Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1883-07-11
THE NATIONS l07?a! BIRTH DAY
CELEBRATED IN AUSTIN.

THE NATIONS lo7:!a BIRTHDAY
CELEBRATED IN AUSTIN.
A Host OF People, a Fine Parade, a
Good Grafton, Rag-a-Muffin
Procession, Foot, Wheelbar-
row and Sack Races, Fire.
Works, &c., &c.
And the Day Closed by a Grand Illumi-
nation Of the New Court-House.
About 10 o'clock on Tuesday evening,
before the evening stars were lighted, the
small boy of Austin had ushered in the
glorious Fourth-and from that time until
daylight, pandemonium itself would have
been place of quiet in comparison. En-
thusiasm and gun-p0wder were synOno-
nous. There was no danger that the
citizens of Austin wouldn't be up early
next morning. for the most of them were
rising all night.
The pestiferous fire-cracker, the noisy
anvil, the uproarious shouting of the
youngsters, assisted by the neighborhood
dogs, and the drum and fife, carried us on
until the hour of midnight. Then came
q continuation of the same, with big
bon fire on Main street, and the ringing
Of all the bells in the city: By this time
we had made up our minds that the glori
Gus Fourth was a thing of the present,
and not to be ignored. Young America
continued to work off his superfluous en-
thusiasm without intermission until about
o'clock, when a heavy shower cooled of
their ardor, and wishing to keep their
powder dry, they were obliged to adjourn
their exercises. The clouds were dark
and threatening. Between and $50 the
rain fell fast, and the small boys face
wore an expression like unto the sky
clouded. About 9. however, the clouds
broke away, and Young America was him
self again.
On account of the shower, the grand
parade" was postponed till 1870 p. IN.
About 10 o'clock the teams began to pour
in from the country, aud by noon the
town was we'll filled with people, showing
by their happy faces anticipation of a
pleasant day. The 1870 trains brought
farther additions to the crowd, so that
Notwithstanding the unfavorable weather
of the morning the occasion promised
most favorable termination. Commenc
: ing at about 10 o'clock, the weather came
off delightful, and so continued the re-
mainder of the day. The rainy outlook
doubtless kept at home several hundred
people who intended to celebrate in Aus
tin, yet we had crowd large enough to
''show" to.
About 80 p. m the procession formed,
in charge of Marshals Wilton and Fur
long.
The Union Band led the column, max
ing fine appearance in their new uni
forms. OF course they gave US good
music. They ALWAYS do.
Next came the Grand Army boys from
Brownsville. They were uniformed, and
were a good-looking lot of soldiers.
The Goddess of Liberty represented
by Miss Maggie Wilton, came next, fol-
lowed by car, beautifully decorated,
filled with little girls and young Misses,
whoTepresentedt the states and territories.
The Austin Cornet Band, with their
handsome new uniforms and waving
plumes, headed Company G, our Austin
militia company. The tasteful new suits
of the military, especially those OF Capt.
Anderson and Lieuts. Films and Richards,
were much admired and attracted good
deal of attention.
The remainder Of the procession was
made up with the officers of the day, the
city officers, and citizens in carriages, who
wended their way through the prominent
streets OF the city to the grounds set
apart for the exercises just south of DR..
HOLSTERS residence.
At two and half o'clock the procession
reached the stand. After the seats had
been filled and the preliminary exercises,
including music 10y the Union band, pray
er by Rev. W. E. Stanley, and the reading
of the Declaration of Independence by
Rev. E. r. Lathrop, concluded, Hon. 0.
W. Shaw delivered the Grafton. Of this
Grafton, which was an able production,
we'll delivered, and listened to by large
and attentive audience, we can give but a
brief outline:
There is point on the Rocky noun
tains from which the landscape may be
said to decline to the two cardinal oceans.
Standing there the explorer may look upon
he has climbed, the precipices he has seal
ed, the abysses he has escaped. Turning,
then, his eye is COMPOUNDED by the gran
deur of the prospect. Before him are
other ranges, chain after chain. scanned
with rugged defiles and gloomy gorges,
scenes tlecked with alternate patches of
light and shade, while beyond the inter-
vening peaks, vision and thought are lost
in the vast panorama that with growing
indistinctness fades at last into the
horizon.
So to-day from the vantage ground of
hundred years acknowledged independ-
ence, we as American citizens may in
retrospect, look back upon the scenes of
the nations progress, its privations and
sacrifices, its tolls and triumphs, and then
turning to the awe inspiring future with
strength begotten by struggle and faith,
path of other achievements, other heights,
other victories In this brief prelude, fel-
low citizens, you have general outline
of what l shall attempt to say on this occa
sion.
While endeavOring to preserve the spirit
characteristic of the day, shall attempt
to call your thoughts to some pages of our
past, not so often introduced into the Ste
reotyped Grafton customary on such Occa-
sions, and which should be of greatest in
terest to US jewellers in the great central
valley of the continent. and upon land
owned by a foreign power generation
after our fathers immortal declaration;
that series of acts which gave us the con-
troll of the Mississippi river, and carried
our flag to the extreme western slope of
the continent, events which viewed in the
light of the present are seen to have been
the potential factors by which were
moulded our existing social condition and
civil institutions.
In history we see the relation between
cause and effect, and it is this inseparable
connection between the moral forces set
in motion in one age, with the social re-
suits revealed in another, that makes the
successive stages OF civilization develop
ment from the past What our nation is
to become will not be the result of uncon-
trollable forces. The seed our fathers
scattered is bearing its legitimate fruit in
that which we enjoy.-and what we plant
shall determine the social condition and
moral life Of unborn generations.
Our fathers did not shirk the RESPONSE
bilities that came upon them, but discharg-
ed them to the utmost. Let US be equally
faithful.
On this glorious Fourth of July-one Of
the two great days of American freemen
Jet us forget our daily burdens and be
inspired by the great memories of the
ask your attention to the ordinance of
1857, and the purchase of Louisiana from
France, and q clear understanding Of