Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1905-1919, 1913-01-24
Dozens ARE BURIED ALIVE
SCORES OF PEOPLE IN BUSY DE-
PNRTMENT STORE CAUGHT
UNDER DEBRIS.
The ruins CAUGHT fire
Flames Added TO the Irightfullness Of
the Sccne-RcScuers Work In
Relays.

M'KINNEY, Tex, Jan. 23.--Two OF
the city's largest brick buildings col
lapsed about 4 o'clock this afternoon.
burying women, children and men
shoppers estimated to number 80 to
90, Fire swept the RUNS for an hour
suffocating and burning living VIC
Tins as they cried for help. over six
hours after the collapse but eight
dead and thirteen injured had been
removed from the wreck.
Hope OF recovering any more VIC
Tins alive was abandoned at 1920.
Until the ruins are completely clear
ed from the fatal spot, the exact loss
of life cannot be ascertained but 1t
Is stated by Mayor Finch that it can
not fail to be over 35.
The dead:
LELIE BUSH, Allen, Tex.
MISS KATE MILLlGAN
MISS BESSIE WADE.
RUSSELL HIGHT four years old.
n. r. PRESLEY, clerk.
MISS MARY STIFF. clerk.
MISS EVA SEARCY, clerk.
The last two died after being re-
moved from the wrecked building.
The injured:
Miss Annie Curtis, seriously.
Mrs. Mort Shirley seriously.
Mrs. Jennie Barnett. seriously.
John Thomas
Nernie Graves.
Mrs Hugh Kistler.
Mrs Belle McWilliams, clerk.
Miss Lydia Moreland.
Miss Lulu Searcy, clerk.
Miss Stella Russell.
Two unidentified women
The collapsed structures were the
three story Odd Fellows building, oc-
cupied by the department store of
Cheeves Bros, and the adjoining two
story implement store of 7. ]. Tingle.
Implement House Fell
The dry goods store stood on the
northeast corner of the public square,
the other building adjoining. The
collapse of a wall in the implement
house threw It weight OF heavy inn
plements against the corner building
and with a noise that Jared the town
to its foundations both sank into
ruins
A sale of white goods was on in the
department store and men women and
children thronged its counters.
The implement store adjoining was
doing thriving business o
streets were crowded.
Pinned Under Debris
At the harsh cracking Of timbers
clerks and customers alike broke for
the streets Pressed outward by the
,la,, ,tu N
the stock, the wall of the implement
store swayed, sagged and burst
through into the department store
and in an instant hundreds of tons OF
merchandise and wrecked and shat
tered building material reared into
tremendous heap of debris into the
heart of the department store piling
35 feet In the air. Jagged timbers
stuck from the mass.
Then Fire Broke Out.
After a moment of stunned mac
tivity, hundreds Of rescuers pitched
into the ruins. Scarcely had they
mounted the heap when tongues Of
flames burst through 1t. From all
over the city came workers, fire fight
ers in hundreds. They were formed
into relays by Mayor Finch AS one
shift became exhausted another took
its place. From the steaming ruins
bricks were hurled aside, timbers
torn out and cast into the streets and
crushed human forms lifted from the
twisted wreokage and hurried to hos
pitals The fire was extinguished In
an hour, sometimes beating the vol
unteer fire fighters to the victims who
prayed for their rescuers to hurry.
n. II. Presley "a clerk was one of these
In interrupted gasps he told the fire.
men that he was waiting on Leslie
Bush. an Allen, Tex, capitalist, when
the crash came.
Pleaded to BE Shot.
Then Presley begged: XIII me, or
give me gun so | can xii, myself.
I'm burning. My right foot is burn
ing off"
A few minutes later when the res
cuers reached him Presley was dead.
His right foot was burned nearly of.
He died in a few minutes.
The body Of Bush was recovered
about 10 O'Clock, making the known
dead eight.
As darkness fell strings of electric
lights we're strung across the ruins.
Assistance came quickly from near
by towns and from all PARTS Of the
state came offers Of aid. Scores Of
men crawled through the guard ropes
time after time to beg to assist in the
rescue work.