Mexico weekly ledger., 1881-03-31

THE WATER QUEENS STORY.

THE WATER QUEENS STORY.
to Stay Three Minutes and For
ty-five Seconds Under Water.
From the New York Sun.
ga few years ago." said the
Water Queen the other day, "there
was young girl going into tank
at the Aquarium In New York. Her
example inspired many others, among
them myself, and the proprietors
allowed US to go into the tank to
practice. Captain Beach was also
performing there. He thought I dis
played peculiar aptitude for the
business, and gave me special les
sons, SO that in very short time /
was able to give an exhibition, but it
was fully three years before I OBJ
tanned perfect command of myself
under water, for it is water into
which go, and not as many people
think, an empty tank inclosed in
double walls Of glass, about 8 inches
apart, the intervening space only be-
ing filled with water. Mr.. Beach's
tank, in which we both exhibit, is
Z feet long, 4 high and 5 wide. The
temperature of the water, which is
changed every night, is 75o. This
business Is not unpleasant in sum-
mer, when we perform at watering
places and amusement gardens, but
in winter it is very disagreeable and
always dangerous"
''In what does the danger con-
sist?''
"You remember the old proverb,
Too much of good thing is good
for nothing And it is so with water.
Too frequent imme1sions are in them
selves injurious to health. They
weaken the strength and wear the
flesh away. Of the few performers
under water there is not fleshy per-
son to be found, but all are prone to
leanness. We give many performan-
ces during the night at the museum,
and are obliged to alternate daily
We tried at first to relieve each other
by going in alternate weeks, but found
even that too wearing, and now we
change about every day and evening
The only idea the public have of dan
ger connected with water is by
drowning, and they suppose that
that could not possibly occur where
assistance could be instantly OBJ
| tanned. The principal danger is that
of bursting a bfood-vessel when hold
ing the breath so long under water
The strain is terrible.
"Another risk l run is that O
having my hair catch fire under ths
great jets of gas which protrude out
like great tongues of flame, over the
middle of the tank, so as to light W
tie water
"Why do you wear your hair loose
when by doing it up you might avoit
this danger?"
81 wear my hair flowing down m,
back so that it will float, and there
fore show our skeptical public that
really am in water. I used to plai
it, but plated hair soon becomes
water-logged, and will not float. Con
tnued wetting rots the hair, and tn
continued dampness-for 60 IN to-
often to get it ever entirely dry
superinduces neuralgia of the head
and from this disease and rheuma
tism human fish suffer torture.
"Once l hit on what l thought wa
a splendid idea for avoiding wettin'
the hair. 1t was wig. l got al
expensive and most elaborate one
The water soon took the curl out
and on retiring from the rink the in
Vulnerable strings of hair falling owe
my face and shoulders must hav
made me look like one of the secret
black and midnight hags who so al
!. tered the original current of Mac
beth's life. However, I tried it
second time, when perfect roar {
laughter in the audience made m
aware that something funny had haE
pened, and sure enough it had. M
f wig had got loose and was perform
: ing sundry tricks unaided."
"We are obliged to run from th
| tanks to the dressing-room in heavy
wet suits. This gives cold, and, rs
peated so frequently, brings on
numbness of the entire frame, an
t generally ends In PARALYSIS. Ther
, is no way of avoiding this. Paraly
> sis usually attacks the feet first, {
: they are poorly protected. Wh'
sort of shoes do human fish wear
e water? Only a canvas gaiter; an.
thing else would be too weighty
s The suit of an aquanaut Is now inv
: riably made of thick worsted, CO.
3, cred with spangles. A suit OF tn
e sort for man weighs when wet thi
teen pounds, and he must have Sc
e eral of them for drying purposes,
to 90 in wet suit would soon di
e able him. Much experimenting h.
been done in this direction. Ind
rubber tights have been tried. b
g they we're cold, clung too closely
the figure and could not be orn
mented. And, by the by, of all /
= dies in show life, water queens mu
n depend solely on the form nature b
a bestowed upon them, as paddi'
l. would never dry, and, becomi'
b sodden, would weigh them down
in the water that they would 10
Is llghtness, and, consequently, grace
IS SIN order to stave off rheumatis
!. as loug as possible, tank people r.
W themselves dry with coarse towe
y and then the whole body with lii
e ment.'
le What are these little wads of c'
ton for!'' ....s... .....r
- ''Those are for the ears. VA
70 constantly in the ears brings On de-
ir ness-another one of the dangers
which I SPOKE
le care there any more!'
ID "Yes. There is danger OF drov
ing in the very sight of hundreds
ot people. Once l made an almost {
to perhumaA effort to remain une
water longer than I had ever dc
before. / felt q soft drowsin'
6. steal over me. and thought If this