Devils Walking

by Stanley Nelson

  SEALE, Myron Wayne (1927–1974). Considered one of the most violent Klansmen in Mississippi and Louisiana, Seale answered to the nickname “Jack.” Best friend of UKA grand dragon E. L. McDaniel, Seale served as state nighthawk for the UKA. With a long police record dating back to his service in the U.S. Navy at the end of World War II, Seale was involved in the murders of Henry Hezekiah Dee and Charles Moore and also took part in numerous wrecking crew projects. A suspect in the 1964 bombing of Natchez mayor John Nosser’s home, Seale was arrested but not convicted in the 1966 bombing of Oberlin Jewelers in Natchez. After his garbage disposal business failed and his utilities were disconnected due to nonpayment, he became an FBI informant in 1967. Born in Brookhaven, Mississippi. Buried in Natchez.

  TAYLOR, James Horace (1929–1995). A Harrisonburg, Louisiana, logger and construction worker nicknamed “Sonny,” Taylor became one of the FBI’s most reliable informants in 1967, although he confessed to having planted the bomb that maimed George Metcalfe in 1965. Taylor said a Ferriday Klansman helped him plant the bomb but refused to identify the man. Taylor also told the FBI he helped Red Glover move a large cache of explosives from a Louisiana farmhouse not long after the 1967 car bombing of Wharlest Jackson. Taylor said he didn’t know where Glover relocated the explosives. Taylor died in a nursing home in Wisner, Louisiana. Born and buried in Catahoula Parish, Louisiana.

  TORGERSEN, Thore Lee (1923–2000). A U.S. Army veteran of World War II, Torgersen was employed by International Paper Company in Natchez. In 1967, during the WHARBOM probe, Torgersen informed the FBI of the June 1965 fish fry in Concordia Parish, Louisiana, where top Louisiana and Mississippi SDG members gathered for the first and only time. Klansmen experimented with explosives at the gathering, two months before George Metcalfe was seriously injured in a car bombing. Torgersen was a suspect in the 1964 Frank Morris murder. He ended all Klan ties during the WHARBOM probe. Born in Millville, Florida. Died and buried in Natchez.

  NOTES

  1. WHY FRANK?

  1. Stanley Nelson, “Sewell, Walsworth Saw Morris Running,” Concordia Sentinel, April 9, 2008, A1.

  2. Kenneth Walsworth, interview by FBI Special Agents Donald R. Belmont and Donald McGorty, February 1, 1965, FBI Civil Unrest, Frank Morris file 157-HQ-2311, National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), Baltimore, MD.

  3. John Pfeifer, interview by Stanley Nelson, April 2, 2011.

  4. Stanley Nelson, “King Hotel in Ferriday was Klan Headquarters in Mid-1960s,” Concordia Sentinel, March 2, 2011, A7.

  5. Nicholas deB. Katzenback Testimony, Hearings Before the Senate Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations With Respect to Intelligence Activities of the United States Senate, 94th Cong., vol. 6, 1st Sess. (Washington, DC, 1975), 214.

  6. Stanley Nelson, “Klan Recruitment Efforts Heavy,” Concordia Sentinel, July 11, 2007, A1.

  7. Stanley Nelson, “Bloody ’64: Klan Suspected in Murders, Assaults, Bombings,” Concordia Sentinel, July 2, 2008, A12.

  8. Walsworth, interview by FBI.

  9. Johnny Griffing, interview by FBI Special Agents Donald J. McGorty and Paul R. Lancaster, December 10, 1964, FBI Civil Unrest, Frank Morris file 157-HQ-2311, NARA.

  10. Stanley Nelson, “Photos Captures Will Haney inside Club a Half-Century Ago,” Concordia Sentinel, December 8, 2010, A11.

  11. In 1950, Lewis’s father Elmo, in his car with a loaded pistol, chased Jerry Lee’s uncle Lee Calhoun through the streets over a property dispute. Elmo was charged with attempted murder. Ferriday’s weekly newspaper, the Concordia Sentinel, predicted a “large court audience” before the matter was ultimately settled behind closed doors. “Ferriday Murder Trial Set Monday,” Concordia Sentinel, April 28, 1950, A1.

  12. James J. Simolke, interview by FBI Special Agents Thomas M. McGuinness Jr. and William Quackenbush, January 24, 1965, FBI Civil Unrest, Frank Morris file 157-HQ-2311, NARA.

  13. Thomas Sidney Loftin, interview by FBI Special Agents Donald R. Belmont and Donald McGorty, January 25, 1965, FBI Civil Unrest, Frank Morris file 157-HQ-2311, NARA.

