johnny comes marchingchroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85066387/1899-07-15/… · ·...
TRANSCRIPT
The San Francisco Call.
PRICE FIVE CENTS.SAN FRANCISCO, SATURDAY, JULY 15, 1899.VOLUME LXXXVI-NO. 45.
JOHNNYCOMES MARCHINGHOME
SAN FRANCISCO'S ROYAL RECEPTIONTO THE OREGON VOLUNTEERS
the crowds unplaced. Express and de-livery wagons were drawn on sidestreets to be temporary grand standsfor the curious, ladders were pressedInto service in doorways, and, in atleast one instance, on the .sidewalk, asperches for birds of girls. ':\u25a0'\u25a0>. '\u25a0
Almost as great as the waiting
crowds was the profusion of decora-tion. Flags, flags,, flags, where,
a foggy firmament studded with in-numerable stars and stripes. Fromcurb to cupola .they flew jauntily
as if possessed of the spirit ofthe occasion. In the double lineof the welcoming throng from theferries to the Presidio gate every, otherman or woman or child Held a flag ora spotless handkerchief to . heightenthe, color effect, and, when . the. timecame, waved .a welcome.to^ the pass.r-s'
boys ;in brown. '.}, Flowers were carriedin profusion," lending their perfumes
and adding their beauty to! the grand
ensemble of the San Francisco girl.
Many were heard to. remark thatnot even at the recent Fourth ofJuly parade had such a myriad of peo-ple gathered on the streets. Itlookedthat way and it was remarkable whenone considers the early hour, the pene-trating fog and the chill breeze. Itwas not very remarkable, however,
Photo by J. R. Hodson, 416 Geary street.
The home-come men of Summers' command find close quarters in the company streets at the Presidio.
BATTLE-SCARRED, war-worn,
with ranks decimated by dis-ease and Filipino bullets, theboys of the Second Oregon,forming the vanguard of the
volunteer army returning from thetropics, disembarked yesterday morn-ing from their transports and marchedthrough the city on their way to thePresidio to be honorably discharged.
All San Francisco was on the streetto receive them.
Little more than a year ago the sameregiment at full strength, the flower, ofthe patriotic manhood of the northernState, headed for the front, followingthe still echoing footsteps of the FirstCalifornia. The same crowds that hadchorused the city's godspeed to its de-parting best beloved gathered along theline of outward march to give thestrangers a parting cheer and wishthem luck on their way to battle. Bandsplayed stirring airs, the flag of theircountry Hew on every side, men yelled
themselves hoarse and women fairly
showered them with fruit and flowersand kisses. They were as sturdy look-ing a lot as one could wish to see andhigh were the hopes that they wouldprove towers of strength to rernforcethe boys of California in the hour ofneed.
Those hopes were justified. In manya hard-fought field the Oregoniansshowed the mettle of which they weremade. From Maraqulna to San Fer-nando, in a semicircle, they swept theisland of Luzon in Wheaton's flyingbrigade.. At San Pedro Macate, at Ca-loocan, ii: the charge at Ma.labon, theyhad at the enemy, marking his flightby his dead. Through Norzagaray theywent to Maasin, following their colonelacross the river under a terrific fire,driving the enemy but of the breast-works. Their work ended at San Fer-nando, after forty onsets in as manydays, sixteen dead on th" field andeighty-six wounded in action.
With such a record no wonder thereturning volunteers feel proud of theirregiment and their brave leader; nowonder, despite the holes in their ranks,the survivors thrilled at the recollectionof their deeds and held high their headsas they put foot once again on theirnative soil to march through the liv-ing streets of San Francisco, to hearagain the cheers, to see the flutteringflags, to be showered with flowers andbombarded with glances by the fair.
Battle-scarred, war-worn, weary asthey must have been from longconfine-ment on the transports, the Oregonianswould have been less than human hadthey not stepped out proudly, the heroicfigures ln one of San Francisco's mcstspontaneous outbursts jof patriotism.Fewer of them parsed .. up the city's
great artery, it is true, than marchedso bravely to the transport fourteenmonths ago. The echo of their foot-steps was less strong than the sturdy
tramp of their departure. ,Their cheekswere sallow from tropic sun and sunkenfrom hardship and exposure, but theypresented yesterday a picture never to
be forgotten of military virtue reward-ed by the plaudits of a patriotic people.
The men were eager for the march.Long before the first streak of dawnthe transports Newport and Ohioweighed anchor and steamed in from
the stream to the Folsom-street pier,where preparations for disembarking
were soon under fullhead. There wereno sluggards on either ship. All were
forms; buttons were polished and bay-onets brightened; shoes were polishedand hats were dusted, and all wasready for the descent into God's owncountry. Breakfast was served aboard,
the men were lined up, and it was notlong after the sunrise gun was firedthat the -three battalions forming theregiment were once more together onthe pier.
