At the turn of the 20th century, transatlantic travel promised adventure, discomfort, and plenty of opportunities for sharp-eyed swindlers. Passengers trapped together on a steamship were easy marks for any “miracle cure” that seemed to work before their very eyes, especially when rough seas had everyone worrying about seasickness.
This 1902 newspaper account describes a clever little bunko game staged aboard a steamship bound for New York. A well-dressed young woman appeared to be overcome with terrible seasickness, groaning and suffering in front of the other passengers. Then, as though by chance, a stranger stepped forward with a special lozenge he claimed could bring instant relief.
The trick worked beautifully. The woman recovered almost immediately, astonishing the onlookers and convincing several passengers to buy boxes of the supposed remedy for a dollar each. Only when the ship reached New York did the buyers realize they had been played. The “patient” and the “helpful stranger” left together, and the miraculous seasickness cure turned out to be nothing more than ordinary ju-jubes.
It was a simple scam, but a wonderfully theatrical one: part medicine show, part stage performance, and part old-fashioned confidence game.
Clever Bunko Game Worked on a Streamer
NEW YORK, NY. —An amusing scene was witnessed recently on one of the transatlantic steamships. The sea was rather rough. A young woman, pretty and nicely dressed, appeared to be suddenly taken very ill with seasickness. She groaned and screamed in apparent agony for some little time.
At length a person who appeared to be a stranger approached and asked whether she would like to take a lozenge, which he guaranteed would ease her of her pain. He had often tried it, he said, on people, and always with the most marvelous results.
The young lady demurred a little at first, but finally accepted the offer.
Never was a cure so instantaneous! Hardly had she swallowed the lozenge when the fair patient was sitting up, all smiles, and ordering ham sandwiches from the steward.
Some passengers were so struck with the incident that they inquired the name of the remedy. The gentleman, who was the agent for the sale of the lozenges, disposed of a considerable number of boxes of them at a dollar a piece.
What was the surprise of the purchasers when they saw the young lady and her preserver go off arm in arm when the vessel reached New York.
The boxes contained common ju-jubes.
Source: Deseret Evening News. Great Salt Lake City, Utah., July 19, 1902.
