The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1894-05-21

Bands of Tramps Are Terrorizing Re-
gions in Southern New Hampshire-
Two Children Alleged to Have Been
Kidnapped and Perhaps Murdered in
Regular Trade.
New York, May 20.-A Cordaville, Mass,
despatch to the Herald, says: Tramps
placed ton of fish plates on the Boston
and Albany railroad tracks in this place to
wreck the Adams Express train due in
Worcester, Mass, at half past eleven o'clock
last night.
The train, which had six cars, scattered
the obstruction while going at a speed of
forty miles an hour, fortunately keeping
the rails.
freight conductor, whose train preceded
the express, put eighteen tramps off his
train at South Framingham, Mass.
From Nashua, N. H., the Herald prints
despatch telling the following story: The
tapping of children, pillaging of houses,
burning of barns, robbing of men, women
and children in the highways and horse
stealing are among the crimes that have
OOOh PCAPCUl ouCO LII tLlo I0SlOn tlllS SpTluS,
and nearly all of them are laid to tramps.
New Hampshire sent no Coxey contingent
to join the Commonweal army, but she has
harbored a horde of anti-industrials who
have fairly overrun her territory.
One reason for this is the severity of her
tramp laws, which make yagrancy punish
able by not less than year in the Pentiten-
tiary, on which account the county police
seldom molest tramps unless they are de-
tected in crimes.
Again there is no cooperation between
the authorities of Massachusetts and New
Hampshire in running down outlaws. and
as warm weather advances and the jails of
the Bay State turn out hundreds of winter
convicts they come at once to New Hamp-
shire.
In Tilton today Alice and Thomas Smith,
fifteen and thirteen years old respectively
the children of well to do farmer.
MYSTERIOUSLY DISAPPEARED.
There is no reason why the boy and girl
should have left home voluntarily They
did not take q train from the railway
station at Tilton, and the general belief is
that they have been kidnapped by tramps,
and either murdered for the few trinkets
they possessed OF else are held for ransom
Traces of blood in the adjoining woods
lead many persons to incline to the former
theory. A search is being made for them
by villagers. The village at Rosemont, on
the western division of the Boston and
Maine railroad has suffered from tramps.
The fine house of Joseph Rochier, in that
place was entered recently while the family
was absent. The tramps evidently remained
several days in the house.
Everything, including clothing and brick
a-brack which was in any way salable was
carried off. All the provisions in the house
were consumed, and casks of wine in the
cellar were either drunk or allowed to run
to waste.
Not content with this the marauders de-
stroyed the furniture and defaced the walls
leaving the fine residence almost ruin.
Awoman was arrested in this city few
days ago, having in her possession team
which had been stolen from North Salem.
Her identity could not be established, but
she is supposed to be a confederate of
BAND OF OUTLAWS
working on the state line. She is now in
Jail.
At Epping, on the road from Exeter, is a
cluster of low resorts known as New
Brighton, which serves as rendezvous for
thieves of every grade, particularly horse
thieves.
Stolen horeses are taken there and
painted and changed so their owners will
not re ecognize them. Then the animals are
taken to some of the large horse sales and
disposed of. If the animals are afterwards
identified the tracks of the thieves have
been covered so as to defy detection.
New Brighton is near the great New Eng
land Methodist camp grounds, where thou
sands of persons assemble during the sum-
mer, but the outlawry which exists in the
vicinity has for years baffied attempts of
the authorities to break it up.
Reckless men from the logging camps
north of the thickly settled portions of the
state help swell the forces of trampdom.
4 Women are frequently terrorized and ill
treated, and they dare not refuse money to
vagabonds, who threaten them with all sorts
of barbarities. Barns are often set on fire
by tramps in revenge for having been re-
fused food, clothing or money. 1t some times
happens that the incendiaries perish in the
flames of their own making, as was the
fact in recent fire near Haverhill, where
the charred bodies of two human beings
were found in the ruins of a barn.