No saying attributed to P. T. Barnum has been more widely quoted than
the remark that "the public likes to be humbugged." Certainly this
comment on the credulity of the masses opens up a most curious and
entertaining field, and its mention in a company of old showmen is sure
to provoke a flood of reminiscences on the subject of fakes, freaks and
fakers. There is scarcely another line of experience concerning which
veteran showmen more enjoy comparing notes--possibly because it touches
on the secrets of the craft. Though it is true that Mr. Barnum was a
master in the science of humbugging the public, and did not disclaim
that distinction, it must be said in justice to him that in the course
of his long professional career he gave the people more for their money
than any other showman, living or dead.
A little inside information on this hidden side of the showman's
business may be entertaining to a public which has often experienced
the pleasure of being humbugged. Certainly no fake is entitled to take
precedence over the celebrated "Cardiff Giant." This was the invention
of a certain George Hull. He lived, I think, at Binghamton, New York,
and manufactured the giant in a rude shop on the small farm which he
worked. Hull was shrewd, energetic and very persistent, as may be seen
by the fact that the elaboration of the idea of his fake and its
execution occupied him more than four years. He thought the whole
matter out, even to the most minute details, before beginning work on
it. Without any knowledge of the art of sculpture or the science of
anatomy, he set himself resolutely at work to remedy these defects of
education. He had considerable aptitude with the chisel, and gradually
developed the skill necessary to hew out a figure that was to be put
before the public as a relic of an age so remote that no person would
be likely closely to criticise its proportions. Hull also knew that, no
matter what the age in which his giant was supposed to have lived, the
"remains" must show pores in the skin to pass the scrutiny of even the
unlearned, The making of these pores required more time and labor than
all the other work of making the "Cardiff Giant." The work occupied
many months, and was all performed in the "studio" or shop where it was
at last finished to Hull's satisfaction.