The San Diego Giant
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The mummy of the “tallest human
giant who over lived” was being barked by a at the Atlantic exposition
while., a number of these 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 lo heel.
Tho giant had been found In a cave near San Diego. Cal., by a parly of prospectors, according lo the exhibitor. Ovor i lhe head wero tho remains of a leather hood which appeared to have been part of a shroud. Worn teeth were visible j In tho mouth and the outlines of the ribs were plainly seen through tho skin. Tho elongated, emaciated body stood erect In a great, narrow cofiln. ten feet long. Tho exhibitor agreed to sell it
for $500 to the Smithsonian, which dispatched
Mr. Lucas to ‘the scene. Ilo, Prof. W. J. Mc’Oee, and others made a careful tost. A piece of lhe giant’s dried skin was removed and when tested In the chemical
laboratory of the Smlthsonian was found to bo gelatine. Professor McCee Is shown on tho loft of tho giant, Jn tho accompanying picture, and the exhibitor
who was perfectly Innocent of the fraud, Is shown on Its right. The “Cardiff Giant,”
New York Statu was in commotion in
tho autumn or ‘C9 over tho discovory of
a petrified giant. lOi feet tall, upon the
farm of ono Newell, near Cardiff, Onondaga couyty. 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 tho scene and fought for admission to the lent, within which they saw lying llvo feet below the surface
an enormous ilgure with massivo
features, its llrnbs contracted as if In
agony. Its color indicated that it had
laid long In tho earth and ovor Its surface
were miniature punctures, “like pores. The appearance of great age was further given by grooves on tho under side, apparently worn by water, which trickled along tho rock upon which the giant lay.
A spirit of rovcrence onwrapped visitors onco they were inside the tent. They hardly spoko above a whisper. The good country people found corroboration of tho Biblical text. “There were giants In those days.” Tho admission fees soon netted Newell $150,000 and a JoJnt-stev- k company was formed to exhibit tho giant about the country. Among the leading spirits In this enterprise was tho original of Westcott’s character, “David Ilarum,” “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 othor centers. Barniim tried to purchase It
and finally had a copy made which ho exhibited as the “Cardiff Giant.” Prof. .Joseph Hall, the Stale geologist, examined tho original and gave a favorablo opinion) but Professor Marsh of Yale pronounced ll a fake. The more skeptical people of the neighborhood watched Ncwell’s movements and he was detected in sending considerable sums to one Hull, his
hrothcr-ln-la- w In the West. At length’ Hull confessed that, he got his Inspiration of the fraud while listening lo a revivalist who insisted that “there were giants in those days ” A huge picco of gvpsum was found by Hull near Fort Dodge. Iowa. This he had transported to Chicago,
whero a German stone carver wrought the giant. Its pores being mado with .1 leaden’ mallet faced with steel needles. After being stained with an aging preparation the giant wns transported to a town In New York State, where Hull hauled It lo Newell’s farm at CardlV by team.
Newell sent his family on a trip covering lhe time of the giant’s arrival and burial. Hull, who was a religious skeptic, was uudaunled by tho exposure and felt that he had gotten even with tho revivalist who preached the giant doctrine. Even after Ids confession, the Ren.
Alexander McWhorter and Professor White, both of Yale, continued to believe in the giant’s antiquity, the former announcing that it was a Pheniclan Idol upon which he had found an Important Inscription. Ono of thoso who from the first, branded tho giant as a hoax was Andrew D. While, 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.