Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1893-08-10


pute the point
Upon being requested 10 continue bis
tale the American said. "When j found
I could do nothing, that 1 was moved
about as II I were an infant, rested Tor
n minute or 80 and then exerted myself.
I might lust as well tried TO kick down
tho Tower Of London. The crowd
swayed to one side OF the street / wns
forced face forward against plate-glass
window. My nose was hattened against
IL. as I was taller than the wood
en- protection in front OF 1t. and
il I hadn't braccd myself against the
latter my head, / am convinced, would
have gone through the window. The
crowd moved onward few PAGES. L
was forced against boarding. In front
of me were two little girls. They
couldn't have been more than ID years
of age. / put my hands against the
boarding and put forth all my strength.
wanted to save the two girls from
being crushed to death. DO you think
/ could keep from pressing against
them l tell you thought the bones
in nv arms would break. The perspira-
ton fell off me in a shower. One OF the
girls said, in a piteous voice Don't
push, please Push why / was strain
ing every muscle to save them. The
pressure behind me became worse. One
of the girls said: Have you no con
science l can laugh now when | think
of it, but i couldn't laugh then. !
couldn't open my mouth. L was afraid
to speak for fear my arms would give
way. The crowd swayed again, and
once more found myself in the middle
of it. My arms we're 6attened at my
sides. l was showed this way AMI that
l had no more power over my move
ments than if were bound hand and
foot The pressure was something
awful. Now, gentlemen, I'm not easily
scared. I've been in some pretty tight
places in my time. I've been shot four
times and I've seen other men shot. L
was at the battle Of Wounded Knee,
where the most murderous band OF In
dams that ever took to the war-path
suddenly and without any warning
opened fire on our soldiers. i saw
thirty OF the latter go down at the first
fire.
THOROUGHLY FRIGHTENED.
That was enough to discompose a non
combatant, but l never was so
thoroughly frightened as was on
Thursday in that crowd. | said
to man alonside me, III give
you guinea II you'll get me out OF this
crowd He said, / can't earn it, gov
ernor.' / heard man near me offer
guineas to any one who would take HIM
out of the press, either backward or for
ward. / had 800 about me. and sud
denly the thought, Suppose | drop
dead, presented itself. Scared ! Yes,
| was scared-so scared that am not
ashamed to own up-but scared as L
was couldn't hep observing the de-
meanor of the crowd and po-
lice, and saying to myself how
much more awful the position
would have been had we been
in New York instead of London.
The police couldn't do much. They
tried to keep the crowd back, but they
did so in srch a gentle manner that L
was amazed. The New York police
would have kept clubbing the front rank
until there weren't any more people to
club. If woman tainted the police
carried her away. If man tainted,
they did the same for him, and they did
the work as if they were men OF feeling.
Great the London police are the great
est in the world, and | can't say too
much about the good nature OF Lon.
don crowd. They want to see, like all
crowds, but New York crowd has lit
tie feeling to waste on itself, and par
takes something of the nature OF the
New York police, whereas London
crowd, like the London police, never
seems to lose its temper"
PERsPIRING IN PEACE.
"Did get out of it? l did. Some
mounted soldiers had to get through the
crowd. They passed me, and followed
in their wake. | never got to my seat,
but was able to buy place where L
could stand and perspire without the fear
of death from external pressure being
eternally before my eyes. | walked
about at night, and looked at the illumi-
nations and the crowds. The illumina-
ton of the Empire Theatre struck me as
the finest / saw. 1t was the crowd,
however, that took my eye. 1t may
have been noisy, and it may have in
dulged in some horseplay, but it was
heavily charged with good nature.
What surprised me was that saw hardly
any police. No number of police. 1t
seemed to me, could have controlled
such crowd. but the crowd ap-
peared to control itself. l learned
more about crowds on Thursday than
1 ever knew before. I'll tell you how it
impressed me in the way of magnitude.
II you were to take the ground between
Fourteenth street and One-hundred-and-
twenty-ffth street--about five and a
half miles-and between First and
Eighth avenues, New York city, and
fill it with people, you might geta crowd
that would equal in size the crowd that
/ saw in London on Thursday. No
man who has not been in London on a
gala occasion can have any idea Of what
an enormous crowd means at any rate
7, who thought knew something about
crowds, knew nothing about them be-
fore last Thursday"
want to know any more 2" one OF
the other diners inquired.
"No," replied the American, 81 want
no moro Of that sort of information,
but since I'm alive / wouldn't have miss
ed Thursdays experience for a farm. 7"
Anxious DepOsitOrs Treasured.
[By telegraph to the Dispatch.l
New YORK, August "a crowd Of
small depositors gathered before the
doors of the closed Msdison-Square
Bank this morning and anxiously in
CURED as TO the safety OF their money.
The larger depositors, it was stated, had
full confidence in the bank and were not