Charles Wray Sprained Knee and Tore Trousers

WRAY

Posted By: Marilyn Holmes (email)
Date: 4/15/2010 at 18:28:52

Grinnell Herald (Grinnell, Iowa) March 28, 1919

AND HERE IS THE STORY

Herald Reporter Runs Down Truth About Rumored Accident Near Tile Factory.

CHARLES WRAY SPRAINED KNEE AND TORE TROUSERS

Other Ghastly Details Related Are Not Corroborated by the Evidence at Hand.

The man was very much excited. He had been through a fearful experience. The awful scene he had recently witnessed had visibly shaken him. No one could question his sincerity. And as he talked each ghastly detail of the accident was pictured before your very eyes.

This is the story he told:

"A horse became frightened at a tractor that was coming along the road by the tile factory and started to run. The man on the tractor leaped from his machine, letting the tractor run, and attempted to stop the horse. He caught the bridle rein but the horse gave a plunge and threw him under the tractor. Remember the tractor was still going. The man fell under the machine and it passed over his body and the disc machine that was in the rear of the tractor literally cut him to pieces. Employees of the tile factory and the man who witnessed the terrible accident gathered up the remains and rushed them to the city hospital."

The hospital was called but no such man had been brought there. None of the doctors knew anything about it. Maybe the man had died before he reached the hospital so the remains had been taken to the undertakers. But, they knew nothing of it. Employees of the tile factory were questioned but they had not witnessed such a tragedy.

But the man was so excited, so sincere in his manner, so shaken by the scene he described that there must be some foundation for the story. It happened Saturday and all week the reporter kept plugging away. Finally he found a clue.

And this is what happened:

Charles Wray, who lives southwest of town, was driving to Grinnell Saturday when his horse was frightened by a tractor. He stepped from the buggy to hold the horse and the tractor was stopped. As Wray stepped into the buggy again the man started the tractor, the noise frightened the horse, and Wray was thrown to the ground. His knee was sprained and his trouser leg torn.