Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1872-09-15

A Negro deliberately Sheets Dead
His Wafe.


Jealousy the Cause OF the DARK
a Crime. W
at three O'Clock yesterday afternoon, the
residents of Summer street, south Of Broad
were startled by the announcement Of {
deliberate murder having been committed
in that locality. An investigation give:
these facts in relation to the deed, which
for GOODNESS Of purpose and deliberate pas
sion, has seldom been surpassed by the
most atrocious act of crime, aud created no
little excitement among all classes when
t g circums' ances of its imp: evoked commit.
tai became known. In the second story 1
he frame tenement No. 2I0 South Sum
mer street resided negro named Sam.
Ransom and with him lived woman man,
ed Mary Beach, whom he claimed as his
wife though never having been legally mar
ried. Yesterday afternoon while she was
sitting in a chair having be. hair
combed by a fema,o friend
named Nancy Webster, Ransom
entered the room ard few angry words
passed betwess MIN and his reputed wife,
about shit be had. Not knowing where
he obtained it Mary Beach accused him OF
Inconsistency, and naming a certain woman
in connection with him said her rival gave
him the shirt. Hardly had this accusation
been made when Ransom drawing der
niger pistol shot the unfortunate women
in the right breast; aud then dropping he
instrument of death, rushed down tie
rickety stairway outside of the building,
at the foot Of which he met some colored
persons who asked him what was the mat
ter. In reply he said the two women up
stairs had been fooling with pistol when
it went off and shot one, and he wanted to
find doctor. A negro man told him to go
up Sumner street where here resided sew
eral physicians. Ransom then ran as di-
rected, not to summon medical aid, but
to escape. The cclored per-
sons ran up to the room and
as they entered, saw the negro woman as
she gasped her last, the life-blood flowing
profusely from the right breast, and her
eyes set in beautiful glare, for she was dead.
The effect of his murder upon the feelings
Of the colored people can hardly be i'm
agined. Physicians were called in but their
services were not needed now, for the fatal
bullet entered the right breast and produced
death in less than half a minute after the
shot was fred. The coroner held an inquest
and a verdict was rendered accordingly.
By this time hundreds of persons, nearly all
colored, had assembled in front Of the
building where was the body of the muir
dered woman. Several fiends shrouded tie
body, which viii be inferred to-day. Ra :
slm is kind of Voudoo negro, regul r
confidence operator among his race, many
of whom have been sorely beaeviled by his
coon locks, and other swindling ma
chimes. His victim was morally not much bet
ter than the murderer. Yet the outcast and
and most degraded wretch when murdered
so basely and without even the provoca-
ton Of that which jus'iies the resentment
Of an insult awakes indignation In the breast
of every one. The parties had previously
had unpleasant relations and both had been
placed in the Workhouse for opprobious
conduct. Only week ago Ransom was
in the ''street gang" working out fine i'm
posed by the Recorder. After leaving ths
scene Of the tragedy yesterday he went
through Brooks alley and thence to the
cemetery where he took down the railroad
track short distance and then fed along
the common bordering the Franklin pike.