Miraculous Escape from Wagon Accident on Sangamon River Slope

“We at length came to a long gradual slope down to the Sangamon River. The horses being gentle we suspected no trouble. I was riding on the wagon tongue, driving the lead horse. As we started down the hill, the wagon crowded the horses, and they started to run. I was thrown from the tongue and fell in front of the wagon. I made an effort to get out of the way, but my foot caught in the harness, and I was dragged along. The horses were running at full speed. I was in a position where I must inevitably be run over by the wheels of the wagon. There was a small tree standing in the way, and the horses straddled it. The wagon tongue struck the tree, which stripped the harness from the horses, and the wagon stopped. I passed through between the tree and the wagon, and how I passed the tree without being literally smashed to pieces has always been a mystery that I could never solve in any other way than to give providence the credit of saving my life. I escaped unhurt with the exception of a slight cut on the head.”

— Lewis Barney, Autobiography (1808-1846)