But the cowboys and Buffalo Bill caught
them close up to their howling apparatus,
and for several moments pandemonium was
let loose. The great scout rode once to the
section occupied by the boys and welcomed
them most heartily. The thanks be received
were emphatic and unmistakable.
Shortly after Mr. Cody had given an exhibition
of his proficiency in shooting glass
balls Supt. Daniels, followed. by Jimmy
Durkin and Johnnie Tardib walked into the
arena and presented their friend with a most
beautiful and appropriate gift.
Was a Handsome Token.
The present was a solid gold plate, 4
inches wide and 6 long, a facsimile of a messenger
call card. side read as follows: The inscription upon one
side read as follows:
CHICAGO WAIFS MISSION MESSENGERS-
CHICAGO, July 27, 1893.
Where sent..........................................Hon William F. Cody
Address.............................................Buffalo Bill's Wild West
Paid.............................................................And still in debt
Charges...........................................................None for life
WAIFS OF CHICAGO
(Signature of sender.)
Per T: E. Daniels,
Director General Poor Children's Day.
On the reverse side was engraved:
A slight expression of our gratitude for your
effort in behalf of Poor Children's day, 1893.
The plate, which was given to the waifs by
Shourds & Kasper, was a complete surprise
to Mr. Cody, and as he sat astride his beautiful
chestnut horse be appeared to be, for the
[Drawing]
THREE WANT TO CARRY THE BANNER.
moment, unable to answer his poor little
friends. When at last he drew himself together
he spoke most feelingly to the youngsters.
Boys, I will always cherish this beautiful gift
in remembrance of the waifs and coming generation
of Chicago. Nothing gives me greater delight
than to give you pleasure. I sm glad to
have you here today and any orphan asylum or
poor child who wants an outing will be welcome
to the Wild West. You are only boys now, but
you will have a voice in the future, and more
than one of you will be heard in this land of
freedom. I wish you good luck, boys, and sincerely
hope you will all make good men.
Buffalo Bill's remarks, were hailed with delight
and such shouting that it seemed the
clouds above the pavilíon would be torn
asunder.
Poor Children's day at the Wild West will
always be a green spot in the minds of Chicago's
waits,
Inter Ocean July 29"
HAD A JOLLY TIME.
Waifs and Newsboys Have a
Whole Day's Sport.
SEE BUFFALO BILL'S SHOW.
Are Fed with the Best That the
Market Affords.
Race, Jump, Play Ball, and Win
Prizes, and Come Home
Tired.
Yesterday was red-letter day for the
waifs of Chicago, and they enjoyed it to the
limit. They agreed that it was far and
away the biggest day they had ever had.
They went home at night tired out but
happy and with their little stomachs distended
with the good things which a charitable
public had laid before them.
Nor will Buffalo Bill forget the day,
either, for in the years to come when old
age creeps on and memory grows dim, a
solid gold plate, about six inches long and
four wide, an exact representation of a
messenger card, will remind the great
scout and Indian fighter that on July 27,
1898, he entertained and made happy the
largest audience of little people that
Chicago could scare up.
When Buffalo Bill looks at this golden
[IMAGE]
CHEERING BUFFALO BILL.
plate he will read this words-and they
will always call up pleasant memories of
his World's Fair year experiences:
Chicago Waifs' Mission Messengers.
CHICAGO, July 27, 1893.
WHERE SENT-Hon. William F. Cody.
ADDRESS-Buffalo Bill's Wild West. P
AID And still in debt.
CHARGES-None for life.
WAIFS OF CHICAGO.
(Signature of Sender.)
Per T. E. DANIELS,
Director General Poor Children's Day.
On the reverse side of the card is this inscription:
"A slight expression of our gratitude for your
efforts in behalf of Poor Children's Day, 1883."
Preparations for the Day.
For weeks past preparations have been
making for Poor Children's day. Urgent
appeals, magnificently responded to, were
made the charitably inclined to see that
the waifs had enough to eat and
to wear, and for weeks the mission
rooms on State street have
had every appearance of a wholesale clothing
establishment. Boxes and bundles of
wearing apparel were everywhere and yesterday
and the day before the boxes of food
were sent in. There were countless thousands
of them. They came from everywhere
in the city and filled the mission
storerooms. The contents of these packages
went a long way toward rounding out
the day and filling it chock full of joy.
As early as 8 o'clock children from the
Waifs' mission, Chicago Hebrew mission,
Unity Church Industrial school, Home for
the Friendless, Chicago Nursery and Half
Orphan asylum, Englewood nursery, and
the Jewish Training school began gatherings
THE LEAP RACE.
at Madison and Market streets. It took
nearly an hour to get the little folks in line,
and when they finally started for the Van
Buren street depot of the Illinois Central
road it was in the following order:
Order of the Parade.
