New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1902-06-01

! dust. Cushionless dismantled to a skeleton, re-
! duced u its minimum weight. still the strange
green thing weighed two thousand pounds
The course was hard. crooked and had. bent
| IN the middle by short. curving elbow. and
fanked by yard wide paths of fine dust that
! spilled into the weeds of the cutters. Parallel
| ing the cutters were lines of people, in holiday
dress. increasing in numbers and density until
| the finishing booth and timers were reached.
Past these staring. fast breathing spectators
! the freak jumped. leaning dangerously 20
! the right now working perilously, inch by inch.
to the left There were records to be put down.
! sporting history be written. Serpollet had
done kilorletre in % A. seconds in d steam
car, and this had be outdone toU-nier in Il
sixty horsepower Mors had raced the mile in
81 10 seconds down on Long Island last sum-
Iner. and this burst had he surpassed.
Faster and faster few the machine. trailed by
q tail Of red-gray dust. The second hands of
the watches along the courses were as lead COM
pared with the power lodged in those batteries
The meter in the read So 10 seconds at the
automatically recording kilometre posts which
stood O621 Of a mile from the start-62 % sec
onds behind Serpoet The driver disappointed
flung back full tilt his short lever h, Z.
Then came the short. curving elbow of the
road-a vicious turn. that might we'll double
discount any such course in the eyes of a care
ful racer
Veering. slewing the freak made the turn
leaping like frightened thing. Watchers Won
dered then If something might not happen but
their thoughts scarce took substance, so fasci-
mated was each the machine roared by.
BOUNDS INTO CROWD.
Westinghouse. crosses the course long
stonethrow from the curve, Further down the
where Midland Beach electric cars pass Here
the crowd was densest. These tracks were Gov
cred with packed earth Between Washington
and Lincoln SITS. the right. is 2 hotel: on the
left hospital tent. topped by a Red Cross flag.
Beyond the covered car tracks. three hundred
yards the temporary booth for the Judges.
the timekeepers. the telephone boy and the tall
scoreboard.
Washington-st. reached. the green devil"
paptating. its batteries pounding. began to
edge to the right of the road. Suddenly it swept
we'll to the right then. recovering. dashed in a
broad half moon to the left and then to
the centre of the road again. Those who stood
at the Red Cross tent instinctively shrunk and
retreated. They had scarce formed their intent
to step back. when the machine bounded over
the covered rails Of the line.
Then every knew that the car had gone |
where five hundred men. and children
leaned against the ropes standing in front Of !
double line of costly automobiles But. instead |
of plunging into that and probably killing |
outright a score, the machine turned, cutting a |
mark in the road like the head Of an interroga- i
ton point. Travelling at a rate Of one hundred !
feet to second, it broke through the ranks of |
spectators on the other side Stumps !
ripped off the rear right hand and the front left
hand wheels, and made them into kindling wood
Deprived of wheels, the dread machine rested.
ia cling the route it had travelled.
TWO MEN HURLED IN AIR.
Two men hit by the machine before it's flight
was arrested were hurled, one after the other.
into the air. One of them, Andrew Fetherston,
a popular politician. known throughout Staten
Island was at killed; the other. Charles V.
Bowen, who. witnesses said. turned COM
plete somersa ults. landed his feet and.
dazed found his way home. practically unhurt.
Only five minutes before he struck Mr..
had stepped from a Midland Beach
car Manning Shotwell, policeman in citizens
clothes of the Borough of Richmond had been
with him Shotwell walked side of the
car Fetherston to Inc other and the latter met
his death They stood but few yards apart
The bones of the legs of the dead man were
broken into bits. and his clothes were torn from
him When the rescuers saw that he no longer
brea thed they tried to lift the load of iron and
steel from the leg of Captain Taylor. Ten men,
lifting as a unit. could not bulge the mass.
Some ore knocked down a thick post that had
supported the course rope. With IT they pried
up the and released the imprisoned sufferer.
The wounded mans face and head were covered
with blood. Though terribly hurt, he said cheer
ly. over and over: I'm not hurt; I'm all right"
They carried him TO the hospital tent. where
three nurses made him comfortable they
could His wife soon Joined him there.
RED CROSS TENT AND NURSES READY.
John T. Brick old man. who lives at New
Brighton. was led TO seat in the shade. Trem-
bling from his startling experience, he said:
Il Saw the thing coming at when 1t was
thirty feet away. It seemed big as d balloon.
tried to get back from the road. but the thing
didn't give me time. ] was knocked off my