During the 19th century there was a lot more "magic" and a lot less science involved in much of what went on. There was also much less regulation of everything. The government didn't bother with swindlers unless they used a gun to steal with. Mark Twain lost his fortune investing in an automatic printing press that was so complicated that it spent more time being repaired than it did actually working. Once the transcontinental railroads were in place, the railroads needed to sell off the land the government had given them as an incentive to build. Much of the land they had was good farm land, but some of it was desert. They sold off parcels of desert property by telling the gullible that it didn't rain there because there were no crops to water. That if an enterprising farmer just planted a crop, the rain would come! Any body who can come up with an idea and draw a picture or have a picture drawn can get a patent. Once they have a patent, all they have to do is form a corporation and sell stock in a company to make the product. Once they have gotten the money from the gullible, the swindlers take the money, the company declares bankruptcy, and the investors are left holding worthless paper.