The Daily Madisonian

Noble Act.—As a number of boys were fishing from the Bridge, just east of the draw, on Thursday, one of them, named Wm. Howland, about nine years old, fell into the river. His terrified companions, being unable to afford assistance, he was sinking for the last time, when Captain Joseph Bates, of Fairhaven, drove up in a carriage, and seeing the little fellow's danger, immediately plunged in to his rescue. The convulsive grasp of the drowning boy, who seized first an arm, and then the neck of his preserver; the encumbrance of clothing, and the strength of the current, combined to render the Captain's situation one of extreme difficulty and peril, but he overcame all, and had the satisfaction of placing the boy in safety upon the bridge.

Such a generous act of devotion as this of Captain Bates can have no higher reward than the success which crowned it, yet we think it deserves a more enduring testimonial of the public approbation than a mere newspaper paragraph.—New Bedford Mercury.