The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1908-12-31
A CONFIDENCE CAME,
It Was Boldly Planned and Sue"
cessfuIly Worked.
THE VICTIM BADLY CAUGNl ,

A Daring and Brazen Smallpox SWIM
die by Which Two Clever Schemers
FIeeced a Helpless Hotel Keeper Out
Of $1,000.
II dare say you never heard of the
great smallpox swindle." said the hotel
1.-The facts of that remark
able affair were withheld at the time
for the most urgent reasons of policy,
and even now prefer to tell the story
without names or localities 1t hap
pened in the fall of 1886, when GER
tain hotel in large western city was
crowded with tourists. One day at
the height Of the season two gentle
manly looking strangers put up at the
house and were assigned to what We
call a double room About a week
later one of them appeared at the Of
fee and requested private interview
with the manager. 1 regret to inform
you,' he said after the door was closed.
that my friend is down with a Sc
we're attack Of smallpox
"The proprietor nearly fell out of
his chair. There was known to be
smallpox in the city, and the bare sug-
gestion that the disease had appeared
In the hotel was enough to empty it in
a twinkling. 70 let the news get out
meant the loss of thousands upon
thousands of dollars. 1t meant the
ruin of the seasons business. He
must be quietly removed at once, said
the proprietor. trying to control his
agitation.
Removed exclaimed the other
Taken through the cold air to laZa-
retto! Why, man, that would be- muir,
der! I'll not permit it.!
THE. hotel keeper was thunder
struck. DO you mean to say he must
stay hereY he gasped.
Certainly said the stranger.
ut was tcklish situation The no.
tel keeper dare not enforce his sugges-
ton. while to let the case remain was
like storing gunpowder in furnace
room. He pleaded. protested. begged.
threatened and clustered. but all in
vain. The man was firm as rock If
you attempt to eject my sick friend
he declared. '1ll publish your inhuman-
tty to the entire community
FINALLY 1t occurred to the distracted
proprietor to see first whether it was
really case of smallpox, SO he sent
for physician, swore him to secrecy
and hustled him up to the room. The
doctor took one look at the disfigured
face on the pillow and reported that
the malady was there in Il malignant
type. He advised the mans immediate
removal at any cost. If you keep him
concealed he said, the disease may
spread, and it would ruin you for life
You owe something to your guests
Again the proprietor interviewed the
friend, and again the latter refused to
bulge from his position.
Where can l take him?' he de-
manded. You know very well can't
get comfortable quarters for such a
purpose. and l won't have him butch
cred in pesthouse to please any land
lord on earth!' The hotel man felt his
hair stand on end. but. concluded to let
things stand as they were until morn
Ing.
Next day he sent for the sick mans
friend and asked him whether he had
any suggestions to make.
Yes he replied. I thought up a
plan overnight, which you may adopt
or not, as you like. As said before,
he continued. 1T is useless to try to
rent quarters for such a case. We
might, however, buy small cottage
and take him there. l have figured
the thing up. and the total expense
would be about $4,000. If you are
willing to hand over that amount
will take him away and assume all
further responsibility. make the of
fer entirely out of sympathy for your
guests
''The landlord looked him in the eye
I, too, have thought the situation
over, he said, and Pm convinced it's
a confidence game pure and simple
I'm convinced there's nothing the mat
ter with your dear friend upstairs,
but l am also convinced that the
slightest breath of the affair would
greatly damage the reputation of the
house. AS a business proposition
consider it worth $1,000 to get rid of
YOU
"The other man smiled ironically
Call a cab and get out your money.
he said, and inside an hour the incu-
bus had been spirited through side
door swathed In blankets and driven
away.
"As the landlord shrewdly surmised
the whole thing was a confidence
game, and he learned the particulars
later on through a sport he had once
befriended. There was nothing the
matter with the rascal upstairs except
that his face had been pricked a little
with a quill dipped in croton oil, some
thing that makes a horrible looking
pustule, which disappears in a few
days and leaves no mark. l always
thought the hotel man showed good
sense In taking the course he did He
was caught in a trap and took the
cheapest way out. The bare rumor OF
even a suspected case would probably
have involved loss Of $4,000 or SGo.-