Weekly expositor. (Brockway Centre, Mich.) 1882-1894, 1893-09-01

structures has been e Owed in some
thing like two years from series of
low lands subject to occasional flood
ing, of swamp and moras>, and over
grown here and there with stunted
oaks and sedge grass. The genius
that transformed the area low
covered by the White City into
wooded islands, lagoons, grand
canals, erected the palatial buildings
and laid out the broad plaZas seems be-
yond comprehension. But il is in mo-
ments of resting up from tramps
through miles of richly lined aisles of
these buildings that one commences to
take in some OF the effects accom-
plished by the men who did il and
who, keeping up liberal draft on ma
lures elements-sky, earth and water
proceeded TO work this unattr c.
tive plot into shape for the archi-
tects and prepare it for the reception
of the superb structures which have
become the delight of millions.
About the b st way TO get general
idea of the arrangement of the
grounds latter studying up the map
in your guide book and getting sutli-
ciently played out to be satisfied with
keeping still is TO take passage about
dusk on one of the electric launches
that stop at frequent intervals ia the
lagoon. A journey of nearly niEe
miles and about three quarters of an
hour lorg in and out, aloug the reedy
edges of Wooded island, the mar
BILE lined Grand basin or the
grassy slope, at the ethnolc gical
exhibits is one of the events o. the
visit to Chicago that will take a prom
inent place when rccounting the
pleasures of the trip. Nowhere else
under heaven could such an enterprise
as this one that the little voyage I'M
folds be undertaken, for no other
country could or would afford to
tackle the difficulties that stood in the
way of accomplishing the result The
sites of former exhibitions have been
in the heart of older settlements and
civilization where every resource of
shrubhery and vegetation has been
drawn upon for the adornment of
grounds and for reasonable amount
of shaded park, and where
natural terraces and broad levels af-
forded stately locations for The great
buildings. The chief of the difficulties
of the jackson Park site was TO converl
its almost desert wasteinto I'll setting
for the Jewels that were to be inserted
later, and those who made the journey
referred to or fingered awhile on the
bridges spanning the canals or by the
halustrades along the walls of the la
goons can say how well Chat has been
overcome. The stone which the build
ers rejected has become the head of the
corner truly; the swamp was deepened
into the lagoon and that is now the
feature that makes the Worlds Column
bi1n Exposition unique and pre-emi-
nent.
How that impoverished eXpanse has
been encouraged and develcped-the
existing patches of dwarf oaks
strengthened by the introduction of
hardy shrubs, the edges of the lagoon
lined with myriads of reedY plants
and these provided here and there
with generous backgrounds of willows
and native bright flow ers-is more
fully appreciated when one contem-
plates these magnificent buildings
with their unconventional accessories
Here bridge of superb proportions,
springing apparently from mas of
foliage, spans a canal gay with
bright-colored boats and pictur-
esque boatmen, and rests its
further end upon a pier crowned
with some noble group of statutary.
Then broad plaza, skirted on the
nearer side by masses of luxuriant
vegetati on, is crossed and the porch
of one of these mast rpieces rears in
mighty dimensions, the imposing
structure itself towering above the
palatial gateway.
Before the golden doorway of the
Transportation building is one of the