, 1888-01-18
GUARD AGAINST PIoXPocKETs.

The Var GUS Ways In Which Thcse
Thieves Plumber Their Victims.
Have you ever had your watch stolen?
If you have then you have experienced
the peculiar sensation which creeps over
you when tho hand is carelessly dropped
TO take the watch out and only dangling
chain is found. No one ever had n watch
stolen who did not begin to mediate on
the way it was done, and usually no
satisfactory conclusion is reached.
An old man came into the city n few
days ago from Paterson. He has an in
terest in one of the big silk mills there
and is wealthy. His visit was for the
purpose of buying Christmas presents
and he had several hundred dollars in
bills, besides n gold watch and diamond
scarf pin. He is naturally q timid man
and had his weather eye open for thieves.
His pOcketbook was in his left trousers
pocket and his watch was in his waist
coat on the same side. His coat was
buttoned up close to his chin, 20 that
nom of the light fingered fellows could
get q chance at his property. He walked
through Fourteenth street from the Sixth
Avenue Elevated road to Broadway,
made a purchase and when he looked for
his money found nothing. His watch
and pin were also gone and only the
dangling chain remained. There was
never a moro 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
tenth street, o after leaving the train,
but he had not seen them do anything.
In the pickpockets' vocabulary he had
been put through the push and pull"
game. To do this requires q ''mob" of
four or five men, besides tho 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 n PERSONS pockets to determine if
ho ia worth robbing. 1t is done always
in a crowd. If everything is all right,
tho '~'touchCr" gives q signal and indi-
Gates 10y aigns where tho property is.
The 'mob' passes in front of tho victim
and the "'wirC' and fence" come up
from behind. At a signal one of the
''mob' Gtumbles and falls on the victim,
who il nearly thrown off his feet. The
mo- grab tho victim, ostensibly to
keep linn from falling, and then the
'wirc'G' hands do tho work. Whatever
property is occurred is given to the
~''fcncc, - who goes of like n flash. The
most famous thief in this line of work is
''Poodlo' Murphy. He has great nerve,
ard q hand that moves more quickly
than Tho eye can well follow it. POO
die" stole c-;-Secretary Robeson's watch
in this way in Philadelphia, and is said
t. havc committed moro robberies than
any two other pickpockets in the coun-
try.
There arO several other ways in which
Ills class Of thieves do their work. The
horse car ''trick' is n favorito one, and
''Dcafy" Price is a master of this. 1t is
d9nc with n newspaper, an overcoat
tling owe the arm, or ono with holes in
the pockets. 1t requires great boldness
and confidence. Tho thief sits by the
side of the victim, always in n crowded
Ger. Sometimes the thief works quietly,
other times with q rush. The quiet
method is carried out by dropping the
paper carelessly on the lap and turning
in the scat MS if to look out of tho win
dow. II tho pocket is tight the thief
will either give up the effort or cut the
cloth. The thief works in the same way
with tho pocketless coat. If he secures
anything ho 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.