The 19th century was an era of great hubris, showmanship and uncritical credulity. Yellow journalism flowered & prospered in the 19th century. So did carnival Side Shows & Freak Shows...
All the 'evidence" cited hails from the 19th century. The Smithsonian knows nothing about a lot of things that have been donated to it -- skeletal remains of giants in particular. Go back through the old county history books & collect the accounts of their discovery, examination and acceptance by Smithsonian officials (including "thank you" letters quoted verbatim). Where are those letters? Surely someone saved at least ONE of them...
Much of the material from the well known 19th century hoaxes involved personal hatreds, personal agendas and/or a desire to make MONEY off the credulity of the general public.
Therefore, the burden of proof rests upon the person who wishes to promote these as factual. NOT negative evidence. ("It's missing!" or "It's been destroyed!") The absense of evidence doesn't meant that there is a conspiracy to hide something.
