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 approaches the perpendicular, as on the sides, the dark line showing the separation of the strata is thin, because it has been cut through nearly at right angles. Where the surface is more horizontal the dark line is broader, because it has been cut through obliquely, the breadth varying steadily with the angle of inclination. The same can be plainly seen along the right leg.
Another strong reason for its being a statue lies in the fact that not a single limb is detached. The right arm is not merely glued to the body throughout, as well as the hand, but it has the appearance of only being cut into the stone to a depth sufficient to give due relief. This is equally true of the left arm, and of the two legs, which are joined to each other throughout. The sculptor has not wasted a stroke of the chisel. I would add here, that between the third and fourth fingers of the right hand, the slit is carried too far toward the wrist, seemingly by a slip of the chisel.
Who did it? A trained sculptor; one who had seen, studied and probably reproduced many a work of art; one who was thoroughly acquainted with human anatomy. One, too, who had n.o.ble original powers; for none but such could have formed and wrought out the conception of that stately head, with its calm, grand smile, so full of mingled sweetness and strength.
He appears, however, to have worked under certain disadvantages.
He had not such command of materials as a civilized country could have afforded him. He had to put up with the best stone he could find. I think that the peculiar posture of the statue can be fairly explained by supposing that the original block tapered away toward the feet, and was only just about the breadth of the statue as we now see it. This seems fairly to explain the curious position of the left arm. The artist had to put it there because there was not breadth enough to put it in any other position. So of the position of the feet--one over the other. The stone may not have been wide enough to have admitted of any other position. Who was he?
Let us a.n.a.lyze a little.
In the ancient world, only the Greek School of Art was capable of such a perfect reproduction of the human form. I have seen no Egyptian or a.s.syrian sculpture which approached this in anatomical accuracy.
Throughout the middle ages till the great Art Revival, no one in Europe had skill enough for the purpose. It appears, therefore, that unless we adopt the somewhat strained hypothesis that a highly civilized society, now utterly extinct, once existed on this continent, we are forced to search for our sculptor among the European adventurers who have sought homes in North America during the last three centuries, as no one, I presume, is prepared to maintain a that the statue has a Greek or Roman origin, unless, indeed, it was brought over as an antique by some forgotten amateur of art.
Was it not then as Dr. Boynton suggests, some one from that French colony, which occupied Salina and Pompey Hill, and Lafayette? Some one with an artist"s soul, sighing over the lost civilization of Europe, weary of swamp and forests, and fort, finding this block by the side of the stream solaced the weary days of exile with pouring out his thought upon the stone. The only other hypothesis remaining is that of a gross fraud. One need only say with regard to this that such a fraud would require the genius of a sculptor joined to the skill and audacity of a Jack Sheppard.
But lastly, what did he intend it to represent? Had he known of the discovery of America by the northmen, he might have had in his thoughts some gigantic Brown, or Erio, or Harold. The old northman is shot through with an Indian"s poisoned arrow; his body is dying, as the tight pressed limbs express; but the strong soul still rules the face, which smiles grandly in death. If you had objected that there was too much mind shining through the features, the sculptor might have answered that the closed eyes saw in prophetic vision that men of his race would one day rule where he had lain down to die. But this is rather too high flown, so I had better conclude.
Yours, S.R. CALTHROP.
LETTER FAVORING PETRIFACTION.
MR. EDITOR:--It needs no apology to address you upon a subject that is now engaging the constant attention of all your readers and thousands besides, and if any person can throw any light upon the subject it would seem to be their duty to communicate it to the public. While there has been much speculation and wonder as to the nature and origin of the marvelous curiosity found last Sat.u.r.day in the town of Lafayette, in this county, there has been made public no argument from scientific men up to this time to settle the doubts and convictions of the unlearned. In the suggestions which I shall make upon the subject, I regret that I have not the benefit of a more extended knowledge of the sciences which pertain to the subject, but having earnest convictions, supported apparently by plausible reasons, I submit them to the consideration of the public for whatever weight they may be ent.i.tled to.
