Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-07-13

J ming trunks, towels and house in which
| to Dress is the most popular place, and
! thus far the beach has exceeded its best
record. But the beach does not get all the
| boys. There Is class. rugged, hearty
youngsters, who could not possibly enjoy
! any sport without an element Of danger in
| it. They prefer to take their chances
! along the wharves. and scorn a life-saver
| In boat. Then what great places they
| find to dive from! From the wharf they
| climb to the tops Of the wharf poles, and
| this is counted the third degree. When
| they are able to dive from wood piles they
| are well up in the favor Of their crowd,
and when far up in the rigging of an ice
| boat they give cheer and dive headlong.
| they are voted masters, and at once be-
| come the envy of the others. The river
along the wharves Is deep, and the only
| danger Is that they will not strike the
water fairly or else slip before making the
| dive.
! Almost any evening they can be seen.
When Old Sol begins to sink towards the
| horizon they get ready, and before the sun
| set gun at the arsenal has doomed forth
| and the echoes have ceased to reyerberate
behind the hills Of old Virginia they are
| overheard.
They Elude the Police.
Some daring youngsters prefer to take
| the extra risk for the honor Of being
| first in and beat the gun. But the law
| provides that 1t Is unlawful to battle with
out being properly clad between sunrise
and sunset. It would be like putting
| these boys with swimming trunks They
refuse to be handicapped in any way Now
| that school has closed the boys are be-
| coming daring. They stand and gaze at
the water. until driven to desperation they
quickly undress, and. hiding their clothes
| where de cops" cannot find them, are
| overheard In 3iffy: If one Of Major
| Moore's finest should happen along the
gers to their nose, bid defiance to the guar
| dian Of the peace.
| Then commences hunt on the part of
the policeman for Johnny's clothes. Some
| times he rs successful, but he don't get
Johnny. oh. no. He has made prepare
tons for Just such contingency, and
when the shadows deepen into evening the
poor little fellow, pinched and blue from
! his long stay in the water, meets his pal
| and puts on his other suit. What does he
| care for the clothes? AS one Of them was
amt no good anyway. but my old woman
will git 'em back jest de same" And this
| is always the case.
The boy comes home and tells his story
| with all the zest of a youngSter. and the
| mother can't help but admire his spunk.
Then she journeys to the police station
| and informs the lieutenant how her boy
Johnny went in swimming against her
wishes. and how the policeman captured
| his clothes. The officers warns her that
| he will arrest the boy next time, and she
gets the clothes.
All the boys within a pretty large radius
| of the wharves know how to swim. How
and when they learn is a mystery. Some
| Of the youngsters are barely seven when
| they learn. and 1t is a remarkable fact
! that drowning among them is rarely heard
| Of. There Is strong bond of friendship
| between these swimmers, and there Is not
one of them but would willingly risk his
| life to save chum.
How They Learn.
| They seem to take to the water naturally
and require no teacher to impart knowledge
Of the art. Across the Long bridge on the
Point is where a majority of the boys
learn to swim. 1t is that part Of Alexan-
der Island almost Numerically opposite
the wharves. Here the water is shallow
even at high tide, and the channel is far
away over the unreclaimed fats
This is the way they learn to swim. When
| they are large enough to go with the big
boys they are taken to the Point. Here
they watch the others sport about, and
soon have a laundering to go in themselves.
Self-preservation is always uppermost in
their minds, and for the first few days
they content themselves with watching the
swimmers and padding near the shore.
One of the boys volunteers to teach him
the stroke. He is shown how to his
legs and 1t Is impressed upon him that
when he draws his legs in he must draw his
arms in and then extend both at the same
time.
This is hard to do at first, but the idea
when once caught is never forgotten. The
great difficulty with boys learning to swim
| Is to get them to breathe properly. When
they learn that they can support them
a mile right away. This is wrong. Dis
lance swimming can only be accomplish
ed by constant practice, and the boy who
undertakes to Guido others only Injuries
becomes
swimmer.
Gradually increasing the distance, as a
homing pigeon is taught to fly. brings as a
result good, steady swimmers, capable of
great endurance. AS stated above the
breathing is the all important factor after
the stroke is learned. The head should be
and the lungs inflated slowly and the afr
expelled gradually. Breathe through the
nose and expel the air by the mouth. Few
swimmers do this, but when it is once tried
they never abandon it.
An Expert on Swimming.
There has been any number Of articles
written on how to learn to swim. The
practical experience of over fifteen years Of
one who is a first-class swimmer and who
has taught large number the art should
make his ideas on the subject at least
worthy Of consideration. This is what he
told a Star reporter:
EVERY man, woman and child should
know how to swim. No one disputes that.
It Is a healthful exercise, and a wonderful
means Of developing the human body. 1t is
true that during my life l have taught
large number Of people to swim. The great
majority has been boys. They seem to take
to it more naturally than girls, and then
they have more confidence. And that word
confidence is the keystone Of the arch over
which all who learn to swim must pass.
1t may be gained in several ways.
with life preserver person may read
lily acquire the stroke and after time I'M
buckle the cork jacket and only rest the
bcdy upon it. Then, confidence takes
the place of uncertainty, 1t is thrown aside,
and the swimmer strikes out in the new
element as confident as though he were
walking. I have heard of another way,
somewhat similar to the one have just de-
scribed.
ut is to take a rubber belt full Of air and
attach it to the body of the novice just
back of the armpits. Gradually, as the be-
ginner gains confidence, the quantity Of air
Is reduced, until the pupil can support him
self, and away he goes. For myself, don't
like either one of these methods. When a
youngster comes to me and expresses de-
sire to learn. I first gain his confidence.
Gain that and your task is a pleasure.
Otherwise it Is just about the hardest work
You would care to undertake.