as a model, from which he could take  "careful measures
ment," and proceeded to make this figure, not attempting, he says, to make this
corpse look like a "living figure," which certainly was modest in the artist.  Ile also
says that he did not attempt to "supply the missing hair."  The question very naturaliy arises here, "Why was the hair missing, and how long had the corpse been a
corpse to lose its hair? and was it a pleasant occupation to do business with such a
corpse?"  This omission (i. e. to put on hair), Harry says, arose from  "inexperience."
Now, experience is certainly an excellent thing, and when properly acquired and
vwisely used is undoubtedly of considerable benefit to mankind. But that it was necessary, in order to enable an artist to know that hair grows on the human head, we had
not before supposed. Into such absurdities, oh Harry, does he run who abandons
his familiar scissors for the unaccustomed pen.
I wilf briefly refer to the letter of Rev. S. R. Calthrop in favor of the statue theory.
M hile it shows the scholarship of its author, his Thorough appreciation of artistic influences, and the wonderful imitation of nature produced by the one who formed this
fil,ure, it does not seem to me to go very far towards proving his position. Starting
off with the idea that many reasons may be given against the theory of petrification,
he commences with number one, and then he stops; it is true. he gives one other reason, but neglects to number it; and the two reasons are  First, that evidences of stratification appear on the body, thereby assuming that
they would not appear in a petrified body; and, secondly, that the separate members
of the body are not detached from each %her as they were in life, assuming also that
this does occur in cases ofpetrifition.
Are these assumptions correct as matters of fact?
The evidence as t9 the existence of strata in this body is very conflicting. A number of professional persons who visited this figure on Saturday, and subjected it to
close scrutiny with a powerful magnifying glass, and who all, by the way, hold the 
20
"statue theory," say there were no evidences of strat fication in the body; that Nlhat
appears to be such is simply the difference in shading, produced by the greater orn es
density of the material composing the figure.  The appearances indicatimg stratifcaLtion are also explainable by the action of the water, charged with carbonate of lime,
upon the body. The line of contact between the!bvdy and the water would necessarily receive a deposit of lime, causing a straight line of lighter color to appeal oi
the body. It is also a fact, which I have learned from quite a number who first visited the body when it was submerged in water, that the present water level leaves exposed the nose, eyebrow and breast at the points where some persons now think they
see stratification. In fact, deposits of carbonate of lime of a whitish color, even now,
adhere to the left ear and side of the facer which show the presence of that substance
in the water, and that it will adhere to and become a part of the subject with w hich
it is brought in contact.
Now, how is stratification'produced in the formation of stone and rocks. It is said
by geologists to be formed only when the original material forming the rock of stone
has been transported and deposited by the operation of a body of water holding the
material in solution, and depositing it in alternate layers at its place of destination.
How is a petrified body formed'? Science answers, that it is formed by the gradual
infiltration of silicons earth, pyrites of iron, carbonate or sulphate of lime, into the
pores of the body, taking the place of the decaying parts, and substituting a new aiil
original substance to take the place and form ofthe body petrified.  These substances
are always conveyed to their place of destination, and then applied to accomplish
their purpose by the operation of water. The petrified substance may have none of
the material composing tho original figure, and the nature of the body formed either
assimilates to the material around it, or is determined by that of which it is coinposed.  So also all of the substances forming petrifaction may be Iound togetheri i,the same subject, or they may accomplish their work separately.
Silicious earth goes largely to form flint quartz and the various kinds of sandstoiie
carbonate of lime, of limestone,and so of the other materials mentioned forming tl ir
peculiar kinds of stone.  I have heard ole statue-theorist trying to prove tli t tilhe
decayed portion of one of the legs showed the presence of flint, and thereifore lihe
argued it could not be a petrifaction.  Not so.  It probably would prove, if true,
that the figure was not a statue, for pieces of flint are not found in such material, ullless it be a petrifaction, in which case silicious earth would account for it. Now it
is safe to say that there is no substance that enters into the composition of stone
that does not enter into the formation of a petrifaetion
Now, these materials are, in cases ofpetrifaction, brought to the spot and deposited by action of thewater-precisely such an operation as forms strata of rock; shouitid
it not produce the same effect in the appearance of successive layers or strata inii tl
subject of petrifaction?  With reference to the other objection to the tlheorv oi
petrifaction, viz:-that the members of the body are conjoined and not detached-it
is sufficient to say, from the very nature of the operation of petrifaction, portions of
the body lying in contact would necessarily be conjoined and filled up.  Thile wastiiig
portions of the body are. silently but surely supplied by nature, and as the tralformation progresses, nature causes her deposit to adhere to its proximate kindred
matter, and forms thus a solid and adhering body.
It is also somewhat worthy of observation that fossiliferous remains occur more ftequently, than elsewhere, in marshy and swampy places in this countrv.  Thus  the
low marshes known as the "Blue Licks" in Kentucky, and other similar pla (es
abound in specimens of fossil remains. These are often, indeed, quite comniiiiliy
found near the surface of the ground, and it is a fact that the material and f(rinl.itioli
of marshy grounds change less through the operation of time than other plaice.
