You are looking at the HTML representation of the XML format.
HTML is good for debugging, but is unsuitable for application use.
Specify the format parameter to change the output format.
To see the non HTML representation of the XML format, set format=xml.
See the complete documentation, or API help for more information. 
<?xml version="1.0"?>
<api>
  <query-continue>
    <alllinks galcontinue="Contents" />
  </query-continue>
  <query>
    <pages>
      <page ns="0" title="Carlotta Eddington Whitt" missing="" />
      <page ns="0" title="City Council" missing="" />
      <page ns="0" title="Cobb&#039;s Jewelry Store" missing="" />
      <page pageid="25" ns="0" title="Babcock Trust Company" />
      <page pageid="294" ns="0" title="Bertrum Joseph Henderson" />
      <page pageid="315" ns="0" title="Betty Erin Dowell" />
      <page pageid="324" ns="0" title="Billy Brian Mitchell" />
      <page pageid="26" ns="0" title="Boyer Communications Corporation" />
      <page pageid="323" ns="0" title="Brian William Mitchell" />
      <page pageid="311" ns="0" title="Carolyn Harriet McDonald" />
    </pages>
  </query>
</api>