Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1901-09-18


concerned the coming and going of
physicians, cabinet officers and others.
This great throng Of people was one
prominent feature Of the whole sad oc-
casion.
Shortly after 10 o'clock, the intimate
friends and relatives Of the president
began to arrive, and there assembled In
the down stairs rooms Of the Milburn
, house, Senators Hanna and Fairbanks,
ex-Secretary Of State Day, Secretary
Wilson and Secretary Hitchcock, Mr..
and Mrs. Thomas Baer, Abner McKin-
l. ley, Miss Helen Mckinley and Mrs. j.
T. Duncan, sisters Of the president, and
number Of other prominent friends.
Although there had been no hope for
hours, at 6 o'clock it became certain
that the president was dying, and prep
arations were made for the last sad Of
fees Of farewell from those who were
nearest and dearest to him.
Oxygen had been administered stead
| lily, but with little effect in keeping
back the approach Of death. The pres
ident came out Of one period Of uncon-
sciousness only to relapse into another.
But in this period, when his mind was
partially clear, occurred a series Of
events of profoundly touching char
acter. Down stairs, with strained and
tear-stained faces, members Of the cab
met were grouped in anxious waiting.
They knew the end was near, and that
the time had come when they must see
him for the last time on earth.
One by one they ascended the stair
way-Secretary Root, Secretary Hitch
cock and Attorney General Knox. Sec
retary Wilson was also there, but held
back, not wishing to see the president
in his last agony. There was only a
momentary stay Of the cabinet officers
at the threshold Of the death chamber.
Then they withdrew, the tears stream
ing down their faces, and words of in
tense grief choking their throats.
After they left the sick room, the
physicians rallied him to consciousness,
and the president asked almost imme-
diately that his wife be brought to him.
The doctors fell back into the shadows
of the room as Mrs. Mckinley came
through the doorway. The strong face
of the dying man lighted up with a
faint smile as their hands were clasped.
She sat beside him and held his hand.
Despite her physical weakness, she
bore up bravely under the ordeal.
The president, in his last period of
consciousness, which ended about 7.40
p. M, chanted the words Of the hymn,
Nearer Ny God to Thee" and his last
audible conscious words. as taken down
by DR.. Mann at the bedside, were:
Goodbye all, goodbye; it is Gods
way; His will be DONE" Then his
mind began to wander, and soon after
ward he completely lost conscious
ness. His life was prolonged for hours
by the administration Of oxygen, and
the president finally expressed desire
to be allowed to die. About $3.50 the ad-
ministration Of oxygen ceased, and the
pulse grew fainter and fainter, through
the following hours of suspense until
2.15 o'clock Saturday morning when, as
peacefully as a sleeping child, the body
sank into eternal slumber, leaving the
soul Ito wing its flight back to whence
it had come"
An autopsy was held on the remains
during Saturday. 1t was found that
although both bullet holes through the
stomach were still perfectly closed by
stitches, the tissue around them had
become gangrenous. It was also found
that the bullet had also torn the upper
end Of the kidneys, producing gangrene
there and elsewhere along its track.
The bullet was not found. There had
been no effort on the part Of nature to
repair the wounds. Death resulted
from gangrene and could not have
been prevented by any surgical or med
ical treatment. 1t was the direct result
Of the bullet wound.