FIRST OF THE ACCIDENTS.
Little Girl Loses Sight of Eye and
May Die.
In a premature celebration of the Fourth, Katie Handvie, and 8-year-old girl, was shot in the face with a blank cartridge last night near her home on Jorth James street, Kansas City, Kas. The sight of her right eye was destroyed and the physicians at St. Margaret's hospital, where she was taken after the accident, state that the injury may prove fatal.
The little girl was participating in the celebration with a number of the neighboring children when Frank Merriam, a boy 17 years old, joined the group of youngsters, armed with a pistol and a box of blank cartridges. In her excitement and enthusiasm little Katie ran in front of the weapon.
Merriam was arrested and locked up at the No. 2 police station. Chief of Police Howden issued an order placing a ban on all dangerous explosives, especially the blank cartridge. His warning, however, seemed to have had little weight, as last night torpedoes, blank cartridges and dynamite crackers were being discharged promiscuously. Many arrests are expected to be made today.
