The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1889-03-15
SECOND STORY THIEVES.
HOW THEIR DARING ROs8ERleS
ARE GENERALLY CARRIED OUT.

Jobs That are Done Only After Careful
PlaunIug-Jewelry the Peculiar Plum
der of the second story Thief-Rarely
Caught at Work.
The most effective work at present among
those who steal for a living, r. being done by
what is technically known to the trade as
second story" men. Robberies by this class
of thieves have become alarningly frequent,
and there have been many cases reported to
the police. few of which have been made
public, because the thieves have not been
caught and il is the policy Of the police de-
psrtment to keep everything quiet when sue
cess has not attended their efforts. Second
story thieves have been under cover for
long Nhile and this city has been free from
their Expectations Where they have come
from - suddenly is mystery.
Thor work is first class and they must be
good men. experts in their line. Their efforts
are characterized by a boidness and dash
that must make old Troy Dennis smile in
his grave Troy is still treasured in the
minds of thieves as well as detectives as the
king of the second story" workers. He was
cool, daring and brave, and had chivalrous
strain that would not permit him to injure any
one weaker physically than himself. He died
with his boots ON. While climbing Pillar
IN Fiftieth street he loosened heavy ston>1
and it fell on him and hattened him out ike
! piece or paper.
/ After Dennis the famous men are Long
| John Garvey and Jack" Reilly, the leader
! Of the Murray Hill gang. Carney walked
/ through a skyight in Brooklyn and had the
| flesh pretty we'll scraped from his bones, and
was killed Reilly did neat job in ''clean-
| inc ont q Lexington avenue house. He took
| the stolen goods back for a reward The
/ amount did not silt him and he removed
! the goods again It viii be many years yet
before he can practice his profession. He is
now making shops for the state. With this
trio out of the way New Workers have been
able for several years to enjoy a dinner in
comfort without feeling nervous about their
treasures in the upper stories.
A GOOD SECOND STORY" MAN.
Second story" thieves are technically de-
scribed as a cross between a burglar and II
sneak thief They are usually tall, slim fel-
lows, possessed of great strength and nerve
They take pride in their calling and look
upon a highwayman or pickpocket as be-
| meath their notice Comparatively few
] thieves have the grit to follow this line.
Their number is thus limited, and they be-
come well known and respected by the fra
ternitv. They are known as the ''long
chance men in the thieves vocabulary.
DO not Bag tie I1f6f Matted and intelligent and
of thieves who go around with murder in
their hearts. There is fellow feeling among
them and they never 'squeal-
ssSecond story'' Jobs are not done by rash
n ironuIse but only after careful study and
planning Sometimes there are two partners,
INIT more often three 1t is a rare thing for
them to work alone, unless they turn up
broke in a strange place. One OF the gang
makes q special business of locating places to
be robbed He picks out house with q
front stoOp and portico, or heavy stone work
around the front door, or else where there
IS n leader. piazza or some other arrangement
: ,hat viii give foothold in the rear. This
ousiness of the occupant is looked into
Rrolyers are considered the best prey ant
bankers come next Jewelry is the peculiar
DIunder of these thieves. Sometimes thei
attention is attracted by the names and dc
scription of jewelry worn at social gathef
I,gs The habits of the inmates of the houa
are studied with great care and a note
= made of the number of servants and thei
y method of working When any of the faIni
cave the house a ''piper off" takes goo
look at the jewelry. All this takes time
When enough has been found to 1nd1cat
that it VIII pay the house Is sald 10
planted and time is set for the worl
Winter when night comes early an
1,,ic,Iv. is the second story mans season
The spinner on never does the stealing, as
MAJ have been seen in the neighborhOOd al
-ouId be identified At dusk the thief
breaches the house. He knows what Il
oaoDIe within are doing in a general wa
D.. rho ,-,na that sounds for dinner Is the sign
FOR the climber to slip on his rubbers, If
qas not already put on pair OF shoes wa
rubber soles. The lookout Is stationed clio
At hand to give the thief warning after
has got inside
FINE WORK WITH Il JIMMY"