By Water to the Columbian Exposition Part 9

Betaking ourselves to the northern division, we were instructed--by various ill.u.s.trations--of the methods employed by the scientific branch of the Fish Commission in determining the habits, peculiar to denizens of water. Models and apparatuses showed the results of Fish Culture.

The displays in this unique building covering almost all the branches of modern science and arts, bore testimony to the fact that the United States now rank with the most powerful nations on the globe; and to this attainment only a little more than one century of development was requisite. This says everything for American enterprise and genius--and a country so young in a very old world.

The circ.u.mstance of its being a calm evening--with the prospect of a pyrotechnic display later--permitted us to remain on the Fair Grounds longer than we usually did; hence we determined to visit still another structure.

By crossing a bridge over the lagoon, we arrived at the _Fisheries Building_. In the main edifice we first saw fishing-tackles, nets, and other apparatuses used by fishermen, and shown by the American Net and Twine Co. The contiguous s.p.a.ce to the right was given up to the exhibits of several States in the Union, especially noted for fisheries, and of various foreign countries as j.a.pan, the Netherlands, Canada, France, Great Britain, Russia, and Norway. Walking through a curved arcade, we beheld on either side aquaria of an enormous capacity, inclosing both denizens of fresh and salt water. It is safe to say the display of aquatic life made here, could rival the greatest permanent aquaria in existence; not only as to their voluminousness, but the immense variety of their specimens.

Especially striking to the eye was a magnificent group of gold fishes. The huge bull-cat fish and the gigantic turtle were conspicuous by their monstrousness. We removed to the eastern extremity of the Fisheries Building, forming a s.p.a.cious circular pavilion. In the rotunda a basin, twenty-six feet wide, presented a beautiful scenic effect. Over rocks picturesquely arranged, the silver meshes of a brook wound their way, forming here and there white gushes of waterfall which contrasted agreeably with the moss covered stones, and the semi-aquatic plants. The latter adorned the pool below, in which golden-hued fishes moved lightly to and fro. The inspection of the angling pavilion at the extreme western side of the Fisheries Building completed our visit in this fine structure, whose exhibits demonstrated largely the fishery wealth of the United States.

Taking advantage of the extraordinary calmness of the atmosphere, our mindful commodore resolved to moor the yacht in vicinity of the Exposition Grounds. For, he wished to give us opportunity to witness the display of pyrotechnics announced for the latter part of the evening, in solemnization of the Illinois Day. Therefore, the "Marguerite" conveyed us to a place which proved exceedingly favorable for our design. Here, our floating home was anch.o.r.ed. Enjoying a full vista of the White City, we found a prolific source of admiration in the grand electric spectacles.

The illumination of the _Columbia fountain_ in front of the Administration Building, and the display of two electric fountains in the western extremity of the South Pond, were magical in effectiveness. Wonderful flash-lights blazed from the tops of the tallest towers, surmounting the larger structures. Whenever the operator threw the search-light investigably over the yacht, we shut our eyes spontaneously at its dazzling brilliancy.

As the gathering shadows of night wrapped land and water in darkness, the hour arrived in which the visitors on the Fair Grounds--who seemed to be almost as numerous as the sands on the sh.o.r.e--expected to view the scenic effects produced by means of fire.

We sat on the deck of the yacht as comfortably as in our _boudoirs_ at home. Nevertheless, we were able to enjoy _ad libitum_ the same sight that so many others in the White City could only see with difficulty, on account of the unusual throngs. When we reflected on this circ.u.mstance--so much in our favor--our hearts were filled with grat.i.tude toward our commodore, who had selected this excellent locality. From here we admired the exceedingly fine pyrotechnic displays. Girandoles pierced the sky in all directions, with rushing lines of fire. Sky-rockets exhibiting rich hues of purple, red, and green ascended through the air; and when reaching the highest point of their blazing paths, they discharged beautiful garnitures of floating stars, sparks, crackers, serpents, gold and silver rain. Tourbillions mounting and rotating through the atmosphere, formed brilliant spiral curves of fire. Splendid effects of changing color were brought to view by revolving fire-wheels. An appropriate _finale_ const.i.tuted the burning of the American flag, which bore a sublime character in the brightness of fire.

