The Book of the Fair - Chapters 19-20



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Chapter the Nineteenth:
The Live-Stock Department

For the information of those who are interested in the Live-stock 
exhibits, a few remarks may be in place as to their origin and 
organization. Like all other features of the Fair, architectural, 
industrial, or artistic, there has been a departure from the preconceived 
idea that anything intended to be a success must be absolutely controlled 
by a central head. The entire plan of the Columbian Exposition was itself 
a departure from this popular theory, and represent in all its branches 
the most advanced ideas of men possessed of the highest order of ability, 
directed to many phases of human endeavor. 

Of all previous live-stock exhibits in connection with international 
expositions, while many have been on an extensive scale, there were none 
that in quality or variety would bear comparison with the one held in 
Jackson Park. For this the main reason is that the general scope of the 
display was outlined by the representatives of all the great live-stock 
associations of the United States, about seventy in number. When it was 
determined by the officials of the Fair to make live-stock one of its 
features they solicited the cooperation of all the more prominent 
breeders, and with the result that these associations met in convention 
and a committee was formed to take charge of everything pertaining to the 
exhibit, its preliminary preparations, classification, premium lists, 
plans of buildings, and in a word to represent, in the discharge of its 
functions, the live-stock associations of the United States. From the 
beginning until the end, this committee has worked in perfect harmony with 
the Fair officials, and through their efforts it was brought about that a 
separate department was organized and a chief placed at its head. This 
segregation gave to it special prominence and had a marked effect upon 
foreign countries as well as 

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among the states. A special effort was made to secure cooperation with 
similar enterprises in Europe, through which the governments of European 
countries were brought into participation, for thus might they develop an 
increased demand for their stock. Especially were the Russian, the German, 
and French governments induced to make an elaborate display, not only 
bearing the entire expense, but offering large subsidies to exhibitors, 
thought the Canadian government expended more money and made a larger 
exhibit than any of the foreign participants. 

State exhibitors were also stimulated by the appropriation of large 
amounts, and state pride as well as the emulation of exhibitors was 
encouraged to its fullest extent; Illinois heading the list in the 
contribution of funds and number of animals on exposition. Provision was 
made for showing about 3,000 animals at a time, first horses and cattle, 
then sheep and swine, followed by poultry. The highest types of the 
various breeds were collected; but surpassing all the rest was the display 
of horses, with thirty different breeds, all with established pedigrees, 
presented for inspection. 

As an aggregation of all the principal breeds of live-stock in the 
civilized world, it is conceded that never before has this collection been 
approached. All that money and an appeal to the breeder's pride could do 
was done, and the result was a matchless display. The Russians sent their 
finest specimens, and under the direction of the tzar, animals from his 
own stable were included in their collection, his brother, Count Demitry, 
also supplying a liberal quota. But the Germans entered into the 
competition more heartily than any European nation, a most energetic 
contest for the supremacy of the various German breeds making itself felt 
at an early date, and continuing unto the end. The largest number and one 
of the best collections were those of French blood, which numbered nearly 
one-fourth of all the exhibit of horses. The next in number and quality 
were the British breeds, and without a doubt, the finest types of all 
countries were included in this exposition. One of the most significant 
features from the American breeder's point of view was the choice 
assortment of females, this meaning that the best species have been 
transplanted to American soil; so 

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that in future we shall not depend on foreign countries for the most 
useful and valuable varieties of live-stock. 

Another feature in this department was the magnitude of the interests 
which it represented, the value of all farm animals in the United States 
being estimated in 1893 at $2,500,000,000, with 1,350,000 square miles of 
territory devoted solely to the raising of cattle, mustering at that date 
about 54,000,000 head. Of horses the number may be stated at 15,000,000; 
of mules, 2,500,000; of swine, 55,000,000, and of sheep, 47,000,000, with 
a wool clip of 300,000,000 pounds a year, and dairy products that find 
their way to market worth at least $15,000,000, while as to the value of 
such products raised for domestic consumption there are no reliable data. 

It is probably that our live-stock industries, as exemplified at the 
exhibition, exceeded in value those of all foreign participants combined. 
In Great Britain and Ireland, with half our population, the area available 
for pasturage is less than four percent, and the number of animals, except 
for sheep, not more than fifteen percent of the figures estimated for the 
United States. In France and Germany the number of farm animals may be 
stated at 50,000,000 for each, or about the same as in the British isles; 
Russia has perhaps twice as many, and adding to these a few millions for 
the dominion of Canada and other countries here represented, we have a 
total of some 260,000,000 against nearly 200,000,000 for the United 
States, the difference in number being more than compensated by a higher 
average of prices. Some of the largest stock-raising countries in the 
world sent no exhibits to the Fair, as the Australian colonies, the South 
American republics, and others whom distance debarred from participation. 

Cattle farming has ever been a favorite pursuit in the United States, and 
in few industries have so many large fortunes been made, often on the 
smallest modicum of capital. While within recent years profits have been 
curtailed by the encroachments of husbandry, coupled with drooping prices, 
the business is still of large proportions in all the more sparsely 
settled regions, westward from the Mississippi River to the Pacific 

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Ocean, and southward from the upper Missouri to the gulf of Mexico. Vast 
herds and ranges are as numerous as ever, and especially on the Pacific 
Coast, where single firms and individuals own 20,000 to 30,000 head, with 
lands of larger area than many a European principality. 

As to breeds, the preference in money value is given to short-horns, a 
stock imported from England at least as early as 1785. But, as I have 
said, we no longer depend on foreign countries for this or any other 
variety of cattle. Today the American shorthorn has no superior, and not a 
few of our choicest animals have even been exported to Europe for breeding 
purposes. As beef cattle, for milking purposes, and for heavy farm work, 
they are much in favor, while also largely used for improving the grade of 
native stock. The Hereford is an excellent beef producer, and as a milker, 
the Ayrshire ranks second only to the Alderney, the former being prized 
for cheese-making and the latter for the making of butter. So also with 
certain of the Dutch and Scotch breeds, the polled Angus and Galloway 
especially gaining in favor as among the hardiest of stock and the 
choicest of beeves and milkers. 

Of horses the exhibit ranged from the hugest of draught animals to the 
smallest of Shetland ponies, with all the more prominent varieties valued 
for power or speed. The heavier draught-stock still consists largely of 
the offspring of English cart-horses, though greatly improved in breed. 
The Clydesdale is also a favorite animal, and for a strong and showy coach-
horse the Cleveland bay is gaining in favor. The Norman, with his sturdy 
limbs and massive neck and shoulders, is valued for strength and 
endurance, especially the Percheron, in which is probably a tempering of 
Andalusian blood. The Conestoga, so called from its native home in the 
valley of that name, is supposed to be of German origin, and is the only 
variety peculiar to the 

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United States. It is a large and muscular animal, sometimes exceeding 
seventeen hands in height, and with the build of an English dray-horse, 
though lighter of limb and less encumbered with flesh. 

The trotting-horse is the most distinctive of American breeds, with gait 
and pace unrivalled elsewhere in the world. Here is probably no particular 
strain, but rather the result of breeding from the choicest specimens and 
of constant practice on suitable roads and tracks. Certain it is that our 
best trotters have come from various stocks, as the Morgan, the Canadian, 
and the English thoroughbred; but all the best types are distinctly of 
home development, carried to a point with which there are none to compete. 
It is not many decades since a 2:40 horse first made his appearance on the 
turf; in 1870 a speed of 2:30 was almost unheard of, and when, a few years 
later, Maud S. covered her mile in 2:08 3/4 and her half mile in 1:03 ½, 
this record was the wonder of the sporting world. Yet it is predicted that 
among the marvels of the nineteenth century will be the trotting of a mile 
within two minutes or less. 

As to the exhibits of sheep a word may also be said by way of 
introduction; for here is represented a most important branch of industry, 
especially in the far west, where alone can be had a natural food supply 
sufficient for extensive herding. The bunch and other grasses of the 
plains and foothills are excellent pasturage, and when cured as hay, will 
keep the flocks in good condition during the winter season. Alfalfa can 
also be profitably raised for the purpose, at least for the choicer 
breeds, while for the greater part of the year the sheep is self-
supporting, eating that which no other animal will eat, clearing the 
ground of weeds, and otherwise serving as a scavenger. 

"England," it has been said, "is a mutton and the United States a wool 
country;" for the raising of a superior grade of wool does not consist 
with the production of finely 

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flavored meat. The merino, with its average fleece of four or five pounds 
and at times as much as a score of pounds, is here the favorite variety, 
and of this with its cross breeds consist at least 80 percent of our 
flocks. The Southdown and Cotswold have been largely imported, more for 
their mutton than their wool, though the latter is of merchantable quality 
and with abundant clip. The Leicester is also valued for carcass and 
fleece, with wool of long staple but deficient in certain qualities. Among 
others are the Cheviot, Lincoln, Dorset, Shropshire, Hampshire, Spanish 
and Saxon merinos, the last from the original offspring of Spanish stock 
imported into Saxony as early as 1765. Except in Vermont, where perhaps 
are the choicest of American flocks, there are few whose blood is entirely 
pure, this not altogether the result of carelessness but at times with a 
view to combining the benefits of various strains. On the Pacific slope, 
where is more than one half our supply of sheep, Spanish, Australian, and 
American breeds have been blended with fair results, and here, until the 
progress of settlement absorbed the more valuable ranges, sheep farming 
was the most steadily prosperous of all the western industries. 

For the conduct of the live-stock exhibit excellent regulations were 
framed by the chief of the Live-stock department. Exhibitors must have 
been the owners of animals intended for display for at least sixty days 
before the date of application, and must furnish a copy of the certificate 
issued by the association in whose register the animals were entered. Any 
misrepresentation would subject the exhibitor to the forfeiture of his 
rights and the exclusion of his exhibits. No vicious or fractious animals 
would be admitted, and all animals from foreign countries would be subject 
to quarantine regulations. Participants must furnish their own attendants, 
who would be required to obey the rules, to keep thoroughly clean the 
stalls and the grounds adjacent, under penalty of instant expulsion. A 
veterinary surgeon was appointed, whose duties included a thorough 
examination of the animals, before being admitted at the gates, with a 
daily inspection and report to the chief, the right being reserved to 
remove without notice all sick or dangerous beasts. 

The Live-stock buildings are in the southern portion of the grounds, where 
a spacious tract is covered by a number of plainly constructed barns and 
by a circular pavilion somewhat resembling the colosseum. The latter lies 
south of the court of the obelisk, is 380 feet in length by 250 in width, 
and while not more than one third as large as its Roman prototype, is 
sufficiently commodious for the purposes for which it was designed. In the 
ten tiers of seats contained in the amphitheatre there is accommodation 
for 10,000 visitors, with access through four main entrances and eight 
smaller ones. The structure is roofed with iron, the show-ring being 
uncovered, and though of massive appearance, the grayish-white walls are 
of staff. Opening into the surrounding avenues are the offices of the live-
stock commission and the headquarters of various journals which are organs 
of the agricultural classes. Here also is a bureau of information and a 
well appointed restaurant. 

The judges' stand was erected in the centre of the arena, their duties 
commencing after the animals had been exercised for two hours in the ring, 
the continual process of examining, judging, and the announcement of 
decisions being enlivened by music and tests of speed among horses of 
various breeds and nationalities. 

Most of the sheep, hogs, and other small varieties of live-stock were 
examined by the judges within or near the barns reserved for them, the 
pavilion being specially built for the display of cattle and horses, which 

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were driven to it almost daily from about the middle of August to the 
middle of September. On the 25th of the latter month swine and sheep 
entered the contest, occupying the barns which had been vacated by the 
larger animals. During the season poultry had also their day, while toward 
the end of October the leading breeders of the lighter grades of horses in 
the United States and Canada, comprising the thoroughbred, trotting, and 
coach varieties, organized an elaborate exhibition. Included in the 
display of horses were jacks and jennets, angora goats, of which there was 
a large collection, forming a class of themselves. Thus it will be seen 
that the Live-stock department, like several others of the Fair, was a 
shifting panorama, and is better described in the form of a narrative than 
in the present tense. 

