The American Goliah | Page 8

inspection of his Giantship, put his arms under 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 in
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. In the one case arises the speculation as to a gigantic race
of beings that may have inhabited portions of this "new world"
hundreds of years before Columbus discovered it; the other as to how
long ago the artist did the work, and where came he, or his ancestors,
from? Men 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
almost 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 Saturday morning last the quiet little village of Cardiff, which lies
in the valley about twelve miles south of Syracuse, was thrown into an

excitement without precedent, by the report that a human body had
been exhumed in a petrified state, the colossal dimensions of which had
never been the fortune of the inhabitants of the little village to behold,
and the magnitude of which was positively beyond the comprehension
or the understanding 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
doubt, this stony man--who for hundreds of years may have slept
untouched and undisturbed, had it not been for the rude hand of a
Cardiff farmer--must have been one of them. The excitement in and
around Cardiff extended until it reached the City of Salt, and all day
yesterday the discovery was the chief topic of conversation at the hotels
and public places in the city. Of course, the most extravagant stories
were told, and greedily devoured up 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 wonderful discovery to
their eager friends.
From the Standard, October 23d.
LETTER FROM REV. MR. CALTHROP. DEAR SIR--As everyone is
deeply interested in the Onondaga Giant, perhaps 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 so. If he proved to be a
petrifaction, what a realm of awe and mysterious conjecture would 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 layer of a dark tinge; around, and slightly below this, is
another layer corresponding 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 exactly kept. 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 surface