Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1892-09-14
TREADING WATER.

The easiest position that . man, Q
woman or a child can assume in water
is to float perpendicularly. Any per-
son, without any previous practice, can
tread water, and so keep ahoat for Q
long time. He should keep his hands
below the surface of the water, his
lungs inflated, and his feet moving up
and down as in walking. Let the imam
overheard" throw his hands and arms
out OF the water, let him raise an out
cry whereby the air is expelled from
the lungs, and he will sink to the bot
tom. The trouble is that nine people
out of ten lose their presence of mind
when they are in water ont OF their
depth for the first time. Ii, instead OF
struggling and foundering about, they
would do little walking, there would
not be the slightest danger Of drown
ing right away.
Any one can tread water in the first
! attempt. No preliminary teaching is
/ necessary. Treading water is simply
walking into the water out of one IS
depth, with or without the aid of ones
hands. The operation is not unlike
running upstairs, and, if anything,
easier. Truly, any man, any woman,
any child, who can walk upstairs, can
| walk in water, and, remember, on the
first attempt, without any previous in
| struction or practice.
Hence L say that persons really igno-
rant of the art of swimming are per-
fectly safe in water out of their depth.
Very often you hear people exclaim:
"Ughl if this boat we're to upset, I'd
drown, of course. l can't swim, you
know"
Yes, but you can tread water. Most
of us attach a wrong significance to the
word swim" Why should we mean
one thing when a man swims and an
other or different thing when a dog
swims? The dog caunot ''swim" as a
man swims, but any man can swim
"dog fashion instantly and for the
first time. The animal has no advan-
tage in any way i'll water over man,
and vet the man browns while the ami
NAL ''swims." The dog, the horse, the
COW and even the cat all take to the
water, and are able to walk as they dc
when out of water. Throw a dog into
the stream and at once he begins to
walk, Just as he does on dry land.
| Why should a man, woman or child ac'
differently under like circumstances?
1t seems strange that people have to
be told to do what the animals do in.
stinctively and instantly. Mans igno
rance of so simple thing as tresdlnG
water is remarkable; it is without rea
son or excuse. There is a popular
notion afioat that in some way the dog
and the animals have an advantage
over man in water. Nothing could be
further from the truth. The advan'
tage lies with man, who is provided
with paddle-formed hand, and know;
enough to float when tired-something
the animal rarely or never does.
Next to tresding water, floating OF
the back is the easiest thing to do IL
water. This consists in lying fiat on
the back, head thrown we'll back, the
lungs inflated, the limbs extended, but
flexible, the arms held close to the
ears, the hands over the head. The
majority of people able to sustain
themselves in the water prefer to float
in horizontal Position rather than in
perpendicular manner. Both posi-.
tions are much better. in fact much
safer, than the attitud- that we assume
in swimming. L have found it so. One
day, IN a rough surf, 1 was nearly
stranglel with sudden swallow Of
water, and had not been able to float
the result might have been disastrous,
| - HQrDer's Young PeODLe.