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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 1, 1916)
THE OMAHA SUN6AY BEE: OCTOBER 1. 1916. -M r, : ! ' " ; ' ' I Nebraska's Wonderful Story Told in Pageant Covering Aeons of Time V . , . ; . : , r- : ' i w ma ITH A SWEEP of the eya, covering a pcnou 01 a sin gle hour, perhaps, the hit lory of Nebraska for a mil lion yean is to be re 1 hi history, if the weather be fair on! the afternoon of October 5, will be reviewed by sco.es of thousands of people from Nebraska and ad joining states. For the great drama, covering a Vast succession of accumulated cen turies, is to be re-enacted on that day :m Omaha, by means of the historical -parade, a magnificent procession come two miles in length, and includ ing thirty-one costly floats and fif teen historical groups. t .For this is the semi-centennial .year.. Nebraska is a half century old this -rear as a state. She was graduated 'from "territoryhood" a half century ago, and admitted to statehood. ;, .This year, then, a big committee, known as the committee of one hun dred, influential men from every cor nier of the state, has been, working up emi-centennial celebration in com memoration of this event Ak-Sar-Ben Helps, ;- ;The Knights of Ak-Sar-Ben took up the work of producing Omaha's ,P4rt of the celebration, and the result 1Jthe creation of the many historical .floats and historical groups, worked . out by the official artisan, Gus Rente, assisted by the fund of historical Jcflowledge of General John Lee Webster and others. , ilr. Renze has had to master great, 'thick volumes of history to work out these floats. Likewise he has had to .devour great volumes of geology to learn what kind of tropical animals ' nd lizards flourished in this region million years ago. For he has them all in the parade, He begins with the froplcal age.' long before the glacial age, and brings this territory down thfough the successive ages. . Title Float The pageant begins with the figur ative "title float," surmounted by an allegorical figure of History,', and hewing upon the polished sides of a majestic boulder the names of many of the rugged and stalwart men who ielped in building the infant atate. ; Float "No. 2, "the Tropical Age," 1 represents the aeons ago, as shown by geological remains, when this Country was a limitless reach of trop ical verdure, with mammoth flowers and huge prehistoric animals. After that, through ages came the gradual change in the earth's axis, and there crept remorselessly down from the north great stretches of glacial ice, crushing out "before them the gorgeous life of the tropics, and all became a boundless, cold, gray desolation. This is shown in Float No. 3, with its towering icebergs and ' Hit entrapped mastodon. ' " In ages following, the sun forced lh grim icebergs northward, and How came the first appearance of hu man life in the prehistoric Indians, whose habits and customs have been faintly discovered by the delvings of patient scholars among the hills of eastCrit Nebraska. They will be thown marching as Group No. 1, with their semi-Aztec garb and pack car riers. Darius Coronado. Next in order, upon horseback and foot, will come the daring Coronado and his Spanish cavalier, who in 1541 visited these Nebraska regions in search of the riches of Quivera, sup posed to be wealthier in gold than the seven cities of Cibola. These warriors and men-at-arms were ac companied by valiant sons of the church, staves and pack horses. Following Coronado and his band of Spaniards will come a cavalcade of Indians of that period, with con temporaneous costumes and accoutre ments. - Float No. 4 will show a Itxndan Indian hut or willow lodge, with In dians dressed in the costumes, as Cor onado and his companions saw and described them. This float will be followed by Group No. 4, consisting of modern Indians, on horseback and on foot, ith war bonnets and all of the mod ern redman's gaudy trappings. This party eacorts Float No. S, with its teepee. The reclining warriors and their squaws are engaged in scraping buffalo hides and in crushing corn. As a fitting complement there fol lows Float No. 6, showing the van ishing races of man and, animal. The Indian on horseback is pursuing with bow and arrow the fleeing buffalo. Hardy Traders. Next follows group No, 5 Malley Brothers, French Canadians, hardy traders, who traversed almost entire ly across the state in 1739, and who christened the Platte river. . They were the advance couriers of trade and the first example of the spirit of western commerce. As a pathetic sequel Is float No. 7 with a noble equestrian figure of Chief Blackbird, gazing over the