The Savannah morning news., 1903-09-07
VISIONS OF WEALTH
MADE IGNORANT NEGROES EASY
VICTIMS OF SHARPERS.
DIGGING FOR TREASURES.
MAN OF MYSTERY MADE MONEY
WITH SPIRIT MACHINE.


Others and His Victims Believe
That He Has, shipped Much Gold
and silver From savan nah-COm-
DIaint Made to Police.
Blinded by visions of buried treas
ures valued at fabulous sums, their
"sub-conscious" mind aroused and
made to see pots and caskets of gold
and silver. deep down in the earth,
numbers of Savannah negroes have
been for three weeks or more, the vic
tins of a smooth swindler who claims
to be on speaking terms with the in
habitants of the spiritual world
After scores of the ignorant and SUI
perstitious have paid out their hard
earned pittances for the services OF
the man Of mystery" who has a ma
chine that locates the yellow metal,
the swindle has been reported at po-
lice Headquarters. And, too, the COM
plaint has been made by negro who
for years has been known to the police
as treasure searcher." d. +. GLOW
er of No. $50 Gordon street, east. made
his complaint to Desk Sergeant Joseph
McCool at police headquarters Satur-
dav night Yesterday morning he
again told his remarkable story to
Stunt Garfunkel Detective Murphy
and a representative of the Morning
News.
II was known for the police for more
than week that yards and vacant
lots were being dug up by negroes
looking for buried treasures. once or
twice the uniformed man who looks
after "Magazine"-as the Gas House
Hill district is known on the police
precinct book-has mentioned casually
at headquarters the disturbing OF the
soil on the East Side Such thlhSS
are not at all unusual and such re-
norts attract no attention in police cir
cles-unless it is known that a pro-
fessionaI searcher is at work and mas
stirred the negroes into action. Inen
the officers get busy, for II means thaI
ignorant negroes are being neeceu by
a sharper The police did not suspect
that spirit worker" was active un-
til Glover made his statement 10 De9h
Sergeant McCool.
Glover Easily Fooled.
Cornelius George, a negro, is the man
against whom Glover has lodged com
Dlaint. Glover does not claim that
George is a fake, but, on the con-
trarV. declares that the stranger does
all the remarkable things that ne
claims to do What the Savannah gold
hunter charges is that the strange spirit
worker finds the money and fails to de-
liver it to those VINO have dreamed OF
its whereabouts.
DinRy gold and silver coin valued at
in
tween Price and East Broad streets,
and on Gordon street, between Price
and East Broad streets. Glover insists.
He declares that on last Monday TINS
load of wealth was sent by express to
William WeiVert at Philadelphia, and
that those to whom it rightfully be-
longs will never be able to get any
part of it, unless George is placed in
custody. Glover really believes that
the treasure was dug up by the swind-
Ter, for he has absolute faith in the
queer machine that is owned by the
stranger.
Glover himself once owned a fortune
finding machine, and charged a fee
whenever he told a dreamer where
money was buried. But his graft work.
ed itself out, his machine failed to
furnish straight tips and because of
lack of business he disposed of it. All
of this is well known to the police. De-
tective Murphy remembers Glover's
fortune finder we'll, for whenever the
negro was hard up he pawned the ma
chine and it frequently came under
the observation of the plain clothes
man.
The "FOrtune Finder"
The Savannah negro paid s27 Cor his
machine. He purchased it from a
Northern concern that existed several
years ago, and advertised in the hun
dred and one monthly catch-penny
sheets that find circulation among the
common people" But the machine
was worth what Glover had paid
for it, for in very short while he had
more than doubled his money, although
he was unable to locate any treasure.
This. however. was not because acres
of ground in different parts of the
country were not dug up. nor because
hundreds of negroes were not
at work during the early
morning hours with shovels
and picks. The treasure dggers be-
came so active that the police had to
take a hand in the game and drive
them outside of the city limits. Glover
and his machine We're brought promi-
nently before the public at that time.
The machine was little more than a
magnetic needle in glass case and
was supposed to point where gold or
silver was buried. But the machine
owned by George was constructed on
a much more elaborate plan and the
negroes went wild when they were per-
mftted to gaze upon it, Its owner
claimed that it cost originally several
hundred dollars, was more than a hun
dred years old, and had been handed
down from father TO son in his family.
His story made good
How Game Was Worked.
The stranger would not have done so
well if he had followed the beaten path
made by Glover and others. His
charges were IS, but he wanted no
money unless he found the treasure
sought. About the first thing George
did when he put in his appearance was
to employ Glover. whose local reputa-
ton was worth much to him To get
the Endorsement of the Savannah for
tune finder meant to get the patron
age of hundreds of dreamers known
to the Savannah negro.
George promised me 50 night and
a preacher S. a night to help him, %
said Glover in lodging his complaint.
Both Of us has worked for three
weeks and neither one Of US has been
paid a cent. Then George got So apiece
from us In cash TO point out some
treasures that we dream med about He
found the treasures but he shipped
them out Of town and we are out Sc
and All our work. George had his ma .
chine ia house on Gordon street near
Price. and he never moved IL out OF the
room He worked the spirits and the
machine would lust fell him .tslat .,