Roger M. Powell, 21, student, saved Martha J. Lee, 73, and Ethel L. Williams, 38, from drowning, Austin, Texas, April 22, 1915. Floodwater rose five feet deep around the house occupied by the two women and threatened to carry it away. Men gathered in the darkness nearby, but none went to the house because of the swift current and debris it carried. Powell, who was dressed and wore rubber boots, waded and swam to the house. As he reached the upstream side of it, it was carried from its foundation. By swimming and by pushing against the house, Powell worked his way around a corner to a window at which the women were. The house had then stopped drifting, and the window was 18 feet from a high board fence. Powell swam against the current to the fence with the women, one at a time. The water beyond the fence was too swift to swim or wade in, but Powell worked his way along the porch of another house and got Mrs. Lee to a point of safety. He then returned for Mrs. Williams and took her to the same place. 14721-1251
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