The Council Bluffs nonpareil. [volume] (Council Bluffs [Iowa]) 1857-1867, 1860-03-10
COUNCIL BLUFFS. IOWA. SATURDAY. s
I wAsnIscros, Feb. ga, 1850.

C0RREsFoHDRNCEO OF rRE NONPAREIL.
,a0ss xsas WAsHIHoroN, Feb. cd, 1860.
: The shades Of night are gathering around
the Federal Cspitol, snd day memorable
iu the snnals Of the world, has been recon.
sscrated to liberty. From 8 O'Clock this
morning till 2 P. NJ, pitiless rain-storm
drenched the city, and cold north. easter
accompanying il, chilled the hearts of the
superstitious with dread forebodings Of
national evil. Even to those Of hghtest
hearts, it was dreary, dreary time. s'Un-
derfoot'' was every whore covered with mud
and thsn.ths thought of standing an hour
in the pelting rain to hear the oration Of
the day, vas BY no means inviting; but
forebodsrs and grumblers were signally
rsbuked-st half-past 2 the sun burst out
in dazzling radiance upon the gladdsnsd
gaze Of the multitude. The mud, Of course,
remained, but who cared for mud on such
an; OCCASION, Muddied pants and drabbled
skirts were matters Of little. moment, and
seon . gass procession formed in front Of
the City Hall, moved to Psnnsylvania
Avenue, then up the avenue past Willards,
past the U. S. Treasury building, and on
through the mud for mile, till it reached
the "circle' where the statue stands. Con-
spicuous among those who formed the pro-
cession, was part of the celebrated 'sNew
York Seventh Regiment" numbering nearly
seven hundred strong-their arms and uni
form the best the armories and tailors afford,
and their fine physical development, intslli-
genoe, splendid drill and soldierly bearing,
making them equal at least to any other
body of troops in America, and probably
az good as any in the world, not even ex-
cepting the dashing Zouaves. Their band,
composed Of forty first-class musicians,
eclipsed every other band in the procession,
and is we'll worthy the honor of making
music for so gallant a company. Maryland
and Virginia each, sent a fire company.
The U. S. Marines were out, and the
Georgetown cadets, composed chiefly of
students of the Catholic college, formed
part Of the procession. In spite Of the mud
there were probably twenty thousand per-
sons on the ground to witness the ceremo-
MES. A stage had been erected in front of
the statue a few yards from it, that was
decorated with the flags of many nations,
proudly conspicuous among which was the
stars and stripes, and on it were seated the
President of the u. s., Mr.. Bocock, the
orator; Clark Mills, the artist; the Rev. DR..
Nadal, who had been invited to open the
ceremonies with prayer; Mr.. Hammond,
chairman of the committee of arrangements
for the Senate; and Mr.. Keitt, chairman of
the House committee the Cabinet, the
Mayor of Washington, and the Army and
Navy officers. After the prayer offered by
Dr.. Nadal, Mr.. Bocock delivered the grafton,
which was eloquent and national then
followed the usual Masonic ceremonies
the laying of the corner stone,
at the close Of which the r. 6. NJ. George
c. Whiting, presented the gavel to the
President with the following address,
"Mr President, this gavel which hold in
my hand, was used by General Washington,
the President of the United States and the
Grand Master of Masons of Georgetown,
in laying the corner stone of the Capitol
on the 18th day of September 1875, now
have the honor to present you with the same
that you may dedicate the statue of the
Father Of his Country" Mr.. Buchanan
took the gavel aud made short and highly
appropriate dedicatory speech, and was
vociferously cheered. Mr.. Mills was then
introduced, and at a wave Of his hand, the
statue, which had been covered from the
public gaze since its erection was unveiled,
and deafening shout greeted the bronze
Washington as sitting in majesty on his
war-horse-he became in a moment, the
common property Of America and the world.
A national salute from the cannon on the
ground rent the air, and, ere its echoes had
died away, Mills was called out for speech.
He made short address, telling the audi
ence tina. owing to the scanty appropriation,
the pedestal Of the statute was not what he
intended it to be, and briefly describing it as
he had planned it. Ere be had finished, the
thronging thousands were scattering away
to their houses and hotels and, though
bedaubed with mud, they seemed well sat
isfed with their days experiences. The
New York seventh, paradss tomorrow, in
front of the White House, and will be ad-
dressed by the President. Twill give you
an account of the days proceedings in my
next. Mr.. Samuel S. Bayliss Of the Bluffs,
is stopping at the National, and will leave
for New York tomorrow. He is much
about the Pacific Railroad, aud
believes with everybody else who is posted,
that the great Platte Valley will be the
route. HAs W. H. X.
1s3 es I. O. 8. NJ.
From those portions made public of the
report of the Supreme Grand Council ofthe
order, which has recently been in session at
Washington, published in the Cincinnati