Kap-Dwa: A mysterious, 3.5-meter-tall, two-headed Giant from Patagonia
Kap-Dwa: A mysterious, 3.5-meter-tall, two-headed Giant from Patagonia
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Said to have originally been captured by Spanish sailors in the 1600’s, Kap-Dwa was a two-headed, 3.5-meter tall giant that once lived on Earth.
There isn’t a shortage of ancient texts and general evidence that supports the notion that giants existed on Earth. However, you’ve probably never encountered a story like this. Meet Kap Dwa, a two-headed, 3.5-meter-tall giant from Patagonia.
While there are many elaborate hoaxes that show massive bones and strange-looking skeletons all around the globe, there are some discoveries that challenge our understanding of life on Earth. Kap Dwa’s story is beyond fascinating and many find it hard to believe.
So, where did he come from?
The story begins in 1673 when this massive two-headed giant was captured by Spanish sailors where he remained captive until he was killed while trying to escape from his captivators, as the Spaniards killed him with a pike through the chest.
The story fades away after that, but it is believed that his mummified remains somehow got to England in the 19th century.
In 1914, after being passed from one showman to another, the mummified remains of Kap Dwa ended up at Weston’s Birnbeck Pier. There, his remains spent some 45 years on display until “Lord” Thomas Howard purchased the remains in 1959. Kap-Dwa continued to amaze people and somehow ended up in Baltimore Md, in a strange, collection at Bob’s Side Show at The Antique Man Ltd in Baltimore, owned by Robert Gerber and his wife.
You may think, this is nothing but another elaborate fake.
The alleged mummified remains of Kap Dwa.
However, Kap-Dwa does exist and the mummified remains can be found in Gerber’s collection.
Mr. Gerber however, tells a much different story than the above.
According to Gerber, Kap-Dwa was in fact found already dead on a beach with a massive spear embedded in his chest. The ‘creature’ was mummified by locals in Paraguay—not Patagonia— until an English Captain called George Bickle came across his remains, eventually transporting him to England, to a museum in Blackpool where he stayed on display for several years.
Eventually, the mummified remains were transported back to the Americas to Baltimore.
Ok, so he did exist, does that prove Giants were common in the past?
Well, while it’s certainly possible that such a being may have existed—and Kap-Dwa is most likely real—there is abundant proof of fake giants all around the globe. This, however, does not mean that because one of them is fake, all others are as well.
We can find numerous ancient texts and accounts that mention the existence of giants. Some of these texts can even be found in religious books like the bible.
“There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.” -Genesis 6:4
The Nephilim are believed to have been the offspring of the “sons of God” and the “daughters of men” before the Deluge according to Genesis 6:4; the name is also used in reference to giants who inhabited Canaan at the time of the Israelite conquest of Canaan according to Numbers 13:33.
“And there we saw the Nephilim, the sons of Anak, who come of the Nephilim; and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.” -Numbers 13:33.
Kap-Dwa may have been real, and our planet is anything but uncommon when it comes to people with extraordinary height.
The tallest man on Earth, when last measured on 27 June 1940, was found to be 2.72 m.
The issue with the ‘two heads’ can also be explained as ‘conjoined twins’ are not that uncommon.
It is up to you to conclude whether or not, something like this is possible, and whether or not the existence of Kap-Dwa proves that in the distant past, giants did exist on Earth, and there are still many things that remain unexplained on Earth.
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Step right up, ladies and gentlemen Sideshow: A little shop of curiosities on Fleet Street has everything from Beatles dolls to Kap-Dwa, the 12-foot man from Patagonia.
TWO-HEADED GIANT FOUND IN FELLS POINT!
No way, you say. Preposterous. Unbelievable, improbable, implausible, inconceivable, infeasible, in fact, down right impossible, you say.
OK, then -- what, or who, is that in the display case of the Antique Man in the 1700 block of Fleet Street?
Robert Gerber, 53, shoulder-length hair gone to white, says it is Kap-Dwa (homo gigantis), slain warrior of ancient time. Odysseus and Aeneas might have come across the 12-foot giant, had their travels gone by way of Patagonia in the far reaches of South America.
Gerber's shop, which he co-owns with Robert Jansen, is crammed with antiques, memorabilia, artifacts: African masks, the hand of Freddy Krueger, a skull from "Raiders of the Lost Ark," a set of Beatles dolls -- treasures all. But it's the sideshow curiosities like Kap-Dwa that give the shop its cachet.
You can almost hear the carnival barker: "Step right up! See the four-legged chick, the Siamese duckling; the skeletal remains of the Son of Dracula -- with stake through its heart. And, just to your left, the famous Fiji mermaid!"
"I've always liked this kind of stuff," says Gerber. "When I was a kid, I would go to all the sideshows. You know, the fat ladies, the guy who drove a spike through his nose. I don't know. I just liked it."
Sideshows grew with the circuses of the mid-19th century. At that time they were known as "outside shows" and were viewed before or after the show under the big top, says Fred Dahlinger, a historian at the Circus World Museum. Eventually, they came to be known as sideshows. By century's end they could be found in most of the 100 circuses traveling the country or in the dime museums of the nation's big cities.
The Fiji mermaid was a guaranteed draw.
