The Book of the Fair - Chapters 23-24



Page 801

Chapter the Twenty-Third:
State Exhibits

In presenting to the reader the sectional exhibits of the west and those 
of the Pacific slope, I will begin with the state of Illinois, whose 
elaborate display, together with those of Iowa, Kansas, California, 
Washington, Idaho, and others is among the features of the Exposition, 
forming, as it were, a fair within a fair, though on a minor scale as 
compared with what each has to show in the main departments. Of all the 
state buildings and exhibits those of Illinois are by far the largest, 
with a floor space of more than three acres, or about the same as in the 
Woman's building adjacent, costing, moreover, nearly twice the amount 
expended on the latter. 

Occupying one of the choicest sites in the northern portion of the 
grounds, the Illinois mansion is a cruciform structure, its longer axial 
line 450 and its shorter axis 285 feet in length, with an average width of 
nearly 100 feet. The design is suggestive of the Italian renaissance; but 
with certain points of accentuation that belong to no special order of 
architecture. From the spot where the arms of the cross intersect, a 
galleried dome, capped by a lantern, rises some 240 feet above the floor, 
altogether too lofty and narrow for the building which it surmounts. Above 
the principal entrance-way is a figure with outstretched arms representing 
"Illinois Welcoming the Nations," and among other themes expressed in 
sculptural art are "The Birth of Chicago," "Education," and "La Salle and 
Companions." Within is a wide longitudinal nave dividing the exposition 
sections, with apartments for the governor and his suite, and the state 
and women's board; in the eastern portion is an elaborate school exhibit; 
in a memorial chamber on the north, an historic collection from the state 
capitol, and the western division is devoted to agriculture, horticulture, 
floriculture, forestry, archaeology, and the contributions of the Fish 
commission and the Geological survey. 

The agricultural display is mainly from the state college of Agriculture 
in conjunction with the government experimental station at Champaign, and 
was prepared by Professor Morrow, dean of the former. Back from the 
gallery was erected an ornamental pavilion, in which is a collection of 
grass seeds, its walls, roof, and ceiling covered with grains and grasses. 
Near by, in glass jars containing 3,600 specimens and several hundred 
varieties, are grouped in three sections the principal cereals of 
Illinois, the ceiling of each, with its supporting pillars, decorated in 
the grain which it contains. On a mural panel, with framework of yellow 
corn, is depicted a model prairie farm, its buildings and picket fence, 
its live-stock and poultry, growing crops and fallow fields, all fashioned 
of native grains and grasses, and draped with a grass curtain held by a 
rope and tassels of 

Page 803

corn. A miniature car, filled each day with different grains, shows how 
cereals are brought to market and sorted according to grades. 

An interesting group from the experimental station is that which 
demonstrates how forest and fruit trees can be cultivated, cross sections 
showing their growth in periods of five years, and lateral sections, their 
grain and fibre. Here also are illustrated the processes of grafting and 
cross fertilizing, with the treatment of plant diseases and the laboratory 
equipped for such purposes. Of weeds there is a large collection, and here 
are arranged all the insects injurious to vegetable like. Horticultural 
and floricultural specimens are numerous, some in wax and others in their 
natural state. In a booth formed of interlacing branches of trees is the 
state display of forestry, rustic benches showing segments cut in various 
directions, transverse, radial, and oblique. Near the central rotunda is a 
grotto of artificial rocks with stalagmites and stalactites, cascades, 
waterfalls, and rustic bridge. In the pools below are the food and other 
fish contributed by the commission, including carp, perch, pike, and 
catfish; black and rock bass; dog-fish, sunfish, buffalo fish, and others 
in several varieties. Goldfish, red white and black, occupy a separate 
pond, and within the grotto are illustrated methods of hatching and 
propagation. 

In the geological section are pyramids of coal and boulders of granite, 
limestone, and sandstone, with glacial rock and gravel, glass-sand, fire-
clay, and kaolin. Elsewhere is a pyramid of tiles, terra-cotta moldings, 
and other articles, more than twenty feet square at the base and 
embellished with floral designs. This is exhibited by the Illinois Brick 
and Tilemakers' association, and is not only a specimen of ceramic art, 
but represents an important branch of industry, affording employment to 85,
000 operatives. The archaeological collection is from the state museum, 
and contains many specimens relating to the stone age, gathered from 
Indian mounds, with others in tribal groupings and arranged with reference 
to age and utility. 

In a projecting space on the northern side of the building are war relics 
from the state-house at Springfield, with articles of historic interest 
relating to those to whom was intrusted the safe-keeping of the union. 
Here are the battle flags of nearly all the Illinois regiments, 155 in 
number, enrolled for their country's service. Many are rent with shot and 
shell, and not a few are stained with blood, among them the one that 
Sergeant Riley bore, and for which he laid down his life 

Page 805

at Ringgold gap. By Sergeant Hunter of Grant's old regiment, the Twenty-
first Illinois, are shown the colors which he carried to the front. Here 
also are the saddle and bridle of General Logan, and the wooden leg of 
Santa Anna, captured by the Fourth Illinois. Of Lincoln and Grant there 
are many things to remind us, including the table-cloth used at the 
wedding breakfast of the former, the dresses worn by his wife on state 
occasions, and that which she wore at the theatre on the night of her 
husband's assassination. Thee is the saddle used by Grant and the lantern 
which he carried as a part of his outfit, with photographs pertaining to 
both these central figures of the civil war. 

Here and elsewhere are many curiosities gathered from various sections of 
the state, among them the first bell whose notes were heard in the 
Mississippi valley, cast, as appears from inscriptions, at Rochelle in 
1741, and presented by Louis XV to the mission church at Kaskaskia. Of 
scenes characteristic of this ancient settlement there are many 
photographs, including one of the hotel where a banquet was given to 
Lafayette in 1828. The mantel itself is shown which spanned the capacious 
fireplace of the dining-room, somewhat the worse for wear after its 
century and a half of existence. There is a view of the building in which 
the earlier state legislatures convened, the fist brick structure erected 
west of the Alleghany mountains, with materials brought in boats from 
Pittsburgh. From the grandson of Pierre Minard, the first lieutenant-
governor of the state, are some of the articles imported from France to 
furnish his family mansion - a pier glass, mahogany sideboard, and 
bedstead with carved posts and canvas canopy. Near by is the table on 
which Elias Kent drafted the original constitution of Illinois. 

The eastern half of the building is almost entirely occupied by the 
educational exhibits and those of the woman's board. First is the 
kindergarten display in a cheerful apartment adjoining the vestibule, the 
children trained under the Froebel system occupying the room for the first 
three months of the Fair, and then giving place to those of the Chicago 
association, under whose care are more than a score of free kindergartens 
in various portions of the city, all supported by voluntary contributions. 
Then come the public school exhibits, beginning with a model school-room, 
supplied with the latest inventions in the way of furniture and apparatus, 
including instruments for the demonstration of problems in chemistry and 
physics. Next are those of the country schools, the graded schools, and 
the high schools, all arranged in logical sequence and with numerous 
samples of work. So with the normal schools in an adjoining section, the 
specimens shown in cases and grouped according to subjects. 

But the feature in this department is the elaborate display of the state 
university, in connection with which are those of the experimental station 
and the laboratory of natural history. The educational exhibits proper 
were arranged by T. J. Burrill, one of the regents, in conjunction with E. 
E. Chester, state commissioner on education. The literary division is 
under charge of F. F. Fredericks, and there is also shown the work of the 
school of art and design. A bacteriological group, with the results of 
scientific investigations and the instruments used for the purpose, was 
prepared by Doctor Burrill, a man of more than national repute. By 
Professor Forbes were arranged the collections in natural history, among 
which are 300 mounted specimens of birds, including all that are native to 
Illinois. Many branches of physics and natural science are here 
represented; 

Page 806

and there are cases filled with samples and models relating to various 
branches of engineering, while architecture and mineralogy also find 
expression, the latter in long rows of labelled crucibles, with the tests 
for which they were used. 

Woman has played well her part in connection with the state exhibit, 
contributing or gathering many of the most valuable collections, and using 
to excellent advantage the $80,000 - one tenth of the entire 
appropriation - devoted to a representation of the arts and industries of 
Illinois women. A board was organized, with committees on domestic 
science, on historic and scientific collections, on literature, on 
educational, charitable, and professional work, and on art in all its 
branches, fine, practical, and decorative, musical and dramatic. Thus were 
culled the choicest specimens of woman's achievement in all the wide 
sphere of her labors and influence. The exhibits in domestic science, 
pertaining chiefly to the kitchen, dining-room, and pantry were housed in 
the Woman's building, where all such contributions are grouped. Of the 
historic and personal relics, and the articles displayed in the 
educational sections, and even in the scientific departments of the 
university, not a few are the offerings of women. 

In the library, tastefully equipped and with decorated walls and frieze, 
are several hundred volumes from the pen of Illinois women, the oldest 
among them, entitled Early Engagements, written by Sarah Marshall Hayden 
in 1841. Next to this in point of age is Wau Bun, a story of early days in 
the northwest by Mrs. John H. Kinzie, published in New York in 1856. There 
are also many rare and valuable works, with an abundance of newspapers and 
magazines. By one of the committees a report was published giving, among 
other information, the number of women wage-earners, of teachers, and of 
those who are caring for the sick, the poor, the aged, and the defective 
classes. 

The art display includes statuary, paintings in oil and water colors, 
etchings, and pastels, an entire wall being hung with the collections of 
the palette club. Of ceramic art and decorative needlework there are many 
excellent specimens; but as to what has been accomplished by women in the 
way of decoration, the best examples are in the reception parlor, with its 
silken hangings of deep olive hue, designed and woven by women, its 
panelled frieze with allegorical and other paintings by female artists, 
and its arabesque designs for the 

Page 808

arches above the windows. The furniture is of itself a work of art, the 
handsome mantel of carved maple, the old arm-chairs, clock-cases, and 
escritoires all fashioned by feminine hands. 

Thus it will be seen that in the home of Illinois are reproduced in 
miniature the main departments of the Fair, in all of which the state was 
largely represented, the local exhibition forming a complete and well 
ordered display of her resources, industries, and arts, with all that 
pertains to the social life of this cultured and prosperous community. No 
wonder that here people were proud of their fair, of the city which 
contains it, and of the part which the state has played in contributing to 
the general effect. Especially was this apparent on days of public 
celebration, on dedication day, Illinois day, and above all on Chicago 
day; for on such occasions her citizens unite as the members of a single 
family, and for a single purpose. 

The building was dedicated on the 18th of May, with the usual exercises 
held on the plaza in front. On Illinois day, the 24th of August, nearly 
300,000 people gathered on the grounds, the largest attendance to that 
date with the single exception of the 4th of July. Among them were many 
farmers from the prairie state, here assembled for a few days of sight-
seeing, probably the hardest days' work of their lives. The edifice was 
profusely decorated with flags and streamers, the balconies draped in red, 
white, and blue, and the interior redolent with floral tributes. There 
were the usual speech-making, feasting, fireworks, and reception; but the 
feature of the celebration was the parade of state soldiery, who, marching 
to the grounds from their encampment at Windsor park, headed by the 
governor and his staff, passed in divisions some 5,000 strong the 
reviewing stand erected in front of the building. 

But it was for Chicago day that the people of Illinois, and especially its 
metropolis, reserved their strength, and this was in truth a celebration 
such as never before was recorded in the annals of international 
expositions. The date selected was the 9th of October, when in a single 
night, just twenty-two years before, the city was swept out of existence, 
now resurrected in tenfold glory, and with the crowning glory of its Fair. 
The city was crowded with visitors, each incoming train increasing their 
number, so that on the eve of the great occasion at least 1,000,000 
strangers wree housed within her gates. But not all were housed; for many 
there 

Page 809

were with well filled purses who, finding no place to sleep, were 
compelled to walk the streets, to seek shelter in doorways, unfinished 
buildings, restaurants, or wherever they could find a resting place. 

