The Brandon news. (Brandon, Miss.) 1892-1961, 1909-01-28
NEW kU-kLUx KHAN STORY.
Thrilling Escape of a CIansman
Who Was to Have Been
Hanged.

When "The Clansman' COM
pany was in Southern Arkansas
recently Henry |. MacMahon, the
business manager, was fortunate
enough to unearth an unwrrtten
bit of Ku-Klux Khan history. The
story was told to him by James
Stewart, a retired newspaper man
of Texarkana, who for obvious
reasons, had not exploited it in his
paper. The time has arrived when
the story may be freely told.
Mr.. Stewart was one of the
clansmen refugeed out of South
Carolina in 1869. The Federal
government had started to prose-
cute Ku-Kluxing actively, and men
suspected of belonging to the order
were spirited out of the country by
their friends. For this purpose
there was in use the so-calIed "un-
derground railroad" Railroad
j conductors, friendly to the khan
organization,. passed the refugees
along from one point to another.
Detours on horseback were made
of the larger cities like New Or
leans and Atlanta, or else the
rufugee was boxed in freight car
and transported across the thickly
settled territory to the rural re-
gions, where it was again safe
enough to travel in passenger
coaches. But here is Mr.. Stewards
story of an escape more thrilling
than than any of the above, as it
included not only Jail delivery,
| but a delivery from the galloWs
and a wild ride in front of the pur-
suing troops and succor by means
of an unknown friend
"Forty years ago, in Columbia,
S. c." says the narrator, 81 saw
a member of the Ku-Klux Klan who
had been condemned to death res
cued out of the hands of the sheriff,
who was leading him away to ex-
ecution. This was on the steps of
the courthouse. The crowd of dis
guised clansmen picked a hasty
quarrel with the sheriff, and under
coverof it the hand cuffed prisoner
was snatched away, thrown on the.
back of a horse and told to ride for
his life.
Fourteen miles out of Columbia,
he aIighted in front of a wayside
blacksmith shop kept by a negro,
and commanded: File these irons
off,
"Cyant do it, said the darkey.
'Yo all might be wanted by de
officers anyways won't do it!'
"A mounted white man appeared
from around the corner with the
muzzle of his rifle pointed directly
at the negro. You'll saw those
handouts off when tell you'll he
remarked quietly. The frightened
negro got busy.
Stranger, remarked the
mountaineer, after pause, that's
a mighty fine horse of yours. Do.
you suppose you want to swap
1.-THE ku-kluxer looked with SUR.
prise from his own winded nag to
the fresh, alert animal of the other.
Then he seemed to understand.
Eyes, I'll swap, he replied. But
what will you give me to boot?'
Zone hundred and fifty dollars
in gold, answered the mountaineer.
Here it is in bag.
THE negro had by now COM
pleted his task. The hand-freed
prisoner took the money, mounted.
the fresh horse, and before night
fall was fifty miles away from the
track of his pursuers.
That, = concluded Editor Stew
art, in telling the story, twas the
ku-Klux Khan. In this case he es-
capped ku-Kluxer and his friends
were absolute strangers. Yet the
right man appeared At precisely tIle|
right time did the right thing with
out seeming to violate the law, ]
then disappeared, while the ex~|
candidate for 4 hemp necktie found
relay Of horses, provisions and in