G. Archie Stockwell

“ The quickness with which a colony discovers a wholesale attempt against their peace is astonishing; yet if their numbers are undisturbed, or diminished but gradually, even the presence of civilization will not drive them from their haunts. ”

“ It is seldom seen as a mere straight embankment, but goes winding across the stream in graceful curves, bending hither and thither to present its convexity toward the swifter flowing current or deeper waters, taking advantage at the same time of all natural inequalities, now a rock, here an islet, and there a hillock. Trunks of trees are carefully intermingled with clods of earth, stones, and twigs, and every crevice is carefully stopped with mud or clay for greater security ”

“ Each dwelling consists of but one apartment, and this opens by a short incline beneath the surface of the water into a channel dredged to sufficient depth to avoid being blocked by ice in winter. It is easy to determine whether a dwelling is in present occupation by the appearance of the trails over which the beaver drags his supplies from the wood; by the freshly-peeled sticks the bark of which has served for food, and which are invariably heaped up upon the house itself ”

“ That judgment is demanded in preparing a dead-fall is evident from the fact that it must be adjusted with such nicety that no animal larger than a beaver can pass beneath it, and yet be incapable of being disengaged by anything smaller, such as a mink or musk-rat; the drop-log, too, must be of dried peeled wood, lest it be pulled down by the very animals it is intended to capture, and carried off to their storehouse. ”

“ Hull retired at a late hour, and, being chagrined with his defeat, lay awake the greater portion of the night, thinking of the extreme gullibility of the world in matters where the Bible could be cited as evidence, and in planning how to turn this peculiarity to his advantage. The result was, that he decided upon producing an image which should, after being buried and exhumed, pass muster as a fossil man of unusual size, being assured that such men as his late opponent in argument would aid not a little in contributing to the final success of the undertaking. ”

“ Of all quadrupeds, the beaver is one of the most peculiar and interesting. He is the only one that possesses membranes between the toes of the hind-feet, at the same time none on the fore ones—in fact, resembling a terrestrial mammal in front, and an aquatic one behind. When full grown, he exhibits a thick, heavy body over two feet in length, and from thirty to fifty pounds' weight, terminating in a full, compact, cat-like head, with heavy jaws provided with wondrous muscular development. ”

“ Soon the giant came to New York, only to find itself supplanted. After a few days, it was shipped to Boston, where the excitement bade fair to break out again, from the furor created by the learned men of the modern Athens. Ralph Waldo Emerson pronounced it beyond his depth, astonishing, and undoubtedly ancient. Cyrus Cobb, the artist and sculptor, declared that any man who called the giant a humbug "simply declared himself a fool." On the 4th of February a number of Solons visited the giant as an official body. ”

“ THAT great hoax, the Cardiff giant, was conceived by one George Hull, a tobacconist of Binghamton, New York. It was the out-growth of a controversy held one evening in 1866 between Hull and a Rev. Mr. Turk, of Ackley, Iowa, regarding the former existence of giants in the earth, in which the latter proved victorious, his ready tongue and loud voice easily bearing down and overwhelming his opponent. ”

“ The number of trees felled by one small colony is surprising, and the regularity of the stumps left might lead one unacquainted with the cause to believe them the result of human industry.
When the beaver selects a home on the bank of lake, pond, or stream whose waters are both deep and abundant, dams are rendered unnecessary, and even houses are not always constructed, but instead dwellings are hollowed out from the banks. ”

“ To-day beaver are returning to streams in Michigan, long ago abandoned by their race, simply because they find themselves unmolested, the demand for beaver-peltry being slight, and the prices paid out of all proportion to the labor entailed in trapping. It has been said that, if a dam or house be once injured by the hand of man, the colony at once disappears. ”

“ And the wondrous instinct displayed may possibly have taught the primeval dweller the rudiments of architecture now exemplified in beautiful structures of wood and stone; for to this day we find some tribes, low in the scale of humanity and civilization, such as the Fischer Lapps and natives of Terra del Fuego, living in huts that, save in point of size, are exact counterparts of the dwellings of the beaver. ”

“ Certain it is, they are seldom in good condition, and their very mode of living precludes industry.
The trapping of beaver may be considered as an art in itself, as it demands no small expenditure of patience and perseverance to acquire the experience necessary to make it a lucrative calling. Once on the ground selected as the scene of his labors, the trapper follows the creeks and streams, keeping a sharp lookout for "sign." Every prostrate tree is examined to see if it be the work of the beaver; tracks are sought for in the mud and sand ”

“ On land the old-fashioned "dead-fall" has the preference, as it breaks the animal's back without damaging the skin, while the steel trap in such locality only too frequently results in the escape of the quarry, though at the expense of some one of its members; for the beaver does not hesitate to exercise its sharp teeth in the performance of amputation in order to secure safety. ”

“ Trees are felled and cut into suitable lengths, and, along with stones and clods, dragged laboriously to the scene of labor until all is made again secure against ice and cold. Other trees, such as larch, willow, birch, and aspens, are cut up into billets and twigs, and stored for the food their bark affords, against possible want. Their perseverance in this work, the labor expended, and the strength of teeth and jaws, may be fairly estimated by the stumps that remain, as they are found of all diameters, from the smallest brush-wood to growths a foot or more in diameter. ”

“ Several rural clergymen made it an especial topic in their Sunday discourses; and certain agricultural papers, backed by letters from these same teachers, assured the world that the "Pine River man" was no Cardiff giant, but a bona-fide "creation of God!" But even all this evidence failed to make Ruddock's fossil remunerative, and it was sold to the proprietor of a third-rate side-show for a mere trifle.
After these attempts, it is safe to assert that no ignorant person will again attempt a "prehistoric man," either with or without a caudal appendage. ”

