Accident at Featherston.

Wairarapa Standard, Volume XX, Issue 2013, 5 January 1887, Page 2

Accident at Featherston.

On Monday afternoon a little after five o'clock a most peculiar accident happened at Featherston at a place called Donald’s Creek, It appears that two of Mr Burt’s limber vehicles were proceeding towards Featht iston from the Kaiwaiwai saw mill, one, a dta) laden with sawn timber, which was on ahead, the other, a four wheeled wagon, also heavily laden with boards from the mill. On coming through the creek the king boll of the wagon enmeout with the jerk of going into the hollow and the fore carriage became detached. The horses feeling suddenly freed from their load, bolted at top speed along the road, and collided with the dray ahead, completely overturning it, on the top of the load and also on one of the shaft horses and tue right leg of the driver, a young man named H. Steffort. The driver of the wagon being powerless to extricate the horse or man from underneath the pile of timber followed up the maddened horses until they came to a standstill against a wire fence on the side of the road. Messrs Cox, Bunton, eur reporter, and others, speedily ran to assist and Messrs Burt and Peering soon came upon the scene ; the man and horse were quickly extricated from under the timber, and then it was found that although much bruised and with leg swollen, the driver of the dray had miraculously escaped without any broken bones and the horse was apparently unhurt. The parties who wont to the rescue set to work with a will and soon removed the timber from across the middle of the road and the dray was righted, when it was found that the arm of the axle was broken. The narrow escape of Steffort was a man el to all who witnessed the accident, as the dray load of timber must have been of nearly two tons weight.