A boy urged rescuers to save another man first, showing heroic selflessness.
An accident occurred in a coal pit near Bilton, in Gloucestershire, when six lives were lost. At the moment when the iron handle of the cart, in which the unfortunate men were, snapped asunder, a man and a boy, who were hanging on the rope above, made a sudden spring, and most providentially laid hold of a chain which is always hanging at the side of the pit as a guide. As soon as possible, after the accident was known at the top of the pit, and it was ascertained that some one was clinging to the side, a man was sent down with a rope and noose to render assistance. He came first, in his descent, to a boy named Daniel Harding, and on his reaching him, the noble-minded lad instantly cried out, "Don't mind me, I can still hold on a little; but Joseph Bawn, who is a little lower down, is nearly exhausted; save him first." The person went on, and found Joseph Bawn, as described by his companion, and, after bringing him safely up, again descended and succeeded in restoring the gallant boy to light and safety. When we state that the time which elapsed from the moment of the accident till the boy was brought up was from fifteen to twenty minutes, his fortitude and heroism will be duly appreciated.
