Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1913-03-12

AS 49, those or the tram Iou'
@ w. Der, OF the so-called
8, Black Hand. and the
Il lone highwayman are
pregnant enough to oc-
81 ~ cupy considerable por-
I. I $1,000 ----J portion of the news
d Il. {; papers, as they are in
4 all civilized communities. But we
must look back to a much carrier
period to find a chronicle Of an at
tempt to bring together in widely
! extended conspiracy under a single
head all the forces of evil which les.
/ tered over $4,000 square miles OF
1sparsely settled territory
The field of this satanic campaign
extended from Cairo, ILL.,, to the Mis-
sissippi delta and cut the width Of 9
broad. swath through q half score OF
L slave states. Wholesale and retail
i robbery. counterfeiting. land swim
ding, negro stealing and selling, black:
v mailing. and even murder and assassl'
nation, all played their part IN TINS
vast campaign Of crime. x, s7;.
John Murrell. the apostle and lead
4 er OF this Internal cult. the would-be
Napoleon. of chaos and crime In the
Mississippi valley, the organizer OF q
{ desperate clan Of some twelve hun
dred miscreants, taught his followers
that It was the safest way In most
cases to kill the victim. unless there
was some obvious reason to the con
trary. 38l.s FL 4, 5s5. .s Il
make an end Of the - fool" he
4 a. wont to say; "trip out his bowels
4 and heave him into the nearest swamp
4 or bayou. then the body won't rise
as testimony
He himself would boast, In the swag-
ger OF his cups, that he had slaughter
ed 40 men with his own hand. But
most OF his crimes were committed
through agents. ssz
I But this diabolism was only the
Z fringe of his ambition, appalling as 1t
was. The goal OF his hopes was q
great negro Iinsurrection throughout
the south. which would sweep the
slave states like a devasting flame.
With this lust OF rapine, giving it a
sharper edge. was q venomous jeal-
d ousy and hatred of the rich which had
become like the mania of rabid dog.
Il The time or the slave uprising he had
fixed for Christmas night, 1885
About 1S months before this ex-
pected climax. an Interesting en-
counter occurred IN the woods OF Mad
isons county West Tennessee. in what
was then known as the Choctaw pur-
chase. ssg
Virgil Stewart. q young Georgian.
had come into a small inheritance
from his father year before and had
then concluded to invest lit in the
virgin lands of that newly opened
tract. He had made his entry. paid
i the fee. and after keeping the store
y of one Clanton, a probate Judge; for
\ q while, had returned to Georgia to
complete the purchase and take resi-
L dence. -s 5}5s s. RI h
Stewart was out riding one eve
ming In. the early dusk when he over
took striking figure mounted on q
\ fines hunter. which he sat with the
A ease Of a finished horseman. He &C
Z costed Stewart with wellbred ease
and the resonant voice Of one accus.
toned to public speaking: 4S
Good evening. sir. Ihope that you
are enjoyin'. your ride in The twilight
cleaning. There Is something de,
lightful at this hour in the woods. Ma
ture declares the glory OF God part
" shutting his eyes with an all! Of
pensiye enthusiastically but this meetin,
OF day and dark among the tree-pillars
! always makes me think Of great
church made without hands" Z ).
Stewart stared at this salutation.
which he politely returned. and for q
moment fancied the stranger an itin-
Grant minister OF the better class But
he thought 1t odd 4 that q gospeler
e should ride thoroughbred hunter
and carry heavy pistols in. his hol-
sters, with a knife In his belt and a
sawed-off shotgun on his pommel. Yet
almost all white men were wont to
ride armed then In that country and
there was nothing suspicious in the
fact, except the pious twang Of the
overture.
The stranger caught Stewards look
and said suavely:
y my host. who lives about ten miles
from hyar. is out OF venison. and SO
i thought God would send me a chance
1 for buck. i don't believe in slayin'
the beasts of the field wantonly, bue
they were created for the use Of man.
we are taught In Holy Scripture. Do
you reside In this district, sir?"
Probably l SHALL" answered Stew
art, "as L have recently bought land
here, and am on the outlook now for
( some likely slaves. | may have to
run down to New, Orleans to get them.
3 though 1t is costly trip. for good
lot of them have disappeared from
here OF late-run away or stolen.
/ That's q fine horse you're riding"
Eyes" said the other with a SIMS.
ter twinkling In his eye which Stew.
arts keen observation noted. I'm a
good Judge OF boss. or Of the sons
Of Ham whom God made for service. !
.,.. s'. i T. - &c !