MAMMOTH MEN.

Kumara Times, Issue 962, 1 November 1879, Page 3

MAMMOTH MEN.

The Bible says “ there were giants in those days,” and it mentions several cases of giants, as the Rephaims, the Anakims, the Embus, the Zonzonims, and others. Profane historians also mention giants ; they gave seven feet of height to Hercules, their first hero, and in our days we have seen men eight feet high. The giant who was shown in Rouen in 1b36 measured eight feet some inches. The Emperor Maximin was of that size j Sheukius and Ploterus, physicians of the last century, saw several of that stature, and Ooropius saw a girl who was ten feet highi & body of Orestes, according t > f the Greeks, was 13 The giant Galabro, brought from Arabia to Rome Under Claudius Cte-air, was nearly 10ft, and the bones of Second ilia and Pullo, of the gardens of Sallust, were inches shorter. - Farnum, a Scotchman, who lived at the time of Eugene the Second, King J of Scotland, measured lit ft, and Jacob Maire, in his voyage to die Straits of Magellan, reports that on the 17th day Of December, 1615, they found at Poi’t a Desire several graves covered with stones, and having the curiosity to remove the stones," they found human skeletons 10ft. long, and some life. (These seem to be w. li authenticated cases, and there are others, some of which are incredible) The Chevalier Scory, in his voyage to the Peak of Teneriffe, says they

found in one of the sepulchral caverns of that mountain the head of a Gaunche which had 80 teeth, and that the body was not less than loft long. The giant Ferragus, who was slain by Orlando, nephew of Charlemagne, was 18ft high. Rioland, a celebrated anatomist, who wrote in IGI4, says that some years before, there was to be seen in the suburbs of St. Germain the tomb of the giant Isoret, who was 20ft high.

Jan. 11, 1813 masons digging near the ruins of a castle in Dauphine, in a field which by tradition had long been called the Giant’s field, at the depth of 18ft discovered a brick tomb .30ft long, 12ft wide, and Bft high, on which was a gray stone with the words “ Theutobochus Rex” engraved thereon. When the tomb was opened they found a human skeleton entire, 26|ft high, 18ft wide across the shoulders, and sft deep from the breast bone to the back. His feet were about the size of an ox’s foot, and his shin-bone measured 4ft.

Rear Mezarina, in Sicily, 1515, was found a giant 30ft high. His head was the size of a hogshead (?), and each of his teeth weighed five ounces. Near Palermo, in the valley of Mazava, in Sicily, a skeleton of a giant 30ft long was found in the year 1548, and another 33ft high in 1550; and many curious persons have preserved several of these gigantic bones.

The Athenians found near their city two famous skeletons, one 34ft and the other 36ft high. At Totu, in Bohemia, in 758, was found a skeleton the head of which could scai’cely be encompassed by the arms of two men together, and whose legs, which they still keep in the castle of that city, were 26ft long. The skull of the giant found in Macedonia, September, 1671, held 210 lb of corn. The celebrated Sir Hans Sloane, who treated this matter verv learnedly, does not doubt these facts, Gut thinks the bones were those of elephants, whales or other enormous animals. But elephants’ bones may be shown for those of giants, but they can never impose oil connoisseurs. Whales, which by their immense bulk are more properly to be substituted for the largest giants, have neither arms nor legs ; and the head of that animal has not the least resemblance to that of a man. If it be true, therefore, that a number of the gigantic bones which we have mentioned have been seen by anatomists, ami have by them been reputed real human benes, the existence of giants is proved.