Anonymous

“ 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. ”

“ On Saturday morning last the quiet little village of Cardiff, which lies in the valley about twelve miles south of Syracuse, was thrown into an excitement without precedent, by the report that a human body had been exhumed in a petrified state, the colossal dimensions of which had never been the fortune of the inhabitants of the little village to behold, and the magnitude of which was positively beyond the comprehension or the understanding of the wise men of the valley. ”

“ 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. ”

“ The head is inclined to the right.
The face is the only part seemingly free from traces of the agony of dissolution. The expression is calm, thoughtful, almost sweet. The high, massive forehead sets off with grand, yet benevolent dignity, the well rounded and proportioned features. The countenance is a study. Beautiful despite its immensity, it displays a largeness of kindly feeling not commonly surmised from Fairy tales of Giants and Giant deeds. ”

“ To interrupt these emotions by speculations as to its personality, to approach this majestic figure with the calm processes of scrutinizing investigation, seems a sacrilege. All one's feelings persuade to accept it as a real human being, once instinct with life and activity, now a noble corpse. ”

“ On the Egyptian statue, the hair looks more like a skull cap on the back of the head, than hair, with no indication of beard. They had been so afflicted with plagues through the Israelites, that they would have nothing that was like them, or that reminded them of them. The Cardiff giant has no beard and nothing on the forehead to indicate hair; behind the ears running up to the crown, there seems to be something, that when he is raised, may show the Egyptian school of sculpture. As art goes from one country to another, the style changes somewhat to suit the taste of the people. ”

“ This is a too common device in the coarser grades of sculpture to escape notice here. Our sculptor would certainly find fault with the very constrained position of the body, its feet awkwardly crossed and its left arm twisted rather than laid backward under its body, certainly this is not the attitude in which a sculptor—a man of taste—would place his handiwork. Still, may it not be an admissable theory, that the oldtime artist was constrained in the form which he should give his statue, by the form and dimensions of his gypsum block. ”

“ 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. ”

“ It is said by geologists to be formed only when the original material forming the rock or stone has been transported and deposited by the operation of a body of water holding the material in solution, and depositing it in alternate layers at its place of destination.
How is a petrified body formed? Science answers, that it is formed by the gradual infiltration of silicious earth, pyrites of iron, carbonate or sulphate of lime, into the pores of the body, taking the place of the decaying parts, and substituting a new and original substance to take the place and form of the body petrified. ”

“ It is a gigantic human figure lying on its back, with its head to the east and feet to the west. The head is in the position commonly given to a corpse; the right arm extends downwards, with the hand and fingers spread stiffly across the abdomen; the left arm bends down along the left side, with the hand quite under the middle line of the body; the left hip is raised a trifle, the thigh and leg more so, so as to bring the lower part of the left leg and foot obliquely across and over the same parts on the right. The posture is in all one that a dying body left to itself might naturally assume. ”

“ 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. ”

“ Silicious earth goes largely to form flint quartz and the various kinds of sandstone carbonate of lime, of limestone, and so of the other materials mentioned forming their peculiar kinds of stone. I have heard one statue-theorist trying to prove that the decayed portion of one of the legs showed the presence of flint, and therefore he argued it could not be a petrifaction. Not so. It probably would prove, if true, that the figure was not a statue, for pieces of flint are not found in such material, unless it be a petrifaction, in which case silicious earth would account for it. ”

“ Fossil Man" preserved entire, with flesh and bones changed to stone in the very place where he fell at death, or possibly was buried by his coevals of an olden time. All opportunities of close examination are refused; indeed, the present throng of visitors would make such general permission impracticable. The little, darkened tent, and the pit shaded by a triple row of spectators, whose heads almost touch across it in their earnest efforts to see the body below, made it quite impossible for me to obtain that thorough acquaintance with the huge object which I would have liked. ”

“ DEAR SIR:—On Saturday last, some laborers engaged in digging a well on the farm of W.C. Newell, near the village of Cardiff, about 13 miles south of this city, discovered, lying at about three feet below the surface of the earth, what they supposed to be the "petrified body" of a human being, of colossal size. Its length is ten feet and three inches, and the rest of the body is proportionately large. The excitement in this locality over the discovery is immense and unprecedented. ”

