The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1889-02-25
FROM LIES ROAD TO ETERNITY.
An Open Switch Ends the Lives Of
Three Brave Mon.
Their Last FareweIIs as the Flames
Reached and Surrounded Them.
Accident to the st. John Mail On the
Maine Central.

lives and two were injured this forenoon In
the worst accident the Maine Central rail-
road has ever encountered. A train running
at its customary speed dashed over an open
switch and into some freight cars STANDING
on siding. There was crash,t sound Of
timbers violently wrenched apart as the for
ward cars were forced onto the overturned
locomotive and then puff Of smoke followed
almost Immediately by sheet OF flame which
enveloped the wreck. or the fiye men in the
locomotive and mail car, one escaped: ano-
ther was dragged from the ruins by the
train men, who fought their way through the
binding smoke and steam to the rescue. one
was buried beneath the locomotive and the
cries OF the remaining two were heard above
the cracking Of the flames for a few minutes
OF the disaster follows:
The morning mail train for st. John left
tnis city made up as follows: Locomotive,
smoker and two spasstr Pullman parlor,
went well until they had r. aened- d point
known as Boyd's crossing above Kingman.
There freight train had been at work early
In the morning, and through the carelessness
OF some person the switch had not been
changed back to the main line. Several
freight cars and some iron trucks stood upon
the siding When the mail train reached
there 1t was running at IS miles an hour, and
1t shot upon this siding and crashed into the
distractions with terrible force.
The locomotive, tender. postal and express
cars piled up In one mass while the other
cars left the iron. The great strength of the
Pullman car and the crushing Of the express
and postal cars broke the force of the collis-
sion, ana, wonderful to relate, not a passen-
ger was hurt
In the forward part Of the train 1t was diff
Ierent. Harry Goodman, aged Is years, Of
bangor, the fireman, was buried beneath tho
locomotive and Jules Angel, Bangor, the
engineer, was buried but escaped he knew
not how. In tie postal car William ID. Mud
gett, Bangor, head clerk; Caleb Palmer, Ban
gor second clerk John Campbell, st. ohm En-
glsh mail clerk. were all at work and
Were buried beneath the ruins.
Inc deadly car stove then got In its work,
and the wreck at once took fire. Palmer
Campbell7"
i believe my back is broken" was the
saswea sssv land this fire is creeping upon me
Il guess we have got to 90; goodby," said
ralmer, Campbell answering "G0odby," and
these were the last words he ever spoke.
lne scene was most pitiable one. Around
the locomotive the fire was furiously blazing.
ana above its roar could be heard the
heartrending cries of Goodman, who was
burning to death beyond reach of all human
ald, Palmer and Mudgett were short dis
tance from each other in the wreck. The
said:
'Billy, where are you9.
the brave reply.
We'll. we must go together" said Palmer
just then the latter saw an opening in the
wreck ", S before him through which he pushed
MS nand. lt was Immediately seized by
Conductor E. G.. Chase, who was irving to
rescue the men, and they soon freed Palmer,
still jammed.
AT that moment brakeman struck stick
wnlcn w loosened the timbers imprisoning
pulled him out Of the wreck, pulling his
shoe from his foot and spraining his ankle.
All this time the flames had been creeping
up on Mudgett. and the latter called to
Palmer, saying:
81 have got to die, Gale"
Palmer said: II know il. Billy. would
bye"
Good bye. Gale" came the answer.
!. conductor Chase had fought his way
through the smoke and wreck to Mudgett
and had found his hand, but could not
move the imprisoned man. The conductor
fought for him until he was himself dragged
ogt Of the perllous place;
something terrible, and the railroad men
cried like children as they told the story.
Engineer Angel was terribly cut about the
head, one ear nearly torn off and bruised
about the chest. All the baggage was burned.
The fire was so hot that the remains OF the
men were almost wholly destroyed, only
few bones being found.
Express Messenger c. III. Hawthorne and
Baggage Master John Eupea crawled out
side door OF their car, which was overturned
Hawthorne saved his money and about one
fourth OF his general freight. The Pullman
car toppled over upon its side and the passen-
gers crawled out of the windows, saving
their luggage. The four first cars of the
train were burned.
The first relief train out of Bangor carried
no one but the wrecking crew.a corps Of fphy-
slclans and reporters. The services of the
physicians were not, of course, required An
undertaken was sent up from thfs city by
General Manager Tucker after the remains
of the men.