Elias D. Nour, 39, air conditioning installer, helped to save Jack M. Wilson, 23, student, from a fatal fall, Stone Mountain, Georgia, October 18, 1953. While descending from the summit of Stone Mountain, Wilson lost his footing and slid downward to an almost vertical face of rock 400 feet above the base of the mountain, his heels catching in a narrow crevice. Leaning backward and extending his arms along the face, he barely was able to maintain himself in his precarious position. Police were summoned, and a crowd of more than 1,000 persons gathered. Informed of the situation, Nour obtained a rope 385 feet long and drove up a curving foot-path to the summit. Accompanied by two policemen and two other men, Nour descended to a level shelf of rock 50 feet below the summit. The four men held one end of the rope as Nour, paying out rope from a coil, made his way 350 feet downward on a slope which increased sharply to 60 degrees. Rocks dislodged by persons gathering on the summit rolled rapidly down the slope, some of them narrowly missing Nour. He reached the end of the rope but could not observe Wilson and retraced his course 150 feet upward on the slope, calling for more rope. Two 50 foot ropes were thrown to Nour, who tied them to the longer rope. He wrapped 10 feet of rope around his waist, made a loose loop-knot through which he inserted one arm, and descended to the top of the almost vertical face 50 feet above Wilson, who was cramped and fatigued. Finding he again was at the end of the rope, Nour called to Wilson, urging him to stay calm. Then Nour ascended on the slope to a man who had made his way 200 feet downward from the level shelf. The only other available rope, which was 120 feet long and was frayed in places, was thrown to Nour. He hesitated to use the worn rope but tied it to the other ropes, feeling that Wilson needed help immediately. Again wrapping the rope around his waist and coiling all the slack, Nour took hold of the taut rope and lowered himself backward down the slope to within 50 feet of Wilson. Instructing Wilson not to move and letting out the rope from the coil, Nour descended the remaining distance. Using one hand he removed the section of rope from his waist and worked the rope around Wilson’s waist, knotting the rope with difficulty. Wilson, who was warned by Nour to place as little weight as possible on the rope, turned to face the slope and began drawing himself upward hand over hand. Nour followed close behind on the rope, pushing against Wilson with his knees. They ascended the steep face to the shelf and thence continued to the summit. Wilson suffered from muscular soreness of the arms and legs for several days. Nour was tired and suffered a backache and soreness of the arms, legs, and abdomen but recovered in three days. 43587-4024
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43587-4024