The evening herald. [volume] (Shenandoah, Pa.) 1891-1966, 1896-06-01
THE MOSCOW MASSACRE.
Between Two and Three Thousand
People Trampled to Death,
THE TRAGEDY OF THE GREAT FETEs

FORWARD Tor Free Banquet Provided
for Half Million, Rush for Souvenirs
Precipitates the Fatality.
Moscow, June Half million people
were indulging in merrymalling on Kho-
dynsk plain, facing the Petrovsky palace
on Saturday when the festivities were in
terrupted by a tragic occurrence in which
many lives were lost. The free feast,
which has always been popular feature
of coronations, has always been the occa-
sion of crowding and good natured dis
putes for places on the part of the guests
of the city, but no such noisy demonstra-
ton was ever witnessed on the plain as
that which marked Saturdays monster
gathering.
1t was at first arranged to accommodate
100000 people, but in view of the immense
crowds assembled in and about this city
for the coronation fetes extra tables and
benches were hastily erected, and every
effort was made to provide seating room
and hearty meal for 500, 600 people Twice |
that number was desirous of taking part |
in the feast, but the authorities decided |
that there must be limit to the number
to be entertained, and so the figure was
fixed at half u million.
TO feed this multitude an army of cooks
and walters was gathered together, and
! the army bakehouses were tested to their
utmost capacity. Five hundred thousand
mugs, each bearing portraits of the czar
and czarina, were ordered for presentation
to the people taking part in the great ban
quet Thousands of cattle, train loads of
provisions and ship loads of liquid refresh
ments were sent to the KhOdynski plain
during the week. At dawn the crowd
about the tables was enormous, and they
were all desperately hungry, some of them
having tasted, by choice or necessity, for
nearly twenty-four hours.
Various versions as to the origin Of the
stampede and crush are current, but the
account to which the most credence is at
tached is to the effect that the wagons
laden with the 100000 souvenirs which
were to be distributed among the people
were proceeding to the Khodynsi plain,
followed by multitude of eager PEASANTS
when the attendants, with view to pleas
ing the people, threw number of the SOU
venirs among the crowd. There was a wild
scramble towards the point where they
fell, and the news spread like wildfire that
the distribution haG commenced. This
resulted in headlong,p ,pell nell for the
booths where the distribution of souvenirs
was to have been made later.
What added greatly to the gravity of
the disaster was the circumstances that
these booths were surrounded by bitches
The foremost persons in the oncoming
crowd fell PROSTATE in these bitches and
the people following speedily trampled
them to death. Others stumbled over their
bodies and met the same fate. And so the
horror grew. The pressure was so great
upon the sides of the booths from the
! struggles of the mass of mad humanity
. that they gave way, and hundreds of people
, were forced into them through the broken
: walls. One mounted gendarme near the
booths was literally crushed to death, to-
gether with his rearing and plunging
horse.
1t is now said that the fatalities will
amount to between two and three thou
sand, but it is impossible yet to ascertain
accurately the extent of the disaster. An
official statement issued yesterday places
the number of dead recovered at 1886, and
the seriously or fatally injured at 2S6, But
in contrast with this official statement,
there are 1,2S2 corpses lying at the Gem
etery, besides the many dead and dying
that are known to have been removed from
the i'll fated field by friends.
- Despite the disaster popular demonstra'
n ton in honor of the czar and czarina ac
II tually took place in the afternoon. The
U distribution of souvenirs occurred. II
a spite of the gloom caused by the terrible
n accident of the morning the multitude'
a participated heartily in the celebration
4 the members of the imperial family being
Il accorded an ovation.
II Very few of the Victims it is announced
= belong to the well to do classes. Nearly
. all are moujiks, or peasants, and large
proportion of the dead are woman anf
v children,
q The czar and czarina yesterday, after at
q tending the requiem mass in the chapel o
the Kremlin, paid Il visit to the injured
. survivors in the hospitals, passing from
cot to cot and addressing words of sympa
X thy and comfort. Both of the imperia
Ie pair were deeply affected by the scenes 0
3 suffering they witnessed. The czar ha:
70 given orders that the sum of 1000 rouble
II be given to each bereaved family, and thai
L the victims be buried at his expense.
Il Saturday evening after receiving depu
tations, the cZar and czarina attended ano
danced at the brilliant ball of the French
embassy Preparations had been made on
a most elaborate scale for this ball, and il
is asserted that $4,000 was expended Oh
0 the supper alone. The czarina was not in
3 formed ON Saturday of the disaster, owing
to her delicate condition. While the dance
within the French embassy continued
amid all the aocompaniments of luxury
and gayety, disconsolate friends and rela-
tives wandered over the desolate plain
among the dead and the dying looking
for their missing.
The city is filled with grief stricken
crowds. 1t is striking evidence of the
vast multitude who took part in Satur-
days fetes that there were large numbers
who were totally unaware of the number
of lives among them that had been crushed
out, and who proceeded with their merry
making throughout the day without hay
. ing grasped the fearful proportions of the
disaster. Even up to "A late hour at night
people refused to believe that there could
have been SO many lives lost,
But today thousands of persons are
crowding to the I<hodynsld plain
searching for relatives and friends, The