, 1885-03-13
THE KU KLUX KHAN.
ITS BEGINNING AS A CLUB For Tenn
PoRARY DIVERSION.
How the Mysterious Name Came To he
Adoptsd-Ruies Modified To uar-
monIze with the Weird TitIe-
Initiation Ceremonies.


~ = MtIElu III Iub 1uItruA
One afternoon in May, 1895, a few OF the
office OF one of the most prominent lawyers
OF that city-a city OF about 5000 inhaIi
tants IL was a meeting without aim Or
preconcert After a time one OF the COM
pany~ suggested: Boys, let's get up a club
or society Of some description" Such we.s
tho careless words upon which was founds
The Invisible Empire whose strange,
evontful history, after a time, dared @ths
ears Of listening sonates to command
and enlisted the opposition Of court and
camp. of Held and forum. The proposition
to get up a little club for temporary home
diversion and amusement was agreed to,
and before tho company separated 1t was
arranged to invite a few other friends to join
those present in a meeting the next evening
and In the same Offices AL the appointed
hour eight or ten young men were on hand;
a chairman and secretary were elected, com
mittees appointed to select a name and pre-
pare rules for the g%overnance Of the society
and a ritual of initiation.
Tho committee to select a name found the
chief difficulty. and after a weeks interval
reported that they had not made a selection.
as they were puzzled to discover or invent a
name at once impressive and suggestive OF
the objects in view. Among Others, they
had Thought OF "Kukloi,r from the Greek
Kuklos, a band, or circle. Suppose we call
it Ku Klux." cried out one Of the members,
and the suggestion was adopted as by in
spiration. For the sake OF the music and the
ALTERATION, @Klan" was added, and the
"horror" was named. Had they called
themselves the @Jolly Jokers," or the
CROOKED Cranks, " the society might never
nave been known beyond Pulaski nor
had more than an ephemeral existsncs.
Rast Il. fhfn 900 H.. -~.t-I --a-.-..
in the name: Ku Kux Khan Tho sound Of
1t is suggestive of bones rafting together
and it is "a singular fact, continue the his
tcrians Of the order, that tho members OF
the Klan were themselves the first 10 feel its
weird influence; they had adopted a mys-
FERROUS name. Thereupon 1t was agreed to
harmonizs everything else with the name.
Amusement was still the end in view; but
now they must win 1t by the methods OF
secrecy and mystery. so the rules were
modified 10 adapt them to the new idea, and
the report provided for a Grand Cyclops, or
President; Grand Magi, or Vice Presidents;
a Grand Turk, or Marshal; a Grand Exche-
quer. and two Lictors.
recall how often, during the existence of
the order, l heard and read that the origin
OF the name had a moro deadly suggestive-
ness than the harmless Greek root. The
prevalent theory among the uninitiated was
that springing the lock OF an old hint-and-
steel musket-which catches three times in
cooking it-frst suggested the name. TWAS
said that in cooking tho old weapon it sings
the doleful song at doleful intervals: Ku-
Klux-Klangl Drop the final z. and the
origin OF the name was explained.
The Pulaski Khan was waxed strong. 1t
kept up Its air Of mystery. 1t was the sen
sation Of tho hour. In order b. enlist recruits
q I..~.l -. L.-- - -
ting any one to be asked to join They met
in an old house in the suburbs, posted their
t~allhatted. long-robed Lictors, OF sepulchral
voices. on the outposts, us sentinols, and
these s~entinels deeply impressed, as they
stood In the moonlight, every passer-by.
The would-be Ku-Klux always went through
a ceremony somewhat like that known to
every college in the land. The oath Of
secrecy being admin tersd, the Grand
Cyclops commanded. "Place him be-
fore the royal altar and adorn
his head with the regal crown The
royal altar was a large loolxing-glass. The
regal crown was a hugo hat. bedecked
with two enormous donkey ears. In this
head-genr the candidate was placed before
the mirror and made to repeat the couplst:
o wad some power the giftie gle US
To zee oursels as ithers see Us.
The bandage being removed, the candi-
date saw his own ludicrous image in the
glass. Then uprose boistcrous mirth. Echo
caught up the shouts Of laughter as they
rang through the old building near tho road
side, and impressed the super>titions OF both
races who heard il as they passed along tho
public highway near by. In the country II was
noticed that the nocturnal perambulations of
the colored population diminished, or on
tirely ceased, where the Ku Klux appeared.
There was a very marked Improvement in
the habits OF a large class who had hitherto
caused great annoyance. The Klan at once
realized that the most powerful agencies for
controlling the superstitious were in their
hands-that they might be effectually used
10 subserve the public welfare. 10 suppress
lawlessness. and protect property. Hence,
In less than IA year after it' organization,