A Runaway Horse, a Broken Skull, and a Mother's New Misfortune
Near Judge Chambers's house, Mrs. Riccomba's young son was thrown and dragged; he lay in a very critical state.
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.
Mrs. Riccomba, who seems to meet with a new misfortune at every turn of the road of life, was again afflicted on Wednesday last by a distressing accident to her little son, about ten years of age. While riding a horse near the dwelling of Judge Chambers, where Mrs. Riccomba's little family now live, the animal seems to have taken fright and ran away, throwing the boy to the ground and dragging him some distance; the halter apparently having become entangled about the child's body. The flesh was torn from the skull, and the skull slightly broken. Other bruises and injuries were sustained, of a nature sufficiently severe to endanger the life of the child. He now lies in a very critical state.
“The flesh was torn from the skull, and the skull slightly broken. Other bruises and injuries were sustained, of a nature sufficiently severe to endanger the life of the child.”
Before paved roads and cars, horses were everyday transport and everyday hazards; a runaway could maim a child in seconds. The story also shows how thin the medical safety net was in territorial towns, where a doctor's house call was the whole emergency system.
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