The Pantine Marshes and the Maishfield Fens have preserved forms and characteristics
for centuries upon centuiles.  Why is it then, that we are to be driven for a solution
of the question as to the character of this curiosity to a hundred improbable and ullnatural suppositions, when th, thing may be explained by perfectly natural causes
without violating any probabilities?
It is somewhat amusing to talk with the various advocates of the " statue theory,"
as each successive one is sure toknock over his predecessor's structure before he begins to build his own. 
The endless suppositions which are produced to account for this marvellous work
as a production of the sculptor are certainly a great credit to the imaginative facultles
or inventive genius of our people, but people of ordinary intelligence find it hard to
believe that men of wonderful genius and skill inhabited our original forests for the
purpose of producing gems of art aid then burrying them in the marshes, or that mpu
t 
21
of culture and education go traveling in a wild and barbarous country encumbered by
a piece of statuary weighing about two tons and being necessarily somewhat inconveniciit to carry in our pockets.  Yours,                                Com.
OPINION Op PROFESSOR HtALL, STATE GEOLOGIST.
IProfessor Hall, gives the following definite opinion, in the Albany Atgus of
1 )n.da)', thle 20thl of October:  CGENTL.E:,IEN:-Your paragraph in this morrvng's issue, relative to the Onon(11;1 S:()-e Giant, does injustice to the proprietor of' that most remarktble object.
)'. WVo)olworthl and Prof. Hall left here on Thursday afternoon, with tlhe
i:it it of aiitig, as they had been solicited to do, the sipposed fossil giant or
s'afll —for there were conflicting opinions in regard to its nature.  On Friday
l t hey left Syracuse for Cardliff with Dr. WVieting and JudgeWoolworth
olIr'  th )rmer place.  As sool  as practicable after their arrival, the tent was
c ( ed of v isitors, the party named were admitted and left to their undisturbed
illN s,ti'rtlions for a full quarter of an hour; and when it is understood that the
c (;c outside were enough to twice fill the tent, and all desirous of seeing, au(
tl:' the reccipts of thle owner for tickets were $26 per hour, it seemed scarcely
civil to occupy a loncrer time.
'Ihe Giant, as has already been stated, is a statue of crystaline gypsum (not a
calst) lying upon its back, or slightly inclining to the right sidle, and in an attitvdcle of rest or sleep.  The head is directed to the east, southeast, and the body,
-itioutl support or pedestal, lies upon a thin stratum of gravel, which has been
eovered( by about three feet or more of fine silt, in the bottom of which are
so,.i, partially decayed roots or branches of trees-doubtless floated thlere.t
thle b'ginniug of thle silt deposit  The water, oozing from the southwest, along
tllis gr:.vel bed, has dissolved that side of the statue and gives it a pittedcl appealci-,ce, such as masses ot gypsum or limestone acquire when long exposed to
tlie a.ftion of the water.  The earth at the sides of the pit bear no evidence of
lh i:ngr been disturbed since its original deposition, and, to all appearances, tis
lta' I-,3y upon the gravel when the deposition of the fine silt or soil beglin,
It'.,! upon t!he surfitce of which the forests have grown for succeeding generat o II.
lt)gether, it is the most remarkable objectyet brought to light in this coun  tr:i, id altliouga, perhitps, not dating back to thle stoJie age, is, neverthelos,
deslerving of the attention of archaeologists.                      i.
At-a5NY, October 23, 1869.
From the Syracuse Journal Oct. 25, 18G9.
MIORE THAN A NINE DAYS' WONDER.
Tie,Ononditga Giant prove. to be much more than a nine days' wonder.S inday completed the nine days of excitement and marvellings over this remar!ial)le discovery, and instead of an abatement of the popular  interest, it
wvo-)ld seem that it has but just begunt to be awakened.  Thle attendance of
vis'totrs on Sunday was largely in excess of that of any previous day, and tle
nulnber reached nearly three thousand.  A new and large tent had been (re(ctcl, witli increased accommodations, but it was found wholly inadequatt to a ccoi)iod,,tte the cr,)wds that occupied it from early morning till late in thle cve   ir.  The agent for the proprietors raised a British flag over thle tent, explaiiiu: thlat lie thought some flag ought to be displayed, and that this was the onlly
o!e lie had thllere-a circumstance th l[ was quite distasteful to very many of
tl; vAisitors.  An American flag has nov properly been substituted.  Thle imtinier ot visitors to-day is quite larne, and as the people of the surrounding counlr.y are just waking up to the interest of the exhibition, many thousllands will
-( t go to see it in the spot where it was unearthecld.
