The Republican journal., 1899-08-10
In a Death Trap.

! ~
career of the Maine Central Road, occurred
at Mt Desert Ferry last Sunday morning as
a train load of excursionists was embarkine
on the boat for Bar Harbor. BY the break.
ing of the slip at least score lost their lives
ami others were more or less injured. The
slip or gang plank was 40 feet long and 1O
! feet wide and was constructed in the usual
manner, with hinges at the shore end and
with chains at the outer end by which it was
raised or lowered 1t is estimated that
there were at least POO people on this slip
when it broke in the middle, leaving one end
supported by the chains and the other by
the hinges, and precipitating all the eXcur-
sionists into the water. Some of those
whose bodies were afterwards recovered
! died quickly, for they were borne beneath
the waves by the weight of the living. who
fell after them, and who madly struggled to
reach life preservers and lines thrown to
them from both wharf and steamer. Follow
ing is complete list of the dead: George II.
| Bennett. Mrs. George H. Bennett, Miss
Grace r. Sumner, Mrs. Alonzo Z. Oakes,
Miss Lizzie Ward Mrs. George H. Derwent.
| MIS- A. IL. DllllnSS. an VI Danger MTS. w ..
J. Murray of Brewer; Joseph Murphy of
| Old Town; Miss Blanche Lewis of Hamp-
dem Clifford Cushman, Melvin McCard of
Corinth Mrs. Hollis Estey. Mrs. Charles
Stover, Charles William Downes of Els
| WORTH Albert Colson of Levant; F. E..
Sweetser of Portland; Ora Mark Lank Of
Danforth Irving Bridges of North Hancock ],
| Mrs. Marjorie Mower Of Wisconsin.
| Thirteen of the party on the Maine Press
excursion to Washington county left the
train at Ellsworth Saturday TO make an ex-
cursion to Bar Harbor and We're very nearly
| in the centre of the slip at the time of the
accident, but fortunately escaped without
serious injury. The party. included G. E.
| Williams, Portland Mr.. and Mrs. Jessie H
| Ogier of the Camden Herald Mr.. and Mrs.
c. F. Flynt, Kennebec Journal; Mr. and
| Mrs. c. B. Haskell of PIttsfeld: Frederick
NJ. Thompson of the Courier. Telegram, Port
| land, and mother; Horace E. Bowditch, Ken
nebec journal; Mr.. and Mrs. r. NJ. Camp
bell of the Ellsworth Enterprise; Arthur E.
| Forbes of the Oxford Democrat and G. W.
Robbins and wife of the Old Town Enter
prise. Mr.. Williams tells the following
story of the accident:
We were all pushed and hustled along by
the crowd, and We're in the best Of spirits
| laughing and Joking amongst ourselves and
| planning for pleasant days outing over at
| the Harbor. All at once it seemed to me as
| though the slip settling beneath my
! feet. 1t was slow at nrst and | scarcely
| thought anything of it. Then it went with d
rush and before We had chance to think
we We're all in the midst of two hundred or
more struggling souls. OF course the first
| thought that entered our minds was for the
safety of the ladies' Of our party and this
was followed by desire To help all that We
| could. | think that every one of us, men
aud women, remained perfectly cool,-noJ
| losing our heads IN the least, and | attribute
| our safety to this entirely. AS soon We
! We're ont of the water and found that our
! party was in no Immediate danger we began
| to look about. The first thing | saw was
Mr.. Robbins of the Old Town Enterprise,
cliuging to d piling and dragging people out
! from beneath the wharf and assisting in
! passing them up TO the people above. Re
saved eight or ten people IN this manner.
| Mr.. Campbell of the Ellsworth Enterprise
| was another of the heroes of the day, for he,
| like Mr.. Robbins, was active in saving life
and ! think that it would be difficult to say
which OF the two saved the most lives.
Mr.. Williams says that he thinks that the
people iii the water We're far cooler than
those upon the wharf. The men, he says,
| appeared to be endeavoring to save the
lives of the women and he thinks that that
accounts for the large number of men who
met their death.
The members Of the press party We're
taken to Ellsworth, where they remained
Sunday night, the guests Of Mr.. and Mrs.
r. NJ. Campbell.
The Bangor Daily News report says
There were many thrilling rescues during
the accident. Editor Robbins of the Old
Town Enterprise and Editor Campbell of the
Ellsworth Enterprise saved nearly score
of persons from waJery graves
Mr. and Mrs. c. F. Flynt and Mr. Fl. E.
| Bowditch of Augusta were in the Wa ter
under the wharf for fully quarter of an hour
| before they were rescued, and Mr.. Bowdtch
| has given the Kennebec Journal a thrilling
account of the accident from which we quote
as follows
The greater number of those drowned
were men, and | believe it was on account of
the heroic work they did in saving the wo-
men.
[ saw Chester Robbins, the editor of the
Old Town Enterprise and the manager OF
our excursion, save five women by towing
them to piles to which they could cling
He then went up on the wharf and removed
his clothing and came back and rescued six
| more women to my certain knowledge, and
! there were other just such cases.
| In my own case l cannot swim a stroke
| and | was fortunate in securing hold on a
pile where l clung for Is minutes with three
women on my back Another man and
myself sent them up by rope and then we
went up.
No one of the entire Maine Press party
was lost, though we feared for j. H. Ogier
of the Camden Herald. who with his wife
had terrible experience.
The Whig and Courier report says:
When c. W. Robbins of the Old Town
Enterprise, who had narrow escape from
falling into the water himself, saw the ex
tent of the accident he hastily stripped Oft
his outer clothing and climbed down
through the mass of broken timbers and
panks to the surface of the water, and then
tying a rope around his chest, descended
into the center of the strife. One by one he
| would take persons, tie a rope around them
and let them go, and by the time one head
| reached the wharf he had another supported
ready to be lifted on to firm footing. 1t was
estimated by other workers in the rescue
that fully thirty bodies, conscious and un-
conscious, We're brought out OF the well IN
this way.
J. H .Oger of the Camden Herald also did
most effective work, as he on the broken
timbers far below the wharf flooring and had