The morning of the 9th was an ideal autumn day, radiant and bright, the 
soft, warm breeze of Indian summer caressing with velvet touch the myriads 
of banners that almost hid from view the towering structures of the 
midcontinent metropolis. The city was early astir, and all were hastening 
toward a common goal - the gates of Jackson park. Throughout the entire 
day, and far into the night, railroads and steamboats were paced to their 
utmost capacity. The street-cars running to the park were wedged together 
for scores of blocks, awaiting a chance to move, and on none of them was 
there a spare inch of seating or standing room, men and women perching on 
the roofs, crowding on the platform, on the foot-boards, or wherever they 
could find a foothold. As recorded by the superintendent of admissions 761,
942 persons entered the grounds, against 275,000 and 397,000 as the 
highest figures respectively for the Philadelphia and Paris expositions. 
For once it must be confessed that Jackson park was crowded, and the means 
of communication all insufficient for this unwieldy throng. 

The Fair was profusely decorated, and especially the mansion of Illinois, 
though other state buildings donned their festal robes, the associated 
boards keeping open house, and in the name of Chicago extending to all a 
hearty welcome. As to the exercises they were but incidents of the day, 
the feature of which was the vast, surging multitude assembled in honor of 
the fete, to bid all hail to a city that many remembered as a black, 
charred ruin, the commiseration of the world, of which now its Fair was 
the wonder. At noon the Exposition flag was unfurled in the court of honor 
above the liberty bell, whose tones were presently heard afar in the 
grounds. Then was presented to its mayor the original deed to the site of 
Chicago, transferred to the government by the chief of the Pottawattomies. 
A procession of school children followed, representing various states and 
cities, a drill of the Chicago hussars, with music and further bell-
ringing by the representatives of many nations concluding the programme of 
the day. 

At night there was a procession of floats, at the head of which, one drawn 
by fourteen coal-black horses contained a female figure, led with silken 
cords by two other figures, typical of love and liberty. The former was 
radiant with spangles, on her head a phoenix with outstretched wings, and 
on her breast, the words "I Will," the motto of the Chicagonese. Elsewhere 
on the float young women in classic garb, beneath which, let us hope, they 
wore some warmer and less transparent clothing, represented science, 
literature, music, and art. Near the central group were a stand of colors 
and the national coat-of-arms, and around the base of the superstructure 
were grouped the flags of all nations, beneath it children in Grecian 
costume, each with a coat-of-arms, symbolic of the forty-four states of 
the union. The "I Will" float was followed by one named "Chicago in 1812," 
the date of the Fort Dearborn massacre. Then came "Chicago in War," with 
others allegorical of "Peace" and "Chicago Prostrate," the latter 
accompanied by an engine used at the great fire of 1871. At this point the 
crowd broke in on the procession; for now the display of fireworks was at 
hand, the remaining floats, those of "Commerce," "Columbus at the Court of 
Isabella and Ferdinand," and others belonging to foreign participants 
being excluded from the pageant. 

On the morning of the 10th the earlier visitors to Jackson park found 
there a number who had tarried all night on the grounds, not from choice 
it is presumed, but to avoid the crush which cost the lives of several 

Page 810

and injured not a few. Far into the morning hours the main avenues leading 
from the Fair were thronged with serried lines of vehicles in every form, 
from a four-in-hand to a butcher's cart, bearing homeward their loads of 
weary sight-seers; yet on this and the following day the attendance for 
each was more than a third of a million, the largest recorded except for 
the Chicago celebration. Thus did the people of many states and nations do 
honor to the city and its fair. 

In common with many others, the Indian building is devoted solely to 
official and social purposes. It is plainly but neatly built and 
furnished, the wood, glass, tiling, and stone work forming exhibits of the 
natural products of the state. Of French-Gothic design, its cathedral 
windows, its towers and gables, with the spires at either end, give to it 
the aspect of a chateau of moderate dimensions. The foundation story is of 
graystone, around which is a broad veranda, simply but tastefully 
embellished, and over the dormer windows are coats-of-arms in bas-relief. 
At all points of the compass are entrances leading into tiled hallways, 
one of them opening into a large semi-circular assembly room, connected 
with corridors by arches ornamented with Gothic fretwork. This chamber, 
occupying the entire southern section, is finished in white oak highly 
polished, its floors laid in mosaic or encaustic tiling, and among its 
decorative features are female figures symbolic of agriculture, education, 
and the Indiana maiden. On the northern side are parlors and reception 
chambers finished in sycamore and locust. Above are reading rooms, 
supplied with state papers and the works of native authors, prominent 
among the latter being several editions of Ben Hur and the poems of James 
Whitcomb Riley. Black walnut and curly maple are mainly used in these 
portions of the building, the larger rooms containing fireplaces in which 
Bedford stone is the chief material. 

Apart from the building and its furniture Indiana has no individual 
display, except in the fine and decorative arts, and these intended rather 
as a portion of the equipment than as exhibits. Among them are several 
landscapes by native artists, with portraits of prominent men, while in 
one of the reception rooms is a collection of painted chinaware, the 
handiwork of the late wife of ex-President Harrison. But even artistic and 
literary themes are here but slightly represented; for the home of Indiana 
is intended merely as a pleasant rendezvous and place of entertainment for 
visitors from that state and those whom they choose to invite. 

Dedication day fell on the 15th of June, the feature of the occasion being 
an impromptu speech from Benjamin Harrison. By B. F. Havens, executive 
commissioner, the keys were delivered to Clement Studebaker, president of 
the state board, the former pointing to the portraits of those whose names 
were linked with the history of the commonwealth, and the latter referring 
briefly to the tasteful structure now to be opened to the sons and 
daughters of Indiana. By Governor Matthews the building was dedicated to 
the youth of the state, and as a member of the woman's board, Mrs. 
Virginia C. Meredith spoke of woman's participation in the Fair. Then J. 
L. Campbell called attention to the resources and industries of Indiana, 
one of the largest cereal producing sections of the republic. As to her 
representation at the Fair, he claimed for his state a foremost rank among 
the manufactures and educational exhibits, while the most massive exhibit 
of all was in Chicago's Museum of Art, constructed entirely of Indiana 
limestone. After some further exercises, varied with music, a reception in 
the assembly room brought to a close the celebration of the day. 

Of the $150,000 appropriated by the legislature of Ohio, some $35,000 was 
used for the state building, which is of colonial pattern, its main 
entrance on the east, in the form of a semi-circular colonnaded porch, 
extending to the upper story. The wood work and tiling are all of native 
materials, the red tiles used for the roof being a contribution from New 
Philadelphia. Windows of stained glass bear the names of such men as 
Chase, Grant, Sheridan, and Sherman, while near the main entrance is a 
monument surmounted by a graceful figure, symbolic of Ohio, below which 
upon sub-pedestal are statues of those whom state and nation love to 
honor. Opening from the main lobby are parlors and committee rooms, and in 
the centre is a hall decorated 

Page 811

with buckeyes molded in stucco, the coat-of-arms worked in stained glass 
appearing above its spacious fireplace. Back of the hall is an open court, 
one of the enclosing wings containing the quarters of the bureau of 
information, and another a parlor for men, with writing and smoking rooms. 
On the second floor of the two wings are the assembly hall and a chamber 
for press correspondents. 

Among the portraits displayed in the Ohio building is that of General 
Sherman, from the brush of Mrs. Ellen Elizabeth King, copied by special 
request from one in possession of the war department. It represents the 
great soldier in full uniform and wearing the insignia of the army of 
Tennessee and the military division of the Mississippi, the latter 
including the badges of several corps of which he was the commander. 

Though less demonstrative than other states Ohio was not without special 
days of celebration. In June a reception was tendered to ex-President 
Harrison, informal but attended by several thousand people. Governor 
McKinley also received an ovation, and on Ohio day, the 15th of September, 
the chief executive and his staff were received by the director-general in 
front of the Administration building, where there was ringing of the 
liberty bell by the governor, with other exercises that need not here be 
described. 

For Michigan's home, adjoining that of Ohio, a choice location was 
assigned, west of the Art palace and fronting on two of the boulevards. It 
is a spacious edifice, with broad verandas on each of its sides, of no 
special order of architecture, but pleasing in general effect, with 
framework of pine colored in light gray, dormer windows, and lofty 
shingled roof, above which a balconied clock-tower rises to a height of 
130 feet. On the first floor is the main hall, a bright and cheerful 
apartment when illumined by electric lights, with bureau of information, 
check rooms, news-stands and other accommodations. But more attractive 
apartments are those finished and furnished by Saginaw, Muskegon, and 
Grand Rapids, the two first in the form of men's reception and reading 
rooms. The ladies' parlor, the special creation of the latter, is 
tastefully decorated in stucco and hung with beautiful tapestries designed 
by the women of that city, while in its furniture the leading factories 
present their finest products. From Grand Rapids also comes the carved 
marble mantel in the main corridor, 50 feet in width, the floor, together 
with those of the minor passages, being paved with Michigan tiling. 

In the central corridor is a marble bust of Governor Cass, one of the 
fathers of the northwest, and at the head of the stairway leading thence 
to the second story is a portrait of General Custer, attired in 
nondescript costume, with broad-brimmed hat, sailor shirt, army blouse, 
and red necktie, loosely covered by the insignia of his rank. Here also 
are other famous characters in the annals of state and nation. In the room 
reserved for the press is the last copy of every paper issued in Michigan 
on the 30th of April, the day before the opening of the Fair, with all 
subsequent issues printed during its progress. On this floor is an 
assembly room for social, musical, and religious gatherings, in which is a 
handsome pipe organ constructed by a Detroit firm. Across the corridor is 
the natural history collection from the state university, consisting of 
mounted deer, bears, birds, reptiles, and other specimens of Michigan 
fauna, past and present. 

Michigan day fell on the 13th of September; but as the exercises differed 
but little from those already described, it is unnecessary here to relate 
them. Of this and other state celebrations brief mention is made under the 
heading of World's Fair Miscellany. 

Wisconsin's building, with its high, abrupt roofs, turrets, and dormer 
windows, its body of pressed brick and brown sandstone, resembles rather 
the home of one of her substantial citizens than a structure intended for 
public use. Standing on a semi-circular plat of ground, its main front 
near the lagoon, with Michigan, Indiana, and Ohio for immediate neighbors, 
it differs from most of the others in that no staff is used in its 
construction, all the materials being of 

Page 812

domestic production. Walls and ceilings are finished in polished oak, 
cherry, bird's-eye maple, elm, butternut, birch, and other woods from 
Chippewa country, the wainscoting of the first floor being especially 
elaborate. Most of the panelling is also in hardwood, and the reception 
room or lobby, which occupies the entire ground floor, is paved with tiles 
made of Wisconsin clay by Wisconsin manufacturers. This chamber is divided 
into three compartments by spandrels of oak, on one of which is the coat-
of-arms. The furniture is chiefly of rattan, of the pattern seen at hotels 
and summer resorts. 

Among the pictures are several loaned by General Fairchild, when minister 
to Spain, including portraits of Columbus and his descendant, the duke of 
Veragua, of ex-Senator Doolittle and his wife, and of S. Fillmore Bennett. 
In the reception rooms for men and women are also works of art. From the 
watchword of the state, "Forward," Jean Pond Miner, a Wisconsin 
sculptress, has taken the theme for a marble group executed with singular 
delicacy and yet with sufficient boldness. In the prow of a boat stands a 
female figure, one hand uplifted, the other grasping an American flag, the 
pose suggestive of eager expectation and strength of will. The drapery 
seems to be carried backward by the wind, as if the craft were approaching 
land, the eagle which stands on the bow of the boat being recognized as 
the famous bird, Old Abe, which accompanied its regiment throughout the 
civil war. Among other works of note are "The Genius of Wisconsin," a 
quiet composition in marble by Nellie Mears, also a resident of the badger 
state. Features which largely partake of the artistic are the three 
handsome fireplaces on the ground floor, and the carved stairway of white 
oak leading to the chambers above. Midway is a window of stained Venetian 
glass, a contribution from the city of Superior, and at the head of the 
staircase are decorated glass panels overlooking the balcony without. On 
the second story are the rooms occupied by the state board, of which A. L. 
Smith is president, with an art loan collection, and the exhibit of the 
State Historical society, including works by Wisconsin authors and a 
bibliography of writers either native to the state or those who have made 
their reputation therein. 

