Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1899-08-07

immersion in the water and injuries
while struggling for life.
Following is list of the dead:
MRS. VIM. MURRAY, of Brewer.
IRVING BRIDGES, of West Hancock.
ALBERT COLSON, of Levant
MRS. ALONZO P. CAKES, of Bangor.
MISS GRACE SUMMER, of Bangor.
JOSEPH MURPHY, of Old Town.
MRS. HOLLIS w. ESTEY, of Ellis
worth.
CLIFFORD CUSHMAN, of Corinth.
MISS LIZZIE WARD, of Bangor.
CHARLES w. DOWNES, of Ellsworth.
F. E. sWEETSER, travelling salesman,
Portland.
ORA M. LANK, of Danforth.
G. H. BENNETT, of Brewer.
MRS. G. N. BENNETT, of Brewer.
MRS. CHARLES SLOWER, of Ellis
worth.
MELVIN M'CARD, of Corinth.
MRS. A. H. BILLINGS, of Bangor.
MRS. GEORGE DERWENT, of Ban
gor.
MISS LEWIS, of Hampden, Me.
UNKNOWN WOMAN, believed to be
a saleswoman for Boston publish
ing house.
The Maine Central Railroad to-day
ran excursions to Bar Harbor from all
sections of its line in Maine, the at
traction being the warships which
were expected to-day.
All the morning trains
PACKED WITH EXCURSIONISTS
were rushing to Bar Harbor. The
train which left Bangor at S:25 con-
sisted of twelve cars damned with peo-
pie At Mount Desert ferry, the ter
minus of the line, the train is left for
the boat for an eight mile sail to Bar
Harbor. From the wharf slip or
gang-plank forty feet long and ten
feet wide, led up to the boat. The slip
was hinged at the inner end, the outer
end being supported by chains by
which it was raised or lowered to suit
the tide. The wharf extends on both
sides flush with the end of the wooden
gang-plank. Five timbers four by
twelve inches set vertically ran the
length of the plank, and these were
crossed by two inch planking. 1t is
said that there was no support for the
plank between the hinges at the outer
end. When the excursion train from
Bangor arrived at the ferry there was
a rush for the steamer Sappho. The
first few passengers had crossed the
gang-plank safely, and it is estimated
that two hundred people were massed
upon the plank. Suddenly they felt the
plank
GIVE WAY BENEATH THEM.
The long timber supporting the plank
broke in the middle. The hinges held
up one end and the chain the other
while the broken ends of the plank
dropped and a struggling, screaming
mass of humanity was plunged into
the water, fifteen feet below the
wharf. A few chung to the inclined
sides of the plank, but at least $50
were struggling in the water. The
The piling of the wharf partially pen
ned them in on three sides and the
boat lying at the wharf closed the out
er end of the opening. After the first
moment of stupefaction, the work of
rescue began. Ropes and life preserv
ers were thrown to the crowd, but in
the panic the people in the water
clutched one another and many sank
thus in groups in a death grapple.
Many taken from the water were I'M
conscious and were
REVIVED WITH DIFFICULTY.
Doctors were summoned from all d.
@ctions but it was half an hour before
the first arrived. The freight house
at the ferry was turned into a morgue.
The bodies being taken there for iden-
LITIGATION as fast as recovered. BY
noon, seventeen had been recovered.
Three other persons were taken on
board the Sappho and died on the way
to Bar Harbor.
The exact number of dead will not
be known for some time yet, as
strong tide sweeps under the pier, and
some bodies may have been carried
away by it. A diver, who was set to
work without delay, was engaged in
his search until 5 o'clock, but only
seventeen bodies were found. The
coroner impaneled a jury and the in
quest will begin in the the morning.
THE AWFUL NATURE
of the accident was not comprehended
for at least minute by those who
were the last to leave the train. al
though the scene changed instantly
from one of holiday gaiety to death
struggle. When the first moment of
the calamity had passed, panic seem
ed to seize those who were safe and
they drew back from the edge OF the