The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1921-08-24

| Dead hut One Man Not Yet
| Identified.
Macon, Ga, Aug. 22.-Work Of ex-
ploring the ruins Of the Brown
House, which was completely de-
stroycd by fire at an carl y hour this
morning and where more than
| 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 convcts from
the county and city chaingangs.
1--WE will know before noon," he
said, Gust how many bodies are in
the debris. We expect to find at
least ~, possibly more. can al
most put my fingers on the spot
where l believe there are twp
bodies"
Coroner Lee Wages announced this
afternoon tha tthc coroner's iurv
had concluded that an explosion Of
escaping gas in the basement Of the
Drummer Drug company caused the
| fire
The blast cut hole through the
hotel from the basement to the roof
tore out the stairways and wrecked
the elevator after driving it upward
Fire escapes at the rear Of the build
ing were envcloped in flames an hn-
slant later and fire also was burst
ing from every window in the big
brick structure.
1t is 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 viii be laid be-
fore the Bibb county grand jury at
its next session.
Four Bodies Found
Tonight, when work of exploring
the ruins Of the burned hotel stop
ped for the night, four bodies lay
IN local undertaking establishment,
only three of which had been idcn-
titled. Eight persons were in the
Macon hospital suffering from scri-
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 Wccms, 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 ores
that are causing the most concern To-
caIly, for there is no way to obtain u
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
II pthclr vigil even after = thund2r-
storm broke over them and rain be-
gan 20 descend in the late aitcrn0on.
Only Wall Left
There was nothing left but Il black.
cncd brick wall at the front and
Jagged columns in the center of the
structure. The entire side wal! on
the Plum street side had been COM
plctely demolished, by the force Of
the explosion and by the collapse of
the floors.
Only a small section Of the orig.
nal building, built long before the
! Confederate war, remained intact.
with floors still clngng to the side
walls, although the ceilings had fall.
en-. It was in exploring one Of these
lcdgcs, this morning that frcmcN
came upon two bodies, one of which
was Identified as John I. Collins.
The other body, which lay only a
foot away With hands elapsed and
0ntStrctchcd, has not been idcn.
titled. The unidentified man is
that OF person weighing 200
pounds and about five feet eight
inches in height. His hair was black.
Fircmcu worked continuously on
the bla2" from / :35 O'Clock this morn
ing until late in the afternoon They
were recalled to the scene at 7:30
o'clock when flames broke out AGAIN
in the ruins
II was this heat, which caused the
second fire, Building Inspector Bishop
stated, that caused the abandonmcnu
Of the hunt for bodies tonight.
Harry SWanshcrr carried n 81, 900
diamond, his gold watch and a waliu.
with big sum Of money, lcavur
his clothing behind, when he leaned
from n third story window, sustain
ing injuries which later caused his
death. He clunG to the articles
named and delivered them to y doctor
at the hospital with the injunction:
"taIl my wife from Atlanta; | must