The sun., 1903-05-28
RANDlY BOYS VICTIM DEAD.
MS SHOT AT LITTLE TESSIE
WATSON PROVES MORTAL.
sn. WAS sitting FoOtsore and Crying
nv the Roadside When He Fired at
Uer--The Story Of Their Runaway
Tramp Over the New Jersey Hills.

Uer-The Story OF Their RunA way
Tramp Over the New Jersey Hills.
NORTH P1A1NFIELp, N. j.. May 81
r.ssie Watson, the little daughter of Henry
Watson, who ran away last Saturday
am bandit expedition" with Willie James.
m enthusiastic nine-year-old reader of
Jln,e novels and who was shot twice by
~. how before her father found her on
Monday, died In the Muhlenberg Hopital
h.re late last night. The bullet wound In
b.r abdomen caused her death.
Young James is lodged in tho county
;.il at Somervile, Before the death Of his
y;ctim the shocking extent Of his degeueraey
WAS not generally appreciated by people
here The facts OF the case had not all
come out then, but now most Of the details
=, his trip on foot with the Watson child
and his little brother and sister, and Of the
shooting which followed, are known, and
The town is appalled,.
The first that is known Of the James boy
having met Mr.. Watson's nine-year-old
daughter was on last Friday, when the
little girl went out to Charles Hyde's golf
links to pick bouquet Of flowers for her
father VIII q was seen talking to her
there and it is supposed that he stuffed her
NH OF the things which he had read about
Jesse James, his particular hero, and then
proposed his plan for a Wild West" trip
In the woods and mountains back OF Plain
field
Anyway. Tessie when she. brought the
flowers home that night, talked lot about
pistols and knives and other things that
she had never mentioned before. She also
said that she was going for long walk
tic,ilar attention to her statement. not even
when she refused, az her father suggested,
TO take her younger brother with her.
She was going, she said, too far for him.
The next morning the. James boy turned
up a, Watson's house in Manning street.
Tessie was waiting for him and they went
of down the street. He left her behind a
fence while he got his brother, Oryille.
=, who Ia years old. and his sister. Ethel.
who is still younger. He had told them
that he would show them stunts that would
beat circus all hollow.
Then the four, with Wild Willie in the
lead struck of up the Somerville road
They hadn't gone far when Willie pulled
place He kept the biggest one and dis
'ribued the other three among the MEM
bers Of the party. The two little girls
and Orville soon dropped their weapons but
Willie clung to his.
He turned his party of the road at the
base OF the big hill and led them into the
thick underbrush. That is the last that is
definitely known Of their movements until
Willie, with his recruits almost dead with
fatigue. marched into Mrs. Samuel Bald
win = yard at Liberty Corners, twelve miles
up the road. at about o'clock that night:
He had worked for Mrs Baldwin several
months before, but had to leave when he
got into some sort OF row with the hired
man which resulted in the latter falling
of haystack.
Willie announced his presence by beating
in the front door with his club. Then he
demanded that Mrs. Baldwin take the
party In She pitied the little ones with
him, who had sunk down exhausted, and
to bed Willie helped himself to victuals,
and then he. too, was put into bedroom,
more as q matter Of precaution than any
thing else.
James children were SO badly used Up
BY their trip chat they could hardly walk
o9er Sunday. Willie stayed. too. and while
fotund Flobert rifle and lot Of car
trfdges slowed away in a back room. He
took the rifle and about fifty cartridges and
hid them.
out again and, promising Mrs. Baldwin
that he would go home. started down the
hill. As soon as Mrs. Baldwin went into
the house he called halt and went back
after the rife.
About a mile from the Baldwin place
little Tessie began to complain OF pains in
her legs and beg for rest Willie wouldn' I
stand for it, and told her she'd have to
toe the mark Then. she began to cry.
and finally she sank down on the sod at
the side Of the road.
Willie ordered her roughly to get, up
on her feet She cried ..arder and then,
it is said. he walked of a few PAGES and
raising the rife. deliberately, shot at her;
She had her hands above her head and
the bullet took off the end Of one OF her
thumbs.
She yelled with pain. and the hoy. it is
said, shot again. the bullet this time enter
ing her abdomen. Then, it is said. he
forced her to get up, threatening her Wit with
further violence, and the little girl, hold
ing her injured thumb and with the blood
tickling down her legs, walked on for almost
mile, until her little brother Jimmie,
who. together with his father and her other
country for two days, ran on to the party,
As soon as the James boy saw Tessie's
brother he ran, taking the rife and his
brother and sister with him.
Young Watson hurried with his sister to
neighboring farmhouse. She had been
so thoroughly frightened by Willie James g
threats that she didn't tell that she was
shot in the abdomen until she was carried
home. When she was found she didn't
have any shoes or stockings on, and 1t was
cold. 1t is thought that young James:
seeing the blood on them, took them on
and threw them into the creek.
While one brother was taking care OF tne
sister the other came up and chased the
James children. The boy, when he was
taken back to North Plainfeld. at first
admitted that he had shot the girl because
che was -quitter' and wouldn't stop
crying.
and shot her"
Later, though he changed his story
and would scarcely tell the same thing twice.
He said that he didn't want Tessle to 60
along with him. but that she had tagged
on; that her shoe kept coming OH. and that
on the way back, while she was sitting
down to put it on. he pointed the gun at
the ground and let it 60 of. The bullet,
he says, hit her thumb and glanced up to
her abdomen. -
He admitted proudly that he knew all
about Jesse James, but he didn't know, ne
said. whether he was related to Jesse or
not.
Willie is an intelligent looking little fellow,
small for his age, with red hair and large
prominent blue eyes. He has bad record.
The truant officers were after him the day,
he ran away He has left his home several
times. and it is said that once he tied q
little girl to a tree in the woods and lett
her there. " >.
His mother Is very poor. She didn't