Lexington weekly intelligencer. (Lexington, Mo.) 1871-1887, 1885-09-19

Tuesday morning came in with cool
north wind, and glorious sunrise |
which flooded all that vast ocean of
prairie with
BLESSED FLOOD TIDE
of light, and life, and motion. Thanks
to the rain there was no dust; thanks
to the sunshine there was no mud In
two hours after day broke the roads
were like marble, the roar of the
vehicles coming in from the surrounding
country sounding like the rumbling OF
artillery carriages hCrrying forward to
rendezvous against day of combat.
Monday the whole population of Hig-
ginsville turned out en- nlasse to deco
rate the town. AS the forest in June
is jubilant and multiludinous with
leaves, so was Higginsville jubilant and
multitudinous with flags, streamers,
banners, transparencies,
WELCOMING SIGNS,
and significant notices. The very air.
to breathe which was an intoXication.
was all of q futter with bunting. AS
early as Sunday night old soldiers from
afar had begun to arrive. All day Mon
day the various trains added to the ag-
gregate of visitors. Monday night del
egations came i'll from Greene, Vernon,
Bates, Barton, Clay, Jackson, Ray,
Carroll, Howard, Galloway, Saline,
Cooper and several other counties, and
Tuesday morning
THERE WAS AN INUNDATION.
A dozen trains, with dozen coaches
to train, came in packed on the Mis-
souri, Pacific and Chicago & Alton rail
roads, while Saline and Lafayette coun-
ties literally turned out en- masse, and
came to the mastering place overland,
and by every mode of conveyance
known to a thriving and prosperous
agricultural community.
Soon all the streets and promenading
places of the town were choked with a
moving mass of humanity. The hotels
were as so many bee-hives. The shops
and stores were turned into barracks.
The private houses for once were as
free as the public ones. Wherever a
cot could be set up or a blanket spread
down, there was a soldier. There never
has been a reunion yet in Missouri
where the hospitality was so thorough,
so heartfelt, and so perfectly unselfish.
| Unless man chose, he need not have
paid for anything. Delegations of citi-
zens did nothing else except to seek
out strangers and make
THEM FEEL AT HOME.
The town was theirs, and everything
in it. Horses, carriages, wagons, bug
gies, Omnibuses, all sorts of vehicles
| were at their disposal, and they could
ride at will all about the town, and all
up and down the dewy and grass-gird-
led byways and highways.
were fully fifteen thousand people ir
Higginsville, with
EIGHT BRASS BANDS
to marshal them, and make melody fol
them, and roll the clangor of military
music over the swelling prairie up
lands, as though an army with ban
ners was returning triumphant from
the last OF a multitude of glorious bat
tie fields.
By IL o'clock the column of marcl
was formed, with the veterans of ohel.
by's brigade ia front, the grand army
posts in the center, of which thirteei
separate and distinct posts were repre-
sented, while the rear was brought NJ
by the veterans of all the balance of the
confederate commands present Othel
than Shelby's. The following officers
were chosen to enroll, marshal, anC
lead the column, veterans all, some o
them federals and some of them con.
federates:
Enrolling Officer-A. A. Lesueur
Lafayette county.
i Chief Marshall. ID. Conner, La
fayette county.
First Assistant Marshal-GeO. w
LankfOrd, Saline county.
Second Assistant MARSHALL. C.. Cat
ron, Lafayette county.
AIDS.
W. H. Ferrell, Lafayette county.
j. P. Elliott, Saline county.
M. G. SaLdidge, Saline county.
j. S. Wheatley, Lafayette county.
s. II. Crispin, Ray county.
j. S. White, Lafayette county.
Abe Furst, Buchanan county.
j. III. Mirick, Carroll county.
II. A. Collins, Lafayette county.
w. A. Thornton, Lafayette county.
o. II. P. Catron, Howell county.
, Geo. P. Gordon, Lafayette county.
Benz. Neal, Dade county.
. J. q, Plattenburg, Lafayette county
Frank Trigg, Lafayette county.
Commander of Shelby's brigade
Benz. Elliott, Lafayette county.
} Commander of Grand Army Repuh
} lic-F. R. Meet, Lafayette county.
, Commander OF ex-cOnfederates-El
: jah Gates, Buchanan county.
1t was half mile to the fair grounds
: and down prairie road as dry and a
: LEVEL AS A PLANK FLOOR.
1t looked like war, only there wer
, neither muskets nor artillery. Til
: drums beat. At Intervals the bugl
, calls rang out loud, and high, an
!, resonant. Every now and then burs
= of martial music from one of the man
: bands made the heart beat quicker
Scarfed and pinned, the aides-de-cam
and the marshals dashed hither an
thither. The north wind blew all tn
o banner folds fair and free. Canopie
by forest of flags, the column-mas
sing itself tor one moment and restin
at ease-suddenly unrOlled itself an
}, stretched away at the route step, an
o with that springy, swinging, cadence
il stride so characteristic of men wht
i once having been drilled machine
$ never
FORGET THE DRILLING.
Then from rear rank to front ran
p the the bands struck up "Traml
Tramp, Tramp, the Boys are Marcl
4 ing" and two thousand men, two deel
;. took the road to the fair grounds
>, Any one, curious to know VIII,
changes time had wrought in the youn
and stalwart soldiers OF twenty yeal
ago, had only to take up some vantag
, ground along the lineof march and som'
;. time view collectedly the heterogeneou
: column. Some there had only one lee
~ and yet these hobbled along quit
composedly. Some had only one arm
and yet these, for all the purposes
life, seem to be as handy or as eXpel
;, as their less mutilated comrades. Man
were bent with wounds; many wei
g crippled. Not few had aged pitifull,
Almost all were gray. Not over tw
hundred still retained the freshnes
and fairness of youth; but for that on
!. day of the reunion
: ALL WERE YOUNG AGAIN,
. and all entered into the spirit of the OF
. casion with zest and an abando
y which could only have come throug
:. the remembrance of four long year {
3 3 toll, privation, wounds, peril and e,
pOsure.
Z Arriving at the fair grounds, the oil
a soldiers were eager to break rank.
y and to commence that quest, whic
: lasted until nightfall, for the comr adt