Part 16

A committee of twelve men was selected to say what action we would take; among the committee were Benjamin Alsup, Rev. Adam Wright, Rev. John Collins, David Nicholass. Old men were placed on the committee. The committee retired to deliberate upon the matter, and in a short time returned and made the following report: "That we, the loyal people of Howell county, go at once with all available men and arms." The writer had in his possession at that time one hundred Springfield rifles, with one thousand rounds of cartridges for each gun. During the night and the next day about seventy-five men were organized into a temporary company and were placed under the command of Uncle Benjamin Alsup. On the night following we made a forced march reaching the Widow Pickrum's farm, situated on Bennet's river, in Fulton county, Arkansas, the next morning. We found Captain Richardson, with one company of state guards, fortified in a barn. On our arrival we offered our services to Captain Richardson, which were readily accepted. They were looking for an attack to be made by the Kuklux at any moment, as Colonel Tracy was said to be at Jackson Port with three hundred and fifty well armed Kuklux.

While waiting for further orders from Governor Clayton a vigorous search was commenced for the murderers of Captain Mason. We soon learned that on the day previous to the murder of Mason he was registering the voters on the Big North Fork, at what was known as the Calhoun mill, and on the next day he was to meet the people at the Harbor Precinct for registration. And on the previous night the Kuklux, according to a general move that was to be made throughout the state, met at Colonel Tracy's, at the Widow Pickrum farm. Among them were Colonel Tracy, Dow Bryant, U. R. Bush, and about forty others; they selected about twenty men to do the shooting and divided them into three bunches and erected three blinds, as they did not know which road Captain Mason might travel. They placed about seven well armed men in each blind, who had been sworn by the Kuklux and after they had been placed in their blinds one of the men who did the shooting said, "Let him come; I am sure to get him for I can hit an old gobbler's neck that distance." The blind was erected where the road made a short curve with very thick brush on the left side of the road. When Captain Mason and posse had approached within about thirty yards of the blind they fired a volley, five of the shots taking effect in Mason's body. Captain Mason fell from his horse and expired in a few moments. The assassins fled through a thick bottom growth. Bryant, Bush, and two or three others were arrested, charged with being a part of the men who did the shooting. They were arrested by the state guards, as the civil officers were afraid to issue a single warrant on account of the threats of the Kuklux. On an investigation it was proven that Tracy, Bryant, Bush and about forty others were present the night before Mason's murder. And that Bush was the man who remarked after he had gone into the blind "Let him come. I can get him. I can hit an old gobbler's neck that far."

In the meantime, the governor had gotten a dispatch through to Capt. Richardson that the Kuklux in large numbers were organizing and threatening to attack the state officers; that he and the state officers were barricaded in the state house and that he was organizing the state guards as fast as possible. Capt. Richardson was ordered to recruit every available man and protect the civil officers as far as possible; that he had made arrangements to send arms and ammunition up White river on a boat. I suggested to Benjamin Alsup and others who had come down from Missouri that the only way we could make our acts legal would be to join the state guards and be mustered into the state service, to which proposition my old friend Alsup objected and remarked: "That's the way with Monks; he is afraid he will hurt some rebel, contrary to law. Now, by the living, I came down here to hang some of these old rebels and murderers to the first limb we come to, and if we have to join the state guards and wait on the civil and military law to punish them, they never will be punished. I am going back to Missouri." About two-thirds of the men who came down enlisted in the state service; Alsup and others returned to Missouri.

As soon as Governor Clayton learned that the writer had come into the state with men and arms, he sent another dispatch stating that he and all the law-abiding people of the state would ever be grateful to him for furnishing men and arms at a time when they were entirely helpless and at the mercy of a secret and bloodthirsty enemy, bent on overthrowing the state government; that if I would remain in the state with my men and arms he would make me lieutenant-colonel of the seventh regiment of state guards.

We were watching the movements of the Kuklux, and in about eight or ten days after the murder of Capt. Mason, late one evening, the deputy sheriff of the county came to headquarters and informed Capt. Richardson that there were three hundred and fifty Kuklux, well armed, in camp at Salem, the county seat of Fulton county, and intended to attack Capt. Richardson before day, the next morning; they had ordered him, the deputy sheriff, under penalty of death, to bring Bush and turn him over to them. A brief consultation was held by the officers, and being satisfied that they were not able to meet the force of Kuklux then marching upon them, it was agreed that the writer should take the men from Missouri and recruit men for the service and get all the arms and ammunition that were left at home and return with all possible speed. In the meantime, they would retreat to some secluded place and watch the movements of the Kuklux. They turned Bush over to the deputy sheriff and he started in the direction of Salem, and Capt. Richardson broke camp and retreated. The deputy sheriff had not traveled more than two miles when a posse of armed men met him and demanded Bush, and he, supposing that they were a part of the Kuklux command, turned him over. They took him about two hundred yards and shot him to death. The next morning, before daylight, Col. Tracy charged upon the late camp of Capt. Richardson, but found it had been vacated.

