Search for the Lost Giants (2014–…): Season 1, Episode 2 - A Photo, a Tooth, the Truth? - full transcript
The brothers visit the Ozarks, where they make major discoveries.
Male narrator: TONIGHT ON
SEARCH FOR THE LOST GIANTS...
WELL, THE ACCOUNT,
IT'S LIKE A TREASURE MAP.
IT'S GONNA BE SOME WORK.
LOOK UP THERE.
WOW!
THERE'S AN 8-FOOT GIANT
DUG UP RIGHT OVER THERE.
OH, LOOK AT THAT.
THIS IS, LIKE, A GOLD MINE.
I CAN SAY WITHOUT RESERVATION,
THAT'S A GAME CHANGER.
BRAD, CHECK THIS OUT.
JIM, YOU'RE NOT GONNA BELIEVE
WHAT WE FOUND UP HERE.
TO GET TO THE BOTTOM OF THIS MYSTERY,
WE GOT TO GO TO THE BOTTOM OF THE LAKE.
Narrator: FOR MILLENNIA,
HUMANKIND HAS TOLD TALES OF GIANTS
THAT ONCE WALKED TO EARTH.
OZARK CAVES IN ARKANSAS... 9 FOOT.
PROVO, UTAH... 8'6".
Narrator: JIM VIEIRA BELIEVES
IT MAY BE MORE THAN JUST MYTH.
THE BIG MYSTERY... WHERE ARE THE BONES?
JIM AND HIS BROTHER BILL...
HERE WE GO, BROTHER.
Narrator: WANT TO GET TO THE TRUTH...
IT JUST SEEMS LIKE IT SLIPPED
THROUGH THE HANDS OF HISTORY.
WHOA!
HOLY [bleep].
[heart beating]
THE OZARKS.
CAN'T BELIEVE WE'RE IN THE DEEP
SOUTH LOOKING FOR GIANTS.
YEP.
IT'S AMAZING.
YEEHAW!
[laughs]
OH, MAN.
Narrator: AFTER SPENDING
YEARS COMPILING HISTORICAL ACCOUNTS
THAT POINT TO THE POSSIBILITY
OF AN ANCIENT RACE OF GIANTS,
BROTHERS AND STONEMASONS
JIM AND BILL VIEIRA ARE HITTING THE ROAD
FOLLOWING A TRAIL
THAT THEY HOPE WILL LEAD THEM TO EVIDENCE
AND THE TRUTH.
YOU KNOW, I'M EXCITED, BUT I'M NERVOUS.
YOU KNOW, YOU COME ALL THIS WAY,
YOU DON'T WANT A SWING
AND A MISS ON THIS ONE, RIGHT?
YEAH.
Narrator: THE BROTHERS ARE
TAPPING INTO THEIR SAVINGS
IN ORDER TO DEDICATE TWO MONTHS
TO THEIR QUEST, WHICH BEGAN
IN THEIR NATIVE NEW ENGLAND,
WHERE THEY'VE INVESTIGATED
A MYSTERIOUS STRUCTURE
IN WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS
CALLED THE GOSHEN TUNNEL.
INSIDE, THEY MAY HAVE UNCOVERED
A SECRET CHAMBER
THAT IS SIMILAR TO OTHER SITES,
WHERE GIANT SKELETONS WERE ALLEGEDLY FOUND.
THEY'VE REPORTED THEIR FINDINGS
TO ARCHAEOLOGISTS AT
THE UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS
HOPING TO INTEREST
THE SCIENTIFIC ESTABLISHMENT
IN CONDUCTING A FULL-OUT
EXCAVATION OF THE SITE.
WE'RE GETTING CLOSE.
I'M TOTALLY PUMPED.
BUT THE VERDICT WILL TAKE TIME.
SO THE BROTHERS TURN THEIR
ATTENTION TO THE NEXT
BEST LEAD THEY HAVE...
TWO ACCOUNTS OF GIANT SKELETONS
IN THE RUGGED OZARKS,
WHERE NATIVE AMERICAN LORE SAYS
A RACE OF CANNIBALISTIC GIANTS
ONCE DWELLED.
PAIUTE INDIANS,
THE SHOSHONE, THE CHOCTAW,
THE CHEROKEE... THEY TALK ABOUT
AN ANCIENT ENEMY.
YOU KNOW, THEY WARRED AND THEY BATTLED WITH
CANNIBALS THAT BASICALLY TRAPPED...
[growls]
AND FEASTED ON NATIVE AMERICANS.
Narrator: BUT IS IT POSSIBLE
THAT THESE STORIES ARE MORE
THAN MERE LEGEND?
THIS IS GERARD FOWKE, THE FIELD EXPLORER
FOR THE SMITHSONIAN.
YEP.
HE INVESTIGATED HUNDREDS
OF CAVES, AND HE FOUND PEOPLE
LIVING IN THEM THOUSANDS OF YEARS AGO.
Narrator: DURING HIS
EXPLORATION OF CAVES IN THE OZARKS,
ARCHAEOLOGIST GERARD FOWKE
FOUND MULTIPLE INSTANCES OF CANNIBALISM,
HUMAN BONES THAT HAD BEEN CRACKED
FOR THE EXTRACTION OF THE MARROW.
WERE THESE VICTIMS
OF AN ANCIENT GIANT ENEMY?
CANNIBALISTIC GIANTS.
CRAZY.
I KNOW.
IT'S... IT'S PRETTY FREAKY.
THAT'S WHAT IT IS.
SO THERE'S A MILLION CLUES HERE.
THIS ACCOUNT IS FROM THE '30s.
THE SUMMER OF '33.
I MEAN, IT'S JUST LIKE...
IT FEELS LIKE YESTERDAY.
Narrator: IN 1933,
A BOY NAMES BILLY HARMAN
WAS ON A HIKE IN THE OZARKS
OF SOUTHWESTERN MISSOURI, SEARCHING ALONG
THE MERAMEC RIVER FOR ARROWHEADS,
WHEN HE STUMBLED UPON PUCKETT'S CAVE.
INSIDE THE CAVE, BILLY UNEARTHED A FEW
TREASURED ARROWHEADS.
BUT AS HE CONTINUED TO DIG,
HE FOUND SOMETHING SHOCKING...
THE 8 1/2-FOOT FRAME OF AN OZARK GOLIATH.
Narrator: THE VIEIRAS'
FIRST STEP IS TO FIND THE CAVE ITSELF.
SWEET.
YEAH.
Narrator: AND JIM KNOWS
ANOTHER GIANT HUNTER
WHO SAYS HE HAS AN IDEA WHERE THE CAVE IS
BUT HAS YET TO EXPLORE IT.
HEY.
WHAT'S UP, JAMES?
JIM, HOW ARE YA?
FINALLY, WE MEET, BRO.
YES, NICE TO MEET YOU.
JAMES CLEARY SAW JIMMY'S
PRESENTATIONS ONLINE...
9 FOOT, DOUBLE ROWS OF TEETH.
9 FOOT HIGH, BOTH MORE THAN 10 FEET.
AND HE CONTACTED JIMMY.
WE FIND THESE ACCOUNTS
IN THE HISTORICAL RECORDS.
YOU INSPIRED ME, YOUR WORK.
AWESOME.
FELLOW GIANT HUNTER.
ABSOLUTELY, MAN.
YOU READY?
I'M FIRED UP.
LET'S GO, MAN.
WE'RE GONNA FIND IT IF WE
HAVE TO HACK OUR WAY THROUGH TO GET THERE.
NICE.
I'M TELLING YOU.
THERE'S A LOT OF SPECULATION
ABOUT THIS BEING A CANNIBALISTIC GIANT.
IN DIFFERENT CAVES, THEY FOUND
CANNIBALISTIC BEHAVIOR.
RIGHT.
Narrator: BECAUSE THIS
ACCOUNT IS MORE RECENT,
JIM AND BILL ARE HOPING TO FIND
NOT ONLY CORROBORATIVE PROOF
THAT A SKELETON WAS FOUND HERE...
LOOK UP THERE.
Narrator: BUT POSSIBLY
EYEWITNESSES, PHOTOGRAPHS,
AND MAYBE EVEN ACTUAL PHYSICAL EVIDENCE.
HUG ALONG
AND SEE IF WE CAN GET UP THERE.
WHOA, IT'S SLIPPERY.
YEAH.
THINKING, AS I HIKE
UP THE BLUFF, OF THE ANCIENT
TRIBESMEN WHO WERE HERE
HUNTING A DEER OR RABBIT.
AND THEY'RE GOING UP THE BLUFF,
CHASING THEIR PREY.
AND THEY KEEP GOING UP THE BLUFF...
WOW!
AND THEY REALIZE THEY'RE AT
THE FRONT DOOR OF THE GIANT,
AND THEY'RE THE PREY.
I'M SPEECHLESS.
VERY CLOSE TO ALL THE DESCRIPTIONS.
NOW, IT'S TIME TO VERIFY, TO MAKE SURE THAT
THIS IS THE CAVE.
WE'VE GOT TO SEE IF WE CAN FIND THE SPOT
WHERE THEY DUG THE SKELETON UP.
GIVE ME THE REPORT, JIM.
"A CORNER IN THE NORTH WALL
FORMED THE GIANT'S TOMB IN THIS NICHE."
WHICH WAY'S NORTH, BILL?
THIS IS OUR NORTH WALL.
IT HAS TO BE.
IT COULD BE ANYWHERE ALONG HERE.
LET'S SEE IF WE CAN FIND ANY EVIDENCE.
WE WOULD BE LOOKING FOR A NICHE.
WHOA.
LOOK AT THAT OVER THERE, GUYS.
THIS RIGHT HERE, THERE'S A DEPRESSION.
IT LOOKS LIKE IT'S BEEN EXCAVATED.
WHOA.
THERE'S A NOTCH
IN THE NORTH WALL JUST LIKE
THE ACCOUNT TALKS ABOUT.
YOU COULD TELL SOMEBODY TOOK
SOMETHING OUT OF THERE.
THERE'S SOIL ALL AROUND THE EDGES.
Narrator: ACCORDING TO THE ACCOUNT,
THE SKELETON WAS FOUND
IN A KNEELING POSITION,
ITS SEVERED SKULL FACEDOWN.
BESIDE THE BODY, AN ARROWHEAD
WHICH THE ACCOUNT SPECULATES
MIGHT HAVE BEEN THE CAUSE
OF THE GIANT'S DEATH.
WHY?
WHAT HAPPENED?
IN THE BIBLE YOU HEAR ABOUT GOLIATH,
KILLED BY DAVID.
MAYBE THIS GIANT ENDED UP
MEETING A SIMILAR FATE.
Narrator: THE WRITER OF THE ACCOUNT
ECHOES JIM'S ANALYSIS, DRAWING A COMPARISON
BETWEEN THIS GIANT AND GOLIATH
AND WONDERING IF THE CREATURE
WAS SLAIN BY A DAVID
OF THE MISSOURI HILL COUNTRY.
A GIANT COULD HAVE COME RIGHT
OUT OF THIS HOLE RIGHT HERE.
I'M THINKING ABOUT THAT KID
FINDING A SKULL.
WE HAVE TO COME BACK, NO QUESTION.
IT NEEDS TO BE LOOKED OVER
WITH A FINE-TOOTH COMB.
Narrator: THE NEXT DAY...
I'M GONNA GIVE YOU
A HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT.
THAT'S FOR YOU.
YES, HE'S READ MANY ACCOUNTS.
Narrator: JAMES CLEARY'S
FRIEND, BRAD H'DOUBLER, JOINS THE TEAM.
I'VE GOT SOME TOOLS
WE CAN USE, A METAL DETECTOR.
LET'S DO IT.
LET'S DO IT.
Narrator: THEIR PLAN IS TO SPLIT UP.
NICE, HUH?
YEAH.
YEEHAW!
Narrator: BILL AND BRAD,
A TRAINED GEOLOGIST,
WILL HEAD BACK TO THE CAVE
TO SCOUR FOR EVIDENCE.
READY TO ROLL.
Narrator: WHILE JIM AND JAMES
WILL HUNT FOR CLUES
IN NEARBY STEELVILLE, MISSOURI.
IT'S A SMALL TOWN.
IT WAS ONLY 1933, SO...
YOU KNOW, SOMEBODY AROUND
HERE'S GOT TO KNOW SOMEBODY
OR REMEMBER SOMETHING ABOUT IT.
Narrator: STEELVILLE IS
THE HOMETOWN OF THE BOY
WHO DISCOVERED THE BONES... BILLY HARMAN.
AND ALSO THE PLACE WHERE THE SKELETON WAS
REPORTEDLY ASSEMBLED AND WIRED TOGETHER
BY A LOCAL PHYSICIAN NAMED R.C. PARKER.
THE INTERNET IS FILLED WITH
HOAXES, MISIDENTIFICATIONS,
MISREPRESENTATIONS.
YOU REALLY... YOU CAN'T GET TO
THE TRUTH OF THE MATTER UNLESS
YOU WALK OUT IN THE FIELD...
HEY, HOW ARE YOU?
INTERVIEW REAL PEOPLE AND ASK QUESTIONS
ABOUT BILLY HARMAN AND DR. PARKER
TO SEE IF THIS IS ALL REALITY.
I HAVE AN ODD REQUEST.
WE'RE LOOKING INTO AN ACCOUNT
OF AN 8-FOOT SKELETON.
BEEN TOLD BY SKEPTICS
THAT GIANT SKELETON FINDS
ARE HOAXES OR IMAGINATIONS OF SOMEBODY
WHO'S UP TO NO GOOD.
I NEVER REALLY HEARD ABOUT THIS,
BUT I'M INTERESTED IN IT NOW.
SO WE WANT TO SEE IF WE CAN
VERIFY THIS ACCOUNT.
WE'RE IN TOWN RESEARCHING
AN 8-FOOT GIANT SKELETON
THAT WAS UNEARTHED IN THE 1930s.
OH, MY GOODNESS.
HEY, LLOYD.
JIM VIEIRA.
NICE TO MEET YOU, SIR.
THERE'S A LIST OF PEOPLE THAT
ARE ASSOCIATED WITH THE FIND.
DOC PARKER WAS THE ONLY DOCTOR
IN TOWN AT THE TIME.
DO YOU REMEMBER HIM?
OH, YEAH.
HE DOCTORED ME A LOT.
DR. PARKER WAS YOUR PERSONAL
DOCTOR WHEN YOU WERE YOUNGER?
