The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1902-03-01
GOLDFISH GAVE UP GOLD.
AGED SCIENTISTS EXPERIMENT
CONVINCED KANSAS FARMERS.

story yesterday, which eXemplifies the
ingenuity of the ''bunko man." He
says that two Kansas farmers, John
H. Williams and James P. Simpson.
who conduct a large farm about TWEEN
ty miles south of Topeka. Kansas.
while buying tickets for their home
yesterday confided to him that they had
beer swlndled out of $500 in a scheme
which was to realize the philosophers
dream in extracting gold from gold
fish, and that though he advised them
to tell their story to the police they
were so thoroughly humbled that they
were only too glad to leave New York
on the earliest possible train.
According to their story they had
both spent their lives on a large farm
outside of Topeka, and for the past
ten years had bent all their energies
toward tine accomplishing of their am
bition to visit this city, and about ten
days ago decided that their finances
were in a condition to allow of the
coveted trip. The least thing they
feared, they said, when starting out,
was the wiles of the confidence man,
the trader in green goods or gold
bricks, or the proverbial bunko-steerer,
for they had pursued a course OF read
ing of all the literature obtainable con-
tanning warnings to the bucolic ad-
venturer in the great cities.
when we arrived in New York last
Tuesday," said in substance Farmer
Simpson, the older of the two (neither
was apparently over So years of age),
I'VE went to a Broadway hotel, and
registered under assumed names. CIV
N~sI 1T
c. We did this so that it might not be
known that we We're farmers, and
thcTeupon be tracked wherever we
went by some smooth-tongued rogues.
We spent all day Tuesday and the
greater part of Wednesday morning,
seeing the sights, going up and down
the elevators of the tall buildings, and
visiting the wax works on Twenty
third street. We evidently attracted no
notice, and soon became confident that
there was nothing in our appearance
to proclaim the tiller of the soil.
While sitting in the hotel parlor on
Wednesday afternoon we noticed an
old man of venerable appearance, alb
sorbed in huge volume from which
he occasionally took notes in strange
characters. He had an air of great
wisdom, and from our observations we
took it that he was probably some cele-
brated scientist We thought no more
OF him, however, and on Thursday
morning we visited the Aquarium. We
were standing in front OF one of the
glass tanks filled with goldfish, when
our attention was attracted to a figure
that we Immediately recognized as the
venerable gentleman we had seen in
the hotel parlor the day before. He
still carried his book, and his eyes
wit
OF the smaller but most brilliant fishes
in the tank. Then he suddenly ex-
claimed
To think of the simplicity of 1t.
Wen, though it was the work Of a life
Time, 1t certainly has been rewarded
beyond my most extravagant Dreams
Then he began to humble and
chuckle to himself in a manner that
made us all curiosity to know the oc-
casion of his delight, and l ventured
TO ask him the cause of it, He started
back suddenly, and eyed me in a sus-
piclous manner. Then, looking about
MN to see that we were the only ones
within hearing, he whispered:
" My lifetime's work has been re-
warded and now l am on the road to
wealth. / have discovered the
secret of the goldfishs color. Further
than that / have discovered that
through the peculiar chemical process
Of the goldfishs digestion seven grains
Of pure gold are made and dissolved
n his body each day. The dissolution
IS effected by the scintillation of color.
These discoveries l made years ago.
and since then 1 have sought day and
Night for a process by which scintilla-
ion could be impeded and entirely
stopped. This formula I have accom-
1liShnn fhrO11prh fha ofd Of f,t,f ct,
BY my process scintillation is stopped
and without any injury to
he fish, the gold becomes incrusted in
he scales and fins, and a little fish
which, when proper facilities for breed
ng are obtained, costs practically
can be transformed into a
nugget of gold in few weeks
He seemed so sincere and inter-
'persed his explanations with such
scientific phrases and refer
ences that we were deeply impressed
)y what he said and accepted his invi-
alton to visit his laboratory, on South
street. We We're soon in a ramshackle
the lower portion of which
vas taken up by large fish market
He led US up two flights of tumble
lown stairs and into q small back |
DOM, which, with the exception of a
leal table and two broken chairs was |
bare. Unlocking a closet, he |
out an assortment of strangely |
little boxes and bottles. a |
mall bowl containing a half dozen |
goldfish, and a gas burner and tube, |
which he attached to a fixture just |
bove the table. He asked us to be |
eated, and then busted himself in ar
angling his apparatus. There was such |
IN air of enthusiasm and mystery |
bout these proceedings that we never |
doubted for a moment that we were |
bout to witness a great discovery.
after he had completed the arrange |
nent of his bottles and boxes and |
lighted his gas burner, he took the !
over from a little iron box. into which |
lie poured a few drops of a whitish |
mixture from a tiny vial. Immediate |
y there was a sizzling in the bottom
# the box. Then he took one of the
mailer fish from the bowl and placed |
in the box.
This fish, he said, has been SUBJ
ected to the process for ten days,
md. consequently, there are seventy |
yrains. of gold incrusted in it's scales |
md fms AS he finished speaking
here was a great sizzling and bub-
bling in the bottom of the box. Then
le set Up a small, thin steel plate over
he gas burner, which in a few min
ties was white hot Then he took
he fish from the little box and laid
[ on the steel plate, where, in a few
seconds, It was transformed to a white
Under. which fioated away and crum-
)led into dust. But where the cinder
vas on the steel plate was a small
bubble of what appeared to be pure
gold. Turning off the gas burner, he
poured some ice cold water over the