Saving Life

The man who saves the life of a fellow-being, as he may do in the sudden appalling accidents which occur in big cities, mines, and factories, in everyday life, is no less a hero than the soldier who rushes into the thick of the fight to rescue a comrade amid ail the excitement of battle.

Thousands of Boy Scouts have won medals for life-saving, and I hope that many more will do the same.

It is certain that many of you will, at one time or another, get a chance to save a life. But you must BE PREPARED for it. You should know what to do the moment an accident occurs-and do it then and there.

It is not enough to read about it in a book and think that you know what to do. You must actually practise, and practise often, the things to be done, such as how to cover your mouth and nose with a wet handkerchief to enable you to breathe in smoke; how to tear a sheet into strips and make a rope for escaping from a fire; how to open a manhole to let air into a gassy sewer; how to lift and carry an insensible person; how to save and revive apparently drowned people, and so on.

When you have learned all these things you will have confidence in yourself, so that when an accident happens and everybody is in a state of fluster, not knowing what to do, you can quietly step out and do the right thing.

Author

Lord Baden-Powell of Gilwell (Chief Scout, London, UK)

Date of Creation

1908

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