The first exhibits forwarded to Jackson Park consisted of a band of Morgan 
horses and a herd of cattle from Vermont, these being followed soon 
afterward by Canadian thoroughbred horses and cattle, of which nearly 
sixty car-loads arrived in a single day. A week or two later there were on 
the ground 1,200 head of cattle and 800 horses. As to the extent and 
variety of the display, with the relative participation of states and 
nations, a brief description is afforded in the official statement 
reproduced in the note subjoined. [1] 

The display of horses opened with a competition among those of the Suffolk 
Punch breed, so called from their compactness of form, and from the 
English county where they have been raised for many centuries, though 
probably of Scandinavian origin. At one time this stock was coarse in 
shape and slow of pace, but of late has been much improved, and nowhere 
more so than in the United States, now ranking among the most valuable of 
draft horses and one that takes kindly to the yoke. In this class the 
honors fell to Peter Hopley and company, of Lewis, Iowa, to whom were 
awarded 17 out of the 21 first premiums offered. Blazer was pronounced the 
best stallion of his breed, and Bragg the finest mare. In addition to 
money awards, gold medals and silver cups offered by American and British 
associations, were captured by this firm. 

The exhibit of Suffolk Punch horses was followed by a choice display of 
French Percherons within the pavilion, and a brisk competition for honors. 
There was a large number of competitors, and the extent of territory from 
which the animals were drawn was very broad, embracing as it did Illinois, 
Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Iowa, Nebraska, and Canada. In the final 
division of honors, twelve first premiums fell to M. W. Dunham, his large 
contingent of Percherons coming from the Oaklawn farm, at Wayne, Illinois. 

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His stallion, La Ferte, was the winner of the first prize, strengthening 
the position reached some years before, when in competition with the 
Clydesdale and Shire breeds, he won the championship as the best draft 
stallion of any variety. 

In the above competition it was observed that Minnesota received many of 
the second premiums, and at the ensuing tests between Clydesdales this 
state was facile princeps. Many of the first premiums fell to N. P. Clark, 
of St. Cloud, and included those for the best stallion bred in Scotland, 
the most valuable mare bred in Scotland or America, and the finest of 
either sex upon the grounds. His strongest competitor was Robert Halloway, 
of Alexis, Illinois, who, besides taking several first premiums, was 
adjudged to possess the most valuable stallion bred in America, the prize 
being given by the Clydesdale society of Great Britain and Ireland. 

That Shires and French draft horses thrive well on the prairies of 
Illinois was evident from the appearance of the animals which next entered 
the arena. With few exceptions they were raised in that state, the draft 
horses from the Oaklawn farm showing that here was as successful a 
breeding ground for this class as for the Percherons, while Burgess 
brothers, of Wenona, took the prize as Shire breeders. The Shire, it may 
be remarked, is the largest and most powerful of all English horses, 
claiming as his progenitor the mail-clad warhorse of ancient times. He is 
now used for the heaviest kinds of work, as for ploughing, and hauling 
such cumbersome articles as steam-engines, threshing-machines and brewers' 
drays. His Scotch brother, the Clydesdale, is nearly as large, and though 
somewhat quicker in action, is mainly used as a cart or dray-horse. 

On a special occasion Clydesdale, Shire, Percheron, French draft, and 
Belgian horses were in the ring at one time, with Russian horses driven 
under saddle, and Shetland ponies, single, double, tandem, four-in-hand, 
and four abreast, thus bringing home to spectators that even in the matter 
of live-stock they were attending a world's fair. The cosmopolitan nature 
of the exhibit was further emphasized by the appearance of several 
beautiful animals of the Arabian 

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and American-Arabian breeds, for which three of the exhibitors had won the 
highest premiums, Jacob Keyl, of Milwaukee, for both classes, M. W. 
Dunham, of Wayne, Illinois, and J. B. Hall, of Toronto, Canada, for those 
of mixed breeds. This was considered Iowa's special day, the state band 
furnishing the music, the state itself supplying nearly all the Belgian 
horses, so much admired, while to Van Volson brothers and A. B. Holbert, 
of Greeley, fell the honors awarded to Iowa's exhibits. 

A few days later, W. J. Buchanan, the chief of the Agricultural and Live-
stock departments, marshalled the prize-winners and those who were still 
to be honored, for a parade through the Exposition grounds. Moving from 
the stock pavilion, a detachment of Columbian guards was followed by the 
Iowa state band, and by the chief in person, driving a noble looking 
animal. Behind him came a string of tiny Shetland ponies, whose reins were 
held by boys and girls, followed by Russian horses, American riding 
horses, German and French coach horses, native and French trotters, 
Morgans from Vermont, Arabian steeds, Clydesdales, Percherons, French 
draft, Shires, Belgian, and Suffolk Punch horses. Most of them were led by 
grooms in native costume, and where honors had been awarded, the bright 
premium ribbons fluttered from their heads - blue for first prizes, and 
red for the second. Thus 600 of the finest animals ever gathered together 
passed through the principal avenues of Jackson Park between serried lines 
of spectators, and here was in truth a collection, culled from every 
quarter of the world, which taken in its entirety has never before been 
equaled in the annals of showyard exhibitions. 

The closing days of September were devoted to the famous English breed of 
Cleveland bays and the coach-horses of France and Germany. The coaching 
horse of England and the Cleveland bay are almost identical, and now are 
used for the plough, for heavy carriages, and for slow-driving. In the 
latter class most of the entries were by Illinois breeders, who captured 
nearly all the first and second premiums, the majority of the prizes 
falling to Stericker brothers, of Springfield, and George E. Brown, of 
Aurora. As to the French coach-horses, the most extensive exhibit was made 
by the Oaklawn farm of Illinois, the competition increasing the number of 
its prize animals to a total of 111. Its entries of Percheron and French 
coach-horses mustered in all 500, the animals which were exhibited in a 
special building forming an additional attraction. 

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Alluding to the entire exhibit of French coach-horses, the judges make the 
following remark in their report to the bureau of awards: "Surely the 
grand and unequaled specimens of the equine family found in this 
department were all the most enthusiastic admirers of the breed could 
desire or hope for." In this exhibit no less than 68 animals came from the 
Oaklawn farm, and to these were allotted 49 first prizes, including 
sweepstakes and awards of honor, five of them being also winners of first 
prizes at the Paris Exposition of 1889. Among the latter was the chestnut 
stallion, Indre, who in the front rank of the parade attracted general 
attention by his stately carriage and bold powerful step. So also with the 
bay stallion. Perfection, a carriage horse of remarkable beauty, with long 
and graceful curve of neck, lofty bearing, easy movement, and form as 
powerful as supple. In his offspring, descended through ten generations of 
ancestors without a flaw in pedigree, was also noticed his own tenseness 
of nervous organization. Other first prize stallions were Lord, a four 
year old bay; Urban, a two year old chestnut of perfect symmetry, style, 
and action, and Monaco, a two year old bay, with all the force and more 
than the stature of his sire, Indre. In the second line was the black 
stallion, Aguadel, a rival of Indre in the class of aged French trotters, 
and with him a number of mares and of colts and fillies, of which 23 prize-
winners were sired by Indre and Perfection. 

There was substantially no contest between French breeders of these famous 
stocks and American breeders of the varieties originally imported. Of 
German coach-horses, however, there were many exhibitors from the 
Fatherland, as well as from Illinois and Iowa. The final result was an 
almost even division of the honors among the three chief contestants, the 
advantage, if anything, lying with foreign participants. Ulfert Poppen, of 
German Valley, Illinois, was one of the most successful, and many of the 
competitors from that state of from Iowa were of his nationality. Thus, 
while the stock bred on German soil may have had slightly the advantage as 
to ribbons of honor, it was, in the main, a contest restricted to a single 
nationality. 

The competition among the coach-horses of English, French, and German 
breeds was concluded during the month of September, after which a week was 
set apart for hackneys and Morgans; jacks, jennets, and mules; saddle-
horses; Russian and French trotters, and Shetland ponies. When all was 
over, it was decided that the best hackneys were those from Nebraska and 
Canada, and that Vermont and Kentucky breeders excelled in the Morgan 
class, but with Illinois and Indiana not far behind. As to mules, jacks, 
and jennets, the result was in favor of Missouri, though abundant honors 
were also bestowed on Illinois, Kentucky, and Tennessee. 

Among Russian trotters the tzar's horses had no worthy competitors, while 
Dunham once more gathered all the premiums for his French breeds. The 
picturesque features of the show were furnished by the saddle-horses and 
Shetland ponies. As the former were put through all their paces, the live-
stock arena was converted into a circus ring, the contest 

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being intensified by the forthcoming prize, to be presented by Chief 
Buchanan himself, in the form of a handsome silver cup. The trophy was 
awarded to J. T. Crenshaw, of Todd's Point, Kentucky, "Monte Cristo 
Junior" being the name of the steed. 

To children the exhibit of Shetland ponies was one of the most attractive 
features of the Fair, as also was the group of tents containing a band of 
Wisconsin ponies. Among the former, about fifty in number, were colts and 
weanlings, some of them not more than twenty pounds in weight, but
"ready," as one of the exhibitors remarked, "to grow up with children and 
become useful and companionable." The animals were broken to saddle and 
harness, the latter either as singles, spans, tandems, or four-in-hands, 
and beside them was an assortment of pony carts, with equipments to match. 
The largest groups were from the Pittsford farms, New York, and from 
Maquoketa, Iowa, the former displayed by E. F. Hawley and the latter by J. 
M. Hoag. It was in fact the east pitted against the west, and if the 
children could have had their way, every pony that entered the lists would 
have received a ribbon; but the judge was obdurate, awarding one first 
premium and six of the minor class to the New York collection, with blue 
ribbons to the stallions of Robert Lilburn, of Emerald grove, Wisconsin, 
and a mare owned by G. A. Watkins, of Detroit, Michigan. The Shetland and 
Wisconsin pony shows closed the main series of competitions in horse 
flesh. 

One of the most noted stallions on exhibition was Roy Wilkes, whose record 
in turf annals consists of one continuous series of victories, over such 
horses as Mascot, 2:04; Guy, 2:06 3/4; Major Wonder, 2;09 1/4; Riley 
Medium, 2:10 1/2; Grant's Abdallah, 2:10 1/4; Dallas, 2:11 1/2; and Brown 
Hall, 2:12. He not only captured the first premium for stallions of five 
years and over, but holds the world's record, 2:06 1/2, for stallions in a 
class race, without a runner to prompt. Roy Wilkes has earned the world's 
stallion record, 2:08 1/4; the world's record to a wagon, 2:13; the record 
for a quarter mile, 27 3/4 seconds and the two fastest heats in a race for 
a stallion, 2:06 1/2 and 2:08 1/4. It is, furthermore, a noteworthy fact 
that a veterinary surgeon representing the Government department was sent 
to secure measurements of the animal, and after thoroughly doing his work, 
pronounced the animal a perfect type of the American trotter. Naturally, 
therefore, the progeny of Roy Wilkes, both pacers and trotters, have shown 
remarkable speed. The home of this animal is at the Calumet stock farm, in 
the neighborhood of Geneva, Illinois, and he is described by an admirer 
"as a dapple seal brown of the richest color imaginable, his coat being as 
glossy as the finest satin. In height he is 15 3/4 hands, and weighs in 
the neighborhood of 1,200 pounds, in bodily conformation reminding one of 
old George Wilkes. He has a massive neck nicely cut up at the jowl, built 
on the Patchen line; but there is the broad breast, barrel perfectly 
ribbed up, shoulders sloping to suit the most fastidious, a back second to 
none on any race horse, indicating strength par excellence, and the legs 
of the Wilkes, with wide, flat bone, braced with muscles at every point. 
His hocks are simply perfection; he has a fine head, perfect 

Page 620

muzzle, bright intelligent eyes, a pair of well shaped ears of medium 
length, and is of the most kindly disposition. Noticeable points in his 
make-up are his mane and tail, the latter being a waving mass as black as 
ebony and sweeping the ground. In fact, there is no white upon the entire 
body except a faint star upon the forehead." 

