A Just and Lasting Peace: A Documentary History of Reconstruction (45 page)

Q. How bad were you whipped?

A. I was whipped badly. I had on me a pair of pants too large; and next day I had to tie a string on them so they would meet.

Q. Your back was all whipped to pieces?

A. Just all hove up. It was not cut up so, but was bruised.

Q. What did they whip you with?

A. With ramrods.

Q. Take them out of their guns?

A. Took them out and twisted them up.

Q. What were they—iron ramrods?

A. I don't know. There was one felt very much like it. I can't say positive that they was iron ramrods. They had this brass put on them where they rammed the powder and stuff down in the guns. These was there next morning—white oak ramrods.

Q. Did you find them?

A. Yes, sir.

Q. How much did you find of the ramrod?

A. I found two pieces right at the house, and betwixt my house and the creek I found the other.

Q. There were three broken?

A. Yes, sir; both of them.

Q. How big were they?

A. About the size of my finger.

Q. Did you go and put a card in the paper as they told you to?

A. No, sir; I did not; I did not do anything.

Q. Did you stay at home nights after that?

A. Yes, sir; I stayed at home; they told me to stay at home, and I done it.

Q. How long before you were able to work after that?

A. I went and knocked about, but I wasn't able to do a piece of work under a week; and to do a good day's work, I wasn't able to do it in two weeks; because I couldn't walk. I couldn't sit down; and when I lay down, I would have to lay right flat down on my stomach.

Q. How many were they there?

A. I didn't see but six.

Q. All have disguises on?

A. Yes, sir.

C
ROSS-
E
XAMINATION BY
M
R.
S
TANBERY.

Q. Did you know any of them in their disguise?

A. Well, sir, I did.

Q. You did know?

A. I did know.

Q. How could you tell, if they were disguised?

A. I saw the men's hands, shoes, clothing, everything they had on.

Q. Did you know the men?

A. One was Dr. Parker.

Q. Who was the other?

A. Was Mr. John James Miller.

Q. The other?

A. John Lytle.

Q. Who was the other?

A. The other one was Mr. Bill Lowrey.

Q. Who was the other?

A. Now the other man—I believe there were more—but will not swear to that man. I believe they were there.

Q. I only ask who you knew were there?

A. I won't be positive that these men were there; and that was Mr. Bishop Sandifer and Mr. Thomasson; but the other men, I did not say I knew them two men, but these other four, I know them; there were six altogether.

Q. And you told four of the six, notwithstanding they were disguised?

A. I knew four of them out of the six.

Q. How were they disguised?

A. Well, they had a little cloth over the head that came down and fastened back of the head. They had on common coats. This one had on a calico dress, the other one had on a red dress opened down before; the other had on looked like black overcoats, came way down here [indicating below the knee.]

Q. Had they false faces?

A. Well, they first had simply a false face, made to cover over the head, eyes and nose, and all the mouth was out, just a place where they could see, you know.

Q. It was cloth?

A. Yes, sir.

Q. All the head, and the eyes, and the nose, everything, and the face was concealed, but the mouth; but you told four of them because you saw their underclothing?

A. Yes, sir.

Q. You told it from their shoes, and saw their underclothing?

A. I knew their hands, and I knew the men by their conversation. I got a full understanding of their voices.

Q. How far did they live from you?

A. Mr. Miller lived about three mile and a half, or four mile, I will say, at the outside.

Q. How far did either of the others live from you?

A. Dr. Parker lived about three miles from me, or a little better.

Q. How far did the other live?

A. Mr. Lytle lived about a mile and a half from me.

Q. How far did the fourth live?

A. Mr. Lowrey lived on the same plantation, about two miles.

Q. Now you told them by their hands, as well as by their underclothing?

A. Yes, sir.

Q. How can you be so familiar with their hands?

A. I know Mr. Lowrey by his hands; I've been working with him; he had been with me the day before.

Q. What sort of a hand has he?

A. He has a white hand, but has a finger that stands crooked; and he had sores on his hands, and that is the way I knew him.

