Show tad CLUB HEADLINES FROM THE LIVES i lav j OF PEOPLE LIKE YOURSELF hoi horse hoise se versus man by FLOYD FLO YD GIBBONS famous headline hunter astory I 1 ERE says raymond J hopper of roslindale Ros lindale is the 1 1 story of my lifes darkest moment and ive got to admit that there was one time when rays life got pretty dark it got so dark as a matter of fact that even the captain was worried but ive I 1 ve got to admit too that from all the evidence ive been able to gather it ray the captain was worried about pretty hard boiled these captains ray kay was in the arr army ny any buck private will tell you that lifes dark enough in the army without adventures coming along to make them darker but ray got into the army and into an adventure too and that gives you a combination of sombre hues about two shades darker than an undertakers hat the day before christmas the united states coast artillery was rays branch of the service and ray was stationed at fort greble rhode island it was december 24 1900 ray remembers the date because it was the day before christmas also he remembers that it was cold bitter cold the mercury was way down below the zero mark and the only things around that frozen were the beans boiling on the cook shack stove fort greble is on an island all the supplies come by boat and the boat ties up at the end of a wharf built out two hundred feet into the sea to reach deep water ray says the wharf was about 15 feet wide with six by six timber bolted all the way around the edges I 1 suppose that stuff was put there to keep things from rolling off the pier but it do very well in stopping ray hopper ray was down on the wharf juggling supplies for the quartermasters department they had given him a horse and a two wheeled tip cart driving down he noticed that his buddy was working on a small boat pulled up on the shore about a hundred yards from the wharf he think anything of that at the time but he thought plenty about it later out of the cart into the water says ray the fact that he chose that particular day and hour and minute to do the job he was working on is the reason why I 1 am alive today ray drove on out to the end of the wharf the supply boat was tied up there and he started pulling the horse around to back up to it As he did the horse came face to face with a large black boiler that had been left there the day before the horse accustomed to seeing that boiler there it frightened him he gave a sudden jump backward and then it happe happened the wheels of the tip cart rammed up against the six inch timber that circled the edge of the wharf they hit it and went right over ray on the seat of the cart was thrown backward he somersaulted somersault ed off of the cart and landed head first in about 30 feet of icy saltwater salt water and as I 1 fell he says 1 I saw first the cart and then the horse coming over on top of me ray swim a stroke he was dressed in heavy clothing including a heavy felt army ulster and that made his chance even slimmer the water sent an icy chill through his body he went down down he tried to strike out with his hands to bring himself to the surface e and then there was a kicking nailing flailing body on top of him pushing him down even farther it was the horse 1 I was told afterward ray says that the horse hit the water on his back at the exact spot at which I 1 went under the men on the wharf were sure I 1 would never come up alive but I 1 did I 1 came up right beside the horse horse tried to to climb on him the horse was being dragged under by the heavy cart ray came up right under the heels of the kicking screaming animal the horse saw ray and tried to climb up on him once more ray was pushed down into the green water ray caught a deep breath just before he went under then he was down again with the horses hoofs beating a frantic tattoo on his back and shoulders that second time he thought hed never come a up his lungs felt as though burst before he got to the surface he rose slowly his heavy waterlogged water logged clothes holding him down and when he did come up there was the horse again climbing all over him pushing hirn him down once more that time ray slid off to one side and go down so far thrashing madly at the water with his numbed arms he fought his way to the surface again he caught a breath started to go down again this was the third time and ray had heard that people who go down for the third time dont ever come up again then suddenly he felt a hand grasp him by the hair he was being pulled out of the water into a boat and there was his buddy in the boat hauling hin over the side from where he was working he had seen ray fall into the water he had launched the boat and come speeding to the rescue before his buddy could row him back to shore rays clothing was frozen stiff ice fell off him in little chunks as two men carried him to his quarters meanwhile someone had cut the harness from the horse and he swam ashore the boys stripped ray gave him a good rubdown rub down and wrapped him in blankets inside of half an hour he felt as good as new and he even catch a cold as a result of his ice water ducking rays buddy worried about him for a while but the captain apparently ray says that when they reported the accident to him his only remark was Is the horse safe 0 anti service |