"Flag of the free heart's hope and home, By angel hands to valor given: Thy stars have lit the welkin dome, And all thy hues were born in heaven"

As the first faint smile of the morning peeped over the eastern wave, I rose--greatly refreshed by a sound sleep. Coming on deck, I found that the sun's unclouded orb already poured its rays of light upon the earth.

Our eyes rested with delight on the White City throned on its numerous isles, looking like a sea Cybele--ascending from the lake with her tiara of proud towers.

At our arrival on the Fair Grounds, Mr. James thoughtfully provided us with guides and rolling-chairs--vehicles which reminded us of the j.a.panese Jin-riki-sha.

The main entrance of the AGRICULTURAL BUILDING--adorned on either side by mammoth Corinthian pillars--ushered us into a vestibule, richly ornamented with appropriate statuary. From here, we reached a rotunda surmounted by a gigantic gla.s.s dome. When looking about on the main floor, we fancied ourselves to be in a city of pavilions. For, the States of the Union as well as the foreign nations had environed their displays with magnificent little temples and paG.o.das. To a great extent, they formed exhibits themselves, because in most cases the chief products of the respective country had been utilized for their construction. Nebraska, for example, had employed sweet corn for the erection of its pavilion.

Every state and territory was represented by its productions; the Northern States with Indian corn, wheat, oats, barley, rye, and other cereals; the South with cotton, rice, sugar, etc. Virginia, North Carolina, Kentucky, and Tennessee evinced their noted superiority in the culture of the nicotian plant, which is in such great favor with the consumers of tobacco.

Agricultural and other food displays were shown in great varieties by the foreign countries. In the German section the gigantic Chocolate Tower (built of several hundred tons of chocolate by the famous firm "Gebrueder Stollwerck" in Cologne) compelled admiration. The Liebig exhibit of canned and preserved meat was a prominent feature of this division. Great Britain showed specimens of grain from the English experimental grounds, representing the effects of artificial fertilization on the various seeds.

The contributions made by Canada embraced grain, seeds, and roots; and its eleven ton cheese const.i.tuted one of the unique exhibits in this edifice.

As in all great departmental structures, j.a.pan was well represented. It had a fine display of its chief exports--tea, rice, and raw silk. Russia's showing covered a s.p.a.ce of 32,000 feet. New South Wales, France, Mexico, Austria, Denmark, Sweden, and numerous other foreign countries demonstrated, likewise, the variety and wealth of their natural resources.

Besides the farm products of the world in all their diversity and perfection, agricultural machinery was exhibited: Devices of every description from the most primitive implements to the highly improved machines as they are in use at the present day. The ingenious arrangement of this display enabled the visitor to perceive at a glance the enormous progress made in that branch of industry. Thus, we viewed in the annex of the main floor one of the most perfected plows--the "Queen"--a trophy of modern inventiveness. And beside it stood an implement, which reminded us by its simplicity and unwieldiness of an apparatus, described in mythology as used by _Ceres dea agriculturae_--when teaching to mankind this important occupation.

The south-western portion of the first floor was covered with instructive contributions of American agricultural colleges and experiment stations.

They embraced the entire field of scientific research in all branches of husbandry; ill.u.s.trating the most improved methods of cultivation, and explaining how the best results may be secured.

The great galleries contained a fine wool exhibit, an interesting apiary display, dairy implements, and a vast collection of manufactured food products.

The mult.i.tudinous objects brought to view in this building, proved beyond doubt, that the standard of excellence in that ancient occupation has been achieved mainly with the a.s.sistance of scientific researches.

