The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1905-01-23
Board, 3 l-2 Inches Wide.
Driven Into Body
in COASTlNG ACCIDENT.
William (McCreed) Bruce and Four Com
panions Ditched by Striking Tele-
phone Pole on BeckIey Street
While Sliding.

William Bruce, a lad seventeen years
of age, met with serious accident while
coasting with four Companions on
Beckley street in ward four Saturday
afternoon, board three and one-haif
inches wide and seven-eights of an inch
IN thickness being driven into and
through the rear of his right hip for a
distance Of three feet. The other lads
were bruised and scratched, but their
injuries were nothing compared with
that OF the Bruce boy Today he is
resting fairly comfortably and unless
blood poisoning sets in the lad viii re-
cover. This IS the third coasting acci-
dent OF a serious nature to occur ia
Barre this winter.
The lads had got part way down the
hill safely and were going at rapid
rate when the steerer, Fred Davis. lost
control of the traverse and went straight
for q telephone pole at the left of the
road. Bruce was on the end. When
the coaster struck the pole their mo-
mentum was terrific. The traverse
which was a homemade affair collapsed.
One OF the sideboards was piece of
new timber sawed to point at the
rear end. So great was the force OF
the blow that this wide piece of timber
penetrated the boys oyercoat and
and trousers and tore into the flesh in
the rear Of the right leg, coming ont
eight inches farther up and near the
spinal column. In the board were two
large wire spikes which had held the
sideboard to the traverse, and these
plowed through the flesh with the board.
When the physicians, Drs. w. e. La
zelle and +. q. Ligouri, arrived, Bruce
was lying ON the snow, unable to move.
The board was still in the body. 1t
protruded four feet below the place
where 1t entered the hip and three feet
above the wound where it came out. A
saw was brought from neighboring
house, and the part below was sawed
off. Then a traverse was used for an
ambulance and the had was taken to
the home Of a. Stephens. All the time
Bruce was fully conscious and never ut
Etered word OF complaint. He showed
remarkable nerve and grit. AT the house
the clothing was stripped Of and the
part Of the board which came out above
the wound was sawed off Then the
doctors were able to remove the re-
mainder, the patient having, OF course,
been put under the influence Of ether
before that was done. The injury was
dressed ana the particles of clothing
driven into the wound were removed.
Later Bruce was taken in Badgers am
bulance to his home on Brooklyn street,
where he is resting comfortably today.
Special Officer French assisted the
doctors in carrying the iniurerd lad to
Mr.. Stephens house Just after the ac-
cident The Bruce boys real name Il
McCreed, his mother having married
/ William Bruce He is well developed
for boy Of his age, weighing in the vi
cinity of 100 pounds. He has been EN-.
lployed in the stone sheds but lately has
not been working
The other boys on the traverse were
Birnie Cape, Fred Davis, who was steer
ling, Joe Burnett and Michael Morgan
Cape was injured about the head, being
unconscious for an hour He was at
tended by DIR. NJ Il. Chandler Besides
a bad blow, the lads ear was somewhat
torn
Beckley street, where the accident
occurred, was one Of those set apart hy
the city council for sliding.