YEAH.
SURE WAS.
THIS OLD-TIMER ACTUALLY SAID
THAT HE HAD HIS RIB REPAIRED BY DOC PARKER.
WAS HE WELL-RESPECTED IN TOWN?
YEAH, HE WAS JUST AN OLD COUNTRY DOCTOR.
SO WE START FINDING THAT
PEOPLE IN TOWN HAVE HEARD OF DOC PARKER...
WE STILL HAVE QUITE A FEW
HARMANS IN STEELVILLE.
IS THAT RIGHT?
AND THEY KNOW HARMANS.
HARMANS?
WELL, I KNOW ABOUT FIVE OR SIX BROTHERS.
LET'S SEE WHAT WE CAN FIND.
YEAH, HI.
IS THIS MR. HARMAN?
Narrator: JIM AND JAMES
REACH OUT TO HARMANS RESIDING
IN THE STEELVILLE AREA...
...WAS FOUND IN THE CAVE
BACK IN THE '30s.
Narrator: HOPING TO FIND ONE
RELATED TO BILLY HARMAN...
LET'S TRY ANOTHER ONE.
Narrator: WHICH COULD BE
THEIR BEST CHANCE OF TRACKING DOWN
THE GIANT BONES.
BYE.
THIS IS ED HARMAN.
...HAS THE SAME LAST NAME AS YOU.
OH, YOU ARE?
REALLY?
ED HARMAN, A LIVE RELATIVE
OF BILLY HARMAN.
WELL, LISTEN, IS THERE ANY WAY WE COULD
COME BY AND TALK TO YOU?
THAT WOULD BE AWESOME.
AND HE INVITES US DOWN TO HIS FARM.
WE'RE GONNA GET A CHANCE
TO TALK TO SOMEBODY WHO'S NOT
FAR REMOVED FROM THE EVENT.
LISTEN, IS THERE ANY WAY WE
COULD COME BY AND TALK TO YOU?
Narrator: GIANT HUNTERS,
JIM VIEIRA AND JAMES CLEARY,
ARE SEARCHING FOR EVIDENCE
OF AN 8-FOOT SKELETON REPORTEDLY DISCOVERED
IN THE 1930s BY A TEENAGER NAMED
BILLY HARMAN.
BYE.
ED HARMAN.
LET'S GO.
Narrator: THEY NOW HEAD TOWARDS A FARM
ON THE OUTSKIRTS OF TOWN
TO MEET WITH A LIVING RELATIVE
OF BILLY HARMAN.
FOR JIM, THIS IS AN OPPORTUNITY
TO SHED LIGHT
NOT ONLY ON THIS GIANT ACCOUNT,
BUT TO FURTHER HIS QUEST
TO PROVE THE EXISTENCE
OF A FORGOTTEN RACE OF GIANTS.
IT'S REALLY NERVE-RACKING
BECAUSE YOU'RE JUST DIVING INTO
THIS CRAZY SUBJECT,
AND PEOPLE ARE LIKE, YOU KNOW,
"YOU'RE OUT OF YOUR MIND, DUDE."
YOU KNOW?
YOU MUST BE ED.
YEAH. NICE TO MEET YOU GUYS.
GOOD TO MEET YOU.
COME ON IN.
BUT, YOU KNOW, ONE PERSON
TO THE NEXT, IT SEEMS LIKE
SOMETHING IS WORKING WITH US
TO TELL THE STORY.
THIS IS BEAUTIFUL.
SO WE JUST WONDERED IF YOU, BEING A HARMAN,
WHAT CONNECTION YOU HAD TO BILLY HARMAN,
OR IF YOU KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT
PUCKETT'S CAVE OR THE STORY.
WELL, MY GRANDFATHER, SAM HARMAN,
WAS A COUSIN TO BILLY.
AND MY GRANDFATHER RELAYED
THE STORY TO ME AS A CHILD, YOU KNOW.
HE TOOK ME THROUGH THE CAVE
AND ALL THAT, SHOWED ME
WHERE THE SKELETON WAS FOUND.
MY GRANDFATHER SAID IT WAS
A VERY... EXTREMELY
TALL PERSON... YOU KNOW,
APPROXIMATELY 8 FOOT TALL.
ED'S TELLING US THE STORY,
AND I LOOK OVER AT JAMES, AND I'M LIKE,
"THIS IS A GOLD MINE."
IT WAS A TRUE STORY.
IT WASN'T A HOAX, CORRECT?
RIGHT, 'CAUSE MY GRANDFATHER
WAS THE TYPE OF PERSON THAT
WHENEVER HE TOLD YOU A STORY,
HE NEVER EMBELLISHED ON ANYTHING.
I MEAN, WHEN HE TOLD YOU
SOMETHING, IT WAS... IT WAS
FACTUAL, IT WAS SOMETHING THAT
YOU COULD TAKE TO THE BANK.
SO WE'RE TRYING TO HUNT DOWN
BASICALLY WHAT HAPPENED TO
THE BONES, RIGHT?
THERE'S AN 8-FOOT SKELETON STRETCHED OUT IN
R.C. PARKER'S OFFICE.
RIGHT, RIGHT.
MOST OF THE DETAILS
ARE PRETTY IRON CLAD IN THIS... >> RIGHT.
BUT WHAT HAPPENED TO THE BONES IS NOT.
RIGHT, RIGHT.
AND I COULDN'T TELL YOU THAT FOR SURE
CAUSE I REALLY DON'T KNOW.
NOW WE HAVE A RELATIVE OF BILLY HARMAN
THAT CORROBORATES THE ACCOUNT.
THANK YOU, MY FRIEND.
BUT WHERE ARE THE BONES?
AND THAT'S WHAT WE WANT TO FIND OUT.
WE NEEDED TO FIND EVIDENCE...
DOCUMENTATION OR PHOTOGRAPHS OF
THE SKELETON ACTUALLY EXISTING,
BEING IN A PLACE, BEING WIRED TOGETHER
TO SEE IF THIS IS ALL A REALITY.
Narrator: MEANWHILE, 10 MILES NORTH...
THIS IS IT.
Narrator: BILL AND GEOLOGIST
BRAD H'DOUBLER... >> WOW.
Narrator: HAVE RETURNED
TO PUCKETT'S CAVE.
A PROMINENT NICHE IN THE NORTH WALL.
Narrator: THE VIEIRAS
HAVE IDENTIFIED THE SPOT WHERE
THE GIANT MAY HAVE BEEN BURIED.
I'M GONNA PULL THESE ROCKS OUT OF HERE,
GET 'EM OUT OF YOUR WAY.
OKAY.
Narrator: BUT TODAY, BILL
AND BRAD HOPE TO PROVE IT.
PRESUMABLY, BACK IN THE '30s,
BILLY HARMAN DIDN'T HAVE
A METAL DETECTOR IN HERE.
WHEN YOU START TALKING ABOUT GIANTS,
THE ONE THING THAT'S LACKING
IS PHYSICAL EVIDENCE, SOMETHING THAT WE CAN
HAVE DNA TESTED OR CARBON-DATED.
IT WOULD REALLY CORROBORATE
A LOT OF OUR THEORIES,
PUSH US OVER THE TOP.
Narrator: THROUGHOUT HISTORY,
THERE HAVE BEEN INSTANCES
WHERE THEORIES AND BELIEFS
WERE DISMISSED AS MYTH
BUT WERE LATER PROVEN TRUE
BY PHYSICAL EVIDENCE.
Narrator: FOR YEARS, THE BIBLICAL TALE
OF THE GREAT FLOOD WAS WIDELY REGARDED
BY SCIENTISTS AS MERE LEGEND.
BUT AFTER RECENT DISCOVERIES
REVEALED THAT A RAPID FLOODING
OF THE BLACK SEA OCCURRED AROUND 5000 B.C.,
SOME ACADEMICS NOW BELIEVE THAT
THE STORY OF A MASSIVE FLOOD
COULD BE BASED IN FACT.
COULD THE SAME BE TRUE
ABOUT THE EXISTENCE OF GIANTS?
WELL, OUR HOPE IS
WE FIND SOMETHING COPPER...
BECAUSE THAT'S THE ONE
ASSOCIATED WITH THESE GIANT ACCOUNTS.
YES.
IN A PERFECT WORLD,
WE'D GET A GIANT COPPER AXE.
Narrator: COPPER IS
IMPORTANT, BECAUSE ACCORDING
TO SOME ACCOUNTS,
GIANT SKELETONS HAVE BEEN FOUND
BURIED WITH COPPER JEWELRY,
CROWNS, AND EVEN WEAPONS,
LIKE A 27-POUND GIANT AXE HEAD
REPORTEDLY DISCOVERED IN OHIO IN 1893.
[metal detector buzzing]
LOOKS LIKE WE'VE GOT SOMETHING IN HERE.
[metal detector buzzing]
NAILED IT.
[laughs]
narrator: ACCORDING TO
THE ORIGINAL ACCOUNT,
THE BOY WHO DISCOVERED THE BONES,
BILLY HARMAN, ALSO FOUND A SERIES
OF DISPARATE ARTIFACTS BURIED IN THE FLOOR
OF THE CAVE.
LOOK AT THIS.
SHOTGUN SHELL.
I JUST GET THIS OMINOUS FEELING HERE,
LIKE I'M FOLLOWING
IN BILLY HARMAN'S FOOTSTEPS.
I FEEL LIKE WE'RE ON THE RIGHT TRACK.
Narrator: BUT THE CAVE WILL
NEED TO YIELD MORE IF THE BROTHERS
ARE GOING TO PROVE BILLY HARMAN'S STORY...
IT'S GONNA BE A LONG DAY, MY FRIEND.
YEAH.
Narrator: AND FURTHER
THEIR QUEST FOR GIANTS.
THE SEARCH CONTINUES.
Narrator: MEANWHILE, BACK IN STEELVILLE,
JIM AND JAMES CONTINUE THEIR HUNT.
WE WERE LOOKING INTO RECORDS.
RANDY C. PARKER HAD AN 8-FOOT
SKELETON IN HIS OFFICE.
WELL, WE DO HAVE A GENEALOGY
SECTION BACK HERE.
GREAT. THANK YOU.
Narrator: THEY HOPE THE TOWN
LIBRARY MIGHT CONTAIN CLUES
ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED TO THE SKELETON.
OKAY, LET'S SEE WHAT...
LET'S SEE, HOPEFULLY
YOU CAN FIND SOMETHING HERE.
CRAWFORD COUNTY GENEALOGY.
YEAH.
SMALL-TOWN LIBRARIES ARE
TREASURE TROVES.
THERE MIGHT BE A STORY ACTUALLY.
IT WAS SUCH A BUZZ IN THE TOWN, RIGHT?
I KNOW.
THE TOWN HISTORIES, OLD RECORDS...
YOU CAN'T FIND THIS STUFF
ANYWHERE ELSE IN THE WORLD.
IT'S NOT GONNA BE ON THE INTERNET,
IT'S NEVER BEEN PUBLISHED.
IF THERE'S ANYTHING...
LET'S SEE IF I FIND ANYTHING
RELATED TO THE GIANT SKELETON.
SO WE'RE DIGGING... UH, THIS LOOKS LIKE
MICROFICHE HERE.
AND I SEE THEY HAVE BOXES OF MICROFILM
FROM THE STEELVILLE LEDGER,
THE LOCAL NEWSPAPER.
WOW.
OKAY.
Narrator: THEY LOAD
THE MICROFILM FROM THE YEAR
THE SKELETON WAS DISCOVERED.
LET'S CHECK ALL THESE ARTICLES.
WE GO THROUGH THE PAPER
TO SEE IF THERE'S ANY MENTION
OF THIS ACCOUNT.
KEEP GOING.
OH.
OH, LOOK AT THAT.
AW, MAN.
WE FIND THE FRONT PAGE OF
THE STEELVILLE LEDGER, JUNE 15, 1933.
"ANCIENT SKELETON FOUND
IN CAVE NEAR STEELVILLE."
OKAY, NOW WAIT A MINUTE.
THAT'S A PHOTOGRAPH, MAN.
THAT'S WILD.
THAT'S AMAZING.
ON IT IS A PICTURE OF A 6-FOOT GUY
NEXT TO THE 8-FOOT SKELETON.
I'M THINKING, THIS COULD BE
OF THE GIANT CANNIBAL OF PUCKETT'S CAVE.
I CAN SAY WITHOUT
RESERVATION, THAT IS A PHOTO.
THAT'S A GAME CHANGER.
OH, LOOK AT THAT.
OH, MAN.
"ANCIENT SKELETON FOUND IN CAVE
NEAR STEELVILLE."
narrator: GIANT HUNTERS
JIM VIEIRA AND JAMES CLEARY
HAVE JUST UNCOVERED AN ASTOUNDING CLUE
IN THEIR INVESTIGATION
INTO AN 8-FOOT GIANT...
THAT'S A PHOTOGRAPH, MAN.
THAT'S WILD.
Narrator: REPORTEDLY UNEARTHED IN A CAVE
IN THE 1930s.
THAT'S AMAZING.
ON IT IS A PICTURE OF A 6-FOOT GUY
NEXT TO THE 8-FOOT SKELETON
IN DOC PARKER'S OFFICE.
I CAN SAY WITHOUT
RESERVATION, THAT IS A PHOTO.
AND THAT... THAT'S A
GAME CHANGER IN MY BOOK.
WE'RE BLOWN AWAY.
COULD YOU PLEASE TAKE A-A PICTURE OF THAT?
YEAH, LOOK AT THAT.
THE SKELETON, A 6-FOOT GUY NEXT TO IT.
IT'S LIKE, WHAT CAN YOU SAY TO IT?
HERE YOU GO.
LET'S CONTINUE TO ROLL THROUGH HERE.
Narrator: JIM AND JAMES MAY
BE CLOSE TO ANSWERING THE MOST
IMPORTANT QUESTION OF ALL.
WHERE DID THE SKELETON GO?
SO WE'RE PORING THROUGH THIS REPORT...
OH, HERE LOOK, "THIS SKELETON
IS NOW ON EXHIBITION AT
THE OFFICE OF DR. R.C. PARKER."
BOOM.
WE SEE THE NAME OF DOC PARKER.
"DR. PARKER"...
"IS IN RECEIPT OF A LETTER
FROM THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION
IN WASHINGTON, D.C."
