Arizona weekly enterprise., 1888-04-14
GUARD AGAINST PIcKPocKEts.
The Various Ways in Which These
 Thieves Thunder Their Victims.

The Various Ways in Which These
 Thieves Plunder Their Victims.
 Have you ever had your watch stolen? If you have then you have experienced the peculiar sensation which creeps oiver you when the hand is carelessly dropped to take the watch out and only dangltng chain is found. No one ever had watch stolen who did not begin to mediate pn the way it was done, and usually ho satisfactory conclusion is reached.
 An old man came into the city a feiW days ago from Paterson. He has an ilh- terest in one of the big silk mills therie and is wealthy. His visit was for thb purpose of buying Christmas presentf and he had several hundred dollars nt bills, besides gold watch and diamond scarf pin. He is naturally a timid mank and had his weather eye open for thieveS His pocketbook was in his left trousers( pocket and his watch was in bis waist | coat on the same side. His coat was buttoned up close to his chin, so that none of the light fingered fellows could get chance at his property. He walked through Fourteenth street from the Sixth Avenue Elevated road to Broadway, made purchase and when he looked for
 
 and pin were also gone and only the dangling chain remained, There was never more surprised man in this world, and all that he could tell Inspec- tor Byrnes about the robbery was that he had been jostled by several men in Four teenth street, soon after leaving the train, but he had not seen them do anything.
 In tho pickpockets' vocabulary he had been put through the 'push and pulp game. To do this requires a "mob' of four or five men, besides the ''wire, which is the term applied to the man who does the trick One of the ''mob" is selected to do the touching" This consists in passing the fingers gently over a persons pockets to determine if 5.A is worth robbing. It is done always m ''1.-awd. '' If everything is all rieht' the ''toucr1-,.'' ciyes a sicy~-Ai ssara indl- cates by signs where the property is The ''mob'' passes in front of the victim and the ''wire'' and ''fence'' come up from behind. At signal one of the "mob" stumbles and falls on the victim, who is nearly thrown of his feet. The "nlob' grab the victim, ostensibly to keep him from falling, and then the ''wire's" hands do the work. Whatever | property is secured is given to the 'fence," who goes off like flash. The most famous thief in this line of work is Poodle" Murphy. He has great nerve, and hand that moves more quickly than the eye can well follow it. ''Poo- dle" stole ex-Secretary Robeson's watch in this way in Philadelphia, and is said to have committed more robberies than any two other pickpockets in the coun- try.
 There arc several other ways in which this class of thieves do their work. The horse car trick is favorite one, and ''Deafy" Price is a mater of this. It is done with a newspaper, an overcoat slung over the arm, or one with holes in the pockets. It requires great boldness and confidence. The thief sits by the side of the victim, alwa~ in a crowded car. Sometimes the t1oao works quietly, other times with a rush. The quiet method is carried out by dropping the paper carelessly on the lap and turning tn the seat as if to look out of the win dow. If the pocket is tight the thief will either give up the effort or cut the cloth. The thief works in the same way with the pocketless coat. If he secures anything he leaves the car at once. When force is used it is done when the car gives sudden lurch, and the hand is driven in and out of the pocket so quickly that the victim thinks that the pressure was on the outside of his clothes. Women are often robbed in this way, and while it might seem to be dangerous, it is said to be comparatively safe for the thief New York Tribune.