The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1891-08-28
HOW TO KEEP FROM DROWNING.
One Needn't Know How to Swim-SimPly
"Tread Water"

One Needn't Know How to Swim-SimPly
Tread Water"
To keep from drowning it is not nee
essary to know how to swim. This may
seem at first strong assertion, but
much dep ends on the meaning that is
att ached to the word swim" A man
may be able to tread water" yet he
NAV not know how to swim. When a
man swims it means one thing; when
dog swims it means another and some
what different thing. In the main, the
difference is one of position-of stand
ing upright or of sprawling in the
water. OF course the dog can not swim
as the man can and does, but a man
may swim on the first trial as dog
swims, if he will only do as the dog does
In what follows the object is to show
how drowning may, under ordinary
circumstances, be prevented even in the
case of persons wholly ignorant of what
is called the art of swimming
in the first place it is perfectly natural
for every human being to float. Whit he
lungs inflated and the body below the
water, one can not possibly sink. There
is no easier method of keeping afloat
than by simply treading water. The
operation is just like running up stairs,
and about as difficult. 1t is perfectly
natural for animals to swim" Throw
a dog into the water, and at once he be-
gins to walk the same as when out of
water. Why should a man, woman or
child do differently under like circum-
stances? Clearly there is no good rea-
son why any human being who can not
swim should make few helpless strug-
giles, raise an cutlery, throw up the hands
and sink out of sight.
The trouble is that nine persons out
of ten lose their presence of mind when
for the first time in water beyond their
depth. If, instead of struggling, peo-
pie would do more thinking, fewer
would be drowned. Oddly enough, peo-
pie have to do just what the animal
does instinctively in the water. The
dog, the horse, the deer, and even the
cat tread or walk the water at first at
tempt. Mans ignorance of SO simple
thing as treading water is little re-
markable. 1t is nonsense to say that
animals have any advantage in the
water over men. On the contrary man
has the further advantage of paddle
formed hands, and of being able to rest
himself when tired by floating, a thing
which the animals never do. The man
who can not swim must follow the ex-
ample of the animal, and should 90 on
all tours. He must strike alternately
with hand and foot, exactly as the dog
does-one, two, one, two
All the human beings can walk in the
water without any preliminary practice
if they will simply keep cool-headed.
In order, then, to keep from drowning
it is necessary only to tread or walk
the water.
The most simple way to preserve life
if out of our depth is to float, which
consists simply in lying fiat on your
back. This is easSy accomplished by
keeping the lungs inflated, the head
thrown well back, the limbs extended,
but flexible, the arms placed close to
the ears, with the hands over the head.
The majority of people prefer to float
on the back rather than to stand up
right. Yet any man, woman, or child
who can walk on dry land can also
walk in the water with safety.
1t is surprising how long animals and
human beings are capable of sustaining
themselves in water In one well au-
thenticated instance Il dog swan ashore
with a letter in his mouth at the Cape
of Good Hope, while the crew of the
ship to which the dog belonged all per-
ished. The sailors need not have been
lost had they treaded water as the dog
did. Although unable to rest by the
way, animals swim immense distances.
Last year dog was washed overheard
during gale off Cape Hatteras, and yet
made his way safely to shore. Only
week or two ago some cattle We're
swept from a vessel during storm off
the Maine coast, and more than half of
them were saved.
If you can not swim and should fall
overheard don't scream, but try to
''climb up stairs with hands and feet.
N A6varfiSar