Frantic Team Escapes From Near Tragedy

MCDOWELL, GILBERT

Posted By: Marilyn Norris Holmes
Date: 12/5/2021 at 17:58:38

The Grinnell Register; March 24, 1924

Frantic Team Escapes From Near Tragedy

Load of Hay Slows Up But Fails to Stop Mad Rush

A team of nervous horses hitched to a buggy containing the driver, Wm. McDowell, his wife and their small child, staged a thrilling runaway on West street last Saturday morning, and how the participants escaped without being killed or seriously injured is still a cause of wonder to those who saw it.

The team, just as it crossed the tracks coming north, became frightened at a switch engine and started full tilt up the street. One of the lines broke and the driver was practically helpless. Sherm Gilbert, on a load of hay, used his head and swung the hay rack across the road, directly in the path of the oncoming horses. They struck the rack, head-on, with such force that the rack was pushed out of the way and the horses dashed on. But by that time the harness was broken and three of the four tugs were flying. The driver kept tugging at the one remaining line, on the near horse, and just as the team reached the West Side Feed Shed, the horses veered toward the driveway, which released the last tug, and as the team charged into the shed, the buggy coasted merrily up the street and came to a stop, with no one the worse for the exciting experience. One of the horses was badly cut about the knees, but the other escaped unhurt.