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VOLUME LXXXTI-NO. 87
ONCE MORE OUR BOYS STEP FOOT ON NATIVE LAND
* » . * .- » » » . * - ».. m*i
MY God, ain't it good to feel
California under your feet
a!"
The cry was almost hys
terical as a young soldier
stepped from he big transport Sher- I
man as she lay at Foisom-street wharf
yesterday morning. He was one of the |
first upon the gang-plank and thence ;
to the beard dock. A choking sensa
tion seemed to come in all the bronzed
throats of the boys as they heard him,
and eyes that had borne the blaze of
tropic suns unwinking were moist with
unshed tears as the returning heroes j
were brought to a full realization of
the fact that they once more trod their
native land.
This was the real home-coming. This 1
the end of the long and weary days of j
waiting. California was once more !
under their feet, and' the joy — the glad- j
ness of ii swept away all memories of
hardships of Luzon swamp and field. I
They were home and on the threshold
of the welcoming tribute such- as only
California can pay her sons.
At a very early hour the big trans- j
port swung into the berth and was
docked, ready for the disembarking of j
her precious load, but early as it was
there were many eyes aboard of her
that were open and many phantom
like forms crowded her bulwarks, anxi- j
ous to feel the first tremor of the
tuuch of home land. Just as the strid- j
tftt whistles of the city announced the
seventh hour, the first forms appeared j
in the gangway and the debarkation ;
began. For almost an hour the steady!
stream of humanity poured from . the
vessel's side, and company after com- I
pany lined up along the great dock \
and stood awaiting orders.
No Impatience was shown by the ,
Bturdy veterans. They had been
trained during those long hours at the '<
enemy's front to wait, and that train
ing stood them in right good stead ■
now when they were about to reap the '
fruits of their ' long and wearisome .
campaign. For fifteen months they j
had been away fighting for the honor \
of their country, and in fifteen minutes ;
more they would be in the welcoming
arms of relatives or friends who were
assembled by thousands and tens of
thousands just outside the big fence
also waiting, but with far less pa
tience.
It was a wise decision that precluded
a greeting on the dock, for the brief
■wait gave j time to recover • from the
momentary weakness which had
brought lumps to the throat and tears
to the eyes. After the Governor had
taken from his pocket, and read the
typewritten- address which had been
prepared for him, the pathos of it all
had passed away, and the smart com
mand of -attention" brought the men
quickly into position and the band
swung into place at the head of the
column, which marched with steady
tramp and set faces out toward those
who were waiting outside.
There was little cheering as the
column came in sight. There was a
I thing which was too deep for
cheers which was a more eloquent wel
come than all the huzzas that could
have emanated from thousands of
throats.
■ Yes, it was good to feel California
under foot once more, and when the
little woman with the babe in her arms
recognized the man' who had gone
forth from her fireside at his country's
call a great sigh that was almost a
sob evinced the sympathy of the vast
crowd as army rules and regulations
were set at naught, while husband and
wife were close clasped in each other's
arms and their mingled tears fell on
the wondering face of the child too
young to understand what it all meant.
Then humanity asserted itself and
police regulations as enforced by stal
wart bruecoats were swept aside while
the dun of the khaki was absorbed into
the homogeneous mass of color, as the
immense throng swarmed into the
board roadway and mingled with the
loved ones who had returned from the
jaws of death.
"Jack! Jack! My God. he's hurt.'
What was one fainting woman in a
crowd like that? The poor mother's
pent-up feelings found vent in that
despairing cry. and her unconscious
body was borne through the throng
which had no time for sentiment other
than the selfish one of a struggle to
The San Francisco Call.
FEASTING ON THE GOOD THINGS AT THE FERRY.
get close to its own loved ones.
Fathers, mothers, sisters and broth
ers forgot all else except that their
own had come back, and as the swell
ing tide of humanity rolled on toward j
the great depot where heavily laden j
tables groaned in waiting, it seemed |
as if the surging waves would over- j
whelm the stately edifice in their im- j
patience. All semblance of column
formation was lost, and at times it
looked as if no earthly power could
bring order out of the chaos which
reigned in the ' street. But gradually
the excess of emotion exhausted itself,
and BloWly the long line was re-formed
and the steady tramp resumed until j
the steps leading into the grand nave |
of the building were reached. Here
again were the scones of the street en
acted. The thronging relatives could
not bear to be parted even for a few
minutes from those who had been so
long away, and hysterical rushes were
made by women who forget everything
except that they wanted to feel again i
the touch of the dear hand and look
again into the precious faces of those j
who had gone forth to danger and had j
been returned living and loving.
