Gazette Of The United States & Evening Advertiser

UNITED STATES.

BOSTON, April 12.

To the Trustees of the Humane Society in Boston.

East Windsor, (Conn.) 1794.

He who saves the life of another is a benefactor to mankind. The following case of one saved from drowning, whose condition appeared helpless, is mentioned with an earnest desire that any who may providentially be in a similar dreadful situation, may experience the happy effects of the experiment.

Several years ago, Mr. John Bissel who kept a ferry in this town, and with whom I was acquainted piloted a footman and his wife over the river on the ice, a snow had fallen the night preceding, and hidden the path, and rendered it unsafe for strangers to pass without a guide, on account of the openings or breathing places frequent in frozen rivers.

A lad about 12 years of age, who lived with Mr. Bissel followed his master. There was a hole cut through the ice, near the shore for the conveniency of cattle to drink. The lad went to the hole, and while amusing himself with pushing the snow into the water, his feet slipped and he immediately disappeared. The water was of considerable depth.

Mr. Bissel, with a presence of mind uncommon in such sudden surprise, ran to the shore and seizing a large billet of wood, and being long acquainted with the course and rapidity of the stream ran about five rods below the place, and exerting all his strength, by repeated hard blows, broke the ice, then pushing away the broken pieces, laid down upon the ice, his face touching the water, and eagerly looking for the lad's coming down. He had not been many seconds in that situation, when he saw him coming towards him, his head about a foot below the ice. He plunged in his arm, and seizing the lad drew him out, motionless, and to appearance dead. But by the application of warming things, he was providentially restored to his usual health, in two or three hours. He had been under the ice six or eight minutes.

DAVID M'CLURE.