K. K. K. Sketches, Humorous and Didactic Part 5

ART. 7037. [4.] Whenever in any State, or part of a State, the unlawful combinations named in the preceding section of this act shall be organized and armed, and so numerous and powerful as to be able by violence to either overthrow or set at defiance the const.i.tuted authorities of such State and of the United States, within such States, or when the const.i.tuted authorities are in complicity with or shall connive at the unlawful purposes of such powerful and armed combinations; and whenever, by reason of either or all of the causes aforesaid, the conviction of such offenders and the preservation of the public safety shall become in such district impracticable, in every such case such combinations shall be deemed a rebellion against the government of the United States, and during the continuance of such rebellion, and within the limits of the district which shall be so under the sway thereof, such limits to be prescribed by proclamation, it shall be lawful for the President of the United States, when in his judgment the public safety shall require it, to suspend the privileges of the writ of _habeas corpus_, to the end that such rebellion may be overthrown. _Provided_, That all the privileges of the second section of an act ent.i.tled "An Act relating to _habeas corpus_, and regulating judicial proceedings in certain cases," approved March third, eighteen hundred and sixty-three, which relates to the discharge of prisoners other than prisoners of war, and to the penalty for refusing to obey the orders of the court, shall be in full force, so far as the same are applicable to the provisions of this section. _Provided, further_, That the President shall first have made proclamation, as now provided by law, commanding such insurgents to disperse. _And provided, also_, That the provisions of this section shall not be enforced after the end of the next regular session of Congress.

1872. The foregoing section was re-enacted in the Senate (1872) but it failed in the House. Hence, by limitation, it became obsolete June 10th, 1872. Action was taken under it by President Grant in several counties in South Carolina while the law was in force.

ART. 7038. [5.] No person shall be a grand or pet.i.t juror in any court of the United States upon any inquiry, hearing, or trial of any suit, proceeding, or prosecution based upon or arising under the provisions of this act who shall, in the judgment of the court, be in complicity with any such combination or conspiracy; and every such juror shall, before entering upon any such inquiry, hearing, or trial, take and subscribe an oath in open court that he has never, directly or indirectly, counselled, advised, or voluntarily aided any such combination or conspiracy; and each and every person who shall take this oath, and shall therein swear falsely, shall be guilty of perjury, and shall be subject to the laws and penalties declared against that crime; and the first section of the article ent.i.tled "An Act defining additional causes of challenge, and prescribing an additional oath for grand and pet.i.t juries in the United States' courts," approved June 17th, eighteen hundred and sixty-two, be, and the same is hereby repealed.

ART. 7039. [6.] Any person or persons having knowledge that any of the wrongs conspired to be done and mentioned in the second section of this act are about to be committed, and having power to prevent or aid in preventing the same, shall neglect or refuse so to do, and such wrongful act shall be committed, such person or persons shall be liable to the person injured, or his legal representatives, for all damages caused by any such wrongful act, which first-named person or persons by reasonable diligence could have prevented; and such damages may be recovered in an action on the case in the proper circuit court of the United States, and any number of persons guilty of such wrongful neglect or refusal may be joined as defendants in such action. _Provided_, That such action shall be commenced within one year after such cause of action shall have occurred; and if the death of any person shall be caused by any such wrongful act and neglect, the legal representative of such deceased person shall have such action therefor, and may recover not exceeding five thousand dollars'

damages therein, for the benefit of the widow of such deceased person, if any there be, or if there be no widow, for the benefit of the next of kin of such deceased person.

ART. 7040. [7.] Nothing herein contained shall be construed to supersede or repeal any former act or law, except so far as the same may be repugnant thereto; and any offences heretofore committed against the tenor of any former act shall be prosecuted; and any proceeding already commenced for the prosecution thereof, shall be continued and completed, the same as if this act had not been pa.s.sed, except so far as the provisions of this act may go to sustain and validate such proceedings.

CHAPTER XIV.

THE K. K. K. IN LOUISIANA.

