Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1894-09-19
CHANGED THE ROUTE

last spring as we were being whirled over
the z. X and Y road in the special car OF
the president of that corporation. There
were three of us-the president, Markham
and myself-and the former had been en-
tertaining us in his best manner with the
fund of stories and anecdotes with which
be is SO plentifully supplied.
As we came out of short tunnel near
the station known as Farman, however,
our host frowned slightly, and nodding
back toward the fast receding hole In the
mountain he said:
Ibid either of you know that that tun
mel has no good reason for being there! IL
is out of the way, was not in the original
survey of the road and is altogether I'M
necessary, for there is a shorter and better
route along q natural grade, which the
road first used for its tracks. Yet we went
out of our way to make that tunnel and
added three unnecessary miles to the line
In doing it,"
''What in the name of common sense
did you do it for, then?' asked Markham.
1T wasn't in the name. of common
sense that we did it" remarked the presi-
dent grimly 1T was in the name of tom
foolery rather--tomfoolery and ghosts,
But take another cigar, and let me tell
you the story:
.'Ten years ago, when we first projected
this line, the tracks, as I said, ran around
the small mountain We have just come
through and beside the river. 1t was
comparatively straight route and per
fectly natural one, and our surveyors
found very little to do for 10 miles on eli
Their side of this spot. The trackmen also
work was pushed forward very rapidly
when the construction gang came to that
section. But one day, as the men were at
work on tho rail laying, singing and talk
ing to each other, suddenly from the cliffs
above there came a roar and rumble, and
tremendous body Of rock came hurting
down upon them without moments
warming 1t fell square upon the newly
laid track and killed eight men outright.
Naturally enough, this unfortunate ca
tastropho cast something of gloom over
the others, and they fastened to get
through that part of the country with
their work after the dead men were gath
cred up and carried back to the last sta
ton. But as accidents of this sort arc
constantly happening the matter was soon
forgotten, comparatively speaking, and be-
ing busy with other affairs we who heard
of it did what we could for the wives and
children of the men who were killed and
then let the matter drop. But not so the
men who had witnessed the accident. Like
all ignorant people, they were supersti-
tious, and ono among them, made half
crazy by seeing his own brother under the
mass of stone, shrieked out that the place
would be accurscd from that minute on.
holt ,at I,,tt h,t
prophecy has come true.
Twelve months later the first train
passed over our road, and in the flush of
victory and natural pride the entire board
of directors, of which was one, accompa
MED it. Everything was going well, and
we were enjoying the trip in moro ways
than one, when suddenly, as we came to
that particular spot where the rock had
fallen, our engine stopped, and tho next
second the fireman came running back to
tell us that the engineer had dropped dead
at his post. This unwelcome message
rather dampencd our spirits, but laying
the poor chap out in the front car we
drafted another engineer, whom we hal
with us, to take his place, and went OH to
the end of tho line. AS 1 got off, upon
reaching there to direct the others whist
two of the original construction gang talk
ing, and a single sentence that l caught
gave me queer feeling down my spine,
l acknowledge, 1t was, And this very
day year ago, lin, them fellers was kill
ed in the gorge, do you mindg The
gorge was the name given to the spot
where our engineer had died that day.
Had been q superstitious man the coin
oil havp m af
feet on me, / am sure.
but the end had not come yet. A
year later to day we had our first Sc
rious wreck-a head end collision, it was,
too, and 10 passengers killed and wound
ed-and, l own, my mind rather misgaye
mo when learned the accident had hap
pcncd in the gorge. OF course the place
itself had nothing to do with it, but there
did seem to be kind of organized plan
between fate and that miserable spot to
do as much damage to us as possible. And
tho men, learned from section bosses
and others, were beginning to talk n good
deal about the curse on the place.
well to make a long story short, for
six years straight running we had an &C
cident OF some sort in that gorge upon the
anniversary of the day the first one oc
| worse than the last. Wrecks, collisions,
landslides and what not seemed to choose
that place out of preference until it had
| q name as evil as the damage it did was
great. The grumblings and talk about it
being haunted by the victims of them all
began to grow to alarming proportions,
| and though we strove to overlook and
shut our ears to such idle talk we were
compelled to think of it at any rate. Once
we even went so far as to bring it up scri-
ously in q stockholders meeting, but as
there was nothing, absolutely nothing, to
do except caution the trainmen.
But the climax came at last. 1t was
seven years to day that the first trouble
had occurred there when a hurried mes
sage from the little station nearest the
gorge announced the wreck we had almost
become used to looking for, and as was
near the relief train at the time, which
was sent forward at once, l jumped
aboard, determined to see the last of it,
When we arrived on the scene, however /
was as Mortified as the most superstitious
of the workmen, for, as live, 200 yards
I of tracking had actually been swallowed
/ up by cavein. such as has never been
known ON this road before or since. And
[ one Of the finest trains we had plunged
q n