The Speaking Leaf

  Frank Aleamon Leach (1846–1929)   Founding Member, Samoset Tribe No. 22, Improved Order of Red Men, Vallejo, California   Pioneer Journalist · Legislator · Director, United States Mint Prepared by Dr. Mike Bortner-Historian for Samoset Tribe No. 22 Improved Order of Red Men 431 Georgia Street, Vallejo, California June 18, 2026   Fig. 1.   Frank Aleamon Leach (1846–1929), portrait photograph reproduced in Recollections of a Newspaperman (San Francisco: S. Levinson, 1917). Photograph attributed to Webster Photo Studio.   Frank Aleamon Leach: Pioneer Journalist, Legislator, and Charter Member of Samoset Tribe No. 22   INTRODUCTION Among the men whose signatures graced the original charter of Samoset Tribe No. 22, Improved Order of Red Men, when it was organized in Vallejo, California, on July 19, 1869, none would go on to a more distinguished public career than Frank Aleamon Leach. Over the span of six decades...

  The Trail: Freedom, Friendship & Charity Ceremony, Degree Progression, and Fraternal Identity in the Improved Order of Red Men (1888) (Image courtesy of Samoset Tribe #22, Improved Order of Red Men, Vallejo, California. Princeton University Graphic Arts Collection, GA 2008.00908 (comparative example)).   Thomas C. Fielding’s 1888 broadside The Trail: Freedom, Friendship & Charity is far more than a decorative poster. It is a carefully designed visual guide to the values, structure, and ceremonial life of the Improved Order of Red Men (I.O.R.M.). Rather than telling a single story, the image brings together multiple scenes and symbols to illustrate the journey of membership within the Order. The fraternity traces its origins back to about 1760 “… and is descended from the Sons of Liberty. These patriots concealed their identities and worked “underground” to help establish freedom and liberty in the early Colonies. They patterned themselves after the great I...