Opposite the western annex to the Art palace is the clear-cut, two-story 
structure, built in the style of the Italian renaissance, which represents 
the state of Minnesota, its frame of wood, covered with staff, and its 
roof of Spanish tiling. A square portico, with pillars supporting the 
balcony, is the architectural feature of the main entrance, within the 
shadow of which stands the muscular figure of Hiawatha, with martial head-
gear of feathers, quiver at his back, and tomahawk in belt, bearing 

Page 813

across the stream the slender form of Minnehaha, as she passes not 
unwillingly from the wigwam of her father to that of her future husband. 
This is a contribution from the women and school children of Minneapolis, 
due largely to the efforts of Mrs. H. F. Brown of that city. The statue, 
fashioned in plaster, is to be cast in marble and placed in the state 
park, within sound and sight of the falls of Minnehaha. 

Within the building is a bureau of information, with postal and other 
accommodation. In the exhibition hall are mounted cariboo, moose, deer, 
bear, foxes, and smaller animals, many of them prepared by R. O. Sweeny of 
Duluth. There are some noble specimens of elk and moose heads, with a 
collection of game birds and photographs of famous fishing resorts on 
northern streams. In this section are several Indian curios, some of them 
reviving memories of the massacres of early days. Opposite the entrance is 
the main staircase rising from the rear of the hall, and about midway 
there is a semi-circular alcove lighted by windows of stained glass. At 
the head is worked on another window the coat-of-arms and its motto, 
"L'Etoile du Nord." Most of the decorative effects, however, are produced 
by sheaves of wheat and timothy, clover and other grasses, with numerous 
heads of elk protruding from the walls and antlers interlocked in the form 
of a chandelier. 

The general reception hall and the parlors for men and women are 
handsomely furnished, and especially worthy of note are the mantel and 
cabinet in the ladies' reception room. In the decorative scheme of the 
former the central feature is in the shape of a volume inscribed "Songs of 
Hiawatha," and near it a calumet, or pipe of peace, across which is a 
hatchet, a block of polished pipestone more than three feet square 
furnishing the material for the work. In several of the apartments are 
tastefully frescoed walls, many of the color decorations being the 
handiwork of women, while the finishing in pine is executed with pleasing 
effect. 

On the eastern shores of the northwest ponds are the buildings of the two 
Dakotas, Nebraska standing between them. Each has features of the colonial 
style of architecture, with broad verandas in front, that of the northern 
commonwealth with columns extended to the upper story, thus forming porch 
and balcony. The two divisions of this structure are separated by a broad 
band or frieze between windows in which wheat, the principal staple of 
North Dakota, is used for the plan of decoration. The main hall, where are 
the agricultural exhibits, is entered directly through the principal 
doorway, and here the embellishments are also in grain, the 

Page 814

grade of wheat known in the market as "No.1 hard" being worked into many 
artistic devices, both in the kernel and the sheaf. Varieties of nutritive 
grasses, to the number of about four-score, are also used in the formation 
of panels and the depicting of cattle, agricultural machinery, and farm 
scenes. To the wealth of the state as a producer of wheat further 
attention is called by a large painting from the brush of Carl Gutherz, 
representing a farm in the Red River valley. 

In the second story are reception parlors and rooms for the members of the 
press and the state commission. Here are specimens of decorated china and 
other forms of woman's handicraft. By women also was contributed the old-
fashioned cart in which was brought to Pembina the bride of the pioneer 
settler of North Dakota, attached to it an ox so mounted that he still 
appears to be dragging his precious burden. Here likewise are moose, deer, 
and buffalo, all of them in the best style of the taxidermist's art. 

While in the mansion of South Dakota her agricultural resources are freely 
illustrated, most of the exhibits, together with the structure that 
contains them, are suggestive rather of her wealth as a mining region. The 
exterior of the building is finished in Yankton cement, and in front is a 
semi-circular portico and balcony, on either side, and beyond is the 
exhibition hall lighted from the dome above the roof. Opening from the 
galleries are offices and rooms for the use of the state board and press 
correspondents. 

Among the features of the exhibits are a cabinet of fossils and a 
collection of paintings by women of Yankton, Sioux Falls, and other 
cities, with specimens of hand-painted china, and photographs of Dakota's 
artesian wells. Under the dome is a massive pillar of Sioux Falls jasper, 
upon which is a gilded globe surmounted by an eagle with outstretched 
wings. Elsewhere is shown a diamond-like mineral capable of cutting glass, 
with ores of gold, silver, copper, tin, gypsum, and mica. There is also a 
large assortment of petrifications, and there are cases filled with 
stalactites and stalagmites from the Cave of the Wind, in Custer county. 
Among other curiosities is a model of a cottage constructed from minerals 
gathered from the Black hills, in the vicinity of Custer city. It is about 
three feet in height, and of Gothic design, sandstone being worked into 
the foundation, and the tower at the corner capped with gold and silver 
quartz. Above the second story are quartzes, stalactites, stalagmites, 
slate, marble, and various ores, the roof being of mica cut into shapes 
resembling slabs of slate. This is a contribution from the women of Custer 
city, and not far away is a model of a farm-house with yard and outhouses, 
constructed of varieties of wood gathered from many states. 

Of Iowa's home at the Fair a portion was in existence long before ground 
was broken for the Columbian Exposition. This was in the form of a 
building called The Shelter, erected on a commanding site near the margin 
of the lake, a spot well known to habitues of Jackson park. It was a 
substantial edifice, with granite base, slate roof, and conical towers, 
the addition conforming to the architectural design and giving to the 
entire structure the aspect of a French chateau, decorated with flags and 
streamers. Over the southern front appears the word Iowa; on one of the 
towers are the names of her leading cities, and on another, medallions and 
bas-reliefs illustrative of the industries and annals of the state, while 
on the highest point of one of the roofs the figure of a farmer represents 
perhaps the most prominent of her wealth-producing classes. 

Yellow is the prevailing hue of the walls and decorations, symbolic of one 
of the greatest corn producing states in the union, her crop approximating 
and at times exceeding 300,000,000 bushels. In the hall, grain, and 
especially corn, is exclusively used for its decorative scheme; but this 
is best described in the words of him to whom the work was intrusted. "We 
have used," he says, "in decorating this room, 1,200 bushels of 

Page 815

corn and three and one half carloads of cereals. The capitals of the 
columns are worked out in corn shucks and millet heads. From the roof-tree 
to the walls the ceiling is divided into three sections, the top one being 
general in design and made of all the field products of the state. The 
next section has fourteen panels, those on the side ceiling containing 
figures illustrating the different industries of the state. At each end of 
the ceiling are panels containing the American eagle and shield worked out 
in grains, and in the four corners of the ceiling are shields with the 
device, "Iowa, 1846-1893," worked out on a blue field in white corn and 
shucks. Where the pillars join the roof is a frieze, with an elaborate 
scroll-work made of festoons of corn and wheat and millet seeds. In the 
centre of the hall is a model of the state capitol, made entirely of glass 
and filled with grain. It is 21 feet high, 23 feet long, and 13 feet wide. 
Facing the eastern entrance is a heroic group, the centre figure being a 
woman. It represents Iowa fostering her industries. Grouped around by the 
pillars are small pavilions and pagodas, on which are displayed the 
different products of the farm and mine." 

Page 816

From the rear of the hallway a broad flight of stairs leads to the 
assembly and other rooms above, the ground floor of this, the new portion 
of the building, containing reception parlors, offices, and headquarters 
for the state board and its committees. Opposite the landing of this 
stairway is a huge fireplace, upon the mantel of which is the inscription: 
"IOWA - The affections of her people, like the rivers of her borders, flow 
to an inseparable union." Passing into the assembly chamber, the visitor 
finds its walls hung with native works of art, the feminine industries 
which border upon art being also here displayed. Opening from the hall is 
a parlor for women, its frieze and panels containing floral and other 
tasteful designs. For men there are general reception rooms and special 
apartments for smoking and writing, while for the press are reserved two 
handsome chamber, one of them adorned with figures symbolic of the 
fraternity. Newsboys are shown in eager pursuit of customers; the 
printer's devil appears, and there are bas-reliefs of shears, paste-pots, 
and other implements of the craft. In the other chamber are newspapers, 
desks, and all journalistic equipments, including telegraph service. 
Finally, connected with the assembly hall is a room in which is installed 
the exhibit of the State Historical society. 

As agriculture is the foundation of Nebraska's wealth, it is fitting that 
her exposition hall should be well stored with specimens of grain and 
other products of the soil. These are for the most part arranged by 
counties, a map of Platte, one of the riches of them being fashioned of 
wheat, oats, rye, and grass seed. But that which attracts most attention 
is the exhibit of beet-sugar industries, in which for several years the 
state has been largely engaged. These are displayed in photographic form, 
and in the centre of the hall is a pyramid composed of jars in the 
contents of which are shown the various stages of growth and manufacture, 
from the seed to the full-grown beet, and from pulp and juice to syrup and 
granulated sugar. After studying this exhibit, together with the 
ornamental display of golden grain on wall and frieze, the visitor takes 
no exception to the mottoes worked in native grasses, "Corn is King," 
"Sugar is Queen." In rear of the exhibition chamber is a room curtained 
off from the main floor, in which a woman who claims to be "the greatest 
butter artist in the world" gives daily exhibitions of her skill in 
moulding. Here, with paddles, sticks, and other simple implements, she 
fashions from this plastic material the seal and arms of the state, 
together with fruits and grains, floral and other designs. 

The building itself is of the later colonial style, with massive columns 
and spacious portico approached by broad flights of steps, and with the 
seal of Nebraska boldly executed on the architrave. On the ground floor 
are accommodations for the state board, a post-office, and a parlor for 
men, a double stairway leading to the rooms above. On the second story are 
several handsome apartments, with an art exhibit and a collection of all 
the more prominent newspapers published throughout the state. In one of 
the rooms, completely furnished by Nebraska women, is a display of 
decorated china, paintings on plaques, artificial flowers, fancy 
needlework, and other evidences of feminine skill and taste. The Indian 
tepee and the buffalo, which also form a portion of the exhibits, are but 
memories of an age, not many years distant, when Nebraska was till in the 
grasp of the savage, and when herds of bison roamed over one of the most 
fertile regions of the west. 

Page 817

"Ad Astra per Aspera" is an ambitious watchword for individual or state, 
but one that is fully justified in the history of Kansas. In Exposition 
affairs she has evinced all the typical western vigor, her buildings 
itself being among the largest and most attractive on the grounds. It is 
cruciform in shape, nearly 140 feet in either direction, and of unique and 
substantial design. A broad arch forms the main entrance, a large, tower-
like projection, surmounted by a cupola, forming the point of 
architectural emphasis. In bas-relief upon the walls of this projection is 
the seal of the state, with its star-like motto placed within the rim of a 
medallion, and flanked on either side by seraphim with broad-spread wings. 
Above the main body of the structure is a glass dome, elliptical in shape 
and bearing upon its interior surface the watchword of the state in 
letters of gold wrought on a star-lit sky. On the main floor are sheaves 
of wheat, stalks of corn, and other native products, the cobs being cut 
into sections and grains and grasses fashioned into mounds, ornamental 
cornice work, dados, and wall bases. In another section are arranged the 
fruits and vegetables of Kansas, all of excellent quality, and especially 
her apples, beets, and melons. 

In the second story the decorative features are mainly the handiwork of 
women. The exhibition hall is beneath the dome, and around it are parlors 
neatly furnished and with paintings by local artists. Of the mural 
decorations the most pleasing are those in which the golden face of the 
sunflower is repeated, while banners hung upon the walls present sheaves 
of such grains as are raised to advantage in special localities. One of 
these chambers was furnished by Jewell county, which claims to excel in 
production of corn; but here the state flower still asserts itself, even 
in the carvings of the easy chairs. Elsewhere are special exhibits of 
woman's industrial art, with one representing the public school system of 
Kansas. 