“ The whole statue evidently represents the position that a body would naturally take at the departure of life.
There is perfect harmony in the different proportions of the different parts of the statue. The features are strictly Caucasian, having not the high bones of the Indian type, neither the outlines of the Negro race, and being entirely unlike any statuary yet discovered of Aztec or Indian origin. The chin is magnificent and generous; the eyebrow, or supercilliary ridge, is well arched; the mouth is pleasant; the brow and forehead are noble, and the "Adam's apple" has a full development. ”

“ The valley itself is one of erosion, dating its birth to the time when the gradual rise of our continent from beneath the ocean's waves had subjected all this portion of our State to the fierce furrowing and deep denuding action of violent currents of water, aided in their work by floating masses of ice and by rock debris carried by and often frozen into these masses. ”

“ 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 ”

“ With reference to the other objection to the theory of petrifaction, viz:—that the members of the body are conjoined and not detached—it is sufficient to say, from the very nature of the operation of petrifaction, portions of the body lying in contact would necessarily be conjoined and filled up. The wasting portions of the body are silently but surely supplied by nature, and as the transformation progresses, nature causes her deposit to adhere to its proximate kindred matter, and forms thus a solid and adhering body. ”

“ If there was not material sufficient to carve out both arms lying across the breast, he might find enough to make one of the arms below. If the lower left hand corner of the block were broken off, he might still bring out both feet by lapping one over the other, and letting vertical space atone for lateral want of it. If our sculptor, finally, will look sharply upon the legs and body in such parts as have escaped the considerable water-wearing which has smoothed most of the figure, I think that he will see plainly the marks of the graving tool of his ancient colleague. ”

“ IS THE BODY A PETRIFACTION? "The majority of visitors disagree with the opinion of Dr. Boynton, that the figure is a statue, and pronounce it a petrified man. It is claimed that no sculptor would have invented such an unheard of position and design for a statue. No sculptor could have so perfectly imitated nature, especially in the minutiae which render the image such a wonder. ”

“ There are no marks of violence upon the work; had it been an image or idol of worship by the Indians, it could have been easily destroyed or mutilated with a slight blow by a small stone, and the toes and fingers could have been easily broken off. It lay in quicksand, which, in turn, rested upon compact clay.
My conclusion regarding the object of the deposit of the statue in this place, is as follows:—It was for the purpose of hiding and protecting it from an enemy who would have destroyed it, had it been discovered. ”

“ HOW TO FIND THE GIANT Passengers by the Central or Oswego Railroads leave the cars at Syracuse, and will find an excellent road through the beautiful Onondaga Valley, to Mr. Newell's residence, twelve miles from Syracuse. Strangers will find the principal hack stand of the city near the Wieting Block, on Salina street. The entire force of drivers became within three days perfectly acquainted, not only with the road, but with the leading facts regarding the wonderful discovery. The demand for carriages has been immense, and is constantly increasing. ”

“ If such persons will refer to works which treat of petrifaction in all their various kinds of transformation and in all the thousand genera and species of fossil organisms, they will find that although bones, shells, and the hard parts of animals, changed to stone, yet preserving their original outlines, are of constant occurrence, yet there is not a single instance on record of fossil flesh ”

“ To a person acquainted with the nature of petrifaction, the slow substitution of mineral for animal matter, particle by particle, the reason why humor of other flesh does not undergo the same change will be apparent. ”

“ This is a matter of rejoicing to scientific men, as well as the public generally; for every one naturally wishes to see the Giant as he had slept in his bed for centuries, and for themselves examine the winding sheets he wrapped about him. ”

“ If parties desire to spend the day at Cardiff, they can take the Syracuse & Binghamton Railroad to Lafayette Station, and (with considerable difficulty,) secure a team across to Mr. Newell's house, a distance of about three miles. There is no village at Lafayette Station.
WHO VISITS THE WONDER? Everybody. Old and young, male and female, people of all classes of community, rush in a constant stream to view the immense curiosity. People from all parts of the United States are hastening to see the Giant before he shall be removed from his long resting place. ”

“ The legs—with their heavy thigh, the swollen knee portion, the swollen calf and slender ankle, all touch on the outline length as they lie over each other, with no open space between, or no point where one folds down upon the other with a sharp line of contact of the two surfaces. The same thing, too, is noticeable in the arms and in the fingers of the hand, where the flesh, instead of sloping away— one rounded surface finely leaving another—is cut down square, as if some unnatural out growth of flesh had formed a uniting portion beneath the member. ”