, 1885-01-09
A VALUABLE FRAUD.
THE TRUE HISTORY or DENvER's
FIRST BOGUS WATCH.
A Time-Piees whioh Wa Sold on an
Average of -Four Times n Day
for = Year-Ths
Game.


49,
did you know Frank HealsyF' asked Tom
Rowe OF an Opinion man tho other day. aHs
was tho smartest sport that ever crossed the
Missouri coming west He used TO work the
auction dodge In early days. but he did IL un-
der difficulties. The big game, OF course, was
a bogus watch, but unfortunately for him,
he only had ons, and he had to take more
care OF 1t than be would nave given 30 a gem
uine 800 Geneva That watch was sold on
an average OF four times a day for a year
How was thatf'
We'll, one Of tho cappers would come into
the auction shop with the watch The auction
shop was a place on Blake street with two or
three boxes Of cotton socks, a half gross Of
spoiled n~ecktiss. and a dozen cotton handkar-
chiefs. Healey's ostonsfble business was 70
sell these, but as soon as tho capper would
show up be was on deck.
"'Whero did you got that watchP he'd
say.
"Then the fellow would work thu last Of
the n1-spent fortune racket.
alt wss given me by my father Just before
/ left the states, he'd say, and It cost s125.
ais 1t goldl Do you warrant itF
That's whatl It's good stuff-'
Then the watch would go up. and after
being bid ON for awhile would be knocked
down TO some duffer for about ESQ. The fell
INV W0uhA pun Jul US buCA1AAn DuAt WcI|u
out the dust, and then start Just on the
| outside he'd meet capper number two.
@What havo you got theref he'd ask.
The sucker would show his snap
AZ don't thin that's good capper mum
Der two would say; but let US take II TO q
jowciry store and see And together they'd
go and find out the watch wasn't worth 80
cents.
Then capper number two would loom.
See here, , he'd say; this is a swindle, but
you can play back. Take It TO the auction
shop and sell it over again There was q lot
Of fellow bidding on it when you left. You
can get your money back, and maybe more
So back they'd go and run through the same
business. The sucker would say the watch
was given him by his father, and that II cost
$50 in gold, and that he was broke and
wanted to put it up.
"Doyou warrant itr Healey would ask.
YES he'd say. So up she'd go. One Of
the boys would bid a dollar, and another a
dollar and n quarter, and they'd run It up to
about 50, Then she'd be knocked down. II
the sucker kicked they'd tell hinr that he had
warranted tho watch and wouldn't Be al
lowed to scandalize 1t by saying II was bras
He would generally SEQ tho point and skip.
Healey has sold that watch ave times in one
day and took his 10 per cent commirsion on
IT, but at the same time, IL caused q good
deal Of anxiety
"How was thntl"
well, as / said, it was tho only one in the
territory, and 1t had to be looked after. Sup
pose some fool had carried It off, what would
the boys have done for anotheri 1t would
have taken three months to bring one from
the states, and there would ave been no busl-
iness In all that time. They never breathed
easiiy until the watch turned up again. It
was worth a genuine one a dozen times over.
l used 10 watch that game with a good deal
OF interest whenever / had any leasure time
on my hands. I got pretty nearly as anxious
about tho watch ms the Fellows who lived off
IT. But it always managed to turn up finally
In some way"
What became OF 1t at lnstf'
Il think they put It In tho cornsr-stons Of
tho first church built in Denver. They had got
q gross from the outside, and didn't nave TO
waste money buying the old ono back"