  14. Nelson, “Sewell, Walsworth,” A1.

  15. Stanley Nelson, “Morris Seen as ‘Human Torch’ on Night of Shoe Shop Arson,” Concordia Sentinel, April 13, 2011, A8.

  16. Nelson, “Sewell, Walsworth,” A1.

  17. Ibid.

  18. Nelson, “Human Torch,” A8.

  19. Dr. Charles Colvin, interview by FBI (agent name redacted), February 2, 1965, FBI Civil Unrest, Frank Morris file 157-HQ-2311, NARA.

  20. Stanley Nelson, “Agent Sought ‘Dying Declaration’ from Morris,” Concordia Sentinel, May 13, 2009, A2.

  21. Ibid.

  22. Stanley Nelson, “After 43 Years, Priest Still Wonders, ‘Why Frank?’” Concordia Sentinel, May 16, 2007, A1.

  23. Ibid.

  24. Stanley Nelson, “James White Shot Klansman during Shootout in 1964,” Concordia Sentinel, A10.

  25. Stanley Nelson, “A Father’s Grief: Who Killed Sullivan Morris’ Son in 1964?” Concordia Sentinel, A9.

  26. Rev. Robert Lee Jr., interview by Stanley Nelson, January 3, 2008.

  27. Stanley Nelson, “Morris Knew His Attackers,” Concordia Sentinel, June 6, 2007, A1.

  28. Stanley Nelson, “The Morris Family Christmas Nightmare—1964,” Concordia Sentinel, A1.

  29. Nelson, “After 43 Years, Priest Still Wonders,” A1.

  30. Father August Thompson, interview by Stanley Nelson, April 29, 2012.

  31. Ibid.

  32. Rae Beatty, interview by Stanley Nelson, October 17, 2008.

  33. Nelson, “Agent Sought ‘Dying Declaration,’” A2.

  34. Stanley Nelson, “Seale Blamed 1967 Election Loss on Jackson Bombing,” Concordia Sentinel, October 28, 2009, A8.

  35. Stanley Nelson, “Agent Sought ‘Dying Declaration,’” Concordia Sentinel, May 13, 2009, A2.

  36. John Doar and Dorothy Landsberg, “The Performance of the FBI in Investigating Violations of Federal Laws Protecting the Right to Vote—1960–1967,” Hearings Before The Select Committee To Study Governmental Operations With Respect To Intelligence Activities of the United States Senate, 94th Cong., 1st Sess., vol. 6, Attachment 4, (Washington, DC, 1975), 949–950.

  37. Statement of Cynthia Deitle, Chief of FBI Civil Rights Cold Case Unit, Concordia Sentinel, January 6, 2011, A1.

  38. Nelson, “After 43 Years, Priest Still Wonders,” A1.

  2. THE KINGPIN, BIG FRANK DELAW, AND THE KLAN

  1. United States of America v. J. D. Richardson (Monroe, LA, January 20–21, 1971), 204.

  2. United States of America v. Noah Cross (Alexandria, LA, May 2, 1972), 254.

  3. Ibid., 247.

  4. Meg Casper, Press Secretary to Louisiana Secretary of State, interview by Stanley Nelson, May 6, 2013.

  5. Hartwell Love campaign ad, Concordia Sentinel, February 6, 1948, 5.

  6. “Teen Age Negro Youths Paroled after Three Years,” Natchez Democrat, January 7, 1949, A1. “Cross, DeLaughter Indicted on ‘Rackets’ Counts,” Concordia Sentinel, October 20, 1971, 1A.

  7. “Sheriff Orders Slots, Gambling Devices Out by Wed. Evening,” “Slot Machines, Other Gambling Called to Grand Jury’s Attention,” Concordia Sentinel, April 13, 1951, 1.

  8. Robert Dabney Calhoun, A History of Concordia Parish, rpr. from Louisiana Historical Quarterly, January 1932, 12, 174.

  9. Elaine Dundy, Ferriday, Louisiana (New York: Donald I. Fine, Inc., 1991), 58.

  10. Noah Cross campaign ad, Concordia Sentinel, February 15, 1952, 3.

  11. Michael Kurtz, “Political Corruption and Organized Crime in Louisiana: The FBI Files on Earl Long,” Louisiana Historical Association Quarterly 29, no. 3 (Summer 1988): 243-49; Matt Barnidge, “Connected by Vice: The Longs, Marcello and Concordia,” Concordia Sentinel, July 8, 2009, A1.

  12. SAC New Orleans Memo to FBI Director, “General Organized Crime Conditions in the State of Louisiana, Vice Conditions and Political Corruption,” May 29, 1939, Political Cor
ruption and Organized Crime, Earl Kemp Long file 65-54154, National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), College Park, MD.

  13. “The Mob,” Life Magazine, September 1, 1967, 34–36.

  14. John Pfeifer, interview by Stanley Nelson, April 2, 2011.

  15. Ibid.

  16. Lee Drane, interview by Stanley Nelson, January 6, 2010

  17. “Industry Helps Concordia,” Concordia Sentinel, August 16, 1967, A1.

