New-York tribune., 1871-11-23
THE KU-KLUX IN JAIL.


FROM TIKI SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT or TfIR TRIBUNE
YoRKvILLE, ). C., Nov 1l.-Tho York
County Jr is ugly three.etcry brick building. stand
ing the western outskirts Of the town. Tho ground
foor ia occupied residence :or the Ia"r1 FANNY
The two upper stories divided into cells ana corri
d"rS, ana now contain more than i" ku h'""' I''
number from day To dnr. for now ana 'heh w"
are released parole and allowed 10 20 home tho c''
dcncc IN their showing that they have not "ce
engaged any Of the wnrs' crimes ooiihi'tu u! '"o
Kau and every day or scouting party ot caV"iy
nIcks mn q few iuc,u,us fellows who have ventueu
back to their hou.r. after hiding N the woods iOr ior
night and whose whereabouts have been betrayed Wy
the negroes in the vicinity. The DacA' al "'o' '"'
county keen vigilant watch Tor ti' 'ainrS WIN '
prciIy wanted at hcIdliart"r'' am VIII ir'"'.",'
walk oo miles nv uigh to annnuncc tho discovery OF the
hi.,ng-pacr of sone CHIEF of Niii, m" " io' 'l'
Of cavalry back to capture him There have been ''"
i,.t,rro Eve or ,ix periIlS-nf mistaken "chtl'F'
whore an iu,o.rnt man he irjng The ]aine nan" ~
yuiltv rson haS been arrested Th''e hl9''"o7 'c' VI
course, promptly rorrrc'"d
Tho ,ris,n !, mar ted Nv s'n'r. :. nj - nnt'r ne
charge Of CAP. Ogden of IN" :h lnfantrv F'''n INC
,cr ,,oor ~ e a,I eh' o starr, leads % v"'iibnn7
IN each Of hc two other floors hrh"d hy Iarft "uo"'
fronting on ~" Street IN "1, o these v"Sulrrtin"-
o1icr with his ,,akr 'front.' -! very large Era''"
do hlr ioor winch opens into corridor innhnT cnc
len IN .! the building with the doors W the COILS Open
On the second floor fr cells have ordinary woohch uoo'
and thr Windows which Iu" large. irc IN inc outer
wI.s The coils IN the upper floor have massive IRON
doors and windows Opening on corridor. which
runs around three sides OF the building. Tho prisoners
are, moi confined in the cells but have Tho imitd rang"
~, he corriors Thcy are closely crowded that there
IL not much than cnorgh on the NOR oi ue
cells and corridors them all 10 lio down ~ heht
Their friends furnish them with bedding and with mnch
Of their food Every day IRON to l.! their friends ar"
permitted 10 visit lhcn and during toA' hours row" o'
horScs 1ad teams attached to variety of COM
try yrhi"cs stand trrd ~ the .cnccs along th' rO
side near the l and crowds Of pcop", chiefly women
nock down from tho village. The pri'oncis lawyers
have access TO Them IT III tIiiG9
have made several visits to 'hr li va liivH 1ii"n
with i large number Of tho prisoners" \ irW oi rem
hnr, rssc but NJ least ninrt ni them stonty
deny their .niii. inl they know n0thG Ahoub' INC
Ku-Krx. Tnc,r innoccnts never heard OF any such
thing rs 4 Ku Kuy RAID # believes them. Uninr-
tuna'c!y some hndr"s of Their nrishbors who rode
with them n nrry midnight forIyI have told differ
ent story mi "a vrtuUns. awahhing CITIZENS, VINO
complain " Nrns rbrriiy arrested without cal"caro
,bown by o.rr,g,r!inng testimony to have been the
most Wei ~ and dangerous OF all the Kn Klnx. asked
wrl-dIr ;o,' smooth yOnng man. III ono ~ the
lower rc,.,. VINO looked hike dry goods clerk. what
he ,lourht Of these voluntary confessions That
were nal every dav lie flew INTO great
,ossi,u At orrr -wure violently. and sad the
men vino confessed all lia's II they were ku-
XIX, hc sad. .hcy had violated Their "als, and wcr"
not &, he br'rv,d. and If not Knlluy then they know
40, hing !hmt 'ho Orer Iie declared that S2OoiO ihd
been sent in from Washington to suhorn Witnesses, ana
added. ,hat ~ cent. would brbc whitc men 10
swear 10 any thing suggested thai VI witnesses were
IA cacap a.. This SaO 800 wond buy large number but
before the Young man had made calculation of the
number that c"d be bought with the money tall man.
