The Lake Charles echo. [volume] (Lake Charles, Parish of Calcasieu, La.) 1876-1898, 1892-05-06
WROTE BIG STORIES,
.A REPORTER WHO WAS A Ro-
MANcER oF GREAT ABILITY,

A bright Young tIan WHO Had Q Fen-I
ehant for Turning out special News
Ehat Startled People The Pioneer q :
Grass That II More Common Today.
Crowley was 4 redheaded, freckled
faced Irishman. He had the greatest
imagination that / ever knew Of, and
conld express himself fluently and grace
fully. He turned thequiet city Of Rooh-
ester upside down more than once BY
his imaginary stories, He worked along
about 1880, perhaps little before,
When he came to work he was put on
the regular apprentice lines, but soon
showed that he was too good man to
be kept clubbing around after mortuary
notices and other truck Of that kind,
He had q genius for writing imaginary
stories and locating them somewhere,
with the invariable effect of causing
people to flock TO the place where his
fairy tale was alleged to have happened.
One night, when news was dull, the
city editor told Crowley to write story
Of some kind about column in length
to help fill up. Crowley sat down at his
desk and ground out a tale about thrill
ing experience that he had Ia the north
ern part of the city which ran like this;
He was walking down in that part Of
the city when he heard the bell in one
of the steeplea near by clang. II was
late at night, and he wondered at it and
straightway proceeded to investigate,
He found the door Of the church stand
ing wide open and went in.
just as be entered the bell rang again,
and he heard q noise up ia the steeple
He started to climb up, and when he
nearea the top an enormous rock came
crashing down through the stairway
and nearly struck him He climbed far
ther, and another rock came down AT
last he reached the top, where he found
an escaped maniac, and after desper-
ate struggle oyerpowered him. Absurd
as that story was, thousands Of people
went down to that church on the next
morning prompted by that insane Curl
osity that makes people flock to the
scene of any crime or casualty.
The success Of this story gave Crow
ley cue, and it wasn't long until the
community was shocked beyond meas
ure by the details Of horrible murder
committed on q canal boat tied up at
FaiTport, which is little village ten
miles from Rochester and on the Erie
canal. The crime was described with a
minuteness and the names of the boat
and the man murdered and everything
given with such apparent candor that
the police officers of Rochester were
amazed next morning to think that they
had not heard Of II before, and q detail
Of men was sent 70 the spot To inYesti-
gate. When they got there there was
nothing to investigate, and Crowley got
out Of the serape IN some way Or other
best known TO himself.
His most famous story was the next
one; that Is to say, the next big one, for
he was continually writing special arti-
cles, Forepaugh's Is circus came to Rochea-
ter one summer, and on the night Of the
show brilliant idea struck Crowley.
He went to work, and in D couple Of
hours evolved story about the escape
of the rhinoceros from the circus. He
told graphically how it broke out of its
cage, gored couple Of keepers and
started for Lake Ontario, He located
this story on the Brinker farm, which
was then comparatively little settled
portion of the city down in the north
ern part, He told Of the chase that the
circus men and residents Of that section
made after the animal, and described its
actions. He wrote paragraph or two
on the damage that the immense beast
had done to property and eloquentlg por-
trayed the sutferings Of number Of
horses that II ripped up,
The whole story was over two columns
long and made great sensation. People
| hocked down 10 the Rrinker farm TO aee
| the ground On which the brute did its
bloody work, and while they found noth-
ing, Crowley squared himself by print
ing another story the next day telling Of
its capture, and as the circus was miles
away nobody knew whether II was true
or not. This story was copied into every
paper in the country, and IT gave old
Adam Forepaugh tremendous amount
of free advertising. The old man was
immensely tiekled with 1t and deter
mined to make use OF Crowley.
one night the re4headed youth sailed
| into the office after his evening assign
mont aud was told to do something or
other by tic city editor He started
down stairs to the street and was met
BY d messenger boy, who handed him .
telegram. Itread, '.Come to Philadel-
phia at once TO go ahead of my show
around the world, and was signed by
| Adam Forepaugh. Crowley Started i'm,
luediately for Philadelphia, without
even waiting to 90 back into the Office
and resign, He went around The world
| ahead of the show, YVES gone three years
I or more, and one afternoon walked inte
the city room and said 70 the city editor
tsLf you don't milid, Fll so out and finish
4 That assignment now
Bright as he was, Crowley was dissi'
pated ana died william u cQlnparativel5 "
abort time After His return froIa his triI
around the world, As writer Of purely
imaginary stories that read like Gospel
truth ana al tile Inventor of schemes e
fiji it's q paper with sensational matter
Crowley has negeF bsen eQualed iu tllis
state To Ay knowledge H he hld
4 taken care of himself he would hays
/ been earning BIC money today on soins
metropolitan paper. interview y bnf
fal0 Express.
4 Tlis sgHtteasA " shs CREST haitsg,
i The whitatiah a, II the oplnfoa y
most R6sl5lcta, tAs Mqst deliniofs tfsi
Ak ssset5S4ti9 Ns8H 1S4fsa9 fysA35i