CHAPTER V.

AMONG OTHER NATIONS.

The Village of the. Almond-Eyed Mongolian— The Electric Theater— The Libbey Glass Works— The
Ferris Whtd the Greatest Piece of Machinery in the World— Pretty Imitation of La Tour Eiffel
— Carl Hagenbeck's Menagerie — The Big Black Dahomeyans.

MONG the other villages is that of China. The peculiar
bell-shaped minarets and pagodas stamp the architecture
distinctive of far away Cathay. Here the almond eyed Mon-
golian is seen as at home and not as "Ah Sing, laundry-
man." The main building in the group is 100x150 feet and
80 feet high, exceeding large for a house in the native coun-
try. The coloring is most unique. Beginning at the bottom
the successive panels are painted the prismatic colors in reg-
ji^ ular order, starting with the violet edge of the rainbow. In the
center of the building is a splendid garden filled with rare shrubbery
from the "Flowery Kingdom." A little further along is the tea garden,
showing the methods of raising, drying and packing of tea; here one
can secure a taste of this beverage, minus sugar and cream in most ap-
proved style. On the second floor are shown samples of the Chinese literature
from time immemorial. Beautiful works of art, painting, pottery and bronze, in
whose workmanship they are so renowned, are exhibited extensively. One gallery
is devoted to a temple with priests and attendants revealing the methods of wor-
ship and the display of idols and brass and ivory gods, Joss occupying the post of
honor on a high pedestal. Gay lanterns swing from every projecting beam, bal-
cony and gallery, while every door and wall is emblazoned with their gaudy signs
in black, red and gold. A museum with artistic wax figures and designs from hu-
man models and relics of the time of Confucius. There are also bazaars and shops
innumerable where silks, curious, trinkets, ornaments, and samples of native teas,
can be procured as souvenirs.

But while every phase of the life of the people is represented, perhaps the
the most interesting is the Chinese theatre. The music which seems to be the prin-
ciple part of the performance is simply horrible; the orchestra plays upon a variety
of inslruments unknown to the English dictionary but somewhat resembling violins,
guitarr,, drums and gongs. The musicians work like blacksmiths and the loud cym-
bals, triangles and braying wind instruments keep up a constant din; their concert,
a succession of squeaks, rattles and bangs, ludicrous in its quieter intervals, and hid-
eous in its more violent fits, provokes wonder at the taste of the nation which could

S7

'•- ^ ~I:;:=^':S=- J?

SXMit CHARMER. MIDWAY PLA1SANCE.

HISTORY OF THE WORLD'S FAIR.

581

invent, tolerate and enjoy such discord. The acting is all done in front of the mu-
sicians and no women ever appear upon the stage, their characters being taken by
men who talk in a sing-song tone and falsetto voice, completely deceiving the list-
ener. The play is usually of some alleged classic drama or scenes in the life of
some military hero and usually runs through several daj's. There are no stage cur-
tains or shifting scenes and if they wish to convey the idea that the scene is in a
forest, a bush on top of a chair is brought to the front of the stage, while the seashore,
a field, the street, interior of a palace or a hut are all suggested by similar devices or
symbols. When an actor falls in war or passion, instead of being carried off or
hidden behind a drop, he usually gets up and trots off. The costumes are a mar-

KENT LABORATORY CHICAGO UNIVERSITY.
Near Entrance to the World's Fair.

vel of gaudiness but devoid of all elegance. The troupe here .3 considered by the
celestials to be a representative one and great crowds throng to experience the
pleasure of an unintelligible Chinese show.

One of the most charming places for a stay of fifteen minutes is the Electric
Theatre. The theater itself is one of the unique things of the Plaisance and of the
Fair. The seating capacity is 100, It is lighted by electricity, cooled by electric-
ity, and the performance is purely electrical. It is called "A Day in the Alps." The
stage is an opening of about six feet, which shows a most perfect Swiss scene. In
the distance are the snow-covered peaks and the valleys, and in the foreground the
foliage and pleasant homes, and everywhere the clear blue atmosphere character-
istic of Switzerland. The opening scene is just before daybreak. There is a faint
glimmering of stars before the sun commences to touch up the snow-topped mouo-

582

HISTORY OF THE WORLD'S FAIR.

tains. As the light of day dispels the mist of darkness, you can hear in the dis-
tance the peasants singing the "Jodel." Then a storm comes up and the flashes of
lightning and the thunder make the audience instinctively gather themselves a little
closer in the dark theater to get out of the rain. The sunset comes with the "Al-
pine glowing," then darkness and starlight, with the singing again of the peasants
somewhere in the background. The moon comes creeping up behind Mount Blanc.
The white snow glistens and the whole scene is so perfect that, as the curtain falls
and the lights are turned on again one feels as if one had just returned from Chau-
monix and no mistake.

