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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Nation's Peril, by Anonymous
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Nation's Peril
+       Twelve Years' Experience in the South
+
+Author: Anonymous
+
+Release Date: March 15, 2011 [EBook #35579]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE NATION'S PERIL ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Bryan Ness and the Online Distributed
+Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was
+produced from images generously made available by The
+Internet Archive.)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+  THE NATION'S PERIL.
+
+  TWELVE YEARS' EXPERIENCE IN THE SOUTH.
+
+  THEN AND NOW.
+
+  THE KU KLUX KLAN
+
+  A COMPLETE EXPOSITION OF THE ORDER:
+
+  ITS PURPOSE, PLANS, OPERATIONS, SOCIAL AND
+  POLITICAL SIGNIFICANCE
+
+  THE NATION'S SALVATION.
+
+
+  WHEREFORE SAY UNTO THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL,
+  I AM THE LORD, AND I WILL BRING YOU OUT FROM
+  UNDER THE BURDENS OF THE EGYPTIANS, AND I WILL
+  RID YOU OUT OF THEIR BONDAGE, AND I WILL REDEEM
+  YOU WITH A STRETCHED-OUT ARM, AND WITH GREAT
+  JUDGMENTS.--_Exodus_, VI, 6.
+
+
+  NEW YORK:
+  PUBLISHED BY THE FRIENDS OF THE COMPILER.
+  1872.
+
+
+
+
+  Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year
+  one thousand eight hundred and seventy-two, by
+  E. A. IRELAND,
+  In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.
+
+
+
+
+INTRODUCTORY.
+
+
+The facts contained in the succeeding pages, have been compiled from
+authenticated sources, and with especial reference to their truthfulness.
+
+That portion derived from the diary of a gentleman, twelve years a
+resident of the South, was not originally intended for public circulation;
+but this, with a variety of other matter obtained from official records,
+formed the basis of a lecture delivered at Tremont Temple, in the city of
+Boston, on the evening of March 27th, 1872, and excited a great degree of
+interest among the people to learn more of the subject-matter treated
+upon.
+
+Communications relating thereto came in from all parts of the country, and
+it was decided by the friends of the compiler to present all the facts in
+convenient form for general circulation, as the best means of complying
+with this demand.
+
+They are here given with such additions to the original matter, as will
+enable the general reader more fully to comprehend the origin, rise and
+progress of the various orders of the Ku Klux Klans, their social and
+political significance, and their general bearing upon the welfare of the
+nation at large.
+
+The thrilling stories of outrage and crime herein narrated, are
+authenticated beyond the power of refutation.
+
+"Against all such crimes, as well as against incompetency and corruption
+in office, the power of an intelligent public sentiment and of the courts
+of justice should be invoked and united; and appealing for patience and
+forbearance in the North, while time and these powers are doing their
+work, let us also appeal to the good sense of Southern men, if they
+sincerely desire to accomplish political reforms through a change in the
+negro vote. If their theory is true that he votes solidly now with the
+republican party, and is kept there by his ignorance and by deception, all
+that is necessary to keep him there is to keep up by their countenance,
+the Ku Klux Organization. Having the rights of a citizen and a voter,
+neither of those rights can be abrogated by whipping him. If his political
+opinions are erroneous, he will not take kindly to the opposite creed when
+its apostles come to inflict the scourge upon himself, and outrage upon
+his wife and children. If he is ignorant, he will not be educated by
+burning his school houses and exiling his teachers. If he is wicked, he
+will not be made better by banishing to Liberia his religious teachers. If
+the resuscitation of the State is desired by his labor, neither will be
+secured by a persecution which depopulates townships, and prevents the
+introduction of new labor and of capital."
+
+That these pages may be received in the same spirit of charity and kindly
+feeling in which they have been penned, is the sincere and earnest wish of
+
+THE COMPILER.
+
+
+
+
+THE NATION'S PERIL.
+
+
+The transition of the social status of the colored classes in the South,
+from a condition of abject servitude to one of the most enlarged freedom,
+crowned with that dearest of all rights to the heart of the freeman, the
+elective franchise, although gradual, and attended with difficulties that
+have seemed at times almost insurmountable, goes steadily forward, under
+the hand of a beneficent and all seeing God, who watcheth alike over the
+just and the unjust, enjoining upon them, in return for his goodness, a
+strict observance of his commands towards one another.
+
+Human progress in this country, during the past ten years, has taken giant
+strides, although met by obstacles of a character so formidable as to
+impose a most extraordinary task upon those engaged in the great work of
+social reform and the establishment of the rights of all to civil,
+religious and political liberty, as guaranteed by the Constitution. The
+spirit of the age is reformatory. Religion, politics, art and the sciences
+have ever been the subjects of reformation and progression, and by these
+have been lifted from comparative darkness in the past to the broad fields
+of light in the more intelligent present. In the grand plan of an all-wise
+Creator, nothing has been allowed to permanently obstruct the onward march
+of the races and nations of the earth; and for the accomplishment of this
+glorious purpose, no sacrifice, it appears, has been deemed too great that
+would aid in its fulfillment. The travail and labor of nations, the
+desolation and destruction of whole communities, and in some instances the
+entire annihilation of races of men, have been the penalties demanded and
+paid for their long persistence in the ways of sin and wickedness.
+
+The American Republic has been no exception to the imperative rule. It
+bore within its folds the crime and curse of slavery, a foul and corroding
+ulcer that could only be burned out and destroyed by the terrible
+visitations of fire and the sword, and in the eradication of which all the
+wisdom of the nation's greatest counselors, all the terrible enginery of
+modern warfare, and the skill and persistence of the chosen leaders of the
+people were to be brought into requisition. A fierce and sanguinary
+contest of four years' duration ended, under the hand of God, in the grand
+triumph of the right; but the war of the rebellion left the South in a
+state of social disintegration, in which the leading spirits who had
+fomented the internecine contest assumed to control the masses, and
+perpetuate under another form, and accomplish by other means, that which
+had been lost to them in the surrender and disorganization of their
+armies.
+
+The condition of the South, during the past twelve years, is vividly
+illustrated in a series of letters written by Mr. Justin Knight, a
+gentleman of undoubted integrity, a resident of the South during the
+period referred to, and which are here given in a narrative form for the
+better convenience of the reader. Speaking of himself and the peculiar
+circumstances that brought him to the Southern States, Mr. Knight says:
+
+"Born in close proximity to the metropolis of New England, where I
+received the advantages of a collegiate education, and the religious
+instruction of parents who, without bigotry, were opposed to every
+species of wrong, I early conceived a desire to enter upon the ministry,
+which I did in 1857, almost immediately after the close of my collegiate
+life.
+
+My constitution, at no time robust, was entirely inadequate to the labors
+imposed upon me by the duties of this new position. My health continued
+gradually to give way until the winter of 1859, when my physician decided
+that a change of climate was essentially necessary to my well-being, and
+under his advice I proceeded to Charleston, S. C., and took up my
+residence with a married sister, then living there in affluent
+circumstances.
+
+At this peculiar epoch in the history of the country the political
+atmosphere of the South was literally pestilential. Under the manipulation
+of skillful, but unscrupulous leaders, whole communities had become imbued
+with a spirit hostile to the governing powers. They were led to believe
+that the time for argument had past, and that nothing was now left them,
+but to make a demand for what they were pleased to consider their inherent
+rights;--that of keeping their fellow men in bondage--and if this were
+refused, to declare themselves for war. The portentious clouds of the
+impending crisis continued gathering thick and fast, and it required no
+prophet's eye to discern, or voice to foretell that they must soon burst
+upon the country in a deluge that could only be stayed by an enormous
+waste of blood and treasure.
+
+A sojourn of nearly eighteen months among the southern people, and the
+facilities afforded me from the position occupied by my sister's family,
+gave me an unusual opportunity to observe the passing pageant of events.
+The masses had been gradually worked over to the interests of the more
+intelligent leaders, until reason and argument ceased further to influence
+them. They seemed wholly given up to the one idea of slavery, or war, and
+they had been led to believe that the first demonstration of organized
+resistance to the regularly constituted powers, would bring the North at
+their feet in abject supplication for peace. I was anxious to know how the
+defiant and belligerent attitude that was being assumed would be received
+in the land of my birth, and as my health had sufficiently improved to
+warrant my again returning there, I did so at the earliest opportunity,
+only to realize that the people of the North were buckling on their armor,
+with the deep seated purpose of going forth to battle for the right.
+
+There was a significance in all "this busy note of preparation," that I
+could fully understand and appreciate. I had seen enough to convince me
+that nothing but the severest chastisement, administered by the hands of
+the Lord through the instrumentality of his chosen people, could bring our
+misguided brethren of the South to a just and proper sense of their duty
+to God and their fellow-men. They had long "eaten of the bread of
+wickedness; and drank the wine of violence," and they had utterly
+forgotten that "righteousness exalteth a nation; but sin is a reproach to
+any people."
+
+An opportunity was speedily afforded me to accompany a regiment to the
+field as chaplain, and I soon found myself marching southward with a body
+of noble men who had been foremost in responding to the call of President
+Lincoln, to defend the Union and preserve the integrity of the nation. The
+incidents of the four years of bloody strife that ensued, need not be
+alluded to here. They were passed by me, in the midst of danger, offering
+consolation to the dying, caring tenderly for the dead, when circumstances
+permitted, and coming out of all, through the hand of God, unscathed.
+
+The results aimed at upon the part of the ruling powers, seemed to have
+been accomplished. The Proclamation of Emancipation had gone forth from
+the executive head of the nation, and solid rows of glittering steel had
+followed it up, and compelled its enforcement. The foulest blot upon the
+pages of our history as a Republic had been erased, and its down-trodden
+children liberated from a thraldom more humiliating in design, and wicked
+in purpose, than that which yoked the children of Israel under the hands
+of the Egyptian task masters. In them the promise of the Great Jehovah had
+been verified: "Wherefore:--say unto the Children of Israel, I am the
+Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burden of the Egyptians."
+The right had been vindicated; the shock of contending armies was over,
+and the nation waited patiently to see in what condition the contest had
+left the conquered.
+
+It is my purpose, in these pages, to give the exact facts, "nothing
+extenuate, nor set down aught in malice." I shall endeavor neither to
+exaggerate the history, or conceal the truth. I am aware that the
+revelations which follow are so terrible in their nature as to almost pass
+the bounds of belief; that the agonizing scenes herein depicted, and which
+have been the results of the same demoniac spirit which actuated and
+prolonged the war, had they been told as occurring among the semi-barbaric
+nations in the uttermost parts of the earth, might be the more readily
+received by my countrymen as truthful relations; but which, transpiring at
+our own doors, within the sound and under the shadow of the Gospel, appear
+like the mythical creations of a distorted imagination rather than actual
+revelations from real life.
+
+In the interest of all progress, and for the sake of God and humanity, I
+would it were so; but the contrary is the fact. Hundreds of living
+witnesses stand ready to verify the statements under oath. Scores of the
+unoffending skeletons of gibbeted negroes and whites attest the solemn
+truth. The exact localities, the names and residences of the victims, the
+hour and day, the month and year of their murderous whipping and
+ignominious death, are given with a fidelity that challenges
+contradiction, and forms an array of evidence at once incontrovertable and
+overwhelming.
+
+The ever changing current of events again called me to the South. My
+sister's family had been almost destroyed by the death of her husband, who
+had cast his fortunes with the cause of the rebellion and had paid the
+penalty with his life, and it was necessary I should aid her in adjusting
+the affairs of the estate which had been left in a very unsettled
+condition, and required much time to properly arrange. I was glad of the
+opportunity thus afforded me to observe the effects of the struggle that
+had just closed; and prepared my mind to take a calm and dispassionate
+view of the situation, as became a seeker for the truth who was desirous
+of arriving at the hidden springs underlying the social crust, with a view
+to the remedy of the impending evil, if such could be found. I believed in
+the integrity of the great mass of the people, and could see that they had
+been deceived and led on to destruction by the ingenious plans of men,
+skilled in human diplomacy, and having a profound knowledge of the
+character of the people whom they designed to move for their own wicked
+purposes.
+
+The spirits of these leaders chafed under the bitter disappointment of
+defeat. It was apparent they would continue to foster seditions, organize
+conspiracies against the powers that be, and use every effort to fan into
+life the dying embers of the "lost cause." These men controlled certain
+portions of the local press, and either threw obstacles in the way of the
+dissemination of proper and just principles, or used the power in their
+hands to sow the seeds of dissention broadcast throughout the States so
+lately in insurrection.
+
+All the misery that had accrued from the war, the families that had been
+sundered; the blood of loved ones that had watered the various
+battle-fields of the South, and the bones of beloved kindred that lay
+whitening there; the numerous sacrifices of wealth, family, and social
+position that had been made, the property lost and destroyed; the general
+stagnation and prostration of business, and the feeling of dread and
+insecurity that followed, were all attributed to the rule of the
+republican North.
+
+There were mutterings of revenge and breathings of threats and slaughter
+against the race that had just been raised up out of bondage. Slavery, the
+former bane and curse of this country, was already dead. Its putrid
+carcass was no longer of the material things of earth, but its ghostly
+spirit still stalked abroad among its mourners to keep alive the memory of
+its wicked example in the minds of those who, born and reared in the folds
+of its garments, and nurtured at its breast, could not cast aside their
+early prejudices and banish from their hearts, its former evil influences.
+They no longer remembered that "the way of the Lord is strength to the
+upright," and that "destruction shall be to the workers of iniquity."
+Thousands of misguided and misdirected men cherished in their bosoms a
+spirit of animosity toward those who had aided with their blood and money
+in the liberation of the slave; and it was this very spirit of hatred
+which had in a manner demoralized the South and created a feeling of
+uncertainty and insecurity among men of capital, that proved a serious
+barrier to their investing in our railroads and factories, and the
+improvement of our lands; and, as a natural sequence, retarded our social
+and financial progress.
+
+Society at this time was divided into several classes. Many who were
+disposed to accept and abide by the new order of things, dared not express
+their real sentiments from fear of social and political ostracism. Men of
+intelligence and education, but who had allowed the thirst for power and
+political preferment to absorb and swallow up the promptings of their
+better nature, had begun the process of gaining over to their interests
+the very worst elements in the social circle beneath them, with a view to
+carrying out their unholy designs. This class in turn, and under the
+management of the more intelligent, intimidated still another class and
+compelled them to join in a crusade that had for its objects the most
+infamous ends ever attempted to be gained by men. A complete connection
+had thus been formed, reaching from the unscrupulous leaders, to the
+masses, and embracing in its chain every class of society needed for the
+success of the general plan.
+
+The standard bearers of the devil himself, coming direct from the lowest
+depths of the infernal regions, with seething vials of wrath and an
+earnest intention to do the bidding of their master, could scarcely have
+set on foot a conspiracy more damnable than this. Men, women and children
+were to be included in the portending storm, religion and human decency
+were to be outraged, the law of the land and its administrators defied,
+and justice scoffed at in the pillory. The ordinary safe-guards to the
+social well being of the community were to be swept away whenever they
+became inimical to the designs and objects of the unholy alliance thus
+formed. Men were to be banded together and bound by oaths that ignored all
+others and made these supreme. Where the life or liberty of one of the
+brotherhood was in jeopardy, he was to be saved at all hazards. Perjury
+and subornation of perjury were to over-ride courts of justice and render
+abortive, any attempt to bring these lawless bands to punishment through
+their instrumentality. Nothing was to be too sacred for the vandal hands
+of these marauders who, under the guidance of the more intelligent
+leaders, were to go abroad like a consuming flame, until the land, that
+God had made pre-eminently beautiful for the abode of peace and
+contentment, had been smitten with a scourge of fire and blood, and their
+own wicked purposes had been accomplished. It seemed as if the voice of
+the Lord had again spoken through the prophet Ezekiel, "say to the forest
+of the South, hear the word of the Lord. Thus saith the Lord God: Behold I
+will kindle a fire in thee, and it shall devour every green tree in thee,
+and every dry tree; the flame shall not be quenched, and all faces from
+the South to the North shall be burned therein."
+
+It was to be a dual struggle. The colored races were to be subjugated or
+destroyed; and the humane efforts of the Government and the Administration
+to restore peace and harmony, and commercial prosperity, and to give to
+the citizens, of every creed and color, free and equal rights was
+everywhere to be opposed, that the experiment of reconstruction might
+become a hissing and a by-word, and go forth to the world an ignominious
+failure.
+
+The masses were kept in utter ignorance of these designs. They were in a
+state bordering upon absolute frenzy at the losses they had incurred from
+the fratricidal war that had left them bankrupt as individuals and
+communities, and with the peculiar anxiety that seems to pervade the
+hearts of all men, to endeavor to find some reasonable excuse for sins
+committed, they accepted the theories that had been so ingeniously
+prepared, and so carefully put before them, and became, like the clay in
+the hands of the potter, ready to be fashioned in any manner of form that
+might be decided upon by their wicked counselors.
+
+There was an oppressive and an ominous calm in the atmosphere of the South
+at this time (1866) that foreboded no good. Men viewed each other with
+distrust. Those who seemed well-disposed at first, and who had been
+casting about themselves and gathering up the fragments, with a view to
+renewing their peaceful pursuits, suddenly abandoned their labors. Rumors
+of outrages upon persons and property, vague at first and without apparent
+authenticity, began to fill the air. Bands of armed and disguised men were
+said to be travelling the highways, burning the dwellings, and robbing and
+murdering inoffensive citizens under the most revolting circumstances. The
+scriptural command to "devise not evil against thy neighbor, seeing he
+dwelleth securely by thee," had seemingly become obsolete among the
+people. It was evident that the mysterious order, the existence of which
+had so long been hinted at, had begun its fearful work, and under the then
+complexion of affairs in the nation at large, none could divine the end.
+
+The death of President Lincoln had left the Executive, in this the hour of
+the nation's great peril, in the hands of one from whom the disorganizing
+elements of the South had much to hope. The hand of justice was for the
+time being paralyzed, and the occasion seemed most opportune for the
+conspirators to perfect their terrible organization, and set in motion the
+secret machinery by which it was hoped to accomplish their base purposes.
+
+It was evident from such facts as could be gathered relative to these
+outrages, that there was a distinction as to the classes of people who
+were the sufferers. The negroes were, of course, the objects upon which
+the wrath of the new order was vented; but there were numerous instances,
+as will be observed in the succeeding pages, where whites were scourged
+and murdered as well. The fact that certain citizens, who had committed no
+offense against the laws, were selected from the various communities, and
+subjected to the grossest indignities, led to inquiry as to the causes
+that had brought these inflictions upon them.
+
+It was ascertained that, in the preponderance of cases, warnings had been
+sent to the victims demanding that they must retract their political
+faith, cease to side with radicals, and abandon their interest in the
+negro, or they must leave the country; failing in this, they were to be
+scourged to death.
+
+Negroes who approached the ballot-box to exercise the newly conferred
+right of suffrage were watched as to how they voted, and warned that they
+must not vote the "radical ticket." If they paid no heed to this warning,
+and were detected in the independent exercise of the right of suffrage,
+they received a visitation; their houses were pillaged, the persons of
+their women violated, their children scattered, and themselves hung, shot
+or whipped to death. The reader, in perusing the chapter of authenticated
+outrages that follows will agree with the writer that there is no
+exaggeration of language here, nor need of any. Nothing is stated that has
+not been put to the severest test of truth; and nowhere are these
+incidents recorded, in which the living witnesses have not been found, and
+the facts obtained from them.
+
+I was long in believing that such deeds, worthy alone of the incarnate
+fiend himself, could be perpetrated in a civilized community. I made all
+possible allowance for the political and social situation. I determined to
+know whereof I affirmed, and resolved that when I obtained this knowledge,
+I would give the information to the country. I was as free from political
+bias as it was possible for a man to be who felt it to be a part of the
+duty he owed to society to exercise the elective franchise. I had never
+mingled in politics, but had uniformly cast my vote with either political
+party which I deemed had the best interests of the nation, and the welfare
+and advancement of the people, at heart, and could not bring my mind to
+believe, at first, that there was a deep political significance
+underlying this movement, and that it had its ramifications from State to
+State, all leading to one great center, with one common head who, in the
+interest of any political party, governed and directed the dreadful
+machine, and that it meant nothing less than the subversion of the popular
+government.
+
+The facts and figures gradually undeceived me. I could see that there was
+a mysterious something at work that had closed men's mouths most
+effectually, and that disaffection, consternation and terror gained ground
+daily. Even, my brethren of the pulpit, with whom I was associated in the
+different places I visited, were affected to such a degree that they no
+longer dared to preach the free sentiments of their hearts.
+
+No one but an actual resident of the South, at this time, can form
+anything like an adequate idea of the reign of terror, that this condition
+of affairs had inaugurated during the succeeding two years and more, of
+President Johnson's administration. Everywhere throughout the South that I
+travelled, the hydra headed monster met me. I tried to believe in all
+charity that the movement sprung from the ignorant and uneducated masses
+who saw, or thought they saw, the origin and cause of all their
+misfortunes in the negro, and the liberal minded whites of the South who
+had countenanced and urged his enfranchisement in the interest of human
+progress; but the facts were everywhere against the theory.
+
+It was evident that a formidable organization, the result of intelligent
+men counseling together, and devising wicked plans for the accomplishment
+of wicked purposes, existed in all the Southern States; that it had its
+ritual, its oaths, its signs, tokens and passwords, its constitution,
+by-laws and governing rules, its edicts, warnings, disguises, secret modes
+of communication, intelligent concert of action, and all framed and
+planned in a manner that showed the authors to be men of education and
+superior minds. In North and South Carolina, in Georgia, Alabama and
+Tennessee, in Florida, Mississippi and Kentucky, Arkansas, Louisiana and
+Texas, it existed in a greater or less degree, and its advent was
+everywhere marked with the most brutal outrages.
+
+The intelligence of these wrongs was not spread from one community to
+another by the newspapers. These, when not in the interest of the order
+itself, were intimidated into silence. When the outrages were so flagrant
+as to compel some show of attention, such as necessitated the action of a
+coroner, juries were selected, the members of which were members of this
+mysterious order, and the verdict usually was that the victim came to his
+death by injuries inflicted by himself or by negroes.
+
+The disaffection spread daily. The seeds of the order, and their fruits
+everywhere manifested, were sown in the courts and grand juries. Under
+such a condition of affairs there was no longer security for life or
+property. The idea of obtaining justice for any of the wrongs perpetrated,
+passed out of the minds of the sufferers entirely. The effect was
+generally demoralizing. Official incompetency and corruption aided rather
+than stemmed the rushing torrent that was bearing this section of the
+Republic to anarchy and financial ruin.
+
+A large class of persons not heretofore alluded to, but who formed a very
+important part of society, looked on without apparent interest. These were
+men of wealth and education, who neither sought to justify the wrongs
+being done, or made any attempt to oppose them, but by their very silence
+gave a tacit consent to the wicked plans of the conspirators. They were a
+class "who rejoice to do evil and delight in the forwardness of the
+wicked."
+
+A system arose exactly in counterpart with that of the old Spanish
+Inquisition. Personal hatred toward a citizen, black or white, was
+sufficient warrant for reporting his name and residence to the members of
+the order as a "radical republican" and a "negro worshiper," and he was
+forthwith warned to leave the place on penalty of being whipped, or
+suffering a worse fate. Hundreds of young men with whom the writer has
+conferred, pointed to men of maturer age, property holders and men of
+influence, and confessed that they had been induced to enter the general
+conspiracy, because they were told these men were at its head and after
+joining it learned that they had not been deceived in this respect, and
+yet they found the order so arranged that they could discover nothing, and
+were allowed to know nothing, of its workings, beyond the circle to which
+they had been admitted, and however revolting the practices of their
+associates were to them, the oath they had taken, and the feeling of
+terror inspired by the initiation and the penalty attached to recanting
+members, compelled them to continue their allegiance, and acquiesce and
+aid in the outrages.
+
+Even the women seemed to have caught the general infection, and sought to
+justify the dreadful events transpiring about them upon the ground that
+this was the only way in which the rights and liberties of the South could
+be preserved.
+
+That men holding high official positions, and moving in the most
+respectable circles, organized these outrages, selected the victims and
+accompanied the rabble in the execution of their designs, is indisputable.
+Inoffensive women seeing their husbands, fathers, and brothers torn from
+their sides and scourged in their presence, became infuriated at the
+indecent spectacle, and in their agonized frenzy, rushed upon the
+assailants and wrenched off the masks behind which they skulked, only to
+behold the faces of men who, up to that hour, they had deemed the ones to
+whom, from their superior intelligence, they should have looked for
+counsel.
+
+Traveling from place to place and directing the general movement, were men
+who had held positions as generals in the armies of the rebellion.
+Disappointed political tricksters aiming to elevate to power a party whom
+they claimed had been in sympathy with the rebel cause North and South;
+and determined to do this though the land of their birth should go to
+ruin. Anarchy and confusion usurp the places of law and order, and the
+blood of the outraged ones reach up to heaven in cries for vengence.
+
+These men overlooked the fact that they were setting in motion a power
+that was destined to pass from their control, and make them as a people of
+whom it was written: "I will even give them unto the hand of their
+enemies, and into the hand of them that seek their life; and their dead
+bodies shall be as meat unto the fowls of the heaven, and to the beasts of
+the earth." They desired to heed no note of warning regarding the future
+so that the ends of the present were accomplished; and under their
+guidance, lust and rapine and murder stalked abroad, and the land seemed
+to be wholly given up to the machinations of the evil one and the
+unbridled license of his chosen servants.
+
+Nowhere upon the dial plate of the nineteenth century did the index finger
+of the hand of God point with such unerring and terrible certainty. It
+seemed as if the Lord had spoken once more as he spake in the days of the
+Prophet Isaiah:
+
+"What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in
+it? Wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it
+forth wild grapes? And now go to. I will tell you what I will do to my
+vineyard. I will take away the hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten up;
+and break down the walls thereof, and it shall be trodden down. And I will
+lay it waste; it shall not be pruned nor digged; but there shall come up
+briers and thorns * * * for the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house
+of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant; and he looked for
+judgment, but behold oppression; for righteousness, but behold a cry."
+
+Good men bowed their heads in anguish. They had lifted their eyes to the
+far North, from whence should come their help, and they had looked in
+vain. The body corporate was too fatally diseased to cure itself
+Rottenness and corruption hung upon its borders, and were slowly sapping
+the foundations of its life. Its energies were prostrated, its internal
+recuperative power destroyed. Help must come from without; and the earnest
+prayers of the devoted and doomed went up to the throne of God in
+heartfelt supplication, that wisdom might dwell in the hearts of the
+counsellors to whom the destinies of the nation had been confided; but it
+seemed as if the heavens were as adamant that could not be pierced, and
+that no answer would be vouchsafed to the sincere appeal."
+
+Such was the situation at the close of President Johnson's term of office,
+and the elevation of General Grant to the presidential chair. It remained
+to be seen whether the incoming administration would turn the deaf ear to
+the suffering and disorganized South as its predecessor had done, or
+whether, under the guidance of its new Executive head, order should be
+brought out of chaos, the crooked paths made straight, and the prophecy
+fulfilled: "Behold, I will redeem them with an outstretched arm."
+
+The recitals that follow give answer to this query more conclusively than
+the most elaborate of arguments. They show, from statistics gathered under
+the most favorable circumstances by the writer in person, the existence of
+a numerous and formidable organization of armed men, working in secret,
+disguising themselves beyond all hope of recognition, committing
+depredations upon persons and property, frequently resulting in the total
+destruction of both, and instituting the most bitter and inhuman
+persecutions, for opinion's sake, that ever disgraced the history of a
+nation.
+
+The facts are beyond all hope of successful denial. They are born out by
+the records of the local and federal courts, by the testimony of the
+surviving sufferers and by the voluntary confession of recanting members
+of the organization.
+
+A full expose of the order, its origin and secrets, its designs and
+purposes, its operations and results, are related with an unswerving
+fidelity to the truth, and with all charity to the people with whom it had
+its rise, and among whom, by the grace of God, and under the firm but
+humane course pursued by the present administration in the enforcement of
+the law, and the establishment of the right, it must have its fall. The
+information came to the knowledge of the writer through those who had been
+active members of the order, and who had abandoned it the moment the
+strong arm of the Government had been felt in the vigorous enforcement of
+the laws, through its secret agents, thus rendering it safe for them to do
+so.
+
+The revelations that follow, speak in tones that must reverberate
+throughout the length and breadth of the continent, and are submitted as
+terrible evidences of the fearful condition to which communities may be
+reduced, when, ignoring the cardinal principles of right and justice, they
+abandon themselves to the control of unscrupulous men, whose overweening
+ambition destroy every other sentiment, and who esteem no measures too
+vile or inhuman that will lead to the accomplishment of their own base
+ends.
+
+
+
+
+ORDERS OF THE KU KLUX KLANS.
+
+THE CONSTITUTIONAL UNION GUARDS.--KNIGHTS OF THE WHITE CAMELIA.--ORDER OF
+INVISIBLE EMPIRE.--THE WHITE BROTHERHOOD.--UNION AND YOUNG MEN'S
+DEMOCRACY.
+
+
+ORIGIN, ORGANIZATION, INITIATION, OATHS, OBJECTS AND OPERATIONS.
+
+  _He discovereth deep things out of darkness;
+  And bringeth out to light the shadow of death._
+                                      JOB. XII., 22.
+
+In the early part of 1866, or nearly a year after the close of the war of
+the rebellion, there was organized in the Southern States, a secret order,
+known as the "Constitutional Union Guards," having a constitution,
+by-laws, oaths of allegiance, modes of recognition and approach, and a
+ritual, all of which were legendary and unwritten. Its places of meetings
+were styled Camps. Its officers were: a "Commander," "South Commander,"
+"Grand Commander," "Chief of Dominion," and "Grand Cyclops," or supreme
+head of the order.
+
+The Commander is the chief officer of a local Camp. He issues the call
+for, and presides over, all its meetings. Initiates members; administers
+the oath; invests them with the signs, grips, and passwords necessary in
+making themselves known as members of the Order; and imparts to them the
+signal code of sounds by which they are governed in their excursions, and
+at times when, for obvious reasons, it is not expedient to utter words of
+command.
+
+The South Commander is, to all appearances, a lay member of the Camp. His
+power, however, when he chooses to exercise it, is superior to that of the
+Commander. He is an officer without apparent function, and yet it is a
+portion of the oath attached to the second, or supreme degree, that he
+shall be obeyed in preference to any other known or constituted authority.
+He can prorogue the Camp, or dissolve it altogether, whenever he deems
+fit, and is amenable to no one inside of the Camp of which he is a member.
+
+The office of this functionary is not an elective one. Whenever a Camp is
+formed, the authority under which it works assigns to it a South
+Commander, and he is the only person through whom communications can be
+received from, or made to, that authority. All the doings of the Camp, the
+number and names of its members, the warnings issued, the persons visited,
+and all other proceedings, are carefully noted by the South Commander, and
+reported by him to the Grand Commander of the District in which the Camp
+is located, and he is the only member of the Camp who has knowledge of
+that officer. The South Commander is not permitted to know any Grand
+Commander save the one to whom he reports, nor does he know to whom his
+superior is amenable.
+
+The Grand Commander has charge of a District comprising a certain number
+of Camps (usually seven), from the South Commanders of which he receives
+reports as above stated. It is his duty to condense these reports into
+cypher, which he transmits to the officer above him, known as the Chief of
+Dominion, and from whom he receives the general instructions and orders to
+be transmitted to the various Camps of his District through the South
+Commander. He in turn is not permitted to know any Chief of Dominion save
+the one to whom he reports; and, like his inferiors, is in utter ignorance
+as to whom his superior is amenable.
+
+The Chief of Dominion has charge of all the operations of the Order in
+some State assigned to his care. He receives reports from the Grand
+Commanders thereof; and transmits the same to the "Grand Cyclops," or
+supreme head of the Order, and President ex-officio of the "Supreme Grand
+Council." This Supreme Grand Council is composed of the Chiefs of
+Dominions, and from them emanate the instructions which, being decided
+upon in the conclave of the Council, are promulgated to the rank and file
+through the Grand Commanders, South Commanders, and Commanders of Camps.
+
+By this peculiar system of organization the moving spirits of the Order
+are conversant with all that transpires below them, while their own
+identity is carefully concealed from the masses whom they design to move
+for their own vile purposes. The objects of the Order are somewhat
+covertly set forth in the oaths administered to the members, but previous
+to this time the grand designs intended to be accomplished were known only
+to the members of the Supreme Grand Council. The initiation is comprised
+in two degrees, the first or probationary degree being intended to test
+the members, and the second or supreme degree for those of the first who
+have been found worthy of advancement. The signs, grips, &c., are the same
+in both degrees, with the exception of one test word, and a supplementary
+ritual hereafter to be explained.
+
+
+ORDER OF INITIATION.
+
+FIRST, OR PROBATIONARY DEGREE.
+
+The first or probationary degree of the Order is intended for the masses.
+The candidate for initiation is selected, so far as possible, with
+reference to his political proclivities, if he has any. He must be known
+to the member proposing him to be opposed to the Radical party; to be or
+to have been in sympathy with the cause of the rebellion; to be opposed to
+the elevation of the negro to a social and political equality with the
+whites; and to have a hatred of negro worshipers, carpet-baggers, and
+scallawags, as those terms are interpreted in the Order.
+
+These points being satisfactorily settled, he is notified to proceed to a
+secluded place on a designated night. There he is met by three Conductors,
+who blindfold and lead him to the vicinity of the Camp, which, in order
+the more effectually to guard against surprise, rarely assembles twice in
+the same place. On the way he and his Conductors are encountered by a
+guard or sentinel, who challenges the party with:
+
+     "Who comes here?"
+
+     His Conductors reply: "A friend."
+
+     The guard asks: "A friend to what?"
+
+     He is answered: "My country."
+
+The candidate is then allowed to pass into the Camp, and is conducted to
+the center of the assembled members, when the following oath is
+administered to him by the Commander:
+
+     INITIATORY OATH.
+
+     "You solemnly swear, in the presence of Almighty God and these
+     witnesses, that you will never reveal the secrets that are about to
+     be imparted to you, and that you will be true to the principles of
+     this brotherhood and its members; that you are not now a member of
+     the Grand Army of the Republic, the Red String Order, the Union
+     League, Heroes of America, or any other organization whose aim and
+     intention is to destroy the rights of the South, or to elevate the
+     negro to a political equality with yourself; and that you will never
+     assist at the initiation into this Order of any member of the Grand
+     Army of the Republic, the Red String Order, the Union League, Heroes
+     of America, or any one holding Radical views or opinions. You
+     furthermore swear that you will oppose all Radicals and negroes in
+     all of their political designs, and that, should any Radical or negro
+     impose on or abuse or injure any member of this brotherhood, you will
+     assist in punishing him in any manner the Camp may direct; and you
+     furthermore swear that you will never reveal any of the orders, acts,
+     or edicts of this brotherhood, and that you will obey all calls and
+     summonses from the Chief of your Camp or brotherhood, should it be in
+     your power to do so; and that, should any member of the brotherhood
+     or his family be in jeopardy, you will inform them of their danger,
+     and go to their assistance. You further swear that you will never
+     give the word of distress unless you are in great need of assistance;
+     and should you hear it given by any brother, you will go to his or
+     their assistance; and should any member of this brotherhood reveal
+     any of its secrets, acts, orders, or edicts, you will assist in
+     punishing him in any way the Camp may direct or approve, so help you
+     God."
+
+During the administration of this oath, the members surround the initiate,
+dressed in long, white gowns, high, conical shaped, white hats, and their
+faces shrouded in white masks. At the conclusion of the oath, the
+candidate is made to kiss the book. The bandage is then removed from his
+eyes. The Commander approaches, and proceeds to instruct him in the
+
+
+SIGNS, GRIPS, AND PASSWORD.
+
+Signs of recognition and approach:
+
+_First._--Strike the fingers of the right hand briskly upon the hair over
+the right ear, bringing the hand forward and partially around the ear, as
+if describing a half moon.
+
+_Answer._--Same sign made with left hand over left ear.
+
+_Second._--Thrust the right hand into the pant's pocket, with the
+exception of the thumb, at the same time bringing the right heel into the
+hollow of the left foot.
+
+_Answer._--Same sign with the left hand, bringing the left heel into the
+hollow of the right foot.
+
+As a farther precaution search is made by the hailing party as if for a
+pin in the right lappel of the coat.
+
+_Answer._--A similar search in the left lappel of the coat.
+
+The GRIP is given by placing the forefinger on the pulse of the person you
+shake hands with.
+
+_Countersign._--If halted by a camp or picket on the public highway at
+night, the following colloquy ensues:
+
+"Who comes there?"
+
+"A friend!"
+
+"A friend of what?"
+
+"My country!"
+
+"What country?"
+
+"I, S, A, Y." (Repeating each letter slowly.)
+
+"N, O, T, H, I, N, G." (Repeating each letter slowly.)
+
+"The word?"
+
+"Retribution!"
+
+These countersigns are issued every three months. The one here given was
+in vogue at the time of the discovery of the order.
+
+A member of any order of the Ku Klux Klan of the first or probationary
+degree, in distress, and requiring speedy aid, will use a word signal, or
+cry of distress: "SHILOH!"
+
+In expeditions conducted under direction of the Commander, or any of the
+brethren detailed by him to act as head, a code of signals by sounds, made
+with whistles, is used, in order that the members may not be recognized by
+their voices.
+
+
+DIVISIONS OF THE ORDER.
+
+There are several divisions of the order of the KU KLUX KLANS, all working
+under the same ritual and oaths, and having the same signs, grips,
+passwords, modes of approach, and general conduct of raids and midnight
+excursions. These are known under the names of "Knights of the White
+Camelia," "The Invisible Empire," "The White Brotherhood," "The Unknown
+Multitude," "The Union and Young Men's Democracy." All work in disguise,
+with the exception of the latter, who work openly as well as in disguise,
+and are all under the instructions of the "Grand Cyclops" and the Supreme
+Grand Council. They all have one and the same object, which is as plainly
+set forth in the oath as it well can be in an obligation of that
+character.
+
+The difference in names and styles has been adopted for a two-fold
+purpose. First, to conceal the origin, object, and design of the order,
+and its founders and directors; secondly, to conceal its extent and
+numbers, and make it appear a mere local affair that has cropped out in
+different places without reference to any organized combination with one
+grand center.
+
+The workings of the Klans over all the Southern country show more
+conclusively than any amount of subterfuge on the part of the leaders,
+that one common tie binds them all; that one common interest actuates
+them; that one common end is to be accomplished. The oath differs slightly
+in phraseology in different localities, to accommodate the varied
+circumstances under which it is administered, and with a view to greater
+concealment--the words "Unknown Multitude," "Invisible Empire," and "White
+Brotherhood" being substituted in North and South Carolina; the words
+"Union and Young Men's Democracy," in Georgia and Mississippi; and the
+words "Knights of the White Camelia," in Louisiana and Texas and other
+States.
+
+
+THE SECOND OR SUPREME DEGREE.
+
+This degree differs from the first or probationary degree in the fact that
+those upon whom it is conferred are of the better class of the masses, and
+take upon themselves a more binding oath, administered under circumstances
+intended to be more impressive in character. The candidate for this degree
+is brought blind-folded into the center of the Camp, and caused to kneel
+at an altar erected for the occasion, his right hand placed upon a Bible,
+and his left upon a human skull. The Commander then says:
+
+"Brethren, _must_ it be done?"
+
+The members respond, "_It must!_" and this in a tone intended to strike
+terror to the heart of the novitiate.
+
+The candidate, of course, has no knowledge of what is meant by the ominous
+"_Must it be done?_" and there is a mournful groaning in the response "_It
+must!_" indicating that a terrible experience awaits him, which the
+Brotherhood would gladly spare him if they could.
+
+A death-like silence ensues for a few moments, which seem ages to the
+candidate, and affords ample opportunity for his imagination to picture
+the unheard-of horrors through which he may possibly be called to pass.
+The silence is finally broken by the Commander, who says:
+
+"BRETHREN, this brother _now_ kneels at the altar of our faith, and asks
+to be bound to our fortunes by the more solemn and mysterious provisions
+of our Order. Fortunately for him in this hour of peril, he has been found
+worthy, and in commemoration of his being made one of the great 'Unknown
+Multitude,' I again ask, '_Must it be done?_'"
+
+The brethren, in solemn tones, again respond, "_It must!_"
+
+The Commander then says, in a stentorian tone of voice, "_Let the blood of
+the traitor be spilled: bring the victim forth._"
+
+The members here make a rustling noise, to resemble a struggle, a heavy
+blow is struck upon some appropriate substance, and a few drops of blood
+are trickled over the hand of the initiate that rests upon the skull. The
+brethren then surround him with knives and pistols presented in a circle
+about his head and neck, when the Commander then says:
+
+"Must I swear him by the oath that shall forever bind, and never be
+broken?"
+
+The brethren, placing their hands upon their left breasts, respond
+sepulchrally as before, "_Swear him!_"
+
+The Commander now addresses the candidate as follows:
+
+"_My Brother_, kneeling at the solemn altar of our faith, as one who
+desires that no government but the white man's shall live in this country;
+and as one who will fight to the death all schisms, and factions, and
+parties, coming from whatsoever source they may, which have for their
+design the elevation of the negro to an equality with the white man, I am
+now about to administer to you the oath of this, the supreme degree, of
+our Order--that oath which shall forever bind, and never be broken; at the
+same time informing you that this oath, being taken in a cause which has
+for its object the deliverance of your country and the land of your birth
+from the rule of the negro-worshiper and the fanatic, is paramount to
+every other oath which you have taken, or may hereafter take, outside of
+this Order. You will now repeat after me, pronouncing your name in full,
+and your words aloud, on pain of instant death:
+
+     _Oath of the Second or Supreme Degree._
+
+     "I, A. B., in the presence of Almighty God, and these my friends here
+     assembled, kneeling at this altar, with my right hand upon the holy
+     Bible, and my left washed in the blood of a traitor, and resting upon
+     the skull of his brother in iniquity, and being fully impressed with
+     the sacredness of this act, do solemnly swear that I will uphold and
+     defend the Constitution of the United States, as it was handed down
+     by our forefathers, in its original purity; that I will reject and
+     oppose the principles of the Radical party in all its forms, and
+     forever maintain and contend that intelligent white men shall govern
+     this country. And I furthermore swear that I will bear true faith and
+     allegiance to the Order of the Constitutional Union Guards, and will
+     never make known, by sign, word, or deed, any of its secrets now
+     about to be, or that may hereafter be confided to me; that I will
+     obey all its precepts, mandates, orders, instructions, and directions
+     issued through the Commander, and aid and assist the brethren in
+     carrying out and enforcing the same; and that I will keep secret,
+     even unto death, the plans and movements of this society. I
+     furthermore swear to obey the South Commander in the Camp, in
+     preference to any known law, precept, or authority whatever, and to
+     defend the brethren, if need be, with the sacrifice of my life. I
+     swear that the enemies of the white man's race, and the white man's
+     government, and the friends of negro equality shall be my enemies,
+     and that I will uphold and defend the white man's government against
+     all comers, whether in the name of Radicals, Negro-worshipers,
+     Carpet-baggers, Scallawags, or spies in the land. I swear to forever
+     oppose the social and political elevation of the negro to an equality
+     with the whites, and that I will come at every hour of the moon to
+     execute the trust confided to me by the Commander and the brethren. I
+     furthermore swear that, in case of our being interrupted in the
+     establishment of the principles for which we are contending, that I
+     will regard no oath that will convict one of the members of this
+     Order, but under all circumstances will stand by the Order in blood
+     and death. I furthermore swear that I will not give the signal cry of
+     distress, only when in real distress, and that I will yield my life,
+     if necessary, in aid of a brother giving the double cry of this
+     degree. Lastly, I swear by this Bible, and this skull, and this
+     blood, that should I ever prove unfaithful in any particular to the
+     obligation I have now assumed, I hope to meet with the fearful and
+     just penalty of the traitor, which is _death_, DEATH, DEATH, at the
+     hands of the brethren. So help me God."
+
+The candidate having kissed the book, the bandage is removed from his
+eyes. He sees before him a human skull upon one side of the Bible, and a
+small chalice or cup filled with blood upon the other. The brethren are
+all disguised in long black gowns, covering them completely from neck to
+heels. Black masks and black conical shaped hats of enormous height,
+decorated with representations of death's head and cross bones, complete
+the costume.
+
+Some of the members bear pine torches, which throw a wierd and unearthly
+glare upon the unholy scene, and render it a fit counterpart to the abode
+of the demons who seem to have instigated the proceedings. When the
+bandage is removed, these torches are swung violently to and fro, and the
+brethren simultaneously utter a loud cry.
+
+The candidate is now informed that the signs, grips, and passwords of the
+preceding degree are used in this, with the exception that the signal cry
+of distress in this is composed of two words: "SHILOH, AVALANCHE."
+
+
+
+
+OPERATIONS OF THE KU KLUX KLAN.
+
+AN AUTHENTICATED ACCOUNT OF OUTRAGES COMMITTED IN THE SOUTH.--THE
+PERPETRATORS AND THEIR VICTIMS.
+
+
+THE MURDER OF EDWARD THOMPSON.
+
+From the close of the war, up to the fall of 1870, there resided in
+Lowndes county, Georgia, an exceedingly intelligent colored man, named
+Edward Thompson. He was noted for his piety, and the peculiar influence he
+exerted over the members of his race who resided in Lowndes county, and
+Hamilton county, Florida; and being thoroughly imbued with Republican
+principles, lost no opportunity in disseminating them among those of his
+race with whom he associated. Through his exertion, and by the force of
+his example, the negroes voted the ticket of the Republican party at every
+election, always seeking his advice before going to the polls to deposit
+their ballots.
+
+Thompson's case was brought before the Camp of Hamilton county,
+Florida--at that time, presided over by one Elihu Horn, Commander of the
+Camp--as one requiring energetic action upon the part of the Order. A
+warning was issued to Thompson, the import of which could hardly be
+mistaken. The following is a verbatim copy of the same taken from the
+original.
+
+     "K. K. K.
+
+     "_His Supreme Highness of Hamilton to Edward Thompson._
+
+     "His Supreme and Mighty Highness has heard of your seditious
+     practices in leading others astray, and encouraging them in
+     opposition to the white man's government. Time is given you to repent
+     and submit as your fathers have done. Now this is to warn you, and
+     all such as you, on pain of punishment and death, to abandon your
+     vicious harangues, and abide by our orders. The moon is yet bright;
+     it may turn to blood.
+
+        "By order,
+          "K. K. K."
+
+Thompson paid no heed to this warning, but continued to pursue the even
+tenor of his way. He had resided so long in the place, and been so
+favorably known there, both among the whites and blacks, that he scouted
+the idea that this meant anything more than a threat intended to
+intimidate him, and he continued exerting his influence in the Republican
+cause with his brethren, as had been his custom. Several warnings were
+subsequently sent to him with no better effect, and it was finally decided
+in the solemn conclave of the Camp, that he should receive the long
+threatened "visitation."
+
+On the 19th of September, 1870, Thompson retired to his bed between nine
+and ten o'clock, as was his usual custom. His family consisted of his wife
+and two children, all of whom occupied the same sleeping apartment.
+Between eleven and twelve o'clock they were aroused from their slumbers by
+the door being broken in with a tremendous crash, and before Thompson had
+time to collect himself, he was rudely seized and dragged from his bed by
+a number of men, armed and disguised, two of whom fired their revolvers
+into the roof of the cabin, as a menace, and assured Thompson they would
+turn the weapons upon him, if he offered the slightest resistance. His
+wife and children were also dragged from their beds, being at the same
+time severely struck by some members of the band, and told to remain
+quiet.
+
+"In the name of the Lord, what is this?" asked Thompson, as soon as he
+could command his voice.
+
+The response was a blow upon the head from the butt of a pistol, delivered
+with a brutality that convinced him that he was in the hands of those to
+whose hearts mercy was a stranger. He was then told to ask no questions,
+and make no noise, but to dress himself and go with the band.
+
+His wife was subjected to the most revolting indecencies. The last garment
+that covered her nakedness was wrenched from her person and torn into
+shreds, leaving her utterly exposed to the malicious and lecherous eyes of
+the intruders. She was then told "to get her rags on," and go with the
+party. The children terrified at seeing their parents thus brutally
+assailed, uttered the most piercing screams, but were ordered to remain
+behind and not leave the house, or they would be killed. The band started
+out with their captives in the direction of the house of John and Samuel
+Hogan, two white men who were known to be Republicans, and had thus
+rendered themselves obnoxious to the Camp. They compelled the Hogans to
+accompany them, and started for the woods, nearly a mile from Thompson's
+house.
+
+One Micajah Amerson, a colored man living near the scene of this outrage,
+hearing the report of the fire arms, arose, and dressed himself, and
+taking a shot gun, started for his son's house on the Joseph Howell
+plantation. Amerson was just in time to meet the band having Thompson and
+his wife and the two Hogans in custody, and was at once seized and
+compelled to go with the party. Amerson seems to be the only one of the
+captives able or willing to give an intelligent account of what
+subsequently transpired, which he did to the writer as follows:
+
+"I saw the company in the road, and knew they were the Ku Klux from their
+disguises. I saw it was no use to try and get away from them, and one of
+them told me to go along, at the same time striking me with a club. Edward
+Thompson and his wife (colored), and John and Samuel Hogan, two white men,
+were with them. Thompson said nothing but his wife moaned all the way on
+the road to the woods. We went about a quarter of a mile into the woods,
+and were then ordered to halt. When the halt was made, one of the band
+gave a peculiar whistle, which was answered almost directly by a similar
+sound. This proved to be the signal for the appearance of a party who was
+addressed as the Captain, and who at once took charge of the proceedings.
+
+"I and the two white men were ordered to sit down, a pistol being placed
+at our heads to enforce obedience. The colored man (Thompson) was then
+told to strip himself naked. This he commenced very reluctantly to do,
+begging for mercy, and asking what he was going to be whipped for. The
+members of the band seemed to be enraged at this, and taking out their
+knives, commenced cutting his clothes off, wounding him in several places.
+The Captain then struck him a powerful blow with a gun, shattering the
+stock and knocking Thompson senseless.
+
+"No one paid any attention to him as he lay upon the ground,--the Captain
+and two or three of the band holding a consultation. The Captain then
+asked for the "executioners." Two men came forward and said: "Where are
+the warrants?" At this another of the party produced two long leather
+straps, and handing them to the two men, said: "Here they are."
+
+"These two then commenced to beat Thompson and his wife in a dreadful
+manner. The punishment on the wife was brief though cruel. That upon
+Thompson was continued until the "executioner" was thoroughly exhausted.
+He then handed the strap to another member of the band, who renewed the
+assault with great fury. Thompson, at first, made no exclamations, but on
+being struck in the more delicate parts of his body, screeched fearfully.
+He was brought to his feet several times while the punishment was being
+inflicted, only to be knocked down by the strap, and kicked by those who
+were standing around him. The members of the band laughed at his agony and
+said to the executioners: "Give it to the damned radical; learn the son of
+a b...h to keep his piety and politics to himself; we'll teach him how to
+lead the niggers."
+
+"Thompson finally ceased to scream. His body was a mass of blood, and he
+appeared to be unconscious long before the beating was through with. I
+thought he must be dead, but dared not say anything. When the executioners
+had ceased, he lay perfectly still. One of the members said: "The d....d
+skunk is playing possum." He then jumped at Thompson, kicked him several
+times in the side and back with great violence, and turning him over,
+ground his boot heel in his face. He lay for a long time unconscious, and
+was several times raised to his feet, but could not stand. His wife
+continued to pray during a portion of the time, asking God to bring her
+husband to life, and begging the Captain to spare him for the sake of his
+family, and let her try and get him home.
+
+"The Captain finally said, she might do what she liked. It was easy to see
+that Thompson could not live, but some of the band were not satisfied.
+One of them called out:
+
+"'Captain Smart, can I shoot the dirty radical?' to which the Captain
+replied:
+
+"'No! the black son of a b....h is dead enough.' The Captain then said to
+me and the two white men:
+
+"'Now, you take this for a warning, and if we ever hear of you divulging
+anything about this, you may expect the same treatment.'
+
+"The white men and myself were then taken to the road, where we were met
+by another party, also in disguise, making about forty in all. I was then
+told to go to the Joseph Howell plantation, and remain there two hours, or
+the rest of the band would take me and put me up the spout.
+
+"I done as directed, and returned to my own house about 6 o'clock in the
+morning; I then went over to Thompson's house, and found him dead. How he
+came there, I do not know; I heard that his wife got him home, and that he
+was not entirely dead, when he got there."
+
+In addition to the testimony of Amerson, as to the terrible details of
+this brutal murder, we have that of Mrs. Thompson and the two Hogans. Dr.
+Mapp, a physician residing near Thompson, was called to see him, and at
+the earnest entreaty of the wife dressed his wounds, although he saw that
+the poor victim could not live possibly. He was literally beaten to a
+jelly. One of his eyes had been forced completely out of its socket, and
+he was otherwise almost totally unrecognizable.
+
+Elihu Horn, _alias_ Capt. Smart, was known at the time as a respectable
+member of society in Hamilton county, Fla., and a leader in the democratic
+ranks in that vicinity, and violently opposed to the present
+administration. He was determined that no one should preach what he was
+pleased to term "the heresy of radicalism" in that county, and live, and
+his threat was fully carried out upon the body of the unfortunate
+Thompson.
+
+In the light of such an outrage, can any one, of whatever creed or faith,
+question the policy of the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus and the
+proclamation of martial law in such a community, or doubt the wisdom of
+the executive head of the nation, in his efforts to suppress the unlawful
+assemblages, who aspired to hold the life and liberty of our citizens in
+the hollow of their hands, and annihilate the hopes of newly-made freemen,
+by imposing upon them a bondage infinitely worse than that from which the
+nation, through the blood of her sons, had but so recently released them?
+
+
+BRUTAL WHIPPING OF A WHITE MAN FOR OPINION'S SAKE.
+
+Shortly after the outrage which resulted in the death of Edward Thompson,
+a Mr. Driggers, residing in the county of Echols, and not far from where
+Thompson had been murdered, received a warning from the Ku Klux Klan, that
+he must change his political opinions, or leave the State.
+
+Mr. Driggers was a prominent republican, and had made no secret of his
+political faith. He had freely expressed his opinions in that regard
+whenever he desired to do so, and had steadily voted the republican, or
+what was known to the Ku Klux as the radical, ticket. He was generally
+esteemed among his fellows, and especially among the colored people, in
+whose welfare he took a great interest, and this latter fact was deemed an
+offense not to be tolerated by the defenders of the white man's
+government.
+
+Warning after warning was sent to him, and he was thus duly reminded,
+that, unless he recanted, the fate of Thompson would surely be his; but,
+he still regarded the matter as merely an idle threat, and time passed on
+until the night of the 25th of August, 1871, when a party of five men,
+armed, and disguised in black gowns and masks, visited his residence.
+
+Mr. Driggers at once divined the object of this visitation, and was
+expostulating with the leader, when he was quickly overpowered and
+stripped in the presence of his family, and beaten with straps similar to
+those used upon Thompson.
+
+He was dreadfully punished about the head, face, and back, and was
+informed by the Klan, that for the present they would accord him the mercy
+to live, but, unless he left the county, they would return and kill him,
+and destroy his property.
+
+From similar outrages that had been perpetrated in the vicinity, Mr.
+Driggers was fully satisfied that this threat would be carried out to the
+letter. He was familiar with the brutal details of Thompson's death, and
+was now convinced that the members of this terrible brotherhood would
+respect neither color, social standing, or respectability, and at once
+made hasty preparations, and abandoned his once happy home to become a
+wanderer. The visitation upon him was made solely for political reasons.
+He was a man that stood above reproach in the community, and no person
+could be found in Echol county that could impugn his character as a man, a
+gentleman, and an upright citizen. It was not contended that he had
+committed any other offense than that of being a radical republican, who,
+being too obstinate to change his politics, must be whipped into
+renouncing a faith that he could not be argued out of.
+
+Is it any wonder that men who substitute brute force for argument, should
+so strenuously object to the efforts of the executive officers to enforce
+the law and bring order out of the chaos, into which their wild and
+licentious acts have plunged the respective communities in which they
+live? Thinking men will say "nay," and will ask and demand that the policy
+now being pursued by the administration shall be continued until the
+supremacy of the law is fully established, and men of all shades of color
+and political faith may "sit under their own vine and fig tree, with none
+to molest or make them afraid."
+
+Allen Wicker, William Smith, Butcher Smith, James King, and Lewis Kinsey,
+all residents of Echol county, Ga., and members of the Camp that had
+decided that Mr. Drigger must surrender his political opinions, leave his
+home, or die, were the persons upon whom the officers of the United States
+Secret Service fastened the guilt of this outrage.
+
+
+AN APPALLING TRAGEDY.
+
+TERRIBLE DEATH OF A WHITE MAN IN WILKINSON COUNTY, GEORGIA.
+
+One of the most appalling tragedies ever resulting from the free
+expression of political opinions, was that enacted at Irwinton, Wilkinson
+county, Georgia, on the night of the 31st of August, 1871.
+
+For more than a year previous to this date, a white man, familiarly known
+throughout the county as Sheriff Deason, had taken a very active part in
+politics, having espoused the republican cause, as one might say, in the
+very den of the lion himself, and standing almost alone, in what he
+considered a contest for the right.
+
+Deason was a large, powerfully built, and muscular man, inured to hardship
+from his youth, resolute in his purpose, tenacious of his principles, and
+ready under all circumstances to expound them, whenever it seemed good to
+him to do so. He was a man whose good nature was proverbial. He delighted
+to get into the country grocery, and there, surrounded by an admiring
+audience of colored men, and such of the whites as sympathized with him,
+although secretly, express his opinion, that the principles of the
+republican party were the only ones upon which a righteous government
+could be founded, and which would eventually bring the ship of State
+safely to a secure anchorage.
+
+Among his hearers were many of those who had sworn to uphold the "white
+man's government," and who believed that Deason's arguments were
+calculated to damage their labors in this respect, but, bold as they were,
+when in bands of twenty, armed and disguised, they assailed defenseless
+men and helpless women, they dare not single handed to make even so much
+as an utterance against his outspoken logic, and they writhed and twisted
+under it in silence. They comprehended, however, that seeds were being
+sown that would take root in the minds of thinking men, and produce
+results which they did not desire to see accomplished.
+
+A formal presentation of Deason's case was made to the Irwinton Camp of
+the C. U. G., to which Order, at that time, two-thirds of the white
+population of Wilkinson county belonged. As was usual in such cases, it
+was decided to issue a warning to the intended victim, which was forthwith
+done. Deason replied to it by pasting the warning upon the door of his
+house, where it remained an ever present witness to the contempt in which
+he held its authors, until it was washed away by the fall rains.
+
+This was regarded as an act of defiance upon Deason's part, that could not
+be overlooked. To add to this, he continued uttering his political views
+with the same freedom as before, and it was resolved that he must be
+stopped. This, however, was easier said than done; Deason was known to be
+thoroughly armed, a man of undoubted courage, and a terrible opponent
+when thoroughly aroused, although very quietly disposed when left to
+himself.
+
+The Camp saw they had a serious subject to deal with, and for nearly a
+year after the first warning, he was little less than a thorn in their
+side. His example worked steadily upon thinking minds, and it was evident
+that he must be put out of the way, as the only measure whereby the spread
+of the peculiar political principles advocated by him could be stayed.
+
+A final warning was sent to him, the substance of which was, that he "must
+leave the country, change his politics, or make up his mind to become
+Buzzard Bait." In the Conclave of the Klan, when this warning was directed
+to be issued, it was announced that this was positively the last
+opportunity that would be given Deason to repent of his ways, and that in
+the event of its failure to bring him to a change of his views, or his
+location, the full penalty attached to the "negro worshiper" would be
+enforced. This, however, had no more effect than the previous warnings,
+and his death was resolved upon.
+
+On the night of the 31st of August, 1871, twenty-five of the Klan who had
+been selected by the Commander, armed and disguised themselves for the
+purpose, and proceeded to Deason's house on the outskirts of the place.
+Deason had retired for the night, having carefully locked and barred his
+doors and windows as usual. It was about midnight when he was aroused by a
+heavy knock at his door. He arose from his bed and requested to know who
+was there. The reply was a demand for him to come out and surrender
+himself to the Klan.
+
+Deason responded to this with a defiant remark, telling them if they
+wanted him, they must come and take him. The band then commenced battering
+at the door, when Deason, placing his gun at a loop-hole which he had
+previously prepared, discharged both barrels. It appears, however, from
+some great misfortune to him, that neither of the shots produced any
+damaging effect upon the assailing party. The band were somewhat
+disconcerted at this, however, and withdrew a short distance from the
+house and held a consultation.
+
+At the time of this visitation, Deason's wife was away upon a visit, and
+the only other person in the house was a colored woman who was a servant
+in the family. She had already arisen and expressed her determination to
+assist Deason in the fight, to the extent of her ability. The latter had
+reloaded his gun and had just set it down when a sudden rushing noise, as
+of men running, drew his attention, and in a second afterwards, the door
+was crushed in by a joist, which the band, using as a battering ram, had
+forced against it.
+
+The Klan poured in at once, and in full force. A terrible hand to hand
+fight ensued. Deason fought with great desperation, as did the colored
+woman. One after another of the Klan were stretched out upon the floor of
+the cabin, but the odds were too great, and Deason's immense strength
+became exhausted under his tremendous exertions and the loss of blood
+which he sustained. He finally sank down pierced with over-twenty bullet
+and knife wounds, and died fighting to the last in the maintenance of the
+principles he had so long and so earnestly advocated.
+
+The woman was soon dispatched, and the Klan then retired, taking their
+wounded with them. Deason's mutilated body was found the next morning on
+the floor of the room in which he had met his dreadful fate, while that of
+the woman was found doubled up in one corner of the apartment, as if she
+had been thrown there like a bundle of worthless rags. The frontal bone of
+the dead man's head had been broken, and the base of his skull crushed
+in, apparently by a club. The body had been shot and stabbed in more than
+twenty different places, and presented a most revolting spectacle.
+
+The facts of the double murder soon spread abroad, and were reported to a
+Mr. Bush, coroner of Irwinton, and that gentleman, being a member of the
+Camp that had ordered Deason's death, empanelled a jury of his
+fellow-brethren, and, according to his own confession, made since that
+time, went through the form of an inquest, the result of which was a
+verdict that the man Deason and the colored woman had met their death at
+the hands of certain _colored_ persons, to the jury unknown.
+
+The death of this noble martyr to the cause of truth, effected important
+changes. There were signs of dissatisfaction among some portions of the
+community, to whom the details of the awful tragedy had become known, and
+it was necessary that some measures should be taken to appease the feeling
+of indignation that was beginning to gain ground.
+
+The Grand Jury of the county was summoned to sit for the purpose of taking
+some measures to suppress crime. Every member of the jury was a member of
+the C. U. G., or Ku Klux Klan. Their first step was to issue an address to
+the people of the county, stating that evidence had been brought before
+them to show that certain negroes had been guilty of gross outrages in the
+county, which all good men should deprecate, and calling upon the citizens
+to look out for the evil doers. This had but little effect, however, other
+than to confirm the few well-meaning ones in their former belief that
+Wilkinson county was in the hands of men who would leave no measures
+unturned, to drive out of it, every one known to differ from them
+politically.
+
+Deason is not the first nor the last in the long procession of
+illustrious martyrs who, in all ages of the world have forfeited their
+lives in the maintenance of their principles. Unlettered, uncouth,
+uncultivated in life, resolute and unyielding even in death, he stands
+recorded upon the pages of this brief history, a noble and brilliant
+example of the lineal descendants of those who came from the shores of a
+distant continent, more than an hundred years ago, to seek that freedom of
+thought, that civil and religious liberty that had been denied them at
+home.
+
+Many such as he, now live and suffer in the deluded and misguided land of
+his birth, and like him, have for years carried their lives in their
+hands, for opinion's sake. In the good Providence of an all-seeing
+God--who has indeed imbued the present heads of the nation with the wisdom
+necessary to appreciate the situation, and devise the appropriate
+remedy--light begins to appear in the dark places, verifying the saying
+that, "sooner or later, insulted virtue avenges itself on states as well
+as on private individuals."
+
+
+THE MURDER OF BRINTON PORTER.
+
+While the Grand Jury were holding their sessions as previously stated, and
+only a short time after Deason's death, a band of twenty armed and
+disguised men rode into Irwinton and murdered one Brinton Porter, an
+intelligent citizen whose offense consisted like Deason's in his having
+disseminated Republican principles and voted the Republican ticket.
+
+Porter had received a warning similar to that sent to Deason, but had said
+nothing about it, even to the members of his own family. After receiving
+the warning he had neither openly expressed his radical views, nor made
+recantation of his political faith, but as he had not left the country, as
+the warning stated he must do, his doom was pronounced in the conclave of
+the Camp, and it was ordered that he should die.
+
+On the 8th of September, 1871, after concluding the business of the day,
+and taking tea with his family, Mr. Porter left the family table, and,
+taking a chair, went out to his door stoop. His only child, a daughter of
+tender years, accompanied him and sat at his feet. He saw the band of
+disguised men approaching the house, and deeming himself in danger,
+immediately arose and was in the act of entering the house when he fell
+across the threshold pierced by half a dozen bullets, which had been
+discharged at him by the Klan. The child escaped unhurt. The Klan seeing
+they had accomplished their purpose, wheeled around and with derisive
+yells passed out of the town at a sharp trot.
+
+The agony of Porter's family beggars description. A wife widowed, and a
+child orphaned in a moment, because their natural protector had assumed
+the right guaranteed to him by the Constitution and the laws, to exercise
+the elective franchise according to his own opinion, and the dictates of
+his own conscience. Can one believe, that in the civilization of the 19th
+century, and upon the American continent, the boasted refuge for the
+down-trodden, and the oppressed of all nations, such a scene as that above
+related could be enacted in the broad light of day, and the whole
+community not rise up against it? Alas, for the degradation to which
+political bigotry and a disregard of law, reduces a people, it is only too
+true.
+
+The data upon which this truthful narration of the murder of Brinton
+Porter is founded, is a matter of record in the archives of the
+Government. The facts can neither be gainsaid nor palliated. It is to be
+hoped that the firm policy of the present administration may bring the
+people of the community in which Porter lived to such a sense of the great
+injustice done among them, that they will rally to aid the Government, in
+bursting the bands thrown about them by the subtletry of their own
+unprincipled leaders, and stand shoulder to shoulder with those who are
+doing all that human wisdom can devise to restore order and harmony, and
+promote prosperity and happiness among the people.
+
+
+EXTERMINATING THE NEGRO RACE.
+
+_Fiendish Designs of the Ku Klux of Wilkinson County._
+
+THE EMASCULATION OF HENRY LOWTHER.
+
+In some parts of Wilkinson County, there seemed to be a disposition to
+destroy every member of the colored race who should be found voting the
+radical ticket.
+
+It was contended that scourgings and general maltreatment had not produced
+satisfactory results; and, on the other hand, blood was accumulating on
+the heads of the Klan, too fast even for their blunted consciences. Still
+the war must go on in some way, and something must be done to destroy the
+little leaven that bid fair to "leaven the whole lump." The subject was
+discussed in the conclave of the Camp, and it was finally decided that a
+more effectual way could be devised to accomplish the extermination of the
+colored race than either by whipping or murder. This was the fiendish
+resolve to castrate every negro who was guilty of radical proclivities,
+and who voted the radical ticket, a design worthy alone of the men who
+originated it.
+
+In that county, and at that particular time, there were many colored men
+known as Republicans; and an opportunity was speedily afforded the Klan,
+to carry out this terrible species of cruelty; a greater crime against
+nature than all the others since it looked to the entire destruction of
+the species.
+
+There had been, for sometime previous to September, 1871, a colored man in
+Wilkinson County, by the name of Henry Lowther. This person was favorably
+known among the negroes of the county, and expended a good deal of his
+leisure time in going from place to place, and talking Republican
+sentiments to members of his race, and urging them to vote the Republican
+ticket, as the only means of maintaining their right to freedom.
+
+Previous to the dreadful visitation which subsequently came upon him, he
+had voted the Republican ticket upon two occasions, and had expressed his
+intentions to continue on in his political course in the future.
+
+This had roused the indignation of the Ku Klux Camp at Irwinton beyond
+measure. A meeting of the Klan was called in which the edict was
+promulgated, that since Lowther would not abandon the propagation of his
+political opinions, he should be deprived of the power to propagate his
+race, and further, that he should receive no "warning" in the matter, but
+be proceeded against summarily, and "at once" was the time fixed for this
+outrage. Lowther had been followed all the day previous, and just after
+dusk was seized and thrown into a carriage, and driven rapidly away to the
+woods near Irwinton, by four men armed and disguised. While in the
+carriage, he was told that if he moved or made any resistance, his life
+would pay the forfeit; but that, otherwise, it would be spared.
+
+Upon arriving at the woods, he was taken out of the carriage, and found
+himself in the midst of nearly one hundred persons. Notwithstanding the
+promise made by his first captors, he supposed his time had arrived and
+begged for his life. He was then told that he would not be killed, if he
+did not make too much resistance; that he had been preaching too much
+politics, and they intended to fix all the d--d radical breeders in the
+country; and had made up their minds to begin on him. Lowther did not
+fully comprehend them at first, but soon learned the awful significance
+of the words.
+
+His arms were then firmly pinioned, and he was thrown upon the ground
+where he was tightly held by several of the band, and castrated in a most
+rude and brutal manner, begging piteously and writhing under the pains
+inflicted by his tormentors. After the operation had been performed, he
+was unpinioned and asked if he knew the residence of any doctors and on
+his replying that he did, he was told to go for one as he valued his life;
+and further, that if he ever voted the radical ticket again, or influenced
+any one else to do so, he should suffer death. Although shockingly
+mutilated and bleeding from the dreadful manner in which he had been
+treated, Lowther started to find a physician. Three different surgeons
+were applied to before he found one sufficiently humane to afford him
+assistance in dressing his wounds.
+
+It was several weeks before the unfortunate negro was in a condition to
+walk about. The facts coming to the ears of the officers of the U. S.
+secret service, they made diligent search for Lowther, whom they learned
+dared not complain of his treatment for fear of death; and having found
+and assured him of protection, he made affidavit to the facts as above set
+forth, affirming that, with other parties who instigated and consummated
+this outrage, were Eli Cummings, the Mayor of Irwinton, Lewis Peacock,
+then Sheriff of Wilkinson County, and others of equal prominence. Shall it
+be said after this that only the ignorant and uninfluential whites are
+engaged in the gross outrages charged upon the Southern community? and
+that there is no need there of the rigorous enforcement of the laws to
+secure to the well-meaning citizen, black and white, the security for life
+and property denied them under the rule of the lawless mob?
+
+
+
+
+OUTRAGES BY THE KU KLUX KLAN.
+
+PERSECUTION OF THE FURGUSON FAMILY FOR OPINION'S SAKE.--AGED WOMEN AND
+YOUNG GIRLS STRIPPED NAKED, AND BRUTALLY WHIPPED.--AN AWFUL HISTORY.
+
+  _For whereas my father put a heavy yoke upon you,
+  I will put more to your yoke:
+  My father chastised you with whips,
+  But I will chastise you with scorpions._
+                                      II CHRONICLES, X, 11.
+
+
+The terrible narration that here ensues shows more conclusively, perhaps,
+than any that has preceded it, the extent of the moral degradation to
+which the community in which it was enacted was so surely and steadily
+drifting. It would seem that the authors of the outrage had forgotten that
+they were born of mothers, who had nursed them tenderly in infancy, or
+that there were any longer left in the bosoms of women those feelings of
+virtue and modesty usually ascribed to and found in the sex, and the
+writer will here premise that the facts herein contained, dreadful though
+they are in their disgusting details, have been verified beyond cavil or
+the hope of questioning.
+
+Just previous to the breaking out of the rebellion, Dennis Furguson, an
+intelligent and hard-working white man, resided with his family in Chatham
+county, North Carolina. The family consisted of himself, his wife
+Catherine, a daughter, Susan J. Furguson, and three sons, John, Henry and
+Daniel. The head of the household was one of the few devoted Unionists who
+were thoroughly opposed to the principles then being disseminated by those
+who were endeavoring to plunge the country into a civil war, and exerted
+all his influence to avoid the great catastrophe.
+
+Mr. Furguson was known as being favorable to the Republicans, and had
+voted in the interest of the principles of the party of that name,
+whenever opportunity had offered. He had educated his children in a love
+of the Union, and taught them the blessings of civil and religious liberty
+with their evening prayers, and had succeeded in imbuing them with his own
+opinions to such an extent that the family became noted throughout Chatham
+county as Unionists and Radicals.
+
+At the breaking out of the war, Furguson determined to remain a
+non-combatant, seeking as far as possible not to render himself obnoxious
+to his neighbors, but resolving at the same time to maintain a neutral
+position. In this, however, he was doomed to a bitter disappointment,
+being conscripted into the rebel army and sent to the front. He was taken
+prisoner at Fort Caswell, N. C., and was sent to Elmira, N. Y., where he
+died, never having seen his family from the night he was so rudely torn
+from their embrace, and compelled to serve in the army of the rebellion.
+
+Neither this great calamity, nor the numerous other hardships suffered by
+this family for opinion's sake, could shake their firm adherence to the
+Union cause. The daughter was a beautiful girl, of great natural
+intelligence, but who had been wholly without the advantages of an
+education. She was attached to her father with a rare devotion, and
+believed it to be a filial duty, which she owed to his memory, to continue
+to enunciate the principles in which he had so thoroughly instructed her.
+His conscription had strengthened rather than weakened these sentiments,
+and she publicly spoke of his death as chargeable to the wicked designs of
+the men who had endeavored to overturn and destroy the country.
+
+At the time of the organization of the first Camp of the "Constitutional
+Union Guards," or Ku Klux Klan, in Chatham county, Susan Furguson was in
+her eighteenth year. Her case was the first one brought to the
+consideration of the Camp; but no special action was taken thereon until
+it was observed that the sons were following in the footsteps of the
+father, and were advocating the same principles of Unionism and
+Republicanism that he had taught them. They also learned that Miss
+Furguson lost no opportunity to express her convictions to the colored
+people with whom she came in contact, and in their eyes her course became
+intolerable.
+
+During the October of 1870, the case of the Furguson family was again
+brought before the Camp as a flagrant violation of the principles of the
+white man's government, and it was resolved that an example should be made
+of them. A warning was sent to the family to renounce their political
+faith, and cease the promulgation of their opinions, or leave the country.
+To this, and subsequent warnings of a similar character, no attention was
+paid, and an edict was finally issued by the Commander of the Camp, to
+have some, if not all the members of the family, scourged.
+
+On the night of the 10th of November, 1870, the Furgusons retired to bed
+at about 10 o'clock. The family was then composed of the widow, Mrs.
+Catherine Furguson, the daughter Susan, and the three sons. Between eleven
+and twelve o'clock, the attention of the daughter was called to a noise
+outside the house, resembling the tramp of horses' feet, and the running
+of men. In a moment afterwards, a voice shouted, "Open the door." The
+daughter arose hastily, threw a wrapper over her person, and went to the
+door and asked, "Who is there?"
+
+The response to this was another command, delivered in more peremptory
+tones than at first--"Open the door!" and on her refusing to comply
+therewith, the frail structure was broken in, and a man, disguised beyond
+all hope of recognition, sprang into the apartment, confronting the girl
+with a most terrible oath.
+
+In the dim glare of the candle which Miss Furguson had lighted, and now
+held above her head, this hideous looking object presented an appearance
+well calculated to terrify a stouter heart. A long black gown hung over
+his person to his knees, and his legs were encased in huge army boots,
+ornamented with a brace of iron spurs. Over his face was a black mask,
+with apertures for the eyes, nose, and mouth, and around these were drawn
+ghastly circles of white and red, rendering the face of the figure
+exceedingly repulsive. On his breast was the representation of a human
+skull worked in white, on a black ground, and surrounded with grotesque
+figures worked in red. His head was surmounted with a high conical-shaped
+black hat, on which were curious figures worked in white, and edged with
+red and yellow.
+
+He commenced his interrogations by asking Miss Furguson if she had ever
+seen a KU KLUX; to which the brave girl replied she never had, nor did she
+wish to, unless it were more comely than he. This seemed to enrage him,
+and turning to the door, he shouted, "Come in!" A horde of twenty men,
+similarly disguised, rushed into the room, and the indecent orgies
+commenced.
+
+The mother and the three brothers had remained in bed, at the earnest
+request of the sister, but were speedily dragged from their resting place.
+Daniel was the first one assailed. His night clothes were torn from him in
+myriads of pieces, leaving him in an entirely nude state. He was then
+thrown down upon the floor, and stretched out at full length; four of the
+band seizing and holding him fast while two others came forward and
+administered to him upwards of an hundred lashes on the naked person,
+drawing the blood at every blow, and raising the quivering flesh in great
+ridges upon his back and limbs. The boy fainted under the terrible
+punishment, and was then thrown aside to make room for his brothers, Henry
+and John, who were each castigated in an equally severe manner.
+
+John Furguson, who was more delicate than his brothers, uttered such
+piercing shrieks, as the heavy gum switches descended upon his back and
+loins, that his sister became almost insane. In her terrible agony she
+sprang upon the leader, and before she could be prevented, tore off his
+mask, and, to her horror and amazement, disclosed the face of Richard
+Taylor, one of her nearest neighbors, to whom she had often, since the
+death of her father, gone for advice and counsel. Taylor threw her rudely
+to the floor and replaced his mask as quickly as possible. The girl was
+severely stunned by the fall, but as soon as she recovered, cried out, "I
+know you, Dick Taylor, and I will have you punished for what you have done
+this night."
+
+Taylor immediately discharged his revolver at her, but, in the dim light
+shed over the room by the candle, and the excitement of the moment, shot
+wide of the object. He then exclaimed, with an oath, "If you move again, I
+will kill you dead; and if I ever hear of your telling anybody of this
+affair, we will come back and kill you all."
+
+Turning to Mrs. Furguson, he said, "Now, you take your folks and leave
+this country. If you are not gone in ten days, we will be here again and
+you shall all die."
+
+During the entire time of this whipping the three sons, two of them men
+grown, were completely naked, and when the mother and daughter sought to
+avert their heads from the shameful spectacle, they were ordered to turn
+them back again on pain of instant death, the command being enforced with
+pistols presented at their heads, by the hands of men whom they now felt
+assured would not hesitate to use them if ordered.
+
+Having issued the edict for the family to leave the country or suffer
+death, the gallant defenders of the "white man's government" and the
+protectors of the "white man's race" departed.
+
+For more than three weeks succeeding this visitation, the Furguson
+brothers were confined to their beds, and the mother and daughter nursed
+their wounds, and labored for their support with untiring energy. During
+these three weeks Susan Furguson had spread the news of the outrage to all
+parts of Chatham County, characterizing the attack upon them as brutal and
+savage--a crime that, if left unpunished by men, would surely be punished
+by the hand of the Lord. She applied to the Justices of the Peace for
+relief, stated that she recognized Dick Taylor, and George and Joseph
+Blaylock, citizens of the place, as being present on the night of the
+assault, and participating therein, and would make her affidavit to the
+facts, and support it with undeniable testimony.
