The Nation's Peril Part 3

On the 19th of September, 1870, Thompson retired to his bed between nine and ten o'clock, as was his usual custom. His family consisted of his wife and two children, all of whom occupied the same sleeping apartment.

Between eleven and twelve o'clock they were aroused from their slumbers by the door being broken in with a tremendous crash, and before Thompson had time to collect himself, he was rudely seized and dragged from his bed by a number of men, armed and disguised, two of whom fired their revolvers into the roof of the cabin, as a menace, and a.s.sured Thompson they would turn the weapons upon him, if he offered the slightest resistance. His wife and children were also dragged from their beds, being at the same time severely struck by some members of the band, and told to remain quiet.

"In the name of the Lord, what is this?" asked Thompson, as soon as he could command his voice.

The response was a blow upon the head from the b.u.t.t of a pistol, delivered with a brutality that convinced him that he was in the hands of those to whose hearts mercy was a stranger. He was then told to ask no questions, and make no noise, but to dress himself and go with the band.

His wife was subjected to the most revolting indecencies. The last garment that covered her nakedness was wrenched from her person and torn into shreds, leaving her utterly exposed to the malicious and lecherous eyes of the intruders. She was then told "to get her rags on," and go with the party. The children terrified at seeing their parents thus brutally a.s.sailed, uttered the most piercing screams, but were ordered to remain behind and not leave the house, or they would be killed. The band started out with their captives in the direction of the house of John and Samuel Hogan, two white men who were known to be Republicans, and had thus rendered themselves obnoxious to the Camp. They compelled the Hogans to accompany them, and started for the woods, nearly a mile from Thompson's house.

One Micajah Amerson, a colored man living near the scene of this outrage, hearing the report of the fire arms, arose, and dressed himself, and taking a shot gun, started for his son's house on the Joseph Howell plantation. Amerson was just in time to meet the band having Thompson and his wife and the two Hogans in custody, and was at once seized and compelled to go with the party. Amerson seems to be the only one of the captives able or willing to give an intelligent account of what subsequently transpired, which he did to the writer as follows:

"I saw the company in the road, and knew they were the Ku Klux from their disguises. I saw it was no use to try and get away from them, and one of them told me to go along, at the same time striking me with a club. Edward Thompson and his wife (colored), and John and Samuel Hogan, two white men, were with them. Thompson said nothing but his wife moaned all the way on the road to the woods. We went about a quarter of a mile into the woods, and were then ordered to halt. When the halt was made, one of the band gave a peculiar whistle, which was answered almost directly by a similar sound. This proved to be the signal for the appearance of a party who was addressed as the Captain, and who at once took charge of the proceedings.

"I and the two white men were ordered to sit down, a pistol being placed at our heads to enforce obedience. The colored man (Thompson) was then told to strip himself naked. This he commenced very reluctantly to do, begging for mercy, and asking what he was going to be whipped for. The members of the band seemed to be enraged at this, and taking out their knives, commenced cutting his clothes off, wounding him in several places.

The Captain then struck him a powerful blow with a gun, shattering the stock and knocking Thompson senseless.

"No one paid any attention to him as he lay upon the ground,--the Captain and two or three of the band holding a consultation. The Captain then asked for the "executioners." Two men came forward and said: "Where are the warrants?" At this another of the party produced two long leather straps, and handing them to the two men, said: "Here they are."

"These two then commenced to beat Thompson and his wife in a dreadful manner. The punishment on the wife was brief though cruel. That upon Thompson was continued until the "executioner" was thoroughly exhausted.

He then handed the strap to another member of the band, who renewed the a.s.sault with great fury. Thompson, at first, made no exclamations, but on being struck in the more delicate parts of his body, screeched fearfully.

He was brought to his feet several times while the punishment was being inflicted, only to be knocked down by the strap, and kicked by those who were standing around him. The members of the band laughed at his agony and said to the executioners: "Give it to the d.a.m.ned radical; learn the son of a b...h to keep his piety and politics to himself; we'll teach him how to lead the n.i.g.g.e.rs."

"Thompson finally ceased to scream. His body was a ma.s.s of blood, and he appeared to be unconscious long before the beating was through with. I thought he must be dead, but dared not say anything. When the executioners had ceased, he lay perfectly still. One of the members said: "The d....d skunk is playing possum." He then jumped at Thompson, kicked him several times in the side and back with great violence, and turning him over, ground his boot heel in his face. He lay for a long time unconscious, and was several times raised to his feet, but could not stand. His wife continued to pray during a portion of the time, asking G.o.d to bring her husband to life, and begging the Captain to spare him for the sake of his family, and let her try and get him home.

"The Captain finally said, she might do what she liked. It was easy to see that Thompson could not live, but some of the band were not satisfied.

One of them called out:

"'Captain Smart, can I shoot the dirty radical?' to which the Captain replied:

"'No! the black son of a b....h is dead enough.' The Captain then said to me and the two white men:

"'Now, you take this for a warning, and if we ever hear of you divulging anything about this, you may expect the same treatment.'