Just the handsomest thing in the Plaisance is the Libby Glass Works. Here
swarthy Arabians, Egyptians, Turks, and Persians, and the blue-eyed, light haired

children of the land of the
Norse meet together on
a common level and vie
with each other in the
keen enjoyment extracted
from the wonderful hand-
icraft of the glass blow-
ers. A common medium
of enjoyment is Charles
A. Barry, the well-known
linguist, who in addition
to being a graduate of
Michigan university,
speaks, reads, and writes
fifteen foreign languages
with extraordinary ease,
and the pleasure a com-
posite group of foreign-
ers takes in meeting with him is shown in the brightening faces when he speaks
the tongue each loves so well to hear spoken in this strange land.

The factory is a model of completeness and has never been equalled in any
previous exposition.

Early in July a new feature was added to the exhibit which delighted the vis-
itors greatly. Spectators for a small sum each were allowed to "blow," and the
funny results of many attempts to do the act with neatness and dispatch kept the
great crowds in excellent humor.

The cutters and weavers attract most general attention. The cutter per-
forms the most important part in the production of modern glassware, and his skill
is of the highest order. The work of cutting is regulated entirely by the eye and
an intricate pattern requires many days of constant manipulation. The cutting is
done on a Bessemer steel wheel, upon which drops from a hopper fine moist sand
that forms a cutting surface. The sand-coated wheel cuts deeply into the glass,
leaving a miter which represents the first part of the cutting process. Then the

JAPANESE UMBRELLA MAKERS.

HISTORY OF THE WORLD'S FAIR.

583

glass is carefully smoothed by contact with a fine sandstone wheel, after which it is
polished upon a rapidly revolving wooden wheel, sprinkled with putty powder.
Then the article is ready for market. Some of the cut-glass articles made by the
Libby company demand prices which reach away up into the hundreds of dollars.

Glass weaving or glass cloth making is a process in which the rug-making
Persian takes especial delight, and never fails to attract a crowd. The blower
takes a glass cane, which may be white or colored, as is desired, and places it in a
powerful gas flame, which quickly melts it. . When it reaches the proper consis-
tency he takes a thread from the mass and carries it over to the periphery of a
wheel six feet in diameter making 200 revolutions a minute. The wheel draws out
the thread, and its fine silken strands encircle it. At the end of each minute the
operator pushes his working table forward and a new band appears upon the peri-
phery of the wheel. When the wheel is covered with these bands, each containing
say 200 threads, the wheel is
stopped, the glass bands are
pulled off horizontally, and
stretched on long tables. Here
they are .cut into desired
lengths for weaving. They
are passed to a girl at the
loom, where it is deftly woven
with silk — one thread of silk
to 200 threads of glass — and
then the glass cloth is ready to
be put to its myriad uses. So
soft and delicate is it that
beautiful garments are made
from it, and the company in its
•display department has some
marvels of beauty in the form
of lamp shades, screens, pin
cushions, doll dresses, etc.,

made from it. A beautiful dress was made for Eulalia, by Mr. Libby, the infanta
paying $2,500 for it.

WThat La Tour Eiffel was to the last Paris Exposition the great Ferris
wheel is to this. It is 250 feet in diameter, and from the ground to the apex it is
270 feet. It cost $400,000, and commenced to revolve on the first day of June
It is the biggest piece of revolving machinery in the world. Much has been written
of the Ferris wheel, and the world is now realizing that Chicago has given birth
to one of the wonders of the age. Cynical doubters have changed their tune;
obstructionists, who said that if built it would never revolve, and at best would be a
monstrosity, have had perforce to render homage to the ponderous yet graceful
creation of the brain of Mr G. W. G. Ferris, of Pittsburg.

JOHN BROWN'S FORT.

HISTORY OF THE WORLD'S FAIR.

