ed, warned, and frightened
obnoxious individuals, whipped some, and even hanged others. Until
forbidden by law or military order, the newspapers were accustomed to
print the mysterious proclamations of the Ku Klux. The following, which
was circulated in Montgomery, Alabama, in April 1868, is a typical
specimen:

K. K. K. Clan of Vega. HDQRS K.K.K. HOSPITALLERS.

Vega Clan, New Moon, 3rd Month, Anno K. K. K. 1.

ORDER No. K. K.

Clansmen--Meet at the Trysting Spot when Orion Kisses the Zenith.
The doom of treason is Death. Dies Irae. The wolf is on his walk--the
serpent coils to strike. Action! Action!! Action!!! By midnight and the
Tomb; by Sword and Torch and the Sacred Oath at Forrester's Altar, I
bid you come! The clansmen of Glen Iran and Alpine will greet you at the
new-made grave.

Remember the Ides of April.

By command of the Grand D. I. H.

Cheg. V.

The work of the secret orders was successful. As bodies of vigilantes,
the Mans and the Councils regulated the conduct of bad Negroes,
punished criminals who were not punished by the state, looked after the
activities and teachings of Northern preachers and teachers, dispersed
hostile gatherings of Negroes, and ran out of the community the worst of
the reconstructionist officials. They kept the Negroes quiet and freed
them to some extent from the influence of evil leaders. The burning of
houses, gins, mills, and stores ceased; property became more secure;
people slept safely at night; women and children walked abroad in
security; the incendiary agents who had worked among the Negroes left
the country; agitators, political, educational, and religious, became
more moderate; "bad niggers" ceased to be bad; labor became less
disorganized; the carpetbaggers and scalawags ceased to batten on the
Southern communities. It was not so much a revolution as the defeat of a
revolution. Society was replaced in the old historic grooves from which
war and reconstruction had jarred it.

Successful as was the Ku Klux movement in these respects, it had at the
same time many harmful results. Too often local orders fell under the
control of reckless or lawless men and the Klan was then used as a cloak
to cover violence and thievery; family and personal feuds were carried
into the orders and fought out; and anti-Negro feeling in many places
found expression in activities designed to drive the blacks from
the country. It was easy for any outlaw to hide himself behind the
pro