The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1896-06-01
STREWN With DEAD
We're the Streets Of Moscow After
Mad Rush Of the Mob.
EARLY REPORTS IN NO WISE EX-
AGGERATED THE HORROR.

Women and Children the Principle Vic
tims-Ditches of the Earthworks Filled
to a Level With Dead and Dying-The
Killed Numbers 113S.
Moscow, May 31.-The CITY has not
recovered from the shookEoccasioned by
the frighttul calamity of yesterday on
Hodynsky Plain during the progress of
the free feast and entertainment in con-
neotion with the coronation ceremonies.
The extent of the disaster was not ex-
aggerated in the first reports. The stam-
pede of the great multitude was sighu
never to be forgotten for it's horror.
After the crowd had been dispersed by
the police and military, the street was
found strewn with dead, killed by the
crush, traInpled upon, or by suffooation.
A great number of children were among
the victims. In the wild rush of the
frenzied crowd, they were swept away
from their parents or others having
charge of them and their puny strength
availed them naught when pitted against
the irresistible force of the surging mob.
The instant they stumbled and fell, life
was crushed out of them.
This was the case with many adults.
No human strength could Withstand
the mad rush of the crowd, and safety
could alone be found in allowing ones
self to be carried forward an d back in
the pulsating mob and deyoting every
energy to keeping upon ones feet.
The officials made every effort and
offered every facility for the identified
tlon of the dead, but the bodies in hun
dreds of instances are utterly unreoog-
nized, the faces having been literally
crushed out of all semblance to humani-
| ty. A careful search is made of each
body for papers to establish identity,
| and record Is made of the clothing OF
| each corpse. For the same purpose it
was officially announced this morning
| that of the total mum Der Of victims, 1138,
most of them were Moujiks from the
provinces, poor class of people. Among
the number were many of the poverty
stricken residents of Moscow and the
villagers in the neighborhood of the city.
The fete was particularly for this class Of
| people. The middle class generally held
aloof from the entertainment or else
visited the plain in the capacity of spec
| tators.
The scena in the city last night and to-
/ 0dy Auo bOOA u Il1OSu Phlhl0l OAO. no
| injured and large number of the dead
| werep taken to the hospitals and other
| charitable institutions. Far into the
night ambulanoes, fire trucks and other
| vehicles were engaged in conveying the
| dead and injured into the city.
A reporter of the United Press went
| again to the plain today, and saw some
| of the effects of the mad rush. The ditch
es of the abandoned earthworks on the
| plain have been filled to the level with
| the bodies of those driven into them by
| the awful pressure from behind. Here
those not crushed to death were suffocat-
ed by the dead and dying above them.
In the passages between the booths
from which free food was distributes
OF dead men, women and children, the
| women and children predominating
Some Of thescorpses were frightfully dis
| torted. The clothing had been torn to
shreds and the bodies were in semi
nude condition. The assertion is repeat
ed today that the polices were not on the
scene in sufficiently strong numbers at
an early hour to handle the crowd.
1t is fact there were only compara-
| lively few present at in the morning,
at which time the disaster occurred.
There were then about thousand atten-
dants engaged in distributing the gifts
of the Gear to the importunate mob
| and to this the calamity is attributable.
When the thousands Of persons in the
rear began to press forward upon those
| in front and a number of th1 latter were
| crushed against the barriers; the shrieks
Of the injured and groans of the dying
| caused the attendants to become stricken
with terror. They dreaded what after
| wards actually occurred, the breaking
down of the barriers by the enormous
human pressure upon them. In fear of
their lives they threw thousands Of
memorial cups filed with mead beer,
etc., at the struggling mass Of humanity
in their attempts to drive them back.
| This led to wild scramble In the
crowd. The immense quantity of liquids
thrown formed a sort of pond in front of
the long line of booths and rendered the
ground slippery and treacherous, max
Ing foothold very uncertain. A great
numbor of persons, who might have 9TH
erwiss escaped thus fell to the ground,
where life was soon crushed out by the
howl1ng mob. In some parts of the plain,
the ground looks rs though it had been
| newly ploughed. This is where 1t was
torn up by the heavy wooden shoes of
the peasants in the wild excitement.
| So great was the rush of the visitors
at the hospitals today in search Of miss
ing relatives and friends that the work of
the doctors and physicians was seriously
interrupted. This afternoon the autho-
rites gave orders for the transfer of un-
claimed bodies to the Vogankotfsky ceme-
terry where they will remain for a time to
enable them to be identified Il possible.
The feeling OF the Moujiks was very
bitter against the authoritiesawh they
held had not taken sufficient precautions
to guard against an affair suoh as oc-
ourred.
AS a matter of fact the authorities are
In no wise to blame. 1t was impossible
for them to fDresee that such great
multitude would be present at such an
early hour, but the precautionary meas
ures adopted would have been sufficient
had not the people become SO frenized.
After the disaster the large force OF
military and police had the greatest
difficulty in restraining even semb'
lance Of order The Czar's promise to
help the bereaved families, coupled with
the published expression of his intense
grief and deep sympathy, allayed the bit
Ger feeling ofsthe people The people are
warmly. grateful Ito him for bis action.
| HIS majesty ordered thousand roubles
% paid to each family that has lost q
member through the catastrophe. In ad.
d1tion the state will pay the expenses OF
| bnrying the dead, while the physicians
az the hospitals and elsewhere have been
Instructed to spare nothing to alleviate
the Hu ffavtp0 ne tha ,iI,rod