Page:History of Iowa From the Earliest Times to the Beginning of the Twentieth Century Volume 3.djvu/62

 gazed with awe upon the wonder, and the receipts were reported to be reaching fabulous amounts, the value of the “Giant” was estimated at $240,000. Hull and Martin about this time were understood to have disposed of their interest in the “petrified man” to the syndicate. But the reader will naturally inquire—what connection has all of this with the history of Iowa?

More than a thousand miles westward, in the upper valley of the Des Moines River, was the picturesque village of Fort Dodge. In its vicinity are extensive deposits of gypsum which have been known since the founding of the town. In the fall of 1867, one H. B. Martin stopped several days at the St. Charles hotel and spent some time in examining the gypsum formations. He seemed deeply interested in the beautiful variegated stone which had been used in the construction of some of the best residences in the village. On the 6th of June, 1868, he returned in company with George Hull. They made the acquaintance of C. B. Cummins, a prominent citizen who owned a quarry on Soldier Creek. They informed him that they wished a block of the gypsum twelve feet long, four feet wide and from two to three feet thick for which they offered to pay well. They claimed that they wished to ship it to New York to exhibit as a specimen of the mineral productions of Iowa and thus interest capitalists in the development of the gypsum deposits. They were informed by Mr. Cummins that a block of such large dimensions would be very expensive, that it would weigh five tons and that there were no wagons in that region strong enough to transport it forty miles to the nearest railroad station. They replied that expense was no consideration and that they could provide means to convey it to the railroad. Upon further conversation, Mr. Cummins came to the conclusion that they were adventurers having some fraud in view and refused to deal with them. They finally leased an acre of land south of town on Gypsum Creek, and employed Mike Foley an experienced