The Kuklux began a regular, organized system of raiding the Union men's houses, especially the officers of the civil law, posting written notices, ordering their resignations at once, and if they attempted the arrest of any Kuklux, death would be the penalty. They posted a picture of a coffin with the notice, at the same time ordering all influential Union men to leave the state at once, under the penalty of death. In about two weeks the governor ordered a part of the seventh regiment of state guards to Fulton county, to be stationed on Bennett's river, and to complete the organization of the regiment with all possible speed; Col. Dail was placed in command.

After my return home, I organized three companies, commanded by Capt. F. M. Monks, Capt. Nicolas and Capt. Rice. About three days after the regiment reached Fulton county, the writer rejoined his regiment with three companies, one hundred Springfield rifles and one thousand rounds of cartridges for each gun, and soon completed the organization of the regiment; he was commissioned lieutenant-colonel of the regiment.

The governor had sent arms and ammunition up White river, but the Kuklux captured and sunk the boat with all the arms and ammunition. The governor said that my arrival saved the north part of the state from the control of the Kuklux, as he would not have been able to procure arms for months. The regiment began an active campaign at once, by which they came into possession of the intentions, aims, secrets and oaths of the order; found that the order extended up into Missouri, along the state line. It was a complete military organization. The intention was to overturn the state government by intimidating the civil officers of the state, and with this purpose in view they procured a human skull and two thigh bones, and while the member was looking on these bones the following oath was administered by the grand cyclops:

"We (or I, as the case might be) do solemnly swear before Almighty God and these witnesses, and looking upon these human bones, that I will obey and carry into effect every order made by any cyclops or assistant cyclops, and if I fail to strictly conform and execute every order made as above required of me, unless I am prevented from some cause which shall be no fault of mine, or if I shall give any information to any person or persons except members of this order, that the doom of all traitors shall be meted out to me, and that my bones may become as naked and dry as the bones I am looking upon. And I take this oath voluntarily, without any mental reservation or evasion whatever, for the causes set out in said order, so help me God."

After the oath had been taken the persons taking said oath were ready for duty. The intentions and aims of this organization were to intimidate the civil officers and, if necessary to the accomplishment of their aims, to kill and murder all officers of the state by assassination or drive them from the state. All civil officers of the state were at once notified to tender their resignations and to cease to discharge their official duties as peace officers, and if they failed to comply with said order, death would be the penalty The governor and all the state officers received the same order; all Union men that were influential in the state were ordered to keep themselves in doors or be driven from the state, or be murdered by assassination. The following words, with pictures of coffins, were attached to said notices:

"If you fail to comply with this notice, this coffin will be your final resting place."

The Kuklux organization, having but one object and aim, to turn the state government over to the control of the late rebels or Democratic party of the state, was a complete secret military organization with the most desperate means to-wit: Murder, by assassination whenever ordered by a cyclops or assistant cyclops.

A grand cyclops took the place of a colonel. An assistant cyclops lieutenant-colonel. An order from one of these officers to shoot any man was final, from which there was no appeal; and men were selected to execute said order by the most desperate oath known to man or history. This kind of warfare, being inaugurated throughout the whole state, with a thorough understanding that their organization would revolt against the civil authorities of the state government, and had the day set throughout the whole state.

On the same day that Captain Simson Mason was assassinated in Fulton county, Ku-Klux attempted to assassinate Governor Clayton in Little Rock. They were seen in considerable numbers near the state capitol, after night, all wearing masks. They notified the governor, that they intended to capture and take possession of the state capitol by a force, if he did not resign his office as governor; the danger became so great that he barricaded the state house, as he had but few state troops. The whole state was invaded by the Kuklux at the same time and they commenced raiding the state in bands of from twenty-five to two hundred and fifty men; all wore masks and large rubber pouches concealed by a cover. They visited the Union men and colored men's houses and raided the whole country generally, proclaiming that they were dead rebels who had been shot on the different battlefields during the civil war and that they had come back to rid the state of black republicans and carpet-baggers.

