Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1895-05-15
PICKPOCKET AT NINE
LITTLE MARY FISHER ARRESTED IN
 CENTRAL PARK, NEW YORK.

Unconcerned Story of Her Experiences.
 Detective Savage of the New York Central park squad recently arrested in the monkey house i'll Central park a 9-year old pickpocket.
 As he was watching the crowd in the monkey house his attention was attract ed by the actions of small girl, appar- stly not more than or years old She was neatly dressed and carried over her arm a canvas bag such as chil- dren use for carrying schoolbooks. As the detective watched her he saw that she was paying good deal more atten- tion to the women who were standing around her than to the animals i'll the cages He thought that he saw one of her hands feeling for a pocket in the dress of a woman who stood beside her. After fumbling around this woman s skirt for Il minute she walked over to another part of the house and talked earnestly with girl apparently about her own age Savage had forgotten the incident when, half an hour later, he heard a woman turn upon little girl who stood beside her and exclaim:
 !" You little wretch, what is your hand doing ill my poeket?"
 7 It was the girl he had noticed earlier 2 PAs she freed her hand from the woman s grasp she made some explanation which the detective didn t hear The woman apparently thought that she had made a mistake, for, after scowling at the girl, she walked out of the house. By this Oa fClA ta;. Al.oA ssl.. .1 was picl1pocket So he watched her closely. She wiggled around in the crowd and went through half dozen pockets without finding anything.
 In one or two cases the women whose pockets were being searched felt the tugging at their skirts and looked down, to find only schoolgirl who had ap- parently rubbed against them. The girl succeeded i'll getting one poeketbook out, so that the detective could see the top of it, but at that moment the woman sFho owned it moved and the little pick pocket was forced to let it go Savage followed the girl until he finally saw her put her hand into the pocket of Miss Buling She drew out q knife and slipped it into the schooling which she carried. Then she pretended to look at the monkeys. The detective arrested her and asked Miss Buling if she had not lost something from her pocket. To her surprise the detective pulled out of the schoolgirls bag Miss Buling's pearl handled knife.
 The girl said that she was Mary Fisher, and that she was years old. She admitted stealing the knife and talked about her experiences as q pick pocket in q very unconeerned way.
 I didn't intend to steal that knife at all Mary Robinson, who was with me, told mo to do it. I told her that it would be stealing, and that if did take the knife I would just sharpen my pencil with it and put it back. When the policeman arrested me, Mary ran away.
 < How did Mary Robinson know that the knife was i'll this woman s pocket?" Why, she knew, said Mary. She went around and sounded the pockets and knew what was in them, and then she told me to take tho things "
 Mary said at first that she had been picking pockets in tho monkey house at Central park for the past three weeks, and later she asserted that she had never picked pocket before She said that Mary Robinson, who IS about her own age had taught her how to do it.
 Mary showed me prayer book and some beads, she said, three weeks ago that she had got in church. told her to put them back, and she asked me why. I said, It's stealing, and she said, Nav, it ism it $ findings, and findings is kecpinga didn't know that. Then Mary told mo that we could get findings up to the park. She told me how to do it. She said for me to get close to woman, and while the woman : Was looking at the monkeys to put my nsld in her pocket, and that was find ings. If tho woman looked around, Mary told me to look hard at the monkeys and pretend not to notice her, .
 h addition to Miss Buling's knife the detective found in Mary's schooling q pocketbook containing l3 cents, half q dozen postage stamps and some small Catholic medals When no one turned up to claim the pocketbook, Mary assert. cd that 1t was hers, and that her mother had given it to her for D birthday pres ent
 T have seen d good many of them al work, " said Detective Savage, but never saw an old timer who was slickel at her business than this little girl Sht went through the pockets of a number 9I women while 1 was watching hel aNd did it without attracting their at tent1on. l have never noticed her ill the monkey house before, but she certainly has had some experience ill that sort oi work "-New York Sun.