The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1884-01-04
A RIDE TIC DEATH.

Terrible Coasting Calamity at Morrow
vile, PA Cutter Containing Nine Per-
sons Piunges into a Creek, with Fatal
Results 10 Two of the Party.
MoRRowvILLE, Pa, Jan. 2-The 'Long
Hip on the road leading from this place TO
Stokes mill, in the Elk lumber region, was
the scene of a trightful coasting accident on
Sunday night last. Long Hill begins mile
and a half from the mills and is nearly
straight for a mile, when the road turns
to the left and runs along the
bank of Trout Run for nearly all
the rest of the distance, crossing the
stream at the bottom of the hill by wooden
bridge Trout Run is deep and very rapid
stream about forty feet wide, and the bank
on top of which the road is run is sixty feet
above the water and almost perpendicular.
Long Hill has been great resort for coast
ing parties for years. Sunday evening
a party of nine-four young men and
five girls-wcnt from the mills to enjoy
the sport. The favorite manner of
coasting is to utilize one-horSe cutter,
which is filled with straw. The cutter is
steered down the hill by strong and skill
fal man of the party, who is seated OIL a
hand-sled between the shafts Of the cutter,
and gTasps shaft in each hand near the
ends. The speed that the sleighs attain is
sometimes terrific. The party mentioned
above used an old one-horSe cutter, and had
made several trips down the hill. The pilot
was young fellow named Hiram Ruhe.
About ten o'clock it was agreed by tho
party that they would make one more "Trip
and then go home. The sleighs were APP
preaching the first bend i'll the road and
Ruhe struck his left heel in the snow to
steer them around it, when one shaft broke
off in his hand and the sudden strain that
came on the other also snapped it in two.
Thus left without pilot the cutter kept
straight ahead and plunged from the high
bank to the creek below. Jennie Mitchell,
aged sixteen, sprang from the cutter while it
was descending and alighted in spruce
tree near the bottom. When the cutter was
halfway down it turned over and all the
rest of the party were precipitated into the
creek. The sleighs landed partly on
the opposite bank. John Slader, a team
ster, found himself being carried swiftly
down stream with girl named Mary Jack
son. At the turn in the creek one hum
dred feet below, the water runs over sliding
rocks, and is shallow. Slader here succeed
ed III getting footing, and carried his bur
den, who was then unconscious, to the bank
and laid her on snow. Slader fastened
back along the bank and rescued Samuel
Roys clinging to a spruce bush on the
shore and trying to draw q girl out
of the water. The shouts and scream
ing of the coasters was heard by
two or three persons who hurried
to the scene They found Eugene Croft and
hi rin Co11s &c. L Al.
stream, but conscious. Mary Hyde was
found lodged against the ice on the shore
and it was thought she was dead. Miss
Mitchell was found on the opposite bank in
the crotch of the spruce tree. She had re-
ceived very serious injury, her skull being
crushed. She will die. Miss Hyde's condi-
ton is especially precarious, and Eugene
Croft had two ribs broken. The shock of
the fall and struggles in the icy water have
left all of them in very critical state of
nervous prostration.