  18. “Jerry Lee Lewis Day,” Concordia Sentinel, April 25, 1958, 1.

  19. “Governor Faubus Thanks Concordia Donors in Drive,” Concordia Sentinel, January 30, 1959, 1.

  20. “Register Only Qualified Voters Urges Sen. Rainach,” Concordia Sentinel, February 13, 1959, 1.

  21. “Kingpin,” Concordia Sentinel, December 11, 1959, 1.

  22. David Neal, Concordia Sentinel, March 31, 1961, A1.

  23. “Services Held for Former Mayor,” Concordia Sentinel, April 27, 2001, A1.

  24. Town of Ferriday, Minute Book, November 1954, Town Hall, Ferriday, Louisiana.

  25. Ibid., June 12, 1956.

  26. Frank DeLaughter Pardon Application, October 31, 1977, U.S. Probation Office, Western District of Louisiana, Shreveport.

  27. Natchez City Directory, 1950–51.

  28. Woodie Davis, interview by Stanley Nelson, March 2008.

  29. “Negro Killed Here in Sunday Shooting,” Concordia Sentinel, March 6, 1959, 1.

  30. Stanley Nelson, “Witness Recalls DeLaughter Killing Unarmed Man in 1959,” Concordia Sentinel, August 17, 2011, A8.

  31. “Person Announces Candidacy for State Senator,” Concordia Sentinel, August 28, 1959, 1.

  32. Town of Ferriday Minute Book, April 12, 1960. Town Hall, Ferriday, Louisiana.

  33. FBI Special Agent George A. Gunter, Report, August 7, 1962, FBI Civil Rights Division, Roy George Barlow file 44-1585, NARA.

  34. Ibid.

  35. Ibid.

  36. Stanley Nelson, “Parish Justice, 1962: Accused at Angola 11 Days After Arrest,” Concordia Sentinel, August 22, 2012, A12.

  37. Ibid.

  38. Ferriday Minute Book, August 13, 1963. John Pfeifer, interview by Stanley Nelson, April 2, 2011.

  39. Rev. Robert Lee Jr., interview by Stanley Nelson, November 2008. John Pfeifer, interview by Stanley Nelson, April 2, 2011.

  40. John Pfeifer, interview by Stanley Nelson, April 2, 2011.

  41. “When Civil Rights and Social Action Became Personal,” Rev. Granville Snyder Personal Recollections (unpublished), 2012. Copy in author’s possession.

  42. Teletype NO SAC to Director, January 29, 1965, FBI Civil Rights Division, Frank Morris file 157-2311, NARA.

  43. Edward L. McDaniel, interview by Orley B. Caudill, University of Southern Mississippi Center for Oral History and Cultural Heritage, Hattiesburg, 1977.

  44. “E. L. McDaniel Natchez Background,” by FBI Special Agent Billy Bob Williams, November 5, 1964, FBI Civil Rights Division, E. L. McDaniel file 157-2156, NARA.

  45. “E. L. McDaniel Los Angeles Background,” by FBI Special Agent John C. O’Neill, December 16, 1964, FBI Civil Rights Division, E. L. McDaniel file 157-2156, NARA.

  46. Edward L. McDaniel, interview by Caudill, 1977.

  47. “Concordia Chapter K.K.K.,” Concordia Sentinel, October 5, 1962, 1.

  48. Edward L. McDaniel, interview by Caudill, 1977.

  49. “The Present-Day Ku Klux Klan Movement,” Committee on Un-American Activities, House of Representatives, 90th Cong., 2nd Sess., December 22, 1967 (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1967), 2–3; William Joseph Simmons Statement, Testimony, “Hearings before The Committee on Rules, House of Representatives, on the Ku Klux Klan,” 67th Cong., 1st Sess., October 13, 1921 (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1921), 67–184.

  50. Simmons Statement, Testimony, 67–184.

  51. Ibid.

  52. Royal Young Testimony, House UnAmerican Activities Committee, 89th Cong., Executive Sess., July 29, 1965 (Washington, DC: Alterson Reporting Co.), 211, 224, 299–300.

  53. Ibid., 253, 271–73.

  54. Royal V. Young Memo from Donald T. Appell Memo to the House UnAmerican Activities Committee on Royal V. Young Committee on Un-American Activities, House of Representatives, “Activities of the Ku Klux Klan Organizations in the United States,” 89th Cong., 2nd Sess., July 20, 1965 (Washington, DC: Alterson Reporting Co., 1965).

  55. Royal Young Testimony, House UnAmerican Activities Committee, 89th Cong., Executive Session, July 29, 1965, NARA, Washington, DC, 244–54.

  56. “Dixie Town Is Tense after Employer Kills Four,” Baltimore Afro-American, July 19, 1960, 6.

