The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1883-09-27
MULHATTAN.
The Champion Liar of America.

LOUISVILLE courier journal
Mr.. Joseph Mulhattan is in town,
and COurier-JOurnal reporter who
talked with him last night found him
as goodnatured as ever. The famous
prevaricator is rather small man,
good looking, with beard and NOUS
tache, dancing blue eyes, quick, cat
like motions. and one of the most
rapid takers one could find in a days
walk. The words seem to be gurgling
in his throat and chasing one another
out, hot-foot. He dresses very well,
and altogether presents very tidy
appearance.
Eyes, sir, 1 have started a new
branch in journalism; something that
is an innovation and success. | call
it novelistic journalism. Dickens and
Thackeray wrote novel in volume,
and considered themelves fortunate
when 100000 people read it in five
years. l write novel of thousand
words that is read by more than 1,O00,-
900 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 nobody s
morals are corrupted, and all are en-
tertained and sometimes instructed. l
have selected all sorts of subjects for
stories; many of them have travelled
over the world and have been wonder
ed at in twenty nations. l am just
thirty 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. / have
fooled evsry paper of prominence in
the United States, and some of my
scientific stories have been discussed
by the learned societies of Europe"
when did you begin your career
of mendacity?" interrupted the re-
porter.
81 have been writing my novels for
ten years now. started on the Pitts
burg Leader, and fooled them for
three or four years. l 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. L
started the story of John Wilk es
Booth being seen in several places,
and wrote so circumstantially that
many believed it. l started, as joke,
the report that President Lincoln's
bones would be exhibited at the Cen
tennial. The press of the country
took it up, and for weeks it was a
national question. don't know how
many of these stories / wrote in the
east. The biggest thing 1 wrote
in this part Of the country was
the Big Clifty fight, where a
drummer wrestled with two high
waymen on a bridge and finally threw
them over. My cave story at Glas-
gov Junction went all over the
world; you doubtless remember that.
L found a cave larger than Mann
moth cave, with navigabIe rivers,
mummies 1000 years old, and hun
dred other marvellous things. The
Leitchfield story about the finding of
Masonic emblems that had been
buried for thousands of years, show
ing q 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 magma
tioD."
"What was the basis Of such mar
velous ie?"
"You mean such a well-imagined
novel," interrupted Mr.. Mulhattan
with smile. "Why, there is never
any foundation to my stories. There
in lies my power. Almost anybody
could write q story with the founda-
ton to build on; it requires genius to
construct novel without any foun-
dation in fact whatever, to evolve it
all out of your own mind as spider
draws the web from its own body. l
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 a jailer and said: iii
bet that story was written by Joe
Mulhattan."
"What has been your success in
Texas ?"
Every fine. / suppose you read my
meteor story. The Fort Worth Ga
Zette received, the day af er 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-
a fine banquet. The Texans enjoyed
my novels immensely. Some of my
stories have never been contradicted
especially that one about the finding
| OF nVe skeletons under tree Wnore
the people had all been killed by
lightning. They are talking OF
running me for congress down
there. Tom Ochiltree, who
| used to be friendly with me before
hardly speaks to me now. He say:
the meteor story laid him cold. III,
will never amount to anything AGAR
as liar"
"That last balloon story which i
going the rounds, of man hanging
by two fingers while he was dragged
| four miles, reads Ike you wrote it"
NO" replied the Jules Verne O
American newspapers, with sigh O
regret at such a good lie having es
capped him, 81 didn't write it, bat who
4 ever did was good one. L couldn'
have done the work better myself