The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1885-12-30
RIDE TO DEATH.
Friyhtful Fall Of Seventeen Horses
and - on a HacccOU.se.

Frightful Fall of Seventeen Horses
and Riders on a RacccOu-se.
The Australian papers give details OF a
dreadful accident in the Caulteld cup.
The race was a handicap of 1900 SOW
ercigns, and the distance one mile and Il
half. Forty-one' horses went to the
post. One or more Of the runners fell rs
they came racing up the straight, and
no fewer than seventeen horses and jock
eys we're in a few moments struggling on
the ground, in i seemingly incxtrlcable
mass. The following extracts are taken
from the Adelaide -IdctrtiSer:
'.Suddcnlv q shout rent the air, a gap
was male in the centre OF the living
ranks as though il park of artillery had
opened fire upon them; down went q
cluster of horses-of horses and riders
on came Others en- top of them, and
shrieks, wells and cries told of a sad dis
aster, while another section OF spectators
who did not see or could not realize the
extent of the calamity, were singing out
'Britisher wins; no, Marie Louise: no,
Grace Darling-Grace Darling Where
the horses and riders were heaped pell-
nell, ready hands were quickly at work
to extricate the poor lads from their
dangerous position. No less than seven:
teen horses had been brought to earth, and
the scene while it lasted was a terrible
one. Some say it was Tom Brown,
other Too-Too, and some again aver 1t
was Claptrap who caused the disaster
and was the first to come down. 1t was
pretty certain, however, that Sardius
was the second or third horse to fall,
poor Wyman pitching heavily on his
head. Then fell Lord Exeter and bis
rider. The unfortunate rider, Donald
Nicholson, was seen for a moment to
struggle upon his feet, when crash lnto
him came Prince Imperial with a shock
that knocked the horses teeth down his
W throat, and struck Nicolson lifeless
to the earth. On came Mozart, Despot,
Winchester. Kingship, falling over and
over their riders, who were either thrown
out of the saddle, crushed beneath their
weight, or kicked by the horses in their
struggles to regain their feet. 1t was IN
this melee that the riders Cracknell. wy
man, and McGrath sustained their scri.
Gus injuries. Nicholson was pulled out
from beneath two horses a shapeless
pass, with features so pounded and mu-
tilated as to be unrecognizab!e, and just
enough life within him to breathe his
last gasp. Yeomans had a most unfor-
tunate escape with Welcome Jack.
Thank God I am back again. said the
~-z-l- l~s,1~o. r n0uor hoH q nor.
rover squeak in my life 1t appears
that he saw two horses down on the
ground in front of him, and rising We'll
come Jack with both spurs in his sides,
he jumped him right over them, aud in
landing cannoned against other horses,
Welcome Jack going down on his nose,
but he ultimately shed away to the
right and cleared further danger"
"The placed horses had scarcely been
weighed in when a melancholy process
sion of dead and wounded men was car
ried to the jockeys room. The first to
be brought in was M'Grade, the rider of
Tom Brown, who appeared to be very
badly hurt, and then the ~lifeless body of
poor little Nicholson appeared, and nc
was succeeded by Cracknell, the rider OF
Kingship, who was so severely injured
that his case seemed a hopeless one.
McGrath, who was on Prince Imperial,
and Wyman, the rider of Sardius, were
next, and they were both insensible.
GA brief examination revealed the fact
that Nicholson had been dead for some
minutes, and that Cracknell had his
breast bone broken, and had received
other internal injuries, M'Grade had a
broken shoulder and nose, and was in
sensible; Wyman, who was on Sardjus,
sustained a fracture of the skull;
McGrath. who rode Prince Imperial, was
suffering from conclusion of the brain;
Winchester's jockey, Huxtable, was in
sensible, and had a nasty wound on his
face; and Toomey, who rode Urara, who
was killed, was very badly hurt indeed.
Moore, Ellis, Ivemy, Hutchens and Nor
rison who were riding Lord Wilton,
Despot, Impulse, Country Boy and
Sirocco respectively, escaped with a
severe shaking each, but Frahm and T.
Brown, who were on Claptrap and Too
Too and fell in front of all the others,
escaped without a scratch, and the
former won the last race on Merrimu."