Page 22. MAINE COASTAL NEWS March 2013


HISTORY FROM THE PAST - Disaster at Mount Desert Ferry 7 August 1899 Maritime History


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gave up their rooms and supplied clothes for the people who had been in the water. Food also was furnished the hungry and self- appointed nurses went from one sick room to another. In spite of the long list of deaths, there were few injured save by exposure to the water and the shock. The patients who were bruised to any extent were very few in number.


In a calamity of this kind there are always a number of men who play the man whose heroic deeds deserve the hearty commendation of the press at Mt. Desert Ferry Sunday. The Commercial would praise them all individually if it knew their names, but is able to mention a few whose gallant deeds entitle them to receive the hearty admiration of their fellowmen. All unite in giving the highest praise to


C. W. Robbins of the Old Town Enterprise. A strong swimmer, Mr. Robbins quickly escaped from the throng and soon gained the wharf. He immediately threw off his outer garments and again plunged into the water where he saved several who were on the point of sinking and escorted them to a place of safety. A young man named Green, of Brewer, is another who risked his life several times to save others and whose efforts brought out 15 living or dead bodies from the water. Charles H. Parsons, of Houlton, conductor on the Bangor & Aroostook, after extricating himself from the mass of bodies in which he found himself, upon the breaking of the slip, devoted himself to saving others and several people owe their lives to his gallantry.


One of the most lucid accounts of the calamity was that given by J. H. Ogier, editor of the Camden Herald, Mr. Ogier had been on the summer excursion of the Maine Press association and with 14 other members of the association, had left the larger partly and taken the morning train at Ellsworth with the intention of visiting Bar Harbor. Mr. Ogier’s Account.


To the Commercial representative, Mr. Ogier said:


“Of our party of 15 all but two were thrown into the water by the breaking of the slip but quite miraculously all of the 13 escaped with their lives, so I shall never again regard 13 as an unlucky number. Our party consisted of Mr. and Mrs. Charles B. Haskell, of Pittsfi eld; Mr. and Mrs. C. W. Robbins, of Old Town; Mr. and Mrs. C. F. Flynt, of Augusta; Arthur E. Forbes, of Paris; Mr. Bowditch, a prominent Augusta druggiest; Charles Williams, of Portland; Frederick Thompson, of Portland; his mother, Mrs. Thompson; Mr. and Mrs. Ernest Campbell, of Ellsworth, my wife and myself.”


“Upon arrival at the Ferry everybody rushed for the slip, being anxious to get to Bar Harbor as quickly as possible. As our party, with the exception of Mr. and Mrs. Campbell, who were still on the wharf, reached the middle of the slip I felt a gradual cracking and settling of the slip and then very suddenly found myself in the water. At fi rst I kept above water placing one arm about Mrs. Ogier and treading water to keep above the surface. The mass of people seemed to go under us.”


“I was suddenly seized by someone beneath and drawn under water. As I went I loosened my grasp upon my wife in order that she should not be drawn down too. I struggled and got free and again rose above the surface, then got hold of a piling where I remained for some little time and had a chance to view the scene around me. Of course the people who were underneath


fought desperately to rise and the scene was an appalling one. Those who were ashore struck me as remarkably cool, considering the circumstances.


“The mass of people on the wharf above were panic-stricken and seemed far more frantic than those in the water. Everything possible, however, was done to save the unfortunates in the water. First boards were let down and these supported many, although they were not effective in assisting them out. This was done by means of ropes and ladders, the latter especially being very effective. I got out by means of a ladder and at last found Mrs. Ogier in safety. “She had a very narrow escape and had sunk once when she was caught by Charles Haskell of Pittsfi eld, who held her until somebody reached down from the wharf and got hold of her hand.


“I should think that perhaps 200 had crossed the slip and reached the SAPPHO in safety before the accident occurred. There was very little premonitory warning. Possibly a dozen or so on each end felt the giving way in time to make a hasty jump to safety. All were thrown right in under the wharf. The SAPPHO was snug up to the wharf and quite a few swam to her and were pulled aboard. These were the people who were thrown one side of the mass. Other Heroic Work.