'Te interest.in the subject abroad is also now fairly developing.  Tile discovtriy was at first looklied uponi as a huwnbug, but this view is giving way  l)e 
fore the facts presented in the local papers.  The leading journals of the c.untry have sent special correspondents to write up the subject. The New York
T;ibune and Herald, Harper's Veekly, the Springfield Republican and other papers, have already had their representatives at the scene of the discovery.
The new proprietors,-who are now stated to be MIessrs. William C. Newell,
of Cardiff, Alfred Higgins, Dr. Amos Westcott and Amos Gillett, of this city,
David H. Hannum, of Homer, and William Spencer, of Utica, propose to coiltinue the exhibition where it has thus far been held, till difficulty in reaching
the locality cccurs from bad weather, then to remove the giant to this city,
where it, ill remain till the local curiosity is satisfied, and then convey it to
New York and other leading cities for public exhibition.
THE VALUE OF THE GIANT WONDER.
We learn from a reliable source that $20,000 was offered on Saturday I)by a
perfectly responsible party and in good faith, to two different persons holding
interests in the stone giant, for one-quarter share of the stock in the wonderful
statue, and the offer was promptly declined.
AN ANCIENT COIN FOUND IN THE EARTH TAKEN FRlOM TIE GIANT'S BED.
On Saturday last, ]Mathew, a son of Dr. Alexander Henderson, veterinary
surgeon, of this city, while visiting the Cardiff giant, picked up from the sulrounding debris thrown out of the excavated resting place of this huge work of
stone something that seemed like a blackened scale of brass or a rusty old bultton.  Thinking that it might have some afinity to the wonderful statue, the
lad rubbed the dirt and rust from its surface 15etween his finger and thumb, and
burnishing it a little by rubbing it in the folds of his coat skirts, it showed evidence of being an old copper coin, and he accordingly placed it carefully in I is
pocket, and brought it home.  Dr. Henderson, the lad's father, applied some
acids to it, when an ancient coin, of nearly the eleventh century, revealed its(,lf.
On the obverse side of the coin is the head of the Emperor Jestyn, with a full
flowing beard from the chin, and the sacred heart strung from a rosary in the
shape of a shield, or breast-plate, strung around the neck. Beneath the Emperor is the date, "1091," and around the edge of the coin is the following inscription-" JESTYN-AP-GURGAN, TYWYSOG-MORGANWG."  The  interpretation
of this, as rendered by a competent Welchman, means, "Jestyn, son of Gurgan,
Prince of Glanmorgan." On the reverse side is the figure of the Goddess of
Commerce, seated on the wheel at her side, the pillar and ancient crown,
wreathed with the national emblem, the oak, the shield and spear supported by
the left hand, and the right hand pointing to a ship on the distant sea, with full
sails set, which she seems intently gazing at. The inscription around the circle
is in the Welch language, and reads as follows:-" Y. BRENAIN-AR-GYFRAITH,"
the interpretation of which is "The King and the Laws."  The coin is 778 years
old-over seven and a half centuries-and on the edge of the rim can be distinctly seen " Glenmorgan Half Penny," with representations of leaves intertwining.
The denomination of the coin is imprinted in raised letters, and everything connected with it shows it to be a coin of the reign of the emperor whose name it
bears. Further, in connection with the unearthing of the stone giant, its discovery in the loose dirt thrown up from the bed of the excavation where the
statue was found, and yet lies, is certainly quite interesting, and seems to add
to the general interest that attaches to this great and unexplained mystery of
the Nineteenth Century.
PROBABILITIES THAT IT WAS  MNSPORTED ON TIHE wATER-COURSES FROM TIliE
SEA-BOARD.
Although there are still intelligent advocates of the petrifaction theory, the
preponderating weight of opinion supports the view that the giant wonder is a
work of art.  We understand a  the scientific gentlemen, who have been permitted to make thorough examination, to be agreed in this decision.
22 
23
The next question is, How did it come  to be where it was discovered?
There is very little probability that it was carved on the spot where it was recently exhumed; the stone for that purpose was not likely to have been found
there or to have been taken there; and the situation where it was discovered, a
morass or water-bed, favors the theory that it was deposited there. Setting
aside the belief, honestly entertained by many people in the immediate vicinity,
that the statue was surreptitiously placed in the slough where it was dug up a
few days since, there is tenable ground for the theory that it was taken there by
some of the early white visitors to this section of country.  This might have
been done by transportation over the water-courses communicating with the locality, either through the River St. Lawrence, Lake Ontario, the Oswego River,
Onondaga Lake and Onondaga Creek, or through the Hudson and Mohawk
Rivers, Oneida Lake and River. Onondaga Lake and Onondaga Creek. These
waters were early navigated, and within the memory of persons still living the
principal means of transportation was by batteaux, which with considerable loads
were propelled along these water-courses. The Onondaga Creek was in those
days navigable for light-draft craft capable of conveying a much greater weight
than this statue, at least as far up its waters as the place of this discovery.
