The Day Seattle Swallowed 10,000 Strangers: The Great Fourth of July Flood

The signal service predictions for today are fair weather, preceded by local rains along the coast northward from the Columbia river. If 'Old Probabilities' made a reliable guide, today's celebration of the Fourth in Seattle will be the biggest and most substantial affair of the kind ever attempted in the Territory.

The list of attractions has been varied and extensive, and offers something for all tastes. It is that the programme is so extensive that it will be about as difficult to 'take in' everything as to watch the circus performances in a double ring. However, Seattle determined that no one should say that any desirable feature has been omitted.

The only way to take in the whole performance will be to split up family parties into three or four groups. One party can attend the yacht race, another the bicycle race and another the Caledonian sports in North Seattle, all of which take place at the same time. Then they can marshal their forces and assign one party to the baseball game and horse races at the race track, another to see the exhibition drill of the uniformed rank Knights of Pythias, and another to witness the canoe and scull races.

At 11 o'clock the exercises at the grounds commence and likewise the annual tournament of the Northwestern Firemen's Association. The famous singers, the Arion Society, of Portland, will join the Seattle society in giving a grand concert at Frye's Opera House. The bicycle parade, the grand military ball and grand naval parade and harbor illumination will make up the other principal attractions for the evening.

The Intaking Multitudes. All day yesterday steamers came in from all parts of the Sound loaded down with human freight, and the trains coming in the direction of Seattle were taxed to carry the many persons who were bent on celebrating their Fourth of July in Seattle. Late in the afternoon, after several thousand persons had gone to the race track to witness the horse-races and ball games, the streets were crowded so that police patrolling was slow and tedious work.

The military companies had gone into their advance quarters on the University grounds waiting the arrival of the evening of the companies from Tacoma, Port Blakely and elsewhere. The delegates to the Northwestern Firemen's tournament were in session at the council chamber, and the 200 visiting firemen were here entertained by their brothers of the Seattle department.

Before the last night's steamers arrived it was estimated that there were fully 7,500 strangers in the city, and by nine o'clock this morning there will undoubtedly be fully 10,000 visitors here.

Merchants and their employes were engaged in waiting on customers and at odd moments desiring their paid patrons. The Washington, New England and Commercial hotels were decorated by C. Hockford, of California, and many other buildings on Commercial street were tastefully trimmed with bunting. The streets were lined with every green, and made a handsome appearance.

The First Street crowd, however, outstripped their brothers of Commercial. Particularly worthy of note were the decorations of the Gordon Hardware store and Francis' store, the most attractive feature of the latter the representation of the Brooklyn bridge, made of liner thread and small cotton. The city and county offices were tastefully decorated, and a new flag 30 foot long—one of the longest in the territory—was flying to the breeze from a new flagstaff on the court house last evening.