The daily gazette., 1880-02-21
A Telegraph Adventure.
BY L. b. q.

In the month of April, 1857, q fear
ful gale sprang up one Sunday night
which prostrated the telegraph wirei
between Portland and Bangor, Maine,
in most discouraging manner. TAX
ing some men with the necessary ma
terials, started from Bangor on the
early train, dropping man at the sta
tions, as we went along, to foot it back
and mend the break. / saw some fifty
breaks within seventy five miles, be-
sides some numerous crosses and trees
on the wires. When we arrived ut
Lewiston, something over one hundred
miles from Bangor, ran to the Office,
and found 1t was o. K. to Portland. I
at once telegraphed repairinan Pierre
to take the train and go through to
Waterville without stopping, and
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
a day, but generally did it. Ihad just
time to jump OH a freight going east !;
and, as luck would have 1t, business
was light that week on the road, and l
pressed the conductor and engineer
into service. They stopped at every
break and helped me repair, and, when
the regular passenger train overlook
us near Waterville, l jumped on
board, and in few minutes found the
wires were o. X. to Waterville. As
soon as possible obtained hand-car
and bring couple of Frenchman to
propel 1t, started with Pierre for a.
night "raid." 1t happened to be
bright moonlight night, the only one
during the whole moon. About mid
night we were between Clinton and
Burnham. The Frenchman were clear
ing a heavy tree from the wires and
Pierre was some distance in advance,
on the top Of a pole. l o
l was near by, endeavoring to extri-
cate the wire from mass Of roots In
which 1t had beco ne entangled, when !
was startled by cracking in the woods,
like the stealthy tread Of some heavy
animal on the dry twigs. Inyoluntarily
grasping my hatchet, l stood with ears
and eyes wide open, and as peered
around, l caught sight Of what seemed
to my excited Imagination to be two
black heads slowly and cautiously ap-
pear ng above the clump. thought to
myself "Here is situation for the
father of fami'yp 1t was Of no use to
run, for, as it appeared TO me then,
there was the bare (bear) fact on eight
legs against two but as the black heads
emerged aud their bodies came into
view, l saw that they were Lot bears at
all, but two good-sized boys.
The next instant was hoIrified by
seeing them raise their guns and take
deliberate aim at Pierre, who was away
upon the pole, quietly attending to his
business, and utterly unconscious of the
danger which menaced him. Like
lightning II flashed into my mind that
they took him for bear, and l gave q
yell which must have astonished all who
heard it. 1t had the desired effect, how
ever, and came out Of the wood aud
explained to the boys that it was not
more nor less than "human" up that
pole, and that l objected to their giving
him double dose of blue pills, as /
didn't think his diaphragm would stand
II. Pierre was in high state of wrath
when he discovered how near he came
to having his connection broken, and he
delivered small speech from his cedar
pulpit, which was anything but compli-
meDtary 10 the moonlight buntsmen.
He advised them to 20 back to their
muskrat bunting and not attempt to
shoot bears with homeopathic pills. The
boys apolo9ized to the best Of their
ability and fitted. It was q narrow es-
cape, but we could not stop 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 IN
the forenoon we hal the satisfaction OF
feeling the current both ways, and know
ing that the wires were In working con-
dition through.