ommittee composed of Richard R. Reed and Calvin
Jones[6] was appointed to select a name for the organization. The
Greek for _circle_ was chosen. We called it Kuklos, which was changed
to Ku Klux afterward when the name was proposed to the Circle. John
Kennedy suggested that we add another _K_, and the order was then
called Ku Klux Klan.... The mysterious lights seen floating about the
ruins (See p. 61) presented a weird and uncanny appearance and filled
the superstitious with dread of the place; so we were never disturbed,
and it only required a quaint garb and a few mysterious sounds to
convince the uninitiated that we were spirits from the other world. We
were quick to catch on to this idea and we governed ourselves
accordingly.... During our parades or appearances in public the
darkies either hid out or remained close in their houses.... The
origin of the order had no political significance. It was at first
purely social and for our amusement. It proved a great blessing to the
entire South and did what the State and Federal officials could not
do--it brought order out of chaos and peace and happiness to our
beloved South.... The order was careful in the admission of members
and I have never known of a betrayal of the secrets of the order. I am
proud to say that I never knew of one single act done by the genuine
Ku Klux Klan that I am ashamed of or do not now endorse."

Major Crowe and other members repeatedly mention the fact that the
membership of the Klan was largely of Scotch-Irish descent. This was
bound to be the case since in the territory covered by the Klan proper
the great majority of the Scotch-Irish of the South were settled. The
Ku Klux Klan extended from Virginia to Mississippi through the white
county section--the Piedmont and mountain region. It seldom extended
into the Black Belt, though it was founded on its borders. There
another similar order--the Knights of the White Camelia--held sway. In
the Piedmont region before the spread of the Klan, there were numerous
secret protective societies among the whites, and these were later
absorbed into the Klan. The Klan led a more strenuous existence than
the Black Belt orders. In most of its territory, social conditions
were worse than in the black counties. It is a mistake to consider
that in 1865-1870, the whites in the densest black districts were in
the place of greatest danger. There the blacks were usually the best
behaved; there the whites were never d