Little Falls herald. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1889-1950, 1903-08-21
Mr.. NAUGHTON'S TERRIBLE DEATH.
ST. CLOUD NAN KILLED BY
ELECTRIC LIVE WIRE.

G !. McNaughton. manager of the
st. Cloud Office of the North western
Telephone E xchange Co., and we'll
known in Little Falls. was instantly
killed at st. Cloud last Friday evening
while trying to repair q telephone
wire
The st. Cloud Journal Pres gives the
| details as follows:
The death of Mr.. Men aughton seems
to be due to an act for which no one
can scarcely account. He was about
town during the early evening and
| was at the Grand Centre hotel when
Motorman Perry Baxter called his at.
tention to a broken condition of the
| telephone wires on Wilson avenue
/ near his home. 1t had crossed with
an electric light wire, and the wire
| lay in the grass and was shooting
flames about. This was on the Z 10
trip of the Sank Rapids car and Mana
ger McNaughton Immediately took
the car on its return trip for the
scene OF the trouble. He lighted at
Fourth street on Wilson avenue and
walked to the point where lay the
live wire. The were some little
children standing about watching the
sparks fly from the wire lying in the
wet grass but the only person who ap.
pears to have actually seen him cut the
wire was MIR. Meagher and he was
more than hundred yards distant
He evidently took his four inch pliers
wrapping his handkerchief about them
to protect his hand and to rave
reached up as high on the wire as
possible for the purpose of cutting it,
1t is said that the moment that he
touched the wire the force Of the cur
rent in it raised him off his feet and
then he sank helpless to the ground.
He had "'grounded' the current, and
had gotten the full $500 volts of
electricity that feed the Sank Rapids
light. system. Gee. Branley ran to
him as he saw him fall and was
followed by Mr.. Meagher. The
stricken man STILL grasped the wire as
he lay on the ground. A horrible
choking, gaeping sound came from
his throat, the face was terribly dis
torted. The lips and face began to
! swell and the tongue to protrude
Young Branley seized stick and was
about to knock the wire out of his
hand but desisted at the order of his
uncle, though as the wire sshad been
cut, there was not any danger. Bran
ley was dispatched for a doctor and
Officer Connolly. who happened to be
near, and Mr.. Meagher awaited the
coming OF the medical man, the
officer taking his watch for safety's
sake.
An investigation of the remains
showed small round hole in the
palm Of the right hand, s7ch az
would DO made by a buckshot. This
was the point Of the contact with his
pliers, and tho electric fluid also
melted spot on the pliers 60 great
was the shock. Tbs body of poor
McNaughton was happily not other
wise mutilated
MT. McNaughton frequently visited
Little Falls when he had charge of
both the St. Cloud and Little Falls
exchanges. He was very popular and
we'll liked, having every gentlemanly
trait.
he was member of the St. Cloud
Elks lodge, which held services Satur-
day and forwarded the BODY to the
old home at Kalamazoo, Mich.
Mr.. McNaughton was only 26 years
Of age. His father and mother, two
brothers and sister, live at
Kalamazoo. he waa an expert tele-
phone man, with very prospect of rails
ing high in the service.
Manager F. S. Meyer of the Little
Falls exchange was much shocked
over the news. He said he could hard
~ understand how so expert an cleo.
trician as Mr.. McNaughton took the
chances he did In standing directly on
the wet ground to make the repair.
AN ELECTRICAL KITCHEN.
Of all the cool andconvenient kitchens
that housekeeper ever dreamed, the
electric Kitchens the most convenient,