Northwest enterprise. [volume] (Anacortes, Wash. Ter.) 1882-1887, 1882-10-21
TIE GlNE-AWAY GAME.
How Easily an American Crowd Can be
Duped.
POOLING TIE PEOPLE WITH SOAP

Constitutions, THAT the Americans
are the easiest humbugged of any in
the world? 1t is true, and / have
helped to humbug them about as
much as the average man." Some
body had just been reading an ac
count of the Louisville lottery draw
ing, which brought forth'this speech.
Cant you tell some of your ex
perience in that line?" asked a man
near.
"Well, you would laugh to know
what fools people make of them
selves sometimes. About two years
ago l was down in Brunswick, where
| saw a fellow running perfectly
square game, but which was the most
out and out steal l ever heard of
His plan was simple, and hundreds
of the very best people of the town
focked to give him trial. He rent
ed store and put a show ease across
the counter in the center. In the
showcase he had, l know, my hat
full of ten and twenty dollar gold
coins, piled in heap IN one corner,
and in the other about the same sized
pile of silver dollars. A dice box
and six dice completed his outfit. BY
paying half a dollar man had one
throw with the dice. If he threw
six SKIES he took the entire pile of
gold; if he threw six aces he was en-
titled to all the silver. OF course,
no one ever threw all the skies,
neither was it possible to get the
aces to come all in bunch. A man
might as we'll expect to get struck by
lightning from a cloudless sky at
MONDAY as to throw six aces; it is al
most an impossibility, that's all.
Well, the fellow made several hun
bred dollars and left"
did you ever hear of how easy it
is to fool a man with soap?" contin-
ued the talker. :" We street men
know that as an old story, of course
/ was down to Troy, Ala, several
months ago when a fellow came
along almost strapped. He went to
grocery store, bought few bars OF
this transparent soap, cut 1T into
small pieces about the size of ones
thumb, wrapped it in colorcd tissue
paper very neatly, and then covered
the package with tin foil, sprinkling
the whole with bottle of cologne to
give it a good smell. Well, sir, that
fellow got on box and soon gath
cred crowd by some nice talking,
and proposed to take out all the
grease from hats, coats. etc, that
could be brought in. The first case
presented was the city marshal, who
walked up with a great spot on his
coat which he wanted taken out.
The fellow carried sponge well sat
urated with benzine and arnica,
which Of itself will take out almost
anything, and by using bit of the
soap soon had the marshars coat en-
tirely free from grease. That started
the soap sales, and in two or three
hours, it being Saturday and a crowd
in town, the soap man had sold S36
worth. nearly all of which was clear
profit"
Stopping to draw long breath the
jewelry man continued his interest
ing story. 81 tell you you can hum
bug anybody. l am not unlike the
rest of the world. l believe l would
bite at my own tricks if could only
get in the crowd"
"The way to do it is this: Get lot
of fine gold rings which cost about a
dollar dozen and propose to be adj
vertising some big gold concern in
New York. l called mine the
great brazed gold of San Francisco,
stated that 1 would show the crowd a
thing or two, and soon got them in
terested First, l made a speech in
which I stated my business; then l
commenced to offer the rings at any
price from two cents up. telling them
that they could not be bought for
less than four dollars apiece at jew
eler's. I let out about twenty rings
at two cents, and then asked every
body who had bought rings to hold
them up Instantly every ring was
in the air. Now said l, addressing
the crowd. this is your money, is itY'
Yes said dozen. And you give it
up freely for the ringsr Yes came
again in chorus. Very well, here's
twenty cents for you, sir and twenty
cents. for you, sir, and SO on around
the crowd. They commenced to won
der what in the world l meant; said
1 was crazy and a lot of other things,
but 1 only told them l was advertis-
ing goods for my house and had
plenty more things to give away, Next
/ took up some of my handsome dia-
mond studs which / explained were
Lake George diamonds, equal to any
on earth, etc, and that was going to
sell them from twenty five cents up,
the more one paid the better it would
be, of course, for him, Twenty studs
were soon out and the same speech
made. Then made the crowd hold
up the diamonds and each man got
fifty cents back who had bought.
"The thing got to be very interest
ing, and the crowd numbered 300 OF
400. Then / got out some beautiful
gold plated sleeve buttons, which ]
explained could not be bought for
less than So. These / proposed to
| sell for fifty cents each, giving to AN
who bought a dollar additional as be-
| fore, each time doubling the money
gift. The buttons soon went OF, 81
had the other things, and I was ready
for the final "bite" at the crowd. The
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