Douglas Island news., 1902-07-09
Celebration on
 Douglas Island
The Largest Crowd Ever Brought Together in s. E. Alaska Join in the Exercises on the Fourth of July.
ACCIDENT AT THE WHARF

The Fourth of July was ceIeoraIeu on Douglas Island with great gusto by q crowd of people, variously estimated from 25OO to 5000. The day was cool and pleasant and only slight shower of rain fell,
 In the morning a large crowd assem- bled on the plaza at Treadwell and the fraternal orders lined up to be count ed in the contest for the prize offered for the lodge having the most men in line. The Odd Fellows were declared winner with AZ men, the Eagles coming in for close second with 39.
 Promptly at g o'clock the procession started for New Town in the following order:
 1.-Silver Cornet Band.
 2.-45 little girls, dressed in white, representing the States of the Union, and one for Alaska.
 3.-Boy Cadets, with guns.
 4.-Fraternal Orders.
 5.-Citizens.
 The procession was the largest ever seen on Douglas Island.
 At Natatorium Hall the exercises be- gan promptly at 10 o'clock. President of the Day Willis announced the pro- gram as follows:
 Music c.......................B Band Song, "Red, White and Blue," Children Music. ................. .bano Reading Declaration of Independ-
 ence. ce................Joh John Noonan Song-"America" ............C Children Solo. Mrs. W. Gould Music .........................., Band Rev. P. J. Mulconry, who was to have delivered the oration, notified the com mittee on the evening of the 3rd that unforeseen events made it impossible for him to be present. It was then too late to secure the services of another speaker, so the oration had to be dis pensed with.
 However, the exercises were very much enjoyed by all, especially was the part taken by the children admired. They were ranged on seats at the back of the stage, tier above tier, and their bright, happy faces, white dresses, and other adornments, made lovely pie ture. AS they sang the songs of Free dom, each child waved small flag in time with the music.
 Another feature of the morning ex- ercises that was deserving of special praise was the reading of the Declara- tion of Independence by John Noonan, son of Foreman Noonan of the Tread we'll mines. We have heard that same old Declaration read many times, but never as we'll as on this occasion.
 The vocal solo by Mrs. W. Gould was also received with hearty applause.
 At o'clock the sports began on Front street. The First event was a tug of war between a Treadwell and a Mexican team, which resulted in the Treadwell boys winning the first prize, SIP, and the Mexican second, s36. The teams were very evenly matched and the contest was an exciting one.
 The next on the program were the double scull race, the Indian canoe race and the greasy pole contest, which took the immense crowd out on the wharf to witness them. And there took place an accident which caused the bravest to tremble and grow sick at heart.
 The double scull race was watched by more than thousand people, stand ing on the wharf, the ferry float and the large gang plank leading from the wharf to the float.
 Fred Purinton and s. N. Harvie were the winners of the first prize, s25, and Chas. Holmberg and Tobie Hanson were second, the prize being s15.
 The two winning boats had just reached the float, and more than a hundred men, women and children were crowded on the above mentioned gang plank, when suddenly, without a moments warning, it broke loose from