The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1896-05-31
1.-THE LARGEST CIRCULATION OFF AMY M0RTH GAR0LDMA DAILY

Among the dead found on KhodiinS-
sl,oie plain were ladies, evidently of
high rank, dressed i'm the finest silk
and adorned with the richest Jewels.
The police barracks to which the
bodies of the dead were taken by the
authorities are besieged with persons
looking for friends and relatives.
! The scenes at the barracks where the
| process of Identification is going ON,
are terrible in the extreme. The re-
mains of the dead will all be convey
| ed during the course of the night to
! the cemetery, where large morgue is
! located
| The disaster, it is now explained,
was due mainly to the absence of
! police, who had not arrived so early
| i'm the morning at the scene where the
| festivities were scheduled to take place.
! Fully 100000 people of all grades of So
ciety, had gathered together on the
! Khodiinskoie plain at the time the dis
aster occurred. Only about thousand
attendants were i'm charge and they
seemed to be unable to control the
mob Hoping to lessen the pressure OF
the assembled hundreds of thousands.
all moving toward a common center
they passed the packages and presents
into the midst of the crowd. This
st temingly precipitated the panic, since
a scramble to obtain possession of the
| gifts ensued, and the hollow piece Of
ground near the centre formed a death
trap for the thousands.
The Gar and Czarina, when inform
ed of the disaster were much Distress
ed, sent additional physicians to the
scene to care for the injured and issued
instructions that full report of the
tragedy is to be made, in order that
the distressed families may be reliey-
ed.
As this is the first serious accident
reported since the festivities commenc-
ed It has attracted much attention and
has cast quite a gloom over the city.
The French Ambassador, Comte de
Montebello, is scheduled to give a bali
at the French Embassy this evening,
but it is reported that this feature OF
the celebrations may be abandoned,
although a very large sum OF money
has been spent upon the preparations,
France being greatly desirous OF tes-
tifvinr to her friendship for Russia oy
making display upon this occasion
which will pass into history
The decorations for the Embassy and
hall room have cost a fortune, miles OF
the most valuable carpets have been
laid fruits. flowers. fishes and birds
from all lands have been imported for
the supper and nothing has been spar
ed TO make the French ball one OF the
most striking features of the corona
tion fetes.
i Festivities have been suspended and
= ,Nf nv Ia
fearful calamity which has changed
the scenes of rejoicing into the deepest
woe.
The buildings on all sides of the
Khodiinskoie plain, where, by the way,
Napoleon concentrated his troops be-
fore moving upon this city. are IA
many cases being used as temporary
hospitals and the soldiers have been
rendering great service in removing
the dead and caring for the wounded.
/ Further time must elapse before ac-
curate figures as to the number OF vlc-
TINS of the disaster is ascertained; burt
there is no doubt that the official
estimate of 1000 victims cannot be far
from right, certainly so far as the
general public is concerned.
The disaster occurred between and
o'clock this morning. 1t was intend
ed that the banquet should commence
before noon; but, the immense throng
which had gathered around the sheds
where the mugs were TO be presented
and the food distributed, became so
dense that the attendants were over
powered and thrown on the ground IN
/ the mad struggles which commenced
I for food and the gifts, many OF these
attendants being numbered among the
dead. The police made desperate at
| tempts to control the people, but all
their efforts were futile, and men. wo-
men and children were trampled upon
! by hundreds, the shrieks and groans
of the victims being heard afar.
I For a time the officials in charge of
the banquet lost their heads entirely.
I The crowds seemed to have gone mad
with rage and excitement, shouting,
cursing and yelling as they pressed on
ward over path strewn with dead
and dying human beings.
Eventually, however, some show of
order was restored by the troops and
firemen, who were hastily summoned
to the scene and then the latter began
the work of eXtricating the dead and
injured, ranging them on the ground
in groups of ten, twenty or thirty.
at every hundred yards or so, and
despatching to the city as speedily as
possible in the military transport
wagons. furniture vans, food wagons,
etc, the injured, giving preference at
first to the women and children.
1t was not until nearly one o'clock
tonight that the first official statement
of the disaster was made public, this
being done in order 10 avoid putting a
sudden stop to the festivities on the
plain, which might have resulted in
panic, and still more serious loss of
life.
Even now, the people in this city re-
fuse to believe that the disaster is any
thing near as great as the Russian Of
ficials make out, and this is in spite
of the long procession of peasants
returning from the plain with
bent heads or weeping terribly.
The Gar has given orders that the
sum of 900 roubles be given to each
family and that the victims be buried
at his expense.