The Coeur d'Alene press. (Coeur d'Alene, Idaho) 1892-1907, 1892-09-03
WROTE BIG STORIES.
A REPORTER WHO WAS A no.
MAkcER OF GREAT ABILITY.

cnAnt tof turning Out Special News
That Startled Peopie-Ths Pioneer Of q
Cisss That Is More Common To-day.
Crowley was redheaded, freckled
faced Irishman. He had the greatest
Imagination that / ever knew of, and
could express himself fuently and grace
fully. He turned the quiet city Of Roch.
ester upside down more than once by
his imaginary stories. He worked along
about 1880, perhaps a little before.
When he came to work he was put on
the regular apprentice lines, but soon
showed that he was too good q man to
be kept clubbing around after mortuary
notices and other truck OF that kind,
He had genius for writing imaginary
stories and locating them somewhere,
with the invariabls 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 a column In length
to help fill up. Crowley sat down at his
desk and ground out tale about thrill
Ing experience that he had in 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 steeples near by clang. 1t was
late at night, and he wondered al it and
straightway proceeded TO investigate.
He found the door Of the church stand
ing wide open and went in.
Just as he entered the bell rang again.
and he heard a noise up in the steeple.
He started to climb up, and when he
neared the top an enormous rock came
crashing down through the stairway
and nearly struck him. He climbed far
,her, 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
an that story WAS, thousands Of people
went down to that church on the next
morning prompted by that insane curl
osi'y tina, makes people flock to the
scene Of any crime or casualty.
The success Of this story gave Crow
ley cue, aud IL wasn't long until the
community was shocked beyond meas
ure by the details If IL horrible murder
committed on canal boa, tied up a,
fairport. which is u little village ten
miles from Rochester and on the Erie
canal. The crime Was described with a
minuieness and the names Of the boa,
and the man murdered and everything
given with such apparen, candor tina,
the police officers Of Rochester were
amazed uext morning To think that they
had not heard of IL before, aud detail
of men was sen, 10 the spot 10 inyes,i-
gate. When they got there there was
nothing 80 investigate. and Crowley got
+ out 81 The scrape in some way or other
best known 10 himself
/ His most famous story was the next
one. tina; is ~ say. the next big one, for
he was continually writing special afti-
cles. for"iaash circus came 10 Rochcs.
ter one summer. and On the night Of the
show a brilliant idea struck Crowley.
He wen, to work. aud in couple o!
hours evolved story about the escape
u the rhinoccrus from the circus. He
told graphically how i, broke out II its
casr. roroi a couple Of keepers and
started for Lake Ontario, lie located
this story ON III" br.nkcr farm. which
Was then comparatively little settled
portion o! the city down in the north,
ern part He told Of the chase tina, the
circus men and residents Of tina, section
made after the animal. and Described its
actions. He wrote a paragraph or two
on the damage that the immense beas,
had done TO property and cloqucnily I-or,
trayed tho suifer,nss Of number o!
hoESes that !; Tlpro! tn.
The whole story wan over two columns
long and made a grea, sensation. People
aocked down 10 the Br,nker farm 10 see
tho ground on which the brute did It's
bloody work, aud while they found moth,
ing, Crowley squared himself by print
ing another story tho next day telling O!
It's capture, and AS the circus was miles
away nobody knew whether il was true
or not. This story was copied into every
paper in the country. and II gave old
/ Adam Forcpaugh tremendous amount
Of free advertising. The old man was
immensely ncklci with ii and deter
mined 10 make use If Crowley.
| one night the relhoasied youth sailed
into the Office after his evening assign
men, and was told TO do something O,
other by the city editor. He started
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