Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1874-04-16
Saved from Drowning.

Saved from Drowning.
In my boyish days, 1 once witnessed
quite an extraordinary exhibition O
| true courage and rare presence of mind
on the part of boy of thirteen years
| have never seen it equaled and
doubt whether it has ever been excel
led by one SO young.
1t was on Saturday morning in the
early part of winter. School 'didn't
keep on Saturdays, it was our play
day. The mill-pond was frozen Ovel
strong enough to bear about the hor-
ders, but in the middle the ice was thin
| and weak. A dozen or more of us went
down to the pond to skate. The day
was fine and bright, but cold and bra.
cling; the air bit shrewdly; it was nip.
ping AMI an eager air, and we coursed
around the pond in lively, exciting
chase, until the bloc was well warm
ed up and our faces glOwed with excite.
ment and pleasure. Some of the more
daring youths, when under high speed
and coming down with the wind, al
lowed themselves to glide swiftly as an
arrow over some of the weak places in
the ice, where had they rested only for
a moment they would have broken in;
but, under the velocity with which
they simply shot across the ice merely
bent and rolled beneath them like a
wave, but did not break. This was
dangerous play indeed, and, fortunate
ly for their safety, the boys did not per-
sist in doing it.
As the morning wore along there
we're occasional accessiOus to our num-
ber, which aroused new ardor as they
occurred frou time to time, and trials
Ofspeed and feats of skill kept up the
enthusiasm to the highest point; so that
with forward skating, backward ska
ting, cutting the ring, attempts at
spread-eagle and outside edge; chase
the fox, follow my leader, tag, and 9TH
er diversions, we were in a constant
whirl all around the circuit of the pond,
and up and down it from one end to
the osher, save only in those places
where the les seemed to be weak. At
length the track made by our skates
upon the solid ice became so distinctly
marked that it had very much the ap-
pearance of a race course around the
pond. Al this time we were juined by
sore younger lads living less remote
than most of US, and who, from wit
Messing oar l,ilarity from the shore, be-
came infected Herewith, came upon
the pond, and participated in the
sports by running about in the tag
chase upon their feet, tor they were
without skates.
After awhile the skating slowed up,
and presently. in obedience to that in
eXplicable law of attraction, which op-
crates so irrisistibly when there are
juveniles around, we bagan to assem-
pie in a body. and then while at rest
congratulations were exchanged be-
tween US OF. the forenoon'S sport, cTfti-
cisms were offered ON each others
skates, condolence rendered to those
who couldn't skate, or who had no
skates to- learn upon; the boy with one
skate still keeping up with irrepressi-
BILE perseverance his own aesthetic left
foot contribution to the performances
of the da,, received vUciferOuS APP
plause; there was tweaking of tippets,
sudden disappearance of mittens aud
handkerchiefs, and tossing OF each 9TH
er's caps; possibly there may nave been
an inquiry made for matches, and |
dare say the nuilding of u fire was pro-
pounded and acted upon. and I sup
pose the fetching in of divers crooked
sticks to add to the flames may have
suggested game of shinney; at all
events shinney was proposed, and back
we went upon the ice again, and with
our sticks were soon driving before US
the ball nproyised for the OCCASION out
of small cubic block of wood. The
younger lads Joined US in this game al
so, rnnning after the BAH in gu te as
merry glee as any of the rest.
One of those lads, whom l will call
Frank lockwood, was altogether too
venturesome, and he was frequently
cautioned by the older boys when he
approached too near the thin ice and
even upon it, as he was seen to do, in
pur. uit of the ball. But the sport was
exciting, and he became altogether
needless, and by and by, running in
reckless chase after the ball too far upon
the thin ice, it broke with his weight,
and with wild scream he fell through.
Every cheek blanched in an instant!
an oppression of terror broke from the
lips of the boys: oh! Frank lockwood
is IMP Apparent as the danger was to
all of us, there had been no real antici-
patton of if; there were no safeguards
against it, and no provisions TO meet
it in case of accident. Here we were,
a score of boys, none more than thir-
teen ror fourteen years old; all the
morning lifted up our sports to the
very pinnacle of enjoyment and de-
light, now, in point of time, mo-
ment's space, suddenly brought face to
face with death! What shall we do?
Oh! if we only had a rope or board or
to do with; fear came over
every one, for it was a moment of aw-
full anxiety and suspense. We looked
helplessly into each others faces; no
man was near, and before help could
be summoned, he would certainly
drown or freeze 20 death. 1t was
enough to terrify every one of us; it
hushed every voice, it peralyzed every
tongue but Franks, who was clingiug
to the edge of the unbrOken thin ice.
'Oh! save meI' he shrieked, save me!
save me!' and his cry went to the heart
of noble boy in that company. Paus-
ing only for a single moment to think,
he proceeded quicker than thought to
act. With surprising sagacity and
promptnes3, he got down flat upon the
ice, thus distributing his weight upon
the surface, and pulling himself for
ward upon the thin ice up to the per-
ishing boy, grasped him firmly by the
wrists.
'One of you get down fiat on the ice,
and crawl up and take hold of my au-
kles, and the rest of you form two lines,
join hands, aad take hold of his an
kies.' This was done in much less
time than it requires to ralate it, and in
another instant, with triumphant
shout which rings in my ears to-day,
the boys pulled altogether, far out upon
the solid Zee, and Frank lockwood was
and Home.
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