A Heartbreaking Tragedy on the Hunt Ranch
A young girl loses her life in a farm accident near Ralston.
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.
The breaking of a rope binding a load of hay caused the eleven-year-old daughter of A. E. Hunt to fall to the ground, where she was run over by the wagon. Both of her legs were broken and she was so badly crushed otherwise that she lived only two days. The accident happened on Mr. Hunt's ranch near Ralston one day last week. Mr. Hunt is well known here, having a fruit and hay ranch northeast of town. Charley Coffman, who was driving the load when the tragedy occurred, is also well known here, having operated Mr. Hunt’s fruit ranch one season.
“The breaking of a rope binding a load of hay caused the eleven-year-old daughter of A. E. Hunt to fall to the ground, where she was run over by the wagon.”
In an era before robust labor laws and heavy machinery safety standards, farm accidents were a frequent and devastating part of rural life. Today, while the specific dangers have shifted to modern tractors and automated systems, the vulnerability of children on working ranches remains a somber constant in agricultural communities.
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