The Disappearing Doctor of Port Angeles
After spinning elaborate tales of Irish estates and gold mines to his neighbors, a local physician flees with stolen instruments and borrowed furniture.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Dr. J. P. Frigell, who came to Port Angeles ninety days ago, has departed for parts unknown, and in consequence his many creditors mourn. When he came here he announced that he had a large estate in Ireland and that a remittance was due him each month. Upon these representations he procured trusting friends who stood good for carpets, furniture and the like, so he could open an office. It was declared by his admirers that he was a physician of great skill. As time passed the doctor developed a great passion for fishing, hunting and prospecting. One day while out fishing he turned up with some ore specimens which he announced he had found near this city. The ore was of the highest grade and calculated to excite experts and common folks alike. It then developed that not all that was in the office belonged to the 'dizzy doctor,' but much of the furnishings was the property of the late Dr. I. R. Herrick, whose widow, out of sympathy for Frigell, had loaned him her late husband's effects. It was found that a careful preparation had been made for flight before leaving. Even his gold specimens, which he so proudly exhibited, were gone, and it is now suspected that he had brought them here from Australia and after all his great gold find in which he succeeded in 'roping in' many was, like himself, a flimsy fake.
“It is now suspected that he had brought them here from Australia and after all his great gold find in which he succeeded in 'roping in' many was, like himself, a flimsy fake.”
Small-town con artists preying on the social credit and goodwill of neighbors is a timeless narrative. This account captures the vulnerability of a tight-knit community where trust was a form of currency—and the bitter realization when that trust is betrayed.
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