The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1905-01-20
ATTEMPT ON LIFE
OF CIR NICHOLAS
Entire Royal Family Mar
rowIY Escapes Death by
Shot from Emperor's
Own Artillery.
CLAIM IT WAS A MISTAKE
GRAPE INSTEAD OF SALUTING
CHARGE PUT IN GUN.

Fired from the battery of the First
Horse ARTILLERY of the Guard, the
Most Aristocratic Corps In the Rus
sian Army-Loaded shell Said TO
Have Been Left in Gun Inadvertently
After Practice Tuesday---General Pub
lie Not Inclined to Believe This
RidicuIe Idea that Gun Had Not Reen
Cleaned for Two Days.
st. Petersburg, Jan. 19.-The cere-
mony Of the blessing OF the waters this
year was accompanied by an event
more mysterious, unprecedented and ex-
traordinary than any afforded by the
annals of Russian history. For a Rus
sian sovereign to fall by the hands of
an assassin is no new thing in Rus
sian records. but that the emperor
should narrowly escape death by a shot
from his own artillery while he was en-
gagged in a solemn religious rite. sur
rounded by priests of his church, is so
difficult to realize as to be almost i'm
credible. YET this is what happened
to-day, and the Russian public is left
wondering and mystified.
BY the merest chance the imperial
family escaped unhurt. but public opin-
ion is stunned by what might have
been the tragic results of the affair.
The official account of to-day's shoot
ing affair is as follows:
: .sIl a., fJaa oo,,a,l,oru of bn hlacc.
ing of the waters Of the Neva to-day,
in the presence Of the emperor, as the
usual salute was being fired, an acci-
dent happened. A charge of grape in
stead Of a saluting charge was fred
from gun belonging to one of the bat
teries stationed near the bourse. Some
bullets struck the facade OF the winter
palace near the Quay gardens, breaking
four windows. A policeman belonging
to the ST. Petersburg force was wound
ed. According to the information to
hand at present no other accident oc-
Cured. Inquiry continues.
1t is also stated in official circles that
the grape was fred from one of the
guns of the First Horse artillery guard,
the most aristocratic corps in the Rus
".
tice on Thursday a loaded shell was
inadvertently left in the gun.
The Associated Press obtained the fol-
lowing statement from the police at 5
O'Clock this afternoon: %
with the second or third shot from
the Bourse battery on Basil Island a
very large number of shrapnel bullets
struck the chapel of the palace. Two
entered the interior where the emperor
was standing. The bullets had very
low velocity. The two which entered
the chapel fell harmlessly to the floor.
Several policemen about the chapel
were struck. With the exception of
one man named Romanoff, who was
severely wounded, they all escaped with
contusions. An inquiry is being con-
Quoted by the Grand Duke Sergius
MichaeIoMtch, inspector-general of ar
tillery. 1t has not yet been established
whether 1t was an accident or was due
to generalization
From an authoritative source it APP
pears that doubt of the existence of a
plot arises from the fact that shrapnel
was distributed to the battery In antic-
ipation of possible trouble with rioers.
the most alarming reports having.
reached the authorities last night of a.
proposed attempt on the emperor's life
to-day. Upon this fact rests the theory
Of q, possible mistake made by a gun
ner. r. --.
IF this was a deliberate plot" said
an officer especially charged with safe
guarding the person of his majesty, "it
was very ingenious. We have been
prepared for an anarchist attempt in
any form we could conceive, but an at
/ tempt to kill the emperor with one of
his own guns under the guise of firing
salute was never dreamed of. 1t is a
new departure, against repetition of
which we must take precautions. If
gunners of the emperor's picked guard
can be enlisted in such dastardly con-
.spiracy. serious possibilities are pre-
sented.''