Major Stuart Dameron, the chief of the Klan in Campbell county was holding a conference with the Rev3. John Durham in his study.
“Doctor, our work has succeeded beyond our wildest dream.”
“Yes, and I thank God we can breathe freely if only for a moment, Major. The danger now lies in our success. We are necessarily playing with fire.”
“I know it, and it requires my time day and night to prevent reckless men from disgracing us.”
“It will not be necessary to enforce the death penalty against any other man in this county, Major. The execution of Tim Shelby was absolutely necessary at the time and it has been sufficient.”
“I agree with you. I’ve impressed this on the master of every lodge4, but some of them are growing reckless.”
“Who are they?”
“Young Allan McLeod for one. He is a dare devil and only eighteen years old.
“He’s a troublesome boy. I don’t seem to have any influence with him. But I think Mrs. Durham can manage him. He seems to think a great deal of her, and in spite of his wild habits, he comes regularly to her Sunday School class.”
“I hope she can bring him to his senses.”
“Leave him to me then a while. We will see what can be done.”
Hogg’s Legislature promptly5 declared the Scotch-Irish hill counties in a state of insurrection, passed a militia6 bill, and the Governor issued a proclamation suspending the writ7 of Habeas Corpus in these counties.
Fearing the effects of negro militia in the hill districts, he surprised Hambright by suddenly marching into the court house square a regiment8 of white mountain guerrillas recruited from the outlaws9 of East Tennessee and commanded by a noted10 desperado, Colonel Henry Berry. The regiment had two pieces of field artillery11.
It was impossible for them to secure evidence against any member of the Klan unless by the intimidation12 of some coward who could be made to confess. Not a disguise had ever been penetrated13. It was the rule of the order for its decrees to be executed in the district issuing the decree by the lodge furthest removed in the county from the scene. In this way not a man or a horse was ever identified.
The Colonel made an easy solution of this difficulty, however. Acting14 under instructions from Governor Hogg, he secured from Haley and Perkins a list of every influential15 man in every precinct in the county, and a list of possible turncoats and cowards. He detailed16 five hundred of his men to make arrests, distributed them throughout the county and arrested without warrants over two hundred citizens in one day.
The next day Berry hand-cuffed together the Rev. John Durham and Major Dameron, and led them escorted by a company of cavalry17 on a grand circuit of the county, that the people might be terrified by the sight of their chains. An ominous18 silence greeted them on every hand. Additional arrests were made by this troop and twenty-five more prisoners led into Hambright the next day.
The jail was crowded, and the court house was used as a jail. Over a hundred and fifty men were confined in the court room. Rev. John Durham was everywhere among the crowd, laughing, joking and cheering the men.
“Major Dameron, a jail never held so many honest men before,” he said with a smile, as he looked over the crowd of his church members gathered from every quarter of the county.
“Well, Doctor, you’ve got a quorum19 here of your church and you can call them to order for business.”
“That’s a fact, isn’t it?”
“There’s old Deacon Kline over there who looks like he wished he hadn’t come!” The Preacher walked over to the deacon.
“What’s the matter, brother Kline, you look pensive20?”
The deacon laughed. “Yes, I don’t like my bed. I’m used to feathers.”
“Well, they say they are going to give you feathers mixed with tar21 so you won’t lose them so easily.”
“I’ll have company, I reckon,” said the deacon with a wink22.
“The funny thing, deacon, is that Major Dameron tells me there isn’t a man in all the crowd of two hundred and fifty arrested who ever went on a raid. It’s too bad you old fellows have to pay for the follies23 of youth.”
“It is tough. But we can stand it, Preacher.” They clasped hands.
“Haven’t smelled a coward anywhere have you, deacon?”
“I’ve seen one or two a little fidgety, I thought. Cheer ’em up with a word, Preacher.”
Springing on the platform of the judge’s desk he looked over the crowd for a moment, and a cheer shook the building.
“Boys, I don’t believe there’s a single coward in our ranks.” Another cheer.
“Just keep cool now and let our enemies do the talking. In ten days every man of you will be back at home at his work.”
“How will we get out with the writ suspended?” asked a man standing24 near.
“That’s the richest thing of all. A United States judge has just decided25 that the Governor of the state cannot suspend the rights of a citizen of the United States under the new Fourteenth Amendment26 to the Constitution so recently rammed27 down our throats. Hogg is hoisted28 on his own petard. Our lawyers are now serving out writs29 of Habeas Corpus before this Federal judge under the Fourteenth Amendment, and you will be discharged in less than ten days unless there’s a skunk30 among you. And I don’t smell one anywhere.” Again a cheer shook the building.
An orderly walked up to the Preacher and handed him a note.