"AND REQUESTED THAT HE SHIP
THE SKELETON TO WASHINGTON
FOR STUDY BY THE EXPERTS,
AS THEY THINK IT IS THAT OF
A GIANT OF PREHISTORIC TIMES."
HOLY [bleep].
WOW.
THE PATH LEADS TO THE SMITHSONIAN.
Narrator: THE SMITHSONIAN
INSTITUTION, ORIGINALLY NAMED
THE UNITED STATES'
NATIONAL MUSEUM.
IT WAS CREATED BY
THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IN 1846
AND HAS BEEN A CENTER
FOR SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH AND A DEPOSITORY
FOR THE NATION'S MOST PRIZED
TREASURES EVER SINCE.
"DR. PARKER MADE SHIPMENT."
"THE FIRST OF THE WEEK,
CAREFULLY WRAPPING THE BONES."
THE ACCOUNT TELLS US
THE SMITHSONIAN RECEIVED THE REMAINS.
THEY WERE BOXED UP BY DR. PARKER
AND SHIPPED THERE.
THE WEIRD PART IS THAT A LOT OF MUSEUMS
LIKE THE SMITHSONIAN SAY
THAT GIANTS DON'T EVEN EXIST.
THEY ARE THE, UM, DELUSIONS OF EXPLORERS,
MISIDENTIFIED MASTODON REMAINS, AND HOAXES.
THAT MENTALITY WENT ALL THE WAY
TO SOME OF THE TOP
ANTHROPOLOGISTS IN THE COUNTRY,
LIKE DR. HRDLICKA.
Narrator: DR. ALES HRDLICKA, A PHYSICIAN
AND NATURAL SCIENTIST,
FOUNDED THE SMITHSONIAN'S
DEPARTMENT OF ANTHROPOLOGY IN 1908
AND REMAINED ITS DIRECTOR
FOR NEARLY 50 YEARS.
AS DIRECTOR, HRDLICKA POSSESSED
GREAT INFLUENCE ON THE SCIENTISTS
THAT WORKED BENEATH HIM
AND WAS THE ULTIMATE DECIDER
OF WHAT WAS TO BE FACT OR FICTION.
DR. HRDLICKA REALLY SAID
THIS... THIS WHOLE IDEA
WAS NOT JUST NOT A REALITY
BUT VERY FOOLISH AND IDIOTIC
AND A CAREER-RUINER
IF YOU WERE TO DELVE INTO IT.
Narrator: BUT WHY WERE MUSEUMS
AND SCIENTISTS LIKE HRDLICKA
SO OPPOSED TO INVESTIGATING
CERTAIN REMAINS?
SOME MAY HAVE BEEN MERELY
PROTECTING THEIR REPUTATIONS
IN THE AFTERMATH OF HOAXES
LIKE PILTDOWN MAN.
IN 1912, AMATEUR ARCHAEOLOGIST
CHARLES DAWSON CLAIMED HE'D FOUND
UNUSUAL SKELETAL REMAINS,
REMNANTS OF ONE OF THE CRUCIAL
LINKS BETWEEN APE AND MAN.
Narrator: BUT OTHERS, LIKE HRDLICKA,
WERE WARY OF THE CLAIMS,
AND THIS TIME THEY WERE RIGHT.
DAWSON HAD MERELY COMBINED
THE JAW OF AN ORANGUTAN
WITH A HUMAN SKULL...
PILTDOWN MAN WAS A FAKE.
I THINK HOAXES LIKE PILTDOWN MAN
CLOSED A LOT OF MINDS,
BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, NOBODY
WANTS TO LOOK LIKE A FOOL.
Narrator: JIM BELIEVES THAT
COUNTLESS GIANT BONES MAY HAVE
BEEN ROUTINELY DISMISSED AS
HOAXES AS WELL, AND AS A RESULT
WERE CAST ASIDE OR BURIED DEEP
IN MUSEUM ARCHIVES.
DID SPECIMENS LIKE THE OZARK GOLIATH
PRESENT A TRUTH THAT WAS TOO
RADICALLY OUTSIDE THE STATUS QUO
OF THE SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY?
THIS IS GREAT.
DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE.
IT'S POSSIBLE.
SCIENCE MAY HAVE EXCLUDED
A LOT OF THIS INFORMATION.
ALL THE REPORTS ADD UP TO
NOTHING IF THERE'S NO PHYSICAL
REMAINS TO BACK THEM UP.
IT'S VERY DISCONCERTING
AND IT'S A GOOD QUESTION TO ASK,
WHERE ARE THE BONES?
THAT IS THE MAIN QUESTION, WHERE ARE THEY?
Narrator: A QUESTION
THAT JIM INTENDS TO PRESENT TO
HIS ACADEMIC CONTACTS BACK EAST
AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
GOOD WORK.
LET'S DO IT.
Narrator: MEANWHILE,
BACK IN PUCKETT'S CAVE,
BILL AND BRAD HAVE COME UPON
THEIR FOURTH HOUR OF SCOURING FOR CLUES.
WE COULD FIND ANY PHYSICAL EVIDENCE,
THAT'S REALLY WHAT
WE'RE LOOKING FOR, SOMETHING
THAT WE CAN HAVE DNA TESTED
OR CARBON-DATED TO SEE WHAT
WAS HAPPENING WITH THIS HUMAN
THAT WAS 8 FOOT TALL.
IT'S ACTUALLY A NEAT
LITTLE CAVERN UNDER HERE.
[metal detector beeping]
BRAD.
BRAD, CHECK THIS OUT.
SO WE'RE GOING UP AND DOWN THE NORTH WALL.
I'M PUSHING ASIDE LEAVES...
AND OUT OF THE CORNER OF MY EYE,
I SEE SOMETHING WHITE.
WHAT'D YOU FIND?
LOOK.
WE TAKE A CLOSER LOOK AT THIS THING.
WE'RE DUMBSTRUCK.
IT'S A TOOTH.
IT'S HUGE.
IT'S A BIG ONE.
SO BRAD AND I ARE GOING
BACK AND FORTH SPECULATING ABOUT
WHAT IT MIGHT BE.
COULD IT BE A BEAR TOOTH?
DOESN'T SEEM SHARP ENOUGH.
A DEER? A COW?
WE'RE 70 FEET UP IN A SHELTER CAVE.
KIND OF LOOKS HUMAN TO ME.
THAT WOULD BE ONE BIG HUMAN.
BRAD AND I ARE LOOKING AT EACH OTHER
AND WE THINK IT LOOKS LIKE A HUMAN INCISOR.
MY MIND IS RACING.
I'M JUST THINKING ABOUT ALL
THE ACCOUNTS WE HAVE
OF SKULLS WITH MASSIVE JAWS
AND FULL SECOND ROWS OF TEETH.
IF THIS THING IS AN ANCIENT
GIANT TOOTH, WE MIGHT
HAVE JUST HIT THE JACKPOT.
IT COULD CHANGE THE GAME.
Narrator: IN THE OZARKS,
THE VIEIRA BROTHERS ARE ON
AN EXTRAORDINARY QUEST
TO FIND OUT IF GIANTS
ONCE EXISTED IN NORTH AMERICA.
AND NOW AT PUCKETT'S CAVE,
THE SITE WHERE AN 8-FOOT GOLIATH
WAS UNEARTHED OVER 80 YEARS AGO,
BILL VIEIRA AND GEOLOGIST
BRAD H'DOUBLER MAY HAVE FOUND
AN IMPORTANT CLUE.
I MEAN, IT'S HUGE.
IT'S A BIG ONE.
Narrator: A LARGE TOOTH,
POSSIBLY AN INCISOR.
KIND OF LOOKS HUMAN TO ME.
THAT WOULD BE ONE BIG HUMAN.
Narrator: IF THE TOOTH IS AN INCISOR,
THE JAWBONE AND SKULL THAT IT WOULD MATCH
WOULD BE CONSIDERABLY LARGER
THAN THAT OF THE AVERAGE ADULT HUMAN MALE.
BIG JIM.
WHAT'S UP, BILL?
YEAH, YOU'RE NOT GONNA
BELIEVE WHAT WE FOUND UP HERE.
WHAT?
A BIG-ASS TOOTH.
BILL DROPS A BOMB ON ME,
AND MY MIND STARTS RACING.
YOU SERIOUS?
YEAH.
I'M JUST LIKE, WHAT THE HELL?
THIS MIGHT BE A PART OF A SKELETON.
THE REPORT MENTIONED THAT THE SKULL HAD
SEVERAL TEETH MISSING.
A TOOTH IS ONE OF THE BEST
THINGS WE COULD FIND.
YOU CAN PRECISELY DATE THE ENAMEL.
THE ROOT HAS DNA IN IT,
BUT JUST THE VERY IDEA
OF FINDING SOMETHING LIKE THIS
IS... IS PRETTY REMARKABLE.
OKAY, MAN, BYE.
HE SAID DOCUMENT EVERYTHING.
SOUNDS LIKE A GOOD PLAN.
LET ME TAKE A PICTURE.
Narrator: ACCORDING TO
THE LAW, ANYTIME EVIDENCE
OF HUMAN REMAINS ARE FOUND,
IT MUST BE TREATED
LIKE EVIDENCE IN A CRIME.
WE DECIDED TO BE SAFE.
THERE'S A CHANCE IT MIGHT BE A HUMAN TOOTH
SO WE NEED TO CALL THE CORONER.
WHAT A FIND.
CRAZY.
Narrator: THE BROTHERS
REUNITE AND HEAD TO THE OFFICE
OF THE LOCAL CORONER...
CRAWFORD COUNTY CORONER, PAUL HUTSON.
Narrator: IN HOPES THAT HE
MIGHT BE ABLE TO SHED SOME LIGHT
ON WHETHER THE TOOTH IS HUMAN
OR SOMETHING ELSE.
IT'S DEFINITELY BIG.
IT'S PRETTY LARGE IN DIAMETER.
I THINK IT'S PROBABLY AN INCISOR TOOTH,
ONE OF THESE TEETH, LIKE A BITER.
I MEAN, TO US,
IT LOOKED LIKE A HUMAN TOOTH,
BUT ONLY MUCH BIGGER.
EXACTLY.
IT DEFINITELY HAS THE CHARACTERISTICS
OF A HUMAN TOOTH, BUT I REALLY DON'T KNOW
WHAT IT IS.
Narrator: ARCHAEOLOGISTS
AROUND THE WORLD HAVE DISCOVERED
A NUMBER OF TEETH
WITH HUMAN PROPERTIES THAT
DIDN'T BELONG TO MODERN MAN.
IN 2000, AN UNUSUALLY LARGE TOOTH
WAS FOUND IN THE DENISOVA CAVE IN SIBERIA.
WHEN ANALYZED, SCIENTISTS FOUND
THAT THE DNA WAS DIFFERENT
FROM BOTH NEANDERTHAL AND MODERN MAN.
THAT TOOTH LED SCIENCE
TO PROCLAIM A DISCOVERY
OF A NEW PREVIOUSLY UNKNOWN
SPECIES OF ANCIENT MAN
THEY NAMED THE DENISOVANS.
WE'RE BLOWN AWAY.
IT'S REALLY STARTING TO LOOK
PRETTY MYSTERIOUS.
WE'RE DEFINITELY GONNA
GET IT THOROUGHLY TESTED
BY A PROFESSIONAL LAB.
WELL, THAT'S GREAT.
FINGERS ARE CROSSED.
OUR THOUSAND-MILE TREK MIGHT ALL PAY OFF,
BECAUSE WE'RE COMING OUT OF
THE OZARKS WITH A GIANT TOOTH.
Narrator: THE BROTHERS CAME
TO THE OZARKS WITH TWO PROMISING LEADS...
TWO ACCOUNTS OF GIANT SKELETON FINDS.
I THINK WE'RE NEAR
THE STATE LINE, ACTUALLY.
ARKANSAS.
Narrator: SO FAR, THE FIRST HAS PAID OFF
WITH POSSIBLE PHYSICAL EVIDENCE.
NOW, JIM PLANS TO INVESTIGATE
THE ACCOUNT OF A GIANT
REPORTED TO BE EVEN MORE MASSIVE
THAN THE ONE IN PUCKETT'S CAVE.
IT'S LIKE A CULMINATION OF
A LONG TRIP IF WE COULD ACTUALLY
FIND THIS CAVE.
Narrator: THE VIEIRAS ARE
ON THE TRAIL OF AN EXPLORER AND WRITER
FROM THE EARLY 20TH CENTURY,
NAMED VICTOR SCHOFFELMAYER.
IN 1913, SCHOFFELMAYER
TRAVELED TO THE OZARKS.
HE WRITES AN ARTICLE
IN THE NEW AGE MAGAZINE,
WHITE RIVER TRAILS,
ABOUT INTERVIEWING HILLBILLIES,
ESSENTIALLY, BEFORE THEY DIE OFF.
Narrator: ONE OF THE MEN
SCHOFFELMAYER INTERVIEWED
CLAIMED TO HAVE UNEARTHED
SOMETHING PECULIAR
IN ONE OF THE SHELTER CAVES NEARBY...
SEVERAL GIANT SKULLS
AND A SKELETON THAT MEASURED TO
A STARTLING 10 FEET IN LENGTH.
10 FOOT?
I KNOW, IT'S STRAIGHT OUT
OF THE TWILIGHT ZONE.
Narrator: THE BROTHERS' GOAL
IS TO FIND THE CAVE
WHERE THE BONES WERE DISCOVERED,
IN HOPES OF GATHERING ADDITIONAL EVIDENCE,
BUT LOCATING IT MAY BE DIFFICULT.
IN THE 1960s, BEAVER DAM WAS CONSTRUCTED
RIGHT NEAR THE CAVE
SCHOFFELMAYER WROTE ABOUT.
AND NOW THAT CAVE IS 35 FEET UNDERWATER.
TO GET TO THE BOTTOM OF
THIS SHELTER CAVE, WE GOT TO GO
TO THE BOTTOM OF THE LAKE.
Narrator: THE BROTHERS HEAD
TO A DIVE SHOP ON THE SHORE OF BEAVER LAKE.
HEY, MIKE.
HEY, ALAN, HOW ARE YOU DOING?
THIS IS JIM.
WHAT'S UP, MIKE.
AND BILL.
NICE TO MEET YOU.
PLEASURE TO MEET YOU.
AND MAYBE YOU COULD HELP 'EM OUT.
Narrator: THEY HAVE ENLISTED
THE HELP OF ALAN BLAND, A PARK RANGER WITH
U.S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS,
AND MIKE YOUNG, A PROFESSIONAL
MASTER CAVE DIVER.
