- Solid Muldoon
"This page is about a fake human body 'found' in Colorado. For the short story by
Rudyard Kipling , seeThe Solid Muldoon (Kipling story) .The Solid Muldoon was a "prehistoric human body" unearthed in 1877, near
Beulah, Colorado . Named after either the legendary wrestlerWilliam Muldoon or the location of its discovery,Muldoon Hill ,Calhoun, Patricia. " [http://www.westword.com/2003-05-08/news/go-figure/ Go Figure] ". Denver Westword. Published May 8, 2003.] the figure enjoyed a brief tour of the United States before it was revealed to be a hoax.The Solid Muldoon was created by
George Hull , seven years after his infamousCardiff Giant hoax . The figure was made of mortar, rock dust, clay, plaster, ground bones, blood and meat, kiln-fired for several days, and buried near Mace's Hole inBeulah, Colorado .Shackle, Eric. " [http://www.bdb.co.za/shackle/articles/eccentric.htm Letter to Walt Whitman: Jimplecute, Tombstone Epitaph, Flume and the Solid Muldoon] ". Published May 2000.] Woodka, Chris. " [http://www.pueblochieftain.com/metro/737532000/10/sea Muldoon hoax is just a memory] ". The Pueblo Chieftain. Published 1993-5-16.]Three months later, it was "discovered" by William Conant, an associate of
P.T. Barnum and was displayed around the state.Soapy Smith , an infamous huckster of the era, then brought it to downtown Denver, billing it as the missing link between man and apes and charged ten cents per person to see the seven foot stone body. The "Denver Daily Times" claimed that "there can be no question about the genuineness of this piece of statuary".Following the successful Colorado exhibition, the Solid Muldoon went on the road, attracting crowds all the way to
New York City . P.T. Barnum was rumored to have offered $20,000 for the body. The hoax was eventually revealed to the New York Times as a man-made figure "with a knowing smile on his face as if enjoying the joke," one reporter noted. Following the lack of visitors, the Solid Muldoon disappeared from public attention.Legacy
"The Solid Muldoon" was a local newspaper in
Ouray, Colorado , named after either the hoax (which was recent and local) or William Muldoon directly. The newspaper was founded on September 5, 1879, and through a series of name changes and merges, eventually became the present-dayDurango Herald . [" [http://www.coloradocollege.edu/library/SpecialCollections/Colorado/newspapers.html Colorado newspapers in Special Collections] ", Colorado College. Retrieved 2007-12-29.] [Courtney, Gary. " [http://www.blackhawkpublishing.com/BP010102Vallecito%20Stories.htm#The%20Solid%20Muldoon%20Newspaper%20of%20Ouray "The Solid Muldoon" Newspaper of Ouray] ", Blackhawk Publishing. Published 2005-11-13.]In 1976, a century later, an art student recreated the Solid Muldoon out of an iron beam, molded stucco wire, and plaster to celebrate the centennial of Colorado's statehood. The new Solid Muldoon was displayed in the El Pueblo Museum after a brief local tour. In 1984, it was buried in a marked plot near
Highway 78 betweenPueblo, Colorado and Beulah, Colorado.Woodka, Chris. " [http://www.pueblochieftain.com/metro/737532000/7/sea Artist-turned-songwriter recalls recreating hoax] ". The Pueblo Chieftain. Published 1993-5-16.] [" [http://www.roadsideamerica.com/tips/getAttraction.php?tip_AttractionNo=7110 Beulah, Colorado - Grave of Solid Muldoon] ". RoadsideAmerica.com. Retrieved 2007-12-29.] [" [http://www.americanprofile.com/tidbits/colorado.html Colorado Trivia & Tidbits] ", AmericanProfile.com. Published 2007-8-26.]References
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