The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-01-15
BROTHER SHOOTS BROTHER AT DANCE Pathetic Story Told By Wife Of Jas. Taper TELLS OF OLD HOLD-UPS Says Husband Chased Her About the House With Negro Finger Which
 He Had Cut From Hold-up
 Victim.

! The shooting of one brother by another broke up a dance on Whites hill, near the North Birmingham park late Thurs day night. As a result James Raper IS at the Hillman hospital. probably fatal ly wounded. while his brother, John Ra- per, is in the city jail, charged with the crime. The wife of James Raper is be- ing held at police headquarters as a wit | ness, John Raper having accused her or doing the shooting. investigations by the 1 police, however, cause them to believe her to be innocent.
 Events leading up to the shooting tell pathetic story of the life of woman in the class in which the Rapers moved John Raper and James Raper lived to- gether with their families on Twenty second avenue, between Twenty-f1fth and Twenty-sixth streets, north. Thursday night John Raper, his wife and James Rapers wife went to dance at the home of MT. Davis on Whites hill. James Raper had stayed at home, refusing to go with the others.
 Afterward he appeared at the dance and become partly intoxicated. John Raper was also drinking. James Raper att tackled his wife and after knocking her down started toward her with large knife John Raper intervened and James Raper hit him. John Raper then drew his gun and fired three times, one bullet another in the abdomen.
 Implicated In Hold-Ups.
 Officers White, Wren and Burge inyes- tigated the case and they state that Mrs. James Raper's account of the affair is, in their opinion, true relation of it. She also told the officers of a number of hold-ups which she stated her husband and brother-in-law had been implicated in. One of these had to do with the holding up of a negro at Pratt City about two years ago by three white men. The ne- gro was relieved of about $ and a fore finger one man holding him while the other hacked the finger off as a souvenir. Mrs. Raper said her husband told her of how he had gotten the finger. The off cers found 1t in the house where she told them to look.
 Her story of the shooting as told to an Age-Herald reporter was as follows:
 Mrs. Raper's Story.
 Thursday night we went to the dance st Mir. Davis home. I went with my brother-in-law, John Raper. and his wife. Jim my husband, wouldn't go with us but said he would stay and keep Johns children and my little girl, whom I had by a former husband.
 My husband has worried me a whole lot by the way he has been going on with a young girl out there, but had prom ised he would be good and not Eo with her any more. She was at the dance We had danced one set and were dancing the second when Jim came in. He didn't pay any attention to me, but went on cutting up with this other girl. He didn't even speak to me when I smiled at him.
 Tt was getting late when I heard some men fussing in the back part of the i house. In a few minutes Jim walked in and going up to John said, Davis says. by -, that he ain't going to let nobody else drink in this house tonight John said, Well, by =, I've got bottle of whisky and I'm going to drink 1t under this light right here
 They were both mad and full of whis- ky got frightened and started for the 1 door Jim started after me and, CUTS ing me, caught hold of my collar and i drew big knife out of his pocket and said, Now = your soul you go on home' Then he threw me out of the 1 door and kicked me down the steps and l to the front gate. I got up and he hit me a terrible blow on the jaw. climbed up by the post again and he struck me l another time I saw a big blaze of fire when he hit mo and fell to the ground. '~There were q number of people on the porch and John came running out, | saying he wasn't going to let Jim kill me- He talked nice to Jim and tried to | make him behave. Jim kept on cursing me and told me to go home asked him | if I couldn't go in the house and get my hat and coat and he started at me with the knife. John jumped in between us ] and Jim struck him on the side of the | face with the hand he had the knife in. | John ras his hand into his hip pocket l and I saw him drawing his gun l | screamed at him not to shoot and they struggled over the gun. l ran out or | the yard into the back and had gone | several yards when heard a pistol shot | I thought Jim had gotten the gun and | that 1t was him shooting. l kept on run ming until I got to the foot of the hill. l Then I heard four or five moro shots. q heard some one screaming, Oh, | Lawdy. I've shot the only brother I've got in the world A man was coming | down the hill right behind me, who found to be MT. Tom Watson. He had
 
 the row began. He took me over to his mothers house, which was right there. They were afraid that my husband might | come there and hurt me so they hid me | in the barn for a long time. I didn't know until this morning that 1t was my l husband and not John who had been shot. ! When I found he was in the hospital ] and that John was in jail l went home. The officers came a little while later and ! brought me to Chief Bodeker's office, telling me that John had accused me of | doing the shooting.
 "I have been married to Jim for two years. They had a negro forefinger with which they used to frighten me. They would chase me around the house with 1t. | I kept on asking them where they got 1t and Jim told me that about three months before we were married he and John, | with another man, had held up negro at Pratt City and after robbing him had | l avparfopca bohfud ma can say that |