I ACTUALLY HAVE SOME PHOTOS.
THIS IS A SKULL IN THE YUCATAN.
WOW.
IT WAS GORGEOUS.
MIKE YOUNG HAS BEEN ALL OVER
THE WORLD DOING CAVE DIVES.
WE'RE HOPING THAT MIKE CAN HELP
US PINPOINT WHERE THIS CAVE IS.
WE'RE LOOKING FOR THIS CAVE
WHERE THERE'S A REPORT OF GIANT SKELETONS.
WE ARE GOING OFF A REPORT FROM 1913.
SO WE TELL MIKE ABOUT THE ACCOUNT
AND THE AREA WE'RE LOOKING FOR.
WELL, ACTUALLY I THINK
I MIGHT KNOW THE AREA.
MIKE SAYS HE HAS A LOCATION IN MIND.
I'M NOT SURE EXACTLY WHERE
THE ENTRANCE IS AT,
BUT WE CAN GO AND LOOK FOR IT.
YES.
OKAY.
LET'S DO IT.
Narrator: MIKE LEADS
THE BROTHERS TO A LARGELY
UNEXPLORED PORTION OF BEAVER LAKE.
WOW, LOOK AT THE AREA.
NICE.
Narrator: THESE ROCKY
OUTCROPPINGS WERE ONCE BLUFFS,
HUNDREDS OF FEET ABOVE THE WHITE RIVER.
IT'S SO AWESOME TO BE
IN THIS AREA OF THIS ACCOUNT
THAT'S FASCINATED ME FOR YEARS.
IT'S REALLY HAUNTING.
[eagle screeches]
HERE'S YOUR WET SUIT.
THANKS, BROTHER.
Narrator: BILL IS A CERTIFIED DIVER
AND WILL BE THE ONE TO JOIN MIKE
IN THE UNDERWATER HUNT
FOR THE SCHOFFELMAYER CAVE.
THE FACT THAT BILLY IS HERE
WITH ME, FOLLOWING MY STRANGE
QUEST, ESPECIALLY DOING
SOMETHING SO DANGEROUS, IT'S REALLY COOL.
I COULDN'T ASK FOR MORE OUT OF MY BROTHER.
I'M NERVOUS.
I HAVEN'T DONE IT IN A LONG TIME.
CAVE DIVING IS SUPER DANGEROUS.
PEOPLE DIE ALL THE TIME IN IT.
YOU KNOW, YOU GET IN THAT CAVE,
YOU KICK UP SOME SILT, YOU LOSE YOUR LINE.
YOU GET YOUR LEG WEDGED UNDER SOMETHING.
THERE'S A LOT OF WAYS THAT YOU CAN WIND UP
NOT COMING OUT OF THAT CAVE.
GOOD LUCK.
BUT IT'S ON ME TO GO DOWN
AND FIND OUT WHAT'S IN THIS CAVE
FOR BOTH OF US.
YOU RELAXED?
YEP.
ALL RIGHT, LET'S GO.
Narrator: BROTHERS JIM
AND BILL VIEIRA ARE SEARCHING
FOR AN UNDERWATER CAVE WHERE,
IN 1913, A MAN WAS REPORTED TO
HAVE MADE A SHOCKING DISCOVERY...
GIANT SKULLS
AND A MASSIVE 10-FOOT SKELETON.
LET'S GO.
IF WE'RE LUCKY ENOUGH
TO FIND A CAVE DOWN THERE, WE'RE
LOOKING FOR DIFFERENT SIGNS THAT
YOU FIND AT OTHER GIANT SITES.
WE MAY FIND ARTIFACTS,
PICTOGRAPHS, OR STONE STRUCTURES
OF SOME KIND.
STONE TOMBS, STONE WALLS,
SOMETHING LIKE IN DEERFIELD THAT WE FOUND,
THAT'S WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR.
WE'RE GOING FROM 10 FEET DOWN
TO ABOUT 40 FEET DOWN,
AND IT'S PRETTY MURKY.
VISIBILITY IS ABOUT 10 FEET.
WE'RE KICKING UP SEDIMENT.
WE'RE NOT REALLY FINDING ANYTHING.
GOING AROUND THE FLOOR,
THEN, ALL OF A SUDDEN...
BOOM, WE SEE A CAVE.
THE FIRST THING THAT STICKS OUT...
OBVIOUS STACKED STONES.
AS A STONEMASON, I CAN TELL
THOSE STONES WERE PUT THERE AS A WALL.
WHOO!
WE FOUND A CAVE!
YEAH, BABY!
GIANT SHELTER CAVE.
THERE'S, LIKE, A MANMADE BERM.
BILLY'S ALL EXCITED.
HE STARTS DESCRIBING THE STONE WALL
NEAR THE MOUTH OF THE CAVE.
Narrator: WAS THIS REMNANT
OF STACKED STONES
ONCE PART OF A 10-FOOT GIANT'S
BURIAL CHAMBER, ONE THAT WAS DISCOVERED
BY AN OZARK MAN OVER 100 YEARS AGO?
PERHAPS, BUT THE BROTHERS
WILL NEED MORE EVIDENCE
IF THEY'RE GOING TO VERIFY
THAT THIS IS THE CAVE
THAT SCHOFFELMAYER DESCRIBED
IN HIS ACCOUNT.
ANYTHING YOU COULD FILM [indistinct].
Narrator: THE BROTHERS EQUIP
MIKE WITH AN UNDERWATER CAMERA
CAPABLE OF CAPTURING
HIGH-RESOLUTION IMAGES,
EVEN IN THE MURKIEST LOW-LIGHT CONDITIONS,
IN HOPES THAT THE CAMERA WILL REVEAL CLUES
THAT REMAIN SHROUDED TO THE NAKED EYE...
CLUES THAT COULD HELP THE BROTHERS PROVE
THAT TOWERING GIANTS THAT HAVE SPRUNG
FROM THE PAGES OF STORYBOOKS...
ONCE EXISTED.
SO IT'S ALL IN MIKE'S HANDS
NOW, WHICH IS GREAT, BECAUSE HE'S THE ONE
WITH THE MOST EXPERIENCE.
Narrator: MIKE EXHAUSTIVELY
DOCUMENTS THE INTERIOR OF THE CAVE.
WHAT DID YOU SEE?
CONDITIONS WERE HORRIBLE.
BACK IN THERE, MAN, IT'S REALLY SILTY.
YOU... YOU'LL SEE THE FOOTAGE.
Narrator: MIKE IS UNCERTAIN WHICH IMAGES
THE CAMERA WAS ABLE TO CAPTURE.
THIS IS LIKE CHRISTMAS
MORNING, RIGHT HERE.
Narrator: THAT NIGHT THE BROTHERS REVIEW
MIKE'S FOOTAGE.
THAT'S KILLER.
WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR IS
PICTOGRAPHS, OBVIOUSLY ANY
ARTIFACTS OR EVEN BONES.
Narrator: THEY SCOUR THE FOOTAGE.
IT'S POSSIBLE THE CAVES
MAY HAVE BEEN PICKED OR WASHED CLEAN,
ANY EVIDENCE OF GIANTS SWALLOWED BY TIME.
WHOA, WHOA, STOP IT.
LOOK AT THAT.
LOOKS LIKE A CARVED HEAD, DOESN'T IT?
RIGHT?
YEAH.
ON THE WALL, I SAW WHAT I THOUGHT WAS
A POTENTIAL PICTOGRAPH.
IT LOOKS LIKE A LARGE FACE,
AND MY MIND STARTS TURNING.
CAVE DRAWINGS ARE
ASSOCIATED WITH GIANT BURIALS.
I DON'T WANT TO BE PRETEND
TO BE SEEING THINGS,
BUT THAT, RIGHT, THE NOSE?
TWO EYES, A NOSE, AND A MOUTH.
WHOA WHOA, STOP IT.
LOOK AT THAT.
RIGHT?
YEAH.
Narrator: JIM AND BILL VIEIRA
HAVE HIT ON A POSSIBLE CLUE
IN THEIR SEARCH FOR EVIDENCE
OF A LOST RACE OF GIANTS,
FILMED IN AN UNDERWATER CAVE
THOUGHT TO BE A BURIAL PLACE
OF GIANT SKULLS AND A 10-FOOT SKELETON.
I DON'T WANT TO PRETEND
TO BE SEEING THINGS,
BUT THAT, RIGHT, THE NOSE?
TWO EYES, A NOSE, AND A MOUTH.
ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE WALL,
I SAW WHAT I THOUGHT WAS A-A LARGE FACE.
AND THEN RIGHT NEXT TO IT,
SOMETHING THAT REALLY LOOKS
LIKE HEAD OF A WOLF.
I'M WONDERING ARE THESE
PICTOGRAPHS ON THE WALL?
Narrator: PRIMITIVE
CAVE PAINTINGS AND ROCK ART
HAVE OFTENTIMES BEEN ASSOCIATED
WITH GIANT SKELETON FINDS.
THERE IS A PETROGLYPH SITE
UP IN ROCKINGHAM, VERMONT,
RIGHT ON THE CONNECTICUT RIVER.
THESE SKULL-LIKE FACES,
STRANGE AND HAUNTING,
AND OVER ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE RIVER,
IN 1849, A GIANT NATIVE CHIEF
WAS UNEARTHED.
Narrator: IF THESE ARE ROCK CARVINGS,
IS IT POSSIBLE THEY WERE CREATED
TO SIGNAL THAT THIS CAVE WAS SPECIAL?
AND COULD IT BE THAT
THE MAN VICTOR SCHOFFELMAYER
WROTE ABOUT IN HIS ACCOUNT
WAS TELLING THE TRUTH ABOUT
WHAT HE FOUND HERE BACK IN 1913?
I GOT THE FEELING AND A CLEAR INTUITION
THAT THIS WAS THE BURIAL SITE OF A GIANT.
MOVE IT FORWARD.
Narrator: THE BROTHERS STUDY
EVERY FRAME OF THE FOOTAGE,
LOOKING FOR ARTIFACTS OR BONES.
THE CAVE OFFERS NO LEADS.
FRUSTRATING.
Narrator: THEIR ARKANSAS TRIP
IS A DEAD END.
BUT THE VIEIRAS ARE BATTING .500
IN THE OZARKS.
THAT'S WILD.
Narrator: THEY'RE RETURNING
HOME WITH A PHOTOGRAPH OF WHAT COULD BE
A GIANT SKELETON, AND MOST IMPORTANTLY,
POSSIBLE PHYSICAL EVIDENCE
THAT THEY CAN GENETICALLY TEST.
COOL.
KILLER.
TODD DISOTELL SAID,
"GIVE ME PHYSICAL EVIDENCE."
AND WE FEEL LIKE WE MIGHT HAVE
THAT PHYSICAL EVIDENCE IN OUR HANDS.
Narrator: TWO DAYS LATER...
COUNTRY BOYS IN THE BIG CITY, JIM?
IT'S VERY VERTICAL.
YEAH.
Narrator: JIM AND BILL ARRIVE
IN NEW YORK CITY TO SHARE THEIR FINDINGS
WITH TODD DISOTELL...
HERE'S MY CONFERENCE ROOM.
Narrator: AN ANTHROPOLOGIST
WITH NEW YORK UNIVERSITY'S
CENTER FOR THE STUDY OF HUMAN ORIGINS.
LET'S SEE WHAT YOU BROUGHT.
Narrator: THE BROTHERS HOPE
TODD MIGHT BE ABLE
TO OFFER SOME INSIGHT AS TO
THE FATE OF THE OZARK GOLIATH
REPORTEDLY SENT TO THE SMITHSONIAN.
SO I'M WONDERING, DID THEY RECEIVE THIS?
DID THEY NOT RECEIVE THE SKELETON?
YOU KNOW, QUESTIONS LIKE THAT
ARE THE ONES WE HAVE FOR YOU.
YOU KNOW, THINGS SAY THAT IT
WAS DONATED TO THE SMITHSONIAN.
YOU KNOW, HUNDREDS
OF THOUSANDS... MILLIONS OF ITEMS
HAVE BEEN DONATED OVER 100-PLUS YEARS.
YEP.
BUT I WOULD SAY IF THE SMITHSONIAN HAD
MASSIVE 8-FOOT INDIVIDUALS,
DOUBLE ROWS OF TEETH,
WE WOULD BE SEEING THEM ON DISPLAY.
OKAY.
YOU KNOW, I WANT TO SEE THIS.
I LIKE THE INTERESTING,
THE WEIRD, THE FASCINATING, ETCETERA,
SO, YOU KNOW, I WOULD PAY MONEY
TO GO TO AN EXHIBIT THAT
HAD THESE THINGS ON DISPLAY.
YEP.
SO WE NEED MORE THAN, "IT WAS SHIPPED
TO THE SMITHSONIAN."
YOU HAVE SOMETHING FOR TODD?
YES.
HERE IT IS.
WEIRD.
IT'S BIG.
YOU FOUND IT IN THE CAVE?
I'M PRETTY SURE IT'S NOT HUMAN,
BUT IF IT'S HUMAN...
IT'S EXTRAORDINARILY LARGE.
WE WANT TO GET IT TESTED
AND GET A DEFINITIVE ANSWER OF WHAT IT IS.
WELL, THERE'S NO REASON
NOT TO PURSUE IT.
I LOOK FORWARD TO CONTINUING
THIS CONVERSATION.
THAT'S GREAT.
AWESOME, MAN.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR TIME.
WITH EVERY STEP OF THIS JOURNEY,
WE KNOW WE'RE GONNA BE GETTING
CLOSER TO THE TRUTH.
BUT WE'VE ONLY SCRATCHED
THE SURFACE ON THIS JOURNEY.
WE'VE GOT A LOT OF GROUND TO COVER
AND A LOT OF DIGGING TO DO
TO GET TO THE BOTTOM OF THIS MYSTERY.
Narrator: NEXT WEEK ON
SEARCH FOR THE LOST GIANTS...
THEY EXHUMED A NATIVE CHIEF
OF GIANT STATURE,
AND THE TEETH WERE ALL DOUBLE.
THAT, TO ME, IS A TYPE OF
SAND THAT IS NOT FOUND IN GOSHEN.
THIS IS FAIRLY REMARKABLE.
THE TUNNEL IS PLAYING
MIND GAMES WITH US.
WHOA.
