Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1868-11-09
THE GAZETTE.
MONDAY EVENING. NOV. 9.

A STORY OF A NARROW ESCAPE. "A cor
respondent of the Journal of the Telegraph
writes from Portland, Maine
ssTn the month of April, 1851, fearful gale
snrapp up on Sunday night, which Frustrated
(. 1bs teIepraph wires between Portland and Ban
cor in a most discouraging manner. Taking
. crew of men with the necessary materials,
started for Bangor on the early train, dropping
man at the stations as we went along, to foot
Il hack and mend the break. [ saw some fifty
breaks within seventy FIVE miles, besides hume
rous crosses and trees on the wires. When |
arrived at Lewiston, something over one hun
dred miles from Bangor, [ ran to the office and
found it was O. K. to Portland. I at once
teegraphed to repairman Pierre to take the
train and go through to Wateryille without
stopping, aud would meet him on his arrival
there. This Pierre was model repairman-
always ready and willing, and not only anxious
to do two mems work in day, but generally
did it. | had just time to jump on q freight
going east, and as luck would have it, business
was light that week on the road, and l pressed
the conductor and engineer into service. They
stopped the train at every break and helped
me repair, and when the regular passenger
train overlook us near Watervile, jumped on
board, and in few moments found the wires
were o. X. to Waterville AS soon as posi-
bic obtained hand car, and hiring couple
OF Frenchmen to propel it, started with Pierre
for night raid 1t happened to be a bright
moonlight night, the only one during that whole
moon.
about midnight we were between Clinton
and Burnham. The Frenchmen were clearing
heavy tree from the wires, and Pierre was
some distance In advance, on top of pole.
was near by, endeavoring to extricate the wire
from mass of roots IN which 1t had become
entangled, when | was startled by cracking
in the woods, like the stealthy tread OF some
heavy animal on the dry twigs. InvOluntarily
grasping my Ratchet, L stood with ears and
eyes wide open, and as | peered around |
caught sight of what seemed to my excited
imagination to be two black heads slowly and
cautiously appearing above the clump. l
thought to myself, here is situation for the
father of a familyp 1t was of nc use to run,
for, as it appeared to me then, there was the
bare (bear) fact of eight legs against two but
as the black heads emerged and their bodies
came into view, saw that they were not bears
at all, but two good sized boys. The next In
slant was Mortified by seeing them raise their
guns and take deliberate aim at Pierre, who
was away up on the pole, quietly attending to
his business and utterly Unconscious OF the dan
ger which menaced him. Like lightning 1t
flashed into my mind that they took him tor a
bear, and gave yell which must have as
tonished all who heard it. 1t had the desired
effect, however, and came out Of the woods
and explained to the boys that twasa human
I'D that pole. and that | objected to their Civ
ing him double dose of blue pills, as l didn' t
think his diaphragm would stand it.
pierre was in high state of wrath when
he discovered how near he had come to having
his connection broken, and he delivered short
speech from his cedar pulpit, which was any
thing but complimentary to the moonlight
huntsmen. He advised them to go back tc
their muskrat hunting, and not attempt tC
shoot bears with homeopathic pills The boys
apologized to the best of their ability and
fitted.
ut was q narrow escape, but we could not
stope to moralize. We kept on with our work,
and made twenty miles that night, removing
some fifty trees from the wires, and mending
numerous breaks. At half past ten a. m. we
had the satisfaction of feeling the current both
ways, and knowing that the wires were IL
working condition through"