KILLED DRIVING HORSE

DINGMAN, FROST, TAYLOR, HARVEY, MORGAN, VANNOSTRAND, LANDIS

Posted By: Nancee(McMurtrey)Seifert (email)
Date: 11/30/2001 at 20:10:48

Decatur County Journal
June 6, l907

Runaway Team Crashed into Vannostrand Bus
Team Last Saturday Night on
Main Street...

A serious accident that resulted in the
instant death of a horse, the
property of VERNIE DINGMAN, occurred last
Saturday evening as the bus
was returning from the night north-bound
passenger train that had just
passed this station.

MR. DINGMAN, with his sister, MISS GRACE
DINGMAN, RALPH FROST and MISS
MAGGIE TAYLOR were driving south on Main
Street in a single seated buggy
drawn by a team of ponies belonging to MR.
DINGMAN. As they were
nearing the residence of JUDGE JOHN W.
HARVEY, another team, so MR.
DINGMAN stated to a JOURNAL Representative,
attempted to drive around
them and his team became frightened and
started to run. MR. FROST was
driving the team but was unable to get them
under control, and in almost
in instant the runaways had crashed into the
bus and the occupants of
the buggy were thrown from the vehicle to the
road. A hurried
investigation disclosed the fact that the
pony that MR. DINGMAN had been
driving on the right side had impaled itself
on the bus tongue, the
metal pointed timber having entered the
animal's breast just above the
breast bone, piercing the lungs. The horse
died almost instantly. MISS
DINGMAN's left limb was quite badly injured
and the other occupants of
the buggy received painful bruises.

The accident occurred so quickly that it is
difficult for the eye
witnesses to tell just how it happened.
NORMAN MORGAN was driving the
VANNOSTRAND bus and was just preparing to
stop at the house of HENRY
LANDIS. MR. LANDIS having just met his
daughter-in-law, MRS. FRANK
LANDIS, and her little daughter of Benton, at
the train and all were on
their way in the bus to the LANDIS home, when
the runaways suddenly
crashed into the bus team from the darkness.
Screams, the snorting of
frightened horses and the crash of breaking
timbers resounding upon the
air, and it took several seconds for those
concerned to determine what
had occurred. In a moment, however, the work
of rescue was under way,
and the dead animal pulled from off the
tongue. The buggy tongue was
splintered, the axles on the buggy were
twisted and a part of the iron
work snapped apart. The injured received
attention and MR. DINGMAN
managed to get his buggy and the live horse
to town. He remained in
Leon until Sunday afternoon when he secured
another horse and after the
buggy was repaired, drove to the home of his
parents west of Leon. It
was indeed fortunate that the people
concerned escaped very serious
injury.

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Copied by Nancee(McMurtrey)Seifert
November 25, 200l