The Ancient Giants Who Ruled America
by Richard J Dewhurst
2
NORTH AMERICA
Land of the Giants
While the idea of prehistoric giants inhabiting the United States may seem strange to us today or the result
of some fantastic hoax, in the nineteenth century, reports of archaeological evidence regarding giants were
commonplace. In addition, one must remember that America was an agrarian society at this time and its
citizens were in regular contact with their fields, as well as the mounds and the remains they found while
plowing. Knowledge of the giants was part of the current thinking, as was a heightened awareness of who
the mound builders really were. As this chapter demonstrates, highly credible reports of skeletons and
artifacts, from the eastern states to the Pacific Ocean, appeared in newspapers across the country with
surprising frequency. The fact that this idea seems so strange to us today can be directly attributed, at least
in part, to the role the Smithsonian played in suppressing the evidence, as attested by several of the
reports documented here.
Fig. 2.1. Giant skeleton from Serpent Mound
of Adams County, Ohio
THE LENNI LENAPE GIANTS OF
THE EASTERN UNITED STATES
The Lenni Lenape Indians were often referred to as a tribe of giants. Technically, their name translates as
“the real people,” or “the human beings” in the Unami language. Their principle area of inhabitation
encompassed much of southeastern New York State, including the lower Hudson River Valley and most of
Long Island and Staten Island, as well as eastern Pennsylvania around the Delaware and Lehigh Valleys,
in addition to the coastal regions that extend south to the north shore of Delaware. Another designation of
the tribe was the “original people,” which is similar to the appellation of the Copper culture tribes of
Michigan, which were called the “Old People,” and the Anasazi of the Southwest, who were called “The
Ancient Ones.” Since their legends state that they originally migrated from the west, this is not surprising.
Lenni Lenape legend relates what is no less than a mass exodus that began west of the Mississippi and
involved the use of scouting parties that went out in search of suitable land. Although the legends are
thought to be several hundred years old, research in chapter 10 indicates that this migration may have
happened as long ago as 5000 BCE as a result of the cataclysmic explosion of the Lassen Volcano in
California.
Fig. 2.2. Lappawinsa, chief of the Lenni Lenape (Lappawinsa, painted by Gustavus Hesselius in 1735, Library of Congress
Rare Book and Special Division Collection)
Fig. 2.3. Benjamin West’s painting (in 1771) of William Penn’s 1682 treaty with the Lenni Lenape Indians. Notice that the
seated warrior is taller and whiter than anyone else present.
An Account of the History, Manners, and Customs of the Indian Nations Who Once Inhabited
Pennsylvania and the Neighboring States, 1819
BY REV. JOHN GOTTLIEB ERNESTUS HECKEWELDER
The Lenni Lenape, according to the legends handed down to them by their ancestors, resided many
hundreds of years ago in a very distant country in the western part of the American continent.
For some reason I do not find accounted for, they determined on migrating to the eastward, and
accordingly set out together in a body. After a very long journey, they fell in with the Mengwe
(Iroquois), who likewise emigrated from a distant country. Their object was the same as with that of
the Delawares. They were proceeding along to the eastward until they should find a country that
pleased them.
The spies, which the Lenape had sent forward for the purpose of reconnoitering, had discovered
that the country east of the Mississippi was inhabited by a very powerful nation who had many large
towns built on the great rivers flowing through their land. These people (as I was told) called
themselves “Talligew” or “Talligewi.” Colonel John Gibson, however, a gentleman who has a
thorough knowledge of the Indians and speaks several of [the languages], is of the opinion that they
were not called Talligewi, but Alligewi. And it would seem that he is right, from the traces of their
name which still remain in the country, the Allegheny River and mountains having indubitably been
named after them.
The Delawares still call the former the Alligewi Sipu, the River of the Alligewi.
MANY WONDERFUL THINGS ARE
TOLD OF THIS FAMOUS PEOPLE
The Lenni Lenape eventually came in contact with the ancestor race of the Allegheny or Alligewi people,
a race even greater in stature than the Lenni Lenape and known for their massive earthworks throughout
the regions of Lake Erie and Lake Huron. Heckewelder continues:
They are said to have been remarkably tall and stout, and there is a tradition that there were giants
among them, people of a much larger size than the Lenape. It is related that they had built regular
fortifications or entrenchments. I have seen many of the fortifications said to be built by them, two of
which in particular were remarkable. One of them was near the mouth of the river Huron, which
empties itself into the lake St. Claire, on the north side of that lake at a distance of about twenty miles
northeast of Detroit. The other works, properly entrenchments, being walls or banks of earth
regularly thrown up with a deep ditch on the outside, were on the Huron River east of Sandusky,
about six or eight miles from Lake Erie.
Fig. 2.4. Teedyuscung (1700–1763) was known as king of the Delawares. He worked to establish a Lenni Lenape (Delaware)
home in eastern Pennsylvania in the Lehigh, Susquehanna, and Delaware River Valleys (King of the Delawares:
Teedyuscung 1700–1763, courtesy of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission).
Outside of the gateways of these entrenchments were a number of large flat mounds, in which the
Indian pilot said, were buried hundreds of slain Alligewi.