Tears and kissep. sobs and nervous
laughter, hugs and hand-clasps were
the vent of fueling, and slowly the
column was permitted to pass within
the portals where the feast spread by
loving hands awaited it. ';
BREAKFAST AT
FERRY DEPOT
Heroes Surround a Long-
Looked-For Meal.
Eternal Stews of the Transport
Forgotten Under Its
Influence.
THE emotions crowded into that
short march of three blocks from the
transport dock to the Tiburon ferry
stairs were still manifesting themselves
in the faces of the volunteers and their
happy relatives when the presence of
the civil law stepped in to separate the
soldier from his hysterical relatives.
As fast as the company officers could
get their men into any sort of forma
tion city bluecoats formed in a double
i row to clear a passage for the boys to
I the breakfast r,oom above, where they
SAN FRANCISCO, SATURDAY, AUGUST 26, 1899.
: GRAND MILITARY
I ESCORT TO
| THEIR LAST CAMP
After Feasting by Relatives and Tributes by a Rejoicing
City the Day Ends in a Blaze of Glory,
could forget the eternal and infernal
"stew, stew, stew" of the Sherman and
make their first "square" meal in many
a long day. ■
Festooned with sweet peas, pinked
and geraniumed, the returned heroes
ascended two by two to the grand nave, !
to be met by still other relatives than
those from whom they had been stpa
rated below, by brothers and Bisters,
sweethearts and wives; to be kissed and
hugged and patted again and thumped;
to be laurel wreathed and cheered, and
to be seated at table, Mars magnili' .1
many hundred {imes, and served by i
bevies of pretty girls. Home again?
Well, they should smile! Anything
like it anywhere else in the whole, wide
world? Nit!
And while those that had ascended
first were mingling with the happy
crowds, and while still others of the
regiment and the batteries were slowly
parting from the throngs below, the
ladies in charge of the breakfast ar
rangements were putting the finishing
tpuches on the longest tables on earth.
There were six of them, three in the
north wing and three in the south wing
of the eastern corridor, each five hun
dred feet long. In the central space,
connecting with the grand nave through
the great raised doorways, were ar
ranged at right angles short tables for
the officers and for the Mayor and in
vited guests. To the rear of these, sep
arated from the eager crowds in the
! north and south corridors of the great
nave by high grills, was an orchestra.
The tables were artistically decorated.
Cloths of spotless white stretched as
far as the eye could see. Above them
were masses of flowers, festooned ever
greens and drooping ferns. Each of
fourteen sections, marked by a silken
banner lettered to correspond with the
letter of the company or battery for
which it had been set apart, bore in
its center an elaborate floral piece rep
resent ing guns stacked. The table to
the east of the center, reserved for
Colonel Duboce and other officers, was
specially decorated. Hanging on the
* TO-DAY'S PROGRAMME. J
t 11 a. m. till 1 p. m.— Band concerts at Union Square and Columbia Park.
* Bp. m.— Grand electrical display and parade. Parade moves through the illuminated par- J
i ade-way from Van Ness avenue to Market street to the ferry, where the column will j
J swing and countermarch up Market to Montgomery, to California, to Kearny, to j
I Market, and out Market to Van Ness avenue. z j
% 10:30 p. m.— Grand banquet in the ferry depot. j
Clasped Heart to Heart, Close in the Arms of
Their Loved Ones, They Forget Trials
and Privations,
wall above was an American shield, th* |
colors picked out in ■ sweet pea blossoms
and carnations. At the head of the
table itself was an American eagle
above a floral shield, across which had
| been stretched a white ribbon with the
J^ fe ?5l TH !^ Pfe fe
inscription, "You will find us ready."
