The Pioche weekly record. [volume] (Pioche, Nev.) 1877-1900, 1894-03-08
GIRLS CAN KEEP SECRETS.
Oathbound Greek Letter Societies That
Exist in Colleges for Women.

Oathbound Greek Letter Societies That
Exist in Colleges for Women.
In the coeducational colleges the girls
are not dependent upon the caprice of the
young men for entertainment by any
means. They have quite as good times in
their pettiCOat mines and secret societies as
in any gathering in which the young men
participate. The invitations of the Greek
letter fraternities are strange and mysteri-
GUS to the last degree, and are all that stu
dent ingenuity and originality can devise
One of the chief charms to the uninitiated
is the spell of mystery that enshrines all
the ceremonies. Every chapter has its
room or hail, where are kept the sacred
emblems, the white goat upon which all
initiates must ride into full membership
and the precious documents that are never
touched by strange hands.
In this room only are told the significance
of the badge, the motto and the real name
of the fraternity, and all the secrets that
never penetrate those silent walls OF
course the limitations are duly imposing,
and all sorts of tricks are played to test
the nerves of the candidate. One chapter
conducts the bewildered initiate through
all the maZes and labyrinths of the inferno
as eXpounded by Dante with due impress
iveness. Generally the whole proceedings
wind up with a feast. The girls initiation
do not partake of that roughness or brutal
ity which often chacterizes such ceremo
MES in the mems fraternities, such as
strapping the delighted victim to derrick
and raising him twenty or thirty feet to
dangle in midair while he reflects upon
the novelty of the situation and makes a
mental note Of his impressions, or lowering
him in a coffin that he may contemplate
the divine mysteries of the new order
Sometime even the location of the chapter
hall is not known outside the fratCrnity
In one of the western colleges where CON
siderable antagOniSm sprang up against
fraternitics the authorities determined to
abolish the chapters already in existence
and took every means to discourage their
growth. \ rule was made forbiddng the
establishment of wOmen's chapters. Now
if there is anything in the world that a
coed wishes to do, it is ust what she is
forbidden to do and what is more she will
generally cOntrive to do it too. After a
while the faculty began to suspect that
their prohibition had net had just the effect
it was intended to have. i committee of
several goods among the model students
was appointed by the authorities to act as
detectives and report the result of their in
vestigations.
The girls reported that they had found
no clew whatever to follow out and that
having made u careful investigation had
found no evidences of infringement of the
rule. Of course murder will out, and it
was subsequently learned that three of the
five on the committee belonged to Il frater-
nifty which had enjoyed u Gourishing exist
ence for Il long time. The young women
met in storeroOm in the upper part of a
business block in the town. The only
means of access was through Il dark room,
several dim passages and up ladderlile
flight of stairs. The chapter met here
once u week for over a year and enjoyed
the most delightful seclusion Imaginable
1t was in this same college that several
of the girls played II prank upon one of the
professors, and aftcrward slid down Il rope
from the third story window to avoid de
lection in the halls. The more dangerous
the proceeding and the more seriuus the
consequences if the offender is found ont
the more the western college girl enjoys
the risk. She wants nothing mild, and il
she is in for prank goes into it with al
her might. Chicago Herald.