The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1869-03-13
zTnezArts or POeket.E1EeRTfIEs

p The artistic pick-pocket is p nile
manly looking fellow, wearansat boots
and gloves, always has new-tooking
hat, and is altogether the last man you
would suspect of any sinister designs
on your pocket. He lives in first-class
hotels and boarding-houses, often fire.
quenting the same house for years, to-
tally unsupported and remarkable only
for his quiet aud gentlemanly demean-
or. He carefully chooses four compan-
ions, equally respectable in appearance,
to form what is called mob, each one
producing a 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 to pay his counsel fees.
They then frequent railway stations,
public meetings, or any place where
Is quietly selected as probable
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 centre. These are call
ed the front and back stalls. The I'M
fortunate victim is then famed; that is,
his pockets are softly padded to find
out the one in which he keeps his wal
let; the sign is passed to the operator,
who is termed the wire, who imm edi-
atelv proceeds to work. He does not
place his hand in the pocket, that is a
fatal error; but with the two first fing-
ers he gently draws up the lining of the
pocket to the opening, and with it the
wallet, and the trick Is done. This sys-
tenn Is called reefing. The wallet is i'm
mediately passed to one of the back
stalls, who quietly, though quickly,
levants. The most dangerous place for
money is undoubtedly the pocket of the
pants. Again one of the front stalls
passes his arm before your face to
touch the other front stalls on the shoul-
der, only. to say, How are you 2" but
the wire from behind has 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 1t
away. - lIt
For instance Two gentlemen sitting
at one end OF car get into an angry al.
tercation, high words ensue, the atten::
ton of the other passengers Is attracted
to their dispute and the young lady
who sat next to that nice looking man
at the other end o the car; finds, on ar
irving at Stewart's.s that her purse lis
empty. The angry gentleman and the
nice looking man are simply cOnfedera-
ted. This they term wedding. A cor
respondent of newspaper lately. lost
$500 in this way, while riding in a
Fourth avenue car. Pickpockets are
necessarily migratory in their habits,
finding a long residence in one place
inconvenient. This renders 1t almost
impossible to make any estimate OF
their probable numbers in this city.
They prefer a locality for tho scene OF
lines of rail, to enable them to separate
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 their mutual
transactions. A curious instance OF
"honor among thieves" is found In
the following anecdote: The elder Mat
thews and Theodore Hook, on one &C.
casion went together to the theatre.
While ascending the staircase Matthews
playfully took bundle of papers from
Hooks pocket, when he was touched
on the-ahoulder from behind by gen
tlemanly looking man. who handed
him his own peck book. apOlogizing
for taking it by saying, ~ didn't know
you were one of u.s." and .pertinently
adding, "but what id fool you must
be to carry it there" Pickpockets,
however. mover save money, for they
they are all bitten with mania for
gambling, and strange to say, are gen.
orally unsuccessful at 1t. Their lam
guage is most peculiar-only to be I'M
derstood by that intelligent body OF
gentlemen who hail from Mulberry
street. Their depreciation on the pub
lie amount to n very large sum in the
course of the year, a considerable por-
ton of which Is never recovered, from
the general Inability of the victim to
give any description which might lead
to Identification, they never. if possible,
allowing you to have full view of their
face.-I1iblL1le. ~ ...s--