The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1868-05-12


dars a. Night oouh make e. The foil8Hius va,
+ tbs form, sot half Il vhieh c9ula have remsm
bored irom hearing i ai that lae. but vhiab Ia,
T sanes bse11ne tasailaf BY aitsnaanos Il ths iait
htinpa of nsbere
Captain Addressing me, the candidate ga iu
itaton}. When a nolls people aro crushed b,
the sarsile Tuinions Of a tyeaut, viii they subuil
tancly and haaelyf
Candidate no.
Captain When a noble oanso j. lest IA tie
Geld, when ts spo8ioss banners are ,railad Ia the
dust by tbe base h0rdes q The oppressor, when
appeal 20 the God 81 battles is o longer possible,
should the friends q that cause fold their arms
IN sbjeel submissiouY
Candidate No
Captain When the homes Of a noble people
are devastated By Ere and pilIage, when their wo-
men arc violated by q brutal soldiory, should
thai people mete out the same 10 the destroyer
Candidate Yes
Captain When brave people are tramplcd 10
the dust by tyrants, what is their remedy
l'rhe whole band answer this BY cooking thelr
peices and shaping the hammers, and the cap.
tain then inierprets as follows i
silence, darkness, aud cold lead Do you
agrcegn
Candidate Yes.
Captain 70 be of us and not with us, Is trea-
on, and the reward Of treason il death Every
southerner belongs 70 US, BY birth, by education
by the love Of liberty inhaled with the balmy
breezes of the sunny South, BY the hatred of the
Northern clans imbibed with his mothers milk
by the inherent detostation of hypocriey, and the
myriad social and political abeminations Of the
North You are ono Of us, you must be with us 1
The reiodrd of Treason is death. You are prepared
10 take the oath.
1.-THE captain here recites the following oath
the candidate repeating 1t after him ]
"By all the loyod memories Of my native land,
BY all the halowed associations Of fhome and fam
lily by the memory Of friends and brothers slain, by
the lurid flames Of war and desoation spread over
our happy homes BY the Lincoln hordes swear
that by daylight and darkness, at all times aud
on all occasions The steel sisaQ pay ne debt Of steel,
and lead shdR recopipease for lead, he Southern
Cross shall yet defy ne scorld'
The Southern Gross in the order has double
significance. 1t represents the dagger Of the as
sassin as well as the cross.
The Captrin then declares
Welcome he new Brother Of gte Southern
Gosst"
And thcreupon the band make the challenging
sign Of the order by cooking and swapping their
gun locks. The Captain then proposes the sec
ond oath, the candidate repeating il, as follows
"By Southern homes despoiled and broken, by
Southern women outraged by tho lingering tor
ments Of Northern prisons, by all the desolation
brought on our people by famine pestilence, and
sword, | swear that desoiation shdR dHstea. desc
ation, pestiience sau pay for pestaeice, ,7,ta he
Southern Crescent span a,e continent, and carry
ooe1' the North We f,ries hat hare desolqted ae
South"
The Captain then declares again:
Welcome he ne,o Brother Of ne Southern Cres-
oetaP
And the band respond as before,
Then comes the third and final oath, as fol-
lows:
by all that is sacred, | swear TO remember
Jackson and Johnston, and the thousands dead
the humiliation of Davis, and Lee, and Bragg
and Beauregard the noble deeds Of Southrons
on many CORY field and by the memory Of all
these swear to be true % the Lone Star of he
South, till these andd al our noes are thousand
times aUeaged"
The Captain again declares:
Welcome Tie aeto Brother Of he Lone Sar Of
NE SOUTH"
And the band respond as before.
The Captain then spoke the following adjura-
ton,
''Lot the heavens be Lit with the lurd flames Of
a worse than frtarieida war Let the dagger, the |
bullet, the flames and the pestilenee, smite every
point Let the desolation of death |
reign in the Northern homes enriched by plum
lers Of the South Let the audacious minions Of /
The tyrants Of our country be met in silence aud /
darkness, struck down by the power they see not! I
Remember the oath The Crescent is broad /
enough to include all the enemies Of the South /
The Lone Star shines brightest in the darkness
The dagger is the emblem Of the silent work
Remember the oath Bring the consecrated +
BOWL"
The last sentence was responded to by one Of
he band, and something like bowl was put in
ny hands
"Dip your finger in the consecrating drink p
said the Captain
l did as directed, and the Captain then eontin-
led
"Now drink it to the dreggs, to the enemies Of
,ur cause I"
raised the bowl 10 my lips and drank its con
ents. 1t was like nothing had ever tasted be-
ore. II was sickening, yet | could not tell what
I was Instantly the band closed around us,
tanding two or three deep, and the Captain
truck match Holding the little blazing stick
0 the hand had dipped in the bowl, ne bid me
ook
Tie fingers nere stained as eoiA bl0odi
He then bid me look at the bowl.
II WAS a HUMAN SKULL!
MAKING A sEw COMPANY.
Some weeks after ny initiation, was dearled
With an older brother, to attend to the formation
{ "a new company in neighboring county. As {
sual the source Of the order vas unknown, ex-
ept that il came from the captain of our hand
he order and detail we're announced b. our cap
ain, no comment made, aud myself and oomrade !
! the duty started next night 10 obedience 10 {
he order, for the location of the new company IN
be adjoining county. He knew the mode oi pro-
edure in these cases, and left the direction Of
1 10 him. We reached the place Ia the morning {
I'd did nothing during the day. Al night by his
irection, notified a Well-kn0wn citizen 10 much
le same manner had been notified myself be- {
nc initiation. aud We started after dark, out u
Jwn. Ny comrade, with another citizen was with !
e. Reaching lonely spot in the country, SO G
armed our horses % the road into = Wild tract, /
I'd being Gar from az hahitations At length stop
cd IN the woods. Here we separated, taking 4