s of many historical persons.

In the War Department were shown a six-pounder bronze gun presented by
Lafayette to the colonial forces; the four-pounder gun that fired the
first shot in the Civil War; the rifled gun that fired the last shot;
cannon used in the Mexican War; cast-iron cannon found in the Hudson
River; Chinese cannon captured at Corea; cannon captured at Yorktown;
boot-legs from which the starving members of the Greely Arctic
expedition made soup; relics of Sir John Franklin; a wagon used by
General Sherman throughout all his marches; the sacred shirt worn by
Sitting Bull at the time of the massacre of Custer and his command on
the Little Big Horn.

EXHIBITS OF THE TREASURY AND POSTOFFICE DEPARTMENTS.

In the Treasury Department was represented the United States Mint in
operation, besides historic medals, ancient and modern coins, including
those of foreign countries, a ten-thousand gold dollar certificate and a
silver certificate of the same denomination.

The eyes of the philatelists sparkled at the treasures in the Postoffice
Department, which included all the issues of stamps from 1847 to 1893.
Some of the single stamps were worth thousands of dollars, and it would
have required a fortune to purchase the whole collection, had it been
for sale. The methods of carrying the mail were illustrated by a
representation of dogs drawing a sled over the snow and a Rocky Mountain
stage-coach. It would require volumes to convey an intelligent idea of
the display in the Patent Office, Interior Department, Geological
Survey, Agricultural Department, and the United States Commission.

[Illustration: THOMAS A. EDISON.

(1847-.)]

Everybody knows that wonderful discoveries have been made in
electricity, and no doubt we are close upon still greater ones. The name
of Edison is connected with the marvelous achievements in this field,
and there was much food for thought and speculation in the exhibits of
the Electricity Building. These, while profoundly interesting, were
mainly so in their hints of what are coming in the near future.

Machinery Hall was a favorite with thousands of the visitors. The
exhibits were so numerous that they were divided into eighty-six
classes, grouped into:

1. Motors and apparatus for the generation and transmission of power,
hydraulic and pneumatic apparatus.

2. Fire-engines, apparatus and appliances for extinguishing fire.

3. Machine tools and machines for working metals.