Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1892-12-22
THREADING WATER.
Something that Anybody Can DO Without
Any Previous Practice.

Something that Anybody Can DO without
Amy Previous Practice.
The easiest position that a man, q
woman, or child can assume in wa
ter is to float perpendicularly says
Harper's Young People. Any person,
without any previous practice, can
tread water, and so keep atloat for a
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
man OverbC ard" throw his hands and
arms out of the water, let him raise
an cutlery whereby the air is expelled
from the lungs, and he will sink to
the bottom. The trouble is that nine
people out of ten lose I leir presert G
of mind when they are in water out
Of their depth for the first time. If,
instead of struggling and tloundering
about, they would do little walking
there would not be the slightest dan
ger of drowning right away.
Anyone can tread water in the first
attempt. No preliminary teaching is
necessary. Treading the water is
simply walking into the water out of
ones depth, with or without the aid
of ones hands. The operation is not
unlike running upstairs, and, if any
thing, easier. Truly any man, any
woman, any child who can walk up
stairs can walk in the water, and re-
member, on the first attempt, without
any previous instruction or practice.
Hence | say that persons really ig-
norant Of the art of swimming are
perfectly safe in water ont of their
depth. Very often you hear people
eXclaim: "Ugh, if this boat were to
upset I'd drown, Of course, | can't
swim you know"
Yes, but you can tread water. Most
of us attach wrong significance to
the word Swim" Why should we
mean one thing when man swims
and another or different thing when a
dog swims? The dog cannot swim"
as man swims, but any man can
swim dog fashion" instantly and for
| the first time. The animal has no
advantage in any way in water over
man, and yet the man browns while
! the an imal "SWin S /" The dog, the
horse, the COW, and even the cat all
| take to the water, and are able to
walk as they do 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 act differently
| under like circumstances?
1t seems strange that people have
to be told to do what the animals do
| instinctively AM Instantly. Mans
| ignorance Of So simple a thing rs
treading water is remarkable; it is
without reason or excuse. There is a
popular notion ahoat that in some
way the dog and the animals have an
advantage over man in water. Moth
| ing could be further from the truth.
| The advantage lies with man, who is
provided with paddleformed hand,
and knows enough to float when tired
something the animal rarely OF
never does. Next to treading water
| floating on the back is the easiest
thing to do in water This consists
in lying flat on the back, head thrown
well back, the lungs inflated. the
limbs extended but flexible, the arms
held close to the ears, the hands oven
the head. The majority of people
able to sustain themselves in the
water prefer TO float in a horizontal
| position rather than in Il perpendicu
} lar manner. Both positions are much
better, in fact much safer, than Tho
attitude that we assume in swimming
| | have found it so. One day in
rough surf | was nearly strangle(
with sudden swallow of water. and
had | not been able to float, the re
suit might have been disastrous.