The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1921-08-24
SEARCH CONT T|NUES
FOR DEAD BODIES
THAT DEATH LIST
IN THE MACON FIRE WILL BE
INCREASED BY DOZEN WHEN
SEARCH HAS BEEN coMPLET.
ED-FoUR BODIES FOUND -.


Macon, Ga.,-Aug. 23.-Work of
exploring the ruins of the Brown
House, which was completely ,des-
troyed by fire at an early hour yester-
day morning and where more than a
dozen bodies are believed to be
buried, stopped at sundown tonight.
Building Inspector F. Joe Bishop,
in charge of the hunt for bodies, an
nounced that the search will be re-
sumed at daylight tomorrow morn
ing with a force of 100 convicts from
the county and city chaingangs.
"We will know before noon," he
said, "just how many bodies are in
the debris. We expect to find at
least IL, possibly more. I can al
most put my fingers on the spot
where I believe there are two bod
ies."
Coroner Lee Wages announced this
afternoon that the coroner's jury
had concluded that an explosion of
escaping gas in, the basement of the
Brunner Drug company caused the
fire. -
The blast cut a hole through the
hotel from the basement to thereof,
tore out the stairways and wrecked
the elevator after driving it upward.
Fire escapes at the rear of the build
ing were enveloped in flames an in
slant later and fire also was burst
ing from every window in the big
brick structure. 49,. \ 49,.
lis understood that the state fire
marshal will arrive here in the morn
ing to aid in the investigation that
is under way. Facts obtained by To-
cal city and county officials and the
state fire marshal will be laid be-
fore the Bibb county grand jury at
its next session.
Tonight, when work of exploring
the ruins of the burned hotel stop
ped for the night, four bodies lay
in a local undertaking establishment,
only three of which had been iden-
titled. Eight persons were in the
Macon hospital suffering from seri-
Gus burns and broken bones, received
from the fire and in jumping from
second and third floor windows.
Three other persons, whose names
have not been obtained and who are
known to have jumped from the
blazing structure, were attended by
private physicians and left on the
train for Atlanta during the fore
noon.
The list of known missing mounted
tonight to seven, but there were
many inquiries from all parts of
Georgia for persons whom it is
feared were in the hotel.
/ Horace Weems, clerk at the Brown
House, son of the proprietor, said
that SO of the 81 rooms in the hotel
were filled, some with two beds in
each room. He said that there were
more than 100 guests, many Of them
tourists who were passing through
the. city. The tourists are the ones
that are causing the most concern To-
I'cally, for there is no way to obtain a
check on them, the hotel register be-
ing destroyed in the fire.
Thousands of persons watched the
fire and visited the scene through
out the day. They refused to give
up their vigil even after thunder
storm broke over them and rain be-
gan to descend in the late afternoon.
There was nothing left but black
ened brick wall at the front and
Jagged columns in the center of the
structure. The entire side wall on
the Plum street side had been COM
pletely demolished, by the force of
the explosion and by the collapse of
the floors.