Arizona republican., 1920-12-28
ONE OF MOST FAMOUS. REPORTERS MADE H|S HOME IN THIS CITY

Every reporter in the United States l 25 years ago has heard of Joe Mulhat- 1 ton. To most of them he was myth, l an unincarnated newspaper liar, the most famous in the United States. Telegraph and mail stores from all parts of the United States were re- ceived at the larger newspaper offices detailing the most incredible happen ings. They were such vast products of the human imagination that they were readily printed. But Joe Mulhatton was a creature of flesh and blood. He was hardware drummer of Louisville, Ky. The concoction of these marvel ous tales was & sideline.
 When was a boy first encountered the handiwork of Mulhatton, though it
 was not until some years afterward that I heard of him. Like some thou
 sands of other families in Ohio we took
 the Toledo Weekly Blade. One issue of it contained the story of wonderful we'll in Iowa. When the water was struck, the pressure was so great that | 1t washed all the tools out and came through the opening with 8 rush and a
 roar. It rapidly enlarged the orifice
 until 1t was as large as a barrel and 1 then as large as a barn. It was flood i ing the surrounding country, and the 1 inhabitants were taking to high ground 1 dS we MCIL lO pI6SS- COuiu wait until the next issue of the Blade ] arrived. I rode to the postoffice and.
 receiving the paper, tore off the wrap per and spread the paper out on the l floor to find out what else had hap pened in Iowa. There was not word
 about the we'll. It occurred to me that is was not good newspaper work to let
 a sensation like that rest in the air. When some years later I heard of Null
 hatton l wondered if he were not the
 author of the well.
 I first met him in Tucson where he
 had come with his sister and a party
 of distinguished Kentuckians. The
 Southern Pacific was paying the ex- penses as a mark of gratitude for cer-
 tain legislation that had been enacted
 in that state favorable to the South
 ern Pacific of Kentucky" Some of the
 members of the party were interested in Pinal property known as the Rip , sey mine in the vicinity of Christmas Joe Mulhatton then took up his resi-
 dence in Pinal county and died there in flood in the Gila about 10 years ago.
 became intimately acquainted with
 him and he told me that he remem- e1 bered the Iowa well among some hun- sI dreds of other stories no less marvel nous. He explained to me that he in- dulged in such flights of the imagina- r ton for the entertainment of the pub- l lie which is always partial to fiction
 He had derived no revenue from his l work and wanted none. He had never l written anything that was calculated l to harm anyone. But after his resi- 9 dence in Arizona he did unintentionally put a great educational institution tC l some unnecessary expense and incon- . venience. He had sent out a story O y an areolite falling in the vicinity of tho Q Ripsey mine killing 300 sheep and a couple of Mexican sheepherders. I
 was a meteor of wonderful proportions e and heated up the surrounding countr, over a great radius for days. Yal e University sent out scientific part. s to make study of it.
 e Mulhatton later came to Phoenix an, c made The Republican his headquarters e Purely for amusement he held him h self out to be palmist and soon estab It lished a clientele of society folk. Oc It casionaIIy he would be absent for lon d periods at his mining property an q while there he drank immoderately. Hi e mental condition became such that h o was sent to the territorial insan n asylum. After residence there o d more than a year he was discharge n and went to California. Some month is later I heard that he was in the Nap ,- asylum, and later, that he was deaC
 A year or two later after that. on