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The American Goliah: A Wonderful Geological Discovery
by
We have said that the whole was perfect. And so it appeared, except a few flakes dropped off while the work of exhumation was going on; and perhaps others yesterday. If any well proportioned man will make measurement of himself as above, he will see a striking agreement 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 counselor, 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. His neighbors say it is a fortune to him. It is averred that he was offered $5,000, $10,000 and even $20,000 for it; that a clergyman offered his farm in exchange for the monster–but these offers were all declined. We 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 he seemed 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 consulted. One said, bail out the water–exposure to the air will do no harm. The other said, leave it thus until some scientific man comes to decide as to the prospects of destructability. 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 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.