Serious Accident.

Manawatu Standard, Volume XI, Issue 1662, 19 March 1886, Page 4

Serious Accident.

MIRACULOUS ■■' ESCAPE FROM A HORRIBLE DEATH.

Last evening an accident occurred m the Square to Mr Colin McKenzie, ol Ashursfc, which might easily lave ter r nainated fatally; He was riding from towards the Club Hotel, m the^ .direction of the Salvation Army Barracks, .and it was noticed by several persons that from some cause or other lie appeared to have no ;control'6ver his horse which weiit where it liked, the rider swaying backwards and forwards m the' saddle, and each, mouient ha 'was . exptcted to. f alL : Eventually he swayed heavily to one side, and not being able to recover himself he fell to -the' ground, with one : font fast ir^tliQ strrrup.' "The horse immedir ately began to plunge violently, first trying- to stamp with its fore feet on the un- : fortunate man; and then: turning' round and lashinsc outf uriously against the prostrate ridei;. The animal was seen to strike the man with both fore, and hind feet about the head and face, and nothing less was expected- but that fatal results would eLsue before "he could be rescued if rora his terrible: predicament. Tb'e horse kept on plunging, apparently half mad with terror, the. luckless rider being swung. furiously round and round as ;the animal now struck him with its fore feet, and. m a few seconds.afterwards lashod o'vit at.liini with its liind feejt. The horse, afrtliis jniictnre, seemed disposed to break into .a gallop, m which case nothing could*- have savedMr McKenzie: from the certain : and- horrible death, of bain? literitlly kicked to pieces. No parsoixseepjfed at]first to run the risk of making r an attempt to seize the horse, and ehiWvor^to'freeJ-th'e '" Unfortunate prostrate rider from bis peril cms position: . At this moment the attention of Mr Morshead. -Symons was attracted to;the fearful jeopardy^ in, which Mr McKenzie was' placed, MY Sylnons saw that what was to- foe done must be done quickly^ if a tarrible death fqr Mr McKenzie was' to be averted.' While several horr.or-stricken spectators declined 'to venture ; near tlie scene of the accident, which was momentarily becoming: more r alarinlng ■ witn. Regard /to its 'apparently inevitable results as affecting Mr MeKenzie, Mr Symons rushed forward and endeavoured to raise Mr McKenzie's body-fromithe ground' Posfsessed of vigorous-muscular strength, Mr .Syinons still found, it impossible to get ■'iMr MeKenzie freie, and the furious plunging of the terrified horse ;f cindered the :work of assisting perilous m the extreme. Three other young men, by name respectively, Messrs WrightyNewnian, ahd Collingwood now came to Mr Syinons' assistance, and still it remained "uncertain .^whether-, or ,;not'M;hey. ' would : succeed iirtheir efforts to 4 rescue" Mr McKenzie from a fata which every succeeding moment appeared more imminent, i^hey :al! - silicic inanfullyy to what they liad unaertakeit, and'aftep to sortie extent overcoming .the resistance offered by the'plu'ngin'g- of ihe now almostjfi-jiui|c horse,; the body. f p| tl|e prostrate'riSet* waW raisbVi, aiitl *by* dint of considerable exertion his foot set free from the' stirrup.* It wasfournitiiat the /stirrup l.eather spring was firmly locked at the saVldle tree; ■ and Mi' Mclieiiuie's foot as firmly rast, m the stirrup ,iip;i, which wan a' round ''one, and evidently too small for, due .considerations of personal safety m the event of an accident. Mr McKeuzie was 'found iti : a terrible state, there being : deep, gashes. •on the back of the neck on the forehead, and other parts of: the body. From the various Wounito _the ' blood • poured : profusely, potupjetefy coveriftg % h)B_face and. givin^it siich-a) shocking l appeoranco' that many of the epectntors turned away quite sick. The fact- is, so'profuse/ was the hemorrhage, that several present j expected' that ho would blec-'d to dentil, and the clothes of those who assisted to cany him into Mr li. Leary'a chemist's shop, were completely saturated with the blood which literally poured from the wounds 'received from the iron-sh6d, ,l\opfrt bf the 'slruggljug horse. Mr ; McKenzie was quite 'Uhcbn> scious, and some ithought that life was ; completely exti nct, though his heavy groaning, and the noise of'the blorod m his throat ' arid i windpipe, -proved that there was still life m his body. Mr Symons. irnraediately. mopated ' Mr Mp-K-eiizit's horseto summon . : surgical aid, The animal was^o •thoroughly,^ terrified. ; that it made yiolVpt effort^ by' bucking and plangirigjvto 'unseat his rider, who| although'^ "ah 'ekpert .li'orseniah, f 6u'iiU lie had all he 1 could' d6 to stick to his saddle. Dr Macintyre was speedily on the r spol, iWh.o ilost no time m atteiding to the more .urgent requirements of the J?a%e, which it needed no profes^ 6ionnl eyb or judgment ' :,to xierceive, w;as highly critical. Mr' 'McKeiizie was then removed to the Commercial llotel, and many he would not be '■aliv^in'ithß iuornin?. "To-day -he "was ' able to get up, and, though greatly. Bbakeh, and his head and 'fade swollen 5 iii a manner horrible; tp look at, : he s was able to' bear removal to his residence at -A'tthurßt ioi a co vered con veynrtce, ; specialTy arrangedfor his'confjfort. It is doubtful it; a inoro miraculous .escape from a .terrible death -has ever before taken place m the district. But, fur, [ho promptf pluckyj and'in-tl»e fiigfie^f^egree creditable assistance rendered by Messrs Symons, Wright^ Newman, and Gollingwood, at considerable^ personalrisk to themselvep, it li difficult "to* imagine how Mr McKenziV: could to-day be m the land of , the living. The spec* ' tacle of the prostrate n&ii^and the furiously plunging horae ? w4ll not probably be forgotten by "those who viewed it fbr'itjanyi day, nor wll tliey>visb Jli at*" saoh'arV ftppailiog inbideDt should a'gainoccur within their own observation.