Rosebud County news. [volume] (Forsyth, Mont.) 1901-1906, 1905-01-26
az THE MEREST CHANCE THE
IMPERIAL FAMILY ESCAPED
UNHURT.
WAS IT ACCIDENT OR DESIGN?
THE POLICE AND MILITARY ARE
INVESTIGATING THE
MYSTERY.

st. Petersburg, Jan. 21.-The cere-
mony of the blessing OF the waters
this year was accompanied by an
event more mysterious, unprecedented
and extraordinary than any afforded
by the annals of Russian history. For
a Russian sovereign to fall by the
hand Of an assassin is no new thing in
Russian records, but that the emperor
should narrowly escape death by
shot from his own artillery while he
was engaged in a solemn religious
rite, surrounded by priests of his
church, is SO difficult to realize as to
be almost incredible. Yet this is what
happened yesterday, and the Russian
public is left wondering and mystified.
BY the merest chance the imperial
family escaped unhurt, but public
opinion is stunned by what might have
been the tragic results of the affair.
Official Account of Affair.
The official account of the shooting
affair is as follows:
During the ceremony of the bless
ing of the waters of the Neva, in the
presence of the emperor, as the usual
salute was being fired an accident hap
pened. A charge of grape instead of
a saluting charge was fired from
gun belonging to one of the batteries
stationed near the bourse. Some bull
let's struck the facade CT the winter
palace, near the quay gardens, break
ing four windows. A policeman be-
longing to the st. Petersburg force
was wounded. According to the in
formation at hand no other accident
occurred. Inquiry contir-es.'
Public Is Skep.ical
In spite of the official statement
that the cannon shot which might cas-
lily have wiped out the whole of the
Romanoff family was the result of
carelessness in leaving a shOtted
cartridge in the breech of a gun after
target practice, the mysterious case is
still under the combined Investigation
of the military and police, and the pub
lie seems as little inclined as the au-
thorities to accept the published ver-
sion. The officers and men of the bat
terry have not been arrested. but are
confined to barracks, and by the mill
tary regulations are so closely under
restraint that it is impossible for the
culprit or culprits to escape until the
responsibility is determined.
Evidences Of Design.
1t cannot be said definitely whether
the affair was an accident of the result
of design. The general belief is that
a widespread plot did not exist, but
evidences of design are. so apparent
that the statement attributing the
presence of a loaded shell to previous
target practice evoked smiles in many
quarters. 1t is pointed out as being
highly improbable that the gun had
not been cleaned for two days. and it
is impossible that a second cartridge
could have been inserted for saluting
purposes behind the first; and it is GER
tainly startling coincidence that the
gun con .aining this missile should be
trained directly on the imperial
chapel.
The two Investigations are proceed
ing independently, and both are guard
ed with the utmost secrecy.
Strike Causes Uneasincss.
st. Petersburg, Jan. 21.-The strike
situation is causing much uneasiness.
There are indications of its spreading
toward a general sympathetic strike.
Determined efforts are being made to
call out all the factory workers in st.
Petersburg, numbering several hun
dred thousands, including the en-
ployes of the Russian Westinghouse
company.