“ A prominent clergyman wrote, "This is not a thing contrived of man, but is the face of one who lived like all the earth; the very image and child of God;" thus confirming the impression Hull received from his discussion with the Rev. Mr. Turk.
Suddenly a series of reverses overtook the giant. Prof. O. C. Marsh, of Yale College, gave it a telling blow by stating that gypsum is soluble in 400 parts of water, yet the surface of the giant was smooth and little dissolved, though surrounded by wet earth, proving that the burial must have been of very recent date. ”

“ When a trap is set before the dwelling, the channel leading to the door is found by sounding, and it is placed therein, guarded on each side by two stakes that preclude passing except by the dangerous path. It is placed a little nearer one stake, in order that any attempt to cut it will insure a fore-foot touching the pan; if the other stake is attacked, then a hind-foot is caught. ”

“ Next the trunk is divided into lengths, and dragged by aid of teeth, paws, and chin to the water, where it is floated to the dam or storehouse. When large trees are chosen, they almost invariably stand upon the margin of the water, into which they are made to fall; but small growths are frequently sought at considerable distances, and regular paths or "runways" are beaten in the tall grass and ferns where such have been transported. ”

“ One dwelling harbors from four to twelve individuals, rarely more, though eighteen or twenty have been noted, all of the same family, but of two generations, representing litters of kittens of two successive years. The young make their appearance usually in May, and are from four to eight in number, five being the average. Queer-looking little fellows they are too, with their heavy heads, big cutting teeth, flat tails, and fine, mouse-like fur, not yet disfigured by the long, coarse hair so noticeable with adults. ”

“ When the space chipped out proves too narrow to admit the head, the teeth are applied above and below, as the woodman plies his axe, until the desired result is obtained. Steadily and faithfully he labors, rarely resting, and then but to take a refreshing bath in the nearest pool. ”

“ THANKS to the decrease of castor in value, owing to the substitutes which have been found in the skins of seal, nutria—the improved preparation of other peltry of little value, such as the hare and rabbit—and more than all in the use of silk in the manufacture of hats, a little breathing-time has been allowed the beaver, which a few years since bade fair to speedily become extinct. ”

“ It was Hull's desire to represent a "man who had laid down and died;" but, as he entertained doubts as to the universal acceptation of the "fossil-man" theory, it was decided to produce an image that might also pass for an ancient statue. This combination of designs was the cause of that curious feature which attracted notice and provoked discussion when the giant came to be exhibited, viz., the lack of hair. ”

“ The lay of the land having been thoroughly studied, and the presence, movements, haunts, and habits of the animal determined, traps are set at frequent intervals in those localities most likely to produce satisfactory results, and duly baited with "medicine." ”

“ The arms we made proportionately longer than the legs, so as to resemble the ape type. We propose to let the scientific men bore into him, but they must confine themselves to certain parts of his body, and there we have fixed him by putting in bones."
At this time, having exhausted their funds, the worthies applied to Barnum for means to bury their prodigy, who advanced $2,000 for the purpose. ”

“ Occasionally solitary or "lone beavers" are met with by trappers; animals that do not erect dams or houses, but reside in holes and clefts in the banks which they have excavated, or which are the product of nature or of some of the burrowing tribes, as the otter. ”

“ And it is probable that no scientist will be guilty of such an imposition. The greatest wonder is that no counterfeits of the only true fossil men discovered—those of the Mentone caves in France—have reached this country. ”

“ Meantime Hull proceeded to Salisbury, Connecticut, to inspect a newly-discovered cave, in which he hoped to bury and resurrect his giant, but was discouraged by the price demanded. Suddenly remembering that fossil bones had recently been discovered near Syracuse, New York, he now visited a relative, one Newell, living in the locality, at Cardiff, and opened the enterprise to him, proposing to bury the giant upon his farm. Newell at once accepted the terms proposed—one-fourth interest—and it was decided to inter the image near the barn, where a well had formerly been projected. ”

“ Commencing at a height of twelve or fourteen inches from the ground, a distance easily reached while sitting upon the tail and haunches, the tree is gouged around in a complete circle, equally on all sides, but gradually growing deeper and deeper with each circuit, forming, as it were, two cones whose points meet at a common center. ”

“ Martin, now thoroughly disgusted, withdrew from the project; but Hull, hearing of another gypsum-bed in a more retired locality, on the line of the Dubuque & Sioux City Railroad, then in process of construction, went thither, and the following Sunday engaged the foreman of the railroad-gang to employ his men in quarrying out as large a slab as the nature of the ground would permit, paving for the labor with a barrel of beer. ”

“ The cause of their abandoning the society of their kind is unknown. It may be an excess of that melancholic temperament that is assigned to the species; possibly, the hermit is the sole representative of an extirpated colony ”

“ But a few weeks elapsed ere the proofs of the frauds perpetrated became incontrovertible, and the Cardiff giant was consigned to popular oblivion.
The Colorado stone man proves to be a veritable brother of the giant, having been begotten by the self-same father. Hull cleared some $60,000 by the latter, with which he embarked in business in Binghamton, New York, by which every dollar was lost. ”

“ This seemed to take great hold upon his mind, and he frequently remarked that he would like to set the scientific men quarreling as to the origin of man, and throw the religious world into a vortex of doubt and controversy. ”

“ Newell stepped around, and, taking a shovel, trimmed the sod down square with where it came off."
The following day, Sunday, four medical men of the neighborhood, of scientific pretensions, investigated the subject, swallowing the hoax without the least difficulty, pronouncing it to be a "petrified man." Later it was examined by Dr. Boynton, of Syracuse, a man possessed of some antiquarian knowledge, who decided it to be a statue "made some three hundred years ago by the Jesuit fathers," and at once offered $10,000 for it. ”