The Oaths, Signs, Ceremonies and Objects of the Ku-Klux-Klan. - A Full Expose. By A Late Member

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The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Oaths, Signs, Ceremonies and Objects of the Ku-Klux-Klan., by Anonymous This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.net Title: The Oaths, Signs, Ceremonies and Objects of the Ku-Klux-Klan. A Full Expose. By A Late Member Author: Anonymous Release Date: July 22, 2008 [EBook #26105] Language: English Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 *** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK OATHS, SIGNS OF KU-KLUX-KLAN *** Produced by Gerard Arthus and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from scans of public domain material produced by Microsoft for their Live Search Books site.) Transcriber's Note: The original publication does not include a a table of contents. CONTENTS Personal My Initiation Making a New Company The K. K. K. Mode of Recognition The Work Done The Grand Signal THE OATHS, SIGNS, CEREMONIES AND OBJECTS OF THE KU-KLUX-KLAN. A FULL EXPOSÉ. BY A LATE MEMBER. W I T H I L L U S T R A T I O N S . C L E V E L A N D , 1 8 6 8 . Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1868, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Northern District of Ohio. [5]PERSONAL. It does not matter who is the writer of the following pages.

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The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Oaths, Signs, Ceremonies and Objects ofthe Ku-Klux-Klan., by AnonymousThis eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and withalmost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away orre-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License includedwith this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.netTitle: The Oaths, Signs, Ceremonies and Objects of the Ku-Klux-Klan. A Full Expose. By A Late MemberAuthor: AnonymousRelease Date: July 22, 2008 [EBook #26105]Language: EnglishCharacter set encoding: ISO-8859-1*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK OATHS, SIGNS OF KU-KLUX-KLAN ***Produced by Gerard Arthus and the Online DistributedpPrroodoufcreeda dfirnogm Tsecama nast ohft tppu:b/l/iwcw wd.opmgadipn. nmeatt e(rTihails pfrioldeu cweads byMicrosoft for their Live Search Books site.)Transcriber's Note:The original publication does not include a atable of contents.CONTENTSPersonalMy InitiationMaking a New CompanyThe K. K. K.Mode of RecognitionTThhee GWroarnkd DSoingenal

THE OATHS,SIGNS, CEREMONIES AND OBJECTSOF THEKU-KLUX-KLAN.

A FULL EXPOSÉ.BY A LATE MEMBER.WITH ILC1L8E6V8E.LEntered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1868,in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States forthe Northern District of Ohio.PERSONAL.It does not matter who is the writer of the following pages. If it did,no inducement likely to be offered, would tempt him to publish hisname. He has no desire to be tracked out by the Brothers of theSouthern Cross, and he knows too much of their deathless hatredand hound-like pertinacity, their numbers, and the ramifications oftheir organization, already encroaching on southern Ohio, Indianaand Illinois, to carelessly take the slightest risk of anything of the kind.It is due to the public, however, that one who pretends to make anexposure like this, in which the whole nation is interested, shouldoffer some plausible explanation of the means by which he becamepossessed of the information. For this explanation the reader isreferred to the narrative following.As to the truthfulness of the exposure, the writer is content to leaveits vindication to the events of the future, confident that so far as theworkings of the K. K. K. are ever discovered, they will confirm themain facts as given here. Of course there are many minor points onwhich it is not likely there will ever be more positive testimony thanthat here given. This must be so from the nature of the case, as willplainly appear in the following pages.MY INITIATION.LA]5[]6[]7[UNSDT,RATIONS.

