This is the large bobsleigh that was used to carry passengers to Swanzy. It was discontinued in 1906. (Photo courtesy of the Marquette Regional History Center)

“… the king-bolt of the large sleigh broke, pulling the driver over on the dash by the lines and dropping the whippletrees on the horses’ heels.”

Mining Journal, Jan. 5, 1895

MARQUETTE — Snow removal before the invention of automobiles was haphazard and left citizens in a precarious situation when needing to travel in the winter. Sleighs were one source of transportation people used to move around the city. Wagons and carriages were converted to sleighs in the winter by replacing the wheels with blades. But like automobiles, accidents occurred.

There were different types of sleighs. A small sleigh for one or two people was called a cutter. It was lightweight and had one runner on each side, extending from the front to the rear of the sleigh. The design was considered sporty, and it was popular. But it was also dangerous because it tipped easily.

The bobsleigh was larger than the cutter. It carried four people comfortably. It had two sets of runners, referred to as bobs – two in front and two in the rear, like tires on a car. The sleigh had a central pivot to allow the bobs to turn. This was something the cutter did not have, and it helped with stability and smoother turns.

A Mining Journal article in January 1895 tells the story of a sleigh accident on Sixth Street following the funeral of Marquette pioneer Albert Stewart. Mr. Stewart was born in Massachusetts in 1828 and came to Marquette in 1857. He left in 1865, but returned in 1875 to work for the Marquette, Houghton, Ontonagon RR as foreman of the foundry.

He died January 2, 1895, due to complications from a stroke two years earlier. Two days later, the funeral was held at the family home on Ridge Street, organized by funeral director Charles A. Hager and Reverend Charles S. Eastman of the First Methodist Church. Sleighs were rented from Freeman Livery on South Front Street for the funeral procession to the cemetery. The horses had been used for all funerals for several years and were considered particularly safe and steady.

Returning downtown after the interment at Park Cemetery, two sleighs turned down Sixth Street. Mr. Hager and Rev. Eastman were first down the street in a cutter, driven by Mr. Hager. A four-seat bobsleigh carrying some of the pallbearers followed.

As the horses moved downhill at a slow trot, a bolt connecting the front runners to the large bobsleigh broke. The driver, a young man named Martin, was pulled forward onto the dash, causing him to lose his grip on the reins. The horses, now separated from the bobsleigh, ran frantically down the street, dragging the front bobs, and the bobsleigh rolled over.

Hearing the commotion behind him, Mr. Hager looked back and realized the bobsleigh was in trouble. He attempted to pull the cutter over and warn Rev. Eastman of the impending accident. Before they could leap to safety, however, the cutter was overturned by the bobsleigh team.

The men flew out of the cutter with Hager falling on his back across the curb. Rev. Eastman was on the underside of the turned cutter, so his fall wasn’t as significant. After running past the cutter, the team of horses turned into Washington Street and proceeded to get entangled with a telegraph pole near the post office.

Doctors Theil and Boyce were called to examine the injured. Rev. Eastman sustained a number of abrasions, and the doctors felt he would recover within a few days. Mr. Hager sustained two broken ribs. After his chest was wrapped, he was driven home. None of the passengers in the bobsleigh were injured beyond minor bumps and bruises.

Men from Freeman Livery released the horses from the telegraph pole and returned them to their stable on South Front Street. No mention was made of injuries to the horses. All the people including Hager recovered from their injuries.