But the feature of the display, and in truth one of the features of the 
entire Exposition, is the collection of specimens in natural history, 
arranged in artistic groups in an annex erected for the purpose. 
Contributed by the University of Kansas, this collection was mainly 
gathered and prepared 

Page 818

by its custodian, Lewis Lindsay Dyche, for several years professor of 
zoology and curator of birds and mammals. To secure these 120 specimens 
was a ten years' labor of love, and to mount them, even with the aid of 
skilled assistants, was the task of four additional years, the professor 
travelling far into the mountainous regions on the northern verge of 
British Columbia, and elsewhere venturing where never before white man had 
ventured. Among these groups are many animals which are rapidly becoming 
extinct - the moose, the elk, the Rocky Mountain sheep, and others of 
which, a few years hence, not a single specimen will remain alive. An 
additional value is imparted by the skill of the taxidermist who, in 
addition to a perfect mastery of his art, is also a naturalist, one who 
has studied his subjects, not in cages, but in forest lair and on mountain 
slope, has reproduced them in their natural habitat and with their natural 
environment, as they crouch or walk or leap, even to the rigid tendons, 
the swelling muscles, the look of fear or pain or defiance with which they 
yield their life. In a word, the Kansas collection is rather an exhibit of 
animal sculpture than of taxidermy, bringing that science into close 
relation with plastic art. 

In front of the collection is a pair of bull moose, fighting as only moose 
can fight when each one struggles for the supremacy. Admirably are here 
portrayed the fury of the combat, the tension of limb, and contraction of 
muscle, this group holding in taxidermal science the place accorded to 
Landseer's famous painting of forest monarchs engaged in a duel to the 
death. Near by are mountain lions quarrelling over the carcass of a deer, 
and close at hand is a lioness with cubs not larger than kittens. Next is 
a cluster of foxes, among them a silver fox whose fur is valued at $150; 
and then a pair of ocelots or tiger cats, with lynxes in life-like 
posture. Wolves are tearing at the remains of a buffalo, of which little 
is left for a group of coyotes awaiting their share of the feast. Three 
young coyotes are faring better, one having secured the tail of a rabbit, 
and the others tearing the body apart. Close to the wall is a group of 
buffalo, one of them, as is claimed, the largest and best mounted specimen 
on exhibition anywhere in the world. 

At the head of a band of elk stands a magnificent Wapiti bull, measuring 
ten feet nine inches from tip to toe to point of antler, the poise and 
contour perfectly reproduced, and in the head and face an air of conscious 
superiority. This was killed in Colorado in 1890, and in common with most 
of the specimens met his fate at the hands of the professor. In close 
proximity is a band of antelope of a variety seldom met with in haunts 
accessible to man, and in a miniature canon in the background are two 
grizzly bears, one of them facing the spectator. On a rocky promontory in 
line with the canon are ten Rocky Mountain sheep, this by far the best 
collection extant of a species rapidly becoming extinct. On the topmost 
crag the leader keeps watch and ward, a veritable king of the big horns, 
of phenomenal stature but perfect in shape and color. On another peak are 
Rocky Mountain goats, a ram with ewes and young bucks, the former standing 
guard and the others grouped below in realistic attitudes. 

But the most imposing group in the collection is a family of seven moose, 
arranged as though in the swamp lands near the lake of the Woods, where 
all the animals were killed. At their head is an enormous 

Page 819

bull, a leviathan of his kind, with a measurement of more than nine feet 
from toe to antler and seven to the top of the withers. On rocky, moss-
covered ground near by are caribou, and near the moose are Virginia deer 
feeding on a grassy slope. Of mule deer there is a herd of nine, in front, 
a noble buck, and all in natural shape and posture, as in their mountain 
home. In addition to these is a score of heads all handsomely mounted and 
of smaller animals there is a liberal display, from wolverines to 
jackrabbits and prairie dogs. The entire exhibit is arranged in panoramic 
form, with artificial groundwork, in places twenty feet high, and so 
constructed as to represent, as far as possible, the natural habitat of 
all the species. 

Turning to the exhibits of the Pacific states may first be mentioned those 
of California, which in her own, as in the main departments of the Fair, 
is represented as befits this enterprising and ambitious commonwealth of 
the furthest west. Of her contributions to the latter, and especially to 
the Mining, Agricultural and Horticultural divisions, sufficient mention 
has been made, and many of these are duplicated, or rather supplemented, 
in her home at Jackson park. That the state appears to such advantage is 
due in part to the liberal appropriation of her legislature, largely 
increased by the subscriptions of counties and individuals, and amounting 
in all to $750,000. But here also were the materials for a choice and 
elaborate display; for in few sections of the republic is there a greater 
diversity of products, and in few have greater results been achieved in 
all the more prominent branches of industry. 

California's edifice is a reproduction of the mission buildings of her 
golden age, the era that preceded the age of gold, when Franciscan padres 
dozed away their harmless lives, and amid peace and plenty ate and drank 
of the products of the soil planted and garnered by their neophytes. It is 
a composite design, the exterior resembling those of the Santa Barbara and 
San Luis Obispo missions, with traces of that which Junipero Serra founded 
at San Diego, far back in the eighteenth century. Unless it be for the 
belfries, the central dome, and roof garden, there is little attempt at 
external decoration, while in the interior the spacious nave and 
intersecting aisles impart a church-like aspect, and also afford ample 
room for exhibits. Erected as it is on one of the choicest locations in 
the park, this antique structure, with its massive walls of adobe and roof 
of Spanish tiles, is one of the landmarks of the Fair; but while not 
without elements of the picturesque, it would seem that a more appropriate 
design could have been selected for the display of mineral specimens, of 
fruits and cereals fresh gathered from the rich soil of the golden state. 

As to the decorative scheme may first be mentioned the seal of the 
commonwealth above the principal 

Page 820

entrance-way, and on either side an inscription referring to the admission 
of California into the union. Within the portal is a colossal statue of 
California, with girdle of gold, bearing in her right hand the olive 
branch of peace, and at her feet a cornucopia filled with fruits. In the 
southern gallery a large canvas illustrates the process of placer mining 
in pioneer days, and this is flanked by models of primitive mining 
implements, wrought in pine cones and cedar. Opposite is depicted a 
farming scene, adjoining which are farm products and utensils, other 
paintings in the northern gallery and elsewhere representing the flora of 
the state and her production of wine. Thus are symbolized the several 
industrial eras; first the mining era which succeeded the pastoral age; 
then agriculture which gradually supplanted mining as the leading 
industry, this in turn giving place to horticulture and the making of 
wine. The balustrade which encircles the rotunda on the second floor is 
adorned with branches of oak, manzanita, and pine, from which depend 
mosses and ferns, the posts extending thence to the summit of the dome 
wreathed with the foliage of palms. Pendent from arches and beams are 
baskets filled with semi-tropical plants. 

In connection with the decorative features may also be mentioned the 
eschscholtzia and wild flower rooms, adjoining each other in the gallery 
and separated only by portieres, one of them made of sixteenth century 
cloth, bordered with poppies and with fringe of fold. In the eschscholtzia 
chamber, so-called after the plant which bears the name of Eschscholtz, 
the botanist, the design is everywhere suggestive of the wild poppy, the 
flower of California. The decorations are in white and gold, and the 
canvas ceiling is stretched on frames and adorned with floral wreaths and 
garlands, in the centre of each being the name of one of the counties. On 
the horizontal portion of the ceiling is a panel representing a comely 
damsel, ruddy of hue and with flowing auburn tresses, scattering the 
golden poppy broadcast over the land. In the wild flower room, the floral 
wealth of the state is depicted in a number of water colors executed by 
Mrs. Marianne Matthieu, a San Franciscan artist. The walls and ceiling are 
draped in olive-green silk, and of the same color are the draperies of 
brocaded satin fringed with gold. Pressed flowers are displayed in a 
cabinet, and ferns on a pedestal of marble and in a vase set on a rustic 
stand, an handsome specimen of ceramic art. 

Unlike the majority of the state edifices, California's domicile is not 
merely a club-house or place of rest and social intercourse for visitors, 
stored with historic and personal relics. While serving for these and 
other purposes, it is also an exposition building, and if, as I have said, 
some of its exhibits are duplicates, they are 

Page 821

such as will bear duplication; for here is represented a state which ranks 
among the foremost of the sisterhood in the production of cereals and 
fruits, supplying, since 1848, more than two-thirds of the total yield of 
gold, and with manufacturing and other industries yet almost in their 
infancy, but capable of infinite development. 

The collections are from many counties, and are classified under the 
general departments of mining, agriculture, horticulture, and viticulture; 
but include also exhibits of forestry, fisheries, fauna, and flora, with 
such as pertain to the arts and to education. In the mining display are 
nearly all the metals and minerals of commercial value found in 
California, among them gold, silver, and nickel; lead, tin, copper, 
antimony, aluminum, and iron; sulphur and salt; gypsum and kaolin; 
asphalt, borax, and petroleum. Of farm and market-garden products there 
are wheat, oats, barley, maize, broom and Egyptian corn, honey and 
sorghum; pumpkins, squashes, and beets; Irish and sweet potatoes; beans of 
thirty descriptions; tomatoes, onions, cabbages, carrots, and turnips. 
Fruits, fresh, canned, and dried, crystallized and preserved, are here in 
every species and form. There are oranges, lemons, and limes; apples, 
quinces, and pears; peaches, plums, and nectarines; figs, prunes, and 
dates; olives, cherries, and bananas, with berries and currants of many 
kinds, and grapes and raisins in scores of varieties; of jellies and 
marmalades, wines, and brandies, there is an elaborate display; and of 
nuts there are the English, Eastern, and California walnut, with 
chestnuts, pecans, peanuts, and almonds. There are palm-trees a century 
old, a specimen from Santa Barbara county rising from a Spanish fountain 
in the centre of the dome to a height of 60 feet. There are sections of 
the giant redwoods of which all the world has read, one from Humboldt 
county hollowed from a tree more than 400 feet in height, 76 in 
circumference near the ground, and containing, it is said, 400,000 feet of 
lumber. Finally, there are miniature groves of orange, date, citron, 
lemon, lime, cocoanut, guava, and loquat trees, with subtropical plants 
arranged in artistic groupings. By many of the counties exhibits of their 
products and resources were arranged in separate sections, some of them 
containing choice and varied collections. 

As to special features may first be mentioned the heroic 

Page 822

statue in bronze of James W. Marshall, the discoverer of gold, at the base 
of which are cases of nuggets and other specimens, and around it larger 
cases of minerals and ores. Here and elsewhere are more than 6,000 samples 
of metals and minerals, contributed from all the more prominent mining 
properties. In the section devoted to southern California is the "Palace 
of Plenty," a cruciform structure fashioned of the products of southern 
counties. In glass cases around its base are 40 kinds of grain, and near 
it a display of English walnuts in a revolving tower of glass, silver line 
and octagonal in shape, adjoining which is a large globular structure 
entirely covered with oranges. Not far away is a pyramid of fruit, 16 feet 
in height, and surmounted by the figure of a bear. Santa Barbara county 
has a tower of olive oil, 30 feet high, its frame of iron, its apex of 
pampas plumes, and on the shelves, 1,600 bottles or nearly two tons of 
oil. Santa Clara county has an exhibit of prunes wrought in the shape of a 
horse, and Humboldt, a bear cave, with a fierce looking brute at its 
mouth. Ventura shows a pagoda constructed of beans; San Diego, a portiere 
of silk cocoons, and Fresno a miniature temple of redwood roofed with 
stalks of grain and pampas plumes. Kern county's structure is in the form 
of a bridge, on the top and sides of which are arranged in glass jars her 
cereal, fruits, and cotton, while beneath the span is a collection of 
minerals. The base of the bridge rests on two globes labeled "Orient" and 
"Occident," and thus is suggested her world-wide range of products. Under 
the western gallery the chamber of commerce has an elaborate display of 
grains from several counties, of citrus fruits from Riverside, Los 
Angeles, and San Bernardino, and of wines from the largest cellars in 
California, containing about one half of the aggregate production of the 
United States. 

In the art gallery are contributions from the foremost of California 
artists, such men as Thomas Hill, William Keith, Norton Bush, and Virgil 
Williams. Women are also largely represented, with a dozen or more 
exhibitors. Not a few of the works are loans from private collections, and 
of all that were submitted to the committee less than one third were 
accepted. Here also is an exhibit of the arts and industries of women, 
among which are included music and literature. For this purpose a large 
and handsomely furnished chamber was prepared, with partitions of carved 
redwood, and in the corners, spaces filled with divans. At the entrance is 
a golden gate, designed by Mrs. Vance Cheney and fashioned of large gilded 
leaves, above which are rugged trunks of trees adorned with foliage and 
fruits, all worked in tints of gold and gold-bearing quartz. 