After the war, which had not benefited my purse extravagantly, Iwandered off into the interior of Georgia, and finally engaged inbusiness in one of the interior counties. I knew the southern peoplepretty well before the war, had been much among them, and wasfamiliar with their habits, prejudices, etc. For my own convenienceand safety, when I went into business I passed as a Kentuckian, andthereby avoided many personal and business annoyances. At firstthis was not particularly disagreeable, as no very decided opinionswere expected while the country was still thoroughly under thenational armies. Gradually, however, it became worse and worse,until at length, to keep up my pretensions, and save my business, Iwas compelled to profess the most ultra southern views andprejudices. I thought that there would never be further activeopposition to the national authority, and so submitted to the situation,rather than lose what little I had by leaving it. To sell it for anythingworth taking, was simply impossible in the state of the country. Somuch for the way I came to know what is about to be told.In the summer of 1867, one of my neighbors called one morning,and said that an important meeting was to come off that night, at ahouse about three miles from our town. Every good Southerner, hesaid, was interested, and he wanted me to go. Of course I had heardof organizations throughout the South, and knew from the manner ofthis man's talk, that something of the kind was in the wind now. Iknew, too, that it would not do to disregard the appeal to "every goodSoutherner," and so I went with him.The meeting was not at any house, however. Half a mile from thehouse he had named, my escort turned his horse into a bridle-path,leading up into a wild, hilly district, and I followed, of course. A mile orso on this path, away from any habitation, my companion suddenlyslackened his horse's pace, and proceeded very cautiously, biddingme be silent. In a few minutes I distinctly heard the click of a musketlock, as the piece was brought to a full cock. It was too dark to seeanything. My companion carried an Enfield rifle, and instantlystopping his horse, he cocked his piece and pulled the trigger, almostwithout a pause. Of course I was somewhat alarmed and astonished;but before I could do more than stop my horse, my escort dismounted,handed me his reins, and whispering that I was to remain there,walked slowly forward toward the spot where I had heard the firstclick of the gun-lock. In a moment or so he returned as quietly, andwe proceeded as silently as before. As we passed the spot where Isupposed a sentinel to be standing, there was no one there!Whatever had been there had vanished, and as I turned to saysomething about it to my escort, I saw that he too had gone! It wasanother man riding by my side, his face covered partly by ahandkerchief, drawn tightly across the nose. It was too dark in thosewoods to see much, but to the best of my knowledge I had never seenmy new escort before. This operation was repeated twice within threequarters of a mile, and each time I was silently turned over to a newguard, whose face was partially covered, like that of the first.I was thoroughly alarmed, and more than half suspected that I hadbeen tried and condemned beforehand, and was now being led awayto be murdered. There was nothing to be done but to go on, for I wascompletely lost in the woods, and knew nothing of how soon I mightstumble on a dozen enemies, if I should attempt to escape.]8[[]9]01[

Finally my guard halted in a dense thicket, and told me in a lowtone to dismount and hitch my horse, while he did the same. Then heonce more cocked his piece, and at the sound at least a score of gun-locks, in the hands of men all round us, but concealed in thedarkness, were cocked and the triggers pulled, as I have described inthe case of meeting the first sentinel. It was still as death when wehalted, but I now heard horses which were hitched about us, so that Iknew the whole party came there mounted. They began to comearound us too, moving slowly, and as silently as possible, each manhaving his gun, and a handkerchief or something of the kind over hisface. The man who brought me there spoke to several of the dimly-seen figures, but so low I could not hear. Then one stepped towardme, leaving the others standing in a circle about us. This was thecaptain of the band, and he at once proceeded to my initiation, not aword being spoken by any one but him, and the whole formula beingof course repeated from memory, for the place was dark as nightcould make it. The following was the form, not half of which I couldhave remembered from hearing it at that time, but which has sincebecome familiar by attendance at the initiations of others:Captain.—(Addressing me, the candidate for initiation.) "When anoble people are crushed by the servile minions of a tyrant, will theysubmit tamely and basely?"Candidate.—"No."Captain.—"When a noble cause is lost in the field, when itsspotless banners are trailed in the dust by the base hordes of theoppressor, when appeal to the God of Battles is no longer possible,should the friends of that cause fold their arms in abject submission?"Candidate.—"No."Captain.—"When the homes of a noble people are devastated byfire and pillage, when their women are violated by a brutal soldiery,should that people mete out the same to the destroyers?"Candidate.—"Yes."Captain.—"When a brave people are trampled in the dust bytyrants, what is their remedy?"[The whole band answer this by cocking their pieces and snappingthe hammers, and the Captain then interprets as follows:]"Silence, Darkness, and Cold Lead! Do you agree?"Candidate.—"Yes!"Captain.—"To be of us and not with us, is Treason, and the rewardof Treason is Death! Every Southron belongs to us, by birth, byeducation, by the love of liberty inhaled with the balmy breezes of thesunny South, by the hatred of the northern clans imbibed with hismother's milk, by the inherent detestation of hypocrisy and the myriadsocial and political abominations of the North! You are of us, youmust be with us! The reward of Treason is Death! You are prepared totake the oath."[The Captain here recites the following oath, the candidaterepeating it after him:]]11[]21[

