The Hollow Stump Swindle
A Spokane farmer learns the hard way that promises of quick riches found in a forest stump usually lead to empty pockets.
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.
A gipsy told a Spokane farmer that if he would place $5 in a certain hollow stump and leave it there all night, it would be doubled in the morning. The farmer tried it, and sure enough found $10 in the stump. The gipsy advised the farmer to put in all he had, $700, in the stump and draw out $1400 in the morning. The farmer took this advice, and is now looking for a gipsy who he says stole $700 from him.
“The farmer took this advice, and is now looking for a gipsy who he says stole $700 from him.”
This 1887 account of a 'hollow stump' con is a classic reminder that the promise of 'easy money'—whether found in a remote woodland or a modern digital wallet—remains a timeless vector for exploitation. Human greed and the desire for a shortcut remain as consistent in the 21st century as they were in the Washington Territory.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.