THAT SKELETON COULD EVEN BE
IN THIS HOUSE.
ALL RIGHT, SHIELD YOUR EYES.
SEARCH FOR THE LOST GIANTS...
WELL, THE ACCOUNT,
IT'S LIKE A TREASURE MAP.
IT'S GONNA BE SOME WORK.
LOOK UP THERE.
WOW!
THERE'S AN 8-FOOT GIANT
DUG UP RIGHT OVER THERE.
OH, LOOK AT THAT.
THIS IS, LIKE, A GOLD MINE.
I CAN SAY WITHOUT RESERVATION,
THAT'S A GAME CHANGER.
BRAD, CHECK THIS OUT.
JIM, YOU'RE NOT GONNA BELIEVE
WHAT WE FOUND UP HERE.
TO GET TO THE BOTTOM OF THIS MYSTERY,
WE GOT TO GO TO THE BOTTOM OF THE LAKE.
Narrator: FOR MILLENNIA,
HUMANKIND HAS TOLD TALES OF GIANTS
THAT ONCE WALKED TO EARTH.
OZARK CAVES IN ARKANSAS... 9 FOOT.
PROVO, UTAH... 8'6".
Narrator: JIM VIEIRA BELIEVES
IT MAY BE MORE THAN JUST MYTH.
THE BIG MYSTERY... WHERE ARE THE BONES?
JIM AND HIS BROTHER BILL...
HERE WE GO, BROTHER.
Narrator: WANT TO GET TO THE TRUTH...
IT JUST SEEMS LIKE IT SLIPPED
THROUGH THE HANDS OF HISTORY.
WHOA!
HOLY [bleep].
[heart beating]
THE OZARKS.
CAN'T BELIEVE WE'RE IN THE DEEP
SOUTH LOOKING FOR GIANTS.
YEP.
IT'S AMAZING.
YEEHAW!
[laughs]
OH, MAN.
Narrator: AFTER SPENDING
YEARS COMPILING HISTORICAL ACCOUNTS
THAT POINT TO THE POSSIBILITY
OF AN ANCIENT RACE OF GIANTS,
BROTHERS AND STONEMASONS
JIM AND BILL VIEIRA ARE HITTING THE ROAD
FOLLOWING A TRAIL
THAT THEY HOPE WILL LEAD THEM TO EVIDENCE
AND THE TRUTH.
YOU KNOW, I'M EXCITED, BUT I'M NERVOUS.
YOU KNOW, YOU COME ALL THIS WAY,
YOU DON'T WANT A SWING
AND A MISS ON THIS ONE, RIGHT?
YEAH.
Narrator: THE BROTHERS ARE
TAPPING INTO THEIR SAVINGS
IN ORDER TO DEDICATE TWO MONTHS
TO THEIR QUEST, WHICH BEGAN
IN THEIR NATIVE NEW ENGLAND,
WHERE THEY'VE INVESTIGATED
A MYSTERIOUS STRUCTURE
IN WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS
CALLED THE GOSHEN TUNNEL.
INSIDE, THEY MAY HAVE UNCOVERED
A SECRET CHAMBER
THAT IS SIMILAR TO OTHER SITES,
WHERE GIANT SKELETONS WERE ALLEGEDLY FOUND.
THEY'VE REPORTED THEIR FINDINGS
TO ARCHAEOLOGISTS AT
THE UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS
HOPING TO INTEREST
THE SCIENTIFIC ESTABLISHMENT
IN CONDUCTING A FULL-OUT
EXCAVATION OF THE SITE.
WE'RE GETTING CLOSE.
I'M TOTALLY PUMPED.
BUT THE VERDICT WILL TAKE TIME.
SO THE BROTHERS TURN THEIR
ATTENTION TO THE NEXT
BEST LEAD THEY HAVE...
TWO ACCOUNTS OF GIANT SKELETONS
IN THE RUGGED OZARKS,
WHERE NATIVE AMERICAN LORE SAYS
A RACE OF CANNIBALISTIC GIANTS
ONCE DWELLED.
PAIUTE INDIANS,
THE SHOSHONE, THE CHOCTAW,
THE CHEROKEE... THEY TALK ABOUT
AN ANCIENT ENEMY.
YOU KNOW, THEY WARRED AND THEY BATTLED WITH
CANNIBALS THAT BASICALLY TRAPPED...
[growls]
AND FEASTED ON NATIVE AMERICANS.
Narrator: BUT IS IT POSSIBLE
THAT THESE STORIES ARE MORE
THAN MERE LEGEND?
THIS IS GERARD FOWKE, THE FIELD EXPLORER
FOR THE SMITHSONIAN.
YEP.
HE INVESTIGATED HUNDREDS
OF CAVES, AND HE FOUND PEOPLE
LIVING IN THEM THOUSANDS OF YEARS AGO.
Narrator: DURING HIS
EXPLORATION OF CAVES IN THE OZARKS,
ARCHAEOLOGIST GERARD FOWKE
FOUND MULTIPLE INSTANCES OF CANNIBALISM,
HUMAN BONES THAT HAD BEEN CRACKED
FOR THE EXTRACTION OF THE MARROW.
WERE THESE VICTIMS
OF AN ANCIENT GIANT ENEMY?
CANNIBALISTIC GIANTS.
CRAZY.
I KNOW.
IT'S... IT'S PRETTY FREAKY.
THAT'S WHAT IT IS.
SO THERE'S A MILLION CLUES HERE.
THIS ACCOUNT IS FROM THE '30s.
THE SUMMER OF '33.
I MEAN, IT'S JUST LIKE...
IT FEELS LIKE YESTERDAY.
Narrator: IN 1933,
A BOY NAMES BILLY HARMAN
WAS ON A HIKE IN THE OZARKS
OF SOUTHWESTERN MISSOURI, SEARCHING ALONG
THE MERAMEC RIVER FOR ARROWHEADS,
WHEN HE STUMBLED UPON PUCKETT'S CAVE.
INSIDE THE CAVE, BILLY UNEARTHED A FEW
TREASURED ARROWHEADS.
BUT AS HE CONTINUED TO DIG,
HE FOUND SOMETHING SHOCKING...
THE 8 1/2-FOOT FRAME OF AN OZARK GOLIATH.
Narrator: THE VIEIRAS'
FIRST STEP IS TO FIND THE CAVE ITSELF.
SWEET.
YEAH.
Narrator: AND JIM KNOWS
ANOTHER GIANT HUNTER
WHO SAYS HE HAS AN IDEA WHERE THE CAVE IS
BUT HAS YET TO EXPLORE IT.
HEY.
WHAT'S UP, JAMES?
JIM, HOW ARE YA?
FINALLY, WE MEET, BRO.
YES, NICE TO MEET YOU.
JAMES CLEARY SAW JIMMY'S
PRESENTATIONS ONLINE...
9 FOOT, DOUBLE ROWS OF TEETH.
9 FOOT HIGH, BOTH MORE THAN 10 FEET.
AND HE CONTACTED JIMMY.
WE FIND THESE ACCOUNTS
IN THE HISTORICAL RECORDS.
YOU INSPIRED ME, YOUR WORK.
AWESOME.
FELLOW GIANT HUNTER.
ABSOLUTELY, MAN.
YOU READY?
I'M FIRED UP.
LET'S GO, MAN.
WE'RE GONNA FIND IT IF WE
HAVE TO HACK OUR WAY THROUGH TO GET THERE.
NICE.
I'M TELLING YOU.
THERE'S A LOT OF SPECULATION
ABOUT THIS BEING A CANNIBALISTIC GIANT.
IN DIFFERENT CAVES, THEY FOUND
CANNIBALISTIC BEHAVIOR.
RIGHT.
Narrator: BECAUSE THIS
ACCOUNT IS MORE RECENT,
JIM AND BILL ARE HOPING TO FIND
NOT ONLY CORROBORATIVE PROOF
THAT A SKELETON WAS FOUND HERE...
LOOK UP THERE.
Narrator: BUT POSSIBLY
EYEWITNESSES, PHOTOGRAPHS,
AND MAYBE EVEN ACTUAL PHYSICAL EVIDENCE.
HUG ALONG
AND SEE IF WE CAN GET UP THERE.
WHOA, IT'S SLIPPERY.
YEAH.
THINKING, AS I HIKE
UP THE BLUFF, OF THE ANCIENT
TRIBESMEN WHO WERE HERE
HUNTING A DEER OR RABBIT.
AND THEY'RE GOING UP THE BLUFF,
CHASING THEIR PREY.
AND THEY KEEP GOING UP THE BLUFF...
WOW!
AND THEY REALIZE THEY'RE AT
THE FRONT DOOR OF THE GIANT,
AND THEY'RE THE PREY.
I'M SPEECHLESS.
VERY CLOSE TO ALL THE DESCRIPTIONS.
NOW, IT'S TIME TO VERIFY, TO MAKE SURE THAT
THIS IS THE CAVE.
WE'VE GOT TO SEE IF WE CAN FIND THE SPOT
WHERE THEY DUG THE SKELETON UP.
GIVE ME THE REPORT, JIM.
"A CORNER IN THE NORTH WALL
FORMED THE GIANT'S TOMB IN THIS NICHE."
WHICH WAY'S NORTH, BILL?
THIS IS OUR NORTH WALL.
IT HAS TO BE.
IT COULD BE ANYWHERE ALONG HERE.
LET'S SEE IF WE CAN FIND ANY EVIDENCE.
WE WOULD BE LOOKING FOR A NICHE.
WHOA.
LOOK AT THAT OVER THERE, GUYS.
THIS RIGHT HERE, THERE'S A DEPRESSION.
IT LOOKS LIKE IT'S BEEN EXCAVATED.
WHOA.
THERE'S A NOTCH
IN THE NORTH WALL JUST LIKE
THE ACCOUNT TALKS ABOUT.
YOU COULD TELL SOMEBODY TOOK
SOMETHING OUT OF THERE.
THERE'S SOIL ALL AROUND THE EDGES.
Narrator: ACCORDING TO THE ACCOUNT,
THE SKELETON WAS FOUND
IN A KNEELING POSITION,
ITS SEVERED SKULL FACEDOWN.
BESIDE THE BODY, AN ARROWHEAD
WHICH THE ACCOUNT SPECULATES
MIGHT HAVE BEEN THE CAUSE
OF THE GIANT'S DEATH.
WHY?
WHAT HAPPENED?
IN THE BIBLE YOU HEAR ABOUT GOLIATH,
KILLED BY DAVID.
MAYBE THIS GIANT ENDED UP
MEETING A SIMILAR FATE.
Narrator: THE WRITER OF THE ACCOUNT
ECHOES JIM'S ANALYSIS, DRAWING A COMPARISON
BETWEEN THIS GIANT AND GOLIATH
AND WONDERING IF THE CREATURE
WAS SLAIN BY A DAVID
OF THE MISSOURI HILL COUNTRY.
A GIANT COULD HAVE COME RIGHT
OUT OF THIS HOLE RIGHT HERE.
I'M THINKING ABOUT THAT KID
FINDING A SKULL.
WE HAVE TO COME BACK, NO QUESTION.
IT NEEDS TO BE LOOKED OVER
WITH A FINE-TOOTH COMB.
Narrator: THE NEXT DAY...
I'M GONNA GIVE YOU
A HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT.
THAT'S FOR YOU.
YES, HE'S READ MANY ACCOUNTS.
Narrator: JAMES CLEARY'S
FRIEND, BRAD H'DOUBLER, JOINS THE TEAM.
I'VE GOT SOME TOOLS
WE CAN USE, A METAL DETECTOR.
LET'S DO IT.
LET'S DO IT.
Narrator: THEIR PLAN IS TO SPLIT UP.
NICE, HUH?
YEAH.
YEEHAW!
Narrator: BILL AND BRAD,
A TRAINED GEOLOGIST,
WILL HEAD BACK TO THE CAVE
TO SCOUR FOR EVIDENCE.
READY TO ROLL.
Narrator: WHILE JIM AND JAMES
WILL HUNT FOR CLUES
IN NEARBY STEELVILLE, MISSOURI.
IT'S A SMALL TOWN.
IT WAS ONLY 1933, SO...
YOU KNOW, SOMEBODY AROUND
HERE'S GOT TO KNOW SOMEBODY
OR REMEMBER SOMETHING ABOUT IT.
Narrator: STEELVILLE IS
THE HOMETOWN OF THE BOY
WHO DISCOVERED THE BONES... BILLY HARMAN.
AND ALSO THE PLACE WHERE THE SKELETON WAS
REPORTEDLY ASSEMBLED AND WIRED TOGETHER
BY A LOCAL PHYSICIAN NAMED R.C. PARKER.
THE INTERNET IS FILLED WITH
HOAXES, MISIDENTIFICATIONS,
MISREPRESENTATIONS.
YOU REALLY... YOU CAN'T GET TO
THE TRUTH OF THE MATTER UNLESS
YOU WALK OUT IN THE FIELD...
HEY, HOW ARE YOU?
INTERVIEW REAL PEOPLE AND ASK QUESTIONS
ABOUT BILLY HARMAN AND DR. PARKER
TO SEE IF THIS IS ALL REALITY.
I HAVE AN ODD REQUEST.
WE'RE LOOKING INTO AN ACCOUNT
OF AN 8-FOOT SKELETON.
BEEN TOLD BY SKEPTICS
THAT GIANT SKELETON FINDS
ARE HOAXES OR IMAGINATIONS OF SOMEBODY
WHO'S UP TO NO GOOD.
I NEVER REALLY HEARD ABOUT THIS,
BUT I'M INTERESTED IN IT NOW.
SO WE WANT TO SEE IF WE CAN
VERIFY THIS ACCOUNT.
WE'RE IN TOWN RESEARCHING
AN 8-FOOT GIANT SKELETON
THAT WAS UNEARTHED IN THE 1930s.
OH, MY GOODNESS.
HEY, LLOYD.
JIM VIEIRA.
NICE TO MEET YOU, SIR.
THERE'S A LIST OF PEOPLE THAT
ARE ASSOCIATED WITH THE FIND.
DOC PARKER WAS THE ONLY DOCTOR
IN TOWN AT THE TIME.
DO YOU REMEMBER HIM?
OH, YEAH.
HE DOCTORED ME A LOT.
DR. PARKER WAS YOUR PERSONAL
DOCTOR WHEN YOU WERE YOUNGER?
YEAH.
SURE WAS.
