"Accordingly the fire bell had been sounded at 5 A.M. and the Grand Army and the Eugene Militia and 2,000 or 3,000 citizens were at the depot when the trains arrived, notwithstanding the fact that a drenching rain was falling.

"The band played, the boys cheered...and everything was in readiness for a big display but, lo and behold, after waiting 15 minutes in the rain,...the manager of the train ordered them to pull out, saying the President was not yet up and would not come out."