Wages was President and Chief of the Clan. All important business of the Clan was entrusted to his care. He called meetings, gave all notices to the Clan for their gatherings, and when assembled he presided in the chair. In all matters, he had the preferred right to introduce resolutions for the benefit of the Clan.
There were present at this meeting, Charles McGrath, Vice-President; McClain, Secretary; John Eelva, Henry Sanford, Richard Cabel and Sampson Teapark, Vigilant Committee; William Brown, of Mobile, Tyler.
After I was thus initiated, and invested with all the signs, words and tokens, and fully instructed in the mysteries of the Clan, I was taught their mode of secret correspondence, by means of an alphabet or key, invented by the notorious Murrell, of Tennessee. I was furnished with the alphabet and key, and in that same mystic writing I was furnished with a list of all the names that belonged to our Clan, and a list of several other Clans, that ours was in correspondence with, their several places of residence, and the locations of their Wig-wams; so that when we stole a horse, a mule, or a negro, we knew precisely where to carry them, to have them concealed and sold.
After I had been thus fully initiated and had become identified with the Clan, Wages and McGrath, knowing my ability, and that I was a keen shrewd and cunning lad, took me under their immediate special charge. We had a rendezvous at old Wages’ about twelve miles from Mobile, and another at Dog River, about the same distance in a different direction. We ranged that season from one place to the other, and sometimes in town, stealing any and everything we could. Sometimes killing beef, hogs and sheep, hauling them to town and selling them; sometimes stealing a fine horse or mule and conveying it to some of our comrades to conceal; and occasionally a negro would disappear. All this while, we pretended to be engaged in making shingles, burning charcoal, and getting laths and pickets, each for himself. We always managed to furnish the family with all the meat they could use.
We worked on in this way until late in the summer or early in the fall of 1839, when most of the inhabitants had left the city; and we having six of our Clan then employed as City Guards, we rallied our forces and Wages ordered a meeting. It was there resolved that we should prepare ourselves with boats and teams—the boats to be stationed at a particular wharf in Mobile, on a certain night, and the teams at a landing named, on Dog River the next night. It was also ordered that we should assemble at our Wig-wam on the first night at seven o’clock. The meeting then adjourned.
The promised evening came, and every member was punctual in his attendance. It was a full meeting of the Clan. We all rigged ourselves out with false moustaches, some with false whiskers, some with a green patch over one eye, and many of them dressed like sailors, and thus fitted out and disguised, we were ready for action, with all kinds of false keys, skeleton keys, lock picks, crow bars, &c. At nine o’clock the City Guards turned out, and by a previous arrangement, those of our comrades who mounted guard, were on the first watch. They immediately sent two of their number to inform us where to make the first break. They had reconnoitered previously and knew what places had the richest and most valuable goods, and they had also procured false keys for several stores. Thus armed, each man with his revolver, bowie knife and dark lantern, about ten o’clock we started out. Our first break was a fancy dry-goods store which we opened with one of our keys. We took over $5,000 worth of goods from that store, fine silks, muslins, &c. We next entered a rich jewelry store, and made a clean sweep there. There were no fine watches; we got some silver watches and two or three gold watches, left, we supposed, to be repaired. Our raise there was about four to five thousand dollars. Our next break was on a large clothing store. There we took $3000 worth of the finest and best clothing. While we were at this, some of the clan were packing off and storing in their boats. We had procured two butcher carts, which would stand a short distance off and our men packed and loaded the carts, which they hauled to our boats. About half-past eleven o’clock, knowing that there would be a new guard out at twelve o’clock, we dispersed and set fire to each of the stores we had robbed. Soon there was the cry of fire; the wind commenced blowing, and the fire spread rapidly. Our Clan now commenced operations anew; we seized and carried out goods from any and every store we came to, still retaining the carts. We kept them constantly employed; and before daylight we had loaded two large, swift boats, and had a large quantity of merchandise in a “wood flat.” A little before daylight, we left with our boats for Dog River. We arrived there about eight o’clock, ten miles from the city, and went up the river to our landing place, where we secreted our goods until that night, when we had our teams at work, hauling off and concealing goods, which we finally accomplished the second night. Wages then ordered a meeting of the clan, and punctual attendance was required. The object of this meeting was for a report from each member of the amount of goods he had obtained, so that an equal distribution might be made. From the report then made, we had procured over twenty-five thousand dollars worth of goods of almost every description. We had an abundant supply of groceries and liquors. Our friends in the city had a bountiful supply of almost everything. We made a division of our plunder, and Wages, McGrath and myself got for our share about six thousand dollars worth. We were permitted to select the finest and most costly goods, such as the jewelry, fine silks, muslins etc., which we could carry in our trunks.
