Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-01-24
Two Trapped in Texas Fire
Beg End to Their Torture.
EIGHT OTHERS ARE KILLED
Many Women and Children First Be.
lieved to Have Been Victims.
THRILLING RESCUES MADE
Doctor Crawls Under Ruins and Pre-
vents Clerks Death-Father Digs
Out His Family.

| MCKINNEY. Tex. January ga few
| small quantities of debris remaining on
| the site of what yesterday was a four
story commercial building gave assur-
ance this morning that the COLLAPSE of
the store here yesterday had not develop
ed into the holocaust which for hours
after the walls fell rescuers and eyewit-
nesses declared it to be. The entire floor
space is laid bare and there is no poss. bill
ity of finding any large number Of bodies
underneath the wreckage that remains
The death list early today remained at
eight. with one person-Mrs. Belle Will
liams-probably fatally injured and four
teen slightly hurt.
Mrs. Williams was severely crushed
when the building collapsed and burned
in the fire that Immediately broke out
Eyewitnesses whose stanchly adhered-to
statements were supported by Mayor
Finch and other authorities for hours
insisted that from thirty-five to fifty
women and girls were buried alive in the
ruins.
Sale Was in Progress.
A special sale was in progress and
shoppers in numbers were in the store
operated by Cheeves Brothers when the
walls of an adjoining implement house
gave way. Falling against the building
occupied by the store. they demolished
it. and many shoppers were believed to
have been entOmbed.
Recovery in quick succession of five
bodies gave color to the reports that
many had been killed. and it was not
tfmbers had been cleared away almost
altogether that the comparatively small
loss Of life was esta blished
The fire was extinguished in an hour
but sometimes the flames beat the vol
unteer fire, fighters to the victims. who
prayed for their rescuers to hurry. n.
b. Presley, a clerk, was one of these. In
interrupted gasps he told the firemen that
he was waiting on Leslie Bush an Allen,
Tex, capitalist, when the crash came.
Begs to Be Killed.
Then Presley begged: xiii me, or give
me gun so can kill myself. I'm burn
ing. My right foot is burning Off"
A few minutes later when the rescuers
reached him Presley was dead HIS right
foot was burned to a crisp.
Mrs. Mary Stiff. who was taken out
alive. but died within an hour. also
begged firemen to kill her. as the flames
were slowly cooking her to death.
heroic rescues are being told this morn
Ing. A. kistler dug his little daughter
out OF the ruins. was directed by the
child to the imprisoned mother and
grandmother. then he returned, found
and released them unframed.
DR.. j. E. Knight crawled under the
ruins and. using wet sponges and restor-
atives, kept Miss Lula Searey, a clerk,
alive for an hour until rescuing party
reached her. She will recover.
Great Excitement Reigns.
For hours last night Mckinney was the
center Of a tremendous pressure of ex-
element which converged on the town
from all sections Of Texas Nearby
towns sent special cars and trains carry
ing surgeons, relief supplies and rescue
workers. Hotel accommodations were
exhausted early. restaurant supplies gave
out and private homes were opened to
provide for thousands who came to see
or to help.
The estimated loss is about $4,000 in
Guiding damage to the Odd Fellows
lodgerooms. So far as can be ascertained
the lodgerOoms were empty. Mckinney
has 1890 inhabitants.