Adventists--How they Practised on the Parasitical Blacks--A Little Power is a Dangerous Thing--The Political Situation in '67--Whites Refraining from Partic.i.p.ation in Election Campaigns--The State Press--The Order of K. K. K. in Louisiana--When the Government Officials were first Notified of its Presence--The Feeling in Grant Parish, a s.h.i.+re Division of the State created for Political Purposes--Riot Growing out of a Personal Difficulty--Blacks Entrenched in the Court-House at Colfax--Besieged by a Force of from Three Hundred to Four Hundred Men--Parley--Negroes Refuse to Surrender--A Second Defiance--Building Fired--Ma.s.sacre and Termination of the b.l.o.o.d.y Affair--Statistics of Losses in the Fight--Who were Responsible--The White League or Camelias--Occupied the K. K. K. Basis in Externals--New Orleans Riots--Their Effect on the Returning Boards--Coushatta--K. K. K. in Texas--Border History Uneventful--Texas Legislature Interferes.

In the States of Louisiana and South Carolina the war between the K.'s and Loyal League waged fiercest, and was longest protracted, for here the fires of political proscription were earliest lighted, and the boundaries of party maintained with the greatest fort.i.tude. In the former State, a party of men, who were known in certain quarters by the derisive t.i.tle of "Adventists," had a.s.sumed to control its affairs, not so much in the interest of, as by the use of, as a means, the negro element of its population. Practising upon the credulity of this unenlightened cla.s.s, it is not too much to say that they effected their object; and for a period of more than seven years around these central suns of the political firmament the parasitical blacks fluttered. Governors, congressmen, and legislators were created from this material without any reference whatever to the legal attainments or other qualifications of the aspirants, and with a view only to such cla.s.s legislation as could be made available to the negro rings, and destructive to the people's interests in that quarter.

Placed in control of affairs, these men, having suffered under the dispensation which the poet sought to describe in the words, "A little learning is a dangerous thing, etc.," and suspecting, moreover, that his meaning had not been fully brought out in that expressive stanza, astonished even their followers with an example which said "a little power is a dangerous thing." Legislating, mainly, with a view to continuance in authority, and arbitrarily seizing the elective machinery of the State, they had, independently of the League, under the existing conditions, an unlimited lease of the State administration. Nor did they fail to realize the advantages that came to them under the system of government which they had adopted. Having found a precedent for the most p.r.o.nounced transgressions of a written law in the acts of their co-conspirators in other States, and an excuse in the resistance which they inspired, they proceeded to lengths of usurpation which those interested for the cause of liberty on those sh.o.r.es viewed with surprise and dismay. The fullest use was made of every prerogative, and in innumerable instances they were subjected to that stretching process which has been commonly found so destructive to the article.

So rapid was the transition from the war period to that of political anarchy, which followed in obedience to these conditions, that as early as the year 1867 the State was hopelessly committed to an ignorant and unprincipled minority, and in every portion thereof the white ma.s.ses refrained from even attending the polls, so well a.s.sured were they that the fair majorities which they could score would be displaced by the most barefaced fictions. The opposition or conservative press, on the other hand, never ceased to perform its whole duty, representing to the people the true condition of affairs at the capital, the constant abuses of the legislative functions, the enormous treasury shortages, judicial tyrannies, etc., etc.; though, as was indicated by their course subsequently, to the more intelligent of those whom were addressed, this seemed but a citation of evils that were remediless; and where plans of relief were suggested, of remedies that were placed hopelessly beyond their reach. Even in the city of New Orleans, where these exhortations were most frequently heard, the munic.i.p.al elections not unoften went by default to the minority representatives; and mult.i.tudes (who have since testified their devotion to the cause of right), attracted by the patronage of the winning power, while refusing to give them aid, tendered them congratulations.

Others to whom these philippics came, and who in their country homes had been subjected to the intolerable rigors of League politics, took the appeals even more seriously than they were intended, and began that secret warfare on the agents of oppression in their midst, which, however effectual it may have proven in the end, must always be deprecated on the ground of those inequalities of principle which it represented, and of means it employed.

The first secret political organization enterprised against the Radical power in Louisiana was unquestionably that edition of the K. K. K. which we have been treating, and which proved so effective in disestablis.h.i.+ng the various isms of the party in other sections; but it is no less certain that, at no advanced stage of its existence on Louisiana soil, it underwent a very positive metempsychosis, and became, thereafter, the White League, or White Camelias as sometimes addressed representatively.

But no matter by what appellative known, nor under what const.i.tutional emendations proceeding, the idea was nowhere more aggressively employed in the work of uprooting the Radical succession, and rendering Southern hospitality, as applicable to its agents, a thing of unmitigated terror.