Having properly stowed away our effects, we took a trip from Mobile to Florida by way of Pensacola, carrying with us some of the jewelry, watches and dry goods. We traveled from Pensacola through Florida, with our pack of goods, as pedlars, each taking a different route, and all to meet at Apalachicola on a certain day. Wages went the middle route, McGrath the southern route, and I went the northern route. I traveled some distance, occasionally selling some of my plunder. I eventually arrived at a very rich neighborhood, near the Chatochooca river, not far from the Alabama line. There I soon disposed of most of my goods.
I fell in with a house where a very rich old widow lady lived. She bought a good deal of my jewelry and other goods for her two young daughters. I pretended to be sick, for an excuse to stay there. This lady had a very nice mulatto girl about seventeen years old. During the time I was there pretending to be sick, I made an arrangement with this girl to run away with me; I promised to take her for a wife, and carry her to a free State. She was to meet me on a certain night at the landing on the river, about one mile from that place. I left the house pretending to go to Columbus, Ga., and traveled up the river some thirty miles, where I stole a canoe. I procured some meat and bread and started down the river. On the night appointed I was at the landing, and about ten o’clock the mulatto girl came. She had provided bed clothing and provisions in plenty. I then started down the river with my girl. We went about thirty miles that night, and lay by in the river swamp all next day. The next night we made about fifty miles down the river. The third night we reached Apalachicola, two days previous to the time appointed to meet Wages and McGrath. I landed a short distance above town, and left my girl in a swamp just after daylight, and then went to the city. In looking around I fell in with John Harden, he being one of our clan. He soon gave me an introduction to a place where I could conceal my girl, and stay myself. The next day McGrath arrived; I met him in the street, and gave him a sign to follow me to our rendezvous. I showed him my girl and told him the way I had got her; he then told me that he had stolen a likely negro fellow, and had him concealed in a swamp about four miles from town. After dinner, and a little before night, McGrath and I went out to the swamp, brought in his fellow, and concealed him at the same place where my girl was.
The next day about eight o’clock Wages came up; we were all on the lookout for him. We gave him a hint to come to our place. We showed Wages what a raise we had made; he then told us that he had stolen two negroes and two fine horses, and that they were concealed in the swamp about five miles from town. In fear of pursuit he said we must leave instanter. We made an arrangement with Harden and our landlord to take the horses. They gave Wages twenty-five dollars a piece for the horses, and our board bill. That night Wages and Harden went out to the swamp; Harden took the horses and left, and Wages brought in his negroes and placed them with ours. That night while Wages was gone after his negroes McGrath and I went to a coffee house, and while there we met some Spaniards that had a little schooner there, and which was then loaded for New Orleans. We made the arrangement with them to carry us and our negroes to New Orleans, returned to our place, and had everything prepared. About ten o’clock Wages came in with his negroes, and we all went on board the vessel, which weighed anchor and sailed down the bar. Next morning the captain cleared his vessel, and by ten o’clock we were over the bar and under way, with a good breeze. On the second night, a little before day, we landed at the Pontchartrain railroad, and left in the first cars for the city. We went into one of our places in the city, got breakfast for ourselves and negroes, and at nine o’clock we left in a steamboat for Bayou Sara. We landed there, crossed the river and went to one of our clan—a rich planter—where we sold our negroes. I got one thousand dollars for my mulatto girl; McGrath sold his fellow for eleven hundred dollars, and Wages sold each of his boys for nine hundred dollars. We took our money and left for Mobile. My girl made considerable fuss when I was about to leave, but I told her I would return in a month, and rather pacified her. I must here acknowledge that my conscience did that time feel mortified, after the girl had come with me, and I had lived with her as a wife, and she had such implicit confidence in me. My conscience still feels mortified when I reflect how much better it would have been for me to have kept her and lived with her than to come to what I have.
On our way to Mobile we stopped in New Orleans three or four days. During our stay there was one fire. We made a small raise on that of about one hundred dollars each. McGrath came very near being caught by attempting to make a second haul. We left next day for Mobile; landed at Pascagoula, and walked home by land, with our money and the small amount of goods we had stolen in New Orleans.