Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 20, Number 1, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 6 September 1898 — Hackman Jerry Has Trouble with a Live Wire. [ARTICLE]

Hackman Jerry Has Trouble with a Live Wire.

Jerry Schofield, the hack-man, had an exciting experience, early Monday morning. He drove over to E. L. Hollingsworth’s residence to take him to the early train, and drove into a live electric light wire, which had got broken loose from its fastening and hung down to the. ground. In the darkness he could not see the wire, but the horses did and shied over to the side of the street, where the wire was nearly high enough for the horses to pass under. But one of the horses touched the wire, evidently in a place where the insulation was poor, and was knocked down. Jerry thought the horse was killed, but she got up again in a minute, evidently uninjured. By handling the wire with a rubber coat, Jerry got his hack clear of it at last, but after turning around his other horse got a slight shock, and they started to run. The lines broke and Jerry thought he was in for it, but by speaking to his horses in a soothing manner, he caused them to come to a stop after a short run, and no harm done.