Waterbury evening Democrat., 1904-10-03
ANIMALS AS SWIMMERS.

In spite of the fact that man is not, an instinctive swimmer, as are most or the lower animals, he excels all of the latter that are not aquatic in ns,en-s durance in the water. It is reported that, in an attempting to swim across; the English channel recently, man. covered thirty miles before he suc-a cumbed to exhaustion. The only land. animals that are known to be able to approximate such feat are bears! which are probably the strongest swimmers among animals not special ly adapted by nature for the water.
 Deer and horses rank next to bears in swimming powers Deer swim rapidly and gracefully, and 1t is not uncommon for them to cover dis tance'. of ten or even fifteen miles in the water. Horses are powerful swimmers and have none of the aver sion toward entering the water which is often shown even by animals which can swim we'll when forced to. A number of horses that were pastnred on the American side of the Niagara river once swan in company across this broad stream in order to return sto their old stables. It may be useful E to know that, in crossing a body of water with a horse, the best method, if the horse is expected to swim any conside derabie distance, is to slide over his back, hold the animal lightly by the. tail and allow it to tow you across. This relieves the horse of the body, and enables him to swim faster and much farther than other wise. would be the case.
 .e D6gs wary greatly inaability aE as swimmers. The water spaniel, re- triever, mastiff and St Bernard excel all others. A retriever known to the writer once followed canoe for nine miles. The dog was much exhausted, roWeyer, when drawn into the boat.
 The elephant is a good swimmer, and the wild animals of the cat fam fly, the tiger, the panther, the jaguar and others do not hesitate to cross lakes and rivers. On the other hand, the domestic cat shrinks from immer- sion, and drowns quickly. The nos strils of some small animals are so placed as to render breathing very difficult when they are in the water. Among these are mice and rabbits, which will drown without sinking be- heath the surface. Rats are excellent swimmers.
 Almost all birds except those which are distinctly natatorial are nearly helpless in water. Small birds, in particular, have no power of pro- pulsion, and, though they do not sink, they drown quickly. Even many specie of waterfowl rise from the
 water with difficulty, or not at all,
 when their wings are wet. After a sea gull plunges and returns to the surface it stretches it's wings so that they may be dried by the wind and sun, before it attempts to fly.
 All reptiles swim. Almost all snakes move through the water with
 as much ease and rapidity as on land.
 Rattlesnakes, for example, are much 1 given to swimming in placid water if l it is not too cold. Tn the Eyerglade
 lakes of Florida they may be often l seen. 1t is we'll to know that to at
 tack from boat a poisonous snake in 1 the water is a much more dangerous I proceeding than to attack the snake on l land. The reason is that the reptile | will immediately make for the boat,
 since it must have solid base from
 which to strike. It half leaps and I half climbs into the craft, and there I is fight at uncomforftably close quarters.--J. Herbert Weleh in Sue. l cess.