The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1910-01-05

Il
whose contributions to the literature of
geographical science are the most ex-
tensive and most valuable ever given
by one man. Polo tells few stories Of
the Munchausen order, as does also
Herodotus, but in both cases 1t appears
that the authors wre recounting what
they heard rather than what they saw.
Covering much the same ground as
Polo is the Able Hue who was the first
to start the tradition of the miracles
that were to be seen every day and
night of the year in Tiber-after one
had succeeded in getting into that
country and staying alive there for a
day or two afterward. Hue cody tells
| how the lamas whisked themselves
| through the air TO and from lamasaries
miles apart and talked with one an
other over wireless and airless tele-
phones. HUGS political writings have
since proved Of great value, but his
miraculous lamas seemed to have all
gone to a better land than Tibet be-
fore the arrival there in the flesh Of
the expedition recently commanded by
Colonel Younghusband of the British
army.
Literary hoaxes are so common that
a handful of them can be picked up in
almost any old hoax-book in a second
hand book-stall. But the premier
premier frauds in this line are those
of MACPHERSON and of Chatterton. In
these cases, however, solid good work
has remained. The Poems of Ossian,
whether written by Macpherson or Os-
sian. are fair work for poetry. The
= -
case as also in that of Chatterton, is
plain. Poetry written by anybody a
few centuries ago is a good deal better
than that written today by the best
Il rhymers in the world AS MacPherson's
the poems of Ossian would not have
attracted a second look. AS Ossian,
they set the world wild with enthus-
iasm. Chatterton's fraud was similar,
but the unfortunate young man was
squarely caught and confessed. AS far
Macpherson, he has defenders to this
day.
, III the way of minor noaxes there are
, so many fine candidates thrusting
themselves forward for recognition that
one would have to write a book to give
each of them a chance. The late Joseph
Mulhattan, Familiarity known to news
paper readers as Joe" Mulhattan, the
champion liar of the world, was the
creator of a new hoax almost every
} other Thursday. Joe got his inspiration
from the most commonplace Incidents
He once had all the astronomers and
biologists in this country and abroad
| worrying about meteor which had fall
} len in Kansas and which contained the
remains of animal, probably human
: life. His story of the thirteen hunters
3 who persisted for food and water in
r a desert in Texas caused innumerable
: tears to flow from the eyes of tender
hearted persons accustomed to weeT
$ with hair trigger promptness. But his
e most disastrous hoax was this: One
4 day Joe happened to be down in the lit.
tie city of Birmingham Ala. On pick.
i ing up the evening paper he saw g
$ local "item" to the effect that number
a of men who were boring an artesiar
g well had come upon what seemed 70 be
i a small underground stream. Mulhat-
tan set to work on this fragment, and
4 with the skill of a Cuvier he construct.
!, ed story of vast underground rivel
$ which was sweeping below the city o.
n Birmingham with such volume and
9 rapidity that the earth under the city
n was quickly being carried away, anC
r that at any moment the whole towr
4 might be engulfed in a subterranear
n wreck. This story was printed, with al
t the horror that Joe could get into ii
8 in the Louisville urier-Journal. The
o story said that while excavations wert
t being made for a large building tn
: stone crust that supported the eartl
v a few feet above the river had broken
t and that building after building wa
e already sunken and swept away. On,
corner of the city hall had alread!
n sunk several feet, and soon the entir
I, structure would be carried down an,
X off. Mulhattan's hoax lasted severa
: days. 1t was the hardest thing to Kill
Il that had appeared for many day.
II Edgar Allen Poe's Balloon Hoax wa
/ the best Of the many trials which Pc
i made to impose on the public for tn
n purpose of testing his theory that al
Y, most any kind of a lie, il cleverly told
d would find some liz not numerous be
: levers. The balloon hoax appeared on
,e April day with flaming headlines in tn
1t New York Sun. The story soon sprea
v everywhere and the demand for tn
: paper was so large that the presse
lie could not print copies fast enough. TIL
i headlines were as follow:
ASTOUNDING NEWS BY EXPIRES
= VIA NORFOLK!
, ATLANTIC CROSSED IN THREl
III DAYS.!
i SIGNAL TRIUMPH OF MR.. NOM
lie MASoN's FLYING MACHINE!!!
lie Arrival at Sullivan's Island, near Char
IL lesion, s. O., of Mr.. Mason, Mr..
lie Henson, Mr.. Harrison Aims
TX worth and Four Others, in
lie the Steering Balloon
ID Victoria, after
Dr. Passage OF IA
Is Hours!
J. Few doubted the truth of the story
N and Poe laughed.
liz OF local hoaxes there are many
n Among them may be mentioned that 9
10 The Chicago Times, in which was de
ID scribed with detail a theatre fire
-e which many persons lost their lives. til
10 lesson being that more care should b
1T taken in the appliances for the proven
IT ton of fire I'm playhouses. This lea
T. was afterwards followed by two Me-
le York papers. one Of which told how tn
l. wild animals at Central Park had es
q, capped and had eaten several peopl
Is The other New York newspaper CAV
IA an account ~ 414a hf4rsffrce NJ . rouav