Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-08-26

sensations of having a true swim-a swim
that approaches the swimming of a fish at
least an appreCiable degree.
To know that, man must have tasted
OF the delights of the swimmers of the
American river and sea cities-the boys who
leap from high wharyes and bluffs into the
deep-runnng floods of Hudson, Delaware,
Mississippi and the rest, undismayed by
the rush of steam traffic all around them;
or the still more daring swimmers of the
open salt harbors where the swimmer is
alone with porpoises and bluefsh in green
water hiding immense depths and with the
land so far away that il IS invisible to eyes
on a level with the water.
You will find few OF these swimmers at
the crowded bathing beaches of any part OF
the conventional world Watch the scream
Ing splashing. dashing throngs and you viii
have no trouble to count those swimmers
who venture beyond the life lines or stakes:
while the real swimmers, who strike boldly
out into the blue. TIL they seem only as
specks, will rarely number a half dozen
even on beach like that OF Coney Island.
where ffty thousand persons may be in the
water.
True Swimming.
There Is always plenty OF snowy SWIM
rers who hover just beyond the ropes and
there in full view of the audience" swim
the various fashionable strokes and dive
gracefully and do the other things that the
swimming human animal loves to show
off, with. But the watcher may look In vain
for many days before he sees man or wo-
man start away from shore to swim two
or three miles straight out toward the hori-
zon. And yet, until a person is SO much at
home in the water that fyemile swim
IS nothing at all. it Is ridiculous to lay
claim to the title of swimmer.
A real swimmer would not be hopelessly
dismayed II he were to find himself sudden
Iy overheard with the prospect of at least
ten hours OF struggle before him before he
could be picked up. He wouldn't Ike 1t. OF
course and would never chose the situation
voluntarily, but he would settle to the work
OF remaining above the surface with at least
some expectation of being saved
He would be able Immediately to relieve
himself of all superfluous weight, by I'M
dressing with almost as much celebrity as II
he were sitting on the edge of his bed 1t
would be no trick at all for him to unlace
his shoes and he wouldn't make the mis-
take of putting his hands into his wet and
clinsing pockets to get his knife out to cut
those shoe laces; for practice would have
taught him that II Is much easier to get
your hand into a pocket in the water than
1t is to get 1t out again.
II he simply couldn't get the laces open
and had to cut them, he would work the
knife to the opening of the pocket from the
outside and keep his fingers religiouSiy out
OF the trap. Getting off the other clothes
would be no work at all. after the shoes had
once left him and gone swirlng into the
water abyss under him.
Really the most serious thing to bother
such man settling down to a long fight
In the water would be the exhaustion Incl
dent to long immersion and the faintness
that might come with hunger. The mere
keeping afioat would be the slightest part of
the task except In smashing seas. The real
swimmer can noat sit. recltne, stand and
even catch cat maps in the water. If high
rollers beat on him. he does not weary him
self by battling to stay on their crests, but
scars through them like long, white tur-
tie. He doesn't care II the pillows do wash
over his face continually. SO long as they
give him chances to breathe IN between. In
a word. he Is too MUCH at home in the
water to feel panic. And 1t Is panic that
browns people-the panic that comes to
them when they realize suddenly or mag
Inc that they realize suddenly. that this
soft. voluptuous element that has Graded
them so tenderly Is a deadly thing. ready to
take them down.
Panic Causes Drowning.
Not one civilized swimmer in ten thou
sand Is so sure of himself and OF The water
that he Is not liable to this fatal panic. II
may come on him suddenly without any
tangible cause. The swish of a big fish
close to him may precipitate it. He may
get little crick in his arm or leg or even
fingers and the voice of fear. muttering
'cramp' in his ear. may make HIM help
less as an infant and send him face down
into the depths in a convulsive struggle for
air. when there was not the slightest
IL
not been for panic.
One of the best swimmers I ever knew
who used to jump overheard regu-
iarly with clothing and shoes on to swim
out to his boat. which was anchored a half
mile OFF shore. ard then swim back towing
1t by the painter-was so nearly drowned
one evening swimming across a little creek
not 800 yards wide that he was unnerved
for weeks and dared not enter the water.
The cause OF his sudden weakness that
he saw dark shadow under him In the
middle Of the creek and imagined that 1t
was shark. Now. he knew full we'll that
in the first place the creek. being less than
ten feet deep In It's deepest part. was most
unlikely TO offer refuge for a shark; and.
In the second place. that sharks in that
water would be much more afraid of him
than he was of them. But panic caught
him. with the result that he gasped. got
water into his lungs. choked more. and
struggled desperately. going down again
and again. and barely managing to reach
shoal water before he collapsed entirely.
Had the creek been a hundred yards wider
this fns swimmer would have been drowned
like beginner.
The prime causs e panic 10 ths universal