The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-08-23
HOWARD'S MOSAIC LEG.
How Utah Northern Fireman Was
Quilt Up,' at Ogden.

Denver Republican. Charles P How
ARDS feft leg below the Knee is mo-
sale eff ether mems flesh. One hundred
and fifty-two me ncontributed over /, goo
bits of their flesh to build llpo calf on the
bare bones of Howard'S leg, from which
all his own flesh was boiled off in q rau-
road accident.
The owner of this interesting collection
of souvenirs lives with his wife and four
children at 1883 Vine street. just now ne
IS laid up on account of the skin on his
leg breaking open two weeks ago. but 1t
Is about healed again. and. with she aid of
a, crutch, he paid a visit to DR.. Lyman
the assistant surgeon for the Union Pa
cific. Since the remarkable operation of
flesh grating was completed over ten
years ago, Howard slaS been ar times well
enough for heavy work, at enc time sery-
ing as brakeman ON trains up in Idaho,
man in the Union Pacific freight depot in
Denver. where he says he was busy 10
and l6 hours day, but the labor was too
heavy. and The broke down under it, which
is not surprising, since, in addition to
the injury 10 his leg, he at the same
time hid his left shoulder, all of the ribs
on his left side and his left hip broken.
THE SCALDING.
In 1856 Howard was firing ON freight
engine on the Utah Northern, narrow
gauge line from Ogden to Bu5te, then a
line and the Montana Union, a broad
gauge line, used a joint track bet tween
Butte and Silver Bow junction. On Oct.
T. 1886, Howard, With Engineer John May.
who recently died in an insane asylum at
Provo. were making the run from Ogden
to Butte. just before their train had
reached the junction,a Montana Union
train had run through over the joint track
and the train men had left the switch
turned for their own line. The narrow
gauge train tore along and the misplaced
switch was not noticed until too late to
prevent the smash up.
NAV cOlllI fl1a switch aff from
his side said Howard yesterday. but I
could NOT. | had just been firing up and
May pol1ed me in the side and said: Look
out for YOURSELF l thought he was josh
ing. for Jack was in the habit of joshing
good deal. I saw him jump, and then
the wheels struck the ties The window
on my side of the cab was swollen tight
so couldn't open 1T. and got out on the
running board alongside the boiler. Just
then the engine tipped over on ner side
and my left leg was under 1T. The in
all tie hot water poured out on my leg
and sealded nearly all the flesh off. Be
sides that had my left shoulder. all my
ribs nthe left side and pelvic. bone
was good for much when they dug me
out.
THE BOYS DROPPED IN.
81 was taken to Butte. where 1 stayed
for 81 days before could be moved. Then
[ was taken to the Union Pacific hospital
ar Ogden. DR.. G.. w. Perkins. who was
then division surgeon of the Union Pa
cifc attended me. and after he had treat
ed me for month or six weeks he de-
ctded to try the experiment of grating.
for it was the only hope of saving my
leg. | let the boys know that | wanted
flesh and they would come in at O'Clock
in the morning, sometimes a half dozen
at a time, all of them firemen.
nesS~ cauterizing the sore until the
blood flowed. DR.: Perkins would pinch a
piece out of the f1eShy part of some of the
mems legs or arms and stick it on If
the man was in good condition. in "A
fast to my flesh. If not, it had to be
taken out. The process continued for
four months, during which time from LOGO
to 1900 bits of flesh were grated on my
leg. taken from 152 men. The leg healed
and when | don't overdo myself [ get
along or it all right"
Howard exhibited the composite leg,
which looks natural, except for a shriv-
eled appearance of the skin in places
where the flesh was burned away to such
a depth that the hole could not be filled
that have an inf1amed appearance. where
the skin broke open several weeks ago,
but in the places not inflamed the skin is
uniform and shows no evidence of patch
have pronounced it the most successful
flesh grating operation they have ever
seen.
TROUBLES OVER WORK.
The broken pelvic bone. gives Howard
more trouble than the leg AMI he mad to
lie in the hospital for about two years
before he was in condition for work The
company gave him a job as brakeman.
but the weather is very cold i'm winter up
in Idaho, where he ran, and he suffered
so much pain from the leg that he had
to quit. He came to Denver Fdly 81, 1885,
and after two weeks iddeness he was
given a position at the Union Pacific
freight house. He had to quit because
the labor crippled him, and ne was out
of employment from November. 1895 to
December 81 1896, when the Union Pa
cific company gave him job in the car
works at the Union Pacific shops. The
work was light. but it kept him eontinu-
ally on his feet and he had to quit on
July 6, last, since when he has not been
able to do anything.
Howard has suffered much from his in
jurieS for nearly II years. and his other
troubles have been equally hard to en-
dure. for he has been out of employment
for long periods. when he was faced by
the alternative of applying for aid from
the county or suffering his family to
starve, vet neither he nor his wife have
lost hope. He is now only Al years old
and except for his injured hip and leg,
feels as strong as any man, and its frets
him to remain idle.
II began railroadirg when l was II
years Old said he, and | don't know
anything else. ! am strong and could
do AIRY kind of work ct which | might
sit down. if l only knew how to get it