Page:History of Iowa From the Earliest Times to the Beginning of the Twentieth Century Volume 3.djvu/63

 to get out the block of gypsum of the desired size. It was difficult to transport and had to be dressed down more than a ton in weight before it could be drawn to the station.

When, in November, 1869, the papers of the country were publishing sensational accounts of the wonderful “Onondaga Giant,” a New York paper reached Fort Dodge in which it was stated that Professor Hall had pronounced the alleged petrified giant to be a statue carved out of crystalline gypsum but that the gypsum was of a different color and appearance from any found in that State. The description of the gypsum as given corresponded with that found at Fort Dodge and the people of that village took note of the resemblance.

Galusha Parsons, a prominent lawyer of the village, on his way to New York viewed the “Petrified Giant” and wrote to the editor of the North West—“I believe it is made of that great block of gypsum those fellows got at Fort Dodge a year ago.” Syracuse papers were sent for, one of the pamphlets giving a description and alleged history of the “Petrified Giant” was procured and the name of George Hull appeared among the owners of the giant.

The North West published at Fort Dodge, now conducted a quiet but thorough investigation, tracing the movements of the block of gypsum, quarried in 1868 by George Hull, to Boone, then the nearest railroad station, from there to Chicago where it was carved into the famous statue, thence to Union, an obscure station near Binghamton, New York, from whence it was conveyed by wagon to the vicinity of Cardiff where all trace of it disappeared. The chain of evidence thus far was complete. A pamphlet was issued exposing the fraud and copies sent to Syracuse where the “Giant” was then on exhibition. They produced great excitement among the visitors and consternation among the owners of the giant. The proprietors promptly published a statement denying every