The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-05-10
FLORA'S REIGN SUPREME.
The Carnival Queen Leads
Her Beautiful BattaIions
Through the City.
PARADE OF GREAT sPLENDoR
Scenes Of Dazzling Magniflcence In
the Streets of Sonoma's
Metropolis.

SANTA ROSA, CAL, May 9.-With the
sun almost straight overhead in a cloud
less sky, the streets along the line of march
packed with people, crowding up into the
highest pinnacle of the Courthouse tower,
peering from every window and balcony,
forming a solid bank of humanity down
its long wide steps and over its sloping
grounds, and so from every other point of
vantage, along the line Queen Flora led
her beautiful battalions through the car
nival city to-day, greeted with cheers and
acclamations at every step.
The festival stepped distinctly in ad-
vance Of every previous demonstration of
the kind in this upper part of the State,
and made strong bid to be classed with
the first floral displays of the coast.
The city has been thronged with visitors,
taxing to the very limits the ability of its
citizens to make provision for them. All
the morning before the parade and all the
afternoon after it had dispersed and the
excitement of the time was at an end men
and women, especially women with chill
dren, thronged the streets, resting upon
the steps and doorways of stores and
dwellings. The halls and stairways of all
the hotels were peopled in this way, women
and children were crowding into those lit
tie greenrooms that are ordinarily given
over to the quiet game of poker, which
game was forced thereby to suspend. All
of this indicates the tremendous descent
upon the little city and an overflow be-
yond the capacity to accommodate. But
the entertainment has been of such an or
der that no one thinks of complaining.
When the sun rose this morning it found
the city fully dressed for the festival.
Bunting and flowers and green things
streamed over and bedecked everything
softening the hard lines of business blocks
and quickening the long stretch of the
streets with lively color.
The Courthouse. which is the center of
things in Santa Rosa, and in front of which
the chief spectacle OF the day was to take
place, was arraYed in long, ample and dig
n1tied folds of the orange, wine and olive.
Flags foated above it and futtered from
lines stretched from its cupCla to the four
corners of its grounds. Residence and
business houses were dressed with floral
prodigality and taste in design.
The individual citizen enters into the
spirit of the festival and explains the sue
cess that attends as whole. The carnival
headquarters on Fourth street were turned
into an arbor by vines trailing up to the
awning, while the vines were made to
blossom with flowers. Entire fronts of
houses were covered with moss, and the
moss relieved with roses and carnations.
Fourth street is spanned with several
arches, under which the Queen and her fra
grant following pass in triumph. The
Democrat has erected an arch spanning
- :,
house square. The futter of pennants
and banners is in the air everywhere and
the thrill of music, as brass bands move
from place to place serenading distin-
guished visitors or escorting them to their
quarters upon the arrival of the morning
trains.
Governor Budd and his staff and Mayor
Sutro arrived from San Francisco before
noon and were met by members of the re-
ception committee and conducted to the
Occidental Hotel. Two companies of young
cadets from the Mount Tamalpais Military
Academy also arrived this morning. They
present an excellent appearance in their
gray uniforms and white caps and despite
their average age of Is years march and
drill like veterans.
The first number on the long programme
of the day was billed for 10:3O o'clock in
the morning. 1t was a bicycle drill, in
which the representatives of clubs from all
over this section of the State took part, to
the number of about $50. 1t took place op-
posite the Courthouse in Fourth street
and was very graceful and pretty affair
and drew to the square the earliest con-
tingent of spectators, and big one, that
maintained its place during the balance of
the day.