The Fort Dodge Messenger: May 4, 1904

Teamster Has an Experience

Elmer White and Wagon Go Over an Embankment

Wagon Turns Over Completely Burying the Driver Beneath a Load of Rubbish

The next time Elmer White attempts to dump a wagon load of rubbish into the “clear” depths of the Des Moines river he will endeavor to dump only the contents of the wagon and not the wagon, team and himself as he did Tuesday. White, who is a teamster and makes his living by hauling rubbish and generally assisting the board of public improvements, while in the act of backing his wagon to the bank of the rive Tuesday miscalculated the distance between the rear wheels and the edge of the embankment and as a result the wagon performed the difficult feat of turning a back somersault, burying the driver beneath its contents, while the horses, freed from the vehicle by the breaking of the tongue and reach, waltzed down the embankment at a somewhat slower pace to join the driver and wagon forty feet below.

Fortunately for White his plight was witnessed by several men working nearby, who volunteered their services to dig him out. An unusual feature of the accident was that the driver escaped without the slightest injury and the same good fortune attended the horses.

The mishap was the result of the rear wheels going over the edge of the embankment, allowing the full weight of the load to slide to the rear of the wagon. The vehicle started down the embankment and turned completely over, carrying its occupant with it.

Tags: 1904, White