Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1922-08-13

the vengeance of God against the reigr
of ~villainy and murder SO long endured
in the northern mines.
In a rude cabin of Alder Gulch. a.
this early time. a good man and true
our brother. William H. Bell. lay dy.
ing of mountain fever. When he fell
that death was nigh. he expressed tc
his brother Masons, who attended him
a desire TO be buried with some, al
least. of the funeral rites of our fra.
t~ernity. There were no lodge of Ma.
sons: there was no monitor or book
of Masonry in the camp, nor was il
known how many of the order could
be mustered. for they never as yet hao
met together. A request for all Ma.
sons in the gulch to meet at Miller's
cabin. on Yankee flat. was responded
TO by a hundred or more. All were de-
lighted that the number of Masons was
so great, and it was then and there re-
solved to form a lodge. in which good
men and true might assemble and meet
on the square without the odious pres
ence of the ruffian element. .
Plan Executions in Lodge Rooms
Verify. the vision of the Prophet
Ezekiel of old. whose name signifies
the strength of God, became that day
a new prophecy in a new land; for,
from the dark canyons of those noun
tains where the dry bones of scores
of murdered victims were lying, and,
~symbolically. from the new-made grave
of our Brother Bell. there arose, and
stood up upon their feet an exceeding
great army. the avengers of outraged
justice. even the Vigilantes of Mon
tana.
OF the organizations of the Ma.
sonic lodges in those mining camps l
have no time to speak, suffice to say,
that within the walls of those lodges.
where no ruffian or murderer could
penetrate. the great law and order
party of Montana vas first formed and
plans were then and there made for
the arrest and punishment of arch
criminals in every camp.
THE leader of the forces of evil,
Henry Flummer. seeming danger in the
organization of the Masonic lodges, de-
nounced them as dark-lantern asso-
Citations that ought to be suppressed.
Afterwards he tried a number of times
to be admitted to them, and tried to
become a Mason, but his application
was steadily refused. 1t is a very re-
markable fact that the roughs were
restrained by their fear of the Ma
sonic fraternity from attacking its in
dividual members. Not a single Ma
son was murdered after the lodges
were formed.
THE already great length of this ad-
dress admonishes me that l can give
no suitable account in detail of the
daring work of those early Masons in
forming the Vigilance committee of
which finally rescued the
young territory from ruffian rule. But
| cannot forbear to here record. in the
archives of IL lodges. the names at
least. of some of the leaders, most of
whom were Master Masons in good
standing: Brothers Wilbur f. Sanders
afterwards United States senator
from Montana) and Nathaniel Pitt
l.%angford, afterwards. in 1868, appoint
ed governor of the territory, and later
first superintendent Of the Yellow
national park: Judge Sidney Edg-
erton, Charles S. Bagg. Paris F..
Alexander Davis. John Fether-
stun, the heroic express messenger,
John Y. Beidler, the dauntless u. s..
marshal of after years who never knew
the meaning Of the word fear in his