The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1902-02-10
New York Swindler Told Two Wis
itOrs in City That Gold Could
Be Extracted From Goldfish.
THEY READILY TOOK THE BAIT.
After Process Was Scientifically
Demonstrated, Each of the Kan
sans Invested 500 in a
Partnership Interest.
REPUBLTC.SPECIAL

REPT TBLTC.SPEClALA
New York. Feb. 9.-Joseph P. Ryan. the
! ticket agent of The Desbrosses street sta
tion of the Pennsylvania Railroad listened
| TO story yesterday which exemplifies the
| lrgenuity of the bunko man. He says that
:vo Kansas farmers. John II. Williams and
| James P. Simpson, who conduct a large
| farm about twenty miles south of Topeka,
| while buying tickets for their home yester
/ day. coniided to him that they had been
| swindled out of 500 in scheme which was
to realize the philosophers dream in sx
| tracing gold from goldfish. 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.
| When We arrived in New York last Tues
| day. said, in substance, Farmer Simpson,
the older Of the two meither was apparent
! ly over rs years of age). we went TO l.
! Broadway hotel and registered under as
sumed names. giving our residence as Wash
| ington. D. C. We did this so that it might
| not be known that We We're farmers and
thereupon be tracked wherever We went by
| some smooth-tongued rogue. We spent all
| day Tuesday and the greater part of
Venerable Old Man.
while sitting in the hotel parior on
Wednesday afternoon noticed an old
man of venerable appearance absorbed in
a huge volume from which he occasionally
| took notes in strange characters. He had
an air OF great wisdom and from our OBJ
servations took it that he was prob
ably some celebrated scientist. We thought
no more of him. however. and on Thurs
day morning visited the Aquarium. We
were standing in front Of one of the glass
tanks filed with gold fish when our atten-
ton was attracted to a figure that We i'm
medately recognized as the venerable
gentleman We had seen in the hotel parlor
the day before. He still carried his book
| and his eyes were bent with deep earnest
ness one of the smaller but most brill
liant fishes in the tank Then he suddenly
exclaimed:
ITO think Of the simplicity of it! Well.
though 1t was the work of lifetime, it
certainly has been rewarded beyond my
most eXtravagant dreams.
Then he began to humble and chuckle
TO himself in manner that made us all
curiosity to know the occasion of his de-
light. and I ventured to ask him the cause
Of II. He started back suddenly and eyed
me IN a suspicious manner. Then. looking
about him to see that We were the only
ones in hearing. he whispered:
My life's work has been rewarded and
now am on the road TO princely wealth.
! have discovered the secret of the gold
fish's color. Further than that l have dis
covered that through the peculiar chemical
process Of the goldfsh's digestion seven
grains Of pure gold are made and dis
solved In his body each day. The dissou-
lion is effected by the scintillation of color.
These discoveries 1 made a year ago and
since then / have sought day and night
for process by which scintillation could be
;mpeded and entirely stopped. This for
mula have accomplished through the aid
of liquid air. By my process scintillation
is stopped completely. and without any in
jury to the fish. the gold becomes incrusted
in the scales and fins and little fish which,
when proper facilities for breeding are OBJ
tanned, costs practically nothing. can De
transformed into a nugget of gold in fe"
weeks
Scientific Phrases.
He seemed so sincere and interpreted
his explanations with such convincing scien-
tiic phrases and references that We were
deeply impressed by what he said and ac-
cepted his invitation to visit his laboratory
on South street. We were soon In ram
shackle building. the lower portion OF
which was taken up BY large fish maTEH1 adRwn
stairs and into small back room, which.
with the exception of a deal table and Two
broken chairs. was entirely bare. Unlocking
a closet, he brought out an assortment Of
strangely contrived little boxes and bottles,
a small bowl containing half dozen goid
attached to a fixture just above the table
He asked US to he seated and then busted
himself in arranging the apparatus. There
was such an air of enthusiasm and mystery
about these proceedings that We never
doubted for a moment that We were about
to witness a great discovery.
After he had completed the arrangement
Of his bottles and boxes and lighted his gas
burner he took the cover from a little iron
box. into which he poured A few drops Of a
diarely there was a sizzling In the bottom
Of the box. Then he took one of the smaller
fish from the bowl and an PLACED it in the box
jected to the process for ten days: and
consequently. there are seventy grains of
so he nshed IN speakns ant there's was
great sizzling and bubbling in the bottom
of the box. Then he set up a small thin |
steel plate over the gas burner which in !,
a few moments was white hot. Then he |
took the fish from the little box and laid +,
It on the steel plate. where In n few sec !,
onds 1t was transformed to white cinder, |
which floated away and crumbled into dust. |
But where the cinder was on the steel !
to los pure gold. Turning off the gas burner |
he poured some ice cold water over the steel !
plate and then. with a pair of tweezers: |
caught up the little nugget OF gold and |
harded it to US.
Take that to any 1eweler, he said, and |
learn II it is not pure gold;
in he hotel that night. and went inmedi- |
ate.y to a Jeweler with the little nugget of |
gold. The jeweler told us that it was pure |
gold and worth about s..
Entered Partnership.
'"Well to make II short. met our |
scientific friend that night and were rea silly !
persuaded to enter into partnership with |
him In a gigantic scheme to convert gold |
fish into gold and as a guarantee of our /!
good faith each gave him s0o to bind a |
partnership agreement: He told us that he |
would meet US in the hotel parlor the next |
morning, when we would talk over the |
plans for launching our great enterprise;
That night We both dreamed of untold !
wealth The next morning we were in the |
hotel parlor at the appointed time, but there |
was no sign of the venerable scientist We !
waited for an hour and still he did not /
come. /
at was not until we had waited for two |
hours that awoke to the fact that we |
had been beautifully bunkoed. We inquired |
of the hotel clerk about our. venerable ,
friend. but he had not seen him and knew |
nothing about him. so We started for the /
laboratory in South street. but as we had |
not thought to take the number of the |
house and as most of the houses look alike |
our search brought no results. Then we |
decided that we had seen about all of New |