Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-08-12
Life Guard at Atlantic City
Relates Incidents.
"CHESTY" SWIMMERS
WOMEN ARE LEARNING TO BE
BRAVE IN THE WATER.
How the Saucy Miss Played Joke or
the Guards and Was Exclud-
ed From the Surf

communicative lot: but. under the mellow
| Ing inuence of an after-breakfast pipe one
| OF them 'loosened up to a vacationizing
| Star man the other morning. and talked
| interestingly about those that lave them
selves In the brine in bathing togs.
THE bathers are getting better grip on
| themselves these days" he said. They're
| becoming more cool-headed when they find
| themselves in trouble in the water. We've
| had some OF the quietest calls this year
| from folks in peril in the surf that you'd
| believe possible.
"Only day before yesterday. during the
! forenoon. while my watch mate and had
| the boat out at the roller line, we had one
| Of these calls. There was some sea going
| not nasty or boiling but high and tumbling,
| the leavings Of a northeastern.
Chap came rocketing out from the shall
| low bathing crowd. taking the overland
stroke for 1t, and, with the outgoing tide.
probably doing good deal faster work
! than he knew. Fine swimmer he was. too
| big-muscled and easy and free in the water
| He wasn't what we call chesty. We
| can spot chesty at the first look-the fell
| lows, l mean. who plant bunch of girl
| friends on the sand and then start out to
swim to Zanzibar, to show the young wo-
| men haw strong they are and what a
monkey they can make of the sea. The
chesties always gazing out of the tails
of their eyes to see If they're being watched
and getting the big hand from the other
| bathers and from the folks on the sand.
This chap, though, as l say. wasn't any
| chesty. He just wanted to swim. and. as
| there were thousands of people in the surf.
J there wasn't room for swimming inside the
| comber line. So he just struck out not
! taking much account of the outswirling
| tide-maybe he didn't know 1t going
/ out.
| "As he dolphined past the boat he gave
| watch ma and I a good patlre5 nod
| If we'd thought he going far he
did we'd have sung out to him then about
how much easier 1t is to go with the moon
| turned waters than 1t is TO fight them on
| the way back. But we didn't know. SO he
| got about three hundred yards beyond the
boat before we noticed him again.
He was coming back, when We noticed
him again. and with the same fine, strong
| stroke.
| HE can swim. all right says my watch
+, mate in the boat to me them for the chap
was doing the trick against the swirl in a
| way that couldn't help but catch the eye
! Of men that spend most Of their time
| studying the swimming game. We didn't
turn around from the surf crowd to look
/ him over until he was within about two
| hundred feet of our boat.
Stroke Not So Strong
Coming a bit slower for 1t now. hey?'
said my mate to me, and l noticed how he
had slackened up. too. He had quit the
overland stroke for the breast stroke
Just taking his time says I.
! I'VE had to keep the boats nose to the
combers, but about a minute later we both
heard a call from behind.
| 81 say. there. pals, the CALL not
gaspy, but as easy as If the man giving it
was standing on his legs on the sand.
| I'VE turned around in our seats, and he
was fifty feet away from us, and floating
on his back. with his face toward us.
| 81 wish you fellows 'ud take a bit of a
run over here said the chap who knew
how to swim. still in his quiet way, If he
| was asking for a match to light his cigar.
I'VE were alongside of him in ten seconds.
The big chap was lying on top Of the water.
| his arms stretched out al his sides. as
| limp as g. sword-fshed seal. His eyes were
| half closed.
| Nothing wrong, pals except that I'm
| all In he said, and he didn't need to tell US
| that, for he wasn't moving a muscle-the
WEAKNESS had got him to the marrow.
| I'm jify we had got him into the boa
and laid him down in the bottom of it.
Say. you fellows. please don't pull in and
| show me up. he said. with tired grin.
and then he was clean gone-as plumb
! tainted as a girl at a dance.
| I'VE didn't pun in. We weren't going
| to show up game duck like that one. One
| Of poured some pretty good booze down
his throat, and in minute he was sitting
| up and looking US over.
| "'Yap for taking chance like that.
wasn't l.? he said. Didn't appreciate that
the coming back thing 'ud be SO hard. Much
| obliged to you two. Was sure enough close
| to the line, and then he dived over the
side and swan leisurely through the rollers
| and walked kind O lottery to his bath
| house.
| Game guy that chap. Wasn't a screech
| or holler In him. He made a little mistake.
then did the best he knew, and when his
| bad minute swung along he gave us the
quiet tip-off and let it go at that
Women Not Easily Frightened.
i've been noticing. too, during the past
| couple of years, that women behave better
| when they find themselves in trouble in the
| water. Not tenth as many Of them get
stampeded in the water when they think
| they're In trouble formerly.
| WAS time when women used to get so
| panic-struck when they thought they were
doomed to watery graves in eight inches OF
| salt water that they would raise more rue
| ton than stranded South Sea skate and
| they'd do all they knew, too, to drown the
| guard going after them, by grabbing a-hold
| of him around the neck in death grip II
they could possibly get that clutch on him.
| II was always hard thing to do, but in the
| old days when l first began life guarding.
| 1t was d common thing to just have to
| give a woman a punch on the point Of her
! Jaw to quiet her and keep her from making
| mischief for two instead of one. But. some
| how or another, beach guards don't have to
| use violence with 'em any more.
| lone afternoon last week l swan out for
| a girl who was in trouble and a whole lot
| Of it, and she knew 1T, but the way she be-
! haved when reached her like to've taken
my breath away, and l didn't have much
| breath to spare, either. seeing that l had
| had a long run for it and tidy swim to
| get to her.
"She had gone In In the afternoon after
| We had beached the boat, and she was
| alone. There were only few in besides
| her, and none of them could swim. The girl
| was there with the swim thing, all right.
| but she overdid 1t and stayed in too long,
and when she gave her scream 1 said to
| myself I started to race from under the
pier to the water that l was going to be
| right busy for few minutes. She only let
out that one scream, although 1t took me
| fully minute an a half to get to her
When I reached her she was gasping and
| white and treading water for all she knew
| and I could see that there wasn't enough
| strength left in her to mash a potato bug.
| That made 1t look all the more like bust
ness for me. for although woman in the
| water may not have any strength left for
swimming purposes she's always got the
| devils own power In her arms for clutch
! ing II her mind has quit her and she is in
| frenzied fear of her life
t.41 .t~,1 k--