As to the cattle show it will be seen by reference to the official list, 
already quoted, that the display of Canadian cattle was much more 
extensive than that of any of the states, and as will presently appear, 
the dominion was rewarded with a large proportion of the highest premiums. 
The result was the more gratifying to our neighbors beyond the lakes, 
since nearly all the breeds selected for competition were of British 
types. Leading the list, in the order of the series, was the shorthorn, 
the best of English breeds, and one adapted to all climes and countries. 
Next was the red and white Hereford, docile and easily fattened, followed 
by the hornless Scotch breeds, the Aberdeen-Angus, and the Galloway. The 
Jersey and her more homely and larger sister, the Guernsey, showed their 
best points, and between these exhibits came the famous Holstein-Friesian, 
of Germany. The well-built Devon, whose production of juicy beef from the 
scant lands of her native shire is one of the mysteries of nature, was 
also represented, with the Scottish Ayrshire, famed as a cheese maker. 
Then there were red polled cattle and polled Durham, hornless as their 
names imply, with the Dutch belted and the small brown beauties of 
Switzerland, both suggestive of the dairy house and the cheese press. The 
tests conducted throughout the Exposition season for determining the value 
of different breeds for dairy purposes were under the supervision of a 
separate bureau, and have already been described in connection with the 
Dairy department. 

The exhibition of shorthorns aroused general interest among breeders, 
Kentucky, Missouri, Indiana, Minnesota, Illinois, and Ontario, Canada, 
having each a large number of participants. The first premium for the best 
bull, without regard to age was awarded to T. S. Moberly, of Richmond, 
Kentucky, whose "Abbottsburn" was pronounced the king of shorthorns. The 
same breeder took the first prize for the finest two or three year old 
heifer; but the best herd was pronounced to be that of H. F. Brown, of 
Minneapolis, Minnesota, the first premium for cows going to J. G. Robbins 
and sons, of Horace, Indiana. For the most valuable young herd, consisting 
of one bull and four heifers, all under two years, the first prize was 
taken by J. and W. Russell, Richmond Hill, Ontario, and for the best cow 
of any age by J. G. Robbins and sons, of Horace, Indiana. 

"Ancient Breton," the property of H. H. Clough, of Elyria, Ohio, was the 
first prize winner among the Herefords, while the blue ribbon for the 
queen of this breed was awarded to "Annabel," owned by W. S. Van Natta, of 
Fowler, Indiana. In the contest for the most valuable herds, Ohio and 
Missouri exhibitors were successful, Clough again receiving the highest 
honors, together with Gudgell and Simpson, of Independence. When the time 
came for the Scotch breeds of Galloways and Aberdeen-Angus, it was evident 
that Indiana, Minnesota, and Ontario were to be prominent in the former, 
and Missouri, Illinois, and Iowa in the latter. In the Aberdeen-Angus 
competition most of the first premiums were awarded to Wallace Estill, of 
Estill, Missouri and for Galloways to the Brookside farm at Fort Wayne, 
Indiana, and Hugh Paul, of Dundee, Minnesota. Ontario breeders took a 
number of minor prizes, those of the first class falling to William Kough, 
of Owen Sound. 

Thus ended the competition between the various breeds of beef cattle, 
dairy animals being next in order, and first among them, Jerseys. In this 
class entries were numerous from Missouri, Illinois, and Minnesota; 

Page 621

but, as a rule, the highest premiums were awarded to Pennsylvania and New 
York. The herd of Jerseys exhibited by T. S. Cooper, of Lehigh county, 
Pennsylvania, was of excellent quality, taking fully one half of the many 
premiums offered, the prize for the best cow falling to C. A. Sweet, of 
Buffalo, New York. Eastern participants also carried away the majority of 
the honors in the Holstein-Friesian class, especially those from the 
empire state, the sweepstakes for the best bull going to D. G. Wilber, of 
Oneonta, New York; for the best cow to C. V. Seeley, North Farmington, 
Michigan. 

The cattle show closed with the competition among other English and Scotch 
breeds, and the Dutch belted and Brown Swiss cattle, for the grand 
sweepstakes to be awarded according to age and for general merit. Canadian 
exhibitors were made glad when the premiums were allotted for Devon and 
Ayrshire cattle, sweeping all before them in the latter class, with Daniel 
Drummond, of Montreal, as the largest prize winner. For red polled cattle 
Iowa was in the front, many of the exhibitors coming from that state, and 
nearly all the first premiums falling to J. H. Gilfillan, of Maquoketa. In 
Dutch belted cattle Pennsylvania was at the head, represented especially 
by H. B. Richards, of Easton, while all but one of the fifteen premiums 
for the Brown Swiss breed fell to Abraham Bourquin, of Nokomis, Illinois. 

The last days of the cattle show were enlivened by a grand display in the 
ring of all the cattle exhibited, and a special parade of Canadian stock, 
the season concluding with the general competition. The sweepstakes for 
the best herd of beeves was taken by J. G. Robbins, of Horace, Indiana. 

Sheep and swine were on exhibition from September 25th to October 13th, 
about 3,000 head of both being entered. For the best sheep awards were 
made to exhibitors of Cotswold, Leicester, Lincoln, Cheviot, Dorset, 
Southdown, Shropshire, Oxford, Hampshire, and merinos, in the order named, 
Angora goats being also included in these classes. The largest number of 
entries was of merinos, delainemerinos, Southdowns, and Oxfords. Ohio, 
Missouri, Michigan, Illinois, and Vermont took most of the premiums for 
delaines and merinos, Ontario presenting an excellent display of such 
English breeds as Lincolns and Southdowns. John Jackson and sons, of 
Abingdon, were the prizewinners in the latter class, and in the group of 
Angora goats, as also in the special class of Persian or Astrakhan sheep, 
C. P. Bailey, of San Jose, California, won the first and second premiums 
in all the sections. These beautiful animals shared a building with a 
large flock of Cotswold sheep, exhibited by a Wisconsin breeder, who 
captured a number of prizes. 

Page 623

Among the noticeable exhibits of the Shropshire breed was the one made by 
A. O. Fox, of Oregon, Wisconsin, whose ram, "Kingstone," weighing 350 
pounds, took the first prize as the largest yearling on the grounds. 
Across the way, in the Ontario section, was Newton Lord, a famous 
Shropshire ram, the English and Canadian prizewinner in former contests, 
and now the champion of the United States. In another building were the 
Oxfords, from the Summer Hill stock farm of Peter Arkell, of Teeswater, 
Ontario, who claims to be the first American importer of this stock. From 
a New York exhibitor came the only considerable flock of Cheviots, 
representatives of the hardy breeds which flourish in the lowlands of 
Scotland, another participant from the empire state showing several fine 
specimens of Pomeranian merinos, owned by Baron von Homeyer. Much interest 
was aroused by the competition for honors among the different breeds of 
rams, for which a number of valuable prizes were awarded. 

Berkshires, Poland Chinas, Chester whites, Duroc-Jerseys, small 
Yorkshires, and the Essey, Victoria, and Cheshire breeds were the 
varieties of swine exhibited, premiums being awarded simultaneously with 
those for sheep. In the swine division, Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, and 
Nebraska were prominent. A famous character among the Poland Chinas was 
"Black Wilkes," the prize-winning boar, weighing 800 pounds, but as spry 
as a yearling. He is owned by Taft and company, of Humboldt, Iowa, and has 
a long list of celebrated ancestors. The comparatively modern breed of 
Duroc-Jerseys was well represented, J. M. Stonebraker, of Panola, 
Illinois, the pioneer raiser of this stock, exhibiting among his herd the 
boar "Exchanger," now famous throughout the country. His weight is 900 
pounds, notwithstanding which he is said to be light of foot. 

The last two weeks of the Fair were devoted to the display of fat stock 
and 

Page 624

light draft horses. Although breeders were not debarred from the latter 
competition, it was specially designed for individual owners of fine 
horses. Standard trotters, thoroughbreds, horses and ponies in harness, 
with equipages, comprised the exhibition, which continued for nearly a 
week. Entries were made from Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Iowa, Michigan, 
Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Ontario, and among the breeds 
represented were Morgans, Arabs, American-Arabs, French, German, and 
English coach-horses, and trotters of the French and American classes. 
Medals and diplomas were given for points of excellence in animals, for 
equipage and appointments, and for skill in driving, and when the contest 
was for horses in harness, the prizes were divided as thus indicated, 50 
per cent being allowed for the highest premium for the horse, and 25 per 
cent each for equipage and driving. Horses were driven singly, tandem, in 
pairs, three abreast, and four-in-hand, and yoked to broughams, phaetons, 
and such heavy vehicles as coaches and tally-hos. There were also special 
prizes, as for the most skillful lady driver and for the best appointed 
park tandem. 

The fat-stock show comprised such breeds of cattle as short-horns, 
Herefords, Aberdeen-Angus, and Devons, premiums being given for the best 
of these breeds, for the heaviest steers, the best working oxen, and the 
finest herds. In this group were also Poland, China, Berkshire, Essey, 
Duroc-Jersey, and Shropshire grades. As in the competitions for dairy and 
breeding purposes, held earlier in the season, the cattle were judged in 
the Live-stock pavilion. In this connection also may be mentioned the 
train cattle, displayed in the arena by a Connecticut owner, which, under 
the names of Jim and Tim, Jerry and Terry, delighted thousands of 
spectators while the monotonous work progressed of deciding upon the 
premiums. 

Chicago is famous for her draft horses, and her merchants, manufacturers, 
and express companies combined to make an exhibit of animals, harness, 
carriages, wagons, and trucks, whose equal has not before been seen in the 
United States. Clydesdales, Percherons, Belgians, Normans, and other 
breeds were represented, the attendance indicating that cart-horse shows, 
so popular in England, had obtained a foothold in this country. During the 
forenoon of the 27th all the horses and wagons were registered at the 
stock pavilion, and after the usual parade, returned there to be judged. 
Premiums were awarded on such points as the soundness and serviceableness 
of the animal; construction and adaptability of the vehicle and harness; 
general condition of animal, vehicle, and harness, as an indication of 
stable management; skill of the driver and tractability of the horse. 
Swift and company received the first premium for the most valuable six-
horse team; Marshall Field and company for the best team of horses; W. M. 
Hoyt for three-horse team; Swift and company for two-horse, and Gage, 
Downs and company for single horse equipage. For the finest wagons, the 
highest premiums were awarded to Swift and company and the American 
Express company. 

"Do you know that the United States government statistics show the annual 
value of the 

Page 625

poultry product of this country to be more than that of either wheat, 
cotton, or dairy articles?" Such was the question put by a manufacturer of 
chicken incubators; but as the query is in the nature of an assertion, it 
may serve as an explanation of the wide-spread interest manifested in the 
poultry exhibit. As the raising of fowls requires but a small capital, and 
the returns are quick, thousands have invested in this branch of industry, 
and especially many of the female sex. Thus, although poultry were not 
formally displayed until during the last month of the Fair, the buildings 
which contained them were usually filled with visitors and inquirers. 
While the business has assumed large proportions in some sections of the 
west, it was from the eastern and middle states that most of the 
exhibitors came, especially those who make a specialty of fancy breeding. 
The display was on a much larger scale than at state and county fairs, and 
though containing no special novelties, was by no means devoid of 
interest. Here, for instance, one might compare the diminutive bantams, 
some of them weighing less than a pound, with the Brahmas, Shanghais and 
other Cochins, any one of which would outweigh a score of its tiny 
neighbors. White and brown Leghorns, black Minorcas, and many Spanish 
varieties were also on exposition, as well as Hamburgs, Dorkings, and 
Plymouth Rocks, the two last especially typical of England and the United 
States. France had also her contingents in the Houdan and Creve-coeur 
breeds, and Poland in her silver, golden, and white-crested specimens. 
Each exhibitor was restricted to four breeds; but there were more than 4,
000 entries in the different classes, representing a score of states, the 
dominion of Canada, and the republic of France. In point of numbers 
Plymouth Rocks led the list, followed by Brahmas, Polish of various 
strains, and Houdans, while of the participants Canada, New York, Ohio, 
Illinois, and Missouri were the most prominent. 

