Order of Minnehaha of the United States and Osseo, Son of the Evening Star
Ritual and Secret Work

   
1897

Opening Ceremonies
 
At the proper time the Worthy President shall take his station in the North, and the officers being in their places, he shall with one rap call the Lodge to order and shall say: All persons not members of the Order will now retire, and the Worthy Marshal will please close the door.
Then addressing Nokomis he shall say: Worthy Vice President, are all here assembled members of the Order, and are they entitled to remain?
Worthy Vice President: Worthy President, I will inquire.
Then addressing the Worthy Guide, she shall say: Worthy Guide, please take up the semi-annual password.
The Worthy Guide shall here take up the semi-annual password, and then he shall address the Worthy President, and say: Worthy Vice President, I find all present members of the order, and in possession of the semi-annual password.
Worthy Vice President: Worthy President, all persons here assembled are members of the Order, and are entitled to remain.
Worthy President, ***: That being so, I now, by virtue of the authority vested in me, declare … Lodge, No. …, Order of Minnehaha, duly opened for the transaction of business, and the Worthy Marshal will so instruct the Worthy Sentry.
*, seats the Lodge.
 
 
Ritual – Degree of Minnehaha
 
At the proper time the Worthy President shal take his station in the North and with * call the Lodge to Order.
Worthy President: Chiefs, we are about to confer the degree of Minnehaha on the following candidates: Here the candidate shall be named who has been duly balloted for and found worthy.
In conferring the degree I trust that you will all observe due and respectful decorum, so that the great moral lesson conveyed may properly impress the neophyte, for by so doing you will elevate yourselves in his (or her) good opinion, and aid in the promotion of the prosperity of our beloved Order. You will now clothe yourselves in proper regalia as becomes your rank, and assume your station. And may the Great Spirit “Umpah” look down on uw with his divine approval of our rite. May the Great Spirit of the West be with us, and guide us unto all things that be good, so that when we follow the sweet influences of the Evening Star we may journey-
In the glory of the sunset,
In the purple mists of the evening
To the regions of the home-wind,
Of the Northwest wind Keewaydin,
To the Islands  of the Blessed,
To the Kingdom of Ponemah,
To the land of Umpah, Umpah,
To the land of the Hereafter.
I now declare a recess of five breaths to prepare for degree work.
Those who are appointed to fill the various stations in the degree work will now retire and clothe themselves in proper regalia and return to their respective stations. When order have been restored Worthy President, * and says:
Hiawatha: Nokomis, Mother of the World, hear the voice of the Great Spirit, and tell me, are all present in possession of the secret word of degree?
Nokomis: Great Hiawatha, I will seek.
I’ll seek the odors of the forest,
I’ll seek the curling smoke of the wigwam,
Amid the rushing of the great rivers,
With their frequent repetitions,
And their wild reverberations
As the thunder in the mountains.
And I’ll answer, yes, I’ll answer,
Quickly tell you, quickly answer,
So I speak.
Here Nokomis turns to Mudjikeewis, and says:
Mudjikeewis, Mudjikeewis,
Spirit of the West Wind, tell me,
Quickly tell me, are all friends
Here assembled in possession of the Word?
Here Mudjikeewis will take the secret word of the degree. He then shall say:
Mudjikeewis: Nokomis, Mother of the World, I do vouch for all here assembled, as being true and loyal chiefs, with their companions, and in possession of the word.
Nokomis: ‘Tis well. Then turning to Hiawatha, she shall say: Hiawatha, all assembled here are loyal, true and brave, and have the word.
Hiawatha, turning to Minnehaha: Min-ne-ha-ha, fairest companion of all, what is your pleasure? Shall we receive this new Pale Face into our midst? Can you bid him welcome to our tepee?
