The Savannah morning news., 1901-01-06

, wrote an editorial a column long about
the influence of SiInian labor on the labor
problem.
Next came the remarkable story of the
lake of hair-dye, that was published in
the summer of 1888 in the Virginian City
Enterprise. Mulhattan discovered that
Mono Lake contains one of the greatest
natural deposits of hair-dye in the known
world. "All who battle in the waters of
that lake become blondes, and if the bath
ing is persisted in for any length of time
they get red-headed. A man last spring
rented the Levining Ranch on the north
side of the lake. He had three strapping
daughters. AS soon as the water became
warm enough the girls daily went bath
ing in the lake. taking for their mermaid
gambols time when the men folks were
all out on the ranch at work When they
began taking their dips in the lake the
girls wer brown haired but they soon
found themselves becoming blondes. Next
the hair of the girls became fiery red.
The old man and his wife tried the baths.
and now the whole family are Titan
blondes"
ArbOr DIabOli, the Bird-Eating Tree.
Mr. Mulhatan is credited also with pre-
pairing the dispatch from Chihuahua,
Mexico. dated April 90 1899, that was pub
lished in the st. Louis Globe-Democrat.
This was a story of a tree that devoured
birds. To begin with there was a de-
tailed description OF how the narrator
studied botany, and used to make long
trips into the mountains, hunting for
specimens. Finally the tree in question
was discovered. 1t was something like
the weeping willow; but the long, droop-
ing, whip-like limbs are of a dark and
apparently Shiny appearance, and seem
possessed of a horrible life-like power
of coiling and uncoiling." One day the
observer saw a bird settle on the top of
the tree. THE branches Immediately be-
gan TO awaken and curl upward. They
twined and twisted like snakes about
the bird which began to scream and
drew it down in their fearful embrace un-
til I lost sight of it." The next day the
explorer got half a dozen chickens
and threw them into the tree. 1.-The mo-
ment l tossed in the fowls" he says. "a
violent agitation shock its branches, which
swayed to and fro with snuous snaky
motion. After devouring the fowls these
branches. fully gorged, dropped to their
former position, and the tree giving no
sign of animation. I dared approach it
and take the limbs in my hand. They
were covered with suckers, resembling
the tentacles of an octopus. The boo1
of the fowls had been absorbed by the
suckers. leaving crimson stains on the
dark surface"
The dispatch concluded with an account
of how the explorer wrote of the discov-
cry to Prof. Wordenhaupt of the Univers-
ity of Heidelberg who replied that the
tree was the Arbor Diaboli, only two spec
linens of which had been known to sci
ence, one growing on a peak of the Hima-
layas and the other on the Island of Su-
matra.
Mulhattan always prided himself upon
his tall Stories" and was never so hap
by as just after perpetrating particular
ly atrocioms hoax upon some newspaper.
AS he vas constantly going about the
country as & commercial traveller 1t was
difficult for the unwary editors to keep
track of him. At one time the CONNER
cial travellers of the country talked of
nominating him for president This was
just before his retirement to the noun
tains, and the supposltion is that the I'M
expected honor was too much for his mod
est nature. Arthur r. Vance.