Page 824

On one of the walls are portraits of California musicians, and near them 
the works of composers, with Hawaiian, Indian, Japanese, and Chinese 
instruments hung on panels in each of the corners. Elsewhere, in bookcases 
of carved native woods, are contributions from California authors, some of 
them of more than local celebrity. There are also shelves containing 
painted china and pottery, and there are panels on which are fire etchings 
and poker work, with designs in brass and iron, embroidery, needlework, 
and other articles fashioned by the deft fingers of California women. 

In the historical display are many mission and Indian relics, the former 
freely contributed by those in charge of the collections gathered by the 
Franciscan fathers. From the Los Angeles school of art and from Santa Fe 
are paintings and photographs of the missions, and of men who have played 
a prominent part in the annals of the state. Kern, Butte, and Chico 
counties send a large number of Indian baskets and curios, and in this 
connection may be mentioned the pictures of Alaskan scenery, including the 
Muir and Taku glaciers, Juneau, and an ocean view from Sitka, these the 
property of the Pacific Coast Steamship company. Wells, Fargo and company 
have also an historical collection, with portraits of the presidents and 
other officials of this famous express and banking association, from Henry 
Wells and William G. Fargo, its founders, to John H. Valentine, elected 
president as successor to Lloyd Tevis in 1892. There are also the 
portraits of agents of the company who have manfully resisted the attacks 
of highwaymen, with broken treasure boxes and other articles from 
plundered stages and trains. For the fourteen years ending with November 
1884, there were no less than 313 actual and 34 attempted stage robberies, 
the loss from these and train robberies exceeding $927,000. Since that 
date no general report has been made; but, as the company remarks, "this 
has not been due to dearth of material." George D. Roberts is here, George 
Hackett, Aaron Ross, Hank Monk, and other celebrities. There is the oldest 
railroad pass in existence, granted in 1836 to W. C. Gray, then in charge 
of the express traffic on the Boston and Lowell line. There are signs more 
than half a century old; there are posters offering large rewards for the 
apprehension of desperadoes; there are the stamps used by the Pony 
express, and finally there is the double-barrelled shot-gun with which, as 
his only weapon, "Black Bart" played the role of the lone highwayman. 

By the San Francisco board of directors was prepared, in the form of a 
circular relief map, a panoramic outline of the city, its bay, and the 
shores adjacent. The model is more than 100 feet in circumference and 
seven in height; but depressed beneath the level of the floor so as to 
afford a perfect bird's-eye view. All the principal streets and buildings 
are shown, with railroads, park, and plazas, on the scale of one square 
foot to the block, and thoroughfares two inches in width. Among the 
objects of this exhibit was to show the geographical and other advantages 
of San Francisco, as the western gateway of the nation, and with one of 
the finest harbors in the world. 

Page 826

Still another special exhibit is the collection of astronomical 
photographs illustrating the work of the Lick observatory in the space 
allotted to Santa Clara county, where, near the summit of Mount Hamilton, 
more than 4,000 feet above the sea-level, is the site of this well known 
institution. Of these, three specimens are here reproduced, the one 
representing the total solar eclipse of 1893 being a copy of a photograph 
taken in Chile by the members of an expedition specially despatched for 
that purpose. Among other valuable work accomplished by the observatory, 
of which E. S. Holden is director, are the observations of the transit of 
Mercury in 1881, of the transit of Venus in 1882, and the discovery and 
measurement of a large number of double stars. 

Second to California's elaborate display, and second only, is that of 
Washington, one of the youngest and most vigorous among the Pacific coast 
sisterhood. To her rich and multiform resources, and to her thriving 
industries, as exemplified in the main departments of the Fair, and 
especially in the Agricultural, Horticultural, Forestry, Fisheries, and 
Mining divisions, I have called attention in other sections of this work. 
For her home at Jackson Park a choice location was allotted, near one of 
the principal entrances, this being accorded, as explained by the director-
general, on account of her liberal appropriation, and her prompt 
application for space on which to erect a separate building, the first one 
received on all the list. 

Of the forest and mineral wealth of Washington there is an excellent 
illustration in the building itself, the materials for which were 
collected and shipped from her logging camps, quarries, and factories at 
considerable expense of time and money, and with results that speak for 
themselves. Nearly all the materials; not only the lumber, logs, and 
stone, but the doors, window frames, and sashes; the moldings, panellings, 
and wainscoting; the stairs and railings were contributed by her citizens; 
for nowhere was displayed a more general interest in the great World's 
Fair, and a more worthy ambition that the state should be well 
represented. 

The Washington edifice cannot be readily mistaken; for it is unique and 
characteristic in appearance, and in front of it is one of the tallest 
flag-staffs in the world, 238 feet in height, and cut from the fir-tree 
forests that encircle Puget sound. For the plan competition was invited 
from architects resident in the state, the one selected by the director of 
works, to whom were submitted the prize drawings, being that of Warren P. 
Skillings, who thus became the artificer of the building. The foundations 
and lower walls are of fir logs, some of them 

Page 827

127 feet long, eight in diameter, and yet so cut away that the timber 
squared from the surface of each would suffice to build a room cottage. 
The roof is shingled, and supported by massive timber trusses, and the 
interior finished in cedar and fir; all the materials used coming from the 
evergreen state, even to the nails and the paint. The first floor is 
almost absorbed by the central hall, and on the second story is a 
reception chamber, with parlors and committee rooms. In the wings are 
grouped the principal exhibits, one of them having a solid concrete floor, 
on which are arranged the mineral collections. Of the two main entrances, 
the one facing the lagoon is constructed of carved building stones, and 
the other, fronting on the grounds, of ores with veins of silver, lead, 
and various metals, with mosses and vines in the crevices. 

The building is plainly furnished, and with a view to display the exhibits 
to the best advantage. As to decorative features, there is first of all 
the seal of the state carved from native woods, the centre of spruce, with 
stars made of quaking asp surrounding the head of Washington, whose 
features are fashioned of madrona, his wig of elderberry, his coat of 
black cedar, and his ruff of mountain pine. Among the decorated panellings 
are those which display the rhododendron, or state flower, carved on white 
maple, and a spray of hops on native oak. On larger panels carved in birch 
are shipping, mining, lumbering, and farming scenes, with a vessel loading 
grain at the wharf; a train of freight cars issuing from the tunnel of a 
mine; a saw-mill, with operatives at work, and a farm with harvesters in 
the grain fields and a large cornucopia from which are pouring the fruits 
of the earth. 

Entering at the south wing the visitor is confronted with great sections 
of fir, spruce, cedar, oak, and maple, from the timber regions of Puget 
sound, some of them the full diameter of the trees, and others displaying 
the finish they will take. A huge fir stump has a cedar log entangled in 
its root, thus showing that the fir has grown above the cedar, and as the 
latter is perfectly sound, and the former at least two centuries old, we 
have here sufficient proof of the durability of Washington timber. In this 
section are also rolls of wrapping paper made from the pulp of the fir and 
cottonwood. Among other manufactures are wooden vessels, shingles, and 
lumber in various forms. Near by is the mining and mineral exhibit, mainly 
of gold, silver, lead, onyx, coal, iron, copper, asbestos, mineral paint, 
and building stones. Here is a block of coal from the Rosslyn mine, 
weighing more than 25 tons, and probably the largest that was ever mined 
in a single piece. 

Connecting the southern wing with the body of the building is a corridor 
neatly draped with cereals and fruits, the former in sheaf and wondrous 
large. On the ground floor of the main structure is a model farm in 
miniature, with houses, barns, and fences; fields in summer fallow, with 
ting gang ploughs at work, and all the machinery and implements 
represented on a diminutive scale. Here also are mounted specimens of the 
fauna of Washington, her elk, deer, and bear; her seals and sea-fowl; her 
silver salmon, her mountain trout, and other varieties of fish, with the 
skeleton of a mammoth elephant, thirteen feet high and with tusks nearly 
ten feet in length. Thence to the north wing leads another corridor where 
is a display of garden vegetables - cabbages, beets, potatoes, onions, 
parsnips, and turnips of phenomenal size and yet of excellent quality. 

In the northern wing are the educational and art exhibits, with a 
collection of woman's work, including needlework, lace-making, embroidery, 
and panel-paintings. The school buildings and systems of Seattle, Tacoma, 
Spokane, and other cities are shown in photographic form, with the pupils 
at their studies or exercises, and there are numerous specimens of 
chirography, drawing, and drafting. In the art display are excellent 
paintings in oil and water colors, all of local subjects and by Washington 
artists. In photographs are also views of the homes and business 
structures of Tacoma, whose site, a dozen years ago, was little better 
than a wilderness of forest primeval, and where now are business blocks 
and residences worthy of a city of metropolitan rank. 

Page 828

Ascending to the upper floor the visitor is entertained by cultured men 
and women, in apartments handsomely furnished, and with no lack of the 
hospitality characteristic of the evergreen state. Especially was this 
apparent on the day selected for celebration, for which the simple 
exercises were arranged by the state commission, with N. G. Blalock as 
president. 

Idaho's representation at the Fair is largely due to her commissioner, 
James M. Wells, the only one appointed for that state. Through his 
persistent and well directed efforts, a region rich in resources and 
possibilities, but before comparatively unknown, has taken rank at the 
great Exposition with many of the older and more populous sections. The 
state building, one of the most unique and original structures in Jackson 
park, is a modified form of a Swiss chalet, built of logs of uniform 
thickness on a foundation of lava rock, these and all other materials of 
home production. The logs are rough hewn and represent more than twenty 
varieties of timber which grow in the forests of Idaho, among them, pine, 
fir, cottonwood, aspen, cedar, tamarack, hemlock, alder, yew, thorn, and 
willow. In front of the edifice, beneath its overhanging eaves, is the 
seal of the state cut in stone, and over the shield of the commonwealth, a 
mounted specimen of a stag. The entrance is in the form of a rude archway 
of lave rock, and a wainscoting of minerals is a feature of the hallway, 
the offices opening from them being finished in fir, cedar, tamarack, and 
pine. The outer doors are composed of mica instead of glass, thus calling 
attention to a mineral found only in Idaho and North Carolina in deposits 
of commercial value. The fireplaces are made of white marble, basaltic 
rock, and pressed brick, the last representing a recent but promising 
industry. In pictorial form are illustrated here and there the scenery and 
characteristic flora of the state. 

On the second floor are reception rooms, separated transversely by what is 
known as Mica hall, its doors and windows fashioned of blocks and sheets 
of mica and with wainscoting of the same material. The parlor for men is 
furnished as an old-time hunter's lodge, with fireplace of native marble, 
three-pronged andirons resembling bear traps, and on the walls various 
trophies of the chase. 

Page 829

Mounted deer, elk, caribou, and sheep are picturesquely grouped, and here 
is also a cougar slain by the knife of a noted huntsman. Above the 
fireplace is the rifle of the Modoc chief, Captain Jack, and among other 
articles are Indian relics and costumes of brilliant hues. The doors of 
the lodge are of hewn oak, the hinges and fastenings in the form of dirks, 
flasks, arrows, pistols, and other weapons and implements. Elsewhere in 
the building the bracings and hinges of the doors, most of which are mode 
of a single slab of timber, are in imitation of miners' tools. In the 
women's parlor are a mantel of white marble, homespun carpet, and tea-set 
arranged on an oaken sideboard. Old-fashioned candlesticks are fastened to 
the rough-hewn logs, where also hang Indian baskets and fabrics, while 
vegetables, corn, and tobacco speak of the domestic products of the state. 

On the third floor is the exhibition chamber, about 50 feet square, in 
which is an elaborate display of cereals, with hundreds of jars of fruit 
and a complete herbarium of flowers and grasses. Here also is an exhibit 
of taxidermy, including members of the deer family with bears and wolves, 
all in life-like attitudes. The rarest specimen among them is of a black 
wolf, which appears with a rabbit in its mouth, amid what appears to be a 
patch of sagebrush. In a glass case is a collection of more than 100 
varieties of birds indigenous to the state. 

