Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1886-07-10
THE ART or SWIMMING.
now ar MAY BE ACoUIRED ny fnoss
VINO hNOW iT NOR


mercury was away w ih VI" hinsiles, the ro
porter had Just returned from a fruitless
chase of about two miles for a rumored acci
dent that Investigation proved Ia have never
taken place, aud he was cordially willing tc
agree with anybody who could In the slight.
est degree mitigate his woes. 1t was an az.
ternoon that was fairly steaning In its In.
tense heat, and one moments living In the
cool waters OF u natatorium would have been
worth days IN tho White Mountains
But OF what use to talk Of a natatorium
The town does not seem tar enough ad vanced
for II, and the uuppetic, and muddy waters
OF CoDostoga creek with Its long Journey
thereto began To suggest themselves To the
weary and unwashed scribe.
By dint OF long walking, great patience
and many violent remarks he succeeded In
reaching Ranck's meadow, where he con
ciuded To rest for "A time until his heated sys.
tom recovered its equipoiso. There was n
young "water rat" disporting in tho waters
near by, and to him our scribe addressed
himself ~ 10 the condition OF the water, aud
making those inquiries deemed so essential
ere tho first dip Is taken.
now TO LEARN 10 SWIM.
our " water rat" turned out to be boy OF
no mean intelligence on things aquatic. Tho
reporter asked him what was tho bost method
of acquiring the natatorial art, to which he
replied:
al don't think IT ~ possible to recommend
any method Of learning for general use
Some men can learn one way and some an
other don't believe in the use OF corks
under the chin nor OF cork Jackets A man
~ not swimming when he has thom On, aud
tho moment thcy are taken oil ho realizes tho
iact that he was not swimming before anu
promptly goes under. Man is naturally
buoyanL II you will lie down gently In the
water upor your back, throw out your chest
and put your arms Hat against your sides
allowing your head Ia be Immersed all OK
cept your mouth and nose you Will mud that
you will float until your feet sink aud bring
your body to perpendicular. That will re-
quire some little time, tor the body will sink
very slowly This shows that II needs very
littlo To keep a man ailDaL IL when in that
same position, you! raise your. arms above
your head, you will go under like a stone.
The greatest fault OF persons learning to
SWIM IL that they want to be too high out of
the wator, II they would be COntented at
first to have only their noses out so that they
could breathe, they would get along much
faster. But they want Ia get even their
shoulders out and only good swimmer can
do that
"Do you think that still water Is better To
learn the art In than swift water?' was the
next question fired at the young man.
"lthink shallow and swift stream IL the best
place to learn 10 swim. That's where learn
oil. The shallOwness gives the learner conf
dence, and the swift current bears him along
He will quickly be able to swim two or three
strokes, and will make 40 much headway
with them that he will have faith in his abil-
ity to do more. | believe the best way for
most people To learn to swim IL to go into
shallow water with atriend. Let that friend
hold up the learners chin while tne latter
strikes out After u while the friend can
support the learner with one finger, and then
Iitle 10y little he can diminish the amount of
support till he renders no aid At all. or
course, that can only be done with person
who Is not afraid to 20 under water. A
person who is afraid of the water can learn
To swim"
the ART OF DIVING.
"Are good swimmers "a a rule good
Divers" the scribe inter ected
"By no means" was the reply. "Diving
Is special art, aud some of the best OF swim
mers are the worst Of divers In diving, the
feet should be kept close together and the
legs straight until immersed. II you are
going for the bottom, keep yourself perfectly
straight until you reach it, aud remember To-
reach IL first with your hands. 1t you want
to come right up again, bend forward at the
waist and draw up your knees till your feet
come down to the ground Then rise up
very quickly, throw up your arms and head,
and spurn the ground vigorously with your
feet, at the same time bringing the hands,
palms downward, vigorously down 10 the
sides. II water OF moderate deptb--say six
or seven ieet-that will send you out almost
To the waist 1t the water is ten or twelve
feet deep, instead Of keeping the hands at the
sides, bring them in front of you, and, keep p-
ing them close together, shoot them straight
up above your head and bring down as be-
fore. Three or tour such strokes will bring
you up. Don't use your legs at ALL itsa mis-
take 10 do So a. they retard you. Keep them
together and straight down"
HOLDING THE RREATH.
But" said the reporter, al should think
that the art OF diving would largely depend
on the holding of the breath"
"Thars where you are right" said the
Young man, ''and there il trick or two about
that The great mistsk q ot beayerage swi im-
mer il that he fills his lungs too full, You
have no idea how hard it is To hold your
breath with your lungs full. And II becomes
much harder when you are making any mus
cular exerton. Just try ii on shore once. The
lungs should be about half full, so that there
is no strain upon them tending To inhalation
and eXhalation. To strike this happy medium
is rather hard. When }. B. Johnston was at
Long Branch, training for his iour-mlle ocean
match with Andy Trautzr he could stay
under water three minutes OF course that
is unusual. The average swimmer cai not
stay under more than half a minute at his
best. | have known average swimmers to
double that by adopting Jobnston's method.
lie simply stood straight up and drew two or
three long, full breaths, blowing the air clear
out after each, and then at the third or fourth,
drawing in just about enough 10 half I'LL his
lungs. Then he plunged. lie thus emptied
all the yitiated air from his lungs, and filled
them to just comfortable point with clean
fresh air. If you will practice at that until
you can strike the right amount OF air for
your lungs you will find your power OF stay
ing under water IN uch increased"
KEEPING THE EYES OPEN.
"Then there is another thing about swim
ming under the water. Learn TO keep your
eyes open. 1t is not only absurd but dan
gerous, for man to swim under water with
his eyes shut. He can't toll whore he is go
ing. lie may swim under a boat If his
eyes are open he will perceive the shadow OF
something above him at once lie may swim
plump against a stone or sunken stake. If
his eyes are open he will see it. Shut the
eyes when you dive, of course. Don't strike
the water with them open, but open them
the moment you are under. Practice hunt
ing for things on the bottom Throw in a
white stone or "A clam shell and then go down
and find 1t. Don't stay under water till the
last moment you can hold your breath either
Allow yourself a moment or two to reach the
surface. BY using good judgment you can
always have time enough To accomplish
something without exhausting YOURSELF
"What is the proper position of the bod y
in swimming"
"ln order To get good pull on the water
YOU must be able to use your arms at theil
full length, and must move them from the
shoulder. Tho common error of swimmers
in using the ordinary breast stroke Is that
they cut the stroke short Just at the poin
where its greatest power is developed-tha
is when the arms are at right angles with tn,
body. The hands, with the backs up, sh0ul,
be shot out "a far forward as possible. Thef