For a year or more after its organization had been completed, little was done apparently, but during this time the League in all its departments had been subjected to a rigid espionage, and the communications of the former with the transactions of government at the capital, established by the same means.

A slight difficulty in one of the Northern parishes, growing out of an election issue, was perhaps the first intimation conveyed to the Louisiana State authorities that they were to encounter opposition of this character. It, however, was local in its belongings, and though widely published by the organs of the League at the North, was not deemed worthy of attention by the State press. In Grant Parish, a new s.h.i.+re division of the State, created with a view to political ends, the quarrel of the factions a.s.sumed a serious shape at an early day, and here eventually transpired one of the most fearful tragedies of this b.l.o.o.d.y epoch. A remarkable feature of this affair was that it grew out of a purely personal matter, if we may except the contrast of races involved. The details of the private quarrel would of course be uninteresting, and the b.l.o.o.d.y particulars which followed may be recited in a few words.

An issue of races having been distinctly made, the two parties a.s.sembled in force; the blacks, after some preliminary manoeuvring, entrenching themselves in the court-house at Colfax, and bidding defiance to their enemies. They were at once closely besieged by a force equalling, or possibly barely exceeding, their own (three hundred to four hundred men), and, after some parleying, an unconditional surrender demanded. This was resisted on the expressed condition that the entrenched force, though in the minority, were "able to defend themselves," and would do so at every hazard. An irregular skirmish followed, pending which no advantage resulted to the attacking party, and seeing which, the leaders of the movement resolved on bolder measures: The blacks were again notified that they must vacate their quarters, or submit to the torch, as the besiegers were fully resolved upon dispossessing them of that stronghold. This they seem to have regarded as a mere threat, impossible of execution, and continued to throw out defiances and fire an occasional shot into the enemy's ranks. The whites, on the other hand, unawed by their manner, and fully decided to adopt this measure as a _dernier ressort_, sent forward parties commissioned for the dangerous service. It is not known what resistance, if any, was offered to this stratagem, but very soon the building was in flames from pillar to turret, and the terrified blacks rus.h.i.+ng forth in mad haste, to encounter a fate scarcely less terrible than that of being roasted in the flames. As they emerged from the burning building, the attacking columns threw themselves on their flanks, and poured volley after volley into their now fairly stampeded ranks. Scores fell under the first deadly a.s.sault, and as they pa.s.sed on in their flight they were intercepted or overtaken by their infuriated pursuers, the ma.s.sacre continuing a full hour after the terrified rout had begun to issue from the building.

The statistics of the loss on either side in this engagement have never been given with accuracy, and there is good reason to believe that many of the approximations that have gone to the world have embodied intentional errors. From those who were partic.i.p.ating in the affair, and represented the hostile factions in about equal proportion, we obtain the following estimate of their respective losses: Blacks killed, ninety; wounded, twenty-five. Whites killed, five; wounded, three. In the skirmish but few of the whites wore masks, and this affair has generally been regarded the fruit of a popular uprising, and not strictly chargeable to any secret organization, or body of men banded together for political purposes. It occurred, moreover, at a time when partisan feeling in that section had reached a strong ebb, and men were incensed against each other as they rarely become in the light of such incentives. That the Klan was officially represented in the affair was generally conceded.

It was about this time, or a little previously, that the famous White League came into existence, occupying the K. K. K. basis as to politics, and in all essentials of its organization formulated upon the same model.

This society a.s.sumed the duty of regulating the political affairs of the State, and that it succeeded to some extent in purifying the const.i.tutions of the Returning Boards, those monster instrumentalities of fraud belonging to the Radical elective system here, there can be no doubt. It was, however, open to many objections, and on equitable grounds must have been defeated by the same testimony that in some instances was made available against the Klan. It was responsible for the New Orleans riots of December 1874, in which hundreds of lives were sacrificed, and which subjected the party which it a.s.sumed to represent to a manifest loss of influence. The Kellogg, or Radical faction, however, received severe punishment at their hands, and made many valuable concessions under the election issues, from which the troubles grew; and it was in this affair, likewise, that the Returning Boards, above mentioned, were made to feel their power, and "by the same sign" induced to amend their ways. A b.l.o.o.d.y affair at Coushatta, in the Red River country, followed in the succeeding year; but as the transactions of this body are not strictly within the purview of the present work, we refrain from a statement of the particulars.

