The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, July 9, 1899, Page 24

A SIGNAL LIGHT IN THE § CLOUDS. nded, upon peopl towns ar oment to 1 ward into the inky to tell the 1 f their stupend- The St leak island in 1d not until he resisted intruder: domain the opportunit and sympat h enabled in the hope out the rovi § t and left them undisturb e g gift of a continuous suc- cession of his ¢ lambent lightning fiashes overhead and around the border of the horizon to add an element of to their mortal nitou and Colorado , to the marked the town side points of old of clusters of arts full of, and small harp-edged nbed higher and PIKES PEAK PILLAR OF FIRE. anxiouslya dull, parti-colored glow, which deep- < 5 % ble failure ating ible fai 2?“5‘12*,‘.““ = “m-mv_v‘ 1died. But ch failure was not to be o hcf‘r] hands, benumbed with cold but swift to do their duty set off the charge of powder which was to be the reas- suring word from them ‘to (hr_A world &t thelr feet, and Colo ado Springs sig- n d back with s 1 lurid blaze which told that all 11 and that isual communication betw -nftht» two ints so far removed was perfect. e g under a veil of cloud but even that bar- 3 and gave her an unobscured f one of the grandest spectacles prepared by mortal cen. sy workers unpacked s which held prisoners the tri- and forming themselves into three parties made their t: through snow and ic tous and sl o v al poin as bases of ope- S at tornadolike tearing R s and ing them, in spite of the burden- Imost to the h . The heavy and the trail was d full of peril, but not one or even faltered by the s were Americans, full of sturdy American spirit; and they were sent there, the representatives of thousands of their fello to celebrate an Amerl. can victory of the present, and Ameri- can emancipat from the, control of another country in the past. Their duty in such a case as this was their pleasure, and they plunged onward through the darkness as merri A 1 of well-arranged sig- nals between the three groups of op- erators made It possible for the torches to be applied to piles of powder at al- most the same moment. Then came a sputtering, creeping sizzle followed by ened and grew stronger and more in- tense with e pulse beat of the shiv- ering men, who almost hel zen breaths as they bent to watch it struggle with the wind Down below in the gigantic amphi- theater of which th center and a hor! thunder clouds was the circling wall, other hear! 5 beating high with xpectant excitement Far up above the black timber belt, at the very edge of the rounding cone of snow-laden rock which seemed to touch the frowning heavens abo three stars of flame twinkled through the darkness. Larger they grew and more lumi- nous. Higher they mounted and wider they snread until the world-famous old mountain wore upon its noble forehead a liberty cap of our nation’s colors— the glorious red, white and blue for which our sires and sons have so’ bravely fought and for which they will fight even to the death whenever stain shonor menaces them. busy men up amid the snows could not hear the almost frantic cheers which greeted the evidence of their successful efforts, but they saw the answering lights flash here and there, glowing spots of crimson flame, shooting stars and showers of scintil lating fire, and their hearts were glad. Cold, tired, blaze-blinded and smoke- choked,. they shouted and sang as they worked and worked the better because Peak of the New World became for the time being a rival to Mount Etna of the Old. A pillar of fire. stretched from its summit into the re- glons of alr and the dense smoke brooding over it seemed itself full of lurid flames, menacing disaster to all below. From Pueblo in the south to Chey- enne, distant 175 miles to the gorth, the {llumination was seen and understood. The dual celebration struck & respon- sive chord in every heart and thrilled every soul with patriotic fervor. As the nation's colors blazed on high those of the nation’s children who read th message in the sky voiced Columbia’s praises with speech and s or with the mighty « which mean so much in times like t Evefi Natur erself smiled u audacious novi of spectacular entertainment world :n and preps it a background of reflecting clouds made it absolutely perfect. s no Independence day that we have ever known has been so glo- riously marked as this, the last of our century. Surely no hero was ever more supremely honoréd than has brave Admiral Schley, the destroyer of Cervera's threatening fleet, by the grateful people of the fair State of Colorado. :