FATAL ACCIDENT TO A JOCKEY. A ST ANGE STORY.

Te Aroha News, Volume IV, Issue 200, 23 April 1887, Page 7

FATAL ACCIDENT TO A JOCKEY. A ST ANGE STORY.

I The following strange story is published in the "Nelson Evening Mail," under the I heading, " Second Sight or What ?" " A very strange story in connection with the late fatal accident to poor young Alan Herd, and one that is certainly worthy of publication, has been told, us by Mr Canton, a well-known and highly respectable farmer living at Hope. By way of preface, it must be explained that Mrs Canton's maiden name was Roberts, and that she had a brother named Jem, who was a horse trainer at Blenheim, and was at the Nelson races two years ago in charge of the horses Hero and Satellite. From here he returned to Blenheim, and a few months later died there in the hospital. Roberts had taken Alan Herd in hand, and was very fond of the lad, who was with him for some years, and always called him 'Jack.' Mrs Canton had also taken a great liking to young Herd, and invariably spoke of him ! as ' Jem'B boy. ' So much by the way j of introduction. On Thursday last Mr Canton was in town, and left on the return home in the afternoon. He called at the Turf Hotel on his way out, where he had a glass of beer, and between that and his own house did not see a soul to speak to, everybody being on the racecourse. , He reached home shortly before 6 o'clock, j knowing nothing of what occurred at the races, in which he took little or no interest. On his arrival at home lie found his wife trembling all over, and it was apparent that she had been crying a good deal. Ho asked hor what was the matter, and in reply she stated that she was sure something had happened to 'Jem's boy. ' He laughed at her fears, and told her not to worry herself , but she persisted in stating that she was certain lie had met with an accident. Mr Canton then pro- , ceeded to question her more closely as to ] the ground for her fears, when she made the following reniai kable statem en t : — ; " I was sitting quietly in the room when suddenly I saw my dead brother Jem and the boy as real as life. The boy was on horseback and riding very slowly along and | not in jockey dress, and .Jem was following | and leading another horse. All was perfect^ silent, until I distinctly heard Jem J call ' Jack, Jack,' and the boy then turned slowly and looked round, and then both disappeared. Both of them were most painfully near to me. I was terribly frightened, for I felt sure that something was wrong with the boy, and I got up from my work and went out." Mr Canton called at our office yesterday afternoon and told hi.s story, and as lie was naturally enough a little excited over it, ' we asked him to put his statement in writing after talking over the matter with his wife, and ascertaining from her exactly what it was that she saw, and at what time. The result appears in the foregoing statement, to which Mis Canton has added the following :— " The time that I felt my brother and the boy were with me was as near as possible the time when the accident happened to Herd. I had not even thought about him before. I was sitting quite quiet in the room, and was sewing at the time. " We have only to add that neither Mrs Canton nor her husband knew anything whatever of the accident until the following morning, for the latter rather pooh-poohed his wife's story, and attached so little importance to it that he took no tiouble to make inquiries of any of his neighbours. He was, however, considerably startled when early the next morning he met Mr Coleman, who lives close by, and learned from him what had occurred. That the story as told to us is absolutely correct we have no doubt whatever. Both Mr and Mrs Canton are well known as steady, hard-working, respectable settlers, and certainly would be the last people to weave a web of fiction.