Brenham weekly banner. [volume] (Brenham, Tex.) 1877-1907, 1897-10-14
BLOODY SUNDAY NIGHT.
BOB CARTER MURDERS JAMES BURCH
AND IS SHOT TO DEATH BY
A MOB.
Had Surrendered and Was on the Way to
Jail When 0vertaken by Retri-
butive Justice.

least U16fS were TWO Duf1diS' ~
the City cemetery a large con-
course of sorrowing friends as
sembled to pay a last tribute OF
respect to the memory of Mr..
Jas. Bprch who met a tragic and
untimely death at the hands of
an assassin Sunday night.
The other burial was that of
Bob Carter, colored, whose MUIR
derous aim sent Jas. Burch into
eternity and who in turn met
swift and terrible retribution by
being riddled with bullets, while
being carried to jail.
The story is a long and tragic
recital, hard to relate in detail.
The motive that prompted Bob
Carter to assassinate Jas. Burch,
whether revenge or malice, died
with the two principals, and can
be guessed as easily by the read
er as by the reporter.
The tragedy occurred on Quit
man street on the north side of
Sutor Bros. establishment at a
few minutes past seven o'clock
Sunday evening. Jas. Burch
ne to town in the afternoon
from the county farm where he
has been assistant superintend-
ent for some time. Probably
half an hour before the tragedy
he dropped in at Harrison's cor
ner and borrowed a sheet of
writing paper on which he wrote
a note in pencil. From this
place he went to Sutor Bros. and
the next time his friends saw him
he was weltering in a pool of his
own life blood with the drilling
rain bathing his death set fea-
lures. A ghasHy wound in the
temple told the story of violence
his mute lips were powerless to
utter. A match was struck and
the features of the dead man ex-
amined. His face was blackened
and discolored by the charge of
powder and disfigured by the
frightful wound in the side of the
head, and it was only after look
ing closely that the friends of the
dead man recognized Jas. Burch.
Clenched in the stiffening fingers
of the dead man was a Colts
pistol of 45-calibre with one
chamber freshly discharged. No
other We q pom was near
and the theory of suicide
was INDUCED until an ex-
animation of the wound at the
hands of physicians revealed the
fact that it had been made with a
shot gun.
Then followed the search for
the murderer. Different parties
both white and colored had seen
Bob Carter with a gun and in
company with Ed Brown in the
vicinity of where the shooting
occurred. Others had seen him
running away with the murder
GUS weapon in his hands. Jin
Mike Watkins and Policeman
Burkhead saw him pass the Un-
ion depot gun in hand. When
accosted by the former he con-
fessed that he had killed, Jim
Burch, and continued in the di-
rection of Watrousville, going at
a rapid pace.
When these facts were related
Bob Carter at once became a
much wanted man. Sheriff
league secured the permission of
the Santa Fe management to use
the switch engine in going to the
county farm after the blood
hounds with which to track the
murderer. Superintendent Rob-
ertson, a brother-in-law of the
dead man, accompanied the
party on the return trip.
In the meantime the town was
being searched high and low for
the murderer. Searching parties
went to the residences of his ia
ther and brother and to his usual
haunts, but failed to find him.
The city was very much excited