The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-08-04
DANGERS OF SEA BATH
MAscuLINE VANITY CAUSES HARD WORK FOR LIFE-sAvERs
Men Place Themselves in Jeopardy simply to Win Admiration from a the Crowds--Troubles
 of Women.
Baltimore Sun:

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 Baltimore Sun:
 The life saver at the beach sat on the sand close to the verge. his brown black arms gripping his brown-black legs. and pufted on $ very damp-look- ing cigarette. His eyes were fastened steadily upon point in the water | some distance beyond the raft.
 r These buns," said he. without re- I moving his eyes from that point. "cause me much ache. See those two yaps out there beyond the raft. duck ing each other and doing the porpoise stunt and other funnyisms?" pointing disgustedly in the direction of the part l of the water on which his gaze was so intently fixed. Well. they are soused up for fair and I'll be getting stiff | neck watching them until they come | out of the water.
 "Oh. yes, ttey're good swimmers all right. But that's not going to help them any. They're three parts drunk, and that's what's keeping me busy. It doesn't make any difference if man can swim like Paul Boynton; he's got no business padding around in water more than two feet deep, if as much | as that. when he's got jag on. It's dangerous. And it's dangerous for a lot of reasons.
 'sIn the first place, man whose in- sides are all heated up, with rum has about nine chances in ten of getting cramps in sea water. And. leaving out the cramp business altogether, the fel- low with the skate on takes too many chances in the water. He feels too gay | with himself. He wants to be too merry with his carcass. Water only about for | ty feet deep won't do for him at all. He gets 1t into his hear that he's a tramp steamship drawing about 900 fathoms and he thinks it's his job to set a court for the coast of Norway. And he's real strong. too-at first. | All jags are Sandows-at first. But | when they get about half a mile away from the sand they begin to wonoer where they can get tonic for that tired feeling. and it's at this stage | of 1t that we begin to pull the boat out in their direction-for we always have 'em mapped out and charted from the minute they strike the water. | And even if they don't start out for a long distance cruise. and stay within hitting distance of the raft like those two fellows-I see they are coming in, | which shows that they've got more head than the usual run of 'em--they are so chesty in their f0oling around | that they're liable to exhaust them- selves and collapse all of sudden. I've seen jagged men go to pieces all of a sudden within five feet of the | raft. and be unable to swim another lick. and then they'd have to make themselves feel cheap by hollering for help.
 Next to the soused chaps. we have | the most trouble with the smart Alecs. Every year I pull out of the water about 100 smart Aces. Oh, yes, they're good swimmers; that's just whats the matter with 'em--they're too good. They're so good that they want all the thousands Of folks on the beach | to know F. and that's how they usually get theirs. They're as bad as the tank in the chances they take. They try for Europe, too. r. This thing of going 10 Europe by the overland stroke is all right goin. It's coming pack that nails you. But | the smart AlecNnever seems to think Of | that. We get so that we can spot the smart Alec just as easily as we can | nan the tank before he's so much as put foot in the watse, and we Keeu | the good eye on him all he time: and when he starts out with that beautiful, graceful stroke Of his toward the old country. we just about know when to tip each other the lamp, throw away the comfortable smoke we're enjoying, get the oars shipped and go after him. 1 The cheapest-iooking smart Alec that I ever hauled out. of the wet got into trouble up at Long Beach. It was about five years ago He was the main nretty boy at the hotel, and he had about 4S girls so faded that they read their novels upside down, sos they could keep on looking at him. He was a good-looker all right at that--a great big geezer with fine muscles and a l proper makeup
 Well one morning a big delegation of new girls came down to the ho.al l from New York. and 1t wasn't twenty
 minutes before this hot card was call ing 'e.1 Lulu and Minnie and Blanche and they liked it. Well. the hour for bathing came around, and the hot boy led the new bunch of girls down to the brink. There was Rleam in his lamps that looked like work, for my partner and I. and we were ready when we saw him shoot for the deer sea. He was going to show those girls just how far real fine piece of work could go into heavy sea-the water was rough--and not even pant.
 He was. for a fact, good swimmer
 "a rattHng good swimmer and he wal
 
 hard water lip around Long Beach fol anything but a pilot fish to monkey
 with. and this fellow had never taker such chances with 1t before. When h,
 had got out about half a mile, ant
 still going. my partner handed me tn, eye. and we threw away our butts ans
 climbed iEto the old scull We hit III
 . pretty good gait. watching him al
 the time. and by the time we got with
 in a hundred yards of him-he wat
 then about. tv'o-thir6s of a mile out.
 he needed us. Tn fact, his arms wen
 up right at that point. aad he sank.
 We lifted the old tug right out o
 the water then. and wet got him by
 his curly hair when h. was goirs
 dewn for tue third time. He was a: limp looking a hotel hero as ever saw when we lifted him in. My part
 her took both oars and pulled double
 for the beach. while did the ficat. aid-for- -the-drowned stunt over the
 hot card who had been bound fci | Brussels. For minute 1t didn't look as if I was going to make good witf that one. He had nary a heartbeat noi a breath. and says I to myself, Son
 I'm sorry but you ought to've been good
 An the girls were lined up on the beach and Wringing their hands when we lifted the nice strong boy out of the boat. There was an old kerosene bar rel lying on the beach. and over the same did we roll the hot hotel card just the same as we'd nave rolled a