The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1904-08-26
OF The
LIFESAVER
Expert Tells How Easy tbs to
Save People From \
Drowning.
il HARD OR DANGEROUS
Prompt Ducking Readily Sub
dues Drowning Man and
Makes Him Manageable.

lie 6aYlng lS NOL neET SO dangerous
as 1t is generally supposed to be- said
Capt. Tom Riley. the Loney Island life
saver. Il ke ny other things. 1t has
been d welt upon and exaggerated by the
until nowadays very few
really understand Just what measures
should be taken to rescue a person from
drowning. OF course refer to people in
general, not professional life savers even
though some OF them could pay more at
tenuon to their business with better re-
suits,
Capt. Riley has been q professional life
saver at Coney for the past twenty years,
and he is credited with having saved the
lives OF hundreds OF bathers.
I'm the first place., he continued, ter
;rifying accounts appear In the newspa-
pers from time to time OF the desperate
efforts tina t certain people have made in
their attempt to rescue some one from
drowning. Descriptions she has heard or
read Of the terrible battle In the water
between the drowning person and the
!rescuer 80 work Y pom he mind of the
average bather tina t hen he sis J. con- Z
little help to- a person who has become
nervous or whose strengt tn has given out
e of getting IN The a az "
tiSa
afraid to go near him. ].
II have ften seen q man IN trouble IN
the water calllng for help and 5surround-
led by a ring Of ba Tiers all "a iraid to go
isupposition 8 that " hen 4 a drowning per-
sorl5once gets al hold on you it Is $impos-l
slble to get rM Bof him and VIII both go
&c One day last year, as i was swimming
out toward the raft, three men who were
standing on It yell led to me, at the same
time pointing Ito a, man in the water st!,r
1 s99as sn fin: i hes drownins!
Il thoug htS at q first they were Joking
But VIII en- i saw Il tn 8 man $ face It was
plain that he was IN trouble f. He, had
b 6adIy ana ys Wa biapbering ike Big
school nd he was vas nearly under
the water. .s ,..s !, y
hand & ant without the . least trouble tow
ed him over to the i float where stood his
three friends. II e was Just IS bout to 4 go
down, yet 3 be didn't make the slightest
attsS%Rt &c tRo satih 9ls Il
could have taken him out OF the water
With the III great est OF 81 cas- 4; yet, like
many hers, they were filled witt these.
horrible stories Of Il d rownings and could
ait i III 81 Ill dare say they had as much
courage as the usual run Of ~ M ; ~
that III 81
Yet to- come In contact with {! her
who got a half ~ elson on me tn rem,
dered me una Bile to prot Is myself. AS a
rule most people who get IN l trouble n
the water are those U who 4 hal become
scared. There may not be a.s single thing
the mat ter with them, not even a. little
fcramp. IA They simpl " lose the nerve.
give start e; SINE s
cutlery. but my Il cory in regard 7. thes !,
Is that they are. stri ckens with heart fall
sure.
s;,sVhen you reach a man who is just
scared he Is only too glad to have you
give him aid !. and Is So grateful that he
will be- a 81 meek as 9. lam b and vii do
tel him ls.coniid Lens rs
him. Why. have gone to fel lows who
were making the creates cries for help,
land as soon as they sa me on Z handi
saving tina there was hing the mat
ter with / them and that /. they We're Just
fooling. ss
him. . even Iii is one of the easiest things
lin the world for a. person who has some
skno Wedge Of swimming to take 4 him
as ore. MI I l5..
l5ble here are those who go too ear the
them them are fraid Of the pier. There Is
au pna e aha nbbPr
$Dier# that seems to- ia Ike the nerve Of all
| bathers. 4 II know OF some expert swim
%rners who are fnicky 9 bout PASSING s.. I'M n
YOU viii e I {, Sns
most Or the . bathers g re lost each. year.
the Y beach et ana is 50 strong hat thesaver
Against gains . it. AS soon as they ind them
sen4sd ana aaaes get
away from IL 81 OF course they don, gain
an inc and finally become exhausted " !; q
Whereas ssIrning ne e otn ~ e.
iried under the pier with the tide they
would soon have been able to. swim to g
place OF afety furthe 3do Wn the 2bea ell.
i -. One az the most curious experiences
| u have had since have been IA life saw
| or was some q years ago, when q young
woman. a newspa per writ er, G. me. down
1 perience the sensation Of drowning SO
4 That she, could describe it In her paper
, thought at first, she was Joking. but
she assured me she wa Z. consemt,
4 this Sensation. She went out on the pier
4 and i followed IN q boat accompanied y
a sketch artist who was e picture h re-
4 different Ksensa tons :, u,
ever sns SAN MI IN my life when We reached
4 feet deep i told her to Jump. she gdldn't
she went, She coul On y swim a. stroke
she begaa to g g, seRsat,o y
suffering. Wildly waving her hands. y bn "
\ ing about for a. few seconda she wen
d down itS again. the artist all the tins
a sketchtng ftar q few more seconds she
rag With pretty nsarlS al m3;yeT e,
Forgot lis sketohins and cried to me.
For God & sake Ak { !, man n, get herTshe''
snJist then THE girl went down onct
I more this time a few bubbles coming up
4 / Tx knew ahe ought by this time to- have
{ about all the sens tons OF q ROWING slls
4 could have and still live, 40 B ! ivce
\ In after her and took her. unco scious, +
1 Shore. ii had the hardest kind OF work Is
j bring her around hut she mus t have KEEP
n a pretty good record OF her different feel
lIsings, for her paper came out witt a page
\ ir1 which she 'falth fully Described her OK
iThere is one more thing want to sa,
i about life saving. and that Is TO potn