Greater Ancestors

World Museum

Fredrick County, Skeletons of Gigantic Size

Giant Indians.

OP BYE-GONE DAYS.
‘ MEN SEVEN FEET HIGH.
There has juBt been received at the Ma>y~
land Academy of Soknces the skeleton of an
Indian , seven feet tell. It IVBS discovered
near Antietam a few day«. Thoro are
now. skeletons of three powerful Indiana at
the academy, who at ono time in their wild
nesa roamed over the atate of Maryland
srmcd wltil such instruments as Nature gave
them, or that their limited ‘kill taught them
to make- Two of thona skeleton!) belonged
to individuals evidently of gigantic aizo. ‘the
vertebrae and bones of the legs are nearly
as thick as those of n horse, and the length
of the. long bones exceptional. The skulls
are of fine proportions, ample, and with walls
of moder»;e thicltncse, but of groat strength,
and stiffaned behind by a powerful ocoipitud
ridge. The curves of the forehead »rt
moderate and not retreating, suggesting
intelligence, and connected with jaws of
moderate development.
Tho locality from which these skeletons
cams ia in Frederick country, near Antio
tam ereek. It was formerly supposed t»
have been the background of tno tribes
of Indiana, the Oatawb»s and the Datawares.
Tradition haa handed down tho statement
that between the yearo 1730 and 1736 the
Oatawbas’took over a band nf DelawareB at
the mouth of’.the Anliott.m, and in tho
little that ensued tho Delaware! were
completely annihilated. JSo the tradition
goes, but according to Dr Philip. R. Uhler,
president of tho Marlylund Academy of
Sciences and provost of the Peabody In
stitute. a careful examination of this locality
hai failed toosiablish evidences of a battle at
that point, although numerous spear and
arrow heads have been taken from tho soil
there.
It is of groat interest, howevor, to notion
that tho locality was, at [an earlier date
befortt the coming of the white man
-occupied’as a village site by Indians of
great stature, some of them nix and a half
to seven feet in height. The bones of these
were buried, likethoae of prehistoric tribea,
in othep parts of the state. The manner of
burial was liko this : Tho flesh was oleaned
from the bones, noma of which wero then
charred. The small bones of tho face and
neck were packed with clay. In tho gravi
was also placed pottery, n tomahawk and tho
other weapons belonging to tho Indians. No
stone marked the grave, and no beads or
wampum were buried -with tho skeleton.
But over all the »arth wae heaped up into
a small oblong mould, along which other
similar mounds extending for raimy feet.
The overflow ot a neighboring rivor at this
poiut had almost destroyed tho burial area,
so that only three of tho-e small
elevations were recognisable at tho time of
exc&v&tton. ?
-Baltimore American.
 The Riverine Herald (Echuca, Vic. Moama, NSW 1869 – 1954 1998 – 2002) Fri 28 Jan 1898 Page 4 Giant Indians.
The Herald (Melbourne, Vic. : 1861 – 1954) Tue 25 Jan 1898 Page 4 GIANT INDIANS​​


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