The Klan, finding its services no longer available here, in obedience to its nomadic instincts crossed the Texas border, and for a year or two following [Davis, Radical, being at that time Governor], a.s.sisted in the administration of Texas affairs. But while it proved a factor of no mean consequence in almost every political measure which agitated the Border mind, and numerous local raids were reported by the State journals, its frontier history was made up of unimportant details, whose want of adaptation to the plan of this volume must be our excuse for omitting them. The following statute, referring to the subject, was enacted by the Texas Legislature of contemporaneous date:

_Unlawfully appearing in disguise as Ku-Klux, White Camelias, and other Deviltry, punished._

ART. 6508. [1.] The penal code for the State of Texas shall be amended as follows, by inserting after Act 363 the following: [363]

_a_ If the purpose of the unlawful a.s.sembly be to alarm and frighten any person, or persons, by appearing in disguise, so that the real persons so acting and a.s.sembling can not be readily known, and by using language or gestures calculated to produce in such person or persons the fear of bodily harm, all persons engaged therein shall be punished by fine not less than one hundred, nor more than one thousand dollars each; and if such unlawful a.s.sembly shall take place at any time of the night--that is, between sunset and sunrise--the fine shall be doubled; and if three or more persons are found together disguised and armed with deadly weapons, the same shall be _prima facie_ evidence of the guilty purpose of such persons, as above described; and if any other unlawful a.s.sembly, mentioned in this chapter, consist in whole or in part of persons disguised and armed with deadly weapons, the fine to be a.s.sessed upon each person so offending shall be double the penalty hereinbefore described.

CHAPTER XV.

TALLY-HO!

The Situation in Georgia--Bullock Usurpation--Some Things which may be Explained--Negro Criminals--Taking Refuge in the Ocmulgee Swamps--A Brutal Murder--Ku-Klux Ambushed--A Terrible Oath--Uncle Jack B.--A Brief Memoir--"n.i.g.g.e.r Dogs" in the "Goober State"--Uncle Jack Interviewed by the Ku-Klux--What came of it--Getting Ready for the Chase--A Pack of "Negro Dogs" described--In the Swamps--The Opening Chorus--A Warm Trail--Swimming the Ocmulgee--Disappointment--The Lull is Past--The Cheering Notes of the Chase--Blood of the Martyrs! can it be?--A Last Effort--Another Crime added to the Calendar--A fresh Start--Baffled Again--At Bay--Tragical Scene.

As the K. K. K. influence was not felt in the politics of the south-west after the events which we have narrated, and the scope of this work forbids our entering into such details as comprised the Chicot county affair in Arkansas, and the Vicksburg (Miss.) _emeute_, which was unquestionably due in part to other influences, we yield to the eccentricities of our theme, and find ourselves under the shadow of that towering usurpation--the Bullock administration in Georgia. The organization of the Klan in this State was perhaps more extensive and efficient than elsewhere on Southern soil,--proving a complete offset to the Loyal League in the important work of influencing party discipline, and, after a time, effecting its other aim--of rendering it physically _hors du combat_. We shall not pretend, however, to follow it through the various stages of its development on Georgia soil, nor give what might be deemed a correct history of its movements, as we are concerned rather with the issues which grew out of the latter, and that which will prove far more interesting to the reader--the _modus_ of its operations.

A single feature of the campaign in this region we will endeavor to make prominent, without a design of saddling its individuality on this State, or insinuating that that branch of the pet inst.i.tution vulgarly known as "n.i.g.g.e.r dogs" was not as widely diffused as its popular derivative, and far too fossilized in its structure to submit to any merely sentimental changes in types of government. So far as that phase of the subject may tend to obtrude difficulties upon the reader, the writer will volunteer the information that he was recently placed by accident at a point where his sensorium covered three large well-trained kennels of these brutes; and that it has been his good fortune, on more occasions than one, since liberty resumed its old-time inheritance in the "land we love," to follow the panting "Ketch," where none dare go before, along the redolent trail of the criminal--black or white. Nor is there anything more remarkable about the circ.u.mstance that the body of men known as Ku-Klux should, upon certain contingencies, avail themselves of the services of this sagacious brute, than that the same men, by accident or otherwise, should be employed on a righteous mission like the following:

