The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1881-03-15
THE DEAD GAR.
Further Details of thesAssas-
SinatiOn.
THE MURDER UNDOUBTEDLY
THE WORK OF NIHILISTS.
Last Moments of the Dying Man.
The Czarewitch Assumes the Govern.
ment.

The CZareWitch Assumes the Govern
LoND ON, March 1.-THE town was startled
to-day by the announcement that the Gar
Alexander had been MORALLY wounded by the
explosion of bomb thrown by assassins while
he was out driving in the forenoon. AT first it
was supposed that the report was canard, for
the Emperor's assassination has often been an
nounced and as often been denied, as the
Nihilists began to compass his DEATH Later
on, showever, came the news of his death,
which was quickly followed by full account
of the tragedy Lord Dnfferin, British Am
bassador at st. Petersburg, had meanwhile in
formed the Foreign Office of the affair, and
his dispatches were at once forwarded TO the
Queen, the Prince of Wales, Duke of Edin-
burgh and other members of the royal family.
The Duchess of Edinburgh was at the Dukes
seat in Kent with her four children. Prayers
were offered for the Duchess at the afternoon
service in the churches, and in the evening
special reference was made to the murder
from the pulpits of the principal churches.
While there was great excitement in court
and official circles, there was comparatively
little on the streets. The fact is, the people
had long expected as much. The rigorous
measures adopted against the Nihilists had not
in the least impaired their organization or
frightened them into abandoning their plot
tings against his life, and the Emperor was
perpetually exposed to danger in spite of the
precautions taken by the military and police.
Great sympathy is expressed by all classes for
the Duchess of Edinburgh, who is in delicate
condition. The Russian Embassy at Chesham
House, Belgrave. square, was kept busy this
afternoon answering the questions OF Russian
merchants and others who hocked there to
hear the news. The embassy had no informa-
ton on the subject beyond the official notiica
ton of the Cars death and copies of the re-
ports which will be found below
Special services were held in the Greek
CHI inches tonight. The Duke and Duchess of
Edinburgh and the Grand Duke Alexis left
London for st. Petersburg at p. m.
The Manner Of the Emperor's Death.
All the official dispatches received here
agree as to the following facts The Gar was
returning in carriage from the Michael
Palace about II a., M, with his brother, the
Grand Duke Michael. His escort consisted of
quarter troop of Cossacks, and several officers
of the household accompanied him in sleighs.
AS the carriage was passing along the banks of
the Ekaterinofsky Canal, and at point i'm
mediately opposite to the Imperial stables, a
bomb was thrown by man who was standing
behind a knot of pedestrians who had stopped
to see the Emperor go by. 1t exploded with
terrific crash right under the body of the
carriage, the splinters flying across the street,
but doing no injury beyond tearing away the
back part of the carriage The driver, who
| had drawn up, descended from his box, and
| the Cossack escort, which was few PAGES in
the rear, at once galloped up. At this time
| there were not more than 20 persons present.
| The Gar, on hearing the crash, at once raised
the window, opened the door and jumped out,
and while he was drawing his fur cloak about
him second bomb shell was thrown from a
knot of lookers-on, exploding right at his feet.
The smoke OF the first explosion was still hang
ing about, and when the second bomb struck
the pavement dense cloud enveloped the
| carriage. There was a howl of pain and an
guiSh from the Cossacks, some of whom were
killed and more wounded by flying splinters,
and three or four of the lookers-on fell also.
| This crash brought squad of police who were
| just going on duty at the imperial stables. As
| the smoke lifted the Gar was seen lying on
| his back besides the wreck of the carriage, his
| legs torn and shattered and blood pouring
from the CHASTITY wounds in the thighs. His
cloak and wearing apparel were literally torn
from his back. He was deathly pale, and his
cries to the officers of the household for help
were scarcely audible Col Dioriebky of his
suit, who was badly injured by the second ex-
the Emperor from the ground, and with the
aid of Cossack officers lifted him into sleigh
and conveyed him to the Winter Palace. The
bombs were simply thick glass ball filled with
dynamite. All this did not occupy three
minutes, as the prisoner was thrown into
sled and driven off under strong guard Col.
