Democratic Sentinel, Volume 18, Number 8, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 9 March 1894 — CAUGHT WITH FISHHOOKS. [ARTICLE]

CAUGHT WITH FISHHOOKS.

Clean Capture of a San Francisco Pickpocket. A remarkable story came to light yesterday regarding an experience on Monday night of Charles Osborne, the mining man of Shasta county, with a pickpocket, in which he came off immeasurably best. Osborne has just sailed for South Africa. The story is so unusual as to seem hardly credible, but is vouched for in a way to carry belief. Osborne arrived here several weeks ago. He is one of the best known mining men in California, having mined for years in the north. He was the discoverer of the Gladstone gold mine, French Gulch, which he sold for $50,000. As he was on his way to Johannesburg to take charge of some mines and did not know when he would get back, he spent some time here seeing the sights and taking his ease preparatory to starting. While here he sent to Redding for SI,OOO, which he received by express. Much of this money he carried on his person, for Osborne is a big, stalwart man, who has been about the world, and is not afraid. One night over a week ago, when he and his friend. Petty, were out seeing the sights, a light-fingered man touched him for two twenty-dol-lar gold pieces, which he had in one of his trousers pockets. This was a surprise to Osborne, and set him to thinking. He had never had anything like that happen before, and he was very much annoyed. He said nothing about it at the time, however, but set to work devising a plan for thwarting any similar accident in future.

In a dim way he recollected that he thought some one had put a hand in his pocket on the night he lost the coin. Osborne, as is customary among many mining men, wear substantial corduroy clothes, and these are equipped' with unusually strong pockets. In the right pocket of his trousers, therefore, he skillfully arranged half a dozen big fishhooks, each carefully fastened to its place, and in such a way that they would offer no resistance to a hand while being inserted, but the hand would be grasped by the barbs while being withdrawn. Any one of the hooks would hold a ten-pound salmon. Thus equipped Osborne again started forth. At the comer of California and Kearny streets a fakir was blithesomely expatiating about his wares, and the mining man stopped to hear what he had to say. Desirous of testing his invention, he jingled two or three S2O pieces carelessly in sight, and then dropped a couple of them in sight of the yawning maw below the fish hooks. Then he leaned back and became absorbed in the street-corner oratory. In a few moments, sure enough, he felt a hand going down his pocket. It moved slowly and carefully, but every time the fakir said anything to make the crowd laugh it went down with more confidence. Pretty soon Mr. Osborne felt that he had a man at his elbow who was doing some deep thinking. He knew this by the commotion that had taken place in his pocket. He said nothing, but he knew something was going to happen. It did, when a voice said: “Say, mister! I’ve got my hand in your pocket!” “ What have you got your hand in my pocket for?” said Osborne, cheerfully. “Why don’t you take it out?” “I can’t: it’s caught,” said the man, looking up and turning pale. “ Well, come right down here to a policeman. He will help you take it out,” replied the mining man, and he moved off as he spoke, the thief being forced to trot along by the side of his captor. “Oh, I didn’t get any money. For heaven’s sake let me go!” cried the thief.

Osborne did not care anything about imprisoning the fellow and punishing him further. He declared he would not have minded it a bit if he had lost the additional gold pieces. All he wanted was to see if his trap would work. So he released the fellow and let him go. He immediately ran away, and Osborne returned to his hotel, followed by several people. H. R. Bemis and others examined the fishhook-guarded pocket. It had considerable blood in it from the hand of the would-be thief.—[San Francisco Chronicle.