Minnehaha: Noble Hiawatha, your wishes are my pleasure. Bid the stranger enter.
Gitche Manito, the mighty,
The Great Spirit, the Creator,
Sends him hither on his errand-
Sends him to us with his message.
Let us welcome, then, the stranger,
Hail him as our friend and brother,
And the heart’s right hand of friendship
Give him, whe he comes to see us,
Gitche Manito, the mighty,
Said this to me in my vision.
Hiawatha: Sweet companion, Min-ne-ha-ha, bids him enter,
And my true friend, true and trusted Kwasind,
True of heart and strong of muscle,
He shall lead him by his hand.
At this time an alarm is heard at the door, and Kwasind opens it to ascertain the cause, (when the candidate having been hoodwinked) Osseo, Son of the Evening Star (who is the Worthy Sentry, or outside guard), shall say:
Osseo: Chief Kwasind, strong and mighty,
Hiawatha’s trusted friend,
From the mountains near the prairie,
From the Great Red Pipestone Quarry,
Home of Gitche Manito, the mighty
Big Great Master of Life, descending
On the red crags of the quarry
Stood erect and called the nations-
Called the tribes of men together.
He it was who send the Pale Face
With a message to his daughter,
To his daughter with a message,
To the noble Min-ne-ha-ha, Queen of the forest.
Will ye take him, will ye guide him,
Through life’s lonely wilderness.
Kwasind (who is the Worthy Inside Marshal) shall answer the Outside Sentry: Osseo, Son of the Evening Star,
Will ye answer for this Pale Face?
Does he love the haunts of nature,
Love the sunshine of the meadows,
Love the shadows of the forest,
Love the wind among the branches,
And the rain shower and the snow storm,
And the rushing of great rivers,
Through their pallisades of pine trees
And the thunder of the mountains,
Whose innumerable echoes
Flap like eagles in their eyries?
Does he love their wild traditions?
If he loves them, then I’ll lead him
To the noble Min-ne-ha-ha,
Dacotah’s lovely daughter, Queen of the Forest.
Osseo (who is the Outside Sentry) shall reply to Kwasind, the Inside Marshal: Oh, Kwasind, Big Chief as thou art,
I do answer for this Pale Face;
For his heart is fresh and simple;
He has faith in God and Nature;
He believes that in all ages,
Every human heart is human;
That in every savage bosom
There are longings, yearnings, strivings,
For the touch of God’s right hand.
And with you he hopes to ramble
Through the green paths of the forest,
To the home of Min-ne-ha-ha.
Kwasind (who is the Worthy Marshal) shall reply: Osseo, Son of the Evening Star,
You have answered, you have told me,
That this Pale Face may be trusted.
In the bird’s nest of the forest,
In the lodges of the beaver,
In the hoof prints of the bison,
In the moorlands and the fenlands,
In the Vale of Tawasenthe;
In the green and silent valley.
So I’ll lead him, lead him onward,
By the pleasant water courses,
To the home of Min-ne-ha-ha.
Kwasind then takes the candidate by the hand and leads him around the room, during which time the following song is sung:
Minnehaha, laughing water,
Cease thy laughing now for aye.
Savage hands are red with slaughter
Of the innocents to-day-
Of the innocents to-day.
 
Change thy note, gay Minnehaha;
Let some sadder strain prevail.
Listen while a maniac wand’rer,
Sights to these woeful tale-
Sights to these woeful tale.
 
Chorus: But the laughing Minnehaha.
Heeded not the woeful tale,
What cares laughing Minnehaha
For the corpses in the vale-
For the corpses in the vale.
 
Give me back my Lena’s tresses,
Let me kiss them once again-
She, who blessed me with caresses,
Lies unburied in the plain-
Lies unburied in the plain.
 
See you smoke? There was my dwelling,
That is all I have of home.
Hark! I hear their fiendish yelling,
As I houseless, childless roam-
As I houseless, childless roam.
 
Chorus: But the laughing Minnehaha. Etc.
 
Have they killed my Hans and Otto?
Did they find them in the corn?
Go and tell that savage monster,
Not to slay my youngest born-
Not to slay my youngest born.
 