585

Apart from the criticisms of laymen, many engineers of skill asserted that
it was a question if a hanging wheel, consisting of 1,700 tons of steel could be con-
structed to revolve, and certainly no man had ever attempted to put such an enor-
mous mass in motion before. However, Mr. Ferris said that it could be done, and
he found men who believed in him and his assertion, and who were ready to back
their belief with good hard cash, and now as the turnstiles keep up a steady click
all day, they feel that the financial prospect is rose-colored, and that their confi-
dence was well founded.

Comparisons, they say, are odious, yet one cannot help comparing this wheel
with the tower of the Paris Exposition. As the Ferris wheel is to our World's Fair
we will repeat so the Eieffel tower was to the Frenchman's. As a mechanical
achievement there can be little doubt
that the palm belongs to us, for, won-
derful as the Eieffel tower is, it was
constructed on well tried scientific prin-
ciples; but the Ferris wheel is a venture
on unknown grounds. Twenty-five thou-
sand dollars' worth of hard work and
calculations lay in the building plans of
this wonderful invention before a dollar
had been put into construction, and the
accuracy of the figuring is shown by
the perfect safety with which it is oper-
ated.

The difficulties contended with in
building this immense structure in such
a short time were tremendous. It was
not until the i6th day of December,
1892, that final arrangements could be
effected with the World's Fair com-
mittee, some of whom thought the idea
impossible of realization. In an in-
credible short time Mr. Ferris had

some of the largest iron plants in the East entirely devoted to his enter-
prise. The Detroit Bridge Company, of Detroit; the Carbon Steel Company, Jones
& Laughlin, H. Lloyds & Sons, Cambria Iron Company, Wilson Snyder Manufact-
uring Company, Kepp Gear Wheel Company, of Pittsburg; the Walker Manu-
facturing Company, of Cleveland, and the Bethlehem Iron Company, of South
Bethlehem, Pa., all did their share of work, as it was impossible for any one or two
firms to turn out the material so that the wheel could be built for 1893, and it was a
wonderful thing to see how castings made in so many different places were put to-
gether as if turned out from one plant.

The foundations, which extend for forty feet under the surface of the ground,
had to be laid during the coldest weather of winter, and it was necessary to use live

JAPANESE BASKET MAKERS.

HISTORY OF THE WORLD'S FAIR.

steam freely in mixing the concrete to keep it from freezing. By the time they
were completed the iron began arriving, long trains of it; and the work of erection
began about the 25th day of February 1893. The lumber for the false work alone
cost $12,000, and many wondered what was going to be built among that vast web
of beams, reaching nearly 300 feet in the air.

Perhaps the most interesting feature of the construction was the raising of
the main axle, the largest ever forged. This was turned out by the Bethlehem iron
works and weighs seventy tons, but with the machinery in use was raised without
any difficulty and dropped into its resting place as if it had always been there.
Then came the work of hanging the wheel upon it. Beginning at the bottom, the

heavy castings which form the outer crown
or periphery of the wheel were hung one by
one on to the rods which carry the weight of
the wheel. Slowly the circle was completed
and the last of the sections, each of which
weighs five tons, was raised to the height of
270 feet to drop into its place. Meanwhile the
machinery below was completed, and when
the time came for the trial trip to be made the
excitement was immense.

The model of the Eiffel tower, the attrac-
tion of the Paris Exhibition which seems to
have left the strongest impression, is one of the
quiet things of the Plaisance. This model is
an exact reproduction of the original, even to
the number of pieces of metal used in its con-
struction, 650,000. It is twenty feet high, set in
a miniature representation of a Paris garden
about eighteen feet square.

In exhibiting the tower the room is darkened
and the lights in the model are turned on grad-
ually. A revolving glass lamp on the top of the tower first becomes luminous
and sheds colored lights. Then the incandescent lamps in the elevators are
turned on and the cars are seen gliding up and down their long shafts. There
is a bright twinkle and the suspended lamps on the lower two balconies flash into
beaded rows, to be followed an instant later by a square line of fire about the top
balcony. The lamps in the streets, in the park, and in the newspaper kiosks are
finally turned on and the whole exhibit stands out from darkness a beautiful minia-
ture of the famous tower. In the center of the space covered by the latticed iron-
structure is a small fountain, which becomes luminous with the colors of the rainbow
under the effect of electric lamps. One obtains a good idea of La Tour Eiffel by
this exquisite counterfeit.

