A Fatal Wagon Ride on South Second
A local resident dies after a tragic accident when his team is spooked by an early automobile.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Cassius Baumgardner, an old-time resident, met a tragic death in the streets last night. Attempting to stop a runaway team by grasping the lines out of the driver's hands proved a fatal act to Baumgardner, who was so badly injured on South Second Street by being thrown against a tree that he died at the Walla Walla hospital three hours later. Baumgardner was invited to take a ride by the driver of Schwartz's delivery wagon, Sam Mackin, and accepted. Two minutes afterward, the team became scared at a passing automobile and started to run. Becoming confused, Baumgardner grasped one of the reins out of the driver's hands, swerving the team to one side of the road and partially upsetting the wagon. Baumgardner pitched headfirst into a tree with terrific force. He died three hours later at age 57, having lived in the Walla Walla area for 40 years.
“Two minutes afterward the team became scared at a passing automobile and started to run.”
This 1903 tragedy captures the chaotic transition period in American streets where horse-drawn vehicles and early automobiles collided. It serves as a reminder of how quickly the 'new' technology of the motorcar disrupted the physical and social safety of Walla Walla's downtown a century ago.
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