In the year 1862, in that portion of Telfair county where the _Elk_ river has its confluence with the Ocmulgee, a larger stream, a negro slave of Mr. ---- committed a brutal rape on one of his master's household, and fled to the neighboring wilderness. He was not pursued at the time, as, in view of the recent conscript levies and the unsettled state of the country, there were no available means at hand; and, aided by individuals of his own color, whose race prejudices at this time had reached a state of savage excitement, he found safe harborage and a precarious livelihood in the river-swamps during the entire period of the war. Pending his exile, and soon after it began, he was joined by an only brother, a brother-criminal likewise, who had been forced to fly the settlements; and, having formed an alliance--_sun_ and _ek_--the predatory excursions of this twain became thereafter the special terror of dwellers in that exposed region. Nothing, however, particularly worthy of mention marked their exploits until the year following the close of hostilities, when they emerged from their fastnesses, and having made their way to a neighboring settlement, occupied by an old gentleman and an only son, a youth of twelve years, put them both to death with every circ.u.mstance of horrible detail. This affair occurred in the latter part of the year 1865, and, as was to have been expected, created a wide-spread sensation.

Within a few hours after the deed had been committed, a well-equipped party of hors.e.m.e.n started in pursuit, and for more than a week conducted a thorough campaign through that division of the Ocmulgee swamps that was supposed to have furnished a retreat to the murderers. They did not succeed, however, further than to obtain a view of the refugees, and salute them with a volley at long range; and seeing that their efforts would prove fruitless, returned to their homes. Here the matter rested until the following spring, when a party of Ku-Klux, raiding in that vicinity, were fired upon from the brush, and one of their number killed, by two men who were positively recognized as the swamp-ruffians. Having buried their dead companion, in obedience to the strange ceremonies in vogue with them, the members of the Klan a.s.sembled around his grave, and recorded an oath "never to relent from their purpose of revenge, nor cease the pursuit of his murderers, while the Ocmulgee contained water, and the region fertilized by it and its tributaries supported an inch of unexplored territory."

Not far from the scene of the last occurrence lived Uncle Jack B----, a character in the neighborhood prior to Sherman's raid and reconstruction, but who, since those events, in view of a somewhat disproportioned record, had been singing exceedingly small. In _ante bellum_ times, this old gentleman had been looked up to, by both whites and blacks of his vicinity, as in some sense the reigning monarch of the locality, and one between whose smiles and frowns lay considerations that might engage the attention of much weightier personages than any whom the countryside supported. In brief, Uncle Jack had been the proud proprietor of the largest and best known pack of "n.i.g.g.e.r dogs" in the "Goober State," with all that that implied in the language of the reconstructionists; and if he did not still possess that distinction, it was altogether attributable to the circ.u.mstance that the office which it involved had ceased to be a sinecure, and the property in question was no longer quoted among commercial values. But though the old man and his beasts bowed their heads under the in _terrorem_ of the new order of things, they well knew that this _dies irae_ could not last always, and were, moreover, fully persuaded of the truth of the old proverb which insures to every well-behaved canine a "dish" in pa.s.sing events. That they were not sophists in this matter will be sufficiently demonstrated by the remaining events of this chapter.

At precisely twelve o'clock on the night succeeding that which witnessed the tragical event last narrated above, Uncle Jack held a long conference, at the outer gate of his premises, with three mounted men, and shortly thereafter might have been observed to visit his stable and dog-kennel, lingering for some time in the vicinity of each. A half-hour or more was consumed by the details of a preparation from which it was plain to be seen some mystery was in course of evolution, and the old man, mounted on his now full-rigged hunter, and swept forward in a tempest of dolorous howlings, turned an angle of the close, and joined his weird visitors.

It will hardly be necessary to inform the reader that these men were K. K.

