The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1901-05-31
RUNAWAY HORSES.
Some Successful Methods That Have
Been Tried in Stopping Them.


the occasion says VIM. j. hampton
the Detroit Free Press.
81 lost fine horse by one once,
when 1 lived in the city, said the
bank president, ''but 1 guess l saved
my own life. I had horse that had
cost me fifteen hundred dollars, and
one morning 1 started out to my farm
to shoot a rabbit or two, taking a
double barreled shot gun in the buggy
with me- The horse was spirited and
fractions that morning, but l was a
good driver and we got along very
we'll until we reached the suburbs.
There they were repairing the streets
and blast frightened him. He got
the bit in his teeth and away he went.
Not quarter of mile in front of
me was deep gap clear across the
street, with only a single board up
marked Danger: Street Closed, and
yell went up for me to turn him
down side street. But he wouldn' t
turn, and l saw death staring me
square in the face unless something
happened. 1 couldn't jump out at the
speed l was going, and didn't know
what to do until thought of my gun.
Dropping the lines over the dash l
slapped two cartridges in in a second,
and, standing up where l could have
fair chance for the back of the
horses head, 1 let both barrels go
when we weren't fifty feet from the
edge of the hole Then 1 dropped in
to the seat and held on. The horse
didn't fall in heap, but staggered
forward, and when he fell he slid up
to within ten feet of hole in the
ground thirty feet deep. 1t strained
my muscles good deal holding on,
but 1 wasn't hurt, and the buggy
wasn't, but my fifteen hundred dollar
horse was worth only the price of fer
tilizer. Maybe it wouldn't have killed
me to have gone into that hole at the
rate of twenty miles an hour, but l
was willing to lose fifteen hundred
| dollars rather than try it. -
my experience was a little differ
emit, said the postmaster. 1.-The horse
W asn't worth fifteen hundred dollars,
and I was going fishing instead of
hunting. 1t was livery horse and
had two fishing poles and my wife
with me. Livery horses have a weak
ness for running away at times, and
this one bolted on me when l WASH t
thinking about it. The road was
rough and sidewise and we were in
danger of going over every minute.
didn't know what the dickens to do,
except to hold on to the lines and yell
whoa. but my wife, being farmer s
daughter, was more at home with
horses, and while I was pulling the
lines and praying for salvation, she
slipped off one of her skirts, hung it
on to the fishing poles, and, l don t
know how she ever did it, but she
dropped it over the horses head and
he stopped mighty sudden and began
jumping straight up and down in the
road. [ had sense enough left to
jump out and hold him, and after lead
ing him about mile and getting him
quiet, we went ahead again all right.
Some women" concluded the post
master in tones of pride, ''would have
screamed and grabbed the lines and
scared the horse worse, but my wife
amt that kind"
Neither man nor woman saved
me-" said the editor of the country
paper, "but Providence I was driv-
ing out with my best girl one time,
and on a nice piece of turnpike with
straightaway mile or so in fro Mt of
us the horse got scared at dog that
popped up from the roadside, and of
he went for all he was worth. There
were some men at work down the road
about half a mile, and as we came to-
ward them, I shouted for somebody to
| stop the horse, because the girl had
tainted on my hands and 1 was SO
badly ratified l couldn't do a thing.
For the first time, too, noticed that
the men were tearing up the pike and
had opened temporary road down a
steep bank of one side. You may think
1 wouldn't have seen these things,
but man can see a lot when he is
scared to the limit. The men seemed
to be busy in group in the middle of
the road, and just as I shouted they
ran in every direction. Then they
saw us coming and they yelled like
crazy people; but yelling won't stop a
horse, and mine went faster. What
would have happened to us when we
struck the rough place I don't know.
but just as we came to the edge of it
there was deafening explosion, the
horse went up in the air, rocks flew
every which way and l didn't know
any more until l found myself on the
grass with the girl bathing my face.
and the workmen carrying water in
their hats came around in fairly
good shape before long, and then was
told that blast had gone off just as
the horse had reached the spot, and
the runaway had been suddenly and
effectually stopped. The conclusion
had reused the girl and had put me to
sleep, but neither of us was hurt and
the buggy WASH t injured to speak Of,
but the whole front end of the horse
was wreck. | don't know that !
can recommend the blast method as
the best for stopping runaway, "
smiled the editor, ''but it's effective
ness cannot be questioned moment -
L never was in runaway, said