The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, June 1, 1896, Page 1

VOLUME LXX3 —NO. 1. SAN FRA CISCO, MONDAY LIKE A GREAT BATTLEFIELD, Mangled Corpses Laid in] Rows on Hodynsky Plain. HUNDREDS CRUSHED IN THE STAMPEDE. Women and Children Borne Down When the Moujiks Rushed to Table. THIRTY BODIES AT THE BOTTOM OF A WELL. An Official Estimate Places the Num- ber of Dead at 1336—Aid for Bereaved Families. MOSCOW, Russia, May 31.-—The city has not yet recovered from the shock occa- sioned by toe frightful calamity yesterday on the Hodynsky plain during the great free feast and entertainment in connection with the coronation ceremonies, given at the expense of the Czar to whoever de- sired to partake The extent of the disaster was not exag- gerated in the first reports. As stated in these dispatches yesterday by a represent- ative of the United Press, who was an eye- witness, the stampede of the great multi- tude was a sight n ver to be forgotten for its horror. After the crowd had been dis- persed by the police and niilitary the field was strewn with the bodies of hundreds wbo had been killed by being crushed, trampled upon or oy suffocation. A great number of children were among the victims. In the wild rush of the frenzied crowd they were swept away from their parents or others having charge of them and their puny strength availed them naught when pitted against the irre- sistible 1orce of the surging mob. The in- stant .they stumbled and fell life was crushed out of them. But this was the case also with many adults. No buman strength could stand the mad on-rush of the crowd, and saiety could be found only in allowing one’s self to be carried for- ward and back in the puisating crowd, de- voting every energy to keeping upon his feet. The officials made every effort and of- fered every facility for the identification of the dead, but the bodies in bundreds of instances were utterly unrecognizable, the faces having been literally crushed out of | all semblance to humanity. A careful search is made of each body for papers to establish its identity, and a record is made | of the clothing on each corpse for the same purpose. It was officially announced this morning that the total number of victims was 1136. Many of them were Moujiks from the provinces, a poor. class of people, but among the number were many poveriy- stricken residents of Moscow and villages in the neighborhood of the city. The fete was particularly for the benefit of this class of people, and the middle class gen- erally held aloof from the entertainment or else visited it in the plain capacity of spectators. The scene i the city to-day and last night has been a most painful one. The injured and large numbers of the dead are taken to the hospitals and other charitable institutions, and thither have gone thou- sands of persons seeking relatives and friends, hoping that the missing cou'd be found amoug thuse who were only purt, but dreading the worst. Many affecting scenes were witnessed when it was found that those who were thought to be dead were still alive, but often terribly injured. Bometimes when a body was recognized by a relative, more frequenily a mother whose littie one had been torn away from her and its young life crushed out,” the scene was heartrending. The stolid .demeanor or the Russian peasant would vanish, and the iow plaintive wail- ing and floods of tears would bear witness to the bitter grief experienced. Far into the night ambulances, fire- trucks and other vehicles were steadily engaged in hauling the dead and injured into the city. The representative of the United Press went again to the plain and saw some of the effects of the mad rush. Ditches of abandoned earthworks of the plain bad been filled to the level with the bodies of those who had been driven into them by the awful pressure from behind. Here those who were not crushed to death were suffocated by the dead and dying above them. In the passages between the booths from which the free food was being distributed there were still lying the bocies of hundreds of dead men, women and children—women and children predomi- nating. Some of the corpses were fright- fully distorted and on the faces, still in death, there were looks of fear and horror. The sight ‘was altogether & most grue- some one. The clothing had been torn to | shreds and the bodies were in a semi-uude condition. The assertion is repeated to- day that the police were not on the scene in sufficiently large numbers at an early hour to handle the crowd. It is afact that there were only a comparatively few of them present at 6 o’clock in the morning, at which time the disaster