"By all the loved memories of my native land, by all the hallowedassociations of home and family, by the memory of friends andbrothers slain, by the lurid flames of war and desolation spread overour happy homes by the Lincoln hordes, I swear that by day-light anddarkness, at all times and on all occasions, the steel shall pay thedebt of steel, the lead shall recompense for lead, the Southern Crossshall yet defy the world!"The Southern Cross in the order has a double significance. Itrepresents the dagger of the assassin as well as the cross.The Captain then declares:"Welcome the new Brother of the Southern Cross!"And thereupon the band make the challenging sign of the order, bycocking and snapping their gun-locks. The Captain then proposesthe second oath, the candidate repeating it, as follows:"By southern homes despoiled and broken, by southern womenoutraged, by the lingering torments of northern prisons, by all thedesolation brought on our people by famine, pestilence and sword, Iswear that desolation shall answer desolation, pestilence shall payfor pestilence, until the Southern Crescent span the continent, andcarry over the North the furies that have desolated the South."The Captain then declares again:"Welcome the new Brother of the Southern Crescent!"And the band respond as before.Then comes the third and final oath, as follows:"By all that is sacred, I swear to remember Jackson, and Johnston,and the thousands dead; the humiliation of Davis, and Lee, andBragg, and Beauregard; the noble deeds of Southrons on many agory field; and by the memory of all these, I swear to be true to theLone Star of the South, till these and all our woes are a thousandtimes avenged!"The Captain again declares:"Welcome the new Brother of the Lone Star of the South!"And the band respond as before.The Captain then spoke the following adjuration:"Let the heavens be lit with the lurid flames of worse than fratricidalwar! Let the dagger, the bullet, the flames and the pestilence, smiteevery vulnerable point! Let the desolation of death reign in theNorthern homes enriched by plunder of the South! Let the audaciousminions of the tyrants in our country be met in silence and darkness,struck down by a power they see not! Remember the oath! TheCrescent is broad enough to include all the enemies of the South!The Lone Star shines brightest in the darkness! The Dagger is theemblem of the silent work! Remember the oath! Bring theconsecrating bowl."The last sentence was responded to by one of the band, and[]31]41[

something like a bowl was put into my hands."Dip your finger in the consecrating drink!" said the Captain.I did as directed, and the Captain then continued:"Now drink it to the dregs, to the enemies of the South!"I raised the bowl to my lips, and drank its contents. It was likenothing I had ever tasted before. It was sickening, yet I could not tellwhat it was! Instantly the band closed around us, standing two orthree deep, and the Captain struck a match. Holding the little blazingstick to the hand I had dipped in the bowl, he bid me look.The finger was stained as with blood!He then bid me look at the bowl.It was a human skull!THE CONSECRATING BOWL.MAKING A NEW COMPANY.Some weeks after my initiation, I was detailed with an olderBrother, to attend to the formation of a new company in a neighboringcounty. As usual, the source of the order was unknown, except that itcame from the captain of our band. The order and detail wereannounced by our captain, no comment made, and myself andcomrade in the duty started next night, in obedience to the order, forthe location of the new company, in the adjoining county. He knewthe mode of procedure in these cases, and I left the direction of all tohim. We reached the place in the morning, and did nothing during the]51[]61[71[]

day. At night, by his direction, I notified a well known citizen, in muchthe same manner I had been notified myself before initiation, and westarted after dark, out of the town. My comrade, with another citizen,was with me. Reaching a lonely spot in the country, we turned ourhorses off the road into a wild tract, and being far from all habitations,at length stopped in the woods. Here we separated, I taking my man,and my comrade his, and going perhaps a quarter of a mile apart. Wewere both armed with Enfield rifles. The two men to be initiated onthis occasion brought no arms with them. Had they done so theywould have been required to lay them aside before the initiationcommenced.The mode of initiation of these men, who were to form the nucleusof a new company, was substantially that already narrated, asexperienced by myself, except, of course, that there was no attendantband, and the final ceremony of the Consecrating Drink was deferredtill half a dozen others had been initiated, when it was administeredto all at the same time.The instructions in the formation of a new band or Company, are toselect two prominent citizens at first, as we did in this case, and afterthey are initiated they are used to bring in others, until the band isstrong enough to do its own business. A special instruction to theBrothers detailed for the formation of a new band, is, that if thepersons selected for initiation refuse any of the oaths, or falter in theirdevotion to the cause, they are to be killed on the spot. This is thereason why two Brothers are always sent together, and take but twofor initiation at first, and they are required to be unarmed while theoaths are proposed. At no time are two persons initiated at the sameplace, even when the band numbers fifty or a hundred. There is butone fate for any one who refuses the oaths. He is never seen again.The Brothers of the Southern Cross visit on him the reward of traitors—Death!81[]]91[

