The weekly tribune and the Cape County herald. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1914-1918, 1916-05-12
TWO men FLIRT
With DEATH ON
ELECTRIC CABLE
Both Sustain Severe Burns
on Feet and Neck When
Shocked.
FLASH KNOCKS BOTH
DOWN ON DRAG-LINE
Wire They Held Hits 13,20G Volt
High Tension
Cable.

Two men narrowly escaped instant
death by electrocution on the drainage
ditch near Ranney's switch on the
Rock Levee road a few miles south of
this city when a high tension cable
carrying a charge of 1920 volts of
electricity fell yesterday afternoon
and struck 4 wire which the men were
handling.
Both men were knocked down and
severely burned. They were stunned
so badly they had to be helped to their
feet by companion worllmen nearby,
and electricians with whom they had
been working declared last night that
the men owe their lives to a miracle.
The men We're working under the
direction Of F. Schultz, engineer in
charge of the electrical work on the
dred@e boat near Ranney's switch.
The identity of the two men who were
injured could not be learned last night
and WOrkmen on the ditch declared
yesterday evening they knew nothing
Of the accident which had occurred in
the afternoon.
The dredge machine had been moved
| forward IN the course OF its work and
the electricians mad Just completed the
work OF moving Il separate barge car
rying a transformer, in order that the
dredge machine could be supplied with
electrical current.
The high tension cable which fur
nishes the power from the Cape plant
for the operation of the dredge boat
runs along beside the right of
the channel, and cable is attached to
the transformer on a barge which con-
meets the instrument with the high
tension line, known by workmen as
the high line"
This cable carries the load OF 1920
volts and at times it is said that the
voltage goes as high as 10000.
When a move forward is being made
a cutoff switch is used to disconnect
the part Of the high line on which the
electricians are working, so that the
cable leading to the transformer may
be disconnected and re-fastened to the
high line.
This operation had been performed
yesterday and the boat was being
| moved forward. One of the assistants
under Mr.. Schultz was dragging the
cable leading from the high line to the
| transformer barge forward on the
right Cf-way and he asked a teamster
employed nearby to aid him in drag
ging the wire along the ground.
The two men proceeded to pull the
wire along the ground when one of
the pegs on the cross-arm of the pole
10 which the cable had been attached
hroke off and let the cable fall.
As it fell the cable brushed against
the high line at point where the cur
rent mad not been removed by the cut
off switch. The wire which the two
men held in their hands, in falling
touched The high line but fraction
Of a second. The electricians describ-
ed the contact as the slightest possible
flick. The time of contact, however,
was sufficient to charge the cable held
by the two men.
The electrical charge knocked the
men down instantly. 1t was said that
had the two wires remained in contact |
as long as q second, both men would !!
have been killed outright
NJ. Schulte's assistant sustained an |
electrical burn on one of his fingers !
that virtually fried the flesh to the |
bone, the burn being about an inch |
and a half in length. He likewise sus-
tanned burns at the back of the neck |
and on the soleS of his feet.
TIE teamster whom the first man
had asked to aid him in dragging the
wire, suffered severe burns at the back
of his neck and at the head of the
spinal column as well as on the bot
tom of his feet His burns did not
injure the flesh as badly as the wounds
inflicted on his companions finger,
where the flesh was exposed to the
wire.
The teamster, as soon as he recov-
cred from the shock he sustained, ran
away from the scene OF the accident
without waiting to receive medical
treatment.
The assistant to Mr.. Schultz re-
sumed his work as best he could after
having received medical attention.