Coeur d'Alene evening press. (Coeur d'Alene, Idaho) 1907-1929, 1910-04-15
b. JOHN VAUDEVILLE
WHO FOOLED EVERYONE
old welred story Not Equaled Even
By DR.. Cook.

J. D., left home in 1892. bound on a
lip around the world. For thirty
ears nothing was heard Of him.
To attempt such a journey in those
arly days was considered fifty times
s hard and dangero is a task as
rouId be finding the north pole in
his century. Travellers of any sort
rere very few. The fastest speed a
IAN could make was horseback, and
ven then for steady journey a rid
r was lucky IL he could cover twen-
y-four miles day.
The ships were slow and unsafe.
he oceans stretched out unexplored
"a every side save for a few short
md oft-traveled routes. Such a few
etters as people wrote were sent by
and, with the chances strong against
heir ever reaching their destination.
took longer to go the short dis
ance from London to Paris than is
|ow needed for crossing from New
fork to San Francisco.
The world was still sparsely popu.
hted. The great waste places swarm
b with robbers and beasts of prey.
leople were not fond Of foreigners,
nd horrible tales came to England
travellers to the Orient slain, tor
kred or sold into slavery.
AS a result of all this very little
as known of any one country by
ost of the inhabitants OF another.
nch few wanderers as returned
fom far lands were listened to with
much eagerness as would nowadays
rect an explorer from Mars or the
oon.
In 1856 John Vaudeville returned
civilization. People focked from
ear and far to hear the tale of his
discoveries. He was invited to lee
slre at monasteries. He wrote a
Book of Travels that was every
here accepted as gospel truth. Here
brief is the sort of tale he told:
Leaving England, he went to Tur-
ey, Armenia, Tartary, Persia,
yria, Egypt and thence to India. In
gypt he met his first adventures of
pte. There he fought SO valiantly
the local wars that the sultan's
eautiful daughter was offered to him
marriage If he would become a
phammedan. But" wrote Man
gille, 81 thanke heaven I had no
lie to do it for aught hee could
Ter me-"
Going thence to Jerusalem, he
discovered" that the Holy City was
e exact center of the world, and
at "a spear planted upright on the
ound there during the equinox
ould cast no shadow" The further
went the more wOndrous became
q things he saw. He wildly de-
ribbed cannibals, giants with one eye
the center of their foreheads, croc-
lies that wept, phenixes (birds that
ere burned alive and then rose
Jung and beautiful from their own
hes) and such other weird mon
ers as human eye had never seen.
Vaudeville told of one narrowing
perience with an oriental bird that
hs SO big it could carry away an
phant In its claws. Also OF the
breathing dragons, and Of snails
ose shells were as large as ordi.
ry houses.
He also visited an eastern garden
pulated by souls that had remov.
from human bodies into those Of
mails. He drank of the tabled
ntain of youth and became
highway young and handsome
e more.
he foregoing are only few Of
hundreds of ridiculous things told
written by Vaudeville. Here
mes the odd part of his narrative:
entists of those times believed the
Eth was fat. Vaudeville declar.
it was round. He told Of a mar
had met during the course of his
wells who, starting from a certain
ut and sailing ever eastward, had
last reached the spot from which
started.
Vaudeville related that, probably
Dne of his many lies. Yet. strangely
ugh, he happened to blunder upOI
reat truth more than q century
pre- Columbus discovered the same
g. And this particular part Of
narrative was about the only
ton OF it that the world at large
lsed to believe.
But the main part OF Mande-
els story-the weeping crocodiles
dragons, One-eyed giants and al
rest of twas accepted as fact
.,,,,.- -. fSaoe-~. r3,v natural