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THIEVES OF MEXICO. The Wily Rateros Will Steal the Coal Off Your Back. Kansas City Star. There are no burglars in lexico and for a very simple reason-the daytime and the public street afford the adroit ratero such easy opportun ities for appropriating other people's property that it really is not wortii his while to bother with night raids or to take the risk of forcing an eit trance into private houses. Other countries. other customs the ratero is an institution in Nlexico and like the rest of the Mexican in stituti6ns he is indigenous to the soil. The sneak thief in other countries ' a product of civilization's hunan mill: the burglar is a poison separated somewhere in the process of milling The ratero is nothing of the sort. it is iust as legitimate a produc:. just as much a part of the regular ouput, as any other member of society. e is withoui shame or reproach in his calling and is :uite at peace with mankind. There is a diversity in the methods of these thieves, ranging from the audacity of a moment's impulse to the most elaborately plotted trap. Bola specimens attack a victim suddenly and rely upon the surprises for an es cape. A man descending from a street car has the diamond snatched from his scarf before h feet have fairly touched the ground. a,nd by the time he has caught his breath the thiei is lost in a crowd. A woman stops to gaze in a shop window in busy San Francisco street in the capital city. and her richly embroidered cloak is jerked from her shoulders. and the nimble footed ratero disappears be *fore a nearby gendarme gets the alarm. A crowd gathers in the street -to watch a horse fallen on the slippery asphalt pavement. or a procession on a fiesta day. and the very hats are not safe on the heads of respectably dressed people, or it may be on Sun day. when al the suburdan trains are crowded. and the little stations as well. that a long arm is thrust into the open window of a starting elec tric car and several hats gathered be iore any one knows what has hap pened. The more wily and considerate of the calling avoid giving these rude shocks to their 'prey. These are the -ones who- annex pocketbooks ana 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 s- elegantly dressed that no one could -AbJect to being -elbowed by them. while the plausi ble situations they create attest their lively wits. Certainly they suppiy an ever fresh tow of stories. many of them to'' wildly impossible to be told of any other country. Some years since a travelipg fakir of the po'pular loud mou.thed type ai rived in. the capital and set uip his booth in the Plaza mayor. The ex ~tractio.n of teeth without pain was the 'lure that drew a throng . and several successful performances made good the promise. His rather primitive method was to lire a pistol close to the patient's head at the moment 01 gripping the molar. The shock of the nloise, sufficed to ditract the suiffer er's attention. andl on the whole there were few-complaints. At last a well dressed \Mexican pushed his way through the crowd. and. moaning over his aching tooth. seated himself in the chair. "WVhich one?" asked the dentist bgskly. The man hesitated a moment. "The smallest on the left side." he finally answered. "But the tooth appears perfectly soung' said the dentist, after a ,smi vey. "But it has ached for three days. 1 tedl you, and I want it out." "You'll pay in advance?"~ was the query. "Certainly. Will it take long?" The fakir. a dollar in his palmi smiled reassuringly and pulled out a handsome gold watch. "It will be over before the second hand can go half wvay round." he boasted. "All right." said the patient resign edly. TIhe dentist got -a good grip on the tooth wvhile the man lay qnietly ir the chair. There wvas a loud crack oj the pistol, and the dentist held tipa sound and bloody tooth. "It wvas a mistake to part with that, enr But did you feel anything?" "No. Did you?" "No." was the puzzled response. "Then we're even," said the Mexi can. getting up and disappearing in the crowd. A few minutes later the dentist clapped his hand to his empty watch pocket in dismay. It was then that he appreciated the jest of his pa tient. A st-ory almost too perfectly round ed to an amusing close is neverthe less vouched for among the racon teurs of Mexico. It is said that a cer tain Judge found himself at the open-1 ingof court one morning without his watch. which he remembered to have left under his