+
+She was everywhere laughed to scorn. The few who sympathized with her and
+her family, dared not give expression to their thoughts for fear of a
+similar fate. Chatham County was in the hands of the Ku Klux; a reign of
+terror had been inaugurated there; the mob had made laws for themselves,
+and justice was not to be had.
+
+
+AN AGED WOMAN WHIPPED UPON HER NAKED PERSON.
+
+On the fourth week after the visitation above recorded, and just when the
+Furguson brothers had about recovered from the effects of the brutal
+whipping, and were able to attend to their ordinary duties, the family
+were subjected to a second raid, far more revolting and indecent in its
+character than the first, and such as the sensitive mind naturally recoils
+from the contemplation of. The details are given here with a strict
+adherence to the truth, all the facts herein set forth having been
+personally verified to the writer by the sufferers themselves.
+
+On the night of the 11th of December, 1870, Susan Furguson, and a young
+man named Eli Phillips, who had long known, and loved, and sympathized
+with her, were sitting before the fire in the room which had been the
+scene of the former outrage; the other members of the family, with the
+exception of John Furguson, had retired to bed.
+
+Mrs. Furguson, the mother, was in very delicate health, caused by the
+shock produced by the visitation of the Klan four weeks previous, and the
+labor consequent upon nursing and caring for her sons. One of the
+brothers, Daniel, lay stricken with a fever that had prostrated him two
+days before, and was in an almost helpless condition.
+
+About ten o'clock in the evening, the doors upon both sides of the house
+were broken in simultaneously, without previous warning, and a band of
+men, armed and disguised as before, and much larger in numbers, rushed
+into the room, uttering the most demoniac yells. A portion of the number
+proceeded directly to the bed where the mother was lying, terror-stricken
+and paralyzed from fear at their approach, and after first charging her
+with having exposed their former visit, dragged her from the bed and threw
+her violently to the floor. They then stood her up, and ordered her to
+remove her night dress and chemise. This she refused to do, pointing to
+her gray hairs and imploring mercy in the name of God, and for the sake of
+the mothers who had borne them.
+
+Her appeals were made in vain. At the order of the Commander, the members
+commenced tearing off the only garments that concealed her nakedness, and
+this with the most shocking brutality. The daughter, maddened by the
+sight, rushed upon the assailants, but was anticipated by other members of
+the band, with whom she had a severe struggle, displacing the masks of
+four of them enough to enable her to recognize their faces.
+
+She was quickly overpowered, and then beheld her mother completely naked,
+her brother John bleeding profusely from the blow of a club, and her
+brother Henry and the young man Phillips firmly secured.
+
+The mother was then thrown upon the floor and there securely held, while
+two of the band beat her with twisted sticks, administering upwards of one
+hundred blows upon various parts of her person, and bandying the most
+obscene remarks and jests in relation to her. The daughter plead for her
+mother most eloquently, she informed them that she was in delicate health,
+and might die under the punishment, but this had no effect upon the
+executioners. The interest of the "white man's race" was at stake, and
+they had sworn to uphold the "white man's government," and would not stay
+their hands.
+
+Having chastised the mother until there seemed but little life left, they
+commanded John and Henry, and the young man Phillips, to remove their
+clothes, and upon their refusing to do so, tore them off until not a
+vestige was left upon their persons. They were then whipped one after
+another, with great severity, the beating of John being so terrible that
+his life was despaired of for several days afterwards. The bed upon which
+the helpless and fever-stricken Daniel lay, was knocked down from under
+him, and his already infirm body bruised and lacerated without stint. It
+was indeed "a chastisement with scorpions;" but the most indecent
+spectacle was reserved to the last.
+
+
+OUTRAGE UPON A YOUNG GIRL.
+
+SHE IS WHIPPED IN A NUDE STATE IN THE PRESENCE OF THIRTY MEN.
+
+The girl Susan, whose bravery and devotion to her family should have
+challenged the admiration of these lawless marauders, instead of drawing
+upon her their contempt, was next ordered to disrobe. Overwhelmed and
+confused at the merest thought, even, of such indignity, she could hardly
+command herself sufficiently to speak her denials; as soon as she did, she
+utterly refused to comply with the order.
+
+The more lecherous and brutal of the band sprang upon and threw her to the
+floor, with no more regard for her person than if she had been a brute,
+whom they were leading to slaughter. They stretched her out at full
+length, and took her measure, as an intimation that they were going to dig
+her grave.
+
+"We will put her and her radical lies where she can't enjoy their good
+company, without further trouble," said one. This was responded to by
+another, who, with a coarse oath, ejaculated, "Six foot under ground makes
+a good place for solitary confinement, by ----."
+
+The work of "taking the measure" having been completed, Miss Furguson,
+already suffering from the indelicate treatment she had received, was then
+allowed to rise, and again ordered to divest herself of her clothes. "Is
+it possible," she asked, "that you will submit _me_ to such an outrage?"
+She had never conceived it possible these men, depraved as they were,
+would really carry out a threat against which her whole nature revolted.
+The reply was a sardonic laugh. The band had learned where the punishment
+would sting the most, and they meant to apply it and spare not.
+
+For the first time in all her hated experience with these desperate men,
+she faltered and felt her courage failing her. To the high-toned and
+sensitive spirit of this brave and beautiful girl, there was something in
+this contemplated exposure of her person far more torturing than any
+number of lashes, however mercilessly inflicted. Death itself were a
+thousand times preferable, and, for the first moment in all her life, she
+felt like supplicating for mercy. Her hands dropped nervously and
+motionless at her side, and the stout-hearted heroine of the previous
+hour, stood in the presence of her persecutors almost stricken dumb with
+shame and confusion.
+
+There was no sympathy in the glaring eyes that peered with lustful and
+revengeful fires from behind the hideous masks of their tormentors; no
+sentiment of pity, no hope, no help. She was given but little time to
+decide. They fell upon her like hungry wolves famishing for their prey,
+tearing one garment off after another, she resisting with all the strength
+she could command, and entreating them to take her life, if they must, but
+to spare her this last indignity.
+
+Neither her piteous appeals nor her stubborn resistance availed her, and
+she lay upon the hard floor at last, naked as when born into the world,
+ashamed, degraded, broken in spirit, and her maidenly feelings outraged
+beyond any power of description. Four of the defenders of the "white man's
+race" seized her limbs and arms; stretched them to their fullest tension,
+and placing their knees thereon, held her brutally and forcibly to the
+floor. Her punishment was to be terrible.
+
+The "executioners" were called, and five of the band came forward.
+"Number one!" shouted the leader, and a stalwart member of the Klan that
+had sworn to uphold the "white man's government," raising his knotted
+strap in the air, brought it down upon the naked person of the helpless
+girl with the terrible force of his muscular arm, cutting through the
+delicate white skin and causing the blood to spurt at every stroke. He
+administered thirty lashes, and was succeeded by "number two" and "number
+three," until, as the witnesses state, one hundred and fifty lashes had
+been administered, and her shoulders, loins, and limbs, were literally cut
+into mince meat.
+
+Her screams had ceased, and her unoffending body lay still and motionless
+long before the punishment had ended. There was something in her young
+heart far beyond the dread cruelty of this infliction, and she inwardly
+prayed to God for death, to end her mental and bodily suffering. Lying
+under this great mountain of sorrow and shame, she heeded not the rude and
+obscene observations of her tormentors; and the unconsciousness produced
+by the punishment, soon placed her beyond the power to listen to them.
+
+Leaving her as one dead, and issuing the edict that if the family did not
+leave the country, it would be "_death!_ DEATH! DEATH!" to all, the band
+departed.
+
+Thousands of honest hearts of all shades of political opinions, upon
+perusing this truthful narration, will feel to wish that they could have
+been present with power at this time to have utterly destroyed this band
+of midnight raiders; but, let them remember the words of holy writ,
+"Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord, I will repay".... "Neither their
+silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the
+Lord's wrath: but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his
+jealousy, for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell
+in the land."
+
+It was an hour after the departure of the band, before any of the party
+exhibited evidences of life or animation. Henry Furguson, and the young
+man Phillips, were the first to come to a realizing consciousness of the
+awful scenes through which they had just passed. Wounded and bleeding as
+they were, they felt the necessity for immediate action. The mother and
+daughter still lay upon the floor, naked, lacerated and motionless. John
+Furguson had fainted from the loss of blood he had sustained, and was
+still unconscious, while Daniel was lying amid the debris of the bed,
+groaning in the agony of the fever, and the wounds upon his body.
+
+Hastily gathering up the dresses of the women, and throwing them over
+their nude bodies, the young men lifted them tenderly to the bed, and gave
+them such attention as they felt able to bestow. The remaining members of
+the family were cared for as well as the circumstances permitted. Not a
+doctor could be had in the vicinity, who was not in sympathy with the
+Klan, and not a neighbor came to their assistance, although fully aware of
+their distressed condition. The neglect of the neighbors was in no way
+attributable to their indifference or their inhumanity. It was one of the
+legitimate results of the feeling of terror that then pervaded the
+community. A show of sympathy towards these unfortunates, they feared,
+would place them under the ban, and subject them to a visitation, and they
+dared not incur the risk.
+
+In ten days another warning came to the Furgusons, that they must leave
+the country within twenty-four hours, or the penalty of death would surely
+be inflicted. They knew this warning must be heeded, and with broken
+hearts and crushed spirits, they crawled out into the woods, under cover
+of the darkness, and secreted themselves as they best could.
+
+In an interview held with the writer, subsequent to this last outrage,
+Miss Furguson stated that the weather, at this time, was cold and
+disagreeable, sometimes frosting and sometimes raining; that they had to
+lie out without a shelter, and suffered with the cold and hunger,
+sometimes going twenty-four hours without food. Occasionally the neighbors
+gave them something to eat, and finally the unfortunate wanderers sold to
+them the right to what furniture they had left behind in the house, and
+thus procured something upon which to subsist.
+
+She stated further, that they were in the woods nearly a month, and that
+as soon as they were able to travel they left the vicinity and procured a
+home with a Mr. Dixon, on the lower edge of Chatham county.
+
+An affidavit, based upon the statements of this young lady, was made
+before the Hon. A. W. Schaffer, U. S. Commissioner at Raleigh, N. C., on
+the 8th day of September, 1871. It charged the men, recognized by this
+girl, as being present and concerned in the outrages above related.
+Warrants were issued, and the officers of the U. S. Secret Service went to
+Chatham county and arrested the parties and brought them before the
+Commissioner. The more wealthy and influential members of the Klan rallied
+to their rescue, became their bondsmen, and they were released to await
+trial.
+
+Miss Furguson's description of the dreadful indignities to which she and
+the other members of the family were subjected, was of the most graphic
+and thrilling character, and aroused the sympathies of many who heard it.
+
+The defenders of the "white man's government" were alone amazed and
+enraged at the persistency and courage of this young girl of the "white
+man's race," and they determined to ferret her out and punish her again.
+In this they were successful, although for greater safety, the family had
+broken up, and the mother and daughter had secreted themselves, as they
+supposed, beyond the knowledge of their persecutors.
+
+On the night of the 20th of September, 1871, three men, armed and
+disguised, and who had been detailed by the Camp for the purpose, appeared
+suddenly before the miserable hut in which these unfortunates had taken
+refuge. An entrance was easily effected, and the women were told that
+their doom was sealed, and they were to be whipped to death.
+
+These three protectors of the "white man's race," then fell upon the
+women, beating them brutally. Susan recognized one of them, by his voice,
+as a man named Jesse Dixon, whom she knew. The moment she called his name,
+the three ran away, leaving their victims, who passed the remnant of the
+night in the woods.
+
+On the following day, the mother and daughter made their way to Raleigh,
+where fresh complaints were entered, and the Secret Service officers,
+armed with warrants, went out and succeeded in capturing two of the
+murderous assailants, who were brought in and held for trial. Mrs.
+Furguson and her daughter were then retained in the city as witnesses, at
+the expense of the government, and to protect them from further outrages.
+
+Susan J. Furguson, the heroine of the terrible experiences above related,
+is now twenty-one years of age. She is a girl of commanding presence, is
+endowed with a powerful constitution, great energy and force of character,
+and an indomitable spirit. Her P. O. address is "Snow Camp Foundry,
+Chatham Co., N. C.," where herself and other members of the family can be
+found, in verification of the facts above related.
+
+There are few narrations in the annals of "persecutions for opinion's
+sake," more shocking in their inhuman details than the foregoing;
+certainly, none that cry with a louder and more earnest voice to the
+government, and the right-minded people of the country, for help for
+those who have been the subjects thereof.
+
+No amount of retributive justice can erase one solitary scar from the
+knout-welted bodies of the Furgusons, or remove from their spirits the
+dreadful memory of their disgrace; but to those who went forth to battle
+in the days of "The Nation's Peril," who stood shoulder to shoulder amid
+the roar of cannon, and, in vindication of the right, successfully
+withstood the shock of rebellious armies, it must ever remain a matter of
+profound gratification that the victories _then_ achieved in the field are
+_now_ being perpetuated in such a firm and vigorous enforcement of the
+laws as will have a tendency to make them substantial ones in the
+repression of any and all such outrages in the future.
+
+
+GEORGE W. ASHBURN.
+
+SHOT TO DEATH FOR OPINION'S SAKE.
+
+The shocking murder of this gentleman is still fresh in the minds of most
+readers of the daily journals, North and South. Mr. Ashburn was a sterling
+patriot, who entertained radical opinions, and through his fluency and
+ability, as well as his outspoken friendliness towards the colored race,
+had gained their confidence and support alike, with that of the Republican
+whites of the vicinity.
+
+He was a member of the Constitutional Convention of Georgia which met at
+Columbus, in the winter of 1867-8, and during his stay there, was refused
+admittance as a guest at the principal hotels of the place on account of
+the political prejudice existing against him. He occupied private rooms
+upon one of the main streets of the city, where he lived in an
+unostentatious and unpretending manner.
+
+He was a man of extraordinary natural talents, a good speaker, of fair
+educational qualifications, and a most earnest defender and supporter of
+true Republican principles. On all occasions, and wherever he appeared, to
+discuss the political situation of the trying times he moved in, he spoke
+his sentiments unreservedly. He was far from ever having been a huckster
+or trickster in politics, but he was fearless and able, and his enemies
+doomed him!
+
+At midnight, on the 31st day of March, 1868, a band of about forty men,
+who were armed and thoroughly disguised, made their appearance in an open
+lot of ground near his residence, and just opposite his private quarters.
+He had gone to bed in his room, and the door was just closed, when a
+summons from without called the servant, who opened it, and the Klan burst
+into the hall. Mr. Ashburn heard the noise, sprang out of bed, struck a
+light, and opened the door of his sleeping apartment. He did not fear
+death at the hands of these intruders, but he was alarmed at the rude
+demonstrations they made, and demanded to know what was their purpose.
+
+With an oath and a brief exclamation of unwarrantable abuse, the foremost
+members of the Klan immediately fired upon and shot him down in his tracks
+like a dog. A white and colored woman in the house recognized three or
+four of the leading assailants, whom they subsequently identified, and
+these were among the first residents of the city of Columbus. The names of
+these parties, whose identity was sworn to, and who were afterwards placed
+on trial, are as follows:
+
+Elisha J. Kirksey, Columbus C. Bedell, James W. Barber, William A. Duke,
+Robert Hudson, William D. Chipley, Alva C. Roper, James L. Wiggins, Robert
+A. Wood, Henry Hennis, Herbert W. Blair, and Milton Malone.
+
+The morning after the assassination, a coroner's jury was summoned, and,
+as was usual in such cases, the verdict of these men--who were all members
+of the Ku Klux Klan--was, that Mr. Ashburn came to his death "from wounds
+received from parties to the jury unknown." The local authorities made a
+faint show of investigating the matter, but really did nothing towards
+actually ferreting out and bringing to justice the murderers.
+
+This outrage was so revolting in its inception and consummation, that the
+military authorities considered it right that they should undertake to do
+what the local police and citizens of Columbus had apparently been so
+indifferent in performing.
+
+In the then condition of affairs nobody dared to appear against the
+suspected parties, and consequently witnesses could not be had in the
+ordinary way.
+
+At this juncture General Geo. G. Meade, then in command of the Military
+Department there--for the State of Georgia was at this time under martial
+law--telegraphed to Gen. Grant, in Washington, that he desired the
+services of a competent and able detective to assist in bringing the
+guilty parties to justice. A second dispatch was sent by Gen. Meade,
+requesting that Col. H. C. Whitley, of the United States Internal Revenue
+service (then absent under Department orders in Kansas), should be
+directed to report to him in person for the duty indicated. In pursuance
+of this request Col. Whitley went to Columbus and commenced his labors,
+which resulted in the arrest of the parties above named.
+
+A military commission was at once convened to try the accused. The
+witnesses for the Government gave their testimony in a straightforward
+manner, their evidence being fully corroborated by that of the people in
+the house where the deed had been consummated, and the conviction of the
+parties seemed inevitable.
+
+The citizens of Columbus raised a hue and cry; the local newspapers
+sharply criticized the proceedings; a furore of excitement was engendered;
+the ablest legal counsel to be had for the defence, with Alexander H.
+Stephens at the head, were engaged, and large sums of money were expended
+in behalf of the prisoners.
+
+All parties were astounded, however, at the evidence which was produced
+against the accused. Its preparation showed a skill and ingenuity such as
+had never before been exhibited in working up a case before the courts of
+the district, and it was necessary that some measures should be devised to
+save the participants in the fearful tragedy from their justly merited
+punishment.
+
+This could only be accomplished in one way--by the adoption of the 14th
+Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, it being a clause in
+the law that, upon the adoption of this amendment by the legislature of
+any State, all cases of civilians pending before military tribunals
+organized in said State, should be taken cognizance of by the civil courts
+therein.
+
+The Democratic members of the Georgia Legislature were between two fires;
+the 14th Amendment was a bitter pill, but the necks of their confreres
+were in danger, and they were compelled to vote solid with the
+Republicans, and thus end the proceedings before the military tribunal. By
+this means, the trials of the Ashburn murderers were taken out of the
+hands of the military authorities, the prisoners put under bail, the
+witnesses compelled to flee for their lives, and there the matter rests.
+
+To the unobserving mind the murder of George W. Ashburn would seem totally
+unavenged; but to him who sees in every great event the hand of an
+over-ruling Providence, evolving good from evil, a different conclusion
+must be arrived at. In his life, he fought manfully for the establishment
+of civil rights, and the political equality of the oppressed race of which
+he was the chosen champion. In his death that result was consummated, in
+the State of Georgia, sooner perhaps by years than it would otherwise have
+been without this sacrifice. "Wherever a few great minds have made a stand
+against violence and fraud in the cause of liberty and reason," there
+shall we find just such sacrifices as this, and there, too, "in the
+eternal fitness of things" and the onward march of law and the
+establishment of order, shall we find the triumphal vindication of those
+principles for which the republic has labored and travailed, and George W.
+Ashburn died.
+
+
+A THRILLING NARRATIVE.
+
+DESPERATE ENCOUNTER AND DEFEAT OF A BAND OF KU KLUX.
+
+As an instance of what the courage of one man can do in a righteous cause,
+against a multitude of those who are actuated by wicked and unlawful
+motives, the case of Mr. J. K. Halliday, a resident of Jackson County,
+near Jefferson, Ga., is perhaps one of the most extraordinary on record.
+
+Mr. Halliday is a native of Jackson County, Ga., where he has always lived
+and done business. He was opposed to secession and rebellion from the
+first; was continually counselling peaceful measures, and openly avowed
+himself a Unionist. During the war, he utterly refused to take up arms
+against the Government, and being a man of great influence and large
+means, was enabled to avoid conscription into the rebel ranks.
+
+He was a thriving business man, the proprietor of two plantations and a
+mill, and kept a large number of hands engaged at work. After the close of
+the rebellion and as a measure of concession to the turbulent spirits by
+whom he was surrounded, he employed white men to do his labor.
+
+Mr. Halliday soon found, to his inconvenient cost, that these men demanded
+exorbitant wages; that they were indisposed to perform a fair day's work,
+sometimes not working at all, and then but for a half day, but always
+charging him for full time--and he finally became disgusted with, and
+discharged them altogether. This was sufficient to bring him into contempt
+with the Klan, who charged him with being a "negro lover," as well as a
+Union sympathizer, and an open-mouthed Radical.
+
+Threats of his assassination and the destruction of his mill and other
+buildings were freely uttered. He was formally "warned" by the K. K. K.'s,
+that he must change his course, politically, or he would certainly suffer
+death. Halliday's reply to this threat and warning was simply to proceed
+to Jefferson, and procure some of the best modern weapons, for defense,
+that he could find. With these he returned to his dwelling, awaited
+results, pursuing his usual course, advocating such political principles
+as he please, and employing colored men as before.
+
+During the spring of 1871, at a meeting of the Ku Klux Camp of Jefferson
+County, it was solemnly resolved that Halliday should be killed, and his
+property destroyed. The night for the "visitation" was duly decided on;
+and through an anonymous note this information was conveyed to Halliday,
+the writer begging him as he valued his life, to leave the place, and thus
+save himself.
+
+To less resolute men this would have appeared a serious matter, but upon
+Halliday the threatened danger had an entirely different effect. It nerved
+rather than weakened his brave spirit, and he resolved to "stick." He was
+a man full six feet in stature, and well proportioned; he had been long
+accustomed to out-of-door life, and was considered one of the most
+powerful men, physically, in the county; he knew his strength, and relying
+upon that and an unswerving faith in God, he determined to defend himself
+and his family to the last.
+
+On the night of the anticipated visit, he placed his wife and his two
+children in the upper room of the house, and barricaded the passage way
+leading thereto, as best he could.
+
+Mrs. Halliday well knew the desperate character and murderous designs of
+the Klan. She clung to her husband, to whom she was devotedly attached,
+and expressed her fears as he passed down the stairway, that she would
+never see him again, alive! To this Mr. Halliday responded:
+
+"You forget that the GREAT MASTER is with me! Trust HIM as _I_ do," and
+kissing her and the little ones, he descended to the ground floor, where
+he intended to remain and await the advent of the party.
+
+Some of the more faithful of the negroes observing the unusual care with
+which Mr. H. adjusted the fastenings upon the doors and shutters, that
+night, hinted to him that they "reck'nd he 'spected trouble," and they
+would like to be near him.
+
+"No," said he, "go to your own places and don't come out; if they come in
+here, I had rather be alone, for then I can shoot and cut at random and be
+sure not to hit any of my own friends. Every man I strike will surely be
+one who ought to be stricken."
+
+Mr. Halliday was armed with two rifles, two revolvers, and a long bowie
+knife. Shortly before midnight, the Klan made their appearance in front of
+the house, to the number of about twenty. Halliday saw them through a
+small half-moon shaped aperture at the top of the shutter.
+
+They were all masked, and appeared each to wear a long rubber cape,
+falling from the shoulders to the waist. They came straight to the door,
+and, without saying a word, commenced to batter it in. The door gave way
+in a few moments, and as they rushed in, Halliday discharged his firearms
+with such fatal effect, that three of the Klan dropped dead upon the
+floor.
+
+The room was intensely dark, and a desperate fight ensued, in which the
+assailants more frequently encountered each other than the victim for whom
+they were in search.
+
+Halliday was finally grappled by one of the foremost of the party. He
+speedily freed himself through his superior strength and the prompt use of
+his bowie knife, thrusting it into his assailant's bowels, and throwing
+him violently back on to the crowd. The wounded man exclaimed:
+
+"He's got a knife! I'm murdered!"
+
+This caused a panic among the marauders, and the entire crowd left the
+house, taking their dead and wounded with them. After making certain that
+all of their own number were out, they discharged their firearms through
+the open doorway, and beat a retreat, taking a circuitous route, to avoid
+being traced by the blood that oozed from the wounds of several of the
+number, two of whom died soon after reaching their homes, thus making five
+in all who had paid the forfeit of their lives in the unholy cause.
+
+During all the time of this desperate encounter, the feelings of the
+wretched wife and frightened children in the upper room, may only be
+imagined. The father and husband, single handed, fighting against a horde
+of ruffians bent upon his murder; their own fate depending upon his, and
+not daring to cry out lest they should be discovered, and thus bring
+destruction upon their own heads, their situation was agonizing in the
+extreme.
+
+Mrs. Halliday did not forget the last words of her husband, so full of the
+strong faith that characterized the man: "_You forget that the Great
+Master is with me. Trust Him as I do!_" And sinking upon her knees, she
+poured her spirit out in silent and earnest prayer to God for help.
+
+The dead calm that had ensued after the uproarious tumult of the firearms,
+and the fierce struggle of the combatants in the room below, alarmed Mrs.
+Halliday more than all else. Whether her husband had been overpowered at
+last and taken away, or had been left dead upon the floor, with some of
+the murderous crew watching to see who would come for the body, she knew
+not. Possibly he might be lying there alone, wounded and insensible, with
+the life-blood ebbing away, and no friendly hand to stay the crimson tide,
+and the thought was terrible and agonizing.
+
+An hour went by. An hour into which years of misery were crowded to the
+forlorn woman, and yet no sound of life, no ray of light gleaming through
+the impenetrable darkness, to relieve the awful gloom and suspense, or
+give her one faint shadow of hope.
+
+Halliday was indeed lying there, exhausted and unconscious from the
+numerous wounds and contusions he had received. In his right hand he still
+held the bowie knife firmly grasped, as if awaiting the further onslaught
+of the foe, while his left was clenched with the determination of his iron
+will. The cool wind blowing off the mill-stream and coming in through the
+open doorway, aroused him at length to consciousness.
+
+The remembrance of the fight, his successful resistance, the retreat of
+the assailing party, and, above all, his wife and children, saved--and by
+his own right arm!--came back to his recollection and nerved him to
+action. He roused himself from his lethargy, and groping his way to the
+stairs, he called out:
+
+"Are you there, mother! and our darlings!"
+
+Who shall tell the feelings of that wife-mother's heart, bowed in its
+terrible anguish, and now so suddenly raised to the highest pinnacle of
+happiness as she responded, "Here! and safe, thank God, and our husband
+and father."
+
+Who shall describe the music that will compare, in Halliday's bosom, to
+the pattering feet of his darlings, as they rushed to meet his strong and
+loving embraces, and shouted, "Papa, papa!" amid their fast falling tears.
+
+Halliday's wounds, though not fatal, were still serious enough to alarm
+his wife, and as early in the morning as she dared, she sent one of the
+negroes for a doctor; but it appeared that every doctor in the vicinity
+was busy with patients who had been "taken suddenly ill during the night."
+
+One of these was the only son of a widow, the nearest neighbor to the
+Hallidays. He had received a "severe fall" the night previous, they said,
+upon a sharp instrument that had pierced his bowels and caused his death.
+This proved to be the man Halliday had cut. Five funerals attested the
+energy and strength of the hero's arm, and the dead bodies of the victims
+remained as lasting "warnings" to the "defenders of the white man's
+government," and that it was not always wise to attack the members of the
+"white man's race."
+
+It is almost needless to add that Mr. Halliday was left free from that
+time forth to pursue his own course, politically and otherwise as he
+deemed best, and that his persecutors came to realize with him that "the
+race is not always to the swift, nor the battle to the strong," and that
+in the struggle of the right for supremacy over the wrong, "God and one
+constitute a majority."
+
+
+SLAUGHTER OF AN UNITED STATES OFFICIAL.
+
+John Springfield, a Deputy United States Marshal, residing in St. Clair
+County, Alabama, had drawn upon himself the odium of the Ku Klux of that
+county by accepting a position under the United States Government, the
+duties of which he endeavored faithfully to discharge.
+
+He had been approached on several occasions by members of the Klan, who
+had made propositions to him to pervert his office, and shield certain
+parties who were engaged in the illicit distillation of whiskey; but had
+utterly refused to listen to any of these overtures, and was bold enough
+to proclaim the fact that he should use his best endeavors to bring to
+punishment the violators of the law wherever he found them.
+
+The customary warning was sent to this intrepid officer, informing him
+that "St. Clair County was getting hot for him," but that if he kept on in
+his course he would "be sent to a hotter place in a hurry."
+
+He was somewhat alarmed at this threat and moved about with great caution,
+but was unremitting in his attention to his duties until the spring of
+1871, when the Klan decided that he must be stopped. An edict was issued,
+sealing Springfield's doom, and the second night thereafter he was
+followed by three members of the Klan, disguised in black gowns and with
+their faces blackened, and was shot dead within a few feet of his house.
+
+This murder was charged upon the negroes, and up to the present writing,
+the instigators and perpetrators have escaped punishment.
+
+
+THE ASSAULT UPON ASA THOMPSON.
+
+_Singular Conduct of the Klan._
+
+In the latter part of the year 1870, there resided in Clinch County,
+Georgia, a gentleman by the name of Asa Thompson, who, although a
+Southerner by birth and education, was an outspoken Radical Unionist, and
+had directly identified himself with the Republican party.
+
+In his intercourse with the people he was frank and free in the expression
+of his sentiments, and always exercised the right of suffrage, conducting
+himself in an orderly and acceptable manner, at all times, as a good
+citizen should do. He was proprietor of a thrifty plantation, upon which
+he employed a large number of hands, and stood well generally in the
+community.
+
+These essential requisites to a good citizen were altogether insufficient,
+in the eyes of the Ku Klux Klan in that vicinity, to balance the bad
+points (in their esteem) which characterized him, inasmuch as he was a
+Radical in principle. This fault was considered good cause for forwarding
+to Thompson a sharp "warning" from the camp, which was sent him in the
+customary form, and he was ordered to restrain himself in the utterance of
+his Radicalism, or quit the country.
+
+If he failed to obey, then he would receive a visitation from the K. K.
+K.'s, and that meant death. To this notice he gave no attention, but
+laughed at the threat and awaited events. A second warning was then sent
+him, couched in the following terms:--
+
+     "One of three things will happen to you, very shortly. You will leave
+     the country, so that we can never find you--change your politics--or
+     be turned into Buzzard Bait.
+
+        K. K. K."
+
+To this expressive, but not over polite missive, Thompson returned a
+somewhat defiant reply, proceeded at once to fortify his cotton
+gin-house, in which he remained at night, and dared the Klan to come for
+him.
+
+During the month of September, 1871, matters had assumed such a position
+in this man's case, that the Klan felt that Thompson must be annihilated,
+or the "reign of terror," which they had inaugurated in the county, would
+be broken--and a reaction take place among the people, inimical to
+themselves.
+
+Numbers of the band were accordingly detailed by the Commander of the Camp
+of Clinch County, to put Thompson out of the way. They were headed by
+Shimmie Timmerson, formerly sheriff of that county; a man notable for his
+unusual brute force and personal resolution.
+
+The Klan approached Thompson's gin-house on the night of the assault,
+cautiously, and as they supposed, unobserved. Each one of them was well
+armed, and disguised in black gowns, masks and hats.
+
+Thompson, who had been constantly on the watch, discovered them upon their
+first appearance. He relied upon the solid door of the gin-house, which he
+supposed would withstand a much heavier shock than it did. It gave way
+upon the first assault, which was made with a heavy piece of timber,
+battered against it by the assailants; and which shivered it to splinters.
+
+As the door crashed in, Thompson opened such a rapid fire upon the
+marauders, as to lead them to suppose that the gin-house was full of armed
+men. This belief had been strengthened, from the fact that its only
+occupant shouted simultaneously with the discharge of his weapons: "Give
+it to 'em, boys! Don't spare a man."
+
+Timmerman (the ex-sheriff), who led this gang, fell at the first fire,
+seriously though not mortally wounded. Several others of the party bit the
+dust, and the entire band at once beat an ignominous retreat--bearing
+with them their wounded; and leaving their single-handed and brave
+opponent master of the situation.
+
+The most singular and unexpected result of this was, that the band were so
+thoroughly chagrined at their failure, that they had a quarrel among
+themselves after leaving the place, and charged their defeat upon
+Timmerman, who led the van--and whom they adjudged guilty of death on the
+spot, on the ground that their defeat was due to his bad management.
+
+This sentence would actually have been executed upon him, but for the
+interposition of some of the Klan, who declared their belief that
+Timmerman could not recover from the wounds he had already received, and
+that he might as well be left to die in the woods; that they did not think
+he was a traitor, and hence ought not to suffer a traitor's doom.
+
+The ex-sheriff was greatly weakened from the loss of blood, caused by
+these wounds, and was so thoroughly panic-stricken at the idea that he
+might possibly be murdered by his associates, that he swooned, and his
+body was carried nearly a mile into the wood, where his "brethren" of the
+Camp threw it down, and left him.
+
+On the following day Mrs. Timmerman, having missed her husband, employed a
+gang of negroes to go in search of him. The hunt was successful, and the
+wounded man was removed to his house; where, after the most careful
+nursing, he was partially restored to health, but was so badly crippled as
+to be unable ever again to perform manual labor.
+
+The treachery and inhumanity of these men towards one of their own number
+so enraged Timmerman that he declared himself ready to expose their whole
+operations, their modes of working, and their secrets; and it was from him
+and Mr. Thompson that the writer obtained the facts, as herein set forth.
+This raid ended the operations of the Clinch County Ku Klux Klan, for
+sometime, so far as the influential whites were concerned.
+
+Outrages upon negroes were continued, however, but with less severity--the
+subsequent vigorous action of the Government in enforcing the laws, in
+other parts of the country, being felt to some degree in that place.
+
+
+BRUTAL WHIPPING OF WOMEN.
+
+The outrages committed by members of the Klans, upon both individuals and
+property, in the county of Chatham, and in Moore county, N. C., were so
+numerous and oppressive, during the spring of 1871, and finally became so
+brutal in their character as to occasion the direst consternation among
+the whole negro population, as well as among such of the whites as dared
+to exercise the right of suffrage in accordance with their own
+convictions, which were not in accord with the tenets maintained by the Ku
+Klux or democracy of the place.
+
+About this period, the more intelligent of the colored people were in the
+habit of gathering together at stated times, for consultation in company
+with the friendly whites, as to the course it was deemed best for them to
+pursue for the protection and security of their lives.
+
+A favorite place for holding these meetings, was at the dwelling of Mrs.
+Sallie Gilmore--a woman then residing with her family in Moore county.
+
+These frequent assemblages were soon brought to the notice of the Camp in
+Moore county, and it was decided that such an example should be made of
+the parties as would deter others from pursuing a similar course; and
+compel these to abandon their radical views, or quit the country.
+
+The house occupied by Mrs. Gilmore, was rather of the better class, and
+Mrs. G. was known as an intelligent woman, who, in her sympathy with the
+colored race, was anxious for the day when the rights and privileges
+guaranteed them by the Constitution and the laws, could be enjoyed without
+molestation.
+
+The opinions and teachings of Mrs. Gilmore becoming known, the heresy was
+sufficient for the Klan to commence a crusade upon her and her family, and
+an edict was issued that she, and all the others found upon her premises,
+should be scourged.
+
+Thirty men of the Klan were, accordingly, detailed to carry out the order,
+and the "visitation" was fixed for the night of April 15th, 1871. The Klan
+were disguised, as usual, and were under the leadership of Roderick J.
+Bryan, a prominent citizen of Moore county, who was violently opposed to
+Republican principles. They met and organized in a field about a mile from
+Mrs. Gilmore's house, where they held a counsel, and finally completed
+arrangements for making the proposed raid.
+
+Saturday night (the night in question) was the favorite time when the
+negroes met there, but, on this particular evening there chanced to be but
+three present, besides Mrs. Gilmore, her son and daughter, and a young
+woman named Mary Godfrey.
+
+For greater security, no lights were used when these meetings were held,
+and when the Klan arrived, the place was found to be entirely darkened.
+The doors were at once broken in, and Murkerson McLane, one of the
+negroes, taking advantage of the darkness, crept through the doorway
+stealthily, and darted towards the woods; but he was observed by some of
+the Klan, who pursued and soon came up with him.
+
+They had fired upon him as he ran, and when overtaken, he had sank down
+exhausted, and begged hard for his life. Roderick Bryan and Garner Watson
+replied to his earnest supplications for life by discharging their
+revolvers at him a second time. Both shots took effect. McLane gave a
+spasmodic leap into the air, and dropped motionless by the roadside.
+Supposing him dead the band left him there, where he lingered through the
+night in great agony, and died next morning.
+
+Having murdered McLane, his pursuers returned to Mrs. Gilmore's house,
+where the rest of their party were awaiting them before commencing their
+inhuman indecencies. A light had been struck, and Mrs. Gilmore, her son
+and daughter, the negroes, and Mary Godfrey, were found fastened to the
+bed, in the most indecent positions. The negroes were first released, and
+were fearfully beaten with clubs and twisted switches, until they became
+utterly unconscious, when they were rudely dragged to the doorway, and
+their bleeding bodies tumbled, unceremoniously, into the mud.
+
+Mrs. Gilmore's son and daughter were then stripped of their clothing and
+compelled, in this condition, to _dance_, for the edification of their
+tormentors; the music of this wretched exhibition being provided by the
+switches in the hands of the Klan, who applied them to the naked bodies of
+their victims with terrible severity, mocking them wickedly, meantime, as
+they were forced through the unwilling and miserable antics they
+performed!
+
+The son was entirely nude, but the daughter was allowed to retain her
+chemise. Both became exhausted, and sank down under the terrible
+punishment inflicted upon them, and the vigorous switching kept up, failed
+to revive them into further action. The attentions of the Klan were then
+directed towards Mrs. Gilmore.
+
+One of the band said, "Let's make the old she radical dance now!"
+
+"We can do better than that," said another; "we can lick the d--
+nigger-loving blood out of her."
+
+Mrs. Gilmore, now upwards of fifty years old, was then seized and thrown
+violently upon the floor. Her clothes were drawn up over her head, and the
+cotton under garments covering her limbs were rudely torn off, exposing
+her naked person to the demons in human form who surrounded her. The
+switches were then applied with all the vigor of which the executioners
+were capable. The old lady uttered a few heart-rending shrieks, but
+speedily fainted, and continued unconscious during the remainder of the
+infliction.
+
+The punishment of the young woman, Mary Godfrey, was reserved to the last.
+She was stripped of every thread of clothing, and was thus compelled to
+experience the shame of indecent exposure, added to her other tortures.
+During the process of scourging this young woman the vilest and most
+obscene epithets were bandied about by the Klan, and she was subjected to
+many other indignities.
+
+She sank under the treatment at last, and lie upon the floor, her life
+apparently extinct. Cold water was dashed over the faces and bodies of
+these unfortunate women, who, by this means, were rallied sufficiently to
+render them conscious enough to listen to the final edict of the Klan,
+which was, "To cease indulging in and promulgating their heresies, from
+that hour forward, and abandon the country, on pain of certain death!"
+With this admonition the defenders of the white man's government left the
+house.
+
+Of a truth, "all cruelty springs from wickedness." But the weakness which
+could prompt the brutality--exhibited in such cases as those above
+recorded--is utterly inexcusable in any being wearing the shape of man.
+
+The brutal whipping of these inoffensive women, and the murder of the
+negro McLane, add one more to the many evidences of the degradation to
+which the members of the Ku Klux Klan had reduced themselves, in their
+endeavors to crush out freedom of thought and expression, and compel
+adherence to their own peculiar tenets. Thank God, and the wisdom that now
+guides and controls the destinies of the nation, these dark hours of the
+Republic, fruitful with scenes like those described above, are passing
+away. A gleam of light appears in the horizon, as a glad harbinger of the
+dawn that shall usher in the day when
+
+  "All crimes shall cease, and ancient fraud shall fail;
+  Returning justice lift aloft her scale;
+  Peace o'er the world her olive wand extend,
+  And white robed innocence from heaven descend."
+
+
+MISCELLANEOUS OUTRAGES.
+
+WHIPPING OF STANFORD AND NASH.
+
+On the night of the 16th of June, 1871, two negroes, named John Stanford
+and Edward Nash, were proceeding to their homes, near Oltewah, Hamilton
+County, Tennessee, when they were met in the road by some fifteen men
+armed and disguised, who ordered them to stop. They were then interrogated
+by the leader of the band as to why they had voted the Radical ticket at
+the previous election. Stanford replied that they had done it because it
+was right. One of the band said:
+
+"There's a sting in that ticket, and you may as well have the whole of
+it," at the same time striking at Stanford with a wooden club.
+
+The latter is a very powerful negro, and having some spirit, resented the
+attempted injury, dodged the blow, and instantly seizing his assailant,
+threw him heavily to the earth. Nash showed fight also, but being a much
+weaker man, was soon overpowered and pinioned fast. Several of the band
+seized Stanford, who, from his superior strength, dashed them one side,
+and darted away, followed by half a dozen of the Klan.
+
+As he ran, he managed to pick up a piece of board in the road with which
+he turned on his pursuers with the intention of defending himself, when a
+well-directed shot struck his elbow, shattering the bone, and compelling
+him to drop the board, and again attempt to save himself by flight. A
+second shot struck him in the ankle, and impeded his further progress. His
+pursuers again came up with and secured him, and conveyed him back to
+where Nash was pleading for his life.
+
+A council was held by the Klan, in which it was decided that the negroes
+should be severely whipped, and if ever known to again vote the radical
+ticket, they should die.
+
+Stanford was tied to a tree, his immense strength still being feared by
+the band, and was beaten until entirely insensible. Nash received a
+similar castigation. Both the negroes were then untied and placed across
+the driveway of the road so that a wagon in passing would be likely to run
+over them, unless they should in the mean time become conscious, and get
+out of the way.
+
+In his desperate struggle with the band, Stanford had displaced one of the
+masks, which enabled him to recognize a man named Goal Martin, who lived
+in the vicinity. Upon the statement of these negroes, and from evidence
+furnished by other corroborating circumstances, several of the members of
+the band committing these outrages were arrested and brought to
+appropriate punishment.
+
+
+OUTRAGE UPON WILLIAM FLETCHER.
+
+On the night of the 23d of November, 1871, there assembled in the woods
+near Cross Plains, Alabama, a band of men armed and disguised as the White
+Brotherhood. Their persons were enveloped in long white gowns, white masks
+covered their faces, high white conical hats surmounted their heads, their
+hands were encased in white gloves, and white stockings were drawn over
+and completely covered their boots.
+
+The object of this gathering was the punishment of one William Fletcher, a
+white Unionist and Radical, who had the temerity to vote the Republican
+ticket, advocate the supremacy of the Government, and aid the officers
+thereof in the enforcement of the laws. These were crimes in the eyes of
+the Ku Klux Klan sufficient to warrant their taking the offender in hand.
+The customary warning was not sent in this case, but a friendly hand
+penned a note to Fletcher, informing him of the danger, but this,
+unfortunately, never reached him.
+
+At the time of the assembling of the band, as above stated, the "Night
+Hawks"[1] of the Camp came up with the intelligence that Fletcher was then
+in a grocery store kept by a man named Flanders, and that it would be
+better to decoy him out of there, and get him on the road towards the
+woods, where he could be the more easily mastered.
+
+Fletcher was a cool, resolute and brave man, was supposed to be well
+armed, and the members of the Klan knew that unless some strategy was used
+with him, some of their number must suffer the consequences. One of the
+Klan, named N. G. Scott, was accordingly detailed to decoy Fletcher away.
+Scott removed his disguise, and started for the store, followed at a
+convenient distance by several members of the band. He was successful in
+his undertaking, and in about twenty minutes he and his intended victim
+were walking down the road, in the direction of the ambuscade.
+
+In a moment more, the Klan sprang upon and overpowered Fletcher. Pistols
+were presented at his head, threatenings of death were made if he uttered
+a cry; a towel was tied tightly across his eyes as a bandage, and he was
+led away to the woods on the north side of Cross Plains. Upon reaching the
+woods, his coat and vest were removed, and he was stood up with his face
+pressed hard against a tree. His arms were drawn around the trunk of the
+tree, and tied together, and his legs were firmly secured by ropes.
+
+John Yeateman, who had charge of the proceedings of the Klan that night,
+then stepped forward, and told Fletcher to say his prayers, as he had but
+a short time to live; that it had first been the intention to give him a
+whipping and let him go, but that they had now decided to whip him to
+death.
+
+Fletcher replied by asking if there was no mercy to be accorded him, and
+inquired to know for what he was to be killed. The only answer to this was
+that they never gave mercy to the "infernal radicals, who wanted niggers
+to rule the country." This remark was followed by his shirt being torn
+completely off his back.
+
+Meantime the "executioners," who had gone for the "rods," returned, and
+upon the order of their leader fell to their work, cutting the back of the
+poor victim most dreadfully, and causing him to lose all his stoicism at
+last, and shriek from the effects of the blows. The "executioners"
+becoming exhausted, Yeateman himself seized a knife, and cutting away the
+garments that encased Fletcher's lower limbs, took a "rod," and commenced
+beating him about the loins with great ferocity.
+
+Fletcher fainted under the punishment, and as his screams had ceased,
+Yeateman desisted, remarking, "There's one Radical vote less, by ----."
+
+The band continued consulting together for some time, when, Fletcher being
+heard to groan, one of the Klan, named James Bierd, said: "He ain't
+finished yet; I reckon he'd better have the whole of it."
+
+Yeateman then approached the miserable victim, and having succeeded in
+arousing him to consciousness, asked: "Have you anything to say before you
+die?"
+
+Fletcher responded faintly, saying: "Write to my mother, Mrs. William
+Fletcher, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, and say how and why I died." In a
+moment afterwards he asked: "Is there no chance to live?"
+
+The band consulted together again, when Yeateman said: "There is just one
+chance for you, and that is that you agree to leave the State in three
+hours, and never come back."
+
+Fletcher gladly gave the required promise. He was then untied, and two of
+the band supporting him upon either side, led him to the railroad track.
+The bandage was then taken from his eyes, and he was told he must walk on,
+and that if he looked back, he would be shot. A row of revolvers pointed
+at him gave evidence that he was not being trifled with, and summoning all
+the resolution and strength which he could command, he slowly hobbled
+away.
+
+William Fletcher is no mythical creation. He lives to-day, a scarred and
+maimed monument of the demoniac brutality that instigated his scourging
+for opinion's sake; his property destroyed, his health ruined for life,
+his spirit crushed and broken. The naturally indignant reader will ask if
+justice has overtaken the miscreants who committed this outrage, and will
+be gratified to know that it has; and that the principal offenders have
+felt the weight of the strong arm of the law, now being vigorously
+enforced throughout the South against the execrable Klan to which they
+belonged, and in whose interest, and that of bigotry and persecution, they
+committed this dreadful outrage.
+
+
+A SIGNIFICANT CONVERSATION.
+
+The preceding stories of wrongs and outrages committed by the Ku Klux
+Klan, and those that follow, serve in a degree to show the extent to which
+persecutions for opinion's sake were carried. It was the intention of the
+leaders to intimidate the masses, that further opposition to the
+principles promulgated by the Ku Klux Klan, or Southern Democracy, should
+cease altogether. They were wiley enough to see, however, that silence,
+while it may often give assent, can rarely be construed as an endorsement
+of that which is utterly repugnant to the human heart.
+
+Hence, plans were adopted for the dissemination of principles in violent
+antagonism to the Government and the Administration. It was not only
+hinted at that a change of Administration would effect the ends desired by
+the Ku Klux Orders; but it was openly declared by the bolder ones that
+such an event would give the South more than it had ever hoped to obtain,
+even had the war been a success to them instead of to the nation at large.
+
+As an illustration of the feeling of some of these leaders, who were men
+of property and influence, and owned plantations in the interior, the
+following conversation is given. This conversation actually occurred upon
+the Moore plantation, situated upon the Tuscaloosa and Lexington Turnpike.
+
+Moore had been a most uncompromising rebel, and was one of the first to
+join the Ku Klux Camp in his vicinity. He was continually haranguing his
+laborers in the interest of Ku Kluxism and democracy, cursing the
+Government and the Administration, and swearing death to all who upheld
+them. One of his hands, whom he had but recently employed (September,
+1871), said to him:
+
+"What shall we do to break up this cursed Government, and have things as
+we want them?"
+
+Moore replied: "There is a movement on foot all over the South that will
+drive every d----d Yankee out of it before long, and give us things all
+our own way."
+
+"Good," said the laborer, "I'd like to know the programme, and get posted
+in that thing; I'd take a big hand in it!"
+
+Moore being now convinced that he had the right kind of a tool for the
+intended work, then said:
+
+"We've got the right thing now to fix all the niggers and Yankees with
+that don't go as we want them to; we don't care a d---- for the general
+government. It can go to ----, where it ought to. They may pass an hundred
+more Ku Klux bills, and it won't do them a bit of good. The Ku Klux are
+resting just now; but they are not asleep. They have got the niggers and
+radicals in pretty good train, so they don't dare say anything. All we
+want is a Democratic President, and that must come sure the next election,
+and then we can run things to suit ourselves."
+
+If Mr. Moore ever sees this faithful transcript of his disloyal speech,
+delivered upon his own plantation, on the 12th of September, 1871, he may
+begin to get some idea that the farm hands by whom he was surrounded were
+not all as badly poisoned with hatred to the radicals as he was, and that
+one of them at least had the temerity to treasure up and repeat the above
+conversation. It is here produced as an evidence of the sentiments that
+pervaded the minds of the leaders; and to set all doubt at rest as to its
+authenticity, it may be added that it is a matter of record, to be seen
+and read of all men.
+
+
+OUTRAGE UPON PERSONS IN TEXAS.
+
+As an evidence that neither color or nationality formed any protection
+against the evil machinations of the Ku Klux Klan, the case of Henry
+Kaufmann, a well-to-do German residing in Bell County, Texas, may be
+cited.
+
+Kaufmann had come to this country after the war of the Rebellion, and,
+having some means and an extensive knowledge as a stock raiser, made his
+way South, finally locating in Texas, as the place best adapted for the
+business of raising stock, which was one he intended to pursue. His family
+consisted of his wife and two children, a boy and girl, aged respectively
+nine and eleven years.
+
+Texas at this time was the scene of many outrages, but the good-natured
+German was for a long time unable to comprehend their significance. Like
+most of his countrymen, he entertained republican sentiments; they were
+the sentiments of his heart, while at home, in the land of his fathers,
+and he had supposed, that in America, the asylum of the oppressed of all
+nations, he would find them in all their purity, upheld and expressed
+without fear, and honored by all.
+
+In this respect, he was doomed to bitter disappointment. The nearest
+neighbor to Kaufmann, was a man named McPherson, originally from the
+North, but who had for some years resided in Texas, and was a
+thorough-going Unionist. He did not hesitate, even among all the tumult
+and disorder, by which he was surrounded, to express his union sentiments,
+and had been repeatedly warned by the Ku Klux that he must change his
+course.
+
+As he paid no heed to these threats, he received a visitation during the
+Spring of 1871, which utterly ruined him, and from which he escaped with
+his life, only by the aid of Kaufmann. It appears that the Klan having
+beat McPherson almost to death, gave him twenty-four hours in which to
+leave the country, threatening to kill him if he did not do so. Suffering
+terribly from the dreadful scourging, McPherson was just able to get as
+far as Kaufmann's house, where he sought protection until such time as he
+might be able to travel and get away from the place.
+
+The good-natured German, filled with the humane instincts, natural to his
+people, at once took the refugee into his house, and cared for him for
+several days, without dreaming that he would incur the displeasure of
+anyone for such an act. He nursed McPherson tenderly for some four days,
+when the latter, dreading that the Klan might discover, and destroy, not
+only him, but his generous benefactor, left the house at night, and
+removed himself as far as possible from his persecutors.
+
+The fact of his having been harbored by Kaufmann, became known to the
+Klan, however, by some means, and they forthwith classed the latter as a
+radical. On the third night after McPherson's departure, about eight
+o'clock in the evening, the unsuspecting German was sitting with his wife
+and children before a log-fire--as the weather was still chilly--when the
+door was unceremoniously burst in and a score of the Klan filled the room.
+
+Kaufmann was rudely seized and a demand made upon him to know what he had
+done with that d--d radical McPherson.
+
+To this he made reply that he "didn't know such mans." Upon this, one of
+the band struck him a severe blow, telling him they meant to learn him not
+to interfere with their business. Mrs. Kaufmann implored them in broken
+English, not to hurt her husband; he had done nothing, and they had made a
+mistake.
+
+"He's done enough," said Butch Williams, the leader of the crowd, "You
+can't make any mistake on these dutchmen, they are all d--d radicals
+anyhow. Its born in 'em, but by ---- they shan't spit it out here."
+
+Kaufmann was then securely pinioned and whipped until he became
+unconscious. When the castigation was ended, the leader turning to Mrs.
+Kaufmann, and pointing to the bruised and bleeding body of her husband, as
+it lie upon the floor, said:--
+
+"Now if that dirty, dutch scallawag ever comes to himself, you tell him to
+sell out and get away from here, or we'll be the death of the whole of you
+and burn the house over your heads. We'll give him just ten days to do it
+in."
+
+Kaufmann did revive at last, and when he learned the dread message which
+the Klan had left behind, saw with sorrow that he must relinquish his
+pleasant home, and become a wanderer; but the necessities of the case
+admitted of no other course. His property was disposed of at a ruinous
+sacrifice, and with his wife and little ones, he made his way to Illinois,
+where he now is.
+
+It would seem that the nationality of Kaufmann, and his probable ignorance
+of what constituted an offence in the eyes of the Ku Klux, should have
+saved him from this terrible visitation, so fraught with physical
+chastisement and financial ruin; but to the vision of men who regarded no
+law, who only saw the attainment of their despicable ends, through fraud
+and violence, he appeared a "radical by nature."--One, who being a German,
+must necessarily be a Republican, and hence they could make no mistake in
+scourging him.
+
+
+A SLAVE'S FORMER EXPERIENCE REVIVED.
+
+In the month of May, 1871, an intelligent mulatto--in whose veins flowed
+the blood of some ardent advocate of the _white_ man's race,
+unquestionably judging from his light color--whose name was William
+Washington, resided in a small shanty or cabin, about two miles and a-half
+from Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Washington had been a slave in the early part of
+his life, and was one of those unfortunates who chafed under the abuses
+and the yoke that held him in servitude to a "master."
+
+He was high-spirited, and had learned to read and write before the
+Emancipation Proclamation had given him freedom, to act upon his own
+volition, untrammelled by his nominal "owner." Upon becoming a freeman, he
+left Montgomery County, Ala., near which place he had been reared, and
+settled in the vicinity of Tuscaloosa.
+
+He was quiet in his deportment, orderly and well disposed. He had given
+general satisfaction to all who had employed him. But in the early part of
+the year 1870, it began to be observed that Washington was actively
+exerting an influence over the negroes in the vicinity, to such an extent
+as to cause the Ku Klux Camp organized under Philip J. Brady, as Commander
+to take the alarm.
+
+The mulatto Washington was charged with being a Republican, of the radical
+sort, with presuming to teach the negroes to read, (shocking offence?) and
+of instructing them in Northern principles. This wouldn't answer, surely.
+And so William was "warned" by the Camp that he must cease this kind of
+practice, and leave the country at once.
+
+He paid no heed to this warning, and a second one came, notifying him that
+unless he departed within the succeeding thirty days, he should suffer
+death--for "though the moon was then bright, it would turn to blood--K.
+K. K." Instead of seeing this fearful summons in the light it was intended
+he should, the mulatto industriously circulated the story that he went
+well armed always, and was ready to die, if he must, in defence of his
+principles. But that "he wouldn't run away--no how."
+
+Matters went on thus for nearly a year. On the night of the 15th of May,
+1871, Washington shut and barred his cabin door, as was his custom upon
+retiring, placed his gun and a single barrelled pistol by his bedside, and
+turned in, to sleep. About eleven o'clock, he was suddenly awaked by a
+thumping upon the closed shutter of the only window in the hut, and upon
+inquiring who was there, he recognized the voice of a friendly negro,
+outside, who answered--
+
+"Day's a pow'r o' men a comin' up der road, yender--an' yer muss look out
+for yar se'f Wash'n't'n, dass a fack."
+
+This timely and kindly warning from his friend was very gratefully
+listened to by Washington, who replied that his informer must try to get
+help to him, if possible. And quickly dressing himself, the former slave
+awaited the assault which he now anticipated, from the look of affairs
+outside, so near his hut.
+
+The mounted band rode up very soon afterwards, and having been refused
+admittance, some of them dashed in the door. Washington was a powerful
+man, well built and very muscular--while his self-possession was always
+remarkable, when in peril. The interior of the shanty being quite dark, he
+crouched down in one corner, and fired upon his assailants with the pistol
+first and then immediately discharged the gun. Both shots took effect, and
+two of the Klan fell heavily to the floor.
+
+Clubbing his musket, he then desperately rushed upon the enemy,
+determined, if he must die, that he would sell his life as dearly as
+possible; but the odds were altogether too heavy against him. The
+gun-stock in his brawny hands, was shattered at the first blow struck by
+his powerful arm, and then the band sprang forward and secured him, though
+not without a furious struggle. He was at once taken out of the cabin, a
+rope was placed about his neck, and thrown over the projecting limb of the
+nearest convenient tree, from which his body was quickly dangling, a
+lifeless corpse. They hung him without accusation, judge or jury, until he
+was dead, dead, dead--in accordance with the terms of the bitter oath of
+the Ku Klux Klan, whose victims are doomed "for opinion's sake!"
+
+One of the gang had been mortally wounded by Washington's first shots, and
+died on the following day. Two others had been seriously hurt, and one of
+them was crippled for life. The body of Washington was left hanging
+beneath the tree for several days after this conflict, and until the
+negroes in the neighborhood gathered courage sufficient to cut it down,
+and give it decent burial; which they did at night, secretly and
+mournfully, for their late friend's sudden and violent death, proved an
+affliction indeed to the poor creatures, towards whom he had been so kind
+and clever an instructor and companion.
+
+And thus this poor negro paid the penalty of his offence in being a
+radical, and like many a one before him who had been similarly sacrificed,
+"his soul goes marching on."
+
+
+SCOURGING RADICAL TEACHERS AND BANISHING MINISTERS OF THE GOSPEL.
+
+Judging from information gathered from the most available sources, it
+appears that all measures, whether of a political, a religious or
+educational character, looking to the elevation of the negro, were
+strenuously opposed by the Ku Klux Klans, as they had sworn they should
+be.
+
+The education of the negro was regarded as an especial heresy, not to be
+tolerated under any circumstances. It was an offence second in magnitude
+only to that of his voting the Radical ticket, and the face of the Klan
+was set against it with a resolution that made it a dangerous avocation
+for any one to engage in. School houses, erected for the purpose of
+teaching colored children, were burned to the ground, and the teachers
+scourged, banished or whipped to death.
+
+The testimony of Col. A. P. Huggins, formerly of the Union Army, and
+subsequently of Monroe County, Mississippi, is pertinent to the point.
+Col. Huggins, is known as a brave and gallant officer, a man of great
+physical and moral courage, and of unquestioned veracity. During the month
+of May, 1870, he became County Superintendent of Schools, for Monroe
+County, and on the 8th of March following, went into the interior, some
+eight or ten miles from Aberdeen, the County seat, on business connected
+with the School Department. He was at this time an Assistant Assessor of
+Internal Revenue, and improved the opportunity to make several assessments
+of revenue in the vicinity, staying, by invitation, at the house of a Mr.
+Ross.
+
+On the night of the day after his arrival at the house of Mr. Ross, (the
+9th of March) a band of the Ku Klux, armed and disguised, and numbering
+about one hundred and twenty, came to the house and compelled Col. Huggins
+to come out. The chief of the Klan then informed him that they had come to
+warn him that he must quit the country within ten days that it had been
+decreed in the camp that he should first be warned, that the warning
+should be enforced by whipping, and if that did not produce the desired
+effect, he should be killed by the Klan, and if circumstances were such
+that he could not be killed by the Klan in a body, then they were sworn
+to assassinate him publicly or privately.
+
+Col. Huggins asked them what his offense consisted of, and was answered by
+the chief, who said:--"You are collecting obnoxious taxes from Southern
+Gentlemen, to keep damned old Radicals in office. Now I want you to
+understand that no laws can be enforced in this country, that we do not
+make ourselves. We don't like your Radical ways, and we want you to
+understand it."
+
+Col. Huggins then asked them if their operations were against the Radical
+party, and the Chief replied that they were; that they had stood the
+radicals just as long as they intended to, and they meant to banish or
+kill every one of them. The Chief then said, "will you leave the country
+in ten days." The Colonel replied that he would leave the country when he
+got ready, and not before. He was then taken about a quarter of a mile
+from the residence of Mr. Ross, where they halted. He was then ordered to
+take off his coat, which he refused to do, and it was removed by force.
+
+Twenty-five lashes were then given Col. Huggins, when he was asked if he
+would leave the country. To this he replied that he would not, that now
+that they had commenced, they might go on as far as they pleased, as he
+had just as soon die, as take what he had already received. The whipping
+was resumed. Col. Huggins remembered hearing the executioners count the
+number of lashes up to seventy-five, when he fainted. The Klan left him in
+charge of Mr. Ross, and rode away. The main reason assigned for the
+punishment of Col. Huggins was that he was a Radical and in favor of
+educating the negroes.
+
+The case of Cornelius McBride, a young Scotchman who taught a colored
+school near Sparta, Chickasaw County, is one of unusual cruelty. Being
+teacher of a colored school, McBride was classed as a Radical, and beside
+this, he had come from the North. He was accordingly doomed by the Klan
+for a visitation.
+
+Between twelve and one o'clock of the Thursday night of the last week in
+March, 1870, a number of the Klan came to his house, and presenting rifles
+through the window, ordered McBride to come out. He asked what was wanted,
+when one of them replied, "come out you d--d yankee." McBride saw that
+nothing less than taking his life was intended, and determined to make an
+effort to escape. He gave a sudden spring through the window, landing
+directly between the two men who were pointing their rifles, dashed past
+them and ran to the house of a colored man whom he knew, and where he
+thought he could get a gun. While he was running, the members of the Klan
+commenced firing upon him, ordering him to stop, or they would blow his
+brains out. None of the shots took effect upon him, and he entered the
+cabin, but before he could get the gun, of which he was in search, the
+Klan were upon him and secured him.
+
+McBride was then taken about a mile away from the place, having nothing on
+but his night dress. This was rudely torn from his person, and the
+executioners were about to commence their work, when he asked them what he
+was to be whipped for. The leader said, "you want to make the niggers
+equal to a white man. This is a white man's country."
+
+The whipping was then commenced with black gum switches, that stung the
+flesh and raised it in great ridges at every blow. The torture was so
+great that the poor victim begged them in God's name to kill him at once
+and put him out of misery. The leader said "shooting is too good for this
+fellow, we'll hang him when we get through whipping him." Another one
+said, "Do you want to be shot?" To which McBride replied, "Yes, I can't
+stand this torture, it is horrible." He then partially raised himself
+upon his knees and determined to make one more effort for his life.
+Standing directly in front of him was one of the Klan, the only one who
+stood directly in his way, if he should attempt to run.
+
+Stung by the terrible pain of the switch, McBride sprang to his feet,
+dealt the man in the front of him a tremendous blow, and darting past him
+scaled a fence, and ran across the open field. The Klan discharged their
+fire-arms after him, but in a few moments gave up the pursuit. McBride
+reached the house of a Mr. Walser, and there found protection through the
+remainder of the night.
+
+Other teachers of colored schools received similar visitations, and
+colored schools were burned there and in the adjoining counties.
+
+The crusade against Ministers of the Gospel who preached to the freedmen,
+was then commenced. The Rev. John Avery, of Winston County, was notified
+that he must appear at a meeting of the Ku Klux; that he must join in with
+the Klan, and cease his interest in free schools, and upon his refusal,
+his house was burned over his head. Mr. Avery was a southern man, and a
+pastor in the Methodist Episcopal Church.
+
+Rev. Mr. Galloway, a Congregationalist Minister, of Monroe County, was in
+the habit occasionally of preaching to the freedmen. During April, 1870, a
+band of the Ku Klux called upon him at night, and notified him that he
+must not preach to these people. He continued doing so, however, and
+received a second warning, accompanied by an intimation, which he did not
+dare disregard, and he was compelled to relinquish his good work, on pain
+of banishment or death.
+
+The Rev. Mr. McLachlin, a Methodist Episcopal Preacher, of Oktibbeha
+County, received various warnings to the same effect, but persisted in his
+course until he was finally driven from that county, and dared not return
+to it.
+
+Scores of similar cases might be cited, all of which are matters of public
+record, but those above given, serve to show, that the Order of the Ku
+Klux Klan, is inimical to religion and education, as well as to the
+politics of those differing with them in their avowed opposition to
+Republicanism, and their adherence to the Democratic party. These gallant
+defenders of the white man's race were determined that no Government but
+the white man's should live in the country, and these results they hoped
+to obtain through the banishment, scourging and killing of negroes,
+Radicals and Republicans, by which means also, with the aid of their
+sympathizers at the North, they expected to have a Democratic
+Administration.
+
+
+WARNINGS AND EDICTS OF THE KLAN.
+
+It would seem to have been the design of the leaders of the Ku Klux Klans,
+in issuing their warnings, to play as much as possible upon the
+superstitions of the people. These documents were written in a disguised
+hand, sometimes in coarse language, and contained sentiments intended to
+inspire terror in the minds of the recipients.
+
+They were usually bordered with designs, representing daggers piercing
+bleeding hearts, death's heads and cross bones, and various grotesque
+devices. Some of them had a spice of grim humor, which, although fun to
+the Klan who issued these missives, meant banishment, scourging or death
+to those who received them. Specimens of these, the originals of which
+fell into the hands of the United States Officials during their attempts
+to break up the Ku Klux organization are here given _verbatim et
+literatim_.
+
+Five persons residing in White County, Georgia, having made themselves
+politically obnoxious to the Klan, received the following:--
+
+     "READ THE CONTENTS, K. K. K.
+
+     O ye, horsemen of Manassas. Bounce, ye dead men that is now living on
+     earth. We are the men that I am talking about. We are of K. K. K. Now
+     Sandy Holcumb, Green Holcumb, Daniel McCollum, and E. Dickson, your
+     days are numbered. We shot the old Belt weather[2] a little too low.
+     We aimed to shoot him through the heart; and if you don't all get
+     away from this country very soon, your Radical hearts will be shot
+     out of you, and we had just as leave shoot you as for you to get
+     away.
+
+        K. K. K."
+
+The parties named in the above warning did not leave, as the United States
+Officials came into the county about that time and arrested nearly one
+hundred members of the Camp from which the document was issued.
+
+At Irwington, Ga., the colored people determined upon holding a
+"protracted meeting," and colored preachers assembled there from all
+quarters. The meetings are described as having been most orderly, but they
+were deemed inimical to the interests of the Ku Klux, and the following
+warning was issued and posted near the place of meeting.
+
+     "K. K. K.
+
+     The devil is getting up a new team, and wants some nigger preachers
+     to work in the lead. If you stay here until we come again, the devil
+     will be certain to have his team completed.
+
+        K. K. K."
+
+The consternation of the freedmen was so great upon the receipt of the
+above warning that not a colored preacher dared to show himself in the
+vicinity for months afterwards.
+
+The Klan oppressed everyone not members of or in sympathy with their
+organization, and sought to over-ride all law and equity, upon the
+principle that might made right. To this end they issued warnings to
+business men who had come into their vicinity from the North, and who were
+disposed to invest capital and establish trade, but who were not of the
+right stripe politically--and this meant who were not sound Democrats.
+Numerous instances of this kind are on record.
+
+Two enterprising business men--Messrs. Gottschalk and Hughes--purchased a
+mill property in Atalla, Ala., belonging to one J. B. Spitzer, and made
+their arrangements to get out lumber. Messrs. Gottschalk and Hughes were
+under suspicion of not sympathizing with the Klan, politically, and a
+pretence was made that Mr. Spitzer, from whom they had purchased the saw
+mill, was indebted to persons, whom the new firm were politely requested
+to accept as their creditors. This they refused to do, and the following
+warning was sent them.
+
+     "DEN OF THE GREAT GRAND HIGH CYCLOPS OF ETOWAH COUNTY, ALA.
+
+     To Messrs. Gottschalk & Hughes:
+
+     His royal highness, your great, grand high worthy master, notices
+     with much pleasure that you have purchased and become the owners of
+     the saw mill, lately owned by Mr. J. B. Spitzer. He understands very
+     well, everything connected with that mill transaction, and it is his
+     great pleasure that you call on the creditors of J. B. Spitzer in the
+     morning, and approve of the debts of Mr. Spitzer. He wishes an
+     answer to-night what you will do in the matter.
+
+        By order of his royal highness,
+          _The Great grand Cyclops of Etowah County, Ala._"
+
+Messrs. Gottschalk & Hughes paid no heed to this missive, and on the night
+of the 13th of November, 1871, the Klan assembled and set fire to the
+mill, destroying it entirely, and compelling its new proprietors to leave
+the place.
+
+Mr. William Gober, residing in Dade County, Georgia, was an avowed
+Unionist and Republican. He was active in politics and expressed his
+sentiments with great freedom, and was consequently classed by the Ku Klux
+as a carpet-bagger and a scallawag, and warned to leave the country, in
+the following terms:--
+
+     "DEATH. K. K. K. DEATH.
+
+     Take heed for the pale horse is coming. His step is terrible;
+     lightning is in his nostrils. He looks for a rider. Now this is to
+     warn you William Gober, that carpet-baggers and scallawags cannot
+     live in this country. If you are not gone in ten days, we shall come
+     to you, and the pale horse shall have his rider.
+
+        By order. K. K. K."
+
+Mr Gober smiled at this document, but the sequel shew that it meant
+something more than a threat. At midnight on the 13th of September, 1871,
+his house was surrounded by about twenty of the Klan, armed and disguised.
+He was then dragged out and whipped with great severity. Previous to the
+infliction of the punishment he fought desperately with his assailants,
+and succeeded in displacing several of their masks, and recognizing them.
+
+He was left for dead by the Klan, but recovered his consciousness, and
+secretly made his way to Atlanta, where he made an affidavit, upon which
+six of the parties were arrested and held for trial.
+
+Thousands of warnings, similar to the above, many of them obscene and
+blasphemous, were sent to as many persons in various parts of the South.
+
+One more is herewith appended, as showing one of the extremes to which the
+Ku Klux went in their crusade against Radicals. It was found hanging to a
+small dagger, stuck into one of the doors of the University, at
+Tuscaloosa, Ala., with several others of similar import, addressed to some
+of the students of the University, and read as follows:--
+
+     "K. K. K.
+
+     STUDENT'S UNIVERSITY.
+
+     DAVID SMITH.--You have received one notice from us and this shall be
+     our last. You, nor no other d--d son of a d--d Radical traitor, shall
+     stay at our University. Leave here in less than ten days, for in that
+     time we will visit the place, and it will not be well for you to be
+     found out there. The State is ours and so shall the University be.
+     Written by the Secretary.
+
+        By order of the Klan."
+
+
+THE MURDER OF WM. C. LUKE AND FIVE NEGROES.
+
+One of the most brutal outrages to be found, even among the dark and
+bloody records of the Ku Klux Klan, was enacted on the night of the 10th
+of April, 1870, at the village of Cross Plains, near Paytona, Ala. The
+details of this occurrence here given, have been collated from various
+sources, a portion of them having been obtained from eye witnesses to the
+affair.
+
+William C. Luke, a Canadian by birth, and a gentleman of education, had
+come to Paytona, and taken charge of the day school there. He was a
+prominent worker in the cause of religion, entertained and advocated
+Republican principles and took an earnest interest in the welfare of the
+colored people, by whom he was surrounded. This drew down upon him the
+malice of the Klan, and he was doomed to death. Luke had preached to the
+negroes at times, and had taken occasion in his sermons to express his
+opinion that negroes were now entitled to the same rights and privileges
+under the Constitution of the United States as the whites.
+
+This course could not be tolerated by the K. K. K., and they only awaited
+a favorable opportunity for carrying out the Edict of the Camp.
+
+On the 10th of April, Mr. Luke had preached at Paytona, and on the evening
+of that day had returned to Cross Plains. He was there informed that the
+Ku Klux had determined to come for him that night, and at once returned to
+Paytona, accompanied by several negroes, who seemed fearful that he might
+meet with violence. Up to ten o'clock nothing had transpired to cause
+alarm, and Mr. Luke retired.
+
+Between twelve and one o'clock he was aroused from his slumbers by three
+armed and disguised men, who informed him there had been a fracas in the
+village of Cross Plains, about which it was thought he knew something, and
+he was requested to go with them to the latter place. He signified his
+willingness to do so, dressed himself and went out with the party. Upon
+getting out of the house he was surprised at seeing a large number of men
+similarly disguised, and who had in custody the five negroes who had
+accompanied him to Paytona.
+
+One of the negroes named Jacob Moore, endeavored to break loose from his
+captors, and had a severe fight with them. Being a very powerful man he
+succeeded in breaking away and run down the road. The Klan fired several
+shots after him, two of which took effect, and he dropped by the road
+side. Mr. Luke and the remaining negroes were then taken to the northern
+border of Paytona, on the Cross Plains line, where the band halted. The
+intended victim was now convinced that his death was meditated, and he
+said to the leader of the Klan, one Clem Reid, "Am I about to die."
+
+"Yes, you have preached your d--d heresies long enough," was the answer.
+"If you've got any prayers to say, you had better be about it."
+
+Mr. Luke replied calmly, "I am not afraid to die, nor for such a cause. It
+is hard to die in such a way."
+
+Leave having been granted him to pray he uttered a most fervent appeal to
+God, soliciting mercy for himself and the negroes, and forgiveness for
+those who were persecuting them and him for righteousness and opinion's
+sake. His prayers were rudely cut short, a rope was placed about his neck,
+the end thrown over the limb of a tree and his body suspended in the air.
+The four negroes were next dispatched.
+
+John Goff, an eye witness to the proceedings states that the Klan tried to
+hang two of the negroes, named Cæsar Fredericks and William Hall, at once,
+but not being able to make the bodies balance, Pat Craig, a member of the
+Klan, shot Fredericks in the mouth, while Clay Keith murdered Hall in a
+similar manner. The other negroes were then hung singly, their bodies
+being drawn up slowly to increase their torture.
+
+The defenders of the "white man's race" then separated, fully satisfied
+with having performed one more service in support of the "White Man's
+Government." This outrage was so flagrant that the farce of an
+investigation was gone through with, and the suspected parties arrested.
+An examination resulted in their being discharged. The witnesses were all
+members of the Ku Klux Klan, and had sworn to regard no oath that would
+injure one of the brotherhood, and the murderers of William C. Luke still
+go unwhipt of justice. And these are the people who talk of their rights,
+of the oppression of Radical rule, of their determination to establish a
+Democratic Administration.
+
+
+PROSCRIPTION.
+
+It seemed to be the intent of the orders of the Ku Klux Klan everywhere
+throughout the South, to impress upon the people, the fallacy of
+attempting to entertain any opinion inimical to those put forth by the
+Klan. The attacks of the Klan were first directed to such of the people as
+were bold enough to declare themselves unionists and republicans.
+Scourging, banishment or murder were the measures adopted to enforce
+silence, and these terrible agents proved fully potent to accomplish the
+end.
+
+This enforced silence, however, appeared to be dangerous, and was
+certainly more ominous to the order, than the freest utterances of the
+most radical views. "Those not with the order, must certainly be against
+it," said the leaders, and a new crusade was forthwith inaugurated. The
+object of the new movement was to compel every able-bodied white man to
+join the Order and become bound to it by oaths, administered in the Camp.
+
+Notices were accordingly issued by the respective Chiefs of Dominion from
+every Camp, requiring the presence of parties, for initiation into the
+Order. When these were not heeded, they were followed by warnings. If the
+parties were still refractory, then they received a visitation.
+
+The two first cases arising under this new arrangement, were those of
+Paul Myers and John Chapman, of Jefferson County, Ala. These gentlemen
+were joint proprietors of a small store, and while inwardly opposed to the
+principles of the Ku Klux, had outwardly conducted themselves in such a
+manner as to give no cause of offence to the Klan. They were surprised in
+common with many others, upon receiving a notice to appear for initiation
+into the Jefferson County Camp of the K. K., and they resolutely refused
+to comply with the request.
+
+They were then warned, that they would be "Ku Kluxed" if they did not
+come, and the threat was carried out, both of them being severely whipped,
+and their store pillaged. A second warning was sent to them, and this was
+succeeded by a second visitation, more terrible than the first. They were
+so badly beaten at this time, that their lives were despaired of, and as
+soon as they were able, they closed their store and left the place.
+
+They then placed themselves in communication with the United States
+Officials, and under their advice returned, signified their willingness to
+join the order, and did so. By this means they were enabled to arrive at
+the names of parties engaged in various raids, and obtain all information
+necessary to the arrest and conviction of the leaders. This was one of the
+first steps that led to the breaking up of the Klan in Jefferson County.
+
+Messrs. Myers and Chapman managed to impart information to the United
+States Officers, upon which several of the prominent members of the order
+were arrested and lodged in jail, and the visitations ceased.
+
+In White County, Georgia, Mr. William Carson received a notice from the Ku
+Klux of that County, that he must join the order. Carson was the head of
+an intelligent family, a Republican in principle, but who avoided
+expressing his opinions as much as possible.
+
+He paid no heed to the notices and warnings sent him, but pursued the even
+tenor of his way, remaining home as much of the time as his business would
+admit, and being especially careful about going abroad at night.
+
+During November, 1871, he received the long promised visitation. The
+evening meal was through with, the early evening prayers of the children
+had been said, the latter were about retiring, when a number of the Klan,
+armed, mounted and disguised dashed up to the door.
+
+Mr. Carson opened the door and mildly asked to know the object of their
+visit. The reply was a rifle shot, which was immediately followed by a
+second, and Mr. Carson fell dead across the door step. The Klan
+disappeared as suddenly as they had come. The grief stricken family raised
+up the inanimate form of the beloved husband and father, only to realize
+that the voice which had so long been the comfort and consolation of the
+little household would never be heard by them again.
+
+This in a christian land! Within the sound of the sabbath bells, and
+almost under the shadow of the sanctuary of the living God. A christian
+gentleman refusing to bind himself with those who had sworn to overthrow
+the Government, and scourge and kill the negro and the radical; shot down
+within his own door, in sight of his wife and little ones, because,
+forsooth, he had the temerity to think and act, politically, as his
+conscience seemed to dictate.
+
+Thinking men throughout the nation will stand for many years to come with
+William Carson, on the spot where he met his awful and untimely fate, and
+they will stand there in the power of consolidated right, beating back the
+onslaughts of the powers of darkness, and raising a monument to the
+justice of that course, which by the vigorous action of the nation's
+counsellors, and under the provident rule of a beneficent God, is fast
+being established on a solid foundation.
+
+
+SHOCKING FATE OF A QUADROON FAMILY.
+
+Gaston County, N. C., in the lower part of that State, adjoins York
+County, South Carolina, the State line dividing these two districts. In
+the north-easterly part of Gaston County, in the outskirts of Hoylestown,
+there came to live a family of mulatto people--or quadroons--in 1870, who
+were refugees from oppression, brutality and abuse of the Ku Klux Klan in
+Moore County, N. C., whence they had been banished after the husband had
+been shockingly scourged, and the lives of himself, wife, and three
+children threatened, unless he left Moore County within a fortnight from
+the night he was whipped.
