Mickey Starling
reporter3@greenepublishing.com
While traffic accidents are common fare these days, back in 1901, the traveling was done by foot or by horse, minimizing the occurrence of such events. But, every horse has their day, and two local gentlemen took quite a ride while traveling to Lee in a horse-driven buggy.
Jim Bevan and Will Barrett were taking a leisurely ride until they neared the station. Suddenly, something startled their horse, causing the animal to break into a full run. Nothing the pair attempted caused the horse to slow in the least, and eventually the buggy overturned. In the midst of all this tumult, Bevan's head became entangled in the top of the carriage, resulting in his head being dragged quite a distance by the neck, almost certainly dislocating it in the process.
Barrett faired no better, being thrown from the buggy with significant force, leaving him lying breathless on the ground for some time. It was feared that both men were seriously injured. Time certainly must “heal all wounds,” as both men fully recovered from their harrowing experience. Some time later, the men returned to Madison, sporting a new buggy and probably a calmer horse. Their original buggy did not fair as well as they did. It was completely destroyed during the wild ride.
Much of the information for this article was taken from Elizabeth Evans Kilbourne's book, “Madison County, Florida Newspaper Clippings: Vol. 1, 1901-1903.”