occurred. There were then about a thousand attendants engaged in distributing the gifts of the Czar to the importunate mob, and to them | thecalamity is indirectly attributable. ones | When the thousands of persons in the | 1ear began to press forward on those in | front and the latter were crushed against | the barriers the shrieks and groans of the | dying caused the attendants to become ken with terror, dreading what actu- i rred—the breaking down of the barriers by the enormous human pressure upon the In fear of their lives they | threw thousands of the memorisl cups, filled with mead, beer, etc., at the strug- gling mass of humanity in attempts to drive them back. This led to a wild scramble in the crowd. The immense quantity of liquids thus thrown formed a sortof pond 1n front of the long line of booths and rendered the ground slippery and treacherous, making a foothold very | precarious. A great number of :persons who might have otherwise escaped thus fell tothe ground, where the life was soon crushed out of them by the howling, irenzied mob. | In some partsof the plain the ground looks as though it had been newly plowed. This is where 1t was torn up by the heavy | wooden shoes of the peasants in their wild excitement. So great has been the rush of visitors at | the hospitals to-day in search of missing | relatives and iriends that the work of the doctors and phiysicians was seriously in- terrupted. This afternoon, therefore, the anthorities gave orders for the transfer of the unciaimed bodies to the Vongan- koffsky cemetery, where they will be in- terred if not identified within a few days. The feeling of the Moujiks was very bitter against the authorities, whom they hold had not taken sufficient precautions, to guard against an affair such as éccurred. After the disaster the large force of mili- tary and police had the greatest difficulty in restoring even a semblance of order. | The Czar’s promise to heip the bereaved | families, coupled with the published ex- svmpathy, has sllayed the bitter feeling | and the peovle are warmly grateful to bim for his action. As stated in yesteraay’s dispatches his | Majesty has ordered that the sum of 1000 roubles be paid to each family that has lost 4 member through the catastrophe. In addition the state will pay the expense | of burying the dead, while the physicians | at the hospitals and elsewhere have been instructed to spare nothiug to alleviate the sufferings of the injared. | Although the official report places the { | number of dead at 1138, it is highly prob- able that the exact number of victims will never be known. The Vice-Mayor reckons that 1336 persons were killed and 286 seri- ously, perhaps fatally, injured. The of- ficial accounts, however, do not include any dead and injured who were removed | by friends. It would not be surprising if the | number of deaths was largely in excess of he official figures. | Thirty bodies were found to-day in an old disnsed well in_the middle of the plain. The well had been covered with planks woiich had collapsed when the crowd passed over them. Some of bad in their hands the memorial cups which had been presented at the booths before the rush began. Among the bodies in the well were two living persons who have been made insane by the horror of | the position. Their ravings when rescued were terrible to hear. Great efforts were made throughout the day to clear the plain, but this afternoon iv was still clothing and human bair. In some places | Where the crush was greatest the ground was soaked with the blood of those whose | lives had been trcdden out. Large crowds of people, many of them attracted by morbid curjosity, were hovering about the | plain all day. wereafforded every facility for learning the detaiis of the calamity. The representative of the United Press, | who with the single exception of a cor- | respondent of a New York newspaper, is the only representative of the American press here, went away to-day to the Vogankoffsky Cemetery, where a great | number of the dead had been transferred tals and the plain. Many from the hosg oi the injured were also taken to this cem- | etery, the hospitals being so crowded that | it was 1mpossible to find accommodations | for them. The scene wasa sad one. | The cemetery occupies a space of about eight acres, and all the paths were guarded | by armed . soldiers. The ground was | thickly covered by the living and the dead. Physicians who were present were basily engaced in setting broken bones, sewing up and dressing gapirg wounds and other- wise aitending to the wants of the injured. So great was the demand for medical and surgical assistance that