A lawless element that roamed our county during the early 1900's was the Night Riders. Operating at their peak in 1906 and 1907, the Night Riders burned tobacco barns and factories, beat the owner if he could be found, and often rode off into the night singing "The Fire Shines Bright in My Old Kentucky Home," to the tune of "My Old Kentucky Home."
The riders were not part of the Klu Klux Klan, but operated in a similar fashion. Their biggest enemy was the American Tobacco Company.
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The Night Riders also took other matters into their own hands and did some punishment of their own to some folks they thought weren't living right.
One night the Night Riders, consisting of fifty-two local men, went to J. Sliger's looking for his two sons. The boys, it seems, had been stealing chickens and jelly.
When the Night Riders arrived the mother of the boys stuck the stolen jelly into a churn of buttermilk.
Only one boy was there and he crawled up the chimney to hide. While the night Riders thoroughly searched the house, the boy stood on the cross-piece of the chimney, happily escaping the punishment.
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A family man was known to be very lazy and his wife had to make all the living. The Night Riders decided to change this so they when to his house and found him, and whipped him so hard that he began working and almost worked himself to death.
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There was a young girl, who had too many men on the string and was simply living the wrong kind of life, and was in dire need of chastisement. Finding her one night, the Night Riders gave her a good sound whipping.
From then on she "straightened up and flew right."
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Always fun and interesting to read are these colorful stories from long ago. These are from an unknown writer, written many years ago, but thoughtfully saved for us to read today.
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