Indian chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1882-1902, 1896-01-16
HONEST DEALING REWARDED.
Fakir Who Made Money by Taking the
Public Into His Confidence.

A Fakir Who Made Money by Taking the
Public Into His Confidence.
Gentlemen" said the street fakir,
as he arranged his bottles on the table
before him, Il did not come here to
lie and deceive and rob you of your
hard-earned dollars. / have stuck ia
the truth all my life and, though tina,
is the reason / am poor man, / shall
continue to speak the truth to the end
of my days"
The crowd had been coldly survey
ing his preparations but began to warm
up little over his address
II might say to you," he went on, as
he held up one of the bottles in low
ing way between mis- eye and the sun,
that this medicine was discovered by
a celebrated medicine man of the Sioux
tribe of Indians. But why deceive
you? 1t is a remedy entirely unknown
to the Indians. 1t is my own dis
covery. and / never saw an Indian in
my life
The crowd increased in numbers and
began to press closer.
Il could tell You that this compound
would cure Bright's disease, and in ten
minutes every bottle would be sold;
but could / sleep tonight with the
weight of SO much deception on
my conscience? How could / ever
again look an honest man in the face
after telling such falsehood? 1t will
not cure Bright's disease-it would
even hasten the end of a victim of that
baleful complaint"
There were now a hundred men in
front of the fakir and at least half of
them had their hands in their pockets
in search of money.
~ could say that it was a pain
killer" continued the man, as he
brought out more bottles from an old
satchel, but an accusing voice would
be whispering in my ear forever more.
You might rub barrel of it on you
and it would not affect pain. / miss
the sales of at least fifty bottles be-
cause tell you the truth, but it must
be So"
Gimme a bottlei' shouted a dozen
men in chorus, as they held up their
one-dollar bills
"No, gentlemen, not yet i will
neither deceive you nor allow you to
deceive yourselves. You are an honest,
confiding people. and might tell you
that this discovery would stop a head
ache in five minutes, and you would
believe me and hand up your money.
II will not cure a headache. / even
declare that it would make one ten
times worse"
The mum Der of men who now wanted
a bottle was at least twenty, but the
fakir waved them aside and said:
''Wait a minute The discovery will
not cure consumption after one lung is
gone. 1t will not cure catarrh after
the disease has firm hold on the
bronchial tubes After both kidneys
have wasted away it is no use to take
it 1t simply purifies the blood and
thus"
Gimme bottle. Gimme bottlew
yelled fifty men as they pressed for
ward, and in less than ten minutes the
last one had been sold and the fakir
had the money in his pocket
As we went down on the train to
Nashville that afternoon together /
asked:
after you have mixed water. mo-
lasses and alcohol together do you add
anything else?"
"Yes, cayenne pepper to make it bite
and the solemn truth to make it sell,
he solemnly replied as he took ont his
wad of bills and spread them on his
knee and started out to find the sum
total-Boston Herald.