The place of the discovery is not in the original channel of the creek, but in a
detour from that channel.  It is not unreasonable to suppose that for some reason-from alarm, or from a desire to secret the object,-the craft was run out of
the main channel into this then open water-way, where the statue was deposited.
The early Jesuit visitors to this vicinity may have had this statue in their
keeping   It may ha   een fashioned by some of their number.  It is not impossible, that it may have been brought here, or even have been carved out at
some place not fat distant, by other of the early visitors to this region. We expect that light till be thrown upon these speculations, by the scientific investigations, which will determine the exact nature of the material of which the
statue is composed, by which alone some hint of its place of origin may be derived. The intimations given us by Professor Hall, in our brief interview with
him, impressed us that he looked upon the statue as of great antiquity, antedating the present geologic period, and equaling in interest and importance the discoveries made in Mexico of archaeological remains, indicating a high degree of
civilization in the tenth, eleventh and twelfth centuries.
WHEN WAS THE STATUE PUT WHERE IT WAS FOUND?
To the Editor of the Syracuse Journal:  If it wouLld not be asking too much, I would beg leave to say a few
words; through the columns of your paper. In Saturday's issue of the
Sta-dard I notice a letter written by "Skeptic," which that paper calls
"'silly," and charges the writer with being "lacking in the upper story."
This is a misfortune, truly; but I have taken some trouble to investigate these reports and find them vouched for by highly respectable
parties. There are, to my mind, several reasons for the belief that
this wonder has not occupied its present position longer than is intilmated in the above mentioned letter.
The soil where it was found is soft, and an excavation large enough
to admit the object could easily be made in an hour or two.  The location is favorable for such purpose,oeing behind the buildings, and hidden by the abrupt bank; a ~ittle straw or other litter would cover all
traces. Then, if the stone man be moulded from cement, it would not
weigh near what it would if cut from stbne, and could be handled with
ease by three or four men. This idea that the curiosity was cast or 
24
moulded, is strenghened by the fact that it has no other support than
the ground upon which it rests. Had it been the work of a sculptor it
would have had a tablet for Support. Now, you ask, perhaps, where
was the pattern made, if moulded, and how could the parties nraking
the cast escape detection?  I would ask, who carved it, if a stone, and
where did the sculptor bring out such a work without the knowledge of
the fact being discovered?  
It is said by those who ought to know something about our gypsum
quarries, that there are no such slabs of stone found there out of which
this object could be carved. Further, it is allowed by all who have examined this wonder, that the head appears to have been hollow.  Now,
if the head is hollow, it is either a moulding or else it must be what
those interested claim for it: a veritable petrifaction.  No sculpt(,r
would carve the head in that condition.
But I have used too much of your valuable time, so I will close.
TULLY, Oct. 23d, 1869.                      CONE WILLIAMS.
OF WHAT  SCHOOL  OF ART IS THIS STATUE
To the Editor of the Syracuse Journal:  In the discussions relating to the "Giant," I find there are many who
favor the Grecian and Ronian school of sculpture. The Greeks and'Ro)mans excelled the early Egyptians in one thing only, that is representing the human hair.  Their male statues have flowing  and bushy locks
and a beard.  On the Egyptian statue, the hair looks more like a skull
cap on the back of the head, than hair, with no indication of beard.
They had been so afflicted with plagues through the Israelites, that they
would have nothing that was like them, or that reminded them of them.
The Cardiff giant has no beard and nothing on the forehead to indicate
hair; behind the ears running up to the crown, there seems to be soillething, that when he is raised, may show the  Egyptian school of sculpture. As art goes fro,m one country to another, the style changes sotliewhat to suit the taste of the people.  In America, at first, our sculptors
and painters copied from the French and Italian schools, but put on a
little more drapery, as our people were modest and  would nk,t bear a
true copy. Time, the destroyer of all things, has turned the drapery
into dust, and we now have the original in all its glory and shame.  V.
P. S.-A hard-shell brother at my elbow says he will go his bottom
dollar that the Cardiff chap is the original "' Poor Uncle Ned, who had
no hair on the top of his head;" he has lain down there and got KlniKluxed.  (Klu-Kluxed is a Greek word, and means  petrified or dried
up.) The only objection to his theory is, Uncle Ned's shin bone curved
backward, this man's curves forward.
CUT')F THE GIANT.
We herewith present a wood cut of the Giant.  We have waited for an engraving from a photograph, in order to insure in every part of the pamphlet the
utmost accuracy.  The ta!.ing the photographs.having been delayed, we present
a sketch until their completion. *he owners of the Giant furnish this publication alone with photographic copies-which will appear promptly on completion. 
[K~~$~>~~~>~~~\\_  _   _~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
" ~'
__   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~i
/2  __~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
26
A MITE IN TIlE SCALET.
