The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1906-08-15
DID MUCH GOOD.
Col. j. y. 'Rhame OF Lynclburg
Writes About the Ku KluI>-A Lit
tie More Light Thrown CT the His
tory OF the Days That Necessitated
the Invisible Empire.

nom de plume .'One who saw them,'
I've previously shown that which
was we'll known to thousands Of our
people to-wit: That in the Ku KluX
days, so to II, there We're large COM
panies, members Of the Klan, riding
up the middle section Of the State,
particularly Sumter, Clarendon and
Williamsburg, in the er2deavor. to &C
complish good and prevent mischief.
And it may interest some CT your
readers to know more Of the happen
ings of those days.
Therefore, and IN order to show
something Of the trials our people
had to undergo, I herewith submit
some specimens from the court rec
ords in Sumter, as fellows:
Copy flom Session Journal, jan
uary term 1870.
The State vs.. John S. Brown.-In
the court Of sessions, January 1870
Indictment for arson, ouse-breaking,
burglary and robbery. !.
The jury having returned YER
Get of not guilty, it is on motion
of Fraser, Richardson snd Nose
ordered that the prisoner be DIS
charged and his recognizance be sur
rendered, signed John T. Green.
The State VS.. James Lesesne.
Robt. L. Herriott, Jr., and Henry
Y. Dubose.
The prisoners are put to the bar
and arraigned and upon their ar
raignement plead not guilty, and for
| trial put themselves upon God and
their country. Thursday next is as
signed for trial.
The State VS.. John I. Miller.
Indictment for arson, burglary,
larcely and house breaking. This
case being called Nolle Prosequi
was mace by the State.
The State OF South Carolina, Sumter
county.
LII. Parrott, Clerk OF Court Of
Common Pleas and General Ses-' 'og-s
d. hereby certify that the foregoing
is a true sd correct copy CT some Of
the entries made in the Journal Of the
Court OF General Sessions for said
ccrnty 1T the January term Of The
said court
Given unaer my hand ind seal of
-:.a sa:e Cou-t this 18th lay Of Oc-
tober, a D. 1905. L. I. Parrctt.
Clerk Of Court. sun1tar, S. C.
Mr.. Editor, the gentlemen whose
..s....5s appear in the foregoing copies
If Indictments, had as champions in
trouble John j. Shaw, Robt. B. Will
son, S. D. NJ. Lacoste, John H. Ander-
son, Geo. H. Reid, Charles H. Watts,
J. I. Lesesne, James Rembert and
Robt. E. Wilson.
These We're among the best people
of Sumter county. Some Of them
have gone hence-probably nalf the
number. But of those who are dead
and those now living it can be said
truly that they represent the best cit
izensiaip Of South Carolina, brave and
true men,
The gentlemen named were arrest
ed by Federal soldiers who We're guild
ed by viilainous negro spies, and were
forced from their homes in front of
Federal bayonets to the. court house,
where it was intended they should be
imprisoned, but they gave bond. They
could have given without trouble
bonds to the amount OF million dol
lars, as their friends We're practically
all true white men.
OF course none of them We're con-
victed, notwithstanding some Of them
were indicted in as many as four sep
arate cases for the same alleged
| crime, in some instances singly and
aga.n in a group. In all, about a
dozen eases We're entered against
them, but in every case where the So
licitor, Atkinson, did not enter nolle
p1'osequi there was a verdict Of mot
guilty" or no bill'' by the grand jury.
Remember, all these men VINO
We're driven to the court house, as
prisoners, We're Confederate veterans,
except probably one or two who We're
too aged for service in the war.
The immediate cause or pretext
for the arrest of these gentlemen was
a. raid in the Swimming Pens section
of Sumter county by the Ku Klux
during which a white scalawag by the
name Of Robertson, was ordered to
leave the State, and some one, prob
ably Robertson himself, destroyed the
building he occupied as dwelling
and store. But Robertson left.