Soldier, bury here my Lena,
Place me also ‘neath the sod.
Long we lived and wrought together;
Let me die with her, O God-
Let me die with her, O Go!-
 
Chorus: But the laughing Minnehaha. Etc.
 
Faithful Fido, you they’ve left me;
Can you tell me, Fido, why
God has thus once bereft me?
All I ask is here to die-
All I ask is here to die.
 
O my daughter, Jennie darling!
Worse than death is Jenny’s fate.
Nelson, as our troops were leaving,
Turn’d and closed the garden gate-
Turn’d and closed the garden gate.
 
Chorus: But the laughing Minnehaha. Etc.
 
When the song is ended the candidate shall be taken to the station of the Worthy Vice President, and Kwasind shall say:
Kwasind: Nokomis, Mother of the World,
To thee I bring a stranger Pale Face,
And from far and Eastern countries,
Comes this Pale Face stranger here.
In a vision, wrapt in slumber,
This is what he saw:
He saw the broad, white road to Heaven,
Pathway of the ghosts and shadows,
Running straight across the heavens,
Crowded with the ghosts and shadows,
Heard the whispering of the pine trees,
Heard the lapping of the water;
Sounds of music, words of wonder;
Min-ne-wa-wa, “Laughing Water.”
 
Nokomis (who is the Worthy Vice President) shall say: Ah, my son, happy are my eyes to see you;
Sit here on the robe beside me;
Sit here by the council fire;
Tell me of your strange adventures,
Of the lands where you have traveled.
Then I’ll send you to the Great Chief;
To the Great Chief Hiawatha.
And beware the Evil Spirit
The Wabeno, the Magician.
Mudjekeewis (who is the Worthy Inside Guard) here comes, and standing by the side of the candidate shall say: Nokomis, Mother of the World,
Yonder dwells the Great Pearl Feather,
Megissogwon, the Magician,
Manito of wealth and wampum,
Guarded by his fiery serpents.
Nokomis: Better wait, then, until the sunset;
Till the pallid moon, the night sun,
Rise above the tranquil water.
Till Kayoska, the sated sea gulls,
From their banquet rise with clamor;
And across the fiery sunset
Wing their way to far off islands,
To their nests among the rushes.
Kwasind, standing on the other side of the candidate, shall then say: Nokomis, Mother of the World,
I will help thee, I’ll go with thee,
Safely to conduct the Pale Face
Forth upon the Gitche Gumee,
On the shining Big Sea Water,
And with magic rod of cedar,
Of the twisted rod of cedar.
We will guide the Pale Face yonder,
To the tepee of Chibiathos.
Here the candidate is led around the room, having the Guide on one side and the Marshal on the other, and is taken into a tepee. The room is darkened, and when all is dark, the hoodwink is raised up on to the forehead, but not entirely removed. Then an alcohol lamp of light is used, and the apparitions appear. First, Spring; second, Summer; third, Autumn; fourth, Winter. The room must be in total darkness, and the apparitions, each holding a lighted candle in their hands, may enter the lodge room, and walk in a circle around the candidate, and then disappear in the anteroom.
First Apparition, Spring: Beautiful Spring, so fresh and green,
Nature’s emblem of delight;
Clothed in a silvery, a golden sheen,
Brilliant as the stars of night
Disappears.
Second Apparition, Summer: The heated rays of a summer sun
Shall dwarf thee in thy journey now begun.
Through toil and suffering and distress,
Beware of the red wine, touch it not,
‘Twill thee oppress.
Disappears.
Third Apparition, Autumn: Beautiful Autumn, rich and rare,
So full of blossoms, sweet and fair;
The harvest’s home, bright golden corn,
Provides for the coming winter storm.
Disappears.
Fourth Apparition, Winter: Winter, cold and dark and drear,
Emblem of decay, emblem of death;
Take heed! The Evil One lies in your path.
The magician – The Fiery Serpent!
He comes! He comes!
All four apparitions appear and cry aloud: Fly, fly, for your life!
The Fiery Serpent! He comes! He comes!
The hoodwink is then drawn down over the candidate’s eyes, the lights turned on, and the Guide and the Marshal, taking the handles, one on each side, run the candidate around the room once, and on the Bridge of Sighs. The Pearl Feather follows with his Fiery Serpent as far as the bridge, and stops. After the candidate runs over it he is taken to a chair and offered a glass of water, and the hoodwink is partially raised. While he is sitting on the chair and in the act of drinking a glass of water, the chair falls to pieces with a loud report, caused by the explosion of a large blank cartridge. When the candidate gets up from his fall, he is allowed to stand. The Lodge room is made totally dark, and the apparitions again appear and walk around him in a circle, holding lighted candles in their hands.
Note: Women are not allowed to go over the bridge, but all men candidates must go over the bridge.
The apparitions shall say:
First Apparition: Spring: Work on, O weary one, though thou hast toiled
For many a day.
In patience labor on, doing thy best
Along life’s way.
Second Apparition, Summer: Hope on, O burdened one, though sad and lone
May be thy way.
For through the night of gloom thy path may lie
Ere dawns the day.
Third Apparition, Autumn: Trust on, O doubting one, though fear and gloom
Are all around thee.
The light of life and truth doth shine for thee,
If thou wilt see.
Fourth Apparition, Winter: Struggle on. O troubled one, though dark the clouds
Hang over thee.
Beyond the clouds the light doth brightly shine,
Could’st thou but see.
The apparitions now disappear by returning to the anteroom. The candidate is now hoodwinked, the Lodge room is lighted up, and the candidate is led around the Lodge room, while the following song shall be sung:
Minnehaha: I’ll sing you a song that is new to you all,
‘Tis the pride of the great and the joy of the small-
A song of the water, a pure limpid stream,
That kisses the prairie and laughs in the glen;
On its bosom is mirrored the bright evening star,
And it shouts back in glee a merry ha-ha.
 
