The Richmond palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1855-1875, 1874-09-23
MONTEREY, KY, Sept l.
General Ell II M,t1.rnn United STATES Mn.


General Ell Fl. Murray, United States Mar
shall, Louisville, kentucky:
DEAR SIR-In obedience to your request
for detailed statement of the late difficulties
in Owen, Henry, and Franklin counties, and
also of my actions a Deputy United
States Marshal, / have the honor to submit
the following report:
live at Monterey, in Owen county, Ken
lucky, and was born and reared near that
place. About the year 1870 bands of armed
men, disguised and masked, began commit
Ting depredations in the vicinity of Monterey
and Gistville, two small villages the former
being in Owen, and the latter Immediately
opposite, in Henry county: They were
visiting the houses of citizens, disguised as
stated, III the night time, and infiicting sum-
mary punishment without charge, reason or
excuse. The parties thus visited by them
humble cabins, but they would sometimes
attack white citizen of the poorer class
Sometimes they would kill the parties whom
they visited Sometimes they would whip
their victims severely, and occasionally burn
the houses in which they lived. They would
give reasons for their conduct but content
ed themselves with these summary proceed
/ ings without explanation.
| About the commencement of these Eff
cultes, four men, George Hoover John Rob
inson, - Lockart and BENJAMIN More
land, came to me and told me that they be-
longed to the ku-klux. and solicited me TO
I1olH lIlCIE party. L ASKED LneIQ what their
/ object was and they told me they had organ
! lied for the purpose of driving the negroes
from the State They proposed to give me an
office if would join them, saying that as l
| had been four years in the Southern army dur
/ ing the war l would make good officer and
they therefore desired my services. They
also stated that they had made a similar
proposition to Mr. Wash Jones, who lived
in the same locality. They said their organ
ization was composed OF good reliable men
and that their object was not only TO drive
the negroes from Kentucky but also all Rad
icals who were in favor of negroes
| / told them / did not want to engage in
anything unlawful that had just return ed
from the army, and l wanted to try and
make some money hor estly and get start
in the world. that l did not believe
meritorious. l advised them to withdraw
from the klan. and told one of them es-
pecially that he had family to provide for
and he could employ his time more profita-
bly, than in ku-Klux raids.
Al this time l acting as clerk in a
country store in the upper end of Owen
county. They requested me not TO say any
thing about their proposition TO me They
would occasionally visit the store and pur-
chase material from me, telling me that they
were getting the goods for the purpose of
of making gowns and masks. A short time
afterward the ku-klux made a raid in the
neigh borhood above me in Scott county. 1t
was made against the negroes who lived in
and about the village of Stamping Ground
They ordered all the negroes thew saw to
leave the country within ten days; if not.
they would kill them all and burn their
houses. They shot and killed an old negro
man and wounded several others. The ne
groes At one place returned the fire. killing
rone of their party, who was left by them on
the read. When tie mask was removed from
his face, the next morning, he was ascertain
to be man named Force, school teacher
near Harpers Ferry, in Henry county
This raid created quite an excitement
throughout the community, especially in the
intermediate vicinity where il occurred
Many persons approved OF the raid while
others, myself being one of the latter, de-
aouaced it as cruel and uncailed for / re-
marked that / thought Force deserved no
pity, and that if the negroes had killed the
entire party it would have been perfectly
right; that the negroes had been attacked
without any reason, and it was their right
and duty - defend themselves. 1 soon found
that my remarks had given o1ense. especially
TO those whom l knew belonged to the ku-
klUx Khan. Some Of them advised me 10 be
careful about what said Some tried to con-
vsnce me thst It was a good thing. and said
they would not have supposed that . rebel
soldier like had been. would be opposed to
II I continued, however. 10 denounce it in
severe terms, and / soon found that l had
gaiacd the eDmity OF the ku-kllx Men who