To the Editor of the Syracuse Journal:
Clark's "History of Onondaga,'8 Vol. 1, page 43, near the bottom,
says:-"The Quis-quis, or great hog, was another monster which gave
the Onondagas great trouble, as did also the great bear, the hlorned
water-serpent, the stonegiants, and many other equally fabulous  inventions, bordering so closely upon tho truly marvelous, that the truth
would suffer wrongfully if related in full; but nevertheless are found
amnong the wild and unseemly traditions of the race."              I.
LETTER FROM PROF. WARD.
The following letter fiom Prof. Henry  A.  Ward  appears  in the
Rochester Democrat, and will be found to be well worthy of perusal.
Prof. Ward takes high rank among the scientific men of the country,
and an opinion from him is certainly entitled to respectful  considcerationl: —
EDITOR DEMOCRAT -I have just returned from a hasty  visit to the
colossal statue, or "Fossil (giait," as many have called it, which is now
causing so great an excitement in our sister city, Syracuse, and in all
the country for many score of miles around.
This great archeological wonder is located in the Onondaga Valley,
on the west side, about three-quarters of a mile from the village of Cardiff. The valley itself is one of erosion, dating its birth to the time
when the gradual rise of our continent from beneath the ocean's warves
had subjected all this portion of our State to the fierce furrowing and
seep denuding action of violent currents of water, aided in their work
by floating masses of ice and by rock debris carried by and often fiozen
into these masses.  For about twelve miles south from Syracuse the
valley is quite narrow, but here the hills recede on either side and sweep
wsidely around in two high crescent-like rang,es to meet again (or nearly
so) at a point three or four miles higher up the stream. WVithin the
sort of amphitheater thus formed, and at the foot of the western hill, is
the farmn of Mr. Newell.  His house and outbuildings lie at the e!gu of
the slope, and touching a low  meadow which extends for a hundred
yards or more to the bushy margin of a creek beyond.  A  smaller
stream or a brarch of this same appears at one time to have run close
to the hill, leaving faint traces of its contour on the meadow, and one
small eliptical swale or soft, boggy spot, a few yards across, near the
lower corner of Mr. Newell's barn.  It was while digging a-shallow pit
in this swale that the relic was found. It is a gigantic human figure lying on its back, with its headet, the east and feet to the west.  The
head is in the position commonly given to a corpse; the right arm extends downwards, with the hand and fingers spread stiffly across the abdomen; the left arm bends down along the left side, with the hand
quite under the middle line of te body; the left hip is raised a trifle,
r 
the thigh and leg more so, so as to bring the lowbr part of the left leg 
and fioot obliquely across and over the same parts on the right. The
posture is in all one that a dying body left to itself might naturally as  sume.  The entire length of the figure is ten feet two and a half inches,
and the other parts of the body are proportionately colossal.
Its head is of a very elongated type, but well shaped, and with a
co-untenance full of solemn, dignified composure.  The features are pure  ly Caucasian, having neither the high chgk bones of the Indian, nor any
other facial outlines which mark the type of other Aztec aborigines.
To describe the appearance of this great figure as being strange and
imnpressive is saying too little.
Lying as it still does, in its original earthy bed, its grey massive
forthri hardly yet still from the struggles by which it seems to have freed
itself, and the face, body and limbs still damp with the ooze of its low
sepulchre, it possesses the beholder with a feeling of extremest awe and
profoundest wonder. To interrupt these emotions by speculations as
to its personality, to approach this majestic figure with the calm pro  cesses of scrutinizing investigation, seems a sacrilege.  All one's feel  inqs persuade to accept it as a real human being, once instinct with life
and activity, now a noble corpse.  The proprietors of the giant figure,
or statue, as we shall now  call it, use all due effort to strengthen this
feeling, and enlarge the belief that their wonderful discovery is really a
petrified human being-a genuine" Fossil Man" preserved entire, with
flesh and bones changed to stone in the very place where he fell at
death, or possibly was buried by his coevals of an olden time. All op  portunities of close examination are refused; indeed, the present throng
of visitors would make such general permission impracticable.   The
little, darkened tent, and the pit shaded by a triple row of spectators,
whose heads almost touch across it in their earnestefforts to see the
body below, made it quite impossible for me to obtain that thorough ac   quaintance with the huge object which I would have liked.  But I sa-v
eziough in the fifteen minutes  (only) which are allowed to each set of
visitors within the tent to fully satisfy myself of the true nature of the
figure.