pillow. His remark to that effect was overheard by a l--iterer. and presently a messenger arrived at the iudge's casa and assert ed that the judge wanted the watch which had been left in the bed. Fur therm re, the judge had sent the 11ne turker tlh man was carr%iy ano wV,ic it coo'ked fir supper. as he Such plausi!e statemients cu1I *qt fail t-1 wii, ciindence. Th-e varcli was exchandge fir the bird by the ladv he h- -le e herself, and the messenger went on his way rejoicing. li,me came the judge at noon f-jr the midday meal and the afternoon siesta. and with his first inquiry for his watch the trick was exposed. The judge. however, while lamenting the watch. appreciated the thief's ingen uitv and pronounced him needlessly generotis in the n itter of the turkey. lut. since the ratero had made the suggestion. why not bring some friends for supper after all? The judge returned to court. ind Ithe worthv sen -ra saw that the tu -ev was prepared in the manner so ac ceptable to Mexican palates-cooked with rich. dark chile sauce. It was done to a turn when a man came in breathless haste to say that the scamp who stole the judge's watch that morning had been apprehended ana the watch recovered. but the judge needed the turkey. sent as evidence in disposing of the case. "Ilut the turkey is already cooked." pr.-tested the distressed housewife. with n,, thwught but for her supper. i "St. senqpra: but the judge saye to send it as it is. and he'll send it back again before it's cool." So the judge's wife sped the turkey on its way. and within a few minutes her husband appeared with his friends. "I hope vou didn't forget to cook that turkey. Matilde." lie said cheer fully. "I can almost forgive the ras cal that's g,t my watch for the sake f miile de gtuaiolate." S,h.s checked Matilde's mortined respoIse as she realized that she had twice been victimized. and the party supped frugally. thotih not without mirth tn the part ,f the guests. The methods of the ratero who en ters your oiftice to' sell yoti something r t 4 tTer his service are qiet an(l seuc tive. A merchant dealing in curios wvas attracted by a tiger skin serape drap ed tover the shoulders of a stupid, low country Indian passing along the street. He caled him into his oRice. examined the skin and began to dicker for a trade. "i'll giv'e you $5 for it." "No. senor. I do not wish to sell." "Well, the thing isn't worth that: too many tigers caught in traps tor the skins to he worth much anyway. However, it's a fine skin, and I'll give you ten for it. just double what you'll get anywhere else." "Pumes. no. senor: T do not want to sell. I wouldn't take a hundred for this skin. It's all I have to cover me at night." -Now~ wvhat do you tell me such a lie for? Y'ou kni'w vou can 'Any threeI srapes with the money. I you won't be decent and make a trade. why then get out of here and stop taking up room and my time." So the meek and obedient native: set for': tinder the very eve and wrath of the proprietor. Nevertheless as he went he swept tip a fime 'new' typewriter from a table that lay athwrt his path, covering the whole mtvement by a skillful readjusting swing of his tiger ski.t. and lhe emerged intot the street with his prize folded to him tunder the all. enveloping cloak. lie was nev'er found. The fences~ If the thieves are too nuimerouts and too much on to the game for pursuit to be easy. The unfathomable serape. like charity, covers gracefully a mul titude of sins, which the haven of the pawn shop afterward forgives out riht. An American woman whose stockI of household linen had been steadily dwindling was driven at last to at cuse a long trusted chambermaid., with unpleasant results. INtihin an hour after the girl had gone in a tempest (if indignant tears a group o: American neighbors gathered at the; house, believing that the lady was desperately ill. (lying or dead. it ap peared that the outraged damsel had made the rounds of the neighborhood. getting money from me woman to til a prescription for her suddenly stricken mistress. borrowing sheets fr(im another for the dead and the articles of clothing for her burial. even white silk eniugh to make the shroud. But in spite ,f all that can truth fullv.he said of the rater-) and his con freres the City f .l exico is by no means a nest of thieve.. It is the care leSs and the easiTV (!tiped who uiffer. and there are many .