Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1904-09-08

who wishes to show his iearning)
should be forgotten and never alluded
to as a feat ut all when compared with
Webb's.
Men are pumped because so few
care to learn 10 swim properly and are
content to founder and splutter about.
thinking apparently that the faster
they move their arms ana legs. never
mind in what direction the more mag
nificent their swimming
Swimming Is a question o. balance.
and that is why when once learned Il
is never forgotten. Tie mistake in
learning Is that 10 avoid breathing in
water boys PUT their heads TOO far
back and SO keep their mouths too far
above the surface. Nobody will ~
swim well or with ease tin he has
learned that II Is not necessary to carry
his neck like a strangled giraffe This
strained attitude upsets the balance
You viii see every good swimmer In
the world swimming with his mouth
under water tin the arms separate.
His body viii thus be straight, very
high In the water. ana he Will be bal
anced properly.
To learn TO breathe properly means
TO learn TO swim quickly and well. 1t
is very simple. All that the tyro need
remember Is to breathe outward rs his
hands go forward and to breathe in
ward directly his hands separate, which
is the moment when his head is high
est. ! have found it useful when
teaching 10 tell boys to blow their
hands from them" rs a sort Of memo
ria technical of the moment TO breathe
outward. ] am sorry for lads whom l
see learning to swim when they be-
come apparently much distressed about
the proper movement of their legs and
arms and much more sorely distressed
really by the amount of bath water
they are swallowing. Of which the in
structor takes nc note, though the pu-
pill does.
One word more about learning. 1t
is OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES the hands in
breast stroke swimming should work
~ AAC SAiAC Api AGpiithA ptaiiC 40 AIt
body and not downward. Working
them downward is a waste of strength.
They are then only lifting the body out
of instead of propelling it through the
water. 1t Is important that boys should
be taught the breast stroke properly.
All boys think they can swim quicker
their sides because when on their
sides they see the water pass by their
faces and fancy they are going as fast
as a torpedo catcher. But il is a mis-
take. The proper stroke now adopted
by all amateurs and professionals for
Is very different from what boys
call side stroke" and ought to be care
fully learned after a good breast stroke
has been mastered. Nothing but a good
breast stroke can save you In trouble,
nor can you save a drowning man by
any fancy swimming.
Now, for the second part of my text.
Can there be a more hideous danger
than that of swimming up to rescue a
drowning and struggling man who,
fighting for his life and in the agony of
Ch4O14NiOhs NAll 6tlGC AUn dllh ClIlCl
you and take you with him to the bot
tom? Drowning men are said 20 clutch
at a straw. but for choice they prefer
something more substantial. Summer
summer we read the same old
story of the rescuer being clutched and
drowned and two lives lost, one Of
them certainly being that of a brave
man. Yet it is a mere question of
three or four hours teaching and prac-
tice TO enable any one to rescue a
drowning man with but very little dan
ger to the rescuer.
1t has been my painful duty to award
the medals at the so called life saving
competitions now taking place every
summer at our public schools. Miser-
able and gloomy farces they are. a
BOBBY is pushed out about
twenty yards into the water, and the
boys jump in, one after another, and
pull II to shore. The BOBBY Is then
sunk. and the boys have TO dive and
bring it up, no directions being given
how proper,f to do 20. Anything more
mike what one has to do when CON
with the danger Of rescuing a
struggling man it is Impossible 10 con-
eeive.~ and hope the day Is not far
when public schoolboys viii be
ashamed to accept a medal for such
4 silly competition.
When you swim up to a drowning
man he will probably seize you by the
Ii you turn your wrists round
against his thumbs he cannot hold you
for a second, and the fact OF his losing
his bold on you will probably swing
him round, so that you can then catch
hold OF him properly ana bring him TO
shore. swimming on your back.
My readers should be a little careful
how they practice this. because If they
try to hold on when the wrists are
against their thumbs the result
may probably be dislocation.
1t Is not safe, however, TO
that the rescued man will remain quiet,
nor viii he If any water spashes on his
face, SO the best way to hold him is
to place your arms under his and
hands on his chest. He cannot
then turn round on you and his head