The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1904-10-29
ANIMALS GOOD SWIMMERS.
Even Some of the Most Ungainly Are
Strong and Graceful in
the Water.

In spite of the fact that man is not
an instructive swimmer, as are most OF
the lower animals, ne excels all Of the
latter that are not aquatic in endur-
ance In the water. 1t is reported that.
in attempting 10 swim across the Eng
lish channel recently, a man covered
80 miles before he succumbed to ex-
haustion. The only land animals thai
are known to be able to approximate
such a feat are bears, writes J. Herbert
WEIGH, in Success, which are probably
the strongest swimmers among ami
mails not specially adapted by nature
for the water.
Deer and horses rank next TO bears
In swimming powers. Deer swim rap
idly and gracefully, and 1t. is not I'M
common for them to cover a distance
of ten or even Is miles In the water.
Horses are powerful swimmers, and
have none Of the aversion toward en-
tering the water which is often shown
even by animals which can swim well
when forced to. A number of horses
that were pastured on the American
side Of the Niagara river nee swan In
company across this broad stream in
order to return to their cd stables. II
may be useful to know that, In cross
ing a body Of water with a horse, the
best method, If the horse is expected
to swim any considerable distance, Is
to slide over his back, hold the animal
lightly by the tai, and allow 1t to tow
you across. This relieves the horse
Of the weight Of your body, and ena-
bles him to swim faster and much
farther than otherwise would be the
case.
Dogs vary greatly In ability as
swimmers. The water spaniel, re'riev-
er, mastiff and st. Bernard excel al
others, A retriever known to the
writer once followed n canoe for nine
miles. The dog was much exhausted,
however, when drawn into the boat.
The elephant is a good swimmer
and the wild animals Of the cat fam
lily, the tiger, the panther, the jaguar
and others do not hesitate to crovs
lakes and rivers. On the other hand,
the domestic cat shrinks from INNER
SION, and browns quickly. The nostrils
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 Smiling beneath the
surface. Rats are excellent swimmers.
Almost all birds except those which
are distinctly natatorial are near'y
helpless In water. email birds, in par
%ticulsr. have 10 power Of propulsion,
and. though they No not sink. they
drown quietly. Even many srecies #
waterfowl rise from the water with
difficulty, or not al all, when their
wings are wet. After d sea gull
plnnees and returns to the surface It
stretches Its wings 80 that thew MAJ
be dried bv the wind and sun before Il
attemrts to fly.
All r~ertiles swim. Almost all snates
move through the water with az much
and rapidly as on land. Rattle
SNAKES. for example. are much given
to swimming in placid water II Il f.
not too cold. In the Eve-glade lakes
RI Florida they may be often seen. II
IL well to fnow shat TO attack from a
boat q poisonous er ske in the water "a
a much o dan gerous proreeTi"p
than 10 attack the anabe OF land. The
reason ia that the ie-tile viii imned'-
ateiv mabe for the boat. since IL mrst
have a solid base from whi"h to strife
II half leaps and half Climbs into the
craft. end there Is a fight at uncom.
close quarters.