Chloroformed at the County Fair: A Naked Chase Through Davenport
A Newport man woke to a thief in his hotel room, gave chase in his birthday suit, and let the night air—and a roll of bills—decide the outcome.
Louis Kirchan was at Davenport last week on business and while there rather a peculiar experience befell him. The county fair was in progress and the usual number of crooks congregated in the city. While he was sleeping at the hotel Mr. Kirchan's room was entered, after chloroform had been injected into the room to make doubly sure that he would not awaken. But Louie must have been sleeping with one ear open, as he was aroused and made a dash for the intruder. The fellow made his getaway out of the hotel and down into the street with Louie after him without going into the formality of dressing himself. Louie chased the thief several blocks, but found the night air too chilly for his scanty raiment and gave up the chase. The thief got away with a couple of dollars in silver, but missed a good-sized roll of bills in the clothes.
“Louie chased the thief several blocks, but found the night air too chilly for his scanty raiment and gave up the chase.”
Petty crime at county fairs was a recurring hazard in an era before hotel locks and credit cards, and the story's humor turns on the era's lack of privacy and air conditioning. It also shows how local papers used a neighbor's embarrassing adventure as entertainment—a precursor to today's viral small-town crime stories.
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