Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1872-06-15
KU KLUX PRISONERS.
From the N. Y. Sum-

The ship Champion. from Charleston, ar
rived at Pier 20, North River, last night, having
on board twenty three Ku Klux prisoners.
Among them were gray haired men and beard
less boys; strong men and cripples. They
were under guard of U. s. soldiers, and on
their way to the Albany Penitentiary to serve
out a term of Imprisonment All OF them pro-
fessed to be farmers or farm workmen, and
their sunburned faces and hardened hands gave
proof of it.
The terms of Imprisonment are: three for
10 years and 1000 fine !; six. years and
800 fne two, years and 800 fine one,
years and $500 fine three 8 years and 800
fine four, 2 years and 800 fine three,
year and half and 500 fine and one, |
year and $40 fine.
All of these men lived in York county, S. G.
one of the nine counties in which martial law
was declared last October. Some of them
have already been imprisoned for months.
A Sun reporter went on board the Champ
ion, and found the prisoners slowed away be-
tween decks in the fore part of the ship. No
air circulated through the place, and the ther-
moneter indicated ninety eight degrees. They
but have not vicious look The reporter 8
questions were promptly answered, and by
many of the men with much intelligence. They
said they had been arrested 'for belonging to
the order" A gray haired man told the fol-
lowing story:
When martial law was declared last Oc-
tober, no outrages had been committed for a
year, and none since, In our county at least. =
But the military authorities have been making
arrests for the past eight months. The pris-
oners are taken before Judge Bond in the u
S. Circuit Court, and the charges are alike in
all cases. They are accused Of being, or hav-
L. e IL
told that this can be proven by members of the
band who are witnesses for the prosecution,
and advised to plead guilty to mitigate their
punishment.
Knowing how useless resistance is, the poor
wretches plead guilty to avoid a severer penal
ty. Thus, twenty-five of these men are suffer-
ing the penalties of convicts through fear, and
not from any evidence of their crime. One
man of fifty years approached the reporter and
said vehemently:
II did not plead guilty l am not guilty,
and [ would not make such confession tor the
world They tried me on two charges, but no
evidence was adduced to convict me. Yet it was
meant that should be punished and they gave
me two years. Two years for being an Ameri-
can citizen unfortunate enough to live in South
Carolina | am not, nor ever was ku- klux
whatever that may be-and have always
been peaceable, law abiding citizen | 60 to
prison IN innocent man, but the hardest crimi-
nal never left his prison with worse heart
than [ shall leave mine. If my lite IS spared,
this indign1ty shall be avenged
The men complained bitterly of being sent
North for confinement They thought it bad
enough to be summarily arrested by soldiers, il
legally tried, and unjustly convicted, without
being taken so far from home, and where their
friends cannot visit them. i
They are to remain 10 prison until the fines
are paid Some of them are without money,
or friends that have means, and they sec no IL
NIT to their incarceration.
The reporter said to one.,
How will you pay your finer
''By death" was the answer.
He was cripple; pale. and emaciated and
evidently rapidly falling away through the ra-
wages of hidden disease. Death no doubt
will pay his fue and cheat the prison OF ten
ant.
At o'clock the men were put into street
car and taken to the Grand Central Depot, and
they embarked for Albany on the 8 o'clock