physicians and geons were requisitioned from other | cities and towns. pressionsof his intense grief and deep | the vietims | littered with, fragments of | The foreizn correspondents | PR W4 4y SN A Smiths Creek Hotel, the Rendezvous of the Sheriff’s Posse in Search of i { X ’ { Murderer Dunham. PRICE FIVE CENTS. | he had been in the crush. The dead were placed in long lines upon the ground. There were very few coffins to be seen. In fact, the supply of coffins and caskets was exhausted early yester- day, and to-day it is impossible to procure one in the city at any price. The bodies were covered with sheets, and the long line of white-robed bodies presented a ghastly spectacle. Here alone the number of dead exceeded the official figures, for in the rows there were 1362 victims. An immense crowd slowly and continu- ously passed along the paths, on both sides of which the bodies were laid, seek- ing for some loved one. As the sheets were removed the living would eagerly scrutinize the faces of the dead to seeif the features were the ones of those for whom they were looking. The sight pre- sented by the withdrawals of the cover- ings was a fearful one. The faces and limbs of the dead were horribly mutilated and the clothing was in shreds. In most cases the disfiguration was so great that it was impossible t entify ile bodies. At various pointsin the cemetery priests were offering vrayers for the dead. It was necessary that many of the bodies should be buried as speedily as possible, and after the interments had been compl-ted Father John Cronstadt, the 'miracle worker, passed among the mourners, blessing and consoling them. At the request of the Czar there will be a solemn requiem mass in the chapel of the palace in the Kremlin to-morrow morning. Ail the members of the impe- ! rial femily will attend, The Bishop of Peterborough, who is in Moscow as the representative of the Estab- lished Charch of England, preached a ser- mon in the English church here to-day. A collection was taken up for the benefit of | the sufferers and a goodly sum was raised. The statement that the disaster would bring the coronation ceremonties to a close | has not the slightest basis in truth. The functions have not been stopped. A ball wus given at the French embassy last | evening. It was attended by the members of the imperial family, the foreign princes, diplomats and the highest Russian and visiting aristocracy. The ball was one of the most brilliant that has taken place in connection with the coronation ceremo- nies. So far as known not a single foreigner was killed. A trench a hundred yardslong | has been dug in the cemetery, and in this a majority of the unrecognized deaa will be interred. Bome accounts of the affair represent the rush in an ugly spirit. These reports state that hundreds of persons broke into the booths, pillaging them of the contents, regardless of the shrieks of the injured and dying. Many of the peas- ants who were given memorial cups are now offering to sell them for a rouble and a half as souvenirs, not only of thLe coron- ation, but of one of the most terrible catastrophes in the annals of Russia. They find ready purchasers. The stolid and callous demeanor of the moujiks and others in the face of the dis- aster is much commented upon by those who are not familiar with the character of the Russian lower classes. One news- paper correspondent questioned a moujik | who was carrying a child fronr the Hodyn- sky plain after the tragedy as to whether The man re- plied that be had not, but, instead of be- ing thankiul that he and his child had perhaps escaped an awful death, he complained against what he termed his baa luck in not receiving a cup, although he had tramped thirty verstsin the expectation of getting one, in addition to an unlimited quantity of free food and drink. As an offset to this callousness, how- ever, there have been several instances re- ported of herolc rescues of women and children from the fate that befel so many bundreds of their compatriots. The Chief of Police is reported to be in | utter despair over the terrible catastrophe and has attempted to commit suicide. SEARCHING FOR A DEAD DUNHAM, Many Accept the Theory That the Demon Shot Himself. FOOD FOR THE BUZZARDS | Birds of Prey Continue to Hover | Over a Single Spot in | Indian Gulch. | i | IT WILL BE FXPLORED TC-DAY. If the Murderer’s Body Is Not Found the Pursuers Will Admit He Hay Bseuyd. SAN JOSE, CaL., May 31.