Lou’s View

By Lou Bernard

Back in the 1800s, nobody had cars. It was just a fact of life. Motor vehicles hadn’t been invented yet, and there was no point in waiting around for that to happen, because that would make people late to work. So everyone was used to the grocery store being a two-day trip away. And plenty of people had horses.

This led to some interesting incidents. Horses, unlike vehicles, have a mind of their own. They can feel, and act independently. So it was not exactly uncommon to experience a horse breaking free and bolting down the street, knocking things over as it ran. Often, these incidents were reported in the newspapers, because actual news hadn’t been invented yet, and frequently referred to as a “Lively Runaway.”

Which brings me to May 17, 1883. The Clinton Democrat ran a short article on the front page, creatively entitled, ”A Horse’s Strange Freak.”

Annie Chamberlain was the stepdaughter of Congressman Albert Cole Hopkins. She was born in Williamsport in January of 1869, and came to Lock Haven with her mother when she was twelve years old. She was fourteen in May of 1883, and decided to take a little ride with her horse and buggy.

Ordinarily, there’s no way I’d ever have known about this a hundred and forty years later. But of course, if things hadn’t gotten a bit weird, I wouldn’t be writing a column about it.

The horse had been owned by Senator Samuel R. Peale. (I’m doing a lot of name-dropping in this column.) It had been well-trained, and was cared for by a hired groom. Who was not immediately visible when Annie got back from her ride, so she got out of the carriage and stood beside the horse, waiting for him.

After a moment, she got impatient and decided to look for the groom. So she took a step forward.
Now, the horse had been trained to respond and follow any person it felt was in charge at the moment. So, when Annie stepped forward, the horse took a step forward, too.

This made Annie a bit nervous. It was one thing to take the horse and buggy out for a ride, and quite another to be stalked by a horse. So she took a step away from it, and wouldn’t you know it, the horse took a step in Annie’s direction.

It didn’t take a whole lot more of this routine to send Annie into a full-blown panic. She bolted for the perceived safety of the nearby Swenk and Company store, running for the back door. And the horse, assuming that Annie knew what she was doing, followed.

Annie ran into the store and slammed the door after her, which didn’t exactly bring a halt to things.

“The horse followed suit, but the young lady had closed the door after her. This, however, was no obstacle,” the Clinton Democrat reported. “Having got fairly started on a lively trot, the horse made a plunge at the door, and regardless of results, arrived inside.”

So the horse actually burst through the door and into the store before coming to a stop. Mr. Swenk, Senior, father of the store owner, was sitting in the back of the store when this happened, but his injuries were referred to as “slight.” This probably meant he didn’t quite have a heart attack when a horse blew through the back door like the Kool-Aid Man.

The horse itself was badly cut around its nose and legs, having crashed through the door, but those injuries were treated. “No other injuries resulted,” said the Democrat.

So it was a startling incident, and obviously the door needed repairs, but it could have been worse. In some parts of the world, people ride elephants.