He Didn't Know It Was Already Loaded

(Click on image to enlarge.)
An unidentified rabbit-hunter displaying his catch on a snowy day in 1914. Image courtesy of the Hobart Historical Society.


Two days after the deadly collision at the Grand Trunk crossing, another tragedy, equally shocking, occurred near Ainsworth.

On the morning of December 14, Charles Sapper's horse-drawn sleigh headed south out of Hobart, carrying a party of five: with Charles was his brother-in-law Christ Springman, Sr.; two of Christ's sons-in-law, Richard Bermett and Earl Shearer; and his youngest son, 18-year-old Christ Jr., known as Christie. They were equipped with ferrets and shotguns for a day of rabbit-hunting.

They spent hours in the open countryside south of Ainsworth. Between the ferrets and the shotguns, they bagged ten rabbits. By mid-afternoon, they decided they'd had enough for the day and started home. It was near four o'clock when they reached the Ed Mankey farm, which lay just south of Ainsworth (straddling present-day 73rd Avenue on the west side of State Road 51). There Christ Sr. noticed in the snow some rabbit tracks that led to a brush pile. He called to Charles to stop the sleigh — one last rabbit! — and he took up his ferrets and hopped out. Christie jumped out too, saying: "I'll get ready and if father misses him, I'll catch him on the run." He reached into the sleigh and grabbed a shotgun and a couple of shells to load it. He didn't know it was already loaded.

Somehow, as Christie handled the shotgun, it went off. Four feet ahead of him, Christ Sr. caught the full load of 400 shot in the back. He collapsed on the snowy ground.

His companions carried him into Ed Mankey's house and laid him in a bed. As had happened two days earlier, they called Dr. C.C. Brink of Hobart to the scene, and once again the doctor found a patient beyond his help. The shotgun blast had struck Christ Sr. just above the hip, severing the spinal cord and leaving a gaping wound in his back. There was nothing to do now but try to relieve his pain, send for his wife and the rest of his children … and then wait.

"He was conscious to the end," the Gazette said, "and talked freely to his wife and children and other relatives…. Realizing that it was purely an accident, he expressed a desire that no blame be placed upon his son. The young man is grieved beyond expression."

About 6:40 p.m., Christ Sr.'s suffering ended. Christie's had just begun.


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Christ Springman, Sr.'s grave marker in Hobart Cemetery.


Sources:
♦ "Meets Shocking Death." Hobart Gazette 22 Dec. 1916.
♦ "Second Tragedy Within a Week in This Vicinity." Hobart News 21 Dec. 1916.