A Circular Saw Opened His Skull—and He Stayed Conscious

The most horrible accident in the history of this city occurred yesterday morning between 8:30 and 9 o’clock at the Stetson Post Mill Company’s mill on lower Commercial Street, when Horatio A. Stetson, an engineer, ran his head against a circular rip saw, which cut his skull open clear across his head and penetrated the brain fully three inches. Wonderful as it may seem, Mr. Stetson never lost consciousness, and although his power of speech was paralyzed for a time, last evening he was able to speak in a very low voice. His chances of recovery are slight.

Horatio Stetson is a brother of the Stetsons known all over Puget Sound as pioneers in Washington’s lumber industry. He had been in the city about seven years and worked constantly at the mill, in which he had some stock. He was head engineer and also assisted his brother Leroy Stetson, who had charge of the planing mill.

Yesterday morning Leroy and Horatio Stetson were preparing to saw out picture-frame stock and stopped work to fix a feed belt on the small circular rip saw, about ten inches in diameter and very thin, with sharp teeth. The table on which it is set is not more than three and a half feet above the floor. When it was discovered that the belt was off, Leroy went to the front side of the table to make the adjustment on the countershaft, while Horatio went to the back to do the same work on the arbor. The latter crawled on his hands and knees under the table and, in some manner not exactly known, ran his head against the saw.

Leroy, from his position at the front of the bench, could not see what happened, but heard a sharp, metallic sound as if the saw had struck an iron bolt. He ran quickly around to the other side and found his brother backing out from under the table. His hat was gone, and his head looked as if it was in two pieces. Blood and brains were gushing from a deep gash across the top of his head just in front of his ears. The horrible sight sent a thrill of horror through the brother, and as he sprang to the bleeding man’s side he cried out: “My God, what has happened?” Then he raised him to his feet and with his hands pressed the gaping parts of his head together. The victim of the cruel saw stood motionless and dumb. “Speak to me,” implored the brother, but the only reply he received was a mute appeal from the wide-open eyes. The man knew what was going on, but had lost the power of speech. A towel was hastily brought, and with it Leroy bound the cut head, stopping to a great extent the flow of blood, which had become dangerous and was surely weakening the injured man. Foreman Keene, of the yard, who was close at hand when the accident happened, and W. W. Philbrick, who runs one of the planers, assisted in carrying Mr. Stetson into the mill office on Commercial Street, while a messenger was sent after a physician.

Dr. Wotherspoon was secured, and on arriving at the office thought he would dress the wound there. On learning of its serious nature, however, he decided to remove the patient to Providence Hospital, where all the facilities for difficult surgical work are at hand. The police patrol wagon was called, and in a few minutes Horatio Stetson was on his way to the hospital. At one side was his brother Leroy and on the other was W. W. Philbrick. Mr. Stetson took hold of Mr. Philbrick’s hand and all the way to the hospital gripped it with a strength one would hardly believe possible. He kept his arm revolving, and all efforts to stop this were futile. Not a word could he speak, but when spoken to he would look straight into the speaker’s face as if he would have given the world to have been able to reply.

Without delay he was placed on the operating table and chloroform administered. Then the full extent of the wounds was discovered. It was a terrible cut, extending entirely across the top of the head and down nearly to a level with the tops of his ears. From the circular shape of the saw the brain matter must have been cut deeper than was the skull at the points of exit on either side of the head. The doctor saw at a glance that the principal cause of the flow of blood was the cutting of the longitudinal sinews on top of the head. In order to stop this the skull was trephined, and then the patient was placed in bed. He soon recovered from the influence of the chloroform and recognized those who were with him.

He was still unable to speak, but through signs he made it learned that he wanted his mother, who had been sent for and was on her way to the hospital. Her appearance in the room seemed to relieve him to a considerable extent, and he would hold her hand in much the same way he held Mr. Philbrick’s on the way to the hospital.

As the day passed his condition seemed to improve slightly. Power of speech returned slowly. At 7 o’clock in the evening he made himself heard and understood by Mrs. George Stetson, his brother’s wife. He got it into his head that his mother was out of the room, and motioning Mrs. Stetson to him, he said in a very low tone, almost a whisper: “Mother.” “She is here in the room,” replied Mrs. Stetson. “Are you in pain?” He shook his head. His mother arose from her chair and came to the bedside. He seemed to think she had entered the room and was pleased to have her close to him once more. Later in the evening it was apparent that one side was paralyzed. Although his case has exhibited wonderful features, especially his retention of consciousness, there is little hope of his recovery.

Mrs. Stetson and children, who are at present in Minneapolis, their old home, were notified of the accident. Before coming to this city, Mr. Stetson lived many years in Minneapolis, where he was employed as manager of the Farnham Lovejoy lumber mill. After the failure of the company he went into the Minneapolis fire department as an engineer, of which his brother, Frank L. Stetson, is now chief. Dr. J. T. Stetson, a well-known physician of Boston, who was here about a year ago, is another brother.

The Stetson brothers, George W., Warren C. and Leroy W., all brothers of the unfortunate Horatio, have been in this city for years. They have had a great deal of ill-luck, but gone ahead with a dogged determination to succeed that has made them many friends. They are known personally by all the old-timers and highly respected. Edwin Stetson, one of the brothers, who came here many years ago, was killed at Maple three years ago by a logging train. Some time ago Leroy Stetson fell head-first from the top of the mill and saved his neck by breaking his arm. Amasa Stetson, the father of the boys, was killed at Franklin, Mass., by falling from a staging.

Leroy Stetson, when seen by a Post-Intelligencer reporter last night and asked for his opinion as to how the accident happened to his brother, replied: “I think the saw struck his hat and gave his head a twitch which brought it in contact with the saw. The hat was pulled from his head and, lodging in the slot in the table above, stopped the saw. He might have slipped and fallen against the saw, but I do not think he forgot and raised his head. He had been around such machinery for over twenty years, and I can’t think he made that mistake.”