+
+At the earnest entreaties of his wife, who feared the next threatened
+visitation of the Klan, her husband consented to quit the place he had
+dwelt in some years, but where he had rendered himself obnoxious to the
+Democratic party around him, through his persistent advocacy of Republican
+sentiments, which he promulgated among his own race, causing them to cast
+their votes for the Radical ticket. And for this offence he was terribly
+whipped and ruthlessly driven from his home.
+
+The name of this family was Noye, Aleck and Elfie, the father and mother
+had both been slaves, belonging originally to the Noye estate, in Moore
+County. Aleck was an ingenious fellow, and his brother Felix, had, twenty
+years previously, invented a peculiar reclining chair for the use of
+invalids; which to this day is manufactured largely in New England, upon
+the identical principle, originated by Felix, for which his old master
+took out a patent, and from the royalty of which he has realized a fortune
+first and last.
+
+Aleck was a first rate mechanic and earned a good living. After the war,
+when he became free to exercise his natural talent for his own benefit,
+and had the right to vote, he became an ardent Radical, and proved a
+damaging subject among his brethren in the estimation of the Southern
+Democrats.
+
+He was a brave fellow, and only at the urgent solicitation of Elfie, did
+he decide to quit his former residence, after the scourging above alluded
+to. But he went to Gaston County, found occupation readily and pursued his
+labor faithfully. The old love of "freedom of opinion" went with him, and
+his zeal for his colored fellow brethren soon cropped out, in his new
+location. He was "warned" to leave Hoylestown, just as he had been
+compelled by the mandate of the Klan to flee from Moore County, but
+refused to go.
+
+On the night of February 7, 1871, Aleck was sitting with his family before
+the fire in his little cabin, after a hard day's work; and the children
+were about the room, one of the little girls being at the moment beside
+his knee. The mother was busy getting the homely evening meal ready, and
+was just in the act of removing from before the glowing fire the pone and
+hoe cakes for supper, when the door of the hut flew open, suddenly, a
+musket shot rang out, and _she_ fell head-foremost in upon the blazing
+logs, with a bullet through her brain!
+
+Aleck sprang from his stool, caught his wife in his arms, and drew her out
+of the flames upon the floor. She never spoke from that instant, and, amid
+the screams of the terrified children, Aleck found himself in the gripe of
+two or three disguised ruffians, who entered in advance of half a dozen
+others of the Klan, who quickly pinioned him, and informed him that "his
+time had come."
+
+His wife, whom he tenderly loved, lay dead before his startled and
+dumfounded gaze, and he could not command himself to speak for a moment.
+Then he commenced to struggle with the brutes, the screams of his little
+ones bringing him back to himself. "What is this for," he exclaimed. "Come
+along!" was the sharp reply of the leader of the gang, "You're played out,
+and now you're _our_ meat!" And they swiftly bore the wretched father out
+of the hut, and away from his slaughtered wife and horrified crying babes.
+
+Aleck was taken to the woods, half a mile distant, where the gang tore and
+cut his clothes off of him, and then proceeded to flay him, in accordance
+with the decision of the Camp in that county; the members of which had
+first been put upon his track by members of the Moore County Klan. Upon
+this second visitation, the edict was to "whip the nigger to death." And
+they did the bidding of their leader, as the sequel proved, to the letter.
+He was cut and slashed, and beaten until the breath of life was almost
+gone out of his poor defenceless body, and then their victim was hurled
+into the chapparal, and left to the night wolves of the forest to devour.
+
+It sometimes occurs that our strength increases in proportion to the
+strain that is imposed upon it. Wounds and rough hardship enure the
+sturdy, and provoke their courage, oftentimes, and there is a natural
+instinct in the heart of man, which, under the severest trials and abuses,
+steels his very nerves _not_ to yield to the heaviest blows of calamity or
+adversity--mental or physical.
+
+Aleck was brave-hearted to a fault. He was likewise physically courageous,
+and could bear the worst kind of punishment, ordinarily, without
+flinching. He was now vanquished, for hours he lay like one who had "given
+up the ghost," beyond conjecture. Still he did not die until the following
+night. He was providentially discovered by some negroes, in the woods,
+taken to his cabin, and brought to consciousness.
+
+Before he expired he told his dreadful story to four witnesses, who gave
+it in substance to the United States authorities, as we have now stated
+the details; but unfortunately--on account of the disguises of his
+heartless tormenters and murderers--he could give no description that
+pointed to the personal identity of the offenders.
+
+He learned that his wife was dead, before his own lamp of life went out,
+and simply asking of the colored friends who gathered about his
+death-bed-side, that the humble pair might be laid in the same grave, poor
+Aleck Noye sank to his final rest, and yielded up his spirit to the God
+who gave it. The children were taken away by some of the poor neighbors
+who esteemed the quadroon family for their virtues, and universal kindness
+towards them, and thus closed another awful tragedy in North Carolina--of
+which over six hundred came under the knowledge of the United States
+District Attorney, in a single county, (not all of them fatal, to be
+sure), and which have been duly reported by him, officially, within a
+comparatively limited period, since the close of the war.
+
+Is there no "combination of purpose or design" in all these instances of
+wrong? Does there exist "no organization among these men" for evil? And
+have these terrible doings no "political significance" as is asserted in
+the minority Report of the Congressional Committee upon the Ku Klux Klan
+outrages? In the face of this accumulated, overwhelming, damning
+evidence--will _any_ one believe that the Honorable gentlemen (who have
+put forth this paper in opposition to the majority Report of that
+Committee), are not themselves convinced that all this is true; and that
+not one half of the shocking story of the infamy of this wretched Klan has
+been told?
+
+Will it be impressed upon the minds of the public of this enlighted
+nation, North or South, through any sophistry, argument or theorising,
+that all these living witnesses and victims are liars, and perjurors? Have
+not these events occurred? And if so, what is the _cause_ of the wrong
+doing? It happens, unfortunately, for the "Union Democracy," who flout at
+these accounts of the doings of the Klans, that none _but_ Radicals or
+negroes are assailed. And also that _never_ has a Radical been found
+associating with these Ku Klux midnight marauders and, butchers, in an
+attack upon one of their victims! Is there "no political significance" in
+this fact?
+
+It is simply idle to propose such a fallacious and utterly groundless
+doctrine. The fact is patent, and the matter is clear as that the sun
+shines over the earth at mid-day--to the mind of every intelligent being
+who can see or read--that the opponents of the Republican party, in the
+guise of Ku Klux Klans, supported unblushingly by the "Union Democracy" of
+the country, and their Democratic allies, are the combined movers,
+operators, sustainers and abettors of this crusade, and that their first
+and last and continuous aim and hope is to weaken or destroy the Radical
+sentiment in the land.
+
+Thus far, however, thanks be to God! the American people have not been
+deceived by the theories or the assertions of those who would tear down
+the fabric of our wholesome Republican Government. And far distant be the
+day when such attempts to overturn that government may succeed. "There is
+a right way for us and for our children, and the hand of God is upon all
+them for good, that seek him; but his wrath is against all them that
+forsake him."... And it is written, that "he who shunneth iniquity and
+oppression, and followeth after righteousness, alone findeth life,
+righteousness and honor."
+
+
+
+
+THEN AND NOW.
+
+THE NATION'S SALVATION!
+
+
+The outrages narrated in the preceding pages are ample for the purposes of
+this work, in giving such authenticated facts as show the existence of a
+deep-seated conspiracy against law, and the well-being of society.
+
+They have been selected at random, from hundreds of similar instances that
+have come under the personal observation of the writer, and that bear with
+them the same irrefutable evidences of the truth, and serve to enable the
+general reader to comprehend the awful scenes that have been enacted in
+various parts of the South since the close of the war of the Rebellion.
+
+In the light of these outrages, and the positive manner in which the
+responsibility of their authorship has been fixed upon those who had
+determined to ride into power, even though fraud and violence were
+necessary to that end, who shall say that the unfortunate South has not
+suffered vastly more from its pretended friends than from those whom, by
+corrupt means, its people had been led to suppose were their worst
+enemies.
+
+Under the pernicious rule of Andrew Johnson, the disturbing elements of
+the South gathered renewed hope for the final success of the ambitious
+aspirations which had been dissipated by a long and bloody war. That
+which had been lost to them through the unswerving integrity of our great
+captains in the field, they thought would be secured through the treason
+of the traitor in the Cabinet, and they marshalled their forces with that
+end in view, and initiated a reign of terror, such as had hitherto been
+unknown even in the darkest hours of adversity within the history of the
+Republic.
+
+The accession of General Grant to the presidency, caused a halt in this
+wild and mad career, and there was a momentary lull in the operations of
+the conspirators. It remained to be seen whether one, coming so fresh from
+the people--a plain and unassuming man, although laden with honors second
+to that of no military chieftain of ancient or modern time--would be
+indifferent to the cry for help which was coming up from all parts of the
+then famished land, and fail to apply the appropriate remedy, or whether
+he would appreciate the true situation of affairs there, and would be able
+to say to the disturbing elements of the South, in language which they
+could not well mistake: LET US HAVE PEACE.
+
+Time, which gives the just solution to the most intricate of social and
+political problems, has informed the nation that it had not long to remain
+in doubt. The results thus far attained, show the elaboration of a plan,
+conceived in wisdom, founded upon reason and righteousness, and prosecuted
+with an even regard for the rights of all, that has commended itself to
+civilization everywhere.
+
+The writer has taken especial pains to ascertain, from persons well versed
+in the political situation at this juncture, the policy to be pursued by
+this Administration, and the wisdom of which seems to have been amply
+verified by what followed. The plan to be adopted, they state, was decided
+upon only after the most mature deliberations into which the counsels of
+the best minds of the country were called. It was necessary that the
+condition of affairs in the South should be arrived at with an accuracy
+that would place the information sought to be obtained beyond all doubt as
+to its genuineness and reliability, as the only means by which such an
+intelligent and comprehensive understanding of the evil could be obtained
+as would enable President Grant to inforce the laws applicable to the
+case, or, in the absence of such, to recommend to Congress the enactment
+of those commensurate with the magnitude of the subject. This was
+accordingly done.
+
+Agents for the work were selected, with no reference whatever to their
+political principles. They were placed under the general charge of a
+competent officer, in whose judgment great confidence was reposed, and
+were instructed to get at the facts regardless of political bias.
+
+Each one of these agents supposed that he had been sent on a special
+mission to ascertain if a certain condition of affairs, said to exist in a
+certain locality, did so exist, and had not the remotest idea that several
+others had been sent on similar missions to sections of the Southern
+country remote from his field of operations.
+
+The evidence of the existence of an armed organization, pernicious in its
+policy and its tendencies, and looking to the disruption of society and
+the compelling of the adoption of political principles obnoxious to the
+people upon whom they were attempted to be forced, came in from all
+quarters. The reports differed in minor details, but had a general
+correspondence that was remarkable.
+
+Some of these agents--and to whom the writer is indebted for many of the
+facts herein contained--stated that all strangers in the localities
+visited by them were looked upon with the greatest suspicion, and they
+soon learned that the security of their lives depended largely upon the
+enunciation of principles according with the Democracy; that the word
+democrat was the _open sesame_ to the confidence of the leading spirits in
+the various communities through which they passed; that Democracy in the
+South meant rebellion, and that Ku Kluxism meant both, and they governed
+themselves accordingly.
+
+To attain the object, and get the most comprehensive view possible of the
+condition of the people, these men, for the time being, were "Democrats,"
+and "Rebels," and would gladly be "Ku Klux." By adroit and skillful
+management they procured themselves to be initiated into the various
+orders of the K. K. K., and were enabled thus to discover the numbers,
+resources, operations, designs, and ultimate purposes of the same. The
+names and residences of the victims, the outrages committed by the Klan,
+were also obtained, until an array was presented that almost challenged
+belief.
+
+The information was full, thorough, and reliable. It left no longer room
+for doubt. Action--vigorous and energetic action--based upon laws enacted
+with special reference to the evil to be met, must be had. The suffering
+sons and daughters of the South demanded it; the cause of human justice
+and human freedom demanded it; the enforcement of the rights of the
+recently emancipated bondmen demanded it; and in the interest of law and
+order everywhere throughout the land, there came a demand for the adoption
+of such measures as would save the people of the South from themselves,
+and thus verify the scriptural saying:
+
+     "And it shall come to pass, that like as I have watched over them to
+     pluck up, and to break down, and to destroy, and to afflict, so will
+     I watch over them to build and to plant, saith the Lord."
+
+It was evident that if they were left to their own devices, the people
+must fall into complete anarchy and ruin. Urgent as were these demands,
+nothing could be done hastily. The salvation of a people and the well
+being of a nation was in the balance, and the most profound and mature
+deliberation was necessary at every step.
+
+It was wisely deemed by the Executive that a continuation of the policy
+adopted by him at the outset of his official career with regard to all
+sections of the country would apply to this, viz., the judicious
+enforcement of appropriate laws, enacted with special reference to the
+existing emergency. This was considered a measure which, while it could
+give no just grounds of offense to _any_, would afford the most available
+means for securing the rights of _all_, and attaining the desired end.
+There must be no halting by the wayside. The noblest and best blood of the
+nation had been expended for a purpose not yet accomplished. Nothing save
+the complete restoration of order, the harmonization of conflicting
+elements, and the vindication of the rights of _all_ to their own
+individual opinion, and the expression of the same through the ballot-box,
+as their conscience might dictate, could be in any manner commensurate
+with this great sacrifice.
+
+The words of a just and righteous God to a suffering people must be
+redeemed: "And thou shalt be secure, because there is hope; yea, thou
+shalt dig about thee and thou shalt take thy rest in safety; also thou
+shalt lie down, and none shall make thee afraid."
+
+On the 23d of March, 1871, President Grant sent to Congress a message, in
+which he touched delicately but unmistakably upon this subject, as
+follows:
+
+_"A condition of affairs now exists in some of the States of the Union
+rendering life and property insecure, and the carrying of the mails and
+the collection of the revenue dangerous. The proof that such a condition
+of affairs exists in some localities is now before the Senate. That the
+power to correct these evils is beyond the control of State authorities, I
+do not doubt. That the power of the Executive of the United States, acting
+within the limits of existing laws, is sufficient for present emergencies
+is not clear."_
+
+It was further suggested that such legislation should be had as would
+secure life, liberty, and property in all parts of the United States; and
+in pursuance of this recommendation, an act was passed by Congress, and
+approved April 20th, 1871, entitled, "An Act to enforce the provisions of
+the fourteenth amendment to the Constitution of the United States, and for
+other purposes."
+
+This was a blow under which the various orders of the Ku Klux Klans reeled
+and staggered like quivering aspens. The leaders of these Klans had so
+long disregarded law as to come to think, apparently, that they were no
+longer amenable to it, and might be a law unto themselves. They predicted
+that any attempt to interfere with them would lead to results in
+comparison with which the scenes enacted during the war of the rebellion
+would sink to insignificance; but, as the results have thus far shown,
+they had reckoned without their host.
+
+They sought to stand upon something like tenable ground and to fortify
+their position before the world, by arguments that were worn threadbare
+long before the war of the Rebellion, and they failed most signally. Their
+fallacious reasonings were impotent to justify their acts, and they
+neither enlisted the sympathies, nor gained the support of those to whom
+they appealed.
+
+The march of progressive republicanism, irresistible in the force of its
+teachings, and the spread of the God-like principles of truth, justice,
+and equality among men, without distinction of race or color, which had
+_then_ encountered the fiercest obstruction within the power of the
+slaveocracy to throw in its way, _now_ swept over the country, uprooting
+the tyrannical oligarchy of the South, tearing asunder the flimsy veil
+behind which the great wrongs done to the bondmen were sought to be hid,
+and destined, in its onward course, to remove every vestige of those
+pernicious principles so inimical to sound doctrine and the stability of
+governments.
+
+The results produced by the spread of these principles, and the
+enforcement of the laws based thereon, can hardly be estimated. Taking the
+condition of the Southern States both before and after the war--
+
+
+THEN AND NOW--
+
+and we have an array of facts in support of these principles, surpassing
+all theories and arguments.
+
+THEN, only white male citizens, twenty-one years of age and over, were
+voters.
+
+NOW, _all_ male citizens of twenty-one years and over, having the
+necessary qualifications of residence, etc., have the right of suffrage.
+
+THEN, voting was _viva voce_.
+
+NOW, it is by ballot.
+
+THEN, there was no registry of voters.
+
+NOW, all electors are required to register before voting.
+
+THEN, "returning officers," and those issuing commissions, were bound by
+the arithmetical results of the polls, and were required to give the
+commission or certificate of election to the person having the highest
+number of votes.
+
+NOW, there are boards of canvassers who are required not only to count the
+returns, but to pass upon questions of violence and fraud, and to exclude
+returns from precincts where they find the elections to have been
+controlled by such means.
+
+THEN, the basis of representation was property, or property and slaves, or
+slaves by enumerating three-fifths of all.
+
+NOW, it is all the _inhabitants_ of the land.
+
+THEN, white male citizens, and, in some localities, property holders only,
+were eligible to office.
+
+NOW, _all_ male citizens, save the few under disabilities by the
+Constitution of the United States, are eligible.
+
+Coming down to a later period in the history of the country, from the time
+when the death of the lamented Lincoln had left the Republic in the hands
+of its worst enemies, to the presidential election in 1868, and what is
+the situation?
+
+THEN, the leaders had succeeded in ripening the people for a revolution
+against law and order, if that were necessary for the maintenance of
+issues, differing in character, but similar in design and spirit, to those
+sought to be gained by the war of the rebellion.
+
+THEN, a reign of terror had been inaugurated in the community which
+compelled the tacit acquiescence of those who, desiring to express their
+opinions, were denied the right through the fear of social and political
+ostracism and physical violence.
+
+THEN, the Government was in the hands of Andrew Johnson, and the hopes of
+good and just men everywhere, in all sections of the country, of arriving
+at a peaceful solution of the difficulties through reconstruction, were
+blasted, and gave no signs of verification in fruition.
+
+THEN, the same spirit was rampant that plunged the country into a
+sanguinary war, and did not hesitate to express itself in a determined
+resistance to the new order of things produced by that war.
+
+THEN, men embraced and kissed their wives and children at night, as if
+leaving them for a far-off journey, not knowing, when they lay down,
+whether they should awake to peaceful sunlight or to a cabin strewn with
+the bodies of the loved ones.
+
+THEN had begun the first fruits of the great judgments through which the
+people were eventually to pass, and by which alone, it appeared they could
+be redeemed.
+
+AND NOW CAME THE PROMISE of a new order of things. The political situation
+of the country had changed. The reins of government passed into the hands
+of men of whom much was expected. Three years have intervened. The false
+issues that had been raised among the masses are _now_ being swept away.
+The disorganizing elements are tottering to a fall, and those who had
+fostered them are seeking to excuse and palliate their course.
+
+They complain that the civil government of the Southern States had passed
+into the hands of carpet-baggers, who had been forced upon them, who were
+engaged in plundering the people, encouraging the negroes to pillage and
+destroy the property of the country, and placing them in positions where
+they could rule over white men.
+
+But this was not in any manner the real trouble. The same oppressive
+spirit that actuated these men during the days when slavery was a
+recognized institution among them, still obtained. Neither the men of the
+South nor the sojourners from the North were allowed in those days to
+freely express their opinions, if those opinions chanced to be in
+opposition to slavery.
+
+What was treason _then_ against the social and political rights of these
+would-be-masters of a race, is treason _now_ in their minds; for they have
+not yet learned to tolerate the free expression of sentiments in such
+exact antipodes to their early educational training.
+
+To preach the principles of republicanism, to advocate the education of
+the negro, to urge his right to the elective franchise, were deemed
+seditious practices, and were opposed _then_ just as they are _now_; there
+is simply a difference in the mode by which this opposition is manifested.
+
+THEN, it was by argument, supported by local and Federal legislation.
+
+NOW, it is by violence, and the subversion of all law.
+
+THEN the North reasoned and counselled with the South; endeavored to show
+them the great wrongs done to the bondman, and that the nation could not
+prosper under the terrible curse of slavery.
+
+NOW the strong arm of the Government is put forth to compel a respect for
+the rights accorded to _all_ under the law; a situation which, it appears,
+nothing but the determined front presented by the Administration will lead
+the people of the South finally to accept.
+
+The efforts of the wicked leaders to misguide the masses are persistent.
+Many right-minded people of the South are misled by the false statements
+put forth by those who should, and do know, better, and the pernicious
+results of whose influence time and the dissemination of truthful
+intelligence can alone eradicate.
+
+In many instances Republicans have been elected to office, and these are
+the so-called carpet-baggers. In some localities negroes and mulattoes
+have been elevated to places of power and trust, and, for this, the people
+of the South are largely indebted to their own willful neglect.
+
+The Joint Select Committee to inquire into the condition of affairs in the
+late insurrectionary States, allude to this subject in the following
+language:
+
+"The refusal of a large portion of the wealthy and educated men to
+discharge their duties as citizens, has brought upon them the same
+consequences which are being suffered in Northern cities and communities
+from the neglect of their business and educated men to participate in all
+the movements of the people which make up self-government. The citizen in
+either section who refuses or neglects from any motive to take his part in
+self-government, has learned that he must now suffer and help to repair
+the evils of bad government. The newly-made voters of the South at the
+close of the war, it is testified, were kindly disposed toward their
+former masters. The feeling between them, even yet, seems to be one of
+confidence in all other than their political relations. The refusal of
+their former masters to participate in political reconstruction
+necessarily left the negroes to be influenced by others. Many of them were
+elected to office and entered it with honest intentions to do their duty,
+but were unfitted for its discharge. Through their instrumentality, many
+unworthy white men, having obtained their confidence, also procured public
+positions. In legislative bodies, this mixture of ignorant but honest men
+with better educated knaves, gave opportunity for corruption, and this
+opportunity has developed a state of demoralization on this subject which
+may and does account for many of the wrongs of which the people justly
+complain."
+
+Had the evil ended simply in a neglect upon the part of leading citizens
+to discharge their duties as such, the remedy might have the more speedily
+been applied. But the views of these men were to be carried far beyond a
+mere declination to take part in the political reconstruction. They
+determined that others should not do it and live at peace. Threats and
+violence were brought into requisition to intimidate and prevent the well
+meaning from using their efforts to render the political situation such
+that society could improve rather than be retarded under it.
+
+Evidences of the wide-spread defection are not wanting. That the various
+orders of the Ku Klux Klans, were guided by men of intelligence, is amply
+shown these pages; and the fact is corroborated by testimony taken before
+the Investigating Committee above referred to.
+
+One of the witnesses before this Committee was Gen. N. B. Forrest, of
+Tennessee, late of the rebel army, and to whom a vast array of
+circumstances pointed as being the GRAND CYCLOPS of the Ku Klux Orders.
+The fact that he was in receipt of from fifty to one hundred letters per
+day from all parts of the South upon the subjects of the Order; that he
+was present in person in districts of the South where its members were
+placed upon trial; that he had the general conduct and management of
+affairs at such trials, hovering near the courts, though not appearing in
+them; that when asked if he had taken any steps in organizing the Order,
+he made reply that he did not think he was compelled to answer any
+question that would implicate him in anything; that when asked if he knew
+the names of any members of the Order, he declined to answer, and finally
+said he could only recollect one name, and that was Jones; these, and
+numerous other circumstances which the investigations have developed, but
+which a want of space forbids reciting here, lead to the inevitable
+conclusion that Gen. Forrest was at the head of the Order.
+
+Some care has been taken to arrive at this fact, as it is evident that a
+man of enlarged experience and liberal education, as General Forrest is
+known to be, would draw about him men of equal caliber, thus
+substantiating the assertions that the operations of the Ku Klux Klans
+were guided by men of intelligence, education, and influence, who had been
+violent secessionists, who had rebelled against the Government, and who
+were determined to thwart all its endeavors to restore peace and harmony
+to the distracted country.
+
+General Terry, commanding military district of Georgia, makes report as
+early as August, 1869, to the Secretary of War, in which he says:
+
+"There can be no doubt of the existence of numerous insurrectionary
+organizations, known as the Ku Klux Klans, who shielded by their
+disguises, by the secrecy of their movements, and by the terror which they
+inspire, perpetrate crimes with impunity. There is great reason to believe
+that in some cases _the local magistrates are in sympathy with the members
+of these organizations_."
+
+General Terry's testimony is borne out by that of the United States
+officials and secret agents and the evidence of recanting members of the
+order. The cases of Harry Lowther, Ex-sheriff Deason, Susan J. Furguson,
+Edward Thompson, and hosts of others, show men to have been engaged in
+these murderous outrages, who were leading lights in the various
+communities in which they lived. It is not therefore true, as has been
+attempted to be made out by the Democratic party, that it is the rabble
+only who are engaged in the treasonable movement.
+
+It is not contended here that all the Democrats of the South are Ku Klux,
+but it has been most conclusively shown that all the Ku Klux are
+Democrats, and that they are sworn to oppose the spread of Republican
+principles. They are determined to rule, and to rule with a rod of iron.
+They have settled in their minds that "no government but the white man's
+shall live in this country, and that they will forever oppose the
+political elevation of the negro to an equality with the whites."
+
+The report of the above committee, alluding to this condition of affairs,
+very justly says:
+
+"The facts demonstrate that it requires the strong arm of the Government
+to protect its citizens in the enjoyment of their rights, to keep the
+peace, and prevent this threatened--rather to say this initiated--war of
+races, until the experiment which it has inaugurated, and which many
+Southern men pronounce now, and many more have sworn shall be made a
+failure, can be determined in peace. The race so recently emancipated,
+against which banishment or serfdom is thus decreed, but which has been
+clothed by the Government with the rights and responsibilities of
+citizenship, ought not to be, and we feel assured will not be left
+hereafter without protection against the hostilities and sufferings it has
+endured in the past, as long as the legal and constitutional powers of the
+Government are adequate to afford it. Communities suffering such evils,
+and influenced by such extreme feelings, may be slow to learn that relief
+can come only from a ready obedience to and support of constituted
+authority."
+
+That communities in some portions of the South are still suffering from
+the evils herein referred to is an established fact, and the testimony is
+not confined to the cloud of witnesses herein cited. The existence of the
+Orders of Ku Klux Klans, and the allegations of the outrages perpetrated
+by its members, have been proven before courts of justice. The most
+learned advocates employed to defend these criminals have not attempted to
+deny it.
+
+No less a legal light than the Hon. Reverdy Johnson, of counsel, who
+appeared, to defend persons charged with the commission of crimes similar
+to those narrated in the foregoing pages, has admitted it. The trials in
+which Mr. Johnson appeared as such counsel were had before the November
+(1871) term of the United States Circuit Court, at Columbia, S. C.
+
+On the sixteenth day of the proceedings, the evidence for the Government
+having closed, Mr. Johnson made his opening for the defense; and although
+standing before the court as the legal defender of the members of one of
+the most terrible organizations known to modern times, he was compelled,
+in justice to human decency, and in acknowledgment of the truth of the
+statements presented to the court by the United States Attorney, to use
+the following language in his address to the jury:
+
+"I have listened with unmixed horror to some of the testimony which has
+been brought before you. The outrages proved are shocking to humanity;
+they admit of neither excuse or justification; they violate every
+obligation which law and nature impose upon them; they show that the
+parties engaged were brutes, insensible to the obligations of humanity and
+religion. The day will come, however, if it has not already arrived, when
+they will deeply lament it. Even if justice shall not overtake them, there
+is one tribunal from which there is no escape. It is their own
+judgment--that tribunal which sits in the breast of every living man--that
+small, still voice that thrills through the heart, the soul of the mind,
+and as it speaks gives happiness or torture--the voice of conscience--the
+voice of God.
+
+"If it has not already spoken to them in tones which have startled them to
+the enormity of their conduct, I trust, in the mercy of heaven, that that
+voice will so speak as to make them penitent, and that, trusting in the
+dispensations of heaven--whose justice is dispensed with mercy--when they
+shall be brought before the bar of their great Tribunal, so to speak, that
+incomprehensible Tribunal, there will be found in the fact of their
+penitence, or in their previous lives, some grounds upon which God may
+say: PARDON."
+
+
+THE STATISTICS,
+
+as to the number of those who have been the victims of outrages
+perpetrated by the Ku Klux Klans, are necessarily meagre.
+
+Many of them are recorded alone in the blood of the unoffending victims;
+thousands of mouths that could speak the unwelcome truth, have been
+sealed, and are sealed to-day, through fear, and dare not make the
+terrible revelations; but sufficient have come to light to afford an
+approximate idea of the extent to which the pernicious designs of the
+Order have been carried.
+
+With all the figures before us, and with a desire to keep within, rather
+than exceed the bounds, the awful truth must be confessed, that _not less
+than twenty-three thousand persons_, black and white, have been scourged,
+banished, or murdered by the Ku Klux Klans, since the close of the
+Rebellion: an average of more than two thousand in each of the States
+lately in insurrection.
+
+Great care has been had in arriving at these figures. All the available
+sources of information have been exhausted by research, and the facts
+obtained have been in a manner borne out by collateral evidence, tending
+to confirm the accuracy of the statement.
+
+The committee appointed by the Legislature of Tennessee (special session
+of 1868), to investigate the subject, reported to that body, that:
+
+"The murders and outrages perpetrated in many counties in Middle and West
+Tennessee, during the past few months (1868), have been so numerous and of
+such an aggravated character, as to almost baffle investigation. The
+terror inspired by the secret organizations, known as the Ku Klux Klans is
+so great, that the officers of the law are powerless to execute its
+provisions. Your Committee believe that, during the last six months, _the
+murders alone_, to say nothing of other outrages, would average _one a
+day_, or one for every twenty-four hours."
+
+Gen. Reynolds, as commander of the Fifth Military District--comprising the
+State of Texas--in his report to the Secretary of War, 1868-9, says:
+
+"Armed organizations, generally known as Ku Klux Klans, exist in many
+parts of Texas but are most numerous, bold, and aggressive east of the
+Trinity River. The precise object of the organization in this State, seems
+to be to disarm, rob, and in many cases, murder Union men and negroes.
+_The murder of negroes is so common as to render it impossible to keep
+accurate account of them._"
+
+Gen. O. O. Howard, reporting to the Secretary of War (1868-9), says, of
+the State of Arkansas:
+
+"Lawlessness, violence, and ruffianism, have prevailed to an alarming
+extent. Ku Klux Klans, disguised by night, have burned the dwellings and
+shed the blood of unoffending freemen."
+
+In the Louisiana contested election cases (1868), the terrible extent to
+which these outrages were carried, was shown by most conclusive evidence.
+One of the members of the Committee selected to take testimony in those
+cases, says:
+
+"The testimony shows that over _two thousand persons_ were killed,
+wounded, and otherwise injured in that State, within a few weeks prior to
+the presidential election; that half of the State was overrun by violence;
+that midnight raids, secret murders and open riots, kept the people in
+constant terror until the Republicans surrendered all claims, and then the
+election was carried by the Democracy."
+
+Referring to the well-authenticated massacre by the Ku Klux, at the parish
+of St. Landry, in 1868, the report says:
+
+"Here (St. Landry) occurred one of the bloodiest riots on record, in which
+_the Ku Klux killed and wounded over two hundred Republicans in two days_.
+A pile of twenty-five bodies of the victims was found half buried in the
+woods. The Ku Klux captured the masses, marked them with badges of red
+flannel, enrolled them in clubs, marched them to the polls, and made them
+vote the Democratic ticket."
+
+It is estimated that, in North and South Carolina, not less than five
+thousand were scourged and killed, while more than that number were
+compelled to flee for their lives. In Florida and Georgia, the outrages
+were not so numerous, but they were marked with greater atrocity and
+brutality.
+
+In further consideration of this question, the numbers and extent of the
+various orders of the Ku Klux Klan, may be taken as a partial guide. The
+testimony of Gen. N. B. Forrest is pertinent to the point. His position as
+GRAND CYCLOPS of the Order, lends to his testimony the probability of
+truth which it would not otherwise possess; and when it is considered that
+he gave it with the greatest reluctance, one readily arrives at the
+conclusion that his figures are by no means exaggerated. According to the
+statements made by Gen. Forrest, the Order numbered not less than _five
+hundred and fifty thousand men_. According to his estimate, there were
+_forty thousand Ku Klux in the State of Tennessee_ alone, and he believed
+the organization still stronger in other States.
+
+Here, then, we have a vast array of men banded together with the secret
+purpose of banishing from the country, or scourging and murdering all who
+differed from them politically. In view of the numbers and extent of this
+organization, and the positive evidence of the fearful work of its
+members, the statement that twenty-three thousand persons have suffered
+scourging and death at their hands, may be considered under, rather than
+over, the real numbers.
+
+In North Carolina alone, eighteen hundred members of the Order stand
+indicted for their participation in outrages upon persons and property.
+
+In South Carolina, the number reaches over seven hundred. Florida,
+Alabama, Tennessee, Louisiana, Texas, and other States, swells the
+aggregate to more than five thousand, and the investigations upon which
+these indictments have been procured, disclose a condition of affairs,
+which, it is difficult to conceive, could exist in a civilized
+community;--much less in a Republic, noted among the nations of the earth
+for its liberality, its progression, its enlarged freedom, the security of
+life, liberty, property, and the equal rights of all.
+
+THE EXISTENCE OF THE EVILS herein enumerated is placed beyond all doubt
+and cavil. In the light of the recorded and corroborated facts, the nation
+will demand to know:--
+
+     _First._ How far the present administrators of the Government have
+     fulfilled the duties and responsibilities confided to them by the
+     people?
+
+     _Second._ What has been done to remedy the evils that have made life
+     in Southern communities intolerable and unsafe?
+
+     _Third._ What steps are necessary to prevent a recurrence of these
+     evils in the future?
+
+Happily the first two questions have been amply answered in the acts of
+the administration.
+
+A careful study of the necessities of the case, the enactment of
+appropriate laws, applicable thereto, and their vigorous, but humane
+enforcement, constitute a plan, the successful elaboration of which gives
+answer to the third question, of "how a recurrence of these evils may be
+prevented in the future."
+
+To those who may have entertained the idea, that the work of restoring
+order and securing to _all_ the citizens equal rights, nothing can be more
+comprehensive than the language of the committee of investigation. In
+alluding to this point, the report says:--
+
+     "Looking to the modes provided by law for the redress of all
+     grievance--the fact that Southern communities do not yield ready
+     obedience at once, should not deter the friends of good government in
+     both sections of the country, from hoping and working for that end.
+
+     "The strong feeling which led to rebellion and sustained brave men,
+     however, mistaken in resisting the Government which demanded their
+     submission to its authority; the sincerity of whose belief was
+     attested by their enormous sacrifice of life and treasure, this
+     feeling cannot be expected to subside at once, nor in years. It
+     required full forty years to develop disaffection into sedition, and
+     sedition into treason. Should we not be patient if in less than ten,
+     we have a fair prospect of seeing so many who were armed enemies,
+     becoming obedient citizens?"
+
+DURING THE THREE BRIEF YEARS in which the present administration has held
+sway over the destinies of the nation, what has been accomplished? Upon
+its accession to power, the people of the South were struggling under
+political disabilities, and a consequent social condition that had
+detached them from the onward march of civilization, and was hurrying them
+back to anarchy and ruin. They had become morose, bigoted, violent.
+
+The law of revenge had usurped that of order. They writhed under the
+results of the war and the downfall of their cherished institutions, and
+they had sworn that what could not be gained by a war upon the nation at
+large, should be had by a local war of extermination upon the--to
+them--offensive portions of the races, black and white, that opposed, or
+would not coincide with them.
+
+It was a delicate question; but the wisdom of the newly chosen leaders of
+the nation have been equal to the emergency, and, to-day, light begins to
+dawn in the dark places; the supremacy of the law is being established,
+and by a continuation of the same wise and humane policy in the future,
+the people of _all_ the States may abundantly hope for the restoration of
+peace and harmony in the South, where, but so recently, all was chaos and
+confusion.
+
+In view of what has thus far been said, I call upon my countrymen,
+everywhere, not to be deceived as to the real issues of the hour.
+
+
+
+
+ADDENDA.
+
+
+A retrospective glance at the field of American politics during the past
+twelve years discloses several significant facts worthy of especial
+attention.
+
+The most casual observer cannot fail to have been impressed with the fact
+that there has been a growing disposition in the minds of the people to
+make the welfare of the Country and not the advancement of party, the
+issue, in the struggle for political supremacy.
+
+The political opinions of the masses are based upon foundations materially
+different from those usually accorded them by the would-be leaders, who
+attempt to form opinions for, and force the same upon the people.
+
+There is a spirit in politics that rises superior to party clap-trap and
+unhealthy journalism, and which determines the problem of government with
+far greater accuracy than any amount of machinery designed for the
+accomplishment of any special end.
+
+Political organizations live or die by their _acts_ and not by their
+_machinery_. Without that spirit that seeks the greatest good of the
+greatest number, they inevitably go to decay and final dissolution. With
+that spirit they rise to the grandeur of well ordered governments.
+Principles may be outraged and promises disregarded for a time but the end
+must come sooner or later, and re-action in such cases usually means
+annihilation.
+
+During the past twelve years the principles and promises of the two great
+political parties of the United States--the Republican and the
+Democrat--have been more severely tried and tested than at any similar
+period of time since the foundation of the Republic. Upon the maintenance
+of certain principles and the fulfilment of certain promises, either party
+have based their claims to the confidence of the American people. It
+matters but little how seductive these principles may appear in their
+enunciation, or how glowing the promises for future good, one must judge
+of them, and the people will judge of them as they have been illustrated
+in the acts of either party to whom the reins of Government have been
+confided.
+
+Given that both parties announce that they have the interests of the whole
+people at heart, then the results that have accrued from the accession of
+either to power must be the standard by which their principles must be
+measured, and their good or bad faith established. These results give rise
+to momentous questions. They lead thinking men to ask, if within the
+Democratic ranks, slavery has not always found its ablest advocates.
+
+If it was not the Democratic party that formed a compact and coalition
+with the slave holders of the South, with the understanding that if
+slavery could be maintained, slave holders would help to keep the
+Democrats in power.
+
+Was it not through the supineness of a Democratic Administration that the
+rebellion was engendered and the fortifications and other property in the
+Southern States belonging to the Government allowed to pass unquestioned
+into the hands of its sworn enemies?
+
+Was it not to the Democratic party that the South looked for assistance in
+deed and word to carry on a war aiming at the destruction of the Union?
+
+Did not the South rest its hope in the Democratic party to oppose every
+measure taken by the loyal North in defence of the Government and the
+salvation of the Union?
+
+Did not the Democratic party in the interest of their brethren in the
+South, resist the draft in the North, thus causing the bloody riots of
+'63?
+
+Was it not the Democratic party that opposed emancipation, the policy of
+reconstruction, universal freedom and universal suffrage?
+
+Did not the weakness and vacillation of a Democratic Administration plunge
+the country into a contest by which hundreds of thousands of citizens were
+slain upon the field of battle, their widows and orphans left to the
+charities of the Republic, and the nation saddled with an enormous debt?
+
+Is it not the Democratic party which has striven for years, and which is
+still struggling, to maintain itself in power through its Tammany
+organization at the North, and its Ku Klux organization at the South; the
+one stealing the money of the people to sustain the other in scourging
+them?
+
+Is it not upon the success of the Democratic party that the Ku Klux Klans
+base their hopes for the future? And do they not expect, through the aid
+of their Democratic allies to rescind the present Ku Klux laws, and
+thereafter to scourge and kill radicals and negroes with impunity?
+
+Is it not to the Democratic party that the leaders of the Ku Klux Klans
+look for help and shelter from the consequences of the numerous outrages
+perpetrated by them in the Southern States?
+
+Was it not a Democratic Administration that bequeathed to the country,
+foreign complications of a delicate nature, the foreshadowings of
+internecine war, a depleted Treasury, an impaired credit, a general
+feeling of insecurity in business and financial circles, and an almost
+dismembered Nation?
+
+Has it not been for years the record of the Democratic party that it has
+conspired against humanity and justice, aided to rivet the fetters of the
+slave, sown the seeds of demoralization in politics, and by its cringing
+subserviency to the slaveocracy of the South aimed a blow at the National
+life?
+
+Is the Democratic party sincere in its profession to accept in good faith
+the thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth amendments to the Constitution,
+while strenuously objecting to all laws designed for the enforcement of
+the provisions of those amendments?
+
+Does the Democratic party hope to blind the people by its shallow pretence
+of a new departure from the principles advocated by it since its
+organization?
+
+Do the old Democratic party ring-masters expect to mislead the people by a
+mere visionary reconstruction of Tammany, and can they hope to erase the
+foul stains upon their party linen to such an extent as to have them
+accepted as pure and unspotted garments?
+
+These are some of the questions at present mooted in the silent heart of
+the Nation. They are the questions of the hour and upon them the people of
+the whole country are called to decide, as to which of the two great
+political parties the future welfare of the Republic may be confided with
+the greatest safety.
+
+In making this decision the minds of the people naturally revert to the
+records of the Republican party as manifested through its administration
+of the Government, its vindication of its professed principles, its
+fulfilment of its promises for the redemption of the nation. And what is
+that record?
+
+Upon its accession to power in 1861 the Republican party found the country
+upon the verge of a civil war. Some of the nation's strongholds were
+already in the hands of the traitors, and the incompetency and weakness of
+its predecessor were everywhere apparent. Never in all its history had
+such an opportunity been presented it to redeem the pledges it had made
+in the interests of human justice and human freedom. True to its loyal
+instincts it rose to the dignity and the grandeur of the occasion.
+
+It at once instituted the most vigorous measures for the National defence.
+
+By it the most wicked rebellion ever organized among men was put down.
+
+Through the Republican party the integrity of the Union was preserved, and
+its place maintained among the nations of the earth as one of the leading
+powers.
+
+By it financial measures were inaugurated and carried out that have
+brought unparalleled prosperity to the country.
+
+By it the credit of the nation has become firmly established at home and
+abroad.
+
+Through its labors in the cause of human freedom the bondmen have become
+emancipated and assume equal rights with freemen.
+
+By a wise administration in its foreign relations the country is at peace
+with all nations, and the citizens of the American Republic traveling in
+foreign climes are honored and respected.
+
+By a vigorous enforcement of the laws, criminals of every degree, in all
+sections of the country, have been brought to justice.
+
+By it bands of deadly assassins, skulking at midnight behind hideous
+disguises, and warring upon innocent women and children have been
+suppressed and broken up. And by it they have been compelled to answer for
+their numerous crimes.
+
+Through the unwearied efforts of the Republican party Universal Suffrage
+has become a law of the Nation, freedom of speech and freedom of opinion
+everywhere vindicated throughout the land, and the right to exercise the
+elective franchise as their consciences might dictate, guaranteed to all.
+
+By it the States lately in insurrection have been reconstructed upon a
+prosperous basis, and brought back into the folds of the Union.
+
+By it the public lands have been opened to settlers; manufactures
+stimulated through the establishment of a judicious tariff, and labor
+dignified and made prosperous through an enhanced remuneration for
+services performed, and a reduction in the hours of toil.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+These are but a few only of the acts of the Republican party. They are
+based upon principles through the consummation of which the Government has
+been administered with more than ordinary honor and integrity. Principles
+that have given birth and sustenance to an administration in which every
+appearance of evil has been scrutinized, every unworthy public servant
+ferreted out and punished, every effort put forth to prevent frauds upon
+the Revenue and the Treasury.
+
+An Administration in which the most trivial charges made against it by the
+most personally bitter and partizan newspapers have been probed to the
+bottom.
+
+An Administration in which every law upon the Statute books has been
+enforced with the whole power of the Government.
+
+An Administration by which the rights of the laboring classes have been
+maintained; the status of the newly emancipated citizens defined and
+enforced; the dignity of the flag and the honor of the nation everywhere
+upheld.
+
+An Administration whose Chief Executive was, in the dark hours of civil
+war, "the hope of America and of Liberty."
+
+A Chief Executive who resolutely set his face against the enemy upon the
+field of battle until victory crowned our banners. Under whose wise and
+skillful leadership might and right joined hands in solid union, and the
+Nation drew the long and refreshing breath of freedom.
+
+A Chief Executive whom the nation sought out as its chosen leader, General
+Grant, the hero of Vicksburg--the Wilderness--Richmond. By his bravery in
+the Camp and his sagacity in the Cabinet the fires of liberty burn bright
+and unextinguishable.
+
+By his stern and uncompromising adherence to the interests of the whole
+people, unbounded prosperity rests upon the country.
+
+By the extraordinary financial policy of his administration the public
+debt has been reduced three hundred millions of dollars; the people
+relieved of a burden of taxation amounting to nearly one hundred millions
+of dollars annually, gold brought from 133 to 109, and the public credit
+restored.
+
+Under his administration every loyal soldier of the war of the Rebellion
+who served ninety days in the Union Army acquires the right to a homestead
+upon the public lands, or if dead the right reverts to his heirs.
+
+These are some of the truthful remembrances that come back to the minds of
+the people, and they cast about them in vain for any measure which General
+Grant has ever enforced against the will of the masses, for any act to
+lessen their faith in his personal purity and official integrity, for one
+solitary principle of the party that elevated him to power, which he has
+not vindicated, for one single promise which he has not fulfiled.
+
+To General Grant, the hero of the war of the rebellion, who wrested
+victory from doubtful battle fields, who stood unflinchingly at his post
+in the darkest days of the nation's history, the people turn instinctively
+as the standard bearer in the coming political contest.
+
+By his utter self abnegation and his preference for the welfare of the
+masses rather than the political aggrandisement of a few leaders, he has
+acquired the most malevolent partizan opposition ever encountered by any
+Chief Magistrate of the Nation.
+
+By the strong voices of the people reverberating over the country, and by
+the more recent utterances from the granite hills of New Hampshire, the
+thrifty valleys of Connecticut, the loyal voters of Rhode Island, his
+policy is endorsed and his future political status insured.
+
+
+
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[1] The Night Hawk is an attache of the Ku Klux Camp, whose business it is
+to scour about, and locate the victims upon whom visitations are ordered
+to be made.
+
+[2] Alluding to the shooting of a Mr. Cason a few days before.
+
+
+
+
+Transcriber's Notes:
+
+Passages in italics are indicated by _italics_.
+
+Punctuation has been corrected without note.
+
+The following misprints have been corrected:
+  "transspires" corrected to "transpires" (page 24)
+  "Deacon's" corrected to "Deason's" (page 44)
+  "of of" corrected to "of" (page 47)
+  "straighforward" corrected to "straightforward" (page 67)
+  "rise rise" corrected to "rise" (page 138)
+
+Other than the corrections listed above, inconsistencies in spelling and
+hyphenation have been retained from the original.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Nation's Peril, by Anonymous
+
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+      The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Nation's Peril.
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+
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Nation's Peril, by Anonymous
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Nation's Peril
+       Twelve Years' Experience in the South
+
+Author: Anonymous
+
+Release Date: March 15, 2011 [EBook #35579]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
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+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE NATION'S PERIL ***
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+
+
+
+<p class="center"><span class="huge"><span class="smcap">The Nation&#8217;s Peril.</span></span></p>
+<p class="center"><br /><span class="big">TWELVE YEARS&#8217; EXPERIENCE IN THE SOUTH.</span></p>
+<p class="center"><br /><span class="huge">THEN AND NOW.</span></p>
+<p class="center"><br /><span class="giant"><span class="smcap">The Ku Klux Klan</span></span></p>
+<p class="center"><br /><span class="huge">A COMPLETE EXPOSITION OF THE ORDER:</span></p>
+<p class="center"><br /><span class="big">ITS PURPOSE, PLANS, OPERATIONS, SOCIAL<br />AND POLITICAL SIGNIFICANCE</span></p>
+<p class="center"><br /><span class="huge"><span class="smcap">The Nation&#8217;s Salvation.</span></span></p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="note"><span class="smcap">Wherefore say unto the Children of Israel, I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from
+under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their bondage, and I will redeem
+you with a stretched-out arm, and with great judgments.</span>&mdash;<i>Exodus</i>, VI, 6.</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p class="center">NEW YORK:<br /><span class="smcap">Published by the Friends of the Compiler.</span><br />1872.</p>
+
+
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[Pg 2]</a></span></p>
+<p class="center">Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year one thousand eight hundred and seventy-two, by<br />
+E. A. IRELAND,<br />In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.</p>
+
+
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<hr style="width: 50%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[Pg 3]</a></span></p>
+<p class="center"><span class="huge">INTRODUCTORY.</span></p>
+
+<p><br />The facts contained in the succeeding pages, have been compiled from
+authenticated sources, and with especial reference to their truthfulness.</p>
+
+<p>That portion derived from the diary of a gentleman, twelve years a
+resident of the South, was not originally intended for public circulation;
+but this, with a variety of other matter obtained from official records,
+formed the basis of a lecture delivered at Tremont Temple, in the city of
+Boston, on the evening of March 27th, 1872, and excited a great degree of
+interest among the people to learn more of the subject-matter treated
+upon.</p>
+
+<p>Communications relating thereto came in from all parts of the country, and
+it was decided by the friends of the compiler to present all the facts in
+convenient form for general circulation, as the best means of complying
+with this demand.</p>
+
+<p>They are here given with such additions to the original matter, as will
+enable the general reader more fully to comprehend the origin, rise and
+progress of the various orders of the Ku Klux Klans, their social and
+political significance, and their general bearing upon the welfare of the
+nation at large.</p>
+
+<p>The thrilling stories of outrage and crime herein narrated, are
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[Pg 4]</a></span>authenticated beyond the power of refutation.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Against all such crimes, as well as against incompetency and corruption
+in office, the power of an intelligent public sentiment and of the courts
+of justice should be invoked and united; and appealing for patience and
+forbearance in the North, while time and these powers are doing their
+work, let us also appeal to the good sense of Southern men, if they
+sincerely desire to accomplish political reforms through a change in the
+negro vote. If their theory is true that he votes solidly now with the
+republican party, and is kept there by his ignorance and by deception, all
+that is necessary to keep him there is to keep up by their countenance,
+the Ku Klux Organization. Having the rights of a citizen and a voter,
+neither of those rights can be abrogated by whipping him. If his political
+opinions are erroneous, he will not take kindly to the opposite creed when
+its apostles come to inflict the scourge upon himself, and outrage upon
+his wife and children. If he is ignorant, he will not be educated by
+burning his school houses and exiling his teachers. If he is wicked, he
+will not be made better by banishing to Liberia his religious teachers. If
+the resuscitation of the State is desired by his labor, neither will be
+secured by a persecution which depopulates townships, and prevents the
+introduction of new labor and of capital.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>That these pages may be received in the same spirit of charity and kindly
+feeling in which they have been penned, is the sincere and earnest wish of</p>
+
+<p class="right">THE COMPILER.</p>
+
+
+
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<hr style="width: 50%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[Pg 5]</a></span></p>
+<p class="center"><span class="huge">THE NATION&#8217;S PERIL.</span></p>
+
+<p><br />The transition of the social status of the colored classes in the South,
+from a condition of abject servitude to one of the most enlarged freedom,
+crowned with that dearest of all rights to the heart of the freeman, the
+elective franchise, although gradual, and attended with difficulties that
+have seemed at times almost insurmountable, goes steadily forward, under
+the hand of a beneficent and all seeing God, who watcheth alike over the
+just and the unjust, enjoining upon them, in return for his goodness, a
+strict observance of his commands towards one another.</p>
+
+<p>Human progress in this country, during the past ten years, has taken giant
+strides, although met by obstacles of a character so formidable as to
+impose a most extraordinary task upon those engaged in the great work of
+social reform and the establishment of the rights of all to civil,
+religious and political liberty, as guaranteed by the Constitution. The
+spirit of the age is reformatory. Religion, politics, art and the sciences
+have ever been the subjects of reformation and progression, and by these
+have been lifted from comparative darkness in the past to the broad fields
+of light in the more intelligent present. In the grand plan of an all-wise
+Creator, nothing has been allowed to permanently obstruct the onward march
+of the races<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[Pg 6]</a></span> and nations of the earth; and for the accomplishment of this
+glorious purpose, no sacrifice, it appears, has been deemed too great that
+would aid in its fulfillment. The travail and labor of nations, the
+desolation and destruction of whole communities, and in some instances the
+entire annihilation of races of men, have been the penalties demanded and
+paid for their long persistence in the ways of sin and wickedness.</p>
+
+<p>The American Republic has been no exception to the imperative rule. It
+bore within its folds the crime and curse of slavery, a foul and corroding
+ulcer that could only be burned out and destroyed by the terrible
+visitations of fire and the sword, and in the eradication of which all the
+wisdom of the nation&#8217;s greatest counselors, all the terrible enginery of
+modern warfare, and the skill and persistence of the chosen leaders of the
+people were to be brought into requisition. A fierce and sanguinary
+contest of four years&#8217; duration ended, under the hand of God, in the grand
+triumph of the right; but the war of the rebellion left the South in a
+state of social disintegration, in which the leading spirits who had
+fomented the internecine contest assumed to control the masses, and
+perpetuate under another form, and accomplish by other means, that which
+had been lost to them in the surrender and disorganization of their
+armies.</p>
+
+<p>The condition of the South, during the past twelve years, is vividly
+illustrated in a series of letters written by Mr. Justin Knight, a
+gentleman of undoubted integrity, a resident of the South during the
+period referred to, and which are here given in a narrative form for the
+better convenience of the reader. Speaking of himself and the peculiar
+circumstances that brought him to the Southern States, Mr. Knight says:</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Born in close proximity to the metropolis of New England, where I
+received the advantages of a collegiate education, and the religious
+instruction of parents<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[Pg 7]</a></span> who, without bigotry, were opposed to every
+species of wrong, I early conceived a desire to enter upon the ministry,
+which I did in 1857, almost immediately after the close of my collegiate
+life.</p>
+
+<p>My constitution, at no time robust, was entirely inadequate to the labors
+imposed upon me by the duties of this new position. My health continued
+gradually to give way until the winter of 1859, when my physician decided
+that a change of climate was essentially necessary to my well-being, and
+under his advice I proceeded to Charleston, S. C., and took up my
+residence with a married sister, then living there in affluent
+circumstances.</p>
+
+<p>At this peculiar epoch in the history of the country the political
+atmosphere of the South was literally pestilential. Under the manipulation
+of skillful, but unscrupulous leaders, whole communities had become imbued
+with a spirit hostile to the governing powers. They were led to believe
+that the time for argument had past, and that nothing was now left them,
+but to make a demand for what they were pleased to consider their inherent
+rights;&mdash;that of keeping their fellow men in bondage&mdash;and if this were
+refused, to declare themselves for war. The portentious clouds of the
+impending crisis continued gathering thick and fast, and it required no
+prophet&#8217;s eye to discern, or voice to foretell that they must soon burst
+upon the country in a deluge that could only be stayed by an enormous
+waste of blood and treasure.</p>
+
+<p>A sojourn of nearly eighteen months among the southern people, and the
+facilities afforded me from the position occupied by my sister&#8217;s family,
+gave me an unusual opportunity to observe the passing pageant of events.
+The masses had been gradually worked over to the interests of the more
+intelligent leaders, until reason and argument ceased further to influence
+them. They seemed wholly given up to the one idea of slavery,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[Pg 8]</a></span> or war, and
+they had been led to believe that the first demonstration of organized
+resistance to the regularly constituted powers, would bring the North at
+their feet in abject supplication for peace. I was anxious to know how the
+defiant and belligerent attitude that was being assumed would be received
+in the land of my birth, and as my health had sufficiently improved to
+warrant my again returning there, I did so at the earliest opportunity,
+only to realize that the people of the North were buckling on their armor,
+with the deep seated purpose of going forth to battle for the right.</p>
+
+<p>There was a significance in all &#8220;this busy note of preparation,&#8221; that I
+could fully understand and appreciate. I had seen enough to convince me
+that nothing but the severest chastisement, administered by the hands of
+the Lord through the instrumentality of his chosen people, could bring our
+misguided brethren of the South to a just and proper sense of their duty
+to God and their fellow-men. They had long &#8220;eaten of the bread of
+wickedness; and drank the wine of violence,&#8221; and they had utterly
+forgotten that &#8220;righteousness exalteth a nation; but sin is a reproach to
+any people.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>An opportunity was speedily afforded me to accompany a regiment to the
+field as chaplain, and I soon found myself marching southward with a body
+of noble men who had been foremost in responding to the call of President
+Lincoln, to defend the Union and preserve the integrity of the nation. The
+incidents of the four years of bloody strife that ensued, need not be
+alluded to here. They were passed by me, in the midst of danger, offering
+consolation to the dying, caring tenderly for the dead, when circumstances
+permitted, and coming out of all, through the hand of God, unscathed.</p>
+
+<p>The results aimed at upon the part of the ruling powers, seemed to have
+been accomplished. The<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[Pg 9]</a></span> Proclamation of Emancipation had gone forth from
+the executive head of the nation, and solid rows of glittering steel had
+followed it up, and compelled its enforcement. The foulest blot upon the
+pages of our history as a Republic had been erased, and its down-trodden
+children liberated from a thraldom more humiliating in design, and wicked
+in purpose, than that which yoked the children of Israel under the hands
+of the Egyptian task masters. In them the promise of the Great Jehovah had
+been verified: &#8220;Wherefore:&mdash;say unto the Children of Israel, I am the
+Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burden of the Egyptians.&#8221;
+The right had been vindicated; the shock of contending armies was over,
+and the nation waited patiently to see in what condition the contest had
+left the conquered.</p>
+
+<p>It is my purpose, in these pages, to give the exact facts, &#8220;nothing
+extenuate, nor set down aught in malice.&#8221; I shall endeavor neither to
+exaggerate the history, or conceal the truth. I am aware that the
+revelations which follow are so terrible in their nature as to almost pass
+the bounds of belief; that the agonizing scenes herein depicted, and which
+have been the results of the same demoniac spirit which actuated and
+prolonged the war, had they been told as occurring among the semi-barbaric
+nations in the uttermost parts of the earth, might be the more readily
+received by my countrymen as truthful relations; but which, transpiring at
+our own doors, within the sound and under the shadow of the Gospel, appear
+like the mythical creations of a distorted imagination rather than actual
+revelations from real life.</p>
+
+<p>In the interest of all progress, and for the sake of God and humanity, I
+would it were so; but the contrary is the fact. Hundreds of living
+witnesses stand ready to verify the statements under oath. Scores of the
+unoffending skeletons of gibbeted negroes and whites <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[Pg 10]</a></span>attest the solemn
+truth. The exact localities, the names and residences of the victims, the
+hour and day, the month and year of their murderous whipping and
+ignominious death, are given with a fidelity that challenges
+contradiction, and forms an array of evidence at once incontrovertable and
+overwhelming.</p>
+
+<p>The ever changing current of events again called me to the South. My
+sister&#8217;s family had been almost destroyed by the death of her husband, who
+had cast his fortunes with the cause of the rebellion and had paid the
+penalty with his life, and it was necessary I should aid her in adjusting
+the affairs of the estate which had been left in a very unsettled
+condition, and required much time to properly arrange. I was glad of the
+opportunity thus afforded me to observe the effects of the struggle that
+had just closed; and prepared my mind to take a calm and dispassionate
+view of the situation, as became a seeker for the truth who was desirous
+of arriving at the hidden springs underlying the social crust, with a view
+to the remedy of the impending evil, if such could be found. I believed in
+the integrity of the great mass of the people, and could see that they had
+been deceived and led on to destruction by the ingenious plans of men,
+skilled in human diplomacy, and having a profound knowledge of the
+character of the people whom they designed to move for their own wicked
+purposes.</p>
+
+<p>The spirits of these leaders chafed under the bitter disappointment of
+defeat. It was apparent they would continue to foster seditions, organize
+conspiracies against the powers that be, and use every effort to fan into
+life the dying embers of the &#8220;lost cause.&#8221; These men controlled certain
+portions of the local press, and either threw obstacles in the way of the
+dissemination of proper and just principles, or used the power in their
+hands to sow the seeds of dissention broadcast throughout the States so
+lately in insurrection.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[Pg 11]</a></span>All the misery that had accrued from the war, the families that had been
+sundered; the blood of loved ones that had watered the various
+battle-fields of the South, and the bones of beloved kindred that lay
+whitening there; the numerous sacrifices of wealth, family, and social
+position that had been made, the property lost and destroyed; the general
+stagnation and prostration of business, and the feeling of dread and
+insecurity that followed, were all attributed to the rule of the
+republican North.</p>
+
+<p>There were mutterings of revenge and breathings of threats and slaughter
+against the race that had just been raised up out of bondage. Slavery, the
+former bane and curse of this country, was already dead. Its putrid
+carcass was no longer of the material things of earth, but its ghostly
+spirit still stalked abroad among its mourners to keep alive the memory of
+its wicked example in the minds of those who, born and reared in the folds
+of its garments, and nurtured at its breast, could not cast aside their
+early prejudices and banish from their hearts, its former evil influences.
+They no longer remembered that &#8220;the way of the Lord is strength to the
+upright,&#8221; and that &#8220;destruction shall be to the workers of iniquity.&#8221;
+Thousands of misguided and misdirected men cherished in their bosoms a
+spirit of animosity toward those who had aided with their blood and money
+in the liberation of the slave; and it was this very spirit of hatred
+which had in a manner demoralized the South and created a feeling of
+uncertainty and insecurity among men of capital, that proved a serious
+barrier to their investing in our railroads and factories, and the
+improvement of our lands; and, as a natural sequence, retarded our social
+and financial progress.</p>
+
+<p>Society at this time was divided into several classes. Many who were
+disposed to accept and abide by the new order of things, dared not express
+their real <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[Pg 12]</a></span>sentiments from fear of social and political ostracism. Men of
+intelligence and education, but who had allowed the thirst for power and
+political preferment to absorb and swallow up the promptings of their
+better nature, had begun the process of gaining over to their interests
+the very worst elements in the social circle beneath them, with a view to
+carrying out their unholy designs. This class in turn, and under the
+management of the more intelligent, intimidated still another class and
+compelled them to join in a crusade that had for its objects the most
+infamous ends ever attempted to be gained by men. A complete connection
+had thus been formed, reaching from the unscrupulous leaders, to the
+masses, and embracing in its chain every class of society needed for the
+success of the general plan.</p>
+
+<p>The standard bearers of the devil himself, coming direct from the lowest
+depths of the infernal regions, with seething vials of wrath and an
+earnest intention to do the bidding of their master, could scarcely have
+set on foot a conspiracy more damnable than this. Men, women and children
+were to be included in the portending storm, religion and human decency
+were to be outraged, the law of the land and its administrators defied,
+and justice scoffed at in the pillory. The ordinary safe-guards to the
+social well being of the community were to be swept away whenever they
+became inimical to the designs and objects of the unholy alliance thus
+formed. Men were to be banded together and bound by oaths that ignored all
+others and made these supreme. Where the life or liberty of one of the
+brotherhood was in jeopardy, he was to be saved at all hazards. Perjury
+and subornation of perjury were to over-ride courts of justice and render
+abortive, any attempt to bring these lawless bands to punishment through
+their instrumentality. Nothing was to be too sacred for the vandal hands
+of these marauders who, under the guidance of the more intelligent
+leaders, were<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[Pg 13]</a></span> to go abroad like a consuming flame, until the land, that
+God had made pre-eminently beautiful for the abode of peace and
+contentment, had been smitten with a scourge of fire and blood, and their
+own wicked purposes had been accomplished. It seemed as if the voice of
+the Lord had again spoken through the prophet Ezekiel, &#8220;say to the forest
+of the South, hear the word of the Lord. Thus saith the Lord God: Behold I
+will kindle a fire in thee, and it shall devour every green tree in thee,
+and every dry tree; the flame shall not be quenched, and all faces from
+the South to the North shall be burned therein.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>It was to be a dual struggle. The colored races were to be subjugated or
+destroyed; and the humane efforts of the Government and the Administration
+to restore peace and harmony, and commercial prosperity, and to give to
+the citizens, of every creed and color, free and equal rights was
+everywhere to be opposed, that the experiment of reconstruction might
+become a hissing and a by-word, and go forth to the world an ignominious
+failure.</p>
+
+<p>The masses were kept in utter ignorance of these designs. They were in a
+state bordering upon absolute frenzy at the losses they had incurred from
+the fratricidal war that had left them bankrupt as individuals and
+communities, and with the peculiar anxiety that seems to pervade the
+hearts of all men, to endeavor to find some reasonable excuse for sins
+committed, they accepted the theories that had been so ingeniously
+prepared, and so carefully put before them, and became, like the clay in
+the hands of the potter, ready to be fashioned in any manner of form that
+might be decided upon by their wicked counselors.</p>
+
+<p>There was an oppressive and an ominous calm in the atmosphere of the South
+at this time (1866) that foreboded no good. Men viewed each other with
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[Pg 14]</a></span>distrust. Those who seemed well-disposed at first, and who had been
+casting about themselves and gathering up the fragments, with a view to
+renewing their peaceful pursuits, suddenly abandoned their labors. Rumors
+of outrages upon persons and property, vague at first and without apparent
+authenticity, began to fill the air. Bands of armed and disguised men were
+said to be travelling the highways, burning the dwellings, and robbing and
+murdering inoffensive citizens under the most revolting circumstances. The
+scriptural command to &#8220;devise not evil against thy neighbor, seeing he
+dwelleth securely by thee,&#8221; had seemingly become obsolete among the
+people. It was evident that the mysterious order, the existence of which
+had so long been hinted at, had begun its fearful work, and under the then
+complexion of affairs in the nation at large, none could divine the end.</p>
+
+<p>The death of President Lincoln had left the Executive, in this the hour of
+the nation&#8217;s great peril, in the hands of one from whom the disorganizing
+elements of the South had much to hope. The hand of justice was for the
+time being paralyzed, and the occasion seemed most opportune for the
+conspirators to perfect their terrible organization, and set in motion the
+secret machinery by which it was hoped to accomplish their base purposes.</p>
+
+<p>It was evident from such facts as could be gathered relative to these
+outrages, that there was a distinction as to the classes of people who
+were the sufferers. The negroes were, of course, the objects upon which
+the wrath of the new order was vented; but there were numerous instances,
+as will be observed in the succeeding pages, where whites were scourged
+and murdered as well. The fact that certain citizens, who had committed no
+offense against the laws, were selected from the various communities, and
+subjected to the grossest indignities, led to inquiry as to the causes
+that had brought these inflictions upon them.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[Pg 15]</a></span>It was ascertained that, in the preponderance of cases, warnings had been
+sent to the victims demanding that they must retract their political
+faith, cease to side with radicals, and abandon their interest in the
+negro, or they must leave the country; failing in this, they were to be
+scourged to death.</p>
+
+<p>Negroes who approached the ballot-box to exercise the newly conferred
+right of suffrage were watched as to how they voted, and warned that they
+must not vote the &#8220;radical ticket.&#8221; If they paid no heed to this warning,
+and were detected in the independent exercise of the right of suffrage,
+they received a visitation; their houses were pillaged, the persons of
+their women violated, their children scattered, and themselves hung, shot
+or whipped to death. The reader, in perusing the chapter of authenticated
+outrages that follows will agree with the writer that there is no
+exaggeration of language here, nor need of any. Nothing is stated that has
+not been put to the severest test of truth; and nowhere are these
+incidents recorded, in which the living witnesses have not been found, and
+the facts obtained from them.</p>
+
+<p>I was long in believing that such deeds, worthy alone of the incarnate
+fiend himself, could be perpetrated in a civilized community. I made all
+possible allowance for the political and social situation. I determined to
+know whereof I affirmed, and resolved that when I obtained this knowledge,
+I would give the information to the country. I was as free from political
+bias as it was possible for a man to be who felt it to be a part of the
+duty he owed to society to exercise the elective franchise. I had never
+mingled in politics, but had uniformly cast my vote with either political
+party which I deemed had the best interests of the nation, and the welfare
+and advancement of the people, at heart, and could not bring my mind to
+believe, at first, that there was a deep political significance
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[Pg 16]</a></span>underlying this movement, and that it had its ramifications from State to
+State, all leading to one great center, with one common head who, in the
+interest of any political party, governed and directed the dreadful
+machine, and that it meant nothing less than the subversion of the popular
+government.</p>
+
+<p>The facts and figures gradually undeceived me. I could see that there was
+a mysterious something at work that had closed men&#8217;s mouths most
+effectually, and that disaffection, consternation and terror gained ground
+daily. Even, my brethren of the pulpit, with whom I was associated in the
+different places I visited, were affected to such a degree that they no
+longer dared to preach the free sentiments of their hearts.</p>
+
+<p>No one but an actual resident of the South, at this time, can form
+anything like an adequate idea of the reign of terror, that this condition
+of affairs had inaugurated during the succeeding two years and more, of
+President Johnson&#8217;s administration. Everywhere throughout the South that I
+travelled, the hydra headed monster met me. I tried to believe in all
+charity that the movement sprung from the ignorant and uneducated masses
+who saw, or thought they saw, the origin and cause of all their
+misfortunes in the negro, and the liberal minded whites of the South who
+had countenanced and urged his enfranchisement in the interest of human
+progress; but the facts were everywhere against the theory.</p>
+
+<p>It was evident that a formidable organization, the result of intelligent
+men counseling together, and devising wicked plans for the accomplishment
+of wicked purposes, existed in all the Southern States; that it had its
+ritual, its oaths, its signs, tokens and passwords, its constitution,
+by-laws and governing rules, its edicts, warnings, disguises, secret modes
+of communication, intelligent concert of action, and all framed and
+planned in a manner that showed the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[Pg 17]</a></span> authors to be men of education and
+superior minds. In North and South Carolina, in Georgia, Alabama and
+Tennessee, in Florida, Mississippi and Kentucky, Arkansas, Louisiana and
+Texas, it existed in a greater or less degree, and its advent was
+everywhere marked with the most brutal outrages.</p>
+
+<p>The intelligence of these wrongs was not spread from one community to
+another by the newspapers. These, when not in the interest of the order
+itself, were intimidated into silence. When the outrages were so flagrant
+as to compel some show of attention, such as necessitated the action of a
+coroner, juries were selected, the members of which were members of this
+mysterious order, and the verdict usually was that the victim came to his
+death by injuries inflicted by himself or by negroes.</p>
+
+<p>The disaffection spread daily. The seeds of the order, and their fruits
+everywhere manifested, were sown in the courts and grand juries. Under
+such a condition of affairs there was no longer security for life or
+property. The idea of obtaining justice for any of the wrongs perpetrated,
+passed out of the minds of the sufferers entirely. The effect was
+generally demoralizing. Official incompetency and corruption aided rather
+than stemmed the rushing torrent that was bearing this section of the
+Republic to anarchy and financial ruin.</p>
+
+<p>A large class of persons not heretofore alluded to, but who formed a very
+important part of society, looked on without apparent interest. These were
+men of wealth and education, who neither sought to justify the wrongs
+being done, or made any attempt to oppose them, but by their very silence
+gave a tacit consent to the wicked plans of the conspirators. They were a
+class &#8220;who rejoice to do evil and delight in the forwardness of the
+wicked.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>A system arose exactly in counterpart with that of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[Pg 18]</a></span> the old Spanish
+Inquisition. Personal hatred toward a citizen, black or white, was
+sufficient warrant for reporting his name and residence to the members of
+the order as a &#8220;radical republican&#8221; and a &#8220;negro worshiper,&#8221; and he was
+forthwith warned to leave the place on penalty of being whipped, or
+suffering a worse fate. Hundreds of young men with whom the writer has
+conferred, pointed to men of maturer age, property holders and men of
+influence, and confessed that they had been induced to enter the general
+conspiracy, because they were told these men were at its head and after
+joining it learned that they had not been deceived in this respect, and
+yet they found the order so arranged that they could discover nothing, and
+were allowed to know nothing, of its workings, beyond the circle to which
+they had been admitted, and however revolting the practices of their
+associates were to them, the oath they had taken, and the feeling of
+terror inspired by the initiation and the penalty attached to recanting
+members, compelled them to continue their allegiance, and acquiesce and
+aid in the outrages.</p>
+
+<p>Even the women seemed to have caught the general infection, and sought to
+justify the dreadful events transpiring about them upon the ground that
+this was the only way in which the rights and liberties of the South could
+be preserved.</p>
+
+<p>That men holding high official positions, and moving in the most
+respectable circles, organized these outrages, selected the victims and
+accompanied the rabble in the execution of their designs, is indisputable.
+Inoffensive women seeing their husbands, fathers, and brothers torn from
+their sides and scourged in their presence, became infuriated at the
+indecent spectacle, and in their agonized frenzy, rushed upon the
+assailants and wrenched off the masks behind which they skulked, only to
+behold the faces of men who, up to that hour, they had deemed the ones to
+whom, from<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[Pg 19]</a></span> their superior intelligence, they should have looked for
+counsel.</p>
+
+<p>Traveling from place to place and directing the general movement, were men
+who had held positions as generals in the armies of the rebellion.
+Disappointed political tricksters aiming to elevate to power a party whom
+they claimed had been in sympathy with the rebel cause North and South;
+and determined to do this though the land of their birth should go to
+ruin. Anarchy and confusion usurp the places of law and order, and the
+blood of the outraged ones reach up to heaven in cries for vengence.</p>
+
+<p>These men overlooked the fact that they were setting in motion a power
+that was destined to pass from their control, and make them as a people of
+whom it was written: &#8220;I will even give them unto the hand of their
+enemies, and into the hand of them that seek their life; and their dead
+bodies shall be as meat unto the fowls of the heaven, and to the beasts of
+the earth.&#8221; They desired to heed no note of warning regarding the future
+so that the ends of the present were accomplished; and under their
+guidance, lust and rapine and murder stalked abroad, and the land seemed
+to be wholly given up to the machinations of the evil one and the
+unbridled license of his chosen servants.</p>
+
+<p>Nowhere upon the dial plate of the nineteenth century did the index finger
+of the hand of God point with such unerring and terrible certainty. It
+seemed as if the Lord had spoken once more as he spake in the days of the
+Prophet Isaiah:</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in
+it? Wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it
+forth wild grapes? And now go to. I will tell you what I will do to my
+vineyard. I will take away the hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten up;
+and break down the walls thereof, and it shall be trodden down. And I will
+lay<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[Pg 20]</a></span> it waste; it shall not be pruned nor digged; but there shall come up
+briers and thorns * * * for the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house
+of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant; and he looked for
+judgment, but behold oppression; for righteousness, but behold a cry.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Good men bowed their heads in anguish. They had lifted their eyes to the
+far North, from whence should come their help, and they had looked in
+vain. The body corporate was too fatally diseased to cure itself
+Rottenness and corruption hung upon its borders, and were slowly sapping
+the foundations of its life. Its energies were prostrated, its internal
+recuperative power destroyed. Help must come from without; and the earnest
+prayers of the devoted and doomed went up to the throne of God in
+heartfelt supplication, that wisdom might dwell in the hearts of the
+counsellors to whom the destinies of the nation had been confided; but it
+seemed as if the heavens were as adamant that could not be pierced, and
+that no answer would be vouchsafed to the sincere appeal.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Such was the situation at the close of President Johnson&#8217;s term of office,
+and the elevation of General Grant to the presidential chair. It remained
+to be seen whether the incoming administration would turn the deaf ear to
+the suffering and disorganized South as its predecessor had done, or
+whether, under the guidance of its new Executive head, order should be
+brought out of chaos, the crooked paths made straight, and the prophecy
+fulfilled: &#8220;Behold, I will redeem them with an outstretched arm.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>The recitals that follow give answer to this query more conclusively than
+the most elaborate of arguments. They show, from statistics gathered under
+the most favorable circumstances by the writer in person, the existence of
+a numerous and formidable organization of armed men, working in secret,
+disguising <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[Pg 21]</a></span>themselves beyond all hope of recognition, committing
+depredations upon persons and property, frequently resulting in the total
+destruction of both, and instituting the most bitter and inhuman
+persecutions, for opinion&#8217;s sake, that ever disgraced the history of a
+nation.</p>
+
+<p>The facts are beyond all hope of successful denial. They are born out by
+the records of the local and federal courts, by the testimony of the
+surviving sufferers and by the voluntary confession of recanting members
+of the organization.</p>
+
+<p>A full expose of the order, its origin and secrets, its designs and
+purposes, its operations and results, are related with an unswerving
+fidelity to the truth, and with all charity to the people with whom it had
+its rise, and among whom, by the grace of God, and under the firm but
+humane course pursued by the present administration in the enforcement of
+the law, and the establishment of the right, it must have its fall. The
+information came to the knowledge of the writer through those who had been
+active members of the order, and who had abandoned it the moment the
+strong arm of the Government had been felt in the vigorous enforcement of
+the laws, through its secret agents, thus rendering it safe for them to do
+so.</p>
+
+<p>The revelations that follow, speak in tones that must reverberate
+throughout the length and breadth of the continent, and are submitted as
+terrible evidences of the fearful condition to which communities may be
+reduced, when, ignoring the cardinal principles of right and justice, they
+abandon themselves to the control of unscrupulous men, whose overweening
+ambition destroy every other sentiment, and who esteem no measures too
+vile or inhuman that will lead to the accomplishment of their own base
+ends.</p>
+
+
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<hr style="width: 50%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[Pg 22]</a></span></p>
+<p class="center"><span class="huge">ORDERS</span><br />OF THE<br /><span class="giant">KU KLUX KLANS.</span></p>
+
+<p class="note"><span class="smcap">The Constitutional Union Guards.&mdash;Knights of the White Camelia.&mdash;Order of
+Invisible Empire.&mdash;The White Brotherhood.&mdash;Union and Young Men&#8217;s Democracy.</span></p>
+
+<p class="center"><br />ORIGIN, ORGANIZATION, INITIATION, OATHS, OBJECTS AND OPERATIONS.</p>
+
+<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" summary="table">
+<tr><td><i>He discovereth deep things out of darkness;<br />
+And bringeth out to light the shadow of death.</i><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 12em;"><span class="smcap">Job.</span> XII., 22.</span></td></tr></table>
+
+<p>In the early part of 1866, or nearly a year after the close of the war of
+the rebellion, there was organized in the Southern States, a secret order,
+known as the &#8220;Constitutional Union Guards,&#8221; having a constitution,
+by-laws, oaths of allegiance, modes of recognition and approach, and a
+ritual, all of which were legendary and unwritten. Its places of meetings
+were styled Camps. Its officers were: a &#8220;Commander,&#8221; &#8220;South Commander,&#8221;
+&#8220;Grand Commander,&#8221; &#8220;Chief of Dominion,&#8221; and &#8220;Grand Cyclops,&#8221; or supreme
+head of the order.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[Pg 23]</a></span>The Commander is the chief officer of a local Camp. He issues the call
+for, and presides over, all its meetings. Initiates members; administers
+the oath; invests them with the signs, grips, and passwords necessary in
+making themselves known as members of the Order; and imparts to them the
+signal code of sounds by which they are governed in their excursions, and
+at times when, for obvious reasons, it is not expedient to utter words of
+command.</p>
+
+<p>The South Commander is, to all appearances, a lay member of the Camp. His
+power, however, when he chooses to exercise it, is superior to that of the
+Commander. He is an officer without apparent function, and yet it is a
+portion of the oath attached to the second, or supreme degree, that he
+shall be obeyed in preference to any other known or constituted authority.
