Pennsylvania Doctor Measures a Giant from a Burial Mound at 8 feet 2 inches
History of Bradford County, Pennsylvania, 1878
In 1822, while digging a cellar on the farm of Gen. McKean, the excavation came to what was a supposed to be “an impenetrable rock, but striking it with a crowbar, it gave forth a hollow sound.” They redoubled their efforts, and at last the stone broke and fell into a vault. And now, with visions of long-buried treasure flitting through their minds, they carefully removed the earth from the arch, speculating the while as to the probable extent of the “treasure trove” and the amount of salvage the general would be likely to claim. On removing the cap they found “not what they sought” but a sepulcher. A careful examination of the sarcophagus revealed it flagged at the bottom, the sides artistically built up, and a flat stone laid on the top. The sarcophagus measured nine feet in length, two feet six inches in width, and two feet deep. In it was found a skeleton, measuring, as it lay, eight feet two inches in length (this measurement was made by Dr. Williams, late of Troy, now deceased). The teeth were sound, but the bones were soft and easily broken. There were two of these sepulchers within the space of the cellars, one of which had a pine growing over it three feet in diameter.
You Want This Book