Outside the gates thousands awaitedtheir coming, as they had day afterday for a week. East street, from Har-
rison to Market, was a perfect jam ofmen and gayly dressed women and chil-
dren. The chill in the air and themurky fog could not deter them fromthe very first glimpse obtainable of theheroes come home. Up Market street
as far' as the eye could reach, out
Golden Gate to Van Ness and up VanNess, blocks and blocks beyond the re-viewing stand, humanity was packed
as closely as possible, all along the lineof march. Not an available footing wasto be had half an hour after the marchwas taken up; not a window that was
Photo by J. R. Hodson, 416 Geary street. ; -,_., '
The men of the Oregon regiment convalescing from the ravages of disease or recovering from .bullet S woundsformed one of the features of the parade. They were livingreminders of conditions as they exist, and were applauded
for the sufferings they had undergone. '. i'
Ianxious to get ashore, many of them soI much so that they had slept but-little'during the night. The morning ablu-tions were performed -with haste andicare; wrinkles were pressed out of unl-,». .____.-__._..___. :
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unoccupied; no perch whereon onesmall could perch with saftey thatdid 'not held two; roofs were crowded,
•cornices were pre-empted, balconieswere filled/,and still tliere were those in
when one comes ; to cr "sider the SanFrancisco character. Time and timeagain have the people of ..this city ,demonstrated
'their patriotism and
shown the spontaneity .with:which. they |
honor demands upon. it. Say the wordand it's not always necessary even to
do that—and the town is ablaze. Flags
fly at a second's notice, bunting isdraped and banners strung; bands play,whistles'" '-scream;- i_Annoni/b00n.. -bells;clang, fires are lighted and r. celebra-tion of immense proportions is in fullswing before one knows it. That isSan Francisco's way of doing things
and that is the way she did it yester-day for the Oregon boys—only more so.Early or late, rain or shine, the city isalways ready— sometimes the proces-sions are not.
Not so yesterday. As anxious aswere the patriotic crowds to .receivethem the Oregon volunteers were eager
and, the gates to the pier had hardly
closed behind them when Major Nobleand .Troop F, Sixth United StatesCavalry, designated as an escort to thevolunteers, arrived, the troopers taking
up 'heir stallon 'on • tbe-Trtstasld_-'': ofEast street, Bear the dock. Ordinarily
the cavalrymen would have attracteda good deal of attention. This timethey did not. for the very good rea-son that all eyes were strained for asight of the Oregonians. ;v_-
Repeated bugle calls from beyond thegates gave notice that the regimentwas forming. The hands on the ferry
depot clock pointed to 8:45, a solitaryhorseman,
'Major Noble, resplendent in
full uniform and tossing horsehair.
•Photo \u25a0 by.J. R. Hodson, 416 Geary street.Major General Shafter, U.S.' A., commanding the Department of the Pacific,
and his staff, at Van Ness avenue and Bush street, awaiting the approach ofColonel Summers' 1 troops. \u0084'"..:' ;
to step out and get' the homelike feel
of the pavements of Frisco, as they call
It. Their blood, thinned somewhat'by
the torrid suns of the tropics, . waschilled by- the -low-lying fogs on thetransport pier and they stamped aroundImpatiently to keep it in" circulation.Outside the jam of city people shivered,
but did not mind. Bodily discomfortwas nothing compared to. the desire of
the crowd toj give the veteran volun-
teers a real California' send joff and soit;did not rebel ;at being ;jostled by itsown recoil or being shoved around by
policemen.The police were early on the ground,
and had their hands fullin keeping or-der in what might easily have becomea chaos. The entire harbor squad, un-der Captain Dunleavy and SergeantsCook, Mahoney _nd Brophy, assistedby a detail of ten men from the iSouth-ern station, were kept busy atithetransport dock. Fortunately for every-
]body, arrangements were perfect, and1there .were no.delays. Governor Geer|and |his staff were driven ,down . in<hacks ishortly after half-past 8 o'clock,
rode out from the transport dock. Ashe did so a loud "Forward., march!"was heard. The Call . cannon ; in thetower of the Claus Spreckels buildingboomed forth the signal, and the vol-unteers were, again, on American soil.