+He can prorogue the Camp, or dissolve it altogether, whenever he deems
+fit, and is amenable to no one inside of the Camp of which he is a member.</p>
+
+<p>The office of this functionary is not an elective one. Whenever a Camp is
+formed, the authority under which it works assigns to it a South
+Commander, and he is the only person through whom communications can be
+received from, or made to, that authority. All the doings of the Camp, the
+number and names of its members, the warnings issued, the persons visited,
+and all other proceedings, are carefully noted by the South Commander, and
+reported by him to the Grand Commander of the District in which the Camp
+is located, and he is the only member of the Camp who has knowledge of
+that officer. The South Commander is not permitted to know any Grand
+Commander save the one to whom he reports, nor does he know to whom his
+superior is amenable.</p>
+
+<p>The Grand Commander has charge of a District comprising a certain number
+of Camps (usually seven), from the South Commanders of which he receives
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[Pg 24]</a></span>reports as above stated. It is his duty to condense these reports into
+cypher, which he transmits to the officer above him, known as the Chief of
+Dominion, and from whom he receives the general instructions and orders to
+be transmitted to the various Camps of his District through the South
+Commander. He in turn is not permitted to know any Chief of Dominion save
+the one to whom he reports; and, like his inferiors, is in utter ignorance
+as to whom his superior is amenable.</p>
+
+<p>The Chief of Dominion has charge of all the operations of the Order in
+some State assigned to his care. He receives reports from the Grand
+Commanders thereof; and transmits the same to the &#8220;Grand Cyclops,&#8221; or
+supreme head of the Order, and President ex-officio of the &#8220;Supreme Grand
+Council.&#8221; This Supreme Grand Council is composed of the Chiefs of
+Dominions, and from them emanate the instructions which, being decided
+upon in the conclave of the Council, are promulgated to the rank and file
+through the Grand Commanders, South Commanders, and Commanders of Camps.</p>
+
+<p>By this peculiar system of organization the moving spirits of the Order
+are conversant with all that <ins class="correction" title="original: transspires">transpires</ins> below them, while their own
+identity is carefully concealed from the masses whom they design to move
+for their own vile purposes. The objects of the Order are somewhat
+covertly set forth in the oaths administered to the members, but previous
+to this time the grand designs intended to be accomplished were known only
+to the members of the Supreme Grand Council. The initiation is comprised
+in two degrees, the first or probationary degree being intended to test
+the members, and the second or supreme degree for those of the first who
+have been found worthy of advancement. The signs, grips, &amp;c., are the same
+in both degrees, with the exception of one test word, and a supplementary
+ritual hereafter to be explained.</p>
+
+<p><br /><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[Pg 25]</a></span></p>
+<p class="center">ORDER OF INITIATION.</p>
+<p class="center">FIRST, OR PROBATIONARY DEGREE.</p>
+
+<p>The first or probationary degree of the Order is intended for the masses.
+The candidate for initiation is selected, so far as possible, with
+reference to his political proclivities, if he has any. He must be known
+to the member proposing him to be opposed to the Radical party; to be or
+to have been in sympathy with the cause of the rebellion; to be opposed to
+the elevation of the negro to a social and political equality with the
+whites; and to have a hatred of negro worshipers, carpet-baggers, and
+scallawags, as those terms are interpreted in the Order.</p>
+
+<p>These points being satisfactorily settled, he is notified to proceed to a
+secluded place on a designated night. There he is met by three Conductors,
+who blindfold and lead him to the vicinity of the Camp, which, in order
+the more effectually to guard against surprise, rarely assembles twice in
+the same place. On the way he and his Conductors are encountered by a
+guard or sentinel, who challenges the party with:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;Who comes here?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>His Conductors reply: &#8220;A friend.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>The guard asks: &#8220;A friend to what?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>He is answered: &#8220;My country.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>The candidate is then allowed to pass into the Camp, and is conducted to
+the center of the assembled members, when the following oath is
+administered to him by the Commander:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p class="center"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[Pg 26]</a></span>INITIATORY OATH.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;You solemnly swear, in the presence of Almighty God and these
+witnesses, that you will never reveal the secrets that are about to
+be imparted to you, and that you will be true to the principles of
+this brotherhood and its members; that you are not now a member of
+the Grand Army of the Republic, the Red String Order, the Union
+League, Heroes of America, or any other organization whose aim and
+intention is to destroy the rights of the South, or to elevate the
+negro to a political equality with yourself; and that you will never
+assist at the initiation into this Order of any member of the Grand
+Army of the Republic, the Red String Order, the Union League, Heroes
+of America, or any one holding Radical views or opinions. You
+furthermore swear that you will oppose all Radicals and negroes in
+all of their political designs, and that, should any Radical or negro
+impose on or abuse or injure any member of this brotherhood, you will
+assist in punishing him in any manner the Camp may direct; and you
+furthermore swear that you will never reveal any of the orders, acts,
+or edicts of this brotherhood, and that you will obey all calls and
+summonses from the Chief of your Camp or brotherhood, should it be in
+your power to do so; and that, should any member of the brotherhood
+or his family be in jeopardy, you will inform them of their danger,
+and go to their assistance. You further swear that you will never
+give the word of distress unless you are in great need of assistance;
+and should you hear it given by any brother, you will go to his or
+their assistance; and should any member of this brotherhood reveal
+any of its secrets, acts, orders, or edicts, you will assist in
+punishing him in any way the Camp may direct or approve, so help you
+God.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>During the administration of this oath, the members surround the initiate,
+dressed in long, white gowns, high, conical shaped, white hats, and their
+faces shrouded in white masks. At the conclusion of the oath, the
+candidate is made to kiss the book. The bandage is then<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[Pg 27]</a></span> removed from his
+eyes. The Commander approaches, and proceeds to instruct him in the</p>
+
+
+<p class="center"><br />SIGNS, GRIPS, AND PASSWORD.</p>
+
+<p>Signs of recognition and approach:</p>
+
+<p><i>First.</i>&mdash;Strike the fingers of the right hand briskly upon the hair over
+the right ear, bringing the hand forward and partially around the ear, as
+if describing a half moon.</p>
+
+<p><i>Answer.</i>&mdash;Same sign made with left hand over left ear.</p>
+
+<p><i>Second.</i>&mdash;Thrust the right hand into the pant&#8217;s pocket, with the
+exception of the thumb, at the same time bringing the right heel into the
+hollow of the left foot.</p>
+
+<p><i>Answer.</i>&mdash;Same sign with the left hand, bringing the left heel into the
+hollow of the right foot.</p>
+
+<p>As a farther precaution search is made by the hailing party as if for a
+pin in the right lappel of the coat.</p>
+
+<p><i>Answer.</i>&mdash;A similar search in the left lappel of the coat.</p>
+
+<p>The <span class="smcap">Grip</span> is given by placing the forefinger on the pulse of the person you
+shake hands with.</p>
+
+<p><i>Countersign.</i>&mdash;If halted by a camp or picket on the public highway at
+night, the following colloquy ensues:</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Who comes there?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;A friend!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;A friend of what?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;My country!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;What country?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I, S, A, Y.&#8221; (Repeating each letter slowly.)</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;N, O, T, H, I, N, G.&#8221; (Repeating each letter slowly.)</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;The word?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Retribution!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[Pg 28]</a></span>These countersigns are issued every three months. The one here given was
+in vogue at the time of the discovery of the order.</p>
+
+<p>A member of any order of the Ku Klux Klan of the first or probationary
+degree, in distress, and requiring speedy aid, will use a word signal, or
+cry of distress: &#8220;<span class="smcap">Shiloh!</span>&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>In expeditions conducted under direction of the Commander, or any of the
+brethren detailed by him to act as head, a code of signals by sounds, made
+with whistles, is used, in order that the members may not be recognized by
+their voices.</p>
+
+
+<p class="center"><br />DIVISIONS OF THE ORDER.</p>
+
+<p>There are several divisions of the order of the <span class="smcap">Ku Klux Klans</span>, all working
+under the same ritual and oaths, and having the same signs, grips,
+passwords, modes of approach, and general conduct of raids and midnight
+excursions. These are known under the names of &#8220;Knights of the White
+Camelia,&#8221; &#8220;The Invisible Empire,&#8221; &#8220;The White Brotherhood,&#8221; &#8220;The Unknown
+Multitude,&#8221; &#8220;The Union and Young Men&#8217;s Democracy.&#8221; All work in disguise,
+with the exception of the latter, who work openly as well as in disguise,
+and are all under the instructions of the &#8220;Grand Cyclops&#8221; and the Supreme
+Grand Council. They all have one and the same object, which is as plainly
+set forth in the oath as it well can be in an obligation of that
+character.</p>
+
+<p>The difference in names and styles has been adopted for a two-fold
+purpose. First, to conceal the origin, object, and design of the order,
+and its founders and directors; secondly, to conceal its extent and
+numbers, and make it appear a mere local affair that has cropped out in
+different places without reference to any organized combination with one
+grand center.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[Pg 29]</a></span>The workings of the Klans over all the Southern country show more
+conclusively than any amount of subterfuge on the part of the leaders,
+that one common tie binds them all; that one common interest actuates
+them; that one common end is to be accomplished. The oath differs slightly
+in phraseology in different localities, to accommodate the varied
+circumstances under which it is administered, and with a view to greater
+concealment&mdash;the words &#8220;Unknown Multitude,&#8221; &#8220;Invisible Empire,&#8221; and &#8220;White
+Brotherhood&#8221; being substituted in North and South Carolina; the words
+&#8220;Union and Young Men&#8217;s Democracy,&#8221; in Georgia and Mississippi; and the
+words &#8220;Knights of the White Camelia,&#8221; in Louisiana and Texas and other
+States.</p>
+
+
+<p class="center"><br />THE SECOND OR SUPREME DEGREE.</p>
+
+<p>This degree differs from the first or probationary degree in the fact that
+those upon whom it is conferred are of the better class of the masses, and
+take upon themselves a more binding oath, administered under circumstances
+intended to be more impressive in character. The candidate for this degree
+is brought blind-folded into the center of the Camp, and caused to kneel
+at an altar erected for the occasion, his right hand placed upon a Bible,
+and his left upon a human skull. The Commander then says:</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Brethren, <i>must</i> it be done?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>The members respond, &#8220;<i>It must!</i>&#8221; and this in a tone intended to strike
+terror to the heart of the novitiate.</p>
+
+<p>The candidate, of course, has no knowledge of what is meant by the ominous
+&#8220;<i>Must it be done?</i>&#8221; and there is a mournful groaning in the response &#8220;<i>It
+must!</i>&#8221; indicating that a terrible experience awaits him, which the
+Brotherhood would gladly spare him if they could.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[Pg 30]</a></span>A death-like silence ensues for a few moments, which seem ages to the
+candidate, and affords ample opportunity for his imagination to picture
+the unheard-of horrors through which he may possibly be called to pass.
+The silence is finally broken by the Commander, who says:</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;<span class="smcap">Brethren</span>, this brother <i>now</i> kneels at the altar of our faith, and asks
+to be bound to our fortunes by the more solemn and mysterious provisions
+of our Order. Fortunately for him in this hour of peril, he has been found
+worthy, and in commemoration of his being made one of the great &#8216;Unknown
+Multitude,&#8217; I again ask, &#8216;<i>Must it be done?</i>&#8217;&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>The brethren, in solemn tones, again respond, &#8220;<i>It must!</i>&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>The Commander then says, in a stentorian tone of voice, &#8220;<i>Let the blood of
+the traitor be spilled: bring the victim forth.</i>&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>The members here make a rustling noise, to resemble a struggle, a heavy
+blow is struck upon some appropriate substance, and a few drops of blood
+are trickled over the hand of the initiate that rests upon the skull. The
+brethren then surround him with knives and pistols presented in a circle
+about his head and neck, when the Commander then says:</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Must I swear him by the oath that shall forever bind, and never be
+broken?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>The brethren, placing their hands upon their left breasts, respond
+sepulchrally as before, &#8220;<i>Swear him!</i>&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>The Commander now addresses the candidate as follows:</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;<i>My Brother</i>, kneeling at the solemn altar of our faith, as one who
+desires that no government but the white man&#8217;s shall live in this country;
+and as one who will fight to the death all schisms, and factions, and
+parties, coming from whatsoever source they may, which have for their
+design the elevation of the negro to an<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[Pg 31]</a></span> equality with the white man, I am
+now about to administer to you the oath of this, the supreme degree, of
+our Order&mdash;that oath which shall forever bind, and never be broken; at the
+same time informing you that this oath, being taken in a cause which has
+for its object the deliverance of your country and the land of your birth
+from the rule of the negro-worshiper and the fanatic, is paramount to
+every other oath which you have taken, or may hereafter take, outside of
+this Order. You will now repeat after me, pronouncing your name in full,
+and your words aloud, on pain of instant death:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p class="center"><i>Oath of the Second or Supreme Degree.</i></p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I, A. B., in the presence of Almighty God, and these my friends here
+assembled, kneeling at this altar, with my right hand upon the holy
+Bible, and my left washed in the blood of a traitor, and resting upon
+the skull of his brother in iniquity, and being fully impressed with
+the sacredness of this act, do solemnly swear that I will uphold and
+defend the Constitution of the United States, as it was handed down
+by our forefathers, in its original purity; that I will reject and
+oppose the principles of the Radical party in all its forms, and
+forever maintain and contend that intelligent white men shall govern
+this country. And I furthermore swear that I will bear true faith and
+allegiance to the Order of the Constitutional Union Guards, and will
+never make known, by sign, word, or deed, any of its secrets now
+about to be, or that may hereafter be confided to me; that I will
+obey all its precepts, mandates, orders, instructions, and directions
+issued through the Commander, and aid and assist the brethren in
+carrying out and enforcing the same; and that I will keep secret,
+even unto death, the plans and movements of this society. I
+furthermore swear to obey the South Commander in the Camp, in
+preference to any known law, precept, or authority whatever, and to
+defend the brethren, if need be, with the sacrifice of my life. I
+swear that the enemies of the white man&#8217;s race, and the white man&#8217;s
+government, and the friends of negro equality shall be my enemies,
+and that I will uphold and defend the white man&#8217;s government against
+all comers, whether in the name of Radicals,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[Pg 32]</a></span> Negro-worshipers,
+Carpet-baggers, Scallawags, or spies in the land. I swear to forever
+oppose the social and political elevation of the negro to an equality
+with the whites, and that I will come at every hour of the moon to
+execute the trust confided to me by the Commander and the brethren. I
+furthermore swear that, in case of our being interrupted in the
+establishment of the principles for which we are contending, that I
+will regard no oath that will convict one of the members of this
+Order, but under all circumstances will stand by the Order in blood
+and death. I furthermore swear that I will not give the signal cry of
+distress, only when in real distress, and that I will yield my life,
+if necessary, in aid of a brother giving the double cry of this
+degree. Lastly, I swear by this Bible, and this skull, and this
+blood, that should I ever prove unfaithful in any particular to the
+obligation I have now assumed, I hope to meet with the fearful and
+just penalty of the traitor, which is <i>death</i>, <span class="smcaplc">DEATH</span>, DEATH, at the
+hands of the brethren. So help me God.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>The candidate having kissed the book, the bandage is removed from his
+eyes. He sees before him a human skull upon one side of the Bible, and a
+small chalice or cup filled with blood upon the other. The brethren are
+all disguised in long black gowns, covering them completely from neck to
+heels. Black masks and black conical shaped hats of enormous height,
+decorated with representations of death&#8217;s head and cross bones, complete
+the costume.</p>
+
+<p>Some of the members bear pine torches, which throw a wierd and unearthly
+glare upon the unholy scene, and render it a fit counterpart to the abode
+of the demons who seem to have instigated the proceedings. When the
+bandage is removed, these torches are swung violently to and fro, and the
+brethren simultaneously utter a loud cry.</p>
+
+<p>The candidate is now informed that the signs, grips, and passwords of the
+preceding degree are used in this, with the exception that the signal cry
+of distress in this is composed of two words: &#8221;<span class="smcap">Shiloh, Avalanche</span>.&#8221;</p>
+
+
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<hr style="width: 50%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[Pg 33]</a></span></p>
+<p class="center"><span class="huge">OPERATIONS</span><br />OF THE<br /><span class="giant">KU KLUX KLAN.</span></p>
+
+<p class="note"><span class="smcap">An Authenticated Account of Outrages Committed in the South.&mdash;The Perpetrators and their Victims.</span></p>
+
+<p class="center"><br />THE MURDER OF EDWARD THOMPSON.</p>
+
+<p>From the close of the war, up to the fall of 1870, there resided in
+Lowndes county, Georgia, an exceedingly intelligent colored man, named
+Edward Thompson. He was noted for his piety, and the peculiar influence he
+exerted over the members of his race who resided in Lowndes county, and
+Hamilton county, Florida; and being thoroughly imbued with Republican
+principles, lost no opportunity in disseminating them among those of his
+race with whom he associated. Through his exertion, and by the force of
+his example, the negroes voted the ticket of the Republican party at every
+election, always seeking his advice before going to the polls to deposit
+their ballots.</p>
+
+<p>Thompson&#8217;s case was brought before the Camp of Hamilton county,
+Florida&mdash;at that time, presided over by one Elihu Horn, Commander of the
+Camp&mdash;as one<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[Pg 34]</a></span> requiring energetic action upon the part of the Order. A
+warning was issued to Thompson, the import of which could hardly be
+mistaken. The following is a verbatim copy of the same taken from the
+original.</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p class="center">&#8220;K. K. K.</p>
+
+<p class="center">&#8220;<i>His Supreme Highness of Hamilton to Edward Thompson.</i></p>
+
+<p>&#8220;His Supreme and Mighty Highness has heard of your seditious
+practices in leading others astray, and encouraging them in
+opposition to the white man&#8217;s government. Time is given you to repent
+and submit as your fathers have done. Now this is to warn you, and
+all such as you, on pain of punishment and death, to abandon your
+vicious harangues, and abide by our orders. The moon is yet bright;
+it may turn to blood.</p>
+
+<p><span style="margin-left: 8em;">&#8220;By order,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 12em;">&#8220;K. K. K.&#8221;</span></p></div>
+
+<p>Thompson paid no heed to this warning, but continued to pursue the even
+tenor of his way. He had resided so long in the place, and been so
+favorably known there, both among the whites and blacks, that he scouted
+the idea that this meant anything more than a threat intended to
+intimidate him, and he continued exerting his influence in the Republican
+cause with his brethren, as had been his custom. Several warnings were
+subsequently sent to him with no better effect, and it was finally decided
+in the solemn conclave of the Camp, that he should receive the long
+threatened &#8220;visitation.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>On the 19th of September, 1870, Thompson retired to his bed between nine
+and ten o&#8217;clock, as was his usual custom. His family consisted of his wife
+and two children, all of whom occupied the same sleeping apartment.
+Between eleven and twelve o&#8217;clock they were aroused from their slumbers by
+the door being broken<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[Pg 35]</a></span> in with a tremendous crash, and before Thompson had
+time to collect himself, he was rudely seized and dragged from his bed by
+a number of men, armed and disguised, two of whom fired their revolvers
+into the roof of the cabin, as a menace, and assured Thompson they would
+turn the weapons upon him, if he offered the slightest resistance. His
+wife and children were also dragged from their beds, being at the same
+time severely struck by some members of the band, and told to remain
+quiet.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;In the name of the Lord, what is this?&#8221; asked Thompson, as soon as he
+could command his voice.</p>
+
+<p>The response was a blow upon the head from the butt of a pistol, delivered
+with a brutality that convinced him that he was in the hands of those to
+whose hearts mercy was a stranger. He was then told to ask no questions,
+and make no noise, but to dress himself and go with the band.</p>
+
+<p>His wife was subjected to the most revolting indecencies. The last garment
+that covered her nakedness was wrenched from her person and torn into
+shreds, leaving her utterly exposed to the malicious and lecherous eyes of
+the intruders. She was then told &#8220;to get her rags on,&#8221; and go with the
+party. The children terrified at seeing their parents thus brutally
+assailed, uttered the most piercing screams, but were ordered to remain
+behind and not leave the house, or they would be killed. The band started
+out with their captives in the direction of the house of John and Samuel
+Hogan, two white men who were known to be Republicans, and had thus
+rendered themselves obnoxious to the Camp. They compelled the Hogans to
+accompany them, and started for the woods, nearly a mile from Thompson&#8217;s
+house.</p>
+
+<p>One Micajah Amerson, a colored man living near the scene of this outrage,
+hearing the report of the fire arms, arose, and dressed himself, and
+taking a shot gun, started<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[Pg 36]</a></span> for his son&#8217;s house on the Joseph Howell
+plantation. Amerson was just in time to meet the band having Thompson and
+his wife and the two Hogans in custody, and was at once seized and
+compelled to go with the party. Amerson seems to be the only one of the
+captives able or willing to give an intelligent account of what
+subsequently transpired, which he did to the writer as follows:</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I saw the company in the road, and knew they were the Ku Klux from their
+disguises. I saw it was no use to try and get away from them, and one of
+them told me to go along, at the same time striking me with a club. Edward
+Thompson and his wife (colored), and John and Samuel Hogan, two white men,
+were with them. Thompson said nothing but his wife moaned all the way on
+the road to the woods. We went about a quarter of a mile into the woods,
+and were then ordered to halt. When the halt was made, one of the band
+gave a peculiar whistle, which was answered almost directly by a similar
+sound. This proved to be the signal for the appearance of a party who was
+addressed as the Captain, and who at once took charge of the proceedings.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I and the two white men were ordered to sit down, a pistol being placed
+at our heads to enforce obedience. The colored man (Thompson) was then
+told to strip himself naked. This he commenced very reluctantly to do,
+begging for mercy, and asking what he was going to be whipped for. The
+members of the band seemed to be enraged at this, and taking out their
+knives, commenced cutting his clothes off, wounding him in several places.
+The Captain then struck him a powerful blow with a gun, shattering the
+stock and knocking Thompson senseless.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;No one paid any attention to him as he lay upon the ground,&mdash;the Captain
+and two or three of the band holding a consultation. The Captain then
+asked for<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[Pg 37]</a></span> the &#8220;executioners.&#8221; Two men came forward and said: &#8220;Where are
+the warrants?&#8221; At this another of the party produced two long leather
+straps, and handing them to the two men, said: &#8220;Here they are.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;These two then commenced to beat Thompson and his wife in a dreadful
+manner. The punishment on the wife was brief though cruel. That upon
+Thompson was continued until the &#8220;executioner&#8221; was thoroughly exhausted.
+He then handed the strap to another member of the band, who renewed the
+assault with great fury. Thompson, at first, made no exclamations, but on
+being struck in the more delicate parts of his body, screeched fearfully.
+He was brought to his feet several times while the punishment was being
+inflicted, only to be knocked down by the strap, and kicked by those who
+were standing around him. The members of the band laughed at his agony and
+said to the executioners: &#8220;Give it to the damned radical; learn the son of
+a b...h to keep his piety and politics to himself; we&#8217;ll teach him how to
+lead the niggers.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Thompson finally ceased to scream. His body was a mass of blood, and he
+appeared to be unconscious long before the beating was through with. I
+thought he must be dead, but dared not say anything. When the executioners
+had ceased, he lay perfectly still. One of the members said: &#8220;The d....d
+skunk is playing possum.&#8221; He then jumped at Thompson, kicked him several
+times in the side and back with great violence, and turning him over,
+ground his boot heel in his face. He lay for a long time unconscious, and
+was several times raised to his feet, but could not stand. His wife
+continued to pray during a portion of the time, asking God to bring her
+husband to life, and begging the Captain to spare him for the sake of his
+family, and let her try and get him home.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;The Captain finally said, she might do what she liked. It was easy to see
+that Thompson could not<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[Pg 38]</a></span> live, but some of the band were not satisfied.
+One of them called out:</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;&#8216;Captain Smart, can I shoot the dirty radical?&#8217; to which the Captain
+replied:</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;&#8216;No! the black son of a b....h is dead enough.&#8217; The Captain then said to
+me and the two white men:</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;&#8216;Now, you take this for a warning, and if we ever hear of you divulging
+anything about this, you may expect the same treatment.&#8217;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;The white men and myself were then taken to the road, where we were met by
+another party, also in disguise, making about forty in all. I was then
+told to go to the Joseph Howell plantation, and remain there two hours, or
+the rest of the band would take me and put me up the spout.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I done as directed, and returned to my own house about 6 o&#8217;clock in the
+morning; I then went over to Thompson&#8217;s house, and found him dead. How he
+came there, I do not know; I heard that his wife got him home, and that he
+was not entirely dead, when he got there.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>In addition to the testimony of Amerson, as to the terrible details of
+this brutal murder, we have that of Mrs. Thompson and the two Hogans. Dr.
+Mapp, a physician residing near Thompson, was called to see him, and at
+the earnest entreaty of the wife dressed his wounds, although he saw that
+the poor victim could not live possibly. He was literally beaten to a
+jelly. One of his eyes had been forced completely out of its socket, and
+he was otherwise almost totally unrecognizable.</p>
+
+<p>Elihu Horn, <i>alias</i> Capt. Smart, was known at the time as a respectable
+member of society in Hamilton county, Fla., and a leader in the democratic
+ranks in that vicinity, and violently opposed to the present
+administration. He was determined that no one should preach what he was
+pleased to term &#8220;the heresy of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[Pg 39]</a></span> radicalism&#8221; in that county, and live, and
+his threat was fully carried out upon the body of the unfortunate
+Thompson.</p>
+
+<p>In the light of such an outrage, can any one, of whatever creed or faith,
+question the policy of the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus and the
+proclamation of martial law in such a community, or doubt the wisdom of
+the executive head of the nation, in his efforts to suppress the unlawful
+assemblages, who aspired to hold the life and liberty of our citizens in
+the hollow of their hands, and annihilate the hopes of newly-made freemen,
+by imposing upon them a bondage infinitely worse than that from which the
+nation, through the blood of her sons, had but so recently released them?</p>
+
+
+<p class="center"><br />BRUTAL WHIPPING OF A WHITE MAN FOR OPINION&#8217;S SAKE.</p>
+
+<p>Shortly after the outrage which resulted in the death of Edward Thompson,
+a Mr. Driggers, residing in the county of Echols, and not far from where
+Thompson had been murdered, received a warning from the Ku Klux Klan, that
+he must change his political opinions, or leave the State.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Driggers was a prominent republican, and had made no secret of his
+political faith. He had freely expressed his opinions in that regard
+whenever he desired to do so, and had steadily voted the republican, or
+what was known to the Ku Klux as the radical, ticket. He was generally
+esteemed among his fellows, and especially among the colored people, in
+whose welfare he took a great interest, and this latter fact was deemed an
+offense not to be tolerated by the defenders of the white man&#8217;s
+government.</p>
+
+<p>Warning after warning was sent to him, and he was thus duly reminded,
+that, unless he recanted, the fate<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[Pg 40]</a></span> of Thompson would surely be his; but,
+he still regarded the matter as merely an idle threat, and time passed on
+until the night of the 25th of August, 1871, when a party of five men,
+armed, and disguised in black gowns and masks, visited his residence.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Driggers at once divined the object of this visitation, and was
+expostulating with the leader, when he was quickly overpowered and
+stripped in the presence of his family, and beaten with straps similar to
+those used upon Thompson.</p>
+
+<p>He was dreadfully punished about the head, face, and back, and was
+informed by the Klan, that for the present they would accord him the mercy
+to live, but, unless he left the county, they would return and kill him,
+and destroy his property.</p>
+
+<p>From similar outrages that had been perpetrated in the vicinity, Mr.
+Driggers was fully satisfied that this threat would be carried out to the
+letter. He was familiar with the brutal details of Thompson&#8217;s death, and
+was now convinced that the members of this terrible brotherhood would
+respect neither color, social standing, or respectability, and at once
+made hasty preparations, and abandoned his once happy home to become a
+wanderer. The visitation upon him was made solely for political reasons.
+He was a man that stood above reproach in the community, and no person
+could be found in Echol county that could impugn his character as a man, a
+gentleman, and an upright citizen. It was not contended that he had
+committed any other offense than that of being a radical republican, who,
+being too obstinate to change his politics, must be whipped into
+renouncing a faith that he could not be argued out of.</p>
+
+<p>Is it any wonder that men who substitute brute force for argument, should
+so strenuously object to the efforts of the executive officers to enforce
+the law and bring order out of the chaos, into which<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[Pg 41]</a></span> their wild and
+licentious acts have plunged the respective communities in which they
+live? Thinking men will say &#8220;nay,&#8221; and will ask and demand that the policy
+now being pursued by the administration shall be continued until the
+supremacy of the law is fully established, and men of all shades of color
+and political faith may &#8220;sit under their own vine and fig tree, with none
+to molest or make them afraid.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Allen Wicker, William Smith, Butcher Smith, James King, and Lewis Kinsey,
+all residents of Echol county, Ga., and members of the Camp that had
+decided that Mr. Drigger must surrender his political opinions, leave his
+home, or die, were the persons upon whom the officers of the United States
+Secret Service fastened the guilt of this outrage.</p>
+
+
+<p class="center"><br />AN APPALLING TRAGEDY.</p>
+<p class="center">TERRIBLE DEATH OF A WHITE MAN IN WILKINSON COUNTY, GEORGIA.</p>
+
+<p>One of the most appalling tragedies ever resulting from the free
+expression of political opinions, was that enacted at Irwinton, Wilkinson
+county, Georgia, on the night of the 31st of August, 1871.</p>
+
+<p>For more than a year previous to this date, a white man, familiarly known
+throughout the county as Sheriff Deason, had taken a very active part in
+politics, having espoused the republican cause, as one might say, in the
+very den of the lion himself, and standing almost alone, in what he
+considered a contest for the right.</p>
+
+<p>Deason was a large, powerfully built, and muscular man, inured to hardship
+from his youth, resolute in his purpose, tenacious of his principles, and
+ready under all circumstances to expound them, whenever it seemed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[Pg 42]</a></span> good to
+him to do so. He was a man whose good nature was proverbial. He delighted
+to get into the country grocery, and there, surrounded by an admiring
+audience of colored men, and such of the whites as sympathized with him,
+although secretly, express his opinion, that the principles of the
+republican party were the only ones upon which a righteous government
+could be founded, and which would eventually bring the ship of State
+safely to a secure anchorage.</p>
+
+<p>Among his hearers were many of those who had sworn to uphold the &#8220;white
+man&#8217;s government,&#8221; and who believed that Deason&#8217;s arguments were
+calculated to damage their labors in this respect, but, bold as they were,
+when in bands of twenty, armed and disguised, they assailed defenseless
+men and helpless women, they dare not single handed to make even so much
+as an utterance against his outspoken logic, and they writhed and twisted
+under it in silence. They comprehended, however, that seeds were being
+sown that would take root in the minds of thinking men, and produce
+results which they did not desire to see accomplished.</p>
+
+<p>A formal presentation of Deason&#8217;s case was made to the Irwinton Camp of
+the C. U. G., to which Order, at that time, two-thirds of the white
+population of Wilkinson county belonged. As was usual in such cases, it
+was decided to issue a warning to the intended victim, which was forthwith
+done. Deason replied to it by pasting the warning upon the door of his
+house, where it remained an ever present witness to the contempt in which
+he held its authors, until it was washed away by the fall rains.</p>
+
+<p>This was regarded as an act of defiance upon Deason&#8217;s part, that could not
+be overlooked. To add to this, he continued uttering his political views
+with the same freedom as before, and it was resolved that he must be
+stopped. This, however, was easier said than done; Deason was known to be
+thoroughly armed, a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[Pg 43]</a></span> man of undoubted courage, and a terrible opponent
+when thoroughly aroused, although very quietly disposed when left to
+himself.</p>
+
+<p>The Camp saw they had a serious subject to deal with, and for nearly a
+year after the first warning, he was little less than a thorn in their
+side. His example worked steadily upon thinking minds, and it was evident
+that he must be put out of the way, as the only measure whereby the spread
+of the peculiar political principles advocated by him could be stayed.</p>
+
+<p>A final warning was sent to him, the substance of which was, that he &#8220;must
+leave the country, change his politics, or make up his mind to become
+Buzzard Bait.&#8221; In the Conclave of the Klan, when this warning was directed
+to be issued, it was announced that this was positively the last
+opportunity that would be given Deason to repent of his ways, and that in
+the event of its failure to bring him to a change of his views, or his
+location, the full penalty attached to the &#8220;negro worshiper&#8221; would be
+enforced. This, however, had no more effect than the previous warnings,
+and his death was resolved upon.</p>
+
+<p>On the night of the 31st of August, 1871, twenty-five of the Klan who had
+been selected by the Commander, armed and disguised themselves for the
+purpose, and proceeded to Deason&#8217;s house on the outskirts of the place.
+Deason had retired for the night, having carefully locked and barred his
+doors and windows as usual. It was about midnight when he was aroused by a
+heavy knock at his door. He arose from his bed and requested to know who
+was there. The reply was a demand for him to come out and surrender
+himself to the Klan.</p>
+
+<p>Deason responded to this with a defiant remark, telling them if they
+wanted him, they must come and take him. The band then commenced battering
+at the door, when Deason, placing his gun at a loop-hole<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[Pg 44]</a></span> which he had
+previously prepared, discharged both barrels. It appears, however, from
+some great misfortune to him, that neither of the shots produced any
+damaging effect upon the assailing party. The band were somewhat
+disconcerted at this, however, and withdrew a short distance from the
+house and held a consultation.</p>
+
+<p>At the time of this visitation, Deason&#8217;s wife was away upon a visit, and
+the only other person in the house was a colored woman who was a servant
+in the family. She had already arisen and expressed her determination to
+assist Deason in the fight, to the extent of her ability. The latter had
+reloaded his gun and had just set it down when a sudden rushing noise, as
+of men running, drew his attention, and in a second afterwards, the door
+was crushed in by a joist, which the band, using as a battering ram, had
+forced against it.</p>
+
+<p>The Klan poured in at once, and in full force. A terrible hand to hand
+fight ensued. Deason fought with great desperation, as did the colored
+woman. One after another of the Klan were stretched out upon the floor of
+the cabin, but the odds were too great, and <ins class="correction" title="original: Deacon's">Deason&#8217;s</ins> immense strength
+became exhausted under his tremendous exertions and the loss of blood
+which he sustained. He finally sank down pierced with over-twenty bullet
+and knife wounds, and died fighting to the last in the maintenance of the
+principles he had so long and so earnestly advocated.</p>
+
+<p>The woman was soon dispatched, and the Klan then retired, taking their
+wounded with them. Deason&#8217;s mutilated body was found the next morning on
+the floor of the room in which he had met his dreadful fate, while that of
+the woman was found doubled up in one corner of the apartment, as if she
+had been thrown there like a bundle of worthless rags. The frontal bone of
+the dead man&#8217;s head had been broken, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[Pg 45]</a></span> the base of his skull crushed
+in, apparently by a club. The body had been shot and stabbed in more than
+twenty different places, and presented a most revolting spectacle.</p>
+
+<p>The facts of the double murder soon spread abroad, and were reported to a
+Mr. Bush, coroner of Irwinton, and that gentleman, being a member of the
+Camp that had ordered Deason&#8217;s death, empanelled a jury of his
+fellow-brethren, and, according to his own confession, made since that
+time, went through the form of an inquest, the result of which was a
+verdict that the man Deason and the colored woman had met their death at
+the hands of certain <i>colored</i> persons, to the jury unknown.</p>
+
+<p>The death of this noble martyr to the cause of truth, effected important
+changes. There were signs of dissatisfaction among some portions of the
+community, to whom the details of the awful tragedy had become known, and
+it was necessary that some measures should be taken to appease the feeling
+of indignation that was beginning to gain ground.</p>
+
+<p>The Grand Jury of the county was summoned to sit for the purpose of taking
+some measures to suppress crime. Every member of the jury was a member of
+the C. U. G., or Ku Klux Klan. Their first step was to issue an address to
+the people of the county, stating that evidence had been brought before
+them to show that certain negroes had been guilty of gross outrages in the
+county, which all good men should deprecate, and calling upon the citizens
+to look out for the evil doers. This had but little effect, however, other
+than to confirm the few well-meaning ones in their former belief that
+Wilkinson county was in the hands of men who would leave no measures
+unturned, to drive out of it, every one known to differ from them
+politically.</p>
+
+<p>Deason is not the first nor the last in the long <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[Pg 46]</a></span>procession of
+illustrious martyrs who, in all ages of the world have forfeited their
+lives in the maintenance of their principles. Unlettered, uncouth,
+uncultivated in life, resolute and unyielding even in death, he stands
+recorded upon the pages of this brief history, a noble and brilliant
+example of the lineal descendants of those who came from the shores of a
+distant continent, more than an hundred years ago, to seek that freedom of
+thought, that civil and religious liberty that had been denied them at
+home.</p>
+
+<p>Many such as he, now live and suffer in the deluded and misguided land of
+his birth, and like him, have for years carried their lives in their
+hands, for opinion&#8217;s sake. In the good Providence of an all-seeing
+God&mdash;who has indeed imbued the present heads of the nation with the wisdom
+necessary to appreciate the situation, and devise the appropriate
+remedy&mdash;light begins to appear in the dark places, verifying the saying
+that, &#8220;sooner or later, insulted virtue avenges itself on states as well
+as on private individuals.&#8221;</p>
+
+
+<p class="center"><br />THE MURDER OF BRINTON PORTER.</p>
+
+<p>While the Grand Jury were holding their sessions as previously stated, and
+only a short time after Deason&#8217;s death, a band of twenty armed and
+disguised men rode into Irwinton and murdered one Brinton Porter, an
+intelligent citizen whose offense consisted like Deason&#8217;s in his having
+disseminated Republican principles and voted the Republican ticket.</p>
+
+<p>Porter had received a warning similar to that sent to Deason, but had said
+nothing about it, even to the members of his own family. After receiving
+the warning he had neither openly expressed his radical views, nor made
+recantation of his political faith, but as he had not left the country, as
+the warning stated he must do, his doom was pronounced in the conclave of
+the Camp, and it was ordered that he should die.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[Pg 47]</a></span>On the 8th of September, 1871, after concluding the business of the day,
+and taking tea with his family, Mr. Porter left the family table, and,
+taking a chair, went out to his door stoop. His only child, a daughter of
+tender years, accompanied him and sat at his feet. He saw the band of
+disguised men approaching the house, and deeming himself in danger,
+immediately arose and was in the act of entering the house when he fell
+across the threshold pierced by half a dozen bullets, which had been
+discharged at him by the Klan. The child escaped unhurt. The Klan seeing
+they had accomplished their purpose, wheeled around and with derisive
+yells passed out of the town at a sharp trot.</p>
+
+<p>The agony of Porter&#8217;s family beggars description. A wife widowed, and a
+child orphaned in a moment, because their natural protector had assumed
+the right guaranteed to him by the Constitution and the laws, to exercise
+the elective franchise according to his own opinion, and the dictates of
+his own conscience. Can one believe, that in the civilization of the 19th
+century, and upon the American continent, the boasted refuge for the
+down-trodden, and the oppressed of all nations, such a scene as that above
+related could be enacted in the broad light of day, and the whole
+community not rise up against it? Alas, for the degradation to which
+political bigotry and a disregard of law, reduces a people, it is only too
+true.</p>
+
+<p>The data upon which this truthful narration <ins class="correction" title="original: of of">of</ins> the murder of Brinton
+Porter is founded, is a matter of record in the archives of the
+Government. The facts can neither be gainsaid nor palliated. It is to be
+hoped that the firm policy of the present administration may bring the
+people of the community in which Porter lived to such a sense of the great
+injustice done among them, that they will rally to aid the Government, in
+bursting the bands thrown about them by the subtletry of their own
+unprincipled leaders, and stand<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[Pg 48]</a></span> shoulder to shoulder with those who are
+doing all that human wisdom can devise to restore order and harmony, and
+promote prosperity and happiness among the people.</p>
+
+
+<p class="center"><br />EXTERMINATING THE NEGRO RACE.</p>
+
+<p class="center"><i>Fiendish Designs of the Ku Klux of Wilkinson County.</i></p>
+
+<p class="center">THE EMASCULATION OF HENRY LOWTHER.</p>
+
+<p>In some parts of Wilkinson County, there seemed to be a disposition to
+destroy every member of the colored race who should be found voting the
+radical ticket.</p>
+
+<p>It was contended that scourgings and general maltreatment had not produced
+satisfactory results; and, on the other hand, blood was accumulating on
+the heads of the Klan, too fast even for their blunted consciences. Still
+the war must go on in some way, and something must be done to destroy the
+little leaven that bid fair to &#8220;leaven the whole lump.&#8221; The subject was
+discussed in the conclave of the Camp, and it was finally decided that a
+more effectual way could be devised to accomplish the extermination of the
+colored race than either by whipping or murder. This was the fiendish
+resolve to castrate every negro who was guilty of radical proclivities,
+and who voted the radical ticket, a design worthy alone of the men who
+originated it.</p>
+
+<p>In that county, and at that particular time, there were many colored men
+known as Republicans; and an opportunity was speedily afforded the Klan,
+to carry out this terrible species of cruelty; a greater crime against
+nature than all the others since it looked to the entire destruction of
+the species.</p>
+
+<p>There had been, for sometime previous to September, 1871, a colored man in
+Wilkinson County, by the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[Pg 49]</a></span> name of Henry Lowther. This person was favorably
+known among the negroes of the county, and expended a good deal of his
+leisure time in going from place to place, and talking Republican
+sentiments to members of his race, and urging them to vote the Republican
+ticket, as the only means of maintaining their right to freedom.</p>
+
+<p>Previous to the dreadful visitation which subsequently came upon him, he
+had voted the Republican ticket upon two occasions, and had expressed his
+intentions to continue on in his political course in the future.</p>
+
+<p>This had roused the indignation of the Ku Klux Camp at Irwinton beyond
+measure. A meeting of the Klan was called in which the edict was
+promulgated, that since Lowther would not abandon the propagation of his
+political opinions, he should be deprived of the power to propagate his
+race, and further, that he should receive no &#8220;warning&#8221; in the matter, but
+be proceeded against summarily, and &#8220;at once&#8221; was the time fixed for this
+outrage. Lowther had been followed all the day previous, and just after
+dusk was seized and thrown into a carriage, and driven rapidly away to the
+woods near Irwinton, by four men armed and disguised. While in the
+carriage, he was told that if he moved or made any resistance, his life
+would pay the forfeit; but that, otherwise, it would be spared.</p>
+
+<p>Upon arriving at the woods, he was taken out of the carriage, and found
+himself in the midst of nearly one hundred persons. Notwithstanding the
+promise made by his first captors, he supposed his time had arrived and
+begged for his life. He was then told that he would not be killed, if he
+did not make too much resistance; that he had been preaching too much
+politics, and they intended to fix all the d&mdash;d radical breeders in the
+country; and had made up their minds to begin on him. Lowther did not
+fully comprehend<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[Pg 50]</a></span> them at first, but soon learned the awful significance
+of the words.</p>
+
+<p>His arms were then firmly pinioned, and he was thrown upon the ground
+where he was tightly held by several of the band, and castrated in a most
+rude and brutal manner, begging piteously and writhing under the pains
+inflicted by his tormentors. After the operation had been performed, he
+was unpinioned and asked if he knew the residence of any doctors and on
+his replying that he did, he was told to go for one as he valued his life;
+and further, that if he ever voted the radical ticket again, or influenced
+any one else to do so, he should suffer death. Although shockingly
+mutilated and bleeding from the dreadful manner in which he had been
+treated, Lowther started to find a physician. Three different surgeons
+were applied to before he found one sufficiently humane to afford him
+assistance in dressing his wounds.</p>
+
+<p>It was several weeks before the unfortunate negro was in a condition to
+walk about. The facts coming to the ears of the officers of the U. S.
+secret service, they made diligent search for Lowther, whom they learned
+dared not complain of his treatment for fear of death; and having found
+and assured him of protection, he made affidavit to the facts as above set
+forth, affirming that, with other parties who instigated and consummated
+this outrage, were Eli Cummings, the Mayor of Irwinton, Lewis Peacock,
+then Sheriff of Wilkinson County, and others of equal prominence. Shall it
+be said after this that only the ignorant and uninfluential whites are
+engaged in the gross outrages charged upon the Southern community? and
+that there is no need there of the rigorous enforcement of the laws to
+secure to the well-meaning citizen, black and white, the security for life
+and property denied them under the rule of the lawless mob?</p>
+
+
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<hr style="width: 50%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[Pg 51]</a></span></p>
+<p class="center"><span class="huge">OUTRAGES</span><br />BY THE<br /><span class="giant">KU KLUX KLAN.</span></p>
+
+<p class="note"><span class="smcap">Persecution of the Furguson Family for Opinion&#8217;s Sake.&mdash;Aged Women and
+Young Girls Stripped Naked, and Brutally Whipped.&mdash;An Awful History.</span></p>
+
+<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" summary="table">
+<tr><td><i>For whereas my father put a heavy yoke upon you,<br />
+I will put more to your yoke:<br />
+My father chastised you with whips,<br />
+But I will chastise you with scorpions.</i><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 12em;"><span class="smcap">II Chronicles</span>, X, 11.</span></td></tr></table>
+
+
+<p><br />The terrible narration that here ensues shows more conclusively, perhaps,
+than any that has preceded it, the extent of the moral degradation to
+which the community in which it was enacted was so surely and steadily
+drifting. It would seem that the authors of the outrage had forgotten that
+they were born of mothers, who had nursed them tenderly in infancy, or
+that there were any longer left in the bosoms of women those feelings of
+virtue and modesty usually ascribed to and found in the sex, and the
+writer will here premise that the facts herein contained, dreadful though<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[Pg 52]</a></span>
+they are in their disgusting details, have been verified beyond cavil or
+the hope of questioning.</p>
+
+<p>Just previous to the breaking out of the rebellion, Dennis Furguson, an
+intelligent and hard-working white man, resided with his family in Chatham
+county, North Carolina. The family consisted of himself, his wife
+Catherine, a daughter, Susan J. Furguson, and three sons, John, Henry and
+Daniel. The head of the household was one of the few devoted Unionists who
+were thoroughly opposed to the principles then being disseminated by those
+who were endeavoring to plunge the country into a civil war, and exerted
+all his influence to avoid the great catastrophe.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Furguson was known as being favorable to the Republicans, and had
+voted in the interest of the principles of the party of that name,
+whenever opportunity had offered. He had educated his children in a love
+of the Union, and taught them the blessings of civil and religious liberty
+with their evening prayers, and had succeeded in imbuing them with his own
+opinions to such an extent that the family became noted throughout Chatham
+county as Unionists and Radicals.</p>
+
+<p>At the breaking out of the war, Furguson determined to remain a
+non-combatant, seeking as far as possible not to render himself obnoxious
+to his neighbors, but resolving at the same time to maintain a neutral
+position. In this, however, he was doomed to a bitter disappointment,
+being conscripted into the rebel army and sent to the front. He was taken
+prisoner at Fort Caswell, N. C., and was sent to Elmira, N. Y., where he
+died, never having seen his family from the night he was so rudely torn
+from their embrace, and compelled to serve in the army of the rebellion.</p>
+
+<p>Neither this great calamity, nor the numerous other hardships suffered by
+this family for opinion&#8217;s sake, could shake their firm adherence to the
+Union cause.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[Pg 53]</a></span> The daughter was a beautiful girl, of great natural
+intelligence, but who had been wholly without the advantages of an
+education. She was attached to her father with a rare devotion, and
+believed it to be a filial duty, which she owed to his memory, to continue
+to enunciate the principles in which he had so thoroughly instructed her.
+His conscription had strengthened rather than weakened these sentiments,
+and she publicly spoke of his death as chargeable to the wicked designs of
+the men who had endeavored to overturn and destroy the country.</p>
+
+<p>At the time of the organization of the first Camp of the &#8220;Constitutional
+Union Guards,&#8221; or Ku Klux Klan, in Chatham county, Susan Furguson was in
+her eighteenth year. Her case was the first one brought to the
+consideration of the Camp; but no special action was taken thereon until
+it was observed that the sons were following in the footsteps of the
+father, and were advocating the same principles of Unionism and
+Republicanism that he had taught them. They also learned that Miss
+Furguson lost no opportunity to express her convictions to the colored
+people with whom she came in contact, and in their eyes her course became
+intolerable.</p>
+
+<p>During the October of 1870, the case of the Furguson family was again
+brought before the Camp as a flagrant violation of the principles of the
+white man&#8217;s government, and it was resolved that an example should be made
+of them. A warning was sent to the family to renounce their political
+faith, and cease the promulgation of their opinions, or leave the country.
+To this, and subsequent warnings of a similar character, no attention was
+paid, and an edict was finally issued by the Commander of the Camp, to
+have some, if not all the members of the family, scourged.</p>
+
+<p>On the night of the 10th of November, 1870, the Furgusons retired to bed
+at about 10 o&#8217;clock. The<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[Pg 54]</a></span> family was then composed of the widow, Mrs.
+Catherine Furguson, the daughter Susan, and the three sons. Between eleven
+and twelve o&#8217;clock, the attention of the daughter was called to a noise
+outside the house, resembling the tramp of horses&#8217; feet, and the running
+of men. In a moment afterwards, a voice shouted, &#8220;Open the door.&#8221; The
+daughter arose hastily, threw a wrapper over her person, and went to the
+door and asked, &#8220;Who is there?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>The response to this was another command, delivered in more peremptory
+tones than at first&mdash;&#8220;Open the door!&#8221; and on her refusing to comply
+therewith, the frail structure was broken in, and a man, disguised beyond
+all hope of recognition, sprang into the apartment, confronting the girl
+with a most terrible oath.</p>
+
+<p>In the dim glare of the candle which Miss Furguson had lighted, and now
+held above her head, this hideous looking object presented an appearance
+well calculated to terrify a stouter heart. A long black gown hung over
+his person to his knees, and his legs were encased in huge army boots,
+ornamented with a brace of iron spurs. Over his face was a black mask,
+with apertures for the eyes, nose, and mouth, and around these were drawn
+ghastly circles of white and red, rendering the face of the figure
+exceedingly repulsive. On his breast was the representation of a human
+skull worked in white, on a black ground, and surrounded with grotesque
+figures worked in red. His head was surmounted with a high conical-shaped
+black hat, on which were curious figures worked in white, and edged with
+red and yellow.</p>
+
+<p>He commenced his interrogations by asking Miss Furguson if she had ever
+seen a <span class="smcap">Ku Klux</span>; to which the brave girl replied she never had, nor did she
+wish to, unless it were more comely than he. This seemed to enrage him,
+and turning to the door, he shouted, &#8220;Come in!&#8221; A horde of twenty men,
+similarly <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[Pg 55]</a></span>disguised, rushed into the room, and the indecent orgies
+commenced.</p>
+
+<p>The mother and the three brothers had remained in bed, at the earnest
+request of the sister, but were speedily dragged from their resting place.
+Daniel was the first one assailed. His night clothes were torn from him in
+myriads of pieces, leaving him in an entirely nude state. He was then
+thrown down upon the floor, and stretched out at full length; four of the
+band seizing and holding him fast while two others came forward and
+administered to him upwards of an hundred lashes on the naked person,
+drawing the blood at every blow, and raising the quivering flesh in great
+ridges upon his back and limbs. The boy fainted under the terrible
+punishment, and was then thrown aside to make room for his brothers, Henry
+and John, who were each castigated in an equally severe manner.</p>
+
+<p>John Furguson, who was more delicate than his brothers, uttered such
+piercing shrieks, as the heavy gum switches descended upon his back and
+loins, that his sister became almost insane. In her terrible agony she
+sprang upon the leader, and before she could be prevented, tore off his
+mask, and, to her horror and amazement, disclosed the face of Richard
+Taylor, one of her nearest neighbors, to whom she had often, since the
+death of her father, gone for advice and counsel. Taylor threw her rudely
+to the floor and replaced his mask as quickly as possible. The girl was
+severely stunned by the fall, but as soon as she recovered, cried out, &#8220;I
+know you, Dick Taylor, and I will have you punished for what you have done
+this night.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Taylor immediately discharged his revolver at her, but, in the dim light
+shed over the room by the candle, and the excitement of the moment, shot
+wide of the object. He then exclaimed, with an oath, &#8220;If you move again, I
+will kill you dead; and if I ever hear of your telling anybody of this
+affair, we will come back and kill you all.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[Pg 56]</a></span>Turning to Mrs. Furguson, he said, &#8220;Now, you take your folks and leave
+this country. If you are not gone in ten days, we will be here again and
+you shall all die.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>During the entire time of this whipping the three sons, two of them men
+grown, were completely naked, and when the mother and daughter sought to
+avert their heads from the shameful spectacle, they were ordered to turn
+them back again on pain of instant death, the command being enforced with
+pistols presented at their heads, by the hands of men whom they now felt
+assured would not hesitate to use them if ordered.</p>
+
+<p>Having issued the edict for the family to leave the country or suffer
+death, the gallant defenders of the &#8220;white man&#8217;s government&#8221; and the
+protectors of the &#8220;white man&#8217;s race&#8221; departed.</p>
+
+<p>For more than three weeks succeeding this visitation, the Furguson
+brothers were confined to their beds, and the mother and daughter nursed
+their wounds, and labored for their support with untiring energy. During
+these three weeks Susan Furguson had spread the news of the outrage to all
+parts of Chatham County, characterizing the attack upon them as brutal and
+savage&mdash;a crime that, if left unpunished by men, would surely be punished
+by the hand of the Lord. She applied to the Justices of the Peace for
+relief, stated that she recognized Dick Taylor, and George and Joseph
+Blaylock, citizens of the place, as being present on the night of the
+assault, and participating therein, and would make her affidavit to the
+facts, and support it with undeniable testimony.</p>
+
+<p>She was everywhere laughed to scorn. The few who sympathized with her and
+her family, dared not give expression to their thoughts for fear of a
+similar fate. Chatham County was in the hands of the Ku Klux; a reign of
+terror had been inaugurated there; the mob had made laws for themselves,
+and justice was not to be had.</p>
+
+
+<p class="center"><br /><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[Pg 57]</a></span>AN AGED WOMAN WHIPPED UPON HER NAKED PERSON.</p>
+
+<p>On the fourth week after the visitation above recorded, and just when the
+Furguson brothers had about recovered from the effects of the brutal
+whipping, and were able to attend to their ordinary duties, the family
+were subjected to a second raid, far more revolting and indecent in its
+character than the first, and such as the sensitive mind naturally recoils
+from the contemplation of. The details are given here with a strict
+adherence to the truth, all the facts herein set forth having been
+personally verified to the writer by the sufferers themselves.</p>
+
+<p>On the night of the 11th of December, 1870, Susan Furguson, and a young
+man named Eli Phillips, who had long known, and loved, and sympathized
+with her, were sitting before the fire in the room which had been the
+scene of the former outrage; the other members of the family, with the
+exception of John Furguson, had retired to bed.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Furguson, the mother, was in very delicate health, caused by the
+shock produced by the visitation of the Klan four weeks previous, and the
+labor consequent upon nursing and caring for her sons. One of the
+brothers, Daniel, lay stricken with a fever that had prostrated him two
+days before, and was in an almost helpless condition.</p>
+
+<p>About ten o&#8217;clock in the evening, the doors upon both sides of the house
+were broken in simultaneously, without previous warning, and a band of
+men, armed and disguised as before, and much larger in numbers, rushed
+into the room, uttering the most demoniac yells. A portion of the number
+proceeded directly to the bed where the mother was lying, terror-stricken
+and paralyzed from fear at their approach, and after first charging her
+with having exposed their former visit, dragged her from the bed and threw
+her<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[Pg 58]</a></span> violently to the floor. They then stood her up, and ordered her to
+remove her night dress and chemise. This she refused to do, pointing to
+her gray hairs and imploring mercy in the name of God, and for the sake of
+the mothers who had borne them.</p>
+
+<p>Her appeals were made in vain. At the order of the Commander, the members
+commenced tearing off the only garments that concealed her nakedness, and
+this with the most shocking brutality. The daughter, maddened by the
+sight, rushed upon the assailants, but was anticipated by other members of
+the band, with whom she had a severe struggle, displacing the masks of
+four of them enough to enable her to recognize their faces.</p>
+
+<p>She was quickly overpowered, and then beheld her mother completely naked,
+her brother John bleeding profusely from the blow of a club, and her
+brother Henry and the young man Phillips firmly secured.</p>
+
+<p>The mother was then thrown upon the floor and there securely held, while
+two of the band beat her with twisted sticks, administering upwards of one
+hundred blows upon various parts of her person, and bandying the most
+obscene remarks and jests in relation to her. The daughter plead for her
+mother most eloquently, she informed them that she was in delicate health,
+and might die under the punishment, but this had no effect upon the
+executioners. The interest of the &#8220;white man&#8217;s race&#8221; was at stake, and
+they had sworn to uphold the &#8220;white man&#8217;s government,&#8221; and would not stay
+their hands.</p>
+
+<p>Having chastised the mother until there seemed but little life left, they
+commanded John and Henry, and the young man Phillips, to remove their
+clothes, and upon their refusing to do so, tore them off until not a
+vestige was left upon their persons. They were then whipped one after
+another, with great severity, the beating of John being so terrible that
+his life was despaired of for several days afterwards. The bed upon which<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[Pg 59]</a></span>
+the helpless and fever-stricken Daniel lay, was knocked down from under
+him, and his already infirm body bruised and lacerated without stint. It
+was indeed &#8220;a chastisement with scorpions;&#8221; but the most indecent
+spectacle was reserved to the last.</p>
+
+
+<p class="center"><br />OUTRAGE UPON A YOUNG GIRL.</p>
+<p class="center">SHE IS WHIPPED IN A NUDE STATE IN THE PRESENCE OF THIRTY MEN.</p>
+
+<p>The girl Susan, whose bravery and devotion to her family should have
+challenged the admiration of these lawless marauders, instead of drawing
+upon her their contempt, was next ordered to disrobe. Overwhelmed and
+confused at the merest thought, even, of such indignity, she could hardly
+command herself sufficiently to speak her denials; as soon as she did, she
+utterly refused to comply with the order.</p>
+
+<p>The more lecherous and brutal of the band sprang upon and threw her to the
+floor, with no more regard for her person than if she had been a brute,
+whom they were leading to slaughter. They stretched her out at full
+length, and took her measure, as an intimation that they were going to dig
+her grave.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;We will put her and her radical lies where she can&#8217;t enjoy their good
+company, without further trouble,&#8221; said one. This was responded to by
+another, who, with a coarse oath, ejaculated, &#8220;Six foot under ground makes
+a good place for solitary confinement, by &mdash;&mdash;.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>The work of &#8220;taking the measure&#8221; having been completed, Miss Furguson,
+already suffering from the indelicate treatment she had received, was then
+allowed to rise, and again ordered to divest herself of her clothes. &#8220;Is
+it possible,&#8221; she asked, &#8220;that you will submit <i>me</i> to such an outrage?&#8221;
+She had never conceived it possible these men, depraved as they were,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[Pg 60]</a></span>
+would really carry out a threat against which her whole nature revolted.
+The reply was a sardonic laugh. The band had learned where the punishment
+would sting the most, and they meant to apply it and spare not.</p>
+
+<p>For the first time in all her hated experience with these desperate men,
+she faltered and felt her courage failing her. To the high-toned and
+sensitive spirit of this brave and beautiful girl, there was something in
+this contemplated exposure of her person far more torturing than any
+number of lashes, however mercilessly inflicted. Death itself were a
+thousand times preferable, and, for the first moment in all her life, she
+felt like supplicating for mercy. Her hands dropped nervously and
+motionless at her side, and the stout-hearted heroine of the previous
+hour, stood in the presence of her persecutors almost stricken dumb with
+shame and confusion.</p>
+
+<p>There was no sympathy in the glaring eyes that peered with lustful and
+revengeful fires from behind the hideous masks of their tormentors; no
+sentiment of pity, no hope, no help. She was given but little time to
+decide. They fell upon her like hungry wolves famishing for their prey,
+tearing one garment off after another, she resisting with all the strength
+she could command, and entreating them to take her life, if they must, but
+to spare her this last indignity.</p>
+
+<p>Neither her piteous appeals nor her stubborn resistance availed her, and
+she lay upon the hard floor at last, naked as when born into the world,
+ashamed, degraded, broken in spirit, and her maidenly feelings outraged
+beyond any power of description. Four of the defenders of the &#8220;white man&#8217;s
+race&#8221; seized her limbs and arms; stretched them to their fullest tension,
+and placing their knees thereon, held her brutally and forcibly to the
+floor. Her punishment was to be terrible.</p>
+
+<p>The &#8220;executioners&#8221; were called, and five of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[Pg 61]</a></span> band came forward.
+&#8220;Number one!&#8221; shouted the leader, and a stalwart member of the Klan that
+had sworn to uphold the &#8220;white man&#8217;s government,&#8221; raising his knotted
+strap in the air, brought it down upon the naked person of the helpless
+girl with the terrible force of his muscular arm, cutting through the
+delicate white skin and causing the blood to spurt at every stroke. He
+administered thirty lashes, and was succeeded by &#8220;number two&#8221; and &#8220;number
+three,&#8221; until, as the witnesses state, one hundred and fifty lashes had
+been administered, and her shoulders, loins, and limbs, were literally cut
+into mince meat.</p>
+
+<p>Her screams had ceased, and her unoffending body lay still and motionless
+long before the punishment had ended. There was something in her young
+heart far beyond the dread cruelty of this infliction, and she inwardly
+prayed to God for death, to end her mental and bodily suffering. Lying
+under this great mountain of sorrow and shame, she heeded not the rude and
+obscene observations of her tormentors; and the unconsciousness produced
+by the punishment, soon placed her beyond the power to listen to them.</p>
+
+<p>Leaving her as one dead, and issuing the edict that if the family did not
+leave the country, it would be &#8220;<i>death!</i> <span class="smcaplc">DEATH!</span> DEATH!&#8221; to all, the band
+departed.</p>
+
+<p>Thousands of honest hearts of all shades of political opinions, upon
+perusing this truthful narration, will feel to wish that they could have
+been present with power at this time to have utterly destroyed this band
+of midnight raiders; but, let them remember the words of holy writ,
+&#8220;Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord, I will repay&#8221;.... &#8220;Neither their
+silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the
+Lord&#8217;s wrath: but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his
+jealousy, for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell
+in the land.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>It was an hour after the departure of the band, <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[Pg 62]</a></span>before any of the party
+exhibited evidences of life or animation. Henry Furguson, and the young
+man Phillips, were the first to come to a realizing consciousness of the
+awful scenes through which they had just passed. Wounded and bleeding as
+they were, they felt the necessity for immediate action. The mother and
+daughter still lay upon the floor, naked, lacerated and motionless. John
+Furguson had fainted from the loss of blood he had sustained, and was
+still unconscious, while Daniel was lying amid the debris of the bed,
+groaning in the agony of the fever, and the wounds upon his body.</p>
+
+<p>Hastily gathering up the dresses of the women, and throwing them over
+their nude bodies, the young men lifted them tenderly to the bed, and gave
+them such attention as they felt able to bestow. The remaining members of
+the family were cared for as well as the circumstances permitted. Not a
+doctor could be had in the vicinity, who was not in sympathy with the
+Klan, and not a neighbor came to their assistance, although fully aware of
+their distressed condition. The neglect of the neighbors was in no way
+attributable to their indifference or their inhumanity. It was one of the
+legitimate results of the feeling of terror that then pervaded the
+community. A show of sympathy towards these unfortunates, they feared,
+would place them under the ban, and subject them to a visitation, and they
+dared not incur the risk.</p>
+
+<p>In ten days another warning came to the Furgusons, that they must leave
+the country within twenty-four hours, or the penalty of death would surely
+be inflicted. They knew this warning must be heeded, and with broken
+hearts and crushed spirits, they crawled out into the woods, under cover
+of the darkness, and secreted themselves as they best could.</p>
+
+<p>In an interview held with the writer, subsequent to this last outrage,
+Miss Furguson stated that the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[Pg 63]</a></span> weather, at this time, was cold and
+disagreeable, sometimes frosting and sometimes raining; that they had to
+lie out without a shelter, and suffered with the cold and hunger,
+sometimes going twenty-four hours without food. Occasionally the neighbors
+gave them something to eat, and finally the unfortunate wanderers sold to
+them the right to what furniture they had left behind in the house, and
+thus procured something upon which to subsist.</p>
+
+<p>She stated further, that they were in the woods nearly a month, and that
+as soon as they were able to travel they left the vicinity and procured a
+home with a Mr. Dixon, on the lower edge of Chatham county.</p>
+
+<p>An affidavit, based upon the statements of this young lady, was made
+before the Hon. A. W. Schaffer, U. S. Commissioner at Raleigh, N. C., on
+the 8th day of September, 1871. It charged the men, recognized by this
+girl, as being present and concerned in the outrages above related.
+Warrants were issued, and the officers of the U. S. Secret Service went to
+Chatham county and arrested the parties and brought them before the
+Commissioner. The more wealthy and influential members of the Klan rallied
+to their rescue, became their bondsmen, and they were released to await
+trial.</p>
+
+<p>Miss Furguson&#8217;s description of the dreadful indignities to which she and
+the other members of the family were subjected, was of the most graphic
+and thrilling character, and aroused the sympathies of many who heard it.</p>
+
+<p>The defenders of the &#8220;white man&#8217;s government&#8221; were alone amazed and
+enraged at the persistency and courage of this young girl of the &#8220;white
+man&#8217;s race,&#8221; and they determined to ferret her out and punish her again.
+In this they were successful, although for greater safety, the family had
+broken up, and the mother and daughter had secreted themselves, as<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[Pg 64]</a></span> they
+supposed, beyond the knowledge of their persecutors.</p>
+
+<p>On the night of the 20th of September, 1871, three men, armed and
+disguised, and who had been detailed by the Camp for the purpose, appeared
+suddenly before the miserable hut in which these unfortunates had taken
+refuge. An entrance was easily effected, and the women were told that
+their doom was sealed, and they were to be whipped to death.</p>
+
+<p>These three protectors of the &#8220;white man&#8217;s race,&#8221; then fell upon the
+women, beating them brutally. Susan recognized one of them, by his voice,
+as a man named Jesse Dixon, whom she knew. The moment she called his name,
+the three ran away, leaving their victims, who passed the remnant of the
+night in the woods.</p>
+
+<p>On the following day, the mother and daughter made their way to Raleigh,
+where fresh complaints were entered, and the Secret Service officers,
+armed with warrants, went out and succeeded in capturing two of the
+murderous assailants, who were brought in and held for trial. Mrs.
+Furguson and her daughter were then retained in the city as witnesses, at
+the expense of the government, and to protect them from further outrages.</p>
+
+<p>Susan J. Furguson, the heroine of the terrible experiences above related,
+is now twenty-one years of age. She is a girl of commanding presence, is
+endowed with a powerful constitution, great energy and force of character,
+and an indomitable spirit. Her P. O. address is &#8220;Snow Camp Foundry,
+Chatham Co., N. C.,&#8221; where herself and other members of the family can be
+found, in verification of the facts above related.</p>
+
+<p>There are few narrations in the annals of &#8220;persecutions for opinion&#8217;s
+sake,&#8221; more shocking in their inhuman details than the foregoing;
+certainly, none that cry with a louder and more earnest voice to the
+government,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[Pg 65]</a></span> and the right-minded people of the country, for help for
+those who have been the subjects thereof.</p>
+
+<p>No amount of retributive justice can erase one solitary scar from the
+knout-welted bodies of the Furgusons, or remove from their spirits the
+dreadful memory of their disgrace; but to those who went forth to battle
+in the days of &#8220;The Nation&#8217;s Peril,&#8221; who stood shoulder to shoulder amid
+the roar of cannon, and, in vindication of the right, successfully
+withstood the shock of rebellious armies, it must ever remain a matter of
+profound gratification that the victories <i>then</i> achieved in the field are
+<i>now</i> being perpetuated in such a firm and vigorous enforcement of the
+laws as will have a tendency to make them substantial ones in the
+repression of any and all such outrages in the future.</p>
+
+
+<p class="center"><br />GEORGE W. ASHBURN.</p>
+<p class="center">SHOT TO DEATH FOR OPINION&#8217;S SAKE.</p>
+
+<p>The shocking murder of this gentleman is still fresh in the minds of most
+readers of the daily journals, North and South. Mr. Ashburn was a sterling
+patriot, who entertained radical opinions, and through his fluency and
+ability, as well as his outspoken friendliness towards the colored race,
+had gained their confidence and support alike, with that of the Republican
+whites of the vicinity.</p>
+
+<p>He was a member of the Constitutional Convention of Georgia which met at
+Columbus, in the winter of 1867-8, and during his stay there, was refused
+admittance as a guest at the principal hotels of the place on account of
+the political prejudice existing against him. He occupied private rooms
+upon one of the main streets of the city, where he lived in an
+unostentatious and unpretending manner.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[Pg 66]</a></span>He was a man of extraordinary natural talents, a good speaker, of fair
+educational qualifications, and a most earnest defender and supporter of
+true Republican principles. On all occasions, and wherever he appeared, to
+discuss the political situation of the trying times he moved in, he spoke
+his sentiments unreservedly. He was far from ever having been a huckster
+or trickster in politics, but he was fearless and able, and his enemies
+doomed him!</p>
+
+<p>At midnight, on the 31st day of March, 1868, a band of about forty men,
+who were armed and thoroughly disguised, made their appearance in an open
+lot of ground near his residence, and just opposite his private quarters.
+He had gone to bed in his room, and the door was just closed, when a
+summons from without called the servant, who opened it, and the Klan burst
+into the hall. Mr. Ashburn heard the noise, sprang out of bed, struck a
+light, and opened the door of his sleeping apartment. He did not fear
+death at the hands of these intruders, but he was alarmed at the rude
+demonstrations they made, and demanded to know what was their purpose.</p>
+
+<p>With an oath and a brief exclamation of unwarrantable abuse, the foremost
+members of the Klan immediately fired upon and shot him down in his tracks
+like a dog. A white and colored woman in the house recognized three or
+four of the leading assailants, whom they subsequently identified, and
+these were among the first residents of the city of Columbus. The names of
+these parties, whose identity was sworn to, and who were afterwards placed
+on trial, are as follows:</p>
+
+<p>Elisha J. Kirksey, Columbus C. Bedell, James W. Barber, William A. Duke,
+Robert Hudson, William D. Chipley, Alva C. Roper, James L. Wiggins, Robert
+A. Wood, Henry Hennis, Herbert W. Blair, and Milton Malone.</p>
+
+<p>The morning after the assassination, a coroner&#8217;s jury<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[Pg 67]</a></span> was summoned, and,
+as was usual in such cases, the verdict of these men&mdash;who were all members
+of the Ku Klux Klan&mdash;was, that Mr. Ashburn came to his death &#8220;from wounds
+received from parties to the jury unknown.&#8221; The local authorities made a
+faint show of investigating the matter, but really did nothing towards
+actually ferreting out and bringing to justice the murderers.</p>
+
+<p>This outrage was so revolting in its inception and consummation, that the
+military authorities considered it right that they should undertake to do
+what the local police and citizens of Columbus had apparently been so
+indifferent in performing.</p>
+
+<p>In the then condition of affairs nobody dared to appear against the
+suspected parties, and consequently witnesses could not be had in the
+ordinary way.</p>
+
+<p>At this juncture General Geo. G. Meade, then in command of the Military
+Department there&mdash;for the State of Georgia was at this time under martial
+law&mdash;telegraphed to Gen. Grant, in Washington, that he desired the
+services of a competent and able detective to assist in bringing the
+guilty parties to justice. A second dispatch was sent by Gen. Meade,
+requesting that Col. H. C. Whitley, of the United States Internal Revenue
+service (then absent under Department orders in Kansas), should be
+directed to report to him in person for the duty indicated. In pursuance
+of this request Col. Whitley went to Columbus and commenced his labors,
+which resulted in the arrest of the parties above named.</p>
+
+<p>A military commission was at once convened to try the accused. The
+witnesses for the Government gave their testimony in a <ins class="correction" title="original: straighforward">straightforward</ins>
+manner, their evidence being fully corroborated by that of the people in
+the house where the deed had been consummated, and the conviction of the
+parties seemed inevitable.</p>
+
+<p>The citizens of Columbus raised a hue and cry; the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[Pg 68]</a></span> local newspapers
+sharply criticized the proceedings; a furore of excitement was engendered;
+the ablest legal counsel to be had for the defence, with Alexander H.
+Stephens at the head, were engaged, and large sums of money were expended
+in behalf of the prisoners.</p>
+
+<p>All parties were astounded, however, at the evidence which was produced
+against the accused. Its preparation showed a skill and ingenuity such as
+had never before been exhibited in working up a case before the courts of
+the district, and it was necessary that some measures should be devised to
+save the participants in the fearful tragedy from their justly merited
+punishment.</p>
+
+<p>This could only be accomplished in one way&mdash;by the adoption of the 14th
+Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, it being a clause in
+the law that, upon the adoption of this amendment by the legislature of
+any State, all cases of civilians pending before military tribunals
+organized in said State, should be taken cognizance of by the civil courts
+therein.</p>
+
+<p>The Democratic members of the Georgia Legislature were between two fires;
+the 14th Amendment was a bitter pill, but the necks of their confreres
+were in danger, and they were compelled to vote solid with the
+Republicans, and thus end the proceedings before the military tribunal. By
+this means, the trials of the Ashburn murderers were taken out of the
+hands of the military authorities, the prisoners put under bail, the
+witnesses compelled to flee for their lives, and there the matter rests.</p>
+
+<p>To the unobserving mind the murder of George W. Ashburn would seem totally
+unavenged; but to him who sees in every great event the hand of an
+over-ruling Providence, evolving good from evil, a different conclusion
+must be arrived at. In his life, he fought manfully for the establishment
+of civil rights, and the political equality of the oppressed race of which
+he<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[Pg 69]</a></span> was the chosen champion. In his death that result was consummated, in
+the State of Georgia, sooner perhaps by years than it would otherwise have
+been without this sacrifice. &#8220;Wherever a few great minds have made a stand
+against violence and fraud in the cause of liberty and reason,&#8221; there
+shall we find just such sacrifices as this, and there, too, &#8220;in the
+eternal fitness of things&#8221; and the onward march of law and the
+establishment of order, shall we find the triumphal vindication of those
+principles for which the republic has labored and travailed, and George W.
+Ashburn died.</p>
+
+
+<p class="center"><br />A THRILLING NARRATIVE.</p>
+<p class="center">DESPERATE ENCOUNTER AND DEFEAT OF A BAND OF KU KLUX.</p>
+
+<p>As an instance of what the courage of one man can do in a righteous cause,
+against a multitude of those who are actuated by wicked and unlawful
+motives, the case of Mr. J. K. Halliday, a resident of Jackson County,
+near Jefferson, Ga., is perhaps one of the most extraordinary on record.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Halliday is a native of Jackson County, Ga., where he has always lived
+and done business. He was opposed to secession and rebellion from the
+first; was continually counselling peaceful measures, and openly avowed
+himself a Unionist. During the war, he utterly refused to take up arms
+against the Government, and being a man of great influence and large
+means, was enabled to avoid conscription into the rebel ranks.</p>
+
+<p>He was a thriving business man, the proprietor of two plantations and a
+mill, and kept a large number of hands engaged at work. After the close of
+the rebellion and as a measure of concession to the turbulent<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[Pg 70]</a></span> spirits by
+whom he was surrounded, he employed white men to do his labor.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Halliday soon found, to his inconvenient cost, that these men demanded
+exorbitant wages; that they were indisposed to perform a fair day&#8217;s work,
+sometimes not working at all, and then but for a half day, but always
+charging him for full time&mdash;and he finally became disgusted with, and
+discharged them altogether. This was sufficient to bring him into contempt
+with the Klan, who charged him with being a &#8220;negro lover,&#8221; as well as a
+Union sympathizer, and an open-mouthed Radical.</p>
+
+<p>Threats of his assassination and the destruction of his mill and other
+buildings were freely uttered. He was formally &#8220;warned&#8221; by the K. K. K.&#8217;s,
+that he must change his course, politically, or he would certainly suffer
+death. Halliday&#8217;s reply to this threat and warning was simply to proceed
+to Jefferson, and procure some of the best modern weapons, for defense,
+that he could find. With these he returned to his dwelling, awaited
+results, pursuing his usual course, advocating such political principles
+as he please, and employing colored men as before.</p>
+
+<p>During the spring of 1871, at a meeting of the Ku Klux Camp of Jefferson
+County, it was solemnly resolved that Halliday should be killed, and his
+property destroyed. The night for the &#8220;visitation&#8221; was duly decided on;
+and through an anonymous note this information was conveyed to Halliday,
+the writer begging him as he valued his life, to leave the place, and thus
+save himself.</p>
+
+<p>To less resolute men this would have appeared a serious matter, but upon
+Halliday the threatened danger had an entirely different effect. It nerved
+rather than weakened his brave spirit, and he resolved to &#8220;stick.&#8221; He was
+a man full six feet in stature, and well proportioned; he had been long
+accustomed to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[Pg 71]</a></span> out-of-door life, and was considered one of the most
+powerful men, physically, in the county; he knew his strength, and relying
+upon that and an unswerving faith in God, he determined to defend himself
+and his family to the last.</p>
+
+<p>On the night of the anticipated visit, he placed his wife and his two
+children in the upper room of the house, and barricaded the passage way
+leading thereto, as best he could.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Halliday well knew the desperate character and murderous designs of
+the Klan. She clung to her husband, to whom she was devotedly attached,
+and expressed her fears as he passed down the stairway, that she would
+never see him again, alive! To this Mr. Halliday responded:</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;You forget that the <span class="smcap">Great Master</span> is with me! Trust <span class="smcap">Him</span> as <i>I</i> do,&#8221; and
+kissing her and the little ones, he descended to the ground floor, where
+he intended to remain and await the advent of the party.</p>
+
+<p>Some of the more faithful of the negroes observing the unusual care with
+which Mr. H. adjusted the fastenings upon the doors and shutters, that
+night, hinted to him that they &#8220;reck&#8217;nd he &#8217;spected trouble,&#8221; and they
+would like to be near him.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;No,&#8221; said he, &#8220;go to your own places and don&#8217;t come out; if they come in
+here, I had rather be alone, for then I can shoot and cut at random and be
+sure not to hit any of my own friends. Every man I strike will surely be
+one who ought to be stricken.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Halliday was armed with two rifles, two revolvers, and a long bowie
+knife. Shortly before midnight, the Klan made their appearance in front of
+the house, to the number of about twenty. Halliday saw them through a
+small half-moon shaped aperture at the top of the shutter.</p>
+
+<p>They were all masked, and appeared each to wear a long rubber cape,
+falling from the shoulders to the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[Pg 72]</a></span> waist. They came straight to the door,
+and, without saying a word, commenced to batter it in. The door gave way
+in a few moments, and as they rushed in, Halliday discharged his firearms
+with such fatal effect, that three of the Klan dropped dead upon the
+floor.</p>
+
+<p>The room was intensely dark, and a desperate fight ensued, in which the
+assailants more frequently encountered each other than the victim for whom
+they were in search.</p>
+
+<p>Halliday was finally grappled by one of the foremost of the party. He
+speedily freed himself through his superior strength and the prompt use of
+his bowie knife, thrusting it into his assailant&#8217;s bowels, and throwing
+him violently back on to the crowd. The wounded man exclaimed:</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;He&#8217;s got a knife! I&#8217;m murdered!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>This caused a panic among the marauders, and the entire crowd left the
+house, taking their dead and wounded with them. After making certain that
+all of their own number were out, they discharged their firearms through
+the open doorway, and beat a retreat, taking a circuitous route, to avoid
+being traced by the blood that oozed from the wounds of several of the
+number, two of whom died soon after reaching their homes, thus making five
+in all who had paid the forfeit of their lives in the unholy cause.</p>
+
+<p>During all the time of this desperate encounter, the feelings of the
+wretched wife and frightened children in the upper room, may only be
+imagined. The father and husband, single handed, fighting against a horde
+of ruffians bent upon his murder; their own fate depending upon his, and
+not daring to cry out lest they should be discovered, and thus bring
+destruction upon their own heads, their situation was agonizing in the
+extreme.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Halliday did not forget the last words of her husband, so full of the
+strong faith that characterized<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[Pg 73]</a></span> the man: &#8220;<i>You forget that the Great
+Master is with me. Trust Him as I do!</i>&#8221; And sinking upon her knees, she
+poured her spirit out in silent and earnest prayer to God for help.</p>
+
+<p>The dead calm that had ensued after the uproarious tumult of the firearms,
+and the fierce struggle of the combatants in the room below, alarmed Mrs.