The advocates of the theory that the subject in question is a statue, have too many difficulties to overcome to establish their position.
If the subject is a statue it must have been formed by some person, who once lived, and had an object or motive for making it. Who can say what that object was? It must have been formed by a person of wonderful genius and skill. Where and when did such a person exist? History gives no account of him. Its formation and object must have been known to many persons who a.s.sisted in its manufacturing and transportation. Where are those persons?
The objections to the theory that the figure in question is a statue, may be briefly described as follows:
1st. This figure, if made by human hand, was intended to be exhibited; otherwise there can be no motive for making it. If it was intended to be exhibited, it was also designed to a.s.sume some position, either an erect or rec.u.mbent one. The reasons for keeping it in that position would have been provided by the sculptor, by either making a pedestal for it to stand upon, a tablet for it to lie on, or forming the body on the stone out of which it was cut, so that it would lie upon a flat surface. Nothing of this kind is visible. There is nothing about the figure remaining except what belongs to a man who has lain down alone in solitude and agony to die and has died, and the story of whose death has been preserved by the miraculous agencies of nature.
Second, if designed by man as the representation of man, the head would have been covered with hair, the most beautiful ornament of the human body, yet no trace of hair is found on this subject.
Third, it has been claimed that the material of this figure is gypsum taken from the hills of Onondaga county. The evidence of our most experienced quarrymen is that a block of gypsum of sufficient size to make this figure was never found in this region.
Fourth, if this figure was sculptured from marble or stone, its body, head and limbs would be solid. Yet the orifices in its wasted r.e.c.t.u.m and other parts of its body, and the resounding noise occasioned by striking upon it proves that it is hollow internally.
Fifth, No statue was ever sculptured in this or a similar position.
The position is precisely that which a person would a.s.sume who was suffering an agony which was to result in death. The hands pressing opposite sides of the lower part of the body and one leg drawn up and pressed against the other is the effort of expiring humanity to relieve itself from pain. The sculptor"s chisel and the painter"s brush have often been called upon to represent scenes of death in all its various forms and manifestations. Yet have they never attained the simplicity, the impressiveness, the vivid naturalness of the story told by the figure which lies in yonder clay.
Sixth, It should also be observed that a sculptor who had the genius to form such a figure would naturally keep a proper and harmonious proportion in the different parts of the body, but it will be noticed in this subject that the feet are unusually broad, projecting far beyond the natural lines of the leg, and giving evidence of usage which has caused what is almost a deformity.
Seventh, If a statue, why should one of the eyes differ so much from the other, one of them being open, and one nearly or quite shut?
Eighth, If this figure is a statue, explain how it has been transported and handled to place it in its present position. It is estimated by the best judges that the figure weighs from a ton and a half to two tons. This immense weight could not have been transported by any known means of transportation in the neighborhood of the figure, and it could not have been handled without the aid of machinery.
Ninth, Perhaps the greatest objection to the statue theory is the last on which I shall mention, and that is the majestic simplicity and grandeur of the figure itself. It is not unsafe to affirm that ninety-nine out of every hundred persons who have seen this would have become immediately and instantly impressed with the idea that they were in the presence of an object not made by mortal hand, and that the figure before them once lived and had its being like those who stood around it. This feeling arises from the awful naturalness of the figure and its position. No piece of sculpture of which we have any account ever produced the awe inspired by this blackened form lying among the common and every-day surroundings of a country farm yard.
We see objects of larger size every day, formed from materials which excite our wonder or admiration, and upon which have been bestowed the highest skill of the artist, the sculptor and the painter, but there is in that blackened ma.s.s, that worn and impaired as it is by the action of the elements, and repulsive from the nature and color of the material forming it, which inspires an awe and reverence such as the handiwork of a mortal, no matter how gifted, has ever accomplished. I venture to affirm that no living sculptor can be produced who will say this figure was conceived and executed by any human hand. But Mr. Editor I am afraid I have trespa.s.sed too far on your attention and s.p.a.ce.
