The star. (Reynoldsville, Pa.) 1892-1946, 1904-10-05

Ii has always struck me as curious
that, though Englishmen are so fond
of all athletic sports, though yacht
ing. boating and fishing take so promi-
nent place among our sports and
amusements, we are such very bad
swimmers. When at Cambridge
could never find any one who would
swim the half mile with me, and
doubt IL there were twenty men at the
university who could have swum hGlf
d mile Rather not, get so pumpedp
was the answer always made to my
invitation. Yet there is no exercise
which, when properly learned, pumps
one less or tires one less. After five
mile race ones heart is not beating
any faster than at the start nor is one
half 50 exhausted as after riding a
bicycle up n steep hill.
| often talked with Captain Webb
about his channel swim, and he told
me that even after swimming for
twenty-five hours his muscles were
not very tired and that it was weari-
ness he felt more than exhaustion. We
twice week when we were both
training for some race. He was n slow
swimmer. but swan in excellent style,
which means he wasted none of his
strength, and when l knew him he
never swan anything but the breast
stroke. If | remember rightly, he
never was any good at any of the side
strokes, and he certainly swan the
channel on his breast The channel may
be crossed again, but it is not very
likely, as several good swimmers have
tried and been beaten. Except for
the pleasure of having to look out the
Hellespont i'm the map, Byron's swim
(Which is, | suppose, more or less n
historical event, as il is alluded to by
every distributor of swimming prizes
who wishes to show his learning)
should be forgotten and never alluded
to as feat at all when compared with
Webb's.
Men are pumped" because so few
care TO learn to swim properly and are
content to founder and splutter about,
thinking apparently that the faster
they move their arms and legs, never
mind in what direction, the more mag
nificent their swimming.
Swimming is question of balance,
and that is why when once learned it
is never forgotten. The mistake in
learning is that to avoid breathing in
water boys put their heads too far
back and so keep their mouths too far
above the surface. Nobody will ever
swim well or with ease till he has
learned that it is not necessary to carry
| his neck like strangled giraffe. This
strained attitude upsets the balance.
| You will see every good swimmer in
the world swimming with his mouth
under water till the arms separate.
| His body will thus be straight, very
high in the water, and 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 as 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 TO tell boys to elbow their
hands from them" as sort of memo.
| ria techuica of the moment to breathe
outward. | am sorry for lads whom |
see learning to swim when they be-
come apparently much distressed about
the proper movement of their legs and
arms aud much more sorely distressed
really by the amount of bath water
they ara swallowing, of which the in
structor takes no note, though the pu-
Pill does
One word more about learning. II
is important-very-th the hands In
breast stroke swimming should work
in the same horizontal plane as the
body and not downward. Working
them downward is waste of strength
They are then only lifting the body out
of instead Of propelling it through tho
water. 1t is important that boys should
be taught the breast stroke properly
All boys think they can swim quicker
on their sides because when on thell
sides they see the water pass by theil
faces and fancy they are going as fas
as torpedo catcher. But it is a mis-
take. The proper stroke now adopted
by all amateurs and professionals fol
racing is very different from what boys
call ''side stroke" and ought to be care
fully learned after good breast strok,
has been mastered. Nothing but gooC
breast stroke can save you in trouble
nor can you save a drowning man by
my fancy swimming.
Now, for the second part of my text
Can there be more hideous DANCE
than that of swimming up to rescue
drowning and struggling man who
fighting for his life and in the agony o
suffocation, will seize you and clutcl
you and take you with him to the bot
tom? Drowning men are said to clutcl
at straw, but for choice tkey prefe
something more substantial. Summe
after summer we read the same oil,
story of the rescuer being clutched an,
drowned and two lives lost, one o
1 f,,Ixr Aas