Cardiff giant; Geology -- New York (State) -- Onondaga County
Its age cannot antedate the present race of men, for the shape of
the head and the features are entirely modern. The old-time people,
as portrayed in the sculpture of Assyria and Egypt, had no such
heads as this. The artist evidently took a corpse for a model
and proportioned his colossal figure by careful measurement. He
was thus enabled to secure the general anatomical accuracy for
which his giant is remarkable. He followed the model very closely,
not attempting to represent a living being, not venturing even to
supply the missing hair. And these omissions, the result of
inexperience, furnish, singularly enough, the principal arguments
to the petrifactionists. For the popular opinion that the body
and head are hollow, that the nostrils and other orifices are open,
and that the tendons in the decayed leg are visible, has not the
slightest foundation. Why was this image made? Why hidden? and
by whom? are questions which I must be excused from answering
at present. HENRY
THE BELIEF OF THE ONONDAGA INDIANS--THE BODY
OF AN INDIAN PROPHET.
To the Editor of the Syracuse Journal:--
In your columns devoted to "Letters from the People," I thought
you would at this time publish the following, it being interesting
as one of the current opinions of the Indians of "the Castle"
regarding the wonderful "human petrified statue," which, in its
colossal proportions and the sphynx-like silence of its history
is so electrifying and exciting the people.
By one of the old squaws I am told that a large number of Onondagas
believe that the statue is the petrified body of a gigantic Indian
prophet, who flourished many centuries ago, and who foretold the
coming of the pale-faces, though long before the foot of our
forefathers had touched the western continent. He warned his
people with prophetic fervor of the coming encroachments of the
white man, and the necessity of their abstinence from a poison
drink he would bring to craze and destroy them. He told them
that he should die and be buried out of their sight, but that THEIR
DESCENDANT WOULD SEE HIM--AGAIN. J.P. FOSTER, State Agent and
Teacher for the Onondaga Indians.
THE STONE GIANT.
On Saturday the sale of the remaining one-half interest in the
Great Giant Wonder was closed up. Another partner, Mr. Wm. Spencer
--an old-time schoolmate of Mr. Newell--was taken in, so that the
present owners are Wm. C. Newell, of Cardiff, Alfred Higgins, Dr.
Amos Westcott and Amos Gillett, of this city, David H. Hannurn,
of Homer, and Wm. Spencer, of Utica.
Saturday was a bad day, as to weather; nevertheless several hundred
visited the Giant.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account