The record-union., 1897-11-14
ART OF LIFE-SkV|NG.
TIE VOLUNTEER CORPS EXHI-
BITS ITS POWERS.
Long-Distance Swimming and he-
suscitation of the Appar-
emily Drowned.

emily Drowned.
There took place last Sunday. by the
side of the long pier at Ulmar Farh,
q curious exhibition. Half hGndreo
sturdy young men in sleeveless Jerseys
and trunks, flanked by dozen Tim
officers. who from the float. the pier
and boats directed the various events
went through an aquatic programme
calculated to display their best SKILL
staying power and nerve.
These men were members Of the va
rious corps of the Volunteer Life say
ers of New York State. which, III 51, eA-
istence only three years, numbers oof'
has an enrolment of 5,4o4 ami covers
not only New York Harbor, the shofes
of Long Island, the st. Lawrence anu
the lakes, but all the inland waters ol
the State as well.
To show what life-saving realiy
means. Just how it is done ana what
manner of men the Volunteer Lille
Savers of New York are was the pur
pose of the exhibition, and the pro-
sramme consisted of water sports anu
tests of strength. The scene was a
strange one. Down the length or the
long pier stood the spectators, nunpe
ing hundreds, packed tightly IN many
rows. craning their necks TO get
slinpse of the float from which the
nistol was fired for the competluons-
In boats at the side and on the float
stood the officers and judges. In and
out swift life-saving boats sped. Young
dripping garments, ran UP and down
the pier, and from the roof OF yacht
club house near by crack life savers
dived.
Professional life-saving at danger
points along the coast is only nall the
battle of guarding against death from
drowning The Volunteer Corps pc
gins where the United States service
ends 1t watches over the quiet wa
ters through nearly 5000 pairs of eyes,
behind which are well-trained Dralns,
vigorous bodies and apparatus Though
the aquatic convention had only few
of these men on hand Sunday, there
were enough to show the work that had
been done.
At the sound of the pistol, glistening,
muscular bodies forced their way
through the water, swimming with
long, powerful strokes. AS soon as
one race ended another was on, until
nearly the whole fifty had fought for
supremacy Girls had their contests
as we'll as men, for it is the purpose OF
the corps that women shall be recog-
nized quite as much as men, and aux
iliary corps are welcome. 1t should be
said, however that none Of the sta
tions through the State have women
members yet, though many of the med
ais given by the corps for life saving
bear feminine names
Directly after these came tub races
and diving, the first designed to show
dexterity, the last endurance. There
were to be rowing races between the
crews of the new boats, which are
built for speed and are models of light
ness, and candle races, in which swim
mers must carry lighted candles from
start to stakeboat, propelling them
selves with one hand and their legs;
the value Of this from a practical
standpoint being that if A man can
swim holding lighted candle he is
certainly steady and skillful enough to
DIlIl3 "a uION il4tlSo PtiSVAh ~'ANNS ~
There was too much wind to attempt
this, however, and not enough time for
the boat races.
Few men entered for the spectacular
diving, a plunge of thirty feet from the
club house roof into water that was
only six feet deep. 1t was less than 4,
early in the afternoon, when Captain
Charles McEnroe of Rockaway (who
won the corps metal for saving thirty
one lives this season., took bis first
dive, a sensational leap that had TO be
made most scientifically. Another dive
of interest was made by an UlmaI
Park girl Miss Sprague. AL these con-
testants leaped cleanly and steadily.
and struck the surface without the
slightest tremor.
Nor were practical tests left out. In
the morning, before the aquatic con-
vention fairly began, Captain Davis
Dalton, a Prussian by birth, who has
a record Of having saved 800 lives and
more. over a hundred in the English
Channel near Foikestone. and is high on
the list of the champion swimmers OF
the world, started from the foot Of
Fifty-eighth street, Brooklyn, ten miles
away. anu swain ONtI Ail<Ae iSAoiANC AZ
a full infantry uniform.
To some the first of these achieve
ments may not seem Of practical I'M
portance But it has a value as re-
CARDS life-saving, nevertheless. 1t was
illustrative Of what a man can do III
the water. even when held down with
heavy clothes. Rescues are not always
made by men in the thinnest CT bath
ing costumes. Captain Dalton, who mas
recently Joined one OF the New YORK
City stations of the corps, hopes to
start a system of teaching the men to
swim readily in boots and clothing as
bexyy as that which they ordinarily
wear.
OF all the feats Of the life savers the
most dramatic and telling was the pre-
tended rescue and resuscitating of a
drowning man. Some few rods away
from shore a man fell out Of boat.
Swift as thought the men plunged IN
after him. Helpless. he was brought
TO the nearest float, stretched on the
boards and revived, and he finally be-
gan to come to-
The men are trained carefully in all
this work To join a station" all a
candidate needs is to prove his pro-
ficiency in swimming and that he has
a cool head and judgment. Once sta
ton" of FIVE or ten men is fully made
UP, It is drilled in boat handling and
the art of resuscitation. The funds of
~ Sx.,1 brsx3x- s-.t.