In the collection and organization of Montana's exhibits woman plays a 
prominent part, and a liberal share of the appropriation was set aside for 
her use, five lady managers having charge of all matters pertaining to 
dairy products, poultry, pantry stores, needle-work, floriculture, and 
such of the fine arts, plastic and ornamental, as are the products of 
woman's hands. The president of the woman's branch is Mrs. J. E. Rickards, 
wife of the governor, with Mrs. Clara L. M'Adow as associate, Stephen De 
Wolf being at the head of the board. 

The state building is a one-story structure of Romanesque design, its 
arched vestibule with marble floor, in front of which is a trophy of 
precious ores, surmounted by a lordly elk. On one of the panels at the 
side is the state motto, "Oro & Plata," and on the other the inscription, 
"A.D., MDCCCXCIII." Within are parlors and a general reception room in the 
form of a rotunda, the architectural feature of the interior being its 
heavy Roman pilasters with massive caps and bases. The rotunda, which is 

Page 830

octagonal in shape, is finished in native pine, the upper panels decorated 
with the heads of buffalo, elk, bear, and other animals indigenous to the 
state. Light is admitted through the stained glass roof of a dome beneath 
which are paintings that speak of the picturesque scenery and mineral 
wealth of Montana. The walls are tinted an olive green, as are those of 
the women's parlors to the right, all the furniture being upholstered in 
leather. Back of the main reception room is a banquet hall, in the centre 
of which is a group of mounted elk, and elsewhere are smoking and reading 
rooms supplied with desks, tables, and easy chairs. 

Among the paintings most admired is that of Shoshone Falls, representing a 
seething mass of water falling over projecting cliffs, on the brow of 
which is a pine tree about to plunge into the rapids below. Among Indian 
subjects are the crossing of the Lo Lo trail by the Nez Perce tribe, and 
one named "Me," showing a plumed and painted brave gazing at his own 
portrait. Russell, "the cow-boy artist," entirely self-taught, has several 
subjects selected from incidents of his life, as "The Bucking Broncho," 
"The Buffalo Hunt," and "The Indian Tepee." From the women of Montana are 
several portraits, with photographs of early settlers and prominent 
citizens. In a broad gallery surrounding the rotunda are specimens of 
Montana's fruits, natural and preserved, together with samples of feminine 
handiwork. 

On a site adjoining that of the Washington building, Colorado erected a 
neat and commodious edifice in style of old Spanish architecture, with 
slender towers, in which are spiral staircases, rising from the main 
facade to a height of nearly 100 feet. The color scheme is in ivory white, 
and the decorations, though not elaborate, are sufficient to relieve the 
broad, plain surface of the walls. Passing through portals 40 feet in 
width, the visitor enters the central hall, whence stairways lead to the 
floor above. At the end of the hall is a large mantel of onyx, flanked by 
glass doors opening into the offices, and on the sides are smoking and 
reception chambers. On the second story an assembly room, with vaulted 
ceiling, extends across the centre of the building, and adjoining it are 
reading and writing rooms, from which is access to hanging balconies. 

The home of the centennial state was intended merely as a place of rest 
and entertainment, and apart from relics and curiosities, contains no 
special exhibits, Colorado reserving her strength fro the main departments 
of the Exposition. While nearly all the western states are well 
represented, there are some to whom special credit is due, and among them 
is Colorado, whose display is worthy of her resources and achievements. A 
generation has not yet passed away since, in 1859, the discovery of gold 
drew westward the second great migration across the plains; and yet within 
that time Colorado, standing almost in midcontinent between the west and 
the further west, has already surpassed her older sisters, and with a 
future the greatness of which no man can foretell. As a mining region she 
ranks first in the production of silver and second in output of gold. 
Stock-raising has ever been a profitable industry, nearly 2,000,000 cattle 
grazing among her valleys and 

Page 831

foothills, with annual shipments east of 100,000 head. Her yield of 
cereals and fruits is rapidly increasing, and her irrigation system is 
among the best in the republic. In civic growth no state has a prouder 
record, Denver, which in 1860 was a straggling village, with but a single 
pound of nails in all the settlement, having in 1880 a population of 36,
000, and in 1890 of 107,000, or nearly a threefold gain within a decade. 

Utah's participation in the Fair is largely due to the enterprise of her 
Mormon population, by whom were also subscribed most of the necessary 
funds, a legislative appropriation of $50,000 being vetoed by the 
governor. In the territorial building and its contents, as in the 
principal departments of the Exposition, is strongly expressed the 
individuality of the Mormon community, a statue of Brigham Young, for 
instance, standing in front of the edifice, while the arch near the main 
portal is a partial reproduction of the old Eagle gate of the Mormon 
temple. But the industries and resources of Utah are also fully 
exemplified, 

Page 832

and especially the industries of women, no less than twenty-six county 
associations, with clubs innumerable, working in unison with the 
territorial board, of which R. C. Chambers is president. 

The home of Utah stands on the northern verge of the grounds, its front 
resembling, on a smaller scale, the classic structures that surround the 
central court. For the foundations, columns, pilasters, and other 
portions, the materials used are in imitation of native building stones, 
while the walls are fashioned as in a structure of adobes. The portico, 
with its Ionic pillars, is the point of architectural emphasis, and this 
is approached from a spacious terrace, to which a broad flight of steps 
leads from the avenue adjacent. In the centre of the building is an 
exhibition hall, open from floor to skylight, and elsewhere are reception 
rooms, offices, and a bureau of information, with other offices on the 
second floor, where also is an apartment for special exhibits. 

In oaken cases around the central hall and in the gallery chamber the 
exhibits are neatly grouped, and in such manner as to illustrate to the 
best advantage the resources and possibilities of Utah. Gold, silver, and 
sulphur are the principal minerals displayed, and with them is shown the 
process of reducing sulphur and of handling rock salt and borax, both of 
which are found in large deposits. The silk and beet-sugar industries are 
well represented, and of cotton there are several specimens. A feature in 
the display is the collection of woman's work, and especially the articles 
contributed by the board of lady managers. Among them are portieres of 
broadcloth richly decorated; rugs made of the skins of the grizzly bear 
and mountain lion, and a table and clock of native woods and onyx. 
Photographs are abundant, showing the scenery of Utah, her homes, her 
temple, and her tabernacle. Finally there is a large collection of Indian 
relics, including weapons, ornaments, and pottery, with an Indian mummy 
reposing at full length, discovered in one of the mountain caves. 

Arizona, New Mexico, and Oklahoma jointly occupy a long, low, two-story 
building, a garden upon its flat roof displaying the typical vegetation of 
the southwest. Beds and columns of gigantic cacti are arranged in front of 
this structure, its plain veranda surmounted by a balcony, with plants in 
large vessels along the railing, overshadowing the entrance-ways to the 
headquarters of the three territories. To a certain extent the small 
exhibition rooms are a duplication of that which was displayed in the 
general departments, and among them are mineral specimens from New Mexico 
and Arizona, with the grains and vegetables of Oklahoma. Int eh second 
story are parlors nearly furnished and not without evidences of artistic 
taste. In New Mexico's chamber are beautiful specimens of woman's work, 
including that which comes from the Navajos, and here are also paintings 
of more than average merit. Among Arizona's collection is a life size 
crayon portrait of General Crook, and near it a picture of an old log-
house built in Prescott in 1863, the pioneer building of that locality and 
the residence of the first governor. In photographic form are other 
historic spots, with several views of the Grand canon. There is also a 
collection of pottery from one of the Indian agencies, and from the wife 
of General O'Neil comes a quilt in which are reproduced the corps badges 
of the United States army. 

World's Fair Miscellany

On the eve of Chicago day A. F. Seeberger, treasurer of the Fair, signed 
his check for $1,565,310.76, in payment of the balance due on debenture 
bonds, thus cancelling all the indebtedness of the Exposition. 

The Illinois mansion, the most expensive of all the state buildings, cost 
$250,000, and in its construction were used 3,000,000 feet of lumber and 
650 tons of iron. The governor's suite of apartments is supplied with 
antique furniture, all from native woods, and with 

Page 833

carvings in high relief. A chamber was set apart for the Illinois Press 
association, the members of which held a special celebration on the 16th 
of June. In connection with the education exhibits may be mentioned those 
of the state institution for the training of the deaf and dumb, contained 
in two cheerful sunny rooms in the southeastern corner of the building. In 
this institution are on an average about 500 inmates, the specimens of 
work displayed resembling those described in connection with other 
institutions in the chapter on Liberal Arts. 

Michigan's building was dedicated on the 13th of September, in the 
presence of at least 20,000 of her citizens, among them Governor John T. 
Rich, ex-Governor Russell A. Alger, ex-Senator Thomas W. Ferry, General A. 
T. McReynolds, and I. M. Weston, president of the state board. In an 
eloquent speech, Thomas W. Palmer, president of the Exposition, sketched 
the earlier history of Michigan, and then spoke of the material and social 
development evolved from the work of its founders and pioneers. Then came 
brief addresses from those who were identified with the history of the 
state. Director-general Davis, Fred Douglass, and Mrs. Annet Laura 
Haviland were also among the speakers. Mrs. Haviland was a prominent 
figure during slavery days as one of those who assisted in the escape of 
negro fugitives, by means of what was known as the "underground railway." 

The home of Minnesota was dedicated by the members of the State Editorial 
association before it was formally opened, J. A. Johnson presenting the 
building to Senator Keller, by whom it was accepted in the name of the 
state. Of special interest were the impromptu remarks of L. P. Hunt, its 
superintendent, to whose exertions was largely due Minnesota's creditable 
display in all departments of the Fair. The building was christened in 
behalf of the press by Mrs. Oscar Lineau. 

Much of the credit for North Dakota's standing at the Fair is due to 
Martin Hector, president of the state board. Aside from her display in the 
Agricultural department, there was a most interesting exhibit in the 
Forestry building, showing what intelligent effort may accomplish in 
reclothing denuded lands. October 10th was North Dakota day, Governor 
Shortbridge, ex-governors Burke and Miller, and the president of the state 
board participating in the exercises. 

The forty-seventh anniversary of Iowa's admission into the union was 
celebrated on the 21st of September by one of the largest assemblages 
gathered on special days. There was a military parade, together with a 
cadet corps and a brigade of girls attired in blue uniforms. At Festival 
Hall the exercises included music by the Iowa state band and addresses by 
James O. Crosby, president of the state board, Governor Boies, Chief 
Buchanan, of the Agricultural department, and Mrs. Isabella Hooper. 

During the early portion of September the people of Kansas devoted an 
entire week to celebrations and festivities, the 12th being selected as 
Kansas day. Among the participants were L. D. Lewelling, leader of the 
people's party, M. W. Cobun, president of the state board, and solon O. 
Thacher, one of the pioneers and founders of the state, with musical 
societies from Topeka and the state militia. Here also was one who, more 
than all others, revived the memories of early days when Kansas was the 
centre of political interest. This was Captain John Brown, whose father 
was the strongest factor in the agitation which prevailed in Kansas for 
several years before the civil war; the captain, himself a noted 
abolitionist, taking part in the sack of Lawrence, but not in the attack 
on Harper's ferry, and at the outbreak of the war raising a company of 
cavalry. He is still a hale and vigorous specimen of manhood, though 
several years beyond the allotted span of life. 

The cost of the California building exceeded $100,000, its decorative 
scheme being intrusted to Mary C. Bates of San Francisco. In the rotunda 
the effect of the fountain, with circular basins and a lofty palm with 
spreading crown rising from its centre, is extremely beautiful, the green 
of the tree and the plants around its base contrasting with the terra 
cotta of the fountain, and the water trickling over moss-covered rocks, or 
rather their semblance in staff. To the right of the palm-tree is the 
pampas palace exhibited by Mrs. Strong, of Whittier, Los Angeles county. 
It is decorated with pampas plumes as soft as feathers and worked in 
tasteful designs, the interior furnished with articles made of the same 
materials. From the women of Alamada county came an attractive exhibit, 
the feature in which is a clock with framework of onyx and surmounted by 
marble figures, the numbered hours on the dial-plate encircled with 
pictorial illustrations of prominent buildings. A craved wooden mantel is 
the joint work of two Alameda damsels, and from this depends a curtain 
embroidered by the sisters of the convent of Notre Dames. The building was 
dedicated on the 19th of June, the keys being delivered to Governor 
Markham by James D. Phelan, vice-president of the state board. The 
governor's speech was followed by several others, and then came a feast of 
fruit and wine. On the 5th of August a number of argonauts met in their 
Jackson park home to exchange reminiscences of pioneer days. The 9th of 
September was selected for California's celebration; for on that day of 
1850 she was admitted without a probationary term. There were the usual 
addresses, with music, singing, and recitations. 

