Probably the most famous shaft drive and belt accident was the death of master bamboo rod maker Fred Devine.
http://www.oldrods.com/fddivine.htm
During fly fishing trips in the late 1970s and early 1980s I occasionally stayed in a still functional water powered roller flour mill that had the loading dock/office area converted to a B&B. I know people in 1900 were on average smaller in stature and girth than today, but looking at the maze of all those "open" shafts, pulleys and belts turning at the same time, I marveled at how anyone could move through such tight quarters without loss of limbs or worse.