"A newspaper account, an interview, and some historical context for a murder near Martin, Mississippi."
KILLING NEAR MARTIN
J. A. ROAN KILLED M. NUSOM
TROUBLE OVER BOARD TREE
Last Saturday J.A. Roan, white, shot and killed M. Nusom, colored, both of the fifth district. The trouble arose over a board tree belonging to one of the participants. The men had quarreled prior to the killing, and when they met on the road the trouble was renewed. It is said that Nusom advanced on Roan with a heavy stick, when the latter seized a rifle lying in his buggy. Nusom, it is claimed, caught the gun, and a scuffle ensued. Finally Roan got the mule turned toward Nusom and fired, the wound producing death soon after.
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