Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-11-22

opinion or complaint and sign it. 1t must
be admitted that the system has its adyan-
tage. I recalled all the horrors and indig-
mites had ever suffered at the hands of
hotel keepers since L was boy and boiled
my revenge down into the notice left on
that hotel register in India. To say I
roasted 'em is putting it like tafy.
'The biggest liars in the world are to be
found in India They are the champions of
the earth. If Tom Ochiltree had lived in
India he would never have been heard of,
much less mentioned in the papers. These
fellows lie SO much they would be knocked
dead by q casual truth. 1t would affect
them like stroke of lightning. I was told
in Mysor that about 100 miles from there
lived man whose hair was SO long it swept
the ground as he walked
Experience in Freak Hunting.
'Tt was way back in the widest part Of
the country, where he was supposed to be
located. Several of these Brahmins had
seen him. So went to work and hired a
relay of bullock carts to get him out. This
took about four days, and the country was
awfully rugged. 1 found the man. But
his hair only came down about as far as
far as Jerry Rusk's whiskers. 1t would
have been long for Broadway soubrette,
but wasn't much for side show. He must
have been Is years old, so there was no
hope of its growing longer. So all that
time and trouble went for nothing.
Another time up in Secunderbad rail-
road manager told me of native who was
nine feet high, a regular giant, he said.
Now, knew this man had lived in India
90 or 25 years years and felt that he was
probably as big liar as the natives So I
took no stock in his story. told him so
very frankly. 1t made him rather warm
under the collar. He finally said to show
me he was telling the truth he would send
for him at his own expense. The alleged
giant lived about a thousand miles away.
The railroad man telegraphed to brother
official up in that region to send the giant
down-that there was rich American who
had sent the agent clear to India for him
and there was big money in it.
How the Lies DwindIe Down.
s'I told him hat I'd pay so much to Sc
cure the giant if he answered the descrip-
tion given. Well, he arrived about four
davs later. He was nearly seven feet high
instead of nine. Bnt he looked really ten.
He was as thin as a hairpin and weighed
exactly 125 pounds. He was so weak we
had to lean him up against a house while 1
measured him. 1 was afraid to breathe on
him for fear of breaking him in two. We
would have had to pack him in cotton to
bring him over. Did this railroad liar take
water7 Not bit of it. He swore up and
dove and crosswise that the man was q
giant when he saw him last, and that it was
a case of India sickness that had thus re-
duced him in heighth and thickness. It
was the most remarkable case of shrinkase
I ever saw. These liars, however, had to
send the man back.
''This reminds me that in India as we'll as
in other parts of the world the further you
are off from, anything of this kind the big
ger it seems. As you get nearer to yonr
object it gets whitfield down smaller and
smaller in Importance until 1t isn't worth
A man in search of such
things is sort of raiabow chaser. Every
liar increases the size and significance.
When you finally get right up to it the
thing bears about as much resemblance to
the first story you heard as picture in
front of side show does to the real curios-
ity within the tent"
CHARLES THEODORE MURRAY.