Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1883-09-01
THE KEyTuckY MuNcMAusEx.
cessor OF Ananias, Returns 10 Hts
First Love Prom Trip


Mr.. Joseph MuLhaton Is in town.
and q Courjcr-Journoi reporter who
talked to him last night found him as
good-natured AS ever. The famous
prevaricator Is rather small man,
good-looking. with beard and NOUS
iache, dancing blue eyes, quick, cat
like motions, and one Of the most rap
i'll takers one could find In days
walk. The words seem 10 be gurgling
in his throat and chasing each other
out, hot-foot He dresses very well
aud altogether presents II tidy appear
ance.
Eyes, sir. have started new
branch In journalism; something that
is an innovation and success. / call
1t novelistic journalism. Dickens and
Thackeray wrote novel In volume,
and considered Themselves fortunate
when l00, 900 people read II in five
years. | Write novel of "A thousand
words that Is read by more than l,0)0,-
900 pc pie ten hours after II has left
my hand. Why, what could be more
attractive to a literary man? Nobody
is hurt by my little novels; nOb0dy's
morals are corrupted, and all are enter.
tanned and sometimes Instructed.
lave selected all sorts of subjects for
the 81 stories: manyo of them have trav-
eled over the world and have ueen
wondered az iii twenty nations. | am
Just thirty years old and am famous.
There is not man III this country
who can read and write and who has
read the newspapers that doesn't know
Of Joe Mulhatlan. j have fooled every
paper of prominence in the United
States, and some OF my scientific sto-
ries have been discussed by the learned
societies of Europe"
when did you begin your career of
mendacity ?'' interrupted the reporter.
II have been writing my novels for
ten years now. / started on the Pitts
burg Ledder and fooled them for four
years. wrote stories of marvellous
oil wells, OF romantic highway rob
berries; things of that kind. then got
to sending my novels TO other promi-
nent journals. | started the story of
John Wilkes Booth being seen in
several places, and wrote so circum-
stantially that many believed it.
started. as II joke that President Lin
coins bones would be exhibited at
the centennial. The press of the coun-
try took it up and for weeks it was a
national question. | don't know
how many of these stories /
wrote in the asst. The biggest
thing | wrote in this part of the
country was the Big Clitty fight,
where drummer wrestled with two
highwaynen on u bridge and finally
threw them over. My Cave story ut
Glasgow Junction went all over the
world; you doubtless remember that.
| found a cave there larger than Mann
moth Cave, with navigable rivers,
mummies two thousand years old, and
q hundred other marvellous things.
The Leitchfield story, about the find
ing of Masonic embleins that had been
buried for thousands Of years, showing
prehistoric race of Masons, caused
great excitement. am prpuder of my
Glasgow Cave story than any of the
others. 1t showed more invention and
imagination.
"What was the basis of such mar
velous liea"
You mean such well-imagined
novel; interrupted Mr.. Mulhatton
with u smile. "Why, there is never
any foundation to my stories. There
in lies my power. Almost anybody
could write story with the founda-
ton to build on; 1t requires geniusIo
construct novel without any founda
ton in fact whatever, to evolve ii all
out of your own mind as spider
draws the web from its own body. /
wrote that thing about the finding of
"a cave ut (iallatin, where the Jewels
and gold of the James brothers We're
found. When Frank James read 1t.
he turned to jailer and said: IN bet
that story was written by Joe Null
hatton.'
What has been your success in
Texas?n
Every fine. suppose you read my
meteor stor.J. The Fort Worth GA.
zErrE received the day after 1t was
published Ia kilograms from all parts
OF the world; some We're from ST
Petersburg; some from Lopdon some
from Edinburg. When / visited Fort
Worth atterward they gave me fine
banquet. The Texans enjoyed my
novels immensely. Some of my stories
have never been contradicted especi.
ally that one about the finding of five
skeletons under II tree where the peo-
pie had all been killed by lightning.
They arc talking of running me for
congress down there. Tom OchiltIee
who used to be friendly with me be-
fore, hardly speaks to me now. He
says the meteor story laid him cold.
He will never amount to anything
again as IA liar
THAT last balloon story which Is go
ing the rounds, of man hanging by
two fingers while he was dragged foul
miles, reads like you wrote it.
"Non replied the Jules Verne Of
American newspapers, with sigh OF
regret ut such u good lie having es
capped him, ~ didn't write II, but
whoever did was good one. | could
not haye done the work better my
SELF
DELAYED YELEGRAMS.