lands his people were soon to lose, looking for the approach of white men up the Missouri river, wifh whom he bargained and traded. His grave is upon the top of Blackbird hill, in Thurston county, where he is believed to have been buried sitting astride his favorite war horse. The history of Nebraska finds its next episode across the Atlantic ocean amidst the wars and councils of Europe. The American continent was being gradually partitioned, and the vast region west of the Missouri river was under the flag of France. The bold and master stroke of Jeffer son in 'purchasing this region from Napoleon is shown by Float No, 8. (The Louisiana Purchase) represent ing the consummation of the bargain by which this mighty empire of the west came under the Stars and Stripes. This float shows with his toric fidelity the contracting parties. Napoleon, Talleyrand, Marbois and the American commissioners, Living ston and Monroe. The accesortes. the French and American colors, the purple-draped throne, the golden crown and lilies combined, make a most striking picture. Lewis and Clark. Float No. 9 fittingly represents the expedition of Lewis and Clark under the commission of Thomas Jefferson, at they pass up the Missouri river in 1804. It was near old Calhoun that they landed on Nebraska soil and held their council with the Indians, which is represented by Float No. 10.- This expedition thereafter con tinued its perilous journey along ttie rivera, through the valleys and over the mountains, until it had fixed the boundary of American rights and had planted the, American flag westward to the Pacific ocean. Following Float No. 10 will come the expedition of Lieutenant Zebulon M. Pike with his group of cavalry men, his pack train and mu'es, who in 1806 carried the American flag across the Nebraska prairies and raised it on the mountains of Colo rado. In another group the Seven As torians immortalized by Washing ton Irving, who, after having with stood almost unbelievable hardships, were on their return across the prai ries of Nebraska from the Pacific in 1813. Float No. II Represents the early traders with a facsimile of the trad ing post of Peter Sarpy, with fts broad southern porches. ' In the fore ground stands Logan Fontenelle, the well known Omaha chieftain. Grouped about the next float will be seen a representation of General Atkinson's command of 1819, with his infantry men, his bugler and-his pack horses, the party all caparisoned in the bril liant uniforms of that day. Fort Atkinson. Float No. 12 Shows in miniature facsimile Fort Atkinson, where Cal houn now is. The rude, substantial log blockhouse, guarded by soldiers, was designed' as a haven of refuge for the settlers and- their families from sudden Indian raids, when the tomahawk and the scalping knife spared neither man, woman nor child, Next will come an Emblematic float of the Missouri compromise of 1820, whereby Nebraska means "Free Soil," and the heated debates of that day were the forerunners of the angry, appeal to arms, which came two score years later, to decide if "A govern- (Coatlnwd om Tmgm Four, Coluna Om.) I K.&P. K.&P. K.&P. T WELCOME Creamery men, Dairymen Producemen To . FALL FESTIVAL VISIT US Oar Sunplln and Prist Will Islam! Yu. Kennedy & Parsons K.& P. 1 307-9-11 Jones Strut, OMAHA. T sjsMMaMaMMHalVIs -'4- :&mm"& m&mMmmm, U --.'Sit -iitUWarr .jfekin&n' i 4. to i ! f r, a V,rL,-(ta- ... r-f-' ISejaSamSmt'r' ',1 Wms ( f -J f? $ f11 "'r"' iijui '.ye New Home of "The Old Reliable" ; Lee-Coit-Andreesen Hardware Company OMAHA WHOLESALE HARDWARE This buildii g is under construction and is built to enable us to give our. customers the best possible service. It will have 250,000 square feet, or about six acres of floor space, and will be equipped with every modern device to facilitate prompt handling of orders. N r ' , 1 1 Ml I H illlUIIIIIIIIIII ITWffrll IIIIIIHIIMIHIimilllllllll'l ij 1! K. i 1' 1 1 TOTAL RECEIPTS FOR August, 1916 7,967 can. August, 1915. . .2,915 cars O if&S&i' tit I Increaie over " ''time month last year 5,052 can TOTAL SHIPMENTS FOR August, 1916. . . .7,671 can August, 1915. . . .2,404 can i Increase over same . month ' last year 5,267 can Z v IT" . JS n , to lit (pi ,s tiJ.v I f It tit I Hrf ri r if It If v v Y Iw. I I Nil aH 1 Ssiste '.V t y aWE . i - " i (UmmI . ' A market etrictly for the producer, for it it the only terminal grain market that does not receive shipments from other terminals. The growing market of the United States. Boitwtck Photo. OMAHA GRAIN EXCHANGE, 19th and Harney Sts. -i a. 'Z1 i """" ......... 1 ... 1 ..... 1 . ft 1 L i '"""""llllllll T ' fistAiiii 1 1 1 1 1 I II UmiJUmimimmA 1 1 i r 1 1 1 t t f t f