They would claim that they were very thirsty, that they never had a drink of water since they had been killed at the battles of Gettysburg, Corinth, Vicksburg, and other big battles. They would call on the colored people to bring them a bucketful and one of their number would pour the whole bucketful into his pouch and called for more water, making the colored people believe that they drank the water; then they would give the colored people orders not to be caught off their plantations, and if so caught, the penalty of death would be inflicted; many of the influential colored people were shot down. The author saw a number of fresh graves of the colored people that had been shot by the Kuklux; saw holes in windows in houses in towns and villages that had been shot through after night, while men were reading, who had been notified to resign their offices or stop using their influence in favor of the enforcement of the civil law.

The author remembers passing some colored people on the side of the road; one old colored woman cried out at the top of her voice "Lawd, massa, massa are you men hunting dem dar Kuklux? Wi, da told us dat bullets wouldn't kill them. I fought we could fight live men but when it come to fightin dead men, don't know what to tink about it. Wi dey come to our house, rode up to de fence called for water; said they hadn't any water since the battle of Shiloh. Wi, one man drank a bucketful, and den call for mo. I thought to my soul that they would never get enuf water." The author replied, "Auntie, when these rebels are killed, they never get back here; the bad man keeps them to build fires for him. These Kuklux are the men that ran away from the battle of Shiloh and have just crawled out of their dens. That's why they are masked." The old woman said, "Dat what I thought bout it." While the Kuklux were raiding the country they visited an old darkie's house and gave him three day's notice to leave the country; and if he failed to leave they would visit him again and death would be his penalty. In about three or four day, twenty-five or thirty Kuklux rode up to his cabin in the night and called for him; he was armed with an old U. S. musket; he fired into the crowd and killed one of the band and then ran and made his escape.

Part of the regiment received orders to report to General Upham, who was stationed at Cottonplant, on White river, leaving Captain Richardson in charge of the forces in Fulton county and Captain Toney in charge of the troops in Izard and Sharp counties. The regiment broke camp and marched by way of Jacksonport and on their arrival went into camp on the Wadel farm, two miles below Jacksonport. The Kuklux had declared that we should not march through Jacksonport. A brother-in-law of Mr. Wadel from North Missouri invited the writer to supper; the writer believing that a trap had been fixed to decoy him outside of the lines took one lieutenant and a posse of men and went to his house; on our arrival, we found a bountiful supper; had every thing that a hungry man could wish; had eggnog served in silver cups with silver spoons. The residence was about forty-two by twenty feet; two large rooms with a ten-foot hall between, with kitchen on west side, fine portico, with about ten or twelve negro cabins, about sixty to one hundred feet from the dwelling-house. Just before supper I noticed eight or ten men come in on foot dressed in gray clothing. I at once ordered my men to be ready at any moment and to not let them get the drop on them. Just about the time that most of my men were through eating supper, I noticed that some of the men that came in to the supper table had arms on their persons and noticed that the negroes were excited. I stepped out at a back door and just as I entered the hall door I saw the landlord approaching the room where my men were seated at the table with a navy pistol cocked in his right hand, holding it behind his back. Just as he attempted to open the door where my men were seated at the supper table, I sprang forward and grabbed his pistol and wrenched it out of his hand, and said to him, "Don't you dare to attempt to shoot one of my men." He turned around facing me and said "I went all through the Civil war and you are the first men that ever disarmed me." In a moment my men had pistols in hand ready for action, and I noticed some of the men that came dressed in gray had pistols in their pockets. I remarked to them, "I came here on an invitation; I am here as a guest, I wish to treat all persons as gentlemen, especially the landlord and his family; but this hostile move made upon the part of the landlord and the presence of these armed men shows me that there is something wrong." I ordered my men to fall in line and return to the camp. His wife appeared to be a perfect lady and her husband appeared to be under the influence of whiskey. He agreed that if I would release him, he would go into his room and stay there until my men had all returned to the camp. After he had gone into his room, I gave his revolver to his wife on her promising not to give it to him until the next morning.

I learned from Mr. Wadel's brother-in-law that he came from northern Missouri at the commencement of the war and at about the close of the war he married his sister; that he was a cyclops and came to Fulton county in the Kuklux raid, and that the men who came that evening were all Kuklux, that if I had gone alone to his supper, I would have been killed.

