Omaha daily bee., 1899-11-07
HUME fhtM lHE W AN
Men Of the Fiftyfirst Iowa Again Set Foot
oNativs Soil.
ROYAL WELCOME AT CoUl >SsGlIIcn. d
Hawkeye sldiers Greeted and Feted BY
jitizsns of the Town.
OFFICIAL WELCOME BY GOVERNOR SHAW
City Dos Its Gayest Attire in Honor Of
Heroes of Luson.
OFFICIAL WELCOME BY GOVERNOR SHAW
DAINTY HANDS SERVE A ROYAL SPREAD
Men of the Regiment Meet Their
Friends Once More After Weary
Months of Exposure and
Hard Fighting.

As the trains bearing the boys OF thu
Fiftyirst Iowa rolled over the bridge earl,
Monday morning and were inside the regi
ments home state the soldiers crowded ou
onto the platforms and stuck their heads on
of the windows, eager to catch glimpse o
home. They danced about in their deligh
hugging and slappirg each other and break
ing out into snatches of the well-worn camI
songs. They waved their hands to everyone
in sight. gave rousing cheers for good ole
Iowa and when the deafening noise OF hun
dreds of steam whistles from the railroad
yards and the factories of Council Bluffs
struck their ears they only yelled
Louder"
'Will there be a crowd at the depot tc
meet us, Billy. and will they have band?
ooh, no; there won't be no crowd, / guess
oh. no!'
The first and second sections reached AL
bright at about o'clock in the morning and
were held there until after daylight. The
Council Bluffs reception committee which
had boarded the first section at Lincoln re-
Trained from waking the boys until AL
bright was reached. but there they reused
every man and pinned the badge of official
welcome Oil him. After breakfast, which was
served on the improvised dining cars ac-
companying each section, the men devoted
themselves carefully to their toilets. Grips
were ransacked for the last clean collar and
when this was not to be found a white
handkerchief was folded about the blue army
shirt to represent one. Tousled heads were
carefully combed and dusty uniforms in
dustrously brushed. The boys knew that the
state was waiting for them with open arms
and they were anxious about their appear
ance on their last inspection.
The men all looked much better physically
than the Nebraskans did. having better
color and being for the most part heavier.
This they attributed to the fact that they
had had time in the rainy season to recover
from. the effects of the sui4mer heat and
had lost part of their tan. Their healthy
bodies were the result of the conyalescent
diet upon whichsthe entire regiment was put
on it's arrival at San Francisco. The men
were pleased with the way they had been
treated and there was not "kick' to be
heard.
Well Treated All the Way.
eve have had a pretty good time ever
since we left Manila" said one of them.
The Senator Is good boat we had every
thing we needed to live on, and when we
got to San Francisco we had the best of
everything. On the way from there we have
been fed by company which took the con-
tract for the entire regiment, and we have
lived Just as though we had been in a
first-class hotel. Nothing swell, of course,
but everything was good, and there was a
plenty 1t was served in baggage car at
tached to each section
The first section carried headquarters,
band and companies II, A, f and D. Besides
Colonel Loper and his entire staff Adjutant
General Byers and a party of the officers
wives were with this section. The second
section carried Companies B. X, and G.
The third section was delayed and did not
reach Council Bluffs in time to take part in
the festivities. 1t was laid out at Echo this
side of Ogden, by the wreck Of train bear
ing the Forty-second infantry westward.
The wreck which delayed the first section
compelled 1t to go back to Ogden and make
a detour by the way of McCammon, which
cost it Ave hours time. General Byers made
an effort to have 1t switched over to the
Union Pacific SO that 1t would not have to
go by way Of Denver, but the Union Pacific
and Rock Island officials could not come to
the necessary agreement, owing. 1t was said,
to the unwillingness of the Rock Island to
give up it's contract.
Eight members of the regiment were left
in the general hospital at the Presido in
care of the Red Cross society. They are:
Frank A. Buker Company A; William Nc
Lean, Il; Riley ID. Stevens, G; Elmer Mar
yer, ID; Hugh NJ. Goss, NJ; Harry NJ Woods,
A; Edward Woods, l.; Ira Baird, e. None
OF these are in serious condition, except
Narver, who is suffering from paralysis re-
sulting from a bullet wound. and is con-
sdered to have but slight chance for re-
covery.
1t was source of great regret to the
people Of Council Bluffs that their company,
l.. was with the third section and did not
arrive in time to get the benefit OF the |
elaborate welcome prepared for them. But |
this did not prevent the entire city from
turning out to honor those who had come |
and men who were comparative strangers |
in strange city were received so kindly |
that they scarcely missed the loved ones still |
waiting for them in distant portions OF the |
state
There was a pandemonium at the depot |
Thousands OF people had come in from the |
towns and from cities on the !
o.her edge OF the state which had sent COM
panies to fight in the Philippines, and they
rushed to and fro in the crowd. searching
eagerly among the blue figures for their
own, but not knowing whether they had
come or not. 1t was the same with the sol
diers but from their vantage ground on the
trains they were able to pick out familiar
faces in the crowds more easily and one
hlier dhV'her lney ieapeu from the train TO |
clasp their relatives in their arms.
While families were finding their long lost
sons. smothering them with caresses and
exhibiting them proudly to admiring friends,
the parade was forming on Pearl street, and
about 10 o'clock moved up town. The street
was lined with cheering multitudes. Every
one was decorated with a button and rib
bons and the vociferous cheers OF the thou
sands of throats made the happy soldiers
smile without ceasing.
Thousands Witness the Parade.
When the time arrived for the formation
Of the parade South Main street from the
Rock Island depot to Broadway was a mass
OF people, The Burlington's eleven spe-
cal trains arrived on time. bringing close
on 10000 people, while the other roads all
brought in loaded trains. On leaving the
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