Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1904-09-22
CAR WRECKED
By Terrific Dynamite Ex-
pIosion at meIrose.
Six Killed, Several Fatally and
Many Badly Injured.
a Mysterious Accident to Boston
bound Electric Car.

MelfoSe, Mass. Sept. 21.-AE out
ward bound electric car well loaded
win people. was blown to pieces at
CLOCK tonight near the corner o.
wyoming and Main streets. Six peo
lie We're killed outright. several more
l"taily injured and at least Is received,
severe wounds.
ii is thought that the car struck n
charge of dynamite left on the track.
as the front portion was blown in ey-
cry direction. the front dashboard he
iiiS hurled more than so feet The mo-
ton mon, Rowe, was among the kiIIa,
HE immediate vicinity presented a
fearful spectacle and the ground was
s'reWn with fragments of the bodies of
t,ie Killed So great was the force OF
.he explosion that two men standing
III the door of a store. so feet away.
were severely injured by The. FLYING
pieces While every window within a
l"uius OF a quarter of Il mile was
broken.
Inc car contained mostly working
men on their way to their homes in
.lls city, but among the dead was a
woman and her baby.
Al clock. tonight, but few of the
ueau mad teen identified. while in the
fusion IL was impossible at the
'iiile TO obtain list of the injured.
Inc explosion was heard for a lone
Instance ard as soon as those in the
i''iiieulate vicinity had recove red from
the effects of the terrible conclusion
lhey rushed to the scene of the acc,-
dent.
was covered with torn and mangle,
poaies Of the dead and writing forms
ol me injured. many of whom were.
sirrlekinS with pain. All the doctors in
me city we're summoned and others
called from the learby cities of Med
ihrd, Everett and Maiden, as well az
some from Boston.
The severely injured were tenderly
lited into wagons. carriages and au-
tomObiles and those who seemed to be
able to survive their injuries We're
taken to the hospitals of Melrose ana
Maiden.
Others, who appeared to be at the
POINT of death were removed to near
by houses, while the police began the
work of collecting the dead
Within Is minutes after the acct
dent. crowd OF -,.,. or 5000 people
were swarming IN tn. scene Rela-
tives and frierl@ WY /! ,se on the
wrecked car Were .4.i-., about trying
to find their missing cne... while many
others who thought that some of their
families might possibly have been on
tie car were equally excited.
At $50 O'Clock. tonight. the police had
but one theory as to the accident
which was that some person had in
or unintentionally left a
large stick of dynamite on the track.
1t is believed that the explosive was
on tie left hand rail. as the front dash
board and fender We're found 80 feet
away on the left hand side Of the
track.
The car was No. II of the Boston &
Northern Railroad. 1t was a closed car
about 10 feet long. equipped with a vesti- |
bule on both front and rear. The car LEFT |
the subway in Boston at o'clock. ana |
was making the usual time to this city |
There were large number Of people on |
the car when it left Boston, but several |
left at Maiden and at the little streets |
beyond.
Early reports as to the number on the |
car when it neared Wyoming avenue
We're confusing but it was generally stat
ed that there were at least 80 on board.
That the front wheel of the car must |
have struck the explosive was shown by
the fact that it was the front portion Of
the car that suffered the most. and it was
in that part of the car that the deaths
occurred
The conductor. who stood on the rear
platform. was not injured in the least,
and about 10 feet Of the rear end remain
ed intact