The Aberdeen Democrat. (Aberdeen, South Dakota) 1???-1909, 1904-01-08
WHEN A HORSE FALLS.
Entertaining Description of What
Takes Place When 1t Happens
in London Streets.

Il suppose that the word helpful
ness has many different meanings in
different parts of the world as a ships
cat has varieties of foreign tleas," said
a gentleman whowas formerly attached
10 the American consulate in London
relates the Washington Star.
Did you ever see a horse, hitchea to
a vehicle, fall down in LONDON? have,
many, many times, and the proceedings
following the little calamity are always
and inevitably the same.
The horse, say hitched to a London
hansome cab slips on the grassy pave
ment and goes down. All of the other
drivers on cabs and buses and carts and
all sorts OF conveyances Immediately be-
gin to bawl with all their might at the
driver Of the fallen horse, those behind
eXecrating him for getting his trap in
their way, those who are in front and
clear turning around in their seats to
yell derision at him for being such a
'tike' of a driver as to permit his horse to
go down.
The bobby jumps out of the mass Of
vehicles and shouts a stream of cockney
vilificatiOn at the hard-luck hanson
driver, telling him that it's pretty neal
time for him to be in the 'work'us' if he
can't hold his beast up. The bobby
stands around and bulldoZes the cabby
until the thing is all over, threatening
to lock him up if he doesn't make haste
to clear the t~horoughfare. Not a solitary
driver or foot passenger makes the
slightest effort to help the fallen horse
or the driver of the hanson cab.
If there is a passenger in the cab, he
jumps out as soon as the horse goes
down, and begins to shake his fist at the
cabby and to call him low names, and to
threaten to have, him locked up for in
competent or reckless driving and have
his license taken away from him.
Under this stream of abuse the cabby
climbs down from his perch, only MAX
ing reply to the v%ilifcation when it be-
comes particularly bitter and personal.
He has to pull and tug and struggle with
the horse. If it is impossible for the
horse to get up without being unhitched,
the cabby has to do it all himself. If
there's a broken shaft the thing is COM
plicated. The cabby unhitches the ami
nal, yanks him to his feet, and, followed
by the TRADING bobby, he takes him to a
stall in the nearest livery stable. Then
he has to walk back to where the
stranded cab rests, and haul it out of the
way to a side street or to the livery sta
BILE where the horse is slowed, all the
time enduring the derisive yells Of the
other drivers and the remarks ofthe tads
on the sidewalks. AS he pulls the cab
through the streets the crowd Of drivers
of other vehicles eve lash out at him
with their whips if heis too slow to move
aside out of their path, and it not un-
commonly happens that the hatd-luck
cabby, reused to fury by such treatment,
tackles a driver who goes this length,
pulls him off his seat, and then there is
an out and out fight in the middle of the
street, blocking traffic, and generally
winding up in the arrest of the fighters.
That's the sort of performance |
have seen scores of times when horses
have gone down on the slippery streets
of the English capital. And it perfectly
represents the English idea Of the thing
known as helpfulness.' It's each man
for himself and the devil take the hind
most over there, sure enough, and 1 am
bound to say that that sort OF thing
leaves a grisly sort of impression upon
the mind.
swell, yesterday afternoon l saw a
hanson cab horse slip and fall down
at the corner Of Ninth street and New
York avenue. Nothing was broken. but
the horse fell in such a position, with his
legs partly mixed up with the shaft har-
ness, that there was no possibility of his
getting up himself.
well, sir, the horse was hardly down
before at least Is men had rushed over
to do what they could to right the situa-
ton. Most Of them were we'll dressed
men, men of business by their appear
ance, and, on that presumption, busy
but they were willing to let anything
they had in mind slide so as to give the
horse and the driver of the horse a little
lift.
'The passenger himself, a fine looking
man, evidently bound for a railroad sta
ton, hoped out lightly and promptly
proceeded to sit on the horses head, SOS
to hold him down and keep him from
struggling while he was being I'm
hitched. About seven men attended to
the hitching-the cabman himself could
hardly wedge his way in to take hold OF
a strap or buckle; the whole thing was
being done for him. The big policeman
on the r n was on hand with shrewd
little words of encouragementand cheer
anil when the horse was unhitched it was
the cop who pulled the horse to his feet,
while the rest of the helpers, including
the cabs passenger, pulled the vehicleto
the rear to give the horse a chance TIC
find his legs and cool out a bit. Even
when examination showed that every
thing was unbroken and all right and
trig, the helpers didn't disperse. They
stayed right on hand and hitched the
horse up again. When everything was
right again the passenger, perfectly
good natured, climbed back into the cab
the driver, saying: Much obliged, you
feUeys, got up to his place, clucked t.
his horse, and, amid the CHEEKY words
from the crowd. Away you go, Jack!