Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1883-07-11
Young Women Who srim.

y
yes, should say they do" said swim
ming master, IN reply TO the query of a
reporter. ''We generally have from five
hundred 10 six hundred women end girl
pupils every season, ara the desire 20 learn
the art seems to be extending among the
sex year by year.
sis 1t as easy to teach woman or girl
To swim as II is man or boyf'
"Not quite; cut, then. there are excep-
tioDs 10 the rule. a woman is more con-
tiding than nal, generally, and puts her
trust IN her teacher more fully than man,
but when she first touches the water and
goes through the motions of swimming she
Is apt TO be very nervous She is slow of
comprehension for time. A man plunges
IN recklessly, digests hls instructions with
out parleyIng and has none of that nervous
fear that retards the progress Of nearly all
women"
Are there any good swimmers among
your female pupiisg'
''Oh, yes, several We have one young
lady OF nineteen who can do two miles of
fast swimming. Several of our girls woul d
be able, under pressure, to swim across
tdence in themselves and FITS them for an
emergency that everybody is likely 10 meet
once at least IN lifetime"
''Our process of teaching is very simple
and easy one. When the pupil presents
herself and has donDed her bathing suit.
which consists of a sack, skirt and broad
trowsers, she Is taken TO the preparatory
room and is taught the proper motions of
her arms and legs on carpet. Thest
mastered, she is taken TO the bathing pool.
where a strap, so padded as not to hurt
her, is passed around her body, and she is
placed in the wafer with her face down
and kept afloat by rope passed through
pulley Here she goes through the motions
Of swimming, which, like her music lesson
III home, are indicated by the voice of the
female teacher, who counts one, two, three
in monotone that gives the time to the
motions OF the limbs The next stage is
swimming with float or lIfe-preserver
around the body. In this the actions of
the limbs are perfectly free, and the pupil,
accompanied by the teacher, often succeeds
in TuakIng round of the bath IN the Sec
oDd or third lesson. All her motions are
ly called to any false stroke or lsggard
movement. The motions once perfectly
learned, the pupil soon gathers confidence
in her ability TO swim and it is only in
few cases that we are not able to dispense
with the float at the fifth lesson and send
the young lady out to SWIM without any
other aids than those given her by nature.
Girls are taught the same stroke as boys,
but think there Is an essential difference
between them in the matter Of using the
prOpelEng power Of the lower limbs The
boy is more vigorous and more prcpulsive
IN his legs than in his arms, while with the
girls the reverse Is the case. Many of our
lady swimmers dispense with the skirt,
which sOmewhst retards their motions. and
wear simply the sack and the trousers. !
Think that is the most reasonable swim
ming costume, for the skirt is apt to hold
the wafer and lessen the speed Of the
swimmer by giving her a heavier load to
carry"
''Do old ladies ever take fancy to
swimmlngl"
sometimes. One day last summer we
had party here that included three gene
rations OF one family. There were the
grandmother, hearty old lady of so; the
mother, plump mstTOn Of 40 and four
daughters, ranging frOm y to Is years of
age. All could swIm except the Old
lady, and / could see as she stood in the
shallow water that she envied her descend
anls the enjoyment Of their accomplish
ment. Many medical men prescribe SWIM
ming baths for ladies. sud We have regular
visitors who come because the exercise is
beneficial 10 their health.n
is the art ever Likely to be useful to
Iadlesi"
so show you that the art of SWIMMING
is often useful, even 10 women, can recall
two or three incidents IN the career of Ger !
tain pupils Of ours that will prove very
One of our pupils was |
daughter of EX-Secretary of the Navy |
BJrIe. She was an expert swimmer and l
perfectly fearless. One day N the summer
OF 1877 when she was bathing on the beach |
AT Cape May two children that belonged TO |
q party near her were seized by a recedipg
wave and carried out beyond their depth.
Neither could swim, and the ladies who
were with them were equally helpless.
Taking In the situation at glance, Miss
Bore swan ou: into the swelling surf and |
in moment had rescued the drowning
children
'.Another young lady, also a pupil of
ours, Bliss Lsury. whose father is coal |
dealer at Lombard street wharf, saved a
aud another gentleman at a water
ing place on Long Island after perIlOus
SWIM The men could not swim, ana hav-
ing been seized by the undertow were
dTawn out into deep water, where they
were helpless. Miss Laury swan to them.
and by her noble aid they got safely
ashore. " hat would have been her feel
lngs at that moment If she hal not known
how 10 swim? Still another pupil Of ours
Las distinguished herself by saving life
This was Miss Fanny Relgel One day
when she was riding pear Hammellsburg,
q little village on the Delaware, she saw
some children PLAYING in boat on large
mill dam. Suddenly, TO ber horror, the
boat upset and the three little children
we're struggling IN the water. Without the
Oss OF d second she sprang from her car
-iage, and only stopping to throw off her
Jonnet and shawl plunged into the pond
She Was enabled fortunately to save three
ives, whereas, had she not been SWIM
ner, she would have had the horrible
memory al her lie OF the death struggles
If the little InDOcents.
Il only cite these instances to show that
IN opportunity TOR dong good often occurs
o a woman who can swim. a dlstIn-
yuished author says OF the art: There is
10 exercise more graceful, more easy, more
pleasant. more health giving to the human
irame than swimming. 1t expands the
chests, il rounds the arms, develops the
muscles of the trunk, gives vlgor 10 the
oi9 and strengthens and fills out the lower
lmbs. II coniers presence of mind and
confidence in ones self and prepares
women as well as men TO sustain them
ielves and 10 help others in a form of
ianger to which the contingencies of travel
must often expose u.s. -
Rigid Cleanliness.
do you clam any superiority for the
,anniug over green vegetables?" was