The Dakota chief. (Gann Valley, Buffalo County, S.D.) 18??-1913, 1893-12-28
HISTORIC LIES.
Yarns That Seem Like Truth, but Cannot
Stand Investigation.

MA ina y ''Nt AAhths Jul SaIitAot
Stand Investigation.
Mary Stuart of Scotland was not a
beauty. She had cross-eyes, and to
save the trouble Of having her hair
dressed. cut it off close to her head
and wore a wig. When. after her
death, the eXecutioners lifted her
head to show it to the people. the
wig came off and displayed a close
cropped skull covered with gray hair.
Queen Elizabeth was not the an
gelic creature represented in the his
tories and poems of her own times.
Her hair was red. her temper red-hot.
She sometimes drank too much, and
at any prOvocation would carry on
like a trooper. She frequently raved
at her maids, and sometimes struck,
kicked, and pinched them.
Nero was nc monster. His mother,
Agrippina, was not put to death by
his order, nor did he play upon his
harp and sing The Burning of Troy
while Rome was on fire. Our knowl-
edge of him is gained from Tacitus,
who hated him, and from Petronius
Arbiter, who was put to death for
cOnspiring against him.
Worshipcrs are not crushed by hum
dreds under the wheels Of the Il OF
Juggernaut. The car has not been
taken out of the temple for many
years, and such deaths as formerly
occurred were exceptional or acct
dental.
Columbus did not make eggs stand
on INK to confute his opponents. The
feat was performed by Bruneleschi,
the architect, to silence critics who
asked him how he was going to sup
port the dome Of the Cathedral Of
Florence.
The siege Of Troy was mostly a
myth. According to Homer's own
figures, if there ever was such a man
as Homer, Helen must have been at
least sixty years Of age when she first
met Paris, and ever in the heroic
period of the world women of that
age were a tritle passe.
Louis XVI. did not behave with
Overwhelming dignity at his eXecu-
ton. On the contrary, he screamed
for help, struggled with the execu-
%tioners, and begged for mercy. Nor
did the attendant priest say, 'Son of
st. Louis, ascend TO Heaven" That
expression was used for him by a
Paris Paper. srsssayy
The army of Nerxes has always
been greatly overest.mated by his
torians. Commonly computed at
5000, 600, the best evidence goes to
show that, camp followers and all,
it did not exceed one, the increase
being due to the natural inventive
ness Of the oriental Imagination and
to the vanity of the Greeks, who
prided themselves on having defeated
its numbers. His thousands Of
ships" numbered only 200 to begin
with. and of these 400 were lost in Il
storm. SO that he reached the coast
of Greece with about 800.
There is no reason to believe that
Tarquin insulted Lucretia. His
power was uverthrOwn in Il popular
tumult, which is the only basis for
the story.
Pocahontas did not ave the life of
John Smith. 1t has been a%scertained
that this worthy man was the most
ab.e-bOdicd prcvaricatOr of his CEN
tury.
The story of King Arthur and his
round table is a myth, although what
purport> to be the round table is still
to bc seen in a South Of England
town.
Alfred the Great did not visit the
Danish camp disguised as a minstrel.
There is no good reason to believe
that he could either play the harp or
speak Danish.
The maeIstrOm is not a whirlpool
which sucks ships down into the
depths of the ocean. 1t is an eddy,
which in fair weather can be crossed
in safety by any vessel.
Queen Eleanor did not suck the
poison from her husbands wounds.
as she did not accompany him on the
expedition during which the incident
is alleged to have taken place.
Cromwell and Hampden did not at
tempt to sail to America lust before
the outbreak of the English revolu-
tion. A number of their friends did,
but they had no thought of going.
The "NIan in the Iron Mask" did
not wear a mask OF ron. 1t was
black velvet, secured by steel springs.
The wonderful Damascus blades
that cut bars Of iron in two were not
superior to the Toledo blades made
to-day.
Caesar did not say, "Et tn, Brutus."
Eye witnesses to the assassination
depOSed that 'he died fighting, but
silent like a wolf"
Richard III. was not a huncnback,
but a soldier of fine form, some pre-
tensions to good looks and great per-
sonal strength and courage.