+Halliday more than all else. Whether her husband had been overpowered at
+last and taken away, or had been left dead upon the floor, with some of
+the murderous crew watching to see who would come for the body, she knew
+not. Possibly he might be lying there alone, wounded and insensible, with
+the life-blood ebbing away, and no friendly hand to stay the crimson tide,
+and the thought was terrible and agonizing.</p>
+
+<p>An hour went by. An hour into which years of misery were crowded to the
+forlorn woman, and yet no sound of life, no ray of light gleaming through
+the impenetrable darkness, to relieve the awful gloom and suspense, or
+give her one faint shadow of hope.</p>
+
+<p>Halliday was indeed lying there, exhausted and unconscious from the
+numerous wounds and contusions he had received. In his right hand he still
+held the bowie knife firmly grasped, as if awaiting the further onslaught
+of the foe, while his left was clenched with the determination of his iron
+will. The cool wind blowing off the mill-stream and coming in through the
+open doorway, aroused him at length to consciousness.</p>
+
+<p>The remembrance of the fight, his successful resistance, the retreat of
+the assailing party, and, above all, his wife and children, saved&mdash;and by
+his own right arm!&mdash;came back to his recollection and nerved him to
+action. He roused himself from his lethargy, and groping his way to the
+stairs, he called out:</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Are you there, mother! and our darlings!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Who shall tell the feelings of that wife-mother&#8217;s heart, bowed in its
+terrible anguish, and now so <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[Pg 74]</a></span>suddenly raised to the highest pinnacle of
+happiness as she responded, &#8220;Here! and safe, thank God, and our husband
+and father.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Who shall describe the music that will compare, in Halliday&#8217;s bosom, to
+the pattering feet of his darlings, as they rushed to meet his strong and
+loving embraces, and shouted, &#8220;Papa, papa!&#8221; amid their fast falling tears.</p>
+
+<p>Halliday&#8217;s wounds, though not fatal, were still serious enough to alarm
+his wife, and as early in the morning as she dared, she sent one of the
+negroes for a doctor; but it appeared that every doctor in the vicinity
+was busy with patients who had been &#8220;taken suddenly ill during the night.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>One of these was the only son of a widow, the nearest neighbor to the
+Hallidays. He had received a &#8220;severe fall&#8221; the night previous, they said,
+upon a sharp instrument that had pierced his bowels and caused his death.
+This proved to be the man Halliday had cut. Five funerals attested the
+energy and strength of the hero&#8217;s arm, and the dead bodies of the victims
+remained as lasting &#8220;warnings&#8221; to the &#8220;defenders of the white man&#8217;s
+government,&#8221; and that it was not always wise to attack the members of the
+&#8220;white man&#8217;s race.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>It is almost needless to add that Mr. Halliday was left free from that
+time forth to pursue his own course, politically and otherwise as he
+deemed best, and that his persecutors came to realize with him that &#8220;the
+race is not always to the swift, nor the battle to the strong,&#8221; and that
+in the struggle of the right for supremacy over the wrong, &#8220;God and one
+constitute a majority.&#8221;</p>
+
+
+<p class="center"><br /><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[Pg 75]</a></span><span class="smcap">Slaughter of An United States Official</span>.</p>
+
+<p>John Springfield, a Deputy United States Marshal, residing in St. Clair
+County, Alabama, had drawn upon himself the odium of the Ku Klux of that
+county by accepting a position under the United States Government, the
+duties of which he endeavored faithfully to discharge.</p>
+
+<p>He had been approached on several occasions by members of the Klan, who
+had made propositions to him to pervert his office, and shield certain
+parties who were engaged in the illicit distillation of whiskey; but had
+utterly refused to listen to any of these overtures, and was bold enough
+to proclaim the fact that he should use his best endeavors to bring to
+punishment the violators of the law wherever he found them.</p>
+
+<p>The customary warning was sent to this intrepid officer, informing him
+that &#8220;St. Clair County was getting hot for him,&#8221; but that if he kept on in
+his course he would &#8220;be sent to a hotter place in a hurry.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>He was somewhat alarmed at this threat and moved about with great caution,
+but was unremitting in his attention to his duties until the spring of
+1871, when the Klan decided that he must be stopped. An edict was issued,
+sealing Springfield&#8217;s doom, and the second night thereafter he was
+followed by three members of the Klan, disguised in black gowns and with
+their faces blackened, and was shot dead within a few feet of his house.</p>
+
+<p>This murder was charged upon the negroes, and up to the present writing,
+the instigators and perpetrators have escaped punishment.</p>
+
+
+<p class="center"><br /><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[Pg 76]</a></span><span class="smcap">The Assault Upon Asa Thompson</span>.</p>
+
+<p class="center"><i>Singular Conduct of the Klan.</i></p>
+
+<p>In the latter part of the year 1870, there resided in Clinch County,
+Georgia, a gentleman by the name of Asa Thompson, who, although a
+Southerner by birth and education, was an outspoken Radical Unionist, and
+had directly identified himself with the Republican party.</p>
+
+<p>In his intercourse with the people he was frank and free in the expression
+of his sentiments, and always exercised the right of suffrage, conducting
+himself in an orderly and acceptable manner, at all times, as a good
+citizen should do. He was proprietor of a thrifty plantation, upon which
+he employed a large number of hands, and stood well generally in the
+community.</p>
+
+<p>These essential requisites to a good citizen were altogether insufficient,
+in the eyes of the Ku Klux Klan in that vicinity, to balance the bad
+points (in their esteem) which characterized him, inasmuch as he was a
+Radical in principle. This fault was considered good cause for forwarding
+to Thompson a sharp &#8220;warning&#8221; from the camp, which was sent him in the
+customary form, and he was ordered to restrain himself in the utterance of
+his Radicalism, or quit the country.</p>
+
+<p>If he failed to obey, then he would receive a visitation from the K. K.
+K.&#8217;s, and that meant death. To this notice he gave no attention, but
+laughed at the threat and awaited events. A second warning was then sent
+him, couched in the following terms:&mdash;</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;One of three things will happen to you, very shortly. You will leave
+the country, so that we can never find you&mdash;change your politics&mdash;or
+be turned into Buzzard Bait.</p>
+
+<p class="right">K. K. K.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>To this expressive, but not over polite missive, Thompson returned a
+somewhat defiant reply, <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[Pg 77]</a></span>proceeded at once to fortify his cotton
+gin-house, in which he remained at night, and dared the Klan to come for
+him.</p>
+
+<p>During the month of September, 1871, matters had assumed such a position
+in this man&#8217;s case, that the Klan felt that Thompson must be annihilated,
+or the &#8220;reign of terror,&#8221; which they had inaugurated in the county, would
+be broken&mdash;and a reaction take place among the people, inimical to
+themselves.</p>
+
+<p>Numbers of the band were accordingly detailed by the Commander of the Camp
+of Clinch County, to put Thompson out of the way. They were headed by
+Shimmie Timmerson, formerly sheriff of that county; a man notable for his
+unusual brute force and personal resolution.</p>
+
+<p>The Klan approached Thompson&#8217;s gin-house on the night of the assault,
+cautiously, and as they supposed, unobserved. Each one of them was well
+armed, and disguised in black gowns, masks and hats.</p>
+
+<p>Thompson, who had been constantly on the watch, discovered them upon their
+first appearance. He relied upon the solid door of the gin-house, which he
+supposed would withstand a much heavier shock than it did. It gave way
+upon the first assault, which was made with a heavy piece of timber,
+battered against it by the assailants; and which shivered it to splinters.</p>
+
+<p>As the door crashed in, Thompson opened such a rapid fire upon the
+marauders, as to lead them to suppose that the gin-house was full of armed
+men. This belief had been strengthened, from the fact that its only
+occupant shouted simultaneously with the discharge of his weapons: &#8220;Give
+it to &#8217;em, boys! Don&#8217;t spare a man.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Timmerman (the ex-sheriff), who led this gang, fell at the first fire,
+seriously though not mortally wounded. Several others of the party bit the
+dust, and the entire band at once beat an ignominous retreat&mdash;bearing
+with<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[Pg 78]</a></span> them their wounded; and leaving their single-handed and brave
+opponent master of the situation.</p>
+
+<p>The most singular and unexpected result of this was, that the band were so
+thoroughly chagrined at their failure, that they had a quarrel among
+themselves after leaving the place, and charged their defeat upon
+Timmerman, who led the van&mdash;and whom they adjudged guilty of death on the
+spot, on the ground that their defeat was due to his bad management.</p>
+
+<p>This sentence would actually have been executed upon him, but for the
+interposition of some of the Klan, who declared their belief that
+Timmerman could not recover from the wounds he had already received, and
+that he might as well be left to die in the woods; that they did not think
+he was a traitor, and hence ought not to suffer a traitor&#8217;s doom.</p>
+
+<p>The ex-sheriff was greatly weakened from the loss of blood, caused by
+these wounds, and was so thoroughly panic-stricken at the idea that he
+might possibly be murdered by his associates, that he swooned, and his
+body was carried nearly a mile into the wood, where his &#8220;brethren&#8221; of the
+Camp threw it down, and left him.</p>
+
+<p>On the following day Mrs. Timmerman, having missed her husband, employed a
+gang of negroes to go in search of him. The hunt was successful, and the
+wounded man was removed to his house; where, after the most careful
+nursing, he was partially restored to health, but was so badly crippled as
+to be unable ever again to perform manual labor.</p>
+
+<p>The treachery and inhumanity of these men towards one of their own number
+so enraged Timmerman that he declared himself ready to expose their whole
+operations, their modes of working, and their secrets; and it was from him
+and Mr. Thompson that the writer obtained the facts, as herein set forth.
+This raid ended the operations of the Clinch County Ku Klux Klan, for<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[Pg 79]</a></span>
+sometime, so far as the influential whites were concerned.</p>
+
+<p>Outrages upon negroes were continued, however, but with less severity&mdash;the
+subsequent vigorous action of the Government in enforcing the laws, in
+other parts of the country, being felt to some degree in that place.</p>
+
+
+<p class="center"><br /><span class="smcap">Brutal Whipping of Women</span>.</p>
+
+<p>The outrages committed by members of the Klans, upon both individuals and
+property, in the county of Chatham, and in Moore county, N. C., were so
+numerous and oppressive, during the spring of 1871, and finally became so
+brutal in their character as to occasion the direst consternation among
+the whole negro population, as well as among such of the whites as dared
+to exercise the right of suffrage in accordance with their own
+convictions, which were not in accord with the tenets maintained by the Ku
+Klux or democracy of the place.</p>
+
+<p>About this period, the more intelligent of the colored people were in the
+habit of gathering together at stated times, for consultation in company
+with the friendly whites, as to the course it was deemed best for them to
+pursue for the protection and security of their lives.</p>
+
+<p>A favorite place for holding these meetings, was at the dwelling of Mrs.
+Sallie Gilmore&mdash;a woman then residing with her family in Moore county.</p>
+
+<p>These frequent assemblages were soon brought to the notice of the Camp in
+Moore county, and it was decided that such an example should be made of
+the parties as would deter others from pursuing a similar course; and
+compel these to abandon their radical views, or quit the country.</p>
+
+<p>The house occupied by Mrs. Gilmore, was rather of the better class, and
+Mrs. G. was known as an intelligent<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[Pg 80]</a></span> woman, who, in her sympathy with the
+colored race, was anxious for the day when the rights and privileges
+guaranteed them by the Constitution and the laws, could be enjoyed without
+molestation.</p>
+
+<p>The opinions and teachings of Mrs. Gilmore becoming known, the heresy was
+sufficient for the Klan to commence a crusade upon her and her family, and
+an edict was issued that she, and all the others found upon her premises,
+should be scourged.</p>
+
+<p>Thirty men of the Klan were, accordingly, detailed to carry out the order,
+and the &#8220;visitation&#8221; was fixed for the night of April 15th, 1871. The Klan
+were disguised, as usual, and were under the leadership of Roderick J.
+Bryan, a prominent citizen of Moore county, who was violently opposed to
+Republican principles. They met and organized in a field about a mile from
+Mrs. Gilmore&#8217;s house, where they held a counsel, and finally completed
+arrangements for making the proposed raid.</p>
+
+<p>Saturday night (the night in question) was the favorite time when the
+negroes met there, but, on this particular evening there chanced to be but
+three present, besides Mrs. Gilmore, her son and daughter, and a young
+woman named Mary Godfrey.</p>
+
+<p>For greater security, no lights were used when these meetings were held,
+and when the Klan arrived, the place was found to be entirely darkened.
+The doors were at once broken in, and Murkerson McLane, one of the
+negroes, taking advantage of the darkness, crept through the doorway
+stealthily, and darted towards the woods; but he was observed by some of
+the Klan, who pursued and soon came up with him.</p>
+
+<p>They had fired upon him as he ran, and when overtaken, he had sank down
+exhausted, and begged hard for his life. Roderick Bryan and Garner Watson
+replied to his earnest supplications for life by discharging their
+revolvers at him a second time. Both shots took<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[Pg 81]</a></span> effect. McLane gave a
+spasmodic leap into the air, and dropped motionless by the roadside.
+Supposing him dead the band left him there, where he lingered through the
+night in great agony, and died next morning.</p>
+
+<p>Having murdered McLane, his pursuers returned to Mrs. Gilmore&#8217;s house,
+where the rest of their party were awaiting them before commencing their
+inhuman indecencies. A light had been struck, and Mrs. Gilmore, her son
+and daughter, the negroes, and Mary Godfrey, were found fastened to the
+bed, in the most indecent positions. The negroes were first released, and
+were fearfully beaten with clubs and twisted switches, until they became
+utterly unconscious, when they were rudely dragged to the doorway, and
+their bleeding bodies tumbled, unceremoniously, into the mud.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Gilmore&#8217;s son and daughter were then stripped of their clothing and
+compelled, in this condition, to <i>dance</i>, for the edification of their
+tormentors; the music of this wretched exhibition being provided by the
+switches in the hands of the Klan, who applied them to the naked bodies of
+their victims with terrible severity, mocking them wickedly, meantime, as
+they were forced through the unwilling and miserable antics they
+performed!</p>
+
+<p>The son was entirely nude, but the daughter was allowed to retain her
+chemise. Both became exhausted, and sank down under the terrible
+punishment inflicted upon them, and the vigorous switching kept up, failed
+to revive them into further action. The attentions of the Klan were then
+directed towards Mrs. Gilmore.</p>
+
+<p>One of the band said, &#8220;Let&#8217;s make the old she radical dance now!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;We can do better than that,&#8221; said another; &#8220;we can lick the d&mdash;
+nigger-loving blood out of her.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[Pg 82]</a></span>Mrs. Gilmore, now upwards of fifty years old, was then seized and thrown
+violently upon the floor. Her clothes were drawn up over her head, and the
+cotton under garments covering her limbs were rudely torn off, exposing
+her naked person to the demons in human form who surrounded her. The
+switches were then applied with all the vigor of which the executioners
+were capable. The old lady uttered a few heart-rending shrieks, but
+speedily fainted, and continued unconscious during the remainder of the
+infliction.</p>
+
+<p>The punishment of the young woman, Mary Godfrey, was reserved to the last.
+She was stripped of every thread of clothing, and was thus compelled to
+experience the shame of indecent exposure, added to her other tortures.
+During the process of scourging this young woman the vilest and most
+obscene epithets were bandied about by the Klan, and she was subjected to
+many other indignities.</p>
+
+<p>She sank under the treatment at last, and lie upon the floor, her life
+apparently extinct. Cold water was dashed over the faces and bodies of
+these unfortunate women, who, by this means, were rallied sufficiently to
+render them conscious enough to listen to the final edict of the Klan,
+which was, &#8220;To cease indulging in and promulgating their heresies, from
+that hour forward, and abandon the country, on pain of certain death!&#8221;
+With this admonition the defenders of the white man&#8217;s government left the
+house.</p>
+
+<p>Of a truth, &#8220;all cruelty springs from wickedness.&#8221; But the weakness which
+could prompt the brutality&mdash;exhibited in such cases as those above
+recorded&mdash;is utterly inexcusable in any being wearing the shape of man.</p>
+
+<p>The brutal whipping of these inoffensive women, and the murder of the
+negro McLane, add one more to the many evidences of the degradation to
+which the members of the Ku Klux Klan had reduced themselves, in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[Pg 83]</a></span> their
+endeavors to crush out freedom of thought and expression, and compel
+adherence to their own peculiar tenets. Thank God, and the wisdom that now
+guides and controls the destinies of the nation, these dark hours of the
+Republic, fruitful with scenes like those described above, are passing
+away. A gleam of light appears in the horizon, as a glad harbinger of the
+dawn that shall usher in the day when</p>
+
+<p class="poem">&#8220;All crimes shall cease, and ancient fraud shall fail;<br />
+Returning justice lift aloft her scale;<br />
+Peace o&#8217;er the world her olive wand extend,<br />
+And white robed innocence from heaven descend.&#8221;</p>
+
+
+<p class="center"><br />MISCELLANEOUS OUTRAGES.</p>
+
+<p class="center"><span class="smcap">Whipping of Stanford and Nash</span>.</p>
+
+<p>On the night of the 16th of June, 1871, two negroes, named John Stanford
+and Edward Nash, were proceeding to their homes, near Oltewah, Hamilton
+County, Tennessee, when they were met in the road by some fifteen men
+armed and disguised, who ordered them to stop. They were then interrogated
+by the leader of the band as to why they had voted the Radical ticket at
+the previous election. Stanford replied that they had done it because it
+was right. One of the band said:</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;There&#8217;s a sting in that ticket, and you may as well have the whole of
+it,&#8221; at the same time striking at Stanford with a wooden club.</p>
+
+<p>The latter is a very powerful negro, and having<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[Pg 84]</a></span> some spirit, resented the
+attempted injury, dodged the blow, and instantly seizing his assailant,
+threw him heavily to the earth. Nash showed fight also, but being a much
+weaker man, was soon overpowered and pinioned fast. Several of the band
+seized Stanford, who, from his superior strength, dashed them one side,
+and darted away, followed by half a dozen of the Klan.</p>
+
+<p>As he ran, he managed to pick up a piece of board in the road with which
+he turned on his pursuers with the intention of defending himself, when a
+well-directed shot struck his elbow, shattering the bone, and compelling
+him to drop the board, and again attempt to save himself by flight. A
+second shot struck him in the ankle, and impeded his further progress. His
+pursuers again came up with and secured him, and conveyed him back to
+where Nash was pleading for his life.</p>
+
+<p>A council was held by the Klan, in which it was decided that the negroes
+should be severely whipped, and if ever known to again vote the radical
+ticket, they should die.</p>
+
+<p>Stanford was tied to a tree, his immense strength still being feared by
+the band, and was beaten until entirely insensible. Nash received a
+similar castigation. Both the negroes were then untied and placed across
+the driveway of the road so that a wagon in passing would be likely to run
+over them, unless they should in the mean time become conscious, and get
+out of the way.</p>
+
+<p>In his desperate struggle with the band, Stanford had displaced one of the
+masks, which enabled him to recognize a man named Goal Martin, who lived
+in the vicinity. Upon the statement of these negroes, and from evidence
+furnished by other corroborating circumstances, several of the members of
+the band committing these outrages were arrested and brought to
+appropriate punishment.</p>
+
+
+<p class="center"><br /><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[Pg 85]</a></span><span class="smcap">Outrage Upon William Fletcher</span>.</p>
+
+<p>On the night of the 23d of November, 1871, there assembled in the woods
+near Cross Plains, Alabama, a band of men armed and disguised as the White
+Brotherhood. Their persons were enveloped in long white gowns, white masks
+covered their faces, high white conical hats surmounted their heads, their
+hands were encased in white gloves, and white stockings were drawn over
+and completely covered their boots.</p>
+
+<p>The object of this gathering was the punishment of one William Fletcher, a
+white Unionist and Radical, who had the temerity to vote the Republican
+ticket, advocate the supremacy of the Government, and aid the officers
+thereof in the enforcement of the laws. These were crimes in the eyes of
+the Ku Klux Klan sufficient to warrant their taking the offender in hand.
+The customary warning was not sent in this case, but a friendly hand
+penned a note to Fletcher, informing him of the danger, but this,
+unfortunately, never reached him.</p>
+
+<p>At the time of the assembling of the band, as above stated, the &#8220;Night
+Hawks&#8221;<small><a name="f1.1" id="f1.1" href="#f1">[1]</a></small> of the Camp came up with the intelligence that Fletcher was then
+in a grocery store kept by a man named Flanders, and that it would be
+better to decoy him out of there, and get him on the road towards the
+woods, where he could be the more easily mastered.</p>
+
+<p>Fletcher was a cool, resolute and brave man, was supposed to be well
+armed, and the members of the Klan knew that unless some strategy was used
+with him, some of their number must suffer the consequences. One of the
+Klan, named N. G. Scott, was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[Pg 86]</a></span> accordingly detailed to decoy Fletcher away.
+Scott removed his disguise, and started for the store, followed at a
+convenient distance by several members of the band. He was successful in
+his undertaking, and in about twenty minutes he and his intended victim
+were walking down the road, in the direction of the ambuscade.</p>
+
+<p>In a moment more, the Klan sprang upon and overpowered Fletcher. Pistols
+were presented at his head, threatenings of death were made if he uttered
+a cry; a towel was tied tightly across his eyes as a bandage, and he was
+led away to the woods on the north side of Cross Plains. Upon reaching the
+woods, his coat and vest were removed, and he was stood up with his face
+pressed hard against a tree. His arms were drawn around the trunk of the
+tree, and tied together, and his legs were firmly secured by ropes.</p>
+
+<p>John Yeateman, who had charge of the proceedings of the Klan that night,
+then stepped forward, and told Fletcher to say his prayers, as he had but
+a short time to live; that it had first been the intention to give him a
+whipping and let him go, but that they had now decided to whip him to
+death.</p>
+
+<p>Fletcher replied by asking if there was no mercy to be accorded him, and
+inquired to know for what he was to be killed. The only answer to this was
+that they never gave mercy to the &#8220;infernal radicals, who wanted niggers
+to rule the country.&#8221; This remark was followed by his shirt being torn
+completely off his back.</p>
+
+<p>Meantime the &#8220;executioners,&#8221; who had gone for the &#8220;rods,&#8221; returned, and
+upon the order of their leader fell to their work, cutting the back of the
+poor victim most dreadfully, and causing him to lose all his stoicism at
+last, and shriek from the effects of the blows. The &#8220;executioners&#8221;
+becoming exhausted, Yeateman himself seized a knife, and cutting away the
+garments that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[Pg 87]</a></span> encased Fletcher&#8217;s lower limbs, took a &#8220;rod,&#8221; and commenced
+beating him about the loins with great ferocity.</p>
+
+<p>Fletcher fainted under the punishment, and as his screams had ceased,
+Yeateman desisted, remarking, &#8220;There&#8217;s one Radical vote less, by &mdash;&mdash;.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>The band continued consulting together for some time, when, Fletcher being
+heard to groan, one of the Klan, named James Bierd, said: &#8220;He ain&#8217;t
+finished yet; I reckon he&#8217;d better have the whole of it.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Yeateman then approached the miserable victim, and having succeeded in
+arousing him to consciousness, asked: &#8220;Have you anything to say before you
+die?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Fletcher responded faintly, saying: &#8220;Write to my mother, Mrs. William
+Fletcher, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, and say how and why I died.&#8221; In a
+moment afterwards he asked: &#8220;Is there no chance to live?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>The band consulted together again, when Yeateman said: &#8220;There is just one
+chance for you, and that is that you agree to leave the State in three
+hours, and never come back.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Fletcher gladly gave the required promise. He was then untied, and two of
+the band supporting him upon either side, led him to the railroad track.
+The bandage was then taken from his eyes, and he was told he must walk on,
+and that if he looked back, he would be shot. A row of revolvers pointed
+at him gave evidence that he was not being trifled with, and summoning all
+the resolution and strength which he could command, he slowly hobbled
+away.</p>
+
+<p>William Fletcher is no mythical creation. He lives to-day, a scarred and
+maimed monument of the demoniac brutality that instigated his scourging
+for opinion&#8217;s sake; his property destroyed, his health ruined for life,
+his spirit crushed and broken. The naturally indignant reader will ask if
+justice has overtaken the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[Pg 88]</a></span> miscreants who committed this outrage, and will
+be gratified to know that it has; and that the principal offenders have
+felt the weight of the strong arm of the law, now being vigorously
+enforced throughout the South against the execrable Klan to which they
+belonged, and in whose interest, and that of bigotry and persecution, they
+committed this dreadful outrage.</p>
+
+
+<p class="center"><br /><span class="smcap">A Significant Conversation</span>.</p>
+
+<p>The preceding stories of wrongs and outrages committed by the Ku Klux
+Klan, and those that follow, serve in a degree to show the extent to which
+persecutions for opinion&#8217;s sake were carried. It was the intention of the
+leaders to intimidate the masses, that further opposition to the
+principles promulgated by the Ku Klux Klan, or Southern Democracy, should
+cease altogether. They were wiley enough to see, however, that silence,
+while it may often give assent, can rarely be construed as an endorsement
+of that which is utterly repugnant to the human heart.</p>
+
+<p>Hence, plans were adopted for the dissemination of principles in violent
+antagonism to the Government and the Administration. It was not only
+hinted at that a change of Administration would effect the ends desired by
+the Ku Klux Orders; but it was openly declared by the bolder ones that
+such an event would give the South more than it had ever hoped to obtain,
+even had the war been a success to them instead of to the nation at large.</p>
+
+<p>As an illustration of the feeling of some of these leaders, who were men
+of property and influence, and owned plantations in the interior, the
+following conversation is given. This conversation actually occurred upon
+the Moore plantation, situated upon the Tuscaloosa and Lexington Turnpike.</p>
+
+<p>Moore had been a most uncompromising rebel, and was one of the first to
+join the Ku Klux Camp in his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[Pg 89]</a></span> vicinity. He was continually haranguing his
+laborers in the interest of Ku Kluxism and democracy, cursing the
+Government and the Administration, and swearing death to all who upheld
+them. One of his hands, whom he had but recently employed (September,
+1871), said to him:</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;What shall we do to break up this cursed Government, and have things as
+we want them?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Moore replied: &#8220;There is a movement on foot all over the South that will
+drive every d&mdash;&mdash;d Yankee out of it before long, and give us things all
+our own way.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Good,&#8221; said the laborer, &#8220;I&#8217;d like to know the programme, and get posted
+in that thing; I&#8217;d take a big hand in it!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Moore being now convinced that he had the right kind of a tool for the
+intended work, then said:</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;We&#8217;ve got the right thing now to fix all the niggers and Yankees with
+that don&#8217;t go as we want them to; we don&#8217;t care a d&mdash;&mdash; for the general
+government. It can go to &mdash;&mdash;, where it ought to. They may pass an hundred
+more Ku Klux bills, and it won&#8217;t do them a bit of good. The Ku Klux are
+resting just now; but they are not asleep. They have got the niggers and
+radicals in pretty good train, so they don&#8217;t dare say anything. All we
+want is a Democratic President, and that must come sure the next election,
+and then we can run things to suit ourselves.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>If Mr. Moore ever sees this faithful transcript of his disloyal speech,
+delivered upon his own plantation, on the 12th of September, 1871, he may
+begin to get some idea that the farm hands by whom he was surrounded were
+not all as badly poisoned with hatred to the radicals as he was, and that
+one of them at least had the temerity to treasure up and repeat the above
+conversation. It is here produced as an evidence of the sentiments that
+pervaded the minds of the leaders;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[Pg 90]</a></span> and to set all doubt at rest as to its
+authenticity, it may be added that it is a matter of record, to be seen
+and read of all men.</p>
+
+
+<p class="center"><br /><span class="smcap">Outrage Upon Persons in Texas.</span></p>
+
+<p>As an evidence that neither color or nationality formed any protection
+against the evil machinations of the Ku Klux Klan, the case of Henry
+Kaufmann, a well-to-do German residing in Bell County, Texas, may be
+cited.</p>
+
+<p>Kaufmann had come to this country after the war of the Rebellion, and,
+having some means and an extensive knowledge as a stock raiser, made his
+way South, finally locating in Texas, as the place best adapted for the
+business of raising stock, which was one he intended to pursue. His family
+consisted of his wife and two children, a boy and girl, aged respectively
+nine and eleven years.</p>
+
+<p>Texas at this time was the scene of many outrages, but the good-natured
+German was for a long time unable to comprehend their significance. Like
+most of his countrymen, he entertained republican sentiments; they were
+the sentiments of his heart, while at home, in the land of his fathers,
+and he had supposed, that in America, the asylum of the oppressed of all
+nations, he would find them in all their purity, upheld and expressed
+without fear, and honored by all.</p>
+
+<p>In this respect, he was doomed to bitter disappointment. The nearest
+neighbor to Kaufmann, was a man named McPherson, originally from the
+North, but who had for some years resided in Texas, and was a
+thorough-going Unionist. He did not hesitate, even among all the tumult
+and disorder, by which he was surrounded, to express his union sentiments,
+and had been repeatedly warned by the Ku Klux that he must change his
+course.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[Pg 91]</a></span>As he paid no heed to these threats, he received a visitation during the
+Spring of 1871, which utterly ruined him, and from which he escaped with
+his life, only by the aid of Kaufmann. It appears that the Klan having
+beat McPherson almost to death, gave him twenty-four hours in which to
+leave the country, threatening to kill him if he did not do so. Suffering
+terribly from the dreadful scourging, McPherson was just able to get as
+far as Kaufmann&#8217;s house, where he sought protection until such time as he
+might be able to travel and get away from the place.</p>
+
+<p>The good-natured German, filled with the humane instincts, natural to his
+people, at once took the refugee into his house, and cared for him for
+several days, without dreaming that he would incur the displeasure of
+anyone for such an act. He nursed McPherson tenderly for some four days,
+when the latter, dreading that the Klan might discover, and destroy, not
+only him, but his generous benefactor, left the house at night, and
+removed himself as far as possible from his persecutors.</p>
+
+<p>The fact of his having been harbored by Kaufmann, became known to the
+Klan, however, by some means, and they forthwith classed the latter as a
+radical. On the third night after McPherson&#8217;s departure, about eight
+o&#8217;clock in the evening, the unsuspecting German was sitting with his wife
+and children before a log-fire&mdash;as the weather was still chilly&mdash;when the
+door was unceremoniously burst in and a score of the Klan filled the room.</p>
+
+<p>Kaufmann was rudely seized and a demand made upon him to know what he had
+done with that d&mdash;d radical McPherson.</p>
+
+<p>To this he made reply that he &#8220;didn&#8217;t know such mans.&#8221; Upon this, one of
+the band struck him a severe blow, telling him they meant to learn him not
+to interfere with their business. Mrs. Kaufmann implored them<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[Pg 92]</a></span> in broken
+English, not to hurt her husband; he had done nothing, and they had made a
+mistake.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;He&#8217;s done enough,&#8221; said Butch Williams, the leader of the crowd, &#8220;You
+can&#8217;t make any mistake on these dutchmen, they are all d&mdash;d radicals
+anyhow. Its born in &#8217;em, but by &mdash;&mdash; they shan&#8217;t spit it out here.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Kaufmann was then securely pinioned and whipped until he became
+unconscious. When the castigation was ended, the leader turning to Mrs.
+Kaufmann, and pointing to the bruised and bleeding body of her husband, as
+it lie upon the floor, said:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Now if that dirty, dutch scallawag ever comes to himself, you tell him to
+sell out and get away from here, or we&#8217;ll be the death of the whole of you
+and burn the house over your heads. We&#8217;ll give him just ten days to do it
+in.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Kaufmann did revive at last, and when he learned the dread message which
+the Klan had left behind, saw with sorrow that he must relinquish his
+pleasant home, and become a wanderer; but the necessities of the case
+admitted of no other course. His property was disposed of at a ruinous
+sacrifice, and with his wife and little ones, he made his way to Illinois,
+where he now is.</p>
+
+<p>It would seem that the nationality of Kaufmann, and his probable ignorance
+of what constituted an offence in the eyes of the Ku Klux, should have
+saved him from this terrible visitation, so fraught with physical
+chastisement and financial ruin; but to the vision of men who regarded no
+law, who only saw the attainment of their despicable ends, through fraud
+and violence, he appeared a &#8220;radical by nature.&#8221;&mdash;One, who being a German,
+must necessarily be a Republican, and hence they could make no mistake in
+scourging him.</p>
+
+
+<p class="center"><br /><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[Pg 93]</a></span><span class="smcap">A Slave&#8217;s Former Experience Revived</span>.</p>
+
+<p>In the month of May, 1871, an intelligent mulatto&mdash;in whose veins flowed
+the blood of some ardent advocate of the <i>white</i> man&#8217;s race,
+unquestionably judging from his light color&mdash;whose name was William
+Washington, resided in a small shanty or cabin, about two miles and a-half
+from Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Washington had been a slave in the early part of
+his life, and was one of those unfortunates who chafed under the abuses
+and the yoke that held him in servitude to a &#8220;master.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>He was high-spirited, and had learned to read and write before the
+Emancipation Proclamation had given him freedom, to act upon his own
+volition, untrammelled by his nominal &#8220;owner.&#8221; Upon becoming a freeman, he
+left Montgomery County, Ala., near which place he had been reared, and
+settled in the vicinity of Tuscaloosa.</p>
+
+<p>He was quiet in his deportment, orderly and well disposed. He had given
+general satisfaction to all who had employed him. But in the early part of
+the year 1870, it began to be observed that Washington was actively
+exerting an influence over the negroes in the vicinity, to such an extent
+as to cause the Ku Klux Camp organized under Philip J. Brady, as Commander
+to take the alarm.</p>
+
+<p>The mulatto Washington was charged with being a Republican, of the radical
+sort, with presuming to teach the negroes to read, (shocking offence?) and
+of instructing them in Northern principles. This wouldn&#8217;t answer, surely.
+And so William was &#8220;warned&#8221; by the Camp that he must cease this kind of
+practice, and leave the country at once.</p>
+
+<p>He paid no heed to this warning, and a second one came, notifying him that
+unless he departed within the succeeding thirty days, he should suffer
+death&mdash;for<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[Pg 94]</a></span> &#8220;though the moon was then bright, it would turn to blood&mdash;K.
+K. K.&#8221; Instead of seeing this fearful summons in the light it was intended
+he should, the mulatto industriously circulated the story that he went
+well armed always, and was ready to die, if he must, in defence of his
+principles. But that &#8220;he wouldn&#8217;t run away&mdash;no how.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Matters went on thus for nearly a year. On the night of the 15th of May,
+1871, Washington shut and barred his cabin door, as was his custom upon
+retiring, placed his gun and a single barrelled pistol by his bedside, and
+turned in, to sleep. About eleven o&#8217;clock, he was suddenly awaked by a
+thumping upon the closed shutter of the only window in the hut, and upon
+inquiring who was there, he recognized the voice of a friendly negro,
+outside, who answered&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Day&#8217;s a pow&#8217;r o&#8217; men a comin&#8217; up der road, yender&mdash;an&#8217; yer muss look out
+for yar se&#8217;f Wash&#8217;n&#8217;t&#8217;n, dass a fack.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>This timely and kindly warning from his friend was very gratefully
+listened to by Washington, who replied that his informer must try to get
+help to him, if possible. And quickly dressing himself, the former slave
+awaited the assault which he now anticipated, from the look of affairs
+outside, so near his hut.</p>
+
+<p>The mounted band rode up very soon afterwards, and having been refused
+admittance, some of them dashed in the door. Washington was a powerful
+man, well built and very muscular&mdash;while his self-possession was always
+remarkable, when in peril. The interior of the shanty being quite dark, he
+crouched down in one corner, and fired upon his assailants with the pistol
+first and then immediately discharged the gun. Both shots took effect, and
+two of the Klan fell heavily to the floor.</p>
+
+<p>Clubbing his musket, he then desperately rushed upon the enemy,
+determined, if he must die, that he<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[Pg 95]</a></span> would sell his life as dearly as
+possible; but the odds were altogether too heavy against him. The
+gun-stock in his brawny hands, was shattered at the first blow struck by
+his powerful arm, and then the band sprang forward and secured him, though
+not without a furious struggle. He was at once taken out of the cabin, a
+rope was placed about his neck, and thrown over the projecting limb of the
+nearest convenient tree, from which his body was quickly dangling, a
+lifeless corpse. They hung him without accusation, judge or jury, until he
+was dead, dead, dead&mdash;in accordance with the terms of the bitter oath of
+the Ku Klux Klan, whose victims are doomed &#8220;for opinion&#8217;s sake!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>One of the gang had been mortally wounded by Washington&#8217;s first shots, and
+died on the following day. Two others had been seriously hurt, and one of
+them was crippled for life. The body of Washington was left hanging
+beneath the tree for several days after this conflict, and until the
+negroes in the neighborhood gathered courage sufficient to cut it down,
+and give it decent burial; which they did at night, secretly and
+mournfully, for their late friend&#8217;s sudden and violent death, proved an
+affliction indeed to the poor creatures, towards whom he had been so kind
+and clever an instructor and companion.</p>
+
+<p>And thus this poor negro paid the penalty of his offence in being a
+radical, and like many a one before him who had been similarly sacrificed,
+&#8220;his soul goes marching on.&#8221;</p>
+
+
+<p class="center"><br /><span class="smcap">Scourging Radical Teachers and Banishing Ministers Of the Gospel.</span></p>
+
+<p>Judging from information gathered from the most available sources, it
+appears that all measures, whether of a political, a religious or
+educational character, looking<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[Pg 96]</a></span> to the elevation of the negro, were
+strenuously opposed by the Ku Klux Klans, as they had sworn they should
+be.</p>
+
+<p>The education of the negro was regarded as an especial heresy, not to be
+tolerated under any circumstances. It was an offence second in magnitude
+only to that of his voting the Radical ticket, and the face of the Klan
+was set against it with a resolution that made it a dangerous avocation
+for any one to engage in. School houses, erected for the purpose of
+teaching colored children, were burned to the ground, and the teachers
+scourged, banished or whipped to death.</p>
+
+<p>The testimony of Col. A. P. Huggins, formerly of the Union Army, and
+subsequently of Monroe County, Mississippi, is pertinent to the point.
+Col. Huggins, is known as a brave and gallant officer, a man of great
+physical and moral courage, and of unquestioned veracity. During the month
+of May, 1870, he became County Superintendent of Schools, for Monroe
+County, and on the 8th of March following, went into the interior, some
+eight or ten miles from Aberdeen, the County seat, on business connected
+with the School Department. He was at this time an Assistant Assessor of
+Internal Revenue, and improved the opportunity to make several assessments
+of revenue in the vicinity, staying, by invitation, at the house of a Mr.
+Ross.</p>
+
+<p>On the night of the day after his arrival at the house of Mr. Ross, (the
+9th of March) a band of the Ku Klux, armed and disguised, and numbering
+about one hundred and twenty, came to the house and compelled Col. Huggins
+to come out. The chief of the Klan then informed him that they had come to
+warn him that he must quit the country within ten days that it had been
+decreed in the camp that he should first be warned, that the warning
+should be enforced by whipping, and if that did not produce the desired
+effect, he should be killed by the Klan, and if circumstances were such
+that he could not be killed by the Klan in a body,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[Pg 97]</a></span> then they were sworn
+to assassinate him publicly or privately.</p>
+
+<p>Col. Huggins asked them what his offense consisted of, and was answered by
+the chief, who said:&mdash;&#8220;You are collecting obnoxious taxes from Southern
+Gentlemen, to keep damned old Radicals in office. Now I want you to
+understand that no laws can be enforced in this country, that we do not
+make ourselves. We don&#8217;t like your Radical ways, and we want you to
+understand it.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Col. Huggins then asked them if their operations were against the Radical
+party, and the Chief replied that they were; that they had stood the
+radicals just as long as they intended to, and they meant to banish or
+kill every one of them. The Chief then said, &#8220;will you leave the country
+in ten days.&#8221; The Colonel replied that he would leave the country when he
+got ready, and not before. He was then taken about a quarter of a mile
+from the residence of Mr. Ross, where they halted. He was then ordered to
+take off his coat, which he refused to do, and it was removed by force.</p>
+
+<p>Twenty-five lashes were then given Col. Huggins, when he was asked if he
+would leave the country. To this he replied that he would not, that now
+that they had commenced, they might go on as far as they pleased, as he
+had just as soon die, as take what he had already received. The whipping
+was resumed. Col. Huggins remembered hearing the executioners count the
+number of lashes up to seventy-five, when he fainted. The Klan left him in
+charge of Mr. Ross, and rode away. The main reason assigned for the
+punishment of Col. Huggins was that he was a Radical and in favor of
+educating the negroes.</p>
+
+<p>The case of Cornelius McBride, a young Scotchman who taught a colored
+school near Sparta, Chickasaw County, is one of unusual cruelty. Being
+teacher of a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[Pg 98]</a></span> colored school, McBride was classed as a Radical, and beside
+this, he had come from the North. He was accordingly doomed by the Klan
+for a visitation.</p>
+
+<p>Between twelve and one o&#8217;clock of the Thursday night of the last week in
+March, 1870, a number of the Klan came to his house, and presenting rifles
+through the window, ordered McBride to come out. He asked what was wanted,
+when one of them replied, &#8220;come out you d&mdash;d yankee.&#8221; McBride saw that
+nothing less than taking his life was intended, and determined to make an
+effort to escape. He gave a sudden spring through the window, landing
+directly between the two men who were pointing their rifles, dashed past
+them and ran to the house of a colored man whom he knew, and where he
+thought he could get a gun. While he was running, the members of the Klan
+commenced firing upon him, ordering him to stop, or they would blow his
+brains out. None of the shots took effect upon him, and he entered the
+cabin, but before he could get the gun, of which he was in search, the
+Klan were upon him and secured him.</p>
+
+<p>McBride was then taken about a mile away from the place, having nothing on
+but his night dress. This was rudely torn from his person, and the
+executioners were about to commence their work, when he asked them what he
+was to be whipped for. The leader said, &#8220;you want to make the niggers
+equal to a white man. This is a white man&#8217;s country.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>The whipping was then commenced with black gum switches, that stung the
+flesh and raised it in great ridges at every blow. The torture was so
+great that the poor victim begged them in God&#8217;s name to kill him at once
+and put him out of misery. The leader said &#8220;shooting is too good for this
+fellow, we&#8217;ll hang him when we get through whipping him.&#8221; Another one
+said, &#8220;Do you want to be shot?&#8221; To which McBride replied, &#8220;Yes, I can&#8217;t
+stand this torture, it is horrible.&#8221;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[Pg 99]</a></span> He then partially raised himself
+upon his knees and determined to make one more effort for his life.
+Standing directly in front of him was one of the Klan, the only one who
+stood directly in his way, if he should attempt to run.</p>
+
+<p>Stung by the terrible pain of the switch, McBride sprang to his feet,
+dealt the man in the front of him a tremendous blow, and darting past him
+scaled a fence, and ran across the open field. The Klan discharged their
+fire-arms after him, but in a few moments gave up the pursuit. McBride
+reached the house of a Mr. Walser, and there found protection through the
+remainder of the night.</p>
+
+<p>Other teachers of colored schools received similar visitations, and
+colored schools were burned there and in the adjoining counties.</p>
+
+<p>The crusade against Ministers of the Gospel who preached to the freedmen,
+was then commenced. The Rev. John Avery, of Winston County, was notified
+that he must appear at a meeting of the Ku Klux; that he must join in with
+the Klan, and cease his interest in free schools, and upon his refusal,
+his house was burned over his head. Mr. Avery was a southern man, and a
+pastor in the Methodist Episcopal Church.</p>
+
+<p>Rev. Mr. Galloway, a Congregationalist Minister, of Monroe County, was in
+the habit occasionally of preaching to the freedmen. During April, 1870, a
+band of the Ku Klux called upon him at night, and notified him that he
+must not preach to these people. He continued doing so, however, and
+received a second warning, accompanied by an intimation, which he did not
+dare disregard, and he was compelled to relinquish his good work, on pain
+of banishment or death.</p>
+
+<p>The Rev. Mr. McLachlin, a Methodist Episcopal Preacher, of Oktibbeha
+County, received various warnings to the same effect, but persisted in his
+course<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[Pg 100]</a></span> until he was finally driven from that county, and dared not return
+to it.</p>
+
+<p>Scores of similar cases might be cited, all of which are matters of public
+record, but those above given, serve to show, that the Order of the Ku
+Klux Klan, is inimical to religion and education, as well as to the
+politics of those differing with them in their avowed opposition to
+Republicanism, and their adherence to the Democratic party. These gallant
+defenders of the white man&#8217;s race were determined that no Government but
+the white man&#8217;s should live in the country, and these results they hoped
+to obtain through the banishment, scourging and killing of negroes,
+Radicals and Republicans, by which means also, with the aid of their
+sympathizers at the North, they expected to have a Democratic
+Administration.</p>
+
+
+<p class="center"><br /><span class="smcap">Warnings and Edicts of the Klan.</span></p>
+
+<p>It would seem to have been the design of the leaders of the Ku Klux Klans,
+in issuing their warnings, to play as much as possible upon the
+superstitions of the people. These documents were written in a disguised
+hand, sometimes in coarse language, and contained sentiments intended to
+inspire terror in the minds of the recipients.</p>
+
+<p>They were usually bordered with designs, representing daggers piercing
+bleeding hearts, death&#8217;s heads and cross bones, and various grotesque
+devices. Some of them had a spice of grim humor, which, although fun to
+the Klan who issued these missives, meant banishment, scourging or death
+to those who received them. Specimens of these, the originals of which
+fell into the hands of the United States Officials during their attempts
+to break up the Ku Klux organization are here given <i>verbatim et
+literatim</i>.</p>
+
+<p>Five persons residing in White County, Georgia,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[Pg 101]</a></span> having made themselves
+politically obnoxious to the Klan, received the following:&mdash;</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p class="center">&#8220;<span class="smcap">Read the Contents</span>, K. K. K.</p>
+
+<p>O ye, horsemen of Manassas. Bounce, ye dead men that is now living on
+earth. We are the men that I am talking about. We are of K. K. K. Now
+Sandy Holcumb, Green Holcumb, Daniel McCollum, and E. Dickson, your
+days are numbered. We shot the old Belt weather<small><a name="f2.1" id="f2.1" href="#f2">[2]</a></small> a little too low.
+We aimed to shoot him through the heart; and if you don&#8217;t all get
+away from this country very soon, your Radical hearts will be shot
+out of you, and we had just as leave shoot you as for you to get
+away.</p>
+<p class="right">K. K. K.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>The parties named in the above warning did not leave, as the United States
+Officials came into the county about that time and arrested nearly one
+hundred members of the Camp from which the document was issued.</p>
+
+<p>At Irwington, Ga., the colored people determined upon holding a
+&#8220;protracted meeting,&#8221; and colored preachers assembled there from all
+quarters. The meetings are described as having been most orderly, but they
+were deemed inimical to the interests of the Ku Klux, and the following
+warning was issued and posted near the place of meeting.</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p class="center">&#8220;K. K. K.</p>
+
+<p>The devil is getting up a new team, and wants some nigger preachers
+to work in the lead. If you stay here until we come again, the devil
+will be certain to have his team completed.</p>
+
+<p class="right">K. K. K.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[Pg 102]</a></span>The consternation of the freedmen was so great upon the receipt of the
+above warning that not a colored preacher dared to show himself in the
+vicinity for months afterwards.</p>
+
+<p>The Klan oppressed everyone not members of or in sympathy with their
+organization, and sought to over-ride all law and equity, upon the
+principle that might made right. To this end they issued warnings to
+business men who had come into their vicinity from the North, and who were
+disposed to invest capital and establish trade, but who were not of the
+right stripe politically&mdash;and this meant who were not sound Democrats.
+Numerous instances of this kind are on record.</p>
+
+<p>Two enterprising business men&mdash;Messrs. Gottschalk and Hughes&mdash;purchased a
+mill property in Atalla, Ala., belonging to one J. B. Spitzer, and made
+their arrangements to get out lumber. Messrs. Gottschalk and Hughes were
+under suspicion of not sympathizing with the Klan, politically, and a
+pretence was made that Mr. Spitzer, from whom they had purchased the saw
+mill, was indebted to persons, whom the new firm were politely requested
+to accept as their creditors. This they refused to do, and the following
+warning was sent them.</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p class="center">&#8220;<span class="smcap">Den of the Great Grand High Cyclops Of Etowah County, Ala.</span></p>
+
+<p>To Messrs. Gottschalk &amp; Hughes:</p>
+
+<p>His royal highness, your great, grand high worthy master, notices
+with much pleasure that you have purchased and become the owners of
+the saw mill, lately owned by Mr. J. B. Spitzer. He understands very
+well, everything connected with that mill transaction, and it is his
+great pleasure that you call on the creditors of J. B. Spitzer in the
+morning, and approve of the debts<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[Pg 103]</a></span> of Mr. Spitzer. He wishes an
+answer to-night what you will do in the matter.</p>
+
+<p><span style="margin-left: 8em;">By order of his royal highness,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 12em;"><i>The Great grand Cyclops of Etowah County, Ala.</i>&#8221;</span></p></div>
+
+<p>Messrs. Gottschalk &amp; Hughes paid no heed to this missive, and on the night
+of the 13th of November, 1871, the Klan assembled and set fire to the
+mill, destroying it entirely, and compelling its new proprietors to leave
+the place.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. William Gober, residing in Dade County, Georgia, was an avowed
+Unionist and Republican. He was active in politics and expressed his
+sentiments with great freedom, and was consequently classed by the Ku Klux
+as a carpet-bagger and a scallawag, and warned to leave the country, in
+the following terms:&mdash;</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p class="center">&#8220;<span class="smcap">Death. K. K. K. Death.</span></p>
+
+<p>Take heed for the pale horse is coming. His step is terrible;
+lightning is in his nostrils. He looks for a rider. Now this is to
+warn you William Gober, that carpet-baggers and scallawags cannot
+live in this country. If you are not gone in ten days, we shall come
+to you, and the pale horse shall have his rider.</p>
+
+<p class="right">By order. K. K. K.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p>Mr Gober smiled at this document, but the sequel shew that it meant
+something more than a threat. At midnight on the 13th of September, 1871,
+his house was surrounded by about twenty of the Klan, armed and disguised.
+He was then dragged out and whipped with great severity. Previous to the
+infliction of the punishment he fought desperately with his assailants,
+and succeeded in displacing several of their masks, and recognizing them.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[Pg 104]</a></span>He was left for dead by the Klan, but recovered his consciousness, and
+secretly made his way to Atlanta, where he made an affidavit, upon which
+six of the parties were arrested and held for trial.</p>
+
+<p>Thousands of warnings, similar to the above, many of them obscene and
+blasphemous, were sent to as many persons in various parts of the South.</p>
+
+<p>One more is herewith appended, as showing one of the extremes to which the
+Ku Klux went in their crusade against Radicals. It was found hanging to a
+small dagger, stuck into one of the doors of the University, at
+Tuscaloosa, Ala., with several others of similar import, addressed to some
+of the students of the University, and read as follows:&mdash;</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p class="center">&#8220;K. K. K.</p>
+
+<p class="center"><span class="smcap">Student&#8217;s University.</span></p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">David Smith.</span>&mdash;You have received one notice from us and this shall be
+our last. You, nor no other d&mdash;d son of a d&mdash;d Radical traitor, shall
+stay at our University. Leave here in less than ten days, for in that
+time we will visit the place, and it will not be well for you to be
+found out there. The State is ours and so shall the University be.
+Written by the Secretary.</p>
+
+<p class="right">By order of the Klan.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+
+<p class="center"><br /><span class="smcap">The Murder of Wm. C. Luke and Five Negroes.</span></p>
+
+<p>One of the most brutal outrages to be found, even among the dark and
+bloody records of the Ku Klux Klan, was enacted on the night of the 10th
+of April, 1870, at the village of Cross Plains, near Paytona, Ala. The
+details of this occurrence here given, have been collated from various
+sources, a portion of them having been obtained from eye witnesses to the
+affair.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[Pg 105]</a></span>William C. Luke, a Canadian by birth, and a gentleman of education, had
+come to Paytona, and taken charge of the day school there. He was a
+prominent worker in the cause of religion, entertained and advocated
+Republican principles and took an earnest interest in the welfare of the
+colored people, by whom he was surrounded. This drew down upon him the
+malice of the Klan, and he was doomed to death. Luke had preached to the
+negroes at times, and had taken occasion in his sermons to express his
+opinion that negroes were now entitled to the same rights and privileges
+under the Constitution of the United States as the whites.</p>
+
+<p>This course could not be tolerated by the K. K. K., and they only awaited
+a favorable opportunity for carrying out the Edict of the Camp.</p>
+
+<p>On the 10th of April, Mr. Luke had preached at Paytona, and on the evening
+of that day had returned to Cross Plains. He was there informed that the
+Ku Klux had determined to come for him that night, and at once returned to
+Paytona, accompanied by several negroes, who seemed fearful that he might
+meet with violence. Up to ten o&#8217;clock nothing had transpired to cause
+alarm, and Mr. Luke retired.</p>
+
+<p>Between twelve and one o&#8217;clock he was aroused from his slumbers by three
+armed and disguised men, who informed him there had been a fracas in the
+village of Cross Plains, about which it was thought he knew something, and
+he was requested to go with them to the latter place. He signified his
+willingness to do so, dressed himself and went out with the party. Upon
+getting out of the house he was surprised at seeing a large number of men
+similarly disguised, and who had in custody the five negroes who had
+accompanied him to Paytona.</p>
+
+<p>One of the negroes named Jacob Moore, endeavored to break loose from his
+captors, and had a severe fight with them. Being a very powerful man he
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[Pg 106]</a></span>succeeded in breaking away and run down the road. The Klan fired several
+shots after him, two of which took effect, and he dropped by the road
+side. Mr. Luke and the remaining negroes were then taken to the northern
+border of Paytona, on the Cross Plains line, where the band halted. The
+intended victim was now convinced that his death was meditated, and he
+said to the leader of the Klan, one Clem Reid, &#8220;Am I about to die.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Yes, you have preached your d&mdash;d heresies long enough,&#8221; was the answer.
+&#8220;If you&#8217;ve got any prayers to say, you had better be about it.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Luke replied calmly, &#8220;I am not afraid to die, nor for such a cause. It
+is hard to die in such a way.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Leave having been granted him to pray he uttered a most fervent appeal to
+God, soliciting mercy for himself and the negroes, and forgiveness for
+those who were persecuting them and him for righteousness and opinion&#8217;s
+sake. His prayers were rudely cut short, a rope was placed about his neck,
+the end thrown over the limb of a tree and his body suspended in the air.
+The four negroes were next dispatched.</p>
+
+<p>John Goff, an eye witness to the proceedings states that the Klan tried to
+hang two of the negroes, named C&aelig;sar Fredericks and William Hall, at once,
+but not being able to make the bodies balance, Pat Craig, a member of the
+Klan, shot Fredericks in the mouth, while Clay Keith murdered Hall in a
+similar manner. The other negroes were then hung singly, their bodies
+being drawn up slowly to increase their torture.</p>
+
+<p>The defenders of the &#8220;white man&#8217;s race&#8221; then separated, fully satisfied
+with having performed one more service in support of the &#8220;White Man&#8217;s
+Government.&#8221; This outrage was so flagrant that the farce of an
+investigation was gone through with, and the suspected parties arrested.
+An examination resulted in their being discharged. The witnesses were all
+members of the Ku Klux Klan, and had sworn to regard no oath<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[Pg 107]</a></span> that would
+injure one of the brotherhood, and the murderers of William C. Luke still
+go unwhipt of justice. And these are the people who talk of their rights,
+of the oppression of Radical rule, of their determination to establish a
+Democratic Administration.</p>
+
+
+<p class="center"><br />PROSCRIPTION.</p>
+
+<p>It seemed to be the intent of the orders of the Ku Klux Klan everywhere
+throughout the South, to impress upon the people, the fallacy of
+attempting to entertain any opinion inimical to those put forth by the
+Klan. The attacks of the Klan were first directed to such of the people as
+were bold enough to declare themselves unionists and republicans.
+Scourging, banishment or murder were the measures adopted to enforce
+silence, and these terrible agents proved fully potent to accomplish the
+end.</p>
+
+<p>This enforced silence, however, appeared to be dangerous, and was
+certainly more ominous to the order, than the freest utterances of the
+most radical views. &#8220;Those not with the order, must certainly be against
+it,&#8221; said the leaders, and a new crusade was forthwith inaugurated. The
+object of the new movement was to compel every able-bodied white man to
+join the Order and become bound to it by oaths, administered in the Camp.</p>
+
+<p>Notices were accordingly issued by the respective Chiefs of Dominion from
+every Camp, requiring the presence of parties, for initiation into the
+Order. When these were not heeded, they were followed by warnings. If the
+parties were still refractory, then they received a visitation.</p>
+
+<p>The two first cases arising under this new arrangement,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[Pg 108]</a></span> were those of
+Paul Myers and John Chapman, of Jefferson County, Ala. These gentlemen
+were joint proprietors of a small store, and while inwardly opposed to the
+principles of the Ku Klux, had outwardly conducted themselves in such a
+manner as to give no cause of offence to the Klan. They were surprised in
+common with many others, upon receiving a notice to appear for initiation
+into the Jefferson County Camp of the K. K., and they resolutely refused
+to comply with the request.</p>
+
+<p>They were then warned, that they would be &#8220;Ku Kluxed&#8221; if they did not
+come, and the threat was carried out, both of them being severely whipped,
+and their store pillaged. A second warning was sent to them, and this was
+succeeded by a second visitation, more terrible than the first. They were
+so badly beaten at this time, that their lives were despaired of, and as
+soon as they were able, they closed their store and left the place.</p>
+
+<p>They then placed themselves in communication with the United States
+Officials, and under their advice returned, signified their willingness to
+join the order, and did so. By this means they were enabled to arrive at
+the names of parties engaged in various raids, and obtain all information
+necessary to the arrest and conviction of the leaders. This was one of the
+first steps that led to the breaking up of the Klan in Jefferson County.</p>
+
+<p>Messrs. Myers and Chapman managed to impart information to the United
+States Officers, upon which several of the prominent members of the order
+were arrested and lodged in jail, and the visitations ceased.</p>
+
+<p>In White County, Georgia, Mr. William Carson received a notice from the Ku
+Klux of that County, that he must join the order. Carson was the head of
+an intelligent family, a Republican in principle, but who avoided
+expressing his opinions as much as possible.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[Pg 109]</a></span>He paid no heed to the notices and warnings sent him, but pursued the even
+tenor of his way, remaining home as much of the time as his business would
+admit, and being especially careful about going abroad at night.</p>
+
+<p>During November, 1871, he received the long promised visitation. The
+evening meal was through with, the early evening prayers of the children
+had been said, the latter were about retiring, when a number of the Klan,
+armed, mounted and disguised dashed up to the door.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Carson opened the door and mildly asked to know the object of their
+visit. The reply was a rifle shot, which was immediately followed by a
+second, and Mr. Carson fell dead across the door step. The Klan
+disappeared as suddenly as they had come. The grief stricken family raised
+up the inanimate form of the beloved husband and father, only to realize
+that the voice which had so long been the comfort and consolation of the
+little household would never be heard by them again.</p>
+
+<p>This in a christian land! Within the sound of the sabbath bells, and
+almost under the shadow of the sanctuary of the living God. A christian
+gentleman refusing to bind himself with those who had sworn to overthrow
+the Government, and scourge and kill the negro and the radical; shot down
+within his own door, in sight of his wife and little ones, because,
+forsooth, he had the temerity to think and act, politically, as his
+conscience seemed to dictate.</p>
+
+<p>Thinking men throughout the nation will stand for many years to come with
+William Carson, on the spot where he met his awful and untimely fate, and
+they will stand there in the power of consolidated right, beating back the
+onslaughts of the powers of darkness, and raising a monument to the
+justice of that course, which<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[Pg 110]</a></span> by the vigorous action of the nation&#8217;s
+counsellors, and under the provident rule of a beneficent God, is fast
+being established on a solid foundation.</p>
+
+
+<p class="center"><br /><span class="smcap">Shocking Fate of a Quadroon Family.</span></p>
+
+<p>Gaston County, N. C., in the lower part of that State, adjoins York
+County, South Carolina, the State line dividing these two districts. In
+the north-easterly part of Gaston County, in the outskirts of Hoylestown,
+there came to live a family of mulatto people&mdash;or quadroons&mdash;in 1870, who
+were refugees from oppression, brutality and abuse of the Ku Klux Klan in
+Moore County, N. C., whence they had been banished after the husband had
+been shockingly scourged, and the lives of himself, wife, and three
+children threatened, unless he left Moore County within a fortnight from
+the night he was whipped.</p>
+
+<p>At the earnest entreaties of his wife, who feared the next threatened
+visitation of the Klan, her husband consented to quit the place he had
+dwelt in some years, but where he had rendered himself obnoxious to the
+Democratic party around him, through his persistent advocacy of Republican
+sentiments, which he promulgated among his own race, causing them to cast
+their votes for the Radical ticket. And for this offence he was terribly
+whipped and ruthlessly driven from his home.</p>
+
+<p>The name of this family was Noye, Aleck and Elfie, the father and mother
+had both been slaves, belonging originally to the Noye estate, in Moore
+County. Aleck was an ingenious fellow, and his brother Felix, had, twenty
+years previously, invented a peculiar reclining chair for the use of
+invalids; which to this day is manufactured largely in New England, upon
+the identical principle, originated by Felix, for which his old master<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[Pg 111]</a></span>
+took out a patent, and from the royalty of which he has realized a fortune
+first and last.</p>
+
+<p>Aleck was a first rate mechanic and earned a good living. After the war,
+when he became free to exercise his natural talent for his own benefit,
+and had the right to vote, he became an ardent Radical, and proved a
+damaging subject among his brethren in the estimation of the Southern
+Democrats.</p>
+
+<p>He was a brave fellow, and only at the urgent solicitation of Elfie, did
+he decide to quit his former residence, after the scourging above alluded
+to. But he went to Gaston County, found occupation readily and pursued his
+labor faithfully. The old love of &#8220;freedom of opinion&#8221; went with him, and
+his zeal for his colored fellow brethren soon cropped out, in his new
+location. He was &#8220;warned&#8221; to leave Hoylestown, just as he had been
+compelled by the mandate of the Klan to flee from Moore County, but
+refused to go.</p>
+
+<p>On the night of February 7, 1871, Aleck was sitting with his family before
+the fire in his little cabin, after a hard day&#8217;s work; and the children
+were about the room, one of the little girls being at the moment beside
+his knee. The mother was busy getting the homely evening meal ready, and
+was just in the act of removing from before the glowing fire the pone and
+hoe cakes for supper, when the door of the hut flew open, suddenly, a
+musket shot rang out, and <i>she</i> fell head-foremost in upon the blazing
+logs, with a bullet through her brain!</p>
+
+<p>Aleck sprang from his stool, caught his wife in his arms, and drew her out
+of the flames upon the floor. She never spoke from that instant, and, amid
+the screams of the terrified children, Aleck found himself in the gripe of
+two or three disguised ruffians, who entered in advance of half a dozen
+others of the Klan, who quickly pinioned him, and informed him that &#8220;his
+time had come.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[Pg 112]</a></span>His wife, whom he tenderly loved, lay dead before his startled and
+dumfounded gaze, and he could not command himself to speak for a moment.
+Then he commenced to struggle with the brutes, the screams of his little
+ones bringing him back to himself. &#8220;What is this for,&#8221; he exclaimed. &#8220;Come
+along!&#8221; was the sharp reply of the leader of the gang, &#8220;You&#8217;re played out,
+and now you&#8217;re <i>our</i> meat!&#8221; And they swiftly bore the wretched father out
+of the hut, and away from his slaughtered wife and horrified crying babes.</p>
+
+<p>Aleck was taken to the woods, half a mile distant, where the gang tore and
+cut his clothes off of him, and then proceeded to flay him, in accordance
+with the decision of the Camp in that county; the members of which had
+first been put upon his track by members of the Moore County Klan. Upon
+this second visitation, the edict was to &#8220;whip the nigger to death.&#8221; And
+they did the bidding of their leader, as the sequel proved, to the letter.
+He was cut and slashed, and beaten until the breath of life was almost
+gone out of his poor defenceless body, and then their victim was hurled
+into the chapparal, and left to the night wolves of the forest to devour.</p>
+
+<p>It sometimes occurs that our strength increases in proportion to the
+strain that is imposed upon it. Wounds and rough hardship enure the
+sturdy, and provoke their courage, oftentimes, and there is a natural
+instinct in the heart of man, which, under the severest trials and abuses,
+steels his very nerves <i>not</i> to yield to the heaviest blows of calamity or
+adversity&mdash;mental or physical.</p>
+
+<p>Aleck was brave-hearted to a fault. He was likewise physically courageous,
+and could bear the worst kind of punishment, ordinarily, without
+flinching. He was now vanquished, for hours he lay like one who had &#8220;given
+up the ghost,&#8221; beyond conjecture. Still he did not die until the following
+night. He was providentially<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[Pg 113]</a></span> discovered by some negroes, in the woods,
+taken to his cabin, and brought to consciousness.</p>
+
+<p>Before he expired he told his dreadful story to four witnesses, who gave
+it in substance to the United States authorities, as we have now stated
+the details; but unfortunately&mdash;on account of the disguises of his
+heartless tormenters and murderers&mdash;he could give no description that
+pointed to the personal identity of the offenders.</p>
+
+<p>He learned that his wife was dead, before his own lamp of life went out,
+and simply asking of the colored friends who gathered about his
+death-bed-side, that the humble pair might be laid in the same grave, poor
+Aleck Noye sank to his final rest, and yielded up his spirit to the God
+who gave it. The children were taken away by some of the poor neighbors
+who esteemed the quadroon family for their virtues, and universal kindness
+towards them, and thus closed another awful tragedy in North Carolina&mdash;of
+which over six hundred came under the knowledge of the United States
+District Attorney, in a single county, (not all of them fatal, to be
+sure), and which have been duly reported by him, officially, within a
+comparatively limited period, since the close of the war.</p>
+
+<p>Is there no &#8220;combination of purpose or design&#8221; in all these instances of
+wrong? Does there exist &#8220;no organization among these men&#8221; for evil? And
+have these terrible doings no &#8220;political significance&#8221; as is asserted in
+the minority Report of the Congressional Committee upon the Ku Klux Klan
+outrages? In the face of this accumulated, overwhelming, damning
+evidence&mdash;will <i>any</i> one believe that the Honorable gentlemen (who have
+put forth this paper in opposition to the majority Report of that
+Committee), are not themselves convinced that all this is true; and that
+not one half of the shocking story of the infamy of this wretched Klan has
+been told?</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[Pg 114]</a></span>Will it be impressed upon the minds of the public of this enlighted
+nation, North or South, through any sophistry, argument or theorising,
+that all these living witnesses and victims are liars, and perjurors? Have
+not these events occurred? And if so, what is the <i>cause</i> of the wrong
+doing? It happens, unfortunately, for the &#8220;Union Democracy,&#8221; who flout at
+these accounts of the doings of the Klans, that none <i>but</i> Radicals or
+negroes are assailed. And also that <i>never</i> has a Radical been found
+associating with these Ku Klux midnight marauders and, butchers, in an
+attack upon one of their victims! Is there &#8220;no political significance&#8221; in
+this fact?</p>
+
+<p>It is simply idle to propose such a fallacious and utterly groundless
+doctrine. The fact is patent, and the matter is clear as that the sun
+shines over the earth at mid-day&mdash;to the mind of every intelligent being
+who can see or read&mdash;that the opponents of the Republican party, in the
+guise of Ku Klux Klans, supported unblushingly by the &#8220;Union Democracy&#8221; of
+the country, and their Democratic allies, are the combined movers,
+operators, sustainers and abettors of this crusade, and that their first
+and last and continuous aim and hope is to weaken or destroy the Radical
+sentiment in the land.</p>
+
+<p>Thus far, however, thanks be to God! the American people have not been
+deceived by the theories or the assertions of those who would tear down
+the fabric of our wholesome Republican Government. And far distant be the
+day when such attempts to overturn that government may succeed. &#8220;There is
+a right way for us and for our children, and the hand of God is upon all
+them for good, that seek him; but his wrath is against all them that
+forsake him.&#8221;... And it is written, that &#8220;he who shunneth iniquity and
+oppression, and followeth after righteousness, alone findeth life,
+righteousness and honor.&#8221;</p>
+
+
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<hr style="width: 50%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[Pg 115]</a></span></p>
+<p class="center"><span class="huge">THEN AND NOW.</span></p>
+<p class="center"><span class="big">THE NATION&#8217;S SALVATION!</span></p>
+
+<p><br />The outrages narrated in the preceding pages are ample for the purposes of
+this work, in giving such authenticated facts as show the existence of a
+deep-seated conspiracy against law, and the well-being of society.</p>
+
+<p>They have been selected at random, from hundreds of similar instances that
+have come under the personal observation of the writer, and that bear with
+them the same irrefutable evidences of the truth, and serve to enable the
+general reader to comprehend the awful scenes that have been enacted in
+various parts of the South since the close of the war of the Rebellion.</p>
+
+<p>In the light of these outrages, and the positive manner in which the
+responsibility of their authorship has been fixed upon those who had
+determined to ride into power, even though fraud and violence were
+necessary to that end, who shall say that the unfortunate South has not
+suffered vastly more from its pretended friends than from those whom, by
+corrupt means, its people had been led to suppose were their worst
+enemies.</p>
+
+<p>Under the pernicious rule of Andrew Johnson, the disturbing elements of
+the South gathered renewed hope for the final success of the ambitious
+aspirations<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[Pg 116]</a></span> which had been dissipated by a long and bloody war. That
+which had been lost to them through the unswerving integrity of our great
+captains in the field, they thought would be secured through the treason
+of the traitor in the Cabinet, and they marshalled their forces with that
+end in view, and initiated a reign of terror, such as had hitherto been
+unknown even in the darkest hours of adversity within the history of the
+Republic.</p>
+
+<p>The accession of General Grant to the presidency, caused a halt in this
+wild and mad career, and there was a momentary lull in the operations of
+the conspirators. It remained to be seen whether one, coming so fresh from
+the people&mdash;a plain and unassuming man, although laden with honors second
+to that of no military chieftain of ancient or modern time&mdash;would be
+indifferent to the cry for help which was coming up from all parts of the
+then famished land, and fail to apply the appropriate remedy, or whether
+he would appreciate the true situation of affairs there, and would be able
+to say to the disturbing elements of the South, in language which they
+could not well mistake: <span class="smcap">Let us have peace</span>.</p>
+
+<p>Time, which gives the just solution to the most intricate of social and
+political problems, has informed the nation that it had not long to remain
+in doubt. The results thus far attained, show the elaboration of a plan,
+conceived in wisdom, founded upon reason and righteousness, and prosecuted
+with an even regard for the rights of all, that has commended itself to
+civilization everywhere.</p>
+
+<p>The writer has taken especial pains to ascertain, from persons well versed
+in the political situation at this juncture, the policy to be pursued by
+this Administration, and the wisdom of which seems to have been amply
+verified by what followed. The plan to be adopted, they state, was decided
+upon only after the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[Pg 117]</a></span> most mature deliberations into which the counsels of
+the best minds of the country were called. It was necessary that the
+condition of affairs in the South should be arrived at with an accuracy
+that would place the information sought to be obtained beyond all doubt as
+to its genuineness and reliability, as the only means by which such an
+intelligent and comprehensive understanding of the evil could be obtained
+as would enable President Grant to inforce the laws applicable to the
+case, or, in the absence of such, to recommend to Congress the enactment
+of those commensurate with the magnitude of the subject. This was
+accordingly done.</p>
+
+<p>Agents for the work were selected, with no reference whatever to their
+political principles. They were placed under the general charge of a
+competent officer, in whose judgment great confidence was reposed, and
+were instructed to get at the facts regardless of political bias.</p>
+
+<p>Each one of these agents supposed that he had been sent on a special
+mission to ascertain if a certain condition of affairs, said to exist in a
+certain locality, did so exist, and had not the remotest idea that several
+others had been sent on similar missions to sections of the Southern
+country remote from his field of operations.</p>
+
+<p>The evidence of the existence of an armed organization, pernicious in its
+policy and its tendencies, and looking to the disruption of society and
+the compelling of the adoption of political principles obnoxious to the
+people upon whom they were attempted to be forced, came in from all
+quarters. The reports differed in minor details, but had a general
+correspondence that was remarkable.</p>
+
+<p>Some of these agents&mdash;and to whom the writer is indebted for many of the
+facts herein contained&mdash;stated that all strangers in the localities
+visited by them were looked upon with the greatest suspicion, and they<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[Pg 118]</a></span>
+soon learned that the security of their lives depended largely upon the
+enunciation of principles according with the Democracy; that the word
+democrat was the <i>open sesame</i> to the confidence of the leading spirits in
+the various communities through which they passed; that Democracy in the
+South meant rebellion, and that Ku Kluxism meant both, and they governed
+themselves accordingly.</p>
+
+<p>To attain the object, and get the most comprehensive view possible of the
+condition of the people, these men, for the time being, were &#8220;Democrats,&#8221;
+and &#8220;Rebels,&#8221; and would gladly be &#8220;Ku Klux.&#8221; By adroit and skillful
+management they procured themselves to be initiated into the various
+orders of the K. K. K., and were enabled thus to discover the numbers,
+resources, operations, designs, and ultimate purposes of the same. The
+names and residences of the victims, the outrages committed by the Klan,
+were also obtained, until an array was presented that almost challenged
+belief.</p>
+
+<p>The information was full, thorough, and reliable. It left no longer room
+for doubt. Action&mdash;vigorous and energetic action&mdash;based upon laws enacted
+with special reference to the evil to be met, must be had. The suffering
+sons and daughters of the South demanded it; the cause of human justice
+and human freedom demanded it; the enforcement of the rights of the
+recently emancipated bondmen demanded it; and in the interest of law and
+order everywhere throughout the land, there came a demand for the adoption
+of such measures as would save the people of the South from themselves,
+and thus verify the scriptural saying:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;And it shall come to pass, that like as I have watched over them to
+pluck up, and to break down, and to destroy, and to afflict, so will
+I watch over them to build and to plant, saith the Lord.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[Pg 119]</a></span>It was evident that if they were left to their own devices, the people
+must fall into complete anarchy and ruin. Urgent as were these demands,
+nothing could be done hastily. The salvation of a people and the well
+being of a nation was in the balance, and the most profound and mature
+deliberation was necessary at every step.</p>
+
+<p>It was wisely deemed by the Executive that a continuation of the policy
+adopted by him at the outset of his official career with regard to all
+sections of the country would apply to this, viz., the judicious
+enforcement of appropriate laws, enacted with special reference to the
+existing emergency. This was considered a measure which, while it could
+give no just grounds of offense to <i>any</i>, would afford the most available
+means for securing the rights of <i>all</i>, and attaining the desired end.
+There must be no halting by the wayside. The noblest and best blood of the
+nation had been expended for a purpose not yet accomplished. Nothing save
+the complete restoration of order, the harmonization of conflicting
+elements, and the vindication of the rights of <i>all</i> to their own
+individual opinion, and the expression of the same through the ballot-box,
+as their conscience might dictate, could be in any manner commensurate
+with this great sacrifice.</p>
+
+<p>The words of a just and righteous God to a suffering people must be
+redeemed: &#8220;And thou shalt be secure, because there is hope; yea, thou
+shalt dig about thee and thou shalt take thy rest in safety; also thou
+shalt lie down, and none shall make thee afraid.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>On the 23d of March, 1871, President Grant sent to Congress a message, in
+which he touched delicately but unmistakably upon this subject, as
+follows:</p>
+
+<p><i>&#8220;A condition of affairs now exists in some of the States of the Union
+rendering life and property insecure, and the carrying of the mails and
+the collection of the revenue dangerous. The proof that such a condition
+of affairs exists<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[Pg 120]</a></span> in some localities is now before the Senate. That the
+power to correct these evils is beyond the control of State authorities, I
+do not doubt. That the power of the Executive of the United States, acting
+within the limits of existing laws, is sufficient for present emergencies
+is not clear.&#8221;</i></p>
+
+<p>It was further suggested that such legislation should be had as would
+secure life, liberty, and property in all parts of the United States; and
+in pursuance of this recommendation, an act was passed by Congress, and
+approved April 20th, 1871, entitled, &#8220;An Act to enforce the provisions of
+the fourteenth amendment to the Constitution of the United States, and for
+other purposes.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>This was a blow under which the various orders of the Ku Klux Klans reeled
+and staggered like quivering aspens. The leaders of these Klans had so
+long disregarded law as to come to think, apparently, that they were no
+longer amenable to it, and might be a law unto themselves. They predicted
+that any attempt to interfere with them would lead to results in
+comparison with which the scenes enacted during the war of the rebellion
+would sink to insignificance; but, as the results have thus far shown,
+they had reckoned without their host.</p>
+
+<p>They sought to stand upon something like tenable ground and to fortify
+their position before the world, by arguments that were worn threadbare
+long before the war of the Rebellion, and they failed most signally. Their
+fallacious reasonings were impotent to justify their acts, and they
+neither enlisted the sympathies, nor gained the support of those to whom
+they appealed.</p>
+
+<p>The march of progressive republicanism, irresistible in the force of its
+teachings, and the spread of the God-like principles of truth, justice,
+and equality among men, without distinction of race or color, which had
+<i>then</i> encountered the fiercest obstruction within the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[Pg 121]</a></span> power of the
+slaveocracy to throw in its way, <i>now</i> swept over the country, uprooting
+the tyrannical oligarchy of the South, tearing asunder the flimsy veil
+behind which the great wrongs done to the bondmen were sought to be hid,
+and destined, in its onward course, to remove every vestige of those
+pernicious principles so inimical to sound doctrine and the stability of
+governments.</p>
+
+<p>The results produced by the spread of these principles, and the
+enforcement of the laws based thereon, can hardly be estimated. Taking the
+condition of the Southern States both before and after the war&mdash;</p>
+
+<p class="center">THEN AND NOW&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>and we have an array of facts in support of these principles, surpassing
+all theories and arguments.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Then</span>, only white male citizens, twenty-one years of age and over, were
+voters.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Now</span>, <i>all</i> male citizens of twenty-one years and over, having the
+necessary qualifications of residence, etc., have the right of suffrage.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Then</span>, voting was <i>viva voce</i>.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Now</span>, it is by ballot.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Then</span>, there was no registry of voters.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Now</span>, all electors are required to register before voting.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Then</span>, &#8220;returning officers,&#8221; and those issuing commissions, were bound by
+the arithmetical results of the polls, and were required to give the
+commission or certificate of election to the person having the highest
+number of votes.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Now</span>, there are boards of canvassers who are required not only to count the
+returns, but to pass upon questions of violence and fraud, and to exclude
+returns from precincts where they find the elections to have been
+controlled by such means.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[Pg 122]</a></span><span class="smcap">Then</span>, the basis of representation
+was property, or property and slaves, or slaves by enumerating three-fifths of all.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Now</span>, it is all the <i>inhabitants</i> of the land.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Then</span>, white male citizens, and, in some localities, property holders only,
+were eligible to office.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Now</span>, <i>all</i> male citizens, save the few under disabilities by the
+Constitution of the United States, are eligible.</p>
+
+<p>Coming down to a later period in the history of the country, from the time
+when the death of the lamented Lincoln had left the Republic in the hands
+of its worst enemies, to the presidential election in 1868, and what is
+the situation?</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Then</span>, the leaders had succeeded in ripening the people for a revolution
+against law and order, if that were necessary for the maintenance of
+issues, differing in character, but similar in design and spirit, to those
+sought to be gained by the war of the rebellion.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Then</span>, a reign of terror had been inaugurated in the community which
+compelled the tacit acquiescence of those who, desiring to express their
+opinions, were denied the right through the fear of social and political
+ostracism and physical violence.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Then</span>, the Government was in the hands of Andrew Johnson, and the hopes of
+good and just men everywhere, in all sections of the country, of arriving
+at a peaceful solution of the difficulties through reconstruction, were
+blasted, and gave no signs of verification in fruition.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Then</span>, the same spirit was rampant that plunged the country into a
+sanguinary war, and did not hesitate to express itself in a determined
+resistance to the new order of things produced by that war.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Then</span>, men embraced and kissed their wives and children at night, as if
+leaving them for a far-off journey, not knowing, when they lay down,
+whether they<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[Pg 123]</a></span> should awake to peaceful sunlight or to a cabin strewn with
+the bodies of the loved ones.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Then</span> had begun the first fruits of the great judgments through which the
+people were eventually to pass, and by which alone, it appeared they could
+be redeemed.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">And now came the promise</span> of a new order of things. The political situation
+of the country had changed. The reins of government passed into the hands
+of men of whom much was expected. Three years have intervened. The false
+issues that had been raised among the masses are <i>now</i> being swept away.