A colonnade formed the connecting link between the Palace of Agriculture and the Machinery Hall. In its center, from an archway--leading to the _live-stock exhibit_--we enjoyed a fine view down the lagoon--extending nearly a mile in length.

As adjuncts to the agricultural department, may be regarded the displays in the _Dairy_ and _Forestry Buildings_.

On entering the PALACE OF MECHANICAL ARTS, three elevated traveling cranes running from end to end of the structure, attracted our attention. They had been utilized in the work of construction, as well as in moving the machines presented to view. The platforms erected upon them, gave us occasion to look upon the entire machinery exhibition. The driving power used in the main building and annex was steam; excepting two small sections driven by electric motors. Adjoining the south side of the edifice extended the enormous power plant. It supplied the Machinery Hall with a total steam power of about 3,000 horses generated by twelve engines. The entire plant, comprising over sixty steam-engines, and operating 127 dynamos, represented a most stupendous display of mechanical energy hitherto unequaled. Its total capacity was equivalent to 20,000 H.P.

The domestic exhibits located in the western portion of the main building--but mostly in the annex, revealed the marvelous progress made during the last decades in this wonderfully prospering country. Shown by great firms from almost every state and territory were devices of various forms: Motors and apparatuses for the generation and transmission of power--fire-engines and other appliances for extinguishing a conflagration--machine tools and devices for working metals--machinery for the manufacture of textile fabrics and clothing, for cutting wood, for typesetting, printing, embossing, book making and paper working, lithography, and photo-mechanical process, for working-stone, clay, and other minerals. In short, there were machines of every description employed in all industrial pursuits imaginable; yea, even appliances for facilitating the housekeepers' daily duties as laundry- and dish-washing machines.

In fact, it must require a considerable effort to excogitate novel labor-saving devices. Nevertheless, man's ever active ingenuity constantly increases the number of meliorated contrivances.

The pump exhibit was grouped around a tank of water, comprising an area of 7,500 feet. Here at the junction of the main hall and annex, scores of modern pumps were in active operation.

Of the foreign countries we found Germany best represented, quant.i.tatively as well as qualitatively. The other prominent displays were made by France, Great Britain, Canada, Belgium, Russia, Spain, Italy, Mexico, New South Wales, Austria, and Switzerland.

Here, the mechanical engineer was enabled to make studies of incalculable profit for his professional career; and even the lay mind received a vast amount of information.

We abandoned the Machinery Hall at its northern extremity, and repaired to the most magnificent structure on the Exposition Grounds. The exterior of the ADMINISTRATION BUILDING, so rich in architectural treatment, had compelled our admiration, to be sure; but the interior features even exceeded it in splendor. The four mammoth entrances were beautifully adorned by statuaries of emblematic character. There exist but few edifices of similar character, whose ornamentations rival those of its interior dome, which rose 200 feet from the floor.

The four corner pavilions, four stories high, contained offices for the various departments of the Administration; Board and Committee rooms; the Postoffice; a Bank, etc.

An exhibit, manifesting the unrivaled wealth of the republic, and placed in the center of the rotunda on the first floor was an excellent reproduction of the Capitol in Washington in miniature, erected of silver coins: indeed a master-piece. I shall leave it to the reader to find out how many of the half dollar-pieces were needed for the construction of this unique building, contributed by the U.S. Government. To our regret Mr. George R. Davis, Director-General of the Columbian exposition, whom we intended to call upon, was absent. So we determined to have the ELECTRICITY BUILDING next in our programme.

The sundry appliances of electricity dispersed in all parts of the grounds, gave us already a conception of the incomparable rapidity with which it has developed--both as an industry and science. The intramural railway demonstrated the latest application of electric motor power to elevated railroads.

The illumination of the grounds and buildings showed the marvelous progress achieved in electric lighting, and the expertness in obtaining brilliant spectacular effects. The electric launches on the lagoons manifested the usage of electricity for water-transportation.