Q. Did each of the other three have fingers of that sort, and sores on their hands?

A. No, sir.

Q. How did you know their hands?

A. I knew the men by their discourse; I knew them by their hands and by their discourse; I didn't say I knew them all by their hands; by their hands I knew two of them.

Q. You knew one by his hands?

A. Yes, sir, I went into this thing when they came to my house; they said they had risen from the dead; I wanted to see what sort of men they was; I went a purpose to see who they was; whether they were spirits, or whether they were human; but when I came to find out, they was men like me. . . .

T
ESTIMONY OF
K
IRKLAND
L
.
G
UNN.

Kirkland L. Gunn, a witness for the prosecution, being duly sworn, testified as follows:

Q. (by Mr. Corbin). Where do you reside?

A. York County.

Q. How long have you resided there?

A. I was born and raised there.

Q. In what portion of the County?

A. My father lives in the south portion of the County.

Q. What is your age?

A. Twenty-one years.

Q. What is your profession and business?

A. I am a photographer.

Q. Have you carried on that business in York County?

A. I have, sir.

Q. State whether you have been initiated a member of the Ku Klux Klan?

A. I was initiated in January, 1871, and became a member of the Ku Klux Klan.

Q. Where?

A. At Wesley Smith's, near his house.

Q. Did you take the oath?

A. I did.

Q. Was the oath read to you?

A. The constitution and by-laws were read to me.

Q. Do you remember the oath?

A. Yes, sir.

Q. What was the oath, in substance?

A. It was, not to reveal the secrets of the Klan; that the purpose of the Klan was to put down Radicalism, and rule the negro suffrage. [A paper was here handed the witness.]

Q. State if that is substantially what was read to you on that occasion?

A. Yes, sir; the obligation is the same, (the witness was here requested to read the paper through,) it is the same that was read to me. The constitution and by-laws of the Ku Klux Klan were here read by the Attorney General in open Court.

Q. State the general purpose and object of the order as you understood them?

A. I heard them stated to me. It was to put down the Radical party and rule negro suffrage.

Q. How were those purposes to be carried out?

A. It was told to me by members of the Klan that it was to be by whipping negroes and intimidating them and keeping them from voting, and to kill all such white men as took Radical offices, and who then occupied offices.

Q. How was the organization armed?

A. Some were armed with pistols and some with shot guns, and some with muskets—just whatever was convenient.

Q. What was the Ku Klux gown?

A. A long gown made of some dark colored stuff. I never saw one in daylight.

Q. Was that worn on all occasions while on duty?

A. This was my understanding; that it was to be worn on all occasions.

Q. Were these operations to be carried on in the daylight or dark?

A. All this was in the night. Whenever the Klan was on duty, they were known and designated by number.

Q. How were they numbered?

A. Each man was to be numbered. Sometimes they would begin with No. 1, and sometimes they would begin with five hundred; they would begin with any number they chose, and then run on.

Q. What was the object of that?

A. To keep from calling names.

Q. Was it to assist in their concealment?

A. Yes, sir.

Q,. Who was the highest officer who commanded whenever a meeting was called or when they went on a raid?

A. I didn't know the highest officer; the Chief was the highest I knew.

Q. What did they call this business of going after colored men and whipping them?

A. Raiding.

Q. Did you ever go on any raiding?

A. I never was on one; was called to go on two raids.

Q. By whom?

A. By order of the Chief. I was told so by the person who brought the message. John Wallace was the person who brought me the first message.

Q. Who was the Chief?

A. John Mitchell.

Q. Is this the man here? [pointing to the defendant, J. W. Mitchell.]

A. Yes, sir.

Q. Was he Chief of the Klan?

A. Yes, sir.

Q. What was the name of the Klan?

A. It was called Mitchell's Klan.

Q. Have you frequently seen this person?

A. I have met him several times, and met him once in the capacity of Chief.

Q. State the circumstances of the meeting?

A. I was told by Wallace, there was to be a meeting held at Barkley's Mill, for the purpose of raiding Bill Kell, and to kill him for being President of the Union League. Those were the words Wallace stated to me.

