Welcome to OCC.
Since I had some rain last night, my Chrystal ball is muddied, so not being able to know what you are working on, or concerned with,
lets assume you are working on possibly a cub lawnmower?
so if you saw something "smoker"
it must be the magic smoke got let out of the wires somewhere???
Best to check fuses if present and do some checking of the pto circuit if it is electrical as the older and more rugged models were manual.
sounds like time to get out the multi meter and follow the schematic if you have an electrical pto.
But it could be a belt that "smoker" then broke.
Also check engine oil, it might be gone up in" smoker"
When you say it was coming out somewhere is not clear or helpful.
I'm sure you know what you experienced, but we do not.
If you have no clue or mechanical expertise, time to take to one who does.
Best I can do with what info you provided.