Exhibitors both from the east and west were eager to explain their methods 
of hatching and raising, showing, as they asserted, the advantages of 
artificial incubation over the process which nature has provided. For a 
complete exposition of this phase of the subject the visitor was enabled 
to examine, in a separate building, a large array of apparatus 
representing manufactures in Connecticut, Ohio, Illinois, Iowa, and other 
states. Here the champions of artificial breeding claimed that the 
chickens hatched by machinery were not only larger and better at every 
stage of growth than those cared for by the mother hen, but developed into 
finer fowl, and took the premiums at all the important fairs in the United 
States. At an early stage of the controversy, they said, every one 
admitted that the artificial method was best for the raising of market 
poultry; but it was asserted on the other side that the male birds must be 
hatched by hens. When this theory was swept away at local exhibitions by 
the production of prize roosters hatched by the machine process, then, as 
the manufacturers would have us believe, the fancy fowl breeders adopted 
their incubators in a body; and now, throughout the eastern states, 
poultry raising has become an immense industry, prosecuted almost entirely 
by the inanimate hatcher and breeder. One of the 

Page 626

strongest arguments in its favor is that the vital powers of the hen, 
overtaxed by sitting, are reserved for laying. 

The incubators here displayed were heated either by hot water or air, the 
electric machine being installed in its proper department and described in 
the chapter of Electricity. In the incubators of a Springfield, Ohio, firm 
the hot water circulated through a galvanized iron tank; a vulcanized 
rubber bar was placed in a chamber just above the eggs, and when it became 
expanded by heat, the flame of the lamp was fut off through the lifting of 
a lever upon which the bar operated. When the temperature fell so as to 
contract the bar, the lever was lowered and the heat again admitted. Most 
of the machines were supplied with ingeniously contrived thermostats, or 
heat regulators, and Iowa patentee furnishing a device by which the trays 
of eggs could be instantly turned without opening the machine. To prove 
the validity of their claims, several manufacturers had their apparatus in 
practical operation, the broods of chicks running around their incubators 
of iron and wood as lively as though they had never known any other 
parentage. 

In the poultry division were also included carriers, pouters, tumblers, 
trumpeters, homers, and other varieties of pigeons, Canada being as 
prominent in exhibits of this class as in others. An entire barn was set 
apart for the purpose, and in another were housed the turkeys, ducks, 
geese, rabbits, ferrets, and miscellaneous pets. 

In conclusion it may be said that the exhibition of live-stock in all its 
departments, and especially of horses and horned cattle, was the best that 
was ever witnessed in the United States, and probably the best in the 
world. Nor could it well be otherwise considering the general interest 
aroused by the efforts of the committee in every section of the republic, 
in Canada, and in the principal stock-raising countries of Europe. It was 
in truth an international feature of an international exposition, and 
though perhaps somewhat of an innovation, could not have been omitted from 
a display in which all branches of human enterprise were to be 
represented; for this, as we have seen, is an industry of vast 
proportions, and one to whose further development there is no apparent 
limit. 

Page 627

World's Fair Miscellany

As stated, the live-stock exhibition did not open until August, but the 
pavilion was too desirable a spot to be overlooked by those who wished to 
give entertainments requiring considerable space. From July 4th until the 
formal opening of the department the English military tournament furnished 
exhibitions of athletic and manly feats, comprising wonders of 
marksmanship and horsemanship. Upon their departure for Canada, two of the 
members of the company, Major James Lee and Corporal J. H. Evans, of the 
Life-guards, were presented with a gold watch and a gold medal, the former 
because of his skill in tent-pegging, and the latter for bravery at the 
fire in the Cold Storage building, on July 10th, described in a previous 
chapter. 

A notable occasion was the wand drill of July 26th, in which nearly 3,000 
turners participated. Through some misunderstanding on the part of the 
management, the pavilion was still occupied by the military athletes, who 
at first refused to evacuate it. For a time a riot seemed imminent; for a 
large crowd had collected anxious to witness the drill of the Germans. A 
company of Columbian guards was summoned, but the difficulty was finally 
adjusted and the turners, headed by a squad of fencers, 100 strong, 
entered the arena. Then came a phalanx of color-bearers, and the sturdy 
column of the regular force, each member of which bore a burnished iron 
wand. The evolutions which followed constituted a wonderful exhibition of 
discipline, strength, and agility, the exercises of the turners as a body 
being supplemented by gymnastic feats, while a club from Davenport, Iowa, 
gave an exhibition drill in which the participants were equally divided as 
to sex. 

The live-stock arena was the scene of several games of football, contested 
during the last two months of the Exposition season. Perhaps none excited 
more general interest than the one between a team of West Point cadets and 
the Chicago Athletic Club, the latter winning a decisive victory. It was 
asserted by their opponents, probably with truth, that they would have 
made a much better fight had not the social dissipations in which they 
indulged while in Chicago unfitted them for such sport. 

It may be added that the pavilion was also the scene of a contest not 
authorized by any one in power, and which constituted one of the few 
lawless acts of a serious nature perpetrated within the limits of the 
Exposition grounds. Just before the close of the English tournament and 
the opening of the live-stock department, a British bugler and an Irish 
carriage washer fought a brutal prizefight, the Englishman worsting his 
foe and receiving $500 for his pains. The council of administration 
attempted to bring home the culpability for apparent negligence or 
connivance on the part of guards and police; but the result of the 
investigation was not made public. 

In the building mentioned as containing various apparatus for the 
artificial raising of poultry, was a large exhibit of prepared foods for 
all kinds of live-stock. One kind is said both to prevent and cure chicken 
cholera, regulate and stimulate the laying of eggs by hen, turkey, or 
goose, and to be especially healthful for very young chicks. The 
exhibitors also manufacture a preparation for horses and cattle. One firm 
produced a feed made of corn from which the free starch had been 
extracted, stating that the animals on which it is fed become fat and 
sleek. Another shoed a compound of seeds, roots, and herbs, to mix with 
the regular feed of cattle, sheep, and hogs, believing that variety of 
food is good for the animal as for the human race. Ground linseed cake, or 
linseed meal, was displayed in various forms, by several manufactures, as 
a safe and nutritious pabulum for horses and cattle, especially for dairy 
animals. After the flaxseed is ground and subjected to a high temperature, 
the oil is extracted by hydraulic pressure, and the residue, or linseed 
cake, is ground into meal. The difference in the process of manufacturing 
the oil determines the comparative value of the meal as feed for live-
stock, a Cleveland company, for instance, holding that by its method the 
cake was left with an unusually large percentage of nitrogen, a most 
necessary element in the food of dairy breeds. But whatever the 
comparative merits of the different preparations, it is interesting to 
learn that in the United States, and especially the west, there is an 
increasing demand for linseed feed. Until recent years the mills of this 
country turned out about one third of the world's production, nearly all 
of which was exported to Great Britain. Now about 400,000 tons a year are 
manufactured in the United States; 550,000 in England, and 200,000 on the 
continent of Europe. 

A bull four years old and a cow of two represented the live-stock of the 
West Indies. They were as delicate as Jerseys, the bull being mouse-
colored and the cow of a rich creamy hue; but their peculiarity was the 
hump between the shoulders. The specimens were brought from Trinidad, 
where they are used for light-draft purposes, being fast and not 
ungraceful trotters. About a dozen years ago the original stock was 
imported from Hindostan, and has since been crossed with that of native 
cattle. 

Illinois, Iowa, Vermont, Minnesota, and the Canadian provinces of Ontario 
and Quebec appropriated money for the expenses of their 

Page 628

live-stock exhibits. The awards included medals and money from the 
Exposition authorities and special premiums from associations. Altogether 
the management had guaranteed a distribution of $150,000 among all the 
classes of exhibitors, including several sweepstake prizes for the best 
herds of cattle. Some of the states also voted large sums to be given to 
their successful competitors. Missouri showed special liberality in this 
regard, her state commission appropriating $20,000 for the purpose. A 
premium of $200 was given for each Missouri cow that captured a prize in 
the dairy breed contest, and half that amount for every one finally chosen 
by experts to be exhibited. Missouri well sustained her reputation as a 
leading producer not only of cattle, but of draft and trotting horses, 
mules, merino sheep, and Berkshire and Poland China swine. On Missouri 
day, August 30th, there was a special parade of cattle contributed by that 
state, attended by Governor Stone and several public officials. In 
September, in addition to general parades of live-stock, there was a 
procession of nearly 800 horses, which, on passing the New York state 
building, was reviewed by Governor Flower, Chauncey M. Depew, and other 
prominent men from the empire state. 

From several states were entered for competition specimens of the Morgan 
breed of horses, which ante-date the variety known as the standard 
American trotter. The exhibition of this class was the largest ever made, 
and to Vermont breeders its success must be largely credited. A liberal 
sum was appropriated for the purpose, and a commission appointed to select 
the choicest animals available for exposition. Although their qualities 
have long been recognized among experts, a determined effort is now 
apparent, especially in Vermont, to make them a distinctively American 
breed. 

Among the Plymouth Rocks in the poultry show was a four legged hen which 
had no competitors. Perhaps of all the breeds none were more admired than 
the crested chickens of the Polish variety, in one class the head-gear of 
pure white capping a body of jet black. 

The prominence of Canada in the live-stock department was nowhere more 
evident than in the line of blooded horses. Quebec is especially proud of 
the pedigree of some of her specimens descended, as they are, from a stud 
sent there by the king of France, in the seventeenth century, the first of 
pure Norman breed to be imported into America. 

In charge of the horses sent from the stables of the tzar was a cavalry 
officer of high standing, specially appointed for the purposes. Some of 
them had pedigrees running back for more than a century, and it is said 
that there were stallions in the stud which $100,000 could not buy. The 
horses were known as Orloff trotters, Orloff half-breed saddle carriers 
for heavy cavalry service, Orloff-Arab, Russian-Arab, and light Russian 
draft. 

Of the most noted breeds included in the Russian exhibit was that known as 
Arabian Orloff, and among the most beautiful specimens was Bekbovlat, 
ridden by Captain Theodore Ismailoff who was in charge of the stud owned 
by the Grand Duke Dimitry. This famous animal was bred at the Streletsky 
stud of the government in southern Russia, and was one of the finest 
horses on exhibition. In striking contrast to the Arabian beauty was the 
Minnesota Clydesdale, Prince Patrick, who not only captured the 
sweepstakes prize at the Columbian Exposition, but also took first honors 
at the leading fairs in Great Britain. Near the Arabian steed and the 
Clydesdale was placed for purposes of comparison, a typical saddle horse 
from Kentucky. Thus Russia, Arabia, and America met at the World's Fair. 

The German government contributed 60 of the superb coach-horses for which 
the empire is famous. These are largely imported into France, Italy, 
England, and the United States, and the demand for them is steadily 
increasing in our own country. Of the Oldenburg breed are the massively-
built animals used for heavy drafting, the Hanoverians and Holsteins being 
somewhat lighter in weight. The average weight of the entire consignment 
did not fall short of 1,600 pounds, a noble animal of the Oldenburg type 
tipping the scales at 1,700. The German horses are unexcelled for breeding 
purposes, the laws, which are rigorously enforced, requiring that the 
pedigree of the studs shall be unquestioned. 

It was proposed by the management to hold an extensive kennel exhibit, the 
entries to close on the 1st of June; but, on account of disagreements 
among intending exhibitors, the date was postponed and the project finally 
abandoned. 

Notes

1. Large Breeds of Cattle: Shorthorns, 233; Herefords, 140; Aberdeen-
Angus, 72; Galloway, 78; Devon, 71; Holstein, 67; Red polls, 70; Polled-
Durham, 30. Small Breeds: Jersey, 243; Ayrshires, 129; Guernseys, 49; 
Brown Swiss, 54; Dutch belted, 16. 

Horses and Mules: Clydesdales, 187; Percheron, 155; Suffolk Punch, 21; 
Shire, 49; French draft, 94; Belgian, 67; Arab, 6; American Arab, 17; 
Thoroughbred, 26; Cleveland bay, 48; French coach, 63; German coach, 92; 
Hackney, 32; Morgan, 66; jacks and mules, 49; saddle, 46; Standard 
trotter, 45; Russian trotter, 18; French trotter, 23, and Shetland pony, 
85. 

Of state and Canadian entries the following was the proportion. Horses: 
Illinois, 220; Iowa, 137; Michigan, 75; Wisconsin, 74; Minnesota, 64; 
Canada, 55; Vermont, 50; Indiana, 46; Missouri, 42; New York, 39; 
Kentucky, 36; Nebraska, 18; Tennessee, 4; West Virginia, 3, and one each 
from Ohio, North Dakota, Kansas, and Pennsylvania. 

