Evening journal., 1896-06-01
MOSCOW IN MOURNING.
An Appalling Disaster at the
Cars Free Feast.
NO AMERICANS OR ENGLISH HURT.

NO AMERICANS OR ENGLISH HURT.
The List OF Doad May Rench Three Thou.
sand PltifuI scenes m Connection with
Rescue of tho Injured aud Removal OF
the Dead.
MOSCOW. June 1.-The disaster on the
Hodynsky plain, caused by a panic among
the vast crowd In attendance at the free
feast given by the car, Is constantly gain.
ing In proportions as the Investigations
by the authorities continue. These nre
made under difficulties. as the recovery OF
the victims was conducted by hundreds OF
volunteers. and many were carried awny
before they were enumerated Many ad-
dltional deaths Of tho injured who were
carried away are occurring, which are only
added to tho enumeration after some time.
1t is now said that tho fatalities will
amount to between 1900 and 5000, but
it ia impossible yet to ascertain accurately
the extent Of the disHstor An official
statement places the number of dead re-
covered at 1885 and tho seriously or IA
tally injured at 2S6. But in contrast with
this official statement there are ] 1889
corpses lying at the ccmotery, besides the
many dead and dying that ara known TO
have been removed from the III fated field
by friends.
The car and czarina attended and
danced at tho brilliant ball at the French
embassy Saturdaya night Preparations
had been made on a most elaborate scale
for this ball. and IL Is asserted that S7O,-
600 was expended on the supper alone,
rare viands and delicious fruits and veRe.
tables being brought from the most dis
tant climes to add to the delights Of the
feast, whilo France furnished the costliost
and most elegant fabrics and furniture 20
set Off the beauties of the palace where
the embassy Is lodged The czarina was
not informed at first Of the disaster owing
to her delicate condition. While the dance
within tho French embassy continued
amid all tho accomplishments Of luxury
and gayety, disconsointe friends and rela-
tlves wandered over tho desolate plain
among the dead and the suffering dying
looking, often In vain, for their missing
ones
Mnss For the Dead.
A requiem mass was said on Sunday In
a chapel of the Kemln, at which the czar
and czarina and all the members of the
imperial family attended.
The city is filed with grief stricken
crowds. 1t Is a striking evidence of the
vast multitude who took part in the fetes
that there were large numbers who were
totally unaware of the number OF lives
among them that had been crushed out
and who proceeded with their merry max
ing throughout the day without having
grasped the fearful proportions Of the dis
aster.
Thousands Of persons are crowding to
the Hodynsky plain searching for rela-
- rnl i a
tion is most difficult, both on account of
the large number Of victims and the tram
pied, torn and mutilated condition of
many of the corpses, some of which are
crushed quite beyond tho possibility OF
recognition and almost beyond semblance
70 humanity. The majority of killed were
persons from outlying villages though
the clothing of some indicated that they
were persons Of wealth and distinction.
The bodies of a number OF women Glad in
silks and fine linen were among those
/ fonnd.
The full force Of police and fremen are
caring for the dead, pulling bodies from
heaps OF the killed and injured and rang
ing them on the ground, which is covered
for hundreds Of yards with groups of 10
and 20 bsgrimed, bloodstained and dis1g-
ured corpses, among which the agonized
friends of the missing wander in painful
effort to identify them. The injured who
were mixed with the daad suffered terribly
from thirst and the fever caused by their
unattended injuries.
The forces at work on the plain discov-
cred the mouth OF disused we'll In the
middle Of the field. the plank covering Of
which had given way in the mad rush OF
yesterday morning. In tho we'll there
were 30 dead bodies, and wedged in among
them and held down by their weight were
found two men alive and comparatively
uninjured physically. But the terror and
the hldeous surroundings Of the night had
proved too great a strain on their minds
and they were raving mnniaos.
origin of the Disaster.
Various versions as to the origin Of the
stampede and crush are current, but the
one to which most credence is attached is to
the effect that the wagons lndon with the
100000 souvenirs which wero to be dis
tributed among the people were proceed
ing tdfhe Hodynsky plain. followed by
multitude Of eager peasants, when tho at
tendants, with view to pleasing the peo-
pie, threw a number of the souvenirs
among tho crowd. There was wild
scramble toward the point where they
fell.
The news spread like wildfre up and
down the throngs OF expectant peasants
that the distribution had commenced.
This resulted in a headlong, pellmell rush
for the booths where tho distribution OF
souvenirs was TO have been made later.
Tho arrangements which II was intended
to make to keep the crowds In order dur
ing the distribution had not been COM
pleted at that early hour and the force
on hand was powerless TO stem the tide Of
the on rush OF humanity
What ndded grestly 20 the gravity of the
disaster was the circumstance that these
booths were surrounded by bitches The
foremost persons IN the onooming crowd
fell prostrate In these ditches. and the peo-
ple following speedily tramplod them TO
death Others stumbled over their hodies
and met the same fate. And SO the horror
grew. The pressure was so great upon the
sides of tho booths from the struggles of
the mass Of mad humanity that they gave
way. and hundreds of people were forced