John McBride, 48, laborer, saved Cyrus L. Nall, 70, laborer, from drowning, Tarpon, Texas, March 9, 1910. Nall was working on a flatcar on a jetty in the Gulf of Mexico, 4,300 feet from shore, when he fell into the water and was caught by an outgoing current and carried away from the jetty. Waves seven feet high were rolling in from the gulf. McBride undressed and, from a car, dived over the rough, rocky top of the jetty, which extended seven feet from the car, and attempted to swim to Nall with a heavy plank. Waves continually swept over the men, and McBride could not swim directly toward Nall. Five men in a boat were compelled to abandon an attempt to row to the rescue on account of the roughness of the water. After Nall had been carried out several hundred feet, a current carried him shoreward. He was getting weak and went down three times at brief intervals. After maneuvering carefully, and with difficulty, McBride reached Nall, and Nall grabbed the end of the plank. McBride then swam 150 feet, pushing Nall and the plank, and then caught Nall around the waist and arms and waded to the jetty with him. 7395-701
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7395-701