The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1894-01-23

"A Drug store was IurHeo Ah1o d
Hospital for the Coasters, and the
Horse Was Shot.
One of the worst coasting accidents on
record here occurred last evening on
Cumberland street, down which few ev
er try to coast, not that the grade is so
much sleeper than at other points, but
because the risk is too great. Few peo-
pie would want to cross Washington
street, crowded as it is at almost all
times, but party from South Portland
and a sprinkling of Portland boys tried
it last night and with very bad sue
cess.
III Last evening party of young me II
from South Portland, consisting of CLAIR
ence Willard. Clarence Fowler. Jacob
Dodge, John Mason, Frank Griffin, Har-
ny Hartford of the Sentinel.
Alfred Littlejohn and VIM. Page,
left home for the city, with the
idea of finding some good coasting.
!, They took with them what is said to be
the largest dob in this section, a mon.
ster sled capable of accommodating 80
persons.
They first tried Pleasant street, but the
boys there made it anything but pleas
ant for them, and when some one sug-
gested that good coasting could be found
on Cumberland street, the party at once
| started for the hill. They were not IA
| miliar with the fact that coasting down
that hill had been prohibited. They
found on arriving at North street, a
number of young fellows, who eagerly
closed with the proposition of the South
Portland boys that they should all slide
| down together, and when all who were
willing to go down had got on board,
s'go' was shouted, and the sled started
down the hill at fearful rate of speed.
The South Portland boys were grouped
together on the front Of the sled, the du-
ty of steering the machine having been
| assigned to Clarence Fowler. 1t goes
without the saying that once under way
| down that steep, almost ice-covered sur
| lcCCS hO ildd liz SoAbAOA tOfOl DHO clCus
The accident occurred on Washington
street.. A horse and sleigh driven by
Bertram johnson was struck by
the "bob" and there was in an
instant mass of humanity struggling
with an almost frantic, and badly in
| jured horse, The boys were simply
piled up, and no one of them could pos
sibly have escaped uninjured. The
wounded were taken to the drug store
of Murphy Brothers, and DR.. E. J. Nc
Donough was called. When DR.. Nc
Donough reached the store he found the
back room turned into temporary hos
pital. He first turned his attention to
Fowler, who had had the post of honor
and of danger. He found that Fowler
was very badly injured. The skin over
one eye was ripped off from one angle to
the other. The wounded horse had
stepped on his. face, inf1icting several
| deep cuts. His teeth had cut through his
lip, making a bad wound.
Clarence Willard was cut about the
head and face and under the chin, and a
good deal of skin torn from his face.
Both Willard and Fowler had their hands
badly cut and torn.
William Page, Jacob Dodge and John
Mason escaped almost uninjured, and
| Harry Hartford, while somewhat bruised
and cut, refused to think himself injured
| =, +ba c1iubtoct dorroa opd doyo+od I,;ro
self to helping the others.
Alfred Littlejohn was cut about the
| face and head sThere isn't two inches
of good skin left on his face,'' was the
way DR.. McDonough put it. He was
badly cut and bruised. His case was in
some respects the worst of the lot, al
] though his hands were not so badly torn
as were those of Fowler and Willard.
Frank Griffin was cut about the tenn
pie and back of the ear His cuts were
deep, and his general condition is
bad. The party was taken to the ferry
and home to South Portland.
| As for the Portland boys, they ''scoot-
ed' as soon as they could pick them
selves out from the rest. One boy was
said to have had a leg broken, but he
was hustled onto sled and taken off
at once.
MI. johnson was driving along Wash
ington street with two young ladies.
Several bystanders shouted a warning to
him as the big sled dashed down the hill
| towards the intersection of the two
streets, but he did not understand nor
did he see the sled until too late to es-
cape. The sled struck the horse and
broke one of his fore legs. The fact
that the horse and not the sleigh was
struck accounts for the fact that no hui
man lives were sacrificed. Mr.. johnson
and his friends were thrown out, but,
with the exception of a slight cut on the
face of one of the ladies, were not hurt.
Neither was the sleigh greatly damaged.
Deputy Marshal Hartnett went to the
spot, and Officer Heating secured the
names of the South Portland boys al
| RI ~ - + I,a ofl