THE SIGN OF RECOGNITION.THE K. K. K.The Order or Society commonly known as the Ku-Klux-Klan, hasno such name among its members. That is an approximation in lettersand sound to the challenging signal of the Order. For instance, whena Brother approaches the spot where a band is assembled, thesentinels, always concealed, challenge him by bringing their rifles toa full cock. That operation, as every one knows, produces two soundsor clicks, one when the hammer reaches the half cock, and the otherwhen it comes to the full cock. These sounds or clicks arerepresented by "Ku-Klux." The "Klan" is the sound of the hammer onthe nipple of the piece when the trigger is pulled, and the hammersnapped. Bringing the piece to full cock is the challenge, and theanswer is given by the challenged party full-cocking his piece, andinstantly pulling the trigger, snapping the hammer.The Society really has no name! It is never spoken of by itsmembers, among themselves, as the Ku-Klux-Klan, or by any othername. The three emblems, the Cross, the Crescent, and the LoneStar, are used in the oaths of initiation, and to bring the companiestogether; but they do not, either singly or together, give the order anyname recognised among its members as the proper distinctive02[]]12[]22[

designation of the association.The Order has no written records. Not a line will ever be found ofthe official records of the Society, for it has none! No muster rolls canbe produced, for there are none! No orders or communications areever written, but on the contrary, every thing of the kind is strictlyprohibited. The Brothers work in silence and in darkness! There areno witnesses against them but human witnesses, who are alwaysliable to their vengeance as traitors! No tell-tale paper-and-inkwitness will ever appear against them by their own acts!At the meetings of the oldest companies, the Brothers alwaysappear with their faces partially covered. If the meeting is in abuilding of any kind, there is never a light to show the faces of thoseassembled; and if there be a fire, the Brothers keep away from its lightas much as possible. Always, when practicable, the meetings areheld in some wilderness, and no meeting is ventured upon for anygeneral business, that requires the presence of more men than mightaccidentally meet, without the utmost precaution in the way ofsentinels, etc.The organization includes fully officered companies, regiments andbrigades. Of course every brother knows the officers of his owncompany, but that is all he is supposed to know. The commander ofthe company knows where his orders come from, and that is all he isexpected to know. The matter is never discussed, but every oneunderstands that the officers are men who have seen service in thelate war, and are qualified for their positions. When a new company isorganized, its officers are appointed by the commander of theregiment to which it is to belong, and the order of appointment istransmitted through the captain of a neighboring company, whodetails men to organize the new one.The orders for my company I knew came from Columbus, and that,of course, was the headquarters of the regiment to which I belonged. Inever knew the name of our Colonel, but he was an old brigadecommander in Longstreet's corps.2[]3]42[

THE SOUTHERN CROSS.MODE OF RECOGNITIONWhen a Brother desires to ascertain whether a stranger belongsregularly to the order, he must not pursue the inquiry in the presenceof others. Engaging the stranger in conversation, the brother finally:syas"I reckon you're a true Southerner?"If the stranger answers directly, "Yes," the Brother continues:"May be, then, you've been tested?"The word "tested" refers to the initiation of the order. If the strangerbe also a Brother, he replies:"I know what is the work of Silence and Darkness."The Brother then with the right hand makes the sign of recognition,as given in the illustration, and the other responds by repeating themotion, and bringing the fore-finger and thumb together, the wholerepresenting the hammer of a gun as it is cocked and snapped.The Brothers are cautioned against the use of these signs withoutcause, and no one is allowed to seek out members by the abovemeans, merely for the gratification of curiosity.The sign of the Crescent is used for summoning meetings of the]52[62[]

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