, 1859-02-28
GRAND CELEBRATION
OPENING Of, THE HANNIBAL 4 ST. m' R. R

| GRAND GELBbhA1lON
OPENING OF. The HANN'BAL& & ST. 10. R. R'
he Banquet -spesches, Incidents, etc,
- - - e
-Aingling Of ta4 Waters Of tht -AAantic, III.
Grea. Lotes. th< Illinois and ths Assssfsipp5,
soitA kaoss + the Aissosri.
On Wednesday morning, February 2sd, thu
whole city Of St. Joseph Was a.sir, and every
body seemed animated with the enthusiasu
which the important occasion was 30 we'll calcu.
latsd to inspire. Delegations had arrived from
st. Louis. Quincy, Hannibal, Palmyra, aud
other towns, and the country WI largely repre-.
sented by people On horseback, and by every
sort Of conveyance 1t ali adapted TO the seas o'
mud which they were forced to navigate: Al
haltpaat nine O'clock, the procession, composed
Of the different dslegations--the Quincy Blnes,
citizens Of St Joseph, wagons, carts, drays etc.
etc., With banhers and bands Of music, moved
through the principal streets, presenting = fine
appea1anco. The PROCESSION, preceded BY NJ
express wagon containing "the waters" to be
mingled With the Missouri, finally assembled on
tho Ievee At the foot Of Francis street. As The
Quincy Blnes we're obliged to leave in the after
noon trsin, Capt. Prentiss aaked to INTRODUCES
n. Bushnell, Etq, of Quincy, who, on their be
half, returned thanks for the coutteaes xtepded
to them, and referred to the interesting occasion
which had brought them all together, in q neat
and appropriate speech.
| Col. Thompson, Of st. Joseph, then introduced
Nj. Joseph Robidoux, the founder Of the city.
| He selected the site on which il stands for 4
trading post with tho Indians, in 1893,
while the territory Of Louisiana was
still the property Of France. He settled
here permanently in 1903. tbs Plstte purchase,
| embracing the site Of St. Joseph, was made
from the Sac and Fox Indians, BY the United
States in 1886, and the territory was added to
the State Of Missouri. Mr. Robidoux, in 1s4a,
entered his quarter section and obtained his IT,
tie from the United States just forty years after
he hsd settled upon it. Col. Thompson also in
trodueed Mr, Joseph Cohen, one Of the fonud-
ers Of st. Louis. The presence Of these veter-
| ans, looking hale and hearty, though far sd-
vanced in years, added much to the interest Of
the exercises.
TIE x1S1L1xo or r1x WATERS.
Altar the introduction Of these venerable
| men, Col. Thompson commenced his address By
| referring to tho remarkable facts which were
part and parcel Of this celebration. The ssluts-
tiona Of the Atlantic, and ths lakes, Of the ili~
nois and the Mississippi were presented to the
river Of tho Mountains. Their raters had been
gathered here from thousands Of miles to min
/ glo in joyous greeting. That meeting was I'll
libation to the genius Of the age. OF that &C.
MUS the locomotive waa the living exponent,
and though it might rest here for season, it
! rss simply gathering strength to leap over the
Rocky Mountains. and would stop only on the
shores Of the Pacific. That great fsct would be
realised much sooner than the most sanguine
would now dare to predict.
Col Thompson then took the waters Of the
| Atlantic and mingled them with those Of the
Missouri Those of the Mississippi followed,
| With which be baptized The Missouri her great
eat child, He then took the waters Of The lakes,
the crest central seas Of the continent, and
threw them into the Missouri, following them By
those Of tho placid Illinois, sister stream Of
great and prosperous elates STATE. The speech Of
Col. Thompson Was in excellent taste, end tue
entire ceremony was handsomely done.
Thomas Cohen, Esq, then made few re.
msrke, saying that he had hunted the buffalo
and lodged to escape the Iqdisu in all the rich,
beautiful country By which We were surrounded.
Hon. Willard P. Hall, Of st. Jossph, vas then
:n+%o ~ ~ In Yuhda a r4nitA1
speech. He referred to the completion OF the
Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad as most I'M
portant ara in the history Of the valley Of theis'
souri,. The traveller ean,uow 20 from 81 5oaeph to
St Louis heretofore ajourney Of several days, in
eighteen hours; to Chicsgo, the Queen City OF
the Lakes, il tventy-six, and to Ne1-f ork and
most of the cities on the seaboard in slxty hours
This IVES truly wonderful fact, svsa n ts!s asss
of wonders. The speaker then gave short bis.
tory of the Hannibal and st. Joseph railway;
of western emigration and Of the settlement and
progress of northwestern Missouri, all receiv-
I'd with crest satisfaction br the entire audi
ence. He deemed it his duty, however, to e1.
press his deep anxiety for the welfars Of the
Union, and as usual With politicians set himself
vigorously at work to save it j. but As Iii. Hall
hsd doubtless acquired this habit while mens-
her Of Congress, he WEB cheertuly forgiven ior
the dlgress'ou. As WHOLE his speech "as aole
aud eloquent, and received Win greas applause.
At the conclusion Of hr. HAIRS speeea' tse
chairman gave sentiment complimentary 10
the city OF Chicago 10 winch Alderman nsoaS
"as called upon TO respond. In oena1 ot tne
nembere ot Inc oe'egat'on' ne presented .ne
congratulations OF tne Guy o. on'caso 10 o. 'o'
sepa. We had been accustomed 10 point cur
children to the records ot Inc past 70 nno = nls-
tory OF great aenae7emen's' OUT me letofe nas-
torian you'd regard ms as 'ee age O. "onoe's
ne nao oeea 'atroanceo nefo 70 .ne loauaef "
o .o'epo, anu ~ ouo " 1ue eal'lss' 1e''.o'. "
o. A'a''' "o nSu s.D''ee" @NAl'As wa ke''s
"n' AAe seea nsa1o' ~" @
annaaseo sno 'a4l3f 'uo1sanu tan"''Sn''
mere aaa'ng Poss a'aonR ane tuo1"ne- sA'
css'es ano gFeos empire nao grown W 1uael
.ne oosef'a''on o' 1noSo "no "et0 ne'0 'a4os'
in9 ID tuese ie1'l''"es' o." n0'ofs sanaos !a'-
n'sh saes examples o' numan PROGRESS. "nen
1he epeaAe1 nFs' e1ni" - en''as"' 41'ae "o!7
'nan len years ago. 'aefe was no' s'nkle ms'e
ol s9"3'1 'eau'ne l" Ut .son '1e ei'5' ~" 'uo
lineage s}s3ea oi oo0 0p'e'eo l~u"a} nunpe37
1coF 'nouSaoo i've nunoseo Ana III: 5'a'ae ZINES
Ano o1n'o VI A"'u'ts, soA''A1'1e :. .'o' eD'
h'ne1s 1--we n4nes u ia""a5' ~" uAa NV 'u01'
saud sesea n@@oren ana sesen'5-use mnes'
Among these We had always regarded the cnl-
cago. Burlington and Qaincy as one OF our moas |