The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1913-01-24
Eight Persons Arc Known to be Dead
and Other Bodies May still
Be In the
Ruins.
BURNED WHILE ALIVE
Some Were PInIoned Beneath Wreck
age and Devoured by Flames
While People Were Help
less to Assist.

1 United Press Leased Wire Servtce.l
MCKINNEY, Texas, Jan. PA sad
ness hung over this little city today
as the residents went about their daily
tasks quietly, the memory of the
worst disaster in McKinney's history
fresh In their minds Workers con-
tinued to delve into the ruins of the
Mississippi Dry Goods Company's de-
partment store where eight persons
are known to have been killed, and at
least fifteen others were seriously In
jured. many of whom had small
chance Of recovery.
Men, women and children who were
on the down town streets spoke in
subdued tones, their only topic Of con-
those caught in the collapse Of the
crowded store building and the hero
ism of those who went into the rescue
work with no regard for their own
safety. Very few persons slept during
| the night. Most Of the town remain
ed up and watched the diggers in the
blackened mass OF wreckage where it
was feared still other bodies were
buried.
/ Notable among the heroic rescues
was that performed by John Kistler,
la merchant across the street from the
lfated department store He saw the
walls Of the store 60 down His wife
and daughter had entered there but q
flew moments before. Risking his life
he crawled under the broken down
walls which were likely to drop upon
i him any moment, dug his way to q
4 small cavern that had been formed by
the toppling timbers, and found hit
small daughter and his wife caught
4 beneath some lumber, but unhurt. Ht
dragged them out and started back In
to the ruins to save some other per
sons he had seen imprisoned in thu
wreckage, but fire had started in the
ruins and his way was blocked.
The public schools closed here to
t day and all merchants except thos.
: supplying necessities were not at
tempting to do any business. Six Dal
! LAS undertakers arrived on the morn
I ing train to help prepare the bodie
8 of the dead for burial. The towns 0
Plano, Greenville and Paris sent doc
i tors and nurses.
/ There was much praise spoken tc
y day Of DR.. ]. K Knight who crawle'
t into the wreckage and with we
J. sponges and restoratives passed hir
]. by aides on the outside, kept aliv
Miss Luna Searcy until other me,
) could lift the pile of broken board
i that were holding her prisoner. Mis-
Il Searcy's sister was killed.
VI One of the most pathetic inciden,
q OF the disaster was told today Of
r. Presley. clerk who was pinne
beneath the burning timbers.
GIVE me pistol" he said II wi
d kill myself I'm burning up He die
q few minutes later, the crowd loo
% Ing on helpless to save him.
e Mrs. Lynn Perry. a society leads
ID of Fort Worth, Texas. suddenly b
le came i'll at her home there. All Il
% doctors had left there to come to Il
n aid Of the injured in this city and Il
woman died without medical atte
lie ton.
as The building which housed the
ef patrment store and Odd FELLOW
" lodge was erected in 1876. 1t is
,g lieved that the walls had simply /
re come SO softened and rotted, tn,
Os could not stand longer. as shown
i'd the pulverized condition OF brio
h. and timbers There will be an inves
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