The call of the North. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1923-1924, 1923-10-15
'DISBANDINC THE OLD KHAN
An Historical Incident

of this order by John w. Morton, the
Cyclops of the Nashville Den, also
the Grand Wizard, is typical Of what
happened throughout the South.
"Thirty-fve picked men, mounted,
armed, and in full Ku Klux Khan
regalia for both horses and men, were
selected for the ceremony and order
ed to parade boldly through the
streets of Nashville. The capital was
in charge of 5000 reconstruction
militia and 200 metropolitan police,
who had sworn to take every Ku
Klux Klansmen, dead or alive, who
dared show himelf abroad. On the
night appointed a squadron of thirty
five white and scarlet Klansmen
moved out of the woods and bore
down upon the city. The streets were
soon crowded with people watching
the strange procession of ghostlike
figures. On the principal streets the
police blew their whistles and darted
here and there in great excitement,
but made no move to stop the dare
devil paraders.
"n they rode up the hill and passed
the capitol, round which the camp
fires of a thousand soldiers burned
brightly, and not a hand was lifted
against them. They turned south in
High street, now Sixth avenue.
Along the line of march ladies waved
their handkerchiefs from windows
and men shouted suppressed oaths.
Before the Klansmen reached
Broad street the police began to sum-
mon citizens to aid in their arrest.
On reaching Broad street, John Nor
ton, who rode at the head of the
squadron, observed a line of police
drawn across the street, with the
evident intention to stop or arrest
the riders. Turning to Mart N.
Brown, gallant Klansman, who rode
by his side, Morton said:
"What shall we do, Mart?"
"Turn into Vine street." he quickly
replied, "and pass around them"
"NOw came the order from Morton,
"rde straight through without a
change of gait!"
"And they did! The astonished
police, dumbfounded at the holiness
of the strange men, opened their
lines, and the white horsemen rode
slowly through without a word.
'In their last march down Broad
street they passed a frame building
used as a carpetbag military armory.
1t was full of negroes. Directly in
front of the building, Morton halted
his line of white figures, drew them
up at dress parade, rode up to the
door and knocked. The negroes rush
ed to the doors and windows, and
seeing in the bright moonlight the
grim figures of the dreaded Khan,
they forgot the two hundred friendly
police and the three thousand recon-
struction soldiers guarding Nashville.
Making wild and disorderly break
for the rear, they went through every
opening without knowledge of any OBJ
struction. Many of them wore win
dow-sashes home for collars.
wheeling again in a double CO.
lumn, the Klansmen silently rode
away to their old rendezvous. Their
mission was at an end. They had
overthrow the carpetbaggers' regime
and restored home rule. Their last
act was warning.
"Outside the city they entered the
shadows of the forest. Down its dim
aisles, lit by threads of moonlight,
the horsemen slowly wound their way
to the appointed place. For the last
time the chaplain led in prayer. The
men disrobed, and drawing from each
horse his white mantle, opened a
grave and silently buried their re-
gala, sprinkling the folds with the
ashes of copy of their burned Ritual.
In this wierd ceremony ended the
most remarkable revolution in his
tory."-The HaWkeye Independent