Note 53 — Chapter III · SEPULCHRAL MEMORIALS.

Notices of remains found in tumuli and cists, of gigantic stature, frequently occur in the Statistical Accounts and other local records, but the statements are generally too vague to be of any value. Erroneous opinions, I believe, most frequently arise from comparing the femur or thigh-bone with the apparent length of the thigh, by persons ignorant of anatomy. Nothing, however, more readily secures distinction among a rude warlike people than the personal strength accompanying superior stature, if combined with corresponding courage; it need not therefore excite surprise if the larger tumuli should occasionally be found to cover the remains of some primitive chief of gigantic stature.