| Show HISTORY dt orl t W I 1 byo lyo R D W WOOD bod RU F F A liis lifs 1 I I 1 t i I 1 FROM I 1 lis his OWN r lri lil I CONTINUED 1 1 v CHAPTER OF ACCIDENTS jair t great sa s1 sait salt lake olty city february 4 ir if 1 11 im 11 A VARIED an and add d diverse are the ilves lives and fortunes ofa men I 1 while the paths of some are drewn wilh with flowers and ease from the cradle to tb the g grave graye ra y e with nau naught ht to disturb their peace others are marked victims of varied misfortunes accidents and dangers the last lait named class is the one dria in in whose ranks I 1 have i tood stood through my infancy childhood youth and manhood up to the present time so much i go 10 that it has seemed as though some invisible power or f ate fate was watching my foot steps in in order to find some opportunity to take my life from the earth I 1 can only attribute the continuation of my life to the present time ume to a merciful ul god Gody hose liand hand has been stretched out and rescued me from death in the midst of the many danger dangers sand and hair breadth esca escapes escaped pek pei I 1 baye have passed asid through some of which awill I 1 will b bere here ere inen mention tion when three years of age I 1 fell into a caldron of boiling water was instantly caught out t was so badly s scalded cald caid ed that it was nine months before I 1 was considered deut beut ent of danser danter at give five years yearb ofaf of age e I 1 fell from the great bermoy beam of a barn striking my face faco upon P 0 the floor which came near breaking my neck i three months af afterwards ter wards I 1 broke one of my arms by falling down stairs 1 soon after broke in my other ether airi airl arm by falling out ot of a bi high a b 4 I 1 11 u upon p on a pile of timber i when six years of age I 1 came near being killed by a surly bull my bly father and I 1 were feeding pumpkins s to the cattle a surly bull brok droye inyo macow cow away from the one she sha wab was abing eating 1 I took the pumpkin he had bad left upon which be he pitched at me my father told me to throw down the pumpkin and run I 1 ran down a steep hill hil 1 and took the pumpkin with me being determined that the cow should have her rights the bull pursued aa as he was bout to 0 overtake er take tako me I 1 stepped into a post hole and fell the bull leaped over me after the pu hipkin pumpkin and tore it to pieces with his hib horns and ana would have served me in the same way wy had I 1 not fallen during 0 the same year I 1 wen went into tinto my fathers aw saw mill with se several eral others I 1 got upon the head block wk to take a ride while the carriage carriaga was waa running back not anticipating any danger danter my leg was caught between the head block and the fender post and broke both bone bones of my rhy leg below the knee 1 I was taken to the house eouse and lay nine hours b before my bones were set suffering severe pain but being young my bones soon knit together and I 1 was upon my feet again during my confinement by this thi lameness my bro thompson was also confined in the ahme same room with the typhus feyer fever when seven years of age I 1 was riding on the top of a load of hay which wh ich my uncle oz on n woodruff was driving to the barn he turn ad d th the load ove over upon me I 1 wak wai wab was nearly hearly suffocated for r the tys iya want nt of air before the hay was moved removed I 1 at eight years old I 1 was riding in a one horse wagon with several ot others hiers fiers the horse took fright ran down a steep hib hill and turned the tbt wagon over upon us but out again while in the midst of danger P my life was preserved ahone of us were seriously injured when nine years old I 1 climbed into an elm tre tree to obtain bark I 1 stepped upon a dry limb which broke and I 1 fell about fifteen feet upon my ily b back I 1 ack which atthe beattee be breath oui out ort of my ray body vody A cusin jubin cousin ran and told my parents I 1 was dead before they arrived at the spot I 1 eme came to my senses and met them when twelve years of age I 1 was drowned in farmington fann Fana ington river and sunk in 30 ft of water and after rafter t carrying one person to 46 the bottom with me I 1 wib wis was wab miia mila miraculously cu 10 lo 1 caved saved uby buy y IL 6 young c man nan hamed named I 1 bacon a t da t 64 the bottom and carrying with him a large atone stone to hold bold him down until he obtained my body not expecting to save me pie aliveto I 1 suiT buffered suffered ered much in being restored to life ilfe at thirteen years of age while passing through farmington meadows in the detthof depth of winter the roads were drifted with snow and in an exceedingly 0 blustering mustering day I 1 became so chilled and overcome with cold that I 1 could hot travel I 1 crawled into the hollow of a large apple tree A man in the distance seeing me go in hastened to my rescue realizing my danger more fully than I 1 did when he arrived r ved at the spot I 1 had bad fallen asleep and was nearly insensible he had much difficulty in arousing me to a sense of my situation he procured means to carr carry y me to my fathers house and through a kind providence my alf life was again preserved at fourteen years of age I 1 split my left instep open with an ax which went nearly through