Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1916-06-30
Early RecoTIections Of Old
NOxubee

may prove interesting to Others,
was the assassination of a Mr.
Brantley of Alabama, by a man
by the name of Eskridge at the
Shuqulak depot in the winter of
1870 just before the daylight
hour. 1t seems that Brantley was
a prominent planter and worked
quite a number of negroes
on his place, so many in
fact as to require an overseer and
that this man Eskridge was his
Ovcrseer.
Brantley, two months before
he landed in Shuqualak, killed
one of his negro tenants, and had
left home on horseback to hunt "a
place of immunity until the ex-
citement cooled down, leaving
Eskridge in full charge of his
business, and reaching Shuqualak
he decided to 90 no further, so
put up at a hotel, and stayed
there until the night he was muir
dered.
All during his two months stay
he correSponded with his wife un-
der an assumed name and used a
cipher code of his own make up
with which to keep any one who
might open his letters from know
ing what he was talking about
when asking his wife in these let
tiers how things were going re-
garding the killing, and in the
same way he corresponded with
his overseer, Eskredge.
For two months Brantley was
in Shuqualak no one knew what
he was there for except Tom
Dunlap, to whom he confded his
troubles, Dunlap being ~" = 80 90 !
then. Eskredge was a f. !"
ing man, rea,. handSome' .n ,a,n
and form and a swell dresser, and
Brantley's wife was a prepossess-
ing woman in form and facial
beauty, and it was this man that
Brantley left to board and sleep
in his home and to take care of
his property, wife and one child
in his absence, and as many such
cases turn out, Eskredge, in his
many dining table talks with Mrs.
Brantley learned from her that
Brantley's life was insured for
$4,000, besides the vast property
he owned, and thinking how nice
it would be, boldly proposed to
Mrs. Brantley for him some night
to dress in disguise and ride over
to Shuqualak and assassinate
Brantley and return and either
divide the policy money, or else
marry and the two own all the
property of Brantley as well as
the $4,000 insurance, he con-
tending that Brantley would
never get out Of his trouble and
as it was she would be a widow all
her life, she, according to Esk-
redge at his trial. agreeing to this
last proposition. After few
days Eskredge left the Brantley
home on his murderous trip, hav,
ing first disguised himself by
shaving off his mustache, shaving
off his suit of flowing raven black
hair, dressing himself up as a
farm hand and carrying with him
on his white horse he rode, a
double barrel gun sawed off and
wrapped in paper, and bringing
along with him a white head cloth
with eye holes cut in it to use in
the assassination act, and wearing
a big, steel gray, mans shawl Git
was the fashion them and was
needed, for the night of the aSsaS
sination was bitter cold.
The arrangement for the assas,
sination was cleverly made, but
bluntly carried out, Mrs. Bran.
ley, two weeks before the fatal
night having written Bantley that
her love for him was so great and
the absence from him so lonesome
and hard to bear that she was 60.
ing to visit him (naming in hel
letter the night and the hour 4:4O
a. M and for him not to disap
point her but be at the train tC
meet her.
In those days (there being nc
railroad telegraph service) agent
were required to sleep in theiI
station buildings at night, and
Tom Dunlap had him a nice little
bedroom in the rear of his ticke
office, with double bed and
wall and door between the tw'
rooms, and that night when th,
o+b hourd II oialoak train AZ