THIS OLD-TIMER ACTUALLY SAID
THAT HE HAD HIS RIB REPAIRED BY DOC PARKER.
WAS HE WELL-RESPECTED IN TOWN?
YEAH, HE WAS JUST AN OLD COUNTRY DOCTOR.
SO WE START FINDING THAT
PEOPLE IN TOWN HAVE HEARD OF DOC PARKER...
WE STILL HAVE QUITE A FEW
HARMANS IN STEELVILLE.
IS THAT RIGHT?
AND THEY KNOW HARMANS.
HARMANS?
WELL, I KNOW ABOUT FIVE OR SIX BROTHERS.
LET'S SEE WHAT WE CAN FIND.
YEAH, HI.
IS THIS MR. HARMAN?
Narrator: JIM AND JAMES
REACH OUT TO HARMANS RESIDING
IN THE STEELVILLE AREA...
...WAS FOUND IN THE CAVE
BACK IN THE '30s.
Narrator: HOPING TO FIND ONE
RELATED TO BILLY HARMAN...
LET'S TRY ANOTHER ONE.
Narrator: WHICH COULD BE
THEIR BEST CHANCE OF TRACKING DOWN
THE GIANT BONES.
BYE.
THIS IS ED HARMAN.
...HAS THE SAME LAST NAME AS YOU.
OH, YOU ARE?
REALLY?
ED HARMAN, A LIVE RELATIVE
OF BILLY HARMAN.
WELL, LISTEN, IS THERE ANY WAY WE COULD
COME BY AND TALK TO YOU?
THAT WOULD BE AWESOME.
AND HE INVITES US DOWN TO HIS FARM.
WE'RE GONNA GET A CHANCE
TO TALK TO SOMEBODY WHO'S NOT
FAR REMOVED FROM THE EVENT.
LISTEN, IS THERE ANY WAY WE
COULD COME BY AND TALK TO YOU?
Narrator: GIANT HUNTERS,
JIM VIEIRA AND JAMES CLEARY,
ARE SEARCHING FOR EVIDENCE
OF AN 8-FOOT SKELETON REPORTEDLY DISCOVERED
IN THE 1930s BY A TEENAGER NAMED
BILLY HARMAN.
BYE.
ED HARMAN.
LET'S GO.
Narrator: THEY NOW HEAD TOWARDS A FARM
ON THE OUTSKIRTS OF TOWN
TO MEET WITH A LIVING RELATIVE
OF BILLY HARMAN.
FOR JIM, THIS IS AN OPPORTUNITY
TO SHED LIGHT
NOT ONLY ON THIS GIANT ACCOUNT,
BUT TO FURTHER HIS QUEST
TO PROVE THE EXISTENCE
OF A FORGOTTEN RACE OF GIANTS.
IT'S REALLY NERVE-RACKING
BECAUSE YOU'RE JUST DIVING INTO
THIS CRAZY SUBJECT,
AND PEOPLE ARE LIKE, YOU KNOW,
"YOU'RE OUT OF YOUR MIND, DUDE."
YOU KNOW?
YOU MUST BE ED.
YEAH. NICE TO MEET YOU GUYS.
GOOD TO MEET YOU.
COME ON IN.
BUT, YOU KNOW, ONE PERSON
TO THE NEXT, IT SEEMS LIKE
SOMETHING IS WORKING WITH US
TO TELL THE STORY.
THIS IS BEAUTIFUL.
SO WE JUST WONDERED IF YOU, BEING A HARMAN,
WHAT CONNECTION YOU HAD TO BILLY HARMAN,
OR IF YOU KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT
PUCKETT'S CAVE OR THE STORY.
WELL, MY GRANDFATHER, SAM HARMAN,
WAS A COUSIN TO BILLY.
AND MY GRANDFATHER RELAYED
THE STORY TO ME AS A CHILD, YOU KNOW.
HE TOOK ME THROUGH THE CAVE
AND ALL THAT, SHOWED ME
WHERE THE SKELETON WAS FOUND.
MY GRANDFATHER SAID IT WAS
A VERY... EXTREMELY
TALL PERSON... YOU KNOW,
APPROXIMATELY 8 FOOT TALL.
ED'S TELLING US THE STORY,
AND I LOOK OVER AT JAMES, AND I'M LIKE,
"THIS IS A GOLD MINE."
IT WAS A TRUE STORY.
IT WASN'T A HOAX, CORRECT?
RIGHT, 'CAUSE MY GRANDFATHER
WAS THE TYPE OF PERSON THAT
WHENEVER HE TOLD YOU A STORY,
HE NEVER EMBELLISHED ON ANYTHING.
I MEAN, WHEN HE TOLD YOU
SOMETHING, IT WAS... IT WAS
FACTUAL, IT WAS SOMETHING THAT
YOU COULD TAKE TO THE BANK.
SO WE'RE TRYING TO HUNT DOWN
BASICALLY WHAT HAPPENED TO
THE BONES, RIGHT?
THERE'S AN 8-FOOT SKELETON STRETCHED OUT IN
R.C. PARKER'S OFFICE.
RIGHT, RIGHT.
MOST OF THE DETAILS
ARE PRETTY IRON CLAD IN THIS... >> RIGHT.
BUT WHAT HAPPENED TO THE BONES IS NOT.
RIGHT, RIGHT.
AND I COULDN'T TELL YOU THAT FOR SURE
CAUSE I REALLY DON'T KNOW.
NOW WE HAVE A RELATIVE OF BILLY HARMAN
THAT CORROBORATES THE ACCOUNT.
THANK YOU, MY FRIEND.
BUT WHERE ARE THE BONES?
AND THAT'S WHAT WE WANT TO FIND OUT.
WE NEEDED TO FIND EVIDENCE...
DOCUMENTATION OR PHOTOGRAPHS OF
THE SKELETON ACTUALLY EXISTING,
BEING IN A PLACE, BEING WIRED TOGETHER
TO SEE IF THIS IS ALL A REALITY.
Narrator: MEANWHILE, 10 MILES NORTH...
THIS IS IT.
Narrator: BILL AND GEOLOGIST
BRAD H'DOUBLER... >> WOW.
Narrator: HAVE RETURNED
TO PUCKETT'S CAVE.
A PROMINENT NICHE IN THE NORTH WALL.
Narrator: THE VIEIRAS
HAVE IDENTIFIED THE SPOT WHERE
THE GIANT MAY HAVE BEEN BURIED.
I'M GONNA PULL THESE ROCKS OUT OF HERE,
GET 'EM OUT OF YOUR WAY.
OKAY.
Narrator: BUT TODAY, BILL
AND BRAD HOPE TO PROVE IT.
PRESUMABLY, BACK IN THE '30s,
BILLY HARMAN DIDN'T HAVE
A METAL DETECTOR IN HERE.
WHEN YOU START TALKING ABOUT GIANTS,
THE ONE THING THAT'S LACKING
IS PHYSICAL EVIDENCE, SOMETHING THAT WE CAN
HAVE DNA TESTED OR CARBON-DATED.
IT WOULD REALLY CORROBORATE
A LOT OF OUR THEORIES,
PUSH US OVER THE TOP.
Narrator: THROUGHOUT HISTORY,
THERE HAVE BEEN INSTANCES
WHERE THEORIES AND BELIEFS
WERE DISMISSED AS MYTH
BUT WERE LATER PROVEN TRUE
BY PHYSICAL EVIDENCE.
Narrator: FOR YEARS, THE BIBLICAL TALE
OF THE GREAT FLOOD WAS WIDELY REGARDED
BY SCIENTISTS AS MERE LEGEND.
BUT AFTER RECENT DISCOVERIES
REVEALED THAT A RAPID FLOODING
OF THE BLACK SEA OCCURRED AROUND 5000 B.C.,
SOME ACADEMICS NOW BELIEVE THAT
THE STORY OF A MASSIVE FLOOD
COULD BE BASED IN FACT.
COULD THE SAME BE TRUE
ABOUT THE EXISTENCE OF GIANTS?
WELL, OUR HOPE IS
WE FIND SOMETHING COPPER...
BECAUSE THAT'S THE ONE
ASSOCIATED WITH THESE GIANT ACCOUNTS.
YES.
IN A PERFECT WORLD,
WE'D GET A GIANT COPPER AXE.
Narrator: COPPER IS
IMPORTANT, BECAUSE ACCORDING
TO SOME ACCOUNTS,
GIANT SKELETONS HAVE BEEN FOUND
BURIED WITH COPPER JEWELRY,
CROWNS, AND EVEN WEAPONS,
LIKE A 27-POUND GIANT AXE HEAD
REPORTEDLY DISCOVERED IN OHIO IN 1893.
[metal detector buzzing]
LOOKS LIKE WE'VE GOT SOMETHING IN HERE.
[metal detector buzzing]
NAILED IT.
[laughs]
narrator: ACCORDING TO
THE ORIGINAL ACCOUNT,
THE BOY WHO DISCOVERED THE BONES,
BILLY HARMAN, ALSO FOUND A SERIES
OF DISPARATE ARTIFACTS BURIED IN THE FLOOR
OF THE CAVE.
LOOK AT THIS.
SHOTGUN SHELL.
I JUST GET THIS OMINOUS FEELING HERE,
LIKE I'M FOLLOWING
IN BILLY HARMAN'S FOOTSTEPS.
I FEEL LIKE WE'RE ON THE RIGHT TRACK.
Narrator: BUT THE CAVE WILL
NEED TO YIELD MORE IF THE BROTHERS
ARE GOING TO PROVE BILLY HARMAN'S STORY...
IT'S GONNA BE A LONG DAY, MY FRIEND.
YEAH.
Narrator: AND FURTHER
THEIR QUEST FOR GIANTS.
THE SEARCH CONTINUES.
Narrator: MEANWHILE, BACK IN STEELVILLE,
JIM AND JAMES CONTINUE THEIR HUNT.
WE WERE LOOKING INTO RECORDS.
RANDY C. PARKER HAD AN 8-FOOT
SKELETON IN HIS OFFICE.
WELL, WE DO HAVE A GENEALOGY
SECTION BACK HERE.
GREAT. THANK YOU.
Narrator: THEY HOPE THE TOWN
LIBRARY MIGHT CONTAIN CLUES
ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED TO THE SKELETON.
OKAY, LET'S SEE WHAT...
LET'S SEE, HOPEFULLY
YOU CAN FIND SOMETHING HERE.
CRAWFORD COUNTY GENEALOGY.
YEAH.
SMALL-TOWN LIBRARIES ARE
TREASURE TROVES.
THERE MIGHT BE A STORY ACTUALLY.
IT WAS SUCH A BUZZ IN THE TOWN, RIGHT?
I KNOW.
THE TOWN HISTORIES, OLD RECORDS...
YOU CAN'T FIND THIS STUFF
ANYWHERE ELSE IN THE WORLD.
IT'S NOT GONNA BE ON THE INTERNET,
IT'S NEVER BEEN PUBLISHED.
IF THERE'S ANYTHING...
LET'S SEE IF I FIND ANYTHING
RELATED TO THE GIANT SKELETON.
SO WE'RE DIGGING... UH, THIS LOOKS LIKE
MICROFICHE HERE.
AND I SEE THEY HAVE BOXES OF MICROFILM
FROM THE STEELVILLE LEDGER,
THE LOCAL NEWSPAPER.
WOW.
OKAY.
Narrator: THEY LOAD
THE MICROFILM FROM THE YEAR
THE SKELETON WAS DISCOVERED.
LET'S CHECK ALL THESE ARTICLES.
WE GO THROUGH THE PAPER
TO SEE IF THERE'S ANY MENTION
OF THIS ACCOUNT.
KEEP GOING.
OH.
OH, LOOK AT THAT.
AW, MAN.
WE FIND THE FRONT PAGE OF
THE STEELVILLE LEDGER, JUNE 15, 1933.
"ANCIENT SKELETON FOUND
IN CAVE NEAR STEELVILLE."
OKAY, NOW WAIT A MINUTE.
THAT'S A PHOTOGRAPH, MAN.
THAT'S WILD.
THAT'S AMAZING.
ON IT IS A PICTURE OF A 6-FOOT GUY
NEXT TO THE 8-FOOT SKELETON.
I'M THINKING, THIS COULD BE
OF THE GIANT CANNIBAL OF PUCKETT'S CAVE.
I CAN SAY WITHOUT
RESERVATION, THAT IS A PHOTO.
THAT'S A GAME CHANGER.
OH, LOOK AT THAT.
OH, MAN.
"ANCIENT SKELETON FOUND IN CAVE
NEAR STEELVILLE."
narrator: GIANT HUNTERS
JIM VIEIRA AND JAMES CLEARY
HAVE JUST UNCOVERED AN ASTOUNDING CLUE
IN THEIR INVESTIGATION
INTO AN 8-FOOT GIANT...
THAT'S A PHOTOGRAPH, MAN.
THAT'S WILD.
Narrator: REPORTEDLY UNEARTHED IN A CAVE
IN THE 1930s.
THAT'S AMAZING.
ON IT IS A PICTURE OF A 6-FOOT GUY
NEXT TO THE 8-FOOT SKELETON
IN DOC PARKER'S OFFICE.
I CAN SAY WITHOUT
RESERVATION, THAT IS A PHOTO.
AND THAT... THAT'S A
GAME CHANGER IN MY BOOK.
WE'RE BLOWN AWAY.
COULD YOU PLEASE TAKE A-A PICTURE OF THAT?
YEAH, LOOK AT THAT.
THE SKELETON, A 6-FOOT GUY NEXT TO IT.
IT'S LIKE, WHAT CAN YOU SAY TO IT?
HERE YOU GO.
LET'S CONTINUE TO ROLL THROUGH HERE.
Narrator: JIM AND JAMES MAY
BE CLOSE TO ANSWERING THE MOST
IMPORTANT QUESTION OF ALL.
WHERE DID THE SKELETON GO?
SO WE'RE PORING THROUGH THIS REPORT...
OH, HERE LOOK, "THIS SKELETON
IS NOW ON EXHIBITION AT
THE OFFICE OF DR. R.C. PARKER."
BOOM.
WE SEE THE NAME OF DOC PARKER.
"DR. PARKER"...
"IS IN RECEIPT OF A LETTER
FROM THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION
IN WASHINGTON, D.C."
"AND REQUESTED THAT HE SHIP
THE SKELETON TO WASHINGTON
FOR STUDY BY THE EXPERTS,
AS THEY THINK IT IS THAT OF
A GIANT OF PREHISTORIC TIMES."
HOLY [bleep].
WOW.
THE PATH LEADS TO THE SMITHSONIAN.
Narrator: THE SMITHSONIAN
INSTITUTION, ORIGINALLY NAMED
THE UNITED STATES'
NATIONAL MUSEUM.
IT WAS CREATED BY
THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IN 1846
AND HAS BEEN A CENTER
FOR SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH AND A DEPOSITORY
FOR THE NATION'S MOST PRIZED
TREASURES EVER SINCE.
"DR. PARKER MADE SHIPMENT."
"THE FIRST OF THE WEEK,
CAREFULLY WRAPPING THE BONES."
THE ACCOUNT TELLS US
THE SMITHSONIAN RECEIVED THE REMAINS.
THEY WERE BOXED UP BY DR. PARKER
AND SHIPPED THERE.
THE WEIRD PART IS THAT A LOT OF MUSEUMS
LIKE THE SMITHSONIAN SAY
THAT GIANTS DON'T EVEN EXIST.
THEY ARE THE, UM, DELUSIONS OF EXPLORERS,
MISIDENTIFIED MASTODON REMAINS, AND HOAXES.
THAT MENTALITY WENT ALL THE WAY
TO SOME OF THE TOP
ANTHROPOLOGISTS IN THE COUNTRY,
LIKE DR. HRDLICKA.
Narrator: DR. ALES HRDLICKA, A PHYSICIAN
AND NATURAL SCIENTIST,
FOUNDED THE SMITHSONIAN'S
DEPARTMENT OF ANTHROPOLOGY IN 1908
AND REMAINED ITS DIRECTOR
FOR NEARLY 50 YEARS.
AS DIRECTOR, HRDLICKA POSSESSED
GREAT INFLUENCE ON THE SCIENTISTS
THAT WORKED BENEATH HIM
AND WAS THE ULTIMATE DECIDER
OF WHAT WAS TO BE FACT OR FICTION.
DR. HRDLICKA REALLY SAID
THIS... THIS WHOLE IDEA
WAS NOT JUST NOT A REALITY
BUT VERY FOOLISH AND IDIOTIC
AND A CAREER-RUINER
IF YOU WERE TO DELVE INTO IT.
Narrator: BUT WHY WERE MUSEUMS
AND SCIENTISTS LIKE HRDLICKA
SO OPPOSED TO INVESTIGATING
CERTAIN REMAINS?
SOME MAY HAVE BEEN MERELY
PROTECTING THEIR REPUTATIONS
IN THE AFTERMATH OF HOAXES
LIKE PILTDOWN MAN.
IN 1912, AMATEUR ARCHAEOLOGIST
CHARLES DAWSON CLAIMED HE'D FOUND
UNUSUAL SKELETAL REMAINS,
REMNANTS OF ONE OF THE CRUCIAL
LINKS BETWEEN APE AND MAN.
Narrator: BUT OTHERS, LIKE HRDLICKA,
WERE WARY OF THE CLAIMS,
AND THIS TIME THEY WERE RIGHT.
DAWSON HAD MERELY COMBINED
THE JAW OF AN ORANGUTAN
WITH A HUMAN SKULL...
PILTDOWN MAN WAS A FAKE.
I THINK HOAXES LIKE PILTDOWN MAN
CLOSED A LOT OF MINDS,
BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, NOBODY
WANTS TO LOOK LIKE A FOOL.
Narrator: JIM BELIEVES THAT
COUNTLESS GIANT BONES MAY HAVE
BEEN ROUTINELY DISMISSED AS
HOAXES AS WELL, AND AS A RESULT
WERE CAST ASIDE OR BURIED DEEP
IN MUSEUM ARCHIVES.
DID SPECIMENS LIKE THE OZARK GOLIATH
PRESENT A TRUTH THAT WAS TOO
RADICALLY OUTSIDE THE STATUS QUO
OF THE SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY?
THIS IS GREAT.
DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE.
IT'S POSSIBLE.
SCIENCE MAY HAVE EXCLUDED
A LOT OF THIS INFORMATION.
ALL THE REPORTS ADD UP TO
NOTHING IF THERE'S NO PHYSICAL
REMAINS TO BACK THEM UP.
IT'S VERY DISCONCERTING
AND IT'S A GOOD QUESTION TO ASK,
WHERE ARE THE BONES?
THAT IS THE MAIN QUESTION, WHERE ARE THEY?
Narrator: A QUESTION
THAT JIM INTENDS TO PRESENT TO
HIS ACADEMIC CONTACTS BACK EAST
AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
GOOD WORK.
LET'S DO IT.
Narrator: MEANWHILE,
BACK IN PUCKETT'S CAVE,
BILL AND BRAD HAVE COME UPON
THEIR FOURTH HOUR OF SCOURING FOR CLUES.
WE COULD FIND ANY PHYSICAL EVIDENCE,
THAT'S REALLY WHAT
WE'RE LOOKING FOR, SOMETHING
THAT WE CAN HAVE DNA TESTED
OR CARBON-DATED TO SEE WHAT
WAS HAPPENING WITH THIS HUMAN
THAT WAS 8 FOOT TALL.
IT'S ACTUALLY A NEAT
LITTLE CAVERN UNDER HERE.
[metal detector beeping]
BRAD.
BRAD, CHECK THIS OUT.
SO WE'RE GOING UP AND DOWN THE NORTH WALL.
I'M PUSHING ASIDE LEAVES...
AND OUT OF THE CORNER OF MY EYE,
I SEE SOMETHING WHITE.
WHAT'D YOU FIND?
LOOK.
WE TAKE A CLOSER LOOK AT THIS THING.
WE'RE DUMBSTRUCK.
IT'S A TOOTH.
IT'S HUGE.
IT'S A BIG ONE.
SO BRAD AND I ARE GOING
BACK AND FORTH SPECULATING ABOUT
WHAT IT MIGHT BE.
COULD IT BE A BEAR TOOTH?
DOESN'T SEEM SHARP ENOUGH.
A DEER? A COW?
WE'RE 70 FEET UP IN A SHELTER CAVE.
KIND OF LOOKS HUMAN TO ME.
THAT WOULD BE ONE BIG HUMAN.
BRAD AND I ARE LOOKING AT EACH OTHER
AND WE THINK IT LOOKS LIKE A HUMAN INCISOR.
MY MIND IS RACING.
I'M JUST THINKING ABOUT ALL
THE ACCOUNTS WE HAVE
OF SKULLS WITH MASSIVE JAWS
AND FULL SECOND ROWS OF TEETH.
IF THIS THING IS AN ANCIENT
GIANT TOOTH, WE MIGHT
HAVE JUST HIT THE JACKPOT.
IT COULD CHANGE THE GAME.
Narrator: IN THE OZARKS,
THE VIEIRA BROTHERS ARE ON
AN EXTRAORDINARY QUEST
TO FIND OUT IF GIANTS
ONCE EXISTED IN NORTH AMERICA.
AND NOW AT PUCKETT'S CAVE,
THE SITE WHERE AN 8-FOOT GOLIATH
WAS UNEARTHED OVER 80 YEARS AGO,
BILL VIEIRA AND GEOLOGIST
BRAD H'DOUBLER MAY HAVE FOUND
AN IMPORTANT CLUE.
I MEAN, IT'S HUGE.
IT'S A BIG ONE.
Narrator: A LARGE TOOTH,
POSSIBLY AN INCISOR.
KIND OF LOOKS HUMAN TO ME.
THAT WOULD BE ONE BIG HUMAN.
Narrator: IF THE TOOTH IS AN INCISOR,
THE JAWBONE AND SKULL THAT IT WOULD MATCH
WOULD BE CONSIDERABLY LARGER
THAN THAT OF THE AVERAGE ADULT HUMAN MALE.
BIG JIM.
WHAT'S UP, BILL?
YEAH, YOU'RE NOT GONNA
BELIEVE WHAT WE FOUND UP HERE.
WHAT?
A BIG-ASS TOOTH.
BILL DROPS A BOMB ON ME,
AND MY MIND STARTS RACING.
YOU SERIOUS?
YEAH.
I'M JUST LIKE, WHAT THE HELL?
THIS MIGHT BE A PART OF A SKELETON.
THE REPORT MENTIONED THAT THE SKULL HAD
SEVERAL TEETH MISSING.
A TOOTH IS ONE OF THE BEST
THINGS WE COULD FIND.
YOU CAN PRECISELY DATE THE ENAMEL.
THE ROOT HAS DNA IN IT,
BUT JUST THE VERY IDEA
OF FINDING SOMETHING LIKE THIS
IS... IS PRETTY REMARKABLE.
OKAY, MAN, BYE.
HE SAID DOCUMENT EVERYTHING.
SOUNDS LIKE A GOOD PLAN.
LET ME TAKE A PICTURE.
Narrator: ACCORDING TO
THE LAW, ANYTIME EVIDENCE
OF HUMAN REMAINS ARE FOUND,
IT MUST BE TREATED
LIKE EVIDENCE IN A CRIME.
WE DECIDED TO BE SAFE.
THERE'S A CHANCE IT MIGHT BE A HUMAN TOOTH
SO WE NEED TO CALL THE CORONER.
WHAT A FIND.
CRAZY.
Narrator: THE BROTHERS
REUNITE AND HEAD TO THE OFFICE
OF THE LOCAL CORONER...
CRAWFORD COUNTY CORONER, PAUL HUTSON.
Narrator: IN HOPES THAT HE
MIGHT BE ABLE TO SHED SOME LIGHT
ON WHETHER THE TOOTH IS HUMAN
OR SOMETHING ELSE.
IT'S DEFINITELY BIG.
IT'S PRETTY LARGE IN DIAMETER.
I THINK IT'S PROBABLY AN INCISOR TOOTH,
ONE OF THESE TEETH, LIKE A BITER.
I MEAN, TO US,
IT LOOKED LIKE A HUMAN TOOTH,
BUT ONLY MUCH BIGGER.
EXACTLY.
IT DEFINITELY HAS THE CHARACTERISTICS
OF A HUMAN TOOTH, BUT I REALLY DON'T KNOW
WHAT IT IS.
Narrator: ARCHAEOLOGISTS
AROUND THE WORLD HAVE DISCOVERED
A NUMBER OF TEETH
WITH HUMAN PROPERTIES THAT
DIDN'T BELONG TO MODERN MAN.
IN 2000, AN UNUSUALLY LARGE TOOTH
WAS FOUND IN THE DENISOVA CAVE IN SIBERIA.
WHEN ANALYZED, SCIENTISTS FOUND
THAT THE DNA WAS DIFFERENT
FROM BOTH NEANDERTHAL AND MODERN MAN.
THAT TOOTH LED SCIENCE
TO PROCLAIM A DISCOVERY
OF A NEW PREVIOUSLY UNKNOWN
SPECIES OF ANCIENT MAN
THEY NAMED THE DENISOVANS.
WE'RE BLOWN AWAY.
IT'S REALLY STARTING TO LOOK
PRETTY MYSTERIOUS.
WE'RE DEFINITELY GONNA
GET IT THOROUGHLY TESTED
BY A PROFESSIONAL LAB.
WELL, THAT'S GREAT.
FINGERS ARE CROSSED.
OUR THOUSAND-MILE TREK MIGHT ALL PAY OFF,
BECAUSE WE'RE COMING OUT OF
THE OZARKS WITH A GIANT TOOTH.
Narrator: THE BROTHERS CAME
TO THE OZARKS WITH TWO PROMISING LEADS...
TWO ACCOUNTS OF GIANT SKELETON FINDS.
I THINK WE'RE NEAR
THE STATE LINE, ACTUALLY.
ARKANSAS.
Narrator: SO FAR, THE FIRST HAS PAID OFF
WITH POSSIBLE PHYSICAL EVIDENCE.
NOW, JIM PLANS TO INVESTIGATE
THE ACCOUNT OF A GIANT
REPORTED TO BE EVEN MORE MASSIVE
THAN THE ONE IN PUCKETT'S CAVE.
IT'S LIKE A CULMINATION OF
A LONG TRIP IF WE COULD ACTUALLY
FIND THIS CAVE.
Narrator: THE VIEIRAS ARE
ON THE TRAIL OF AN EXPLORER AND WRITER
FROM THE EARLY 20TH CENTURY,
NAMED VICTOR SCHOFFELMAYER.
IN 1913, SCHOFFELMAYER
TRAVELED TO THE OZARKS.
HE WRITES AN ARTICLE
IN THE NEW AGE MAGAZINE,
WHITE RIVER TRAILS,
ABOUT INTERVIEWING HILLBILLIES,
ESSENTIALLY, BEFORE THEY DIE OFF.
Narrator: ONE OF THE MEN
SCHOFFELMAYER INTERVIEWED
CLAIMED TO HAVE UNEARTHED
SOMETHING PECULIAR
IN ONE OF THE SHELTER CAVES NEARBY...
SEVERAL GIANT SKULLS
AND A SKELETON THAT MEASURED TO
A STARTLING 10 FEET IN LENGTH.
10 FOOT?
I KNOW, IT'S STRAIGHT OUT
OF THE TWILIGHT ZONE.
Narrator: THE BROTHERS' GOAL
IS TO FIND THE CAVE
WHERE THE BONES WERE DISCOVERED,
IN HOPES OF GATHERING ADDITIONAL EVIDENCE,
BUT LOCATING IT MAY BE DIFFICULT.
IN THE 1960s, BEAVER DAM WAS CONSTRUCTED
RIGHT NEAR THE CAVE
SCHOFFELMAYER WROTE ABOUT.
AND NOW THAT CAVE IS 35 FEET UNDERWATER.
TO GET TO THE BOTTOM OF
THIS SHELTER CAVE, WE GOT TO GO
TO THE BOTTOM OF THE LAKE.
Narrator: THE BROTHERS HEAD
TO A DIVE SHOP ON THE SHORE OF BEAVER LAKE.
HEY, MIKE.
HEY, ALAN, HOW ARE YOU DOING?
THIS IS JIM.
WHAT'S UP, MIKE.
AND BILL.
NICE TO MEET YOU.
PLEASURE TO MEET YOU.
AND MAYBE YOU COULD HELP 'EM OUT.
Narrator: THEY HAVE ENLISTED
THE HELP OF ALAN BLAND, A PARK RANGER WITH
U.S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS,
AND MIKE YOUNG, A PROFESSIONAL
MASTER CAVE DIVER.
I ACTUALLY HAVE SOME PHOTOS.
THIS IS A SKULL IN THE YUCATAN.
WOW.
IT WAS GORGEOUS.
MIKE YOUNG HAS BEEN ALL OVER
THE WORLD DOING CAVE DIVES.
WE'RE HOPING THAT MIKE CAN HELP
US PINPOINT WHERE THIS CAVE IS.
WE'RE LOOKING FOR THIS CAVE
WHERE THERE'S A REPORT OF GIANT SKELETONS.
WE ARE GOING OFF A REPORT FROM 1913.
SO WE TELL MIKE ABOUT THE ACCOUNT
AND THE AREA WE'RE LOOKING FOR.
WELL, ACTUALLY I THINK
I MIGHT KNOW THE AREA.
MIKE SAYS HE HAS A LOCATION IN MIND.
I'M NOT SURE EXACTLY WHERE
THE ENTRANCE IS AT,
BUT WE CAN GO AND LOOK FOR IT.
YES.
OKAY.
LET'S DO IT.
Narrator: MIKE LEADS
THE BROTHERS TO A LARGELY
UNEXPLORED PORTION OF BEAVER LAKE.
WOW, LOOK AT THE AREA.
NICE.
Narrator: THESE ROCKY
OUTCROPPINGS WERE ONCE BLUFFS,
HUNDREDS OF FEET ABOVE THE WHITE RIVER.
IT'S SO AWESOME TO BE
IN THIS AREA OF THIS ACCOUNT
THAT'S FASCINATED ME FOR YEARS.
IT'S REALLY HAUNTING.
[eagle screeches]
HERE'S YOUR WET SUIT.
THANKS, BROTHER.
Narrator: BILL IS A CERTIFIED DIVER
AND WILL BE THE ONE TO JOIN MIKE
IN THE UNDERWATER HUNT
FOR THE SCHOFFELMAYER CAVE.
THE FACT THAT BILLY IS HERE
WITH ME, FOLLOWING MY STRANGE
QUEST, ESPECIALLY DOING
SOMETHING SO DANGEROUS, IT'S REALLY COOL.
I COULDN'T ASK FOR MORE OUT OF MY BROTHER.
I'M NERVOUS.
I HAVEN'T DONE IT IN A LONG TIME.
CAVE DIVING IS SUPER DANGEROUS.
PEOPLE DIE ALL THE TIME IN IT.
YOU KNOW, YOU GET IN THAT CAVE,
YOU KICK UP SOME SILT, YOU LOSE YOUR LINE.
YOU GET YOUR LEG WEDGED UNDER SOMETHING.
THERE'S A LOT OF WAYS THAT YOU CAN WIND UP
NOT COMING OUT OF THAT CAVE.
GOOD LUCK.
BUT IT'S ON ME TO GO DOWN
AND FIND OUT WHAT'S IN THIS CAVE
FOR BOTH OF US.
YOU RELAXED?
YEP.
ALL RIGHT, LET'S GO.
Narrator: BROTHERS JIM
AND BILL VIEIRA ARE SEARCHING
FOR AN UNDERWATER CAVE WHERE,
IN 1913, A MAN WAS REPORTED TO
HAVE MADE A SHOCKING DISCOVERY...
GIANT SKULLS
AND A MASSIVE 10-FOOT SKELETON.
LET'S GO.
IF WE'RE LUCKY ENOUGH
TO FIND A CAVE DOWN THERE, WE'RE
LOOKING FOR DIFFERENT SIGNS THAT
YOU FIND AT OTHER GIANT SITES.
WE MAY FIND ARTIFACTS,
PICTOGRAPHS, OR STONE STRUCTURES
OF SOME KIND.
STONE TOMBS, STONE WALLS,
SOMETHING LIKE IN DEERFIELD THAT WE FOUND,
THAT'S WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR.
WE'RE GOING FROM 10 FEET DOWN
TO ABOUT 40 FEET DOWN,
AND IT'S PRETTY MURKY.
VISIBILITY IS ABOUT 10 FEET.
WE'RE KICKING UP SEDIMENT.
WE'RE NOT REALLY FINDING ANYTHING.
GOING AROUND THE FLOOR,
THEN, ALL OF A SUDDEN...
BOOM, WE SEE A CAVE.
THE FIRST THING THAT STICKS OUT...
OBVIOUS STACKED STONES.
AS A STONEMASON, I CAN TELL
THOSE STONES WERE PUT THERE AS A WALL.
WHOO!
WE FOUND A CAVE!
YEAH, BABY!
GIANT SHELTER CAVE.
THERE'S, LIKE, A MANMADE BERM.
BILLY'S ALL EXCITED.
HE STARTS DESCRIBING THE STONE WALL
NEAR THE MOUTH OF THE CAVE.
Narrator: WAS THIS REMNANT
OF STACKED STONES
ONCE PART OF A 10-FOOT GIANT'S
BURIAL CHAMBER, ONE THAT WAS DISCOVERED
BY AN OZARK MAN OVER 100 YEARS AGO?
PERHAPS, BUT THE BROTHERS
WILL NEED MORE EVIDENCE
IF THEY'RE GOING TO VERIFY
THAT THIS IS THE CAVE
THAT SCHOFFELMAYER DESCRIBED
IN HIS ACCOUNT.
ANYTHING YOU COULD FILM [indistinct].
Narrator: THE BROTHERS EQUIP
MIKE WITH AN UNDERWATER CAMERA
CAPABLE OF CAPTURING
HIGH-RESOLUTION IMAGES,
EVEN IN THE MURKIEST LOW-LIGHT CONDITIONS,
IN HOPES THAT THE CAMERA WILL REVEAL CLUES
THAT REMAIN SHROUDED TO THE NAKED EYE...
CLUES THAT COULD HELP THE BROTHERS PROVE
THAT TOWERING GIANTS THAT HAVE SPRUNG
FROM THE PAGES OF STORYBOOKS...
ONCE EXISTED.
SO IT'S ALL IN MIKE'S HANDS
NOW, WHICH IS GREAT, BECAUSE HE'S THE ONE
WITH THE MOST EXPERIENCE.
Narrator: MIKE EXHAUSTIVELY
DOCUMENTS THE INTERIOR OF THE CAVE.
WHAT DID YOU SEE?
CONDITIONS WERE HORRIBLE.
BACK IN THERE, MAN, IT'S REALLY SILTY.
YOU... YOU'LL SEE THE FOOTAGE.
Narrator: MIKE IS UNCERTAIN WHICH IMAGES
THE CAMERA WAS ABLE TO CAPTURE.
THIS IS LIKE CHRISTMAS
MORNING, RIGHT HERE.
Narrator: THAT NIGHT THE BROTHERS REVIEW
MIKE'S FOOTAGE.
THAT'S KILLER.
WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR IS
PICTOGRAPHS, OBVIOUSLY ANY
ARTIFACTS OR EVEN BONES.
Narrator: THEY SCOUR THE FOOTAGE.
IT'S POSSIBLE THE CAVES
MAY HAVE BEEN PICKED OR WASHED CLEAN,
ANY EVIDENCE OF GIANTS SWALLOWED BY TIME.
WHOA, WHOA, STOP IT.
LOOK AT THAT.
LOOKS LIKE A CARVED HEAD, DOESN'T IT?
RIGHT?
YEAH.
ON THE WALL, I SAW WHAT I THOUGHT WAS
A POTENTIAL PICTOGRAPH.
IT LOOKS LIKE A LARGE FACE,
AND MY MIND STARTS TURNING.
CAVE DRAWINGS ARE
ASSOCIATED WITH GIANT BURIALS.
I DON'T WANT TO BE PRETEND
TO BE SEEING THINGS,
BUT THAT, RIGHT, THE NOSE?
TWO EYES, A NOSE, AND A MOUTH.
WHOA WHOA, STOP IT.
LOOK AT THAT.
RIGHT?
YEAH.
Narrator: JIM AND BILL VIEIRA
HAVE HIT ON A POSSIBLE CLUE
IN THEIR SEARCH FOR EVIDENCE
OF A LOST RACE OF GIANTS,
FILMED IN AN UNDERWATER CAVE
THOUGHT TO BE A BURIAL PLACE
OF GIANT SKULLS AND A 10-FOOT SKELETON.
I DON'T WANT TO PRETEND
TO BE SEEING THINGS,
BUT THAT, RIGHT, THE NOSE?
TWO EYES, A NOSE, AND A MOUTH.
ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE WALL,
I SAW WHAT I THOUGHT WAS A-A LARGE FACE.
AND THEN RIGHT NEXT TO IT,
SOMETHING THAT REALLY LOOKS
LIKE HEAD OF A WOLF.
I'M WONDERING ARE THESE
PICTOGRAPHS ON THE WALL?
Narrator: PRIMITIVE
CAVE PAINTINGS AND ROCK ART
HAVE OFTENTIMES BEEN ASSOCIATED
WITH GIANT SKELETON FINDS.
THERE IS A PETROGLYPH SITE
UP IN ROCKINGHAM, VERMONT,
RIGHT ON THE CONNECTICUT RIVER.
THESE SKULL-LIKE FACES,
STRANGE AND HAUNTING,
AND OVER ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE RIVER,
IN 1849, A GIANT NATIVE CHIEF
WAS UNEARTHED.
Narrator: IF THESE ARE ROCK CARVINGS,
IS IT POSSIBLE THEY WERE CREATED
TO SIGNAL THAT THIS CAVE WAS SPECIAL?
AND COULD IT BE THAT
THE MAN VICTOR SCHOFFELMAYER
WROTE ABOUT IN HIS ACCOUNT
WAS TELLING THE TRUTH ABOUT
WHAT HE FOUND HERE BACK IN 1913?
I GOT THE FEELING AND A CLEAR INTUITION
THAT THIS WAS THE BURIAL SITE OF A GIANT.
MOVE IT FORWARD.
Narrator: THE BROTHERS STUDY
EVERY FRAME OF THE FOOTAGE,
LOOKING FOR ARTIFACTS OR BONES.
THE CAVE OFFERS NO LEADS.
FRUSTRATING.
Narrator: THEIR ARKANSAS TRIP
IS A DEAD END.
BUT THE VIEIRAS ARE BATTING .500
IN THE OZARKS.
THAT'S WILD.
Narrator: THEY'RE RETURNING
HOME WITH A PHOTOGRAPH OF WHAT COULD BE
A GIANT SKELETON, AND MOST IMPORTANTLY,
POSSIBLE PHYSICAL EVIDENCE
THAT THEY CAN GENETICALLY TEST.
COOL.
KILLER.
TODD DISOTELL SAID,
"GIVE ME PHYSICAL EVIDENCE."
AND WE FEEL LIKE WE MIGHT HAVE
THAT PHYSICAL EVIDENCE IN OUR HANDS.
Narrator: TWO DAYS LATER...
COUNTRY BOYS IN THE BIG CITY, JIM?
IT'S VERY VERTICAL.
YEAH.
Narrator: JIM AND BILL ARRIVE
IN NEW YORK CITY TO SHARE THEIR FINDINGS
WITH TODD DISOTELL...
HERE'S MY CONFERENCE ROOM.
Narrator: AN ANTHROPOLOGIST
WITH NEW YORK UNIVERSITY'S
CENTER FOR THE STUDY OF HUMAN ORIGINS.
LET'S SEE WHAT YOU BROUGHT.
Narrator: THE BROTHERS HOPE
TODD MIGHT BE ABLE
TO OFFER SOME INSIGHT AS TO
THE FATE OF THE OZARK GOLIATH
REPORTEDLY SENT TO THE SMITHSONIAN.
SO I'M WONDERING, DID THEY RECEIVE THIS?
DID THEY NOT RECEIVE THE SKELETON?
YOU KNOW, QUESTIONS LIKE THAT
ARE THE ONES WE HAVE FOR YOU.
YOU KNOW, THINGS SAY THAT IT
WAS DONATED TO THE SMITHSONIAN.
YOU KNOW, HUNDREDS
OF THOUSANDS... MILLIONS OF ITEMS
HAVE BEEN DONATED OVER 100-PLUS YEARS.
YEP.
BUT I WOULD SAY IF THE SMITHSONIAN HAD
MASSIVE 8-FOOT INDIVIDUALS,
DOUBLE ROWS OF TEETH,
WE WOULD BE SEEING THEM ON DISPLAY.
OKAY.
YOU KNOW, I WANT TO SEE THIS.
I LIKE THE INTERESTING,
THE WEIRD, THE FASCINATING, ETCETERA,
SO, YOU KNOW, I WOULD PAY MONEY
TO GO TO AN EXHIBIT THAT
HAD THESE THINGS ON DISPLAY.
YEP.
SO WE NEED MORE THAN, "IT WAS SHIPPED
TO THE SMITHSONIAN."
YOU HAVE SOMETHING FOR TODD?
YES.
HERE IT IS.
WEIRD.
IT'S BIG.
YOU FOUND IT IN THE CAVE?
I'M PRETTY SURE IT'S NOT HUMAN,
BUT IF IT'S HUMAN...
IT'S EXTRAORDINARILY LARGE.
WE WANT TO GET IT TESTED
AND GET A DEFINITIVE ANSWER OF WHAT IT IS.
WELL, THERE'S NO REASON
NOT TO PURSUE IT.
I LOOK FORWARD TO CONTINUING
THIS CONVERSATION.
THAT'S GREAT.
AWESOME, MAN.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR TIME.
WITH EVERY STEP OF THIS JOURNEY,
WE KNOW WE'RE GONNA BE GETTING
CLOSER TO THE TRUTH.
BUT WE'VE ONLY SCRATCHED
THE SURFACE ON THIS JOURNEY.
WE'VE GOT A LOT OF GROUND TO COVER
AND A LOT OF DIGGING TO DO
TO GET TO THE BOTTOM OF THIS MYSTERY.
Narrator: NEXT WEEK ON
SEARCH FOR THE LOST GIANTS...
THEY EXHUMED A NATIVE CHIEF
OF GIANT STATURE,
AND THE TEETH WERE ALL DOUBLE.
THAT, TO ME, IS A TYPE OF
SAND THAT IS NOT FOUND IN GOSHEN.
THIS IS FAIRLY REMARKABLE.
THE TUNNEL IS PLAYING
MIND GAMES WITH US.
WHOA.
THAT SKELETON COULD EVEN BE
IN THIS HOUSE.
ALL RIGHT, SHIELD YOUR EYES.