“C. W. Robbins of the Old Town Enterprise deserves great credit for his bravery as he saved several lives.” P. O’Leary of Bangor, 10 and 11 Pickering Square, was thrown into the water together with his wife and little girl who accompanied him. After a desperate struggle they succeeded in reaching the wharf, in safety, but perfectly exhausted. George Weiler of Bangor and his wife were crossing the slip in company with Mrs. Oakes, who was among the last and their escape was an exceedingly fortunate one. They were thrown into the middle of the mass of people who were struggling in the water. Mr. Weiler was grasped by the legs and held under water for some time by a party who was trying to crowd out over him. He had just about given up all hope when he was set at liberty and rose to the surface with just enough strength left to swim to the piling where he held on until rescued. Mr. Weiler has a bruise on each cheek where he was kicked during the mad struggle for existence. Mrs. Weiler succeeded in catching hold of one of the ropes thrown from above and was helped out in safety. C. F. Flynt, of Augusta, of the fi rm of Burleigh & Flynt, owners and publishers of the Kennebec Journal, and Mrs. Flynt were in the center of the slip when the accident occurred, and were thrown into the middle of the seething mass. Mr. Flynt states that his sensations were extremely diffi cult to describe but that he expected every minute would be his last.


Mrs. Flynt, in speaking of her experience, said: “I suppose I was in the water but a few minutes but it seemed half an hour at least. Mr. Robbins certainly saved my life as I could not have stayed above the surface much longer when he thrust a plank under me. I had an arm about my husband and gave him some support by placing my foot under his leg. With the assistance of the plank we were able to keep up until we were hauled out by the people on the wharf above us.” Another Newspaper Man. Arthur E. Forbes, of Paris, editor of the Oxford Democrat, was standing in the sunshine allowing his clothes to dry when interviewed for the Commercial. He said: “The train was crowded coming down with just standing room and hardly that and when the Ferry was reached there naturally


was a great rush to get aboard the boat. The people were pushing forward hurriedly on to the slip which was crowded, when with no warming came the crackling of planks and then a struggling mass of humanity in the water. I was in the middle of the mess and it seemed to me that I was under water ten minutes. Then boards were shoved down and I caught hold of one and then was all right being shortly after hauled up to safety. I appeared to me that some of the people lost consciousness very quickly.” Mr. and Mrs. George Brooks of Ellsworth, were among those precipitated into the water and the latter had a dreadful experience. When fi nally taken from the water she was in an exceedingly critical condition and it was feared that she would not recover but she has gained strength rapidly under expert medical treatment, although greatly weakened by the shock and exposure.


Peter Peterson, wife and son of Bangor, were among the saved. The son rescued his mother and the family fi nally got hold of one of the posts beneath the pier where they clung until seen from above and swung up by means of a rope. Walker B. Smith, a shoe factory employee at Bangor, in giving his experiences said: “I was the last one out from under the wharf and it seemed as if I was in the water fully two hours although it probably was not more than 20 minutes. I supported myself by clinging to a plank until they threw a life preserver to me. I was pretty weak when I got out.”


Loring Fitz of Corinth, who is a cousin to Cushman who was drowned, saw the struggle in the water from the wharf, be not having reached the slip before it broke. He says the scene was indeed a dreadful one, and the sight of people drowning right before his eyes was one which it will be diffi cult to efface from his memory for a long time to come. The crash came as unexpectedly to those on the wharf as to those on the slip. There was no premonition, no warning, just a sudden grinding noise, then chaos. A. P. Oakes of Bangor, was thrown into the water with his wife and was separated from her during the dreadful struggle. He was rescued from above. Elmer Nichols of Bangor, of the Ida C. Nichols Dry Goods Co., was near the end of the slip toward the SAPPHO when the boards gave way. He fell a little to one side of the mass of people and after holding to the piling for a time was rescued from the SAPPHO. Miss Effi e Davis has a very narrow escape from death in the water and when taken out was almost totally exhausted after her hard struggle. A bitter experience also befell Mr. and Mrs. Lincoln Bragdon of Bangor, who were both thrown into the water by the breaking of the slip.


