The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-05-02

ing SpctI3tlcS IN the history OF the world.
1t Is safe to say, however, that none Of tho
visitors to-day was dissatisfied with what
he saw. From the Forestry building ON
the south to the Montana building at the
extreme northern limit of the grounds,
there was succession of strange and
novel sights, moving multitudes and
display Of the resources and products of
civilization such as has never before been
collected in one place.
The C<owd was a good-natured one.
There was, of course some of the incou-
Venlence and discomfort inscparable from
large gathering, and in some cases curl
oslty to see all that was TO be seen over
came good manners; but Gs a rule there
was a disposition to give all an equal
chance, and there was no disorderlY rush
ing into forbidden quarters, or ill-natured
complaints at the triting inconvenience
which We're undergone. Aside from the
foreigners, who after all formed but a
small fraction of the crowd, the bulk of
the multitude was made upof Chicagoans.
This was to be expected, considering the
partially unfinished condition of the great
show and the further fact that most of the
prospective visitors from other states and
territories had long ago made their ar
rangements to reach Chicago after the
exposition shall be fully opened. Chicago.
however, had evidently resolved to take
a day off in honor of the event, and the
attendance was highly gratifying, not
only as to numbers but also in make up.
Neighboring cities and states were not by
any means unrepresented, however. Spe-
cial trains brought into the city thou
sands Of slghtscers, who swelled the
throng that had gathered from the streets
and highways of the Garden City and
joined in the opening of the big show.
1t was a great day for the rising genera
tion. 1t seemed almost incredible that so
many children could be got together even
in Chicago, and the independent spirit of
young America was manifested in the
fact that most Of the youngsters seemed
To be unaCcompanied by their parents or
older persons. They swarmed through
the big buildings, got themselves tangled
up in all sorts of unexpected places and
made the lives of the Columbian Guards
miserable from daylight TO dark They
took the big battle ship by storm; they
sacked the convent Of La Rabida; and
they invaded the sacred precincts OF the
Mohammedan mosque. They We're every
where at once, and no doubt saw twice as
much of the interesting features of the
exposition as any mature person did.
All the arrangements for handling the
crowds were excellent The gates were
at no time choked and the throng passed
into the grounds with less trouble than is
often experienced at a theatcr or other
place of entertainment Throughout the
grounds were distributed the worlds fair
police, or Columbian Guards, ass they are
called. They were of value In directing
the movements Of the people when q
blockade was threatened, and their serv-
ices were occasionally called into reQuisi-
tiOn to clear the way for passing vehicle
connected with the police department, or
the sanitary department of the eXposi-
ton. Considering the thrOng, there were
surprisingly few accidents Of serious
character, however, and the ambulances
were seldom called into rcqUisition,.
The transportation facilities, while not
yet completed to their highest capacity,
were fairly adequate The people, too,
made the task of the railroads easy by
starting early. Even in the early morn
ing the down town streets were filled with
people headed for jackson Park These
were easily taken care Of. AS the fore
noon wore on the crowd swcllcd, and by
10 o'clock the human current was at the
food. The crowds did not depend upon
the public transportation lines, however
They came in every conceivable fashion-
on foot, on bicycles, in carts, carriages,
band wagons, street cars, railroads and
steamboats,. Anything on wheels if on
land, or anything that would float, If on
the water, was utilized.
There were some qucerly assorted
groups. On one of the early Illinois Cen
trail trains, in the same coach, were a mer-
chant from Bagdad with his two turbancd
attendants, group of Prussian metal
workers, a squad of English soldiers,
three Armenian gymnasts from the mid
way plaisanCc, several malodorous and
Chattering Cingalese and the Hon. Will
liam +. Cody, better known as Buffalo
BILL who, by the way, attracted as
much attention to-day as any pasha with
three tails, or other foreign notable on
the grounds.
Another car held party Of Arab don
key drivers, who divided the honors with
three Hindoo snake charmers from
upper India, in the eyes Of a family from
Missouri, consisting Of father mother
and five children. The elevated road car
ried similar incOngru0us groups, and the
cable cars resounded all day with the
tongues of all nations.
Inside the grounds the facilities for got
ting around were varied Most of the
people, Of course, walked; but for those
who preferred to utilize other modes Of
locomotion there were the wheeled chairs,
which conveyed the sight-secr by land, or
the electric launches and other craft,
which cruscd through the lagoOns and
canals, passing on the route all the prin-
cipal buildings and points of attraction.
OF course, such multitude was hungry
aud thirsty, and the thousand-and- one
restaurants and rofreshmcnt bars scat
tered through the grounds did a thriving
business.
Outside the walls Of the fair proper,
too, there was the same shifting, ever
changing crowd Of curiosity seekers. In
the Midway plaisanCe, the various VIII
lagos were crowded all day, and the
booths and shows on the fringe of the fair
were never empty The lcathcrlungcd
side-shOw "blower" was in his glory,
and all the familiar old attractions of the
circus and Concy Island were to be seen
on every side, not a whit abashed by their
close proximity to the most stupcndous
show the world has ever seen.
All day long the crowds cbbed and
flowed in and about the big structures.
With most people the great difficulty was
TO determine where to commence, and once
fairly started on the tour Of sightseeing
there came a feeling Of hCiplessncss and
despair Of ever accomplishing the task of
inspecting the whole exposition. Many
who set out in the morning Boosting that
thcy would cover all the buildings before
night found themselves at evening still
wandering through the aisles Of the first
building they had entered, The seasoned
exposition-goers who had visited Paris,
Philadelphia aud Vienna mapped out their
plan Of campaign like veterans, and cata-
logue in hand set bravely at work on some
one department with the intention of TAX
f.. III.