AS RELATED IN DETAIL, BY HIMSELF, IN PRISON, A FEW DAYS BEFORE HIS EXECUTION, TO DR. J. R. S. PITTS, THEN SHERIFF OF PERRY COUNTY, MISS.
When I was about ten or eleven years of age, my father sent me to school, and I went at intervals from time to time, to several good teachers. I might, with proper training and management, have received a liberal education. My father often insisted, and urged it upon me to study and try to obtain a good education, and he told me that he would send me to school as long as I wished to go. But being misled by my associations with bad company, I was engaged, instead, in studying mischief, and other things no way profitable to myself or advantageous to youths. It was my misfortune, that my disposition led me on to study how to cheat, defraud and swindle my comrades and school-mates, out of their pocket-knives, their money or anything they might have, which I wanted, and I was generally successful in my undertaking. If I could not effect my object in one way, I would resort to some other, and finally obtain it before I stopped. Indulging in this rude and mischievous disposition, I naturally became more hardened, and when at school, it was my delight to see the scholars whipped or otherwise punished, and I would often tell lies on any of them that would displease me, so as to cause them to get a flogging; and very often I would tell a lie on an innocent scholar, so as to clear a favorite and guilty one, and have the innocent one punished. It most generally happened, that I managed my villainy so as to get clear; it sometimes happened, however, that I got punished. This I did not care for any longer than the punishment lasted. So soon as I was released, I would commit a worse misdeed than the one I was chastised for, and any of my school-mates that were the cause of my punishment, I was certain to wreak my vengeance on, by having them punished in some way. From my bad conduct in school there was no teacher that would permit me to go to his school long at a time, and whenever I had any difficulty with my teachers, my mother would always protect and indulge me in what I would do; and being so indulged and protected, this excited me to commit crimes of greater magnitude. And I am frank, here to say, that my mother has been the principal and great cause of all my crimes and misfortunes, by stimulating me to the commission of those deeds that have brought me to what I am.
When I was about the age of twelve years, my mother one day sent me with a sack to a neighbor’s house (Mr. Helverson’s), to procure some vegetables or greens. I communicated my errand to Mrs. H., who told me to go to the garden and take what I wanted. I had no knife with me. I asked Mrs. H. to loan me a knife, which I knew she had, and she pulled out a very pretty little knife from her work-pocket, and told me not to lose or break it, for it was a present made to her by a friend. This I listened to and promised her that I would be careful. Now, while I was in the garden procuring vegetables or greens, my whole mind and wits were employed in devising some mode by which I could cheat the lady out of her knife. Finally, after I had procured my vegetables and placed them in the sack, I put the knife in the bottom of the sack; I then returned to the house, and told the lady that I laid the knife down in the garden, and had forgot the place and could not find it; I asked her to go with me and help me hunt for it, which she accordingly did, and we both hunted diligently, but to no effect. The lady was very anxious about her knife and much regretted its loss, while I was all the time laughing in my sleeve, to know how completely I had swindled her. This trick of mine passed off very well for a time. It was, however, found out that I had the knife, and that created some noise and trouble. I was accused of stealing the knife. But I denied all accusations and stated that I had bought the knife I had, in Mobile, and proved it by my mother, who always upheld me in my rascality. This may be said to have been my first successful feat in stealing, although I was in the habit of stealing little frivolous things from the school boys, before that time.
My father living a very close neighbor to Mr. Helverson, whose family is related to ours, their stock run together in the same range. My next onset in stealing was from Mr. H. again; he had a lot of very fine fat pigs, and these were at that time selling at a high price in Mobile. My brother Isham (nicknamed Whinn) and myself geared up a horse in a cart and started, pretendingly for a camp hunt to kill deer and haul to Mobile. We went a short distance that night and camped. During the night we went to Helverson’s hog bed, and stole a cart load of his finest pigs, fifteen in number, hauled them to Mobile and sold them at two dollars each. Although Mr. H. was satisfied in his own mind that we had stolen his pigs, yet he could not prove it; and I escaped again. So I was stimulated with my success, and being still more encouraged and upheld by my mother, and not exceeding fourteen years of age, I believed that I could make an independent fortune by thieving, and became insensible of the danger which awaited me. A short time after the incident just related had transpired, I made a second rake upon Mr. H.’s pigs. But in my second adventure, I was not so fortunate as I was in the first, for Mr. H. rather got me that time. The proof was sufficiently strong, and I was prosecuted, for the first time, for pig stealing. Well knowing my guilt as I did, and the evidence against me, I thought my case extremely doubtful. I was arrested by the sheriff of Jackson county, and had to give bond to appear at the Circuit Court of Jackson county, to answer an indictment preferred against me by the State of Mississippi, for the crime of larceny. The bond required me to attend the Court from term to term, and from day to day, until discharged by due course of law. My poor old father employed the best counsel to defend me, that could be obtained in all the country. This cost the poor old man a large sum of money. My counsel, after learning the facts of the case, advised me that my only chance of acquittal, was to put off the trial as long as possible. This he did from term to term, in hopes that something might occur to get me acquitted. I well knew if my case should be brought to a hearing, I would be convicted, and I dreaded the consequences; for I knew that there would then be no chance on earth to prevent my being sent to the penitentiary.
