Brenham weekly banner. [volume] (Brenham, Tex.) 1877-1907, 1897-08-05
EQUINE EPIDEMIC ESTABLISHED.
The Square Used For Race Track. Halt
Dozen Runaways Friday
Morning.

.
than they have been in aecoon's
age. Men ran hither and thither
in wild alarm; women screamed
with fright and for a time it
looked like the bottom had fallen
out of the visible universe, or
that the symetry and perfection
of our planetary system had been
seriously disturbed. Standing
at a point of vantage above the
din and danger of the turbulent
street it seemed to the reporter
that the elements of material ma
ture had skipped a cog through a
miscarriage of the plans and
specifications that govern the
universe and were about to re-
solve themselves back into origi-
nal chaos. The public square
was the scene of all this turmoil.
For a time the thoroughfares
that girt the courthouse seemed
metamorphosed into an arena for
the execution of exploits whose
daring rivaled any performance
in ancient ampitheater. The
chariot race at Antioch immor-
talized by Lew Wallace became a
tame and listless affair in COM
parison. The match that lit the
conflagration has not been dis
covered. The first glimpse that
the reporter got of the catastro-
phe was at a point in front of the
alley that separates Giddings C
Giddings bank from Mistrot
Bros. It was here that the flag
fell, and the sweepstake race
between a gig, a phaeton, a dray
and a heavy two horse wagon
was on. The gig horse took the
lead from the goal post. With
one mighty leap he lifted him
self, gig and all, to the stone
pavement three feet above him
and was off like a shot; splitting
the pavement to the open street,
he made center drive between
the two telephone posts that
stand at the corner of the bank,
and dived off into Sandy street
carrying teams, vehicles and
surging humanity in front of
him and leaving disjointed de-
bris and desolation in his wake.
A whirlwind of runaways en-
sued and the atmosphere became
impregnated with cyclone of
flying steeds and revolving We
hicles. Mr.. J. M. Mathis big
bay standing at the southwest
corner of the square hitched to a
Iphaeton caught the inspiration
and tore out down Sandy street
in pursuit of the gig animal. A
sleepy looking dray horse be-
longing to VIM. Fedrick became
imbued with the spirit of motion
and Lit out up North street with
an agility which the invigorating
touch of 'fhigh life" could not
have accelerated.
Here the narrative divides and
we mustreturn to the firery gig
steed left in the midst of his wild
career on Sandy street. When
Ant street was reached the
frantic animal turned into that
1
thorough fare and made dash
for the Oak Hall saloon. Finding
his way barred by most of the
population on that side of town,
he essayed to effect an entrance
into the Casino and fell headlong
at the side entrance to the
mercantile establishment of L.
Nowakowsky G. Co. Dozens of
strong hands grasped the bits
and literally overpowered the
horse, who finding himself badly
outclassed surrendered and sub
mitted to being unhitched from
the gig, which, strange to say,
was unscathed.
The phaeton runaway also
turned into Ant street, but in an
opposite direction, and going
north a short distance colhded
with a wagon belonging to Mr.. L..
Neumann of Long Point. The
collision broke out the phaeton