AN ACT OF HEROISM REWARDED
We are happy to be able to state that Mr Cecil F. Adams, now of Isla Station and formerly of the Government Insurance, Wellington, has been presented by the Mayor of Dunedin with the certificate of the Royal Humane Society of Australasia for his exceedingly brave rescue of Mr Percy Muter on 23rd September 1893. The following extract from the *Evening Post* (Wellington) gives an interesting account of the accident and its results:
As Mr Cecil Adams was standing looking over a rushing stream at Wainui-o-Mata, he heard the noise of a falling body and a splash in the river. It was his friend Mr Muter, who had fallen some 20 feet down a sheer drop into the river from a precipice overlooking it. The sun had set, it was almost dark, and there was no moon. Adams did not hesitate, but dived into the stream, which was 10 feet deep and 30 feet wide, and extremely cold, in an effort to locate his friend’s body. Failing to do so, he emerged, stripped off, and dived in again, this time making an exhaustive search along the bottom of the river. On the third attempt, he managed to touch the body and guide it into shallow water, where, after very great muscular exertion, he pulled Muter out of the water and up onto a bank four feet high.
Imagine his dismay when he found Muter to be senseless, with no heart action, and bleeding from a large cut on the scalp. However, “energetic Adams” lost no time. He proceeded to use Sylvester’s method of artificial respiration and was rewarded after a few minutes by hearing his friend make a snoring noise and begin breathing again. Once Adams was sure Muter had regained consciousness, he sprinted to his mate’s whare to procure assistance. With their timely aid, Muter was fully revived.
If ever a man deserved the Humane Society’s medal, Cecil Adams does.
Tags: Newspaper
