Worst accident you had while digging?

[reach44]

Hey everyone. What are some mishaps you've had while digging? Cave ins? Get shot at? Broke a nice bottle? Anything odd?

I recently found a common but nice Bo Peeps ammonia bottle (1920s Id say) and as I was shaking the mud out of it I dropped it....and it broke all to pieces. []

Had a hole I was in completely collapse on me. Quite scary!

Also had two dogs show up out of nowhere and watch me dig all day. I was in the middle of nowhere. Lol

 

[MisterSilverSearcher]

While I was picking dirt up and throwing it in a barrel a piece of glass gashed my finger down to the bone. I learn to use my shovel for moving dirt now haha

 

[reach44]

Ouch! Any stitches? Or did you tough it out?

 

[frozenmonkeyface]

Did the dogs look anything like this?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zn4ghEoupJk

That is one scary looking doggie. I love Rottweilers personally, but if a stray came around me looking like this, I would get a little antsy. haha

 

[botlguy]

Only incident I can think of right now is the drunk with a bad hangover who objected to our breaking a hole in a concrete slab with a sledge hammer at 6:30 A.M. one Saturday morning. Theatened us with an empty 1/5th until he was politely told out potato fork would hurt him more than his crummy bottle would hurt us and we would soon have a hole to hide the evidence.

We did keep an eye out for awhile.

 

[sandchip]

Me and a buddy were walking a creek and had gone downstream and were heading back up. He had gotten ahead of me when I spotted a nice pottery jug we both had missed. I hollered for him to check it out, and as he turned there was a big splash and I was left holding up the handle. Learned the hard way never to pick up an old jug by the handle, especially when it's full of water and sand.[]

 

[RICKJJ59W]

Once while digging a big wood liner "Mystery Tavern" It was right at the end of the dig,I was bent over at the bottom of the pit. I reached down to get one last bottle out of the corner,as soon as I stood up,half of the wall crashed in and hit me up to my chest. It knocked the wind out of me. If i was still bent down getting that bottle when it caved I would be in privy heaven. If I recall the bottle was a decent one.[]

Always dig to the walls.Its the fill that will kill you not the clay.

 

[midwestdigger]

Oh geesh, where to begin, lol. Stupid neighborhood kids kicking dirt in the hole along with a nice 1850s era brick to the head. We were once sitting digging a hole and a paddywagon and about 5 cop cars show up on the lot we were on. They come running out with guns, we were scared shi-tless and shirtless too. It was 100 degrees out. Luckily they were heading to the drug house next door and the garage where about 10 guys scattered in all directions. Several were tackled within 20 feet of us. Ironically, no cops actually asked what we were doing.

Well there has been several phone lines, gas lines, old/somewhat not in use sewer lines right through the middle of the hole. When you are chopping through hard clay, whatever is in the way is getting busted.

Once had a rent-a-cop call the real police and about 5 squad cars converged on the hole we were digging. I was down in the bottom still digging. My uncle was 10 feet above me getting bent over a squad car and patted down. I crawled out of the hole, only to find all these cops say "we got another one", "get on the ground". After some heavy duty explaining they let us go. But the rent-a-cop thought we were cooking meth. We had a couple milk jugs of partially frozen water we take to drink sitting by the hole.

My uncle has been arrested several times. He has also had a gun pulled on him. He also had someone steal his wallet when he was digging by himself. He went to a local tavern where he had seen this thief hang out before. Two large guys tried to jump him. After breaking the first one's nose and knocking him out cold, the other one jumped on his back and put him in a headlock. After biting a piece of his arm off, he let go and my uncle was able to get away. No jokes.

Oh yeah, and there have been plenty of gun shots within close range, not to mention a prostitute in a nasty neighborhood in Memphis lift her dress to reveal she decided to go commando that day! Wanted to know if we wanted anything..... we were quite happy with our bottles.

 

[GuntherHess]

midwestdigger

are you related to Doug?

 

[CaptainSandune]

Was digging in a ditch that had a spring feeding it in Pensacola FL with a hand trowel this winter. Moved a clump of clay and was eyeball to eyeball with a hibernating water mossacin less than 8 inches from my head. It was a little bit alarming.