K. emissaries, who had been dispatched to secure the hunter and his dogs to aid them in the difficult enterprise which they had undertaken; and looking from one to the other of the new levies, he would have no hesitancy in making up his mind that "Barkis was willin'," and the "yaller beauties," as he was wont to term them, "spilin'" for n.i.g.g.e.r meat. These latter were composed of a dozen brace of the best Florida breed of the hybrid blood- and sleuth-hound, fat and frolicsome, wearing sleek coats of yellow, and as to size, if put to the test, the runtiest of the runts would have kicked the beam at fifty pounds. Leashed in couples, they made rapid circuits around the now galloping hors.e.m.e.n, filling the night with the music of their weird chorus, and falling to an indiscriminate and discordant baying whenever hog or cow or other animate thing, startled from their covert, stood still to guess at the intrusion. Three miles from the point of starting, the main company was reached, and soon afterwards, pa.s.sing into the edge of the bottom, the dogs were released from their slips, and at a word from the hunter, and directing a premonitory sniff at their surroundings, sped into the darkness. For an hour or more the hunters pressed their way through the pitchy swamps, now following a scarcely distinguishable stock trail, now lightened upon by a gleam of starlight from above, and not unfrequently committed for guidance to the instincts of the animals they bestrode, without other report from the excited yelpers than was too timidly given to be accounted much worth, or called forth the response from some guttural cavity of the forest, "a lie." Reaching the banks of the river, at a point five miles below the swamp line at which their road had intersected the bottom, a halt was called, and the company sat peering into the darkness, for the first time doubtful of their enterprise, when lo! within ten feet of the rearmost file a welcome sound broke the stillness--at first low and doubtful, but gaining in volume and flowing into blended notes--one--two--three--and then a stunning, Wagnerian chorus, that lifted every horseman from his stirrups, and sent the wood echoes rolling in sonorous waves along the breast of the forest. A loud hurrah from the hunters attested their equal joy, and hue and cry being joined, the panic of pursuit began. Straight up the river bank the roaring pack held on their course, not once veering to the right nor left, nor never slackening speed, and timid hors.e.m.e.n, that erst had s.h.i.+vered if their steeds but stumbled in the darkness, now rode abreast of the panting "leader," swelling the volume of sound with their loud halloos, and leaping branch and inlet sound with the agility of the frightened deer that sped before. Even the "Ketch," usually sedate and disallowing confidences, had been momentarily thawed by the all-pervading enthusiasm, and joining the pack just where the fun grew furious, howled a dismal accompaniment to the cheering notes of the chase. On, on, into the darkness beyond, sped the tempest of pursuit--now wedged into narrow pa.s.ses and involved in a hundred confused knots, now unravelling on the open plains beyond and flowing on in currents bold and free as those that kissed the sh.o.r.e beneath them, now leaping brake and fell, now skirting hazardous banks, now hugging obtrusive sh.o.r.es, and hark! at a sharp signal from the "leader" all sounds are hushed,--followed by a plunging boom, and, churned into a thousand eddies, the bold Ocmulgee supports the rout of panting men and beasts, who have no sooner recovered from the chilling baptism than each bends forward in a mad struggle to reach first the yonder sh.o.r.e and herald this clamorous invasion to its phantoms of darkness. But so close on the heels of the dripping "leader" pressed the frantic crew--who owed him fealty come life or death--that his opening chorus was echoed by a hundred lesser sounds that were not echoes, and with a mighty effort the panting "Ketch," leaping sheer from the waves to the upper bank, was not too late with his base variation. And now the wild pursuit is begun anew, for the tardiest horseman is spurring into the depth of the forest beyond, and skurrying out of sight and hearing if that were possible--the wailing wood notes have a story to whisper to the deserted sh.o.r.e.

But "the best laid plans of mice and men aft gang aglee," and not above a half mile from their watery exodus the puzzled yelpers vary their chorus and slacken speed, and, warned by a ringing blast on the huntsman's horn, the whole company of baffled pursuers double on their track, and by twos, and threes, and then in larger squads, rejoin their river base. Here the huntsmen consult together, and the pack renew their frenzy, frisking along the river sh.o.r.e, scouring the woods, and soon afterwards, indicating by a yelping chorus far down the stream that the stratagem of the refugees led them that way. The impatient hors.e.m.e.n soon gallop at their heels, and after one or two dissentient howls from the aged skeptics of the pack, they one and all run full upon the warm scent, with a clamor that causes the woods to "ring again," and sends the vital current tingling along the veins of the coldest-blooded horseman. And now the lull is past, and the thunder of pursuit once more greets the forest echoes. Away, away, distancing the swamp tracts and riding into the region of the morning, for its first beams, striking through the tree-boughs, sprinkle their forms and play in feathered jets along the bosom of the forest. Away, away, riding neck and neck with the fleet-footed swamp-hare, and crossing the hurricane's track with a rush and sound that might have been its refrain.