The "Onondaga Giant" is the work of  the sculptor, and out of a
single large block of the gypseous limestone (an upper member of the
"Ollondaga Salt Group") which forms rarge beds in the immediate vi   cinity.  This stone is very strongly marked  by lines of deposition,
causing bands of different shades extending in horizontal layers, perfect   ly e'en and parallel thr6ugh large quarry masses. In the present in   stance these layers are so disposed-in the way the sculptor chose his
blocik-as to cut lengthwise through the whole body, and to mark off
different leads over the entire fiire.  Thus the left hip and left breast
present (cameo-like) a layer different and higher than the one which
forms the corresponding parts on the right side of the body. The head,
too, with its different elevation of -chin, nose and forehead, is very
strongly marked in the same Mago  These linings are well-known pe
27 
28
culiarities in the original deposition of a stratified rock, and are not fea, tures assumed in the petrifaction of any organic body. Further peculiarities of the Onondaga gypsum are very noticeable in the block, and
among them is the peculiar style of decomposition by which the whole
lower part of the figure is affected, as also one side of its head. H-ere
the soluble earths, with  any portions of carbonate of lime, have been
dissolved away, and the pure granlar  sulphate (snowy gypsum) remains, standing up with ragged, uneven, cavernous surfaces, which is a
feature very noticeable everywhere in weather-worn fragments of this
rock. This decomposition or rotting of the lower side of the left leg
gives a very vivid semblance to the corruption of actual flesh, and has
doubtless had much to do with the ready reception which the "petrifaction"  theory has found among the mass of visitors-even including
many men of intelligence and general education.  If such persons will refer to works which treat of petrifaction in all their various kinds of transformation and in all the thousand genera and species of fossil organisms,
they will find that although bones, shells, and the hard parts of animals,
changed to stone, yet preserving their original outlines, are of constant
occurrence, yet there is not a single instance on record of fossil flesh;
of the fat, muscle or sinew of man or beast changed into stone or into
any substance resembling stone, To a person acquainted with the nature of petrifaction, the slow substitution of mineral for animal matter,
particle by particle, the reason why humor of other flesh does not undergo the same change will be apparent. This is truly not entirely in
accordance with popular belief, nor with the ever-recurring stories in our
public journals.  "A fish nearly a foot long, petrified to solid stone" has
lately been cited in your columns as another instance of the petrifactions
of the Onondaga Valley. I visited this yesterday at the Museum of the
Onondaga Historical Society, at Syracuse, and found (what I had before
surely surmised,) a simple, short, club-like fragment of limestone, worn
by running water to a form like a little fish.  "This it was and nothingt
more."
It is proposed —and very properly-that this Onondaga relic shlolldl
be submitted to the examination of Professor Hall, Agassiz, Lci(lz, o(l
some other of our geologists known to fame and infallible exle'L. in
these matters.  This were well.  But there is another court w}~ch I
think, would pass quite as prompt a decision.  I believe that a scull)t(or,
in examining this most singular specimen, would at once reco(rnize its
artificial character.  The devices for saving time or for adding stlel (,th,
partially cutting out the figure, are sufficiently apparent in the o'l}eect
before us.  The legs-with their heavy thigh, the swolen knee  )1rti,~t,
the swolen calf and slender ankle, all touch on-the outline length as tiey
lie over each other, with no olon space between, or no point where one
folds down upon the other with a sharp line of contact of the two srii tc?s.
The -same thing, too, is noticeable in the arms and in the fingers of the
hand, where the flesh, instead of sloping away-one rounded  surface
finely leaving another-is cut adwn square, as if some unnatural out 
29
gro,wth of flesh had formed a uniting port-on beneath the member.,
rhlis is a too common device in the coarser grades of sculpture to escape
notice here. Our sculptor would certainly find fault with the very constrained position of the body, its feet awkwardly crossed and its left
arm twisted rather than laid backward under its body, certainly this is
not the attitude in which a sculptor-a man of taste-would place his
handiwork. Still, may it not be an admissable theory, that the oldtime artist was constrained in the form owhich he should give his statue,
by the form and dimensions of his gypsum block   If there was not
material sufficient to carve out both arms lying across the breast, he
might find enough to.make one of the arms below. If the lower left
hand corner of the block were broken off, he might still bring out both
feet by lapping one over the other, and letting vertical space atone for
lateral want of it. If our sculptor, finally, will look sharply upon the
legs and body in such parts as have escaped the considerable waterwearing which has smoothed most of the figure, I think that he will see
plainly the marks of the graving tool of his ancient colleague. But, as
he now has the figure in charge-I positively rejecting it as being no
fossil-I will leave to him and the Archeologist to study and puzzle upon
it. Dr. J. F. Boynton, of Syracuse, (to whom, by the way, belongs
the credit of having first discerned and recorded in print that this is a
statue), says, "I think that this piece of reclining statuary is not 300
years old, but is the work of the early Jesuit Fathers in this country,
who are known to have frequented the Onondaga valley from 220to 250
years ago; that it would probably bear a date in history corresponding
with the monumental stone which was found at Pompey Hill in this
county, and now deposited in the Academy at Albany.  All these are
points which Archaeologists and Ethnologists may yet determine. Will
not Hon. Lewis H. Morgan leave Rochester by an early Monday train
std see this most wonderful statue while it is still undisturbed in its bed.
H. A. WARD.
ROcHEsTER, October 23, 1869.
LETTER PROM GEN. E. W. LEAVENWORTH.
To'he -editor of the Syracuse Journal:  This subject does not seem, even yet, to be exhausted, much as has
I)ee,  written in regard to it.  Having spent an hour yesterday in the
insppection of the great mystery, permit me hastily to give you the resuits of my observations.
