The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1906-03-21
ALLAHABAD, INDIA.
Another Letter From Miss Alice W!shart.
MeIa Heart Breaking Affair.

Try to tell you a little about IL.
This morning, eight of us went
down to the Fort, where we could
com mand a view of the whole
spectacle, from the ramparts
which overlook the Gauges and
Junna, and away over the sands
to the thousands of grass and
BAN boo huts occupied by one mil
lion religious devotees aud yogls,
or priests. 1t was the saddest
sight ever saw. Although the
Mag mela is held here every year,
such crowds only come once in II
years, and such a day as this,
once IN 36 years IN Alahabad.
Pilgrims from all over India have
been pouring in for weeks, and
to-day seemed to be the culmin-
ating point. Even the Lieut.. Gov
ernor, Sir James Dlggs, La
Touche, and a number of the
judges of the High court, were
there to see the pageant. The
bathing began at 4 this morning,
but the crowd was densest about
8 a. M, when we looked down on
seethlng, swaylng mass of two
million people, some coming from,
and some going to bathe IN the
dirty sacred" water. From the
starting point of the procession
to the iupctlon of the waters is
perhaps three quarters of a mile,
and the width of the sandy stretch
between the Fort and Ganges, ov-
er which the people march is not
more than 200 feet wide. AS far
as the eye can see, IN every direc.
ton, are swarms OF people, a
moving jam Of yellow, red, green,
blue and gold color, lnnumerable
straw hats, and flags flying from
tall poles, indicating where GER
tain priests hold forth with then
sp ecial following, and voices ris
ing like the noise Of a great wa
terfall. A space about 80 feet
wide the entire length of the
sandy stretch, had been fenced
in for the procession of priests,
or yogls, and we had scarcely TAX
en- up our position on the ram
parts until the first procession,
headed by elephants and camels
IN gorgeous trappings, started
The standards Of the different
sects were carried by the men on
the elephants, while the music c?
was provided by brass band and
men beating drums; a dozen pr
licemen walked IN front, and
mounted police tried to keep the
masses on b,th sides from break
ing through the high tence put
up to keep them separate from
the procession. The crowd com
ing and going from the bathing
became so dense and so compsc
that IN spite of the efforts III the
mounted police to keepthem with
in bonds, burst through the
guards and nearly filed the wide
space allowed only for the yogis
yet even this did not relieve the
tension a great deal, for as our at
tention was directed to thegrount
directly below us, we were horri
fed to see men, women and chill
dren piled four deep, where they
had fallen, and the crowd to say,
themselves, surged on over The
fallen ones, who IN attempting tt
get up, would get quickly knock
ed down and trampeled on again
When the people, who seemed like
wild frightened sheep, began t.
realize II little that they were
treading over neap of human be
ings, they yerged trife to one
, eide, though scarcely enough II
allow the others to rise. Some o
the men pulled the women anC
children of their families out by
} sheer force, by grabbing hold o
, their sari's; but they were 81
: showed and pushed and beatel
down themse yes by the constan
} on.rhsh that they seemed to hav'
: little strength left. After lit
tie while, some officers cam
along and got the crowd separat
i ed a trifle from the heap of hall
/ dead bodies. Alas some of then
we're not half, but wholly liteles
L.. &b,c <..,,o A 1,ttln f,,rfhnr fi