Men stationed in the Signal Station at the summit of Pikes Peak in the late 1800s spent long hours alone. Visited only by an occasional climber and the provision-laden burro, the isolation felt by the weathermen must have been unbearable. To ease the monotony of this solitude, some of them let their imaginations create more exciting yet rather unbelievable events. In 1876, Signal Station attendant Private John O’Keefe, told tall tales of life in the station to lawyer, newspaper man and drinking buddy, Eliphat Price. O’Keefe recounted a story of large, man-eating rats that lived in caves on Pikes Peak. The story then grew to include how these rats attacked him and his wife and daughter in the station itself – devouring a side of beef in less than five minutes. While Private O'Keefe tried to protect his family using a club to fend off the rats, it was actually Mrs. O’Keefe who saved the day by electrocuting the rats with a coil of wire connected to the signal station’s battery. According to the story though, her efforts were too late. Before she could connect the wire to the battery terminals, hundreds of these killer rats had already devoured Erin, the O’Keefe’s only daughter. O’Keefe quickly erected a fake grave on the summit to support his story and, more likely, to woo tourists. However, there were only two problems with the story – O’Keefe wasn’t married and he didn’t have a daughter. Despite these obvious clues, the story hit the wires and ended up being published in many newspapers around the globe. (Rumor has it that Erin was actually O'Keefe's mule that had recently died.)
The Tale......
ReplyDeleteMen stationed in the Signal Station at the summit of Pikes Peak in the late 1800s spent long hours alone. Visited only by an occasional climber and the provision-laden burro, the isolation felt by the weathermen must have been unbearable. To ease the monotony of this solitude, some of them let their imaginations create more exciting yet rather unbelievable events.
In 1876, Signal Station attendant Private John O’Keefe, told tall tales of life in the station to lawyer, newspaper man and drinking buddy, Eliphat Price. O’Keefe recounted a story of large, man-eating rats that lived in caves on Pikes Peak. The story then grew to include how these rats attacked him and his wife and daughter in the station itself – devouring a side of beef in less than five minutes. While Private O'Keefe tried to protect his family using a club to fend off the rats, it was actually Mrs. O’Keefe who saved the day by electrocuting the rats with a coil of wire connected to the signal station’s battery. According to the story though, her efforts were too late. Before she could connect the wire to the battery terminals, hundreds of these killer rats had already devoured Erin, the O’Keefe’s only daughter.
O’Keefe quickly erected a fake grave on the summit to support his story and, more likely, to woo tourists. However, there were only two problems with the story – O’Keefe wasn’t married and he didn’t have a daughter. Despite these obvious clues, the story hit the wires and ended up being published in many newspapers around the globe. (Rumor has it that Erin was actually O'Keefe's mule that had recently died.)
...and that's how the Weekly World News was born!
DeleteAlso reminds me of a tune.....
ReplyDeletehttp://youtu.be/DODDYP-b7oY
Good call
DeleteCrap! I guess it pays to check the link before being a smarty pants >;P
ReplyDelete...but what's interred in the big rustic grave...?
Delete