The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1904-01-31
BY AMY S. WHINsONiE.

There are no burglars in Mexico, and
for a very simple reason. The day.
time and the public street afford the
adroit ratero such easy opportunities
for appropriating other peoples prop
erty that it really is not worth his
while to bother with night raids or
to take the risk of forcing an entrance
into private houses.
Other countries other customs. The
ratero is an institution in Mexico, and
| like the rest of the Mexican institu-
| tons, he is indigenous to the SOIL The
sneak thief in other countries is a
waste product of civilizations human
mill, the burglar is poison separated
! somewhere in the process of milling.
| The ratero is nothing of the sort. He
is just as legitimate a product, just as
much a part of the regular output as
any other member of society He is
| without shame or reproach in his call
| ing and is quite at peace with man
kind.
Thieving with him is no mere mat
ter of getting a living; 1t is a profess
sion, and he knows in it only the joy
of being a good thief when he is skill
full and the sorrow of being a bad one
| when he is clumsy. Never, even when
he is caught in the act, will his eyes
! become shifty or face lose it's COM
| posture. That situation appeals to the
ratero simply as calling for facile ly-
! ing with all the powers of a trained
| tongue, face and hearing. 1t is all In
the game of his calling.
There is a pleasing diversity in the
methods of these light fingered gentry,
ra ha Of
ments impulse to the most elaborate
! ly plotted trap. Bold specimens at
tack a victim suddenly and rely upon
| the surprises for an escape. A man
| descending from a street car has the
diamond snatched from his scarf be-
fore his feet have fairly touched the
| ground, and by the time he has caught
his breath the thief is lost in a crowd.
A woman stops to gaze in a shop win
| dow in busy San Francisco street in
the capital city, and her richly en-
| broidered cloak is jerked from her
| shoulders and the nimble- footed ratero
| disappears before nearby gendarme
gets the alarm.
A crowd gathers in the streets to
| watch a horse fallen on the slippery
asphalt pavements, or a procession
on fiesta day. and the very hats are
not safe on the heads of respectfully
dressed people. Or it may be on a
Sunday, when all the suburban trains
! are crowded, and the little stations
as well, that long arm is thrust into
| the open window of "A starting electric
car and several hats gathered before
any one knows what has happened.
The more willy and considerable of
the calling avoid giving these rude
shocks to their prey. These are the
ones who annex pocketbooks and
watches so quietly that the loss is only
gradually appreciated, and who teach
| women the folly of wearing dangling
ornaments in the street. Often they
are so elegantly dressed that no one
| could object to being elbowed by
them, while the plausible situations
they create attest their lively wits
Certainly they supply an ever-fresh
flow of stories, many of them too
wildly impossible to be told of any
other country.
Some years since a travelling fakir
| of the popular loud-mouthed type ar
rived in the capital and set up his
booth in the Plaza Mayor. The ex-
traction of teeth without pain was the
lure that drew throng, and several
successful performances made good
the promise. His rather primitive
method was to fire a pistol close to
the patients head at the moment of
! gripping the molar. The shock of the
noise sufficed to distract the sufferers
attention, and on the whole there were
| few complaints
At last a well-dressed Mexican push
ed his way through the crowd, and,
moaning over an aching tooth, seated
himself in the chair.
(which one?" asked the dentist,
briskly.
The man hesitated moment.
"The smallest on the left side" he
finally answered.
sound" said the dentist, after sur
vey.
But it has ached for three days, 1
tell you, and 1 want it out"
You'll pay in advance?" was the
query.
Certainly. Will it take long?"
The fakir. dollar in his palm,
| handsome gold watch. "lt VIII be
over before the secondhand can go
half way around" he boosted.
"All right" said the patient, re-
signedly.
The dentist got a good grip on the
tooth while the man lay back quietly
| in the chair. There was a loud crack
of the pistol and the dentist held up
a sound and bloody tooth.
1T was mistake to part with that,
senior. but did you feel anything?"
mo. did your
No" was the puzzled response.
Then we're even.' said the Next
can, gettinh up and disappearing in
| the crowd.
A few minutes later the dentist
clapped his hand to his empty watch
| pocket in dismay. IL was then that
he appreciated the timely jest of his
patient.
A story almost too perfectly round
! ed to an amusing close is nevertheless
vouched for among the raconteurs of
Mexico. 1t is said that a certain we'll
known judge found himself at the
opening OF court one morning with
out his watch. while he remembered
to have left under his pillow. His re-
mark to that effect was overheard by a
loiterer, and presently a. messenger
arrived at the Judges casa and as
serted that the Judge wanted the
watch which had been left in the bed.
Furthermore. the Judge had sent the
fine tfurkaV the man was CARRYING