Carl Hagenbeck, who built a one hundred thousand dollar arena for his wild
animals, and sped back to Europe before the hot weather set in, had a great show

BRONZE VASE— GERMAN SECTION.

HISTORY OF THE WORLD'S FAIR.

587

— something never before seen in America: — Lions, tigers, leopards^ bears, dogs,
and horses all living and acting harmoniously together. The menagerie consists of
two elephants, seventeen lions, five tigers, five leopards, twelve bears, three dogs,
four pigs, three goats, four sheep, one hyena, three horses, four ponies, two zebras,
sixteen cases of monkeys, twenty-nine cases of parrots and five cases of storks.

There are also several thousand ethno-
graphical specimens from Africa, China,
India and Australia. There are two
women of the troupe whose fcfiecialty is to
cow the tigers and lions of ttie menagerie
by the power of the eye. There is also
one man who can do more with wild ani-
mals than has ever been known in Amer-
ica. Hagenbeck's is generally conceded
as the greatest show in the Plaisance, and
nothing like it has been seen in this coun-
try. Hagenbeck's pride rests with his
trained animals. Bears walk the tight
rope and do the William Tell act, and
ermine-mantled and crowned lions drive
triumphal chariots around the arena
drawn by royal tigers. Camels hump
themselves on roller skates. The hippo-
potamus is not at sea on the trapeze, while
the smiling rhinoceros offers a horn to any
one willing to take it. Professor Garner
has a dozen of hypnotized monkeys ready
to converse with any intelligent visitors in
their own language. Parrots that play
progressive euchre and " differ " about
tne prizes in sixty-five different languages are also seen and heard. A superbly
trained baseball team of mules provides great sport. Their " kicking " may not
•equal that of their human brethren, but in other points they are equal.

The world's most celebrated animal tamer, Miss Leibemich, creates a great
sensation. She not only succeeds in subjugating the most ferocious beasts in the
animal kingdom, but has taught them any number of tricks. It is always a great
source of amusement to see the animals fed. The small boy is made glad while he
watches the pensive goat dine on fricaseed scrap iron, with door-knob sauce, but
that kind of amusement is really passe. Instead of this, Miss Llebemich shows to
what degree of enjoyment of the pleasures of the toilet she has brought her pets.
To watch the noble lion smiling at its image in the hand glass while its mane is
being dressed is worth going far to see. The beautiful expression of contentment
that illumines " hippo's" broad face while he is being shaved is in sharp contrast to
. that of the sulky tiger's, who evidently does not like the tooth powder used. The

ORIENTAL PADLOCK.

588 HISTORY OF THE WORLD'S FAIR.

huge boaconstnctor, according to reports, always enjoys his corncob pipe while
he is flirting a little with his mistress.

Mr. Hagenbeck's particular treasure is the dwarf elephant Lili. This is the
only specimen in the world of its kind. The little animal is about ten years old and
was purchased by its present owner from a trader in Sumatra. It is only about
three feet high, and not three and a half feet long. It weighs but 108 pounds,
which is phenomenally light when one remembers that a full-grown elephant from
that part of the world weighs up to 7,400 pounds. The little beast is of a very
affectionate disposition and has been taught a number of fine tricks.

The Dahomeyans are big, and black-charcoal certainly would make white
marks on their skins. The village is on the south side of the Plaisance, just beyond
" Old Vienna." It is modeled something after Abomey, the capital of that country.
The men are uglier than chimpanzees, and every one bears three cuts on each
cheek, just like the women, who are scarred with the wounds of many battles.

At the woman's quarters, sights unusual to American eyes may be witnessed.
The women lie around doing nothing, and wrapped up in dozens of blankets. Some
speak a few words of English or French, but only words. Their own language is
soft in the extreme, but they do not learn easily like the men, who pick up a lan-
guage with singular facility. These women are all greasy, for they bathe them-
selves in oil, and paint their faces red with a powder formed from a kind of wood.
The amazons are all unmarried, having taken vows of celibacy. A few of the
women are wives, and are considered the property of the husband.

