ANIMALS. 



191 



never be able to support the weight of their 

 own bodies ; since a man of ten feet high, must 

 be eight times as heavy as one of the ordinary 

 stature ; whereas he has but twice the size of 

 muscles to support such a burden : and, con- 

 sequently, would be overloaded with the weight 

 of his own body. Such arc the theories upon 

 this subject; and they require no other answer, 

 but that experience proves them both to be 

 false : dwarfs are found capable of life and 

 reason ; and giants are seen to carry their own 

 bodies. We have several accounts from mari- 

 ners, that a nation of giants actually exists ; 

 and mere speculation should never induce us to 

 doubt their veracity. 



Ferdinand Magellan was the first who dis- 

 covered this race of people along the coast 

 towards the extremity of South America. Ma- 

 gellan was a Portuguese, of noble extraction ; 

 who having long behaved with great bravery, 

 under Albuquerque, the conqueror of India, he 

 was treated with neglect by the court, upon 

 his return. Applying, therefore, to the king 

 of Spain, he was intrusted with the command 

 of five ships, to subdue the Molucca islands ; 

 upon one of which he was slain. It was in 

 his voyage thither, that he happened to winter 

 in St. Julian's Bay, an American harbour, 

 forty-nine degrees south of the line. In this 

 desolate region, where nothing was seen but 

 objects of terror, where neither trees nor ver- 

 dure drest the face of the country, they remain- 

 ed for some months without seeing any human 

 creature. They had judged the country to be 

 utterly uninhabitable ; when one day, they saw 

 approaching, as if he had been dropt from the 

 clouds, a man of enormous stature, dancing 

 and singing, and putting dust upon his head, 

 as they supposed, in token of peace. This 

 overture for friendship was, by Magellan's 

 command, quickly answered by the rest of his 

 men ; and the giant approaching, testified 

 every mark of astonishment and surprise. He 

 was so tall, that the Spaniards only reached 

 his waist ; his face was broad, his colour brown, 

 and painted over with a variety of tints ; each 

 cheek had the resemblance of a heart drawn 

 upon it ; his hair was approaching to white- 

 ness ; he was clothed in skins, and armed with 

 a bow. Being treated with kindness, and dis- 

 missed with some trifling presents, he soon re- 

 turned with many more of the same stature ; 

 two of whom the mariners decoyed on ship- 



board : nothing could be more gentle than they 

 were in the beginning ; they considered the 

 fetters that were preparing for them as orna- 

 ments, and played with them like children with 

 their toys ; but when they found for what pur- 

 pose they were intended, they instantly exert- 

 ed their amazing strength, and broke them in 

 pieces with a very easy effort. This account, 

 with a variety of other circumstances, has been 

 confirmed by succeeding travellers : Herrara, 

 Scbald, Wert, Oliver Van Noort, and James 

 le Maire, all correspond in affirming the fact, 

 although they differ in many particulars of 

 their respective descriptions. The last voyager 

 we have had, that has seen this enormous race, 

 is Commodore Byron. I have talked with the 

 person who first gave the relation of that voy- 

 age,and who was the carpenter of the Commo- 

 dore's ship ; he was a sensible, understanding 

 man, and I believe extremely faithful. By him, 

 therefore, I was assured, in the most solemn 

 manner, of the truth of his relation ; and this 

 account has since been confirmed by one or 

 two publications ; in all which the particulars 

 are pretty nearly the same. One of the circum- 

 stances which most puzzled me to reconcile to 

 probability, was that of the horses, on which 

 they are described as riding down to the shore. 

 We know the American horse to be of Euro- 

 pean breed ; and, in some measure, to be de- 

 generated from the original. I was at a loss, 

 therefore, to account how a horse of not more 

 than fourteen hands high, was capable of car- 

 rying a man of nine feet ; or, in other words, 

 an animal almost as large as itself. But the 

 wonder will cease, when we consider, that so 

 small a beast as an ass, will carry a man of 

 ordinary size tolerably well; and the proportion 

 between this and the former instance is nearly 

 exact. We can no longer, therefore, refuse our 

 assent to the existence of this gigantic race of 

 mankind : in what manner they are propaga- 

 ted, or under what regulation's they live, is a 

 subject that remains for future investigation. 

 It should appear, however, that thfy are a 

 wandering nation, changing their abode with 

 the courscTof the sun, and shifting their situa- 

 tion, for the convenience of food, climate, or 

 pasture." 



This race of giants are described as possessed 



a Later voyagers have not confirmed this account, in 

 some particulars. 



