The Eureka Giant

A party of four prospectors were working in the barren hills at the head of Spring Valley near Eureka, Nevada in July of 1887. While digging there they made an unusual discovery. Embedded within a layer of dark red quartzite was a leg and foot bone which appeared to be from a human, except for its unusual size. The bones themselves were quite black. The leg bone was complete from about four inches above the knee to the tip of the foot and measured thirty inches from knee to heal. The man who owned it must have been a giant.

After some debate, the prospectors took their find to Eureka where the local doctors examined it. After some careful research the doctors all agreed that the bones were unquestionably human. Furthermore, they were unquestionably old, perhaps phenomenally old, and they were certainly the leg bones of a giant. The Eureka paper wrote several stories about the discovery and the subsequent investigations. Summaries of the Eureka stories were reprinted in several papers.

In the following months, the countryside of Spring Valley was torn apart by investigators, prospectors, and two respected archeological teams looking for other evidence of this prehistoric giant.

None was ever found.

Despite the efforts of both amateurs and experts the only evidence of a race of Eureka giants ever been found remains the original leg bone.