When the Lenape arrived on the banks of the Mississippi, they sent a message to the Alligewi to
request permission to settle themselves in their neighborhood. This was refused them but they
obtained leave to pass through the country and seek settlement further to the eastward. They
accordingly began to cross, when the Alligewi, seeing that their numbers were so very great, and, in
fact, they consisted of many thousands, made a furious attack on those who had crossed, threatening
them all with destruction if they dared to persist in coming over to their side of the river. Fired at the
treachery of these people and the great loss of men they sustained, the Lenape consulted on what was
to be done. Whether to retreat in the best manner they could, or try their strength and let the enemy see
they were not cowards but men, and too high-minded to suffer themselves to be driven off before they
had made a trial of their strength and were convinced that the enemy was too powerful for them.
THE MENGWE JOIN IN THE WAR
When the Mengwe, or Iroquois Indians, saw that the Lenni Lenape were losing the battle, they agreed to
fight on their side in exchange for a promise that they would have a part in jointly ruling the conquered
lands east of the Mississippi. The Alligewi were finally defeated, and it was said that they fled south
down the Mississippi River, never to be seen again. Again, Heckewelder continues:
Fig. 2.5. The giants Fafner and Fasolt seize Freya in Arthur Rackham’s illustration of Der Ring des Nibelungen by composer
Richard Wagner.
The Mengwe, who hitherto had been satisfied with being spectators from a distance, offered to join
them on the condition that, after conquering the country, they should be entitled to share it with them.
Their proposal was accepted and the resolution was taken by the two nations to conquer or die.
Having thus united forces, the Lenape and Mengwe declared war against the Alligewi, and great
battles were fought in which many warriors fell on both sides. The enemy fortified their large towns
and erected fortifications, especially on large rivers and near lakes, where they were successively
attacked and sometimes stormed by the allies.
An engagement took place in which hundreds fell, who were afterward buried in holes or laid
together in heaps and covered over with earth. No quarter was given, so that the Allegewi, at last
finding that their destruction was inevitable if they persisted in their obstinacy, abandoned the country
to the conquerors and fled down the Mississippi River from whence they never returned.
PIGEON CREEK VALLEY, PENNSYLVANIA
CHARLEROI MAIL, MAY 7, 1953
The name “Monongahela” derives from the Indian river title, it being the name by which the Indian
described the falling banks of the river as soil erosion loosened the earth on its sides and caused it to slip
into the stream. The other two bodies of water also derive their name from the Indian: Mingo Creek (and
the entire Mingo section) and Pigeon Creek.
The Mingoes, with Chicka-Mingo as their Chief, inhabited the section to the north of what is now
Monongahela, while Pigeon was the Chief of the great tribe which occupied for many seasons the waters
of what is now called Pigeon Creek.
Earlier Indians in this section of the county were “Mound Builders,” evidences of such still being
apparent from the surface in several places. The “Mounds,” embracing the section surrounding Decker
Street and the old Crall greenhouse property, took its name from the huge mound at the southern end of
Decker Street. Mounds also have been discovered on the Van Voorhis farm and at a site near Elrama.
The Elrama mound revealed 45 skeletons, giving proof that the Mound Builders lived here 10,000
years ago.
The late George S. Fisher, Finleyville archaeologist, made excavations at the site and reported that the
largest skeleton was seven feet five inches in length. The bones, unearthed in pieces, were put together
and sent to the museum at Harrisburg. At a distance of 29 feet behind the mound, another terrace was
apparently a place of sacrifice to the Deity. Here were found beads, knives, bear tusks, arrow points and
clay ovens.
Fisher, during his years as an Indian authority, excavated more than one thousand skeletons, claims this
1953 article in the local Pennsylvania newspaper. There were more than one hundred campsites marked
in the immediate district and a number were not yet listed.
GIANT SKELETON FOUND
IN PETERSBURG, KENTUCKY
DAILY NORTHWESTERN,
OSHKOSH, WISCONSIN, JULY 8, 1886
At Petersburg, Kentucky, twenty-five miles below here, an excavation for a new building has brought to
light a peculiar find; it being a strange-looking Indian grave, the receptacle of which has been made of
stone and clay, formed into a kind of cement, about three feet in height, and fully nine feet in length.
Within the rude vault lay a giant human skeleton that measured seven feet, two inches, in length. The
bones were all of large proportions, and the monstrous skull, with teeth perfect and intact, was more than
half an inch thick at the base.
A number of copper pieces, evidently worn for ornaments, a stone pipe, and a quantity of arrowheads
were found with the decaying bones.
AMAZING FINDS FROM EARLY AMERICAN HISTORY
In the diary entry below, written in 1792, General John Payne reports uncovering an ancient burial ground
along the banks of the Ohio River in Kentucky. A total of 110 skeletons were removed, the tallest
measuring in at seven feet tall.
Diary of General John Payne, 1792
FROM THE NATURAL AND
ABORIGINAL HISTORY OF TENNESSEE
BY DR. JOHN HAYWOOD
The bottom on which Augusta is situated is a large burying ground of the ancients. They have been
found in great number and of all sizes. From the cellar under my dwelling, over 110 skeletons were
taken. I measured them by skulls, and there might have been more whose skulls had crumbled into
dust. The skeletons were in all sizes, from 7 feet to infant. Dave Kilgour, who was a tall and very
large man, passed our village at the time I was excavating my cellar, and we took him down and
applied a thigh bone to his. The man, if well-proportioned, must have been 10 to 12 inches taller than
Kilgour. The lower jawbone would slip over his skin and all.
A Survey of Archaeological Activity in Tennessee, 1835
In the county of Williamson, on the north side of Little Harpeth, in the lands owned by Captain
Stocket northwardly from Franklin, are walls of dirt running north from the river and east and west.
In 1821 they were four or five feet high, and in length from the river between 490 and 300 yards.
