When the war virtually closed after the taking of Cornwallis, our services were no longer needed, and we returned from the battlefield, so far as respected the Brittish war. Thus, Sir, I have given you an account of all the particulars of my father's campaigns, so far as I now recollect them. There may have escaped my memory many little incidents that happened, which might serve to amuse, but they are lost to me & the public. I shall be truly gratified if what I have written should be of any service to you in your laudable undertaking. The writing is, I believe, iegible but badly written, & I have no one to copy for me--you will please excuse it. I send you my father's signature which was never changed for forty years Yours very respectfully, (Signed) James Sevier. Carefully copied from the original, for Col. E. W. Sevier, at Forest Hill, February 16th, 1844, by Lyman C. Draper. KU KLUX MYSTERIES. [In the January number, 1900, of this magazine, the prescript of the Ku Klux Klan was given, being a photographic facsimile of the original. A few days ago, Col. J. J. Turner, of Gallatin, Tenn., presented the magazine with an old circular printed during Ku Klux times, and now bearing the marks of age, which purports to be an explanation of the secret cypher used by that mysterious organization. It seems to refer to a secret card on which the cypher was written or printed. Colonel Turner thinks there was no such card. The circular is without date or designation, and is reprinted below, as follows:] EXPLANATION. Suppose you wish to send the following communication: "The hope of the nation is in Grant," and suppose the key employed to be "sow rye." First write the communication with the letters of the key under it, thus: The hope of the nation is in Grant. repeating throughout the communication the letters of the key, letter for letter, with the letters of all the important words of the communication. It will be observed that unimportant words, such as the, of, is, in, which convey no clue, are written in running hand, in their proper characters. The important words, that convey the meaning, are written in separate letters, in cypher, as will now appear. Having written the communication with the letters of the key under it as above, thus: The hope of the nation is in Grant. Find on the card, Sh, (the first letter of the key and the first letter of the word to be sent in cypher,) and above it, in the line of black letter capitals, is P, the first letter of the cypher, which write under S h, as above; then find O o, and above it in the line of black capitals is A, the second letter of the cypher, which write under O o; find W p, and above it in line of black capitals. is T, the third letter of the cypher, which write under W p; find Re, and above it in line of black capitals is N, the fourth letter of the cypher, which write under Re; and so on, for Yn, we find P; for Ea, we find W; for St we find B; for Oi we find U; for Wo we find S; for Rn we find W, and thus for the whole communication, writing the letters of the cypher, (which it will be observed, are taken exclusively from the line of heavy black capitals,) under its equivalent letters of the key and communication. This being done you copy and transmit the message in cypher thus: "The patn of the pwbusw is in inizx." The party receiving, being previously in possession of the key, in order to translate the cypher, writes the letters of the key under the letters of the cypher, letter for letter, thus: The patn of the sowr pw busw is in i niz x yesow Grant. The hope of the Then look in the line of black capitals for the first letter p, of the cypher, and follow down the column under p, to S, the first letter of the key, opposite which is h, which write under p s, as above. Look again in the line of black capitals for the second letter a of the cypher, and down the column under A to O, the second letter of the key, opposite which will be found o, which write under ao. Look again in the line of black capitals for t, the third letter of the cypher, and down the column under t till you find W, the third letter of the key, opposite which is p, which write under tw, and so on till the whole is translated. In sending Messages in Cypher, they should be written on every other line, so that the translator may have space to interline the key and translation, and thus avoid the necessity of copying the cypher. The original sheet from which the message in cypher is copied, should be destroyed, as soon as the cypher is copied. The key should under no circumstance remain written longer than necessary to copy or translate, and should