The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1897-01-17

Dallas. Tex, Jan. 16.-Fifteen little
girls and boys are dead as result Of
last nights fire AT the Buckner Orphan
Gcne. and nine others are seriously burn
ed and crushed. Three of the injured. II
is thought, cannot recover. The awful
ness OF the holocaust was not fully real
lied till today. The fire. which COM
nenced about 10 O'Clock Friday night,
and ragged until the boys dormitory was
destroyed. did not cool enough for the
search for bodies n the ashes until late
this morning. At thai time it was
thought that only five children had beer:
burned 10 death. When the ashes had
cooled enough 10 admit OF search scores
OF friends and neighbors began the sad
task of finding the bodies of the five
whom il was known had persisted. The
search had hardly been instituted when
the terrible truth that there were more
than FIVE bodies in the ashes appeared.
The search continued until dawn, when
fifteen bodies had been found. The dead
are:
OSCAR JACKSON, aged IL.
BIRDIE BRITTON, aged Is.
MARION BRITTON and MILTON
BR1TTON, twins. aged 10, all Of Dallas
county.
CARLOS JONES. aged 5. Of Hunt
county.
WILLIE RICHARDS, aged o; Collins
county.
GROVER CLEVELAND YARBOR-
CCGH. aged IS. of Smith county.
PRESTON CRIBBS, aged Is, Of Fam
min county.
WILLIAM MILLER, aged Z. of Lamar
county.
EUGENE BLACK. aged s. of Callahan
county
VIRGIL NELSON. aged 10, of Marion
county.
RICHARD MARRAH. aged 10. of Den
ton county.
ARTHUR EDWARDS. aged 10. of
Wise county.
OSCAR HOWARD, aged 5, of Chero-
kee county.
PAY KING. aged 9. Of Indian Terri
tory.
THOMAS O'BANNON. aged s. died at
l O'Clock this afternoon from his burns.
The seriously injured are:
Dan Grace. aged 5; fatally burned over
two-thrds OF his body.
Early Doodle, aged s.; badly burned on
back.
Charles Boyd Friend aged 10: serious
ly and probably fatally burned on head,
face, hands and arms. and injured on the
head from jumping from a second story
window
Richard Zurmwaldt. aged IL; seriously
burned on head. face and neck.
Sadie Britton, aged Il; hands burned
and ankle sprained by jump from the
second story.
Walter Blockington Marlborough, aged
s; both hands burned.
Hennie Ware, aged IL: seriously in
jured; not expected 10 live.
Jim Scott, aged 10; burned on both
legs.
Samuel Henderson, aged 10; burned on
face, hands and arms
STORY OF THE FIRE.
When the fire was first discovered the
alarm spread through the dormitory and
900 boys rushed hither and thither in the
wildness of fright and panic-stricken con
fusion. The halls, porches and stairway
landings were thick with the scorching
smoke The building had stood for a
number OF years and was as dry as kin
ding and burned with frightful rapidi-
ty. The wind was blowing from the
southeast, which drove the fire into the
building. 1t was eating 10 the three
principal stairways almost as soon as 1t
was discovered, and the little fellows on
the second floor Of the west wing were
cut off from any avenue Of escape ex-
cept the windows There were about
eleven boys between the ages OF six and
fourteen asleep in these dormitories..
many of them being up stairs, but they
were the largest ones, and the smallest
ones had been quartered on the lower
floor, with a view 10 such an emergency
Even with this precaution, some Of the
smallest ones were burned TO death. not
being awakened by the alarm, or being
in such demoralized state from childish
terror that they did not know how 10
make their way out. Those with the
most presence OF mind followed the larg-
er ones, who raised the windows and
jumped through them. \ few had pres
ence Of mind enough to save some OF
their clothes. but most OF them escaped
in their night garments. The panic
stricken little ones did not stop even
efter they were out of the burning build
ing. but fed in their Wild terror. as II
some nameless horror were pursuing
them. across mud and feds in every d.
rection. Some went 10 neighbors' houses
as far as half mile away and others
were found staggering along the lanes in
their scant night clothes crying as IL
their little hearts would break.
The people from the neighborhood found
the little fellows who had not reached
shelter by their cries and brought them |
back 10 he home.
The loss on the building and contents
is light. about 81 e00. with Insurance. The I
bnrr,a will b. rabtiiif