The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1869-05-10

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sary of Tammany's day, on the 18th
inst, by parade, as will be seen by an
advertisement elsewhere. In this con-
nection it may prove interesting to our
readers to give a condensed account oil
the origin of the order which is increas-
ing very rapidly throughout the coun'
try:
There exists in the recollection OF
some of the older members of the press
ent day an early tradition, once popu-
lar, which points to Fort Mlthln, on
the Delaware river, as the birthplace OF
the society, and that sometime during
the period intervening between the year
1872 and 1914, as the time OF the kind
ling of its first council-hre. The spirit
of hatred, strife, and disgust which en-
Uttered the feelings of the conflicting
factions, was not long confined to the
civil community outside; but passing,
as it were unseen, by the sentinels, 1t
made its appearance and disseminated
its demoralizing influence among the
soldiers of the garrison. Some OF
the more influential and patriotic of
the volunteers within the fort, view
ing with apprehension and fear the
threatening consequence of the power
| at work among them to their country
and its free institutions, and rising
above the Vaccinations of party to the
true level of patriotism, proposed and
effected among the soldiers the organ1-
cation of secret society, fortified by
signs, grips and passwords, the object OF
| which was to dispel discord and dis
seminate friendship. Their efforts, as
we are told, were attended with the
happiest results, for in very short
time after their organization was COM
pleted marked change was visible in
the tone and temper of the garrison.
| Where before had been distrust, hatred,
and the manifestations of angry passion,
was now kindness, good fellowship,
and brotherly regard-amity of senti-
ment and unity of purpose prevailing
in every heart, as the soldiers at Fort
Mifiin emerged from the Council of
Red Men where they had pledged
themselves to patriotism and frater-
nifty.
At the close of the war their council
| fire was necessarily quenched, the gar
rison disbanded, and the volunteers re-
turned TO their homes. But recollec.
| tons of the past, the charms Of an as
ISOLATION so patriotic in its origin and
purpose, and which had been so pro-
ductive of good in the past, when the
dark mantle of adversely hung like a
pail upon the country, with the natural
desire to perpetua.e and extend it, were
the incentives to revive the society.
or more of the newspapers of Phtladel-
phia for a Council of the Red Men,
| which resulted in the organization of
what was subsequently known as the
Tribe of Columbia of the Society of
Red Men of Philadelphia.
Such in brief is substantially the ira
ditional history of the origin of the L.
o. r. M, as preserved (among others)
in the recollection of the venerable Mr..
Z. G. I. Marley. Richard Marley was
admitted and adopted by the society on
the evening of the 9th of September,
1924, and received the name of Moose
Deer'S Brother, and, therefore, was &C
quainted with many of tho principal
members, agd familiar with the origin
and history they would ascribe to it..
Besides, there is internal evidence found
| in the military character of the organ1-
| cation, which proves 1t to have been the
work of military men. But whilst the
| society is fortunate in the possession OF
the tradition, preserved in part at least
by Mr.. Marley, and verified to some ex-
tent by authentic documentary evi~
dence, to limit its origin to as late date
as the war OF 1Sl1-15 is not strictly cor
rect. Indeed, there is in the records of
| the society presumptive, as we'll as cons
temporaneous external evidence, that
it originated at much earlier day; and
it is rs prOba bic that 1t took its rise dur
ing the Revolutionary War as during
that of 1Sl2.15, and the origin attributed
to the society at Fort Mitflin may have
been but the reorganization Of pre-. eriSt-
i7,q frateT7laL clements by the volunteers
for kindred purposes.
Drake, in his "History and Biogra-
ply of the North American Indians,"
speaking OF Tammany, says: 1.-THE
fame of this great man extended even
among the whites, who fabricated nu-
merOus legends concernieg him.
In the Revolutionary war his enthusi-
astic admirers dubbed him II saint,
and he was established under the name
of Saint Tammany, tie patron saint of
America, His name was inserted in
some of the calendars, and his festival
celebrated on the first OF May in every
year. On that day numerous society
of his votaries walked together in pro-
cession through the streets OF Phila-
del hia, their hats decorated with buck
tails, and proceeded to Il handsome
rural place out of town, which they
called the Zig 1VGm; where, after Il
tong talk or Indian speech had been
delivered, and the calumet of peace
and friendship had been duly smoked,
they spent the day in testivity and
mirth. After dinner Indian dances
were performed on the green in front
of the Wigwam, the calumet was again
smoked, and the company separated.
There were two days in the calendar
of our early Red Men which were held
sacred-the ODD of February and the
I2th of Nay. Ofthe first, it is unneces-
sary Tor the purpose of this report to
say anything further: Ofthe latter, we
NAV remark that it is invariably OBJ.
served as feast. TT is worthy OF note
in this place that the bylaws of 1917
fixes the birthday of Captain Williams,
who fell in defence of Fort Erie on the
l4Ih of August, 1914, as the day for
holding the ANNIVERSARY meetings of
the society."l The particular day, how
ever, is left blank, in those laws, and
subseqent documentary evidence shows
their feasts TO have been observed on
the 18th of 0IGy-Saint Tammany's
day. On the morning of the 18th of
May the Red Mems Society assembled
at designated place, usually at the
house OF member, and decorated
with the badges and insignia of
their rank, with banners flying,
and to the sound of stirring music,
took up their line OF march through
the streets of the city, and pro-
ceeded to some previously secured ru>
where the day was spent in the manner
described in the quotation just cited.
The fact OF their having invariably cell
ebrated the feast OF Saint Tammany in
the OstentatiouS and public manner
just described, will account for their
having been known to the community
outside as the Saint Tammany Society.
Public notice of their assembling on
that occasion was given in the newspa-
pers of the day, and by quaint red
handbilIs, worded in the peculiar phra~
seology of the society, which were
posted on the street corners, in public
houses, and other public places
"Drake's History and Biography"
fixes upon the FIRST of Nay as the feast
of Saint Tammany; bus the original