Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1885-07-10
GENERAL GRANT

N.uN.tNS&. NVNNlN
The Journey of Himself and Family,
Mount MacGregor-The mustrions' 20
tient Greatly Fatigued by tho Trin-n1
Douglas Hopes the Change Will Pr
Temporarily Beneficial to the Pat;oa..Ne
New YORK, June 17.-There was
subdued manner and an appearance ~ .
sadness manifested by all the me,mheme,
of the family and household Monday Is
were proceeded with. The thought Of t%e
probability that the General mis .he
not return alive to his old homa
though it found no expression on the nas,
Of any one, was evidently present in pn tns
minds of all, and when evening came anu INV
CHEEKY conversation was INDUCED in. Cans
Grant was no longer heard, and HI.
expressive countenance showed how keens
ly he felt the loss of his power ..
artieulate. 1t was with didicul%tp
that sufficient self command comfy
be obtained to suppress a flow of tears
William Ii. Vanderbilt's private car was
the last of three which made up the special
train WHICH was to convey General Gram +
to Mount MacGregor. General Grant an
rived at the depot about nine O'Clock, Ar.
at once entered the Vanderbilt car anu
took his seat on a sofa. With hi, |
own hands he adjusted his woolen !
skull cap, and drew closer the neck scarf !
SO as to conceal the ugly swelling that
filled out the right side of his neck even
with his ear. The heavy drapery was 81
arranged so as to prevent any drauphMts T
from reaching the sick man. Mrs. Grant
sat at the Generals right hand
and he was ever under her watchfm
! eyes. The ride through the tunnel in
the city was the worst that was to h
expected during the entire trip. The Sham
curves shook the car a little, but the cared
the engineer prevented any shaking that
could disturb the General. Mrs. Fred
Grant, Mrs. Ulysses Grant and Mrs. Sar.
toris were also in the car, while the chill. |
dren of the household were under the cars
of Colonel Fred Grant, in a forward car.
About 10 o'clock General Grant turned a |
little in his chair, in order that he might
command q better view of the west bank Of
the river. He wanted to gain a glimpse Of
scenery was growing very familiar to tina
sick man. Scenes of his cadetship vera /
coming to view, and at length at 10 :15, when
the quarters at West Point came into view
the General nodded across the river, and
again family smiled as Mrs. Grant glanced
across at him to see if he was noting the
| point they were passing. She smiled as he
nodded. The ladies hurried to the river.
side of the car to watch, and Colonel Fred
Giant pointed out a pile of rocks which he
had heard his father mention in telling his
swimming adventures Of his West Point
days. The General spoke no word, but fol-
lowed the scene with his eyes. looking rear
ward until West Point was shut out from
view by a curve in the road.
Once the General pointed to a residence
on the west bank of the river, and, leaning
toward Colonel Fred Grant, he attempted
to speak and tell him it was the house of a
friend, at which In particular he had been
entertained, but so weak was his voice
that the General could not make himself
heard. Dr.. Douglas requested him not to
make any effort to speak, and babe him
write what he had to say, which the Gen
eral did. At twelve ( lock DR.. Douglas
said: Il have made no effort to feel his
pulse. l could not do SO while the
train is in motion. He is showing less IA
tlgue than might have been expected. lam
anxious to reach the mountain, so thatI can
clear his throat of this dust, which is trying
to him. He is feeling the heat, but his
strength is holding out remarkably we'll"
Albany was passed at 2:2O, when the
General was given his liquid food. At 1:52
o'clock the train dashed into Saratoga,
where a great crowd was in waiting. Post
Wheeler, G. A. r., in full uniform, greeted
its old commander, and stood guard while
the transfer was being made. At this point
the Mount McGregor Road runs parallel
with the New York Central, so that the
General simply stepped from the platform
OF one car to that of another, and in a few
minutes the Mount McGregor special began
putting away up the long hill.
at several stations between Tarrytown
and Saratoga great crowds of people greeted
the General with cheers, to which he made
acknowledgment by waving his hand and
smiling.
The climb up the mountain side was made
in three-quarters of III hour, and at 2:4C
o'clock, after five hours and forty minute:
j%ourneying. General Grant arrived at the
summit of Mount McGregor. The top Of
the car-steps was flush with the plat
form, and before any one knew of his
intention, the General stepped off and
started up the hill toward the Drexel cot
tage, four hundred yards away. A rustic
wooden awning covered the plank walk,
and at the end was a rudely-painted wood
Ell sign bearing the legend: "Welcome tc
Our Hero-1S65-1Ss5-' Borne along by
his tremendous %will-power, the General
tottered for about one hundred feet
up the steep path. Then he wavered a
moment and stood still. Detective Frye,
OF Saratoga, was close by with a rattan
chair, and the General sank, or rather fell
back into it. The effort to make the ascent
had exhausted him. Constable Minnick
and Mr.. Fryer each took hold of a side Of
the chair and carried the invalid up
to the house. The moment they sat
down their burden the General
sprang from his seat and walked firmly
up the flight of ten steps, with the sole
assistance Of his ane He sat down gasp
ing on the veranda, and after half an hour
went inside, where he was placed in an
easy chair. DIR. Douglas was anxious 70
examine and cleanse the Generals throat;
de found that considerable irritation ha
been caused by fine black dust which ha
lodged during the journey, but said that the
surface underneath, thsagh intlamed, ap
peared better than he had expected. !he
swelling outside had steadily increased aftel
passing Hudson, and during the last Loal
OF the trip it rapidly filled forward on tile
neck and below the collar.
When the doctor had cleansed and trea'.
ed his throat the General reappeared on inc
piazza, and was seated on a pilloW-clsa'
Toned chair. Toward evening a brisk show.
er came up, but he braved it and stald on'
I'LL the wood mosquitoes came, when lie
| arose. and. with thn assistance of his cane,