The Butte inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1901-1912, 1901-09-14
(By Associated Press.)

(By Associated FreSS.)
n UFFALO, Sept. H.-William McKin-
n ley, 25th president of the United
States, died at 2:15 o'clock this
morning from the effects of an assassin's
bullet.
Theodore Roosevelt, 26th president of
the United States, succeeds to that ex-
allied office under the constitution and
laws Of the country, and with the ad-
ministratlOn of the oath of office today
he will begin to exercise the functions of
president.
In these statements are embraced the
contamination Of an awful tragedy and
historic event by which the entire ad-
mintration of government is changed and
q new administration comes into being.
But for the moment the transfer of the
government is forgotten in the great sor-
row which has fallen on the nation in
the passing Of President Mckinley. Sol
der, statesman, president devoted hus-
band and friend, he was beloved by all
who knew him.
Scene Sad and Weird.
The death Of President Mckinley
came in the small hours of the morning,
under circumstances Of particular wierd
ness. For hours he had lain uncon-
scious, with all hope of his survival aban-
doned.
The administration of powerful stimu-
lants was maintained until o'clock, but
with no effect. 1t was seen that the end
was near at hand, and those nearest and
dearest to the stricken president were
summoned.
The president came out of a stupor
about o'clock, and while his mind was
partially clear there occurred the last
endearments, the last submission Of the
sufferer to the will Of the Almighty, the
last murmured expressions from his dy-
ing lips and the last good-byes.
In this interval Of consciousness Mrs.
Mckinley was brought into the death
chamber. The president had asked to
see her. She came and sat beside him,
held his hand and heard from him his
last words Of encouragement and COM
fort. Then she was led away, and not
again during his living hours did she see
him.
Whispers a Hymn.
The president himself fully realized
that his hour had come, and his mind
turned to his Maker He whispered feebly
Nearer aiy God to Thee" the words Of
the hymn always dear to his heart.
Then in faint accents he murmured:
"Good-bye. ALL; goodbye. 1t is Gods
way; His will be done.''
With this display Of Christian forti-
tude the president soon afterward lapsed
into Inconsistencies The members of the
cabinet, grief stricken, were gathered in
the large drawing room of the Milburn
house.
The time had come, when they too
would look UPON the president for the last
time in life. They ascended the stair
way, one at time, noiselessly approach
ing the threshold of the chamber where
the dying man lay and gazed within.
Those who came first turned back, ap-
paled and overwhelmed. and did not
pass within the chamber. Secretary VIII!
con remained below. unwilling to have
imprinted on his memory the picture of
his expiring chief
Secretary Long, who arrived on late
train, went at once to the chamber and
passed directly to the bedside OF the
president, grasping the hand that was
already clammy with approaching death.
Only a Question Of Hours.
Meantime the president had lapsed into
It was only question of hours, perhaps
minutes. when the end would come.
BY 10 O'Clock there was no perceptible
pulse. The extremities had grown cold
and the rigidity of death was fast falling
upon the sufferer.
The physicians who remained at his
side detected only the faintest heart
heats. Some of them, knowing that all
was over, departed. while others re-
nained, not because there was any fur-
ther need for their ministrations, but pe-
cause of the respect for the expiring
president.