The Dickinson press. (Dickinson, Stark County, D.T. [i.e. N.D.]) 1883-1927, 1893-05-06
|lvENT-FILLEp MOMENTS
THROUGHOUT THE DAY Attn
WHITE CITY,"
Genes and Incidents at the Great
Exposition From the Gray
Dawn Until the Shades
OF Night Had Been
Drawn.
The Wheels in Motion.

more Oh color than had the western
lorizon. Eastward. where the dawn was
.reaking. drifting scarfs of mist broodcd
lose down upon the waters of Lake Michi-
IAN, so that cloud and waters mingled
nto gray field that battled vision and
respective.
Northwartl. southward-cvcrywhcr IL
alpable, leaden veil trailed from aloft
the lowest reaches of the horizon. To
me who carly stood i'll the midst of the
,reat plaza where the crowds should
ater be, the surroundings, stupendous
II plan, ponderous in their extent, and
oft white in the morning light, gave
Hore than ever the impression that this
vas ghostly city that had been raised
Up in the night; or, that it may have
'een deserted city whence Titans of
ONE strange race had moved away to
dher shores. The bases and columns
the surrounding buildings We're softly
istinct, but their domes. minarcts,
overs and fagstaffs were yet in the
loud land. You have seen the rock
ibbed base of mountains whose topmost
aces tore locks of wool from the low
Town clouds; so, in some measure, was
he spectacle at carly dawn i'll the aisles
which should, ut the noon-tide hour, be
mankind. Even Columbia riding her ship
Vt state ut the eastern edge of the plaza,
.hough relatively not high in air, was
III cloud land, as veritable goddesses
re and should be. The figures of her
landmaidcns, straining at the oars,
we're wet and dripping with the mists
, the morning, which chiefly constituted
heir raiment. Under the PROV of Colum-
bias bark, and stretching out toward
Inc restless, cloud-smothered lake, the
waters of the grand basin We're stccly
blue in the half-light. Circling them
about was their setting of green turf,
between the great buildings of ngrcult-
are and manufactures. Human pigments
Of green and blue are never used as
foil, one against the other, for no shades
Of these colors that man has ever made.
.armonize or blend. But here was
Natures Own Artistry
aefying the tastes of man, but reaching
I combination aud results beautiful Ill
.he early hours when the city was scarce
y astir, and when none, save guards ana
watchmen, were about to see. Across
.he vista, lakeward, arose i'll delicate
grill work the pillars Of the colOnnade,
lnder which the waters of the lake creep
INTO the lagOons and basins. Like dim
picture of the imaginative school these
outlines, while positive, were so softly
imned against the gray background of
waters and clouds as to suggest rather
han affirm their own existence. Within
,er gives of wooden scatrolding, the God
less of the Republic at the lakeward end
VI the grand basin rose up ponderous in
,er golden might. Yelled she was by the
curtain which was so arranged that 1t
should fall away at the moment the ma
lions president should give the electric
,ignnl touch to open to the world this
great enterprise. Towering above all,
.hc administration building, whose gold
.n dome was half-wrappcd in vapors,
stood stark and sentinel-like in the midst
If this great white camp of buildings.
At its front, and sloping upward to the
lccond story, stretched from side to side
lie grand stand where the dgnitaries of
de earth should later sit in their rep
.csentative dignity. Hundreds of chairs.
lumbly waiting for their occupants,
seemed yuwning in wet discomfort after
night out of doors. Under the main
,rch of the building, and having for its
,ase the topmost row of seats on the
grand stand, was the great sounding
BOARD within which the bands and the
orchestra should be placed during the
ceremonies. Strange vagarics come to IL
onely watcher in such hours i'll such
weathers, and while the day was yet
young, this great white cavern seemed
% be Titanic eur, listening to the muf-
led swash of the waves out yonder, be-
gond that beautiful colonnadc.
For the Days DOinss,
Meanwhile, what was being done? A
ponderous grinding roller, keeping slow
time to the snorting of it's little, ilnpudcnt
engine, was ambing to and fro across
he sloppy plaza where soon thousands of
feet would be standing. The Columbian
guards, moving to their places about the
grounds, and the watchmcn going here
nnd there, caused low, slapping sounds
under foot as boot soes beat upon the
muddy tracks and passageways. Early
came the cohort of college students who
have been employed for the season, at
$50 per month, to wear blue uniforms and
to push chairs about the grounds ut 80
cents per hour. AT convenient places
iron rooted pagodas had been erected as
headquarters for these young men, and
thcreabouts in their light blue uniforms,
with hocks of willow chairs, they were
lettering and waiting for the coming Of
their work.
There is no building on exhibit in all
the White City where exhibits are yet
wholly arranged, but this fact did not in
terfere with the issuance to-day of official
catalogues which told where each exhibit
should be when every one has done what
is expected to- be done. In order not to
lose any moment Of profit, these cata-
logues should be placed on sale the first
day of the fair, and it was yet very early
when little regiment of lads arraycd in
scarlet uniforms, with blue caps and brass
lettering marched through the grounds to
their rendezvous in the administration
building. These little fellows were the
to-be-vendors of the official catalogue.
Between s and . o'clock. from some
where away off OH the edge of the
grounds, the notes of the blE,lc came soft
ened through the misty all. il was the
first indication of stirring scenes that
should later occur in the great plaza.
The bugle notes We're almost instantly
sWuuOWeu up IN DurstS OF melody from
the throats of brass Instruments carried
by the band of the Fifteenth regiment in
fantry; ordered from Fort Sheridan for
duty during the day. Nearer came the
strains of music until, turning the corner
near the Transportation building. the blue
uniforms came in sight, and behind the
band 400 grim faced regulars, carrying
each a musket on his shoulder Lieut.
Col. Overshine was ut their head, and
led them to position of rest along side
the north wall Of the administration build
ing. As the butts of their u,uskets
droppedwith thud into the soft mud at
their feet, the sounds of
Other Bands of Music
drifted out upon the air. and soon the
Second regiment, National Guards OF the
State of Illinois. marched to position on
the south front of the administration
building. Clearly the great city of the
Northwest had not. through the night
and in the lowe ring clouds. forgotten
this great white camp on tl.e prairies
seven miles away. The coming of the
troops attested the fact. and showed
that already the elements to the great