Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1895-11-21
BOY TRAIN WRECKERS
They Are Held for Trial On Charge Of
Murder.
THEY ALL CONFESS SAVE ONE,
They Proposed to Throw the Cars
from Trnck and Rob the Killed
md Injured Pnssengers--Tesfi-
mony Against Them.

ROME. y. Y. November 20--At the
coroner uIU So over the bodies Of En-
ginc'r Haeeu. of Albany. and Billy"
Bond of SYRACUSE VINO were killed in
tie railroad wreck l.re there Was no
importau, testimony. keep. tha; given
by Mies celia Perrin. sonng Lady with
whom Hllelcth. the leader Or Zee sang Of
boy-wreckers. was y,ry friendly. She
testified that Hiidreth came to her house
yesterday morning and told her about
how they had wrecked the train. He told
Miss Perrin that they turned the rails
so that the train would run into the
ditch, The jury was adjourned till this
evening.
The four boys charged with committing
the crime have all confessed, except
Bristol who refuses to say anything.
The evidence OF the others. however. i'm
plicates him, and makes him and Hl-
dreth the leaders. The boys had re-
vOlvers, which they said they threw away
in the woods. They had all been read
ing sensational novels. They frequent
ed Hiidreth's room. at the Temperance
Hotel whore they played cards and had
boxing-bouts.
About three weeks ago they went to
Utica. There Hildrcth. who already
owned revolver. purchased two more.
The boys rode nome IN a box-car. and
planned the wreck. They thought they
would get about $4,000 from the dead and
dying passengers. They matured their
plans. and not until the rails were
loosened and the train was nearing tho
fatal spot did they seem to hesitate.
Then" said Hibbard. I'VE were on pins
and needles, and wished those rails were
back ~ place We stood on the north
side Of the track. all with revolvers in
our hands. ready TO rush in among the
people. VIXEN we heard the crash and
the cries Of the people we ran through
the woods. We were thoroughly scared.
and realized what We had done. We
had not gone far before we decided 10
throw away our reyolvers. because we
were afraid that II they were found on
us we would be suspected. Hildreth lost
his hat but did not stop to get it," The
loss OF this hat was what led to the
speedy arrest Of the wreckers.
The boys show remorse. There IL no
danger that any OF the injured will die.
Fireman Agner. who Is in the hospital
AZ Oneida, is Improving. and John Macy.
Of Syracuse, whose leg was taken or.
- NFiA7 NFAi dA Nltf ii~ilAdl IN iNlE CITY.
The -wreckers--Iohn w. Hildreth.
T. Hibbard. and Fred. Bristol-were ar
raigned before the Recorder this after
noon. charged with murder In the first
degree. in causing the death OF Nathan
NJ. Hager and Robert Bond. They
pleaded not guilty. and their examina-
ton was set down for December 18th.
Yesterday evening a young man named
Fred. Palmer was arrested on suspicion
Of being implicated. He had refused TO
join the others.
At the continuation Of the inquest held
on the death Of Nathan NJ. Hager and
Robert Bond. who were killed in the
wreck, it was shown, on the testi-
mony OF Detective John Latham and
others. that the wreck in which the de-
ceased lost their lives was caused by John
W. Hildroth. Herbert Plato, Fred. Bris-
toi, and Theodore Hibbard. who tam
pored with the track for the purpose OF
ditchlng the train that they might rob
the passengers. dead and living
The inquest was adjourned until Novem.
ber 18th, at Il. VI.