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, Kuklux 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.