The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1901-09-19
THROUGH A LIVING LANE.
Route of Funeral Train From Buffalo tt
Washington.

Washington.
Washington, Sept. 17.-Through a
living lane of bareheaded people
stretched from Buffalo up over the
Alleghenies down into the broad val
ley of the Susquehanna and on to the
Marble city on the banks of the shin
ring Potomac, the nations martyred
president yesterday made his last
journey to the seat of government
over which he presided for four and
one-half years. The whole country
seemed to have drained it's popula-
ton at the sides of the track over
which the funeral train passed.
The thin lines through the noun
tains and the sparsely settled dis
tricts thickened at the little hamlets,
covered acres in towns suddenly
grown to the proportions of respect
ale cities and were congested into
vast multitudes in the larger cities.
Work was suspended in field and
mine and city; the schools were dis
missed, and everywhere appeared the
trappings and tokens of woe. Mil
lions of flags at half mast dotted hills
side and valley and formed a thicket
of color over the cities, and from al
most every banner streamed bit
of crepe. The stations were draped
heavily with the black symbols Of
mourning. At all the larger townA
and cities after the train got into
Pennsylvania, militiamen drawn up at
present arms kept back the enormous
eoanAsss ahKs ou TsRss With which the
mains of their hero and martyr was
oppressive and profound.
Only the rumbling of the trains
wheels, the sobs from men and wo-
men with tear-stained faces and the
doleful tolling of the church bells,
| broke the universal silence. At sew
eral places, Williamsport, Harrisburg
and Baltimore, the chimes played Car
dinal Newman's grand hymn, LEAD
Kindly Light" Taken altogether
! the journey home was the most re-
markable demonstration of the uni
yersal personal sorrow since Lincoln
was borne to his grave. Every one
Of those who came to pay their last
tribute to the dead had an oppor-
tunity to catch glimpse of the flag
covered bier elevated in the observa.
ton car at the rear of the train.
There was no other bit of color to
catch the eye on this train of death.
| The locomotive was shrouded in
black, the curtains of the cars in
which sat the lonely, stricken widow,
| the relatives of the president, cabinet
and others, were drawn. The whole
black train was like a suffered
house, save only for that hindmost
ear where the body lay guarded by
q soldier of the army and sailor
of the navy. %
Mrs. Mckinley stood the trip
5ravely. In the morning, soon after
'eaving Buffalo, she pleaded SO earn
sstly to be allowed to go into the
Ear where her dear one lay that re-
| tuctant consent was given, and she
spent half an hour beside the coffin
All the way the train was preceded
about fifteen minutes by pilot en-
! CINE, sent ahead to test the bridges
and switches and prevent the posi-
Dility of accident to the precious bur-
den it carried. The train had the
right-of-way over everything. Not a
wheel moved on the Pennsylvania
railway system thirty minutes before
the pilot engine was due, or for the
same length of time after the train
nad passed. The train left Buffalo
at $3.50 yesterday morning and ar
rived at Washington at $3.50 last
night. In twelve hours it is estimat-
ed over half million people saw the
/ coffin which held all that was mortal
of President Mckinley.