The age-herald., 1897-09-15
A Lodge Where Yank and ReE
 Met on the Level.
STRANGE MASONIC MEETING
Grew Out of a Snake Charmer's Trick-He Was Prisoner in aRebe Stockade-A Lodge
 on Folly Island, s. c.
From the New York Sun.

II 1ndTiRT Odk I1CQSe IS m existence
 in New York;" sad man rom up the
 state, fit ought to have the. furniture
 of a lodge that was held during the war
 in the field. It was on Folly Island, S.
 C., and had its charter and special dis
 penEation from the grand lodge of Indi-
 ana. There were in camp on the island the Thirteenth Indiana Infantry and the 119th and 169th New York Infanltry.
 Soon afterward the First New York In
 dependent Engineers moved down, ard
 they built rustic Masonic temple. The
 ial.ar and chairs and furniture were
 made of the wood of the island and
 sone of the furn.iure made of the nat
 ural twist and beri1 of hhe wood was unique. The 1cor was covered with what is knIown as plrle needles, and the
 mosaic carpet was a terI; fly, on which squares were painted. The globes at the
 entrance of the temple were 15-inch mor-
 lar shells, and they rested on two sawed off palm trees. I know thalt all this
 furniture was sent to Charter Oak Lodge in New York" When this was toud, a
 man whose manner and talk located | him from the south, said:
 T was preIsenlt at a mee:ing of a grand lodge that was held in the woods of Texas. The floor was the sand. There was but one globe and that was the sun. And the strangest part eff all was lhat the men who formed that com
 munfcatfon were confederates and fed
 eraFs I place the conse1erates first be-
 causa they were holding the stockade in wLGch several th5usanl federals were prisoners. It was in the Red River country. We had lct of clever Tanks | in tlnal. stockade, and they were nearly | all intelligent Many were of the first enlistment. It was funny how the
 sitockade, sentry and prinoner, built up
 brotherhood unlike anything, I reckon,
 l.hat Happened duifng the war
 ''One of the prisoners was long hair cd Yank who was noted for playing
 tricks. He was sort of a magician and
 used to entertail the officers of the stockade with 11is performances. One afternoon after he had exhibited his art in handling srJakes-we had trapped some for hlnr-the commander of the stocka6)e asked the Tank if he could tame any snake, and the Tank said he could. The commander said he would
 bet him a dinner he couldn't, and the next day was set. for the trial. All the officers and men not on duty were there, and the Tank appeared stripped to the waist. A big black snake was turned | out of it's captivity. The Y'ank had a forlped sick. He fitted the fork over that snake just back of its head quicker than can tell it, and held the snake
 in the sand until he had grabbed it
 where he had fitted the stick, and then
 he twirlei MT. Snake in the ctr and
 lashed him about until khe snake was
 tired out. The stockade gave the Yark
 the rebel yell and the commander shook
 his hand. AS I was the commanders chef had to prepare the dinner. Ut con- sisted of navy beans, fat slices of salt
 bacon, hard tack, two tin cups of whis-
 key, and some long green smoking to-
 baceo for pipes The dinner was served
 in The shade of the stockade.
 "When 1t was oyer the Yank carried
 away with him a pass from the com- | mander. It created a good deal of gos- sip for a while, for it permitted the Yank to pass out of the stockade, without guard, whenever he wanted to. The only promise he was asked to make was to be inside by sunset. And he never failed.
 T must tell you of trick he played
 on some of the guard, and then I will tell you how he got the pass. He was on the outside of the stockade one morn ing when he saw some of the Johnnies cooking breakfast. They had eggs. And eggs were a luxury in those days. The
 Tank stopped by the mess and said he
 was very fond of eggs. One of the Johnnies replied You ought to get some. The Tank said he thought he
 would, and that the ones he saw would suit The Johnnies said they guessed not The Tank looked on sullenly as the luxuries were being prepared, and when they were placed on the tin the Tank called out I like eggs!' and as
 he said 1t he pulled live snake from
 the coffee sack which he wore for a
 shirt and placed it by the eggs. The
 Johnnies scampered away, and the Tank had an egg breakfast
 Mot long after the incident we were informed, those of us who were up in such matters, that a Grand Lodge would
 be held in a specified clump of weeds, be- ginning on a certain day. I was high
 roller in my lodge at home, and as I was close to the commander of the stockade, who was away up in Scottish
 Rite, I had important functions in the | see most conspicuously seated on a bee gum but our Tank snake charmer? He was the most efficient man in his place ever saw. And our commander, who
 was a judge, said that he had never
 met a brighter Mason. I also recog-
 nized in that lodge a number of our
 Yank prisoners. I knew then how the snake charmer got his pass. And I
 knew why he was so often at the com
 mander's quarters, and why they were so intimate. That was the only Grand | Lodge ever held out doors.
 "Gentlsmen, you couldn't have made | that stockade fight one another after that if Lee and Grant had gone there in | person and ordered it. I have heard l and read good many stories about
 when and where the war closed. That | part of the war which had been waged l in and about that section of which | have told you closed when that Grand |