The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1869-01-27
How PickpOckets Work.


manly looking fellow, wears neat
boots and gloves, always has a new
looking hat, and is altogether the last
man you would suspect of any sinister
designs on pocket, He lives in first.
class hotels and boarding houses, often
frequenting the same house for years,
totally unsuspected, and remarkable
only for his quiet and gentlemanly
demeanor, He carefully chooses four
companions, equally respectable in
appearance, to form what is called a
mob, each one producing certain
sum TO make a bank, to be used in
case one of them falls, (taken by the
police, in order to provide bail or pay
his counsel fees. They then frequent
railway stations, public meetings, or
any place they can ind a crowd.
victim is quietly selected as a proba-
ble find. Two Of the mob then place
themselves in front of him, and two
remain behind, occupying, as it were,
the angles of a square of which the
victim is the center. These are called
the front and back stalls. The unfor.
tunate victim is then famed; that is,
his pockets are softly padded to find
out the one in which he keeps his
wallet; the sign is passed to the cper-
ator, who is termed the wire, who
Immediately proceeds to work. He
does not place his hand in the pocket,
that is fatal error, but with the two
first fingers he gently draws up the
lining of the pocket to the opening,
and with it the wallet, and the trick
is done. This system is called reefng,
The wallet is Immediately passed 10
one of the back stalls, who quietly,
though quickly, levants. The most
dangerous place for money is undoubt-
edly the pocket OF the pants. Again,
one CT the front stalls passes his arm
before your face to touch the other
front stall on the shoulder, to say
Chow are you ?'' but the wire from
behind hhs your diamond pin in his
possession. If possible, they return
the empty wallet to the pocket to
avoid detection IN its possession, or
the dangerous necessity of throwing
it away. For instance; two gentle
men sitting at one end of car get
into an angry alteration, high words
ensue, the attention of the other pass
engers Is attracted to their dispute,
and the young lady who sat next to
that nice looking man at the other
end of the car, finds on arriving at
Stewards that her purse Is empty the
angry gentleman and the nice looking
man are simply confederates. This
they term wedding. A correspondent
OF newspaper lately lost $500 in this
way While riding, in Fourth avenue
car. PICK pockets are necessarily
very migratory in their habits, find,
ing a long residence in one place in
convenient. This renders it almost
impossible to make any estimate Of
their probable numbers in this city.
They prefer locality for the scene OF
their operations that has numerous
lines of rail, to enable them to sepa-
rate in various directions as soon as
they have good swag, and to meet
again in some other town. These men
stand by one another in trouble, and
are strictly square in ther mutual
transactions A curious instance of
'honor among thieves" is found in
the following anecdOte the elder
MathaugS ord u1boo10-o rI.ooE-t -. -
occasion, went together to the theater:
while ascending the staircase Mat
thews playfully took bundle Of pa
pers from Hooks, pocket, when he
was touched on one shoulder from be-
hind by gentismanly looking man ;,
who handed him his own pocket
book, apologiZing fer taking it by
saying-"1 didn't know you were one.
of US" and pertinentIy adding" -"but
what id fool you must be to carry
it there" PickDoekets, however new
er save money, for they are all bitten
with a mania for gambling, and,
strange to say, are generally unsuc.
cessful at it. Their language is most
peculiar, only to be understood by
Intelligent body Of gentlemen who
hail from Mulberry street. Their
depredations on the public amount to
a very large sum in the course of the
year, considerable portion of which
IS never recovered, from the general
anability of the victims to give any
description which might lead to iden-
nhcation, they never, If possible, al
lowing you to have full view of their
face.-M Y Tribune.