my foot it was nine months getting well at fifteen years of age I 1 was bitten in my left hand by ky a mad do dog in the last stage of hydrophobia he dented my hand with his teeth but did not draw blood and iwas I 1 was again preserved through the mercies of god from an awful death at the age of seventeen I 1 was riding a very il ill lii tempered horse that I 1 was not acquainted with and while going down a very steep rocky hill the horse taking advantage of the ground suddenly leaped from the road and ran down the steep amid the rocks at full speed and commenced kicking up and attempted to throw me over his head bead upon the rocks but I 1 lodged upon the top of his head grasped hold hoid of each ear as with a death grip expecting every moment to be dashed to pieces against the rocks while in this position sitting astride of his neck with no bridle to guide him but his ears he hb plunged down the hill under full fuli speed until he ran against a rock and was dashed to the ground I 1 went over both his head and the rock about one rod and struck the ground square on my feet being the only thing visible that saved my life for had I 1 struck upon any other part of my body it must have killed me instantly as it was my bones crushed from under me as though they were reeds it broke my left leg in two places and put out both my ankles in a shocking manner and the horse came near rolling over me in his struggles to get up my uncle titus woodruff saw me fall got assistance and carried me to his house I 1 lay from 2 pm till 10 without medical aid then my father arrived bringing dr swifton Swift of farmington t with him who set my bones boxed up my m y limbs and carried me pe in his bis carriage eight miles that night to my fathers my sud suf sufferings were here sere very great I 1 had good attention however and in eight weeks I 1 was out ut doors uron unon unon my crutches in 1827 while attempting to clear the ice led out of a water evater wheel standing upon the wheel with around the shaft abaft a man hoisted the gate and let a full head of water upon it as soon as the water eater struck the wheel it started my feet slipped into the wheel but I 1 immediately plunged bead foremost over the rim into about three feet of water and mv weight drew my legs out of the wheel or I 1 should have been drawn under a shaft abaft and crushed to death in 1831 while having charge chargo of the florrin floering flouring flon flou ring mill in collinsville Col linsville connecticut I 1 was standing inside of a breast wheel 20 feet in diameter upon one of the arms near the fop clearing out the ice when a full head of water wad was let on to it the wheel immediately started but I 1 dropped my ax aland and leaped through it to the bottom by the shaft abaft and arms cabout about twenty feet as I 1 struck the bot tomba the wheel I 1 was rolled out against a ragged stone wall with only about two feet clearance between it and the wheel the wheel caught baug bt me and rolled me out into the water belo beio below where re I 1 found myself without ardy ariy bones bonea broken but with witha s bome some me bruises bru isea iaea and much fright during the winter of 1831 while in new hartford d ct I 1 passed gassed through h a severe course of 0 lung fever in 1833 the day I 1 wab waa baptized baptize one of my horses newly sharp shod kicked my hat off my head and had he struck two inches lower I 1 would probably have killed me instantly in ten minutes afterwards ahil while e driving the same team down a hill an on a sleigh without any box the bottom boards boaras slipped orward forward f under the roller and caught thi the the ground turned endwise and fell on the horses backs throwing me between the horses abey ran rad to the bottom of the hill dragging me with the lines head foremost with the sleigh on top of me about twenty rods over a smooth snow path I 1 escaped unharmed however in the midst of both dangers b in 1 1834 while traveling in Zions camp in missouri a rigs rifle was accidentally discharged and the ball passed through three tents with about twelve men in each and lodged in in a aairon wagon axletree axle tree while a man was standing behind it iti and injured no one it passed within a few inches of my breast and man escaped as narrowly as myself A few months afterwards a musket heavily loaded faded with buckshot was accidentally snapped within a few feet of me with the muzzle muzzie pointed at my breast it had bad a good flint abid arid was well primed but bui it missed fire and my life ilfe was again preserved in april 1839 in ro rochester chester illinois I 1 was riding ridin upon the running gears gear s of a wagon waon wa on without a box sitting upon the forward axletree when the bolt fastening the cou coupling pole came out which left the hind heels wheels A and my weight on the forward bolster and ton tod tongue gui gue turned the coupling pole over on to the horses turning the stakes upside down and shut me up tip fast between the bolster and tongue but in such a macnei manner that my head he a d and shoulders dragged on the ground my horses took fright and ran out into an open prairie and dragged me in this position for about half a mile I 1 managed to guide them with my left hand band so as to run them into a corner cornter of a high worm fence where