Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1897-09-11
AN oLD-TIME HOAX.
The Death of Blondtn Inspires =
"Reminiscences.

"Reminiscences.
Faxon, 40 years ago, was an amuse-
ment promoter. He was a sort of adj
vance agent for anything novel that
might come along. He was good for
ANYTHING that had draw in it. He
was the pioneer of that sort of amuse-
ment that finds expression in the
freaks, sensations and circus methods
generally. He was likely a fakir-a
prince of fakirs.
Faxon was happiest when doing
something to relieve the distress of an
other, aud he was, moreover, greatly
given to practical joking. These two
characteristics in him produced hoax
and it was near about the same time
that he caused Blondin to walk across
Niagara
Faxon had friend who went to Sill
yer lake, beautiful body of water few
miles south of Buffalo and Rochester,, in
what was then a wild and picturesque
country, where he built a superb hotel,
hoping to make the place a popular re-
sort. The mans fortune was expended
in building and Quitting the hotel, but
as people did not resort to the place in
considerable numbers it failed of be-
coming much OF a resort, and the man
was about financially ruined Faxon
went to the place for few days relaXa-
ton, and, seeing the condition of af-
fairs, invented a scheme which his
friend obviously fell into, and the in
vestment was saved.
AT Buffalo lived a young German tin
smith of an ingenious turn of mind. To
him FaXon went, and, under Faxon's
/, directions, an immense tin snake was
secretly made, and so contrived that by
the use of wires it would under proper
arrangements go into serpentine with
ings and open and shut its enormous
mouth. This "contraption'' was quiz
city taken to Silver lake and so
fixed in the water-which was very
deep-that by wires worked from the
cellar of the hotel it would show itself
On the surface, snap its terrible mouth
and dive down again.
The snake being arranged in working
order, FaXon went to Buffalo and in the
paper printed, under great '.scare-
heads,'' the story of the discovery of
an enormous snake in Silver lake. Peo-
pie visited the place by hundreds, and
| then by thousands. The hotel and it's
barns and outbuildings of all kinds were
filled with guests, and many people
went there and camped on the shores
of the lake, his snakeship coming to the
surface at satisfactory intervals and
doing his share of the work.
| Finally Horace Greeley went to see
| about the matter. He hired boat and
a couple OF men to row it and proceeded
toward the favorite haunt of the ser
pent. When within few feet of where
the monster most frequently disported
| itself the awful creature dashed up.
| ward with distended and crimson
mouth and Horace yelled at his men the
| refrain of that good old evangelical
| hymn: Pull for the shore, boysi Pull
for the shorei"
/ They pulled and Mr.. Greeley went
| back to New York and wrote about the
monster in the Tribune. So came a
body of savants of the school of Europe
to see the famous terror, and they saw
it and pondered over it-but at mos1
| respectful distance
Finally one day the wires broke, the
| snake fioated to the surface and turned
its white belly towards the sky, Just like
any other dead snake, and the great
hoax was exploded. But Faxon's frieno
| had saved his fortune and added to it
md Silver Lake became quite a resort
after all. Faxon died about the close
Of the war from wounds received in bat
:le.-Will Visscner, in Chicago Times
Herald