The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1878-11-06
A FATAL ENCOUNTER.
A Colored Farmer of Vigo County
Fatally Shot Saturday Night.
Called o"t Of Hfs House at Late Hour
He Engages I'm an Anray-Arress
ofTwo OF His Assaiiants.


James II. Bundy, a well known colored
farmer, living four miles south Of Terre
Haute, on the Sullivan road, was fatally
shot late Saturday night The report was
brought to the city, and a physician ard
squad OF police went out 10 the scene. Bur
dy bad died before the party arrived. BE
was shot twice. The first ball passed into
the left side, under the stomach, Just graz,
ing the hip bone, and was ;he fatal
one. The other entered the heshY
part OF the leg, midway between the
thigh and knee. Bun1y ives ahou. 55 or
perhaps 90 years old. He owned farm of
nearly 200 acres. He leaves an aged wife
and a son, George. The latter is at Rlch-
mond, Indiana. Bundy had elk men in his
employ. Four OF these were in The house,
besides an old black woman They state
that he bad been sitting by the FIRE doing
about . O'Clock, when call was heard from
the road. Bundy was aroused and went out.
shortly sfter|aFt be came back, got poker
and double bsrreled shotgun and weft oct
again. Then tonr shots we're heard. and
pretty soon Bundy was heard calling for
help. Charles Williams and Phillip Kerk-
endolf ran out aud found Bundy sitting near
the orchard fence. He was carried INTO the
house by the men, spoke to each one, call
ing their names. then went into commissions,
The officers started on an exploring expedi-
ton, and at the next house where they
struck trail, negro named Tom Under
wood bad come to McPheeters and wanted
TO lie down while, as he had been wound
ed. He waited there, telling McPheeters TO
stop Hamilton Montgomery when his wagon
came up. When il did Underwood got in
and went on. The police then drove Eve
miles tn the next house, and slipped up to
the front gate, where two men were about TO
mount horses. One was Montgomery and
the name OF the other is Smith. In the
darkness they We're much surprised TO be SO
suddenly surrounded, the party having been
swelled by half dozen other men. Mont
gomery pulled out a revolver, but Stack
se zed his arm. He ard Smith were arrested
and haDdcnffed together Smith was after
ward released. Ii seems that he too was in
the wagon with Underwood, but was drunk
and asleep.
10 the house was Montgomery's wife, with
the family that lived there. To the express
messs niger she gave short account of the
murder. She says Underwood left the Wsg-
on TO call Henry TTeoble out OF Buniy's
house. Bundy himself came but he and
Underwood were little distance of, and
she did not see the actual encounter. She
says she heard only two shots, but that
there might have been more as she was too
much frightened to know. The noise of the
shots scared the horses. They overturned
the wagon. While ii was being nghted I'm
derwood walked sheEd to the house of Mo
Pheeters, where he waited till they came up.
The officers now went few hundred yards
further and turned off the road through a
woods pasture The moon had Just set, but
with "a guide they scrambled through the
brushwoot and over logs till ley reached the
small log farm house OF Arthur Allen, q
respectable old farmer with whom Under
wood was stopping. They found the latter
there in bed, and also James Mays, who had
been in the wagon. The latter is a well
known butcher. His revolver had been hid
den by another man outside the door. He
was made 10 get IT. One load was out Mays
says he fired il during the afternoon at his
slaughter house. He was, however, placed
under arrest
It is not as yet known how many times
Bundy fred. The hired men say that when
the gun was brought back one barrel was
still loaded. IL is clear. however, that two
shots must have been fred at Underwood,
for the same shot that filled his hide with
shot could not have burned the side of his
head. DOdd says two of the shots sounded
ss If they were from a shotgun. On she
person OF Montgomery were found two re-
volvers, and two or three shots are missing
This is why he was arrested Underwood
had carried his revolver in a holster fastened
TO a belt. 1t is large weapon, and three
cartridges were missing out of It, The
weapon was found with Mays Underwood
and Montgomery were brought to Terre
Haute ard placed in Jail. Both refuse to
talk.