The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-02-16


Its Display of Color and Gaiety-
The Main show and the side shows.
New Orleans, Feb l--It rained toward
the latter part OF the week and the visi-
tors who had already arrived began to
shake their heads as they proceeded care
fully over the thin coating Of black mud
that lay upon the uneven stones Of the
streets. The citizens. however. remained
in serene and mistaken faith. No, il
would not rain on Marii Gras. It never
rained then. There would be fine weather
just wait.
And. in truth, when Sunday appeared it
was Of the quality Of spring. fair. soft and
balmy with the singularly lucid atmOs-
phere of the southland. On Canal street
swarmed an expectant crowd lodging in
and about the upright joists that had been
placed 10 support the balconies. The win
dows of the clubs and hotels were filled
with visitors from other cities taking a
preliminary view of the wide street with
its masses of people upon the sidewalks
and upon the strip Of yellow grass in the
middle of the avenue where, too, at short
intervals ran mule cars and electric cars
and the cars of a steam tramway proceed
ing slowly through the throng and filing
the air with the clsmor Of gongs. In the
breeze that came over the housetops, dec
orations of purple and green and gold gen.
tly huttered.
At noon on Monday the throng occupy
ing the avenue had been largely augment
ed. People turned their eyes toward the
levee where, because the waters of the
river could in no wise be seen, the ave
nue. seemed to be projected into the air.
SrHRl-COIOEpd black
drifted upward. Then at last the masts
and two tan stacks of a steamer moved
slowly into view. afar Off over the multi
tude of heads in the street. Later there
could be seen the glitter of many APP
preaching bayonets and the steady beat
OF marshal music. The crowds on the side
walks underwent an anticipatory cOnvul-
sion. Rex, his majesty of the carnival
time, was come. There was a sudden in
terpOlatiOn of crimson color into the black
masses of people down the avenue
All tuesday morning, the usual som Der
clothes of citizens in the street We're
frightened by the gypsy hues of the mask
ers. small boys arrayed in wondrOus gar
ments to represent monkeys, gnomes,
1mpS, parrots, anything but small boys,
paraded in bands and reaped a deep de
light when they found victim for their
skill in badinage. And much older boys
temporarily represented as all manner of
nondescript personages. rambled over the
city in the full JOY of being at their own
devices with a sort of mild license to capeT
and crack jokes into the air. At noon, Ca
mai street was a river OF human bodies
moving slowly. At dusk, il was "A sea, in
which contrary currents indolently OPP
posed each other. The fronts of the clubs
and principal buildings suddenly became
outlined in the shine of electric lights and,
in these brilliant frames. symbolistic mi
tials appeared. The royal colors of green
and purple and gold shone forth in bunt-
ing and silk and glass. Between a curb
and one of the horse car tracks a deep
row of people had collected and the small
street cars came along at regular and mon
them away. The boxes and stands had al
ready begun to fill up and the people in
them turned their faces toward the dark
ness of the end of the street. In one of the
stands was a space reserved for his ma
jesty. Rex, his queen and court. From
these stands, the avenue resembled a vast
black sea save where here and there
cleaned the costumes of a group of mas
kers or where a street car fought its irri-
tatingy painful way through the throng
Ultimately, the king, gorgeous in his
royal robes and his jewels and with his
features behind huge Cassack beard,
came slowly down the sloping stand with
his queen, and followed by his glittering
court. Instantly this vast black eXpanse
of the street became an ocean of faces.
a great stretch of eager human counte-
nances in which the eyes-rolled slowly.
A hoarse rumble of voices arose; then,
later, a shout as if rocket had been seen
| to ascend. "A-a-ah!'
Then the patient crowd settled into a
profound and silent contemplation of
| their carnival ruler. Occasionally a man
/ SJreICneQ IOItn MS neck TO peer DOWN the
street for the procession and frequently
| maskers engaged in a tumultuous frolic
| Too, as mentioned, the street cars scraped
| sight-seers from the curbs that bounded
| the grass plots in the middle of the street
| but, for the most part this great mass
! of people remained silent patient, notion
/ less.
Suddenly man shouted: Here it
comes" Far over the heads could he seen
a banner that caught a. vivid reflection
! from some lights beneath it. At the side
| of the street, a negro coachman had
! crawled into the gloom of a corner of his
victoria and gone to sleep. An agitated
| by-stander yelled at him; Come, uncle
wake upi They're comm and they'll chase
! you away from here The old man hasti-
ly drew on his shoes again and crawled
up on his box. "Yas, l raiken dey is.
Deyll done bully me outa year an l
better had be gttin." But this was not
the procession at all, but some maraud-
ing company of maskers. When he had
! gathered up his reins and turned for a
| last glance to the rear, the banner had
vanished. He made gesture of deep
Scorn at the man who had aroused him.
| Jaw! AWi dat wan no perceSsion-''
In the middle of the street some little
boys had created a riot. They were
dressed as some strange kind of white
! apes, but the tails of their suits were
so long and so neatly stuffed with cot
ton that the ends could be pulled around
! in front and used very effectively as
! clubs With these weapons they had be-
| labored some little boys who were exhib-
iting as MINISTRIES, and an exciting COM
| bat at once ensued between the Ministries
| and the apes.
Meanwhile. the street cars had become
blocked, and, standing thus in the middle
of the wide streets, they made fine and
cheap stands from which to view the
procession as it passed to the right of
them Women with numerous children
! old couples and people without these rea-
sons presented an intermnable row OF
faces at the windows of an interminable
| row of cars.
Around the cleaning place where sat
! their majesties and the court, a throng in
milder raiment in which shone many
white conventional shirt fronts, slowly
| gathered. Ladies with dainty gestures
raised their lorgnettes to stare into the
| dark perspective of the avenue The kins
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