The herald., 1897-04-11
THE AIRSHIP FAKE
Started in San Francisco and Is Rem
iniscent of Others

fniscent OF others
The general belief in this locality in tn
| airship hoax which was started on th
Pacific coast by one of the San Francisco
| papers makes 1t among the credulous In
| land people fair substitute for the SCI
| serpent myths that become prevalent a
l stated intervals along the coasts. Peopl'
| living 5000 miles from the ocean canno
enjoy the advantages of the sea serpen
| hoax. no matter how gullibe they may be
| A story that was started in Kansas City
| ten or twelve years ago that the sea ser
pent had journeyed through the Gulf o.
Mexico, up the Mississippi and Missouri
rivers and was then disporting himself II
| the Missouri river near Parkvile fell ma
| for this reason, although many people hall
believed It, The monster was described
after the fashion of the sea serpent of the
eastern papers.
Many airship fakes have been published
| that have become famous. The most sue
cessful of these, perhaps, according to an
authority, was one written by Edgar Allen
Poe and published in the New York Sun
in 1874. The story purported TO describe the
Journey made by eight Englishmen across
the Atlantic ocean in a steering balloon
christened Victoria" The trip. It was
said. occupied only three days and was
ended by successful landing on Sullivan's
island near Charleston, S. c., afterward
famous in the bombardment of Fort sum-
ter. The demand for the paper containing
the fake was unprecedented.
The airship fake which gives foundation
for the story started in Kansas last week
upon the bright appearance of the planet
Venus, was started by the San Francisco
Chronicle soon after the election last No
vember. 1t told how several people OF a
suburb of San Francisco had seen mys-
terious craft floating about in the air over
the city and finally printed an interview
with a man described as a well-known
lawyer of the town. who admitted with
seeming great unwillingness that the air.
ship was an actual invention of a client of
his whose name he could not divulge. 1t
developed. however. that the lawyer was
a man of no standing. The exposure of the
fake did not reach the prominence of the
original publication of the story.
The story last week in Kansas was the
direct result of this story. One correspond
ent telegraphed that the airship was sup
posed to be the same one that had jour-
neysd among the clouds about the Golden
Gate. 1t was the result of the observations
of night telegraph operators along the rail-
roads and for the last two weeks during
the period of the greatest brilliancy of
Venus the operators along the line have
frequently discussed tho airship with oper-
ators in the railroad off1ces in this city.
This is not tho first instance of Kansas
being used as the scerA of fake. Joe
Mulhatton, an erratic newspaper man,
wrote a story several years ago of an i'm
mense meteorite that fell in Kansas. that
was generally credited by scientific men for
a time Many other fakes have become
famous along with the New York Heralds
story of the escape of the animals of the
Central Park Zoo. The Tacoma. Wash,
News published a story, which. like the
Herald story. was intended to bring about
a reform. 1t described vividly the break
ing out of a great fire in a remote part of
the city and told that the firemen were
unable to check the confiagration owing to
the inadequate water facilities. 1t said that
lines of hose were coupled together and re-
lays of engines employed to get water on
the flames, but that at the time of going to
press the fire was still gaining. The paper
came out at o'clock in the afternoon and
the account caused great excitement.
Crowds ran to the scene of the supposed
fire only to return indignant and abashed.
The publication of the story, however, re-
suited in the extension of the water service.
Underground river fakes and stories of
cutting through the crust of the earth have
also been started and been initiated far and
wide. In Kansas City, Kan, the under
ground river story was sprung on two
different occasions. once during the dig
ging of a well in the old Garno house, since
razed, and again year or two later.
A fake that attracted widespread atten-
tion was printed in 1890, detailing how sew
eral inhabitants of Bosnia had applied to
the authorities for permission to be behead-
ed in the place of Baron Rothschild, since
dead. 1t was stated that rumor was cir
culated in the country that Rothschild was
condemned to death for some crime, and
had offered a reward of 100000 forms
for substitute. The thrifty Bosnians had
formed club and drawn lots to select a
substitute and the survivors were to divide
the reward.
One of the most notable fakes of recent
years was perpetrated by Dallas, Texas
newspaper man.at the time of the proposed
Fitzsimmons-Corbett fight. He printed a
story that the Prince of Wales was coming
over to see the mill. Only an official denial
under the signature Of lJfoert Edward him
self stopped the story-not, however, until
it had spread over the entire civilized
world.-Kansas City Star.