L. Clifford Horton, 32, dentist, saved Donny Mack Ayscue, 4, from drowning, Wendell, North Carolina, October 30, 1959. Donny Mack fell into an abandoned well four feet in diameter and 20 feet deep in which there was 12 feet of water. Searching for the boy, his father and Horton saw Donny Mack’s cap floating on the surface of the water. Knowing that the father was not a good swimmer, Horton jumped fully clothed into the well and was submerged briefly. He held to the sides and probed the water unsuccessfully with his feet. He then submerged himself three times before he succeeded in reaching the bottom, where his feet sank into three inches of mud. Unable to see anything in the dirty water, he probed with his hands and found Donny Mack lying inert on the bottom. Horton took hold of Donny Mack’s clothing and returned with him to the surface of the water eight feet below the top of the well. Maintaining his hold on Donny Mack, who seemed lifeless, Horton grasped the side of the well with one hand, placed his feet against the opposite side, and slowly edged himself upward four feet by alternately raising the position of his feet and back against the wall. He lifted Donny Mack to within reach of his father, who removed him from the well and then helped Horton from it. By artificial respiration Horton succeeded in reviving Donny Mack, who recovered. 44883-4320
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