Heroism Of Woodsmen

HEROISM OF WOODSMEN

Maine Men Suffered Hardships to Carry Dead Friend to Civilization.

John Francis Haggerty, aged twenty-six, of Bangor, Me., left home on March 28 to work on Lawley Bros.' log drive on the Allegash river and soon after arriving at the scene of operations fell sick and died in a few days, says the New York World.

When Haggerty died the boss of the drive, it is said, directed James Bell end Daniel Malloy of Bangor, two of Haggerty's friends, to bury the body immediately in the woods and lose no time from work. The men refused to do this and, abandoning their jobs on the drive, started to bring their dead chum's body out to civilization. The body was placed in a canoe and the long journey begun, but the river was so swift and full of rocks that in order to prevent capsizing the canoe Bell and Malloy were obliged to get out and wade in the icy water up to their waists.

In this way they pushed the canoe with its ghastly freight twenty-three miles down the Allegash, after which they struck into the woods on the way to Patten, Bell carrying the canoe five miles to the nearest water, while Malloy carried the corpse on his shoulder.

They finally accomplished the twenty-five miles' to Patten, after a day on the river and a night in the woods, during which time they took turns at sleeping and watching their burden.

When they reached Patten they were so weak that they fell at the hotel door, having had nothing to eat for thirty-six hours and having traveled forty-eight miles with the body of their friend. The body has reached Bangor, and Bell and Malloy have gone back to the drive.