Middletown transcript., 1899-09-02
A THIEVES HARVEST.
THE PlcKPockETc FLockED TO THE
MAcE-coBuRN FIGHT.

ering of Light Fingered Artists ON
Record-some of the Amusing Incf-
dents of an EventfuI Day.
"The greatest gathering of pickpock-
cts that ever saw, and, dare say, the
greatest bunch that ever assembled,
was at the Mace Coburn fight at Long
Point. Canada. on.May II, 1871" said
detective who has been in the bust
ness since 1855. "The big fight was
held in the vicinity of the old light
house on Long Point, and the only way
to get TO the ground was by boat from
Erie or Buffalo or by walking good
many miles through Canada. The boat
that left Buffalo carried in the neigh
bcrbood of 1000 persons. The fact that
there were a large number Of thieves on
the vessel was noised about, and the
gamest persons kept their hands ON
their valuables all the time. Strange to
say. not a touch was made on the way
over.
1.-TWO vessels, both loaded to their
fullest capacity, left Erie, Pa, and each
of these carried number CT pickpock-
cts There were about dozen detect
ives in the crowd. among them being
Detective Patrick v. Cusack Of Buffalo,
Captain Rogers and Detective Sullivan
Of Rochester and a few detectives from
Erie. Pa. and Toronto, Ont. They
knew that there was no use in trying to
put check on the work Of the crooks.
because there were at least 800 profess
sional pickpockets in the crowd. Just
after the spectators began taking their
places about the ringside the sheriff got
in the ring and made speech like this
"'I wish. to warn every one against
pickpockets. There are hundreds OF
them here.
"The sheriff stepped ont of the ring
and several men grouped about him.
The central figure Of the group was a
crook known as Papes. When the sher-
iff gotout Of the mix his diamond stud,
his roll Of bills and his watch were
missing. He made known his loss to
one Of the detectives, and the detective
volunteered to recover the property
The detective was Captain Rogers. He
sought Papes, explained the situation
to him, and Papes Immediately turned
over the sherifFs property, saying that
he had taken 1t just for joke.
81 can't begin to tell you how many
pockets were picked this day. The fight
waxed warm and every one was excit.
ed. so the crooks had fine field to work
in. Pocketbooks were actually flying in
the air. Men were accusing honest men
who sat beside them of touching them
Scores of diamond studs were unscrew-
ed and nipped. The most humorous in
cident of the day was the theft Of 5000
in bills from thief who hailed from
st. Louis and was unknown to the New
York delegation. A New York man
named O'Donohue had got the st. Louis
thief's 8 roll, and he returned it when he
learned his mistake. Some men were
stripped of everything they had and
were unable to buy meal or drink
In such cases the crooks helped them
along with small loan, as they termed
IL. The referee of the match was re-
lieved Of his diamond. His bills were in
an inside pocket and were not touched.
"Business Jagged with the thieves
after the fight was over. There were
but few pockets left to pick. Several
men who had been robbed insisted that
the honest men should band together
and attack the thieves for the purpose
Of recovering the stolen property. The
detectives opposed this on the ground
that the honest men and the pickpockets
were mingled go closely as not to be dis
tinguishable, and, moreover. the thieves
could fight and would fight.
"All the thieves returned to Buffalo
after the fight, and word Of their COM
ing was sent to police headquarters
from the FIRST landing place. When the.
boat tied up at the foot of Main street,
a hundred policemen and all the detect
i've force were there to meet 1t. About
800 or $50 thieves were marched ont
two abreast and lined up on the wharf.
They were told that they were to be
escorted out Of town, and they made no
protest. With the policemen and de-
tectives as herders and drivers, the
crooks were marched to the central sta.
tion and corralled there under close
guard. When a train for New York
was made up, the thieves were escorted
aboard it and were watched TIL It
reached the city line
"A few years later a big gang OF
pickpockets went to another fight at
Long Point. but in size and expertness
It did not approach the gang that went
TO the Mace Coburn fight. At the Han.
liant Courtney rowing match at Chau-
Eauqua lake was another big gathering
Of pickpocketa They had things their
own way and reaped q big harvest. For
instance, detectives pocket was pick
ed, but the thief who did the job was
induced to return the property. FIVE
minutes later the detectives pocket was
picked second time. and he was 30,
chagrined that he did not endeavor to
recover the plumber. But. as said. the
greatest gathering was at the Mace
Coburn fight. 1t twasthe last great rally
OF the topnotch crooks. and II You ask
any old time crook he will tell you how
he longs for another such expedition.
It will never be. There are too many
detectives now. Chicago Inter Ocean.