Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, D.T. [N.D.]) 1878-1884, 1882-06-09
"A Young Double Murderer.

asks separation.
"A Ycung Double Murderer.
John Tribbett, boy fifteen yesrs of age,
was arrested at the levee Thurday morning
by Sheriff Butler, of Ottertail county, Mimi,
and lodged in our county Jail. Heis charged
with the naurder of two men at Perham, in
the county mentioned. The circumstances
of the murder are given below. They were
cleaned from telegram received at the TR1-
BuNE Office yesterday. 1t appears,that on Mon
day, the 30th ult., that surveyor who came
up there from Michigan, started out about
that time to survey some aand located
several miles from that town, and. took with
him German boy named Fritz, belonging
to that vicinity. While out they were joined
by lad named John Tribbett, aged ff-
teen, a boy of quarrelsome and bad charac-
ter, who had been working in the woods
during the winter. Tr1bbett was we'll known,
| but regarded as a worthless vagabond. On
Monday Tribbett borrowed gun from a
| neighbor, who shortly afterwards heard some
shots, but thought nothing of it. Later
Tribbett came into town with the surveyors s
| watch and revolver. He sold the watch for
| five dollars to the city marshal. It is sup
| DOS6Q C0aU OH LLo SdIlo 2OI ueSudy
morning he lett for the west, which SUPPOSE
| ton has proven well founded. On Friday the
| dead body of the German boy Fritz was dis
covered by farmer, the head crushed in,
several bullet holes in the body, and a fatal
| knife wound in the neck. This led to- a
search for the surveyor, r., whose body :,': yas
found that evening; The young. william
| went under the alias of Ford. When he left
! the scene of the murder he had about $50,
| but upon arriving here he was broke, as on
yesterday he pawned a revolver to John
| Ludwig and then proceeded to the leyee, and
while engaged in conversation with the
| captain of the ferry boat Undine the officer
! rode on the steamer and captured his game.
A reporter for the TRIBUNE called at the Jail
last evening and had an interview with the
prisoner. He appeared cheerful and gave
| the turnkey cigar. The writer informed
him that he desired his statement Of the
affair with which he was charged,
aa@oa and upon Ehs accon@ n
statements were only made to lawyers by big
men, and he thought he wonld initiate his
seniors. But after being assured that it
| would not prejudice his case by claiming his
innocence, he still insisted upon refusing,
which in itself was confession of guilt.
Young Tribbett, who is only fifteen years
and one month old, is as villainous a speci-
l
cover in years hunt. He is large, coarse
and brutal in appearance.
! During conversation with Geo. Thomas,
| the jailor, the TRIBUNE was informed by that
gentleman that the murderer had confessed
| to him to the extent that he was not alone in
| the murder, that the blame was not all on
| him. He is evidently the one wanted.
| The INFORM alton thai has come into the
possession Of the TRIBUNE regarding the
boy, John Tibbitts, who was arrested IN
this city Monday charged with the MUIR
der Of two men at Perham, Mimi, proves
him to be the most brutal human iend
that ever walked the earth. AT the Jail
| Monday night he told the prisoners that
had his gun not been in soak, the officer
who arrested him would have gone back
to Perham in a box. And while in the cal
Wednesday morning, by which he went
east, he remarked to the conductor: "Fol
Jesus Christ's sake, conductor, shut that
door and charge an admission fee, and
when we reach Fargo We'll have a bully
expect to live long after reaching the
scene Of the murder.
A telegram to the Pioneer Press, from
Perham, states that he hackad the Dutch
| boy, one of the two victims, in a horrible
udAuCI Will ali GA, giving AAAA wv
| twenty wounds after shooting him and
cutting his throat with a knife. One OF
| more OF the ak wounds went clear through
his ribs to the handle. F
According to the laws q Minnesota,
this young fiend can only receive pun
| lshment of five years Imprisonment in
the reform school, until he is twenty
years of age. 1t the laws ofthat state are
as they have been expounded here, a
youth nineteen years and ten months old
could commit murder in that state and be
at liberty before his trial Eegun. If he
can't be hung, he should surely be
lynchcd, and that will probably be his
fate.
The TRIBUNE judges from the paragraph
which appears below, extracted from the
Fargo Argus of yesterday, that the young
iend m:@e additional statements regarding
the murder to those published by the TR1B-
UNE Tuesday morning:
''Tibbetts says the gun with which he
killed the surveyor was a double barrel, and
that he hid it in hollow tree near the place
of the dastardly deed, and that one barrel is
loaded, the empty one having executed the
deadly deed. That Fritz was killed with the
surveyors pistol, after a close hand to hand
fight, the scars of the affray yet showing
plainly on the villains hands,
The Fargo Argus is inclined to boom
Capt. J. B. Raymond for congress. The