\mericans l,)ng resident there who have never missed in re than a ffew article *f c'f lting pawn. leantime the vi.ilance "f the pl1)1 iice is doing much too make the paths of dish.,nesty less easy t4) tread. Any common Mexican in the street carr,. ing si)mething that (li,es not libviouslv beling to him is liable to be stopped by a gendarme. and if lie cannot sat isfactorily account for his pissession if the article lie is marched. to the comiseria. ir station house. until the matter can be investigated. For this reason it is customary to provide a cargad,,r with a card explaining how he came iby what lie carries. which card must be signed upon delivery of his package. Awful Rage of the Pretty Girl. The pretty girl (who enunciated the doctrine that you mustn't love anything that you can't hug) was not at church Sunday. and for reasons. too! She had selected her new hat. (ves. she had spentR most of the week a-picking it out from the millinery stores.) but her god luck woula so have it. she had not taken the hur ra's-nest home. so on Friday she was down-town-when. l and behold. she saw a' muchly c(lired cook a wearing a dead match to her Easter let! That made her so mad that she like to have had a fit. She wouldn't gO to the "Bonnet show." and she even turned down a note from her! right particular man! THE CHRISTIAN churches at Constantinoble. Turkey. and Yokaho ma. Japan. have long used the Long man & Martinez Paints for painting their churches. Liberal contribution-s of L. &. M.. will be given for such purpose where ever a church is located. F. M. Scofneld. Harris :prings. S. C.. writes: "I painted ou. 31d home stead with L. & M.. twenty-six y'ears ago. Not painted since: looks better than houses painted in the last four y'ears. W\. B. Barr. Charleston. W. Va.. writes: "Painted Frankberg Block with L. & M.. shiows better than any buildings here have ever done: stands out as though varnished, and actual cost of paint was less than St.2o per gallon. W\ears aind covers like gold." These Celebrated Paints are sold by the Newberry Hdwe. Companiy. COLD TIRE SHRINKER. We have now purchased a Cold Tire Shrinker. It will shrink buggy and wagon tires cold, without re movitg (ire or bolts from wheeIs, Satisfaction guaranteed. Also buggy and wagon repairing and horse shoe ig a specialty. Work done on short not ee. Call and give us a trial, and be con vintced. Next (door to Beer Dispensary. Prices per set of Wagon or buggy tires $1.25. Johnson & Shealv. RUBBER STAMPS Are my long suit. I make any kind + except bad ones. I furnish a new + stamp and an indellible pad for mark- g ing linen for 40 cents. I have some other good things. J. WILSON8GIBBES, + Typewriters', Office Supplies. etc. + 1334 Main Street, Columbia, S. C. HUDGENS BROS., LAURENS, S. C. Foundry, Machine Shops and Hay Presses. We are selling agents for the Rapid Fill Hay Press, which has proven to be the best press on the market at the price. These Presses can be seen at Mr. G. M. B. Epting's cotton platform. -VW V 3 .ArTM. We now employ one of the best Architects in the South, and are prepared to furnish Plans and Specifi cations to any who contemplate building. Full line of Castings and supplies kept in stock. The mail puts you next door to us. HUDGENS BROS............ LAURENS, S. C. STOP ND READ Wanted purchasers at our store for the cheapest line of new + and up-to-date furniture and house furnishing goods ever + opened in this city. Room suits; Beds, Dressers, stoves, pipe * * and all kinds of stoveware, Crockery, Glassware, Lamps, + Window glass from 8xio to 36 inches. Don't fail to see our + stock of wall paper, feather beds and feather pillows. We will + sell you these goods cheaper than any one in Newberry. i Shlley, Dean & Summer, Newberry Hardware Co's. Old Stand, Main St. ...MILLINERY .. . We beg to call your attention to the *fact that we have just opened up anew* + line of Millinery + DRESS GOODS.+ + Our line of Dress Goods is complete *in every respect. + We are "Up-to-date" on Notions,* Novelties, Etc. + We invite the public to call and in-* * spect our line of goods before buying. SMRS. S. W. CALMES, * PROSPERITY, S. C.+ Sotheasterni Litte & Cement Co. CH AR LESTON, S. C. Building Material of all kinds. High Grade Roofing "RU BEROID." Write for prices. Lime, - Cement, -- Plaster, Terra Cotta Pipe, Roofing Paper. Car Lots, Sma 1 Lots. Write Carolina Portland Cement Co., - - Charlesto! 3. C. Whisey - Mrhie" - ~ Cigarte - _ All Drugad Tobacco Curedjb Keeley Institute of South Carolina ..2 L ad St (o P. 0 n. -o c , Columbia. 5. C. Confidential correspondende sclicited.