The Nation's Peril. AnonymousЧитать онлайн книгу.
of signals by sounds, made with whistles, is used, in order that the members may not be recognized by their voices.
DIVISIONS OF THE ORDER.
There are several divisions of the order of the Ku Klux Klans, all working under the same ritual and oaths, and having the same signs, grips, passwords, modes of approach, and general conduct of raids and midnight excursions. These are known under the names of “Knights of the White Camelia,” “The Invisible Empire,” “The White Brotherhood,” “The Unknown Multitude,” “The Union and Young Men’s Democracy.” All work in disguise, with the exception of the latter, who work openly as well as in disguise, and are all under the instructions of the “Grand Cyclops” and the Supreme Grand Council. They all have one and the same object, which is as plainly set forth in the oath as it well can be in an obligation of that character.
The difference in names and styles has been adopted for a two-fold purpose. First, to conceal the origin, object, and design of the order, and its founders and directors; secondly, to conceal its extent and numbers, and make it appear a mere local affair that has cropped out in different places without reference to any organized combination with one grand center.
The workings of the Klans over all the Southern country show more conclusively than any amount of subterfuge on the part of the leaders, that one common tie binds them all; that one common interest actuates them; that one common end is to be accomplished. The oath differs slightly in phraseology in different localities, to accommodate the varied circumstances under which it is administered, and with a view to greater concealment—the words “Unknown Multitude,” “Invisible Empire,” and “White Brotherhood” being substituted in North and South Carolina; the words “Union and Young Men’s Democracy,” in Georgia and Mississippi; and the words “Knights of the White Camelia,” in Louisiana and Texas and other States.
THE SECOND OR SUPREME DEGREE.
This degree differs from the first or probationary degree in the fact that those upon whom it is conferred are of the better class of the masses, and take upon themselves a more binding oath, administered under circumstances intended to be more impressive in character. The candidate for this degree is brought blind-folded into the center of the Camp, and caused to kneel at an altar erected for the occasion, his right hand placed upon a Bible, and his left upon a human skull. The Commander then says:
“Brethren, must it be done?”
The members respond, “It must!” and this in a tone intended to strike terror to the heart of the novitiate.
The candidate, of course, has no knowledge of what is meant by the ominous “Must it be done?” and there is a mournful groaning in the response “It must!” indicating that a terrible experience awaits him, which the Brotherhood would gladly spare him if they could.
A death-like silence ensues for a few moments, which seem ages to the candidate, and affords ample opportunity for his imagination to picture the unheard-of horrors through which he may possibly be called to pass. The silence is finally broken by the Commander, who says:
“Brethren, this brother now kneels at the altar of our faith, and asks to be bound to our fortunes by the more solemn and mysterious provisions of our Order. Fortunately for him in this hour of peril, he has been found worthy, and in commemoration of his being made one of the great ‘Unknown Multitude,’ I again ask, ‘Must it be done?’”
The brethren, in solemn tones, again respond, “It must!”
The Commander then says, in a stentorian tone of voice, “Let the blood of the traitor be spilled: bring the victim forth.”
The members here make a rustling noise, to resemble a struggle, a heavy blow is struck upon some appropriate substance, and a few drops of blood are trickled over the hand of the initiate that rests upon the skull. The brethren then surround him with knives and pistols presented in a circle about his head and neck, when the Commander then says:
“Must I swear him by the oath that shall forever bind, and never be broken?”
The brethren, placing their hands upon their left breasts, respond sepulchrally as before, “Swear him!”
The Commander now addresses the candidate as follows:
“My Brother, kneeling at the solemn altar of our faith, as one who desires that no government but the white man’s shall live in this country; and as one who will fight to the death all schisms, and factions, and parties, coming from whatsoever source they may, which have for their design the elevation of the negro to an equality with the white man, I am now about to administer to you the oath of this, the supreme degree, of our Order—that oath which shall forever bind, and never be broken; at the same time informing you that this oath, being taken in a cause which has for its object the deliverance of your country and the land of your birth from the rule of the negro-worshiper and the fanatic, is paramount to every other oath which you have taken, or may hereafter take, outside of this Order. You will now repeat after me, pronouncing your name in full, and your words aloud, on pain of instant death:
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