+The disorganizing elements are tottering to a fall, and those who had
+fostered them are seeking to excuse and palliate their course.</p>
+
+<p>They complain that the civil government of the Southern States had passed
+into the hands of carpet-baggers, who had been forced upon them, who were
+engaged in plundering the people, encouraging the negroes to pillage and
+destroy the property of the country, and placing them in positions where
+they could rule over white men.</p>
+
+<p>But this was not in any manner the real trouble. The same oppressive
+spirit that actuated these men during the days when slavery was a
+recognized institution among them, still obtained. Neither the men of the
+South nor the sojourners from the North were allowed in those days to
+freely express their opinions, if those opinions chanced to be in
+opposition to slavery.</p>
+
+<p>What was treason <i>then</i> against the social and political rights of these
+would-be-masters of a race, is treason <i>now</i> in their minds; for they have
+not yet learned to tolerate the free expression of sentiments in such
+exact antipodes to their early educational training.</p>
+
+<p>To preach the principles of republicanism, to advocate the education of
+the negro, to urge his right to the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[Pg 124]</a></span> elective franchise, were deemed
+seditious practices, and were opposed <i>then</i> just as they are <i>now</i>; there
+is simply a difference in the mode by which this opposition is manifested.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Then</span>, it was by argument, supported by local and Federal legislation.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Now</span>, it is by violence, and the subversion of all law.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Then</span> the North reasoned and counselled with the South; endeavored to show
+them the great wrongs done to the bondman, and that the nation could not
+prosper under the terrible curse of slavery.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Now</span> the strong arm of the Government is put forth to compel a respect for
+the rights accorded to <i>all</i> under the law; a situation which, it appears,
+nothing but the determined front presented by the Administration will lead
+the people of the South finally to accept.</p>
+
+<p>The efforts of the wicked leaders to misguide the masses are persistent.
+Many right-minded people of the South are misled by the false statements
+put forth by those who should, and do know, better, and the pernicious
+results of whose influence time and the dissemination of truthful
+intelligence can alone eradicate.</p>
+
+<p>In many instances Republicans have been elected to office, and these are
+the so-called carpet-baggers. In some localities negroes and mulattoes
+have been elevated to places of power and trust, and, for this, the people
+of the South are largely indebted to their own willful neglect.</p>
+
+<p>The Joint Select Committee to inquire into the condition of affairs in the
+late insurrectionary States, allude to this subject in the following
+language:</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;The refusal of a large portion of the wealthy and educated men to
+discharge their duties as citizens, has brought upon them the same
+consequences which are being suffered in Northern cities and communities
+from the neglect of their business and educated men to <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[Pg 125]</a></span>participate in all
+the movements of the people which make up self-government. The citizen in
+either section who refuses or neglects from any motive to take his part in
+self-government, has learned that he must now suffer and help to repair
+the evils of bad government. The newly-made voters of the South at the
+close of the war, it is testified, were kindly disposed toward their
+former masters. The feeling between them, even yet, seems to be one of
+confidence in all other than their political relations. The refusal of
+their former masters to participate in political reconstruction
+necessarily left the negroes to be influenced by others. Many of them were
+elected to office and entered it with honest intentions to do their duty,
+but were unfitted for its discharge. Through their instrumentality, many
+unworthy white men, having obtained their confidence, also procured public
+positions. In legislative bodies, this mixture of ignorant but honest men
+with better educated knaves, gave opportunity for corruption, and this
+opportunity has developed a state of demoralization on this subject which
+may and does account for many of the wrongs of which the people justly
+complain.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Had the evil ended simply in a neglect upon the part of leading citizens
+to discharge their duties as such, the remedy might have the more speedily
+been applied. But the views of these men were to be carried far beyond a
+mere declination to take part in the political reconstruction. They
+determined that others should not do it and live at peace. Threats and
+violence were brought into requisition to intimidate and prevent the well
+meaning from using their efforts to render the political situation such
+that society could improve rather than be retarded under it.</p>
+
+<p>Evidences of the wide-spread defection are not wanting. That the various
+orders of the Ku Klux Klans, were guided by men of intelligence, is amply
+shown these pages; and the fact is corroborated by testimony<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[Pg 126]</a></span> taken before
+the Investigating Committee above referred to.</p>
+
+<p>One of the witnesses before this Committee was Gen. N. B. Forrest, of
+Tennessee, late of the rebel army, and to whom a vast array of
+circumstances pointed as being the <span class="smcap">Grand Cyclops</span> of the Ku Klux Orders.
+The fact that he was in receipt of from fifty to one hundred letters per
+day from all parts of the South upon the subjects of the Order; that he
+was present in person in districts of the South where its members were
+placed upon trial; that he had the general conduct and management of
+affairs at such trials, hovering near the courts, though not appearing in
+them; that when asked if he had taken any steps in organizing the Order,
+he made reply that he did not think he was compelled to answer any
+question that would implicate him in anything; that when asked if he knew
+the names of any members of the Order, he declined to answer, and finally
+said he could only recollect one name, and that was Jones; these, and
+numerous other circumstances which the investigations have developed, but
+which a want of space forbids reciting here, lead to the inevitable
+conclusion that Gen. Forrest was at the head of the Order.</p>
+
+<p>Some care has been taken to arrive at this fact, as it is evident that a
+man of enlarged experience and liberal education, as General Forrest is
+known to be, would draw about him men of equal caliber, thus
+substantiating the assertions that the operations of the Ku Klux Klans
+were guided by men of intelligence, education, and influence, who had been
+violent secessionists, who had rebelled against the Government, and who
+were determined to thwart all its endeavors to restore peace and harmony
+to the distracted country.</p>
+
+<p>General Terry, commanding military district of Georgia, makes report as
+early as August, 1869, to the Secretary of War, in which he says:</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[Pg 127]</a></span>&#8220;There can be no doubt of the existence of numerous insurrectionary
+organizations, known as the Ku Klux Klans, who shielded by their
+disguises, by the secrecy of their movements, and by the terror which they
+inspire, perpetrate crimes with impunity. There is great reason to believe
+that in some cases <i>the local magistrates are in sympathy with the members
+of these organizations</i>.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>General Terry&#8217;s testimony is borne out by that of the United States
+officials and secret agents and the evidence of recanting members of the
+order. The cases of Harry Lowther, Ex-sheriff Deason, Susan J. Furguson,
+Edward Thompson, and hosts of others, show men to have been engaged in
+these murderous outrages, who were leading lights in the various
+communities in which they lived. It is not therefore true, as has been
+attempted to be made out by the Democratic party, that it is the rabble
+only who are engaged in the treasonable movement.</p>
+
+<p>It is not contended here that all the Democrats of the South are Ku Klux,
+but it has been most conclusively shown that all the Ku Klux are
+Democrats, and that they are sworn to oppose the spread of Republican
+principles. They are determined to rule, and to rule with a rod of iron.
+They have settled in their minds that &#8220;no government but the white man&#8217;s
+shall live in this country, and that they will forever oppose the
+political elevation of the negro to an equality with the whites.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>The report of the above committee, alluding to this condition of affairs,
+very justly says:</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;The facts demonstrate that it requires the strong arm of the Government
+to protect its citizens in the enjoyment of their rights, to keep the
+peace, and prevent this threatened&mdash;rather to say this initiated&mdash;war of
+races, until the experiment which it has inaugurated, and which many
+Southern men pronounce now, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[Pg 128]</a></span> many more have sworn shall be made a
+failure, can be determined in peace. The race so recently emancipated,
+against which banishment or serfdom is thus decreed, but which has been
+clothed by the Government with the rights and responsibilities of
+citizenship, ought not to be, and we feel assured will not be left
+hereafter without protection against the hostilities and sufferings it has
+endured in the past, as long as the legal and constitutional powers of the
+Government are adequate to afford it. Communities suffering such evils,
+and influenced by such extreme feelings, may be slow to learn that relief
+can come only from a ready obedience to and support of constituted
+authority.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>That communities in some portions of the South are still suffering from
+the evils herein referred to is an established fact, and the testimony is
+not confined to the cloud of witnesses herein cited. The existence of the
+Orders of Ku Klux Klans, and the allegations of the outrages perpetrated
+by its members, have been proven before courts of justice. The most
+learned advocates employed to defend these criminals have not attempted to
+deny it.</p>
+
+<p>No less a legal light than the Hon. Reverdy Johnson, of counsel, who
+appeared, to defend persons charged with the commission of crimes similar
+to those narrated in the foregoing pages, has admitted it. The trials in
+which Mr. Johnson appeared as such counsel were had before the November
+(1871) term of the United States Circuit Court, at Columbia, S. C.</p>
+
+<p>On the sixteenth day of the proceedings, the evidence for the Government
+having closed, Mr. Johnson made his opening for the defense; and although
+standing before the court as the legal defender of the members of one of
+the most terrible organizations known to modern times, he was compelled,
+in justice to human decency, and in acknowledgment of the truth of the
+statements presented to the court by the United States<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[Pg 129]</a></span> Attorney, to use
+the following language in his address to the jury:</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I have listened with unmixed horror to some of the testimony which has
+been brought before you. The outrages proved are shocking to humanity;
+they admit of neither excuse or justification; they violate every
+obligation which law and nature impose upon them; they show that the
+parties engaged were brutes, insensible to the obligations of humanity and
+religion. The day will come, however, if it has not already arrived, when
+they will deeply lament it. Even if justice shall not overtake them, there
+is one tribunal from which there is no escape. It is their own
+judgment&mdash;that tribunal which sits in the breast of every living man&mdash;that
+small, still voice that thrills through the heart, the soul of the mind,
+and as it speaks gives happiness or torture&mdash;the voice of conscience&mdash;the
+voice of God.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;If it has not already spoken to them in tones which have startled them to
+the enormity of their conduct, I trust, in the mercy of heaven, that that
+voice will so speak as to make them penitent, and that, trusting in the
+dispensations of heaven&mdash;whose justice is dispensed with mercy&mdash;when they
+shall be brought before the bar of their great Tribunal, so to speak, that
+incomprehensible Tribunal, there will be found in the fact of their
+penitence, or in their previous lives, some grounds upon which God may
+say: <span class="smcap">Pardon</span>.&#8221;</p>
+
+
+<p class="center"><br />THE STATISTICS,</p>
+
+<p>as to the number of those who have been the victims of outrages
+perpetrated by the Ku Klux Klans, are necessarily meagre.</p>
+
+<p>Many of them are recorded alone in the blood of the unoffending victims;
+thousands of mouths that could speak the unwelcome truth, have been
+sealed,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[Pg 130]</a></span> and are sealed to-day, through fear, and dare not make the
+terrible revelations; but sufficient have come to light to afford an
+approximate idea of the extent to which the pernicious designs of the
+Order have been carried.</p>
+
+<p>With all the figures before us, and with a desire to keep within, rather
+than exceed the bounds, the awful truth must be confessed, that <i>not less
+than twenty-three thousand persons</i>, black and white, have been scourged,
+banished, or murdered by the Ku Klux Klans, since the close of the
+Rebellion: an average of more than two thousand in each of the States
+lately in insurrection.</p>
+
+<p>Great care has been had in arriving at these figures. All the available
+sources of information have been exhausted by research, and the facts
+obtained have been in a manner borne out by collateral evidence, tending
+to confirm the accuracy of the statement.</p>
+
+<p>The committee appointed by the Legislature of Tennessee (special session
+of 1868), to investigate the subject, reported to that body, that:</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;The murders and outrages perpetrated in many counties in Middle and West
+Tennessee, during the past few months (1868), have been so numerous and of
+such an aggravated character, as to almost baffle investigation. The
+terror inspired by the secret organizations, known as the Ku Klux Klans is
+so great, that the officers of the law are powerless to execute its
+provisions. Your Committee believe that, during the last six months, <i>the
+murders alone</i>, to say nothing of other outrages, would average <i>one a
+day</i>, or one for every twenty-four hours.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Gen. Reynolds, as commander of the Fifth Military District&mdash;comprising the
+State of Texas&mdash;in his report to the Secretary of War, 1868-9, says:</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Armed organizations, generally known as Ku Klux Klans, exist in many
+parts of Texas but are most<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[Pg 131]</a></span> numerous, bold, and aggressive east of the
+Trinity River. The precise object of the organization in this State, seems
+to be to disarm, rob, and in many cases, murder Union men and negroes.
+<i>The murder of negroes is so common as to render it impossible to keep
+accurate account of them.</i>&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Gen. O. O. Howard, reporting to the Secretary of War (1868-9), says, of
+the State of Arkansas:</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Lawlessness, violence, and ruffianism, have prevailed to an alarming
+extent. Ku Klux Klans, disguised by night, have burned the dwellings and
+shed the blood of unoffending freemen.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>In the Louisiana contested election cases (1868), the terrible extent to
+which these outrages were carried, was shown by most conclusive evidence.
+One of the members of the Committee selected to take testimony in those
+cases, says:</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;The testimony shows that over <i>two thousand persons</i> were killed,
+wounded, and otherwise injured in that State, within a few weeks prior to
+the presidential election; that half of the State was overrun by violence;
+that midnight raids, secret murders and open riots, kept the people in
+constant terror until the Republicans surrendered all claims, and then the
+election was carried by the Democracy.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Referring to the well-authenticated massacre by the Ku Klux, at the parish
+of St. Landry, in 1868, the report says:</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Here (St. Landry) occurred one of the bloodiest riots on record, in which
+<i>the Ku Klux killed and wounded over two hundred Republicans in two days</i>.
+A pile of twenty-five bodies of the victims was found half buried in the
+woods. The Ku Klux captured the masses, marked them with badges of red
+flannel, enrolled them in clubs, marched them to the polls, and made them
+vote the Democratic ticket.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>It is estimated that, in North and South Carolina,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[Pg 132]</a></span> not less than five
+thousand were scourged and killed, while more than that number were
+compelled to flee for their lives. In Florida and Georgia, the outrages
+were not so numerous, but they were marked with greater atrocity and
+brutality.</p>
+
+<p>In further consideration of this question, the numbers and extent of the
+various orders of the Ku Klux Klan, may be taken as a partial guide. The
+testimony of Gen. N. B. Forrest is pertinent to the point. His position as
+<span class="smcap">Grand Cyclops</span> of the Order, lends to his testimony the probability of
+truth which it would not otherwise possess; and when it is considered that
+he gave it with the greatest reluctance, one readily arrives at the
+conclusion that his figures are by no means exaggerated. According to the
+statements made by Gen. Forrest, the Order numbered not less than <i>five
+hundred and fifty thousand men</i>. According to his estimate, there were
+<i>forty thousand Ku Klux in the State of Tennessee</i> alone, and he believed
+the organization still stronger in other States.</p>
+
+<p>Here, then, we have a vast array of men banded together with the secret
+purpose of banishing from the country, or scourging and murdering all who
+differed from them politically. In view of the numbers and extent of this
+organization, and the positive evidence of the fearful work of its
+members, the statement that twenty-three thousand persons have suffered
+scourging and death at their hands, may be considered under, rather than
+over, the real numbers.</p>
+
+<p>In North Carolina alone, eighteen hundred members of the Order stand
+indicted for their participation in outrages upon persons and property.</p>
+
+<p>In South Carolina, the number reaches over seven hundred. Florida,
+Alabama, Tennessee, Louisiana, Texas, and other States, swells the
+aggregate to more than five thousand, and the investigations upon which
+these indictments have been procured, disclose a <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[Pg 133]</a></span>condition of affairs,
+which, it is difficult to conceive, could exist in a civilized
+community;&mdash;much less in a Republic, noted among the nations of the earth
+for its liberality, its progression, its enlarged freedom, the security of
+life, liberty, property, and the equal rights of all.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">The Existence of the Evils</span> herein enumerated is placed beyond all doubt
+and cavil. In the light of the recorded and corroborated facts, the nation
+will demand to know:&mdash;</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p><i>First.</i> How far the present administrators of the Government have
+fulfilled the duties and responsibilities confided to them by the
+people?</p>
+
+<p><i>Second.</i> What has been done to remedy the evils that have made life
+in Southern communities intolerable and unsafe?</p>
+
+<p><i>Third.</i> What steps are necessary to prevent a recurrence of these
+evils in the future?</p></div>
+
+<p>Happily the first two questions have been amply answered in the acts of
+the administration.</p>
+
+<p>A careful study of the necessities of the case, the enactment of
+appropriate laws, applicable thereto, and their vigorous, but humane
+enforcement, constitute a plan, the successful elaboration of which gives
+answer to the third question, of &#8220;how a recurrence of these evils may be
+prevented in the future.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>To those who may have entertained the idea, that the work of restoring
+order and securing to <i>all</i> the citizens equal rights, nothing can be more
+comprehensive than the language of the committee of investigation. In
+alluding to this point, the report says:&mdash;</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>&#8220;Looking to the modes provided by law for the redress of all
+grievance&mdash;the fact that Southern <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[Pg 134]</a></span>communities do not yield ready
+obedience at once, should not deter the friends of good government in
+both sections of the country, from hoping and working for that end.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;The strong feeling which led to rebellion and sustained brave men,
+however, mistaken in resisting the Government which demanded their
+submission to its authority; the sincerity of whose belief was
+attested by their enormous sacrifice of life and treasure, this
+feeling cannot be expected to subside at once, nor in years. It
+required full forty years to develop disaffection into sedition, and
+sedition into treason. Should we not be patient if in less than ten,
+we have a fair prospect of seeing so many who were armed enemies,
+becoming obedient citizens?&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">During the Three Brief Years</span> in which the present administration has held
+sway over the destinies of the nation, what has been accomplished? Upon
+its accession to power, the people of the South were struggling under
+political disabilities, and a consequent social condition that had
+detached them from the onward march of civilization, and was hurrying them
+back to anarchy and ruin. They had become morose, bigoted, violent.</p>
+
+<p>The law of revenge had usurped that of order. They writhed under the
+results of the war and the downfall of their cherished institutions, and
+they had sworn that what could not be gained by a war upon the nation at
+large, should be had by a local war of extermination upon the&mdash;to
+them&mdash;offensive portions of the races, black and white, that opposed, or
+would not coincide with them.</p>
+
+<p>It was a delicate question; but the wisdom of the newly chosen leaders of
+the nation have been equal to the emergency, and, to-day, light begins to
+dawn in the dark places; the supremacy of the law is being established,
+and by a continuation of the same wise<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[Pg 135]</a></span> and humane policy in the future,
+the people of <i>all</i> the States may abundantly hope for the restoration of
+peace and harmony in the South, where, but so recently, all was chaos and
+confusion.</p>
+
+<p>In view of what has thus far been said, I call upon my countrymen,
+everywhere, not to be deceived as to the real issues of the hour.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[Pg 136]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<hr style="width: 50%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[Pg 137]</a></span></p>
+<p class="center"><span class="huge">ADDENDA.</span></p>
+
+<p><br />A retrospective glance at the field of American politics during the past
+twelve years discloses several significant facts worthy of especial
+attention.</p>
+
+<p>The most casual observer cannot fail to have been impressed with the fact
+that there has been a growing disposition in the minds of the people to
+make the welfare of the Country and not the advancement of party, the
+issue, in the struggle for political supremacy.</p>
+
+<p>The political opinions of the masses are based upon foundations materially
+different from those usually accorded them by the would-be leaders, who
+attempt to form opinions for, and force the same upon the people.</p>
+
+<p>There is a spirit in politics that rises superior to party clap-trap and
+unhealthy journalism, and which determines the problem of government with
+far greater accuracy than any amount of machinery designed for the
+accomplishment of any special end.</p>
+
+<p>Political organizations live or die by their <i>acts</i> and not by their
+<i>machinery</i>. Without that spirit that seeks the greatest good of the
+greatest number, they inevitably go to decay and final dissolution. With
+that spirit they rise to the grandeur of well ordered governments.
+Principles may be outraged and promises disregarded for a time but the end
+must come sooner or later, and re-action in such cases usually means
+annihilation.</p>
+
+<p>During the past twelve years the principles and promises of the two great
+political parties of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[Pg 138]</a></span> United States&mdash;the Republican and the
+Democrat&mdash;have been more severely tried and tested than at any similar
+period of time since the foundation of the Republic. Upon the maintenance
+of certain principles and the fulfilment of certain promises, either party
+have based their claims to the confidence of the American people. It
+matters but little how seductive these principles may appear in their
+enunciation, or how glowing the promises for future good, one must judge
+of them, and the people will judge of them as they have been illustrated
+in the acts of either party to whom the reins of Government have been
+confided.</p>
+
+<p>Given that both parties announce that they have the interests of the whole
+people at heart, then the results that have accrued from the accession of
+either to power must be the standard by which their principles must be
+measured, and their good or bad faith established. These results give <ins class="correction" title="original: rise rise">rise</ins>
+to momentous questions. They lead thinking men to ask, if within the
+Democratic ranks, slavery has not always found its ablest advocates.</p>
+
+<p>If it was not the Democratic party that formed a compact and coalition
+with the slave holders of the South, with the understanding that if
+slavery could be maintained, slave holders would help to keep the
+Democrats in power.</p>
+
+<p>Was it not through the supineness of a Democratic Administration that the
+rebellion was engendered and the fortifications and other property in the
+Southern States belonging to the Government allowed to pass unquestioned
+into the hands of its sworn enemies?</p>
+
+<p>Was it not to the Democratic party that the South looked for assistance in
+deed and word to carry on a war aiming at the destruction of the Union?</p>
+
+<p>Did not the South rest its hope in the Democratic party to oppose every
+measure taken by the loyal<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[Pg 139]</a></span> North in defence of the Government and the
+salvation of the Union?</p>
+
+<p>Did not the Democratic party in the interest of their brethren in the
+South, resist the draft in the North, thus causing the bloody riots of
+&#8217;63?</p>
+
+<p>Was it not the Democratic party that opposed emancipation, the policy of
+reconstruction, universal freedom and universal suffrage?</p>
+
+<p>Did not the weakness and vacillation of a Democratic Administration plunge
+the country into a contest by which hundreds of thousands of citizens were
+slain upon the field of battle, their widows and orphans left to the
+charities of the Republic, and the nation saddled with an enormous debt?</p>
+
+<p>Is it not the Democratic party which has striven for years, and which is
+still struggling, to maintain itself in power through its Tammany
+organization at the North, and its Ku Klux organization at the South; the
+one stealing the money of the people to sustain the other in scourging
+them?</p>
+
+<p>Is it not upon the success of the Democratic party that the Ku Klux Klans
+base their hopes for the future? And do they not expect, through the aid
+of their Democratic allies to rescind the present Ku Klux laws, and
+thereafter to scourge and kill radicals and negroes with impunity?</p>
+
+<p>Is it not to the Democratic party that the leaders of the Ku Klux Klans
+look for help and shelter from the consequences of the numerous outrages
+perpetrated by them in the Southern States?</p>
+
+<p>Was it not a Democratic Administration that bequeathed to the country,
+foreign complications of a delicate nature, the foreshadowings of
+internecine war, a depleted Treasury, an impaired credit, a general
+feeling of insecurity in business and financial circles, and an almost
+dismembered Nation?</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[Pg 140]</a></span>Has it not been for years the record of the Democratic party that it has
+conspired against humanity and justice, aided to rivet the fetters of the
+slave, sown the seeds of demoralization in politics, and by its cringing
+subserviency to the slaveocracy of the South aimed a blow at the National
+life?</p>
+
+<p>Is the Democratic party sincere in its profession to accept in good faith
+the thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth amendments to the Constitution,
+while strenuously objecting to all laws designed for the enforcement of
+the provisions of those amendments?</p>
+
+<p>Does the Democratic party hope to blind the people by its shallow pretence
+of a new departure from the principles advocated by it since its
+organization?</p>
+
+<p>Do the old Democratic party ring-masters expect to mislead the people by a
+mere visionary reconstruction of Tammany, and can they hope to erase the
+foul stains upon their party linen to such an extent as to have them
+accepted as pure and unspotted garments?</p>
+
+<p>These are some of the questions at present mooted in the silent heart of
+the Nation. They are the questions of the hour and upon them the people of
+the whole country are called to decide, as to which of the two great
+political parties the future welfare of the Republic may be confided with
+the greatest safety.</p>
+
+<p>In making this decision the minds of the people naturally revert to the
+records of the Republican party as manifested through its administration
+of the Government, its vindication of its professed principles, its
+fulfilment of its promises for the redemption of the nation. And what is
+that record?</p>
+
+<p>Upon its accession to power in 1861 the Republican party found the country
+upon the verge of a civil war. Some of the nation&#8217;s strongholds were
+already in the hands of the traitors, and the incompetency and weakness of
+its predecessor were everywhere apparent. Never in all its history had
+such an <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[Pg 141]</a></span>opportunity been presented it to redeem the pledges it had made
+in the interests of human justice and human freedom. True to its loyal
+instincts it rose to the dignity and the grandeur of the occasion.</p>
+
+<p>It at once instituted the most vigorous measures for the National defence.</p>
+
+<p>By it the most wicked rebellion ever organized among men was put down.</p>
+
+<p>Through the Republican party the integrity of the Union was preserved, and
+its place maintained among the nations of the earth as one of the leading
+powers.</p>
+
+<p>By it financial measures were inaugurated and carried out that have
+brought unparalleled prosperity to the country.</p>
+
+<p>By it the credit of the nation has become firmly established at home and
+abroad.</p>
+
+<p>Through its labors in the cause of human freedom the bondmen have become
+emancipated and assume equal rights with freemen.</p>
+
+<p>By a wise administration in its foreign relations the country is at peace
+with all nations, and the citizens of the American Republic traveling in
+foreign climes are honored and respected.</p>
+
+<p>By a vigorous enforcement of the laws, criminals of every degree, in all
+sections of the country, have been brought to justice.</p>
+
+<p>By it bands of deadly assassins, skulking at midnight behind hideous
+disguises, and warring upon innocent women and children have been
+suppressed and broken up. And by it they have been compelled to answer for
+their numerous crimes.</p>
+
+<p>Through the unwearied efforts of the Republican party Universal Suffrage
+has become a law of the Nation, freedom of speech and freedom of opinion
+everywhere vindicated throughout the land, and the right to exercise the
+elective franchise as their consciences might dictate, guaranteed to all.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[Pg 142]</a></span>By it the States lately in insurrection have been reconstructed upon a
+prosperous basis, and brought back into the folds of the Union.</p>
+
+<p>By it the public lands have been opened to settlers; manufactures
+stimulated through the establishment of a judicious tariff, and labor
+dignified and made prosperous through an enhanced remuneration for
+services performed, and a reduction in the hours of toil.</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 25%;" />
+
+<p>These are but a few only of the acts of the Republican party. They are
+based upon principles through the consummation of which the Government has
+been administered with more than ordinary honor and integrity. Principles
+that have given birth and sustenance to an administration in which every
+appearance of evil has been scrutinized, every unworthy public servant
+ferreted out and punished, every effort put forth to prevent frauds upon
+the Revenue and the Treasury.</p>
+
+<p>An Administration in which the most trivial charges made against it by the
+most personally bitter and partizan newspapers have been probed to the
+bottom.</p>
+
+<p>An Administration in which every law upon the Statute books has been
+enforced with the whole power of the Government.</p>
+
+<p>An Administration by which the rights of the laboring classes have been
+maintained; the status of the newly emancipated citizens defined and
+enforced; the dignity of the flag and the honor of the nation everywhere
+upheld.</p>
+
+<p>An Administration whose Chief Executive was, in the dark hours of civil
+war, &#8220;the hope of America and of Liberty.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>A Chief Executive who resolutely set his face against the enemy upon the
+field of battle until victory crowned our banners. Under whose wise and
+skillful leadership might and right joined hands in solid<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[Pg 143]</a></span> union, and the
+Nation drew the long and refreshing breath of freedom.</p>
+
+<p>A Chief Executive whom the nation sought out as its chosen leader, General
+Grant, the hero of Vicksburg&mdash;the Wilderness&mdash;Richmond. By his bravery in
+the Camp and his sagacity in the Cabinet the fires of liberty burn bright
+and unextinguishable.</p>
+
+<p>By his stern and uncompromising adherence to the interests of the whole
+people, unbounded prosperity rests upon the country.</p>
+
+<p>By the extraordinary financial policy of his administration the public
+debt has been reduced three hundred millions of dollars; the people
+relieved of a burden of taxation amounting to nearly one hundred millions
+of dollars annually, gold brought from 133 to 109, and the public credit
+restored.</p>
+
+<p>Under his administration every loyal soldier of the war of the Rebellion
+who served ninety days in the Union Army acquires the right to a homestead
+upon the public lands, or if dead the right reverts to his heirs.</p>
+
+<p>These are some of the truthful remembrances that come back to the minds of
+the people, and they cast about them in vain for any measure which General
+Grant has ever enforced against the will of the masses, for any act to
+lessen their faith in his personal purity and official integrity, for one
+solitary principle of the party that elevated him to power, which he has
+not vindicated, for one single promise which he has not fulfiled.</p>
+
+<p>To General Grant, the hero of the war of the rebellion, who wrested
+victory from doubtful battle fields, who stood unflinchingly at his post
+in the darkest days of the nation&#8217;s history, the people turn instinctively
+as the standard bearer in the coming political contest.</p>
+
+<p>By his utter self abnegation and his preference for the welfare of the
+masses rather than the political<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[Pg 144]</a></span> aggrandisement of a few leaders, he has
+acquired the most malevolent partizan opposition ever encountered by any
+Chief Magistrate of the Nation.</p>
+
+<p>By the strong voices of the people reverberating over the country, and by
+the more recent utterances from the granite hills of New Hampshire, the
+thrifty valleys of Connecticut, the loyal voters of Rhode Island, his
+policy is endorsed and his future political status insured.</p>
+
+
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<hr style="width: 50%;" />
+<p><strong>Footnotes:</strong></p>
+
+<p><a name="f1" id="f1" href="#f1.1">[1]</a> The Night Hawk is an attache of the Ku Klux Camp, whose business it is
+to scour about, and locate the victims upon whom visitations are ordered to be made.</p>
+
+<p><a name="f2" id="f2" href="#f2.1">[2]</a> Alluding to the shooting of a Mr. Cason a few days before.</p>
+
+
+
+<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
+<hr style="width: 50%;" />
+<p><strong>Transcriber&#8217;s Notes:</strong></p>
+
+<p>Punctuation has been corrected without note.</p>
+
+<p>Other than the corrections noted by hover information, inconsistencies in
+spelling and hyphenation have been retained from the original.</p>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<pre>
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Nation's Peril, by Anonymous
+
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+</html>
diff --git a/35579.txt b/35579.txt
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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Nation's Peril, by Anonymous
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Nation's Peril
+       Twelve Years' Experience in the South
+
+Author: Anonymous
+
+Release Date: March 15, 2011 [EBook #35579]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE NATION'S PERIL ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Bryan Ness and the Online Distributed
+Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was
+produced from images generously made available by The
+Internet Archive.)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+  THE NATION'S PERIL.
+
+  TWELVE YEARS' EXPERIENCE IN THE SOUTH.
+
+  THEN AND NOW.
+
+  THE KU KLUX KLAN
+
+  A COMPLETE EXPOSITION OF THE ORDER:
+
+  ITS PURPOSE, PLANS, OPERATIONS, SOCIAL AND
+  POLITICAL SIGNIFICANCE
+
+  THE NATION'S SALVATION.
+
+
+  WHEREFORE SAY UNTO THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL,
+  I AM THE LORD, AND I WILL BRING YOU OUT FROM
+  UNDER THE BURDENS OF THE EGYPTIANS, AND I WILL
+  RID YOU OUT OF THEIR BONDAGE, AND I WILL REDEEM
+  YOU WITH A STRETCHED-OUT ARM, AND WITH GREAT
+  JUDGMENTS.--_Exodus_, VI, 6.
+
+
+  NEW YORK:
+  PUBLISHED BY THE FRIENDS OF THE COMPILER.
+  1872.
+
+
+
+
+  Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year
+  one thousand eight hundred and seventy-two, by
+  E. A. IRELAND,
+  In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.
+
+
+
+
+INTRODUCTORY.
+
+
+The facts contained in the succeeding pages, have been compiled from
+authenticated sources, and with especial reference to their truthfulness.
+
+That portion derived from the diary of a gentleman, twelve years a
+resident of the South, was not originally intended for public circulation;
+but this, with a variety of other matter obtained from official records,
+formed the basis of a lecture delivered at Tremont Temple, in the city of
+Boston, on the evening of March 27th, 1872, and excited a great degree of
+interest among the people to learn more of the subject-matter treated
+upon.
+
+Communications relating thereto came in from all parts of the country, and
+it was decided by the friends of the compiler to present all the facts in
+convenient form for general circulation, as the best means of complying
+with this demand.
+
+They are here given with such additions to the original matter, as will
+enable the general reader more fully to comprehend the origin, rise and
+progress of the various orders of the Ku Klux Klans, their social and
+political significance, and their general bearing upon the welfare of the
+nation at large.
+
+The thrilling stories of outrage and crime herein narrated, are
+authenticated beyond the power of refutation.
+
+"Against all such crimes, as well as against incompetency and corruption
+in office, the power of an intelligent public sentiment and of the courts
+of justice should be invoked and united; and appealing for patience and
+forbearance in the North, while time and these powers are doing their
+work, let us also appeal to the good sense of Southern men, if they
+sincerely desire to accomplish political reforms through a change in the
+negro vote. If their theory is true that he votes solidly now with the
+republican party, and is kept there by his ignorance and by deception, all
+that is necessary to keep him there is to keep up by their countenance,
+the Ku Klux Organization. Having the rights of a citizen and a voter,
+neither of those rights can be abrogated by whipping him. If his political
+opinions are erroneous, he will not take kindly to the opposite creed when
+its apostles come to inflict the scourge upon himself, and outrage upon
+his wife and children. If he is ignorant, he will not be educated by
+burning his school houses and exiling his teachers. If he is wicked, he
+will not be made better by banishing to Liberia his religious teachers. If
+the resuscitation of the State is desired by his labor, neither will be
+secured by a persecution which depopulates townships, and prevents the
+introduction of new labor and of capital."
+
+That these pages may be received in the same spirit of charity and kindly
+feeling in which they have been penned, is the sincere and earnest wish of
+
+THE COMPILER.
+
+
+
+
+THE NATION'S PERIL.
+
+
+The transition of the social status of the colored classes in the South,
+from a condition of abject servitude to one of the most enlarged freedom,
+crowned with that dearest of all rights to the heart of the freeman, the
+elective franchise, although gradual, and attended with difficulties that
+have seemed at times almost insurmountable, goes steadily forward, under
+the hand of a beneficent and all seeing God, who watcheth alike over the
+just and the unjust, enjoining upon them, in return for his goodness, a
+strict observance of his commands towards one another.
+
+Human progress in this country, during the past ten years, has taken giant
+strides, although met by obstacles of a character so formidable as to
+impose a most extraordinary task upon those engaged in the great work of
+social reform and the establishment of the rights of all to civil,
+religious and political liberty, as guaranteed by the Constitution. The
+spirit of the age is reformatory. Religion, politics, art and the sciences
+have ever been the subjects of reformation and progression, and by these
+have been lifted from comparative darkness in the past to the broad fields
+of light in the more intelligent present. In the grand plan of an all-wise
+Creator, nothing has been allowed to permanently obstruct the onward march
+of the races and nations of the earth; and for the accomplishment of this
+glorious purpose, no sacrifice, it appears, has been deemed too great that
+would aid in its fulfillment. The travail and labor of nations, the
+desolation and destruction of whole communities, and in some instances the
+entire annihilation of races of men, have been the penalties demanded and
+paid for their long persistence in the ways of sin and wickedness.
+
+The American Republic has been no exception to the imperative rule. It
+bore within its folds the crime and curse of slavery, a foul and corroding
+ulcer that could only be burned out and destroyed by the terrible
+visitations of fire and the sword, and in the eradication of which all the
+wisdom of the nation's greatest counselors, all the terrible enginery of
+modern warfare, and the skill and persistence of the chosen leaders of the
+people were to be brought into requisition. A fierce and sanguinary
+contest of four years' duration ended, under the hand of God, in the grand
+triumph of the right; but the war of the rebellion left the South in a
+state of social disintegration, in which the leading spirits who had
+fomented the internecine contest assumed to control the masses, and
+perpetuate under another form, and accomplish by other means, that which
+had been lost to them in the surrender and disorganization of their
+armies.
+
+The condition of the South, during the past twelve years, is vividly
+illustrated in a series of letters written by Mr. Justin Knight, a
+gentleman of undoubted integrity, a resident of the South during the
+period referred to, and which are here given in a narrative form for the
+better convenience of the reader. Speaking of himself and the peculiar
+circumstances that brought him to the Southern States, Mr. Knight says:
+
+"Born in close proximity to the metropolis of New England, where I
+received the advantages of a collegiate education, and the religious
+instruction of parents who, without bigotry, were opposed to every
+species of wrong, I early conceived a desire to enter upon the ministry,
+which I did in 1857, almost immediately after the close of my collegiate
+life.
+
+My constitution, at no time robust, was entirely inadequate to the labors
+imposed upon me by the duties of this new position. My health continued
+gradually to give way until the winter of 1859, when my physician decided
+that a change of climate was essentially necessary to my well-being, and
+under his advice I proceeded to Charleston, S. C., and took up my
+residence with a married sister, then living there in affluent
+circumstances.
+
+At this peculiar epoch in the history of the country the political
+atmosphere of the South was literally pestilential. Under the manipulation
+of skillful, but unscrupulous leaders, whole communities had become imbued
+with a spirit hostile to the governing powers. They were led to believe
+that the time for argument had past, and that nothing was now left them,
+but to make a demand for what they were pleased to consider their inherent
+rights;--that of keeping their fellow men in bondage--and if this were
+refused, to declare themselves for war. The portentious clouds of the
+impending crisis continued gathering thick and fast, and it required no
+prophet's eye to discern, or voice to foretell that they must soon burst
+upon the country in a deluge that could only be stayed by an enormous
+waste of blood and treasure.
+
+A sojourn of nearly eighteen months among the southern people, and the
+facilities afforded me from the position occupied by my sister's family,
+gave me an unusual opportunity to observe the passing pageant of events.
+The masses had been gradually worked over to the interests of the more
+intelligent leaders, until reason and argument ceased further to influence
+them. They seemed wholly given up to the one idea of slavery, or war, and
+they had been led to believe that the first demonstration of organized
+resistance to the regularly constituted powers, would bring the North at
+their feet in abject supplication for peace. I was anxious to know how the
+defiant and belligerent attitude that was being assumed would be received
+in the land of my birth, and as my health had sufficiently improved to
+warrant my again returning there, I did so at the earliest opportunity,
+only to realize that the people of the North were buckling on their armor,
+with the deep seated purpose of going forth to battle for the right.
+
+There was a significance in all "this busy note of preparation," that I
+could fully understand and appreciate. I had seen enough to convince me
+that nothing but the severest chastisement, administered by the hands of
+the Lord through the instrumentality of his chosen people, could bring our
+misguided brethren of the South to a just and proper sense of their duty
+to God and their fellow-men. They had long "eaten of the bread of
+wickedness; and drank the wine of violence," and they had utterly
+forgotten that "righteousness exalteth a nation; but sin is a reproach to
+any people."
+
+An opportunity was speedily afforded me to accompany a regiment to the
+field as chaplain, and I soon found myself marching southward with a body
+of noble men who had been foremost in responding to the call of President
+Lincoln, to defend the Union and preserve the integrity of the nation. The
+incidents of the four years of bloody strife that ensued, need not be
+alluded to here. They were passed by me, in the midst of danger, offering
+consolation to the dying, caring tenderly for the dead, when circumstances
+permitted, and coming out of all, through the hand of God, unscathed.
+
+The results aimed at upon the part of the ruling powers, seemed to have
+been accomplished. The Proclamation of Emancipation had gone forth from
+the executive head of the nation, and solid rows of glittering steel had
+followed it up, and compelled its enforcement. The foulest blot upon the
+pages of our history as a Republic had been erased, and its down-trodden
+children liberated from a thraldom more humiliating in design, and wicked
+in purpose, than that which yoked the children of Israel under the hands
+of the Egyptian task masters. In them the promise of the Great Jehovah had
+been verified: "Wherefore:--say unto the Children of Israel, I am the
+Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burden of the Egyptians."
+The right had been vindicated; the shock of contending armies was over,
+and the nation waited patiently to see in what condition the contest had
+left the conquered.
+
+It is my purpose, in these pages, to give the exact facts, "nothing
+extenuate, nor set down aught in malice." I shall endeavor neither to
+exaggerate the history, or conceal the truth. I am aware that the
+revelations which follow are so terrible in their nature as to almost pass
+the bounds of belief; that the agonizing scenes herein depicted, and which
+have been the results of the same demoniac spirit which actuated and
+prolonged the war, had they been told as occurring among the semi-barbaric
+nations in the uttermost parts of the earth, might be the more readily
+received by my countrymen as truthful relations; but which, transpiring at
+our own doors, within the sound and under the shadow of the Gospel, appear
+like the mythical creations of a distorted imagination rather than actual
+revelations from real life.
+
+In the interest of all progress, and for the sake of God and humanity, I
+would it were so; but the contrary is the fact. Hundreds of living
+witnesses stand ready to verify the statements under oath. Scores of the
+unoffending skeletons of gibbeted negroes and whites attest the solemn
+truth. The exact localities, the names and residences of the victims, the
+hour and day, the month and year of their murderous whipping and
+ignominious death, are given with a fidelity that challenges
+contradiction, and forms an array of evidence at once incontrovertable and
+overwhelming.
+
+The ever changing current of events again called me to the South. My
+sister's family had been almost destroyed by the death of her husband, who
+had cast his fortunes with the cause of the rebellion and had paid the
+penalty with his life, and it was necessary I should aid her in adjusting
+the affairs of the estate which had been left in a very unsettled
+condition, and required much time to properly arrange. I was glad of the
+opportunity thus afforded me to observe the effects of the struggle that
+had just closed; and prepared my mind to take a calm and dispassionate
+view of the situation, as became a seeker for the truth who was desirous
+of arriving at the hidden springs underlying the social crust, with a view
+to the remedy of the impending evil, if such could be found. I believed in
+the integrity of the great mass of the people, and could see that they had
+been deceived and led on to destruction by the ingenious plans of men,
+skilled in human diplomacy, and having a profound knowledge of the
+character of the people whom they designed to move for their own wicked
+purposes.
+
+The spirits of these leaders chafed under the bitter disappointment of
+defeat. It was apparent they would continue to foster seditions, organize
+conspiracies against the powers that be, and use every effort to fan into
+life the dying embers of the "lost cause." These men controlled certain
+portions of the local press, and either threw obstacles in the way of the
+dissemination of proper and just principles, or used the power in their
+hands to sow the seeds of dissention broadcast throughout the States so
+lately in insurrection.
+
+All the misery that had accrued from the war, the families that had been
+sundered; the blood of loved ones that had watered the various
+battle-fields of the South, and the bones of beloved kindred that lay
+whitening there; the numerous sacrifices of wealth, family, and social
+position that had been made, the property lost and destroyed; the general
+stagnation and prostration of business, and the feeling of dread and
+insecurity that followed, were all attributed to the rule of the
+republican North.
+
+There were mutterings of revenge and breathings of threats and slaughter
+against the race that had just been raised up out of bondage. Slavery, the
+former bane and curse of this country, was already dead. Its putrid
+carcass was no longer of the material things of earth, but its ghostly
+spirit still stalked abroad among its mourners to keep alive the memory of
+its wicked example in the minds of those who, born and reared in the folds
+of its garments, and nurtured at its breast, could not cast aside their
+early prejudices and banish from their hearts, its former evil influences.
+They no longer remembered that "the way of the Lord is strength to the
+upright," and that "destruction shall be to the workers of iniquity."
+Thousands of misguided and misdirected men cherished in their bosoms a
+spirit of animosity toward those who had aided with their blood and money
+in the liberation of the slave; and it was this very spirit of hatred
+which had in a manner demoralized the South and created a feeling of
+uncertainty and insecurity among men of capital, that proved a serious
+barrier to their investing in our railroads and factories, and the
+improvement of our lands; and, as a natural sequence, retarded our social
+and financial progress.
+
+Society at this time was divided into several classes. Many who were
+disposed to accept and abide by the new order of things, dared not express
+their real sentiments from fear of social and political ostracism. Men of
+intelligence and education, but who had allowed the thirst for power and
+political preferment to absorb and swallow up the promptings of their
+better nature, had begun the process of gaining over to their interests
+the very worst elements in the social circle beneath them, with a view to
+carrying out their unholy designs. This class in turn, and under the
+management of the more intelligent, intimidated still another class and
+compelled them to join in a crusade that had for its objects the most
+infamous ends ever attempted to be gained by men. A complete connection
+had thus been formed, reaching from the unscrupulous leaders, to the
+masses, and embracing in its chain every class of society needed for the
+success of the general plan.
+
+The standard bearers of the devil himself, coming direct from the lowest
+depths of the infernal regions, with seething vials of wrath and an
+earnest intention to do the bidding of their master, could scarcely have
+set on foot a conspiracy more damnable than this. Men, women and children
+were to be included in the portending storm, religion and human decency
+were to be outraged, the law of the land and its administrators defied,
+and justice scoffed at in the pillory. The ordinary safe-guards to the
+social well being of the community were to be swept away whenever they
+became inimical to the designs and objects of the unholy alliance thus
+formed. Men were to be banded together and bound by oaths that ignored all
+others and made these supreme. Where the life or liberty of one of the
+brotherhood was in jeopardy, he was to be saved at all hazards. Perjury
+and subornation of perjury were to over-ride courts of justice and render
+abortive, any attempt to bring these lawless bands to punishment through
+their instrumentality. Nothing was to be too sacred for the vandal hands
+of these marauders who, under the guidance of the more intelligent
+leaders, were to go abroad like a consuming flame, until the land, that
+God had made pre-eminently beautiful for the abode of peace and
+contentment, had been smitten with a scourge of fire and blood, and their
+own wicked purposes had been accomplished. It seemed as if the voice of
+the Lord had again spoken through the prophet Ezekiel, "say to the forest
+of the South, hear the word of the Lord. Thus saith the Lord God: Behold I
+will kindle a fire in thee, and it shall devour every green tree in thee,
+and every dry tree; the flame shall not be quenched, and all faces from
+the South to the North shall be burned therein."
+
+It was to be a dual struggle. The colored races were to be subjugated or
+destroyed; and the humane efforts of the Government and the Administration
+to restore peace and harmony, and commercial prosperity, and to give to
+the citizens, of every creed and color, free and equal rights was
+everywhere to be opposed, that the experiment of reconstruction might
+become a hissing and a by-word, and go forth to the world an ignominious
+failure.
+
+The masses were kept in utter ignorance of these designs. They were in a
+state bordering upon absolute frenzy at the losses they had incurred from
+the fratricidal war that had left them bankrupt as individuals and
+communities, and with the peculiar anxiety that seems to pervade the
+hearts of all men, to endeavor to find some reasonable excuse for sins
+committed, they accepted the theories that had been so ingeniously
+prepared, and so carefully put before them, and became, like the clay in
+the hands of the potter, ready to be fashioned in any manner of form that
+might be decided upon by their wicked counselors.
+
+There was an oppressive and an ominous calm in the atmosphere of the South
+at this time (1866) that foreboded no good. Men viewed each other with
+distrust. Those who seemed well-disposed at first, and who had been
+casting about themselves and gathering up the fragments, with a view to
+renewing their peaceful pursuits, suddenly abandoned their labors. Rumors
+of outrages upon persons and property, vague at first and without apparent
+authenticity, began to fill the air. Bands of armed and disguised men were
+said to be travelling the highways, burning the dwellings, and robbing and
+murdering inoffensive citizens under the most revolting circumstances. The
+scriptural command to "devise not evil against thy neighbor, seeing he
+dwelleth securely by thee," had seemingly become obsolete among the
+people. It was evident that the mysterious order, the existence of which
+had so long been hinted at, had begun its fearful work, and under the then
+complexion of affairs in the nation at large, none could divine the end.
+
+The death of President Lincoln had left the Executive, in this the hour of
+the nation's great peril, in the hands of one from whom the disorganizing
+elements of the South had much to hope. The hand of justice was for the
+time being paralyzed, and the occasion seemed most opportune for the
+conspirators to perfect their terrible organization, and set in motion the
+secret machinery by which it was hoped to accomplish their base purposes.
+
+It was evident from such facts as could be gathered relative to these
+outrages, that there was a distinction as to the classes of people who
+were the sufferers. The negroes were, of course, the objects upon which
+the wrath of the new order was vented; but there were numerous instances,
+as will be observed in the succeeding pages, where whites were scourged
+and murdered as well. The fact that certain citizens, who had committed no
+offense against the laws, were selected from the various communities, and
+subjected to the grossest indignities, led to inquiry as to the causes
+that had brought these inflictions upon them.
+
+It was ascertained that, in the preponderance of cases, warnings had been
+sent to the victims demanding that they must retract their political
+faith, cease to side with radicals, and abandon their interest in the
+negro, or they must leave the country; failing in this, they were to be
+scourged to death.
+
+Negroes who approached the ballot-box to exercise the newly conferred
+right of suffrage were watched as to how they voted, and warned that they
+must not vote the "radical ticket." If they paid no heed to this warning,
+and were detected in the independent exercise of the right of suffrage,
+they received a visitation; their houses were pillaged, the persons of
+their women violated, their children scattered, and themselves hung, shot
+or whipped to death. The reader, in perusing the chapter of authenticated
+outrages that follows will agree with the writer that there is no
+exaggeration of language here, nor need of any. Nothing is stated that has
+not been put to the severest test of truth; and nowhere are these
+incidents recorded, in which the living witnesses have not been found, and
+the facts obtained from them.
+
+I was long in believing that such deeds, worthy alone of the incarnate
+fiend himself, could be perpetrated in a civilized community. I made all
+possible allowance for the political and social situation. I determined to
+know whereof I affirmed, and resolved that when I obtained this knowledge,
+I would give the information to the country. I was as free from political
+bias as it was possible for a man to be who felt it to be a part of the
+duty he owed to society to exercise the elective franchise. I had never
+mingled in politics, but had uniformly cast my vote with either political
+party which I deemed had the best interests of the nation, and the welfare
+and advancement of the people, at heart, and could not bring my mind to
+believe, at first, that there was a deep political significance
+underlying this movement, and that it had its ramifications from State to
+State, all leading to one great center, with one common head who, in the
+interest of any political party, governed and directed the dreadful
+machine, and that it meant nothing less than the subversion of the popular
+government.
+
+The facts and figures gradually undeceived me. I could see that there was
+a mysterious something at work that had closed men's mouths most
+effectually, and that disaffection, consternation and terror gained ground
+daily. Even, my brethren of the pulpit, with whom I was associated in the
+different places I visited, were affected to such a degree that they no
+longer dared to preach the free sentiments of their hearts.
+
+No one but an actual resident of the South, at this time, can form
+anything like an adequate idea of the reign of terror, that this condition
+of affairs had inaugurated during the succeeding two years and more, of
+President Johnson's administration. Everywhere throughout the South that I
+travelled, the hydra headed monster met me. I tried to believe in all
+charity that the movement sprung from the ignorant and uneducated masses
+who saw, or thought they saw, the origin and cause of all their
+misfortunes in the negro, and the liberal minded whites of the South who
+had countenanced and urged his enfranchisement in the interest of human
+progress; but the facts were everywhere against the theory.
+
+It was evident that a formidable organization, the result of intelligent
+men counseling together, and devising wicked plans for the accomplishment
+of wicked purposes, existed in all the Southern States; that it had its
+ritual, its oaths, its signs, tokens and passwords, its constitution,
+by-laws and governing rules, its edicts, warnings, disguises, secret modes
+of communication, intelligent concert of action, and all framed and
+planned in a manner that showed the authors to be men of education and
+superior minds. In North and South Carolina, in Georgia, Alabama and
+Tennessee, in Florida, Mississippi and Kentucky, Arkansas, Louisiana and
+Texas, it existed in a greater or less degree, and its advent was
+everywhere marked with the most brutal outrages.
+
+The intelligence of these wrongs was not spread from one community to
+another by the newspapers. These, when not in the interest of the order
+itself, were intimidated into silence. When the outrages were so flagrant
+as to compel some show of attention, such as necessitated the action of a
+coroner, juries were selected, the members of which were members of this
+mysterious order, and the verdict usually was that the victim came to his
+death by injuries inflicted by himself or by negroes.
+
+The disaffection spread daily. The seeds of the order, and their fruits
+everywhere manifested, were sown in the courts and grand juries. Under
+such a condition of affairs there was no longer security for life or
+property. The idea of obtaining justice for any of the wrongs perpetrated,
+passed out of the minds of the sufferers entirely. The effect was
+generally demoralizing. Official incompetency and corruption aided rather
+than stemmed the rushing torrent that was bearing this section of the
+Republic to anarchy and financial ruin.
+
+A large class of persons not heretofore alluded to, but who formed a very
+important part of society, looked on without apparent interest. These were
+men of wealth and education, who neither sought to justify the wrongs
+being done, or made any attempt to oppose them, but by their very silence
+gave a tacit consent to the wicked plans of the conspirators. They were a
+class "who rejoice to do evil and delight in the forwardness of the
+wicked."
+
+A system arose exactly in counterpart with that of the old Spanish
+Inquisition. Personal hatred toward a citizen, black or white, was
+sufficient warrant for reporting his name and residence to the members of
+the order as a "radical republican" and a "negro worshiper," and he was
+forthwith warned to leave the place on penalty of being whipped, or
+suffering a worse fate. Hundreds of young men with whom the writer has
+conferred, pointed to men of maturer age, property holders and men of
+influence, and confessed that they had been induced to enter the general
+conspiracy, because they were told these men were at its head and after
+joining it learned that they had not been deceived in this respect, and
+yet they found the order so arranged that they could discover nothing, and
+were allowed to know nothing, of its workings, beyond the circle to which
+they had been admitted, and however revolting the practices of their
+associates were to them, the oath they had taken, and the feeling of
+terror inspired by the initiation and the penalty attached to recanting
+members, compelled them to continue their allegiance, and acquiesce and
+aid in the outrages.
+
+Even the women seemed to have caught the general infection, and sought to
+justify the dreadful events transpiring about them upon the ground that
+this was the only way in which the rights and liberties of the South could
+be preserved.
+
+That men holding high official positions, and moving in the most
+respectable circles, organized these outrages, selected the victims and
+accompanied the rabble in the execution of their designs, is indisputable.
+Inoffensive women seeing their husbands, fathers, and brothers torn from
+their sides and scourged in their presence, became infuriated at the
+indecent spectacle, and in their agonized frenzy, rushed upon the
+assailants and wrenched off the masks behind which they skulked, only to
+behold the faces of men who, up to that hour, they had deemed the ones to
+whom, from their superior intelligence, they should have looked for
+counsel.
+
+Traveling from place to place and directing the general movement, were men
+who had held positions as generals in the armies of the rebellion.
+Disappointed political tricksters aiming to elevate to power a party whom
+they claimed had been in sympathy with the rebel cause North and South;
+and determined to do this though the land of their birth should go to
+ruin. Anarchy and confusion usurp the places of law and order, and the
+blood of the outraged ones reach up to heaven in cries for vengence.
+
+These men overlooked the fact that they were setting in motion a power
+that was destined to pass from their control, and make them as a people of
+whom it was written: "I will even give them unto the hand of their
+enemies, and into the hand of them that seek their life; and their dead
+bodies shall be as meat unto the fowls of the heaven, and to the beasts of
+the earth." They desired to heed no note of warning regarding the future
+so that the ends of the present were accomplished; and under their
+guidance, lust and rapine and murder stalked abroad, and the land seemed
+to be wholly given up to the machinations of the evil one and the
+unbridled license of his chosen servants.
+
+Nowhere upon the dial plate of the nineteenth century did the index finger
+of the hand of God point with such unerring and terrible certainty. It
+seemed as if the Lord had spoken once more as he spake in the days of the
+Prophet Isaiah:
+
+"What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in
+it? Wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it
+forth wild grapes? And now go to. I will tell you what I will do to my
+vineyard. I will take away the hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten up;
+and break down the walls thereof, and it shall be trodden down. And I will
+lay it waste; it shall not be pruned nor digged; but there shall come up
+briers and thorns * * * for the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house
+of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant; and he looked for
+judgment, but behold oppression; for righteousness, but behold a cry."
+
+Good men bowed their heads in anguish. They had lifted their eyes to the
+far North, from whence should come their help, and they had looked in
+vain. The body corporate was too fatally diseased to cure itself
+Rottenness and corruption hung upon its borders, and were slowly sapping
+the foundations of its life. Its energies were prostrated, its internal
+recuperative power destroyed. Help must come from without; and the earnest
+prayers of the devoted and doomed went up to the throne of God in
+heartfelt supplication, that wisdom might dwell in the hearts of the
+counsellors to whom the destinies of the nation had been confided; but it
+seemed as if the heavens were as adamant that could not be pierced, and
+that no answer would be vouchsafed to the sincere appeal."
+
+Such was the situation at the close of President Johnson's term of office,
+and the elevation of General Grant to the presidential chair. It remained
+to be seen whether the incoming administration would turn the deaf ear to
+the suffering and disorganized South as its predecessor had done, or
+whether, under the guidance of its new Executive head, order should be
+brought out of chaos, the crooked paths made straight, and the prophecy
+fulfilled: "Behold, I will redeem them with an outstretched arm."
+
+The recitals that follow give answer to this query more conclusively than
+the most elaborate of arguments. They show, from statistics gathered under
+the most favorable circumstances by the writer in person, the existence of
+a numerous and formidable organization of armed men, working in secret,
+disguising themselves beyond all hope of recognition, committing
+depredations upon persons and property, frequently resulting in the total
+destruction of both, and instituting the most bitter and inhuman
+persecutions, for opinion's sake, that ever disgraced the history of a
+nation.
+
+The facts are beyond all hope of successful denial. They are born out by
+the records of the local and federal courts, by the testimony of the
+surviving sufferers and by the voluntary confession of recanting members
+of the organization.
+
+A full expose of the order, its origin and secrets, its designs and
+purposes, its operations and results, are related with an unswerving
+fidelity to the truth, and with all charity to the people with whom it had
+its rise, and among whom, by the grace of God, and under the firm but
+humane course pursued by the present administration in the enforcement of
+the law, and the establishment of the right, it must have its fall. The
+information came to the knowledge of the writer through those who had been
+active members of the order, and who had abandoned it the moment the
+strong arm of the Government had been felt in the vigorous enforcement of
+the laws, through its secret agents, thus rendering it safe for them to do
+so.
+
+The revelations that follow, speak in tones that must reverberate
+throughout the length and breadth of the continent, and are submitted as
+terrible evidences of the fearful condition to which communities may be
+reduced, when, ignoring the cardinal principles of right and justice, they
+abandon themselves to the control of unscrupulous men, whose overweening
+ambition destroy every other sentiment, and who esteem no measures too
+vile or inhuman that will lead to the accomplishment of their own base
+ends.
+
+
+
+
+ORDERS OF THE KU KLUX KLANS.
+
+THE CONSTITUTIONAL UNION GUARDS.--KNIGHTS OF THE WHITE CAMELIA.--ORDER OF
+INVISIBLE EMPIRE.--THE WHITE BROTHERHOOD.--UNION AND YOUNG MEN'S
+DEMOCRACY.
+
+
+ORIGIN, ORGANIZATION, INITIATION, OATHS, OBJECTS AND OPERATIONS.
+
+  _He discovereth deep things out of darkness;
+  And bringeth out to light the shadow of death._
+                                      JOB. XII., 22.
+
+In the early part of 1866, or nearly a year after the close of the war of
+the rebellion, there was organized in the Southern States, a secret order,
+known as the "Constitutional Union Guards," having a constitution,
+by-laws, oaths of allegiance, modes of recognition and approach, and a
+ritual, all of which were legendary and unwritten. Its places of meetings
+were styled Camps. Its officers were: a "Commander," "South Commander,"
+"Grand Commander," "Chief of Dominion," and "Grand Cyclops," or supreme
+head of the order.
+
+The Commander is the chief officer of a local Camp. He issues the call
+for, and presides over, all its meetings. Initiates members; administers
+the oath; invests them with the signs, grips, and passwords necessary in
+making themselves known as members of the Order; and imparts to them the
+signal code of sounds by which they are governed in their excursions, and
+at times when, for obvious reasons, it is not expedient to utter words of
+command.
+
+The South Commander is, to all appearances, a lay member of the Camp. His
+power, however, when he chooses to exercise it, is superior to that of the
+Commander. He is an officer without apparent function, and yet it is a
+portion of the oath attached to the second, or supreme degree, that he
+shall be obeyed in preference to any other known or constituted authority.
+He can prorogue the Camp, or dissolve it altogether, whenever he deems
+fit, and is amenable to no one inside of the Camp of which he is a member.
+
+The office of this functionary is not an elective one. Whenever a Camp is
+formed, the authority under which it works assigns to it a South
+Commander, and he is the only person through whom communications can be
+received from, or made to, that authority. All the doings of the Camp, the
+number and names of its members, the warnings issued, the persons visited,
+and all other proceedings, are carefully noted by the South Commander, and
+reported by him to the Grand Commander of the District in which the Camp
+is located, and he is the only member of the Camp who has knowledge of
+that officer. The South Commander is not permitted to know any Grand
+Commander save the one to whom he reports, nor does he know to whom his
+superior is amenable.
+
+The Grand Commander has charge of a District comprising a certain number
+of Camps (usually seven), from the South Commanders of which he receives
+reports as above stated. It is his duty to condense these reports into
+cypher, which he transmits to the officer above him, known as the Chief of
+Dominion, and from whom he receives the general instructions and orders to
+be transmitted to the various Camps of his District through the South
+Commander. He in turn is not permitted to know any Chief of Dominion save
+the one to whom he reports; and, like his inferiors, is in utter ignorance
+as to whom his superior is amenable.
+
+The Chief of Dominion has charge of all the operations of the Order in
+some State assigned to his care. He receives reports from the Grand
+Commanders thereof; and transmits the same to the "Grand Cyclops," or
+supreme head of the Order, and President ex-officio of the "Supreme Grand
+Council." This Supreme Grand Council is composed of the Chiefs of
+Dominions, and from them emanate the instructions which, being decided
+upon in the conclave of the Council, are promulgated to the rank and file
+through the Grand Commanders, South Commanders, and Commanders of Camps.
+
+By this peculiar system of organization the moving spirits of the Order
+are conversant with all that transpires below them, while their own
+identity is carefully concealed from the masses whom they design to move
+for their own vile purposes. The objects of the Order are somewhat
+covertly set forth in the oaths administered to the members, but previous
+to this time the grand designs intended to be accomplished were known only
+to the members of the Supreme Grand Council. The initiation is comprised
+in two degrees, the first or probationary degree being intended to test
+the members, and the second or supreme degree for those of the first who
+have been found worthy of advancement. The signs, grips, &c., are the same
+in both degrees, with the exception of one test word, and a supplementary
+ritual hereafter to be explained.
+
+
+ORDER OF INITIATION.
+
+FIRST, OR PROBATIONARY DEGREE.
+
+The first or probationary degree of the Order is intended for the masses.
+The candidate for initiation is selected, so far as possible, with
+reference to his political proclivities, if he has any. He must be known
+to the member proposing him to be opposed to the Radical party; to be or
+to have been in sympathy with the cause of the rebellion; to be opposed to
+the elevation of the negro to a social and political equality with the
+whites; and to have a hatred of negro worshipers, carpet-baggers, and
+scallawags, as those terms are interpreted in the Order.
+
+These points being satisfactorily settled, he is notified to proceed to a
+secluded place on a designated night. There he is met by three Conductors,
+who blindfold and lead him to the vicinity of the Camp, which, in order
+the more effectually to guard against surprise, rarely assembles twice in
+the same place. On the way he and his Conductors are encountered by a
+guard or sentinel, who challenges the party with:
+
+     "Who comes here?"
+
+     His Conductors reply: "A friend."
+
+     The guard asks: "A friend to what?"
+
+     He is answered: "My country."
+
+The candidate is then allowed to pass into the Camp, and is conducted to
+the center of the assembled members, when the following oath is
+administered to him by the Commander:
+
+     INITIATORY OATH.
+
+     "You solemnly swear, in the presence of Almighty God and these
+     witnesses, that you will never reveal the secrets that are about to
+     be imparted to you, and that you will be true to the principles of
+     this brotherhood and its members; that you are not now a member of
+     the Grand Army of the Republic, the Red String Order, the Union
+     League, Heroes of America, or any other organization whose aim and
+     intention is to destroy the rights of the South, or to elevate the
+     negro to a political equality with yourself; and that you will never
+     assist at the initiation into this Order of any member of the Grand
+     Army of the Republic, the Red String Order, the Union League, Heroes
+     of America, or any one holding Radical views or opinions. You
+     furthermore swear that you will oppose all Radicals and negroes in
+     all of their political designs, and that, should any Radical or negro
+     impose on or abuse or injure any member of this brotherhood, you will
+     assist in punishing him in any manner the Camp may direct; and you
+     furthermore swear that you will never reveal any of the orders, acts,
+     or edicts of this brotherhood, and that you will obey all calls and
+     summonses from the Chief of your Camp or brotherhood, should it be in
+     your power to do so; and that, should any member of the brotherhood
+     or his family be in jeopardy, you will inform them of their danger,
+     and go to their assistance. You further swear that you will never
+     give the word of distress unless you are in great need of assistance;
+     and should you hear it given by any brother, you will go to his or
+     their assistance; and should any member of this brotherhood reveal
+     any of its secrets, acts, orders, or edicts, you will assist in
+     punishing him in any way the Camp may direct or approve, so help you
+     God."
+
+During the administration of this oath, the members surround the initiate,
+dressed in long, white gowns, high, conical shaped, white hats, and their
+faces shrouded in white masks. At the conclusion of the oath, the
+candidate is made to kiss the book. The bandage is then removed from his
+eyes. The Commander approaches, and proceeds to instruct him in the
+
+
+SIGNS, GRIPS, AND PASSWORD.
+
+Signs of recognition and approach:
+
+_First._--Strike the fingers of the right hand briskly upon the hair over
+the right ear, bringing the hand forward and partially around the ear, as
+if describing a half moon.
+
+_Answer._--Same sign made with left hand over left ear.
+
+_Second._--Thrust the right hand into the pant's pocket, with the
+exception of the thumb, at the same time bringing the right heel into the
+hollow of the left foot.
+
+_Answer._--Same sign with the left hand, bringing the left heel into the
+hollow of the right foot.
+
+As a farther precaution search is made by the hailing party as if for a
+pin in the right lappel of the coat.
+
+_Answer._--A similar search in the left lappel of the coat.
+
+The GRIP is given by placing the forefinger on the pulse of the person you
+shake hands with.
+
+_Countersign._--If halted by a camp or picket on the public highway at
+night, the following colloquy ensues:
+
+"Who comes there?"
+
+"A friend!"
+
+"A friend of what?"
+
+"My country!"
+
+"What country?"
+
+"I, S, A, Y." (Repeating each letter slowly.)
+
+"N, O, T, H, I, N, G." (Repeating each letter slowly.)
+
+"The word?"
+
+"Retribution!"
+
+These countersigns are issued every three months. The one here given was
+in vogue at the time of the discovery of the order.
+
+A member of any order of the Ku Klux Klan of the first or probationary
+degree, in distress, and requiring speedy aid, will use a word signal, or
+cry of distress: "SHILOH!"
+
+In expeditions conducted under direction of the Commander, or any of the
+brethren detailed by him to act as head, a code of signals by sounds, made
+with whistles, is used, in order that the members may not be recognized by
+their voices.
+
+
+DIVISIONS OF THE ORDER.
+
+There are several divisions of the order of the KU KLUX KLANS, all working
+under the same ritual and oaths, and having the same signs, grips,
+passwords, modes of approach, and general conduct of raids and midnight
+excursions. These are known under the names of "Knights of the White
+Camelia," "The Invisible Empire," "The White Brotherhood," "The Unknown
+Multitude," "The Union and Young Men's Democracy." All work in disguise,
+with the exception of the latter, who work openly as well as in disguise,
+and are all under the instructions of the "Grand Cyclops" and the Supreme
+Grand Council. They all have one and the same object, which is as plainly
+set forth in the oath as it well can be in an obligation of that
+character.
+
+The difference in names and styles has been adopted for a two-fold
+purpose. First, to conceal the origin, object, and design of the order,
+and its founders and directors; secondly, to conceal its extent and
+numbers, and make it appear a mere local affair that has cropped out in
+different places without reference to any organized combination with one
+grand center.
+
+The workings of the Klans over all the Southern country show more
+conclusively than any amount of subterfuge on the part of the leaders,
+that one common tie binds them all; that one common interest actuates
+them; that one common end is to be accomplished. The oath differs slightly
+in phraseology in different localities, to accommodate the varied
+circumstances under which it is administered, and with a view to greater
+concealment--the words "Unknown Multitude," "Invisible Empire," and "White
+Brotherhood" being substituted in North and South Carolina; the words
+"Union and Young Men's Democracy," in Georgia and Mississippi; and the
+words "Knights of the White Camelia," in Louisiana and Texas and other
+States.
+
+
+THE SECOND OR SUPREME DEGREE.
+
+This degree differs from the first or probationary degree in the fact that
+those upon whom it is conferred are of the better class of the masses, and
+take upon themselves a more binding oath, administered under circumstances
+intended to be more impressive in character. The candidate for this degree
+is brought blind-folded into the center of the Camp, and caused to kneel
+at an altar erected for the occasion, his right hand placed upon a Bible,
+and his left upon a human skull. The Commander then says:
+
+"Brethren, _must_ it be done?"
+
+The members respond, "_It must!_" and this in a tone intended to strike
+terror to the heart of the novitiate.
+
+The candidate, of course, has no knowledge of what is meant by the ominous
+"_Must it be done?_" and there is a mournful groaning in the response "_It
+must!_" indicating that a terrible experience awaits him, which the
+Brotherhood would gladly spare him if they could.
+
+A death-like silence ensues for a few moments, which seem ages to the
+candidate, and affords ample opportunity for his imagination to picture
+the unheard-of horrors through which he may possibly be called to pass.
+The silence is finally broken by the Commander, who says:
+
+"BRETHREN, this brother _now_ kneels at the altar of our faith, and asks
+to be bound to our fortunes by the more solemn and mysterious provisions
+of our Order. Fortunately for him in this hour of peril, he has been found
+worthy, and in commemoration of his being made one of the great 'Unknown
+Multitude,' I again ask, '_Must it be done?_'"
+
+The brethren, in solemn tones, again respond, "_It must!_"
+
+The Commander then says, in a stentorian tone of voice, "_Let the blood of
+the traitor be spilled: bring the victim forth._"
+
+The members here make a rustling noise, to resemble a struggle, a heavy
+blow is struck upon some appropriate substance, and a few drops of blood
+are trickled over the hand of the initiate that rests upon the skull. The
+brethren then surround him with knives and pistols presented in a circle
+about his head and neck, when the Commander then says:
+
+"Must I swear him by the oath that shall forever bind, and never be
+broken?"
+
+The brethren, placing their hands upon their left breasts, respond
+sepulchrally as before, "_Swear him!_"
+
+The Commander now addresses the candidate as follows:
+
+"_My Brother_, kneeling at the solemn altar of our faith, as one who
+desires that no government but the white man's shall live in this country;
+and as one who will fight to the death all schisms, and factions, and
+parties, coming from whatsoever source they may, which have for their
+design the elevation of the negro to an equality with the white man, I am
+now about to administer to you the oath of this, the supreme degree, of
+our Order--that oath which shall forever bind, and never be broken; at the
+same time informing you that this oath, being taken in a cause which has
+for its object the deliverance of your country and the land of your birth
+from the rule of the negro-worshiper and the fanatic, is paramount to
+every other oath which you have taken, or may hereafter take, outside of
+this Order. You will now repeat after me, pronouncing your name in full,
+and your words aloud, on pain of instant death:
+
+     _Oath of the Second or Supreme Degree._
+
+     "I, A. B., in the presence of Almighty God, and these my friends here
+     assembled, kneeling at this altar, with my right hand upon the holy
+     Bible, and my left washed in the blood of a traitor, and resting upon
+     the skull of his brother in iniquity, and being fully impressed with
+     the sacredness of this act, do solemnly swear that I will uphold and
+     defend the Constitution of the United States, as it was handed down
+     by our forefathers, in its original purity; that I will reject and
+     oppose the principles of the Radical party in all its forms, and
+     forever maintain and contend that intelligent white men shall govern
+     this country. And I furthermore swear that I will bear true faith and
+     allegiance to the Order of the Constitutional Union Guards, and will
+     never make known, by sign, word, or deed, any of its secrets now
+     about to be, or that may hereafter be confided to me; that I will
+     obey all its precepts, mandates, orders, instructions, and directions
+     issued through the Commander, and aid and assist the brethren in
+     carrying out and enforcing the same; and that I will keep secret,
+     even unto death, the plans and movements of this society. I
+     furthermore swear to obey the South Commander in the Camp, in
+     preference to any known law, precept, or authority whatever, and to
+     defend the brethren, if need be, with the sacrifice of my life. I
+     swear that the enemies of the white man's race, and the white man's
+     government, and the friends of negro equality shall be my enemies,
+     and that I will uphold and defend the white man's government against
+     all comers, whether in the name of Radicals, Negro-worshipers,
+     Carpet-baggers, Scallawags, or spies in the land. I swear to forever
+     oppose the social and political elevation of the negro to an equality
+     with the whites, and that I will come at every hour of the moon to
+     execute the trust confided to me by the Commander and the brethren. I
+     furthermore swear that, in case of our being interrupted in the
+     establishment of the principles for which we are contending, that I
+     will regard no oath that will convict one of the members of this
+     Order, but under all circumstances will stand by the Order in blood
+     and death. I furthermore swear that I will not give the signal cry of
+     distress, only when in real distress, and that I will yield my life,
+     if necessary, in aid of a brother giving the double cry of this
+     degree. Lastly, I swear by this Bible, and this skull, and this
+     blood, that should I ever prove unfaithful in any particular to the
+     obligation I have now assumed, I hope to meet with the fearful and
+     just penalty of the traitor, which is _death_, DEATH, DEATH, at the
+     hands of the brethren. So help me God."
+
+The candidate having kissed the book, the bandage is removed from his
+eyes. He sees before him a human skull upon one side of the Bible, and a
+small chalice or cup filled with blood upon the other. The brethren are
+all disguised in long black gowns, covering them completely from neck to
+heels. Black masks and black conical shaped hats of enormous height,
+decorated with representations of death's head and cross bones, complete
+the costume.
+
+Some of the members bear pine torches, which throw a wierd and unearthly
+glare upon the unholy scene, and render it a fit counterpart to the abode
+of the demons who seem to have instigated the proceedings. When the
+bandage is removed, these torches are swung violently to and fro, and the
+brethren simultaneously utter a loud cry.
+
+The candidate is now informed that the signs, grips, and passwords of the
+preceding degree are used in this, with the exception that the signal cry
+of distress in this is composed of two words: "SHILOH, AVALANCHE."
+
+
+
+
+OPERATIONS OF THE KU KLUX KLAN.
+
+AN AUTHENTICATED ACCOUNT OF OUTRAGES COMMITTED IN THE SOUTH.--THE
+PERPETRATORS AND THEIR VICTIMS.
+
+
+THE MURDER OF EDWARD THOMPSON.
+
+From the close of the war, up to the fall of 1870, there resided in
+Lowndes county, Georgia, an exceedingly intelligent colored man, named
+Edward Thompson. He was noted for his piety, and the peculiar influence he
+exerted over the members of his race who resided in Lowndes county, and
+Hamilton county, Florida; and being thoroughly imbued with Republican
+principles, lost no opportunity in disseminating them among those of his
+race with whom he associated. Through his exertion, and by the force of
+his example, the negroes voted the ticket of the Republican party at every
+election, always seeking his advice before going to the polls to deposit
+their ballots.
+
+Thompson's case was brought before the Camp of Hamilton county,
+Florida--at that time, presided over by one Elihu Horn, Commander of the
+Camp--as one requiring energetic action upon the part of the Order. A
+warning was issued to Thompson, the import of which could hardly be
+mistaken. The following is a verbatim copy of the same taken from the
+original.
+
+     "K. K. K.
+
+     "_His Supreme Highness of Hamilton to Edward Thompson._
+
+     "His Supreme and Mighty Highness has heard of your seditious
+     practices in leading others astray, and encouraging them in
+     opposition to the white man's government. Time is given you to repent
+     and submit as your fathers have done. Now this is to warn you, and
+     all such as you, on pain of punishment and death, to abandon your
+     vicious harangues, and abide by our orders. The moon is yet bright;
+     it may turn to blood.
