The record-union., 1896-05-31
Resulting From a Great Crush Of People
at a Popular Feast
Given in Honor of the Coronation of the
Gar of Russia.
The Police Unable to Restrain the
Immense Crowd of Peasants, Who
Suddenly Press Forward, Sweep
ing Everything Before Them
Twenty-Five Hundred People Re-
ported Killed.

pOIlCu NkllCu.
MOSCOW, May Boa terrible panic,
resulting from a great crush of people
at the popular feast here to-day in
| honor of the corona ton of the Car,
caused the trampling to death of many
people.
| In anticipation of the grand holiday
and popular banquet on Hodinsky plain
tens of thousands of people began
trooping toward Petrovsky Palace, in
front of which the plain is situated,
this morning.
In fact, thousands reached the
grounds last evening and camped there
or in the immediate vicinity in order to
make sure of obtaining good positions
| to-day.
| On the plain, long lines of rough ia
| bles thanked by rougner benches, had
been erected
| 1T was first arranged to accOmmO-
date 4OO, OO0 but in view of the immense
crowds assembled i'm and about the city
at the coronation fete extra tables and
benches were erected and every effort
made to provide meal for 500, 900 peo-
| pie.
To feed the multitude an army of
| cooks and walters was gathered to-
gether and the army bakehouses were
taxed to their utmost
| Over SOC, 900 mugs. zach bearing por-
traits of the Gear and Czarina. were or
dered for presentation to the people
taking part in THE banquet.
| Thousands of head of cattle, train
| loads of provisions and shiploads of
liquid refreshments were sent to the
plain, and this morning all was in read
! mess for the gigantic feast.
| In anticipation of the assembling of
the immense crowd and the possibility
of disorder, strong forces of police were
detailed for duty on the plain, three
miles outside of the city, on the road to
St. Petersburg.
| Several detaclhments of infantry and
cavalry were stationed in the vicinity
to support the police should such step
be necessary.
By dawn to-day the mass of peasants
about the tables was really enormous,
and all were desperately hungry, some
having tasted nearly twenty-four hours.
Many of the peasants had walked
| long distances in order to be present,
while others, more fortunate, had ar
rived in the city in vehicles of every
description. Expectation had reached
the highest point, for it was known that
to-day's fetes would excel anything of
the kind ever given in connection with
the coronation Of the Car.
| The scene was one to be long re-
membered. Great booths had been con-
structed on the plain, and from them
were distributed free food, free beer and
also mugs as souvenirs of the occasion.
This free feast, which has always been
the popular feature of coronations, has
hitherto been the occasion of a great
deal of crowding and good ma tured
fighting for places on the part of the
hundreds of thousands Of guests in the
city, but no such gathering was ever
witnessed in Hodyinsky Plain, which
has always been the scene of popular
entertainments ending coronations as
that which assembled to-day.
Everything progressed smoothly I'M
til the distribution of food and gifts be-
gan. Then the people in the rear began
to crowd forward. but the police and
soldiers checked them, and for a short
time there was comparative order.
soon, however, the crowd in the rear
again became impatient and surged for
ward, despite every effort to hold them
! back
Barriers had been erected in the yicin-
ity of the booths to prevent excessive
crowding, and under ordinary circum-
stances these would have been suffi-
cient for the purpose. The people in
front were sweeping against the bar
rlers, where the enormous weight of
the surging mass in the rear was
thrown directly against them. Mad
with pain and fright, the people who
| were crushed against the barriers
struggled to get away, but their at
tempts were fruitless Their shrieks
were heard, and this hard the effect of
further melting those in the rear to get
| forward.
suddenly the barriers gave way. and
with a rush, the immense throng swept
| Forward Hundreds of men, women and
chiioren were thrown down. and to
stumble or fall meant death or serious
INJURY, but no power could check the
crowd, many of whom were in a comb.
tion of panic
The authorities were HELPLESS and for
a time the scene baffied descrintion
Many persons We're killed bv heinz
crushed against the barriers before they
gave way, and great number met their
death by being trampled upon. The cries
ana shrleks of the injured could be
heard above the tumult of the crowd
and the effect was heartrending.
Additional troops were called unon
to assist in quieting and dispensing the
people This they finally succeeded
i'll doing, when every effort was made
to suecor the injured. Cossacks were
placed at the entrances of the 400
booths on the plain, and into these
structures were carried the bodies nj
the dead.
At the time of sending this dispatch
400 p. NO. 1t is impossible to saw how
many persons We're killed but the rep
resentative of the United Press. who
| was an eyewitness of the whole af-
fair, saw heaps of bodies in the booths
While the crush was most intense
| and the curses, shrieks and bowls OF
pain were at their hight, an unknown
woman was delivered of a child on .ha
field. No attention was paid to them
by the maddened crowd and the mother
and the infant were trampled to death
Every facility was given for the ident-