The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1893-12-07
THREE CLOSE CALLS.
MARROW ESCAPES HAD BY WoRkMEN
M A PULP MILL.

One of Them Crushed to a shapeiess Mass
Between Iron Rollers-Another whirled
Around on a BeIt-Thrilling Experience
with "a Log jam.
II never hear Of persons narrowly es-
Gaping death or surviving extraordinary
injuries" said the New York represen-
tative of a big pulp mill company, "that
i do not think of some remarkable in
stances of the kind that have occurred at
a of our mills in the northern part of
this state. On n occasion a workman
named Wolf was engaged in cleaning O
machine used at a certain stage IN the
process of pulp manufacture. The prln-
cipal feature of this machine was two
very heavy iron rollers-one above the
other. When in operation, the upper
roller was pressed closely down on the
lower one, and they reyolved in opposite
directions. To clean these rollers the up
Der one was raised seven or eight inches,
the machine of course being at rest.
TN the course of his work Wolf, who
was a young German, thrust his head
and shoulders between the rollers to see
better to clean the lower roller. While
he was in that position some careless
person turned on the water power. The
rollers started at once. and before the
alarm could be given and the water
turned off Wolf was drawn clear through
between the rollers and dropped on the
other side, as much like pulp, so far as
appearances went, as anything could be.
/ happened to be 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 a messen-
ger at once for a doctor, merely as a
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 shufled it on toa blanket and a r
ried it to the unfortunate mans home.
/ noticed that, although there was not
the slightest evidence Of consciousness,
Wolf was still breathing and that his
heart was beating. When the doctor
came, he declared that from the shout
ders down there was positively not a
single whole bone left in VOLTS body.
He said there was not one chance in ten
thousand of the man living.
ait would take 10 doctors a week to
set his bones he said.
"He incased the body in plaster from
the neck down, and when he came next
day was amazed to find that Wolf was
an H. - lnl ,nrrSaal nnnsosanG.
ness. Wolf lay incased in plaster for
several weeks. His bones knit and grew
together again, but in such a way that
when he was able to get around he was
covered with knobs and ridges and queer
corners and angles from head to feet.
But he was alive. He was our night
Waterman for 10 years after that and is
alive today.
Another time a workman in a diff
ferent part of the mill named Sanneman
was caught IN a big belt by a felt apron
he wore, and before the works could he
stopped he was whirled seven times
around the pulleys, striking the ceiling
with tremendous force each time. He
was taken up 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 as black as coal all
over. There wasn't a spot on him that
was not discolored. The doctor exam.
ined the man carefully, and to his
amazement found that there was not q
bone broken anywhere about him. His
injuries were SO slight that he wasai
work again within two days. Yet hi
had passed seven times through a space
between the pulley and the beam mo-
over seven inches wide.
s'Once the dam of one Of our mills be
came so clogged with logs that they in
terfered with the water power. 1t wa
necessary to release the jaEl or shut down
the mill. The work would necessarily
endanger the lives and limbs of all wh'
engaged in it, and volunteers were asket
for, handsome extra pay being offered
Plenty of men were ready to take tn
risks, among them Pat OBrien, an Irish
man, 81 years old. He insisted on beinI
one of the gang and joined it against tn
protest of the superintendent.
t'The work of releasing the log jan
went all right until the key log that hel
the main jam was to be removed. Their
lay the danger. The key was removed
and the men made a wild dash to escap
the rush. They all got out of the way bu
four, among them the old Irishman, Pa
O'Brien. These four were caught anon
the logs and went owe the falls, a shee
descent of So feet. Men and logs wer
over together, and everybody suppose
that the men would be ground to atom
But a most astonishing thing happenet
In falling a number of logs fell ON en-
in q group, their upper ends topping t
gether, forming an almost perfect tent, (
peaked hut. with the down stream sit
open. The men had escaped injury, n,
only from the logs in the fall, but fro
the tremendous plunge itself, and it W,
M they landed in the water below that ii
tent of logs formed with them benea'
its shelter. This saved them from beiI
drowned by the water that plung,
down from the great height.
"There was constant danger of d
shelter of logs being forced from
Judgment by the pressure of water.