Omaha daily bee., 1892-08-21
THREADING WATER.
Floating Pcrpcndiculariy and How Easy 1t
Can be Done.


Can be Done.
The easiest position that man, q
woman or II child can assume in water is
to float perpenditularly. Any person,
without previous practice, can tread
water and so keep atloat for n long time,
says an expert in Harper's Young Peo-
pie. He should keep his hands below
the surface Of the water, his lungs in
Hated and his feet moving up and down
us in walking: Let the "man over
board" throw his hands and arms out
Of the water, let him raise an outcry
whereby the air is expelled from the
lungs, and he will sink to tho bottom.
The trouble is that nine people out of
ten lose their presence of mind when
they are in water, out of their depth
for the first time. If, instead of strug-
Cling and loundering about, they would
do a little walking, there would not be
the slightest danger of drowing right
away. 1.- ;.
Any one can tread water in the first
attempt No preliminary teaching is
necessary. Treadingi water is simply
walking into the water out of ones
depth, with or withott the aid of ones
hands. The operation is not unlike
walking up stairs, and, if anything
easier. Truly, any man, any woman,
any child, who can walk up stairs can
walk in water, and, remember, on the
first attempt, without any previous in
strucJion or practice.
Hence | say that persons really igno-
rant of the art of SWIMMING are perfectly
safe in water out 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 a wrong significance to the
word 'swim." Why should we mean
one thing when man swims and an
other or different thing when dog
swims? The dog cannot swim" as u
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 animal ''swims." F." 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 IA 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 unoer like Cir
cumstances?
1t seems strange that people have to
be told to do what the animals do in
stinctlvely and Instantly Mans ignor-
ance of so simple thing as treading
water is remarkable; it is without rea.
son or excuse. There is a popular no.
tion ahoat that in some way the dog and
the animals have an advantage over
man in water. Nothing could be further
from the truth. The advantage lies
with man, who is provided with pad
dleformed hand, and knows enough to
float when tired-som thing the animal
rarely or never does
Next TO treading water, floating on
the back is the easiest thing to do in
water. This consists OF lying flat 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 a horizontal
position rather thar in perpendicular
manner. Both positions are much bet
ter, in fact much safer, than the atti-
tude that we assume in swimming. |
have found it So One day, in u rough
surf, | was nearly strangled with sud
den swallow of water, and had | not been
able to float, the result might have been