Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1893-12-13
THREE CLOSE CALLS.
NARROW ESCAPES HAD ev woRKMeM
IN A PULP MILL.

Aroaai o. . Belt-Thrilling Experisaes
wish . Log Jam.
Il never hear Of persons narrowly e.
Gaping death or surviving extraordinary
injuries said the New York represen-
tasive Of n big pulp mill company. ''thst
do not think Of some remarkable in
stances Of tho kind that have occurred at
one Of our mills in the northern part of
this state. On one occasion n workman
named Wolf was engaged in cleaning
machine usel at certain stage in the
process Of pulp manufacture. The prin-
cipal feature Of this machine was two
very heavy iron rollcrs-one above the
other. When in operation. the upper
roller was pressed closely down on tho
lower one. and they revolvcd in opposite
directions. To clean these rollers the up
per one was raised seven or eight inches,
the machine of course being at rest.
'.In the course Of his work Wolf. who
was a young German, thrust his head
and shoulders between the rollers t. see
l,ettcr to clean the lower roller. While
he was in that position some careless
person turned on the water power. Tho
rollers started at once. and before tho
alarm could I've given and the water
turned of Wolf was drawn clear through
between the rollers and dropped on the
other side. as much like pulp. sd far rs
appearances went, as anything could be.
I happened to bc in that part Of the mill
ut the time and saw the frightful mishap.
Il ran to where the limp form Of the
workman lay and dispatched messen-
ger ut once for doctor, merely as q
matter Of form. however, for that any
thing could be done for the shapeless
mass Of humanity never entered my
mind. 1t was impossible to lift the body.
We shuffied it on toa blanket and car
ricd it to the unfortunate mans home.
I noticed that, although there was not
the slightest evidence Of consciousness,
Wolf was still breathing and that his
heart was beating. WheE the doctor
came. lie declared that from the shoul-
Gers down there was positively not q
single whole bone left in VOLTS body.
He said there was not one chance in ten
thousand of the man living.
"'lt would take 10 doctors week to
set his bones Inc said.
HE incased the body in plaster from
the neck down, and when he came next
day was amazed to find that Wolf was
still alive and had regained conscious
ness. Wolf lay incased in plaster for
several weeks. His homes knit and grew
together again. but in such way that
when he was able 10 get around he was
covered with knobs and ridges and queer
corners and angles from head to feet.
But lie was alive. He was our night
watch,nan for 10 years after that and is
alive today.
Another time workman in a diff
!ercnt part .5f the mill named Sannenan
was caught in n big belt by n felt apron
he wore, and before the works could lie
stopped he was whirled seven times
around the pulleys. striking the ceiling
with tremendous force each time. He
was taken NJ for dead. examined him
before the doctor came, and there wasn't
even the sign Of an abrasion or mark on
his body. Ten minutes later, when the
doctor came, he was rs black as coal all
over. There wasn't a spot on him that
was not Giscolored. The doctor exam
med the man carefully. and to his
amazement found that there was not a
bone broken anywhere about him. His
injuries were 40 slight that he was ut
work again withip two days. Yet he
had passed seven times Il -oug,l a space
between the pulley and the beam not
over seven inches wide.
"Once the dam Of one Of our mills be-
came SO clogyed with logs that they in
terfered with the water power. 1t was
necessary to release the jam or shut down
the mill. The work would necessarily
endsnger the lives and limbs Of all who
engaged in it, AMI volunteers were asked
for, handsome extra pay Icing offered.
Plenty 81 men were ready to take the
risks, among them Pat O'Brien, an Irish
man, Gi years old. He insisted on being
one Of the gang End joined it against the
protest Of the Superintendent.
Tho work Of releasing the log Jam
went all right until the key log that held
the main jam was to be removed. There
lay the danger. The key was removed,
and the men made wild dash to escape
the rush. They all got out Of the way but
four, among them the old Irisliman, Pat
O'Dricn. These four were caught among
the logs and went over the falls, sheer
descent Of 81 feet. Men and logs went
over together, and everybody supposed
that the men would he ground to atoms.
But most astonishing thing happened.
In falling a number Of logs fell On end
in q group. their upper ends topping to-
gcther. forming IN almost perfect tent, or
peaked hut. with the down stream side
open. The men had escaped injury. not
only from the logs in the fall, but from
the tremendous plunge itself, and it was
as they landed in the water below that the
tent Of logs formed with them beneath
its shelter. This saved them from being
drowned by the water that plunged
down from the great height.
There was constant danger Of the
shelter Of logs being forced from its
Judgment by the pressure of water. In