Ancient Giant Race Found in Kentucky
New
York Times, February 8,
1876
THE
EARLY AMERICAN GIANT
The
public will be unpleasantly reminded of the callous indifference to
the future on the part of the prehistoric Americans by the recent
discovery of three unusually fine skeletons in Kentucky. A Louisville
paper asserts that two men lately undertook to explore a cave which
they accidentally discovered not far from that city. The entrance to
the cave was small, but the explorers soon found themselves in a
magnificent apartment, richly furnished with the most expensive and
fashionable stalactites. In a corner of this hall stood a large
stone family vault, which the men promptly pried open. In it were
found three skeletons, each nearly nine feet in height. The
skeletons appear to have somewhat frightened the young men, for, on
seeing so extensive collection of bones, they immediately dropped
their torch, and subsequently wandered in darkness for thirty-six
hours before they found their way back to daylight and soda-water.
Now, it is evident that these
gigantic skeletons belonged to men very different from the men of
present day. A skeleton eight feet and ten inches in height would
measure fully nine feet when dressed in even a thin suit of flesh.
The tallest nine-foot giant of a traveling circus is rarely more than
six feet four inches high in private life and without his boots, and
even giants of this quality are scarce and dear. The three genuine
nine-foot men of Kentucky must have belonged to a race that is now
entirely extinct, and hence it would be a matter of great interest if
we could learn who and what they were.