Q. What was Wallace's position in the Klan?

A. He was known as a Night Hawk.

Q. How long did you receive this order before the time of the meeting?

A. I think it was two days before the meeting.

Q. Pursuant to that notice did you meet the Klan?

A. I did.

Q. State who you met there?

A. I met there that person, J. W. Mitchell, Whiley, Ed. Leech, Arney Neil, Chas. W. Foster, Wesley Smith, Joe Smith, Thomas McAllen, and a good many others I knew, but I cannot remember their names now.

Q. How many persons were present at that meeting?

A. I should say from thirty to thirty-five persons.

Q. Were they mounted or on foot?

A. They were all mounted.

Q. Were they disguised or not?

A. Some were disguised and some were not.

Q. Did you go on that raid?

A. No, sir.

Q. Why?

A. Because Mr. Hugh Kell was there. It was thought he was sent there for the purpose of letting it be known if Kell was killed—that he might be a witness.

Q. Was Hugh Kell a member of the Klan?

A. I don't know whether he was or not.

Q. Who brought the disguises there, and who took them away?

A. Mr. Mitchell did.

Q. What did he bring the disguise in?

A. He brought it in a sack.

Q. What did he carry them in?

A. In a sack.

Q. Did you see him put them in?

A. I saw him put one disguise in a sack.

Q. Was there any talk of killing Hugh Kell?

A. I heard someone say he was to be killed, but I heard no one say they wanted to kill him.

Q. What did they do finally?

A. There were some rough words between Mitchell and Kell. I don't know what they were, but they were rough, from what I heard others say of them. Mr. Mitchell ordered the Klan to go home and wait till he ordered them out again.

Q. Did you know Bill Kell—the man they proposed to kill?

A. No, sir.

Q. What other raid do you know of?

A. I was ordered to go on one raid on Jenny Good.

Q. Did you go upon that raid?

A. No, sir.

Q. Why not?

A. I had no saddle to ride.

Q. From whom did you receive the order to go there?

A. I don't remember now who told me they were going to have a raid.

Q. Who did he say he gave orders to for that raid?

A. Charles Byers.

Q. Was that Klan located near you?

A. About two miles from where I was.

Q. Who were the two Chiefs of the Klan residing there?

A. Byers and Mitchell.

Q. Did they order out the members of the other Klan?

A. They would invite the members of the other Klan to go with them—not order them.

Q. Were you invited to go on that raid?

A. Yes, sir.

Q. How many members were there in Mitchell's Klan?

A. I don't know.

Q. Have you any means of knowing from those you saw?

A. I don't know; there might have been members of other Klans.

Q. How many men were there in Charley Byers' Klan?

A. I think sixteen or seventeen; I don't remember the number.

Q. Do you know of any other Klan in that vicinity?

A. I do not, but have heard of others.

Q. Did you ever recognize a person by the name of Squire Sam Brown as a Ku Klux?

A. I have, sir.

Q. Where?

A. At Wiley's store.

Q. How did you recognize him?

A. By a sign.

Q. What sign did you give him?

A. Passing the hand over the right ear; he answered by passing his hand over his left ear.

Q. What conversation, if any, did you hear there from Samuel Brown?

A. He and Wesley Smith were standing, and they had been engaged in conversation. Smith stood up, and Brown gave him that sign; then he turned to Smith and asked, respecting me, “is this man all right?” Then he said “you know I would not have such business, without having men that were all right.” Then, after some further conversation, I heard him say, “I can go and take my Klan, and whip more damn niggers than any other Klan in York County.”

Q. Where does Squire Sam Brown live?

A. I don't know. I think it is west of Yorkville.

Q. Do you see that gentleman in Court here?