Page:Historic highways of America (Volume 10).djvu/139

Rh horses, driver, and passengers were precipitated upward of thirty-five feet onto a bed of rock below—the coach was dashed to pieces, and two of the horses killed—literally smashed.

"A respectable elderly lady of the name of Clarke, of Louisville, Kentucky, and a negro child were crushed to death—and a man so dreadfully mangled that his life is flickering on his lips only. His face was beaten to a mummy. The other passengers and the driver were woefully bruised, but it is supposed they are out of danger. There were seven in number.

"I cannot gather that any blame was attached to the driver. It is said that he was perfectly sober; but he and his horses were new to this road, and the night was foggy and very dark."

An act of the legislature of Ohio required that every stagecoach used for the conveyance of passengers in the night should have two good lamps affixed in the usual manner, and subjected the owner to a fine of from ten to thirty dollars for every forty-eight hours the coach was not so provided. Drivers of coaches who should drive in the