All these practical exhibits represented purely commercial features, whereas the displays in the building--we just had entered--offered a field of relevations as regards the extraordinary accomplishments in the electrical science. They embraced all the improvements from the earlier inventions to the latest marvels.

In the southern portion of the main floor, the United States showed various devices for creating the three economic commodities--light, heat, and power.

With great interest we inspected the numerous apparatuses ill.u.s.trating the phenomena and laws of electricity--the instruments for electrical measurements--the electric batteries--and the machines for producing electrical currents by mechanical power. How transmission and regulation of these currents are effected, could be studied by a vast number of devices.

A very interesting group const.i.tuted the electric motors and their manifold applications as to street and other railways; to mining, to elevators, pumps, printing presses, and domestic appliances.

The creation of light by electricity was beautifully elucidated by the weird illumination of the Edison Light Tower in the center of the building, and the Egyptian Temple in its south-eastern portion. Countless incandescent lamps were glowing in all the colors of the rainbow. The luminary effect gave us the impression as if a fiery serpent was meandering along these iridescent gla.s.s-tubes with inimitable velocity.

Among the inventions of later date may be reckoned the use of electricity in heating; especially for industrial operations as electric forging, welding, brazing, tempering, etc.

The lay mind is almost incapable of estimating the utilarian capacity of this great property. Even many branches of modern sciences have received eminent advancement by its utilization; such as surgery, dentistry, therapeutics, metallurgy, chemistry, etc.

Germany and France made the most commendable foreign display. Great Britain, Brazil, Austria, Italy, j.a.pan, and Canada had contributed in accordance with the development of this novel industry within their territory.

The gallery was devoted to the wire exhibit and lighter scientific apparatuses. Here were placed all the recent improvements applied to telephony and telegraphy.

Professor Elisha Gray's sensational invention--the telautograph--in active operation, attracted many spectators. It is a very ingenious contrivance, of which I have given a detailed description in my pamphlet on electricity--recently published in Cincinnati, O., by the Burgheim Publishing Co.

The great number of exhibits demonstrated the achievements in the economic usage of electricity during an amazingly short period. In fact, the electrician has obtained unequaled results in his profession. To him is due--to a great extent--the high stage of perfection in sciences, arts, and industries at the present day.

Nevertheless, the field of electrical scientific researches is by no means exhausted. However, an entirely new era will have dawned, when the ever-increasing knowledge reveals to an ingenious inventor a method to apply the electric current to every-day-usage as easily and inexpensively as we utilize water at present.

Then the epoch has appeared which may be properly styled the "_Happy_" or "_Golden Age_." For, many cares and sorrows will be removed at once.

The conscientious housekeeper, for instance, whose domestic duties often exhaust her bodily strength, will find her burdens greatly lightened. She has no more to suffer from the intolerable heat of her cooking-stove, while furnishing repasts on oppressive summer days. The electric current will cause the water to boil--the meat to broil--and the potatoes to fry.

Yea, her dinner will be cooked ere she is conscious of that fact.

In like manner the electric flat-iron will smoothen her linen without fatiguing her. But not only the lady of the house will rejoice; also the poor, hen-pecked husband will be in transports of delight, as it will make his path easier in many ways. The constant complaints he was. .h.i.therto obliged to endure, will grow mute for ever, and the curtain lecture will be no more.

Furthermore, should circ.u.mstances compel the active business man to part with his wife for a long time, the marvelous inventions enable their mutual intercourse during the separation as if time and s.p.a.ce were unknown factors. The lady need not suffer long from inquietude concerning her husband's safe arrival; for the receiving instrument of her telautograph reproduces instantaneously his own handwriting. A parcel, sent to her by express, contains a cylinder to the improved phonograph. When bringing it in proper contact with this wonderful instrument, she hears her consort's voice, just as if he was by her side, and a thousand leagues were but a few inches. Moreover, Edison's kimetograph portrays the beloved features of her absent spouse. She is now perfectly consoled; for the radiant expression of his countenance manifests health and happiness.