Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1886-06-30
&eadiug,
THE TERROR Of A CITY.
Columbia, S. c., 1886

Between the woman who wanders about
the streets showing a baby carriage before
her and the woman who drives a horse and
buggy there is a choice. The baby carriage
can sometimes be lodged, jumped over or
| got around. You can sometimes evadei it by
climbing a telegraph pole or rushing into a
basement. If you are armed with a club
and can look ferocious the woman will some
times turn aside and cripple some one else.
But for the woman who drives a horse and
buggy-look out!
1 saw her start out the other day. When
the horse left the post the woman was look
ing back to wave her hand at somebody,
and the lines were on the dashboard. There
was an ice wagon coming up the street, but
wave she must and did. She was almost
ready to turn her attention to the horse
when he stopped. He had to. He had run
plump into the ice wagon, and he couldn't
climb over it.
The woman picked up the lines, pulled on
| the ''gee" and then on the "haw," ran the
horse over the curbstone andtwisted around
| a tree, and as she got into the street again
| she upset a swill cart with the off wheels
and went her way with serene countenance.
! When she reached the avenue she was fuss
ing with the lap robe, and the horse took a
long turn. There was a street car passing,
and if the driver hadn't put on the brake
and turned his horses across the track she
must have been run down. 1t is doubtful
if she noticed the fact. She pulled on one
rein with both hands, told Dobbin to "git
up" and finally got away on astraight line,
on the wrong side Of the street, of course.
A brick team crowded her into the curb
stone, but the smile never left her face. A
milk wagon rubbed the fore wheel, and the
milk man yelled at her, but she looked
straight ahead. The horse finally crossed
over to the other side or his own account,
and the street car missed the hind wheel by
such a close shaye that half the passengers
cried Quit alarm.
All of a sudden the woman pulled hard
on both lines and cried "Whoa!" She had
been struck at sight of a new hat on a pass
ing woman, and she wanted to see more of
it. A grocer's delivery wagon was follow
ing close behind, and the sudden stop
brought about a crash. Horse, woman and
pheton were slowed around and almost up
set, but the only one at all disturbed was the
horse. He. didn't seem to believe in sud-
den changes. He was hawed and geed and
pulled into shape, and as he logged along
again the lines were dropped while the
driver fused with her hat. Her buggy
struck the nose of a horse backed up to a
grocer's door-brushed against ar express
wagon-skinned along the side of a street
car, and finally locked wheels with a beer
wagon. Nothing was broken-nobody dis
turbed in mind or body. A harnessmaker
backed her horse out and headed him down
street, and the serene journey was again
resumed, to be interrupted on the next
block by the animal bringing up against the
back end of a farmers wagon.
"What in blazes-w roared the farmer.
But he stopped there. She had dropped
the lines to tuck in the lap robe.
Down at the next street three men stood
talking. The phaeton crossed over and
made a bee line for them and drove them
off, and then crossed back and skinned along
a pile of brick and drove four or five stone
cutters to jump for their lives. 1t was just
nail a DlOck lurIleT lndG tlc iOTSe was
"hawed" to cross to a photograph gallery.
Vehicles were crossing in a mob. Acarriage
was stopped still, a fshman's cart backed
into a sand team, and a plumbers horse
given a setback to last him for a month.
But r%etribution was at hand. A two horse
dray caught a hind wheel of the phaeton
and wrenched it off, and drove splinters
into the pavement. Some one held the
horse, and some one else helped the woman
out, and when she had surveyed the wreck
she mildly observed:
81 wonder how on earth that could pos
sibly have happened, when 1 am such a
good driverw
l give you fair warning. l saw her at
the wagon shop yesterday bargaining for a