J. W. Garrett, 21, machine operator, died helping to save George W. Lanning, 17, laborer, from suffocation in a well, Ellijay, Georgia, June 15, 1948. George was lowered sitting on a bucket attached to a windlass rope to the bottom of a well 102 feet deep. Within 15 minutes he called to be raised, saying he felt dizzy. He seated himself on the bucket, and two men began to haul him up. Twenty-five feet from the top, he fell from the bucket and dropped to the bottom, suffering severe head injuries and becoming unconscious. Garrett, who had been in the well the previous day to help set off a dynamite charge, sat atop the bucket and was lowered to the bottom. He called that he would need aid in lifting George onto the bucket, but none of those at the surface would descend. A sawyer arrived and volunteered to assist Garrett. He was lowered to the bottom, encountering light smoke half way down, and he and Garrett secured George to the bucket with rope. George was hauled up, and the bucket again was lowered. Garrett, whose face was discolored, told the sawyer to precede him to the surface. With a firm hold on the windlass rope, the sawyer was hauled up. He became unconscious near the top and was carried from the bucket. Garrett did not respond to calls, although his breathing and moans could be heard. The well was carefully aired. Two hours after Garrett had entered the well, a man who was protected by a gas mask and a rope tied securely to him was lowered. He tied the end of another rope around Garrett, and they were drawn to the top. Garrett could not be revived. George was seriously disabled. 3648-41960
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