The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1878-05-09
A Lumberman in a Raft of Rolling
LOgs-A Chinaman Over the Rocks. J

The San Francisco Call says: Two
employees of the Lodi Land and Lum-
Der Company got their legs broken last
Sunday, while at work on Blue
Greek, above West Point. The Cal
averas Chronicle thus describes the acct
dents, which were both remarkable ones:
"The company has dams across Blue
Creek for, the purpose of raising the
water to facilitate the floating Of the
logs into the Mokelumne. The dams
are provided with gates, whichacan be
opened and shut as occasion demands.
Sunday last the, hands were employed
running logs from the creek into the,
rivef, preparatory to the grand drive
to the company's mills near Lodi. A
Jam formed at one of the gates
through which the logs had to pass,
and Boughton, one of the men injured,
went out on them to start the sdrive.'
Suddenly the jam gave way, and
Boughton started for the shore, running
on the logs, which were being swept
through the gate by the current with
great velocity. When he reached the
last log, the distance to the shore was
so great he could not jump it, and
Boughton was forced to leap into the
creek. The force of the rapid current
swept the unfortunate man under the
drive, through the gate and down
over the rapids below, while the large
saw-logs, many of them three feet in
diameter, plunged over, around and at
him as they were tossed and eddied by
the Sc ething waters of the canyon. His
clothes caught on a knot on a large log,
holding him under the water until he
was nearly drowned, but the circum-
stance undoubtedly saved his life by
preventing his being bruised. to death by
the logs. After Boughton got to the
surface he was obliged to fight for his
life by lodging the huge sticks of tim
Der as they came down the creek, up
ward Of two hundred logs passing over
him before he was finally rescued. One
of Boughton'silegs was broken, and he
was badly bruised about the head and
body. The only wonder is how he es-
capped instant death. The same day
another employee of the company,
named Anderson, had his leg broken in
a rather singular manner He was sit
ing astride of a long lever used in open.
ing one of the gates, raising the latter
little by little, while another man, by
the aid of a lever, held the gate in posi-
ton as it was hoisted. His, lever slipped,
letting the gate back, and throwing the
man who was raising it some distance in
the air. In descending he struck on a
plank, fracturing a leg.
The Placerville Democrat says: A few
days since a Chinaman working in the
Dry Gulch Mine fell into the lume
while it was running full of water and
debris, and before an effort could be
made to save him he was swept out oil
sight through the tunnel. The first sec.
| ton of fume is some eight hundred feet
long, and is followed by a drop of forty
feet into a rocky canyon. The Other
workmen followed down the bank a:
rapidly as possible, prompted more by 8
desire to see how thoroughly the process
would reduce a Chinaman to pulp thar
by any hope of rescue, when what was
their surprise to find him clambering uI
the rocks at the foot of the drop, hif
only injury being a bruise on n arm
received when he went wei the fall
An escape from death, had the. watel
been clear, would have been wonderful
but when we consider that it was clogget
with rough, tumbling powders, it seem,
almost incredible. To have passed ovel
Niagara Falls uninjured would not have
been more So.