Rocky Ford enterprise., 1896-06-04
THOUSANDS CRUSHED
AWFUL CALAMITY AT MOSCOW.
Million People Attending n Free Out
Door Banquet Crowd Upon the Refrcah-
ment nooths and Over Thousand Are
Crushed to Death.

Moscow. May 3l.-A terrible panic, re-
sultlng from the great crush Of people n:
the popular feast here yesterday, In honor
of the coronation OF the car, caused tie
trampling to death OF over 1000 people.
In anticipation of the grand holiday and
popular banquet on Theodynski plain,
tens OF thousands OF people began troop
Ing towards the Petrovsky palace, IN
front OF which the plain Is situated. dur
Ing the earliest hours of the morning. III
fact, so much interest was taken In the
open air banquet that thousands reached
the grounds the night before and camped
there or in the immediate vicinity during
the night, In order to make sure OF obtain
ing good positions. The majority OF these
people came Oh foot. but some came In the
oldest kind OF vehicles. country carts and
turnouts Of the most primitive description,
and Others trave'ed on horseback.
On Theodynski or Khodljlnskoje plain
Ct IL written both ways) long lines or
rough tables. ilanked by rougher benches,
had been erected. In the distance these
lines of tables looked like immovable
regiments OF soldiers on the trenches OF
some extensive series Of fortlficat!on. 1t
was first arranged to accommodate 400.
900 people. but in view OF the Immense
crowds assembled In and about the city at
the coronation fete extra tables anu
benches were hastily erected and every ef-
fort was made to provide seating room
and a hearty meal for 100000 people.
Twice that number was deslrous OF taking
part in the feast, but the authorities dec.d-
ed that there must be limit to the num-
Der and so the figure was fixed at S5Uo,-
600. To feed this multitude an army or
cooks and walters was gathered together,
the army bake houses were taxed TO their
utmost capacity and 100000 mugs, each
bearing portraits Of the cZar and czarina.
were ordered for presentation for the peo-
pie taking part in the great banquet.
Thousands of cattle, train loads OF pro-
visions and ship loads of liquid refresh
ments were sent to the plains during the
week and this morning all was IN reaai-
ness for the gigantic meal.
In anticlpat.on Of the assemblage OF IN
immense crowd and the possibility of dis
order. strong forces of police were de-
tailed for duty on the plain, which, ike
the Petrovsky palace 1t fronts, Is some
three miles outside OF this city and on the
road to st. Petersburg. In addition sew
eral detachments of infantry and cavalry
were stationed in the vicinity in order to
support the police, should such step bt
necessary.
BY dawn to-day the mass Of peasants
about the tables was really enormous ano
they were all desperately hungry, som'
of them having tasted, by choice or neces
s.ty, for nearly twenty-four hours. Th'
police did everything possible to keel
back the crowd hut suddenly the masses
controlled by some ineNplicable impulse
or impatient to get at the food, presset
forward, swept everything before then
and overturned the tables and benches, a!
IL made of grass. trampling hundreds un
der foot and crushing the life out OF
great number Of people. The oldest, veal
naturally, suffered the most, and one poo
woman, who gave birth to child durini
the excitement, was trampled to death
The fate of the infant is not known, but
Is believed to have shared the fate Of /:
mother.
The passages between various booths
became the scene of the widest strug
rles Here 1t was that the most wer
killed. Despite the best efforts Of tn
Cossacl1s and of the police, who unfortu
pately arrived too late to be of great ser
vice. the crowd constantly increased. /
was long time before the Khodinjin
skoie plain could be cleared enough t.
allow the work of rescue to proceed
MANY of the injured We're conveyed t
the various hospitals, which were sool
filed to overfowing. Hundreds Of per
sons who were wounded, however, wer'
removed to their own homes or taken Il
private residences Most of the victim
were women and children.
The disaster occurred between five AM
six o'clock this morning. 1t was intende'
the banquet should commence befor
noon, but the immense throng which ha
gathered around the sheds where til
mugs were to be presented and the foo
distributed became so dense that the Al
tendants were overpowered and throw
TO the ground In the mad struggles wh.c
commenced for food and the gifts, an
many of these attendants being numbere
among the dead. The police made de:
perate efforts to control the people, bu
all their attempts proved futile, and mel
women and children We're trampled upo
by thousands, the shrieks and groans G
the victims being heard from afar. For
time the officials in charge Of the banque
lost their heads entirely. The crowd
seemed to have gone mad with rage an
excitement, shouting. cursing and yellin
as they pressed onward over pat
strewn with dead and dying human b.
ings. Eventually, however. some show
order was restored by the troops, an
Gremen .were hastily summoned, and the
the latter began the work of eXtrlcatin
the dead and injured, ranging them o
the ground in groups of ten, twenty an
thirty at every 100 yards or 80, ana Oil
matching to the city as speedily as po'
sible. in the military transport wagon
| furniture vans, feed wagons, ETC., the IL
jured, giving preference at first to I'll
women and children.
1t Is said now the fatalities Will amour