The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1890-03-12
PICKENS COUNTY'S GANG.
THE Law OFFICERS ARMED WITH
ALL THE SECRETS.

| ATLANTA, GA, March ia number Of
interesting particulars concerning 1.-The
Honest Mans Friend and Protector" the
recently uneerthed band of Pickens county
houseburners, are still unpublished. The
law officers are in possession of the proof,
bat only fourteen or fifteen out of twenty
seven members of the band have been ar
rested, and secrecy is being preserved for
the present. 1t is well known that last
week several members were taken into
custody for burning tue house of John
Aiken on the night Of Nov -: that of W.
n. Ledford, Dec. 5, ard Mike Stoner's town
house, located in Jasper, on Dec
81 When Aiken's place was
destroyed mono Of bis family
happened to be at home. Ledford had
| wife and nine children. He was himself
absent on the night the gang turned its at
tention TO his property, but the balance of
the family were asleep in their beds.
Ledford had several grown daughters
When toe house was fired these and their
| mother escaped, almost naked, to the woods
with the smaller children. They had not
| even modest covering, and the bleak Decem-
Der blasts penetrated to their bones as they
struggled shivering through the woods to
place of refuge.
THE NEXT BLAZE.
The burners next fred Stoner's house. 1t
| was one of the best of its class in Jasper
Stoner lost 81 500 in the flames, and his
| wife and five children barely managed TO
escape with their lives. These facts, with
the rescue of two Of their gang from Pick
| ems jail by the moonshine band, and the
| battles fought on the mountain side between
the revenue men and members of the out
| rageous broth erhood, have been published
from time to time and are familiar to the
public, but many details of the bands his
tory have thus far escaped publication.
1t IS not generally known that the gang
was first organized four years ago. Very
little, however, was done, and for a time
| meetings ceased to be held until last year.
when reorganization was effected, and
tie devilment began in earnest. The mem
| berS lived within an area not more than ten
miles square. This territory covered a por-
ton of three militia districts of Pickens-
the Town district, " in which Jasper is sit
uated, ana Grassy Knob" aud ''Shsrp
| Top" districts, the two latter bearing the
names of mountain peaks in the vicinity.
TWO GANGS.
The band was divided into two gangs,
the upper" and the lower" When there
was work to be done in the neighborhood
where the lower gang lived the upper gang
performed it, and the lower men would be
on duty when the scene of action was to be
IN the territory in which resided their con-
federates of the upper squad. Everything
was planned beforehand, and the idle con-
tlngent would take pains to place themselves
in position to prove alibis in the event of
an investigation. In this way for
a long time the offenders managed
| to dodge detection, and it is
doubtful whether they would ever have
been brought to justice had not two Of their
number preferred the risk of being MUIR
dered by their accomplices to that of going
TO the penitentiary, and betrayed the
secrets of the order. Among the twenty
seven members it is interesting to note
that there were two preachers, one devout
church official given to loud and frequent
public praying, and one church clerk.
THEIR SWORN AGREEMENT.
And this was the very moral business to
which, by solemn oatl, they bound them
selves: Each member joining the band
was to present victim to be handed down
by the band. 1t was not expected that the
member should enroll it formally as that of
a victim. He was to assume it himself, and
join the order under the alias. Thus the
leader of the gang, John Landsdowne,
wanted w. N. Ledford pun
ishod for revenue reporting, and
so he joined under the name of the latter,
conc aling his own so far as documentary
| evidence won't, and at the same time MAX
ing Ledford marked man. OF tie twenty
seven names appanded to the oath, all APP
pear to have been those borne by govern
ment witnesses III distillery cases.
TEXT OF THE OATH.
The text of the oath has been kept secret.
Here it is:
Honest mems friend and protector.
We, Nelson Ledford, John Heyes etc
twenty seven names in ALL, do solemnly swear
THAT we will protect each other in putting down
revenue reporting and that we will stick tc
each other in anything we undertake, and we
| will be true to each other at al
times and in all troubles that we or any
of Us may get into in regard to this matter, and
that we will always be redy to help our cine
(meaning kind when cald upon and in case that
any of US should be deprived from this priviedg
we will 90 all that we can to get him out of his
or their trouble & futher say that we will moi
take in any person persons without concent
of all the party & that we will
do all we can to keep down suspitian and that
we viii be detectives for each other at any and
all tunes. and will work for the good of our
country and espesly (meanng especially for
ourselves, and we further swear that ii any
man devulges any of the secrets of the honest
mans friend and protector to the fineI event OF
: death in any way the true party
THINKS best; and we further swear that we will
always be redy TO work when cald upon,
when in power to do So and further swear thai
we will allway do justice between all parties
and Will be kind to each other and help eacf
other in bearing the burdings of life, and il
/ away that he cannot be with the party or j,
ever excluded from This land that he will keeI
the secrets of this lodge as sacred as membe
! in the full command.
|. We do soiemnly swear that we will do all the
things IN the above stated case in as much as W,
can at any and all times, so help us God.
THE AUTHOR OF THE PAPER
This graceful document was drawn up b.
James Wiggington, justice of the peace
,, and man of good standi & in his commu
nifty. He is now in Jail, by the way
The paper is dirty, we'll worn one anc
barely legible in some places, but
sufficiently so for one to deciplel
i, it by the help of the context. The
association of house burners not only bounC
, its members to observe this writer
oath, which appears to have occupied the
? place of constitution for the order. but
: they had drawn up also set of bylaws
which the men pledged themselves to obey.
: The original copy of the bylaws has beea
turned over to the authorities, but tn,
paper on which it Is written is so badI,
worn that little can be gotten out o
it except that it was agreed that
should member drink too much or dis
obey or-iers he was to be hoggei, and if h,
failed to appear at the rendezvous of the
clan after due notice that meeting was I,
take place had been served upon him. h,
subjected himself to a fine of so cents fol
I his neglect.