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Levi Branham, My
Life and Travels (1929) (Electronic Edition) CHAPTER XII. KU KLUX KLAN. IN
1894 the white caps were very severe in Murray county. The Murray county
white caps threw Bill Roper into a pit June 11, 1894. I think he remained in
the pit eight or nine days, then he was drawn out alive. He now lives in
Texas. He was accused of being a reporter, but he was not. On
June 7, 1894, Bill Roper and I went to Nix's Spring to buy some whisky. Bill
Roper bought one gallon of whisky and I bought two gallons. Three
colored men were hanged in Spring Place by the white caps. In 1874 a colored
man named Carter Griffin was hanged in Spring Place. John Ward was hanged in
1875 for rape. In 1878 John Duncan was shot by the white caps. The house
where Duncan was killed bears the name "Duncan House." After Duncan
was killed the Ku Klux attempted to make a raid on a colored fellow named
Walker Dwight. Dwight must have suspicioned that
they were going to make a raid on him, so he and his wife locked the door of
their house and went to their crib. They locked the crib on the inside, and
put the latch on the outside. The Ku Klux went to Dwight's house and
raided it, but they did not find anyone there. They then went to the crib and
finding the crib locked they must have thought that there was no one in it,
so they went on without looking into the crib. In
1891 John Bently Davis, colored man, was shot down
by the Ku Klux one night. During the night he crawled to the house. Davis'
weapons were an ax and shotgun, the Ku Klux used pistols, and for a time they
had a merry little war. Davis cut two or three of the Ku Klux. Davis and the
two Ku Klux that were cut are dead now. Davis went to Chattanooga after he
recovered from his injuries and went to work. While he was engaged in work he
became over-heated and death was the result. The
lady that John Ward was hanged about was named Mrs. Parrot. Immediately after
John Ward was hanged, John Austin and I ran a blacksmith shop. One day when
we were collecting I went to Mrs. Parrott's house to collect. She seemed to
be afraid of me and I was frightened, too. I soon left her house without pay
for my blacksmith work. I went to another fellow's house and there I spent
the night. I never went back to Mrs. Parrot's to get my pay. When
I was quite a boy I used to drive a gin pulled by four horses. Two boys drove
one on one lever and one on the other. The gin stood in front of the house
where Mr. Charlie King of Spring Place, now lives. The gin was run by a horse
I used to ride on the lever that pulled the gin. The ginned cotton was
allowed to fall into a lint room. The cotton was packed with a wooden screw.
It was taken from the lint room to the press in baskets. The press was pulled
by a horse, also. Times
have changed now and have become what I call fast times. Steam and electric
gins are the only kinds of gins that are to be seen these days. When
I was a boy we children used to call cotton negro devil. We would go across
the field and see if any cotton was coming up. If we found any we would pull
it up and say "we have killed one negro devil." In
1875 times were very rough in this country, but I was never bothered. The Ku
Klux used to come to my house to borrow mules from me. Some people would say
that I knew who the Ku Klux were, but I did not know
a one of them after they were disguised. The
night John Ward was hanged a crowd of white people and I were in a store.
Some of them were praying that Ward would not he
hanged that night, but while they were talking about the matter the Ku Klux
came into the store and ordered forty foot of rope with which to hang Ward.
There was only one door to the store, but I went out by the Ku Klux. Some of
the white men asked the Ku Klux if they would allow us to get home, the Ku
Klux said, "yes, every rat to his hole." I
suppose every rat did get to his hole. I know I got to mine. The next day a
clerk at the store asked me if I hid in one of his boxes or did I get home. I
told him that I went home. I left out behind a man named Jim Temple. I don't
know whether I made any tracks or not, but I got home. The
night before Ward was hanged, that night he was hauling wood with two mules southeast of Spring Place and I was hauling wood
with a horse southwest of Spring Place. I looked up and saw a crowd of men
coming with guns and I thought to myself that there must be a war in the
country. They came to me and asked me if I had been in the southeast of
Spring Place and I told them I had not. They wanted to carry me to jail
thinking that I might be the one who raped Mrs. Parrot. They said they would carry me and all other negroes that they found to jail so they
would be sure to get the right one. I told them "no," that I was
not going to be carried to jail alive. I told my horse to get up. They did
not bother with me any more. As it happened Mrs.
Parrot described Mr. Ward, the one who had offended her. She said she tore
his shirt and noticed that he had a scar on his breast. The white people
examined Ward and found that he had a scar. Ward owned that he was the guilty
person. I
have had lots of ups and downs, but by the help of the Good Lord I have come
out more than unconquered. I
was talking with a white man about fifteen or sixteen years ago. He said that
there were good negroes and bad negroes, good white people and bad white
people. He further said that there is good land and bad land and the land and
people were made up alike. I have always tried to stay with the good people. Everything
has changed either for good or bad, the land has changed and the people have
changed. I
have been in several little towns and I find that there are colored folks in
most of them but I suppose they are like Ham, they draw water and hew wood
for Shem and Japeth's race. When Noah got drunk Ham
laughed and God put a curse upon him and I believe it is so because the
colored folks are always laughing at anything. The minister of the them. I don't know what they are doing, Gospel can't
keep them straight, neither can the law keep them
straight. In
1878 I came from down the country to Spring Place. Spring Place was then a
glorious little town with two bar rooms and two dry goods stores. In
1884, fire broke out in Spring Place, burnt one store, one dwelling and the
court house. All have been rebuilt since. 1906,
fire destroyed the jewelry shop and a store. 1909,
fire destroyed the old Bond Johnson hotel; destroyed the entire block While
the fire was raging three prisoners were crying to be let out. Tump Brandon was one of the prisoners. All came back but
one; he kept going. 1914,
the Shield's Hotel burnt. In
1920 fire burnt Dr. Bagley's house and four people got burnt, two children
and two adults, and two escaped. The
fifth fire was in 1921. Will Lonner's house was
destroyed by fire. 1922,
Mr. D. D. Kemp's house was destroyed by fire. 1927,
fire destroyed Bishop's warehouse. Bishop had twelve bales; L. B. Brandon
five bales; Ed Cox one bale; W. P. Whittle three; W. R. Ballew, one. 1929,
Bishop's gin was destroyed by fire. |