Greenbrier independent. [volume] (Lewisburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1859-1980, 1896-01-16
An Old Murder Recalled.
THE STORY OF THE BRANCH CASE
TOLD By A SOUTHERNER.


TOLD BY A SOUTHERNER.
Did l ever relate to any of you
the history of the Branch murder
case, in which horse furnished the
evidence upon which the criminal
was convicted and hanged ?"
There was chorus of negatives
from the little group of lawyers
seated around the table in the Plant
ers' Hotel cafe. No one was willing
to forego the pleasure of hearing
Charles B. Stark tell the story even
if he had heard it before, and that
was very doubtful, for Charlie is
never known to fish twice on the
same bait.
cpl take some more Robertson
county; whatll you have?" the
Tennessee-bred attorney began.
"This is Southern yarn and
naturally it begins befo' de wah.'
Before the war one of the most pros
porous planters of fernando, Miss,
was Colonel James p. Branch, a vet
eran OF the Mexican war, which he
entered as a Tennessee volunteer
He had 1000 or 5000 acres of cotton
under Que fence and owned moro ne
groeS than any other man in north
Mississippi.
Hernando is now within half an
hours ride Of Memphis, but at that
time the journey occupied from one
to two days and sometimes more
when the roads were very muddy.
Colonel Branch, like the other plant
ers OF the section, used to send his
cotton to Memphis by wagon and
ride in on horseback to superintend
its sale. After settling with his mer-
chant and laying in stock of gro
ceries, bagging, the ties, &C., for the
wagons to haul home, the planter
would pocket whatever was left from
the sale of his staple and start back
home the same evening. IF the
roads proved slow, old-time taverns
would afford shelter eight or ten
miles from the city.
One afternoon i'm late November,
Colonel Branch left Memphis with
the determination of resching home |
the same night, if possible. How
ever, before he had gone very far, a |
bitter storm broke upon him and he |
was glad to stop at the Whitehaven |
tavern. 1t happened that he was
the only lodger, the storm having
detained his train of wagons and a
large number of other country peo-
pie in the city. The night was un-
usually inclement. Snow fell in
binding flakes. rendering travel al
most impossible, and the wind blew
as it rarely ever does in Mississippi.
Colonel Branch stretched his feet be-
fore the blazing fire in the large,
square room where guests were en-
entertained together until they were
ready to retire and congratulated
that he had not passed Pete
Johnson's hospitable roof. He had
eaten and partaken freely of the
cheering fluid that flowed so freely
IN those days and was enjoying a
pipe OF homegrown tobacco when
he dogs fierce barking and heavy
step on the front porch announced a
)elated traveller on foot.
johnson opened the door and ad-
nitted a poorly.clad man whose
every feature marked him as belong
ng TO the species 'pO0r white trash.'
Johnson's suspicious were aroused
1t once. No respectable man prowled
around the country on foot. He
learned that the man had no money
ana was about to turn him away,
when Colonel Branch interposed.-
He paid for the wayfarer's nights
lodging in advance and retired at
once to his own room, giving orders
FOR an early call.
The next mornining Colonel Branch
rose before day broke and proceeded
IN his homeward journey through
he woods. A few minutes later
Johnson observed that his other
guest was gone.
That was the last ever seen of |
Colonel Branch. His faithful horse
too, as completely as the
owner.
The matter caused tremendous
sensation for few months, but fl
nally ceased to be topic of conver-
'ation, as even murders do. Suspi-
cion fell, of course, on his fellow
Odger, but no one in the neighbor-
hood had ever seen the man before
and there were no particular marks
Of Identification about him.
One morning, five years later Colo
mel Branch's horse was found neigh
ing at the old homestead gate. The
animal was a trained saddle horse
and it was appropriated by Richard
Branch, the eldest son of the miss
ing planter.
Richard Branch had occasion to
go to Memphis few days later. AS
he rode along the wooded path ap-
preaching Whitehaven he fell to
about his fathers fate. The
reins dropped upon the horses neck
and it was allowed to pick it's own
way. Suddenly, when in the dark
est part of dark forest, the animal
neighed sharply and turned off the
road and started to run through the
trees. Branch checked it and at
tempted to proceed on his way to
Memphis. The usually docile crea-
ture stubbornly refused to go on and
behaved so strangely, shifting the
air and snorting and rearing that
branch was surprised. He wisely |
to allow the horse to- fol. |
low its own bent. The curb rein |
and the horse bounded |
away like mad to bit of open ground |
hidden from the road by a thick |
clump of trees and underbrush. With |
its nostrils distended and trembling
in every muscle it sought a certain |
spot and refused to bulge thence.
Neither persuasion nor force availed
to get the animal to resume its jour
ney or to leave the position 1t had as