we landed in a pile together I 1 was considerably bruised but es aped c without any broken bones july 23 1842 1841 prest joseph smith sent me from nauvoo to st louis to procure a stock stoa of paper I 1 went down upon a steamboat was six days on the way during which time I 1 was severely attacked with bilious fever the thed day ay I 1 made my purchase the f fever ver was wab so high 0 I 1 was scarcely sensible of what I 1 was doing As soon as I 1 made my purchase and got my freight on board I 1 took my berth and lay there until I 1 arrived at nauvoo on the loth of aug I 1 was confined to my bed forty days and passed through the most severe fit ot 0 bickness sickness I ever endured in dured durea my life was despaired despe ired of by many of my friends frien dg I 1 was administered i ered to by prest smith and the twelve my life w was wab as preserved by the power of god I 1 took a relapse t twice after I 1 began to reco recover ver once while in council with the th presidency and twelve my strength left me my breath stopped and I 1 felt as though I 1 was struck with death sept 12 1813 1843 at five pm I 1 left boston on the express train for portland while passing through Cheste six miles south of kennebunk Kenne bunk after gark gank lark and while abile going at full speed we struck one of the rails which some persons had raised by rolling a log under it and landed in a pile three cars were filled with passengers t erb ers and their lives were saved by having havinga a long train of freight between the passenger cars and the engine all of them were mashed to pieces the engineer was killed some of the passengers had bones broken I 1 escaped unhurt on the ath of oct 1846 while with the camp ot of israel building up winter quarters on the west side of the missouri river then indian country I 1 passed through one of the most painful and serious aenious misfortunes of my ray life I 1 took my axe and went two and nd a half halt miles on to the bluff bluffs s to cut some shingle tia ber to tolover cover e r my ray cabin iwas ewaa accompanied ac idle anle i d by two men while tte the third tree tre ewa was f alling filling which was an oak over two feet feekin in diameter I 1 stepped behind it bome some ten tea feet and alo aio to td one aide side the same distance where I 1 thought though tl I 1 would be entirely out of dan danger daner r er but rhin rhan the tree fell there being t a crook crool brookin in the body of it which struck a knoll on the ground the whole body shot endwise back of the stump itura pani pahl and bounded and the tse butt odthe tree struck m me en on the breast and knocked me several feet ined the air against 0 a standing oak and the falling tree followed me in its bound and caught me against the standing tree and I 1 came down between them before reaching the earth however I 1 wab waa liberated from them andl st struck ruck the ground upon my feet in a badly bruised condition dl my left thigh thib the whole length of it and my hip and left arm were much bruist id my breast bone and three riba ribs on zoy toy left lett id e were broken my lungs vitals and left sidi eid lid were also bruis aruis bruised 1 ed in aa a hocking shocking manner atter after the accident I 1 sat bat upon a log until mr john garrison went a quarter of a mile to gt etc my horse notwithstanding I 1 was wab wasso so badly hurt I 1 mounted my horse and rode two and a half halt miles over a very rough road dismount ing twice in consequence of miry places my breast and vitals were so badly torn to pieces that at each step af pf of the horse the pain went welt through me like an arrow 1 I continued oa OR horseback until I 1 arrived at turkey creek oa on the north side of winter quarters I 1 then be cam cams exhausted and was taken offey off my horsa horse hor bor and carried to my wag wagon on in a chair I 1 was w met in the street by crests H C kimball kimbill and W richard richards and other others who assis assisted I 1 lri irl iri carrying me to i 0 my family before laying prie brie me upon my bed the presidency preside ncy lai lal laid hands upon me rebuked my suffering angl and distress in the name odthe lord and zm said I 1 should live arid and not die I 1 was then laid upon my bed in my wagon and as the apostles prophesied upon my head bead so bo it came carue to pass I 1 Is employed no physician on this occasion but was administered to by the elders of israel and ap I 1 nursed by my wife I 1 lay upon my m y bed unable to move until my breast bone began to knit together which commenced on the ninth day I 1 began begin n to walk yaik about in twe twenty n ty 0 daye a y 6 JI in thirty days from the time I 1 awas was wag burt burti I again commenced todo to do bard labor Z july 5 1848 9 while on a mission to the eastern slates states I 1 drove my carri carrl carriage ag t e contain contal 2 ing myself and family into the door yard oti oci of br james william williams in iowa to camp for th thi night t I 1 tied my mules to a I 1 large arge oak tree several rods from the thie carriage carr lae aa As we wr about to lay down in the carriage for the night I 1 was wag wa strongly impressed to go and move in my y mules from the thi oak tree and also to move nay day y barridge carride car carrid carria ridge e I 1 followed the dictates of the spirit |
