REMARKABLE ESCAPE.

Kumara Times, Issue 1543, 7 September 1881, Page 2

REMARKABLE ESCAPE.

The Stawell (Victoria) paper repoHA the following wonderful escape frorti death by a lady and gentleman there■ “ An extraordinary excape from a fatal accident was experienced early bnS morning recently by the Mayor of Stawell (Mr J. E. Hunter) and hie wife. He and Mrs Hunter had been attending a ball at Landsborough on a Friday night, and desiring to reach home at an early hour on the Saturday morning, he left Landsborough at 9 o’clock, accompanied by Mrs Hunter. Being unacquainted with the road,' Mr Hunter followed the old track, which appeared beaten, and quite as much travelled on as the main road—which he thought it ,was. ' After leaving the bridge about 200 yards behind, his wife drew his attention to a stump which they were almost upon. He pulled the horses sharp round, and they fell down a shaft about 50 feet deep, the occupants of the buggy being, |df course, thrown out. ; One of the hordes tried to jump across the shaft, and in doing so jumped clear of the harness, but as the other animal did not jump, he was pulled back, and fell dowfT “the shaft, in which he stuck about 25 : from the surface. The other horse.alsd fell down the shaft, but as "he was- hni tangled.in the harness his fall waAnot so speedy. Mr Hunter : fell ! dovoYthfe shaft head foremost, and partly >! undb# the second horse,.but'sustaihed’nd’fiiitt ther injury than a contusion iir Kb right epe. He strove to extricatefettii self from his perilous position,- Arid, by means of the traces and reins, at length managed to pull himself from under the animal. By means of the reins, also, be pulled himself to the surface ,*, but, as the front wheels: of the .trap.,-had fallen into the shaft, he , experienced some difficulty in doing so. Ultimately, seeing a place where was a. little,..space, he dag a little of the side oft the shaft at the surface, and ■do " managed to wriggle himself up legs. forempst. , .He then discovered that Mrs Hunter bad also fallen ; but her hair had become entangled in the wheels, and she was hanging over the shaft. As there was no other means of rescuing her, he, by an almost superhuman effort,'raised the wheels, pulled the wagonette out of the hole, and thus relieved his wife from her perilous and painful situation. As soon as it was possible for the accident to be known in Landsborougll there were many willing hands on the,spot to give any assistance that lay in lh|ir power. The topmost horse was,.spSri raised, but almost as soon as •if Was brought to the surface it expired, while it was found that the animal whichhad fallen down first had broken its neck;' 1