There is a ditch on the outside all around, four or five feet in width, partly filled up. Upon the soil,
which has partly filled it up, are black oaks two feet or more in diameter. A spring of excellent water
is in the middle of the enclosure and a branch runs from it into the river through the interval left by the
wall of its passage. The enclosure contains 40 or 30 acres.
Three mounds are in the inside, standing in a row north to south, and near the wall and ditch on the
north side of the area. All these mounds are of nearly the same size. Within the enclosure are a vast
amount of graves, all of them enclosed within rocks, and the bones are very large. James
McGlaughlin, who is seven feet high, applied one of the thigh bones found there to his thigh, and it
was three or four inches longer than his thigh.
OHIO STATE GETS IN THE ACT
The tight-lipped account below concerns a giant skull found by a museum curator from Ohio State
University. This burial is interesting in that it combines several of the burial motifs previously discussed.
First of all the skeleton was found inside a log hut buried in the mound. Second, the skeleton’s arms and
legs were wrapped in half-inch-thick bracelets. Third, the skeleton itself was seven feet tall, with a skull
twenty-five inches in circumference.
HUT AND SKELETON FOUND
IN BIG MOUND NEAR CHILLICOTHE
OHIO DAILY GAZETTE, MAY 25, 1897
Clarence Loveberry, curator of the Museum of Ohio State University, has made remarkable discoveries in
a large Indian mound. He is excavating just outside the city limits. Several days ago he found a well preserved log hut in the interior of the mound, and yesterday he found a skeleton of the occupant of the log
hut.
The skeleton’s wrists were wrapped with copper cerements, indicating it to be that of a distinguished
person. The skull was at least half-an-inch in thickness.
SEVEN-FOOTER FOUND IN SALEM, OHIO
HAMMOND TIMES, FRIDAY, JUNE 30, 1939
Discovery of ancient skeletons and priceless relics in an Indian mound in North Benton, northwest of
Salem, by two Alliance, Ohio mail carriers, has brought hundreds of visitors to the scene and attracted the
attention of expert archaeologists. The two amateur archaeologists Roy Saltsman and Willis Magrath,
made the excavation on the farm of John Malmsberry. After examining the mound, Richard G. Morgan,
state archaeologist, declared that the work of the two Alliance men was the most important archaeological
discovery in this section of the state in recent years. He estimated the age of the findings at more than
2,000 years old.
One skeleton uncovered was that of a man, apparently a chief, estimated to have been seven feet tall,
whose skull was 25 inches in circumference.
Other findings included flint arrows, the stones of three sacrificial altars, spear heads, flake knives and
beautifully wrought objects of copper.
MASS GIANT BURIAL EVIDENCE OF BLOODY BATTLE
This is one of many accounts that report a giant’s jaw was big enough to fit over that of a normal man. In
this case the burial field was thought to contain between two and three thousand skeletons.
History of Ashtabula County, 1800
The graves were distinguished by slight depressions in the surface of the earth, deposited in straight
rows. The number of these graves has been estimated to be between two and three thousand. Aaron
Wright
*2 made a careful examination of these depressions, and found them invariably to contain
human bones, blackened with time, which upon exposure to the air quickly crumbled to dust.
Some of these bones were of unusual size, and evidently belonged to a race aligned with giants.
Skulls were taken from these mounds of which were of sufficient capacity to admit the skull of a
normal man, and jawbones that may be fitted over the face with equal facility. The bones of the upper
and lower extremities were of corresponding size.
COPPER-HELMETED GIANTS RULE
There have been a number of intriguing finds in Indiana over the years. The following article describes
how an Indiana farmer found eight skeletons, one clad in copper armor, buried together in a circle.
INDIANA’S EIGHT-FOOT GIANTS WORE COPPER ARMOR
OAKLAND TRIBUNE, JANUARY 3, 1926
Another discovery was made of eight skeletons, one clad in copper armor, buried in a perfect circle,
made when the Logan Grays, a military group led by A. M. Jones, were conducting military exercises in
1888 on a small island on Eagle Lake near Warsaw, Indiana. Under a flat stone, they discovered a hole
that led to the entrance to a secret cave with the skeleton of a 6'9" giant buried next to a stream that led to
what was called a sacred pool. It is interesting to note that the dimensions of this secret room are almost
identical to one described in Tennessee, i.e. 25 feet long by 15 feet wide by 8 feet deep, branching out at
the middle to form two rooms.
INDIANA GIANTS FOUND
BONES OF AN INDIAN GIANT
CINCINNATI COMMERCIAL, OCTOBER 7, 1888
A member of the Logan Grays, the crack military organization of Logansport that held its encampment this
year at Eagle Lake, near Warsaw stopped in this city on his way home from camp and told the following
story of the discovery by the party of a cavern on an island in Eagle Lake; A.M. Jones rowed to a small
island near the southwest corner of the lake and began digging for worms.
He turned over a large, flat stone near a tree, and under it was a small hole, which was an entrance to a
cave. Jones called the boys up, and we began an exploration of the cavern, which proved to be twenty five feet long, fifteen feet wide, and eight feet deep. The walls are of a natural formation of stone,
branching out at the middle so as to form two rooms.
In the front room was the skeleton of a man six feet nine inches long. The bones were very large,
indicating great strength. Along one side of the cave runs a small stream of water, as pure as crystal. In the
front of it forms a small pool. In this were a number of bones. Old settlers in this vicinity of the lake claim that the skeleton is that of Eagleonkie, the giant Indian chief who lived alone on this island and
mysteriously disappeared during a severe winter. The island was known after this chief and was once
known as Giant Island.