Chorus:
Lovely Minnehaha, cheerful Minnehaha,
The frolicking, romping, brave Minnehaha;
The frolicking, romping, brave Minnehaha.
 
The old Mississippi may roll on in pride,
Augmented by sources from every hillside;
E’en the sky-tinted water, from lands in the West,
Contributes her stores at the tyrant’s behest;
But the brave little stream, courting smiles from the sun,
Defies him to meddle or mix in her fun.
 
Chorus – Lovely Minnehaha etc.
 
She lists to the sound of St. Anthony’s roar
And laughs in the sleeve at his awkward amour;
Such plunging and splashing, confusion and pain,
Excites but her mirth, as she ripples a strain
Of silvery music, while onward she moves
To the dell at her feet, to the home of her loves.
 
Chorus – Lovely Minnehaha etc.
 
Then spreading her spray-wing she takes the bold leap.
And, playing with zephyrs, alights on the deep;
Still singing and dancing, the gay little jade
Looks upward and laughs at the leap she has made;
Then forward she glides, and, caressing the flowers,
Bids adieu, with a laugh, to her rose-tinted bowers.
 
Chorus – Lovely Minnehaha etc.
After the song is sung, the candidate shall be taken to Hiawatha’s station.
Hiawatha: Pale Face, I perceive that thou hast seen some hard travel?
Guide and Marshal: He has; he has.
Hiawatha: Hast thou taken the obligation of our beloved order?
Megissogwon (who is the Pearl Feather) shall say: No, no; he dare not.
He is Yenadizze, Storm Fool;
Good for naught, but game of bowl and counter.
He’ll play with old men, play with young men;
Play from midnight till the morning
Play for dresses, weapons, wampum/
‘Till their treasures he’ll despoil them.
Shirts of deerskin, robes of ermine.
Belts of wampum, crests of feathers,
Warlike weapons, pipes and pouches,
Of their treasures he’ll despoil them.
Hiawatha: Pale Face, ‘tis wonder to me that thou hast ‘scaped with thy life. Now, answer by thine own tongue. Are these accusations true?
Candidate: They are not true (he must be instructed).
Hiawatha: I am glad, and so believe. And will thou of thine own free will take the obligation of this degree?
Candidate: I will.
 

