Obituary for WALTER MILLER
Transcribed and submitted by Rebecca Alexander, © 1999, 2000.
The Edgerton (Kan.) Gazette, Jun. 28, 1895.
Death Under a Binder
The first fatal accident of the harvest season of 1895 occurred Monday afternoon shortly after 3 o'clock at the farm of Mr. A. R. Miller, almost 4 miles east of here.
At that time Mr. Edwin Miller was in the field with four horses cutting wheat. Walter Miller, the 8-year-old son of Frank Miller, was astride the lead horse for the purpose of guiding him. Something became disarranged and Mr. Miller alighted and was in the act of fixing it when the horse which Walter was riding became fractious and commenced kicking at the rear horses (or mules, to be exact). In an instant all four of the animals became frightened and before Mr. Miller could make any effort to control them or to even get out of the way, they were off on a run.
Mr. Miller was knocked down by the machine, but in a most miraculous manner escaped injury. Not so, however, with the boy. With almost the first jump of the frightened animals he was thrown from his seat and directly in front of the knife. One of the sharp steel guards caught the little fellow in the thigh and there held him secure, one leg being thus held above the machine while the rest of his body was drawn underneath to be bumped and dragged and lacerated in the animals' wild run through the field. They ran probably a distance of 500 feet, when they voluntarily stopped.
Mr. Miller came up as soon as he could and extricated the boy and carried him into the house and then started for town for a doctor, but before this assistance arrived the little fellow's spirit had taken its flight.
The accident has cast a gloom over the entire community, where little Walter was well known and so highly thought of.
The funeral was held Tuesday afternoon from the home of his parents, Rev. Lee Spring, of DeSoto, officiating. Interment was in the DeSoto cemetery.
--Eudora News