  57. Mrs. Royal V. Young Comments to FBI Informant, January 29, 1964, FBI Civil Rights Division, Tommie Lee Jones file 157-3552, NARA, 1–8.

  58. David Neal, “POWWOW,” Concordia Sentinel, June 21, 1963, 1.

  59. Royal Young Testimony, 257–62, 295.

  60. Racial Informant Report to FBI, “OKKKK Split under Royal Young,” April 15, 1964, FBI Civil Rights Division, E. L. McDaniel file 157-2151, vol. 1, NARA, 219, 222, 223.

  61. Mrs. Royal V. Young Comments.

  62. FBI Special Agents Clarence G. Prospere and Frank Ford, Ernest Gilbert Report, September 3, 1964, FBI Civil Rights Division, Ernest Parker file 157–3437, NARA, 6.

  63. Banishment of Murray Martin, Grady Wilder, Douglas Byrd, E. L. McDaniel, and Ernest Gilbert, December 29, 1963, FBI Civil Rights Division, E. L. McDaniel file 157-2156, vol. 1, 243–44, NARA.

  64. Vidalia Shamrock Meeting between Royal Young and Mississippi Klansmen by FBI Special Agent Earl Cox, January 11, 1964, FBI Civil Rights Division, E. L. McDaniel file 157-2156, vol. 1, 236–45, NARA.

  3. ABDUCTIONS, WHIPPINGS, AND MURDER

  1. James White, interview by FBI Special Agents John Willard Thomas and Robert E. Basham, August 23, 1967, FBI Civil Unrest, James White file 157-NO-9951, National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), College Park, MD.

  2. Ibid.

  3. Ibid.

  4. Ibid.

  5. Ibid.

  6. Stanley Nelson, “Morris’ Best Friend—James White—Shot Klansman During Shootout in 1964,” Concordia Sentinel, March 25, 2010.

  7. James White, interview by FBI, 1967.

  8. James Allen Hinson, interview by FBI Special Agents Jack G. Wilson and David T. Daly, May 8, 1967, FBI Civil Unrest, Wharlest Jackson file 44-JN-2044, NARA.

  9. Informant Report to FBI Special Agents Joseph G. Peggs and James A. Wooten, September 5, 1967, FBI Civil Unrest, James White file 157-NO-9951, NARA.

  10. Ibid.

  11. FBI Special Agent Donald J. McGorty Report, “Racial Matters,” October 27, 1965, FBI Civil Unrest, Red Glover file 157-JN-2444, NARA.

  12. Stanley Nelson, “SDG Leader ‘Red’ Glover was Lead Suspect in Wharlest Jackson Murder,” Concordia Sentinel, September 3, 2009, A1.

  13. FBI Correlation of Informant Reports, April 1, 1969, FBI Civil Unrest, Red Glover file 157-JN-2444, NARA.

  14. J. T. Robinson, interview by FBI Special Agent Clarence Prospere, April 21, 1967, FBI Civil Unrest, Red Glover file 157-JN-2444, NARA.

  15. Norris B. Fulgham, interview by FBI Special Agents George F. Benz and Charles A. Church, June 9, 1967, FBI Civil Unrest, Wharlest Jackson file 44-JN-2044, NARA.

  16. J. T. Robinson, interview by FBI, 1967.

  17. James White, interview by FBI, 1967.

  18. Richard James, interview by FBI Special Agents William Wood and Brent W. Warberg, September 22, 1967, FBI Civil Unrest, James-Watkins file 44-NO-3364, NARA.

  19. Ibid.

  20. Mr. and Mrs. Nelson Flaherty, interviews by FBI Special Agent Ernest A. Serena, September 1967, FBI Civil Unrest, James-Watkins file 44-NO-3364, NARA.

  21. Ibid.

  22. Robert Watkins Report, FBI Chicago Division, September 18, 1967, FBI Civil Unrest, James-Watkins file 44-NO-3364, NARA.

  23. FBI Teletype on Informant No. 1508, September 26, 1967, FBI Civil Unrest, Ja
mes-Watkins file 44-NO-3364, NARA.

  24. Sheriff Noah Cross, interview by FBI Special Agents Brent W. Warberg and William Wood, October 16, 1967, FBI Civil Unrest, James-Watkins file 44-NO-3364, NARA.

  25. “Petition Seeks New Primary,” Concordia Sentinel, December 20, 1963, 1.

  26. James Hartwell Love v. Noah W. Cross Et Al. (Louisiana Third Circuit Court of Appeal, Lake Charles, LA, December 26, 1963).

  27. “General Election, Adams County Results,” Natchez Democrat, November 6, 1963.

  28. FBI Special Agent Clarence G. Prospere, “Background History of the White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan of Mississippi,” October 22, 1965, FBI Civil Unrest, White Knights file 157-HQ-1552, NARA.