+
+        "By order,
+          "K. K. K."
+
+Thompson paid no heed to this warning, but continued to pursue the even
+tenor of his way. He had resided so long in the place, and been so
+favorably known there, both among the whites and blacks, that he scouted
+the idea that this meant anything more than a threat intended to
+intimidate him, and he continued exerting his influence in the Republican
+cause with his brethren, as had been his custom. Several warnings were
+subsequently sent to him with no better effect, and it was finally decided
+in the solemn conclave of the Camp, that he should receive the long
+threatened "visitation."
+
+On the 19th of September, 1870, Thompson retired to his bed between nine
+and ten o'clock, as was his usual custom. His family consisted of his wife
+and two children, all of whom occupied the same sleeping apartment.
+Between eleven and twelve o'clock they were aroused from their slumbers by
+the door being broken in with a tremendous crash, and before Thompson had
+time to collect himself, he was rudely seized and dragged from his bed by
+a number of men, armed and disguised, two of whom fired their revolvers
+into the roof of the cabin, as a menace, and assured Thompson they would
+turn the weapons upon him, if he offered the slightest resistance. His
+wife and children were also dragged from their beds, being at the same
+time severely struck by some members of the band, and told to remain
+quiet.
+
+"In the name of the Lord, what is this?" asked Thompson, as soon as he
+could command his voice.
+
+The response was a blow upon the head from the butt of a pistol, delivered
+with a brutality that convinced him that he was in the hands of those to
+whose hearts mercy was a stranger. He was then told to ask no questions,
+and make no noise, but to dress himself and go with the band.
+
+His wife was subjected to the most revolting indecencies. The last garment
+that covered her nakedness was wrenched from her person and torn into
+shreds, leaving her utterly exposed to the malicious and lecherous eyes of
+the intruders. She was then told "to get her rags on," and go with the
+party. The children terrified at seeing their parents thus brutally
+assailed, uttered the most piercing screams, but were ordered to remain
+behind and not leave the house, or they would be killed. The band started
+out with their captives in the direction of the house of John and Samuel
+Hogan, two white men who were known to be Republicans, and had thus
+rendered themselves obnoxious to the Camp. They compelled the Hogans to
+accompany them, and started for the woods, nearly a mile from Thompson's
+house.
+
+One Micajah Amerson, a colored man living near the scene of this outrage,
+hearing the report of the fire arms, arose, and dressed himself, and
+taking a shot gun, started for his son's house on the Joseph Howell
+plantation. Amerson was just in time to meet the band having Thompson and
+his wife and the two Hogans in custody, and was at once seized and
+compelled to go with the party. Amerson seems to be the only one of the
+captives able or willing to give an intelligent account of what
+subsequently transpired, which he did to the writer as follows:
+
+"I saw the company in the road, and knew they were the Ku Klux from their
+disguises. I saw it was no use to try and get away from them, and one of
+them told me to go along, at the same time striking me with a club. Edward
+Thompson and his wife (colored), and John and Samuel Hogan, two white men,
+were with them. Thompson said nothing but his wife moaned all the way on
+the road to the woods. We went about a quarter of a mile into the woods,
+and were then ordered to halt. When the halt was made, one of the band
+gave a peculiar whistle, which was answered almost directly by a similar
+sound. This proved to be the signal for the appearance of a party who was
+addressed as the Captain, and who at once took charge of the proceedings.
+
+"I and the two white men were ordered to sit down, a pistol being placed
+at our heads to enforce obedience. The colored man (Thompson) was then
+told to strip himself naked. This he commenced very reluctantly to do,
+begging for mercy, and asking what he was going to be whipped for. The
+members of the band seemed to be enraged at this, and taking out their
+knives, commenced cutting his clothes off, wounding him in several places.
+The Captain then struck him a powerful blow with a gun, shattering the
+stock and knocking Thompson senseless.
+
+"No one paid any attention to him as he lay upon the ground,--the Captain
+and two or three of the band holding a consultation. The Captain then
+asked for the "executioners." Two men came forward and said: "Where are
+the warrants?" At this another of the party produced two long leather
+straps, and handing them to the two men, said: "Here they are."
+
+"These two then commenced to beat Thompson and his wife in a dreadful
+manner. The punishment on the wife was brief though cruel. That upon
+Thompson was continued until the "executioner" was thoroughly exhausted.
+He then handed the strap to another member of the band, who renewed the
+assault with great fury. Thompson, at first, made no exclamations, but on
+being struck in the more delicate parts of his body, screeched fearfully.
+He was brought to his feet several times while the punishment was being
+inflicted, only to be knocked down by the strap, and kicked by those who
+were standing around him. The members of the band laughed at his agony and
+said to the executioners: "Give it to the damned radical; learn the son of
+a b...h to keep his piety and politics to himself; we'll teach him how to
+lead the niggers."
+
+"Thompson finally ceased to scream. His body was a mass of blood, and he
+appeared to be unconscious long before the beating was through with. I
+thought he must be dead, but dared not say anything. When the executioners
+had ceased, he lay perfectly still. One of the members said: "The d....d
+skunk is playing possum." He then jumped at Thompson, kicked him several
+times in the side and back with great violence, and turning him over,
+ground his boot heel in his face. He lay for a long time unconscious, and
+was several times raised to his feet, but could not stand. His wife
+continued to pray during a portion of the time, asking God to bring her
+husband to life, and begging the Captain to spare him for the sake of his
+family, and let her try and get him home.
+
+"The Captain finally said, she might do what she liked. It was easy to see
+that Thompson could not live, but some of the band were not satisfied.
+One of them called out:
+
+"'Captain Smart, can I shoot the dirty radical?' to which the Captain
+replied:
+
+"'No! the black son of a b....h is dead enough.' The Captain then said to
+me and the two white men:
+
+"'Now, you take this for a warning, and if we ever hear of you divulging
+anything about this, you may expect the same treatment.'
+
+"The white men and myself were then taken to the road, where we were met
+by another party, also in disguise, making about forty in all. I was then
+told to go to the Joseph Howell plantation, and remain there two hours, or
+the rest of the band would take me and put me up the spout.
+
+"I done as directed, and returned to my own house about 6 o'clock in the
+morning; I then went over to Thompson's house, and found him dead. How he
+came there, I do not know; I heard that his wife got him home, and that he
+was not entirely dead, when he got there."
+
+In addition to the testimony of Amerson, as to the terrible details of
+this brutal murder, we have that of Mrs. Thompson and the two Hogans. Dr.
+Mapp, a physician residing near Thompson, was called to see him, and at
+the earnest entreaty of the wife dressed his wounds, although he saw that
+the poor victim could not live possibly. He was literally beaten to a
+jelly. One of his eyes had been forced completely out of its socket, and
+he was otherwise almost totally unrecognizable.
+
+Elihu Horn, _alias_ Capt. Smart, was known at the time as a respectable
+member of society in Hamilton county, Fla., and a leader in the democratic
+ranks in that vicinity, and violently opposed to the present
+administration. He was determined that no one should preach what he was
+pleased to term "the heresy of radicalism" in that county, and live, and
+his threat was fully carried out upon the body of the unfortunate
+Thompson.
+
+In the light of such an outrage, can any one, of whatever creed or faith,
+question the policy of the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus and the
+proclamation of martial law in such a community, or doubt the wisdom of
+the executive head of the nation, in his efforts to suppress the unlawful
+assemblages, who aspired to hold the life and liberty of our citizens in
+the hollow of their hands, and annihilate the hopes of newly-made freemen,
+by imposing upon them a bondage infinitely worse than that from which the
+nation, through the blood of her sons, had but so recently released them?
+
+
+BRUTAL WHIPPING OF A WHITE MAN FOR OPINION'S SAKE.
+
+Shortly after the outrage which resulted in the death of Edward Thompson,
+a Mr. Driggers, residing in the county of Echols, and not far from where
+Thompson had been murdered, received a warning from the Ku Klux Klan, that
+he must change his political opinions, or leave the State.
+
+Mr. Driggers was a prominent republican, and had made no secret of his
+political faith. He had freely expressed his opinions in that regard
+whenever he desired to do so, and had steadily voted the republican, or
+what was known to the Ku Klux as the radical, ticket. He was generally
+esteemed among his fellows, and especially among the colored people, in
+whose welfare he took a great interest, and this latter fact was deemed an
+offense not to be tolerated by the defenders of the white man's
+government.
+
+Warning after warning was sent to him, and he was thus duly reminded,
+that, unless he recanted, the fate of Thompson would surely be his; but,
+he still regarded the matter as merely an idle threat, and time passed on
+until the night of the 25th of August, 1871, when a party of five men,
+armed, and disguised in black gowns and masks, visited his residence.
+
+Mr. Driggers at once divined the object of this visitation, and was
+expostulating with the leader, when he was quickly overpowered and
+stripped in the presence of his family, and beaten with straps similar to
+those used upon Thompson.
+
+He was dreadfully punished about the head, face, and back, and was
+informed by the Klan, that for the present they would accord him the mercy
+to live, but, unless he left the county, they would return and kill him,
+and destroy his property.
+
+From similar outrages that had been perpetrated in the vicinity, Mr.
+Driggers was fully satisfied that this threat would be carried out to the
+letter. He was familiar with the brutal details of Thompson's death, and
+was now convinced that the members of this terrible brotherhood would
+respect neither color, social standing, or respectability, and at once
+made hasty preparations, and abandoned his once happy home to become a
+wanderer. The visitation upon him was made solely for political reasons.
+He was a man that stood above reproach in the community, and no person
+could be found in Echol county that could impugn his character as a man, a
+gentleman, and an upright citizen. It was not contended that he had
+committed any other offense than that of being a radical republican, who,
+being too obstinate to change his politics, must be whipped into
+renouncing a faith that he could not be argued out of.
+
+Is it any wonder that men who substitute brute force for argument, should
+so strenuously object to the efforts of the executive officers to enforce
+the law and bring order out of the chaos, into which their wild and
+licentious acts have plunged the respective communities in which they
+live? Thinking men will say "nay," and will ask and demand that the policy
+now being pursued by the administration shall be continued until the
+supremacy of the law is fully established, and men of all shades of color
+and political faith may "sit under their own vine and fig tree, with none
+to molest or make them afraid."
+
+Allen Wicker, William Smith, Butcher Smith, James King, and Lewis Kinsey,
+all residents of Echol county, Ga., and members of the Camp that had
+decided that Mr. Drigger must surrender his political opinions, leave his
+home, or die, were the persons upon whom the officers of the United States
+Secret Service fastened the guilt of this outrage.
+
+
+AN APPALLING TRAGEDY.
+
+TERRIBLE DEATH OF A WHITE MAN IN WILKINSON COUNTY, GEORGIA.
+
+One of the most appalling tragedies ever resulting from the free
+expression of political opinions, was that enacted at Irwinton, Wilkinson
+county, Georgia, on the night of the 31st of August, 1871.
+
+For more than a year previous to this date, a white man, familiarly known
+throughout the county as Sheriff Deason, had taken a very active part in
+politics, having espoused the republican cause, as one might say, in the
+very den of the lion himself, and standing almost alone, in what he
+considered a contest for the right.
+
+Deason was a large, powerfully built, and muscular man, inured to hardship
+from his youth, resolute in his purpose, tenacious of his principles, and
+ready under all circumstances to expound them, whenever it seemed good to
+him to do so. He was a man whose good nature was proverbial. He delighted
+to get into the country grocery, and there, surrounded by an admiring
+audience of colored men, and such of the whites as sympathized with him,
+although secretly, express his opinion, that the principles of the
+republican party were the only ones upon which a righteous government
+could be founded, and which would eventually bring the ship of State
+safely to a secure anchorage.
+
+Among his hearers were many of those who had sworn to uphold the "white
+man's government," and who believed that Deason's arguments were
+calculated to damage their labors in this respect, but, bold as they were,
+when in bands of twenty, armed and disguised, they assailed defenseless
+men and helpless women, they dare not single handed to make even so much
+as an utterance against his outspoken logic, and they writhed and twisted
+under it in silence. They comprehended, however, that seeds were being
+sown that would take root in the minds of thinking men, and produce
+results which they did not desire to see accomplished.
+
+A formal presentation of Deason's case was made to the Irwinton Camp of
+the C. U. G., to which Order, at that time, two-thirds of the white
+population of Wilkinson county belonged. As was usual in such cases, it
+was decided to issue a warning to the intended victim, which was forthwith
+done. Deason replied to it by pasting the warning upon the door of his
+house, where it remained an ever present witness to the contempt in which
+he held its authors, until it was washed away by the fall rains.
+
+This was regarded as an act of defiance upon Deason's part, that could not
+be overlooked. To add to this, he continued uttering his political views
+with the same freedom as before, and it was resolved that he must be
+stopped. This, however, was easier said than done; Deason was known to be
+thoroughly armed, a man of undoubted courage, and a terrible opponent
+when thoroughly aroused, although very quietly disposed when left to
+himself.
+
+The Camp saw they had a serious subject to deal with, and for nearly a
+year after the first warning, he was little less than a thorn in their
+side. His example worked steadily upon thinking minds, and it was evident
+that he must be put out of the way, as the only measure whereby the spread
+of the peculiar political principles advocated by him could be stayed.
+
+A final warning was sent to him, the substance of which was, that he "must
+leave the country, change his politics, or make up his mind to become
+Buzzard Bait." In the Conclave of the Klan, when this warning was directed
+to be issued, it was announced that this was positively the last
+opportunity that would be given Deason to repent of his ways, and that in
+the event of its failure to bring him to a change of his views, or his
+location, the full penalty attached to the "negro worshiper" would be
+enforced. This, however, had no more effect than the previous warnings,
+and his death was resolved upon.
+
+On the night of the 31st of August, 1871, twenty-five of the Klan who had
+been selected by the Commander, armed and disguised themselves for the
+purpose, and proceeded to Deason's house on the outskirts of the place.
+Deason had retired for the night, having carefully locked and barred his
+doors and windows as usual. It was about midnight when he was aroused by a
+heavy knock at his door. He arose from his bed and requested to know who
+was there. The reply was a demand for him to come out and surrender
+himself to the Klan.
+
+Deason responded to this with a defiant remark, telling them if they
+wanted him, they must come and take him. The band then commenced battering
+at the door, when Deason, placing his gun at a loop-hole which he had
+previously prepared, discharged both barrels. It appears, however, from
+some great misfortune to him, that neither of the shots produced any
+damaging effect upon the assailing party. The band were somewhat
+disconcerted at this, however, and withdrew a short distance from the
+house and held a consultation.
+
+At the time of this visitation, Deason's wife was away upon a visit, and
+the only other person in the house was a colored woman who was a servant
+in the family. She had already arisen and expressed her determination to
+assist Deason in the fight, to the extent of her ability. The latter had
+reloaded his gun and had just set it down when a sudden rushing noise, as
+of men running, drew his attention, and in a second afterwards, the door
+was crushed in by a joist, which the band, using as a battering ram, had
+forced against it.
+
+The Klan poured in at once, and in full force. A terrible hand to hand
+fight ensued. Deason fought with great desperation, as did the colored
+woman. One after another of the Klan were stretched out upon the floor of
+the cabin, but the odds were too great, and Deason's immense strength
+became exhausted under his tremendous exertions and the loss of blood
+which he sustained. He finally sank down pierced with over-twenty bullet
+and knife wounds, and died fighting to the last in the maintenance of the
+principles he had so long and so earnestly advocated.
+
+The woman was soon dispatched, and the Klan then retired, taking their
+wounded with them. Deason's mutilated body was found the next morning on
+the floor of the room in which he had met his dreadful fate, while that of
+the woman was found doubled up in one corner of the apartment, as if she
+had been thrown there like a bundle of worthless rags. The frontal bone of
+the dead man's head had been broken, and the base of his skull crushed
+in, apparently by a club. The body had been shot and stabbed in more than
+twenty different places, and presented a most revolting spectacle.
+
+The facts of the double murder soon spread abroad, and were reported to a
+Mr. Bush, coroner of Irwinton, and that gentleman, being a member of the
+Camp that had ordered Deason's death, empanelled a jury of his
+fellow-brethren, and, according to his own confession, made since that
+time, went through the form of an inquest, the result of which was a
+verdict that the man Deason and the colored woman had met their death at
+the hands of certain _colored_ persons, to the jury unknown.
+
+The death of this noble martyr to the cause of truth, effected important
+changes. There were signs of dissatisfaction among some portions of the
+community, to whom the details of the awful tragedy had become known, and
+it was necessary that some measures should be taken to appease the feeling
+of indignation that was beginning to gain ground.
+
+The Grand Jury of the county was summoned to sit for the purpose of taking
+some measures to suppress crime. Every member of the jury was a member of
+the C. U. G., or Ku Klux Klan. Their first step was to issue an address to
+the people of the county, stating that evidence had been brought before
+them to show that certain negroes had been guilty of gross outrages in the
+county, which all good men should deprecate, and calling upon the citizens
+to look out for the evil doers. This had but little effect, however, other
+than to confirm the few well-meaning ones in their former belief that
+Wilkinson county was in the hands of men who would leave no measures
+unturned, to drive out of it, every one known to differ from them
+politically.
+
+Deason is not the first nor the last in the long procession of
+illustrious martyrs who, in all ages of the world have forfeited their
+lives in the maintenance of their principles. Unlettered, uncouth,
+uncultivated in life, resolute and unyielding even in death, he stands
+recorded upon the pages of this brief history, a noble and brilliant
+example of the lineal descendants of those who came from the shores of a
+distant continent, more than an hundred years ago, to seek that freedom of
+thought, that civil and religious liberty that had been denied them at
+home.
+
+Many such as he, now live and suffer in the deluded and misguided land of
+his birth, and like him, have for years carried their lives in their
+hands, for opinion's sake. In the good Providence of an all-seeing
+God--who has indeed imbued the present heads of the nation with the wisdom
+necessary to appreciate the situation, and devise the appropriate
+remedy--light begins to appear in the dark places, verifying the saying
+that, "sooner or later, insulted virtue avenges itself on states as well
+as on private individuals."
+
+
+THE MURDER OF BRINTON PORTER.
+
+While the Grand Jury were holding their sessions as previously stated, and
+only a short time after Deason's death, a band of twenty armed and
+disguised men rode into Irwinton and murdered one Brinton Porter, an
+intelligent citizen whose offense consisted like Deason's in his having
+disseminated Republican principles and voted the Republican ticket.
+
+Porter had received a warning similar to that sent to Deason, but had said
+nothing about it, even to the members of his own family. After receiving
+the warning he had neither openly expressed his radical views, nor made
+recantation of his political faith, but as he had not left the country, as
+the warning stated he must do, his doom was pronounced in the conclave of
+the Camp, and it was ordered that he should die.
+
+On the 8th of September, 1871, after concluding the business of the day,
+and taking tea with his family, Mr. Porter left the family table, and,
+taking a chair, went out to his door stoop. His only child, a daughter of
+tender years, accompanied him and sat at his feet. He saw the band of
+disguised men approaching the house, and deeming himself in danger,
+immediately arose and was in the act of entering the house when he fell
+across the threshold pierced by half a dozen bullets, which had been
+discharged at him by the Klan. The child escaped unhurt. The Klan seeing
+they had accomplished their purpose, wheeled around and with derisive
+yells passed out of the town at a sharp trot.
+
+The agony of Porter's family beggars description. A wife widowed, and a
+child orphaned in a moment, because their natural protector had assumed
+the right guaranteed to him by the Constitution and the laws, to exercise
+the elective franchise according to his own opinion, and the dictates of
+his own conscience. Can one believe, that in the civilization of the 19th
+century, and upon the American continent, the boasted refuge for the
+down-trodden, and the oppressed of all nations, such a scene as that above
+related could be enacted in the broad light of day, and the whole
+community not rise up against it? Alas, for the degradation to which
+political bigotry and a disregard of law, reduces a people, it is only too
+true.
+
+The data upon which this truthful narration of the murder of Brinton
+Porter is founded, is a matter of record in the archives of the
+Government. The facts can neither be gainsaid nor palliated. It is to be
+hoped that the firm policy of the present administration may bring the
+people of the community in which Porter lived to such a sense of the great
+injustice done among them, that they will rally to aid the Government, in
+bursting the bands thrown about them by the subtletry of their own
+unprincipled leaders, and stand shoulder to shoulder with those who are
+doing all that human wisdom can devise to restore order and harmony, and
+promote prosperity and happiness among the people.
+
+
+EXTERMINATING THE NEGRO RACE.
+
+_Fiendish Designs of the Ku Klux of Wilkinson County._
+
+THE EMASCULATION OF HENRY LOWTHER.
+
+In some parts of Wilkinson County, there seemed to be a disposition to
+destroy every member of the colored race who should be found voting the
+radical ticket.
+
+It was contended that scourgings and general maltreatment had not produced
+satisfactory results; and, on the other hand, blood was accumulating on
+the heads of the Klan, too fast even for their blunted consciences. Still
+the war must go on in some way, and something must be done to destroy the
+little leaven that bid fair to "leaven the whole lump." The subject was
+discussed in the conclave of the Camp, and it was finally decided that a
+more effectual way could be devised to accomplish the extermination of the
+colored race than either by whipping or murder. This was the fiendish
+resolve to castrate every negro who was guilty of radical proclivities,
+and who voted the radical ticket, a design worthy alone of the men who
+originated it.
+
+In that county, and at that particular time, there were many colored men
+known as Republicans; and an opportunity was speedily afforded the Klan,
+to carry out this terrible species of cruelty; a greater crime against
+nature than all the others since it looked to the entire destruction of
+the species.
+
+There had been, for sometime previous to September, 1871, a colored man in
+Wilkinson County, by the name of Henry Lowther. This person was favorably
+known among the negroes of the county, and expended a good deal of his
+leisure time in going from place to place, and talking Republican
+sentiments to members of his race, and urging them to vote the Republican
+ticket, as the only means of maintaining their right to freedom.
+
+Previous to the dreadful visitation which subsequently came upon him, he
+had voted the Republican ticket upon two occasions, and had expressed his
+intentions to continue on in his political course in the future.
+
+This had roused the indignation of the Ku Klux Camp at Irwinton beyond
+measure. A meeting of the Klan was called in which the edict was
+promulgated, that since Lowther would not abandon the propagation of his
+political opinions, he should be deprived of the power to propagate his
+race, and further, that he should receive no "warning" in the matter, but
+be proceeded against summarily, and "at once" was the time fixed for this
+outrage. Lowther had been followed all the day previous, and just after
+dusk was seized and thrown into a carriage, and driven rapidly away to the
+woods near Irwinton, by four men armed and disguised. While in the
+carriage, he was told that if he moved or made any resistance, his life
+would pay the forfeit; but that, otherwise, it would be spared.
+
+Upon arriving at the woods, he was taken out of the carriage, and found
+himself in the midst of nearly one hundred persons. Notwithstanding the
+promise made by his first captors, he supposed his time had arrived and
+begged for his life. He was then told that he would not be killed, if he
+did not make too much resistance; that he had been preaching too much
+politics, and they intended to fix all the d--d radical breeders in the
+country; and had made up their minds to begin on him. Lowther did not
+fully comprehend them at first, but soon learned the awful significance
+of the words.
+
+His arms were then firmly pinioned, and he was thrown upon the ground
+where he was tightly held by several of the band, and castrated in a most
+rude and brutal manner, begging piteously and writhing under the pains
+inflicted by his tormentors. After the operation had been performed, he
+was unpinioned and asked if he knew the residence of any doctors and on
+his replying that he did, he was told to go for one as he valued his life;
+and further, that if he ever voted the radical ticket again, or influenced
+any one else to do so, he should suffer death. Although shockingly
+mutilated and bleeding from the dreadful manner in which he had been
+treated, Lowther started to find a physician. Three different surgeons
+were applied to before he found one sufficiently humane to afford him
+assistance in dressing his wounds.
+
+It was several weeks before the unfortunate negro was in a condition to
+walk about. The facts coming to the ears of the officers of the U. S.
+secret service, they made diligent search for Lowther, whom they learned
+dared not complain of his treatment for fear of death; and having found
+and assured him of protection, he made affidavit to the facts as above set
+forth, affirming that, with other parties who instigated and consummated
+this outrage, were Eli Cummings, the Mayor of Irwinton, Lewis Peacock,
+then Sheriff of Wilkinson County, and others of equal prominence. Shall it
+be said after this that only the ignorant and uninfluential whites are
+engaged in the gross outrages charged upon the Southern community? and
+that there is no need there of the rigorous enforcement of the laws to
+secure to the well-meaning citizen, black and white, the security for life
+and property denied them under the rule of the lawless mob?
+
+
+
+
+OUTRAGES BY THE KU KLUX KLAN.
+
+PERSECUTION OF THE FURGUSON FAMILY FOR OPINION'S SAKE.--AGED WOMEN AND
+YOUNG GIRLS STRIPPED NAKED, AND BRUTALLY WHIPPED.--AN AWFUL HISTORY.
+
+  _For whereas my father put a heavy yoke upon you,
+  I will put more to your yoke:
+  My father chastised you with whips,
+  But I will chastise you with scorpions._
+                                      II CHRONICLES, X, 11.
+
+
+The terrible narration that here ensues shows more conclusively, perhaps,
+than any that has preceded it, the extent of the moral degradation to
+which the community in which it was enacted was so surely and steadily
+drifting. It would seem that the authors of the outrage had forgotten that
+they were born of mothers, who had nursed them tenderly in infancy, or
+that there were any longer left in the bosoms of women those feelings of
+virtue and modesty usually ascribed to and found in the sex, and the
+writer will here premise that the facts herein contained, dreadful though
+they are in their disgusting details, have been verified beyond cavil or
+the hope of questioning.
+
+Just previous to the breaking out of the rebellion, Dennis Furguson, an
+intelligent and hard-working white man, resided with his family in Chatham
+county, North Carolina. The family consisted of himself, his wife
+Catherine, a daughter, Susan J. Furguson, and three sons, John, Henry and
+Daniel. The head of the household was one of the few devoted Unionists who
+were thoroughly opposed to the principles then being disseminated by those
+who were endeavoring to plunge the country into a civil war, and exerted
+all his influence to avoid the great catastrophe.
+
+Mr. Furguson was known as being favorable to the Republicans, and had
+voted in the interest of the principles of the party of that name,
+whenever opportunity had offered. He had educated his children in a love
+of the Union, and taught them the blessings of civil and religious liberty
+with their evening prayers, and had succeeded in imbuing them with his own
+opinions to such an extent that the family became noted throughout Chatham
+county as Unionists and Radicals.
+
+At the breaking out of the war, Furguson determined to remain a
+non-combatant, seeking as far as possible not to render himself obnoxious
+to his neighbors, but resolving at the same time to maintain a neutral
+position. In this, however, he was doomed to a bitter disappointment,
+being conscripted into the rebel army and sent to the front. He was taken
+prisoner at Fort Caswell, N. C., and was sent to Elmira, N. Y., where he
+died, never having seen his family from the night he was so rudely torn
+from their embrace, and compelled to serve in the army of the rebellion.
+
+Neither this great calamity, nor the numerous other hardships suffered by
+this family for opinion's sake, could shake their firm adherence to the
+Union cause. The daughter was a beautiful girl, of great natural
+intelligence, but who had been wholly without the advantages of an
+education. She was attached to her father with a rare devotion, and
+believed it to be a filial duty, which she owed to his memory, to continue
+to enunciate the principles in which he had so thoroughly instructed her.
+His conscription had strengthened rather than weakened these sentiments,
+and she publicly spoke of his death as chargeable to the wicked designs of
+the men who had endeavored to overturn and destroy the country.
+
+At the time of the organization of the first Camp of the "Constitutional
+Union Guards," or Ku Klux Klan, in Chatham county, Susan Furguson was in
+her eighteenth year. Her case was the first one brought to the
+consideration of the Camp; but no special action was taken thereon until
+it was observed that the sons were following in the footsteps of the
+father, and were advocating the same principles of Unionism and
+Republicanism that he had taught them. They also learned that Miss
+Furguson lost no opportunity to express her convictions to the colored
+people with whom she came in contact, and in their eyes her course became
+intolerable.
+
+During the October of 1870, the case of the Furguson family was again
+brought before the Camp as a flagrant violation of the principles of the
+white man's government, and it was resolved that an example should be made
+of them. A warning was sent to the family to renounce their political
+faith, and cease the promulgation of their opinions, or leave the country.
+To this, and subsequent warnings of a similar character, no attention was
+paid, and an edict was finally issued by the Commander of the Camp, to
+have some, if not all the members of the family, scourged.
+
+On the night of the 10th of November, 1870, the Furgusons retired to bed
+at about 10 o'clock. The family was then composed of the widow, Mrs.
+Catherine Furguson, the daughter Susan, and the three sons. Between eleven
+and twelve o'clock, the attention of the daughter was called to a noise
+outside the house, resembling the tramp of horses' feet, and the running
+of men. In a moment afterwards, a voice shouted, "Open the door." The
+daughter arose hastily, threw a wrapper over her person, and went to the
+door and asked, "Who is there?"
+
+The response to this was another command, delivered in more peremptory
+tones than at first--"Open the door!" and on her refusing to comply
+therewith, the frail structure was broken in, and a man, disguised beyond
+all hope of recognition, sprang into the apartment, confronting the girl
+with a most terrible oath.
+
+In the dim glare of the candle which Miss Furguson had lighted, and now
+held above her head, this hideous looking object presented an appearance
+well calculated to terrify a stouter heart. A long black gown hung over
+his person to his knees, and his legs were encased in huge army boots,
+ornamented with a brace of iron spurs. Over his face was a black mask,
+with apertures for the eyes, nose, and mouth, and around these were drawn
+ghastly circles of white and red, rendering the face of the figure
+exceedingly repulsive. On his breast was the representation of a human
+skull worked in white, on a black ground, and surrounded with grotesque
+figures worked in red. His head was surmounted with a high conical-shaped
+black hat, on which were curious figures worked in white, and edged with
+red and yellow.
+
+He commenced his interrogations by asking Miss Furguson if she had ever
+seen a KU KLUX; to which the brave girl replied she never had, nor did she
+wish to, unless it were more comely than he. This seemed to enrage him,
+and turning to the door, he shouted, "Come in!" A horde of twenty men,
+similarly disguised, rushed into the room, and the indecent orgies
+commenced.
+
+The mother and the three brothers had remained in bed, at the earnest
+request of the sister, but were speedily dragged from their resting place.
+Daniel was the first one assailed. His night clothes were torn from him in
+myriads of pieces, leaving him in an entirely nude state. He was then
+thrown down upon the floor, and stretched out at full length; four of the
+band seizing and holding him fast while two others came forward and
+administered to him upwards of an hundred lashes on the naked person,
+drawing the blood at every blow, and raising the quivering flesh in great
+ridges upon his back and limbs. The boy fainted under the terrible
+punishment, and was then thrown aside to make room for his brothers, Henry
+and John, who were each castigated in an equally severe manner.
+
+John Furguson, who was more delicate than his brothers, uttered such
+piercing shrieks, as the heavy gum switches descended upon his back and
+loins, that his sister became almost insane. In her terrible agony she
+sprang upon the leader, and before she could be prevented, tore off his
+mask, and, to her horror and amazement, disclosed the face of Richard
+Taylor, one of her nearest neighbors, to whom she had often, since the
+death of her father, gone for advice and counsel. Taylor threw her rudely
+to the floor and replaced his mask as quickly as possible. The girl was
+severely stunned by the fall, but as soon as she recovered, cried out, "I
+know you, Dick Taylor, and I will have you punished for what you have done
+this night."
+
+Taylor immediately discharged his revolver at her, but, in the dim light
+shed over the room by the candle, and the excitement of the moment, shot
+wide of the object. He then exclaimed, with an oath, "If you move again, I
+will kill you dead; and if I ever hear of your telling anybody of this
+affair, we will come back and kill you all."
+
+Turning to Mrs. Furguson, he said, "Now, you take your folks and leave
+this country. If you are not gone in ten days, we will be here again and
+you shall all die."
+
+During the entire time of this whipping the three sons, two of them men
+grown, were completely naked, and when the mother and daughter sought to
+avert their heads from the shameful spectacle, they were ordered to turn
+them back again on pain of instant death, the command being enforced with
+pistols presented at their heads, by the hands of men whom they now felt
+assured would not hesitate to use them if ordered.
+
+Having issued the edict for the family to leave the country or suffer
+death, the gallant defenders of the "white man's government" and the
+protectors of the "white man's race" departed.
+
+For more than three weeks succeeding this visitation, the Furguson
+brothers were confined to their beds, and the mother and daughter nursed
+their wounds, and labored for their support with untiring energy. During
+these three weeks Susan Furguson had spread the news of the outrage to all
+parts of Chatham County, characterizing the attack upon them as brutal and
+savage--a crime that, if left unpunished by men, would surely be punished
+by the hand of the Lord. She applied to the Justices of the Peace for
+relief, stated that she recognized Dick Taylor, and George and Joseph
+Blaylock, citizens of the place, as being present on the night of the
+assault, and participating therein, and would make her affidavit to the
+facts, and support it with undeniable testimony.
+
+She was everywhere laughed to scorn. The few who sympathized with her and
+her family, dared not give expression to their thoughts for fear of a
+similar fate. Chatham County was in the hands of the Ku Klux; a reign of
+terror had been inaugurated there; the mob had made laws for themselves,
+and justice was not to be had.
+
+
+AN AGED WOMAN WHIPPED UPON HER NAKED PERSON.
+
+On the fourth week after the visitation above recorded, and just when the
+Furguson brothers had about recovered from the effects of the brutal
+whipping, and were able to attend to their ordinary duties, the family
+were subjected to a second raid, far more revolting and indecent in its
+character than the first, and such as the sensitive mind naturally recoils
+from the contemplation of. The details are given here with a strict
+adherence to the truth, all the facts herein set forth having been
+personally verified to the writer by the sufferers themselves.
+
+On the night of the 11th of December, 1870, Susan Furguson, and a young
+man named Eli Phillips, who had long known, and loved, and sympathized
+with her, were sitting before the fire in the room which had been the
+scene of the former outrage; the other members of the family, with the
+exception of John Furguson, had retired to bed.
+
+Mrs. Furguson, the mother, was in very delicate health, caused by the
+shock produced by the visitation of the Klan four weeks previous, and the
+labor consequent upon nursing and caring for her sons. One of the
+brothers, Daniel, lay stricken with a fever that had prostrated him two
+days before, and was in an almost helpless condition.
+
+About ten o'clock in the evening, the doors upon both sides of the house
+were broken in simultaneously, without previous warning, and a band of
+men, armed and disguised as before, and much larger in numbers, rushed
+into the room, uttering the most demoniac yells. A portion of the number
+proceeded directly to the bed where the mother was lying, terror-stricken
+and paralyzed from fear at their approach, and after first charging her
+with having exposed their former visit, dragged her from the bed and threw
+her violently to the floor. They then stood her up, and ordered her to
+remove her night dress and chemise. This she refused to do, pointing to
+her gray hairs and imploring mercy in the name of God, and for the sake of
+the mothers who had borne them.
+
+Her appeals were made in vain. At the order of the Commander, the members
+commenced tearing off the only garments that concealed her nakedness, and
+this with the most shocking brutality. The daughter, maddened by the
+sight, rushed upon the assailants, but was anticipated by other members of
+the band, with whom she had a severe struggle, displacing the masks of
+four of them enough to enable her to recognize their faces.
+
+She was quickly overpowered, and then beheld her mother completely naked,
+her brother John bleeding profusely from the blow of a club, and her
+brother Henry and the young man Phillips firmly secured.
+
+The mother was then thrown upon the floor and there securely held, while
+two of the band beat her with twisted sticks, administering upwards of one
+hundred blows upon various parts of her person, and bandying the most
+obscene remarks and jests in relation to her. The daughter plead for her
+mother most eloquently, she informed them that she was in delicate health,
+and might die under the punishment, but this had no effect upon the
+executioners. The interest of the "white man's race" was at stake, and
+they had sworn to uphold the "white man's government," and would not stay
+their hands.
+
+Having chastised the mother until there seemed but little life left, they
+commanded John and Henry, and the young man Phillips, to remove their
+clothes, and upon their refusing to do so, tore them off until not a
+vestige was left upon their persons. They were then whipped one after
+another, with great severity, the beating of John being so terrible that
+his life was despaired of for several days afterwards. The bed upon which
+the helpless and fever-stricken Daniel lay, was knocked down from under
+him, and his already infirm body bruised and lacerated without stint. It
+was indeed "a chastisement with scorpions;" but the most indecent
+spectacle was reserved to the last.
+
+
+OUTRAGE UPON A YOUNG GIRL.
+
+SHE IS WHIPPED IN A NUDE STATE IN THE PRESENCE OF THIRTY MEN.
+
+The girl Susan, whose bravery and devotion to her family should have
+challenged the admiration of these lawless marauders, instead of drawing
+upon her their contempt, was next ordered to disrobe. Overwhelmed and
+confused at the merest thought, even, of such indignity, she could hardly
+command herself sufficiently to speak her denials; as soon as she did, she
+utterly refused to comply with the order.
+
+The more lecherous and brutal of the band sprang upon and threw her to the
+floor, with no more regard for her person than if she had been a brute,
+whom they were leading to slaughter. They stretched her out at full
+length, and took her measure, as an intimation that they were going to dig
+her grave.
+
+"We will put her and her radical lies where she can't enjoy their good
+company, without further trouble," said one. This was responded to by
+another, who, with a coarse oath, ejaculated, "Six foot under ground makes
+a good place for solitary confinement, by ----."
+
+The work of "taking the measure" having been completed, Miss Furguson,
+already suffering from the indelicate treatment she had received, was then
+allowed to rise, and again ordered to divest herself of her clothes. "Is
+it possible," she asked, "that you will submit _me_ to such an outrage?"
+She had never conceived it possible these men, depraved as they were,
+would really carry out a threat against which her whole nature revolted.
+The reply was a sardonic laugh. The band had learned where the punishment
+would sting the most, and they meant to apply it and spare not.
+
+For the first time in all her hated experience with these desperate men,
+she faltered and felt her courage failing her. To the high-toned and
+sensitive spirit of this brave and beautiful girl, there was something in
+this contemplated exposure of her person far more torturing than any
+number of lashes, however mercilessly inflicted. Death itself were a
+thousand times preferable, and, for the first moment in all her life, she
+felt like supplicating for mercy. Her hands dropped nervously and
+motionless at her side, and the stout-hearted heroine of the previous
+hour, stood in the presence of her persecutors almost stricken dumb with
+shame and confusion.
+
+There was no sympathy in the glaring eyes that peered with lustful and
+revengeful fires from behind the hideous masks of their tormentors; no
+sentiment of pity, no hope, no help. She was given but little time to
+decide. They fell upon her like hungry wolves famishing for their prey,
+tearing one garment off after another, she resisting with all the strength
+she could command, and entreating them to take her life, if they must, but
+to spare her this last indignity.
+
+Neither her piteous appeals nor her stubborn resistance availed her, and
+she lay upon the hard floor at last, naked as when born into the world,
+ashamed, degraded, broken in spirit, and her maidenly feelings outraged
+beyond any power of description. Four of the defenders of the "white man's
+race" seized her limbs and arms; stretched them to their fullest tension,
+and placing their knees thereon, held her brutally and forcibly to the
+floor. Her punishment was to be terrible.
+
+The "executioners" were called, and five of the band came forward.
+"Number one!" shouted the leader, and a stalwart member of the Klan that
+had sworn to uphold the "white man's government," raising his knotted
+strap in the air, brought it down upon the naked person of the helpless
+girl with the terrible force of his muscular arm, cutting through the
+delicate white skin and causing the blood to spurt at every stroke. He
+administered thirty lashes, and was succeeded by "number two" and "number
+three," until, as the witnesses state, one hundred and fifty lashes had
+been administered, and her shoulders, loins, and limbs, were literally cut
+into mince meat.
+
+Her screams had ceased, and her unoffending body lay still and motionless
+long before the punishment had ended. There was something in her young
+heart far beyond the dread cruelty of this infliction, and she inwardly
+prayed to God for death, to end her mental and bodily suffering. Lying
+under this great mountain of sorrow and shame, she heeded not the rude and
+obscene observations of her tormentors; and the unconsciousness produced
+by the punishment, soon placed her beyond the power to listen to them.
+
+Leaving her as one dead, and issuing the edict that if the family did not
+leave the country, it would be "_death!_ DEATH! DEATH!" to all, the band
+departed.
+
+Thousands of honest hearts of all shades of political opinions, upon
+perusing this truthful narration, will feel to wish that they could have
+been present with power at this time to have utterly destroyed this band
+of midnight raiders; but, let them remember the words of holy writ,
+"Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord, I will repay".... "Neither their
+silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the
+Lord's wrath: but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his
+jealousy, for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell
+in the land."
+
+It was an hour after the departure of the band, before any of the party
+exhibited evidences of life or animation. Henry Furguson, and the young
+man Phillips, were the first to come to a realizing consciousness of the
+awful scenes through which they had just passed. Wounded and bleeding as
+they were, they felt the necessity for immediate action. The mother and
+daughter still lay upon the floor, naked, lacerated and motionless. John
+Furguson had fainted from the loss of blood he had sustained, and was
+still unconscious, while Daniel was lying amid the debris of the bed,
+groaning in the agony of the fever, and the wounds upon his body.
+
+Hastily gathering up the dresses of the women, and throwing them over
+their nude bodies, the young men lifted them tenderly to the bed, and gave
+them such attention as they felt able to bestow. The remaining members of
+the family were cared for as well as the circumstances permitted. Not a
+doctor could be had in the vicinity, who was not in sympathy with the
+Klan, and not a neighbor came to their assistance, although fully aware of
+their distressed condition. The neglect of the neighbors was in no way
+attributable to their indifference or their inhumanity. It was one of the
+legitimate results of the feeling of terror that then pervaded the
+community. A show of sympathy towards these unfortunates, they feared,
+would place them under the ban, and subject them to a visitation, and they
+dared not incur the risk.
+
+In ten days another warning came to the Furgusons, that they must leave
+the country within twenty-four hours, or the penalty of death would surely
+be inflicted. They knew this warning must be heeded, and with broken
+hearts and crushed spirits, they crawled out into the woods, under cover
+of the darkness, and secreted themselves as they best could.
+
+In an interview held with the writer, subsequent to this last outrage,
+Miss Furguson stated that the weather, at this time, was cold and
+disagreeable, sometimes frosting and sometimes raining; that they had to
+lie out without a shelter, and suffered with the cold and hunger,
+sometimes going twenty-four hours without food. Occasionally the neighbors
+gave them something to eat, and finally the unfortunate wanderers sold to
+them the right to what furniture they had left behind in the house, and
+thus procured something upon which to subsist.
+
+She stated further, that they were in the woods nearly a month, and that
+as soon as they were able to travel they left the vicinity and procured a
+home with a Mr. Dixon, on the lower edge of Chatham county.
+
+An affidavit, based upon the statements of this young lady, was made
+before the Hon. A. W. Schaffer, U. S. Commissioner at Raleigh, N. C., on
+the 8th day of September, 1871. It charged the men, recognized by this
+girl, as being present and concerned in the outrages above related.
+Warrants were issued, and the officers of the U. S. Secret Service went to
+Chatham county and arrested the parties and brought them before the
+Commissioner. The more wealthy and influential members of the Klan rallied
+to their rescue, became their bondsmen, and they were released to await
+trial.
+
+Miss Furguson's description of the dreadful indignities to which she and
+the other members of the family were subjected, was of the most graphic
+and thrilling character, and aroused the sympathies of many who heard it.
+
+The defenders of the "white man's government" were alone amazed and
+enraged at the persistency and courage of this young girl of the "white
+man's race," and they determined to ferret her out and punish her again.
+In this they were successful, although for greater safety, the family had
+broken up, and the mother and daughter had secreted themselves, as they
+supposed, beyond the knowledge of their persecutors.
+
+On the night of the 20th of September, 1871, three men, armed and
+disguised, and who had been detailed by the Camp for the purpose, appeared
+suddenly before the miserable hut in which these unfortunates had taken
+refuge. An entrance was easily effected, and the women were told that
+their doom was sealed, and they were to be whipped to death.
+
+These three protectors of the "white man's race," then fell upon the
+women, beating them brutally. Susan recognized one of them, by his voice,
+as a man named Jesse Dixon, whom she knew. The moment she called his name,
+the three ran away, leaving their victims, who passed the remnant of the
+night in the woods.
+
+On the following day, the mother and daughter made their way to Raleigh,
+where fresh complaints were entered, and the Secret Service officers,
+armed with warrants, went out and succeeded in capturing two of the
+murderous assailants, who were brought in and held for trial. Mrs.
+Furguson and her daughter were then retained in the city as witnesses, at
+the expense of the government, and to protect them from further outrages.
+
+Susan J. Furguson, the heroine of the terrible experiences above related,
+is now twenty-one years of age. She is a girl of commanding presence, is
+endowed with a powerful constitution, great energy and force of character,
+and an indomitable spirit. Her P. O. address is "Snow Camp Foundry,
+Chatham Co., N. C.," where herself and other members of the family can be
+found, in verification of the facts above related.
+
+There are few narrations in the annals of "persecutions for opinion's
+sake," more shocking in their inhuman details than the foregoing;
+certainly, none that cry with a louder and more earnest voice to the
+government, and the right-minded people of the country, for help for
+those who have been the subjects thereof.
+
+No amount of retributive justice can erase one solitary scar from the
+knout-welted bodies of the Furgusons, or remove from their spirits the
+dreadful memory of their disgrace; but to those who went forth to battle
+in the days of "The Nation's Peril," who stood shoulder to shoulder amid
+the roar of cannon, and, in vindication of the right, successfully
+withstood the shock of rebellious armies, it must ever remain a matter of
+profound gratification that the victories _then_ achieved in the field are
+_now_ being perpetuated in such a firm and vigorous enforcement of the
+laws as will have a tendency to make them substantial ones in the
+repression of any and all such outrages in the future.
+
+
+GEORGE W. ASHBURN.
+
+SHOT TO DEATH FOR OPINION'S SAKE.
+
+The shocking murder of this gentleman is still fresh in the minds of most
+readers of the daily journals, North and South. Mr. Ashburn was a sterling
+patriot, who entertained radical opinions, and through his fluency and
+ability, as well as his outspoken friendliness towards the colored race,
+had gained their confidence and support alike, with that of the Republican
+whites of the vicinity.
+
+He was a member of the Constitutional Convention of Georgia which met at
+Columbus, in the winter of 1867-8, and during his stay there, was refused
+admittance as a guest at the principal hotels of the place on account of
+the political prejudice existing against him. He occupied private rooms
+upon one of the main streets of the city, where he lived in an
+unostentatious and unpretending manner.
+
+He was a man of extraordinary natural talents, a good speaker, of fair
+educational qualifications, and a most earnest defender and supporter of
+true Republican principles. On all occasions, and wherever he appeared, to
+discuss the political situation of the trying times he moved in, he spoke
+his sentiments unreservedly. He was far from ever having been a huckster
+or trickster in politics, but he was fearless and able, and his enemies
+doomed him!
+
+At midnight, on the 31st day of March, 1868, a band of about forty men,
+who were armed and thoroughly disguised, made their appearance in an open
+lot of ground near his residence, and just opposite his private quarters.
+He had gone to bed in his room, and the door was just closed, when a
+summons from without called the servant, who opened it, and the Klan burst
+into the hall. Mr. Ashburn heard the noise, sprang out of bed, struck a
+light, and opened the door of his sleeping apartment. He did not fear
+death at the hands of these intruders, but he was alarmed at the rude
+demonstrations they made, and demanded to know what was their purpose.
+
+With an oath and a brief exclamation of unwarrantable abuse, the foremost
+members of the Klan immediately fired upon and shot him down in his tracks
+like a dog. A white and colored woman in the house recognized three or
+four of the leading assailants, whom they subsequently identified, and
+these were among the first residents of the city of Columbus. The names of
+these parties, whose identity was sworn to, and who were afterwards placed
+on trial, are as follows:
+
+Elisha J. Kirksey, Columbus C. Bedell, James W. Barber, William A. Duke,
+Robert Hudson, William D. Chipley, Alva C. Roper, James L. Wiggins, Robert
+A. Wood, Henry Hennis, Herbert W. Blair, and Milton Malone.
+
+The morning after the assassination, a coroner's jury was summoned, and,
+as was usual in such cases, the verdict of these men--who were all members
+of the Ku Klux Klan--was, that Mr. Ashburn came to his death "from wounds
+received from parties to the jury unknown." The local authorities made a
+faint show of investigating the matter, but really did nothing towards
+actually ferreting out and bringing to justice the murderers.
+
+This outrage was so revolting in its inception and consummation, that the
+military authorities considered it right that they should undertake to do
+what the local police and citizens of Columbus had apparently been so
+indifferent in performing.
+
+In the then condition of affairs nobody dared to appear against the
+suspected parties, and consequently witnesses could not be had in the
+ordinary way.
+
+At this juncture General Geo. G. Meade, then in command of the Military
+Department there--for the State of Georgia was at this time under martial
+law--telegraphed to Gen. Grant, in Washington, that he desired the
+services of a competent and able detective to assist in bringing the
+guilty parties to justice. A second dispatch was sent by Gen. Meade,
+requesting that Col. H. C. Whitley, of the United States Internal Revenue
+service (then absent under Department orders in Kansas), should be
+directed to report to him in person for the duty indicated. In pursuance
+of this request Col. Whitley went to Columbus and commenced his labors,
+which resulted in the arrest of the parties above named.
+
+A military commission was at once convened to try the accused. The
+witnesses for the Government gave their testimony in a straightforward
+manner, their evidence being fully corroborated by that of the people in
+the house where the deed had been consummated, and the conviction of the
+parties seemed inevitable.
+
+The citizens of Columbus raised a hue and cry; the local newspapers
+sharply criticized the proceedings; a furore of excitement was engendered;
+the ablest legal counsel to be had for the defence, with Alexander H.
+Stephens at the head, were engaged, and large sums of money were expended
+in behalf of the prisoners.
+
+All parties were astounded, however, at the evidence which was produced
+against the accused. Its preparation showed a skill and ingenuity such as
+had never before been exhibited in working up a case before the courts of
+the district, and it was necessary that some measures should be devised to
+save the participants in the fearful tragedy from their justly merited
+punishment.
+
+This could only be accomplished in one way--by the adoption of the 14th
+Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, it being a clause in
+the law that, upon the adoption of this amendment by the legislature of
+any State, all cases of civilians pending before military tribunals
+organized in said State, should be taken cognizance of by the civil courts
+therein.
+
+The Democratic members of the Georgia Legislature were between two fires;
+the 14th Amendment was a bitter pill, but the necks of their confreres
+were in danger, and they were compelled to vote solid with the
+Republicans, and thus end the proceedings before the military tribunal. By
+this means, the trials of the Ashburn murderers were taken out of the
+hands of the military authorities, the prisoners put under bail, the
+witnesses compelled to flee for their lives, and there the matter rests.
+
+To the unobserving mind the murder of George W. Ashburn would seem totally
+unavenged; but to him who sees in every great event the hand of an
+over-ruling Providence, evolving good from evil, a different conclusion
+must be arrived at. In his life, he fought manfully for the establishment
+of civil rights, and the political equality of the oppressed race of which
+he was the chosen champion. In his death that result was consummated, in
+the State of Georgia, sooner perhaps by years than it would otherwise have
+been without this sacrifice. "Wherever a few great minds have made a stand
+against violence and fraud in the cause of liberty and reason," there
+shall we find just such sacrifices as this, and there, too, "in the
+eternal fitness of things" and the onward march of law and the
+establishment of order, shall we find the triumphal vindication of those
+principles for which the republic has labored and travailed, and George W.
+Ashburn died.
+
+
+A THRILLING NARRATIVE.
+
+DESPERATE ENCOUNTER AND DEFEAT OF A BAND OF KU KLUX.
+
+As an instance of what the courage of one man can do in a righteous cause,
+against a multitude of those who are actuated by wicked and unlawful
+motives, the case of Mr. J. K. Halliday, a resident of Jackson County,
+near Jefferson, Ga., is perhaps one of the most extraordinary on record.
+
+Mr. Halliday is a native of Jackson County, Ga., where he has always lived
+and done business. He was opposed to secession and rebellion from the
+first; was continually counselling peaceful measures, and openly avowed
+himself a Unionist. During the war, he utterly refused to take up arms
+against the Government, and being a man of great influence and large
+means, was enabled to avoid conscription into the rebel ranks.
+
+He was a thriving business man, the proprietor of two plantations and a
+mill, and kept a large number of hands engaged at work. After the close of
+the rebellion and as a measure of concession to the turbulent spirits by
+whom he was surrounded, he employed white men to do his labor.
+
+Mr. Halliday soon found, to his inconvenient cost, that these men demanded
+exorbitant wages; that they were indisposed to perform a fair day's work,
+sometimes not working at all, and then but for a half day, but always
+charging him for full time--and he finally became disgusted with, and
+discharged them altogether. This was sufficient to bring him into contempt
+with the Klan, who charged him with being a "negro lover," as well as a
+Union sympathizer, and an open-mouthed Radical.
+
+Threats of his assassination and the destruction of his mill and other
+buildings were freely uttered. He was formally "warned" by the K. K. K.'s,
+that he must change his course, politically, or he would certainly suffer
+death. Halliday's reply to this threat and warning was simply to proceed
+to Jefferson, and procure some of the best modern weapons, for defense,
+that he could find. With these he returned to his dwelling, awaited
+results, pursuing his usual course, advocating such political principles
+as he please, and employing colored men as before.
+
+During the spring of 1871, at a meeting of the Ku Klux Camp of Jefferson
+County, it was solemnly resolved that Halliday should be killed, and his
+property destroyed. The night for the "visitation" was duly decided on;
+and through an anonymous note this information was conveyed to Halliday,
+the writer begging him as he valued his life, to leave the place, and thus
+save himself.
+
+To less resolute men this would have appeared a serious matter, but upon
+Halliday the threatened danger had an entirely different effect. It nerved
+rather than weakened his brave spirit, and he resolved to "stick." He was
+a man full six feet in stature, and well proportioned; he had been long
+accustomed to out-of-door life, and was considered one of the most
+powerful men, physically, in the county; he knew his strength, and relying
+upon that and an unswerving faith in God, he determined to defend himself
+and his family to the last.
+
+On the night of the anticipated visit, he placed his wife and his two
+children in the upper room of the house, and barricaded the passage way
+leading thereto, as best he could.
+
+Mrs. Halliday well knew the desperate character and murderous designs of
+the Klan. She clung to her husband, to whom she was devotedly attached,
+and expressed her fears as he passed down the stairway, that she would
+never see him again, alive! To this Mr. Halliday responded:
+
+"You forget that the GREAT MASTER is with me! Trust HIM as _I_ do," and
+kissing her and the little ones, he descended to the ground floor, where
+he intended to remain and await the advent of the party.
+
+Some of the more faithful of the negroes observing the unusual care with
+which Mr. H. adjusted the fastenings upon the doors and shutters, that
+night, hinted to him that they "reck'nd he 'spected trouble," and they
+would like to be near him.
+
+"No," said he, "go to your own places and don't come out; if they come in
+here, I had rather be alone, for then I can shoot and cut at random and be
+sure not to hit any of my own friends. Every man I strike will surely be
+one who ought to be stricken."
+
+Mr. Halliday was armed with two rifles, two revolvers, and a long bowie
+knife. Shortly before midnight, the Klan made their appearance in front of
+the house, to the number of about twenty. Halliday saw them through a
+small half-moon shaped aperture at the top of the shutter.
+
+They were all masked, and appeared each to wear a long rubber cape,
+falling from the shoulders to the waist. They came straight to the door,
+and, without saying a word, commenced to batter it in. The door gave way
+in a few moments, and as they rushed in, Halliday discharged his firearms
+with such fatal effect, that three of the Klan dropped dead upon the
+floor.
+
+The room was intensely dark, and a desperate fight ensued, in which the
+assailants more frequently encountered each other than the victim for whom
+they were in search.
+
+Halliday was finally grappled by one of the foremost of the party. He
+speedily freed himself through his superior strength and the prompt use of
+his bowie knife, thrusting it into his assailant's bowels, and throwing
+him violently back on to the crowd. The wounded man exclaimed:
+
+"He's got a knife! I'm murdered!"
+
+This caused a panic among the marauders, and the entire crowd left the
+house, taking their dead and wounded with them. After making certain that
+all of their own number were out, they discharged their firearms through
+the open doorway, and beat a retreat, taking a circuitous route, to avoid
+being traced by the blood that oozed from the wounds of several of the
+number, two of whom died soon after reaching their homes, thus making five
+in all who had paid the forfeit of their lives in the unholy cause.
+
+During all the time of this desperate encounter, the feelings of the
+wretched wife and frightened children in the upper room, may only be
+imagined. The father and husband, single handed, fighting against a horde
+of ruffians bent upon his murder; their own fate depending upon his, and
+not daring to cry out lest they should be discovered, and thus bring
+destruction upon their own heads, their situation was agonizing in the
+extreme.
+
+Mrs. Halliday did not forget the last words of her husband, so full of the
+strong faith that characterized the man: "_You forget that the Great
+Master is with me. Trust Him as I do!_" And sinking upon her knees, she
+poured her spirit out in silent and earnest prayer to God for help.
+
+The dead calm that had ensued after the uproarious tumult of the firearms,
+and the fierce struggle of the combatants in the room below, alarmed Mrs.
+Halliday more than all else. Whether her husband had been overpowered at
+last and taken away, or had been left dead upon the floor, with some of
+the murderous crew watching to see who would come for the body, she knew
+not. Possibly he might be lying there alone, wounded and insensible, with
+the life-blood ebbing away, and no friendly hand to stay the crimson tide,
+and the thought was terrible and agonizing.
+
+An hour went by. An hour into which years of misery were crowded to the
+forlorn woman, and yet no sound of life, no ray of light gleaming through
+the impenetrable darkness, to relieve the awful gloom and suspense, or
+give her one faint shadow of hope.
+
+Halliday was indeed lying there, exhausted and unconscious from the
+numerous wounds and contusions he had received. In his right hand he still
+held the bowie knife firmly grasped, as if awaiting the further onslaught
+of the foe, while his left was clenched with the determination of his iron
+will. The cool wind blowing off the mill-stream and coming in through the
+open doorway, aroused him at length to consciousness.
+
+The remembrance of the fight, his successful resistance, the retreat of
+the assailing party, and, above all, his wife and children, saved--and by
+his own right arm!--came back to his recollection and nerved him to
+action. He roused himself from his lethargy, and groping his way to the
+stairs, he called out:
+
+"Are you there, mother! and our darlings!"
+
+Who shall tell the feelings of that wife-mother's heart, bowed in its
+terrible anguish, and now so suddenly raised to the highest pinnacle of
+happiness as she responded, "Here! and safe, thank God, and our husband
+and father."
+
+Who shall describe the music that will compare, in Halliday's bosom, to
+the pattering feet of his darlings, as they rushed to meet his strong and
+loving embraces, and shouted, "Papa, papa!" amid their fast falling tears.
+
+Halliday's wounds, though not fatal, were still serious enough to alarm
+his wife, and as early in the morning as she dared, she sent one of the
+negroes for a doctor; but it appeared that every doctor in the vicinity
+was busy with patients who had been "taken suddenly ill during the night."
+
+One of these was the only son of a widow, the nearest neighbor to the
+Hallidays. He had received a "severe fall" the night previous, they said,
+upon a sharp instrument that had pierced his bowels and caused his death.
+This proved to be the man Halliday had cut. Five funerals attested the
+energy and strength of the hero's arm, and the dead bodies of the victims
+remained as lasting "warnings" to the "defenders of the white man's
+government," and that it was not always wise to attack the members of the
+"white man's race."
+
+It is almost needless to add that Mr. Halliday was left free from that
+time forth to pursue his own course, politically and otherwise as he
+deemed best, and that his persecutors came to realize with him that "the
+race is not always to the swift, nor the battle to the strong," and that
+in the struggle of the right for supremacy over the wrong, "God and one
+constitute a majority."
+
+
+SLAUGHTER OF AN UNITED STATES OFFICIAL.
+
+John Springfield, a Deputy United States Marshal, residing in St. Clair
+County, Alabama, had drawn upon himself the odium of the Ku Klux of that
+county by accepting a position under the United States Government, the
+duties of which he endeavored faithfully to discharge.
+
+He had been approached on several occasions by members of the Klan, who
+had made propositions to him to pervert his office, and shield certain
+parties who were engaged in the illicit distillation of whiskey; but had
+utterly refused to listen to any of these overtures, and was bold enough
+to proclaim the fact that he should use his best endeavors to bring to
+punishment the violators of the law wherever he found them.
+
+The customary warning was sent to this intrepid officer, informing him
+that "St. Clair County was getting hot for him," but that if he kept on in
+his course he would "be sent to a hotter place in a hurry."
+
+He was somewhat alarmed at this threat and moved about with great caution,
+but was unremitting in his attention to his duties until the spring of
+1871, when the Klan decided that he must be stopped. An edict was issued,
+sealing Springfield's doom, and the second night thereafter he was
+followed by three members of the Klan, disguised in black gowns and with
+their faces blackened, and was shot dead within a few feet of his house.
+
+This murder was charged upon the negroes, and up to the present writing,
+the instigators and perpetrators have escaped punishment.
+
+
+THE ASSAULT UPON ASA THOMPSON.
+
+_Singular Conduct of the Klan._
+
+In the latter part of the year 1870, there resided in Clinch County,
+Georgia, a gentleman by the name of Asa Thompson, who, although a
+Southerner by birth and education, was an outspoken Radical Unionist, and
+had directly identified himself with the Republican party.
+
+In his intercourse with the people he was frank and free in the expression
+of his sentiments, and always exercised the right of suffrage, conducting
+himself in an orderly and acceptable manner, at all times, as a good
+citizen should do. He was proprietor of a thrifty plantation, upon which
+he employed a large number of hands, and stood well generally in the
+community.
+
+These essential requisites to a good citizen were altogether insufficient,
+in the eyes of the Ku Klux Klan in that vicinity, to balance the bad
+points (in their esteem) which characterized him, inasmuch as he was a
+Radical in principle. This fault was considered good cause for forwarding
+to Thompson a sharp "warning" from the camp, which was sent him in the
+customary form, and he was ordered to restrain himself in the utterance of
+his Radicalism, or quit the country.
+
+If he failed to obey, then he would receive a visitation from the K. K.
+K.'s, and that meant death. To this notice he gave no attention, but
+laughed at the threat and awaited events. A second warning was then sent
+him, couched in the following terms:--
+
+     "One of three things will happen to you, very shortly. You will leave
+     the country, so that we can never find you--change your politics--or
+     be turned into Buzzard Bait.
+
+        K. K. K."
+
+To this expressive, but not over polite missive, Thompson returned a
+somewhat defiant reply, proceeded at once to fortify his cotton
+gin-house, in which he remained at night, and dared the Klan to come for
+him.
+
+During the month of September, 1871, matters had assumed such a position
+in this man's case, that the Klan felt that Thompson must be annihilated,
+or the "reign of terror," which they had inaugurated in the county, would
+be broken--and a reaction take place among the people, inimical to
+themselves.
+
+Numbers of the band were accordingly detailed by the Commander of the Camp
+of Clinch County, to put Thompson out of the way. They were headed by
+Shimmie Timmerson, formerly sheriff of that county; a man notable for his
+unusual brute force and personal resolution.
+
+The Klan approached Thompson's gin-house on the night of the assault,
+cautiously, and as they supposed, unobserved. Each one of them was well
+armed, and disguised in black gowns, masks and hats.
+
+Thompson, who had been constantly on the watch, discovered them upon their
+first appearance. He relied upon the solid door of the gin-house, which he
+supposed would withstand a much heavier shock than it did. It gave way
+upon the first assault, which was made with a heavy piece of timber,
+battered against it by the assailants; and which shivered it to splinters.
+
+As the door crashed in, Thompson opened such a rapid fire upon the
+marauders, as to lead them to suppose that the gin-house was full of armed
+men. This belief had been strengthened, from the fact that its only
+occupant shouted simultaneously with the discharge of his weapons: "Give
+it to 'em, boys! Don't spare a man."
+
+Timmerman (the ex-sheriff), who led this gang, fell at the first fire,
+seriously though not mortally wounded. Several others of the party bit the
+dust, and the entire band at once beat an ignominous retreat--bearing
+with them their wounded; and leaving their single-handed and brave
+opponent master of the situation.
+
+The most singular and unexpected result of this was, that the band were so
+thoroughly chagrined at their failure, that they had a quarrel among
+themselves after leaving the place, and charged their defeat upon
+Timmerman, who led the van--and whom they adjudged guilty of death on the
+spot, on the ground that their defeat was due to his bad management.
+
+This sentence would actually have been executed upon him, but for the
+interposition of some of the Klan, who declared their belief that
+Timmerman could not recover from the wounds he had already received, and
+that he might as well be left to die in the woods; that they did not think
+he was a traitor, and hence ought not to suffer a traitor's doom.
+
+The ex-sheriff was greatly weakened from the loss of blood, caused by
+these wounds, and was so thoroughly panic-stricken at the idea that he
+might possibly be murdered by his associates, that he swooned, and his
+body was carried nearly a mile into the wood, where his "brethren" of the
+Camp threw it down, and left him.
+
+On the following day Mrs. Timmerman, having missed her husband, employed a
+gang of negroes to go in search of him. The hunt was successful, and the
+wounded man was removed to his house; where, after the most careful
+nursing, he was partially restored to health, but was so badly crippled as
+to be unable ever again to perform manual labor.
+
+The treachery and inhumanity of these men towards one of their own number
+so enraged Timmerman that he declared himself ready to expose their whole
+operations, their modes of working, and their secrets; and it was from him
+and Mr. Thompson that the writer obtained the facts, as herein set forth.
+This raid ended the operations of the Clinch County Ku Klux Klan, for
+sometime, so far as the influential whites were concerned.
+
+Outrages upon negroes were continued, however, but with less severity--the
+subsequent vigorous action of the Government in enforcing the laws, in
+other parts of the country, being felt to some degree in that place.
+
+
+BRUTAL WHIPPING OF WOMEN.
+
+The outrages committed by members of the Klans, upon both individuals and
+property, in the county of Chatham, and in Moore county, N. C., were so
+numerous and oppressive, during the spring of 1871, and finally became so
+brutal in their character as to occasion the direst consternation among
+the whole negro population, as well as among such of the whites as dared
+to exercise the right of suffrage in accordance with their own
+convictions, which were not in accord with the tenets maintained by the Ku
+Klux or democracy of the place.
+
+About this period, the more intelligent of the colored people were in the
+habit of gathering together at stated times, for consultation in company
+with the friendly whites, as to the course it was deemed best for them to
+pursue for the protection and security of their lives.
+
+A favorite place for holding these meetings, was at the dwelling of Mrs.
+Sallie Gilmore--a woman then residing with her family in Moore county.
+
+These frequent assemblages were soon brought to the notice of the Camp in
+Moore county, and it was decided that such an example should be made of
+the parties as would deter others from pursuing a similar course; and
+compel these to abandon their radical views, or quit the country.
+
+The house occupied by Mrs. Gilmore, was rather of the better class, and
+Mrs. G. was known as an intelligent woman, who, in her sympathy with the
+colored race, was anxious for the day when the rights and privileges
+guaranteed them by the Constitution and the laws, could be enjoyed without
+molestation.
+
+The opinions and teachings of Mrs. Gilmore becoming known, the heresy was
+sufficient for the Klan to commence a crusade upon her and her family, and
+an edict was issued that she, and all the others found upon her premises,
+should be scourged.
+
+Thirty men of the Klan were, accordingly, detailed to carry out the order,
+and the "visitation" was fixed for the night of April 15th, 1871. The Klan
+were disguised, as usual, and were under the leadership of Roderick J.
+Bryan, a prominent citizen of Moore county, who was violently opposed to
+Republican principles. They met and organized in a field about a mile from
+Mrs. Gilmore's house, where they held a counsel, and finally completed
+arrangements for making the proposed raid.
+
+Saturday night (the night in question) was the favorite time when the
+negroes met there, but, on this particular evening there chanced to be but
+three present, besides Mrs. Gilmore, her son and daughter, and a young
+woman named Mary Godfrey.
+
+For greater security, no lights were used when these meetings were held,
+and when the Klan arrived, the place was found to be entirely darkened.
+The doors were at once broken in, and Murkerson McLane, one of the
+negroes, taking advantage of the darkness, crept through the doorway
+stealthily, and darted towards the woods; but he was observed by some of
+the Klan, who pursued and soon came up with him.
+
+They had fired upon him as he ran, and when overtaken, he had sank down
+exhausted, and begged hard for his life. Roderick Bryan and Garner Watson
+replied to his earnest supplications for life by discharging their
+revolvers at him a second time. Both shots took effect. McLane gave a
+spasmodic leap into the air, and dropped motionless by the roadside.
+Supposing him dead the band left him there, where he lingered through the
+night in great agony, and died next morning.
+
+Having murdered McLane, his pursuers returned to Mrs. Gilmore's house,
+where the rest of their party were awaiting them before commencing their
+inhuman indecencies. A light had been struck, and Mrs. Gilmore, her son
+and daughter, the negroes, and Mary Godfrey, were found fastened to the
+bed, in the most indecent positions. The negroes were first released, and
+were fearfully beaten with clubs and twisted switches, until they became
+utterly unconscious, when they were rudely dragged to the doorway, and
+their bleeding bodies tumbled, unceremoniously, into the mud.
+
+Mrs. Gilmore's son and daughter were then stripped of their clothing and
+compelled, in this condition, to _dance_, for the edification of their
+tormentors; the music of this wretched exhibition being provided by the
+switches in the hands of the Klan, who applied them to the naked bodies of
+their victims with terrible severity, mocking them wickedly, meantime, as
+they were forced through the unwilling and miserable antics they
+performed!
+
+The son was entirely nude, but the daughter was allowed to retain her
+chemise. Both became exhausted, and sank down under the terrible
+punishment inflicted upon them, and the vigorous switching kept up, failed
+to revive them into further action. The attentions of the Klan were then
+directed towards Mrs. Gilmore.
+
+One of the band said, "Let's make the old she radical dance now!"
+
+"We can do better than that," said another; "we can lick the d--
+nigger-loving blood out of her."
+
+Mrs. Gilmore, now upwards of fifty years old, was then seized and thrown
+violently upon the floor. Her clothes were drawn up over her head, and the
+cotton under garments covering her limbs were rudely torn off, exposing
+her naked person to the demons in human form who surrounded her. The
+switches were then applied with all the vigor of which the executioners
+were capable. The old lady uttered a few heart-rending shrieks, but
+speedily fainted, and continued unconscious during the remainder of the
+infliction.
+
+The punishment of the young woman, Mary Godfrey, was reserved to the last.
+She was stripped of every thread of clothing, and was thus compelled to
+experience the shame of indecent exposure, added to her other tortures.
+During the process of scourging this young woman the vilest and most
+obscene epithets were bandied about by the Klan, and she was subjected to
+many other indignities.
+
+She sank under the treatment at last, and lie upon the floor, her life
+apparently extinct. Cold water was dashed over the faces and bodies of
+these unfortunate women, who, by this means, were rallied sufficiently to
+render them conscious enough to listen to the final edict of the Klan,
+which was, "To cease indulging in and promulgating their heresies, from
+that hour forward, and abandon the country, on pain of certain death!"
+With this admonition the defenders of the white man's government left the
+house.
+
+Of a truth, "all cruelty springs from wickedness." But the weakness which
+could prompt the brutality--exhibited in such cases as those above
+recorded--is utterly inexcusable in any being wearing the shape of man.
+
+The brutal whipping of these inoffensive women, and the murder of the
+negro McLane, add one more to the many evidences of the degradation to
+which the members of the Ku Klux Klan had reduced themselves, in their
+endeavors to crush out freedom of thought and expression, and compel
+adherence to their own peculiar tenets. Thank God, and the wisdom that now
+guides and controls the destinies of the nation, these dark hours of the
+Republic, fruitful with scenes like those described above, are passing
+away. A gleam of light appears in the horizon, as a glad harbinger of the
+dawn that shall usher in the day when
+
+  "All crimes shall cease, and ancient fraud shall fail;
+  Returning justice lift aloft her scale;
+  Peace o'er the world her olive wand extend,
+  And white robed innocence from heaven descend."
+
+
+MISCELLANEOUS OUTRAGES.
+
+WHIPPING OF STANFORD AND NASH.
+
+On the night of the 16th of June, 1871, two negroes, named John Stanford
+and Edward Nash, were proceeding to their homes, near Oltewah, Hamilton
+County, Tennessee, when they were met in the road by some fifteen men
+armed and disguised, who ordered them to stop. They were then interrogated
+by the leader of the band as to why they had voted the Radical ticket at
+the previous election. Stanford replied that they had done it because it
+was right. One of the band said:
+
+"There's a sting in that ticket, and you may as well have the whole of
+it," at the same time striking at Stanford with a wooden club.
+
+The latter is a very powerful negro, and having some spirit, resented the
+attempted injury, dodged the blow, and instantly seizing his assailant,
+threw him heavily to the earth. Nash showed fight also, but being a much
+weaker man, was soon overpowered and pinioned fast. Several of the band
+seized Stanford, who, from his superior strength, dashed them one side,
+and darted away, followed by half a dozen of the Klan.
+
+As he ran, he managed to pick up a piece of board in the road with which
+he turned on his pursuers with the intention of defending himself, when a
+well-directed shot struck his elbow, shattering the bone, and compelling
+him to drop the board, and again attempt to save himself by flight. A
+second shot struck him in the ankle, and impeded his further progress. His
+pursuers again came up with and secured him, and conveyed him back to
+where Nash was pleading for his life.
+
+A council was held by the Klan, in which it was decided that the negroes
+should be severely whipped, and if ever known to again vote the radical
+ticket, they should die.
+
+Stanford was tied to a tree, his immense strength still being feared by
+the band, and was beaten until entirely insensible. Nash received a
+similar castigation. Both the negroes were then untied and placed across
+the driveway of the road so that a wagon in passing would be likely to run
+over them, unless they should in the mean time become conscious, and get
+out of the way.
+
+In his desperate struggle with the band, Stanford had displaced one of the
+masks, which enabled him to recognize a man named Goal Martin, who lived
+in the vicinity. Upon the statement of these negroes, and from evidence
+furnished by other corroborating circumstances, several of the members of
+the band committing these outrages were arrested and brought to
+appropriate punishment.
+
+
+OUTRAGE UPON WILLIAM FLETCHER.
+
+On the night of the 23d of November, 1871, there assembled in the woods
+near Cross Plains, Alabama, a band of men armed and disguised as the White
+Brotherhood. Their persons were enveloped in long white gowns, white masks
+covered their faces, high white conical hats surmounted their heads, their
+hands were encased in white gloves, and white stockings were drawn over
+and completely covered their boots.
+
+The object of this gathering was the punishment of one William Fletcher, a
+white Unionist and Radical, who had the temerity to vote the Republican
+ticket, advocate the supremacy of the Government, and aid the officers
+thereof in the enforcement of the laws. These were crimes in the eyes of
+the Ku Klux Klan sufficient to warrant their taking the offender in hand.
+The customary warning was not sent in this case, but a friendly hand
+penned a note to Fletcher, informing him of the danger, but this,
+unfortunately, never reached him.
+
+At the time of the assembling of the band, as above stated, the "Night
+Hawks"[1] of the Camp came up with the intelligence that Fletcher was then
+in a grocery store kept by a man named Flanders, and that it would be
+better to decoy him out of there, and get him on the road towards the
+woods, where he could be the more easily mastered.
+
+Fletcher was a cool, resolute and brave man, was supposed to be well
+armed, and the members of the Klan knew that unless some strategy was used
+with him, some of their number must suffer the consequences. One of the
+Klan, named N. G. Scott, was accordingly detailed to decoy Fletcher away.
+Scott removed his disguise, and started for the store, followed at a
+convenient distance by several members of the band. He was successful in
+his undertaking, and in about twenty minutes he and his intended victim
+were walking down the road, in the direction of the ambuscade.
+
+In a moment more, the Klan sprang upon and overpowered Fletcher. Pistols
+were presented at his head, threatenings of death were made if he uttered
+a cry; a towel was tied tightly across his eyes as a bandage, and he was
+led away to the woods on the north side of Cross Plains. Upon reaching the
+woods, his coat and vest were removed, and he was stood up with his face
+pressed hard against a tree. His arms were drawn around the trunk of the
+tree, and tied together, and his legs were firmly secured by ropes.
+
+John Yeateman, who had charge of the proceedings of the Klan that night,
+then stepped forward, and told Fletcher to say his prayers, as he had but
+a short time to live; that it had first been the intention to give him a
+whipping and let him go, but that they had now decided to whip him to
+death.
+
+Fletcher replied by asking if there was no mercy to be accorded him, and
+inquired to know for what he was to be killed. The only answer to this was
+that they never gave mercy to the "infernal radicals, who wanted niggers
+to rule the country." This remark was followed by his shirt being torn
+completely off his back.
+
+Meantime the "executioners," who had gone for the "rods," returned, and
+upon the order of their leader fell to their work, cutting the back of the
+poor victim most dreadfully, and causing him to lose all his stoicism at
+last, and shriek from the effects of the blows. The "executioners"
+becoming exhausted, Yeateman himself seized a knife, and cutting away the
+garments that encased Fletcher's lower limbs, took a "rod," and commenced
+beating him about the loins with great ferocity.
+
+Fletcher fainted under the punishment, and as his screams had ceased,
+Yeateman desisted, remarking, "There's one Radical vote less, by ----."
+
+The band continued consulting together for some time, when, Fletcher being
+heard to groan, one of the Klan, named James Bierd, said: "He ain't
+finished yet; I reckon he'd better have the whole of it."
+
+Yeateman then approached the miserable victim, and having succeeded in
+arousing him to consciousness, asked: "Have you anything to say before you
+die?"
+
+Fletcher responded faintly, saying: "Write to my mother, Mrs. William
+Fletcher, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, and say how and why I died." In a
+moment afterwards he asked: "Is there no chance to live?"
+
+The band consulted together again, when Yeateman said: "There is just one
+chance for you, and that is that you agree to leave the State in three
+hours, and never come back."
+
+Fletcher gladly gave the required promise. He was then untied, and two of
+the band supporting him upon either side, led him to the railroad track.
+The bandage was then taken from his eyes, and he was told he must walk on,
+and that if he looked back, he would be shot. A row of revolvers pointed
+at him gave evidence that he was not being trifled with, and summoning all
+the resolution and strength which he could command, he slowly hobbled
+away.
+
+William Fletcher is no mythical creation. He lives to-day, a scarred and
+maimed monument of the demoniac brutality that instigated his scourging
+for opinion's sake; his property destroyed, his health ruined for life,
+his spirit crushed and broken. The naturally indignant reader will ask if
+justice has overtaken the miscreants who committed this outrage, and will
+be gratified to know that it has; and that the principal offenders have
+felt the weight of the strong arm of the law, now being vigorously
+enforced throughout the South against the execrable Klan to which they
+belonged, and in whose interest, and that of bigotry and persecution, they
+committed this dreadful outrage.
+
+
+A SIGNIFICANT CONVERSATION.