Obligation
 
Hiawatha: Then place your left hand over the region of your heart. Raise your right hand, with the index finger pointing to Heaven, and say after me *: In the presence of Almighty God and the witnesses here present, I do of my own free will and accord, without mental reservation, most solemnly promise and declare that I will, to the best of my ability, comply with all of the laws, rules, and regulations of this Order, and especially of this degree. That I will honor and respect a brother, his wife, and family, a sister and her relatives. That I will not slander any member of this Order, or allow any other person to do so, if in my power to prevent it. That I will warn any member of this Order of approaching danger, and do all in my power to protect them. That I will pay my dues and assessments to the best of my ability. Ans when walking in the green paths of the forest of life I will, to the best of my ability, deport myself as a true and loyal citizen; that I will not introduce any argument of discussion of a religious or political character into this Lodge; and that I will do all in my power to promote the prosperity of the Order.
Hiawatha: Pale Face, your journey now will be toward the magic circle, there to receive the mysteries of the Order, which, when imparted to you, will secure you against further violence.
Chiefs, conduct the Pale Face on his way, and see no harm befalls him.
While the candidate is being conducted to the magic circle, the third song of Minnehaha shall be sung:
My name is Minnehaha, Minnehaha,
Tho’ the Pale Faces call me Laughing Water;
And merrily I take my chance upon the lake,
For you see I am the chieftain’s daughter.
 
Refrain: My name is Minne, Minne, Minnehaha,
Ha-ha, ha-ha, ha-ha-ha-ha.
And merrily I sing as my bark canoe I swing,
Up and down the waters of the Wa-wa.
 
When thro’ the pines the moon is brightly beaming,
And the little stars are winking and a-blinking.
Oh, ‘tis then I ply my oar, pulling bravely from the shore,
To watch the mountain deer as they are drinking.
 
Refrain: My name is etc.
 
I listen to the breezes ‘mong the branches
See them swinging, see how they’re swaying.
And I hear the robius red singing gaily overhead,
While in the wood the squirrels all are playing.
 
Refrain: My name is etc.
 
I waken with the merry birds of morning,
I linger by the silver flowing sountain;
And singing all the day, for my heart is light and gay,
I wander to and fro along the mountain.
 
Refrain: My name is etc.
 
My name is Minnehaha, Minnehaha,
Tho’ the Pale Faces call me Laughing Water;
I’m a merry laughing maid of the mountain and the glade,
For you see I am the chieftain’s daughter.
 
Refrain: My name is etc.
 