dressed IN a loose suit Of butcrnui homespnn with re
and sinister cOuntenanrr. burst ont-"The IahR""
soldiers are me only KuKnx here. and President Grant
il the greatest KuKlux IN The country After he had
gone on in hil st ye for few mnnter. he cned down
:, little and the following conversation took place:
Corrcspondrnt OF course. Won are not "A knki'ix-
you look perfectly innOrcnt-hmt Won know there ~ sch
a thing the Ku-Klux Kan in this vicinity Now
what do you understand to b" the objects of The org4n
zationl
PnsOner-tts to keep the nggers III order. aud TO
keep 'em from living with white women.
Correspondert-But wore not all the muiattoes you
ever saw the children OF white and black women
Prisoner Ccxccdly but the whites are the sIl-
and white man has rIg' W no "nht he
,leaacs with the ID niggcrs.
The red face Of the Eu xxx became three shades
ridcr AMI the correspondent thought 1t Of no aSe 10
continue the argument Among the 100 prisoners there
arc perhaps dozen pleasant Intelligent faces that look
incapable OF The Others some are coarse and
ignorant lookng without appearing vcious but great
number are brutal. and some positively viainons;
while there few comtrnanres with an expression
of mingled cruelty. cowar'licc ana woliish forocity
that would furnish study for physiOgnOinist The
general appearance OF the prisoners nobettcr. ana AN
m lined to think than that Ot an equal number of
men in any Northern petentIary. with tins exception
that very few look capable Of committing crimes
that require Tor success Their faces furnish
od index To their characters for next Z" cruelty cow
aldor the leading trait oi the kuk!ux Tlry were
never known TO max" an attack unless they wor" at
la. onr 10 one ,nd OF their murders liavc been
committed b; bands Oi from 70 to 100 Iher" was i III
stance III NrwhcIy County where a single negro put
over i0D'o lislt by iring his c,n .nd w0undns one
man Men who were brave soldier. and fought the war
through IN the Rebel army tnakc the most 'rran cow
ards when they get the mask aud gown Of The sneak
ing and bdrDarOu. Klan
Auoug the ,ot,c class Of III" prisoners found old
gentleman with gcLia ana rather benevolent conn
tcnance who used to he magistrate, and was called
uuire by his fellow prisoners The men on his floor had
chosen him captain, enforce proper order and ccanl
nss among them He told that he expected to go to
the Penitentiary. lie believed the prisoners would be
tried by pacaed negro jury. determined IN advance to
convict and that ~ man of intelligence and property,
he would be selected fov = Victim he said he had at
tended mee ngs OF the order TO cndcavOr To Keep the
young men from committing exccsscs. but that ho had
never been upon raid WAS sorry to learn afterward
at hcadquartcrs that tho case against my friend the
ber Of the Klan. The squire and few others of tho
prisoncr- who have intelligence enough to know
thing OF tho law under winch they are arrested COM
planned to that they had not been given "a hear.
ing before the United States Commissioner. TO
which they believed themselves entitled, but had been
imprisoned three weeks without knowing what the
charges against them They also complained that they
had been arrested under the KuKlux law for acts al
legged to have committed prior to the passage Of the
law; that the intention Of the authorities to try
them under the Enforcement act OF 1870 and that they
were refused ball. which they would have been entitled
to if arrested for oensrs against that act. These points
are .o made by the village lawyers who are counsel
for the prisoners The District Attorney says III rcpy
that the prisoners have not been given hearing before
the Commissioner because while dozens Of men daily
coming and making confessions 1t Is impossible to
know what the evidence 1icainst thcI and that ~
soon this testimony In all in they VIII have