l Park People." The men
marched in squads of four, and wore their everyday work clothes with
evergreens stuck in their hats. Each squad carried a banner giving the
name of its boss-workman. The procession included four-horse teams
drawing wagons in which rode the workmen of the Engineers' Department.
The parade was composed of 1,100 laborers and 800 carts from Central
Park and 700 laborers and carts from the new Croton Reservoir, making a
procession three miles long. Since it was altogether unexpected, it
created no little excitement and inquiry.[15]

The tankard (fig. 13) has a silver spout inscribed:

The Oak of this Tankard is a part of the tree in which was
preserved the Charter of the Liberties of the People of
Connecticut during a temporary success of tyranny A.D. 1687.

There is a silver shield on the left side with the monogram "C. W. F."
and a silver shield on the right inscribed:

The men, working in the Central Park Aug^st 17^th 1858 Present
this tankard to Cyrus W. Field, as an expression of their respect,
for the untiring labor which on that Day resulted in proving the
practicability of Trans-Atlantic Communication, by the Electric
Telegraph.

The knob on the lid is made of silver and is decorated with an anchor
and a rope in silver. No maker's mark is discernible.

While the public adulation was at its peak the cable suddenly stopped
working. Immediately public opinion changed and Field was accused of
being a fake. He suffered severe business reverses and in 1860 went into
bankruptcy. The outbreak of the Civil War prevented any further activity
on the cable until 1865. Field engaged the world's largest steamer, the
_Great Eastern_, to make the next attempt. The cable of 1865 parted in
midocean during the laying operations, but in 1866 experience and
technical improvements won the fight. The cable was laid and this time
it continued to operate.

Again Field was the darling of the American people and he was greeted
with enthusiasm. Immediately on his return to New York in 1866 he sold
enough of his cable stock to enable him early in November to write to
those who had been hurt by his bankruptcy in 1860 and send to each the
full amount of his indebtedness with 7 percent interest. The full amount
paid out reached about $200,000. For this action George Peabody of New
York City gave Field a silver service.

The silver cake basket[16] from this service is in the United States
National Mu