Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1899-05-17
TllCf, BQ[ An Artist In His Line.

robbery, for which I am here now and OF
which I am guiltless. If I had AIKEN that
diamond I should not be here.
This is an illustration of the danger
of being known to the police. There was
nothing against me before 1885. AS soon
as J. was convicted then l was photo
graphed and my portrait was sent all
over the country. Each succeeding ar
rest made conviction the easier. In New
York I was in the position that every
pickpocket finds himself. Ii he is in the
vicinity when some one else is grating
and the alarm is given, q policeman or
= detective comes along who knows him and
he is arrested. He may not only be wholly
Guiltless of the crime, but have no knowl-
edge of 1t whatever. But he is sent to
prison on his record. That is one Of the
penalties OF being an artist.
1.-THE first conviction was the result Of
carelessiless on my part. l was over
confident. The succeeding arrests We're
the result of circumstances that could not
be foreseen.
The actual working of a gang differs.
as have said, and there arc no two cases
alike. SO far as / am personally concerned
l prefer to work on street cars or railroad
trains. especially the latter.
! when a man is starting out on
a journey he carries a considerable
amount of cash with him. He is more or
less excited when getting on board a car
and that is IN a ~pickpocket's favor.
THE ARTISTS SKILL.
IAN artist reaches Il point where he tells
by looking at a man about how much
money he has and where he keeps it. The
ability to do this is one of the things that
makes him an artist. He selects the vic
tim always and gives a signal to the
stalls.
it is decided to make the dip
when the victim is getting on the train.
Two of the stalls Immediately precede
him. They hold him up on the narrow
p~aSsageway while another stall crowds
him from behind and makes sure where
his money is.
"Ninety-nine men out of a hundred
carry their money either in their left
hand trousers pocket or in the inside
pocket of their waistcoat. 1t takes a stall
only a second to decide. where the money
IS and he gives the signal to the tool and
the other stalls. &t
'Ve'y likely the money is in the ;rous-
ers pocket and the victim has his hand at
his side, which naturally protects the
pocket. One Of the stalls says: Beg
your pardon. sir, please let me pass at
the same time taking the victims arm
and raising it as a man does naturally
IN cases of that kind.
THAT instant the tool must work. He
must ge. the money while the stall is
crowding past. Meanwhile the other
stalls are jostiing him to distract his at
tention.
"The mechanical work, the actual
dip, is where the manual skill of the tool
comes into play. An artist never pulls a
pocketbook or a roll Of money out of q
mans trousers pocket. He turns the
pocket inside out--that is. he reefs it,
in the language of the fraternity.
This is the most difficult and skillful
or all the processes Of picking pockets.
Very often a man can use but one finger,
and the real artist cams get the contents
Of a pocket with one reef Less skillful
men have to make half a dozen or more
reefs eE 4.s. @ tF,-'
mo sooner has the tool the money in
his possession than he turns the pocket
back again. Then all that is necessary is
to disappear decently. without haste. All
this takes time in the telling. II ] have
not told you half of what is done, yet the
actual robbery probably does not take
more than 20 seconds from the time the
stalls first enter the car. -
suppose the pocketbOok is found to be
in the inside waistcoat pocket. Then the
problem is much easier and simpler. In
that case the tools get in front Of the VIC
tim. The stalls behind crowd the man
with the money up close to the tool. The
latter may have an overcoat on his arm,
which covers his work, or he may have
a newspaper. Personally I never used Ell
WV " i ~ VI "'t.t Ill
hands free. 1t is the simplest matter to
! unbut.on a mans waistcoat, two or three
buttons. as may be necessary. without his
feeling it. Then a stall draws his atten-
ton from behind and the pocketbook is
slipped out easily. Very often ] have
button.ad mp t he victims waistcoat again.
IT did hat in the largest single haul
7 ever made. ] took 5000 from a man,
and he didn't have the slightest idea it
was gone.
"A good many men who pick pockets
make a haul and then stop for the day.
That was rot my way. I told you I was
always an industrious man when 1 was
in the business. ! worked ste aaily as long
as there was 'grafting.'
IF you can get cut of sight before tho
alarm is given, you are safe. It is simple
| enc 9Th to strip a pochetbook and Their
toss 1t into somebody's pocket IL there is
a crowd, or throw it away. Money cannot
be identified very easily.
But no pickpccket can hope 70 per-
came I took it with such philosophy as !
could snmmon I hay always been a.
model prisoner. There is not as much as
a~.replimend against me IN any prison in
which ! have been. I turned my thoughts
from thieving. ] devoted all my spare
time to reading and to improving my
mind. ] worked on an Invention. ar
amusement novelty, which hope to per-
feet.
Each time 7 have been in prison I
have gone back to my invention. When
I am free I never touch it. Now. I
think during the term I will perfect it.
that it will yield me enough to live upon.'
The hand of Pedro Fernandez is very
small and very muscular. The fingers
have a certain suppleness and delicacy of
touch that one is accustomed to associate
with Oianists.