Police.
Professor Hensler's American Cadet band, of
Milwaukee.
Director General T. E. Daniels and aids, as
follows: J. L. Mulgreen, marshal; Theodore
Murphy, Walter Martin, William Fritts,
George Glisby, Walter Courlin, William Hein,
George W. Brock, Albert Hagaland, Thomas
Fitzpatrick, Georgė Bamberger, Roscoe J.
Clizbie.
Waifs' mission girls in tally-ho coaches.
Chicago Home for the Friendless, Miss A. F.
Rexford, superintendent.
Major Nevans' Illinois State band.
Waifs' mission messengers.
Waifs' mission boys.
Newsboys' home, Mrs. Bowman, matron.
Chicago Hebrew mission. B. Angel, superintendent.
Unity church industrial school, Ada J. Hayes. matron.
Chicago Musical Association band
Englewood nursery, Mrs. Kingman, matron.
Waifs' mission express.
First regiment band.
Newspaper boys.
Tailing on to the procession was a crowd
of several hundred ragtag and bobtail, not
belonging to. anything in particular, but
coming, with unmistakable propriety, under
the general head of "poor children."
They were every whit as proud and as happy as
though they marched under a banner
all their own, and were just as eager as
their fellows to "get there."
Loading the Trains.
Arriving at the Van Buren street viaduct
the boys and girls were shot down a schute
specially reserved for them, leading to
trains which were in waiting to convey
them to Sixty-fourth street. As one train
was filled and pulled out another took its
place, until four trains of five cars each
had been loaded and dispatched.
It was a noisy crowd that disembarked
at Sixty-fourth, but the marshals got the
youngsters in order finally, and walked
them over to the vast open space bounded
by Sixty-second. Sixty-third, Stony Island
avenue and the Illinois Central tracks.
The title of this plat rests in J. Irving
Pierce's name, but the waifs owned it yesterday.
They improvised a diamond and played
baseball and carried out a long programme
of running races. These were arranged in
fifteen classes, ranging from fifty to 300
yards, each class having five prizes. There
were special classes for the girls. Besides
the running races the list of sports included
a sack race, a potato race, and a
competitive boot-blacking contest.
All these sporting eveņts were entered
into with the greatest gusto, the list being
concluded just about the time dinner was
announced.
And such a dinner! It is doubtful if a
Chicago waif ever saw its like before.
It was served in pasteboard
boxes instead of courses, but the
guests were not there so much
for style as for the purpose of appeasing a
large and healthy appetite. Literally
everything went, and the mystery was that
even 10,000 children, could hold so much.
Nobody counted the wagon-loads of boxes
and hampers, or the barrels of lemonade.
After each 1little jacket was comfortably
distended the Arabs were rounded up and
taken over to Buffalò Bill's. They would
have liked to be headed the other way
first and taken into The Fair grounds, but
this pleasure was denied them. Mrs. Potter
Palmer made an urgent plea in their
behalf some time ago, and this was supplemented
by other appeals calculated to
soften the heart of anybody but an exposi-
[Image]
OPENING THE LUCH BOXES
tion manager, but none available. President
Higginbotham is quoted as saving that
he did not care to throw the
grounds open to such undesirable guests
So the tittle men and women took in the
exposition from outside the Stony Island avenue fence and viewed the glories from afar.
Saw Buffalo Bill's Show.
But the Wild West show was open, and
Buffalo Bill was hospitality personified.
To many a youthful mind this morning he
is a much bigger man than the president of
the more extensive show across the street.
The entire west side of Buffalo Bill's pavilion
was reserved for the boys, the east
side being given up to the girls. There
were about 8,000 of the former and 2,000 of
the latter. In the performance it would be
difficult to say what most pleased the little
folks.
Whenever the American flag appeared it
was vociferously applauded, but when the
hero of the occasion rode in from time to
time they went wild. Annie Oakley's shooting
pleased the guests mightily, and they
thought John Nelson and his coonskin cap
were abɔut right. The Arab gymnasts
likewise caught the erowd, but not quite
to the extent that did the cowboys and the
bucking bronchos. When the old Deadwood
coach came into the arena and stopped
at the grandstand Superintendent. Daniels
was invited in, and the boys evidently considered
the courtesy properly extended,
for they gave him a great cheer during his
perilous ride around the ring.
The event of the day came in after
Buffalo Biil had finished 'his rifle practice
on horseback. Superintendent Daniels
signaled him to wait a minute, and taking
