The sun., 1904-12-04
'ONE COP RAIDS BANDITS CAVE
r0UR MIDGET DESPERADOES
DRAGGED FROM WILD LIFE.
Their Lair Was Under stoop and the Early
Loaf and Mink Bottle were Their
Prey-Jimmie MoHenna's Secession
the other Boys Fault, say Mothers.

Loaf and Mink Bottle were Their
Prey-Jimmie MoHenna's Secession
the other Boys Fault, say Mothers.
An unsympathetic policeman, who prob
hbIv never played camping OUT without
bIs parepts' consent when he was q kid,
dragged four very dirty and crestfallen
Youngsters from their bandit cave under
;be stoop OF 25e East Thlrty-third street
at about 8 o'clock yesterday morning and
ended the wild life Of freedom that they
had been living since Thursday.
The youngsters said that they were
Frank Gindene, "a years old, OF 4o7 East
Nineteenth street; James MoKenna, also
"A. of $40 East Thirty third street; Thomas
Cannon, Is years old, OF sos East Thirty
third street, and John Dyan, 10, OF 2i6 East
Twenty-eighth street. They are all small
for their ages. All have been careless
nbout attending school lately, according
10 their parents, and have frequently failed
10 return home nights. Whenever they
lot hold OF little money It went for gallery
admissions at theatres where Chicago
Mike the Train Robber, or some one else
with similar morals, 10 the interesting
villain.
mike the Train Robber' lived in a cave.
He wouldn't have been the real thing in
The villain line IL he hadn't, 30 Frankey
fiindene and Jimmy MoKenna and their
two pals resolved in executive session
that It was q cave to live in for theirs. They
found the cave pretty near home.
On the southwest corner OF Thirty-third
street and Second avenue there is a store
the windows Of which continue around
. Ii a...o. and apA about a fnnt and N half
from the stoop OF 25e East Thirty-third
etreet. The narrow space between the end OF
the store window and the stoop is blocked
by picket fence. 1t extends back few
feet and gives access to an open space
under the stoop. The space under the
s,oop was the cave and as soon as the
Voice that il was the real thing bandit
cave, all right. The picket fence at the
entrance didn't bother them bit. That
would keep out intruders.
So the youngsters claimed 1t as their
home on Tuesday night and their parents
saw them not They had horse blanket,
which the police say disappeared from
brewery, for covering, and the oommissary
department provided bottles Of milk which
a milkman left at nearby houses early In
also been left unguarded on doorsteps.
and apples that the Italian fruit vender
on the corner lost when ne wasn't looking.
The boys had a fine time camping out
on Tuesday night, but on Wednesday
Simmie MoKenna made the mistake OF
returning home in the evening One lees
bandit slept in the cave that night through
the actions OF Mother Mckenna.
She asked James where he had been the
night before and didn't find out. so she put
James to bed removed his clothes to the
rooms of a neighbor SO that he couldn't
get them In the morning when she went to
work and then went to see her sons school,
teacher, Miss Steward, at the school in
Thirty fifth street between First and second
avenues. Mrs. McKenna explained why
Jimmi wasn't going to school on Thursday
and Miss Steward went over to reason with
Jimmie.
Jimmie told her that he saw the error OF
his ways and that he d be good and attend
school regularly and do everything his
mother commanded il he got his clothes
dressed pretty soon.
But when his mother left the rooms for
few moments Jimmie slid out and hustled
up the street to the bandit cave The
tell why he hadn't been with them the night
before. He told a wild tale Of adventure
instead.
The wild life in the cave continued unin-
terruptedly while four mothers hunted for
four missing boys until about o'clock
yesterday morning. Then a street sweeper,
who was removing rubbish from behind the
picket fence, saw . small boys foot under
the stoop and told Policeman Somers Of the
Fast Thirty-ffth street station.
Somers broke up the bandit band right
there. He crawled over the fence and
under the stoop, and rounded up the whole
bunch. Inside the cave he found several
empty bottles that had contained milk,
q half eaten loaf Of bread and many
Apple cores. A milkman near by said he
was glad to get his bottles back. A few
minutes later the four boys were taken to
the East Thirtv-fifth street police station
and kept until it was time to take them to
the Chfldren's Court.
There was it charged that they were the
victims Of improper guardianship and they
were sent to live with the Gerry people pend
ing further examination on Tuesday. The
Gerry agents. in the meantime, will inter-
view their parents
A reporter found two Of the parents OF
the boys. yesterday, ard each said prac-
ticaIly this:
III IL hadn't been for that bad boy So
snd-so, my boy would have been all right.
He never went wrong until he began to 60
around with so-and-so.'
The police say that three Of the ban
dts have been in the Children's Court
before on trifling charges and have served
time in correctional institutions. Mrs.
McKenna admitted yesterday that she had
been unable to control Jimmie. She said
she had been on the point OF having him
sent TO an institution several times and
hoped he would surely arrive at one for his
last escapade. But Jimmie wasn't the
ringIeader of the gang. Another boy put
the cave idea into his head, she said.