“What is it?”
“Read it!” The men crowded around.
“Read it, Major Dameron, I’m dumb,” said the Preacher.
“A military order from the dirty rascal31. Berry, commanding the mountain bummers, forbidding the Rev. John Durham to speak during his imprisonment32!”
A roar of laughter followed this announcement.
“That’s cruel! It’ll kill him!” cried deacon Kline as he jabbed the Preacher in the ribs33.
In a few minutes, the Preacher was back in his place with five of the best singers from his church by his side. He began to sing the old hymns34 of Zion and every man in the room joined until the building quivered with melody.
“Now a good old Yankee hymn35, that suits this hour, written by an an old Baptist preacher I met in Boston the other day!” cried the Preacher.
“My country ’tis of thee,
Sweet land of liberty,
Of thee I sing!”
Heavens, how they sang it, while the Preacher lined it off, stood above them beating time, and led in a clear mighty36 voice! Again the orderly appeared with a note.
“What is it now?” they cried on every side.
Again Major Dameron announced “Military order No. 2, forbidding the Rev. John Durham to sing or induce anybody to sing while in prison.”
Another roar of laughter that broke into a cheer which made the glass rattle37. When the soldier had disappeared, the Rev. John Durham ascended38 the platform, looked about him with a humourous twinkle in his eye, straightened himself to his full height and crowed like a rooster! A cheer shook the building to its foundations. Roar after roar of its defiant39 cadence40 swept across the square and made Haley and Perkins tremble as they looked at each other over their conference table with Berry.
“What the devil’s the matter now?” cried Haley.
“Do you suppose it’s a rescue?” whispered Perkins.
“No, it’s some new trick of that damned Preacher. I’ll chain him in a room to himself,” growled41 Berry.
“Better not, Colonel. He’s the pet of these white devils. Ye’d better let him alone.” Berry accepted the advice.
Five days later the prisoners were arraigned42 before the United States judge, Preston Rivers, at Independence. Not a scrap43 of evidence could be produced against them. Governor Hogg was present, with a flaming military escort. He held a stormy interview with Judge Rivers.
“If you discharge these prisoners, you destroy the government of this state, sir!” thundered Hogg.
“Are they not citizens of the United States? Does not the Fourteenth Amendment apply to a white man as well as a negro?” quietly asked the judge.
“Yes, but they are conspirators44 against the union. They are murderers and felons45.”
“Then prove it in my court and I’ll hand them back to you. They are entitled to a trial, under our Constitution.”
“I’ll demand your removal by the President,” shouted Hogg.
“Get out of this room, or I’ll remove you with the point of my boot!” thundered the judge with rising wrath46. “You have suspended the writ of Habeas Corpus to win a political campaign. The Ku Klux Klan has broken up your Leagues. You are fighting for your life. But I’ll tell you now, you can’t suspend the Constitution of the United States while I’m a Federal judge in this state. I am not a henchman of yours to do your dirty campaign work. The election is but ten days off. Your scheme is plain enough. But if you want to keep these men in prison it will be done on sworn evidence of guilt47 and a warrant, not on your personal whim48.”
The Governor cursed, raved49 and threatened in vain. Judge Rivers discharged every prisoner and warned Colonel Berry against the repetition of such arrests within his jurisdiction50.
When these prisoners were discharged, a great mass meeting was called to give them a reception in the public square of Independence. A platform was hastily built in the square and that night five thousand excited people crowded past the stand, shook hands with the men and cheered till they were hoarse51. The Governor watched the demonstration52 in helpless fury from his room in the hotel.
The speaking began at nine o’clock. Every discordant53 element of the old South’s furious political passions was now melted into harmonious54 unity55. Whig and Democrat56 who had fought one another with relentless57 hatred58 sat side by side on that platform. Secessionist and unionist now clasped hands. It was a White Man’s Party, and against it stood in solid array the Black Man’s Party, led by Simon Legree.
Henceforth there could be but one issue, are you a White Man or a Negro?
They declared there was but one question to be settled:—
“Shall the future American be an Anglo-Saxon or a Mulatto?”
These determined59 impassioned men believed that this question was more important than any theory of tariff60 or finance and that it was larger than the South, or even the nation, and held in its solution the brightest hopes of the progress of the human race. And they believed that they were ordained61 of God in this crisis to give this question its first authoritative62 answer.
The state burst into a flame of excitement that fused in its white heat the whole Anglo-Saxon race.
In vain Hogg marched and counter-marched his twenty thousand state troops. They only added fuel to the fire. If they arrested a man, he became forthwith a hero and was given an ovation63. They sent bands of music and played at the jail doors, and the ladies filled the jail with every delicacy64 that could tempt65 the appetite or appeal to the senses.
