Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1869-01-21
HOW PICKPoCKETs WORK.

Your artistic pickpocket is a gentlemanly look
ing fellow, wears neat boots and gloves always hal
new-looking hat, and is altogether the last mar
you would suspect of any sinister designs on you'
pocket. He lives in first class hotels and board.
ing-houses, often frequenting the same house fo
years, totally unsuspected, and remarkable onl!
for his quiet and gentlemanly demeanor. He care
fully chooses four companions, equally respectable
in appearance to form what is called mob, eact
one producing certain sum to make a bank, Il
be used in case one of them falls taken by the po
ce), in order to provide bail or to pay his counse
fees They then fequent railway stations, public
meetings, or any place they can find crowd. a
victim is quietly selected as probable find. Twt
of the mob then place themselves in front Of him
and two remain behind, occupying, as it were, th'
angles of square ofwhich the victim is the centre
These are called the front and back stalls. Th'
unfortunate victim is then famed; that is, hi
pockets are softly padded to find out the one il
which he keeps his wallet; the sign is passed t.
the operator, who is termed the wire, who imme
diately proceeds to work. He does not place nj
hands in the pocket, that is fatal error, but will
the two first fingers he gently draws up the lininl
of the pocket to the opening and with it the wal
let, and the trick is done. This system is calet
reefng The wallet is Immediately passed to on'
of the back stalls, who quietly, though quickly
leaves. The most dangerous place for money i
undoubtedly the pocket of the pants.
Again, one of the front stalls passes his arm be
fore your face to touch the other front stall on th
shoulder, to say, "How are you?" but the wir'
from behind has your diamond pin in his posses
sion. Ifpossble, they return the empty wallet II
the pocket to avoid detection in its possession o.
the dangerous necessity of throwing it away. Fo
instance: two gentlemen sitting at one end Of I
car get into an angry alteration, high words ensue
the attention of the other is attracted
their dispute, and the young lady who sat next tt
that nice looking man at the other end Of the cal
finds on arriving at Stewards that her purse il
empty. The angry gentleman and the nice looking
man are simply confederates This they tern
wedding A correspondent of a newspaper latel!
lost $500 in this way while riding in Fourth ave
nue. car.
Pickpockets are necessarily very migratory il
their habits, finding long residence in one place
announcement This renders it almost impossible II
make any estimate of their probable numbers il
this city. They prefer locality for the scene o
their operation that has numerous lines of rail tt
enable them to separate in various directions a
soon as they have good swag, and to meet agar
in some other town. These men stand by one an
other in trouble, and are strictly square in thel
mutual transactions. A curious instance OF "hon
or among thieves" is found in the following anec
dote: The elder Mathews and Theodore Hook, OF
one occasion, went together to the theatre; while
ascending the staircase Mathews playfuly took
bundle of papers from Hooks pocket, when HI
was touched on the shoulder from behind by a gen
tlemanly looking man, who handed him his Owl
pocket-book, apologizing for taking by it saying
''I didn't know you were one Of us" and pertl
nently addiug-"but what id fool you must b
to carry it there"
| Pickpockets, however, never save money, TO
they are all bitten with mania for gambling, and
strange to say, are generally unsuccessful at it
Their language is most peculiar. Their depreda
tians on the public amount to very large sun
in the course of the year, considerable portion
which is never recovered, from the general inabili
ty of the victims to give any description which
might lead to Identification, they never if possible
allowing you to haye full view of their face.
Ne,o York Tribune.