The San Francisco call., 1896-09-10

any interior city has such display been
made. From the waters of the lake and
channel the courthouse, with its thousand
incandescent colored lights, looked like
brilliant crown, and the huge tower at the
junction of the lake and channel was
lighted with hundreds OF similar lights in
red and blue.
From the courthouse square rockets and
bonn bs were sent up every few minutes,
and from barge on the north bank of
Stockton channel hundreds of rockets and
fancy pieces were set off, until the air was
filed with one blaze of colored light.
From the mills on the south bank of the
same body of water another stand for fire.
works had been placed, and here rockets
and candles were sent into midair, with
their stars and globes of falling light all
tending 20 make the scene above as brill
liant as that upon the water.
Thousands of dollars had been spent on
the lanterns and lights that dotted and
filled the space on the water. Along the
banks of the channel and on tae shores
of McLeods Lake had been strung
myriads of Japanese lanterns. and on the
water the river craft and the many
launches and boats that had been brought
here for this occasion were so beautifully
decorated that even those who had seen
every water carnival before held in the
State were astonished at the lavish dis
play that had been arranged by the car
nival committee.
Along the south bank of the channel
were the schooners and yachts. They
lined the banks from the sheds of the
California Navigation and Improvement
Company westward to the limits of the
procession on the water. Steamers and
barges were also stationed along this bank
and at intervals huge calcium lights IL
| Illuminated the scene.
On the water the picture by night was
| the most brilliant. Small boats, all decked
| with colored lanterns and lights, fitted in
| and out. The larger launches and barges
| and catamarans were filed with bevies of
| pleasure seekers and garbed from stem to
stern with every lighting device known.
AS the procession wound in and out on
cheering and the cannonading began on
shore. Salutes were fired to the American
flag that was run up on the electric-light
| tower at the entrance of McLeod's Lake
and then the>procession moved
| The launch that carried Major Frank
| Lane and his friends was one of the most
| beautifully decorated in the line of march.
! Changing electric light effects in various
designs had been placed on top of this,
| and it towed large barge that had been
hoored over for dancing While the barge
went down the stream and back again the
| band on board discoursed dance-music and
! the guests waltzed beneath the blue
starry skies that were filled with rocket
and redlights.
A Anumber of very attractive floats had
been repared, but the chief attention had
been given to the general effect, and this
was most pleasing to the thousands of
people who gathered to witness the dis
| play.
All along the banks were stations where
red and blue fire was kept burning during
the evening. The boats were so numerous
that it would be useless to attempt 10 give
an accurate description of each. AS thew
passed and repassed, turning in and out
along the waters of the channel, the scene
was one that will never be forgotten by
those who witnessed it. Schooners were
lighted from decks to topmasts; tugs and
launches we're trimmed with Japanese
lanterns, while others added red and blue
fire, burned in the bows, to the general
effect.
On one of the floats was a fair daughter
of Stockton, who posed beneath canopy
of colored bunting, over which had been
! tastefully placed numbers of colored lam
| terms. On another a scene from Hades
| was depicted, and the barge that carried
it bore the legend. mo Native Sons Dwell
| Here"
1t was late hour when it was over, and
then many left to attend the ball in the
| pavilion.