Omaha daily bee., 1902-09-21
ParadeS of Beauty
CONTINUED from Seventh Page

before the eager eyes Of the subjects Of
Ak-Sar-Ben. Less than a dozen were in
lire. but every float was a surprise, a joy,
a revelation. Besides the few floats there
were only a half dozen bands and less than
fifty horsemen In line. But they were there.
40 detailed information had been given
out and before the parade moved the
streets were packed TO their utmost, II
being utterly impossible TO estimate tn"
crowds, and guess too many. one bad fea,
turc Of this, though, was the explosion OF
the tire Of the justly celebrated, imported
tricycle. a few minutes before the start.
Fifteen men were to have ridden this in
strumcnt Of death and destruction. The
wheel Of this insanity thing was fifteen
feet in diameter and 1t blew up with a
mighty blow.
This parade was viewed from the grand
stand in front Of the city hall by Mayor
Moores and the members Of the city council.
The biggest parsonage in this parade was
"His Royal Nibs, Samson" He measured
thirty feet from seat to crown and he was
sitting down. It was Samson's first public
appearance and the people didn't blame
him. The Jonah and the Whale" lloat
was also a winner in this procession. Every
float was brilliantly illuminated and the
experiment was the beginning Of the cleo
trical parades which have marked Ak-Sar-
Ben's coming each year since.
On the night Of September %, 1897. King
Ak-Sar-Ben came into the land of plenty
to bless his subjects, heading an c%.ectric
pageant, the floats in which were scenes
of history OF the land Of Quivera from
the founding of jamestown to the opening
of the Transmississippi exposition. 1t was
announced as the greatest parade of the
carnival week and for once Omaha people,
who formerly had stood and gazed, raised
their voices I'm loud applause.
Ak-sar-Ben was welcomed to his own on
the evening Of October >, 1898. by a dream
of the moon told in pictures and the poetry
of Granada embalmed for the delight Of
thousands. The king came second in a
chariot of gold and the governors rode on
horseback. Alhamar's Palace afforded the
theme and the legend of the wonderful
building from the founder to Boabdil was
aptly illustrated. 1t took twenty floats to
do this the way the subjects Of Ak-Sar-Ben
do things and these, with the numerous
bands, made "A procession many blocks in
length. 1t was glorious, this entrance of
the mighty potentatc. President william
Mckinley reviewed this parade from a
stand in front of the city hall.
The famous parade of September %, 1899,
marks an epoch in the history Of Quivera.
An important epoch. 1t was the introduc-
ton of the mirth- producing, binding.
most awful, tormenting confetti. The larg-
est crowd of any previous occasion had
to watch the parade when the
first handful of confetti was thrown. 1t
took like wild fire and went faster. with
the confetti came the king, heading a
pageant OF comic floats. This Inscription on
the first float announced that which was to
follow: Quaint and Merrie Sports and
Pastimes for We young and old. BY We
Kings command" 1t was an original.
unique affair.
a civic and military parade was given On
the night OF September Is of this year i'm
which those who took part battled with a
wind that threatened destruction at every
turn. In this the forty-eight MEMBERS of
Company l., First Nebraska, were the
favorites. The labor unions of the city were
a feature OF the parade.
Who will forget the evening of Thurs
day, September p, 1900? Who does not re-
call the destruction of the beautiful but vol
canic isle of Hawaii? In honor of the king
the volcano kilauea was working overtime
and this caused the trouble. Trained
chemists were on the inside causing fire
ara smoke to belch forth in great goblets.
But the volcano got ambitious. The whole
works caught fire and as the king sat
and almost wept the flames spread
from tree to tree, from town to hamlet. and
in ashort time nothing but the running
gear was left and that couldn't go in Ak
Sar-Ben's parade. This parade was sym
bolic Of Ak-Sar-Ben's possessions-the isles
OF the sea and everything else. 1t was
a lengthy and gorgeous affair.
Preceding this grand welcome TO his royal
highness the inhabitants of Quivera gave
their first daylight parade in honor of their
king. This was on Tuesday afternoon, Sep
TENDER 20, and was composed of secret
societies, setting forth their missions, and
labor organizations
The last and the best and the most
gorgeous OF them all was pulled off Wednes-
day night, September %, 1901. 1t was a