Walker Lake bulletin. (Hawthorne, Nev.) 1883-1926, 1884-07-12
The Art Of swimming.


ut has often struck me as singular
said Instructor Dlnsmore, of the Ma.
torium, THAT the majority of people
who begin to take swimming lessons
imagine that they will never be able
to learn. | am speaking particularly
of men and boys. As a rule, they have
little faith in the instructor, and seem
to be little suspicious of his good
intentions. Ladies, on the contrary,
are contiding. They follow instruc-
tions closely, without question, and
learn quickly Some of the best
swimmers we have here are little girls
and ladies. OF course they don't pos
sess mans strength and endurance,
but they seem To understand what they
have to do and persevere until the
purpose is accomplished. The average
boy and youth will insist upon remain
ing in the water longer than is bene-
ficial-very few Of them realize that
ten minutes in the water is, in the
majority of cases, n far better time to
produce vigorous reaction than half
hour. On warm day, however,
person is very much tempted to remain
in longer than is good for him."
"What causes this lack of confidence
in so personss' was asked.
at is rather difficult to explain"
was the reply. you can take adozen
boys and set them to studying mathe-
mates or languages, or in learning
new physical exercise-such as rowing.
The chances are ten to one that every
boy will feel that he can learn more
1 Ill oth nr
boy. 1t is different when it comes 10
swimming. Almost every pupil will
exclaim: know there is no use try
ing, because | can never learn, if l
tried a hundred years."
We'll, how many years does it re-
quire?"
Years." exclaimed Mr.. Dinsmorc,
in establishment" why it doesn't
take even months or weeks. From
three TO six lessons will make the
most timid person confident. This is
the way we teach" and, leading the
way to the tank, the instructor ex.
explained how the motions with the
hands and feet were first taught in an
anle'room. "The pupil is placed in an
apparatus" said he, (which supports
ulS July anu kiNCS iio Abu lCSS
free swing. Then the teacher counts
slowly, one, two, three, until the learner
can kick out like frog at regular
intervals. After that he is placed in
the tank, and his head kept above
water with a band under tue arms,
held in place by rope attached to the
ceiling When the motion has been
acquired the band is taken off, and the
first thing the pupil does is to gulp in
u moulhful of water and bob under
the surface. A long pole is ready in
the teachers hands, and the stl juggling,
suffering youth grabs the end of it
and nearly coughs his lungs up. That
is all overcome after a few more les.
sons, and the learner is surprised to
find that he can easily swim from one
little surprising" continued the in.
structor. "to see how many men there
are over forty years of age who can't
swim any more than an oyster. We
had one pupil here few years ago
who was close on to seventy. He was
slightly feeble. bald rs watermelon,
and had the govt. Well, sir. that old
chap went to work with will. and
learned how TO swim inside of two
weeks. The only things that bothered
him were the flies. The little pests
would skate all over his head while
he was in the water, and he would for
get where he was and make frantic
grab. OF course his nose would go
under, and he'd be half stranglcd. 1t
used to tickle tho boys immensely,
and as soon as the old gentleman re-
appeared on the surface he was
received with loud cheer. Several
ladies have become such excellent
swimmers that they were instrumental
in saving human life. At Atlantic
City, two seasons ago, a very handsome
| gifl-the daughter Of prominent
railroad man--swam out beyond the
breakers and rescued a young man
who was going down for the last time.
Did 1t result in marriages No, sir;
the young fellow was very grateful
and, believe, did make some sort of
proposal, but as be was clerking in a
notion store at IS week, was freckled,
had no front teeth and wore plaid
clothes, be didn't make out very well.
That identical young lady is now en-
gagged 10 marry a wealthy New York
banker. He fell in love with her
while she was splashing around in the
ocean at Cape May, There was one
advantage, at least, of knowing how
to swim. 1t caught a husband >
Philadelphia Press.