"The white men and myself were then taken to the road, where we were met by another party, also in disguise, making about forty in all. I was then told to go to the Joseph Howell plantation, and remain there two hours, or the rest of the band would take me and put me up the spout.

"I done as directed, and returned to my own house about 6 o'clock in the morning; I then went over to Thompson's house, and found him dead. How he came there, I do not know; I heard that his wife got him home, and that he was not entirely dead, when he got there."

In addition to the testimony of Amerson, as to the terrible details of this brutal murder, we have that of Mrs. Thompson and the two Hogans. Dr.

Mapp, a physician residing near Thompson, was called to see him, and at the earnest entreaty of the wife dressed his wounds, although he saw that the poor victim could not live possibly. He was literally beaten to a jelly. One of his eyes had been forced completely out of its socket, and he was otherwise almost totally unrecognizable.

Elihu Horn, _alias_ Capt. Smart, was known at the time as a respectable member of society in Hamilton county, Fla., and a leader in the democratic ranks in that vicinity, and violently opposed to the present administration. He was determined that no one should preach what he was pleased to term "the heresy of radicalism" in that county, and live, and his threat was fully carried out upon the body of the unfortunate Thompson.

In the light of such an outrage, can any one, of whatever creed or faith, question the policy of the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus and the proclamation of martial law in such a community, or doubt the wisdom of the executive head of the nation, in his efforts to suppress the unlawful a.s.semblages, who aspired to hold the life and liberty of our citizens in the hollow of their hands, and annihilate the hopes of newly-made freemen, by imposing upon them a bondage infinitely worse than that from which the nation, through the blood of her sons, had but so recently released them?

BRUTAL WHIPPING OF A WHITE MAN FOR OPINION'S SAKE.

Shortly after the outrage which resulted in the death of Edward Thompson, a Mr. Driggers, residing in the county of Echols, and not far from where Thompson had been murdered, received a warning from the Ku Klux Klan, that he must change his political opinions, or leave the State.

Mr. Driggers was a prominent republican, and had made no secret of his political faith. He had freely expressed his opinions in that regard whenever he desired to do so, and had steadily voted the republican, or what was known to the Ku Klux as the radical, ticket. He was generally esteemed among his fellows, and especially among the colored people, in whose welfare he took a great interest, and this latter fact was deemed an offense not to be tolerated by the defenders of the white man's government.

Warning after warning was sent to him, and he was thus duly reminded, that, unless he recanted, the fate of Thompson would surely be his; but, he still regarded the matter as merely an idle threat, and time pa.s.sed on until the night of the 25th of August, 1871, when a party of five men, armed, and disguised in black gowns and masks, visited his residence.

Mr. Driggers at once divined the object of this visitation, and was expostulating with the leader, when he was quickly overpowered and stripped in the presence of his family, and beaten with straps similar to those used upon Thompson.

He was dreadfully punished about the head, face, and back, and was informed by the Klan, that for the present they would accord him the mercy to live, but, unless he left the county, they would return and kill him, and destroy his property.

From similar outrages that had been perpetrated in the vicinity, Mr.

Driggers was fully satisfied that this threat would be carried out to the letter. He was familiar with the brutal details of Thompson's death, and was now convinced that the members of this terrible brotherhood would respect neither color, social standing, or respectability, and at once made hasty preparations, and abandoned his once happy home to become a wanderer. The visitation upon him was made solely for political reasons.

He was a man that stood above reproach in the community, and no person could be found in Echol county that could impugn his character as a man, a gentleman, and an upright citizen. It was not contended that he had committed any other offense than that of being a radical republican, who, being too obstinate to change his politics, must be whipped into renouncing a faith that he could not be argued out of.

Is it any wonder that men who subst.i.tute brute force for argument, should so strenuously object to the efforts of the executive officers to enforce the law and bring order out of the chaos, into which their wild and licentious acts have plunged the respective communities in which they live? Thinking men will say "nay," and will ask and demand that the policy now being pursued by the administration shall be continued until the supremacy of the law is fully established, and men of all shades of color and political faith may "sit under their own vine and fig tree, with none to molest or make them afraid."

Allen Wicker, William Smith, Butcher Smith, James King, and Lewis Kinsey, all residents of Echol county, Ga., and members of the Camp that had decided that Mr. Drigger must surrender his political opinions, leave his home, or die, were the persons upon whom the officers of the United States Secret Service fastened the guilt of this outrage.

AN APPALLING TRAGEDY.

TERRIBLE DEATH OF A WHITE MAN IN WILKINSON COUNTY, GEORGIA.

One of the most appalling tragedies ever resulting from the free expression of political opinions, was that enacted at Irwinton, Wilkinson county, Georgia, on the night of the 31st of August, 1871.

For more than a year previous to this date, a white man, familiarly known throughout the county as Sheriff Deason, had taken a very active part in politics, having espoused the republican cause, as one might say, in the very den of the lion himself, and standing almost alone, in what he considered a contest for the right.

