On October 1893 I visited the World's Columbian Exposition held in Chicago. N.J. Douglass, an old friend, accompanied me.

When the World's Fair was talked of first Bertha & I hoped to go together and would have done so doubtless had it not been for the fact that Harold was so small & Bertha did not feel equal to the task of going & taking him, her health not being good at that time.

It will hardly be possible to speak here of the grandeur of that great Exposition and the beauty of the "White City." This trip was an event of a life-time and was greatly enjoyed by me.

I spent six days on the grounds working hard each day and learning vastly more than I ever learned before in the same time.

The Transportation, Mines & Mining, Electricity, Manufacturers and Liberal Arts, Machinery Hall, Agricultural Building, Krupp's Gun Works, Convent of La Rabida Forestry, Hide & Leather, The Cliff Dwellers, Anthropological, Women's, U.S. Government, Fisheries, Palace of Fine Arts & Horticultural buildings were all gone through by me besides many of the foreign and state buildings.

This exposition was the most magnificent the world had ever seen up to that time and was well calculated to impress the thoughtful observer with the wonderful progress made by the human race since the time of the "cave man" & the "stone age" and more especially with the giant strides taken during the preceding century; i.e. from 1795 to 1893.

But one had to observe closely & think quickly in order to fix in the mind distinct impressions concerning some of the most important things seen in the various buildings among the multiplicity of exhibits.

The view of the grounds and buildings, standing near the McMories fountain & looking east towards the Peristyle, thence sweeping to the south & then to the north was such as one can hardly hope to see more than once in a life time.

How shall I describe it?

It was like a dream of paradise, and only those who were privileged to see it can form an idea of its surpassing beauty and grandeur.

I shall give from memory after a lapse of more than two years a few of the things seen by me at the Exposition, as it may interest the children.

I will not however attempt anything like a complete list of which I can recall.

On page 65 is seen a leaf from a catalogue of the Cliff Dweller's exhibit.

On the same page is found the beginning of the list.

Cliff Dwellers Building.
1- Skeletons of cliff dwellers.
2- Corn found in their dwellings.
3- Pottery found in their dwellings.
4- Tools & utensils found in their dwellings.
5- Coarse cloth woven by them.

Transportation Building
1- Engines & cars used in the U.S., Belgium, Germany & England.
2- Models & reproductions of the steam engine from Stephensons time down to the present time.
3- 1/3 section of a large ocean steamer.
4- Models of modern ocean steam vessels.
5- Carriage of Dom Pedro of Brazil.
6- Boat 14 feet long in which Capt. Anderson crossed the Atlantic.
7- Carriages & sleighs used in several countries.
8- Boat in which Grace Darling went to the rescue of the crew of the Forfairshare.

Machinery Hall
1- Knitting machine, Ribbon machine, and numerous other machines all in operation.

Miscellaneous
Sword of Andrew Jackson; stuff of Franklin; Washington's diary; LaFayettes scarf worn at the battle of the Brandy wine.
Liberty bell - The table and secretary used by Gen's Grant & Lee at Appomatox C H.
Numerous relics of Columbus in Convents of La Rabida.

Krupp cannon, to-gether with armor plate 15 3/4 inches thick, pierced by these weapons.

1- Telautograph
2- Mummies exhumed near Ancon in Peru seen in the Anthropological building.
3- School work in the second story of the Manufacturers' building.
4- Plow owned by Daniel Webster.
5- Copy of the treaty by which we acquired Louisiana from Napoleon.
Part of the evidence in the case of Rebecca Morse on trial for witch craft March 24, 1692.
6- Proclamations by all the presidents of the U.S. from Washington to Cleveland.
7- The old Liberty Bell.
8- Cotton gin.
9- Machine for removing the hulls from Coffee, used in Brazil.
10- Italian statuary.
11- Japanese & Bohemian vases.
12- Russia's great fur exhibit.
13- France's exhibit of dress fabrics & furniture.
14- Great Britain's exhibit of hardware, cloths etc.
15- The various exhibits of Germany, Spain, Brazil, Mexico, Canada, Cope Colony & other countries.
16- The great collection of paintings in the Palace of Fine Arts. This was a wonderful collection from the world's greatest painters & sculptors.
17- Smithsonian exhibit in the Government building -- a remarkable collection.
18- Thousands of models from the patent office in Washington.
19- The Pinta, Nina & Santa Maria -- exact reproductions of the three ships used by Columbus in his first voyage to the New World.
20- The great Ferris Wheel.

I might extend the list indefinitely; but it is not necessary.

One thing especially noticeable in connection with this visit was the good nature of the vast throng which daily met on the exposition grounds.

On the following pages are some newspaper clippings relating to the exposition.

During 1893 a financial panic began in the U.S. which was of unusual severity. Banks failed in many of the states. Railroads went into receivers hands. Hundreds of business failures in all lines occurred during 1893, 1894 & 1895.

Manufacturing establishments, many of them, were closed, and thousands of men were thrown out of employment. This produced wide-spread ruin and disaster. An enforced idleness of months during 1893 found many working men poorly prepared for the winter of 1893 & 1894, and much suffering ensued, especially in the great commercial centers.

Soup houses were opened in the cities and in this way large numbers were fed gratuitously, who otherwise would have perished from hunger. The business of the country was paralysed and men looked with alarm upon the condition of affairs.

Congress was convened in special session in August 1893 and for nearly a year the tariff question was agitated, with the result that the McKinley bill was repealed and the Wilson law was enacted in its place. 1894 was a most calamatous one for the country. The panic continued throughout the entire year.

The great Pullman strike occurred. Pres. Cleveland called out the U.S. troops to prevent strikers interfering with the movement of Railway trains in Chicago & the handling of mail. Quiet was at last restored, but the feeling of unrest among wage earners continued. Industrial armies were formed & marched upon the National capital, demanding relief from Congress.

A deaf ear was given to entreaties of these men & the armies were scattered. To add to the horrors of the situation, the year 1894 was a very dry year in many localities and in several states, notably the Dakotas, Nebraska & Kansas. The crops were almost a failure and vast quantities of food & clothing were raised by contribution & sent to the people in those drouth stricken states.

The special agency work was continued during 1894 and up to June 1895 when the Company failed.

Those were days of worry & bitter sorrow and disappointment for me. The failure of the Company without being able to re-insure its business was very disappointing and worried me more than I can tell. For some time it was difficult to shake off the feeling of despondency occasioned by this failure and recover from the "blues" which I could not shake off.

It was not because I was thrown out of work at a time when positions were hard to secure that worried me the most; but the fact that there was little likelihood that the Company could protect its policy-holders and make good their losses.

They owed me $130.45 at the time of failure. $96.00 of this was paid after several months and the balance ($34.45) is still unpaid at this writing.

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	Bethany McFarland's Family Journals