There is much more to be said on the subject, which at a future time I will say. R.
The present owners of the Giant have engaged Col. J.W. Wood, known all over the country as a popular showman, as their manager.
To-night Mr. W. will have a much larger tent (forty feet) over his giantship, so that hereafter many more can be accommodated at a time--whether they can see better we are not sure.
From the Syracuse Journal, October 23d, 1869.
SPEAKING OF THE CARDIFF GIANT.
Reports of Committees.
Three of us--Tom, d.i.c.k and Harry--interviewed the stone wonder on Thursday of this week, and here are our reports. Tom sees everything from a ludicrous point of view, and is nothing if not funny. d.i.c.k is a common-sense fellow, who makes up in positiveness what he lacks in education; and I am--Yours, very respectfully, A.C.
TOM"S REPORT.
His Majestic Highness was in bed when we reached the royal residence although it was high noon by the dial.
But the obliging janitor was convinced, by a single glance at the cards we presented, that it would not do to refuse us admission.
We found the n.o.ble Duke divested of wearing apparel and enjoying his morning ablution, which was administered by a valet de chambre, who stood on a platform above His Excellency, and held him down with a ten foot pole. The countenance of the great man expressed composure and serenity. His eyes were closed and his general appearance and att.i.tude were limp and cadaverous, causing us to fear, for a moment, that His Mightiness might be dead instead of sleeping.
Our apprehensions were allayed, however, when the irreverent attendant punched his Sublime Majesty in the head and chest, and elicited an impatient, cavernous, responsive "ugh!"
Having feasted our eyes on the unveiled grandeur of the stupendous Knight, we begged permission of his keeper to get into the Imperial bed and embrace the gigantic feet. We begged in vain. Let us then grasp that autocratic right hand, which reminds us so touchingly of the dear, fat, fried-cake hands Bridget used to mould for us in our infancy. Our request was declined with emphasis. May we not breathe an affectionate word into that dexter ear, which seems placed far down towards his shoulder as if on purpose to receive our tender message? "He"s deaf," said the heartless man with the pole. Let us at least give him one-- just one--kiss for his mother. "He never had no mother," responded the inexorable valet, and we turned sadly away from the Kingly presence of the sweet, sleeping orphan.
As we wended our homeward way we gave ourself up to meditation, while our companions gave themselves up to sandwiches and boiled eggs.
We called to mind the striking resemblance in form and features, which the vast monarch bears to the Stoneman family, and we rejoiced that a gallant General of our army could trace his ancestry to one who stood so high in the community.
From appearances we should judge the seraphic Emperor to be a man of property--worth at least fifty thousand dollars.
Whether he were so or not, we certainly were petrified-- with astonishment.
Yours for the right, THOMAS.
d.i.c.k"S REPORT.
There"s no use talking; that fellow was once a living and breathing human being. In my opinion he walked these hills and valleys, just the same as we do, thousands and thousands of years ago. We read of the sons of Anak, but this chap was the father of Anak. It is beyond the art of man to carve so perfect a human being out of stone. Anybody who could sculp like that could have made his fortune, without hiding his work away and letting it be discovered by accident in after ages. And who ever saw a piece of statuary in such a position, and without hair on?
The man that says that this petrified man is nothing but a graven image, proves that he is a little soft in the upper story. There is no shadow of doubt that this is a genuine petrifaction. I would take my oath of it. Dr. Boynton writes a long rigmarole to show that he is a statue made by the Jesuits; but in my opinion the Dr. is just laying low so that he can buy the curiosity and make his pile on him. Why, you can see the very cords in his legs, where the flesh has decayed off; and the matter running out of his right eye has turned to stone. Would the Jesuits have been likely to carve cords and tears? The idea is too absurd to be thought of. This is my report, and I don"t care what anybody else says. RICHARD.
HARRY"S REPORT.