Evening star., 1899-07-15
SWIMMING IN FRESH WATER.

SWIMMING IN FRESH WATER.
Practical Suggestions on How to En-
joy This Peerless Exercise.
From the Chicago Record.
| Any man who has learned to swim while
| in his boyhooe will never forget the time
If he learned in the country. For there he
either took his first lessons in the "crick''
| or in some pond on the farm. Sometimes
| 1t was in the meadow, where they washed
sfeep in wide pool. For myself, 1 first
| made the attempt in what was known as
the bully hole a gravel pit on an~Ohfo
| farm, deep In the woods. This pit had
| been abandoned and had filled up with
water. The big boys with me, some seven
or eight years old, could swim dog fash
ion little even then. This style of loco
motion in the water was ACCOMPANIED by a
prodigious amount of splashng. 1t is still
practced both in the city and in the coun-
try by young beginners. 1t beat sinking
and that is about all that could be said for
1t. Ihe movements initiate the motions of
doge in manner, but dog does not
splash. And a boyis dog fashion" stroke
Is very eXhausting and not adapted to
long-distance swimming A dog, on the
contrary, swims easily, for very many
hours.
After a boy has gained confidence by this
style of Warding off a watery grave he will
uSuilly tuIu 10 lue breast Stroke,
swimming sailor fashion," as it is often
termed. This copies the mode of propulsion
in the water adopted by the frog. and is the
most common American method of fresh
water swimming. 1t is least violent and
easiest sustained for long swims, and is
rot particularly difficult to acquire. The
arms should be extended forward together
palms Joined in front of the body, the
swimmer lying outstretched in the water,
breast down. The swimmer then turns his
palms joined in front of the body, the
circular movement backward. AS the circle
is extended back the curve ceases when
the arms are a tfifie to the rear of the
shoulders, and there the propulsory power
ends. The arms then drawn in and
under, and then thrust out together TO the
first position, ready to repeat the stroke.
AS the curve of the arms ceases the legs
are drawn up together and sent back and
out together, as frog strikes out in the
water. The arm and leg movements blend
and the swimmer moves easily forward. All
styles of swimming calculated to exer-
else all the muscles of the body, and SWIM
ming therefore is peerless exercise.
After boy has learned the breast stroke
he may take up some of the other kinds
Overland swimming in Indian fashion,"
as it is commonly called, is snowy style,
and for short stretches Is faster than the
breast stroke But it is harder work and
except in the case of experts it is an awk-
ward stroke and very apt to be spashy
In this style of swimming you turn from
side to side with first one arm out of the
water and then the other. The submerged
arm comes back with the underStroke, the
arm free of the water oars back with an
overland stroke and the legs are brought
up and thrust back as these detached
strokes are being given. The body is urged
forward and the shoulders are up out of
the water much higher than in swimming
with the breast stroke.
The ordinary side stroke is a combination
o. both of these Styles but is much more
rapid than either. The water sprnters use
an improved edition of this stroke and the
side stroke in some form is the usual
racers favorite. The body is urged forward
by strenuous muscular impulse, and being
on the side, has less resistance to encounter
in its course through the water. Very
swift motion is obtained by this method
with its different variations, and in the
short dashes. the 80 100 and 200-yard races,
it is q winning stroke.
Swimming on the back, or with the breast
stroke while the swimmer is lying on his
back, is simply means of change, ana not
particularly effective. Floating is exceed
irgly useful and should be practiced for
purposes of resting when on long swims.
Every man. and every boy from sixteen
years up, should be able to swim a mile in
still water, and to swim a mile if he fell
into the water with his clothes on, for any
one who knows how to handle himself in
the water should be able to undress himself
when thrown into the water, so that he can
get down to the light enough toggery to
make a mile before sinking.
A man can learn to lie on his back and
of his arms whatever. 1t is useful thing
to know. Even with the use of the arms
alone some progress can be made-a few
yards. Any shock when thrown into deep
water which deprives a person of either the
use of arms or legs need not necessar rily
make drowning the natural consequence
In case of cramps keep cool by all means
and turn on the back and float At the
same time gently straigNen out the leg, If
possible, with the hand nearest the cramped
limb. If any ore igneaBeall for assistance
without getting panickN1 or losing your
nerve. If you areosubje9t to cramps keep
from bathing in cotd water and don't stay
in too long when YOU finH the water warm
In river swimming, the shailower
sunken logs. Never df&e into unknown
water, and beware Of auislssands. 1t is well
to be cautious and TO know your swimming
place. A drowned man., stays drowned a
long while. In the ponds the chances of
danger tc a good swimmer are mainly re-
duced to getting a cramp.
The springhoard Is gfeat institution at
country swimming holes. u 1 well remember
one on the Nodaway river when l was a
boy. What Hercules the pride of Hick-
CRY ridge" Mart Barr, looked when poised
for a divei Mart Barr was one of the
farmer boys who had not yet been ground
down by too much hard work. He could
grip with his fingers, by the chimes, two
ffty-pound kegs of white lead, one in each
hand, and hold them at arms length. On
the springboard he showed himself perfect
ly muscled supple and very strong. He was
a splendid swimmer, sure enough. He
taught me the breast stroke and told me
if l learned to be first-class swimmer
that I would be good man from the
ground up" 1t is passing strange how few
men there are comparatively, in a large
city who can swim a mile. Teach a boy
to swim that distance without marked fa-
tigue, to walk twenty miles In day with
out firing, to row boat eight miles against
a current and to box ten three-Ininute
rounds Of give -and-take sparring, and you
will build him up right for an ali-round
nable stead during the stress of the wear
ing years In metropolis. And give him the
warning: mo tobacco. no alcohol. no tea