Richard Lee Good, 15, schoolboy, rescued David C. Presta, 16, schoolboy, from an attack by a bear, Stevensville, Montana, June 28, 1965. At night Presta and Good were asleep in a small tent in a clearing in a wooded area when an adult brown bear weighing about 300 pounds knocked down the tent, dragged it from atop the boys, and clawed both of them. The bear sank its teeth into Good’s arm and then took hold of his thigh, dragging him 10 feet to the edge of a creek. The bear released Good, returned to Presta, and dragged him 20 feet in the opposite direction. It held him down with one paw and began gnawing at his thigh. Presta shouted for Good to get help. Fearing that the bear would kill Presta before aid could be summoned, Good, who was bleeding profusely, crawled 10 feet to the collapsed tent and located a flashlight. The bear released Presta and stepped back about two feet. Good turned on the flashlight, directed the feeble beam at the bear’s eyes, and shouted to Presta to run. Presta got to his feet and ran into the woods. Good followed. Despite their wounds, the boys ran a quarter of a mile to the nearest dwelling. Persons there removed them to a hospital. Presta required 20 sutures for his wounds, while Good required fifteen. Both recovered.
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