ing to join, put him into a barrel and rolled it into the
Cumberland River, drowning the detective.--_Washington Post_, _August
13, 1905._

CHAPTER II.

THE SPREAD OF THE KLAN.

The devices for attracting attention were eminently successful. During
the months of July and August, 1866, the Klan was much talked about by
the citizens of Pulaski. Its mysteriousness was the sensation of the
hour. Every issue of the local paper contained some notice of the
strange order. These notices were copied into other papers, and in
this manner the way was prepared for the rapid growth and spread of
the Klan which soon followed.

Six weeks or less from the date of the organization the sensation in
Pulaski had reached its height and was waning. Curiosity in regard to
it had abated to such a degree that the Klan would have certainly
fallen to pieces but for the following circumstances:

By the time the eligible material in the town had been used up, the
young men from the country, whose curiosity had been inflamed by the
newspaper notices, began to come in and apply for admission to the
Klan. Some of these applications were accepted. In a little while the
members from the country asked permission to establish "dens" at
various points in the county. No provision had been made for such a
contingency, but the permission was granted; had it not been, the
result in all probability would have been the same.

As the ritual followed by the Pulaski Klan could not be conveniently
carried out in the country, various modifications and changes were
permitted. But the strictest injunctions were laid on these new
lodges, or dens, in regard to secrecy, mystery and the character of
the men admitted. The growth in the rural districts was more rapid
than it had been in the town. Applications for permission to establish
"dens" multiplied rapidly.

The news that the Ku Klux were spreading to the country excited the
attention of the country people more generally than the existence of
the Klan in town had done. The same cause rekindled the waning
interest of the town people. Every issue of the local papers in the
"infected regions" bristled with highly mysterious and exciting
accounts of the doings of the "fantastic gentry."

During the fall and winter of 1866 the growth of the Klan was rapid.
It spread over a wide extent of territory. Sometimes, by a sudden
leap, it appeared in localities far distant from any existing "dens."

A stranger fr