Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1891-01-24
How English Youngsters are Trained
and Turned into Very Clever
Street Thieves.
How the Pocket Thieves Of Paris GO
at Their Work to Accomplish
Steal.
Continental Pickpockets Recognize
the Superior London Method-Ex-
ampIes of Their Great Success.

so safe place 10 Walk III OF W HiIA WIN
crowds as during August and September.
It Is then that a large exodus at the light
fingered brigade occurs These gentry
depart in large numbers for tive most
profitable hunting grounds Of seaside and
inland watering places, for foreign race
courses and all the resorts where travellers
Of all nations are won't to congregate.
Paris being favorite rendezvous for pro-
yincials and strangers about this season,
5000 or 1000 British pickpockets, it has
been estimated, find their way there
singly or in groups They are recognized
By the police as more expert and danger
Gus than those Of any other nationality.
They are of both sexes and all ages; as
frequently as not a woman Is one OF the
trio that almost invariably unites to carry
on operations, the 'nipper. Plckpockets
dislike working alone, the danger OF be-
ing caught is so much greater. AS a rule
the blind jostles the intended victim,
Jhe ''nipper avais himself Of his dis
comhture or wrath to extract watch, purse
or jewels, when he promptly drops INTO
the hand Of the receiver, a respectable
well-dressed, careless spectator of the IN
cident who walks off leisurely and unsus-
pecte6 with the "swag, while his more
suspiciously clad accompice draws upon
himself the attention of the police, and
even challenges it, in the security of nav
ing nothing compromising on his person
In certain cases, where the booty is i'm
pcrtant the 'nipper' has been known TO
assume the appearance Of frightened guilt
70 give his pals better chance and more
time to get away The tipsy man who
reels into an omnibus and has words"
with the conductor; the stout woman
evidently from the country, who suddenly
discovers that she Is in the wrong carriage.
clamors to be let down, appealing to h.r|
fellow passengers against the iniquity of
being made to pay her fare; the foreigner
who eXcitedly begins story in broken
English are accomplices Of the supercii-
Gus lady and clerical gentleman. who. Oh
Jecting 70 the unseemy disturbance. re.
quest to be let down; not, however, before
they have successfully availed themselves
of the commotion to explore the pockets
OF their neighbors while their attention
was diverted.
Since tailors have made mems pockets
less loose, and dressmakers hidden those
OF women in clinging folds, the ''nipper'
has had to alter bis style. He can no
longer insert his whole palm through the
narrow aperture, so he arti6cially elOn-
gates with delicate pinCers. the two fin
gers which alone can be thrust in and the
rltling process Is the same Those who
have never been able TO acquire the re-
quisite suppeness OF manipulation or
whose hands are naturally coarse and
broad, cut the pocket bodily away or use
an lngenius little appliance constructed
as follows: To one central slender cord
are fastened four strings, ending in loaded
balls coated with glue or cobbIer's wax,
which are dropped into the pocket, any
thing it contains adheres TO the balls and
can be dragged out with them by pulling
the main cord. If the thief notices any
obstruction, Or the lining is likely to come
out also, he cuts the cord with a sharp
knife and walks off, leaving the balls be-
hind him. However he rarely resorts TO
this extremity and is ashamed OF himself
when he does.
Crowds are an essential to pickpockets
This is why they haunt railway stations. |
landing stages at the busy hours, music |
halls, the waiting halls Of important banks, |
which they call "melon frames. 1t is |
well known that no small boat leaves |
Calais or Dorer without carrying several |
and that hardly ever is a |
crossing effected during which some pas |
senger is not robbed yet it is only at |
great intervals that detectives constantly |
on the watch have beenable TO take thief |
red-handed
When there are no crowds the pickpockets |
create one, and have little trouble in so |
doing. One piCkpoeRet was famous for |
the realism with which he acted an epilep- |
tic tit and rolled foamiug on the sidewalk. |
lut the iuqujsitive or charitable passer-hy |
stopped 90 assist or see him assisted |
paid dearly for their benevolenCe or cur
.osity Other picEpockets quarrel, call on |
The spectators 10 make a ring and see fair |
play; the sham boxing begins. until ID a !
,ertain prec0nCe~ted signal. telling them /
hat the game is played, they suddenly be- |
,ome reconciled, shake hands and 20 on
heir separate ways.
About a century ago Paris had only |
gbout fifty plckpockets; now the police re-
ports now that their number has reached /
1000 in the metropolis alone, and about
10000 In the rest Of France These figures
ire nearly doubled az times Of reviews,
aces, popular fctes and exhibitions bv re-
'uits from abroad. But singularly enough.
hey come from or have been trained i'm
Great Britain England is the cradle and
lot b5d Of piCkpocsets Ii IL a profession
Is firmly established as cmpentering or
it has It's apprentices, gradu-
ties, professors, experts and commercial
agents. NoviCes are taught 10 recognize a
'renchman from a native, a Russian from
/ German. q South American from an
Italian: they are made acquainted With
he slight but an important differences in
.aCh nationality m the cut Of the clothes,
he place Of the pockets the mode of
arrying iewe,ry, watches, purses or loose
ash
When the pupils are supposed to have
ro5ted sufficiently by their education they
IRE dispatched at Christmas time 10 a eer-
ain suburb Of London, where they are
armed ont. The agent. who has come 10
elect trio puts them through their
aCe>. and if they aclu.t themselves credit
.b,y Ee engages them, gives them clothes,
,Qasi and special Instructions, and takes
hem abroad to nv thair trade under bis
management a. soon, however rs their
,arsouality has become lncouyenieatlv
amslar ta THE p3llsa VA tha .aeai,y. they
.re returned and exchanged for 8 fires set.
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