St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1889-09-11
THE DAY AND THE CROWDS.
Everything Captured by the Mill
tary-Scenes About the City and
Grounds.

Everything Captured by the Mill
tary-Scenes About the City and
Grounds.
The city was stormed yesterday by both
"shot and shell" and the military men who
captured it swarmed everywhere. The First,
Second and Third regiments of the state
militia were stationed at various places prior
to going to the fair grounds and to a stranger
the impression might have been that St Paul,
bag and baggage, was under military sur
Yeillance and every inhabitant a prisoner of
war. Many of the outside companies ar
rived III the city the night before, while the
rest came in on the morning trains At the
old Sixth street armOry the First regiment
stacked their guns, and the capitol campus
was the rendezvous for the Second and
Third Ito o'clock, according to orders
formed in line. The First formed on Sixth
street. with right on Fort street. and marched
to the capitol, where the forces were
joined and the three regiments, representing
/ 200 of the pride of Minnesota, paraded
down Wabasha TO Seventh and Seven cor
ners. down Third street TO the union depot,
with Coils. Bobleter, Bend and Wright at the
head. The sight was an eXhilarating one,
and as the boys in blue marched step and
step with banners and flags waving and the
bands playing patriotic airs, the thousands
of spectators that lined the sides of the
streets seemed actuated by one impulse, and
sent out rousing cheer and shouted, ''Hur-
rah for the stars and stripes, with a tiger for
the bows in blue" Arriving at the depot
each regiment boarded separate trains and
was swung up the track TO he Fair grounds
The mounted squadron rode directly to the
grounds without parading the streets, and
looked little dusty when 1t arrived at the
grounds. As each regiment
REACHED THE GROUNDS
1t marched to the dining hall, where arms
were stacked and the boys sat down to a SUBJ
stantial dinner. These young soldiers were
not alone in their glory, however, as war
seen on every side. Every incoming train
both from this city and Minneapolis. brought
myriads of men who had fought for their
country IN the great battle of the Rebellion
Ali members of organized posts were ad-
mitted free, and by 2 O'Clock, just before the
exercises commenced, 2,200 of them had
passed the gates. Aside from that there were
enough individual G. A. r. men to swell the
total to 5000. Just think Of thatl About
s, ZOO old veterans and nearly 1000 militia
men and cavalrymen within the gates of the
fair ground. Enough men, in trnth, to make
a fair-siZed army, and enough men with their
accouttrements and weapons to Tepulse any
attack.
shouldered their arms and marched in fours
to in front of the grand stand and on the in
side of the track fence, where the exercises
were held. The people who were in the
GROUNDS Ol MlDIdTN Gay COulQ OQly
be numbered by tens of thousands. Three
times 10000 passed through the turnstiles
during the day. At l As the registers
showed the enormous figures of %, 900, and
that number was swelled with enough to
make the total long before the sun was half
way down to the horizon. Loaded and
packed into every train Ike so many sar-
dimes were hundreds of men, women and
children. In fact, there was a constant jam
all Of the time. and the gatekeepers, poor
fellows %, we're in a constant state of per-
spiration. 1t was all they could do to take
the tickets as fast as they were handed in,
and several policemen were kept busy keep
ing the crowds back from
FORCING THROUGH THE GATES.
Once inside, they scattered TO the four Winds
some going to the exhibition halls, while the
majority made bee line for the grand stand
where the crush was tremendous. Grand
Army, men with their wives and sisters, and
their cousins ana their aunts, fairly sWarmed
over everything. People of every national
ity and every color and creed sat piled upon
each other, pushing, groaniug and swearing
and craning their necks to see what the $50
jers'' were doing. The grand stand has
seating capacity of 10000 souls, but count
ing these who were standing on the top of
others heads and back, at least $4,000 peo-
pie congregated in that modern structure.
In consequence of the fact that there was no
room in the grand stand, and all other avail
able space was taken up by carriages