Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1885-08-12
THE LINE OF MARCH,

able by human hands in imposing and
majestic display was reached when the
grandest military and civil pageant Of
modern times, perhaps of all time,
swept slowly and solemnly across the
broad spaces of Madison square, the
heart and center of the city. At that
moment Madison square was the center
and nucleous of the greatest aggrega-
ton of people ever known in America.
The throng was simply Invaluable, vast
beyond comprehension by number of
units: You might as we'll speak of
prairie wheat field by the number of
heads of wheat, as to speak of the
throng of to-day by individuals. In
and about Madison square every place
that person could stand upon, crouch
upon, climb upon, or cling to was oc-
cupied, and one could feel the
weight of the presence of the other
hundreds of thousands that one could
not see. For nine miles the narrow
channel of the procession passed
through two vast, crushing, crowding
and clinging masses of human beings.
From the street edge maintained by
the police the compact crowd took all
the space. They packed the pave
ments, covered all steps, stoops and
balconies, and filled all windows. They
hung upon lamp posts, and telegraph
poles were black with them. Swarms
of people covered the roofs, some of
them looking down from height of
from ten to twelve stories. Windows
along the line of march were eagerly
rented at enormous prices. Balconies
and temporary stands sold at prices
that were simply amazing, and a
chance to stand on flight of steps was
worth from 81 to So. Some single
windows brought S75, and one
balcony capable of holding twelve
or fifteen people, near the
Hotel Brunswick, brought $500.
| Peddlers 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 we're 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 at all. 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 1926
| o'clock to the minute Gen. Hancock
and staff came in sight, when nobody
expected him for an hour. This
showed toe good of having the process
sion headed by and under the manage
ment 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 wa:
shown by the fact that a long ane
tiresome break occurred between thu
rear of the regulars and the head of thu
New York National guard following
The approach of that flood of human
ity and its northward progress with al
its surroundings and effect, was a tire
mendous sight, constituting itself thu
chief feature of spectacle never to b.
forgotten, ranking alone in our da,
and generation. A living river. i
sewpt into the human line of Uniol
square, passed on resistlessly aroun'
Eighteenth street, and from Fifth ave
nue. emptied itself into the ocean of lif
in Madison Square, and flowed on north
ward as the blue waters of the gul
stream sweep through its Atlantic
hordars The crowds infrincing uDOl