Birmingham state herald., 1897-04-28

urAAH(n lWellg -O1t ltCt. 1tS NlG dOOA opens towards the Hudson river. The floor of the tomb is something more than two feet below the surface of the knoll, and is reached by stone steps from the door. For the proper placing of the coffin. and it's steel easing, brick piers door level.
 The tomb was declared finished shortly after noon on Friday. Aug. [, and the steel casing having been set on the piers, everything was in readiness for the plac- Ting of the coffin in it on the following 7 day.
 Tn the years which followed, some iu- provements were made on the temporary tomb. The walls of brick were plastered with white cement, a grated door took the place of the original one of iron and .~oalS. about the three-foot iron cross metal initial "G was artistically woven, and 8 marble casing covered the brick piers which supported the steel case.
 Through the grated door, mournerS and sight-seers looked into the dingy in- e terior, saw the case of steel with one light point at front where the inscription in letters of silver: "U. s. Grant, Died July 23 1885,"
 Although a constant guard was kept at this tomb, and the grating kept al- ways locked, half a dozen years ago the guardians discovered one day that two names had been scratched on the race of the steel casing to the casket. The
  s.and the vandals who would doubtless have carried away the very bricks or the wall if permitted, were kept away.
 Now, the old tomb, having served it's purpose well. rests in the shadow of the granite monumer. unguarded and un- sung.
 THE STEEL CASKET.
 During the eleven years and eight mon'ths that the body of Gen. Grant was in the temporary tomb, it was enclo5ed in lEaT@ and cedar: one of polished cedar an1 ore of steel. The two first are now sealsd in the saacopha gus wh.ch is in the crypt of tho p-w tomb, the steel easket having been removed. Its place has been taken by five tors of solid granite.
 The first coffin is air-.igf,;. and is con- Sidered inds9truct1ble. It is six feet long ard the outer case of cedar is covered with black cloth. The metallic interior is copper, highly polished, ard is one eighth of an inch thick. The frames and portals are of solid silver; the top is eopen the flla length and covered with -heavy French plate. bevelled glass. Over l. this glass the lid fits to make the copper :. coffin complete. ard on the lid is a gold B plate, fixed with gcld screws, which 2 bears .he inscription "U. s. Grant, Died Z. July g. 1885" The handles are massive, , of a special design, and are of silver Q Within the coffin is lined with tufted silk, light cream In color. with pillow, VuI WHICH ls III WilllS liblliaiS. "U. s. G."
 The second coffin Is 5o1d cedar and serves as 9. strong protector for the first. Insfde bs is lined heavily wi h lead, out side it is highly polished and heavily mounted with silver.
 The s,ts-el case, which formed the third covering, which was large enough to per-, init the coffin to ft snugly was the most remerkabfe of the rhrae It was of five eighth inch metal of the finest quality, ere.1 .a,t riveted and carefully made that neither air TOT water could find r1.n point of entrance way. Bl was made at Troy N. f. Hhe greatest care was taken in it's construction. 1t was a perfectly plain steel box, broken only by the double line of rivets. which were driven home and welded with the unders anding that they were never tC be drawn. They were al- most pant of the stesl casing itself
 When the big steel case had been fin ished and brought to this city, it was placed in the temporary tomb, bolted to the piers, all ready for the reception of the coffin on Aug. 8. The end which faced the door was left open and 1t was through this end that the coffin was slid into place.
 After the first coffin had been made In Rochester, 1t was brought to this city. For two days it remained in an under taking establishment on Eighth avenue, and during that time it was looked upon Dy HedTly fUUUU persons All sorts ana conditions of people went and were so anxious to g=t a sight that they made wild rushes and damaged considerable ~property in the neighbOrhood. Police men had to be called to keep the crowd within bounds.
 The closing of the end of the steel case in the temporary tomb on the night the coffin was put there, Aug. 8, 1895, was an interesting detail Some few people then w@re able to understand the care with which the case had been construct ed Early in the evening of that day Patrick Cregan, who had charge of the work with seven men who had come es- pecially from Troy, entered the tomb. Everything was in readiness for the placing of the fifty-six steel bolts which were to fasten the front steel walls. For two and a half hours the men worked by the light of candlss. A portable furnace roared and the clash of hammers on m+tal gave the little tomb every appear ance and sound of a boiler works. When ths task had been completed Cregan said the armor steel case was not only dramatically sealed, but was chisel proof. That will last 10,0 GOO y+ars," he remarked as the tomb door was locked
 More than thousand people had gathered about the tomb, anxious to see the work in progress A cordon of police, however. kept them hack. When it was all ov7r the people scrambled for each tiny bit of metal and other material left by the Workmen. One man got, ana treasured, the end of a candle that a. workman had held in his hand.
 THE NEW TOME.
 One hundred feet above mean high water of the Hudson river, the Grant Monument stands a solid pile of white granite 150 feet in height. The first [. seventy-two feet of this height Is & cube ! of the Grecian Doric order, which meas ures ninety feet on all sides.
 The entrance, on the southern side, is enclosed by a portico made up of row of recessed columns. Above and be- hind the portico rises an almost blank wall which will one day be relieved by the four equestrian statutes shown us- ually in plans of the monument, and fin- ishes in parapet which shows upon it's face the sculptured figures of Peace and War.
 Above the parapet, there starts abrupt ly a cupola, seventy feet in diameter surrounded, as a relief, with Ionic col umnS
 Around the crown of the cupola line of faces, surrounded with eagles, con- meets the columned drum with the pyra-