G. Stanley Strantz saved Charles Yocum from suffocation, Breeds, Illinois, May 4, 1912. Yocum, 41, was overcome by gas in a well 67 feet deep. Two men, one at a time, were lowered into the well standing in a bucket, but neither went more than 40 feet from the top before calling to be hoisted. The second man was gasping for breath and was pale when he reached the surface. Strantz, 60, farmer, ran the greater part of a mile to the well and was tired and breathless when he reached it. He was told of the previous attempts to reach Yocum and that the men had been driven back by damp. With a short rope tied loosely around his body and the well rope, he stood in the bucket and was lowered to the bottom of the well. He held his breath until he was about halfway down and then panted heavily. The gas weakened him. When he reached the bottom, he pulled one of Yocum’s legs over the bucket, clasped his hands behind Yocum, with Yocum’s arms over his shoulders, and called to be hoisted. He lost consciousness before he reached the surface but retained his hold on Yocum. Both were revived. 13584-1082
13584 – 1082
13584-1082