The Pioche weekly record. [volume] (Pioche, Nev.) 1877-1900, 1894-02-15
ALL SWIM LIKE DUCKS.
The NATATORY ACCOMPLISH
MENTS OF SOME PEOPLE.
INC sandwich Islanders are Pre-emi-
"'iy thS Greatest Swimmers In the
"'riu- Wonderful Fcats Performed on
SURF Boards-EskImos.

One of the most venturesome sports
practiced BY any people is the surf
boat swimming of the Sandwich
islands.
Nearly every one has experienced
the delights of surf bathing, with its
eXhllarating rush and battle with the
tonic waves; this pleasure is keenly
enjoyed by the Hawaiians, who pur-
sue it with singular abandon.
The surf board is u plank of
light wood twelve or fourteen feet
long, with one end rounded The
edges are also rounded, but the other
end OF the board is left square. A
piece of cloth is usually bound
around this end, perhaps for the
support of the foot while swimming,
or rather being projected like can
non ball by the waves.
A crowd of natives will swim out.
towing their boards, diving under
and lodging the heavy rollers COM
ing in, until they are quite distance
from land. Every third wave is
larger than the others, and on the
broad back of this huge breaker the
natives ride in like the wind. Some
times they stand erect on the board.
but they usually crouch or lie down,
and keep balance with dextrous
stroke of the foot or hand, or by
swinging the body. This sport is
not without mishap but the natives
are such "water dogs" that the
accidents rarely terminate fatally.
The Sandwich islanders skill in
swimming is the result of long prac-
tice. 1t would be a good thing if
our boys could have the same advan-
tages in learning this manly and
useful art as these athletic natives,
who teach their children to swim as
soon as, or even before, they can
walk
In other parts of the world, sport
loving people have invented various
helps in swimming. The Labrador
Eskimo makes small paddles which
are held in the hand by swimmers,
who, it is presumed, dig the water
dog fashion" A bath in ice cold
water must be great luxury to the
Eskimo during the brief but com
paratively hot summer.
The idea of using bladders is very
old Richelieu's Little wantou
boys on bladders" Is o familiar
/, phrase. Whom | was boy some one
told me that the way to learn tc
!, swim was to tie a bladder to the
+ back before venturing into the water
u The advice was never followed, but
y | remember going to the rescue of {
1t boy who tied bladders TO his feet
!, says q writer in the St. Louis Re
"a public.
9 Along the Tieris and Euphrates
|, the natives still follow the yer,
7 ancient method of crossing rivers b,
n swimming upon the inflated skins o
5 animals held under the arm.
English lads get buoyancy b,
:. means of bundles of bullrushes ant
IT cork floats,
n No doubt the harness and stra
have been used ever since people be
gan to swim. The Dyak mother
o more careful of her baby than tn
e Polynesian mother, ties band unde
Is his arms and prevents its sinking b
70 holding the ends while the chill
l. paddles about in great glee.
al In long-distance swimming grea
u feats have been performed. doubt
e. however, if any modern Leander {
ID the sporting world would care t
ie undertake twelve-mile swim as di
n an Eskimo / call to mind who leape
he from q ship, wild with desire to re
to turn to his native paradise of desolt
, ton