Rensselaer Standard, Volume 1, Number 10, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 23 August 1879 — A TERRIBLE FALL. [ARTICLE]

A TERRIBLE FALL.

Thirteen is an Unlucky Vnmber by Palling 250 Foet Over a Precipice. New York Han. . David M. Anderson, a young m »" employed in a hardware store at 85 Cliff street in this cite, lay is the residence of Mr. George 8. Cue, in Engleye>terd *y afternoon^sufto considered almost mirarolons that be escaped with his ttfe. Last Friday evening several of the young people of Englewood were invited to attend an open-air tea party at the residence of Mr. Coe, the president of the American Exchange National Bank of this city, who has a beautlfhl home at Englewood. His grounds extends taackto this Palisades, and Included in them Is a narrow defile lined by perpendicular walls of rock, and known as ‘ the gorge.’’ The gentlemen in the party were Mr. Coe’s son and his nephew, SB. and James H. Coe, William , Mr. Shaw and Mr. Anderson, of ths young gentlemen drove up tram the village and tied their horses to trees on the brink of the PalMsdes. The heads of the horses were turned from the river. All the .horses were very close to thegorge, and that of Mr. Stanley’s was so close that the rear wheels of his carriage were onte a few feet from the brink. When the party sat down to refreshments at about ten o’clock, one of the young ladies observed that there were thirteen present, and that because of the superstitiou of ill-luck attached to that number they must be careful. -This remark led to a repetition of the superstitious legends and traditions that are hinged upon the number thirteen. The conversation had followed in that direction for some time when it was observed that Mr. Stanley’s horse was very restless. Several of the young men started to attend to the horse, but just as they reached the point where he was picketed the animal broke loose and backed over the precipice. The young men stopped upon the verge and looked over to see how for the horse had follen. What occurred is best told by one of the party who was a little behind the others: “He had just been singing a song,” he said, “the words of which were about tbe mystic number thirteen, when some one cried out, ‘There goes one of the horses over the gorge.” I jumped up and saw the horse just as he broke from his fostening aud disappeared. For a minqte I was paralyzed. When I did creep hear the gorge I saw flashes of light fly from the rocks for down. These sparks shone through the trees as horses and wagon quickly passed to the roadbed at the river’s bank. Hardly had I time to notice them before I was chilled with a shriek, and looking, saw Anderson foiling with lightning speed down the steep sides. The shrieks of the women and the suppressed groans of the men of the party recalled me. I never experienced such a feeling. I thought that I, too, was going over the cliff. The excitement was so intense that now I wonder that more of us did not foil down.”

The distance to the foot of the gorge Is fifty feet. And from that point the Palisades slope outward very slightly until they reach the river. Those looking over the edge heard the body of their oonpanlon strike with a dull thub and then slide and tumble among .the bushes and over the rocks about *2OO feet further down. As soon as they regained their self-possession, one of the party started for Mr. Coe’s house and another tooked a carriage to go for a physician, while the rest ran along the edge of the bluff a long distance to where a winding road begins to descend the feoe of the cliff Mr. Coe Joined the party of rescuers. They were encouraged in their search by the fact that one of their number had been thoughtful enough to call from the top of the cliff to the fallen man. At first a groan was the only response, but at length they heard the feeble answer, “Help, help.” * ’ It was nearly an hour before the party of rescuers found Anderson. They had to pick their way along dangerous ledges, clinging to bushes and small underbrush for support. They were uncertain of the exact direction to take, and lost time until they got within sound of the wounded man’s moans. His body had been caught in the limbs of a fallen tree that lay across alittlegully. He was suspended by his arms, and his feet only touched the ground. Below him a few rods lay the dead horse and the wreck of the carriage. From the latter a stretcher was improvised, and the apparently dying man was borne on it to a carriage on the roadway. Two hours passed from the time Anderson fell until he was placed in the carriage. He was taken to Mr. Cee’s house, where Dr. Currie, of Englewood, was awaiting his arrival. Neither he nor any of the anxious friends expected to see the young man alive. A careful examination showed that only one bone was broken—the smaller bone of the right forearm. But Anderson’s face and head were in a terrible condition. Parts of his scalp had been torn off, and his face was cut beyond recognition. Intense as his sufferings were be had not feinted, nor did he lose consciousness while his wounds were being dressed. The broken bone was first set, and then Dr. Currie spent several hours in dressing the wounds on the head. The doctor said last night that he did not believe any other living man ever bad so many stitches taken in his head. So far as could be learned, Anderson has suffered no internal injuries. Anderson’s first fell from the overhanging rook was a sheer descent of fifty feet, and he tumbled and slid at least 200 feet farther. The physician thinks Anderson struck on his right side and arm. He is stout, muscular young man. His clothing was torn to piecesuyet the bruises on his body and legs were very slight.

The last previous accident of the kind in the neighborhood happened eight years ago. A young woman fell from the same point that Anderson did. She was Instantly killed, and nearly every bone in her body was broken. Nearly every guest at the tea party was in attendance upon the sufferer yesterday, and Mr. Coe remained home from his business to give his assistance. Last evening Mr. Brown, of the Englewood House, and some ottaera went to Mr. Coe’s house for the purpose of removing young Anderson to his home in the hotel. He is aNew Yorker, bat it has been his custom to spend his summers with his widowed mother In the Englewood House.