The arrangement ol napery. glass and
china was as tasteful as could be. and
the general effect was heightened ad
mirably by the soft morning light
streaming through the wealth of win
dows facing the bay. To serve the
members of each company had been
assigned, or rather had been selected
from any number of volunteers, a num.
ber of pretty young women, relatives
of the soldiers they were so glad to see
again. They were on hand even be
fore the boys had marched on to the
cobbles of East street, making ready
for their coming, and as dearly as they
would have loved to mingle in the
crowd to greet the loved ones they held
their desires in abeyance, comforting
themselves with the knowledge that
they would soon have them for their
very own, for an hour at least, far
from the smothering throng. They
could hear the hum of the happy voices
outside, and they knew their time was
coming. The ladies In charge of the
va rictus tables were:
Company A— Mrs. S. Bert, Miss Dusen
herry. Mrs. Dunn.
Company B— Mrs. Baird, Mrs. Proul,
Mrs. Knell, Miss Knell.
Company C— Mrs. Hilton, Mrs. Howard,
Annie Switzer.
Company D— Mrs. Mr< 'roach. Miss Del
mas Miss Copgrove, Mrs. Gibson.
Company E—^rs. Steelc, Mrs. Clark,
Sirs. O'Connell.
Company F— Miss Dell, Miss Moss, Miss
Company G— Miss Henderson, Miss Spar
rr.wo. Miss Anderson.
Company ll— Miss Clara Miller, Miss
Miller. _ '•. TT . .
Company I— Miss Son, Miss Huber, Miss
Company X— Miss Burgman, Miss Green,
Miss Temple. _■■. » _
Company L— Mrs. Kahn, Miss Lezinsky,
Miss Conn. _ . ,„ _,
Company M— Mrs. Rehn, Miss Shannon,
Miss Seymour.
The waitresses were: Miss Edle Ames,
Miss Minnie Davids. Miss Ruth Jackson.
Miss Knell, Mrs. Fred Pickering, Miss
Evelyn Cohn. Mrs. Upright, Miss Barnen,
Miss May Bathax, Miss J. Kruse. Mrs.
Cohn, Mrs. Charles Dietrich. Miss Hipr
eard. Mrs. E. H. Kenip. Miss Frisbie, Mrs.
Pracht Miss Henderson, Miss Stoltz, Miss
Lottie Hessler, Miss Birdie Hessler, Miss
Pracht, Miss Burke, Miss M. Crosan, Miss
Badt, Miss Ryan, Miss Juliet Bertrand,
Mrs. L. J. McLaugblln, Miss McDermott.
All things come to those who wait
and a few minutes after 9 o'clock the
mess call was sounded by the company
buglers and the boys, who were none
the less hungry for all the excitement
through which they had just passed.
Bled Into the banqueting room through
the great door at the nortnern end.
Laurel wreaths for the glory they had
won awaited them at the very thres
hold. The ladies of Seven Pines Circle,
G. A. R., had fashioned the circlets of
bay for their heroes, and a committee
composed of Mrs. J. Mary Benley. Mrs.
J. Albert Noble, Mrs. Goodell and Mrs.
Julia Duhen, handed them over to the
pretty girl relatives to bestow. They
did It with a will, many of them with a
hug and a kiss, and not a soldier was
allowed to pass without his meed of
the green aureole of victory.
It took less time than it takes to tell
to seat each company of soldiers. The
great corridor filled up with the flower
covered, brown-clad- men, the daintily
clad handmaidens to the young gods
of war moved in serried lines, there
was a clattering of dishes, a clinking
of glasses, the jingle of knives and
forks and spoons, smoke curled from a
thousand steaming cups of coffee, and
the feast was on.
How the veterans fell to! How they
charged the trenchers and mowed
down the fields of lettuce. They went
at the double quick through the
oysters and the relishes and attacked
the turkey and the barnyard fricasee
en the run, Walsh's band very
thoughtfully playing at this stage of
the sortie, "Who say dat chicken in dis
crowd?"
What appetites they had! What
elasticity was displayed by stomachs
no longer fearful of the "stew" of the
Sherman! It was marvelous, even if
suggestive of a certain bicycle ad.
wherein "digestion waits on appetite
and health on both." It was worth
twice the price of admission, once to
the boys who were experiencing again
the joys of a table in civilization and
pig IPS JBISSPISa?S3RSS?I^^^S§
once for the spectators who witnessed
the onslaught.