THE LOCALITY.
Fo,r the benefit of the large number who will not be able to visit the
Io-)eality, it may be well to define more  fiully and precisely the exact
spot ili which it was found. It ianear, the west line of the town of Lafitv ette, in the upper section of tle valley of the Onondaga Creek, called
Chriistian Hollow-a short two miles above the south line of the Reservnttion of the Onondaga Indians.  The valley at this point is about'half
a nmile in width, and  there are two  north and south roads running 
30
through it, directly at the foot of the hills oif each side.  The small til.
lage of Cardiff nestles under the eastern hills, about half a mile directly
east of the locality in question, which is precisely at that point where
the slope of the western hills meets the alluvial valley of the Onondaga
Creek. This point is about one hundred feet east of the west road, and
about two hundred feet west from the bank of the creek. On the west
the ground rises moderately to the road, then more rapidly to the top
of the western hills, some eight htndred feet above the valley below.
On the east it is nearly or quite a dead level to the creek, the ground
being evidently all alluvial.  The valley is beautiful-thickly settled
and under high cultivation.
THE POSITION.
The statue-forsuch I am sure it is-lies in a hole about twelve feet
long, five feet wide at the top, and four at the bottom.  The soil (,f the
first three feet, or a trifle more or less, is the common alluvial soil j,f
the Onondaga valley. The next foot is gravel, which rests on the solid
clay.  The ends of many pieces of wood  project through the gravel
and some are found in the soil above.
IS THERE ANY FRAUD OR DECEPTION.
Those familiar with the frauds practised in other countries ih the
nIanufacture and sale of antiques, and perhaps others, would have a
X-ague suspicion that this might furnish another instance, nearer home.
Mly own mind was not free from such dreams. And notwithstanding
the apparent impossibility of finding a place where such a stone might
be obtained-of quarrying, working, transporting, and burying the
the same, and keeping it a profound secret, I still had my suspicions.
But the first lookl at the statue dispels from the mind every thoughit of
that nature.  It has the marks of the ages stamped upon every limb
and feature, in a manner and with a distinctness which no art can imitate. I have not seen the first person who entertained any doubt of its
great antiquity, after looking at that most wonderful and inexplicable
figure. The time spent in mnanufacturiug and retailing the simple and
absurd rumnors which circulate through the community and find their
way into the papers, is weakly and foolishly thrown away. It is a
serious and most remarkable reality, and one which as yet have received
no satisfactory explanation, and probably never will.
IS IT A STATUE OR A PETRIFACTION?
Se}ious do?b6ts are really entertained on this subject, and it is elaborately discussed. I must confess that I have none whatever, and for the
following reasons:  First-There is no satisactory evidence that any one person ever
lived in any age or country of this world, of the statue of ten feet, unless it be Goliah of Oath.  I know very well what is claimed and said
on this subject, but the evidence would not satisfy a jury of intelligent
men.
0 
ol
Second- There is nothing in the general aspect, which leads any one *
to think it anything but stone.  I venture to say, that were it in any
other form, such a supposition would never have arisen.
Third-The stratification of the stone is perfectly visible, even to the
iinlperfect observaLtion now allowed.  Mr. Calthrop's letter is full and
satisfictory on this subject, but In addition to the places pointed out by
him, the stratification may be seen on the left shoulder, and I think on
the top of the head. TI'hat upon the leftibreast is, however, most clear,
distinct and satistfactory.
F,,uIth-The whole statue. in all its parts, furnishes the most con
clusix'e evidence, that it was all cut from one stone.  It is quite clear
that the stone has been cut away  just far enough and only jlst fair
eti,,lrh to show the legs, the arms and the fingers.
Fifth-The fracture of the stone along the left leg,, and especially on
the heel of the left foot, which seems to be recent and fresh, is the fiactore of our common gypsum, and leaves no doubt, so fir as the eye can
determine, that the material is stone,
It is said that on striking the head or the chest, it gives forth a sound
indicating that the statue is hollow.  Such evidence must in any event
be very uncertain, and now no such experiments are permitted.
No one is permitted to touch the statue, but I was allowed to look at
It with a powerful glass at my leisure.
I have carefully read the nine points made in the Standard of the 23d,
to its being a statue.  None of themn are conclusive, nor, as it seems to
be very strong, do they affect my belief on the subject.  The marvelous
hats a great attraction for all of us, but we cannot afford to surrender
our l)etter judgment for the luxury of enjoying a belief in it.
In the meantime, why will not Mr.  Newell run a dozen or twenty
trenches from the locality of the giant, in every direction, down through
the alluvial soil to the clay, and see if other discoveries may not be
made, which will throw light on this one?
Very respectfully,
E. W. LEAVENWORTH.
SYRACUsE, Oct. 20th, 1869.
!totn the Syracuse Journal, Oct. 27th.