The. re-entry of Colonel ,Summersand his men was greeted with theloudest, -strongest, longest shout thatever went up in San Francisco. Al-most simultaneously it seemed .- toburst from the throats of the tens andtens of thousands waiting to do honorto the incoming heroes. At the sametime bands . stationed all along thestreet, as ifimbued with the same idea,struck up that stirring air, "WhenJohnny Comes Marching Home."Gongs sounded, fish-horns tooted, cow-bells and _car-bells clanged, revolverswere shot in air, bombs exploded, andcrackers were '.touched off. The. linewas formed, the artillery band startedup a livelymarch, and the triumphantjourney was commenced.
"Here they come! Here they come!"was shouted, and come they did, in the
.foil-winglorder: ...... ;...-.V»I.
Chief of Police Lees.; Third-ArtilleryBand.
Troop F, Sixth United States Cavalry,Captain E. I^. "Wilcox commanding.
Governor Geer of Oregon and party In
.\u25a0>•'<- \u25a0'. '?\u25a0\u25a0\u25a0 .-..-;-.carriages. _...' \u0084.- >
Second Regiment Oregon Volunteers,Colonel Owen Summers commanding.
Captain of Police Spillnne.Battery C, Third United States Artillery,
Captain James L. Califf commanding.
"Here they come!" "Here they
come!" was repeated from the ferriesin a semicircle to North Beach and thewaitingcrowd, too far up the street fora 'first glimpse of the procession,swayed out on the pavements to get it.The police charged them, none doing
nobler work titan Sergeant MichaelJoseph Conboj, who makes the mostthreatening descents and ends up withthe gentlest laying on of hands on aholiday crowd of "army man an th*foorce." Again and again The Call can-non boomed out a welcome to the ad-vancing regiment, the mingled din ofbells and horns, exploding bombs andthrillingcheers became something in-describable.
The advance had reached the junc-
tion of Third, Market and Kearny
streets when the pandemonium reachedits height. One could not hear most ofthe noises for some of the others. They
were not for the drum major, nor for
Chief Lees in his motorless buggy, butfor Colonel Summers and his heroicmen. The commanding figure at thehead of the regiment looked like thatof a demi-god as it sat the spirited baycharger. A campaign hat sat jauntily
on a thatch of silver gray surmounting
a clear-cut face. The trim-fitting uni-form of kharki perfectly fitted thefigure, showed to advantage its grace.Certainly the Oregon Regiment shouldbe proud of its handsome chief. Helooked the ideal soldier.
Cheered and cheered again allalong the street. Colonel Summerswas compelled many times to raisehis hat and salute the crowd. Infront of The Call office a gray-haired man rushed out and pre-sented the hero of Maasin with a beau-tiful bouquet of blood red carnations.The colonel shook the donor's handarid while The Call band played aquickstep the first battalion of the Ore-gonians passed to a position in front ofthe office and halted. . -
The cannon boomed from the. cupolaat regular intervals, punctuating withits deep- toned roar the "deafening"Pop," "pop," "pop," of innumerablefirecrackers from the Examiner build-ing. The first lot were touched off asthe head of the regiment passed, andthe last had not stopped cracking tillthe parade had gone on and was dis-appearing from view up Market street,
the crowd closing up behind.The men of the regiment showed
plainly in their marching that they weresuffering from the long imprisonmentin the transports. The stiffness wasnot yet out of their limbs, and theslight chill in the air was cold to themcoming as they did from the burning
suns of the Philippines. Aside from alittle halt in the step of a man or twoin the line, and the sight of the ambu-lance following with the convalescingwounded, one might not have thought
that the volunteers had been under se-vere fire. The ambulance told the tale,
however, and the rear ranks of severalcompanies showed where those oncebelonged who rest beneath the sod.
The survivors, however, looked everyinch;the soldiers they have provedthemselves, arid at \u25a0 every step on the,
way they gave evidence that they ap-preciated the whole-souled reception
.being accorded them. At every stopthey made on the route enthusiasts.rushed
- out, shook hands wish_the__»
SICK AND WOUNDED APPROACHING THE REVIEWING STAND.
ALL READY TO REVIEW THE OREGONIANS.
OREGONIANS HAVE LOTS OF COMPANY TO THEIR CAMP.
"
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GIVEN AWAY***With each cash WANT ADVERTISEMENT or-
dered in NEXT SUNDAY'S CALL a MAGNIFI-CENT PORTRAIT OF ADMIRAL DEWEY,printed in ten colors, size 14x21 . inches, .ready for framing. \u25a0/__ ::-
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I GIVEN AWAY...""
IWith each cash WANT ADVERTISEMENT or-dered in NEXT SUNDAY'S CALL a MAGNIFI-CENT PORTRAIT OF ADMIRAL DEWEY,printed in ten , colors, size Wx2l "'inches, .-:ready for framing.... — __
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