The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1905-08-31
HE MADE NO REPORT.
Fate Of Detective who was Candidate for the
Ku Klux Klan.

nc MAOc NJ kEfONi.
Fate of Detective who was Candidate for the
Ku Klux Klan.
An ex-Contederate soldier who served
in the Southern army with distinguished
gallsntry was telling group in the Riggs
House some interesting stories of the days
that followed the surrender of Lee.
II went to Memphis to live" said he,
"after Appomattox, and was one of those
who helped organize the Ku Klux Klan.
have never been ashamed of my connec-
ton with that celebrated organization for
it did a tremendous lot of good in Ten
nessee. Gen. N. B. Forrest, the greatest
cavalry chief who ever rode into battle,
was supreme commander of the x z E,
and whenever Forrest issued an order it
was obeyed to the letter. The order had
Supreme Court, of which Gen. Albert
Pike, the illustrious Mason, was Chief
Justice, and this Court always sifted te sti
mony for and against any accused person
before punishment was inflicted. Two
prominent newspaper editors of Memphis
were also members of the court. The
total membership in the regularly organ
lied Ku Klux Klans of Tennessee was
not less than 72,OOO, and never in the
history of the world were men more
closely banded or more loyal to each
other.
II was member of the 'klan' for at
least five years, and my separation from it
was caused by change of residence. In
that time am positive that the sentence
of death was inflicted upon but three men,
which goes to show that the Ku Klux did
not mete out summary vengeance on
small offenders. Nor we're its members,
except in rare instances, citizens OF low
repute. On the contrary, only men OF
good character were invited to join, and
Gen. Forrest was particular in seeing that
only those of discretion and temperate
habits were made members.
"But Tennessee, at the time of the ex-
istence of the Ku Klux, was in radical
hands; scalawags and carpetbaggers ruled
the land to it's sorrow, and Parson Brown
low, then Governor, had q law passed
which made it capital offence for any
man to be convicted of ku kluxing or OF
belonging to the order. He even import
ed detectives from Chicago, who were in
structed to find out all about the mystic
rious band which sent forth its warnings
in letters ornamented with skulls and
cross-bones and daggers, and whose do.
ings struck terror to the hearts of white
and black miscreants alike.
zone of these detectives came on to
Nashville. he was bright fellow and
ambitious to make record. Brownlow
gave him his orders, and he set out to
discover things by pretending to be q
rabid Southerner. who was keenly anx-
ious to become K. Z. z. Gen. Forrest
learned all about the man and his plans,
and gave it out that he should be taken
through a mock initiation which would
reveal nothing of the real Ku Klux
secrets. After this bogus ceremony the
spy was told he was eligible to & second
degree, which would reveal to him to
many secrets. This he took, and rough
ceremony it was, but the fellow went
through it gamely. Then they told him
that there was still one more degree
third-which would make him full
fedged member, with a knowledge of the
workings and mysteries of the Klan. He
was warned that this third degree was
full of difficulties and considerable per
sonal hardship. Wanting to make Brown
low a full report the spy begged to be
allowed to take it. This was the climax
to which events had been tending. The
third degree, weird and tragical, had for
its main feature the imprisonment OF
man in barrel of stalwart construction
an6 so securely sealed up that deliyerance
was impossible for the victim, and the
tossing of the same into the Cumberland
River.
"a few days later the barrel, with a
badly decomposed corpse inside, was
fished out of the Mississippi River, and
never afterward did candidate for ini-
tiation, with ulterior purposes, try to
break into the Ku Klux Klan." wash
ington Post.
A Cure for Anything.
DR.. William Osler, in one of his Balti-
.ao;Ao6 inf old