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
Saturday 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
entitled 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 assisted 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 assume some
position, either an erect or recumbent 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 rectum 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 assume 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 mass, 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 trespassed too far on your attention and space.
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, Dick 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. Dick 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 Noble 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 attitude 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.