Miss Ida Edminster of Bangor, was near the end of the slip toward the boat and succeeded in clinging to a post until help came from the SAPPHO.


This terrible catastrophe is the source of much sorrow to the offi cers of the Maine Central, irrespective of all fi nancial issues. They are very sorry to have so dreadful an happening blot their very clean record as to loss of life.


The Slip that Broke.


There can be no discussion as to how the accident occurred. A look at the slip explains that fully. The slip is about 35 feet long and 10 feet across. Beneath the fl ooring are fi ve large wooden stringers, 14 inches by 3, and in addition are three iron tresses. The iron must have given way fi rst and then the stringers, although there


could not have been more than a fraction of a second between. The slip was a new one, constructed and place but about six weeks ago, the one previously in use being regarded as becoming unsafe.


At the time of the accident the tide was nearly high and the people fell into about 16 feet of water and were then some eight feet from the level of the top of the wharf. No More Bodies Found.


A careful examination by divers of the vicinity of the Mt. Desert Ferry slip the scene of Sunday’s terrible accident, and investigation on shore by the offi cials of the Maine Central railroad and others, up to 10 o’clock Monday forenoon, seemed to indicate that the 20 victims reported in last night’s Associated Press despatches, are all who perished as a result of the catastrophe. It seemed probable this morning,


however, that a Mrs. Southard, of Bangor, who was seriously injured, is not likely to recover, but aside from two other persons who are suffering from pneumonia those who were hurt yesterday were reported to be in favorable condition.


Everywhere this morning the physicians and those interested in the railroad company’s affairs were busy attending to the injured who were quartered near the Ferry. Several of these persons had recovered suffi ciently to be sent to their homes and aside from Mrs. Southard and the two pneumonia patients, the majority needed but little attention. The dead were all removed from the Ferry last night, and this morning the last of the bodies were sent to their proper destinations. Arrangements had been made for the ferry to resume its trips and traffi c progressed as usual. Bangor Doctors Summoned.


A general call was sent up from Bar Harbor for Bangor physicians and all those who received the message in season took the train for Mt. Desert Ferry. Dr. W. P. McNally, of York Street, was on one of the excursion trains and was one of the fi rst local physicians on the scene. He remained at The Bluffs on Sunday night to be on hand in case medical attendance was required by any of the rescued ones.


Among the other Bangor doctors who went down during the forenoon were: Drs. C. D. Edmunds, W. C. Mason, E. B. Sanger, E. A. McCullough, Daniel McCann, H. F. (?), W. H. Simmons, J. K. Phillips, C. A. Gibson and E. T. Nealley. They were accompanied by Miss Loggie, a nurse at the hospital, and by Miss Rolfe, a graduate of the training school at that institution who boarded the train at Ellsworth thinking that she might be of service. Both Miss Loggie and Miss Rolfe were of much assistance to the doctors.


Mrs. Jas. K. Chamberlain was also


at The Bluffs caring for the sick ones and during the night had three patients under her charge. Two nurses from Bar Harbor, the Misses Stewart were also at the hotel during the night.


Previous to the arrival of the Bangor


doctors, Dr. Pease, of Orono, who was one of the excursionists, worked hard together with the medical men from Ellsworth and Bar Harbor, in saving the lives of the rescued couple.


County Offi cials There. John E. Bunker, Esq., of Bar Harbor, county attorney of Hancock county, was one of the fi rst to arrive from Bar Harbor. He immediately undertook the task of getting identifi cation for the bodies and it is largely through his efforts that the names were so quickly known. After that was done he remained on the scene to render whatever


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