—Constable | Ed Haley came down from the mountain | | to-night with Al Hanks. They have fol- | lowed to a finish the Little ranéh outcrop- | pings in the hunt for Murderer James Dunham, and report that they do not pan | | out any better than the several leads that | have been followed heretofore. | Haley was one of the party who discov- ered the horse in the orush, where Dun- to that incident. tioned is the fact that the party found a | torn piece of the San Jose Mercury bear- | ing date of the day after the murder, which was undoubtedly left by Dunham. paper was one containing the story of the murder and the statement that the officers intended to employ bloodhounds in the chase. This would account for the effort | of the fugitive to destroy the scent by | wrapping gunnysacks around his feet. | The sacks employed for this purpose were | evidently stolen from the Parker cabin. Haley is firm in the beliel that Dun- | ham’s body will be found in Indian Gulch. He =says the search has been most | thorough and that it is scarcely within the bounds of possibility that the murderer could get away, as every rancher | in the mountains is on the alert for him | and the reward that would go with his | capture. The buzzards are gathering in | greater numbers over Indian Gulch and keep up their circling over one particular | vlace in the gulch, and though the officers have searched the vicinity and found | nothing the belief remains that the de- mon’s body is there. A shot was distinctly heard shortly after the finding of the horse, and every man in the mountains thereabouts has heen nter- viewed and no one can be found who fired that shot. Sheniff Lyndon returned to Smiths Creek to-might, discouraged over another un- successful day’s hunt. He will organize his force to-morrow morning for a thor- ough and a final search for the body in the gulch. If the body is not found, the search for the lving man will also be given over, as it will then be ac- cepted as conclusive that Dunnam has made his eseape through the San Isabel | thence to Cales, and attempted to get out | miles from Smiths Creek, shortly before | before he would allow them to enter, and | same noise of a prowler about the house bam had left it, and his complete story, as | told here, adds several important features | Among other things not before men- | The | Pass and is making his way on through Red Creek Pass toward Visalia. The expedition of the posse, composed of Constable Haley in charge, with Al Hanks and Harry McClintock, over to the Littie ranch was finished only this afier- noon. They had heard that a man had been prowling about the cabin of Charles Marcene and had gone as far as to open the window, when the intruder was driven away by tbe challenge of Marcene. The posse left Smitn’s Creek early Friday morning, going out over the divide be- tween San Felipe and Los Animas. They crossed the riage into Slippery Canyon and down onto the Narrow place and through the pass, but their horses stallea and they were compelled to turn back and take another route with a horse and cart. They arrived at Marcene’s, some twelve midnighy and found Marcene in a very nervous frame of mina. It was some time only then in the face of a pointed revolver. Marcene declared that he had heard the only a short time before their arrival. Somebody had been feeling along the out- side of the house and tried the door. It was at about the same hour that a hand had lifted bis window on the previons night. At the time the officers arrived Marcene’s dogs were growling and nosing over the ground, which he said was un- usual for them. ] Haley followed the dogs, which led him* through a wheatfield until he got tired of following them, and he and his party re- turned to the cabin. They made a thorough search about the place this morning without making any discoveries. They made a circuit of the neighboring ranches and founa everybody Man- Famous Frank Reynolds, the : Hunter of Los Gatos. [Sketched from life by a “ Call” artist.] looking for Dunham, with nobody having seen bim, At Jim McAram’s place, Which occupies a position commanding the exit of the guich in that direction (and it was consid- ered that no man could make his way through there without being held up by McAran’s dogs, distinguished for their vicious vigilance), there was no news. So Haley came back more than ever con- vinced that the shot on Friday morning in Indian Gulch meant the suicide of the murderer. Now, this is the interesting story told by Haley to-night concerning the finding of the buckskin horse. The horse, by the way, was to-day engaged by TuHE CALL cor- respondent in the mountains for the pur- pose of following the trall in company with the Sheriff's posse. “We had been detailed by Sheriff Lyn- don to search Indian Gulch for a trail of the murderer last Friday morning,” said Haley. ‘“‘Edwardsand