Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1885-08-28

on Thursday Floral Decora.
.tions.
NEW YORK, Aug. E.-People loitered In City
HallPark all Wednesday night. They we're first
in the line that soon after six O'Clock yester-
day morning, began filing past the remains Of
General Grant where they lay in the City Hall.
There were no great throngs awaiting admis'
sion. Those who waited at six o'c!ock were
not more han one thousand persons. In
spcctor Steers was in charge.
The clocks pointed sos O'Clock, and, at the
Inspectors orders, the iron gates were thrown
open. Ten or twelve hundred people had
damned up against the officers who barred the
channel ut the edge OF the fountain circle.
ceascd to hold the people in. check, and the
stream began to flow past the remains and
through the building. In the first minute
This rate Of passages would never an
swcr when the dense Grove should be
waiting outside. PEOPLE were fastened. They
were hurried through at one hundred and one
a minute then the pressure was increased to
one hundred and four Il minute. A little
bootblack, with his box on his shoulder, came
and his hair had been freshly wet and
smoothed out by the fountain. Many women
came, too, and they caused delay. They must
needs examine every detail, and would fain
put their noses to the flowers. Men and boys
and wan-faced women, with lunch-baskets
and dinner-pails, filed along.
The hour from six to seven o'clock was en-
ploycd by working men and women, boys and
girls, in viewing the remains. They were on
Their way to work, the day was young and
hour OF the day: All through the Q the
formation Of the line was at a point
near the fountain, and the time Of waiting
point where the line formed to tho
place where the remains rested. After seven
O'clock the line changed as to its personnel.
There were less women and girls. They had
gone through and were ut work when the line
began to lengthen. At eight o'clock there
was an9the IF t Sna 1|sitor fak'T ne Place iasere m; b 5ha
We're stepping from elevated and surface
cars into the ID line net that at was moving then nat at
police were reinforced at eight O'Clock. De.
tails under sergennts and roundsmen had
beer arriving and reporting to the Inspector
were four hundred and eighty-seven men on
duty. The channel, with walls of police. was
extended in Y shape around the sides OF the
ceived the people, and from which they were
Strengthened outin line of twos and threes up
to the City Hall steps.
fast becoming q throng; the line was being
hurried through the hall at the rate of 14O per
minute, and for a little while the pace was
ITO per minute, which rate, If maintained for
an hour, would have passed 10000 persons.
At eleven o'clock between 10000 and 3l,OOO
persons had passed the casket and looked
toward the remains, though many coming
rapidly in from the bright sunlight were
scarcely able to distinguish them In the somber
s sordi ot9ee Of 5e of t Rblaobb, aard ef e xIdaa%en W whs
set up during the morning beneath the rotun-
da dome, where the light streamed dow upon
It. The central column rose ten feet and was
were placed huge rows Of white buds
a mile long, The time occupied in reaching
the City Hall depended upon the place where
parties Joined the procession. A gentleman
street 5o'ns and II : bro s1f sSfno reported POI r mi tSas
reaching the cusket. Those who formed
5 Joined l the main eh p 1ae faae on sf Breadway sn ut
about Leonard street were over uhree-quar-
ters of an hour in marching to the City Hall
one, and 20 complaints were made Of any dis
turbance whatever. The police were so close
together that it was almost impossible to join
the ranks out of turn.
Estimates of tho number of persons view
ing the remains varied. The average rate of
persons passing through the City Hall was
reached nearly 200, but the instructions Of
the officers were not to rush the crowd
much faster than 100 per minute, as greater
nifty of the occasion. On the estimate Of
the latter figure over seventy.fve thousand
persons viewed the remains Up to four o'clock
in line at one time was about five thousand.
v, a Midnight mid n Sddv the a,t line Of people ,t waiting aN to
Grand street, fully a mile. At IL 30 the police
cut the line half way, telling the people in tho
rear portion that as the doors closed ut one
o'clock it would be useless for them to wait
longer. At the time of closing the doors it
was estimated that 10000 persons had viewed
the Generals face since it reached the City
HaI5 Taurs s1ased night e r., The ! {, gates of the City
hour 6,dO people hurried past the coffin.
making a total Of $4,000 people for the seven
hours succeeding six o'clock.
A very general exclamation made on leaving
body was that its face does not look at all like
and it is also true that it does not much more
closely resemble the Generals face as it looked
ut any time during his life. 1t is %shrunken
aration which the undertakers speak Of as
paint that it shocks the friends of the hero US
they look upon 1t.
Wednesday, Colonel Grant was asked if he
would consent to the placing OF a Grand
Army badge upon the breast of the dead
General. The son ,acceded, and yesterday
8. Grant Post, pinned the token upon tho
Generals breast. Consent had also been
given the military, order of the Loyal Legion
token OF that organization. After midday,
and during the lunch hours of the early after
noon, many letter carriers passed into the
hall and viewed the remains.
The steel case which is to contain the re-
mains of General Grant arrived at Undertaken
MerrlttS yesterday. The case is entirely diff
ferent from the first one ordered. 1t is made
Of cheops steel, and weighs $500 pounds.
it is 9834 inches long. 40 inches wide
and 81 inches high. The steel is half an inch
in thickness. The case is composed of six
pieces. The rivets by which the ends are
fastened together are ~fve-eighths of an inch
thick and are placed two inches apart and
are what is known as button-headed. On
the inside of the case three iron rollers are
permanently secured to the bottom, and three
wooden rollers on each side to assist in plac-
ing the coffin in position. On the edges
where the different pieces are riveted
together the steel is one inch thick. One
end is left open and through this opening the
coffin will be placed in the case. On the side
Of the case is a silver plate with the inscrip-
ton: ~. S. Grant. Died July q, 1885,"
The members of General Grants household
kept closely to their apartments at the Fifth
Avenue Hotel yesterday. Colonel Fred Grant
attended to several matters requiring his at
tendance, and jesse Grant showed himself
once or twice downstairs. There was a
number of callers, all old personal
friends. No one else was received. Mrs.
Grant is at Mount MacGregor and will not
attend the funeral here. She at first
hoped to accompany the remains of her hus-
band to Albany and thence to New York. But
she is much Frustrated both mentally and
physically. She has hardly been able to
leave her room at the Drexel cottage, and
is far too weak to endure the journeyto New
York. The family advise a change Of sur
roundings for their mother. but she can not
be induced to leave Mount MacGregor
,,uIoSa fin. Now Vorlx Tbor lova tl,o,ofG~o