A Giant Fraud
“There were giants in the earth in those days.” That was the Biblical quote from the book of Genesis that precipitated a heated debate between Reverend Turk and avowed atheist George Hull during a Methodist revival in 1867. Hull’s incredulity that the revivalist attendees would subscribe to Turk’s literalist meaning of the Bible - in the wake of Darwinism - laid the foundation for one of the greatest archaeological hoaxes in history.
The following year, Hull embarked upon an epic campaign of secrecy to: secure a five ton block of gypsum in Iowa; transport it to Chicago; convince a sculptor to chisel a 10 foot version of a likeness of himself; “age” the 3000 pound statue with acid; locate an unassuming field owned by a distant relative in New York in which to bury the closely guarded secret; swear the workers that buried the stone carving to secrecy to not divulge what they had done and … wait!
Wait he did – a year to be precise. On October 16, 1869, Hull – in cahoots with the Cardiff farm owner – hired two men to dig a well. After excavating a few feet, metal struck stone and the well diggers uncovered what appeared to be an enormous, petrified foot prompting one of the men to exclaim, “I declare, some old Indian was buried here!” In a matter of days, word had spread that a 10-foot petrified man had been unearthed in Cardiff. Hordes descended upon the small hamlet to view this “new wonder.” Was it proof that a race of giants once roamed the earth? Was it a statue carved by Jesuit priests century ago? Whatever its origin, it was an incredible sight to behold and thousands were willing to pay 4 bits to gaze upon the Cardiff Giant.
As another quarter of commerce wrapped up along the shores of Texas, there were a few sights to behold. Specifically, the ports of Freeport and Galveston posted enviable gains as summer gave way to fall. Freeport welcomed the greatest number of vessel arrivals in September resulting in a 16% monthly gain. Its stellar September was led by LPG and container vessels. These denizens of the bluewater realm logged monthly highs for the year, with respective percentage upticks of 4% and 18%. Indeed, this is the month Freeport has been yearning for in order to finally push ahead of 2023’s year-to-date count by 1%.
Galveston’s monthly rise of 15% was noteworthy as well. Bulkers stole the spotlight for the month with its highest vessel count for the year. In fact, the bulk vessel count has more than doubled over the last year. Tankers, chemical tankers, and LPG carriers have all excelled on a year-to-date basis to the tune of 64%, 31% and 33% gains. Nevertheless, cruise ships are Galveston’s bread and butter. The port continues to attract additional cruise lines. To date, it has crept up 3% over last year’s tally as the cruising season ramps up.
The only other port that did not post a monthly dip was Brownsville. Granted, it was a match; however, tankers are up 13% for the year and general cargo has more than doubled. Yet, those gains have only translated to a 1% year-over-year uptick since chemical yanker arrivals are less than half - as compared to 2023.
Corpus Christi has also seen twice the number of general cargo calls in 2024, and bulkers outpaced last year’s port calls by 20%. That said, the remainder of the major vessel categories have been relatively moribund, as evidenced by wanes of 7% for tankers and 12% for chemical tankers. Consequently, the port is off 4% for the year after its most recent monthly decline of 5%.
Sabine’s monthly tally witnessed an even greater percentage drop than that of Corpus Christi at 11%. Despite the fact that September had the dubious honor of logging the fewest number of arrivals, Sabine lags last year’s count by a mere 1%. Texas City also put up its lowest count for the year in September resulting in a 19% monthly plunge. Fortunately, the year has been a robust one. Hence, the port remains tied with last year’s result.
Houston may have enjoyed an unseasonably busy August, but September undermined that largesse. The last month of the third quarter fell 8%. Logically, a 3-day labor strike had an adverse impact on container ship calls which posted their nadir for the year. Chemical tankers also experienced their biggest monthly percentage drop for the year by 21%. Tankers fared a bit better with a lackluster 10% decline.
Notwithstanding such tapers, Houston is enjoying a very profitable 2024. The port has extended its gains over the prior year by 6%, heading into the final quarter. Bulkers were a bright spot with a 17% monthly climb. More impressively, oceangoing tows have been consistent performers throughout 2024. The most recent 6% monthly uptick bolstered its year-to-date lead, which currently stands at 28%. Candidly, there wasn’t much silver on the inland tow front. This component of the marine transportation equation had the fewest number of transits across the Houston Ship Channel for the year. The most recent 8% fall in transits was enough to drag inland tow movements back to even year-over-year.
Overall, the tepid September figures were not enough to pull Texas’ aggregate vessel activity out of positive territory. Mind you, it did offset August’s performance given that the state was in the red for the third quarter by 1%. Nevertheless, with nine months of maritime activity in the can, the grand old former Republic remains 1% to the good.
Despite growing skepticism that the Cardiff Giant was a fake, all was sanguine for the region’s businesses as the economy of Cardiff roared. Hull’s fellow fraudster – Stub Newell – who owned the farm, sold a 75% interest in the stone curiosity. The new owners promptly took their gypsum gargantuan on the road to cash in on their investment. Not surprisingly, this attracted the attention of the renown huckster – P.T. Barnum.
Always alert for a novel attraction, regardless of its authenticity, Barnum offered to purchase the novelty but to no avail. Undeterred, Barnum capitalized on the controversy and commissioned the carving of an identical statue. Once completed, he shrilled, “Is it a Statue? Is it a Petrification? Is it a Stupendous Fraud? Is it the Remains of a former Race?” His marketing intrigued the people, and his replica drew crowds far greater than the original. As the war of words escalated between competing frauds, P.T. shrugged it off, counted his profits, and mused, “There’s a sucker born every minute.”
About the Author
Tom Marian is the General Counsel of Buffalo Marine Service, Inc. He also serves on the Executive Committee of the Port Bureau Board of Directors.