Djorjebkys sleigh, bearing the wounded EN-
peror and two or three attendants, drove rapid
ly through the streets to the Winter Palace
where mounted messenger had previously
arrived with the news
Spread Of the News.
By this time the story was known through
| out the neighborhood of the palace, and the
sleigh drove through the main gate the people
stood by uncovered, while hundreds and thou
sands flock ed to the scene of the tragedy. The
alarm had been sounded in the military and
| police barracks, and in trice the guards on
the winter palace were doubled and the streets
lined with soldiery. The news soon reached
the churches and the congregations rushed in
to the streets and made for the palace, where
squadrons of Cossacks and regular cavalry
kept them at bay.
Precautions Against Nihilist Rising
| Gen. Melikoff, the Military Governor, was
on the spot ten minutesI after the Cars arrival
and he at once called out large detachments of
cavalry and artillery and telegraphed all the
commanders in the city and outlying posts to
| hold themselves in readiness tomove with their
troops at a moments warning. There is no
| doubt thai the authorities half feared gen sral
rising of Nfhilists, but if such thing had
been contemplated it was quite out OF the
| question, the whole city being an armed camp
| before the clock struck II. The firemen and
| fire police kept sharp lookout for fires, and
the principal government and municipal
buildings were put under close guard.
Seizure of One of the Assassins.
Meanwhile the Cossacks and police had
charged upon the knot of people from which
the two bombs were flung. Several persons
| pointed to a man in the rough sheepskin garb
| of peasant and declared that he had thrown
| the first shell. This was confirmed by the
| Cossacks, who saw him hurting it, Colonel of
| Police Archemaff seized him. The man strug-
| gled desperately, and as the now dismounted
escort closed upon him, drew revolver, as
intending to shoot the Grand Duke Michael,
whose escape from death by the second explo
sion was little short of miraculous His hand
| was struck down, and in an instant he was
thrown to the earth and securely pinioned,
the police putting irons upon him and the
| Cossacks binding him with ropes. A large
body of military and police had gathered by
| this time, and active search was made for the
other assassin. There was cry that he had
run into the Imperial stables, every door of
which was at once guarded, while the police
secured the yards of the buildings, but no
trace of him could be found.
The Closing Scene.
The Gear was carried up stairs on litter
| Besides the Surgeons in Ordinary the most
skilled men in the city were present, but the
case was hopeless His left leg was fearfully
ankle having been blown off and his right leg
nearly ,torn from his body. He was sensible
| with brief intervals of Inconsistencies, to the
last. HE had lost an enormous quantity of
blood, and the shock had utterly Frustrated
him. The doctors efforts to rally him were
fruitless. AT 130 p. m. the Imperial family
were summoned to the bedside, where prayers
for the dying were being said by the Greek
patriarch and clergy. The leave-taking is said
to have been most touching The Gear kissed
them.all, and gave them his blessing He
bore the agony of his wounds with heroic forti-
tude, and said he trusted he was ready to die,
and that Russia would never forget that he
had been sacrificed for unfolding her institu-
tons and maintaining law and order within
her borders. Towards p. M it was evident
that the end was near. The Emperor
strength was waning, and every now and then
the blood streamed from the ragged wounds.
When the doctors spoke in whisper of trying
amputation the dying man opened his eyes
and motioned them away. At $50 p. m. he
breathed his last.
The New Monarch.
A Council of State was forthwith convened,
and as the Czarewitch, who, contrary to his
usual custom, was surrounded by an escort,
drove out of the Palace yard, the public hailed
him as Emperor. The Grand Duke Michael
was slightly wounded.
The Public Announcement.
The first announcement St. Petersburg had
that the work of the aSSaSSinS was complete