Excerpt from Pilgrimage of Mary Commandery No; 36: Knights Templar of Pennsylvania to the Twenty-Ninth Triennial Conclave of the Grand Encampment U. S. At San Francisco, Cal

The Commissary was early and often at his post this morning and got up an extensive acquaintance throughout the train where it had in some cases been but slight. Sociability also reigns through the other cars as the neighbors begin to study up and follow out their visiting lists. By way of getting their sea legs on, many trips were made to the baggage car, and the cry of Any old rags denoted that some one was passing through with a supply of cloth ing for use on the train to be stowed away in or under the berths.

Fort Wayne was the first place of any size visible this morning, and the change of engines gave time for somewhat of a promenade on the station platform, as well as a few short foot-races between the girls. A flat and uninteresting country was all that served to relieve the eye during the remainder of the trip to Chicago, but we made good time therein. Our trip to that city was made in a little under nineteen hours. Making a record run for our train. Outside the Union Station was a scene of hurry and bustle which, combined with the roar of trains on the elevated road and tangle of trolleys and teams upon the surface of the street, gave a livelv appearance to our introduction to Chicago. The Automobile Company which had arranged to meet us upon our arrival with sufficient vehicles to take the party for a ride was not on hand, owing to our early arrival. Matos and Allen found their headquarters after a short trip on the elevated and arranged for a change of service. Automobiles were sent in detachments as fast as they could be secured until all hands had been taken for a ride up the Boulevard, along the shore of Lake Michigan, to Lincoln Park and through its shady avenues.

Previous to reaching the Boulevard we passed over probably the worst paved streets in the entire country, and the shaking up we received boded no good to the Pullman meals. Along the shores of the Lake men, women and children were posted with from one to four fishing rods each until the beach fairly bristled with them. The scene resembled exactly a reproduction of some of the French prints of the banks of the Seine. The Zoological Gardens in the park furnished considerable entertainment and amusement for the crowd. The last mobile sent had been of the gasoline type, and the party waiting for it were a little shy of the blue and sulphurous smoke issuing from beneath it. But upon the agent's assurance that it was right, they embarked. It barely reached the Boulevard when it took fire, and was vacated in a hurry. It quickly burned out and left its occupants stranded. The agent made a pretense of sending an electric in its place, and thus got his bill settled in full. The Committee found later that they had been buncoed out of a good ten dollar bill, as no successor to the burned motor reached the party, and they had to make their way back by trolleys. Mean while they can only pray that retribution may some day fall upon Chicago.

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