Parker were with me, and BSheriffs Lyndon and Ballou were together with the dogs. We had gone to a point in the gulch where the horse was afterward discovered, and were discussing the possibility of Dunhamn CORRAL HOLLOW BANDIT SLAI As I say, when first seen it was only some fifty . feet from the buckeye tree. When Parker got to it the animal was a quarter of a mile away from that place. ““Dunham had heard us talking as he lay /in ‘the brush, and knowinz that he could not take the horse with him, as he would be seen, he untied the animal and allowed it to make its escape while he traveled on foot. It is out o/ the question that the horse broke away, for the rope, | remember, was coilea near the tree, as| though the murderer had released the ] horse as a sort of good-by to it. “In our subsequent search in the gulch | we found the scrap of the Mercury news- | paper. The head of the paper had been | torn away, carrying the date, but it con- | tained something of the story of the mur- ! der, showing that it was later than Wednesday. The murderer no doubt had stolen the paper from one of tke rancher’s boxes along the road, and making the dis- covery that it was proposed to put blood- hounds on his track, he stole the cover- erings for his feet at Parker’s. Parker had his washing out hanging on a rail to dry. | *“There were a number of socks, all in a } row, and at the end of the row were several | floursacks. There was a break in the row of socks, showing where Dunham had taken out a pair,and some of the flour- sacks were missing. In our further search in the gulch we found pieces of those sacks. Now, I am convinced tbat this | precaution he took by binding his feet had | the effect he desired—that of confusing | the scent for the dogs. I am certain, also, that he took that precaution at Parker’s, | for his footprints were traced in the road | up to that place. At Parker’s he elimbed | through a window, and where he jumped to the ground there were two distinct | prints of his feet, and these fitted exactly to the other prints found in the road lead- ing to that place. “The dogs could have taken his trail from those prints, but they have been un- able to do so afterward for some reason, and there seems to be no other explana- tion. It is said that water will destroy a scent. He probably wet those clothes, and that threw the aogs off. I am con- vinced that the dogs are all right. I bad a demonstration of their ability to fdllow a scent. Al Hanks had separated himself from our party and taken a position on a high point in Indian Guich where he could watch the flight of the buzzards. We were upon another point fully five miles away. "SheriffyBaIlou had run the dogs back and forth to allow them to catch a trail. Suddenly they set up a yelp and started | away at a speed that no horse could have | matched on the level. They went directly past me, yeiping at every bound. They went down tie gunleh, crossed over. and I saw them go up the other side, foliowing | every turn that Hanks had -made in his | difficult climb. We had seen Hanks go | up, and we now saw the dozs go over his | trail perfectly., They did not stop uatil they came to Hanks, and one of them at- tacked him. They knew him, however, | a8 g had been with them, and he had no diffitally 'n controllinyg them. — *“They seemed to know they had made a mistake and to feel foolish about it, but every little bit they would go away and | looking towards us wuiter one of those mournful howls of theirs. No, the dogs are all right and would get their man if they had anything straight to work on. ““Now, about those buzzards,” continued | Haley. “A good many people are dis- posed to smile and say that buzzards are | always to be seen in these gulches. But I am sure they have something there more than ordinary, I haye watched the buz- zards and know something of their habits. “I counted no less than twenty-three buzzards this morning cireling about the | head of the gulch. They do not attack a beay until itis three or four days old. | They will circle about it, going closer and closer each day. I noticed that they made | descents, and as _they reached the ground | they lifted their winps. That indicates they are feeding or about to feed. Yes, it is true that we made a_search about_the Jace and found nothing, but stiil I be- ieve the body of Dunham is there and will be found to-morrow. I think the buzzards will indicate the place distinctly to-morrow. “The route that Dunham was trying to take to escape was practically impassable. His only alternative would be to return over his old course, and he saw the folly and danger of that and he fired a ball into | his brain. A man situated as he was— | worn out by his efforts to evade his pur- | suers, unable to get food, surrounded on | every side—it Is just about the thing he | would do.” | Others of the Sheriff’s men take the Continued on Third Page. 3 i dence it was a terrible batcle. Bloody Battle to the Death on the Floor of a Saloon. FIGHT WITH FURY IN THE DARKNESS. D. Sanguinetti Kills a Masked Outlaw Wio Attempted to Rob Him. FAINTS AFTER THE COMBAT 3 IS WON. A Well Aimed Bullet Saves His Life When at the M rcy of His Assai.ant. STOCKTON, CaL, May 31.