The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1899-08-07
A BAR HARB0R HORROR


| (CoHtlnued from ElrSJ gaSe'J
Coroner Field of Ellsworth impanelled
! jury to hold an inquest. The jury Will
begin its session in 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, although the scene changed in
stantly from one of holiday gaiety to a
| death struggle. The drop between the
| solid wharf and the steamer which was
high In the water was so precipitate
that those who were on the wharf's edge
surging forward to the thirty-foot slip,
| pressed on over the brink, to the wa
| ter's beneath. 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 When the first moment of
the calamity had passed panic seemed
to seize those who We're safe and they
drew back from the edge of the water.
But for only another minute, as then
the cooler heads in the crowd, more es-
pecially among the officers and crew Of
the steamer, asserted themselves and
the work OF rescue began.
Eye witnesses differ in their estimate
of the number of people who were car
ried down when the plank broke, but it
was the vanguard of the crowd which
was rushing from the train to the steam
er. Those who fell into the water last
were mostly pulled out by main force
a I,r
boats which We're Immediately manned
But boats could not be handled III the
little space between the steamer and
the wharf, and in five minutes no liv-
ing thing was seen on the surface. Those
were moments fraught with wild ex-
element on land. for each excursionist
was rushing in and among his or her
nelghbors in quest of relatives and
friends. In the hurry and hustle of
alighting from%the train, husbands and
wives, parents and children, had become
separated and that separation at that
moment meant heartbreaking suspense.
Mrs. Esty, one of the victims, was one
of those who, while only apart from her
husband few feet, lost her life while
Mr.. Esty was saved, although thrown
into the water
In the course Of the next half hour
several bodies We're recovered from the
water and these were taken to the near
by freight houee and laid out awaiting
identification. 1t was a gruesome sight,
and more plying scene as identifica-
lions were made.
Steamer Cyn1bria came from Bar
Harbor with four physicians and a spe-
pia1 train hI1rria1 fvay Do,
physicians and nurses President Will
son of the Maine Central railroad was
near at hand when the disaster occur
red, and he gave orders to expend the
utmost eXertion in relieving the dis
tress. Many persons had been injured
in the struggle on the edge of the wharf
and in the water and such of those
who needed immediate attention were
taken to the high bluffs near the'station
and waited upon-b by the physicians.
The victims of the injuries VIII not |
be as numerous as those who suffered |
from shock and exposure due to the i'm
mersion in the icy water. OF these, sew
eral were reported tonight to be in q |
critical state. Miss Sweeney of Bangor
was taken to Hotel Bluffs, suffering
from pneumonia George Spaulding of |
Orono is also at the Bluffs and may not
recover; Mrs. George Brooks of ELS
worth will recover, although her case
was once pronounced hopeless.
After the bodies in the freight house |
had been identified, Coroner Fields of
Ellsworth gave the necessary permits
sion to have them moved, and relatives
and friends soon after took them in
charge and returned to their respective
homes.
The occasion to-day which brought so
many people here was in part due to
the expected presence of a portion of
the North Atlantic squadron, Rear Adj
yniral Sampson in command. The ex-
cursions were run from various points
in this section Of the state, some of
them having begun yesterday. In adj
dition, Bar Harbor is always on at
tractive place at this season of the
year and the rush of excursionists is
always large. But not all were on an
excursion alone. Irving Bridges OF
North Hancock. who lost his life In the
accident, was on his way 10 Bar Har-
Dor to see his affianced wife, Miss Mar
shall. They were to have been married
the coming autumn. Bridges is we'll
known in Bar Harbnr, having been in
the employ of DR.. Fremont Smith for
several years.
BIG YACHT ON A REEF.