The Portland daily press., 1889-05-03
LOOKING BACK ON THE CELEBRATION.
New Workers Miss the Crowds from
their Crowded Streets.
How Good Natured Throngs Bonn
barded the Last Parade.
Ancient Boxes and pecrepIt Barrels
Sold at a Premium.

NEW YORK, May 2-Now the great cele-
bration is over and the city begins to resume
Its every day aspect. the size of the crowds
which have blocked the thoroughfares for
the last three days is made very clearly ap-
parent by their absence. New York's
crowded streets seem deserted. There were
amusing things happening each moment dur
ing the great show, and yesterdays crowd
furnished its share of them.
The scene at Washington Square all day
was much the same as on the day of the mil
itary parade. There seemed to be more peo-
pie, however, and the :crowds were allowed
to occupy the curbline. A novelty present
ed itself in the use of dry goods boxes and
barrels by the rear ranks of spectators, for
the purpose Of elevating themselves above
their less fortunate colleagues. The streets
crossing the Square on the Waverley Place
side, were absolutely barricaded " ith these
improvised stands. which filled In every lit
tie crevice between the innumerable trucks.
The crowds about the tangle were packed in
manner making it impossible for. any one
to pierce the barrier. The stand itself was
crowded to its utmost capacity. and the park
behind it contained thousands of people who
had been unable to gain even chance to Sc
cure seat. The occupants of the upper
tier of the stand found it impossible to leave
their seats in the middle of the day, and
many of them who had neglected to provide
themselves with luncheon were supplied by
fakirs, who thew life saving ropes to the
famishing and attached baskets Of sole
leather sandwiches and cans of milk from
the chalk cliffs of England.
Peddiers of all kinds, such as flourish in
midsummer at C0ney Island, were in clover
among the overflow" for the guardians of
the public peace were as unable to get out
through the mass OF spectators as the unfor-
tunate outsiders were unable to get inside
the lines. Barrels and boxes, most Of them
dilapidated structures, which offered every
variety Of danger and none of comfort, COM
manded twenty-five cents apiece, and were
eagerly bought. The 10000 seated specta-
tors and the 10000 more who stood in the
Immediate neighborhood of the Square,
where quiet In comparison with their liber-
ality of applause the day before. They con-
lined themselves more to the waving of
hankerchiefs as q mode of expressing appre-
citation, but iildulged to great extent In the
fad" of hurting volleys Of fruit and sand
wlches at the marching hosts.
When the sun climbed over the tops of the
house and looked down into Fifth avenue, it
saw the egrand stand at the reservoir covered
scrambling multitute. each person intent on
getting the best seats, and, consequently
each person getting into somebody else's
way. 1t was a surprisingly good-humored
crowd, however, and the people seemed to
feel common bond of sympathy, for, to a
large extent the same people occupied the
stand yesterday who had viewed the militia
~ parade of the day before from that point
Fully as many people crowded the stand as
on Tuesday.
For almost six hours the people sat and
wstched the eyer-changing panorama, ever
breaking into new exclamations OF delight as
some new wonder came in sight. The min
ute the last foat had passed the crowd fll ed !
In the avenue behind it; but when the pa th
ln front of the reservoir stand became thus
black with people, the following crowd met
with an unexpected experience.
The occupants OF the stand had been sit
ting on cushions which enterprising mer@s
chants had sold to them, but now they had
no further use for them, and so, by common
impulse. without a thought of the conse-
quepces, they hurled the cushions down upon
the heads of the unsuspecting crowds be-
meath. For few minutes the air was full
OF flying cushions, and then the conse-
hats and ruined spring bonnets, together
with the agonized expression of the luckless
wearers brought sudden remorse to the
thoughtless throwers, while the small boys
gathered up the cushions and scampered
away.
The number of visitors in town during the
three days is variously estimated at from l.
0OO, 900 to 100000, the largest crowds COM
ing in on Tuesday and yesterday.
Not more than zoo, 900 are thought to have
remained in town during the entire cele-
bration, for which number the hotels and
boarding houses had to find accommoda-
tions.
The railroad companies, the restaurant
keepers and the hotel men have been the
ones to profit most by the centennial thus
far, though the retail stores will come in for
their share of the benefits during the rest of
the week.