then be immediately destroyed. The key "Sow Rye" here used, is merely for illustration. Any word or sentence may be used in the same way, being first given to your Correspondent. AN INTERESTING STATUTE. [In the year 1794, by "a resolve of the General Assembly," FrancoisXavier Martin was appointed to collect and publish all the private statutes of North Carolina, in force at that time. In obedience to this "resolve," Mr. Martin published the book known as "Martin's Private Acts of North Carolina." This book includes all private statutes from 1715 to 1790. The book is now out of print, and is inaccessible to the general reader. The following act possesses historic interest:] "Chap. LVIII. An act for the relief of sundry petitioners, inhabitants of Davidson County whose names are therein mentioned." I. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of North Carolina, and it is hereby enacted by the authority of the same; that the persons whose names follow, viz.: John Cockrill, Ann Cockrill, formerly the widow Ann Johnston, Robert Espey, James Espey, John Buchanan, Cornelius Ruddle, James Mulkerin, James Tood, Isaac Johnson, John Gibson, Francis Armstrong, John Kennedy, junior, Mark Robertson, William Ellis, James Thompson, James Shaw, James Franklin, Henry Howdishalt, Pierce Castillo, Morris Shean, William Logan, David Flood, John White, Peter Looney, William Collins, Jonas Maniffee, Daniel Williams, John Evans, Andrew Thompson, Gasper Mansco, George Freeland, Daniel Johnston, Edward Swanson, Andrew Kellow, Francis Hodge, John Mulkerim, James Freeland, John Tucker, James Foster, Amos Heaton, Dennis Condry, Frederick Stump, Russel Gower, Andrew Ersin, Thomas Rater, Isaac Lindsey, Moses Winters, James Harris, John Brown, Lewis Crane, John Montgomery, Stephen Ray, Daniel Hogan, Thomas Spencer, Humphrey Hogan, Haydon Wells, Henry Ramsey, John Barrow, John Thomas, William Stewart, Samuel Walker, David Rounseval, Arthur M'Adoe, James M'Adoe, Henry Turney, Samuel Barton, John Dunham, Ephraim Pratt, William Overall, and James Robertson, and the heirs and devisees of Zachariah White, Alexander Buchanan, James Leiper, James Harrod, Alexander Thompson, David Maxwell, Robert Lucas, Timothy Tirrell, William Hood, Edward Carvin, William Neely, James Shanklin, Samuel Morrow, George Kennedy, John Robertson, Abel Gowen, senior, Abel Gowen, junior, Nicholas Trammell, Philip Mason, James Turpin, Nathan Turpin, Jacob Stump, Nicholas Gentry, William Cooper, Jacob Jones, James Mayfield, William Green, William Johnston, Samuel Scott, George Aspic, William Leighton, John Crutchfield, Joseph Hay, John Searcy, Isaac Lucas, Patrick Quigley, Jacob Stull, Joseph Milligan, Abraham Jones, David Crane, Benjamin Porter, Edward Larimore, William Gausney, Jonathan Jennings, David Garvin, Jesse B-lston, Joseph Renfrew, Philip Conrod, William Gausway, John Bernard, John Lumiden, John Gilkey. Solomon Phelps, James John, Thomas Hainey, Alexander Allerson, John Blackamore, James Fowler, John Macmurtry, John holly, John Galloway, and Isaac Lafovour, who were killed in the defence and settlement of the said county of Davidson, shall each and every one of them be entitled to receive from the governor for the time being, a grant for six hundred and forty acres of land, without being obliged to pay any price for the same. Provided that every person receiving such grant shall pay the surveyors and other fees of office. II. Be it further enacted by the authority foresaid, that Christopher Gais, senior, Christopher Gais, junior, Jonathan Gais, Kasper Bocher, Richard Breeze, Phines Cocke, Mark Nobles, John Kitts, Isaac Mayfield, Samuel Hollis, Isaac Rounsevall, Eneas Thomas, Joshua Thomas, Caleb Winters, John Buchanan, senior, John Kennedy, junior, John Castello, Robert Thompson, and Sampson Williams, shall each and every one of them be entitled to enter with the entry-taker of Davidson county six hundred and forty acres of land, without being obliged to pay any price for same, except surveyors and other fees of office, which they and each of them may locate on any vacant land in the said county, the lands laid out for the officers and soldiers excepted; and the Governor is hereby authorized and required to make such grant in the same manner to each and every of the before named persons as if they had paid the full price of ten pounds per hundred acres. III. And less dispute may arise by two or more pre-emption. rights being located on the entry-taker's books of Davidson county to the same place, Be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, that in such case, the person in whose name such entry |