A PLUCKY ACTION.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 15063, 9 February 1911, Page 4

A PLUCKY ACTION.

TWO BRAVE RESCUERS. (F3Oll Ocn Own Correspondent.) AUCKLAND, February 8. The Herald publishes a graphic account giving details of the desperate rescue at Watipu Bay, Manukau-Heads, on Sunday last. The a.s. Putiki was engaged loading timber some little distance out, when a man named M'Leod, a resident of Onehunga, who was working a stack of timber on the wharf, slipped and fell into the water, striking a projection as he fell. As M'Leod, who was a good swimmer, did not make any attempt to get ashore, it was at once conjectured that he was injured, and, the cry of " man, overboard " being raised, the engineer of the Putiki promptly jumped in to the rescue. As a heavy 6ea was running at the time, and as tho bay is inhabited by oetopi, some of them of a specially large size, the task was not unaccompanied with an element of dajigor. But the rescuer bravely stuck to his task, and, securing M'Leod, held him up in the water until a rope was thrown from the steamer. The rope came in due course, but uniortunately when grasped by the engineer it came away from the steamer. By this time the engineer was thoroughly exhausted, and wasobliged to let M'Leod go, being himself rescued

with difficulty. The cry "a man overboard" was raised, and a young man named C. Cowan,, junr., who had been working down the hold of the Putiki all night, heard it, and rapidly ascended the ladder. On reaching the deck he inquired where the man was, and was informed that M'Leod had sunk about the mouth of the cave some 20ft or 30ft away. Though Cowan was aware that the waters were infested with big oetopi, and that the cave was probably their stronghold, he jumped into the water fully dressed, and reaching the cave, dived in order to try and find the missing man. He failed, how. ever, to do so, and upon rising to the surface for air noticed some bubbles rising from the beneath the steamer's stern. He dived at this spot, a.nd succeeded in bringing M'Leod to the surface. Ropes being lowered, M'Leod' and his plucky rescuer were soon got on board, the latter being little the worse for his adventure. M'Leod, it was feared, would not survive, but those on board, after keeping up artificial respiration for two hours, were rewarded by his showing signs of life, and he eventually recovered consciousness. He then explained that when he fell in he was temporarily stunned by striking a projection. Steps a're being taken to see that the heroic conduct of both the engineer of the Putiki and'. Cowan i 6 brought under the notice of the Royal Humane Society. t