The San Francisco call., 1904-09-18

Of this band of women, whose aim in
life is TO relieve the trials and lessen
the responsibilities of life.
one cannot estimate deeds Of charity
and human sympathy in so many dol
lars and cents. for deeds CT kindness
and benevolence are far more precious
than gold or silver, but when 1 tell you
that in the year 1897 the Rebekahs Of
the Grand Jurisdiction Of America paid
out over s51. 900 for the relief of their
sick and aged you viii see that they
have not been idle. In fact, so faith
fully have the Rebekahs carried out all
work that has come to their hands
that they have been granted higher
privileges year after year until their
crowning glory came from the odd Eel
lows themselves when they admitted
that the "Rebekahs are a necessity
The pioneer lodge on this coast was
instituted June 80, 1870. and was called
California Rebekah Lodge No. l. While
there were a host or difficulties and they
worked under all sorts and conditions
Of disadvantages 1 do not think they
had as strenuous a time as did the Odd
Fellows. 1 want you to thoroughly un-
derstand and appreciate the spirit of
determination and grit that permeates
the fellowship, and so 1 am going to
deviate a little and give you some lit
tie idea Of what the early Odd Fellows
had TO contend with. According to
Myron c. Close, one of the early broth
ers in California, the first lodgeroom
was situated over a saloon that was
frequented by the cowboys when they
were in town. "One of our enterpris-
ing brothers painted on the gable end
of the hall, fronting on the main street,
/. o. o. F. Hail. and underneath the
three links. but our artist brother soon
for ere many weeks the gable end look
ed like a perforated chair bottom
About this time we came to the con.
clusion if we wanted much of an at
tendance lodge night we must encase
the upper story in boiler iron or vacate,
for one thickness of cottonwood boards
between US and those frolicsome cowboys
was insufficient. On the opposite side
Of the river was a roomy dugout that
had been used the season before as a
dance hall, and after some little dis
cussion we secured that and congrat-
ulated ourselves in not being obliged
TO dodge stray bullets any more.
This dugout. by the way. was made
in an old river bottom, for above the
first bottom was a second one some
fifteen feet higher on the level with
the prairie beyond. Into this bank an
excavation had been made twenty feet
wide and forty deep, leaving three sides
soil and an opening in front which was
boarded up with odds and ends of lum-
ber stray boxes and an endboard of an
old Government wagon. An opening Of
three feet square covered with thin
muslin vanished formed window, and
as a support for the ridge poles three
cottonwood posts were set in the ground
at each end and center. then cotton
wood poles laid closely together, and
over this the earth. with the prairie
grass growing wildly, so that coming
of the prairie one would never know
that there was an abode there.
$50 much for description Of dugout
and the Odd Fellows Hall combined.
Our second melting was an initiation
and our conductor had just said Ee-
hold when a scene not generally used
was presented to every brothers view
"a falling OF dirt from overhead, a
cracking of poles, roar and below
in one, and huge buffalo landed on
his head where both the candidate and
the conductor had been standing the