A MIRACULOUS ESCAPE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIV, Issue 13487, 14 May 1907, Page 3

A MIRACULOUS ESCAPE.

[ "."■■'.■'■''.'.■■■..■•■...■.■:..''.■■■.■..■ v.: ■■~■■■■..■■■,■..■.,'.■■ ■:...>:'vit ! HORSES AND DRIVER FALL INTO A ! RIVER. The Inglewood paper records a miraou* bus escape' a Mr. Bowers, travelling agentfor a company, had recently. • He was returning late from a country round,-and when -'approaching the Waiongona bridge in .the. darkness did not turn soon enough, and so managed to get on to the railway,- " instead of the traffic bridge. There is the usual boarded track between the. rails for the use of the staff, and one of the horses in. the waggonette took this all right, the' other essaying, for a horse,. the acrobatic leat of walking on the- sleepers, which it managed,'until all were well on the bridge, when the inevitable happened, the horse Missed or slipped off a. sleeper, and shot through between them into the river, breaking its leg either on the sleeper or ii» the" river below. The sadden jerk brought the other horse off its boarded track, and : corning over suddenly went through be- ; .ween the sleepers, and also landed—if io i' way Ik, called landed—in the river below, ! Mr. Bowers, feeling that something had ' ; gone wrong with his turnout, then hur- ; riedly stepped off to investigate, but not knowing his whereabouts in the darkness, stepped into space, and also brought up in, the river below, whence he called loudly for help, and being heard by some wttlcra on the road in the .vicinity, help was soon at hand, and ho was brought on to terra '.. firma none the .'"-.worse for his' aerial flight. ■' One ,of the horses, of course,* had' to be destroyed, the other, beyond /a* few scratehea, did not appear to bo hurt.- How ,such an accident could occur with so little injury forms a complete miracle. • To drive -s-:-a. pair of horses -and trap on a pitch dark ] night a-quarter of a chain on to a railway ' bridge before coming aware that it is a ■■■, railway, and not a traffic, bridge, and the two horses to shoot down between the 7 ; sleepers, and drop 30ft into a shallow river, then to be followed closely by the driver, with a total damage of one leg. broken and a bit of harness, is beyond conception:; Friends were quickly assembled, and the. trap was carried off the bridge, on to the main road, being only just clear of the bridge when the mail train—two hours latothat along, and 'would have *\ ; made- mincemeat of everything in its way, and the trap would hare been difficult to 'find. ' , , .."'"" .■; ■ ( ■'' ■.;.,." '• '■■' ' ■ • ■ » .'

Special display of laces during this week. Immense stock of every description of laoe, ■ . > ac very lowest prices. .■ Sp«wsvl. terms/:-to;., dressmakers.Smith and; C.nughoy, Ltd, Wood*' Great Peppermint Cure for Cough* •' . and Colds never fails, Is M sad 2s 6th ■ >& V' :■'. :: ' ■■■ :■".'■;.■".■";.■- 1