The men are strictly polite and salute each other and strangers with great
punctiliousness. Big Tom guards the gate of the village. He is very polite, but
no one can get past him without the personal permission of the manager, and as he
is big and strong people don't try to.

One of the long, low houses is set off for a museum and contains all kinds of
arms and trophies of Dahomey. Another is set off to represent the harem of the
king, while there is still another called the "hell of serpents," where many kinds of
snakes are tame and free. It looks grewsome to enter. The fetishes of the people
are crowded in a house by themselves, though each house has its own peculiar
fetish.

A more horrible-looking set of men and women it would be hard to find than
these Dahomeyans and every effort has been made to illustrate their customs and
peculiarities. War dances are given in a wide and roomy pavilion erected for that
purpose and some of the cruel ceremonies of the country are represented.

The married women keep themselves warm stamping the ground with heavy
stampers, singing all the time a monotonous "Ha-wha-wha-o-hoo." The married
women do all kinds of heavy work, but the men do nothing except to make clothes.
All who saw these Dahomeyans may boast unpretentiously that he has seen
two-score savage women, who are the equals in fighting capacity of the same num-
ber of picked French soldiers. These amazons are well-proportioned, clean-featured,
muscular creatures, unusually intelligent for savages and possessed of phenomenal
powers of endurance. They form the mainstay of the bloodthirsty King Behansin's

HISTORY OF THE WORLD'S FAIR.

589

army, and before the French occupation of his capital they were the only part of
the soldiery who were thought equal to the responsibility of properly guarding the
palace. In the skirmishing about the sacred city Kana these women gave the Fren9h
soldiers a practical example of their prowess by worsting the invaders in a number
of instances where the forces pitted were equal in numbers. Incidentally it may be
mentioned that the king reposed such implicit confidence in the intelligence of his
women fighters that he supplied them with breechloading guns, while he left the
men to fight with the ordinary native arms, fearing they could not learn to handle
the European arms with sufficient skill to make effective riflemen in a short space
of time.

There are many other places besides these more conspicuous ones on the
Plaisance. There are Hindoo and Persian jugglers that throw all Hermanns and
other renowned prestidigitators in the shade. New England Dinner cabins,
Colorado Mining exhibit, several tribes of Indian, Parisian, Persian, Algerian and
Soudanese dancing girls, a Miniature St. Peter's, Arabian horses and riders, cyclo-
ramas, many theaters, cafes, restaurants 'and gardens, etc., that can never be for-
gotten by any who saw them. Altogether there has never been in the world such a
combination of so many kinds of peoples and their modes of living, warfare and
industries, and which perhaps may never be repeated on the same scale of reality,
picturesqueness, grotesqueness and attractiveness again. It is a harliquinade of
the deepest and most lasting significance and a highway of savage and beauti-
ful surprises, all sanctioned by the law of the land and the lights of the century.

LIBBY GLASS WORKS, MIDWAY PLAISANCE.

590

HISTORY OF THE WORLD'S FAIR.

THE LIVE-STOCK EXHIBIT.

HERE has never been a live stock exhibit on the American
continent equal to that which opened in the Big Pavilion at the
end of the Fairgrounds on the 2ist of August. The . barns
on that day were filled with fine representatives of the
leading breeds of horses and cattle. This great exhibit
embraced over twelve hundred head of horses and 1,000 head of
cattle. Many visitors who were interested in this department
of the Exposition filed through the barns on the 2ist looking
at the fine animals in the long rows ot stalls which were to be
entered in the contests in the arena.

Hon. R. B. Ogilvie, ofMadison, Wis., one of the leading exhibit-
ors of Clydesdale horses, said: "I will say that the exhibit of Clydesdales has
never been approached on this continent and rarely, if ever, equaled in Great
Britain, either in point of numbers or excellence of animals. I have been told by
Mr. Sarby, of Guelph, Ontario, after he had looked over the stables here, that he
felt more like crossing the Detroit river than the Atlantic ocean to find the finest
Clydesdales. I also have it from Andrew Montgomery, of 'Nether Farm,' Castle
Douglas, Scotland, unquestionably the leading authority on Clydesdales in the
world, that some studs can now be found in this country which are not equaled in
Great Britain."

Among the Clydesdale exhibitors here were N. P. Clark, of St. Cloud, Minn.,
president of the American Clydesdale association; R. B. Ogilvie, of Madison, Wis.,