The Ekalaka eagle. [volume] (Ekalaka, Mont.) 1909-1920, 1910-07-08

such are surely to be found in Ameri-
ca, be appointed to confer with his
majesty's commissioners. . o! Sir.
let 10 false ideas of worldly honor de-
ter you from engaging in so glorious
a task. Whatever censures may be
thrown out by men and illiberal
minds, your character will rise in the
estimation of the %virtuous and noble.
1t will appear with luster in the a
nails of history and form a glorious
contrast to that of those who have
sought to obtain conquest and crafty
their own ambition by the destruction
of their species and the ruin of their
country"
Paul Lister Ford gives us tense
snatches of description of some of the
earliest celebrations Of our Independ.
ence day.
The first Fourth was on the Sth.
Countless times since has the day
been honored by the reading aloud Of
the declaration, but never has the
event had the dramatic thrill of that
flashing moment in the courtyard of
independence hall when it was read
aloud to outsiders for the first time,
and never again could bonfires, rock
cts and h ringing of bells mean all
that they did that night in the his
toric city of Penn in the year 177C.
New York celebrated the following
day, and thereon hangs a tale-no less
an Incident than the b%eheading of a
king.
On Bowling Green stood a magnif.
cent equestrian statue of his majesty.
George the Third, torn down and Tin.
officially executed in a half-mischiev-
Gus, half-patriotic Fourth Of July
spirit. But the delicious end was not
yet. George was of a leaden nature
We refer merely to the equestrian
statue, of course!-and later his bro
ken fragments We're nodded into bull
lets to fight the British.
1t was not until 1882 that congress
celebrated the Fourth for the first
time, having decided to adjourn over
that day and dine together-which
the members impressively did at the
fashionable hour Of three o'clock, a
unique feature Of the entertainment
being the music rendered by a band
of Hessians taken at Trenton, while
between the drinking Of every toast
patriotic volleys were fired off by
soldiers drawn up outside the door of
the city where the country's lawma-
kers had congregated.
That same night, the city was illu-
minated nv 1irbfnI oool1oc -Joo1J g.,
every window-with the exception Of
a few dark houses still loyal to a lost
cause.
AS an example of some of the posi-
bilities Of the impassioned oratory of
~early-day Fourths we quote a few of
the vivid words of a New Jersey
divine in a memorable" address of
the year 1923.
For more han seven years, the
savage foeman and the fiend Hessian
exhausted their murderous propensi-
ties. The old man, trembling beneath
a weight of years-the infant smiling
at the glittering bayonet pointed at it's
bosom-and the tender female, swoon-
ing amidst her fears, were alike disre-
garded. Then, beneath a burning sun
or through almost impenetrable SHOWS.
the father was torn from his shrieking
family-and traitors and hirelings APP
piled the torch which drew from the
peaceful cottage it's inmates whose
flight was facilitated by the flames
and by the crash"
A swapping play upon words was the
toast that sparkled most to the fancy
of early Fourth of July banquets, and
few could have outdone the following
q~iquant flashes:
i. America!-'trail arms 2. Great
Britain!-'ground firelock.' 8. France
-'as you were 4. Spain-'wheel to
the right 5. Freemen-'display col
umn.' 6. Tyrants-'take distance 2.
South America-'close to the front.
forward march, halt s. Nations of
the globe-'order firelock, stack arms,
rest"
The most unique of the early cele.
brations was the new and solemn
style" in which the Fourth was cele
brated at Castleton. Va, IN the year
1920. On the 9Th of July. 1777, Capt
Nathan Williams had been killed and
scalped while fighting the British and
Indians. His body left on the ground
had been buried. wrapped in an Indian
blanket. After 43 years. it was the
happy inspiration of his surviving com
p~anions to disinter the remains and
honor him-and Independence Day
with the pomp Of a public funeral.
That same year., out in the back
woods of Kentucky. the nations
health was drunk at a Fourth of Jul,