The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1880-03-26
FIGHTING ODD FELLOWS,

The Trouble Between the Belfast Lodges
eliminates in Open War in Which Re-
volyers and Cayenne Pepper are Freely
Used.
The controversy which has been going on
for year or more between the Belfast and
Waldo lodges of Odd Fellows of Belfast over
the possession of Odd Fellows Hall in that
city, eliminated last Friday night in a fight,
in which weapons of various kinds, including
revolvers and cayenne pepper, were freely
used. On the evening of that day, between
the hours of six and seven, civil writs of tres
pass were served on thirteen of the members
of Waldo Lodge, which had possession of the
hail. The writs were issued on account of al
legged trespass committed year ago; the
amount sued on each is $500. Thus the lead
ers of Waldo Lodge were temporarily gotten
out of the way, and the keeper of the hall
was arrested on Justices writ of trespass.
During the brief time that the Waldo men,
berS were in the officers charge, nine members
of Belfast Lodge, armed with implements of
destruction, went up the first stairway in City
Block and cut through the wooden door and
made hole in the iron door large enough to.
allow man to pass through. The man who
thus gained an entrance removed the braces,
props, etc., that had secured the door, and the
men passed through the passage-ways and up
the next stairs until they reached a wooden
and an iron door leading to the ante-room;
they broke the locks and entered the ante
room, and from there passed through iCto the
hall. They next removed the barriers that
| had been placed at the upper door and erected
| barrcade.
| Sheriff Baker now appeared on the scene
| with writs of malicious trespass. and called
out the names of ten persons to arrest them.
| With the exception of two or three the men
| appeared one by one at the door and he took
| the personal recognizance of each to appear at
| the police court Saturday at 10 o'clock a. m.
| All but two of the Belfast Lodge men got back
| into the hall, one of those left out was the
| General leading the forces; he was prevented
from entering, by the sudden appearance ia
the passage of large number of members of
Waldo Lodge. The door had to be closed up
| quick, and the siege began. The sheriff de-
| manded to go into the hail. and this was re-
fused. At about 10 o'clock the "outs" under
took to effect forcible entrance. They beat
against the doors with axes, crowbars, etc.,
etc.. and as fast as a hole was made the be-
sieged garrison treated the attacking party to
clouds of cayenne pepper, shot from an insect
bellows, and to concentrated ammonia elected
from syringe. By means of this novel am
| munition the outsiders were kept from enter
ing. And the sneezng in the passage was ap-
palling. At last the Waldo men procured a
jack-screw and braced it against the door, and
finally succeeded in making an opening a foot
and a half WIDE The lights were turned down
in the ante-room and the inside party could be
seen sbut imperfectly. The besieged party
broke up stove and some oyster bowls and
used the pieces as missiles. A piece of iron
came flying through the air and struck the
sheriff on the nose, cutting that organ some
what. Sheriff Baker then fred four shots
from revolver into the room, but luckily hit
no one. The balls landed across the ante room
from two feet to breast high from the floor.
At midnight the Mayor and City Marshal
reached the scene of hostilities, and through