The officers in regalia now make a circle in the middle of the room. A suitable contrivance is made to produce light. The lights in the room are all put out except the fire in the magic circle. The candidate is led around the room, and placed in the magic circle. When all is ready, the hoodwink is removed.
Hiawatha: Welcome, welcome,
To the kingdom of the West Wind,
Long have we been waiting for you,
Youth is lovely Age is lonely,
Youth is fiery, Age is frosty,
You bring back the days departed.
Days departed long ago.
You have journeyed westward, westward,
Left your fleetest deer behind you,
Left the antelope and bison,
Crossed the rushing Escanaba,
Crossed the mighty Mississippi,
Passed the mountains and the prairies,
Passed the land of Crows and Foxes,
Passed the dwellings of the Mohawks,-
Oronhyatekha, Big Chief of the Mohawks,-
Passed the dwellings of the Blackfeet,
Come unto the Rocky Mountains,
To the Kingdom of the West Wind,
To the home of Min-ne-ha-ha,
Laughing Water bids you welcome to her home.
Nokomis: But first, I must inquire, Min-ne-ha-ha, Queen of the Forest, is it your pleasure that this Pale Face be received? Speak now, or ever after silence keep.
Minnehaha: Nokomis, Mother of the World,
This Pale Face saw I
In the rainbow in the Heaven,
In the Eastern sky, the rainbow.
All the wild flowers of the prairie,
All the lilies of the valley,
All the green ferns of the forest,
Blossom in the Heaven above us,
Hooting, laughing in the forest,
Talking in their native language,
Learned I, of every bird its secret,
Therefore, bid this Pale Face welcome
To our tepee in the summer;
To our tepee in the winter.
We will build for him a wigwam,
Call him by the name Mon-da-min.
In the corn field green and shining,
We will clothe him green and shining
Here put on the regalia.
Chiriados: Pale Face, honored be thy name
O sing the song of Hiawatha-
Of the happy days that followed
In the pleasant land and peaceful!
Sing the mysteries of Mon-da-min!
Sing the blessings of the corn field!
Buried was the bloody hatchet;
Buried was the dreadful war club;
Buried were all warlike weapons,
And the war cry was forgotten.
All around our happy village
Stood the maize field green and shining.
Waved the green plumes of Mon-da-min.
He it was who gave his life,
Wrestled he with Hiawatha,
To be planted in the corn fields;
Gave to us the Bread of Life/
He is risen! He is risen!
You shall spread o’er all the corn fields-
He hath spread all o’er the corn fields-
Peace begun and ended strife.
Lagoo: Thus we welcome thee, O Pale Face,
To the glory of the sunset;
To the purple mists of evening;
To the regions of the West Wind;
To the Northwest Wind Keewaydin;
To the forest of the Red Man;
To the regions of the Mohawk Chief,
To the home of Mudjikeewis,
To the groves of the golden orange;
To the floral land of the South;
To the Kingdom of Megissogwon;
To the Islands of the Blessed;
To the mystic magic circle;
To the Kingdom of Ponemah;
To the strong man’s home Kwasind;
To the Lodge of Hiawatha;
To the home of Min-ne-ha-ha,
Spirit of “Laughing Water”.
Minnehaha: My brother, an angel with a radiant face,
Above a cradle bent to look;
Seemed his own image there to look,
As in the waters of a brook.
Flowers are ever expressive. In your early childhood you presented your mother with a green leaf, of a clover, the half withered daisy, or buttercup, as a token of your affection, whilst the lover will carefully select a rose, the pansy, the forget-me-not, or the suggestive orange blossom, to reveal to the quick eye of his heart’s chosen the secret he dare not yet speak, We deck the festal hall, and the sweet young bride with their fragrance, at the zenith of man’s happiest hour, and even in the hour of death we strew the departed with the silent yet eloquently speaking flowers.
Then since in childhood’s earliest days,
In innocence wild flowers are gathered,
Accept these flow’rlets, tokens of which I give you,
And may their freshness through all time protect you.
Here the room shall be lighted up and the candidate be conducted to Hiawatha’s station, and he shall be seated.
Hiawatha: Brother, I bid you welcome. And now that you have passed through the ordeal which we have all passed through before you, you will take heed of the great moral lesson which by your admission into the Order you have exemplified. In the beginning of the world God created us all. Adam fell from grace, and brought into the world that knowledge of “good and evil” which so depresses us. In the early ages our native Indians had a legend that the Great Spirit, Hiawatha, came into the world to benefit the people, and he entered upon a seven days’ feast.
Chibiabos: You shall hear how Hiawatha
Prayed and fasted in the forest;
Not for greater skill in hunting,
Not for greater craft in fishing,
But for profit of the people.
