James H. Davis, 28, farmer, attempted to save Fletcher, 8, and T. Stanford Granberry, Jr., 16, schoolboys, from drowning, Bonami, Louisiana, March 26, 1914. While Fletcher and Stanford were wading on a road through the floodwater of Palmetto Creek, they were swept from the road by the current. Stanford caught hold of a submerged fence 10 feet from the road, where the water was 9.5 feet deep, and supported Fletcher. Davis, who was dressed, waded on the road toward the boys. The current washed him from the road, and he attempted to swim to the boys, but the current carried him past them to a log which had lodged in a bush. He clung to the log for nearly an hour and then attempted to swim to high ground, but the current carried him downstream. He swam 150 feet, caught hold of a drifting log, and clung to the log till it lodged in bushes. He then swam 100 feet to a sapling, rested, and swam 100 feet farther to a knoll. He remained on the knoll in water nearly to his shoulders for three hours and was then rescued by men in a boat. He then lost consciousness and suffered from exposure but recovered in two days. 16131-1469
16131 – 1469
16131-1469