River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1885-08-13

Lnat were simply amazing. ana
chance to stand ON flight of steps was
worth from 81 to 50. Some single
windows brought S75, and one
balcony capable of holding twelve
or fifteen people, near the
Hotel Brunswick, brought S400.
Pcddlers in the crowd sold hundreds of
footstools, about eight inches high,
and they were eagerly snatched up at
so cents each. People who were for
tunate enough to secure one of these
and to elevate themselves above the
level of the crowd were much envied
by those who could only see the horse
men and the tops of the folded flags.
Those lucky ones were kept busy call
ing ont the names of the organizations
as they passed along. A person of
ordinary height few feet from the
line of march, could see very little.
Now and then he caught the flash of a
plume. and all the time he heard the
solemn music and the tread of march
ing feet. 1t is probable that many
thousands who stood for long hours
hardly saw the procession tall. Add
ed to the difficulty was the fact that
all the people occupying front places
kept up their umbrellas and parasols
all the time, regardless of the requests
and entreaties and often imprecations
of those in the rear.
THE REGULARS PROMPT.
The promptness with which the pro
cession appeared before the Fifth Ave
enue hotel was astonishing AT 1880
O'Clock to the minute Gen. Hancock
and staff came in sight, when nobody
expected him for an hour. This
showed the good of having the process
sion headed IN and under the manage
mcnt of the regulars. Had the militia
or civilians been in charge the begin
ming of the pageant at this point would
have been an hour later This was
shown by the fact that a long and
| tiresome break occurred between the
rear of the regulars and the head of the
New York National guard following.
/ The approach of that flood of human
| ity and its northward progress with all
/ its surroundings and effect, was tire
mendous sight, constituting itself the
I chief feature of a spectacle never to be
forgotten, ranking alone in our day
and generation. A living river, II
sevpt into the human line of Union
! square, passed on resistleSsly around
/ Eighteenth street, and from Fifth ave
nue. emptied itself into the ocean of life
/ in Madison Square, and flowed on north
ward as the blue waters of the gull
stream sweep through IFS Atlantic
| borders The crowds infringing upon
the preserved marching spaces We're
swept back like reeds before the floods.
/ Men were thrown down and women
! tainted, and policemen frartically strug-
glcd to preserve the open ground, pro
! tect the people, and save themselves al
the same time. There was little APP
pearance of the funeral while the reg
ulars were passing. The flood had
come unexpectedly, and there was tur-
moil and contention, and mad rusheS
/ to and fro and fighting for points of adj
vantage, and overwhelming curiosity
to see the regular soldiers and sailors.
4 The parade of these branches of the
/ defenders of the country was the
/ grandeSt ever made in time of peace
1 and probably in any other time. There
were about $50 soldiers, 400 marines
and 900 sailors. The latter were from
! the Tennessee, the Vermont, the Oma
| ha and the Minnesota. To-day, with
! their white duck and blue flannel
clean and fresh, they looked much bet
ter than on last Wednesday, when they
were soaked through with rain and be
draggled with mud.
IIonaAal- in. ftln a
ing hi big gold epaulets and broad vel
low scarf, and mounted upon his black
stallion, is as martial figure us the
democratic republic can furnish. No
/ handsomer man or better rider eyer sal
a rearing and plunging horse. With
the passing of Hancock and the regu
lars of the army and navy the inter
ests ceased, for there came wait Of
over half an hour. The regulars had
been too prompt for the militia, and
| had left them couple of miles behind
All this time the Twedty-sccond regi-
ment was drawn up in two lines, facing
the Fifth Avenue hotel and holding
back the people, waiting to wheel into
| line at the head of the first division OF
state troops.
PASSING MADISON SQUARE.
At TO- Is the state troops began pour
mo into the square, and the handsome
Twenty-second, in white coatssand tn.
MICS and helmets. swung into place, and
the great march began again, to be al
most unbrokcn for six hours, during
which time nearly or quite sixty thous-
and people in movement passed through
the hundreds of thousands massed in
Madison square. Hour after hour the
moving mass passed, regiment after
regiment, brigade after brigade, regi-
ments in white and regiments in blue
and regiments in gray-caps, hats,
helmets, turbans, shakos and hussars.
The uniform of America, of England
| of Germany, of France; the baggy scar
I let brooches of the Turks, the greer
plumes of Ireland, the long, dropping
feathers of the Italians, Union blue and
Confederate grey, the colors of almost
every nation on earth, even China, with
her violet aud white, the mourning col
ors of the Orient, horse, foot and artil
ierl, civic, public and private; music OF
muflled drums, of brass bands, Of bag
pipes, of flies and cymbals; and sc
through the long hours the mighty
pageant passed by. All the conditions
and circumstances were colossal.
THE MUSIC.
A great deal the most impressive
feature of the event was the vast
silence. 1t was comparatively absolute
No matter how softly the muffied
drums were rolled you could hcarthem
squares away The only heavy sound
was the rumbling of the cannon wheels
/ When the band of the Third New
Jersey regiment passed by, playing
Nearer My God to Thee" the sweet,
solemn strains were distinctly audible
far mp Fifth avenue, many squares
beyond where they would have been
! lost in the noise of an ordinary day.
The wailing sound of the flies of the
4 Fourth Connecticut drum corps, play
/ inc the sad. sweet notes of ''Plcyel Z
/ Hymn" could be heard almost from
the time they swung into Fifth avenue
/ from Fourteenth street. The drum
corps of the Sixth New Jersey band
played Flee as Bird to the Noun
/ tain" and the band of the Continental
Foot Guards of Massachusetts played
| Sweet Spirit, Hear My Prayer.
THE INTERESTING MOMENT.
1t was o'clock when the catafalque
passed through Madison Square. 1t
was the moment of the day. For that
all waited; about that all interest