First he built a lodge to fast in;
Seven whole days and nights he fasted;
Heard the noises of the forest.
Hiawatha: During the first, second, and third days of his fast he beheld in his meditations that all living things must die to satisfy the cravings of sinful man. He mourned the fate of the reindeer, of the roebuck, of the bison, of the rabbit.
“Gitche Manito, Master of Life,” he cried desponding,
Must my life depend on these?
Sacrifice me, sacrifice me,
To the green and yellow corn field;
I will be the bread of life.
On the fourth day of his fast a beautiful young man, with green plumage, came and wrestled with him. On the fifth day the young man came again and wrestled with Hiawatha. He came again on the sixth day, and told Hiawatha was to be victorious; he gave instructions how he was to be buried; he said his name was “Umpah,” Mon-da-min.
Iagoo, standing by the side of Hiawatha: Then he smiled, and said: “Tomorrow
Is the last day of your conflict,
Is the last day of your fasting.
Make for me a bed to lie in,
Where the rain may fall upon me;
Lay me in the earth, and make it
Soft and loose and light above me.
Let no hand disturb my slumber;
Only come yourself to watch me,
‘Till I wake and start and quicken,
‘Till I leap into the sunshine.
Hiawatha: On the seventh day Mon-da-min came, and as foretold, Hiawatha was victorious, and in accordance with Mondamin’s wishes, buried him.
Iagoo, standing by the side of Hiawatha: Yes victorious Hiawatha
Made the grave as was commanded;
Laid him in the earth and made it
Soft and loose and light above him.
Day by day did Hiawatha
Go to wait and watch beside it,
Kept it clean from weeds and insects,
Till at length a small green feather
From the earth shot slowly upward;
Then another, then another,
And before the end of summer
Stood the maize, in all its beauty.
Hiawatha: This beautiful lesson teaches you the incarnation, the birth, the death, and burial of the blessed Saviour, and of his glorious resurrection and ascension into heaven. And it proves that the red Indian of the forest had legends of faith similar to our Christian belief.
Hiawatha gave the first fruits of the risen corn to his people with the instructions that, as it was “Bread from Heaven” sent unto them, a free gift and propitiation from the Great Spirit, so it was all that his people should require for the purpose of sustaining life.
I will now impart to you the secret word of the degree, which is …; It signifies ‘’’’ You must never speak this word above a whisper; and then only when in the Lodge, at time of degree work. When you enter the Lodge, or wish to retire, you must salute the Worthy President and the Worthy Vice President thus …, which signifies …. When you are on the street and wish to recognize a brother you will make this sign …. Its meaning is …. He will answer you thus …, which signifies …. Our voting signs are made in the following manner: …. If you are voting in the affirmative, you will make this sign …, which means …; or if you are voting in the negative you will make this sign …, which means …. If you are in distress you will make this sign …, which means …. Upon giving this sign any brother seeing it will make this return sign …, which means … and will come to your assistance.
When you wish to enter the Lodge while in session, you will make an alarm on the outer wicket, the sentry will open the wicket, and you will give him your name and the number of your lodge, and the semi-annual password, when he will admit you in the anteroom. You will now make … raps on the door in this … manner. The Inside Marshal will reply by giving … rap and you will reply by giving … raps. The wicket will now open, and you will give your name and number of the Lodge to which you belong, with the semi-annual password. You will then be admitted to the Lodge.
You may now take your seat.
 
Closing Ceremonies
 
Worthy President, *: Officers, Brothers and Sisters. The business of the evening having been completed, we will now close our Lodge, and when we depart I pray the Great Spirit may accompany you in safety to your homes. Let no ill will or uncharitable feeling be carried away from this Lodge. We are all banded together for one common good, and our purpose is to provide for the widow and the fatherless. Let us strive to the best of our ability to promote harmony in our midst and increase the membership of this, our beloved order. Worthy Vice President, have you any further business that you wish to bring before the Lodge?
Worthy Vice President: Worthy President, I have nothing further to bring before the Lodge.
Worthy President: That being so *, I now declare … Lodge, No. …, Order of Minnehaha, duly closed. Worthy Marshal, throw open the door, and inform the Worthy Sentry that this meeting is ended, and allow the members to retire in peace and harmony.