Remarkable Rescue.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 6, 7 January 1914, Page 5

Remarkable Rescue.

LAD SAVES HIB FATHER. AFTER FALL DOWN A WELL. At Gilgandra (N.S.W.) on Saturday, December 27th, YY. Hitc.hen, a plumber, and his son William Hitchen, were engaged in erecting a windmill over a well some three miles from

town, and were connecting a ptpa below the surface, when a staging and both fell to the bottom of the well, a distance of 80ft. On the way down they crashed through four sets of staging, and eventually fell into sft. of water.

After striking the water the lad looked for his father, and, not seeing him, concluded that he was under the water. He found him lying at the bottom unconscious, and immediately got his head above water, and propped him up in a corner with pieces of wood. He then determined to seek assistance. The only way out of the well was by climbing up the piping, which he succeeded in doing after a hard struggle. When he reached the top of the piping he was still eight feet from the surface, which lie. had no means of reaching, owing to the collapse of the staging. The lad, howover, balanced himself on the pipe, which brought his hands about 3ft. from the surface, and making a desperate leap, he succeeded in catching a. piece of wood placed across

the top. As soon as he pulled himself, clear, the lad harnessed a horse which was handy, and drove into town, and then to the racecourse, where he obtained the assistance of the police and a number of civilians, who proceeded to the well in a motor-car. On arrival two young men went down. and. with the aid of ropes, rescued Hitchen, who was found to have sustained severe injuries to the back. The lad also received the doctor's attention, and was found to be suffering from a number of cuts and brui-