Cattle: Canada, 234; Illinois, 172; Minnesota, 154; Ohio, 99; Missouri, 
83; Indiana, 78; New YOrk, 67; Pennsylvania, 59; Iowa, 59; Vermont, 49; 
Kansas, 42; Kentucky, 33; Michigan, 17; Maine, 13; North Dakota, 10; 
Massachusetts, 1. 



Page 629

Chapter the Twentieth:
Anthropology and Ethnology

Least pretentious among the structures of the Fair in which are housed its 
main exhibits is the Anthropological building, where is presented a record 
in miniature of man's condition, progress and achievement, from 
prehistoric eras to the days in which we live. In this department are 
several divisions and many sub-divisions, first among which are 
archaeology and ethnology, with their various branches. In the former 
section, beginning with the stone age, are shown portions of human 
skeletons and specimens of handiwork unearthed from geologic strata, from 
mounds and shell heaps, from caves and burial places, from the ruins of 
ancient cities and pueblos, and in a word from every portion of the New 
World where its ancient races have left their impress. From the valleys of 
the Ohio and Mississippi, and elsewhere to the borders of either ocean, 
from Mexico and Central and South America have been unearthed, after the 
lapse of unnumbered aions, their buried implements of stone, iron, or 
copper, their household utensils and ornaments, and whatever else may 
serve to throw light on the paleolithic and other prehistoric periods. 
Some of the exhibits are arranged in geographical groupings, as the models 
of cliff dwellings from Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona, and of the 
sculptured ruins of Copan. 

For those who incline to this field of investigation, a section is devoted 
to physical anthropology. Here, in the skulls, charts, diagrams, and 
models gathered from many nations, may be compared the past and present 
types of the human race. There are the skulls of the ancient Greek, 
Italian, 

Page 630

German, and Helvetian; there are the skulls of savages and apes; there are 
casts of faces typical of tribes and nationalities; there are diagrams 
showing the comparative stature and anatomical measurement of men and 
women in various countries, with photographs, statues, and other 
appliances for a thorough study of this important branch of science. 
Elsewhere by similar agencies are illustrated the functions and activities 
of the brain and the organs of sense, whether in normal or in unhealthy 
condition. In the case of children there are also apparatus for an 
experimental study of mental phenomena, the subjects being chosen from 
those who would submit themselves to certain tests while visiting this 
department of the Fair. 

A special and most interesting section has for its subjects primitive 
religions, folk-lore, and games, the last being grouped together so as to 
form a comparative study. But it is on the exhibits relating to the 
condition and progress of man that the interest mainly centres, and 
especially on such as pertain to modern man; for from the relics of the 
buried past, whose history at best is largely diluted with speculation, we 
turn with a sense of relief to more practical evidences of his 
achievements as contained in written or printed page. Thus is has been the 
prime object of the ethnological display to afford an opportunity for the 
study of national types, not only from a scientific point of view, but as 
far as possible through living specimens. To this end a strong background 
has been obtained by placing before the spectator the representatives of 
races existing on this continent in the days of the Columbian era. Then 
are illustrated special epochs and events, with portraits and busts of 
those of whose lives and achievements our history largely consists, but 
without allusion to the annals of the civil war, a theme entirely out of 
place in an exposition devoted to the arts of peace. 

But the exhibits of this department, and especially its historical 
exhibits, are not restricted to the Anthropological building. In the 
convent of La Rabida is a collection relating especially to the Columbian 
epoch, under the special charge of William E. Curtis, of the Latin-
American bureau. In the Government edifice is a large gallery of 
paintings, photographs, and other illustrations pertaining to the Latin-
American republics. In a model Indian school are the representatives of 
many native tribes, gathered almost from the shores of the Arctic ocean to 
the gulf of Mexico. Here is the civilized Indian at his task of making 
blankets, baskets, pottery, or at the more welcome task of eating and 
drinking, or playing with his children and his dogs. 

Page 631

Here also are specimens from farm and workshop, representing the 
industries of the nation's proteges, while in other departments are tribal 
exhibits, each one carefully arranged and credited, and not a few of them 
competing for awards. To this division also belong in part the state 
collections and the Midway plaisance, in both of which are ethnological 
features. 

Additional attractions in this department are exhibits in natural history 
and taxidermy from several of the states, from the Canadian province of 
Ontario, and from Brazil, including valuable collections from Ward's 
Natural Science establishment at Rochester and from the Agassiz 
association at St. Louis. There are not restricted to the hall of 
Anthropology, the Kansas State Building, for instance, containing the best 
specimens of taxidermy displayed in the Exposition and one of the best in 
the world. 

The general plan, however, is to illustrate in a series of object lessons 
the development of various phases and adjuncts of civilization, as 
architecture, household conveniences, appliances and methods for the 
saving of life and labor, for the discipline and reform of criminals, for 
the cure of the sick, and the relief of those who are in need. Sanitation 
and hygiene, charities and corrections, properly belonging to the 
department of Liberal Arts, find expression in the Anthropological 
building. In apparatus, models, plans, photographs, and literature are 
shown the progress and condition of sanitary science as applied to 
dwellings, workshops, stores, and public buildings. Here are displayed the 
best systems of heating, ventilation, and drainage; the precautions used 
to prevent and check infectious diseases, and to minimize the danger to 
health incidental to certain trades. Another branch is athletic training 
in various forms, and still another is the adulteration of food, with the 
proper means for its detection. In connection with charities, asylums and 
homes for all classes of the unfortunate or inform are compared in their 
several sections. 

Over the main northern entrance of the Anthropological building, in the 
southeastern extremity of the grounds, is the inscription, "Man and His 
Works," thus briefly and aptly explaining the purposes of the display. A 
floor space of more than 100,000 square feet is mainly occupied by the 
archaeological and ethnological exhibits of foreign countries and of state 
boards and individuals, together with the collections gathered from 
various parts of North and South America by a corps of 

Page 633

assistants under the direction of F. W. Putnam, as chief of this 
department. In the northern portion some 30,000 square feet are set apart 
for the bureaus of hygiene and sanitation, of charities and correction. 

Passing through the northern portal, the visitor observes a few small 
collections illustrating certain points in the antiquities and ancient 
arts of Assyria, Egypt, and Rome; then proceeding down the main aisle, he 
finds at its central point the government exhibits of Greece, supplemented 
by contributions from the Chicago museum of art. These are for the most 
part reproductions of the most famous of Grecian sculptures and statuary, 
exhumed from the mausoleums and ruins of Mycenae and Delos, of Boeotia, 
Attica, and Thessaly. Among them are statues of Diana, Apollo, and 
Victory, with allegorical groups representing various subjects. Of special 
interest are the replicas of two statuettes of Minerva, executed by 
Phidias in ivory and gold, with figures of Mercury, one of which is a cast 
of what is said to be the only authenticated work from the hands of 
Praxiteles. Here also are represented colossal statues or fragments of 
Arcadian origin, once forming a portion of a group in the temple of 
Proserpine. Among sculptures of the fifth and fourth centuries of the pre-
Christian era are bas-reliefs from the acropolis and figures from Arcadian 
and Olympian temples; but most ancient of all, and perhaps the oldest 
specimen extant, is a relief from the Lion gate at Mycenae. Belonging to 
later periods are the colossal statues of Justice and Neptune, from 
originals discovered in the island of Melos. Finally there are busts of 
the emperor Hadrian and his favorite, Antinous, with figures or heads of 
Hermes and Pan, of Minerva and Medusa, of Athenian youths and dancing 
women. 

Beyond the Grecian section are other collections relating to European 
archaeology, including those from the government museum at Vienna. A 
Moravian contributor shows the skull and bones of a monster bear, a 

Page 634

cave-dweller of prehistoric times. In this vicinity is also a valuable 
display of Egyptian antiquities from Albany, with one from the imperial 
museum of Japan, containing relics of the earlier ages of its island 
empire. 

Mexico occupies a large area adjacent to that of Japan, reproducing not 
only her ancient ruins but the historic structures described by Spanish 
chroniclers as existing at the time of the conquest. From the Federal 
district comes a model of ancient Mexico, with specimens of Aztec 
furniture, and from various states, from the scientific institute at 
Toluca, from the Mexican Central railway, and many private exhibitors are 
other contributions which fill this large and well arranged section. 
Models of rural homes familiar to travelers in that country are side by 
side with musical instruments, household utensils, pipes, cloaks made of 
bark, and other apparel worn by native Indians. Aztec lances, battle-axes, 
shields, and war drums are massed in one corner, and not far away is a 
group of stone heads and idols, with ancient coins, copies of antique 
manuscripts, water color paintings of antiquities, human skulls and 
jawbones, casts of inscriptions on stone, and models, photographs, albums, 
and books illustrating past and present types of Mexico's native races. 
The Mexican Central sends an interesting collection of coins, pieces of 
obsidian, and plaster casts of Aztec calendars, and elsewhere are charts 
showing the ancient system of recording time, with painted shields of 
Aztec warriors and a copy of Mexico's earliest map. 

On the opposite side of the main aisle Ohio, Indiana, Missouri, Wisconsin, 
Colorado, and the Canadian province of Ontario, most of the former through 
their historical societies, and the latter as a government display, have 
large collections of pottery, implements, and weapons pertaining to 
prehistoric tribes. There are supplemented by private contributions, 
forming together a most interesting study in archaeology. Colorado, for 
instance, thus describes in part the history of her ancient cliff 
dwellers, and so with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. There are pottery and 
stone implements from the great shell heaps of Florida and Main, while 
Michigan, Illinois, and Missouri contribute from their valleys and ancient 
village sites utensils not only of stone but of copper. Other relics are 
from the mounds of Tennessee, Kentucky, and Arkansas, from Connecticut, 
and especially from the valley of the Delaware, whence the collection was 
made by an agent of the Anthropological department. Several experts were 
also despatched to the valleys of the two Miamis, the Muskingum, Scioto, 
and other tributaries of the Ohio, around which cluster so many of the 
mysterious mounds supposed to 

Page 635

be remnants of fortresses and burial grounds, among which are records of 
animal symbols, or totems, adopted by family or tribe. The famous Serpent 
mound, over 1,200 feet in length, is here in miniature relief, displaying 
what archaeologists believe to be an egg, symbolic of the creation of the 
world. Reconstructed on a small scale are also the Turner and Hopewell 
groups of mounds, the latter, more than a score in number, built on a 
terrace, with another elevated surface bordering the creek near by, and a 
third not far away, where careful exploration disclosed many pieces of 
copper, fashioned into various geometric figures, into ornaments, and 
forms of bird, fish, and beast. Implements of copper, mysterious crosses 
of the same metal, shells, bears' claws, sharks' teeth, mica, carved bone 
ornaments, spear and arrow heads, and thousands of flint chippings are 
among the articles taken from the Hopewell farm and exhibited in this 
department. In connection with illustrations of prehistoric life 
pertaining to Ohio may also be mentioned the survey maps of Fort Ancient, 
and those of the Marietta earthworks and other well known localities. 

After Ohio, the state of Wisconsin, through its historical society, 
presents the most interesting study for those who would further 
investigate the much disputed question of the mound builders. Here the 
mounds are chiefly located in the valleys of the Fox, the Wisconsin, and 
other prominent waterways, clustering most thickly around the larger 
cities of the present day. In other sections are numerous heaps of earth 
such as have already been described; but while these forms are also very 
numerous in Wisconsin, the so-called effigy mounds, in which is depicted 
the human figure, are believed to be peculiar to that state. Therefore it 
is that the tablets in this collecting, showing the model and outlines of 
a group of effigy mounds, are considered of special value by the 
department. 

