Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-07-02
IF DAhGER=:lS AHEAD
What to Do and When. in a
IS NJ
Runaway.
OLD HORSEMAN TELLS
SIT TIGHT, KEEP YOUR MOUTH
SHUT AND TRUST TN THE LORD.
Never Jump, for You Will Surely Be
Injured If Not
Killed.

Some forty years ago. when first began
to handle horses. asked my father:
What shall I do II a horse starts to
run awayT'
"Sit tight. keep your mouth shut and
trust In the Lord was his laconic re-
Spouse.
Prolonged experience has taught me that
there is no better general rule for applica-
ton in a runaway Of any description.
To SIT tight Is Of prime Importance. The
man who Jumps from his saddle or from
a vehicle Is very little the better side Of an
IDIOT A runaway horse gets over the ground
at about the speed OF an accommoda ton
train and how many men would think of
rfsking life and limb in leap from a train?
The average man In jumping from a troll
ley car after 1t has slowed down and before
1t has stopped Is put to some difficulty to
retain his footing What hope, then. would
ne have of maintaining his equilibrium
aftef leaping from madly careenfnR
horse?
Suppose he does alight on his feet. The
chances are 80 out of 100 that the next In
slant he Will be rolling heels over head
along the street. to be picked up uncon-
scdous and bleeding, with a broken leg and
a fractured skull. some moments later by
passersby, for his momentum will be such
force. and only miracle will save him
serious. If not fatal. injury
MY twoscore years of observation have
Taught me this one fact above all others
that -FOUR out of every five persons who are
either seriously injured or killed in r,Ina-
ways have brought calamity upon them
selves by failing to sit tight And I be-
leve your memory will bear me out in this
statement Tor 1 daresay it will recall for
your benefit the accounts of fatal runa-
ways you have read from time to time and
pr1ns out my point with startling clearness
Never Jump.
Therefore, I say to the man, never iump,
You are safer on the horse or in the buggy
"here your only danger is that 1t may turn
over with you But that is to be feared
iar less than the consequences of jumping
In the first place. 1t happens infrequently.
In the second, If 1t does turn over YOUR
fall Will not be so great as IL you had
jumped, and, If you are ppol and quick. you
can certainly grab hold of something thus
preventing your being hurled through the
air. or breaking your falL Then too with
the vehicle overturned the average horse
either slows up or stops altogether In
either OF which events II will be an easy
| matter for you to clear yourself of the We
hicle before the beast takes 1t into his head
to renew his fight, or for someone to be at
| Ills head to check him. THE chances that
you will suffer being dragged along in an
overturned vehicle are very remote indeed
To the woman say. for Gods sake never
! jump! Such course Is infinitely more peril
Gus for her than man. 1t is very nearly
suicidal. 4"
Woman is 30 incumbered about her legs
with her clothes that, even with the horse
| going at a comparatively easy gait. her
| skirts would surely trip her when she ran
| forward in the effort to keep her feet; and
| 1t is this falling head forward 10 tho ground
| that causes fractured skulls. the force be-
| ing SO great that the arms. though they are
| thrust forward In an instructive effort to
protect the head are little or no protection.
| Again. the odds are heavy that the wo-
| man. in an effort to jump, would get her
| skirts caught In wheel l have known
this to occur many times But j would
| take care that my skirts were gathered
! up you say. That Is what d friend of
mine told me ten years ago. A week later
| her skirt caught in wheel, she was
! dragged for the length of several city
! squares along country road and when she
| was finally released she had received a
| fractured skull from which she died. and
her body was q mass Of bruises from head
| to foot.
No woman can gather her skirts so care
| fully as to remove the probability of their
| catching in the whirling spokes. The light
| est touch Of the cloth on the wheel, and
| the mischief Is done.
Keep Your Mouth Shut.
| Sit tight. everybody. Also keep your
| mouth shut.
The average man shouts wildly, and the
| average woman screams Historically when
| in a runaway. Both methods are equally
| pernicious. Your cries only tend to excite
| the horse further, and to make him run
the harder. Your open mouth. In its effect
| on the horse, is ON a par with the wildly
| swung hat Of the citizen with good inten-
lions who PUSHES out in the roadway when
| a runaway happens his way. Then. too.
the more you shout or scream the more
| excited you become. and the first thing
| you'll be doing Is what you should never
do-jumping.
Keep your mouth shut. not only when the
horse IL running away, but also keep 1t
pretty well shut when horse is restiye
| A calm, cool voice is the commanding voice,
| calling forth obedience in man and beast
alike. quiet. though commanding tone
has prevented more than one runaway,
while voice with rising excitement in 1t
has melted many a horse, through malice
! or fright, to take the bit in his teeth and
| run for It,
| Sit tight and keep your mouth shut Then
| you will undoubtedly keep cool, and SO you
| will be able to put into practice these few
| more specific rules that horsemen general
| the average case will prove efficient If ap-
| piled intelligently.
How to Pull on the Lines.
If you are driving get well over the horse
to pull on the lines-to pit your strength
and ingenuity against his strength alone.
| Most persons lean away back the moment
| a horse starts running. Don't. You place
| yourself at disadvantage by getting far
| Their away from the horses mouth. the full
crum as it were. - ~
Instead lean we'll forward, and bracins
yourself firmly on your feet. grasp the lines
| far over the horses ,loins as you can
| without endangering your balance. You
| will find that you caA get well out over the
| horse and still run no risk Of being drawn
| over the dashboard. This position will give
| you easy control of the lines and you will
be able to feed them out and pull them in
quickly at will !.
Do not pull steadily ia the reins. Give
| and take with the horse. A steady pull
| will break down a 1terS strong wrist in a
very little while. Your object Is to nurse
| your wrist strength. q 1t Us all important to
make 1t last until you 1fsave tired cut the
horse, or got the b*ftef of him by some
! trick OF the reins. Try a steady pull and
| you throw away your strength. for 1t cam
not stop horse. Eii - ?
| steady pull 5000 ,hagdens and Rumbs a
| horses mouth. jusk aa continuous pain
deadens But a give-and-take pull Is akin
| to the jumping toothache In effect. Because
| there Is an interval between jumps, the
| ache never deadens. So with the gfve-and-
| take pull Every other moment or so, the
| horse, after one painful sensation In his
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