Pullman herald. [volume] (Pullman, W.T. [Wash.]) 1888-1989, 1889-02-02

From the monument visitors can OBJ
tain a charming view of the city and
vicinity, which they can carry away in
their memories as one of their most
precious souvenirs. A trip up, with
the car loaded, occupies about ten
minutes. Ten minutes are spent at the
top to give the visitors a chance to look
out of the windows, and then those
who wish to go down are taken back
to the lower regions, about nine min
utes being occupied by the descent.
Those who wish to remain above, how
ever, are permitted to do so, but they
must wait for the next downward trip
of the car, since no visitors are al
lowed to ascend or descend by means
of the stairway.
At last the word was given, the door
was shut with bang, and the con-
ductor, with a glance around the car,
pulled the hand-cable downward sew
eral times in succession. There was a
slight tremble or shake as the car was
lifted from the floor, and then the
heads of the Waterman, and the floor
man, and the square doorway full OF
light seemed to slip down, down, until
they were lost. The car moved noise
lessly and smoothly as it slid up the
longest elevator shaft in the world.
The eye, turned instinctivelY upward,
winked at the immense vista, through
which the strong, stiff red cables
twins they looked like-spin them
selves up and over two great wheels in
the roof, five hundred feet overhead.
The light from the incandescent lamps
filtered through the grated roof and
sides of the car, giving a spotted ap-
pearance to the passengers. On either
side were the rough, uneven courses
of the old masonry, the stones ragged
and the same zigzaging without regard
to uniformity.
The eye had about tired of the
monotony of the surroundings when
some one exclaimed at the appearance
of the first OF the celebrated memorial
stones set in the walls. This first
series occurs on the thirty-foot level.
By tho way, every thing i'll the nonu-
ment 4, located by ''levels." The bot
tom is called the ground level, and
every landing is known by the number
of feet of its elevation. On the thirty
foot level are the stones of Maine.
Delaware, Arkansas and the National
Grays, of Washington. From this
point to the halfway level the trip is
full of interest, the attention being
drawn to alternate sides of the car to
note the various tablets and inscrip-
tions. A good plan to follow is to take
one side going up and the other going
| down, paying strict attention to each
in its turn. The level at forty feet
contains the stones from Nashville,
Tenn, Louisiana, Colorado, Alabama
and the Columbia Typographical
Society. Thence the States and
all sorts of societies and military
companies are intermingled. On the
sixty-foot level is an old square tablet,
so badly weather-beaten that it is IL
legible from the car. On the next
level is q magnificent stone from Mas
| sachusetts and one from Connecticut.
! The latter is worn so on the left-hand
side that some of the raised lettering
is very indistinct, while that on the
other side is sharp and clear. The
| City of Washington's tribute to her
godfather is neighbor of the stones
from Maryland and Virginia on the
| eighty-foot level. On the two hundred
foot level is one of handsomest collec-
lions of stone in the monument. The
tablet from Bremen is a rich piece o.
dark stone, highly polished, standing
out two inches from the wall, with
rounded edges. The lettering is ele
gantly gilded on the surface. In the
center of the landing IL stone, in re
lief from Turkish temple. The rich
Orr entail ornamentation is in sharp
contrast to the simplicity exhibited il
the majority of the stones, and at
tracts instant attention.
To the right, under the Bremen
stone, is large tablet from the Swiss
Federation. This shows to greater
9xtent than any other stone in the
,haft the vandalism of visitors tina
finally forced the now extinct Monu
ment Commission to close the shaft t.
the public. Five or six of the larg,
raised letters of the stone have beef
bodily removed and the tablet ether
wise injured. In many instances tn,
stones have been blackened perma
nently by the close application Of can
die flames. This occurred whel
every visitor was obliged to carr.
with him a candle or lantern to ligh
the way up the steps through thu
Egyptian darkness of the shaft. Mich
gan is represented on the two hundre
and ten-foot level by solid block o
copper suitably inscribed, and tel
feet above is the gem of the collection
a stone from Nevada, bearing tn
name of the State in letters OF soli
silver. set into the block, flush wit
the surface. On this same level is
stone from Salt Lake City, with tn
characteristic beehive carved on tn
front. The tablets extend to half-wa
NJ the shaft. The1ast ones are on tn
two hundred and forty-foot level. Y
t these the highest is that from Wales
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