From the neighboring state of Minnesota has been forwarded by a private 
contributor a section of her pipestone quarries, long considered the main 
source of supply for the making of the calument, or pipe of peace, with 
which is connected much of the semi-religious aspect in the Indian 
mythology of the west. Among private exhibits relating to archaeology 
mention should also be made of a collection from Frank G. Logan, of 
Chicago, purchases from H. N. Rust, of Pasadena, whose days have been 
passed in archaeological researches extending from New Hampshire to 
California. There are in all some 3,000 specimens, among them the flat 
stones worn by prehistoric man into cup-like grooves, while crushing bones 
or grain, with stone hammers, axes, and rude implements for tilling the 
soil. From California the relics include a portable mortar, the upper part 
of which is of wicker work and the bottom, a stone; cooking vessels of 
stone and clay; stone lamps, with pieces of bark for wicks; stone rings 
utilized as sinkers for fish nets, as mallet heads, or as weapons; stone 
tubes employed by medicine men for cupping processes, and pieces of 
obsidian from the Klamath Indians and the ancient Aztecs, by the former 
used as ornaments and indications of rank, and by the priests of the 
latter for killing their sacrificial victims. In the Aztec groups are also 
polished stone work and neatly fashioned urns in which were placed the 
ashes of the dead. 

In other sections, separated by the width of the hall, are interesting and 
valuable collections gathered by the agents of the department from 
Honduras and Yucatan, from Columbia, Bolivia, Peru, and other points 

Page 636

in South America and the West Indies. As reproductions of the famous 
sculptures of Central America, the French minister of public instruction 
has furnished imposing casts, covered with strange figures and 
hieroglyphics, from moulds taken by Desire Charnay. Other contributions 
are from the Berlin museum, the government of Honduras, and the Peabody 
museum of American archaeology. For those who care not for these strange 
weird forms and faces, there is a gallery of forty large photographs, 
representing the exhibits of Great Britain and the achievements of one of 
her explorers, whose views were taken from the ancient structures of 
Guatemala, Honduras, Chiapas, and Yucatan. 

More imposing and complete than anything within the building, however, are 
the reproductions of the Yucatan ruins displayed, as I have said, outside 
its walls. The explorations were made by E. H. Thompson, United States 
consul and an agent of the Exposition, his moulds consisting of the portal 
from the central structure of the group of ruins at Labna, the facade of 
the Serpent house, and three sections of the house of Nuns, the last from 
the ruins of Uxmal. 

Returning to the Anthropological building, its most uncanny collection is 
from the ancient land of Peru, whence is a substantial reproduction of a 
burying ground at Ancon. There are ridges of gravel and sandy soil, with 
mummies in all positions, and skulls, bones, and cloth interspersed. The 
preservation of the bodies is largely due to the almost total absence of 
rain in the locality whence they were taken, and to the saltpetre and 
other preservative elements contained in the soil. There are more than 100 
bodies, including those of many personages of note, one with colored 
standards and war club beside him, others swathed in richly colored 
blankets or cotton cloth, and all with jars of provisions beside them, so 
that they hunger not on their way to the hereafter. Some of the bodies are 
tattooed, and adorned with beads and copper earrings, while on tablets 
fashioned of cloth, stretched upon frames of wood and painted with figures 
and characters, are described the virtues of the deceased. The latter, 
together with the clothing and other articles taken from the graves, are 
wonderfully preserved, even to parrots' feathers found on the heads of 
warriors. As Ancon was a fishing town, many nets were unearthed from its 
sepulchres, and these are almost intact, as are the baskets of woven fibre 
representing the industries of women. 

The agent who explored this famous necropolis of Peru, also visited 

Page 637

portions of Chile, Bolivia, and Ecuador, in the interests of American 
archaeology. It was from the island of La Plata, off the coast of Ecuador, 
that he collected the rarest of the relics aside from those gathered form 
the burial ground of Ancon. The former was virgin soil for the 
archaeologist, and with the cooperation of the government, he was enabled 
to exhume not only the bodies of the dead, but finely wrought pottery and 
beautiful finished cups, jewelry, and idols of gold. Slabs of the precious 
metal were also discovered, from which these works of art were fashioned. 
A large area was covered with a stratum of ashes several feet in 
thickness, which appeared to separate other relics from those of finer 
workmanship. The investigators concluded that they had found a large 
cemetery where the dead were burned, and that the stratum was the dividing 
line either between two peoples or two grades of civilization, the 
utensils and ornaments plainly indicating different degrees of skill and 
culture. In this connection may also be mentioned the large collection of 
pottery, wooden vessels, ornaments, implements, and various articles of 
gold, silver, copper, and stone, gathered near the city of Cuzco, Peru, 
and relating to periods when this locality was the centre of governmental 
and priestly power. Here was the great Peruvian temple of the Sun, whose 
ruins are still imposing. 

In another portion of the hall, near the casts of Central American 
sculpture, is a group of picturesque exhibits from Brazil, British Guiana, 
Costa Rica, and Paraquay. In character they partake both of the 
archaeological and ethnological. For example, in the Brazilian section the 
national museum and the museum of Para contribute ancient pottery; urns 
containing the ashes of the dead; carved images of hideous aspect 
representing the heathen gods before the advent of Christianity; huge 
clubs, bows and arrows, blow-guns, and other weapons; painted images of 
religious import, and household utensils made by Indian tribes of the 
present day. Here also is a number of pictures, a large oil portrait 
representing a South American native, his black body gleaming like ebony, 
his black hair adorned with bright-colored feathers, and his neck 
encircled with a necklace of teeth taken from the jaws of wild animals, 
while from his feathered breech-cloth hangs a quiver of arrows, the long 
bow which he seems able to wield to good effect lying by his side. From 
Costa Rica come pottery, implements, ornaments, utensils, and weapons 
gathered from ancient graves, large maps hung upon the walls of her 
section indicating the most important districts from an archaeological 
point of view, and large paintings illustrating the appearance and customs 
of the natives. 

But one of the most complete collections of curios relating to the South 
American Indian of today is that which resulted from the expedition of 
Lieutenant Roger Welles to the upper waters of the Orinoco river. The 
lieutenant acted as an agent of the department, and his display consists 
of reed blow-guns, some of them ten feet in length; spears, large bows, 
and poisoned arrows with fish-bone tips; reeds bound together to form a 
single instrument; glazed pottery simply but tastefully ornamented; tinder 
boxes made of bamboo or bone; baskets, combs, boards into which flints are 
set for grating cassava roots, and hammocks made of the fibre of a native 
palm; implements used in extracting india rubber; feather head-dresses and 
costumes; strings of monkeys' teeth, and other articles illustrating the 
domestic, industrial, and warlike phases of aboriginal life. Finally there 
is a number of articles from the Caribs of the West Indies, the fiercest 
of the tribes with which Columbus had to deal. 

Among the ancient enemies of the Caribs, it is said that the Arawaks were 
the most powerful, often repelling the incursions of the former upon the 
mainland. One of the most notable of the ethnological specimens 

Page 638

is a full-blooded native of the latter tribe, brought from his forest home 
to assist the British commissioner in his arrangement of the Guiana 
section. This exhibit, one of the most picturesque in the department, is 
grouped in and around two huts, one such as serves for habitation the 
Indians of the forest, and the other those of the coast. There are 
hammocks of various kinds, plain and ornamented; benches of wood and 
tortoise-shell; tinder boxes, and the more primitive fire sticks. 
Elsewhere are tobacco leaves; cigarette paper made of vegetable ropes for 
making hammocks, and spindles and frames employed in their manufacture. In 
the line of dress and ornaments are various styles of aprons worn by the 
women, fashioned of bark, cotton, and beads, with cotton anklets and waist 
belts, plan and adorned with fringes or pendants. Teeth of jaguar and 
peccary are made into necklaces, and there is nose jewelry of silver and 
tin. Feathers of brilliant hue are used for head-dresses or girdles for 
the arms and shoulder; a fish spine serves as a tattooing implement, and 
there are dyes of red, yellow, and white for staining the face and body. 

Native warrior and sportsman are represented by war-clubs, bows and 
arrows, blow-pipes, fish-traps and nets, and hunting bags of skin and 
wicker work. The arrows are of many kinds; those for killing birds, with 
bamboo points; for stunning them with blunt heads; for shooting fish, 
metal heads; for large game, metal spear heads; for turtles, separable 
metal heads; and poisoned arrows for game, with bamboo point and cap. 
Domestic life is represented in a collection of jars, jugs, gourds, and 
baskets; corn mortars and pestles and sugar cane crushers; graters, 
pressers, and baskets for the preparation of cassava; hollowed trunks for 
festive drinks with paddles for stirring them, and mats for protection 
against stinging ants and the coercion of unruly children. Wrestling 
shields, dancing sticks, rattles, trumpets, flutes, an Aeolian harp made 
from the stalk of a palm, and a headdress of leaves point to sport, music, 
and the dance. The environment of the native tribes is further illustrated 
by cabinets of birds, fishes, and animals used for food, and a collection 
of photographs showing the country which they inhabit. 

Thus it will be seen that the native races, both past and present, of what 
is known as Latin-America are fully represented in the Anthropological 
department. A collection yet to be mentioned is that of Emil Hassler, the 
Paraguayan commissioner, one pertaining to the customs not only of the 
native tribes of his own country, but of more than forty others, scattered 
over the central portions of South America. This collection, the result of 
many years of labor, was the only 

Page 639

exhibit from South American countries for which a gold medal was awarded 
at the Paris exposition of 1889. The tribes from which it was gathered 
were sparsely scattered over the territory occupied by the Tupi-Guaranis 
family during the Jesuit occupation, and here is nothing in the way of 
idols, all traces of idol worship being destroyed during the seventeenth 
century. The collection consists for the most part of weapons, utensils, 
and articles of rude manufacture. Among the first are spears whose points 
are made of wood, stone, bone, and iron; stone axes, and bows from which 
stones instead of arrows are shot. There are also primitive machines for 
spinning cotton threads, and a shawl of cotton, made entirely by hand; 
shells, teeth, hammocks, straw hats, pottery, boat and oars, fishing 
implements, bone knives, lip perforators, wooden ear-plugs and ornaments 
for the head, which are composed mainly of feathers. 

In the western quarter of the Anthropological building a considerable 
space is devoted to the large and interesting government exhibit from New 
South Wales, and to the collections from New Zealand, New Caledonia, and 
other islands of the South Pacific. They are mainly composed of weapons, 
implements, ornaments, and costumes, arranged in striking designs upon the 
walls of the various sections, supplemented by hideous idols from the New 
Hebrides and Solomon groups, and by paintings of typical natives, some of 
them hardly less repulsive. There is, however, a reverse side of 
aboriginal life, furnished chiefly by the board for the protection of the 
aborigines of New South Wales, whose headquarters are at Sydney. From the 
children of the school established by this board are specimens of 
handwriting and needlework, with drawings executed by a famous chief of 
the Ulladulla tribe, dealing principally with hunting and fishing scenes. 
The assortment of Polynesian curios is further enriched by contributions 
from the royal museum of Vienna, and by those of private individuals, 
among which is one from New Caledonia, while from New Zealand are 
implements, ornaments, and cloth of Maori manufacture. 

In this vicinity also are the fetishes of central and western Africa, with 
the musical instruments, household utensils, ornaments, and weapons 
peculiar to the dark continent. On one of the walls is a group of weapons 
from the basin of the Congo, and the warlike Zulus furnish an interesting 
collection of arms, scepters, and royal insignia, with ornaments of 
silver, ivory, and horn. Not far away is a group of Chinese idols and 
other objects referring to oriental religions, with a special display 
illustrative of the life and customs of the Chinese in the United States. 
Then come private exhibits, including baskets, bead-work, ornaments, and 
costumes of North American Indians. For those who wish further to 
investigate this subject there is a gallery of pictures, mainly by George 
Catlin, relating to aboriginal life in America, and showing not only types 
of leading tribes but chiefs prominent in the history of 

Page 640

Indian warfare. The Wisconsin Historical society sends an interesting 
exhibit of garments, utensils, and other articles bearing upon the customs 
of such noted tribes as the Chippewas and Winnebagoes, while a Washington 
contributor, who for a decade has been investigating the subject of Indian 
music among the tribes of the west, displays the results of her work, 
especially among the Nez Perces, Omahas, and Winnebagoes. 

