The Waterbury Democrat., 1941-03-08

"a yawning chasm with 8 sheer drop of Q thousand feet.
 That was my predicament in Baden- Baden, Germany, on that fine September afternoon away back in 1886.
 And, of coarse, that is the req son why the superb scenery com- manded from that place, did not interest me at thaat time.
 When I hired the horse the liveryman did not tell me that the animal was a notorious runaway and was not supposed to be hired- out to anybody. Perhaps I was partly to blame for that, as I had bragged a little when asked If I was accustomed to riding.
 The road that led from the park in Baden Baden to the top of the mountain was 0 steep and narrow lane with stone walls on both sides, with over-hanging branches
 
 of trees.
 Not till we started up that road began to realize the size Of the job I had undertaken.
 Ills horrid manner of showing his teeth, and the fiendish glitter of his eye, was proof enough of his murderous state of mind.
 The crazy animal seemed bent on plunging into the abyss and taking me along for company.
 It was a wild drama that was enacted on that mountain during the next 3 or 4 minutes. It could not have taken more than 30 sec- onds to decide the struggle on the summit. I recall pulling my boots out of the stirrups, seizing a tight grip on the bridlereins with my right hand and clutching my left hand in the horses mane. My legs were wrapped tight around his belly, the spurs stuck into him hard,
 Ills anger and confusion at the spurs was probably what saved me and enabled me to get back to the road down the mountain.
 Though I had escaped certain death at the top, the flight down the mountain was nearly as peril lous.
 From just having gone up the road I knew the difficulties and dangers of going down.
 The road was steep and narrow. There were stone walls on both sides. There were dangerous over hanging branches of trees to be watched.
 There were no soft places on the ground to fall on.
 The solitary drama of the man and the horse, without spectators, was soon to change.
 The impossible things that crazed animal did going down that mountain road are difficult to even attempt to describe.
 The grade was so steep that he couldn't have stopped If he had wanted to, but he didn't want to stop-he wanted to go faster.
 He seemed to be made of rub- Der, and bounded. He slid long distances on his launches and caught enough foot-hold to steer him.
 How he could endure 1t is past understanding.
 At that time I had both hands gripped into his mane. When & handful got pulled out of his neck, I grabbed another handful. There was just enough mane to carry me to safety-for when the terrible ride was over-I had the last mane from that poor crea- lures neck gripped in my two hands like wise and it took an hour to pry my hands open.
 For years I kept those punches of horSe-hair for souvenirs.
 Meanwhile, a half-mile below us, an entirely different drama was in progess. The charm of that September early y-afternoon,- with flags and banners flying tens of thousands of spectators were watching the passing parade in honor of the presence of the Emperor.
 Music came floating up the mountain. Which didn't mean anything to the horse and me except that We were likely to cole llde with the parade at right-an- gle in about half a minute.
 You remember how the sea opened a passage way for the Children of Israel. Similarly the Baden Baden parade" opened for the mad horse and me, and avoid- cd a collision.
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