The roll call of representatives disclosed the presence of the representatives of fifty-seven Tribes out of sixty-three.
An election for Assistant Great Chief of Records was then entered into, and Past Sachem Frank L. Smith was chosen, the opposing candidate being P. P. Doll, of No. 8.
Great Sachem Pelham presented his long talk in print, the first time it had been done, which met with the approval of all.
The following quotations are from that document:—
"I am proud to say the condition of the Order in this Reservation is prosperous and progressive. Probably fifteen hundred names have been added to the roster of membership during the past great sun, and with few exceptions the Tribes and Councils are on the hunt for palefaces with that enthusiasm and energy that knows no such word as fail."
In regard to Councils of the Degree of Pocahontas he said:—"This branch of the Order appears to have been almost entirely neglected by former Great Councils of this Reservation. The tax formerly assessed against members of Councils was repealed by this Great Council at its fifth session, and I find no mention of them in the Records since.
Experience has shown that the Tribe and Council are each benefited by the presence of the other, and the membership of both are alike interested in the upbuilding of their local branches and in the advancement of the interests of the Order generally.
Under the care of this Great Council are five Councils who are entirely at sea in the matter of laws for their government; and it would surely be wise in this body to formulate a code for their benefit.
Diligent inquiry failing to furnish me with the name of any person who would undertake the business of organizing Tribes in this Reservation, I therefore tried to find some one in each locality who would undertake to organize a Tribe nearby. As a direct result, ten new Tribes were instituted, the organizers being in each case persons living in the near locality of the new Tribes."
The method thus inaugurated by Great Sachem Pelham has been pursued by his successors to the present, with results never equaled by any Reservation in the history of the Order.