In this exposition of the life of North American Indians, however, the 
tribes of the far northwest furnish most of the ethnological material. 
Alaska and British Columbia are especially rich in this respect, and to 
these regions the department sent many agents, as well as to Labrador, 
Greenland, and other habitats of the Eskimos. Thus may be gleaned 
something of the peculiarities of a race which seems to be a connecting 
link between the old world and the new. From Alaska are pipes and other 
articles carved in wood and ivory, with masks and head-gear such as are 
used by the priests, or shamans of Siberia. There are also carved bowls; 
wooden chests and boxes inlaid with ivory, bone, and shell; horn ladles, 
dishes, and spoons; fish-knives and curious hooks; fire sticks and tinder 
boxes, surgical knives and a multitude of other articles among which are 
pictures of considerable merit. But perhaps the most interesting of all is 
the model of the Indian village of Skidegate, on one of the Queen 
Charlotte islands, off the coast of British Columbia. Worthy of special 
note 

Page 641

are the carved posts, fashioned by the Haidas into shapes of beast, bird, 
and man, representing either some symbol which has been adopted or some 
myth handed down through the ages. Within the building both totem poles 
and structures are much reduced in size; but on the shores of the pond 
near by are exact reproductions of the originals. 

Extending across the southern portion of the building is a double row of 
cases which mark the dividing line between the departments already 
described and those that relate to sanitary and reformatory measures. 
Grouped among the latter is material illustrative of the folk-lore, 
traditions, and customs of many races; but here the field is so vast that 
the collection has been practically restricted to the subject of games, 
and even in this regard it is remarkable how much mankind has in common. 
The basis of the collection was formed in the museum of archaeology in the 
University of Pennsylvania, and this has been supplemented by exhibits 
from individuals and the leading manufactures of appliances for games in 
the United States. 

As the games are classified and arranged for comparative study, the 
puzzles and simple apparatus for children commence the series. Ancient 
puzzles from East India and China are seen in many familiar forms, those 
from the latter usually made of wood, bone, or ivory. Simpler still are 
the counting-out rhymes of children, contained in book form and common to 
many countries. Here the boy with his first top, which represents to him a 
new form of plaything, finds in one of these cases a wood object not 
unlike his own treasure, discovered in Egypt and dating about 2,800 B.C. 
From the burial grounds of Ancon, Peru, similar objects were unearthed. 
The Sioux of North America made for their children, in primitive times, 
balls of stone and baked clay, which were spun on the ice like whip tops. 
Later, they fashioned them of wood, adding pegs of brass. Pop-guns and 
squirt-guns, it is found, have amused the children of the native tribes of 
East India and the aborigines of North and South America, while 
jackstraws, under different names, have been used in China, England, and 
France since time immemorial. 

Games of ball were common in Egypt long before the reign of the Pharoahs, 
the most ancient specimens of implements being a stick and small block of 
wood which served for this purpose more than 4,600 years ago. They were 
also a favorite pastime in Turkey, in Asia, Persia, India, China, and 
Japan, spreading thence to Europe and the western hemisphere. All the 
appliances are here displayed, together with the wicker baskets and flat 
bat used in Spanish ball games, while a Chicago house has an exhibit of 
the articles employed in games of cricket, baseball, football, golf, polo, 
la crosse, lawn-tennis, racket and shuttlecock, with Japanese and Chinese 
forms of the last named. Ring games of various kinds are illustrated, and 
a collection of large Burmese seeds and the knuckle bones of Turkish 
sheep, weighted with lead, are among primitive forms of marble playing, 
other implements being shown as in use today. To illustrate the 
comparatively modern games of bowls, billiards, and croquet, a Chicago 
company shows apparatus and miniature models of 

Page 643

remarkable beauty and finish, while another interesting collection is from 
the Chicago curling club. Adjoining is a case in which are gathered from 
China, Korea, Japan, Siam, Egypt, Morocco, Peru, and New Mexico, the 
boards and pieces for games resembling chess and draughts. The boards used 
in the Japanese and Peruvian games of fox and geese are almost identical, 
and as these were unknown in either country until the sixteenth century, 
it is inferred that they were of Spanish origin. Perhaps the most 
interesting form among this class of games is furnished by the Zuni 
Indians of New Mexico, the board upon which it is played being divided 
into 140 squares, each of which is crossed by two intersecting diagonal 
lines. Says Stewart Culin, in charge of the folk-lore department: "The 
moves are made one square at a time along these diagonal lines, the pieces 
being placed at the angles of the squares. Two or four persons play. They 
each start with six men, and their object is to get their men across to 
the other side and occupy their opponent's places, capturing as many of 
his pieces as possible by the way. A piece is taken by getting it between 
two others, as in the modern Egyptian game of seega, and the first piece 
thus taken may be replaced by an extra one belonging to the player who 
makes the capture, which may move on the straight as well as the diagonal 
lines and is called the priest of the bow. This game, which is arranged 
and is exhibited by Frank Hamilton Cushing, is called A-roi-thlak-na-kwe, 
which he translates as 'stone warriors.' Edward Falkener in his work 
entitled, Games Ancient and Oriental, which he lent for exhibition here, 
has published a restoration of the ancient Egyptian game of 

Page 644

senat from fragments of Egyptian boards which have come down from 1600 
B.C. The game as thus restored is in some respects similar to the Zuni 
game, the men being taken as in seega by getting them between two others. 
The Zuni game, however, may be regarded as in advance of any other board 
game even of our own civilization, until we come to the true game of 
chess. 

"Chess stands alone among games. We do not find the links that connect it 
with lower forms of board games, and the Indian game from which our own is 
derived, almost without change, is the source from which the many variants 
of the chess game doubtless originated. Several of these offspring of the 
Indian chess are shown in this case, including those of Burma, Siam, the 
Malay peninsula, China, and Japan. A Moorish board is exhibited with them, 
and European chessmen and boards follow. A finely carved ivory chess set 
represents the pieces that are made for export by the Chinese at Canton. 
Draughts, which in the opinion of Edward B. Tylor may be regarded as a 
modern and simplified form of chess, now follow, and here are shown two 
sets of interesting German draughts-men of the eighteenth century." 

Games of chance, in which dice, dominoes, and cards, or their equivalents, 
are variously employed, are included in a division which is profusely 
illustrated. The American Indians almost throughout the entire continent 
played a game with marked plum-stones, bones, or wooden pieces, a small 
basket taking the place of the dice-box. In the East Indies cowries are 
used; in Peru, knuckle bones, and in China the roots of the bamboo. 
Specimens of these and other primitive implements are displayed, among 
them the bones in their natural state from the legs of the sheep, used by 
the Syrians in their games of chance. The oldest die in the collection is 
formed of clay and bears date 600 B.C. It was discovered among the effects 
of the Greek colony of Naucratis in Egypt. 

The game of dice, it is said, was carried from India into China, where the 
twenty-one possible throws with two pieces each received a name. To this 
day it still remains the principal game of its class in the flowery 
kingdom, where in the twelfth century dominoes were invented and cards 
evolved from dominoes and chess. All this is clearly illustrated, as also 
is the origin of backgammon from the game of "Twelve Lines" played in the 
time of the Roman empire and during the middle ages. From Damascus is a 
pearl-inlaid backgammon board, and a similar article is displayed by the 
Siamese commission. In China and Japan, however, 

Page 645

backgammon is not usually played as in Europe and America. In one of the 
Chinese games here exhibited is a large paper chart upon which are printed 
the titles of various officials, and the players are advanced or degraded 
in rank according to the throws of their four cubical dice. 

Besides the Chinese, there are several packs of East Indian cards, 
circular in form, with flower and proverb cards from Japan, and some of 
the earliest specimens known to Europe, including those which first 
appeared in Venice. It is generally conceded that playing cards were 
invited in China during the twelfth century; and among the most 
interesting of the collections is the one exhibited by W. H. Wilkinson, 
consul at Swatow, consisting of a series of dice, dominoes, and cards 
gathered from the principal cities of the empire. From this it may be seen 
how very similar are the games of cards as played in China and Europe. The 
suit marks in the Italian cards consist of money, cups, swords, and clubs, 
and during the early period of their manufacture the printing was 
performed with stencils. Side by side are the cards that were used in 
Florence, Milan, and Naples, with the stencils, brush, and unfinished card 
sheets from a Florentine maker who still adopts this ancient mode of 
manufacture. In the old German packs the suits are hearts, bells, leaves, 
and acorns, and in the court cards the queen is omitted. Beautiful 
specimens of modern make are also exhibited, 

Page 646

which show the French suit marks of hearts, diamonds, spades, and clubs, 
now generally adopted. Other European varieties are here, as well as 
various Spanish and Mexican packs, some of the latter resembling those of 
Italian make. 

As already stated, the bureaus of charities and corrections and of hygiene 
and sanitation, included in the department of Liberal Arts, were installed 
in the Anthropological building, this being due to the urgent demand for 
space by the educational institutions of the United States and foreign 
countries. The aim of the latter bureau was to demonstrate, as far as 
possible, the condition of sanitary science at the present day, and 
especially to show that it has not received the attention and support 
which its importance demands. Notices were sent to universities and 
colleges, boards of health, sanitary and hygienic societies, physicians, 
manufactures of gymnastic and hygienic supplies, and the public generally, 
soliciting contributions to the several groups into which the exhibits 
were to be divided. The result was a most creditable display, not least 
among the purposes of which was to call the attention of municipal 
authorities to the lax sanitary systems prevailing in their midst. If in 
this it did not altogether succeed, that was through no fault of the 
department. In the section containing gymnastic and hygienic supplies a 
Providence company has in its spacious pavilion every form of appliance; a 
St. Louis house exhibits apparatus for home training, and a Michigan 
sanitarium displays models of its buildings and the articles therein 
contained, especially as to the styles of dress considered most healthful 
for women and best adapted to their physical development. 

In the section devoted to physical development, training, and condition 
are numerous appliances, for the most part of modern fashion. Beginning 
with the nursery and its accessories, they include such as pertain to 
gymnasia, to wrestling, rowing, hunting, skating, climbing, and acrobatic 
and other exercises, with special apparatus for the drill and training of 
pupils in public schools and higher institutions of learning. 

In the hygienic and in other departments there are various appliances for 
analyzing food and water and for sterilizing meat extracts and infant 
foods, thus removing all disease germs. Many of these are from German 
inventors and sanitarians, while state boards of health show their 
interest in this line of investigation by contributions of hygienic 
literature, with maps and diagrams, and of appliances used in the 
detection of impurities and adulterations. For example, Pennsylvania 
displays a bacteriological outfit, including apparatus for collecting 
specimens of drinking water from hydrants. From New Jersey are specimens 
of adulterated foods and drugs, while Massachusetts illustrates modern 
methods of analyzing them. Women have also many practical suggestions to 
offer in this connection, 

Page 647

the Ladies' Health Protective association of New York, for instance, 
furnishing models and photographs of abattoirs and dust carts. The empire 
state is further represented outside the building in a frame structure and 
tent, the former containing the exhibits of cooking schools, with a model 
kitchen and a lecture room where also are held discussion and practical 
demonstrations having a special bearing on the preparation of foods for 
invalids and children. Within the tent is a complete outfit of camp 
utensils, with health appliances for outdoor life. The exhibit of the 
cooking schools is under the management of Mrs. J. S. T. Stranahan, Juliet 
Corson, the founder of the first institutions of this character in the 
United States, acting as the leader of the classes. 

Before taking leave of this subject, it may also be stated that in the 
Anthropological building is a large apparatus for cleansing water - not 
only so-called germ-proof filters, but appliances for purifying both water 
and meat by electricity. For those who desire still further to pursue 
their investigations, there is an abundance of literature devoted to the 
subject, with dietaries especially designed for the army, the navy, and 
the prison, while in models, charts, and transparencies are shown the 
effects of disease caused by impure food and water, with the appearance of 
the special germs which the vitiated blood is unable to absorb or reject. 

A division of the hygienic department in which many are interested is that 
which illustrates improper modes of building, draining, ventilating, and 
warming, the defects being shown in tenement houses, flats, city and 
country residences, as well as in public structures. New York and country 
residences, as well as in public structures. New York and Pennsylvania are 
especially prominent in showing the latest improvements in the 
construction of tenement houses and residences for working-men. At the 
north end of Midway plaisance the women of Philadelphia have reproduced 
one of the 170,000 cottages owned by the working-men of that city, and 
here is in truth a model as to sanitary requirements. In the southern 
portion of the grounds New York is represented by a plain frame structure 
of two stores, surrounded by a small grass plat and flower garden, such as 
can be built for the sum of $900, and large enough for a married couple 
and a family of several children. 