"It's a great item, one of my personal favorites," says Edward Meyer, vice president of exhibits and archives for Ripley Entertainment Inc. "It was a very clever P.T. Barnum gag from the 1880s. He made a lot of money trying to convince people in New York that there were mermaids in Fiji."
The "mermaid" was soon revealed to be a fraud, a touch of taxidermic trickery taken to a comic extreme. The top half came from a monkey, the bottom half from a fish. Who would fall for such a thing?
You can point to the one in Gerber's shop and laugh. Humanity has come so far. We know there's no such thing as a mermaid. But cast your mind back 100 years. Vast stretches of the world were unknown. God only knew what swam the seas. Tall tales and illustrations spoke of a fabulous world of sea monsters and mermaids. Maybe there was something to all the talk about Fiji. So, you paid your dime for a look-see.
not really duping the public with negative intent," says Dahlinger. "It's kind of catering to that gullibility people have. They don't want to quite believe it's true, but they want to check it out."
Even today, there are occasional reports of Bigfoot, or another sighting of the Loch Ness monster.
Gerber often dreams of opening a small museum of curiosities with his partner. It would be one way to pass on a little joy, and you wouldn't need a dime to see the Fiji mermaid. Admission would be a can of food for the needy.
For now, the shop is open from noon to 5 p.m. on Sundays. People stroll in, look around, laugh. Nothing wrong with that. A smile is a good thing, a special thing in a world of too much pain. A sign in the store window shows a single eye crying and the words: "It shouldn't hurt to be a child." Area crime has forced Gerber to protect his shop with a Smith & Wesson .38 Special holstered on his left hip.
"I don't like 'em," he says of guns. "I hate 'em. I wish we didn't need 'em. But that's the way the world is now. Sad to say."
Better to have a world of wonder, of sea monsters and mermaids -- and Patagonian giants.
The giants were all the rage in the 1920s and '30s, says Warren Raymond, a collector and sideshow historian in Silver Spring. "Patagonia" had entered the cultural lexicon. It was a distant, barely known land and a great word for a huckster looking to make a buck.
"Showmen, who were never one to let the grass grow under their feet, were quick to capitalize on it," says Raymond.
Nelson's Supply House in South Boston cranked out Patagonian giants, charging $60 apiece. For that you got a giant, a banner, perhaps a written spiel if you couldn't come up with your own. The giant was known as King Capuwar, says Raymond.
True story.
Gerber puts a different spin on the history of Kap-Dwa.
"So the story goes, he was a peaceful guy who lived on an island. One day they found him on the beach with a spear in his chest," he says.
Kap-Dwa was mummified and buried along with his faithful dog, Spot. A religious cult developed. The legend spread to the Old World, prompting Capt. George Bickle, late of Plymouth, England, to set out in the clipper ship "Olive Branch."
After an arduous, agonizing and amazing adventure across the perilous plains of Paraguay, he was able to abscond with Kap-Dwa, bringing him to the Blackpool Museum, where the giant and canine companion created a national sensation.
True story.
Now, some may mock the populace of our fair city and call us Balti-morons, but we've all been around the block a couple or three times. We know what's what. We can tell the real thing from the fake. Or can we?
"I think he's exactly what he's billed as," says Gerber, no hint of jest in his smile. "We've had students from Hopkins, droves of them, and they all say he's real."
Preposterous? Unbelievable?
Curious?
Pub Date: 12/26/96
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Bob's Side Show
This is Haussner's ball of string that was auctioned back in December of 1999. Though this is not the biggest ball of string in the country it definitely holds its own. The string measures 337.5 miles, enough to stretch from Baltimore to Rhode Island with room to spare and it weighs about 825 pounds. The string was made from laundry twine that was used to package clean tablecloths and napkins for the famous Haussner's Resturant of Eastern Avenue. This is a one of a kind treasure and we are proud to have it displayed in our store. The ball was also featured in Meet the Parents a 2000 comedy film starring Ben Stiller and Robert De Niro. The film was distributed by Universal Studios and DreamWorks SKG.
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It is with great pleasure that we present "KAP DWA", the Giant, and we are sure that you will enjoy the exhibit and we think it is sure to stimulate your imagination. He is a 12 feet tall, two headed mummy. The mummy was brought to England in the early 1800's from Paraguay by Captain George Bickle who sailed out of Plymouth, England on the clipper ship, Olive Branch. It is said that the great P.T. Barnum tried in vain to buy Kap-Dwa on one of his trips to England. It was not until the mid 1950's that Kap-Dwa left the Blackpool Museum to go on tour in the United States. He was retired and put into storage until the 60's where he stayed until discovered by the Antique Man.
Is he real? You must see him for yourself as we did.
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The famous Tocci Brothers.
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Dracula's Son
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Shrunken Head
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The Oldest Tree in Baltimore
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A Perserved Railroad Worker's Severed Foot
You must come in and read his story.
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Whatever you do, don't go to sleep. This is one of Freddy Krueger's hand that was used on A Nightmare on Elm Street, the horror classic that launched 6 sequels and made Freddy Krueger into a legendary character. Dig your claws into the chilling ... come in and check it out.
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Mummified Hand of a Thief
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Ever see a Siamese duck?
Very unusual. Only lived a short time. Born on a Quacker Farm. Only one in existence.
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Four Legged Chicken
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