There were some late-comers to the
feast, notably Colonel .Duboce and
Chaplain McKinnon, who had been de
tainfd outside by the press of people
desirous of clasping their hands. They |
got through at last, flanked by other j
members of the regimental staff, and !
as they went down to the officers' I
table they were loudly cheered all !
along the line. Notwithstanding their j
rank hunger gnawed at their vitals as
If did at those of the high private, and ;
they stretched their legs undar the !
board with avidity.
At the head of the central table were j
seated Mayor Phelan and A. M. Law
fence of the citizens' executive i^m- j
mittee, Mr. and Mrs. John F. Mefrill, j
Mrs. W. B. Harrington. Congressman !
and Mrs. Julius Kahn, Judge and Mrs. !
Robert Ferral; Mrs. R. R. Mackenzie;
Mrs. J. M. Griffiths, president ot the
Los. Angeles Red Cross Society; Rev. I
William R. Rader, Captain Nat Messer, ]
Captain James B. Lankershim of Los
Angeles, Rev. M. S. Levy, Mr. and
Mrs. Henry Sonntag, Grove P. Ayres,
Mrs. A. S. Townsend, the fairy god
mother of all the volunteers; Miss N.
J. Radigan, Rabbi Nieto and Miss Har
riet Levy.
Miss L. C. Knight. Dr. Rose Beere j
of Denver, Colo., and Miss Anna J.
Garlick, who returned with the volun
i teers, having served as nurses for
PBICE FIVE CENTS.
\ CIVIC PAGEANT \
\ TO-NIGHT I
I ENDS RECEPTION \
nearly a year, were guests at tho
colonel's table. Miss Garlick was with
the Californians from the start and
has ministered to them during their
service. Every man in the regimt nt
has a high regard for the little woman
because of her kindness to them whiir*
in hospital. As the volunteers entered
the breakfast hall they greeted her
with handshakes and pleasant words
as if they had not seen her for som-;
time. Although it was their usual cus
tom, their greetings attracted atten
tion to the nurse. *Miss Clarlick was
attired in a military dress of the same
material used in the uniforms of th*
volunteers. Dr. Beere was the first
woman to be granted permission by
the War Department to go to the
Philippines as a nurse. She returned
on the Sherman.
For a full half hour nothing was al
lowed to interfere with the stocking of
the commissary of the department of
the interior, not even the presence of
half a dozen photographers with
cameras as big as Krupp guns. One
course after another was pursued <>n
the menu card until the boys came.
under the heading of dessert, to the
word "cheese." Being soldiers, accus
tomed to obeying commands, and hav
ing no more holes in their belts to let
out, they did so.
Then from the far end of the cor
ridor came sounds of cheering. "Rah!
rah! rah!" The boys of a company
seated there were cheering the sisters
and mothers and wives and sweet
hearts who had waited on them. The
idea took like wildfire, and down tlio
long line came a succession of cheers
from the other companies for the re
spective groups of younu women who
had feasted them. There is an end to
everything, and the breakfast was no
exception to the rule. At a few
minutes past 10 o'clock the last volun
teer had arisen, fortified for the march
through the city. The Colorado regi-
mental band, which had come in dur
ing the breakfast, played a selection
while the boys were again exchanging
greetings with their new-found friends
and readjusting their belts to the new
conditions beneath. Miss Preciosa
Pracht, whose brother is a member of
Company M, First California Volun
teers, was heard on the cornet in a
number of patriotic airs, accompanied
by the Coloradans.
By this time it was half-past 10
o'clock, the hour set for the starting
of the triumphal march through the
city, and the men, broken up into
groups by their friends and relatives,
made their way downstairs, to be
greeted again by waiting crowds, to
be kissed and patted, hugged and
thumped and pelted with flowers and
cheered and cheered again. It needed
not the sign of "Welcome" on the ferry
front to let them know they were.
THROUGH THE
CITY STREETS
IT is worth a year of war, worth all
the horrors of the trenches, all the
sufferings of the hospital, worth
death itself, to march up the streets of
a city and meet such a welcome as
awaited the boys from across the sea.
No hardship is too heavy, no waiting
too long, if it lead to such a swirl of
wild enthusiasm. It started when the
