Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-08-06

down a new delegation OF girls 10 put intc
the lolling chairs, SO that ne could show
them how much stronger In the water he
was than any life guards. There was a
CLEAN in his eye that made it look like
work for my partner on watch and /, and
we were ready when we saw him shoot GU,
for the deep blue sea. he was going to
show those girls just how far genuinely
fine piece Of work could go in a sure
enough heavy seattle water was very
rough-without even painting.
HE was. for fact, q GOOD swimmer-a
rafting good swimmer-and he was a
pretty good slayer, too. But a really
rough, neap-tide day here makes pretty
heavy water for anything put pilot fish
to fool with. and this fellow had never
taken such chances with 1t before. When
he had got out at the end OF the long pier,
and still going, my partner gave me the
significant look, and we threw away our
smokes and climbed into the old boat. We
hit up pretty good gait, watching him all
the time, and by the time We got within a
hundred yards of him he needed us. In
fact, his arms went up at that point and
down he went.
Limp-Looking Heroes.
I'VE lifted the old boat right out of the
water then, and we got him by his nice cur
ly hair the first chance we had to get a
clutch. He was as limp-looking a hero OF
girls in lolling-chairs ever 1 saw when
we lifted him in. Ny partner took both
oars and pulled on the double for the beach
while 1 did the first-aid business over the
nice-looking smart Alec who had been
didn't look as If was going to make good
with him. either. He didn't have heart
beat nor a breath, and, said I to myself,
Son: I'm sorry. but you ought to've been
"All Of the girls were lined up on the
beach and wringing their hands when we
lifted the nice strong boy out of the boat.
They had to see the rolling-over-the-barre
process, and 1 would have given up twelve
real dollars of my wages for the privilege of
laughing out loud when thought of how
that chap was going to look when he came
around and found out what had happened.
He came to after a while-we had him
stretched out then-and sat up on the sand.
He gazed around at the ring of girls, and
then he tried to say something. He couldn t
for minute or so, and then he found his
voice and looked me in the eye.
I had bad attack OF heart disease,
he said.
I'VE have a lot Of bother, too with young
fellows who, just after learning the first
few strokes of the game get too confident
and try to everyday themselves In the wa
ter. They're not smart Alecs, but they re
rash. They're lads, for the most part, who
til just a while before they got into trou-
BILE, and when they get so that they can
make few strokes and achieve a little
progress they get to thinking that they'd
like to do it like the other fellows whove
been swimming all their lives-fellows who
learned how to swim in the deep hole In
the creek when they were children. When
they make these stabs they often go wrong
trife Of vanity, of course, in this business
of the lads trying the deep water. They
imagine that 1t makes them look cheap to
be padding around with thefwomen. But
am telling you that vanity browns heap
of men and boys in the course of bath
ing season.
Stay in the Water Too Long.
"a lot Of people stay in the water too
long, too, and get into trouble in that way.
Their muscles become all drawn and cramp-
ed, and when, as often happens. they get
this way in deep water they are helpless
and have to figure in one Of those being
pulled-out episodes. Half an hour is plenty
long a time for anybody to stay in the sea
water
Another thing: People who go sea bath
ing ought to spend all, or nearly all, of the
time in the water. Sitting on the SAND IN
the hot sun makes them liable to be cramp-
ed and chilled when they go in again. Talk
ing about that do you know that there are
a lot of pretty boys in bathing suits who do
as much posing the beach as some girls
do? Fact. / have seen lots of them during
the past two years who haven't as much as
wet their soles The funny papers get after
the girls VINO never ~ iHto ehc "o'Si' wv
they ought to get busy in showing up the
Queerly organized chaps of the male species
who have got into the habit of doing the
same thing of late years
1--WE call about three-fOurths of our cases
during the bathing season false alarms.
We mean by that women who think they re
going down to a watery grave in about half
a foot of salt water l don't know just
why it is that womans head Is 80 much
heavier than her feet. but every life guard
knows that that's fact A woman slips
and gets her head in a foot of water or less
when she's within arm-reaching distance
of the beach, and she instantly reaches the
conclusion that it's all off with her in this
life. I've seen women picked out of the
water under these conditions who have been
actually at the point of death from sheer
fright, and they tell all their friends after
ward and their grandchildren, when the
grandchildren come along, about the time
they came so near getting drowned by acct
dentally getting out of their depth.
It's an old story and not worth talking
to swim because they haven't got the conf
dence. Some women in particular are just
born never to learn to swim. l
know a life guardsman on beach 1urther
up who has spent eight years trying to
teach his wife how to swim, and she can
hit a lick yet and never will She's simply
afraid of 1t, like the great majority OF
women. Young girls have more commence
than grown women, and they ought all 10
be taught to swim when they are young.
Most of the fine swimmers among women
whom you see doing the mermaid tricks
around the beaches were taught how to do
the trick when they were children and had
their nerve with them" c. l.. Z.