Hogg and Legree were in a panic of fear with the certainty of defeat, exposure and a felon’s cell yawning before them.
Two days before the election, the prayer meeting was held at eight o’clock in the Baptist church at Ham-bright. It was the usual mid-week service, but the attendance was unusually large.
After the meeting, the Preacher, Major Dameron, and eleven men quietly walked back to the church and assembled in the pastor’s study. The door opened at the rear of the church and could be approached by a side street.
“Gentlemen,” said Major Dameron, “I’ve asked you here to-night to deliver to you the most important order I have ever given, and to have Dr. Durham as our chaplain to aid me in impressing on you its great urgency.”
“We’re ready for orders, Chief,” said young Ambrose Kline, the deacon’s son.
“You are to call out every troop of the Klan in full force the night before the election. You are to visit every negro in the county, and warn every one as he values his life not to approach the polls at this election. Those who come, will be allowed to vote without molestation66. All cowards will stay at home. Any man, black or white, who can be scared out of his ballot67 is not fit to have one. Back of every ballot is the red blood of the man that votes. The ballot is force. This is simply a test of manhood. It will be enough to show who is fit to rule the state. As the masters of the eleven township lodges68 of the Klan, you are the sole guardians69 of society to-day. When a civilised government has been restored, your work will be done.”
“We will do it, sir,” cried Kline.
“Let me say, men,” said the Preacher, “that I heartily70 endorse71 the plan of your chief. See that the work is done thoroughly72 and it will be done for all time. In a sense this is fraud. But it is the fraud of war. The spy is a fraud, but we must use him when we fight. Is war justifiable73?
“It is too late now for us to discuss that question. We are in a war, the most ghastly and hellish ever waged, a war on women and children, the starving and the wounded, and that with sharpened swords. The Turk and Saracen once waged such a war. We must face it and fight it out. Shall we flinch74?”
“No! no!” came the passionate75 answer from every man.
“You are asked to violate for the moment a statutory law. There is a higher law. You are the sworn officers of that higher law.”
The group of leaders left the church with enthusiasm and on the following night they carried out their instructions to the letter.
The election was remarkably76 quiet. Thousands of soldiers were used at the polls by Hogg’s orders. But they seemed to make no impression on the determined men who marched up between their files and put the ballots77 in the box.
Legree’s ticket was buried beneath an avalanche78. The new “Conservative” party carried every county in the state save twelve and elected one hundred and six members of the new Legislature out of a total of one hundred and twenty.
The next day hundreds of carpet-bagger thieves fled to the North, and Legree led the procession.
Legree had on deposit in New York two millions of dollars, and the total amount of his part of the thefts he had engineered reached five millions. He opened an office on Wall Street, bought a seat in the Stock Exchange, and became one of the most daring and successful of a group of robbers who preyed79 on the industries of the nation.
The new Legislature appointed a Fraud Commission which uncovered the infamies80 of the Legree r茅gime, but every thief had escaped. They promptly impeached81 the Governor and removed him from office, and the old commonwealth82 once more lifted up her head and took her place in the ranks of civilised communities.
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1
superstition
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| n.迷信，迷信行为 | |
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obedience
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| n.服从，顺从 | |
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rev
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| v.发动机旋转，加快速度 | |
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lodge
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| v.临时住宿，寄宿，寄存，容纳；n.传达室，小旅馆 | |
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promptly
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| adv.及时地，敏捷地 | |
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militia
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| n.民兵，民兵组织 | |
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writ
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| n.命令状，书面命令 | |
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regiment
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| n.团，多数，管理；v.组织，编成团，统制 | |
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outlaws
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| 歹徒，亡命之徒( outlaw的名词复数 )； 逃犯 | |
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noted
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| adj.著名的，知名的 | |
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artillery
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| n.(军)火炮，大炮；炮兵(部队) | |
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intimidation
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| n.恐吓，威胁 | |
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penetrated
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| adj. 击穿的，鞭辟入里的 动词penetrate的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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acting
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| n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的 | |
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influential
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| adj.有影响的，有权势的 | |
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detailed
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| adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的 | |
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cavalry
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| n.骑兵；轻装甲部队 | |
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ominous
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| adj.不祥的，不吉的，预兆的，预示的 | |
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quorum
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| n.法定人数 | |
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pensive
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| a.沉思的,哀思的,忧沉的 | |
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tar
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| n.柏油，焦油；vt.涂或浇柏油/焦油于 | |
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wink
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| n.眨眼，使眼色，瞬间；v.眨眼，使眼色，闪烁 | |
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follies
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| 罪恶，时事讽刺剧； 愚蠢，蠢笨，愚蠢的行为、思想或做法( folly的名词复数 ) | |
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standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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amendment
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| n.改正，修正，改善，修正案 | |
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rammed
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| v.夯实（土等）( ram的过去式和过去分词 )；猛撞；猛压；反复灌输 | |
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28
hoisted
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| 把…吊起，升起( hoist的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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writs
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| n.书面命令，令状( writ的名词复数 ) | |