The Utah celebration was also on the 9th of September, Utah being admitted 
as a territory simultaneously with the admission of California to 
statehood. At Festival hall Mormons and Gentiles met together, nearly 3,
000 in number, among them Caleb West, the governor of the territory, and 
Wilfred Woodruff, the president of the church, with whom were George Q. 
Cannon and Joseph F. Smith. After singing by the Mormon choir, Mrs. 
Richards, president of the woman's board, spoke a few words of welcome, 
and then came the governor's address, in which he referred to the exodus 
from Nauvoo, the toilsome journey across plain and mountain, and told how, 
amid the sage-brush plains of the desert, the Mormons planted their homes, 
living at times on boiled thistles and stewed thistle tops. The exercises 
concluded with an address from George Q. Cannon, followed by music and 
song. 

A fountain, the base of which was formed of crude ores and the pedestal of 
cut crystals, was a contribution from the women of Lewis and Clarke 
counties, Montana. The bowl was of native silver, with a tube resembling 
the clematis vine. From Beaverhead county came, also as the gift of women, 
a table of native woods, its top of mosaic work in several hundred pieces, 
and on its side a panel made of silver furnished by the Hecla mine. 



Page 835

Chapter the Twenty-Fourth:
The Midway Plaisance

If to any class of visitors the Columbian Exposition was somewhat of a 
disappointment, it was to those who went there merely in search of 
amusement. Instruction rather than amusement, but instruction conveyed in 
its most attractive form, was the main purpose of the Fair, and surely 
there were never such opportunities for a comparative study of what has 
and is being accomplished in every branch of industry and art. But study 
of what has and is being accomplished in every branch of industry and art. 
But men would not always be thus instructed; would prefer rather to take 
such education in homoeopathic doses, with a strong admixture of 
recreation, of fresh air and sunshine, of saunterings among flower-beds 
and waterways, and above all with plenty of good things to eat and to 
drink. Hence it was that in favorable weather at least half of the 
visitors would be found outside the buildings, on the wooded island, on 
the lagoons, the boulevards, or seated in shady or sheltered spots 
listening to the music of the bands. 

But as places of recreation there were none that would compare with the 
Midway plaisance, an epitome and also a supplement of the Fair, with its 
bazaars of all nations, its manifold attractions, and yet with educational 
as well as pleasurable features. All day long and far into the night this 
spacious thoroughfare, a mile in length and 600 feet in width, was crowded 
with sight-seers who, whatever else they missed, would make the tour of 
this novel and heterogeneous exhibition. Entering the avenue a little to 
the west of the Woman's building, they would pass between the walls of 
mediaeval villages, between mosques and pagodas, Turkish and Chinese 
theatres, past the dwellings of colonial days, past the cabins of South 
Sea islanders, of Javanese, Egyptians, Bedouins, Indians, among them huts 
of bark and straw that tell of yet ruder environment. They would be met on 
their way by German and Hungarian bands, by the discord of Chinese cymbals 
and Dahomean tom-toms; they would encounter jugglers and magicians, camel-
drivers and donkey-boys, dancing-girls from Cairo and Algiers, from Samoa 
and Brazil, with men and women of all nationalities, some lounging in 
oriental indifference, some shrieking in unison or striving to outshriek 
each other, in the hope of transferring his superfluous change from the 
pocket of the unwary pilgrim. Then, as taste and length of purse 
determined; for fees were demanded from those who would penetrate the 
hidden mysteries of the plaisance, they might enter the Congress of beauty 
with its plump and piquant damsels, might pass an hour in one of the 
theatres or villages, or partake of harmless beverages served by native 
waiters. Finally they would betake themselves to the Ferris 

Page 836

wheel, on which they were conveyed with smooth, gliding motion to a height 
of 260 feet, affording a transient and kaleidoscopic view of the park and 
all that it contains. 

In this miniature fair with its stir and tumult, its faces of every type 
and hue, its picturesque buildings, figures, and costumes is the most 
graphic and varied ethnological display that was ever presented to the 
world. All the continents are here represented, and many nations of each 
continent, civilized, semi-civilized, and barbarous, from the Caucasian to 
the African black, with head in the shape of a cocoa-nut and with barely 
enough of clothing to serve for the wadding of a gun. Here, in truth, one 
may learn more of foreign lands, their customs, habits, and environment, 
their food and drink and dress, their diversions and their industries, 
than years of travel would teach him. If here and there is a certain 
admixture of indecency, so broad at times as to call for the interference 
of the authorities, this does not detract from the value of an exhibition 
richer and more comprehensive than any before attempted. 

Entering the plaisance is first observed, on either side of the avenue, a 
nursery of fruit trees such as are raised on French and California soil, 
with miniature groves of evergreens from the northwest, and other 
duplicates of the outdoor exhibit in the Horticultural department. Then 
comes a line of low thatched cottages whose appearance indicates the 
abodes of cleanliness and thrift. Here is a display of Irish industries, 
within what is known as Lady Aberdeen's village, largely organized by one 
who has devoted many years of her life to the good work thus represented. 
In this she first became interested during her husband's 

Page 837

term of office as lord lieutenant, and as president of the Irish 
Industries association, assisted by the late Peter White, its secretary, 
and with his wife as manager of the enterprise, gave to the Columbian 
Exposition one of its most attractive features. 

The main entrance reproduces in facsimile the doorway of a chapel built on 
the rock of Cashel in the opening years of the twelfth century by Cormac, 
"the bishop king of Munster." Passing through this arched portal, its 
panels enriched with mouldings and heads in low relief, the visitor enters 
the cloisters of Muckross abbey, the original of which, a picturesque but 
melancholy ruin, stands hoar and solemn amid the most beautiful scenery of 
the lakes and mountains of Killarney. But here are no priests at prayer or 
study; no sound nor sign of devotion or of penance; for like everything 
else about the villages, these cloistered retreats are essentially 
practical. Opening the door of one of the apartments, we find here around 
a turf fire above which a potato pot is boiling, a number of men carving 
trinkets, furniture, and articles of church decoration. Thence we may pass 
to other rooms or cottages where various industries are in progress. In 
one young women are busied over lace and crochet work, as made in the 
cottage homes of Limerick and Carrickmacross; in another there is knitting 
and the making of a material for homespuns; in a third, embroidery; in a 
fourth the carving of bog-oak, of which there are many beautiful 
specimens. Elsewhere dairymaids, rosy and buxom, are showing what their 
deft fingers can accomplish with the aid of modern utensils and the milk 
of Kerry kine. 

Adjacent to the cloister of Muckross is the cottage of Lady Aberdeen, 
named "Lyra-ne-Grena," that is to say, the sunny nook, and over its door 
the inscription in Keltic, "Cead Mile Failte." Its quaint, old-fashioned 
windows are shaded by the low, overhanging roof, with a frieze of shamrock 
in the interior, whose walls are frescoed and tinted in green. Much of the 
antique furniture of Irish oak or mahogany consists of historical relics. 
There is an old spinning wheel to the use of which her ladyship is no 
stranger, and in one of the corners is a writing desk that formerly 
belonged to Thomas Hood. Carpets and curtains represent Irish industries, 
and there are prints upon the walls of popular subjects, with portraits of 
famous men, as O'Connell, Swift, and Pope. 

Page 838

Passing thence across an open court we come to Blarney castle, built in 
the fifteenth century by one Cormack MacCarthy, a brave man and a strong, 
on a site where Druids held their mystic rites long before Saint Patrick 
and his white-robed disciples set foot in the land of Erin. Its 
counterpart at Jackson park is a three-story building, set apart for the 
village workers; but for visitors there is a winding staircase, from the 
top of which one may creep to the battlements at risk of life and limb and 
there kiss the magic stone and obtain a view of Ireland in the form of a 
large relief map. But it is a prosaic structure, with little of the 
romance contained in the original, and especially is missing the creeping 
ivy on the walls. 

In a building known as the "Sheppa" there are more Irish industries. Then 
there is the music hall, with pipers and jig dancers, where also a young 
female harpist from the Dublin academy of music plays sweet accompaniments 
for singers of national airs. There is also Tara's hall, in which are many 
relics, with duplicates of the ancient metal work fashioned by a Dublin 
jeweller and briefly described in the chapter on "Foreign Manufactures." 
In this connection may be mentioned the harp of Brian Boroihme, bequeathed 
to the pope, and by the pope to Henry VIII, this precious heirloom 
passing, after further changes of ownership, into the museum of Trinity 
college, Dublin, where now is the home of the original. Finally there is 
the village museum, where are many objects of interest, with photographs 
of Irish antiquities, the latter a contribution from Lord Dunraven. 

At the opposite side of the plaisance, on a site originally allotted to a 
Bohemian glass company, is a building which bears upon its front the 
inscription, "International Dress and Costume Company." Around its 
entrance is usually gathered a larger crowd than before the more 
pretentious structures that line this cosmopolitan thoroughfare; for 
within are five and forty damsels fair to look upon, selected from forty-
five countries to represent as many national types in typical costumes, 
fashioned, it is said, by the great man milliner of Paris. To a Chicago 
journalist belongs the credit, if credit be due, for this novel and daring 
exhibition. With the aid of certain business men, by personal interviews, 
by liberal advertising and expenditure, and above 

Page 840

all by dint of phenomenal self-assurance, he collected and attired these 
representative beauties of Italy and Greece; of Germany, France, and 
Austria; of England, Scotland, and Ireland; of Cuba, Mexico, and all the 
Americas. This was commonly known as "the Congress of beauty," but also by 
a score of other titles, by any title in fact, rather than the one which 
appears above the doorway. As to the quality of the display, whether of 
face, figure, or costume, there was much difference of opinion, and as 
those of my readers who cared to see it have doubtless judged for 
themselves, it is unnecessary here to make further mention of the subject, 
except perhaps to say that better looking women, and better attired, can 
be seen any day in the cities and towns of the United States. 

To foreigners the Adams Express company, which stands well back from the 
plaisance as it passes under the viaduct of the Illinois central railroad, 
is an object of passing interest. Although less an exhibit than a portion 
of the business machinery of the Fair, many visitors pause for a moment to 
observe the methodical workings of one of the most prominent organizations 
of its kind. Across the avenue is a plain, two-story house of red brick 
with narrow front and neat interior, representing a type of residence 
occupied by thousands of Philadelphia workingmen. Diagonally opposite, and 
under the viaduct of the railway, is a small frame building on which is 
the sign: "Old-Tyme Farmer's Dinner." Here pork and beans, doughnuts, 
pies, and other viands are served by Vassar and Wellesley girls, attired 
in costumes of the olden days, on little square tables with horn-handled 
knives, two-pronged forks of steel, and the quaintest of antique dishes. 
The idea of furnishings such meals originated with Mrs. Brinton, better 
known as "Mother Southwick," the name which she bore at the Centennial 
Exposition, where she presided over a similar place of entertainment. Near 
by she has reproduced another of its features in the model of a 
revolutionary log cabin, with its two rooms and loft, the parlor extending 
across the building, and with yawning fireplace, crane, and kettles, and 
all the other furnishing of a century ago. Opposite the door ir ranged 
upon a sideboard the family plate; and here are ancient hymn-books, 
candlesticks, and spinning wheels, and oldest of all, the cradle of 
Peregrine White, the so-called "babe of the Mayflower." 

In an unpretentious structure known as the Scenic theatre are presented 
through the medium of electricity effects of dawn and sunrise, midday, 
twilight, moonrise, the night sky gemmed with stars, thunder-storms and 
fair weather, as seen in the Tyrolean Alps, accompanied by such 
instrumental music and weird yodoling as the traveler hears in these 
favorite resorts. A small building across the way is almost filled with a 
tank, in which exhibitions are given in submarine diving, for the purpose, 
as is announced, of showing how lost articles are recovered at sea. In the 
vicinity is a model which illustrates the working of a Colorado gold mine, 
the mechanism, which is operated by electricity, including bucket, pump, 
hoisting cage, and cars, such as are used in the Saratogo mine in Gilpin 
county. The mountain is shown as though cut in two, with the mine on the 
foot wall of the vein, thus exposing its underground workings. On the 
highest level men are 

Page 841

seen at work, with cars running to the ore chutes, where they are filled 
and then returned to the shaft, and hoisted to the surface. Here also are 
the shaft houses, blacksmith shop, powder magazine, boarding-house, 
ropeway, stamp-mill, water flumes, dump, ore bins, piles of wood for 
timbering, and all other necessary appliances. 

