The herald., 1896-06-01

sufferers, which realized 366 roubles
($29OC. The duke and duchess of Con-
naught were present, the duke being the
personal representative Of the queen at
the coronation.
The scene at the celebration of divine
service at the cemetery was most i'm
pressive, some fifty thousand persons
being present. The majority of them
were seeking missing relatives in the
mortuary chambers, and their grief and
despair were indescrbable.
AS soon as body was identified
sacred icon Gmage) was placed upon
the breast. Those bodies which are
claimed by relatives or friends have been
inferred in the churchyards of the COM
munes to which they belong. The uni
Identified dead will be buried in COM
mon grave. Many of the injured were
discharged from the hospital today,
their wounds having proved to be slight.
one could gather sufficient number
OF incidents of narrow escapes from
death and stories of heroic rescue TO
MI a large volume. One instance was
that OF a poor servant girl who was in
danger of being trampled to death. But
a dozen stalwart moujiks surrounded
her and fought off the press and bore
her safely out Of the crowd.
one visiting the plain late In the day
today found almost all traces of the dis
aster removed. But it was seen how
easily the accident could happen. Be
hind the booth from which the souvenir
mugs were to be distributed is a deep,
broad hollow in the land, fifty yards
across and full of irregular declivities
and of holes from six to eight feet Deep
The shifting, sandy soil would make 1t
difficult to secure a foothold there, even
under ordinary circumstances. and
quite impossible with thousands Of peo-
pie pressing on from behind.
Hundreds of the victims met their
death in this hollow and the narrow
passage between the booths. Workmen
are still searching the bottom of the we'll
in which the thirty bodies and two live
men. gone mad, were found.
Everywhere In the city are excited
groups of people discussing the disaster,
the significant proportions of which all
have at last come to realize. The streets
present some saddening contrasts in
the coronation decorations, very few Of
which have been removed, and the
gaily dressed populace, who, having es-
capped with their friends. continue their
holiday merriment. while every few
yards men are carrying collins on their
shoulders or across their knees in
droskies.
The police and force of soldiers with
fixed bayonets>have been keeping order
all day at the cemetery. where an un-
ending stream of people have been pass
ing all day. All day there were most
affecting scenes, relatives and priests
praying here and there beside the dead
ranged upon the grass surrounded by
still larger numbers of the unidentified
dead. Most of these poor remains of hu-
manity merely had a sheet for a cov-
ering to the mutilated and disfigureI
bodies. Some were, In rough cof1ins, left
half open to enable friends to identify
them. People came upon the ground
looking for missing ones, only to find
other relatives engaged in dressing the
bodies of the lost, while others were sit
ting sobbing and apparently helpless
beside their dead
The funerals commenced at D. m,
amid most demonstrative scenes of
grief.
The famous John of Cronstadt. who
attended the late czar in his last Ill
iastical garb, blessing and consoling the
mourners.
WORSE THAN A BATTLE.
LONDON, June Especial dispatches
from Moscow to the morning papers de-
scribe the horrors of the Khodijnskote
plain as being worse than those OF a bat
tie field. The Daily News dispatch says:
ihe czar sobbed upon learning of the
disaster. The chief of police of Moscow
tried to commit suicide. 1t is probable
that but for the numerous correspond
entsents here the whole affair would be
hushed up Newspapers were forbidden
to publish descriptions of the disaster
There were 140 booth on the plain an,l
some OF them were crushed together like
matchooxes. Astonishing as it seems,
the people returned in the afternoon and
enjoyed the amusements as if nothing
mad happened. Many complained OF
their failure to get souvenirs"
A grand banquet was given tonight in
the kremlin to the marshals, the nobiI-
lty. the provincial deputations and
others.
The czarina sent bottle of madeira IA
each of the injured persons in the hos
pital TODAY - 'N'