The San Diego Giant
The San Diego Giant.
The mummy of the “tallest human giant who ever lived” was being exhibited at the Atlantic Exposition while a number of Smithsonian scientists were there. They asked permission to examine it, and when consent was given, applied their tapes and found that it measured eight feet four inches from crown to heel.
The giant had been found in a cave near San Diego, California, by a party of prospectors, according to the exhibitor. Over the head were the remains of a leather hood which appeared to have been part of a shroud. Worn teeth were visible in the mouth, and the outlines of the ribs were plainly seen through the skin. The elongated, emaciated body stood erect in a great, narrow coffin, ten feet long.
The exhibitor agreed to sell it for $500 to the Smithsonian, which dispatched Mr. Lucas to the scene. He, Prof. W. J. McGee, and others made a careful test. A piece of the giant’s dried skin was removed and when tested in the chemical laboratory of the Smithsonian, was found to be gelatine. Professor McGee is shown on the left of the giant in the accompanying picture, and the exhibitor, who was perfectly innocent of the fraud, is shown on its right.
The “Cardiff Giant”
New York State was in commotion in the autumn of ’69 over the discovery of a petrified giant, 10 feet tall, upon the farm of one Newell, near Cardiff, Onondaga county. Newell stated that he uncovered the monster while digging a well. A tent was promptly placed over the pit and an admission fee charged. People swarmed about the scene and fought for admission to the tent, within which they saw lying five feet 
below the surface an enormous figure with massive features, its limbs contracted as if in agony. Its color indicated that it had lain long in the earth and over its surface were miniature punctures, “like pores”. The appearance of great age was further given by grooves on the underside, apparently worn by water, which trickled along the rock upon which the giant lay.
A spirit of reverence enwrapped visitors once they were inside the tent. They hardly spoke above a whisper. The good country people found corroboration of the Biblical text: “There were giants in those days”. The admission fees soon netted Newell $150,000 and a joint-stock company was formed to exhibit the giant about the country. Among the leading spirits in this enterprise was the original of Westcott’s character, “David Harum”. “Colonel” Wood, an eminent showman, was engaged to exploit the “Cardiff Giant”, as it was called, and it was exhibited in New York City and in other centers. Barnum tried to purchase it and finally had a copy made which he exhibited as the “Cardiff Giant”.
Prof. Joseph Hall, the State geologist, examined the original and gave a favorable opinion, but Professor Marsh of Yale pronounced it a fake. The more skeptical people of the neighborhood watched Newell’s movements and he was detected in sending considerable sums to one Hull, his brother-in-law in the West. At length, Hull confessed that he got his inspiration for the fraud while listening to a revivalist who insisted that “there were giants in those days”. A huge piece of gypsum was found by Hull near Fort Dodge, Iowa.
This he had transported to Chicago, where a German stone carver wrought the giant. Its pores being made with a leaden mallet faced with steel needles. After being stained with an aging preparation the giant was transported to a town in New York State, where Hull hauled it to Newell’s farm at Cardiff by team.
Newell sent his family on a trip covering the time of the giant’s arrival and burial. Hull, who was a religious skeptic, was undaunted by the exposure and felt that he had gotten even with the revivalist who preached the giant doctrine. Even after his confession, the Rev. Alexander McWhorter and Professor White, both of Yale, continued to believe in the giant’s antiquity, the former announcing that it was a Phoenician idol upon which he had found an important inscription. One of those who from the first branded the giant as a hoax was Andrew D. White, president of Cornell.
- The Salt Lake tribune., June 07, 1908, Page 17, Image 17
- About The Salt Lake tribune. (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current
Now it seems to me that you have a choice to follow a conspiracy mentality,
1) by selecting to believe the Smithsonian and the governments do NOT have our best interests.
2) The other option is even a “bigger conspiracist” that ALL of these giants from around the world that are now missing. . . were all hoaxes and forgeries masterfully done by the public from every nation are decietful, and that history is bad, and is written all by incompetence and history needs to be approved by people now who did not OBSERVE IT. Remember, Science is based on observation and testing not evidence seizure and destruction. ~Chris Lesley
There is something that strikes me! That is the microcephalus comparison of the head in comparison to the great size of the body. It is what i always expect!
Also! This head is obviously Neanderthal, . . . . How many Neanderthal skulls are this same size or larger but they are missing the 8 foot plus body. . . think about it!
Interesting story about the San Diego giant.
The news story above says the giant was a fraud, made of gelatin when tested by the Smithsonian representatives. That seems to be my feeling as well, the head, hands, feet and shoulders seem extremely small for the body.
A genuine giant would display larger bones, and features all around.
Of course, the remains could just as easily have been taken by the Smithsonian and labeled as a Hoax, while they secretely carted it off to their collections. Interesting that they bought the remains for $500. It appears the Smithsonian was actively seeking to collect evidence of human giants in America, anything they could get their hands on.
Yeah I think the Martindale mummies and this San Diego Giant are right up there with the Cardiff Giant as far as hoaxes are concerned.
But hey, for every hoax there are several legitimate skeletons.
Id be willing to bet that that the Local tribes of San Diego and surrounding county’s would like to perform some tests of there own. Native skeletons belong to the natives. It would seem illegal in all aspects to sell remains that do not belong to anyone but the natives.
There seems to be some confusion here….the Cardiff was definitely a fake, but the San Diego giant by all accounts was the real deal. Not sure why they are conflated on this page. I can’t find one written account about the San Diego giant being a fake.
If you look closely at the shape of the head on this thing it has an elongated skull much like the skulls from Paracas, Peru. The forehead extends significantly upward above the eyebrow ridge and looks possibly have some tuffs of hair remaining. Some of the Paracas skulls still have remnants of hair. I think it would be doubtful for someone back in 1908 to include that if this were a hoax.