Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1896-06-06
THE HODYNSKY PLAIN

THE HnnyNSKY PLAIN
Where Napoleon Masseo fiis naon
Before Entering MOSCOW,
convsrted Into n valley OF Death y>>
Lives crushed out Of Multitudcs ef
People Assembled to Partake
of tho Czar's Hospitality.
n,oscor ~ !, A t.rr,,,ls acc,-
- a',,.,r, a. 1oss - - large
:, ~ ,,,,ss ono,,rred bera vest.r-
n. Tha v,o,,rIa,. fata "a ti,e corona-
t;o, ,,ias ,,.s hald H. the Ho-
dvnsLv nla;n onnos;te the Petro ffsD,v
,.iana and Il - est;matad that fnlly
soo 200 nersons attended. For days
mast the citv has been fun Of peasa a is
fro,,, ,,anv narts ~ the countrv. ali
ayaitipg he free feast that was riyon
vesterdav Manv 81 the neasants had
wallred lono distances In order to be
present. while others. more fortunate,
had arrived n the citv in vehicles OF
MXMIT UUM/-X.I
,xne,. ~ jI3 "a ed tI|5 j +. IIcst
noint for II was known that vester-
davis fetes wouid excel anything Of
the kind ever given In connection with
The coronation of aczar.
Long before daylight the crowds be-
gan pourinr in the direction OF the
nlain. while at an early hour all
sorts of merry making was indulged
in. The scene was one to be long
constructed on the plain, and free
food was distributed with free beer
and also mugs as souvenirs of the oc-
casion.
This free feast. which has ALWAYS
been the nopular feature of corona
tions. has hitherto been the occasion
Of n great deal of crowdinp and good
natnred fichtinp for places on the part
of the hundreds of thousands of
puests in the citv. but no such gather
mo was ever witnessed on the
Uodvnskv nlain. which has always
been the scene Of the popular enter
tainments ending coronations. as that
,uh;ah assa ,bIad vestard.y
Eycrvth;ng a nrogressed Smoothly nm
III tho distr;but;on ~ the food and
r;ft. haoan Then tho neonle in the
rear beran to crowd forward but the
nol;ce and soldiers checked them. and
for a short time there was comnara-
tive order soon however the
crowd In the rear AGAIN he
coma imnat;ent and suroed forward
desn;te every effort tn hold them back.
Rarr;ers had been erectei in the
,,;o;,;t, 90 tho hooths n nrevent
aogressive crowdino and under ordin-
arn circrmstonces these would have
hcen suffic;ent for the nurno,e The
,,oor,o +, front ,yare sxvant AGAINST
the barriers where the enormous
,'o;.,,t - ~ s,,rr;n .ss n the
"s.sA th.o 49,, n.;ns+
.sa, sa N" Ma ,,;th ~ IN and fr;rht the
e saS..,a - 80 a,,,sha5 .n.;nst N a
80 i,i.;a,.s 80 st.,,nrlad - ae+ ew,y hnt
-. at4a,tn ,,,.ra fr,,;t,ess Tbe;r
sns;a,. .a haard and th;s h.d tba
So, - f,.t,,ar II c;tinr those in ths
v - nat fnrward
Snddenlv the barriers gaye way.
and with a, rush the immense throng
swept forward Hundreds Of men,
women and children were thrown
down. and to stumble or fall meant
death or serious injury, but no power
coulo check the crowd. MANY of whom
were in n condition of manic The au.
tborities were helpless and for a tjmo
the scene baffied description. MANY
nersons were killed bv being crushed
AGAINST the barriers before they payu
,vav and n great number met their
deaths nv being trampled upon. The
cries and shrieks of the injured could
he heard above the tumult of the
crowd. and the effect was heartrend,
inp.
Additional troops were called upon
to assist in checking and dispensing
the people. This they finally sue
ceeded in doing, when every effort
was made to succor the injured. Cos
sacks were placed at the entrances of
the 5oo booths ON the plain and into
these structures were carried the
bodies of the dead
A. tho t;ma 81 sand;no tbia d;snatch
fa.sG n ;s ;mnossible 10 saw how manv
49, ',a,.so,,s ,s ,.ara L;Iled M tha renorter
e. 80, n
u 'no o'sI IL s; w. - ,sa ~
,'aa;es; asaos - ~ hoatl. 81" =
o ,arna m mn nnm [ her 81 tho dead wero
carr;ad awav in ambulances and On
sre truc,rs Int manv bodies are st;ll
~ tha l,ooths II ;s h;ohIv nrobabla
that many Of the victims who came
from q distance viii naver ba ;dent;-
sed Thasa hod;es w;l, he interred bv
the covernment In fact n ;s be-
L;llad ,vara nori;l,s from the nrov-
inces. Al the victims belonged to the
poorest classes Of people. The mum.