The Washburn leader. [volume] (Washburn, McLean County, N.D.) 1890-1986, 1890-08-02
. YOUNG HERO or THE avrrsa.

How . Young Boosblask Stopped . Daa-
serous DanAway on the Bridge. !
"Ding, ding, ding" rang tho slsot<to
brooklyn bridge 1ust as tbs busisst hour
Of an afternoon. NeAsiy all in the grsst
throng that wa pouring into the entrance
turned their heads a they heard the i'm
petuous note Of warning. Whist was th1s
gongi Why wal It soundsdi Few In the
crowd knew; but tnstdncdvely they seemed
TO teel that someehing serious had OCCUR.
red. Instantly tho policeman whose duty
It Il to watch tbs carriage exit at ths
northern side Of the terminus had run TO
the strongly constructed gate thrown back
against the building and had unfastsnsd
II ready for closdng.
Then the word passed, ~ItAS Q runaway
on the bridge, and it's coming this wayr'
In another minute the crowd, sprinRtng
up, as It were, from the ground, blooksd
Park row. Several policemen strove vainly
to keep the people back from the end Of the
driveway. Necks were ceaned and eyes
wore strained to catch . glimpse of thu
horse and wagon which were Just coming
into view at the top Of the long stretch d
paved approach to the bridge.
Here he comesi' wa the cry from Q
thousand throats, and people Involuntary
drew back, a. II To avoid the crash which
might come later on. The horse, 1t could
be seen, was on q dead run, but % far away
was he that he only seemed to be moving
slowly.
Then it could be seen that Q young
man sat In the drivers seat and held tbs
reins. His feet were firmly braced against
the ~footboard, his lips were set and be wa
exerting all his strength to stop the mad
onrush Of the horse. But the incline =
steep, the animal had evidently ''lost his
head, f" and was now dashing to his csrtain
destruction in IN excess Of mad terror. The
policeman with his hand ON the gate began
slowly to close 1t. It wa his intsntlon
should the animal not be stopped to shutit
in his face. People began to picture 10
themselves the crash, and turned away
their heads in horror. There was profound
silence In the awestruck crowd, brokso
only by disconnected EXPLANATIONS, and
above all the importunate "ding, ding,
ding" of the gong.
Down the long incline came the fright
ened steed, his black coat despatched with
foam, and swayed from side to side by the
frantic efforts Of the young driver to slack
On his gait. In some Of these lurohes the
horse and wagon narrowly missed striking
the teamsd drawn up at the sides Of the
driveway. From q cab standing Q few
hundred feet up the driveway could b
heard the hysterical screams Of woman.
Still the horse had not slackened his speed.
The policeman closed the gate and the
crowd drew back, a. II impelled by ons
will, holding its breath.
The horse had reached the stone balus-
trade that walls in the driveway for tho
space Of about q hundred feet from the
sidewalk. A bare legged bootblack. whose
face showed pale beneath its coating az
dust and CRIME, was seen standing on the
balustrade. Suddenly the boy wa seen to
spring into the driveway in front of the
plunging horse. He seized the frightened
reins close to the bit, and raising himself
from the ground hung at the horses head.
A shout went up from the crowd. The
horse made several more plunges, then
swayed from side to side and finally stopped
stock still within a few feet of the stout
bars Of the gate. The gong ceased ringing.
Five minutes later the entrance to the
bridge had regained its usual appearances,
and no one in the hurrying crowds would
have guessed that it had been the sceno Of
an act Of heroism New York Tribune.