The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1906-09-05
4 BRAVE ACT
How Brave Fireman PoeIi Saved
the Life of a
TWO YEAR OLD BOY

But Slipped Under the Wheels of th'
Locomotive and is Badly Grip.
pied for Life. He is Given
Medal of
| Honor.
All the multitude every msu, wo'
man and child-that read in this
newspaper a year ago Che exact date
OF the issue was July 80, 1909 how
Fireman George Poe'l snatched baby
Paul Udssry from death urdsr the
wheels OF his flying locomotive, very
nearly at the cost Of bis own life, will
be glad to learn that the Uniteo
| States Government has recognized
the exceptional heroism Ct the act
With q medal for the brave fireman,
who is crippled for life.
This is the first medal to be award
sd by the Government ''for conspicu.
GUS bravery and self sacrifice II the
saving Of life in private employnents,
and particularly IN the land
commerce OF the nations" where 5
railway employe was the hero.
The President himself selected the
design OF the medal from several sub
mitted in competition Of artists,
and sent it to the mint for repr duo
tion IN gold, and has notified MI
Poell OF his action in the following
letter:
NV Dear Mr. Poell: You have
oeen awarded a n edsl OF honor, pro
vided under the Act Of Congress ap-
proved February % 1905. You
have, by extreme daring: endangerine
and almost losing Jour own life, saved
the life Of a child, at the cost OF Grip
oling yourself permanently. The N
,losed statement Of facts sets forth
what you did. No man could have
shown greater GOODNESS, greater skill
snd daring or more heroic indifference
% his own safety. Il Is not in my
power to make you any materia
amends for the crippli7g irj2rles you
received when in saving the life OF
helpless child you so nearly lost your
,wn, but I trust that the medal will
It least be proof to you that your
,ountrymen real;z, that you have per.
formed q deed which viii serve as
IN inspiration to every American Wae
lears OF reads OF 1t, and which lifts
oy just so much the standard OF the
citizenship OF which we are 30 proud
With earnest hopes for your welfare.
oeliev. me, sincerely yours.
THEODORE ROOSEVELT,
The statement OF facts upon VG1ch
the medal was awarded Is essentially
that made for this newspaper BY the
nero himself while be lay in the hos
p!5al at St. Joseph, Mo-, recovering
from his trightful injuries, including
the anputstion OF one leg.
G Gorge Poell, residing at No. ZIG
East Eighth street, Grand Island,
Nsb., on June %, 1908, vas fireman
N engine NJ. 36. hauling freight
;rain No. 10 from Grand Island tc
aanLy.r, Kan. The train vas
heavy one Of thirty loaded cars. At
6.55 p. NJ, it was approaching PjWsll
station, Nab, at a speed OF thirty
niles an hour, having no stop there,
when Engineer G. q. Bishop suddenly
sounded the whistle, applied the en-
ergency brakes and reversed bis en-
CINE.
Looking from his cab window, Fire
man Poeu saw child between the
rails so short distance ahead that he
knew the train could not be stopped
10 time TO save it's life, and it was
plain that the little fellow was un
conscious Of his danger. All bis
shoughts we're upon pei kitten in his
Sims.
Instantly, without . word TO the
engineer, Poen was out through bis
cab window, along the swaying foot
board and on to the coWcatcher. He
aad q little brother Dckie at home,
and the baby on the tracks was the
living image Of him. What followed
Is told In the hreman's own language:
"There's not much to hang on to
down at the point OF an engines pilot:
and the footing is just about ss sale
as that aboard a Creased pole. R'ga1
down on the point Of ule pilot Jam
med my boot heel 4 between the
bars and with ny left hand got as
good grip as ] could farther up.
This left my right hand free to grab
that kid with.
"Then to make the job all the
more difficult, what did that blessed
KID do but to sit down suddenly to
pet the catI
"All at oncs saw that it would be
impossible to lift the baby from the
track-we were still going too fast.
The best I could do vas to make one
swipe with my hand at the right mo-
nent aud try and brush him of be-
yond the rails.
i And that's what I did. The way
I'd got it mixed in my head that kic
and brother Dickie we're one and the
same made me extra anxious about
that swipe. Perhaps I put more
steam into it than I thought, 10:
that blessed baby rose in the air ant
, shot eff over The ditch like golf ball
Another thing about the sTipe
gave that kid; it threw me OF 70,
balance and my lett foot caught unde
2 the cattle guard.
''Ep and I knew was minus on
I foot and how much leg l coulcn'
tell"
Fireman Poell was conscious whe'
picked up, although be had bee
iragged more than 8 hundred fee
over the rough ends OF the ties. Hi
left foot was torn from the leg bot