Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1903-10-26
LIFE CRUSHED OUT
CONTINUED from page ~


the track, which was still lighted by
incandescent lamps. until thew ra""'o',
the great pile of boulders and crushed
rock. The first victim found, an Italian
labOrer was pinioned on a sneif oI ,ie
excavation by one leg. a boulder of
about 10 tons in weight having fallen
on the limb. He was hanging head
down, his arms Imply waving, groan-
ing in semi-consciousness. The rock
which held him was restrained from
falling further by small piece of stone
insecurity wedged under it. An exam
ination showed that an effort to move
the boulder would cause the Italian to-
be completely crushed. The doctors
then determined to amputate the PIN
Toned limb, and this was done in the
light of the ambulance lamp. The man.
who was not identified, died, later, at a
hospital.
| The work Of further rescue was de-
| layed for some little time, owing to the
threatening position of this boulder.
Meantime the cries and groanS from
under the mass of stone wrought such
| excitement among the rescuers that
| they were prepared to undertake any
danger to render assistance to the inn
Erisoned injured. The firemen and po-
| licemen cleared away the small pieces
of rock from about the big block of
stone and managed to get near Juno
| Pasquale and Bateasto Valintio, who
We're bruised and crushed in the back
| and legs. Both men We're taken to a
hospital.
| AS soon as the injured in it's immedi-
ate vicinity were removed the big stone
| was blown up with powder and taken
| away piece by piece. Back of this rock
| was a 5O-ton block which had dropped
from the roof of the tunnel. In a vrev-
| ice beneath it the bodies of two men,
| one lying across the other, were found.
| The upper man had been crushed to
| death, while the underneath one, Juno
| Baskt, was alive, though his legs and
| body were bruised and crushed 1t was
an hour before he was extricated The
| big stone was partly blasted away,
| while it lay over him, and q hydraulic
| jack then elevated the remaining por-
| ton of it sufficiently to permit of it's
| removal.
-Four feet beyond the place where
| Baski lay, the crushed form of Alphonse
| Armatelle was discovered under q
quantity of small rock and shute. He
was quickly eXtricated and sent to a
hospital. Then We're found the bodies
ofNseveral unidentified Italians, some OF
| them crushed beyond recognition.
| Later, the body of VIM. Schuette, the
electrician, was found. 1t lay within 10
feet of the face of the tunnel and he
had been instantly killed.
! The most pathetic incident in connec-
ton with the accident was the finding
of the body of Foreman Timothy Sulli-
van. 1t was wedged and jammed for
| beneath the stone and was not recover
! ed until long after daylight From
about O'Clock in the morning, his 10
year-old son, Samuel, had stood close
to the policemen who were helping the
laborers and blasters pick away the
debris and could not be induced to leave
until the body of his father had been
eXtricated and taken from the tunnel
Many Italian women congregatcd about
the exit. weeping and lamenting and
rushing to the tram car each time it
brought forth body.
| The corpses of Stanzione Bruno,
Louis Tippio, Giuseppe Barone and
three other unidentified Italians were
found fiattened on the floor of the tun-
mel near where the body of Sullivan
was recovered. The heads of the men,
| in most cases, We're toward the exist,
indicating that they had plunged to the
north when the rush of stone was
heard, in an effort to escape. Each
body was removed only by the lifting
of tons of rock. The last two bodies
found We're taken out at O'Clock this
nonrrino
ent, and Richard Beyers, general fore
man for John B. Mcdonald, the con-
tractor, who is building the tunnel,
We're arrested as soon as they reached
the scene of the disaster, but being eX-
perts in tunnel work and blasting, were
permitted to direct the work of rescue.
Later a magistrate remanded them to
the coroner, who held them in $4,000
bail each.
Coroner Jackson said he believed the
accident was caused by criminal negli-
gence. The seams which appeared, Sat-
urday, are believed to have been about
the great rock which fell directly in
the center of the excavation. AS soon
as this boulder, acting as a keystone.
was released, the stones on both sides
which had been crushed loose followed
it. The fall of tone continued some
minutes until the dislodged pieces had
fallen into the tunnel.
From the men who worked in the
tunnel it was learned that props had
been used to hold up the roof The
heavy timbers. ~ by IL inches, were
crumbled like toothpicks beneath the
tremendous weight of the cave-in.