Arizona weekly citizen., 1895-06-29
SOME SAILORS SWIM.
And Others Do Not, Yet Manage
 to Live Along.
Swimming in the Shark Infested Waters of the Tropics Sailors Never Dream of Drowning-Ltfe
 Preservers

The percentage of blue jackets in the
 navy who are unable to swim is suf-
 ficiently large to owarrant some surprise
 on the part of an inquirer. Appren-
 tices enter the naval service with no
 more knowledge of how to keep afioat
 in the water than they have of star
 board, maintopgallant, studding sail
 boom, tracing line. block ship, thimble.
 seizings. In time, of course, the young
 ster is bound to make the acquaintance
 of the latter, but he may become gray
 and salty. and perhaps rise to be bo's'n's
 mate, and never learn to swim.
 | In nine cases out of ten, says the New
 York Sun, the lack of accomplishment
 is due to Jacks not taking advantage l of the opportunities offered him, be-
 cause he has many chances to learn if
 he only would. When ships are riding
 at anchor in warm waters permission
 to swim is often given to those who | wish it. and there are enough swim
 mers in the ships company to give in structions to the others. To counter
 balance the ones who do- not swim 1 there are many expert swimmers in | the navy. From the work he has to 1 do, Jack, after years service, is like l ly to be a splendidly trained fellow. His muscles are developed to the high est. and his food and hours are such as to keep him in the best of physical
 trim. So, when Jack is a swimmer.
 the conditions combine to make him at
 once strong and graceful creature in
 the water. He knows his abilities, and
 this leads him into what the sedate
 landsmen might consider foolhardi- ness. When the ship lies in temperate waters, and swimming permission has
 been given, the ships port lower boom Is let down into the water. This boom lies against the ships side when she is under way, but when at anchor is used l as the mooring place for such small | boats and launches as may be in serv- | ice at the time. 4 life line runs from | the ship to the topping lift, which SUD- | ports the boom. The lowering of the | boom into the water gives Jack con- | venient but slightly hazardous way of | getting down. But the sailor swimmer | generally prefers to use the boom as means of getting back to the ship after | q dive from the rail or some other van tage point. 4 dive from the rail means | q descent of eighteen feet in the case of | a frigate, and more in the modern cruiser. This height is not so great as to daunt Jacks courage, and many sailormen have plunged headforemost in the sea from the tip of the flying jibboom, which is upward of thirty-five feet from the water.
 In swimming in tropical waters there is one drawback to the sport-sharks. The sight of triangular black fin knif- ing its way through the water, and the sudden churning of the water by the flick of a tail, is chilling enough when seen from the safe deck of ship, but is no doubt marrow freezing when viewed from the green level of the sea. If Jack went swimming unprotected in such regions there would likely be an name at roll call some But Jack has his swimming pond in the tropics-or had in the days | of the great hulled frigate-just as he does further north. This is accom- plished by tricing up the four corners of topsail, thus forming bag, and sinking it over the ships side. When it has flied the four corners are lifted I several feet out of the water, and Jack | has an admirable natatorium, secure | from sharks and large and deep enough to admit of any amount of diving and swimming.
 The fact that a bluejacket cannot swim has no more effect upon him in the discharge of perilous duty than if he were a merman. He jumps into a boat on lifeSavinC errand when the sea is mountain high. and he knows he may never tread q deck again if an angry wave throws the boat upon her beam ends and tumbles all hands out. He goes aloft and lays out to the end of a yard when the ship is tossing about like cork, and there is nothing below him but an endless stretch of roaring waves The yard quivers and groans. and Jack has to hold on like grim death. for one moments loosening of his grasp and he is snapped off into space. This means nothing short of and yet that thought never seems to occur to him. His life goes on, and perhaps the emergency of his having to make some effort to swim may never arise.
 Each ship of the navy is fitted with two life buoys on the starboard and port rails aft. These are constructed of frame holding two large air-tight copper vessels. The apparatus floats upright, and there is a place on which the man overheard may find footing. The buoy readily sustains a mans weight, and holds him comparatively high out of the water if he stands on the footrest below. When a man has tumbIed overheard at night, and one or both of the life buoys have been or dered over, the sailor at the rail pulls one of two knobs over the buoy. This fires cap, which ignites a long tube of red fire inserted in the main upright of the buoy. The other knob, when pulled, the buoy, and it drops into the water. The red fire burns long time and guides the luckless bluejacket Many sailorman who could not swim has been saved by the celerity with which the life buOys have been dropped.
 If the Baby is Cutting Teeth