Ottumwa weekly courier. (Ottumwa, Wapello County, Iowa) 1872-1899, 1876-11-01
A s1cKEN1No SIGHT.
A Miller at the City Mills Caught
on q Horizontal Shaft and
Hurled Almost Into Eter-
nifty.
From the Sioux City journal, eau

A horrible accident occurred to-
ward evening yesterday, at the
City Mills OH Water street, an acct
dent the recital Of which fairly makes
ones blood run cold.
Geo. II. Witeman, q young married
man, perhaps "a years old, who has
been working at the City Mills for
the past two years, assembled to the
third story of the building for the
propose of oiling the machinery. To
get at certain of the bearings he was
compelled to Chamber upon a bran
duster and reach over n horizontal
iron shaft running at the rate of
about sixty revolutions minute
Directly in front of him and attached
to the shaft was large cog-wheel,
and on the side toward Witeman there
protrudcd fromwhere the shaft passed
through the wheel a set-scrcw. As he
bent over the shaft to apply the oil
beyond, this set-screw caught in the
waistband of a heavy duck round
about which he had on, and in much
less time than it requires to tell it,
the instrument had gathered mp all
the slack in Witcman's clothing, had
thrown him from his balance and
was swinging him around to matila-
ton and death.
Only about ten feet from this shaft
M. +. Moore, the millwright, was
working at his bench. lie glanced
toward Witeman as he clambered up
to apply the oil, and saw the danger,
but it was too late for Whitman to es-
cape by simply apprising him of it,
and so Moore graspcd his hammer
and sprang around to the gearing
| beyond the shaft and attempted, by
| inserting his hammer head between
a couple of cog wheels which run the
shaft, to throw them out of position,
but there being SO much spring to the
scantling to which they were attach
ed, the hammer would pass through
and the wheels spring together again.
Mr.. Moore succeeded the third time
in throwing the wheels apart when
4 the shaft ceased to revolve. He then
i jumped to the bell rope and rang it
vigorously, signal which the engi-
neer understood to mean trouble, or
; danger, when coming from the upper
floor, and the machinery was instant
, Ely shut down. as'.
: NJ. e. Davis, superintendent Of the
mills, and Mr.. Hines, the head miller
were on the first floor and heard the
J signal, and they fastened up stairs
! knowing full well there had been al
accident of some kind. On reaching
: the third floor a spectacle met thcil
gaze. The heroic millright as sooi
as the shaft ceased revolving, ran t
| poor .Witeman, who hung limp by
, his clothing, and had nearly succeed
ed in loosening him from the ma
chincry of death when Mcssrs. Davis
. and Hines came up. Witeman's Goa
! collar had been twisted SO violentl.
n about his neck, that his face was blacl
bloated and spotted, and he wa
bleeding profusely from his mouth
s feet and arms. When he found him
o self being wound round the shaft AM
i lifted from his feet, he thrust out hi
:, right arm to save himself and ii wa
y caught in the large cogwheel an,
G ground to a perfect. jelly from the el
r bow to the shoulder, small pieces o
!, broken bone protruding in all dircc
lions. In addition to this, as he wa
+ being whirled so violently aroun
II the shaft his feet struck beam in til
q roof, corner of the bran buster o
y which he stood, and the side of
stair way, each of which were covere
g with blood that had been beaten froI
u his feet at each revolution of til
t, shaft. To give some idea of the W
F. locity his body attained, we migl
state that Witeman's boots wer
= thrown from his feet as were also hi
II socks. When taken down and lai
% upon the millrights workbench
N Witeman was of course unconsciou
:. His feet were very badly bruised an
" cut. and were pulled up. His heat
!, fortunately, escaped bruises from ii
s. fact that. as he hung upon the shat
: it depended little below the lare
cogwheel, and in the motion Of IL
body revolving 1t did not meet an
. obstacle.
The injured man was removed
d his house OH Water street, but OWN
1t to the weakness Of his pulse, the SUI
: geons were afraid to make any G,
" tended examination of his injuric
N The man stands chance to recover
r and if it shall appear on examinatic
Of that he is not seriously injured into
" nally, he will get along, probabl
y with the loss of one or both feet, an
D. one arm, and possibly his feet w
lc not have to be amputated. He wi
II. lose his right arm any way. Aft
n recovering consciousness, some fl,
= minutes or more after being release
/ from the shaft, Witcman gazed at h
1t mangled limbs mournfully and the
A. fecbly remarked, that he wished Il
N accident had resulted in his insta1
= death, probably preferringit to beir
as MANNED for life. Poor fellow. I
II. is the third to narrowly escape dea
nc in like manner in the City Mills, a,
20 and ii is to be hoped he will be Il
last whose misfortunes in this line v
's will he called upon to chronicle.