The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1896-06-01

process of IdsntIHcarion Is going on, are
terrible In the extreme. The remains OF
the dead WIN all be conveyed during
the course Of the night to the cemetery
where large morgpe is located.
The disaster, II Is now explained WAS WAS
due, mainly to the absence OF the ponce,
and troops, who had not arrived az 50
early an hour In the morning at the
scene where the festivities We're scneu-
uled to take place.
Fully / .O0O. 900 persons Of all grades OF
society had gathered together on ne s
Khodijnskoje plain at the time tne
disaster occurred. Only about LOU az
tendants were incharge, and they SEEM
ed TO be unable 10 control the MOD
HoDing b lessen the pressure OF the
assembled hundreds, all moving toward
a common center, they tossed the pack
ages and presents Into the midst Of the
crowd. This seemingly precipitated
the panic, since Il scramble 70 OBTAIN
possession Of the gifts ensued and the
hollow piece Of ground near the eentef
formed death trap for the thousands.
The buildings on all sides ot tins
KhodIjnskoje plain, where. by the way
NAPOLEON concentrated his troops be-
fore moving upon this city, are In many
cases being used as temporary hosplt-
ais, and the soldiers have been render
ing great service In removing the dead
and caring for the wounded.
The calamity may be said 70 have put
an end to all coronation festivities. csr-
talnly so far as the general public IS
concerned The disaster occurred be-
tween five and six o'clock this morning.
1t was Intended that the banquet shoulu
commence before noOn;but the Immense
throng which had gathered around the
sheds where the mugs were to be pre-
scented and the food distributed, became
so dense that the attendants were over
powered and thrown to the ground IN
the mad struggle which commenced Tor
food and the gifts, many OF the attend
ants being. among the dead.
Police Lost All Control.
The police made desperate attempts
to control the people, but oil their eff
forts were futile, and men, women and
children were trampled upon by hun
dreds, the slIrielIs and groans Of the Vic-
tins being heard afar.
For a time the officials In charge OF
the banquet lost their heads entirely:
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
Bremen who were hastily summoned to
the scene. and then the latter began the
work of extrlcating the dead and In
Iured, ranging them on the ground in
groups OF ten, twenty and thirty at
every hundred years or so.and dispatch,
ing To the city as speedily as possible
In the military transport wagons, furni-
ture vans, food wagons, carts, etc, the
injured. giving preference at tirst % the
women and children.
Some terrible, heartrending scenes
we're witnessed among the Survivors
who were seeking relatives among the
victims. The latter were mostly peas
ants. and few uf them have as yet been
Identified. They were lying in heaps, as
they had been extricnted during the
afternoon, their crushed, blood-stained
and horribly distorted faces upturned
in the scOrchlng sun, Gray-haired men
and women lay alongside children and
sturdy men, all crushed as II beneath
heavy rollers, some Of the heads being
trampled into a shapeless jelly.
Did Not Know Of the Tragedy.
So immense was the concourse Of
people upon the Khodljnskoje plain
that hundreds of thousands were not
aware Tor long time that disaster
had occurred, for there was noise caus-
ed by the excitement Of the celebrations,
by the music in the open-air theaters,
by the bands drawing crowds TO other
engagements, all the entertainments
provided for the people being In full
swing at midday, ard yet the work OF
gathering UP hundreds OF crushed dead
was In progress IN another part OF the
plain, and the work OF attending many
hundreds Of injured people was being
carried on by a large force
II was not until nearly 10 o'clock
tonight that the first official statement
OF the disaster was made public. some
people claiming that this was done IN
order to avoid putting a sudden STOP
to the festivities on the plain, whicn
might have resulted In panic and stun
more serious loss OF Ire Even now Svy, tme
people in this city refuse TO believe
thai the disaster Is nearly as great as
the officials declare,
A bulletin given out at 10 o'clock said
that up to 4 O'Clock this afternoon 5sl
bodies had been recovered and that 4b9
persons had been injured. But very
shortly afterward, at II o'clock exact
". an official notice was posted saying
thai the list OF dead totaled l.13s per-
sons, including those who died from
Injuries after having been removed
from the rlain.
The car has given orders that the
sum OF 1000 rcfbles be given to each
bcreaved family, and that the Victims
be buried at his expense.
Where Most WSFO Killed.
The passages between the various
booths became the scene Of the widest
struggles. Here It was that most were
killed. Despite the best efforts OF the
Cossucks and the police, who, unfor-
tunately, arrived too late TO be OF great
service. tho crowd constantly Increased,
II was long time before the plain could
be cleared enough TO allow the work OF
rescue TO proceed. Many Of the injured
were conveyed to various hospitals
were soon hllcd to overlooking. Hum
dreds of persons who were wounded,
however. were removed to their own
homes ar taken to private residences
ana 10 buildings in the Kremlln,
Most OF the victims were women ana
Children
As this IS tho hrst serious accident
reported since the festivities commenc-
cd, Il has attracted much attention.
and has cast deep gloom over the
rilV.