THE HELENA INDEPENDENT — FEBRUARY 29, 1892
Joe Mulhattan’s Wonderful Discovery in the Vicinity of the Broadwater
He Tells of the Finding of a Subterranean Lake and a Peculiar Race ♢ Two Captures Made Which Will be Exhibited at Parchen’s and the Hotel Helena—The Affidavit.
The original Joe Mulhattan, who is visiting a sister residing at Woodside, in Missoula county, has been spending a few days in Helena. Friday he made one of a party that went out to the Broadwater. After looking over the grounds uniting the natatorium and hotel, the day being pleasant, the visitors concluded to take a tramp over the surrounding hills, About six miles from the cave the party ran across a cave which they named the “Spirit Cave,” says Mulhatton. “In it,” he continued, “we discovered in a subterranean lake a race of human beings, with scales and tails. They are amphibious and subsist on eyeless fish, bats and mushrooms, which abound in great profusion in this wonderful cavern, which is undoubtedly the largest and most beautiful in all America. Its avenues, which branch off in various directions, will measure, in all probability, twenty miles.
“Well known and responsible citizens of Helena who were with me can vouch for the veracity of these statements. We succeeded in capturing one of the females. She is a genuine mermaid, beyond all question. About fifty others that wore playing with her on the banks of the subterranean lake plunged into its deep waters as the exploring party approached them. The cries and struggles
