Iowa voter. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1867-1874, 1870-08-04


dred persons annually lose their lives In
!, the United States alone for lack Of know
ing how to swim. Boys should learn
when they are young, and this Il the way
to begin:
A boy who cannot swim should never
60 into the water without the consent Of
his parents. They always know what =
best. Neither should he go except In
company with some swimmer; and, most
important Of all, he should never venture
or where there may be deep hole either
above or below the place, that he may be
carried into before he,is aware Of It.
The best time to 60 In is In the morn
ing. 9...@.s. ~ ae..,..
Suppose the boy undressed, his clothes
neatly laid away on the bank Of the river
or pond, and he just ready to go in. Now
standing where you are, jump in where
the water Is q foot or foot and half
deep. 1t will seem cold at first, but it ID
altogether better than to wade in, because
wading in drives the blood upward to the
head, which is liable to work serious in
jury. After you are wet all over, then wade
quickly in till you stand with the water
up to your waist, then give spring to-
ward the shore, at the same time striking
out with your hands sideways to your
body and kicking with ell your might
The first time trying you will sink to
the bottom, and if your feet are not under
you, your head will go under water but
You must scramble up quickly and go
back and try again The next time, per-
haps, you will go several feet without
touching the bottom-your first success
in learning to swim. Keep repeating this,
always wading in, and then striking out
for the shore.
OF course, all this will weary you and
put you out Of breath, SO you should not
stay in over fifteen minutes at the long
est. 1t is very important to remember
this. If you stay In longer and get tired
and cold, you will be uncomfortable the
remainder of the day besides, if you
continue the practice of staying in the
water too long for any length of time,
your health will be permanently injured.
When you come out of the water, wipe
your body until 1t is thoroughly dry, and
when dressed, commence active exercise
at once.
After you have learned so that you can
wade out rod or more from the shore
and then swim to it, you can try SWIM
ming down stream If you are in river,
| IL
pond but you should always remember
and should you close your wind" as the
boys say, when you are in deep water,
| you will be in great danger Of drowning.
When you have learned to swim, then
you can learn to float Go in where the
water Is up TO your arms, and where it
grows more shallow instead of deeper as
you 90 down the stream. Then stand
with your face up tho river, and gently
fall over backward, with your hands at the
same time crossed under the small of your
back, giving good spring with your feet
that will send your body up to the top of
the water. You will go under In q second,
but hold your breath and keep your mouth
shut till you spring up as your feet touch
the bottom, and then try 1t again. Tho
next time you will do better, and with
constant practice you will soon have such
confidence and such skill that when you
are tired swimming, you can turn over,
cross your arms under your back, and
with little else than your nose out OF
water, float until you are rested ant ready
! TO swim.
Three things should always be remem-
bered. Never venture into deep water
until you have learned to swim aoell, and
never then unless it is necessary. There
is az much fun in swimming where tho
water is four feet deep as where It Is ten,
and far more safety. Never stay in after
| tired. And last, twice a day is enough for
the warmest weather, and the most favor
able circumstances; once day when 1t II
cold, or you live considerable distance
from the water Helyth and Home.