James F. Smith, 24, telephone operator, attempted to save Blanche C. Curran, 23, from drowning, Shady Side, Maryland, August 10, 1913. Smith and Miss Curran with a number of others were sailing at the mouth of West River, where the water was over 12 feet deep. A squall struck the boat, and a swinging boom knocked Miss Curran into the water. The waves were three or four feet high. Smith immediately dived after Miss Curran. No person remaining on the boat was capable of handling it properly, and it was rapidly driven far from those in the water. Smith swam a few feet to Miss Curran and grasped her with one hand, and a few seconds later she caught him violently with both arms. He freed himself, and then again grasped Miss Curran. She turned to grasp him, and he released his hold, and they became separated. Miss Curran sank and did not come up. Smith took off his clothes and swam a mile to a pole extending two feet above the surface of the water at a point a half-mile from shore. The wind had died down considerably, and the waves were two feet high. Smith was weak and dazed. He clung to the pole about 10 minutes and then swam about 60 feet toward shore. At that point he began to wade. A quarter- mile from shore a man in a launch picked Smith up. 12645-987
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