Deason was a large, powerfully built, and muscular man, inured to hards.h.i.+p from his youth, resolute in his purpose, tenacious of his principles, and ready under all circ.u.mstances to expound them, whenever it seemed good to him to do so. He was a man whose good nature was proverbial. He delighted to get into the country grocery, and there, surrounded by an admiring audience of colored men, and such of the whites as sympathized with him, although secretly, express his opinion, that the principles of the republican party were the only ones upon which a righteous government could be founded, and which would eventually bring the s.h.i.+p of State safely to a secure anchorage.

Among his hearers were many of those who had sworn to uphold the "white man's government," and who believed that Deason's arguments were calculated to damage their labors in this respect, but, bold as they were, when in bands of twenty, armed and disguised, they a.s.sailed defenseless men and helpless women, they dare not single handed to make even so much as an utterance against his outspoken logic, and they writhed and twisted under it in silence. They comprehended, however, that seeds were being sown that would take root in the minds of thinking men, and produce results which they did not desire to see accomplished.

A formal presentation of Deason's case was made to the Irwinton Camp of the C. U. G., to which Order, at that time, two-thirds of the white population of Wilkinson county belonged. As was usual in such cases, it was decided to issue a warning to the intended victim, which was forthwith done. Deason replied to it by pasting the warning upon the door of his house, where it remained an ever present witness to the contempt in which he held its authors, until it was washed away by the fall rains.

This was regarded as an act of defiance upon Deason's part, that could not be overlooked. To add to this, he continued uttering his political views with the same freedom as before, and it was resolved that he must be stopped. This, however, was easier said than done; Deason was known to be thoroughly armed, a man of undoubted courage, and a terrible opponent when thoroughly aroused, although very quietly disposed when left to himself.

The Camp saw they had a serious subject to deal with, and for nearly a year after the first warning, he was little less than a thorn in their side. His example worked steadily upon thinking minds, and it was evident that he must be put out of the way, as the only measure whereby the spread of the peculiar political principles advocated by him could be stayed.

A final warning was sent to him, the substance of which was, that he "must leave the country, change his politics, or make up his mind to become Buzzard Bait." In the Conclave of the Klan, when this warning was directed to be issued, it was announced that this was positively the last opportunity that would be given Deason to repent of his ways, and that in the event of its failure to bring him to a change of his views, or his location, the full penalty attached to the "negro wors.h.i.+per" would be enforced. This, however, had no more effect than the previous warnings, and his death was resolved upon.

On the night of the 31st of August, 1871, twenty-five of the Klan who had been selected by the Commander, armed and disguised themselves for the purpose, and proceeded to Deason's house on the outskirts of the place.

Deason had retired for the night, having carefully locked and barred his doors and windows as usual. It was about midnight when he was aroused by a heavy knock at his door. He arose from his bed and requested to know who was there. The reply was a demand for him to come out and surrender himself to the Klan.

Deason responded to this with a defiant remark, telling them if they wanted him, they must come and take him. The band then commenced battering at the door, when Deason, placing his gun at a loop-hole which he had previously prepared, discharged both barrels. It appears, however, from some great misfortune to him, that neither of the shots produced any damaging effect upon the a.s.sailing party. The band were somewhat disconcerted at this, however, and withdrew a short distance from the house and held a consultation.

At the time of this visitation, Deason's wife was away upon a visit, and the only other person in the house was a colored woman who was a servant in the family. She had already arisen and expressed her determination to a.s.sist Deason in the fight, to the extent of her ability. The latter had reloaded his gun and had just set it down when a sudden rus.h.i.+ng noise, as of men running, drew his attention, and in a second afterwards, the door was crushed in by a joist, which the band, using as a battering ram, had forced against it.

The Klan poured in at once, and in full force. A terrible hand to hand fight ensued. Deason fought with great desperation, as did the colored woman. One after another of the Klan were stretched out upon the floor of the cabin, but the odds were too great, and Deason's immense strength became exhausted under his tremendous exertions and the loss of blood which he sustained. He finally sank down pierced with over-twenty bullet and knife wounds, and died fighting to the last in the maintenance of the principles he had so long and so earnestly advocated.

The woman was soon dispatched, and the Klan then retired, taking their wounded with them. Deason's mutilated body was found the next morning on the floor of the room in which he had met his dreadful fate, while that of the woman was found doubled up in one corner of the apartment, as if she had been thrown there like a bundle of worthless rags. The frontal bone of the dead man's head had been broken, and the base of his skull crushed in, apparently by a club. The body had been shot and stabbed in more than twenty different places, and presented a most revolting spectacle.

The facts of the double murder soon spread abroad, and were reported to a Mr. Bush, coroner of Irwinton, and that gentleman, being a member of the Camp that had ordered Deason's death, empanelled a jury of his fellow-brethren, and, according to his own confession, made since that time, went through the form of an inquest, the result of which was a verdict that the man Deason and the colored woman had met their death at the hands of certain _colored_ persons, to the jury unknown.