Elks
BENEVOLENT AND PRO- TECTIVE ORDER OF, a fraternal society organized in New York, 1868, by members of the Jolly Corks theatrical club. The Grand Lodge was incorporated in 1871, the first members being the past officers of N. Y. Lodge No. 1.
Lodges were formed successively in Philadelphia, San Francisco, Chicago, Cincinnati, Sacramento, Baltimore, Louisville, ELL St. Louis and other cities. The number of lodges has now grown to between 1,200 and 1,400, and they are found in places as distant as Honolulu and Alaska. The order, in addition to the help given its members, has liberally contributed to ELLIOTT tinct from the Carolines, the Gilberts, or the Pelews. In 1892 they were annexed by Great Britain, though they are of no great strategic importance.