The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1905-09-14
SOUGHT MASONIC SECRETS.
Negroes Tried to Extort Them From Gentle
man in Georgia.

NeSIOeS Irito " LNtolt IhSu ! 'oh AS"''e
man in Georgia.
The following is from The Anderson
Mail: In June the newspapers contained
brief mention. of the attempt of several
negroes to wiring Masonic secrets from a
resident of Toccoa, Georgia, BY hanging.
The man is in Anderson today and has
been interviewed by a representative OF
The Daily Mail. He bears yet on his
neck, red and raw, the scars of his terri
bic experience.
He is Mr.. T. W. Davenport, one of the
overseers of the Toccoa Cotton Mills. He
was formerly resident Of Pelzer and has
friends and relatives by the score in
Anderson. he is with his kinfolk in
Anderson now. His reputation wherever
he is known is that of man of the strict
est integrity and he is especially respect
ed by his brother Masons. Mr.. Daven-
port told of his experience about as fol-
lows, saying that it had never before been
fully described:
"There are several boarders in my home
in Toccoa. About June Is, one of my
boarders lost his wife and went to Atlanta
with her body. A little later I got a
message, supposedly from him, saying
that he was in trouble and asking me to
come to little side station several miles
from Toccoa and help him out. Of course,
I went. 1t was after dark when got of
the train, and nobody was around but
some negroes. They asked if were the
gentleman who was to meet some one
there, and I replied in the affirmative,
when one of them offered to direct
me where to find my friend. We started
off up the railroad track.
81 was looking down to see that my
feet should not stumble on the cross ties,
when was seized around the body and
a black hand clapped over my mouth.
Before l could defend myself, the negroes
had tied my hands behind my back and
blindfolded me.
"Then they put me in buggy and we
drove and drove and drove. As / learned
afterward, we stopped in the woods about
three miles from Buford. Then they be-
gan to try to get me to tell them some of
the secrets of Masonry. Evidently they
belonged to some colored Masonic organ
ization, but suspected that it was a
spurious Masonry and wanted to know
the workings of the real craft.
"Of course, I refused to talk. They
threatened to hang me. Then they did
put a rope around my neck and pull me
up over limb, but got scared and let me
down. They pulled me up twice, nearly
choking me to death each time. You can
see the marks of the rope here on my
neck and imagine how I felt. Before
they let me down it seemed as if my
lungs would burst; everything grew black
in front of me and horrible things danced
in my eyes; Twas too nearly unconscious
after the first time to think.
FINALLY they seemed to get tired of the
game and evidently wished they were
we'll out of it. They took off the cords on
my hands and said they were certainly
going to kill me. I didn't know enough
then to care much about it one way or
the other.
zone of them climbed a tall sapling
until its top bent down with his weight,
one end of the rope was fastened to it the
other put around my neck again, and they
let the sapling 60, jerking me off my feet.
I don't know what they did just then; I
must have been unconscious for minute,
for T came to with my lungs about to
burst and had just sense to throw up an
arm and catch the tree above my head,
Then I got little air, and slowly united
the knot, holding up my weight with one
hand. dropped to the ground and lay
there for hours-I don't know bow long.
"After what seemed like dozen years,
I managed to crawl and walk to house.
I couldn't talk, with my swollen throat,
and couldn't make them understand me.
They let me lie down on the porch, and
there my friends found me.
81 am not much the worse, except for
the scars and they'll probably pass away
in time. Wouldn't 60 through with that
experience again for all the money in the
world. But I didn't tell them anything
about Masonry"