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skunk
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| n.臭鼬，黄鼠狼；v.使惨败，使得零分；烂醉如泥 | |
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rascal
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| n.流氓；不诚实的人 | |
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imprisonment
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| n.关押，监禁，坐牢 | |
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ribs
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| n.肋骨( rib的名词复数 )；（船或屋顶等的）肋拱；肋骨状的东西；（织物的）凸条花纹 | |
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34
hymns
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| n.赞美诗，圣歌，颂歌( hymn的名词复数 ) | |
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hymn
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| n.赞美诗，圣歌，颂歌 | |
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mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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rattle
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| v.飞奔，碰响；激怒；n.碰撞声；拨浪鼓 | |
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ascended
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| v.上升，攀登( ascend的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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defiant
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| adj.无礼的，挑战的 | |
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cadence
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| n.（说话声调的）抑扬顿挫 | |
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growled
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| v.（动物）发狺狺声， （雷）作隆隆声( growl的过去式和过去分词 )；低声咆哮着说 | |
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arraigned
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| v.告发( arraign的过去式和过去分词 )；控告；传讯；指责 | |
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43
scrap
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| n.碎片；废料；v.废弃，报废 | |
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conspirators
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| n.共谋者，阴谋家( conspirator的名词复数 ) | |
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45
felons
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| n.重罪犯( felon的名词复数 )；瘭疽；甲沟炎；指头脓炎 | |
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46
wrath
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| n.愤怒，愤慨，暴怒 | |
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guilt
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| n.犯罪；内疚；过失，罪责 | |
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whim
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| n.一时的兴致，突然的念头；奇想，幻想 | |
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49
raved
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| v.胡言乱语( rave的过去式和过去分词 )；愤怒地说；咆哮；痴心地说 | |
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jurisdiction
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| n.司法权，审判权，管辖权，控制权 | |
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51
hoarse
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| adj.嘶哑的，沙哑的 | |
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52
demonstration
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| n.表明，示范，论证，示威 | |
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53
discordant
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| adj.不调和的 | |
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harmonious
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| adj.和睦的，调和的，和谐的，协调的 | |
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unity
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| n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调 | |
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democrat
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| n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员 | |
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relentless
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| adj.残酷的，不留情的，无怜悯心的 | |
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hatred
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| n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨 | |
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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tariff
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| n.关税，税率；(旅馆、饭店等)价目表，收费表 | |
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ordained
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| v.任命（某人）为牧师( ordain的过去式和过去分词 )；授予（某人）圣职；（上帝、法律等）命令；判定 | |
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authoritative
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| adj.有权威的，可相信的；命令式的；官方的 | |
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ovation
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| n.欢呼，热烈欢迎，热烈鼓掌 | |
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delicacy
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| n.精致，细微，微妙，精良；美味，佳肴 | |
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tempt
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| vt.引诱，勾引，吸引，引起…的兴趣 | |
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molestation
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| n.骚扰，干扰，调戏；折磨 | |
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ballot
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| n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票 | |
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lodges
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| v.存放( lodge的第三人称单数 )；暂住；埋入；（权利、权威等）归属 | |
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guardians
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| 监护人( guardian的名词复数 )； 保护者，维护者 | |
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heartily
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| adv.衷心地，诚恳地，十分，很 | |
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71
endorse
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| vt.(支票、汇票等)背书，背署；批注；同意 | |
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72
thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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justifiable
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| adj.有理由的，无可非议的 | |
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flinch
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| v.畏缩，退缩 | |
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passionate
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| adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的 | |
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76
remarkably
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| ad.不同寻常地，相当地 | |
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ballots
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| n.投票表决( ballot的名词复数 )；选举；选票；投票总数v.（使）投票表决( ballot的第三人称单数 ) | |
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avalanche
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| n.雪崩，大量涌来 | |
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preyed
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| v.掠食( prey的过去式和过去分词 )；掠食；折磨；（人）靠欺诈为生 | |
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80
infamies
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| n.声名狼藉( infamy的名词复数 )；臭名；丑恶；恶行 | |
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81
impeached
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| v.控告（某人）犯罪( impeach的过去式和过去分词 )；弹劾；对（某事物）怀疑；提出异议 | |
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commonwealth
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| n.共和国，联邦，共同体 | |
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