As to questions relating to public health there is also a large amount of 
material from many states, including diagrams, maps, and publications 
explaining their sanitary condition, with the means adopted to prevent 
disease. Water-works and sewerage systems, public baths and lavatories and 
the various methods for disposing of sewage and garbage are illustrated in 
this division. Several manufactories also exhibit special appliances, a 
Des Moines company showing a fire closet made of iron stone, intended for 
burning the refuse from private or public buildings. In the extreme 
southeastern corner of the grounds the same company has a furnace 
constructed for city use in which is 

Page 648

consumed a portion of the garbage collected from the Exposition grounds 
and restaurants. 

In illustrating the various methods for the prevention and arrest of 
epidemic diseases, the plan embraces compulsory vaccination and the 
results attending the isolation of infectious diseases, as well as 
measures for the exclusion and elimination of animal epidemics. In this 
group is fully illustrated the quarantine system of the country, and 
especially in the appliances used at the Mississippi river station below 
New Orleans. A model of its plant, which is one of the best of its class, 
is placed upon an elevated platform, and includes a wharf supported on 
piles, with a vessel moored to it undergoing fumigation. Alongside the 
vessel is the quarantine tug-boat, on board of which are the sulphur 
furnace and suction blower used in purifying the air in the hold. Pipes 
lead from the tug to the open hatches of the ship, whence the foul air 
passes through the furnace, while sulphurous acid is forced into every 
crevice below the decks. Along the front edge of the wharf are the pipe 
and a connecting system of hose, through which bi-chloride of mercury is 
distributed wherever a disinfecting solution is required. Along the front 
of the wharf is a railroad track, with a car containing a second 
fumigating apparatus, which can be placed opposite any hatchway where it 
is needed. But the most interesting feature is the method of disinfecting 
the ship's bedding and furnishings, and the wearing apparel of the 
passengers. The apparatus consists of a series of connected steel 
cylinders, extending along the wharf, their open ends facing the vessel, 
and each cylinder fitted with coils of steam pipe. In rear is a large 
boiler which supplies the steam required to destroy the germs of disease, 
thermometers placed at convenient points showing when the proper degree of 
temperature has been reached. 

In less attractive fashion is exhibited the quarantine system of New York 
and the city water supply from the Croton aqueducts, while Buffalo sends 
photographs of its public crematory, and the Massachusetts board of health 
an exhibit which is worthy of special mention. In the principal court of 
the pavilion occupied by this board are diagrams and charts illustrating 
its scope and work in relation to diseases and epidemics, with vital 
statistics, statements of comparative mortality, and the influence of 
density of population upon the public health. As this organization is 
intrusted by legislative enactment with the guardianship of the inland 
waters of the state, it has established an experiment station near the 
Merrimac River at Lawrence. Here samples of the water supplied to cities 
and towns are analyzed, special reports being made of the results and of 
examinations into methods of sewage disposal. There are also photographs, 
charts, filtering sands, a specimen experimental filter, and 

Page 649

other appropriate material. Elsewhere in this section, and in a smaller 
pavilion or annex, are exposed the various systems of adulteration in food 
and drugs, with specimens of trichinae, charts, bearing upon trichinosis 
as existing in Massachusetts, plans of the sewage system of Boston, and 
photographs of the precipitation works of Worcester by chemical agencies, 
with views of the sewage fields in operation and diagrams of the principal 
filter beds constructed throughout the state. 

But it is on the department of charities and correction that many of the 
states, and especially Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and 
Illinois have concentrated their exhibits, forming together a most 
elaborate and interesting display. The mentally defective, the deaf and 
dumb, the sick and injured, the orphan, the criminal, and the pauper, all 
these and other classes are represented in the many institutions described 
on printed page, or shown in photograph and model. Of special interest are 
the miniature reproductions of the New York and Pennsylvania institutions, 
the model of the Elmira reformatory being the largest in the hall and so 
constructed that the visitor can not only examine the front of the 
structure but the arrangement of the cells and the interior plan. A 
ghastly object is the facsimile of the heavy oaken chair, with its 
cushioned foot-rest in which Kemmler, the murderer, was put to death by 
electricity. 

From the empire state are pictures and charts of the Buffalo hospital for 
the insane, a model of the Utica asylum, and exhibits representing the 
Willard asylum, the Binghamton state hospital for the insane, and the 
industrial school at Rochester. There are also contributions from the New 
York house of refuge on Randall's island, from the Hebrew orphan 
benevolent association, the Hebrew technical institute, the St. John's 
guild floating hospital of New York, the soldiers' and sailors' home at 
Bath, and the Fitch creche of Buffalo, the last with a practical exhibit 
of its methods and workings in the Children's building. Among others are 
the Letchworth plan for an almshouse, and such establishments as the Fitch 
accident hospital in Buffalo, the cancer hospital for women, and the 
Montefiore home for chronic invalids. Accompanying these exhibits is a 
mass of general information presented by the state boards in charge of 
reformatory and charitable institutions. 

The excellent penal systems of Pennsylvania are displayed to good 
advantage in the large and faithful models of the penitentiaries at 
Philadelphia, Allegheny city, and Huntingdon. The well known reform school 
at Morganza is represented by specimens of work contributed by the 
inmates, as also is the industrial home for 

Page 650

blind women at Philadelphia. A number of orphan asylums and aid societies 
testify to Pennsylvania's activities in this direction, while her 
reputation for medical science is upheld by such organizations as the 
Jefferson medical college and the Jewish hospital association of 
Philadelphia. 

In the Massachusetts section there is a model of the hospital department 
of the state almshouse at Tewksbury, the management of which was 
investigated several years ago, with results that caused a profound 
sensation throughout the United States. Another model is that of the 
McLean hospital at Somerville, including the training school for nurses, 
with photographs and explanatory material. The appliances used in the 
Boston city hospital and nurses; school form an instructive feature of 
their exhibit, and there are specimens of work from several industrial 
schools, from the reformatory for women at Farmingham, and the 
penitentiary at Concord junction. With these and a few other exceptions 
the charitable and reformatory institutes of Massachusetts are represented 
mainly in pictorial and literary form. 

Among the western states Ohio and Illinois are largely represented, the 
former by its insance asylums, its girls' industrial home, its home for 
the blind, and its state reformatory. As to the construction of penal 
establishments there are the exhibits of the Van Dorn iron works, of 
Cleveland, and the Champion iron company, of Kenton. Here are shown the 
strongest locks, doors, window guards, cells of iron and steel, and all 
else that is needed to keep the criminal safely in jail, a matter at least 
as important as to keep him out of it. The firms which make such work 
their specialty employ their own architects and control a large number of 
patents, the secrets of which are closely guarded. 

In the Illinois section are charts relating to crime and pauperism, 
prepared by an expert, and identical with those which were published in 
the eleventh national census. The charities of Chicago are represented by 
its Relief and Aid society, its Children's Aid society, by two German 
organizations, one of them an Old People's home, and by an exhibit in 
connection with the "fresh air fund," established by the Daily News for 
the care and medical treatment of young children at its sanitarium in 
Lincoln Park. From the school of agriculture and manual training at 
Glenwood is also a display of photographs, statistics, and specimens of 
work. Baltimore sends a model of the Johns-Hopkins hospital and 
illustrates the workings of its training school for nurses, while from 
other cities and states, and even from individuals are exhibits which 
attest their interest in this department of the Fair. 

In the gallery of the Anthropological building are the sections devoted to 
natural history, history, and anthropology, the exhibits in the last 

Page 651

of these divisions being installed in a series of laboratories. Here are 
also the offices of the department and a number bo miscellaneous groups. 
Occupying the entire southern aisle is the collection from Ward's Natural 
Science establishment, of Rochester, New York, in the centre of which is 
the Siberian mastodon, reproduced from the royal museum at Stuttgart, 16 
feet high and with curved tusks six feet in length. Among the remains of 
mastodons taken from the ice near the mouth of the river Lena, during the 
eighteenth century, were portions of skin covered with long, coarse hair. 
Thus, with the skeleton reconstructed, scientists were enabled to clothe 
it as here represented in its natural state. Near by is the huge frame of 
a plesiosaurus, 22 feet long, the original of which was unearthed from 
English soil. The ichthyosaurus, the megatherium, the gigantic elk of 
Ireland, the wingless moa from New Zealand, the armadillo from Montevideo, 
and other evolutionary forms of bird, beast, and fish are also displayed 
in skeleton form or as casts, many of the latter taken from the British 
museum. Suspended from the gallery ceiling is the skeleton of a whale, and 
elsewhere a huge octopus with arms outstretched as if to seize its prey. 
Other specimens there are, from those of mammals, especially deer, elk, 
and moose, largely from Maine and Colorado, down to trilobytes, corals, 
and crustacea, together illustrating the progressive forms of animal life 
through many geologic eras. 

Of fossils the most valuable collections are from Nevada, Wisconsin, and 
Indiana, and especially from the first of these states, which shows 
specimens unearthed in the deepest levels of its mines, some of them from 
strata 2,000 or 3,000 feet below the surface. Of special interest are the 
footprints found at Carson in a Laurentian formation of the azoic division 
of rocks, a granitoid gneiss, in which no traces of life had before been 
discovered. 

In the eastern aisle is fully illustrated by state, individual, and 
foreign exhibits the fauna of the present and recent periods, grouped in a 
series of exhaustive and interesting collections. From the New York state 
museum is a display of mammals, large and small, including life-like 
specimens of elk and buffalo, and an assortment of land and fresh-water 
shells. An Albion naturalist has cases of birds' eggs and a number of 
delicate wall pieces showing the manner of nesting, one of them 
representing a family of ruffed grouse, the mother carefully guarding the 
eggs, with a brood of little ones half hidden in the grass. 

A group of moose heads is a prominent feature in the Ontario section, and 
close at hand is a family of otter, one of them in the act of devouring a 
fish, the latter the work of a New York taxidermist. On a mass of rugged 
rocks are displayed the birds and mammals of Pennsylvania, the birds among 
bushes or perched upon branches of trees, a black bear protruding his 
snout from a cave, and squirrels, otter, mink, muskrats, and other 
animals, all in their natural habitats. The Agassiz association, of St. 
Louis, Missouri, illustrates its work in promoting the study of natural 
history, and among private contributions is a collection of moths and 
butterflies gathered from every quarter of the world. Here also the 
government of Brazil has a small exhibit, 

Page 653

in which are the crouching cougar, leopard, baboon, boa-constrictor, and 
various birds of bright plumage and discordant voice. 

As to the contents of the northern gallery, they are thus described by the 
chief of the Anthropological department. "Here," he says, "is a large 
collection of instruments and apparatus, received from the more important 
anthropological laboratories of the universities in this country and from 
several in Europe, with a very interesting series of apparatus made 
especially for this exhibit by the principal makers in Europe and the 
United States. The laboratories are divided into three sections - physical 
anthropology, neurology, and psychology. In these laboratories the 
practical working of the apparatus is shown, and any one who wishes can 
have various tests applied, and can be measured and recorded upon cards, 
which are given to the subject upon the payment of a small fee, while the 
record is made upon the charts and tables hanging on the walls of the 
laboratory to illustrate the various subjects. Here, too, is a series of 
skulls and skeletons and various models showing the physical 
characteristics of the various races and varieties of man. An interesting 
series of charts in the physical-anthropological section is that 
illustrating the development of over 90,000 school children in various 
cities of North America. Another series of diagrams and maps shows the 
physical characteristics of the Indians of North America, as derived from 
measurements and observations upon 17,000 Indians, recorded by about 
seventy-five assistants of the department, who were engaged for nearly two 
years in this work. One of the alcoves is devoted to the Sargent models of 
the typical man and woman and the anthropometrical work illustrating 
physical development. Another alcove is devoted to the anthropological 
library formed by the department, and on the walls are the plans and 
photographs of several of the principal anthropological museums." 

Elsewhere is a variety of groups, consisting largely of collections of 
coins and postage stamps. From a Russian contributor comes a private 
collection of the rare ancient coins from his native land, with others 
belonging to the classic era of Greece and Rome. Clocks of an early date, 
ancient and modern weapons, and antique metal work and ornaments fashioned 
by the Norse colonists of Iceland are also among the individual displays. 
Coming nearer home, Pennsylva