+
+The preceding stories of wrongs and outrages committed by the Ku Klux
+Klan, and those that follow, serve in a degree to show the extent to which
+persecutions for opinion's sake were carried. It was the intention of the
+leaders to intimidate the masses, that further opposition to the
+principles promulgated by the Ku Klux Klan, or Southern Democracy, should
+cease altogether. They were wiley enough to see, however, that silence,
+while it may often give assent, can rarely be construed as an endorsement
+of that which is utterly repugnant to the human heart.
+
+Hence, plans were adopted for the dissemination of principles in violent
+antagonism to the Government and the Administration. It was not only
+hinted at that a change of Administration would effect the ends desired by
+the Ku Klux Orders; but it was openly declared by the bolder ones that
+such an event would give the South more than it had ever hoped to obtain,
+even had the war been a success to them instead of to the nation at large.
+
+As an illustration of the feeling of some of these leaders, who were men
+of property and influence, and owned plantations in the interior, the
+following conversation is given. This conversation actually occurred upon
+the Moore plantation, situated upon the Tuscaloosa and Lexington Turnpike.
+
+Moore had been a most uncompromising rebel, and was one of the first to
+join the Ku Klux Camp in his vicinity. He was continually haranguing his
+laborers in the interest of Ku Kluxism and democracy, cursing the
+Government and the Administration, and swearing death to all who upheld
+them. One of his hands, whom he had but recently employed (September,
+1871), said to him:
+
+"What shall we do to break up this cursed Government, and have things as
+we want them?"
+
+Moore replied: "There is a movement on foot all over the South that will
+drive every d----d Yankee out of it before long, and give us things all
+our own way."
+
+"Good," said the laborer, "I'd like to know the programme, and get posted
+in that thing; I'd take a big hand in it!"
+
+Moore being now convinced that he had the right kind of a tool for the
+intended work, then said:
+
+"We've got the right thing now to fix all the niggers and Yankees with
+that don't go as we want them to; we don't care a d---- for the general
+government. It can go to ----, where it ought to. They may pass an hundred
+more Ku Klux bills, and it won't do them a bit of good. The Ku Klux are
+resting just now; but they are not asleep. They have got the niggers and
+radicals in pretty good train, so they don't dare say anything. All we
+want is a Democratic President, and that must come sure the next election,
+and then we can run things to suit ourselves."
+
+If Mr. Moore ever sees this faithful transcript of his disloyal speech,
+delivered upon his own plantation, on the 12th of September, 1871, he may
+begin to get some idea that the farm hands by whom he was surrounded were
+not all as badly poisoned with hatred to the radicals as he was, and that
+one of them at least had the temerity to treasure up and repeat the above
+conversation. It is here produced as an evidence of the sentiments that
+pervaded the minds of the leaders; and to set all doubt at rest as to its
+authenticity, it may be added that it is a matter of record, to be seen
+and read of all men.
+
+
+OUTRAGE UPON PERSONS IN TEXAS.
+
+As an evidence that neither color or nationality formed any protection
+against the evil machinations of the Ku Klux Klan, the case of Henry
+Kaufmann, a well-to-do German residing in Bell County, Texas, may be
+cited.
+
+Kaufmann had come to this country after the war of the Rebellion, and,
+having some means and an extensive knowledge as a stock raiser, made his
+way South, finally locating in Texas, as the place best adapted for the
+business of raising stock, which was one he intended to pursue. His family
+consisted of his wife and two children, a boy and girl, aged respectively
+nine and eleven years.
+
+Texas at this time was the scene of many outrages, but the good-natured
+German was for a long time unable to comprehend their significance. Like
+most of his countrymen, he entertained republican sentiments; they were
+the sentiments of his heart, while at home, in the land of his fathers,
+and he had supposed, that in America, the asylum of the oppressed of all
+nations, he would find them in all their purity, upheld and expressed
+without fear, and honored by all.
+
+In this respect, he was doomed to bitter disappointment. The nearest
+neighbor to Kaufmann, was a man named McPherson, originally from the
+North, but who had for some years resided in Texas, and was a
+thorough-going Unionist. He did not hesitate, even among all the tumult
+and disorder, by which he was surrounded, to express his union sentiments,
+and had been repeatedly warned by the Ku Klux that he must change his
+course.
+
+As he paid no heed to these threats, he received a visitation during the
+Spring of 1871, which utterly ruined him, and from which he escaped with
+his life, only by the aid of Kaufmann. It appears that the Klan having
+beat McPherson almost to death, gave him twenty-four hours in which to
+leave the country, threatening to kill him if he did not do so. Suffering
+terribly from the dreadful scourging, McPherson was just able to get as
+far as Kaufmann's house, where he sought protection until such time as he
+might be able to travel and get away from the place.
+
+The good-natured German, filled with the humane instincts, natural to his
+people, at once took the refugee into his house, and cared for him for
+several days, without dreaming that he would incur the displeasure of
+anyone for such an act. He nursed McPherson tenderly for some four days,
+when the latter, dreading that the Klan might discover, and destroy, not
+only him, but his generous benefactor, left the house at night, and
+removed himself as far as possible from his persecutors.
+
+The fact of his having been harbored by Kaufmann, became known to the
+Klan, however, by some means, and they forthwith classed the latter as a
+radical. On the third night after McPherson's departure, about eight
+o'clock in the evening, the unsuspecting German was sitting with his wife
+and children before a log-fire--as the weather was still chilly--when the
+door was unceremoniously burst in and a score of the Klan filled the room.
+
+Kaufmann was rudely seized and a demand made upon him to know what he had
+done with that d--d radical McPherson.
+
+To this he made reply that he "didn't know such mans." Upon this, one of
+the band struck him a severe blow, telling him they meant to learn him not
+to interfere with their business. Mrs. Kaufmann implored them in broken
+English, not to hurt her husband; he had done nothing, and they had made a
+mistake.
+
+"He's done enough," said Butch Williams, the leader of the crowd, "You
+can't make any mistake on these dutchmen, they are all d--d radicals
+anyhow. Its born in 'em, but by ---- they shan't spit it out here."
+
+Kaufmann was then securely pinioned and whipped until he became
+unconscious. When the castigation was ended, the leader turning to Mrs.
+Kaufmann, and pointing to the bruised and bleeding body of her husband, as
+it lie upon the floor, said:--
+
+"Now if that dirty, dutch scallawag ever comes to himself, you tell him to
+sell out and get away from here, or we'll be the death of the whole of you
+and burn the house over your heads. We'll give him just ten days to do it
+in."
+
+Kaufmann did revive at last, and when he learned the dread message which
+the Klan had left behind, saw with sorrow that he must relinquish his
+pleasant home, and become a wanderer; but the necessities of the case
+admitted of no other course. His property was disposed of at a ruinous
+sacrifice, and with his wife and little ones, he made his way to Illinois,
+where he now is.
+
+It would seem that the nationality of Kaufmann, and his probable ignorance
+of what constituted an offence in the eyes of the Ku Klux, should have
+saved him from this terrible visitation, so fraught with physical
+chastisement and financial ruin; but to the vision of men who regarded no
+law, who only saw the attainment of their despicable ends, through fraud
+and violence, he appeared a "radical by nature."--One, who being a German,
+must necessarily be a Republican, and hence they could make no mistake in
+scourging him.
+
+
+A SLAVE'S FORMER EXPERIENCE REVIVED.
+
+In the month of May, 1871, an intelligent mulatto--in whose veins flowed
+the blood of some ardent advocate of the _white_ man's race,
+unquestionably judging from his light color--whose name was William
+Washington, resided in a small shanty or cabin, about two miles and a-half
+from Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Washington had been a slave in the early part of
+his life, and was one of those unfortunates who chafed under the abuses
+and the yoke that held him in servitude to a "master."
+
+He was high-spirited, and had learned to read and write before the
+Emancipation Proclamation had given him freedom, to act upon his own
+volition, untrammelled by his nominal "owner." Upon becoming a freeman, he
+left Montgomery County, Ala., near which place he had been reared, and
+settled in the vicinity of Tuscaloosa.
+
+He was quiet in his deportment, orderly and well disposed. He had given
+general satisfaction to all who had employed him. But in the early part of
+the year 1870, it began to be observed that Washington was actively
+exerting an influence over the negroes in the vicinity, to such an extent
+as to cause the Ku Klux Camp organized under Philip J. Brady, as Commander
+to take the alarm.
+
+The mulatto Washington was charged with being a Republican, of the radical
+sort, with presuming to teach the negroes to read, (shocking offence?) and
+of instructing them in Northern principles. This wouldn't answer, surely.
+And so William was "warned" by the Camp that he must cease this kind of
+practice, and leave the country at once.
+
+He paid no heed to this warning, and a second one came, notifying him that
+unless he departed within the succeeding thirty days, he should suffer
+death--for "though the moon was then bright, it would turn to blood--K.
+K. K." Instead of seeing this fearful summons in the light it was intended
+he should, the mulatto industriously circulated the story that he went
+well armed always, and was ready to die, if he must, in defence of his
+principles. But that "he wouldn't run away--no how."
+
+Matters went on thus for nearly a year. On the night of the 15th of May,
+1871, Washington shut and barred his cabin door, as was his custom upon
+retiring, placed his gun and a single barrelled pistol by his bedside, and
+turned in, to sleep. About eleven o'clock, he was suddenly awaked by a
+thumping upon the closed shutter of the only window in the hut, and upon
+inquiring who was there, he recognized the voice of a friendly negro,
+outside, who answered--
+
+"Day's a pow'r o' men a comin' up der road, yender--an' yer muss look out
+for yar se'f Wash'n't'n, dass a fack."
+
+This timely and kindly warning from his friend was very gratefully
+listened to by Washington, who replied that his informer must try to get
+help to him, if possible. And quickly dressing himself, the former slave
+awaited the assault which he now anticipated, from the look of affairs
+outside, so near his hut.
+
+The mounted band rode up very soon afterwards, and having been refused
+admittance, some of them dashed in the door. Washington was a powerful
+man, well built and very muscular--while his self-possession was always
+remarkable, when in peril. The interior of the shanty being quite dark, he
+crouched down in one corner, and fired upon his assailants with the pistol
+first and then immediately discharged the gun. Both shots took effect, and
+two of the Klan fell heavily to the floor.
+
+Clubbing his musket, he then desperately rushed upon the enemy,
+determined, if he must die, that he would sell his life as dearly as
+possible; but the odds were altogether too heavy against him. The
+gun-stock in his brawny hands, was shattered at the first blow struck by
+his powerful arm, and then the band sprang forward and secured him, though
+not without a furious struggle. He was at once taken out of the cabin, a
+rope was placed about his neck, and thrown over the projecting limb of the
+nearest convenient tree, from which his body was quickly dangling, a
+lifeless corpse. They hung him without accusation, judge or jury, until he
+was dead, dead, dead--in accordance with the terms of the bitter oath of
+the Ku Klux Klan, whose victims are doomed "for opinion's sake!"
+
+One of the gang had been mortally wounded by Washington's first shots, and
+died on the following day. Two others had been seriously hurt, and one of
+them was crippled for life. The body of Washington was left hanging
+beneath the tree for several days after this conflict, and until the
+negroes in the neighborhood gathered courage sufficient to cut it down,
+and give it decent burial; which they did at night, secretly and
+mournfully, for their late friend's sudden and violent death, proved an
+affliction indeed to the poor creatures, towards whom he had been so kind
+and clever an instructor and companion.
+
+And thus this poor negro paid the penalty of his offence in being a
+radical, and like many a one before him who had been similarly sacrificed,
+"his soul goes marching on."
+
+
+SCOURGING RADICAL TEACHERS AND BANISHING MINISTERS OF THE GOSPEL.
+
+Judging from information gathered from the most available sources, it
+appears that all measures, whether of a political, a religious or
+educational character, looking to the elevation of the negro, were
+strenuously opposed by the Ku Klux Klans, as they had sworn they should
+be.
+
+The education of the negro was regarded as an especial heresy, not to be
+tolerated under any circumstances. It was an offence second in magnitude
+only to that of his voting the Radical ticket, and the face of the Klan
+was set against it with a resolution that made it a dangerous avocation
+for any one to engage in. School houses, erected for the purpose of
+teaching colored children, were burned to the ground, and the teachers
+scourged, banished or whipped to death.
+
+The testimony of Col. A. P. Huggins, formerly of the Union Army, and
+subsequently of Monroe County, Mississippi, is pertinent to the point.
+Col. Huggins, is known as a brave and gallant officer, a man of great
+physical and moral courage, and of unquestioned veracity. During the month
+of May, 1870, he became County Superintendent of Schools, for Monroe
+County, and on the 8th of March following, went into the interior, some
+eight or ten miles from Aberdeen, the County seat, on business connected
+with the School Department. He was at this time an Assistant Assessor of
+Internal Revenue, and improved the opportunity to make several assessments
+of revenue in the vicinity, staying, by invitation, at the house of a Mr.
+Ross.
+
+On the night of the day after his arrival at the house of Mr. Ross, (the
+9th of March) a band of the Ku Klux, armed and disguised, and numbering
+about one hundred and twenty, came to the house and compelled Col. Huggins
+to come out. The chief of the Klan then informed him that they had come to
+warn him that he must quit the country within ten days that it had been
+decreed in the camp that he should first be warned, that the warning
+should be enforced by whipping, and if that did not produce the desired
+effect, he should be killed by the Klan, and if circumstances were such
+that he could not be killed by the Klan in a body, then they were sworn
+to assassinate him publicly or privately.
+
+Col. Huggins asked them what his offense consisted of, and was answered by
+the chief, who said:--"You are collecting obnoxious taxes from Southern
+Gentlemen, to keep damned old Radicals in office. Now I want you to
+understand that no laws can be enforced in this country, that we do not
+make ourselves. We don't like your Radical ways, and we want you to
+understand it."
+
+Col. Huggins then asked them if their operations were against the Radical
+party, and the Chief replied that they were; that they had stood the
+radicals just as long as they intended to, and they meant to banish or
+kill every one of them. The Chief then said, "will you leave the country
+in ten days." The Colonel replied that he would leave the country when he
+got ready, and not before. He was then taken about a quarter of a mile
+from the residence of Mr. Ross, where they halted. He was then ordered to
+take off his coat, which he refused to do, and it was removed by force.
+
+Twenty-five lashes were then given Col. Huggins, when he was asked if he
+would leave the country. To this he replied that he would not, that now
+that they had commenced, they might go on as far as they pleased, as he
+had just as soon die, as take what he had already received. The whipping
+was resumed. Col. Huggins remembered hearing the executioners count the
+number of lashes up to seventy-five, when he fainted. The Klan left him in
+charge of Mr. Ross, and rode away. The main reason assigned for the
+punishment of Col. Huggins was that he was a Radical and in favor of
+educating the negroes.
+
+The case of Cornelius McBride, a young Scotchman who taught a colored
+school near Sparta, Chickasaw County, is one of unusual cruelty. Being
+teacher of a colored school, McBride was classed as a Radical, and beside
+this, he had come from the North. He was accordingly doomed by the Klan
+for a visitation.
+
+Between twelve and one o'clock of the Thursday night of the last week in
+March, 1870, a number of the Klan came to his house, and presenting rifles
+through the window, ordered McBride to come out. He asked what was wanted,
+when one of them replied, "come out you d--d yankee." McBride saw that
+nothing less than taking his life was intended, and determined to make an
+effort to escape. He gave a sudden spring through the window, landing
+directly between the two men who were pointing their rifles, dashed past
+them and ran to the house of a colored man whom he knew, and where he
+thought he could get a gun. While he was running, the members of the Klan
+commenced firing upon him, ordering him to stop, or they would blow his
+brains out. None of the shots took effect upon him, and he entered the
+cabin, but before he could get the gun, of which he was in search, the
+Klan were upon him and secured him.
+
+McBride was then taken about a mile away from the place, having nothing on
+but his night dress. This was rudely torn from his person, and the
+executioners were about to commence their work, when he asked them what he
+was to be whipped for. The leader said, "you want to make the niggers
+equal to a white man. This is a white man's country."
+
+The whipping was then commenced with black gum switches, that stung the
+flesh and raised it in great ridges at every blow. The torture was so
+great that the poor victim begged them in God's name to kill him at once
+and put him out of misery. The leader said "shooting is too good for this
+fellow, we'll hang him when we get through whipping him." Another one
+said, "Do you want to be shot?" To which McBride replied, "Yes, I can't
+stand this torture, it is horrible." He then partially raised himself
+upon his knees and determined to make one more effort for his life.
+Standing directly in front of him was one of the Klan, the only one who
+stood directly in his way, if he should attempt to run.
+
+Stung by the terrible pain of the switch, McBride sprang to his feet,
+dealt the man in the front of him a tremendous blow, and darting past him
+scaled a fence, and ran across the open field. The Klan discharged their
+fire-arms after him, but in a few moments gave up the pursuit. McBride
+reached the house of a Mr. Walser, and there found protection through the
+remainder of the night.
+
+Other teachers of colored schools received similar visitations, and
+colored schools were burned there and in the adjoining counties.
+
+The crusade against Ministers of the Gospel who preached to the freedmen,
+was then commenced. The Rev. John Avery, of Winston County, was notified
+that he must appear at a meeting of the Ku Klux; that he must join in with
+the Klan, and cease his interest in free schools, and upon his refusal,
+his house was burned over his head. Mr. Avery was a southern man, and a
+pastor in the Methodist Episcopal Church.
+
+Rev. Mr. Galloway, a Congregationalist Minister, of Monroe County, was in
+the habit occasionally of preaching to the freedmen. During April, 1870, a
+band of the Ku Klux called upon him at night, and notified him that he
+must not preach to these people. He continued doing so, however, and
+received a second warning, accompanied by an intimation, which he did not
+dare disregard, and he was compelled to relinquish his good work, on pain
+of banishment or death.
+
+The Rev. Mr. McLachlin, a Methodist Episcopal Preacher, of Oktibbeha
+County, received various warnings to the same effect, but persisted in his
+course until he was finally driven from that county, and dared not return
+to it.
+
+Scores of similar cases might be cited, all of which are matters of public
+record, but those above given, serve to show, that the Order of the Ku
+Klux Klan, is inimical to religion and education, as well as to the
+politics of those differing with them in their avowed opposition to
+Republicanism, and their adherence to the Democratic party. These gallant
+defenders of the white man's race were determined that no Government but
+the white man's should live in the country, and these results they hoped
+to obtain through the banishment, scourging and killing of negroes,
+Radicals and Republicans, by which means also, with the aid of their
+sympathizers at the North, they expected to have a Democratic
+Administration.
+
+
+WARNINGS AND EDICTS OF THE KLAN.
+
+It would seem to have been the design of the leaders of the Ku Klux Klans,
+in issuing their warnings, to play as much as possible upon the
+superstitions of the people. These documents were written in a disguised
+hand, sometimes in coarse language, and contained sentiments intended to
+inspire terror in the minds of the recipients.
+
+They were usually bordered with designs, representing daggers piercing
+bleeding hearts, death's heads and cross bones, and various grotesque
+devices. Some of them had a spice of grim humor, which, although fun to
+the Klan who issued these missives, meant banishment, scourging or death
+to those who received them. Specimens of these, the originals of which
+fell into the hands of the United States Officials during their attempts
+to break up the Ku Klux organization are here given _verbatim et
+literatim_.
+
+Five persons residing in White County, Georgia, having made themselves
+politically obnoxious to the Klan, received the following:--
+
+     "READ THE CONTENTS, K. K. K.
+
+     O ye, horsemen of Manassas. Bounce, ye dead men that is now living on
+     earth. We are the men that I am talking about. We are of K. K. K. Now
+     Sandy Holcumb, Green Holcumb, Daniel McCollum, and E. Dickson, your
+     days are numbered. We shot the old Belt weather[2] a little too low.
+     We aimed to shoot him through the heart; and if you don't all get
+     away from this country very soon, your Radical hearts will be shot
+     out of you, and we had just as leave shoot you as for you to get
+     away.
+
+        K. K. K."
+
+The parties named in the above warning did not leave, as the United States
+Officials came into the county about that time and arrested nearly one
+hundred members of the Camp from which the document was issued.
+
+At Irwington, Ga., the colored people determined upon holding a
+"protracted meeting," and colored preachers assembled there from all
+quarters. The meetings are described as having been most orderly, but they
+were deemed inimical to the interests of the Ku Klux, and the following
+warning was issued and posted near the place of meeting.
+
+     "K. K. K.
+
+     The devil is getting up a new team, and wants some nigger preachers
+     to work in the lead. If you stay here until we come again, the devil
+     will be certain to have his team completed.
+
+        K. K. K."
+
+The consternation of the freedmen was so great upon the receipt of the
+above warning that not a colored preacher dared to show himself in the
+vicinity for months afterwards.
+
+The Klan oppressed everyone not members of or in sympathy with their
+organization, and sought to over-ride all law and equity, upon the
+principle that might made right. To this end they issued warnings to
+business men who had come into their vicinity from the North, and who were
+disposed to invest capital and establish trade, but who were not of the
+right stripe politically--and this meant who were not sound Democrats.
+Numerous instances of this kind are on record.
+
+Two enterprising business men--Messrs. Gottschalk and Hughes--purchased a
+mill property in Atalla, Ala., belonging to one J. B. Spitzer, and made
+their arrangements to get out lumber. Messrs. Gottschalk and Hughes were
+under suspicion of not sympathizing with the Klan, politically, and a
+pretence was made that Mr. Spitzer, from whom they had purchased the saw
+mill, was indebted to persons, whom the new firm were politely requested
+to accept as their creditors. This they refused to do, and the following
+warning was sent them.
+
+     "DEN OF THE GREAT GRAND HIGH CYCLOPS OF ETOWAH COUNTY, ALA.
+
+     To Messrs. Gottschalk & Hughes:
+
+     His royal highness, your great, grand high worthy master, notices
+     with much pleasure that you have purchased and become the owners of
+     the saw mill, lately owned by Mr. J. B. Spitzer. He understands very
+     well, everything connected with that mill transaction, and it is his
+     great pleasure that you call on the creditors of J. B. Spitzer in the
+     morning, and approve of the debts of Mr. Spitzer. He wishes an
+     answer to-night what you will do in the matter.
+
+        By order of his royal highness,
+          _The Great grand Cyclops of Etowah County, Ala._"
+
+Messrs. Gottschalk & Hughes paid no heed to this missive, and on the night
+of the 13th of November, 1871, the Klan assembled and set fire to the
+mill, destroying it entirely, and compelling its new proprietors to leave
+the place.
+
+Mr. William Gober, residing in Dade County, Georgia, was an avowed
+Unionist and Republican. He was active in politics and expressed his
+sentiments with great freedom, and was consequently classed by the Ku Klux
+as a carpet-bagger and a scallawag, and warned to leave the country, in
+the following terms:--
+
+     "DEATH. K. K. K. DEATH.
+
+     Take heed for the pale horse is coming. His step is terrible;
+     lightning is in his nostrils. He looks for a rider. Now this is to
+     warn you William Gober, that carpet-baggers and scallawags cannot
+     live in this country. If you are not gone in ten days, we shall come
+     to you, and the pale horse shall have his rider.
+
+        By order. K. K. K."
+
+Mr Gober smiled at this document, but the sequel shew that it meant
+something more than a threat. At midnight on the 13th of September, 1871,
+his house was surrounded by about twenty of the Klan, armed and disguised.
+He was then dragged out and whipped with great severity. Previous to the
+infliction of the punishment he fought desperately with his assailants,
+and succeeded in displacing several of their masks, and recognizing them.
+
+He was left for dead by the Klan, but recovered his consciousness, and
+secretly made his way to Atlanta, where he made an affidavit, upon which
+six of the parties were arrested and held for trial.
+
+Thousands of warnings, similar to the above, many of them obscene and
+blasphemous, were sent to as many persons in various parts of the South.
+
+One more is herewith appended, as showing one of the extremes to which the
+Ku Klux went in their crusade against Radicals. It was found hanging to a
+small dagger, stuck into one of the doors of the University, at
+Tuscaloosa, Ala., with several others of similar import, addressed to some
+of the students of the University, and read as follows:--
+
+     "K. K. K.
+
+     STUDENT'S UNIVERSITY.
+
+     DAVID SMITH.--You have received one notice from us and this shall be
+     our last. You, nor no other d--d son of a d--d Radical traitor, shall
+     stay at our University. Leave here in less than ten days, for in that
+     time we will visit the place, and it will not be well for you to be
+     found out there. The State is ours and so shall the University be.
+     Written by the Secretary.
+
+        By order of the Klan."
+
+
+THE MURDER OF WM. C. LUKE AND FIVE NEGROES.
+
+One of the most brutal outrages to be found, even among the dark and
+bloody records of the Ku Klux Klan, was enacted on the night of the 10th
+of April, 1870, at the village of Cross Plains, near Paytona, Ala. The
+details of this occurrence here given, have been collated from various
+sources, a portion of them having been obtained from eye witnesses to the
+affair.
+
+William C. Luke, a Canadian by birth, and a gentleman of education, had
+come to Paytona, and taken charge of the day school there. He was a
+prominent worker in the cause of religion, entertained and advocated
+Republican principles and took an earnest interest in the welfare of the
+colored people, by whom he was surrounded. This drew down upon him the
+malice of the Klan, and he was doomed to death. Luke had preached to the
+negroes at times, and had taken occasion in his sermons to express his
+opinion that negroes were now entitled to the same rights and privileges
+under the Constitution of the United States as the whites.
+
+This course could not be tolerated by the K. K. K., and they only awaited
+a favorable opportunity for carrying out the Edict of the Camp.
+
+On the 10th of April, Mr. Luke had preached at Paytona, and on the evening
+of that day had returned to Cross Plains. He was there informed that the
+Ku Klux had determined to come for him that night, and at once returned to
+Paytona, accompanied by several negroes, who seemed fearful that he might
+meet with violence. Up to ten o'clock nothing had transpired to cause
+alarm, and Mr. Luke retired.
+
+Between twelve and one o'clock he was aroused from his slumbers by three
+armed and disguised men, who informed him there had been a fracas in the
+village of Cross Plains, about which it was thought he knew something, and
+he was requested to go with them to the latter place. He signified his
+willingness to do so, dressed himself and went out with the party. Upon
+getting out of the house he was surprised at seeing a large number of men
+similarly disguised, and who had in custody the five negroes who had
+accompanied him to Paytona.
+
+One of the negroes named Jacob Moore, endeavored to break loose from his
+captors, and had a severe fight with them. Being a very powerful man he
+succeeded in breaking away and run down the road. The Klan fired several
+shots after him, two of which took effect, and he dropped by the road
+side. Mr. Luke and the remaining negroes were then taken to the northern
+border of Paytona, on the Cross Plains line, where the band halted. The
+intended victim was now convinced that his death was meditated, and he
+said to the leader of the Klan, one Clem Reid, "Am I about to die."
+
+"Yes, you have preached your d--d heresies long enough," was the answer.
+"If you've got any prayers to say, you had better be about it."
+
+Mr. Luke replied calmly, "I am not afraid to die, nor for such a cause. It
+is hard to die in such a way."
+
+Leave having been granted him to pray he uttered a most fervent appeal to
+God, soliciting mercy for himself and the negroes, and forgiveness for
+those who were persecuting them and him for righteousness and opinion's
+sake. His prayers were rudely cut short, a rope was placed about his neck,
+the end thrown over the limb of a tree and his body suspended in the air.
+The four negroes were next dispatched.
+
+John Goff, an eye witness to the proceedings states that the Klan tried to
+hang two of the negroes, named Caesar Fredericks and William Hall, at once,
+but not being able to make the bodies balance, Pat Craig, a member of the
+Klan, shot Fredericks in the mouth, while Clay Keith murdered Hall in a
+similar manner. The other negroes were then hung singly, their bodies
+being drawn up slowly to increase their torture.
+
+The defenders of the "white man's race" then separated, fully satisfied
+with having performed one more service in support of the "White Man's
+Government." This outrage was so flagrant that the farce of an
+investigation was gone through with, and the suspected parties arrested.
+An examination resulted in their being discharged. The witnesses were all
+members of the Ku Klux Klan, and had sworn to regard no oath that would
+injure one of the brotherhood, and the murderers of William C. Luke still
+go unwhipt of justice. And these are the people who talk of their rights,
+of the oppression of Radical rule, of their determination to establish a
+Democratic Administration.
+
+
+PROSCRIPTION.
+
+It seemed to be the intent of the orders of the Ku Klux Klan everywhere
+throughout the South, to impress upon the people, the fallacy of
+attempting to entertain any opinion inimical to those put forth by the
+Klan. The attacks of the Klan were first directed to such of the people as
+were bold enough to declare themselves unionists and republicans.
+Scourging, banishment or murder were the measures adopted to enforce
+silence, and these terrible agents proved fully potent to accomplish the
+end.
+
+This enforced silence, however, appeared to be dangerous, and was
+certainly more ominous to the order, than the freest utterances of the
+most radical views. "Those not with the order, must certainly be against
+it," said the leaders, and a new crusade was forthwith inaugurated. The
+object of the new movement was to compel every able-bodied white man to
+join the Order and become bound to it by oaths, administered in the Camp.
+
+Notices were accordingly issued by the respective Chiefs of Dominion from
+every Camp, requiring the presence of parties, for initiation into the
+Order. When these were not heeded, they were followed by warnings. If the
+parties were still refractory, then they received a visitation.
+
+The two first cases arising under this new arrangement, were those of
+Paul Myers and John Chapman, of Jefferson County, Ala. These gentlemen
+were joint proprietors of a small store, and while inwardly opposed to the
+principles of the Ku Klux, had outwardly conducted themselves in such a
+manner as to give no cause of offence to the Klan. They were surprised in
+common with many others, upon receiving a notice to appear for initiation
+into the Jefferson County Camp of the K. K., and they resolutely refused
+to comply with the request.
+
+They were then warned, that they would be "Ku Kluxed" if they did not
+come, and the threat was carried out, both of them being severely whipped,
+and their store pillaged. A second warning was sent to them, and this was
+succeeded by a second visitation, more terrible than the first. They were
+so badly beaten at this time, that their lives were despaired of, and as
+soon as they were able, they closed their store and left the place.
+
+They then placed themselves in communication with the United States
+Officials, and under their advice returned, signified their willingness to
+join the order, and did so. By this means they were enabled to arrive at
+the names of parties engaged in various raids, and obtain all information
+necessary to the arrest and conviction of the leaders. This was one of the
+first steps that led to the breaking up of the Klan in Jefferson County.
+
+Messrs. Myers and Chapman managed to impart information to the United
+States Officers, upon which several of the prominent members of the order
+were arrested and lodged in jail, and the visitations ceased.
+
+In White County, Georgia, Mr. William Carson received a notice from the Ku
+Klux of that County, that he must join the order. Carson was the head of
+an intelligent family, a Republican in principle, but who avoided
+expressing his opinions as much as possible.
+
+He paid no heed to the notices and warnings sent him, but pursued the even
+tenor of his way, remaining home as much of the time as his business would
+admit, and being especially careful about going abroad at night.
+
+During November, 1871, he received the long promised visitation. The
+evening meal was through with, the early evening prayers of the children
+had been said, the latter were about retiring, when a number of the Klan,
+armed, mounted and disguised dashed up to the door.
+
+Mr. Carson opened the door and mildly asked to know the object of their
+visit. The reply was a rifle shot, which was immediately followed by a
+second, and Mr. Carson fell dead across the door step. The Klan
+disappeared as suddenly as they had come. The grief stricken family raised
+up the inanimate form of the beloved husband and father, only to realize
+that the voice which had so long been the comfort and consolation of the
+little household would never be heard by them again.
+
+This in a christian land! Within the sound of the sabbath bells, and
+almost under the shadow of the sanctuary of the living God. A christian
+gentleman refusing to bind himself with those who had sworn to overthrow
+the Government, and scourge and kill the negro and the radical; shot down
+within his own door, in sight of his wife and little ones, because,
+forsooth, he had the temerity to think and act, politically, as his
+conscience seemed to dictate.
+
+Thinking men throughout the nation will stand for many years to come with
+William Carson, on the spot where he met his awful and untimely fate, and
+they will stand there in the power of consolidated right, beating back the
+onslaughts of the powers of darkness, and raising a monument to the
+justice of that course, which by the vigorous action of the nation's
+counsellors, and under the provident rule of a beneficent God, is fast
+being established on a solid foundation.
+
+
+SHOCKING FATE OF A QUADROON FAMILY.
+
+Gaston County, N. C., in the lower part of that State, adjoins York
+County, South Carolina, the State line dividing these two districts. In
+the north-easterly part of Gaston County, in the outskirts of Hoylestown,
+there came to live a family of mulatto people--or quadroons--in 1870, who
+were refugees from oppression, brutality and abuse of the Ku Klux Klan in
+Moore County, N. C., whence they had been banished after the husband had
+been shockingly scourged, and the lives of himself, wife, and three
+children threatened, unless he left Moore County within a fortnight from
+the night he was whipped.
+
+At the earnest entreaties of his wife, who feared the next threatened
+visitation of the Klan, her husband consented to quit the place he had
+dwelt in some years, but where he had rendered himself obnoxious to the
+Democratic party around him, through his persistent advocacy of Republican
+sentiments, which he promulgated among his own race, causing them to cast
+their votes for the Radical ticket. And for this offence he was terribly
+whipped and ruthlessly driven from his home.
+
+The name of this family was Noye, Aleck and Elfie, the father and mother
+had both been slaves, belonging originally to the Noye estate, in Moore
+County. Aleck was an ingenious fellow, and his brother Felix, had, twenty
+years previously, invented a peculiar reclining chair for the use of
+invalids; which to this day is manufactured largely in New England, upon
+the identical principle, originated by Felix, for which his old master
+took out a patent, and from the royalty of which he has realized a fortune
+first and last.
+
+Aleck was a first rate mechanic and earned a good living. After the war,
+when he became free to exercise his natural talent for his own benefit,
+and had the right to vote, he became an ardent Radical, and proved a
+damaging subject among his brethren in the estimation of the Southern
+Democrats.
+
+He was a brave fellow, and only at the urgent solicitation of Elfie, did
+he decide to quit his former residence, after the scourging above alluded
+to. But he went to Gaston County, found occupation readily and pursued his
+labor faithfully. The old love of "freedom of opinion" went with him, and
+his zeal for his colored fellow brethren soon cropped out, in his new
+location. He was "warned" to leave Hoylestown, just as he had been
+compelled by the mandate of the Klan to flee from Moore County, but
+refused to go.
+
+On the night of February 7, 1871, Aleck was sitting with his family before
+the fire in his little cabin, after a hard day's work; and the children
+were about the room, one of the little girls being at the moment beside
+his knee. The mother was busy getting the homely evening meal ready, and
+was just in the act of removing from before the glowing fire the pone and
+hoe cakes for supper, when the door of the hut flew open, suddenly, a
+musket shot rang out, and _she_ fell head-foremost in upon the blazing
+logs, with a bullet through her brain!
+
+Aleck sprang from his stool, caught his wife in his arms, and drew her out
+of the flames upon the floor. She never spoke from that instant, and, amid
+the screams of the terrified children, Aleck found himself in the gripe of
+two or three disguised ruffians, who entered in advance of half a dozen
+others of the Klan, who quickly pinioned him, and informed him that "his
+time had come."
+
+His wife, whom he tenderly loved, lay dead before his startled and
+dumfounded gaze, and he could not command himself to speak for a moment.
+Then he commenced to struggle with the brutes, the screams of his little
+ones bringing him back to himself. "What is this for," he exclaimed. "Come
+along!" was the sharp reply of the leader of the gang, "You're played out,
+and now you're _our_ meat!" And they swiftly bore the wretched father out
+of the hut, and away from his slaughtered wife and horrified crying babes.
+
+Aleck was taken to the woods, half a mile distant, where the gang tore and
+cut his clothes off of him, and then proceeded to flay him, in accordance
+with the decision of the Camp in that county; the members of which had
+first been put upon his track by members of the Moore County Klan. Upon
+this second visitation, the edict was to "whip the nigger to death." And
+they did the bidding of their leader, as the sequel proved, to the letter.
+He was cut and slashed, and beaten until the breath of life was almost
+gone out of his poor defenceless body, and then their victim was hurled
+into the chapparal, and left to the night wolves of the forest to devour.
+
+It sometimes occurs that our strength increases in proportion to the
+strain that is imposed upon it. Wounds and rough hardship enure the
+sturdy, and provoke their courage, oftentimes, and there is a natural
+instinct in the heart of man, which, under the severest trials and abuses,
+steels his very nerves _not_ to yield to the heaviest blows of calamity or
+adversity--mental or physical.
+
+Aleck was brave-hearted to a fault. He was likewise physically courageous,
+and could bear the worst kind of punishment, ordinarily, without
+flinching. He was now vanquished, for hours he lay like one who had "given
+up the ghost," beyond conjecture. Still he did not die until the following
+night. He was providentially discovered by some negroes, in the woods,
+taken to his cabin, and brought to consciousness.
+
+Before he expired he told his dreadful story to four witnesses, who gave
+it in substance to the United States authorities, as we have now stated
+the details; but unfortunately--on account of the disguises of his
+heartless tormenters and murderers--he could give no description that
+pointed to the personal identity of the offenders.
+
+He learned that his wife was dead, before his own lamp of life went out,
+and simply asking of the colored friends who gathered about his
+death-bed-side, that the humble pair might be laid in the same grave, poor
+Aleck Noye sank to his final rest, and yielded up his spirit to the God
+who gave it. The children were taken away by some of the poor neighbors
+who esteemed the quadroon family for their virtues, and universal kindness
+towards them, and thus closed another awful tragedy in North Carolina--of
+which over six hundred came under the knowledge of the United States
+District Attorney, in a single county, (not all of them fatal, to be
+sure), and which have been duly reported by him, officially, within a
+comparatively limited period, since the close of the war.
+
+Is there no "combination of purpose or design" in all these instances of
+wrong? Does there exist "no organization among these men" for evil? And
+have these terrible doings no "political significance" as is asserted in
+the minority Report of the Congressional Committee upon the Ku Klux Klan
+outrages? In the face of this accumulated, overwhelming, damning
+evidence--will _any_ one believe that the Honorable gentlemen (who have
+put forth this paper in opposition to the majority Report of that
+Committee), are not themselves convinced that all this is true; and that
+not one half of the shocking story of the infamy of this wretched Klan has
+been told?
+
+Will it be impressed upon the minds of the public of this enlighted
+nation, North or South, through any sophistry, argument or theorising,
+that all these living witnesses and victims are liars, and perjurors? Have
+not these events occurred? And if so, what is the _cause_ of the wrong
+doing? It happens, unfortunately, for the "Union Democracy," who flout at
+these accounts of the doings of the Klans, that none _but_ Radicals or
+negroes are assailed. And also that _never_ has a Radical been found
+associating with these Ku Klux midnight marauders and, butchers, in an
+attack upon one of their victims! Is there "no political significance" in
+this fact?
+
+It is simply idle to propose such a fallacious and utterly groundless
+doctrine. The fact is patent, and the matter is clear as that the sun
+shines over the earth at mid-day--to the mind of every intelligent being
+who can see or read--that the opponents of the Republican party, in the
+guise of Ku Klux Klans, supported unblushingly by the "Union Democracy" of
+the country, and their Democratic allies, are the combined movers,
+operators, sustainers and abettors of this crusade, and that their first
+and last and continuous aim and hope is to weaken or destroy the Radical
+sentiment in the land.
+
+Thus far, however, thanks be to God! the American people have not been
+deceived by the theories or the assertions of those who would tear down
+the fabric of our wholesome Republican Government. And far distant be the
+day when such attempts to overturn that government may succeed. "There is
+a right way for us and for our children, and the hand of God is upon all
+them for good, that seek him; but his wrath is against all them that
+forsake him."... And it is written, that "he who shunneth iniquity and
+oppression, and followeth after righteousness, alone findeth life,
+righteousness and honor."
+
+
+
+
+THEN AND NOW.
+
+THE NATION'S SALVATION!
+
+
+The outrages narrated in the preceding pages are ample for the purposes of
+this work, in giving such authenticated facts as show the existence of a
+deep-seated conspiracy against law, and the well-being of society.
+
+They have been selected at random, from hundreds of similar instances that
+have come under the personal observation of the writer, and that bear with
+them the same irrefutable evidences of the truth, and serve to enable the
+general reader to comprehend the awful scenes that have been enacted in
+various parts of the South since the close of the war of the Rebellion.
+
+In the light of these outrages, and the positive manner in which the
+responsibility of their authorship has been fixed upon those who had
+determined to ride into power, even though fraud and violence were
+necessary to that end, who shall say that the unfortunate South has not
+suffered vastly more from its pretended friends than from those whom, by
+corrupt means, its people had been led to suppose were their worst
+enemies.
+
+Under the pernicious rule of Andrew Johnson, the disturbing elements of
+the South gathered renewed hope for the final success of the ambitious
+aspirations which had been dissipated by a long and bloody war. That
+which had been lost to them through the unswerving integrity of our great
+captains in the field, they thought would be secured through the treason
+of the traitor in the Cabinet, and they marshalled their forces with that
+end in view, and initiated a reign of terror, such as had hitherto been
+unknown even in the darkest hours of adversity within the history of the
+Republic.
+
+The accession of General Grant to the presidency, caused a halt in this
+wild and mad career, and there was a momentary lull in the operations of
+the conspirators. It remained to be seen whether one, coming so fresh from
+the people--a plain and unassuming man, although laden with honors second
+to that of no military chieftain of ancient or modern time--would be
+indifferent to the cry for help which was coming up from all parts of the
+then famished land, and fail to apply the appropriate remedy, or whether
+he would appreciate the true situation of affairs there, and would be able
+to say to the disturbing elements of the South, in language which they
+could not well mistake: LET US HAVE PEACE.
+
+Time, which gives the just solution to the most intricate of social and
+political problems, has informed the nation that it had not long to remain
+in doubt. The results thus far attained, show the elaboration of a plan,
+conceived in wisdom, founded upon reason and righteousness, and prosecuted
+with an even regard for the rights of all, that has commended itself to
+civilization everywhere.
+
+The writer has taken especial pains to ascertain, from persons well versed
+in the political situation at this juncture, the policy to be pursued by
+this Administration, and the wisdom of which seems to have been amply
+verified by what followed. The plan to be adopted, they state, was decided
+upon only after the most mature deliberations into which the counsels of
+the best minds of the country were called. It was necessary that the
+condition of affairs in the South should be arrived at with an accuracy
+that would place the information sought to be obtained beyond all doubt as
+to its genuineness and reliability, as the only means by which such an
+intelligent and comprehensive understanding of the evil could be obtained
+as would enable President Grant to inforce the laws applicable to the
+case, or, in the absence of such, to recommend to Congress the enactment
+of those commensurate with the magnitude of the subject. This was
+accordingly done.
+
+Agents for the work were selected, with no reference whatever to their
+political principles. They were placed under the general charge of a
+competent officer, in whose judgment great confidence was reposed, and
+were instructed to get at the facts regardless of political bias.
+
+Each one of these agents supposed that he had been sent on a special
+mission to ascertain if a certain condition of affairs, said to exist in a
+certain locality, did so exist, and had not the remotest idea that several
+others had been sent on similar missions to sections of the Southern
+country remote from his field of operations.
+
+The evidence of the existence of an armed organization, pernicious in its
+policy and its tendencies, and looking to the disruption of society and
+the compelling of the adoption of political principles obnoxious to the
+people upon whom they were attempted to be forced, came in from all
+quarters. The reports differed in minor details, but had a general
+correspondence that was remarkable.
+
+Some of these agents--and to whom the writer is indebted for many of the
+facts herein contained--stated that all strangers in the localities
+visited by them were looked upon with the greatest suspicion, and they
+soon learned that the security of their lives depended largely upon the
+enunciation of principles according with the Democracy; that the word
+democrat was the _open sesame_ to the confidence of the leading spirits in
+the various communities through which they passed; that Democracy in the
+South meant rebellion, and that Ku Kluxism meant both, and they governed
+themselves accordingly.
+
+To attain the object, and get the most comprehensive view possible of the
+condition of the people, these men, for the time being, were "Democrats,"
+and "Rebels," and would gladly be "Ku Klux." By adroit and skillful
+management they procured themselves to be initiated into the various
+orders of the K. K. K., and were enabled thus to discover the numbers,
+resources, operations, designs, and ultimate purposes of the same. The
+names and residences of the victims, the outrages committed by the Klan,
+were also obtained, until an array was presented that almost challenged
+belief.
+
+The information was full, thorough, and reliable. It left no longer room
+for doubt. Action--vigorous and energetic action--based upon laws enacted
+with special reference to the evil to be met, must be had. The suffering
+sons and daughters of the South demanded it; the cause of human justice
+and human freedom demanded it; the enforcement of the rights of the
+recently emancipated bondmen demanded it; and in the interest of law and
+order everywhere throughout the land, there came a demand for the adoption
+of such measures as would save the people of the South from themselves,
+and thus verify the scriptural saying:
+
+     "And it shall come to pass, that like as I have watched over them to
+     pluck up, and to break down, and to destroy, and to afflict, so will
+     I watch over them to build and to plant, saith the Lord."
+
+It was evident that if they were left to their own devices, the people
+must fall into complete anarchy and ruin. Urgent as were these demands,
+nothing could be done hastily. The salvation of a people and the well
+being of a nation was in the balance, and the most profound and mature
+deliberation was necessary at every step.
+
+It was wisely deemed by the Executive that a continuation of the policy
+adopted by him at the outset of his official career with regard to all
+sections of the country would apply to this, viz., the judicious
+enforcement of appropriate laws, enacted with special reference to the
+existing emergency. This was considered a measure which, while it could
+give no just grounds of offense to _any_, would afford the most available
+means for securing the rights of _all_, and attaining the desired end.
+There must be no halting by the wayside. The noblest and best blood of the
+nation had been expended for a purpose not yet accomplished. Nothing save
+the complete restoration of order, the harmonization of conflicting
+elements, and the vindication of the rights of _all_ to their own
+individual opinion, and the expression of the same through the ballot-box,
+as their conscience might dictate, could be in any manner commensurate
+with this great sacrifice.
+
+The words of a just and righteous God to a suffering people must be
+redeemed: "And thou shalt be secure, because there is hope; yea, thou
+shalt dig about thee and thou shalt take thy rest in safety; also thou
+shalt lie down, and none shall make thee afraid."
+
+On the 23d of March, 1871, President Grant sent to Congress a message, in
+which he touched delicately but unmistakably upon this subject, as
+follows:
+
+_"A condition of affairs now exists in some of the States of the Union
+rendering life and property insecure, and the carrying of the mails and
+the collection of the revenue dangerous. The proof that such a condition
+of affairs exists in some localities is now before the Senate. That the
+power to correct these evils is beyond the control of State authorities, I
+do not doubt. That the power of the Executive of the United States, acting
+within the limits of existing laws, is sufficient for present emergencies
+is not clear."_
+
+It was further suggested that such legislation should be had as would
+secure life, liberty, and property in all parts of the United States; and
+in pursuance of this recommendation, an act was passed by Congress, and
+approved April 20th, 1871, entitled, "An Act to enforce the provisions of
+the fourteenth amendment to the Constitution of the United States, and for
+other purposes."
+
+This was a blow under which the various orders of the Ku Klux Klans reeled
+and staggered like quivering aspens. The leaders of these Klans had so
+long disregarded law as to come to think, apparently, that they were no
+longer amenable to it, and might be a law unto themselves. They predicted
+that any attempt to interfere with them would lead to results in
+comparison with which the scenes enacted during the war of the rebellion
+would sink to insignificance; but, as the results have thus far shown,
+they had reckoned without their host.
+
+They sought to stand upon something like tenable ground and to fortify
+their position before the world, by arguments that were worn threadbare
+long before the war of the Rebellion, and they failed most signally. Their
+fallacious reasonings were impotent to justify their acts, and they
+neither enlisted the sympathies, nor gained the support of those to whom
+they appealed.
+
+The march of progressive republicanism, irresistible in the force of its
+teachings, and the spread of the God-like principles of truth, justice,
+and equality among men, without distinction of race or color, which had
+_then_ encountered the fiercest obstruction within the power of the
+slaveocracy to throw in its way, _now_ swept over the country, uprooting
+the tyrannical oligarchy of the South, tearing asunder the flimsy veil
+behind which the great wrongs done to the bondmen were sought to be hid,
+and destined, in its onward course, to remove every vestige of those
+pernicious principles so inimical to sound doctrine and the stability of
+governments.
+
+The results produced by the spread of these principles, and the
+enforcement of the laws based thereon, can hardly be estimated. Taking the
+condition of the Southern States both before and after the war--
+
+
+THEN AND NOW--
+
+and we have an array of facts in support of these principles, surpassing
+all theories and arguments.
+
+THEN, only white male citizens, twenty-one years of age and over, were
+voters.
+
+NOW, _all_ male citizens of twenty-one years and over, having the
+necessary qualifications of residence, etc., have the right of suffrage.
+
+THEN, voting was _viva voce_.
+
+NOW, it is by ballot.
+
+THEN, there was no registry of voters.
+
+NOW, all electors are required to register before voting.
+
+THEN, "returning officers," and those issuing commissions, were bound by
+the arithmetical results of the polls, and were required to give the
+commission or certificate of election to the person having the highest
+number of votes.
+
+NOW, there are boards of canvassers who are required not only to count the
+returns, but to pass upon questions of violence and fraud, and to exclude
+returns from precincts where they find the elections to have been
+controlled by such means.
+
+THEN, the basis of representation was property, or property and slaves, or
+slaves by enumerating three-fifths of all.
+
+NOW, it is all the _inhabitants_ of the land.
+
+THEN, white male citizens, and, in some localities, property holders only,
+were eligible to office.
+
+NOW, _all_ male citizens, save the few under disabilities by the
+Constitution of the United States, are eligible.
+
+Coming down to a later period in the history of the country, from the time
+when the death of the lamented Lincoln had left the Republic in the hands
+of its worst enemies, to the presidential election in 1868, and what is
+the situation?
+
+THEN, the leaders had succeeded in ripening the people for a revolution
+against law and order, if that were necessary for the maintenance of
+issues, differing in character, but similar in design and spirit, to those
+sought to be gained by the war of the rebellion.
+
+THEN, a reign of terror had been inaugurated in the community which
+compelled the tacit acquiescence of those who, desiring to express their
+opinions, were denied the right through the fear of social and political
+ostracism and physical violence.
+
+THEN, the Government was in the hands of Andrew Johnson, and the hopes of
+good and just men everywhere, in all sections of the country, of arriving
+at a peaceful solution of the difficulties through reconstruction, were
+blasted, and gave no signs of verification in fruition.
+
+THEN, the same spirit was rampant that plunged the country into a
+sanguinary war, and did not hesitate to express itself in a determined
+resistance to the new order of things produced by that war.
+
+THEN, men embraced and kissed their wives and children at night, as if
+leaving them for a far-off journey, not knowing, when they lay down,
+whether they should awake to peaceful sunlight or to a cabin strewn with
+the bodies of the loved ones.
+
+THEN had begun the first fruits of the great judgments through which the
+people were eventually to pass, and by which alone, it appeared they could
+be redeemed.
+
+AND NOW CAME THE PROMISE of a new order of things. The political situation
+of the country had changed. The reins of government passed into the hands
+of men of whom much was expected. Three years have intervened. The false
+issues that had been raised among the masses are _now_ being swept away.
+The disorganizing elements are tottering to a fall, and those who had
+fostered them are seeking to excuse and palliate their course.
+
+They complain that the civil government of the Southern States had passed
+into the hands of carpet-baggers, who had been forced upon them, who were
+engaged in plundering the people, encouraging the negroes to pillage and
+destroy the property of the country, and placing them in positions where
+they could rule over white men.
+
+But this was not in any manner the real trouble. The same oppressive
+spirit that actuated these men during the days when slavery was a
+recognized institution among them, still obtained. Neither the men of the
+South nor the sojourners from the North were allowed in those days to
+freely express their opinions, if those opinions chanced to be in
+opposition to slavery.
+
+What was treason _then_ against the social and political rights of these
+would-be-masters of a race, is treason _now_ in their minds; for they have
+not yet learned to tolerate the free expression of sentiments in such
+exact antipodes to their early educational training.
+
+To preach the principles of republicanism, to advocate the education of
+the negro, to urge his right to the elective franchise, were deemed
+seditious practices, and were opposed _then_ just as they are _now_; there
+is simply a difference in the mode by which this opposition is manifested.
+
+THEN, it was by argument, supported by local and Federal legislation.
+
+NOW, it is by violence, and the subversion of all law.
+
+THEN the North reasoned and counselled with the South; endeavored to show
+them the great wrongs done to the bondman, and that the nation could not
+prosper under the terrible curse of slavery.
+
+NOW the strong arm of the Government is put forth to compel a respect for
+the rights accorded to _all_ under the law; a situation which, it appears,
+nothing but the determined front presented by the Administration will lead
+the people of the South finally to accept.
+
+The efforts of the wicked leaders to misguide the masses are persistent.
+Many right-minded people of the South are misled by the false statements
+put forth by those who should, and do know, better, and the pernicious
+results of whose influence time and the dissemination of truthful
+intelligence can alone eradicate.
+
+In many instances Republicans have been elected to office, and these are
+the so-called carpet-baggers. In some localities negroes and mulattoes
+have been elevated to places of power and trust, and, for this, the people
+of the South are largely indebted to their own willful neglect.
+
+The Joint Select Committee to inquire into the condition of affairs in the
+late insurrectionary States, allude to this subject in the following
+language:
+
+"The refusal of a large portion of the wealthy and educated men to
+discharge their duties as citizens, has brought upon them the same
+consequences which are being suffered in Northern cities and communities
+from the neglect of their business and educated men to participate in all
+the movements of the people which make up self-government. The citizen in
+either section who refuses or neglects from any motive to take his part in
+self-government, has learned that he must now suffer and help to repair
+the evils of bad government. The newly-made voters of the South at the
+close of the war, it is testified, were kindly disposed toward their
+former masters. The feeling between them, even yet, seems to be one of
+confidence in all other than their political relations. The refusal of
+their former masters to participate in political reconstruction
+necessarily left the negroes to be influenced by others. Many of them were
+elected to office and entered it with honest intentions to do their duty,
+but were unfitted for its discharge. Through their instrumentality, many
+unworthy white men, having obtained their confidence, also procured public
+positions. In legislative bodies, this mixture of ignorant but honest men
+with better educated knaves, gave opportunity for corruption, and this
+opportunity has developed a state of demoralization on this subject which
+may and does account for many of the wrongs of which the people justly
+complain."
+
+Had the evil ended simply in a neglect upon the part of leading citizens
+to discharge their duties as such, the remedy might have the more speedily
+been applied. But the views of these men were to be carried far beyond a
+mere declination to take part in the political reconstruction. They
+determined that others should not do it and live at peace. Threats and
+violence were brought into requisition to intimidate and prevent the well
+meaning from using their efforts to render the political situation such
+that society could improve rather than be retarded under it.
+
+Evidences of the wide-spread defection are not wanting. That the various
+orders of the Ku Klux Klans, were guided by men of intelligence, is amply
+shown these pages; and the fact is corroborated by testimony taken before
+the Investigating Committee above referred to.
+
+One of the witnesses before this Committee was Gen. N. B. Forrest, of
+Tennessee, late of the rebel army, and to whom a vast array of
+circumstances pointed as being the GRAND CYCLOPS of the Ku Klux Orders.
+The fact that he was in receipt of from fifty to one hundred letters per
+day from all parts of the South upon the subjects of the Order; that he
+was present in person in districts of the South where its members were
+placed upon trial; that he had the general conduct and management of
+affairs at such trials, hovering near the courts, though not appearing in
+them; that when asked if he had taken any steps in organizing the Order,
+he made reply that he did not think he was compelled to answer any
+question that would implicate him in anything; that when asked if he knew
+the names of any members of the Order, he declined to answer, and finally
+said he could only recollect one name, and that was Jones; these, and
+numerous other circumstances which the investigations have developed, but
+which a want of space forbids reciting here, lead to the inevitable
+conclusion that Gen. Forrest was at the head of the Order.
+
+Some care has been taken to arrive at this fact, as it is evident that a
+man of enlarged experience and liberal education, as General Forrest is
+known to be, would draw about him men of equal caliber, thus
+substantiating the assertions that the operations of the Ku Klux Klans
+were guided by men of intelligence, education, and influence, who had been
+violent secessionists, who had rebelled against the Government, and who
+were determined to thwart all its endeavors to restore peace and harmony
+to the distracted country.
+
+General Terry, commanding military district of Georgia, makes report as
+early as August, 1869, to the Secretary of War, in which he says:
+
+"There can be no doubt of the existence of numerous insurrectionary
+organizations, known as the Ku Klux Klans, who shielded by their
+disguises, by the secrecy of their movements, and by the terror which they
+inspire, perpetrate crimes with impunity. There is great reason to believe
+that in some cases _the local magistrates are in sympathy with the members
+of these organizations_."
+
+General Terry's testimony is borne out by that of the United States
+officials and secret agents and the evidence of recanting members of the
+order. The cases of Harry Lowther, Ex-sheriff Deason, Susan J. Furguson,
+Edward Thompson, and hosts of others, show men to have been engaged in
+these murderous outrages, who were leading lights in the various
+communities in which they lived. It is not therefore true, as has been
+attempted to be made out by the Democratic party, that it is the rabble
+only who are engaged in the treasonable movement.
+
+It is not contended here that all the Democrats of the South are Ku Klux,
+but it has been most conclusively shown that all the Ku Klux are
+Democrats, and that they are sworn to oppose the spread of Republican
+principles. They are determined to rule, and to rule with a rod of iron.
+They have settled in their minds that "no government but the white man's
+shall live in this country, and that they will forever oppose the
+political elevation of the negro to an equality with the whites."
+
+The report of the above committee, alluding to this condition of affairs,
+very justly says:
+
+"The facts demonstrate that it requires the strong arm of the Government
+to protect its citizens in the enjoyment of their rights, to keep the
+peace, and prevent this threatened--rather to say this initiated--war of
+races, until the experiment which it has inaugurated, and which many
+Southern men pronounce now, and many more have sworn shall be made a
+failure, can be determined in peace. The race so recently emancipated,
+against which banishment or serfdom is thus decreed, but which has been
+clothed by the Government with the rights and responsibilities of
+citizenship, ought not to be, and we feel assured will not be left
+hereafter without protection against the hostilities and sufferings it has
+endured in the past, as long as the legal and constitutional powers of the
+Government are adequate to afford it. Communities suffering such evils,
+and influenced by such extreme feelings, may be slow to learn that relief
+can come only from a ready obedience to and support of constituted
+authority."
+
+That communities in some portions of the South are still suffering from
+the evils herein referred to is an established fact, and the testimony is
+not confined to the cloud of witnesses herein cited. The existence of the
+Orders of Ku Klux Klans, and the allegations of the outrages perpetrated
+by its members, have been proven before courts of justice. The most
+learned advocates employed to defend these criminals have not attempted to
+deny it.
+
+No less a legal light than the Hon. Reverdy Johnson, of counsel, who
+appeared, to defend persons charged with the commission of crimes similar
+to those narrated in the foregoing pages, has admitted it. The trials in
+which Mr. Johnson appeared as such counsel were had before the November
+(1871) term of the United States Circuit Court, at Columbia, S. C.
+
+On the sixteenth day of the proceedings, the evidence for the Government
+having closed, Mr. Johnson made his opening for the defense; and although
+standing before the court as the legal defender of the members of one of
+the most terrible organizations known to modern times, he was compelled,
+in justice to human decency, and in acknowledgment of the truth of the
+statements presented to the court by the United States Attorney, to use
+the following language in his address to the jury:
+
+"I have listened with unmixed horror to some of the testimony which has
+been brought before you. The outrages proved are shocking to humanity;
+they admit of neither excuse or justification; they violate every
+obligation which law and nature impose upon them; they show that the
+parties engaged were brutes, insensible to the obligations of humanity and
+religion. The day will come, however, if it has not already arrived, when
+they will deeply lament it. Even if justice shall not overtake them, there
+is one tribunal from which there is no escape. It is their own
+judgment--that tribunal which sits in the breast of every living man--that
+small, still voice that thrills through the heart, the soul of the mind,
+and as it speaks gives happiness or torture--the voice of conscience--the
+voice of God.
+
+"If it has not already spoken to them in tones which have startled them to
+the enormity of their conduct, I trust, in the mercy of heaven, that that
+voice will so speak as to make them penitent, and that, trusting in the
+dispensations of heaven--whose justice is dispensed with mercy--when they
+shall be brought before the bar of their great Tribunal, so to speak, that
+incomprehensible Tribunal, there will be found in the fact of their
+penitence, or in their previous lives, some grounds upon which God may
+say: PARDON."
+
+
+THE STATISTICS,
+
+as to the number of those who have been the victims of outrages
+perpetrated by the Ku Klux Klans, are necessarily meagre.
+
+Many of them are recorded alone in the blood of the unoffending victims;
+thousands of mouths that could speak the unwelcome truth, have been
+sealed, and are sealed to-day, through fear, and dare not make the
+terrible revelations; but sufficient have come to light to afford an
+approximate idea of the extent to which the pernicious designs of the
+Order have been carried.
+
+With all the figures before us, and with a desire to keep within, rather
+than exceed the bounds, the awful truth must be confessed, that _not less
+than twenty-three thousand persons_, black and white, have been scourged,
+banished, or murdered by the Ku Klux Klans, since the close of the
+Rebellion: an average of more than two thousand in each of the States
+lately in insurrection.
+
+Great care has been had in arriving at these figures. All the available
+sources of information have been exhausted by research, and the facts
+obtained have been in a manner borne out by collateral evidence, tending
+to confirm the accuracy of the statement.
+
+The committee appointed by the Legislature of Tennessee (special session
+of 1868), to investigate the subject, reported to that body, that:
+
+"The murders and outrages perpetrated in many counties in Middle and West
+Tennessee, during the past few months (1868), have been so numerous and of
+such an aggravated character, as to almost baffle investigation. The
+terror inspired by the secret organizations, known as the Ku Klux Klans is
+so great, that the officers of the law are powerless to execute its
+provisions. Your Committee believe that, during the last six months, _the
+murders alone_, to say nothing of other outrages, would average _one a
+day_, or one for every twenty-four hours."
+
+Gen. Reynolds, as commander of the Fifth Military District--comprising the
+State of Texas--in his report to the Secretary of War, 1868-9, says:
+
+"Armed organizations, generally known as Ku Klux Klans, exist in many
+parts of Texas but are most numerous, bold, and aggressive east of the
+Trinity River. The precise object of the organization in this State, seems
+to be to disarm, rob, and in many cases, murder Union men and negroes.
+_The murder of negroes is so common as to render it impossible to keep
+accurate account of them._"
+
+Gen. O. O. Howard, reporting to the Secretary of War (1868-9), says, of
+the State of Arkansas:
+
+"Lawlessness, violence, and ruffianism, have prevailed to an alarming
+extent. Ku Klux Klans, disguised by night, have burned the dwellings and
+shed the blood of unoffending freemen."
+
+In the Louisiana contested election cases (1868), the terrible extent to
+which these outrages were carried, was shown by most conclusive evidence.
+One of the members of the Committee selected to take testimony in those
+cases, says:
+
+"The testimony shows that over _two thousand persons_ were killed,
+wounded, and otherwise injured in that State, within a few weeks prior to
+the presidential election; that half of the State was overrun by violence;
+that midnight raids, secret murders and open riots, kept the people in
+constant terror until the Republicans surrendered all claims, and then the
+election was carried by the Democracy."
+
+Referring to the well-authenticated massacre by the Ku Klux, at the parish
+of St. Landry, in 1868, the report says:
+
+"Here (St. Landry) occurred one of the bloodiest riots on record, in which
+_the Ku Klux killed and wounded over two hundred Republicans in two days_.
+A pile of twenty-five bodies of the victims was found half buried in the
+woods. The Ku Klux captured the masses, marked them with badges of red
+flannel, enrolled them in clubs, marched them to the polls, and made them
+vote the Democratic ticket."
+
+It is estimated that, in North and South Carolina, not less than five
+thousand were scourged and killed, while more than that number were
+compelled to flee for their lives. In Florida and Georgia, the outrages
+were not so numerous, but they were marked with greater atrocity and
+brutality.
+
+In further consideration of this question, the numbers and extent of the
+various orders of the Ku Klux Klan, may be taken as a partial guide. The
+testimony of Gen. N. B. Forrest is pertinent to the point. His position as
+GRAND CYCLOPS of the Order, lends to his testimony the probability of
+truth which it would not otherwise possess; and when it is considered that
+he gave it with the greatest reluctance, one readily arrives at the
+conclusion that his figures are by no means exaggerated. According to the
+statements made by Gen. Forrest, the Order numbered not less than _five
+hundred and fifty thousand men_. According to his estimate, there were
+_forty thousand Ku Klux in the State of Tennessee_ alone, and he believed
+the organization still stronger in other States.
+
+Here, then, we have a vast array of men banded together with the secret
+purpose of banishing from the country, or scourging and murdering all who
+differed from them politically. In view of the numbers and extent of this
+organization, and the positive evidence of the fearful work of its
+members, the statement that twenty-three thousand persons have suffered
+scourging and death at their hands, may be considered under, rather than
+over, the real numbers.
+
+In North Carolina alone, eighteen hundred members of the Order stand
+indicted for their participation in outrages upon persons and property.
+
+In South Carolina, the number reaches over seven hundred. Florida,
+Alabama, Tennessee, Louisiana, Texas, and other States, swells the
+aggregate to more than five thousand, and the investigations upon which
+these indictments have been procured, disclose a condition of affairs,
+which, it is difficult to conceive, could exist in a civilized
+community;--much less in a Republic, noted among the nations of the earth
+for its liberality, its progression, its enlarged freedom, the security of
+life, liberty, property, and the equal rights of all.
+
+THE EXISTENCE OF THE EVILS herein enumerated is placed beyond all doubt
+and cavil. In the light of the recorded and corroborated facts, the nation
+will demand to know:--
+
+     _First._ How far the present administrators of the Government have
+     fulfilled the duties and responsibilities confided to them by the
+     people?
+
+     _Second._ What has been done to remedy the evils that have made life
+     in Southern communities intolerable and unsafe?
+
+     _Third._ What steps are necessary to prevent a recurrence of these
+     evils in the future?
+
+Happily the first two questions have been amply answered in the acts of
+the administration.
+
+A careful study of the necessities of the case, the enactment of
+appropriate laws, applicable thereto, and their vigorous, but humane
+enforcement, constitute a plan, the successful elaboration of which gives
+answer to the third question, of "how a recurrence of these evils may be
+prevented in the future."
+
+To those who may have entertained the idea, that the work of restoring
+order and securing to _all_ the citizens equal rights, nothing can be more
+comprehensive than the language of the committee of investigation. In
+alluding to this point, the report says:--
+
+     "Looking to the modes provided by law for the redress of all
+     grievance--the fact that Southern communities do not yield ready
+     obedience at once, should not deter the friends of good government in
+     both sections of the country, from hoping and working for that end.
+
+     "The strong feeling which led to rebellion and sustained brave men,
+     however, mistaken in resisting the Government which demanded their
+     submission to its authority; the sincerity of whose belief was
+     attested by their enormous sacrifice of life and treasure, this
+     feeling cannot be expected to subside at once, nor in years. It
+     required full forty years to develop disaffection into sedition, and
+     sedition into treason. Should we not be patient if in less than ten,
+     we have a fair prospect of seeing so many who were armed enemies,
+     becoming obedient citizens?"
+
+DURING THE THREE BRIEF YEARS in which the present administration has held
+sway over the destinies of the nation, what has been accomplished? Upon
+its accession to power, the people of the South were struggling under
+political disabilities, and a consequent social condition that had
+detached them from the onward march of civilization, and was hurrying them
+back to anarchy and ruin. They had become morose, bigoted, violent.
+
+The law of revenge had usurped that of order. They writhed under the
+results of the war and the downfall of their cherished institutions, and
+they had sworn that what could not be gained by a war upon the nation at
+large, should be had by a local war of extermination upon the--to
+them--offensive portions of the races, black and white, that opposed, or
+would not coincide with them.
+
+It was a delicate question; but the wisdom of the newly chosen leaders of
+the nation have been equal to the emergency, and, to-day, light begins to
+dawn in the dark places; the supremacy of the law is being established,
+and by a continuation of the same wise and humane policy in the future,
+the people of _all_ the States may abundantly hope for the restoration of
+peace and harmony in the South, where, but so recently, all was chaos and
+confusion.
+
+In view of what has thus far been said, I call upon my countrymen,
+everywhere, not to be deceived as to the real issues of the hour.
+
+
+
+
+ADDENDA.
+
+
+A retrospective glance at the field of American politics during the past
+twelve years discloses several significant facts worthy of especial
+attention.
+
+The most casual observer cannot fail to have been impressed with the fact
+that there has been a growing disposition in the minds of the people to
+make the welfare of the Country and not the advancement of party, the
+issue, in the struggle for political supremacy.
+
+The political opinions of the masses are based upon foundations materially
+different from those usually accorded them by the would-be leaders, who
+attempt to form opinions for, and force the same upon the people.
+
+There is a spirit in politics that rises superior to party clap-trap and
+unhealthy journalism, and which determines the problem of government with
+far greater accuracy than any amount of machinery designed for the
+accomplishment of any special end.
+
+Political organizations live or die by their _acts_ and not by their
+_machinery_. Without that spirit that seeks the greatest good of the
+greatest number, they inevitably go to decay and final dissolution. With
+that spirit they rise to the grandeur of well ordered governments.
+Principles may be outraged and promises disregarded for a time but the end
+must come sooner or later, and re-action in such cases usually means
+annihilation.
+
+During the past twelve years the principles and promises of the two great
+political parties of the United States--the Republican and the
+Democrat--have been more severely tried and tested than at any similar
+period of time since the foundation of the Republic. Upon the maintenance
+of certain principles and the fulfilment of certain promises, either party
+have based their claims to the confidence of the American people. It
+matters but little how seductive these principles may appear in their
+enunciation, or how glowing the promises for future good, one must judge
+of them, and the people will judge of them as they have been illustrated
+in the acts of either party to whom the reins of Government have been
+confided.
+
+Given that both parties announce that they have the interests of the whole
+people at heart, then the results that have accrued from the accession of
+either to power must be the standard by which their principles must be
+measured, and their good or bad faith established. These results give rise
+to momentous questions. They lead thinking men to ask, if within the
+Democratic ranks, slavery has not always found its ablest advocates.
+
+If it was not the Democratic party that formed a compact and coalition
+with the slave holders of the South, with the understanding that if
+slavery could be maintained, slave holders would help to keep the
+Democrats in power.
+
+Was it not through the supineness of a Democratic Administration that the
+rebellion was engendered and the fortifications and other property in the
+Southern States belonging to the Government allowed to pass unquestioned
+into the hands of its sworn enemies?
+
+Was it not to the Democratic party that the South looked for assistance in
+deed and word to carry on a war aiming at the destruction of the Union?
+
+Did not the South rest its hope in the Democratic party to oppose every
+measure taken by the loyal North in defence of the Government and the
+salvation of the Union?
+
+Did not the Democratic party in the interest of their brethren in the
+South, resist the draft in the North, thus causing the bloody riots of
+'63?
+
+Was it not the Democratic party that opposed emancipation, the policy of
+reconstruction, universal freedom and universal suffrage?
+
+Did not the weakness and vacillation of a Democratic Administration plunge
+the country into a contest by which hundreds of thousands of citizens were
+slain upon the field of battle, their widows and orphans left to the
+charities of the Republic, and the nation saddled with an enormous debt?
+
+Is it not the Democratic party which has striven for years, and which is
+still struggling, to maintain itself in power through its Tammany
+organization at the North, and its Ku Klux organization at the South; the
+one stealing the money of the people to sustain the other in scourging
+them?
+
+Is it not upon the success of the Democratic party that the Ku Klux Klans
+base their hopes for the future? And do they not expect, through the aid
+of their Democratic allies to rescind the present Ku Klux laws, and
+thereafter to scourge and kill radicals and negroes with impunity?
+
+Is it not to the Democratic party that the leaders of the Ku Klux Klans
+look for help and shelter from the consequences of the numerous outrages
+perpetrated by them in the Southern States?
+
+Was it not a Democratic Administration that bequeathed to the country,
+foreign complications of a delicate nature, the foreshadowings of
+internecine war, a depleted Treasury, an impaired credit, a general
+feeling of insecurity in business and financial circles, and an almost
+dismembered Nation?
+
+Has it not been for years the record of the Democratic party that it has
+conspired against humanity and justice, aided to rivet the fetters of the
+slave, sown the seeds of demoralization in politics, and by its cringing
+subserviency to the slaveocracy of the South aimed a blow at the National
+life?
+
+Is the Democratic party sincere in its profession to accept in good faith
+the thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth amendments to the Constitution,
+while strenuously objecting to all laws designed for the enforcement of
+the provisions of those amendments?
+
+Does the Democratic party hope to blind the people by its shallow pretence
+of a new departure from the principles advocated by it since its
+organization?
+
+Do the old Democratic party ring-masters expect to mislead the people by a
+mere visionary reconstruction of Tammany, and can they hope to erase the
+foul stains upon their party linen to such an extent as to have them
+accepted as pure and unspotted garments?
+
+These are some of the questions at present mooted in the silent heart of
+the Nation. They are the questions of the hour and upon them the people of
+the whole country are called to decide, as to which of the two great
+political parties the future welfare of the Republic may be confided with
+the greatest safety.
+
+In making this decision the minds of the people naturally revert to the
+records of the Republican party as manifested through its administration
+of the Government, its vindication of its professed principles, its
+fulfilment of its promises for the redemption of the nation. And what is
+that record?
+
+Upon its accession to power in 1861 the Republican party found the country
+upon the verge of a civil war. Some of the nation's strongholds were
+already in the hands of the traitors, and the incompetency and weakness of
+its predecessor were everywhere apparent. Never in all its history had
+such an opportunity been presented it to redeem the pledges it had made
+in the interests of human justice and human freedom. True to its loyal
+instincts it rose to the dignity and the grandeur of the occasion.
+
+It at once instituted the most vigorous measures for the National defence.
+
+By it the most wicked rebellion ever organized among men was put down.
+
+Through the Republican party the integrity of the Union was preserved, and
+its place maintained among the nations of the earth as one of the leading
+powers.
+
+By it financial measures were inaugurated and carried out that have
+brought unparalleled prosperity to the country.
+
+By it the credit of the nation has become firmly established at home and
+abroad.
+
+Through its labors in the cause of human freedom the bondmen have become
+emancipated and assume equal rights with freemen.
+
+By a wise administration in its foreign relations the country is at peace
+with all nations, and the citizens of the American Republic traveling in
+foreign climes are honored and respected.
+
+By a vigorous enforcement of the laws, criminals of every degree, in all
+sections of the country, have been brought to justice.
+
+By it bands of deadly assassins, skulking at midnight behind hideous
+disguises, and warring upon innocent women and children have been
+suppressed and broken up. And by it they have been compelled to answer for
+their numerous crimes.
+
+Through the unwearied efforts of the Republican party Universal Suffrage
+has become a law of the Nation, freedom of speech and freedom of opinion
+everywhere vindicated throughout the land, and the right to exercise the
+elective franchise as their consciences might dictate, guaranteed to all.
+
+By it the States lately in insurrection have been reconstructed upon a
+prosperous basis, and brought back into the folds of the Union.
+
+By it the public lands have been opened to settlers; manufactures
+stimulated through the establishment of a judicious tariff, and labor
+dignified and made prosperous through an enhanced remuneration for
+services performed, and a reduction in the hours of toil.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+These are but a few only of the acts of the Republican party. They are
+based upon principles through the consummation of which the Government has
+been administered with more than ordinary honor and integrity. Principles
+that have given birth and sustenance to an administration in which every
+appearance of evil has been scrutinized, every unworthy public servant
+ferreted out and punished, every effort put forth to prevent frauds upon
+the Revenue and the Treasury.
+
+An Administration in which the most trivial charges made against it by the
+most personally bitter and partizan newspapers have been probed to the
+bottom.
+
+An Administration in which every law upon the Statute books has been
+enforced with the whole power of the Government.
+
+An Administration by which the rights of the laboring classes have been
+maintained; the status of the newly emancipated citizens defined and
+enforced; the dignity of the flag and the honor of the nation everywhere
+upheld.
+
+An Administration whose Chief Executive was, in the dark hours of civil
+war, "the hope of America and of Liberty."
+
+A Chief Executive who resolutely set his face against the enemy upon the
+field of battle until victory crowned our banners. Under whose wise and
+skillful leadership might and right joined hands in solid union, and the
+Nation drew the long and refreshing breath of freedom.
+
+A Chief Executive whom the nation sought out as its chosen leader, General
+Grant, the hero of Vicksburg--the Wilderness--Richmond. By his bravery in
+the Camp and his sagacity in the Cabinet the fires of liberty burn bright
+and unextinguishable.
+
+By his stern and uncompromising adherence to the interests of the whole
+people, unbounded prosperity rests upon the country.
+
+By the extraordinary financial policy of his administration the public
+debt has been reduced three hundred millions of dollars; the people
+relieved of a burden of taxation amounting to nearly one hundred millions
+of dollars annually, gold brought from 133 to 109, and the public credit
+restored.
+
+Under his administration every loyal soldier of the war of the Rebellion
+who served ninety days in the Union Army acquires the right to a homestead
+upon the public lands, or if dead the right reverts to his heirs.
+
+These are some of the truthful remembrances that come back to the minds of
+the people, and they cast about them in vain for any measure which General
+Grant has ever enforced against the will of the masses, for any act to
+lessen their faith in his personal purity and official integrity, for one
+solitary principle of the party that elevated him to power, which he has
+not vindicated, for one single promise which he has not fulfiled.
+
+To General Grant, the hero of the war of the rebellion, who wrested
+victory from doubtful battle fields, who stood unflinchingly at his post
+in the darkest days of the nation's history, the people turn instinctively
+as the standard bearer in the coming political contest.
+
+By his utter self abnegation and his preference for the welfare of the
+masses rather than the political aggrandisement of a few leaders, he has
+acquired the most malevolent partizan opposition ever encountered by any
+Chief Magistrate of the Nation.
+
+By the strong voices of the people reverberating over the country, and by
+the more recent utterances from the granite hills of New Hampshire, the
+thrifty valleys of Connecticut, the loyal voters of Rhode Island, his
+policy is endorsed and his future political status insured.
+
+
+
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[1] The Night Hawk is an attache of the Ku Klux Camp, whose business it is
+to scour about, and locate the victims upon whom visitations are ordered
+to be made.
+
+[2] Alluding to the shooting of a Mr. Cason a few days before.
+
+
+
+
+Transcriber's Notes:
+
+Passages in italics are indicated by _italics_.
+
+Punctuation has been corrected without note.
+
+The following misprints have been corrected:
+  "transspires" corrected to "transpires" (page 24)
+  "Deacon's" corrected to "Deason's" (page 44)
+  "of of" corrected to "of" (page 47)
+  "straighforward" corrected to "straightforward" (page 67)
+  "rise rise" corrected to "rise" (page 138)
+
+Other than the corrections listed above, inconsistencies in spelling and
+hyphenation have been retained from the original.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Nation's Peril, by Anonymous
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