San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1890-12-06


Some Clever Work Upon Friends.
l once knew pickpocket who would, on
occasion, unbosom himself as to his work.
Il can" he said, ''get a thousand pock-
etboOks before | am detected once, and
then the discovery will occur through the
clumsiness of one of my stalls Yes, it
would seem as though my business would
pay but you must recall the fact that
most pocketbooks do not contain much
money. We open them frequently and find
no money at all-nothing but receipts and
other papers. Those we call readers We
strike so many readers that money made
in pocketpicking is not so great as one
might think
"Of all men on earth a pickpocket has to
possess nerve and have it with him. The
man who takes as rule passes the stuff
out of his hands as soon as he can. II a
thief carries hot leather that is, some
poketbooll just taken, or that there is a
row about, he doesn't put it in his pocket.
lie carries it under his vest, so that by
simply drawing in his breath it will fall to
the ground. He does this, of course, and
lets the leather go in event of being taken.
He will drop the wallet as he and the officer
are walking along. In the dark its easy.
Just drop the stuff and walk over it. I've
walked over hundreds in my time Where
detectives make mistake is in not search
ing men as soon as they grab 'em.
Sometimes thieves get reckless, and will
turn a trick for fun and just to demon
strate how smart they are. l saw man
once in the seat ahead of me on the train
who put his pocketbook in his hip pocket
|,e4o l. L. &, co. co. hNxxv ylaat
could do waited until he sat doing in
his seat Then began to push on the back
of the car seat with one knee, and as fast
rs | raised the seat back | held it by
wedging my other foot in between it and
the bottom of the seat. / lay back and
pretended to sleep all this time myself and
worked so slowly and so steadily that my
friend never awoke at all. When had the
back of the seat raised so high that could
make the trip l reached under and took
the pocketbook. 1t took forty-tive minutes
to get this pocketbook, and there wasn't
anything in it then, but the people with
me thought it was great feat.
HOW POCKET is PICKED.
"Thieyes never take a silver watch. 1t
is not valuable enough. In getting watches
the man who does the work stands still
with his back to the party wanted. This
sort of work will occur on race tracks and
ut any place where crowds are standing.
The stalls get behind the victim, and
commence crowding until one way and an
other they get the gentleman square
against the left shoulder of the pickpocket-
On his left arm he carries duster or shawl
as cover and when the victim is all
placed the pickpocRet goes through him
with his right hand, reaching across him
self to do the feat, covering his right arm
and hand from sight with the buster on
his left and looking steadily the other way
all the time. ".-
"The man who is robbed never sees the
face of the man who takes his watch at all,
and this is great point in case he makes
roar. As rule / never take the chain.
They are mostly plated, and there's moth
ing in them. 1t is easier and quicker to
take the watch alone. The rings are only
sprung into the watch stem, not riveted,
and as you take the watch you can twist
the ring free from the watch and chain by
an easy effort of the thumb and fore
finger. You don't drop the ring; you bring
watch and ring both, but separate from
each other. ..-.
Sometimes a very ticklish thing oc-
ours. | get hold of watch that opens
easy and spring it open before know 1t.
OF course I've got to let it remain that
way. Shutting the case is clean out of the
question. Closing a watch case under
those circumstances makes a noise like a
gun
"You cannot protect yourself from a
pickpocket. He can get anything you
have on but a ring from your finger Your
pin is his every time; so is your watch, and
a tailor never made pocket he cannot ex-
plore as thoroughly as if he took lantern.
ENTERTAINING FRIENDS.
Il was talking with a gentleman one
| day as am with you, and he called my at
tention to an emerald stone of great value
which he wore in his scarf.
"'Valuable, amt it?' he asked.
az should judge it was | said; but l
| don't know much about emeralds A pure
one, | hear, is worth as much as diamond.
$50 it is he replied; you would rather
like this one | wear. wouldn't you? and at
| that he laughed as if he supposed couldn't
look on anything without wanting to
steal it,
"'No,' / said, L don't want your emer-
aid; they bring bad luck. Ii | wanted it
| I'd take it
You couldn't get it, Its fastenings are
harder TO get at than you think
1--WE let the matter drop, and talked of
something else. Something, as we talked,
got into my eye and panied me greatly
eyelash, | guess. was in great pain, and
he volunteered to get it out. He worked
about ten seconds, and then l winked and
| declared the eye all right. AS he stepped
hot ha