Delta chief., 1883-11-28
PRECOCIOUS BOYS.
Some OF the Effects OF Sensational
Literature.


Literature.
Chicago Tribune.
Andrew Carter, alias "Jesse James;
Willie Willep, alias Hawkshaw"; and
John Fleming, alias =" Charley Ford
trio of youthful villains, each about IA
years of age, who have of late endeav-
ored to emulate on the West Side the
example set by the late James banditti,
were yesterday afternoon sent to the
Criminal Court to answer to various
charges of burglary. Neither of the
boys is especially vicious-looking. but
each, according to his acknowledge
ment, was dead bent on being ''tous h.,
and it would have been hard to guess
where they would have wound up had
not the present short stop been put to
their career,
The embryo jesse James was seen
after his incarceration at the North
Side bastillc. He was somewhat sub
dued by the surrounding gloom, and the
not over-bright prospect before him for
the next few years seemed to have rob-
bed him of much of the buoyancy of
spirit that had filed his bosom previous
to his intimate acquaintance with the
stony-hearted jailer. He acknowledged
the bandit sobri9uct that had been CIV
en- him by his companions in crime,
but was not SO ready about admitting
hi, standing with the gang that his
worthy namcsakc had enjoyed. On
the contrary, he made an effort to throw
the onus of the various breaches of the
statutes that had been committed by
the gang upon him who was dcnomin-
atcd 'Hawkshaw.'
4. 1. 4 1,
"hard man" about month. and he
couldn't say that he was altogether
pleased with the experience he had in
that brief time. Neither had he made
any haals that were worth the trouble
he had expended upon the several bar
bcr-shop and grocery windows that had
fallen prey to his murderous jack-knife,
that being the only tool or weapon
which he or even the gang had pos
D sessed. He had assisted at four burglar
les, three of which had been done after
nightfall, and he expected to suffer from
the same. Buf he seemed all ''broke mp
over the fact that ..plant" of several
boxes of :. stogas that he had lifted
from barbcr-shop on Yves; Madison
street had been sprung by "son.c
feller" who had seen him make it. All
james brothers was gained from certain
books which MIR. James" had read TO
him and the other members of the gang
when they were not upon their maraud-
ing tours. In order that the record
should be all right "Hawkshaw" desir-
ed Il understood that. until he had met
some older heads at the Desplaines
Street Station. he was totally ignorant
of the very noble and sclf-sacrificing
character OF the gentleman for whom he
had been named. The "tough gen
ucmns called James" in the adjoining
cell had always led him ru believe that
Hawkshaw' was first-wuter hard
man." and IL he had lived cun-':npora-
ncously with Jesse James he wo,l,d have
been ticklcd TO death to hay. hCcn "A
"par' of that worthy. The error ''nt
had found the amateur VILLAIN appeared
to rest heavily upon him. and he looked
as though he would like to have apollo
gizcd To the eminent inquirer into other
peoples affairs, whose name he had dis
graced II he had been given chance.
Taken all In all. he admitted that he
hadn't made nearly so much of the
time he had been in disrcputablc busi-
ness as he might have done, and he was
not sure that he was failure. The
prospect of several stretches at Pontiac
did not please him exactly. but he con-
graduated himself that he had been
gathered in before he had reached the
bloody, throat-curting period in his life
toward which he was so rapidly drift
ing.
.,Charlcy Ford" Judging from ap-
pcaranccs, was of as little value TO the
gang as his Western namcsakc. He
did the work assigned TO him rs best
he could. and all he realized from his
labors was hard plank Mt the station
house and n rough prospect for the fu-
ture. He, like Jesse James," has one
charge of burglary against him. The
trio will probably wind up at Pontiac.