—A bloody battle to the death was fought last night in the saloon of D. Sanguinetti at Corral Hollow. The proprietor after a sanguninary struggle with a masked bandit who at- tempted to rob him killed his assailant with a bullet when he was himself too weak from the loss of blood to rise toa sitting posture and was seemingly at the mercy of his assailant, who had taken de- liverate aim and was about to send a bul- let into his prostrate body. For a quarter of an hour these two men were engazed in dead!ly combat and the floor of the saloon was streaked with the biood that poured from their wounds. Sanguinett1 was awakened at 10 o’clock by some one knocking at ihe door of his place. He was in bed at the time, but as workmen on the grade of the Corral Hol- low Railway were in the habit of awaken- ing him at night to furnish them with liquor he thought nothing of being dis- turbed. He dressed and weni from the bedroom to the front door of the barroom to let his customer in. The door was locked by a long wooden bar. Before lifting this Sangninetti asked who was at the door. The man replied tLat he was from the camp down the road and that he wanted a §1 bottle of whisky. As this was not an unusual re- quest from the graders on the coal road he at once opened the door. As I'e slipped the bar back he saw that the man had a cloth over his face, and at first thought that he had been injured. “What is the matter with your face?” asked Sanguinettl, = 0 TS “On, I got some sand in my eyes,” re- sponded his visitor, placing his left hand over his face to hide it from view. Ashe did this he attempted to enter the saloon. “I want your money. Give it to me quick,” he suddenly exclaimed, thrusting the muzzle of a big revolver into Sangui- netti's face. The saloon-keeper grasped the hand that held the revolver and forced it to ome side. The intruder grappled with San- guinetti and both fell upon the floor of the saloon in a struggle to the death. Over and over the men elled, each fighting for self-preservation and to end the life of the other. First Sanguinetti was on top and then the masked robber had the advantage for the moment. He succeeded in disen- gaging the hand holding the revoiver, and grasping the weapon by the barrel began to beat the ltalian over the head. Sanguinetti weighs over 200 pounds and is very portly, but e is a powerfully built man. He fought every inchof the ground over the flocr of the saloon. The pair fought and strugeled for fully a quarter of an hour. The blord upon the floor is evi- Bruised and bleeding Sanguinetti made a stubborn fight. His head was beaten almost toa jelly by the blows from the robber’s re- volver, but he did not yield. Finally he succeeded in grasping his assailant’s arm and wrenched the revolver from his grasp. The door was open, as it had been left when the masked man first thrust his revolver into Sanguinetti’s face. The abandoning his animal. Iam certain that at that time the man was within the sound of our voices and overheard us. Our in- structions were given at that time, the Sheriff directing us to circle the guich and examine the fences to see if they had been broken through. We went in one di- rection, while Lyndon shd Ballou, with the dogs, went in another. “Ballou first caught sight of the horse coming out of the brush and they rejoined us. Parker was dispatched to bring the horse out. He had to makea circuit of about three miles to get down. The horse was brought out and the party afterward went down and made a search through the canyon. We found where Dunham had had camped. Within 50 or 60 feet from where the horse was first seen we found where it had been tied to a buckeye tree, around which it had tramped for some time. A short distance away was found, neatly placed in a coil, the rope by which it had been tethered. ““What convinces me that the horse had been released only a few minutes before is the fact that it was working rapidly up the hillside, as any horse will when feeding.’ Tom Lovelady at the Head of the [Sketched from life by a “Call™ artist.] Campbell Party in the Mountains.