Tolbert F. Beck, 37, farmer, saved Ernest E. Twitty, 15, farmer, from drowning, Caddo Mills, Texas, August 3, 1912. Beck, Ernest, and two others were swimming with the current in the floodwaters of Brushy Creek. Ernest, wishing to rest, was about to catch a piece of drift, and he almost touched a snake. This unnerved him, and Beck helped him to reach the side of a mass of driftwood lodged around a tree where the water was 18 feet deep. Ernest failed to secure a hold, and the current carried him under the mass. Beck immediately released his hold and let down under the driftwood. He touched Ernest almost at once and attempted to push him upward, but Ernest’s feet were caught in the tree. Beck let himself down lower and, resting his feet on some part of the tree, succeeded in pushing Ernest to the surface at the side of the drift. Beck did not reach the surface until a half-minute later, his feet having become entangled in the branches. 10588-796
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