The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-04-28
Almost DT0VDd!
Deacon Andrews Has a Narrer Ex- cape From a Watery Grave-But Just as He Was About to Give Up All Hope He Is Rescued-FulI Par tieuIars Below

Deacon Andrews, one of the stanch pil- lers of the Bingville church. and also one of our most respeckted citizens, had a narrer excape from a horrible death by drowning last Tuesday night which will finger and flourish like a green bay tree in his memory as long as he lives. Little do we know, gentle reader. how close we sometimes walk to the brink of the valley of the shadow-that bourne whence no traveller ever returns sound in wind and
 limb.
 The Deacon had spent the ev'g at Hen
 Weathersby's store chewing fine cut and engaging in soshial intercourse with his neighbors on current events in this neigh
 borhood the prospect of the seasons crops, how to cure the pipp in chickens, ct cetera too numerous to mention. It was about 9 o'clock when the Dea- con took a fresh chew and arose from a three-legged chair he had been setting on all ev'g and which. he had nearly
 whttled out from under him until it
 wasn't safe to set on and said to the other loafers that he calkilated 1t was most time for him to go home and get to bed being as he would haft to get up be-
 fore daylight the next morning in order to get his stock fed and cows mixed Tn
 time to make a trip to the Co seat on
 business and pleasure so as to get back
 home in time to feed and milk again be- fore dark. With a cheery good night to all of the prominent citizens who was gathered in the store the Deacon passed out into the night and taking the middle of the road wended his weary way home
 ward
 As everybody knows the Deacon lives on the opposite side of Snake Crick from the store and in order to arrive home
 it was necessary for him to cross over the foot-bridge over the crick. This bridge is made outen two spruce logs laid acrost
 from one bank to the other and plank
 ing nailed from one log to the other along on top of the logs to walk on while on either hand as you cross over is a
 wood railing. This bridge has been in use many years and recently these rail ings has become somewhat wobbly, but 1t was considered that with mild usage
 the bridge and the railing would last many years to come.
 When the Deacon reached the end of
 the bridge and before he started across { he took off his glasses and wiped them on his bandana so as he could see bet ter but being as it was a cloudy night he couldn't see very well even then, but he finally got holt of the railing and started acrost. When the Deacon had got about half way across the bridge he stubbed his toe against a plank in the
 bridge which was warped and the edge turned up and stumbled forward against
 the railing. This was too much for the railing which give away and the next second the Deacon fell about nine feet into the dark, cold and turbulent waters of Snake Creek with a dull, sickening splash still holding the railing in his hand.
 It was an awful surprise for the dea- con. Just to think he was high and dry one minute and the next wallering in the waters of trouble, as you might say. The crick was a little mite high as 1t always is in the spring, and very swift, and be- fore the deacon could say scat he was being carried down stream. The deacon can't swim stroke, but the way he hung onto that wood railing which fell into the crick with him denotes his great presence of mind. He thinks this more than anything else saved his life It helped to keep him on top of the water. Down the crick went the deacon, not knowing whether he was being carried to his doom or not After he had floated down stream about 25 yards one end of the railing which had upright still stick ing to it become hooked to the root of a old sunken tree out in midstream and stopped So did the deacon. He helt onto the railing and there he found his- self at least 20 feet from either shore