Away, away, emerging upon the broad plateau, and yelling, yelping, whooping, cursing, but never slackening speed. Away, away, vanis.h.i.+ng through lanes, disappearing over hill-tops, and clattering through the valleys beyond, with a mighty hubbub that jars the base of the hills, and sends the round echoes careering at their backs.

Blood of the martyrs! can it be? Just at the apex of yonder rise which the feet of the pursuers take hold upon, lives an unprotected widow and her daughter, and with ominous precision of stride the hue and cry points that way.

The instincts of both men and beasts instantly acquaint them with the situation, and, bending forward in one last despairing effort, they emulate the rush of the tornado as they bear down the enclosures and sweep up the incline, just in time to witness the most piteous spectacle that men with emotions were ever invited to commiserate. The panting pack, first on the scene, leap on the frightened and weeping women with furious growls, licking their faces and hands, sniffing at their forms, and baying from all quarters, until, driven from thence, they rush into the single apartment, leap on the beds, drag them to the floor, and falling to, with the fury of wild beasts disappointed of their prey, tear them into shreds.[A] Being expelled from thence, the hunters hear the dolorous narrative of the women, cross-question them as to particulars which may aid them in the pursuit, and having lost but little time, follow the now furious hounds in a noisy detour around the little farm. Again and again this is repeated, and men and dogs are fairly baffled. The former dismount and examine the ground for visible signs, but are unrewarded, and seem ready to despair, when one of the pack, having leaped to the close fence, follows it for some distance, and finally breaks forth into that ominous bark which criminal never heard undaunted. Instantly he is joined by his impatient companions, and the welkin rings with their loud acclaim. The hunters follow, but almost too late, as the sequel proves; for having invaded the barn, a few rods distant, and discovered there the objects of their rage, the excited pack had well-nigh ended this series of tragedies.

The mangled remains of one of the criminals was dragged forth a lifeless corpse, and his a.s.sociate, defending himself with a clubbed gun, had disabled half the number of his a.s.sailants when he in turn was overpowered, and but for the intervention of his pursuers must have suffered a like fate.

But the rescue proved ill-timed, in one sense at least, for no sooner had the ruffian been disengaged from his dilemma and lifted from the building, than a shot was heard from behind, and, bleeding from twenty wounds, he rolled lifeless on the sward.

Looking in the direction whence the report came, the hunters saw the form of the girl who, a little while ago, had engaged their attention as a pale and woe-begone Lucrece, now expanded into a Hebe, and, still unrevenged, levelling her smoking weapon at the form of the African.

CHAPTER XVI.

THE "SHAMS."

The Klan in South Carolina--Officious Interference in Politics--Atrocious Performances of Men in Masks--The "Shams," or Counterfeit Editions of K. K. K.--How Organized--Purposes of the Organization--Their Vocabulary of Crime--South Carolina Fanatics--How the "Sham" Movement Affected the K. K. K.--Parodied out of the Field--A Resolution of _sine die_ Adjournment--K. K. K. Horrors on the Increase--The "Shams" were Opposed in their Movements not only by the Party who had formerly Upheld the K. K. K., etc.--Rotten-Egg Battalions--Citizens sometimes took the Execution of the Law into their Own Hands--A Case in Point.

While the K. K. K. influence was bad enough, in all conscience, and the K.

K. K. embodiment a trifle worse, it had imitators in both these elements of its being who cherished even Satanic designs, and we doubt if so much could be written of the former. That the Klan was organized on South Carolina soil, and did much mischief to the Conservative party and influence there by a.s.suming to be its exponent on the most untoward occasions, and at the moment when its services were least desired, is something which is admitted in the former case, and its stupidity heartily cursed with in the latter. But it is equally true that many of the atrocious performances of men in masks which invariably fell to the K. K.

K. score were b.a.s.t.a.r.dies, and unless, for the sake of imaginative persons, it is admitted that Satan was involved in the fatherhood of both, it may be doubted if even the claim of _illegitimate_ kins.h.i.+p could be sustained.