The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1891-12-26
TWAS A MERRY XMAS.
sAvANNAHIANs ENJOYED IT TO
TIE UTMOST.


Ablaze With Bonfires and the Air
Filled With Fireworks Last Night.
The Services In the Churches-Fine
Music and Elaborate Decorations.
The Day at the Hotels and Restau-
rants-The Christmas Casualties.
Christmas day was all that any one could
wish 1t to be. In spite Of Old Probs. sour
ness on Christmas eve. the day broke bright
and sunny and throughout. Savannah has
never had known more perfect Christmas.
1t was holiday In every sense OF the
word A few stores were open during the
morning but they might as well have been
closed for the business that was done. A
few people who did not finish their Christ
mas purchases the night before, were about
the only ones who bought anything. The
day was given up 10 pleasure and Savan-
nahiens know how to get all the pleasure
there is In holiday out Of it. That they
made the most of yesterday goes without
saying.
Those who spent the day at home spent it
quietly. The rest spent it as they choose and
had jolly time of il. The streets were
filed with people in the afternoon and last
night. everybody was out to see the fire.
works In the park and in the squares.
THE LAMENTATIONS.
The Nominations were more general than
usual. The small boy has been devoting
his spare time with more ardor than usual
during the last two or three weeks to raid.
ing alleys and back yards for barrels, and
the result was bonfire material was in
abundance and the bonfres burned high
and long. Almost every square in the CITY
In which bonfires are allowed had from
one TO half a dozen and sometimes more.
The fireworks kept the southern part Of
the city ablaze from dark until the fires
burned out, some of them long after mid
night. The Park extension was thronged
with people, and the residence portion of
the city participated in the determinations.
There was the same rivalry that has always
existed among the squares to see which
should have the biggest bonfres and the
most fireworks There were the usual num-
Der OF battles, but no serious casualties were
reported from them.
THE RIVAL SQUARES.
Madison square south.of the De Soto and
and Troup square at HabershAm and Macon
streets exoelled In the size Of the bonfires
and the amount of the fireworks set OF.
Watson & Powers set off q fine lot OF fire.
works In Madison square to the delight Of $50
or 200 boys. A large number Of ladies and
gentlemen gathered on the balcony of the
De Soto 30 watch the display. The Guards
tookit up where Messrs. Watson & Powers
left off and kept the ball rolling, firing a lot
of~oRndlee and rockets from the balcony of
the club house. The bonfres burned
almost internationally in the square from
early IN the nsskning until after midnight,
The constant setting on Of cannon crackers
sounded as If the place were being bonn
barded.
THE MAYORS FIREWORKS DISPLAY.
The boys in Troup square. doubtless. had
the biggest bonfire OF any square In the
city. They burned barrels by the dozen at
time for hours. The number of barrels
burned must have gone into the hundreds.
Mayor MoDonough made his usual liberal
Investment in fireworks for the boys, and
some hundreds ofdollars went up in smoke
TO the delight Of nearly as many hundred
boys. The square was Uttered with the
charred ends and sticks Of candles and
rockets.
Washington square was In its glory all
day. Five policemen were detailed to see
that the ordinance prohibiting bonires and
fireworks north of Liberty street were OBJ
served in that neighborhood.
THE POLICE COULDN'T STOP 1T.
The efforts OF the policemen were worse
than useless. The bonfres blazed on all
ing deck, they stood with fireworks ali
around them. The cannon crackers fell at
their feet from the roofs of the houses even.
Last night the square looked like a battle
field, Uttered over, as it was, with the frag-
ments of fireworks.
The ordinance prohibiting fireworks and
bonfres north Of Liberty street was most
complete nullity. Bonires blazed almost as
freely on the north side of Liberty street as
on the south and frecrackers we're cons
mon. Some audacious boys built bonfire
IN the middle Of Broughton street.
near Houston. In fact the sport
OF setting off fireworks in the northern
portion of the city appeared to be in
tensihed because of the objections of the
police. The police were helpless in their
efforts to enforce the ordinance and ceased
to take much notice of the fireworks ex-
cept when they were set off under their
noses.
There were only few arrests for the
violations OF the ordinance.
IN THE PARK EXTENSION.
The Park extension was ablaze with
nearly 100 bonfires, and fireworks were set
off from every direction. From dark until
10 o'clock the air wasIilled with rockets and
Roman candles. Cannon Peppers banged
and tirewheels sizzed, and with It all the
boys and hundred whose boyhood DAYS
have gone by were happy. It was Jolly
nlEnU every where. The b0unreS were not
confined 10 the squares and the park.
South Of Anderson street dozens Of fires
blazed IN vacant lots, and out on the com
mons crowds of colored boys danced around
stacks of burning barrels and boxes robbed
from somebody's back yard. The barrel
market will go up after to-day on account
OF the bonfres.
OTHER RESORTS.
The people who spent the day out OF the
city, in the country and at the resorts, bad
equally as delightful day as did those who
spent it at home and in the city. The trains
70 Tybee and to Thunderbolt, Isle of Hope
and Montgomery, carried hundreds who
wanted to get breath Of the invigoratiug
afr Of the salts. The day was as pleasant
out Of the city as it was in it. The attrac-
ticn at Thunderbolt was, Of course, the
races, and the largest crowds went there,
but ia good many went to Tybee and to other
piaces.
The Savannah wheelmen had a run to
Thunderbolt In the afternoon, which was
participated in by most of the members OF
the club. The wheelmen refreshed Them
selves at Thunderbolt and returned 70 the
city about $3.50 O'Clock.
Very few hunting parties went out, most
OF the sportsmen preferring to spend the
day at home in the city.
The police had a comparatively quiet day
only twentY.four arrests being docketed al