Fully sensible of my situation, young as I was at that time, it became necessary for me to devise some plan to get out of the scrape, and I reflected for weeks how to manage this matter. One day, in a conversation with my mother and some other confidential friends, she and they advised me to consult Gale H. Wages; and my mother said she would send for Wages and see him herself, as he was a particular friend of hers. This she accordingly did, and he came to our house. There were several of the clan at our house then, though I did not know them at that time as such; but my mother did, as I afterward found out when I joined them. Among the many plans proposed by the clan, none seemed to suit my mother or Wages. Some were for waylaying and killing the witnesses; some for one thing, and some for another. Finally Wages made his proposition, which was seconded by my mother. This was the proposition I had been waiting to hear, for my mother told me that whatever plan Wages would pursue, he would be certain to get me clear. His plan was, that we should, in some way or other, endeavor to have the Court house and all the records destroyed, and so destroy the indictment against me. By that means there would be nothing against me, and I should be acquitted, as no charge would rest against me.
With this plan I was highly pleased, and much elated with the idea that I had a friend fully able and competent to bear me out, and who would stand up to me at any and all hazards, and bring me out clear. Wages pledged himself to me in private to do this, and he was as good as his word. We set a time for the accomplishment of our design, and we accordingly met. The precise date I cannot recollect, but it was a dry time, and a dark night, with a strong breeze from the North. After procuring sufficient dry combustibles, we entered the Court-house, went up stairs, and placed our combustibles in the roof, on the windward side of the house. Wages went down stairs to patrol around. After reconnoitering around sufficiently, he gave me the signal, by a rap or knock on the wall; I immediately sprung open the door of my dark-lantern, applied the match, and made my escape down stairs, and Wages and myself left the place in double quick time. We halted on an eminence some five or six hundred yards to the southeast of the Court house, to watch the conflagration. Such a sight I never had before beheld. The flames seemed to ascend as high, if not higher than the tops of the tallest pine trees; they made everything perfectly light for over two hundred yards around. After the Court-house, records and all were completely consumed, and the flames had abated and died away, we took our departure for home, rejoicing at our success in the accomplishment of our design. There was a great deal of talk and conjecture about the burning of the Court-house, and we were accused—at least, I was strongly censured, but there never was any discovery made, nor any proof sufficient to get hold of either Wages or myself; so I again got clear of a crime of which I was guilty and for which I ought to have been punished.
The assistance, advice and protection I had received from Wages, gave me the utmost confidence in him, and he had unbounded influence over me; I looked on him as my warmest and most confidential friend, and I eventually pinned my whole faith on him and relied upon him for advice and directions in everything. Although a villain, as I must now acknowledge Wages was, yet he had some redeeming traits in his character. At his own home he was friendly, kind and hospitable; in company, he was affable and polite; and no person at first acquaintance, would have believed for one moment, that he was the out lawed brigand that he finally proved himself to be; and I firmly believe he would have spilt the last drop of blood in his veins to protect me; yet I must say that he was the principal author of my misfortunes, and has brought me where I am.
After the burning of the Court House, the intercourse between Wages and myself became more frequent. We became strongly allied to each other, and confidence was fully established between us. Wages one day made a proposition to me; to join him, and go with him, alleging that we could make money without work, and live in ease and genteel style; that there were a great many persons concerned with him, in different parts of the country, some of them men of wealth and in good standing in the community in which they lived; that they had an organized Band that would stand up to each other at all hazard; that they had a Wigwam in the city of Mobile, where they held occasional meetings; and that they had many confederates there whom the public little suspected. To this proposition I readily acceded; it corresponded with my disposition and idea of things, and then, being the age I was, and stimulated by my past success, I feared nothing.
I went to Mobile with Wages, and there he introduced me to some of his comrades, who were members of his Clan. They accordingly held a meeting at their Wig-wam, and I was there introduced by Wages, (who was their president,) as a candidate for membership, I should have been rejected, had Wages not interceded for me. I was finally passed and admitted to membership. Wages then administered to me the oath, which every member had to take. I was then instructed and given the signs and pass-words of the Clan; and above all was cautioned to keep a watchful eye, and not to let any person entrap me; nor let any person, under pretence of belonging to the Clan, or wishing to join, obtain in any way information from me in relation to the existence of the Clan, or their plan or mode of operation. The oath was administered on the Holy Bible. (Oh! what a profanation of that good book!) The form of the oath was: “You solemnly swear upon the Holy Evangelist of Almighty God, that you will never divulge, and always conceal and never reveal any of the signs or pass-words of our order; that you will not invent any sign, token or device by which the secret mysteries of our order may be made known; that you will not in any way betray or cause to be betrayed any member of this order—the whole under pain of having your head severed from your body—so help you God.”