Morris tribune. [volume] (Morris, Minn.) 1880-2000, 1883-10-27
"NOVELISTIO JOURNALISM"
The Views OF the Most Gifted RO
ma1cer OF the Press.

ma1cer or the Press.
Louisville Courier-J Journal
Mr.. Joseph Mulhattan is in town, and
CourierJournal reporter who talked to hin
last night found him as good natured as ever
eyes, sir, have started a new branch
in journalism; something that is all innova
ton and a success. l call it novelistic jour
nalism Dickens and Thackelay wrote 4
novel in u volume and considered them
selves fortunate when 100000 people read
it in FIVE years lwrite novel of thousand
words that is read by more than 200, 00O
people ten. hours after it has left my hand.
Why, what could be more attractive to a
literary man: Nobody is hurt by my little
novels; uobody's morals are interrupted, and
all are entertained and sometimes instructed
have selected all sorts of subjects for these
| stories; many of them have Travelled over
the world and have been wondered at in
| twenty nations l am Just 80 years old
| and am famous. There is not a man in this
country who can read and write and who has
read the newspapers that doesn't know of
Joe Mulhattan. l have fooled every paper
OF prominence in the United States, and
some of my scientific stories have been dis
cussed by the learned societies of Europe"
when did you begin your career of meu-
dacity!" interrupted the reporter
II have been writing my novels for ten
years now. | started on The Pittsburg
Leader and fooled them for three or four
years | wrote stories of marvellous oil
wells, of romantic highway robberies and
things of that kind then got to sending my
novels to other prominent journals |
started the story of John Wilkes Booth being
seen in several places and wrote so circum-
stantlally that many believed it. | started.
as joke, the report that President Lincoln's
bones would be exhibited at the Centennial
The press of the country took it up, and for
weeks it was national question. I don't
know how many of these stories wrote in the
east. The biggest thing wrote in this part
OF the country was the Big Clifty fight,
where drummer wrestled with two high
waymen on bridge and finally threw them
over. My cave story at Glasgow Junction
went all over the world; you doubtless re-
member that. I found a cave there larger
than Monmouth Cave, with navigable riv-
ers, mummies 1000 years old and hundred
other things. The Leitchfield story about
the finding of masonic enblems that had
been buried for thousands of years, showing
a prehistoric race of masons, caused great |
excitement l am prouder of my Glasgow |
cave story than any of the others. 1t showed |
more invention and more imagination"
''What was the basis of such a marvellous |
Iie?n
"You mean such well-imagined novel; |
interrupted Mr.. Mulhattan, with a smile. |
why, there is never any foundation to my !
stories Therein lies my power. Almost any, |
body could write story with the foundation |
to build on; it requires genius to construct |
novel without any foundation in fact what
oxyo to- - I'LL
a spider draws the web from its own body. ! |
wrote that thing about the finding of a cave
at Gallatin, where the jewels and gold of the
James brothers were found. When Frank
James read it, he turned to jailer and said
'Pn bet that story was written by Joe Mul.
hattan.'n
what has been your success in Texasg'
Very fine. I suppose you read my me-
teor story The Fort Worth Gazette received
the day after it was published ia kilograms
from all parts of the world; some were from
st. Petersburg; some from London; some
from Edinburgh. When visited Fort Worth
afterward they gave me fine banquet. The
Texans enjoyed my novels immensely Some
ofmy stories have never been contradicted,
that one about tho finding of five
skeletons under tree where the people had
all been killed by lightning. They are talk
ing of running me for congress down there.
Tom Ochiltree, who used to be friendly with
me before, hardly speaks to me now. He
says the meteor story laid him cold. He will
never amount to anything again as liar"
THAT last balloon story which is going the
rounds of man hanging by two fingers
while he was dragged four miles reads like
you wrote it."
"No," replied the Jules Verne of American
newspapers, with a sigh of regret at such a
good lie having escaped him; II didn't write
It, but whoever did was good one. Icouldnt
nave done the work better myself