The Hook Slipped: A Scaler Killed Two Miles From Newport
James Wall, 50, was loading logs for the Panhandle Lumber Co. when a heavy log fell and fractured his skull. He lived only five minutes.
James Wall, aged 50, a scaler in the employ of the Panhandle Lumber Co., was almost instantly killed while scaling logs which were being loaded onto an Idaho & Washington Northern train at DeLong spur, about two miles west of Newport, on Saturday. The accident occurred just as the last car of the train was being loaded, shortly before noon. Wall was standing on the ground near the loader when the hook slipped from a heavy log and it fell on him, hitting him in the head and fracturing his skull. He lived only five minutes after the accident occurred. In working on the ground near the car Wall, it is said, violated the rules of the company, which provide that the scaling shall be done after the logs are loaded on the cars. Dr. Phillips, Justice Long, acting coroner, and Agent Gibbs went to the scene of the accident and viewed the body, after which it was prepared for shipment to Spokane. Wall leaves a wife and two daughters.
“Wall was standing on the ground near the loader, when the hook slipped from a heavy log, and it fell on him, hitting him in the head and fracturing his skull. He lived only five minutes after the accident occurred.”
Logging remained one of the most dangerous jobs in the Inland Northwest, and the quick mention of Wall violating company rules echoes modern debates over workplace safety and employer responsibility. Newport’s timber economy was built on risks like this, often borne by workers far from home.
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