Charles G. Mayer, 22, streetcar conductor, saved I. May Cuthbert, 52, and Maud Williams, 37, from an impending fatal fall, Sierra Madre, California, July 22, 1915. Mrs. Cuthbert and Miss Williams descended the side of Santa Anita Canyon 700 feet from a trail to the bottom. The sides of the canyon had a general slope of 60 degrees and steeper slopes and vertical cliffs at many places. The women could not find a way to climb back to the trail and spent the night and the next morning in the canyon. When discovered late in the afternoon by Mayer, they were exhausted and in precarious positions about 500 feet below the trail. Mayer descended to Mrs. Cuthbert and tied her to a bush with strips of her dress. He found Miss Williams at the base of a cliff clinging to the face. Below her was a very steep slope. He put his arm around her waist and made a sliding jump to reach a small gully but slid part way down the steep slope and rolled into the gully on his back, while Miss Williams clung to him with her arms around his neck. He then assisted her up the gully to a safe place. Two hours were required to reach Miss Williams and take her to a place of safety. A forest ranger, who had been summoned, and his son took the women to the trail with ropes. 15203-1503
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15203-1503