The next morning we broke camp and resumed our march. On the regiment arriving at Cottonplant, Col. Dail reported to Gen. Upham and we were ordered into camp. As soon as the citizens of the city learned of my arrival, they requested Gen. Upham that I be invited to deliver a speech in the city hall; that they had heard and read of Col. Monks and they wanted him to deliver an address to the people at early candle-light on the present condition of the state. There were about seven or eight hundred men stationed at the post. After supper, the adjutant sent an order by an orderly to detail about fifty men for a patrol guard; that the soldiers had broken into the warehouse and were taking out whiskey and other articles. I ordered the detail to be made and report at headquarters for further orders. Our headquarters were not more than forty yards from the warehouse. I spoke in an audible voice, "Now, we claim that our mission as soldiers is to protect persons and property. I want you to see that your guns and pistols are well loaded, and go direct to the warehouse first and arrest all soldiers that you find in or about the warehouse and take them to the guardhouse and there keep them safe until further orders, and patrol the city closely. Order all soldiers and officers who have not passes to be inside of their quarters in thirty minutes, and if you find any soldiers on the street after thirty minutes, arrest them and take them to the guardhouse; if they resist you, shoot them; and if you have to shoot, shoot to kill." About that time some man near the warehouse called out: "Who in hell are you? This whiskey is Kuklux whiskey, and we will take what we please." I replied, "If we cannot enforce discipline over the soldiers, we will go back home and send others; you will find out who I am if you wait until the patrol gets there."

I ordered the officer to sound the reveille. Inside of thirty minutes every soldier was inside of his quarters. The citizens said that such a thing had not occurred since the post had been established. Capt. Sharp was reckless when drinking; he had mutinied and the men that were disposed to be wild had terrorized the people of the city. Gen. Upham had failed to enforce discipline over Capt. Sharp and his company. Capt. Sharp had ridden up and down the streets before the regiment had arrived and proclaimed, "when Colonel Monks arrives we will clean all the Kuklux up." The citizens were considerably frightened on my arrival in August, but after they saw how completely I enforced discipline everything became quiet, they appeared to be perfectly secure in person and property.

On the next night, at early candle light, the large hall was filled. After being introduced by Gen. Upham, I spoke in part as follows:

"Gentlemen and fellow citizens of Arkansas: I am from your sister state, Missouri, and I am very sorry to find you people in the state of war. War is not very pleasant; it has its effects upon society; demoralizes the morals of the people, besides the great sacrifice of life and property. Besides this, it alienates those who should be brethern and makes them bitter enemies. Your people may ask the question, what right have you Missourians to come down into our state? My first answer will be, Captain Simpson Mason was but recently assassinated in Fulton county, near the state line, while in the discharge of his official duty. At the commencement of the civil war he was a citizen of Fulton county, Arkansas, and I was a citizen of Howell county, Missouri. Both of us were unconditional Union men. Both of us were driven from our homes and posses of men from your state, regardless of the state lines, scouted our county, murdering and driving out Union men, women and children and hung and shot down loyal men. Captain Mason and I met in the early part of the war of the rebellion and soon become fast friends. Served together during the war. When peace was made we determined to go back home. Men would meet us and say "If you men go back among the old rebels who hate you so badly they will kill you." Our reply would be, "Damn a man that is afraid to go back and enjoy the fruits of his victory." We met and pledged our sacred honor to each other that if, after our return to our old homes, either one of us was killed by the late rebels, the other would do all in his power to bring the guilty parties to justice. A better and truer man never lived than Captain Simpson Mason. Each of us came back with the olive leaf in his mouth. Now I don't say that all rebels are Kuklux, but I will say all Kuklux have been late rebels and have organized a secret organization, the objects and aims of which are to overturn the civil government of your state by murder and intimidations, through the most vile and desperate means known to man, the savage not excepted. Besides your organization extends into the border counties of Missouri and as the rebels thought right to cross the state line during the Civil war, we think it right to cross it now to help our loyal brethern, and these are the causes that brought us to your state. We don't want booty. We want to see the civil law enforced, and we ask your cooperation, and promise you, that all law abiding citizens, be they Union or rebel, shall be protected in person and property during our stay in your state and we intend to enforce the very strictest discipline among our troops. I hope by the cooperation of the people of your state this unholy war will soon cease." At the conclusion of the speech they gave three cheers for Missouri troops.

On the third day after our arrival at Cottonplant, Captain J. B. Nicholas' and Captain Sharp's companies were ordered to be detached from the regiment and placed under the command of the author and ordered to march at once and report at Marion, the county seat of Crittenden county for further orders. On our arrival at Marion we were ordered to proceed directly to Osceola, the county seat of Mississippi county, Arkansas and to erect a military post and issue an order ordering all the persons that were armed to come in and take the oath. On our arrival at that place to report the same to the Governor of the state. I issued the following general order: