Huntsville gazette., 1888-06-30

| Ol Olf my. 1Hey lldHstSt, oPaoIIooAo"i-
ly, to get their heads and legs below
the surface and work forward, under
the impression that they have left the
air above them. But they are not
entirely submerged. o, dear, no. And
they wonder what the spectators are
laughing al when they raise their faces
for air. The eyes should be kept al
ways open when diving. In salt water
this smarts little at first, but the pu-
| pills soon cease to feel any inconyeni-
ence from the submersion. One can
not see very far under the water, and
at certain depth the light does not
penetrate sufficiently free to allow one
to see any thing; but very few divers,
re.ying on their own powers, can go
deeper than daylight. Shells and
| small objects on the sand at a depth OF
fifteen or twenty feet assume huge pro-
portions. Once when / tried to catch
little crab that | had plainly seen
through the clear water as | stood
on rock eighteen feet above it, the
creature, looking like adevil-tish when
l got under the surface, extended both
its gaping claws at me and frightened
| ME away.
"a dangerous mistake that young
| divers often make is going down to
great depths without calculating how
long it will take them to come up
again. Their lungs want relief when
they touch the bottom, and then, for
the first time, they realize that there is
long upward swim between them and
the fresh air. AS they rise they are
sorely tempted, in the great pain and
distress that ensues, to gasp out their
exhausted breath and take in whatever
happens to be nearest to their lips.
Water is a POOR substitute for air when
the lungs are empty. 1t not only
smothers the man who takes it in, but
it so increases the weight of the body
that there can no longer be any hope
of its rising unaided to the surface
with any spark of life remaining it it.
An expert diver will burst blood yes
sci before he will be tempted to open
his mouth under wate-. Indeed, in
diving matches | have often come up
with my nose and mouth tlecked with
blood, and have seen dozens of others
rise in the same condition. For this
reason l hardly think that diving can
be classed among the thoroughly
healthy and life-prolonging exercises,
though, practiced within the bounds of
prudence, | do not suppose it can do
much harm. 10 young man who
wishes to make sensation the art il
especially valuable. When he stands
by the side of his dripping sweetheart
in Coney Island surf, and telling her
not to be alarmed for he will be up in
minute, plunges under the foam, he
is very likely to keep his word, but the
minute passed in waiting for way
ward lover who has stepped around
the corner to look at the clock, though
it may be filled with veXation born
of a conviction of the true reason Of
his abandonment, is totally different
space of time from the minute spent
in watching for his head to appear
again above the tumbling waters, and
when he arises at the expiration of
sixty seconds, or even in a good deal
less time, he is apt to find the young
lady in Mysteries and the whole beach
in commotion. A minute under water
is equivalent to about half an hour on
dry land so far as ones appreciation of
the flight of time is concerned.
Very few amateurs can remain
submerged longer than sixty seconds,
| and not many professionals can exceed
two minutes. They can travel more
! rapidly under the water than on the
surface, and with less muscular exer-
ton, because every particle of the body
has support | have heard of man
falling into the water and fainting be-
fore he went under, who was fshed
out three hours afterward and restored
to life. This is extraordinary, if true;
| but, you know people who 60 into
frances live sometimes for days without
any respiration being perceptible, and
it may be possible that fainting man
under water is in the same condition,
and can live for cme time without air,
animation being absolutely suspended.
II have been told that drowning is
an easy death. 1t may be SO after wa
ter has taken the place of air in the
lungs of the dying man. Then, per-
haps, the beautiful visions present
themselves; but up to that time every
| diver knows that the longing for
breath and the struggle to avoid breath
ing must be terrible. IN Y. San.
! -Somethinr has been said of women