Your Daily Giant 6/11/2013

 

 

 

Today's Daily Giant comes from the Florida Historical Quarterly, Volume 41, Florida Historical Society, 1963 pg 95. Reported is the following, "According to Spanish historians, the Indians encountered in this region were quite tall. Historian Karl Bickel tells of finding two skeletons on neighboring Longboat Key, one seven feet, the other eight feet tall. At least one complete skeleton from Snead Island, with other Indian artifacts, now rests in the Smithsonian Institution." In 1942, Bickel published the book "The Mangrove coast", it gives a history of the west coast of Florida, beginning with the history of native tribes before the Spanish invasion. In 1940, Karl and Madeira Bickel purchased a 10 acre site off Bay shore Drive that included the soon to be named Madeira Bickel Indian Mound. They donated it to the state, to ensure that it would be preserved. Once again the Smithsonian was crawling all over Florida like lawyers after a car wreck. I have attached two of many accounts of the Smithsonian receiving giant remains from the sunshine state. A couple of descriptions of some of the bones the Smithsonian received are as follows from The Saint Petersburg Daily Times, March 17, 1914, pg 38. "My friend, with a face full of whiskers, could slip the jaw bone off and on quite easily." Also, from The Evening Independent, February 14, 1925, pg 1. "Discovery of a skull one-fourth larger than that of the normal modern man, together with bones indicating a probably height of not less than seven feet today led to speculation over theories of a giant race believed to have inhabited Florida before the coming of the Spaniard..The specimens are being prepared for shipment to the Smithsonian Institute which has already dispatched one unsuccessful expedition to Florida to excavate shell mounds on the west coast in search of proof of the giant race theory."