New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1896-07-26
DANGERS OF THE SUPP
AN EXPERIENCED BATHING MAsrr>
TELLS HOW TO AVOID THEM
THE SEA FUSS" HOW 1T re FORMED AND METZ.
DDS or ESCAPING FROM IT-soME

THE SEA Puss'" HOW 1T re FORMED AND METZ.
obs or ESCAPING FROM Ir-soME
TIMELY INFORMATION.
III people had more knowledge OF the treacN.
erous nature Of a sandy beach along the ocso,
they would never take such risks" said bo,,
ing master at one Of the resorts along The No.
Jersey coast just after Re had assisted an a.,
hausted swimmer to the shore the other dav
1T Is more ignorance than foolshness" he con.
tinued, as he noticed that the reporter was II,
terested in his remarks "Of course. when "a,
that don't count the idiots who eat hear,
meal Of Holsters or crabs and wash II down with
several bottles Of beer just before going into m.
water There is no hope for them and they Al.
serve little or no sympathy. They don't knov
why they are taken with cramps any more tha,
Johnny Jones did after he had eaten the litt.
peach that in the orchard grew. They are Dec.
pie usually without enough brains TO sink ths,,
heads II 1t was not for the load OF heavy fooA
they have inside Of them to carry them to III.
bottom
But It is astonishing how few really intelu.
gent people there who fully comprehend ,hs
actual dangers in surf bathing, and who TAXA
the proper precautions to avoid them" he went
on.
do you really think then, that all surf bath.
ing is very dangerous" asked the reporter.
1T Is for people who do not understand it,
was the reply but a million people who really
know where the danger lies might 60 In bath.
ing every day of their lives, the weather Der.
hitting, and not meet with an accident"
Would you object to explaining what the
greatest danger is and how to avoid III" asked
the reporter.
KNOWLEDGE AND SAFETY.
mot in the least" he replied readily IN
fact 1t would take a great load off my mind
sometimes If the people did understand the mat.
ter better In the first place, there is the young
the young who has learned .,
swim recently and after being in the ocean Aay
a dozen times thinks he or she can give q whas
points on getting through the water rapidly.
Is breath wasted to talk to them. They win
either not listen to you at all. they will give
you to understand that they think you pre-
sumptuous for making any suggestions. Then
they will jump into the water and take risks
that the Oldest fisherman along the coast would
not think Of taking. They will go OFT beyond
their depth. invariably and swim In UNEMPLOYED
places, where sea puss'- may have formed
within the last twenty four hours. In fact these
sea pusses constitute the chief danger to bath.
ing on any sandy coast"
"A sea puss?" he said. in answer to the n.
porters question wall, I'll tell you. Sometimes
when a storm sweeps along the coast the BIG
waves wash up the sand and form considerable
OF mound This mound may BE- some distance
from the shore, but the incoming waves and tide
continually wash over it until the water along
the shore may be considerably higher than It b
further out in the ocean, This water keeps
hob ,hoy NJ and
It must find an outlet. Finally It breaks through
the bank in one spot, and begins to run out at
that point. The bank may be mile or more In
length, and there may be only one opening at
first. OF course, the water keeps piins In the
big basin formed by this embankment and the
shore all along the entire length of the bank
AS soon as 1t finds an opening It begins to run
out through 1t, and the water on both sides OF
the opening the entire length Of the bank BE-
gins to run toward the outlet
WHAT A SEA PUSs" IS
The opening naturally gets bigger and big
ger very rapidly, as the water rushes out, and
within short time a great volume Of water u
running out at a high rate Of speed That ex.
plains the fact that sometimes, even when the
tide is coming in. you will see a strong current
running down the coast at one point. and a little
equally strong current running up the coast
The water from both directions. which has been
piling up behind this embankment. Is moving In
the direction Of the opening. and 1t is being
pushed along by the water piling up behind
Naturally, the embankment Is under water ana
usually cannot be discovered at high tide. Some
times 1t can be discovered at low water from
the fact that waves break over II.
Now there may be one Of these sea pusses
In a certain place one day, and II may have
diSap Cd
hours. Also, as I said before. one may have
formed over night. =.
THE average bather does not realize.
the bathing in a certain place was safe on FIN
day, why II ought not to be equally ssie on
Saturday. So person who has overconnaenSS;.
II his powers as swimmer goes beyond ne
depth and the first thing he knows he IL pe'nc
carried rapidly to sea by an Irresistible curren.
His only thought is to get back t. land, ana ~
tries with all his might to swim against ne
current. He might almost as well Try TO s~'"
against the Niagara rapids. x
I'm spite Of his utmost efforts he finds hins.n
being carried rapidly out to sea. and invana az,
he loses his head and becomes so excited ~
his strength goes also. Then there Is selio~
Job on hand for the bathing master. Somet'I y.
he Is successful, and occasionally he lnds -.
possible to reach the unfortunate before " 7"
late. .,,.
Now. in the first place. II that person hao w.
derstood the nature and treacherous cnatsess
of an ocean beach II is only about one cnss 10
In ten thousand that he would ever nave ei sv
into this predcament. 1t It case OF foo s y,sh
where a wise man fears to tread or SWIM WIZ ~
ever way you like. He Ia not a fool. pernap~, at
the ordinary sense Of the word but he doe IT. ~
understand sea bathing, and usually W.. ss
learn until he has had some such exper'eH''
this.
WHAT TO DO.
ION tho other hand. the one who un'e''.o
the nature Of the current In which he was o"0e"
would not lose all his strength In trying u
against II. He would know that this Wa " a..
lutely impossible Instead OF losing MS -
he would reserve his strength and Try " .
across the current That is. swim up o. s,ill
the coast until he got out Of the puss ind bv
water and keep afoat until he was rese"eN
some In a boat" . ,r.ks
Isn't the bathing master supposed w1srcus
an inspection and discover these aans o into
places before the bathers are allowed 10 y, The
the water. or at least TO warn the"' '.