Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1911-07-31

Near by were the others, horribly
mangled and crushed. They were near
est the engine.
Behind them were their 16 wounded
friends. some of them trying, with
grimly compressed lips. to squeeze out
from beneath the masses of wreckage
dragging themselves along painfully on
broken limbs.
Many were unconscious and bleeding
and the survivors hurled themselves
upon the tangled debris in mad ef-
fort to rescue their neighbors and rela-
tives before life should be crushed out
In this task they were assisted by
the inhabitants of the remote back
words settlement. Grindstone has just
43 Inhabitants. Its only means of COM
munieation are by the railroad. which
runs through the heart of the great
Maine wilderness. and a single tele-
phone wire There is not ever log
ging road out of the hamlet and. of
course. no physicians or medical facili-
ties.
But the backwoods people We're well
equipped with strength and sympathy
The husky lumbermen made quick
work of the shattered timbers and
heavy piles of seats, while the capable
women of the north woods gave to the
Injured the first aid that hardships in
the rough woods life had taught them
well to render.
Help was summoned by telephone
from the house of the foreman of the
logging gang. and in a few moments
special train was made up here. and,
with eight physicians, it was hurried TO
the scene.
Another relief train was also being
made up at Bangor. and with a staff
of volunteer surgeons and nurses and a
medical equipment from the Eastern
Maine General hospital. left there at
O'Clock this morning. The S0mile run
was made in little more than two
hours.
BY the time the Bangor train had ar
rived the Millinocket doctors, with the
help of tho Grindstone folks. had made
the. injured as comfortable Is possible
ON board the relief train.
1t was thought unwise to move the
patients until after the arrival of
more complete surgical outfit from
Bangor. as some of the injured were in
bad shape. AS soon as possible the
train was sent slowly on its way TO
/
victims.
From other points along the Bangor
e. Aroostook system wreCking and re-
lief trains were made up and sent 70
the scene. In the first confusion of the
stormy night the reports came out OF
the wilderness that a score had been
killed and that scores more were in
jured.
of
settlement was in bad condition,
owing to the storm. All through that
portion of the State the young West
Indian hurricane that had swept up
the coast so unexpectedly and With
such violence from southern waters,
had crippled all wire and transporta
ton service. and it was hours before
the railroad men knew definitely the
extent of the accident.
The excursion train was running a
minute behind its schedule. Garcelon.
at the throttle, had tried all the way
up from Penobscot bay to drive his
engine a little faster, to make up for
the delay caused by the storm, and he
lost by minute.
Despite the fact that the crash came
with such suddenness in the confusion
of stormy night III the heart OF the
forest, there was no panic, Practically
all the excursionists who bore the brunt !
of the collision were men. most of
whom were accustomed to the hard |
life of the north country.
They had the strength of mind and
body to meet the emergency, and there |
was almost none of the panic and |
shrieking of the wounded that adds 10
the terror of so many railroad wrecks. /
The injured showed great fortitude in |
waiting for help and in assisting them
selves out of danger.
Fortunately the torrents of rain pre-
vented fire from adding its horror to !
the disaster, although. until the spe-
cial train-arrived from here it added
greatly to the hardships of the injured.
DR.. Hugh e. Pipes was "a years of