: A History of Southern Missouri and Northern Arkansas Being an Account of the Early Settlements the Civil War the Ku-Klux and Times of Peace by Monks William - United States History Civil War 1861-1865 Personal narratives; United States History Civil War 18

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nd 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 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.

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