EXCAVATIONS AT ILLINOIS SITES IN 1891
From 1891, we find this news report on skeletons found in the aptly named city of Carthage, Illinois.
PERFECT GIANT SKELETON FOUND
HAWK EYE, BURLINGTON, IOWA, SEPTEMBER 1, 1891
No little excitement has been occasioned by the discovery on a farm near Carthage of several skeletons in
a mound that are doubtless those of prehistoric people. In regard to this historic find the Carthage
Republican newspaper will publish the following.
The Sweeney Farm Mounds, located near the south line of the farm quarter, on Section Five, Carthage
Township, have been a familiar landmark to the oldest citizens since, and the quarter was entered by
Samuels in 1836, or thereabouts.
Last Saturday afternoon the new owner of the Sweeney Farm Indian Mounds was plowing on one of his
mounds when he hit a series of sandstone blocks. On the removal of several sandstone rocks embedded in
the ground, the owner Mr. Felt procured a spade and proceeded to dig out the rocks with some difficulty.
On the removal of these rocks there was revealed an almost perfect skeleton of a man of very large
size. The authorities of Carthage College have secured permission to investigate the find to its fullest
extent and Rev. Dr. Stephen D. Peet has been notified.
CHICAGO TRIBUNE IN 1892
CONFIRMS RACE OF GIANTS
This definitive report states that the entire country lying between the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers,
between Galena and Cairo, is honeycombed with Indian mounds.
HUNDREDS OF BURIALS
CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 1892
Near Carthage, Illinois, about one year ago, a mound was plowed up and the bones, principally the skulls
of human beings, were found in sufficient quantities to warrant the conclusion that hundreds of people had
been buried there. From measurements taken of some of the skulls and principal bones, it was decided
that the persons buried were of a race of giants. Some of the femur bones measured 19¼ inches, and the
measurements of the skulls and other bones indicated that these people must have attained an average of
seven to eight feet in height.
The entire country lying between the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers, between Galena and Cairo, is
honeycombed with Indian mounds and mounds that are believed to be the handiwork of a pre-historic
race. Nansook County, especially in localities bordering the Mississippi River, is covered with evidences
of Indian burials and their mounds are very numerous. Some interesting discoveries have been made.
Some of the best descriptions of the finds of the mound builders are to be found in county and state
historical society reports. This one from 1902 reports the discovery of fields of mounds along Lake
Michigan, as well as along related rivers, creeks, and lakes, with the skeletons of giants uncovered
measuring between seven and eight feet in height.
The History of Lake County, Illinois, 1902
These mounds were quite numerous along the rivers and in the vicinity of the inland lakes. That they
were of great antiquity is evident from the fact that huge trees had come to maturity upon their
summits and were awaiting the ax of the pioneer.
Excavations of these piles of earth have revealed the crumbling bones of a mighty race. Samuel
Miller, who has resided in this county since 1835, is authority for the statement that one skeleton,
which he assisted in unearthing, was a trifle more than eight feet in length, the skull being
correspondingly large, while many other skeletons measured at least seven feet. There were
extensive burial grounds on the shore of Lake Michigan, mainly south of the Waukegan River, also at
various points all through the county. Many of the skeletons found near the lake shore were of an
unusually large size.
THE LARGEST NEOLITHIC BURIAL SITE IN THE WORLD—THE DICKSON MOUNDS
MUSEUM (ILLINOIS)
In 1930, newspapers across the country ran half-page photos of more than fifty skeletons laid out on
various dirt platforms in the middle of a large archaeological dig, led by the University of Chicago. It was
a truly riveting photo and was used in many year-end features as one of the top stories and photographs of
the entire year. Eighty-three years later, in a museum at the site, there is no mention of what was then
called “the largest Neolithic burial site ever discovered in the world.”
The story of Don Dickson and his mounds could serve as a microcosmic primer for many of the stories
pertaining to the recovery of ancient bones and the true history of America. In this case, the political
correctness fallout that resulted in the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act
(NAGPRA) laws once again being misapplied eventually led to a once-thriving tourist destination being
shut down and the skeletons it exhibited being buried by a local Indian tribe who have no genetic relation
to the skeletons they claim to protect.
To give a little background, Don Dickson, a chiropractor from Lewiston, Illinois, grew up on a farm about ninety miles south of Peoria that was intersected by the Illinois River. In 1927, Dickson was
plowing on a hill near the river, and he broke through to a layer of clay and gravel that he immediately
recognized as an ancient Indian burial. Dickson then spent the next two years excavating the site, most
famously with the help of the University of Chicago in 1929 and 1930.
What they found and how they left it became a national news story. In short, instead of removing 248
skeletons, they exposed them to the air by removing all the dirt surrounding them and leaving them in situ
to be photographed and visited like some colossal ancient boneyard sideshow. In all, it was estimated that
the site contained well over three thousand burials, and the University of Chicago was calling it the
largest Neolithic burial site in the world.
Fig. 2.6. Don Dickson (courtesy of Illinois State Museum)
In the early 1930s, Dickson constructed a building to house the exposed skeleton field and opened the
site to tourists. In the first year he had forty thousand visitors, and the whole venture became a national
tourist destination, as people loved being able to see these large skeletons displayed in situ—though in all
probability not in their original, and far more bizarre, burial positions.
Dickson successfully ran the tourist operation until 1945, when he sold the mounds to the state of
Illinois, who made the site part of their state museum system in 1965. The Dickson Mounds averaged
about seventy-five thousand visitors a year, who were exposed not only to the skeletons, but also to a
history lesson on the mound builders and their extremely ancient history in the area.
All of that came to an acrimonious end beginning in 1990, when Native Americans began to petition
and protest that the site be shut down and sealed and that the skeletons should be reburied under
NAGPRA, which was then brand new. The NAGPRA laws mandated that all Indian relics and skeletons
be returned to their rightful tribal owners. After several years of battle in court revolving around
ownership issues pertaining to the lack of genetic associations of the skeletons to the current local tribes,
among other controversial subjects, the Indians won out and the mound exhibit was shut down and sealed
in 1992. The site remained closed for the next two years, as the tribes involved reburied an undisclosed
number of skeletons found at the site, which ultimately is known to have contained more than three
thousand burials.
When the “renovated” museum reopened two years later, without the open boneyard exhibit, interest in
the site as a tourist attraction immediately disappeared, and although the site remains opened to this day, it
generates very little interest from the public in regard to its new, cleaned-up, skeleton-free existence.
SMITHSONIAN INVOLVEMENT IN THE
DISAPPEARANCE OF GIANT SKELETONS
FOUND
IN WISCONSIN INDIAN MOUNDS
It is hard to imagine today, but the historical record is filled with vivid descriptions of how Wisconsin
and Minnesota were like the Nazca Lines of burial mounds, so it comes as no surprise that giants have
been turning up there for a long time.
This case covers the involvement of the Smithsonian at a Wisconsin site in the 1880s and a collection
of ancient skeletons of giants called the Stoddard Collection, so it is of particular interest to our study of
that museum’s long-standing policy of burying the evidence when it comes to proof of ancient giants ruling
America in extreme antiquity.
FIFTY SKELETONS UNEARTHED—REMAINS
OF GIANT ABORIGINES
DISCOVERED
LA CROSSE TRIBUNE, NOVEMBER 4, 1912
More than fifty skeletons of the ancient mound builders were unearthed Saturday from five mounds in the
town of Stoddard, by a party of Normal students and professors, who made a special trip to investigate
them. Valuable relics were also recovered that will be on exhibition at the Normal museum.
The country around La Crosse has long been known as the center of Indian activities in centuries long
past and as evidences of this fact there are many Indian mounds in this vicinity.
About thirty years ago agents of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C., investigated several
mounds in what is now the town of Stoddard. They unearthed much valuable material in the line of
skeletons, arrow heads, and spear heads from the first few of a chain of a dozen mounds and at the present
time there is in Washington a Stoddard Collection of Indian relics.
Since that time Smithsonian officials have often considered opening more of the mounds but nothing has
been done. Spurred on by the generous offer of A. White, who owns the ground on which are located five
large mounds, to donate the contents to the Normal School Museum (apparently no help from Smithsonian
officials), the Normal authorities recently took the matter up, and several local citizens generously
provided a fund for the expenses of an expedition to unearth the contents.
A SIX-FOOT, SIX-INCH SKELETON UNEARTHED
Professors A. H. Sanford and W. H. Thompson of the University of Wisconsin Department of History, and
L. P. Deneyer of the Geology Department, together with a company of thirteen students left on Saturday
morning with shovels to examine the ancient graves. Professor Austin and some of his students surveyed
and made a contour map of the field determining the dimensions of the mounds and the lay of the
surrounding country. The expedition was of a scientific character, and the results of the investigations will
appear in printed form.
A large mound in the center, probably the grave of an Indian chief, was adjoined by two smaller ones
on each side. The latter were investigated first and the efforts of the diggers were rewarded at once by the
unearthing of a skeleton about five feet down, which measured six and a half feet in length.
The skull was very large being eight inches in diameter from ear to ear. The teeth were well preserved,
but the other bones quickly fell to pieces. The first mound yielded eleven skeletons. The second contained
only charcoal and burned bones indicating cremation.
EFFORTS YIELD MANY SKELETONS AND ARTIFACTS
The middle mound, which was the largest, required much effort to excavate. More than twenty skeletons
were found besides the bowl of a clay peace pipe, a copper arrow head, copper skinning knife, a
sandstone spearhead, and several flint arrow heads. The fourth eminence yielded over twenty five
skeletons, pieces of clay pottery, and a bear’s tooth. The last mound, after digging about six feet down,
brought up a large spear point of quartz with a red coloring design on each side. Adjoining the White farmis property owned by Homer Hart of La Crosse on which are located several more mounds.
GIANT INDIAN BONES: DISCOVERY OF AN
EXTRA ORDINARY SKELETON
NEAR FOND DU LAC
FOND DU LAC BANNER, JUNE 6, 1899
An Indian skeleton was dug up on the farm of Matt and Joseph Leon, one mile south of St. Cloud on
Saturday. There is nothing strange in finding an Indian skeleton, but this one was a giant in size, his frame
measuring seven feet. He must have been a man of note among his people, for he was buried in a large
mound, sixteen handsome arrows surrounding his body. The skull was brought to this city and is on
exhibition in one of the Main Street windows.
THE WINONA, MINNESOTA, TEN-FOOT GIANT
THE HISTORY OF WINONA COUNTY, 1883
Indian mounds and relics are found in various parts of this township. Not long since, while some men
were digging in Mineral Bluff, some one hundred and fifty feet above the river, a skeleton of unusual size
was unearthed. On measuring, the skeleton was found to be ten feet in length, with other parts in proper
proportion. In the skull was found a copper hatchet and a dart or arrow-head nine inches long. Another
skeleton, nine feet long, was found in the village of Dresbach, while some men were digging a road or
trench. These skeletons were of an unusual size to those generally taken from Indian mounds. Their size,
form, and structure would lead those well versed in paleontology to believe they belonged to a race prior
to the Indian. In many mounds have also been found copper hatchets, chisels, and various kinds of
tomahawks and other weapons of war; also these antique races seemed to have had some process for
hardening copper unknown to any modern process.
Where they came from, when they lived, and from whence they have gone, is only conjecture and
speculation. That they were mighty races, skilled in the mode of warfare, understanding the mechanical
arts, for all these we have conclusive evidence. But of their final end we know nothing.
DOCUMENTED DOUBLE DENTITIONS FROM IOWA
Throughout the Indian lore of giants are also stories of skulls being found with double rows of teeth,
called double dentitions. (See also “Double Dentitions”.) While there is often controversy regarding these
claims, here is a modest and convincing story.
DOUBLE-TOOTHED GIANT
JOURNAL TRIBUNE, WILLIAMSBURG,
IOWA, APRIL 27, 1900
The discovery in Hardin County a short time ago by Joseph Booda and Elliot Charles Gaines of
innumerable mound builders’ relics, and the subsequent finding, by other parties, of the remains of a man
of the prehistoric period, have greatly interested scientists in other parts of the country, the chief among
these being Curator Charles Aldrich, of the state Horticultural Society.
Assuring himself of the truthfulness of the various newspaper reports, Mr. Aldrich has arranged to be in
Eldora next month and begin a careful and systematic exploration of some of the mounds in the vicinity,
the legal permission having been obtained.
In a large show window in Eldora for several days has been exhibited the skeleton of the man, which
was found in a mound on the banks of the Iowa River, near Eagle City, six miles north. It has caused much
interest and wonderment. Although well preserved, it is estimated that the skeleton is many centuries old.
The skull is very large and thick, fully a quarter of an inch. A set of almost round double teeth are
remarkably well preserved. They are yellow with age, are perfect in shape, and appear to have been
double, both above and below. The femurs are very long showing a giant in stature.
Dr. N. C. Morse, a prominent physician who examined the skeleton, pronounced it that of a person who
had evidently been trained for athletics, as the extremities were so well developed.
THE BOODA COLLECTION
Joseph Booda, who has taken much interest in mound exploration, has a rare collection of implements of
the stone age, all found near Eldora. Among these are pottery axes, arrows, beadwork, pestles, mallets,
and, although he has offers for the collection, will not part with it, unless he may be induced by Curator
Aldrich to loan the collection to the state, to be placed in the historical building in Des Moines when
completed.
GIANTS IN MIDDLE AMERICA
IOWA GIANT: SEVEN FEET, SIX INCHES
OAKLAND TRIBUNE, DECEMBER 20, 1925
Out of a mound in Iowa was dug the skeleton of a giant who, judging from the measurement of his bones,
must have stood six inches over seven feet high when he was alive. In another there was a central
chamber containing eleven skeletons arranged in a circle with their backs against the walls. In the midst
was a huge sea shell which had been converted into a drinking cup.
GIANT IN MISSOURI
OAKLAND TRIBUNE, JANUARY 3, 1926
Within the last few weeks it has been reported from Missouri the discovery of the skeleton of a man who
was a trifle more than seven feet, two inches tall. Frank Plumb, a student of archaeology who made the
find, reported discovering inside the skull a pear-shaped stone such as the Mayas placed in the mouths of
their dead.
The article below, which appeared all over Texas and the nation in 1931, omits all information about the
size of the skeletons in an obvious effort to hide the skeletons’ actual heights. It is standard practice for all
archaeologists to give heights for any skeletons they discover.
INDIAN GRAVES ARE OPENED IN TEXAS
TWENTY-FIVE HUMAN SKELETONS DUG
UP AND GIVEN TO MUSEUMS
REVIEW-MINER, JUNE 19, 1931
Waco, Texas: Twenty-five complete human frames, those of Indian Braves and Squaws and their
papooses with such of their possessions as have survived burial, have been unearthed near here and today
are in the museums of three Texas schools.
The twenty-five bodies were placed in the burial mound, each facing East, more than 100 years ago.
They were discovered by Dr. K. D. Aynesworth thirty miles west of here in Coryell County. The mound
was explored by The Department of Anthropology and Archaeology of The University of Texas.
The first of the three layers of bodies was only 21 inches below the surface and the second layer was
just below the first. The third tier was 36 inches deep. Beside the bodies of the women were the large
rock bowls and the round-headed clubs they used to grind corn. Arrows and spearheads of flint were
found near the bones of the men. One bone knife, ten inches in length, its back notched, was found by the
side of one brave.
THE BONES ARE DIVIDED AND GIVEN OUT
The bones were divided between the State University at Austin; Baylor Women’s College at Belton; and
Baylor University here.
SMITHSONIAN RUSHES TO NORTH DAKOTA FIND
MINNESOTA EVENING TRIBUNE, SEPTEMBER 18, 1963
(Associated Press) Kathryn N.D.: The remains of an Indian woman, judged by some to be at least 1,000
years old, have been unearthed from a burial mound on the Vincent Zacharias farm four miles east of here.
The skeleton was found about two feet below the surface. The body had been buried in a sitting position
and nearly all the skeletal bones were found intact.
Two men from the Smithsonian Institution visited the farm recently and made an analysis of the
skeleton. They estimated the remains were those of an Indian woman about 23 to 25 years of age and that
she had been buried about 1,000 years ago.
ANOTHER DAM DESTROYS ANOTHER ANCIENT VILLAGE
STANDARD EXAMINER, AUGUST 7, 1959
Ogden, Utah: Evidences of a group of Utah natives who had no housing problems were uncovered by
earth-moving machinery at the Willard Bay Dam this week. A bulldozer scraped off the top of an Indian
mound in which artifacts and a human skeleton were found. Bureau of Reclamation men stopped work at
the site and notified the University of Utah.
James H. Gunnerson of the archaeology department of the university visited the area Tuesday with
Robert Robinson of 665 Polk, a field engineer with the bureau. Mr. Gunnerson said the remains were
those of a group of Pueblo-type Indians who inhabited the area from AD 1000 to 1200.
“From signs and artifacts, there had been a village of several dirt houses at the site,” the Utah
University man said.
THEY WERE FARMERS
The Utah scientists said these people were farmers, who raised corn, squash and beans. They had a
certain culture, he said, which was indicated by a piece of broken pottery with a decorative line around
its rim.
The skeleton was complete, except for the skull. Mr. Robinson said that the scientists estimated the
skeleton was that of an adult about 5 feet 10 inches in height, somewhat taller than average for this race of
early Indians.
An employee at the University of Utah yesterday quoted Dr. Gunnerson as saying the archaeology
department has no plans for further exploration at the Willard dam site.
THE DEATH VALLEY TEMPLE OF THE GIANTS
This story from the Nevada News relates how Dr. F. Bruce Russell, following up on reports that the
Smithsonian had hidden evidence of giants found in Death Valley, eventually uncovered a complex of
thirty-two caves in a 180-square-mile area around the Nevada–California–Arizona border. Inside the
complex of caves, he reported finding the skeletons of eight- and nine-foot giants dressed in animal skins
that had been tailored into jackets and pants that resembled “prehistoric Zoot-suits.” Russell also reported
finding hieroglyphics, extensive weapons, religious artifacts, and cooking utensils, and at the end of a hall
leading from the main temple he said there was a room filled with the well-preserved remains of
dinosaurs, saber-toothed tigers, imperial elephants, and other extinct beasts paired off in niches as if on
display.
ATLANTIS IN THE COLORADO RIVER DESERT
NEVADA NEWS, 1947
Near the Nevada–California–Arizona border area, 32 caves within a 180-square-mile area were
discovered to hold the remains of ancient, strangely costumed 8–9 foot giants. They had been laid to rest
wearing the skins of unknown animals similar to sheepskins fashioned into jackets with pants described
as “prehistoric Zoot-suits.” The same burial place had been found 10–15 years earlier by another man
who made a deal with the Smithsonian. The evidence of his find was stolen and covered up by Darwinian
scientists.
Dr. F. Bruce Russell had come to Death Valley from the east coast for the sake of his health. He had
taken up mining in the west and was exploring across the Colorado River into Arizona. What he found he
described as the burial place of a tribal hierarchy within the ritual hall of an ancient people. He felt that
some unknown catastrophe had driven them into these caves. All of the implements of their civilization
were there, including household utensils and stoves. Dr. Russell reported seeing hieroglyphics chiseled
on carefully polished granite within what appeared to be a cavern temple. Another cave led to their
sacred hall, which contained carvings of ritual devices and markings similar to those of the Masonic
Order. A long tunnel from this temple led to a room where, Russell said, “Well-preserved remains of
dinosaurs, saber-toothed tigers, imperial elephants, and other extinct beasts were paired off in niches as if
on display.”
Ten to fifteen years earlier the caves had been seen by another miner who had fallen from the bottom of
a mineshaft. In his book, Death Valley Men, Bourke Lee related a conversation among residents of Death
Valley concerning the local Paiute Native American legends of an underground city at Wingate Pass. After
falling through the ceiling of an unknown tunnel, the miner had followed it 20 miles north of the Panamint
Mountains to discover a huge ancient underground city. He saw arching stone vaults with huge stone doors
and a polished round table in the center of their council chamber, which had once been lit by ingenious
lights, fueled by subterranean gases.
Leaning against the walls were their tall gold spears. He said that the designs on their thick golden
armbands resembled the work of the Egyptians. The tunnel ended at an exit overlooking Furnace Creek
Ranch in California’s Imperial Valley. He could see from there that the valley had once been underwater.
The tunnel entrance had been a dock or a quay located halfway up the side of the mountain. A deal was
made with the Smithsonian Museum for the find, but the miner was betrayed by his partner. The evidence
was stolen and the entrance concealed. In a 1940 mining journal, another find was reported of much
worked gold found in an 8 mile long cave near San Bernardino.
University of Arizona professor Vine Deloria, himself a Native American, made a similar accusation
against the Smithsonian for covering up the remains found within the burial mounds of the Mound builder
civilization. Surviving diaries from before the time of Darwin attest to these discoveries. The
Moundbuilders were a different civilization than that of the Indians, they said. The mounds contained the
remains of hundreds of giants along with the bones of giant mastodons. In Cincinnati, Ohio, the giant
bones were found with large shields, swords, and engraved stone tablets. In Kentucky and Tennessee the
bones of “powerful men of towering stature” were excavated. One of these 7-foot men was buried with an
engraved copper plate beneath his head. A woman was also found. She was wearing a silver girdle with
letters written on it. The Detroit Free Press reported in 1884 the discovery in Gartersville, Mississippi,
of the remains of a giant with waistlength jet-black hair. He was wearing a copper crown. With him in his
timber burial vault were his children who wore garments decorated with bone beads. The tomb was
covered with large flagstones engraved with inscriptions. In Cayuga Township, Niagara, there is a place
called “The Cemetery of the Giants,” which was discovered in 1880. Those giants were nine feet tall and
appear to have died violent deaths. Their axes were found with them.
Giant bones were also unearthed from a rock fissure on Lake Erie Island. In some of the finds of giant
bones, the bones lay in confusion as if left on a battlefield. The Smithsonian does display some artifacts of
the Moundbuilders found with the bones of the giants: shell discs and carved stone beads. Many of the
bones turned to powdery ash within a short time of being exposed to the air. The Smithsonian has been
reluctant to test some less fragile finds. The late Vine Deloria said that it is because they “Might find a
really early date for the bones” and that it would be distressing: distressing to their Darwinian time-line.
SMITHSONIAN REMOVES 564 SKELETONS
IN KERN COUNTY,
CALIFORNIA
FIND ALSO CONTAINS FOUR THOUSAND
SPECIMENS OF ANCIENT INDIAN
LIFE
BAKERSFIELD CALIFORNIAN, MARCH 28, 1934
More than 4000 artifacts and hundreds of Indian burials have been excavated at the site of the Tulamni
Company lease near Taft during the past three and a half months. It was revealed here today with the
announcement that the camp of workers, supported by federal funds, will all be dispersed by Friday.
The archaeological projects, which have employed varyingly from 190 to the 26 men retained to make
the final surveys, have been directed by Dr. W. T. Strong and W. M. Walker, assistant, from the Bureau of
American Ethnology of the Smithsonian Institution with Dr. Edwin F. Walker as archaeologist and W. R.
Wedel as assistant archaeologist. In the opinion of the directors, two more months could be spent
excavating the Kern Indian Mounds.
The artifacts uncovered, classified, and shipped to the Smithsonian Institution include mortar and
pestles, flint points, bone tools, textiles, shells, and soapstone beads and other ornaments, stone vessels,
and fragments of basketry.
A total of 564 skeletons were uncovered in the burial mounds, of which 348 were taken from the first
mound. Not all the skeletons found were considered good specimens. One of the last to be uncovered had
been interred in a round hole with the body flexed grotesquely to make it fit the chosen grave. Three
thousand specimens were uncovered in the first mound and 1,000 from the second mound, which was
conceded to be much older in time than the first.
DOCUMENTING THE FINDS
A topography map of the mounds and the excavation area has been made by Pavey L. Stanley of
Bakersfield, who headed one of the excavation crews, and it will be filed with the collection at the
Smithsonian.
Mr. Walker is returning to Washington D.C. and will study the local collection and write a report on the
finds for the Smithsonian Institution that will make clear Kern County’s contribution to filling in the larger
picture of pre-historic human life on the American continent.
SKELETONS OF EARLY INDIANS
ARE UNEXPECTEDLY UNEARTHED
LOS ANGELES HERALD EXAMINER, JANUARY 20, 1930
Students of early California history have turned their attention to the discovery of an early Indian burial
ground near Carpinteria, uncovered unexpectedly by a crew of workmen making a cut through a cliff for a
road to the beach. Some of the traditional Indian burial customs were revealed as the great steam shovel
tore open the graves. The skeletons were found lying face down, foreheads resting on surfaced stones,
with arrowheads, cooking utensils, and other articles buried with them. The story of the savages’ graves
was related in Los Angeles by George A. McDonald, local broker, on whose property the burial ground
was uncovered by a drilling crew engaged in running a road to the beach for oil-drilling work.
SCORES OF SKELETONS
For 80 feet from the place where a steam shovel started digging into the edge of the cliff, which drops
straight to the ocean’s edge, skeletons of Indians were uncovered by the score, according to McDonald. In
the majority of the graves the Indians were lying on their faces, their heads toward the west. In one grave
a mother and her child were discovered, the mother had one arm half-circling the infant. Close by was the
skeleton of a brave. Imbedded in his forehead was an arrow, one which undoubtedly struck him down
during battle more than a century ago.
Hundreds of arrowheads, a number of grinding and mixing bowls, and other articles were buried with
the bodies. Many of the skulls have been removed from the property with the permission of the owner.
When Roscoe Eames, drilling superintendent, encountered the old burial ground he immediately halted
excavation and made a preliminary investigation. He asked McDonald for permission to continue, and
given the right, resumed building the road to the edge of the cliff and throughout the entire distance turned
up many of the skeletons.
HUNDREDS OF SKELETONS, SOME STICKING OUT
When word was received of the discovery at Carpinteria, classes from nearby schools were dismissed to
visit the old burial grounds and to study the various finds. According to McDonald the cemetery may
stretch many feet out and around the road under construction, and hundreds of skeletons probably would
be found if that entire area were excavated.
Parts of skeletons could be seen sticking out over the edge of the newly excavated portion of the road,
and these were pulled out of the ground by members of the steam shovel crew and tossed in a heap.
Sightseers removed the pieces. McDonald owns the property and for many feet into the ocean fronting the
old burial ground. The oil well will be drilled out in the ocean and within a stone’s throw of the cemetery.
NEXT-58S
HOW OLD?
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