It was intended, as I have said, to hold near the park entrance to the 
plaisance an exposition of Bohemian glass manufacture; but the plan was 
abandoned and the exhibits placed in the Austrian section of the 
Manufactures building, though without any demonstration of the processes 
whereby they came into existence. Such industries are by no means 
neglected, however, among the shows of the plaisance, as appears in two 
large structures west of Mother Southwick's cabin, facing each other on 
either side of the avenue. In style of architecture they are essentially 
different, the one on the south resembling an Italian cathedral, rich in 
coloring of gold and green, the winged lion which surmounts it recalling a 
similar figure in the square of St. Mark's at Venice. On the small island 
of Murano, near that city, is the factory of the company which erected 
this palace of glass and mosaic work, an enterprise established more than 
a quarter of a century ago, not only as a business venture but to revive 
the ancient industry of ornamental glass work in which Venice was at one 
time preeminent. Among the best of the enamelled mosaics are two scenes in 
the life of Columbus, which at the close of the Exposition were to be 
transferred to the Columbian museum in Chicago. Some of the most artistic 
specimens from the Murano factory, gems which are scattered among the 
museums and churches of Europe, are also shown as reproductions, and there 
are ancient toilet bottles, cups and goblets, oriental enamelled glasses, 
renaissance filigree and laces fashioned in glass, with etched and frosted 
glass in colors of sapphire, agate, topaz, jasper, onyx, and amethyst. In 
a word there is here an exhibition of art in its application to glass and 
mosaic work. 

Opposite is a more substantial structure, with corner towers and domed 
central roof, glass in prismatic forms being grouped along the gravelled 
walks which approach it, and in a case near by specimens of glass spinning 
of wondrous delicacy. Here is the exhibit of the Libbey Glass company, 
showing not only its products but a complete working establishment, with 
modern machinery and apparatus for manufacture. The main vestibule leads 
into a semi-circular glass-house, or blowing room, with melting furnace in 
the centre, in the form of a truncated cone. Just within its circumference 
and a little above the base are the melting pots, enclosed in a metallic 
canopy, the heat which enters from below being generated from crude 
petroleum pumped through pipes from Ohio wells. After being subjected to a 
heat of more than 2,000 degrees of Fahrenheit, the crude materials are in 
the form of a molten mass, ready for 

Page 843

the blow-pipe of the "gatherer," who reaching into one of the pots, takes 
up a little of the substance upon the end of his hollow rod and passes it 
to the blower. The latter rolls it briskly upon an iron slab and then, as 
required, expands it by blowing through the pipe in a downward position, 
or contracts it by directing the pipe upward. When the material has 
reached the proper consistency, it is turned with a solid iron rod, and by 
means of wooden tools shaped into plaques, plates, and other forms. After 
leaving the blowing room, all glassware is subjected to a graduated or 
annealing heat, so tempering it as to resist changes in temperature. 

Above the blowing room and the tempering oven are quarters for the cutters 
with their steel wheels, the smoothers with their wheels of sandstone, and 
the polishers with wheels of wood, abrading substances being used of 
various degrees of hardness. A more interesting process than any, though 
of less practical value, is the manufacture of what is termed glass cloth; 
but this is too complex here to be described in detail. Other departments 
belong to the engravers and etchers, and those who decorate the various 
articles in appropriate colors. Finally there is the crystal art room 
wherein are displayed the finished products of the factory. Ebony wood 
work forms an effective setting for the cut-glassware at the sides of the 
room, the upholsterings and tapestries of spun glass in the centre, and 
the ceiling decorations made of the same material. At the entrance is a so-
called Henry Clay punch-bowl of 1812 in pressed glass, which though of 
excellent workmanship, is in marked contrast with the cut-glass bowl at 
its side, recently manufactured by the company. Attention is also 
attracted to ice-cream sets encased in brass-bound morocco, to sherbet and 
punch jugs of Roman design, to quaint decanters of Venetian shapes, 
graceful celery trays, ice-tubs, honey dishes, and a lamp of elaborate 
pattern designed for a banquet hall. Among articles in spun glass there 
are curtains, portieres, and decorations for ceilings and walls, with lamp 
shades and other fancy articles beautifully painted, all of them intended 
to show the adaptability of spun glass to artistic purposes. 

Opposite the Libbey works is the zoological arena of Carl Hagenbeck, who 
claims to have domesticated and trained more wild animals than any living 
man. The programme is both amusing and 

Page 844

varied, for his menagerie includes elephants, lions, tigers, leopards, 
bears, dogs, pigs, goats, sheep, horses, ponies, zebras, and boars, with 
monkeys galore and many cases of storks and parrots, thus affording the 
possibilities of infinite combinations and forms of entertainment. Prince, 
the equestrian lion, rides on horseback and springs over banners with the 
grace and agility of a circus girl. Another lion rides in a chariot, drawn 
by a couple of Bengal tigers, while a brother tiger balances himself on a 
revolving globe. Polar bears walk the tight rope, and black bears roll 
down a toboggan slide. White goats frisk around the ring in company with 
spotted panthers, and a tiny poodle holds the hoop for a great black 
panther whose breath might blow him away. The most incongruous elements of 
the brute creation are thrown together in this amphitheatre, violating all 
preconceived notions of the forest and jungle by associating as neighbors 
and friends. So tame are the beasts that at times the chief keeper takes 
his lions or other performing animals for an airing around the plaisance, 
despite the protests of Columbian guards and special police. 

Passing from the arena, the pilgrim of the plaisance observes at the 
opposite side of the avenue an ancient looking gateway flanked by towers, 
and beyond and above, a picturesque group of castellated structures. This 
is the Donegal Castle Irish village and contains the exhibits of the 
Donegal industrial fund, founded by Mrs. Ernest Hart, who commenced her 
labors more than a decade ago, establishing schools for instruction in 
various industries here illustrated as in Lady Aberdeen's village. In the 
good work thus accomplished she received the hearty cooperation and 
sympathy of other women, whose sole aim was to educate the Irish peasantry 
in home industries, and to furnish a market for their products without 
making them objects of charity. Substantial aid was also rendered by the 
Prince of Wales, by Gladstone, Cardinal Manning, and other influential men 
in church and state; so that presently factories were built and operations 
conducted on a larger scale. 

But it was mainly through the efforts of Mrs. Hart that these results were 
accomplished, as exemplified at the Fair. Beginning on a small scale, with 
50 pounds of wool weighed out on her kitchen scales, and with 100 lbs 
worth of goods stored in the bathroom of her London home, she gradually 
taught, through handbooks translated into Gaelic and a staff of 
instructors trained by herself in arts which she had first to learn, the 
processes of spinning, weaving, drafting, lace-making, wood-carving, 
embroidering, and dyeing, the peasantry attaining a standard of excellence 
which won for them more prizes at the Paris Exposition of 1889 than were 
awarded to any class of British exhibitor. To this task she devoted ten 
anxious and laborious years, overcoming difficulties which to women of 
common mould it would seem impossible to surmount. The people for whom she 
labored lived in a region separated by 40 miles of bog from the nearest 
railroad station, its one narrow harbor inaccessible except at times to 
steamers of the lightest draft. On its barren and rocky soil no horse 
plough could be used, and even if surplus products were raised there was 
no outlet to market; for with almost impassable roads during the greater 
part of the year, the freight to London on a ton of goods was five times 
as much as from London to New York. And yet in this region there were 100,
000 inhabitants, of whom a large proportion, though honest, industrious, 
and always willing to learn, were in a state of chronic destitution and 
not infrequently of actual starvation. Such was the district which the 
patroness of the Donegal village raised from its abject condition to one 
of relative prosperity, while asking for 

Page 846

its manufactures no more than their market value. Said the lord mayor of 
Dublin, while speaking on the village green on Irish day: "We ask not for 
compassion nor for your pity, but would simply place before you articles 
recommended by their cheapness, their artistic beauty, and their excellent 
workmanship." 

In the Donegal village are so many features of interest in its artistic 
presentment, its industrial aspect and its record as a national 
enterprise, that it is difficult to condense into reasonable space a 
description of its character and contents. The architectural designs were 
for the most part the result of much thought and painstaking; but the 
drafting of them was the inspiration of a night, the credit for the final 
elaboration of the plans being largely due to Geoffrey Hamlin of New York. 
The facade as seen from the entrance at the plaisance reproduces the St. 
Lawrence gate, of which the original has stood for six centuries or more 
in the little town of Drogheda. Passing the portcullis of the keep a view 
of the village is obtained from its archway, presenting a scene that is 
quaint and picturesque, and essentially Irish. Around the green are 
grouped the white-washed cottages in which are conducted the industries 
fostered by Mrs. Hart and taught in her technical schools. In one of the 
cottages wool is being spun into a fine firm thread by an Irish lass as in 
her home at Gweedore, and this a weaver warps on his frame and weaves on 
an antiquated loom into the soft homespuns which have won medals and 
highest awards at six international exhibitions, receiving high honors 
from the judges of the World's Fair. Elsewhere lace-making is in progress 
on a tambour frame by one of the oldest workers for the fund, whose filmy 
fabrics were carried away with delight by the infanta Eulalia, and have 
formed part of the trousseaus of royal princesses. Here also one of the 
pupils of the technical lace school is at work on Torchon laces of colored 
flax, in tints and materials patented for the benefit of workers, and 
registered under the name of "the Kells laces," now largely used for the 
decoration of furniture and table linen. 

In the weaving cottage Kells linens are being woven on a hand loom, these 
linens, skillfully dyed by processes invented by the foundress, forming a 
specialty of the fund. They are largely used as a basis for embroidery and 
for wall hangings and window curtains by the art schools of Great Britain, 
and by firms whose business is in the line of art. They also form the 
basis of the famous Kells embroideries, invented in 1884 as a new Irish 
industry, and for which was received a gold medal at the International 
Inventions Exhibition in London in 1885, with high awards at Paris, 
Melbourne, and other international expositions. In these embroideries flax 
is used for the material, and the polished threads are worked on dyed and 
hand-made linens and woollens from designs adapted from the Century Book 
of Kells and from old Keltic manuscripts. In other cottages wood carving 
is done by young men taken from the plough and educated in London, these 
being the first Irish lads ever trained for the purpose, many of them 
returning to their native villages and engaging in business for 
themselves. 

In the banqueting hall of the old castle of the O'Donnells, as here 
reproduced from drawings loaned by its present proprietor, are portieres 
such as adorn the walls of Windsor and Hawarden castles, their designs 
selected by the queen and by the wife of William Ewart Gladstone. Here 
also are Irish point laces in simple 

Page 847

and elaborate designs, with hand embroidered court dresses, vestments, 
altar cloths, table linens, and counterpanes, the last of these articles 
resembling those which were made in France in the middle ages. There are 
handkerchiefs ranging in price from a few cents to $150, and there are 
homespun garments worn alike by Galway market women and princesses of the 
blood, all these and other specimens transferred from the village factory 
at Gueedore to the Donegal village at the plaisance. 

Passing into the concert room, adorned with the works of Irish artists and 
the portraits of those whom Irishmen love to honor, we listen for a while 
to native melodies, chanted with harp accompaniment by the sweet songsters 
of Erin. Then stepping forth on the village green, we find ourselves in 
front of the ruined keep of Donegal castle, once the stronghold of the 
O'Donnells, the princes of Tyrconnel. In the garden behind rises to a 
height of 100 feet the round tower, a replica of one of these curious 
structures built more than a thousand years ago, presumably as places of 
refuge for the monks and their sacred vessels when Ireland was overrun by 
the Danes. In this garden is also a reproduction in miniature of the 
Giant's causeway, and in full size of "the wishing chair." 

Under the shadow of Donegal castle is the Japanese bazaar, filled with 
bronz