LETTER FROM PROFESSOR IIALL, THE STATE GEOLOGIST.
ALBANY', Oct. 26th, 1869.
AfIes.rs. Truair & Smith, Publishers of thze Syracuse Journal:  GsNTLEMES:-[ have just received your favor of the 25th instant, in
relation to the "Stone Wonder," visited by us.  There can be but one
t,pinion about it, I think.  e
It is a statue, cut in gypsum, and intended to rep-rsernt a human form
of c()lossal size in a recumbent P)sture.  As to its source or origin, I
canniot conjecture.  It is worn and dissolved by water to a degree that
itidicttes long inhumation, and it is covered by an alluvial deposit of
three feet or more in depth.  The scu4pture is of a high order and very
liferent froml  tho.se of Central Anwriea.
31 
I enclose you a few paragraphs* which I wrote in reference to a statemnent that I had not been permitted to examine the object in question.
I do not see that we can say more at present.
I am respectfully, your ob't servant,
JAMES HALL.
*The same letter communicated to the Albany Argus of October 25th,
undpr the signature" H." and printed on page
TO TIlE GIANT,OF ONONDAGA.
Speak out, O Giant! stiff, and stark, and grim,
Open thy.lips of stone, thy story tell;
- And by the wondering crowd who pay thee cou
In thy cold bed, and gaze with curious eyes
On thy prone form so huge, and still so human,
Let now again be heard, that voice which once
Through all old Onondaga's hills and vales
Proclaimed thy lineage from a Giant race,
And claimed as subjects, all who trembling hear
Art thou a son of old Polyphemus,
Or brother to the Sphinx, now turned to stone
The mystery and riddle of the world?
Did human passions stir within thy breast
And move thy heart with human sympathies?
Was life to thee, made up of joy and hope,
Of love and hate, of suffering and pain,
In fair proportions to thy Giant form?
Did ever wife, by whatsoever name
Or tie of union, with her ministries
Of love, caress and cheer thy way through life?
Were children in thy home, to climb thy knee
And pluck thy beard, secure, and dare thy power
Or, was thy nature as its substance now,
Like stone-as cold and unimpressible?
Over these hills, with spear like weaver's beamn
Dids't thou pursue the chase and track thy foe,
Holding all fear and danger in contempt?
And, did at last, some fair Delliah
Of thy race, hold thee in gentle dalliance,
And with thy head upon her lap at rest,
Wer't shorn of strength, and told too late, alas,
"Thine enemies be upon thee?"
''ell us the story of thy life, aid whether
Of woman born-substance and spirit
In mysterious unon wed-or fashioned
By hand ofman from stone, we bow in awe,
And hail thee, GIANT OF ONONDAGA!
SYRACUSE, Oct. 20, 1869.
4
32
D. P. P.
6 
iTRANGERS  7ISITING THE;ITY,
Can always ascertain thle latest facts regarding the Giant of
1869, by calling at thle Piano anid  lMsic Emporium of
_ 
I Y
No. 2 Wieting Block, Salina St., Syracuse.
While waiting the departure of Stages, Cars or Hacks, a
pleasant hour can be spent in examining the new Musical Publications (received by this House from all parts of the country as
soon as issned,)-iin reading the imusical and other newspapers,
kept constantly on file,-or in trying ol listeninig to the lbest
TIAjO FOR TE,  QAp    ELODEOP
(Of Twenty Different Manufacturers,)
to be found in the United States.   This Ilouse is fiully Stocked
withl all varieties of
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sold, (at eithler wholesale or retail,) at the lowest New York and
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All grades of Dealers s-uppliedl in the samne manner, with
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The public are cordially invited to call at all times, whether
wislhing to purchase anlything or not.
I).;I797 &7    0);WNI
No. 2 Wieting Block, Salina St.,
O))posite 3fain, EBitraiczee to Syractse Houtse.
O
0
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T33 the [I%eeqotaledl Adlvatages o.feied by the
Wholesale Piano, Organ and Music House
OF
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-  SYRACUSE, N Y.
Buying Mlusical Instruments and Goods in immense quantities, the Firm
(having four stores,) buy more chleaply and
SELL CHEAPER THAN ANY OTHER HOUSE WHATEVER.
Genercti  Wholesale  4gents fo the  -D.7'Xttl[  PI'.3'O.
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We give our customers the benefit of this, (and of. our buying in immuense
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In Substantial Reductions from Makers' Retail Prices,
To both Wholesale and Retail Purchasers.  Instruments and all
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~!USIC, AND  MUSICAL;ERCHANDISE,
Sent to any part of the United States oir Britishl Provinces.   Send for the
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SATISFACTIONr IVARRANTED I, 1 E- TERY  TRANSACeTION.
Special Ternis I the Cleqjgy, Schools and Teacheis.
No. 2Wieting Bfock, Syracuse, N. Y.,
Opposite 1gajin. Eintratice to Syf acetse Hoyse.